#AN IMPORTANT MOMENT IN CINEMATIC HISTORY

[applestorms]

i love near so goddamn much. i finally read the c-kira and a-kira post-canon one shots all the way through last night and AAAAAAAAA my heart. nate river 🫵🫵🫵

c-kira in particular hits me hard bc you can really see that he's still reeling from the events of the main story. it’s a very specific era of near that’s so horribly awkward and insecure about his place in the world, about his role as L, and has so very few people left behind to support him-- really just lidner, rester, and gevanni. so much of that story is about near struggling to figure out who he is and who he wants to be in the wake of Everything, scrambling around in the shadows of all these false gods and blown up egos, trying to grow up and be a Person in the smoking remains of all these people who killed themselves with their own hubris. i mean, just look at this page:

LOOK AT THIS. near is almost shockingly expressive in this story, his grief and regret is fucking Palpable in a way that you very rarely see with a guy like him. it really gets to me that this is the story where near actually opens up about his mixed feelings surrounding the original L, about the interview he held where he picked near & mello out to be his two successors, and all while hiding himself within these massive card towers that you only see to be these giant L's at the end-- a kid barely out of his teens already getting dwarfed by the enormity of the history he is expected to continue and represent. the winner of the game who's only prize is the legacy he now holds on his shoulders, the grief he is cursed with as the only one left behind. this kid barely has anyone now, never even got the chance to truly, fully know what he lost in the first place, these all-powerful figures that have dictated every inch of his life from the moment he stepped foot in that damn house.

and i mean, goodness. what did we expect? i can talk all i want about the cinematic parallels of light & L as opposites, but look at near & mello in literally every piece of official art-- near truly loses his other half when mello dies, and you can just Feel the discomfort, the deep-seated, underlying imbalance in his soul through this shit.

a-kira near, on the other hand, has had the time to grow a bit more at ease with himself, but he still gets to me in a slightly different way. i cannot emphasize enough how utterly fucking perfect the decision to make his hair longer is-- for so simple of a detail, it really sums up so much about his character. this version of an older near feels like a guy who's been stuck outside of time for ages, barely even noticing the constant shifts of the outer world as he holes himself up in his room, hardly aware of the way that his own body stretches and grows and changes with each passing day. doing his job, all just for a bit of entertainment. there is still that distinctly privileged, childish part of him that hides in his forts of toys and makes whatever demands he pleases, but it's more smoothed over, more exhausted, more Done.

he's packed away the grief by this point. dealt with it properly? not necessarily. but the wound isn't as raw now so he can set it aside to be ignored or looked over more easily, focus on the things that he wants to. blow up his toys when they don't meet his standards.

i strikes me as important that near's view on the new kira's shifts so much over the course of even just these two little stories. in the c-kira story, near is so Quick to shit on the new guy as fast as possible, literally snarking him into submission with the fear of his presence alone until he writes his own name down. we never see this "cheap" kira, this pathetic fake that couldn't possibly stand up to the original. (projecting a little there, nate?) he's barely more than a panel or two of hands, and then he disappears from the story forever.

in a-kira though, you get something a little more desperate, a little more hungry-- near really fucking wants to meet this new guy, purely for the sake of talking to him, and is a lot quicker to respect him & the depth of how well he's thought through this plan. at first it seems like he's intrigued by the idea of finally finding yet another equal, someone to match his freak after years of standing on his own, and knowing DN you're inclined to trust that the mind games will eventually happen. but, in the end...

he loses. and doesn't he seem so happy about it?

minoru really is the perfect match for near in a way-- a new, passive kira, uninterested in the bullshittery of killing and shinigami and evil murder diaries, to reflect and match the tired, new L who was done with his job before he even started doing it. RIP minoru dying due to shinigami bullshit, but i'm genuinely happy that this is the ending near gets, the chance to finally lose at something without having to pay the price of human lives for it. winning has almost never been a truly positive thing for near-- his winning wammy's house only gave him the many pressures & stresses of a job as L, his winning against light only gave him a dead mello and a notebook to quietly burn, hell, all of this shit happening at all is what made mello resent him so much in the first place.

but now he can lose. and i think he's all the better for it.

near is immature, yes, he bossy and snarky and blows up his toys without giving a fuck what anyone else has to say-- but he doesn't get ahead of himself in the way that light and L and the others did, a trait which ultimately lets him win but also leaves him behind to shoulder the grief of a generation. but now he can lose, he can let the fate of the world fall of his shoulders for just a moment, and everything is still going to be okay. it's good to see him getting older. it's good to see that you can still move on and grow, even when it seems like the legacies of the past are locking you away in a cage. i'm glad these manga exist, and i'm glad near can still make it out alive.

[boreal-sea]

I think the lighting of the beacons from Lord of the Rings is one of the most inspiring, important, beautiful moments of cinematic history.

The lead up to this moment is important too. King Théoden is reluctant to give aid to Gondor because Gondor did not come to Rohan's aid -- so why should Rohan aid Gondor?

And I feel like here in the real world we too fall into this mindset. Why should I help them? They didn't help me! As members of marginalized groups we sometimes feel like we must help only our own, and may even feel bitterness towards others.

But, we must look towards each other. And when the beacons are lit, we, like Théoden, must come to the aid of others, even those we think refused to aid us in the past.

[devondeal]

Ok now I’ve been able to process that trailer a little more.

I think my favorite thing about it is that even with the hopeful tone and happier outlook, it’s still showing Clark’s struggles.

A Superman myth I’ve been wanting to dispel is how he’s doesn’t ever struggle because of his powers so he’s sunshine and rainbows at all times.

While Clark certainly is sunshine and rainbows and his wonderful goofy self, I don’t understand where the whole myth came from that Superman never feels emotional pain. The people who say he only ever smiles.

Cuz the 1978 movies do not reflect that despite people using Christopher Reeve’s lovely smile to say so. In those movies he struggles balancing his human side with his Kryptonian duties. But then he loses Lois and that scream he does has to be the most anguished pained scream in all cinematic history. He breaks the rules to bring her back to life.

In the second movie, he starts a relationship with Lois but can’t reconcile that the people of earth need him. The ending isnt even happy really. And yet this is the definitive live action Superman of all time.

Where Snyder’s Superman went wrong wasnt that ���Clark never smiles” cuz that isnt even true. It’s the general grimdark tone of that Superman and the focus on the miserable instead of balancing a light fun atmosphere while showing real struggles for Clark.

What the OG movies got so perfectly, was keeping the tone light and hopeful regardless of the pain and struggles. One thing about having hope is a sense of humor. Nobody talk abt it but its true. Now if i did have a critique for the OG movies they could definitely be a little too goofy and spent too much time with that. But it still accomplished a good and serious plot.

Back to the trailer for the new movie, this is why I love it so much. Not to be the Libra that I am but it achieved balance. Clark is clearly not without his problems and yet between the adorable Krypto, the clear focus on the romance with Lois, his Clark shennanigans, and just the clear fun its going to be, its perfect.

The trailer tells me that it takes Superman seriously but remembers how important his environment and the humor around him is too. It remembers that Superman isnt some unrelatable god. I mean if I wanna harken back to my college days, it even did a “save the cat” moment with the kid. The OG one literally did save a cat from a tree 🤣.

It is important for Superman to be cheesy while still taking him seriously and I believe this movie will be all that based on the trailer. Perhaps even better balanced than the OG. I love the Reeve movies to death but they def dropped the ball on Lex Luthor. He was too goofy even for me. A little camp is fine but I just couldnt take him seriously. I preferred Zod in the second one. Ridiculous yet threatening.

I have a whole Lex Luthor rant coming too but this post is too long as it is

[juxl25]

Kuroshitsuji theory (spoilers)

Is there a spy in the reapers who works for the undertaker?

I think there might be! (Let me cook plz)

Today I was thinking about Dolls death and the events at the end of book of circus and realised, how tf did the undertaker get dolls body and cinematic records?! Because William and Ronald were at the mansion collecting the records of all the dead children and the count, and I honestly don’t think William would let some random guy with a death sythe show up and take the records.

Unless William is the spy.

Now let’s think about this. William is the only repeating Reaper that we don’t know much about other than the stuff from the OVA and as well as that he was at the circus during the times of the kidnappings. And I know we’ve had reapers show up to the places of major events such as Ronald and Grell with book of Atlantis, but that’s most because they wouldn’t of been able to get to the cinematic records if not. But if so why was William at the circus? No major deaths happened there, all deaths happened away from the circus. Unless he was there to spy on o!ciel and Sebastian.

Second off William’s appearance at the end of book of Atlantis. I know he was there to get Ronald and Grell but I think it’s kinda weird how he just showed up out of the blue and didn’t bother to help with all the bizarre dolls. We know that Grell and Ronald were completely out of it when William showed up, so what if he helped undertaker and r!ciel back to land?

Third of all, how did the undertaker get Dollys body when he was taking care of r!ciel? Knowing how loyal the undertaker is I don’t think he would have left r!ciel alone in that moment and I don’t think he could of come back for the body and the records because, people would of shown up to fight the fire and because of the grim reapers that were there. So maybe William brought him Dolly body as he (William) thought she could be a good candidate for a bizarre doll due to her history with o!ciel and Sebastian.

And my final point for why William might be a spy is how he always shows up at the end of all major event involving the bizarre dolls and blood transfusion. He always shows up when things start to go wrong, as show is Bards arc. I theories that the events in the hospital where Bards is happened first out of the 3 mini arcs due to the amount of time show to have past in each arc. Hence why he hasn’t shown up in the other mini arcs.

I would also like to say why I don’t think Ronald Knox is the traitor.

Firstly he was only called as back up in book of circus and had no way of knowing about what was actually going on inside the mansion. Secondly in book of Atlantis Ronald is shocked to find out about undertakers true identity as a reaper as well as the state he was left in after the fight with undertaker. And finally the events in Bards mini arc, Ronald is shown to be actively searching for the Bizzare Doll and if he was a spy why would he do that? Bear in mind William only showed up after the Layla was found.

But what do yall think? If I’ve made an error or missed something important let me know! And thanks for reading my ramblings:)

[winteriron-trash]

rdj the (whitewashed) electric boogaloo

This is a reminder to everyone who's excited about RDJ's casting as Doctor Doom that this casting is whitewashing. Victor Von Doom is a Romani character and has been a Romani character since his introduction in the 1960s. (Fantastic Four Annual #2 [1964]) Not only that, but his Roma identity and the persecution he and his family faced due to it is integral to his character, it is what forms his identity. (Books of Doom by Ed Brubaker) Even if on the off chance this casting is meant to not be Victor but instead be some variant of Tony or whomever else becoming Doctor Doom, it is damaging to the character to rob him of that important cultural background. Doctor Doom does not exist without that history. Fans have been pushing hard to cast Doom as a Romani actor for years, especially since the MCU has whitewashed other Romani characters. (Wanda, Pietro, etc) This casting is not a celebration moment, it's fucking heartbreaking that the MCU repeatedly ignores the important and nuanced cultural backstories of characters.

I know I can't change anybody's mind on whether or not you want to be excited about RDJ's return to the MCU. But I do think at the very least you should be mad that the MCU is baiting us all and destroying nuanced and interesting characters for the sake of self-referential easter eggs and nostalgia bait. Because that's what it is. Feel how you'd like to feel about RDJ's return, but personally, this is soul-sucking. I had such a deep love for the MCU as a teenager, it was obviously something incredibly formative to me, especially Tony Stark. This isn't recreating what I fell in love with the MCU for. This is turning a well-planned and artistic storyline of adaptations into cheap cash grabs and fan service. Because, I think we're past the point of being able to call the MCU an adaptation of anything. They can use existing characters' names and powers, but to say they're being properly adapted is laughable.

This is not an adaptation of Doctor Doom. This is RDJ the Electric Boogaloo because Marvel's fear of losing the interest of dedicated MCU fans overrides their willingness to tell stories that are genuine to the characters. I don't know what there is to be excited about that. The MCU has lost its authenticity and aside from a few projects, feels heartless. Every movie is a copy of a copy. This announcement isn't something celebratory, it feels like a death knell of a cinematic universe that's so desperate to cling to relevancy it's resorting to nostalgia for a character/actor who hasn't even been dead for a decade. We're not getting anything new, we're just rinsing and repeating the same song and dance.

I get it. I love Tony Stark, his death destroyed me and I to this day, rue the ending he got in Endgame. It misunderstood his arc and it robbed him of a satisfying conclusion. But the solution to that isn't dragging the corpse out of the grave five years later to whitewash an existing character with rich and interesting nuance, just to forcibly tie his existence in the MCU to Tony. Whether he is a variant or not. Why would you want someone else's fave's legacy to be destroyed simply so your fave's legacy can go on? Hell, if we were really all so hellbent on the return of RDJ and/or Tony to the MCU, we have the multiverse for a reason. There were other ways to do it that didn't whitewash and ruin someone else. This just. Isn't something to be happy about.

[lux-ishii]

Storytelling Analysis (I guess?) I shared this thought with Dinbo Server but thought why not elaborate further? Personally, I think this frame is the moment Bo-Katan realized Din is her ride-or-die (or even a crush). They were specifically arguing about going to the mines, where her stance was that it was just a waste of time and they should get back. However, Din insists on going there without her. What Bo does? A total 180 turn saying she will take him there.

So Bo gives him a trip not only to the mines but also to her own past as a Mandalorian Princess. Specifically mentioning her father, for the first time ever, something she hasn't done in The Clone Wars or even Rebels, where she has been treated with all the honors her Clan once had, as they referred to her "Lady Bo-Katan Kryze" when brief history facts were dropped at unaware Ezra.

DO YOU SEE WHO LOOKS AT HER WHEN SHE MENTIONS HER FATHER LOOKING AT HER PROUDLY? All I'm gonna say is that Cinematic Design regarding storytelling this season is INSANE. Each frame, move, pose, and EVERYTHING has its purpose in the further symbolism of how things develop.

Later in this scene, Bo is really sarcastic about the whole ceremony referring to it as "Such a heart-warming spectacle", which Din mistakenly takes as her mocking her father.

We all know what happens next, but something always felt odd about it to me.

The thing is... Bo barely said anything, just that he made her take The Creed she later broke. So where does the "interesting" part comes from? Of course, Din might be curious to meet someone who ruled Mandalore in its glory, but I think the root of it goes back to the Mandalorian culture, and what Din himself experiences:

You see, the best measure to judge Bo's father is to look at her. And it's safe to say Din IS impressed by her, not only in skills but also with her personality. If he hated her and didn't care about her he would never take her to his covert. In a recent episode, they highlighted how secretive they are about their place, it was almost sacred not to reveal the location. Yet he took her there, despite her different beliefs.

So I think Din is saying that, because he admires Bo as a warrior, and she is the result of how her father raised her. It means her father was a great person Din himself could learn from. It's quite important knowing, that Din is the father to Grogu now, so how he will raise him, depends on who Grogu will become. Bo later revealed even more admiration for her father, calling him great. (Or even comparing Din to him when Grogu had his first fight.) THIS IS NOT A COINCIDENCE, BELIEVE ME.

Din goes as far as showing the biggest form of respect he knows to this man who not only raised someone like Bo, but also died like a warrior.

However, the whole thing leaves Bo-Katan... puzzled?

She really doesn't know what to say, how to respond, until Din leaves her behind with Grogu.

OK HEAR ME OUT

I know she kinda was harsh to Grogu here, BUT it's the same kind of response someone would say if they were caught blushing. You see, I think Bo's (and maybe Din's too) emotions were SO strong Grogu could feel them in the force. He knows what's going on, and Bo was caught red-handed. Now look at this:

"They loved watching the princess recite the Mandalorian tenets as her father looked on proudly." Bo definitely was touched by his devotion to the creed. It sparked something in her, and she did exchange a proud look towards Din with Grogu. The devil is in the details, Bo was now in the position her father once was, which we know of because of her previous confession. It all was in a way foreshadowed to us.

Leter, without thinking Bo jumps to save Din's life again, which led her to discover a mythosaur. This is only my opinion, but I do think the storytelling between them is written really well this season, and it may be the best relationship build-up in Star Wars live-action media in years depending on how they will go with it later.

Going as far as doing psychological parallels between Din and Bo's father, something we as humans do and look for unsubcounciouslly in our romantic interests (the reason why Daddy Issues are such a big problem if the father figure was absent/bad) means that now everything matters like I said in the beginning. Frames, moves, words... it's all part of the bigger picture. The Mandalorian Writers really do build up whatever is happening between them. It's not out of the bat, I've rewatched Season 2 to see how Bo and Din interacted there, and the natural progression of turning distrust to trust was there. They have both been thru a lot, and it really feels like together, they will be stronger.

[reiverreturns]

can’t stop thinking about the fact that phoenix, as a female character, is not once used as a emotional wayfinder for rooster or the audience. i’m not yet over how damn COMPELLING it is as a facet of her character.

so phoenix is presented from the off as someone with an obvious close connection with rooster, and through her perspective we see bits of their history - deadpanning him when she nails him with the pool cue because he didn’t tell her he was stateside (and she’s not angry or disappointed, she clearly didn’t expect him to); how she gets out of the way for rooster and hangman to face off (she’s knows what’s coming but also that it’s not her fight); the way her face lights up when rooster sits at the piano (because she knows him well enough to know what makes him happy and how he expresses it). 

these moments all tell us things about phoenix and rooster’s friendship, but none of it serves to solve rooster’s problems or help him work through his emotions. phoenix never steps into that role. you could argue she gets close when rooster admits to her that mav pulled his papers, but even then phoenix doesn’t sympathise or validate rooster’s anger. she pauses, considers, and only asks “why would he do that?” - the one question rooster should be asking but doesn’t, the one his anger’s been pushing him away from for years.

and i just love that. phoenix isn’t there as a character to serve others, she isn’t a woman that exists to push forward the arc of a male protagonist. she’s there as the architect of the web that pulls all of these pilots and their shared histories together. she’s there to show how friendships can be deep and sustained and caring without being emotionally crippling. she’s there to show that knowing a person isn’t the same as understanding them. she doesn’t know rooster fully, but kneeling on the tarmac she understands him better than anyone in the world.

to illustrate my point by comparison, think about penny. to mav she’s a reminder of the past (one he’s constantly wrestling with because he can’t forgive himself for what’s happened, whether he’s earned the blame or not.) she steers him back towards what’s important and inspires his action when he has a crisis of confidence after cyclone pulls him out of the programme. the grand goodbye before mav goes on the mission in his dress whites with the cavernous black sea behind them is the cinematic equivalent of holding up a sign to the audience that says ‘you should be sad and worried! this little man’s in danger! hope you left room for catharsis after dinner.’

now i’m not saying one is better than the other (i stan penny and will hear nothing bad about her.) both characters serve purposes in the narrative that progress the plot. all i am saying is that it would have been so easy for the writers to write phoenix as that feminine emotional touchpoint for rooster and the audience. they could have inserted a scene after rooster and hangman’s fight where rooster starts to sift through his complex emotions about mav and his dad with her. they could have had a shot of her flying back looking distraught after rooster goes back for mav. what they did instead; in making her the connective glue of the group, using her to colour in their unseen past relationships and dynamics; is force rooster’s arc to come from within. and i’m telling you, the entire freaking movie is stronger for it.

so yeah. i really love phoenix. can you tell?

[aihoshiino]

chapter 141 thoughts!

The usual reminder: because of the content of this arc, I will unavoidably have to discuss CSA and topics related to it in this & future chapter reviews. I do not discuss them in great detail, but if you very understandably just aren't in the headspace for that, no hard feelings - look after yourself and I'll see you next time.

This chapter starts us off on the note of answering something I've been wondering for a while and confirming that Ai did, in fact, know that Hikaru was being abused by Airi. On the one hand, this feels like it should go without saying, since it answers the question of where Aqua would have gotten some of this info, but it feels strange to have this dropped on us in such a matter of fact way.

In general, I continue to be both baffled and impressed by Oshi no Ko's dedication to never showing characters learning or reacting to huge, status-quo altering pieces of information on screen lol. I think this is more a case of the movie's framing than the manga's - hard cutting from the HKAI exchange at the end of last chapter to the Ai & Airi confrontation is very cinematically appropriate - but it does bother me regardless. In isolation, I think it's fine and we get more than enough information about Ai's thoughts and feelings on the situation in the confrontation but it's nevertheless part of a pattern that's been going on for a long while now of important reveals and reactions to really huge pieces of information are happening entirely offscreen and are only told to the viewer in retrospect, or are backfilled into the story once Akasaka wants to make use of it. It's not a world-ending flaw or anything but I'm noticing it more and more and I think it's been harming the series more than it's helping.

That said, I do really like this confrontation Ai has with Airi. It definitely feels more like Ai speaking for Aqua than it does Ai herself speaking - the cold, straightforward way she addresses Airi pretty clearly mirrors the way Aqua spoke to the director on Akane's behalf back in LoveNow. Whether this is a case of Aqua using Ai as a mouthpiece or their similarities as mother and son coming out in a moment like this, I think it's interesting either way. Given what we learned about Ai's own abuse and her own history with narrowly avoided CSA, it makes total sense that upon learning someone she cares about was being similarly exploited by an adult that she would have some very strong feelings about it.

Airi's meltdown in response is also something I have mixed feelings on. As a piece of characterization in isolation, it's fascinating and I think it provides some important insight into how and why Airi was able to rationalize and justify her abuse of Hikaru to herself, even though she clearly knows it was objectively wrong. I honestly can't help but see parallels in the way she centers her own feelings and pain and uses that as justification for her actions with Ayumi, Ai's mother, who had a more subdued but emotionally similar breakdown when talking about her history with her daughter.

Ultimately, I do feel it adds more than it takes away - I would much rather see the story continue to humanize characters who could otherwise have just been left as uncomplicatedly black and white Evil People Doing Bad Things. People very rarely begin acting in cruel, exploitative or antisocial ways out of nowhere and I think the manga's story is better for highlighting that this is the case.

H O W E V E R. . . where my feelings become more negative is the talk that follows, but I have like a million things to say about that so I'll put a pin in it for now to not derail too badly.

Given how Airi responds here, I'm also suddenly very curious as to if this direct confrontation was what put an end to her abuse of Hikaru. It's hard for me to imagine her going back to it after being so directly called out and if that's the case, I can't help but wonder if this was the trigger for the HKAI romance. I already talked last chapter that there's some imagery already implying Hikaru views Ai as his light, which OnK thematically associates with the role of a savior in someone's life. If Ai really did manage to intervene and protect Hikaru from Airi's abuse, then that would have intensified those feelings one hundredfold.

holy shit akane AND miyako are back! wow, isn't it totally crazy that across the arcs where they could have contributed to and potentially resolved the conflicts at play they were just totally absent but now they're just reappearing without comment or reaction to any of that other shit!

As I mentioned before, I have really mixed feelings on this scene with Miyako and the others. In isolation, I do like it and I think it kind of brings into explicit text something that had been just floating around as vibes before, which is how absolutely symbiotic with misogyny and sexual exploitation the entertainment industry is. The way misogyny played into Ai's exploration was always a really fascinating part of her arc to me, but given that Akasaka at least publicly presents as a person without that sort of lived experience, I was curious as to how much was intentional and how much was accidental, just because of how surprising it was to see a man centering this sort of thing so thoroughly in his writing. This scene with Miyako makes it clear that it's something Akasaka absolutely wants to highlight and discuss in Oshi no Ko, to the point of him being willing to call out even likable and sympathetic characters like Taiki for casually taking part in and perpetuating it.

THAT SAID… I really don't like that this scene, accidentally or otherwise, ends up centering and discussing Airi's victimhood over Hikaru's. His story has always been an indictment of the way children, specifically, are at risk in the entertainment industry not just in terms of being exploited as workers, but in the ways that adults in power can and will use their positions of authority to do exactly what Airi has done. That is what needed to be discussed here; the way that Hikaru's abuse is in no way an isolated incident and how people like Airi will continue to get away with hurting children so long as the industry - and society at large - treats children like second-class citizens at best and commodities at worst. I do think this scene is trying to use Airi and Miyako's experiences as a jumping off point to talk about exploitation in general and the way a person's ability to say 'no' can be compromised by outside pressures but it talks so much and so exclusively about the experiences of young girls and adult women specifically that it's hard not to read it as the story placing more value - at least for now - in exploring Airi's perspective over Hikaru's and that just feels kind of grody to me.

The timeline of this chapter is also just… really weird? Given Frill's, uh, appearance at the end of the chapter I have to assume it's taking place right after she films her scene with Aqua last chapter but that makes no sense given where the Ai and Airi confrontation is placed…? My best guess is that the scene we get at the start is some kind of visualization of the script by the characters who are reading it but it's all still very needlessly confusing lol

frill just barging in with her tits out when she knew rbkn were waiting for her was so fucking funny though i gotta admit. weird ass lizard woman.

Her mentioning it was her own decision to do the scene like that is also shrimptresting because it seems to implicitly confirm that there is, thank god, SOME kind of intimacy coordinator on set that the cast are talking about these scenes with. I actually also think the level of trust and comfort between Aqua and Frill this implies is also really interesting…? In general, I've always really like the idea of AQFR friendship, so this is kind of making me daydream a bit about seeing more of one…

As for the ending… man, it's such transparent reaction bait that I can't really summon the energy to get annoyed LOL. At least we won't have to wait a whole extra week to see what it amounts to.

Weary as I am with the reaction bait cliffhangers, I am at least glad to see the story coming around to finally addressing the elephant in the room here. As the chapter end text points out in the Japanese versions of this chapter, a scene like this was an inevitability of playing Ai and Hikaru and it's been where I've expected to see the underlying tension that's been floating around AQRB's relationship since the past life reveal finally get drawn out and addressed. Given its placement in the story (ch 142 is only the second chapter of its corresponding volume) and the framing of that last page as more of a gag/punchline than a serious dramatic beat, I don't things are quite going to play out like Ruby seems to want, but I'm nevertheless curious as to wtf is even going to happen

Honestly, at this point, I kind of just want Akasaka to shit or get off the pot. If he's going to bring a topic like incest to the table, then I want him to actually have something to say about it that isn't just Ruby going 'kyaa oniichan' and acting like a fanservice imouto character from a harem anime. If we're going to have something like 'Ruby falls in love with her brother' actually happen in story, then I want to see how she feels about this, how she rationalizes it, how she expects this to play out when she and Aqua live in a society that by and large condemns incest and treats it as taboo. At the very least, give me something to dig into and examine and chew on that wouldn't have already felt dated during the mid 2010s little sister boom.

[snowblack-charcoalwhite]

Remember that scene from episode 7, when Aemond tries to approach Jace on Driftmark, looking like he is about to offer his condolences but at the same time knows he shouldn't because even Jace can't acknowledge his real father? And Jace looks somewhat annoyed and Aemond leaves, then Jace glances at Aegon who is already in his cups and doesn't even notice him? There were no scenes like that in season 2. Short but meaningful, the scenes that reveal so much about the characters involved. We have Aemond who even after being mocked by his nephews still can sympathise with them in a way and the two (Aemond/Jace) can give us a 'what if' moment that creates the ultimate fallout more tragic. Then we have Jace who obviously is interested more in Aegon as a ringleader, an older boy he looks up to, and yet, it's Aemond, the boy he mocks for not having a dragon, the one who approaches him. These kind of scenes are important for the character building and also for making a stronger emotional impact on the audience when it comes to the fate of the mentioned characters. S2 had none of this and destroyed and undid whatever s1 built character and story-wise. Aemond's and Alicent's characters suffered the most, no doubt, but it was bad in general.

Also, in the balcony scene it's obvious how helaena and aemond have a great chemistry and it just made me even more mad because they had so little screentime together in both seasons. Same goes for Aegond. It's criminal they had zero good scenes , save for that one in e6 that is just used to not so subtly remind us that Aemond is a sadist. Also, why wouldn't Aemond just finish Aegon off because as long as he lives, Aemond is not safe? The answer: in the book he obviously didn't try to kill him at RR and therefore wouldn't want to kill him in the aftermath either, but these idiots just needed their shitty change to all of the sudden make Aemond a one dimensional villain, make Aegon as pitiful as possible and to show how terrible and dysfunctional the greens are as a family. However, they couldn't just kill Aegon off so early and that's why they attempted to fix their stupid plothole with that scene when Aemond threatens him. Like, what?? I'm supposed to believe that was enough for Aegon to shut up for weeks and then just leave? Nah. There were bunch of similar idiocies through the whole season and I'm sure that something seriously went wrong between s1 and 2 because the drop in quality is jarring. I'm not saying s1 was that great, but this one was abysmal. Probably Miguel leaving was one of the main reasons, but whatever it was, this season will remain a great example of what not to do when you make a TV show. I just feel sorry for the lost potential and also for the people who are planning to watch s3 because, unless you're a die hard tb stan with zero critical thinking skills, I can't see the appeal.

Ugh, I hope this rant makes sense 😅

Hello, and thank you for the ask!

You're making a very good point. Season 1 was by no means perfect; but there was at least some if not love then genuine investment in the story and the characters from the showrunners - one could feel that at least occasionally. I guess it really came from Sapochnik's end because Condal clearly couldn't care less. The show used to have a soul - and now it feels empty. And, as it has been proven time and time again through the entirety of cinematic history, it is virtually impossible to create a truly good film or TV show if you don't give a damn about its essence.

I saw some people calling season 2 "a trailer for season 3" - because of how underwhelming and lacking in substance it turned out to be, I assume. To me it feels like something in between a trailer for the things to come and a recap of an actual season that was filmed but not shown to us for some reason. Pretty much everything feels superficial - even the dragged out scenes supposedly added for symbolism purposes or whatnot. The relationships between the characters are underdeveloped at best, destroyed at most (for example, chemistry between Green siblings' actors is utterly wasted indeed); some plot points make no sense; quite a few characters seem to have got a personality transplant in between the seasons.

Actually, I can understand why people, even TG fans would still be willing to watch season 3 (some for Aegon and Larys storyline, some for Alysmond - whatever form it takes, some for other reasons which could be many). As for me though - at the risk of sounding too dramatic - I had too much heart poured into this show and got hurt too badly by what it has become to even think of continuing to watch it without feeling sick. At least, for now.

[aliensupersyn]

Ranni the Trans Analogous Witch

For starters, I do not mean to make any wild claims about Ranni or if she should be considered transfem. Put those fears to rest, dear reader. That's for my eventual breakdown of Miquella's character. Instead, I offer a lens to see Ranni's story from a different perspective than one might not immediately be familiar with.

When people allow themselves to see the world in other's eyes, they can learn to focus on the similarities shared between them instead of the differences. Allow my analogy for Ranni's story to be a mirror, holding space for both the real and fictional.

Rennala and Radagon conceived three children between the two of them: Rykard, Radhan, and Ranni. The two fingers chose Ranni to become an Empyrean, alongside Miquella and Malenia, and each were candidates to succeed Queen Marika.

Though, what does it mean to succeed Marika and become the new queen? The queen would become a vessel for the Elden Ring. To be chosen as an Empyrean means that the Greater Will commands one's body from the first moment they get chosen, and it maintains that power until the Empyrean's end. Elden Ring places significant emphasis on the importance of the body and its connection to one's identity. For example, when the player reaches Queen Marika who betrayed the the Greater Will, you do not fight her. Marika's hair changes color, her dress becomes a skirt, signifying that you face someone else: Radagon. Though they share a host, they have different identifiable traits apart from one another, and their respective forms indicate the one currently present. In the cinematic, the golden haired Marika shatters the Elden Ring; Marika's Hammer reveals that Radagon attempted to repair it. Marika and Radagon may share the same host, but they cannot truly be the same person. The differences in their forms accentuates the differences in their ideals and personalities. Marika cannot escape her destiny as a God and vessel in any ending, and always ends as the Greater Will's puppet. Ultimately, becoming an Empyrean means that the Greater Will controls your body, and therefore your destiny.

The Greater Will's power has both literal and figurative demonstrations throughout Elden Ring; it encompasses militaristic, religious, and political power throughout the Lands Between. The Greater Will created the Erdtree, the Elden Ring, and the god Marika. It created its own God to be worshipped, defeating and alienating the other gods, who have been deemed "Outer Gods." The term "outer" signifies their alienation and their forced dissociation from the Greater Will's own God and other extensions of its power. The Greater Will exists in Elden Ring as an all powerful creation god who influences the written and oral histories and culture of the Lands Between.

The Tarnished Archeologist compares the Greater Will's influence to that of Catholicism. When comparing the Greater Will to the Catholic hierarchy, he says that "the Greater Will would be God, the Fingers are the Pope, those that hear the the words of God directly, and the readers are the church bishopric and clergy.[1]" His comparison demonstrates the the ways that the Greater Will dominates the Lands Between as its most influential God. Marika's own words reiterate my point:

The Erdtree governs all. The choice is thine.

Become one with the Order. Or divest thyself of it.

To wallow at the fringes; a powerless upstart.

Marika's tree, the power of the Greater Will, acts as the ultimate sovereign. It's will acts as the law of the Lands Between, and all must adhere to Marika's rule.

Yet Ranni refused to be controlled by the Greater Will, let alone Marika. Ranni broke away from the bonds of her own flesh and freed herself, forging her own path and eventually, her own reign, free from the control of the Greater Will. Here, I will focus on Ranni's flesh. After her armies defeated the Gloam-Eyed Queen's, Marika sealed the Rune of Death away. Ranni salvaged the Rune of Death, used her body as a canvas, and sacrificed her half-brother Godwyn. While her flesh died, her soul was freed and lived on; in contrast, Godwyn's soul died, but his body continued to live.

Ranni's corporeal death can be read as a transitioning allegory. Not only because of the implication of modifying one's body and literally transitioning to a new one, but also because of what she sought freedom from. Once she was forced to become an Empyrean, she no longer held autonomy and control of her destiny or body. She would have to walk the path laid for her, just like everyone else, forever at the whim of the Greater Will. Ranni ultimately sought escape through the flesh. She "would not acquiesce to the Two Fingers. I stole the Rune of Death, slew mine own Empyrean flesh, casting it away. I would not be controlled by that thing," emphasizing how her body was directly connected to her sense of autonomy and control. Similarly, Marika's ideas, physical traits, and actions contrast to her other half's. Yet, Marika could not escape the Greater Will, and her body remains a vessel for its power in the end. Ranni's transition from a corporeal to a spiritual form emphasizes her individualism and rebellion against legislative control over her body.

Ranni takes control of her life and autonomy of her body back by transitioning into a spiritual form. One's body plays an important role in how they view themselves in and apart from the world. As a vessel of the Elden Ring, Marika saw herself as a puppet to the Greater Will, and knew that her body was what chained her to it. Ranni also understood the importance of the body and its connection to one's identity. She changed her red hair that signified her father, and instead donned a blue appearance that shines like that of the moon's light. Her transition was only the first step to her forging her own path and finding some kind of happiness, despite the mess in the Lands Between.

[caramellles]

my top 24 screenshots from 2024✨

thank you very much for tagging me @aurorangen!! it was great to remember this year!

i tag @mdshh @linalinsims @bakersimmer (but feel free to ignore) <3

january / it was yves and phoebe's birthdays. i just like these screenshots, i think they are very cute!

february / in february, i began to introduce a little more plot into my legacy, and i also decided to develop the plot in the direction of music (since my heiress's husband is a musician). that's how it all started!

march / the first appearance of new characters!

april / zane, nevea and baby in the belly. i love this screenshot, it seems so warm to me…

may / nevea and baby kyan are such cuties in the first screenshot!!! i LOVE it! also, i started experimenting more with processing. the second screenshot is one of my favorites in the granite falls adventure series. it was such a great trip for the kids to the forest with their grandpa! and we learned more about this adventure from phoebe's diaries <3

and, of course, in may, the story "along the oasis" began! to be honest, it was a difficult decision for me. i was worried that i wouldn't be able to switch to the full storytelling format yeah, i'm an anxious bby however, i decided to give it a try and that's how this story began!

june / the first screenshot is one of my favorites on my blog… how boys look at each other..

the second one was one of my experiments with editing. i think it turned out cool! this year i tried to be bolder in choosing the format of posts <3

july / i like each of these screenshots in its own way. they just perfectly convey the mood! i love everything about them

august / ohhh it was a month of emotionally difficult posts. i chose this screenshot from one of my most favorite posts from that period. moreover, i think this is one of my best posts of all time! it turned out to be quite cinematic and it conveys so many emotions… my poor bbies

september / screenshots from hospital posts! the first screenshot is related to devin's awakening, after which everything changed. i like the processing and composition! this screenshot is very important to me.

the second one is related to the lives of the characters i love so much, but i don't spend as much time with them in the story… i really wanted the moment when ernest proposed to nina to be very sensual. i hope i've managed to convey the love they have for each other

october / another difficult month in the history of my boys was there ever simple one? i tried really hard on the first screenshot, i wanted to convey some kind of desperation. i'm still learning how to use different visual techniques, but overall, i like how i did it in this screenshot. and the second one just seems very sensual to me

november / ooooh it was THE HARDEST storyline i've ever had. when i showed you devin's past, i was very worried that i wouldn't be able to convey everything that was in my head. there were SO MANY difficult topics that i wanted to show, but not to delve into them too deeply (just because it's too hard). and i'm incredibly proud of what i did

december / and finally screenshots from my recent posts that i love very much <3

[seaofreverie]

Sparkstember Day 21: Exotic Creatures Of The Deep (Strange Animal)

Some of you might already have some idea of how absolutely abnormal I am about this album and have been for several months, without fail. It's... perfect? And you know that personal relevance will also often be a total game changer in deciding what your ultimate favourites are and such. It's personal relevance of my own doing anyway, if I can call it that, you know those memes that go something like "it's MY mental breakdown and *I* chose the soundtrack!!". Oh yeah, that's what happened here. But even that aside I might never get over how much ECOTD is EVERYTHING I might want from an album and it has not lost its power with passing time even one bit. I'm wary to call anything a number one definitive favourite most of the time, but if I really had to choose... yeah, this is my favourite album of all time, there's absolutely no denying that.

Where do I even start with this... Well, coming back a bit to the LB - HYL - ECOTD series as a whole, I love how all three of them have so much in common and each one is some sort of natural development on the previous one, keeping its core elements but also adding new ones that are unique to the new album. And I guess the style of ECOTD is the one that ended up speaking to me the most. Toning it down a bit on the repetition aspect, adding more fancy synths, heavy drums, more guitar-based stuff continuing from HYL... And its still edgier and more electronic and darker and theatrical than the previous ones. Maybe I could even call it straight up COOL sounding (at least at times) in a way that the previous ones aren't (or not quite as much). (And that's not to say that they're all not icredibly cool in their own way anyway, but, you know.) None of these three are definitely better than the others for me by the way, but. Still, love the whole evolution here a lot.

And now, of course, a word on the craziest and most ambitious idea of the century, the 21×21 shows. I spent about a month, if not more, earlier this year going through what I'm quite sure must be the majority of what's been recorded from these shows, and I have no regrets. And yeah, one of the most impressive feats in the history of music, playing 21 albums in full day after day, but also can we please talk about the visualisations they put there to go with the albums. Catching glimpses of those album covers being comically stretched or rotated and such was a very important part of the whole experience. But yeah, Sparks Spectacular, it really is so spectacular.

I actually do have specific favourites on this album rather than being obsessed with it all the same amount, but I think it deserves special treatment just like Lil' Beethoven, so, let's go, going over all of them now. And I think it's better to just dive straight into them now anyway, in order to get a better hang of this whole album and why it's so brilliant and special to me.

Intro + Intro Reprise

I love you leitmotifs that reappear throughout the album and tie it all together. Such a good touch on what is imo the most cinematic of Sparks albums

Good Morning

This happened a couple of times to me with Sparks, when I first hear a song and I'm quite intrigued and delighted but that's mostly it. And then I hear it once more after a while and I'm never the same again from that point on. THIS!!!!!! SONG!!!!! I was so right that I would love all of ECOTD even more than anything before it based just on this. This is the Russell falsetto album by the way, that's important to note. I'm very impressed by this song in many ways. I like that it starts with this specific synth sound that's VERY characteristic of this whole album. And the fake ending... This song has LB and HYL all over it but it's also its own beautiful thing

Strange Animal

This song has an effect of "stopping in my tracks the moment I hear the first note" on me to be honest, another one of my forever and biggest favourites. Right up there with all the other rocking epics to the likes of Ugly Guys With Beautiful Girls, Dick Around and As I Sit Down To Play The Organ. Sparks going meta on music & being a musician is also always very cool to see

I Can't Believe That You Would Fall For All The Crap In This Song

My first impression of what would become my most listened to Sparks song was a "wait, this was supposed to be a Sparks-only playlist, am I still listening to Sparks??" But a couple more months passed and what can I say, I'm obsessed now (and have been for over half a year now). The Maels saying "fuck you" to love songs & pop songs cliches will always be one of my favourite things about them... While they're also actively alluding to and using those cliches to create something very effective. I'm sure that it being so similar to the type of electro pop songs that were getting lots of radio play in the late 00s is why I'm so drawn to the sound here. It's always all about that nostalgia effect, huh (and this album is the absolute PEAK of "oh god why are all these songs so nostalgic to me I've only known them for this relatively short amount of time")

Let The Monkey Drive

This song ends what is probably my favourite 4 consecutive songs run on any album ever. Each is so mindblowing but in a different way. Best thing about this song to me is its atmopshere. It's just SO tangible. Like, this IS driving past the speed limit on a highway in the middle of the night (we can ignore the rest of what's happening in the story here for a moment). Obsessed with Russell's voice here and also it's so great to me how such a minimalistic approach can be so effective in creating this whole very specific mental image. Just unsettling strings in the back and two notes (or repeating chords) on the piano that are sort of the most prominent "melody" here and that's all you need. The suspense, the understatedness of it all, I love it

I've Never Been High

One of the most Sparks-like of Sparks songs in a way? And another one where I could probably start coming up with lyrical interpretations for on the spot. Lots to think about regarding all of these songs to be honest. And I like how the rising piano notes at the end lead into the descending flute (?) melody at the start of the next song

(She Got Me) Pregnant

Honestly, I absolutely love this song, it's one of my favourites on the album, maybe top five material. And it somehow sounds exactly like how I could have imagined it to sound, based on just its premise, I don't really know how that works but it does, lmao. And who else would give you this sort of song if not Sparks, no one

Lighten Up, Morrissey

Glam rock bliss that does not clash with the rest of the album despite being pretty stylistically different from the rest of it. Quite saddening that it's the only song here that has a music video, when there's SO MUCH potential here, seriously, again, this whole album is so cinematic. I do quite like what we got here though, love this era of Sparks ALSO when it comes to the visual side of it all (I keep saying this over and over), but still, there's so much more we could have had, y'know

This Is The Renaissance

GOOD GOD, I LOVE THIS ONE, in love with it from the first listen. It's everything that makes this album so grand and one-of-a-kind in a nutshell. Among the top 10 Sparks songs that should have had a music video also. I have a pretty elaborate painting idea based on this song in mind, so I hope I'll be able to make it into reality at some point in the future

The Director Never Yelled 'Cut'

List of Sparks songs where movie-directing is used as an allegory of sex is somehow at least two songs long I've noticed (this + Love Scenes). Anyway, this one's a pretty heavy one to unpack so I don't think I can really do it justice today. Love it just like every other song on here though

Photoshop

Another one that could have had such a killer music video. Again, stripped-down arrangement that's just enough to hit you with the right amount of feels and overall one of the most killer Ron piano master moments overall, now that I think about it. The plea of "photoshop me out of your life" sounds pretty... on-the-nose out of context? But again, Sparks magic makes it work anyway! And the 21×21 performance is in my top 10 Sparks live moments of all time (I don't actually have a list like this but, maybe I should make it now)

Likeable

...This is the song of all time to me. Honestly, give me any song pondering the nature of what it means to love vs what it means to like someone and things of such nature and you have me hooked forever. But even that aside, musically speaking, it's just... perfection. Most cinematic Sparks song overall maybe, it's really just like a little movie, every moment is so perfectly timed and measured, I have no words honestly, for just, how incredible it all is. The melodic aspect now, it makes me so emotional, one of the most likely of Sparks song to make me cry, for real. I could start going over every different part of the song now but honestly, they're all just, equally amazing. Special shoutout to the waltz parts though, and the bridge. Oooohhh the bridge, when it all gets so intense, and then the main melody reappears with an acoustic guitar, it's just, peak of it all. And then the intro leitmotif comes back again and it's just?!?.?? My feelings on this song might even still not be fully comprehensible and clear to me. All in all, couldn't imagine a better album closer than this, hands down. And this song also closing the Sparks Spectacular series of shows, yeah (not counting the encore). Oh man. Oh maaannnnn. What a freaking ride.

[onpurposeilovehimonpurpose]

Fingers Friday

RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE (2023) dir. Matthew Lopez

The most true to life moment in cinematic history. lol THIS. THIS right here is perhaps the most relatable scene, and this moment is so important to showing parts of Alex's character that went unsaid from the book.

I would like to know if this was something that Taylor just did on a whim, or when he saw that extra was going to be there if he talked to ML about wanting to do that, or if it was written in the script. Either way, this whiskey drunk Alex is one of the most accurate depictions of a human being in a movie ever. I sorta joke, but not.

I think almost everyone can relate with the basics. (And if not, I'm glad for you.) The drinking because your plus one was stolen from you when you needed them the most (at this really important wedding you've been sent to as a representative of an entire country.) To cope with your crippling anxiety, fears of inferiority and being an embarrassment, you drink. You drink in hopes that if any of the worst case scenarios happen, you at least won't be worried about them, make yourself sick while waiting for them to occur and when you drink you won't feel like that, or you won't care that you do.

Then, then you see something that you know will comfort you like nothing else. And that it is really pretty and fluffy, and you just have to touch cause you wanna know if it's as soft as it looks and NEED to know the texture and how it FEELS! And when you do, oh it's good and that alcohol haze isn't as much of a downer as it had started to be, and it makes you a bit happier and more confident. That is a moment with a security blanket right there.

[gemkun]

2.2 spoilers below :

my most important takeaway from this patch is that my boy got a cinematic okay thank you please admire how beautiful he is

now as for the nitty gritty

why did hoyo have to choose to mention oswaldo when i started considering his ass like how can i say no now smh this clearly shows that he's going to be integral into the game so i don't know the likelihood but i feel like someone who's been so prominent in aventurine and boothill's history won't be plastered onto an npc and he may be playable in the future ( pls hoyo i want to see his model so i can write him cause i cannot choose fcs to save my life )

additionally extremely important is jingheng they simply stole the show

also the wife is safe and sound ( unless diamond decides to demote him ) and i screamed so loudly when i saw the ip3 like those are my pookies

the screwtio moment had me kicking my legs as well

i self-indulgently want to point out this line and i'm not even going to state the implications it should be obvious

furthermore i love boothill he's so stupid and danhill is on the horizon

we got a sneaky little dancae too what a win

argentio in penacony is another highlight like just look at them and their unparalleled beauty

friendly reminder this is what argenti said about aventurine btw

sunday was undeniably beautiful but i think he needs to be psychoanalysed or immediately admitted into therapy ( unpacking him as a whole is going to be an essay of at least 3000 words )

lastly i would like to address that this clockie puppet has aventurine's eyes and i don't know the implications of that

[stories-behind-the-songs]

“Estranged” by Guns N’ Roses, one of the music video most expensive in History

It is the eleventh song from the album "Use Your Illusion II" from 1991, and it is one of the band's longest songs with a duration of over 9 minutes. The music video had a budget of 4 million dollars and is considered one of the most expensive in history.

This video clip is the third and last of a trilogy of cinematic shorts, written by vocalist Axl Rose and directed by Andy Morahan, who was already recognized as one of the best music video directors, having previously worked with important bands and famous characters like Ozzy Osbourne and Michael Jackson.

The trilogy of cinematic shorts begins with the songs "Don't Cry" and "November Rain," in which Axl Rose's then-girlfriend, Stephanie Seymour, played the vocalist's girlfriend. However, for the third video in 1993, they had ended their relationship, and Axl was forced to abandon the original plans, thus causing a thematic disconnection with the first videos.

According to guitarist Slash, the song was written in 1990 during his prolonged stay in Chicago, while Axl was going through the saddest moment of his life, as his marriage in Las Vegas with model Erin Everly was annulled after it was revealed that Axl was emotionally abusing her, to the point of threatening to take his own life if they did not marry that same day.

Learn more about this and other stories at:

[lothlorienlover]

In 1951, Hollywood saw the release of one of its most groundbreaking sci-fi films, "The Day the Earth Stood Still," a movie that would change the way audiences viewed extraterrestrial life, space, and the future of humanity. Directed by Robert Wise, who later directed classics like "West Side Story" and "The Sound of Music," this film stands out as a landmark in science fiction cinema, tackling themes of war, peace, and the unknown. But what went on behind the scenes of this cinematic masterpiece is as fascinating as the film itself, filled with innovation, challenges, and moments that would forever be remembered by those who were a part of it.

The movie's plot revolves around Klaatu, a humanoid alien, and his giant robot companion, Gort, who land on Earth to warn humanity about its violent tendencies and potential for self-destruction. Set against the backdrop of the Cold War and post-World War II anxiety, the storyline served as a cautionary tale about the dangers of nuclear power and the need for peaceful coexistence, resonating with audiences in ways few films of the time could.

Robert Wise was instrumental in bringing "The Day the Earth Stood Still" to life. Known for his meticulous approach, Wise worked tirelessly to ensure that every aspect of the film felt authentic, even when dealing with futuristic concepts and beings from outer space. He collaborated closely with screenwriter Edmund H. North, who adapted the story from Harry Bates' short story "Farewell to the Master." North's script added depth to the characters and highlighted the importance of Klaatu's message of peace, ensuring the story carried a universal appeal that transcended the typical “alien invasion” trope.

A major challenge for the production was casting the role of Klaatu. Wise wanted an actor who could embody the calm, wisdom, and otherworldly presence required for the part, but it wasn’t easy finding the right fit. After several auditions, the role went to British actor Michael Rennie, who was relatively unknown in Hollywood at the time. Wise believed Rennie’s unfamiliar face would help the audience accept him as an alien visitor. Rennie’s portrayal of Klaatu became iconic, with his gentle yet authoritative demeanor capturing the audience’s attention and making Klaatu’s character one of the most memorable in science fiction history.

The film’s visual effects, while basic by today’s standards, were groundbreaking in 1951. The giant robot Gort was brought to life through a combination of a costume and clever camerawork. Lock Martin, a 7'7" actor, was cast to play Gort, but wearing the robot suit was challenging for him due to its weight and limited visibility. Behind the scenes, crew members had to assist Martin in donning the heavy suit and guide him during filming to ensure he didn’t stumble. Martin’s towering presence added an imposing quality to Gort, and the scenes where he interacts with Klaatu and the humans around him were filmed carefully to emphasize his intimidating and mysterious nature.

The special effects team also faced unique challenges with the spaceship Klaatu arrives in. The craft needed to look realistic enough to convince audiences of its extraterrestrial origin. To achieve this, the team used matte paintings, models, and lighting techniques to create the illusion of a seamless, metallic surface. The design and execution of the spaceship were revolutionary, inspiring future sci-fi films to think creatively about how to depict alien technology.

One of the most iconic phrases in sci-fi history, “Klaatu barada nikto,” emerged from this film. Spoken by Helen Benson, the female lead played by Patricia Neal, the phrase serves as a command to Gort to halt his destructive actions. The origins and meaning of this phrase have sparked debate among fans and scholars for decades, but North never clarified its exact translation, leaving it open to interpretation. Neal herself later revealed that she had little idea of the significance of the line while filming, only realizing its impact after the film’s release. Over the years, “Klaatu barada nikto” has become a cultural touchstone, referenced in numerous films, TV shows, and even video games, symbolizing the mysterious nature of alien communication.

Behind the scenes, Patricia Neal’s experience on set was both exciting and challenging. Although her role required her to interact with an alien and a giant robot, Neal approached her character with dedication, bringing depth and realism to her performance. She later admitted that some scenes, particularly those involving Gort, were daunting because of the suit’s intimidating presence. Her chemistry with Michael Rennie helped create believable interactions, and her character’s bravery and intelligence left a lasting impression on audiences.

The score, composed by Bernard Herrmann, was another critical element that set "The Day the Earth Stood Still" apart from other sci-fi films of the time. Herrmann used a theremin, an unusual electronic instrument, to create eerie, otherworldly sounds that became synonymous with science fiction. The theremin’s distinctive sound added to the film’s atmosphere, giving it a haunting quality that underscored Klaatu’s message and the film’s tension-filled moments. Herrmann’s music elevated the film, influencing how future sci-fi soundtracks would be composed.