#Sara portrayed her character so perfectly | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

habunshu · 2 years

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just read an interview sara hess did recently and she’s talks about aegon and him raping dyana and the way this entire thing reads is just so…..not to mention in the same interview she throws daemon under the bus and says he’s a bad father when the episode she wrote she chose to cut out the scenes with him comforting his daughters and chose to add in how he ignores rhaena

[saying this all having seen ep10 leaks, and saying this all with words from HBO that they plan to release a “pristine cut” from earlier today- whatever that means, so by the time this “cut” is released some mass-disliked moments may have been retconed or scenes added]

[mention of SA, R*pe in regards to Aegon’s writing]

[mention of traumatic childbirth and death from childbirth]

I have so many many thoughts about not only Sara Hess but the whole writing team. This is LONG, and thank u very much for sparking my thoughts with this ask!

HOTD has, fallen out a lot with me post episode 5/6, I remember thinking what a fantastic start it was off to when I watched episode 1, and the moment it’s established that the writers and directors are NOT collaborating between episodes, and each hold very different understandings of each character they portray- it’s become a quick recipe for disaster. Im not going to nitpick every part of the season, I’m well aware this show plans to overarch multiple seasons, but I am still going to discuss it from a standalone story due to how long each season takes to produce.

1. Complications from writing teams, and contrasting GRRM’s base material:

HOTD and F&B being separate narrative points and existing as different validity tales is something that is perfectly fine, I am used to discussing validity of secondary reports of historical content through my degree, and HOTD is a very good medium (as it is VISUAL instead of written) of attempting to show this tale from inside the House itself- what dissonance occurs is due to fondness over the staple violence and power hungry violence of these Westeros Nobles that creates interesting fantasy grandeur. A lot of people enjoy spectating these awful powerful people commit horrible acts in their own interests and family allegiances; Cersei, Daemon, Otto, and others are fascinating anti-heroes and antagonists due to their setting to allow for large-scale atrocities to physically vent their ambitions and goals.

The Dance of The Dragons (in the Books) is this horrific and tragic death for petty self importance, untreated family trauma and paranoid self-hardening that continues and grows with each generation of the Courts is bound to snap on-top of someone’s shoulders at some point, just around 80 years of RELATIVE “peace” under King Jaehaerys I and Viserys I (55+26 if i’m not mistaken). And such a King born of peace wanting to prolong it (Viserys I) is almost a perfect breeding ground for power hungry leeches to start grappling for the Throne (Otto).

So when the bricks start to crumble and we have expectations of drama and bloodshed, true to GRRM’s writings, it’s not a change in certain plot points that is objectively bad (some are better- Sara Hess respects Laena as a woman of 2 Valyrian Houses dying of her own wish instead of before she can on the staircase), it’s misconceptions of what purpose each character serves between writers that makes each episode clunky, snowballing into the season looking like a puzzle I slapped together from mis-matched pieces I found my desk draw.

Almost all characters if not between back to back episodes, from the beginning to the end of the season have moments that straight up do not make sense compared to who they are established as.

This reaches a more frustrating point when we see the overarching trend of almost all Female main characters be softened and be removed of their personal wants. (In the Books) Rhaenyra and Alicent are two amazing narrative foils; Entitlement vs Want, Power (Dragons) vs Intelligence. These are two women who have lost their childhood sense of female unity and joint suffering, with their in-book ages, Rhaenyra looses an older female figure and Alicent looses a companion and a major representation of her own lost girlhood.

When Alicent becomes just a high-strung pawn for her father, her son placed on the throne without her involvement or knowledge, still holding onto her girlhood she becomes a beautiful tragic figure and Olivia does he’s SO MUCH justice- but at the cost of her being this beautiful antagonist and individual.

When Rhaenyra becomes with unsure and overwhelmed girl-heir, becomes someone who only began to learn the knowledge a monarch requires at her late teens instead of being named heir before she was 10, she’s no longer a strong Targaryen that wants what she has been told her whole life is hers- but a bumbling princess who is asking for permission to wear her fathers crown.

Rhaenys, Baela and Rhaena are moved aside and the young daughters of Laena are given barely any content besides smiling politely. Helena I will say seems relatively untouched, we see a girl in her own solitude with a mother who gave birth way too young and doesn’t know how to be one. A true tragic figure after being sentenced to being a royal womb and looses her child over evening the scales-

[EP10 LEAK- RETCON OR CORRECTION ON OFFICIAL RELEASE UNKNOWN] If Aemond does end up a Kinslayer by technically, Vhagar attacking in retaliation with him being unable to control her after Lucerys in turn doesn’t control Arrax spitting fire first when fleeing to return to his mother. It does work in favour of Aemond being subjected to harsh consequences for either defending himself or completely against his wishes. But again we loose what is one of the most vicious combatants of the civil war, as well as the intent of Helena loosing her own child not matching up. “A Son for a Son”, but to even it out Helena’s child needs to die by accident in return. This also contrasts Aemond’s character of a bloodthirsty prince, he WANTS Lucerys dead, his own half-nephew took his eye, why does he care that the Baratheon wants blood outside of his home instead of infront of him. He’s the Kings Brother, Rider of Vhagar.

This change of intent to misunderstandings does create its own dynamic, but the lack of a cohesive plot and character purpose creates this mess that takes the Dance from:

“This family have become horrifyingly self-entitled and power-drunk due to their dragons, and will do whatever to fulfil their own wants, even killing the Dragons they owe their power to. There is a division between Kin and Family and Kin will be sacrificed if one can gain from it.”

To: “The Sheer Number of Aegons and lack of critical thinking has made so many deaths meaningless.”

The writers seem so scared of writing women with intent and purpose and power, Rhaenyra was a dragon rider at 7, 6 years before the youngest rider before her, we haven’t seen her on Syrax since Daemon steals an egg, we have powerful female Targaryens in-universe, Visenya is right there. Women in the show are mothers or soon to be married and mothers, Rhaenyra has no combat experience as a NAMED HEIR.

2. Sara Hess

She is uh, sure is something of a writer, knowing she’s responsible at least in part of EP6 and EP9 does make sense. She’s got a lot of not great comments and understandings of characters, that does do them a disservice.

The biggest offender (pun intended) is Aegon II, very surprising for a woman to romanticise such a horrific abuse of power and male identity that leads to (as Alicent implies this is not the first time he commits these acts on screen) the SA and worse of a handmaiden, and attempt to paint it as a misguided action of love. Aegon II as a character is a great way to show “A female heir could be perfect, Rhaenyra could be perfect; but will still be tossed aside in favour of a male heir that is abominable, horrible and a stain to his family’s legacy”

Is he given an unfair hand at the blatant favouritism of Viserys? yes. Is he forced into a position that he has no desire to be in until he is either:

1. In the books told that a formidable blood-spilling Rhaenyra will kill her opposition (his family and children) for the crown.

2. In the show dragged to his coronation, crying as he walks the Dragon pit, taking a position he KNOWS his father never once delegated to him.

Tom Glynn-Carney does a PHENOMENAL job with the material he is provided and tasked to act out. We can gain sympathy for him in both narrative chains without the romanticism of SA and r*pe, Tom SHOWS us a young man who turns to alcoholic tendencies due to the obvious fact his father only considers himself to be a father of one, and the fact that his mother has near infinite complex relationship with motherhood as a manipulated childbride and replacement wife that doesn’t even compare to the First Queen to her husband.

Aegon is heavily spoilt and misguided and starved of normal parents, and even as a horribly sexist man of power we can find nuance in him. Sara Hess does him a disservice by saying he “loved” Dyana, if you want to write him as a sympathy figure regarding his own love outwards, it is already there in his DISINTEREST in Helaena, the choice to not want to love is a better rebellion against all his representation of love that he’s grown up with.

“Do you (Mother) Love me?” is a tragic line, it drives sympathy in itself as her firstborn son knowing she is merely 16 years older than him, not even 40 at the time of his coronation. Why make this about him r*ping a woman instead of the complex relationship the family knows Alicent has about motherhood and the loss of her own life at age 16 when Otto decides to move her representative chess piece forward?

Sara Hess’ comments that went viral, although make sense in her distaste with various Scenes of Daemon (which are STILL abstractions from GRRM and his creation of Daemon) from EP10. I am surprised at her ability to unite those who are Team Black or Team Green, but even then her involvement has more downsides to this opportunity of story telling that positives.

A particular comment of hers that I didn’t appreciate in the slightest was her input on (Book) Rhaenyra growing fat after having 5 children and getting older.

Extremely weird to vilify a woman of luxurious life and 5 pregnancies in Medieval times gaining weight. Whilst yes there is valid criticism of male storytelling, why lump the weight of a woman in the same category as sexism of women in power. Rhaenyra’s body has nothing to do with her as a leader or historical figure.

3. Daemon at the hands of the writers (Sara’s portrayal in particular)

GRRM has stated that Daemon Targaryen is his favourite, and I completely understand it.

Who is he? A second-born pure-blood prince, a renowned knight, rider of the Bloodwyrm, a prime Targaryen, confident, ambitious, cunning and loyal to a fault on those he considers family.

Daemon is introduced as an agent of Chaos and polarising public opinion, but still commands respect and at least was worthy enough to be handed the titles of Master and stand on the Court (but not to be earned, he is born into an almost invincible position). We see him painted as ready to take the throne as eldest male Targaryen barring the King himself, and is set at this surface level “Rogue” who dotes on the younger Targaryen at court (intentions unknown).

Ep1-4 we see he aligns more at strength for the Targaryen Dynasty, not just himself. He is a narrative foil to Viserys in attitude and tolerance, yin and yang in a way. He states that he wants to keep the crown on his brothers head steady, he sees past Otto and relays the distaste of the Hightowers that is present in Dark Sister’s original wielder.

I think a lot of people misinterpret him as selfishly power hungry, that every action has to explicitly lead to him as King on the Throne, but why not kill Rhaenyra at any point, he’s a suspect regardless due to his reputation, but he is cunning, there’s no way he couldn’t have pulled it off when she was young with how many of Aemma’s surviving babies died young- Rhaenyra herself could easily have health complications.

He is raised on the idea of their Family being omnipotent, 3 siblings conquered Westeros, who says he cannot ally himself with a select few? He gains significant back room power the way Coryls wants as a Prince consort or Hand to Viserys/Rhaenyra.

He is cruel and violent and awful and egotistical, but he holds the better part of himself for those he deems worthy. This is what makes him a compelling character, unwavering support to those he chooses. With debatable intent with Laena across book and TV stories, he is not neglectful of those he cares of. The active choice to cut scenes of him being a father, any sense of comfort, to imply he favours the daughter that has a dragon already, is nothing short of character assassination and extremely biased.

Daemon is far from a faithful, christian husband, don’t get me wrong, he ends up cheating on Rhaenyra and has fucked so many women in his life I don’t know how he hasn’t got like 34 STDs. But there seems to be an in-universe grey area on Targaryen polyamory and lovers, (Rhaenyra and Laena in book at a little, 👀) his political loyalty and service to Rhaenyra’s crown is never once faltered, he dies for her to get rid of Aemond and Vhagar (the only reason the Greens didn’t instantly die). His is this beautifully volatile and unpredictable character, but compassionate to a fault, and willing to do anything to restore Targaryen Power.

Sara Hess’ writing is far from unbiased, and deviates heavily from who GRRM wrote with such fondness, not completely unfounded, he does groom his niece and kiss her the infront of his the kids he had with his dead wife the day of her funeral. But why paint him as this deadbeat dad when he of him and his brother does not subject his wife to unnecessary pain when she will die regardless, he who does not differentiate between children of different mothers. Viserys is a chronic first-wife bias, he doesn’t care that his second son is partially blinded and instead does not revoke when Rhaenyra asks for what is essentially torture to gain insight on why Aemond called her Bastard Sons, Bastards. Why doesn’t Sara call him out on saying he only has one child, why doesn’t she say she doesn’t understand why people like Viserys at Paddy’s portrayal?

She’s incorrect in us liking him as (not my words) “daddy” because he killed Rhea Royce and groomed his niece, people with brains are aware of his faults. We like BOTH of these brothers who were overzealous in the use of brothels are young bachelor princes. We like them because of the effort Matt and Paddy put in DESPITE the writing they are shown with.

The most concrete moment of bad directing of daemon shows in his interactions with Viserys.

Matt understands Daemon at peak when he IMPROVISES Daemon stepping up as the brother protecting his weak king from Otto and himself when he picks up the crown, and supports Viserys on his way to the Throne, he could have easily left him to stumble and make a fool of himself. He wouldn’t though.

[EP10 SPOILERS] Seeing Daemon get violent with Rhaenyra, after he grabs 3 dragon eggs for her, after he marries her in secret, after he kills Vaemond for her. Is so out of character, not in his general sense, but out of character in WHO he directs this violence at. The physical scene cuts make it seem like they cut out any reconciliation, as well as the rough choking -> mocking -> going back to normal.

It gets even MORE OOC when it gets to Rhaenyra’s troubling childbirth of Visenya.

Daemon, a man who lost his mother through childbirth of his younger brother Aegon who then died in the crib.

Daemon who did not have a mother for long at all.

Daemon, who watched Viserys and Aemma loose child after child until she dies.

Daemon who watched Laena struggle and end up commanding Vhagar to kill her as an act of Mercy.

Daemon who watched his daughters not have a mother for long at all.

Daemon who watched and saw Rhaenyra not have her mother for long.

Daemon who does not stay with her during the pregnancy, Daemon who they decided to keep separate from Rhaenyra as she struggles to give birth.

It is such an out of character moment that it along with the choking scene ruins him as a man, as every episode has established.

Again he is not perfect, withholds public affection even in high-strung moments due to being cautious in court. Has killed (or at least plotted) his first wife, the whole Gold cloak scene, the grooming.

But, He if this is not changed in the “pristine” cut, it does ruin all that GRRM has established.

It speaks a lot when improvisation on the Actors speak better on the characters than the writers themselves. It speaks a lot when an improvised scene touches people more than what the writers explicitly add.

#so sorry u all had to read this but i have thoughts #and do tell me yours !!!#ask #user milfoiks #house of the dragon #HOTD #GOT #game of thrones #hbo house of the dragon #daemon targeryan #viserys targaryen #rhaenyra targaryen #aemma arryn #laena targaryen #rhaenys targaryen #aegon targaryen #aemond targaryen #Long post #alicent hightower

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snallavanta · 3 months

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okay i’ve got some sleep, the thoughts are more coherent, the crying has somewhat stopped so here are my thoughts on the last ever season of young royals 💜 (with spoilers)

🐟 writing + pacing

the writing of season 3 is so so similar to the way they wrote season 2. there’s always this huge emphasis on something that the audience could probably care less about. season 2 was about rousseau and season 3 was about hillerska closing down. seriously, did anyone really care that much about these two events? anyway, this pushed a lot of the emphasis onto the school which i felt was unnecessary screen time wasted.

pacing-wise is also similar to season 2. it’s unbearably underwhelming in the first few episodes then it gets really fast-paced in the last 2 episodes. i don’t know how this effectively gets the writers’ point across because i would’ve definitely appreciated some breathing space between the break-up in episode 5 to wilhelm dropping everything in episode 6.

that being said, wille’s decision appears rather impulsive even though we as a viewer know that this decision was something he thought about for the past 3 seasons. being a part of the monarchy was never on wille’s wishlist (and we are painfully made aware of it at almost every moment) but the fact that the break-up happened just before that made it seem like he did it for simon. i think that could’ve been conveyed better.

🎹 music

oh my god the soundtrack this season is especially good. every single song was so perfectly chosen & it portrayed the emotions of the characters so well. i also love the idea that the sounds sound more mature too (no abc i’m the alpha bitch type of nonsense 💀) because the characters are growing and becoming aware of the world and their surroundings

one thing though: i am so disappointed they did not continue the ep4-ep6 song parallel. the season 3 song would’ve worked so well for any wilmon scenes pre-breakup

also WHAT SONG IS THAT IN THE TRAILER AND WHY IS IT NOT EVEN IN THE SHOW? that infuriates me so bad especially since the song is so good

👑 characters

BROOOOO wilhelm angered me the whole season. he was so selfish and kept on going "me me me"; i hated his guts. however, i love that there was a clear distinction between crown prince wilhelm and wille. it’s clear that whatever crazy rules was not his decision to make and he was simply the messenger, but he still could’ve delivered the message more sympathetically. at the end of the day, i’m glad that he could differentiate prince wilhelm from wille and decide for himself.

SIMON. MY BELOVED. MY POOR BOY. he went through so much this season and he didn’t deserve any of that. i’m glad he was happy in the end but i wished he freed himself from the shackles of the monarchy (even if that includes wille) earlier on. it was so disheartening to see him lose a part of himself to keep up with the royal court’s wishes.

i wished felice got more attention that didn’t involve the people around her. i wanted to see more of her—how betrayed she felt by sara, how she was treated differently compared to her peers. yeah, she got that moment about her hair and standing up for what’s fair as the only black girl in school but everything else was just about wilhelm or the rest of the girls. make my girl be more than just the supportive best friend!!!

stedrika. no words. they reek of superiority and i hated it. i am glad they finally got together in the end though

august. i don’t know what to say about him. i’m relieved that him and wilhelm finally got their peace. i am also relieved that him and sara finally got closure. and as evil as it may be, i am glad that he is the new heir for the monarchy as it was always what he’s wanted—even if he realised it too late that it was only the idea of being king that he wanted, not the actuality of the role’s responsibilities.

and finally sara. this girl struck a chord with me. everything she said this season just somehow resonated with me. maybe it's because i recently found out i have adhd so i could see myself in her but i just felt so connected with her and seen by her actions. all along she's been trying to do what she thinks is best for everyone, but she just needs some help doing it the proper way. i was so sad for her when micke abandoned her again because it really felt as though he was turning over a new leaf. and when she made up with felice, i was full on sobbing at that point

💜 ending

now straight up, i felt that the ending was sub-par. it was so rushed, i barely had the time to process whatever was happening. one thing i love about young royals is how thought out everything is, but the ending was so cliche. i love that wilmon got their happy ending but it was just... not executed in a way i feel was satisfactory.

also i love the montage that played but i don't think it was the best choice of media to use. wilmon was constantly on-and-off during those periods. it's weird to use those because they weren't really official during that time (at least not to the whole of sweden).

the only thing that really moved me in the last moments is wille breaking the fourth wall again with a smile on his face, his hair all scruffed and knowing that he is now free to live his life however he wants to.

overall, i would have to watch the series again to process it all properly but these are my thoughts as of now, 2-days post watching season 3 <3

#young royals #pls be nice to me 😭 i haven't remembered every single detail from the show because i watched it in 3 days 😭#also these are just my opinions. feel free to have your own <3

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servin-up-surveys · 1 year

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survey #117

(taken february 21st; uploading surveys taken while gone)

Have you ever sat under a bridge? Yes, when fishing with Dad.

Do you ever go fishing or do you find it to be cruel? ^ lol what a coincidence. If you're fishing for food, I'm fine with it, but fishing solely for fun is absolutely something I find cruel nowadays. You are terrifying the life out of and damaging that animal and putting it back in the dirty water with an open wound. I'm not gonna lie and say I wouldn't still go if Dad asked me to because that was our "thing" growing up, and we also barely ever see each other, so I would suck it up in that case.

Do you have trouble remembering people’s names? Absolutely yes. You're lucky as hell if I remember your name early.

What’s your favorite kind of tree? Wisteria. I adore weeping willows, too.

Do you like mozzarella sticks? No.

Do you share any of the same favorite bands as your parents/guardians? Ozzy is like, Mom's second-favorite artist after Metallica, I'm pretty sure. I know he's WAY up there. She likes loads other bands that I like too. Dad's favorite is Van Halen (that I know of), who I also really enjoy, but they're not a real "favorite."

Have you ever been in a wedding? I was a bridesmaid in my sister's, yes. I was supposed to be one in another sister's wedding as well, but at this time Mom was diagnosed with cancer and going through chemo so getting to Ohio was out of the question. I'm pretty sure Misty had the ceremony filmed for Mom; she is basically THE only mother she's ever had and desperately wanted her there, but she of course completely and entirely understood why it wasn't reasonable.

Who’s the last person’s birthday that you celebrated? What’d you do? My niece Emerson's. Per usual for my sister's kids' parties, we really just got together at her place with family and friends, chatted, ate, let the kids play.

Are your parents divorced? If so, when did it happen? Yeah. I was like, 17-ish.

Have you ever attended a bachelorette party? No.

What do you take pictures of most often? My cat, lol.

Have you ever gotten your period more than once in a month? I feel like this has happened once? Maybe?

What’s the smallest animal that you’re afraid of? Ticks, most likely. I am TERRIFIED of them.

What was your parents’ opinion on same-sex relationships? Mom is totally for them. I don't know about Dad, but just knowing who he is as a person/the general gist of how he thinks, he probably thinks it's unnatural or weird. He was perfectly decent to Sara when she visited though and he met her, and he knew we were dating.

What’s one alcoholic beverage that you do not enjoy? I've never tried a wine I enjoyed.

Have you ever had someone throw up on you before? No, I'd basically rather die.

Do you prefer pads or tampons, if you need them? I hate both honestly, but I semi-recently went back to pads.

How old did your oldest pet live to be? What kind of pet was it? I'm pretty sure that would be my dog Teddy. He made it to 13. He was a beagle/cocker spaniel mix.

What’s the best movie without a happy ending? The Boy in the Striped Pajamas comes to mind. It's sad as absolute hell, but the ending FUCKING haunts you. It shoves in your face the absolute evil humanity is capable of, and to never, ever let an event like the Holocaust happen EVER again.

What is something you think is actually better about today’s generation? I think each generation is getting better at being accepting of people they don't understand and even encouraging them to be themselves, even if they don't "get it." Also very worth mentioning is how mental health problems are being noticeably destigmatized.

What’s the worst episode of your favorite TV show? It's not that it's a bad episode story-wise or how it's portrayed or anything, but the MM episode where Flower dies just fucking destroyed me, and I'd probably still cry if I re-watched it.

Which fictional character do you think you’d be great friends with? Clearsight from Wings of Fire.

Do you have the same religious beliefs as your parents? Absolutely not. Both are Christians, while I quite seriously abhor religion.

What’s your favorite Led Zeppelin song? "Kashmir" is fucking iconic.

Who would you call a lyrical genius? Otep Shamaya.

Who supports you financially? Mostly Mom, but also my dad.

Who knows the most about you (besides yourself)? Mom, maybe? Though there are types of things I don't share with her that I do with select others.

Would you be/are you a good role model to a younger sibling? I know I'm not. No one would ever guess Nicole is my "little" sister given how successful, independent, and capable she is. It kinda hit me like a meteor recently how I don't think I've ever heard either of my sisters say anything along the lines of them being proud of me or anything, ever. I very genuinely think I'm embarrassing to both of them.

Who was the last non-relative woman you spoke to in person? A lady at the social security office.

What’s a topic you’ve drastically changed your opinion on? A metric shit-ton of things truly, but one of the strongest and most drastic is my view on gay rights. I used to be a homophobic/transphobic Christian, and now I very sincerely wish I could strangle that bitch. I am VERY pro-LGBTQ+ now and have been for many years.

How many bedrooms does your house have? TECHNICALLY three, but the extra bedroom is this spare kind of "office" room I have where I sit at the computer.

Have you ever experienced sleep paralysis? No, and let's PLEASE keep it that way. That shit sounds terrifying.

Does the thought of having wrinkles when you’re older upset you? Not really, I mean, literally every single person who lives a truly full life gets there... I don't WANT them, but knowing I will doesn't upset me.

Do you know anyone who’s struggling with addiction? Yes. I mean all things considered, I myself am. Granted, I'm not addicted to anything that is in itself dangerous, like drugs or alcohol or self-harm, but the severity of how reliant I am on technology/the Internet is ABSOLUTELY an addiction and it severely does control my life.

Are any other members of your household home right now? Mom's home, yeah.

Were you upset when you found out certain things weren’t real? (santa, tooth fairy...) Not *upset*, no. By the time I learned those things weren't real, I'd totally suspected it. Of course I wanted them to be real, 'cuz I mean what kid DOESN'T want to believe in fun, magical stuff like that, but I wasn't upset at all.

Name something you’re proud of. Brag a little bit. I really am proud of myself for how dedicated I'm being in job-hunting. It feels FUCKING GOOD to FINALLY be in a place where I feel like if I find the right conditions, I really can work. I'm checking the Indeed website every single day, searching various terms or job titles that I think might bring up something worth investigating, and I refuse to stop until I find something.

Where would you like to go right now? I miss Girt already lol, I wish he was here or I was at his place, but he's working today. He stayed late last night (and it takes him around 30 minutes to get home) so he's probably a zombie right now.

Do you pay any attention to celebrity drama? Uh no, I could NOT care less.

What’s been an embarrassing phase you went through? If the "s0 raNdOM XDDD!!!!" pre-teen Brittany manifested as her own human being, I would LITERALLY set out on a quest to murder her and bury her miles underground lmfao

What’s the ugliest animal in your opinion? Probably like, the blobfish lmao.

What about cutest? Meerkats. Call it a bias, but COME ON, they're foot-tall little furry dudes with big eyes and make cute noises and can stand on their hind legs thinkin' they're all big 'n' shit, I FUCKING love them.

Are you good at math? No, and I've gotten worse and worse the older I've gotten. Whenever numbers are involved in honestly like, anything, I just CANNOT interpret information. Like you can explain and explain and explain, and I'm just NOT going to understand. It's honestly extremely embarrassing, just how bad my ability to understand math is.

Have you given any thought about what the Christian god looks like? How they think their devil looks. :^)

What’s your most used emojis? Most likely the sobbing one. I use it for both obviously sad cases but probably even more so like the "crying from laughing" kind of way.

Who’s one of the most talented people you know? What are they talented at? That's... so hard, picking just one. I absolutely consider Tez very high on this list, given his fantastic art skills, in a serious plethora of forms. I also think he's a very strong writer with FANTASTIC character-building skills.

Have you ever experienced a medical emergency? Yes. Off the top of my head, a concussion and a cold medicine overdose. I don't THINK breaking my wrist was a real medical emergency, like I obviously wasn't dying or at any serious, life-threatening risk.

Are you muscular? Uh, NO.

Do you have one of those removable hand-held shower heads? Yes; they're kinda mandatory for me anyway, using a shower chair. Even when I could comfortably shower standing up though, I very much preferred when you could remove them because I found it much easier to thoroughly get soap off everywhere.

How many burners does your stove have? Four.

When you go to a restaurant, do you prefer to sit at a booth or a table? Booth.

Has your car ever been broken into? No.

What genre was the last song you listened to? Who provided the vocals? Uh Asking Alexandria is some kind of heavier metal, but the song is a Nine Inch Nails cover, and I have no idea what you'd consider the genre of the OG bc I don't really listen to or like that band. The singer of Asking Alexandria at the time was Danny Worsnop, apparently.

Do you have any medical appointments coming up anytime soon? Always, honestly... I know I'm fucking finally seeing an endocrinologist soon, I think next month or the one after.

Have you heard anyone singing today, or has anyone sung in your presence? Besides listening to music, no, I don't think so.

What food or drinks makes your teeth hurt? Ice cream absolutely can.

Who did you last hold hands with? Girt.

Do you have a loud or more soft laugh? I'm a fucking hyena stg

Is there anyone who makes you smile no matter what mood you’re in? Girt seriously can.

Have you ever stargazed with someone? Kinda, I guess.

Are there any things coming up that you have to travel for? Uhhhh not that I know of. I know Mom wants to go back up to New York, but it's looking like she MIGHT be reconciling with and seeing her absolute rancid shitbag of a brother that nearly tore the family apart after their mom died, and I told her I fucking REFUSE to go if we're staying at his house. I won't even visit that fucking house, ever again. He is no family of mine. My mom is way more forgiving than I am, but what's wild is it's not like Rob has changed at all... The law just squeezed him into doing what he had to do if he didn't want to go to jail. Her other brother Bill, who REALLY dealt with Rob and his catastrophic bullshit, is on the same page as me; he refuses to call him family ever again. I'll stay with HIS family if we go up there. I absolutely adore his wife and want to see her again anyway.

What’s one of your biggest accomplishments today? I actually very thoroughly did my PT exercises. More than I usually do, with more focus, and the appropriate number of sets. I FELT it. I'm getting better about doing them as time passes; it's just been a challenge to remember them and solidify them into my routine.

What was the name of the main character in the last book you read? In the one I'm currently in the process of reading, his name is Turtle.

What was the last pill you took? Ibuprofen. I had a headache. Probably from staying up all night last night and only allowing myself to sleep like, 2-3 hours in the morning...

If you were a rockstar, what color guitar would you have? Ehhhh maybe black, but with a cool design or texture on it.

What are three other names you like that start with the same letter as your name? Uhhh Bianca, Bella, and uh... Belle? Not many come to mind that I really love.

Have you ever met a Jason that you didn’t like? A Jason scarred me for life, lmfao, but I don't not like him.

What was the name of the person who bullied you the most in high school? Just Rachel, really. But that was brief... ish.

#survey #surveys #random questions #personal questions

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billfarrah · 2 years

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I think Wille’s biggest flaw in season 1 is his inability to accept and deal with the consequences of his own actions, and that the end of season 1 was an excellent way of showcasing to the audience that he’s finally ready.

We see time and time again, not just in the drugs or video situations, but also in the set up of Wille’s relationship with Simon.

Wille knows he’s attracted to Simon, he knows he doesn’t just want to be his friend, but, at least initially, every time Wille gets too close, he takes a step back. It’s like he’s trying to get as close to Simon as he can without actually going all the way. When he puts his finger on Simon’s leg and Simon responds by covering Wille’s fingers with his own, Wille is initially pleased, but then he’s confronted with the consequences of this (Simon responding to his advances and Sara noticing), he runs away. It happens again moments later; Simon kisses him and Wille tries to back out of it, but the consequence of that is Simon walking away, which Wille doesn’t want, resulting in him pulling him back and kissing him. Lather, rinse, repeat with Wille kissing Simon and then telling him they should forget about it when Simon brings it up, but ultimately, Wille’s desire for Simon ends up being too strong for him to stay away.

The Alexander situation is actually one of my favourite storylines because how Wille responds to the situation is very much not noble or morally right at all, but realistically was the only way out of the situation that he saw. The moral thing for everyone to do would be to all admit involvement and accept the consequences as they come, as I highly doubt they all would have been expelled, but that would mean, once again, facing consequences. They’d get in trouble with their parents, probably lead to increased surveillance by the teachers, perhaps even punishment, and these are things entitled, rich white kids aren’t too fond of. For Wille, perhaps the queen would have pulled him out of Hillerska, since she’d sent him there to get his act together and it clearly wasn’t working, and although going to Hillerska was the last thing Wille wanted initially, now that he’s fallen in love, the last thing he wants to do is leave. Predictably, the Society want to use a scapegoat. In this situation, it’s not necessarily Wille himself being unable to accept the consequences of his own actions, but rather his acceptance of the fact that his ilk won’t do so, and since they want to throw Simon under the bus, what else can he do other than suggest they blame Alexander? He’s probably right that Alexander will be okay in the end (whereas Simon likely wouldn’t), but it didn’t make it right, and I like that Simon wasn’t pleased with what Wille did and was actually rather disappointed. I love that the main character can do something that is morally questionable yet we still understand and empathize with him.

Denying that it was him in the video with the Simon is the ultimate display of Wille’s fatal flaw, and unfortunately for him, the consequences of the denial end up being, perhaps, far worse than him either admitting to being in it or not commenting on it. When he tells Simon it was the only way, he immediately brushes over the fact that Simon is deeply hurt and basically goes, “don’t worry, we can still be together in secret,” not understanding that this likely changes how Simon feels about their relationship. Wille didn’t think about how upset this would make Simon, because his mother likely never even mentioned it when she was manipulating him into making the statement. She doesn’t care about Simon, and Wille’s happiness will always come second to the Crown, and unfortunately, Wille was not able to see beyond her manipulation, and the ultimate consequences are losing the boy he loves and realizing the people he thought he could trust stabbed him in the back.

The final scene and shot portray perfectly to the audience that Wille is not going to be an inactive participant in his own life any longer; he’s not going to let the opinions of others dictate what he does, and that final look of defiance into the camera cements that.

#young royals #this could’ve been better #Wille’s arc is so complex I’m obsessed with it

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lesbianmarrow · 2 years

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further thoughts on legends of tomorrow 4.12:

i think it’s really genius for the show to use ava getting sent to purgatory as a way to show how ava feels she’s in an uncertain, transitory state in her relationship with sara. it’s a nice way to marry the supernatural elements of the show with character exploration and development. and it’s especially great to have a story involving purgatory centered on ava in particular, not just because of the current state of her relationship with sara but also because as someone who cares so much about rules and order, uncertainty is something that scares and disturbs ava. she hates not knowing exactly how things are going to play out. so it’s a very fun way to challenge ava and delve into her character.

evil ikea is such an unexpected torture site for ava and i like that it takes some time before we really start to understand why this place upsets her so much. part of it is certainly that visiting a furniture store like ikea is necessary in order to create a home, and in ava’s case she really wants to make a home with sara, but in this purgatory she’s forced to wander alone as she watches other couples building their lives together. it’s a great visual representation of that transitory state her relationship with sara is stuck in - do they have a future together or not? ava doesn’t know, and that’s torture for her.

but of course, there’s more to it! toward the climax of this storyline, we see sara trapped in the warehouse of avas, and it all suddenly becomes perfectly clear. ava’s purgatory takes the form of a giant retailer because she is uncomfortable with the way that her own body was objectified and commodified by the corporation that created her and the other clones. when she visited 2213, she was forced to confront the fact that she did not possess the control over her body and identity that she always believed she did. this anxiety manifests in an extreme way: the nightmare of dozens of packaged versions of ava, all trapped in boxes and forced to perform specific roles or functions regardless of their own desires. evil ikea is so upsetting to ava because she identifies with the merchandise. and the episode communicates this without ava ever saying the word “clone” or directly referencing her past at all. i just think that’s really fantastic writing.

this episode sees ray trying and failing to be a white knight for nora, but one could argue that sara attempts the same thing for ava when she first lands in purgatory. sara tries to lead ava out of purgatory in her chaotic, irreverent way, first by trying to find an exit randomly and then by assembling the dresser without looking at the instructions. both of her attempts fail. sara seems to quite like playing the hero in her love life - we’ve seen it with the 1950s nurse and with queen guinevere, among others. she jumped into purgatory with the intention of saving ava. but ava doesn’t need to be saved, she needs to be listened to. sara can’t save ava from her own worries and insecurities. she can only stand resolutely by her, build a life with her, and reassure her that she is loved. it’s the only way they can escape the horrible uncertainty and move on with their lives and their relationship.

i’m also fascinated by the ambivalence of the gary we see in the purgatory, and what it means for how ava perceives gary. initially he seems timid and annoying, which feels pretty close to how gary is usually portrayed in the show and how ava in particular views him. even though ava is irritated by him, he does help them get started on escaping the purgatory, dropping the hint about the dresser. that seems to reveal a grudging recognition on ava’s part that gary is sometimes useful to her. but the part that really interests me is when sara is transported to the warehouse of avas and gary appears to act as salesperson. he discusses ava in a dehumanizing and objectifying way, including sexually objectifying her. i think it’s so interesting that these two versions of gary, the timid annoying one and the callous dehumanizing one, both exist in ava’s purgatory. the show usually plays gary’s obsession with ava for jokes, but this depiction of gary, colored by ava’s perspective, suggests that it might be more sinister - or at least that ava suspects or fears that it could be. i don’t expect the show to commit to exploring this idea, since it seems to find gary’s obsession with ava hilarious, but it was interesting to see here.

#legends of tomorrow #ava sharpe #sara lance #avalance #gary green #syl posts

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unnecessarilygrandiose · 3 years

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Listen. I am feeling extremely anxious to the point I have to remind myself to breathe because I need to talk about Young Royals. What a freaking amazing show. What. A. Freaking. Amazing. Show.

I mean there is so much I want to say about how perfect it is that I am overwhelmed because I have no idea where to start.

Okay. Okay. Deep breaths. Yes. There will be spoilers so if you haven't seen it I beg you to stop reading this and watch it at first opportunity.

Let's start with plot. What a plot. It wouldn't be difficult to make a plot where people say cliche things and do stupid stuff and make a story centred around misunderstandings and lack of communication but the writers, god bless them, did not do that. The characters communicated. The story had a life other than the teenagers being stupid and doing stupid teenager things. It moved forward and not at a single point it felt forced or dragged. Basically the story felt less like a story and more like it would if you were to actually start following around a bunch of boarding school teenagers around. Which is to say, realistic af.

The characters. The characters each had their own struggles. They were acknowledged without either being a huge deal or being stereotyped and glossed over. That's a balance which is hard to strike but the show struck it perfectly. No one was perfect and not one character did not grow. The popular girls could have been mean but were genuinely nice. Simon could have been a stereotype but had his own story, a life and friends outside Wilhelm. August was an imbecile and an asshole and the show made sure to highlight that instead of just portraying him as a villain. It would be easy to do that but in real life there are assholes more often than there are villains.

Acting, oh god those actors own my life now. The characters had flaws physically and they had awkward habits and you could actually feel exactly what they were feeling from the actors' faces.

The music. It felt as if the music contributed to the plot rather than just being there because something needs to be there. Omar Rudberg's voice is lovely.

The cinematography. I'm no expert but I just know some scenes wouldn't have been nearly as effective if not for the way they were shot. I mean, at the end when Wilhelm breaks the fourth wall and just stares at you, doesn't it give you goosebumps?

The sub plots. So happy that their romantic relationship wasn't the only thing about the whole show. People aren't only just their love lives, and the show made sure to do justice to that fact. Also really happy with where the plot left off. I want Simon and Wilhelm to be happy together of course, but I know it's not that easy and that their relationship needs to develop through the midst of all of the being outed but not really shit.

I would like to finish off with the highest compliment I can pay any show.

I have always preferred books to movies and shows because the internal monologue lets you feel exactly what the characters are feeling and that's a level of connection that you simply can't get if you're just watching their faces. But this show let me feel those things. It let me be them. More than once while writing this post I accidentally wrote something along the lines of 'reading the show' instead of watching it. Because watching Young Royals was as good as reading a well written book.

P.S. There simply needs to be a second season. I mean. Sara is accepting who she is rather than trying to fit in by kissing handsome assholes. Felice is standing up to her controlling mother. Wilhelm has indirectly acknowledged his relationship with Simon in front of the whole student body. The rebellion has begun. And we will see it to it's end, because if we don't, Netflix headquarters all over the world are burning down.

#young royals #wilhem #simon #wilhelm x simon #sara #felice #august #young royals netflix #netflix

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sevenkittensinatrenchcoat · 3 years

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Cast Interviews From 1986 vs. 2016

So, I’ve found a podcast that’s been interviewing various Cats cast members and superfans. Most of the interviews come from the cast of the Broadway Revival, but there are also several interviews from US Tour III which went from 1986 to 1988. So we’ve got a bit of both old and new. Here’s what I’ve learned about how things have changed over the years and why the Broadway Revival is such a confused mess:

In the interviews of US Tour III cast members, it seemed like everyone was told the story of the play and had a pretty clear idea of what was going on. Some actors were given backstories for their characters, but the amount of detail varied. Actors cast as Munkustrap and Tugger were told that their characters were brothers and the sons of Old Deuteronomy. Actors cast as Demeter were given a full backstory for the character. However, Grizabella’s story remained vague. Bombalurina, Mistoffelees, and Sillabub also had no confirmed backstories, and most of their characters were improvised during rehearsals. Also, since this tour was from 1986-1988, a lot of cast members don’t remember a lot of what they were told. It’s been a while.

Out of the backstory and character information provided, Demeter’s was the most consistent. She was kidnapped by Macavity, escaping shortly before the events of the play. She’s an outsider to the tribe, but she knows Bombalurina and stays close to her. Bombalurina also had some experience with Macavity, but she enjoyed it more than Demeter did. This lines up with what Jacob Brent said about Demeter in the 1998 version.

Some character dynamics are different from more modern versions. Alonzo is Demeter’s love interest, as was typical with Broadway-based productions. Also, in most productions, Alonzo doesn’t get along with Tugger, but he’s a fan of him in this version.

Outside of Alonzo, it was made perfectly clear that Mistoffelees was played as a full adult, the same age as Munkustrap. The actor who played him throughout the tour, Randy Slovacek seemed to have made up most of Misto’s characterization in that production by himself. Misto was friends with Grizabella in the past and wasn’t upset by whatever she did to upset the others. When she first appears, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, taking the place of Coricopat and Tantomile, who were cut for the tour, run up to her and try to chase her away. Misto calls them off, but Munkustrap won’t let him do anything else to help her and he respects his authority too much to try anything.

The interviews of the Broadway Revival cast tell a very different story of what was going on behind the scenes. Apparently, they were rushed for time and there weren’t as many rehearsals before the show as there usually are. That, combined with the new choreography meant that nobody really knew what they were doing. Munkustrap and Tugger were confirmed to be siblings, but very little backstory information was given outside of that. The few cast members who worked with Gillian Lynne seemed to have a better idea of what was going on with their characters. Andy Blankenbuehler was still figuring things out and wasn’t able to offer similar clarity. The few times anyone was told anything, it was usually by Trevor Nunn.

Basically, Nunn and Lynne invented Cats, and nobody else seems to know how the fuck any of it works.

Tyler Hanes and Sara Jean Ford knew each other before being cast and they came up with a lot of backstory for their characters, which everyone else got drawn into. Ford played Jellylorum as the same age as Tugger. Since the actors are best friends, so are the characters, even though that makes little sense with their personalities. Jennyanydots, Bombalurina, Demeter, and Grizabella were in that same age range as well. It appears that nobody was anywhere between Munkustrap and Old Deuteronomy in age, for some reason. Jenny and Skimble are a couple in this version, so Skimble’s probably also in this group. They have kittens together. Electra and Rumpleteazer are among them, though nothing was said about Mungojerrie. The merge with Coricopat and Tantomile in the US Tour implies that they’re twins in that version. In the Broadway Revival and the tour based on it, they’re apparently unrelated.

Grizabella ended up with a far more detailed backstory, all made up by the cast. She’s Jellylorum’s sister and she stole a man away from her and Jelly never loved again. None of the kittens are Jelly’s, though she’s sort of the nanny to all of them. Griz also had some sort of affair with Tugger and broke his heart, which is why he doesn’t do commitment. Then, Griz ran off with Macavity, got dumped for Bombalurina, and then she got dumped for Demeter who decided that Macavity was bad news pretty early on and ditched him. The relationship was abusive, but no one mentioned a kidnapping. After leaving Macavity, Griz was no longer welcome in the tribe, even though Bomba and Demeter were because Reasons. Forgetting that these characters are not human, she then got addicted to drugs, was driven to prostitution to support her drug habit, had a bunch of kids, and then left those kids to be raised by Jenny, who resents her for it. Nobody says which kittens are Grizabella’s. Portions of this backstory were used in the 2019 movie.

Also, I can say that some of the characterization issues with Tugger were, in fact, a direct result of the choreography changes. Tyler Hanes wanted to play up the sexuality of the character in a way that the new choreography didn’t allow. If Gillian Lynne’s choreography had been used for the number, Tugger’s characterization probably would’ve turned out very different, but the changes meant that what Hanes knew about the character, and how the audience perceived the character, were altered by the new choreography putting emphasis on vanity instead of sexuality.

So, that’s the story so far. Compared to at least one early production, the Broadway Revival was rushed and poorly thought out. The actors were given little information and left to fend for themselves, and they prioritized their bonds with their irl friends over what made sense for their characters. Interviews of cast members from both the revival and the following tour reference Andy Blankenbuehler as the one who had all the information, who the cast looked to for instructions. But, he had no idea what he was doing and couldn’t really help them.

Most of the problems can be traced to Blankenbuehler not knowing what he was doing and never really figuring it out. Though, some blame has to be placed on the cast who, left to their own devices, had a lot of bad ideas. Hanes and Ford in particular, though it was good that someone was trying to take charge, created a bit of a mess. None of Jellylorum’s character resembles any other Jellylorum characterization I’ve ever seen, and it doesn’t even come across clearly on stage. The young cast all seemed to struggle with the idea of playing older characters and nobody told them that they couldn’t age them down. The generation gap between Tugger and Jenny and Jelly is character information that’s now completely lost on the audience. You need older characters disapproving of Tugger to show that he’s a controversial figure to the tribe, not just an annoyance to Munkustrap.

But, some of the worst characterization problems were not entirely the fault of the cast. As I mentioned before, Tugger’s characterization was changed by the choreography. Grizabella had already been aged down by her redesign. Since Demeter’s kidnapping backstory wasn’t explained, this affected how Demeter was portrayed. Her sympathy for Grizabella came from having been on that side of town as Macavity’s prisoner and seeing the condition she was in. Without that backstory, Kim Faure may have not known that Demeter was supposed to have sympathy for Grizabella and interpreted her part differently. This was the result of unclear direction.

What We’ve Learned Today:

1. In the 1980s, Mistoffelees was, in fact, played as older than Jacob Brent played him in the VHS.

2. Munkustrap and Tugger (and not Mistoffelees) have pretty much always been the sons of Old Deuteronomy.

3. The backstory Jacob Brent gave for Demeter was the standard backstory for the character well before the VHS was filmed.

4. Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer were considered twins in the 1980s and most likely continued to be seen as such until the revival era, though I haven’t exactly checked in with every single production.

5. The Broadway Revival was a behind the scenes and nightmare and it’s mostly Blankenbuehler’s fault.

6. Gillian Lynne wrote Cats. Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote a concept album.

7. There are no middle-aged cats in the 2016 revival. I think Sara Jean Ford started it.

8. The idea that Grizabella’s backstory involved Macavity started with the 2016 cast improvising.

9. Kim Faure’s Demeter was most likely OOC due to a removal or lack of explanation of backstory.

10. Sometimes it’s okay to do things the same way they’ve been done before.

#cats tour iii #cats 2016 #andy blankenbuehler is bad at cats #i hate being mean to the 2016 cast #but theatre is a team sport #and most mistakes are made by the team #rum tum tugger #tyler hanes #who i like but also blame #sara jean ford #who is in the same boat as hanes #though i'm admittedly very picky about jellylorum portrayals #kim faure #she tried her best #but basically #gillian lynne #was what made cats a hit #and nobody knows what they're doing without her

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faretheewellpotato · 3 years

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I finished watching Young Royals few hours ago and I need to rant about it. Here are somethings that I absolutely loved about the show

The show has teenagers who actually look like teens. There have been so many shows where the cast looks so much older than the characters age. Like seriously where in the world do you have teens who look like the cast of Riverdale ( no offense).

This was one of those teen dramas which was relatable at a higher level. High school isn't all love stories , gossips and parties. Most of these shows portray high school in such a glorified manner, when it is so much more.

Let's talk about Sara. Her main aim was to fit in and want to have a life that she thought she couldn't. She gets so lost in it that she snaps at her mother and has be calmed down by Simon. This is something that most teens go through, the urge to fit in but also making sure they don't loose themselves in the process.

Then we have August, yes I know we hate him for what he did. But still let's look into his character. He wants to succeed and carry on his family's legacy. He gets so lost in trying to be good at everything that he looses his values. I hope in season 2 we have a redemption arc for him.

Felice is a character that I didn't like at the beginning. She was obsessed to get with Wilhelm and I don't know, I didn't like it. But when she and Sara connect, I feel like both their characters had some kind of development and honestly it was one of the best thing to watch. Also how the 'popular' girl was not skinny, white and blonde should truly be appreciated.

Simon is probably my favourite character in the show. He is absolutely adorable and lovely. I love how awkward, shy and loving he is. He has always been Wilhelm, since the beginning. His and Wilhelm's relationship has been rocky because of the added drama, but Simon never gave up on him. He was there for Wilhelm in his most difficult times and I love him for it.

Wilhelm, it's difficult to describe him because I don't know how form words to talk about him. I loved his storyline the most. Everything from him loosing his brother to being outed out was executed perfectly. And the way he got through them or how he handled it was really beautiful.

Simon and Wilhelm, one of the best couples I have seen on any streaming platform in a long time. They literally complete each other and are dependent on each other in a healthy way. Their relationship is so pure that my burst everytime I watch it. Every scene of theirs is sooo cute. It can be the glances, the awkward flirting or the comforting hugs, it was so beautiful. I loved it so much that I can't wait for the next season. P.S : I loved the last scene where Wilhelm looks into the camera, there was something about the way he did it that has been replaying in mind a million times.

#young royals #wilhelm young royals #simon young royals #netflix #better renew season 2 #or i will go insane #and cry

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sillyguyhotline · 4 years

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the joe character ask

i’ve been responding to the prompts so slowly bc school but here’s the one for joe that i didn’t put in the previous ask

Joe

Why I Like Him-

Honestly, this shouldn’t even be a question at this point, he’s hands down my favorite character. I adore the dynamic that he has with Sara, I adore his cheerful and peppy personality, and I adore the fact that he still undergoes realistic questioning of his morals despite being such a kind and generally “good person.” And, as I’ve stated many times before, I think that his death came at the perfect time to impact Sara’s development while also letting him go through a character arc and become a significant enough character for his death to hurt. I,,, I love him so much dhfbhdfbd

Why I Don’t-

There isn’t really a lot here; like I’ve said, he’s just generally a really good character! If I had to pick something, though, I’d say that there are a lot of unresolved suspicions surrounding him from the get-go and I don’t like that they haven’t been resolved yet. Considering how cheerful and trusting he is otherwise, he’s oddly suspicious of Keiji and the others right from the beginning, and is the first to suggest the possibility of a traitor- rather uncharacteristic for what we know of him. Was it just part of his character arc to make him dying due to the Sacrifice card even more sympathetic, or is there more to him? I, personally, really want the “Mr. Policeman is Joe’s dad” theory to be true, so I’m hoping that if we get that reveal, his initial suspicions will tie into that. I’ll be sort of disappointed if they continue to go unresolved.

Favorite Scene-

Honestly, I’ve always adored the scene where Joe and Sara walk home together. In only around 5 minutes, Nankidai is able to characterize them both perfectly (especially Joe), to portray them as close friends who enjoy teasing each other, and to establish that they’re still good friends even though Joe is dating Ryoko. Especially when you go back and play through the game without the initial worry of whether Joe is going to betray you, it’s easy to realize how genuinely sweet and well-written that scene is. I love it a lot :))

Favorite Line-

Because I’m very shitty at remembering lines, I’ll go with the classic one: “I love ya, Sara! You’re my best friend!” I also thought his AI’s line of “I’ll always follow you- just like a dog!” is a pretty funny one.

Favorite Outfit-

I probably won’t include this with everyone else’s but I just want to take a minute to appreciate Joe’s gaudy-ass outfit. He has style. Period. Those earrings? That hairclip? Absolutely iconic, there’s a reason Sara cries every time she sees them after 1-2.

OTP-

LMAO are you kidding me?? Joesara all the way. I also like the concept of Ryojoesara, but I just love their dynamic in-game and how close they are to each other, romantic or platonic. And… I just honestly adore the idea of the two of them together! I love the friends to lovers trope, and their personalities complement each other so well! They’re very sweet.

Brotp-

For this, I’d have to choose between either Gin or Shin. Joe leaning into the “big bro Joe” assignment is so precious, and I’ve always been a sucker for their little exchange where Gin promises to kick his ass in Mario Kart or something. I think he’d make a great big brother to Gin; they could bond over their love of dogs :) I’ve also seen a lot of Nankidai’s sketches of Joe and Shin together, and honestly I think they’d make for great friends- Joe could help pull Shin out of his “loner” persona and they could be buddies! If only </3

Headcanon-

Like I’ve said, I’m really bad at coming up with specific headcanons, but… I hc Joe as bi, he just gives off those vibes. He also probably has Tiktok and tried to get Sara and Ryoko to do Tiktok dances with him for awhile before giving up. Also!! He probably still sleeps with at least one stuffed animal (a stuffed dog would be very on-brand for him) but is self-conscious as hell about it and has only told Sara.

Unpopular Opinion-

This seems to be a pretty unpopular opinion because of how much people love to talk about it, but I really dislike the Mastermind Joe theory. I’ve talked about this before, but I think it’s very implausible; Nankidai’s writing is centric around character development, not the shock value of plot twists. Sacrificing all of Sara’s development throughout Chapter 2 (which consisted of her reacting realistically to her grief and was handled very well imo) would be so counterproductive and it would make the game feel so much cheaper. Perhaps Joe’s AI might be weaponized against her again or it might make future appearances, but I doubt the living Joe will turn out to be evil, much less a conspirator or even mastermind with ASUNARO. It just wouldn’t make sense, and it would honestly ruin his character.

A Wish-

I’ve already mentioned that I want the “Mr. Policeman is Joe’s Dad” theory to be true, so I’m gonna say that I really want my theory about the AI to come true as well. I really want Sara to end up going home with Joe’s AI if she survives, and I want the emotional distress of seeing the fake version of her dead best friend to be evident. Give me that angst, PLEASE </3

An Oh-God-Please-Don’t-Ever-Happen:

Mastermind Joe Theory!! Please don’t ruin his character.

5 Words To Describe Him-

Gaudy Dog Boy Deserved Better

My Nickname for Him-

I don’t really have a lot, but I think I misspelled his name as “hoe” in a conversation once and ever since I think of him as “Hoe Tazuna.”

#yuhh yall can probably tell he's my fave #yknow because of my literal blog title #kinda sorta love him a lot #yttd #your turn to die #kimi ga shine #joe tazuna #depressobean answers #depressobean’s asks #anon

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afaimsarrowverse · 4 years

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My 30 Favorite Arrowverse Episodes:

This list reflects my personal opinion and is in no way objective. Everyone has their own taste. Also Love is Love and can not be measured – except on stupid lists like this one. If an episode is not on it, that does not mean I don’t like it (unless it does). Everyone ist entiteled to their own opinion, so please respect mine and don’t reblog or answer to that just to tell me how wrong mine is.

30. The Fellowship of the Spear (Legends of Tomorrow Episode 2.15/31, Written by: Keto Shimizu, Matthew Maala, Directed by: Ben Bray)

This episode is “Legends”-Homage to Tolkien and his works. However the most quotes and nods go to the Peter Jackson Movies, which is no problem, because we love them too. The Legends recruit Tolkien out of the trenches for a treasure hunt, however things go bad and some fans were not to happy with one of the team betraying their own at the end of this episode. But don’t you guys remember Boromir? I really love this one, because it combines two of my favorite things: “Legends of Tomorrow” und Middle Earth.

29. Flashback (The Flash Episode 2.17/40, Written By: Aaron Helbing, Todd Helbing, Directed By: Alice Troughton)

In this episode Barry travels backt to the time of Season 1 and therefore changes the outcome of the Season 1 Episode in question and creates a new timline, which no one but him notices. Later on stuff like this would happen all the time, but this was the first instance, and it was very very wild to have Barry knock out Barry and pretend to be Season 1 Barry. Also we got Eobard and Eddie back and given how much I love both of them it no wonder I love this episode.

28. The Last Temptation of Barry Allen Part 1 (The Flash 6.07/121, Written By: Jonathan Butler, Gabriel Garza, Directed By: Chad Lowe)

Here Barry is infected by Ramsay who gets in his head and in the Speed Force which tries to help but ends up getting attacked by an paranoid and confused Barry, who finally gets to voice all of his frustration about the Speed Force and the way it interfered in his life. This is a very emotional episode that confronts Barrys immanent death, all the losses he had do bare and his conflicted feelings about everything that is going on in his life at this point of his story.

27. The Once and Future Flash (The Flash 3.19/65, Written by: Carina Adly MacKenzie, Directed By: Tom Cavanagh)

In this episode we get to visit the future in which Iris was killed by Savitar. Barry ends up there while trying to find out more about his foe. It’s a dark and depressing „What If“, where we get to see new sides most of our characters and this episodes dives deep into the immanent darkness of the seemingly so bright „Flash“-TV-Series.

26. The Adventures of Supergirl (Supergirl 2.1/21, Written by: Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, Jessic Queller, Directed by: Glen Winter)

This essentially is a Crossover Episode, even though it took Superman three more years to get his own show. However the episode acts as if there is an existing Superman-Show that crosses over into „Supergirl“. This version of the character is as adorable as Kara and a very good antidote to the Snyder Version of the character. Oh, and it does help that the episode is good as well.

25. Nora (The Flash 5.01/93, Written By: Todd Helbing, Sam Chalsen, Directed by: David McWhirter)

Season 5 opens up extremly strong with this episode where Barry and Iris meet their future daughter, who has some secrets up her sleeve that change everything for next one and a half seasons. Nora is perfectly portrayed in this one as a mixture of both of her parents and manages to screw up the timeline imediatly, while everyone is still reeling from the fallout oft the last season finale.

24. The Brave and the Bold (Arrow Episode 3.8/54, Written by: Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, Marc Guggenheim, Grainne Godfree, Directed by: Jesse Warn)

Crossovers were the moments „Arrow“ had a chance to let ist hair down and just be a little bit different for a while. This one has Barry, Caitlin, and Cisco visiting Starling City and the Flash and the Arrow teaming up against Captain Boomerang. It’s still Arrow, but with a splash of „The Flash“ in it, which makes it funnier and nerdier then „Arrow“ usually is. I always loved it.

23. Haunted ( Arrow Episode 4.5/74, Written by: Brian Ford Sullivan, Oscar Balderrama, Directed by: John Badham)

John Constantine crosses over in the Arroverse in this episode which reveals Olivers dealings with him in the past and shows him restoring Saras soul. With this episodes the show started to embrace it supernatural arc, which many fans weren’t too fond of in latter part of this season, but this episodes remains a favorite because here „Arrow“ got mystically weird. Also Johnny Constantine tends to make everything better and we got Sara back, so it’a clearly a win.

22. Kapishon (Arrow Episode 5.17/109, Written By: Brian Ford Sullivan, Emilo Ortega Aldrich,Directed By: Kevin Tancharoen)

This is the episode in which Adrian Chase manages to break Oliver. That sounds painful and yes it is very painful, but it’s really really great at the same time. This episodes asks all the uncomfortable questions the show seemed to shy away from in the previous seasons, builds on Season 5s solid Bratva-Flashback Arc and even presents us Anatoly meeting Malcolm Merlyn. It’s cleary a highlight of the show.

21. The Bottle Episode (Supergirl Episode 5.10/97, Written by: Derek Simon, Directed by: Tawnia McKiernan)

The Post Crisis Carzyness lived in this episode. We got a lot of doppelgangers, most of them Brainys, and a lot of chaos, I mean more chaos then most other shows usually have, except for „Legends“. So I guess this episode was „Supergirl“ trying to do an episode of „Legends“. Also Brainy evolves in this one, so it wasn’t just for the laughs. In short: There was nothing not to like in this one.

20. Welcome to Earth-2/Escape from Earth-2 (The Flash Episodes 2.13-14/36-37, 36: Written By: Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, Katherine Walczak, Directed By: Millicent Shelton, 37: Written By: Aaron Helbing, Todd Helbing, David Kob, Directed By: J. J. Makaro)

This two parter is the first time we ever visited a parallel earth. We visit Earth-2 in this, where pretty much everything and everyone is different. Adorable Nerd Barry, Cop Iris, Singer Joe and many more ahoy. But Deadshot of Earth-2 is the best thing about this reality. Too bad it pretty much everyone from over there was done away with later, but we will always have these episodes, so that is something.

19. Out of Time (The Flash Episode 1.15/15, Written By: Aaron Helbing, Todd Helbing, Directed By: Thor Freudenthal)

Time Travel is an important plot element of the Arrowverse, but it wasn’t always so. This is the first episode where Barry discovers that he can time travel, after kissing and losing Iris and witnessing the end of Central City. Which is one of those „everyone dies“ instances that are always cool and I always love. Also it’s Season 1 of „The Flash“, where they really couldn’t go wrong most of the time.

18. Starling City (Arrow Episode 8.1/ 161, Written by: Beth Schwartz und Marx Guggenheim, Directed by: James Bamford)

In this one we are essentially reliving the „Arrow“- pilot with a few signifcant changes. Turns out we are actually on Earth-2 and Oliver pretends to be his doppelganger in order to do a thing for The Monitor. Until the shocking ending, this on is like everyone favorites „Arrow“ fanfic come to live. Even the flashforwards were not bothering me in this.

17. Flash VS Arrow (The Flash 1.8/8, Written By: Ben Sokoloswki,m Brooke Eikmeier, Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, Directed By: Glen Winter)

This one was the first real Crossover Episode of the Arrowverse and it blended classic comic book action which Season 1 „Flash“-Style, meaning it was beyond great. We never quite saw Oliver like this before and not very often after, and seeing him and Barry connect is just one of the joys of this superior episode.

16. Worlds Finest (Supergirl Episode 1.18/18, Written by: Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, Michael Grassi, Directed by: Nick Gomez)

Speaking of the first seasons and Crossovers. This was the Crossover we always wanted, but never believed we would get, because back then “Supergirl” was on another network. But we got it anyway. Barry gets stranded on Karas Earth, which leads to a lot of chaos, many nice moment and fine jokes. This was one of the clear highlights of Season 1, and it paved the way for the season finale as well as future crossovers.

15. Myriad/Better Angles (Supergirl 1.19/19-1.20/20, Written By: Yahling Chang, Caitlin Parrish; Ali Adler, Andrew Kreisberg, Robert Rovner, Jessica Queller Directed By: Adam Kane; Larry Teng)

Season 1 of „Supergirl“ ended with this „all or nothing“ two-parter where everything came head to head. Driven and energatic „Supergirl“ cemented itself as one of the superior superheroe shows of it’s time. I loved the show, I loved Kara, I loved Cat and especially in this one.

14. Camelot 3000 (Legends of Tomorrow Episode 2.12/28, Written By: Anderson MacKenzie, Directed By: Antionio Negret)

From the far future to Camelot and King Arthur – this episodes travelled far and mixed those two areas up quite nice. In true Legends fashion Ray became a Knight of the Round Table, Sara got to hit on Guenevere, and Mick got to beat the adversary army with his brain. Yes, you read that one right. Just ask poor Martin about it. Given how much a love both Arthurian lore and the Legends this one remains one of my favorite up to today.

13. Meet the Legends (Legends of Tomorrow Episode 5.1/69, Written by: Grainne Godfree, James Eagan, Directed by: Kevin Mock)

In this episodes Ava tries to race money for the Time Bureau by making a documentary about the Legends and their work. This episode is the documentary and the making oft he documentary. Think Arrows „Emerald Archer“ only way carzier and funnier. The Legends meet Rasputin who kidnappes the camera team, while Ava writes Sara a very weird condolence note, everyone is acting weird(er) because cameras, and well it’s „Legends“ only even nuttier than normally. I love it.

12. Invasion! (2) (Arrow 5.8/100, Written by: Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Wendy Mericle, Directed by: James Bamford)

In the middle of the big „Invasion“ Crossover „Arrow“ celebrated its 100the episode by looking at a world where the Gambit never sank. While the writers cleary had fun with Barry and Kara in this one, the heart lies in the dream reality, where things are better but sadly not real. Oliver, Thea and the others need to chose the life they want and weg et rewarded with a really great episode while they do so.

11. Raiders of the Lost Art (Legends of Tomorrow Episode 2.9/25, Written by: Keto Shimizu, Chris Fedak, Directed by: Dermott Downs)

This is officially the episode where „Legends“ went nuts. Oh and it’s a delicous one. George Lucas never became a filmmaker after being scared of by Malcolms and Damiens attempts to kill amnesiac Rip Hunter who thinks he is an American filmstudent, whose script is basically the plot of the shows first season. Too bad he can’t find a decent Vandal Savage. And that everyone thinks he is this Rip Hunter guy. Also Mick gets a brain surgey, Ray and Nate change occupations, and Amayas babysits their attempt to get George Lucas back to film school, and thanks god she does otherwise … well otherwise there would be no „Star Wars“ or „Indiana Jones“, would there?

10. Beebo the God of War (Legends of Tomorrrow 3.9/42, Written by: Grainne Goodfree und James Eagan, Directed by: Kevin Mock)

This was supposed to be the sad goodbye to Martin Stein and it still is that as well, but mostly it’s the episode about Beebo Day. You know, the blue god, who hungers for war and conquest? Whose birthday we celebrate once a year in december and … wait? What was I talking about? Oh, yeah Leo tries to make Mick quit drinking and Beebo get’s squeezed a lot. Well you have to see that one to know why it’s a great one, but believe me it is great.

9. Elseworlds 1-3 (Flash, Arrow, Supergirl, Part 1: The Flash Episode 5.9/101, Written By: Eric Wallace und Sam Chalsen, Directed By: Kevin Tancharoen und Tom Cavanagh, Part 2: Arrow Episode 7.9/147, Written by: Marc Guggenheim und Caroline Dries, Directed by: James Bamford, Part 3: Supergirl Episode 4.9/74, Written by: Mac Guggenheim, Derek Simon und Rob Rovner, Directed by: Jesse Warn)

In this Crossover Oliver und Barry switch identities which no one on Earth-1 believes, but Kara’s help leads to an evil not-quite Superman and a brand new reality. Also we are introduced to Batwoman and Gotham. And Lois Lane. Well, there is a lot going in there - even Gary guest stars on „Supergirl“ – but mainly Oliver is Barry and Barry is Oliver and that if fun and Kara makes a connection with the Elseworld version of Earth-1 Alex Danvers which is also great.

8. Legends of To-Meow-Meow (Legends of Tomorrow Episode 4.8/59, Written by: James Eagan und Ray Utarnachitt, Directed by: Ben Bray)

Sulky about missing out on the Crossover the Legends crossovered with themselves in Season 4. John and Charlie destroyed the timeline for selfish reasons, and now everything is wrong and everything they do makes things worse instead of better. Zari gets to spend most of the episode as a cat, the rest of the Legends get turned into puppets, we meet the Sirens of Spacetime and the Custodians of the Chronology, and a gay kiss saves all of spacetime. Why can’t all shows be more like „Legends“?

7. The Scientist/Three Ghosts (Arrow Episode: 2.8/31-2.9/32, 32: Written by: Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, Geoff Johns, Ben Sokolowski, Directed by: Michael Schultz, John Behring)

This two parter introduces us to Barry Allen and culuminates in the „Arrow“-Version of a „Christmas Carol“ Oliver gets visited by three ghosts and Barry gets hit by lightning. Among other things. All very good stuff – I watch „Three Ghosts“ every Christmas, if I manage to get around to it. But this also is very the Arrowverse was born. And back then it was the best of „Arrow“ they ever did. And it still stands out today, combindes strong Flashbacks with a strong Main Story, which is all we ever wanted from „Arrow.“

6. Resist/Nevertheless, She Persisted (Supergirl 2.21/41-2.22/42, Written by: Derek Simon, Jessica Queller, Andrew Kreisberg, Robert Rovner, Caitlin Parrish, Directed by: Milicent Shelton, Glen Winter)

Season 2 of „Supergirl“ ends with a very strong two-parter that features the Daxamits Invasion of earth. Superman is in it, but these are all about Kara who get’s inspired by Cat Grant again, goes on to inspire everyone else in turn, faces of against the truly evil mother of the love of her life, and has to make a big sacrifice. The two parter was especially well written and no season finale of the show later ever measured up to it afterwards.

5. Reset (Arrow Episode 8.6/166, Written by: Onalee Hunter Hughes und Maya Houston, Directed by: David Ramsey)

Yes it’s a time loop episode in „Arrow“! Yes, it’s still „Arrow“, it will still break your heart. But it’s probably the moment the show embraced it’s funny pages origin the most wholehearted. It will make you cry in all the right ways. We get to say goodbye to Quentin in a prober way in this finally and that is beautiful. And Oliver gets around to accept his destiny which is heart breaking, but still this is my favorite episode of „Arrow“ if you get right down to it.

4. Fast Enough (The Flash 1.23/23, Written By: Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, Gabrielle Stanton, Directed By: Dermott Downs)

Season 1 of „The Flash“ has the strongest Season Finale in the history of the Arrowverse. In a very real way it could only get downhill from here. This one will break your heart in so many ways, but it’s the good sort of pain, that makes an impact, may even destroy a part of you, but makes you come out stronger in the end. The whole season comes together in this one and never falls apart (that will only happen later, if you think about it, but it’s explained away by later reveals). Sadly neither this show nor the others could ever measure up to this one, but on the other hand that is exactly what made it special.

3. The Faithful (Supergirl 3.4/46, Written By: Paula Yoo, Katie Rose Rogers, Directed by: Jesse Warn)

This one is my favorite episode of „Supergirl“. Mainly because this is what a certain director tried to do nut failed at in three movies: An exploration of the idea that Kryptonians are essentially Gods compared to humans. This episode is always respectful and has much to say, it touches on Karas own faith, shows us a new and intriguing side of James, and creates a villain that should have ruled the show and the season, but who sady stumbled later. In this one though Coville is just perfect. Like the whole episode.

2. Duet (The Flash Episode 3.17/63, Written By: Aaron Helbing, Todd Helbing, Greg Berlani, Andrew Kreisberg, Directed By: Dermott Daniels Downs)

It’s the Musical Episode! This „Flash“/„Supergirl“-Crossover has all the jazz – singing, dancing, kissing, opening up about feelings – and also a mini „Glee“-Reunion. Kara and Barry are trapped in a Musical Dream World and doomed to follow the plot, while Wally has to confront Darren Crisses Musis Meister. For vocals sakes the episode also includes John Barrowman and Victor Gaber of course, because there was no excuse to make this episode without them. I love this one just as much as it was to be expected and I will never forgive them for never making another Musical episode in any of the shows.

1. The One Where We are trapped on TV (Legends of Tomorrow Episode 5.13/81, Written by: Grainne Godfree, James Eagan, Directed by: Marc Guggenheim)

And the award for the Craziest TV Episode of all time goes to this one, where the Legends are trapped on TV. Charlie put them there to protect them, and so we get very familiar but strange versions of „Friends“, „Downtown Abbey,“ and „Star Trek“ with the Legends as the main characters instead. We also meet a murderous Mister Parker, get another musical number lead by the Tarazi siblings, and are as amazed as Mona about everything that is going on here. Can „Legends“ ever top what they did here? Or anything else in the Arrowverse? Let’s not challenge them, I am sure they can. But until then, we have this one, which of course is not only my favorite episode of „Legends“ but also the whole Arrowverse.

#Arrowverse #favorite episodes #Arrow #The Flash #Supergirl #legends of tomorrow #everyone is entitled to their opinion #please respect mine

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vaguely-concerned · 4 years

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Some Alec Ryder Meta

So since I couldn’t find the screenshots of Alec Ryder’s dying ‘thoughts’, I went and got them myself!* And I am uh way closer to crying than I thought I would be, Alec sort of surprised me here. Let’s go!

I was NOT prepared for his literal first thought to be of his children. And notice -- this is not his children being impressive or special or idk ordered/obedient. It’s them being happy and safe and playing and chaotic. I uh did not expect this, frankly.

I’m guessing this is where they used to live when the kids were small! (Would this be before or during their time on the Citadel? The timeline there is so hazy to me haha, I can never quite remember how that works)

Baby Scott on the swing ;______; I wonder if Alec is ‘there’ off screen in this scene, pushing him, since we start off with a shot looking over Scott’s shoulder like that

Can I just say how quietly charmed I am by the fact that in Alec’s memories Ellen isn’t captured when she was ~*young and beautiful*~ or whatever nonsense -- she’s a mature woman, the same age as himself. It feels like there is something sweet and telling in that, like they were partners/equals in his mind. (This also makes me very uncomfortable to think he didn’t ask her/didn’t get her consent at the last moment on her death bed to put her in stasis, after the twins left the room at least; he seems to have respected her so much, if he went against her wishes that’s... such a breach of everything she seems to have meant to him and really should have been addressed more because it would essentially be his big sin as a character. So I choose to believe for now that when the kids left he did one last ‘give it this one last shot and I promise that if I find nothing within a certain time I’ll let you go and grieve like a normal fucking person’ sales pitch, possibly with prepared Science to back him up because they were both kind of weird like that and I think that if anything could have worked that would. ‘But think of the scientific implications tho babe wouldn’t you want to be able to find out how worked?’ ‘...You’ve got me there’)

More confirmation that Ellen had probably come to terms with her death and Alec Really Hadn’t lol. (Ellen might have just been grateful she lost neither of her children to the eezo exposure, actually -- she would have understood intimately how phenomenally lucky they were that both the twins survived and were healthy to boot) If I were to hazard a guess I’d say that Alec probably was in pretty bad need of space therapy even before his wife got ill, she was just his emotional support and he was intelligent and driven enough to hide most of it until that stability came under threat

:( this is upsetting. It doesn’t come across as well without the movement but he’s bowing his head and putting his face in his hands. Either Ellen when she’s really sick or when she uh ‘died’

I’m fairly sure that’s Ellen’s eyes -- and crucially they’re opening again.

Mom and the twins :’) I think it’s pretty clear Alec did that thing some people (especially men) do where they sort of organize all their feelings through their partner -- “Your mother would have been proud of you, of both of you” JESUS CHRIST ALEC JUST TELL YOUR CHILDREN YOU’RE PROUD OF THEM LIKE YOU ACTUALLY MEANT TO SAY, THEY ALREADY KNOW THEIR MOM LOVED THEM FOR GOD’S SAKE YOU ARE THE UNCERTAIN ELEMENT HERE

ETA: actually this might also have something to do with how convinced he seems to be that the kids don’t need him -- that his love and attention and regard doesn’t matter or count, or would even be seen as an imposition (he consistently refers to himself pretty self-deprecatingly in connection to them, their ‘old man’ coming in and messing up their lives, like he considers his absence to probably be the best he can do for them? He certainly devalues his own impact massively, positive or negative). Meanwhile Ellen’s place in all their lives is a clear and uncontested positive so maybe that’s why he goes for her pride and her love like that. Again: who the fuck raised this weird dysfunctional man to be like this and how did he get away with it for so long haha

Alec and adult/at least teenaged twins! a) I suspect going to another galaxy with them to explore might honestly have been his idea of how bonding works, which... well and b) Sara is right behind him, leaning in like she’s listening and interested in what he’s saying and maybe even speaking too, and Scott looks to me like he’s sort of stranded on the side, looking in but not quite able to connect the same way. (This might be coloured by what I know about their respective relationships from the rest of the game, granted)

The same memory as before BUT interestingly --

the camera is turning around, like Alec is trying to get a look at his children’s faces and can’t :) this is fine and not at all illustrative of his entire deal *everything in my heart is on fire*

sOME observations:

- These flashes give you more emotional insight in him than all the unlockable memories put together, and you’ll literally never see most of them unless you’re a freak like me, painstakingly frame by framing your way through it. That... seems like a waste??

- Despite his numerous flaws and shortcomings as a parent and as a person, literally every single thought he has at the end is about his family -- and not only his wife, all of them. There’s no place for his work here at all. That doesn’t absolve him of anything, of course, but it makes me sad that he never found a better way to show it, or to emotionally connect with his children, which he seems to have a real wish to. (”Maybe six hundred years can change a man”) Bioware... Bioware sequel pls don’t leave it like this ;_________;

- He himself does not figure prominently in his memories, and when he does he is faceless and vague -- except for when he is completely alone with his grief and Ellen is gone. I think there is something to be said about the fact that he makes all these huge inspiring speeches about the unknown and exploration... and yet his actual motivation is so firmly rooted in this immense fear of the unknown and of himself, of not knowing who to be without his wife, of not knowing how to go on living, of being alone. I wonder to what degree he knows this himself. (From what I’ve read so far of Mass Effect Initiation he certainly isn’t as idealistic about the whole thing as even the game portrays him, where he’s show to be pretty clear-eyed about the Initiative already -- or maybe he sort of is an idealist, under the fear and the jaded exhaustion. Either he genuinely believes Andromeda will hold answers and that science can achieve the impossible or he’s just too scared to consider any other outcome. Oh Boy tm)

- Ellen’s illness is such a cataclysmic event for him that I really have to assume he was never that stable to begin with. And as we’ve seen: When a Ryder goes off the rails they do so in STYLE and drag thousands of people with them to an uncertain fate haha

- My personal headcanon is that Alec used to be a better dad before Ellen got ill and when the kids were still very young; when all they really needed was to be held and loved and made to feel safe, and then became more and more distant as his work with SAM progressed and the children’s emotional needs grew more complex and demanding. Sara remembers this part of their father better (or clings to it more desperately, depending on your point of view) and is also more like him in general, being driven, competitive and intensely intellectually engaged (no matter how you play her in-game, Sara is always presented as vastly more A Nerd than Scott is -- its own can of worms of course but it’s there in the text). Meanwhile Scott has reached a resigned sort of ‘It’s perfectly plausible my dad would not be able to pick me out from a crowd’ place about it and given up on expecting anything more a long time ago in self defense. I think they’ve both hit on different parts of the truth there lol

(Also Sara and Alec seem to have bonded over making fun of Scott a little bit and considering him the underachiever of the two and like Not Cool guys!!! :( )

- Anyway Alec Ryder is a very interesting and immensely flawed character and killing him off and never meaningfully engaging with him again seems like throwing away a golden opportunity. Sequel where ‘Ghost Riders’ takes on a new meaning when??? I just want the twins to be able to either yell at him or connect to him better, as appropriate to the feelings of the individual player (I totally get why people would want to give their Ryders a chance to straight up hate him)

I think where it really hurts for me is that he clearly has these feelings, the capacity for it. There’s a wealth of affection and... tenderness? reverence, nearly? in these memories. None of his outward hardass needs-everything-to-be-under-control persona. And yet he could find no way to express this or even really meaningfully stay with his own feelings and his children suffered for it. It’s just all so fucking sad

*Courtesy of DanaDuchy’s youtube channel, which is truly one of the marvels of the internet; please check it out if you have any interest at all in Bioware games or indeed RPGs/games in general, there’s SO much content and it’s all neatly organized! If like me you want to listen to all the banter of every game... this channel’s got you covered

#mass effect #mass effect andromeda #meta #alec ryder #is a real SOB but the more I learn about him the more grudging confused affection I have for him lol #this must be what it's like to be the ryder twins #today in the 'I know no one asked for this but my brain won't shut up about it' report lol

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pass-the-bechdel · 4 years

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Alias s01e02 ‘So it Begins’

Does it pass the Bechdel Test?

Yes, twice.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Four (25%)

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Thirteen (75%)

Positive Content Rating:

Two

General Episode Quality:

An alright continuation of the pilot, fun in parts but also giving cause for concern in others.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel:

Sydney and Francie talk about a plate of Sydney’s. Francie and Sara talk about waitressing.

Female Characters:

Sydney Bristow

Francie Calfo

Jenny

Sara

Male Characters:

Michael Vaughn

Ineni Hassan

Marcus Dixon

Charlie

Will Tippin

Marshall Flinkman

Arvin Sloane

Jack Bristow

Luri Karpachev

Kazimir Shcherbakov

Abul-Hasayn Navor

Davenport

Weiss

Other Notes:

Do I love Sydney in the blue dress? Yes. Can I do so while also acknowledging that it doesn’t say great things about the series? Also yes. As hot as she looks, looking hot is the entire purpose of the look, in a way that feels not great and seems to indicate some unsettling priorities. Sure, missions as opportunities for sexiness have been part and parcel of the lady-spy genre from the start. However, that this appears to be the only reason for the dress makes it particularly bothersome. Does the choice of mission-wear tell us something about Sydney, aside from “Jennifer Garner is real fit”? No. Does it tell us something about the person Sydney is pretending to be? Technically, yes, but also no, insofar as the costume forms the entirety of the alias. It’d make sense if the outfit was meant for seduction, but it isn’t—according to the original mission parameters, Sydney was just supposed to just hand the money to Dixon. So why this particular look, which isn’t even that great as fashion?

That said, the mission where this outfit is worn is great fun. Details about it don’t make a lot of sense—it’s never explained why Sydney and Dixon needed to steal the money from the buyer they were impersonating, rather than bringing their own—but the pacing is great, the chemistry between Sydney and Dixon is fantastic, and the sequence as a whole is a step above what other genre TV was doing at the time.

Sydney and Will have known each other for three years. I’m laying this out for the record, because this will not always be the case.

SARAH SHAHI!! Love seeing her here, even if the actual writing for her is…not great. Yes, 2001-era Bradley Cooper is very hot. Hot enough for a twenty-something intern to risk everything she’s risking by actually being open and constant in her flirting with somebody who has openly said that he does not respect her (which is also groan-worthy but can also be interpreted as Will attempting, in a non-optimal way, to get her to stop pursuing him)? Not so much. J.J. Abrams, for all his work featuring women (he created or co-created Felicity before this) does not understand them in very key ways, it shows here, and will show up in the future.

This episode is all over the place, but I like the way Ineni Hassan, who is mentioned in the first act during a largely throwaway scene, is brought back in the end.

I really love the chemistry Sydney has with her friend group; their scenes together are arguably better than the spy action.

The SD-6 map scene…ugh. I get what it’s going for, but what it’s going for and what it actually gets from it are two obviously different things, and it’s the first and earliest sign of all the way Alias goes wrong.

Some table-setting, for context: Sydney is telling Vaughn—her new C.I.A. handler, introduced last episode—what she understands of SD-6, as well as hashing out the details of their working relationship, and is clearly and openly impatient about the whole process. She accuses Vaughn of mansplaining SD-6 and espionage to her, and he responds by asking her to draw a map of the organization, and then revealing that the organization is exponentially larger than she believed it was.

Multiple things bother me about this. First, that workplace sexism is indeed a thing, and it sucks mightily to have one of the few scenes in the series where it’s mentioned be one designed to make it seem as if it isn’t, and that Sydney is being unreasonable for suspecting it.

Perhaps more groan-worthy, thought, is the way the scene undercuts the competence the writing seems to want to ascribe to Sydney. Yes, it’s perfectly true that Sydney has more direct experience with SD-6 than Vaughn does. It’s also true that, as the intro narration reminds us, Sydney worked for SD-6 for seven years without suspecting the truth. She should, by all rights, be questioning everything she thought she knew about them, which makes her certainty utterly inexplicable.

And yes, I get that part of the purpose of this scene is to establish Sydney and Vaughn as complementary opposites, and to establish the series’ stakes. And yet, I’d argue that there were ways to do both without throwing Sydney under the bus. The latter scene, where they argue about Sydney’s decision to call SD-6 about defusing a nuclear bomb (which consequently allowed SD-6 to retrieve the bomb and sell it) is much better at establishing tension between them and portraying them as people with diverging thought processes who need to work together. In contrast, what the map scene does is establish Sydney as not very smart, which is a terrible thing to say about the show’s main character.

#Alias #Alias Season One #So It Begins #Female Representation #Bechdel Test

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marauders-groupie · 5 years

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6 & 10 for the Fanfic Asks!

Thank you so much, Sara! :)

6. Favorite fic?

Okay, this is gonna be a mini fic-rec post now. Sorry not sorry!

I would go to bat for anything the following three authors write: @alltheworldsinmyhead & @pepperish & @kindclaws.

It’s Still You by @alltheworldsinmyhead - A modern take on Orpheus/Eurydice. Bellamy Blake goes to hell and back to bring back Clarke. A stunning work of art. You need to read it to fully understand why Nat is one of the most talented writers I’ve ever read. | Other works from Nat: Spark of Devotion, Filling Your Empty Heart

Meet Me in the Afterglow by @pepperish - On paper, this is a fic about exes who can’t stay away from each other. In practice, it’s a fic about healing and human messiness and beauty. Jess spouts some fundamental human truths, and you’ve got to watch her do her thing. | Other works from Jess: Et In Arcadia Ego, It’s Time to Try Defying Gravity

And You Thought the Lions Were Bad by @kindclaws - Dark Clarke take, in which Clarke is a vigilante who can’t stop dying, and Bellamy can’t stop patching her up. Sara’s fics are one of the most creative ones I’ve ever read, both in terms of craft and style. | Other works from Sara: Our Bodies, Possessed by Dust, Ashes in My Wake

I haven’t been reading a lot of fic lately, but I loved these gems:

Riddle Me This by @thelittlefanpire - This was such a damn interesting fic, Sara!!! Octavia as the Sphinx works perfectly in so many ways that my head is still whirling.

The Many Names of Octavia Blake by olivemartini - A deeply interesting and insightful character study of Octavia Blake. She’s a complex character, but this writer did her so much justice.

Moderation by @bettsfic - Moderation is a deeply complex work of art, and I love that it portrays such deep kindness and hope for a brighter tomorrow.

Big by @star-sky-earth - Ya know what? This fic has a kind heart and it always makes me tear up.

10. Favorite trope/element/scenario in fic?

I’m such a sucker for fantasy/mythology with a modern twist! Also, healing. Show me the messes humans make. We should all be lighter on our sins anyway.

#thank you so much! and i'm sorry for hijacking your ask #bellarke fic rec #lana talks fic #fic rec #asks #thelittlefanpire

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defiblover27 · 5 years

Text

Last Waltz

The dance world is a harsh and short career for anyone that is brave, or lucky enough, to peruse it. Natalie had been dancing since she was five years old and had recently made it to the place of principal dancer for the San Francisco Ballet. Natalie was a very skinny five foot five woman with long black hair and dark brown eyes. The company was on their US tour and Natalie was preparing for another performance. She put on her white leotard and white tutu and finally her pointe shoes. Her black hair was up in a bun and all of her hair was slicked back. Natalie’s long legs were covered in her pink tights. The performance went on perfectly and it was time for the last movement. Natalie was on stage alone waltzing across the floor. Suddenly Natalie fell to the ground, the audience thought that it was just a part of the character that she was portraying. The cast knew better, they quickly lowered the curtain and rushed to aid their principal dancer. One of the crew members dialed 911 well the others saw what they could do to help. Natalie was in a panic and was scared of what just happened. She had asthma as a kid but had never experienced anything like this before. Sara and Dave were the unit that were dispatched to the call they had a rookie paramedic with them for his first night on the job named Jake. Upon arrival Natalie was lying on the ground gasping for air and clinging to life. Her small body began convulsing on the floor as her body began to give out. The seizures subsided after a few moments and her body fell limp. Dave put his two fingers on her neck to find a pulse but couldn't find any. “I can’t find a pulse, start CPR and I’ll bag.” Dave said. Sara centered her hands in between the ballerinas breasts and began compressing her chest. Dave grabbed the orange ambu bag and sealed it onto her face. Every few seconds Dave squeezed the bag to give Natalie air. After two rounds of CPR Dave took his shears and snipped down her white leotard to reveal her super skinny abdomen and A cup breasts. Dave took over compressions and Sara instructed Jake to take over ventilation while she did what she could. Sara attached the leads to Natalie’s bare chest and started an IV in her left arm. As the monitor began to find any kind of rhythm it showed V-fib. Sara took out the Zoll AED pads that were connected by a blue piece that went directly over the center of the sternum. Sara charged the unit to 200 Joules, as the unit sounded off that it was charged Dave and Jake backed away. Sara pressed the red shock button which made Natalie’s small breasts shake and her body to twitch slightly. The shock caused Natalie’s heart to return to asystole on the monitor. “We need to get her to the hospital asap.” They grabbed the stretcher and rolled her onto the backboard before placing her on the stretcher. Jake took over compressions as they grabbed all of their equipment and rolled her out to the ambulance.

As they loaded her into the back Sara decided to drive while Dave and Jake worked on Natalie. As they pulled away from the performance venue Natalie was still in asystole. Jake was doing compressions while Dave intubated and pushed a round of epi. After a few moments the drugs started taking effect and Dave charged the AED to 300. As the unit charged they backed away and shocked her for the second time. Natalie’s chest rose slightly off of the stretcher and then came back down. The shock had no effect and Natalie stayed in V-fib. Dave took over compressions as the unit was charged again to 360. With each compression Natalie’s chest caved in and her stomach extended slightly. Natalie was so skinny that you could see the outline of her ribs and could see them compress while she was receiving CPR. The unit charged and once again shocked Natalie. Her feet kicked off the stretcher slightly and then her head lolled to the side. The ambulance filled with the sharp tone of asystole as Natalie once again flatlined. Jake pounded away at Natalie’s chest as he grew desperate to save his first patient. Each compression was read on the monitor as the green line bounced up and down with her chest. Dave pushed another round of drugs and continued to ventilate her. Dave opened up Natalie’s mouth and slid the metal blade in before placing the ET tube down her throat. The tube was secured with the blue holder and the resuscitation efforts were resumed. The unit was charged to 360 again and a fourth shock was delivered. Natalie’s pointe shoes clicked together as her legs lifted off the stretcher slightly. The shock had no effect and CPR was resumed as the ambulance swung into the bay of the emergency room.

As she was rolled into the Emergency Room Natalie was under intense CPR. They rushed her down the hallway towards the trauma room. The nurses and other patients caught a short glimpse and were shocked that such a healthy woman was dying on the gurney. As they whipped into the trauma room Sara gave the update. “Twenty seven year old female, collapsed during a performance she began convulsing upon arrival and then went into cardiac arrest. We have performed continuous CPR and have shocked her four times. She has converted between V-fib and asystole the entire way here. We have given epi and Adrenalin. She is intubated with a size 7 tube.” Dr. Micheal began to take over “Alright lets lift on three, one two three” The backboard was moved from the gurney onto the hospitals gurney. The leads were connected to the monitors and showed V-fib. “Charge to 360 and prepare to shock.” The unit whined to life as Dr. Micheal removed the paddles and a nurse squirt conductive gel onto one of them. After the unit charged he rubbed the paddles together to spread the gel. He placed one just above the center of her chest and the other on her lower right side. The team backed away. “We’re all clear, shocking”. Natalie’s small body jumped off the gurney and in a moment came crashing back down. The monitors spiked with the shock and then continued in a flat line. The nurse centered their hands in between her breasts and pounded away rhythmically again. Natalie’s entire body shook which each compression. Her pointe shoes would click together every so often as her feet swung back and forth. Her chest caved in each time the nurse pushed down on her chest. The wheezing of the ambu bag became rhythmic as each squeeze delivered much needed air. A round of cardiac drugs was pushed through the IV port and after a few more moments and rounds of CPR the green line started to bounce and show V-fib. The gel was squirted onto the paddles once again as the unit charged to 360. The paddles were placed on her bare chest and as everyone cleared off her body flew into the air and came crashing back down again. The shock caused no change so compressions were resumed as the unit charged again. The unit sounded off as they were placed back on her chest. As the button were pressed Natalie’s long legs jolted out to the side and her arms flailed outward. This shock caused Natalie to convert back into asystole as the green line went flat on the monitor. “Prep a tracheotomy tray and push another round of epi please.” Dr. Michael commanded his medical team. Betadine was squirted over her left breast and her chest as aggressive CPR continued. Dr. Michael took the scalpel and made the initial incision. Blood began to pour onto the table and onto the floor as her chest was cut open. There was a set of loud pops as Dr. Michael cracked her ribs in order to reach her dying heart. The bone fragments were placed into a metal tin next to the bed. Dr. Michael reached his hands into her chest and felt her heart. Her heart was completely still. He ordered another round of drugs as he began to squeeze her heart with his own hands rhythmically. The monitor beeped in tune with each internal compression. Her body now laid still on the table without the extreme force of CPR. After a minute he let go and her heart began twitching. Natalie had finally converted into V-fib so the internal paddles were readied. The paddles were long spoon like metal rods. He placed them into her chest and put them around her heart. They defib was charged to 20 joules. As they let go of the ambu bag and let it hang he pressed the shock buttons on the paddles and her body twitched slightly on the table. There was no change so the defib was charged again to 30 joules and he used one hand to compress her heart as the defib was charged. The paddles were placed back into her chest and the shock was delivered. This caused her breasts to shake and her arms to flail out slightly. The second internal shock had the same effect so they were charged for a third time. Michael was growing desperate and didn’t know what else to do. The defib alerted that it was charged to 30 joules so Dr. Michael placed the paddles directly onto her heart for the third time. “Come on third times the charm” He whispered to himself. The shock was delivered as her arms and legs flailed slightly as her chest barely rose off of the table. He looked to the monitor to see any effect. The green line on the heart monitor traced across the screen flat as the monitor once again filled the room with a high pitched screech. Dr. Michael slowly removed the bloody paddles and placed them on the crash cart. He took out a penlight and shined it into her dark brown eyes that were now fixed and dilated. “Time of death 9:47 pm. Thank you everyone for your assistance.” Dr. Michael left the room as he went to talk to anyone who arrived for Natalie. The nurses detached the ambu bag and the leads from her bare and bloodied chest. They tried their best to get some of the blood off the floor. A nurse unlaced her pointe shoes which revealed her long feet. She placed a toe tag that draped down her foot. Finally they placed a white sheet over her bare body. Natalie’s sudden death came as a surprise to all including the medical team that desperately attempted to save her life.

#cpr #defib #EMT #resuscitation #resus #Hospital

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