the characterization of cinderella in the ugly stepsister is, dare i say it, my favorite i've ever seen. because elvira and cinderella are both competing for the prince's hand, the film performs a delicate balancing act in depicting patriarchy. elvira seeks male approval at the instruction of her mother, but cinderella seeks social mobility and changing of her material circumstances.
unlike other cinderella adaptations, the ugly stepsister doesn't simply reward cinderella with marriage for being beautiful. instead, it depicts marriage as a social tradeoff. cinderella is pragmatic and cunning, and she has more experience with men than elvira does due to her position and appearance. she has more confidence and decorum than elvira, but she is also never given a reason to doubt herself. she doesn't marry out of love but as a means of escaping her situation. meanwhile elvira doesn't actually need to be married. but after such intensely targeted indoctrination, scrutiny, and bullying from her mother and teachers, this is the only future she can imagine. and ultimately this makes her shallow and cruel, to both cinderella and herself.
this is a truly fascinating and deeply sympathetic take. a lot of people compare the ugly stepsister disfavorably to the substance as body mod horror. however, the ugly stepsister is in an entirely different ballpark with its characterization
baffled by all the people who have been like "weird that they cast demi moore in this role when she's still gorgeous idgi" that's literally?? the point?? that you could be the most beautiful older woman on earth & still be devalued and made to feel ugly by society & then internalize those feelings regardless of any objective beauty??
Oh, look. Ethan, my dad is my roommate now. This is… This is his bed right here. Yeah, it's a good thing that I threw all my stuff out the window because then it made all this space.
This has probably been said before, but in S3e10, instead of trapping Elgin inside Donna's room and trying to make him talk, why didn't they just follow him? He was clearly on his way to the secret place, so follow a little behind and boom! You've found the room, you've found out what's been going on, and Elgin keeps a body part.
⋆˚꩜｡ jade herrera is a successful software developer and tech entrepreneur living in new york city. he has it all, but it feels like something's missing.
⋆˚꩜｡ a pivotal day in the life of jade herrera before he arrived in fromville. just for fun & purely from my own imagination :>
⋆˚꩜｡ words: 2.4k
────୨ৎ────
the jarring phone alarm slapped jade awake, jolting his body upright like he'd just been shocked with high voltage. his chest heaved up and down as he caught his breath, eyes darting around the room, but not sure what they were searching for.
"fuck," jade muttered under his breath, closing his eyes and letting himself flop back onto the mattress. his right hand absentmindedly felt around the other side of his bed for someone, a companion, but was met only by the coolness of untouched satin sheets. jade looked over at the empty space and tried to remember if he even had probable cause to search -- what happened last night? did i come back with someone?
memories from last night began to return to him in fragments, and he remembered that he and tobey had gone to their college friend's company's event. he remembered making fun of the hors d'oeuvres and buying a bottle of champagne for the table beside them. he remembered sticking his head out of an Uber and the frustration of losing his gym membership card -- again. he remembered neon lights and bodies on bodies, and he remembered asking tobey to go find them something that would make the night last longer. there was a pair of arms snaked around his neck...maybe? lips against his ear?
whatever. he didn't have the time to think about last night, who he might or might not have been with, or whether or not he wanted the bed to be a little warmer this morning. frankly, he didn't care. and that was his final decision.
forcing himself to sit up at the edge of the bed, jade grabbed his phone from the bedside table and ignored the hundred email notifications he'd gotten overnight. he called tobey.
"good morningggg, motherfucker," tobey sang when he picked up.
"you're in a chipper mood," jade mumbled. "where the fuck are you?"
"i'm heading to your place, dickhead. bringing over some coffee from la cabra."
"jeez, that's awfully nice of you."
"hell yeah it is. god, you sound terrible, dude. you losing your touch? can't handle nights out like you used to?"
"ha-ha," jade responded flatly, getting up and shuffling towards his bathroom, stopping at the sink. "i don't fucking lose my touch, okay?"
"sure, sure," jade could hear the smile in tobey's voice. "hey, speaking of touch, i saw you getting handsy with lance's secretary last night at the club. did you...?"
the sensation of cold water being splashed onto his face silenced him for a second. "not that it's any of your business," jade started, "but honestly, i have no fucking idea."
tobey laughed. "of course it's my fucking business, man, i'm the one who's always on the lookout for your litany of jealous ex-flings and new things when we're out. am i not always giving you a heads-up when we run into any of them?"
jade wiped his face sloppily with a towel, avoiding eye contact with his reflection. "dude, you're making me sound like every woman's fucking worst nightmare or something."
"and?"
"fuck you."
"lighten up, mr. casanova," tobey snorted. "not your fault you're a selfish prick."
"makes me feel much better, thank you, tobey," jade rolled his eyes, wandering into his living room. his brand-new plush leather couch looked pretty damn nice against the sunlight streaming in from his floor-to-ceiling windows. from where he stood, he could see the whole of manhattan, sixty floors up. this made him feel better.
"not sure why i'm telling you this," he sighed. "but i had the nightmare again."
a pause. "the one about the crows?"
jade let out a bitter laugh, cursing himself for how stupid and childish he was sounding right now. "yeah, that one."
"was it the same as the others?" tobey asked.
"uh, yeah kinda," jade replied, gazing out at the city, his fingers tapping his favorite classical melody onto the glass. "they're still laughing at me, still...mocking me," he spat out the last part, like he could literally taste the darkness of his bizarre recurring dreams. "i'm still lost in this...forest, unable to find a way out."
tobey said: "i think you're just too stressed, dude. you work yourself to the bone and i think your dreams are trying to tell you something."
jade scoffed. "so, what, you think i should take a vacation? tobey, nightfall systems will literally die without me. this is my fucking child; my life's work."
"yes yes yes, you're the genius overlord, blah blah. but du--jade, exactly. you've worked your whole life at this and you're successful and rich as fuck. you could do whatever you want. do something different. see the world. you could go back to france and fuckin' stay there for months drinking wine and serenading the woodland creatures with your violin."
out of the corner of his eye, jade caught a glimpse of the one framed photo in his penthouse apartment; the one image that was not a piece of abstract art he'd bought on a whim at the gallery or the auction. in it, he was ten years old, hair wild, big toothy smile, standing next to his grandmother, her kind eyes glimmering behind her glasses -- or at least they seemed to.
a familiar pain spread across jade's chest. "yeah, i don't know, pal," he stated softly. "see you in a bit."
*********************
the nightfall systems office had grown from a small rented warehouse space in park slope into a multi-floor dominating force in one of the swankiest skyscrapers in downtown manhattan. all this space and all this room, and yet, jade had rarely ever explored it beyond his executive suite.
that's where he was now, staring out the window of his corner office at the towering skyline, tapping a pen against his lips with one hand, other hand gripping the vape he kept in his pants pocket. he wanted to use it and he wanted to use it bad -- if only these idiots would just lea--
"mr. herrera?"
jade snapped his head back towards the table he was sitting at, meeting the six pairs of eyes in front of him gazing back expectedly.
"uh, yeah, yeah sure, whatever's best," he waved his hand at them.
"so, just to be clear, sir, you're approving the launch of the new CRM software?"
"yes, isn't that what i just said?"
the employee whose name escaped jade cleared his throat. "of course, sir. um, we took the liberty of brainstorming a few names for the software, and were hoping for your input."
the CEO sighed. "go ahead, make it quick, please. i have things to do."
another employee jumped in: "mr. herrera, we were thinking of names that we felt might exude a caring, perhaps almost motherly or nurturing energy. we felt like that would match what nightfall is aiming to achieve with this new software, which, of course, helps integrate and streamline the impo--"
"please, just get on with it," jade interrupted. "you don't have to tell me what my software does, i know what it does."
"of--of course, sir. um. so, here are some names we are proposing. ruth..."
"no."
"...alice..."
"no."
"...norah..."
"no."
"...tabitha."
a pause. "hm," jade mumbled, tilting his head, letting the sound of the name ring in his ears. "maybe."
he could almost hear the sigh of relief that washed over his team of developers. "yeah," he continued under his breath. "maybe." his employees knew that was as close to a "yes" as they were going to get. he continued louder: "okay, get back to work everyone, clear out, i got shit to do."
the team muttered quick, anxious words of thanks before filing out of his office.
jade pressed the button under his desk that let down the privacy screens of his office window, enveloping him and the room in a blanket of darkness.
as he puffed on his vape, jade leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, his favorite violin concerto by elgar flooding his ears from his speakers behind him.
he went to the place he always found himself drifting off to when the life he'd made for himself got too noisy. behind his hazel eyes he saw a forest, like the one by his grandmother's old house. it was a little misty, and the air smelled of fresh rain. he could feel the rough bark of the tree his hand was resting against, the dense, damp soil beneath his bare feet. someone called out his name; a familiar, sweet, lilting voice, telling him to come back inside for dinner, and he could almost taste it...
a loud ringing from his intercom yanked him back into his dark room. jade groaned in annoyance for what seemed to be the millionth time that day, finger landing on the right button with ease, even in the dark.
"jesus christ, what the fuck is it?" he asked loudly. "can't i get one fucking minute to myself?"
"s-sorry, mr. herrera, your two o'clock is here."
"god dammit, chelsea, didn't i tell you that i don't want any meetings on tuesdays?"
"yes, you did, sir, but you also told me that you didn't want any meetings on fridays either, and when i asked if i could move your friday meeting with mr. henderson to today, you said yes, so i--"
jade shut his eyes exhaled long and hard through his nose. "alright, alright, i get it," he stopped her, "send him in."
"right away, mr. herrera."
"oh, and chelsea?"
"yes sir?"
"get me and mr mccray our table at bemelmans tonight."
*********************
tobey's voice grew muffled, blending into the soft jazz playing over the speakers in the bar. jade stared at the large block of ice in his glass of whiskey as he swirled it around.
"dude!"
"hm?" jade's eyes shifted back to his friend.
"are you even listening to me?"
"clearly, no." he replied, taking a sip of his drink.
"what's with you today, man?" tobey asked after a swig of beer. "you're like, super distracted or something. i heard from gavin that you looked like you couldn't care less during the CRM software pitch."
jade snorted. "trust gavin to come running to mommy whenever he feels his work is going unnoticed."
tobey rolled his eyes. "come on, jade. i know you're not the fucking mr. rogers of tech CEOs, but..."
"but what?"
"i don't know. i know you hate hearing this, but it's like i said to you earlier this morning. i think you're burnt out and your heart's not in it anymore. i know you built this company and you're the brains behind it and everything, but can you really kid yourself and say that you still love the work? that you look forward to coming to the office? that you're excited about board meetings and shareholder briefings and all that? tell me the truth. as my friend."
a silence, uncomfortable and expectant, hovered between the two men. jade looked at his friend intently, and tobey found himself gripping his beer bottle more tightly than usual. depending on his mood (which often swung like a goddamn pendulum), jade didn't always do well with these kinds of heart-to-heart talks.
"fuck, man, say something," tobey blurted out. "if you want me to shut up and never talk about this again, fair game, dude, but say something."
"i think you're right." jade mumbled. very quietly.
"...what?"
"i said, i think you're right."
"one more time, i need to record this."
"fuck you," jade laughed, a real laugh, for the first time that day. "don't make me repeat it."
before tobey could respond, jade continued: "i think i want to sell nightfall."
tobey blinked. "you want to sell your company?"
jade nodded, signaling to the bartender for another round of drinks. "yep. i want to sell. my. company," he said the last words slowly, like he was adjusting to their weight as he was saying them. "wow," he grinned. "that feels kinda good to say."
"i'm still processing. hold on."
"process faster, motherfucker, this is real," jade playfully slapped his friend on the cheek. "i thought you'd be happy about this."
"i am," tobey batted his hand away. "this is the right thing to do, man. for you."
"yeah."
"when did you decide?"
"just now. when you were talking my ear off about something boring."
"that is so fucking you, dickwad."
"that's the thing. everything is just so noisy all the time. i think i used to love it, but..." a fresh pour of whiskey arrived in front of him, and he immediately gulped it down. "i don't think i do anymore. i don't think i crave the numbers and the data and the product expansions and the fucking optimization workflows and all that shit anymore."
"what do you crave, then?"
jade stopped to think. it was a good question. "i don't know," he admitted. "but i would like to find out."
tobey smiled. he raised his beer. "here's to finding out?"
"to finding out," jade smiled back, raising his glass.
glasses emptied once again, jade called for another round. "you know," he said to tobey. "i'll see to it that new leadership keeps you on. best fuckin' CFO they could ever want this side of the mississippi."
tobey shook his head. "respectfully, mr. herrera, i'm not working there if you're not there."
"oh?"
"i'll stay on for as long as it's necessary to ensure handover goes smoothly and everything, but i don't want to be anybody else's CFO. maybe i'll go start my own firm, like i've talked about sometimes."
"like you've talked about when you're high off your ass?"
"exactly."
a small smile spread across jade's face. tobey thought he saw a glassy shimmer of what could have been gratitude, or perhaps even love, in his eyes, but it faded as quickly as it appeared. "well," he started, "speaking of high off your ass, i already know what we're gonna do to celebrate."
"do tell."
"i'm getting us shrooms from my best guy and i'm taking your ass to miami, bitch," tobey grinned.
they raised their drinks once more, unable to stop themselves from smiling, wordlessly exchanging excitement for what was ahead.
maybe, jade thought, maybe the nightmares will stop now.
This was excellent! It gave Jade depth and more of an interesting backstory the show hasn't/won't get/gotten to, it gave Tobey a personality and voice, and now what happened to him is sad all over again. THIS is the kind of stuff the show is missing.
saw this on Insta and the idea that people who are anti-AI are just using it anyway like... willing to give it up? I ACTIVELY AVOID THAT SHIT BUD! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN TALKING ABOUT?
ALSO
It's not as if this shit has been around SOOO LONG. We all existed JUST FINE before this shit became THE THING someone decided to shove in our face like...
It's funny, because for many other similar problematic products/services, there is actually a meaningful claim of hypocrisy that can be made (like driving a petrol car and arguing against fossil fuels). It's always a facetious claim, very much in the vein of the old '"We should improve society somewhat" "And yet you participate in society"' claim, but at least the apparent contradiction is there.
Which I think is why the techbros think that the same applies for AI, when it is just not essential in the same way. They can't conceive that the opponents of wide-spread GenAI use aren't 'hypocritical' in the same way.
Abso-fucking-lutely! Beyond tired of stupid AI "tips" and "points" that do nothing but get in the way, make everything harder, way, way more annoying, freeze the pages because stupid AI stopped working - the list goes on for miles. If AI suddenly disappeared from the world life would be a whole lot better, jobs would be simpler, and people would have to use their brains again.
quarterly reminder that if i reblog something ai-generated it is 110% and always an accident and for the love of god please tell me so i can delete it from my blog
Imagine using AI for creative writing🤭🤭How EMBARRASSING. Like you can't do that yourself?? What a LOSER. "Oh but I-" I DON'T CARE. CAPITAL L-O-S-E-R. Pathetic even. What a sad sad thing to do.
Anyone that relies on ChatGPT or any other AI to do their writing for them is pathetic and a loser. 😂🫵🏻
