#diverse cast of characters

[mint-termsandconditions]

The Meta Knights’ Melting Pot

Since Meta Knight has a Spanish accent, Sword Knight is British, and Blade Knight is incomprehensible (though I’ve always assumed it was Australian for some reason)

A funny thought of mine is that the rest of the Meta Knights all have their own thick accents from around the world.

I’m not really sure exactly which ones

but Sailor Waddle Dee has a Scottish accent and no one can change my mind.

If anyone have any idea what the others could be, suggest them I would like to know

[blueheartbookclub]

"Whimsical Wonders: Navigating the Uncharted Realms of Imagination in H. G. Wells' 'Thirty Strange Stories'"

H. G. Wells, renowned for his pioneering works in science fiction, extends an invitation to the peculiar corners of his creative mind with "Thirty Strange Stories." This collection, published in [year], is a compendium of tales that transcends the conventional boundaries of storytelling. The title alone suggests a literary odyssey into the extraordinary, and Wells does not disappoint, offering readers a kaleidoscopic array of narratives that blur the lines between the plausible and the fantastical.

The stories within this collection showcase Wells' remarkable ability to traverse genres and themes. From the whimsically speculative to the hauntingly macabre, each tale is a testament to Wells' mastery of the short story form. The title acts as a portal, beckoning readers into a realm where the ordinary becomes extraordinary, and the mundane is transformed into the extraordinary. As the pages turn, readers are transported from the familiar to the uncharted territories of Wells' vivid imagination.

One of the distinguishing features of "Thirty Strange Stories" is Wells' uncanny knack for blending scientific speculation with elements of the supernatural. In tales such as [specific story], he weaves together speculative concepts with a keen understanding of human nature, creating narratives that are both intellectually stimulating and emotionally resonant. The title serves as a teaser, enticing readers with the promise of the strange and the unexplored.

Wells' narrative finesse is particularly evident in his characterizations. Whether introducing eccentric inventors, time travelers, or ordinary individuals thrust into extraordinary circumstances, Wells crafts characters that linger in the reader's imagination. The title "Thirty Strange Stories" acts as a tantalizing preview, hinting at the diverse cast of characters that populate this literary menagerie.

Furthermore, the thematic breadth of the collection is striking. Wells tackles societal issues, philosophical quandaries, and the profound mysteries of existence within the framework of speculative fiction. The title encapsulates the overarching theme of the uncanny, suggesting a journey through narratives that challenge the boundaries of reality and the limitations of human understanding.

As readers delve into the pages of "Thirty Strange Stories," they encounter a tapestry of ideas that reflect Wells' fascination with the unknown. The title becomes a guide through this labyrinth of narratives, promising unexpected twists, intellectual delights, and moments of sheer astonishment. From the first story to the thirtieth, Wells maintains a grip on the reader's attention, orchestrating a symphony of strangeness that resonates long after the final page is turned.

In conclusion, "Thirty Strange Stories" by H. G. Wells is a testament to the author's unparalleled imagination and narrative prowess. The title serves as a thematic overture, encapsulating the essence of a collection that transcends the boundaries of conventional storytelling. Wells' ability to seamlessly blend the ordinary with the extraordinary, the scientific with the supernatural, makes this anthology a captivating journey into the uncharted realms of the human imagination. As readers embark on this literary odyssey, the title becomes a whispered promise of strange wonders waiting to be discovered within the pages of Wells' extraordinary tales.

"Thirty Strange Stories." by H. G. Wells is available in Amazon in paperback 14.99$ and hardcover 22.99$ editions.

Number of pages: 407

Language: English

Rating: 9/10                                           

Link of the book!

Review By: King's Cat

[blueheartbooks]

"Whimsical Wonders: Navigating the Uncharted Realms of Imagination in H. G. Wells' 'Thirty Strange Stories'"

H. G. Wells, renowned for his pioneering works in science fiction, extends an invitation to the peculiar corners of his creative mind with "Thirty Strange Stories." This collection, published in [year], is a compendium of tales that transcends the conventional boundaries of storytelling. The title alone suggests a literary odyssey into the extraordinary, and Wells does not disappoint, offering readers a kaleidoscopic array of narratives that blur the lines between the plausible and the fantastical.

The stories within this collection showcase Wells' remarkable ability to traverse genres and themes. From the whimsically speculative to the hauntingly macabre, each tale is a testament to Wells' mastery of the short story form. The title acts as a portal, beckoning readers into a realm where the ordinary becomes extraordinary, and the mundane is transformed into the extraordinary. As the pages turn, readers are transported from the familiar to the uncharted territories of Wells' vivid imagination.

One of the distinguishing features of "Thirty Strange Stories" is Wells' uncanny knack for blending scientific speculation with elements of the supernatural. In tales such as [specific story], he weaves together speculative concepts with a keen understanding of human nature, creating narratives that are both intellectually stimulating and emotionally resonant. The title serves as a teaser, enticing readers with the promise of the strange and the unexplored.

Wells' narrative finesse is particularly evident in his characterizations. Whether introducing eccentric inventors, time travelers, or ordinary individuals thrust into extraordinary circumstances, Wells crafts characters that linger in the reader's imagination. The title "Thirty Strange Stories" acts as a tantalizing preview, hinting at the diverse cast of characters that populate this literary menagerie.

Furthermore, the thematic breadth of the collection is striking. Wells tackles societal issues, philosophical quandaries, and the profound mysteries of existence within the framework of speculative fiction. The title encapsulates the overarching theme of the uncanny, suggesting a journey through narratives that challenge the boundaries of reality and the limitations of human understanding.

As readers delve into the pages of "Thirty Strange Stories," they encounter a tapestry of ideas that reflect Wells' fascination with the unknown. The title becomes a guide through this labyrinth of narratives, promising unexpected twists, intellectual delights, and moments of sheer astonishment. From the first story to the thirtieth, Wells maintains a grip on the reader's attention, orchestrating a symphony of strangeness that resonates long after the final page is turned.

In conclusion, "Thirty Strange Stories" by H. G. Wells is a testament to the author's unparalleled imagination and narrative prowess. The title serves as a thematic overture, encapsulating the essence of a collection that transcends the boundaries of conventional storytelling. Wells' ability to seamlessly blend the ordinary with the extraordinary, the scientific with the supernatural, makes this anthology a captivating journey into the uncharted realms of the human imagination. As readers embark on this literary odyssey, the title becomes a whispered promise of strange wonders waiting to be discovered within the pages of Wells' extraordinary tales.

"Thirty Strange Stories." by H. G. Wells is available in Amazon in paperback 14.99$ and hardcover 22.99$ editions.

Number of pages: 407

Language: English

Rating: 9/10                                           

Link of the book!

Review By: King's Cat

[bixels]

Reminiscing about Little Witch Academia.

[aroaceleovaldez]

i'm so happy you brought back up the topic of rick's shitty writing of anyone even remotely non white / "white passing"

with that being said, do you think the shitty script he gave to annabeth in the show has to do with him just being deeply uninterested in adapting his story to include characters of color? bc it seems like once rick encounters a character that cannot be easily erased all ethnic or racial identity of to fit them into an usamerican specifically white ass narrative, he gets lost.

i just keep thinking how the only thing that "changed" about annabeth as presented in the show was her race but her plot relevance and her characterization got downgraded severely. meanwhile percy, whiter than before (wheres the mediterranean god look......................................), got half her functions. like i just look at rick in context and i wonder if he just gives so little fuck about characters of color he cant even write a decent character arc for an adaptation of a very established persona

thoughts? thank u!

I wouldn't be surprised if it's Rick (and the writer's room, since it actually seems Rick isn't all that heavily involved if much at all with the script itself based on some interviews) just has internal biases that he refuses to reflect on. It would be a consistent trend with the uptick in offensive writing in the books themselves (see: the troglodytes in general, all the Jewish kids in CHB being in Hermes cabin, etc etc). Rick seems to want to engage with these topics but refuses to actually assess how he's approaching it and his own biases while also overemphasizing his engagement with the topics. It's a kind of big talk/words vs actions type thing to me.

[this got a wee bit long so throwing it under a cut]

I was having a couple of conversations about this topic recently - one being group reading/discussion of WottG and how, allegedly, the slightly different characterizations in that book are inspired by the actors in the show. Annabeth is repeatedly and frequently described as motherly and maternal in the book, plus some other misc characterizations that make you tilt your head and go "Wait, what about Leah made you want to write Annabeth this way?" and concerns about it leaning into stereotypes. (It's also strange, because in the show Sally is MUCH more aggressive and less maternal, and this is painted like it's supposed to be a girlboss thing cause her being too soft and motherly was too weak or something? But now book Annabeth is now being described as all soft and maternal??? What. What is happening.)

Another conversation that i had with my therapist (cause we talk about pjo a lot lol) and later repeated and discussed more with other folks on discord more specifically regarding the show was a lot of discussion about the casting. Particularly casting choices and how the writing either is refusing to take casting into consideration to respectfully approach how things would be changed to avoid problems or are actively changing the script for characters in a way that is potentially if not downright offensive. Clarisse is the number one example i bring up because a lot of people say that the reason a plus sized actress wasn't cast for her was to avoid the "fat bully" trope. The thing is, there is ALSO a POC bully trope that is just as bad if not worse, so if they were actually taking offensive tropes into consideration one would expect them to avoid that too (especially since Percy was cast as a pasty white boy - which just makes it all look worse)? (Also other plus-sized characters like Dionysus and Gabe were also cast as skinny, same with Tyson. So it just seems like they don't want to cast plus-sized actors either.)

But also they're rewriting stuff that actively puts the casting decisions into worse tropes. Like hey, why is Percy (a white guy) the one who knows the "real" versions of all these myths and is expositioning them to Annabeth (a black girl), who in the books is supposed to know more than him? Why does he know better than her for some reason and have to guide her? Why is Percy teaching Annabeth about pop culture and how to be a kid? Not to mention stuff like the show constantly encouraging the viewer to doubt or distrust characters like Grover and Clarisse and Annabeth as red herrings as to who the traitor is. Plus there's no adjustments to stuff from the books like Annabeth initially being somewhat aggressive/antagonistic towards Percy, or Clarisse's aggression and bullying towards Percy to try and circumvent those being bad tropes in the contexts of the casting.

And there's an ongoing trend of characters who are antagonistic towards Percy in the books being divided into two groups: those who continue to be antagonistic towards Percy in the show, or those who are tweaked to suddenly become kinda silly-goofy and significantly less threatening. Gabe, Dionysus, Ares, and Hades are all examples of characters that should be antagonistic towards Percy but are softened SIGNIFICANTLY and played for laughs in the show. Echidna is played as a twist antagonist because she initially because she approaches the kids as very sweet and helpful. And they're all cast as white! Meanwhile other characters like Clarisse, Luke, Zeus, etc, are still antagonistic towards Percy (plus also like Annabeth initially and again, Grover being painted as a major red herring). Plus some new additions like Hermes, Mr. Lin Manuel Miranda himself, being wholly introduced into the plot when he's not supposed to appear until book 2, and all he does is sabotage the quest. Like, it's weird! That's a weird writing decision!!!! I get wanting to get that sweet sweet LMM cameo money, but, why is Hermes an antagonist here???????? he's not even supposed to be here yet!.

We also have stuff like Poseidon (who, like many of the god/major kid pairings so far seems to have been cast to match each other appearance-wise) saving the day for Percy and being this weirdly good dad, versus the books where we get the iconic "I am sorry you were born" line and Percy and Poseidon's tension is part of their arcs. Notably, Poseidon does this by ceding to Zeus, who is actively about to start a war. While Gabe is rewritten to be a total loser, Sally is MUCH more aggressive and her yelling and screaming at young Percy is supposed to be sympathetic for some reason? If Gabe were acting like Sally does in the show, he would actually be significantly more like his book counterpart! The show is making active decisions to paint these characters the way they do!

Admittedly, part of it may just be they got overzealous with their casting (not inherently a bad thing! diverse casting is good!) and then proceeded to not consider how that casting affects the way the characters are perceived. It also doesn't bode well for certain guesses we can make going further into the show - Thalia is very at odds with Percy initially. She's a very aggressive character. They fight a lot! Also Annabeth's description already implies that they're tweaking Thalia's character to be more "tough love" versus the books where she's significantly more of a bleeding heart when she first meets Annabeth. Like, I'm very happy about Thalia's casting, her actress seems amazing, but also I'm VERY concerned with how they're going to approach her character to make sure it doesn't end up wildly offensive. Athena is similar - we can guess based on casting decisions so far that they're going to try and cast Athena as similar in appearance to Annabeth/Leah. The show has already painted Athena has antagonistic and uncaring towards her daughter. If projected trends continue, these things are not gonna be great.

And the show does seem to rarely want to engage with these topics - like the scene with the cop in the train. You can tell what they wanted to address by having Annabeth be the one to confront him. The thing is they were too cowardly to actually have that conversation! They paint the kids as being unreasonable and getting unnecessarily upset when they aren't directly being accused of destroying a room, therein painting the cop as the one in the right in that situation. The implication seems to be a little bit they were going for "Oh, this is Annabeth's hubris getting them into trouble" but. that's such a bad way to do it! That's like the worst way you could have done it! (This is also a trend in books from HoO onwards, more or less - Rick tries to engage with certain topics, often using characters of specific demographics, and then proceeds to do a really bad job of it.)

There are also some aspects that are just like - in the books, Luke being a middle-class blond-haired blue-eyed pretty white boy is relevant! Because the fact that he has privilege from that particularly in how he's perceived is part of how he came to where he is and why he acts the way he does. Percy not having those same privileges, and having aspects like constantly inherently being labeled as a trouble-maker just based on his atypical (neurodivergent) behavior and coming from a lower socioeconomical background play heavily into his character!!! Percy being both a poor and disabled kid (and implied potentially POC) plays DIRECTLY into why he feels so strongly about standing up for other disenfranchised kids (in SoM, explicitly including other disabled kids and kids of color). It directly relates to his experiences and standing up for kids who are like him because he didn't have that, versus Luke whose perceptions and goals are very self-oriented. Now, in the show, we've essentially swapped Percy and Luke's appearances, and that paints a very different narrative. And that's important to acknowledge!

[griem]

ijbol idk man releasing screenshots of very polarizing things said in a private discord server between friends in a public "callout" post is #the most #tumblrific thing ive ever seen LOL.

#opinion 😱 in tags

[buckevantommy]

btw: shoutout to omitb for not only writing older characters but casting older actors to play those characters instead of trying to age them way up or way down. two old dudes front and centre (played by beloved veteren actors) with love interests their own age. ensemble cast of people in their 40s+ with body diversity too. friendships spanning 2 generations. celebrity cameos of ppl in their 50s+. i'd love to see more of this in hollywood.

[whydotheycallmechimney]

every single one of Elijah’s love interests are incredibly hot and badass woman, and that’s just what happens when you’re the sexiest man in the entire tvdu

[izzysheavingbosom]

I know that OFMD has a lot of people who are new to fandom, but nothing drives it home like seeing people earnestly insist it's the Ed and Stede show.

Yes, they're the main characters.

Yes, their relationship is the core of the show.

But that does not mean the other characters are NPCs who don't matter. Jim has their own subplot where they choose hope and Oluwande and later on Archie over revenge! Lucius goes through trauma and tries to cope with that! Izzy goes from an asshole focused on his captain to less of an asshole who protects his crew!

Our Flag Means Death has a very strong ensemble with lots of fun and interesting major and minor characters, so of course there'll be people whose fave is Calico Jack or Izzy or Jim or Evelyn over Ed or Stede. That is perfectly normal and happens in every fandom.

Star Wars fandom, for example, saw Ice Cream Maker Guy run in the background of one scene and now he's got a backstory and a name.

You are not doing fandom wrong by preferring minor or major characters over a main character.

You are doing fandom wrong by insisting everyone has to like the main characters best and prioritise them over all the other characters.

[icedsodapop]

Okay, biased Martha Jones stan here but like, it just doesnt make sense to me that Donna would name her daughter Rose when it's literally established in Donna's companion era that she and Martha got along fabulously when they met each other while Donna and Rose were polite acquaintances at best, abrasive at worst?? Did rtd forget about this?

Oh and there's also the slight issue of Donna having her memories as a companion erased, no biggie.

[prince-liest]

I’m reading Witch King by Martha Wells, and now that I have read more than one (1) series by this author, I have been suddenly brained with a two-by-four sharpied over with “realizing that I really enjoy novels by Martha Wells because they live in the specific niche created by the intersection of casually and thoroughly queer casts and non-romance storylines”

I am as ever a sucker for non-human main characters struggling with their very human feelings, which is why I jumped on Witch King the moment I saw “the author of Murderbot wrote another book with a main character that’s non-human,” but I live in this dichotomy where I can really enjoy reading queer romances but I don’t really identify with non-ace characters (which is not actually something I figured out how to differentiate until I was Last Week Years Old). so there are lots of books out there that I enjoy reading but it’s comparatively rare for me to read something that feels like it was written For Me and Martha Wells does that very well

anyway, give me more ace it-pronouns human-spliced robot main characters and people-eating demons who consider rank over gender when finding new bodies to inhabit

[theothermaidoftarth]

From Rick Riodran himself (via Goodreads):

[obisamya]

4-5-1 Season 3, Episode 3 TED LASSO (2020-2023)

[u3pxx]

i want to have the time and energy again to draw more complicated illustrations. i want to draw drawings within drawings. i want to spend hours on carefully inking, i want to enjoy the rendering process. i want to go bonkers on a piece. hello, can anyone hear m

[thevelaryons]

Before the airing of season 1 of House Of The Dragon, the showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik said Laenor would be a good portrayal of a gay character. Then they made him have internalized homophobia. Then they had him abandon his grieving family to live a free gay life in Essos. He even abandoned his dragon because that was stopping him from being a happy gay man with his lover. As a gay person, it’s one of the worst gay representations I’ve seen in media. The showrunners made their gay character into a terrible selfish person who helps agree to kill one of his family servants so that he can run off with his lover. His allies, Rhaenyra and Daemon, are terrible people too. Laenor was just awful gay representation and ever other gay relationship from the book was erased (I’m glad about it or they would be ruined too).

To be fair, Laenor left because he craved the violence of the battlefield over the mundane life mixed with court politics (not that it’s a much better excuse), but yeah, what the show did to him is a travesty.

I think depicting stories where the gay characters have internalized homophobia is not necessarily an issue. Opinions may vary on this, but as a gay person myself, I’ve enjoyed the kind of stories that tackle the issue of homophobia, so long as it’s well written. Laenor’s story in HOTD is not well written. Especially because that internalized homophobia only exists to make other characters, like Rhaenyra, look good. The reason why Laenor comes off as bad gay rep on the show is because his character is just there to prop up others versus the book portrayal which afforded him integrity as an individual (despite him being a minor character).

That scene in season one/episode seven where Laenor talks about how much he hates himself and then Rhaenyra comforts him by saying that he is a “honourable man with a good heart” is only for Rhaenyra’s benefit. Because Laenor can say in that scene that he wants to be there for his family but then next thing we see is him orchestrating his escape. He’s basically forced out of his own life and the show frames it all as a good thing courtesy of Rhaenyra’s kindness. The window scene between Laenor and Rhaenyra even portrays Rhaenyra with a halo of light around her because it’s not just the writing on this show that’s manipulative but the direction too.

Even just the way Laenor is depicted onscreen is downright offensive. His characterization was changed completely to being a hypermasculine drunk who apparently spends all his time fucking around. He makes vulgar comments about his wife in front of others too. All of it is meant to portray him as a selfish person who is disrespectful while his wife is tirelessly suffering the burdens of having to fulfill her duty. In Fire & Blood, neither of them really gave a damn about each other or about their duty. But the show changes it so that Rhaenyra looks like the good one while throwing Laenor’s character completely under the bus.

Despite Laenor being a rather minor character in the book, GRRM actually gave him some character development. Laenor started out as being somewhat distant from his wife/kids (he was living comfortably on Driftmark while his wife/kids all faced the tense court rivalry by themselves for the most part) but after the rising political tensions between the Blacks and the Greens, Laenor is the one who makes an effort to be there for his family at last, and he did not need to sacrifice his personal life to do so:

“Do keep trying,” Queen Alicent told Ser Laenor, according to Mushroom, “soon or late, you may get one who looks like you.” And the rivalry between the greens and blacks grew deeper, finally reaching the point where the queen and the princess could scarce suffer each other’s presence. Thereafter Queen Alicent kept to the Red Keep, whilst the princess spent her days on Dragonstone, attended by her ladies, Mushroom, and her champion, Ser Harwin Strong. Her husband, Ser Laenor, was said to visit “frequently.”

— Fire & Blood, Heirs of the Dragon

Compare that to what the show did and it’s the complete opposite. Laenor has been living in King’s Landing the whole time and he’s miserable about it. After feeling antagonized by Alicent in season one/episode six, Laenor decides he wants to run away. So Rhaenyra has to tearfully admonish him for his behaviour and plead with him to stay with his family:

I’ve been saying this for a while, but the changes on the show are always deliberately done. It’s not a case of “ambiguous narrator” or “false history” when each time the changes only serve certain characters and screw over others. There’s a clear bias in the writing on HOTD.

[satisaranea]

once again with the whole excitement about sunrise on the reaping and who will play haymitch, please keep two things in mind!

1) he's sixteen, so someone decently young would be playing him, not one of your favs or a guy older than that (that shouldn't be the case anyway but it wouldn't surprise me nevertheless)

2) his movie adaptation (played by woody harrelson) is NOT how he looks in the books. he has olive skin, grey eyes and dark curly hair. so while you'd expect that they'd cast someone who looks similar to woody, it would be inaccurate to the books. yeah! a change in appearance would be weird when they had his actor look a certain way for 4 movies, but then again, haymitch isn't white. he isn't blonde and blue eyed and he should've been played by someone who was accurate to his actual description. and again, he SHOULD be played by someone who is accurate to his actual description if he does have any apperances in sotr.