#helena was cool and fucking tragic

[citrine-elephant]

if re6 gets a remake i hope they use leon's newer game face model

the engine the used made him look like hell sometimes, absolutely loved his face there tho, and he's such a snack and a hella dilf and AHHH

edit: i dont think i got my point across in my happy rambles but i personally did not like the look of re6 in general? the visual effects. imo, not that it should matter, there were ugly face moments? it felt awkward, idk. (art doesn't have to be sexy all the time tho!! shouldn't have to be!! everyone can look feral and unhinged as hell)

#re6 #i did enjoy re6 a lot honestly #at least leon and chris' campaigns #unfortunately jake/sherry and ada's were a nightmare i was so irritated #chris/piers was annoying too but easier and i wish they were boyfriends and piers lived #leon/helena i loved they had a great partnership imo??? #leon was a grouchy bitch but he had reason to be #helena was cool and fucking tragic #but they seemed like they worked well with each other and very good friends #i hope they friends afterwards i would honestly like to see her return #also i have a hard time seeing leon as genuinely flirty towards her or anyone really abgshdgbfghs i stand by that #in my head he don't know how to socialize very well and comes across as flirty #also platonic f/m relationships are dope #this is simply sparked by the urge to draw dilf leon with a headband/hair clips #also i think he counts as a dilf since he had that guardian relationship with sherry #i love refrigerators (old meme ref + using it as a 'wow i am passionate about hyperfixation)

[axelsagewrites]

Modern Aemond Headcannons

Masterlist Here

Aemond is a book nerd till he dies

he likes to play it off like he’s all cool and mysterious

‘ooo, I have scars ooo I wear a leather jacket ooo im always reading’

When in reality he is a ball of freakin sunshine who’s too afraid to show it

He’s silent and stoic around everyone

Except his friends

With them he is the loudest in the room

Always cracking jokes

Meaning when he does crack a joke around the family everyone is always on the floor laughing

It’s his favourite thing

But he refuses to admit it so just puts on a sly smile

He does have a scar but not with as tragic a backstory

Jace accidentally pushed him too hard on a climbing frame as kids

All it takes is Aemond rubbing his eye and Jace is apologising on his knees

Aemond doesn’t hold it against him and neither does Alicent

Aemond is defiantly in therapy

But he also defiantly lies and says he’s going to the mall instead of telling his mother the truth

However, when he does go to the mall he spends all his money on hair care

He’s the most mature sibling

However when they’re not looking he’s fucking things up behind the scenes

Moving Aegon’s game discs into the wrong case

Moving the couch, a couple inches back to fuck with his dad

Moving Helena bug collection slightly to throw her off

The small things

It gives him so much joy  to watch their confused faces

He defiantly gets the highest grades out of three

He offers to tutor both his siblings

He is being genuine but both of them think he’s making fun of them

Listens to Taylor swift, harry styles, and Lana del ray

But ask what he’s listening to and he’ll say Artic Monkeys

However as a song he is the living version of ‘are you satisfied?’ by MARINA

#aemond #aemond targaryen #hotd aemond #aemond x y/n #aemond x reader #aemond fluff #aemond imagine #aemond targaryen imagine #house of the dragon #house of the dragon imagine #hotd #hotd imagine #house of the dragon fluff #house strong #game of thrones #game of thrones imagine #aemond targaryen headcannons #aemond headcanons #modern aemond #modern aemond imagine #modern aemond headcannons #headcannons #hotd headcanon #got headcanons

[thebramblewood]

Anonymous OC question of the day!If you could make a character real, which of your OCs would be: your bestie, your spouse/partner, your secret lover, Your friendly rival, your enemy! BONUS: do this for other people’s OCs too! Pass the game along (anonymously or not)

Thank you so much for asking, Scout (and also anon from a few days ago that I've been ignoring while I overthink everything)!

Bestie: Julia or Grace

Julia would've been my dream bestie in high school! She would've intimidated me with how cool and confident she is, so I probably would've been too scared to approach her. But she also seems like the type who wants everyone to feel included. She's not really elitist or exclusionary in any way, so I could see her noticing my shyness and making an effort to get me out of my shell.

My other choice would be Grace because she would always give me really honest and thoughtful and usually correct advice. She's level-headed and good at thinking through problems, so she'd be the perfect confidante! Always having her magic on hand would also be incredibly convenient. And, of course, I wouldn't say no if she offered me one of her special potions. 😉

Spouse/Partner: Morgyn

I know we haven't seen much of Morgyn, but they are so tender and adoring I can't help but fall head over heels. 😭 Let's just say I get why Caleb loved them so much. I feel like Morgyn would always be conjuring up the sweetest gifts and showering me with compliments. Just know all this is happening in an alternate universe where they aren't tragically killed and also where they never met Caleb. I wouldn't want to come between them, so I'll let them continue to happily exist together in that other alternate universe.

Secret Lover: Ulrike

Listen, you know I'm going to bag Ulrike one way or another, but our girl's a commitmentphobe so I'm hardly going to make her miserable by pinning her down for life. She's a canonically phenomenal lover (in my canon anyway) so I would absolutely be taking advantage of that. What Morgyn doesn't know won't hurt them.

Friendly Rival: Helena

She would've been the easy pick for bestie since we're so similar, but for that same reason I feel like we would more likely be rivals. Neither of us are confrontational enough to make a thing out of it, but since we're both really strong performers academically, I could see us constantly in a head-to-head battle to score the highest on tests, win the most scholarships, get accepted to the most colleges, etc. It would be intense, but then we would probably meet up at our high school reunion, laugh over how dumb our unspoken competition was, and become friends from there on out.

Enemy: Lilith

Is there any other option for this? Just like Helena, I would probably be drawn into Lilith's orbit like a magnet and then get my shit entirely fucked up. I would have no choice but to become a vampire slayer with exactly one target in mind. I'd have to spend the rest of my life hunting her down in order to both avenge myself and get payback for everyone else whose lives she's ruined and/or ended.

BONUS: If my first spousal option were unavailable, I would absolutely marry @fizzytoo's Amaya (or Karlie, let's be real) and @gunthermunch's version of Lilith (sorry, Gunther). Also, if Winifred ever found herself suddenly single... she could call me anytime too!

#asks #the zhaoverse #this was actually quite fun #and yes these are all MY ocs #ea? i don't know her

[goliaththegiantpickle]

Goliath the Giant Pickle was dead.

Dead tired of people always remembering him for boxing and his one role in Dave and the Giant Pickle, anyway. He did miss boxing, but he wanted more. He wanted people to know his real name, his real passion.

Goliath Gottik. Back before his boxing days he had been a prolific fanfic writer, writing for the Larry Potter and Twidusk series as a true goff with his best friend at the time, who went by the username xxxunogoffboi666xxx. People only ever seemed to care about Bring Me to Life, but nobody cared that he had written the original fic, Helena. xxxunogoffboi666xxx had blatantly ripped off his fic. Had ruined his reputation with accusations of stealing his sweatshirt (it never would’ve fit Goliath, and it was merely accidental that he had kept it for so long anyway, really. He just liked the way it always smelled faintly of onion. Nothing wrong with that.)

Things between him and... well, xxxunogoffboi666xxx, to protect his wishes to remain anonymous, hadn’t been... good, since then. Messy, complicated, like their entire relationship had been thrown in the blender and made into an animosity smoothie.

Was it all really over a sweatshirt? He had been annoyed with Obsidian Shadow Blackbird Madness Gontier, the goffik Scallion protagonist of Bring Me to Life, who thirsted over Larry Potter (known as Evil Incarnate in BMtL), and had a love rectangle with Bob Weasley (known as Ghost Pepper) and Dad Malfoy (known, for some reason, as Draco Asparagus). Goliath, upon reflection, didn’t think it was the ripoff that bothered him, but the many relationships xxxunogoffboi666xxx’s self-insert character seemed to have.

Well, xxxunogoffboi666xxx’s parents had been assassinated in a Hot Topic around that time, and recently had been adopted by an elderly grape, and it seemed to mostly be venting and therapeutic, so Goliath let it go at the time.

Things only changed when suddenly xxxunogoffboi666xxx’s claims of sweatshirt-stealing came up. Maybe he escalated things a bit, dropping xxxunogoffboy666xxx’s “less goff” name into the story, called him a “stupid fucking bastard”, and straight-up accused him of plagiarizing Helena. In his defense, xxxunogoffboy666xxx had killed off Goliath - known in the story as Oak, having had Petunia Granger (known as Demonmania) murder him - his character, and just offhandedly mentioned it. Didn’t even have the creativity to show and not fucking tell. Well, I’ll tell you, Goliath felt very angry about that.

Then, one day, xxxunogoffboi666xxx reached out to him again through a plea in one of his ANs. Well, okay, he could’ve spoken to Goliath, they literally lived in the same apartment complex, but he tried, and that mattered the most.

“AN: Goliath if ur reeding diz plz u can kep the stoopid swetshrt u can have anyting else of mine dat u want 2. u can come take anyting from my closet dat u want an i wont mind at all. i promise! u r a betr riter then me. i’m not ok (i promise) [gettit???] i luv u (in a gay wey)”

Goliath tried. Tried to write a new fanfic, collaborated with xxxunogoffboi666xxx, but... I Don’t Love You hadn’t felt right. It never felt right. Tragically, Goliath had grown out of his goffness. It was a phase, his mother was right, damn her pickled soul. xxxunogoffboi666xxx stayed goff, until being goff was less cool than being emo, and then he became emo, and eventually punk came back, and Goliath just didn’t recognize xxxunogoffboi666xxx anymore.

They moved on, made new friends, left their fanfic days behind, and watched from a distance as someone named Tobias Tomato claimed to be both of them, claimed to be none of them, claimed to have emailed the real author (though Goliath knew xxxunogoffboi666xxx had long ago lost the password to that email, and Goliath had pretended not to still have the notebook that had it written down on a page beside several favorite song lyrics written in blood-red pen ink) as they watched their silly stories grow into a beloved internet mystery.

Goliath often wondered why people always looked for xxxunogoffboi666xxx, why they quoted Bring Me to Life, why they often assumed xxxunogoffboi666xx had made it all up - including Goliath, including the sweatshirt - just to troll the internet.

They never looked for Goliath Gottik, who never loved boxing as much as he did writing and My Chemical Romance and Three Days Grace, and who never loved boxing as much as he once had loved xxxunogoffboi666xxx. They never looked for the pickle who still held on to a sweatshirt that never fit, that still smelled faintly of onion, that had eyeliner stains and colored hair dye streaks soaked into the soft, faded grey fabric. Maybe he was jealous of the attention xxxunogoffboi666xxx got. Maybe he just missed xxxunogoffboi666xxx.

Goliath was Not Okay (I Promise).

#veggietales crack #veggietales drabble #my immortal parody #veggietales fic #veggietales rp #my immortal #veggie tales #veggietales #guess what account i'm making next #betcha can't guess who

[camcorderrevival]

FOR 🎸THE BIG MUSIC ASK GAME🎸

bands/artists: mcr, p!atd, f+tm

albums: take a vacation!, high as hope, three cheers for sweet revenge

🎸 HI JO!!!!!!! THANK YOU FOR THE ASK!!!!! 🎸

mcr: do I know them already?: yes | no

favourite song: zero percent, heaven help us, bury me in black

least favourite song: SING is.......something, the bridge fucks SO hard though so i forgive it <3

favourite album: I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love <3 she's my babygirl <3

least favourite album: I don't have one, I love them all dearly

song that got me into them: boy division, my ex-girlfriend showed me it

seen live?: YES!!!!! in Cardiff last year!!!

--

three cheers for sweet revenge: opinion on cover design: LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! LOVE THE DEMOLITION LOVERS!!!! <3 <3 <3

favourite song: give 'em hell kid, twas my most listened to track on spotify last year

least favourite song: i don't have a song that i actively dislike but i listen to helena the least of them all so...

underrated track: interlude, i am a sucker for interludes and introductions and intermissions!!!!

overrated track: overrated suggests i don't like it, which is horribly untrue, but I'm Not Okay....i guess?????

rate: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

--

p!atd do I know them already?: yes | no

favourite song: behind the sea, nails for breakfast / tacks for snacks, oh glory (demo), (and the Karma Police cover)

least favourite song: the obvious answer is High Hopes. bad song. public execution.

favourite album: i sort of flip between A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, Pretty.Odd and Vices And Virtues; at the moment it's Fever (<< watched Live In Denver last night so it's the only thing that matters to me)

least favourite album: Pray for the Wicked, predictably. the lastest album (viva las vengeance) is borderline unlistenable to me also, but at least it's way more interesting than pftw, which mainly just sounds like music made for shopping centres.

(edit: i have a sort of begrudging appreciation for pftw and vlv for how they further panic!’s tragic narrative)(like, they’re bad but also i am having a great time thinking about Greek Tragedy! At The Disco)

song that got me into them: I Write Sins Not Tragedies

seen live?: also Yes, in 2019!! it was a pretty good show!!

--

take a vacation! opinion on cover design: THIS cover design???

LOVE!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!

the deluxe edition???

i like less, but i don't dislike it.

favourite song: it changes sporadically but The Other Girl or Defiance right now

least favourite song: NO LEAST FAVOURITE SONG!!! I CARE ABOUT THEM ALL TOO MUCH

underrated track: ALL OF THEM!!!! THE WHOLE RECORD DESERVES MORE LOVE!!!!!

overrated track: I'll assign an overrated track once the album gets ANY of the recognition it deserves <3

rate: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 (she's my girlfriend, my wife, my closest confidant) (my sweet cheese, my rotten soldier, my good time boy)

--

f+tm do I know them already?: yes | no

favourite song: ship to wreck, what the water gave me, blinding (also, the cover of Search and Destroy)

least favourite song: i'm not a huge fan of My Love, it's not a bad song by any measure, it's just not my style i guess

favourite album: how big, how blue, how beautiful

least favourite album: don't have one <3

song that got me into them: kiss with a fist

seen live?: no, but i really really hope i will soon

--

high as hope: opinion on cover design: it's cool but looking through other shots from the cover shoot makes me wish that shots like this

were used

favourite song: june (THOSE HEAVY DAYS IN JUNE / WHEN LOVE BECAME AN ACT OF DEFIANCE)

least favourite song: i don't listen to this album a lot so i don't really have one

underrated/overrated track: i have practically no perception of how other people view this album so i Would Not know <3 love and light <3

rate: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 (i feel so mean giving this 7 when the others got 10 but i don't listen to this album very often at all, which is something i need to work on)

(BIG MUSIC ASK GAME)

#this is so long <3 #ask games

[alyrae13]

Alright, time to explain my weeb ass! As promised, I’m gonna tell the reasons why I like each Gold Saint and why I see them as the way I do. Keep in mind, I’ll also may have to make this into two parts because of how long this would be in one single post, so please bare with me! Anyway, onward ho!!!

Libra Dohko

Starting off simple! Being a Libra myself, it’s easy to see that I would like this cool madafaka; He’s basically a better, more sensible version of Yoda. The reason I don’t feel very attracted to him is because I see him as the badass grandfather type, like the cool Chinese grandfather that could teach you how to kick ass while also being chill enough to unwind during tea time. 100% Dope Grandpa through and through.

Taurus Aldebaran

Now for the other one! Alde is a man who’s sweet as sugar cane yet as powerful as a raging bull. Despite his height, he’s a kind man when off the battle field and ready to fight for Athena when on said battle field. He’s not a character I’m attracted to because I see him as a strong yet sweet uncle figure who’s ready to stand alongside ya in both normal life and when fighting. He’s a tender giant of a man who supports those around him. Gentle Giant Uncle 100%.

Capricorn Shura

Now we go on to the tricky stuff. Shura, dear god do I love him. His character ideology is just so interesting due to the differences between the manga and anime. Wielder of the holy sword Excalibur, he could cut you to bits and think nothing of it. There’s also a possible angst hanging over him; He was the one sent to kill off Aiolos, knowing well how it would have affected little Aiolia. Imagine the amount of guilt he had for killing someone’s only family member? Even worse when you take the consideration of him realizing that he was willing to kill an innocent man without knowing about it, meaning he now knows he just tore a family apart and cause so much pain in vain. And please don’t get me even started on the Hades Saga and Soul of Gold. His character is just so great to me and I’m glad he was able to get on good terms with Aiolia in Soul of Gold. Plus, he’s a sexy Spanish man who’s super loyal, so why wouldn’t I love him?

Aquarius Camus

Camus, oh boy... Camus is someone who just gives me a whole array of emotions despite him not openly expressing them himself. On the surface, he is rather cold and distant due to not wanting to draw people into despair by showing exasperation, yet he’s still in control of his emotions rather than just suppressing them. His willing to fight for his ideals and for what he believes as correct (Soul of Gold anybody?), and although his way of teaching Hyoga is questionable at best, his only doing what he thinks will make Hyoga stronger as a saint. Despite being a man who appears uncaring and emotionless, he really isn’t. After all, we’re taking about the same man who one stated about hating people who mourn over the past yet also deeply cares for his pupil and about being true to his word to an old friend. Camus is a man who truly cares for those around him despite him appearing otherwise. He’s also a Frenchman, and who doesn’t love a beautiful French?

Gemini Saga and Kanon

Oh good grief this will be a long explanation. For the sake of respect and love for these two, I’ll be going over them individually because why not make this post into a full on essay?

Frist of all, Saga, poor Saga. Dear lord the amount of trauma this man had to go through is just heartbreaking. A man with an undying loyalty to Athena with an evil split personality... A more tragic version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Not only was he forced to see his evil side kill Pope Shion and take over his identity, he had to see him try to kill baby Athena and send another saint to kill Aiolos; And he had to endure that fact for thirteen years. By the time he was finally free of his evil half, he was practically begging his beloved goddess to forgive him for all the hurt he caused. A powerful yet tragic man indeed. Then there is his relationship with Kanon (of who we’ll talk about in a moment), because it’s also a little sad. Kanon was definitely, a bit of a traitorous prick in the beginning and it was his imprisonment that led to Saga’s split personality in the first place. Yet you could still say that they at least cared for each other despite all the bullshit they must’ve gone through whilst growing up, because Saga was definitely happy in the Hades arc when he found his brother fighting for Athena.

Now for Kanon, fucking Kanon who despite starting out as an infidel of a man, then became a great character in the same vain as his brother Saga. Dude wanted to overthrow the Pope and kill baby Athena but ended up getting his butt locked in Cape Sounion. Now we know what happens there; Finds trident, get’s Poseidon half awakened, poses as the Sea Dragon and yada yada. It’s only when fighting Ikki does he end up changing because it’s then when Ikki told him the only reason he’s even alive is because of Athena’s Cosmo. So, plans in scrambles and now possibly gripped with an overwhelming sense of guilt, he goes over to Athena and without skipping a beat, becomes a shield against Poseidon‘s trident and begs Athena to forgive him before falling unconscious. And of course, we know about everything in Hades arc.

In the end, both men are equally cherished characters of mine and I won’t have it any other way. Also their handsome Greek men who need hugs and kisses and need to be told that they are loved and appreciated, so...

Cancer Deathmask

Oh Deathmask, you beautiful bastard you... Now Deathmask is more of an asshole than Kanon for reasons we all know at this point but I’m guessing his behavior could be explain simply due to the fact he is literally surrounded by death everyday. Like seriously, is it really a surprise that he’s like this when he’s constantly exposed to seeing the souls of the living fall right into practically hell? Nobody would be the same if they had to endure that, especially since most likely he started training to become a saint at a very early age. Now, this is when Soul of Gold comes into play, because god damn it how they wrote his character is just something. Firstly, he’s shown to be an gambling addict and an alcoholic, clearly unhealthy coping mechanisms for not being able to use his cloth and you know, being exposed to death at an early age and onwards for most of his life. Then we have Helena; Now, I’m not gonna lie, the whole ‘Changed better because of love’ trope is very much old at this point but it’s kinda ok because it shows us ‘Hey, even he has the opportunity to change and become a good man’. Deathmask, despite all the things he’s done against mankind, still has the potential to become an honorable Gold Saint and a decent human being; Plus his a sexy Italian who can rock the goatee look, so yay for the crab.

Pisces Aphrodite

Ah yes, the beloved fish boi. Honestly, I love his character simply because he breaks so many boundaries that it would be hard for me not to like him. He plays into the whole ‘appearances can be deceiving’ stick so well; He looks feminine yet his personally is quite the opposite (to some extent). His personality is something that’s interesting to me as well; Despite being so god damn beautiful, he doesn’t act narcissistic at all and doesn’t even care about having his appearance messed up in battle. HIs belief that power and strength are the most beautiful things in the world speaks fucking volumes to me and explains why he was willing to follow the False Pope’s orders. His character in Soul of Gold was just great as well! Like, to see his abilities and power being fully used to it’s full potential was simply badass and I doubt others won’t disagree with me on that one; He was definitely key in the story despite showing little of him. That’s way I love him so much; He’s a gorgeous Swede who can kick your ass and think little of it. He’s the type of man who will look damn good beating you up while shrugging off any damage to his figure like a frickin’ boss... He’s just that dope.

OK, that’s the first part of this really long post; Honestly this took me nearly an entire day to write, like, really. I had to take a break and ended up taking a nap before finishing this, it was that long. Hope many of you agree with my reasons for loving these characters so far and if not, that’s ok! Opinions are fine as long as no one gets hurt, so it’s fine if you don’t like them like I do! Anyway, I’m just gonna rest now because my fingers are killing me. Have a great day guys!

#saint seiya #gold saint #soul of gold #capricorn shura #aquarius camus #gemini saga #sea dragon kanon #cancer deathmask #pisces aphrodite #libra dohko #taurus aldebaran #anime #favourites #knights of the zodiac

[pochapal]

I hate doctor 11 but ive never been able to explain why in like words lmao. He feels like such a mary sue character imo and like theres something about his characterisation that was always just really ineffective (like the stuff about fishfingers and custard or whatever it was). Imo i'd love to hear you give top 5 worst things about the 11 era because i rlly just love when it gets torn apart

i hold nothing but a seething contempt and loathing for that man. every time he appeared on screen i felt ready to snap like a riled up chimpanzee in my enclosure. i am frothing at the mouth and overcome with a desire to start flinging heavy objects. this might be incoherent and inconsistent but i started this rewatch in feb 2020 and only finished this week so i got through 11′s episodes last august/september time and i refuse to revisit it to jog my memory or fact check anything i’m saying here because this man does not deserve the space in my mind for that.

the first thing is i can’t fucking STAND the quirky whimsy timey wimey bit he has going on all of the time. i can’t even say this is because this is a kids show and i was a teen and then adult when i first properly watched him but actually!! when i was eleven years old i’d sleep over at a friend’s house most weekends and it always coincided with the airing of a new season 5 episode and i remember we watched the finale with the dumb time hopping to get out of the box prison that was never explained and didn’t make sense and i thought at the time “this is really stupid”. and before that my only other doctor who exposure was watching the david tennant christmas specials with another friend and throughout childhood my only opinion on doctor who was “this is a tv show that is not for me but is one that all the boys i am friends with like so i will put up with it to maintain our friendships” but at least those episodes were both suspenseful and engaging enough to keep me watching all the way through. like who the fuck does an end of the world sci fi plot and approaches it with an “oopsy woopsy i am a funny little alien man who is going to stop you all by making you do a hecking silly” like it’s unneeded and self-parodies an already cheesy show to the point where it becomes unwatchable and makes it impossible to ever take this man seriously.

next thing that downright sucks ass so badly is the stupid fucking overwritten constantly escalating plotlines. like everything from season 5 up until his regeneration at the end of season 7 is meant to be this grand interconnected cosmic plot about how...the doctor trying to bring back his planet will end the universe or something so all the top powers across all of reality tried again and again to stop him from doing that except he doesn’t know what’s going on so he keeps thwarting these people who supposedly mean good?? i mean i sure don’t fucking know what they were trying to say!! like for some reason we never get the doctor suddenly becomes this superdemon that threatens everything so these people (whoever they are) decide to, in sequence: suck him through a time rift to erase him from existence, trap him in a prison and remake a universe without him, take his companion’s baby and turn her into a perfectly trained doctor killer, form two(!!) secret societies to hunt him throughout history that are only stopped by his companion splintering herself across his personal timeline to protect him, and repeatedly cause reality collapsing events because it’s a kinder outcome for the universe than what he will do. this grand and terrible event turns out to be...he spends a few hundred years chilling by a rift that leads to his home planet and protects a few generations of children from monsters which convinces them to give him infinite regeneration power then fuck off back to their pocket universe. and it’s like!! what is the point of anything that happens in this man’s era when everything is always “the darkest moment” or whatever the fuck!! i don’t care!! we never get a compelling reason to believe this bumbling clown of a man could ever be a universal threat!! the whole thing is so dumb i hate it!!!

thing number three i hate is how the eleventh doctor is ALSO characterised as this abrasive egotistic male supergenius to the point where he becomes genuinely indistinguishable from bbc sherlock. genuinely who enjoyed seeing this guy constantly tell people their tiny human minds can’t comprehend what he’s doing and then basically just wave his magic wand to solve whatever problem each episode is facing. 2012 is the year of human sin because this fucking shitsmear character archetype somehow became both a redditor role model AND a tumblr sexyman and it’s like!! nobody is enjoying this stop making this seem cool! him saying timey wimey thing any time he does anything is frustrating and dumb and locks the viewer out of giving a fuck about anything that is happening! smartest man in the room syndrome is a disease and the eleventh doctor is terminal with it. like remember how they established river as an accomplished scientist (when she wasn’t being a child soldier or a time paradox or whatever the fuck) and every time that came up mr doctor eleven man was like “oh this thing is obvious because i’m a genius and you didn’t realise because your brain is tiny so get out of the way and let the grownups think” or that time it turned out amy had been replaced with a slime clone for half the season and the doctor chewed rory (audience surrogate) out for somehow not realising this fact we didn’t know right from the start and like. this served no purpose other than to draw into severe question why the doctor is also this super beloved magical figure implicitly trusted by all children everywhere like. mr steven moffat is totally allergic to writing and solving mysteries in his tv show and fuck you for wanting to figure things out as you go along based on the new evidence you uncover at strategic plot intervals just let this asshole man use magical thinking to reveal he knew the answer all along and you’re a fucking idiot for not also realising this thing which had no basis or precedent anywhere else in the show.

speaking of dumb things let us not forget the absolute shitshow that was minority representation in this era. i’m not even talking about the low hanging fruit of how genuinely unironically sexist amy and clara were written where each episode moffat either seemed to loathe them or was incredibly horny over them and they had no character growth or arc or fucking anything. i’m talking about how fucking shit terrible the incidental representation was. god remember how every single fucking gay person who appeared in this era was written as one incredibly fucking stupid joke and how the women were all either sexy dominatrix, feeble girl in love, or Mother (or all three in some really terrible cases) and i’m not qualified to talk about this but also how incredibly white this era was and how on two separate occasions we had monarchs reimagined as sexy girlbosses with a gun played by black women who the doctor leched over. nothing about any of this was good ESPECIALLY coming off the back of rtd who was surprisingly forward thinking for 2005 and did a really good job of positing travel with the doctor as queer allegory. in comparison moffat gave us THE MOST heterosexual shlock i’ve ever had to endure. amy and rory could have been interesting characters were they not hemmed into this domestic bickering young straight married couple bullshit that was in no way changed or altered by traveling with the doctor except for the quasi incestuous river song reveal that was dumb and bad and stupid.

the last major mega gripe i have with the series is moffat’s fucking jingoistic boner for british military aesthetics. this carried over throughout his entire tenure as showrunner but was super terrible vomit inducing in eleven’s era. the unironic admiration for ww2 britain and winston churchill is downright wretched. are you incapable of telling a second world war story outside of churchill’s london and plucky blitz fighters. shit gives me hives so badly. and then!!! that weird church owned army that features in the future that end up being bad not for the concept of what basically amounts to an imperialistic intergalactic rendition of the fucking crusades but because they’re part of the nonsense go nowhere puzzlebox narrative that says the doctor is a not good man who will do bad things to the universe :(. remember how rtd’s doctor was a freshly traumatised man hot off the war criminal press who time and time again vehemently refuses to engage in military violence, but who tragically inadvertently turns every one of his companions into soldiers in his own personal army, and he has this moment of complete horror at the realisation and it is this which causes the downward spiral that ends in 10′s regeneration. and then how there’s this cringe line about how there’s a force of people who are “the doctor’s army, always ready to fight his battles when he’s not around” or some shit and then it turns out this is actually massive literal military operation and we’re meant to celebrate this. fuck off.

bonus round because this needs to be said but i have never hated anything like i hated that fucking human tardis episode. everything about it induced violent anger in me from the sickening overindulgence of that softgoth dark whimsy helena bonham carter tim burton aesthetic to the bafflingly terrible evil carny stereotype of those junk scavengers to the overblown sudden tragic shipbait romance of human tardis and the doctor. every word out of her mouth was trite shit and the fact that the death of her body was presented as this super emotional dramatic scene despite there being no buy in or incentive to care and the fact that every single person on tumblr in 2012 ate that shit up like it was fucking gourmet. i loathe every single thing about that episode so much.

#Anonymous #hi bestie here's 1500 words of me getting mad about the worst television experience i had in my life #why the FUCK was this man tumblr's favourite back in the day. what the fuck did anyone see in any of this shit #i never want to think about dr whom ever again

[mc-critical]

hey, it's been a while, hope you're doing fine!

your unproblematic faves in mc/mc:k and why?

mine from mc would be mihrunissa (she's the queen of s4, and also my 2nd favourite character from the franchise overall), cihangir (the king of s4), mehmet ( a non-existent character imo, was loving to everyone from what i could tell & was pretty so why not), nergissah (ik she didn't have much of a character but she was extremely loving, even towards mihrunissa who wasn't her biological mother, adored her relationship with mahi and she was the only family mahi had left after musti, nissa & mehmet died apart from fidan & yusuf), atmaca, yavuz, taslicali (musti's loyal friends; and i adored taslicali w/ mihrimah, the only guy i shipped her with tbh), and i guess that's it, i may be missing someone considering there were several characters.

from mc:k it would be geverhan (the queen of s2, i love her so much and she's my second most favourite character from the franchise overall, such a kind & sensitive soul, she truly deserved a better ending, i just wanted to see her happy), zulfiqar (one of the most loyal people in the entire franchise, deserved a better ending, dying in the place he spent his blood, sweat & tears was definitely a tragic death but also ties into his character, had a sweet relationship w/ humasah who also deserved a better ending), mustafa (my boy! he's just so adorable in the series, the baby & the adult, the joke he played on halime had me in tears, davut's reaction to him sending the table for a walk; i'm sorry but he was the mvp of s1 and deserved so much better than mu/rat killing him ((fuck mu/rat)) but i guess it's kinda cool that he got to sail a ship before dying considering he always loved ships? idk but he's just fantastic and such a cutie + the english subtitles w him were hilarious), and i guess that's it, most characters were kinda problematic in the series, even humasah who i adored but i definitely don't appreciate for trying to put iskender on the throne which would cause the death of kosem & her children. i would've added ibrahim, who i think is such a cutie and i don't understand any hate towards him; i understand the things he did in s2 ending were problematic but he was just having a severe mental breakdown and what he needed was therapy, not that turhande dethroning him. honestly, fuck mu/rat & turhande.

(also mustafa from mc though i don't think he would be considered unproblematic? )

sorry for the rant lol just, unproblematic faves are so good to talk about because you aren't conflicted with them like you are with characters such as hurrem, mahidevran, nurbanu, kosem, nigar, selim, bayezid, etc.

i hope you're having a great day!

Hey, I'm happy to see you back! 😻

We share a lot of unproblematic faves! I love almost everyone you mentioned!

In MC I love Mihrunnisa, because, as you said she's an absolute queen and the best match for Mustafa for me. She suits his level of maturity and they had a very deep, pure, truly genuine bond you didn't see with anyone else from his women. What's most unique about her character is that they didn't put any opposition around her, her story wasn't overshadowed by a love triangle and that helped the relationship between her and Mustafa shine all the more and we saw her have more agency as a character. Cihangir is such a cinnamon roll and cutie pie and yet he's so smart and perceptive of his surroundings. Neither his love for Mustafa, nor his deformity define him and I love what they did with him in the span of a little more than a half-season. Taşlicali, Atmaca and Yavuz are the best trio ever and I loved watching them in action. How loyal they were to Musti and how they wanted to protect him. 😍😍 I loved Taşlicali's moments with Mihrimah and Mahidevran as well as Mustafa, I loved how Atmaca put Rüstem in his place (we stan!) and Yavuz was so cool and they killed him too soon. We should've seen more of Nergisşah, tbh, but her relationship with Mahi is everything and like all of Mahidevran's relationships with the people she loves, she brought the best in her. And she also seemed like a loving and caring human being to everyone else she interacted with, too, she's just... lovely. Screw SS for marrying her off like that, this piece of trash should be killed with fire.

I would also add Helena to my list of unproblematic favourites, because, writing-wise, she's one of the better handlings of a tomboyish girl in the franchise, a mash-up of both Armin's plot and Aybige's character done much better. Yes, just like all the girls with tomboyish personalities (Aybige, Diana etc.), that trait of theirs was either diminished or gone, but with Helena the blow wasn't as hard as with the rest and you could definetly say that this is more a side of hers allowed to show from her completely new environment and is probably the one most restrained by it. The girl clearly deserved better than what they put her through and I loved how much she cherished her own freedom, rights and family. Her relationship with Rita was great, too.

I really want to say and Mustafa and Gülfem, as well, to be honest, because while they're flawed and far from perfect, they're overally consistently positive characters in the eyes of the narrative and their questionable actions aren't as drastic for me to put them in the "problematic" category.  I mean, compared to everyone else.... Okay, they still technically don't count, but I love both of them too much to refrain from mentioning them at least hehe 😅 Gülfem should've gotten much much more in the way of storylines of her own, but the moments where she shone really scream potential. She's such a loyal, patient and understanding person and her strenght to listen to other people's sorrows, be considerate of them and seemingly being able to forgive people because from whom she suffered (Mahidevran apparently) or made the people she loved suffer in a way and involving her in this, too (Hürrem), is extraordinary for me. And she tried to kill SS, about time someone did it, I stan, she left the show like a queen! And my adoration of Mustafa is pretty much endless, so I won't delve too deep into it. His relationship with his mother, his resilience, his intuition, his still firm hand contrasted to his loyalty to his father that crushed him, but I can't help but respect... yup.

For MCK I have the exact same favourites, as well, only I would add Meleksima, because she was pretty harmless, deserved better and loved Osman and their kids. Gevherhan is my favourite dynastic sultana in the whole franchise (followed by Hatice) and I love her selflessness and humanity. She subverted all the sultana tropes, basically, I don't recall a scene where she was ever elitist to someone below her, she didn't intrigue or scheme and she didn't have an agenda of her own. Her suicide was her breaking the ties she had with her environment and her deciding to finally be the selfish person for once, to do what she wanted, to decide her own destiny. Deserved to be happy with Silahtar more than anything else ever. Zulfikar was so understanding and noble, I'm surprised that the palace didn't devour him, his death was so heartwrenching. Mustafa is a precious bean that also got sucked by his own environment and by the horrible Fatih law and game of survival, his psyche was soo destroyed you can't help but feel sorry for him, at the very least. The same goes with Ibrahim who is also a product of his own environment and even the conflicts of his brothers, I get why he would turn his back on everything and everyone and fixate on the only thing that could bring him a bit of peace and escapism - his harem. He and Mustafa were put in roles they had no capacity to play anymore and I'm sobbing. And yes, Ibo didn't deserve to be so screwed over by Turhande, screw her and Murat. (and also Atike, what she did with her sister because of her selfish, unrequited love and she was told about it by Sil himself! was disgusting, interesting character, but so were Murat and SS and even Turhan in her thematic utility.)

#magnificent century #muhteşem yüzyıl #muhtesem yuzyil #magnificent century: kösem #magnificent century kösem #magnificent century kosem #ask #raaz-here #yes I love me some delving deep into complex characters #but unproblematic faves also are wonderful to talk about!

[bombshellsandbluebells]

1, 2, 3 and 5 for the female characters top fives?

Thank you!! Okay, listed in no particular order and with short rant included because I couldn’t help myself. So this is long, prepare yourself!

1 - Protagonists

Elizabeth Swann (Pirates of the Caribbean) - 

I love her so much. She’s so stubborn and won’t put up with anyone’s shit and is ruthless and is more of a pirate than Jack Sparrow. I love that she longed for the sea and learned about pirates in secret as a kid and then got her own ship and crew and became Pirate King!! And that her story was always about freedom and she got it in the end. I love that Elizabeth doesn’t wait around for Will to save her, but goes out and saves herself and makes her own destiny.

Tohru Honda (Fruits Basket) - 

Tohru’s proof that kind/compassionate characters are not boring or less complex. Tohru feels so real; the way she ignores her trauma and grief and hides her issues to try to always appear perfectly selfless and happy is so human and relatable and her journey is really, really interesting. She’s so kind but still has so much room to grow and I honestly see a lot of myself in her.

Emori (The 100) - 

I mean most of you already know how much I love Emori, but I LOVE EMORI. She’s such a fun, interesting, unique character with a really interesting backstory and unique challenges to face. I love how smart and manipulative and conniving she is. I love how she doesn’t know how to trust people and has to slowly learn how to be part of a group. I love how insanely loyal she is once she’s found that group. I love that being one part of a romance story didn’t fix all her issues, but finding community and acceptance helped her grow even further. I love that she still loves herself despite what society says about her. I love her look even if the shape and size of her tattoo keeps magically changing.

Annie Edison (Community) -

I love how Annie is ruthless, and I love how that contrasts with the sweet/innocent/naive stereotype she appears to be at first. The more you see of her the more you realize that Annie Edison will steamroller over literally anyone in her path to get what she wants, Jeff included. The hints we get about her backstory and family life are also really intersting, even if the show never really goes into it - probably because it wouldn’t really stay comedic. 

Lucretia (The Adventure Zone: Balance) - 

It is my mission to get more people to give TAZ a try. It has so many great characters and Lucretia is one of the best. She’s so complicated. Your outlook on her constantly changes. She goes from being a mentor archetype to possibly the antagonist to a tragic hero. She did something terrible to the main characters for good reason and you see the awful affects of it but it’s also made clear why she did it and just how awful she feels about it. She’s such a tragic character and every time I relisten my heart breaks for her more and I just love her. 

Also she has some amazing lines like “Hot diggity dog, that is a baller cookie” so how could you not love her.

2 - Villains

A.L.I.E. (The 100) - 

She’s probably my favorite villain ever. Every season I want them to bring her back. I’m still bummed s5 didn’t take the PERFECT opportunity they were given. She would be my one weakness to start watching the show again.

Azula (ATLA) - 

Azula’s far more threatening than Ozai ever is, and she’s so flawed in such interesting ways. One of my favorite moments of her is the scene where she says, “Are the tides the captain of this ship?” because at first it seems like such a badass, in-control moment, but it honestly reveals just how much Azula’s pride and arrogance hinder her. That’s such a foolish, reckless thing to think, that what you want is above the forces of nature, but Azula is foolish, prideful, and arrogant, even if she is incredibly talented and smart. I think it’s also really interesting how they parallel her decline with Zuko overcoming his trauma, because for most of the series it seemed that Azula only benefited from their upbringing, and then you realize she’s just as messed up from it, just in different ways.

Bellatrix LeStrange (Harry Potter) -

I don’t have a rant for her, she’s really not that complex, she’s just such a fun, terrifying villain and Helena Bohamn Carter plays her to perfection.

Dolores Umbridge (Harry Potter) -

I mean I don’t like her at ALL but we all collectively DESPISED her and that’s just proof of what a great villain she is. When she showed up again in Deathly Hollows I remember just feeling rage as I read it. I was like, her??? AGAIN???

Last one below the cut because major spoilers for Fruits Basket!!!

3 - Superheroes

Nebula (MCU) -

I really love her journey in the MCU from villain to hero. The best parts of Endgame were getting to see her find a group of her own that supported her and learn to have fun and smile.

Natasha Romanoff (MCU) - 

I don’t always love how the MCU handled her, but I do like the character the MCU ultimately created, if that makes sense. She’s snarky and kind of dorky and it’s such a contrast from the shallow femme fatale cliche she started as and is usually portrayed as. I love that we get to see some of her weaknesses and fears over the series. I think they screwed up with her narrative a LOT, but I still enjoy the character they ultimately created.

Pepper Potts (MCU) -

Badass business lady turned occasional badass superhero when her husband’s in trouble. I really love her visceral fear of the superhero business and her hatred of it for most of the movies. It makes sense and makes her human that she doesn’t just go along with it. 

Raven (Teen Titans) -

Raven was one of my favorite characters as a kid. Apparently I like characters who are isolated but crave community and slowly learn to love others and let that love and acceptance in, because that’s part of what I love about her. 

Carol Danvers (616) -

I don’t like Carol in the MCU because of writing/directing reasons, but I love Carol in the comics. I love her “fuck you” attitude that is so at odds with most superheroes and her stubborness and her tendency to punch first, talk later, even when it gets her into trouble. I love that she named her cat after Star Wars and makes really corny jokes.

5 - Queens/Empresses/Royalty

Apparently I don’t watch a lot of shows with queens/royalty, so I’m going to do a grab bag of five other great female characters that come to mind.

Aqua (Kingdom Hearts) -

KH isn’t great at handling it’s female characters, but she’s the one exception. She’s a keyblade master who tried to keep her friends safe and stop the main villain, and she failed! She sacrificed herself trying to save one of her friends, letting herself get trapped in the Realm of Darkness, and the tragic part is that she didn’t even save him. So then she wanders the RoD for 10+ years, alone, being haunted by her fears and doubts and regrets, slowly losing herself. She eventually gets saved and gets a happy ending, but the part of the series exploring her endless wandering is so interesting. She’s a protagonist of a series aimed for kids, but she fails, and she has flaws and doubts and she has parts of herself she doesn’t want to face, and she’s just cool.

Echo (The 100) -

Because I didn’t list her in protagonists. I really fell in love with Echo in s4 when we saw her internal struggle between what was right/just and what was required to protect her clan. She was a great antagonist because we still saw so much of her humanity and now she’s a great protagonist with flaws and desires and self-doubt. And she’s a badass.

Riza Hawkeye (Fullmetal Alchemist) -

Another really interesting, flawed, complex lady. Riza is a soldier who fought in war and her actions during it still haunt her and drive her to push for a better world and country, even if she fully expects and accepts that a better world will punish her for her actions. She’s so interesting.

Judy & Jen (Dead to Me) - 

They’re by no means favorite characters of all time, but I do really love both of these characters. They’re just well written and interesting and the conflict between them is really interesting and I just want to include them for being cool female characters.

Furiosa (Mad Max: Fury Road) - 

What an awesome character. Her design is cool. Her actress is amazing. Her risking her life to get the wives to safety is fantastic. The way the movie slowly humanizes her more and chips away at her harsh exterior to show the emotions underneath is so good. She’s got a disability and fights around it. She’s great.

Villains (Cont.) below the cut ; spoilers for Fruits Basket

Akito (Fruits Basket) -

I put this under the cut because people are just starting to get into Fruits Basket for the first time and the fact that Akito is even a woman is a major spoiler, because she was raised as male her entire life because she was head of the family. Akito is so unlikeable at first and so awful and manipulative. She takes joy in hurting other people. She has a hand in most of the other characters’ trauma. And then you start learning more and more about her and realize she’s a traumatized, lonely, hurt person and is lashing out. It doesn’t forgive what she’s done, but it humanizes her. She’s a great parallel of Tohru in that they went through very similar trauma and experiences but Tohru had a loving mother who taught her the importance of love and kindness and Akito’s mother was awful and abusive and she learned that the only thing that mattered was power and control. She’s a really interesting character and I honestly still don’t know to feel about her most of the time.

#ask game #thanks! #:)

[aconitemare]

[jaydick] to all the (D)icks i’ve loved before

JayDick during the famous (first) field scene from To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.

Read it on AO3.

“Are you really going to audition?” Roy asks. He’s got a sheen of sweat across his forehead that’s probably more due to the heat than the exertion on the track field.

“Maybe,” Jason answers. He does actually, one-hundred percent, but he doesn’t feel comfortable sounding committal. “Why not,” he says instead without making it sound like a genuine question. It isn’t.

Roy knows it’s not a question but caring is neither of their strong suits, so he presses. “I dunno’. Doesn’t really seem like you, I guess. Don’t get me wrong,” he switches. His hand reaches out to touch Jason’s shoulder, but it’s been almost an hour of gym outside and his hand misses the mark as they maintain pace. “You’ve got the drama down pat,” he quips. Jason sends him a glare but Roy just snickers. “Maybe, like, if this was Phantom of the Opera-type shit, I’d be like, yeah, that’s you, and I’d be there in the front row telling everyone that the disfigured creep under the basement was my dude, but. A high school performance of Footloose though? That’s some cheesy shit.”

Jason shrugs. Roy isn’t entirely wrong. Jason would’ve joined the drama club last year except their big show was Shrek the Musical. He was tempted to sign up anyway because it’s not like anyone would see a tech on stage, but he really didn’t want to be associated with something that was bound to suck hard. Footloose was comparatively better. He could work with that story.

“You can still sit front row and tell everyone I’m the guy moving props off the stage,” Jason replied.

“Oh, what?” Roy says with his nose scrunching. “You’re not even going to be an actor? Fuck that noise, you should be that dude who fucks the pastor’s daughter.”

“You want me to be Ren McCormack,” Jason supplies.

“Whichever, man; you could tell me the character was named Rhino McJackoff and I’d have to go along with you.”

“Fair enough,” Jason retorts. One of their gym instructors holds out two popsicle sticks as they pass. Roy grabs them both and hands one to Jason. They get a good distance between them and the teacher before they start speaking again because neither are good at censoring their language. Roy has just asked him about Red Dead Redemption 2 when Jason hears his name being shouted.

“Jason! Jason!” Jason turns around to see Dick Grayson jogging towards them. He’s wearing the school’s proper gymnasium uniform, unlike Roy and Jason who both got points deducted for bringing normal gym clothes. GCHS is embroidered in the corner is tiny white lettering. If Dick were to turn around, a cartoonish owl would blink stare hollowly at them.

Neither Jason nor Roy slow their pace so Dick is forced to catch up after he’s caught their attention and maintain speed. “Sup, Dick,” Roy greets, making room for Dick to insert himself between them. This close up, Jason can smell Dick’s shampoo. It’s lighter than he expected, more fresh than spiced like Jason’s cologne.

Dick smiles at Roy and shakes his shoulder. He definitely showed up late to class. Jason knows this not just because he isn’t sweaty like everyone is, but because he missed him during the warm-up. Jason hasn’t liked Dick like that since middle school, but he can admit to himself that he still watches him. He doesn’t think that’s weird or anything because everyone watches Dick — most of all during gym.

“Where’ve you been?” Roy asks easily. Meanwhile, Jason subtly runs a bit farther to the left so he’s not inhaling Dick’s scent with every heavy breath.

“Nurse’s office,” Dick says with a bright grin. “I got into a bit of fender bender this morning. Security guard saw me parking with my bumper torn off and insisted I check in with the nurses while they ratted me out to Bruce.”

Jason remembers Bruce rather well considering he’s only met him once. It was during a birthday party at Wayne Manor for Dick’s younger brother Tim. Bruce was an imposing man who now looms over Jason’s memory of that night. Jason can well imagine Dick crashing his fancy car daddy’s money bought him. Jealousy, not sympathy, clouds Jason’s mood as Roy talks about that sounds rough. Jason hopes he doesn’t mean it so they can talk shit later. But Roy and Dick actually do get along, so he’s probably for real.

“That sucks, Dick, especially on top of stuff with Helena,” Roy seems to commiserate. Jason’s attention perks up here. Helena is Dick’s girlfriend. She’s not the worst person Jason’s ever met, but she’s pretty freaking terrible. They used to be friends in middle school to the point there were rumors about them getting together. Then came the day Helena leaned forward, lashes brushing her cheeks as her lips puckered, and Jason didn’t think, he just confessed. Within a week, Helena had excommunicated Jason from every social circle she touched. Within a week, Jason had to watch his ex-best friend holding hands with the boy he dreamt about.

Helena and Dick had been on-and-off since the advent of high school. Clearly they are off now. Even though Jason holds no hopes for reconciliation with Helena or — delayed wish fulfillment with Grayson, he still eagerly awaits the permanent destruction of a couple that’s tainted much of school for him.

Dick’s expression is uncomfortable after Roy’s comment. Jason lets Dick catch the smirk playing on his lips. Dick takes a deep breath before looking back at Roy and clapping a hand down on Roy’s shoulder with a familiarity that irks Jason. “Hey, we’ll catch up, alright?” promises Dick. “But actually I have something I need to talk to Jason about one-on-one.”

Roy is no stranger to Jason’s tragic backstory regarding Dick Grayson. “Sure thing,” he says dubiously, raising his eyebrows at Jason. For added measure, he waggles them in a way that has both Jason glaring and Dick looking uncomfortable away. Jason opens his mouth slowly because he’s not sure what he wants to say, maybe “wait,” Roy puts a burst of energy into his step until he’s catching up with Wally West who’s already finished the course and is still running for fun.

“Cool dude,” Dick says weirdly.

“Uh, yeah,” says Jason as Dick’s words settle in. I actually have something I need to talk to Jason about one-on-one. What the hell? The most they’ve ever spoken to each other after middle school was while setting up for last year’s homecoming dance. Dick had roped in Kory who roped in Roy who roped in Jason. It was an unfairly good night. Roy fed off Kory’s attention and made Jason laugh so hard he nearly pissed himself several times. Helena had practice all night for her archery league, so Dick was on his own and for whatever reason, he stuck to Jason’s side the whole event.

Jason didn’t let himself think about that night afterwards, but during the moment, Dick had a way of making everything between them feel fresh and new. He hadn’t been weighed down by his private history — a history revolving around Dick that Dick probably didn’t even realize — at all.

“So,” Jason says, toying around with his popsicle sticks as they jog. Without meaning to, Jason has slowed down to Dick’s leisurely walk. “Speak.”

Dick smiles and laughs softly, if a little nervously. He really smiles a lot. Jason wonders how he ever thought Dick was viable partner with his Pollyanna temperament. “Right. Well, here comes the hard part, I guess, right?” Dick asks. Then he seems to wait for Jason to actually dignify that with a response despite it containing no legitimate content to respond to. Dick’s tongue swipes across his bottom lip. He shrugs, smiles. “Here goes,” he says and stops walking altogether. Jason rolls his eyes and stops, although what Dick could possibly say that requires an utter stand-still is beyond him.

Dick’s hand rummages in the pockets of his gym shorts. He pulls out an envelope which he then fiddles with. “I honestly had no idea you felt this way,” Dick begins. Immediately, Jason is on his guard. “I mean, I suppose there were signs and I suppose I ignored them on purpose. Maybe I was wrong to, but it seemed simplest that way, you know, if we just carried on with our own separate lives? What with Helena and me, and you and — someone who’s not in a relationship. Or just freshly out of one, in my case.” Here, Dick chuckled. “You hardly left time for the dust to settle on that one. I actually admire your boldness — for real, it’s refreshing for someone to just lay out all their cards and say, ‘Hey, this is how I feel.’ No dumb high school politics or the proverbial closet, just honesty.”

Jason is barely listening to Dick’s rambling bullshit. His eyes are glued to the envelope that is surely connected to whatever Twilight Zone thing is going down. Dick Grayson is talking to him about feelings and cold dread is rapidly filling Jason like water on the Titanic as he remembers what he did three years ago that can fit inside a tiny envelope.

Dick inches closer, his head tilted slightly upwards as Jason stays staring down at the object in Dick’s hands. “And if I’m also being honest, you wrote things to me that kept me up at night. I don’t think anyone’s ever thought about me that way, about my eyes — well, you know you wrote.”

That’s the last straw, the confirmation Jason needed if not wanted, and he roughly rips the letter out of Jason’s hands. Dick nearly stumbles back in surprise. “I don’t where you got this,” he says, voice low as he glares daggers into Dick’s eyes — blue like clean waters that shimmer in the sun and give life to those desperate for a drink — and steps threateningly into his space. “But it is not yours and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay away from me and keep everything you read to yourself,” he warns. His embarrassment is bearing down on his shoulders, heating his cheeks and hitting his chest in harsh heartbeats. He stands his ground only because he’s worried the ground might swallow him whole otherwise.

For the second time during gym class, Jason hears his name being called. Jason breaks the intense moment and looks up to see no other than Konnor Kent, Tim’s newly-exxed boyfriend, walking towards him. He’s wearing that leather jacket Jason’s always loved on him and a pair of skin-tight jeans with tons of buckles that should be cringey but instead is just super hot. He’s slighter than Dick although they’re both lean and his thick dark hair curls up at the front rather than lying in a mess of waves like Dick’s. He’s got style to him and although Dick isn’t one to put as much thought into his wardrobe, Jason has to admit now that they’re almost side-by-side that he has a type.

He interrupts his admiration first with the reminder to have a little shame, Konnor is Tim’s, not his, even if they’re not together anymore. His self-flagellation is ended early when he spots a thin piece of paper in Konnor’s leather-clad hands.

Dear Konnor,

Fair warning, what I’m about to tell you is wrong. But that’s why I have to say it. Because if I keep it to myself and refuse to acknowledge what’s between us, then I’ll always feel that way. But if I get it out all on paper now, then I can come to terms with the fact that you’re not mine. You can’t ever be mine.

Jason went on like for five pages, front and back. And now Jason’s heart is on Konnor’s sleeve. Tim just left him and Jason is swooping in for the kill like a vulture. What if Konnor has already told Tim? What if Tim is the one who found these letters? Did he send one to Dick as revenge for his feelings towards Konnor? Would Tim be that petty?

Yes. Tim would absolutely be that petty.

Konnor is almost closing the distance. “Jason, I need to talk to you,” he calls out. Jason honestly cannot handle this. He can’t handle the repercussions of his letter reaching Konnor, let alone of them discussing the letter. Konnor either came here to reject him or, or — to not, and he can’t say which would be worse. Over the years, Jason has landed himself into some pretty risky scenarios from foolhardy adventures, but never has he felt this panicky before.

Konnor is only a few yards away. Jason’s mind has cleared of all things except: I cannot talk to him.

Jason’s body has a solution for this. Jason’s body does not at all consult Jason’s head when it throws itself at Dick Grayson. One hand cups the back of Dick’s neck while the other grabs his arm. Dick isn’t expecting Jason’s full weight and when Jason’s foot slides between his, Dick goes tumbling backwards. The two fall to the ground in tandem but Jason doesn’t break the kiss. He’s vaguely aware of Dick’s little yelp, but he’s more keen on the plush of his lips and the smell of his shampoo. Dick’s chest is solid beneath his. Jason moves just enough to take some of the weight off him, his hand lifting Dick’s neck for a better angle.

Jason’s name is shouted a third time. “Todd, get off him!” he hears an instructor bark. Jason has an arm on either side of Dick’s shoulders as he looks up to see Mr. Queen running towards them, popsicle sticks in hand. Jason gazes down at Dick whose eyes are blown wide and staring straight into Jason’s, lips gently parted.

Jason gets off the boy he’s just tackled. Mr. Queen is asking him what’s wrong with you but Jason is busy watching Konnor’s retreating form. Mr. Queen demands Dick and Jason go to the principal's office. Jason’s head whips around to the teacher. “No, sir, don’t do that,” he nearly begs. He can hear Dick push himself to his feet but he’s stubbornly not looking at him. He doesn’t think he can ever look at Dick again, actually, which is a pity since it’s one of his pastimes. “It’s on me, sir, I tackled him.”

“Yeah, I can fucking tell!” Mr. Queen snaps. Unforeseen, Roy and Wally have lapped around to the three of them. Roy grabs two popsicle sticks, says “dude,” and keeps going. Jason glares until Wally stops rubbernecking.

“Dick can stay. I’ll find my way to the principal’s,” Jason says. He’s relieved when Mr. Queen merely says, “I’ll be checking,” because Jason would die on the spot if he had to then walk with Dick and sit next to him as he explained why exactly he bodyslammed Gotham City High’s sweetheart and planted one on him for all gym class.

Jason shoves his popsicle sticks into Mr. Queen’s hands, still ignoring Dick as he turns on his heels and gets the hell out of there.

#jaydick #jason todd #dick grayson #dc #fanfiction for the void

[drewandhardy]

#cluecrewquestionnaire             

1. What is your favorite Nancy Drew game and why? Ghost of Thornton Hall! My Nancy Drew Holy Grail. This game just does everything right. The backstory of the Thornton family is beautiful and terrible and is the backbone of this game. The cast of characters are amazing. Clara, Wade, Harper -- all tragically complex and interesting. I’ll even throw Frat Boy Colton a bone here and say he added something to the story. Harper is straight up modeled after Helena Bohnem Carter in every role ever (though she most closely resembles Bellatrix Lestrange, probably). I absolutely loved hunting through the graveyard and reading old books to find out more about this family, their past, and this bizarre little southern island they live on. (Side note: Do tiny pieces of real estate like this exist off the coast of Georgia? Okay, I have consulted GoogleMaps and it appears they do. Making a note to visit.) The setting is just gorgeous, in the dreary, creepy way you would expect it to be. It reminded me of the abandoned town of Spectre from Big Fish. In fact, the whole thing has an eerie but beautiful Tim Burton-esque vibe to me. You have some amazing spaces to explore, including locked doors and hidden tunnels to boot. Puzzles are on point. Every puzzle in this game is going to help you advance the plot; nothing is sending you on benign errands. This was just seriously an awesome game. It’s the first ND game I’ve played in the Blahunka era, and it really opened a door to some of my other series favorites.

FIN, DDI, SPY, and TRT probably round of my top 5. 

2. Have you played all 32 games in the series? If not, which ones haven’t you played? If yes, which one did you play first? I played MHM first, back in the day. Nothing like a little Abby seance to turn you on to a series. 

Though I’ve been play since I was a wee baby jr. sleuth, I really rediscovered the series about 3 years ago. Still haven’t hit some of the more clunky sounding ones: White Wolf, Venice, Twister, Ransom, Medallion (started it but I can’t get through this gd game). I also still haven’t played DED or ASH but definitely looking forward to those. 

3. What is your favorite line from any character in the series? Because I’m fresh off of SPY, I’m going to say “Be good. Be a little bad.” 

4. If you could change the ending to any game, which one would it be (no spoilers, though)? Less jet packs.

5. Which game is your least favorite, and why? I mean, SCK is obviously not the biggest thrill, but damn I really hated fucking Castle Malloy. I thought I was going to love this concept: An upcoming wedding at a dilapidated castle in Ireland, where the groom suddenly goes missing?! SIGN ME UP, I SAY. But I really ate my words. This game is such a tedious slog to get through. Kyler, the bride in question, sits on her ass reading her damn book while you go on a wild goose chase for her husband. (Wild goose chase is hardly even figurative: there’s a damn chase-sheep-give-them-mohawks puzzle for christ sake.) The puzzles are long, and you frequently have to hunt down several missing pieces before you can even start said puzzles. The ending has to be some of the most bizarro, half-baked writing the Nancy Drew series has ever seen. Not to mention, the final sequence was one of the most infuriating things I’ve ever experienced (and I’m not even certain that this is hyperbole). I blew myself up approximately 35 times before - in a fit of rage - I Googled what nuanced methodology I needed to master in order to simply lift a bottle. 

6. Which character is your favorite? Why? Oy, probably Dagny. But give me dem Hardy Boys any day. Also, Hilda Swenson. And Renate (CAP). And Viv (DOG). I tend to enjoy the old eccentric ladies. 

7. Which character is your least favorite? Why? I’m pretty sure Holt Scotto (DDI) is part of the alt-right, so.

8. How do you feel about the whole Nancy/Ned vs. Nancy/Frank situation? Do you ship her with someone else? Who, and why? Patiently waiting for Nancy and Frank’s love story to arise in MID. 

9. Do you have any fun headcanons about any of the games or characters? DAN is based off of The Devils Wears Prada. 

10. If you could visit any of the locations of the games, which ones would they be and why?

That absolutely wild underworld set in LIE (someone explain why you build an elaborate set UNDER the stage instead of on it...)

Dry Creek (SHA)

Thornton’s bouge island

All the cool Pacific Northwest locations in DDI -- lighthouse, island, whale cave, etc

Wickford Castle

Royal Palladium 

The Train

11. Did you read any of the original Nancy Drew books? If yes, do you like them? If no, would you consider reading one? I have not! But absolutely. Someone recommend the best one to me!

12. What is one thing any good detective can’t live without? Locked shit.

13. Which game had the best soundtrack? I really liked the Irish-y jig music in DDI and HAU. 

14. What is one thing you wish HER would’ve included in any of the games (a conversation, interaction, location, feature, etc.)? I want a decent explanation of what happened in past-Germany in CUR. As in, we know who’s responsible for the monster games in present day, but they sure as shit weren’t alive in the olden days. 

15. Do you have any ideas for a future game? What is it? Maybe a game base around the witch trials or something?

16. How long does it take you to finish a game from start to finish? Depends! Replays I can usually do in a single sitting, but first plays will take me a few days. 

17. Did any of the games scare you? If yes, which ones? If no, why? Hell yeah, MHM scared the shit out of me when I was little. That “I see you” is like straight out of the Chamber of Secrets. Now that I’m an adult, some of my scariest thoughts are routed in my family falling apart. GTH and SAW and SPY definitely get to me in a psychological way. Thanks Blahunka, you twisted human.

18. Why did you join the Nancy Drew fandom here on tumblr? I have no real-life humans to talk these things through with, so thank you for being my internet humans. 

19. What is your favorite Nancy Drew joke (from in-game or even floating around the internet)? In game, it’s gotta be the mom jeans shade from SPY. On the internet, all of the “It’s Locked” puns. 

20. Who is someone in the clue crew you’ve always wanted to get to know? All of ya!

21. What are three unpopular opinions you hold about the games? 1. CUR is overrated. 2. LIE is underrated.  3. Lukas > Jane Penvellyn any damn day. I love playing Monster and hate playing damn “Go Dig.” 

22. Do you have any fun theories about any of the games? I really think that if Blahunka stayed on, we would have gotten a Nancy/Ned break up at some point, and then a Nancy/Frank relationship later on. 

23. Who was your favorite animal character featured in the games? Whale friend from DDI. 

24. Do other people in your life know about your love for Nancy Drew? Yes! I’m constantly trying to get others to play!

25. How long have you been playing these games? Since about 2001. 

26. What’s your favorite in-game backstory/history?

Ballad of Dirk Valentine and Francis Humbert; it’s truly the beating heart of SHA and the greatest love story in the series history. 

The random hilarity of all Jake Hurley’s famous friends in TRN (he’s basically Tahani). Like, they seriously worked the Lincoln Assassination into this shit?? It’s amazing. 

TRT, but more for the Wickford story than for the Marie Antoinette story. (When I played this as a child, I became obsessed with Marie Antoinette as a result of this game. I was too young to realize how ridiculous it is that Marie Antoinette’s tower was mysteriously in Wisconsin. I’m now too old to see through that ridiculously convenient pothole.)

Mickey Malone, his bombass girlfriend Vivienne, and his cool speakeasy. 

Everything about the history of the Thorntons. 

27. What is your favorite cut scene? Oh my god that damn junk shop in CRY. WHY WHY WHY.

#clue crew #nancydrew #herinteractive #cluecrew

[videogamesincolor]

What’s your assessment of Sheva as a character/how Capcom has written her?

NARRATIVELY

For the most part, I have minor issues with the writing forSheva as far as her character is concerned. Throughout Resident Evil 5,she comes off as the more level-headed, and resourceful of the characters you’re allowed to control. She wascompetently portrayed and struck the right kind of balance that made LeonKennedy such a personable character for people to become attached to and projectupon in Resident Evil 2 before hebecame a literal Supercop in Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 6.

The major complaint I have is that her background contains a bit about her being as a child from an impoverished family that was exploited in a factory owned by Umbrella, then murdered by said Corporation. Mostly because it plays on and relies so heavily on the stereotype of the total population in Africa (as viewed by media in general) as impoverished and easily victimized by outside forces for the sake of less than genuine drama.

But, as far as tragic back story fodder goes, the death of her parents is a good motivator, and her vendetta against the Umbrella Corporation (later and Excella) is extended beyond Chris’ revenge kick and need to save Jill from Wesker’s abuses, which isn’t something I was ever emotionally invested in on account of not caring about Chris unless Claire was around.

I think Sheva has the strongest backstory and relevancy tothe story Resident Evil 5 chose totell. Given Sheva and Josh Stone are the only characters in the game with a personal investment in what happens to West Africa, they could’ve done something with the angle of an American Corporation (Umbrella) exploiting foreign territory and communities for profit if they cared about approaching the subject with any kind of care or respect (but silly me expecting that from an RE game /s).

There’s clear distinction about what the narrative considers important or a priority, and it’s not necessarily what’s happening in to the people who’ve been exploited by Excella and Wesker. Chris is a stranger running around West Africa, while Sheva is watching someone fuck up her “backyard” as it were. For Chris it’s just a job, and later it becomes all about Jill and Wesker. In that sense, Sheva’s function as a character is to allow Chris to redeem himself (from not saving Jill from her self-imposed sacrifice) and relearn “the power of teamwork”.

The game doesn’t do enough to incorporate Sheva’s backstory into the game beyond her telling Chris her parents were murdered by Umbrella, and Josh saying that Sheva is like his little sister. It’s disappointing because I kinda wish they had done something with her history as a teenage militia turned US government agent, instead of having her behave as though they had absolutely no one to rely on (other than Josh) when she goes rogue with Chris.

Sheva’sentire motivation is avenging her home, the BSAA operatives that workedalongside her and Josh Stone, and stopping Excella, the owner of the parentcompany (TRICELL) who is implicitly involved in the deaths of her people. Shevais the emotional anchor for what was happening in the fictional arenas of WestAfrica (Kijuju in particular), but Resident Evil 5ain’t interested in all that (regrettably).

A lot of people use Sheva wanting Chris to return to base (IIRC) with her after fighting that giant ass troll monster as an example of her lacking commitment to her job or cowardice. But, I think the scene encapsulates Sheva using plain common sense, whereas Chris is the pure embodiment of Rambo at this point (all action, no plan whatsoever).

If Sheva has any other problems as a character, it’s that she’s at the mercy of a narrative that doesn’t care about its harmful portrayal of West Africa, and the consequences that come with falling back on vitriolic anti-Black stereotypes.

Resident Evil 5 is a game obsessed with the American War aesthetic presented in films like Black Hawk Down, and Tears of the Sun.As far as scenario designers for Resident Evil 5 are concerned, West Africa is just exotic background fodder for their white protagonist to march about and Sheva, even with her own stake in the narrative, is plot justification for his being there. 

VISUALLY

Up front, I like Sheva’s character design. I think it’sthe right amount of cool when you pair her casual wear with a bunch of combatgear, knee high boots, and a gigantic gun that is her weapon of choice. I alsothink the color lavender did a great deal to make her visually distinct (as theywanted) from Chris, Mr. Green.

Thinking more critically, her design is perhaps overlyfocused on attractiveness verses functionality with regard to her profession asa BSAA operative, and they drive that message home with her hyper-sexualized alternate costumes, which have more or less reduced the character to nothing more than a porn fetish for people who use Gary’s Mod, Xnalara, and Source Filmmaker.

Where characters like Rebecca Chambers (RE0, RE Remake), Sherry Birkin or Helena Harper (RE6) and Jill Valentine(Lost in Nightmares) seemed designed around their given situations or presentcircumstances of their jobs, Sheva stands out like a sore thumb as the onlyfemale character in RE5 who wasn’t.

Obviously, she’s not the first or the last female characterto have this happen to in the franchise (Everything Ada Wong wears, Jessica Sherawat and the Ms. Cleavage from the original Revelations are perfect counter-examples), but it’s kind’ve glaringgiven how Jill was portrayed in the Lostin Nightmares DLC.

The design template for Sheva becomes even more questionablewhen you consider how her fellow BSAA operatives are dressed when you finallyencounter them in the game. Everyone’s ready for combat situations, but Shevais out there looking like she rushed to work after a night out and forgot heruniform.

Nothing about Sheva’s character design says she’s from theBSAA. I’d say the only concept for her character that might’ve reflected herposition in the BSAA was probably the beige militia design with the short sleevesand red turtleneck (nix the hat). Otherwise, she kinda falls into the realm of“sexy girl”, but it’s not egregious like Trish’s Blackface costume (“Gloria”)from Devil May Cry 4.

In terms of character design, when they weren’t batting forcomplete and utter photo-realism like they are now with the RE-Engine (resignedsighs), I really think Sheva’s character design and the overall approach theytook to designing characters in RE5 (sans Chris) standout as the best that thefranchise ever had to offer. There’s no uncanny valley like there is with RE7and it’s not completely animated like CodeVeronica. It struck a perfect balance and Sheva is without a doubt the bestrepresentation of that as a character.

As a fair-skinned Black female character – (who wasoriginally designed with a much darker complexion than finalized) – washed outby the ugly yellow/sepia filter in ResidentEvil 5, Sheva comes off as a bit suspect when you consider the grandmajority of your antagonists (parasite infected civilians that reflect theimage of absolute poverty often associated with the continent of Africa) aredark-skinned. (Josh as the only major positive representative of dark-skinned Black characters in supportive terms is kinda not a great look.)

Juxtapose her against the really ugly anti-Black images presentin the game, and Capcom’s design template for Sheva comes off as extremelyproblematic. Kinda tells you just how deep the colorism problem is and whatdevs perceive as “good” and “bad” within the spectrum of Blackness.

It’s also probably interesting to note that Sheva’scharacter was intentionally designed to instill a sense of protectiveness inthe player. And, yes, the kind of protectiveness that Crystal Dynamics soldreboot Lara Croft on. 

They literally banked on Shevabeing “feminine enough” to the player that they’d want to protect her from harm(they also wanted her slender, which is why she probably doesn’t lookparticularly buff, like, say, Nadine Ross from Uncharted 4.). It’s acomplete disassociation from how well she actually was handled in the endproduct. She is notthe incapable damsel that production statement implies (to me).

OVERALL

Considering Sheva was originally a NPC in one of the earlieriterations of Resident Evil 5 andsalvaged from whatever they abandoned to become Chris’ BSAA partner, Sheva turned out to be asolid character for the franchise’s original direction. 

At her core,Sheva had all the right material to be a longstanding protagonist in the Resident Evil franchise (just like CarlosOliveira) before they entered the RE6 and RE7 era and shot themselves in thefoot.

I don’t think Resident Evil 5 should’ve been about Chris Redfield and his grudgematch with Albert Wesker. There was enough material riding behind Sheva’sentire backstory, the BSAA and her relationship behind the incidents going on Kijujuthat you could exclude Chris and make the game entirely about her and JoshStone’s exploits. Excella could’ve been the Wesker to her Chris, Josh her Jill.They are walking protagonists stuck behind mainstays and that sucks.

Sheva is untapped potential in a franchise that isscrabbling to save itself from irrelevancy and publisher mistakes. She is the strongest new character Capcom managed to produce in their later franchise. She definitely made a better impression than Moira Burton, DietWesker (Jake whoever), Helena Harper, Piers whoever, and the whole cast of the Revelationgames.

Sheva is a character I would’ve liked to have seen make a return, but I’ve well accepted she ain’t comingback to the central franchise as a lead (like I want her to). She wouldprobably end up getting FUBAR’ed anyway if Capcom ever decided to believeher presence worthy of their time again.

#videogamesincolor #sheva alomar #resident evil 5 #resident evil #resident evil series #lord jesus its a long post #meta: asks #colorism #anti black racism

[aliensandidentity-sp22]

Hands

SEASON PREMIERE BABYYYY LETS GOOOOOO

Why does he have a magenta broadsword?

Michael and Isobel teamwork is glorious

Oh god ofc he’s a clone. A defective one at that.

I DON’T WANT MAX VOICEOVER

Who is this dude? Liz’s new squeeze?

HEY! That dude was in Yellowjackets!

Heath is not subtle

Liz is working with that shady lady... wow that’s gonna go well

I love it when Isobel and Michael make fun of Max

YEAH QWEEN ISOBEL TEACH YOUR BROTHERS HOW IT”S DONE

Isobel is way more cool without Noah

“He seems fun” that is very weird for Max, I agree Michael

WTF is going on with Max

Maria and Gregory would be cute

So Jesse actually got that statue...

Damn it why is Kyle still here!?

Yeah an offscreen breakup means the actress didn’t return

YES ALWAYS BE ON TEAM LIZ

Ok I could work with this pairing

PLEASE LET THAT BE MAX’S FUNERAL

WOW that is a bad statue

Michael just be casually creeping

Oh lawd what’s going on with Helena

Jenna mention! (PS I googled her character and tragically she does not appear this season)

WOW how did they end up in that position? Good for them!

Forrest dude what? Are you a bad guy too?

Why does Wyatt get fucking art therapy for doing a murder?

Alex as a part of Deep Sky.... cool

Max is clearly going through something

Kyle is growing on me. I hate to admit it but he’s now not my least favorite.

I like their banter

Liz did a noble thing. It’s gonna backfire.

Heath seems cool

WYATT SUCKS

Rosa kinda botched the coverup of her identity

Max sucks.

He has no logic

Die Max. DIE

HEY THEY MENTIONED COVID

So Michael and Maria are still cool. That’s good.

Liz is very smart

That kiss thing was good

Isobel always looks badass

Isobel I think that’s a bad idea

Wyatt dude you suck

That was the memory erase drug right?

Miss Singer Lady seems cool

She should stay away from Max

Forrest go bye bye (in the geographical sense)

Liz and Heath > Liz and Max

Who are these mask dudes?

Duh it’s not Max that would be too easy

Mr. Jones is gonna f**k sh*t up

#johntharp #rnm

[malvoliowithin]

Marley Rates Every Shakespearean Play*

Now that I have read every play by William Shakespeare* I think it’s time to do a rate of them all. Hold on to your horses, my friends, because this is probably going to get long. 

Tragedies:

Julius Caesar: 8/10 I liked this one better the second time I read it. I still think parts are a bit slow, and some of the inherent drama seems to take a weird pitfall after they actually kill Caesar, and then there’s the war that pops up out of nowhere and gives the plot a significant change midway through. Still, though, the dialogue? Perfect.  Antony and Cleopatra: 7/10 I liked this one worse the second time I read it. Antony and Cleopatra aren’t likable but their deaths are still upsetting and I really like the dynamics between most of the characters. Unfortunately this one suffers a bad case of ‘fifteen plot lines going on at once, also let’s go to Syria for Reasons’  Coriolanus: 6/10 This one starts off mega slow but gets considerably better later on. Points for the dialogue being so awkward at points that it’s amusing. Also points for being mega super obviously gay all over the place (even more so than most Shakespeare plays, honestly.) Romeo and Juliet: 6/10 I like the idea and presentation of this one but it’s so overrated that it tends to get old quickly. It’s good but it’s not that good. Also, Capulet isn’t given enough credit for being a terrible father. Awful. The worst. 0/10 for good parenting. Also, WHAT HAPPENED TO BENVOLIO. Macbeth: 7/10 high score for things like witches, pretty speeches, blood, ghosts, usurpations, and being short enough to not get tedious. Low score for “what, you egg” and “O, by whom?” Hamlet: 3/10 This one really sells the point of wanting you to feel for these characters but they’re all so angst-ridden that I do not. Okay mostly Hamlet. Actually, almost exclusively Hamlet, but he’s on stage ALL THE TIME and never shuts up. Ever. (Although notably I didn’t like anyone else in the play either.) Othello: 10/10 This play, of all the tragedies, hurts me the most. It might be the ONLY one that actually makes me feel a sense of tangible loss. Iago is brilliant and horrible, Othello is noble and the downfall of his character is painful to watch, Desdemona is wonderful and even the side characters like Cassio and Rodrigo are likable, even in their stupidity.  King Lear: 6/10 I WANT to like this one but Lear continues to not impress me and I don’t know why. I love Edmund, I love the sisters, heck I don’t even necessarily have anything against Lear. But I dunno. It just doesn’t do it for me. Maybe it’s cause I don’t care for Kent much. Titus Andronicus: 5/10 This one has to be read as a comedy to keep from being ridiculous because otherwise what in the fresh hell. You tried, William. You tried.  Timon of Athens: 1/10 “Why aren’t there more plays about financial problems?” asked no one ever. And here’s why! Okay, yes, it’s about a guy who loses his money to his sleazy friends so he curses society and goes to live in a cave. And while that’s #relatable, any play about money tends to get dry after about 15.5 seconds.  Histories:

Henry VI (part 1): 8/10 despite having almost no Henry and occasionally lapsing into weird moments like Mortimer dying and Excess of Talbot and Bedford being carried into the middle of the street whilst dying (?) it also has pretty awesome stuff like The French™ feat. Joan of Arc and Dunois, Talbot being cool, and the beginnings of the Wars of the Roses.  Henry VI (part 2): 6/10 This one was the least intelligible and most dry of the Henry VI plays in my opinion, but I need to reread it. I loved the Duchess of Gloucester, but the plot about the rebellion midway through came out of fucking nowhere and also went nowhere. It probably made sense if I knew the history but even after reading about Henry VI I still have no freaking idea what that was. Also, Margaret was pretty creepy in this one and I dunno.  Henry VI (part 3): 9/10 the best of the Henry VI plays, this one has the most coherent plot and starts to focus on character rather than circumstance. We get a clearer and more tragic view of Henry, Margaret becomes fully realized, York is in full swing and his sons are introduced and awesome. It’s still a bit cluttered but it really feels like Shakespeare hits his stride here and does it wonderfully. Richard III: 9/10 I love this damn play so much. It stops worrying about throwing in a ton of history details and Shakespeare just goes ‘screw it, let’s go for broke on character’ and MAN does he deliver. Richard III is without a doubt Shakespeare’s best antagonist and probably in the running for best character. Also, the ending. Extremely satisfying. Also painful. Also there’s murder in like every scene and who doesn’t love a good off-stage death? Richard II: 10/10 WHY DO MORE PEOPLE NOT KNOW OF THIS PLAY? You like amazing speeches? Check. You like ridiculous melodrama? Check. You like complicated, relatable tragic heroes? Check. You like crippling betrayal? well find a production that does that lmao but check I guess You like humor? Romance? Having your heart wrenched? Suspense? Intrigue? Existential crises? Gage throwing? Cameos of later famous characters (I see you, baby Hotspur) THEN GO WATCH THIS PLAY. GO. DO IT. DO IT NOW.  Henry IV (part 1): 8/10 Good shit: Hotspur. Falstaff. Hal’s arc. Henry’s crippling self-doubt over the overthrow and death of his cousin. The tension between Hal and King Henry. Hotspur’s “I’m gonna teach a bird to say Mortimer’s name and then give it to King Henry lmao” speech. Mortimer. Lady Mortimer! Bad shit: Excessive Falstaff? Hal being a jerkwaffle? Unnecessary use of Backstory that makes the play occasionally not make sense if you aren’t familiar with Richard II? Henry IV (part 2): 4/10 Basically just Part 1 except with the good bits taken out, and longer, and more boring. And Henry dies. A few good speeches but eh.  Henry V: 10/10 because Charles is in it. Yeah that’s right. I’m giving this play a 10 because it put a cameo of my son I’m nothing if not predictable. But also, it has Fluellen, and Henry being an Ambitious and Confident Young King who is Trying To Prove His Worth. And also, tennis ball and horse jokes because those are needed (and yes, they really are.) King John: 2/10 what the fuck. To expand: Death by Monk as an actual plot point. A character dies, and the Surprise! I Lived Bitch and then dies anyway? Also a king gets killed and no one talks about it. Also one character is named Richard and then his name is Philip and no one knows what to make of that so they just call him The Bastard. Lots of random offscreen dying, and (bad) plot twists. Have fun. Comedies:

All’s Well That Ends Well: 4/10 No, all is not well that ends well because this play ended well but it wasn’t good. It would have worked better if Bertram had just been gay and then him avoiding  his wife would have made more sense instead of him being a jerkass, also what the fuck Helena. DIVORCE HIM. I liked the Countess though she was cool.  Much Ado About Nothing: 7/10 Again with the WHAT THE FUCK DIVORCE HIM plotline except, Hero and Claudio. Beatrice was amazing though and so was Benedick. Not sure about Don John. Although, I guess having no motive except “I’m just a little shit who likes to make people sad” is kind of relatable in a sense, but he went to far. Dude, chill. A Midsummer Night’s Dream: 9/10 despite being overrated I love this play. I mean it doesn’t get much better than fairy divorce court being the root of everyone’s problems. It’s just such an utter cavalcade of ridiculousness and yet manages to make all the subplots weave nicely together unlike SOME plays (ie King John). Twelfth Night: 10/10 go look at my URL and then ask me why. But no, really, Twelfth Night is wonderful. I love every character, I love the plot and the subplots blend nicely, it has a nice emotional undertone and some dark themes to give it a bit of impact as you’re laughing at the antics of this group of beautiful idiots. I adore it.  The Comedy of Errors: 7/10 this play is just really, really funny. Like it’s kind of a stupid premise but it manages to make it work because it’s SO stupid that it’s awesome. It’s also maddeningly frustrating, which is the highest form of humor. Maybe.  The Merry Wives of Windsor: 5/10 FALSTAFF SPINOFF but actually pretty good. The added characters were cool and the cameos from Henry IV were nice to see. Mostly just hilarity. I don’t have a ton to say about this one, but it was enjoyable. The Taming of the Shrew: 4/10 I kind of feel bad for not hating this one as much as everyone else in the fandom does but I don’t totally hate this play. Yeah, it’s mad sexist. Yeah, it’s not particularly funny. But I thought the subplot with Bianca and Lucentio was cute, and I really liked Tranio in general.  As You Like It: 7/10 for cool foresty atmosphere, and having the ‘all the world’s a stage’ speech, and Touchstone, and crossdressing, and having a female character who actually had a ton of lines, and Evil Brothers. Minus 3 for OliverxCelia. Shakespeare what were you thinking. Also, he somehow managed to name two characters Jaques.  The Two Gentlemen of Verona: 5/10 Okay. PROTEUS IS THE WORST CHARACTER EVER AND I HATE HIM AND I WISH HE HAD DIED. WHAT THE FUCK. THAT WAS LIKE IAGO-LEVEL VILLAINY RIGHT THERE AND HE GOT FORGIVEN AND GOT OFF SCOT FREE LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED. THIS GUY MAKES CLAUDIO AND DEMETRIUS LOOK LIKE SAINTS. Also, doggy. On stage. Good puppy.  Love’s Labors Lost: 6/10 This would make more sense if it had about 10 fewer characters and more cohesiveness. But I actually liked it. The ending was nontraditional for a comedy, and some of the scenes were kind of funny and cute. 

Romances:

The Winter’s Tale: 7/10 Leontes is the worst. We can all agree on that. Does that stop me from crying when his statue-wife comes to life and forgives him? No it does not. Also, Time is a character and shows up which is... cool, and a little weird, but also cool. Also, RIP Antigonus.  The Tempest: 9/10 Monsters and magic and spirits and islands and BETRAYL and... a witch named Sycorax, and also Miranda being wonderful and having a lot of really nice lines about discovering the world for the first time. Good play. I’m enamored of Ariel from a character perspective.  Troilus and Cressida: 5/10 I wanted to like this one but... eh. It was all right. It was just kind of slow. You spend the whole play waiting for Hector and Ajax to fight and then it’s over and... well. Also the title couple felt like an awkward sideplot. I gotta say though, Thersites was great even though he was awful and a shithead. 

Etc. (you know the ones):

Measure for Measure: 8/10 I love the characters in this one and both Isabelle and Angelo give me feelings in different ways. It’s... not an easy plot to get comfortable with, and the dynamics and way it pans out eventually really hit home. That said, WHAT THE FUCK VINCENTIO. The Merchant of Venice: 3/10 Okay remember when I rated Timon of Athens and I said plays about finances were not a good idea? Well here we are again. This one was actually slightly better because it was more comprehensive, and Portia exists. Of course, there’s also the uncomfortable amount of anti-Semitism that makes one pause and wish this wasn’t happening. 

*Minus Cymbeline, Pericles, and Henry VIII which I haven’t read yet, but I’ll update when I’ve read them.

#long post #I'm sorry about this #(no I'm not)

[seosamhmooney]

My Top 10 Favorite Musical Movies

I love top 10 lists for no legitimate reason, and I really don’t understand why they’re a thing other than the fact that they’re somewhat pleasing in some inexplicable way. So here’s one of my “Top 10s” lists. Enjoy

10. Into the Woods

Honestly, this one just makes this list because I enjoy shitting on it. Although it was decently cast, I’m still not sure what Johnny Depp was doing as the wolf (or even why the wolf was present? Does he actually serve a purpose to the ultimate story? Didn’t think so). Anna Kendrick is always charming, and frankly, her “On the Steps of the Palace” song was just fabulous. And sure, intertwining fairytales sounds like a cool or innovative idea, but seriously, it’s been done so many times (re: abc’s Once Upon a Time, Cornelia Funke’s Reckless books, etcetera)--and perhaps Sondheim did do it before it became a “thing”--but the movie comes across as tacky, boring, and generally pointless. Next.

9. Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Also known as, What Happens When Tim Burton Directs a Musical. It’s almost so gaudy it works, but not quite. Helena Bonham Carter does some good work in this one, but certainly not her best. It’s almost a shame to see someone who has done such beautiful movies as A Room with a View and The Wings of the Dove fall into this constant cycle of playing these borderline goofy characters (see Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, Dark Shadows, etc.--none of which I did not enjoy, by the way; I absolutely loved all three of these mentioned films, but HBC plays such one-dimensional characters it’s f r u s t r a t i n g. Johnny Depp was actually nominated for a Golden Globe for this movie, which I don’t think was necessarily called for, but did he win? Nope. Wasn’t going to. When the kid and the mostly mute prison girl are the best parts of the cast, something isn’t working right. Plus, the movie was just so gray. I get it, London is no pretty city, but--oh, wait, yes it is. London’s beautiful, shut the fuck up.

8. La La Land

Oh, La La Land. So right, but so, so damn wrong! I adore this movie, although it took me three times to watch the full movie to get to this point of appreciation. When I first left the cinema, I was livid. I had gone with my aunt and uncle for my birthday, and we all left just frustrated. Damien Chazelle had given us such a visually stunning and cinematically innovative film, but he also gave us a shit excuse for a love story. Honestly, Mr. Chazelle, please don’t write another script. Leave that to actual writers. You stick with cinematic brilliance, hun. Thanks, x. Justin Horwitz, however, ABSOLUTELY KILLED IT. The music is astounding. Simply astounding. I had the privilege of seeing La La Land at the Hollywood Bowl with a live orchestra, and damn, it was good. It was so good. Ryan Gosling is nothing special (unfortunately!), and as much of a bitch as Emma Stone’s Mia is, she absolutely deserved that Oscar. Now about the singing: frankly, I didn’t mind it. I have friends who hated it (because they’re trained singers so they have a bit of a superiority complex about these kinds of things), but as someone who cannot particularly sing well myself, I enjoyed seeing two more realistic characters thrown into a musical world and pull it off more than adequately well. 

7. The Phantom of the Opera

I want to rank this higher. I really, really, really do. But for obvious reason, I cannot. The singing is mediocre, and the acting is even worse. I don’t know who cast Gerard Butler, but yikes. A lot of the editing is rather shoddy, and as much as I do love Minnie Driver as Carlotta, they should have chosen an actual opera singer instead of choosing a decently known Hollywood name. Also, the deformity is literal horse shit. Just horse shit. But now the good things: 1. Patrick Wilson; yes! I absolutely love his Raoul. He’s tragic and a little girly and a bit of a pussy but so in love that he steps up when he needs to. And his voice is arguably the best in comparison with his coworkers’. 2. The cinematography and set design are stunning, absolutely stunning. I get the chills every time the chandelier is raised during the “Overture”, and although the Phantom’s lair isn’t exactly a house on a lake, I thought it was very reminiscent of the stage production, which I appreciated greatly. 3. The costumes! Jesus! Although Christine’s “Think of Me” dress does not go with the time period of the opera she’s supposed to be performing and the Phantom’s last few costumes are waaaaay too hot, I thought the costume department did a fabulous job creating dazzling costumes that just worked with the whole “pretty” feel of the film. 4. They nail the story. I remember watching Phantom as a child and sobbing every time I finished it. The Phantom doesn’t deserve Christine, but he deserves to know what love is just like any other man, and in telling this, the story succeeds. 

6. Grease

I’m not one for teen movies, I’m just not. Clueless is nice, and Heathers has a special place in my heart, but I’ve never been into the whole high school drama film thing. Still, I must admit that I loved Grease. I refused to watch it for the longest time because I had a friend who literally based his entire look on Danny Zuko, and it was so obnoxious I refused to watch the film. Plus John Travolta has always sort of creeped me out. But I gave in, and I was so surprised. Olivia Newton-John is just darling as Sandra Dee, John Travolta isn’t unbearable as Danny Zuko, and Frenchy is such a charming character, but the one person I think gets so overlooked but could be such a show-stealer is Rizzo. Stockard Channing set the bar high for this character, as she does a fantastic job conveying the too-cool-for-school but has-a-heart-of-gold-kinda Rizzo. My favorite player on the Chicago Cubs is Anthony Rizzo because of this movie (Can you tell I’m not a huge sports fan?).

5. Chicago

Many people call this the best musical movie ever made, and really, it’s very, very well done. I mean, it is. A movie doesn’t get six Academy Awards just because. The dancing is actual fire, Richard Gere is one dazzling bastard, and Catherine Zeta-Jones absolutely steals the show as Velma Kelly. Sorry, Renée Zellweger. Zellweger's Roxie is charming, sure, but she comes off as so weak a character and a person that it’s difficult to even enjoy most of her scenes. The set designs are nothing spectacular, but what makes everything come together is the musical numbers (somewhat ironic, because almost every musical number physically departs from the story’s setting). “All That Jazz” is a killer opening, Queen Latifah’s “When You’re Good to Mama” is too much fun, “Cell Block Tango” practically changed the game for musical movie choreography, and where do I even begin with “Roxie”? Spoiler: it was Zellweger’s most convincing scene, but that’s almost completely due to the choreography and set design. Chicago will certainly be studied in film schools in years to come. As much as there is on the surface of the film, there is so much more than meets the eye, and for all these reasons, Chicago is a fabulous, fabulous film.

4. Les Misérables

I actually considered ranking this between Phantom and Chicago but ultimately decided to move it up. Victor Hugo’s novel is a challenge for a number of reasons, but chief among them being the massive span of time his novel covers. So a musical version obviously has to fit this all within three hours, and say what you will, I do believe Les Mis does a good job. The story is obviously cut down tremendously, but it really does not lose much (if any) of the message it has to offer. Now, the film is not perfect. For instance, I absolutely hated Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe. I really did. A lot of people hated Amanda Seyfried, but I really loved her portrayal of Cosette (but maybe just the acting part, her singing is a bit shaky). Samantha Barks and Eddie Redmayne are class-acts, and HBC does a fine job as Mme. Thenardier. I almost have nothing to say about Anne Hathaway. Her performance speaks for itself. I sob every time Fantine dies. She is so, so, so, so good. And three cheers for Colm Wilkinson. He’s just a great guy and a great performer. The film’s direction is often debated, whether it is good or bad, but I really thought it was quite good and quite different from what others might have done. Tom Hooper took advantage of the screen in ways the stage cannot be taken advantage of, offering the audience a chance to look closely at the faces of the actors, to really appreciate the emotional tolls the characters endure.

3. Cabaret

Liza Minelli embodies Sally Bowles. I mean, never have I ever believed so strongly that an actor was born for a role, but Minelli was born for Sally, and as the soul of the show, she breathes life into the film and somehow manages to carry the story on her shoulders. Joel Grey is a fantastic Emcee, and the supporting characters are great as well. Although I don’t care for several of the subplots, I thought the primary storytelling was borderline flawless (except for the ghastly ending; Lord help me, I have so many qualms with the ending; the level of vague is off the charts and unnecessarily so). But the singing is splendid and the dancing is spectacular. The way the Kit Kat Club fits into the story almost as a character itself is subtle and brilliant, and just about every single set is exactly how I imagine it should be. Again, Liza Minelli was born for this, and she rightly won the Oscar for Best Actress. Go you, Liza. Lots of love, x. 

2. Moulin Rouge!

Usually, I would consider Moulin Rouge! my favorite movie of all time, but I’ll explain in the next entry why this is not the case for this list. Like I said, this is my favorite film of all time, and for a plethora of reasons. 1. It is unique and innovative; Moulin Rouge! made the 21st-century musical possible, and everything from Chicago to La La Land owes much to Baz Luhrmann. 2. Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman’s chemistry is everything. They work well together, they sound good together, and they carry Luhrmann’s admittingly wild storytelling techniques with grace and fun. 3. The sets and general production design. This entire movie was filmed in a single room (granted, a very, very large room), but Luhrmann creates a world so vivid and so alive that it hardly feels claustrophobic. 4. The music is different but familiar and well-orchestrated. Luhrmann did something most people wouldn’t even think twice about doing because it’s “tacky” or “unoriginal”, but he instead takes familiar and beloved songs, sets them all to a beautiful story about love and loss, and creates a new musical so vibrant, it changed the face of the musical genre. 

1. The Sound of Music

The Sound of Music. Arguably the greatest musical of all time, The Sound of Music is a timeless story of faith, love, war, family, and hope. The only musical on this list based on the actual events of Maria Kutschera and her life as the governess and step-mother of the von Trapp children, The Sound of Music embodies everything a musical (and a good story!) should be. Life is no fairytale--it is full of hard times and beautiful times and times when it seems the whole world will collapse upon itself. Life is no fairytale, and as beautiful as this film is, it relates to its audience real life morals and real life messages that should be taken to heart by anyone in search of a happy life. Julie Andrews is the only person to embody a character more than Liza Minelli embodies Sally Bowles, and her Maria is a sweet, powerful, kind woman, who, though unsure of the direction her life will go, stands for what she believes in and positively changes the lives of so many along the way. Christopher Plummer is the perfect Captain von Trapp, and the children are perfectly cast as well. Actually, fuck it, the whole cast is perfect. Governess Elsa Schräder, Max Detweiler, and the Mother Abbess are flawless secondary characters, who come and go throughout the film flawlessly. I would also like to note how it stayed in cinemas for FOUR YEARS after its release. Now that’s a bloody good film. The sets and cinematography are fabulous, the script is so well done it’s unreal, and the songs--the songs!!!--are as good as they are iconic (and damn, are they iconic).

So here is my first (second, actually) post on Tumblr. Cheers. x

#musicals #film #musical movie #top ten list #the sound of music #moulin rouge #cabaret #les miserables #chicago #grease #the phantom of the opera #la la land #sweeney todd #into the woods

[raywritesthings]

Arrow and Harry Potter

Arrow

my all-time ultimate fave character: Laurel Lance

a character I didn’t used to like but now do: I hated Quentin at first, and I lot of stuff he did/does I still don’t like but I’ve grown to appreciate his complexity and his dynamics with Laurel and Oliver. Of course now that Laurel’s dead he has like nothing to do so it’s just stupid.

a character I used to like but now don’t: Felicity was cute s1...she got on my nerves pretty quickly after that, though. I hate what Diggle has become. Like just look at him s1 compared to now and it’s just sad. I miss when Diggle was his own character.

a character I’m indifferent about: Can I just say any of the new recruits? Like, I just don’t care about any of them. At all. I didn’t start the show for them, I started for GA and BC, why is this so hard for the showrunners to grasp? I’m also pretty indifferent towards Sara, no lie. She’s just kind of there and then not and then there again. She drifts into the story and out and doesn’t really seem to have all that lasting of an impact. I mean she can literally be plucked from the timeline because she’s apparently of little enough importance history won’t miss her. And it totally undermined the whole “journey” aspect of characters when we met her and she was just insta-badass straight out of her new s2 packaging, now with 100% more blonde, some reshooting required. Maybe if they’d bothered to show her training--but that would have required them to actually show a wlw relationship and not just the angsty post-breakup stage so that wasn’t gonna happen. Like I don’t necessarily hate her but I don’t like her much either. She’s just kind of meh to me.

a character who deserved better: DINAH. LAUREL. LANCE.

a ship I’ve never been able to get into: O/F, Oliver/Sara, and lowkey Nyssa/Sara - Nyssa was always so much more invested than Sara from her first appearance to her last. Like you got her going on and on about her “beloved” and then Sara’s flirting it up and kissing people throughout time and space, the heck am I supposed to do with that? Also I haven’t liked Thea/Roy ever since Roy ditched her after sleeping together and left no forwarding address. Dick move, dude.

a ship I’ve never been able to get over: Lauriver, dear god, the beauty and the tragedy will haunt me forever

a cute, low-key ship: I liked Oliver and McKenna, I won’t lie. Moira and Walter were tragic but precious. Also if Tommy had lived I could’ve seen him and Helena having an interesting thing don’t judge me.

an unpopular ship but I still enjoyed it: Non-canon but I’m gonna go Lauryssa. Also Constantine/Oliver.

a ship that was totally wrong and never should have happened: O/F, when will these writers learn that ship destroyed both those characters

my favourite storyline/moment: I’m in that rare minority that loved s1 so much more than s2. S2′s where it started going wrong, the fridging women left and right, Slade’s shitty motivation for being bad--he’s a mercenary, for fuck’s sake, it does not need to be about a woman he loved and lost, it’s not complicated--retconning the flashbacks left and right, but s1 was so good. Also loved Laurel becoming BC though I never got why the writers needed to start her off at square one when they showed she could fight the previous two seasons.

a storyline that never should have been written: Basically the entire s4 plot. Magic and nukes are not GA’s thing. Also killing BC on a GA show is such bs. Real GA would have rather seen himself killed first.

my first thoughts on the show: Ok, this is interesting! The fight scenes are good, I want to see how these characters become more like their comic book counterparts.

my thoughts now: Well that sucked.

HP

my all-time ultimate fave character: Oh man, how can you do this to me? TOO MANY, OKAY? I HAVE TOO MANY.

a character I didn’t used to like but now do: Dudley is so much more interesting after book 7. I like the idea that he finally started to realize that his parents and their abuse towards Harry was shit. I know JKR decided to not give Dudley a magic child in the epilogue, but I wish she had. It would have been so nice to see Dudley break the cycle of abuse in the Dursley family once and for all by loving and supporting his kid no matter what.

a character I used to like but now don’t: I don’t know if I dislike him necessarily but I definitely don’t like him the way I used to as a kid - okay, yeah, it’s Dumbledore. I mean he is soooo complex, and that’s a good thing. But a lot of the stuff he did? Not cool.

a character I’m indifferent about: Basically a lot of the OCs that masquerade in fics as barely-mentioned students. It’s fine if you wanna use them, but it’s weird to me when people start purporting their characterizations of them as fact if that makes sense? To that end, I’m also mostly indifferent about all the next gen kids with the exception of Teddy (there’s just a lot there to his character that would be so interesting to unpack - why was Cursed Child not about Teddy Lupin with a better plot gdi).

a character who deserved better: So many characters tbh. Ginny Weasley deserved better from both JKR and all y’all. JKR promised an awesome moment having to do with her being the seventh child of a seventh child (Arthur) and then never delivered. Fandom is shitty to her because she gets in the way of their ships (like especially H/HR and H/D shippers seem to love to demonize a teenage girl in their fics, just saying) and because they seem to think Hermione is enough female rep which is such bs. Ron also deserves soooooo much better from fandom. So, so much better. Hagrid deserved to have one of Harry’s kids named after him. Sirius Black just deserved a better life. Snape deserved not to be abused as a child. Harry deserved like basically everything better. The Weasleys deserved not to be poor - do you see where I’m coming from here???

a ship I’ve never been able to get into: A lot of the non-canon ones (H/HR - she’s like a SISTER to him, he LITERALLY SAYS; H/D - It’s implied in that bathroom fight scene Draco was about to use the CRUCIATUS CURSE like WTF also he’s just kinda shitty to Harry and his friends almost the entire series just saying). Obviously if you wanna write AUs where things are completely different, that’s up to you, but they’re just not for me.

a ship I’ve never been able to get over: Jily, Hinny, Romione

a cute, low-key ship: Deanmus is the gay/bi rep we deserved, not unhealthy and possibly one-sided Dumbledore/Grindelwald. I feel like in book 5 at least Luna might’ve had a thing for Ron which is kind of adorable. Although I also like Ginny/Luna. Also I lowkey think Harry might’ve had a crush on both Cho and Cedric at the same time. Teenage years suck.

an unpopular ship but I still enjoyed it: I mean Romione seems to be unpopular with a lot of fandom but I love it so sucks to suck

a ship that was totally wrong and never should have happened: I’m pretty much ok on all the canon ships. I mean I wish JKR hadn’t tried to push this whole “Snape loved Lily” thing. More like “Snape was obsessed with Lily and never got over her”.

my favourite storyline/moment: ahhhhh I don’t know, maybe Ron coming back to save Harry and destroy the Horcrux.his insecurities? Such a great moment for his character, and his and Harry’s friendship. I also just love how Harry’s whole outlook on life completely brightened up in HBP during the time he was dating Ginny. It was so lovely to see him happy for once. And I love all of book three, it is my favorite. Also the Moody-is-really-Barty Jr. twist remains one of the greatest of All Time and the movies ruined it but I digress.

a storyline that never should have been written: Like I’m not saying it shouldn’t have been written, I just don’t like how Snape’s backstory has given rise to this idea that he did Nothing Wrong, Ever and it was Lily’s fault for ending the friendship that he turned to the Dark Side. Like fuck off, he was already there and it was not her job to be his “savior” when he sure as hell didn’t want saved. Also all the movies. Damn you, Kloves.

my first thoughts on the show books: This is such a great story and world! I love the characters and I can’t wait to see what happens next! (or something along those lines - I was young, okay?)

my thoughts now: While there’s certainly plenty of issues (lack of rep for many marginalized groups, for example) it still holds up as a really strong series. Must resist temptation to begin yet another reread.

#arrow #hp #emerson replies #ayotofu