Don't Feed The Artist

I place for things I like. Poetry, cats, anime, astrology, tarot, and herbology. ☕️ sweetiesshortstories.tumblr.com for my short stories

[indianascones]

Why Are They Releasing the Epstein Files Now? Well, I was right about the world being ran by pedophiles so come hither, people.

If you want to get straight to why the files have been released, scroll to the green

As a victim of CSA I've always known there are more pedophiles than people want to acknowledge and I've always known they thrived due to power. When I wrote my first blog post in high school (so '04/'05) on misogyny being a cover for pedophilia, I was harassed, mocked, threatened, called an "edgelord" because "pick-me" wasn't commonly used at the time.

Everyone assumed i was saying misogyny didn't exist when in fact I was arguing it did exist, just not for the reasons commonly believed. Misogyny didn't stem from men feeling emasculated, threatened, feeling jealous, feeling superior. Of course those things still exist within misogyny, but the real root of misogyny is men wanting access to kids.

If women can work, earn money, own property, decide if she'll complete a pregnancy, we're taking away a predator's prey. We're blocking them. If a woman can leave her abusive husband, that means she can keep her kids away from him, she can keep her kids away from men. Why are single fathers celebrated and single mothers condemned? Because a single mother has the audacity to keep her kids away from men, how dare she.

We are the only species that exhibits pedophilia. There are no cases of grown lions pursuing and attempting to mate with cubs, no cases of bears doing it, even dolphins which are notorious ocean rapists, monkeys, it's never once been witnessed and/or documented in nature anywhere else. This is the defect in humans.

This is the result of the natural order being disrupted by the patriarchy. Inadequate genes have been passed down by inadequate men because women weren't legally allowed to choose.

Now that I've done a small re-dive back into my post from 20 yrs ago, let's get current.

Why Now? Why are they releasing these files that they've had this entire time?

Get ready for this, you're gonna hate it.

It's because the water is already gone.

Yup.

It's gone.

Stay with me here, you're gonna hate this, too.

You remember how Billie Eilish accepted an award wearing an outfit that costs more than the average American's salary, and she went on stage and said "Fuck ICE!" and everyone cheered and she smiled and went back to her seat? You know what that was, right?

She's securing her access to water. Access for her family and the people that work for her.

See, all of her brainwashed fans can now feel cozy when they stream her music because remember, we don't do physical media anymore, this isn't about album sales. We know that dedicated fandoms will stream their favorite artists music on multiple devices all day just to boost their numbers because streams pay. What Billie Eilish just did was secure a fat bag by virtue signaling on-stage while actually doing nothing.

And other's have done this, too. Mark Ruffalo, Zara Larsson, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Dean, Shaboozey, Justin Vernon, and these are just a few.

Here's where some basic math comes in,

and you're gonna wanna skip this but don't. It's simple, and important.

Sabrina Carpenter has 49.6 Million followers on IG and 36.7 Million on Tiktok.

Mark Ruffalo has roughly 21 Million followers on IG and his last live reportedly pulled 20,553,725 viewers

Shaboozey 1.4 Million on IG and 1.26 Million on Tiktok

Billie Eilish has 124 Million followers on IG

So all of the people here listed have the same perspective, yet they aren't working together and trying to unite their fanbase? In the amount of time it took Billie Eilish and Olivia Dean to thank everyone and condemn ICE, they could've said "Nation wide strike starting on Z date. spread the word" But they didn't.

They could be going live together on IG and Tiktok, spreading the message, organizing, empowering, getting everyone on the same page but they aren't.

Why?

They're securing their access to water while we argue about the Epstein files. The water is gone.

The water is gone.

Economists are predicting we have 5 yrs left, but they're estimating that based on the info available and what did Trump do? He messed with FEMA, EPA, NOAA, and several other departments that provide live information on the environment. So economists are working with tainted data and they're wrong.

The water is gone.

The celebrities are dancing for your applause and parroting internet slogans because they are taking the money you gave them and securing their access to water.

That is why the files have been released.

They're taking the water and they're going to control us with it. Flint Michigan was a test. They're going to starve us all down. Water is food, it's plants, it's nourishment, water is LIFE and it's GONE.

NOW.

WAKE UP. The pedophiles are buying all the water and opening Data centers for the rest. They are going to kill us. They need to shrink the lower class because there are too many of us. They are going to kill us.

Our water is GONE

The pedophiles are going to KILL US ALL

They learned from the French Revolution, they aren't going to let us get hungry enough to attack, they're taking our water NOW and it's GONE.

[indianascones]

Beauty and the Beast film 4

Beauty and the Beast 2005 AKA Blood of Beasts

SPOILERS ahead

This film is terrible, I love it. Everything that doesn't work is what makes the film iconic. This is my 3rd watch and it's everything I remember. This is a Viking version of the fairytale, Belle is Freya, the daughter of the clan chief and she's set up to marry one of the best warriors in the clan, Sven. He's a total douche. Unfortunately for Sven, Freya is in love with a childhood friend that went missing on this "legendary" island. So like, Sven, the chief and all the other Vikings go to island to kill the "beast". Freya tells Sven she'll marry him IF her father returns safely, SPOILER he doesn't. Sven is a douche, as previously mentioned, and he intended the entire time to usurp the throne. So during the fight he abandons the chief, sails back home and declares him dead.

Freya is like, fuck this, she and her lady in waiting person go the island to make sure her father isn't still alive. And yup, he is. This is also where we get our forced proximity. The Beast and Freya grow close, but back home Sven is getting clowned and looked at like a coward, so they go back to island to rescue Freya.

The ending of this lowkey pisses me off because it's so unnecessarily dramatic for no motherfuckin reason. Ok, so the Vikings "rescue" Freya, they kill the Beast and set him on fire then sail back home. Somehow this fuckin means that they need to get married. This is when the Beast reappears, I guess he didn't stay dead because he's a beast due to a curse from Odin? They never clarify exactly how he came back from multiple arrows and being lit on fire. Anyway, he challenges Sven during the wedding and reveals DUN DUN he's Freya's missing childhood friend, Agnar and is worthy of the challenge. They fight, Freya jumps in to protect the Beast, gets stabbed and dies, but her sacrifice lifts Odin's curse. The final scenes of the film are of her Viking funeral. NO happily ever after.

Facts:

Genre: British South-African Adventure Film (idk that's what it says) Directed by: David Lister Starring: Jane March and David Dukas

Fun fact: this movie poster contributed to the films poor reviews, it was giving Lord of the Rings apparently and obviously, this is nothing close.

Anyway, visually, the film isn't terrible. It's very 2005, and you'll know what that means soon if you don't already. I have to believe they also had a very decent budget because there are scenes in different locations, they even have sailing scenes, the costumes are also mostly well done. But the hair.

Yall. The hair.

Look at that man's weave, and yea that's SVEN. That's the man that thinks he's the prize, that's Gaston. They didn't give him a wig that's a literal weave and in certain scenes you can see the tracks.

Look at that mop head in the middle omfg 😭 the BANGS. But look at how good the costumes look. But also, look at how cute the dude on the far right is with his fancy Viking mullet.

Visuals: 3.5/5 cuz the hairrrrrr

Freya our "Belle" isn't a typical damsel in distress so that's cool. She calls out all the men for having the nerve to return unscathed while their king is missing and then goes out on her own. She not only finds her father where he's being held in a cage by the Beast, but she fights the Beast. Ultimately, she takes her father's place as his prisoner after this fight.

Belle: 4/5

I like the Beast here because he truly is beast like. He's this weird ass bear hybrid so immediately I'm into it. He also has this really deep, and gravelly voice. I think they do a great job portraying someone that's not quite human or animal. We also get these flashbacks from him periodically, so they start breadcrumbing early on that he's the missing friend.

Beast: 4/5

Now the acting isn't the greatest, but I truly enjoyed watching the romance bloom between Freya and Beast. I wish it had lasted longer, but we learn that the Beast has this all planned. The reason he didn't kill the chief was because he was planning on Vikings returning and killing him. But when Freya arrives and he recognizes her necklace, he decides to keep her to lure warriors in. He wants to die but can't take his own life. We get this really cute playful scene between them where we can see how close they've really grown, and then that's when the Vikings arrive and take Freya back, leaving the island on fire.

Chemistry: 5/5

The final scene is heartbreaking. Especially when he reveals his identity and demands to challenge Sven for Freya's hand in marriage. The fight is brutal, and while Sven does die, so does Freya. She's held in the arms of the Beast, she professes her love and right before her eyes she sees the curse lift and gets to see Agnar one last time. I will say, it gets weird when you realize the wedding dress looks like it's from David's Bridal but it's a really good scene outside of that. I don't like the ending for obvious reasons, but it worked, I guess.

Prince reveal was ok. David Dukas is a handsome dude but they had him in a really bad plastic wig and tbh it kinda ruined the sentimental moment of Freya dying lol It was just so jarring and the fact that I can find pictures of everyone else on set EXCEPT him, leads me to believe they realized the same thing.

Prince reveal: 1/5

I've liked this film for a long time despite not liking the way it ends. It's a love story and NOT a romance. If I wrote it, Sven would've died like the little shit head he is, the curse would've remained so Agnar would stay a hot bear hybrid, and they would have married. Yayyyyyy but that's not at all what we get.

Overall: 4.2/5 would recommend.

You can watch it for frees on the Tubi

[indianascones]

Beauty and the Beast Film 3

Beauty and the Beast 1962

I definitely enjoyed this adaption. It's set in the Middle Ages which is an amazing backdrop for all of this. The costumes are fun, colorful, the dresses are whimsical and sparkle. There's no prince reveal in this version because our Beast, Duke Eduardo, only transforms into a monster at night. When the sun goes down, the palace is emptied, and he locks himself in the dungeon. It's set in Italy which gives the entire movie an almost Romeo and Juliet feel to it. Our Belle, Lady Althea is played by Joyce Taylor, and she just serves looks the entire film pretty much. But first,

Facts:

Genre: Romantic Fantasy Director: Edward L Cahn Starring: Joyce Taylor and Mark Damon

Her entire wardrobe in this movie is stunning; I would love a deep dive into the set of this film. She was a pleasure to watch on screen, I liked the array of accents, too. Transatlantic, and some with a tinge more of English.

Belle: 5/5

So our "Prince" is pretty cute. Like I said we don't get a reveal in this version because we meet him as Duke Eduardo and find out he has a "terrible secret". He was cursed by a sorcerer so every night when the sun sets he turns into a beast. However, he's engaged to Lady Althea who knows he's hiding something, she goes looking for him so we get a reveal in that sense.

Now, you know I love my beasts but yea this was a disappointment. The reveal was funny though. Althea is creeping around the castle and sees the duke's manservant with a tray. She follows him and opens the dungeon door, the duke is fully transformed eating a piece of toast and she faints. Hilarious. That scene alone is worth the watch. Just look at his face 😭

Beast: 0/5 sadly, but just wait.

The chemistry between them is believable. Their onscreen kiss is so cute and it looked natural. There was definitely a gradual build up during their in-screen interactions.

Look at the way she's looking at him! They have amazing on-screen chemistry. Huge fan of this. And speaking of chemistry, I'm adding a new category especially for this film. It's our rescue category and it lowkey makes up for the terrible Beast costume design.

So, Lady Althea is sleeping, and these dudes break in. She's wearing her necklace, it's a gift from the duke, they're going to get married the next day, she's pumped. She wakes up to this total creep bending over her with his hands around her neck, she panics and screams and yea, the duke comes in, FULL beast mode, fucks both of the dudes up. Look

Chemistry: 5/5

Damsel in Distress: 4.1/5

The film has the classic mob attack, which forces Lady Althea to confess her love and that breaks the spell. The film ends with them kissing in a chapel and then the storybook that says "Happily Ever After".

Super cute, would recommend. I definitely don't think this is a film everyone can appreciate, you have to enjoy films from the 60's to a degree to enjoy this. You can watch it in black and white or color, I watched it in color on MGM+.

[indianascones]

Beauty and the Beast Film 2

I would like to open this post and say I do not recommend this film to anyone, ever. I am a researcher; it is in my Sagittarius nature to inspect things and go places few go so I can return with knowledge. Therefore, I have no regrets, but if you watch it with any type of expectation whatsoever, you're gonna have a bad time. There is no part of the film that is enjoyable.

Per usual, expect spoilers.

Spike 2008

The plot of this actually isn't terrible, it had potential, but I am not the audience for how it was executed. I almost thought it was satire at first but during my research that never came up even once. Basically, our "Belle" met this spiked creature as a kid, they became friends, but she moved away. The film opens with her on a road trip with her friends, sleeping in the backseat when they lose a tire or something and become stranded in a haunted forest. "Belle" has a boyfriend, and he gets injured badly, she takes off running at some point and gets separated from her friends. This is how she runs into the "Beast", Spike. She gets bitten by a snake, Spike rips off all of her clothes (i'm dead serious it just randomly shows her titties for no reason) and uses herbs and one of his spikes to heal her. We learn they have a pre-existing relationship, and this is where things take the "dark" turn. He loves her, doesn't want her to leave, her boyfriend is critically injured, her other friends are having a meltdown at the car, she tries to kill Spike at some point too and he's like "Oh really? I'm gonna disfigure your boyfriend." And that whole scene is just kinda, like wtf lol.

Facts:

Category: Horror-Romance Film Directed by: Robert Beaucage Starring: Sarah Livingston-Evans and Edward Gusts

I wasn't super impressed with the visuals in this one, it all fell flat. I read that the directors and producers refused to use any CGI because they wanted a more authentic/realistic look. It's worth noting I have no idea about the budget for the film, I looked but couldn't find anything concrete. The film takes place at night, the poster above is from the final scene of the movie and it's the only time we get any real light. It gives "Friday the 13th" vibes with how dark and rural the scenery is.

Visuals: 1/5

I always appreciate when films go against the traditional beast design, which is usually feline based. It's something new and refreshing. I definitely saw what they were going for here with the design, but it just looks like a porcupine man to me. He still came through as a sympathetic character, but the acting as a whole wasn't happening anywhere in the film. Not a soul could act. I'm sure they did this for free, and this was filmed very quickly with few retakes so I shouldn't be too harsh. I just didn't buy their relationship, they didn't mesh well on camera.

Beast: 2.3/5 Belle: 1/5

There were dream sequences and a porcupine man, but the magic just wasn't there. The background was pretty much what's in the picture. it was either pitch black or dead foliage. There was no enchantment or mysticism, but it did give old school horror movie vibes.

Enchanted Forest Aesthetic: 1.5/5 No Enchantment detected

So the chemistry is that there was none. You know how some women are like "my favorite type of man is starving anemic Victorian ghost"? Spike is kind of like that in a desperate, desocialized way. He was just so sad, and pitiful. There's this part where he's confessing his love to her and she says, "Of course you love me, I'm the only woman you've ever talked to." BOMBASTIC I couldn't. She just roasted him like that. And not only that, she gave him the Omni-man and told him that she loved him LIKE A PET.

Romance/Chemistry: 0/5

For this film, there was no Prince reveal, there was no happily ever after. The end of the film is actually in the first movie poster at the top of this post. She falls trying to escape him, he moves to catch her, so they end up falling together, and he kills her with his spikes on the impact. It's actually tragic, despite the movie being mostly a dumpster fire I did find the closing scene impactful in that tragic romance way.

Prince Reveal: N/A 0/5

It's worth noting that while this film wasn't for me, Google says it won several awards in different contests upon its release so I very well may not be the right audience, period, for this. I take labels and categories seriously, so when I see phrases like "gothic fairytale" and "horror romance" I'm expecting for the monster to win. Him being left alone again was very sad and "horror-romance" isn't accurate, it should be "horror love-story" because they don't end up together. And I'm always team monster, I go into these films as team monster so I was disappointed by the end. The symbolism was obvious, there doesn't need to be a think piece on it.

It's currently available on Tubi

Overall rating: 1.8/5

[indianascones]

Beauty and the Beast Film 1

I decided to watch as many renditions of Beauty and the Beast as possible. I enjoy the trope, always have, I'm mentally ill and probably hyper fixating but in this economy, it's a survival tactic.

Prince reveal at the end.

And of course, this will include spoilers.

la Belle et la Bete 1946

Starting with the original movie poster, love it. I've never been one of those millennials that are into movie posters, I know that was a pretty big piece of millennial culture, but it never appealed to me. This though, I would put on my wall. Love the art style, the soft colors, the black background, and I'm not sure if it makes sense, but it's so absolutely French, I love it.

Quick Facts:

Genre: French Surrealist romantic fantasy film Director: Jean Cocteau (he's also a poet) Starring: Josette Day and Jean Marais Subtitled: Yes Dubbed: Unknown Adaption: Beauty and the Beast 1757 by Jeanne Marie Leprince de Beaumont

If you're familiar with the 1757 Beauty and the Beast skip this paragraph. The plot is a struggling merchant father leaves to retrieve his riches and restore his family's place in society. Before he leaves, he asks his children what they want brought back, Belle asks for a rose since they don't grow in their region. Her sisters ask for like, a parrot and something else that's boujie and makes no sense. Well, the business venture doesn't go well, the dad gets lost, stumbles onto the enchanted castle where he's provided food and shelter. All is good. He goes to leave and before he does, he plucks a rose for his daughter and that's where it begins. The beast is offended; he provided so much and still the man dared to steal something so precious from him? He tells Belle's father he has to die unless someone else can take his place. The Beast provides an enchanted horse to take the man home to say goodbye to his family, and Belle sneaks off during the night to take her father's place.

The fairy tale visuals. It is a black and white film, and I can only imagine what the set would look like in color. Despite that, visually I would say the film was still beautiful and even captivating. You can tell there was a lot of thought put into several scenes, from lighting, camera angle, and the mood comes through beautifully in them.

Visuals: 4.3/5

Both actors served face, and I was impressed by Jean Marais's ability to express so much through his eyes and through the prosthetics. I have no idea what the technology was in the 40's for prosthetics but I bet it wasn't fun or easy to act with.

Belle: 5/5 Beast: 5/5

Instead of walking candlesticks and clocks we get these arms that sprout from the table and the walls. It adds a nice gothic touch to the story and a sense of isolation. Really putting nothing between Belle and the Beast.

There's no one to mediate for them, they have to do it themselves. It's important to note here for American watchers, you're gonna laugh the very first time the Beast speaks. Because I warned you, you're gonna try not to, but you will.

I'm stuck on the visuals and how eerily romantic so many of the scenes were. I truly advise watching this with your phone OFF if you aren't accustomed to BW films. Let your mind adjust to this calmer form of media and jump into the story. There's not a ton of flashing colors, bustling background music, fast scene switches, but what you get is a beautiful representation of living poetry where they allow emotion to breathe through silence. You're not told how to feel in every scene by gentle music.

Castle Aesthetic: 5/5

My overall sentiments on the romance were that I found it sweet and believable. There was chemistry between the leads, and I found the close ups of their expressions very intimate in that classic silver screen way. They have a soft way of speaking and focus intently on eye contact which does create a gentle atmosphere perfect for a forced proximity love story.

Romance and Chemistry: 4/5

The villains of this adaption are mostly Belle's family and this guy here who's essentially Gaston. They have limited on-screen time and as a result I think it makes them forgettable, however, I like the focus being on the romance. They storm the castle at the end and kill the beast, he's of course revived when Belle finds him and confesses her love.

Villain: 2.5/5

WTF Moments:

As much as I enjoyed this film, it had its moments where I couldn't help but to laugh. Personally, it made the watch experience more enjoyable.

And now, the Prince Reveal. I found the way this reveal happened to be kind of funny. He pretty much just shed his costume and was like "Ta-da!"

TA-DA!

Ok, no before we go crazy on this let's remember this film is from 1946 and let's give credit for the prince's outfit being accurate for the period it's placed in. Per my beast tendencies I can't approve of this human prince, and it's worth mentioning that my ratings for the human prince will always be biased.

Prince reveal: 0/5 but hilarious reveal

Anyway, here are a few more scenes I enjoyed.

I feel like his eyes say so much here and his expression comes through beautifully. Ah! Big fan, this was an adorable beast.

So yea, no regrets, enjoyed this a ton. It's very romantic, gothic/noir, and while it is a product of its time, it captured really amazing visuals with the technology they had. Just the scene of Belle running back to the castle alone is breathtaking.

If you like classic films, I recommend this.

Currently available on HBOMAX but I'm sure you can get creative and find it online easily.

[indianascones]

I Manage to Make Everything Awkward and I Regret Nothing

A friend convinced me to go out even though I really didn't want to.

Friend: See! This is fun, right?

Me: It's not bad. I still wish I had been successful in killing myself, but this is okay too, I guess.

Bartender: 😐

Friend: 😠

Me: Can I get extra cherries in my drink?

[indianascones]

Handmaid's Tale Finale Cuz I Have Too Many Feelings but Also Not Enough and I Need to Let It Out

So, here we are. What a shit ass ending amirite?

This entire season felt like a group project where everyone used different source material. But before I start my traditional venting let's get into Episode 610 of The Handmaid's Tale.

Nick's Official Farewell

I didn't have a ton of feelings for Nick, so the montage didn't really work for me personally, however, it did fit. June as a character has lost a lot in this fight and despite how things ultimately went with Nick, he's the father of her child and they had a history. It was nice to see her character get the closure she needed in regard to him. In fact I argue she deserved to mourn more. I just PERSONALLY didn't like the screen time being wasted on him. Little did I know, it was far from the most wasteful scene of this episode. Very far.

Nick's Farewell: 🍅(cuz he's a fartknocker)

Emily's Return

I don't know if Emily was actually there or if the intent of this scene was June's character getting some type of closure. Either way, I would have rather this been left out. In real life Alexis Bledel (Emily) wanted out of the show which was why her character "returned to Gilead". Because that's the route the writers at the time took to write her character off, it seemed really out of place for her to be in the finale. Nothing against the actress, she's great, but the previous writers made a choice with her character, and we should've left it at that.

Emily materializing next to June to talk about ice cream and being grateful they could stand there at the wall together, didn't work for me. At all. She left her baby and her wife to return to Gilead, the place that "took her clit" as she famously said. She willingly went back to Gilead, now she's happy at its partial, VERY partial, downfall? It left me with more questions and didn't feel complete at all.

Emily's Return: 🍅🍅🍅

Karaoke Scene

Solid no for me. Way too cheesy, way too corny. If they wanted to bring back the previous actresses, fine, I'm with that, but they should have just filmed different scenes of them as handmaids with the song Landslide. That would have felt much more genuine, this felt...I hate to bring back such an old word but...hokey. Just, emotionally excessive.

This scene would have been better replaced by flashbacks from previous seasons. It's a classic network TV move for the last episode but it lands because we as an audience were THERE when those moments happened. That's why it works. The karaoke scene was fabricated, so emotionally it wasn't compelling. It took me out of the show and that happened a lot this episode.

Scene: 🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅

Serena's Apology

June needed it, but I didn't like it. It wasn't enough for me. SHE HELD JUNE DOWN SO HER HUSBAND COULD RAPE HER INTO EARLY LABOR. Fucking PERIOD. Ok and a 3 second tearful apology on the very last episode wasn't enough for me. To this DAY I still have to skip that episode. Once was enough. This was rushed and felt like an afterthought.

Serena's Apology: 🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅

Janine's Return

Janine is cool and all as a character, but I never cared enough for her to be moved by her return. I knew it wasn't going to be Hannah, again, the spin-off, especially after the men dropped her and walked away, but it was a dick move for the writers and the creators. We're nearing the end of the episode, and they drop this reveal and it's fucking Janine. Like...and maybe I'm just so pissed about this season that nothing will make me happy, it just seemed like a "fuck you". And then reuniting Janine with her kid RIGHT IN FRONT OF JUNE. But hang on cuz that get it's own rating.

Janine's Return: 🍅🍅

Janine and Charlotte

This pissed me off because Janine was hardly in Charlotte's life. Every time she got a chance to be it was cut short. But yet Charlotte is happy and giggling? I'm not saying she can't remember Janine at all, but when we look at how much Hannah forgot, it just doesn't seem likely Charlotte would be completely at ease. I wish this reunion had been done another way because this one was really poorly written, again giving "afterthought" vibes.

It would've been better if Janine had been brought back in an earlier episode so they could have reunited her with Charlotte on the finale. With all the time they wasted this episode with slow motion and pointless close ups, they could have made a really emotional reunion between Janine and Charlotte that felt authentic and compelling.

Janine & Charlotte Reunion: 🍅🍅🍅

All in all, I felt like this was a wasted finale. This entire season felt like a transplant; it didn't blend with previous seasons at all. There was a lot of mimicking this season, repetitive camera angles, declarations, intense close ups, but nothing felt right. Everything felt off. It was obvious there were new writers, it felt rushed. As a viewer I can tell they're ready to move on to the spin-off The Testaments. Not a great feeling.

It was lazy, they burned screen time with close ups, slow motion, long drawn own monologues. And those things would have been ok had we gotten more closure. This entire season felt like we were being herded into the spin-off. It truly didn't need to be 10 episodes.

And truthfully, I was so mad at the final episode I couldn't even post this. This was written with minutes of finishing the finale at like 4am, but I was so mad at it, that I didn't want to review this and edit it, so I just didn't post it.

This was insulting. I'm tired of wasting time on shows for them to throw the towel in and leave us with screwed up ending. I have so many more feelings on this sort of thing but I'll make that its own post.

Overall season: 🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅

[indianascones]

Handmaid's Tale EP609

Spoilers

Prior to the writer's strike and the large gap in production, I covered Handmaid's Tale a lot and was looking forward to doing that with this final season. However, it's been a pretty unsatisfactory season. BUT, I want to stick Episode 9 for right now since it's the first time this entire season I've felt compelled to write about it at all. So I'm basically just gonna talk about the main course of this episode.

Let's start with the unsung hero, Luke:

Very happy they gave him a win, he needed it. In the previous season the writers seemed to sow a disconnect between June and Luke where they were most implying June was so permanently altered from life in Gilead that her bond with Luke was severed. All in all, very satisfied with the entire scene and how it played out, Rita having a gun, Luke making headshots, Aunt Lydia rebelling. This was a huge win for Luke's character especially considering the end of the episode.

Hero Luke: 0/🍅 and 3/💓💓💓

Commander Lawrence:

A tragically flawed and morally gray character. Honestly, one of the best morally gray characters I've seen in a long time. Lawrence was a man that attempted to push science with religion. He couldn't organize people to care about air quality, water quality, declining birth rates, so he used religion as the vehicle and quickly lost control of the car. Do I agree with what he did? No. Do I understand it? Yes. As someone that is also passionate about the environment and ethical consumption, I get it. Right idea, wrong method. Moving on...

This was his redemption, his sacrifice, I get it. But I feel like the reason Gilead continues for another 15 years after this (c'mon, you guy didn't really think Gilead was going to be dismantled with one episode left? Besides they already announced the sequel series so this isn't a spoiler) is because they lost their inside man. I respect the sacrifice, I like that he can now rest in peace with his wife, I just think it was too soon. His character would've known that and been able to get out of that situation. I know his death was necessary as well because noen of the commanders were on his side, he had no allies and was close to being on the wall.

Lawrence Death: 🍅🍅🍅 / 💓

Nick:

I was never a fan of his character, but even I can admit there was a serious character assassination this season. There were a lot of clues this season that there was a different writing team, but Nick's character downfall was certainly one of the biggest.

I want to break down his final scene as it's been a source of major discourse.

NO, I do not believe Nick knew what was about to happen. I do NOT believe his final conversation with Lawrence was a quiet acceptance of his fate.

Nick stalled before he got in the plane, you could see there was a discomfort. He didn't want to board. But once he saw Lawrence he relaxed, even made a smug remark about picking the "winning side". What I believe happened in that scene, is that Nick was anxious because of the attacks and he didn't want to be with the commanders, but once he saw Lawrence, it gave him a false sense of safety because certainly June and the Handmaids would NEVER sacrifice or risk Lawrence. But it also made him curious, because Lawrence wasn't supposed to be there so that meant something was going on that Nick didn't know about.

He can't blatantly ask Lawrence what's going on, he knows Lawrence doesn't care for him. The only thing those two men have in common is June and their care for her. But Nick is curious because Lawrence said "someone better than I" will be taking over his role in the plans. Nick breaks the ice by asking about June and receives a general response, it's short and Lawrence offers nothing else. Nick then decides to drop a few more June-bread-crumbs, saying June told him to get out and leave it behind several times. Lawrence's response is again short: "You should've listened."

It's there that people are speculating Nick realized what was happening and quietly accepted his fate. No. After seeing Nick crumble under Commander Wharton and sell out the Jezebel's plan there's no way I can believe that. What I believe happened is that he assumed something was going to happen in DC. Nick would never suspect an attack with Lawrence close by.

All in all, his death made sense because I knew the writers would never let their MC end up with a side piece. It also explains why they gave Luke the valiant redemption they did earlier in the episode. However, I am still not a fan of what they did to his character this season.

Nick Death: 0/🍅 / 💓💓 Nick Character Assassination: 🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅

Ok, that's all I have for the closing scene, what lays ahead is my ranting about the episode and some of the season. Proceed at your own risk.

June:

She's a very annoying MC to be honest but this season what irritated me was the overuse of closeups on her. I get it, in real life Elizabeth Moss was pregnant during filming, but still. There was really no other way for them to work around it? They couldn't write it in the show that she was pregnant again? It's not like they're following the book at this point. But they wasted countless minutes on closeups for no reason.

June's declarations essentially mean nothing at this point because they were overused in the earlier seasons. Every other episode there was a closeup on her face with a voiceover and nothing would happen. To have so much of season 6 wasted in that way was disappointing.

The same can be said with the other camera angles.

The aerial view of the handmaids walking, lining up, complete with haunting music and slow motion. It fell flat because we've seen it so many times and it was done so much better previously. Like the eye above. All of the gimmicks just came off as wastes of time which frankly is a slap in the damn face for people that have spent their limited free time on the show.

Speaking of the handmaids, what was up with the opening song for EP 609?? Were they fucking forreal? First of all, the music all sucked this season, it was all terrible, but that song was a joke.

Rescue Scene:

Ok wtf was the point of this scene? What do you mean Luke and Moira couldn't get out but June and Nick could get in AND out? Granted Nick had to kill someone on the way out, but make it make sense. It used to be impossible to pass between the borders and now people are just walking across. I was sure Nick was going to die in that scene because I knew once they made Luke the loyal husband that waited and also takes care of another man's baby, Nick was never going to be in the picture. But I just don't see what purpose that served unless the entire goal was to emasculate Luke with his wife's side piece. I'm sure they wanted to have at least one meeting between the two men before the show ended but it was poorly executed.

Possible Twists for Final episode:

What if Rose is mayday. In the books it's Nick that's mayday. But Rose insisted he go to DC, despite her pregnancy complications. Despite the death of 37 commanders. And she spent a lot of the season in DC herself. For what? What business does a married woman in Gilead have to do on her own, while she's pregnant, in DC? It seems likely Rose could be Mayday and she told Nick to get on the plane because she knew what was going to happen. Don't forget, Rose knew about Nick and June's relationship. And being Commander Wharton's daughter she would know Nick told her dad about Jezebel's.

OR

Nick actually WAS Mayday and it's revealed, leaving June wracked with guilt. It would explain why he sold out Jezebel's and why he self-preserved so hard. Because he wasn't just saving himself, he was saving all of Mayday, and Mayday is the only weapon they have against Gilead right now.

That's all for now. My mind is scattered. This season has been very poorly written, it's undone a lot of groundwork from previous seasons and it's honestly jarring.

[indianascones]

My Overcomplicated Thoughts on the Final Season of "You" part 2

Spoilers for season 5 of "You" ahead:

Ok, I'm back and it's time to address the elephant.

"Why am I in a cage when these crazies write all the depraved things they want me to do to them? Maybe we have a problem in our society. Maybe we should fix what's broken in us. Maybe the problem isn't me. Maybe it's you."

I have a love/hate relationship with this dialogue. It's very well done, Joe staring into the camera, peering into our frickin houses, it's a chilling reality check that SOME people needed. And you know who you are, ya McNasty's.

My problem is that it's the pot calling the kettle black. Netflix not only cast a conventionally attractive man in the role (objectively speaking), but they also intentionally made him appealing using all the tricks of soft lighting, the perfect angles because they thought they were being edgy. They didn't expect the horror girlies/dark romance girlies to lean into it because they (netflix) didn't know about them (creepy girls).

And because "fans" are overzealous and want to be noticed, they went on social media to get Penn Badgley's attention and dove headfirst into internet behavior. Penn of course takes the bait because hey, it promotes You, and he makes comical responses of mortification, has a few serious moments discussing it. So, the final season turned into a preachy soapbox where they just deflected responsibility and gaslit their audience.

HOWEVER

There is truth in Joe's final statement. There IS a problem in society. Why are so many people cheering for a killer? Why are more and more people interested in villains, their origins, backstories. Why are so many millennials and Gen-Z's looking at the villains in their childhood shows differently and seeing their side?

Because American society is broken and it fuckin sucks.

We want different. Our lives are hard, tiring, work and responsibility never ending. OUR PORTS ARE EMPTY. We live on a floating rock that provides food and water and we have to work under fluorescent lights or outside in the elements for 50+ hrs a week to buy those things BACK. It's fucking insane. So yea, fuck society, we want the killer to get his/hers/theirs.

We want someone that says "nah" and does what needs to be done. Joe is a pretty bad example but truthfully up until he killed Beck I thought we were going to have a morally gray protagonist. But we are tired of the rules, and tired of people playing by them. Society is HURTING.

Joe's final message is so close, the writers almost had it until that very intentional "fuck you" to the audience.

We deserve a proper, well rounded morally gray character. But they don't want to give us anything to idolize because it might backfire on them.

Idk, this might conclude my thoughts on season 5 for now. I'm coming down from a redbull high and I've been awake since 5:30a so it's hard to say.

[indianascones]

My Overcomplicated Thoughts on the Final Season of "You" part 1

Spoilers for season 5 of "You" ahead:

Let me save you the trouble of a disappointing read, I am not a fan of the final season. The performances were great, the storyline weak, chaotic, cheap, and dare I say, it almost gives AI.

Let me explain, in no particular order. Please observe the tomatoes.

To tie everything back to Beck, the "first girl" they used a character we never heard of until that moment, Bronte/Louise. It's a rushed attempt to force us to bond with the new character. That might have been successful had they properly cast Bronte. I have no beef with Madeline Brewer. She gives great performances every time she's on screen (hey Janine you look good with 2 eyes girl), but she did not fit this role. As a millennial, it was painful watching another millennial pretend to be Gen-Z. Her character was meant to be significantly younger than Joe, a "breath of fresh air" so to speak for the old tired married man, and it was giving "'peer". Bronte Casting: 🍅🍅🍅🍅

There was an overall shift to the vibe of the show that was painfully noticeable. While Joe always relied on technology and social media in previous seasons, it wasn't an overbearing force. It felt like the early days of FB and IG. He had his quiet little bookshop that was a step back in time in itself, and then it turned into what felt to be a skit. This final season felt like a massive jump into 2025. The podcast angle is cheap and lazy, and very overdone at this point. Ending the season with Joe getting his dick shot off and it being blasted all over the internet was like corny middle school fanfic. "And then everyone clapped" energy. Very teen rom/com wrap up. Vibe Shift: 🍅🍅

Bronte didn't deserve to be the last girl, not only did we have zero connection with her, but the Beck angle wasn't compelling enough. I didn't buy that their relationship was that close or deep. Not enough for her to uproot her life, assume a new identity, and stalk/provoke a serial killer. Hero Bronte: 🍅🍅🍅

And while I agree that Beck's title of the "first girl" does justify her death being Joe's downfall, I do still feel like Love marrying Joe and giving birth to their son Henry outranked her. Beck outright rejected Joe, Love embraced him for who he was. Love was crazy FOR Joe, but Joe was just crazy. Destined to repeat the endless cycle of seeking the honeymoon stage of relationships because as a killer he constantly needs thrill and all of those happy chemicals to feel anything. And loving Henry is loving his mother. Period. I DO like that Love's words came back with power, but it wasn't enough. I was disappointed to hear it was due to Penn Badgely's (Joe) wife. I don't want to know about anyone's personal life, I just want to enjoy content, and I feel robbed. Booo Beck being the Echo Girl of the Season: 🍅🍅🍅.5

Kate didn't deserve to live. She's a rotten nepobaby that hurt plenty of people. She isn't a hero. She was fine with Joe being a killer when she thought she could control it and command it, when she realized she couldn't, that's when she turned on him. Theo was right, everything Kate did was about self-preservation. Eat the rich. Whole basket of tomatoes. Kate living and experiencing happiness: 🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅

This season greatly missed:

This concludes part 1.

In part part 2 I will be addressing the overly preachy energy in season 5 and how overzealous fans ruin everything for the rest of us and OMFG why can't we get ONE good morally gray character FFS. If they had never taken Dexter away from us this wouldn't be happening!!!!

kthanks .

[indianascones]

What I learned in Psychology 101 has changed my perspective on life and love and I don't know where to go from here

Childhood abuse never goes away, and that's the worst part of it. It's as much a part of you as your skin, your nails, your teeth. Even when you've escaped your abuser you find them in other ways, in different places.

Abuse doesn't just scar you, leave you with PTSD/CPTSD, it doesn't just alter your attachment style. It gives you an entirely different perspective and relationship with yourself and the world.

Did you know when you're scared your brain releases the same chemicals it releases for arousal?

Norepinephrine. Adrenaline. Dopamine.

These chemicals dilate your pupils, increase your heart rate, change your blood flow, your breathing.

And if you're like me, this leads you into what they call in psychology, The Misattribution of Arousal.

To put it simply, your childhood was so traumatic the constant release of stress chemicals (cortisol, norepinephrine, adrenaline) rewired your entire brain. So now, when you meet someone and you're thrown into fight or flight, you call it "butterflies". You don't realize you're doing it of course, mistaking anxiety for excitement and intensity for passion and connection.

Because your brain was rewired before you developed any amount of critical thinking skills.

This revelation has crushed me. Realizing in the past that every time I thought I was "choosing something different" it was still the same thing just in a different package. It's shown me that I can't trust myself, or my judgment. The realization makes me sick.

That I'll never find the love I've read about since I was 9. The years I spent devouring romances, so certain that a love like that would find me, was the fantasy of an abused mentally ill girl. And to lose that hope, that illusion that I crafted for myself, hurts more than I expected.

I say I've given up on love, I've accepted that I'll spend the rest of my life alone because I do enjoy being alone for the most part. But a small part of me still hoped. Hoped to be seen, heard, accepted, embraced. It seems like my family tree isn't meant to have a single branch forged by love. We're rotten fruit, dropped from a fungal infected tree, poisoning the earth we land on.

But this is what I wanted. This is why I signed up for the class. I wanted to understand myself better. To see what I really am. I just didn't expect to hate what I found so much.

[indianascones]

I'm gonna smoke this cigarette over my scraped knees

I'm gonna smoke this cigarette over my scraped knees. Falling is about the only thing I do right Which makes me think all this standing up is wrong.

I'm gonna stare off above my tv cuz I don't give a fuck what's on I just can't stand the quiet It's louder than the noise most days

I'm gonna keep my bonnet on If I take if off, I won't put it back on. You, nor you, will be there to help me with the mats Trust me, there will be matting

Cuz I'm gonna smoke this motherfuckin cigarette over my scabbed knees right here on the ground and I'm not gonna get up. No, I'm gonna lay here.

And it won't matter cuz I never mattered before I'm the pavement you walk on the painted lines you park within I'm the thing no one cares about until it's gone But adapting without it happens easily. Convenient, not necessary.

[indianascones]

I had a dream. You were in it.

Like you always are.

Faceless. Silent. Full of yearning and warmth. Once, I thought you existed. You were someone out there, waiting for me, reaching for me. Adventuring through the land of dreams. Just for me.

For a moment I still believed that to be true. In my last dream, you had something you never had before. A scar on your chest, and I felt its ridges when I touched your cooled skin.

The burgundy flesh like a stain on your body.

I could have opened it up. Slipped my hand inside and curled into your chest cavity.

I could do that. I could live there. I wouldn't be missed and I wouldn't miss much.

So why then, didn't I?

[indianascones]

TikTok Ban

Fuck you, American government.

Fuck you, four horseman. Amazon Apple Meta Twitter

Fuck capitalism

Fuck the poverty we've been forced into

Fuck the rich

Fuck this whole shitty country.

They've taken away everything. Healthcare, affordable living, real food, housing, land. They've taken away the ability to freely exist in public spaces and now they don't even want us forming communities online. Making connections. I hate it here.

I hate that I live in the era of people begging the government to make decisions for them. Of people desperate to still believe xenophobic propaganda.

Fuck it all. Burn it all down.

[sweetiesshortstories]

Sometimes I can feel you.

At night.

When I let my mind wander I feel myself go to you. I follow the thread over waters, and trail it through cities

Until I find you.

Sometimes

You’re sleeping. I lay down next to you, and rest my ear on your heart. I feel the pattern of my own change and match yours.

Other times

You feel me too.

You transcend physics and touch me back. Leaving trails of passion uninhabited and unexplored. Your lips find mine and time is torn.

Letting me see you.

But then daylight. The thread fades, and I’m pulled back. Losing what I had of you.

And when i wake I’m left with with deafening silence of your voice. No longer knowing who you are, but knowing you’re no longer here.

[sweetiesshortstories]

Pray for me

Let me be your cathedral

I’ll bring you to your knees

While your fingertips steeple

And you gaze up at me

-a.e

[ur-daily-inspiration]