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aphrodisiac-siren · 1 year

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Words left unspoken

Aemond Targaryen x Velaryon!Reader

Summary: When writing a love letter for one of your ladies' maids, you start to remember your own feelings for Aemond who you were separated from for years and then all of a sudden you find yourself reminded of how much you are head over heels for the prince.

AN: I got this idea after rewatching a movie I really love. You get brownie points if you can guess the movie ;)

You stared out the window as you brushed your hair, admiring the lovely view of Dragonstone from your window.

It was so very different from your room back at King's Landing- instead of the busy city streets, you could look at the calming waters that emitted the calming sound of the waves crashing against the rocky cliffs.

You remembered how your childhood friend Aemond used to boast about having the better view, which overlooked Blackwater bay. You were a tad bit envious but never made a fuss about it since you did also happen to have a small crush on him and you knew he too fancied you; he wasn’t really good at being subtle about it.

You both had been separated after he'd lost his eye and ever since, the only way you both had communicated was through letters. You both had met once again at the age of seventeen when you went back to the Red Keep for a few weeks during Aegon's wedding which was when you found yourself falling for him a bit more. And yet, eventually, over the years, your letters to each other became less frequent until eventually you both completely stopped writing to each other.

You missed him terribly and so did Aemond but both of you had too much pride to actually grab your quills and write each other a letter after so many years of never writing.

You heaved a sigh, smiling to yourself upon a distant memory.

You were eleven, walking through the castle gardens of the Red Keep. You had a skip in your step as you hummed a melody to yourself.

"Y/N!" you heard your name being called out by a voice all too familiar. You halted and turned around, your velvet silk gown swishing elegantly with your sudden movement, as you locked eyes with Aemond who was standing there sheepishly. His pearly white hair had been tied back neatly and he was clad in his usual green attire. The boy offered a boyish smile as he held up his hand, offering you a single white rose.

You felt your cheeks heat up as a blush arose. You graced him with a smile, taking the flower from his hand before you leaned in to peck his cheek. What happened was, at the very same time, Aemond leaned in to say something further which resulted in you pecking his lips instead.

Aemond's eyes grew wide, just the same as yours as you both leaned away to look at each other, shocked- you both just had your first kiss.

This time it was Aemond who was blushing while you broke out into a fit of giggles, Aemond responding to it with a shy smile.

"May I come in, my lady?"

You snapped out of your little trance to look at one of your ladies' maids who was stood by your door. You offered her a warm smile as you walked away from the window.

"You may" you politely responded as you stood by your bed side, smoothing out the skirt of your gown.

The girl walked into your grand chambers, gingerly revealing to you an empty sheet of parchment.

"Would you help me write another letter, princess?" she meekly asked even though she knew you would say yes.

She was a girl barely two years older, who just like you had been separated from her beloved. Unlike you though, she never learned how to read or write so it was often your job to read out to her the letters she had received or write one for her.

You went to sit at your desk as soon as you took the parchment from her hands, fetching on your your quills and some ink.

"Alright, how do we begin?" you asked. You always wrote down whatever she dictated to you, rarely ever giving her any suggestions of your own.

"I do not know" she huffed out "we haven’t spoken in a while and I do not know how to start this letter"

You pondered for a moment, recalling your own situation with Aemond. It had been almost two years since the last time any of you had written to each other, you sometimes even forgot who it was who had sent the last letter.

"Oh how about" her voice perked up, as if she had the most amazing idea "I know we haven’t spoken in a long time, but you haven’t left my mind since.."

"And it surprises me, how my love for you grows as much as the distance between us" you subconsciously add, your mind wandering to him as you spoke "you cross my mind almost every day, without failure- just like the sun rises and sets each day without fail. It is almost as if, there is some unknown force that pulls me toward you"

You bit your bottom lip as you pondered on what else you could possibly pen down to a person you were head over heels for but had grown distant with; perhaps things you always wished to say? Things you wanted him to know so desperately but never really voiced out? Things you felt as though you were too late to say?

Like how you missed those sweet talks you used to have which usually involved only you talking and him merely listening, offering you one of the sweetest smiles you'd ever seen.

Like how the one thing you looked forward to in your whole day was when you would get to spend your time with him because when you were with him it felt as if all the worries you had in the world were all of a sudden non-existent.

Like how your heart skipped a beat whenever you laid eyes on him, a reminder of how deeply you had fallen for him.

Like how safe he made you feel, constantly assuring you that he would always stay at your side and how you would always have a friend to confide in.

Like how you did not mind being vulnerable around him, letting your guard fall like a heavy cloak to be replaced with a warm embrace of comfort that Aemond provided by speaking sweet nothings and then later sending you letters with words of assurance.

Like how you couldn’t imagine your life before him; How did he manage to brighten it up even more? By simply just writing you words? Unfair.

You wondered often if he ever felt that way but you were too afraid to ask just as you were to tell him any of this because you knew that if he didn’t feel the same you would be absolutely shattered.

you wanted to tell him, so very desperately how much he really meant to you, how much love you held for him- so much that all the oceans of the world be overflowing with it.

So much that if your love was a fire it would burn through even the thickest of dragon hides; it would bring down towns, cities and would continue to burn with the brightest of embers.

Embers that you had managed to tame over time until they were nothing more than a flame of a candle- a candle that would never burn out.

But gods did you want for it to become more than just a spark that kept a small wax candle lit. You wanted it to be brighter than any pyre ever lit, brighter than the sun even.

If only there wasn’t this distance, this... this-

"Oh my you've written so much already"

You immediately snapped out of a daze you didn’t even realise you were in, to look up at your maid to find her looking down at the parchment that you then noticed wasn’t blank anymore.

Had I been writing this entire time?

You had written every single thing without even realising it and thank the gods your handmaiden couldn’t read for you knew she would be sure to ask about Aemond and yourself.

You politely told her you would rewrite the entire thing, lying through your teeth and telling her the reason was that you had made a number of spelling mistakes.

She gave you an appreciative smile, letting you know she would come back after she was done with all of her duties so that you could read it out to her.

Once she had left, you looked at that paper once again, contemplating on what you to do about this proclamation of your love for the prince.

"What’s the worst that could happen?" you sighed to yourself as you fetched out some wax and a candle "we already do not talk, this is either going to fix that or things will just stay the very same"

And with that, you rolled up the paper and sealed it shut with wax, using your wax stamp to imprint your seal onto it before you could send it to king's landing.

#aemond targaryen #aemond x reader #ewan mitchell #hotd #prince aemond #aemond stannies #aemond #aemond x y/n #aemond x you

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zabala0z · 6 months

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I NEED TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR OPTIONS OF MUSICALS RN RN RN

IM GONNA ASSUME YOU MEANT OPINIONS SO LEMME LIST ALL MUSICALS IM AWARE OF AND MY OPINIONS.

Warning: rant ahead

Be More Chill: currently what I’m obsessed with at the moment. I get why people don’t like it but it’s just very charming to me okay 😭 I just think the characters are fun, the concept is interesting and the songs are just bangers. And maybe I slightly relate to it okay. The costumes are…questionable. But I think it’s super colorful which I love. My dream role is Christine. She is literally me.

Beetlejuice: this is what me and my oldest sister bonded over when she was always hiding in her room cause she was so introverted. We used to watch the animatics and we would sing “say my name”. So I only have good memories! We even planned to see it on Broadway except COVID happened abd it closed so :( but I love Beetlejuice and the songs!

Into The Woods: THIS IS WHAT GOT ME INTO MUSICALS. I remember I would rewatch the 2014 version constantly and sing the songs. Little red riding hood is my fav and always will be and “Your Fault” is just *chefs kiss* yes.

Sound of Music: I performed in this in 3rd grade at my older sisters high school. Now this was fun. I didn’t really get the concept of nazis so I was just like “why is Leisels boyfriend now evil :(“ so uh yeah- but really good musical!!

Hairspray: the songs are a bop and seaweed was my favorite.

Heathers: I’ve never watched the original movie but I have seen clips. Songs are great!! I always liked the costumes, even if they are stagnant throughout the whole show. My friend got into it so now I’m getting back into it. I remember I loved the animatics, even though I didn’t know what was going on half the time.

Dear Evan Hansen: ….okay. I remember I was super into the animatics. But then I learned the plot and was like: 😨 so

Hamilton: my oldest sister was super into it and I remember 6 year old me asked her “so what’s it about?” While we were driving to nyc and got a very long summary. I also used to watch many animatics and szinn was my fav. I do actually like it. I think it’s a bold concept that somehow worked and LMM did a great job at utilizing RAP and THE FOUNDING FATHERS.

Wicked: so I actually saw this on Broadway when I was 6 and I completely forgot everything. But I do remember when Glinda came down in those bubbles and I thought that was the coolest thing ever.

Theory Of Relativity: a modern musical that my school actually did a production of. Super fun! It’s a song cycle which I’m not super into but I liked the songs.

The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals: not Broadway but god DID I LOVE THIS. The characters are super interesting, I love the idea of a musical apocalypse. The fact every song was a “villain song” was so cool and the jokes killed me.

Nerdy Prudes Must Die: I love a good ol underdogs rise up story. Until the underdogs commit a felony <3 i feel like there would be no songs I would skip except “dirty girl” just cause…yeah. But I absolutely loved the characters! I thought Ruth and Richie deserved better. Grace is crazy but girl really was all, “It was an act of god!! 😇” NO IT WASNT.

Anyways. That’s everything. I love musicals. I think they’re very nice and I seriously wanna act in more

#be more chill #bmc #beetlejuice #into the woods #sound of music #hairspray #heathers #dear evan hansen #Hamilton #wicked #theory of relativity #the guy who didn't like musicals #nerdy prudes must die #musicals #musical #Zabala0z thoughts

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jadelotusflower · 8 months

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Rewatch: Stargate (1994, dir. Roland Emmerich)

What to do when there's so many shows and movies on the to watch list? Revisit shows and movies I've seen many times before of course! Maybe I'm just in need of some comfort viewing right now.

I can't remember when I first saw Stargate. It certainly wasn't at the cinema, but probably rented from the video store (yes, I am an Old) and was certainly keyed to my preteen interests: mythology and Soft(TM) male protagonists.

Over the years and though several rewatches, online fandom, and my love of behind the scenes featurettes, director's commentaries, and retrospectives, I've also gleaned quite a bit of background tidbits and trivia, and I have many thoughts! Most of them through the lens of nostalgia, but that can't be helped.

Are you ready to go back to Titanic Stargate?

The much maligned Pharaoh's head, but it makes for a symbolic opening, trying to find the meaning to the different patterns before the whole picture becomes clear.

David Arnold's theme remains a banger. One of the GOATs.

I'm watching the Extended Edition/Director's Cut, which opens in the North African Desert 8000 BCE to depict Jaye Davidson being abducted, which is only seen in flashback in the theatrical cut. It's atmospheric, but it does tip the hand of the narrative a bit. The stronger opening is probably:

Giza, 1928, where the Stargate is unburied. Even this scene is extended, where the fossilized head of an Anubis is also found. It reveals the sinister undertone far too soon, imo, and it was the right choice to cut it.

Present Day! Love of my life Daniel Jackson ruins his career by arguing that the Egyptian pharaohs of the IVth Dynasty did not build the great pyramids. He does not claim (as the show later does) that aliens built the pyramids. Important distinction!

"Is there a lunch or something, that everybody...?" lol, James Spader is great. This was the first role I ever saw him in, and didn't realise this was actually playing against type a bit, but I have been a fan of his ever since.

Shoutout to Viceca Lindfors, who plays Catherine with steely grace.

Jack O'Neil (one L) aka Kurt Russell (two L's), in a great character introduction that is ruined by some voiceover exposition. We get everything we need to know from his scene without it, except that Tyler shot himself with Jack's gun, but honestly it would have been more impactful if that detail was held back from the audience and revealed in the later scene with Daniel.

The great Richard Kind everybody! He will later appear in an extremely tone deaf episode of Stargate: Atlantis, but here he's Dr Gary Michaels, aka the guy Daniel gets to show up by swanning in and correcting his translation.

Daniel: That's a curious word to use, isn't it? Michaels: ...Yeah

Rae Allen plays Barbara Shore - you may remember her as reporter Gloria Thorpe in Damn Yankees. It's a shame neither of these characters ever turned up in the show, I like them both.

"You must have used Budge, I don't know why they keep reprinting his books." LOL, Daniel with his petty academic grudges. Although as I understand this is a valid criticism, as Budge's translation methods were very much outdated by the 90's. But Budge conceivably could have been a contemporary of Catherine's father, which is interesting to think about.

Jack arrives with his haircut to correct Daniel's assumption that the hieroglyphs are 5000 years old - they're actually 10,000 years old, which Daniel ironically finds ludicrous. To pick some nits, according to the opening Ra arrived on Earth in 8000 BCE which is presumably where the 10,000 number came from, but doesn't take into account Ra establishing a culture and ruling on Earth for however long before the rebellion, which is when the coverstones would have been carved.

Leon Rippy plays the General West and his utter disdain for Daniel despite him solving "in fourteen days what they couldn't solve in two years" kind of gives me life. His surly "any time" and passing over the reference materials without looking at them is so great. Fantastic performance in a tiny role.

Several people are smoking in this scene, including Jack and Barbara. It's easily forgotten just how common casual smoking was back in the day - 1994 seems a little late for it to be so prevalent, but it gives the room that atmospheric haze.

Emmerich was also a big smoker, so ...

Unrealistic that Daniel would be presenting his theory without running it past Catherine and the team first, but hey it's a movie, dramatic effect and all that.

Important to note that Daniel's contribution isn't only realising that the symbols were star constellations, but the purpose of the symbols, being a map to determine a course. He also deduced that seven symbols were needed, realised that the seventh symbol below the cartouche not inside it, and then identified the seventh symbol on the gate itself.

This is a really nice illustration to Daniel's core strength - he's not just a repository of knowledge, he's a puzzle solver.

Some small character beats - Michaels questions Daniel twice, while Shore reaches out to pat Katherine's hand in victory when West orders Daniel be shown the Stargate. Again, they should have been brought back for the show!

There's a star map in the control room, implying that they had at least an idea that the Stargate was a transportation device, making the team look even more foolish for not figuring out (in two years!) that a) the symbols were star constellations, and b) that seven symbols (address + point of origin) were needed.

Daniel assures West that he can decipher the gate on the other side in a stunning display of hubris - a character flaw that will stay with him in some form through all ten seasons of the show.

Although West doesn't actually ask Daniel how he will make the Stargate work for the return trip, so that's kind of on him.

Jack correctly deduces that Daniel's full of shit, then goes to look at the Anubis head found in the Giza sequence. Again unnecessary inclusion imo, Jack's motivation works better as ambiguous at this point.

Everyone has their own little character moment before going through the gate - Jack grits his teeth and raises his gun, Brown looks back to the others, Porro kisses a St Christopher medallion.

Daniel toying with the event horizon was a Spader addition (much to the chagrin of the VFX supervisor!)

Foreshadowing for the Abydos point of origin symbol.

"That's a nice tent! Oh, we each get a tent, that's nice."

A snarky Ferretti (the great French Stewart) throws Daniel's suitcase at him, scattering his books on the sand. Daniel is completely nonplussed, starts to gather them up and then sits down to munch on a 5th Avenue bar. I love original recipe Daniel. Don't get me wrong, I love show Daniel too, but the OG, man, just 100% unbothered when antagonised.

Although to be fair, Ferretti's frustration is justified (if not his reaction) so that probably is a factor in Daniel's (lack of) response.

Daniel feeds a mastadge chocolate and gets dragged across the dunes and slobbered on for his trouble. But he doesn't hold a grudge, because he goes from "get away from me" to patting the creature on the snout in about three seconds.

Sha'uri, my beloved!

Important to note that while the other water-bearers keep their eyes downcast, Sha'uri is the only one bold enough to look up and make eye contact with Daniel, who smiles at her.

Daniel, in return, is the only one to say thank you.

She's also very wary of Daniel at this stage, here and on the walk back to Nagada - she laughs at Skaara and Nabeh taking his handkerchief, but tenses up when he looks her way. Does she know at this stage that he has been earmarked as her husband?

It makes me curious, because I don't think that it's ever explicit in the film that Sha'uri is Kasuf's daughter and Skaara's sister (although it's implied), but it makes sense that she is the daughter of the chief and would therefore make a high status offering (ugh I feel gross typing that) for an emissary of Ra.

We know that Ra surrounds himself with child slaves (the creepy implications of which I don't want to think about), and it's unclear how old Sha'uri is meant to be (Mili Avital was 22), but I wonder if the reason why she was not married already is that this was always the role intended for her - to serve Ra in some capacity, perhaps (in tv show timeline) as a host for one of his underlings.

If so, it makes her fate in the show even more tragic.

Brown takes a picture on their approach to Nagada which is a nice little character beat - I wonder where that camera ended up? Derek Webster also had bit parts in Devlin/Emmerich joints Independence Day and Godzilla, fwiw.

"Ferretti, say again." Great line reading from Russell - he gets flack for being humourless/not being Richard Dean Anderson, but I think he has great presence in the role and character at this point - RDA!O'Neill is the product of Russell!O'Neil's experience in this film.

A sandstorm approaches and in the extended sequence there's a miscommunication that Skaara (Alexis Cruz) defuses. I like this addition, as it gives more scope to the connection between Jack and Skaara - he sees that Jack is the one in charge, but also that he's willing to listen, and Jack sees that Skaara is brave enough to face a threat, but also clever enough to diffuse the situation.

"Well that would have been an excellent reason to shoot everyone." lol, and people say snarky!Daniel was a show-only thing.

Trying to learn the word that means "sandstorm" from Kasuf and the incredulous/frustrated little laugh after is a nice touch too.

Erick Avari steals every scene he is - he was also in Devlin/Emmerich's Independence Day ("what's with the golf balls?!?" was an ad-lib), and of course he's great in The Mummy ( the delivery of "Do you really want to know, or would you prefer to just shoot us?" is perfection.)

He was only 42 during this movie! Hasn't aged a day since.

A great deal of Kasuf came from Avari as well - the role was only a few lines in the script and was mostly developed during rehearsals - the same was true for Alexis Cruz as Skaara.

While "tastes like chicken" was in the script, the clucking like a chicken came from Spader.

Pivotal scene, because it really shows Sha'uri's courage - her fear is palpable, first at her duty to offer herself to Daniel then at what his rejection may mean for her and her people. She is confused by his behaviour, delighted when they are able to exchange names, but guarded again when he draws in the sand. At this point she doesn't know if he is an emissary of Ra testing her resolve, but she takes the chance and fixes his drawing to make the symbol from Earth, then takes him to the hidden catacombs.

Sha'uri's leap of faith here is underrated I feel - she's been watching Daniel so closely and makes a very correct judgement about his character - there is something in him that she recognises, and decides that she can trust. At this stage she probably knows that she is safe with him, but she wants to go beyond that and actually connect with him.

Also she's wearing red here, the same colour as Kasuf and some of the other elders wear, which does imply it's a colour of status.

LOL, this scene would never happen today.

This was almost cut from the movie! The studio's focus was on the action and wanted to eliminate a great deal of the character stuff, resulting in the film testing very poorly. Devlin/Emmerich redid the cut to put everything back in and (surprise surprise!) the next audience screening was much more favourable.

Because Jack's character arc doesn't work without this scene! We need to see Jack actually bond with Skaara, to gift him the lighter, be amused when Skaara mimics him and takes a drag of the cigarette, then for things to turn when Skaara innocently reaches for Jack's gun and he blows up.

"I guess the word dweeb doesn't mean anything to you guys, does it?"

Too good! Too pure for this world!

The hidden catacombs fascinates me - the entrance is blocked with rocks so she presumably Sha'uri hadn't been there for some time. Is it something she came across as a child? Was it secret information handed down through the generations, perhaps from her mother?

The symbol for Earth is only visible from inside so she must have explored the catacombs at some point, perhaps wondering what the paintings meant, and she must have been aware that at one point writing wasn't outlawed. I do like the idea that both Sha'uri and Daniel have this great curiosity and yearning to understand - they also share a great capacity for trust and willingness to take leaps of faith that makes them very well matched.

The backstory with Ra changed very late in the process - originally the Egyptian boy was merely appointed as a proxy for the alien creature to rule Earth, not possessed by the alien. This is unfathomable to me and really don't think it could have worked - where's the menace if Ra isn't the actual alien being but just some guy who works for him?

Presumably, it means Spader came back to do reshoots for the tale of Ra's origins, and if you notice he only mentions possession in a closeups where the lighting is slightly different. The frescos in the wide shots also don't match the closeups, which Emmerich himself did.

Brown is the one who gives Daniel a gun. RIP Brown.

Djimon Hounsou as Horus!

The Anubis/Horus/Ra disappearing headgear was one of the few noticeably CGI effects - most of the film was done practically and it shows (in a good way). I will take puppets and props and extras every day over CGI, there's just something more visceral about films made this way.

Daniel dies for the first - but certainly not the last - time.

The extended edition has Daniel walking through Ra's ship after being revived - there's a cat on Ra's throne, and we see more of Ra getting bathed and dressed by his child slaves just to notch up the creepiness.

Whatever happened to Jaye Davidson?

Apparently he had difficulty with the role, no doubt because as written it made no sense, which is why they had to change it in editing, adding the flanges and the glowing eyes.

Davidson was concerned he'd ruined the movie, and apparently was relieved rather than upset to see the final film. I actually think it's a great performance, and Ra really has a menace that feels genuinely dangerous.

The Abydonian langauge was based on Ancient Egyptian as developed by Egyptologist Dr Stuart Smith, and apparently great care was taken to make it as authentic as possible. I...don't think the same can be said for the show.

Dr Smith also consulted on The Mummy.

O'Neil, Kawalsky, Ferretti, and Guy Who Will Soon Die (Freeman).

Is is Kawalsky or Kawalski? The credits say Kawalsky, but his uniform at the beginning of the film says Kawalski. I personally prefer the latter.

The extended edition has an extra scene following the escape - Jack and Daniel jump on a mastadge which takes off and separates them from the group as Sha'uri and Skaara look on thinking "where are those idiots going?"

They get stuck in a sandstorm where Daniel collapses, and they're only found because the mastadge is so upset about his new friend he wails - this explains why Daniel is coughing and spluttering when they get to the cave.

Many a slash fic has started this way, I'm sure.

I really like Kawalski in this scene - "these kids don't have anywhere else to go" really hits me for some reason. He's bonded with them too.

"I don't want to die, your men don't want to die, and these people here don't want to die. It's a shame you're in such a hurry to."

The pivotal Jack and Daniel scene - this where the reveal about how Jack's son died should have been, so we find out when Daniel does. Then we'd think back on all the previous interactions - Jack knocking the gun from Skaara's hand, being unable to shoot the kids Ra uses as human shields - and be able to read new meaning into them.

A tender moment that I kind of wish they'd let play out a little more, although Avital captures Sha'uri's vulnerability so well. This was her first scene!

While I do love the Daniel/Sha'uri romance, I think she gets unfairly dismissed as just the love interest when she's so much more. Sha'uri is the one who starts the Abydonian rebellion - she's the one who decides that "we can no longer live as slaves" and rallies the boys to save Jack and his men - she's the one who passes on the knowledge of Ra's true identity.

At that point it's unclear if she thought Daniel is dead or just captured - her reaction following the massacre in Nagada perhaps implies the former. When Skaara tells her that Ra has called an execution she's been looking at the cave paintings, so clearly rebellion is already on her mind, and she's willing to go against everything she's been taught to try and save - maybe Daniel - but maybe only his friends, to help them overthrow Ra.

Interesting costume change for Kasuf here - he no longer has his outer robes or headdress, nor is he riding a mastadge - has he been stripped of his leadership role? Horus is now in charge.

Also nice little character beat - while the other have their guns pointed at Horus, Daniel is looking back at Sha'uri.

I do love Skaara's defiance - telling the others not to bow when Kasuf orders them to, and later he'll be the most reluctant to surrender, throwing down his gun in disgust before kneeling.

Sha'uri carries a gun into the pyramid, but I think it would have been better to at least see her try and shoot at the horus guard before she is killed.

Ostensibly this is a plot necessity to get Daniel up into the ship to give him a final faceoff with Ra and setup using the rings to deliver the bomb, but I think it's also needed for the Daniel/Sha'uri relationship - if he hadn't almost lost her and been willing to risk his life to save her, I don't think his choice to remain on Abydos with her at the end would have rung as true.

"I am no longer amused." idc, Davidson is great.

The first - but certainly not the last - time Daniel will get his brain friend by the hand device.

Ra's ultimate downfall is his hubris - if he'd never revived Daniel to make an example of him it's likely he never would have been overthrown, or at least not in the way he was. Yes he may still have had the public execution, and Sha'uri and Skaara may have still tried to rescue Jack and the others, but without Daniel to shoot his staff to set off the disturbance it may not have been successful. Jack wouldn't have been able to properly communicate with the Abydonians to form a plan, Daniel wouldn't be there to reveal Horus as a mortal not a god to Kasuf, etc.

It's interesting to me because as I said above hubris is also Daniel's main flaw, although it manifests differently, but that's what really draws me to these kind of characters - people who are a force for good but in such a way that their idealism and drive could easily tip over into ruthlessness/villainy in the right circumstances, and we definitely see this explored a few times in the show.

Also interesting is even though Kurt Russell gets top billing, it's really Daniel who is our protagonist - he's the one who is the true adversary to Ra, they share the relationship and confrontational scenes - Jack's antagonist is really Anubis.

Kasuf arrives with the uprising, and ultimately I do love that all three of our Abydonian family - Sha'uri, Skaara, and Kasuf - play a vital role in overthrowing Ra, even if Jack and Daniel get the credit for actually killing him.

We're meant to be la la la don't think about it re: the child slaves who were presumably still on Ra's ship when it blew up.

And I'm a sap! Skaara and the boys saluting Jack, and getting his salute in return always gets me.

Kawalsky and Ferretti too!

It's very important that Sha'uri is the one who instigates the kiss with Daniel, to balance the earlier scene where he kissed her.

Because it's a relationship that could very easily veer into problematic or feel unearned, but by this point having saved each other's lives, having communicated and bonded and come to understand one another, they do seem to be genuinely falling in love rather than there being any sense of obligation.

I think there might have been an alternate ending - on the bts there's footage of Daniel and Sha'uri walking with the Abydonians. Daniel looks back, presumably at the pyramid, as if reckoning with his decision to stay and a last look back at his life on Earth. Then he puts his arm around Sha'uri and they blend into the crowd as Daniel becomes part of the Abydonian people.

And then they both lived happily ever after and no one ever bothered them again! I choose to see the movie and the show as very similar but different universes/timelines, so hold true to my headcanon that this version of Daniel/Sha'uri got that long and happy life together on Abydos.

But as it is, we get our goodbyes - Skaara gets a handshake of respect from Jack, and Daniel gets some nice closure on his relationships with the three surviving members of the team:

Ferretti - goes from "Isn't there something you should be doing right now? Like getting us out of here?" (throws suitcase) to "I always knew you'd get us back"

Kawalski from - "You're a lying son of a bitch!" to "Thanks Daniel"

And Jack, from "He's full of shit" to "I'll be seeing you around...Doctor Jackson."

Of course this was setting up the sequel in the planned trilogy, but it works well moving on - as I will be - to the show.

#stargate #stargate the movie #stargate rewatch #nostalgia rewatch #jack o'neil #daniel jackson #sha'uri #kurt russell #james spader #90's movies #dean devlin #roland emmerich #jlf posts #long post #rambling #meta

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eenadu-varthalu · 1 year

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Okay, review of Ponniyin Selvan 2 incoming (whether you like it or not) (and again, this is my personal opinion about the movie so please don’t kill me if you don’t agree).

I don’t know what to say. I really don’t. *proceeds to write essay*

Is it a good movie? Yes, hell yes, 100%

But will I be religiously rewatching this like I did part one? Maybe not.

Part 2 is a different vibe than part one. Like a complete script flip. It's a different movie (I guess one can figure that out from how different the album of the second movie is to the first). The drama (more like angst, ngl) amongst the characters is intensified while the story just seems to be something running in the background. We learn a lot more about some of the characters-- we see a different side to them: let it be the vulnerable side of Nandini or a more humanized form of Adhitha. Some of the prominent questions from part 1 are answered in part 2 (point to note: we are given the backstory of adhita and nandini which I think is a fantastic addition) but yeah I still don’t really know how to clearly explain this movie. It’s like one of those pieces of art that you have to see to cherish, to understand why people are going crazy about it.

There are moments that just make you want to go “what the actual hell” but there are others where you’re just sitting there, with your mouth wide open and/or tears welling up in your eyes. And it does not help that oftentimes this movie becomes a pendulum between these feelings.

The acting and the actors are a saving grace. Everyone is PERFECTLY cast and the scenes are such that even if there is a small hiccup, it's going to look like a big joke. The chemistry the cast has with each other is insane. Off the charts. (and I'm coining this right now, Chiyan Vikram, Aishwarya Rai, and Karthi are going to SWEEP all the awards). The scenes between the lovers, let it be kundavai and vanthiyadevan or nandini and adhitha is some of the best acting I have seen.

The music is also another savior in disguise. Let it be the first 10 minutes of the movie with the three songs back to back, or let it be using Veera Raja Veera on three separate occasions to highlight three different moments in the movie-- Rahman really killed it with this one (although I am a bit disappointed that NONE of the songs were used in their entirety— someone pull the editor out of the editing room asap).

The cinematography? *chefs kiss* Give Ravi Varman a National Award right now.

I think the most disappointing aspect for me is that Mani sir was never really given the chance to fully explore the characters, the themes, the subplots, or just the book in general. Don’t get me wrong, this is one of the most genuine book-to-movie adaptations I’ve seen and although Mani Ratnam was insistent that Ponniyin Selvan is something that truly deserves to be on the big screen, I think it would’ve worked absolute wonders if it were a series. I would totally not be opposed to a director's cut (trust me I will watch it even if it ends up being a seven-hour movie) if it gives us an opportunity to see Mani sir's strengths and the usual magic in his other films shine through more because the restriction of time is taken out.

#ponniyin selvan #ps2 #mani ratnam #ar rahman #karthi #chiyaan vikram #jayam ravi #trisha #aishwariya rai bachchan #aishwarya lekshmi #shobita dhulipala

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sea-owl · 10 months

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So I'm rewatching the Marvel movies and I just finished Captain America: civil war and I was wondering about you opinion of the movie?

Oh that can of worms. Okay before I start know this is just my opinion and that's okay if your's differ from mine. Just be respectful or you will get the block button.

So my opinion on Civil War, short answer, I deeply dislike it and will never watch it on my own free will again. The only saving grace for me with that movie is the good angst hut/comfort fics the fandom has written after.

Long answer I don't like it for many reasons, narratively being a big part of it actually. I believe the MCU jumped the gun for Civil War. They put it in too soon without doing the work for all the needed buildup for it. I believe they chose the wrong directors for this movie and I 100% believe this should not have been a Captain America movie.

In my opinion this movie was made too soon. One of the core plot points for Civil War in any rendition is that it's a break up between two people that is so bad and so strong it divides an entire community. Those two people for Civil War is Steve and Tony, which the MCU had neglected working up their relationship to pull Civil War that soon. The outside conflict was there, you could see the outside tension rising with each moving but the dynamics of Steve and Tony, hell all of the Avengers was not. Had they wanted to do this in the time frame they did there needed to be crossovers from the two characters into each other's franchise. The audience needed to see them actually liking each other and the movies building up on that and the other Avengers' relationships as a team. Hell even a mini series that connected to the movies to give us those bonding moments would have helped.

Like many others I also believe this should never have been a Captain America movie, it should have been an Avengers movie. Right off the bat it's gonna try to frame Steve in the right which no. If you want to pull this divide off you need to have the narrative neutral or both Steve and Tony need to be right and wrong. They are both two sides to this fight, and personally both should be held accountable to what happens during and after. Which leads me into the directors, the Russo brothers should not have been the directors. By their own admittance they do not like Tony, they are Cap fanboys, and had they had their way Tony would have died in this movie. This type of plot is not meant for a singular franchise character it is an ensemble plot, and you would need a director who knows how to work an ensemble cast and in my own opinion neutral to both sides. Neither Steve or Tony should have been framed as all the way right or all the way wrong. The politics to this movie is actually very complicated without even adding on the whole Bucky side plot.

Speaking of the side plot, it felt kinda unnecessary and was added for Steve's pain/a way to tie up his brainwashing healing (at least the commands) in a nice little bow. I always say Bucky came back too soon and I still hold that belief. Should've kept him a shadow for a while and maybe saved him for Sam. Sam's cap arch is already doing more for Bucky's character than Steve's ever did.

And since I know this will probably be a follow up question, my opinion on the Accords is that I'm pretty neutral. Yes as they stood amendments were defiantly needed for it, but also the Avengers really had no accountability. The group that was supposed to hold them accountable, SHIELD, was gone. In the eyes of the public they were a loose canon. I don't blame other countries not wanting this American based military like group coming into my home, fucking shit up, and then dipping out. The whole situation needed compromise, but since this is Steve's movie and Steve doesn't know compromise if it bit him in the ass it's not framed that way. Despite the fact we have whole scene in the movie where Steve was proving these people's fears right.

What do I know though, I think the movie is a mess and if I had my way I'll never watch it again.

#I also believe ross should not have been the one to present the accords #that should have been a member of the United Nations #marvel #marvel civil war #mcu #civil war critical #steve rogers critical #just a little bit #I love steve but damn he got on my nerves in this movie #captain america civil war

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a-dauntless-daffodil · 11 months

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If you dont mind me asking, while dont you want to rewatch how to train your dragon or ratatouille, but spiderverse is a fav?

I love movie vents

Oh Dear

so- to start with, again, these movies are GOOD! they are good and i am glad they exist. i just have to stay far far away from them.

the why starts years ago. it starts with reading book after book after book.... after book... and watching movie after movie after mov- you get it, just basically Everything- where the default non-romance story is about a Boy.

And often this boy is mediocre. He's relatable, you know? He's just normal. But by the end, he's done all this cool stuff and got all this cool stuff- He won the thing! Or got the thing! He showed everyone just how good he was- okay sometimes yes by lying about it for most of the story but he comes clean in the end so it's fine.

Usually he also gets a girl. Or impresses her. Something like that.

That was. Well. It got stale after a while. I have four sisters and was raised by my single mom. People (mostly) looked at me and saw a girl.

But hey, the stories and movies had other stuff I like so whatever, you know? Aliens and swords and stuff. Maybe the main character was character I liked the least, so what. The story needed him to exist.

What does this have to do with the three animated movies so many people fell in love with?

Well.

They each remember girls exist. And ladies can be cool. They can be good at stuff!

But.

No matter how good she is, no matter how much she's trained or how hard she worked or respects this thing or how much it means to her-

the guy will be better at it than her

the guy. who couldn't do the thing at all.

he just needs a quick montage, or a rat under his hat, and suddenly she's in the dust

And you know what that's fine it's fine it's especially fine in Kung Fu Panda where the boy (po) is fat and the point is that's okay he can be fast and graceful and powerful and cool- THAT i've never seen before and it's Amazing-

only. po still.... he still gets the place tigress spent her whole life training for.

This still in a world where most of the powerful people (shifu, tai lung, oogway, the other kung fu masters we see in that and later films) most of them are, well, guys.

It's a whole lot of guys.

Everywhere. Guys. Why? No idea. Their gender doesn't really inform or guide their actions. Tigress and Viper aren't commented on as rare for being lady martial artists. There's no reason for there not to be more lady kung fu masters. I guess this is a movie made by guys and so the default is guys. Fine! No problem!

im so tired

po becomes dragon warrior in a montage of training and a quick dose of self realization. tigress is impressed and stops being mean to him. the fandom wants them married

no big deal

I'll come back to that in a moment, but-

Hiccup is the mediocre guy (by viking standards) who through trickery (empathy) becomes the best at this thing that this girl he likes is really good at. but he comes clean in the end and she's very impressed and he's so much better at the thing now he's the best at the thing and saves her at some point and now she's into him and they get together

tired

hey there's this guy and he's bad at thing and this cool girl is good at thing so through trickery he gets better at her than thing bc there's a rat under his hat but don't worry he comes clean and the girl is very impressed

i can't . im too tired

if she didn't like him before he was cool, i don't want them together afterwards.

I'm so exhausted of being told it's sweet

the same implication bashed over my head again and again- a guy cannot be loved if he is just a dork or just mediocre. He has to also be "cool".

The girl won't notice or like him until he is Better than her at the thing she loves

the other implication- no matter how hard a girl trains, how long she studies, how much she works for it- the guy can learn it in a montage and do it better. Or he can lie about it and that's okay too.

(po was a kung fu nerd but im sorry, im sorry that's not the same as training from childhood)

(do you remember how in legally blonde the ex boyfriend wasn't even that good at lawyer studies like elle getting better than him didn't mean her being the best ever and she ends up being so good bc of the other stuff that WAS part of her main life experience?? remember that?????)

(maybe if they'd leaned in more into Po's fat protecting him and his nerdness or cooking xp guiding him against tai lung, but he uses epic kung fu to fight the most dangerous master around and holds his own. he does better than tigress did with four others to back her up. im sorry. i know it's awesome and im glad it's a film. i can't rewatch it)

WHY did they make tigress want to be dragon warrior?

they never really explore her and shifu's relationship in that movie or the sequels. there's so little pay off to her accepting that she can't be the student or child shifu always wanted and lost. they are never the focus of the movies. never even plot B. Tigress didn't need to want this

the only ones who had to be ANGRY about po as dragon warrior was tai lung and shifu, his master who has to train him and the rival who wants his title. Everyone else could have just been reasonably confused and skeptical. tigress could have gone off to fight tai lung purely out of a lack of faith in po and wish to protect shifu- why why why why why did they have the plot point of her WANTING to be dragon warrior and RESENTING po for taking it? why did they have po filling this role she worked so hard to be ready for?

why did her character have to be a SHE for that, in a world with almost no other important or powerful ladies?

oh. right. girls can be good, but the guy will be better. that's the only way she'll respect him.

i've seen this story before

I don't think it's insidious or anything like that. It's just, the normal.

That's why I can't watch it.

im tired

Atlantis The Lost Empire- Milo is a noodle guy he solves things with brains and compassion and curiosity, Kida is the one with a spear, the lady throwing guys around-

ah but we must have Milo physically brawl with the villain to save Kida. he can be a lame nerd, but only if he also is "Cool"

tired

NOW. Spiderman Into the Spiderverse!

Miles never takes Gwen's place.

They are BOTH their universe's spiderman- he CAN'T replace her, he CAN'T outdo her, he CAN'T be better than her-

because there is no Best version of spiderman

a pig can be spiderman

YOU can be spiderman

so when he gets his confidence in time for the last fight, when Miles finds his groove and takes his leap of faith after a whole movie of stumbling around flailing frantically and turns badass- he takes NOTHING from Gwen. Nothing.

She is still her world's spidy,

and AND she liked him BEFORE he was "cool"!!!!!

When he was a mess desperately trying to figure things out, she tried to help him. Worked with him. Became friends with him.

Friends.

That also. My gods. He tries to flit at the end, she smiles and says friends, he smiles and they fist bump over it.

He got cool and didn't get the girl.

He was himself and already had a friend.

She is powerful and cool and a girl and worked hard to get where she is, and no one EVER outdoes her at it.

You can make a story about a normal guy becoming badass while crushing on an awesome girl, you can LIFT HIM UP without having to PUSH HER DOWN.

They can stand on the same level and be epic together.

I've needed to see that story, for so. Fucking. Long.

so yeah. my tiny personal problem. there 'tis

#.#...#......#.........#.......#if this shows up in any of the tags im sorry please scroll past

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megumi-fm · 4 months

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Hey Meg!!! How are you??

Hope you're feeling better now. I feel you, holidays always manage to be shitty one way or another🫠

I've actually managed to have the first good holidays in a while (like, maybe 6 years)! yey me! it was mostly good bc my sister's bf was sick, so we used that excuse to miss plans, but a win is a win lol. And for the first time i managed to get along with all my cousins, so that was nice.

But, anyways, you said you were distracting yourself with books and tv shows. What have you been reading/watching??

hey Aj!!! its been a while since you sent this but I'm here now xD

I am doing a lot better now! (and I was starting to get better at around the time you sent this ask, and this ask just brightened everything up, so thank you!)

I'm glad to hear your holidays went good!! A win is a win for sure lmaoo, i hope he's doing better now!! It's nice that you're getting along well with your cousins ^=^

Ooo yes books. When you sent the ask, I was fixated on Japanese crime fiction. I had read The Mill House Murders as well as The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji (both of which I thoroughly enjoyed!! I kind of pieced the ending for the Mill House Murders before I got to it but it was enjoyable regardless!) I'd also started The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo... but then I... got distracted.

Recently I read Icebreaker by Hannah Grace! It's your typical enemies-to-lovers hockey romcom situation, it was a fun time. I'm currently reading Iron Widow, and the premise is really interesting and the protagonist is witty and funny and super badass, I love her.

As for movies. I recently rewatched the Kung Fu Panda series (it's just so good!! I'm waiting for the 4th movie but I'm kind of apprehensive for what's coming ahh). I've been mainly watching Thai BLs tbh xD. I'm currently on Cherry Magic 30 (the Thai remake, the original in Japanese is really cute too) and Last Twilight; they're both ongoing so I have plenty of time to brainrot over one episode before the next one comes out HAHAH (Last Twilight is one of the best shows I've ever watched, the most recent episode had me sobbing myself to sleep at 1:30am ToT)

yeah. that's my update. tell me about what you've been reading and watching!!

#besties.txt #aj tag #not studyblr #answered #queued

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meta-shadowsong · 5 months

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An Argument With a Particular Word of God Quote

Note: I wrote this essay a while ago--several months ago--and then just kind of sat on it; but the quote it focuses on has been crossing my dash again the last day or so and it popped back into my head and I decided to go ahead and share.

So. There is a George Lucas quote, I believe from the Attack of the Clones commentary. And I have. Extremely Strong Negative Feelings About It.

The quote in question:

“[The fact that everything must change and that things come and go through his life and that he can’t hold onto things, which is a basic Jedi philosophy that he isn’t willing to accept emotionally] and the reason that is because he was raised by his mother rather than the Jedi. If he’d have been taken in his first years and started to study to be a Jedi, he wouldn’t have this particular connection as strong as it is and he’d have been trained to love people but not to become attached to them.”

Okay. To be clear, my problem here is not with the attachment definition/philosophy that’s being posited here, nor with the description of Anakin’s attitude towards it. The first half of the first sentence, the part that’s bracketed--that’s all completely reasonable/true enough and I don’t have a problem with it.

It’s everything after that.

TL;DR: I think it undermines other key themes and conflicts with certain story/dialogue points in the rest of the saga (meaning episodes I-VI); and I feel like it says some pretty uncomfortable and/or negative things about emotional growth, childhood trauma, Shmi, and the Jedi Order.

Let’s break it down.

First, this only works if you look at the PT trilogy, Anakin’s fall from grace, in a complete vacuum, and ignore the OT and Luke’s journey. Because guess what? Luke was also raised outside the Order, to an even older age than Anakin, and while he struggled in ESB and he did in fact have to learn the hard way, he did learn. (Also, I haven’t rewatched ANH recently, and it doesn’t tend to get referenced much in these discussions, but I think it’s worth nothing that--yes, everything in that movie takes place over like three days and he doesn’t have a lot of time to think/process/start wallowing in his grief; but when you compare the way he handles things there with the way Anakin reacts in similar situations, and he’s already working from a more solid foundation, one that had nothing to do with being raised by the Jedi.)

Second, it’s a…weirdly deterministic take for a series that otherwise places a lot of emphasis on choice. On people choosing to do better (or to not do better). Again, that’s all over the OT, particularly with Luke and Han and again with the second half of Anakin/Vader’s journey. So this particular quote undermines that broader theme/message in a big way.

Third, it completely ignores the fact that this concept, about change being inevitable and you have to be able to move on and let go? Is articulated first and (arguably) most clearly by Shmi. Right there. In the movie just prior to this. That this man also wrote. (“You can’t stop the change, any more than you can stop the suns from setting.” That entire scene.) The mother whose parenting Lucas is essentially blaming for Anakin’s tendency to codependency/unhealthy obsession in relationships.

I am. Really not okay with Shmi being thrown under the bus like this. And, like, there’s probably a broader cultural whatever about how motherhood is simultaneously idealized and ignored in modern (Western) culture and art, and how that influences the way Shmi is portrayed and used and eventually fridged, let alone how she’s talked about outside the text itself. But like. She did in fact say this. The fact that Anakin didn’t grasp it and internalize it is not her fault.

Which is sort of tangentially related to a sort of…broader issue I have with the worldbuilding, especially when it comes to this idealized philosophy, which is that…yes, of course the Jedi are the Good Guys, and the philosophy they live by is a good one (and also acknowledging its real-world Buddhist roots). I am not in any way disputing either of those points. But the idea that only the Jedi, and only by accessing Jedi training/philosophy/etc. through this pretty narrow set of idealized circumstances, can allow you to be a good person in this specific idealized way/to follow this philosophy of non-attachment and learn how to love without codependency, leaves a really bad taste in my mouth. Especially when you have the same lesson/philosophy/ideal coming from a completely different angle in the same goddamn film. In short, the Jedi aren’t wrong, but they don’t have a monopoly on being right.

Okay. Uh. So those are (that last tangent aside) the writing/structure problems I have with this quote. Namely, it doesn’t entirely line up with the themes and storyline of the six films as a whole, and it doesn’t even mesh with the prior movie in this same trilogy.

But there are other issues here, too.

For one thing, this is…this really doesn’t paint the Jedi or their teachings in a very positive light.

Like…this is basically saying, “of course the Jedi can teach people how to love appropriately and avoid attachment/codependency/obsession/dangerous emotional tangles, that’s What They Do, after all--but only if the student starts as essentially a blank slate and has nothing to unlearn.” That’s…not a good look.

Also, it’s kind of a shitty take on childhood trauma? Yes, it’s hard to learn and grow past these things, but the idea that it’s not possible, aside from the implications about the Jedi Order’s pedagogical abilities, is super discouraging for people who come to this path/philosophy later in life than the Ideal. It implies that emotional growth and healing aren’t really feasible and, again, the only way to be capable of this kind of nonattachment is to start from a blank slate. Which a) I don’t think that’s how people or emotions work; and b) again, a super shitty and discouraging thing to say to anyone who might want to try.

(And before anyone comes at me with ‘there is no try,’ that quote taken at face value has the same issue; but if you look at it in context, it’s about committing to a course of action and knowing what you’re capable of, especially in a fairly simple situation/when faced with a fairly straightforward problem. When you also take into account the later conversation about trying to reach Vader, there’s also an acceptance of the fact that there are other factors that are completely out of Luke’s control here, that all he can do is put his commitment and genuine good faith effort and make the attempt to the best of his abilities, but he can’t simply ‘do’ without the other party meeting him halfway. But that’s another essay for another time.)

Lastly, and this is a much more…it has as much to do with modern fandom discussions as with what Lucas specifically said twenty years ago. But there’s this tendency to use entry into the Jedi Order as analogous to adoption. And that’s not wrong! It’s in fact a pretty good analogy! Even before it got reinforced by certain conversations in the Obi-Wan series! But quotes like this highlight the problem with that analogy, especially when coupled with the age restriction on entry into the Order.

Look. There are a lot of issues with the modern adoption system. I’m not nearly qualified to comment on all of them, beyond acknowledging that Some Shit’s Fucked Up. (Not all of it! But Some.) And one of those issues is that, unless the child in question is a [healthy, white] infant, the chances of them getting adopted are extremely slim. Because there’s this attitude that they won’t really belong, they won’t really be a part of their new family, they won’t really bond/bond properly with their new parents, unless they’re brought in as a blank slate. That the (perceived) greater Difficulties in taking in an older child are Too Much/Not Worth It…that kind of attitude.

And, I mean, I’m not a parent, adoptive or otherwise. I’ve never been fully responsible for raising a child (or for any other human being), and I know that it’s a complicated and difficult decision/task even under the most ideal of circumstances. But the idea that older kids aren’t good enough/don’t count/will never really be the children of their new parents is something I know I’ve seen broken down as a toxic mentality before.

Especially in a culture (fandom) that places such a huge emphasis on found family/family of choice and the bonds that grow from there (aka, the refutation of that idea), why is it that, in certain Jedi-positive circles and when looking at quotes like this one from Lucas, it’s just accepted at face value when it comes to the Jedi Order and their adoption/recruitment practices?

Full disclosure, the age limit is basically The Problem I have with the PT-era Jedi Order’s general practices and the one thing that I genuinely think does at least as much harm as good (or the harm it does is significant enough) and should be re-evaluated when Luke (or Rey, or whoever) rebuilds; I’ve written about this before, but, among other things, this idea tends to become a feedback loop which sets the few exceptions up for failure, which then reinforces the idea that older students will fail, and on and on*; this aside from the issues it presents to the people who aren’t lucky enough to be found in the right age bracket or have the combination of Circumstances working for them that Anakin did to become one of the exceptions; the fact that there are no viable alternatives for training and/or support for said potential latecomers is also a huge part of the problem. Anyway, that’s definitely coloring my views here, especially when we look at the Implications rather than the parts where it’s contradicted by other points in the text itself.

I’m going to sort of wind up here by saying that…after all of that, I don’t think that this quote is entirely wrong, exactly. I’ve written about this before (although maybe not posted it, haha), but I do think that the Order’s habit/background of generally not accepting latecomers, combined with Anakin’s particular background and issues, mean that the Order as it stands in the twilight of the Republic was not necessarily a good fit for him when he was brought to their attention, and that he might have been more stable/successful if he’d been brought in earlier, or if the initial refusal had stood and he’d found a different path for himself.

But boiling that down to, essentially, ‘Anakin Wasn’t Raised Right,’ and in so doing a) ignoring the entire other half of this saga/some of the key themes of this saga as a whole; b) forgetting what Shmi said in the last movie/throwing her under the bus; and c) making everyone involved in this situation look bad…I don’t know, that’s really not the way to do it.

*To avoid yet another long tangent…there is an interesting essay that could be teased out about that one line in the mantra, ‘there is no ignorance; there is knowledge,’ and how it relates to the idea of preconceptions. We see this in this particular discussion, both in a sort of positive light (when someone with no preconceptions approaches the Jedi path/philosophy, there is a strong tendency for them to succeed at it), and in a negative light (the feedback loop re: nontraditional students I mentioned). But it also comes up in other areas--look at how Force Ghosts are handled, for example. How much effort it takes for Qui-Gon to connect with Yoda; how the first assumption is that Yoda is hallucinating. Compare that to Luke, who has absolutely zero preconceptions/prior knowledge about how the Force works and how it relates to death, so that when he starts hearing (and later seeing) Ben, his response is ‘this makes as much sense as anything else I’ve learned in the last week sure let’s go with it.’ And, of course, Yoda that line about how wonderful the mind of a child is, uncluttered by such things. Not to mention the bit I mentioned earlier, about raising the X-wing from the swamp, and how that relates to preconceptions and expectations; also related is one of my favorite Qui-Gon quotes, “Your focus determines your reality.”

Anyway, I just think that’s interesting to contemplate--Jedi are people, after all, and this is a very People problem to have.

#star wars #fandom #originally posted december 2023

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mermaidsirennikita · 7 months

Note

who are your top favorite fictional characters from the horror genre?

YES!!!

--Rosemary Woodhouse from Rosemary's Baby. Curse Roman Polanski directing this, because I do feel it's one of the finest horror movies ever made. I think what makes me love Rosemary is Mia Farrow's incredible performance (the final scene??? "What did you do to his eyes?" HER eyes when she sees the baby? One of the best expressions in cinema, she conveys the absolute horror and the scariest moment in the movie simply through her face.) I also really love her optimism initially, her desperation to make it through this, how jaded she becomes... and something about the fact that she ultimately falls victim to the societal forces she struggles against though the entire film is so tragic and so compelling at the same time.

--Grace Le Dolmas from Ready or Not. WHAT A FINAL GIRL. She's funny, she terrified, she's wounded, she's absolutely badass. All in a wedding dress! Delivers one of the best strings of expletives I've ever seen in any movie. Samara is such a mini scream queen, she needs to do more horror (and more in general).

--Ginger Fitzgerald from Ginger Snaps. I mean, I love a bad girl, I love a girl undone by her own transformation, I love a girl falling prey to forces beyond her control, I love a MONSTER girl.

--Chris Washington from Get Out. I recently rewatched Get Out for the first time in a while, and God, Daniel's performance is OUT OF THIS WORLD. And I really forgot how funny Chris is? The expressions, the sly smirks, the knowing even as he kind of denies his own suspicions? I really came away from the moving loving him s a character,

--Winona Ryder's Mina from Bram Stoker's Dracula. HEAR ME OUT. I hate Gary Oldman being Dracula in this, but Mina is so??? Funny? She like, sticks her tongue down Jonathan's throat before he leaves and is like "come back IMMEDIATELY so we can MARRY I am SUFFERING". She kisses Lucy because she just can't stand it and is obviously bi. She almost gets herself and everyone she knows killed because she needs to breastfeed from a vampire, even tho he isn't nearly hot enough for her. My CHAOTIC girl!!!!

#horror

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agentfaust · 9 months

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I just rewatched dead reckoning in cinema for the 3rd time LMAO safe to say i passed my brainworms to my friends and now they want to bingewatch the rest bc they havent seen them so thats a win

However regarding the ilsa dword scene i've read so many theories and thought about it so much that i'm convinced there's so much more that meets the eye (duh). Like call me crazy but i'm betting that she'll probably come back in pt2, so much so that i'm not even sad when i watch the scene anymore (or maybe i've thought abt so much im desensitised LOL). Like idk if we r all collectively crazy because yes her death would be a decent way to end off her character, what with her sacrificing herself for grace and the bigger picture, but yes there is also potential for so much more if that was what they (directors) were planning on going for, and yes there are so many extremely plausible reasons and gaps in scenes that can prove she's alive as well. I mean... just search ilsa's death and you hv all the theories and rants laid out for you lmao

So the thing that bothers me is that if they planned it why was ethan's first reaction so real & raw? Yes he may be worried abt whether or not she'll be able to survive this even after the fact they planned this, or maybe he's agonized that she has to put herself through all this, but this is the aspect i can't place for sure. And his dramatic ass reaction (assuming she really isn't dead ofc) is one of the prime factors in disproving the theories honestly. Maybe i'm interpreting it wrong? Bc if u talk abt the flashbacks (when he had to drive off the cliff) and bring up my prev point it cld just be him feeling bad for the lengths he's making her go through.

Unless, of course, yes, they did plan it, but they didn't plan for her to "stab herself" and then go into hiding-- instead, they plannes for her to die. And the romantic scenes were them trying to make up for would-be lost time. Which also means that ethan's reactions make sense.

Lol im such a hypocrite "im not sad abt the dword scene anymore" proceeds to type a longass para where i worry for her life and the truth

I cant live i need pt2 now i need answers TOM CRUISE CMQ CAN U HEAR ME

Alright moon im v sorry thanks for reading all that i'll go back to pretending im normal now

Also dragonezzy yarrrrrr u r v cool as well only hot girls stan ilsaethan

-anon 💐 is going to rewatch the earlier movies while i do homework ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

i refuse to give up hope—

#ask box #anon with the flower bouquet #don’t want to dilute the work of art that is this ask

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sleevesareforlosers · 1 year

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DISCUSSION GROUP!!!!

i’m looking forward to having some more free time at some point 😭 hopefully i’ll have more time to do sewing and stuff i haven’t gotten to in ages 🤞 & i’m really gonna try and continue my mandatory happiness mindset!!! (<- read abt it in laura jane grace’s book it’s like. maybe everything sucks but u can often choose to look at things in a positive light it’s really really helped me!! like. i can go into things w a positive mindset instead of a miserable one and control that at least yk?)

i’m currently out of town & it’s around the 30s. not bad wish it was snowing but i’ll take what i can get, i can wear my $10 80s windbreaker which i’m happy about!! and if i could be anywhere i’d want to be somewhere with snow but honestly? i’m quite content where i am i love doing big family christmas together.

and. i will be honest as much as i try to seek out new stuff to read/watch/listen to. i love rewatching &c. it’s rly nice and comfortable yk? i’m restarting how to train your dragon actually which is. so lovely <3 and i just did my semiannual big hero 6 watch which was delightful

uno reverse!!!! hope ur doing wonderfully :)

!!!!! fingers crossed for more free time! i've been doin a lot of sewing recently and i forgot how NICE it is so im rlly manifesting you get some more time w ur arts too! and YES thats a good thing to bring w you! i love ljg thats a rlly good philosophy. i should read her book huh

oh thats so fun! not bad weather and ALWAYS a bonus to be wearing a nice windbreaker. im glad ur havin fun doing family + xmas stuff! its one of my fave holidays for like exactly that reason

also okay SO fair of you. i feel like im rlly the same except im not even consistent w my rewatches lol. i SHOULD watch httyd again though. i never watched the third one but ik a lot of my friends rlly liked it

also i AM doing wonderfully thank you!!! for the uno reverse:

im lookin forward to getting cracking on a real job search again in the new year (not gonna start too far out from my current contract ending) and also my boyfriend is gonna come up here again at the end of january so thats like. SUPER exciting. and i think im gonna try and bring forward just like. idk i guess just trying to work on my communication and stuff ive def been working on that lately and i want to keep doing so!

it is currently cold as balls here (-11) and sunny today but its been snowing the last few days so we got like. two feet of snow. which i DO LIKE. i love snow even if its a little functionally irritating. idk where i would be if i could be anywhere rn. itd be nice to see my halifax friends again but itd also be nice to be [where my boyfriend lives] so. yknow. hard choice

and i think it kinda varies actually! im def better at reconsuming whatever media kind but i think i reread books a LOT less often and i try to do the same w movies. but i hardly EVER listen to new music and shows r id say a 50/50? i started derry girls today tho its fantastic

hope you're doing well too matt!!!

#discussion group #paralytic-states

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liz-allyn · 1 year

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oh my it did it was me reviewing pt 7 and saying i loved it so much and praising your excellency as always how you wonderfully balance your tonality with the angst kicking in in the right spot at the right time and giving us glimpses of the tension between them that is so so delicious 🤤 I mentioned in one of my previous post how the story almost has a fairy tale like feeling when we have a peek into them being just themselves open raw vulnerable somewhat normal people for me this has so so many parallels to the beauty and the beast which is also unsurprisingly my favourite Disney movie I have a hc that if or when they come close to some semblance of a normal couple they can make a joke about the same. I’m also excited about when you fully integrate Fisk into the story as a fully fledged character because he is one of the best villains to grace my screens and the Vincent did such a fantastic job portraying him still gives so many chills when ever I rewatch daredevil the quite terrifyiness that he emanates is so awesome and I know that you will do a great job with him when he comes on so that makes me very excited I’ll come back with pointers about chapter 8 after i re read it once again

🌌

Oof, yes I completely agree with you! I think beauty and the beast is an excellent take on this, also really on mob AUs in general. Right? Like I low key love when modern stories have a fairy tale skeleton (except for Pocahontas/dances with wolves/avatar - That might be the only exception). I think of pygmalion/my fair lady/ she’s all that as an example.

Spoilers after the cut

Yes I freakin love Vincent as Fisk. I have him in mind when writing this story, and I also have always wanted to play around with subverting expectations in AU stories. Basically I love stories where canon gets flipped on it’s head and that’s what I wanted to do here. A really cool example if you’ve ever heard of it is the short graphic novel series Superman: Red Son, where instead of landing in Kansas, Superman’s ship crashes down in Siberia and he grows up as an agent of the Kremlin. I wanted to take something that pivotal and apply it to the spider verse, essentially what if our heroes were on the opposite side of the law? Well the justification there is that the villains are on the “right side.” We’ll just see how that plays out, I’m sayin.

I’m exited for you to read chapter 8! Thanks for checking in with me, starchild !

#🌌.txt

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misscrazyfangirl321 · 1 year

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January 2023 Media Recap

I don’t know if I’m going to do this every month, but I thought I’d do a recap of all the things I’ve watched and read in January, and share a few thoughts on some of them.

Movies Watched:

1. Star Wars VI

Technically this one was a rewatch, but it was still a very fun time.

2. Barbie Princess and the Pauper

Also technically a rewatch, but I haven’t watched it in more than 10 years, so I didn’t remember a lot of it. Very cute movie, though.

3. Fellowship of the Ring

Yes, I finally watched it. Yes, I loved it. Yes, whenever I saw memes of this before watching it, I thought Aragorn and Boromir (and I think Faramir, though I haven’t met him yet) were the same person.

4. Absolute Zero

Cheesy disaster movie, with a clear message of “We have to try to save everyone. Yes, even the rude and selfish businessman nobody likes. Because it’s the right thing to do, we must fight tooth and nail for him like we would anyone else.” And also family. Will I rewatch it? Probably not, but still a good time.

5. Disaster Zone: New York

“Hey, there’s suddenly a volcano under New York, and also humans made it, and also Abby from Sanctuary talks like a mobster from the 40s for no apparent reason.” Fun time, though I could have done without the one super gory scene early on where everyone was being affected by the water.

6. Curse of King Tut’s Tomb

This seemed to be two movies? Or two in one? I’m a little confused, but I’ll just count it as one. Not really a fan of the “gods and demons” storyline, and I probably won’t rewatch it, but I have to admit that it looked like a fun movie. Like, every single actor seemed to be having the time of their lives.

Books Finished:

1. 60 Ways to Keep Your Brain Sharp

Most of this was pretty standard stuff, and some of the psychology didn’t really sound right, but some of it was helpful!

2. To Kill A Mockingbird

Wow. Definitely not what I was expecting, and a very interesting read, for sure.

3. A Voice in the Wind

Francine River’s style gives me mixed feelings-there’s a fine line between portraying sin to make a point and taking it too far, and she walks that line a lot-but it’s a really well done story, and a compelling cast of characters. Not a fan of Marcus in this book, but don’t worry, there’s book 2.

4. The Mistletoe Favor

Standard Hallmark-style love story, very cute. All of the characters are way too emotionally aware, but it literally brought me to tears, so, hey, it works.

5. Unveiled

Not my favorite of the Lineage of Grace novellas, but it’s objectively as good as them. It just hurts so much to read. It’s the story of Tamar, and the poor girl goes through so much in it.

6. Unafraid

The story of Mary. A really impressive book in the Lineage of Grace series, and really interesting. Very intense. Also, fair warning to my Catholic friends (beloved), it definitely ends on a firm note of... Taking the side against Catholicism. On another note, Joseph is such an interesting character in it!

7. Be The Boss of Your Stuff

A book for kids about organization, cleaning, tidying, and sorting. We don’t need to talk about how helpful it was for me, an adult. (Very)

8. An Echo in the Darkness

The sequel to Voice in the Wind, and personally, I like it a little bit more. It introduces a few new characters that I really like, and Marcus wins me over, though I’m still a bit annoyed by some of the stuff he pulled in the first book. Still, a really satisfying conclusion to quite a few storylines, while leaving a few from Book 1 open for Book 3.

9. From Lost to Found

Nonfiction book about perfectionism that punched me in the face. Repeatedly. Excellent book. Trigger warning for stories involving miscarriage if you read it, though.

10. Trade Your Cares for Calm

A practical look at the best ways to set worry aside. Short and sweet.

TV Show Episodes Watched:

1-12. Once Upon a Time in Wonderland 1x02-1x13

I’ve already rambled about this a lot, but it was such a sweet fairytale story, and I really enjoyed it!

13-14. Spiderman: The New Animated Series 1x07-1x08

I don’t really watch this one often, but it’s good for if I don’t have much time to watch anything, or I’ve watched something scarier than expected and need to unwind. I’d enjoy it more with like. 80% less relationship drama, though.

15. Dollhouse 1x01

Just watched the first episode of this, and I’m kind of on the fence. It depends on how it’s done, I suppose, and how it holds up, content-wise. We shall see. It’s a super interesting concept, though.

Best movie watched in January: Fellowship of the Rings

Best book finished in January: An Echo in the Darkness, though From Lost to Found gets a really close second

Best TV show watched in January: OUAT in Wonderland

On a final note, here are all the fics I posted in January:

1. A Wonder to See (Sanctuary, Emotional Compass mermaid AU ficlet)

2. I Never Dreamed of This (Timeless, Garcy nightmare fic)

3. The Perils of Normalcy (Sanctuary, Magnitt domestic fluff AU ficlet)

4. All in a Day’s Work (Sanctuary, Will and Helen friendship, mild whump)

5. How We Move On (Sanctuary/Timeless crossover, Helen and Garcia interaction, time travel ficlet)

6. Inevitable (Timeless, Wyjess whump fic)

7. A Helping Hand (Sanctuary, Emotional Compass whump/caretaking fic with lots of hair brushing)

#i speak #january 23 recap #media recap #23 recaps #reading writing and a secret third thing

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