#with all the associated baggage for both the in universe characters and out of universe readers

[rebelsofshield]

Star Wars Ahsoka: "Master and Apprentice" & "Toil and Trouble" - Review

After years of teasing and build-up, Star Wars' most iconic animated character makes the jump to live-action in her own series that follows up on plot threads that many fans have been anxiously awaiting for years. However, the series' opening two chapters prove surprisingly flat and middling, signaling potential problems and (maybe) promise.

(My apologies for the delay on this one. I've been moving for the past several weeks and have barely had time to sit down and write these.)

Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) is on a mission. Whispers of Grand Admiral Thrawn's return from the unknown reaches of space has sent her and former Jedi training droid Huyang (David Tenant) on a galactic treasure hunt, trying to locate a map to the Imperial leader's location before it falls into enemy hands. However, when a team of Dark Side (Ray Stevenson and Ivanna Sakhno) mercenaries attack a New Republic convoy and free Thrawn's associate Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Insonato), Ahsoka must turn to her former apprentice, Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), for help.

Ahsoka doesn't exactly start with fresh slate. Even outside of the baggage that is normally associated with any Star Wars project these days, this continuation of Dave Filoni (and Jon Favreau's) New Republic saga arrives with quite a bit of excitement and unease. Sure, Ahsoka is a beloved character who has captured the imaginations of generations of fans. Yes, fans of Star Wars animation have been waiting for over five years to see the continuation of certain plot threads from Star Wars Rebels. However, the last few projects from Filoni and Favreau (The Book of Boba Fett and recent seasons of The Mandalorian) haven't exactly sparked confidence in this shared universe of stories. Would they even be up to the task of creating a show that effectively worked as a spinoff of three different series, two of them animated? And this doesn't even take into account leading actress Rosario Dawson's alleged acts of transphobic abuse.

After the Ahsoka's two part premiere, the jury is still out. Neither "Master and Apprentice" or "Toil and Trouble" are outright disasters, but neither are they runaway hits.

Perhaps Ahsoka's biggest hurdle as a series is transitioning the characters and plotlines from its animated source material to live action in a way that pleases returning fans and Disney+ viewers who have maybe only watched The Mandalorian. And this is where Dave Filoni, who wrote all eight episodes and directs the series premiere, seems to flounder the most. Sure, his scripts don't exactly drown the viewer in mountains of lore and exposition, but Ahsoka fails at making viewers care.

Ahsoka fumbles so hard out the gate at establishing emotional investment in its leads and their struggles that it almost flattens the entire project. There is just so very little in Ahsoka for viewers to care about if they aren't already invested in seeing what happened at the end of Rebels.

Much of this, unfortunately, comes down to Ahsoka herself. Rosario Dawson plays the former Jedi as a stoic and almost serene figure. This may work fine as a supporting or guest character, but Ahsoka's guarded and quiet demeanor offers little for viewers to latch onto. Curiously, this ends up being an issue that alienates both new and returning viewers alike. Ahsoka in Ahsoka (or The Mandalorian/The Book of Boba Fett for that matter) feels so unlike the character fans have come to know that she may as well be someone different entirely. The passionate and outspoken adolescent/young adult from the animated shows is almost entirely absent. This isn't in and of itself an issue. People age and Ahsoka has surely been through alot in the last few years, but the change is so drastic that lacking any context for what exactly has lead our heroine to her current place in life that it can't help but feel like we are speaking to a very estranged family member. Dawson's subdued, almost flat, performance doesn't let us in and Filoni's script doesn't do her any favors.

There's a maddening amount of withholding present in Ahsoka's storytelling and nowhere is this more present than in Ahsoka's relationship with Sabine Wren. Perhaps one of the most unexpected turns that Ahsoka takes as a narrative is revealing that at some point in the last several years Ahsoka began training Sabine in the ways of the Jedi, but at some point prior to the show's start it's revealed that their mentorship deteriorated and the two went their separate ways. Filoni desperately wants the teacher, pupil dynamic between these two to be the emotional crux of the series, but many of the same issues arise. Sure, we can't expect to know the entire history of both women at the outset of Ahsoka, but the amount of blank space and detachment present in the storytelling still keeps the viewer at bay.

While Liu is allowed to emote a bit more than Dawson, Sabine is still a relatively flat character here who is mostly left to brood and verbally spar with her former master. While it's maybe not as dire an issue as with Ahsoka, there's still so little either new or returning viewers are allowed to know or understand about Sabine at this point in her life to develop an emotional attachment to the narrative or even fully comprehend what is going on. The same unfortunately applies to Hera Syndulla, who is played here by Mary Elizabeth Winstead. While her role in the story is much more a part of the supporting and less clouded in mystery, neither of the premiere episodes really allow Winstead or Hera to come into their own outside of acting as a mother figure. Sure, a plotline in "Toil and Trouble," the premiere's second episode has both women hunting down potential Imperial sympathizers at a New Republic shipyard, but character takes a backseat to plot and action. (It is neat that these shows are showing the difficulties of what happens when you try to build a democracy out of the remains of autocracy. It's not always well executed, but I appreciate that its an idea that both shows are playing with.)

All of that said, Ahsoka isn't a complete dud. There is quite a bit working here that keeps the series afloat even as it flounders. For example, David Tenant's Huyang is a delight, bringing a much needed sense of energy and levity to nearly every scene he is a part of.

Oh, and the villains rock. The late Ray Stevenson's Baylan and his apprentice Shin arrive onto screen in a wonderful introduction that feels like a twisted inversion of the opening to The Phantom Menace. There may not be much to hold onto there in terms of emotional or psychological depth, but both Stevenson and Sakhno have such great screen presence that they still feel like scene stealers. The same can be said of the mysterious and acrobatic former Inquisitor Marrok and former Nightsister Morgan Elsbeth. Sure, at this point in the game, Thrawn may just be an idea more than a character, but Filoni and crew have still assembled an entertainingly sinister rogues gallery for Ahsoka and her allies to do battle with.

Ahsoka also just looks and sounds great. The production value of the series feels positively cinematic and we are frequently treated to creative sets, characters, vehicles, and creatures that make this feel as close to a serialized Star Wars movie as we may get. Also unsurprisingly, Kevin Kiner nails the musical score, particularly in a World Between Worlds inspired end credits sequence.

It's hard not to feel a little deflated after watching both "Master and Apprentice" and "Toil and Trouble." There's potential room for growth, but it's hard not to feel that maybe this was a story that was best left to animation. At least that way we would've seen some signs of life.

Master and Apprentice: C+ Toil and Trouble: C+

#Star Wars #Star Wars Ahsoka #Ahsoka #Star Wars: Ahsoka #review #reviews

[makiswirl]

ive always been confused as to why people ship edxling, it feels so random. nothing against it, it just feels like one of those ships with no basis in canon and is just people wanting to ship two dudes because its gay. also i noticed edxling shippers basically ignore winry and lan fan's existence. so i wanted to ask you, since you seem to really like the ship but also are knowledgeable on fma beyond just shipping, why exactly do people ship edxling and why is it more popular than lingxlanfan?

okk so i DO NAUT know if i'm really the BEST person to answer this cuz i'm rly into a specific niche of ling/ed and not much interested in them as a couple during canonverse (post-canon boys ofc, as i'm known for ^_^)!!!! but i'll like... try to answer why i THINK people like it (′︿‵｡)

○ PART 1. - HOW THEY INTERACT IN CANON

ed and ling have a (relatively) strong basis in canon! they actually often interact from the time they meet, getting more screen-time or time to be around each other in canon than some other characters we see associated with them. and i think the widest appeal most people get from them is that they're boys in the same rough situation around the same age so they can relate to each other, so just the main concept behind their interactions as characters?

i also think a big thing with the interest in them is interpretation. a lot of people kind of feed off of crumbs in canon and view them a certain way which wasn't originally intended but is nice (and entertaining!) to view in a romantic light lol

i personally know that ofc, my main interest with them as a PAIRING isn't in canon but more post-canon starting with ling as emperor and ed ambiguous where there's more interpretation for how they turn out, how they would interact with each other; since they're essentially a blank slate if i wanted to fiddle with a few things whereas with other pairings in fma i can't really do that with because their roles are definitely set and i have to jump over hoops unless i just want to make something not resembling the epilogue in that regard which, if i'm not very interested, makes things difficult for me to really care for a couple which is a big appeal for me imo for them (but i'll stop rambling about that because it's hyperspecific as a writer and getting to analyze the characters and tear them down). so most of why i care for them is really just my interpretation of them and that's why i can't really speak much for why other people are into the pairing

another part of it is tropes..... i think tropes are a BIG one for a lot of people :-) you've got a makeshift and universally accepted sun and moon dynamic with the canon yin and yang colour scheme, you have idiots/idiots, royalty/commoner (who defies the regular trope just by being an asshole and ling not really giving a shit about the royalty thing beyond the principal of him being born into it alone so it isn't tacky ya novel tropey), tall/small, foodie x foodie, battle couple, and just them being a generally normal couple beyond their lives being a gd trainwreck with their positions and shared traumas because the dudes are just kind of chilling out personality-wise with how they act towards each other. they're The Buds Of All Time In Canon If You're Into A More BROTP SItuation™.

there's opportunity for pretty much any genre with them as well in regards to the most simplest categories of angst and fluff because they're both dorks and, as is fma, have Loads Of Baggage and can butt heads if you so wanted to set that situation up :o) they're very flexible characters when it comes to a dynamic!

○ PART 2. - I MEAN YEAH THEY'RE GAY I GUESS

yeah they gay keep scrolling :o))) i don't really have much to say about this one beyond personal takes because i see a lot of people going "people are just shipping this because it's gay!" about literally any m/m or w/w pairing ever and like....... as a gay man i just.... like seeing characters be gay, i don't see issues with that unless it's people fetishizing my identity. i don't want to go too deep into this one because it's more just my personal feelings as a gay man when i hear this sort of thing whereas i usually don't care unless asked out of someone's morbid curiosity

it's one of those things where i think most of the fandom just likes seeing themselves represented and i think worrying about people ONLY liking them from them being a male/male ship isn't an issue at all that you need to really worry about tbf

again it's just one of those things where i think if a person's reasoning for it is "it's gay i like it" is because they identify with the identity they assign to the characters in some way, just like giving an interpretation, so i could care less really........... most of the appeal i'd feel is them looking at ed and ling both and going wow they're both boys and they can relate to each other and they've been through a lot together in the span of canon, and they're (maybe) my favourite characters! i wonder what they'd be like as a couple?

or they fall into the aforementioned trope thing, etc and i honestly don't think that's a big part of it it's just an "oh i like them" thing. it's like picking out barbies at the store like i couldn't really care less if that were the case and if that is a personal issue it's one that shouldn't really be an issue just in a "minding your own business" way

○ PART 3. - NOT CARING IS A WARCRIME

honestly in terms of ling/ed enjoyers "typically" not caring about winry and lan fan, i haven't seen that, like... much if at all but that might only be because i DO NOT interact with the edling enjoyers in this fandom outside of like two other people that aren't me, one of whose favourite characters jump between lan fan and winry when i actually like them a lot myself... because.... they're the girlies of all time

(also i suck at paying attention and i don't mean to it's just a Thing That I Do)

most people into them though that i've observed (at least recently which is kind of skewered since ling/ed content only happens every gd blue moon we are fighting for our gd lives out here it's usually only a few people actually consistently posting on social media beyond casual writers on ao3) usually like edwin and lingfan, put them in a polycule, stir until well mixed, or actually draw/write/like one or the other MORE than them because edling is one of those things where it's like most of us go "well cool! i'll do a thing for this and probably never again" which is COOL and amazing but it's mostly one of those things we look at collectively and go well theyre neat. anyways,

like i don't ONLY focus on ships or certain characters in fullmetal alchemist as a watching/reading experience while definitely having favourites and i usually don't pay attention to people who only do so that............... that might be my issue here.........! :o) give me the clown nose boys

also when it comes to 'ignoring' winry and lan fan i don't think there's much of a basis when it comes to ignoring them because some people might just not really care for them as characters and honestly that's their cup of tea, not much to really get curious or worried about; same with their respective ships

while i personally ADORE lingfan winfan and winpan and can talk about them for a while i don't really care for edwin much because i'm not into childhood friends to lovers and i don't much care for how they were written in canon. it's just a matter of preference really with anything, and on the topic of wondering why lingfan isn't as popular i simply think it's a matter of them being less popular characters and the reason they DO get as much content as they do at all is likely because they're implied to be canon in the same boat royai is

...because ed and roy are, ofc, the titular characters in the franchise :-)

edling/linged being more popular i feel is a case of "edward is the protag that most of the fanbase will cling to immediately therefore it's popular" and people attract to it because if into it they WILL usually want to headcanon him as bi or gay and have a ship catered to their interests to view him in that light

being cross-platform with twitter, ao3, and tumblr altogether i've seen more of people asking why people are into the pairing or saying people into the pairing are overbearing than literally any content or people actually talking abt the gd dudes because it's again.... it's.... it's literally just like six of us locked in this homosexual little room altogether, me included, speaking from experience because i have been Producing Content For Them Consistently For A Few Years Now! Most Of What You're Seeing Is Either Years Old Or Just Word Of Mouth, Goddammit

obviously i'm not gonna toot my own horn about being dramatic over being into a pairing and be like 'fullmetal alchemist fandom.... UNITE to create edling content!' because it isn't worth my time and i'm not THAT invested in them, especially not more than the series itself since it's far more intriguing and open for possibilities to me without romance at all, but like guys we r people just vibing we just think they're neat

○ PART 4. - CONCLUSION TO MY... THESIS

i actually have no idea how long this is or where i was going with this but i tried to address anything from the ask! yeah no i don't really care about debating these guys on the internet or anything about the fandom at all and i try to avoid it the best i can but this just seemed like a question so hopefully this sated ur curiosity anon :^) thank you for letting me rant about my blorbos and hopefully u don't think any part of this was meant to be condescending

obviously no one has to be into these guys but hopefully this helped u understand a bit from my experience :o)

TL;DR: i think people are into it mostly because of how they interact, wanting to project their own identities onto their favourite characters, tropes, and enjoying the character dynamics together! can't really talk about the lan fan and winry situation because i haven't noticed it and i don't think ling and lan fan being less popular is something to get worked up about, relatively

ACTUAL TL;DR: none of the points i've made are relevant to the ship in my personal opinion there is no reason for this post to even Exist. i just like them because i think they're cool. sometimes you don't need a reason u just like them. the pairing doesn't have to be interesting, can be Average or Mid™ just don't be a dick and don't be outwards about that sort of thing with your thoughts in that regard as is common courtesy

#-- anonymous #macchi.txt #answering machine #fma #edling #long post #delete later probably #does this count as... analyzing #adhd be damned i can talk about the blorbos for hours #thank u for the ask anon :o)!

[milfglupshitto]

OCposting

my profiles for original (and original-ish) characters from the albatross/milfglupshitto rebels sequel series universe. dated to approx 4-5 ABY.

Why three sisters?

One of my favorite books growing up was called Ballet Shoes, which detailed the lives of three adopted sisters whose names all began with P being raised in a non-traditional collective family unit in the Great Depression. Due to financial and cultural pressures of the time, they enter the world of competitive youth ballet to help provide for their family. This book is one of the type which makes sure you know which color bracelet each child received for their birthday, and other little details like that. I loved those kinds of books, especially with alliterative names, and the theme of children being pushed into a job that’s both demanding and dismissed is a theme that the Ascendancy books explore, and that I was interested in. So this book inspires a lot of the sister plot in my story. Also, I’d just watched Despicable Me, and based on these two samples concluded the ideal number of daughters for an unprepared single father and his support system to care for is three.

Format Notes: First part will be more of an in-universe description. From there, I’ll make a few meta comments.

Iunh (Eli’un’hee) is very protective of and devoted to her family. She wants to be a pilot or a racer- wants to get moving, really. She’s torn between what she feels are her dream and her duty- she’s a lot like her dad that way. A few years back, Iunh cut her wavy mid-tone hair short and floppy like his and she’s kept it that way since. She’s tall for twelve, almost taller than both humans now (which is not much of an accomplishment, if we’re being honest). She likes spending time at the cargo docks, which she claims has nothing to do with the nice young mechanic with the colorful hair who just got transferred from her previous civilian posting.

So for posterity’s sake, Iunh is not an OC. She exists in Treason, but I’ve continued her story from where it left off at the end of that book. Her role in the sequel series is to provide a parallel to both Ezra and Che’ri, as well as to advance the theme the Rebels finale presents of children leaving home. As mentioned above, Iunh’s main conflict comes from her desire to be a pilot, which strains her relationship with her father as she tries to keep this dream hidden and in doing so pulls back from him and her siblings. She’s an eldest daughter, with all the baggage that comes with, and a lot of her path will reflect Ezra’s journey in early Rebels seasons.

Design References:

Alejandra (Alex) de Rosa from the game Us Lovely Corpses, picrew by ummmmandy

Note: Iunh is Chiss, but I couldn’t find a good reference. Her hair is more of an indigo, her skin a few shades lighter than that and her eyes the common vibrant red.

Next is Isocel (Eli’so’celes). She’s dramatic, defensive, and suspicious (so, also like her father). Recently turned ten, Isocel is in the early stages of “mid-ager” aka tween rebellion. She loves bright art and loud music- if they have deviantart, she’s on there. Isocel’s been complaining above her “little-kid” style for a few months but doesn’t want to go shopping until deciding between scene or emo. She has long, dark, straight hair with an eye-covering side bang and she really, really wants to dye it. Short with rounder features, at ten she hasn’t hit her growth spurt yet. Sabine Wren’s biggest fan this side of the core.

Isocel is very dear to me as a middle child myself, but our personalities are nothing alike. However, I was friends with a lot of young emo artists at that age and it was important to me that her character receive nothing but compassion while she figures her self-expression out, which unfortunately a lot of my friends m didn’t get. I’ve described Isocel with features associated with East and Southeast Asia primarily because of her plot with Sabine- Isocel’s hero and source of artistic inspiration, the person who challenges her to explore protest art and find what she wants to say in her own way, looks like her. That was really important to me too. And yes I named her after a triangle.

Design References:

Maggie McKay from the graphic novel Friends with Boys, picrew by Lully

Note: Isocel is also Chiss. She has the classic blue-black hair with skin closer to a cerulean and eyes a darker red.

Finally, there’s Idsvey (Eli’ds’veyda). Energetic, passionate, and talkative, at five she’s the baby of the family and she knows it. She’s an iPad kid, and currently she’s very interested in reheaters and other home appliances. Idsvey wants to be a spinbeetle when she grows up.

As the youngest of the main cast, Idsvey’s role in the narrative is to illustrate the effects of the war and the current system on children, particularly the conscripted navigators. Her family’s attempts to give her a “normal” life are the main source of tension in her story, as she’s the first to throw herself at Jedi training in the way only a child can do. In Albatross, there’s a line which implies she is trans. I wanted that line to sound like something that one could hear in passing on a TV show, something that a trans kid that age could hear and identity with and then quickly move on from as the story went on. Her name is a pun- Eli’ds = elides, because it elides (kind of).

Design References:

Posy Fossil from the Ballet Shoes 1993 reprint with cover illustrated by Diane Goode, picrew by amphypop

Note: Idsvey is- you guessed it- also Chiss. She's the equivalent of ginger, so her hair is closer to violet than to blue. She has light blue skin and magenta eyes, with a scattering of matching bioluminescent freckles.

If any of you made it all the way down here- thank you for reading!

#my ocs #my writing #the app crashed half a dozen times while I tried to post this and I lost a ton of progress each time. transphobic frankly #milfglupshitto rebels sequelverse

[bistephs]

POST-CRISIS JASON, VERSION 1: I want revenge against my former mentor/adoptive father, who I see as having failed me. I see the fact that he hasn’t taken vengeance for my murder as both a personal betrayal and moral failure. My methods are violent and unpredictable, and I’m not a good person, but I’m still shown to have my own moral code, however questionable it might be. I can be both an antagonist and occasional ally towards the heroes depending on the situation.

POST-CRISIS JASON, VERSION 2: I have literally no other motivation besides anger and jealousy towards the other, Better™ Robins. I will act ridiculously evil for plot convenience but still be easily defeated by the heroes. A minimum of ten panels per issue will be devoted to pointing out how Crazy™ I am. I’m going to kill a bunch of random people and shoot this 10-year-old now.

#like... yall wonder why jason fans 'pick and choose' his appearances when these are basically two entirely different characters #one is actually interesting to read about and the other is a plot device #and also! it's not like v1 jason can't be a villain! he's straight up the villain of utrh like!!! #genuinely one of the best parts of jason's early post resurrection character is his potential to go between ally & enemy & hero & villain #and to exist outside of the usual 'good guy'/'bad guy' dichotomy by not fitting neatly into either #while also being a character with a massive impact on comic book history (via death in the family changing batman storylines for years) #with all the associated baggage for both the in universe characters and out of universe readers #but yknow let's just make him the Crazy Evil Shooty Guy instead that's fine too #jason obv isn't the worst treated character in dc but he's one of the ones i get the most mad about #the potential this guy has is INCREDIBLE and dc just WASTES IT #jason todd #dc negative #anyways. whom among us does not pick & choose versions of our favorite characters when comic book canon is made of wet tissue paper #also want to mention how like #solely good and solely bad characters are FINE. a character doesn't have to be morally gray to be interesting & compelling #(see: cassandra cain being one of the most morally good & also most complex characters pre reboot flattening her out) #but dc has a habit of taking morally gray characters and making them Just Good or Just Bad and passing it off as character development #and really just like. erasing everything interesting about those characters instead #let characters be good let them be bad let them be both but for the love of god make them INTERESTING TO READ ABOUT

[causeiwanttoandican]

Harry, Meghan and me: my truth as a royal reporter

I've covered elections and extremism, but nothing compares to the vitriol I've received since I started writing about the Sussexes

By Camilla Tominey, Associate Editor27 March 2021 • 6:00am

It is probably worth mentioning from the outset that I never, ever, planned to become a royal reporter. I mean, who does? It’s one of those ridiculous jobs most people fall into completely by accident.

I certainly wasn’t coveting the position when I first found out how bonkers the beat could be after covering Charles and Camilla’s wedding in 2005. Desperate for ‘a line’ on what went on at the reception, journalists were reduced to flagging down passing cars in Windsor High Street and interrogating the likes of Stephen Fry about whether they’d had the salmon or the chicken.

Watergate, this wasn’t.

Yet when my former editor called me into his office shortly afterwards and offered me the royal job ‘because you’re called Camilla and you dress nicely’, who was I to refuse?

Having planned to get married myself that summer, and start a family soon afterwards, I looked to the likes of Jennie Bond and Penny Junor and figured it would be a good patch for a working mother as well as being one I could grow old with. Unlike show business, when celebrities are ‘in’ one minute and ‘out’ the next, the royals would stay the same, making it easier to build – and keep – contacts.

So if you’d told me that 16 years later, I would find myself at the centre of a media storm over a royal interview with Oprah Winfrey, I’d have probably laughed in your face. First of all, only royals like Fergie do interviews with Oprah. And since when did journalists become the story?

Yet as I have experienced since the arrival of Meghan Markle on the royal scene in 2016 – a move that roughly coincided with Twitter doubling its 140-character limitation to 280 – royal reporters like me now find themselves in the line of fire like never before.

We are used to the likes of Kate Adie coming under attack in the Middle East, but now it is the correspondents who write up events like Trooping the Colour and the Royal Windsor Horse Show having to take cover from the keyboard warriors supposedly defending the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s ‘truth’.

Accusations of racism have long been levelled against anyone who has dared to write less than undiluted praise of Harry and Meghan. But even I have been taken aback by the vitriol on social media in the wake of the couple’s televised two-hour talk-a-thon, in which they branded both the Royal family and the British press racist while complaining about their ‘almost unsurvivable’ multimillionaire lives at the hands of the evil monarchy. And all while the rest of the UK were losing their loved ones and livelihoods in a global pandemic.

Having covered Brexit, general elections and stories about Islamic extremism, I’ve grown used to being sprayed with viral vomit on a fairly regular basis, but when you’ve got complete strangers trolling your best friend’s Instagram feed by association? That’s Britney Spears levels of toxic.

Having a hind thicker than a rhino’s, it wasn’t the repeated references to my being ‘a total c—’ that particularly bothered me, nor even the suggestion that I should have my three children put up for adoption. At one point someone even said it would be a good idea for me to drink myself to death like my mother, about whose chronic alcoholism I have written extensively.

No, what really got me was the appalling spelling and grammar. I mean, if you’re going to hurl insults, at least have the decency to get my name right.

Yet in order to understand just how it has come to pass that so-called #SussexSquaders think nothing of branding all royal correspondents ‘white supremacists’ regardless of who they write for, or sending hate mail to our email addresses, offices – and in some cases, even our homes – it’s worth briefly going to back to when I first broke the story that Prince Harry was dating an American actor in the Sunday Express on 31 October 2016. Headlined: ‘Royal world exclusive: Harry’s secret romance with TV star’, the splash revealed how the popular prince was ‘secretly dating a stunning US actress, model and human rights campaigner’.

Despite my now apparently being on a par with the Ku Klux Klan for failing to acknowledge Meghan as the next messiah, it was actually not until the fifteenth paragraph of that original article that the ‘confident and intelligent’ Northwestern University graduate was described as ‘the daughter of an African-American mother and a father of Dutch and Irish descent’.

Call me superficial, but I was genuinely far more interested in the fact that Harry ‘I-come-with-baggage’ Wales was dating a former ‘briefcase girl’ from the US version of Deal or No Deal than the colour of her skin. A ginger prince punching well above his weight? This was the stuff of tabloid dreams. Little did I know then that covering the trials and tribulations of these two lovebirds would turn into such a nightmare.

The online hostility began bubbling up about eight days after that first story, when Harry’s then communications secretary Jason Knauf issued an ‘unprecedented’ statement accusing the media of ‘crossing a line’.

‘His girlfriend, Meghan Markle, has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment’, it read, referencing a ‘smear on the front page of a national newspaper; the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments’. Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, had apparently been besieged by photographers, while bribes had been offered to Meghan’s ex-boyfriend along with ‘the bombardment of nearly every friend, coworker, and loved one in her life’.

Suffice to say, I did feel a bit guilty. Although I hadn’t written anything remotely racist or sexist, I had started the ball rolling for headlines like the MailOnline’s ‘(Almost) straight outta Compton’ (referencing a song by hip-hop group NWA about gang violence and Meghan’s upbringing in the nearby LA district of Crenshaw), along with her ‘exotic’ DNA (which I subsequently called out, including on This Morning in the wake of ‘Megxit’ in January last year).

Omid Scobie, co-author of Finding Freedom, a highly favourable account of the Sussexes’ departure from the Royal family, written with their cooperation last summer, would later insist that the couple knew the story of their relationship was coming out and were well prepared for it.

I can tell you categorically that they weren’t, since I did not even put a call into Kensington Palace before we went to press for fear of it being leaked. (I did later discuss this with Harry, when I covered his trip to the Caribbean in November 2016, and to be fair he was pretty philosophical, agreeing it would have come out sooner or later. But that was before the former Army Captain decided to well and truly shoot the messenger, latterly telling journalists covering the newly-weds’ tax-payer-funded October 2018 tour of Australia and the south Pacific: ‘Thanks for coming, even though you weren’t invited.’)

The royal press pack is the group of dedicated writers who cover all the official engagements and tours on a rota system, in exchange for not bothering the royals as they go about their private business. It was a shame this ragtag bunch, of which I am an associate member, was never personally introduced to Meghan when the couple got engaged in November 2017.

I still have fond memories of a then Kate Middleton, upon her engagement to Prince William in November 2010, showing me her huge sapphire and diamond ring following a press conference at St James’s Palace with the words, ‘It was William’s mother’s so it is very special.’

I replied that she might want to consider buying ‘one of those expanding accordion style file holders’ to organise all her wedding paperwork. (Reader, I had given birth to my second child less than four months earlier and was still lactating.)

Not meeting Meghan did not stop royal commentators like me writing reams about her being ‘a breath of fresh air’ and telling practically every TV show I appeared on that she was the ‘best thing to have happened to the Royal Family in years’.

As the world followed the joyous news of the Windsors’ resident strip billiards star having finally found ‘the one’, the couple enjoyed overwhelmingly positive press culminating in their fairy-tale wedding in May 2018, which we headlined ‘So in love’ above a picture of the bride and groom kissing. I tweeted the wedding front page, along with the original story breaking the news of their relationship with the words, ‘Job done’. Yet, as Meghan would later point out in a glossy Santa Barbara garden, that was by far the end of the story.

According to the Duchess’s testimony before a global audience of millions, the seeds for their royal departure were actually sown by an article I wrote in November 2018 suggesting she made Kate cry during a bridesmaid’s dress fitting for Princess Charlotte.

Claiming the ‘reverse happened’, the former Suits star railed, ‘A few days before the wedding she was upset about something, pertaining to, yes, the issue was correct, about flower-girl dresses, and it made me cry, and it really hurt my feelings.’

She then went on to criticise the palace for failing to correct the story – suggesting that royal aides had hung her out to dry to protect the Duchess of Cambridge.

All of which left me in a bit of a sticky situation. As I told Phillip Schofield on This Morning the following day, ‘I don’t write things I don’t believe to be true and that haven’t been really well sourced.’

Having seemingly been completely bowled over by Meghan’s version of events, Schofe then went for the jugular: ‘I have to say, though, that’s all addressed in that interview, isn’t it, because she [Meghan] couldn’t understand why nobody stood up for her?’

Yet someone had stood up for her, on that very same This Morning sofa: me.

As I told Phil and Holly on 14 January 2019, as more reports of ‘Duchess Difficult’ started to emerge, ‘I think she [Meghan] is doing really well, she looks amazing, she speaks well. She has played a blinder.’

So you’ll forgive me if I can’t quite understand why Meghan didn’t feel the need to correct this supposedly glaring error once she had her own dedicated head of communications from March 2019 – or indeed when she ‘collaborated’ with Scobie, who concluded in his bestselling hagiography that ‘no one cried’?

Moreover, how did the Duchess know a postnatal Kate wasn’t ‘left in tears’? And if she doesn’t know, what hope has the average troll observing events through the prism of their own deep-rooted insecurities?

It appears the actual truth ceases to matter once sides have been taken in the unedifying Team Meghan versus Team Kate battle that has divided the internet.

Make no mistake, there are abject morons at both extremes spewing the sort of bile that, ironically, makes most of the media coverage of Harry and Meghan look like a 1970s edition of Jackie magazine.

It perhaps didn’t help my case that the day before the interview was aired in the US, I had written a lengthy piece carefully weighing up the evidence behind allegations of ‘outrageous bullying’ that had been levelled against Meghan during what proved to be a miserable 20 months in the Royal family for all concerned.

The messages – to my Twitter feed, my email, my website and official Facebook page – ranged from the threatening, to the typical tropes about media ‘scum’ and the downright bizarre. Some accused me of being in cahoots with Carole Middleton, with whom I have never interacted, unless you count a last-minute Party Pieces purchase in a desperate moment of poor parental planning.

Another frequent barb was questioning why the press wasn’t writing about that ‘pedo’ [sic] Prince Andrew instead – seemingly oblivious to the fact that no one would know about the Duke of York’s links to Jeffrey Epstein if it wasn’t for the acres of coverage devoted to the story by us royal hacks over recent years.

It didn’t matter that I had repeatedly torn the Queen’s second, and, some say, favourite son to pieces for everything from his propensity to take his golf clubs on foreign tours to that disastrous Newsnight interview.

Contrary to the ‘invisible contract’ Harry claims the palace has with the press, royal coverage works roughly like this: good royal deeds = good publicity. Bad royal deeds = bad publicity. We effectively act as a critical friend, working on behalf of a public that rightly expects the royals to take the work – but not themselves – seriously.

So when a royal couple preaches about climate change before taking four private jets in 11 days, it is par for the course for a royal scribe to point out the inconsistency of that message. None of it is ever personal, as evidenced by the fact that practically every member of the monarchy has come in for flak over the years.

If Oprah wasn’t willing to point out the discrepancies in Harry and Meghan’s testimony, surely it is beholden on royal reporters to question how the Duchess had managed to undertake four foreign holidays in the six months after her wedding, in addition to official tours to Italy, Canada, and Amsterdam, as well as embarking on a lengthy honeymoon, if she had ‘turned over’ her passport?

While no one would wish to undermine the extent of her mental health problems, could it really be true that she only left the house twice in four months when she managed to cram in 73 days’ worth of engagements, according to the Court Circular, in the 17 months between her wedding and the couple’s departure to Canada?

And what of the ‘racist’ headlines flashed up during the interview purporting to be from the British press, when more than a third were actually taken from independent blogs and the foreign media? The UK media abides by the Independent Press Standards Organisation’s Code of Conduct ‘to avoid prejudicial or pejorative reference to an individual’s race’, as well as by rigorous defamation laws. And rightly so – the British press doesn’t always get it right. But social media is the Wild West by comparison, publishing vile slurs on a daily basis with impunity.

Some therefore find it strange that such a litigious couple would claim to have been ‘silenced’ when they have made so many complaints, including resorting to legal action, over stories they claim not to have even read. There is something similarly contradictory about a couple accusing the tabloids of lacking self-reflection while refusing to take any blame at all – for anything.

In any normal world, informed writing on such matters would be classed as fair comment, but not, seemingly, on Twitter where those completely lacking any objectivity whatsoever are only too willing to virtue signal and manoeuvre.

As the trolling reached fever pitch in the aftermath of the interview, veteran royal reporter Robert Jobson of the Evening Standard called me. ‘Don’t respond to these freaks,’ he advised. ‘It’s getting nasty out there. Watch your back!’

Yet despite my general sense of bewilderment at the menacing Megbots, I can’t say it didn’t appal me to discover a close friend had received online abuse, purely by dint of being my mate. After discussing the lengths the troll must have gone to to track her down, she asked me, ‘Do you ever worry someone might do something awful to you?’ Er, not until now, no.

Of course it’s upsetting, even for a cynical old-timer like me. Worse still are people who actually know me casting aspersions on my profession on social media. Often these are the same charlatans who would think nothing of sidling up to me for the latest gossip on the Royal family, while publicly pretending that reading any such coverage is completely beneath them.

Most pernicious of all though – not least after Piers Morgan’s departure from Good Morning Britain following a complaint to ITV and Ofcom from the Duchess – is the corrosive effect this whole hullabaloo is having on freedom of speech. When you’ve got a former actor effectively editing a British breakfast show from an £11 million Montecito mansion, what next?

I cannot help but think we are in danger of setting race relations back 30 years if people are seriously suggesting that any criticism of Meghan is racially motivated. It’s the hypocrisy that gets me. When Priti Patel was accused of bullying, the very same people who willingly hung the Home Secretary out to dry are now the ones defending Meghan against such claims, saying they have been levelled at her simply because she is ‘a strong woman of colour’.

Of course journalists should take responsibility for everything they report and be held to account for it – but Harry and Meghan do not have a monopoly on the truth simply because the close friend and neighbour who interviewed them in return for £7 million from CBS took what they said as gospel.

If she isn’t willing to probe the disparity between Meghan saying someone questioned the colour of Archie’s skin when she was pregnant, and Harry suggesting it happened before they were even married, then someone must. There’s a name for such scrutiny. It’s called journalism.

The public reserves the right to make up its own mind – with the help of the watchful eye of a free and fair press. But that press can never be free or fair if journalists do not feel they can report without fear or favour. I’m lucky that a lot of the criticism I face is more than balanced out by hugely supportive members of the public and online community who either agree – or respect the right to disagree. Along with the hate mail, I have had many thoughtful and eloquent missives, including those that good naturedly challenge what I have written in the paper or said on TV, which have genuinely given me pause for thought.

I am more than happy to enter into constructive discourse with these correspondents, who are frankly sometimes the only people who keep me on Twitter. I mean, let’s face it, I wouldn’t be anywhere near the bloody thing if this wasn’t my day job.

With the National Union of Journalists this month declaring that harassment and abuse had ‘become normalised’ within the industry, never have members of Britain’s press needed more courage. As Winston Churchill famously said, ‘You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.’

Who would have thought that the preservation of the fundamental freedoms that we hold so dear should partially rest on the shoulders of those who follow around a 94-year-old woman and her family for a living?

If I’d known then what I know now, would I still have written the bridesmaid’s dress story?

Yes – doubtlessly reflecting sisterly sobs all round. But after two decades in this business, I am clear-eyed enough to know this for certain: whatever I had written, it would still have ended in tears.

[canary3d-obsessed]

Lost Tomb Reboot Lewks: Part 13

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Stuff)

Warning: Spoilers for both seasons of The Lost Tomb Reboot and also vaguely for Daomu Biji in general

Look 66 belongs to Ah Ning, who has chosen, for this adaptation, to go with short hair, heavy makeup, and all-black clothes, but with a bit of a club vibe, rather than her more usual tactical vibe. 

The short hair is a weird choice. The whole schtick with DMBJ adaptations is that you have to tell who's who by their costuming and styling, since the associated actors toss roles back and forth faster than Wu Xie and Xiao Ge on a date with Liu Sang. 

Hot guy in a hoodie? Xiao Ge. Slightly dorky but ridiculously charismatic guy who dresses like Joey Ramone? Hei Yanjing. Man who's too old for fluffy bangs and puppy-dog eyes but is working the hell out of them anyway? Wu Xie. Ponytail, gun, and a whole bunch of disposable sidekicks? Ah Ning.

Ah Ning, Lost Tomb 1 version, with her signature ponytail & disregard for human life.

For this look, Ah Ning has gotten rid of her long hair, henchmen, weapons, and the part of her shirt that normally would cover her belly. This is an outfit that says "I am finally ready to fuck Wu Xie." 

Unfortunately she decides to accessorize this outfit with a giant deadly snake. 

This snake, unlike the equivalent snake in uhhhhhmmm a different DMBJ show that Ah Ning might theoretically die in, does not appear to be poisonous or have an unusual instant-kill-you ability. It just squeezes her a little bit, and the boys don't make any attempt to revive her, even though not-breathing is a super survivable condition, if it's corrected quickly. 

This non-poisonous snake accessory is all about killing a woman so that men can feel manpain, and I am kind of offended that this version of Ah Ning went out like that, after being a badass in every other adaptation. 

(more after the cut!) 

The hypothetical other show where a version of this scene perhaps also happens does correct this, by having her talk about her acceptance of the risk of death, and by having the fucking snake be POISONOUS. I am not naming the show because where’s the fun in that? If you watch TLTR first, like I did, you get to be worried about Ah Ning in every other show she’s in, which is exhausting but also kind of fun. (I don’t mind women dying in fiction, as long as their deaths are an important part of their own stories, rather than just being important for the growth of the men around them.)

Thanks to poor accessory choices, Ah Ning and her snake necklace go the same route as Ye Piaopiao and No-Longer-Mute Chick; fortunately Xiao Ge didn't fall for Tattoo Artist Ah Tou or she'd be in the morgue with the rest of them.

Look 67 is young Wu Xie's jungle adventure outfit, featuring a bright white popover jacket with cream color sleeves from Scotch & Soda’s Club Nomade collection. Scotch & Soda have have thoughtfully printed their name on the string so that those of you who share Wu Xie's clothing tastes will know where to shop. You know who you are. 

You would think highly visible bright white would be a bad choice for a jungle adventure, but apparently snakes in these parts are only attracted to goths.

Wu Xie is also wearing wired ear pods, which did not exist whenever this flashback supposedly happened, but if we're cool with sentient crustaceans and clams that can incapacitate a ruthless trained assassin (clams got legs!), we can be cool with ear pods.

The show conveys flashback-Wu-Xie's youth and naiveté by having him smile sweetly, not watch Ah Ning take her clothes off, and not attempt CPR after she gets lightly squeezed by a snake.

Looks 68 and 69 belong to Not Ah Ning, who is played by Liu Yuqi, who also plays Ah Ning. Her makeup is much softer and prettier as this character than as Ah Ning; this character’s job is to be pleasing to men, whereas Ah Ning’s job is to get male underlings killed on the regular, so I guess that makes sense. 

This outfit is an amazing body-hugging soft green jumpsuit with raised quilty detailing on the arms and shoulders. Her jumpsuit perfectly matches the couch she's sprawled on, which is her subtle way of telling Jiang Zisuan that she is a nice comfy place to have a lie down. 

She accessorizes this look with her usual soft wavy brown hair and a scattering of gold finger rings. I think she also accessorizes this with ass pads, because Ah Ning does not appear to be draggin’ this wagon in her scenes. I checked. For science.  

When the first outfit doesn't work, she ditches the subtlety and goes for a Chanel-style suit in black, white, and red, with a with a black leather bustier underneath. 

Unfortunately this is a wasted effort, because the Jiang Zisuan she tries this on is actually Wu Xie in disguise. 

Wu Xie only likes girls if they are 1. secretly manipulating him while acting like a tiny adorable sidekick, 2. trying to kill him repeatedly while adventuring together, 3. planning to kill him as soon as the roads are clear but willing to bone in the meantime, or 4. are a skin effigy with a sentient crustacean in their head.

Sorry, Not Ah Ning; this was a good effort. 

Look 70 features Wu Xie in a white thermal shirt, dark blue jeans, and fake facial hair. This is a good look for sitting with your not-quite girlfriend and wondering how you both managed to have romances with Bai Yu in parallel universes. (OP recently watched Love O2O, which is a trip for fans of DMBJ, Guardian, or feminism)

Fortunately Wu Xie doesn’t know that his second-favorite doctor/Zhan Rishan’s girlfriend also had a romance with Bai Yu or his mind would be entirely blown. 

This is a soft, comfortable look, perfect for torturing someone, with help from your first-favorite doctor, by pretending to poison someone with nicotine, all so you can have a few moments of quality time with a cigarette before said doctor takes them away again. 

Wu Xie's cigs are stored in a buttery-soft leather case that completely covers the brand name of the cigarettes, so apparently cdramas don’t go in for ciggy product placements. 

Wo Xie wears this outfit with a silvery-metal watch with a black leather wrist strap. The watch appears to be round, and it probably tells time. (If you’re new to the Lewks series: I lack watch knowledge and that’s not likely to change.)

Wu Xie finally peels off his fake facial hair so we can see his pretty face again, only to replace the facial hair with an entire fake face. Fortunately, this face, belonging to actor Wu Lipeng, is also pretty. 

Look 71 belongs to Wu Xie, initially (for this outfit) played by Wu Lipeng until his inevitable unmasking. So many actors have played Wu Xie, this whole disguise thing is barely worth blinking at. Wu Lipeng does a nice job changing his mannerisms to play Wu Xie, and this whole schtick eventually gives us Zhu Yilong's delightful performance as Wang Meng, so even though we eventually get way too much of not-Zhu-Yilong in the role, I’m good with it.

This outfit features black jeans, black tactical boots & gloves, and Ah Ning’s coin bracelet, although it’s mostly hard to see the bracelet. The outfit’s main feature is a possibly-leather jacket that’s been molded into a hideous and disturbing voronoi pattern. 

This jacket is probably very expensive and took a lot of work to craft, but it makes him look  like he’s wearing a Glad Force Flex garbage bag. I mean, I guess that's cool. 

This outfit is good for several episodes worth of adventures, including getting tied up and being sassy...

...and underwater cave exploration, which is totally a thing that a person with critically damaged lungs can do.  

This outfit is good for homoerotic wrestling...

...and also for heteroerotic wrestling.

This is also a good outfit for being gently cradled in the arms of your doctor, while you massage your throat in order to swallow what he's putting in your mouth.

The fingerless gloves are useful for helping Xiao Bai get out of not one, but two different situations in which she stepped on a trap without realizing it, requiring Wu Xie to get down on the ground and have a tense encounter with her foot. 

Scenes like this are where costuming really makes a difference. In this shot, we we watch a stunt hand (Zhu Yilong has never had that long of a thumbnail in his life) hold a wire steady, while a stunt foot is pulled out from under it.  

This shot includes a lot of visual texture and interest, from the hatch lines on the palm of the glove to the cross-striping of the boot lace. The complexity of this glove and this boot help to hold our attention when they’re in the frame, allowing the tension of the scene to build, instead of dissipating when the viewer runs out of things to look at.

Bonus Look 1

Carrying all that tragic baggage has given Jiang Zisuan spectacular arm muscles.

Bonus Look 2

Zhu Yilong with not-fake facial hair. 

Daaaaaamn.

#the lost tomb reboot #reunion the sound of the providence #the lost tomb reboot spoilers #lost tomb lewks #spoilers #my gifs #canary3d-original #my stills #ah ning #wu xie #zhu yilong

[asnandara]

I know some people aren't fans of the amnesia plot in DAYS (to be honest, depending on how it is done in certain shows I am not a fan of it either) but I have to say that in this case, I am liking it so far.

One of the reasons, and probably the main one, is that the amnesia plot in DAYS makes narrative sense not only story wise but character wise. It's not like one of those dramas where suddenly and for no apparent reason, one of the main characters gets into an accident, and they lose their memories (but only the ones from the period of time associated with their relationship with the other lead, obviously). In DAYS, if we want to, we can also assume that the amnesia plot is a lack of knowing what to do with the story (and who knows if we'd be right or wrong, I personally don't think so) but the introduction of the plot makes sense, in my opinion, because:

1) As others have said way better than I possibly could, it's an exploration (by the goddess and the leads) of the different ways in which the characters could maybe achieve a happy ending. We have already walked through different variables of this theme (I will love you and I won't lose anything is step one, I will love someone evil so they die, I will leave everyone behind and be alone etc.) and this is another option that could or could not work. It's also an exploration for the writer, represented by Park Young when he lists how he would end up the story in order to avoid a sad ending.

2) It's a choice by the characters. And it's a choice that the audience can understand. Who, in Dong Kyung's place, wouldn't forget the person they love the most in order to save them? And not only them, but also every other person they cherish. While as an audience we might disagree with her choice (or not) it makes perfect sense. And it is EXACTLY what Dong Kyung would do nonetheless, because it has been more than shown that she puts everyone before herself so obviously, sacrificing a part of her happiness for those she loves is in line with her thinking and her character. Also, when they are in the Ferris wheel, Dong Kyung tells Myul Mang that she would like to be forgotten so that her loved ones won't suffer. It's no surprise, then, that she would choose that option when presented to her.

3) We are in a universe where fantasy coexists with reality, and therefore such things as erasing memories and giving them back are possible thanks to the supernatural nature of the characters and their surroundings.

I have to say that what I like in particular about the amnesia plot in DAYS is that the loss of memory is mutual, which brings me to two of my favourite things regarding this trope (of mutual loss of memory or a shared memory reset):

1) Falling in love again - Dramas centered around romance assure us that our main couple will end up together (99% of the time) and because of that, it's not so much the destination (as in the couple ending up together) what is important but the road that takes us there. I like that having both characters start again also gives us the opportunity to explore the early stages of the characters falling in love again. I personally really like this because I love when characters are getting to know each other and start developing a relationship (in DAYS case, first animosity, amusement, curiosity, care and then love). Also, the fact that both characters don't remember each other, makes their dynamic fall back on the dynamics on the early episodes and I love it.

2) Parallels with different emotional baggage + Glimpses of recollection - Probably my favourite because it's dramatic and angsty. I really like parallels within fiction, things that are presented and then resonate. Having echoes of past scenes is *chef's kiss* and I like it even more in this case because while the scenes are pretty much the same, the emotional baggage of the audience is so different. Because as a viewer, I have not forgotten what the characters' have been through, and I know that they love each other, so all these little things that might mean nothing (apparently) to the characters hold a deeper meaning to me and the emotional dimension of the scene changes. But not only the audience, the characters, unknowingly, also carry that emotional baggage, and it is that baggage what tells them deep inside that something is strange or missing.

In DAYS case, in episode 12, as many people who are way smarter than me have pointed out, Myul Mang's actions are influenced by decisions and emotions that HE DOESN'T EVEN REMEMBER:

- Standing up before midnight to go somewhere, only to realise there was no reason for him to do so.

- Not killing (or hurting) that guy who killed his son because Dong Kyung was looking, which brings us back to when he said that he doesn't want to look bad in front of her.

- The elevator lights flickering because Dong Kyung was in pain, showing that he too is emotionally distressed.

- Looking at Dong Kyung a few extra seconds when she walks away at the hospital.

- The doubt on his face when she asks him why does he think she is the one who can help him destroy the world on the beach when he just knows she is the one but doesn't know why.

- Touching her hair as to comfort her.

- THE TEARS.

He doesn't even remember, yet his behavior is conditioned by those memories.

Even without their memories of each other, there's something there buried still and that's what makes these parallels so perfect, because they are not a perfect copy of one another, there is something slightly off in each one of them because the characters are not the same that they were at the beginning, even if they mostly are, they have undeniably changed in ways that can't be erased. I LOVE THAT.

This parallels also help cement the idea that there is destiny involved here, which is the message the godess is telling us regarding Dong Kyung and Myul Mang. That no matter what, they are bound to find each other. To be honest, I have a complicated relationship with destiny plots in k-dramas, but that's a thing for another post.

To sum up, because this is way longer than I intended, I really like how the amnesia plot is used in DAYS and how much it appeals to my personal taste. I think that they will regain their memories very soon, if we take into account there are only four episodes left, and I can't wait to see how that happens.

#doom at your service #text #kdrama #Did someone ask for this? No but I'm still giving it to you #sorry this is so long

[mittensmorgul]

Hi Mittens! Happy holidays! I love your meta and I had a question: I've seen you make a couple posts about Miracle lately, and while I'm definitely angry at canon replacing Cas with a dog, I was kind of taken aback at some of your comments about Dean and dogs (specifically how much you seem to hate that combination; I've never felt strongly about it one way or the other). Do you have a tag or post about your feelings on Dean and dogs? Or could you explain in a little more detail, please?

Hi hi!

Dean... has never been associated positively with dogs on this show-- up to and including that scene in Scoobynatural where he does the SCOOBYDOOBYDOOOOO! and Cas rolls his eyes and tells him flat out he’s not a talking dog. I mean, even in one of Sam’s heaven memories, he’s effectively replaced Dean with a dog... so while Dean was being implied-harshly-punished by John for “losing” Sam, Sam had been having the time of his life with a dog instead... Sorry, I’ve got a lot of resentment for dog symbolism in the show...

Cas has also been associated with dogs in a lot of... let’s go with derogatory comments, and since this dog in the finale was SPECIFICALLY a replacement for Cas in Dean’s life... I find it particularly insulting, you know?

5.14: We get dog comments about Cas and Dean both in this ep. Famine refers to Cas as Dean’s dog... “You sicced your dog on me, I threw him a steak.” And we see Cas crouched on the ground eating meat. Earlier in this ep, Sam teased Dean about his lack of any “appetite” for anything with the comment, “when a dog doesn't eat-- That's when you know something's really wrong.“

7.21: after being banished, he reappears at a dog track, where the dogs were unhappy. so... Cas was basically just another unhappy dog in this part of the story.

10.22: Rowena compares Cas to a “dog who thinks he’s people” for being an angel who rejected heaven and chose his family with the Winchesters.

10.23-11.03: Cas is literally under a spell referred to as “Attack Dog,” which he fights against but is slowly turning him into a killing machine. He seeks help from Heaven, but they only want to use him, to torture information out of him and then kill him once they get what they want. It’s implied he even kills a dog in 11.01.

11.06: when Cas is in the bunker still suffering from trauma related to the attack dog spell, lying in bed and watching tv, he changes the channel to a news story about a dog riding a skateboard, and the newscaster uses Rowena’s line from 10.22: “Aw, that dog thinks it’s people!”

12.19: Lucifer refers to Cas as the Winchesters’ “purse dog,” and s12 is littered with dog references, especially between Lucifer and Crowley (which started back in s11 when Lucifer was using Cas’s vessel and treating Crowley like a dog... there’s a lot of negative baggage attached to dogs on this show)

13.16: Scooby is obviously the one dog Dean’s okay with, having positive childhood associations with him. But when comparing themselves to the scooby gang, Sam says they don’t have a talking dog, and Dean replies that Cas is sort of like a talking dog... which is interesting because at the end of the episode Cas tells Dean he’s NOT a talking dog. And this, in a scene that was directly foreshadowing Dean becoming Michael’s suit...again, more negative baggage for both of them.

The Dean vs Dogs imagery really kicks in when Dean’s soul is destined for Hell in s3, though.

3.10: In his rant to his dream self, Dream!Dean accuses Dean of being as “mindless and obedient as an attack dog,” just a few lines before he gives the “daddy’s blunt little instrument” line that Cas reminded us of in 15.18. So I do think this is something that the writers couldn’t possibly have been unaware of in invoking that specific line and the specific baggage attached to it.

3.11, one of the MANY deaths Dean suffers is from a seemingly nice dog he tries to pet in a friendly manner. The nice golden retriever mauls him to death, like the hellhounds are due to do to him in just a few short episodes... 

3.16: literally torn apart by hellhounds... don’t know how else to make it clear that Dean Is Not A Fan of this.

4.06: suffering from Ghost Sickness, and being magically forced to experience heightened levels of fear, he runs from a lil Yorkie with a bow in its hair, pausing only long enough to warn another person on the street to run before it kills them. We are invited to see how his biggest fear-- of Lilith, of being tortured in Hell, and having been dragged there by hellhounds-- is literally tied to his feelings toward actual dogs, including nonthreatening little lap dogs.

6.01: When Dean falls under the djinn’s spell, he hallucinates an unseen monster, presumably something akin to a hellhound, but when he thinks he’s caught the monster, it’s the neighbor’s Yorkie. Just like in 4.05, Dogs, Hellhounds, and Things Dean Fears In His Soul are all tangled up together.

6.08: aka that one episode I forget exists until it comes back around on the loop (actually I don’t forget it exists anymore, I’ve seen the show too many times at this point, but meh...). But it does plant this fear, that any dog anywhere might not really be a dog. The “sleeper cell” skinwalker packs in cities all over the world? Yeah, not a happy thought for someone who really doesn’t like dogs. Or at the very least has a low-key fear of them.

7.15: I would qualify this one as just “symbolism,” but since this episode is full of anvils, it feels legit to mention that the spell Jeffrey uses to summon his demon back to him involves using Dean’s blood and a dog’s heart. Not really a dean/fear thing, but Dean AS a dog-- and a sacrificed dog at that.

8.01: When Dean gets back from Purgatory, he gets in the Impala and smells dog. Bringing on the famous rule that he’s quite angry about Sam having clearly violated even when he wasn’t on the same plane of existence at the time-- No dogs in the car. He’s still clearly not a fan. Early s8 becomes a long string of “Sam hit a dog” comments, too.

8.15: for all this episode’s grossness, it does remind us over and over again that Dean really does not like dogs. Even flat out having Dean say he likes dogs, and the woman who literally is a dog familiar tells him that no, he doesn’t.

9.05: Dean... is basically a dog. He bonds with the Colonel a bit, even identifies with the dog while he’s under the spell, but all that good will that built up between them effectively shatters again with the ominous last words he gets before the spell wears off and the knowledge that dogs were not created to be man’s best friend, but had some other-- and in this context seemingly sinister-- purpose.

And then we have every other ep that deals with Hellhounds, Dean’s failure to kill one leading to Sam taking on the trials instead of him, tied up in their mutual discussion of what they see as their respective futures-- Sam wants to live, and he wants Dean to live, too, instead of Dean constantly running toward death and self-sacrifice. So like, these themes are all tied up together, and makes all the dog stuff incredibly not fun when it comes to Dean specifically.

So when Dean does lose Cas-- and everyone else on the planet-- the dog being the ONE living being they’ve found, Dean picking her up and putting her in “Cas’s place” in the car, only to have Chuck snap her away like she was a manipulative trick the entire time? Not even really real, just one more thing to give Dean a tiny bit of hope only to maliciously snatch it away again?

And then for the SINGLE thing Dean asked for from Chuck being to bring Cas back?

And then he doesn’t get Cas back, but apparently kidnaps this random dog instead?

It’s just... indescribably weird to me, and so entirely out of character and insulting to Cas on top of it all. Like this was the only happiness Dean was allowed after saving the universe. No found extended family, no life outside of Sam and hunting, no dream of retiring and finding a beach to sink his toes in the sand for a little while. He just gets a dog, which he canonically doesn’t like and has a lot of issues with for entirely understandable reasons. So like.. .how is this cute or happy or nice?

#dean vs dogs #spn 15.20 #i'm sorry the dog thing is just making me irrationally angry on dean's behalf but dammit it's just gross to me #Anonymous

[scarlet--wiccan]

I'm making up Avengers formations on my mind and other than the realization that there are TOO MANY AMERICAN, NEW YORK BASED HEROES in Marvel Comics, I also realized that... I forgot what I was going to say, it took me ages to come back to this ask (I left the phone). Anyways, I started to think about the Adventures universe where Storm, instead of Thor, and Giant-Girl (Janet) are on the main team and I was left thinking: what kind of relationship / dynamic would Storm, who was briefly associated with the team on the main universe through her relationship with T'Challa, have with Janet and Wanda if they were ever to be on the same team? And then I started to think, which other non-Americans and characters of color would you want to hang out with Wanda. Like, now that Echo bonded with the Phoenix Force, I think: what kind of dynamic would they have? And then there's Moon Knight, Blade, T'Challa, Shang-Chi. So many other characters, so much potential for interesting dynamics.

You don't really have to rush to answer this ask or answer at all. Just wanted to share a bit of positivity on your askbox. :D

I thought I could come up with an interesting answer by making a list of every character of color that has ever been a member of the Avengers. Unfortunately, after weeding out mutants, dead people, and anyone that's depowered or otherwise occupied, the list ended up being pretty small-- and some of those characters were people that I just don't have any particular interest in playing off of Wanda. So that wasn't helpful! I think the shortlist was about thirteen characters, and most of them were American.

I'm not very familiar with Moon Knight, but I understand that he's pretty mystical and is tied to mythological settings, ancient gods, and all that. I love seeing Wanda operate in that space, and I think they'd click on certain things-- like having an overbearing, somewhat sinister god breathing down your neck, or bouts of offensively written mental health disorders.

I bet that Wanda and Maya would get along well. Wanda has some interesting experience with the Phoenix, and even though I found the order-vs.-chaos concept from AvX to be kind of forced, you could probably do something cool with the idea that Wanda's magic can counter the Phoenix Force. As an ally, she could help Maya safely practice and explore her new power. We've also seen in Star, and even Jean Grey, that Wanda sees her own struggles reflected in people who have had great and terrible power thrust upon them, and she's strongly motivated to help those people whenever possible. I think she would be one to support and advocate for Maya, all the way.

Wanda's got some cool magic friends, like Elizabeth Twoyoungmen and Alice Gulliver. There are also some interesting characters from Doctor Strange (2016) such as Xandra Xu and Médico Místico. Obviously, her boyfriend Jericho is top of the list. There's also, you know, Doom. They have a lot of baggage and animosity, but I also think they'd work really well as reluctant allies. Victor, Wanda, and Pietro actually have very similar backgrounds, even among Marvel's Roma characters, so I think that the correct writer could mine a lot of great character work out of putting those three in a room again.

I really love seeing Wanda and Monica as friends. They don't have a whole lot in common, in terms of life experiences, but I do think they would have gravitated towards each other during their earlier days in the Avengers. There have been times where they were the only the only women of color in the room, and they also have a common tongue-- they both speak French! I really, really like the image of Wanda, Pietro, Monica and Jericho holding a full conversation in French. Anyhow, I want more Mon/Wanda friendship always.

I would like to see Wanda team up with Mantis again. You could probably find cool ways to use Mantis's psychic abilities, particularly the astral projection, in conjunction with magic. They have some very interesting shared history -- they had a double wedding together, had children around the same time, suffered very similar losses and heartbreak, and now they both have kids who are space royalty. As far as I'm aware, they haven't spent any time together in decades, but if there's ever another Celestial Madonna-related story like Empyre, I want to see them reunite and be cool tough-mom duo.

Oh, and I'd also be very interested in seeing Wanda meet America. I know that America's whole backstory is in flux right now-- and I'm very frustrated by this, so I'm choosing to ignore it for now. I'd be curious to know what role Wanda plays in the mythology of the Utopian Parallel.

Those are just some ideas that popped into my head. If you're looking for a team roster, I would throw Wanda, Pietro, Mon, and Jer together with Maya, Miguel Santos, and Adam Brashear. These characters are mostly in the same age range and have some amount of established history, with varied, but overlapping abilities. Throw America in as a wild card and call it a day. Oh, and Blade. Witches and vampires, you know?

#i feel like I barely represented any Asian characters but that's bc most of my favorite Asian characters are either mutants or Kamala

[galaeus]

OKAY AS PROMISED HERE IS THE VERY DISORGANIZED BULLETPOINT MASTERLIST OF 

“HOW I FEEL ECHO J. GALAEUS WOULD GET ON WITH THE CANON CHARACTERS OF MASS EFFECT”

long post so you can read it under the cut. (in order of me1 to me2)

THE COUNCIL / ALLIANCE

lmfao absolutely not, she cannot stand those hypocritical donuts

also fun fact, her dad left Contraxia and wound up serving the alliance on a refugee grant leaving his child and baby mama to rot so that’s a lot of baggage to be had

COMMANDER SHEPARD

This is completely up in the air because there are a ton of Shepards on indie and they���re all unique and fantastic, but I will drop that Echo respects fighters. Shepard is a fighter and a strong willed person, so I don’t doubt that she’d respet the shit out of any Commander.

ASHLEY WILLIAMS

Debatable. Ashley has a pretty strong background of family and religion and Echo tends to shun her Contraxian culture/has little to no feeling when it comes to her own family ties back home. They may be something of adversaries given they are both strong-willed and outspoken individuals.

KAIDAN ALENKO

Echo is pretty neutral to Kaidan, but given her ties with Cerberus, I don’t think he would be neutral with her. Dude certainly believes in a cause and she can respect that, but I don’t know if he would want to associate with her. Plus there’s that pesky problem she has with Alliance so they will most likely butt heads.

LIARA T’SONI

Echo is more than likely very intimidated by how smart Liara is (that woman is wicked intelligent) but that wouldn’t necessarily be any reason for her not to speak with Liara. They both have mommy issues, so that’s a bonus. If anything, she finds Liara to be a very brave and honorable individual so she’s equal parts nervous around her as well as respectable.

GARRUS VAKARIAN

This is a tough one and it depends on the timeline. With her father being Alliance, she tends to not think too highly about C-Sec. However, they both have major daddy issues to deal with, so maybe that’s enough to bring neutral ground. He’s a ruthless fighter and she respects the hell out of any fighter she comes across.

ME2 Archangel status, I do enjoy the concept that she knew of him/perhaps even crossed paths with him when she was in the midst of her gig as a hunter-for-hire on Omega before Cerberus snatched her up. She has a bit of a revenge list of old ring-runner/betting pools she’s tracking down for soul-sake that she wants murdered, so I wonder if she’d come to him for help? Otherwise they’d meet on the Normandy. Turians/Contraxians like fighting, so that’s A+.

URDNOT WREX

I seriously do not doubt that Echo and Wrex have stumbled into each other at some point or another. He’s a Krogan, Krogans love Contraxia’s lawless wasteland of fighting and chaos, so I feel as though they would have a pretty interesting bond. Bonus points if he actually knew her when she was a fighter on Contraxia!

TALI’ZORAH

Granted she’s intimidated by very smart people (see: Liara) but I think her and Tali have the opportunity to get along great. Quarians and Contraxians are treated as second-class citizens, so I think she would want to make an alliance with Tali strictly due to the fact that their people are very much frowned upon in most corners of the universe.

JOKER

For the love of god do not make puns around her or she will break the coffee machine.

MIRANDA LAWSON

MISS MIRANDA, DID YOU PICK UP ECHO FROM OMEGA ON BEHALF OF THE ILLUSIVE MAN?

Ok but in all seriousness Echo digs that Miranda has zero qualms with stating that she’s the best at what she does because while Echo is shameful of the people she’s murdered (hello, 33 very personal deaths in the gladiator arena) she also knows she is highly capable at what she’s good at. They have both been used and abused in many different ways, so I’d be curious if they had a partnership grow for those little things or if they would butt head strictly on the principle that Miranda is pretty poised and Echo is... not. I would love to explore it.

JACOB TAYLOR

ALLIANCE DADDY ISSUES UNITE. Okay but can they please bond over the fact that their dads were in Alliance and, while he joined Alliance to follow his legacy, Echo basically got the shit end of the stick as a gladiator? Plus he’s super skilled at fighting. I think she’ll like him.

GRUNT

Again, like Wrex, I have a feeling Echo will like Grunt. Krogans love fighting and they love Contraxia’s nature and debauchery, so I think eventually they would warm up to one another and be amicable.

MORDIN SOLUS

Mordin talks much too fast and confusing for Echo to understand him but she appreciates his matter-of-fact nature -- even if it takes her a while to get used to it. Echo tends to take a lot of things literally, so it works out that it’s so neat and plain in front of her when they speak.

JACK

heart eyes motherfucker

No seriously these two both have bodies painted with ink that talk about their past and I SCREAM about it. However, Echo’s champion mark tattoos were involuntary, but she was allowed to choose the design after a kill/winning fight. Jack was also involuntarily held for so much of her childhood just as Echo was held against her will to fight against her peers as she grew up, so they have some very fucked up childhood problems to comb through. They both have really intense viewpoints of the world and tend to be loners, so I would love to see if they royally hate each other or if they become complete and utter nuisances on the galaxy.

KASUMI GOTO

She’s gonna be super gay for Kasumi and think she’s like the greatest person to talk to I can already feel it in my bones and I am so sorry for the simping that could be had here.

LEGION

Oh god has Contraxia ever even been bothered by the Geth? I have no idea. It would be interesting if she came into meeting him with an open mind, because he is an interesting character. Plus there is always the battle of ‘we are legion’ vs her individualistic nature, so I think it would be a neat dynamic to explore.

THANE KRIOS

She knows of him. Like I guarantee she knows of him because his skill would be revered where she’s from (Contraxians really put assassins/fighters on the top of their respect list) and I think because of that, she would be open to discussing her former life. Plus there is almost... repentence? in getting to know Thane? He hates what he’s done just as much as she loathes what she had to do in order to survive her life as a gladiator, so I wonder if she would actually get spiritual and real with him behind closed doors where the rest of the crew cannot hear the crimes she’s committed against humanity.

SAMARA

Big gay and scared of you. That’s all I can say about her right now skdfjsf

ZAEED MASSANI

I have a feeling these two have definitely crossed paths, even if it was before the Normandy. They’re both bounty hunters (though her assassin/hunter stint was short-lived given Cerberus picked her up for their own usage) and they’ve both been scarred by war in one way or another, so I’m curious to see if they become neutral acquaintances.

TIM / THE ILUSIVE MAN

While indebted to him for picking her up in the middle of Omega running around as a hunter-for-hire, she is fearful she traded one cage for another. That being said I think she’d buy into whatever he was telling her to do and do it without questioning because it’s better than what her old life used to be.

#mass effect rp #this took me like over 2 hours to write up lmfao #HONESTLY USE IT IF YOU WANNA PLOT WITH HER #OC'S WE WILL FIGURE OUT AS WE GO ALONG #but i'm excited to plot with whomever xo #long post cw

[legionofpotatoes]

alright here’s ma thoughts on that flick I mentioned

we hatewatched a*my of the dead because we were CONVINCED “zombies in las vegas” would be an impossible concept to screw up, but in so assuming we obviously invoked a holy wager with the universe and got reminded, once again, that hoping for improvement from someone who’s dependably put out bad art is never a wise choice 😐

but we were honestly kinda roped in by the marketing??? and expected a goofy fast-paced flick with the odd traditional undead metaphor thrown in, framing some sort of relationship drama maybe or hell even nothing at all! we’d have taken pure indulgent storytelling, idk italian job with zombies in las vegas, I don’t know fucking anything but??? whatever this was???? spoilers below for it is time for One Of My Rants

I mean the main reason I really want to write all this and complain. this film here probably has the most unappealing cinematography I have ever experienced in my life and that is saying something. who the fuck signed off on that CONSTANT shallow-ass depth of field that imprisons your eyeline and turns every shot into bokeh paste???? and I mean every shot almost!!!! I promise if you think I am overreacting just throw a dart at the seek bar and watch twenty seconds from wherever it lands. it is horrifying to look at. at least it gave my girlfriend a good visual shorthand for what it’s like when I lose my glasses

why was sean spicer in this movie. did they pay him to be here. was sean spicer paid hollywood money for his scene in this film because fuck everyone who was involved in that decision

the legitimately baffling hints at the extraterrestrial origins of the infection that went absolutely nowhere and had no dramatic or plot-level bearing. we love to see the franchise sprouts fellas

yet another big budget waste of everything hiroyuki sanada has to offer. and bautista too I guess? I like him but man was this an odd career move

what was the crux of his conflict/resolution with his daughter btw. I understand it was rooted in miscommunication over their forms of grief irt mom but uhh… it was all rather clunky and didn’t land for me. I tried I really tried to buy in but something was wrong fundamentally with the groundwork there, it did not click and their catharsis felt unearned. I know there’s massive amounts of tragic baggage being projected there from the author so I’m not slapping any judgment down really;

but again it would be an easy thing to wave off if they just had a vibrant cast of lovable simpletons with good chemistry and the kinetic sense of plotting the trailers promised (and this premise never discounts good drama, either). but instead it was just two and a half (!) hours of meandering into situations the filmmaking instincts had no idea how to flow in and out of

to wit. I know talking about “bad pacing” is associated with armchair bullshit but consider the example of the scene were dieter does an out of nowhere little dance after childishly screaming but then still-killing a zombie, with the film framing this as a micro character triumph, and not a second later the bg soundtrack instantly fades into an orchestral score dramatizing a nearby mcguffin reveal, completely 180 degreeing the tone without a semblance of deft insert shot stitching or even I dont know a fucking jump cut maybe. now imagine this whiplash for 2.5 hrs uninterrupted

I will keep complaining about the length yeah because this was not a story requiring this much real estate to be told. Uhh in my humble and personal opinion, of course

[man sees zombie tiger] “this is crossing the line!” you can in fact write dialogue that is not utter nonsense that falls apart once you drill down its single fickle layer of referential meta winking. what line are you talking about. you have rules in this insane situation you’re in? total nitpick moment I know but it got burned in my brain for some reason. like a microcosm of the mismanaged dramatic instincts paired with weird writing that dots this movie. I am sure the director calls this either satire or genre deconstruction. I am SO sure

tumblr domino meme that goes from “dude getting sucked off while driving” to “entire las vegas literally nuked”

tig notaro is always great to see but once you know she’s been filmed as a separate greenscreen plate months after photography wrapped - cause she had to apparently replace some abusive asshole but that’s a whole other pig not worth fucking - it becomes impossible to unsee her odd detachment from everyone else in the movie lmao. it doesn’t really “ruin” anything on its lonesome but it is hard to unsee

why. was. sean. spicer. in. this. movie

a very simple key ingredient missing from fully turning lip service sympathy for main uruk hai dude into actual empathy that would generate meaningful conflict with hero family would be to spend a bit more time articulating what he internally wanted the most. because he was obviously trying to do something here with pointed agenda. a family, to have kids, build a caste system, save his wife’s head, return to his planet??? all of these could represent the bigger context in his psychology that spurred his vengeance but none of them are dramatically emphasized long enough for you to cheer him on. I’m not asking too much I promise. Articulating interiority of a mute character is pretty doable with deft cinema language, just gotta linger and hold a shot here and there for a few seconds, frame as his POV, donezo. I know this is also one of those like. “who cares” moments but the movie does, very evidently so, in making this guy an actual character. you can kinda piece it together and create a framework of sympathy for him, sure, but then again he ultimately becomes a foil to be killed and not defeated, so. Ehh whatever

quarantine zone stuff was not a wildly childish covid allegory quarantine zone stuff was not a wildly childish covid allegory quarantine zone stuff was n

the rooftop helicopter fakout at the end was such an ass-backwards, manufactured moment of what could be a simple setup/payoff it just pissed me off??? you gain nothing by giving sad dad five seconds of pointless crisis that flips right back to previous status quo ANYWAY, except for a weaksauce waste of runtime, which could be used instead to get inside notaro’s head and actually SHOW the remorse form as she took off, literally maybe even a frown playing on her face as she’s headed for safety right before we cut back to drax and the kid. just a simple-ass, minimal, momentary setup for what is the most basic filmmaking trick of creating macro catharsis moments. Just???? g o d if you can’t even land that shit why are you even doing any of this

that lil run final pam did was very very charming and super choreographed in a way that was the tiiiniest bit overdone

the whole intro with the simul-backstories and posing with family photos was just… oddly motivated. what was the goal? “here’s what we’re fighting for” vignettes? why? it’s not a functional setup in that vein. what was all that

also I am sorry if this is insensitive but the reasons most characters end up articulating to justify going back into the hell that destroyed their lives makes them sound seriously insane

I dont like complaining about CGI (honestly) but so much of it in modern movies can achieve higher fidelity if the animation is simply subdued. Do not overengineer and over-apply 2D cell methodologies and kinematics to each tiny twitch and movement in a hyper 3D model and I promise you. it will look a thousand times more natural. look at thanos in those last two movies. your rendering and detail are absolutely perfect with the tiger you just have to let stuff sit instead of constantly simulating swaying hair strands and firing off all facial muscles at once. great moment at one point where makeup zombie horse and CG zombie tiger are both in one shot together and just by unnecessary amounts of movement alone you can tell who doesn’t belong. again; detail, rendering, compositing, lighting, all picture-perfect; but y’all just gotta let the animation breathe sometimes, and chill it out

plot holes don’t really matter to me but it was kinda funny how lilly decided not to mention the enormous wrinkle in intel pertaining to an actual territorial tribe of intelligent zombies that require human offerings to let you pass, just so that reveal could play out in real time through the joyous punishment of the cartoonishly misogynistic dude

total chad move for mister uruk hai and final pam to rule from a rusted swimming pool complex

the ending with vanderohe oh my god. with the. cash stacks at the airport register. and specifically them working in his favor. that is literally something you do to get arrested under suspicion of theft. it was almost played for laughs and I respect that. coulda been goofier. make these movies goofy ya dorks

anyway, weird, weird movie. bad marketing. message unclear (something something sins of the father???), baffling editing instincts, literal worst-looking cinematography I ever laid eyes upon. Confidently dying on that last hill

#text #long post #aotd spoilers #aotd critical

[avani008]

Thoughts on Raavan(an) the movie? I'm considering watching it but I'm given pause by some of its characterizations.

Caveat #1: Warning for implied rape, suicide, and fridging of one of the only two named female characters--that’s not in the Ramayana. 

Caveat #2: If you’re going to watch either, I would recommend Raavanan. Vikram’s take is much better, IMO, than Abhishek Bachchan’s. But my thoughts follow, with vague spoilers--but. I mean. It’s the Ramayana, the basic plot is not a surprise.

On the plus side, it has an amazing soundtrack and gorgeous cinematography (really. It will make you gasp out loud, just from how beautiful some of the shots are.) Also, Aish’s take on Sita is great, both in terms of script and performance--though the dubbing is a little questionable at times, and annoyingly shrill at others. But for the most part, this Sita is defiant to the end, capable of kindness and fury alike, and willing to throw herself off a cliff rather than become anyone’s pawn. It’s one of the few takes I’ve seen that emphasize her unconventional nature, and her rage, rather than the usual saintly patience, and I really appreciated that.

Um. But. Conversely, I hated the characterization of both leads. To start off with, even though Veera/Ravana is supposed to be sympathetic, even in Valmiki’s original, the movie’s take on it is for all the wrong reasons. That is: Ravana is artistic and scholarly, and the Sundara Kand emphasizes that his other wives/lovers are at least kept well and live happily. The whole point of the Ramayana is that it’s punching up--Ravana’s a wealthy king, while Rama’s...an exiled prince. Sita’s choice to stick with Rama is --in-world--absolutely bonkers, and any sane woman should (and has, if we can trust the Sundara Kand) leave her old life behind to be Queen of Lanka. And even ignoring that, Ravana’s a competent king and able warrior/general.

....

Raavanan’s Veera runs around talking to himself and making chicken noises.

Seriously, though, making him a bandit and Rama the Establishment (aka a police officer) makes an interesting and well-needed point about police brutality and corruption--but it absolutely misses the power dynamics of the actual Ramayana, which really bothers me. Also Veera’s rants and chicken noises go on, and on, and on for scene after dull scene. Moments that should be tense made me laugh out loud instead.

But even worse than that--Dev/Rama is just horrible. Also a patriarchal, psychotic monster-in-man’s form (but then again, so is Veera), but worse than that--manipulative in a way that Valmiki’s Rama never is. Let’s note that Valmiki’s Rama has one big moment of deception/cunning and it’s....hiding in a tree to kill Vali. The Agni-pariksha twist is one big “Rama would NEVER” moment, not even necessarily because of a lack of sexism, but because it’s just plain OOC. Valmiki’s Rama tries to make peace and offers to accept surrender/Sita’s return pretty much up until the last minute; Dev uses his cigarette to burn through outlaws’ faces in a photograph. 

(I’d mention that it’s not just Rama: this version’s Lakshmana is explicitly a rapist and a creep. Lakshmana! I’ll give you a second to be aghast along with me.)

And I mean, I’m not faulting anyone for misandry (every dude in this movie sucks. Every. One. Except Not! Hanuman, but he is basically just drunk and useless.), but the ending shot, while beautiful, leaves me with a sense of--hopelessness. Ragini/Sita is the only worthwhile character in the entire film, and the film ends with her utterly broken and traumatized; to make things worse, she’s our perspective character, and so her despair bleeds into my own. If this was just a completely original story, actually, I think I wouldn’t mind it at all--it’s a fitting end to the story. But the fact that it’s explicitly a Ramayana retelling, and so carries the baggage of implicitly conveying a more universal truth, makes it worse.)

There are some who like grimdark takes, and goodness knows multiple epics/stories could certainly do with takes that explore and confront the bigotry associated with them over the years. By all means, the failures and mistakes done by the “good guys” need to be called out, and likewise, villains ought to be interesting and understandable even if not sympathetic (it’s destroying the old St Hero vs Evil McVillain cliche I complain about often! I approve). But my favored approach to this is that instead of dragging everyone down to depravity (by making the heroes commit atrocities that they don’t even do in the original), change the stories/adjust the heroes so that they’re better. Give me something to believe in, to hope for, because the alternative just leaves me, like Raavanan’s Raagini, sitting on a mountain cliff, caught between two opposing monsters and wondering “What now?”

#ramayana #raavan #avani grumps #if anyone else has opposing or even different opinions though #let me know! #it's a beautifully crafted movie #i just...hate the thesis #and the damn chicken noises

[clairecrive]

“More” - Tommy Conlon x reader

Send me a character and a number and I’ll write something based on the song that comes on shuffle. Soo, this wasn’t supposed to be a full imagine and that’s also why it took me so long to post it. I have other requests and this was supposed to be something short and fun but it turned out to be long and fluffy and I’m not even mad about it. I know I’ve been kinda absent this week so I’ll try and double update today and post tomorrow as well.

Please be patient with me, I’m trying my best, I just need to find a new balance between this blog, online lessons and my life basically.

Tag list: @deaflikehawkeye​ @mollybegger-blog​ @br0ck-eddie​ @shadow-of-wonder​ @fandom--0verdose​ @innerpaperexpertcloud​ @evelynshelby​ (let me know if you wanna be added)

Song: "More" by 5sos

"And all the things that we dream about

They don't mean what they did before

I just wanna get back to us

'Cause we used to have more"

Tommy Conlon was sitting in front of you looking like a shell of himself but at the same time just like the guy you remembered. He had always been bulky and fit thanks to his strict regime both in the gym and in the kitchen. Being in prison for a while surely contributed to it seeing as there wasn't much you could do in the confinement of a cell or much you could eat for the unsavory food they gave him. If it was possible, his muscles were even bigger than the last time you had seen him and for a moment you wondered if he had his clothes especially made. However, knowing Tommy you immediately dismissed the thought.

If his appearance had only slightly changed, the thing that struck you the most was the look in his eyes. Ever the silent and reserved guy, Tommy had never been one of many words but he was always able to convey any message or emotion through his eyes. Because of his troubled past, his eyes were always troubled and unfocused on the matter at hand, too busy worrying about his family situation. Now, the look behind his eyes was steadier and more focused. You had the feeling that when he looked at you he didn't see the ghost of his mother or whatever was troubling him but he was finally seeing you. It didn't matter that you were just catching up talking about everything and anything, you could tell that he was taking in every word you were saying. He was here with you in this moment and that made you even happier than seeing him after such a long time. Because that meant that he had somehow tamed the demons of his past and was finally living his life a little lighter.

You and Tommy went way back. You were aware of his past, both with his family and the marines. You had always been by his side, trying to lighten his days and to share the baggage he had with him since childhood but to no avail. You understood that it was something deeply personal that he had to deal with himself and on his own terms but it didn't hurt any less the realization that what you did wasn't enough and that he had to leave. Your 12 years old self didn't understand that and took it too personally that she had to when it had nothing to do with you.

This wasn't the first time you had seen Tommy after your shared childhood and early teen years. Somehow, you were both at the same time and place once and the universe did the trick. It had been ten years since the last time you saw him and right then and there you didn't recognize him. He was a totally different person than from the young boy you knew. You, however, hadn't changed that much and Tommy immediately connected your face to one of the few people of his old life, he didn't despise. Since that day, you had pretty much been inseparable. Of course, you both had your schedules and routines by then but you both worked to get them to fit with one another and soon you were basically living together.

While you were studying during the day Tommy would spend his mornings at the gym. Afternoons were rarely spent together, you would be working and Tommy too. Evenings were your shared time. Without fail, you would meet and spend time together, be it sharing a meal or doing other activities. It was as if those ten years had never passed and you soon found that balance that had made your bond special. However, Tommy had his burden and no matter what you did, you couldn't help him. There were things that we have to deal with alone and Tommy wasn't there yet at that time. He was angry, at everything and everyone, and while that was great for it fuel him for his matches, it didn't help him deal with his everyday life in a peaceful way. There was nothing peaceful about him in those days. It wasn't as if he got you stuck with or he treated you badly. It's just that he fell into unhealthy and toxic routines and habits that of course, took their toll on you too. You had never really talked about your relationship, you didn't really label it but you cared about it. Hell, you even admitted to your self and him that you loved him. You did. But unfortunately for both of you, love wasn't enough to get him out of that dark circle.

So you left him. Even though it didn't happen in the best of circumstances and you certainly didn't keep in touch afterwards, you always associated Tommy with your happiest memories and you were certain that he didn't resent you for your decision either. As you couldn't blame him for what happened to him that screwed him over, he also couldn't fault you for deciding to call him out on his bullshit and take a step back when it all became too much to bear.

Then Sparta happened and your heart broke as well as Tommy's shoulder during the finale and even more so when you learned about what was going to happen to him after the competition was over. You tried to stay updated while he was on trial but after he was sentenced you kinda got lost in your everyday life. The thought of visiting him had once passed your mind, but why would you? I mean yes, you still loved him and cared about him but you hadn't spoken nor seen him in forever so how were you going to just pop up one day in prison? Who told you that he even wanted to see you?

No one did and so you didn't. Tommy had never really left your heart nor your mind but it was easy to push it back and focus on your career, immersing yourself in work had always proved to be successful in making you so tired that by the time you got home you didn't know how to do 2+2.

You could swear that not even a year had gone by after Tommy had been sentenced to prison but when he reached to you, one day out of the blue, you soon was met to the harsh reality that almost two years had gone by, marking almost four years since you broke up.

That was a lot of time and a lot of things had changed, but you'd be fooling nobody if you said that your eyes didn't sparkle as they used to, when they saw the familiar silhouette waiting for you at the bar you'd picked.

"It's so nice seeing you out and about, Tommy. You seem like you're doing fine." In those two years, Tommy had managed to deal not only with prison but also got himself into therapy when he got out. He had started a couple of months back and it really was showing. His gloomy appearance was a thing of the past and now there was only room for funny and carefree Tommy. Well, that was not to say that he put it all behind him but he certainly had it under control now and you couldn't help but admire him with pride and affection.

"I've put it off long enough. It's time." He modestly confessed with a little smile that you couldn't help but mirror. Neither of you added anything, just stared at one another. So much had happened between you that it seemed pointless now to indulge in trivial chit chat. While you took a sip of your lukewarm tea, he cleared his throat and reached for you the hand that wasn't holding the cup.

"I've been meaning to call you for a while actually, but I... couldn't find the courage." He timidly started.

"Is that so?" You curiously ask, tightening your hold on his hand.

"I thought that I was the last person you'd want to see after what happened. I was surprised actually that you said yes to this meeting."

"Oh Tommy," you said taking his other hand in yours too, " you know that I've never blamed for what happened. Maybe we were simply not meant to be." Grudgingly you admitted while forcing the sour tone away from your words.

"You know that I've never believed in that fate shit and now I'm ever more convinced that it's indeed a load of bullshit?" he asked shuffling on his chair, " Because I'm in a point in my life where I finally have it under control, you know? So I guess you could say that I have everything that I've ever wished for, right?" He waited just a moment to let his words sink in, "And you couldn't be more wrong. All I want is just to get back to us." He delivered the last blow as he slowly met your confused gaze.

God knows how many nights you had dreamed about this very moment. But you were confused. Was he really saying that he also harbored the same feelings you had for him after all this time? Wasn't it all doomed from the start? You had tried before and it didn't work out. Would you be willing to put yourself through the possibility of a heartbreak?

"I can see the wheels spinning behind your eyes. I know you too well, Y/N." He stopped your thoughts' route, "Don't do this, 'right?"

"Just tell me something: do you still feel something for me?"

"Of course I do, Tommy. But-"

"No, not buts y/n, please," he interrupted you mid-sentence, "I know that you have reservations, and rightly so. But please, trust me when I say that I'm not the one that I used to be. Things are going to be different, I swear to you." His promise paired with his earnest glaze was a lethal mix, one you couldn't resist.

Taking another look at him, you realized that he was right. He was going to therapy and he seemed to be doing alright already, you thought. There were two obvious possible endings for this: it could all to pieces again and at least you could always say that you'd tried or, if everything went well, you could be the happiest you've ever been. This last possibility was so appealing that it exceeded the other by a long way. You had your job cut out for you, really.

"Let's get out of here."

#tommy conlon #tommy riordan #tommy conlon x reader #tommy conlon imagine #tommy conlon imagines #tommy x reader #warrior #tommy conlon one shot #Tom Hardy #tom hardy imagines #tom hardy x reader

[class1akids]

What about Midoriya for the character thing next?

favorite thing about them

I love that despite getting the greatest quirk of the BNHA universe, he remained the biggest fanboy out there. He thinks everyone’s quirks are awesome, he can figure out great uses to the most obscure powers and he knows random details about niche heroes. 

I also love his mental strength - no amount of putting down can break him. 

least favorite thing about them

When he gets over-the-top flustered. Sometimes it’s funny, but sometimes I have to block my ears.

favorite line

It’s this absolute and utter frustration and righteous anger that someone would waste something so amazing as a quirk on a petty objective like spite. I hope one day he’ll hear it back when he needs it. 

brOTP

It’s a tie between Iida and Todoroki; I can’t decide. I just love the mutual support and respect, the I’ll always be there for you to help you or pick you up vibes between those three. All three of them are new to having friends, all three are odd in different ways, and somehow I feel because this, they very deeply treasure these bonds… There is just something amazingly pure about it.

OTP

Hmm, that’s a hard one - I like the idea of both BakuDeku and TodoDeku, but the fanon surrounding it can be quite off-putting. Obviously, with Bakugou they have a lot of baggage, and I don’t see that working until they work through their issues. With Todoroki, I just don’t like when Todoroki is portrayed like this broken thing who needs to be saved. 

I also like the idea of the canon ship with Ochako, but I absolutely detest how the entire character of Uraraka has been consumed by her crush. But cringy writing aside, I think they would make a good couple. 

nOTP

Don’t really know - I would hate to see anything with All Might, but then again, I don’t think that’s a thing.

random headcanon

Bakugou made some of the doodles in Deku’s very first hero analysis notebook, back when they were still friends.

unpopular opinion

As much as All Might means to him, Deku will not become the greatest until he’ll be able to see his idol more objectively and he stops trying to emulate him, instead of growing into his own brand of hero. As much as All Might has become a father figure, Midoriya will not come to age until he manages to cut the umbilical chord. 

song i associate with them

My Shot from Hamilton

favorite picture of them

I love the expression on his face in the midterm practicals before he punches All Might. He cycles through so many emotions, and they are different from his usual caring, concerned or worried looks. There is determination, disbelief, oh-shit-oh-shit-I’m-really-doing-this… 

Master list - all character asks

#bnha #midoriya izuku #character asks

[eternlle]

𝐓𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐒

use tv tropes to associate 10 tropes with your muse that you think are important  (tip: your character is likely to have some tropes already listed if they are part of a recognized canon!)  feel free to copy-paste the definitions of the tropes, or explain their relevance by identifying them on your own. repost, don’t reblog.  (and tw for possible imagery / triggers on some tv tropes pages.)

i.   the ingenue :    “ The Ingenue is a young virginal woman with the purity of a child. she is kind, sweet-natured, polite, and optimistic, and on the sliding scale of idealism vs. cynicism, she falls very much on the idealistic side. her innocence will often inspire protective feelings in heroic characters, and she is frequently one of the more beautiful characters because of the convention that beauty = goodness. unfortunately, her innocence also often makes her woefully naive, making her a prime target for a villain seeking to take advantage of her, often in an I Have You Now, My Pretty fashion. ”

ii.   who wants to live forever  ( averted )  :    “ the worst fate possible might well be immortality. sure, you might like the idea that you get to live forever and see what the world's like hundreds of years from now, but what's eternal life compared to the pain of life in general?   from eventual boredom to eternal entrapment and torture to the emotional anguish of seeing your loved ones die, one by one, as you stay fixed in time.  then let's not forget that the earth might be destroyed by the expanding sun in a few billion years, so if you haven't a way to leave by then you can look forward to spending eternity in space, orbiting the dying core of the sun.  this attitude toward immortality is older than feudalism, going back at least as far as the greek myths. ”

evelyn has the opposite attitude  ;   she enjoys her immortality for all it’s worth.  at least, she definitely doesn’t see it as a curse.   though she has no idea how it happened, she also doesn’t know how to reverse it, so she figures she may as well enjoy the benefits.

iii.   older than they look :   “ sometimes characters don't look their age. whether it was a deliberate artistic choice on the behalf of the creator (usually to make the character more attractive or to legally fulfill a fetish) or something much deeper and linked to their characterization and the plot, this character will be older than they look. although usually still within the normal range of the human lifespan (for that setting, anyway), this character will look noticeably younger than their age. sometimes even improbably younger; it's not unheard of for a seeming teenager to be over the hill chronologically. ”

iv.   cope by pretending :    “ a character is currently (or has been )  in a very stressful situation. it might be that they're dealing with the loss of someone dear to them, an event that traumatized them.  as a means of coping, they quite literally pretend that things are not as bad as they are.  perhaps by making up imaginary people, or pretending that, in-between scavenging for food and running from monsters, the morning paper is still running.  it could go as far as to pretend that the event that hurt them so never happened at all.  someone who is aware that they are Coping by Pretending knows how bad their situation truly is, and knows that the pretending is just that.  but it just makes things easier, so they keep doing it. ”

v.   healing factor :    “ a character is hard to kill, not because he doesn't get hurt, but because he has the ability to rapidly recover from serious damage. although it depends on how fast he can heal and how much of a beating his body can take, a character with healing factor will bounce back from severe injuries that other beings can't, often with no scars or medical treatment   rarely will a character need to worry about infection, as a super immune system is most often packaged in, but they may need to worry about setting broken bones. ”

vi.   the lost lenore   ( inverted ) :    “  The Lost Lenore, aka the dead love interest — not parent, not sibling, not offspring, love interest. one of the oldest ones in the book, named for the famous deceased in edgar allan poe's "the raven".    in order to qualify for this trope, it must be clear that the characters who lose their Lost Lenore grieve strongly for her, and that overcoming their grief and learning to love again is a significant part of character/plot development.  sometimes subsequent love interests never entirely replace Lenore.  if she left children behind, the children often have considerable emotional baggage to deal with, including a father (or father-figure equivalent) whose grief can render him overprotective, neglectful, abusive, or absent. the children may feel, or even be told explicitly, that they are either too much like the Lost Lenore, or else not enough like her. angst ensues. ”

evelyn is the lost lenore to her husband, who presumes her dead.   after a search of the woods could reveal no sign of his wife beyond the place where her footprints ended, mr. ferriday was driven to distraction by grief.   he took the entire household and fled to london, where he established himself permanently   ;   he could never bear to return to the place where his wife died.   though he was not deeply in love with evelyn, her loss haunted him nonetheless, and he sank into brooding despair for many years.

vii.   mad dreamer :    “  if the reason that humans don't deal with creative sterility is that humanity is insane, then this character is just that extra bit more insane than the rest of humanity. they not only make up fantastic art and stories, they then live them. expect them to be the odd ones out in any kind of group, since they're the only ones talking about the adventures they had last night hunting dragons. however, rather than be held in lower esteem for being unable to take reality (or cope with the way that society creates it), they are held in higher esteem within the work for the imagination and vivacity (for these characters are almost always very energetic and emotional) with which they live life. ”

viii.   nature lover :    " this is about those who love the great outdoors and all that dwell therein. they may be a forest dweller themselves, or live in the countryside where they commune with nature. it's also a safe bet that they'll either have a close bond with the local fauna, or at least have extensive knowledge of them. In their view, the world is just awesome so they want to spend as much time with it as possible and share it with others. whereas ones who live in the city may often spend time at the park, or just watching the sunset. usually a sign of goodness, indicating a wholesome character uncorrupted by secularism. ”

ix.   back from the dead :    “ a major character has been killed, pronounced dead and buried. however, the established laws of the universe allow for functional magic, a sufficiently advanced alien, applied phlebotinum, deus ex machina or similar agency to intervene and subvert what naturally follows dying.  namely, staying dead. (In some cases, an explanation isn't even bothered with.) ”

x.   spirited young lady :   “ a certain kind of character commonly found in historical fiction set in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.  she is the girl who bends the rules just a little. oh, she can dance a country dance or pour tea with the best of them, but she may also be a good walker or horseback rider....  the Spirited Young Lady has the same grace and style as the proper ladies, plus an added spark of attitude or rebellion...  she may not speak out for women's rights generally (a few examples do), but she will speak out for her rights pretty clearly. Her willingness to say what she wants is part of what makes her stand out. In unskillful hands, such a character may seem anachronistic, though there are many examples that are both believable and well-rounded. ”

tagged by :  borrowed from @westenyra​ tagging :  anyone who wants it!!

#( hcs ) / waiting was enough for me

[ninety6tears]

king-of-exchanges letter

Wooo kingofexchanges is happening again! 

I’m a big fan of SK but only somewhere in the middle of my consumption/obsession; with King being heavy on self-referencing and crossover-friendly treatments, I’d be happy for you to mix and match any of my requests, as long as you can see from my goodreads page that I’ve read the relevant stuff.

Basic preferences: I read everything from G-rated to explicit PWP. I love pastiche for lit fandoms but something that feels more off the beaten path of the original style can also be fun.

I love: Angst, pining, subtle UST, first times, or established relationships with some level of conflict to be resolved. Intense friendship stories. Protectiveness in close relationships as well as in those that wouldn’t obviously appear to be protective at first. A character or characters experiencing a type of attraction that isn’t the status quo for them. Relationships that had a falling-out and neither of them ever really got over it. Characterization that focuses on the nature & nurture of who people have grown to be and the unique ways they take care of or need other characters. Insecurity/hangups over worthiness. AUs of all varieties.

I can handle: underage, dubcon, noncon, torture and incest. Character death. Love triangles. Infidelity.

Do Not Want: Fix-its without sacrifice/troubles. Soulbonding/magical soulmate tropes. Disputes centered around marriage as a show of commitment ("If you were really serious you'd have proposed by now rather than just wanting to live together" and all that). A/B/O, mpreg, or any body fluid kinks. More than a mention of Alzheimer’s/dementia.

Christine ‘83 (FIC):

Arnie/Dennis

Arnie/Christine/Dennis

---NOTE - The movie is more fresh in my mind for prompting purposes but I have read the book, so feel free to run with this request for either version. I do like the dark humor Carpenter brings to adolescence without mocking the angst of being a teenager, not that King isn’t morbidly funny in his own right.

We get very little of them together before Arnie starts to go all possessed but we can tell their friendship has lasted a lot of changes over the years. That hospital visit over the holiday (which I remember was more bittersweet, less tense in the book?) feels like the last time Arnie remembered that he's supposed to be a big part of Dennis’ life. But even before all that, there’s a nice dynamic where Dennis is protective of Arnie and really thinks highly of him (and huh, maybe sees something in his looks other people don’t) when it’s not socially advantageous for him to retain that loyalty, and I’d like to get more of that. Maybe they’ve fooled around once or twice? Maybe Arnie was the one who got weird about it, afraid of the eventual rejection, or they’re both just too repressed? I like the triangle with Leigh too, if you wanted to get into the confused jealousy/conduit attraction thing, just nothing that completely dismisses any meaning of her relationship with Dennis if it’s referenced at all.

If Dennis was the one Christine got dangerously jealous of (either because something happens between them or she just knows) how would that go down differently? Or what if the car decides she wants to be shared by them, and maybe likes to watch them do things to each other (take that however you want it to mean) and either their closeness makes the two of them eventually snap out of it, or they all just become a weird evil threesome? I'm also into the idea of some other fantasy/sci-fi AU in which Christine is something or someone else entirely but is still threatening in some paranormal/inhuman way.

Crossover Tags (FIC):

Peter McVries & Ray Garraty & The Stand

Peter McVries/Ray Garraty & The Stand

---I’m interested in how these two would fit into a story with such an elemental moral war. Both are reckless but McVries more prone to hopelessness and nihilism; would he be tempted to join Flagg without outside influence? Would he just kind of wander around with no sense of purpose until Ray found him? It could also turn the existential misery of The Long Walk on its head, with them losing their families and possibly realizing too late the preciousness of life that way. You don’t have to get into much philosophy or plot either; I’m kind of into the everyday pain-in-the-ass minutiae of the post-apocalypse and people finding ways to laugh about their circumstances and reach for each other in their grief. Feel free to write it as full-on crossover with some of the canon Stand characters appearing.

Larry Underwood & Richie Tozier

---If you have some other idea of where to put these two together, go for it, but I had this idea of Richie hosting an occasional interview special for up-and-coming musicians and Larry being invited on when the single’s just out and being so nervous to meet this famous personality, and maybe they get drunk or high together before or after the interview (bonus points if Larry can hardly get in an answer cause Richie gives him the giggles). They’re kinda both assholes so they get along? They’re both assholes so they kinda hate each other? I didn’t nominate it as a shippy treatment but if you’re really sad I didn’t, hey, stuff happens when people party.

The Dark Half (FIC):

Alan Pangborn/Thad Beaumont

Alan Pangborn/Elizabeth Beaumont/Thad Beaumont

George Stark/Alan Pangborn

---I thought the surprising friendship and trust that takes hold between Thad and the officer who initially believes him to be a cold killer was one of the better aspects of this novel, and the way that connection is so soon polluted by Stark's insurmountable connection to a part of Thad’s psyche is chilling and more than a little sad. I would love to get a shippy treatment of their immediate companionship and/or the inevitable disturbance of it. If you wanted to make it a poly thing with Elizabeth, with all three of them not really pausing in the midst of all these maddening things happening to question opening their marriage to someone they find comforting, I would be interested in how that might underscore the events.

And when it comes to George/Alan...yeah, I want darkfic, potentially outlining Stark’s role in putting Alan off Thad in a more sinister way, whether it’s poisoning the well of Alan’s (sublimated? not yet acted on?) desire and affection for Thad by being sleazily flirtatious in pointing it out, or going to a darker noncon place with all the mingled disgust and misplaced attraction that might provoke. (In the context of this prompt, I’m not super into the gross-out factor of Stark being at the stage where his skin is falling off, but if you can’t somehow set it at an earlier stage it would be better to just not mention it.)

Also, I realize Alan has a family, but you can deal with that however you want; his wife can just not exist for the purposes of the story, but even infidelity wouldn’t put me off if you’re taking the character that far out of a healthy mindset.

The Long Walk (FIC):

Peter McVries/Ray Garraty

---Since we’re never in Pete’s head, it would be great to get anything detailing how his initial distance from Ray quickly erodes into the protectiveness he obviously can’t help over him, if there’s a spark of empathy there even before the first time Ray saves him, or what he’s really thinking or trying to say at some of his more cynical and cryptic moments. I wonder what it was that Parker said to him to imply he thought he and Ray were “queer for each other” and how this apparently was covered without McVries feeling the need to deny it?

If you wanted to write them both somehow surviving, I would love to see how their relationship remains in the aftermath; maybe they don’t exactly end up together because they associate each other with this traumatizing thing, and they have an essential but troubled friendship because of it (and maybe they end up fucking a couple times but don’t really talk about it).

In the realm of more absolute alternate universes...a bigoted boarding school atmosphere, an aggressive correctional camp, anything where a compulsive make-out might happen in the bunks or the showers and then be stiffly denied later on sounds like a backdrop I’d love for these boys if you want to do something bleak-but-not-as-mortally-bleak.

I prefer to think of McVries as having complicated depression that doesn’t just stem from girlfriend problems; I’d prefer you mention the incident with Priscilla as little as possible, but any focus on Pete’s scar is totally fine.

The Stand (ART):

Larry Underwood/Lucy Swann

Lucy Swann/Larry Underwood/Nadine Cross/Randall Flagg

Nadine Cross

---My attempts to prompt for art for these tags may be unhelpful but I’m really into Nadine’s scary paranormal bond with Flagg, the imagery of her hair and Flagg’s tainted handsomeness and everything haunted about her and her life, and how the love triangle with her and Larry and Lucy is really a quadrangle of temptations and baggage beyond the usual moral pressure of romantic entanglements. They’re all figuratively in bed together whether they like it or not, but I could see that presented more literally in art. I also would like anything associated with the individual permutations (Larry/Nadine, Larry/Lucy, Larry/Nadine/Randall?). Desperate/melancholy embraces, or moments of almost touching. That ghost leering over Nadine’s shoulder in her moments of getting too close to tenderness.

#stephen king #christine #the dark half #the long walk #the stand #it