#even the actors wanted them too | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

aceredshirt13 · 5 months

Text

We'll never get a third Ritchieverse Holmes movie. But if we somehow did, this is what I like to think should happen.

I would absolutely love for the inciting incident to be that, since the reason Holmes faked his death was because he wanted to keep Watson and Mary safe, the reason he has returned from faking his death is because that backfired and Watson and Mary are very much not. Why aren't they safe, you ask? Well, because Moran is on the revenge trail. Typically, he didn't have much personal investment in the killing of his targets, but we all saw how absolutely furious he got when Watson nearly killed Moriarty and escaped with Holmes. Now Moriarty is dead, and Moran has no job, no purpose, no one in the world - nothing, save for anger and grief. He cannot kill Holmes, because he does not know Holmes still lives. But if Holmes took the life of the only person Moran ever cared about, then even if he's not around to suffer for it, he will do the same to him.

Except, naturally, Holmes is around to suffer for it, and this cues the ending scene of the movie where Holmes coyly reveals he's alive, and would pick up right from there. There would be action! There would be shenanigans! Holy hell there would be character drama! Watson and Mary are absolutely going to beat Holmes's ass within an inch of his life, but also Watson is so, so very glad to have him back... Mary's not forgiving him ever for what he put Watson through, but how can she - how can they - bring themselves to be fully angry when he went through this to the end in an attempt to ensure their happiness? Especially when, if one considers the reason he closed his eyes to be for Watson to be the last thing he saw if he died, Holmes wasn't even completely sure he'd successfully fake his death... And they can't just unpack that while sitting in a house somewhere talking about their feelings, because Moran and the remnants of Moriarty's wide-reaching organization are very hot on their heels.

How does the movie progress? Well, I'm not entirely sure. I would love for Moran to get betrayed by those he conspired with, and be forced to work with Holmes and Watson (and Mary, who is adamantly refusing to let these two do all this on their own when her life is as endangered as theirs) on some level, thus forcing everybody - including Moran - to actually talk to each other. I also want to show that Holmes is beginning to get tired of all this - he loves the adrenaline, he loves to exercise his genius, he hates being bored, but he's also tired of the people he cares about constantly being in danger because he knows he can't always protect them. He knows that, because of what happened to Irene.

How does the movie end? Well, I can certainly tell you that. As a significant portion of the fanbase and Jude Law himself will tell you, the Ritchieverse Holmes movies come off very, very strongly as romances. In most cases, I am not the sort of person who advocates for any given ship in a medium to be acknowledged as canon just because a lot of fans like it, especially since that can often lead to disastrous results... but Christ alive, these movies are leaning so ridiculously hard into Holmeswatson vibes that I can't imagine it was an accident. And, well, part of the reason I want Moran to figure so heavily into this movie is because I think there was quite a bit of potential exploration of what exactly his relationship was with Moriarty just in the few tidbits you saw of them together... perhaps through a few flashbacks sprinkled in after Moran confesses what they really were to each other. Because if there's one thing I love, it's parallels. Watson and Moran, the military veterans and crack shots who are so very attached to the often-difficult genius masterminds they love. Unlike the singly-devoted Moran, Watson's affections are torn, because he adores Mary with everything he is, and is constantly fighting himself and pretending he can give up Holmes for her even though he can't imagine a life without both of them in it - but he is no less devoted for it. In different ways, they both cannot see a way forward - Moran cannot without Moriarty, Watson cannot because he cannot choose. So, in terms of an ending, I want Moran not to have to be killed by our heroes, or die in some sacrifice, or take his own life. I want him to have to live, without taking revenge. To figure out some kind of life, now that he's been spit out by the Queen's Army, and has lost the new life he was given now. It's more interesting, and less cheap, especially if this movie serves to build up and add depth to his character. And as for Holmes and Watson, well, it's not 2009 or 2011 anymore, so what's to stop your loose action movie adaptation of century-old, now-public domain stories from just going ahead and having them admit they love each other? (Or, potentially, having Mary admit it for them, to one of them, because she is sick and tired of their bullshit?) Why not let them, after all this is over, finally, finally share a kiss?

And as for the epilogue, I think it would be super fun and endearing if it cuts to Watson and Mary finally moving into that country house in Sussex together. He and Mary love each other, they're happy, they'll do so very all right. Then they get a knock on the door to find that the old woman who lives in the house next door has come to bring them a housewarming gift.

Except it's not an old woman. It's Sherlock Holmes dressed as an old woman. He has gone into early retirement to keep bees, and he just so happens, by pure coincidence, to have bought the house next to theirs.

Watson and Mary are exasperated. Then they probably think it's really funny, while still being exasperated. And ultimately, what Watson needs to realize is that there is something in this world that is insistent upon keeping these three together. If all of them can put up with each other - as they have shown they can just manage to do, this whole movie - and if all of them care for each other - as they have shown they undoubtedly do, for this whole movie - then no matter what he was sure was the "correct" and "right" thing to do before, he does not, and has never had to choose. Holmes doesn't have to steal him away from Mary any more than Mary has to steal him away from Holmes, because the great lesson of the Ritchieverse Sherlock Holmes movies ought to be that sometimes, polyamory is the best solution. And they all live in Sussex together, and quibble incessantly, and remain there for the rest of their days.

P. S. The number one thing this movie is absolutely, positively not allowed to do is kill off Mary. I don't care if she dies offscreen in the books, these movies did not have so much of their character conflict be Watson's inability to choose between her and Holmes for that to conclude with the immensely cheap act of offing her - not to mention that that would mean killing the only remaining major female character left in the series, and that these movies are so far removed from the ACD canon anyway that they can literally do whatever they want.

P. P. S. I don't have anywhere else to put these since I'll certainly never finish an entire screenplay concept for this without help, so here are a few disconnected, inaccurate-screenplay-format snippets using this idea that I jotted down on my phone way, way, back. Enjoy?

~~~

Opening shot: pigeons.

It’s early morning, and a man sits on a bench with a small bag of birdseed. He takes a handful of it, and reaches out to them. They flock around him with enthusiasm, some perching on his arm and hand.

The pigeons know him, clearly. It is SEBASTIAN MORAN.

He turns to look over his shoulder.

Moran: Hey, Professor, do you -

He stops. There is no one beside him.

Something hardens in his face.

He continues sprinkling birdseed. But his movements are listless, and it is clear the act no longer brings him much joy.

~~~

Holmes: It appears that Moriarty’s death, while ultimately a public service to the human race, has unleashed a far greater and more unpredictable danger to you than I could have imagined.

Watson: A danger?

Holmes: Indeed. And so long as I was believed to be dead, I was sure you and Mary would be entirely safe from it.

Watson: What - ?

Holmes: But I am now very much aware that that isn’t so, and so I have returned.

Watson: What danger, Holmes?

Holmes: Sebastian Moran.

Watson: Sebastian Mor- What, Moriarty’s right-hand man?

Holmes: The very same.

Watson: But why would he come after us? His superior is dead, he hasn’t got any orders -

Holmes: This has absolutely nothing to do with orders, Watson, and everything to do with the precarious and emotional nature of the human condition.

Watson: For the love of God, Holmes, can you just explain -

Holmes: I mean to say that this is entirely personal. Moran did not just work for Moriarty, he cared for him. Though to what extent, I haven’t the slightest idea.

Watson: For Moriarty?

(A disbelieving chuckle.)

Watson: Delusional bastard. I can’t imagine Moriarty cared for a soul in the world.

Holmes: And he may not have. How fallible man is, hm?

Holmes: Nevertheless, I believe that the colonel is seeking revenge. And if he cannot get it on me, then he will not stop until he has slain everyone I have ever cared for.

Holmes: Thus, my return from the grave. But I’ve already said that, haven’t I?

~~~

Holmes: No. No more deaths. No more lives lost because of me.

Holmes: …Not after Irene.

~~~

Moran: You should have died like the dog you are.

Holmes: Perhaps I would have, if I hadn’t known that Moriarty’s dog still lived.

Holmes: I had - foolishly, perhaps - thought that were I to die, Watson and Mary would be safe. A life for a life - my life, for Moriarty’s. No more.

Holmes: But you weren’t content with that. Were you?

Holmes: You wouldn’t stop until you’d killed everyone that meant something to me, even though I wasn’t there to see it.

Holmes: What will you do, if you succeed? What will you have left? It’s not as if revenge will bring him back.

Moran: You’d do the same if you lost your bloody Watson, wouldn’t you?

(Holmes is, rarely, silent.)

Moran: …And I don’t know how to do anything else.

~~~

Moran: …You’re wrong.

Moran: Nobody was kind to me. Not until I met the professor.

Holmes: But of course. It behooves a smart man to take good care of his tools -

Moran: You don’t know anything! It was real, what we had!

Moran: …It was real. I know it was. Because he told me that he didn’t even want to like me, at first, let alone…

(He trails off, as if thinking better of it. But then he shakes his head with a bitter chuckle.)

Moran: …What’s the point? I’ll hang for all the murders I’ve done. Another felony won’t mean much.

Moran: I loved him. And you’re the reason he’s dead. So I’ll kill everyone you love, and then I’ll kill you, or I’ll die trying.

~~~

Okay, that's it. If for some reason you read this far, thanks for sticking around! And if you have any personal thoughts on a third Ritchieverse Holmes movie, I'd absolutely love to hear them. See ya!

#rdj holmes #ritchie holmes #sherlock holmes #john watson #mary watson #sebastian moran #james moriarty #holmeswatson #holmeswatsonmary #moraniarty #and well i suppose i should tag this the almighty #johnlock #i honestly think all my screenplayish tidbits are waaaaaay too on the nose lmao #but i didn't want them to sit on my phone forever #but man is this a movie i'd love to work on if it somehow existed #even though there's no way it could given how much older all the actors are #i've seen and heard about numerous continuation concepts #but i always thought it a shame that they left out the fact that moran is still alive and kicking #and the fact that moran clearly cared about moriarty is such fun and barely explored territory in the movie #and appeared in none of the continuations that i could see #(sure it's entirely possible to interpret it that moriarty was just using that care)#(but i think that's boring)#(much more interesting to have your ruthless terrifying criminal mastermind villain be capable of genuine care)#(after all he canonically cares for those pigeons doesn't he?)

32 notes · View notes

s4pphoiduser · 5 months

Text

in a world with an aftg show (because it Has to be a show, not a movie) seth would have a Pretty Guy actor playing him who looked even prettier when he was sneering or scowling and people would make edits of him with the velocity + slo-mo effects and be like "i can fix him"

#and kevin would be it boy of the century and matt would be THE 2000s icon along with allison #neil's the one who looks scrappy and jumpy (which he is) but everyone's gonna be in love with his sharp tongue and hater behavior #everyone would either hate andrew or love him and obv i fall into the second category i'd be no. 1 andrew minyard apologist/defender/lover/#everyone (including myself) would love nicky if this adaptation of him didnt come with all those predatory jokes godbless #everyone else is an icon. yes even aaron who's way too detached from the foxes but he partially slays just being a fox and king of idgafdom #the girls are icons obviously duhhh #but i think with riko the actor would be soooo good and pretty like scary pretty that people make edits and the captions are like DISCLAIME #wymack would have sooo many edits with the sound of whatever's trending that's equivalent to the usher DADDY'S HOME one #i actually have so many thoughts ab an aftg show despite how much i dont want it like i cant help it! aftg slays too much!#these bitches r all too damaged! i love them all too much! i think ab them all the time!#lots of people hate but aftg and the foxes r genuinely some of the most well written relationships to me probably bc i can personally relat #and i think a show would allow for other scenes that we dont see in the book bc theyre all from neil's pov and we don't really find anythin #know anything ab the other foxes beyond what neil knows himself #and LEST I FORGET. JEAN MOREAU. ICON OF THE CENTURY METHINKS...!#neil josten #andrew minyard #kevin day #dan wilds #allison reynolds #renne walker #matt boyd #aaron minyard #nicky hemmick #seth gordan #s4pphoiduser #aftg #all for the game #the foxhole court #the raven king #the king's men

25 notes · View notes

lyxchen · 4 months

Text

When you feel weird saying your favorite actors name out loud when talking to your parents or friends because it feels like it's going to reveal how deeply obsessed you actually are

#oh how often i have said to my parents #'it's a movie with that actor i like'#because i am afraid if i say 'david tennant' i will also add 'the prettiest most gorgeous funniest guy who is so lovely and if i met him i #would probably hyperventilate and i think about him probably too much because he's just an actor but also Look At Him!!'#you know #normal fangirl stuff #i have a theory that this is either some sort of weird ocd thing deep inside of me like how for a few months i was very afraid that people #could hear my thoughts and so i never allowed myself to think strange or very personal things with many people around #or this is because other people have made me feel like i can't talk about my interests because they're so intense that they find them #annoying #or it's because i don't want my parents to think i have a crush on him because i don't and also i'm gay so like no crush potential this is #completely different emotion which i can't explain especially not my parents so i'd rather they not find out how cool i think he is #but also they probaly know because they got me 10th doctor merch for christmas without me even asking for it and my mom also said that #she noticed that he's my favorite actor which is fine it's toatally fine i'm so cool about this #any so yeah anyways #didn't think i'd analize myself that much tonight but here we are #david tennant you have to honor of recieving the title of 'that one actor i like' which is much more important than it might sound #good night #lea's random thoughts

18 notes · View notes

piosplayhouse · 2 years

Text

Not going to get involved in the ao3 politics shit but I just want to say after reading some of the top posts on this site I can tell most of the people talking about this subject very clearly did not experience Sexytimes With Wangxian

#honestly though despite how you feel about rhe big topics i havent seen much discussion about how The Candidate just... doesnt seem #experienced to be working that position at all? just objectively reading her interview she says she has NO experience working online #even communicating with slack or such; self proclaimed fandom newbie etc #like I can't tell you what to think about the big issues but like if you wanted to hire someone to work at your local dog shelter #and you interviewed them and they said they only really just started interacting w dogs and they had never had any experience #with dealing with caring for animals at all or the adoption process.. would you hire them lol #anyway just my 2 bits #ao3 #ao3 discourse #also hiding this at the very bottom of the tags bc i dont want to catch heat but i actually dont think people are aware so just to qualify #the rpf rhat got ao3 banned in china was not about a real life minor . i see a lot of people talking about minor rpf and i think its weird #as shit too personally but just to get facts right the rpf that allegedly sparked the ban was about a 30yr old adult man #idk if that changes anything but just putting that out there #oh ok also im getting intel that the reason the fic was mass reported and ao3 wS subsequently banned was because the fic #featured one of the actors as trans. so thats a frightening addition if true

295 notes · View notes

bootyful-seventeen · 2 months

Text

I am heavily contemplating on buying myself a dvd player soon and buying all the DVDs for a ton of movies and tv shows I grew up watching cuz I miss the magic of dvds

#hear me out on this one okay. but the Barbie movies were magic on dvd back in the day #and I do wanna see if stores are still selling the old strawberry shortcake dvds before I go online for those #I wanna snort that nostalgia so bad #and of course I’ll need to get the dcau on dvd #like all of it cuz I’m so bored with the dccu since we don’t get as much new stuff #it’s always Batman or superman and love them but I’m kinda bored from always seeing a new bman or sups movie #Wonder Woman I wouldn’t mind a new actor for her but I know she’s not gonna be a muscle mommy which I’ll be sad about #give me a Wonder Woman that is built like rhea ripely god damnit #the flash is eh cuz I found out this whole time I’ve been watching the Wally west flash #but yeah Wally is who I want and then there’s the green lantern like dude is so cool iams all we have is the 1 from 2011 I think #sure I could watch some of the tv series they have but I have too many shows on my watch list it’s overwhelming at times so I skip over lots #tho I will have to pray like crazy cuz some of the things I know I want are probably gonna be expensive as fuck even as second hand #saw a class of the titans season 1 dvd going for $81 cad 💀💀💀#the world is not kind to those who don’t love the digital age #I prefers my dvds cuz I own it and no one can take it away from me unless they physically steal it #omg I’m turning into my grandma cuz she still had the vhs player with some tapes too #just wish she never donated the tapes for swan princess 1-3 and Anastasia and ferngully and basically all my faves that she owned #like Ngl a part of me wants to hit up value village just to see if maybe they’re still there or if I’ll find other copies of the same things #cuz a perk about cities with older people is that you get so much older tech and other items it’s insane

10 notes · View notes

liquidstar · 1 year

Photo

new oc batch ready! 8 more of these guys lol. the whole deal with this set is they’re from the artisan guild- lunar flair! intentionally spelled like “flair” as in “style” or “a flare for ____” rather than “flare”

basically all the members of the guild are different kinds of artists with different niches (and varying degrees of diva-ness). it’s pretty easy to tell who does what based on the everything about them, but if you want more info their bios are still under the cut!

Name: Jupiter

Name Origin: The planet of course

Pronouns: He/him

Age: 52

Guild rank: Guildmaster

Weapon: Lightning rods

Ethos (Power): Gigantomachy. He can make himself (even more) giant

Flaw power is based on: His overly protective nature, especially where the guild is concerned.

Notes: Literally the nicest guy ever until you provoke him though

Name: Erinome (Erin)

Name Origin: A moon of jupiter, the exact meaning of it’s name is murky but it can refer to grace or purity

Pronouns: She/her

Age: 13

Guild rank: 2 star

Weapon: A Book.

Ethos (Power): Poetic Imagery. Illusions cast forth by his her poems that change the appearance of the physical environment

Flaw power is based on: Her escapist indulgence in fantasy

Notes: You know, like, the pen is mightier than the sword and all that.

Name: Pictor

Name Origin: The constellation meaning “painter”

Pronouns: He/him

Age: 23

Guild rank: 3 star

Weapon: Giant paintbrush

Ethos (Power): Ardor. He can create three-dimensional things with his paintbrush. However they are not animate or alive.

Flaw power is based on: His conceited nature in regards to his own work.

Notes: Goes to museums to talk about how he could probably do it better anyway

Name: Oberon

Name Origin: A moon of the planet Uranus, it gets it’s name from the king of the fairies in Renaissance literature. Notably in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night's Dream

Pronouns: He/him

Age: 29

Guild rank: 5 star

Weapon: Rapier

Ethos (Power): Fantasia. An illusion of changing his own appearance.

Flaw power is based on: His theatrical nature, of course

Notes: Why is he ourple?

Name: Syrma

Name Origin: A star in virgo, it’s name refers to the train of a garment (Typically worn by actors in tragedies)

Pronouns: She/her

Age: 25

Guild rank: 4 star

Weapon: Giant needle

Ethos (Power): Binding threads. She can create stitches on any solid objects and bind them to each other. Including people- The stitches are manifested energy and do not hurt.

Flaw power is based on: The dependency she often has on bonds- i.e. threads that bind people.

Notes: She makes and models all her own clothes.

Name: Parumleo

Name Origin: A star in Pisces, it’s name means “small lion”

Pronouns: They/he

Age: 19

Guild rank: 3 star

Weapon: Microphone bardiche

Ethos (Power): Persuasion. If they can make you laugh you’ll temporarily have to follow his orders. Though it’s too weak to call full-blown mind control, and fairly easy to snap out of.

Flaw power is based on: His desire to be liked by others.

Notes: They’re like a lolcat. They can haz cheezburger.

Name: Leda

Name Origin: A moon of jupiter, the name means swan.

Pronouns: She/her

Age: 28

Guild rank: 4 star

Weapon: Duel ribbons

Ethos (Power): Poise. Complete and utter weightlessness.

Flaw power is based on: Her carefree and utterly absent-minded nature.

Notes: You guys know swan lake right? Well, there ya go.

Name: Styx

Name Origin: A moon of pluto that gets it’s name from the river of the underworld. Yeah it’s also a rock band.

Pronouns: She/they

Age: 20

Guild rank: 3 star

Weapon: Axe-guitar.

Ethos (Power): Vibrato. Powerful soundwaves cast by her axe-guitar

Flaw power is based on: Her brash and blasé attitude

Notes: Calls everyone “baby” or “babe” because they’re a cool rockstar.

#finn's ocs #oc references #finn's art #YAY i finally get to post my funny little artist guys #i feel like its fairly obvious what each persons gimmick is but just for the sake of brevity (for anyone who doesnt wanna read the readmore)#in order #jupiter doesnt have a Specific art bc hes the guildmaster and you can think of him as more of a teacher of sorts #erin is a poet/writer. pictor is obvs a painter. oberon is a thespian. syrma is a seamstress #parumleo is a comedian. leda is a ballerina. and styx is a musician (or straight up rockstar)#since these characters are all like.. trinary characters they dont go all Too much deeper than their gimmicks #but thats why theyre fun to design bc its like. what if [thing] was a guy LOL #also i wanted to try some new stuff out w their designs (like syrmas dimples for example) so i hope they look okay? i hope so...#also leda and how shes literally the least clothed character ive ever made. shes going to catch a cold for sure yeah #parumleo i worry about bc i had a fairly similar color pallet for asterope (but no red) so i hope he still stands out. the lolcat....#oh also if erin and oberon's powers sound similar that's on purpose too. shes like his protege #i feel like out of all of them though pictor is like the prime example of guy who should be in an artist guild LOL #like the most archetypal. most ppl think of painters when they think of artists #but i wanted different types in there too.#painters writers actors even funnymen and rockstars. they all belong. theyre all weird about creating #anyway im glad i can finally post them now ^_^

99 notes · View notes

stuffedeggplants · 9 months

Text

The resolution to the drama over the revocation of Oppenheimer's security clearance felt less like us hearing the final verdict--an inevitability we've known about for much of the movie--and more like the scenes where both Strauss and Oppenheimer are confronted by the reality that they had overestimated their own importance as individuals and actors in the world. And I don't think it's a coincidence that those scenes are also points where we briefly see beyond the Oppenheimer-centric or Strauss-centric points of view we've been watching things through.

Oppenheimer's moment is Truman's response to him telling Truman that he feels he has blood on his hands. All this time we've been following Oppenheimer as somebody tremendously important to the efforts at Los Alamos--the director of the lab itself--but it's during this scene that Truman most starkly communicates to Oppenheimer (and the audience) that there's an entire world of political/military decision-making in Washington and at the Department of War that Oppenheimer has nothing to do with and is even subordinate to, whether he's consciously realized that or not. Oppenheimer may have built the bomb, but he only did so at the behest of the government that made it possible. Then Truman decided to drop it, and the military made that happen. Oppenheimer is not the only protagonist here.

Strauss' moment is when surprise testimony ends with him failing to be confirmed to the seat of Secretary of Commerce--a first in the history of the United States government--and when he's confronted (for maybe the first time in his life) with the idea that Oppenheimer and Einstein's conversation years ago may not have been about him at all, but about "something more important." Despite years of maneuvering in Washington and successfully doing so to get Oppenheimer's security clearance revoked to snuff out the man's potential for influence on national security strategy, the culmination of years of Strauss' ambition is snatched away from him by a scientist (i.e. not a political rival) who chose to just show up and speak honestly about Strauss' character. For all the control and success that Strauss had in the political arena, Hill's damning testimony seems to come out of nowhere because Hill himself and his own thought process is so far outside of the realm that Strauss normally concerns himself with.

#The 'you're not the only protagonist' thing that both Oppenheimer and Strauss are confronted with also adds to the feeling #of events rushing forward almost by themselves and this sense of inevitability (which is reinforced by the pace #of the film too)#Oppenheimer wants to build the bomb before the genocidal Nazis get it but before you know it the conversation is about Japan #and the conversation about left-wing ideologies keeps evolving until we're staring the Cold War in the face with an arms race rearing up #into the foreground as the spectre of MAD closes out the film for us #We have individuals and their importance as actors in the world still caught up in huge webs of diffuse responsibility #and multi-order effects that drag us along even as we push and pull them along ourselves (if that makes sense?)#Oppenheimer #oppenheimer 2023

15 notes · View notes

klinejack · 11 months

Text

STORYLINE: Coworker friends forever (CFFs) Kydd and Felixx are top detectives at the paranormal spooky investigation agency Psi Cops, where they solve mysteries and supernatural crimes using their overly competent incompetence.

so............basically an animated destiel comedy as goofy yet effective paranormal detectives why is nobody talking about this? which heller is responsible for this?

LOOK AT THESE TWO

#psi cops #spn adjacent #destiel #supernatural #i have no idea if its any good but ive seen the commercial a few times now and for fucks sake its too obvious #somebody wrote and or drew these two into another spinoff nobody knows about #well nobody on tumblr it seems anyway #CFFs COWORKER FRIENDS FOREVER #sd;lgjskdfgbjsdfbglsdfbgldfngkld;fjgkdfngjklfdjgndsf #one of these guys is unmistakeably cas even the collar of his detective suit is turned up like it wants to be a trenchcoat instead #the other one has a prn stache dean would be envious of and is also a debatable-blonde #OKAY SO ACTUALLY 2 of the actors on this show have been on an ep of spn (i dont remember or recognize them tho)#and none of the producers seem to have any spn credits on imdb so... my question stands #who is responsible for this animated AU fanfic on canadian television???#premieres tonight!!!! too bad i don't get the channel :///#i will however make a gifset of one of these trailers from youtube ;lksjfdgksfdhgdjkg

19 notes · View notes

jq37 · 1 year

Note

The fact Gerard's vision of a better world is 'none of that 5am bullshit, we wake up at 8 to workout', just the best. I wonder if Ylfa's still got dawg in her, or if that's not a thing in her new reality. Anyway, another great finale for the books, wrapped more satisfyingly than I expected. There were so many threads, I didn't think they would have the time. I was expecting the Top Hat Fairy to do something to help like Turquina, but *shrug*. I suppose Ylfa having that hat for the rest battle was enough help and was definitely not a waste of precious resources. *sighs* So many 20's, so many stressful Box of Doom's, on the edge of my seat the whole time, satisfying conclusions to everyone's story arcs. You can't ask for better than that.

OK this has been sitting in my inbox for a bit for two reasons. The first is I've just been majorly busy with IRL stuff. The second is that I have...let's say mixed feelings about Neverafter as a whole having seen the finale.

Like, as a vehicle for comedy (which Dimension 20 largely is--makes sense considering the cast is all comedians who are friends. A recipe for shenanigans if I've ever heard one) the season absolutely succeeded. There were very few moments of this season where I wasn't entertained. Thinking about Ylfa saying the phrase, "honking big" will break me every time. Watching the cast lose their mind during adventuring party every week as they descended further into madness was fantastic. And Ylfa going in for the kiss w/ Pinnochio at the end had me dying.

But as a story? And specifically, as a story ABOUT stories?

Ehhhhhhhhhhh.

[To be clear, I am talking about MY opinions here. To everyone who really loved how this season wrapped up, that's fantastic! I'm just talking about me and my thoughts. Even when I'm making broad statements, I'm still just talking about me. Cool? Cool.]

Just to start with the broadest thing, it is *insane* to have a finale that is nigh incomprehensible without having watched some bonus content, and honestly, only slightly more comprehensible if you have watched that bonus content. Like, was it FUNNY to see the full cast practically melting as they went feral for the Orange Fairy? Yes, obviously. But it also undercut any sense of like real stakes or weight to the entire affair.

I'm not the biggest fan of final fights in general because it often feels like just drawn-out math, but I feel like, even factoring that in, the fight didn't feel as engaging as it could because by the second part of the fight, we were fighting characters we hadn't spent a lot of time with. Like, sure, I have thoughts about how the princesses were handled but we did spend time with them. Enough time to at least have some sort of opinion when they were taken down. And enough time for characters to have relationships with them that paid off during their fights--Red taking down La Bete for instance, or Pinnochio reaching out to Mira. With the fairies, we only really met three of them (Turq, The Evil One, and the Godmother), and we really only got a half-decent read on Turq. So it really wasn't that emotionally satisfying (outside of whatever emotion they were CLEARLY getting from their Orange Fairy Acid Trip).

And then the Authors we know the least about! There were all these meta elements that were introduced in this season that weren't really explored much at all. So that element felt really obligatory to me. It was like, the fighting of a vague concept. Which isn't to say that can't work. They fully fight the American Dream in Unsleeping City 1. But that worked for me because (1) they had the concrete villain of Robert Moses to fight as well and (2) there was a very clear thematic reason they were fighting the American Dream. Put a pin in that, I'm coming back to it.

The last two big elements in the fight are the Gander who didn't really do anything but by all accounts, SHOULD have been a bigger player and the Stepmother who ABSOLUTELY should have felt more satisfying to defeat because I actually think she has one of the more interesting stories in the story. Unlike the princesses (who struck me as shortsighted and selfish at worst and majorly misguided at best) and the PCs (who felt very rebel without a cause and a bit aimless for large parts of the season), I fully understand why a character who is always written to be evil would want to be like OK, screw it. Burn it all down. But then, at the last second, we get this, "No, wait, I actually wanted to free us all from the authors" thing and it just feels like it comes out of nowhere. Like, maybe giving her her name back gave her back her humanity or something, Fine. But it gave me so much whiplash. We did not spend enough time with her story threads for that to work imo.

Going back to the Authors thing now. I'm going to skip over a bunch of my logistical questions about them (Is that one ink hand speaking for all Authors? For only some? What even is an Author in the context of this world? Is the world that exists above the Never After even really our world? Fairy Tales don't even have set authors most of the time. They're oral tradition. What does killing an ink hand do mechanically in the actual world? Did they kill the entire concept of storytelling or just give one person bad writer's block? ) and go to my thematic question which is, what is the tone that was meant to be struck here? Or I guess rather, why was this the tone struck? The idea of Authors as a malevolent force and that never really being challenged is so bizarre to me. Because storytelling as a concept exists in their world. So why would they assume malevolence rather than people who just don't understand they're playing with the lives of sentient beings? Like, I get the concept of seeing something just beyond your meagre comprehension and cracking. I really do. But that really only happened when Tim saw the ink. Everyone seemed to just jump on the "Authors Evil" bandwagon and didn't examine that further. And I guess you're not obligated to look further into the people who are controlling your life against your will (though, I really don't understand to what degree the Authors were actually doing that--add that question to the pile) but that makes for a very unsatisfying story beat.

But even outside of that, it's a weird take on storytelling from a storyteller in a medium where you're seeing the storyteller on screen at all times along with the other six storytellers who are telling the story. It's like, an insane level of dissonance, watching someone narrate about how Authors are so cruel and uncaring while watching seven people who are so passionate about what they do, clearly having a great time in the world they created. It made that thread ring hollow to me. And I'm not trying to do some kind of pedantic gotcha like, "Oh ho. You said storytelling is bad and yet you are a storyteller. Interesting." That's not what I'm saying. If you want to tell a story about control and lack of control and agency and all that, then I can see having your players play characters who are being controlled by authors. But it wasn't explored in a way that made any kind of point other than, "Free will is good." Which...yeah. And I initially thought it was very cool that they were telling a story about character feeling like they didn't have agency in a medium where we literally have to watch the "extraplanar beings" controlling the characters' agency because I thought they were going to do something interesting with it but they never really did. Frustrating.

There were hella loose ends that were never tied (What actually caused the Neverafter to merge? What does the Auroratory actually do? What caused the times of shadow*? What was going on in the other worlds?) but lastly, I just want to touch on the loose ends that actually *were* tied. Specifically in the epilogue.

So the idea here is everyone gets to write their own stories. That sounds good in theory. But, in reality, people are gonna have wishes that contradict. And people are gonna have wishes that are bad. And people are gonna have wishes that control other people. Like, in this new reality Tom Thumb wakes up at 8. But that's what Ger wants. Is that what Tom wants? In this new reality Elody and Ger are divorced. Did they both want that? What if one of them didn't want that? What if multiple people want to be married to the same person? What if multiple people want to be royalty of the same place? What if multiple people want to be despotic dictators or the same place?

I'm not going to go through every epilogue, but Roz's in particular gave me pause. Not because she decided to not give herself a true love and in fact specify a cruddy dating life for herself--wouldn't have been my move but do you girl. No, it made me go "huh?" because Siobhan said that in this rewritten version, instead of avoiding spindles, she gets really good at handling spindles, and then when the witch shows up with a spindle, she knows how to handle herself. But that's just like...not how Sleeping Beauty works? Like, it's not that Auora's curse takes hold because she was bad at spindles. It happens because she was cursed to die (softened to sleep) when pricked by a spindle on that day and time! Michael Jordan could have been cursed to die via basketball on his 25th birthday and no amount of talent would have saved him because it's not about life experience. It's about magic. And like, I get that she wanted to have more agency in her story but that's just like...not Sleeping Beauty at that point. If she had been like, "So I spend my whole childhood preparing to face the evil fairy and defeat her in a battle of wits/magic/sword fighting/Uno/etc before my curse takes hold instead of letting people solve the problem for me" then that would have tracked for me. But as is? That was just bizarre.

And then also the fact that the Stepmother AND the Gander were just like, good in this world? The stepmother, I can maybe kinda sorta buy. Like, I have questions 100%. Was this what Cinderella wanted? For her abusive stepmother to just get a clean slate to be in her life again? We're not given any indication that the Stepmother is really a nice person who is being forced to play into the villain kayfabe by her puppet masters and really in her heart just wants to be good. But that COULD happen (and I wish it had) so sure. Fine. But the Gander? The Gander, this primal force, just wants to be good and wander? First off, not the main thing here, but if I was Tim and this dude made my son turn to bones I'd be like??? No??? But also, I thought the Gander was like, a force of the universe! The opposite of the Goose! Yin and Yang type stuff! He can just be good with no cosmological consequences???

(Also, as I said, it's really kind of jarring to watch these characters like struggle for control of their stories and then just, in real time, while 6 actors put words in their mouths about what their best life is. I know that's the nature of the game but it doesn't make it not weird to watch.)

In conclusion, I found this season exceptionally funny but also not very narratively cohesive. I really wish it had come together a bit better because I really love fairy tales. My thesis project right now (which I'll probably share on here when I'm done with it) is a fairy tale retelling and the last major writing project I worked on had a lot of fairy tale inspiration as well. I think there were a lot of potentially interesting ideas in this season! Pinocchio asking why other kids get to mess up but he can't is a great beat. Pib as an incarnation of an archetypical trickster spirit is inspired. The effects of a True Love's Kiss spell wearing off as your marriage crumbles has interesting implications. But it didn't coalesce in what I felt was a satisfying way. I admire the effort that went into this season and would love to see Brennan's notes because I'm sure there's a lot we never got to (some of which might answer some of my questions) but as is, it felt a bit overstuffed and underbaked.

*OK, we actually did get an answer to this question, but it was so tautological as to be basically meaningless and I would like a more in-depth answer.

PS: Oh! I got kind of carried away and didn't answer everything in your message. Let me fix that!

-I think Ylfa is just a normal girl now. I did think Roz taking her in once she was separated from the wolf was very sweet. I have some existential questions about the splitting situation but the moment was still sweet regardless. I do like that people still draw her with the wolf ears though. Wolf ears are always fun.

-It *is* very funny that Ger had a page to write literally whatever he wanted and that made the list.

-I am fascinated by what would have happened if they'd failed that roll. I know Brennan said they'd have time looped back to the start and ended on a bummer note, but I mean like, what would the table's energy have been like. They've never lost like that before. Still haven't. And I didn't really *want* them to but also...my fatal flaw is curiosity so you know...

-Them fighting fully corrupted Tim would have been interesting too. What a cool what could have been. I'm sure there are so many of those.

-That damn Top Hat. Do you think they're actually gonna sell that with the rest of the minis or keep it?

#asks #farmer 10 #dimension 20 spoilers #I'm not trying to start discourse or anything #i wanted to wait for everyone to enjoy the end of the season before I posted about it #and I still love d20 #I plan to watch the next full cast season #this season just never came together for me #which is a shame bc i love fairy tales so much!#I'm not even pressed about the horror tone not being consistent #I personally like horror-comedy more than straight up horror in general #there was just too much stuff and not enough shaping it for me #i would have cut some of the opposing forces to keep things more streamlined #and if you introduce meta stuff you REALLY have to keep a handle on it or it can get so wonky so fast #I think this could have worked in a game with all these elements but like in a home game with unlimited time not in a 20 ep show #with actors who will spend half that time riffing (which I love them for don't get me wrong)#neverafter spoilers #neverafter

24 notes · View notes

yardsards · 2 years

Text

so i've seen the idea that hunter, due to something about grimwalker anatomy/creation, would start to have issues with his physical health after being disconnected from the ambient magic of the isles (like how luz's glyphs don't work in the human realm), which is a cool source of angst or hurt/comfort

but if i may add some fluff/extra comfort to that concept:

(some background first)

1: witches have their own stores of magic bc of their bile sacks, like how lilith could cast spells in the human realm. (i personally imagine their bodies can generate their own magic for a while even after not absorbing any of the ambient magic of the isles. but after TOO LONG (specific time length depends on the individual witch + how much bile they use every day but i wanna say a couple months on average maybe?) their body kinda stops being able to produce bile; it's like vitamin deficiency preventing your body from regenerating but instead of vitamins, it's titan magic)

2: things like galderstones and palismen/palistrom wood (which hunter is made of) kinda like, connect to and channel the magic of whatever witch wields them. and this generally only happens when the witch is physically holding said items

what i am getting at, with these two things in mind:

-hunter would need to absorb/connect to the magic of his witch friends ("witch" as in species, in this case), as a temporary replacement for magic from the isles/titan, at least until they can get back home

-the way for this connection to happen is by physical contact

SO BASICALLY: hunter, while stuck in the human realm, needs to be held (or otherwise be given physical contact) quite often, for his physical wellbeing

#eliot posts #toh #the owl house #hunter #hunter toh #hunter deamonne #he mostly gets this from willow and gus bc he is closest with them but also bc they are naturally powerful witches #willow takes the opportunity to hold him whenever she can #gus tends to hold his hand or snuggle against his side #if willow and gus are unavailable for too long then amity will take over hunter duty #she'll complain melodramatically but she doesn't actually mind bc he is her friend. it's just that i think she'd treat him like her sibling #they mostly just lean against one another #i think she does it less than willow and gus not just bc she and hunter aren't as close but also bc her magic is less powerful than theirs #it's kinda funny that she's the least powerful of the trio. like her abilities are more from carefully honed skill than natural power #also luz doesn't want to be left out and insists on hugging the sad boy anyway even though she has no magic of her own #thinking the time his voice actor said that if hunter were hugged for so long he'd get so comfortable he'd fall asleep #the boy is so very touch starved and sleep deprived #he ends up losing his eyebags by the time this is all over #note that all of this is meant to be read as platonic affection #i won't get mad if you read it as romantic w willow or mayyybe even luz tho #bit of you ship him romantically w the lesbiab or the 12yo then i will hunt you down #possible exception for the former if ur one of the folks that headcanons hunter as transfem i guess. no exception for gus tho.

105 notes · View notes