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snorlaxlovesme · 3 months

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this is called giving Live Action Avatar a fair chance

the Netflix live action Avatar has always been a strange beast. it's a thing no one wanted after the disastrous 2010 movie. public perception of it was extremely low after Bryke walked out on it because of creative differences (disheartening as well as concerning). people tore apart the teaser stills and completely thrashed the early trailers. the news that Sokka's sexism plot was being altered had fans frothing at the mouth. the show seemed to be caught in this limbo where it had an incredibly low bar to rise above, in terms of trouncing The Last Airbender Movie, and infinitely high bar it would be impossible to reach, in terms of the original A:TLA.

now. if i can't go into a live action adaptation with an open mind, i will not watch it. live action Yu Yu Hakusho came out several months ago, and the vibes I got from trailer were not what I wanted, so I shelved it. if I'm going to sit down and watch a re-telling of one of my favorite pieces of media, I'm going to do my damnedest to go in with as open of a mind as a I can bear, because I like to have a good time and I can't do that constantly dogging on something.

so. my rule of thumb is generally this: treat any live action adaptation as fanfiction. if i can recognize the characters and recognize the plot, that's fine. i'm not looking for anything crazy, just interesting fanfiction. that's the level of closeness to canon i'm expecting. bar is on the floor.

and in terms of Good Television, my expectations are also incredibly low. good TV has 1. good writing 2. good acting 3. good action/SFX. for adaptations the best i'm looking for is ONE out of three. the lower my expectations, the more fun i get to have.

i'm explaining all of this because, while I have not seen reviews of Netlix Avatar yet, I know just how brainless the masses can be and i need you to know that THESEEE are the expectations you should be having when going into these things. Avatar: The Last Airbender is hailed as an example of a nearly PERFECT show. if you are expecting that kind of excellence from an adaptation you are simply deranged and I will not be reading your bad faith interpretations of the show.

with these expectations in mind, it's easy to see why i'm loving Netflix Avatar so much. why? because it cleared one of my very low expectations. the bending in the show looks pretty good! the writing of the show is average! some of the actors are quite charming! i am pleased!

i have seen 3 episodes so far ("Aang" through "Omashu", and yes these episode titles DO suck, I'll concede to that)

so, now that i've gotten that little manifesto out of the way, let's get into some actual Thoughts So Far:

-the way the first episode was structured was very cool. i like that they didn't throw us in at the same spot we started in A:TLA. and to avoid the horrible exposition dump the movie gave us, instead they just showed us the start of the war. i like the tactical inclusion that Sozin let word get out that the Fire Nation would attack the Earth Kingdom first to throw the Air Nomads off his scent. i also thought it was cool so show us a day in the life at the Easter Air Temple. the setting was gorgeous and I loved seeing all the monks doing their own thing. it made you feel so attached to the Air Nomads and their kindness and gentleness, so when they were attacked you truly felt for them.

-Monk Giatso's actor was fantastic. i was gagged that they had my crying less than 20 min into the first episode, what the fuck

-Gran Gran reciting Katara's opening speech line by line was funny, hokey, and exactly what I wanted. loved that for her and loved that for ME

-i like the change that Katara has to waterbend in secret for her own safety, not simply because she doesn't have a master

-it felt appropriate that they made Sokka take his warrior/protector role more seriously. the "i gotta go potty" bit from that like 6 year old in the original is hilarious but I don't think that sort of humor would have translated well to live action. i like that Sokka really was a leader to the ragtag group of kiddos and like one teenage boy. and him asking Zuko to duel with him one and one!! a very sweet early act of bravery

-in general i'm just really liking how they're approaching Sokka's character. all the fuss over "they're taking out Sokka's sexism" arc felt idiotic to me for weeks because like of course they did?? let's be SO real here, if you have never seen the original and are watching Netflix Avatar blind for the first time, are you going to rock with the protagonist who makes "girls' only jobs are cooking and sewing" jokes? in 2024? in this sociopolitical climate that shit would NOT fly and people would drop the show for stuff like that. no one would wait to see his character growth, people's attention spans aren't long enough for that these days. plus, for all the naysayers boohooing because that's Sokka's whole character arc, it's literally not! that nasty personality trait sticks with Sokka for FOUR episodes. having his character arc revolve around his identity as a warrior is much more in-line with Sokka's ACTUAL arc. he can skip the "sew my pants" jokes so we can get to his real root of his conflict, being a non-bender and a novice warrior in a world of extreme violence and feeling inferior because of it

-i don't mind that they made Zuko less aggressive. again, with the bar of the original A:TLA being SO fucking high, ESPECIALLY because of Zuko, Netflix was never going to reach that level of excellence. so I'm okay with this Zuko being a little more level-headed and more of a mindless Fire Nation Greatness truther because it's a decent interpretation of his character, for fanfiction. consider everybody on planet earth know that Zuko will eventually be a Good Guy, we don't have to go out of our way to show that he's a giant asshole. we already know he's a good boy.

-on that note I love the bait and switch with the Jet introduction. seeing a cute boy flirting with Katara, I couldn't immediately tell if that merchant boy was just a one-off kind character, or maybe Haru because of his clothing and the way his hair was styled. to have him turn out to be Jet was FUN because it showed me that despite knowing the original canon forwards and backwards, this show can still find ways to surprise me. i had been talking with my sister about whether or not they were going to include Bumi (and his shenanigans) because that's a plot twist that worked when the show originally aired, but wouldn't hit at all in an adaptation where we all know who Bumi is already. where I'm currently at in the show I'm still not sure if we'll see his inclusion or not, but i still appreciated that new bait and switches are possible.

-this meant basically all the Omashu episode was very fun. they way they wove the Freedom Fighters and Mechanist's stories together was very interesting and i liked how fresh it felt

-Suki's actor is incredibly gorgeous. with and without the make-up. that needed to be it's own point because oh my god

-i love that she gave Sokka and fan and i'm DYINGGG to see him use it in a battle

-THEY INCLUDED KYOSHI NOVEL LORE AND I SCREAMED

-they included AVATAR KYOSHI FIGHT SEQUENCES AND I SCREAMED

-i probably should have mentioned this way sooner but Aang's actor is such a little cutie. he's doing such a great job capturing Aang's energy. both wise and playful and so so sweet. i love him

-i found it hilarious that they waited three episodes for Katara to bring up her dead mom. we all know that the super generic and boring critiques of Katara are 1. too much dead mom talk 2. too much hope talk 3. too motherly. i feel like the show intentionally waited two and a half episodes for Katara to bring up Kya and that's so funny to me. they also have only let her mention hope like twice lol. my girl is being STIFLED

-special effects are honestly really good? some of aang's flying is a little wonky but the firebending and waterbending so far as looked fantastic. i haven't seen much earthbending so far besides that opening sequence but i was impressed by that too. and Aang and Zuko fighting in Omashu with Zuko not using his bending? SO much fun. the choreo was awesome, i loved the set piece of fighting amongst all those scarves.

-building off that, Appa and Momo are very cute. the creatures al look pretty good too. ostrich horses look great

all in all, lots of really good stuff so far. i only have minor criticisms, and they're mostly things I can deal with. Iroh's acting is weird to me. it sounds like it's putting on a silly voice instead of speaking how he normally would, so it scans as off-putting. also in terms of costuming, Iroh's wig is WIGGING so much more than other cast members. it looks so glued on and shaped with hairspray. Mai and Ty Lee (one seen them for a moment so far) also just look like random cosplayers who wandered on set. and i guess both Monk Giatso's reveal of Aang being the avatar, as well as Gran-Gran's immediate understanding that Aang is the avatar, both happened extremely fast.

but yeah! those are my thoughts so far. again, I have no idea what public perception of this show is. i'm trying to avoid reviews and probably won't be back on tumblr until i've at least made it to episode 6. then maybe i'll come back and write more if my opinion drastically changes or I think the world will need another stern talking to about what to expect from an adaptation

#oh fuck i should probably tag this for spoilers but idk what tags ppl are using #live action avatar #netflix atla #avatar live action #ehh? i guess? don't read this if you haven watched episodes one through three yet #netflix avatar

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imperiuswrecked · 3 years

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To me, it doesn’t make sense to make Magneto the main villain because it has been done so much before and it would connect it so much to the Fox Films. Also I think there is a GREAT laziness in writing Magneto especially in films. He generally didn’t want to kill all humans, subjugate them yes because he doesn’t trust them. Which isn’t a ‘good guy’ move in itself and he slips in and out of.

He legit murdered genocide I think when he was going to kill all humans. Like no.

I also think that the average cinema goer likes Magneto too much… or maybe that is me. It would also require them to recast the most famous faces of the franchises?

Like is anyone going to care if they recast Jean, Scott, Iceman, Rogue, Kitty, Beast even Mystique but Magneto? I don’t know. I have long been a fan of an actual Jewish actor playing Magneto but following Ian McKellan would be difficult for the casual fans to accept. I don’t think Fassbender left such an amazing impression.

Even my most average MCU fans friends (and god they love the MCU 😤 but I see past it) still talk about how much they want to see a Magneto solo film.

To me I would put the focus on their reveal and sentinels. Then again I thought they’ll go through Krakoa stuff. Like it turns out the mutants have been living on this Island etc

With the ‘simpler times’ comment I have to for the sake of my sanity have to think that it was because Pietro knew where he was. Things were clear to him, as much as it hurt he had his sister. The following trauma had not occurred. Again I don’t think this is true but I am trying to reason bad writing. He didn’t doubt his morality but was indebted and controlled. Shitty actions were out of his control.

I don’t read Avengers so I didn’t know he was shelved for so long.

I think the Trial of Magneto is trying to ride on the coattails of Wandavision because even though she’s not a mutant a lot of the internet was wanting Magneto to show up. So what is the best way to get those fans who wanted to see that? Set up a family comic book where they establish the family again because I guess the MCU fans heard they’ve changed their background and themselves didn’t like it.

I see the Trial of Magneto as something poorly thought out as they saw what the audience was interested in. The timeline kind of clashes uncomfortably with Inferno. Which makes me think it was wedged in there to ride the Wandavision train and undo the retcon on the side of the main storyline.

Thank you for reading my essay/rant

Ok so I'm going to first say you have a lot of great thoughts and great on picking up the whole forced feeling. You are right, it does feel wedged in there and it does feel forced because that's exactly what Marvel did.

The Trial of Magneto was supposed to be an X-Factor plot, it was Leah Williams next arc, here's an article link talking about her podcast: link (yes I know it's bleeding cool but I don't have time to listen to the podcast)

Leah Williams tells us that X-Factor was canceled because Leah's pitch for the Magneto/Wanda story for X-Factor, now called Trial Of Magneto, became such a popular pitch at Marvel but they thought the reader numbers for X-Factor wasn't big enough for this story, so they wanted it as a separate comic. And canceled X-Factor #10 rather than seeing it run as originally planned, with the Trial beginning in X-Factor #15. Williams says she only learned about the cancellation of X-Factor when she was writing #9, so as she had to finish the series quickly, squeezing six issues worth of story into those last two issues, calling it "cramped and rushed".

So I'm not a fan of Leah but the way Marvel treats it's writers has always been terrible so this cancellation doesn't surprise me. Could this be about W*ndaVision? It's likely, but it's more likely this has to do with Hickman bowing out. It's no secret literally everyone hated the retcon and I always knew it would be undone but I didn't think it would take 6 years but here we are.

Hickman leaving is a bigger thing, he stated in an interview ( link ) that he had planned Krakoa and X-Men to be a 3 arc story, and he wasn't allowed to move onto the 2nd arc because the clowns at Marvel liked the idea of Krakoa too much and I'm so mad because that's exactly the kinda behavior that annoys me with the fans, them thinking Krakoa is just a fun playground for the mutants to mess around with.

"Oh, plans have changed entirely," Hickman says. "When I pitched the X-Men story I wanted to do, I pitched a very big, very broad, three-act, three-event narrative, the first of which was House of X. And while this loosely worked as a three-year plan, I told Marvel upfront that I honestly had no idea how long the first part would last because there were a lot of interesting ideas that I had seeded that other creators would want to play with, and so, we left this rather open-ended. I was also pretty clear with all the writers that came into the office what the initial, three-act plan was so no one would be surprised when it was time for the line to pivot." Hickman continues, "However, I also knew that I was cooking with dynamite, and it was very possible that what I had written in House of X, and the ideas contained within, was not actually the first act of a three-act story, but something that resonated more deeply and worked more like Giant-Size X-Men, where it would represent a paradigm shift in the entire X-Men line for a prolonged period of time. So, during the pandemic, when the time came for me to start pointing things toward writing the second-act event, I asked everyone if they were ready for me to do that, and to a man, everyone wanted to stay in the first act. It was really interesting, because I appreciated that House of X resonated with them to the extent that they didn't want it to end, but the reality was that I knew I would be leaving the line early."

I'm so MAD because the thing I was predicting, that Hickman would have it come crashing down and everything would be revealed to be terrible and Mutant Death Sex Cult Island wasn't a paradise is never going to happen because the fucking CLOWNS at Marvel don't want him to move past it. I may have my personal gripes about some of Hickman's writing but we can't deny the man wrote one of the best if only the best Marvel Event with Fantastic Four/Avengers/Secret War.

As for the simpler times comment, like I have my theories that I wrote out here, and that's what I think is most likely but I do think Pietro's life has never been easy or simple once his adoptive parents died. Pietro could be drinking to a time before the Brotherhood.

I would love for a Jewish actor to play Magneto and any other characters who are Jewish. I would love for a Jewish writer to be able to write them too. However Ian's performance literally set him in the minds of the people as Magneto, not even Fassbender's bleh one note Magneto could compare. Imo the only reason people liked the younger Magneto was because he was young, handsome (? ig idk i dont simp for him) and they could ship him with young professor X (cowards. where is the old man ship???) But I feel like a new actor could definitely fill the role if they are Jewish and the writing was good.

Magneto's writing in comics... well I just wish we could have a Jewish writer for him. There's some great stuff for him but I feel like characters like him and Doom could be written better by non white/american writers.

Although by today's standards the og X-Men trilogy doesn't hold up I will defend the first two movies with my life simply because after Blade these movies opened up the idea that a good serious, non campy version where characters called Magneto and Cyclops were taken seriously. X2 in my mind was the definitive X-Men movie. Was it totally comic accurate? No, but it doesn't do what the MCU does, it doesn't treat the watcher like they need to have their hand held through all the military propaganda and "hints to the comics". Also side note; the reason no one cared about any of the other X-Men being recast is because all through most of the X-Men movies the focal story point has been Professor X vs Magneto. If they really want people to care about those characters/actors then we would need stories that focused on them. Not like how Storm barely had any character growth or plot in the og X-Men and even young Ororo got mishandled by the script. This is why I feel we should have "origin movies" for the X-Men that don't do what Wolverine Origins did and try to make a whole new cast but instead should use the stories as they are. If it was Kurt's story then we would see him join the X-Men, and have the other actors revolve around that. Same with each of the others, the X-Men work best when they are working off each other and each given enough screen/page time to shine. Unfortunately we all have our favorites, even movies and writers, so those are who are going to be pushed for fans to love.

Thank you for your long rant and sorry for my own long rant/reply.

#xmen #x men #comic talk #xmcu #magneto #erik lensherr #imp answers

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thetypedwriter · 3 years

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A Curse So Dark and Lonely Book Review

A Curse So Dark and Lonely Book Review by Brigid Kemmerer

My gosh, I feel like I have enormous feelings about this book.

So, I had seen this book for awhile bestow the shelves at Barnes & Noble and while it drew the eye, it also didn’t entice me right away. I must have read snippets of the backside summary a dozen times before I finally succumbed and purchased it when the store was having a buy one, get one 50% off deal.

Lame, I know.

That being said, A Curse So Dark and Lonely surprised me in a lot of pleasant ways and at the end of the experience it was a book I genuinely enjoyed reading, despite the flaws throughout.

First off, somehow, in ways that I don’t even fully understand, I did not realize that this was a retelling of Beauty and the Beast.

You might ask, seeing the title, the reviews on the back literally calling it a retelling of a classic fairytale, the summary itself, and the basic premise, how did I not realize what the true nature of this book was?

I genuinely have no idea.

I really don’t.

It’s so flabbergasting that I don’t even have a proper answer for you other than Beauty and the Beast was not my favorite Disney movie growing up and that I probably should have spent more time checking out what bargain books to buy before I laid down the cash.

Oh well.

That being said, retellings of classic fairy tales has been a fairly popular phenomenon in the YA literature scene (and popular culture as a whole, really) for the last couple of years and while I can see the appeal, it was never something that beckoned me.

I’m not a huge fairytale fan to begin with so a retelling of the original doesn’t hold much sway in terms of intrigue and buy-in.

If I had known what A Curse So Dark and Lonely truly was, I never would have bought it. Frankly, it’s a little sad because I genuinely would have missed out on a very fun and engaging read. Fortunately enough, however, my dumb actions actually paid off in good luck this time around.

The whole premise is exactly what you’ve probably surmised up to this point: an enumeration of Beauty and the Beast with some modern fanfare and twists and turns along the way.

Rhen is the current Crown Prince of Emberall, a country in some parallel world to the one that you and I currently exist in. With a series of twists, the main protagonist, Harper, is unwillingly hoisted from her homeland of Washington D.C. to the magical world of Emberfall, which unfortunately is not all that magical with a looming war on the horizon involving a neighboring nation, rumors of a savage beast that has wreaked havoc on the country, and a wicked witch that delights in torment and carnage to sadistic glee.

Soon enough, a high school dropout with cerebral palsy soon finds herself in the imaginary role as the Princess of Disi, an allying nation that has promised aid and troops to Emberfall and potentially betrothed to the Crown Prince, Rhen.

To make matters more complicated, Harper finds herself often in the company of Grey, the lone soldier of the Royal Guard and Rhen’s constant shadow, a figure she soon begins to trust despite herself.

With a war on the horizon, the ever-present threat of the witch Lillith, the haunting promise of the beast’s return, and evolving feelings, A Curse So Dark and Lonely is a lovely concoction of both fast-paced action, romance, humor, and fantasy. This whole book gave me a pleasant buzz from start to finish.

The plot itself, while recycled at its core, is fresh enough with the modern flare of Harper being from D.C. (Disi-this still makes me laugh), representation in the form of a character with a disability like cerebral palsy, interesting and complex relationships, and opposing enough with the threat of Lillith and future battles that it never seemed pithy or banal.

While the world building is...mediocre, I don’t think it was amazing nor do I think it’s awful, it’s a useful enough background for the characters and their emotions to take place, which honestly is the real focus throughout the entire novel (although the author did take some liberties by inputting in things like the castle automatically regenerating food-how much more deus ex machina can you get?).

Kemmerer’s writing style is also fine. Nothing groundbreaking, but also not writing I find abhorrent or even unlikeable. She comes across as a typical YA author to me in terms of her vocabulary, her figurative language, and her writing style.

The real focus, if you haven’t caught on by now, are the characters.

I genuinely like all three main characters quite a bit, which, if you regularly read my reviews, is quite the anomaly.

Rhen I find to be strangely complex. While he fits the mold of the brooding, arrogant prince that actually cares deeply for his people and his country quite well, I also found him more interesting than just the archetype of the royal son.

He’s surly, dark, and quite temperamental. While he does care deeply about his people, he’s often selfish and petty. Honestly, he shouldn’t be very likable at all, but it’s for that reason alone that I do like him.

I like that while he might be a good ruler he’s not necessarily a good person and I like the dichotomy and the conflict that implicitly comes with that struggle, a struggle often shown to the readers and the two other characters he’s closest with: Harper and Grey.

In addition, often in YA I feel like authors constantly feel pressured to make romantic love interests “perfect” which to me, translates to being stereotypical and boring. Very often my favorite characters are the ones who are flawed and complicated-just like Rhen.

Grey is also a character that I thought would be more simple than he actually turned out to be. I originally thought Grey was going to be the stoic, soldier type and while he is, I also really enjoyed seeing his lighter side, his sense of humor, his love for children, and the deadly loyalty that binds him not because of a curse or a spell, but because of his own stubbornness and dedication to the decision that he made and the refusal to break it.

I found this honor code fascinating and his adherence to it almost obsessive. His loyalty to Rhen is both baffling and intriguing and often it was the best part of the novel for me.

Which brings me to my next point: Rhen and Grey’s relationship is hand’s down the best part of this book. It’s a complicated relationship and, therefore, really fascinating to read about it. They have a serpentine history involving Grey being the one to let Lillith into Rhen’s chambers which sets off the whole curse business in the first place.

However, as Rhen says later on in the book, it was his choice to keep Lillith overnight and to pursue romance, not Grey’s.

There is guilt, blame, affection, loyalty, ownership, friendship, frustration, anger, sacrifice and more to their relationship. Their history stops them from being true friends, as do their roles as prince and guard, yet they are the only companion the other has for seasons upon seasons.

At the end of the day, Grey is all Rhen had for a very long time and it shows.

Their relationship was always so engrossing to read about due to its complications and its nuances. Very few YA relationships, especially that of platonic male friendship, gets even near the level of depth and grey (I couldn’t help this pun) area shown between Grey and Rhen. Their relationship alone is a huge draw for why I found this novel so captivating.

I did wonder for a while if perhaps there were more than platonic feelings involved, but I could never quite put my finger on the true nature of their relationship or their feelings towards each other, which I find absolutely amazing. Their relationship is messy and complicated, just like real life relationships are.

That leaves the third piece of the puzzle: Harper.

Out of the three main characters, I like Harper the least, but I do still like her. I like that she’s strong and tenacious, not in spite of her cerebral palsy, but in addition to her already present bravery and ferocity. She’s headstrong, stubborn, kind, merciful, and compassionate.

My dislike from Harper stems from the fact that she’s a little too perfect, especially compared to Rhen and Grey, who I found to be much more convoluted characters.

Again, harping (hahah) back to stereotypical YA, other than her cerebral palsy, I don’t think there’s anything in particular about Harper that makes her complicated, flawed, or especially interesting.

She’s a good girl willing to give it all up for a country she’s only known for a few weeks even though her mother’s dying at home and her brother is most likely involved in some kind of gang violence.

The best scenes with Harper are the scenes were she is struggling to choose between the two worlds and weighing her options, as at some points it does depict her as selfish and wanting to go home, even though she knows it would doom thousands of people.

But of course, this is all taken care of later when she realizes D.C. isn’t her true home any more and that Emberfall has become where her heart lies.

Lame.

Kemmerer made Harper just a little too pristine for my liking, which is why she ranks lower than both Rhen and Grey when on paper she is by far the best in terms of personality and character traits.

This especially grates on me when Kemmerer tells us that Harper is fantastic instead of letting us glean that for ourselves. I really dislike when an author tells me instead of shows me that someone is brave or kind or amazing or whatnot and I feel like there were enough instances of Harper being all of those things without having needed Rhen or Grey to point it out all of the time.

I also do feel like there is some weird shaming regarding things typically seen as “feminine” in relation to Harper and why that makes her “better.” For example, Rhen talks often about how no girl ever has ever done what Harper has done, like attacking him.

I’m sorry? You’re telling me that Grey has kidnapped hundreds of girls and not one of them before Harper tried to attack them? In any form? Really?

I find that preposterous.

Other instances of Harper being unique in this fashion is also sprinkled in, like how most girls apparently only care about the dresses and the jewels in the castle, but not Harper. Or how most girls would be crying from a scar on their cheek, but Harper is just upset that she misses her target.

I get what Kemmerer is going for, but these force-fed characterizations really bothered me and were the most irritating thing about the book.

Being feminine or caring about stereotypically feminine things like jewelry or dresses does not mean that someone can’t also be strong and brave and fierce. I dislike a lot of the subliminal messages in the novel in regards to that.

In terms of romance, again I have to ask myself when the trope of the love triangle will die. Perhaps it never will. Perhaps it will live on for eternity, forever immortal and present in nearly 90% of YA literature.

The love triangle between Grey, Rhen, and Harper doesn’t bother me so much in this novel as I feel like it isn’t truly focused on very much, which I appreciate. I understand that Harper has feelings for both Grey and Rhen, but her feelings make sense. I don’t feel like Kemmerer is just foisting a love triangle onto the readers for the sake of having a love triangle.

It felt somehow...natural.

In addition, most love triangles suck as they’re very one sided, usually in terms of the female’s POV.

In this case however, the love triangle is influenced by Grey and Rhen’s relationship, where the lines are very blurry and for a good portion of the book I thought perhaps they were in love with each other and Harper.

Frankly, I would have been ecstatic if this was the route Kemmerer had taken. Not many YA authors go down this route, but examples like Mark/Cristina/Keiran from The Infernal Devices and Niall/Irial/Leslie from Ink Exchange are actually the only examples I know from YA literature so this would have been so welcome and anticipated.

If Kemmerer had gone down the route of looking into a polyamorous relationship I would have been over the moon. I don’t think she is sadly, but polyamrous relationships are still so few and far between in YA that it would have been utterly captivating, especially as she has all the ingredients to do so.

Or, I thought she did.

Until it’s revealed at the very end that Rhen and Grey are brothers. Or, at least half-brothers.

Yeah.

It’s super unfortunate.

I’m genuinely disappointed that this is the route Kemmerer decided to take it as it seems so grossly safe. It’s almost like an intense male/male relationship can’t exist unless it’s romantic or they’re brothers and I despise that.

Hence, why I have also decided that I won’t be reading A Heart so Fierce and Broken. I want to keep the memory and the interesting relationships between the three characters as it is: interesting.

I have a very strong feeling that if I read the sequel that will all be shattered.

When all is said and done, I really enjoyed this book. I wasn’t exactly looking forward to reading it and I wasn’t expecting very much, but it met all of my expectations and more.

I am sad that I won’t be finishing the series as a whole, but I know that the direction it's going will only make me frustrated and annoyed and I would rather preserve the positive emotions attached to A Curse So Dark and Lonely than ruin it with a sequel that I know won’t meet the expectations I have.

Perhaps that’s unfair to say, and rightly so, but I know myself and I can see where the sequel is going and I’m almost certain that I won’t like it.

So in this case, I’m going to quit while I’m ahead and savor the moments I had reading this novel in all its fairy-telling glory.

Recommendation: If you love Beauty and the Beast, fairytales with a modern twist, interesting characters and interesting relationships set in a fantasy world where the music never stops playing and a savage beast runs rampant, than this book is calling for you.

I didn’t know that I needed this novel in my life and now I’m so glad that it is. Captivating from beginning to end, if you’re anything like me and a sucker for interesting romance and strong, nuanced characters you won’t be able to put this down either.

Score: 7/10

#a curse so dark and lonely #a heart so fierce and broken #brigid kemmerer #popular fiction #Popular Books #teen books #Teen Romance #teen fiction #book review #book blog #Book Recommendations #book rec #ya fiction #YA Book Review #ya book rec #book blogger

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that-shamrock-vibe · 5 years

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D23 Dissect: Emma Stone Is Cruella De Vil

First of all I want to make something quite clear, this is going to be a slightly biased post for the pure and simple reason that Cruella de Vil is not only my favourite Disney Villain but in many regards I feel my spiritual mother.

That being said, I am still going to try and present a balanced view as to why I feel this is a bad idea not just in terms of casting and creative choices over the character, but also just the movie in general.

Background:

I made a post way back when in January 2016 when the announcement that a live-action origin movie based on Cruella de Vil first surfaced, however in the three and a half year time span between that announcement and this first look, nothing has been mentioned so I genuinely believed the idea had been scrapped.

Turns out it was either just shelved in favour of their big live-action remakes, because this at least can’t be a remake due to being a prequel to The Hundred and One Dalmatians, but I desperately wanted this to just be a scrapped idea, yet this is the reality we are now in.

Also to date the character of Cruella de Vil has had three live-action incarnations with Glenn Close, Victoria Smufit and Wendy Raquel Robinson all giving their own unique interpretations to the fur-loving socialite who was first introduced in the original 1958 novel by Dodie Smith and then made famous by Betty Lou Gerson in the 1961 One Hundred and One Dalmatians animated movie.

Cruella is also one of the most well known Disney Villains, she is up there in the top tier along with Maleficent, Jafar, Ursula, Captain Hook and the Evil Queen. So any re-imagining of these beloved characters will always be under a microscope to ensure that whoever is handling them is honouring the legacy of the character, just look at the reactions to the latest trailer for Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.

Disney Live-Action Renaissance:

Well it has finally happened, I strongly feel that everyone has a cut off point when it comes to franchise and brand loyalty and for me the Disney Live-Action Movies have finally reached saturation point for me.

Now again, I know that the remakes are technically a different category to the original movies, but when the movie is drawing inspiration from original material then you have to always compare because you can’t help not to.

Just to clarify, I love the live-action Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Maleficent and I enjoyed Dumbo, Cinderella, The Lion King and the first Alice in Wonderland. But 101 Dalmatians is the first movie to be remade for live-action back in 1996 and it was, for me, a fantastic version of the story.

Cruella:

As I said before, Cruella de Vil as a character holds a special place in my heart and has done since I can remember. So for me, this is a character that when portrayed differently to how they were when I first saw them, I just critically.

Glenn Close is the exception for me because for me she is on the same level as the original animated version and I can almost compare the two enough to see them both as the same character in the same universe.

Victoria Smurfit on Once Upon a Time was another good interpretation. I will admit when she was first introduced the fact she was an alcoholic magic-user who looked more like a drag-version of Patsy Stone than Cruella de Vil was an adjustment but I fell in love with the sadistic and cynical whit she had and her origin episode was brilliant.

Wendy Raquel Robinson is probably my least favourite interpretation to date and I understand she was not meant for a substantional role in Descendants but they turn her from the mad Devil Woman into simply the crazy dog lady. I loved Carlos and he was my favourite character possibly because I wanted to be him but Cruella herself wasn’t great.

In terms of the animated version of the character, because she was the first version I saw I guess I kind of imprinted on her but in both the animated movies and the animated series she’s simply brilliant.

Emma Stone:

Alright so Emma Stone is a marmite actress for me, but in her defence she is in a lot of either niche or marmite movies.

My favourite role of hers is still probably Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man movies and the prospect of at the time seeing her as Spider-Gwen would have been interesting.

Her most recent movie The Favourite was a great role for her, but the movie itself isn’t too memorable. Similarly La La Land was overhyped and Zombieland I haven’t seen.

But from a completely biased judgement, Emma Stone is not the type of actress to portray Cruella de Vil.

Prominently, Emma Stone is American while Cruella is from London. now yes both Glenn Close and Betty Lou Gerson are American but put on the British sophisticate persona, but Emma Stone to me does not have that.

She tried in The Favourite, but she never made me think “Oh yes she’s perfect for Cruella”.

Cruella Origin Movie:

Now in terms of the movie, the main things we know about it firstly are what we see in the released image from D23, where first and foremost I have to say that this looks like a drag version of Cruella de Vil...but a very bad interpreted drag styling.

Why is she wearing leather? Leather may be from a cow, but Cruella de Vil is primarily known for wearing furs rather than leathers yet here she looks like a punk goth with that really heavy eye-shadow

She doesn’t even look like Emma Stone here, genuinely she looks like Helena Bonham Carter. The only thing about this that says Cruella is the two-tone hair because nothing else from the makeup to the outfits says Cruella to me.

Also why the dalmatians, I mean obviously this could be her having captured three dalmatians to turn into a coat but you can’t tell from this photo.

Again going back to Once Upon a Time and Cruella’s origin episode “Sympathy for the De Vil” showed Cruella as a child supposedly at the mercy of her mother who was a dalmatian dog trainer, but when she’s an adult and reveals that she is in fact a villain she turns her mother’s two dalmatians into a coat.

Emma Thompson has been cast in an undisclosed role, but if she’s playing her mother or not we don’t know.

As for Jasper and Horace, aside from the dalmatians, they are my favourite thing about this image. That’s Joel Fry on the right as Jasper and Paul Walter Hauser as Horace on the left, the latter of whom looks authentic as hell aside from the moped.

This is listed as a comedy crime drama fantasy movie, I have to say I find the fact they have comedy as a listed genre for the movie rather offensive. You’re talking about the origin of a woman who hordes furs by having innocent animals like dalmatians skinned. Jasper and Horace can provide comedy fine, but the movie should not be a comedy.

Overall I have to say I am not impressed or confident with this project at all, it is possibly the first time I can safely say I am not looking forward to a Disney movie. I will still see it to judge fairly for myself rather than not seeing it and judging without evidence, but I am not happy.

So those are my thoughts of the upcoming Cruella origin movie starring Emma Stone, what do you guys think? Post your comments and check out more D23 Dissects as well as other posts.

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veridium · 5 years

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spiderwebs

and WE’RE BACK.

thanks again to everyone for being patient with this hiatus -- but you know we just couldn’t stay away. and to continue on with our halloween party special is just a non-negotiable. now, without further wait, here is the latest installment in the best worst okayest friendship fic ever!

and I just had to title it with a No Doubt track because, well, you’ll see.

chapter masterpost // previous episode

It’s almost too good to be true. The way the stars have aligned to produce a perfect, movie-scene kind of night. So she had convinced herself for every part right up until they actually enter the house. Slowly but surely everything falls apart from there, though. Can’t have a fantasy kind of night without some flames doing as they do best, and bursting -- such is Olivia and Ellinor’s track record.

Who can blame her, though, for believing in that fantasy? She’s walking up the carved stone steps with Cassandra. She’s living her baby bisexual dream of showing up somewhere with a woman who makes the world go dewy and sparkly and looks fucking hot in trim black clothes and -- okay, well, enough of that shit.

Olivia has never entered a party with someone -- she’s the type to encounter, kiss, ditch, and tell. You could count on one hand the number of times she’s left accompanied. Historically what happens at the event, stays at the event. So when she shows up with a tall, dark, and gorgeous woman holding her hand, safe to say the skeletons in the closet she burst out of are all but manic. And oh, do the skulls turn.

Right off the back the two couples diverge, and with good reason. From the moment Olivia invited Cassandra to this she knew there was something she’d have to do: introduce her to the queer corner. More of an anomaly than an institution, there was one at every party: where all the queer people, predominantly women, congregated to drink, gossip, and relay the code red signal whenever someone’s ex showed up.

The place is covered in people which is exactly what she expects and demands. If Olivia hadn’t been already familiarized with House Pavus she would be hard pressed to locate the spot -- the spot within the spot, so to speak. Back living room couches are all that’s on her mind. Well, sorta.

“What’s a bitch gotta do to get a drink in her hand?!” she exclaims in the foyer, and her wish is the people’s command. A drink from a trusted passerby -- or at least, from the look on Cassandra’s face, they better be -- solves the problem.

Olivia exhales and takes a swig, sighing with dramatic relief at the taste of whiskey and whatever else. It’ll do perfectly. She goes to offer some to Cassandra but remembers the way she looked when they discussed debauchery over spaghetti, and curbs herself. “Okay, well, let’s go!” she guides her into the belly of the beast, Cassandra hand holding onto her from behind for dear life.

Every few seconds Liv turns back to look at her, and she looks unphased but also unimpressed. It’s hard to be when everyone is tugging and calling out to her, kissing cheeks and saying ‘how are you?’ with no intention of actually listening. It’s easy in these moments to believe wholeheartedly in how confident Cassandra is, even as her eyes flicker with every movement, every person they move past. She grins, but she doesn’t say anything, even as people stare her down or give her smiles. She’s new, and she’s shiny -- Olivia can remember such a lion’s den. So, her flingers pulse their grip right back every time she tightens her grip.

“It’s gonna be okay, I promise,” she hangs back to whisper into her shoulder. Immediately after, yet another stranger comes around and grabs Olivia by the waist.

“Liv!”

a recognizable, smart twang of tone. Olivia’s head twists quick and she sees a bright, chiseled face. Purple baseball cap on backwards, its strap frayed and curled, and a playful expression.

“How’s my girl?”

“Char!” Olivia chimes, and reaches her free arm around her neck, pulling in for a hug. “Cassandra,” she says once free, “this is Charter. We met volunteering for a local camp one summer!”

Cassandra stands still even as bodies and music quake around them. Her hand lets go of Olivia’s, and she slips it into her back pocket. Okay, then. But she manages to grin wider.

“Hi there.”

Char’s brows raise higher than a stoner on a ferris wheel. “Cassandra...wait, shit, you’re the Cassandra on the--oh, fuck,” her wrist goes to her mouth as she stifles a laugh on astonishment. “I knew it!”

Olivia inhales sharp, fending the first cringe of the night as Cassandra shakes her head once.

Cassandra’s head twitches to the side. “Knew what?”

“That you were so g--”

“Weeeerreeee so great! Right?” Olivia steps in and gives Char the most fine-tuned side-eye she’s ever given. “We didn’t really ever get a chance to see, since you don’t go out much.”

Char’s throat catches, and she matches Olivia’s curious glare, before putting her red solo cup to her lips. “Ahah, right. Uh, after all, no one can be not...great, with that kinda haircut.”

“Do you know where the rest of the group is? In the back with the couch, like always?” Olivia nudges her, trying to change the subject. She looks back at Cassandra, who seems a bit lost and uncomfortable, but still holding on. Jesus, this is gonna be harder than I thought, if everyone acts like this.

Out from the ether as if a blessing from the universe, someone wraps around Char and pulls her along. “Dude, come on, Sarah told me someone’s boyfriend is saying how much he loves lesbians every time he meets one!”

Well, it’s a party, and it wouldn’t be one if there weren’t some weird shit going down. Char tosses her head back and laughs as she is propelled along. Olivia sighs from having her questioned unanswered, but it quickly is dispelled at the sight of Char placing a hand on Cass’s shoulder.

“Hey, call me when she’s done with you!” followed by a pat on said shoulder, like a ‘tough luck, buddy’ kind of move.

Fuck. Olivia can only hear pieces with it, but it’s enough. Enough for her degree of utter mortification to surge. Cassandra’s look falls, but she holds off one of her infamous scowls. What a saint. She shrugs the hand off of her, but Char is too euphoric to notice as she departs with her friend.

Olivia takes a half-second breath and smiles again. No need to compound the embarrassment by acting like it, right?

“You okay?”

Cassandra blinks, her brows rounding. “I’m not sure,” she tries her best to be louder than the music. “This place is...really crowded.”

Olivia smiles and takes hold of her hand. “I know, isn’t it great?! Come on, we’re almost to the spot.”

Nothing and no one will stop her from accomplishing this. Not even the sound of Cassandra asking ‘what did she mean by…’ and the rest of it being drowned out by Fall Out Boy from speakers two rooms over. Not that she would want to stop and answer such a question, anyway.

At last they find the way into what would be a normal person’s living room, but for Dorian’s family is probably known as ‘place to sit your ass and breathe on Saturday afternoons between 2-8pm.’ A sectional couch and coffee table with portraits on the walls and bottles and cups sprinkled throughout the various shelves of smaller family paintings and pictures. Everything’s about image, here. The strobe lights flickering from the main room provide the main source of light in the otherwise dark room full of skulking faces and bodies dressed in denim and flannel.

But for Olivia, it’s anything but dreary.

“Liv!” hands go up in the air from the couch. It’s Josie, thank goodness, dressed in a black leather jumpsuit and boots, winged eyeliner so sharp they could slice open a can.

“Cat woman, I presume,” Olivia hops from heel to heel as her beloved friend comes in for a hug. “Does this mean Theia is Batwoman?”

“No! I tried to convince her,” Josie stepped back and folded her arms. “She really wanted to work the ‘too cool for a costume’ angle this year.”

“Didn’t she do that--”

“Last year? And the one before? Yes.” She rolls her eyes and bits her lip playfully, before her attention goes to Olivia’s company. “Cassandra! You are here!” she beams even brighter than when she saw Olivia, which is not offensive in the least.

Cassandra flinches, and leans in closer to Olivia’s side. “Hi, Josie. It’s...good to see you,” she says, easier. She even adds a slight hand wave.

“Are you enjoying yourself?”

“I...I am.” Polite of a response, though not convincing. That’s worrisome.

Josephine nods. “Is this a costume, or are you on the same ideological boat as my sweet, stubborn lover?”

Cassandra chuckles lightly. “I...am afraid so. I’m not one for costumes.”

“I see. Well, you’ll find no shortage of like-minded peers here. Olivia, Ellinor, and I carry the team, as we always do. Which reminds me, don’t go anywhere, I need you to go up with me when they play Lip Gloss! You owe me!”

Olivia’s mouth goes agape with playful laughter. It occurs to her to worry about not seeing Ellinor, but, Ellinor can handle herself. Hopefully. In theory. There better not be whiskey in the party punch.

“There she is!” Josie lurches onto her toes as Theia wraps an arm around her waist, bringing her in as she makes her appearance. Dressed in a dark blue button down tucked into jeans, there’s not one ounce of holiday cheer in her. Well, except for the look on her face -- that is actually quite terrifying.

“Hey Liv,” she selectively nods with a half-smile. “Thought you weren’t coming. You didn’t answer my texts.”

Oh fuck. Shit. Dammit. Olivia winces and puts her manicured nail to her teeth. “Damn, Theia, I’m sorry. I meant to…”

“Nah, don’t worry,” she shrugs cooly. Ugh, she’s in her fuckboy mood. Her discerning, tipsy stare shifts to Olivia’s company, and the purple in her eyes go icy. “I see you had reason to be distracted.”

Olivia glances and sees Cassandra is taking on the standoff readily, shoulders broad as she slips one hand into her own back-pocket.

“Hello, Theia,” she says with meticulous manners. “How are you?”

“Fantastic,” Theia says as she leans more possessively against the slightly shorter Josephine, “and you?”

“I--”

“Great, glad to hear it. Liv, uh, can I steal you away for a second?”’

Olivia blushes but not the good way: the kind that comes from embarrassment that the person she called her best friend would be so petty. Yet, nothing can really beat Ellinor screaming her head off in an apartment hallway, right? So, she squeezes Cassandra’s hand, exchanging a lot of apologetic cajoling, before she leaves her with Josephine. Something in the way Cassandra frowns but doesn’t stop her almost makes it worse.

Theia doesn’t waste time taking a dose of whatever’s in her cup -- probably rum of some cola -- before she brings Olivia to the corner of the entryway, and leans up against the decorative enamel.

“You brought her? Dude!” she says mouth leaning into Olivia’s ear. The music is loud, but not that loud. Theia just wants to add to the veneer of exclusive, hush-hush Fight Club aesthetic.

“What the fuck?” Olivia spits back, drink held close. “It’s fine, she wanted to come, and I wanted to bring her. What’s the issue?”

Theia’s head shakes, her eyes wide with cocky disbelief. “What’s the issue? Liv, has that Blonde shampoo soaked into your brain?” as she asks, she thumps Olivia on the side of her head with her finger. Olivia flinches, just enough to see Cassandra look up from whatever conversation she’s having with Josie, and once again the blush appears.

She runs her fingers through her hair to save face and looks back at Theia, who seems all but sorry for the act. Usually their rough-housing dynamic is welcome trouble, but tonight, it’s anything but.

“Stop acting like it’s the mafia!” she hisses, and looks off to the side to wander her gaze through the crowd aimlessly.

Theia snorts. “Dude, I’m not acting like it.” She takes another gulp of her drink and swallows stiff, cheeks puffed like a dude-bro. She’s really peacocking. “You know how ya’ll act at these parties. Suddenly you show up with tall, dark, and constipated and--”

“Hey,” Olivia nudges her so swiftly it knocks her off the wall she’s leaning on, “don’t talk about her like that. Got it?” It’s a stern tone that even she doesn’t expect, like she’s possessed all of a sudden and looking to battle for dominance of the gay sofa.

Theia blinks in return for this bold cut against her, one brow shooting up. “Oh, so she whispers sweet things into your ear for a few days and suddenly all is forgotten?” Her hands fall to her sides, and her head tilts in further. “Just because you can, Liv, doesn’t mean your friends have to. Or maybe Ell can, since she’s all cozied up with that ham bone of hers.”

“You don’t have to do anything but be decent. Or is that too hard?”

Olivia’s glare grows, and she gets ready to go off on her some more. But, as if via divine intervention, a familiar beat echoes through the walls and across the floor.

Oh fuck, it’s our song. As in, her and Ellinor’s song. That song. The song that defines their friendship. One of them, anyway. There’s a collaborative discography.

“Nicks, fuck, I have to find Ellinor. Uh…!” she starts fidgeting and bobbing her head to find Cassandra across the heads and shoulders between them, hopping a bit onto her heels. “Shit!”

Theia places a hand on her forearm and stabilizes her, and when they lock eyes, it’s as if the normal Theia -- the good-natured, helpful one -- is back online. “Hey, don’t worry, I got it.”

“What?”

“I’ll go tell her you had to go dance with Ellinor.”

“But...but I wanted to--” I want her to come with me. Fuck, though, she probably doesn’t dance…

“Liv, come on,” Theia grins, her signature charm as she holds her drink up to her chest. “Don’t make her work harder for it. Just go, you’ll be back before she notices Josie’s checking her star chart.”

It’s not what her gut is agreeing to. In fact, it’s screaming “go get your woman, you idiot, you know better.” Yet, as she looks across and sees Cassandra talking, her hands across her chest like she does when she’s out on the field with her teammates, it’s almost too good to mess up. She looks the most at ease she’s been all night, and if anyone can be trusted to protect that besides herself, it’s Josephine. Josephine and Theia, of course.

Theia elbows her in the ribs to knock her out of her staring, and Olivia steps back. Stevie has started singing, time is running out.

“Okay, okay. Hold my drink?” Olivia grins as she passes her cup to her, sliding her fur off of her shoulders. She waves towards Cassandra’s direction before skiddadling down the hall like a woman on a mission. The last thing she sees is Theia tipping her invisible hat toward her before receding back into the lesbian batcave. That was a quick change in mood.

Everyone’s tall and it’s annoying, but with courage and dangerously pointy shoes she makes her way back to the main hall by the kitchen where shaking and grinding bodies have conspired to make a dance floor.

The drunken seas part uniting her with her right-hand-woman, who is fending off some person who has their wig caught in her pauldrons somehow. When Olivia arrives on the scene, it’s to hear the tail end of a “you should really watch where you point those” comment, to which Ellinor gives a deadly side-glare.

“These meager mortals,” she reviles, “don’t know how much of a gift I am.”

“Yeah, yeah, Kanye, we get it -- the song!”

“The song!” Ellinor grabs her by the hands and starts hopping up and down. People are incorrectly yelling the lyrics around them, and her vitriol is further vindicated. No matter, they’ll be the showstoppers.

They push and shove their way to the center of the crowd and begin their deluge. Olivia tries her hardest to turn her brain off. This is the best part, after all. Dancing, losing track of time and space, being with the people she loves most. Only the nagging gut feeling hasn’t vanished, and soon enough Ellinor notices just how out-of-sync she is in their quintessential make-it-up-as-they-drink choreography.

“What’s gotten in your stockings?” she yells into her ear during the ‘WOO, BABY WOO, WOO bridge.’ Olivia has to blink a few times while her brain synthesizes.

“Ugh, nothing! Nothing!” she waves her hands and starts doing some shoulder-shimmy move, but it’s not striking with the same spectacularity as it usually does.

“You look like a sad parakeet! What is going on?”

Olivia looks off towards the ceiling corner and does her best to keep the show going. Stevie is still preaching the gospel, and Ellinor wants to have a therapy session? Blasphemy!

“Nothing!”

A poke in her ribs knocks her off beat, and she turns around with the little space she has between goth girl no. 43 and grunge boy no. 10.

“Noth--”

“Sera and Dagna made things super awkward,” Ellinor gripes, cringing as she shakes her hips around. “I’m worried Cullen’s gonna think I’m some succubus.”

Ah. They take hold of each other and Olivia spins Ellinor around in a picture-perfect change, and they switch spots. Turning back around she finds Ellinor’s scowl has only deepened, and it makes her want to join her on the sinking ship.

“Theia is being super weird about me bringing Cass here,” she adds with another side-shuffling move and shoulder dip. “I dunno if I should have left her there in the sapphic corner.”

“You left her in the queer corner?!”

Damn, it has so many names. “Yes?! Was I bad? Is this bad?!”

“--think that’s bad.”

“--Fuck. Do you think you should have left Cull--”

“Fuck no, I’m an--”

“We’re idiots. What are we--”

“--doing?!”

The final chorus hits, and the crowd gets even more hyped. They join in with the howling and yelling, but it’s mostly out of the need to scream into the void. Then, as is tradition during some point in these parties, someone grabs Olivia from behind and launches her up. Holding her like some statue of liberty, she would usually bring them home with her particular enthusiastic lip-syncing while Ellinor finds the nearest flat surface to hop on. But, as Olivia mouths along with a face of dread and eyes locked on her best friend who looks equally anxious, no one -- not even the Goddess Stevie -- can save this detour.

#day & age #friendship fic #modern au #olivia sinclair #ellinor trevelyan #modern thedas au #fic stuff #SURPRISE BITCH THOUGHT YOU SAW THE LAST OF ME

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norikiru-blog · 6 years

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— answer these questions then tag 20 blogs you’d like to know better!

tagged by: i did crimes tagging: follow my bad influence, kiddos

nicknames: grey, nerd

zodiac: leo

height: idk man, 5′6 ish?

time: 2:25pm

favourite band / artist: if you haven’t caught on to it being 21p yet then there’s no help for you in this world

song stuck in my head: does this even count...

last movie i saw: i think... fantastic beasts. the first one, i rewatched it like a month ago. ...i don’t watch a lot of movies.

last thing i googled: ‘pokemon let’s go lavender town’ bc i couldn’t remember where/when to get the silph scope. i haven’t played a game taking place in the kanto region since i was a kid ok

other blogs: oh god, here we go... @atlaslived, my canon shiro sideblog to this one; @isolasjon, my v low activity elsa; @animosus, my on-hiatus-probably-just-until-i-see-the-movie newt; @greenbuilt, my v v low activity green lion; and finally @shinbou, my now archived genji.

do i get asks: yes!! bc you’re all lovely people who are kind enough to send me things

why did i choose this username: because in looking for a good one word url, aiming for something japanese, i found norikiru which means to persevere through adversity, to survive, and if that isn’t a great way to sum up shiro’s life even in this au of mine, idk what is.

following: 151

average amount of sleep: my schedule’s been wonky lately, i’ve been going between like, 6 hours and 10.

what i’m wearing: ...big jurassic park t-shirt & sweats. bright green & yellow loz hoodie is off & on bc my room fluctuates temperature really suddenly lmao

dream job: lmao i still say zoologist but honestly idk anymore. major depression is a hell of a thing, my guys

dream trip: japan

favourite food: pizza bc i’m not unique.

play any instruments: actually, yes!! i played flute for four years in my school band. also taught myself some tenor sax & keyboard, but i haven’t played anything in years.

eye colour: blue, maybe blue-grey?

hair colour: dark brown

languages you speak: english, v basic japanese, v v beginner french & swedish. tbh i wanna pick these back up and keep learning.

most iconic song: ????? what comes to mind to me is fob’s ‘dance dance’

random fact: i’m a weeb but only when it comes to love live ( and pmmm but much less so ). my shelves are covered in best girl figures, i have too many gd keychains, and i’ve been playing the mobile game for like... four or five years.

describe yourself as aesthetic things: dark room lit only by the screen of a laptop, shelves full of books with the overflow stacked on the floor in piles, the smell of lavender while you’re tucked in with a warm blanket & something relaxing on tv, a hot cup of tea next to the keyboard while a writing document sits open on screen, cat fur everywhere, a room covered in various collectibles and merchandise from numerous fandoms, the jingling of too many keychains hanging from your bag.

#dash meme.#☆ ― 「 stealing canon characters & rehoming them since 2k18 」 mun.#since it's munday!!

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victoriazanaademi · 6 years

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My extensive collection of Funko Pops. We have in order Sam, Dean, Jotun Loki (He glows in the dark), Eleventh Doctor , 80s Voltron, Newt Scamander, Percival Graves, Chat Noir and Plagg and my recent additions Izuku Midoriya and Shouto Todoroki. I feel like the collection will only grow. Now each of my Funko Pops have a story behind them so under hte read more is the stories behind each Funko Pop.

Sam and Dean WInchester: Now these two are the ones that started my Funko Pop collection. I ordered them both from a catalouge of a very awesoem Swedish book store called Science-Fiction Bokhandeln (The Science-Fiction Bookstore) which is Nerd Nirvana. I couldn’t just choose which one to pick so I chose both brothers instead.

Jotun Loki: I found Jotun Loki at GameStop. The GameStop I was in has this huge section full of Funko Pops and turth to be told I wasn’t actually plannign to buy more Funko Pops after Sam and Dean but that went completely out of the window when I saw Loki. He glows in the dark so when I have the lights on in my room he kinda charges under the light nad he faintly glows when I am in bed. Oh yeah and he is also a bobblehead.

Star-Lord: Ok so Star-Lord I found when I went to my very first convention back in 2014. The Con being Stockholm Comic-Con. One of the booths had literally like three or four shelves of Funko Pops which all were sorted after move and/or tv-series so it was easier to find the Pop you wnated and seeing as Guardians of The Galaxy just had become my new favorite movie I picked Star-Lord.

The Eleventh Doctor: I got the Eleventh Doctor during a trip to Estonia with my uncle. We went to a bookstore that had all sorts of cool things besides books and they had this almost empty Funko Pop shelf and I saw Eleven there and I was like I had to pick him the frick frack up.

80s Voltron: Ok this one was found at the same GameStop I found Loki. I was again nad I remember looking forever for Voltron online but to no avail bu then I saw him almost at the top of the big wall of Funko Pops that they had. I grabbed him nad paid for him and loved him.

Newt Scamander: Newt was actually a Christmas present 2016. My uncle knew Newt happened to be my favorite character in Fantastic Beasts and decided to gift me the Funko Pop for Christmas.

Percival Graves: I aquired Graves from GameStop in Gothenburg cus a) I ship Gramander and b) he was kinda awesome as a character well except for the reason that is obvious.

Chat Noir (with Plagg): I love Miraculous. Chat Noir is my favorite and with Plagg its kinda like you get two for the price of one. I ordered him online.

Izuku Midoriya: I actually got him from GameStop last Saturday. Yes the same GameStop as I got Loki and Voltron.

Shoto Todoroki: Ordered him from the same place I ordered Chat from got him today and I even reviewed him along with Izuku which you can watch here

#toy collector #Toy collection #funko collector #funko pop

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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How a Forgotten Avengers Cartoon Predicted MCU Phase 4

https://ift.tt/3pDpl2G

While it doesn’t quite stack up to its DC counterpart, the Marvel Animated Universe stretched through the ’90s and had some real bangers. Much like the modern cinematic universe, various cartoons were connected as one giant piece of continuity. X-Men and Spider-Man were the biggest hits while Iron Man, Fantastic Four, and others had less of an impact. The closest thing they had to a climactic culmination was the Secret Wars adaptation near the end of Spider-Man’s final season. After that, they kind of limped into oblivion with a few shows that didn’t catch on.

That leads to the biggest difference between the Marvel Animated Universe and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. When it came to the latter, the real beginning came from the Avengers brand name. Nick Fury appearing at the end of Iron Man to discuss the Avengers Initiative was a sign of what these movies were promising while the first Avengers movie was not only a finish line to the movies before it, but it was also the moment that spring-boarded Marvel’s film universe into the stratosphere.

But for the Marvel Animated Universe? Avengers was the harbinger for the end.

Avengers: United They Stand first aired in late October 1999 and ended in late February 2000. It was the final Marvel animated show in this continuity to be produced and start airing, though technically Spider-Man Unlimited was the last one to air any episodes whatsoever. The quick version is that Fox aired three episodes of Spider-Man Unlimited, it bombed hard in the ratings, they shelved it, and then over a year later decided, “Listen, we have ten more episodes of this on our hands. Let’s just air it already.”

Either way, the double-punch of this Avengers cartoon and the most un-Spider-Man show possible with Spider-Man in the title ended the Marvel Animated Universe. These came shortly after Silver Surfer failed to catch on, giving us three Marvel cartoons that only went thirteen episodes before getting the axe.

It’s fortunate that Avengers: United They Stand is available on Disney+ as for the first time in its existence, the show is actually relevant! Now don’t get me wrong. It’s still not a very GOOD show. I’m not going to treat it like some lost gem. Still, people need content to watch in this lengthy pandemic and this Avengers cartoon is a great way to get ready for MCU Phase 4.

So put on your transforming armor and let’s get this list started!

THE NEXT PHASE OF AVENGERS

One of the reasons the show existed was to follow suit and compete with Batman Beyond. Although it really isn’t well-explained, Avengers: United They Stand is supposed to take place years after the other animated Marvel shows. One of the showrunners once claimed it was 25 years later and that only works if Scarlet Witch and Hawkeye have really good genes, but sure. It’s [some years] in the future.

Even though there had barely been any mention of the Avengers before this show – and keep in mind, we had freaking Force Works as a regular part of Iron Man – the time jump allows for the team to be something that may have already peaked. This Avengers cartoon is infamous for its bizarre intro where the team poses together, the shot pans up to show Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor, and it cuts away after a split second. For whatever reason, these guys weren’t allowed to be starring characters on the show, so it played them up as the founders and the shoes that this team needed to fill.

For the record, while Captain America and Iron Man each showed up for an episode, Thor never did.

The basic gist of the show is, “You know how Cap, Iron Man, and Thor are the Big Three of the Avengers? Well, their time has passed. Now you have to deal with Wonder Man and Wasp. Sorry.” There are even shots in the mansion that show paintings of former team members like Hulk, Beast, and Quicksilver.

Yes, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver were on different rosters. Then again, she was in Force Works and he was in X-Factor. The lack of codependency between the two is probably way healthier than how they are in other Marvel continuities.

Getting back to the point, Phase 4 of the MCU is at a time when the classic Avengers have moved on. Iron Man and Black Widow are dead. Captain America is an old man. Thor is doing space stuff. Hawkeye is about to retire. Scarlet Witch is…busy.

The MCU has a void due to the big question mark of what the Avengers even are right now. And being 13 years in, we’re due to get the likes of Tigra thrown in at some point. The MCU is naturally what the Avengers cartoon was unnaturally.

WANDAVISION ORIGINS

The closest thing Avengers: United They Stand has to a main villain is Ultron, which is good for someone checking the series out for the first time as he’s familiar enough from his movie appearance. Unfortunately, he’s pretty one-dimensional and he talks just like the “Powered by The Cheat” version of Strong Bad. Say what you will about the James Spader version of the character in Avengers: Age of Ultron, but at least he had his moments of being intimidating.

The opening two-parter has Ultron create Vision as his ultimate killing machine and sends him after the Avengers. Vision proceeds to zap Wonder Man into a coma, gets overwhelmed by the Avengers, and is reprogrammed with Wonder Man’s brainwaves as the best available option of keeping Wonder Man alive in some way. Vision’s new personality overrides Ultron’s programming and he joins the Avengers, all while Ultron captures the comatose Wonder Man and holds onto him for much of the series.

Wonder Man is essentially supposed to be the Morph of the Avengers cartoon, but he can’t go five minutes without looking like a gigantic doofus and you get the idea that the Avengers are just better off without him.

X-Men: The Animated Series – The Worst of Charles Xavier

By Stephanie Williams

Marvel’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: Who Are the Villains?

By Jim Dandy

Since Scarlet Witch and Wonder Man already had a thing brewing between them, those feelings continue on in Vision. He spends the series gradually coming to terms with his romantic interest in Wanda. She never really picks up on it, nor does she entertain the idea of getting down with a mechanical man, but it’s definitely a love triangle we’re supposed to be invested in that would supposedly be developed more in the hypothetical second season.

Speaking of Vision, it is pretty funny how he’s easily the most powerful member of the team and he tends to politely hang out in the background so the writers can ignore his powers for the sake of the guy who shoots arrows, the guy who can fly, and the lady who does cat stuff. At least in the Atlantis episode they’re able to get around it by saying the lack of direct sunlight is causing him to fade.

Lastly, there’s one episode based around Agatha Harkness and Salem’s Seven. I’m not saying you should expect to see a delightful, sass-filled Kathryn Hahn performance, but it’s a hell of a thing seeing her in cartoon form and knowing the glow-up awaiting that witch in a couple decades.

FALCON THE REPLACEMENT

From the opening episode, the other new character to join the team (albeit without trying to kill the others beforehand) is Falcon. This is because unlike Hawkeye, Falcon is able to rescue the President of the United States from Vision’s rampage. What’s the President’s name? No idea. The show never gets around to telling us. Even Vision’s robot POV screen just calls him “President.”

Falcon – accompanied by his occasionally-green lips – is the closest thing the series has to a down-to-earth character. In other words, there are TWO moments where we see him doing normal guy things by hanging out with his nephew in public. We never do get to see Hawkeye buying groceries or Tigra returning library books or any other non-superhero stuff.

Unfortunately, despite his introduction to the series, Falcon doesn’t come off as the main character like he probably should. He fades in importance and even when Captain America pops in for an episode, they don’t spend any effort in building up the world’s most patriotic bromance. It’s instead about Hank Pym moping that he’ll never be as cool as Captain America.

To be fair, I’d also be moping about that if I was Hank Pym. I’m moping about that right now!

ANT-MAN VS. KANG THE CONQUEROR

Okay, so they didn’t really pair up Captain America with the Falcon. That’s okay, because we do get to see an episode dedicated to Ant-Man vs. Kang the Conqueror! Granted, it’s Hank Pym and not Scott Lang, but it’s still a nice enough prelude to Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania!

One of the big drawbacks of Avengers: United They Stand is that the costume designs are outright terrible. The Avengers themselves have base costumes and various forms of armor depending on what kind of adventures they’re getting into (underwater, arctic weather, space, etc.). The villains, for the most part, also suffer from ugly designs.

As Kang the Conqueror has always looked hideous, his animated appearance is at worst a lateral move.

He gets his own episode, where it appears that he ruled (will rule?) the distant future, only to be kicked out of that era and the only way he can get back is with a powerful obelisk. The Avengers get their hands on the obelisk and Kang decides to threaten New York City to get it back.

Although he’s dealing with someone from centuries ahead, it’s all up to Ant-Man to outsmart him, giving us one of the better episodes of the show. Though it does include the incredibly awkward moment where Pym has to pretend that he’s all right with allowing slavery to happen while arguing with Falcon.

HAWKEYE AND THE SWORDSMAN

Watching animated Hawkeye, it really drives home how blessed we all were to get the X-Men: The Animated Series version of Wolverine. Logan was a ticking time bomb and gruff, but he also came off as badass, sympathetic, and genuinely likeable uncle figure. He’s someone you’d want to hang out and get a beer with.

Hawkeye on Avengers: United They Stand tries to be Wolverine, but is just a whiny asshole. You’d tell him good morning and he’d get in your face and clench his fists while wondering what you mean by that. He’s just the worst.

Meet the New Characters in Marvel’s Hawkeye Disney+ Series

By Jim Dandy

How The Avengers Cartoon Influenced the Marvel Cinematic Universe

By Vinny Murphy

But hey, Hawkeye is getting his own Disney+ show down the line and if there’s anything to prepare you for wanting to see Clint pass the torch-arrow and disappear forever, it’s this!

He does get one episode where he leaves the Avengers and reconnects with his old mentor the Swordsman. While Hawkeye is terrible here, Swordsman comes off as one of the more charming and likeable characters in the whole series. Tony Dalton is set to play him on the Disney+ show, and I welcome that.

BARON ZEMO MAKES HIS PLAY

The MCU already gave us Helmut Zemo back in Captain America: Civil War, but he was a bit restrained and sat on the sidelines while we focused on the hero vs. hero fights, Black Panther, Spider-Man, and Chris Evans’ biceps during that helicopter scene. It’s in Falcon and the Winter Soldier that we’ll get to see him in his crazy comic book glory, wearing his purple sock mask and trying a little louder to destroy superhero society.

The episode of Avengers with Captain America is all about the Masters of Evil. It’s made up of your usual villain B-listers like Absorbing Man, Moonstone, Tiger Shark, etc. Leading them is, of course, Baron Zemo, who is fairly comic accurate compared to most other characters.

The episode for the most part doesn’t work because the Masters of Evil is a villain team-up group when we haven’t even been introduced to these villains ahead of time (unless you count Absorbing Man popping up in the Incredible Hulk cartoon). They’re no Secret Society of Supervillains, is what I’m saying.

Still, other than the conflict of who should be leading the Avengers between Cap and Ant-Man, the big rivalry here is Cap and Zemo. Granted, Falcon vs. Zemo would be more fitting these days, but the classic clash will have to do. Plus Zemo blames Cap for a death in his family, which goes well with the MCU version of Zemo if you ignore that the live-action Zemo mourns his innocent wife and kids while the cartoon version mourns his Nazi war criminal dad.

The Masters of Evil – especially with Moonstone there – is a stepping stone to Thunderbolts and there’s a chance we might get that plot in the MCU sooner than later, hopefully with Zemo involved.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Speaking of villain team-ups, the finale dealt with the Avengers fighting the Zodiac. Yeah, we…we can go a few more phases before the MCU brings in Zodiac. That’s cool.

The post How a Forgotten Avengers Cartoon Predicted MCU Phase 4 appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2ZzOznS

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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hexitca · 6 years

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I was tagged by @rebellingstagnationblog

1. Coke or Pepsi: Coke

2. Disney or DreamWorks: DreamWork

3. Coffee or tea: Tea but im starting to like coffee with vanilla creamer stuff

4. Books or movies: Books, I can’t sit during a movie anymore lol unless i really like the story or characters

5. Windows or Mac: Windows

6. DC or Marvel: Marvel (Thor, captain america and iron man especially)

7. Xbox or Playstation: Neither on the computer or 3DS

8. Dragon Age or Mass Effect: I never played but I love watching Dragon Age let plays

9. Night owl or early riser: Both but I prefer Night owl b/c even tho my body is up at 6am, my soul isnt

10. Cards or chess: neither i get bored. unless alcohol is involve lol

11. Chocolate or vanilla: Vanilla is always first choice. I can eat chocolate but never chocolate ice cream

12. Vans or converse: Always converse

13. Lavellan, Trevelyan, Cadash, or Adaar: I dont know what this is haha

14. Fluff or angst: Both but I always lean towards angst with a fluffy ending

15. Beach or forest: Forests, i hate sand

16. Dogs or cats: I like both but i rather have a cat

17. Clear skies or rain: Rain if im wearing the right shoes, once i get my feet wet i hate everything lol

18. Cooking or eating out: Both but being a busy grad student im eating out lol

19. Spicy or mild food: SPICY YUM

20. Halloween/Samhain or solstice/yule/Christmas: Halloween ALWAYS

21. Would you rather forever be a little too cold or a little too hot: A little too cold b/c thats actually the truth im always cold ALL THE TIME

22. If you could have a superpower, what would it be: Super strength

23. Animation or live action: Animation!

24. Paragon or renegade: What?

25. Bath or shower: I would prefer baths but i have a shower in my room so i just use that

26. Team Cap or Team Iron Man: Team Stony yo lol (but i would die or kill for Tony/Iron man sorry Steve)

27. Fantasy or sci-fi: Fantasy

28. Do you have 3 or 4 favorite quotes if so what are they?

All of them are Lemony Snicket lol:

1) “Wicked people never have time for reading. It's one of the reasons for their wickedness.” (looking at the orange man...)

2) “Everyone, at some point in their lives, wakes up in the middle of the night with the feeling that they are all alone in the world, and that nobody loves them now and that nobody will ever love them, and that they will never have a decent night's sleep again and will spend their lives wandering blearily around a loveless landscape, hoping desperately that their circumstances will improve, but suspecting, in their heart of hearts, that they will remain unloved forever. The best thing to do in these circumstances is to wake somebody else up, so that they can feel this way, too.” (I have had nights like these)

3) “A good library will never be too neat, or too dusty, because somebody will always be in it, taking books off the shelves and staying up late reading them.” (When i was living in Italy, i was a little lost and feeling scared b/c i went alone while everyone else in the school had ppl from their school. so i found the library in the city and hung out in there for the few days until i got adjusted lol)

4) “When someone is crying, of course, the noble thing to do is to comfort them. But if someone is trying to hide their tears, it may also be noble to pretend you do not notice them.” (i wish ppl would just do that, when im trying to hide tears the worse thing to do is to ask me a million questions or if im ok 20 times)

29. YouTube or Netflix: Both but youtube is my first choice

30. Harry Potter or Percy Jackson: Percy Jackson, i havent read the books but i like the characters better and im a huge mythology nerd lol

31. When you feel accomplished: When i finish an assignment that ive been working on for months/weeks - such a good feeling lol

32. Star Wars or Star Trek: I literally never seen any movie from both except for The Force Awakens b/c it has a woman lead and a black man co-lead (kinda lol)

33. Paperback books or hardcover books: Both

34. Fantastic Beasts or Cursed Child: Neither, lol i havent read fantastic beasts but i didnt get into the movie

35. Rock or pop music: Both!

36. What is the most important thing in your life: Drawing, if i couldnt draw i would die

37. Mountains or sea/ocean: sea/ocean but not in the sea/ocean only looking lol

38) Name a couple of songs you’ve been really into recently.

It Ain’t My Fault - Brothers Osborne, I Could Use a Love Song and My Church - Maren Morris, Love Lies - Khalid, Normani, Alone - Halsey, Anything by Florence + The Machine, Dorothy, Halestorm all the time lol

Im not good at tagging so Anyone who wants to do it pls do!

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newcob · 6 years

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Here’s a writing I saved from before I deleted last year. It was from an anon who had asked for an alternative ending to the movie where Jacob doesn’t forget Newt. I have one other oneshot I still have, plus one I started, and I might do newer versions of these two as well, because they’re over a year old and I’m pretty sure my writing has changed a lot.

Anyway! Oneshot below the cut, and here is an AO3 link!

Jacob, surrounded by a mass of other workers at the canning factory, dully ambled down the alleyway to the factory, all preparing for hours and hours of boring, disheartening work; in some of the men's eyes, you could already see the soullessness that accompanied the occupation. The sky was grey and dreary, a well matched aesthetic to Jacob's mood. Not only had his dream been denied by the bank, but he had to return to the only work he could manage- which, to him, seemed like fate just playing cruel tricks on him. Lost in the thoughts he didn't have, Jacob suddenly reeled, caught off balance when something- or somebody- had abruptly shoved passed him, knocking into him as a result, and causing Jacob to drop his briefcase. "Hey!" Jacob snapped, turning in the direction the blue had gone. "Watch where ya'going!" In front of him stood a man, back turned towards him. All he could see was his blue jacket and mess of auburn hair. He was slightly leaned over, stopped mid-walk, with his arm outstretched as if to pick up one of two briefcases that laid on the ground- the one that Jacob knew to be his, too. "Look, fella," Jacob took a step towards the man and snatched his own briefcase from the ground. "I don't know what you're trying to pull on me here, but if you'll excuse me, I have actual work to attend to." He started to continue on his way when he heard a voice break the silence. "I, um-" At this point, Jacob was the only worker to not have gotten to the canning factory, and it was more than likely he'd receive some sort of punishment as a result. He turned back and looked at the stranger, who was now facing toward and looking at him, his hands shyly folded over each other. His hair was messy, with wavy bangs swooping to one side, freckles dusted across his face, and- even Jacob had to admit it- great cheekbones. Jacob raised an eyebrow. "Do you need something or what?" The man gave him a half smile, half grimace, and nodded his head, ducking it down slightly. "Well- Well originally I was originally just going to switch the cases, but it would seem I got a little bit caught up in my own emotions, wouldn't it?" Genuinely confused, Jacob took a step towards the man, furrowing his eyebrows. "Switch the- what're you talking about, Mister-" "Scamander," the man interrupted. "Newt Scamander." "Okay," Jacob continued, still not making any sense of what was happening. "Look-" "Here, here," Newt cut him off, hurriedly closing the space between and bringing the case up in a way so it could be opened. "Open it. It is for you, after all, Jacob." Jacob gave him a startled glance. "I- Mr. Scamander, how, uh, how do you know my name?" "Oh," Newt smiled a sad smile. "Call me Newt." His voice was hushed and held a certain importance in it. Jacob looked at Newt curiously before slowly moving his hands up to snap open the case, lifting the cover to see what appeared to be bright, metallic eggshells. "What are-" "Occamy eggs," Newt answered, without letting the question be asked. "They're made of silver. I want you to have them, and to use them so that you can get the loan for your bakery." He seemed to be searching Jacob's eyes for something. "So you can live out your dream, and your own fantastic life." Jacob's eyes widened, a smile forming in the corners of his mouth as a fluttering feeling crept into his chest. Not a moment passed before he had shut it down and taken a step back. He pressed his fingers against his temple- he was getting a slight headache, and, for some reason, one spot on his neck was incredibly sore. "Mr. Scamander- I don't know who you are, or how you know who I am, or how you got these- these whatever eggs, or how you know I want to open a bakery, or how you know I didn't have the collateral-" He stopped in his tracks when he made eye contact again with Newt, who's eye had fallen from being bright and hopeful-looking to shadowy and upset. "Mister Scamander?" Newt bit his lip, staring at Jacob for a moment before slamming the briefcase shut and locking it, and kneeling on the ground to turn his attention to his own briefcase. "I do hope you don't mind being late for work," Newt mumbled as he opened the case, "Now, if you would, just follow me." And- to Jacob's amazement- stepped inside. And downwards. And disappeared into the case. Jacob took a small step back, a million thoughts recoiling and tossing and turning in his head, so fast that he could barely grasp any one of them, let alone dwell on them. But he complied, cautiously stepping one foot into the case, and then the other, and carefully stepping downwards- getting stuck for a moment, to his own annoyance. At the bottom of the case's steps was a small shed, lined with cabinets and shelves that were overfilling with varying vials, books, and strange bottles and materials. Newt stood before Jacob, a timid grin on his face, before he opened the door, revealing to Jacob the greatest sight he had ever seen; an entire world, filled with animals- no, beasts- as they walked, crawled, and flew by. Filled with awe, Jacob filed passed Newt, taking in the sight of this strange world. And then he began to remember. He remembered meeting Newt that day he had gone to the bank to ask for the loan, and witnessing the tiny Occamy emerge from its shell, and transporting from inside the bank to outside with Newt. He remembered Newt's creatures spilling from his case and wreaking havoc on his apartment. But, as a certain warmth settled over his chest and a genuine smile grew on his lips, Jacob recalled the fondness that he had harbored for Newt, and a peculiar wanting and longing settled within him. Wanting not only to have been returned to this world of magic and wonder, but also of Newt himself. Laughing from joy, Jacob turned to face Newt, who's face seemed to be housing just as much happiness as Jacob felt. "Newt," he said with a gentle tone, his throats going slightly dry. "How did you- I'm not even supposed to know-" "Hush," Newt silenced him, stepping towards Jacob until there was not much room between them. "If you weren't supposed to know, it wouldn't have happened." He rubbed Jacob's arms reassuringly. "I, um, wouldn't have grown such- such affections for you." Jacob smiled, reaching up and running his thumb on Newt's jaw before gently pulling the taller man into a kiss, underneath the early morning twilight of Newt's briefcase world.

#fantastic beasts and where to find them #fbawtft #fantastic beasts #newcob #scamalski #newt x jacob

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umbral1s · 6 years

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I was tagged by @thebittervampire to answer these questions about books/reading! Thank you very much! :D

1. Which book has been on your shelves the longest?

Probably the first two volumes of D.Gray-man by Katsura Yoshino. I think I bought it back in 5th grade, when it was recommended by the manga club of my school.

2. What is your current read, your last read and the book you’ll read next?

Currently Der Ruf des Henkers by Björn Springorm. I’m also reading “The Call of Cthulhu and other weird stories” by H.P. Lovecraft then and again. Since there are only short stories, it’s great when I want to read something else and need some variation. The last book I read was The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R, Tolkien. I’m still not sure what to read next, but I will probably continue with the other The Lord of The Rings books and start with the The Witcher book series by Andrzej Sapkowski or I read Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross. I have a long list.

3. Which book does everyone like and you hated?

I really really didn’t like The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I think it was one of the most boring books I’ve read, right next to The Host by Stephenie Meyer. Both have decent movies, but the books are just ugh no. I also really dislike Faust by J.W. Goethe for many reasons.

4. Which book do you keep telling yourself you’ll read, but you probably won’t?

Fantastic Beasts and where to find them by J.K. Rowling. I really liked the movie, but once I watched it twice and watched some interpretations etc,I don’t really feel the need to read it anymore. Maybe some day, when some time passed. I would also like to read Effi Briest by Theodor Fontane, but I probably won’t.

5. Which book are you saving for “retirement?”

Hmmm, maybe the Harry Potter book series?

6. Last page: read it first or wait till the end?

For a long time I always peeked to the last page, but right now I’m always saving it. Otherwise I might get bored, because I already know too much. xd

7. Acknowledgements: waste of ink and paper or interesting aside?

I really like when I see one. I think that’s just really nice and cute and just is a part of the book wich should not be missed!

8. Which book character would you switch places with?

Probably with Geralt from The Witcher. I would love to explore the world and know the characters in person. But I wouldd probably die pretty fast by a Drowner, so that’s debatable. xd

9. Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time)?

The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss always reminds me of @swingxilly, because she’s the one who recommended that brilliant book series to me.

10. Name a book you acquired in some interesting way.

I got one book from a flea market, if that counts. It��s a book about renaissance architecture.

11. Have you ever given away a book for a special reason to a special person?

Not yet, except some because I cleared out my room, but I wouldn’t call it that special.

12. Which book has been with you to the most places?

Most of the time the ones I’m currently reading.

13. Any “required reading” you hated in high school that wasn’t so bad ten years later?

Some books will always stay on my black list. Looking at you Kabale und Liebe by Friedrich Schiller. I still hate it to this day and that won’t change, same goes to the other terrible ones I had to read in school.

14. What is the strangest item you’ve ever found in a book?

Once there was chocolate in a book.

15. Used or brand new?

I’m more of brand new person, but I also don’t mind used ones, if they still look not too used and old, but it also depends on the book.

16. Stephen King: Literary genius or opiate of the masses?

Not necessarily my cup of tea, but I can see why people like his books. I also think his path to a great writer is admirable.

17. Have you ever seen a movie you liked better than the book?

As I already mentoned I liked the movie adaption of The Great Gatsby and The Host much better than their literary counterparts.

18. Conversely, which book should NEVER have been introduced to celluloid?

50 Shades of Grey.

19. Have you ever read a book that’s made you hungry, cookbooks being excluded from this question?

No, not yet.

20. Who is the person whose book advice you’ll always take?

I take the ones from @swingxilly and @kandilabre in consideration and I mostly take the ones from some blogs. I tag @swingxilly and @kandilabre. Have fun!

#that tag was pretty cool :D #and lots of details #great questions

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theticklishpear · 7 years

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Reading Meme

Tagged by @lizard-is-writing! Thank you so much, Lizard! I loved hearing about your adventures with books from your uncle’s store--so fascinating to think about the hands that have held those books and where they traveled.

1. Which book has been on your shelves the longest?

I still have a book about the tooth fairy and Good Night Moon from when I was really little, then Crocodile! Crocodile! Stories Told Around the World was gifted to me for Christmas in 1995 by my step-aunt, and then The Rough-Faced Girl gifted to me by my grandmother in 1998, and The Secrets of Vesuvius that I bought from a Scholastic book fair in 2001 (according to the order slip that’s still tucked in its pages).

2. What is your current read, your last read and the book you’ll read next?

Currently, I’m stalled out halfway through Tiffany Rose and Alexandra Tauber’s Hello World; last was Passenger by Alexandra Bracken; Magic Bites from Ilona Andrews is up next!

3. Which book does everyone like and you hated?

Truth be told, I dislike most classic literature. Not all of it--Crime and Punishment is one of my favorite books--but Jane Austen, Steinbeck, Fitzgerald, Ayn Rand, etc.... not my cup of tea. I can appreciate what they’ve done for literature and I can appreciate their historical context, but I am distinctly not a fan.

4. Which book do you keep telling yourself you’ll read, but you probably won’t?

I started reading The Arabian Nights as part of a quest to read the original stories that many Disney movies were based off of. I... I have theoretically been reading it since October 20, 2012, according to my Goodreads page. I have not actually read from it since 2014. Maybe someday, but let’s be real, here. Dyslexia and old styles of syntax are not my friends.

5. Which book are you saving for “retirement?”

I don’t save books I want to read for a special time, so I don’t know that I have an answer to this one, but Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth duet has been on the list for a very long time. It was a favorite of my mother and grandmother, and I watched the TV series and enjoyed it, but I also know that they’re long reads, with an almost saga-like feel in that they actually follow the lifespan of a cathedral’s construction, which, by the way, lasts generations.

6. Last page: read it first or wait till the end?

Nah. I don’t need the end of the story that bad. I don’t even know these people yet! How can I appreciate the arcs and the foreshadowing and really feel the oomph of the end of a story if I’ve already peeked? Nah, I’m patient. I’ll get there.

7. Acknowledgements: waste of ink and paper or interesting aside?

Never a waste of ink. Those people deserve to be acknowledged! Publishing a book is a team effort, from the folks who read early drafts to any publishing/editing team you may have had. Always let those folks know they matter. Readers aren’t required to read them, either, you know? If you don’t care, don’t read! But from my perspective, if somebody wrote an interesting story, I want to know a little bit more about them, where they came from, and how the story developed within them. I love acknowledgements if they actually say something or tell a story.

8. Which book character would you switch places with?

Jill Pole from The Chronicles of Narnia.

9. Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time)?

I remember a summer my sister and I wound up with my paternal grandparents for a few weeks up at my family’s cabin on Lake Vermilion in the arrowhead of Minnesota. I want to say it was between sixth and seventh grade--we were in the middle of moving across the country and my parents were going ahead of us kids to find a house and dropped us with our grandparents who were already up visiting the cabin, so I guess that would have been 2002. I had the summer reading list for the new school I’d be attending when we got where we were going and literally none of them sounded interesting. I picked The Phantom Tollbooth on random, and it has since become one of my very favorite books. I must have been the pre-teen from hell that summer; I kept laughing and having my mind blown and reading sections aloud to my sister--a much more avid bookworm than me--who was also reading for her summer list. I’m sure she was very annoyed with me.

10. Name a book you acquired in some interesting way.

All of my books have either been ones I’ve bought or ones others have bought and gifted to me for birthdays or Christmases, so there aren’t really any interesting stories. My copy of Haints came from the publishers since I’d edited it; Dorrie and the Blue Witch was given to me after my cat passed away since he was named after the cat in that series.

I do have a set of all the Deltora Quest books that I believe my sister actually bought from Scholastic book fairs at school, but I kind of adhered to them more than she did. We moved every two years growing up, and on-base housing is small, so we couldn’t always have all our books out at each place we moved, so we would go through and pick out books for one small bookshelf each to have in our rooms for the two years we lived there, and then the next place we moved, we’d pick other books, kind of rotating through what we had available at any given place. Eventually, the Deltora books came to live on my shelves instead of hers, and when she moved away to college and eventually got married and didn’t come back home to live anymore, I asked her if she wanted them back. She didn’t really remember they’d been hers. So I kind of absconded with those.

11. Have you ever given away a book for a special reason to a special person?

Not my own copies, no. But I did give my cousin a new copy of The Amulet of Samarkand for Christmas one year, and on the following year a line item appeared on his wishlist: “Any book Pear recommends.”

12. Which book has been with you to the most places?

The Firebirds and Young Warriors anthologies have always been my go-tos for taking with me places. Their stories are short and satisfying so that if I don’t get all the way through the book during my trip, it’s okay. I can choose a story from them that I love to read again during the evenings and I don’t have to commit to finishing the book. Otherwise, these days, whatever’s on my Kindle comes with me for space reasons.

13. Any “required reading” you hated in high school that wasn’t so bad ten years later?

While I’m not yet 10 years our of high school, in the spirit of the question, I’ve never gone back to read any of those I hated that were required reading. There are too many other books to try and favorites to find. I do have a couple on my shelves that I did like.

14. What is the strangest item you’ve ever found in a book?

Nothing particularly strange. News clippings pertaining to the book, the Scholastic order form I just found, post cards from my dad while he’s been deployed, old bookmarks I’ve made.

15. Used or brand new?

While I love seeing used books and guessing their stories, I prefer to get myself new ones so that I can watch my own book’s story grow in its pages.

16. Stephen King: Literary genius or opiate of the masses?

I admit. I’ve never read a single Stephen King book, nor am I interested in doing so. I have no opinion except that I’m tired of seeing his name. I’m glad he’s found success. I do not appreciate that he’s labeled the end-all-be-all of writing success.

17. Have you ever seen a movie you liked better than the book?

Better than, no; as good as, yes. The Cadfael miniseries is A+; To Kill a Mockingbird is fantastic; and the two incarnations of Howl’s Moving Castle are very different beasts that are both lovely. But all of those are stories that I also enjoyed. I mean, I’m sure there are some movies of classics that would beat slogging through the reading of it all to heck.

18. Conversely, which book should NEVER have been introduced to celluloid?

The Dark is Rising, Inkheart, and The Golden Compass all deserved better. Frankly, I’m pleased The Dark is Rising movie has vanished from collective consciousness because those books are delightful and that movie was the worst adaptation I’ve ever witnessed.

19. Have you ever read a book that’s made you hungry, cookbooks being excluded from this question?

Not that I remember. Reading descriptions of food doesn’t do anything for me, not even on menus.

20. Who is the person whose book advice you’ll always take?

I never always take advice from anyone on anything, but I do take my sister’s opinion into account. My preferences are fickle and not even I can explain them well enough to always take advice from someone.

Tagging: @ancient-trees, @roselinproductions, @sapphicaquarius, & @panhasablog!

#reading #memes #pear responds #pear reads

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fire-dragon55 · 5 years

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man-creates-dinosaurs · 7 years

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COMIC REVIEW: MONSTERS UNLEASHED! Vol. 2 #1 by Cullen Bunn (Marvel)

So it’s no secret that kaiju are, right now, getting very popular again. Popular enough for Marvel to decide that they want in on some of the giant monster action. Fortunately for them they have a home field advantage. You see back in the 1950s and 60s - while superhero books were under the McCarthyism-style scrutiny of pop-psychologists for subverting conservative American values - Marvel launched several titles like MONSTERS ON THE PROWL and WHERE MONSTERS DWELL dedicated to non-superhero stories about regular men and women facing down colossal creatures. Eventually however the superheroes came back and the monsters were pushed out - or in many cases kicked out as they were reduced to oversized punching bags for the likes of The Fantastic Four (seriously look at the cover of Fantastic Four #1 - it was the end of an era).

So when Marvel announced late last year that were going to be reviving their MONSTERS UNLEASHED! title I had every reason to expect it to be more of the same. Here are some classic monsters - watch The Avengers punch them, isn’t this fun? Or worse they could end up like poor Devil Dinosaur playing second fiddle to some precocious tween (As I’ve said before if you know a 13-year-old girl that is interested in science and dinosaurs you should be having them read Marvel’s MOON GIRL & DEVIL DINOSAUR on-going series. It’s a great book for them. It’s not a great book for a 29-year-old dinosaur loving guy however). All that changed however when they announced that writer Cullen Bunn would be in charge of the new MONSTERS UNLEASHED! series.

Bunn is best known for his original comic series THE SIXTH GUN - a horror Western - but he’s also worked on IDW’s Godzilla comic series and created the original series TERRIBLE LIZARD which is a much better version of the idea of a comic about a tweenage girl and her T.Rex and the various misadventures they get into and predates Marvel’s Devil Dinosaur and Moon Girl series by more then a year. The point however is that Bunn knows monsters so it felt like a safe bet putting a new giant monster centric series in his charge.

And that leads us up to this: MONSTERS UNLEASHED! Vol. 2 #1 which hit comic book store shelves today. Vol. 2 you might say? Yes technically there are five issues of MU! which precede this one. I don’t own them but I did read them. They basically have a bunch of Marvel superheroes running around the globe punching monsters - the exact thing I didn’t want. Fortunately it’s all a setup. By issue #3 the superheroes have figured out that this problem - giant monsters appearing all over the world - is too tall an order for them. Plus they aren’t very effective against them. Fortunately there is someone who is. An 11-year-old Japanese-American kid named Kei Kawade: a.k.a. Kid Kaiju. Kei is obessed with kaiju and knows everything about them. Even more importantly he can talk to them and summon them at will by drawing their likeness in his sketchbook. The superheroes decide that their best option is to turn the giant monster fighting business over to Kei and his team of five kaiju and that is where this issue picks up.

I’m happy to report that the first issue of MU! is pretty solid stuff. While set in the Marvel Universe the superhero stuff is thus far virtually nonexistent or kept in the background. The story is solely focused on Kei and his kaiju hanging out and fighting other giant beasts. Though clearly different from the classic Marvel giant monster books of yesteryear it is still refreshing to see a book focused on the monsters and that treats these creatures with some respect. Kei - and his bodyguard Monster Huntress Extraordinaire Elsa Bloodstone - are also nice protagonists in that they are fairly normal humans rather then out-and-out superheroes with secret identities and costumes and all that jazz. The art by David Baldeon and Marco Menyz is also very solid. Everything is very well drawn and colored. There’s nothing special about it but nothing to complain about either.

So right now I’m firmly enjoying Marvel's new MONSTERS UNLEASHED! series and am looking forward to Issue #2. In fact the only thing that might dissuade me from picking up next month’s installment is that Marvel’s comics are full of ads (unlike, say, Dark Horse’s) and it’s quite annoying trying to read a story with an ad for a different comic or video game or movie being interjected every other page. Considering that - I might just wait for the trade.

#kaiju #monsters unleashed #marvel #kid kaiju #comics #devil dinosaur #comic books

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