#and now it's like. oh. hmm. they definitely made this on a BBC budget

[thirddoctor]

hot take but Tom Baker as Puddleglum >>> Tom Baker as the Doctor

[shebeafancyflapjack]

Witcher thoughts so far

I’ve not read the books or played the games so I don’t have those to compare it to, just going in as a fantasy fan wanting some new fantasy to wash GOT out of my mouth.

Okay, tell a lie, I’ve played about an hour of Witcher 3. It came with my Switch...Lite. Yeah, pretty much the second I started I thought; “Oh my god, this is gorgeous! I can’t play it on a little screen!” I tried anyway but it was too jarring and the combat isn’t the sort I like. I wish I could play it on my PS4 but I’m having some fan troubles with that at the moment which makes any game an annoyance to play right now with what sounds like a vacuum in the background.

But I have seen quite a few cutscenes and know the general gist of the story. And I am really, really interested in this set up and these characters. The whole Found Family trope is my favourite and this core dynamic between Geralt, Yen and Ciri seems to be the heart of the story and interviews that came out before the show seemed to confirm that it would be the heart of the show as well.

So after binging all 8 episodes, how is it? Good.

I can’t say I was massively hyped because, again, I’m going in as a newcomer mostly and I also kept in mind this would be a smaller budget that a HBO show like GOT or HDM. The effects themselves are really hit or miss. The physical fight scenes are impressive and feel very real, as do some of the monsters when Geralt is slaying them. The misses are when there is magic or things being summoned and....oh, those dragons. Those dragons made me cringe. I wasn’t expecting Drogon level of quality but, c’mon, Merlin is about a decade old now (and a BBC budget show) and that’s all it kept reminding me off. Some of the contact lenses looked a bit too bright as well, especially on Yen, but that might have been the point? Like when she walks into a room after she’s been transformed, her face looked almost...Alita-ish. I’m not knocking Alita at all, just saying there was definitely things ‘off’ with Yen’s face with her eyes in certain scenes, but that may have been a way to show how ‘fake’ her surgery/magical make-up whatever was. IDK.

A lot of the dialogue feels uneven. It’s really jarring to hear cliche words about destiny this and destiny that and then have it followed by modernish banter and swearing. A lot of those more cliche lines were just not needed; like the final scene is really sweet and mostly quiet, but then Geralt repeats this line we only heard a few minutes ago and it was just not needed, the audience is smart enough to remember. I was hoping he would just say a name and that would be enough, it would feel natural. There’s quite a lot of ‘tell more than show’ moments and, I get it, it is difficult to get across a lot of lore in fantasy and I never felt too lost but there are a lot of words and names I either forgot or got mixed up so when people are talking politics and wars it’s a struggle to remember who is who.

One thing I know will annoy a lot of people but I actually love is the timelines. I remember reading something in the lead up about how the Witcher was “part mystery” and I assumed it would just mean episodic monster-mysteries with an overarching narrative. And it is, but the mystery also extends to the narrative itself, as it’s told between three points of view and the show isn’t restricted to one timeline for all three characters. It’s not like OUAT where one scene you’re with a character in this time and then next scene you’re with them in the past, that used to really grate on me. I much prefer this because I like seeing how this world and these characters tie together and also getting to work it out ourselves and then get to look back on past episodes and see things like; “oh they were there the whole time?!” I dunno why, I just love things like that. But I get how it’s not for everyone.

I honestly don’t know what to say about the characters so far, even the main leads. The actors are all incredible. I know I’ll get hate for this but I much prefer the voice of this Geralt to the games’ Geralt. Nothing against the voice actor as an actor, because I’ve watched the cutscenes and he is really good, it’s just the voice itself which is too gravelly for me. Maybe it’s described that way more in the books, idk, it’s just not for me. Yennefer I actually prefer in the games but that’s not to knock show!Yen, she’s still really good and has a lot of different emotions to work with in this series alone. It feels really good to see her last moment when compared to how we met her (god I just wish we could see her go back to her stepfather’s home and burn his ass. Same with Zelena in OUAT, don’t show me an anti-hero’s abusive backstory unless I get to see vengeance!). Ciri is....hmm. I need more time with Ciri because I don’t feel she’s had as much to do as Geralt and Yen other than be scared and run. I’d have liked to see more of the playful side we glimpsed in the first episode. I’m assuming they’ve aged her up from the games and books as well? In the first cutscene of Wild Hunt she looks about 8 or 10? Here she’s about twelve / thirteen. I know it’s a small change and I get why they have to age up kid characters (same as they did with the Starks and Dany) but it just would have been nice to see more of Ciri I guess getting to be a real kid. I just instantly fell in love with little Ciri in Wild Hunt. I’m sure when we see her interactions with Geralt and eventually Yen then she’ll get a lot more to do and, again, that is the dynamic I am excited for.

So yeah, it’s nothing that really blew me away, but it definitely kept me hooked enough to binge and I want more. Like. Now!

[mara-the-cactupus]

Everything Ask Game

Thank you @the-moon-loves-the-sea​ for tagging me! This is quite the list:

LAST...

Drink: A lukewarm London Fog. I was messing around with the tea at work.

Phone call: A customer.

Text message: My aunt, who wants to go on a beach walk with me.

Song you listened to: Hmm... last thing I actually sat down and clicked on would be this Star Trek medley; I don’t know the names of half the songs that play in the background of life these days.

Time you cried: Watching Logan.

HAVE YOU...

Dated someone twice: um... nope

Kissed someone and regretted it: once again, I have zero data in this field.

Been cheated on: nope

Lost someone special: I lost a couple of very sweet dogs in my childhood.

Been depressed: no

Gotten drunk and thrown up: No, I generally stay away from alcohol. I have, however, had way too much caffeine and sugar in one day and almost thrown up multiple times now. It was not fun.

Made new friends: yes, every time I went to a new school or get a new job. And on here, of course : )

Fallen out of love: hmm, I’ve never really been in love in love, but I have gotten disillusioned with people I previously admired, almost like platonically falling in and out of love.

Found out someone was talking about you: not that I can remember, but I suppose my parents have to have talked about me some time.

Met someone who changed you: yes. Just about everybody who I get to know.

Found out who your friends are: I suppose they’re the people who I keep coming back to, and who keep coming back to me. The ones who don’t fall by the wayside even if we have no practical reason to keep in touch.

Kissed someone from your facebook list: ~no facebook~ (*wow*)

Kissed a stranger: no

Drank hard liquor: once again, I don’t really drink. But I have had some rum and Kahlua while making tiramisu at a friend’s house.

Turned someone down: yes.

Sex on the first date: um... definitely not.

Broken someone’s heart: oh, I hope not...

Had your heart broken: by movies, all the time.

Been arrested: no : )

Fallen for a friend: yeah, a few of them... but it sort of falls into that platonic-crush zone I mentioned earlier.

Kissed on the first date: nope

GENERAL

List three favorite colors: warm sunny yellow, liquidy yellowy orange, clear tropical ocean blue

How many facebook friends do you know in real life: zero out of zero.

Do you have any pets: no

Do you want to change your name: no, I like my names. They’re part of what make me who I am : )

What time did you wake up: somewhere between 9 and 10 because all I had scheduled for this morning was art. It was wonderful.

What were you watching at midnight last night: my dreams, presumably. Or the insides of my eyelids.

Name something you can’t wait for: several years in the future when I have some filmmaking experience under my belt and have landed a directorial job on an exciting film with a decent budget !!

When was the last time you saw your mom: today.

What is one thing you wish you could change in your life: I wish I wasn’t so weird and awkward as a kid, so I didn’t have a reputation/self-expectation of being shy. Then again, I’ve gotten more confident since then. But still overly wary.

What are you listening to right now: a bus just went by. I can hear the sound of breathing, and of those machines and contraptions that you forget are on but are always on, and my splayed-finger typing.

Have you ever talked to a person called Tom: yes. Multiple people.

Something that is getting on your nerves right now: humanity in general

Most visited site: tumblr.

Mole: a few, here and there. I’ve never really noticed them.

Mark/s: nothing I can think of except the constellations on my face and back.

Childhood dream: to be a writer.

Do you have a crush on someone: no. I seem to have outgrown them.

What do you like about yourself: my mind, my imagination, my internal monologue and source of amusement. My artistic skills. My body. My face. I think I’m generally pretty satisfied with myself as a person.

Piercings: none.

Nickname: Well, I guess there’s Azuki, which is my middle name, but other than that I’m just Mara. It’s a pretty straight-forward name.

Relationship status: single.

Pronouns: I’ve always felt pretty comfortable with she/her.

Favorite TV shows: ooh... Sense8 is probably my top show right now. I used to love BBC Sherlock. I also like Daredevil and Luke Cage, and I’ve been wanting to watch Brooklyn 99 for ages.

Tattoo: none.

Right or left handed: right.

Surgery: wisdom teeth, but so far nothing else. I would go for vision-correction but I get terribly squeamish.

Hair dyed a different color: no, my hair has always been pretty plain. I just wash it and let it air dry, nothing else.

Sport: I've done a little bit of martial arts and dancing and swimming here and there, but no real big organized sports aside from soccer when I was in elementary school.

Vacation: camping in a forest by the ocean, or traveling via air. There’s just something magical about being in a big airport with lots of vast emptiness and architecture, especially at night. The sort of feel of it reminds me of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, or of an airport factory, or of a wastewater treatment plant. It’s just... like you’re separated from the real world, like the real world with all its problems doesn’t really exist and you aren’t an identity but just a soul without self-consciousness. I don’t know how else to describe it.

Current and all-time best friend name: probably my sister, or else my friend since middle school who I still go on walks with.

Eye color: Brown, like my hair.

Favorite movie: Captain America: The Winter Soldier, or Finding Nemo/The Incredibles/Monsters Inc. I also like Inception, but that’s not a very good mindset to hang out in for more than a day or so.

WHICH IS BETTER?

Hugs or kisses: hugs! I love hugs : >

Lips or eyes: lips are fun to draw, with the swoopy-swoop arch of them, but eyes are just so fascinating. And eyes give a lot of helpful emotional cues.

Shorter or taller: taller can be more interesting. Tall buildings have interesting views, for example. And trees are wonderful, and also tall.

Nice arms or stomach: hmm... I would like to have a stronger core, and also eat healthier, so I’ll go with stomach. Although strong arms can be helpful.

Sensitive or loud: I think sensitive is generally better, because it means receptive, or observational – you’re absorbing more information as a whole, while if you’re loud you might be blocking a lot of those cues from yourself.

Hook up or relationship: relationship.

Troublemaker or hesitant: troublemakers can be charming, but also annoying if they don’t know when to stop. But I’m hesitant, and I get annoyed with that trait, so maybe troublemaker is better after all. More confident, I guess.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN...

Yourself: yes.

Miracles: yes.

Love at first sight: not really. You have to get to know the person, then realize you’re compatible, not see them and then try to force compatibility. That will only lead to disappointment.

Santa Claus: I can’t remember if I ever really did.

Tagging: aaaaaannyone who sees this post, scrolls by it, comes across it months later... just go for it. And tag me so I can see your answers : )