#dev patel fandom where are you i need you

[enthyrea]

let’s boogie

[chaithetics]

Late Night Mends

Pairing: Kid (Monkey Man) x reader

Word count: 2.1K

Warning: 18+ MDNI, mentions of anxiety, injuries, not a lot of spice, some fluff, not proof/beta read lol, does not contain spoilers for Monkey Man.

Note: Absolutely am in love with Dev Patel, he adores the world and fandom love! Also special mention to my friend @mittos who helped with this prompt/story ideas. Go and see Monkey Man if you haven't already! And if you have go and see it again! Also jaan is a Hindi term of endearment. Also can we take a moment for Dev Patel's side profile?! Comments, and reblogs are always appreciated as well! I hope you enjoy!

************************************************************************

It was late, extremely late. It had been a slow night but it was quickly becoming the latest it had ever been without his tired, bloody presence. It made you uncomfortable how late it was becoming, he never took this long to show up after a big match. You bit your nails as you couldn’t help but think about the possibility of where he was and scarily, what condition he was in. 

It was a risky field that Kid was in, especially when he was the losing dog for the overeager, sweaty crowd not to bet on. He took the punches and rarely complained about it, you’d only ever been to one of his fights before and never again. It was too painful to watch, you’d bitten each of your fingernails right down to the beds, and you swore that it gave you a few grey hairs. If you had any, each of them could be traced back to being his fault, you were sure. You loved him, truly adored him, but he certainly knew how to stress you out. 

You’re sitting down waiting for him to arrive. You don’t even realise that you’ve put your hand up to your face to bite your nails but now you know that you must’ve as you’ve been subconsciously biting them as you look out the window waiting, lost in your thoughts. You could think and use that as a distraction but no, the more you think or gaze off, the more you think about him, worry about him and overanalyse every little thing to be analysed, including what would need a magnifying glass to do so. You sigh and rub your face tiredly and also as another poor attempt at a distraction to take your mind away from him. 

It was a ridiculous thought, nothing could distract you from him, Kid lived rent-free in your mind 24/7, no matter what you did or wanted. And now was his prime time for filling your head. 

You rub your face some more and then look up, you can hear the door quietly open and the sound of gentle footsteps start to make their way to you. You look up as you try to glimpse the start of his lean shadow to confirm that he’s really, really, finally here. The light switch turns on as you see his arm stretch out and then he’s standing there in your doorway. 

You look up at him as he stands, he just looks at you for a moment. His gorgeous doe-eyes are wide, he looks exhausted and defeated but there’s a small smile on his face as his eyes meet yours. Ever since you’d known Kid, he had always been a man of few words, which seemed to balance out just how expressive his handsome face was. You liked that though, that his eyes truly were the window to his soul. You did like his voice though as well, you’d have no problem with him using it more. Sometimes he would talk though, about his sweet mother, the stories of Hanuman that his mother had told him and that had vividly stuck with and inspired him still. 

You quickly take him in, there’s sweat in his hair, a cut in his cheek, and his knuckles are bloody as always. You bite your lip as you look at him, chewing over your words so you don’t come across as either a scolding lover or treating him like a patient. 

“Your hands…” You finally say as he steps closer to you and you can see that he made some attempt to cover them with a bit of cloth but the blood is all over his right hand. 

“It’s fine.” He says in a soft whisper, his voice is melodic as always but a little hoarse and deep. He looks down at his hand he tries not to flinch when you take his hand and it’s further proof that no, it really isn’t fine. You sigh and move his hand to check his fingers, it causes discomfort but based on the movement you know it’s not broken at least. It was genuinely impressive that he was still alive, still functioning and not just with everything he’d been through as a young boy, but with the amount of beatings he’d taken at the club. That he’d somehow avoided major damage to his body, that his handsome looks were still intact, and also his teeth. That was a big surprise you had to admit. 

“Sit down.” You look at him with a look of concern, one that he doesn’t like. “Come on, I’ll clean it up.” You say softly.  He runs his right hand, his good hand through his damp but perfect locks and he sighs, sitting down, waiting for you to fix his wounds and to feel your tender touch. 

You’d had the first aid kit ready to go, sitting on the floor waiting for his entrance. You always used it, he always needed it. Your medical background certainly helped, some nights you’d crack a joke that that was the only reason why he was with you. The first time you made that joke his eyes widened at first, and he immediately stuttered to try and reassure her that that wasn’t the case. He didn’t realise that it was a joke. You’d kissed him to reassure him and he kissed you back so sweetly. Now when you made the joke he’d just look at you and give you a small, precious chuckle. You just want to make him smile, make him laugh, bring him joy, and make him feel safe. He deserved that at the very least, especially with his gigantic hug. 

His hand clearly had taken the worst of it, you hold it gently in yours, and his hand twitches for a moment. He’s spent most of his life being devoid of affection. He craved a gentle touch, to feel seen and safe in the company of another. He’d started to find that with you, in the way you looked at him, how you carefully held his hand in arms when cleaning an injury and wrapping it up. You somehow had never noticed it, he figured it was because of how attentive you were to his injuries, to him, and his lips quirked up into a secret smile you’d miss over the irony of you not noticing this because of how attentive you were being to him. 

“You were later than usual.” You say as you clean his bruised and bloodied knuckles. 

“I know.” He whispers as he looks up at you, he’s tired but there’s a small smile on his lips as he knows the scolding is incoming, just what degree is it going to be from you tonight, is the question. 

“I was worried, my fingernails are almost as bloody as your knuckles because of how much I was biting them.” You say as you try to clean his hand gently, noting how his hand occasionally twitches in response.

“Would’ve been quite a match.” He whispers before he looks at your hands, noticing your nervously bitten nails. His cheeks heat up as he can’t help but feel a little bit of guilt about causing you to worry so, he’s spent so much of his life without someone who cares about him like this. You sigh and roll your eyes at his response. 

“You’re going to be the cause of every single grey hair I have in this lifetime.” You say as you treat the knuckle wounds, making sure you’re gentle. “All I do is worry, you spend every night getting beaten, thrown off tables. It’s going to be too much one day. Something will go wrong. Then what?” Kid can’t help but look up at you, it’s a conversation that’s happened more than a few times. “What if it’s your spine or something? I won’t be able to fix that-” “It’s okay. It’s fine. I’m okay, jaan.” He says as he looks up at you, his big brown eyes are widened and he’s looking at you with his sad puppy dog eyes, he feels bad for making you worry so much. 

You sigh, biting your lip as you try to stop yourself from saying anything else. He’s too sweet and so you nod and finish cleaning and bandaging everything. After a moment, you cup his cheek as you look at his warm eyes and you go to get him some water to drink. He watches you and continues to as he drinks the water. You two have become quite good at playing a game of watching each other, almost like it’s a sport to observe the other. 

He looks at you, tilting his head which tousles the gorgeous locks he has a little. You sigh and run a hand through his soft brown curls, damp with sweat but somehow miraculously not blood. His hair has always been absolutely perfect. You feel bad for essentially venting your anxieties at him right as he’s come from a long night of work at the club. 

“I only scold because I care.” You say but you’re not sure if it’s him or yourself that you’re trying to convince more as you say the words, but it’s true technically. “It’s a form of doting really.” You say as you look at him as he adjusts in his seated position, looking up at you with his wide, doe-eyed orbs. Even if it was a form of doting, you could never stay mad at him for long when having to look into those gorgeous eyes. They’d melt away any troubles and you’re sure if awards were given out for best brown eyes, he’d win. You hated that he did this, that this was how he had to get by. That he had to take these awful, unhealthy beatings but you love him anyway.

He was freshly bandaged now, he moved his hand up and Kid started to slowly caress your cheek, he traced some invisible line so gently with the pads of his fingertips as he looked at you. His doe eyes were filled with adoration and peacefulness as he concentrated on your beauty. You let him, it was soothing and sweet and you had no reason to even consider stopping this. You were his and he was yours. 

Your eyes glance down at his fingers, and then you put a hand up to cup his cheek and look into the most beautiful eyes you could ever imagine seeing. After he feels your touch his eyes quickly close and he inhales. He isn’t sure if he’ll ever get used to the feeling of your fingers on his face, of how your hair feels against his skin, or your breath, but he knows for sure, that he’ll at least never tire of it. 

His fingers glide down do your mouth and he traces your lips as he looks at them. He tilts his head and before he can even move, you’ve moved your head to press your lips together. There’s something about how gentle his hands are with you, how they feel even after everything that has happened to him and that he does. How it just takes a glance at you for him to melt into a puddle. 

You put your hand back into his hair and run it through his curls as he kisses you back and the kiss deepens almost immediately. He cups your cheek gently as your lips move together in sync and you can’t help but start to tug his locks a little and his hand moves to your waist to hold you close against him. You continue to play and tug his hair as his lips move down your chin and jaw and he kisses your neck. You gasp out and tug on his hair a bit more as you feel his breath tickle your throat between his passionate kisses. You struggle to not let out a giggle as he does this and you feel your cheeks heating up as you tilt your head back so your neck is as exposed as possible for him while he kisses your throat and makes his way to your collarbone. 

He always gets like this, and so quickly. He just needs a little touch, the reassurance of you being there and he feels an all-consuming need to make up for the years of loneliness, the lack of affection, the lack of physical contact outside of a fight he was guaranteed to lose. He has you in his arms and it’s something right for once, if it was a game this would be a victory, some kind of peace.

[cherubcallremade]

love to see the watchmen stuff coming from you. i was working at the comic shop when doomsday clock and rorschach was coming out so i remember it pretty well :~) rorschach is my favorite character even though he's terrible. in every way. i kind of love him for it while dr manhattan is the worst guy ever. what are your thoughts

in a joking manner here r my thoughts:

in all seriousness my favorite characters r probably laurie, dan and rorschach :) i want to pin adrian to a corkboard like a moth and study him. adrian himself isnt an interesting character (or atleast as interesting as the others) but lord his dynamics w others need to be put on trial i think there's so much shown potential there. comedian is interesting and manhattan is too i jut also hate them both w a burning passion. obviously both of them are insane parallels abt the lost of humanity due to trauma that is treated as the norm or seen as simply just "as things are" (u ever think abt how comedian was 16 when he joined the minutemen? the same age laurie was when she joined the crimebusters?)

love what happened w laurie in the hbo series. love the rorschach comics. complex emotions abt the movie its both insanely accurate yet also makes me wanna rip my hair out bc there are some choices there that are absolutely insane??? are you fucking kidding me???? WHY. WHY DID U DO THAT TO MANHATTAN AND LAURIE'S ARC. HATE IT HERE.

before watchmen is good. most of it is shit but what is good is amazing. i love the minutemen i love the lore established there. obviously we can't talk abt watchmen adaptations without acknowledging how DC fucked over alan moore and dave gibbons but like. i am happy to get more content that i get to pull apart and examine because lord knows we're never getting the same type of content other DC franchises get.

THE VIDEO GAME IS SO WEIRD THE FIRST CHAPTER OF IT IS FASCINATING. I LOVE IT. THE SECOND CHAPTER IS BULLSHIT. UGH.

if prompted i could give personal reviews abt everything that ive read/consumed w watchmen. like detailed reviews. i think abt it constantly.

i actually have a watchmen oc/self insert bc thats how i consume media his name is jeremiah and he is. well! he sure is.

i dont like how most of the fandom writes dan and rorschach as a romantic relationship. not because i don't think there's something insanely homoerotic going on i just don't think they're able to be a functional couple. they've never gotten married but have divorced 20 times and 18 of those were rorschach's fault. i think there's a lot of untouched dynamics going on w adrian and comedian but i think that's just the watchmen that's in my head.

AND UHHH if i were to ever be in charge or have influence in a watchmen series i think we need something that focuses on the time when crimebusters first formed up until the keenes act. i realize that's been touched on in the comic but i found a lot of before watchmen rlly neglected that. i want more detail on backstory. my friend says that dev patel would play a great dan and honestly i think we should see where that goes. need more dan media. idc if he's "boring". he's my favorite war criminal.

[destinyc1020]

Imma be honest tom and timmy combo sounds a little boring to me, I understand why people want to see the duo to see film twitter fall apart and fandoms sort of lose their minds but I also feel like fandoms just recycling the same 5 people timmy, tom, austin, JE and paul mescal like sometimes I feel like thats all people know.

Like give me something with jeremy pope and austin butler , or where is the tom and kelvin harrison jr do a musical film, or any other person who isnt white like ashton sanders, dev patel brian tyree henry, kofi srirobe , cory hawkins like lets expand outside of the same 5 people. Fandoms and film twitter just feels like a sea of white people like we need to bring in the POC love, Imma be honest some young POC actors have been killing it in terms of acting and have outsihined alot of the peoples white faves.

Like I feel a white actor can deliver one mediocre performance and boom they are loved and become it boy status whereas this its never the same for POC actor who are constantly proving themselves and will never be seen as "it boy" ( like white supremacy in hollywood and in fandoms really make it seem there are only 5 good white actors its kinda sad no offense)

its like I can Imagine a better duo or at least lets get tom to partner up with ncuti gatwa in a fun charismatic buddy film.

Imma be honest tom and timmy combo sounds a little boring to me

I mean, I did mention other actors in there too in my list Anon!! 😅

I just always mention Tom and Timmy because it seems like they're already buddies on some level, and their fandoms are both huge, and I just think it would be funny (and box office GENIUS) to put them in a film together and watch the internet EXPLODE!!! LOL 😂

but I also feel like fandoms just recycling the same 5 people timmy, tom, austin, JE and paul mescal like sometimes I feel like thats all people know.

I mean.... No offense, but the latter 3 actors you mentioned have JUST started to really make their shine in Hollywood, so Idk if I would necessarily count them in your list of HW "just recycling the same 5 people" since they've barely just started getting more lead roles on the big screen. Jmho... 🤷🏾‍♀️

Fandoms and film twitter just feels like a sea of white people like we need to bring in the POC love, Imma be honest some young POC actors have been killing it in terms of acting and have outsihined alot of the peoples white faves.

No I agree with you girl! I know what you mean....

There are tons of POC that are killing it in the industry. John Boyega is a personal fave of mine 😊, Daniel Kaluuya, Damson Idris, Kelvin Harrison Jr., and yes....even the fallen Jonathan Majors... All VERY good actors who are very promising imo.

Like I feel a white actor can deliver one mediocre performance and boom they are loved and become it boy status whereas this its never the same for POC actor who are constantly proving themselves and will never be seen as "it boy" ( like white supremacy in hollywood and in fandoms really make it seem there are only 5 good white actors its kinda sad no offense)

Girl, you know this is the US we're talking about here. So if POC actors aren't getting as much shine, then unfortunately, that's due to systemic racism. It's also due to the fact that it seems as though the heavy fandom world (especially for ACTORS) just doesn't seem to be as big in the black community as it is in other racial communities? I mean, correct me if I'm WRONG, but it seems like in the black community, girls are probably more likely to be going crazy stanning a music artist over an ACTOR. 👀 Whereas girls in other racial groups tend to go hard on the stanning of not just music artists, but also actors as well. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's just something I've picked up on over the years....

[irresistiibles]

was that dev patel? oh no no, that was just jonathan sims, a canon character from the magnus archives. they are thirty one years old, use he/they, and are not aware that they are not actually from washington dc. too bad they can’t stray from this city for long.

how long has your character been here

probably like 8 months but he believes he's lived here 13 years.

what is your character’s job

he works as an archivist for the national archives (and has worked in the past at george washington university as an archivist and honestly preferred that and might wind up going back to it especially once he's aware again)

where has your character been pulled from in their fandom

see that's a great question and kinda why he's unaware until i finish this relisten. he's not gonna be unaware too too long but i'm trying to figure out if i want him more middle of the series around season 2 or 3 or more at the end. if other people bring characters i'll probably see about potentially matching that or not to cause problems

has any magic affected your character

memories are gone!

more info:

**i'm going to keep spoilers light though it will mention some abilities jon has which are spoilers for like season 3? but i won't go into details about how or why he has those abilities

so unimportant but according to the wiki both john and jon are fine as spellings and i'll mostly be using jon.

head archivist from the magnus archives it's jon's job to go through statements from people about things of potentially paranormal activity

it's a horror podcast so obviously things devolve pretty fast but i won't get too far into it.

he's not the easiest to get along with in first meeting. he can come across as pretty rude and dismissive and condescending. he prioritizes his work over being nice and isn't the best at being social

but they are nice, they just aren't very good at being nice. jon can get very in his own head and tends to trust himself far more than others, which obviously leads to him being uh, just kinda obnoxious sometimes idk how else to say it

he thinks he moved to dc at 18 from britain in order to get his bachelor and masters in the us and wound up staying there after being offered a good job opportunity he couldn't turn up, so while he didn't grow up in dc he's been here a while

they're aware of the weirdness in dc, and have been doing some independent research on it, though jon is sure there's a reasonable explanation for it all that just hasn't been discovered yet

records all his research on a tape recorder of course.

honestly right now he's easier to get along with than he would be with his memories. yeah, they're a bit standoffish, and too smart for his own good with a tendency to pry, but jon is relatively nice beyond that and can be a bit of a pushover and easy to get around.

has some light powers of compulsion but does not know this at the moment and definitely has the chance to do it by accident. this is mostly used in terms of compelling people to answer questions he asks and we can definitely plot stuff with this is desired

asexual and biromantic

potential plots:

anyone he knows from work. government officials who have gone to him to retrieve records, students, what have you. listen my knowledge on legit archivist work is light but we'll make it work

a roommate as long as they're cool having a cat

some friends? honestly he's not hard to push into friendship if you can deal with their personality

definitely friends that drag him out to a bar or cafe or whatever because otherwise he will work late nights and weekends the guy needs to get out

someone they butt heads with, maybe met through work or something similar. jon is so easy to butt heads with if you take first impressions seriously.

maybe a barista jon sees all the time. he gets a lot of tea and would have a preferred particular order so

someone could absolutely get him hooked on energy drinks

some one off dates either past or present

since he's trying to research washington if your muse is aware and wants to talk about home or any of the crazy events jon would love to do an interview

i'll come up with more as i add him to my plot doc.

[anniesocsandgeneralstore]

Fandom: Brooklyn 99

Love Interest: Jake

Gender: Male

please?

GIVE JAKE PERALTA A BOYFRIEND SQUAD WHERE YOU AT!!! I'm so glad you sent this in anon, cause while I love the OC I just posted...he really does need a boyfriend lollll hope you like him!

Name: Ravji Bhakta

Face Claim: Dev Patel

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Homosexual

Ravji is a professor at the university that Kevin works at - he's a history/classics professor with a focus on Indian and Middle Eastern history. He is quiet and kind and secretly loves dumb action movies. Kevin sees him as his protege as a young, out gay man in a university setting. He respects Raymond Holt fiercely despite what all their other colleagues seem to think. Holt asks Jake to help him with a case at the university where something was stolen from Ravji's office and people are starting to think he did it since the item was rare and valuable. Jake instantly has heart eyes for this man who never belittles him for not knowing things, explains things simply, and gets all of his movie references. I'm thinking Jake has to go undercover at some university party as Ravji's new partner and they both are like ???? I would be down for this in real life.

If you would like to take this OC please comment/message me!

[afishlearningpoetry]

As soon as the show was announced I was ready for this kind of thing, this really cynical framing of Sherlock and Watson where their network of kids was going to be this like, “here’s the REAL history of Sherlock you haven’t thought about, WE are the unsung heroes and the arrogant white guy takes all the credit, the more you know” because it’s been this popular sentiment building in public consciousness for a while now… from House to Sherlock to dozens of other versions of the character it’s true that the main thing most of them seem to have taken away from the source material is that the Sherlock character should be like that, particularly in online fandom spaces where it’s one of the main lines of criticism against the bbc show since the backlash started to form after the 2012 reichenbach overexposure (I saw so many proto-yfip posts like that at the time), but it’s still not really an entirely accurate description of the show or the original canon.

Like for one the show sets him up to be flawed as part of a character arc, and in canon he isn’t taking credit for mysteries he hasn’t solved or work he hasn’t done lol… like he’s in the trenches, he’s donning disguises and doing stakeouts, sometimes he needs information he wouldn’t otherwise be able to get but Watson is the one who made him famous, and sometimes he even lets the other investigators take credit because that’s not what he’s about. He was unknown to the public before that. Sherlock has his ticks but he ultimately helps people who feel like they don’t have anywhere else to go. It’s such a radical shift from something like the Granada show. Like can you imagine the same pitch happening then? Sherlock is some horrible person taking credit for all the work and Watson is his complicit scribe who orders their lackies around.

It’s such an obvious misreading that not only does it not really have anything to do with anything besides warping popular misconception (which itself is because of countless copycats that miss the point of the Sherlock character) it’s something you could fix by just exploring different versions of Sherlock, which fans have been wanting for years. Such a massive error in oversight that people on here have writing meta about trans Sherlock and Watson, making Carrie Mulligan and Eva Green edits of femlock for years, when Watson and Holmes: A Study In Black has been around for a while, when people have been fan casting Dev Patel and other Asian actors as Sherlock (Miss Sherlock came out in 2018!), and this is what they choose to do instead. Sherlock is some asshole with a dead wife, Watson is some asshole who’s in love with him for some reason and killed his wife, but the REAL story here is about these kids you’ve never heard of. It’s like having a spin-off for people who don’t exist when the obvious solution is right in front of you.

[edwinas]

So, I know that any answer to this question must come with a lot of caveats, but I still feel it must be asked: Is "bad representation" better than NO representation?

Ok this is a really hard one. I am sure I have forgotten some things here. 

To answer honestly, I need to know what you mean by “bad representation”. Is it poc being just stereotypes? Or being protagonists but treated badly by fandom and writers? Or light skinned actors being my only representation? Or casting actors of the wrong ethnicity?

My answer will differ depending on which one it is. 

Personally, if poc are solely stereotypes i.e. grossly racist it’s a hard pass. For example, South Asian (SA) women in films about interracial romances between SA guys and white women. SA women’s only use is to highlight how suitable the white woman as a romantic interest. So they are shown as rude and ignorant one-dimensional characters. Or poc/ poc-coded characters in older Disney movies (siamese cats from Aristocats, Native Americans in Peter Pan etc) are just thoughtless caricatures. I prefer no representation to this. I might feel differently where the characters perpetuate stereotypes but are also more than that.

In regards to Disney representation, some “bad representation” is better than no representation. This is specifically about my fave Disney woc who can all be labelled as “bad representation” but meant a lot to me. They were kind, beautiful, brave & heroic. They were the first of their kind. I admire them to this day and known their creators treated them unfairly. That is why I was able to write my dissertation on their flaws while still being a fan. 

Everything else is case-by-case. It depends on the story, the characters, my personal feelings. It is all very subjective.

Another caveat is how often we are represented. If I go by my race & ethnicity, I do not know a lot of western shows/movies with Indian characters, much less Tamil Indian ones. So that also needs to be factored in. Am I represented enough to bypass anything that can be interpreted as “bad representation”? For example, Dev Patel played Srinivasa Ramanujan, real-life Tamil mathematician, when he is not Tamil. Can I afford to not want The man who knew Infinity when western media loves our award-winning misery i.e. Slumdog Millionaire? Can I afford to not support the Indian representation I get, although it is at the expense of a deserving Tamil actor? Can I afford to not support the only movie I know about an Indian scientist? Is it better to not have this movie at all because of the miscasting? This is a grey area. 

[doomonfilm]

Predictions : 78th Golden Globes Nominees (2021)

This Sunday marks the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards, hosted by Amy Poehler and Tina Fey on NBC.  With the run-up to the show occurring a month later than usual, I found myself mostly focused on Black History Month films, but I did my best to attempt and catch up on what I’d not yet seen.  I didn’t cover as much ground as I wanted to, but that’s not going to stop me from attempting to predict the winners in each of the film-related categories.  All of you can play along at home, and we’ll come back to check our numbers on Monday!

Editor’s note : I will not be predicting the following categories, as I sadly did not do the research necessary to make an educated guess...  - Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language - Best Actress in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture - Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television - Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television - Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television.

Best Motion Picture – Drama The Father (Sony Pictures Classics) Mank (Netflix) Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures) Promising Young Woman (Focus Features) The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix)

Prediction :  Mank (Netflix)

This is a tough category to call... Nomadland and Promising Young Woman both made enough noise to possibly steal this category away, but Hollywood loves patting itself on the back, and Mank has just enough edge to it to make it a strong contender for taking the top award home.

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (Amazon Studios) Hamilton (Walt Disney Pictures) Palm Springs (Neon) Music (Vertical Entertainment) The Prom (Netflix)

Prediction :  Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (Amazon Studios)

In all honesty, I would not be surprised if Hamilton walked away with the top prize in this category, but if there was ever a year that  Borat Subsequent Moviefilm could win an award, it would be in the wake of 2020.   Borat Subsequent Moviefilm had some of the most poignant and timely things to say about the Trump presidency and COVID-19, and for that particular timely relevancy, I’m putting my money on Borat.

Best Motion Picture – Animated The Croods: A New Age (Universal Pictures) Onward (Walt Disney Pictures) Over the Moon (Netflix) Soul (Walt Disney Pictures) Wolfwalkers (Cartoon Saloon)

Prediction :  Soul (Walt Disney Pictures)

Walt Disney and Pixar have made a habit of dropping award-winning films, and Soul might just be the most compelling one they’ve ever released.  The animation is pristine, and the attention to detail that remains in the midst of animating enough volume to sell New York City is an achievement in its own right.  Keep an eye out for Wolfwalkers to possibly steal the category away, but that’s not something I would count on to happen.

Best Director – Motion Picture Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman (Focus Features) David Fincher, Mank (Netflix) Regina King, One Night in Miami (Amazon Studios) Aaron Sorkin, The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix) Chloé Zhao, Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures)

Prediction :  Chloé Zhao, Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures)

Awards season is where future fixtures in the industry make their name, and despite stiff competition, this feels like  Chloé Zhao‘s category to lose.  David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin feel like they will cancel one another out, Promising Young Woman felt like it would garner more superficial awards than production-based ones, and as good as One Night in Miami was, Regina King may need at least one more film under her belt before she starts winning directing awards.   Chloé Zhao took a style she’s established over two previous films and applied it to a story that speaks on a version of the human condition that many people currently face, and she does so with the artistic mastery of a seasoned pro, and for that, I’m putting my money on her taking this award home.

Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm) Kate Hudson (Music) Michelle Pfeiffer (French Exit) Rosamund Pike (I Care a Lot) Anya Taylor-Joy (Emma)

Prediction :  Rosamund Pike (I Care a Lot)

Up until last week, I figured this one was headed to Anya Taylor-Joy, but then I saw I Care a Lot, and if Hollywood’s reaction to this film resembles that of popular opinion in any way, shape or form, then they may as well put Rosamund Pike’s name on that Golden Globe statue right now.  Personal fandom aside, Rosamund Pike turned in a powerful performance in the type of role that stereotypical goes to male actors, but did so without having to negotiate or sacrifice her femininity, and for this impressive balancing act, I believe she will be rewarded.

Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm) James Corden (The Prom) Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton) Dev Patel (The Personal History of David Copperfield) Andy Samberg (Palm Springs)

Prediction :  Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm)

Whoever wins this award, it will be a surprise, as this category is full of relative newcomers when it comes to award nominations and success.  It is true that Sacha Baron Cohen has developed the Borat character over many, many years, but I believe it is that slight advantage that will edge him out over the competition.  That being said, my dark horse candidate has to be Lin-Manuel Miranda, because as much potential as there is for Hamilton to go home empty-handed, there may be an attempt to salvage that property by finding somewhere to give it award recognition, and this is the easiest category in which that could occur.

Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) Andra Day (The United States vs. Billie Holiday) Vanessa Kirby (Pieces of a Woman) Frances McDormand (Nomadland) Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman)

Prediction :  Frances McDormand (Nomadland)

This is going to be one of the tightest races for an award of the night, hands down.  Viola Davis and Carey Mulligan could easily take this category, but Frances McDormand has essentially become an award-winning machine, and her ability to be compelling in the midst of non-actors, while simultaneously not giving the impression that she is acting, makes her the smart money bet.

Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal) Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) Anthony Hopkins (The Father) Gary Oldman (Mank) Tahar Rahim (The Mauritanian)

Prediction :  Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom)

What a tough prediction to make... my head says Gary Oldman, and historically, logic has won out over emotion in situations like this.  Every once in a while, however, you have to go with your heart, and deep down in my heart, this is Chadwick Boseman’s award to lose.  While his untimely death may play a factor in this decision, it should not be considered as the primary factor, as Boseman left everything he had on the table with his powerful performance.  Prepare for this particular award to be a parallel experience of joy and sorrow.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture Sacha Baron Cohen (The Trial of the Chicago 7) Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah) Jared Leto (The Little Things) Bill Murray (On the Rocks) Leslie Odom, Jr. (One Night in Miami)

Prediction :  Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah)

First and foremost, the fact that Lakeith Stanfield did not receive a nomination for  Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama is a major snub.  Based solely on this factor alone, I could see Daniel Kaluuya getting an award to rectify that oversight.  I do want to clarify, however, that if he does win, it will not be specifically because Stanfield was not even nominated... Kaluuya’s performance as Fred Hampton allowed the normally reserved actor to exhibit humanitarian compassion, wisdom beyond his years, and a focused revolutionary rage that proved his acting chops were deeper than most perceived.  Jared Leto or Sacha Baron Cohen may jump in and steal this award, but it feels like Kaluuya is the frontrunner here.

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture Promising Young Woman (Focus Features) Mank (Netflix) The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix) The Father (Sony Pictures Classics) Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures)

Prediction :  Mank (Netflix)

I really need to see Promising Young Woman, but based solely on what I’ve heard, it doesn’t seem like it has what it takes in terms of writing to touch Mank.  Nomadland seems like it may have had more of a skeleton than an actual screenplay (but maybe I’m reading too much into the realism I feel from it), and The Trial of the Chicago 7 seems like Aaron Sorkin purposely restrained his voice that is normally found in his award-winning writing.  Mank feels appropriate to the period it emulates, but relevant enough to have a modern day impact, so I will not be surprised if it wins in this category.

Best Original Score – Motion Picture The Midnight Sky (Netflix) – Alexandre Desplat Tenet (Warner Bros.) – Ludwig Göransson News of the World (Universal Pictures) – James Newton Howard Mank (Netflix) – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross Soul (Pixar) – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Jon Batiste

Prediction :  Mank (Netflix) – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are taking this award home, period point-blank.  Personally, I loved the Tenet score, and having been a  Ludwig Göransson fan since his days of collaborating with Childish Gambino, I would love to see him win on this level, but right now nobody is nearly as prolific as the Reznor and Ross duo.  Not only are they nominated twice, but neither of the scores nominated sound similar to one another, and both are wholly distinct from their previous iconic work.  I believe that it will be their ability to mimic scores and popular music of the era in which Mank takes place that will edge it out over Soul, but I’d bet the farm that these two will not be beat.

Best Original Song – Motion Picture Fight for You from Judas and the Black Messiah (Warner Bros.) – H.E.R., Dernst Emile II, Tiara Thomas Hear My Voice from The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix) – Daniel Pemberton, Celeste Io Si (Seen) from The Life Ahead (Netflix) – Diane Warren, Laura Pausini, Niccolò Agliardi Speak Now from One Night in Miami (Amazon Studios) – Leslie Odom Jr, Sam Ashworth Tigress & Tweed from The United States vs. Billie Holliday (Hulu) – Andra Day, Raphael Saadiq

Prediction :  Fight for You from Judas and the Black Messiah (Warner Bros.) – H.E.R., Dernst Emile II, Tiara Thomas

2020 and 2021 have been odd in terms of popular music, with many high-level artists choosing to wait out the impact of the pandemic on the industry.  With this vacuum created on both sides, it is impressive that H.E.R. has been able to grow during this time, and a major component of this growth was the recently released single  Fight for You from Judas and the Black Messiah.  There are some big names nominated, but H.E.R. will more than likely ride her trajectory of success right up to the Golden Globe stage this Sunday, if not further.

Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Normal People (Hulu/BBC) The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix) Small Axe (Amazon Studios/BBC) The Undoing (HBO) Unorthodox (Netflix)

Prediction :  The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)

Netflix has been a giant in the streaming industry, and The Queen’s Gambit was the giant that conquered the previous records other properties had set.  After ages in development hell, winning a Golden Globe would bring this triumphant success story full circle, and we all know how Hollywood feels about those real life narratives.  Small Axe could be a dark horse contender based solely on its social relevancy, but usually, money talks, and The Queen’s Gambit spoke louder than most any series that stepped into the spotlight this year.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Cate Blanchett (Mrs. America) Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People) Shira Haas (Unorthodox) Nicole Kidman (The Undoing) Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit)

Prediction :  Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit)

While we’re on the subject of awarding The Queen’s Gambit, let’s go ahead and point out that Anya Taylor-Joy feels like the clear cut winner for this award, beating out a couple of massive names in the process.  This has truly been a breakout year for Taylor-Joy, who has been carving a name for herself over the past half-decade or so, and a Golden Globe could do wonders for her already booming career.

[libris46]

I think its worth noting that the way Angel and Guinevere were treated by fandom and in the show is (digustingy) common. We do sometimes need a reminder that media and fandoms do not exist in a vacuum, fandom is simply a microcosm of society. Look at any show where the love interest is a coloured woman - Sleepy Hollows, The Flash and many more - fandom will hate on that person with a viciousness that is breathtaking.  And its not just fandom There are questions by viewers and critics about the historical accuracy of casting a coloured actor in a role set in the past, particularly a medieval setting- even if its fantasy.  Just look at the recent outcry over Dev Patel’s Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.  Then there is the role they cast her in - that of servant.  Because a black woman can’t be royalty, or even nobility.  And what’s worse is when they cast her - they were going for a Ugly Betty type story for her, not a Cinderella - type from rags to riches storyline.  They were even going to give her glasses! 

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru7hbzRaY9o, 

 They punished her for loving Arthur, for wanting to be his wife and Queen. And she was woefully underused, she’s such a incredible actress.  At the end she is Queen, but by herself, not with the man she loved Yes, out of all the characters she was the only one who actually merged somewhat with legend, but I believe its because she was largely ignored  - sort of the last (wo)man standing.  

Its important to be aware of cries of ‘historical accuracy’ and storylines in show and the blogs and comments of I hate that character - and people often can’t quite say why, perhaps offering lamely that ‘oh, she’s such a Mary Sue’ when pressed.  Its racism, yes, internalised misogyny and sexism combined,  but mainly its racism.  We all need to continually challenge those who get upset about casting a coloured person in a historical role, we need to challenge whitewashing of coloured characters.  Yes Scartlett, you can play a tree, but leave Asian characters to Asian actors.  When there is equality in representation both on screen and behind the scenes, THEN go for it. 

 There are times you should challenge your thoughts of a character and think why? what is it about her I really don’t like, because she’s in the way of my preferred ship (which shouldn’t mean you act like a complete dick about the whole thing and post rape/death manips) or is it because she’s unlikeable - male characters are unlikeable ALL the time, or perhaps, just maybe, its because they’re black, in which case that’s racist and you need to work to undo that.  

R/e: Merlin's ending. A mixed-race Guinevere was one of the reasons why I kept on watching. Angel Coulby's Gwen was probably the most likeable version of Guinevere to date - she did not deserve the hate/racism thrown at her. I have definitely read fanfic, and have found some really talented authors on that site who show more care of the characters & the story than the actual writers. If you want, I could copy the link to one of my favourites?

I loved Guinevere as a character (and as an actress Angel Coulby was just so nice aND BEAUTIFUL). But yes, Guinevere’s character ended up having the best character development, in my opinion. She started as super nice and sweet, she had to quickly go through injustice (her father was killed) and her journey continued to her becoming a kind but also quite stern queen, leading the public to believe that she became the queen that turned the kingdom into the fair kingdom that was predicted.

She definitely did not deserve the hate and racist tantrums that so many people threw at her in the Merlin BBC fandom. 

I would say yes, but I admit I probably won’t read the fanfic (I don’t think I’ve read any Merlin BBC fanfic in the past 11 years). But I am sure some people on the blog would love to see good fics! 

[eivor-basim]

tag game

i was tagged by @arnos. thanks bryn! 💕

dskflsdfl you took many of my tags but i’ll tag them anyway. i’m tagging @mariathorpe @ezioauditore-s @alethiometry @gung-nir @redbelles @ljufvina @dacian-assassin @bcsim @fatedshare @greensaplinggrace @time-turner @newengland-shrike @velvet-coalmine

1: Why did you choose your url?

this is going to shock everyone but. it’s because i like eivor and i like basim. and i like them together <3

2: Any side blogs? if you have them, name them and why you have them.

i have a ~secret~ side blog where i reblog all the memes and videos that catch my fancy but don’t really mesh with the vibes of my main. i also have a source blog called [redacted] that is going to be unveiled very soon 👀

3: How long have you been on tumblr?

this blog was made in january but i joined tumblr in 2014... oof 

4: Do you have a queue tag?

“it was queue i wanted all along” throwing in some basimeivor there. hard to keep up with tho

5: Why did you start your blog in the first place?

i’ve always really liked assassin’s creed, but to be honest i specifically made this blog to find the basim thirst because i knew it had to be out there 

6: Why did you choose your icon/pfp?

i didn’t have many ac pics saved at the time. so i googled the most easily identifiable ac valhalla pic i could think of. and it’s been here since january so now i guess i’m stuck with it. brand recognition babeyyy <3 

7: Why did you choose your header?

the same thing as the above icon, but also because it’s a super cool piece of official art that features basim and eivor. make have to actually make a header at some point tho lol

8: What’s your post with the most notes?

the damn dev patel thirst post. over 20k notes for that silly little post. but other than that, it’s this darkling set which i’m actually pretty proud of. just over 700 notes :)

9: How many mutuals do you have?

58, love y’all <3 

10: How many followers do you have?

almost 500 now!!

11: How many people do you follow?

97

12: Have you ever made a shitpost?

oh certainly. my aforementioned dev patel post is a good example, along with probably 80% of my other personal posts. also my top ac posts are memes lol 

13: How often do you use tumblr each day?

put a gun to my head and i might answer this

14: Did you ever have a fight/argument with another blog once? who won?

not really an argument, but sometimes the valhalla fandom just loves to make ship war vague posts like it’s 2014 again sdkfsjdlf

15: How do you feel about “you need to reblog this” posts?

super annoying. guilt tripping performative activism

16: Do you like tag games?

i like them, i think they’re very cute! but i often forget or get too embarrassed  👉👈

17: Do you like ask games?

yes! i love how they let me talk to my mutuals and followers. but i try not to reblog them too often because i don’t want people to feel like i’m spamming their dashboard 

19: Do you have a crush on a mutual?

we are all married actually 💖

[hellosaltysaladcollectionstuff]

It's a big day for the Warcraft franchise, as Blizzard has officially released Warcraft III: Reforged, which is billed as a "full-scale modernization" of the RTS classic.

The PC title features the base game, Reign of Chaos, as well as The Frozen Throne expansion. The graphics and sound have been given an modern update, while there are new and improved social and matchmaking elements through Battle.net and user-generated content tool through the improved world editor.

In addition to the base game, you can pick up the Spoils of War version that includes new skins for Arthas, Cenarius, Jaina, and Thrall, as well as in-game bonuses for titles like World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, and Diablo III.

To learn more about the origins and specific details of Warcraft III: Reforged, we spoke with lead producer Pete Stilwell. In a wide-ranging interview, Stilwell talks about topics like why Blizzard chose Warcaft III for a remaster over some of its other titles, how the team at Blizzard is honoring the original design while revamping the story and other elements, and what the studio has done to make Warcraft III: Reforged stand out as more than a nostalgia-grab.

Stilwell also speaks about how it is a "blessing and a curse" to have such a dedicated and passionate fanbase, and how Reforged aims to appeal to World of Warcraft fans who want to know more about the origins of the Warcraft universe. "Most of them probably don't know the origin story," Stilwell said of the millions of World of Warcraft players.

Check out GameSpot's full interview with Stilwell below.

Going back to the start, why did you choose Warcraft III instead of some of your other properties for a remaster?

There were a few factors here. We had just come off of StarCraft: Remastered, so we'd put together a very RTS-focused team – so this was a natural transition. It almost followed Blizzard's own transition of making one into the other. We already had the right team for the job.

Then there's also the fact that we wanted to, first and foremost, do service to the largest communities that still existed with our older games. There's plenty of games in the deeper catalogue that we probably could have gone to that would be easier. If you were doing it from a timeline perspective, it might be more logical to start with the first Warcraft or something like that.

But Warcraft III still has a massive community in both the competitive and the creative scene, especially with custom games. One of the other fortunate things I've gotten to do in the leadership of this team is travel the globe and talk to our players. And while we were in Korea, talking about StarCraft, it made us more aware of how strong the custom scene still was, especially with Warcraft III there.

And then it's just a hop, skip and a jump and suddenly you're in Shanghai talking to people there and they're saying, "Yeah, StarCraft's great, but what we're really all about is this Warcraft III." And I think it was just a natural progression on many fronts.

What are you doing to honour the original design while also revamping the story and art and other elements?

From a gameplay perspective, it's largely the same.

From a visual perspective, Warcraft has continued to evolve since the original, and since the Third War was released. So, we drew on elements of Sylvanas and Jaina and all these other strong characters who have continued to evolve for their models in Warcraft III: Reforged. For a lot of them, it was their debut moment in Warcraft III and because they had all of 200 triangles to work with, there wasn't much definition of what people looked like or how they behaved.

We looked around at all the amazing stuff other folks have done – be it the books or the comics or the games, all of the cool stuff that's out there, and tried to draw inspiration from that to pull the strands together.

As far as other elements, again the custom game community is so strong and does so much cool stuff. We did a lot of research into what they wanted, and we looked at the creative ways they've found over the years to solve problems.

We've done a lot of things under the hood that the average player may not directly benefit from, but hopefully when a map maker gets hold of it, they'll be able to make a cooler map with more performance, or can support more people. A ton of effort has gone into the fact that this community is really what has given this game legs and we want to re-energise them for the next marathon, if you will.

What kind of technical work was required for this? It looks extensive!

This was Blizzard's first 3D game. That's one of the things that we undervalued going into this. StarCraft was Blizzard's last major 2D game and they'd been doing it for years. They knew the technology and they were super good at it.

Warcraft III was the result of a lot of experimentation. We have engineers like Jay Patel and Colin Murray, who helped build the original game, come in and help us with Warcraft III: Reforged, and they look at their code and go: "Oh, what was my young self thinking? We know better now."

In terms of the gameplay, are you making any changes compared to the original?

The fact of the matter is there's a good abstraction between game logic and game rendering. Most of our efforts went into game rendering and trying to get modern 3D standards in there, versus the game logic, which largely remains untouched. “Gameplay First,” one of Blizzard's best core values, is still really about, "How does this feel? Does it read as Warcraft III?"

If you've played Warcraft III before, you're going to loosely remember the way units moved and things like that. And if you're a hardcore player, you're going to have it ingrained in your DNA at this point.

Authenticity is really in that gameplay logic, which we tried not to touch. Whenever there's risk there we do a lot of testing and get it in the hands of pros or get it in the hands of folks on our team who are advanced players to make sure gameplay is intact.

Part of what makes Warcraft III so enduringly popular is its passionate and communicative fanbase--what can you say about your fans and what their support means to you?

The short answer is that our fans are why we do it. The fans and the fact that they're still playing this game and are voracious about what it represents is what gave life to this team. It's also our compass. It's a blessing and a curse sometimes, but it's mostly a blessing to have people who know the game so well and have such an expectation. It does make it more difficult to change and to evolve.

"Our fans are why we do it." -- Stilwell

But that's also part of the conversation of what our agenda is as a dev team and as a group. And first and foremost, it's to preserve these games. The cool thing with Warcraft III is because we can extend the editor and keep the original game the way it was for all intents and purposes, we get to put the tools back into the hands of the community where they can help navigate that next chapter.

The game is now updated with Battle.net functionality and support--what kind of work did this require and what does it allow for that you couldn't have all those years ago?

The original games on Battle.net were very different – there wasn’t much functionality beyond the social aspect of Battle.net. Modern Battle.net now has even better social interaction because we can now be in a group chat together. You can be in one game and I can be in another and we never lose contact. That's awesome.

Additionally, it means that your multiplayer experience tends to be more in league with other games that Blizzard makes, for example, matchmaking.

Do you envision Reforged to appeal mainly to fans of the original game? Or to new players who might have played WoW and now want to learn more about some of the lore origins?

We hope it's both. You can go boot this game up, choose to play in what we're calling “Classic” inside of the client, and you'll see all the original models, and play the original campaign. You can have that experience, and we even have guys on the team like that who believe the only thing we needed to do is get this inside of Battle.net so you can install it more easily. And then there's the rest of us that are like, 'Wait, look at the size of World of Warcraft's player base”. Most of them probably don't know the origin story.

That's what this is, the kick-off to World of Warcraft. For example, seeing Eastern Plaguelands come out of Andorhal is just one of the core moments that are part of the story of Warcraft III. With WoW Classic last year showing the passion around this IP, the hope is those same folks will want to experience the “prequel” that is Warcraft III.

Because if you missed it, there's over 60 missions, there's hours and hours of cutscenes. There's so much story and getting to see some of those characters who are giving you quests in their origins is really powerful if you're a fan of Warcraft.

As I understand it, the voice acting remains the same in Reforged. Can you explain the decision to keep the voice acting the same?

Part of this has been galvanising our identity of what our team was going to be.

When we went to BlizzCon 2018 with the Warcraft III: Reforged demo and showed off what we could do, we were actually taken aback by a lot of the community's response to it. Some asked, “what are you doing messing with this thing?”

If we're saying that we’re using the community as a lodestar, as a guiding light, then we need to actually own that. We decided as a group that it isn't our job to take it that far.

We as Blizzard should own our experience and we decided as a team, that means it should be more in concert with that classic experience.

Remasters and re-releases seem to play on the appeal of nostalgia. Longing for a time gone by. So how have you gone about creating Warcraft III: Reforged to be more than a simple push at people's feelings of nostalgia and instead something that stands on its own in 2020?

To me, the real modernisations have gone in that direction of handing the tools to the community. A lot of that is in the editor, with new art, new triggers and new Lua support, for example.

Obviously, the visual facelift and the integration of the game back inside of modern Battle.net is important, but there is no doubt there is a nostalgia play here and that is why we kept the original VO and things like that. We hope it's a bit of both ultimately.

Reforged has been available for some time now in a testing phase--what kinds of feedback have you received and how are you going about changing the final game?

With the multiplayer beta, a big part of what we've done is changed this game to a new server infrastructure and again, get it onto modern Battle.net. There's a lot of risk there. Somebody playing in a different part of the world can't necessarily be emulated without a beta because the backbone they connect to that reaches our servers might have some weird switching station that we don't understand and can't test for adequately here. We have to get this out into the hands of the players to really know the state of an online experience.

That was the focus of the beta – to find those weak spots and shore them up. Especially with the custom games, we've got somewhere in the neighbourhood of one billion custom games that have been published in the past 15 years. We are well aware not all of them will work day one and that some old bugs and exploits have been fixed. Because the custom online experience is such a hub of this game, creators could have time to see their maps breaking and start to make fixes and things like that.

One of the big pieces of feedback from the reveal was that the art style look sort of mishmashed from the new HD character models and how other parts of the game stayed old. What's your reaction to that, and have you updated the game now for its final release?

When we went to BlizzCon with the demo, we wanted to get feedback and first impressions. It was very work in progress. I think every single thing we showed at BlizzCon has undergone some iteration and that's natural. One of the things that we were having difficulties with at that point was the lighting. We had overblown it and that's why there's these really stark shadows.

If you saw the entirety of the game, you'd realise that really bright light works well on Lordaeron Summer, but as soon as you start getting into the caves or all these other tilesets that are important parts of this game, you find out quickly that it doesn’t work. Once we figured out those values and level set, the most important thing at this point is if you put the original colours of the original tilesets next to the new ones, they match. They're very in concert in the right way, in that it's got higher fidelity and it looks great and it's benefitting from these new systems we brought in with physics-based rendering. It is not exactly what we showed that very first time, but most of us in the community and on the team agree that it's where it should be to be Warcraft III.

What can fans expect as it relates to custom games and the map editor?

The things that will help beyond what I've already talked about inside of the editor itself, is that we made unique assets for everything. One thing we understood with the campaign was that when you're looking at the same Dreadlords or the same Paladins, all standing there side by side, they are identical except the little glow around their feet is a different colour. We thought “we could do better than that," especially when the custom community is sitting over here thirsty for assets.

They can't necessarily hire a group of artists to make assets at this fidelity and giving them more was going to be beneficial for everyone who plays custom games. So, we dogfooded ourselves by adding a lot more to the campaign in order to feed back into the custom game community. Then for the online experience, we revamped the lobby system, so getting in and out and finding the right game is a much better experience.

from GameSpot - All Content https://ift.tt/2S0xWgO

[irresistiibles]

was that dev patel? Oh no no, that was just jonathan sims, a canon character from the magnus archives. They are thirty one years old and are aware that they are not actually from washington dc. too bad they can’t stray from this city for long.

how long has your character been here

it has been like a month now

what is your character’s job

he’s working as an archivist still because jon cannot get away from this job for the life of him. i think probably for like a university? i’m not gonna lie i don’t know much about what a genuine archivist job looks like so i’ll be doing some research

i’ve decided he’s gonna work as an archivist at the library of congress lol

where has your character been pulled from in their fandom?

so i’m not completely sure yet (which works with the nonsense i’m pulling with jon’s memories) once i get through my relisten i’ll know for sure but it’s definitely somewhere in season 3 or 4 before the change

has any magic affected your character

so while he’s aware he’s not actually from washington d.c. his memories are foggy at best. he remembers working for the magnus archives and his coworkers, but a lot of the memories of the weird horrible shit that happens is like down the drain. he has nightmares about it but can barely remember. he’s trying to tell himself in typical stubborn jon fashion that he is in fact supposed to be in dc clearly he’s ere for a work thing, though he can’t prove it and hasn’t had any contact with his boss and wouldn’t be able to say what the work thing was, clearly that’s a him problem and not the city being weird. i don’t think i’m going to keep him like this for too too long just while i figure out where exactly i want him and also things can never be easy for jon

any other info!

gonna not say too much about the podcast to avoid spoilers but jon worked for the magnus archives which studied the paranormal and supernatural and got way more than he bargained for

this may be my most unstable character to date. this man is so unhinged. you can’t even say it develops over time as things get bad because he turns to stalking very early in to season 1. he’s always been unhinged

he’s not super friendly. he can be kind of dismissive and rude and condescending, especially right now when he’s trying to push away this idea of more going on with his life than he wants

he will soften up though for people he cares about, and in general once he accepts his situation a bit more.

spent a month getting moisturized by a clown

canonically just always looks kinda unwell. he’s scrawny and always looks fucking tired. this is not peak physical fitness folks. no one is looking at this man and thinking he makes particularly good decisions.

he’s the type to stress and panic kinda quickly, but he will not let that stop him from doing dumb shit!

he’s got a fun variety of powers that he’s mostly unaware of at the moment. he can compel people to answer questions, sometimes just knows things, typically relevant to whatever situation he’s in, he’s been able to read and understand languages he’s never learned, etc. 

here in washington jon absolutely knows something is Wrong but he’s doing his best not to acknowledge it. still he’s definitely got a bunch of unhinged recordings of things he’s been experiencing and stuff he’s worried about. but if you bring up people randomly turning up in washington and what not he will treat you like a Fool

yet he definitely also goes around asking people about their experiences despite insisting all of them are ridiculous. man needs to eat

let him record on one of these bad boys

some plot ideas:

anyone he knows through work: he doesn’t really trust or like politicians but any of them who frequent the library of congress for whatever reason might know him. though honestly anyone who might frequent the library in general could know him, though it’s probably difficult to know he actually works there at first since he barely dresses in work appropriate clothes and looks like a mess at all times

supernatural creatures: like i said jon used to work investigating the paranormal and supernatural, and he’s gone kind of rogue on investigations but is still doing it. given how he is i think it would be real funny for him to be talking to a supernatural creature, getting a bunch of info, and being like, ‘real interesting, tell me more, but you know vampires don’t exist right?’ straight to a vampire’s face.

roommate: i do not think he’d be the easiest or most fun person to live with given that he’s on edge all the time, a bit of a mess, and half convinced people are out to get him literally all the time, but when you have to pay rent you do what you have to.

friends?: he’s not easy to befriend but objectively someone probably should manage to get along with him eventually. give him a little smoking buddy or something, as a treat