#even though the actors all did great and like I'm not at all faulting them for that

[aussied]

I'm cosplaying as Book!Percy Jackson at a con I'm going to soon and if people come up to me and call me Luke I'm gonna launch myself into the sun

[aniesvision]

𝟐𝟕- 𝑮𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒕'𝒔 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉

𐂃 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚘𝚕𝚘 𝚡 𝚏! 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛

𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜: 𝒐𝒖𝒊𝒋𝒂 𝒃𝒐𝒂𝒓𝒅, 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎, 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒅𝒊𝒓𝒕𝒚 𝒋𝒐𝒌𝒆, 𝒔𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆, 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈

𝚊/𝚗: 𝒉𝒆𝒚𝒚, 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒔𝒂𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒃𝒚'𝒔 𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒔, 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒈𝒆, 𝒆𝒏𝒋𝒐𝒚 ☕︎

𝚜𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚢: 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑺𝒂𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒃𝒚 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑴𝒂𝒕𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂 𝒈𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒕, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝑴𝒂𝒕𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔... 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒂

Colby|Reader|Matt

🍂

-And tonight... we're playing with the ouija board.

-Oh, great. You guys never do the ouija board, but the only day I'm here...

I shake my head, rubbing my face in anticipation. I've been talking to Sam and Colby about a collab since we met. I'm a huge horror movie fan, but seeing actors on TV is one thing, the other is seeing things in person, and I wasn't sure if I was ready to be a believer yet.

It was one of the special halloweek videos, so besides me, the triplets were in the episode, all of them as scared as I was to explore the mysterious school Sam and Colby recently bought. Yes, bought it. It's literally their place now, which is insane.

I'm close with Matt, Nick, and Chris as well, they were the reason I met Sam and Colby. We're all good friends, but I'm not sure that's all I can say about my relationship with Matt, although I have no idea what we are.

We separated to explore the school, trying to find any evidence that showed us why the place was haunted. After a while, we played a few games like basketball to know which one of us was going to use the ouija board. How funny is it that me and Matt were the chosen ones?

Colby explains to the camera what we are about to do, all of us getting into the boiler room, supposedly the most haunted room in all school, and soon enough me and Matt were left alone in the dark space.

-I don't wanna do this. -I say, sitting down on the floor in front of the board, my hands shaking in fear.

-Trust me, I don't wanna do this either. -Matt sits in front of me.

The only light illuminating the room was the flash from Matt's phone so we could see the letters on the board. One camera was positioned on top of a chair, pointing at us.

I take a deep breath, placing my fingers on top of the indicator.

-There's no running back now, I guess. -I bite my lips, waiting for Matt to do the same.

His fingers touch mine and he starts asking questions about the place, but nothing changes.

-I heard that there was a principal here, can we talk to you? -Matt asks, looking around even though it is all dark.

-Or maybe a woman, we love women. -I joke, trying to hide how scared I was.

Matt laughs, about to say something back, but our fingers move to Yes. I feel chills, my mind spinning with the change in scenario. It had to be Matt pranking me, there was no way this was real.

-Holy shit. -I whisper, my voice shaky.

-Are you the one in charge here? -Matt asks again.

I wondered how could he still act so nonchalant, he was clearly meant to do this shit.

The indicator stays in Yes.

-Do you like it here? That's why you're still in charge?

It starts moving again. Y. O. U.

-You?

-Maybe she likes you. -I whisper, giggling and stopping when I hear a crack. -Did you hear that?

-Are you the one making noises? Do you want us to leave?

Nothing.

-We just want to understand what's happening here, can you help us? Maybe talk about what makes this place so haunted?

Y. O. U.

-Matt, I think she really does have a crush on you.

-Shut up! -He chuckles, shaking his head in disbelief.

I bet his cheeks are red like tomatoes right now.

-I think she means that you're so handsome that all the ghosts are coming here to haunt this place. Maybe it is your fault that this place is haunted.

It's just too funny to mess with Matt, and so easy to make him feel all flustered that even in the dark I know he's all shy.

-You're so unserious.

We asked a few more questions but got no more answers and the noises were creeping me out so we decided to get out of there. We took the camera and said goodbye before letting go of the ouija board and walked to the safe room to find the rest of the guys.

-How was it? -Colby asks, pointing another camera at us.

-We discovered the principal was a woman who happened to have a huge crush on Matt.

I put the board on a desk, smiling as I heard Matt's complaints behind me.

🍂

We ended our part of the video with Sam and Colby and left the school. Matt drove us to their place, where I was supposed to sleep since it was almost morning already.

I was happy with taking the couch, so I changed and got ready to sleep in Matt's bathroom since it was the closest. Nick and Chris immediately went to their rooms, and when I got out of the bathroom Matt was waiting to come in. I smile at him, stepping to the side.

-Good night, Matt, try not to fuck any ghosts tonight.

His eyes widen, eyes rubbing his eyes as I laugh.

-That's insane. I'm not into ghosts like that.

I cross my arms, turning around to look at him, his cheeks turning pink just like I imagined they were back in the boiler room.

-I hope not.

He rolls his eyes with a smile, putting some toothpaste on his brush.

-You know you don't need to be jealous of ghosts, right?

-I'm not. -I shrug, leaning against the wall.

-I think the ghost wasn't the only one with a crush on me. -He smirks, setting the brush down and looking at me.

-So you confirm the ghost had a crush on you.

I raise an eyebrow at him, his smirk growing even more.

-I don't know, but unfortunately for her, I already have someone in mind. And she's not dead.

Fuck. I'm pretty sure I wasn't supposed to feel butterflies with this.

-That's a good sign. But I think you should tell her before she is dead, you know? Fighting a ghost for your attention is obviously hard.

Oh my God. Where did the confidence come from?

-Looks like it. Actually, that was kind of scary, I think I need some company tonight.

He's not serious. And the way he's looking at me? Maybe he knows a little too well how to intimidate me, in the best way possible.

Waiting for him in his room makes me even more nervous. Am I really about to share a bed with him? Does it mean anything?

My heart almost stops when he locks the door, takes a seat next to me, and looks at me with a serious face. His gaze is so intense that makes me anxious, a small smile slowly growing on his lips before he raises his hand to my cheek and pulls me closer. Without saying anything, he kisses me. It's delicate and sweet until he pulls away.

-Do you really think that ghost was into me, though?

I hit his arm playfully, rolling my eyes and laying down sideways, giving him

my back.

-You're an idiot. -I giggle, hearing him chuckle.

𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒔 ✍︎

➪ @riowritesitall @mattsfavbigtitties @sturniolosarethebest @hyacinthst @deers4luv @sturncakez @watercolorskyy @delooshunalhoe @sarosfilms @blahbel668 @sturniyolo69 @sturniolosl0t @colbsposts00 @fallingforfalll2 @stvrnmc @faithlia @katie-tibo @sturnioloblues @monroesturnns @mattnchrisworld @shaquilles-0atmeal @fratbrochrisgf @dayzeandhaze @sharkcat1928 @phimstarz @h3arts4harry @s1ut4chris @star-yawnznn @asherrisrandom @pip4444chris @jupiter1700 @sturniolo-fann @beansprout713 @conspiracy-ash @sophsturns @sturnsxbitvh @ivysturnss @mattsbitchh

[balrogballs]

Sorry I'm sure you've got a lot of questions about your post but please tell me how the publishers reacted to your explanation that the Elrond porn they thought you plagiarized was actually yours

OK I'm just going to answer this one and keep it pinned because I've got a good 6 people in my inbox all asking the same question and I refuse to explain this 6 times 😭😭😭

Tbh the biggest hurdle was not the "twas I that wrote the filth" bit, it was actually convincing them (they were all rather old) that I was not actually writing smut about Hugo Weaving, which if you think implies they genuinely assumed I was writing smut about the actor Hugo Weaving, whom I have never seen in anything except LotR and that one film where he flounces about in a frock, then you would be correct. May be partially my fault though because from what I remember, I replied to a reviewer with an A/N that said I really liked film Elrond but his hair sometimes made him look like a catholic schoolgirl, which they may have... misinterpreted I guess? 😭

So mainly I just had to convince them that I did not have a kink for that poor man, that the smut in question was written about two elves aka mythical creatures, that Hugo Weaving is not actually an elf, and that neither Elrond nor Lindir are real and thus cannot actually sue them.

They then asked me if there was any chance Hugo might sue them had the fics been discovered post publication, and thankfully, considering that man's entire attitude is "jesus fuck guys stop yapping about that goddamn elf he wasn't even that great" bless him, I could confidently say that he would be the last member of the LOTR cast to give a singular fuck about someone writing Tolkien smut, probably because he's put the word "elrond" on his perpetual block list.

But other than that it was all pretty normal, they just looked very surprised and obviously asked me to delete the profile but all in all iirc it went better than expected, except my poor agent, who was sitting there turning multiple colours of humiliation (sorry again V).

[sass-ruby]

Gosh- THIS EPISODE

For me, it felt like there needed to be something more.. I dunno, it just felt empty? And by empty, I mean what nexus said. Like his insults and actions.. it's kinda weird to me. You're telling me this is the SAME person who hijacked moon's head and tortured him, making him relieve his worst memories? He sounds so pathetic, and cringe at the moment, ESPECIALLY with his "I AM GOD!" complex.

Though, the "I'm sorry" from sun was HEARTBREAKING. In my opinion, it isn't sun's fault. He went through so much, and had no time to grieve because the new moon already showed up. Just imagine being in sun's place, a close family member you've known more than 10+ years dies and you get no time to grieve? It'd be fricking difficult. Also, I believe nexus is still a moon. He may claim that he's different but, he's almost the same stubborn, hateful moon. (Not talking about sun's moon, most moons in general). That's why sun said, "you're not worse than moon- hell you're not even better!"

Another thing I noticed, he seemed way more vulnerable with sun. Yelled at him for dealing with him wrongly (him being a replacement) and such. He is definitely hurt. To me, he seemed like a hurt, angry teenager yelling at his parents for doing him wrong and making him hateful, vengeful, a monster. It genuinely felt like a cry for help of some sorts

It's interesting to me that moon was scared of Nexus, and of death. Before his death, he didn't care. But now, he's scared which his reason was that he didn't want to put his family through the same thing. I think it's because of the qna episode.. Sun confirmed that when moon died, he just cried. It probably made him feel guilt of some sorts.

Oh, a thing to mention, I LOVE HOW RUIN TRIED TO KEEP SUN SAFE. In my eyes, ruin being scared is all an act. He has been through SO much worse, as well as destroying 5000+ dimensions so why would this scare him? I think he's trying to help sun and moon, because if he acts scared, no one would suspect him, right? He did leave a hint, which helped sun and moon find sun's² dimension. And he even told them "I'm not scared for me, I'm scared for you."

Ruin is a clever character, who has many tricks up his sleeve. He's great at tricking people, he is the world's greatest actor after all! (Get the reference?)

He surely has some sort of plan, or at least an outline of it.

EEEEEE I LOVE HIM SM, I CAN'T WAIT FOR WHAT HAPPENS IN THE FUTURE

5 more days until october

[resowrites]

Special Brew - oneshot.

Summary: Henry’s interview gets gatecrashed…

Pairings: AU!Henry Cavill x Reader/Wife!OC, Interviewer

Warnings: fluff, banter/British humour, fake interview, language, dialogue heavy, nondescript reader/OC body type/appearance, hastily written/lightly proofread.

WC: 2221

A/N: Hi folks I know it’s been a while, work’s nuts these days. This is very rushed and was meant to be longer (I wanted to base it on something I’d written previously) but for the sake of just getting something uploaded I decided to post as is. Sorry I can’t post regularly anymore but I hope you enjoy all the same - R x

Remember, this is pure fiction (as in completely made up), and not in any way meant to reflect reality. My work must not be copied, reposted, or translated elsewhere. Gifs/pics not my own. Thanks for visiting!

Special Brew - oneshot.

The following is an excerpt from an article that can be read in full here.

— It's at about the halfway mark in my interview with the 41-year-old Hollywood actor, Henry Cavill, when I notice his attention is caught by something offscreen. 

"Where did you get that?" I think I hear 'the fridge, you dickhead,' in reply. He grins. But instead of resuming our discussion about his upcoming role in the rebooted 80's classic, Highlander, he starts gesturing for someone to join him. It fails. So seconds later his partner is pulled onto his lap despite some very loud protestations. He tells her it's her fault for taking his last tin of lager. She tells him she needs it more. What then follows is an almost a four-and-a-half minute squabble - yes I actually timed it - which ends with Henry relinquishing the can on the proviso that if he has to be interviewed, she does as well. I don't take offense but soon wondered if that was premature: 

"Who's interviewing you? The Telegraph?"

"No, The Guardian--"

"Wouldn't the Telegraph be more interested?" He gestures in my direction.

"Well, I assume Mark is all the same!"

"And how long have you been keeping this poor bastard?"

"We've not even been chatting half an hour!" 

"Oh… have you got a second question for him?" I smile. The 35-year-old financier first met the actor in 2015 and they were rumoured to have married in 2022. Not that either of them, his publicist, or even various social media accounts provide much in the way of confirmation. This seems to stem more from a desire for privacy where possible than anything else. Though it must be said, at first glance they make for an incongruous pair. She catches me peering at her still towel-wrapped hair, Celtic jersey, and joggers combo and wastes no time striking first:

"That's a nice shirt--"

"Don't be cheeky, just 'cos you could have made more of an effort--"

"It's my day off! At least I don't look like an undercover policeman." Is she referring to Henry or myself?

"I don't know, stand up," I laugh but he just rolls his eyes. "Has he apologised for Aryglle yet? To be fair that was actually my fault, I wanted a new kitchen." This lays the ground for what is arguably one of the most chaotic interviews I've experienced in a while.

"Do you see what I mean, Mark? It's not that she wouldn't be media trained, it's that she couldn't." Now she rolls her eyes.

"See, he thinks he's being slick by making me look bad--"

"I'm the one who does that?!"

"So he looks better by comparison--"

"Is that right? And what was wrong with Aryglle?!"

"Nothing! It's the best thing you've ever done. Even if you didn't mean for it to be." She coughs to try and cover a laugh. I ask for her thoughts on his most recent box office offering (Guy Ritchie's spy action comedy, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare) but for a split second, the title escapes me.

"You mean The Manly Ministry of Something?" Henry tuts and grabs back the can. I dare to question if she has a low opinion of the profession in general. "No, it's more to do with the actors themselves." How so? "Well, considering they're usually the biggest gobshites you'd think it'd be great craic hanging out with them--" he quickly interjects.

"Who are you calling a gobshite?!"

'What do you mean?"

"You know fine well what I mean!" Henry turns back towards me and continues. "Even her own mother took me aside a couple of weeks after we started dating to try and warn me--"

"She never! What did she say?"

"Do you really want to discuss that right now?!" It can't be that bad then, I respond. He shakes his head, despairingly. "Oh no, just that she once walked on stage at a school assembly and instead of graciously accepting an award, pretended to trip so she could drag every single trophy off the display table!"

"… Can you tell he went to a private school?" I almost spit my drink out.   

"What do you mean?"

"Do you not realise how tame that sounds?!"

"But that was just the first month you were there!"

"Then I deserved an award--"

"Hang on, she also told me that when you had an after-school detention on your birthday, you climbed out the window of the room you were being supervised in--"

"Normally I'd just get on the bus and go home so that time they gave me a personal escort--"

"And then refused to come down from the roof unless they gave her a birthday cake!" Laughter rings out between our two screens. "In the end, they had to call the fire brigade and she became the reason why their school couldn't properly open their windows any more--"

"I also got a ride home in a fire engine so, hands down one of my best birthdays." Henry sighs. I wonder aloud how this contrasts with his own experiences of school. 

"Er, I mean I was a bit of a goody-two-shoes, so I felt a bit intimidated by that sort of thing." 

"He still is." He now chokes on his drink. Does this mean they wouldn't have crossed paths as kids?

"Nah, she'd have bullied me then as well." They both laugh. So she hasn't mellowed at all in the intervening years?

"I would say I have, yeah… you do as you get older." Henry's eyebrows hit the ceiling.

"Oh right, so I just hallucinated that night at the Bafta’s then?" She clears her throat and takes a large swig from the can. Is this why she doesn't typically attend red carpets with him?

"Ugh, I'd rather shit in my hands and clap--"

"That and the fact you're a fucking liability!" She shrugs as he explains. "A few years ago, I made the mistake of dragging her along to the after-party--"

"Well, that explains why I didn't fucking remember. Why did I have to come? You didn't win anything you were just presenting--"

"Oh fuck off! I even promised to take her on holiday for a couple of weeks if she at least tried to behave herself--"

"'Cos that's a good incentive--"

"And Jesus Christ, never again. If I wasn't blackballed in this industry before, I was that fucking night--"

"No, it's 'cos you won't take acting lessons." Henry smirks and tries to cover her mouth this time.

"At least I didn't go up to a circle containing Judi Dench, Helen Mirren--"

"Look at him dropping names! And it's Dame Judi…"

"And last but not least, the Meryl Streep--"

"You know, of Mama Mia…" A laugh escapes me before I can stop it. 

“Only to ask them where their cauldron was!" 

"But that's the great thing about being a nobody, you can say whatever want--"

"You're not a nobody--"

"No, I'm your plus one…" They howl with laughter. "The best thing is to underdress slightly as well so they think you're staff, the reactions are even better." And what was the response? "None of them heard me." He snorts.

"Judi just burst out laughing--"

"Judi! Like they're friends! Yeah, well she saw us arrive together so I think she was onto me."

"Luckily she's got a robust sense of humour…"

"Not like that other one. Oh, what's his name? You know… the one that says he'd rather be making shoes?" Sir Daniel Day-Lewis?

"Yeah, she asked him if he wanted her to go look for his top hat." I can feel my own jaw drop.

"That's how he reacted! Oh God, I'd give my left tit to relive it…" I ask where Henry is when these interactions go down. "Usually trying to find the nearest exit--"

"Is it any wonder!" 

"But we were only there twenty minutes--" 

"And he wasn't even the first Daniel you managed to piss off!" And who was that?

"Dan Snow." The broadcaster? Henry glances heavenward, exasperated.

"No, Jon Snow - and she means Kit Harrington. She got talking to him and somehow things managed to go south even quicker than usual." I can see how referring to him instead as the 50-year-old historian might have that effect. "No, it wasn't that, it was when he asked whether she was enjoying Game of Thrones--"

"Which is presumptuous isn't it?" For once even I'm at a loss for words. 

"And so she asked him if that's the show with dragons and when he said 'yes,'" he starts cracking up, "she went 'then, no.'" I don't think I've ever seen a man look so crestfallen - not even when you accosted Sam." Mr. Rockwell? I'm assuming that took place while Henry was still on the Argylle press tour?

"Oh yeah that was a gas, I waited until we were a bit better acquainted--"

"So the poor sod had his guard down--"

"And on the last day, I asked if he'd sign a picture for me. I think he assumed it was for a friend or something so he wasn't expecting me to thank him for gifting Henry his picture to put above the toilet--"

"What's worse is that it was that still from The Green Mile, you know? Literally, the first one that pops up on Google!" This anecdote puts me in mind of a similar story I heard on the grapevine during the first season of Netflix's The Witcher. Against my better judgment, I ask him if knows what I'm talking about and immediately his eyes flash in recognition.  

"Yeah, and it pains me to say that's also true."

"What is?"

"Your stunt at the Witcher premiere…" For a moment she looks genuinely confused. "Don't pretend you can't remember!"

"Remember what? I wasn't even there!"

"And even that didn't spare me!" 

"Oh I can't fucking win Mark, all I did was try and bring a smile to his face 'cos I knew he was sad about me having to work that night--"

"So naturally you had an 8x10 still printed of me with Orlando Bloom's head (as Legolas), photoshopped on top? Which, by the way, you could have just messaged me. But what did you do instead? You made dozens of copies and had my bodyguard hand them out to fans for me to sign." She waits for a beat.

"But how long did it take for you to notice?" Gentle reader, when I tell you this is one of only a handful of occasions I've ever laughed so hard in an interview, it's because I want you to know how rare that's actually been over a 35-year career in entertainment journalism. Still, I imagine that if she was brazen enough to taunt some of Hollywood's most influential stars, far worse shots have since been fired.

"Oh yeah, why don't you tell Mark how you recently mouthed off to Aaron Taylor Johnson?" Even she begins to look sheepish. 

"Yeah, but I was only trying to make conversation." Henry's head falls into his hand. She snickers. What on earth happened? "Honestly, nothing. I just said I hoped he really was being considered for Bond ‘cos he looks great in a suit." I hardly know how to respond. "Now that I think about it, he probably just thought I got you two mixed up--"

"Stop it right now!"

"What? You bought me in on this interview!" This of course is true and seems to serve a more serious purpose the longer our conversation continues. That he adores her is plain - his eyes never leave her. But it's the fact she can keep making him laugh, even under the scrutiny of being interviewed, that seems to make all the difference. Is that the key to the success of their relationship? "Well, that and the fact he's gone for six months out of any twelve--"

"So all the messages saying you miss me is just lip service?"

"Oh alright, it's cos he's got a huge… heart. Almost as big as his bank balance." Henry's legs are suddenly thrown in the air. At first, it seems he lost his balance, but judging from how quickly he then chases her from the room, I assume it was she who pulled the lever on his office chair that sent him hurtling to the floor. 

A couple of days later, I received a brief email from her which apologised for them both having 'christened more than a couple of ships' that day and explained how she was grateful that even though she 'had a lot of baggage' before they met, Henry refused to give up on her. She signed off with the following; 'His biggest problem is his limited self-belief. But seriously, he's admired because, in a professional and personal life full of arseholes, he's still, as Virginia Woolf said of her husband right before she died by suicide, 'entirely patient and incredibly good'. I'll never be drunk enough to say that to his face so I've cc'd him in.' I double-checked and saw that she had indeed emailed him as well. It's an oddly moving, albeit characteristically funny postscript and one that underlines her devotion to him no matter what. We should all be so lucky.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is on Amazon Prime Video.

To be updated on when I post please follow @resowrites and turn on post notifications.

@fanfictionaddiction99 @luclittlepond @caffeinatedfestivalsheep @summersong69 @ushijimbo @livesinfantasyland @jackjanira @thearcana-moonlight

[bee-named-alex]

Ok so ep7 of iwtv s2. One of the notes i wrote down as i was watching was "fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. nope. just nope. jesus fucking christ don't you dare do this" so you can imagine how i felt. Spoilers.

Ok ok. So I'm so fine rn you don't even know how fine I am. I didn't cry even though I expected to, I was more like empty, which might be even worse (read: better) lol

I'll start with a few quick thoughts, before I get into the bigger things. For the first like 10 minutes I couldn't stop thinking about how great Lestat (Sam) looks like im sorry. Him uncovering the homophobe's filth back at him? 10/10.

The actors are just so- perfect I have to say. Like we don't know what's true and I probably shouldn't believe anything just to be safe, but I found myself believing them everything. Also the whole time I wanted to hate the audience but they think it's just a play and if I, with all the other knowledge, find myself drawn to believe obvious lies, it's not really their fault that they do too.

Let's start with Lestat then. I was so glad to finally see the "real" (not really, even Sam said so) Lestat again

I haven't read the books (and even if i did i know that they change things) so idk how they made him testify because I just don't think he would. Maybe they tortured and forced him, "gave him a choice", maybe he was planning on saving them. Or maybe he just actually was out for vengeance i just don't know.

"You cannot script a hurricane" yeah you can't I loved that him going of script threw Santiago off so much, lmao (like he literally said "I'm about to violate the 5th law" aka kill Lestat I love that. Lestat is such a little shit.)

And when he went of script he told the truth (or as close to truth as we got during the trial i feel). Yes he also did break the laws. I like that he didn't let Santiago manipulate the audience to sympathize with him (don't get me wrong, it's not that he didn't want them to sympathize with him, he just wanted to manipulate them himself lol)

His and Louis' first eye contact (at around 11 minutes I believe) literally broke my heart.

When he talks about the loneliness I can't help but feel sorry for him.

I found it honestly hilarious when he was recounting their whole history backwards, like bitch please, it literally happened the other way arounf. Idk why it was just so funny how he was blatantly lying.

But then when they fully revisited the scenes from last season my jaw dropped.

So firstly Claudia's turning... I am so confused by it. Because it's obviously different from what we saw last time - and the scene itself is so moving. I mean Louis begging Lestat on his knees like he's some god and trying himself and failing and Lestat doing it for him even tho he knows it's a terrible idea. But the confusing part - in Dubai Louis rn says that Lestat's trial version is better than his and that he didn't want to believe it at the trial but now he knows it to be more true.

But like last season, so like 2 weeks ago, he told his own version?? Did he not realize until now, that he's talking about the trial, that he doesn't believe it? Did he lie on purpose but change his mind, is he lying now? Does Armand have to do something with it again? Tf is happening.

And then the fight. Again it's different but this time I remember that we didn't actually see this part of the fight so it could technically be true?? I don't really know rn how big of a part we didn't see last time. But maybe the truth about the fight is somewhere in the middle.

Amazing scene nonetheless, again, if I didn't know shit, I too would 100 % believe Lestat to be the victim. Up until the drop, that is extreme either way.

And Lestat going fully of script here, and his tears and his regret and his voice trembling and I'm sure that he means it. It wasn't a part of the performance. Sam Reid, the actor that he is, fuck.

It is just wo so great, like these new versions we get by Louis telling the story of Lestat showing him the story (which Louis already told us very differently) and on top of that anything could be misremembered. Or edited Armand. Unreliable narration at it's best.

Ok so Armand. "I could not prevent it" Fuck you. No sorry I might be a little harsh but yea no actually I'm not.

First the thing with Nicki and how he was "helped"... Armand got rid of him to have Lestat to himself and now he's doing the same with Claudia and Madeleine to have Louis.

Him having to watch is brutal and I believe his emotions but not his words. It was terrible to watch sure and painful and he didn't want it to happen... but he still sold them out?

He saves Louis. And it's amazing, the fear for his love in his face as he does it. He says it took all his strength and sure. But he could've saved them all. He can literally stop time. Ok maybe not but I for sure think he could've done it.

And rn in Dubai he's trying to convince himself or Louis or Daniel or maybe everyone that it wasn't his fault. But Daniel seems to not believe him (and calls his shit out a few times, good for him). And he's also making Lestat be more of a villain then he is I think (he would not do nothing when watching Claudia's death I'm sorry, that's his daughter.)

Claudia and Madeleine. My heart broke. They were doomed from the begginning. It didn't matter if they fought or not, it didn't matter their love or that they were right, it didn't matter that Madeleine was innocent and Claudia justified (maybe) in her crimes.

It didn't matter that Claudia was right -"We poisoned him, he's fine now. I can also cry and say I'm sorry"- because yes this was exactly true.

Claudia's final request (and Lestat giving it to her and then looking almost proud?? after she says it) and promise of death to all the people who doomed her and Madeleine.

And her rage. "It was never about me" and that's also true and yet she dies because of it. Tragic.

Madeleine's "My coven is Claudia" is just pure love and again it's what dooms her and again it's fucking tragic.

Watching the execution I couldn't breath really. Hurts still. And I don't believe Armand's version of the story though. Not that he tried but couldn't save them, not that Lestat didn't even try.

Louis, poor Louis. Living with guilt and sorrow isn't easy and he's living through it again now. And he can't even trust his own memories. I need him happy. He's not gonna be but I need him to be.

Also his live burial?? like fuck. That was vile. Like we know that he is fine now but still.

Previews. Santiago will die and if he doesn't I will kill him. Louis is a pyromaniac (yay), I'm ready for the whole coven to burn.

From the trailers we didn't yet see the bookshelves falling on Daniel so it has to be next episode. Also we didn't yet see the Loustat hug and I don't think it's what happens after the trial, especially not with Louis coming to kill Lestat, so that would mean it has to have happened later (Dubai maybe? I mean we do need Lestat's side of the story next season so we could get him now.)

[lunarspiral1127]

X-Men 97 episode 5 *SPOILERS*

The interviews

The reporter seemed nice and doesn't act like a typical controversial one. And, seeing Beast blush was adorable. But, Scott's interview was a doozy. What he said when he lashed out, well....he ain't wrong. I just thought Magneto would be the one to say those things, not Scott. Still, not wrong.

Jean/Scott/Madelyn/Logan drama

UGH! I hate love triangles that bring out so much stress and drama. And, I'm worried that Jean and Scott will break up because of the crap Mr. Sinister pulled. I wasn't expecting Jean to kiss Logan, and it was HIM who told her to go talk to Scott. Despite his feelings, he's still trying to be respectful to their relationship. But, seriously, Jean, why did you kiss him?!

Then apparently, Scott and Madelyn were checking up on each other telepathically, which I get why Jean would be mad at that. But, Madelyn during her time at the mansion WAS Jean and Scott thought that was her! They're the same! At least they were? Then again, they're in contact for a month and Jean kissed Logan once....UGH! I hate this drama. SINISTER THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!

Genosha

Beautiful. It was a paradise for mutants. They deserve this. The gala looked pretty, I liked the statues of Charles and Magneto, I was not expecting the Hellfire Club to be a part of this council cause I don't trust them (especially the crap they pulled in the previous show). Lots of cameos from other characters that I couldn't keep track on, but the place was lovely. It's a shame though on what happened later on....

Nightcrawler

This lovely, precious German Christian man. 🥰 I love Nightcrawler and I'm glad to see him in this show. The original voice actor who played him in the previous show still does a great job voicing him. And, he approves of Gambit and Rogue (adopted sister) being together, so that's extra bonus points. He got a new look compared to his previous one, but I still like it. Then when the massacre happened, I was so worried that he was gonna die. Thank goodness he survived, but I hate seeing him so hurt.

Gambit/Rogue/Magneto drama

I hate this love triangle SO MUCH! We get an explanation on how Rogue and Magneto got together, and I'm questioning how old she was when they first met and whether Magneto was influencing her in a bad way. Either way, still don't like this ship. Even when them dancing looked good animated, I STILL don't like it. Plus, it still doesn't make sense cause they've been against each other in the previous show, where there was no signs of the two having that past relationship.

Anyway, I'm glad Rogue finally told Gambit the truth, and I feel so bad for him. But, he knew what she wanted and how much it hurt, even going as far as to distance himself, which he showed a lot of emotional maturity, so respect to that. But, that thing where he'll lead Genosha if Rogue stays as his "queen"? DA FUQ?! Look, I like Magneto, but I did not like that. Still wish Rogue could've gotten one of those collars to nullify her powers so that she can touch Gambit. Would've solved a lot of drama, just saying.

I was SO relieved though, that Rogue said that he was right, and rejected Magneto, but I wish she could've done that without kissing him right where Gambit can see it. Either way, it seemed like she'll choose Gambit and not stay with Magneto in Genosha, THANK GOD!

So, you think this would be the end of that love triangle right? Well, yes and no? Cause what happened afterwards hurt like hell.

Genosha Massacre

So, a giant Master Mold thing showed up, killing mutants and destroying Genosha. It was cool seeing Cable again trying to stop it and seeing his mom after so long, which is a glimmer of hope but I'll get to that later. So, many people died. Sebastian Shaw, Calypso, Banshee, Marrow, pretty sure that was Dazzler or Moira not sure, and three more that hurt me so much.

Magneto. Okay, I may not like that love triangle, but I didn't hate the guy. Dude was fighting that Sentinel with a train as a whip, that was pretty cool. And, he tried to protect the Molocks. He tried to protect Leech! He got Rogue and Gambit out of the way. What hurt the most was he told Leech not to be afraid IN GERMAN! Again, didn't want him to die. Although, I wished he could've used his magnetism to push the Molocks away like he did with Rogue and Gambit, but nope. They all died!

Leech. Precious innocent Leech. He was just a kid, man! And, he got to hang out with other mutants his age. He was making friends. Only for this to happen. And, not a lot of people talk about Leech and what happened to him. But, I liked him, and that hurt.

And, finally, the one that hurt the most.....Gambit.....Remy.

He went out like a hero. He sacrificed himself to destroy that Sentinel from killing even more mutants. "The name's Gambit, mon ami. Remember it." Well, now we know why this episode is called Remember It, cause it was Gambit's last words. And, if that wasn't enough, Rogue holding onto him, crying over his body, finally able to touch him....only to not feel him.

THAT. FREAKING. HURT. SO. BAD!!! 😭 Gambit was one of my favorite X-Men characters, and I legit was crying seeing that end. It really hurt to see that happen to him, but at least he went out saving people. However! There is that slight glimmer of hope! Cable. He tried to go back to stop this, who's to say he won't try again? Time travel shenanigans will happen and he can team up with Bishop and the rest of the X-Men to prevent this from happening. It happened many times before, it can happen here. And, maybe, just maybe, Gambit, Leech, Magneto, and all those people won't have to die. This may the denial talking, but I'll be so pissed if Gambit's dead and he Rogue won't be together for good anymore, cause that would be bullcrap.

God, how am I gonna be okay when we're getting Storm and Forge vs. The Adversary next week?! And, jeez, if things keep up like this, Storm is gonna return to the whole mansion on fire. I can't imagine what her and everyone's reactions are gonna be when they find out about Gambit and even Magneto.

Anyway, good episode. Much better than last week's. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go find a way to cope from all of that.

[anhed-nia]

BLOGTOBER 10/5/2024: INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE (1994)

I'm sorry, but this movie fucking sucks. I hadn't seen it in decades and I thought it was probably "OK"; I devoured the books as a kid and I didn't remember hating the film, but I should have realized that it was a red flag that I didn't love it. I have now discovered that it's bad enough that it failed to thrill me when I was a morose little horror dork who was really the target audience, and as an adult I can hardly stand it.

Daniel Molloy (Christian Slater, dressed up as Art Spiegelman for some reason) interviews for-realsies vampire Louis (Brad Pitt, still looking like he spends a lot of time in the sun) about life with his master Lestat (Tom Cruise, who knows why) and their eternally-childlike daughter Claudia (poor li'l Kirsten Dunst). Suddenly I feel like I don't know what to say about this, as I'm writing, even though I enjoyed the book and also the superior-in-every-single-way TV show. You know. Louis is really sad about being a monster. Lestat is really happy about being a monster. Claudia is really mad about being a monster. They have interpersonal problems. Later they meet some other vampires, and have interpersonal problems with them. At the end Louis is angry with Daniel for not getting the point, but maybe neither did I.

To some degree the problems of the movie are the problems of the book, but on the page they're basically forgivable for various reasons. I'm probably not going to refresh my memory, but as I recall Anne Rise has a way of really drawing you into her world, which is so literally-sensational that it makes up for her boy-crazy humorlessness. Everybody basically has one characteristic, outlined above, but the visceral pleasure of the prose takes over--and to be totally fair, it was novel at the time. It was the vampire story we had all been waiting to hear. (Ok, so the book is from 1978 but it still felt fresh in 1994) But when you port all that to the screen and leave the telling to these actors who are almost universally miscast, it all just lies there, dead.

I thought my hesitation about rewatching this was related to my petty aversion to Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise specifically. I really don't enjoy either of them in general, and I also felt like they were profoundly wrong for the roles; neither of them could be less goth, less tortured, less otherworldly. It feels criminal to fill these classic queer outsider roles with alpha males who seem like they would have beaten up your weird gay friends in high school, and their performances are not remotely good enough to make up for this impression. Kirsten Dunst is perfectly awful but like...you just can't have a 12 year old playing a person who is any older than 12. It cannot work. It's not her fault, it's just a bad idea.

The only guy who is any good at all in this is Stephen Rea, a staple of director Neil Jordan's films, who I almost didn't even recognize because his Santiago is so uncanny and dynamic and fun despite having very little to do. I love the way his look references LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT, it made me wonder how much more could have been done by subtly comparing Rice's vampires with their cultural predecessors. Rea lights up every scene he's in because he's so mischievous and unpredictable, and he's also almost the only person with any standout stunts--which helps me segue into the other main gripe I had with this movie, that it is incredibly stiff and static. It's like a prison. Everyone is totally weighed down by their giant ridiculous wigs and seven layer costumes, so even though the movie is supposed to be all sensual and shit, it's like nobody can even move.

Dealing with INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE is making me realize that I'm not quite sure what I think about Neil Jordan. I have this kneejerk reaction that he is Great because THE CRYING GAME is such an institution, and MONA LISA is real good too, but I might have found all of his other movies kind of humorless and stiff and like, beautiful but not altogether meaningful. I really struggle with THE COMPANY OF WOLVES because of its terrific FX and handful of fun scenes, but there is something about it that fails to connect with me. Sometimes it's overly pretentious, I mean paralleling a maiden's coming of age with the blood on the white roses is like...pretty gross, dude. But overall there is something about it that just lacks substance, despite its relentless and oppressive Symbolism. It seems like this problem should have been smoothed out for INTERVIEW since it was shot from Anne Rice's own script, but according to me, it really does not work out.

[all-pacas]

random house ask (slash musings)…

i’ve been reading your chase and thirteen metas, and it struck me… there’s another character in the show who’s referred to by house as the “prodigal son” - amber. (s04eo3)

house says it as a joke, obviously, but thematically seems like it’s either totally irrelevant or the key to the whole show and i can’t for the life of me figure out which, or what (if anything) it means. just wondered if you had any thoughts, given the show’s general wealth of symbolism around amber and that line specifically being deeply tied to chase (and arguably thirteen).

I saw this just before I went to bed last night and my guy, I've been thinking.

So, what's immediately interesting to me is this:

13 calls herself the prodigal daughter. She's the only one comfortable enough to define her and House's relationship like that: she's the most comfortable with him, neither trying to impress him or become him. 13 and House aren't actually that alike in a couple of crucial ways: she's independent to a fault, cutting her phone lines and making huge life changes, and House needs to be around others as much as he hates them. For all that 13's mysteriousness is a self-imposed meme, she's actually very single-minded in a lot of ways: she decides something and she acts. And in that way she is like House, in that she acts according to her beliefs and doesn't like to involve others or change her mind. She cuts her phone lines and goes to jail. She quits medicine and moves to Greece. She asks Chase to bring her an ultrasound, then punches him when he tells her they need the hospital, even though he is right. And that stubbornness is very House, but that independence isn't. House in his own way is very social: he needs people to react to, to bounce off of, to antagonize. He doesn't do well alone, he doesn't like to be alone. He hates people but he thrives when he's around others. He doesn't make decisions in a vacuum like 13 does, he isn't really capable of making the huge life up-ending changes she does once per season. And they're both stubborn and single-minded and sarcastic and get along great, but it's interesting that 13 is the one who calls herself the prodigal daughter: not that she's wrong. But she decides. She leaves on her own, exists on her own. She is comfortable defining her and House's relationship.

House calls Chase the prodigal son, and it's a joke, but it's also not. Chase in early seasons is defined by wanting to be like House and failing, being a bit pathetic and silly and ridiculous for the ways he emulates House despite being insincere (House is deeply sincere — not the same thing as being pleasant or kind — Chase is an actor), despite Chase being presented as a bit dim. Foreman is like House without trying; Chase has to try, isn't that slightly embarrassing? It's only later that Chase is shown to be just as brilliant as House when he wants to be, not just solving cases but cases House can't. It's only over time that Chase becomes more House-like, and they're still less similar as people and more similar in terms of their lives: Cameron is basically Stacy. Chase becomes more cynical and isolated and lonely over time, staying static and unchanging as everyone around him moves on. He might have wanted to be House once, but by S8 he feels stuck and lonely and that House is all he really has, something he accuses House of enabling. He's also the one House tells not to be like him: House sees these parallels and tells Chase he wants better for him. Don't be like me. Don't be stupid and irrational and angry, don't react just because you're scared. Calling him the prodigal son was a joke, the hug was a joke, but Nobody's Fault/Chase were not jokes: Chase is like him, and House wants better for him. Chase has always wanted validation from House, wanted House to say I care for you or I'm proud of you (House wanting his father to say you did the right thing, Chase doing the right thing in Finding Judas and getting nothing); House instead tells him don't be like me.

13 isn't all that much like House and is comfortable with it and their relationship. Chase is forever insecure in his and House's relationship and is told to not be more like House than he is. They're House's favorites, but the dynamics are very different. Chase would never call himself House's son, because that's too big and huge: 13 is fine joking she's House's daughter because she's secure in who she is.

So here's where Amber comes in: she's the one House thinks is just like him. They're quickly made to be social equals (as Amber points out), and fall into a series of power plays and games that are very equal: they're fighting for Wilson. House doesn't treat her as a subordinate or a follower; he engages on her outside of work, at her home, in social spaces. This isn't something House does with his fellows, especially not in S4. And part of that is her relationship with Wilson kind of elevates her, right? He can't treat Amber as an employee. But House calls her a female version of him (conniving, manipulative, defensive, intelligent, not very likeable). House doesn't seem to like Amber much, but he respects her. She's the one he hallucinates and who becomes his sort of… well, literally his subconscious. Where you can make a case House sort of sees 13 and Chase as his surrogate kids (they're definitely his favorites), he definitely doesn't think of Amber as one of them. They're equals. She's just like him. And House doesn't like her.

13 isn't much like House, Chase is but shouldn't be; Amber is House, and where the first two are his favorites, he of course doesn't like Amber at all. And so of course she's, in a weird way, the most important of the three to him.

[monstermoviedean]

it's honestly beyond wild how easily dean lets cas off for some pretty irredeemable, unforgiveable stuff with no understanding or even acknowledgement on cas' part of the kind of incredible actual-no-strings gift he's been given (and thrown away, rinse, repeat). i can appreciate the take that it just goes to show how deeply braindead in love dean is (and i might still be able to find the romance in it if there was ever any kind of equal or at least comparable weight on cas' end) but he can do (and has done) (and deserves) so much better! rip!! on a list of all dean's boyfriends ranked in order of how well they treated him cas would come in dead last.. can't even rate him over the ones that tried to kill dean because uh cas has not only done that too but also done that more than most (without even factoring in the mind control) lol wanky maybe but that doesn't make it untrue womp womp

anyway the trap effectively killed many of my charitable feelings for cas and despair took care of much of the rest. i know you're not there yet and still manage some warmth for cas besides (plus my post s15 cas/destiel opinions probably trend significantly more harshly than even the rare and wonderful few who have been openly critical of both that aren't br*nly/c*sties, i can acknowledge that lol) but after the trap and knowing what's still to come, it's very difficult for me to see cas-as-dean's-endgame being a positive thing for dean. that may be what he wants but like please for the love @ him: want better!!! i mean, s6 was tough but also so crunchy and opened the door for a world of (tragically unrealized) possibilities. the shadow that s15 and everything leading up to it casts over all of that is just.. so so long. there's been so many opportunities for cas to be better and he just. wastes them.

i'm so interested to see what your takeaway from despair is because it left me feeling kind of hollow on destiel and deeply skeptical of cas when stacked up against everything else. cas may be in love with his idea of dean but he's proven over and over again that he's either incapable of or unwilling to be and see dean as an equal, loving partner. idk if it's a fault in the writing (feels like a cop out to pin things on that though, especially when cas is actually written fairly consistently compared to most other characters) or just that mc isn't as dynamic/effective an actor as jackles but i find myself less and less convinced of cas' sincerity as time goes on. he's wildly selfish. i think it's far easier to make the argument in canon that everything he's done, including that confession, has been far more selfishly motivated than motivated by any genuine love or care for dean (or jack for that matter). maybe an uncharitable assessment, but not an unfounded one.

what dean says about angel's caring and cas playing sorry in 7x21 and cas insisting he's "a lot like people" to rowena's (very apt) assessment of him in 10x22 are always top of my mind when i try to make sense of cas in the aftermath. he's not sorry, he's playing sorry. he's not people, he's performing people. angels don't have souls and i'm not sure i really buy grace as a substitute but, even if i did, cas' has been waning for a very long time (which i wish had been explored more considering all of the weight the canon puts on having a soul). cas isn't that far removed from donatello who, in his soullessness, turned to mr rogers for behavioral cues. cas holds dean in that role, he's just not especially good at emulating him. or maybe just doesn't understand what it is he should be emulating. all of that to say that i really, truly believe cas wants to feel people feelings (feelings is dean as people is dean as humanity is dean etc etc etc), i'm just not sure if i buy that it's ever more than performance for him.

like fanfic is great, i love fanfic! post s15 fix-its moving further and further away from the "dean pulls his head out of his ass" model is such a gift!! but in actual canon?? ough. cas' very long, very well established patterns make canon destiel a super hard sell for me in a post s15 world. there's no reason to believe that things would ever change because, to the bitter end(?), they never did.

anyway anyway, i'm sorry for using your inbox as a rantbox and i fully understand if you ignore this, i know parts of it might be kind of a powder keg lol it's hard to not be cynical and frustrated by so much squandered potential i suppose, especially when so much of the fandom popular opinions on these things have been just so. bad and wrong. for so long. it's been a relief to see some of those tides turning as more people revisit the source material, though! please just know that i really have enjoyed following along on your rewatch and appreciate how much thought and care you put into understanding this show and these characters. i'm looking forward to seeing where what's left of the journey takes you!

there are some points here i agree with and some i don't, but i can entirely see where you're coming from. i just want to extend some love to you because yeah, sometimes this story is really incredibly frustratingly sad and bleak. also no need to apologize, i love inbox rants <3

i'm publishing this because i think there are a lot of interesting points of discussion about cas and his relationship with dean. blanket statement for anyone who might read it: i am not interested in cas-bashing or anon-bashing. don't do that here. or anywhere, frankly.

to start off: it IS beyond wild that dean lets cas off for some things. breaking sam's wall is the first example that comes to mind. i mean wow, good for dean for being the bigger person and forgiving there, but holy shit.

i'm gonna politely disagree with you on cas treating dean badly. i do see where you're coming from! this is something i've talked about before re: cas actually - that sometimes the way dean treats cas is viewed as poor treatment, but in actuality cas doesn't receive it that way at all. so cas' tendency to put the mission first, for example, is something that dean GETS. dean doesn't feel like cas is neglecting him by doing this. i think there are also circumstances in which cas' actions are understandable, even if i don't like them. and a lot of the "constant apocalypse" problems lead to responses that don't have a real-world equivalent. all that being said, i think one thing cas could fix/address is answering his phone when dean calls him.

on dean doing better - i think people in dean's life could and should treat him better. i also think he loves and cares about those people and would not trade them out, and i respect that.

on cas being better - mixed feelings on this. i totally understand where you're coming from and don't want to invalidate you here or at any point! i think cas is trying to be better. i think he's locked into a pattern where he only sees one option for being better - fixing things / getting wins / sacrificing himself / otherwise protecting dean and sparing dean harm. i feel for him there, i really do. smarter people than me have pointed to heaven brainwashing/upbringing as the reason this pattern exists. so i don't expect him to break out of that pattern, but i do think it's reasonable to wish he had come to recognize that this DOES harm dean. i think cas often believes he knows how dean feels. sometimes he's right, sometimes he's wrong. and in this case while dean can understand why cas is doing what he's doing and respect his decisions enough to not put up a fight about them, it does hurt dean to watch cas walk away into certain danger over and over. it especially hurts when dean has no power in the situation and is left with nothing to do but to hope cas comes back.

so i have actually seen 15x18 and have some feelings about it but i don't want to comment until i see it again. i know i missed a ton of context the first time i watched it (november 6 2020 after not having watched the show in a few years), and i'm interested to see how my interpretation changes!

one opinion i have that i don't think will change: i believe cas' pattern of keeping secrets to protect dean, then having those secrets blow up, causing dean pain and/or causing cas to leave, is not disrupted. i believe 15x18 reinforces this pattern, in fact. and i do not like that. i do appreciate that cas did it for love and he was backed into a horrible corner, and at the same time, from dean's perspective, it's another example of cas leaving.

on cas not seeing dean as an equal partner. hoooo boy, this one gave me pause. i am very conflicted about this, to be honest. i think cas THINKS he sees dean as an equal partner, but i'm not sure he actually does. i'm also not sure he treats him like one. consistently, at least. i think they're equals when they're dealing with "ordinary" problems (monsters, people), but when the problems are angel-level or higher, i think cas thinks he has more ability to solve those problems than dean does. sometimes he's right (cas should be the one talking to michael in 15x08, for example). but not always. and i could see that coming across as patronizing. i want to think more about this one!

on cas' selfishness. this is tough because i think cas is trying to be selfless in a way that comes across as selfish. he wants to be the hero. he believes he can be the hero. he wants to spare others from being the hero. and while that's usually well-intentioned (taking on burdens so others don't have to), it can read as "no one else is capable of this but me." and i think the major problem is that cas looks at things from a 30,000-foot level. he is often less concerned with the ground-level impacts. so when he's, idk, saying yes to lucifer, he's thinking "someone has to and it may as well be me" but he's not thinking "oh shit dean is going to have to watch lucifer parade me around and then kill me." while i understand his reasoning in these high-stakes no-win situations and i'm not mad about it, i do wish he would consider the impacts of his small decisions on others more often. sorry to bring up the phone thing again but it's the best example i've got - it would be nice if cas made it more of a priority to answer his phone when dean calls because it's important to dean, even if it isn't important to cas. it will help dean feel more secure and they will have a nice conversation because they enjoy talking to each other. we have hints of this kind of thing happening but i would like to see it more clearly and consistently. or like. icing sam out during the rupture was pretty shitty. he could have at least texted back. (yes he was in a bad spot, no he doesn't have to respond to sam all the time, but a little 'i'm not dead' text would have made a big difference)

i think "uncharitable but not unfounded" is very understandable. i, personally, believe cas loves and cares about dean. i also could come up with some examples of cas' actions that, regardless of intent, communicate to dean that this is not true. i think if you want to make a case that cas doesn't care, you can. i wouldn't agree with it, and i think there's a better case that cas does care, but i do recognize that the show itself leaves that door open. and it does bother me. i would feel better if cas showed more consistent and obvious care for dean TO dean.

i think cas does confuse/equate feeling guilty with feeling sorry. i think he does both, but sometimes he is playing sorry. i think his defense of jack at the end of s14 contradicts his claims of being sorry, for example. but i'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he is actually sorry most of the other times.

on cas' feelings - i see where you're coming from, and i disagree here. i think cas does have feelings, even if he doesn't always know what they are or how to process them. someone (i think ilarual?) made a cool post about cas growing a soul that i thought was a neat idea. but i can certainly sympathize with wanting the show to do more with angels, grace, angel feelings, etc.

i do believe cas is sincere in his care and in wanting to do better, and that's one reason i have faith in dean and cas being able to work it out and be good for each other! i think that's a major difference between our perspectives. and i don't have an answer here, because again, i see where you're coming from. if you're open to it, i might suggest considering cas' actions from a perspective that he's 100% sincere 100% of the time. it might be interesting to try, even if it doesn't change your opinions at all (and you definitely don't have to try it or change your opinions).

one million billion trillion percent agree on squandered potential. there are so many problems we've discussed here that i think could be fixed with attention and goodwill. but will they be fixed? sigh. i don't know. i like to believe so, but cynicism is also a fair response. i think a lot of my feelings come down to this question: if the show had continued, would 15x18 have been a turning point? would it have finally allowed dean and cas to change their relationship? or would it have set it in stone, never to be changed again? i think it's a matter of interpretation. i tend toward the former - that 15x18 would have changed everything and allowed them space to finally get it right - but i can also see why the latter works, especially because the show ending DID set it in stone that way.

it HAS been a relief to see shifts in conversation, and i hope they continue. and thank you so so much for your very kind words! they are not necessary but they are appreciated :) i often feel like i'm just fumbling around in the dark compared to a lot of others, and it's nice to hear i haven't completely mucked it up. also i really enjoyed answering this, so thanks for giving me so much to chew on!

[edennill]

RoP S2E3 reactions:

It's technically not their fault but Berek means "tag (the game)" in Polish which is a bit funny...

DON'T GO IN THERE! Why are you going in there? I thought horses were supposed to be easily-scared

Ah, it's Isildur. Glad they didn't drag out this pointless mystery any longer.

I'm not even scared of (normal-sized) spiders, but Eeesh

It irks me that it's not my slightly creepy interpretation of Númenórean burial customs, but I'm semi-interested in the funeral proceedings. They cut them too short though.

Unfortunately the stupid blindness plot development is now back. If they wanted diversity points they should have made her disabled since childhood, and it would actually be interesting rather than melodramatic.

I keep wanting to remind these people Pharazon is the same age as Muriel (I mean I guess it might be weird Númenórean aging, but I feel it's misrepresenting things and I don't like it because their messed-up relationship fascinates me)

Huh, I wonder whether he'll trick her with the colours.

Númenóreans cannot choose a king at will!

They brought up stone giants; I hope they won't again. I know they're mentioned in the Hobbit (Bilbo's elaboration imo) but uhh, the movies made a poor use of them and I doubt this would make a better one.

Celebrimor's Celpatine's actor is a really kindly-looking aging man! He just doesn't fit the character at all. Wish they'd found a better place for him.

He actually reminds me of Bilbo...

Why did they have to destroy elven politics to such an extent? The real Gil-Galad doesn't rule Eregion.

Huh, I wonder if that's gonna be Isildur's love interest...

Estrid really doesn't feel like a name for a Southlander

riding horseback together, alone in the forest... 😘😘😘

So Bronwyn's dead. In between seasons. What was that plot thread even for.

Maybe they realised the issues with a mortal-immortal romance, but this does not solve them. And I bet Arondir will mention her at most once or twice more and everyone will forget about her.

Beleriand was a continent, not a realm 🤦‍♀️

Why is Theo so vehement towards Arondir all of a sudden. I mean, I guess it's not unrealistic for a teenager who just suffered great loss, but it comes from nowhere thematically.

Huh. Estrid's mark is a new development, but I still think they'll end up together. (No, I don't ship them. I have my own OC for Isildur's wife. But I know enough about tropes to suspect things.)

✨Pretty dress✨ Almost Byzantine-inspired, I think.

Miriel's speech might feel more moving if the whole battle it's about wasn't so dumb. Although I kind of doubt it.

✨Eärien's dress✨

What is it with the Palantir business🤦‍♀️

Númenoreans are hardly less "magical" than elves for that matter. They wouldn't be afraid of palantri!

Eagles aren't dumb beasts of omen you can co-opt to your purposes.

Lil Bro: And the people who chose Pharazon did not care for symbols of the Valar. Preach.

Tl;dr: A MESS

[doomreed]

I’m not hyped about the new fantastic four news either. though I think what I kind of hope will happen is marvel doing something like they did in the last mcu spider man movie where we see 3 peter parkers team up.

I think it would be super cool to see the cast from the 2005-2007 fantastic four movie meet with the ones from the newest movie. and have the 2005-2007 Doom (Julian McMahon) meet with the Doom from this upcoming fantastic four film too.

so we have more than one “fantastic four” team and also more than one Victor von Doom in the same movie. that would be pretty epic to see in my humble opinion. (if this really is the case, I still have hope that marvel won’t mess it up, because it sure has the potential to be great.)

I mean marvel did just very recently confirm that all the events prior to the mcu (so… sony’s spider man and fantastic four) are also canon to the mcu, and I doubt they would say that if they didn’t plan to do something with it (they said it after the event of the last spider man movie with 3 peter parkers), especially when mcu is heavily heading towards the direction of multiverse, various timelines, various variants of the same person (character) right now. I mean we basically have 3 peter parkers (from both sony and mcu) and literally a bunch of lokis. so let’s see what’ll happen next.

also not related to the topic but I should just say that I’ve been a fan of your blog for some time now. thank you for all the DoomReed goodies

The only part of the casting I agree with is Ben. It feels like Marvel is playing it extremely safe with casting Pedro, like since Multiverse of Madness they've clearly been aiming for the "soft dad" angle with Reed, probably in an attempt to get ahead of possible complaints about him based on canon? I love Reed Richards to a fault, but he's always been a little bit of an asshole. Not intentionally, and much of that perceived assholeness stems from him being on the spectrum imo but it's there, and ignoring that does him as much a disservice as playing up Tony's alcoholism purely for laughs and then never mentioning it again was to that character--another thing the MCU has done.

The poster, the casting, idk. It radiates a nuclear-family blandness, with a camp overlay used purely for aesthetics that will probably be quite popular with general audiences and leave F4 fans from the comics and old movies and other sources of media quite cold. We are not the audience Marvel Studios wishes to court, they've made that very clear.

I'd love to be wrong about how this will play out, though. Pedro is a gifted character actor when he's allowed to be, the trouble is, studios know too well how much audiences love him as a person, and are too prone to mixing the two to improve audiences' appreciation of a character he's playing, rather than just letting the man cook. 😔

I don't have a firm opinion of the other cast other than: this will be the most money anyone named Kirby has ever made on Fantastic Four, so good on her. 👍 And the Ben casting feels right. I'm outside the Johnny demographic so no real opinion there.

I had read that the baddie for the first movie will be Galactus, which is like leading your football season with the Superbowl? But no one asked me, so... 😅 maybe they have a set up that will make that work, who can say.

I've also read (on reddit, so make of that what you will) that Doom will have a "cameo" in the first movie, but no clue what that means or even of it's true.

I like your idea a lot. I think the Deadpool & Wolverine movie will have a Fantastic Four cameo of some kind, probably. The comic book we see in the trailer next to Wade's head on the desert world is Secret Wars #5, which is a recap of the story so far and how everyone got to where they are--so it's possible the desert world they're all on is Battleworld, run either by future-verse Doom or (more likely) the Beyonder. I do think the movie will include them in some way bc the studio will want to start building hype for that as their next big project, going into the MCU version of Secret Wars.

And ofc SW will have crossovers galore, since Marvel Studios has unfortunately set audience expectations for that being what it's about 😅 so, worst case, they'll turn up between those two films no doubt.

I'd love to see Julian McMahon's Doom encounter a closer-to-comic-canon version, but a thing to know about Victor is that he kills every variant of himself he meets. Like, historically, that's just his thing (it's an expression of his own self-loathing, which is really tragic in a way) ...I dunno if the MCU will carry that fun little trait over, but as a writer I can say it's an easy, low-stakes way of showing "this character is a bad guy and also there is something very wrong with him" so... yanno. I am expecting it. 😁

Sorry for the negativity on this, I'm trying to stay upbeat about it all but so far they're not inspiring confidence yet. We'll see what future developments bring, if nothing else we'll always have fanart and fics and the comics themselves. It's not like this fandom hasn't dealt with bad adaptations before, I think we'll be alright whatever happens.

[balanceoflightanddark]

Avatar the Last Airbender Netflix Episode 1- "Aang"

Well...the time has come.

My biggest question going into this series is asking why it needs to exist. I mean, from a business standpoint it makes sense. ATLA exploded in popularity overnight during the pandemic and Netflix wanted to cash in while the iron was still hot. Moreover, it's one of those "safe bet" projects. The name recognition alone is going to attract some viewers, even if just to compare it to the original. Doesn't matter if you don't like it, you still saw it. And if it boosts their numbers, it'll be a success regardless of critical reception.

No, my question stems from a creative standpoint: what are they going to do in order to make this remake seem like a necessary thing? What was so important that they needed to retell the story over again?

That's my thoughts going into the first episode. My first complaint is the structuring. It would not be a stretch to say that this episode had THREE introductions (arguably five if you count Aang and the water siblings being introduced): one by Kyoshi that gave an overview of the setting, one that set up that the Fire Nation was going to attack the Southern Air Temple during Sozin's Comet, and yet another by Gran Gran where she basically recited the original series opening. It just feels clunky, that we're being told the same information over and over again with exposition dumps.

And yeah, there's quite a few of them. Sure, some exposition is necessary to quickly relay the state of the world. But then we have stuff like Katara explaining that the Earth Kingdom is holding out in Ba Sing Se even though that's not exactly relevant to the current story? Stuff like that seems too much to throw at the viewer in too short a span of time. I'd hate to compare it to the original series where stuff like this was introduced more organically within the context of the story (Ba Sing Se was first mentioned in Iroh's siege of it, right?).

Last thing is that the acting was...hit or miss. Which to be fair I think was more direction and writing than any fault on the actors. Katara was...she was just kind of there for the most part I felt, not having any of the pent up anger of the original. And Gran Gran...yeah, her acting was bad. Really bad. Again, I'm blaming more on the writing since she felt stiff and didn't have any of the loving qualities despite her weariness of the original (didn't get a scene of her saying goodbye to Katara and Sokka for example).

Now, stuff I liked, and there was quite a few that I did like. I liked the actor who played Aang, he was a great choice. Really nailed down the balance between goofball and needing to take things more seriously. Some of the comedy beats were pretty good, like the one Southern Water Tribe member saying "He looks dead" about Aang, Sokka screaming his head off while riding on Appa, or one of the Fire Nation sailors grumbling about Zuko dragging their asses all over the place (first swear in the franchise and Zuko caused it).

There are two things I want to address here. The first change of Aang being more duty-oriented and wanting to clear his head instead of running away. I get the backlash...but I also think it's addressed here. In the original, Aang learned out in the worst way possible with nobody there to ease him into it. Which resulted in him running away. Here, Monk Gyatso broke it to him as gently as he could. It was still a bad situation, but I think a father figure being there to sort of steer him in the right path would've toned down his reaction in the original if that was allowed to happen. Plus it would've given Aang more incentive to take his duties seriously if Gyatso guided and vouched for him. Like he's doing it for his old mentor. I'd be interested to see where this goes.

Last thing: the scene between Aang and Iroh. It's simple, but effective. Aang asks why Iroh why the Fire Nation is waging the war, and the old man just gives off what sounds like Fire Nation propaganda. Aang shuts him down and Iroh...silently nods and agrees with him. It's actually pretty powerful. Aside from him realizing the implications that he just advocated the imperialistic rhetoric to a survivor of said rhetoric, it also sort of humanizes the Fire Nation a bit where an old veteran like Iroh admits that no, sometimes he and his people weren't always in the right. It's just he can't do much about it.

There. I complimented an Iroh scene and admitted he got one of the best scenes in the episode. Happy now?

All in all, it was...a solid start. I think I'm a bit more forgiving in terms of Aang's changed character since...well, I wasn't asking for a one-to-one remake of the original. There were a few things that bothered me, but I'm willing to hold the benefit of the doubt until they start becoming bigger problems down the line.

At the start of my watch, I asked whether or not a remake like this was necessary. What I got from this episode was..."maybe?" It's clear they want to do something different in terms of character, which is fine. It's just how clunky some of the dialogue and structuring choices were that holds it down a little. A shaky start, but there's room for potential.

[pillarsalt]

Wikipedia anon here, i feel SO embarrassed for misremembering so much about that article. the concept of the cotton cieling and the reminder of the sheer amount of institutions/resources that have been taken over by tims/tras makes me so upset i didn't want to recheck the article again, even though i should have. (it was some time ago i saw the rb of your comic and did my first check, then saw your comic again and remembered about doing so, to clarify. yes i'm an absolute mess i apologize)

i appreciate you so much for not only getting what i was trying (and failing lmao) to explain but also looking into and linking the talk page because JFC!!! so sharing differing opinions for a topic (with cited sources!!) on wikipedia is a no-no, but it's totally fine when you and your friends retroactively decide pro-topic views make you look bad and so you delete the entire article and rewrite the definition of said topic to be about generically "being left out of spaces :.-(" instead of being honest about it being homophobic, rapist rhetoric (which is the reason you're trying to hide it in the first place) hoooooooly SHIT

if genderism ever blows over (with how long it's stuck around for, and with no one being willing to talk about objective/legal concerns like the WPATH files and Maya Forestater, let alone even have a conversation with a GC person, at this point i'm not hopeful...) everyone who contributed to the widescale abuse and trauma of women (especially lesbians), girls, gay men, gnc people, and tip (medicalized or not) could spend the rest of their lives begging for forgiveness and it wouldn't be anywhere near enough. not that i'm expecting them to do that, of course. it's not even blown over yet and we can see from the cotton ceiling article that they'll absolutely try to just gaslight everyone and pretend it never happened (and if it did, it wasn't that bad, and if it was bad it was your fault for not doing your research, etc etc)

ANYWAY i'd rather end on something positive, so thank you again for sharing your wonderful art on here!! seeing there's a talented, feminist female artist who's into pokemon and mlp but hasn't bought into trans ideology is so healing for me. hope you have a lovely day!!! :) :) :)

I wouldn't be embarrassed, I mean the article's not completely empty but it's obviously been stripped down to next to nothing compared to what it used to contain, and half the cited sources aren't really relevant at all. They briefly mention the MTF porn actor who coined the term but failed to mention the scores of other popular MTFs who were vehement proponents of the rhetoric (Riley J Dennis is the first one that comes to mind). And yeah that dude in the discussion page saying he's going to be watching the page and reverting any edits he doesn't like, isn't that very wikipedia illegal? I don't edit wikipedia but I'm fairly certain that camping on an article to make sure your edits aren't edited is not allowed.

It's definitely been a trend with "progressives" to flip the script on anything they've done and can see was wrong in retrospect, claiming "no actually YOU said this, not me." It's a very good reason to keep things documented, and I have huge respect for people who keep the receipts so we can hold people accountable for the harmful bullshit they've spread around. (Speaking of which, I think now is a good time to remind everyone that Eli Erlick is a rapist, another interesting fact that has been unsuccessfully scrubbed from the internet.)

Thanks for your wonderful words as well :) Have a great day too!

[alexsleftbicep]

"I wish taylor would share his clothes with nick lol seriously though, I don't know if he has a stylist or if he deliberately wears unflattering clothes to be taken more seriously as an actor so people see him apart from just his looks, but I would love to see him in a well fitting flattering outfit"

Can I add something with what you said?

Like you said, Taylor and Nick's style is different. Everything about them is DIFFERENT. Expect that they're sweet, kind, loving human beings who love RWRB. And that they're man. Always gotta compare them...😒 (You'll understand me in a minute)

Nick probably likes those kind of clothes, like you said, because he probably chooses them. And, maybe this is a long stretch, but since it's pretty much confirmed that Nick is on social media, in this case twitter, he probably looked at the comments and posts calling him fat. While comparing him with Taylor. (And I'm only bringing Taylor up because a twitter user DID compare Nick to Taylor. FYI, not Nick and Taylor's fault.) They pretty much said how Nick used to be more 'muscular' and 'fit' (and they showed a picture of young Nick). And they were calling his thighs fat (or calling him fat bc of his thighs). Which, if anyone wants to know or isn't sure, Nick is not 'fat'.

Now, I don't know about anyone else, but as a still anxious and shy 23 year old, I still remember when my classmates called me fat (I was in 3rd grade) because the rest were much skinnier than I was. And yes, I played, I ran, I exercised, I eat (I never starved myself), but people still said I was fat all the way until I graduated (and that's because I don't see them). And ever since 3rd grade, I always made sure to wear baggy clothes. And right now, I'm proud to say I don't see myself as fat but I do still make sure to wear baggy clothes. And I feel comfortable and safe. Like a warm and safe blanket. (Now, I'm not assuming this is what Nick feels, but... he's a human being.)

And yes, it probably doesn't affect Nick that much because it's social media (social media is bad but sometimes people can ignore comments and posts; and hopefully, it doesn't affect them mentally), but men do have feelings.

And, once again, if you don't like something or someone (and you soooo desperately want to say something mean/rude), how about don't comment, ignore it, move on. (This isn't anything against to you anon, sorry if you feel attacked, but twitter were have their "fun" and "joking".)

i completely agree with you! Nick has spoken multiple times about growing up being insecure about his looks so his styling direction 100% makes sense (also it's his style and everyone's style is individual so why does it matter anyway?).

the main issue for me (and it's not even an issue, just not unlocking true potential) is that oversized fashion can look AMAZING when done right, and Nick has the potential to absolutely fucking great in it - which would obviously allow him to keep to his comfort of baggier clothes (anon i'm with you on it being more comfortable as someone who has always been on the chubbier side) BUT he hasn't been put in anything that lives up to that for a while - it has been done and he looked great and i'll find the pictures in a sec.

people need to shut the fuck up and stop comparing Nick and Taylor when it comes to their physiques - they're different people that both come from different sporting backgrounds that require completely different body compositions AND just because they look different doesn't make either of them less beautiful.

[ordinaryschmuck]

Season One of Percy Jackson and the Olympians is FINE

All and all, I'd say it's a fine adaptation of the first book.

The spirit is very much in place. The story's sense of humor and light drama is present and well balanced through the show. One moment you have a gripping discussion of Sally explaining she fell in love with a god, and it's followed by Percy asking if she found Jesus. It's a funny line that doesn't undercut the drama because that's exactly what a kid like Percy would ask. Even some bits that WEREN'T in the book that very well could have been, like Mr. D lying to Percy about being his father for some cheap booze or the gosh dang Consensus Song. Moments like that show me that the people behind this show are HUGE FANS of the books and wanted to make something that's faithful but still provides something new to enjoy.

And there are SOME changes to the story, a lot of them I don't really mind. I like that they made Sally more sassy and Grover more proactive. I like that Medusa's made more as a tragic villain instead of a monstrous one. I REALLY like that we got to see Poseidon early. That last one takes the punch out of the dramatic weight of seeing him in Book Four, but seeing him now really helps cement the idea that this version DOES love Percy and Sally, something that I didn't really get in the books. Which might have been the intention, but the show is trying to be something different, and I respect it for it.

When it comes to the action, it's pretty good. Stuff like the Minotaur fight and the battle with Ares wasn't as long or epic as it was mapped out in my head, but I can understand it. These are big fights involving little kids and CGI is expensive (Even though you wouldn't have this problem if the show was ANIMATED, but I digress). Despite the limitations, the show did will and provided some kickass moments.

As for the actors, frickin' round of applause across the board. Nearly everyone they got does GREAT in their role, fitting the changes the show is going for and the spirit of the book everything is based on. Some particular standouts for me are Adam Copeland as the perfect D-Bag that is Ares and Walter Scobell who IS Percy Jackson. It's the kid especially that impressed me the most, as he nails the sarcastic, angry, endearing, idiotic, and loyal to a fault hero that makes Percy the best. If there's any actor who I think is struggling it's probably Leah Jeffries as Annabeth, who seems a bit too standoffish and closed off, as if she's holding back a lot of personality that the character has. However, to be fair...

A. Annabeth was more or less the same in the first book, so I'll allow it. Just as long as she has more of a wit to match Percy's. It's what made Percabeth amazing.

B. This is a child actor we're talking about. Even Walter, who is PITCH PERFECT casting, manages to have some awkwardness and stiffness to his performance at times too. I'm sure that as more time goes on, these kids will get better and better each season.

And, yeah, I'd say that this is enough to make Percy Jackson and the Olympians a FINE TV show...But there's some things that hold it back from being good or even GREAT.

Firstly, there's the pacing. The pacing in this show is off a lot of the time, and this is mainly a problem with most straight to streaming shows nowadays. We can have long, extensive TV shows anymore as networks and services are demanding shorter and shorter seasons, to the point where its less of a season of television and more of a long movie. It's no different here as we're forced to fly by past plot point after plot point, all while trying to be more episodic AND while setting up future stuff. It makes you appreciate the moments when the show DOES slow down and let moments settle, but there's not enough of that.

Then there's the way moments are told out of order or are condensed. Like how Percy and Annabeth have their heart-to-heart on the train instead of on the animal truck. Or how Annabeth starts calling Percy Seaweed Brain when the journey's almost over instead of doing it right away. Or how Luke sparred with Percy near the END of the season, not the beginning. I'm not exactly an accuracy purist. I find changes are fine as long as the spirit is in tact, which it very much is. And if I wanted the story told exactly as it was, I would have just read the book. But changes like that make me feel like they're missing the point. Like, that zoo truck wasn't great, but it will be a happy memory between Percy and Annabeth as a time when they REALLY talked. Annabeth calling Percy Seaweed Brain was a straight up insult that Percy hated but grew to accept as something only SHE can call him as it later turns into a sort of petname for him. And interrupting Percy's battle with Ares with Percy sparring with Luke spoonfeeds us information, when showing them do that in the beginning would have benefited in making that scene act as a set up with a pay off. Besides, we spend so little time with Luke anyway that when we get to that BIG REVEAL, it's not as impactful because he was barely a character. Again, I don't mind changes, but if you're going to do them, make sure the story doesn't suffer.

But while we're on the topic of changes, let's talk about the ones that REALLY bother me.

I don't like that some other gods are introduced too early. It takes the impact out of Ares and Hades being big, intimidating figures when there are other gods that the characters can just chat and reason with.

I don't like that Annabeth's fear of spiders is just glossed over. Not only does it SHOW US (instead of telling us) that a strong-willed character like Annabeth can be emotionally shaken by something as small as a spider, but leads to a sense of tragedy of her past and her being a child of Athena. To gloss over it is a huge disservice to Annabeth as a character and it doesn't feel right.

And I REALLY don't like that the movie did the Lotus Casino better than the show. Because if the movie that the author loves to shit on managed to be more faithful than the SHOW...it messed up.

So...the show is a mess at times. I still enjoyed it and I hope we get a season two. But if this series wants to get past The Sea of Monsters, it'll need to focus on what makes it GREAT instead of using more of what holds it back as just FINE.