#and again i love love love how they write dialogue on that fucking show. its so so run

[r0ughrabbitz]

Hey Andrew dabb your resident evil fanfic sucks major balls

#i got like 25 minutes into the first episode cause i love resident evil and that was not it #the dialogue? horrible. really outta pocket sometimes? the zootopia line?!? #i dont like the blatant stereotyping of the main characters the girls fall into the aggressive black girl and quiet asian tropes #idk if it gets better but its not it #and i dont want to hear a single fucking word about how the show sucks cause wesker is a black man #the racial diversity has nothing to do with how good or bad the show is its just bad writing. #theres so much source material in resi evil to go off of and dabb dropped the ball big time once again #.txt #re

[jake-webber]

I am weak for vampire!Sam and demon!Colby if you want to write something 'bout that

the way my mind already knew who im associating this au with. @samandcolby-ownme my beloved thank you for introducing this au to me. i give all credits to you for vampsam and demcolby

content warning: kinda mean dom reader but very much sub SnC, Colby has a tail,,…, fem reader, near death experience (briefly mentioned), implied stripper!reader, BAD sex dialogue i think, if you’re more used to @samandcolby-ownme’s writing style for the boys, this one is very diff.

VERY MUCH UNEDITED

no smut, meaning no peen in vag but very sexual stuff under the cut. 18+ only!!

You were absolutely drained, both mentally and physically. Your whole body aches and you walk around the room as if you were anemic (which you could be at this point). As much as you loved your boyfriends, you’re high maintenance lovers, it’s taking a toll on you.

Other than the heavenly yet punishing sex they both give you, they keep forgetting to mention their other personal and unnatural needs as, well, not natural beings.

Consent and boundaries were set up before the three of yours’ relationships began. Their needs and your needs, as long as asked for permission, is given green light to the other. This applies for Sam’s request of sucking your blood which you don’t usually so no to and Colby’s demonic need of sucking the energy out of you by ‘absorbing your essence’ (you’re still not 100% sure how it works since he usually just closes his eyes as you stand there, feeling every bit of your serotonin slowly leaving your body).

Lately, for some reason, their needs doubled. Sam sucked your blood half to death if it weren’t for Colby snapping him out of his senses when you began losing color and consciousness. Colby was no better though. Unbeknownst to you, he’s been absorbing to much of your essence that it leaves you in such a worn out state.

You were angry and easily irritable, like a ticking time bomb. Just like right now.

As soon as you opened the door to your shared home, you were overwhelmed with the smell of their perfumes, telling you that they’ve been in the house the whole time while you were away, and the scent usually sends you into a calmer mood knowing your boys were here, but in your state right now?

“Sam? Colby! Sam!” You yelled from the living room, a striking headache already on its way as soon as the two appeared out of thin air.

“Baby, I’ve missed you.” Sam approached you with an arm reaching for you neck, rubbing the holes that showed his constant penetration on your poor skin. You could tell from the way he’s licking his lips, eyes not meeting yours, that Sam was going to ask for your blood. Again.

You scoffed, something you’ve never done towards them, swatted his hand away from. This caused for the blonde boy to flinch, red eyes flashing in the dim lighting. You could see Colby reacting to the unfamiliar reaction from your peripheral vision.

“Bad day at work?” He asked, arms crossed as he walked towards the both of you.

You ran a hand against your head, combing your already disheveled. “I don’t know, you tell me.” You didn’t know what came over to you, eyebrows arching in sarcasm. “Fucked up week would be a better way to describe it.”

Sam, unbeknownst to you, felt something crushing in his undead heart, like chains being harshly twisted and pulled at every bad energy you were sending out. Of course, you were unaware of that, continuing to do so. Colby, on the other hand, felt his eyes twitching, not from anger, but at his lack of breath as if he was being choked. His necklace hung low on his neck, there was nothing else that should be making him felt this way.

Despite all this, you began talking when they didn’t, oblivious to their pain. “I don’t know if you’ve been noticing but for whatever fucked up reason, the two of you have been taking too much from me.” Sam clenched the spot on his shirt where his heart would be residing, feeling it beat once again. He doesn’t remember it hurting like this.

Colby was fast on his feet to take your hands, releasing the grip of your unwelcoming crossed arms. “We didn’t know— We aren’t supposed to be here and we aren’t used to it.”

“As much as we hate it, it’s kind of— like, our way of having our powers work here.” Sam explained further, somehow compelled to telling you.

Their words didn’t seem to work to calm you down you rolled your eyes.

“Right, as if that’s any of my fault.” You replied, taking your hand back from Colby’s. His eyes widened at your action, feeling as though he’s made a grave mistake.

You’re disappointing her.

They both felt agonizing pain in their entire bodies at the same, especially on Colby’s neck and Sam’s chest. Colby held onto himself as he tried to catch his breath while Sam was clenching his fist to his chest.

“I mean, seriously, it’s been affecting me so much. I could barely do any of my choreographies without getting dizzy, I accidentally snapped at a costumer— not to mention, our highest paying.” You continued your tangent, eyes anywhere but on your boyfriends’ withering state. Your words struck them like lightning coursing through their body, making Sam the first to fall on his knees.

It was only when you heard a second thud when you turned back around. Your eyes widened at the sight of both Sam and Colby on their knees, their inhuman traits were out in the open.

“Sam? Colby? What the fuck is happening?” You knelt down to their level, trying to lift their heads up. Colby harshly grabbed your arm as soon you got closer, making you wince in pain as his sharp nails dug in your skin. Your reaction immediately made the boy struggle even further.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” The boy chanted to himself. “Fuck, I didn’t mean it, please.” Colby pleaded to you as if you were the one hurting him.

“Please, forgive us. We didn’t mean to anger you, make it stop.” Sam wheezed, his eyes having the brightest shade of red you’ve ever seen him have. The only time you’ve seen a glimpse of it was during sex.

Their words confused you as concern began washing over your anger. “Wait– guys–” Before you could even start talking to them, a voice in began to ring in the back of your head.

They deserve this.

The voice awfully sounded like you.

“You deserve this.” You said towards the both of them. Sam, despite his pain and being the rationale of your relationship, took notice of how your voice didn’t sound like you. It was you, you were speaking, but another voice, much darker and lower, was speaking for you.

The boys felt your fingers wrap around their chin, lifting them without much hardship. Colby’s watering eyes widened at your different eye color.

He wasn’t able to focus any further when he felt yet another sharp on his neck. “Focusing on useless things, you tend to do that, don’t you, Colby?” Instead of just the new voice, your real voice began overlapping with it. Somehow, it doubled the fear the boys were feeling for the first time again.

“As for you, Sam, you think you control this relationship, don’t you? Having made the first move on me, I can’t blame you if you did.” You chuckled. “Oh, how long I’ve been wanting to tell you this,” You inched closer to the boy, ghosting his sensitive sense of hearing on his now pointed ears. “You never were.”

You simultaneously let them both go and immediately grabbing a fistful of Sam’s hair. “You’re always one to talk. Better make that tongue to good use.” Without much warning, you placed two of your fingers inside him. “Suck.” You ordered.

Sam couldn’t do anything but comply, licking and sucking every inch of what you gave him. The pain in his heart was lessening by the second, making his actions more messy and desperate. Colby looked over at your lustful expression as you watched Sam, feeling his pants tightening at the sight.

“You never left me alone when I’m soaked,” Despite your distance from him, Colby heard your voice against his ear, making shivers run down his spine to his penis, pre cum staining his pants. He could feel your chuckles on his bare neck. “Don’t worry, baby, I won’t be doing the same thing you.”

With half lidded eyes, Sam watched as you reached over to Colby, his demon tail immediately wrapping itself around you, as if guiding you to where you should be. You clicked your tongue, making both of them wince in pain at your displeasure. “Still trying to take control?”

You could hear Colby mumbling ‘no’s under his labored breathes along with Sam’s muffled ones, knowing what’s coming. You retracted your fingers from the blonde boy’s mouth and stood up.

“Look at me, Colby.” Your voice was gone again, voice void of any emotion but command. As soon as he did, he groaned in pain and pleasure as your feet lands on his hard on. The heels you were still wearing from the club stabbed on every part of him, his whines of pain slowly turning to a mix of his moans.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” He gasped as pushed your heels even further, “Please, it hurts so much. It hurts,” Tears, which was something you’ve never seen come out of the both of them, began falling down on his scaled cheeks.

You remained unfazed, eyes glistening in excitement. Was it even you?

“Hurts more than getting choked?” You taunted and Colby immediately shakes his head. “If anything, you’re luckier than Sam. I like it when I’m being fucked and losing my breath.” Which both Sam and Colby knew all too well.

Speaking of, your eyes moved towards to Sam who was pathetically palm himself beside Colby. It almost made you wanted to laugh that this was the same man that stalked you, hunted you, and claimed you.

“God, you look good like this.” You smirked, grabbing his chin once again and pulling his head towards yours. Your lips move in a familiar rhythm, only this time you were taking the lead of exploring every inches of the boy’s mouth. Your tongue grazed his sharp canines, purposely piercing yourself to let blood run. Sam’s eyes widened, eyes glistening.

“You’re so spoiled.” You said as soon your lips parted ways with his, wiping the blood residue on your mouth and watched as Sam immediately started to lick it if off of your thumb.

“I’m gonna– fuck, fuck, I’m–“ Colby moaned as his hips grinds against your stilettos. He tried to chase his high but you removed your legs before he could, making him groan in pain. “No, no, please.” He cried, more tears spilling down from his darkened pupils.

You had to step back to look at the mess you’ve created. Sam was in his own high as the smallest amount of your blood intoxicated his entire being, leaving his pants severely damped while Colby couldn’t even move in inch from how painful you left him, something in him refusing to cum if it wasn’t against you.

You ran your fingers in your hair. “Ah, fuck— this definitely gave my energy back.”

Their eyes made contact with yours and they could see your natural eye color mixing with your new one. Colby, being a demon himself, knew what’s happening.

Because of your lack of blood, your own blood, and your humanly essence he’s been selfishly taking, a demonic spirit strong enough to conquer one and an ancient vampire made its way to your weakened self and made itself feel at home inside you.

That also meant this dynamic, these invisible chains you’ve placed on them, wouldn’t disappear any time soon.

#colby brock #colby brock x reader #colby brock imagine #sam and colby #sam golbach imagine #sam golbach x reader #sam and colby x reader #vampire!sam golbach #demon!colby brock

[adragonsfriend]

Mace Windu: “only imposing if you see him that way”

Fuck it I’m bringing my Othello class into this again.

So we read American Moor by Keith Hamilton Cobb (review, full text is available as a free pdf if you look it up), which is a play that comments on the experience of black men who play the role of Othello as well as of course more generally on the experience of black men in the United States by showing the interior thoughts of an experienced black actor auditioning for the role of Othello in front of an inexperienced white director. There’s this line, it’s not even dialogue, it’s part of the description of what the actor is doing for the pre-show in the stage directions:

“He is a tall man, powerfully built and handsome, and only imposing if you see him that way.”

—American Moor, page 5

Sound like anyone we might know?

This caught my eye because I have noticed a bit of a pattern. Even very well meaning SW media—like Shatterpoint by Matthew Stover and fics that really love him—often goes out of its way to describe Mace Windu as intimidating and imposing.

And yeah on some level a tall man with muscles who knows how to fight might just be imposing, but to be honest I never remember Qui-gon Jinn being described that way, or Ki-Adi Mundi, or really any other tall, male Jedi. Dooku is sometimes described as intimidating, but it is usually framed in terms of either his Sith personality or his skill with a saber, not his physicality. Only some fics go out of their way to even describe Anakin as physically imposing.

And like I say, many of these works I’m noting are ones that have very good intentions and otherwise make mainly good, interesting moves with Mace’s character (works that take an explicitly negative view of Mace are a whole other can of worms I’m not addressing here). This is something that is being picked up from a deeply embedded culture of racism, not (in these cases at least) malicious. But that means writers, especially white writers—even if we have great intentions—we have to stay careful and aware of this. Readers aren’t off the hook either. It is through reading, and reading with a lot of love, that this pattern emerged to me.

Keep noticing these things, keep reading, keep writing, and maybe above all, keep revising.

Personally, I’m gonna be going back through my Mace Windu writing to check for this specifically.

#star wars #mace windu #racisim #racial bias #shatterpoint #fanfiction #othello #shakespeare #American Moor #looking for a decent review to link was…ugh #some people have apparently missed the point

[milgram-tournament]

MILGRAM Best Song Tournament, Round 1, Match 4 HALF vs. MAGIC

Propaganda for both options under the cut!

Propaganda for HALF:

kazui may just be an old gay man but HE CAN SING.

its. literally stunning.

like aside from his character and everything else, half is just really really beautifully written

THE INSTRUMENTALS.

HIS V O I C E??? its so pretty

heartbreaking lyrics. i dont love kazui as a character but i have bawled to half

GAY RIGHTS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love amane but she will undoubtedly win when her purge march poll rolls around, so lets let the old man have a win shall we?

---

half propaganda let's goooo sorry i'm sobern't in true kazui style so this probably won't make a bit of sense

theatre kid man. i love him, incredible mv.

this song is pure ASMR to me

visually aligned with Cat and it's so lovely to see that continuity

the GRAINY MOVIE DOTS THING ON THE MV <3

kazui is so dramatic. i love him i love him

dapper gentleman. such clothes

the key change is so well done

AND THE . THE PART WITH THE. THE ENDING SORT OF LYRICS OVERLAID WITH SPEAKING. and then his quieter singing and, and, and o h my god. im sorry. im not very coherent abt this rn

every part of the song is amazing but once it gets to the key change and after it keeps stepping up the amount of being perfect

kazui is in it

um

kazui is in it

go my psionic warriors vote for everyone's favourite failhusband

no children were tortured in the making of this MV (cough looking at You magic)

---

Allow me to present my Half propaganda!

- The slower tempo adds a very relaxing feeling to the song. Kinda ironic, but I like it! It sort of reminds of old indie songs from 2012 (especially with what I think is whistling added in the instrumental in-between chorus and verses.)

- Kazui’s voice. Enough said.

- It’s very easy to listen to, and I find it’s one of the only songs from Milgram that I like to listen to out of context (besides After Pain, Backdraft, and Purge March, oddly enough.)

- The MV is rife with imagery, and is used to beautiful effect. It really makes you feel for Kazui and his situation.

- The scene with him and Hinako before the key change… that makes me so emo.

- The overlapping part at the end… the lyrics combined with the dialogue in the background makes me really sad in a way I can’t explain.

Propaganda for MAGIC:

MAGIC MY BELOVED MAGIC!!! Its one of the best MVs in the entire series, even including T2. Magic is visually stunning and has some fantastic art direction but also is very clever in how it conveys its themes and ideas. Magic doesn't really hide anything from you, not really. It's all symbolic but it Tells You Things. It shows you the abuse, it shows you the cat. There's a fun little relationship going on here where, In Magic. Amane's pain and suffering isn't taken seriously by the people around her and the Audience we are discouraged to take it at face value due to the fictionalized nature of Magic. It's so cool. I'm so fond of the song as well, it's one of the best in the series purely cause of the Layers in it. The implications of this Inability to be good is seeped into Magic. Amane knows this isn't reality, Magic knows it's a show, she watches it at the end. And it's so Sad to me that even in her fictionalized happy world she Cannot be a good girl. It's a standard completely out of reach for her and that idea is just conveyed so well visually.

Im not even talking about the goddamn cat yet- the cat symbolism goes Deep. That cat is HER it has the same wounds Amane has in Purge March. I- I cant talk about the intertextuality of Purge March and Magic here this is Magic propaganda only- I- there's so much good stuff to Magic. I Re watched it over and over again. It has some the Best Writing and Visual Communication in Milgram and I will Die on this Hill.

---

shoutout to magic for having pretty props AND being vague as fuck about the crime! diversity win!

seriously though amane looks SO cute in it! the mv has such a pretty and colorful style and even with that it's able to show the horrors of what amane went through.

adding onto my last point. that scene where the cat is hyperventilating and you see the camera shaking???? that scene where the mascots find amane helping the cat and they're all standing over her? CHILLS. im repeating myself but the fact that they were able to portray the awful things amane went through in a genuinely emotional way while still keeping the cute cartoon look is soo impressive

there are SO many layers to itill the entire cartoony style making it look like a tv show… utilizing the cartoony effects and bright colors to show amane downplaying her own pain… the transformation after she gets punished barely changing anything to show just how manipulated she was from the start… ueueueue

ALSO ALSO ALSO THE SCENE AT THE END WITH AMANE STARING AT THE SCENE? OHHH ITS SO GOOD it adds such a feeling of dread and reminds you on top of this whole thing that all of this is truly horrifying! something is going on here!

this song is so catchy it gets stuck in my head CONSTANTLY

"Dear wise one, Am I worthy? Is it ok to spoil myself?" AMANE... UEUEUUEUE

the little ding sound effects in the instrumental?????

amanes voice is ADORABLE

THE INSTRUMENTAL IN THAT PART WHERE SHES HELPING THE CAT HAS THAT GODLY TYPE SOUND YOUD TYPICALLY ASSOCIATE WITH CHURCHES AND STUFF AND I DONT KNOW HOW TO EXPLAIN IT PROPERLY BUT JUST RELISTEN TO IT AND YOU WILL KNOW WHAT I MEAN. ITS SUCH A NEAT DETAIL

i could go on about this mv for days but i am not a theorist unfortunately. just. magic sweep

#milgram #milgramtournament #mukuhara kazui #amane momose

[vasito-de-leche]

;R1999 PAVIA - General Headcanons

Compilation of headcanons and analysis on Pavia as a character and other related things.

the post about Pavia's love languages and how he shows his affection got a lot of love, so I'm doing a lil more thinking into his character to rlly flesh out how I see and write him before getting to write the second part of that post <3

just a heads up, its preeeetty fucking long. but all of my posts tend to be lmfao

On the subject of Pavia, loneliness and trauma.

In this post talked about the concept of showing affection (not exclusively romantic but just in general) and the relationship Pavia has with his reputation, both as a lone wolf and a skilled mercenary, which affect the way he interacts with those he might deem close for better and for worse. So it's only fair that I do that again in a more general context.

Let's get this out of the way. One cannot talk about Pavia without mentioning or alluding to his solitary lifestyle in some way or another, we've all read his 02 Story, but to only read him as someone who fakes this aura of confidence and who feels deeply insecure and lonely 24/7 is an obvious disservice to his character.

Pavia is defined by a strong sense of self which, yes, originates from isolation and neglect. And you may read this as an active choice for survival, a coping and defense mechanism or the natural progress of someone who has had no one to rely on but themself - all of these readings are valid and can easily coexist! But I would like to insist that Pavia as we know him is confident and comfortable in his own skin, happy to live as an outlier to conventional norms and behaviour.

And that's because he's weaponized loneliness into a strength and a shield. He's outgrown that small, neglected child in the basement.

Hell, in his interview with Pandora Wilson, he mentions the fun of "causing pain" onto others, in the context of his presence being used as a "punishment" for others. He's surrounded by people he considers stupid, and he has fun at their expense when they try to bring him into their shenanigans. Pavia is a confident asshole, it is not a façade for a sad boy.

One quote in particular comes to mind when discussing this aspect of Pavia.

Go back to Rome, where the wolves were born. Said my former boss. He knew I was born in Rome, but didn't know I was raised in Piemonte. He was such a fool, even tried to kill me. So I only kept his tie clip. I didn't tell him that as long as the night will come, everywhere I live is Piemonte.

This line in particular, from my reading on it, speaks volumes about how Pavia has reclaimed the night - alluding to the one place he was forced to live in for his entire childhood, a dark and isolated basement, the concept of loneliness itself - as something that defines him and should inspire fear into others. His wolves are made out of darkness, his Ultimate in-game shows him manifesting out of a dark fog on the ground. And the context of that quote is hostile, it's Pavia's former boss telling him to go back to Rome, and Pavia mentioning that no matter where he goes, as long as the night comes, he's home.

One could argue that the quote is meant to be read differently - instead of Pavia reclaiming something that hurt him to now empower him, he's haunted by it. No matter where he goes, he'll always be in Piemonte, in that dark and isolated basement, with no one to pull him out. And that's fair! To each their own, both are banger readings on that dialogue. I just personally think the former fits better with the character as a whole.

The former reading is also supported by his 02 Story, where he describes the wolves that his Arcanum abilities manifested as "friends he found in the darkness and would never leave him".

One wolf hid behind another, and the pack surrounded him in the darkness of the night. They held each other's heads and tails and coiled together like snakes, bringing with them warmth and restful sleep. These were the friends he found in the darkness, ones who would never abandon or leave him, and who would forever watch over him.

In his Cover profile, his Afflatus is also "Mourning of the Feral Pack [Beast] Night View".

And when you check Pavia's small description in the Role Garment menu, his main garment and the one unlocked at Insight II form the following phrase:

He's always alone, both in the basement and on the street. It doesn't matter now, though. He will never be "alone" from now on.

His Afflatus, his Arcanum abilities, every small detail - everything points towards Pavia owning the night and the darkness that used to hurt him so much as a child. Because it cannot hurt him now that he's made friends with it, in the form of shadow wolves who will never leave him. He's not stuck here with you, you're stuck him with him. (that Insight II quote will be relevant again later when I talk about the lack of? Humanity? so to speak? in Pavia's character)

But anyway! This doesn't mean that the discussion on Pavia and loneliness/isolation should stop there.

After all, his Afflatus also says "Mourning of the Feral Pack" - mourn what exactly? A lost childhood? The family he could've had if his mother hadn't been admitted to an asylum? The young and innocent child that died in that basement so that the current Pavia could exist?

Who knows! Talk about it, it's fun and I love to read other people's takes! <3

On the subject of trauma specifically, I do see Pavia as someone who lives in the present and doesn't think much about the past - he only mentions his parents once in a seemingly disinterested manner, stating that he never visited (and most likely will never visit) his mother. Piemonte is where his abusive aunt raised him, but he shows a certain pride in his city anyway.

It's not that he's overcome and healed from his trauma, it's that he doesn't even register the things that happened to him as traumatic experiences due to the distance and recontextualization of everything.

The fandom portrayal of Pavia as a deeply lonely person often comes hand in hand with him being touchstarved and the experience of feeling any semblance of genuine human connection for the very first time - but I would like to offer an alternative, explained in the next bullet point.

On the subject of Pavia, conventional society and his pack of wolves.

Pavia's official description, as seen in this tweet made by the official global account of the game, is the following:

An independent mercenary lacking in collaborative skills. Employers are content with his excellent abilities, but can't stand his work ethic of ignoring his coworkers.

This, along with his other quotes and the interview with UTTU, point towards how the world sees Pavia as a nuisance of sorts - a punishment, we know this - but it also points towards Pavia's rejection of conventional society.

The way Pavia behaves, the way he insists on maintaining the barrier between himself and conventional society, the pleasure he takes in making others suffer just by BEING THERE NEXT TO THEM, the stress he puts into being alone - it leads me to think that THIS is the result of his trauma.

It's not a deep seated loneliness, it's not yearning and secretly wishing for genuine connections, it's not a fear of the dark or enclosed spaces - it's an absolute and total rejection of the world that failed him.

Pavia cannot feel or grasp loneliness on the same level as other characters might because there is not a single person in this world he would rather spend his time with other than himself. The details of how he got out of the basement and began a life of crime haven't been revealed yet, so I won't theorize about it, but I like to think that everything that Pavia is and represents is one big "fuck you" to a world that left him to rot in that basement.

It all loops back to the previous point - by rejecting mankind and society as a whole, Pavia becomes the opposite: a beast who acts on his own accord rather than the rules that make up polite society. And in doing so, grows closer to himself and his pack. In doing so, he allows his humanity to slowly slip away.

The Insight II quote I mentioned before is a great example of this - the change in his sprites shows Pavia's eyes changing, now with black sclera and sharper teeth, darkness (and two of his wolves) surrounding him. He will never be "alone" from now on because he is now ONE of the pack, because this is where he belongs.

The medium for his Arcanum (not the "wand" used to cast spells and magic, those are different things from what I understand) is "Beast Teeth". Compare this with other characters: Zima's medium are poems, Dikke's medium is the law, Sonetto's medium is curiosity. An arcanist's medium seems to be a concept or object that represents who they are and what they believe in, something that is essential to their life and dear to their core. Pavia's is beast teeth. He's a beast Arcanist.

I like to think that Pavia based his behaviour, knowingly or not, on his pack of wolves. After all, he's the one who conjured them, it makes sense to me that he would subconsciously latch onto them. This would explain his more animalistic traits that show just how disconnected Pavia is from what a regular human being should be.

You guys freak me out when you sleep. What kind of people needs such a long sleep like that? Fall in a coma like a crispy critter, and wake up 8 hours later. …Only god knows how you can do that.

This dialogue implies that Pavia cannot wrap his head around a normal sleeping schedule - which is extremely ironic, considering that wolves sleep a LOT. But I'd attribute this more to the dissonance between him and conventional society than Pavia trying to larp as a wolf. We have to understand that he spent most of his days sleeping away the hunger, that he went on to reject the company of other people - it makes sense to me that he wasn't taught or didn't get to see how a normal person should behave in theory.

Despite this rejection, we can clearly see that Pavia enjoys a very hedonistic life - going on clubs, having a sweet tooth, wearing fancy clothes, shopping, films and whatnot (He's literally wearing Louboutins, guys. The soles of his shoes are RED). He plays the role of mercenary quite well, too. But it doesn't strike me as a writing inconsistency or hypocrisy from his part, Pavia is known for doing whatever he wants, one of his hand tattoos spells "LIBERTA" or freedom in italian, so this tracks. It's hard to be a hypocrite when your moral compass is all about being a wildcard.

I mentioned this in my first Pavia post, but the items attributed to him are all said to be cheap, fake or crudely hand-made.

His glasses are a copy of an actual Italian brand that no one would ever think of mistaking for the real thing, his bracelets and rings are dented and damaged, Pandora Wilson even goes as far as calling it junk. They even describe his earrings as rough workmanship. And yet, Pavia brags about his clothes and enjoys shopping. There's that small dissonance again - he enjoys bragging but does not know (or care) about the actual value or authenticity of his material possessions. (Pavia wears fake Louboutins, this is my headcanon, thanks for coming)

He plays the role of mercenary quite well, too. I'd also argue that the more violent aspects of his personality have to do with his line of work. This tweet confirms the majority of Pavia's tattoos and what they say - the one on his arm is "La Cosa Nuova", the sicilian mafia for those who didn't know. I won't go in-depth about the real life actions of such group, but it's clear that Pavia is or has been part of it within the world of Reverse: 1999.

Entering headcanon territory.

The two bullet points from before were mostly just analysis on how I read Pavia based on all evidence in-game, but now I get to talk about personal headcanons I have about him <3

I've explained pretty much everything I wanted to say about Pavia for now, so these are just gonna be rapid fire headcanons.

First of all, Pavia is a light sleeper.

The lightest sleeper you'll ever meet, even a soft whisper could wake him up - but this isn't because of some hidden fear of waking up back in his aunt's basement. Because he had nothing to focus on but the sounds within that basement, he greatly developed his hearing and his Insight II development further heightened his senses. Pavia is used to dark, silent spaces, so any unknown noise will put him on edge and wake him up. Sometimes, he pretends to sleep to get out of doing work.

Contrary to popular belief, he doesn't move at ALL when sleeping and tends to stay in the same position throughout the night.

This is something he learned, rather than something that comes naturally, because he tends to sleep with the pack and there's little space to move without accidentally kicking Andrea or Leon in the face.

Next. Pavia doesn't know that he resembles his mother a lot.

As for his mother, there are two possibilities: One, she's truly dead and he doesn't know, based on his 02 Story where his aunt confirms that Pavia's mother died a few years later, as well as Pavia's dialogue in which he talks about his mother as if she were alive. Two, she was alive the whole time and Pavia found out years later that she was committed to an asylum and his dialogue about his parents is correct.

Regardless, I like to think that he never saw her again once he was taken into his aunt's care, and that she never told him that the reason she put him in that basement was because he looks so similar to her "deceased" sister. Since they weren't there to raise him and he didn't hear anything about them from his aunt, Pavia holds no resentment and no love towards his parents, because they're total strangers to him.

Next. His wolves' names are interchangeable.

Pavia cares for his pack, and the wolves care for him in return - they were created for that very reason after all. Their dynamic and relationship is a mystery to everyone and it's much too complex to even put into words, but because they're still magical constructs he creates, their behaviour and individuality relies heavily on Pavia's skills as an Arcanist.

There are days in which it's very easy to confuse them, and there are days when it's very obvious how to tell them apart. He's had years to perfect them, to "raise" them if you will.

While the pack might not be around 24/7, they're always in the back of his mind. He can also communicate with them because of it. They don't mind if Pavia confuses them, but if someone else does it? Prepare to get bitten to death, I guess!

#reverse 1999 #reverse: 1999 #r1999 #r1999 headcanons #reverse 1999 pavia #pavia #its me yes i love him yes #i lied i didnt talk about everything i think of pavia #i specifically wanna ramble about the loss of humanity but i have no idea how to implement it here in a way i like #but im pretty content with this post!

[ravenalla]

Just watched the new helluva episode and..ugh okay opinions under the cut.

Some people are saying this episode is better than the others of season 2. And while visually it’s stunning and not as directly insulting as some of the others, I think this episode is one of the best examples of how these writers don’t understand pacing, comedic timing, or creating a coherent plot. The cuts between locations happen way too fast, some scenes feel like they were written under a minute just to add fluff (like the Moxxie hat fight, Blitz talking with the woman in the waiting room and the entire joke once again just being a character saying curse words or insults multiple times in a sentence, camera crews conveniently being at the hospital to see Stolas hurt for some reason.) Also god Stella. At least when they made her a one-dimensional boring villain she was competent at being one. Now she just looks like a whiny idiot so they could have her brother be there for no reason.

Speaking of which, that was a damn terrible introduction to Andrealphus. Unless your following updates about the show on Twitter, you don’t know who the fuck that is, why he’s here or what his connection to either Stella or Stolas is until now, there’s only been one passing mention she even had a brother before this. He’s just suddenly there with no proper introduction, and then Striker just appears now to kidnap Stolas in front of tons of other people (I guess him trying to kill Stolas with the angelic weapon hidden in the shadows didn’t matter that much after all) and take him back to an underground lair he has for some reason. He also brings up the classist system and Stolas’s bigotry but it doesn’t matter because he hurt the poor uwu prince baby 🙄 I swear it feels like this show is AI generated at this point, or at the very least the writers know that the pretty animation and shipping fuel will keep diehard fans around so they don’t actually have to make anything tightly written and can just do whatever random hodgepodge of scenes and dialogue they like. Which whatever its clear this show is just “the sex joke” show most of the time, but don’t then try to tell me this is some masterclass of writing and character development when the entire climax of Stolas and Blitz’s relationship problems at Ozzie’s was addresses ENTIRELY OFFSCREEN THROUGH TEXT MESSAGES. Even if you ship Stolas and Blitz, how the hell can you accept that? That’s the sloppiest way they could have handled that, I don’t even like this show and I feel disrespected lmao.

And just the way they tried to make us “feel” for their relationship this episode. Why the hell would Blitz be so shocked Stolas could get hurt, you literally fought Striker before because he was two seconds away from killing Stolas instantly otherwise?? You were hired to be his bodyguard in one episode! Like yeah maybe actually seeing it happen is causing the reality of it to sink in for Blitz, but everything we’ve been shown so far INCLUDING IN THIS EPISODE shows how much he does not care that much about Stolas and at best has a mild acceptance of him (at least outside of seeing stars which everybody’s already talked about how weird that entire thing was). I literally have no idea why we are suppose to be rooting for these two to get together at this point. It’s just watching uwu Stolas get hurt over and over again so we can pity the guy and wonder why Blitz wont love him boohoo 🙄 it’s annoying and not fun to watch. Also this might be more of a nitpick, but did anyone else think characters looked weirdly off model a lot in this episode? Like yeah the animation was impressive at some points during the action scenes but during regular dialogue it looked like it was done by a completely different studio than the other episodes, especially with Stella, Andrealphus, Millie, and Moxxie. Not sure what that’s about or if I’m just imagining it.

#helluva boss #helluva boss spoilers #helluva boss critique #helluva boss critical #helluva boss criticism

[etrosgate]

everyone go play 999 for the nintendo ds. NOT THE PORT. the ds.

im serious about this.

9 hours 9 persons 9 doors for the nintendo ds is a masterpiece of a game, with wonderfully snappy dialogue and a quickly paced narrative that avoids many traps of visual novel writing (such as being overly obvious and repetitive) with a ludonarrative cohesion that makes SO many of its aspects initially perceived as flaws into an active strength of the experience. the endgame twist is very possibly the best in gaming history.

i think i've made it pretty clear that i really fucking love this game, and recommend it to everyone.

so

i used to say "the ds version is better, but it's fine if you play the port for its various quality of life features" but im no longer able to have that stance, now that i know the extent of how it kinda butchers its narrative. it's not super obvious, but that subtley honestly makes it worse to me.

it's the difference between a good game that had cool concepts but kinda shaky execution, and a masterpiece.

this boils down to the "novel mode" versus "adventure mode" format that they decided to build the port on.

if you choose to play in adventure mode, it removes almost all of the narration and rewrites that aforementioned incredible dialogue to awkwardly shove in some (not all) of that information, resulting in overly obvious and clunky writing that seriously drags some scenes out. the descriptive text in general is actually incredibly important in a way i can't describe, and though it will forcibly shift to novel mode to show it to you very occasionally, it's not Nearly enough and you will miss out on some of the most memorable striking moments because of it. i cannot overstate how much the impact of the ending is affected by this.

if you choose novel mode, you do get all the narration (very important). HOWEVER. the writing is still the adjusted one done to facilitate only playing adv mode, so now the dialogue is overly obvious and clunky and slow AND repetitive (all the things i said 999 very cleverly avoided 🤔?) and then, for some ungodly reason, it is actively difficult to play the game in novel mode. the game will Constantly shift you back to adv mode so you have to spend the entire game checking to make sure to switch back (something even i found difficult to do as someone who'd played the ds version).

so neither way to play the port is good. in addition to the aforementioned changing the final puzzle to be worse. and a LOT of ludonarrative things i cannot actually get into due to spoilers.

"how much of an impact could these small changes actually have?"

well this is anecdotal, but me (and many other people i know) who originally played 999 on the ds and thought it was a masterpiece, years later went on to play the port version and thought "huh. it was still good, but it's like the magic was gone. i guess it's just not as good as i remembered, one of those things that doesn't hold up to your memories of it."

and then we replayed the ds game. and found out that the game we remembered DOES still exist! it's just as fantastic, the magic IS THERE. the port just made the game worse!!

anyways, so what were those quality of life changes i mentioned earlier?

in the original ds version of 999, every time you reach an ending you have to start from the beginning of the game again, fast forwarding through the text and replaying the puzzles. (the port changed this to having a flowchart where you can just jump to decision points)

HOWEVER

as someone who Very recently replayed the ds version, i truly don't think this is as much of a pain as you might expect.

skipping text isn't a big deal. yeah it takes a bit, but it's easy to watch a youtube video or something while you're waiting the 5 minutes it takes. using an emulator, you can even speed up the text skipping to an even greater degree. if you can't physically hold down the button, you can probably find something to hold it down for you, and on an emulator you can rebind the key to be something easier to do that with (like the space bar)

redoing puzzles isn't a big deal either. not only do you still have to redo some puzzle rooms in the port version anyway, it can be pretty fun to figure out how to essentially speedrun rooms you've done before, and you don't redo them that many times (i would recommend a walkthrough anyway for deciding which endings to get, so making that redo time even shorter is a bonus).

if you really need the accessibility of voice acting, i would genuinely recommend watching an LP of the ds version instead. yes, i really do think some guy from 10 years ago reading out the text will give you a better experience than a genuinely good cast of voice actors reading the port's.

btw, if you're scared off at the prospect of reading a little more now without being able to choose adventure mode... if you've played danganronpa (and most of you did!) 999 is shorter, faster-paced, and has LESS READING.

okay im done.

i'd recommend THIS WALKTHROUGH, even if you don't want to use it for the puzzles, it'll give you good info for how to get each ending (especially recommended for true ending), and a general order to do them in. i'd recommend doing getting all the endings (except coffin, which is just the true end cut short) EDIT: thank you to tlblitz for recommending this walkthrough, which gives additional hints for the puzzles instead of just telling you solutions outright

if you've already played 999 (or are just curious about specifics), this video details all the changes mentioned here and more, and it gets all the way into spoiler territory (it can be nitpicky at points, particularly at the beginning, but maaaan did it open my eyes to everything i had subconsciously picked up on in playing the port)

EDIT

i forgot to mention. if you emulate the game, there's a visual glitch that messes up the sprites a little, but you can fix it really easily! in DeSmuME, go to Config>3D Settings and set the renderer to OpenGL

also, here's a mod that increases the text speed, if you find that bothers you.

and i figure i should put my reasons for not just tolerating, but loving the hassles that come from the ds version onto the base post (reposted from another reblog)

major major 999 spoilers below (and some vlr spoilers too)

-----------

to me, one of the coolest aspects of 999 (and zero escape in general) is how much the experience of playing it reflects the narrative

the final twist isn’t just that the text on the bottom screen has been akane, but that you’ve been playing as HER the entire game, not junpei (and with turning the ds upside down for the sudoku, you finally do so for the first time)

in the narrative, you spend basically the entire runtime getting to know her as June, but in the ludonarrative, (the actual Playing the game) you get to know her as Zero. and those annoying bits are a big part of that.

every time akane reaches her death in a timeline, she has to go back to the beginning and start over, because that’s how her powers work. she has to redo all the puzzles, has to wait through all the dialogue until she gets to a point where she can nudge junpei to another route. (in vlr, sigma+phi have a flowchart not just because it’s more convenient, but because that’s how Their powers work).

so subtly, without noticing, you start to reach her point of view. the first time you see the ninth man die it’s shocking and horrific, but even just on your second playthrough the horror doesn’t affect you much. for junpei and everyone else, these sequences are just as terrifying in every route but not for you, cause you’ve seen them before. you can’t be affected by them in the same way, what matters now is the futures you haven’t seen yet.

speedrunning puzzles by skipping the clues and zoning out while you wait for the dialogue to finish aren’t just game things, but diagetic events, of akane going through the motions of something she’s done over and over.

when i replayed the ds version recently (something i hadn’t done in a LONG time), i felt so close to akane in a way i never did in the port, because i’d been through the same experience as her. i understood how she could be such a kind and sensitive person who rationalizes away putting all these people she loves through all those the moment to moment horrors in pursuit of a timeline where she and everyone she care about lives, because i’d become detached to them through repetition too.

i completely understand why people wouldn’t enjoy that, but i’m a pretentious gamer who LOVES when mechanics are technically “worse” in a way that is characterful or thematic. so the frustrating bits of 999 add to that experience much more than they detract from it for me haha

#zero escape #my post #this is half advice half rant LMAO #i love this video game a normal amount #long post

[musashi]

Hey, you're really the only person I follow who appreciates Manfred in all his glory, so just a quick question but do you have any tips on characterising him when writing?

genuinely, we see very little of him in canon, so a lot of how you characterize him is up to you! some people make him evil incarnate, cruel just for the sake of cruelty, and there is really little in canon that contradicts that. others, like me, prefer to make him a very over the top villain in mannerisms alone but with a good deal of humanity still buried within.

i tend to be INCREDIBLY selective with the words i read RE: him so i don't exactly know what pitfalls people fall into other than just kinda making him a horrible child abuser who does what he does for no reason other than to cause pain. off the top of my head though here's some things i think to keep in mind abt manfred:

he believes he is on the side of good. i feel like miles is one of the only prosecutors who people really keep this in mind about. even though the prosecutors of AA are antagonists by definition, they believe they serve a vital role, that of punishing evil. from the perspective of the prosecutor, they are handing down justice and putting away evildoers. this might seem very 'duh' but because you play as a defense attorney in AA you are predisposed to see them as their own sort of evil, coming after innocents. it's important to remember there are two sides to every story.

adding onto this, his proteges see him this way! miles and franziska both view him as a noble man who fights for justice. in the anime, franziska says of him, "he's basically like a superhero. he never lets the bad guys get away."

manfred is charismatic. a lot of people playing the game dislike him outright because of how tough an opponent he is right from the get-go. but he has both the charisma and the domineering attitude to get the courtroom to hang on his every word. there is a reason he commands attention and is revered as the legend he is.

manfred is not serious all the time. he makes stupid dad jokes in court. he likes karaoke. he has incredibly strong opinions on fashion and berates the other prosecutors for not dressing better. people get so tunnel visioned on all the bad things he has done that they forget he is in the ace attorney series, which is a very silly series alongside all its seriousness.

many canons show that manfred loves his family. this includes miles. even if you want to make him manipulative and abusive, it's important to remember this. abusers can and do love their victims, and it makes for a much more compelling story!

manfred obsessively plans ahead. if he wants something to get done, he has likely thought of every single obstacle that might stand in his way and taken care of it pre-emptively. remember that phoenix might have called that parrot to the stand, but manfred predicted he would do it. a lot of people pretty erroneously claim that manfred got where he did by lying, cheating, forging evidence, etc--this is, again, something that is not present in canon before 1-4. even the penalty that caused DL6 was something that manfred was actively misled about. he was good at his job.

manfred is a control freak. when he begins to lose control of a situation, that's when his mask is likely to slip.

he is stony, cold, calculating, and dismissive of that which he's disinterested in. manfred views most things as below him & his ilk. he is passionate about what he loves and has little tolerance for what he doesn't.

like his proteges he is wordy and overly formal in his speech. if you can write franziska & miles' dialogue you can write manfred's, he's the reason they talk like that. the biggest difference is that he tends a little more toward finding different ways to call something ridiculous. franziska will say foolish every time. manfred will say asinine, infernal, trifling, anything in that general area of 'why do you talk like a fucking video game villain'

honestly if you can write franziska you can write manfred. they are very similar. the biggest difference is that franziska is young and has a more flexible worldview--her concept of what justice is can shift and change. manfred is set in his ways, he believes in good and evil and little in the area between. franziska is also a lot more loving and protective. the biggest difference between them is their prosecution style: manfred wants trials done quick, franziska wants to drag them out as long as possible and follow every thread, crushing each argument one by one. to manfred, "perfect justice" is exposing the truth as quickly as possible, clean and succinct. to franziska, it is making sure no scrap of it remains unexplored.

this literally only applies to court scenes but its a huge pet peeve i have: manfred does not refer to the judge as 'your honour.' he exclusively and informally calls him judge, likely as a power move. little thing but it can make all the difference. iirc he also does this to a lot of others ie 'defense attorney' 'detective' etc but most of that is in aai which is very take it or leave it canon with some weird localization choices tbh.

thats all i can think of i am so bad with general questions but if you have any questions in particular please hmu

#wendy rambles #manfred von karma

[danvillecheese]

why do u think act ur age is fucked

[cracks knuckles] alright. essay time. you asked for it.

I’ve done a similar response to this before here and mentioned something else about it here but I’ll go over it again since those posts are both from a while ago. also bear in mind I haven’t seen aya recently bc I don’t like it. okay let’s get into it

[also im gonna preface this saying maybe i sound very pessimistic but im ranting and its just gonna sound like im complaining because i am. i mean no real malice by the way. im simply a person with a blog.]

first off. they don’t use the show don’t tell as well as they could. in the what might have been montage, sure, they showed potential scenarios and how phineas felt (very briefly) when isa stopped visiting his backyard but it just feels so rushed. I get that they only had like 11 minutes to show it but idk there has to be another way to write it. or just not have it at all idk its just from a writing point of view the whole episode feels rushed and out of place from everything else continuity-wise. why not use little easter eggs planted in the show beforehand? operation crumbcake? pharmacists? meapless in seattle? god theres so many episodes with evidence that phineas liked her back even if he didnt know. just. continuity!!!!

second. why did their friends not try something sooner. it’s not like they didn’t know. like phineas seems to be okay with saying “i wish! i am so in the friend zone there” in front of his friends (that quote alone makes me lose my shit but that’s a whole other point) so clearly they knew about phineas. and isabella also wasn’t quiet about it (source: pnf s1-4). they had like four years of high school to do something and they planned it the day isa left for college? nah its just the least realistic thing ever for me. also them being 18 is like yeah okay maybe the slow burn was worth it and theyre way more grown up (i love a good slowburn) but ohhhhhh my god SURELY their friends were getting sick of them dancing around each other. just me?

third. and I’m sorry to ash simpson but oh my god I hate the character designs like They Would Not Fucking Look Like That. it almost feels like it completely disregards their arcs during the original summer. like yeah child chub disappears over ur teen years but sometimes it stays a little longer! make phineas less twiggy!! make isa look more like her mother! (am i about to redesign them again? whoops)

four. and i know this is no fault of dan and swampy but the show was about to end anyways and yet the entire friend group was paired off into hetero ships?? get fucking real. none of those kids are straight. realistically, i know it was a different time and gay marriage wasnt even legal in the us yet so it wasnt all that common to have queer romance on screen let alone on disney channel but like i said, the show was about to end. what were the disney channel execs gonna do? cancel it? lmao

five. "I am so in the friend zone there." "we are guys. we do not talk about our feelings." WHAT!!! i cant believe this shit is real. these lines of dialogue are canon. what the hell. what kind of message does that even send to younger, impressionable viewers? if ur a 10 year old boy watching that (ok fine maybe that isnt gonna stick with you forever but listen) and you go 'oh its okay to just bottle everything up and not tell my friends about my feelings about anything ever' that is insane! thats not how things should go!! like i get the whole "im so in the friend zone" and yes, this also has to do with the era but like if they wanted to be a more progressive cartoon that kids look up to and enjoy maybe they just. shouldn't have put that whole conversation in.

i barely have any problems with the b plot. in fact id watch the episode just for the kazoo solo. because that plot lines up with the continuity. i can totally see heinz having bowling night with perry and carl and monogram every week! i can totally see perry and monogram retired! and carl running owca and getting payed for it! that all checks out! that one makes sense and works with the canon! if they got that plot so right how did they get the a plot so wrong?

i can answer this question: fanservice. its an awful word, i know. act your age is a fanservicey episode which is why i think it crashed and burned. mml season 2 is rooted in the same issue: doof is very present and takes away from the original plot of the show. like, the one he wasnt even in until the last episode of s1. slightly getting off topic but it is the crux of the issue. fanservice doesnt make for good storytelling. even if it brings in the big bucks. at its core, telling the story the way it should be told is the best one. even if it pisses people off. a good portion of the viewers will still appreciate whatever ending the creators come up with. and no, im not saying phinbella shouldn't have become canon, in fact i really like the ship and all their dynamics, i just think they went about it the wrong way.

as someone who's written and published fic about them getting together in different universes (granted, they were from when i was younger so its mildly terrible. take them with a grain of salt) there are a lot of other ways to tell that story canonically. honestly, i think the best way of doing it was to keep it ambiguous. dont tell that story. let the viewers pick their own ending for phineas and isabella. maybe they dont get together after all. who knows!

thanks for the ask! hope you had fun getting lectured <3

#phineas and ferb #phinbella #act your age #ask #this was fun you guys should ask me more stuff like this #dwampyverse analysis

[sapphire-weapon]

Capcom really made me confused. Like you said, I think aeon is dead in remake verse. But, in Re2 remake, Leon actually told himself on the train after he escaped "I can't believe I actually miss her..." while smiling. And, in Re4 remake, we can see Leon's smile when Ada said "You can stop right there, Leon." when they met again after six years. And, when Leon said,"Ah, so aren't heartless after all. I guess I should be...thankful?" to Ada, Ada actually bit her lower lip. I think that shows the attraction between them. Maybe, Capcom made more realistic about their relationship? And, someone from Tik Tok who made analysis of Resident Evil Universe said that Leon's ending should be which he retires and settles down with Ada. So, what do you think?

Anon

I want you to stop and think about how absurd what you just said to me is.

You think Aeon is dead in the Remake-verse, presumably because all of the character dialogue and all of the body language and all of the thematic framing of their dynamic.

But Leon smirked once.

And that's enough to make you confused??

Ada IS attracted to Leon in RE4make. We've been over this. Leon is a Thing that she wants; she objectifies him. She's not only offering him a ride on the chopper at the end; she's offering him a ride in her pussy. He knows that. That's why his reaction is so incredulous.

Capcom IS being more realistic about their relationship. They did that by not making it romantic. You can want to fuck someone without being in love with them. It's heavily implied that Wesker and Ada have had a sexual relationship, and Luis is clearly attracted to her, too. None of that has anything to do with love. RE4make is just a horny game; everyone wants to fuck everyone -- and they especially want to fuck Leon. And that has nothing to do with any relationship being romantic.

I think that person on TikTok doesn't understand character arcs or emotional throughlines within narratives or the concept of catharsis, because if Capcom's writing staff is worth half of a shit, they'd know that the story between Leon and Ada is over. It ended in RE6 when Helena told Leon to go after Ada and he said "no." That was the moment of catharsis; that was the closure; that was his answer to the push and pull will-they-won't-they relationship between them.

The story is over. And Leon chose to not be with Ada.

And it makes sense to be over, because the true crux of Leon's character deals with his relationship with the government. For Leon to just... peacefully retire robs that arc of its moment of catharsis. He needs to have a moment of reckoning regarding what they did to him and what they've been doing to him since he was 21.

If Leon's story ends with him just hanging up his guns and saying "I've had enough" -- that is the worst possible outcome for his story. There's no payoff for so much of the build-up of his character arc.

Imagine a version of Lord of the Rings where Aragorn never becomes King and he just decides "nah fuck it" and goes back to being Strider. All of that build-up about being Isildur's heir and his destiny just tossed away at the last second; none of it ever mattered at all.

That's what Leon retiring would be.

Fucking abysmal.

#resident evil 4 #leon kennedy #ada wong #meta analysis

[sidestepping]

Fanfic Writer Questions

@askweisswolf tagged me, thank youuuuu for thinking of me ♡

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Huh, 12 apparently? A lot of them are shorts and gifts, though.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

66,495???? When did THAT happen (I have never opened the statistics tab before can you tell)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mostly and forever Fallen Hero my beloved, but I have one (1) foray into Baldur's Gate 3.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Hmmm, my "main" fics really: 1. Splinters (Fallen Hero, Una and Ortega's relationship's turning points) 2. Dialogue Box (Fallen Hero, people having conversations) 3. Hopefully, No Biting (I can't believe this is in the top three JKLHGLKHGLH. Probably the oral sex helped.) 4. Hauntings (Fallen Hero, little mindfucks and experimental chapters) 5. The Heist, a three-part gift about Hollow Ground and @kittlesandbugs Sidestep, Riley. This one was a passion project, very happy to find it (surprisingly) in the top 5.

5. Do you respond to comments?

Usually, yes, if I can't reply directly to the commenter on another platform! If people are lovely enough to take the time to write, you know... Right back at them.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

No endings to my fics, really, but the angstiest as a rule is Hauntings.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

No endings to my fics, really, but I think my happiest / sweetest / peacefullest might be one of my recent ones--Shipname: Burnt to the Ground (it's sex, but not sad babygirl sex, you get me?)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No.......... But if you want to go and hate on Hollow Ground when they appear in my fic please be my guest lads I'm right there with you.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Not sure my sex scenes count as smut considering I'm firmly rooted in the suggestive rather than explicit territory. I write metaphors for fucking, more like.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Not really! I'm such a one-trick pony man, all my money's on Los Diablos.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Hmmm.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have not! I do like to fuck around with language and I have translated part of my fics once or twice and then back again just to throw a punch into the English and its pacing though. And I used to translate fics out loud for my friends who couldn't read English when I was, like, a teen.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Started to, didn't finish, but the idea's there somewhere—co-writing with @astarien is the heights of existence obviously.

14. What's your all time favorite ship?

... Chargestep. I guess. I guess they're alright. Whatever.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

If I want to finish a work I do—but there's nothing I'm gunning to end yet, except for shorts, which I finish in one-go.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Hm, I don't really know... I enjoy dialogue, action scenes, and fucking up pace, musicality, analogy, words and format so that language says more than it usually does, or shows more than it usually does—goes further than it wants to go if you don't give it a shake—and makes you FEEL. That's what's in my brain when I write.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Fucking... plot. Logical pathways. Lore. I do not have a brain.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Love it! I gesture at it but keep it in English when I don't know the language (too scared of fucking it up, and not enough control over tone / nuances / connotations), but if I do know the language then absolutely.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

In my little notebooks when I was 8? A French Child Fantasy book I loved. But the only fandom I've written seriously for is FHR.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

My darling, though not my easiest, is Splinters. The hard-hitting writing moments are compiled there, I usually break out of a chapter a little brain-weird and all rabbit-hearted, it's always a blast to get to work on it.

Annnnd I'll tag @astarien, @kittlesandbugs, @ejunkiet, @impossible-rat-babies, @rab-bitly, @witchfall, @silvery-bluish, @ladyshivs, and anyone who feels like it!

#notebooks #writing

[colorfullyminded]

PLSS TELL ME UR STILL DOING KISS THE COOKK!! its almost gunna b a year since ep 6 and i rlly need to know if the other 14 in the works. (take ur well deserved break u dont need to be making fics 24/7)

Oh wow, I wasn't sure if people still wanted that. To be honest, we actually have written up to chapter 8 (9 technically because there's an 8.5). All I really need to do is finish editing them before posting them. The reason I've been so hesitant is also my feelings towards the fic. I both love the fic and also feel incredibly self conscious with some of the decisions I chose in the fic (especially later chapters--some of which haven't been posted yet). I love writing smut, and I do think Wirt deserves to be written more unhinged than people allow him to be (he's a poet for godsake, if he can be so despondently dramatic laying on a couch-- you know his yearnings are just as fantastical, dramatic, and probably hella thirsty. And let's not mention Dipper's search history). I love writing these two because they're so multifaceted and I love trying different perspectives of their personality. Also writing with my friend Clubs has been amazing and I genuinely enjoyed his help with this fic! I want to continue this series when I'm more motivated to write. But again, for how much I love this fic, there are moments where I go back and read and blush and go "I'm sorry, I made Wirt say what? I made him do what?! IS THIS HOW HE WOULD ACT?! THIS DOESN'T SEEM RIGHT? WHATTHE FUCK WAS I ON TO THINK THIS WAS OKAY?!" (I'm in charge of Wirt's dialogue/actions in this story, Clubs does Dipper, and occasionally, though very rarely, we may also add something to the other's characterization). There are times I worry I've made him ooc. There's nothing necessarily wrong with that. I was having fun, I'm enjoying my extra smutty era (where all I wanna write is to be a problem) and honestly if I wanted to explain my reasonings I probably could make an accurate presentation on why Kiss the Cook is not that out of character. But I also do pride myself on my fics and a lot of comments I've received are about how well and real the characters feel. I feel so good that I'm able to articulate and present them in a way that feels genuine and makes the readers feel like it's just another adventure-- but with the two. I like bringing that feeling into my writing. And Kiss the cook, some elements do feel very much like the characters (Clubs does amazing with an older Dipper), but I do start to doubt some of Wirt's actions or my writing in this particular fic as being too "Horny on Main". So it's kind of a love/hate relationship I currently have with this piece of work. But if people do still love this fic and want to continue this adventure, maybe I should go back and get these chapters prepped for posting? Despite my fears, everyone who has commented on KTC have been very supportive and encouraging and sweet. So this whole anxiety and self doubt is probably just in my head. I shouldn't be so hard on myself. I do have other smut WIPS that tackle different layers and so I can always finish those up if I need to take a break from the wildness of KTC. So to answer your question, yes, we do have more in store, and maybe it's time I show you what we've cooked up (no matter how embarrassed I make the reader...or myself)

#Pinescone #Kiss the Cook #Asks #Ask Me #Ask about my writing #KTC #Thank you for the message #I appreciate these asks about my work #I really do love talking about the boys

[stayteezdreams]

Halloween Requests - CLOSED

Status: CLOSED *as of Sept 29th

SO,

Over on my other blog, I have done what I dubbed '13 Days of Halloween' over the last few years, in which I release at least one piece of content (drabble/fic/headcanons/etc) every day from October 19th to October 31st.

And though this is not a promise, I am going to try and do it on this blog this year!~

I am opening requests for this now so I have time to write them along with my normal content.

Though I can come up with some ideas on my own I would appreciate some requests as well! (Up to this point, I have received very few requests in general, so I am hoping this might lead to more requests???) If I get a lot of requests I wont be able to write each one, but I like having a lot of options!

Who I write For:

Ateez

Stray Kids

Seventeen *all members of each group (x gn!reader)

Things I do not write:

Detailed NSFW/Smut (suggestive content is fine)

Pregnancy/child Content

Abuse/Member cheating

Prompts under the cut!

A/n: You can send in the number of the prompt(s) instead of the prompt itself if you want, but please specify which section it is from (i.e dialogue, scenario or sensory)

Feel free to send in your own ideas with or without prompts as well! These are just some ideas for inspiration :)

Prompts/Scenarios (1-3 per request; feel free to mix and match) *Again: feel free to send in your own ideas with or without prompts as well! These are just some ideas for inspiration :)

~~~ Dialogue Prompts ~~~

“I’m telling you, I’m haunted.”

“I don’t think I’m alone in here.”

“This place creeps me out.”

“I thought I saw something.”

“Don’t you dare leave me in here alone.”

“You’re not scared of me?” “Should I be?”

"I don't believe in ghosts." "You will after tonight."

"Did you match with my costume on purpose?"

"If you get scared you can hold onto me." "Oh you'd love that wouldn't you?" "Very much."

"If you say we should split up I will kill you."

“Love the costume but I’d rather see what’s under it.”

"You look so cute!" "I'm trying to be scary." "I don't think that's possible."

"Boo!" "If you wanted to scare me, you should have left the mask off."

"Aren't you a bit old to be trick or treating?"

"Just because I'm not afraid of the dark, doesn't mean I like being in it"

"What do we do?" "Run!"

"Wear a matching costume with me!" "Why? Only couples are wearing matching costumes." "I know..."

“Trick or treat?” “…Depends on if you’re the treat or not.”

Person A, seeing person B dressed as a ghost: “So… Are you dressed up as my boo?” Person B: “Don’t ever talk to me again.”

"You look good." "I'm covered in fake blood...?" "Yeah, and?"

"Did you see that too?" "Yes." "Damn, I was hoping I was going crazy."

 “What do you do when a ghost has a crush on you? Asking for a friend.”

“I wonder, how many people are dead in that graveyard?” “Hopefully all of them…”

"Who needs a guardian angel when you can have a half-decent demon?"

"If I knew all it would take for you to hug me was a haunted house I would have brought you to one earlier."

"Why is there mistletoe in the doorway?" "You told me to decorate." "Its Halloween!"

"Too old to trick or treat and too young to die." "What the fuck."

"I've seen enough horror movies to know where this is going"

"Wasn't that scarecrow facing the other way before?"

"I thought you didn't like Halloween?" "You changed my mind."

~~~ Scenario Prompts ~~~

Going to a haunted house

Getting lost in a corn maze

Carving Pumpkins

Meeting at a masquerade

Wearing the same costume to a costume party

Cozy autumn evening watching Halloween movies

Scary Stories at a campfire

Lost in the woods

A grabs B’s hand instinctively out of surprise or fear, and continues to hold it.

Finding out the "monster" costume they are wearing isn't a costume (monster/demon/supernatural au)

Visiting a pumpkin patch

Catch the killer Halloween party game

Every Halloween you are visited by a stranger in your dreams, but this year, he shows up at your door in the real world. (supernatural au)

Hot Chocolate Date (bonus: they wipe whipped cream off of your nose)

Accidentally summoning a demon when decorating for Halloween (demon au)

Buying an old antique and accidentally bringing a ghost home with you because of it.

You meet Death himself, and he seems to have a crush on you. (supernatural au)

Someone summoned a demon to take your soul, but the demon likes you too much to hurt you.

Choosing each other's costumes, and unknowingly matching.

Trying to paint their face but they wont stop trying to kiss you.

You're scared and they try their best to comfort you.

Getting lost in a haunted house and running into a stranger who is also lost.

Pumpkin Carving Contest

Hearing a noise upstairs, but you live alone.

Ghost Hunting

You're in a hotel with doubles beds, you keep hearing scary noises and end up in the same bed.

~~~ Sensory Prompts ~~~

Flinch of the body when something scares you

Tingles as goosebumps rise on your arms

Feeling of someone watching you

The sound of footsteps behind you

Your name being whispered in the dark

The creaking of an old door

Distant scream

Shadows in the corner

Something unseen moving in the bushes

Frozen in fear

Wanting to call out but your voice wont come

Warming up next to a fireplace after being out in the cold

Warmth that fills your gut when drinking a hot beverage

Embers floating into the night sky before disappearing

Lightning bugs in a dark field

The crackling and popping of an open fire 

Sound of wind in the trees.

Feeling like someone is behind you, and turning to see that no one is there.

Thinking you are looking at your own shadow, until it moves.

Realization that you are being followed.

Being trapped somewhere all alone.

--

*prompts crossed out are ones I have received multiple of and no longer want **most prompts are from my other writing blog, from lists I made myself. Some also from posts by @dumplingsjinson and @creativepromptsforwriting

A/n: Depending on the prompt I might save it for later (for after Halloween)

#halloween requests #13 days of halloween #kpop requests #stray kids imagines #ateez imagines #seventeen imagines #stray kids x reader #ateez x reader #seventeen x reader #stray kids scenarios #seventeen scenarios #ateez scenarios #stray kids fanfic #ateez fanfic #seventeen fanfic

[bharatiya-naari-sab-pe-bhaari]

So I have been writing something on the mahabharata and thought to go through some of the popular media versions for inspiration.

[Instant regret intensifies]

I mean sometimes versions of the same thing might inspire you to do something different, I guess. I mean that was my logic but...hoooo mannn.. these are not different interpretations of the epic, these are like the Adipurush script writers had sold whatever they were smoking to the makers of all the tv versions.

I need brain bleach for atleast ninety percent of them.

I'll tell you what my opinions are (I just need to rant, please bear with me)

The StarPlus Mahabharata:

The Good:

Everyone (almost) looks good. Like casting was top notch. Eye candies walking around. The dialogues were pretty good. Some of their creative liberties hit the spot. It was the nicest version made tbf. And also, the best damned decision, SRJ as Krishna. (Say that again with me)

The Bad:

Inaccuracies galore. Also, stop simping so much on Karna. It looks pathetic. Arjun was charming alright but they managed to cut his badass skills to less than a half. My girl...Subhadra. What the hell did they do to you!!!! I hated how they showed her. The casting, the character arc... bleahhh! Duryodhan looked like a cartoonish villain and had little to no depth and Ashwatthama....whyyyyy *cries*

The RadhaKrishna Mahabharata:

The Bad:

Fucking everything. What was the casting? And why did everyone look so miniature? Except Karna and Bheem.. those dudes looked old. The story was shit. Even with their thousand and one fictional overtures. (What the hell was Krishna doing in Matsya during Virataparvam???). Kunti was a typical sasu mom villain. Arjun was a wimp.

The Good:

Sumedh is funny. And the guy playing Arjun looked like a baby. I wanted to pull his cheeks every time he came on screen (I dunno if that is good or just sweet). The only likeable scene was prolly Drau-Arjun making heart eyes at each other in that Mandir (cute couply moment and the bgscore is likable). Subhadra had some personality.

Sony's Suryaputra Karna :

:)

:)

The makers smoked weed and some combination of technicolour inducing hallucinogenic (most likely sourced from the Adipurush script writers)

:)

:)

WHAT THE EVER LOVING MIND FUCK WAS THAT?

See, I liked SP's Mahabharata's Karna (Aham Sharma.. ahem ahem) because of the creative liberties taken by the makers to make him likable. I didn't mind all of the inaccuracies. But this? THIS?

[*vomit inducing everything*]

The only two good things :- Dury was handsome (eye candy purposes) and Gautam Rode met his wife (can't help being starry eyed over meet cutes).

Karnasangini

See, at this point, I didn't go there expecting any canonical accuracy but just for creative purposes.

Good:

The sets were pretty. These dudes have money and they showed it (very cleverly copying Ek Dil ek Jaan music by changing the lyrics for Karn-Uruvi bgscore, they thought we won't notice, but we did) so everything was eye pleasing. Bhanumati was again... eye candy pretty. Karna himself (Asim Gulati meri jaan), too tragically pretty. I think this Arjun (baby but with beard, lmfao) was also the same guy as Radhakrishna MB.

Bad:

Uruvi (and I swear its not because I can't tolerate Tejaswini). The girl was the most annoying mc to have ever been written. I couldn't feel anything for her. I couldn't understand jack of what she ever did or spoke. The hypocrisy was sky high.

PS:- I would have totally enjoyed watching a version of Karna's life and the Kauravas pov of the mahabharata, had they made it properly (not whitewashing everyone on their side with fucking plaster while turning the Pandavas into cartoony villains.. sigh). Also I think, this one was adapted from the Kavita Kane book.

--------------------------------------------

One liners on the book [because, why not]

Arjun Without A Doubt (Sweety Shinde) :-

Literally ArDi fanfiction straight out of wattpad (just better writing to be completely fair) and the authot hated everyone else except Krishna.

Karna's Wife, The Outcast's Queen (Kavita Kane) :-

Could have been interesting had the writing not been so bad. Cartoony antagonist and protagonists and completely amateurish plot creation.

The Fisher Queen's Dynasty (Kavita Kane):-

I actually liked this one. It was a refreshing take on characters not usually written of.

The Rise of Hastinapur, The Winds of Hastinapur, The Rise of Hastinapur (Sharath Komarraju) :-

I liked his style and his storytelling. Wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea though. The characters are very controversially written. (Also, trilogy on the women of mahabharat.. count me in)

The Palace of Illusions (Chitra Banerjee Divakurni) :-

I had high expectations from her but... it fell flat on its face. This was the worst portrayal of Draupadi I have ever come across, anywhere, across any platforms.

The Amar Chitra Katha comics :-

Some of the most authentic retellings of the epic and I truly enjoyed going through all the individual copies and also the full three set volume they had.

The Song of Draupadi (Ira Mukhoty) :-

I loved this one. Very opinionated and very open to interpretation as well. It was a good read.

PS :- I haven't read any of Devdutt Patnaik's books (tbh I dont like the guy very much, as little as I know him from interviews on the internet) and I want to read Ajaya but haven't got around to it. Any more books that I should check out?

-------------------------------------------

PPS :- All of this has been written from a creative point of view. I did not see any of them for getting to see the actual mahabharata. It was mostly for fun. But now I wish people would make more individual versions of other characters depicting their story (EXCEPT FUCKING KARNA again)

#mahabharat #desiblr #desi tumblr #indian aesthetic #hindublr #hindu #mahabharata #arjuna #karna #draupadi #subhadra #krishna #meta #popular media versions #shows #rant #books #books on the mahabharata #book rec

[jestiric]

Jester I'm interested in Torchwood where do I start...Do I need to watch all other doctor who media...

I GOT U I GOT U !! ok so you dont *need* to watch any doctor who to rly understand it, [objectively you should though. series 1-4 of the 2005 reboot+the specials in that time frame. the 12th doctor is also pretty good.] but some bits of dialogue may be confusing, if youre going to watch aanny doctor who, the last 2 episodes of series 2 [army of ghosts+doomsday], for more context on the origins of torchwood, series 2 episode 2 [tooth and claw], and if you want some more context on jack harkness/his backstory and how he relates to doctor who, series 1 episodes 9-13 [you can skip 11 it doesnt have muuch importance to jacks character other than the fact that hes a fucking NERD about alien technology. do not let torchwood make you forget this. hes not a chad. hes a cringefail little loser and i love him.], series 3 doesnt add much context to torchwood other than like. little easter eggs but the last 3 episodes r fucking bangers and have jack harkness and homoeroticism between lifelong enemies who used to be best friends as children [and also just the typical par for the course homo eroticism that comes with having jack harkness as a character in any episode] also if youre going to watch it, the last two episodes of series four have spoilers for torchwood season 2. also the approximate chronology of doctor who and torchwood if u care ab that stuff is

-doctor who series 1

-jack joins torchwood

-doctor who series 2

-torchwood season 1

-doctor who series 3

-torchwood season 2

-doctor who series 4

-torchwood season 3+4

also a few notes- torchwood is. interesting. and certainly has. some scenes !! the cgis awful, you hate every character at least a little bit, but the writing is. sometimes. really good [emphasis on sometimes. its worth it i promise i swear i swear-], for an example the second episode of the entire series revolves on defeating an alien that uhm. gets energy by turning men into dust after they. uh. eerrrrmmm. birds and the bees yk. the entire show is like this. its also sometimes very 2005 television show with its characterization/treatment of women BUT I SWEAR I SWEAR ITS WORTH IT!!!- also im solely talking about the 2005 reboot in this post, if you go to watch doctor who and see an old man in black and white or rly awful, grainy video thats the originals 1963 version, and unfortunately does *not* have jack harkness kissing men on the lips- episodes of doctor who and torchwood are also around an hour each. heart.

also- the battle of canary wharf refers to the events of the last two episodes of series 2. this confused me for so long.

if you do not want to watch like. 10 hours worth of doctor who ive compiled some pieces of context that may be helpful, spoilers 4 doctor who under the cut smile

series 1-

who the fuck is jack harkness

-jack was introduced to doctor who after having 3 years of his memory wiped by the time agency without explination [he was a time agent from the 51st century], where he attempts to con the doctor in the london blitz, and in doing so accidenrally creates horrors behind human comprehension, him, the doctor, and rose fix it and adopt him as their third and create the worlds most doomed polycule. jack is also the first queer doctor who character🎉 however, rose acidentally becomes an omnipotent being in attempt to rescue her boyfriends, and in bringing a dead jack back to life, acidentally makes it so hes unable to die ever again, and is effectively immortal, silly rose !! the doctor, being a timelord, senses this and abandons jack on an alien planet and fucks off with rose, jack eventually gets back to earth with his shitty time agent watch that allows him to time travel, in attempts to find the doctor who usually hangs around the 21st century, but acidentally gets stuck in the 19th century and joins torchwood in the meantime for funsies. jack also kisses both rose and the doctor on the lips on prime time television in 2005.

-ok cool whats a time agent

-after watching every nuwho and torchwood episode, i still could not tell you❤️❤️ uh. they can time travel, i guess, theyre part of a time travelling agency? idfk.

series 2-

hey jester why the ever loving fuck does jack have an amputated hand in a jar of fluid

-thats the doctors !! :D jack uses it to detect if the doctors present in his timeline

how did torchwood start

-i dont remember, has something to do with the queen of england and werewolves, i think. its made to protect the earth against aliens

battle of canary wharf

-long story, the world almost ends, blah blah blah, theres a lot of stuff to do with dimensions alternate universe that kind of stuff but basically the premise is torchwood one gets infiltrated with cybermen, kind of aliens kind of manmade horrors which take away all emotion from someone and turn them into cyborgs who want to turn all humans into them because having no emotion is what makes them superior, cyberman cannot be turned back to human because the cyberman basically just contain the brain and nervous system of humans, so that kind of sucks for our brave heros. anyways torchwood 1 is gone now and a lot of people died, also had the most tragic separation between the doctor and his companion

series 3-

martha

-martha was a companion of the doctor for a season, absolute girlboss, trained to be a doctor, horribly mistreated by the doctor the entire series. justice for martha🙏

-jack also receives so much trauma during this year

#have fun !!! #torchwood

[agentnico]

The Gentlemen - season 1 (2024) review

Alright, alright, alright….. wait, McConaughey is not in this one? Oh, well that’s not alright, alright, alright…

Plot: When aristocratic Eddie inherits the family estate, he discovers that it's home to an enormous weed empire, and its proprietors aren't going anywhere.

Guy Ritchie is honestly great. Since way back when he made Lock, Stock and Snatch, he’s consistently churned out top quality entertainment, except maybe the Aladdin remake. I mean I totally get he probably got a superb pay check out of it, but honestly what in the heavens did Guy Ritchie have to do with blue genies I will never know. Regardless, where the man really excels at is when it comes to the British gangster genre. The guy can make swearing sound so poetic and melodic - it’s honestly mad how something so otherwise rude can come off utterly beautiful and delightful like a song. Especially in his 2019 film The Gentlemen, the writing in that movie was so good!! Naturally Netflix caught onto this too as we now how a spin-off series.

Going into the show I was looking forward to it but also cautious, as I was aware this new show was missing the star power of the original film. I mean can you blame me? The movie had the likes of Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Colin Farrell and Hugh Grant to name a few. That’s a solid load of A-listers huddled together. As for the show, the names like Theo James or Kaya Scodelario didn’t instil heavy excitement, especially with James as honestly, I always thought he was a bit of a prick. Granted this may be due to when he played the dickhead in The Inbetweeners movie, and gosh do I feel old with that reference, but he just has that face of a guy that’s so full up his own arse. Again, I’ve never met the chap, he’s probably a lovely human being, but I’ve made this prejudgment in my head and as such when I found out he was the lead of this series I naturally rolled my eyes. That being said I give Netflix props as they hired the original film director Guy Ritchie to create this spin-off and even direct some of the episodes and do a lot of the writing, so of course I was going to check this show out.

Never doubt the Guy should be a new cinematic rule. I’m proud to report that the new The Gentlemen series is a fantastic watch. It’s not the most original show, yet it plays out more-so like a Guy Ritchie’s greatest hits, as it’s got his visual flare and style, with the super cool and smooth fashion choices - honestly Scodelario has a wardrobe change every other scene and each time it felt like she was walking out of a Tom Ford fashion exhibit, and then also all the men wearing their gentlemanly suits dripping with swagger and smoking their cigars and drinking their whiskeys - the whole thing is simply infused with that signature upper-class British gangster feel. Ritchie’s signature syllable-heavy dialogue that just rolls of the tongue is also more than ever present here, and whoever decided to cast Giancarlo Esposito in this show deserves a pay rise, as Esposito’s soft-spoken melodic tone proclaiming the colourful lines of Ritchie’s rich exposition was music to the ears.

The cast here too are super game. Theo James was actually solid as the lead young duke, as he had that manly prowess and was very believable as someone who gets shit done. Kaya Scodelario I thought at first was trying too hard to mimic Michelle Dockery from the original movie, but eventually she made the role her own, and she gave enough mystery to her performance to make us feel uncertain of her true motivations. Daniel Ings as the duke loser-cocaine-addicted-brother Freddy was a lot of fun, however I would say his character became a bit overbearing and annoying in the end, as he constantly made so many mistakes throughout that I honestly kind of wanted him to get killed. It’s as if whenever the show needed an excuse for something bad to happen, they’d just get Freddy to fuck up again. Apologies for my language, I don’t usually swear in my reviews, but also this is a Guy Ritchie project we’re talking about, and he uses the F word every other sentence. So fuck it. In regards to other notable cast members, Pearce Quigley as Gospel John, a leader of a religious gang was oddly creepy yet entertaining, especially when he’d randomly scream certain lines for absolutely no reason. Pure psycho. Peter Serafinowicz and Guz Khan have amusing turns. Lastly we have two British gangster alumni Vinnie Jones and Ray Winstone. These two of course were on a different level to everyone else. Of course Vinnie Jones can be quite cheesy when it comes to acting. One can fondly remember his delivery of the line “I’m the Juggernaut, bitch!”. But when it comes to Guy Ritchie, Jones and him have always been a great pairing. Here as the duke estates’ caretaker, Vinnie is super reserved yet again super cool. I think cool is a word that can be used and abused when it comes to this show. It’s all so cool! Then Ray Winstone as the leader of the crime family… I mean it’s Ray Winstone as the leader of the crime family! He got that Godfather-level gravitas, only more Cockney, and it was great watching him do his thing.

When it comes to the story, this show is standalone to the original film. You can definitely see the inspiration though with certain narrative beats and story choices being very reflective/similar to what occurred in the film, and then the hidden weed farm under the estate looked like exactly the same set as from the film. But overall this is completely its own thing, and each episode brings more fun crime shenanigans for the characters to deal and navigate through, and it was consistently entertaining. My only complaint is that I’d say the finale a tad anti-climactic. I think with all the roughness and toughness that the characters go through, the ending tied everything up a bit too conveniently and neatly. I get I’m not to expect the most realistic thing as this is Guy Ritchie’s world, but I did want things to get a bit more messy, especially due to the build up. That being said this is a major win for Netflix, and I’m expecting a season 2 to be green-lit soon, as this is a winning package.

Overall score: 7/10

#the gentlemen #the gentlemen netflix #the gentlemen show #tv series #Netflix #streaming #the gentlemen review #guy ritchie #theo james #kaya scodelario #comedy #crime #thriller #weed farm #ray winstone #vinnie jones #The gentlemen tv series #gangster #British gangsters #daniel ings #joely richardson #giancarlo esposito #Pearce quigley #peter serafinowicz #guz khan #spin off #action