#me loving that the writers of the captain america trilogy got to write the FINALE to the infinity saga

[mayquita]

Colin O’Donoghue on Playing Heroes and Villains in ‘Wizards,’ ‘The Right Stuff,’ and ‘Once Upon a Time’

From the creative mind of Guillermo del Toro and executive producers Marc Guggenheim and Chad Hammes, the final chapter in the Tales of Arcadia saga sees its characters go on an epic time-travel adventure in Camelot. Wizards follows Douxie (voiced by Colin O’Donoghue), a 900-year-old wizard-in-training who, along with Jim (voiced by Emile Hirsch), Claire (voiced by Lexi Medrano) and Steve (voiced by Steven Yeun), must ensure that good prevails over evil, in the escalating conflict between the human and magical worlds.

During this 1-on-1 phone interview with Collider, Colin O’Donoghue talked about being a part of the Tales of Arcadia world, why he was so delighted to get to voice an animated character, what he loved about his character’s journey, getting to revisit Camelot, and what the voice recording process was like. He also talked about why the upcoming Disney+ TV series The Right Stuff appealed to him, whether he was personally satisfied with the ending of Once Upon A Time, and the great time he had playing Captain Hook.

Collider: When this whole project originally came your way, did you know that Trollhunters would only be one part of this whole Tales from Arcadia world, and that there would be also be 3Below and Wizards?

COLIN O’DONOGHUE: I did. I understood that would be the case. I came in, in the second season of Trollhunters, and I knew the character would also be in 3Below. I was in the background, and a character that made people go, “Who is this guy? Why is he there?” I think it’s really good that was teased. It’s worked pretty well, and he was a lot of fun to play. Especially in Wizards, it was really great fun.

How did you get involved with this project? Was this something that you had to go through an audition process for?

O’DONOGHUE: What happened was that they reached out to my agents about it. It was a few years ago, so I can’t remember if I had to do a quick voice recording, just so that they could hear it. But I think that they’d seen Once Upon A Time and had heard my voice. I was stoked. I was delighted to get the offer. I couldn’t wait to do it. I was gonna go study animation in college, so I’ve always been fascinated with the whole process and I’ve always wanted to do an animated film.

This character definitely goes on a big journey in Wizards. What was it that you most responded to, with his story? What did you love about the journey that you got to take with him, now that he’s at the center of the story?

O’DONOGHUE: I loved the relationship with Merlin, and with Archie, as well. I thought it was fun to see him try to be this apprentice wizard, who so desperately wants to become a master wizard and prove himself to Merlin, and getting to see how he progresses, or if he’s even able to do it or not. That was something that I was really happy to explore.

What was it like to find and establish Douxie, in the beginning, in just these little bits, and then really get to dive into him and get to know him so much more, over this season? Did you always know who he would be, at the end, or were there things that you really got to learn about him, along the way?

O’DONOGHUE: I knew that he was a wizard, and I knew that he was quite a powerful wizard. It was just so much fun, having these tiny little things with him that made an impact with people. And then, to really get to do everything that I did on Wizards was fantastic because he really is a great character to play, and a lot of fun. And also, the writing on this show is just so great to get to live with for awhile and really explore.

It definitely seems a bit tricky to explore the origins of the entire mythology of the trilogy while also taking these characters on their own new adventure. How did you feel about the way that it all tied together and the way the story ends? What was your reaction to finding out how things would all play out, by the end of it?

O’DONOGHUE: I was amazing. Whether it was on this or on Once Upon A Time, I’m always amazed at how writers, especially in fantasy, keep track of everything, let alone tie it all together. I’m always amazed that they’re able to do that. And in Wizards, they’ve really done an incredible job of blending the three series together into this one final thing. I just think it’s so smart and so clever, the way they do it. I couldn’t do it. That’s why I’m an actor, and someone else is writing the show.

I was very impressed with how we get to see some of the past characters and we get to see the mythology of Camelot. Pulling all of that together was really impressive.

O’DONOGHUE: I was excited to get to go to Camelot again. We did a season of Once Upon A Time in Camelot, so it was fun to see the version of Camelot that they did in Wizards.

What was the recording process like on this? Were you always in a booth alone?

O’DONOGHUE: I was always alone. I live in Ireland, so most of what I did was done in a recording studio in Dublin. Sometimes, if I was in L.A., I’d go in, but it was always on my own. It’s interesting. It takes a little bit of getting used to because nobody is really feeding you lines. You just say each line, and take a stab at what you think the other character would be saying or reacting to. But I really enjoyed it. Once you get used to that, then it’s really a lot of fun. You get to really ham it up. Maybe a lot of people would say that I’m a ham, but you try to be a little bit more subtle, so it’s fun just to be able to go for it, in animation, because they animate it over the top lines.

Do you know what the time span of work was that you did on this?

O’DONOGHUE: No. It’s been a while. I can’t remember when we recorded the first recording for the first episode of this. It must be a year and a half ago, maybe. I’m not entirely sure. I was in Florida shooting The Right Stuff for five months last year, so it might even be two years. I’m not entirely sure.

Were there ever any major changes, along the way? Did anything change, while you were doing the recording of it, or did everything stay pretty close to the scripts?

O’DONOGHUE: I think everything stayed pretty close to the scripts, if I remember rightly. I don’t think there were any major changes. I might be wrong in this, but when the script was locked, it had gone through so many iterations, at that point. Because they’re creating everything, and every blade of grass, once the script is locked, that’s it. There can be an additional line sometimes, or you might have to do an alternative line, but in general, the script is pretty much locked.

When The Right Stuff came your way, what was it that most interested and excited you about that project?

O’DONOGHUE: I knew the book. I’d read the book, and I’d seen the movie. I’d actually had a meeting at Appian Way, a couple of years ago, and randomly, they gave me the book before there was ever a script, just to have a read of it. And it was one that I really wanted to do, but I was doing Once Upon A Time, at the time, so I didn’t know if I’d be free for anything. Getting to play Gordo Cooper, one of the Mercury Seven, was just amazing. Also, that time period in American history, and the style of it, being from Ireland, that’s America to me, with a ’59 Corvette, Coca Cola bottles, and that kind of style of buildings. And the pilot script was just absolutely fantastic. It was incredible. It was an amazing opportunity to get to play somebody who’s a real-life hero.

Is that the kind of project, as an actor, where it’s hard to get out of your own head? Especially when you’ve read the book and seen the movie and you connect to the project before you even go do it, is it hard to then deal with the pressure you put on yourself?

O’DONOGHUE: I didn’t have a huge amount of time to think about it because somebody else had been cast in the role and they fell out of it. I had a day and a half to figure out what I was going to do before I was on a plane to Florida. It was good ‘cause then I didn’t have time to put pressure on myself. I didn’t have time to panic about what my Oklahoma accent was gonna be. It was actually good, in that respect. So, I wasn’t really nervous about it. I knew the cast was amazing, and I knew the quality of the script and that Appian Way was involved. I was just really excited. And because I played Captain Hook for so long on a show and became so recognizable as that character, it was great to go do something completely different, in a completely different genre and style. I had to shave my beard and look completely different. And then, I got to play an astronaut and test pilot. Who doesn’t wanna do that?

After being on Once Upon A Time for so many seasons, and now having had some time and distance from the show, how do you ultimately feel about the ending and the send-off that your character got? Is it something that you feel personally satisfied and happy with?

O’DONOGHUE: Yeah. The end of Season 6 did exactly what I thought they should do to close off the story of all those characters in Storybrooke. And then, it was fun in Season 7 to get to explore a completely different version of Hook and such a different character. At the end of it all, it was important for Regina to get some sort of redemption. That was always the way that the show should finish. I’m also glad that Eddy [Kitsis] and Adam [Horowitz] had the opportunity to actually finish the show the way they wanted to finish it, and the way that they had seen it. The show wasn’t canceled before they had a chance to finish it.

Captain Hook must have been such a fun character to get to put your own stamp on.

O’DONOGHUE: Yeah, my version of Hook was the first time that he wasn’t an older, villainous, mustache-twirling kind of guy. As soon as I put on the black leather trousers, the coat, and the eyeliner, that was it. You become Captain Hook. It was fun to do that, and getting to play so many different variations of the character, over the year. That was the good thing about Once Upon A Time. There were so many different realms and time periods that they were in and out of, so it was great. He was a great character to get to play.

Wizards is available to stream at Netflix.

#colin o'donoghue #colin interviews #colin other works #wizards #the right stuff

[yourwannabekpopidol]

Project 15

Apprenticeship Program Name: Radio Campbuzz Project Name: RJ for Rangdhonu and script writer for shows Program Date: Fall 2017 – Fall 2018 Program Description: I joined this program when Kashfia Ma’am was the advisor for the program. She assigned me to a RJ position for a weekly show called, “Rangdhonu”. And I had to write the script for the show as well. What I had to do was be a host for the show and the show is about pop culture and entertainment. So we had to talk about any new update on Hollywood and Bollywood. Program Justification: What the show provided was to let the students know about any pop culture and to let them enjoy some entertainment before going back to class. There were other shows but this show made me realize how fun it is to be a RJ. Due to this show, I was even awarded the best RJ in Radio Campbuzz of Spring 2018. Program Name: Rangdhonu. Program Time: Every Wednesday from 12 pm to 1 pm.

Picture 1: This is me before the show of Rangdhonu at the station.

Picture 2: This is the poster that declared that Nabeela apu and I were the host of the show, Rangdhonu, on social media.

Picture 3: This was the award and the certificate of me winning the best RJ.

Script for the 5th Rangdhonu show: Written by: Wangkhem Thonglen

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Sonam Kapoor ties the knot! Celebrity marriages are always the talk of the town, especially when it is the much-awaited wedding of one of Bollywood's most beloved stars, Sonam Kapoor. In an event of grand celebrations, Sonam Kapoor has finally tied the knot last Tuesday, May 8, with her long-time boyfriend Anand Ahuja. For those who don't know, Anand Ahuja is a businessman who has founded his own fashion brand named Bhane. His Delhi-based business has made him quite successful despite his young age, and fans know him well for always being addressed fondly in Sonam's online posts. The couple is active on social media, and has never failed to win hearts through their messages of adoration and love. Radio Cambuzz wishes the couple a happy conjugal life!

SaRa May 12 marked the grand opening of SaRa's first showroom in Mirpur. The fashion house made a huge statement with endorsements from stars like Sara Zaker, Oyshee, Shahtaj, Pritom, Xefer, Azim, Doyel and many others. They were present during the opening, along with the owner S.M Khaled.

RABINDRA FESTIVALS AROUND THE COUNTRY The celebration of 157th birth anniversary of Tagore in Shilpakala Academy, Dhaka. Artistes performed in a programme by Jayita Rabindra Sangeet Shomillon Porishod in Mymensingh. Artistes did a cultural show in Rabindra Mela, Channel i premises, Dhaka. Artistes from Bangladesh and India performed in Rabindra Festival in Shelaidah Kuthibari, Kushtia. Also Sirajganj.

30 years of BAMBA - More than just bands After a break of almost four years, Bangladesh Musical Bands Association, better known as BAMBA, recently arranged a mega concert, 'BAMBA Live Chapter 1', in Dhaka. The turnout was huge, with the spacious hall room of the International Convention Centre, Bashundhara, filled to the brim with fans eager to get a glimpse of their favorite bands and listen to their all-time hits. 11 of the 27 bands under the umbrella of BAMBA, including Warfaze, Miles, Shunno, Aurthohin, Nemesis, Vikings, Feedback, Dalchhut, Maq O' Dhaka, Pentagon and Arbovirus performed at the concert. Star Showbiz recently invited BAMBA to participate at a roundtable discussion at The Daily Star Centre. Hamin Ahmed, President of BAMBA; Sheikh Monirul Alam Tipu, General Secretary; Fuad Naser Babu, Vice President; Maqsoodul Haque (Mac), Executive Committee Member; Mohammad Ali Shumon, Treasurer; and Doza Alan, CEO, SkyTracker Limited, took part in the roundtable discussion. It was facilitated by Star Showbiz Editor Rafi Hossain. The discussion focused on BAMBA's current activities and the way forward in the face of the challenges confronting our music industry.

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Zoe Saldana on the Hollywood Walk of Fame After smashing success as the alien warrior Gamora in the Guardians of the Galaxy films and more recently, Avengers: Infinity War, Zoe Saldana is on a path to eternal stardom, literally. She joins the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin and her co-actor Chris Pratt, by receiving her very own star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Zoe Saldana took to Instagram to express her gratitude, saying she is blessed and honored to be a part of the history of Hollywood. “May this open more doors for Latinx and all other under-represented community!” she further stated. Zoe Saldana has also appeared in James Cameron's 2009 film Avatar and the recent Star Trek trilogy. Being a constant presence in blockbuster sci-fi and fantasy films, Zoe Saldana is expected to become a top name in this specific genre quite soon. 2018 71st Cannes Film Festival From Tuesday May 8th til Saturday May 19th. Australian actress Cate Blanchett has been named as the President of the Jury. Asghar Farhadi's psychological thriller Everybody Knows, starring Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz and Ricardo Darín, opened the festival and competes in the Main Competition section The Han Solo spinoff Solo: A Star Wars Story touched down Tuesday at the Cannes Film Festival, bringing its cast and a full-sized Chewbacca to the French Riviera extravaganza. Director Ron Howard, wearing a hat that read “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,” introduced his cast before the film’s international premiere at Cannes. Sonam Kapoor wows at the red carpet of Cannes Film Festival 2018. Bollywood superstar Aishwarya Rai Bachchan once again stole the show as she walked the prestigious red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival, this time in a stunning ultra-violet, blue and red gown that reflected the metamorphosis of a butterfly. History was made at this year's 71st  Cannes Film Festival on Saturday as 82 women, representing the limited number of women filmmakers selected over its more than seven-decade history, made a symbolic walk up the red carpet. The stars, filmmakers and other professionals ascended the steps of the Palais des Festivals at the Cannes Film Festival, protesting for the solidarity of the women in the industry who are struggling for a voice, equal pay, as well as a safer work place. The five female members of this year's Cannes jury-- Cate Blanchett, Kristen Stewart, Ava DuVernay, Lea Seydoux and Burundian singer Khadja Nin, along with Jane Fonda, Salma Hayek and Marion Cotillard were among the group of women.

Link 3 Mim Mantasha Superstar in the making Winning the country's biggest pageant is not an ordinary feat. Mim Mantasha has won not just a crown, but also the hearts of millions. Awaiting a new journey, the Lux Channel i Superstar 2018 winner shares her story with The Daily Star. A final year student of Fine Arts at Jahangirnagar University, Mim has always been a creative and curious soul. She was an avid follower of the contest for a long time. This year, she finally took the decision to compete. Taking part in the competition was certainly not a cakewalk. “We went through vigorous training sessions. We did yoga in the mornings,” explains Mim.  Before the task rounds, the contestants went through fifteen days of training for ramp walk, acting, dancing, and many other skills. The photo shoots, acting, and improvisation rounds were Mim's favourite tasks in the competition. “I was nervous but in a scene, I got to convince people through my acting that my child was lost. I enjoyed it,” Mim smiles, adding that the competition was an overall memorable experience. Although she is highly enthusiastic about working in the media, she wants to take more preparations before doing so. She is now Lux Bangladesh's brand ambassador and has also won the opportunity to work on television and feature film projects of Impress Telefilm. Before hitting the silver screen, Mim wants to explore the world of television. Being a painter at heart, Mim also wants to continue painting and have her own exhibition in the future. Further to this, she intends to work for children who need special care. “I am in a fortunate position and it is our duty to take care of those in need.” says Mim. With great intentions, we hope Mim Mantasha excels at every step of her future endevours.

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Avengers Infinity War Review The plot itself is pretty simple. There are six stones that possess mystic powers and he/she who possesses all the stones is by default the most powerful being in the universe. Our Marvel superheroes must forget their own conflicts and join forces against Thanos to restore the fate of the universe and its inhabitants. Of course, watch the movie to know how things pan out. Avengers: Infinity War is the movie of movies, and let me tell you why. Most, if not all, the characters of the MCU are present in this film and bring their own flavour into the mix. Thor is mourning the loss of his home and hammer, Stark feels he needs to take a break from saving the world, Captain America is still out to bring justice the right way, and Hulk has no control over himself. I don't know what formula the Russo brothers have applied in their direction but I watched in awe how all the characters blended to deliver multiple storylines within a movie. Yes, I have also compared this movie to a mega three-hour episode of your daily soap opera. Avengers: Infinity War is the comprehensive Marvel movie; it is the beginning of an end. It lifts you, it hits you, and leaves you with a cliffhanger extraordinaire. See it to believe it and it'll still be unbelievable. By next weekend, Infinity War will top $1.78 billion and could sit around $1.8 billion, ensuring Marvel's year-to-date tally exceeds $3.1 billion by next Sunday.

Deadpool 2 Marketing Right off the bat, you see how Deadpool has scratched out the 20th Century Fox logo and put “TBD,” which is a sly allusion to the ongoing Disney/Fox (and Comcast?) merger drama. The content of the letter is exactly what you might expect from the Merc with a Mouth. Pop culture references, silly puns, bad language, and Ryan Reynolds bashing. Then, at the bottom, instead of the #ThanosDemandsYourSilence, we get #WadeWilsonDemandsYourSisterSorryStupidAutoCorrectSilence. See, you guys, it’s funny! And not at all trying too hard. Kidding aside, the marketing for “Deadpool 2” has been pretty top notch, but perhaps not as great as the first film. Recently, the film premiered a music video for the soundtrack featuring Celine Dion singing an over-the-top ballad while a high-heel-wearing Deadpool does an interpretive dance around the diva. It’s ridiculous and fun. And also, the most recent trailer seems to have struck a chord with fans, who are coming down off their ‘Infinity War’ high.

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Top 10 Hollywood Box Office Weekend 1. Avengers: Infinity War - $62,078,047 (Total Grossing – $548,090,150) 2. Life of the Party - $17,886,075 (New) 3. Breaking In - $17,630,285 (New) 4. Overboard - $9,864,415 5. A Quiet Place - $6,455,396 (Total Grossing - $169,608,030) 6. I Feel Pretty - $3,805,437 7. Rampage - $3,462,442 (Total Grossing - $89,827,105) 8. Tully - $2,248,945 9. Black Panther -  $2,077,207 (Total Grossing - $696,331,818) 10. RBG - $1,188,186

Billboard’s top 10 Hits 1. This Is America – Childish Gambino (New) 2. Nice For What – Drake (Last Week: 1) 3. God’s Plan – Drake 4. Psycho – Post Malone Featuring Ty Dolla $ign (Last Week: 2) 5. Meant To Be – Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line 6. The Middle – Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey 7. Look Alive – BlocBoy JB Featuring Drake 8. Never Be The Same – Camila Cabello 9. Perfect – Ed Sheeran (Last Week: 12) 10. No Tears Left To Cry – Ariana Grande Learning and reflections: This program made me realize the inner potential I had to be so extrovert and be a good host. I learned what to do or say after getting stuck during a live session. I have improved my speaking skills and the flow of a RJ host on how to talk and say because they have a different tone when it comes to a live session. I have taken all these skills from this program and I even got selected and did a short commercial video for Spice FM Radio. I also learned how to write a script for a radio show.

[theastrophilearchitect]

February 2021 wrap-up.

Every book, audiobook, tv show and movie I consumed in February.

The phrase ‘wrap-up’ is so boring. I want to talk about books, TV shows and movies, so I can’t even call it a ‘reading wrap-up’, however pleasingly alliterative that sounds despite the fact that ‘wrap’ actually begins with a W. One of my favourite YouTubers, polandbananasBOOKS (that capitalisation is loud) calls her wrap-ups ‘Stories I Ate This Month’ which I love, but using exactly that seems wrong. I genuinely debated calling this ‘My Media Diet’, but the word ‘diet’ has so many negative connotations to me, so I dropped that. Besides ‘wrap-up’ all in lowercase followed by a full stop is aesthetically pleasing.

The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (audiobook) I’ve read this series countless times. I read the series first time through six years ago, and, after finishing it, I just kept rereading it during silent reading time at school, so God only knows how many times I’ve read it at this point. This is actually the second time I’ve listened to this audiobook, and I still, of course, love it. When I first read it, this book stuck with me. It was the first teen book I ever read and, most unfortunately, put me into a dystopian phase. However, we got over that. I’m good now. I promise.

You know what this is about, but here it is anyway: in a dystopian future (of literally just North America, it never mentions what’s happening anywhere else), a country called Panem (literally the whole of North America) is divided into the luxurious, utopian Capitol, and thirteen districts, all of which gather or produce something for the Capitol. Some of the districts live in poverty, while others are afforded some luxuries but nowhere near those of the Capitol. It never really explains how this system came to be, but then there was a rebellion against the Capitol in which District Thirteen was destroyed, and every year two teenagers from each district are chosen to compete in the Hunger Games, where twenty-four tributes are put in an arena together to fight to the death, and the last person standing emerges victorious. It feels so strange to talk about the basic premise of this book without going into the rest of the trilogy, but I’ll leave it here.

I hate how the media washes this book out and plays it off as just another love triangle, which it barely even is. It has such an important message about society, and the fact that the media does that just proves how accurate it is. I can’t believe when I first read it I was actually Team Gale, but in truth I think that was just because I liked Liam Hemsworth better than Josh Hutcherson, which I still do, but not the point. Anyway, the narrator is excellent.

I’m not giving these booksa rating, both because it’s a reread and I like to base ratings off my initial opinion, and because the first time I read this book I was literally a small child, and part of my love is the nostalgia.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab

This was the first book I read with my eyes this month, and I ended up getting the ebook because it was just so much cheaper than getting a physical copy - I may have invested if I loved the UK cover as much as the US, I’m ashamed to say (above is UK). It was not what I was expecting.

This book was much more contemplation-heavy than I was expecting and actually very light on plot. In 1714, Adeline LaRue runs away from her wedding and prays to Gods, wishing to be free, and is answered by the darkness, who makes her a deal: he grants her immortality, and she promises him her soul when she doesn’t want it anymore. He, wanting her soul, twistedly grants her freedom by cursing her to be forgotten by everyone she ever meets. Three hundred years later, she meets someone who remembers her.

It’s really about life, freedom and time - there’s no direct message or moral, at least not that I picked up on, but it really makes you think. I do enjoy that in a book, but not as much as one where i just love the story. I generally prefer books where I’m rooting for the characters, and it’s full of ships - the kind of stories you would write fanfiction about, but this is the kind of book that I think will stick with me. I take issue with how cliché the ending was, though.

Anyway, I’m not actually sure how I want to rate this. As a British teenager, I’m not actually that familiar with lettered ratings, and I don’t really want to use stars, but I think I’m going to suck it up. Maybe I’ll think of something else eventually.

Rating: 4.5 stars - books that get five stars from me are generally based on the enjoyment factor, but this book deserved more than four.

Arrow Season 1

I’ve been semi-interested in the Arrowverse/DC TV universe for a while, and finally took the opportunity to delve in. This show is so insanely CW - everyone has that look, it has that tone and it takes itself way too seriously. By the 23rd time you’re hearing it, the recap becomes painful to listen to.

This was the first show in DC’s saga - the show picks up as Oliver Queen returns home from being stranded on an island for five years after a cruise ship sank. When the ship went down, his billionaire father sacrificed himself to save Oliver, and left him with a list of ‘the people poisoning [his] city’. Upon returning home, Oliver becomes the vigilante who will eventually become known as ‘Arrow’ or ‘Green Arrow’ (currently unclear; I’m not a comic book person) but is currently dubbed just ‘the Hood’ or ‘the vigilante’, with the goal of taking down the people on the list. It’s very intense.

It took me about ten episodes to actually get invested - which is nearly seven hours watch time - but, ultimately, I’m glad that I did. Aside from the excessive CW-ness of this show, I love the characters and I want to see what happens.

Still, why is everyone so obsesses with Laurel? What’s so great about Laurel? I don’t get it. Felicity is 10000% the best character - she’s relatable, cute, and I high-key ship her with Oliver.

This little rant of mine was unintelligible.

Rating: 4 stars

Guardians of the Galaxy

I’m not explaining what this movie is about. Honestly. This was just a rewatch: I’m currently rewatching every MCU movie in chronological order (as in, starting with Captain America: The First Avenger instead of Iron Man). For every TV season I finish, I watch a a movie, and I alternate between movie series, one of which is, at the moment, MCU films. It’s hard for me to briefly explain my weird watching patterns.

I love this movie so much. It was the first really upbeat MCU movie, and I love the characters.

I don’t really have much to say about this, but if you haven’t watched MCU movies, please watch them. Even if you don’t want to, this movie is absolutely worth watching and you don’t need to watch any other MCU movies for context.

I Am Not Okay With This Season 1

I’m reeling from this show. I literally can’t tell whether or not this is getting a second season; it seems like it was meant to, but then got cancelled, and now I can’t tell.

This show follows a high school student named Sydney. She’s your typical outcast, and isn’t interested in getting ‘in’ - she’s best friends with a girl named Dina; they both came to their school around the same time and ended up friends, though Dina is your typical pretty girl. Then Syd discovers she has powers that operate based on her emotions, and I really don’t want to say anything else. But it does star Sophia Lillis and Wyatt Oleff, who you likely know as two of the kids in IT (the clown movie, not like computing).

Honestly, episodes 1-6 were very chill, more focused on teenage life than her powers, then episode 7 brought it. Up until the end of episode 7, I enjoyed the show and would be happy to watch a second season, but I wasn’t particularly invested or excited by it. Then episode 7. I would love a second season of this show. I have to at least know where the writers were going with it.

This show came out last year, and I only just got to it, but I can’t believe I haven’t heard anybody talking about it. It’s intense, it’s entertaining, and the first season will only take up about two and a half hours of your time (it’s seven 19-28 minute episodes).

Rating: 4 stars

Blue Lily, Lily Blue and The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

I listened to The Raven Cycle audiobooks in 2019, and I’m not sure why because I didn’t even enjoy them that much. I did, however, decide I wanted to read Call Down the Hawk, the first book in the spin-off series, and that meant I had to reread The Raven Cycle since I had paid so little attention to the audiobooks, which I started in January and I love this series. Not what I expected from a reread of a series I paid virtually no attention to, but here we are.

This is book 3 in The Raven Cycle series, book 1 being The Raven Boys, which is a paranormal book in which the protagonist Blue, is the only non-psychic in a family of psychics, and has been told her whole life that if she kisses her true love, she will kill him. Then, on St Somebody’s Eve (Mark’s? I want to say Mark’s but I’m not sure), when she goes with her aunt to see the spirits of the people who will die in the next year, she sees one of the spirits, a boy from Aglionby Academy, the local private school, meaning he is either her true love, or she is the one who kills him, which in her case, could very much be both. Then that boy schedules a reading with her psychic family to help him find an old Welsh king, and there is so much more than that to this glorious series, but I’ll stop here.

I think my main thing in books and general media is the characters. They have to follow some kind of sensible plot, but if I’m not invested in the characters, I can’t get invested in the story. I genuinely don’t think I’ve ever been so in love with a cast of characters, not even in Six of Crows - this story is so character-driven, and I can’t get enough. This was an excellent continuation, and so much happened, but it did feel like its purpose was just to set up the final book, so I didn’t enjoy this one quite as much as the previous two.

Rating: 4 stars

As for The Raven King - this was the last book I read this month, finishing it on the morning of the 27th because I knew I would have very little reading time from mid-afternoon until twenty-four hours later.

In complete honesty, I found the climax of this book to be a little rushed - we spend the whole series aware that Gansey’s looking for Glendower, but it never seems to be more prevalent than just their general investigations as to what the hell is happening. As a result, when it came to that in this book, it felt a little out of the blue (no pun intended).

Regardless, this series so well balances strong characters and strong plot where so many others fail, and I love it.

Rating: 5 stars

Fate: The Winx Saga Season 1

This show is a live-action rated-15 Netflix adaptation of one of my favourite childhood shows, Winx Club. And, honestly, you can tell.

I tried to watch this objectively, instead of complaining about how they cut some of my favourite characters and changed so many (Tecna, Riven, Beatrix, Stella, Brandon etc.). While I was upset about some of the cuts, I can agree that they were best for the story. Where in the original, every fairy had their own unique powers, this adaptation splits it into five elements: fire (Bloom), water (Aisha - on another note, screw Aisha, honestly), air (Beatrix), earth (Terra) and mind (Musa), though Stella still has light powers? Which is never explained?

Anyway, this follows teenage Bloom as she discovers she’s a fairy and goes through her first year at a fairy school called Alfea.

I’m not going to go too deep into this because I have so much to say about this show that i think I’m going to make a whole separate review rather than bore you with it now. 

Quality-wise, this show was mediocre, but enjoyment and nostalgia raise its rating for me because I’m biased.

Rating: 4 stars

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

This is both Bardugo’s first adult novel and her first novel not set in the Grishaverse. I read the Grisha trilogy for the first time years ago and didn’t like it that much, but followed that right up with the Six of Crows duology which I loved. I read King of Scars in 2019 when it came out, and started listening to the King of Scars audiobook just before I started reading this in preparation for Rule of Wolves at the end of March.

I loved this. I don’t think I have anything to criticise quality-wise - the characters had depth, there were plot twists and strong subplots, the world was incredibly well built, and the only thing that got me to put this book down was taking a week to start working on my own writing project (post coming soon). Because I took that week completely off reading, this book took me about two weeks total from start to finish, but it was so worth it.

This novel follows Alex Stern, a twenty-year-old whose friends have all been murdered. She was found beside one of them who died of a overdose, with the same drug in her system. But Alex can see ghosts, and, soon after her friends’ deaths, is consequently offered a scholarship to Yale University, on the condition that she works for the ninth House of the Veil to monitor the activities of Yale’s secret societies.

In complete candour, I found this book somewhat convoluted, though most of that was probably mainly my own poor reading comprehension. Regardless, I loved the plot, and am very highly anticipating the eventual release of its as-of-yet unnamed sequel.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

So I actually finished this audiobook briefly after finishing Blue Lily, Lily Blue, but I’m tacking it on here because I forgot to add it to the list and already explained my Grishaverse experience in my Ninth House comments.

So, yes, I love this duology, and it really opened a new compartment in my writing brain, even though I haven’t really taken advantage of that writing brain until now (again, post coming soon).

King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo

I am realising I’ve read eight books this month, and nearly half of them were by Leigh Bardugo. Which makes sense, considering how much I enjoy her books.

This book is slower-paced than most of hers, but it does follow two (one of which splits again) completely separate storylines, and is still excellent and entertaining.

I listened to this for a recap before Rule of Wolves is released on March 30th.

#wrapup #wrap up #february #february wrap up #books #book #reading #reader #february2021 #february 2021 #bookblr #writerblr #tv shows #movies #movie #tv show #review #movie review #show review #book review #film #films

[doux-amer]

i find the hypocrisy of Cap fans who are critical of Tony—many times to the point of being unreasonable—so tiring because not only is all the vitriol annoying, but they also deliberately choose not to be critical of Steve. I’m not saying Steve should be vilified as that’s just as exasperating and that tips the scales way over to the other end in terms of a balanced viewpoint (and because I love Steve lol), but there’s this underlying message under the hatred thrown Tony’s way that he’s everything we should hate (about America, about society, etc.). And...honestly? If that’s how you’re going to view him, then it says a lot if you don’t see Steve in the same light. It’s easier when you’re not American and when you’re not white—and never was that more apparent than in the immediate aftermath of CA:CW—but there are legitimate ways Steve can come off as incredibly unlikable and a symbol for the bad sides to America as well. If Tony makes you uncomfortable, your boy Steve should too. 

It’s a little unfair to make Steve out to be a bad guy, though, because he’s not and a lot of it comes down to bad writing by men who have revealed just how little they understand or care about Steve. BUTTTTTTT at the same time, I don’t want any of that to be swept under the rug either. In fact, just like there was a critique on the U.S. as a running theme through the Iron Man trilogy, particularly in the beginning (which is impressive considering when IM1 was made), I wish we saw more of that in the Cap trilogy. The Russos and M&M tried to do that, but the reason why it failed was because they made things too big picture. Steve’s story has been too repetitive and too much of “little guy throwing up a middle finger to the establishment/big bad government” when it should have been more intimate and put Steve through a personal crucible so that he emerges a more nuanced character. 

That sort of story is fine for TFA, but TWS had too much emphasis on how shady the government can be, how even something that was supposed to be good or even started out with good intentions can be corrupted (obviously, shadiness is inherent to intelligence agencies, but we’re talking about SHIELD in the make-believe world of the MCU, which started off as something pure. I’m trying very hard not to include Tony’s ending monologue in IM3 which is a good parallel to Peggy’s lines in TWS). By itself, that’s okay, but then we get CA:CW, where we finally see Steve himself get tested rather than him testing/pushing other people and...that should have been the point where Steve realizes he no longer represents the little guy. However long he was that for the majority of his life, he’s now part of the majority, the people in power. The privileged. Not just because of the serum and the mythos and legacy of Captain America but also because of who he is as a person, with all that stripped away. Steve was once part of the marginalized as a sick, disabled Irish American man. He’s no longer sick. He’s no longer disabled. The Irish are no longer seen or treated the same way. He’s a white man. 

It would have been so refreshing and fascinating to see Steve deal with that transition, which had already started to take place once Project Rebirth was a success, after waking up from the ice. How can he be a champion of the people if he has more in common with those in power, no matter how stubbornly he refuses to associate himself with them? How can he be a voice for the voiceless without treading over their rights and drowning them out by speaking on their behalf? How does he learn to be a good ally, to make sure that that’s what Captain America is all about? Honestly, this is why we needed Sam to be Sam the way he is in the comics; we needed someone who would challenge Steve, who would argue with him because he loves Steve and believes in who he is as well as who he can be. Someone who would challenge his viewpoints and make him see things from a different perspective he may not have considered. Instead, we got Sam, the yes man (sorry, as someone who was so hopeful and excited for Steve and Sam’s friendship after TWS, I’m bitter about what happened to him and am so glad he’s getting his own show with Bucky because damn, both of them are at their worst when they’re with Steve and I want them to be free of him). Sam, who doesn’t question Steve; he may express some reservations, but that’s it. He’ll do what Steve does. He’ll go where Steve goes. At some point, that stops being loyalty and starts being blind following. This is why we needed Sharon. This is also why Peggy in TFA and TWS was so great and why Tony in The Avengers and beyond has been riveting, why Steve’s relationships with those two characters in particular make for most of his most interesting scenes. They’re literally the only two people (maybe Fury too? But a lot of people don’t see eye-to-eye with Fury, so it’s sort of not the same while being the same) to go toe-to-toe with Steve and not back down, to challenge him and force him to grow or change.

Anyway, the Russos and M&M have made it abundantly clear over and over again since TWS through the post-Endgame era that they’re cis white men writing the story of a cis white man. The same goes for Whedon who also attempted to address Steve’s America in a deleted scene in AoU (Cap and the Avengers being seen as fascists) but had no clue what he thought he was trying to talk about. It was super clumsy and a fumble in the dark that hit on the very edge of the right topic but quickly bounced off it. I don’t think any of them truly understood the story they thought or were trying to tell. It makes me wish we got a POC as the writer and director for Steve’s story after TFA because we could have had such a compelling narrative on Steve trying to find his place and on trying to figure out what it means to be Captain America in the 21st century.

#HELLO!!!! I AM BITTER!!!!! #I HATE CAP FANS AS A CAP FAN BUT I ALSO GET PROTECTIVE OVER STEVE BECAUSE BOTH SIDES HAVE BEEN SO UTTERLY INCAPABLE OF BEING OBJECTIVE #SO THAT THEY REALLY PICK AND CHOOSE WHATEVER FITS THEIR OWN NARRATIVE AND EVEN TWIST THINGS #(although as someone who loves steve and tony equally and has been in the middle watching both sides get angry cap fans are a lot worse) #(but iw/eg tony fans and/or anti-steve fans have been inching ever closer to their level of obnoxiousness) #(i'm not saying this from a ''why can't we all be friends?'' kumbaya mean girls way. people have really gone off the deep end) #ANYWAY IMAGINE IF WE GOT THIS! WE WERE ROBBED! I WILL NEVER STOP BEING ANGRY!!!!!

[charlierejouis]

Avengers Endgame Q & A Review (Spoiler Edition)

With a few days left until Spiderman: Far From Home, I think it's safe to talk about this movie in more spoiler-y terms. I think the spoiler ban has been up for a while, but I still know people who haven’t seen this movie yet. As usual, here’s an example of how this will go.

What do you think of the Endgame re-release?

It’s a hilariously transparent attempt to overtake Avatar as the highest-grossing movie that my only reason for not taking part in is scheduling conflicts and lack of money. I am pathetic and I don’t know for why.

Let’s go!

How has your view on Endgame changed in the months since seeing it?

Since seeing it, I’ve come to recognize more and more things about it I love and appreciate it. I genuinely can’t imagine another movie that’s been in the MCU topping it, nor do I expect a movie to have higher highs than it. However, I can appreciate people who would say that Infinity War or some other movie was better than it.

Are you willing to group this in with Infinity War, similar to how you see the Iron Man movies as equally good?

I can’t even say that Endgame stops being Infinity War until after the time skip. These two movies are different in both tone and motivation. I think they deserve to be seen as their own movies. Not to mention, much of the reason for my views on the Iron Man trilogy is because it is the trilogy of my favorite character in the MCU.

Which Avenger had the best run in Endgame?

This might upset some people, but I love how Thor was handled. Dude goes 0-2 against Thanos in the last movie and you don’t expect him to go depressed once he can’t get the revenge he wants? I said this before, but I love that this movie made me care about Thor: The Dark World, one of the worst movies in the MCU. I’ve been going through his movies again because I want to talk about how Thor has been throughout the MCU. What I will say is that Thor in the hands of James Gunn may result in an even better version of Thor than we’ve seen before.

Which Avenger had the worst run in Endgame?

I hinted at this before, but I don’t love the Hulk’s transformation being skipped. I get that it’s a long movie and we need to get to other points, but I do wish we got more of Professor Hulk’s development before he was plopped onto us after the time skip. Of course, the movie works as it is, but it would be better if we got more of that.

How does Captain America’s ending fall on that scale?

He had an awesome run in this movie. The events of the past few phases of the MCU, especially Infinity War, have given us a broken version of the once Star-Spangled Man with a Plan. That he decides to retire the way he does at the end of the movie is something I didn't allow myself to believe was possible but I should have expected nothing less from the directors responsible for his best movies and the writers behind his trilogy, especially once time travel was introduced as a plot point. For the consideration of some, I’ve seen the writers confirm the theory that Peggy’s husband in Winter Soldier was always meant to be Steve.

What did you think of the scene with Carol? You know, that scene?

When I originally planned to tackle this question in this post, I was planning on dealing with people who were mad at the scene for pandering. Now, we’ve gone the opposite way and people are arguing that Marvel Studios was wrong for having this scene exactly because of their less-than-stellar representation of women characters. At the time, I was caught up in the euphoria of the final battle that for like a half hour I lived in a world where political agendas didn’t exist. It took until I left the theater to realize I saw a tweet that hinted at this and days until I realized why people would have issues with it. I will say that Nando v Movies gave an improved version of this scene.

What are your thoughts on the Black Widow drama?

I find it all hilariously ironic. This time last year, people were mad at the concept of a solo Black Widow movie, making arguments for some other MCU heroine with a fraction of the screentime or relevance to get her spotlight. I even saw a post suggesting that they could recast Scarjo as Black Widow for the movie. Now that they killed her in Endgame, some of these exact same people want to act like they were her biggest fan and that the choice to have her die was motivated by some form of sexism. And the cherry on top of this whole situation? The Russos are being called sexist because one woman who helped work on the film thought it was a sacrifice needed for her to take over Clint. After Endgame and this drama, I’m even more motivated to see this movie and hope it does and is better than Captain Marvel, at the very least.

So, you think that Black Widow’s sacrifice was done well?

Kind of? I found it weirdly hilarious that the Soul Stone came down to the two characters argued to be the most useless within the Avengers, watching the scene play out in theaters. Frankly, I don’t know that there was a better choice between her and Hawkeye. They just decided to go with the one that allowed an actual family reunion to be possible. With the benefit of time, I’ve come to see how this works for her arc as she finally found a way to get the red out of her ledger. While I don’t think it’s bad to have this kind of thing happen, I wish we did get more of a proper memorial or funeral for her.

How do you feel about the information we’ve learned about this movie’s events in interviews?

I don’t exactly love it.  While it’s an unpopular view, I consider “canon” [what is presented in a work] and Word of God [what is revealed by series creators] to be on about the same level. Consider part of that comes from my more biblical background being applied to these terms and my work in fan writing relying on both. I love that we have so directors and writers who recognize that they are making a movie that millions of people are interested in their work and willing to add insight to their thought process months before we’ll get their commentaries on the film. However, I don’t love hearing them explain stuff that could and probably should have been made clear within the actual movie. I wish some of the things made clear by the writers or directors were already clear within the movies, even though I don’t think the movie is made worse by it. I don’t think a lot of it comes from a sense of “trying to cover their tracks” but it can feel like that when you do this and I don’t love that.  

With all the changes you wish happened, why would you still call this the best movie in the MCU?

I think that there are a lot of issues with this movie that could be addressed by some of the fixes others have suggested, including the ones I’ve brought up in this post. However, for every genuinely good and relevant change that I have seen made to this movie better, I’ve seen a heck of a lot of absolute zero takes on this movie and suggestions to fix this movie that make it worse than what we got. Around the time I posted my other review, I got to sit with some other people who saw the movie. When I told them some issues people I know had with the movie, they were shocked these could even be seen as issues. As low as this movie gets, I can’t say they’re issues that are bad enough to earn a lower spot in my ranking of the MCU movies than where it currently is and I can’t imagine one taking that spot soon.

So that’s been fun. It’ll be a while before I see Far From Home, but I have no reason to think it will be a bad film. See you!

#avengers endgame #mcu #marvel cinematic universe #marvel #russo brothers #this was fun to do again #also i'm on vacation #i thought i would have queued this #oh well...

[lesbian-janai]

I in no way mean in this in any sort of mean spirited way, people are allowed to like and dislike whatever characters they want but I’m just genuinely curious... why don’t you like tony stark? And what makes him a bad parental figure to peter? I agree with you on the aunt May thing, it kinda gets on my nerves when people are like peter is TONYS SON like he doesn’t already have parental figures. But I still think he’s a good character and just wondering about your opinion I guess.

Alright this is gonna be long and it’s full of negativity so if anyone sees this and you don’t want to see negativity about t*ny st*rk please scroll past this (i will also be censoring his name to keep it out of the search) I also want to make it clear that this is all my own opinion. If you like t*ny, that’s great! I’m not gonna try to change your views or anything. I’m just going to explain why I personally don’t like him. Also, if anyone sees this and gets mad or defensive or anything, please don’t try to start an argument. This is all just my personal opinion. (p.s. Some endgame spoilers ahead)

Now that that’s all out of the way, I’m going to split this into two parts: why I don’t like t*ny in general (i’m basically going to go through each movie and pointing out things he’s done that make me dislike him) and why I think he’s a bad father figure/mentor to peter. I’m gonna be using a lot of strong language, since that’s just how i am when i talk about things i feel strongly about, so just be warned for some cussing and yelling and stuff like that

Why i don’t like T*ny in general. First of all, I really like t*ny in the first avengers movie and in the i.m. trilogy. It’s only from a.o.u. And beyond that i really dislike him. A big factor that goes into this is the fact that he gets too much attention and seems to take the spotlight from other characters in every movie he’s in. I know people love ir*n m*n, but there’s a point when you start to get tired of the same character taking the front of a movie that’s supposed to be shared between multiple characters. He had 3 whole movies to set up his character and go through several arcs, yet he still gets a huge part in every avengers movie while other characters like nat and clint are shoved to the side. I wouldn’t mind him having large roles in the avengers movies as much if the character screen times split evenly amongst the main avengers, but the avengers movies never really felt like avengers movies. They always felt like “t*ny st*rk and some other superheroes you might know” movies. even outside of the avengers movies he gets more screen time than necessary. Ca:cw for instance. He got half the screen time, and had more speaking lines than the title character. Ca:cw was supposed to be a captain america movie, not an avengers movie, and because t*ny was shoved in that movie, steve had a less satisfying character arc in his final movie. This is all marvel’s fault, of course, i mean it’s not like t*ny can control what movies he’s in, but when you always see the same character be the forefront of every single movie while all of your favorite characters get shoved to the side, you start to dislike that character.

Now on to the movies! I disliked him in a.o.u., but i’m not gonna talk about a.o.u. all that much since i honestly don’t remember that much from it and a lot of things i disliked about him in that movie are brought up in other movies. I’m gonna start off with civil war, since that’s the movie that pretty much solidified my dislike for him. So now i’m gonna point out some things in civil war that t*ny did that made me dislike him. I’m not going to go through every little thing he did, just the major ones.

1. That whole guilt-trippy speech he did to get the other avengers to sign the accords. He used a kid that died during the ultron attack to guilt the other avengers when it was all t*ny’s fault in the first place, he’s the one who built ultron, therefore he’s the one responsible for any death or damage that ultron caused, not any of the other avengers who were just trying to clean up t*ny’s mess. He also acted like none of the other avengers cared about the people who died in sokovia, including wanda, who freaking lived there and probably knew a lot of people who died there, not to mention her own fucking twin brother died in ultron’s attack and you have the gall to act like she doesn’t care???? what the fuck t*ny!!!!! Guilt tripping on its own is a horrible thing to do, but to use your own mistake as a tool to guilt trip other people when they were just trying to clean up your mess is just disgusting.

2. Shooting sam point blank in the chest after he tried to save rhodey. Every time i think about this scene it makes my blood boil. Sam was chasing after rhodey, and then t*ny told vision to shoot sam, but sam ducked out of the way, causing vision to hit rhodey instead and destroy his suit. Rhodey started falling to the ground, and sam dived down to try in rescue him, but he didn’t reach rhodey in time. T*ny goes over to rhodey, who is unconscious and injured, and sam comes up next to him and says, “i’m sorry.” you wanna know what t*ny does next? He fucking shoots sam in the chest!!!!! So hard that he freaking flips back and passes out!!!!! The man just tried to save your best friend and you fucking shoot him????? What the fuck!!!!! Sam deserved so much better than that. It’s just… such a horrible thing to do. To just shoot someone in the chest after they tried to save your friend. What the fuck.

3. trying to kill bucky. I do understand that he was extremely upset after finding out that the winter soldier killed his parents and he was kind of mentally unstable, but bucky was a brainwashed prisoner of war who had no choice in what he did. t*ny knew that bucky was brainwashed and had no choice of his own, but he still tried to kill him!!! Like… i understand why t*ny tried to kill him, but that doesn’t make it any less okay to try to kill an innocent man. this is more me having a problem with the writing than with t*ny himself, since i truly don’t believe t*ny would try to murder an innocent man after finding out he was brainwashed into killing his parents. t*ny’s a smart guy and he should’ve been able to realize that bucky wasn’t the one who killed his parents, hydra was, but regardless, the writers made him try to kill bucky and i don’t like it.

I think that’s all with civil war, now onto infinity war! (i’m skipping sm:hc because i’ll talk about that movie in the why t*ny is a bad mentor segment): there’s much less I have a problem with here since most of my dislike for t*ny comes from civil war. This movie didn’t really make me dislike him any more than i already did, but it didn’t make me like him either. The main problem i have here is how he refused to call steve after bruce told him about thanos. Like, the world is ending dude. There’s a man coming to destroy the world and you need all the help you can get, yet you refuse to call steve because of a personal problem? Like… i do understand his hesitance, but if you can’t call steve maybe give the phone to bruce or dr. strange so they can call steve instead. Stopping thanos is more important than your personal problems with steve.

Alright now on to endgame (spoilers ahead beware) this is sort of the same with infinity war, in which it didn’t make me dislike t*ny any more than i already did but it didn’t make me like him either. I also have more of a problem with the writing than anything that t*ny does himself. (except for the part where he’s like “you weren’t there when i needed you, steve!” like… you’re the one who refused to call him… it’s not steve’s fault you didn’t call him…) The main thing i have a problem with is the fact that he’s the one who got to kill thanos instead of nebula. Nebula has been through hell because of thanos, he abused her, tortured her, tore her apart, nobody deserved to kill thanos more than her. And yet… because t*ny is so much more important than anyone else apparently, he’s the one who killed thanos, taking away what could’ve been a great character moment for nebula and giving it to t*ny who really didn’t need it. I would’ve been fine if t*ny still got to be the one who stopped thanos’ army and still got his sacrificing moment if nebula still got to kill thanos instead of him, but nope! That’s not what happened! Also the fact that t*ny got this big emotional funeral while nat got nothing, you can just tell that marvel cares more about their male superheroes than their female superheroes. Again, i don’t really have a problem with anything t*ny himself did (except for what he said to steve at the beginning) just the fact that marvel cares more about him than any other superhero makes me really dislike him. (also, kind of unrelated but it makes me really uncomfortable when people call t*ny nebula’s dad/nebula t*ny’s daughter. It just seems infantilizing to me. She’s a grown ass woman, she doesn’t need a dad.)

So basically the reason why i dislike t*ny st*rk in general is because marvel focuses way too much on him to the point where i’m just tired of seeing him. They give him the spotlight even though they could shine some light on some underdeveloped characters instead. They care more about him than any of the other superheroes, especially the female superheroes. Then there’s the way he acts in civil war, the way he tries to guilt trip the avengers using his own mistake, the way he shoots sam in the chest for no reason, the way he tries to kill bucky, an innocent man who was brainwashed into doing terrible things and t*ny knew that. And the characterization that i dislike about him in cw makes its way into other movies, furthering my dislike of him. Basically just… erase civil war t*ny out of existence and maybe i’ll like him. In fact, erase all of civil war out of existence. Give steve the cap 3 movie he deserves.

Alright, now onto why i think t*ny is a horrible mentor/father figure! Let’s start with civil war. First of all, it’s kind of questionable how t*ny decided to bring a 14/15 year old to germany, illegally, and have him fight, illegally, against a bunch of superpowered people who are way more skilled and better trained than he is. There’s also the fact that he basically manipulated him (steve: you don’t know what’s going on. Peter: st*rk told me you’d say that. Steve: what else did he tell you? Peter: that you’re wrong, and you think you’re right. And that makes you dangerous. That’s manipulation, folks!) so basically, t*ny manipulated a 14/15 year old into coming to germany and having him fight in a battle he knew nothing about, all of which was illegal. (the reason i’m so adamant about the illegal part is because in ca:cw t*ny was all about following the law, which makes him seem like a hypocrite when he breaks the law)There’s also the fact that he made fun of peter’s home-made suit, which is a pretty dick move (more on that later). This is not a good start to their relationship

Now onto sm:hc, which doesn’t do t*ny any favors. So basically, t*ny has been ignoring peter for weeks, more dick moves, and when peter warns him about possible danger, t*ny brushes him off. When peter goes out to deal with the problem himself, because the responsible adult he contacted brushed him off, t*ny gets mad at him and says “who do you think sent the fbi?” as if peter had any way of knowing he was gonna take care of it. t*ny then takes away the suit he made for him, which brings me back to my point in ca:cw about how shitty it was of him to make fun of peter’s suit. (peter: i’m spiderman. t*ny: not in that onesie you’re not. Peter, later: i’m nothing without this suit! t*ny: if you’re nothing without this suit then you don’t deserve to wear it) you can’t make fun of a kid’s homemade suit and think it amounts to anything. t*ny made peter dependent on the suit because t*ny himself said “you’re not spiderman with the suit you made yourself” and then you take it away and act like he doesn’t deserve the suit???? What the fuck!!!! There’s also the creepy way he talks about aunt may. Joking or not, you should ever say inappropriate things about a kid’s aunt right in front of him.

So basically the reason i think t*ny is a bad mentor/father figure towards peter is because he manipulated him into fighting for him illegally, ignores peter, brushes off his concerns, made fun of his homemade suit, and then took the “better” suit away from him after one mistake, which happened due to the aforementioned ignoring and brushing off of his concerns. I do admit their relationship gets better in a:iw and a:e, but it’s not enough to make me change my mind about him being a bad mentor/father figure

Alright i think that’s it. I didn’t mention everything, juse the major things. Anyways, that’s why i don’t like t*ny st*rk and why i think he’s a bad mentor/father figure towards peter. Thank you for asking! I know this is long, but i hope you can read it or at least get the gist of it.

[kyoulove]

40 Questions - Meme for Shippers

So @bethanyactually was doing these yesterday, and I wanted to answer them all, so I am! I’ll do a couple then put the rest under a cut so you all don’t get a wall of text. :D (I’ve actually had this open in a word document for about a week, so it’s way later than I intended to post hahahaha whoops)

1.  Talk about the first ship you ever had. OH MAN. My wee shipper heart! I think (think!) the first one I ever had was the couple from Today’s Special? That kids show where the mannequin came to life and they were obviously in love with eachother.

2.  Talk about three of the most important ships throughout your life. Oooo in my life? Well…. Snape/Hermione was one that I shipped for YEARS as a teen (I still ship them but don’t actively read about them). Bulma/Vegeta from DBZ really got me into fandom as a youngling. Inquisitor/Cullen is so important to me too, because of the impact that Dragon Age Inquisition had on me.

3.  What’s your current OTP? But how do I pick just one? Right this second I have tabs open for stories to read with Bellamy/Clarke, from The 100. And also Jyn/Cassian from Rogue One. And a couple random Inquisitor/Cullen stories and Steve/Bucky ones.

4.  What’s your current NOTP? Um….. There isn’t a lot I don’t ship, really….. Hm…. Haha - Voldemort/Hermione. I don’t know what was happening in the internet last week but wow. Ooooo wait I thought of one! Ron/Hermione. Nope, don’t like it.

5.  Do you have any poly ships? Damn you, Leverage, but you made me ship it. So hard. SO HARD.

6.  How do you feel about love triangles? While I’m pretty much over them right now, done right I don’t necessarily dislike them. Sometimes. Really though, at this point in my reading/shipping life, a love triangle seems like such a contrived plot point that I just want it to go away.

7.  How do you feel about RPF? It makes me really uncomfortable, and I don’t read it. Fictional characters are wonderful to write about, but real people are actually real people and there is a line there, I think. (Though, when I was but a young teen, a couple friends and I were deep DEEP into writing Hanson RPF – I think we wrote that they moved in next door? It spawned and epic and ultimately weirdly tragic tale.)

8.  Have you ever shipped yourself with a character? Have I ever introduced you to my fictional husband, Ser Cullen Stanton Rutherford? (Though honestly, I actually ship myself more with the Iron Bull, because I can’t play through his romance in game.)

9.  Do you have many ships that never got together at all? Yesssssss so many. Betty/Jughead (I haven’t thought of them in so long, thanks Riverdale), let’s not even get into Stiles/Derek, are Clarke/Bellamy actually together? I don’t know, I think most of my ships are not canon. I tend to like those almost more in fandom, because romances that happen on screen have already happened! It’s a weird feeling.  

10.  Do you ship any characters that have never met? No, I can’t think of any?

11.  Talk about your favorite first kiss. Ooooo Veronica and Logan. They have an A+ first kiss.

12.  Have you ever been disappointed when your ship finally got together? Well, most of my ships don’t…

13.  Has a ship ever broken your heart? YES. Elizabeth and Will in Pirates of the Caribbean. The ending of the first trilogy, where they can only be together for one day every 10 years was SO UNSATISFYING I can’t actually watch the movies again.

14.  How do you feel about will they/won’t they? Uggggg. I don’t mind a bit of tension about the relationship, but if it’s dragged on too long I lose interest, and frankly think the relationship becomes unhealthy. Pining is great, pining for years is awkward. (See: Bones)

15.  Have you ever “shipped at first sight”? Yes, pretty much always.

16.  Talk about a ship you initially disliked. I would say probably my OT3 from Leverage, just because I didn’t want an OT3 in my life LOL.

17.  Talk about a pairing you’ve stopped shipping romantically. When I was reading the first Mistborn book, I initially shipped Vin and Kelsier together. However as the book progressed, they fell into more of a father/daughter relationship which suited the characters perfectly.

18.  Talk about a moment which made you question an entire ship. I’m sure there is something but I’m drawing a blank, friends. A BLANK. I guess the entire Civil War arc made me question all my Steve/Tony feels?

19.  Have you ever shipped something despite yourself? Well, I am normally not into poly relationships, but then ALONG CAME LEVERAGE AND HERE WE ARE. Lordie. The three of them are just so in love. I really didn’t want anything to do with The 100 as a show either, but I slipped and fell in thanks to the fanfiction LOL.

20.  Talk about a ship you feel alone in shipping. Lassiter/Shawn from Psych. I mean. Clearly they love eachother. But there just isn’t a whole lot of fanfiction! One day, maybe!

21.  Is there a ship you just don’t get, but have nothing against? Scott/Stiles, I think. I really love them as brothers, and have a hard time moving past that!

22.  Which of your ships have the best chemistry? Steve/Bucky, probably. Sterek is a close second too!

23.  Which of your ships deserve better writing? All have good writing, I think, but I think the Jack/Phryne ship needs more. Much more. Because I love them and I need it :D (Actually, more is basically what I want for all fandoms ever, because I’m just so greedy LOL)

24.  Do you mostly ship canon pairings? No, I think I ship the ones that never really happen the most!

25.  Have you ever shipped a pairing before you even started watching the show/movie simply because of gifs and graphics or similar? I have never had the slightest desire to watch The 100, but I ship Bellamy/Clarke so hard. I also started watching Teen Wolf solely because of the quality Sterek fandom of the time.

26.  Have you noticed a pattern in your shipping? Is there a romantic dynamic you’re more drawn to? I love enemies to lovers, I love “OOOPS I caught a feeling what do I do”, I love an age difference (only in fiction kids, only in fiction), I love sass and pining. I love a long, drawn out story where both of the idiots think the other doesn’t have any romantic feelings. Oh, and coffee shop AUs. Classic.

27.  Is there a ship you’ve shipped for most of your life? Not really, though Snape/Hermione is probably the longest running one.

28.  Does shipping come easily to you? As easy as breathing. I love love! Show me two people with the slightest degree of feelings and BAM I have probably shipped it.

29.  Do you need to ship something to really enjoy a movie/book/tv show/comic? No, but it certainly helps! And frankly, unless it is a piece of entertainment with only one person I am probably going to find the ship hiding in it.

30.  Name a couple of fandoms in which you have no ships. Ahahahahahahahhaha it’s possible that one doesn’t exist but TRY ME INTERNET.

31.  Talk about one of your favorite headcanons for a ship you love. It’s not really a headcannon per se, but I’ve read a lot of fanfics where Jyn/Cassian share a bed before they really admit their feelings and I love itttttt.

32.  Share five must-read fics. But How to choose??? Tearing Down the Heavens [Inquisitor/Cullen – Dragon Age Inquisition], Champion’s Coffer [Hawke/Varric – Dragon Age 2], let’s give ‘em something to talk about [Jyn/Cassian – Star Wars Rogue One], regardless of warning the future doesn’t scare me at all [Clarke/Bellamy – The 100], This Your Protect [Steve/Bucky – Captain America: The Winter Soldier]

33.  Name your favorite fanartist(s). Ummmm….. I don’t have one?

34.  Share your favorite fanmix for your OTP. I don’t have one of these either!

35.  Recommend 1-5 shipper blogs. Pass – I don’t want to link to people and all the blogs I follow are multi fandom blogs :D

36.  Do you create fanmixes/gif sets/fanart/fic/fanvids and so on for you ships? Nope!

37.  Do you have a favorite trope and/or AU for your OTP? Coffeeshop AUs are just the best I think. A long slow burn and enemies to lovers is also great.

38.  Do you like and use ship names? I think the only one I really use is Sterek, the rest of them are name/name.

39.  Is there a fictional relationship you’d really want for yourself? Mmmm nah. I mean, I love my husband a lot, and frankly, we put our favorite characters through some shit!

40.  If you could change one thing about your OTP, what would that be? Hahahah I don’t have an OTP – the closest I can get is sometimes an OTP within a fandom lol. Let’s see. I think across the board I would like to see more producers/writers who love the fandom actually DO something with that information. Less queerbaiting and actually making it canon, for a start (looking at you, Teen Wolf). If there are some unattached people that are loudly and enthusiastically paired together, why not try it out? Sometimes the writers have a different path in mind, and I get that, but so often in shows it’s to draw out the tension or to just ignore it entirely. And please, stop the love triangles.

Well, now that I’ve read and written the word “ship” way to many times, thank you and goodnight. :D

#beth rambles #ships #so many ships!!!! #mine

[fluffandfiteme-archived]

#JustKeepWriting 1/13/17

Not 15 minutes ago I was planning to go to sleep. Between the ping pong game the medical “professionals” are playing regarding my mother’s well being and my own matters, I have been drained and exhausted. An unrelated note, the death of diets is mothers. I haven’t given up on eating less, but today certainly took a hit.

But no, as I went into my mother’s room to say good night, she read a question of her social media site of choice-Quora, a privately run question and answer site. A single question ignited me, and now I must write on a topic I have before, and likely will again.

“What is a Mary Sue and how do I avoid writing one?”

I sucked in my breath before answering. You see, in my dozen years of dabbling in social circles based on movies, games, and shows I have encountered this term. It has been used to terrify young women who really want to write a character who happens to be extraordinary. Most often it was used to refer to fan created characters who appeared in fan fiction or role play, frequently pairing off with a pre-existing character and potentially changing the course of canon.

I mean not that that it doesn’t make complete sense that a new character of substance could change the course of a history. Because you know what? It really does.

It was usually used as a shaming technique on female writers or writers who created female characters. Often called overpowered, too perfect, too happy, and too tragic and angsty all at the same time.

Over the years, the name calling of Mary Sue has moved to canonical characters, in other words, characters in the main narrative by the same writer as everyone else who do appear in the work. A fresh example was regarding Rey, in Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Before that, I remember Xion who appeared in Kingdom Hearts Days. Technically there’s a number in that title, but it was confusing and false advertising so everyone calls it Days. Bella Swan from Twilight and the character that was once literally her in fanfiction, Anastasia Steele from 50 Shades of Grey have both been called it. (Yes, I read it. Will probably continue to for research to further tear it apart and write alternate reality fiction. Who knows, maybe I’ll knock off 50 to expose the dangers and conflict caused by the so called romance).

During the brief questioning regarding Rey, I wrote on my old blog comparing her to Anakin and Luke Skywalker as they appeared in the previous trilogies. Except I did it without identifying any of them until after their scores were in. My scoring methods were simple: did they follow the core components of Wikipedia’s definition, and how high did they score on the Universal Mary Sue Test.

[The mentioned Quiz is found here ]

[The full posts can be found here and here

Shockingly of the three leads, Rey scored the lowest on both counts. She was the most balanced of the characters. Anakin was inching onto the Sue scale. And Luke was no holds barred.

But you know what the funny thing I noticed in my own experiences are?

I have never once heard someone call a male character a Mary Sue. Now, there is a term for it-Gary or Marty Stu. But I have literally never heard it used.

(I mean, there are characters that are just really badly written, but this is about the Mary Sue stigma used to keep female characters demur, weak, and undeveloped.)

Now, the wikipedia intro blurb defines a Mary Sue as:

“An idealized and seemingly perfect fictional character, a young or  low rank person who saves the day through unrealistic abilities. Often this character is recognized as an author insert or wish fulfillment.”

Author insert aside, because fuck you I have two characters that started that way but both of them and I have diverged and developed completely independent and because I write them well, no one could guess, and most enjoy writing against them in role play.

Idealized and seemingly perfection fictional character, often young or low rank who saves the day through unrealistic abilities.

Literally any and all Jedi could be shoved under this category.

Kingdom Hearts is literally full of lead characters and supporting cast fitting this classification-not to speak of Square Enix and Disney, the parent companies.

One could say Bella qualifies, given her unique resistance to vampire abilities, her teenage status, and how all the boys and girls lobe her.

The same cannot actually be said about her fanfiction counterpart, Ana Steele? I refuse to count 21 as young, she doesn’t save the day through unrealistic abilities, and she is not perfect.

But you know what? By that definite, Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, is a Mary Sue. He was a kid from Brooklyn, barely old enough to be drafted, if he had ever qualified. He was poor as dirt, so also of low rank. He has no real character flaws of note, Civil War not withstanding because that’s a separate issue but the narrative still displays him as in the right. And suddenly through the power of science, he becomes a super human and saves the world time and time again.

Or hey kids, how about Batman? Little Bruce Wayne is orphaned, but over the years trains and uses the family fortune profits to run the company, improve Gotham City’s socioeconomic structure, win multiple hearts and minds, and oh yeah, create an arsenal of super advanced and cool tools and weapons with a bat theme, including a car, a super computer, a suit, and a secret lab.

Oh! Aragorn! You know, the Ranger, Strider, Aka, Aragorn, Son of Arathorn, Isulder’s heir from Lord of the Rings? His mother literally died dropping him on the doorstep of the elves in Rivendell. Thus he became a human raised among them, and oh yeah, he’s a Dunedin (not sure how that’s spelled) with super ranger tracking abilities and extra long life expectancy. Not like elf long, but easily topping dwarf or Hobbit. Wins the heart of Arwen, then Eowyn, basically the only two female characters that aren’t Galadirel. Who by the way is Arwen’s aunt so that would be weird. He unites the previously warring peoples of Elves, different nations of man, and even a few hobbits and a dwarf. And I mean like literally the day before he gave King Theodan a pep talk, Rohan was of the mind Gondor could go screw themselves. And the elves had been completely indifferent. Oh, and lets not forget the special chosen prince totally not Excaliber sword he used to summon the army of ghosts that wiped out the entire force attacking Minas Tirith.

Captain Kirk. Even before the reboot, he was mister Captain Perfect Hair. He could do no wrong, and generally had a different lover interest every episode. And oh yeah, he was born in Iowa, pre reboot, a good old country boy.

Lets see, Marvel, DC, Fantasy, Scifi…

I feel like I need anime and video game examples next.

Bleach. An old favorite though some of the final arc decisions-well, let me be honest, the final pairing decisions, left me put off. Anyway. Ichigo Kurosaki is the lead character. Spoilers ahead for anyone not familiar. It turns out he’s a half Shinigami on his father’s side, half Quincy on his mother’s side, and a pinch of Hollow because house Isshin met his mother. Which means all three main races, that DO NOT GET ALONG THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE SERIES, he is part of. Even at the beginning of the show, he’s got the ability to see ghosts and spirits, and seems to be able to take on entire gangs on his own. He is a poor boy whose father runs an urgent care clinic, and is guilt stricken constantly about the death of his mother. Which later becomes a major plot point like twice over to give him angst. Once given Shinigami powers, or once his powers awaken, he is an instant bad ass, having more abundant spirit energy then anyone has ever seen. Literally every time a rule is explained in Bleach, you know its purpose is for Ichigo to break that rule. And oh yeah, with the exception of the lesbian and his sisters, literally every female character of note who encounters Ichigo has a a desire or longing for him of some form. Rangiku might be an exception, but I know Rukia, Orihime, Neliel, and Tatsuki all have a thing for him. And yes, he saves all of existence pretty regularly.

Video games are rife with examples of this blatancy. Cloud Strife comes to mind, a well known character from Final Fantasy VII. Multiple unlockable date scenes, boy from the country, tragic story. Low rank, still saves the world with the power of friendship. (TELL ME I’M WRONG). But I will also cite a much older known character.

Mario. Mario of Super Mario Brothers, Mario Party, and Mario Cart. Among many others. He is a plumber, who accidentally found up in the Mushroom Kingdom through the pipes. There he learns he can crush enemies by jumping on them, double in size if he eats the right mushroom, and develop a number of abilities such as pyrokinesis or growing a tail and being able to fly. And of course, he defeats the dragon and saves the princess. Remember: he is a plumber.

Now here’s my point. All of these characters would fulfill the qualifications of a Mary Sue. But none of them have ever been called one. Why not? I assume because they each have a penis. (Except maybe Cloud. I maintain Cloud is a gender fluid female).

There is literally an anime out about a dude who wins everything in one punch. If it was a chick I guarantee it would not have gotten past an episode.

The point I am making here is: most stories feature a hero that starts at a low point of some form, be it tragedy, rank, or age. They may develop a love interest, and eventually save the world through extraordinary means. This is actually a skeleton that can be applied to almost any movie, book, game, or show.

But that doesn’t mean they can’t be enjoyed. I encourage you to keep loving Batman and Captain America and Aragorn, and everyone else I highlighted. What I also encourage is to compare a female character if she wasn’t female to Batman, Superman, Captain America, or Aragorn. You may find Mary Sue falls apart. I know I have.

I have a friend. A chosen sister. We butt heads for a while because I got so paranoid about making overpowered characters, I didn’t like writing with them-even if they weren’t mine. I’ve now realized that’s not the point. If you write a character well, and let the reader or viewer understand that through the narrative, that’s all that matters. Male, female, power level, rank, and number of love interests just don’t matter.

Mary Sue doesn’t matter.

Perhaps I’ll bring back Mary Sue Monday...

#JustKeepWriting #Mary Sue #Star Wars #Batman #Captain America #Aragorn #Final Fantasy #Kingdom Hearts