#hnnnnnnnnnng

[savrenim]

watched the first 30 minutes of the new live action ATLA bc I was Curious and they have already committed three different mortal sins that I can't Not Rant about, spoilers for the first 30 minutes below the cut

1. They rearranged the order of storytelling to open with the Fire Nation attacking the Air Nomads.

And I'm not.... totally sure why? Like, my guess is either "we need to make an immediate dramatic hook for the people who have never seen ATLA before!" or "we need to explain the background for the people who have never seen ATLA before!" But the truth is, people never saw ATLA before it came out, and they were perfectly fine catching on to learning about what happened to the Air Nomads and the geopolitical state of the world in media res!! That is not an excuse!

By opening with The Attack On The Air Nomads, not only do they rob the audience of getting to do my favorite thing throughout, which is the ability to piece together backstory via being told details as the story goes on, but it also..... vastly undermines the impact that That Attack Happening is going to have later in the story. Instead of piecing together tragedy from 100-year-old ruins and getting the moment of "oh god" and imagining it, we're shown it directly upfront onscreen, which not only to me comes across as unnecessary and gratuitous violence, but it means that every time in the story that The Air Nomads Are All Dead is going to come up, instead of it being this weighty thing that we can only imagine that each small detail adds even more to that weight, the payoff was all upfront. We've seen it, there's nothing to imagine, any detail they give us is not adding to our understanding of the tragedy and increasing the tragedy to us at all, it's just a reference to the opening scene.

2. STATUS!!!!!

So 'Status' is a concept that I rant about a lot and am highly sensitive to in writing, probably bc in the gay theater camp day camps the first thing you need to teach your 8-year-olds in improv workshop is How To Respect Status if you want to have at all a reasonable adventure game; otherwise you have kids interrupting the king's big dramatic speech and hence Undermining The King's Authority and the adventure game falls apart but also so you don't get trapped in scenes where you've got two characters yelling back and forth "well I'm [this thing] so you should respect me!!" and the complete lack of respect between them totally undermines what both of them are saying and the fiction falls apart. I kind of joke but not really that I stopped watching Supernatural in like. season 8?? 9?? because there was some episode with Greek Gods and you got to the finale of the episode and Zeus was going "dO YOU KNOW WHO I AM??? I'M ZEUS. I'M A GOD. PUNY MORTAL" and Sam and Dean went "dO YOU KNOW WHO WE ARE??? WE'RE THE WINCHESTERS. WE TOOK DOWN SATAN AND ALSO SATAN'S MORE EVIL OLDER COUSIN. PUNY MONSTER OF THE WEEK" and I went "by day three of camp my nightmare 8-year-olds can do Status better than this. Why am I even watching this?"

In the first scene, the live-action ATLA severely undermines the status of the Fire Nation and Fire Lord and then continuous to do so throughout the entire opening.

The initial scene is some random Earth Kingdom spy running away with Fire Nation plans to attack the Earth Kingdom and getting captured and dragged before Fire Lord Sozin (to be?? monologued at by Fire Lord Sozin of 'HAH you fell into my TRAP, those plans were FAKE, we're attacking the AIR NOMADS' which is just. dumb. kill the spy, don't monologue at him and kill him, but also why the fuck are you letting an Earthbender spy into your presence in the first place???????) which besides the aforementioned letting?? an earthbender spy??? into his presence in the first place????? He:

is not wearing particularly fancier clothes than the other people around him; like, they're okay, but the 'total desaturation of all colors including/especially in the clothing' aesthetic that Netflix has going makes it not look very royal. that shit should have been BRIGHT red or 10x fancier to make up for the fact that it wasn't Bright Red

they are STANDING IN THE THRONE ROOM and INSTEAD OF BEING BEHIND THE CURTAIN OF FLAMES he's just STANDING DOWN THERE on the SAME LEVEL AS EVERYONE ELSE????? WHY ARE YOU EVEN IN THE THRONE ROOM IF THE FIRE LORD IS???? NOT ON THE THRONE?????? JUST STANDING AROUND???? THE FIRE LORD DOES NOT JUST STAND AROUND WHERE IS THE POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE OF THE OFFICE????????????

and then beyond the absolute idiocy and letting a nobody no-name spy into his presence like that and dramatically revealing battle plans fucking idiot deserves to be assassinated for letting a spy earthbender get within three feet of him that's just extremely bad royal security, Sozin personally Murders this Random Spy. with his own firebending hands.

One of the whole things that makes ~the Fire Lord~ so terrifying is the sheer amount of weight around The Institution Of The Fire Lord, the courts and the backstabbing nobles of the fire nation, both the extreme imperial politics and complications there but also the almost deification of the office itself. The Fire Lord is untouchable, I forget if it's fanon or canon that they've got a 'descended directly from Agni / divine right' thing going but if it's fanon at least canon has those vibes, and one of the biggest aspects of the finale of the whole show is the combination of Azula's meltdown making it so that even though she was 'Fire Lady' she.... wasn't particularly scarier because in panicking and banishing everyone she'd totally undermined her own power structure, but also realizing that Ozai was Actually Just Some Dude Who Sure Was Pretty Good At Firebending And A Really Shit Person And Terrifying For What He'd Done With His Power but he wasn't a god, he wasn't impossible to defeat, when push came to shove he was just a firebender and as such his power could be stripped.

Fire Lord Sozin standing on the same level as his advisors and a random earthbender spy, and then doing things with his own hands, instead of, you know, sitting on that throne behind that wall of fire while this scene was happening if this scene really needed to happen in the first place, totally undermines that sort of deification level of status that the Fire Lord is supposed to have. Sozin becomes an Evil Scary Murderer Villain, sure, but what proceeds to be established about his character is. Nothing to set him apart from "a particularly skilled Firebender." Hell not even that, as nothing ever demonstrates that he's substantially more skilled than the firebending soldiers around him!!!!!!!

And it undermines the severity of the threat of the whole Fire Nation to undermine the status of the Fire Lord and hence the Thing That Makes The Next Fire Lord So Scary. hnnnnnnnnnng.

3. Every single character keeps giving extremely stilted monologues about how they're feeling?

It just feels like Bad Writing. And it also kind of feels like incorrect characterizatons? Big "he would NOT say that" mood but also just, like. Aang giving a three minute monologue purely to Appa about how he never asked for the responsibility of being the Avatar, he just wants to be like other kids, that just feels. So Cookie Cutter. So "gotta check off our refusing the call so our protagonist is Relatable!" and also just he would not say that.

This doesn't quite bother me as much as the other ones because it doesn't feel like a fundamental undermining of the narrative and/or the setting but it is Highly Annoying.

anyways defs not worth the watch. 30 minutes of my life Wasted. some of the costumes are kind of nice tho so might go back for the costume refs.

#live action atla #netflix avatar #just some random musings but it's been a While since I've dropped any sort of writing analysis #and I kind of miss doing it #do truly love how like. the Vast majority of my media criticisms #or at least the ones that I get Annoyed enough to Go On Rants about #are the ones that break the rules of Status #bUT HNNNNG STATUS IS SO IMPORTANT!!!!!! YOU LITERALLY CANNOT TAKE ANY CHARACTER SERIOUSLY UNLESS THE CHARACTERS #OR IN THIS THE FRAMING OF THE SCENES THEMSELVES #RESPECT THAT STATUS #HNNNNNNNNNNG

[stephendorff]

Posted on Jake Gyllenhaal's Instagram.

#jake gyllenhaal #video #hnnnnnnnnnng #love waking up to these sweet treats

[vahalia-cress-ffxiv]

#I love her #Hnnnnnnnnnng #hyur #midlander #Screenies #Crystal Data Center #Gpose #Gposers #FFXIVsnaps #FFXIVscreenshots #ffxiv #ffxiv hyur #ffxiv midlander #ffxiv gposers

[mickgaygger]

#hnnnnnnnnnng #you can feel their love #mick jagger #keith richards #the rolling stones #the glimmer twins

[breebird33]

*stumbles and falls on the floor* *rolls around, sobbing* *hits the ground with my first* *takes a deep inhale* ARMORED COOOOORRRRRRRE!!!!!!

#THAT'S IT #THAT'S THE POST #IT'S NOT EVEN OUT YET #AND IT'S ALREADY DESTROYING ME EMOTIONALLY WITH THIS DANG STORY TRAILER #HNNNNNNNNNNG #text #Armored Core 6 #ready to be punched in the face by this game's anti-capitalist themes

[candiliam328]

i just saw a "rice is life" sweater and yall... im so tempted.

#i dont have the money #but hnnnng #hnnnnnnnnnng #rice is life #my ramblings

[the-most-pathetic-edge-marquis]

girl help i'm literally bawling about harry clearwater again

#just rewatched the scene where he dies. for...fun? #and HNNNNNNNNNNG #charlie like. at first just picking him up and cradling him in his arms #and then we cut away and cut back and he's like. doing cpr and pausing to check if he's breathing and like #crumpling a little before he goes back to it #i CANNOT I CANNOT I CANNOT #I NEED TO LEAVE #SOMEONE PUT ME DOWN LIKE A FUCKING DOG PLEASE #I CAN'T LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE I CARE THIS MUCH ABT THIS DEAD FICTIONAL CHARACTER #there are tears just POURING down my face i am so serious

[bathboysblog]

wish me luck unraveling this mess

#genshin impact #my art #preview #Furina #hnnnnnnnng i love her character design for the funny shapes #but hnnnnnnnnnng #doodle dump coming soon #hopefully #since i want to draw her summoners #anyhow Furina is a god tier support change my mind #Barbra could never

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

Chapters: 22/44 Fandom: Discworld - Terry Pratchett Rating: Explicit Relationships: Lord Downey/Havelock Vetinari, Downey/Others Additional Tags: let your dad die energy drink is a direct inspiration for my restarting this story, everything is a poison, it's the dose that matters, Family Issues, Period-Typical Homophobia, Classism, AM is an early modern city, and so the values/social norms reflect that, Not Beta Read, We Die Like Men, Downey POV, Significant Age Difference, between downey and one of his past Decisions, like. Significant., it's very very May-December, typical sex acts you'd expect in this sort of thing:, Anal, Fingering, Blow Jobs, etc. - Freeform, some slurs show up in a sibling fight, there's potential dub-con - depending on where one's personal line is drawn, it's in chapter 16 for those who want to know Series: Part 3 of coveting desperate things Summary:

After No More a Desolate Thing Downey and Vetinari are muddling through this thing called a ReLaTiOnShIp. Unfortunate segues into the past which runs parallel to the present occur namely because families are a sticky business, always, and things that happened thirty years ago have a strange ability to cycle back through your life. Oh, and there's been a death.

--- 

Obligatory Excerpt: 

One of the first occasions William saw Jocelyn after The Supper was an early morning. Mist hung heavy in the air and William was waiting with his father for news. Jocelyn materialised wearing a forest green so rich and dark William’s soul ached for the fabric. It was the exact colour of the word Susurration, which is one of his favourite words.

Jocelyn also wore a dismal face as he came to say, You were right, Amos. I heard this morning from a little bird that we can expect a new order from Snapcase which will require us to quarantine all ships arriving from Klatch. Goods included. Forty days minimum.  

Where in Klatch? Amos asked.

Anywhere.

Gods, that’ll kill us.

William, feeling the need to provide morale to the group, pulled out his cigarette case and the three of them smoked furiously.

Another time, Amos sent William to find that scoundrel and haul him into a Guild meeting because, I need support in making sure Harry Taddeo doesn’t go and ruin my currently, carefully balanced governance structure, and Joss needs to stick his head into the Guild at least once a month because participation is important.

William located Jocelyn at his own offices and conveyed, in nicer terms, what his father said which made Jocelyn laugh but in that softly diffused manner he has, before he replied, Amos can cool his heels. I hate Harry more than he does. Of course I’ll be there. At the door, just as they departed from Jocelyn’s office, he brushed off William’s cloak saying, You had a bit of dust on it. Streets in the summer, it’s impossible not to gather up bits of it as you walk.  

What is in a bit of dust?

Downey out here representing the contingent of “I just want to fuck that old man” which is very obliging of him. 

#Downey is doing a lot of: hnnnnnnnnnng #discworld #thus always #thus always the redux #writing #lord downey #discworld fanfic

[weekend-whip]

Chapter 31 Scene

Part one | Part Two

#submission #hnnnnnnnnnng LIKE #YOU REALLY DUNNO HOW MUCH THIS SCENES LIVE RENT FREE IN MY HEAD #and you water colored it????? that's so cool????? #you nailed the expressions motions and poses too!! #*yodels to the heavens* #legacyverse #born to be a 21st century ninja #the ninja legacy whip #cole brookstone #oc: jesse marvell

[epitomees]

((WE ALMOST IN THE TRIPLE DIGITS!?!)) 

#out of cards. #mun stuff #((HNNNNNNNNNNG JUST FOUR MORE!!!))

[savrenim]

maybe I need to try to publish trash novel asap and hope that might increase my income at least a bit? or bother everyone I know even harder about whether or not there are Rich Kids For Me To Tutor? bc like. I'm not picking up money tutoring or volunteering proctoring or grading fast enough and I need to be if I'm going to get through this on my own??

just. I was So Excited. to Have A Job that Pays Enough that I Wasn't Going To Have To Worry About Money and now it's looking like I'm going to need to end up being in debt to my mother for months to even years to just. get there at all.

#hnnnnnnnnnng

[properbastard]

[ on GOD i have got to get some sort of fidget ring or something. i am driving myself insane

#; mun speaks #; tbd #[ hi yeah i love New Neurological Problems that come with medication that alters your brain and body chemistry #I used to be a jewelry fidgetter but I had to stop bc I fidgetted Too Hard and broke a very special necklace once #it belonged to my grammy and i was so absolutely devastated that it turned me off of ever doing it again #but HNNNNNNNNNNG my sensory need rn is to dESTROY my own HANDS #and that is NOT A GOOD THING #mirri (dnd character) bby i am so sorry i inflicted this curse upon you as well #if anyone has any recommendations pls hmu with links #something affordable and/or goth is preferable ]

[boost-creep]

We've definitely reached that point that comes around every five or six months where my libido just spikes into the stratosphere out of nowhere for some reason so that's fun

#scumblogging #when im at work im fine its fine #but then i get home and hnnnnnnnnnng no Tasks to distract me

[teaboot]

Okay Nanaimo bars or butter tarts though, to go off the last person’s q ✨

Hnnnnnnnnnng. Hard choices.

I'd have to say butter tarts, because while Nanaimo bars are sweeter and have more variety of texture, they are also very very rich and I get nauseous if I eat more than one. With butter tarts I know I'm in safe hands.

They gotta be GOOD butter tarts, though, with lots of filling- not those shitty pie crusts with a smear of glaze folks try and pass off as butter tarts. Get outta here with that

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

Have you been to sleep yet?

hnnnnnnnnnng don't wanna.

i'm coping so well with the not being able to walk thing y'all. binge-watched two seasons of the office when I usually never binge-watch anything, my tailbone has begun to protest the uninterrupted sitting that is usually at least slightly interrupted, my drarry wrists (okay carpal tunnel BUT i call them drarry wrists coz they were injured reading too much drarry fanfic last year without autoscroll) are protesting because of not using a separate keyboard and i'm PRETTY SURE TOMMY HAS ONLY GOTTEN WORSE THE LITTLE FUCK.

(tommy is my haematoma, for the uninitiated. because i'm funny, he's a he/himatoma)

i don't wanna sleep i wanna CHAOS i wanna be ALIVE MAKE ME ALIVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

shimmy shimmy yae shimmy yae shimmy yae draenk (shout out to valerie for getting that stuck in my head)

#good omens mascot #weirdly specific but ok #asmi #maggots #fuck you tommy #life update #kinda? #AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA