#Mia Winters deserves better from the 'fans' | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

cottagehowell · 11 months ago

Note

Hello it’s SRS once again!! Hope you’re having a beautiful week :)

These dances sound AMAZING and I love that you incorporate classic rock into the routines and that it strikes such a chord with students! You know for sure 10 years down the line one of these kids will hear come together or something and inadvertently launch into an entire choreographed routine, much to the confusion of everyone around them lol. Have you danced/taught dance for a long time or is it a newer role for you?

OK good to know about the albums!! I am growing increasingly intrigued by the monkees based on your wild & crazy tales and would LOVE some recs!! What songs/albums/etc. would you recommend to get started?

Also yes please tell me about the Mike nesmith imprinting!! I see his name everywhere & am curious to understand the full psychological reasons why you have grafted on to him like a chick to a mother hen

Congratulations on officially having finished your finals!! I hope they went swimmingly :) do you have any plans you’re looking forward to for winter break (if you have a winter break)?

Also you’re a CS major? So brave I truly could never. I barely know how to use a computer let alone make it do NEW things… crazy & wildly impressive. What draws you to computer science?

I study environmental biology! Very fun huge fan but yes the amount of extra labs etc. is crazy. I will actually need to learn R or something next semester for a biostats class but that’s a problem for later… I literally tried to download R on my computer this summer but got stuck on that for an hour and gave up 😭

Have a WONDERFUL time relaxing from the stress of finals!! Hope you get up to something fun this week <3

Omg so sorry for going mia for a week….. now that the semester’s over my sense of time has gone out the window 💀

Your finals were this week, right? I hope they went well!! Sending you all the good vibes 🩵🩵🩵 Do you have any fun plans for your break?

I started dance when I was 2 (lol) and started teaching when I was 17!! So I’ve been teaching for a little while but not like forever lol

I think their first album is a good place to start!! It has more of a pop vibe but has some really catchy songs and sometimes gets a little psychedelic. Last Train to Clarksville was the big hit from that album. I’d also recommend listening to the soundtrack from their movie Head, the music is really really good. You probably already know I’m a Believer and Daydream Believer, so beyond that I’d recommend For Pete’s Sake, Early Morning Blues and Greens, Randy Scouse Git, Listen to the Band, Pleasant Valley Sunday, Goin’ Down, Words, Auntie’s Municipal Court, and Magnolia Simms. The four of them have such different musical influences, so I tried to get a little bit of everything here!

In all honesty, it’s mostly just that Mike is hot. (I think he’s at his hottest mid 70s through mid 80s, but he’s still really cute in the first season of the show as well. Plus in the pilot he looks so young!! Baby.) But he was also really talented and influential even though he never gets credit for it bc of the stigma against the monkees. He was a pioneer of country rock as a genre! He was a major player in the development of music video as we know it today! He created the direct predecessor of MTV and won the first Grammy for music video! He got into VR in the 90s! His mom invented Liquid Paper! The man is fantastic for trivia. On the show, he’s kind of the leader of the group, so I think that also contributes to the cult of personality. When you get into analyzing his gender and sexuality, it gets really interesting really fast. Also he’s an only child raised by a single mom, so he’s kinda sensitive in a way that resonates with me bc I’m an only child too :) But it’s very important to note that he was a complete asshole while the monkees were a thing and also he was a total dick to his first wife (Phyllis deserves so much better, she’s such a queen). So we stay #mikecritical while still thirsting over him. Oh and also his solo work is really wonderful if you’re into country :)))

Glad to be done with finals, yes! I got a 98 on my database exam, which pushed me up to an A from an A- :) I had a project that I finally turned in this past Sunday, so finals week dragged on a little longer than I would’ve liked, but I’m done now!! In January I’m gonna be spending a couple days at a friend’s house, and I haven’t seen her in several years, so I’m super excited :))) also I’m looking at taking a tap dance workshop later this month which will be lots of fun!

What’s really interesting to me about CS is the logical thinking & math aspect, like I enjoy being able to turn my people brain off and just think like the machine. It’s like a logic puzzle which is fun for me :) Plus the sense of accomplishment for having made something! Usually “making” something refers to more creative areas, so CS is kind of unique in that way. And then when your code works there’s that moment of “look!! I made it do the thing!!!”

Omg tell me more about environmental bio!! How did you become interested in it? It’s so cool when people are into more specialized areas of science bc there’s like a whole new world to hear about!! And best of luck with R 🫡 I’ve never had to use a functional language so you’ll have to let me know what it’s like!

I can’t believe Christmas is so close!! It really snuck up on me!! Do you have any traditions/events you’re looking forward to? Staying in bed half the day post-finals?? (That’s what I’ve been doing 🙃) Any hobbies you’re excited to have time for over break?

Much love, talk to you soon!! 🩷🩷🩷

#srs23

0 notes

rosewood-multifandom-writer · 2 months ago

Text

And this is why I keep my mouth shut about female characters I hate but then I’m the most vocal when it comes to male characters I hate. I talk trash about Reboot Vergil, I got a couple people agreeing with me and a couple other people disagree with me respectfully. I talk trash about the Todd from DBH who is an abusive piece of garbage, no one says anything and agrees. I talk trash about Simmons being the absolute worst villain in Resident Evil, others agree with me.

But god forbid I say that Mia Winters is one of the worst wives in video games for LYING to Ethan and living a double life and not owning up to what she did because then I get called sexist.

I have seen actual misogynistic takes about Lady from DMC looking like “a prostitute with guns” or some of DBH’s sexist double standards with North being “too violent.” North’s anger and hatred towards humans is justified and people are like, “oh, she’s too violent and mean,” meanwhile these are the some of the same people who are also Connor fans.

Oooh, and do not get me started on the typical Weird Fandom Misogyny™️ when it comes to MLM ships. No, I do not want to see Any get vilified in any fan work of Sonic x Shadow. And no, I do not want to see Kyrie get demonized in Nero x Reader content. I may not like the concept of their relationship, but villifying Kyrie like that is just… ICK.

Someone hating Mia Winters for what she did in RE7 does not mean that they are sexist. If Mia was a dude, I’d still call her a liar and one of the worst spouses in gaming and say that Ethan deserved better.

Fandom Problem #5827:

Can we PLEASE stop assuming that someone is a racist or sexist when someone says that they don’t like a character, movie, show or game with valid points as to why they don’t like the product or the character?

An opinion is an opinion, you can disagree with it, agree with it or ignore it.

#fandom #fandom bs

164 notes · View notes

lesbianwyllravengard · 3 years ago

Text

Me giving my deeply thought out and highly nuanced opinions in a fandom with absolutely no critical thinking skills

272 notes · View notes

theseerasures · 4 years ago

Note

While you're doing reactions, if you're up for it, how are you feeling about all the finale predictions you made on March 23? By my count, you scored pretty well!

hooooooo boy (the alluded post, for those just catching up)

how i feel about my predictions is that...you’re right and i scored pretty well, but much like the characters doing right in the episode itself, it didn’t matter. part of the reason why the finale made me feel so much--why i loved it, despite still being emotionally hungover from ugly affect--is because i WAS right, but i was so often right but wrong on a smaller scale, or right but wrong because i completely misunderstood the overall thematic stakes, or in one case right but in such a phenomenally cruel and roundabout way that i’m still reeling from it.

more detailed breakdown under the cut (as in “let’s unpack this,” and as in “i have an emotional breakdown”):

WHERE I WAS MOSTLY RIGHT

Team Green, Yang, the non-Robyn Happy Huntresses, Klein and the non-combatant Schnees were gimmes from the beginning, even the ones of whom we didn’t have visual confirmation by the end of Worthy.

Pietro and Maria are still MIA so i’m putting them here, but...Winter’s gonna have to tell Pietro, when he shows up again.

Cinder and the Relics i was correct about, but even though i knew going in that she would win i didn’t imagine the scale of her victory. mostly because i thought she might have learned some self-discipline and just skedaddled with the Relics in an attempt to trap as many people as possible in superhell, but a) she didn’t, and b) she won without needing to.

Salem, Watts, and Ironwood are where i predicted, but i think part of me really bought into the fan theory that maybe Salem would want to keep Atlas around. both Watts and Ironwood lasted much longer through the episode than i expected because i was working from that assumption, but with the direction the episode actually took it makes perfect sense that they exited the stage as Atlas fell--they are, after all, twin architect-destroyers of Atlas. brains and brawn.

Nora ended up in Vacuo, but she’s...uh, not happy about it. not that i expected her to be happy, but this is much much worse. og JNPR is now JUST Renora, and much as i love freewheeling modular megazord JNPR, that’s gonna hit like a truck. last time they lost someone Renora were consciously trying to play supportive teammate to Jaune, who’d just lost his partner, and Nora especially also had to talk Ren off the edge with the Kuroyuri stuff. i expect they’ll swap the dynamic this time, especially since Nora was already planning to go all independent woman before this.

Qrow, Robyn, and the AceOps are stranded, but in transit and not in Mantle, because Mantle the place is no more. and Vine is dead. the reason i posited that the AceOps might be split up was so they could find their team dynamic after it’s been unsettled, and...well. having one of them do a heroic sacrifice should do a similar trick. because i didn’t think Atlas would fall on Mantle i thought Qrow and Robyn (particularly Robyn) would get more to do, but both of them are pretty much exactly in the same place they were in at the beginning of the season: trapped in a cramped environment, cut off from the people they love and uncertain what happened to them, and unable to contribute in a way that they would consider meaningful. i’m guessing we won’t check back in with this crew for a while, but if we do it’ll be interesting to see if the Qrow and Robyn dynamic changes--like, if he has to be the one to talk her down from cabin fever and despair. (before he finds out that he was the one who should have been despairing all along.)

WHERE I WAS MOSTLY WRONG

Neo is in superhell. i had put her in Atlas because i’d overestimated Cinder’s ability to play the long game, but what the show ultimately doubled down on was that Cinder remains at heart a petty and impatient opportunist, and that’s where she’s most effective. which i dig! i dig that she has not so much improved (in means or ends) so much as learned to hold the beneficial and detrimental parts of herself farther and farther apart, because in the end they’re all the same parts, and because presumably she’ll end up starfishing out so much (who knew the way she took care of Winter’s death pigeons was foreshadowing?) that she breaks in two. and i dig Neo in superhell without Cinder, because it’ll be our first chance to see Neo not working for anyone outside of that one time she fought Cinder. if superhell does end up being part afterlife, she might also get some closure with the Torchwick stuff.

Jaune being in superhell points to it being part afterlife, because the chance for HIM to get some closure is also right there. that was always the case, but the reason i made the prediction i did was because i assumed that Jaune would remain the person he has been this whole season--this stolid, clueless but incredibly effective supporting leader. having a Jaune who is at the top of his game meet up with Pyrrha again is obviously appealing, especially to me, a person who scribbles misshapen hearts labeled “Arkos = 5evr” on all my notebooks, but at the time i didn’t think it was necessary to his story...and then the story dramatically shifted his character and threw all my carefully hedged bets off (which is something we’ll also get to with...later).

having a Jaune who has just effectively EUTHANIZED someone meet up with Pyrrha again isn’t just appealing--it’s vital. and it’s vital because the exact parameters of how and why Jaune ended up having to kill Penny is a point-for-point echo and escalation of the way the Amber to Pyrrha transfer was supposed to go. last time Jaune Arc was party to a Maiden transfer process he had no idea what was going on, and he tried to intervene when he worked out that whatever Oz was doing was going to hurt Pyrrha, and that however minute thing contributed to Pyrrha’s death and the Fall of Beacon. this time it’s not just that he knows what’s going on and the stakes of it. it’s not even just that he is the Ozpin operating the Aura Transfer machine. it is that there is no machine--there is just him, holding the knife. he knows the Amber better than the Pyrrha this time, and this time the Amber is his friend, and still whole, and choosing. not just consenting, but asking him. trusting him. so he carries it out. the old Maiden dies, and like Ozpin he dies shortly after, but not before he watches the new Maiden fail.

but he does prevent history from repeating, because a new Maiden is created, and she gets to live. and Cinder Fall has made him a murderer on top of everything else, but she WILL remember him, now.

there are other people i was wrong about, but that’s...for later.

WHERE I WAS RIGHT AND IT DIDN’T MATTER

Ruby, Blake and Weiss are all in superhell, so on paper i was right, but...well. sing it if you know the words. the reason i’m putting them in their own section is because it’s not just that they fell and didn’t jump like i thought; it’s that they would not have jumped, and that changes everything. you know how i realized that we would lose everyone, and not by choice? it was Weiss. it was when Weiss said we have to do this for Yang. Jaune had reminded Nora of what was priority one minutes before, but the implications of that didn’t sink in for me until Weiss confirmed it. they PLANNED for this. not just the eventuality where they would have to die, but the one where they’d have to watch everyone else die and do nothing except keep going.

which...has implications. the best way to read this--and i think we’re all dying for some good news--is that even if it certainly does not feel that way, RWBY was able to snatch a partial victory from Salem’s claws. they lost the Relics, but they got the Maiden powers away, and most importantly: they saved Atlas and Mantle. by the time Jaune intervened Grand Central was empty. there was no one left to evacuate. they didn’t get everyone, but they got a lot. even before Cinder intervened so catastrophically they knew how many things could go wrong, so they made a plan, and largely stuck to it. on a purely material level they only lost one thing vital to the war effort--the Staff. but they got everyone else out, which was priority one. the show in general and this arc in particular has emphasized that our heroes don’t think they should be exceptionalized, that they’ll fight tooth and nail to make sure everyone is given the treatment and respect they deserve, and they’ve made good on that. they’re Huntresses, and Huntresses be thou for the people. they chose, and they won what mattered to THEM.

but on the flip side: they chose, and there’s no way to read this choice as anything but a compromise...and a very Atlesian one at that. when confronted with calculus similar to the one JYR faced after they lost Oscar in War, our heroes chose...the opposite. one, then three, then four, then five, then six for the many. what was that number compared to two entire cities’ worth of people, especially when they’re the ones who signed up for this? i’m not trying to take this down the slippery slope where our heroes are no better than the dictator they just dethroned, because when the time came for sacrifice they chose themselves first. but it remains a sacrifice, which means that when the time came to test the hard moral limit they set for themselves, they...moved. they decided ahead of time that some risks aren’t worth taking. that this is not a situation where everyone wins, so they had to go for the next best thing, then the next best thing after that, and so on. i’m honestly not sure where it points to yet, except my usual refrain that this show is a lot less didactic than it seems, but...yeah. this is going to lead to some invigorating discussions in-universe.

and maybe it’ll start with this: that Jaune and Weiss--the two who had to verbally advocate for leaving the fallen behind--fell last of all, which means they had to watch everyone else go first. and the last person they saw was the same person. Weiss, who executed the plan to brilliant perfection, saw the past--the first family she ever had--streaking after her in an endless void, forsaking the priorities they all agreed upon, for her. Jaune, who followed the plan to execution and broke a part of himself, saw the new Maiden he crowned, backlit and pulled away by the bright future that he ensured was possible, but can no longer access.

QUEENMAKER

i’m starting with Penny, because Penny came first. there has already been a ton of discussion on the ways that she’ll come back, and while i absolutely agree that she will, for now i am not so much interested in that as i am in eulogizing this Penny. the Penny we had just now, not identical but continuous with the Penny we had before that, in the same way that everyone is not identical but continuous with who they were in the past. the Penny who IS dead, her eventual resurrection notwithstanding.

because she DID die, and her death matters. that’s the thing about the deaths in this season, and it furthers my point re: RWBY’s presumed didacticism--the show’s treatment of death has changed as our heroes have changed. it is no longer (and never was) as simple as “death and sacrifice are always senseless waste,” and more something like...”death has to matter, and we will give it meaning.” Hazel and Vine sacrificed themselves, and the fact both resulted in a “positive” outcome (more lives saved) does not make the deaths any less tragic. but neither should the tragedy of it take away from the fact that they saved lives. what separates our heroes from a Salem or a James Ironwood even now is that they recognize the importance of grievable life even as they accept inevitable death, that what is worth it all about preserving life is not to make sure that lives go on forever, but that lives have meaning and are remembered, that when you’re gone the people who are still here respect you enough to carry that meaning with them. it’s a tenuous balance to walk, but all the more important for that reason.

Penny--though her death can and will be reversed--is much the same. in every arc there has been a Game of Three Maidens (which i guess would make shogi the better metaphor and not chess because--what AM i on about), and in every Game there has been sacrifice. and i thought that would encompass Winter, here. we’d get away with it not being literal death, since Fria already took care of that, but she would be trapped on the other side of the gate--in pretty much the exact same position James Ironwood ended up in the episode itself, actually. it just seemed obvious: she’s the decoy, the one who missed the call by inches, the last revealed defector when there still was an Atlas from which to defect. all of it pointed to Winter’s story ending with one last delay barring her from salvation, of her finally being too late...

and well. i WASN’T wrong in the broad strokes, but first there was Penny Polendina. Penny could have let Jaune try to save her and Weiss die for her, but she knew she had to make a different choice to save as many lives as possible. so she offered herself up as the sacrifice instead. last week i waxed prolonged poetic about how Winter defected so recently, how it has been just IronwoodandWinter for so long, how Winter doesn’t have a team and only the healing shreds of a family, how no one would think to look for her...and then Penny did. you were my friend. (given Winter’s rough age and the hazy creation dates for the PENNY Project, it’s possible that Winter is Penny’s OLDEST friend.) Penny thought of Winter as she was dying, thought about the good Winter could do if Winter had her powers, believed in Winter, and in doing so, saved Winter’s life before anyone else’s.

she ceded the spotlight to Winter in this last episode, but this season as a whole belongs to Penny Polendina--the myriad ways she creates herself, the ways she defends her self-creation, ultimately culminating in her new body, created by no one but herself. but for her final act the Maiden of Creation did something different and no less miraculous: i thought of you. a thought was all it took.

she created someone else.

KINGSLAYER | THE MAIDEN THAT WAS PROMISED

the thing about Winter is that she came first.

no, i’m serious. i checked the fairy tale and everything--Winter came first. as the Wizard’s first visitor she encouraged him to reflect and meditate, and when probed about why she was here at all, she answered: i am waiting for my sisters. Spring and Summer have to wait, too, of course, but. Winter was the first.

Jacques and Willow named their firstborn Winter. it is not the way this story begins, but it is certainly is one of them, because the story begins with Winter, and Winter begins the story--a new retelling, a new cycle of heroism. we’ve since been introduced to other characters in that indeterminate age group between RWBY and STRQ, but Winter--by virtue of being Weiss’ older sister--anchors herself to the new generation in a way those others (even Cinder, who comes closest) do not. she started things, in the mythical emblematic way that this show likes to move, and the way she started things--the way she MADE herself start things, thanks to the house she grew up in--was with love, and protection. she took care of Weiss and laid the groundwork for the person Weiss is today, and conversely: she took care of Weiss, and through Weiss, laid the groundwork for herself and how to take care of everyone. so eventually the steel thread she tied to Weiss she also linked to Whitley, to Penny, to Marrow, to all the people they love, and on and on it goes. Winter loved Weiss, so she made herself learn how to love Weiss, and so when i say she started things what i mean is she started family. a new home, for a new generation of the orphaned.

Winter came first. but as the show demonstrates time and again, especially with Winter: first does not mean best. because being first also means you’re the prototype, a volatile thing that must be tested and tempered and then discarded to make way for what comes after, what gets improved. and it is THIS part of being first that Winter has internalized most of all. Winter, the first Maiden, taught the Wizard peace and prepared the earth so that her sisters could grow and foster and harvest the life within it; Winter, the first Schnee, laid the groundwork in her siblings, but did not wait for them. and let herself fallow in the process. she left, and every time they tried to follow or stay with her she sent them away. (she keeps sending them away; even after defecting and taking down Ironwood, the first thing she says to JNPER is go.) Winter laid the first stone in the foundation, but she cannot take credit for the home her family turned it into, for all the ways it has flourished, because she willfully absented herself of that (birth)right.

and the reason she did this was very simple: she was afraid. she could not bear the thought that while she had to learn how to love she made mistakes, the idea that instead of preparing the earth she might have poisoned the well. so she ran. she turned her face away so she would not have to look, so they would not look to her. she left, and every time one of her siblings superseded her after that, every time she was made to be their Esau--passed over--it just seemed to confirm that she was right to leave. look how well they’ve all done without her.

in the stories, eldest siblings aren’t here to win. they’re here to be made an example of, and Winter...had resigned herself to that. she was prepared to be left behind for good by all the people who have outpaced her.

but then there was Penny Polendina. Penny didn’t follow her, or try to stay; Penny came back for her. Penny remembered Winter when all Winter wanted was to be forgotten, because she’d gotten it in her head that it was what she deserved for all the things she’d done or enabled or failed to do. why did Penny remember Winter? because you were my friend. there is no divine complexity to it, nothing for Winter to fall hopeless short of. there is only the fact that Winter gave Penny something, made something together with Penny, even as she was trying her hardest not to, for fear that she would create something terrible. and this does not take away from all the ways Winter did fall short, but it is still SOMETHING. and it is enough.

it was your power, after all. Penny means the Maiden powers, but she also means THIS Maiden’s power: the power to create. you made this home, Penny is saying to Winter, you should get to reap its fruit, even if you weren’t around for the labor. all you have to do is say yes.

this was a gift. she says yes. she accepts, because in the end Winter Schnee loves her family more than she hates herself.

but then--

(a gift for what? Winter will ask herself wretchedly later, after she has failed in the two tasks she thinks Penny set for her.)

the thing about Winter is that she came first. she taught Weiss everything she knows, and she was so busy doing that she never had the time to show Weiss everything she feels. so in the end what Weiss never predicted was that for all of her team’s painful planning, for all of her own pained enforcement of that plan...none of it was a match for her sister. that when the time came it was would be WINTER who defaults to the absolute ideal of “no one gets left behind,” of “every life” meaning every life, priority one be damned.

or that Winter, in trying to choose both, in finally and fiercely trying, with surely enough power to make a difference, would fail.

what are you doing? Winter heard as she watched Weiss fall into nothingness. my life doesn’t matter.

so here, then, is the story of Winter in The Final Word: a girl returns home after having left it, but in this version it is the home who has changed and the girl who has not. and from this both are unmade. but she gets to live, because she was invited back home. and she gets to go through the portal as its last passenger, into the Promised Land.

and she is still the Maiden of Creation. even after all this, THAT is still her task. to build a refuge for her people, to collect the broken strands of the family she began and her siblings continued and expanded and reinforced, and gather them up again into a new home. it will be impossible, but at the same time: she has done this before.

and this time, she will wait for her sisters.

(a gift for what? for nothing, would be the answer. gifts aren’t FOR anything. they’re gifts.)

#typeoneninja #rwby #helen writes meta #VERY LONG OBSCENELY LONG META CANNOT EMPHASIZE HOW LONG #at least it didn't take me a whole month this time

169 notes · View notes

nancydfan · 4 years ago

Note

So I have been a fan of resident evil for a while now and I have to say without a shadow of a doubt Ethan is my favorite protagonist. I feel like the rest of the protagonists in the series are kinda the same, you’ve got the police/army guys (Leon and Chris) who are determined to save the world, and then with the rest of them they’re kinda the same, badass people willing to give their all to get rid of evil and return the world back to normal. And that’s fine, except it’s a kind of story that’s been told over and over again and not just in resident evil.

That’s why I love Ethan so much. He is a breath of fresh air that the series needed. And while yes, you can argue that his type of storyline has also been used a lot, it’s something that has never been explored in resident evil.

With the rest of the protagonists, they choose to fight. They volunteer to put themselves in horrifying scenarios for the greater good.

Ethan isn’t like that.

He’s literally just your typical average dude. He has a normal job, and has a relatively normal life which he was happy to spend with Mia until she went missing.

In RE7 Ethan doesn’t volunteer to deal with the horrors that he faces. He just wanted his wife back, and even after 3 years he still loves her enough to drop everything and rush out to find her.

When I finished RE7, I liked Ethan as a main character, but it was RE8 that made me fall in love with him. In RE7 there were a lot of times when he just didn’t respond or kind of reacts underwhelmingly, but I think this is less of his character and more of Capcom trying to make you feel more like Ethan and having him react too much might take you out of feeling like the main character is you.

Of course his actions are still very reflective of him, like when he first enters the house and has to “kill” Mia the first time, when she reaches out to him he reaches right back, implying that he regrets what just happened and that he still wants her to be okay, no matter what is wrong with her.

I know Jacksepticeye said one of the reasons why he doesn’t like Ethan is because he doesn’t have a character arc, but I disagree. Like I said, Ethan goes from not being very vocal at times/ underwhelming reactions in RE7 to I feel the exact opposite in 8; he talks a lot more with lines that make sense, and you can feel his emotions at times even with just seeing his hands. Now one can argue that Capcom just wrote Ethan differently, which I can see.

But I feel as though Ethan has changed- in the first game, he’s scared and confused, and finally ends on frustration as the game nears its end. In RE8 he is angry, angry that his life keeps getting turned on it’s head because of some stupid mold. He is angry, and fueled by his grief and determination to save the only family (he thinks) he has left. He is 100% done with everything and has honestly given his last fuck a long time ago.

And again, this is what makes him special- he doesn’t necessarily care about the mold, about Miranda or any of the “bigger issue” things- he just wants his family. In 7 he just wants to get his wife and get out of there, and In 8 he just wants to save his daughter. He didn’t sign up to be a hero, to save the world from it’s own creations. He just wants his family.

And honestly that’s what makes him more human and alive to me than the rest of the protagonists- the rest of them kind of just feel like characters with their (almost cheesy) need to take on insurmountable problems to save the world. But Ethan is different, he’s just a man who probably just wants to do his taxes in peace and have a normal, quiet life. The rest of the protagonists, though I’m sure would love to quit, wouldn’t change their jobs or their situations because they know someone has to do it and it might as well be them. But not Ethan. If he had the choice than he’d make it so none of this ever happened, and that he and his family never have to be involved in something like this again.

Which is why I think this is what makes his sacrifice so much more tragic. With any of the other protagonists yes we would be sad but we’d find comfort in knowing that they died doing what they loved (saving people), and wouldn’t have it any other way.

But Ethan is different.

He didn’t want to sacrifice himself- we can see that in the way he struggles with Chris to get out, to stay in one piece for his daughter because he wants to be there for her. He went through hell and he just wants to see his little girl grow up. And when he hears Mia’s alive that want only grows more because he has a chance to have his family back, but I think he knows he can’t. He’s falling apart, his body has dealt with so much and kept him alive but not for much longer. And so even though he desperately wants to go back with Chris, after hearing Mia’s alive he knows he can let go. I think another part of why he was fighting so hard to escape with Chris is because he didn’t want Rose to live without both of her parents, but when he hears Mia’s alive he realizes that Rose will be okay, she will at least have one parent. He is so tired, so tired of fighting that even though he hates the fact that he can’t go back with her (you can physically hear the pain in his voice when he says “Goodbye Rosemary”), he knows that it’s something he has to do.

And he isn’t happy or content with sacrificing himself. In fact this is the last thing he wanted, which again is what makes it so heart wrenching. After all the pain he’s been through he doesn’t even get to see his daughter grow up, doesn’t get to grow old with his wife, his painful adventure to get his family back ends just as painfully as he pulls the trigger to destroy the mold.

This is why Ethan is special to me. Ethan is just a man who wanted to be happy with his family, not some stereotypical stone cold hero who would gladly give up his life for the greater good. He is truly unique and in a way I saw myself in him and his personality, which is what crushed me so much when he died. I wanted him to have a good ending and he got handed a shitty end. I really hope Capcom gives him a good resolution, one where he doesn’t have to be a main character at all but at least give us something where we know he’s okay and reunited with his family.

Sorry for getting weepy and deep lol, it’s just I really love Ethan and have no one to talk about how upset I am at his ending lol. Thanks for listening to my rant!

Oh my dear nonnie you’re always welcome to rant in my inbox. Long or not, thoughts, etc. that’s why my box is always open :)

And just so you know, I’m currently crying in an airport lobby over Ethan Winters 😆

I’m on mobile so I won’t be able to properly respond probably except to say you are absolutely right on all of these things. He really is such a stark contrast to the rest of the RE heroes and that’s what makes him so special to me too. He is just a man. A man who does everything he can for his family. All he wants to do is be left alone to love his wife and raise his daughter. I keep thinking of that scene in re8 where he’s talking to the doc. That is the Ethan Winters Capcom refuses to let us see all that much. Easy, happy, carefree moment. There’s a lightness to his voice. He doesn’t care about the problems of the world. That isn’t his job too. And it’s unbelievably tragic that not only does he get pulled into this twice (with three years of suffering for Mia before Dulvey and then the heartache of her “murder” and Rose’s kidnapping), he then dies in the end???? He doesn’t even get the reward to live with his wife and daughter? WHAT DID ETHAN WINTERS DO TO YOU, CAPCOM!!?

also overcome? Miss me w that bullshit. Y’all blew him to smithereens.

I swear if Capcom doesn’t bring him back in some way I don’t know how I’ll proceed w this series. I love Leon and Claire and Jill a lot too but nothing like Ethan. And I’m super not interested in getting my heart ripped out every few years. Especially w a new protagonist.

Ethan is just the perfect representation of deserved better. He pays his taxes on time, probably helps that old lady down the street whose husband just died. Tells the same joke we’ve all heard a thousand times to the point only Mia and him are laughing at it. He would be there for every parent teacher conference and up at 130 with a flashlight chasing away the monsters from Rose’s closet. The world may be crazy somewhere but he’s content to just be here with his family.

And Capcom took all of that away. I don’t think I’ll ever not be angry about it.

#thanks for the ask nonnie 💜💜💜#resident evil #resident evil 8 #resident evil spoilers #Ethan winters #Ethan Winters Defense Club #mrs joe speaks #long post

74 notes · View notes

queen-erika-the-songful · 3 years ago

Note

So did you watch Princess Diaries 2? What's your opinion on it, better or worse?

Oh shoot I did forget to post my thoughts. Thanks for reminding me!

Honestly, I think it's better than I remember in some parts, but worse in others.

TL;DR - Better than people nowadays are making out to be (or outright lying about it - looking at you, D**g W*lk*r) but also has some stuff that would've been better with a few extra re-writes. I definitely see why I watched this so much as kid and I really would love to see another follow-up.

1) There's a bit of continuity errors right off the bat - even though Mia was supposed to go back to Genovia at the end of the first movie, and we see her arrive there, she I guess went back to America to finish high school and college? All before she turned 21? I guess it's not too implausible if she worked hard enough, I just found that a bit weird.

2) So...I get the idea for the conflict but I just realized something - if the Nicholas Devereaux was an eligible member of the bloodline, then are he and Mia cousins? Who exactly is his uncle Viscout Mabrey related to that makes him related to the Renaldi line? How had the Genovian Parliament not seen this connection before? It's pretty confusing and makes the main romance a bit more "Um....." '

3) Going off of that, why didn't Parliament just make Nicholas and Mia get engaged to each other? That would've solved the problem for them and we still could have had the "enemies-to-lovers" thing everybody loves, but with a "forced engagement" trope thrown in.

3) I still love Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews in these roles. They really know their characters and relationships to each other. Still a delight onscreen.

4) Honestly weird family ties aside Mia and Nicholas's romance is done pretty well for the "enemies-to-lovers" trope, and I'm usually not a big fan of that anyway. He starts to actually care for her fairly quickly (there's a hint of it after the horse incident, and then they both get jealous over their dates). I also like that they reconcile their romance at the end but still have Mia ascend unmarried.

5) Andrew deserves all the happiness. He really tried his hard to support Mia, even after the late night rendezvous scandal. I think if they went through with the marriage, they would have been close and fond of each other, like Clarisse and her husband.

6) I used to love the sleepover scene but aside from the "Crowing Glory" song (which still makes me cry) it rubs me the wrong way a little bit. It's cute that Mia invited princesses of all ages and countries, but I would've liked to see them really talk about what truly makes a princess instead of just focusing on "wacky sleepover stuff". I mean they could've even done both if they really wanted to keep the silly mattress surfing

7) Joe and Clarisse revealing their secret relationship and getting married at the end? Beautiful. Adore it.

8) Speaking of Joe, he continues to be objectively the best character. "If you hurt my girl, you will answer directly to me. And whatever crimes I commit against you, remember: I have diplomatic immunity in 46 countries. Including Puerto Rico."

9) Nicholas and his uncle did have a point about his and Mia's upbringings. Mia has only been princess for a few years at this point, and she finished her studies in America before officially moving, so she hasn't spent much time with the people, while Nicholas has been a true native Genovian most of his life. It's understandable why he (at least at first) would automatically believe that he qualifies more than Mia to be ruler.

10) I'm mixed on the Queen lessons. I feel like Mia should already know about fan language if she's been taking lessons this long already. I liked her talking to the citizens about their problems a lot more. That's definitely a "Queen" thing she needs to learn to do.

11) There are a LOT of accents in Genovia. Is it supposed to be a sort of "melting pot" country? I know I shouldn't think about it too hard I'm just curious.

12) Screw that one guy that scared Mia's horse. And that godforsaken reporter. I hope every time they eat a pear it's rotten.

13) Lily is so much better in this movie. She works well as comic relief. "I'm Lily, best friend to future Queen, I don't like you". Iconic.

14) I still love the parade scene. I'm sorry but I can't see how people apparently hate this scene. It's so cute and such a sweet moment to do for the orphans. And then to follow it up with her turning the winter castle into a shelter? Beautiful, I love it.

15) I feel bad for Charlotte. Her job is so chaotic. She deserves a nice spa weekend with her phone shut off.

If you have other questions I'd be happy to answer them.

#long post #the princess diaries 2

15 notes · View notes

splatterchatter · 4 years ago

Text

Resident Evil Village AKA Ethan, for the love of God grow a personality the same way you grew a hand, I’m begging you

Now, I am sure that anyone who has been on the internet the last couple of months is aware that there is a new Resident Evil game due to one Lady Dimitrescu in the promotional material for the game. Now, don’t get me wrong, a giant middle-aged vampire woman is worth the internet’s admiration, but it turns out that there is a lot more going on in this game, which I feel wasn’t advertised as much. So I am here with a review of all things that you missed while pledging your undying devotion and loyalty to Lady Dimitrescu, or one of her daughters. While I will attempt to make this a spoiler-free as possible, I can’t promise I won’t give things away so read on at your own risk if you haven’t played/watched the game yet.

Resident Evil Village, or Resident Evil 8, starts with a fairytale about a little girl who gets lost in the forest and receives gifts from a bat, a spider, and a sea monster before she takes a gear that is not a gift, leading to her to be confronted by an evil witch. Before we get to the end of the tale, we are transported to Mia and Ethan Winters' living room where Mia has been reading to their 6-month-old baby Rosemary. It is established pretty quickly that Mia and Ethan’s relationship is a bit strained since the events in Louisiana, which is understandable, and have been relocated to Europe by Chris Redfield in hopes that they can put the past behind them. As you can imagine, given that this is a Resident Evil game, the calm family scene doesn’t last long and once again Ethan is thrown into horrors beyond his imagination to try and save his child. Ethan, oh Ethan, you are by far the most boring video game character that I believe I have ever encountered. While his confusion and overall horror didn’t bother me too much in Resident Evil seven given how bat shit crazy that situation was for a man who was in IT before that all started, I could give him some leeway. However, after one bat shit situation, when your child is kidnapped and there are lycans running around a small European village, you eventually stop saying what and why all the time and start getting a bit of a personality other than screaming “WHERE IS MY BABY” over and over. Also, Ethan, you have fought enough people to know that you don’t have a whole conversation with them because that always ends poorly and yet on THREE SEPARATE OCCASIONS you have a whole dialogue before getting thrown into some sort of trap or almost killed. I mean you have a character who just reattaches his hand multiple times between 7 and 8 and he is still supremely boring and has no character development. Sliced white bread is more interesting than this protagonist, even with the twist. Now, did I get emotional at the end, yes, but that wasn’t because I gave a shit about Ethan so much as Chris Redfield's reaction to the whole thing. I mean, the character introduced in the after credit scene is more interesting in seven seconds than Ethan was in two entire games. While Ethan was terribly boring, there were several interesting characters, both protagonists and villains, that were underutilized in this game. To start with, a much more interesting game would have been to have the main character be Mia, post her life of lies and their consequences, having to track down her child and come to terms with what she did that led to the events in 7. While I also found Mia getting on my nerves in this game, it was mostly because she was sidelined to snipping at Ethan, not telling him the truth (because that went so well last time), and constantly shrieking questions. Mia was an operative and could have been fleshed out to be a super badass character if they had given her more purpose and screen time. However, you didn’t even need to flesh out Chris Redfield because he has been a staple in the Resident Evil games since the first one. There is already this rich backstory and he was more interesting in the half-hour we see him in the game and I felt for him more than Ethan who I’ve been with for two games. This is a man who's seen the carnage of Umbrella for years at this point and it’s wearing on him. Show me the story of Chris and his team, who were interesting in their own right, going god damn feral on an Umbrella facility. Basically, give me a main character with some sort of personality, I'm begging you. Hell, Beneviento’s little doll was more complex than Ethan.

Speaking of Beneviento, while I felt that all the villains were pretty well-rounded, I didn’t think that we have enough time with any of them. Lady Dimitrescu is in the game for a surprisingly short time for all the hype she was given. Now, I don’t blame the developers for this as her castle is the first area of the game and therefore what they had completed first to show off to the world. However, I feel that each of the four houses could probably have been their own games, but instead, we were given just enough to get interested in them, and then they were dead. Lady Dimitrescu wanted to live with her daughters, Beneviento wanted to be left alone with her dolls, Moreau just wanted Mother Miranda's approval and Heisenberg wanted to kill Miranda for what she did to him. Heisenberg especially, I wanted to know more about and his history before Miranda. What did he lose when she brought him into her experiment? What did they all lose? There are enough questions there that I felt every section, besides perhaps Moreau’s, ended far too quickly to feel satisfying. At this point, you probably think that I hate the game, which is not the case. I actually found it really entertaining and a pretty good video game. However, I am a huge story person and while no Resident Evil game is a piece of storytelling genius, it doesn’t mean that I’m not going to talk about the things that bothered me. One thing that this game did exceptionally well is the visuals. This game is absolutely beautiful and all of the areas have their own distinct atmosphere and look. If you are a fan of Resident Evil Four, which most people are, the beginning of this game is going to give you the same ambiance with much better graphics. God, what I wouldn’t have given to have Leon kicking people down ladders in this game. While Lady Dimitrescu is far more interesting than Ramon Salazar, don’t get me wrong he is the one Resident Evil villain that I have never forgotten, they have the same thoughts on interior design. Then the Beneviento house and Monreau’s sections were more like 7 and the factory was a new and very beautiful set piece. An utterly stunning game. Resident Evil Village is also in the same vein as Resident Evil 4 in that it is much more action-horror than survival horror. While the Beneviento house is properly scary, the rest of the time you know that you’re going in shooting. I feel as if her house also has the scariest monsters, though there are only a couple. Don’t get me wrong, the lycans look cool and Heisenberg’s monsters are solidly in the realm of body horror, but you get a gun early and use it often. Resident Evil 7 was far more tense, even with weapons, because you have no idea where the family members were and usually they could easily kill you until you got into their boss fight. Again, it’s a fun game, but if you expected the same tension as in 7, you will only have it in a small area of the game. Overall, this is a fun and beautiful game, but not without fault. I am still craving the game with Mia as the main character because I feel as if that would be a much more interesting story. Nothing against Ethan, he was just written that way. I am really hoping that if there is a Resident Evil 9 it follows Chris just laying waste to an Umbrella headquarters because the man deserves it if anyone does. I mean, my dream is a Chris Leon team-up, but that is just the fangirl in me. Chris and Claire would be fun too. Basically, anyone with a personality. I would say that this game is worth the money, but not without fault. Now I am just crossing my fingers for a Resident Evil four remake because I need to see my boy Leon again as well as the president’s daughter popping out of a dumpster like a gopher with stunning graphics.

#resident evil the village #Resident evil 8 #video game review #Reblog #Miss Colleen

9 notes · View notes

365days365movies · 4 years ago

Text

February 7, 2021: Emma. (2020)

Another late one, people! Tomorrow might be a bit later, too, full warning. Like I said, school’s back in session, and I got students to teach and class to prepare!

When I was a kid, I was a pretty avid reader, mostly due to my mom’s drive to get me to be an avid reader. I read Shakespeare from an early age, which might be why I like it so much, and why I remember it so well.

I also read Jane Austen’s Emma when I was 10 years old. On a related note, I remember none of Jane Austen’s Emma. On another related note, I’m fairly certain that I saw its most famous adaptation, Clueless, and I don’t remember that either.

I’m tempted to rewatch that one, since I don’t remember it AT ALL, but I figure that I’m going to place a more direct adaptation of the work first on my list of priorities. And so, one of the ONLY movies to come out last year is one my list, starring an up-and-coming “it girl,” Anya Taylor-Joy.

From what I can tell, this is a fairly popular movie on this platform, so I’m looking forward to watching it, despite knowing NOTHING about it, other than the fact that it’s a romance drama, and based off of a classic British novel by Jane Austen. Shall we? SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap

Emma Woodhouse (Anya Taylor-Joy) lives in the 1815 English countryside, with her father, Mr. Woodhouse (Bill Nighy), and her caretaker, Mrs. Taylor (Gemma Whelan). However, this is about to change, as she is to marry Mr. Weston (Rupert Graves) that day.

Emma is a sweet girl, who seems to be ale to predict things to pass. She also set up the present marriage, although she seems not to want one for herself. However, she also seems interested in the whereabouts of Mr. Taylor’s son, Frank. He never shows up, though.

Meanwhile, the Woodhouses are visited by George Knightley (Johnny Flynn), whom her father favors, and whom Emma seems to clash with. And Imma call it now: they totally end up together in the end. I mean, c’mon.

Emma’s trying to replace Mrs. Weston nee Taylor as a governness, despite the fact that her father doesn’t want it. Emma finds Harriet Smith (Mia Goth), a young women whom she goes to school with, and apparently might be the illegitimate daughter of a nobleman. She’s also interested in setting Harriet up, as Emma prides her skills as a matchmaker.

However, Harriet’s already interested in a local farmer, Robert Martin (Connor Swindels), but Emma’s trying to set her up with a local vicar, Elton (Josh O’Connor). They go to meet Mrs. Weston, and Emma introduces herself to Elton, who she believes likes her in return.

The next day, Emma and Harriet go to the store, where the gossipy busybody Miss Bates (Miranda Hart) comes to speak with the VERY unwilling Emma, and the considerably more interested Harriet. Miss Bates is speaking up her niece, Jane, although Emma certainly doesn’t seen to care nearly as much as Miss Bates thinks she does.

On the way home, Harriet and Emma encounter Robert Martin, and Emma's definitely not a fan of that potential relationship. Instead, she regularly puts down Mr. Martin, and talks up Vicar Elton.

As Elton and Harriet begin getting closer, and Emma seems to be vindicated in support of the relationship she set up, Knightley’s...not impressed. In a conversation with Mrs. Weston, he basically says that she gets high on flattery, and while she isn’t necessarily a true narcissist, she still NEEDS approval from her peers and others. That’s why she’s setting up Harriet, who feeds her constant flattery.

In addition, her whole “never going to get married” thing doesn’t seem to fly with George, here, who’d like her to fall in love with someone who isn’t...well, a simp, let’s be honest here. And honestly, this is already an interesting character dissection, and I can dig it.

Knightley complicates matters for Emma, when he convinces Martin to write a letter, asking for Harriet’s hand in marriage. However, due to Emma’s subtle manipulations, she convinces Harriet to refuse the proposal, despite the fact that she clearly wants to say yes. And while Emma might be beautiful, and quite smart...yeah, she’s a bitch. Or, at the very least, she acts like one for her own benefit.

Knightley, pissed off about this whole thing, confronts Emma about her manipulations, and states that Martin might be the ideal match for Harriet. After calling her out, and warning her that Elton miiiiiiight be a bit of a ladies’ man, and that he’s certainly the wrong match for Harriet in the end. Emma admits that she mostly wants to keep Harriet for herself.

Autumn turns to Winter, and Emma’s older sister Isabella Knightley (Chloe Pirrie), and her husband John Knightley (Oliver Chris) (and George’s younger brother) come to visit Emma and her father for the holidays. George and Emma make amends, although Emma still won’t admit that she may have been wrong.

Christmas Day comes, and Harriet is sick, while Frank Churchill once again neglects to appear at the house of his father and new wife. George berates his neglect of his familial duties, while Emma argues in his favor, obviously harboring a crush on him still.

At dinner, Elton makes a remark about snow, causing LITERALLY EVERYBODY to leave the party prematurely, and Emma’s father accidentally leaves her behind. Elton, however, offers to give her a ride in his carriage. And in the carriage, he reveals that not only does he actually love Emma, but that he doesn’t care for Harriet at fucking ALL. Fuckin’ WHOOF.

Looks like Elton’s misread EVERY POSSIBLE SIGNAL, and Emma FUCKED UP SOMETHING FIERCE. Harriet is quite saddened by this, and is about to destroy a portrait of herself that Emma made for her. However, Emma instead keeps it. Elton disappears for a number of weeks, just as the niece of Miss Bates, Jane Fairfax (Amber Anderson) suddenly reappears.

At dinner, it’s revealed that Jane appears to know Frank Churchill, as they live in the same place. During a piano performance of Jane’s that’s WAY BETTER than Emma’s performance, it’s also revealed that Emma’s been compared to her all of her life, giving her some fat, fat insecurities!

After an awkward encounter with Mr. Martin, Harriet goes to the Martin household to visit his sisters. Meanwhile, the long-awaited arrival of Frank Churchill (Callum Turner) comes, and Emma is unsurprisingly smitten with him. He asks her for a dance at an upcoming dinner, and she accepts.

Knightley is, of course, not impressed with the worldly gentleman. Meanwhile, someone has apparently delivered a pianoforte to Jane Fairfax, and it’s pretty goddamn obvious that it was Frank Churchill. Although, it’s possible that it was George Knightley, who’s been matched to her by Mrs. Weston.

And it’s at this point that I should point out that GODDAMN THIS IS A SOAP-OPERA OF A MOVIE. The hyper-detailed intentions and events, all happening within the confines of high society and etiquette are both overly intricate, while also managing to be...weirdly enrapturing.

The next morning, after a six-week absence, Elton’s come back to town with brand new wife, Augusta Elton (Tanya Reynolds) in tow. Augusta matches Emma’s passive-aggressiveness measure-for-goddamn-measure, which, yeah, PISSES EMMA OFF.

But it’s still good news on the horizon, as Frank’s appearance has prompted the Westons to hold a ball. While Emma and Frank seem to be getting along, Elton is prevented to opportunity to dance with Harriet, only to refuse LIKE AN ABSOLUTE TAINT. On the verge of tears, Harriet’s rescued by George, and they dance alongside the rest of the partygoers.

Emma shows his appreciation for this, and Knightley returns his appreciation for her friendship with Harriet, who’s way goddamn better than Augusta. The two decide to dance together, and the two basically fall in love RIGHT GODDAMN THERE AND I AM GODDAMN HERE FOR IT.

Which sucks, because I’m, what, a little more than halfway in? No way it’s this easy.

And as Knightley and Emma realize their feelings the next day, they actually run towards each other, SEE each other...and then get iterrupted by Frank carrying Harriet post-her being attacked by muggers GOD FUCKING DAMMIT REALLY?

Plus, it looks like Harriet might be in love with Knightley now, after the previous night. HowEVER, since the previous night, Emma is now in love with Knightley, and believes that Harriet’s feelings are directed towards her rescuer, Frank Churchill. But Frank’s in love with Jane. Like, for sure he’s in love with Jane. And Knightley’s in love with Emma, although Mrs. Weston believes that he’s in love with ane, as he leant her his chariot the previous night, although he DIDN’T do that, and the chariot (and piano) must’ve come from Frank, who’s actually in love with her, not Harriet, as Emma believes. YOU GOT THAT? BECAUSE I’M ASTONISHED THAT I DO

Summer comes, and there seemingly no major changes to the love lives of our main characters. Can’t say that for George’s mansion, as he’s unveiled all of the paintings in the place.

Might be wrong about the progression of relationship thing, as George and Harriet appear to be getting along, and Emma and George suddenly...aren’t. And THEN, Jane tells Ema that she’s feeling super down at the moment, and leaves. Which is when Frank shows up, which Emma appears to not be super happy about.

Later, at a luncheon, Emma takes out her emotions upon Miss Bates who, while kind of annoying during the film, doesn’t deserve the insult lobbied her way by Emma. Afterwards, George DESTROYS her, and she...she gets it. She’s been an asshole.

After a good cry, she goes to apologize to Miss Bates, who immediately forgives her, as she tends to do. It’s also pretty quickly revealed after that that we find out that Frank has ALWAYS been engaged to Jane, since he arrived to Highbury. AND, Emma finally findss out that Harriet’s in love with George, not Frank. Which...yeah, Emma’s not a huge fan of, for obvious reasons.

However, Emma points out that George might have been trying to get Harriet involved with Mr. Martin, but also tries to step back. However, Harriet RIGHTLY calls her out this time, bringing up the fact that Emma fancies George, and that it’s because of Emma that she refused Mr. Martin. And Emma finally gets it. ALL of it.

George, hearing of Frank’s engagement, goes to comfort Emma in her time of distress. And after railing out Frank for his lying ass, he starts to confess his true feelings to Emma. But she tries to stop him, but THERE AIN’T NO STOPPIN’ LOVE BABY

And as he STRAIGHT-UP PROPOSES to her...her nose bleeds and she says no.

Finally, it’s confirmed that George was speaking on Mr. Matin’s behalf, not his own, and Emma pledges to make things right herself. She delivers the painting of Harriet to Mr. Martin, and he proposes to her. Harriet accepts, and has also finally heard from her father, who isn’t a nobleman at all, but a shoemaker. Emma still invites them over to their estate, and the two make up as friends.

And speaking of making up, George and Emma also make up, and the two are officially engaged to be wed. And it’s honestly...quite lovely. Which describes the whole film, which comes to a close.

WHEW. Now THAT...was a Recap. See you in the Review!

12 notes · View notes

fmdsooaharchive · 4 years ago

Photo

CHO SOOAH — HEADCANON #4 (30 DAYS CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT - IDOL EDITION)

SUMMARY: We ask ourselves why would you write more than 5.000 words in a single day for something that was supposed to go on for 30 days and we reach the conclusion that we needed the points and why not, am I right? While writing this I realized that Sooah doesn’t have many friends her age but also, she isn’t friends anyone in Gold Star besides her members so please befriend my kid. WC: 5.042 MENTIONS: way too many people to be honest. TW: Really bad writing because I did it when I was clearly sleepy.

+ Day One: Introduce your muse. Are they solo or in a group? What is their position in the group? Consider this day the day for writing the basics.

Cho Sooah is part of Gold Star Media’s five-member group, Fuse. She was added to the team in 2015, a few months after their official debut in 2014 as their rapper and vocal as well as becoming the new maknae of the team.

+ Day Two: Talk about your muse’s childhood. Where did they grow up? Did they have any dream jobs besides being an idol? When did they realize they wanted to be an idol?

Sooah was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea. She had a pretty ideal childhood, she thinks. She was very lucky to have loving and supportive parents and very great older brothers who always looked out for her in their different ways. She was always connected to her family and that’s her grounding circle to this day. She’s very thankful to them for everything they did for her. While growing up, Sooah was always praised for her beauty and sweetness but she was usually taken advantage of and made fun of because of that. She had very little friends growing up but she didn’t mind that much because she had a pretty solid group that always supported her. Growing up, she wanted to become a stewardess and those were the plans until she was scouted by Gold Star. She never really realized she wanted to become an idol and even after she was signed under the company, she was still not sure about it. She became surer of it after she debuted and had a taste of how performing felt like.

+ Day Three: Take us back to when your muse was either recruited or auditioned to become an idol. How did that go? How did they feel getting up on stage for recruiters? If your muse could give their younger selves advice before the audition, what would they say?

Sooah is one of those people who go with their friends to an audition and end up being cast as well. She was accompanying Mia in her audition. She wanted to give her moral support and make sure everything would go as planned when one of the recruiters asked her to do something for them. Sooah was never really skillful. She couldn't sing or dance or act. But she’s pretty and that’s the main reason why they decided to sign with her. She was very nervous when she performed in front of them. She didn’t have anything prepared but a school song that they were supposed to perform in a festival soon and a guitar that she could barely play.

Sooah would tell herself not to be so harsh because maybe they did hire her because of her looks but that doesn’t mean she was a complete talentless failure. She was always so gentle to others; she should learn to be gentler to herself too.

+ Day Four: Remember the trainee days? What are some of your muse’s memories of being a trainee? How long were they a trainee? Were they worried about potentially not making a debut? Talk about any challenges they might have encountered.

Sooah’s memories of trainee days are almost blurred together in a mess of constant practice and doubting herself. Those weren’t very happy times, she felt insecure and out of place because these more talented people were training with her and she was not sure of her abilities or if she even deserved to be there with these people.

Sooah was a trainee for one year and four months, from November of 2013 to March of 2015 when was added to Fuse. Sooah always felt like she would never make it to a group and would eventually be kicked out by the company or be reassigned to a different department like modeling or acting. So, she had a constant fear of not making it to debut.

+ Day Five: Recall your muse’s debut. What was the song they debuted with? How did it feel performing for the first time on stage as an idol? Feel free to bring up their thoughts about the concept, choreography, lyrics, music video, or other components.

Sooah debuted with Fuse’s first EP and it was called ‘Ice Cream Cake’ from the album of the same name. She remembers quite vividly feeling very excited but also extremely terrified. She never performed in front of an audience before and the Fuse fans had made it pretty clear even before she made her first appearance that they weren’t fond of Gold Star’s strategy of adding a useless member to a group that was already perfect as four. But she was finally making it to debut and there was no hater in her life that would stop her from feeling ecstatic at this opportunity.

Sooah liked ‘Ice Cream Cake’. Both the single and the album were nice. She thinks the MV was particularly aesthetically pleasing, her unnies looked stunning as always. She wasn’t certain about the ‘everyone will go blonde’ but the different tones made each of them stand out in different ways. At the time, she had never practiced choreography as much as she did for ‘Ice Cream Cake’. She went over and over this routine thousand times just to make sure she wouldn’t mess up. She was only sixteen at the time, so everything kind of overwhelmed her.

+ Day Six: What concept does your muse think they can pull off best? Cutesy? Manly? Sexy? What concept do they have a hard time pulling off? What kind of concept would they want to do at some point?

Sooah can put off cutesy, happier concepts better than the more badass, girl crush ones and that has a lot to do with her looks more than with what she’s comfortable doing. She doesn’t mind their more happy and upbeat concepts just as she doesn’t mind when she has to do more serious stuff. ‘Peek-a-Boo’ remains as one of her favorite MV’s and songs to this day just as much as ‘Red Flavor’ and she thinks that’s nice because that’s the whole concept they were going for with Fuse. With how many weird concepts they’ve done in the past, Sooah thinks they can pull off pretty much anything at this point but she knows it’s very unlikely that Gold Star would invest in a concept similar to Lucid’s Nightmare trilogy. She would love to do something like that though.

+ Day Seven: Which era is your muse’s favorite in their career? Why is it their favorite (think concept, promotions, choreography, etc.)? If your muse has recently debuted, talk about what they would want to do for their next comeback.

‘Russian Roulette’ is an era that she thinks many people end up forgetting and it’s not fair because it was pretty fun to promote. The storyline for the MV is not the lightest, of course, since they are trying to get the others to get badly injured but the scenarios were so colorful and full of life (ironic). The choreography was tricky, but all choreographies were tricky for Sooah. It was fun to learn though, and she had a lot of fun while learning it because it didn’t give her much of a headache and she quickly learned the movements. It was a very cute kind of concept that she remembers fondly.

+ Day Eight: Talk about your muse’s strengths and weaknesses as an idol. Feel free to discuss their thoughts regarding these components. Think of qualities such as vocals, dancing, visuals, acting skills, and variety show skills, for example.

Sooah’s strengths as an idol are very reliant on her visuals and variety show skills, so everything that isn’t performative. Her looks were always something people praised her for even before auditioning to become a trainee. She was always very pretty and always had this soft look on her that works very well because it makes people feel at ease. It’s not the type of beauty that pushes people away but draws them in.

She used to be very shy in variety shows but Sooah got much better at that as years went by. To be fair, she got a lot better over time, but her weaknesses are still singing, dancing, and rapping which is ironic since she’s an idol. The main problem there is her confidence, though. She doesn’t believe she’s good or capable and that uncertainty remains clear in the way she performs.

+ Day Nine: What is your muse’s fashion style? Talk about what kind of clothes they love to wear. To them, what is the essential thing to have in their closet? What is their favorite outfit?

It depends a lot on the season. During spring, Sooah will use very flowy and long skirts, with pastel colors, and be the princess of spring because that season fits her image incredibly well. During autumn, she’ll rely on more earth tones and long coats. Winter is the season she’ll just dress to not freeze, so everything comfy and warm, she’ll be using and summer, though not her favorite season, is the time in the year when she’ll allow herself to use short shorts and sleeveless shirts, maybe use more flannels and overalls. Sooah has a very consistent and good sense of fashion and she likes going shopping with friends. You’ll always find jean jackets in her wardrobe and she’ll try to fit them into some outfit she has to wear. Her favorite outfits are the more romantic ones though, so spring is the best time for that.

+ Day Ten: Talk about your muse’s three closest friends. How did they meet? How long have they known each other? What do they love most about their friends?

Yuanjun is one of her closest friends and someone she cherishes a lot because despite being a little different personality-wise, they get along well to form the infamous 99-line. She likes his company and appreciates that they could remain, friends, because there weren’t any scandals involving the two of them. Boys and girls can be friends in the end and she’s glad people learned that, in this case.

Mia is one of her long-time friends. She’s the reason why Sooah was scouted by Gold Star because Sooah was only accompanying Mia when she decided to audition. Their relationship was a little messy because Mia was always the talented one but she ended up not debuting while Sooah, who was always pretty useless managed to make her way into Fuse. Sooah always felt guilty but Mia is now making sure that she knows none of that was her fault and they are still in good terms.

And last but not least, she would mention Minjung because despite not being the same age and being in the same team for work, Sooah still sees her as one of her closest friends and someone she can confide to. She was added to Fuse in 2015 and she was anxious because Minjung used to be their maknae and she was stealing the spot now but Minjung only proved to be very nice and sisterly to her and for that, she’ll be eternally thankful.

+ Day Eleven: Has your muse had any scandals? How have these scandals affected your muse as an idol or as a person? If your muse has not had any scandals, talk about their views on scandals. Is all publicity good publicity?

The only “scandal” of sorts Sooah was involved was when she was added to Fuse and some fans were not happy with Gold Star’s decision to add a pretty face to the team when they were perfect before. After that, Sooah lived pretty much like a saint, with no scandals and nothing that could tarnish Fuse’s or her image. It depends a lot on the scandal. Silly things as dating shouldn’t even be seen as scandals because idols are still humans but bullying scandals should surely be taken more seriously. And is bad to think that all publicity is good publicity because what kind of image they would want to build for the groups and company if they build their reputation around scandals. She’s not very fond of that idea.

+ Day Twelve: If your muse is in a group, what are the fun things about promoting with other members? What do they love about being in a group? What do they love about their members? If your muse is a solo artist, what are their thoughts on promoting alone? What do they love about being solo?

Sooah loves promoting with her members. She is very fond of them all and thinks she’s very lucky. She didn’t expect to be in a group where the members would be so supportive of her and look out for her the way her members do. It’s nice that the waiting rooms are never silent, there’s always someone talking and it’s noisy and because she grew up in a house full of people that is very comforting. She loves her members as a whole but also individually. She loves that Miyeon is like this force of nature that is amazing in pretty much everything but still has time to be supportive of Sooah. She loves that Suji was like a mother to her and took great care of her and made her feel comfortable in the group. She loves that Minjung is someone who likes to pamper her and is like a pretty sister she has now. They all feel like family to Sooah.

+ Day Thirteen: For the muses in a group, what are the challenges of being one of several people in a group? Have there been any troubles that have come along with being in a group environment and times they wish they were alone? For the solo artist muses, have you ever felt lonely promoting alone? Do you ever wish that you were in a group instead?

Sooah never hoped to be alone because she doesn’t think she can perform if she’s alone on the stage. Being in a group means that the public’s attention can deviate from a member to others and that’s only normal and it’s totally fine. There will be times she’ll feel like she did a good job but other members get more attention but Sooah thinks it’s only fair because she’s not exactly someone people will have their eyes set on for any reason in particular. She’s not the best singer, or dancer, or rapper. She knows people will look at her because she has great visuals though.

+ Day Fourteen: If your muse is in a group, how do you think they would have fared had they had a solo career instead? What kind of concept would they have? If your muse is a solo artist, how do you think they would have fared if they were in an idol group? What position of the group do you think they would have?

Sooah would do very poorly as a solo artist. To be fair, she probably wouldn’t even be sent to be an idol and would be redirected to the modeling or acting department instead. But if they were silly enough to still debut her as a solo artist, they would go with something light and aesthetically pleasing to match with her visuals. The songs wouldn’t go to high places and everything vocal would be minimalistic. Think of Kriesha Chu or even SOLE or Younha and we’ll have Sooah as a solo artist.

+ Day Fifteen: Who does your muse look up to in the industry? Why do they look up to this person?

Sooah looks up to everyone because she’s a sweetheart but if she had to pick three people she looks up to the most, those would be Lipstick’s Minah because she’s amazing in everything she does. She can sing, she can act, she can dance and she cooks amazing meals to Sooah. The perfect person who remained humble even after the success of her group. She wants to be like Minah when she grows up. She also looks up to Lux a lot and it’s not only because Lux helped her to write a song from scratch and promoted the song with her. She thinks Lux is an amazing artist and songwriter/composer and she wants to learn a lot from the older girl. On a similar note, there’s Joosung from Element. They worked together briefly during the BASE project and she saw him in this new light and thinks he’s a very talented and easy-going person. She aims to be a good producer like him in the future.

+ Day Sixteen: If your muse could do a special stage with another artist or idol group, who would it be and why? What song would they perform?

Sooah would love to work with the members of Lucid. Maybe Sooah and Alice, they are the same age and are already close because of the 99-line Sooah has going on. Since they have similar positions in their respective groups and because Alice is a great dancer, they could have a special stage singing to one of the classics of K-pop. Maybe a BoA song. If given a proper heads-up maybe she can even compose and write a song for them.

+ Day Seventeen: How would your muse fare in a variety show? If your muse could appear on any variety show, which variety would it be and why? If you don’t have a lot of knowledge of variety shows, talk about what kind of variety show they would go on.

It depends a lot on the variety show. If it’s something like DoReMi Market or Knowing Bros, she’ll do fairly well because she feels comfortable, it’s just them there having a talk and telling stories, sometimes playing some games. If it’s a show like Running Man or Law of the Jungle where she’ll have to actively show surviving skills or running and jumping, that makes her more anxious because she’s just not good at that kind of stuff.

+ Day Eighteen: What entertainment agency is your muse a part of? What do they think of other groups and artists that are in the same agency as them? Which labelmates do they get along with the most, excluding group members?

Sooah is part of Gold Star Media. She thinks people in her agency are dope even if the company itself makes some questionable decisions sometimes. But every single one of their artists, Sooah likes and listens to their songs. From their soloists to the co-ed group they have. Gold Star releases really good songs, she thinks and she’s very musically oriented and the company offers her the kind of support she would need to thrive in that area. She’s not particularly close to anyone in her company, except her members, though.

+ Day Nineteen: Is there anything besides idol activities that your muse would want to do? Would they want to take their hand at hosting a variety show or act in a television show or drama? Would they want to try out modeling or a musical? If they have done things such as these, talk about their thoughts toward these things.

Sooah thrives in the modeling route and that’s the most obvious path for her because of her unapparelled young visuals. That’s something she would want to do especially because it’s very easy for her and it’s also fun but to be honest, she would like to try her hand in variety shows more now that Fuse already has an established image.

+ Day Twenty: If your muse was able to be a part of a supergroup that comprised of current idols, who would they want to be in the same group, and why? What kind of concept would this group have? How do you think the group would do in terms of popularity?

If Sooah was to pick members for a supergroup, she would struggle a lot because many others are better qualified. But she would pick Lipstick’s Hyeju, Lucid’s Hyoyeon and Jeonghwa and WISH’s Sophie, besides herself. All of them are skilled and have the visuals Sooah would want to see in a group, besides being charismatic so she thinks they would do well together? Because they would look very powerful, they would probably invest in a more powerful, girl crush concept, like the ones in Femme Fatale. And since they have big names in the industry, they would also do fairly okay, popularity-wise.

+ Day Twenty-One: How does your muse feel about their fans? How do they feel about sasaeng fans? How would they handle a situation in which they were faced with obsessive fans that followed them or invaded their privacy? If they’ve had problems with sasaeng fans before, how did they feel about it?

She’s appreciative of her fans and she’s extremely glad that they are kind to her and her members too. She’s grateful that they kind of protect her from OT4 stans and that warms her heart a lot. She doesn’t know what she should do with sasaeng fans though. She’s scared of them, more than anything. She’s scared of which boundaries they might break to get her attention and she fears there’ll be a day they’ll end up hurting someone to get to her. She would try to communicate her thoughts and ask them to leave, even though she knows that probably wouldn’t work out. She would just be scared and ask her manager to help her with it.

+ Day Twenty-Two: Talk about your muse’s goals that they have for their group or themselves if they are a solo artist. Where would they want to promote if given the chance? Do they want to do a solo album at one point? This can be any sort of professional goal.

There isn’t much she can think of because she’s good at following the flow and doing as she’s told. Fuse reached a point where things are comfortable and their name is established. She wants the other members to be able to have separate careers and still be successful with the things they want to do so maybe that means they’ll have to be more recognizable not only internationally but also locally. She never visited Central or South America and she would love to visit the countries in these regions sometime in the future to promote.

+ Day Twenty-Three: What are your muse’s thoughts on being an idol and dating? Are they against dating? Have they ever been in a relationship after debuting? If so, talk about the challenges that have come along with dating. If they aren’t dating, would they want to date?

She understands why some people are against it. She doesn’t agree with their thoughts. She thinks that they are young and they are surrounded by beautiful people all the time and at some point, is only natural to feel attraction towards someone. And as healthy, young people, they should be allowed to have normal experiences such as dating. Sooah was never in a relationship before or after debut. She was way too young when she became a trainee and she was way too focused on not messing up and practicing after she debuted. And of course, she would love to date someone if she feels it’s the right person.

+ Day Twenty-Four: Who is your muse’s ideal type? Why is this person their ideal type?

She has been saying since debut that she finds Lee Dong Wook very attractive and nominated him as her idol type since 2015. She never talked to Lee Dong Wook personally so she can’t talk about anything but his good looks. The sharp jaw and the kind of eyes are what draws her to this kind of aesthetic and she’ll be the first to admit that people like him don’t look like they smile a lot but there’s a certain satisfaction in getting a smile from them and the possibility makes her heart flutter. She has to be able to rely on the person and feel comfortable being around them. They also have to know how to properly cook, otherwise, they’ll rely on take-out for a long while.

+ Day Twenty-Five: What does your muse want to be remembered for in the idol world? Do they want to be remembered for their vocal prowess? Their image? Their dancing skills? Their scandals?

Sooah wants to be remembered as someone who improved over the years and became great in the end. She won’t stand out in any meaningful way. She’ll never be the greatest singer or the best dancer or someone remembered because of her little rap lines in Fuse’s songs. She does expect people to have the image of someone who came from the bottom and still managed to become someone great and who learned and improved a lot. Someone who never really stagnated and worked on herself to become a better artist.

+ Day Twenty-Six: Does your muse ever regret becoming an idol? Do they ever think about what they would be doing instead if they lived a normal life? If they could go back in time, would they do everything all over again? Or would they end up doing something else?

She remembers regretting becoming an idol when she went back home after living with her members in the dorms. She was moving back home so she could spend some more time with her parents and she remembers seeing them after a long while and thinking, “they have aged”. There were wrinkles around her father’s eyes and her mother was slouching a little bit more and she remembers feeling very sad because she barely spent time with them in the last 4 years or so. She never thought she would have a normal life, to begin with. She dreamed of big adventures and in a way or another, this is a big adventure and she tries not to regret things or think how things would have turned out. She doesn’t think she would trade her life now for a “normal” life mainly because she can’t imagine herself not having the people, she has in her life now.

+ Day Twenty-Seven: After working hard on promotions, your muse is given the chance to take a two-week vacation anywhere in the world at any time they want, with nobody bothering them. Where would they go and when? Why would they want to take their vacation there? If they had the opportunity to bring three other people, who would they bring?

She always wanted to visit Machu-Pichu so maybe she would go there and hike her way up the mountains. She remembers seeing a documentary when she was younger and that became her plan with her mom that one day they would go to Peru and see the clouds from up there. She still didn’t have the time to do that with her. She would take her mom and her two older siblings with her. Dad is not very fond of that because he has back problems so he would have two weeks of freedom at home on his own.

+ Day Twenty-Eight: Talk about your muse’s low point in life. Why was this a low point in their life? What kind of challenges did they face and how did they feel about this? Were they able to overcome it? If it is still ongoing, are they working on overcoming these challenges?

During the trainee years, Sooah’s self-esteem hit a really low level. She was self-doubting a lot at the time and thinking she wasn’t enough and that she wouldn’t be able to ever get better regarding her skills. She was surrounded by incredibly talented people but there she was, not being remotely good in what she was supposed to do. Sooah thinks she’ll never get completely rid of this kind of thoughts, mainly because she knows she has a long way to go but things now are much better and because she has so many supportive figures in her life, she can rely on them more and not suffer on her own anymore.

+ Day Twenty-Nine: Talk about your muse’s most meaningful moment as an idol. This is what they feel so far is the highest point in their life and where they’ve never been happier. Recall the memory and describe it; what happened and how did they feel?

Sooah remembers the moment of their first concert with a lot of fondness. They have been practicing for months at the time and Sooah was so nervous because it would be their first time doing a concert only with their fans and she didn’t want to mess things up. The moment they were waiting backstage to be okayed to go up and perform, she had a million thoughts in her head that slowly started dissipating as they sang and danced. She remembers feeling very warm in her heart when they had their first break and as they introduced themselves, she would hear the screams of the fans. When her turn came up and she heard their screams of support, Sooah laughed and her eyes teared a bit even. She was never so happy to perform like she was with the ‘Red Room’.

+ Day Thirty: Think about your muse’s life down the road. Where would they be and what would they be doing? Would they still be in the entertainment industry? Would they settle down and have a family?

When Fuse eventually disbands, Sooah will probably not get involved with music. At least she won’t be releasing songs for herself to sing. She’ll be more than happy to remain active as a lyricist/composer/producer and that’s her priority. Maybe invest more in her career as a model and start putting her visuals to good use, too. But she doesn’t exactly see herself wanting to be the center of attention like it happened in Fuse. She wants to slowly show her process of retirement, pretty much like Hyori wanted to do once in past. She sees herself settling down to have a family. She also sees herself traveling around the world and enjoying life differently too.

#『 .. headcanon. 』#+10pts.

9 notes · View notes

cromulentbookreview · 5 years ago

Text

NeverDarkGodsNightGraveDawn

Never flinch.

Never fear.

And never, ever forget.

Oh shit, I flinched. Sorry. Can we start over?

I’m a huge fan of Jay Kristoff’s collaborations with Amie Kaufman - The Illuminae Files and Aurora Rising are some of my most favorite books ever - so it seemed weird that I hadn’t read any of Kristoff’s other stuff. I’d heard of Nevernight (it’s kind of hard not to if you hand around on book twitter) and I had the first two books on my Kindle, I just hadn’t read them yet. When I snapped up the eARC of Darkdawn and thought to myself: maybe I should actually read these and see what all the fuss is about. People on the internet seem very, very passionate about their love for the Nevernight Chronicle, after all.

Also, if there’s a nerdy bandwagon, I’m bound to join. I like to be included.

So - The Nevernight Chronicle! I just spent the past couple of weeks binge reading through all three books (yes, weeks, I’m slow, OK?), and...holy shit. Like. Really, holy shit.

There is a pretty basic litmus test I’ve devised to determine whether or not someone will like The Nevernight Chronicle. If you want to know if you’ll like The Nevernight Chronicle, ask yourself this: do you like Game of Thrones? Does all the gory violence, graphic sex, and foul language of Game of Thrones not faze you? In fact, does it - gasp! - lend an aspect of realism to the fantastical setting? In fact, do you have a Game of Thrones shaped hole in your life right now now that the TV series has ended and the wait for The Winds of Winter seems endless? Well, then, I’ve the book series for you, Gentlefriends! There is less rape, incest and violence against women in these books, too!

And if you want blood n’ guts n’ gore galore, you shall not be disappointed. Our protagonist, Mia Corvere, hardly goes five pages in any of the three books without stabbing or slashing or punching or otherwise causing someone some form of grievous bodily harm and/or death. While swearing. And smoking. And displaying a general bad attitude.

These books are definitely not for everyone. If you don’t like blood n’ guts n’ gore and foul language and snarky characters, then you won’t like The Nevernight Chronicle. That’s fine, you don’t have to read anything you don’t like and I’m not going to make you.

You’re missing out, though. Seriously.

So! The Nevernight Chronicle! The three books are essentially the tale of the roaring rampage of revenge of a girl named Mia Corvere. When she was ten years old, her beloved father, Dairus Corvere, was hanged as a traitor to the Itreyan Republic. Counsel Julius Scaeva, leader of the republic, then had Mia’s mother and baby brother thrown in prison, where they later died. As for Mia, Scaeva had her put in a barrel to be thrown into a canal, but not before his lackey, Justicus Remus, brutally murders Mia’s beloved cat, Captain Puddles. RIP Captain Puddles, you deserved better even though you weren’t a real cat.

(What I imagine Captain Puddles would’ve been like, had he not been tragically murdered by a mad Australian).

Mia, of course, escapes the barrel, with the help of a living shadow taking the form of a cat, whom she names Mr. Kindly. She takes refuge with a foul-mouthed, foul-tempered shopkeep named Mercurio, who happens to be a member of a church of assassins. Once she’s old enough, Mia heads off to join the Red Church and become a blade (assassin) so that she can acquire the skills to get her revenge on Julius Scaeva.

That’s the main plot of Nevernight, poorly explained and in a nutshell. I’ve mentioned before that I’m not big on assassin stories, but I enjoyed Nevernight mainly because both the writing and the characters were so full of snark. I’m willing to overlook a great deal if there’s a high level of snark involved.

Anyway! In the second book in the series, Godsgrave, Mia discovers that the Red Church and its cohort of assassins isn’t all that she thought it was, so she hatches the world’s most insane plan: she’ll sell herself into slavery, become a gladiatii, and fight her way to the ultimate championship where, if she wins, she’ll get a chance to murder both Scaeva and his partner-in-crime/frenemy, Cardinal Duomo, at the same time.

Of course nothing goes according to plan. Which leads us, finally, to book three: Darkdawn!

It’s tough reviewing the last book of a series if you’re not certain if anyone reading said review has read the first or second books*. I’m just going to proceed as if you’ve already read the books, because, otherwise, there’s a ton of shit I didn’t cover in those “in a nutshell” descriptions of Nevernight and Godsgrave. Like the whole Crown of the Moon thing, the conflict between the goddess Niah and god Aa, or the fact that Itreya has three suns and night only falls once every two and a half years. Or, really, anything about Mia and her Darkin powers or the nature of Mr. Kindly...

But if you’re already a fan and are desperate for some Darkdawn details, you’re probably already eager for me to just get on with it already.

Right-o, then.

So, with all the worldbuilding and anticipation Kristoff built up with Nevernight and Godsgrave, does Darkdawn give us a satisfying conclusion to the story of Mia Corvere?

O, yes, gentlefriend.

Yes it does.

It delivers all that and more. I wonder just how much preparation Kristoff put into these books because every lingering question you have from the first two books is answered. You’re not left hanging.

Yes, basically.

And, let us not forget, that this one of those series where the author promised on page 1 that Mia would die. And thanks to Jay “Meet Your New Favorite Oh Wait They’re Dead” Kristoff, there are plenty of moments in Darkdawn that feel as a little something like this:

Darkdawn absolutely lives up to all the promises made in the first two books - there’s plenty of action, plenty of blood and violence and tastefully written smut. And footnotes!** The book starts right where we left off in Godsgrave - no weird time-jumps, no flash-forwards followed by flashbacks like the first two books, we begin with Mia immediately after the Magni.

After the maps and Dramatis Personae, of course.

In all honesty, though, there’s not much I can say without spoiling everything. But if you’re a fan of the books, rest assured, you will not be disappointed. Everything you’ve been wanting out of a finale for this series you get. Answers, action, pirates, stabbings, sexytimes, pools full of a God’s blood, angry camels, undead ex-lovers, eye gouging, treks across the Ashkahi Whisperwastes, cigarillo smoke, Mr. Kindly and Eclipse bitching at each other, and, you guessed it, more stabbings! Because this is the grand finale of Nevernight we’re talking about. Truedark is here, people. Prepare yourselves!

You are in for one hell of a book.

Oh, hey, by the way: are you aware that the Nevernight Chronicle is not YA? Because, even though it’s very popular with the YA crowd and Kristoff does write other books that are YA, Nevernight is not YA. As Jay Kristoff will tell you, over and over and over and over and over again, it’s not. These are adult books for intended for adults. It’s why, when I go to Powell’s, I find them in the Gold Room, not the Rose Room. If you are an adult with teenage children and you don’t want them reading Nevernight, well, then, you need to do a better job of policing their reading material. You’re the adult in this situation, after all.

To review: if you don’t want your children reading certain books, whose responsibility is it? Mine? No. Yours? Absolutely. And if your kids start checking out forbidden books behind your back to read on the sly, well...that’s your problem. It’s not the librarian’s problem, or the bookseller’s problem and it is most certainly not Jay Kristoff’s problem either. Ask yourself: why does my kid want to read these books so bad that they’re willing to go behind my back? Perhaps its the allure of the forbidden combined with teenage rebellion?

Seriously, my parents never policed what I read, and I turned out just fine. In fact, the only thing my unhindered book consumption led to was a master’s degree in Library Science and a dumb tumblr blog. Don’t worry, neither of these conditions are fatal. I knew kids in Junior High who were reading Stephen King books and, gasp shock, they turned out fine. None of those kids who read It at that age started killing children in rural Maine while dressed as a clown. I’m sure most teens who read Nevernight won’t immediately start smoking cigarillos and run off to join an assassin school, either. Calm the fuck down.

Also, you should watch Black Books.

Back to the review - if this can even be considered a “review” anymore - if I have any complaints about the Nevernight Chronicle it has mostly to do with the world itself. How are there still colors? How can you have color in a world with three - three! - suns? How does everything not immediately become sun-bleached? I mean, with three suns there must be a massive amount of high energy photons pouring down from the sky all the damn time, and eventually violet and ultraviolet light will disrupt chromophore bonds and, well, bleaching anything of color. I mean, American flags on the moon turned into white rectangles pretty quick (before being destroyed by time and being on the moon, of course) and I’ve had to learn the hard way not to shelve books in front of my window, even though there’s shelf space right below said window and it looks real nice and oh shit what happened to all these books’ covers??

Luke Skywalker should be careful staring at those two suns.

Also, how would anyone still have milk pale skin in a world with three suns? Wouldn’t everyone’s skin be much darker? I mean, for all the time Mia spends out under the suns without a hat, she should have freckles. Or melanoma. In fact, everyone in Itreya should have melanoma. And white hair. My hair turns several shades lighter every summer. How can Mia have black hair? Also, having black hair in a world with three suns sounds super uncomfortable. Three suns? Jesus, I’m super pale and have a hard enough time under the one. I’ve got seasonal freckles. Seriously, they appear during the Summer then fade away in the Fall. I got sunburned just reading about Itreya’s three suns. Granted, I was reading the books while outside, sitting under a tree and then the tree’s shadow moved with the sun and I didn’t...

And! AND! How would anyone be able to see? How would you even survive being exposed to that much sunlight? How can albinos like Adonai and Marielle even exist in a world with three suns???

See, this is what happens when I start thinking of things in terms of science when I should just be like “you know what, it’s a story, I’m just going to sit back and enjoy it.”

Also, who am I kidding, Library Science isn’t a real science.

RECOMMENDED FOR: fans of violent, foul-mouthed teenage assassins who solve their problems by stabbing them; people who don’t mind a bit of gore followed by some smut followed by snark followed by more gore.

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR: If you don’t fall into any categories mentioned in the “recommended for” you should probably read something else.

OVERALL SERIES RATING: 4.5/5 (minus .5 for all those times you get your heart ripped out)

DARKDAWN U.S. RELEASE DATE: September 3, 2019

VERY ACCURATE MIA CORVERE GIF:

CAT RATING:

* Ahahahaha no one reads this blog, I’m kidding myself.

**All those bitching about the use of footnotes in the Nevernight Chronicle should check out Susanna Clarke’s amazing Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. She has footnotes that go on for entire pages. She has entire plotlines living in those footnotes! The footnotes in Strange and Norrell make Nevernight’s footnotes look like citations in a high school book report.

Also, if you don’t like the footnotes, go with the audiobook. The narrator (Holter Graham) manages to blend the footnotes into the narration in a way that kind of freaked me out at first because I just started listening to the audio, and didn’t realize the books even had footnotes. This is what I get for not even bothering to flip through a physical copy of the books before starting the audiobook at work***

***Inappropriate places to listen to the Nevernight audiobook: work. Especially during the scenes featuring sexytimes. I was wearing headphones, but still!

0 notes

travelingshana-blog · 7 years ago

Text

At this point I’m pretty sure you’ve all realized that we just returned from another Vegas adventure. So I figured it was about time I stop being lazy and fill ya in on the rest our our trip! We flew out of Detroit on a nasty winter morning. Blistery cold rain/snow mix, ugly grey skies…. Let me tell you how amazing it was to get above the clouds and see blue skies and sunshine!! Plus a little bit of alcohol helps too 😉

Our SLS Casino host scheduled us a complimentary stay at The W Hotel as part of our casino comp package (yes, we like to gamble). Everything started off good, they picked us up from the airport in a sweet ride and promptly delivered us to the casino. Unfortunately that’s where the good experience with them stopped. As soon as we checked into our hotel our casino host went MIA. Wouldn’t return our calls or texts, in regards to the remainder of our comp package. Funny how they will promise you the world to get you out there just so you spend money in their casino, and then vanish when you arrive. Needless to say as much as I enjoy the swanky luxury of The W hotel, we won’t be spending a penny more in their resorts or casinos ever again.

After a couple nights of being avoided by our SLS casino host we packed up our bags and decided to spend our time with the tried and true MLife group. This time around we stayed at the Luxor, and it was seriously the best choice EVER! They put us up in one of their Tower One Bedroom Suites. They are recently updated but still have the Egyptian feel to them.

Speaking of the Luxor. Did you know that Criss Angel has a show there?! I’ve been obsessing over him for what seems like forever!! We scored front row seats, and I was all geeky fan girl awkward at being so close to him. Unfortunately you aren’t allow to take photos during the show so I don’t have any pics to share with you. BUT you can find him on Instagram where he has clips from his shows. Here’s the link. I did learn that his last show in Vegas will occur in October of 2018. So if you are thinking about seeing him, I recommend booking your tickets soon.

Over the next couple days we visited Madam Toussad’s (you can read about our experience here) and went rafting down the Colorado River (read about this epic adventure here). I had such a great time I thought they both deserved their own posts ❤

We had the awesome opportunity to visit Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden And Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage.

Tickets are $22 a crack but you can get them discounted or even free if you play My Vegas Rewards Slots. It’s a serene little oasis tucked right in the middle of all the craziness the Vegas Strip has to offer. The dolphins have two huge pools filled with toys to play with. They were chasing each other, tossing balls at each other, doing basically anything possible to melt your heart ❤

The day before we left we took one last adventure outside the casino, to Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. Similarly priced to the Secret Garden and Dolphin Habit at $25 a ticket. You can also get this deeply discounted or even free through My Vegas Rewards Slots. My My husband and I had a ball at this intricately

designed aquarium, observing the massive variety of marine life. I love love love aquariums, and up until now my favorite has always been Ripley’s Aquarium in the Smoky Mountains. At this point, I’m not sure that I’m ready to say that I like Shark Reef better…but it’s definitely a contender.

I can’t wait until we take another trip to Sin City. It’s always such a fun time exploring all the hidden gems the city has to offer. What are some of your favorite things to do in Vegas?

At this point I'm pretty sure you've all realized that we just returned from another Vegas adventure.

0 notes

weasterned · 7 years ago

Text

Luna Park.

1. Lunlun unnie ! She’s so kind, approach-able, humblee ! ! And and also lobely ! ♡ 2. I rarely see her these days or is it just me— and uh what else— updating, perhaps ? ; ; 3. Lunlun Unnie ! So sorry that we rarely talk these days, that’s my fault— I’ll try to approach you okidokii ? ♡ I’ll be your santa thumb ! ㅋㅋㅋ

1. baik, baik, baik, baik, baik 2. I was starting to worry about you. You’re online so rarely. Please, tweet a little bit more often;) 3. i love you 🙆

1. Kind, Humoris, Laterep, bisa nerima aq apa adanya. Bias: ㅡlahanjay kenapa jadi krit WGL. 2. Noona keseringan MIA ya sama kaya aku? Jangan jangan kita jodoh? Tebak coba ini syp? Kalo tau nanti noona dapet hadiah iphone 8 dari undian Indomie. WQWQWQ noona, lets jangan keseringan MIA biar kita bisa dekat dan dekat. 3. Sebentar lagi 2018, jadi kapab f(x) mahu kambek frinz, , , , ???? Omo omo jeongmal gidarilgeyo >:“D

I love me 😘❤💙💚💛💜

#1 - Quite - Kinda mysterious - Calm - Cool - Friendly #2 I wish Luna eonni can show up more because I wanted to talk and get closer more to her! #3 Hello Luna eonni! I don’t know if we never talk before or we just rarely meet each other. But I would like to approach you and be closer to you! I don’t know if I ever greets you or not, but I think I have. But I’m not sure. I’m sorry if I never. I hope we can start to be more closer~!❤

judes, nice, rarely here, quiet, cool

1. kind, warm, attractive, pwetty, cutie! 2. Talk with me more often! And update your chara’s activity more often too! Me would like to see them mhihi. 3. Hello, sunbaenim! I’m your fan. So pretty please, talk with me. `sobs. Please enjoy this year’s xmas and new year!

1. i only know this one : receh 2. the first person who said im handsome hAHAHAHA, IM SO HAPPY- but hng i wish we could be more closer :C 3. Dear luna eonnie, luna means moon then are you my moon? eak eak tratakdungcess

1. Lunaemon eonni. She is sooo kind. Funny. Care. Gorgeous. Her voice is soo beautiful. 2. You have nothing to improve eonni. But lets talk more! You seem very busy. 3. Do you want to accompany to celebrate new year?

1. Friendly, kind, a bit quiet (doesnt talk much but doing lots of updates), good, mysterious(?) 2. Eventhough we’re rarely talk, i could see that you’re sometimes rarely talk and do lots updates, lets talk more with people (especially meㅋㅋ) 3. Hello, Luna-ya! How was your 2017 so far? A good year? Or.. Of course i hope 2017 is a good year for you.. Have you did all things on your bucket list this year? If no, dont worry there is 2018 in front of our eyes. Stay warm on the winter luna-ya!lol this luna i thought she’s cold person because she mentioned me to not to over towards others in the first meet. but someone told me, u’re soft inside lol let’s get along well luna ssi

She’s nice, mungkin jarang ngobrol jadi i can’t talk about her much

1. i dunno much about her personality, but as long as i know she is a nice person. 2. resembled as Luna as well, so no need to change too much haha. just be the way you are, 93mate! 3. Let’s make another convo in the future, since i haven’t see you in timeline again.

1. kind, cheerful, friendly, cute(?), cool! 2. I really hope i can see you more often, because i’m your fan! and i would like to get your sign when we meet again soon /no 3. hello luna!! i’m very happy to be able to meet you and i really want to be close with you since you are one of my favorite idol hahaha. Please always be who you are right now! I hope you will have a nice day and keep healthy till 2017 comes to an end! don’t forget to be happy and always smile! fighting!

Such a nice person!!! At first we kinda didnt talk a lot but lately we did and i just found out you are so fun to talk with

1. sweet, nice, kind, cool, adorable 2. please talk more with me in the future! 3. hello, luna noona. its nice to meet you. i’ve never meet luna rper again, and i found you (?) lol are you just taking rest? please have a good life while taking rest! will see you again soon, right?

1. Gorgeous, attractive, kind, sweet, caring. 2. Please mingle with me, bubz. 3. Hello, Luna! Please enjoy the rest of 2017 happily.

1. i dont know since i dont meet her yet 2. hope we can talk more 3. Marry christmas and happy new year, ah lets get more closer next year so we can have fun year together.

1. Sweet, kind, nice, gentle, friendly 2. i dont think you appear that much? Lets online more and talk wimme nuna haha 3. Dear luna nuna, nuna youre radiating a warm vibes! Haha stay like that, i like it ^^She is nice, kind, not that talkative but not quite either, she’s a fun person to talk to. To Luna unnie, Unnie, happy early new year! Hope 2018 will be a good year for everyone!

1. Kind, calm? 2. Unnie it’s been a while I didn’t see you around. Nothing need to change just let’s be more active! hello, Ambreu unnie since 2017 almost over which mean new year will bring a new hope also. Please stay healthy because the weather is not so good lately, keep warm. Xx Loves♡

1. My Baby Lulu💕 2. Lets share about anything in our dm group ㅎㅎㅎㅎ 3. Happy New Year baby😆

1. KIND, sweetheart, lovely, fun, SO LOVELY 2. Lately we don’t talk much, so I’m hoping for more convo with you unnie!:( I’ve missed you. 3. I hope everything will go well till the end of the year and you will have a great year in 2018. Lovely things would come to lovely people, I believe.

1. Luna is such a cutie yet so polite, has a warm personality, and such a sweet person. 2. Dont be to polite 😭 i want to be more closer to you since are such a nice person. 3. f(x) COMEBACK JUSEYO!!!! I hope to hear another solo songs from you hahahaha. And i hope we can get a lil bit closer. Be happy always , dear. You deserved to be happy.

1. - kind - mature! - a bit cold - classy - always muncul hilang muncul hilang (?) 2. we haven’t talk much! but i remember that i thought you’re my unnie, i thought you’re 92 liner lmao. let’s talk more in the future, i rarely see you on my timeline lately :c 3. [💌] just wanna say, thank you for staying in WST. i’m happy that i have such a kind and caring members here. it might be pretty hard when you feel left out in agency, but i didn’t feel like this here. thank you ♡ thank you for being kind to me, let’s make another memorable memories in the future!

1) nice, kind, humble, friendly, potray her chara well 2) online more often? 3) luna my 93mate, where have you been? i hope you’re doing well. me miss you! let’s talkeu talkeu with me again and i hope 2018 will be much much better year for you!

✨Kind, polite, cool, cold(?), idk anymore.. Let’s talk more with me! Hahahaaaku belom pernah mentionan hehehe, dan jarang nongol juga (atau aku yg jarang nongol?😂) semoga ke depannya kita bisa lebih deket lagi. Messagenya: Semoga apa yang terjadi di tahun 2017 bisa menjadi pembelajaran buat diri kita masing2 dan kedepannya kita bisa selalu mengucap syukur dan selalu dilingkupi rasa bahagia♡ Luna eonnni T ^ T please comeback from your rest/? I need my winkeu tutor noooow … . I promise I’ll come to private with you … I won’t kabur again/? And also … Luna eonni is really nice person— good at winkeuuu ♡

1. Are. You. On. Hiatus. Period? 2. YOU’RE N HIATUS PERIOD, THAT’S WHY I RARELY SEE YOU ON TIMELINE. LOOKING FORWARD FOR OUR INTERACTIONS IN THE FUTURE. COME BACK SAFE (???) 3. Happy new year! Santa claus is coming to town~ *chuckles* You should take a good care of yourself, keep smiling widely, and be happy as always.

1. Cool, mysterious, pretty, cold?, talkative ; 2. Noona please reply my mention next time ; 3. I hope we can get a proper convo

1. always on MIA! sometimes appear sometimes not :p. friendly, kind and humble. 2. I know I aint a good one, but I just want to tell you that you’re one of the best luna’s rp. tbh we just met few months ago through weast, but since we’re under same group… I feel like that I know you for thousand years (ok I know it’s too much xD). please show up more! I know two of us are busy recently, but I think you will come back asap! 3. Hey Lun.. I know we just met few months ago. but like I said before that I feel like we know each other for about thousand years lol. it means I’m really like you! 2017 is coming to end and you know that we’ve been through during past 2 years with MeU and our group as well. I hope your upcoming solo will hit daebak later. also 2018 will coming.. as you know that everyone waiting our comeback. I hope 2018 is for us.. for f(x) and MeU. love you!!! and please lunaaaa stay healthy and dont change your chara! hahahaha. keep it and do more better in the future :).

-1. Cute, adorable, squishy, smart and good 2. Unnie should interact more with the members! 3. Unnie, my precious unnie, I’m looking forward to talk more with you later!

1. So kind 2. Memeable 3. Overall just cute 4. Pretty… 5. Caring! Luna noona I miss you a lot where are you really… I don’t see you often as Edward or as Mingyu so please comeback soon, I miss seeing you on my timeline. Qark noona, it’s 2018 soon so let’s be happy together shall we? Let’s bring up the good things first!

#qarkluna

0 notes