The situation's a lot more nuanced than that.

Photo

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 18:46:49 -0400

yami-lopezm: ☕💕

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 17:27:50 -0400

yami-lopezm:

☕💕

maplesyrupao3: noonymoon: soldierpallaton: bad-post-pikachu: MINORS ON TUMBLR BEWARE Keep an eye...

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 16:47:09 -0400

maplesyrupao3:

noonymoon:

soldierpallaton:

bad-post-pikachu:

MINORS ON TUMBLR BEWARE

Keep an eye out for this pride flag! If you encounter someone with this pride flag as their icon, do yourself a favor and block/report them. This is the MAP pride flag. For those who don’t know, MAP stands for Minor Attracted Person, more commonly known as a pedophile. The MAP community is filled with adults who openly admit to having sexual feelings towards children, and post about how they fantasize about underaged children. It’s sick and disgusting, and these depraved individuals try and use tumblr as a platform to normalize their perversions. They appropriate the experiences of the LGBT community by feigning systematic oppression, and comparing the rightful societal condemnation of pedophiles to the violent persecution of the LGBT community, which isn’t even remotely comparable. It’s honestly reprehensible that they’d take advantage of pride by making a flag like this. It’s incrediblly dangerous because unifying symbols such as this create a platform for pedophiles to prey on children, and spread pedophilia-enabling rhetoric. Please spread this around if you can, and if you are a minor, don’t bother interacting with these scumbags. It’s not worth putting yourself in danger to call these people out or try to get them to see the error of their ways. Stay safe everyone!

It looks like the “Creator” of the flag is @/dont-mistake-our-geography, she is an avid MAP supporter and possible MAP herself. She has her main blog in her title under “stennastims” which she says she’ll follow from! So, if you get followed from either! Block them!

be safe younger folks !!!! this is NOT PRIDE

THIS IS PEDOPHILIA

MAPs are not a part of the LGBTQIA+ community. They are unwanted, unwelcome, and should be called out and banned wherever possible.

Stay safe, minors.

Are you interested in anybody at the moment?

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 13:21:59 -0400

my future self, imma give that bitch the whole goddamn world

OUAT 1X11 - Fruit of the Poisonous Tree

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 09:30:16 -0400

How the fuck have I managed to write ELEVEN of these?! Like, all series long, I was so unambitious and so scared, but now that the series is over, my fingers just won’t stop!

I guess you could say my labors are quite FRUITFUL!

Get it? Get it?

Whatevs, read my thoughts under the cut and prepare for heartbreak.

Press Release
A dejected Sidney enlists the aid of Emma to help uncover evidence that could expose Mayor Regina as the corrupt person she really is to the townspeople of Storybrooke; and Mary Margaret and David continue their secret rendezvous while trying to figure out a way to unleash their unrequited love. Meanwhile, back in the fairytale land that was, King Leopold, who is the father of Snow White and married to the Evil Queen, stumbles upon a magic lamp and is granted three wishes by a Genie - who warns the king to be careful what he wishes for.

General Thoughts
Past
I like how we get to see - through Leopold’s kindness in wishing for prosperity for his kingdom and freedom for The Genie - the same kindness that lives on in Snow. However, as we will especially learn later, but are introduced to here, that kindness (or at least self-awareness) doesn’t extend to his second wife, Regina. It makes him more nuanced as a character and shows how people can have good qualities and moments, but aren’t just that one-noted and can completely fail others in completely different respects. And in terms of this episode, these aspects of his personality help to build the tension twice over for The Genie’s conflict and when he kills him, it’s so bittersweet. On one hand, all of the debt that The Genie has towards Leopold is there, but with Leopold’s dying breath, he regrets setting The Genie free at all.

The conflict in this story is so tight, and manages to pull off a great twist. What does this for me - in addition to what I said above concerning The Genie and Leopold - is how the set and cinematography - in addition to the writing - enhances the storytelling where it comes to Regina. First, I love the acting for Leopold. Just the way that he introduces both Snow and Regina, both with drastically different tones. I spoke of this briefly during my review of “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter,” but to talk on it more, on a dramatic show, a contrast of emotions - whether between full forced and dull or happy and sad - should be big or at the very least gradual. Secondly, during Leopold’s birthday scene, as Leopold sits at his throne, Regina - despite being Queen - is at a distance (next to a noticeably empty seat) while Snow - though now sitting at the throne - is standing in the space where a Queen would be visible to the public. Leopold is not just shutting her out of the family, she’s being shut out of the job she married into. It makes the audience - who is still firmly on The Genie’s side - trust Regina and that trust is supplemented by the advice her present counterpart is giving.

You know, I didn’t realize it until now, but for a few viewers, I’m willing to bet this was probably where people thought Regina’s full backstory was going to be revealed. It has so many of the set ups of a tragic backstory reveal, especially as we come to know them here: (Promising love, a tragic backstory, a villain in the way of her happiness). However, both through knowing the character’s story AND through recognizing that any Regina backstory should be from strictly HER POV, I know there’s something more compelling coming from her. :D

That said, I wonder if Regina did have any affection for The Genie. I’m not talking about love in the same way that she loves Daniel or Robin, but she does go to the effort of making him an escape plan and when cursing someone bound to her, she could’ve done a lot worse than cursing him to be her loyal, respected, and successful reporter. Let’s not forget, in the brief interactions between The Genie and Regina, he shows her the respect and admiration she’s been denied since getting married and even as The Magic Mirror, he’s been loyal to her.

Present
I like how the present immediately cuts to the chase in furthering the divide between Regina and Emma, with Henry revealing that his castle is their spot and theirs alone, propelled by both Regina’s discovery of it and Mary Margaret convincing her of it. And I love how Regina’s at it again, delivering the theme of the episode, but in a way that’s, for lack of a better word, corrupted (AND something of the same ilk is repeated by fellow villains Gold and Sidney). It’s pretty nuanced here because her fears of the castle’s dangers are not at all poorly founded, but given what we know and that their interaction gets in the way of the dynamic we’re rooting for (Or at least should be and I wholeheartedly do), the advice does a really good job concealing itself, only to come back into play later.

And just as Regina predicts, Emma gets lost in her emotions, but as I said before, this descent (Not a direct fall, which makes this even better as she doesn’t just jump into doing all of the wrong things) into a search towards conspiracy theories is not poorly set up in the least, neither in the realms of this episode on its own nor as an improperly set up conflict finally bubbling to the surface. At this point, Emma had been set up by her at least three times that she knows of and every time has resulted in harm in some way. And things aren’t helped by all three of her main allies encouraging her downfall in both big (Sidney suggesting they play dirty and showing Emma those pictures of her and Henry and their backstory) and small (Mary Margaret approving of them taking Regina down and Henry still calling Regina the Evil Queen) ways. However, what makes this conflict work is how it still retains that nuance. Getting lost in your emotions is a bad thing, so just as we’re hoping Emma doesn’t fail, we’re not completely on her side, and that makes this conflict so tense and engaging.

Both
The theme in this episode (Don’t let your emotions fool you into trusting the wrong person) was delivered spectacularly in this episode for both segments. Everything in both stories is built upon through every character interaction and plot element.

Lana was the star actress of the show here. I don’t know if Lana’s angle was having Regina pretend to feel all of her untrue feelings or to play those untrue feelings straight to make it more believable, but whatever it was that she did, it fucking worked! In both stories, Regina is like a spider, introducing parts of her personality and elements of her life to build sympathy and that sympathy in turn builds a web for her that allows her enemies to ensnare themselves for her benefit. I feel seduced by how devious her schemes are and how the character draws back on true parts of her past and present conflicts is just spectacular!

Insights
Fucking immediate Swan Believer feels! That castle is just their place!
“I can grant your wish.” So I love how after episode 7, all hope of concealing that the curse is real vanished like a stolen ring and now they’re about as subtle as a time-travel-induced punch to the face! XD
I forgot how funny The Genie was! I love the idea of fed-up Genies. That said, I have to wonder why he seems so bored. His lamp doesn’t look especially comfy and that mirror is by no means magic!
And he just walks off at the freakin’ platitudes! I would watch a whole series of him going from master to master and sassing them off!
“I have granted 1,001 wishes and seen them end badly 1,001 times, so I will never use this wish.” The foreshadowing is strong with this one! Both of them actually, given Leopold’s line about True Love! And later with the mirror (That actually happens twice).
Sidney’s wearing the Rick Astley jacket. And “Never Gonna Give You Up” matches perfectly with his character in this episode, just sayin’!
“I used to think she was a different person.” In the context of this being a curse AND the past events of this episode AND the fact that it’s just a lie AND the fact that he’s lying to Emma in the exact same way, this line has four different meanings. DAMN, that is some good dialogue!
Leopold, don’t read other people’s diaries. That’s awful!
FUCK ME WITH A SPOON! THE GENIE IS SWOLE! XD Look at those biceps.
How much of Regina’s scheme do you think Henry Sr. knows? On one hand, Regina has magic and can probably communicate anything to her father, and I can’t imagine Henry Sr. would be okay with her committing suicide. However, the palace security looks to be powerful and I can’t imagine that Henry Sr. would be so willing to help with regicide. Thoughts?
How many cops are in Storybrooke? Emma of course is in charge, but I refuse to believe that she runs the law enforcement in town completely alone.
Why aren’t Emma and Sidney wearing gloves?! Emma, I thought you were a thief!
I love how Regina doesn’t even try to deny The Genie when he suggests killing the king! We get that sneak peek into her personality and for the first time in that past segment, we get a sense of things not being quite right.
I love Henry’s skepticism of August, despite his interest in the book. That’s definitely his inner Emma and Regina coming out. His interaction with August may as well have been the kid equivalent of his interaction with Emma. Once more, he dodges questions like how Luigi dodges Koopa Troopers.
It’s really cool how Regina makes something that was originally hers and Henry’s special place into hers and Henry’s special places. Notice that those exact words are used during the conference.
Awww! You feel that immediate loss of hope Henry has when Emma reveals that they have to be separated for a while! :( And it’s such a contrast from earlier - you can even see it in my first insight! From together in the old castle to apart in the new one! My poor Swan Believer heart!

Arcs
Regina’s power over the town - This was a big win for Regina, and a well calculated and well deserved (By virtue of storytelling, not my personal framing) one at that! Emma, her chief competitor for the town’s sympathies, has been knocked down a huge peg - and seemingly by her own petard! You can’t buy press that good! Well, given that she uses Sidney, I suppose she can… XD
The Mystery of August Booth - We kind of get a repeat scene between Henry and August compared to the Emma and August one from “7:15AM.” Besides that, the reveal of the book was a clever twist that makes narrative sense given both of those scenes.

Favorite Dynamic
Sidney and Emma. These two have fantastic chemistry before the big reveal (I remember the first time around loving their friendship and lowkey shipping them), and once the big reveal is made, it still remains ingenious because of just how well calculated it all is. I love how Sidney is subtly fanning Emma’s flames under the guise of mutual hurt, pushing her to make bad decision after bad decision. Sidney’s mask of desperation and depression was so good, and Giancarlo Esposito gets to show off his acting chops so well alongside Jen.

Writer
We have the stylings of Ian Goldberg and Andrew Chambliss again! And holy shit, did they deliver! Back in my review of “The Shepherd,” I commented on how well these two could sell big emotions and portray sticky situations, and not only did they bring those strengths in, they also improved on my concerns from the last time. What I didn’t like with the writing of “The Shepherd”was that the sense of time made the relationships and actions a hard sell, and while that exists a tiny bit with The Genie and Regina, it really doesn’t exist with anyone else. Because the emotions here are played up as more of a whirlwind, it makes sense for these bad decisions to be made so quickly. And at the same time, those decisions are gradual. Neither Emma nor The Genie go right to dirty tricks and murder, but as the emotional stakes rise, they find themselves in situations where those things that were once amoral beyond compare seem reasonable. That’s such good writing!

Rating
Golden Apple. Every beat hits it out of the park and I was glued to the screen the entire time (Well, despite my pauses to write the review, that is). The choices made by our protagonists across the two worlds are both tragic and wrong, but at the same time, understandable and the manipulations at work by the villains are equal parts dastardly and brilliant! Finally, the theme of the stories (Don’t let your emotions muddle your sense of judgment and trust) is conveyed flawlessly through several pieces of it (Ex. The set pieces and cinematography), not just the writing, though that does not disappoint with the abundance of well-placed twists and turns. My only nitpick was that the romance between The Genie and Regina (Ship name Reginie?) wasn’t super believable, but that didn’t take away from the story in the least. It’s weird, I would hardly want to go back to this episode, for it does so much to make me sad (Separating Emma and Henry, The Genie being trapped, etc.), but it is of spectacular quality!

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Thank you for reading! This was one of my favorite reviews to write up so far, and I hope you all enjoyed it. And thanks once more to the fine folks at @watchingfairytales for putting this project together!

Say, I’ve made about eleven of these so far, and I only want to get better, especially since the next episode is such a marvel. To anyone reading, is there anything that I can do to communicate my thoughts better? Think on it and let me know!

Some ideas that I have are:
-Getting rid of the press release (I don’t know if anyone likes me having it there)
-In the “General Thoughts” segment, making more refined categories (Story, character, theme) and making one paragraph per part of the story (It would be between 5-6 paragraphs at least. Two for story, two for character (Or more if I want to talk a lot about one character), one or two for theme depending on how interwoven the themes are in every episode.

Next time, we discover if my reviews are truly beautiful, or if they’re only Skin Deep!

Season Tally (91/220)

Writer Tally for Season 1:
A&E (31/70)
Liz Tigelaar (17/20)*
David Goodman (16/50)
Jane Espenson (16/60)
Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg (19/40)
Daniel Thomsen (8/10)*

(* = Their work for the season is complete)

Operation Rewatch Archives

angel-baez: No commercial has yet to top this

Mon, 25 Jun 2018 23:25:12 -0400

angel-baez:

No commercial has yet to top this

sinick: officialprydonchapter: rayredspider: These exchanges...

Mon, 25 Jun 2018 19:47:19 -0400

sinick:

officialprydonchapter:

rayredspider:

These exchanges between a bigot named Brendan Sullivan, and a heroic troll named Robert Graves, will be the best thing you read all day, I promise.

ROBERT GRAVES IS BACK ON MY DASH

robert graves: 5/7 pwnage

trxnquilmage: you know i hate tumblrs “i hope they do something problematic” shit so much? its not...

Mon, 25 Jun 2018 07:25:35 -0400

trxnquilmage:

you know i hate tumblrs “i hope they do something problematic” shit so much? its not only with people like thomas sanders or john mulaney or that comic guy with the bike, but with whole ass shows and projects? like nobody ever said b99 is cop propaganda. nobody was saying that until one single person mentioned it and suddenly its the worst show you could watch because of one aspect of their show, while ignoring the shows diversity and political stances.

same happened to dream daddy, like you cant deny that that game was groundbreaking for the lgbt society, but suddlenly some people started shit like ‘uhhh but 5 years ago the game grumps made transphobic jokes’ and ‘you know that joesph is actually a satanist, right?’ and suddenly no one talked about the game anymore?

everytime someone tries their fucking best to be inclusive, diverse etc. people are digging through everything they can find just to justify that they dont like it? overwatch recently hosted a huge event to raise money for breast cancer research in association with the BCRF and without even doing one second of research people accused them of working with the susan g. komen foundation (which wasnt true) and tried to boycott a fucking charity event?

what im saying is, dont let tumblr ruin everything you love because they are bitter

Photo

Mon, 25 Jun 2018 07:20:16 -0400

jonahsimms:#raymond holt is the role model we all deserve

Sun, 24 Jun 2018 19:54:36 -0400

jonahsimms:

#raymond holt is the role model we all deserve

oh my you have a cxg line as your blog title and you are all for positivity in the fandom this is great what is puntiation i don't care but I care for you. :) hi :)

Sun, 24 Jun 2018 19:44:47 -0400

Yes, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is my little secret treasure that needs to be seen by the world! Every time I see more people on this site get into it, my heart grows three sizes! Hell, I’m soon going to be writing a CXG/Jane The Virgin Crossover fic for @the-girl-in-the-band-tshirt, my friend who I got into both shows!!!

What a wonderful show it is, and I’m always happy to find others who love it!

PSA

Sun, 24 Jun 2018 19:40:17 -0400

itsmagnuswinchester:

I lay in bed and I hear my sister crying in the bathroom and it breaks my heart. I failed to help her. She has no money to pay for bills, she has no money to take her son to the dentist or buy him new shoes. She sleep on the floor in my bedroom for five months now because she just doesn’t have any place to go.
She told me today that she keep thinking about killing herself.

I saw signal boosts where people asked for money because they wanted to go to Disneyland or they wanted to visit their friend in another state. And they got tons of donations. I’m not saying that you can’t raise money for less serious things. But I see my sister who has nothing at all right now and wonder why everyone ignore my asks for help. No one owns me money of course. That’s not what I’m saying. It just would be nice if some nice person or two send a few dollars. You would make a single mother and her son happy.

So please please if you can spare something, send via paypal: monicakil@mail.com

If you want to know more about the situation click here

AND PLEASE PLEASE REBLOG THIS POST, SPREAD IT SO MORE PEOPLE WOULD SEE IT. WE NEED AT LEAST $500. AND $3000 TOTAL.

THANK YOU

UPDATE ON SATURDAY JUNE 23: WE STILL NEED THOSE $500. PLEASE PLEASE IF EVERYBODY COULD JUST DONATE A DOLLAR WE WOULD MEAT OUR GOAL. OR IF YOU REALLY CAN’T (AND I TOTALLY FEEL YOU) AT LEAST REBLOG IT. I FOUND OUT THAT I PROBABLY HAVE Myasthenia gravis AND I’M FEELING WORSE AND WORSE EVERY DAY. I CAN’T HELP HER FOR MUCH LONGER.

PAYPAL: monicakil@mail.com

deputychairman: brianelarson: ocean’s eight is a good, fun, well acted movie and the fact that male...

Sun, 24 Jun 2018 19:28:01 -0400

deputychairman:

brianelarson:

ocean’s eight is a good, fun, well acted movie and the fact that male reviewers are giving it rotten reviews just show how women led films have to meet unrealistic expectations to not be considered a failure. the movie isn’t rocket science but it was never intended to be, it’s just a good time at the movies and it’s the kind of film men get to make over and over again and nobody hangs the future of male cinema on its sucess or failure. the treatment it’s getting is unfair and misogynistic. in this essay i will

#i got to watch beautiful women steal things for two whole hours #it’s all I’ve ever wanted #and every mean reviewer can eat my entire ass ( @bebeocho)

ghost-in-the-shul:B I G H E C K I N G M O O D

Sun, 24 Jun 2018 19:24:32 -0400

ghost-in-the-shul:

B I G H E C K I N G M O O D

fuglyselfie: “how would your friends describe you?”

Sun, 24 Jun 2018 18:41:07 -0400

fuglyselfie:

“how would your friends describe you?”

gigglygamer: loststormtrooper: The most relatable thing about Protoman is that he’s literally dying...

Sun, 24 Jun 2018 17:25:49 -0400

gigglygamer:

loststormtrooper:

The most relatable thing about Protoman is that he’s literally dying inside and acts like everything is fine.

Hug him

What is your favorite joke to tell?

Sun, 24 Jun 2018 17:10:34 -0400

It’s lame and im sure predates Dad jokes, but here goes. Two goldfish in a tank and one says to the other, “How do you drive this thing?” See I told you. I love comedy and this isn’t a good joke but its silly and makes me laugh everytime.

captain-swan-coffee:On day 57 of Ruby’s favorites I’d like to...

Sun, 24 Jun 2018 17:01:24 -0400

captain-swan-coffee:

On day 57 of Ruby’s favorites I’d like to look back on all the super awesome and sometimes tacky cars of OUAT!

Once Upon a Time seriously needs a Wacky Races equivalent!

kalesbug: Trying to find something to motivate myself and I...

Sun, 24 Jun 2018 16:46:25 -0400

kalesbug:

Trying to find something to motivate myself and I found this little line from Van Gogh

Ella/Glass Believer Fic Master list

Sun, 24 Jun 2018 16:31:03 -0400

fyeahjacindarella:

There are quite a few Ella/GB fics floating around on tumblr and I wanted to try to consolidate them all so tada! I have a feeling I’m missing quite a few so if you have any fics that aren’t on here please let me know and I will add!

Glass Believer

Canon

Do it Slowly (Henry x Lucy centric) by @theonceoverthinker

Dreams by justanoutlaw / @findingtallahassee

It Gets Better (Ao3) by justanoutlaw/ @findingtallahassee

Grumpy (Pregnant) Ella on Ao3

Doubts and Starlight (FFN) by @bixisarusher

Simple FFN @bixisarusher

Glass Believer Pregnancy @ellamills2003

AU/Canon-Divergent

A Hero’s Sacrifice (Ao3) by justanoutlaw (Major angst warning)

Where you Lead (Ao3) by justanoutlaw (Jacinda doesn’t come in until ch. 26)

Solider AU by @believingispowerfulmagic

Ella-centric

Canon

Talk Tales Over Cocktails (Regina X Ella) by @theonceoverthinker

Evolution (Ao3) (Ella x Drizella) by justanoutlaw

AU

Ella goes through the portal to Storybrooke AU by me

Thanks for the double mention!!!!!