#i guess they had to do it but using hermione's original actress to play her mom does NOT work

[xxcringeizdead666xx]

(My) Immortal by Mediajunkie Studios review

This is my personal opinion BUT I would like to say that (My) Immortal by Mediajunkie studios is not in fact a good adaptation of My Immortal by Tara Gilesbie.

I understand that they are a small studio that didn't have a huge budget, but even with a small budget I belive it is possible to make a good series. especially if the thing you're adapting is something like My Immortal, where the focus isn't even on making it good.

the camera work. holy shit. stop shaking it so hard.

we are introduced to MarySues as make everyhting about themselves. we're not told that they are overpowered or perfect, just that the story revolves around them. surprise surprise, that's just how story protagonists work!

n the book, Ebony is described as having long ebony black hair with purple streaks and red tips. the actress playing her, has wavy brown hair and light blue streaks (that may or may not actually be fake).

Ebony tries to trip who I assume is supposed to be Britney while two people stare at her? but she doesn't actually sucsed? yeah, that is DEFINETLY way better than the book where Ebony PUT HER MIDDLE FINGER up at A BUNCH of preps. the people staring at her don't even look like preps.

We see... Ron and Hermione? and Ebony is... bullying them? but that wasn't in the book! DIABOLO and B'LOODY MARY are actually Ebony's friends. B'loody Mary is even arguably Ebony's best friend.

I guess this is going for a Ebony has overtaken the Harry Potter world and made things her way but like....this isn't My Immortal. this is more like that one chapter written by the hacker. you guys are adapting the wrong thing! hello!

I can't tell who's supposed to be goth, prep, or poser. in the book there's a clear difference. the way some preps look here is what I assume posers looked like in the original.

it hasn't been five minutes and I'm already crying. help

well at least they called her Enoby....

I guess Ebony's relationship towards Vampire is actually kinda somewhat accurate? Vampire is very much out of character though.

wait what?! posers? you just said a few seconds ago they were preps!

Ebony and Draco don't know each other......I'll see myself out.

Why is Ebony that bosy towards everyone. don't get me wrong, Ebony was bosy in the original, but she didn't order everyone around! she also had pretty different relationships with everyone.

well at least the name is right. they forgot the ' in Dark'ness though.

why is she...talking like that? you know that Ebony doesn't have that vocabulary.

well Vampire is staring at Draco. at least that's accurate.

Ebony was never a Gryffindor!!!! she was always a Slytherin! just slytherin. stop trying to make her more of a Mary Sue.

no one actually minded being called by their new names? I belive it was actually their choice! B'loody Mary even had a whole backstory justifying the name change.

I can't decide weather or not death eaters being preps is true seince on one hand, they were servents of Volsemort, who was definetly seen as a bad guy, but also Lucius was not seen as a bad guy so uh.....

Why is Belathrix in this? she wasn't in the original story! if you wanted someone to bully Ebony, there was Britney!

speaking with Bellathrix, again, what's with the look? seriously. I would have assumed that she was another goth if it wasn't for Ebony's comment about her being a cheerleader. use more pink guys! more pink!

alternative? really? that word is never mentioned in my immortal. people like Ebony are refered to as goth aka goff

it was never mentioned in the book, but I belive that Ebony does know who the cure are. it is mentioned as one of the favorite bands of Etirnity, the character from a story written by Raven, Tara's best friend who also had a self inseart. so yeah, I assume she did know who the cure were. also, how come do preps know who the cure and all those other bands are? it is an established fact that the preps know minimal info on goff culture.

why are they asking Ebony to hang out with them? if they are preps, she's their worst enemy!

ooo Ebony is a dm? I... actually don't hate that! in fact I like her having more hobbies. dnd does seem like something she would do.

aaaand litterally everyone doesn't know how to play. as a dm, I am offended. guys. seriously. if you hate Ebony so much, why are you making this series? litterally every scene screams about how much you hate Ebony. and when there isn't enough canon scenes to destroy you just invent new ones like the dnd scene? really? i am so done.

once again. IN THE BOOK this wasn't a group of people forced to hang out with each other. this was a genuine group of friends who came together and had comon interests.

Ebony never actually dated Vampire. you know who did date Vampire though? Draco. Draco did.

I know that this is the time before anybody knew how problematic harry potter and it's author was but...ugh! it just hurts with the harry potter references!

that scene of Ebony smoking on the roof looks pretty cool though.

I'm- I'm sorry. I'm sorry.... who is that?!

okay. I think I'll split this into multiple parts. one post per episode. so stay tuned for that!

[riverdale-retread]

Riverdale S5 E12 (Jaime/Hiram) - 5 Things I loved/ 3 Things to consider

5 Things I loved

1. The music selections for the Jaime to Hiram transitions were delirious and filled me with joy.  I admit up front I’ve never heard any of these songs before, so if they turn out to be a horrible kind of misappropriation or desecration or something I will feel bad. In any case - Riverdale commits to giving you a dose of the surreal every episode.  The difficulty with doing that in this episode is that  the stories being told in it are unusually straightforward, even staid, for  Riverdale.  So they went to town with the sound track.   

There’s a song  (Demolicion by the band Narco) that sounds like it’s being sung by the Tasmanian Devil from Looney Toons on a bender - it’s just rawararwrarawrar. All these songs about Hiram ‘being bad’ and mentioning the ‘devil’ are so on the nose that the nose gets broken and pushed right into the skull (the title of the song is literally Devil Devil).

2.  I love that Hermione Gomez wears huge 80s glasses that completely overwhelm her little face and yet Jaime hits on her and thinks the world of her.  It helps to have that face, I grant you, but as someone who took the Dorothy Parker quote, Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses, very very personally back in the day, I LOVE that Jaime/Hiram has no such qualms.  Did everyone notice the bust of Nefertiti that’s positioned right behind Hermione the whole time Hiram is successfully asking her out? I did and it cracked me up.

3. I loved that nothing in this story about Jaime Luna makes Hiram Lodge even a little bit sympathetic to me.  Hiram is an out and out villain, and I love that.  I’ve been sick of villain backstory narratives that are like, Bad Things Happened To This Man So We Must Identify With His Homicidal Impulses that keep coming out, but this episode didn’t do that.

a) Hiram is in so many ways a textbook abusive husband, and the only thing that distinguishes him from the more stereotypical abuser is that he doesn’t actually punch his victim (he just shoots at her using other people’s guns).  Abusers blame their victims for ‘causing’ them to commit abuse.   The same is true here. The story that Hiram tells Reggie about his life pretends to be about his father, but is actually all about the fact that it’s Hermione’s fault that he’s a gangster.  She’s the one who likes the fancy clothes and the fancy car, the one who names him Hiram Lodge,  the one who is turned on by Hiram working for gangsters, the one that goes to the gangsters (rather than his father or her mother or any other adult) to get Hiram out of jail.   It’s all her fault and she owes him.  This is in addition to his usual, You’re my wife and I own you.

I am right back to being very worried about Hermione.

b) Hiram pretends to be giving ‘life advice’ about fathers and sons to Reggie.  Hiram has direct knowledge that Marty Mantle is a piece of shit, and that Reggie has a very trouble relationship with him, and that Marty absolutely does not respect Reggie at all whatsoever (“Reggie is a fool.”)   Hiram uses Reggie and then ditches him when he’s done.   Hiram makes Reggie an accessory to murder, which nets nobody anything at this point other than Hiram’s own blood lust - and possibly tying up loose ends because Vito is someone who can correct this yarn that Hiram is spinning about his origin - then breaks his heart.  Marty Mantle is not only a dad who beat his son - he’s a dad that does not ask his son “Where did you get the money” when the son pays off a huge debt to a known criminal, and is only relieved that he’s no longer on the hook.  He also tellingly asks Reggie, “That’s what you got from my story?” indicating that this is a story rather than a testimony. 

4. I loved the very anti-straight men commentary the show keeps sneaking in.  Like, straight marriage is the worst, especially the ones that produce biological offspring, according to Riverdale.  Marty Mantle absolutely despises sex. He’s a guy who sells sexy cars to other guys for a living, and yet he hates talking about getting laid in one. He hates his beautiful sensual son, too, for being sexually successful and comfortable in his body. Both Reggie (described by the gay-bi Fangs as “very straight” even after kissing him) and Hiram (who is basically a Hermione-sexual at this point) have comically fetishistic relationships with cars and shoes, lovingly wiping down these objects at the start of each day.  All the straight men say the word “shame” several times -I’m ashamed of you/ I feel shame/ so ashamed/ shame.

5. I continue to adore “I am not in high school any more” Reggie Mantle.  Growing up to be a slightly sleazy car salesman is the one of the few character developments for Grown Riverdale that both makes sense and isn’t depressing.  Core Four, Cheryl and Polly are all extremely depressing and supportable with logic.  Toni and Fangs make out OK but they were also underdeveloped in the first four seasons. (I am too upset to talk about Sweet Pea).  I was moved by his tearing up while very quietly confronting his father, and I was moved by his boyish attempt at trying to show his new boss that he’s not just the muscle.  Oh and he’s so beautiful, did I say that already?  There’s so much face in Reggie’s face - strong brows, deep set eyes, those cheekbones, that jawline, that MOUTH. 

Three Things to Think About

a. Why is Jughead narrating this?   Jughead is unusually wrong about a lot of things in his opening narration, and I assume this is intentional.  Jughead seems to use the words hero and protagonist interchangeably, and also I guess hasn’t seen Joker because most villains and antiheros also always get their origin stories too. (There’s a theory that what we’re watching is the Betty Cooper serial killer origin story, for example).   Has Jughead not watched “Citizen Kane” because he asks “What is his rosebud?” about Hiram,  BUT WE ARE NOT TOLD.   Jughead sounds jealous of Reggie, frankly, and he’s wrong when he says Hiram collects lost souls.  What OTHER lost souls does Hiram have near him?   And who the heck is S5 Jughead Jones calling LOST?

b. What Reggie really wants to do - and possibly also Hiram - is to wear a suit and carry a briefcase.   It’s just very White Collar Aspirant that isn’t fully explored. Like, how the 50 shades of grey movie was really about sitting in a board room negotiating a contract and having pretty women in suits bring you tea -  that was the erotic highlight of that movie.   We live in capitalism, so getting to use the accoutrement of the Wall St capitalist is the true fantasy.

c.  The point of this episode that the show is making to the viewer is this: A straightforward narrative, where gangsters act like gangsters, and fathers and sons have realistic misunderstandings and conflicts, is something we’re capable of doing.  We just don’t want to. 

[cursestothemoon]

Hi!! I just saw your hd of Fred dating and actress and it was SO GOOD!! 👏😍 could you do one but instead of an actress a famous singer??

OoOoOoOo

y e s. 

alrighty

buckle in

this is gonna be gewd

so we are gonna start with the two ways of how you guys would meet 

number one 

you are a witch and also a famous singer 

ginny is going through her rebellious phase 

you know how it is

and homegirl is bLASTING your songs in her room

and Gred and Forge just happen to be visiting 

Fred would just

pause for a moment because 

wow

that’s the most beautiful voice hes ever heard and the lyrics are really speaking to him

our mizunderstood king

so naturally he busts into Ginny’s room and is like who is t h a t

and ginny would have a poster of you up

aH

and obviously it’s a magical one so you are dancing and singing 

and she’d just point to the poster and be like 

that’s Y/n, she toured with Weird Sisters 

From that moment on

fred was in love

he wouldn't shut up about you

George would get him merch

he’d try to go to concerts 

then the day came

T H E  D A Y

him and george got a phone call asking if they could use the shop in a photoshoot for some celebrity

the pay was pretty hefty so they agreed

what fred didn’t expect was for you to walk in 

makeup done, hair done 

my man lost his marbles

“gEORGE DID YOU SEE WHO IT IS?”

“....y/n-”

“iTS Y/N L/N.”

apparently your new album has to do with fireworks, sweets? 

idk you choose

wait now i can't get the music video for fergalicious out of my head

either way you are there 

and there is a photoshoot happening 

and i think fred would be rather shy at first 

hes a grown 21 year old and he has a newspaper clipping of you in his bedroom

its a bit intimidating 

but then he thinks about it 

and hes like??? she’s in mY shop

yeah she’s Y/n L/n, she's insanely talented and has played at sold out arenas but only I know where the bathroom is

if you caught that nudge we should be friends :)

so anyway

yeah he was like this is my time to shiNE 

would be the biggest flirt 

and you think hes honestly quite charming 

and stUPIDLY GOOD LOOKING 

you’d score yourself a date

and fred was beyond excited 

not only for the date

but for ginny’s reaction

aLRIGHT NOW WE HAVE THE SECOND WAY

you are a muggle

and he has no idea you exist

until one year for Hermione’s 19th 

a sort of ode to the last year of being a teenager 

she wants everyone to go to a concert 

your concert 

Harry and Ron would be the only ones who have heard of you

Harry because he went through a phase 

and Ron just hears Hermione talking about you

but yeah a group of them would go

fred and george included 

it’s a party everyone's coming out

so they are all waiting for it to start 

fred’s just hanging out

throwing back a beer 

what not 

then it starts

lights

fog machine

idk

but his attention has been grabbed 

then you come out and he is just ❤️👄❤️

ok let’s say you are a lana del rey type of artist 

fred would, once again, lose his marbles

and he’d just be so captivated by you

and the words

dADDY ISSUES???

gets a bit hot and bothered

will also tease Hermione for listening to such suggestive songs

or let’s say you are more pop punk

maybe grunge

oOOOO

GRUNGE 

im thinking of Hole

courtney love

strictly speaking of her music and not her as a person

still very hot and bothered

maybe more so

he is a head banger

will either create or join the mosh pit 

will buy a t-shirt on the way out

ok afterwards they would go to a club or bar nearby 

super popular one 

kind of a big deal

guess who walks in

g u e s s

you do 

with a few friends

a few roadies 

you know the homies and what not 

and i think you’d be the first to see him because lets be honest

you noticed him in the crowd 

hes tall and cute 

also for the sake of this lets say they had really good seats

and fred would notice that you were there when you ‘coincidentally’ took a seat next to him at the bar

there is a good chance he would be taking a sip of his drink when he noticed and would choke 

hA what a dork

but yeah you guys would definitely hit it off

Hermione would also lose her shit

ah you would party with them

it would be so much fun oh my god

ok now that you guys are together

which ever origin story you prefer

we need to get into the relationship

you would sing 

constantly 

throughout the house 

and when he caught you singing he’d just stand there, a bit hidden, and just listen 

wHEN YOU HAD TO LEAVE FOR TOUR HE’D BE SO SAD OH MY GOD THEN AFTER YOU LEFT HED BE INCREDIBLY GRUMPY

george will write to you telling you to immediately come back because he is done with fred’s shit

obviously you can't

but fred would take any opportunity he could get to come see you

iF YOU WROTE A SONG FOR HIM AND SANG IT ON STAGE HE WOULD TEAR UP

or lets say you guys got in a huge fight 

talks of breaking up

but he’s still watching your live shows 

and you start singing the song that you had wrote about him

but now it’s so much sadder and you are trying not to cry and Fred would just diE

would immediately see you as soon as possible to resolve the issue, talk it out, and stay together because you canNOT LEAVE HIM

if he’s having a bad day he will try to subtly ask you to sing him to sleep

but that's only in the beginning

“I don’t know work was stressful today, i think im going to go to bed.”

“alright, you want to be alone or you want me to come with you”

“can you come...and... you know I haven't heard the new song yet...could you sing it for me?”

aH hes so cute

also i am a firm believer that when he is in a bad mood he is the biggest baby

but anyway

he’ll get more comfortable with asking you and eventually just ask you to sing for him when you guys are cuddling

oK HE’D ALSO BE THE COCKIEST LITTLE SHIT 

hes such a tease

its a bout to get just a little nsfw 

“come on, love, let’s hear your beautiful voice.”

take that how you will

aH he has a before show ritual

right before you get on stage 

if he is in town and with you

he will give you one kiss for each song on your setlist 

and as you go to walk onto stage he will smack your butt

a gentle tap

he says it’s for good luck 

[worrepaled1978-blog]

We see it all the time in movies women who aren sure just need to be convinced, and then she realize that she actually does want to fuck this guy, or she actually can be worn down by the nerdy yet endearing guy and they end up together, but that just not the case in real life. It why the "yes means yes, and anything else is no" talk is important. When someone is unsure, it means you should just stop. That is the point, that explosive growth was not represented in the Ottoman Empire. The GDP growth did not change but by $50USD between 1600 1700 or 1800, it stayed almost completely the same. My argument is he ignores this period of stagnation, only focusing right before WWI. It's not always the content of the message, but the tone, that we consider when making moderation decisions. "Legitimacy" doesn't change the fact that the wording could be kinder, and respect the fact that the OP felt confident enough to share about their skincare and their journey. Or provide resources for the community, in the case of swatches.. Yeah the problem is that this doesn seem to work. People both turn out more right wing. (the dark side it tempting I guess), and well if you get enough right wingers (or worse) in a speech zone it pushed out leftwing people. Growth serums have to be applied continuously to see the results, otherwise the growth returns to normal. RapidLash recommends applying every night for 4 months, then dropping to a maintenance dose after that. However, I don want to take any chances, so I use it every night even though it been probably 8 months 구례출장샵 since I started. Although Amazon Prime Music has less music than Amazon Music, it also has the J pop. Overall, Spotify is easier to browse through, and it is better at giving recommendations. So, I prefer Spotify over Amazon Music. What people seem to be refusing to understand is that Rowling never claimed to have originally written Hermione as black. She only said there no reason Hermione couldn be played by a black actress, because all the characteristics that were relevant 구례출장샵 to her character (frizzy hair and such) would make sense for a black woman to have. It would make sense in the story if Hermione had been a black girl and it wouldn effect the story negatively in any way, so why shouldn a black girl be able to play her if she the best casting choice besides not having the same skin colour? That all Rowling ever said.. It is also not okay in the slightest for them to lay her care at your feet when they are gone. This again is their responsibility, especially if you are unwilling. They may have to account for her long term care in their will so that you are not required to provide it.. And so begins the scoot game. I scoot over, he scoots over. It gets to the point where I on my side half off the goddamn mattress. All you have to do is feed it and make it comfortable and give it a rub behind the ears and it content. Consequently these people are often the most irresponsible pet owners. They allow their cats and dogs out unsupervised to wreak havoc on the neighborhood and they often hoard animals. Thanks so much for posting this. My order has only been in since around Christmas, so I can imagine the frustration you feeling if you been waiting to hear something since November! I really hope that they reevaluating how they run their business right now, even if they not expressing it to customers. My order is pretty big because the sale was so good and I completely new to the brand, so I fine with waiting a month or so, but two months would be unreasonable, indie or not.

[serpen--sortia]

Cursed Child 24/06/17

Okay, I wasn't originally going to write a 'review' on cast two of Cursed Child, but I have lots of thoughts and feelings that need putting into words. Let me start off by saying that having seen the original cast a fair few times (and deeming them irreplaceable), I went into the Palace on Saturday with an extremely open mind and very little expectations. I think it's important for me to note that they're only five weeks in, and still in the early stages. It's not my intention to bash or criticise any of their performances, as I think they fully deserve the chance to settle in and make the characters their own. That said, here's a breakdown of my initial thoughts on the main cast, and how I personally think they compare to the originals so far:

Jamie Glover (Harry) - Like other people have mentioned, he plays Harry much less 'shouty' than Jamie P, or even Stuart. I'd describe his anger as more... growly? and simmering than shouty. There were certain scenes where I wished he would show a bit more passion or emotion, but overall he seems to be settling into the role really well. I definitely still think he needs more time to gel with Theo and create that believable angsty relationship, but he's definitely showing a lot of promise and I look forward to seeing where he takes Harry.

Rakie Ayola (Hermione) - I was nervous that Noma's strong presence as Hermione would be difficult to live up to, but Rakie plays Hermione so differently. She still has that strength about her, but is also very emotional and gentle. Especially in the first AU—where instead of being angry, she seems more like she's constantly on the edge of a nervous breakdown, which works really well. Her and Ron's relationship is also very sweet, as is her friendship with Harry. I like her a lot and think she's a very good fit for Hermione.

Thomas Aldridge (Ron) - I was a big fan of Paul's Ron, so again I was apprehensive to see what Thomas would be like in comparison. He definitely plays Ron very similarly to Paul, and is very funny and lovable. He got lots of laughs which was lovely. His relationship with Hermione is adorable as ever, and he has great chemistry with Rakie. Ron is in very capable hands from my point of view!

Emma Lowndes (Ginny) - I'm still quite undecided on my thoughts towards Emma as Ginny. There's no doubt that she's a very talented actress, but I feel like she still needs a little bit more time to understand Ginny, and find that balance between Gin's gentle motherly presence and her headstrong badass side. She was very sweet with Albus in the church scene, so I feel like she's already halfway there! I'm also very aware of the fact that her accent is quite posh in comparison to Ron's, which I think is to do with the fact that she's a northerner doing a southern accent. It'll be interesting to see how she evolves over time.

Theo Ancient (Albus) - There's no doubt that Theo is very different to Sam, which definitely isn't a bad thing, but took a little getting used to. I feel like he plays Albus a lot more angsty and emotional, especially when it came to the bedroom scene with Harry, and the torture scenes with Delphi. I would love to see Theo relax slightly, as he still seems to be holding back a bit and sometimes rushes his lines and stands a little stiffly. I think once he realises his potential and understands Albus more, he'll be amazing.

Samuel Blenkin (Scorpius) - Sam, oh Sam. I don't even know where to begin... but will start off by saying that I am completely and utterly blown away by his talent, and that you honestly wouldn't believe that he's only been playing this role for a short amount of time. I was a massive fan of Anto, so was worried that Scorpius would either fall into the wrong hands, or that nobody would come close to or compare to him. Enter Samuel. He's come along, fallen headfirst into his character, and completely made Scorp his own already. I honestly cannot praise him enough. He has the awkward quirks of Anthony, the serious gut wrenching emotion of James, and a childish humour and demeanour that is entirely Samuel. His comedic timing is completely on point, and the same goes for the more emotional scenes. I literally whispered "oh wow" after the library argument, it was completely heartbreaking. I'll stop gushing about Samuel now, but if you're unsure on whether to see the new cast or not... see it for him, he's incredible.

James Howard (Draco) - Even though I've seen the play a lot, I've never managed to see James' Draco before now, and didn't really know what to expect. He's amazing. He's got the Malfoy intensity down to a tee, and plays Draco exactly how I imagine him to be at 40. He's got an intimidating Lucius-like authority to him, but is also funny, emotional, and has a very calming? voice and presence. His chemistry with Samuel is fantastic, and they're really believable as father and son in their scenes together. From what I've seen so far, I'm definitely a big fan of James and his Draco.

Annabel Baldwin (Delphi) - I've been lucky enough to see her Delphi before, and honestly think she was born for this role. She's hilarious, and also terrifying when the time comes. I've got a lot of love for her and can't wait to see how she develops Delphi even further.

Other notable people include James Phoon, who makes an amazing Craig (and generally just looks like he's having the best time, which is lovely). Tom Mackley, who now has a lot more stage time, which I'm so happy to see as I think he's brilliant. April Hughes' completely amazing and utterly flirtatious Myrtle, Martin Johnston in a dress, Rupert Henderson's James, and Helen Aluko's ever amazing Rose G-W. Everyone is doing their characters so much justice, and I can only see them getting better and better.

A few notable things from Saturday's performance:

- I'm still not used to Scottish Polly Chapman

- "OI FLEUR, J'ADORE!!" - Tom M

- Draco held Scorpius' jaw in the second timeline as he said "There's more of her in there than I thought", and it was v emotional

- Sam and Theo were heartbreaking during the staircase ballet, they both looked close to tears and Scorp kept reaching out for Albus

- Harry holds Draco's wrist for a good 30 seconds in Harry's office after their deep chat

- Scorpius was literally hanging onto Albus for dear life during the Harry/Voldemort transfiguration

Stage door was amazing. They're all such lovely, wonderful people who took their time to properly speak to everyone (including Emma who was in a rush to catch her train). David Annen told me that before they all started, everyone had to do the sorting quiz and he thinks he was sorted into the wrong house. Rakie guessed that I'd seen the play a few times even though I'd only said hi. Apparently they can tell when someone's been a few times because we 'have a certain SD knowledge/presence' ... not sure what that says about me hahah. Samuel was adorable and completely flattered every time someone complimented his performance, he also said how he thinks they're all starting to gel as a unit and relax into their roles. Theo and James P were also really humble and lovely to speak to, not to mention everyone else. They're a really brilliant bunch of people.

I think I should probably end my ramble here, but if you get the chance, definitely go and give them a watch/your support! These are obviously all my personal opinions and first impressions, other people might completely disagree. Either way, I can't wait to watch it again in a few weeks (or months) and see how much further the cast has progressed. The play is in good hands guys.

[lobsters-on-their-heads]

What I want from (Fan)fiction

I love fanfiction, but good Lord is it hard to find good stuff in any fandom.  I haven’t counted, but my guess is that only about 10% of works in any fandom are high quality, and the rest range from “okay, I can read this” to “holy fuck, this sucks so badly I now hate this pairing.”  Of course, some of it is personal preference.  There are tropes I can’t stand that other people love, and that’s great!  Diversity is important.  This is my list of things that I want from fanfiction.  A lot of this applies to all fiction.  I start with tips that I feel many readers would agree with, and end with my personal preferences that I know people disagree with.  Specific fandoms mentioned here are DS9, Orphan Black, Harry Potter, and Game of Thrones.  

1) Use the characters’ names, and use them in the way that they’re used in the original material.  No one in Harry Potter called Minerva McGonagall “Nerva,” so you shouldn’t, either.  Besides, it sounds silly.  Call her Minerva.

Also, avoid referring to the characters by their characteristics unless absolutely necessary.  In a scene with Cosima and Delphine, avoid referring to them as “the brunette” and “the blonde.”  If I’m reading Cophine fanfic, I know damn well what color their hair is.  Besides, the names are mostly just convenient tags to let the reader know who’s doing what, to help with the movie playing along in our brains.  Adding in extra markers takes the focus away from the action.  I understand you’re trying to avoid redundancy, but it ends up a little confusing.  

“Cosima gasped as the blonde rolled on top of her.”  This makes me wonder if a third woman joined the action.  Just say Delphine rolled on top of her - it’s more clear.

2) The majority of your speech tags should be said or asked.  It’s okay to throw in an occasional “she yelled” or “he gasped,” but keep those to a minimum, and only use as appropriate.  Speech tags, like names, are mostly to tell the reader who said what.  You don’t even need them a lot of the time if there are only two people speaking.  Using creative and unnecessary speech tags, again, takes the reader away from the main action or message.  

3) Tighten your writing.  Specifically:

- Avoid excessive modifiers and prepositional phrases.  “She spat with vemon” should be shortened to “she spat” unless of course there is literal venom involved, in which case, remove the “with.”  “He frowned sadly,” is redundant.  How else would he frown?  “She thought to herself.”  Well, who else is she going to think to?

- In general, if you can take words out without changing the meaning of the passage, take those words out.  One way I’ve found to do this is by giving myself a page or word limit that’s a little bit shorter than what I already have.  If the draft is 3,000 words, I try to make it 2,500.  Going back to point #1, using the characters’ names helps with this.  “Odo” reads more quickly than “the shapeshifter.”

4) PROOFREAD YOUR SHIT!  Proofread it yourself a day or two after you finish, and then get someone else to proofread it.  None of us can catch all of our own errors by ourselves, but we need to make sure it’s as clean as possible before sending it out into the world.  Proofread especially for the following:

- Verb tense.  Past tense is the most common, but the most important thing to watch for is consistency.  I read a fic yesterday where the writer switched randomly into present tense halfway though, then went back to past.  There was no time travel or flashbacks involved, just sloppy writing, and it took me out of an otherwise interesting story.   

- Check your spelling.  We’ll forgive the stray typo here and there, and some of us won’t even notice if you misspell “achieve,” but if you spell Kira’s given name as Niris, you’re showing that you don’t care about details.  

5) Use accurate and appropriate language.  I’ve lost count of the number of DS9 fics in which Major Kira “stomps” around the station.  I can’t remember her ever stomping on the show, though.  She strode, sashayed, walked, ran, jogged, limped, and (maybe) marched.  She might have even bounced or skipped, but she never stomped.  Stomping is what children do when they’re angry.  

Similarly, don’t get too creative with names for body parts.  Don’t use “digits,” use “fingers.”  When discussing breasts, never, EVER call them orbs, globes, or mounds.

6) Be true to the characters.  I know the point of fanfiction can be to stretch the boundaries of canon fiction, but if you go too far from the canon characters, you create entirely new characters who happen to have the same names.  This doesn’t mean you can pair them up in canonically unrealistic ways.  Garak and Captain Sisko can certainly have a tumble in Garak’s dressing room without either of them leaving character.  This includes physical traits as well as personality.  Some examples of what to avoid:

- Odo fucks Kira in the middle of a staff meeting, and she is pleasantly surprised.  No one is upset about this.  None of this is in character.

- Kira has massive breasts.  In the show, Kira’s breasts are lovely (from what we can see), but they are not large.  

7) Okay, so this one relates to #6, but might apply more to me than anyone else.  I don’t like AUs.  I just saw one that had Cosima as an actress, and another with Delphine as a kindergarten teacher.  Guys.... they are both SCIENTISTS.  That is a critical piece of their characters, not only professionally, but in terms of how they see and interact with the world around them.  Similarly, Jaime Lannister is a soldier and a nobleman.  He is not a musician.  Brienne is not a fangirl.  You can be inspired by characters and put elements of them into your own original work, but if you change too much about them, they are not the characters you say they are.  

Of course, some people love AUs.  If you like AUs, great, keep writing and reading them!  They are obviously popular (about half of the Cophine fics I saw just yesterday were AUs).  For me, though, you have to really sell me on your concept before I’ll even click the link.  

Amendment to #7) This doesn’t apply to divergent plot lines within the original universe.  Some of the best stories I’ve read follow the pattern of “What if [plot point] had turned out differently?”  These keep the characters in character.  What if Kira hadn’t died in “Children of Time?”  What if Cosima had never been self-aware?  What if Hermione were killed in book seven?  What if Brienne found Sansa Stark and they went on adventures together?  All of these work because they keep the characters in character. 

What if Harry were a muggle?  That works less for me.  Being a wizard is too integral to who Harry is as a person.  Still, if you write it well, I might give it a shot, provided that most everything else stays true to the Potterverse we know and love.   

8) It’s okay to use a foreign language I don’t know, as long as it’s realistic.  I don’t speak French, but Delphine does, so having her cry out French phrases during sex totally fits, and is better than having her do it in English.  I can figure out the meaning from context.  If characters are having a conversation in a foreign language, and the exact meaning is critical to the story, there are a few ways to handle that: 

- One way is to have them speaking in, say, French, with each other, and then have a third character ask for a recap or summary.

- Have a footnote somewhere translating the lines into English (or whatever the primary language of the piece is).  

- Have everything in English (or the primary language), but somehow signal to the reader that they have switched into French.  Maybe use italics and have a third character point out that they aren’t not speaking English anymore.  

Do not assume that your readers DON’T understand the foreign language you’re using, or that we all want an immediate translation.  Repeating the same message in English immediately after giving it in French slows down the pace of the story, and is literally redundant.  

[littlemissendlessdreamer]

THOUGHTS ON RIVERDALE

I don’t fully remember reading Archie comics back then, all I’ve got are bits and pieces of my memories  from my childhood. Archie comics debuted back in 1939 and is still popular until today. During the early 2000’s, my cousins, who were teenagers that time are obsessed with the comics and I, as a four-year old child would enjoy conversations with them about Archie comics even though I don’t really understand half of what’s happening in the comics. I would just enjoy looking at the pictures and one things for sure, I am in love with the characters  Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge.

Anyway, I’m not here to reminisce about my childhood and how I barely remember reading (or looking) at Archie comics. I am here to discuss about the awesome new show based on the Archie comics’ characters, Riverdale.

Warning: May contain spoilers to those who haven’t watched Riverdale yet…and major feels and fangirling that caused this blog post to be somewhat informal (?)

Riverdale premiered last January 26, 2017. The show is a mystery, teen drama that revolves around the lives of Archie Andrews, a teenage boy who’s trying to balance his love for music and football; Betty Cooper, the town’s girl next door and Archie’s best friend; Veronica Lodge, the rich new girl who moved from New York to Riverdale because of her father’s imprisonment and Jughead Jones, the resident emo kid who’s currently trying to write a novel and helping Betty Cooper solve the mystery Jason Blossom’s murder.

The series also follows the lives of Hermione Lodge, Veronica’s mother; Fred Andrews, Archie’s father and the other Riverdale residents, the Blossoms, the Coopers, Josie and the Pussycats and FP, Jughead’s alcoholic father.

The Show’s Pacing

The pacing of the show is kinda fast. Betty and Archie’s friendship wasn’t explored that much. Betty was head over heels for her best friend Archie, she’s been in love with him since they were young and when Archie admitted that he doesn’t return the feeling, Betty was so broken-hearted and now it’s hard to believe that she’s over Archie already in just a short period of time and now currently dating Jughead.  I get that some people say that she got over it but I wish the writers  showed how she’s trying to heal from being rejected. Don’t worry I’m not against Bughead because I’m a major bughead shipper but I wish we could have seen more of Betty and Archie fixing their relationship after that confession on the night of the dance. I really hope that we would see more of Betty and Archie acting like they’re really best friends.

Another thing that I felt was really rushed was Valarchie, Archie and Valerie’s relationship. Archie got over Ms. Grundy so fast which is so weird, and this got me thinking that wow, Riverdale residents are a pro in moving on. I was expecting him to be single and loveless for a few episodes after Ms. Grundy’s departure but I was surprised to see the writers just throw another love interest for Archie. Valerie’s talented, though the actress playing her should show more facial expression but I think it’s kind of part of Val’s character, chill and casual. She’s a great love interest for Archie,  but I think it would have been better to see them grow and develop into friends first rather than just spending one episode together and then they suddenly kiss and then become a ‘thing’,  then we don’t get to see Valerie in the next two episodes and when we do, she’s casually walking the street in the middle of winter and breaking things off with Archie when he arrived to join her.

Some pieces weren’t thoroughly explored either, the writers would bring it up and then suddenly it’s not talked about or it just disappears in the next few episodes. Though I think it is part of the story line to give the viewers the whole mysterious atmosphere and vibe of the show.

I read a lot of comments from other people saying that Riverdale needs to slow down, and yes I agree but if you look at it, they only have thirteen episodes to fit all the story line and I guess they didn’t want to us to wait until season 2 to find out who killed Jason Blossom. But yeah, maybe some side story should have been introduced on the show’s second season

The Storyline

The plot of the show is definitely different from the comics. The show is dark, mysterious and exciting.

The Characters (and cast)

I love Lili Reinhart but I’m still skeptical about her playing Betty. I don’t know, I feel like they could have casted a more fitted actress to play Betty? (Don’t hate me!) I hope I get use to her and accept her soon because Bughead and Sprousehart are life.

Is it me or does Cheryl Blossom looks like Lydia Martin from Teen Wolf sometimes? 

I like Cheryl actually, I believe she’s only cold-hearted and mean because of her environment, she may be mean, spoiled and a bitch (sometimes) but I know deep down she’s just a helpless and confused girl who just wants to be accepted like everyone does to her brother, Jason.

I would also like more screen time for Kevin, Reggie, Ethel and Josie and the pussycats.

Ships

As always, in any fandom, ship wars are inevitable but what’s funny in the Riverdale fandom is that everyone seems to be shipping everyone with everyone.

If anyone would ask me what ship I support most, I think I already stated it above, BUGHEAD. Jughead acts all tough and emotionless in front of everybody but when he’s with Betty, he becomes sweet and soft. I think he only shows that side of him to Betty which is cute. 

To be honest, I don’t know who to ship Veronica with—my best choice is Reggie or Archie  but this season I want to see Veronica be an independent, fierce and strong girl before going into a relationship but a part of me say that it wouldn’t be bad if she’s stays single. I feel like no guy can handle her toughness.

Though we only got see Jason Blossom and Polly Cooper’s relationship through flashbacks, their forbidden love story makes me sober. Their love story is torn out from Romeo and Juliet and it’s sad that Jason won’t see his twin babies grow (Major Finnick Odair feels).

 I have a feeling that he would have been a great father and a caring, loving husband to Polly. I know their plan of raising their own family at such a young age is crazy but I can imagine Jason being happy and cute as he plays with his twins.

It would be too basic if Archie ends up with Veronica but I never see them as a couple, I think it would be better if they’re just really good friends. Though it would be really fun to see Archie get jealous of Bughead but I hope he’s won’t tear up Bughead. I just want Archie to realize that he had his chance with Betty but he turned her down. Valarchie’s nice and I like it though it need more development because their relationship seems flat? Archie and Grundy’s relationship made me cringe, 

so yeah, Valarchie...or Varchie (?). I also have thoughts about Archie and Cheryl but it would be nice if their relationship becomes platonic in the end with Archie always looking out for Cheryl like what Jason does.

Soundtrack

I’m the kind of person who notices not just the output we see on the screen. I also pay attention and wonder how a masterpiece has been created—how was it written, how did they film this scene, and how the hell do the musical scorers find such amazing soundtrack!

Yes, I’m the kind of person who notices the music on the background and would instantly fall in love with song. Riverdale’s soundtrack is something new and timely. Some songs contains electro pop, I’m not usually a fan of electro pop, I only listen to few but they way the musical scorers used these songs in Riverdale was very fitting.

The soundtrack also contains original songs from the show, songs performed by Josie and the Pussycats and Archie Andrews’ melodic acoustic songs.

Scream + PLL = Riverdale

Riverdale is being compared to MTV’s Scream and Freeform’s Pretty Little Liars. I agree that it has elements similar to Scream and Pretty Little Liars but I believe that Riverdale is unique and beautiful in its own way.

Who’s the Killer?

Basically, I have no idea. I am not certain but I have a few guesses.

It could be Hal Cooper because of his hatred for the Blossoms. Maybe when he found out that his daughter Polly is pregnant with Jason Blossom’s child, it was enough to make his blood boil and loathe the Blossoms even more and kill the red-headed boy who ruined his daughter’s life.

It could be FP, Jughead’s father. I know his somehow involved with the murder, maybe he was paid by Hal Cooper to kill Jason? Or for another reason maybe?

I’m curious about Ms. Grundy though, I mean why would the writers bring her character to Riverdale if she’s not somehow involved? I don’t know if her story isn’t over and we’ll see her in Riverdale again soon enough.

It could also be someone no one suspects because that’s how the killers are usually revealed in this kind of genre or it’s someone we don’t know yet but I hope it’s not gonna be a big let down.

Anyway, Riverdale is addicting. I know some people disagree with me saying that it’s not anything like the comics and the characters seems off and somewhat different from their comic counterpart and the whole show is losing its essence and became too dark, but if you look at Riverdale as just Riverdale, a teen drama television series, it’s actually a really good show.

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[istartedbelievinginitmyself]

Review of Harry Potter and the cursed child (play)

Hello!. So on Sunday 1st January i finally got to see Harry Potter and the cursed child in the Palace Theatre in London. And here is what i think:

It was absolutly incredible!!! One of the best shows i have seen so far (and i saw a lot of shows on west end). It was beautifully artistic and it nearly made me cry several times which means a lot.

The Plot

I know a lot of people don't like the plot, but it worked so great on stage. I loved the plot, it was exciting until the end. It is not perfect of course (there is nothing that's perfect not even the original books) but the plot was very good, i loved the time travelling and it served it's main purpose: character development. Other than the books or fantastic beast cursed child is not about adventure or about the world and the plot so much, but it's about interesting characters and character development, mainly about the development of Harrys and Albus' father son relationship. So the main focus is not on the plot, but on the characters. So i will move on to the characters.

    The characters/actors

I saw the whole main cast (which made me really happy) so here we go:

  Harry James Potter

I saw Jamie Parker as Harry Potter and i can't say enough how amazing he is. His performance was one of the best performances i ever got to see on a stage and this man is so talented it's not normal any more. His portrayal of Harry's pain about his relationship to Albus and about his haunting memories of the past was beautiful. His screams in Harry‘s nightmare scenes were bonechilling and we see how much Harry as a young adult with all this preasure on him is still haunted by his past. At the beginning of the play Jamie plays Harry very sorrowless and happy, we see what a loving father he is and Jamie Parker has great charisma on stage. With the developement of the plot however, Harry gets more and more stressed, there is a lot of preasure on him and Jamie‘s portrayal gets darker and he shows us the troubled but beautifully complex and very emotional human being. We see how much he loves his son and is trying to be a good father, but he has no idea how to show Albus his love. Harry as an interesting character is beautifully written and Jamie Parker brought Harry from the books to life on stage. I think he is perfectly casted and one of the most talented actors on the west end.

    Albus Severus Potter

I saw Sam Clemmett as Albus Potter and he was amazing. His portrayal of Albus shows how angry Albus was and we understand why he is so angry. Everyone expects him to be like what they think Harry was: a perfect human being (which Harry of course wasn't ). It must be very very hard to see that all your siblings go to Griffindor and are popular and you are sorted into Slytherin. He makes Harry‘s fame responsible for his suffering (and bullying in school) and that's why he behaves the way to Harry as he does. He doesn't want to see the famous Harry Potter he wants to see his father which is very hard for both of them. The most important scene in the whole play is the blanket scene in part one act one. The scene was tragically beautifully played by both Sam and Jamie and you could see that they both understood their characters perfectly.

Sam had great on stage chemistry with Jamie and Poppy (Ginny ) and with Anthony (Scorpius) of course. These two boys were brilliant together. Sam is an amazing and very young actor and we will definetly see more of him in te futute.

      Ginny Potter

I saw Poppy Miller as Ginny and she was awesome (you will hear this a lot). In the movies i never really liked Ginny and i don't think Bonny Wright did much for her character, it was so refreshing to see the strong and fierce Ginny we love so much from the books. Poppy portrays Ginny as a strong woman, a loving mother and as a very supportive wife (she has one moment when she doubts Harry, but this flaw and her apology just made her character more interesting and beautiful). She and Jamie had amazing chemistry and the kiss was so adorable. My favourite Ginny line, which is perfectly presented by Poppy, is when she answeres Draco with "my son is missing too!" Poppy literally screams this line and it's such a strong moment (Draco‘s /Alex' reaction is priceless).

     Hermione Jean Granger

I saw Noma Dumenzweni as Hermione and you can tell me whatever you want but this woman was born to play Hermione Granger. She is one of those very rare actors/actresses who have such an authority when they enter the stage. Her Hermione was so strong and fierce as i remembered her from the books and she played such an amazing Minister of Magic (i really can't imagine Emma Watson playing Hermione as Minister of Magic, it really wouldn't fit for me as i always found Emma to be not strong and bossy enough to play Hermione). But Noma also has some beautiful soft scenes in the play e.g. in her kissing scene with Ron (they are a perfect couple) and this one scene after they changed back time and she sees Rose and then fully realized that her daughter didn't excist in the other universe and they share a very heartbreaking hug. I don't care about her skin colour or that some idiots think that she is too ugly to play Hermione, she was incredible and perfect in my eyes.

     Ron(ald) Weasley

I saw Paul Thorne as Ron Weasley and it was such a delight watching him. Ron has a lot of funny moments in the play , which paul played masterly, he is trying to be the light in those dark moments, but at the same time he is still the good friend we saw in the books. He stands up for his wife and his friend and Paul made me love Ron even more. He had amazing chemistry with Noma and their kissing scene was so cute and heartwarming.

     Rose Granger Weasley

I saw Cherrelle Skeete as Rose. When reading the script book first i didn't like Rose that much, but Cherrele managed to let me see the Hermione part more in her and i actually really liked Rose in the play. She gives a very energetic performance and had some good moments with Scorpius. I think i saw not enough of her to properly judge her, but i think she is a very talented young actress.

     Draco Malfoy

 I saw Alex Price as Draco and he was amazing. In the first part he portrays Draco as we all know him from the books (at the beginning he is a little brat), but the more we get into the play we see the real Draco, he loves his son more than anything like Harry does (and yes they have a lot of father son issues too) and he gets more and more in touch with Harry, Ginny and Ron and Hermione as he has the same problem as Harry, his son is missing. To see Draco working with the golden trio makes a really great dynamic at the end of the play. I also love that through Alex incredible acting we see how lonely Draco always has felt and that he indeed is not a bad human being but a very interesting and developed character.

    Scorpius Malfoy

I saw Anthony Boyle as Scorpius Malfoy and i tell you if Jamie Parker wouldn't have been such an incredible actor this young man would have totally stolen the show. It's very hard to describe Anthony's acting and his high voice but this young actor is something special. I don't think anyone came out of the theatre not totally in love with Scorpius Malfoy. Anthony has perfect comedic timing and he was so talented in the more silent scenes (i swear i saw a tear in his eyes). Whoever will play the part on Broadway has some big shoes to fill and in my opinion has to go with a totally different interpretation of Scorpius because you can't imitate Anthony Boyle.

Before this blog gets even longer i won't go into detail about the other actors, but i have to especially mention Esther Smith as Delphi and Paul Bennett as Snape for doing an especially great job.

     The special effects

Please don't ask me how they do it! The special effects are incredible, they are like real magic and with some tricks i still have no clue how they do it . I was sitting there with my jaw open and it was just magical. I can’t even say what i loved best it was all so amazing. But please never let the Dementors near me again. They were so creepy and frightening, amazingly made, but so creepy, not to even mention their terrifying screams. I never felt that horrified in my life before, i guess that’s the biggest compliment i can make the person, whoever designed them.

      The costumes

All of the costumes were beautiful and fitted the characters very well. I loved how flowy the cloakes were, what looked really good in the dance numbers. I especially liked the costumes for the alternate Voldemort timeline, they were all black and so beautifully elegant especially Scorpius‘, Draco's and Snape's costumes.

      Things i didn't like

There wasn't much that i didn't like and it's really just nitpicking, but every great thing always has some flaws that's normal.

First of all i had some problems with some specific actors, mainly with the actor who played Bane. He was so over the top that it was nearly hilarious to me. Maybe he had a bad day or just is not my cup of tea.

As much as i loved Paul Bennett as Snape his voice was way too special to play Voldemort as well, it was a little bit outputting as it was very clear that it was the same actor. Normally theatre can hide it very well when an actor plays multiple roles, but that really doesn’t work with Paul Bennett. I really loved his Snape (which means a lot form e as a hardcore Snape fan), but because he was so special and fitted so well to Snape, it was to me as Snape tried to pretend he is Voldemort, which felt really weird to me. And i really didn't like that they went with no nose ,new body Voldemort as up to my knowlegde he only looks like this since book four. I guess they made it so the audience can recognize him better.

The last things i wasn't too fond of (but didn't hate either) were the Trolley Witch (it was very cleverly made and funny just a little bit too much for me personally) and Delphi. I loved Esthers portrayal of her especially at the beginning and i don't have anything against the idea of Voldemort having a child and overall i liked Delphi, but they could have developed her character a little bit more at the end, that's all.  As i said nitpicking.

All in all it was one of the best days of my life and the show is amazing and i love it with all my heart. If you have a chance to see it: DO IT!!! It is one of the most beautiful Harry Potter related things i have seen and please don't judge it too soon by just reading the script. The script is very empty without seeing this wonderful show bringing it to life

I know this blog is very long, but i hope you enjoyed <3