#i also adore kell in this scene

[antaripirate]

actual photo of drunk lila ‼️

[mercurialskiies]

The one thing that always gets me about AGOS, too, is that it’s very telling of the place Kell had within the royal family. ADSOM has Kell expressing that he feels very much more like a possession than a prince. That he’s less of a son to Maxim and Emira and far more of a show of power by being an Antari magician at the center-most part of Red London’s crown.

AGOS not only shows you the aftermath of ADSOM, but shows you exactly what Kell means when he says he’s being treated not as a son but as a prisoner. Rhy doesn’t get any outward punishment—I don’t even think Kell knows that Rhy’s punishment is to watch him suffer—but Kell does.

Kell gets restrictions, isn’t allowed to be out unless he’s in company. If he’s traveling through worlds he must meet with guards to bring him back to the palace while every other person around him is free to do what they want within their previously established norm. And yet Kell spends AN ENTIRE BOOK just TRYING to atone for a sin that won’t be forgiven.

Lila recklessly entering the Essen Tasch and just barely winning against him even though it could have done an outrageous amount of damage to her is the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Because yes he’s concerned and he wants her safe, but it’s that nagging sense of “Why is everyone else allowed to do this except for me? Why must I be the only one held accountable” and, quite frankly, Kell is right.

He’s the ONLY one to see physical consequence to his actions, and to be held so emotionally at arms length just eats at him until it finally breaks him. And he didn’t deserve that 😭

Why am I the only one in this fucking world to be held accountable for my actions?

My god, my GOD, what a fucking line from Kell because it is such a tell all. Lila has the audacity, too, to smile at it since in that one line, Kell’s revealed the reason behind all his anger. Sure, he’s on her ass because he is worried and he does care about her safety, but to watch her do everything he wants, to go out and behave with reckless abandon and come out okay and happy at the end of it drives him insane. He does it once, in the smallest way, and he’s so severely punished for months for it.

And it’s a tell all to Rhy too, and much be such a gut punch for him, because he is part of the problem. Kell would never blame him, never does, and it’s truly not necessarily Rhy’s fault, but he is at the crux of it. He acknowledges it all throughout the book, and Kell tries to placate him, but in that one damning sentence, it’s all proven right. His brother is suffering from unfairness, and Rhy’s a helpless and unwilling accomplice.

Kell is stuck with all of their mistakes. “Why didn’t he prevent Rhy from taking the amulet? Why wasn’t he there to keep him safe? It was probably his influence anyway, what with all the contraband he was sneaking back and forth.” As Rhy is not an adult, capable of atoning and understanding his own actions. And he’s not really stuck with Lila’s mistakes, but fuck she is just so free in a way that he is not, in a way that he can never be, and she doesn’t understand that.

FUCK what a sentence. So relatable too, personally.

[himluv]

DA Review Series – The Calling by David Gaider

<<< Previous Review: The Stolen Throne

At last, my media tie-in tour of all things Dragon Age continues! You can find the previous review linked at the top of each post and I will probably make a master list once all is said and done. But, let's talk about the next thing!

Title: The Calling Author: David Gaider Publication Year: 2009 In-World Year: ~9:10 Dragon (possibly 9:11 Dragon) Verdict: ... eh? There's much more to like here, particularly lore, but it's long and feels longer. If you're determined, give it a shot, otherwise maybe just read the wiki?

The Calling is the direct follow up to The Stolen Throne, but still a prequel to Dragon Age: Origins. In this book we meet Duncan just months after he has joined the Wardens, and they have travelled to Ferelden to ask King Maric for a favor.

The favor? Oh, you know, nothing much... just if he would lead them through the Deep Roads and back to Ortan Thaig so they can find their missing Commander who *should* be dead. So, you know. Typical Warden shenanigans.

And, as one might expect from a dummy like Maric, he agrees. Now, I am being a little hyper-critical. I actually found Maric to be much more likable this time around – he's grown up quite a bit, and he's grieving Rowan's death and a life he never had. He's got some complexities showing through in this book and it looks good on him.

I also really enjoyed the other Wardens we get to meet. Especially Kell, an Avvar, and his hound Hafter, as well as Orlesian battle couple Julien and Nicolas. We also meet quite a few important folks in this book! Obviously we have Duncan, and he is a delight, but we also meet Fiona, Utha, and of course, The Architect.

Which brings me to the point of this book. The Architect has concocted a plan to infect the whole world with the Darkspawn Taint in hopes that the survivors will achieve some sort of middle ground like Grey Wardens do in the advanced stages of their Calling. Ghoulish and horrible, but still retaining their minds.

Except... do they retain their minds? The evidence suggests that the further the Taint spreads, and the more corrupted one becomes, the angrier and more hateful they become. Which is interesting, because I don't know if that's really come up elsewhere in DA. It definitely makes me consider Red Lyrium a little differently, that's for sure.

Of course, if you've played DA: Awakening, then you know that The Architect and Utha escape and do continue... refining(?) their plans to bring a "lasting peace" to Thedas (read my tin hat theory here).

Also important to the series, Maric and Fiona do the nasty in the Deep Roads which results in the birth of one adorable wee baby Alistair. We also get some context about Duncan's promise to Maric to watch out for the boy, so we know his recruitment was hardly coincidence.

There's one more thing I really want to mention before I wind this down. I've been pretty critical of Gaider's writing in these reviews so far, and while I still think the writing isn't great in The Calling, it is GREATLY improved. It's obvious to me that he learned a lot and grew over the course of writing these books. But, there's one moment that I think really shines, where I actually got the sense that Gaider was writing something that mattered to him.

When the party is trapped in the Fade, Maric finds Nicolas in his dream with the recently deceased Julien. It's a poignant and tragic scene, where Nicolas knows he's dreaming, that Julien truly is dead, but chooses to stay anyway. It's beautifully done and made my chest ache with the weight of Nicolas's pain. It also made me think about when it was written, how it was "revealed" so far into the book that these two very buff warrior bros were actually devoted lovers. And how the gaming landscape in 2009 might not have looked upon that with the most kindness and empathy.

I'm glad it's there. To me, it was the best part of the book.

Overall, The Calling is a decent addition to the Dragon Age series. It struggles with pacing a bit, feeling like the pacing of a quest in Origins (which also struggles with pacing imho), but there is quite a bit of lore and extra context for characters we see later in the series.

So, while it took me a little while to get through, I am glad I read it again!

[ravencromwell]

Ask game: 1, 4, and 20 for Holland

Will do the Vor ones tomorrow!!!!! But for now:

* Rolls up sleeves*

1. First Impression: there's a funny and a serious answer to this.

Y'know how I'm always saying I'm terrible at predicting things? Before I picked ADSOM up, I went looking for ADSOM queer characters or something of the like. And discovered Rhy Maresh, about whom I only knew: his being gay plays a small part in the first book and a much larger one in the next two. So, I'm skimming along and this dude comes into Rhy's room and is all: "I have been to your father for business. I come to you for pleasure."

And my little May December loving heart—which also adores enemies to lovers? Fair somersaulted with joy as I read all about how this "Holland" worked for a rival kingdom. I was _amped up for this slow-burn where they had a long-term thing going on Holland's diplomatic missions that was secret from everyone even Rhy's brother, though I suspected maybe Kell guessed because he sure thought about this Holland a lot, which was only natural if you kinda thought he was gonna be your future brother-inn-law, right?

I can barely type this for laughing at how badly! I got the character dynamics wrong but like: Rhy was so _down! for flirting with him and the guard had said he was dangerous, with very cold, hollow eyes and I couldn't understand how Rhy could possibly be so casual about Holland being in his room if he didn't know something we were missing. (Only later did I learn that Rhy, dearest beloved, if confronted with a suddenly talking tree or wall: would aggressively flirt and charm the leaves/stone off it, only asking how it came to have the remarkable ability of speech after he discovered if it was in fact hot to kiss a tree or wall.)

The serious answer: from the moment I read the lines: "The Antari's eyes slid over the scene—the blood, the ink, the tortured commoner— expression lodged between distant surprise and disinterest. Holland liked to play at being hollow, but Athos knew it was a ruse. He might have feigned numbness, but he was hardly immune to sensation." followed swiftly by "What should I do with him?" even after Athos's "we're not too late" makes clear he expected Holland to follow him instead of help Beloc, I was just like _mine please join the cadre of my best beloveds and let me slay all your enemies (or set it up so that you can be the one to slay Athos do not fucking get me started on Holland being denied his vengeance we will be here all year).

Look, I know there are a dozen different ways to read that scene. I know you can think Holland was simply imagining himself there, or so deeply traumatized Athos was wrong and he didn't give a fuck. But those lines? Combined with Athos' latter staring for tells and seeing "Anger, pain, defiance" at the corner of Holland's mouth and the crease of his eye? Viscerally read as the only sort of solidarity Holland could show to this kid who was about to be a fellow abuse survivor. It didn't _work, but I will die on the fucking hill his asking "What do I do with him?" was a bid to get Beloc out of the frame for the night, because that sort of thing worked often when Athos was distracted.

And so, Holland showing solidarity with Maktahns, even when he didn't actually have the agency to do shit, became an absolute bedrock part of my characterization.

[The two stellar fannish examples of Holland's love for Maktahns in all their bloody glory are Snake Charmer, where he protects Nasi, and Green and Pleasant Lands, where Holland absolutely loses his shit in a contained fashion over Kell criticizing a (quite bleak) ritual. Just fucking peak characterization]

4. how many people do I ship them with? When reading, I'm down for absolutely _anything or _anyone with good Holland characterization. For what I'm likely to write: four. Vor and Tal, which you know. But I'm also deeply. deeply fond of a Holland Ojka arc where she follows him to Red and has to learn how to separate the man and the king, as well as the king and Osaron and properly falls for the man, rather than the king. And I have a deep affection for the Holland Rhy thing you gave me the excuse to write (it's coming at end of semester!!!): a Rhy who deeply misses Alucard and just getting to be a _person rather than a prince. Not even necessarily a fully rounded person who has in-depth conversations with his bed-mate (I mean. he misses that, too but he's not getting it with Holland and that's fine). Just someone from whom all the other party wants is thorough debauchery rather than a tumble and maybe a court appointment for their niece and maybe their friend's brother etc. "You draw them like flies," Holland says once, and Rhy doesn't understand why his laugh is bitter and wistful and it's probably cruel to think of people like insects, because he likes people most of the time he truly does. But also yes, he's so tired of only being the thing from which people take and take and take. And a Holland who wants an antidote to the Danes they probably won't kill who isn't Kell because his desperation to _know Holland is so sharp and Holland isn't here for soul-bearing hour.

20. Weird headcanon: Not weird so much as the one I'm thinking about most today:

It was Alox who ensured Holland could read. Alox has heard rumors that in corners of the city, books can be found. And these Antari, who his brother is slowly becoming one of as his eye turns were once the greatest magicians in the land. People like that like to hear themselves talk, so they probably like to read each other's blather too. Which means his brother has to read, even if Alox never had any use beyond learning the runes for binding so he wasn't cheated out of an inking when he could afford to capture magic.

The year before he decides Holland has to die, he fetches and carries for an old, ill man in a slightly richer district—only for his brother would he carry a dying man's shit down three flights of stairs—in exchange for paper with all the runes on it and some lessons on their sounds. Does his best to teach Holl second-hand, even though what he really wants is a drink—maybe Kosh, maybe blood for a hit of magic he'll decide when he meets his friends later—. Bastard actually leaves Alox two whole intact books when he dies. After that, well Holl never could turn down a challenge. He tosses 'em over and lets him start sounding it all out.

[such-a-barbarian]

Weekly Tag Game!

I've been MIA on vacation with the family, so I've missed a few of these. But I am now back in the land of ice and snow so figured I hop on this one quick! Thanks to @francesrose3, @juliakayyy and @jrooc for this week's tags and to all the lovelies who tagged me last week in things I didn't respond to. 😝

name: Kell

age: closer to Noel then Cameron

star sign: a non-believing Aries

your first language: English

second language: I can speak a grade 9 Ontario level French, which basically means I can say very useful phrases like "I am a pineapple in a library".

favorite lip product: The Body Shop has a line of Hemp products including a lip balm that I am a big fan of.

the best food dish you can make without a recipe: My hubby is a big fan of the meatballs I make. I also make a pretty mean hidden veggie mac and cheese (the things you learn with toddlers at home...)

If you drink tea, what kind? I have a cup of Tetley orange pekeo every morning.

If you drink coffee, what roast do you usually get? I do not drink coffee

favorite thing to watch on youtube right now: Besides Gallavich scenes on repeat? My top watched channel is the Try Guys. 🤷🏻‍♀️

favorite thing to watch on youtube in 2012: Honestly, probably Buzzfeed. lol

favorite item of clothing right now: My oversized bright pink hoodie from my local independent ice cream shop, with the most adorable ice cream logo on it.

favorite item of clothing in 2012: probably also some type of oversized hoodie

fandom

three movies you recommend: Not really sure if these fit the 'fandom' category but my 3 fav movies of all time: The Princess Bride, Best in Show and The Newsies.

your favorite concert: This is tough, I've seen a lot of great shows! But many moons ago when my hubby and I were first dating Everlast came to a music fest in town. My hubby is a huge fan so we went together and it was a miserable day, pouring rain and cold, but we had SUCH a good time. Cause of the rain it was a pretty small but mighty crowd and Everlast was awesome. It is just such a good memory for me!

have you ever unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion? Nope. This is the only fandom I have ever really participated in and it's been lovely!

have you ever left a fandom because of the fans? Please see above

the best tv show you watched last year: Schimgadoon! Just finishing season 2 now and I am so very sad season 3 wasn't picked up.

do you have a fancasting you just can’t let go of? I will never be over the fact that Arianna Grande was cast as Glinda in the Wicked Movie when they could’ve had Dove Cameron.

a ship you’ve abandoned: I was super into Belle and Shawn from Days of Our Lives back in the day. I read a bunch of fanfic, but never really interacted in the fandom. But once the original actors left the show and I grew out of high school they lost appeal to me.

on a scale of 1-10 how willing are you to share your ao3 history? haha. share with who? on tumblr? probably 10 - nothing would shock any of you. With a random person in my everyday life...probably zero. haha

do you have a fandom tattoo? (do you want one?) I am tattoo free and at this point in my life will mostly remain that way.

what fandom do you wish was bigger? 🤷‍♀️

has a finale ever ruined a show for you? Definitely. The worst for me was How I Met Your Mother. It still makes me so mad.

have you…

swam in an ocean? Many times. Just last week in fact! Thank you, Mexico!

ever been vegan/vegetarian? Nope, we try to do meatless Monday in our house to mix things up but I enjoy meat too much to go full vegetarian.

gone skinny dipping? yup. It is a backcountry camping must!

gone skiing? A ton! It's been a few years since being pregnant/having babies isn't conducive to skiing, but I adore it. It is my favourite winter activity!

been to a convention? nope.

I’ll tag @tanktopgallavich @transmickey @callivich @zutaralesbian @iansw0rld @krysmiss @lupeloto @catluvver118 If you feel like it this week!

[crookedcrowclub]

Review for A Conjuring of Light by V .E. Schwab

5/5 ⭐️

WOW.

reading this felt like reading a crossover novel of all my favourite characters from the previous two books because each of them were so incredibly fleshed out that this could’ve been anyone’s story. it feels as if i’ve met these characters and had conversations with them because they seemed so tangible.

Plot & Pacing

what book 2 lacked in terms of plot and pacing, book 3 more than made up for it. the story picks up right where book 2 left off and the momentum doesn’t slow down one bit. it only kept getting better with surprises and twists at every turn. if you know me, you know that books are my sole sustenance when it comes to escaping the horrors of reality and ACOL swept me off my feet from the very first chapter!

Characters

the character dynamics were much more nuanced and their interactions were TO DIE FOR (!!!) not to mention, they all had insane chemistry with each other and some wholesome moments thrown in as well. kell, lila, and holland have cemented themselves as my ultimate disaster trio and i just couldn’t get enough of them.

the flashback scenes gave a deeper insight into each of the characters’ backstory and i ended up caring more about them than i imagined. holland’s especially packed a punch. his chapters were agonizing to read, emotionally charged and tugged at my heartstrings. i saw him as the villain at the beginning of this trilogy but it turns out, he’s an anti-hero who deserves to be happy after everything he’s been through. his chapters alone were a solid 5/5 stars for me, and he has earned a top ten spot in my Most Favourite Fucked Up Characters of All Time 😌.

as for lila, she had it all: beauty, brains and brawn! but besides that, we also see her come to terms with her attachment and abandonment issues that she’s struggled with since book 1. her arc was moving yet powerful. most of it strongly resonated with me because it hit too close to home. delilah bard is basically me but in different font and i adore my knife wife so much 🫶🏼.

kell’s daring persona that i sorely missed in book 2 made a sweeping comeback and his character was even more striking than before! unlike in the previous book, he was very level-headed in this one and took on the fitting role of a natural leader who guided his team in their quest to defeat evil. he kinda reminded me of kaz with the easy way he almost always got the final word. his chapters were poignant with direction and focus, which was refreshing to read.

i was thrilled that we finally got alucard’s POV (!!!!) i like his character but sadly, he didn’t really stand out in the book for me. it felt as if he was merely a plot piece to keep the story going. things were happening and he was just kinda there. either way, i enjoyed being in his head and learning more about his past.

rhy was less annoying and bratty (thank goodness) which i think had a lot to do with alucard’s presence at the beginning. he also had lesser chapters in this book but he started growing on me around the 70% mark. i liked how resilient he was in never giving up or cowering in face of adversity and how much he cared for his people. towards the end, he proved to be a well rounded character with a satisfying arc.

side mention: the minor characters (hastra, lenos, tieren, maris, ned, maxim, emira, even cora!) were amazingly well developed and despite their limited page time, they stole the show all the same! i would deadass be down to read each of their spinoff stories if the author ever decided to write them.

Conclusion

overall, ACOL struck a perfect balance between character-driven and plot-driven storyline to the point where the characters ceased to be fictional and started seeming like actual people in my head. not only that, this trilogy felt like getting a warm hug from an old friend because it reminded me of six of crows and a couple other YA novels which i loved during that time. it was nostalgic reading it even though i’d never read it before.

as for the ending, it was satisfying but the suspense was over quick. i wanted to see more action in the final fight scene after all that buildup but either way, it was fulfilling to see my beloved characters find closure after everything that happened. i can see where the continuation trilogy is headed and im beyond excited to read it!

ANOSHE✨

[tarisilmarwen]

Ahsoka: "Master and Apprentice" & "Toil and Trouble" Liveblog

Let's GOOOOOOOOOOOO! :D

We've added Marrok and Hyuang and one of the mercenaries and Chopper and Sabine to the opening character swivels, nice.

Digging this drum cue.

And we get an opening crawl! Nice.

Hilariously this bridge sequence feels more Star Trek than Star Wars.

Good for this captain he's very suspicious.

Hi Baylan! Hi Shin!

Aaaaaaaand they all dead.

All right, well thus far I can say I definitely like Baylan's heavy forceful presence and Shin's near feral nimbleness and speed.

Also digging the general Black Knight feel of Baylan, when he calls her "Lady Morgan" here.

Definitely feeling Zeffo vibes off this temple here.

Aligning the pedestals to light up each of the map icons definitely feels like it'd be a perfect JFO minigame lol.

That... is a Treasure Planet map.

Love how these droids move.

Welp, they blew up quite a bit of the ruins.

HEEEEERRAAAAAAAAAA! :D

Oh and she does have the lekku markings, nice.

I'm sorry, lol, the height difference is gonna bug me, Ahsoka with her large montrals was like... one of the tallest characters on the show and LA!Hera's got inches on her here it's unintentionally hilarious.

Makes LA!Ahsoka look like a shrimp.

This is a call to improve the alien makeup Disney, I'm sorry I will never not be disappointed in it.

My heart. :(((( Hera came to believe that Thrawn (and most likely Ezra too) died in the Liberation of Lothal. The quiet fearful hope on her face as she's holding this map.

"If Thrawn survived, does that mean Ezra--?"

FRICK I WAS NOT PREPARED.

And Lothal looks beautiful. *sniffles*

Hi Ryder!

And Jai Kell got to be Lothal's senator! SWEET.

BEAAAAAAAAN!

The camera shot that introduces her. *chef kiss*

Sabine being A MESS because she misses Ezra so much and she can't stand being at the dedication ceremony honoring him. :((((

There she goes to the tower.

KITTY!

SKRUNKLES MY LOVE!

We don't ever learn its name do we? Then I'm calling it Skrunkles.

OHHHHH I heard Sabine's theme! With the pan down to her stored armor.

The cat is really too cute, they did a fantastic job on it.

Ezra's theme playing too aaaaaaaand frick I'm dead.

"Hey Sabine! Sorry for disappearing on you." YOU HAD BETTER BE SORRY YOU LITTLE SHIT.

Ha ha now I understand all the weird Sabezra related asks I got over the weekend, y'all were trying to warn me.

Like I've said before, canon validation isn't my be all end all, I love these two and that's not gonna stop.

SORRY DAVE, I'VE BEEN ON THE HELL TRAIN TOO LONG, YOU CAN'T GET ME OFF NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO.

Also? Eman is nailing this.

And there's the Nightsister reveal.

I'm slightly confused as to how and why Baylan knows that Ahsoka had Sabine as her apprentice.

Like, where to find Sabine, that's easy, obviously she's on Lothal, she's the local hero and protector.

But why does he know about Ahsoka's connection to her?

Anyway, Lothal still looks beautiful.

Bury me in Sabine having maybe prophetic nightmares and waking up gasping Ezra's name.

*weeps*

"Everyone was there." "Not everyone."

OW PAIN STABBING.

Natasha is killing it with this look like she's trying to hold back from crying.

They cut out the "It's been a while." line, huh. Interesting choice.

Oooooooo Sabine has doodles in one of the bunks on Ahsoka's ship!

This dialogue seems a bit redundant to the Hera-Ahsoka scene. Like, isn't this the same conversation she had with Hera?

I can't get over it, lol, it's literally a Treasure Planet map. Love it.

"The map stays here." You're going to turn around and Sabine's is gonna be GONE honey.

See, told ya. Lol.

Callbacks to Maul scenes from Phantom Menace, nice.

Skrunkles is adorable. I love him.

Ohhhhhh we are definitely exploring Ahsoka's lingering guilt over leaving the Order, leaving Anakin, before his Fall.

That design looks a bit like a Celtic knot. Maybe tying into the whole Authurian legend theme with some of the names and aesthetics?

WOAH OKAY HA HA EZRA GOT THRAWN WAAAAAAAAY MORE LOST THAN WE'D THOUGHT.

Sabine are you seriously planning to go off looking for Ezra by yourself?

You've got it baaaaaad girl.

Okay, glad they finally explained where the turbolift was in this thing lol.

Youuuuuuuu didn't need to lurk, Shin? Literally could have just taken the map and left?

Ho ho Shin grabbing the lightsaber in order to throw Sabine around.

Ooof that's gonna scar.

Soooooo was Shin just being Extra and wanting to fight another Jedi?

Bet that was it.

"For our friend, Ray" RIP good man. :(

Star charts credits nice!

These are gorgeous and I wanna study them so much more closely. I think there's a chimera? Some kind of worm thing.

PURRGIL!

The score is also excellent and I love Sabine's theme and Ezra's theme throughout.

Bet Sabine had to spend quite a while in a bacta tank. Good thing she got medical attention right away.

Corvus?

Seatos! Okay. And a "reflex point"? Color me intrigued.

Loth-kittes aww.

Ahsoka's looooong sigh when she sees that Sabine's been rewatching Ezra's holo, lol.

IS THAT A USB CORD? LOLOL.

A lovely little moment between Hera and SAbine here.

Nightsister ichor!

I am loving the star map.

"Thrawn calls to me... across time and space." Okay lady sure take a cold shower before your crush gets too hot okay.

So there are a LOOOOOT of plot McGuffins in this story thus far lol.

I'm sorry, Shin's actress is so dead I need her to emote more in her quiet scenes, simply being vicious and feral in fights isn't working.

The Phantom II looks so beautiful.

CHOPPER! HELLO MUDERBOT I MISSED YOU.

Oh wow we're actually exploring the fact that rebuilding the New Republic is messy and complicated and you can't just fire and/or jail a bunch of low level civilian machiners just because they worked on Imperial ships.

And we're ALSO getting some hard-handed slapping Ahsoka in the face with the fact that she's a mess and needs to deal with her mess.

"I see you still have your lightsaber." "Ezra's lightsaber."

AW FRICK THE WAY THAT CORRECTION GOT ME.

Filoni I love the messy prickly falling out between Ahsoka and Sabine but I would really like... ONE paragraph of exposition about why Sabine went to Ahsoka and asked to be trained, or however that happened.

I mean I know I can inference that she was desperate to feel closer to Kanan and Ezra and mourning them and trying to be the hero Lothal needed and worked up in her feelings about, "If Ezra's not here to be Lothal's Jedi I have to be." but the general audience might need some help.

OH GOSH THAT LITTLE SWALLOW AS SHE TAKES HER SABER AGAIN AND LOOKS AT IT.

So I'm confused is it that the New Republic was lazy and/or too trusting/too willing to give ex-Imperials another chance just to keep some kind of order and peace and infrastructure in place or are they just that bad at uncovering spies?

Because there is a good point that not everyone who worked for the machine of the Empire has to be rooted out and displaced from their jobs and livelihoods, that just builds resentment, makes it easier for the Imperial Remnant to gain support.

At the same time though I feel like this is tying into the general New Canon "The New Republic is incompetent." trend that I'm not a fan of.

Next setpiece yay!

Love Ahsoka using the droid as a body shield.

LOL CHOPPER.

Oh, have we remembered we need to clear atmosphere BEFORE jumping? Thanks that's great. SW been slacking on that.

Oh what? Oh this is new, hang on the bulleted lists have a character limit.

Where were we?

The new Chopper model is so much more expressive than the one they build before, it looks great. Very much like the cartoon.

SKRUNKLES I LOVE YOU SO MUCH.

And cue the Kanan parallel scene with Sabine.

OH FRICK THE SCENE AT THE MEMORIAL I'M NOT READY FOR THIS.

Gimme a minute.

Right so even if you don't ship them, their bond is hugely undeniable, they are in fact the Most Important People to each other, she misses him so much and she's been drowning in her grief about him.

Ngl the finger touch is still getting me.

"It's more me." Frick, how she's been hiding away from her true self, essentially cosplaying as Ezra because she thought that was what Lothal needed, and now she's struggling to understand who she is now.

MY GIRLS ARE MESSY AND EMOTIONALLY CONSTIPATED AND SO SO FLAWED AND I LOVE IT.

Oh what?

Are they building a hyperspace ring? A special one???

Oh OHHHHHH ARE THEY BUILDING A SUPER STARGATE EQUIVALENT?

(Reference, on the show Stargate SG-1 the plot revolves around a network of alien wormhole transportation devices called stargates, that connect to each other across the galaxy. But to connect to OTHER galaxies you either needed a plot device energy source called a ZPM or YOU HAD TO BUILD A REALLY REALLY BIG HUGE HONKING STARGATE.)

Ohhhhhhhhhhh they are MAKING A SHIP CAPABLE OF EXITING THE GALAXY I WAS RIGHT.

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEE THAT WAS A RUSH.

I am very nicely happy with how things are unfolding, aside from a few nitpicks here and there about the worldbuilding and backstory that's been kept from us. (Ahsoka and Sabine's whole... everything.)

But it does not look like Sabine is Force Sensitive, which I'm glad about. I've seen a couple people salty about her being a Jedi and honestly between the two options of "Make her Sensitive and retcon large parts of Rebels" or "It's a new era, there are No More Rules, we can't be picky about who we take on as Jedi so sure let's have a non-Sensitive, Ahsoka maybe thought it was safer that way anyway", I know which one I'm picking.

The whole plot with the celestial navigation is fascinating. I need to study screencaps of the starmap and the end credits for clues because WOAH BOY DID I NOT EXPECT EXPANDING BEYOND THE GFFA.

Ezra baby come hoooooooooome. :(((( Your girl misses you.

Wew lad, I hope there are plenty of gifsets, 'cause Imma reblog 'em all.

[purplebass]

Summer wine subtext? Summer wine subtext.

The Kellila "fight" scene where they break the summer wine bottle in Threads makes me think about the song "Summer Wine" because well, of the association with the title, but not only that. You may have heard Lana's rendition but the original is from the 60's and it's by Nancy Sinatra and I don't know, it just fits the mood and it might've inspired that? I can't unsee it now. lol. Because the summer wine this song is about isn't just *literal* wine, but also refers to the woman's body in the song. That song has sexual overtones and it's about two people who are two thieves/outlaws who are drinking together. They end up in bed but the woman only wants to steal the man's belongings by offering him her "summer wine" so he would be knocked out while she robs him. He then wakes up the day after and he realizes she is gone with all of his money but he would still want to be with her. Well... isn't also how Kell and Lila's first encounter went??? More or less, at least. Meeting while he was covered in blood (red as wine) and quite dazed and Lila stealing the black stone. Then tying him to her bed once he appeared out of the blue and stealing the stone back. And the same thing is true for the hand-to-hand in the hull in Threads. Kell catches Lila off guard, and he ends up on the top of her and she tells him to get off her unless he wants to "have a tumble" (which makes him turn red). These two love challenging each other like this and they also have fun doing so, because it spices up their relationship. So yeah. The summer wine might be a sexual subtext just like the fake melee was subtle foreplay.

Least but not last, some summer wine is bright red or orange/rosé. The summer wine could also be a nod to Kell's hair and Lila passes her summer wine stained hand through his hair before they leave the hull (!!!).

And well, I just love this side of them??? The playfulness??? Being comfortable around each other??? Having a spicy bedroom life??? Adoring each other from the tips of their hair to the tips of their feet???

They make me unwell. I just love them so much.

[kirnet]

I love ur analysis of dsom. I read it a couple years ago and got so frustrated thinking "this is the book everyone is raving about??" The magic system and world has such potential but the characters drag it down. I remember a scene where Kell is up in his feelings about his whole. Incredibly fucked up "family situation". And Delilah is essentially like "well at least you HAVE a family". And the narrative seems to frame that interaction as her being cool and edgy and the voice of truth or whatever. And Kell is like. I guess youre right :( ill stop complaining. But the story doesnt grapple with that any further??? Doesnt use that moment to build out either character beyond "Delilah is so cool and also right (and an asshole but thats what makes her cool)" and "Kell's complex feelings about this are now solved/set aside after this clap back". Family is one of the themes of the book but even this scene doesnt really explore the concept in depth. I may be misremembering it but that one scene just summed up for me everything frustrating about the character writing and the way the story uses the characters. Maybe the issue is revisited in later books. I wouldnt know, bc very little about the writing makes me want to read any more.

Yeah!! Yeah!! That scene was… argh, you’re exactly right. The main source of frustration for Lila for me is that the narrative frames her as right almost always and especially in that instance. And like, if I’m willing to engage with it, it is a telling character moment of hypocrisy where Lila is lashing out in grief after losing Baron (?? I dont remember his name) and is displacing all those feelings onto Kell. But the way it’s handled, like you said, makes me assume that no, Schwab didn’t intend for it to be that deep. It’s so frustrating because the world and the characters have so much potential! With a few more drafts and edits this could be a really good book! But as it stands it’s a 400 page book with little to no plot, hardly any interesting character progression or arcs, boring flat fight scenes, and uninteresting prose. The masquerade scene is there bc she thought it sounded cool. The elements are there bc she thought atla is cool. The fake eye is there because she likes bebop. There’s no actual substance. I have read books half the length that have succeeded in all of these places. I’ve heard similar criticisms of her pacing in other books from people who did like darker shade so, idk, it sounds like she needs a better editor honestly.

And like, yeah, maybe this is revisited in later books, maybe her writing gets better, maybe the second book is fantastic. I honestly had a lot of the same criticisms when I read the Founders Trilogy, but the difference there was that i ADORED the characters and the world building. They were so solid that I HAD to continue even if i had some issues with the writing style and pacing. This series has none of that appeal for me. If she had ended it on a cliffhanger, if she had actually set up this world to be as dark and edgy as she thought it was, if Kell had to use his wits as a smuggler to survive in a place far from his family leading him to conclude that yes he does love them, if Lila had to fight to survive trapped in white london and then come to grips with her violent nature and that its not actually a positive, then I would be all over the rest of the series!! Idk, other reviews mentioned that they were disappointed with this after reading some of her other worlds like viscous, so maybe I’ll give that a try when I feel less burned.

[elodieunderglass]

Jojo and Gran Gran has an extremely good theme tune, doesn’t it? Jojo is a happy preschooler growing up in London, and her grandmother cares for her during the day while her parents work. It’s a nice representation of a normal child’s daily life and activities; the activities are meant to offer watchers some ideas of crafts, outings and activities that they can do with their own kids. Overarching sensibilities include the feelings of place, family, community, village (and international community! Gran Gran was born in St Lucia and her mother still lives there - sometimes they video-call her on a tablet, which again is a realistic and charming depiction of how modern toddlers understand family.) in between the slow plot, a suspiciously adorable selection of real-life children are interviewed to explain what’s going on. It’s highly Worthy and Educational, but cleverly walks the line so it’s juuuuuust about desirable to toddlers and preschoolers.

The other entries on the list are publicly-commissioned Wholesome TV for kids; they’ve been granted funds from various governments to support childhood development. In contrast, I can’t link you to a full episode of Puffin Rock, because it’s commercial.

However, it’s widely acknowledged as one of the prettiest shows for preschoolers of its generation. If you want lovely music, immersive environments and beautiful animation, look it up. The animation studio also produced Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea, and the beautifully stylistic nature scenes show this (especially ones that simultaneously show above and below the sea!) kids tend to love Puffin Rock, so that’s a plus for it, too.

As far as slow shows go, you couldn’t get slower than Old Jack’s Boat, but the problem is that kids don’t actually like it. I’m just including this because Dr Who fans will like two of the actors - but you can see why preschoolers don’t actually go for this show.

It’s unfortunate that my own kids don’t really like anything with puppets! They like Sesame Street, but they don’t generally like other puppet-focused shows. I think the only puppet-adjacent show they like is Clangers (Reboot) which is quiet, surreal, and essentially indistinguishable from the 1960s original version.

Clangers is very quiet. The only thing is that there is NOTHING of educational value to behold here. It’s inoffensive and sometimes charming/sweet, but you are NOT walking away with anything except the vague sense that you have been dreaming. And that’s okay!

Finally, okay, there is ONE puppet making an impact on the psyche of modern kids, and that’s CBeebies Dodge. He’s just a normal man

Obviously this is an adorable bit but I'm so struck by how different this is from so many little kid shows today like.......the muted colors. no background noise. no sound effects. you can literally hear Jim Henson breathing between his lines. Ernie is talking very slowly, meandering, letting the kids digest the info. it's a full minute before you get the payoff of it all. man

[project1939]

Day 34- Film: Diplomatic Courier 

Release date: June 13th, 1952. 

Studio: 20th Century Fox 

Genre: Spy Noir 

Director: Henry Hathaway 

Producer: Casey Robinson 

Actors: Tyrone Power, Patricia Neal, Stephen McNally, Hildegarde Neff, Karl Malden 

Plot Summary: Mike Kells is an experienced diplomatic courier for the US State department who must suddenly meet colleague Sam Carew in Salzburg to receive top-secret-documents and bring them safely home. Both men are clearly being followed, however, and things quickly go awry. When Sam ends up dead, and the documents are still missing, the danger and intrigue only increase. Who can be trusted and who cannot? 

My Rating (out of five stars): ***½ 

For the most part, I found this to be a very enjoyable and engrossing film. It wasn’t the most mind-blowing thing I’ve ever seen, but I do think that in key aspects it was very cleverly made. This was, in some ways, a more conventional spy film than 5 Fingers.  We have a clear hero with a clear mission, and two beautiful women keep weaving in and out of his story. The film was most affecting when it left you in suspense and suspicion over which characters you could believe or not. There were times I was so anxiously frustrated, I could not sit still. I think I even shouted at the screen at one point. Usually there are giveaways somewhere and you kind of know, but I had genuine anxiety about this one! 

The Good: 

Tyrone Power. I loved him in his films of the 1930s. He’s not the most accomplished actor, but he is one of those uniquely stunningly beautiful people that you can just gaze at for hours. I was actually really impressed with him here- by 1952 his acting had improved significantly. He’s a little older, so his youthful beauty is fading, but he’s still the owner of the most luscious pair of eyelashes a man ever had. He’s also just extremely likeable, and with the addition of his improved acting, it made it very easy to care about what was going to happen to him.  

Patricia Neal. I adore her. She is so good at playing sophisticated song-willed women with a quick and incisive mind. Her voice is so wonderfully distinctive, too. Whenever I see her name come up in the credits, I sit up, and she didn’t disappoint here. 

Hildegard Knef as Janine Betki. She was the character that literally kept me guessing until the end. She had this cool European look and vibe about her. She was also quite a good actress. 

The suspense and questioning over who was trustworthy or not. Trying to put the pieces together was a very enjoyable part of the film. 

The suspense on the train early in the film was also well done. Who was following whom? And why? There’s also something about the closed and cramped confines of a moving passenger train that elevates the drama even more. 

It often had the feel of a 1950s European film, which was a good thing in my book. Some of that might just have been because it took place in cosmopolitan Italy, and I think there may have been some location shooting. 

Out of seemingly nowhere there was a drag performance scene! In a film in 1952! Mike goes into a nightclub early on, and the entertainment is a real drag artist. He impersonated Carmen Miranda, Betty Davis, and even FDR! His skills of mimicry ended up being important later, but it was shocking to see so much screen time given to him. There was no overt hint of him being gay, but come on, it was classic drag!  

The Bad: 

Sometimes things were maybe a little too vague about what the top-secret documents were. We got one line specifically about some of what it was, and the film continually told us that it was information that could save thousands of lives... but I was left wanting a little more. I don’t like it when movies spoon-feed information, so I wouldn’t want it to go too far... but I guess I just wanted a little less subterfuge. 

I wanted to know a little more about Patricia Neal’s character as well. She suddenly disappeared before we really knew her story. 

I’m not sure how I felt about the last shot/scene of the film. I liked a little bit of it but groaned at most of it. 

[antaripirate]

some thoughts on kellila & big spoon/little spoon:

i am one hundred percent convinced that kell and lila alternate between being the big spoon or the little spoon - i know some people think lila would be strictly big spoon but lemme sprinkle some concepts at ya…

we know kell is more in touch with his emotions than lila is, (slight aside but i also have a lot of thoughts about how their childhood traumas have lead to them being in almost opposite situations with how they handle their emotions) and he clearly loves to show that he cherishes her with touch, like when he protectively wraps his arms round her waist on the horse, when he kisses her hair before she As Tascen’s to the sanctuary, and how he holds her against his chest after Rosenal

being treasured by someone like this is obviously a very new thing for lila, and something she’s never really felt from someone before, and so, yes, i think being little spoon may be a bit of a change of pace for her at first - it’s likely she’d worry that having someone want to hold her protectively like this would suggest they think she’s weak or can’t protect herself, but with kell she’d very quickly realise this is absolutely never the case, he just enjoys holding her close and wants her to feel loved, because she really is

i think very soon lila would figure out that she loves being treated like this by kell (i think we start to see this in the scene where ‘she was tired of running away, so she was running into kell. and he caught her.’ *SOBS*) and hence why she is able to properly fall asleep in his arms

so she’d very quickly become accustomed to being the little spoon with kell, bc he is her safe space, and she knows he would never think less of her for wanting to be wrapped up protectively in his arms

also pre-kell, lila would always ‘sleep’ with her back against the wall to feel safer…imagine how much safer she’d feel sleeping with her back against kell and his arms round her 🥺

and kell would definitely understand how much it means for lila to feel comfortable enough with someone to let them hold her like that! it would make him so happy knowing that she finally had a safe space where she lets herself be vulnerable and at ease enough to be cuddled like that, and knowing that HE is that safe space - he’d know that she understands he just wants to cherish her unconditionally

equally, i think they’d also love to switch these roles!! something i think is incredibly special about their relationship, and that is particularly important to kell is that other than rhy, lila is the only person to ever treat him as himself. as just kell. not as ‘aven’ or a prince, or antari, or rhy’s lifeline.

with lila, kell is totally free to be entirely himself. he wouldn’t feel as though he had to put up a brave front with her, because she has seen him at his absolute worst and stuck by his side.

she’d want to show him this. and talking about her emotions is something she really struggles with (understandably), but physical touch is a way she’s clearly more comfortable with expressing herself with, eg in agos when kell wants to kiss her, but she kisses him first

kell is the biggest softie in all the worlds and so he would adore being cuddled by lila too, just knowing she’s chosen to be by his side and wanted to hold him would mean a lot to him

i’m not sure ANY of this made any sense whatsoever and congrats if u actually read all this lmao!

basically i just love these idiots so much and imo they’d both love being big AND little spoon - also they are 10000000% cuddly sleepers and i will fight people on this lmao they are each others safe space

peace out bitches, it’s 2am i need to sleep x

[ybcpatrick]

Soooo Kell, I want to introduce you to the reason I had SEVERAL breakdowns last week, and it's Patrick's insane vocals on this track that I personally had never heard before. If anyone else hasn't, warning - life changing. Possibly life ruining.

(Also there are behind the scenes videos on YouTube just look it up. Two videos byeWe Love Disney. Him conducting the others when they record the other song (monkey) is adorable.)

BYEEEE

K: YYYYEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSS, i fuckin LOOOOVE the welovedisney tracks that fob did!! ESPECIALLY this version of it's a small world, because patrick out singing everybody else on the song is just... immaculate.

dude, if you want prime fob activity where everyone sounds incredible (and also LOOKS incredible), look no further than this live performance of i wanna be like you. the back n forth between joe and patrick..... unreaaaaaal

[ravencromwell]

To add to this: the particular tragedy of aging in Makt is the loss of magic. We know in the Kosika prologue to Fragile that part of the reason amplifyers, rather than the runes that people ordinarily have, are such precious objects is that they're unchanging material upon which spells have been carved. Metal doesn't shift without an immense amount of external pressure, unlike skin that sags with age and joints that knot; these physical changes fundamentally warp the runes, and make magic difficult to contain.

And we see both the age you alluded to and the toll of magic playing out in that final Holland and Vor scene from ACOL (forgive me for a lack of direct quotes, as I don't have the book on hand, but was rereading this earlier today for fic reasons, so it's relatively fresh.) -Holland notes that though Vor's hair had no gray when he took the throne, it's now liberally streaked. -he also comments that while Vor is still charming, with his exact word being "magnetic" and if that's not slashy as hell I don't know what is, and still smiles and laughs frequently even as the failures pile up, the act of doing so now carves deep lines into his face. -but even more tellingly, he knows the runes can no longer contain Vor's magic. Neither of them verbalize it, and we only get the briefest of sentences in Holland's exposition acknowledging the fact and then swiftly returning to the mechanics of the Ost game. But it's telling that he lights Vor's cigar. (Now, part of this is clearly meant to show the vast shift in dynamic: Vor asked Holland to "help a friend out" in the Silver Wood and Holland said they weren't friends. The unspoken ease of the ritual shows just how far they've come and is adorable as hell imho. But! in the Wood, Vor could light his cigar--Holland was impressed because the runes on Vor's hands merely amplified power he already had, rather than creating it and Holland thinks that if Vor had been born in a different world, he would have been tremendously strong and is in fact quite strong for White London. It's entirely possible the cigar-lighting is just their small private joke; but it's equally possible that given Holland knows Vor's magic is waning, they've come to a quiet agreement for Holland to just do it and spare them both the awkwardness of Vor simply not managing the trick one day.) They're both very self-possessed, reserved people; within the scene, we get the comment that Holland rarely raises his voice, and Holland finds it a noteworthy departure for Vor to loose his temper and express frustration with ruling the city. There's a lot they're clearly not talking about because of that reserve: Holland notes that while Vor knows where he goes with the coin Kell left, they don't discuss how he returns smelling of flowers, and there's a strong implication that Vortalis's loss of magic is another one of those unspoken sore places they both avoid. But yeah, I def agree the realization of just how tenuous their situation is is there loud and clear for them both.

I was scrolling the wiki (as one does) and was reminded of this bit of trivia: "Vortalis is two decades older than Holland, although his exact age is unknown."

Okay so: if Kell is 12 and Holland is about 30 when they first meet, that makes Vortalis around 50 in the flashback scenes.

Meaning even if he still looks good and healthy, he'll probably be showing his age. Hair starting to gray, bones starting to ache, slowing down. Not getting any younger.

Do you think that bothered Holland? His partner was already relying on his strength to keep White London in line, but now there was also the sense of a time limit. They aren't likely to grow old together or moving at the same pace. Vortalis has enough energy and passion to make it easy to forget, but would that remain true in a decade?

And then it turns out not to matter: they only rule together for two years before the Danes end that.

[kats-kradle]

Hi hello yes I actually found your blog while I was looking for Ronon Dex whump, something there is not nearly enough of, and I just wanted to say that should you ever want to share your thoughts about him, whump-related or otherwise, I'm around to hear them,,, I care him very much (which is why I like to see him hurt... funny how that works).

OHOHOHOHOHO DID SOMEONE SAY THE MAGIC WORDS “RONON WHUMP”????? And yes there is not NEARLY enough Ronon whump!!! Buckle up I don’t think you know what you’ve unleashed by offering to let me talk about this XD i have 43 (i counted thats not an exaggeration) unfinished fics where i whump this man so i have A Lot of Thoughts on this so i’ll try to keep my headcanons and general thoughts from getting mixed up so here we go (also I haven’t actually seen past season 3ish but I know like everything)

Just general thoughts

I just love the team dynamic in general the actors had great chemistry with each other

They don’t whump Ronon enough and that is A Crime.    

But when they do whump him OH BOY ITS GOOD

Just off the top of my head I can think of     the episode where John and Elizabeth were possessed by those people who     wanted to kill each other and ronon got SHOT that was dope especially when     it showed the surgery but I was so mad there was no aftercare

Also just the fact that after Ronon was shot the guy possessing John said (about John) something like “if only you could hear him right now he is screaming so loud” or something to that effect and I’m not really a John whumper but oh boy the thought of John fighting as hard as he could to try and get control back because he wants to help Ronon rlly adds to the experience

After atlantis flies and John is going around checking the damage and he finds Ronon with the shard of glass in his shoulder juts the way he kneels down next to him is so soft and his voice goes soft too its great

I haven’t gotten there yet but ohoho the enzyme episode where Ronon gets drugged and then has to go through withdrawal ohooho I may have watched that scene a few hundred times

I just love also how fiercely loyal Ronon is and how much he trusts them

That ep where those villagers were going to give them to the wraith and Ronon literally would rather die than let his friends be taken to the wraith I love how John and Teyla go through like  45 heart attacks that’s one of the ones I haven’t gotten to yet but ive  seen gifs and oh boy oh boy does it look good

The way I generally describe Ronon is he’s     like a bug fluffy dog. Like he’s kind of silly sometimes and he’s very     loyal and will kill without hesitation if it means keeping his friends     safe

Also just that whole scene when Ronon arrives     when John is asking Elizabeth if he can stay is just like a kid asking his     mom if he can keep a dog he found

And Ronon has such a sweet smile also I love it when hes happy (but also I love it when hes in pain)

Stargate Atlantis was very well directed because for most definitions of “good acting” you can see “oh this character is sad. Now they are happy” which I do understand that many people prefer  this because they have difficulty interpreting facial expressions but I absolutely adore how subtly expressive the actors are because to me it’s fascinating to decode what the character is feeling. They act like real people and talk in the way real people would and it seems super natural and not scripted, and you can just tell in their interactions that the characters care for each other a lot and its beautiful

Now that I’ve said something vaguely scholarly-like its time to move on to the mess of headcanons

Headcanons

So when rewatching season 2 with my sister I realized the amazing potential for angst involving Kell (his old commander who he killed) so in my mind even though he’s very loyal to John at first it was more of a “you saved my life now I’ll watch your back because I owe you” and he had difficulty trusting any of them but especially John this changes over time ofc but he can’t help being wary of command 

I also hc that Kell  would punish the soldiers in his division for being “unfit” for battle so like if they broke a leg or something they would be punished  (this is mostly just for my guilty pleasure of ANGST) so that way they     would “be more aware” of their surroundings and whatnot 

Also disobey direct  orders was a big no no and you know how laid back John usually is with  orders so the first time Teyla disobeyed a direct order after Ronon joined the team John was grumbling about it in a way Teyla knew wasn’t serious but Ronon just kind of panicked and started lying his ass off and saying he threatened her into doing it and he should take the punishment which led to an awkward conversation (awkward for Ronon, it left his teammates ready for some murdering)

He hides injuries  because he was alone for so long and never had anyone to take care of him so he just forgets that he has to mention it and in his mind some injuries might not be that bad 

Beckett is constantly  chasing him around after missions desperately trying to get him to hold  still for long enough to do a check

Ronon hates pain medicine because it tends to dull his senses so in his mind all the more  reason to avoid Beckett

He is really good friends with Beckett but just not when he’s hurt

Usually he wanders into the medbay after bad nightmares if Beckett is on night shift and will just sit there

One time he hesitantly asked if Beckett could check to make sure that the tracker was actually gone for good

Ronon was expecting to get laughed at but Beckett took the request with the upmost seriousness and ran all the tests he could think of to calm Ronon’s fear

One time Ronon stumbled into the medbay and he obviously hadn’t slept in a while and was flinching at every noise so Beckett made up an excuse to “take some blood to test and see if it would be compatible with vaccines for the common sicknesses  humans get” and just like. Sedated him. Ronon felt betrayed at first but quickly realized that Beckett only did it because he cared about him and wasworried. He did try to get more sleep after that tho

Oh and you can bet Beckett goes off at him if he ever ends up in the medbay which he does to everyone but  especially Ronon because usually he’s either dragged there or he’ll come  in like “yeah so three days ago for the last mission I got hit in the side and now I’m coughing up blood so…” and then will just like pass out

While he was a runner he trained himself to be a light sleeper so adjusting to Atlantis was difficult because the ocean would wake him up every night at first

Also thunderstorms are The Worst to him because 1. It gives him PTSD for when he was a soldier and the wraith were attacking and 2. When he was a runner thunderstorms were almost a death sentence because the wraith could track him but he couldn’t hide he couldn’t hear and he couldn’t see so yeah thunderstorms are real bad for him

He has a constant fear of leading the Wraith to his new home and his new family oh also I decided that he doesn’t know if his mother died or not so every place they go he’s hopeful he’ll see her

This is a hc I had before I knew it was basically canon but he and the team hang out in the cafeteria a lot especially after nightmares they just all gravitate there

Also I haven’t gotten here yet so I’m just going off of what I know but he kind of tried to leave after Beckett died because he managed to find a way to blame himself also one of my hcs is that Beckett would tell him  about Scotland all the time and had decided that if they ever got the opportunity to go to Earth then Ronon was coming to Scotland with him sooo     ehehhe the angst of Ronon going to earth for Beckett’s funeral and going     to Scotland with Beckett but not in the way either of them wanted

On to softer hcs just cuz

He loves hugs. 7 years of being alone would  make anyone want a hug.

Children gravitate to him for some reason. Logically it doesn’t make sense because he’s so big and a bit intimidating but children just adore him

He carries extra snacks for Rodney

He can’t swim. Somehow he went his entire life without knowing how to swim which Rodney is astounded by and goes on about it for a minute or so

John took it upon himself to give him swimming lessons. John was a terrible teacher but Ronon managed to get the idea

He loves cocoa, specifically loaded with marshmallows. Teyla jokes he likes the marshmallows more than the cocoa

Wow this has gone on so much longer than I thought it would

So that’s it! you unleashed the beast. I now demand to hear your thoughts on ronon because boy oh boy hes a great whumpee and im not sure ive met many if anyone who likes to whumpe him so im super excited!!

[smokeybrand]

Smokey brand Movie Reviews: Pack Mentality

With all the praise that Soul was getting for it’s gorgeous animation and brilliant narrative, half of which i would agree with, there were rumblings of it being the absolute favorite for the animation Oscar this year, And then a challenger appeared over on the Apple TV upstart; Wolfwalkers. It was this beautifully animated, especially considering it’s hand-drawn, a lost art in this age of Pixar and Dreamworks. After seeing a preview, i was instantly smitten. I had to see this film. I had to know if it was as great as everyone said.

The Good

Yo, this film is absolutely stunning! Seriously, it’s easily the best looking movie I've seen all year. Soul is an exceedingly close second but the fact that all of this is hand-drawn gives it that edge. I’m an Eighties kid so stuff like stop motion animation, practical effects, and hand-drawn animation will always carry more weight with me because i grew up with all of it. It’s fast becoming a lost art and I'm glad that there is a studio out there still willing to give this type of animation a shot. Like, holy sh*t, that way the Wolfwalkers see the world? are you kidding me??

I just gushed about the animation, itself, but i have to make note of the actual aesthetic. I love this type of stylized art. It reminds me of that old school, Cartoon Cartoon-esque, look. I’m talking Gendy and MacKracken. It looks like something completely different from the domination of that Cal Arts style from the past decade, a complete breath of fresh air. I love when content comes through, completely unique unto itself, but absolutely outstanding, nonetheless.

Tomm Moore is the director of this thing and writer of this thing. It’s got his stink all over it, which makes since, since he was the person who brought us The Secret of Kells. That film, too was absolutely stunning and played out like nothing else released that year. Tomm reminds be a lot of Travis Knight, the cat who runs Laika and makes all their stop-motion pictures. I adore the fact hat these studios are keeping the old styles alive while simultaneously delivering some of the best animation content out there.

I really like the plot to this flick, man. It’s kind of your run-of-the-mill, man versus nature, odd couple pairing, story but it’s told with such passion and reverence. This isn’t Pocahontas or Ferngully. y can tell the message is there but it’s definitely a distinct narrative crafted by Moore, one that he has been developing for a few years. You definitely feel that dedication in this flick and its all the better for it.

The music in this film is as much a character as anyone else. My, goodness, do these songs cue your emotions. Music and animation often go hand-in-hand, more so than live action films, so you absolutely need that soundtrack to hit in just the right way. The once created for Wolfwalkers is near perfect for the content. All of these Celtic rhythms and percussion are divinity for the ears.

As this is an Irish production, I’m nowhere near as well versed in this cast as i am with US productions, but Eva Whittaker and Honor Kneafsey are outstanding as the two leads,  Mebh Og MacTire and Robyn Goodfellowe. Their scenes together are amazing and the chemistry shared is surprisingly genuine. Sean Ban also comes through and delivers a commanding, yet, caring performance as Robyn's stubbornly overprotective father, Bill Goodfellowe and the horrifying cruel antagonist, Oliver Cromwell, is given life by Simon McBurney. Maria Doyle also makes an appearance as Mebh’s mother, Moll MacTire. It’s a limited one but has incredibly impact on the overall plot.

The pace of this movie is pretty nice. It moves smoothly, getting you where you need to be with a gentle push. There is no fat around this story so it’s pretty streamlined. That focus makes for a properly engaging watch and a rather entertaining one to boot.

The Bad

This thing is properly animated. While i think this is wonderful, it will definitely turn off older people and cats who think animation is for kids. Cartoons are for kids and they happen to be animated. This is a fantasy tale steeped in Irish folklore that just happens to be animated. It has to be animated. The way this thing pays out, there’s no way it could be live action or CG. Even so, the very fact that it is animated will limit the audience willing to give it a chance an that is a crying shame.

This thing is an exclusive to Apple TV. I don’t know anyone who has Apple TV and the fact that it’s got such a tiny platform to call home, really limits the amount of exposure this film is going to get. It’s f*cked up because it is, arguably, the best animated movie released this year. Like, i loved Soul because it spoke directly to the blackness in me but, as a film, as a creative endeavor born from pure creativity? Wolfwalkers craps all over Soul. I loved both of these films but the artist in me demands that Wolfwalkers be given the respect and exposure it so rightfully deserves. That ain’t happening on Apple TV.

The Verdict

I adore this film. Absolutely love it. Celtic mythology is my third favorite after Egyptian and Greek so seeing it brought to screen so vividly was a true experience. Celtic myth never gets the shine it deserves. I am grateful for Moore and his Cartoon Saloon are making incredible works and Wolfwalkers is another in a small but acclaimed library. Moore also brought us The Secret of the Kells and Song of the Sea, both excellent in their own right. Wolfwalkers definitely continues that pedigree with gorgeous visuals, a story filed with heart and emotion, outstanding performances, particularly form the two leads, and a brilliant vision of a world steeped in Celtic lore.