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rallamajoop · 4 years ago

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The Witcher: The Games vs The Books

Coming to the fandom this late, I can only assume the relationship between the Witcher games and the original novels has been long since talked to death by others. But I'm far too fascinated by the whole glorious mess that is this canon not to want to get down some of my own thoughts about how it all fits together.

See, on the one hand, the games (Witcher 3 especially) are arguably only too dependent on the novels to stand alone. They do a wonderful job of picking up a number of unresolved plot points the books left hanging, and a woeful job of explaining so much a player coming in cold would really like to know – Ciri's history with Geralt, Yennefer, her powers and the Wild Hunt itself just to begin with. This is an issue that only increases as the games go along: cliche as Geralt's amnesia may be, it's used to good effect to introduce the world to the player in the first game. By the third, Geralt has all his old memories back and two extra games worth of new experience, and good lord is it all alienating to the newcomer.

On the other hand, so much about the games (again, the third especially) contradicts the novels in painfully irreconcilable ways. That wouldn't necessarily bother me – adaptations are allowed to rework and reinvent, stories can and should evolve in the retelling – except, well, see point one above. So you're bound to come out of the games with a lot of unanswered questions if you haven't read the books, and just as many if you have.

Spoilers to follow, of course, for both the books and the games.

Here's one of the big ones: just how did the world – Ciri included – discover that one of her long-presumed-dead parents was actually alive and well and now ruling the entire empire of Nilfgaard? Fucked if I know. Neither the games or the novels have any explanation. In the novels, in fact, the world at large believes Ciri is married to the emperor of Nilfgaard. Naturally, this 'Cirilla' is a fake, but the scandal were the full truth ever revealed would redefine Emhyr's reign. Yet somehow, in the games, everyone seems to know he's Ciri's father, and that whole awkward incest angle is never mentioned. Continuity has been tweaked pretty significantly, and it's left to the player to guess how. If that wasn’t bad enough, the games apparently still included a Gwent card of the fake!Cirilla (artwork above) just to ensure maximum confusion.

Before I get too sidetracked with all that stuff that doesn’t add up though, there really is a lot to be said for what does work about how the games expand on the plot of the novels. The Wild Hunt itself is the big one. The spectral cavalcade appears several times through the novels and hunts Ciri across multiple worlds in the final book before apparently losing her trail and vanishing to make way for the 'real' big bad, never to be mentioned again. While TW3 left me pretty underwhelmed by the revelation that the spectral Wild Hunt were just a bunch of dark elves in skull armor, the books had introduced the Hunt and let us spend some time on the dark elves' world before we get the reveal that the two may be one and the same. So for all the ranting I could do about missed opportunities regarding the Wild Hunt, they're the natural candidate for the games to pick up on as their new big-bads.

To my surprise, Geralt and Yennefer's "deaths" and subsequent recovery in pseudo-Avalon also comes straight from the novels. That everyone thinks Geralt dead at the start of the first game isn't, as I'd first assumed, a convenient excuse to have him reappear with amnesia, but simply how the novels end. Why Ciri leaves them and goes world-hopping isn't clear, but "because the Wild Hunt was after her again" is as good a theory as any. So, another point to the games there.

And there's so much more. The Catriona plague has only just appeared at the end of the novels, but we know it's posed for a major outbreak – one that’s in progress by the time of the games. The second game in particular does a terrific job of taking the ambitions of the expansionist Nilfgaardian Empire and the still-relatively-new Lodge of Sorceresses and building an entirely new conflict around them – even taking two of the least developed members of the Lodge (Sabrina Glevissig and Síle de Tansarville) and expanding them into major players. Dijkstra similarly ends the novels on the run from those in power, and having already taken the same assumed name 'Sigi Reuven' he's using in the games – while the books assure us that prince Radovid will grow up to pay back his father's assassins (ie. Phillipa) and become Radovid the Stern.

The twisted fairy tale origins of the novels are something the games actually seem to have gotten better at as they went on: the 'trail of treats' to the Crones is the great example, the monster-frog-prince and the land-of-a-thousand-fables of the expansions are two more, and many more are hidden in sidequests. And I'd be remiss not to mention that in again asking Geralt to pick a side in the conflict with the Scoia'tael, the first two games not only recreate a scenario Geralt repeatedly deals with in the books, but a major theme. It's interesting too how much the broad structure of the third game feels like an homage to the books, with Geralt searching for Ciri, interspersed with sections from her POV. You can nitpick the detail of any of these examples, but the intent is unmistakable, and a lot of credit is due for it in the execution too.

Some of the detail that's gone into translating the world of the Witcher books into the games is just insane – not just in the geography and history of the place, but right down to the names of the wine you can pick up. There's the fact the Cat potion makes Geralt see in black-and-white, or the fact the basilisk and cockatrice monsters are clearly based on the same model, but the basilisk is reptilian where as the cockatrice is more avian – which is exactly how Geralt describes the difference between them in The Lady of the Lake. There's a point where Book!Regis recounts a detailed list of all the lesser vampiric species, ending with the only two violent enough to tear apart their victims: almost all can be encountered in the games, and the last two (Fleders and Ekimma) are indeed the most animalistic. This kind of thing is everywhere.

My favourite examples tend to be those that blend into the background if you haven't read the books, but will get a grin from those who have, such as a peasant in Velen who will call out to Geralt (paraphrased from memory, alas) "Sir, sir! We be up to our ears in mamunes, imps, kobolds, hags, flying drakes... oh, and bats!" – which is a lovely little reference to a couple of conversations from Edge of the World wherein Geralt explains that most of the monsters the locals want him to take care of don't actually exist. Or all those soldiers chanting "Long live King Radovid!" – natural enough, but it takes on a whole new life if you've read the passage in Lady of the Lake where the young prince Radovid grumbles internally about having to sit and listen to the city chanting 'long live...' to every other notable figure present except him.

Really, it would be faster to list the things the games introduced that don't come from the original source material in any obvious form, because it's a struggle to come up with very many. The villainous Crones of Crookback Bog and Master Mirror of the Hearts of Stone expansion are the biggest ones that come to mind, along with a great deal of the vampire mythology from Blood and Wine. To the witchers themselves, they’ve added mostly game mechanics: the use of bombs and blade oils, the names of most of the potions, and three new witcher schools (all with their own specialised gear). There are a number of new creatures and monsters – Godlings, noon-and-night-wraiths, botchlings, shaelmaars and so on – and though trolls are mentioned in the books, the games take credit for giving them so much character. Obviously, there are new characters, like Thaller and Roche – but not technically Iorveth, because a Scoia'tael commander of that name is mentioned in the books, if only in passing. And already, short of just listing off every new character the games introduced, I’m running out of ideas. Credit where credit’s due on that front: most of the new characters and locations they’ve created feel authentic enough that Kalkstein or Thaller would be right at home in the novels’ world.

But for all their dedication to the detail, it's hard to feel like the games have really managed to capture the spirit of the books in their storytelling: the mundanely corrupt bureaucracy that does so much to bring the world to life, or their cheerfully cynical sense of humour, or the flamboyant wonder that is book!Dandelion, or their enthusiasm for putting women in positions of power, or the bigger themes about the differences between the story that gets sung by the bards and what really happened – or so much else from the novels that came as such a surprise to me when I started getting really sucked in.

And if we’re going to talk about all the little things they got right, it’s only fair to point out there are just as many little things they got wrong, and sometimes pretty glaringly at that. "I thought you bowed to no-one" says Emhyr to Geralt – almost as if book!Geralt doesn’t happily bow in most every situation where it would be polite or diplomatic to do so. "This would never have happened if the council was still around!" says Geralt upon finding a sorcerer's lab full of human experiments – as if none of his experiences with Vilgefortz or the wizards of Rissberg ever happened, back when the council was very much still around. In TW2, he mocks the idea of a woman like Saskia leading a rebellion – almost as if women like Falka and Aelirenn haven't led some of the most storied rebellions in history (and we can't even blame the amnesia, because Geralt himself mentions Aelirenn later – oh yeah, this one annoyed me particularly).

Book!verse 'Lady of the Lake' is basically just Ciri being surprised while bathing

Yennefer's studious aethiesm and willingness to desecrate Freya's temple is entirely in character – but only if we forget that she had her own personal religious experience with the goddess Freya herself in Tower of the Swallow. And then there’s the fact the Lady of the Lake is now a literal lake nymph who distributes swords to the worthy, as if no-one writing for the games ever got past the title of that particular Witcher novel (let alone got the joke). And the list goes on. It's easy to get overly caught up in contradictions like this – it's hardly as if Sapkowski's novels don't contradict themselves in places, as almost any long-running series eventually will – but it's going to stick out to those who’ve read the novels nonetheless.

While we're talking about how the games pick up where the books left off though, the big contradiction that has to be touched on comes in bringing Geralt back at all, at least in any public capacity. There's plenty to suggest that Geralt survives the novels' end and even goes on to have further adventures, but it's also pretty explicit that the history books record his death in the Pogrom of Rivia as final. The last two novels by order of publication (Season of Storms and Lady of the Lake) go so far as to feature characters far in the future with an interest in Geralt's legacy, and they discuss the matter in some depth. As far as the world knows, Geralt is dead.

Book!Geralt fanart by Diana Novich

But it's hard to blame the games for ignoring this – true, thanks to Geralt's longevity, they could have set their conflict many more years after those future scenes – maybe even used Ciri's established time-travel powers to let you pop quietly in and out of the past (and, okay, now I've thought through all that, I'm kind of sad they didn't). But there comes a point where that kind of slavish devotion to preserving the source material really doesn't do a story any favours, and I'm not sure I could name any other successful adaptation that's bothered.

Besides bringing Geralt back at all, most of the bigger changes pertain to Ciri. In fact, as much as I'm about to get deep into the nitpicks below, you can make a surprisingly good case that the games have made only one really big change, and that's in simplifying the prophesies surrounding her. See, in the novels, all those world-saving prophesies aren't technically about Ciri, they're about her as-yet-unborn child. Who gets to impregnate her is the big driving force behind most of the villains of the books – one that all the main contenders seem to see as more of an awkward necessity rather than the inspiration for violent lust, but even so. To Emhyr, having to marry his own daughter is a bug, not a feature – but he's willing to do it to become the father of the savior of the world. But if Ciri is capable of fulfilling those prophesies herself, then Emhyr is already the father of the savoir of the world, and the revisions to his relationship with Ciri start to make a lot more sense.

Ciri's history with the Aen Elle elves seems to have been similarly revised – if not quite so cleanly. Avallac’h and Eredin are, naturally, both book characters – in fact, a lot of personality has been left behind in the books, since Avallac’h originally had a rather camp flair, and Eredin is less the power-hungry kingslayer you might imagine. When Geralt meets Avallac’h in the books – which happens briefly in Toussaint, for one of those "everything you're doing is going to make everything worse because prophesy" conversations – he's busy decorating a cave with fake prehistoric paintings in the hope of confusing future explorers. (Surprisingly, there does seem to be official art of this moment on one of the gwent cards – see above – though the Avallac’h who jokes about adding erect phalluses to the picture and admits his vanity won’t allow him to resist signing it hasn’t entirely survived the transition to the new medium).

We also meet the former Alder King, Auberon, whose death we see in flashback in the game. (Fun fact: Auberon is actually blowing bubbles through a straw in a bowl of soapy water when we first meet him in the books, hence the straw in the illustration below. The books just have more whimsy than any of the games would know what to do with.)

Ciri spends some time in the final book as a prisoner on the world of the elves, who are as keen as everyone else for their king to father her unborn child. Avallac’h eventually convinces her that this is all for the greater good: her child will be able to open gates to allow the people of her world to escape when the apocalyptic White Frost arrives. But their king, like most older elves, is impotent, leading to multiple nights where Ciri allows him to take her to bed (in some of the frankly more disturbing scenes of the series) to no result. Eredin, moreover, doesn't appear to have intended to poison the king: the vial that kills him was supposed to contain some sort of fantasy viagra, and even Eredin seems genuinely shocked to learn its actual effects.

Regardless, Ciri eventually discovers that Avallac’h and the Aen Elle have deceived her, and intend to user her child's powers to invade her world, not save it. Neither world is threatened by the White Frost for at least several millennia, it's just a pretext to make her cooperate. And so she flees, and Eredin (already leading his Red Riders aka The Wild Hunt long before he was crowned king) pursues her.

With the books as context, why Ciri would ever trust Avallac’h is very hard to understand. It's a little easier if that whole awful episode with her and the former king is subtracted out – Ciri's child is no longer necessary for Eredin's goals. So it's odd that the game still references the deadly vial Eredin gave to the king. Are we to suppose the vial genuinely contained poison in this version of continuity? I'd rather it didn't – Avallach's ruse is far more interesting if he underwhelms Eredin's support by revealing a half-truth – but the games aren't telling us.

And then we have to factor in that one last detail I'd forgotten when I originally started playing with this theory: TW3 does contain one last, dangling reference to the time the old king spent trying to impregnate Ciri, when Ge'els very reasonably asks why on earth Ciri would ever trust Avallac’h now. It's a damn good question, and the game offers no real answers. So in Avallac’h, we're left with a character who is vital to the final chapters of the games, who comes out of nowhere without the books as context, but whose role makes no sense with that backstory in mind. Frankly, the writers would have been much better off avoiding the whole mess altogether and inventing some new character to take Avallac’h's place.

The treatment of the White Frost is even more confusing. The books are ultimately fairly explicit about just what the White Frost is: a ice age, most likely caused by the same mundane climactic factors that produced the real ice ages of our history. The only escape is intergalactic emigration, as Ciri (or her children) might some day enable.

In the games, the White Frost has instead become some sort of nebulous, free-floating apocalypse which will eventually reach all worlds, which is basically fine – up to a point. We briefly visit a dead world that the Frost has decimated, and even the Aen Elle are now supposedly planning to invade Ciri's world because it threatens theirs as well (I mean, apparently – their motivations are so underdeveloped you could miss them by accidently skipping just one or two lines of dialogue). When the Wild Hunt appears, it's always in a haze of cold. Their mages can invoke its power still more dramatically through portals which can freeze you in your tracks. So obviously, the Frost has already reached their world, and time is running out, right?

Well, no – you visit their world too (again, briefly – to meet a character who has never been mentioned before and won't be again, for reasons which have also never been mentioned before if you haven't read the books) – and there's no Frost in sight, apocalyptic or otherwise.

So why does the White Frost follow the Hunt around? No idea. It's never explained.

At the very end of the game, a second "Conjunction of the Spheres" occurs (possibly because of the Wild Hunt's appearance?), and the Frost begins to invade (or possibly Avallac’h summons it, so Ciri can go into it and destroy it?) It's all painfully unclear. The game is too busy pulling a bait-and-switch over whether Avallac’h's betrayed you to tell you what's actually going on instead.

But if Ciri could destroy the Frost completely (at great personal risk, but still) why is this not more clearly set up? Why did the Aen Elle think that escaping to another world (which will ALSO eventually be destroyed by the Frost) was a better solution than sending Ciri to face the Frost directly? For which matter, why do the Aen Elle need Ciri at all if sending enough ships to carry an army is no problem? Why does Ciri spend so much of the game questioning Avallac’h's true intentions, if they were ultimately so noble? When did he tell her the truth? If Avallac’h did summon the Frost, why did he pick that particular moment? And if he didn't, and it all just happened spontaneously, we're back to questioning why invading that world ever seemed like a good solution to Eredin – it all collapses in on itself.

None of these questions couldn't have been answered with a little creativity, but then the game would've had to dedicate some real time to explaining its backstory and developing its core conflict – something it's bizarrely reluctant to do. And if you think I may be drifting from the point a bit in the name of getting all my gripes about the ending down in one place, you're not wrong, but I feel Avallac’h and everything surrounding him is pretty much the ur-example of what doesn't work about the way The Witcher 3 depends on the novels: the backstory the writers are building on doesn't actually exist in any format available to the rest of us.

There are plenty of ways TW3 could have incorporated its backstory into its own narrative (yes, even excluding the method "by expecting people to read many many more pages of text from in-game documents", because that's bullshit and always will be). There are times it does this brilliantly, such as in the quest ‘The Last Wish’: everything you really need to know is covered in Yennefer and Geralt's conversation in the boat, and without ever making the dialogue sound unnatural. In fact, TW3 has even more options here than many works with the same problem, because Geralt is famous and people already think they know his story. You could have bards singing Dandelion's ballads, you could have characters confronting him with misunderstandings about his past to force him to correct them. You could also have Geralt visiting people and places he knows Ciri remembers fondly because of the time they spent there together, or include playable flashbacks similar to the time you spend playing as Ciri. You could stick chunks of backstory in optional sidequests or scenes old-school fans can skip through quickly. So many of my questions (how did Ciri get so close to Yennefer if they were never at Kaer Morhen together? Why has no-one tried training Ciri in her powers before? What does the Wild Hunt even do while it's not hunting Ciri? Why is Ciri princess of Cintra if her father is Emperor of another country altogether?) could have been answered so easily.

Seriously, summarising the Witcher books is not that hard. Lots of things happen, but only a fraction of it is really relevant in retrospect, and you could hit all the major plot beats in a handful of paragraphs. (Heck, I’d do it here if this post wasn’t already ridiculously over long.)

But then, TW3 has a bizarre problem with leaving so much of its best material off screen, even from its own story. It's criminal that we never get to see any of Geralt's time (or Yennefer's) with the Wild Hunt, even in flashback or dream sequence. This is material that directly sets up the relationship between the main hero and the main villain, and the most we ever hear about it is a few vague allusions to it being like a strange nightmare. Really? That's it? What was it like? Was Geralt in a trance, unable to control his own actions – was he brainwashed into believing he belonged there, or was he merely unable to escape? What atrocities might Eredin have forced him to commit? Did he visit other worlds? Was he paraded among the Aen Elle as a captive? There is no way this isn’t a part of the story worth talking about!

We never see the moment Ciri rescues Geralt from the Wild Hunt. We never see how Avallac’h convinces her to trust him, we never see the moment he was cursed, or any of her efforts to save him – all these big, story-defining moments are left off-screen, to be vaguely recounted to you later in dialogue. Then there's the entire political situation in Nilfgaard – you hear about it second-hand, and it's all resolved off screen. And the list goes on. Yet you and Ciri still have time to run around Novigrad so she can thank a bunch of throwaway characters you've never even heard of before, nor will again. The priorities on display here are baffling.

The Witcher 3 was such a wildly successful game that it’s obvious these sorts of issues didn’t seriously hold it back, and it’s such a big game that I could have sat down and written just as many words focusing only on the parts that do work without much difficulty. It boasts stunning visuals, addictive gameplay and some truly wonderful characters, and so many parts of the story work brilliantly in isolation that it’s strange to come out of it feeling that it ultimately adds up to so much less than the sum of its parts.

I’m glad TW3 exists – if it hadn’t been such a runaway success I doubt I’d ever have discovered Sapkowski’s universe at all, but for myself, TW3 will probably always be remembered as a somewhat-overlong introduction to the really good stuff, in the expansions and the original novels it came from. I looked up the novels after finishing TW3 in large part because I’d been left with so many unanswered questions – and I’m glad I did, but I’m honestly surprised more people weren’t turned off by TW3′s scattershot approach to its own narrative. You’re allowed to change and rework in moving to a new medium, but I can’t imagine it would’ve hurt games’ success to tell a complete story in the process.

#The Witcher #Witcher Novels #The Wild Hunt #Geralt #Ciri #Emyhr #Avallac'h #Eredin #meta #long post is long

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jcmorrigan · 4 years ago

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001 - Kingdom Hearts

Favorite character: On the villain side: VEXEN IS BEST ORGANIZATION XIII MEMBER. Shoulda stayed evil, though. I like it when he complains and screams about everything and hates everyone. He's one of my favorite villains, just, like...in general. So fun to write. Also attached to Demyx, but I actually liked him more in III than II because it reminded me of my rawr lolspeek weeb days when I f/o'd him without knowing what f/o'ing was and then transitioned this to shipping VexDem like heck. On the hero side: MY GIRL KAIRI! But honorable mentions go to Sora, Riku, Aqua, Ven, Terra, Xion, Roxas, Lea, Ienzo, any Disney character I loved beforehand (this is way too fuckin many to list), Merlin (OKAY I WILL SINGLE HIM OUT), Yen Sid (I'LL SINGLE HIM OUT TOO), you know what let's also single out the Mickey+Donald+Goofy power trio...just...any KH hero who isn't part of the Yozora stuff or the KHUX stuff. ...Except I also LOVE Strelitzia, and she is the only KHUX-exclusive kiddo I care about but I care about her MANY. (Oh, and there's a least fave I have who's a "hero" but that's a debatable label). I would go on about why I love all of them but...that's too many characters to elaborate on

Least Favorite character: See, I think the real answer is Yozora, but the thing is I just tend to forget about him or not care (unless I'm doing a weird AU where he's Noctis' bratty Nobody, don't ask). He kinda represents the Shark Jump and I don't like watching that scene where he literally petrifies Sora for not being strong enough. But again, I can just kinda forget about him if he's not fed to me through a social-media unit. The one I LOVE TO HATE is Master Eraqus. The man actually triggered me back in the day. He is purity culture. He is the overbearing parent who will not accept you unless you are perfect. He is by and large the reason VAT didn't communicate with each other properly. He was the one who taught Aqua to think in absolutes. He lied to Ventus for years and then insisted to kill him was the only option, and then, when Terra tried to defend his brother figure/friend without knowing WHY Eraqus was doing such a thing, Eraqus didn't offer an explanation and instead switched targets to Terra citing that the problem was Terra's lack of OBEDIENCE. Eraqus is just very "my way or the highway" and uses his moral high horse to justify doing things that utterly lack compassion in any regard, which is something that GETS to me on a deep level, and let me tell you, I hated him for so long until I realized he was actually a super fuckin fun guy to imagine as a Bigger Bad in AUs that either have the KH protags teaming up or have villain protags needing a "greater good lawful evil" figure. And I just have found too many good memes about him cheating at chess and killing children. I have to laugh. Making fun of him is fun. He's a ridiculous character. That said, this recent trend of "erase everything bad he ever did and paint him as the ultimate hero of the saga" makes me raise eyebrows for SEVERAL reasons

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): VexDem, SoRiku, Kairi x Jaune Arc (RWBY), Aqua x Rosalina (Super Mario Galaxy) x Bayonetta, IsaLea, Ventus x Papyrus (Undertale), that was six but they all needed to be mentioned

Character I find most attractive: Ienzo. HOO BABY he is adorable. I saw someone make a Valentine's Day gifset of KH and FF characters shortly after III dropped and seeing his smiling face paired with a romance quote made my heart FLUTTER

Character I would marry: Probably Ienzo, see above. He's also a very kind guy. Favorite redemption in the modern era.

Character I would be best friends with: I hope the Destiny Trio would adopt me into their friend circle the way they've tended to do with every other inter-world denizen they've come across. I would love to have them as my positivity squad. Or, y'know, two positivities and one "it's okay to screw up" guy. Just. I would love to hang out with them. I often worry that I'm unlikable to my faves, but even though I would usually prefer to hang with the villains, I can pretty much guarantee these three would be open-minded about me. (Do I kiiiiinda wanna be friends with Vexen though? Of course I do. He'd hate me but maaaayyyyybe he would see me as one of his pet idiots who makes him look smarter, and we could bond over our fragile egos?)

a random thought: You ever think about that one NPC lady in Traverse Town who refused to tell you where she was from because it was none of her business? You ever wonder where she WAS from? What her world was like? How she ended up being the survivor of the Ansem Apocalypse when it hit her? All I know is that when I read her lines out loud (I used to read KH speech balloons out loud all the time), I gave her a Southern accent for no discernible reason and I stand by it. That woman has a twang.

An unpopular opinion: I don't want KHUX to be canon because I feel it's smaller-scale and takes a lot of mystery out of the worldbuilding. I always assume that the KHverse just includes ALL worlds in fiction, and that includes their thousand-year histories, meaning the Age of Fairy Tales should've happened long long long LONG LONG LONG ago and not five generations. And whatever screwed up the world should've been more than just five people having a fight, and whatever saved it should've been more than just five people getting along, and Daybreak Town really suffers from having to stick to mobile-friendly graphics and therefore is the least aesthetically attractive KH town ever, and I don't like that Lauriam and Elrena used to be such selfless people. I do still love Strelitzia because she's shy and relatable and quirky (sitting on the roof) and she questions authority and if you go with shipping subtext she's probably bi (or pan?), but I don't like the "Lauriam's dead sister for his arc's drama" bit. I liked when Marluxia was angry because he wanted to run Organization XIII but it was in the hands of an idiot who wasn't him. And more than anything I just like imagining that the Age of Fairy Tales was something bigger, further in the past, and more mysterious than something designed for a mobile game. Scala ad Caelum, however, I like a lot better because there IS a lot of mystery there and also it's a very pretty town with an amazing design.

my canon OTP: I really only count the Disney couples as the "canon" ones, so this is a question of picking my favorite Disney couple that shows up onscreen. I hope I'm not forgetting an important one, but I think the title has to go to Aladdin/Jasmine, which is always perfect in everything. (This would be an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT STORY if KH had ever adapted Treasure Planet, and if it ever gets the mind to adapt Treasure Planet then even if I don't care about that game I will immediately declare that Amelia/Doppler takes the KH canon OTP crown. *taps watch* Get on it Squenix)

Non-canon OTP: SoRiku, which I counted as "basically canon" after DDD until III decided it wasn't sure. But I'm just a sucker for how DDD is the two of them all "HE'S GOT MY BACK AND I'VE GOT HIS AND I'D DO ANYTHING FOR HIM SO LONG AS HE'S HAPPY." It's just the best kind of Friends-to-Lovers, except when you take all canon into account it's Friends-to-Rivals-to-Enemies-to-Friends-to-Lovers and that's a very juicy dynamic. BUT ALSO: VexDem, which is a nostalgia ship SO STRONG I had to accept that it eclipsed my former Vexen ships by a mile and I wanted to go back to my roots. That one, I have a much longer essay about that I'll just have you refer to so I don't repeat myself for pages. To make a long story short, their scene in III was JUST DELICIOUS.

most badass character: OOF THEY'RE ALL BADASS but in the end it's between Sora and Aqua, because Sora gets the widest RANGE of abilities across the series that he masters while Aqua gets the most POWERFUL abilities due to her Mastery (Command Styles seem like they'd be the most OP things ever in-universe and I'm here for it because flashy battle moves make brain go brr).

pairing I am not a fan of: SOKAI, Xehaqus, RikuNami, Vanitas/anyone not evil

character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): OH BOY. KAIRI THE MOST. YOU ALL KNOW WHY: lack of screen time, Fridging for drama, forced romance to invite death flags (they really wanted to milk that death to get people talking didn't they?), giving Alyson Stoner ZERO direction to actually follow up on Hayden Panettiere's performance. But then I remember that they made Vexen redeem and lose his entire personality and I just...uuugghhhh. I can't believe he died twice in this series. And then Demyx is FUN but also I know he's flipped sides as well, which means he won't be fun much longer! Xehanort seems to switch motivations to whatever makes him the biggest threat (and several of Eraqus' old flaws seem to be mysteriously glued onto him), Sora isn't a motormouth anymore, Riku just doesn't get anyone who cares about him anymore because everyone's distracted by Sora and Kairi, IS ANYBODY GOING TO ADDRESS THE ACTUAL ISSUES THAT DROVE THE WAYFINDER TRIO APART, oh God Marluxia and Larxene you're good guys now what have they done to you

favourite friendship: I really like each of the trios. But you know what's even BETTER than the trios? If you put...all of the trios together...meaning Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Aqua, Terra, Ven, Roxas, Xion, Lea, Hayner, Pence, Olette...and then you added Isa back in there...and you gave them Ienzo...and you brought back Naminé...and you say that Subject X is Strelitzia and you have her turn back up so she can have justice done...AND YOU HAVE AN ULTRA KEYBLADE GROUP OF FRIENDS. As for Vexen, any purely platonic relationship I have for him is a crossover but trust me I have many crossover pals for he

character I want to adopt or be adopted by: See everyone I listed above in the friendship question. They can either mentor me or let me be their big sis/mom. But also, I will GLADLY be Merlin or Yen Sid's daughter. (But also would I kiiiiinda wanna be a VexDem daughter? This is the worst idea. Still wanna try)

#kingdom hearts

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cafeleningrad · 3 years ago

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Hi o(*^▽^*)┛ Soooo, this will be a lot (13), but... these questions are really nice, so take as much time as you need to answer, or answer only a few of the following : Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Pom Poko, Whisper of the Heart, The Cat Returns, Howl’s Moving Castle, Tales From Earthsea, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, Secret World of Arrietty, From up on Poppy Hill, Mary and the Witch’s Flower, Studio Ponoc, Studio Ghibli.

Oh my, thank you very much for so many questions! (I'm sorry to have left you waiting this long, I'd more on my plates than expected the last few days...) They're super nice indeed, so once again I thank you for the fun they brought. (o゜▽゜)o☆

Castle in the Sky: If you could live in any fictional place what would it be? (laputa, atlantis, narnia etc.)? Probably Earth Sea for the possibilities to travel through the sea and encounter so many cultures per island. And dragons. Or Lyra's World when it begins to establish the Republic of Heaven, just out of curiosity to know what shape and personality my daemon has.

My Neighbor Totoro: Favourite mythical creature? Dragons! I loved them since I was a child, and my dracology book remains on the shelf!

Pom Poko: Favourite animal? Wolves and donkeys. (Donkeys are underappreciated (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ))

Whisper of the Heart: What are you most passionate about? Why? Currently a lot of things I enjoy like traveling around the world are rather limited so at the the moment meeting friends from aboard, it's tending my parent's garden. (although it's more a warfare against weed at it's current state)

The Cat Returns: What is the coolest adventure you’ve ever been on? Hmmm, wouldn't know what would qualify for an adventure but mounting Piton de la Fournaise the early morning, passing through different kinds of forests, one entirely quieted from the moss, stars splashed over a midnight silk sky, the first sunrise illuminating a city of clouds in coral rim. Simply breath taking!

Howl’s Moving Castle: Which movie adaption do you prefer to the book? Hmm, there would be two titles: Stardust and the talented Mr.Ripley. Admittedly, Stardust much more closer to a classic fairy tale formula and remarkably less melancholic than Gaiman's original story. But the jokes (the noble ghosts, the witches bickering, Victoria and Humphrey being played up to an 11), the small creative details added within side characters, and of course the brilliant, brilliant casting of Robert de Niro, and Michelle Pfeiffer were a delight. For Anthony Minghella's adaptation, in my opinion he elevated the original material into a more concise thrill rather than Highsmith's novel simmering down the nervwrecking circumstances Tom has to navigate.The end of the book is a bit too smooth for my liking. And of course, the added material of Marge actually being bright adds to the tension as well as contradiction Tom's misogynistic opinion about her, and the very explicit bisexuality of Tom's was my first concious indulgence is ~*problematic queer media*~. ;) Of course, the cinematography and direction of photography is just *chef's kiss*. If anything, a lot of the queer themes in the movie appear, in my eyes, like an explicit "fuck you" to Plein soleil.

Tales From Earthsea: Tell me about something that everyone else hates, but you love. Hmm, most of the times it's the other way around. xD Dunno, maybe it's enjoying doing household chores to make a living space more spacious, more proper, like sorting out old stuff, seeing my space becoming gradually more neat and clean. As the dusty saying goes "cleaning on the outside is cleaning on the inside". (Ever since living on my own I transform into a 1950s advertisement house wife in which a perfectly functional (and silent!) vacuum or something that helps me to get rid of annoying spots on white laundry makes my day better.)

Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea: Favourite fairytale? Oh, so many! If I really had to choose, it woud be the gallant tailor, Donkey skin, and the Frog Tsarevna.

Secret World of Arrietty: Tell me about the most beautiful place you have ever been. Oh boy, you have it in for me with complicated questions. ;) If I had to choose... Baden-Baden as this city seems to fulfill every fairy tale machination possible. Lushly the pituresque city arises with it's shadowy parks in the middle of the dense, deep Black Forest. As for landscapes, the actual nature, nothing can beat Ireland or la Réunion to me - at least the places I've been to before. Granted, I lived in Ireland for a year, and the people I met there certainly influenced my liking for this country but I swear, never have you seen this much rich emerald around you. Especially the more untamed landscape of Killarney are a wonder to behold. And la Réunion is just breath takingly beautiful, especially the parts where forests grow on cliffs by the seas.

From up on Poppy Hill: Tell me about an experience that changed your life or your worldview. Hmmm, perhaps some small things coming together all the time when you meet new people exchange stories, share ideas and opinions, some talks leave you reconsidering truths one held before. But pinpointing part of my life during which I watched myself grow in a sense of becoming more considerate of different needs, beginning to gradually working on my anger issues, was my year aboard in Ireland, working in a field I never thought I would work in, meeting earnest, direct people (I can't stress how good as well as important it is to have older friends in your life), this was an experience I will always hold dear.

Mary and the Witch’s Flower: What is the last movie you watched? What are your thoughts on it? Bad genius directed by Nattawut Poonpiriya (rewatch). And my thoughts couldn't be any simpler: AWESOME!!!!!

Studio Ponoc: Do you like change? Kinda. Change is inevitable, a neutral process. How good or bad it is depends on my attitude towards it possible outcome and how I would see myself in these circumstances.

Studio Ghibli: Top three Studio Ghibli movies? okay now... my personal Top 3 are: Porco Rosso, Kaguya-hime no Monogatari, and the always beloved Mononoke Hime.

#long post #Lewis' ask box management

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grigori77 · 5 years ago

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2019 In TV - My Top 10 Shows

This past year may have sucked balls in a lot of ways, but we certainly never got short-changed when it came to our TV. There was an absolute WEALTH of truly cracking TV around, both on regular networks and on the various on-demand platforms, and so here is my pick of the best, my absolute favourites of 2019.

10. WATCHMEN

Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof brings us a blinding sequel to comic book legend Alan Moore’s legendary graphic novel with a delightfully trippy, ruthlessly efficient rug-puller that seems pretty tailor-made for HBO. Old faces return in interesting ways, while there are some cracking new “masks” on offer, particularly Regina King’s Sister Night and the always-brilliant Tim Blake Nelson as morally complex antihero Looking Glass (in some ways very much the show’s own answer to Rorschach). It never goes where you expect it to go, and refuses to give easy answers to the questions it raises, effortlessly paving the way for more next year ...

9. THE BOYS

Amazon offers up its own edgy, thoroughly adult superhero property with this darkly funny antiheroic gem based on the cult Garth Ennis comic, expertly adapted by Supernatural creator Eric Kripke. Karl Urban dominates as Billy Butcher, the foul-mouthed, morally bankrupt “leader” of a makeshift crew of mercenaries, hitmen and psycho killers devoted to “taking care of” superheroes when they inevitably go bad. Season 1 ultimately serves as an origin story, showing how the team come together, laying quality groundwork for the incoming sophomore tour that promises to open the already fascinating world out significantly.

8. PREACHER (SEASON 4)

More Garth Ennis, namely this blinder of a closing season for AMC’s consistently impressive adaptation of his best known series for Vertigo comics. Surprisingly epic, deliciously subversive and constantly, darkly hilarious, this thoroughly non-PC series from showrunners Sam Catlin, Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen (yes! I Know!) certainly went out on a high note, providing its loyal followers with perfectly-pitched bow-outs and sometimes heartbreaking goodbyes for all its players, especially its dynamite leads, Dominic Cooper, Ruth Negga and, in particular, Joe Gilgun as unapologetic bad boy vampire Cassidy. A worthy end to one of my all-time favourite TV shows.

7. THE WITCHER

While it’s clearly taken its look from the wildly successful video games, Netflix’s second most ambitious long-form offering of the year takes its lead from the fantasy book series by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski that started it all. With its somewhat episodic set-up and decidedly twisted narrative timelines, it take a few chapters to get the hang of it, but there’s plenty to draw you in, from the exotic world-building to the frenetic action and compelling collection of richly crafted characters. Henry Cavill is the titular hero, lovably grouchy mutant monster-hunter Geralt of Rivia, but the real scene-stealer is co-star Anya Chalotra as roguishly self-serving mage Yennefer of Vengenberg.

6. CARNIVAL ROW

One of the year’s two big sleeper hit TV surprises for me was this inventively offbeat allegorical Amazon fantasy series from The 4400 creator René Echevarria and screenwriter Travis Beacham. Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevigne are the star-crossed lovers at the heart of this intriguingly dark and dirty murder mystery thriller set in Victorian London-esque city-state the Burgue, in which humans struggle to co-exist alongside a struggling disenfranchised underclass of fae (fairies, fawns, centaurs and the like). The racial turmoil undertones are writ large throughout, but this is far more well-written and lavishly appointed than you might expect on first glance, and almost ridiculously addictive viewing.

5. LOVE, DEATH + ROBOTS

My other big TV surprise was this wonderfully bizarre sci-fi anthology series of animated shorts from Netflix, mostly adapted from an eclectic selection of short stories from a wide range of top-notch literary talent including Peter F. Hamilton, John Scalzi, Marko Kloos and Alastair Reynolds (a particular favourite of mine). As you’d expect from the brainchild of Deadpool director Tim Miller and producer David Fincher, this is edgy, leftfield stuff, frequently ultra-violent and decidedly adult, and the wildly varied nature of the material on offer makes for a decidedly uneven tone, but there are some absolute gems on offer here, my favourite being Suits, an enjoyably simple tale of salt-of-the-earth farmers on an alien world utilising clunky mech suits to protect their settlement from rampaging giant xeno-bugs.

4. THE DARK CRYSTAL: AGE OF RESISTANCE

The show with the biggest cinematic wow factor in 2019 had to be this long-awaited prequel series to Jim Henson’s classic fantasy movie masterpiece, created for Netflix by, of all people, Louis Leterrier (yes, the director of The Transporter, Now You See Me and Clash of the Titans, if you can believe it). The technology may have evolved in leaps and bounds, but there’s a wonderfully old school vibe in the delightfully physical puppet effects used to bring the fantastical world of Thra and its denizens to life, so that it truly does feel like it’s based in the same world as the film. This was EASILY the most visually arresting show of 2019, packed with exquisite character, creature and set design that perfectly complements the awesome work done by Henson and Brian Froud on the original, while the writers have created a darkly rich narrative tapestry that makes Thra seem a more dangerous place than ever.

3. THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY

I was a HUGE fan of My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way’s magnificently oddball alternative superhero comic, so when I learned that Netflix were adapting it I was a little wary because I knew how spectacularly hard it would be for ANY showrunners to get right. Thankfully Steve Blackman (Fargo season 2) and Jeremy Slater (The Exorcist TV series) were the right choice, because this perfectly captured the outsider nature of the characters and their endearingly dysfunctional family dynamic. Ellen Page, Tom Hopper (Black Sails, Merlin), David Castañeda and Emmy Raver-Lampman are all excellent as the more “functional” Hargreeves siblings, but the show is roundly stolen by Misfits star Robert Sheehan and Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn’s Aidan Gallagher as nihilistic clairvoyant Klaus and the old-man-in-a-child’s-body sociopath known only as Number Five. Consistently surprising and brilliantly bonkers, this was definitely the year’s most wonderfully WEIRD show.

2. STRANGER THINGS (SEASON 3)

Writer-director duo the Duffer Brothers’ ultra-nostalgic 80s-set coming-of-age sci-fi horror series remains the undisputed jewel in Netflix’s long-form crown with this consistently top-drawer third season expertly maintaining the blockbuster-level standards we’ve come to expect. This year the cross-dimensional shenanigans have largely been jettisoned, replaced by a gleefully nasty through-line of icky body horror that would make major influences like David Cronenberg and Stuart Gordon proud, as perennial teenage bad boy Billy Hargrove (the fantastically menacing Dacre Montgomery) becomes the leader of an army of psychic slaves under the control of the Upside Down’s monstrous Mind Flayer. The kids are all brilliant as always, Winona Ryder and David Harbour really get to build on their strong-yet-spiky chemistry, and the show is almost effortlessly stolen by Joe Keery as one-time golden boy Steve Harrington and series-newcomer Maya Hawke as his nerdy new foil Robin Buckley, who were very nearly the cutest couple on TV in 2019. Another gold standard season for a true gold standard show.

1. GOOD OMENS

Sadly, legendary author Terry Pratchett died before he could see the adaptation of one of his most beloved novels (and one of my all-time literary favourites too) see the light of day, but at least his co-author Neil Gaiman was around to bring it to fruition with the aid of seasoned TV director David Mckinnon (Jekyll, Doctor Who, Sherlock), and the end result sure did him proud, perfectly capturing the deeply satirical voice and winningly anarchic, gleefully offbeat and gently subversive humour of the original novel. David Tennant and Michael Sheen could both have been born to play Crowley and Aziraphale, the angel and demon nominally charged with watching over the young Antichrist in preparation for his role in the End Times, even though they would both much rather the world just went on quite happily the way it is, thanks very much. This is about as perfect an adaptation as you can get, the six hour-long episodes giving the surprisingly complex story time to breathe and grow organically, and the result is the most fun I spent in front of my TV this year.

#best TV 2019 #watchmen #the boys #preacher #the witcher #carnival row #love death + robots #love death & robots #the dark crystal age of resistance #The Umbrella Academy #stranger things 3 #good omens

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nitrateglow · 5 years ago

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Favorite film discoveries of 2019

Every year, my new-to-me favorites list always shocks me in some way. This year, the sheer amount of movies made in the 2010s on display is INSANE by my standards. Of course, most of the modern movies here are throwbacks or tributes to older styles of cinema, so maybe it’s not that shocking in the long run.

Another running trend this year: movies that are old but not as dated as we would wish. Many of the older films here deal with xenophobia and political strife in ways that still feel shockingly prescient today-- the more things change...

ONCE UPON A TIME... IN HOLLYWOOD (DIR. QUENTIN TARANTINO, 2019)

I never thought the day would come where my favorite movie of the year would actually be made after the 1970s, let alone by Quentin Tarantino. Then again, this movie is all about the end of Old Hollywood as well as a big love letter to the 1960s, so maybe it’s not that shocking a state of affairs. I adored this movie, the level of detail, the laidback yet elegaic vibe, the comedy and the relationships between all the characters. It was one of those movies where I loved even the scenes where nothing seems to be happening at all-- I mean, who knew Brad Pitt feeding his dog and watching TV could be entertaining?? But it is and I can't wait to see this one again!

INTENTIONS OF MURDER (DIR. SHOHEI IMAMURA, 1964)

Intentions of Murder has an insane premise, one that runs the risk of being tasteless: a housewife in a miserable, exploitative marriage is raped by a sickly burglar during a home invasion. Even worse, she can’t shake him, as he’s suddenly infatuated and wants her to run away with him to the city. And weirder still: her current existence is so miserable that she’s TEMPTED. While abuse and rape are grim subjects for any story, Intentions is actually about a woman coming into her own and finally standing strong against all these men trying to use her. It’s a weird blend of drama and dark comedy, a truly savage satire on patriarchy and class-snobbery.

JOKER (DIR. TODD PHILLIPS, 2019)

I went into this movie expecting to think it was overhyped and when I first left the theater, I was all ready to say “it’s good but not THAT good.” But it ended up haunting me for weeks afterward, and I found myself thinking about how everything just tied up so well together, from the grotty urban hellscape which serves as the setting to Phoenix’s brilliant performance. It reminded me a lot of A Clockwork Orange in how intimate it lets you get to this violent man while never pretending he is someone to be glamorized or imitated.

SIMON (DIR. MARSHALL BRICKMAN, 1980)

How do I even describe Simon? Alan Arkin is brainwashed by a group of overpaid intellectuals into believing he is descended from an alien toaster. Then he gets a messiah complex and starts gathering disciples as he rails against television, condiment packets, and muzak. It’s a little uneven at times, sure, but the satire is really inspired. The whole thing is like a combination of Mel Brooks, Stanley Kubrick, and Woody Allen’s styles, and it is quite hilarious for those who thrive on cult oddities.

PEEPING TOM (DIR. MICHAEL POWELL, 1960)

Though it came out the same year as Hitchcock’s Psycho and has been nearly as influential for horror cinema, Peeping Tom remains underseen by everyone save for film theorists. And what a shame that is, because this movie is more frightening than Psycho. Sure, that may be because Psycho is so predominant in popular culture and just so influential that it no longer has the same shock value, but there’s something about Peeping Tom that gets under my skin, something sad, even disgusting. I felt dirty after watching it-- and this is 2019!

MIDNIGHT MARY (DIR. WILLIAM WELLMAN, 1933)

Loretta Young got one of her juiciest roles in this pre-code crime drama. Her Mary Martin is more than just a good girl forced into criminal circles-- she’s a complicated creature, compassionate and desperate and lonely and bitter and sensual all at once. This movie is a fast-paced, beautifully filmed ride, cloaked in that Depression-era cynicism that makes pre-code Hollywood of such interest to movie geeks the world over.

WILD BOYS OF THE ROAD (DIR. WILLIAM WELLMAN, 1933)

Wild Boys of the Road is a quintessential Depression-era movie, relentless in its bleakness and rage. That the main characters are all starving kids only looking for work makes their struggles all the harder to watch. William Wellman is quickly becoming one of my favorite directors: his gritty style and compact storytelling are just perfect for a ripped-from-the-headlines drama such as this. And the “happy” ending has one little moment that just knocks any smile you have right off your mug. Absolutely see this.

THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING, THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING (DIR. NORMAN JEWISON, 1966)

Sometimes, when you watch a movie only because a favorite actor is in it, you get subjected to pure trash like Free and Easy (oh, the things I do for Buster Keaton). Other times, you get cute gems like The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming, which, as you probably guessed, I mainly sought out for Alan Arkin. But the whole movie is hilarious, the best kind of farce comedy, populated by enjoyable characters and a sweet-tempered humanism that grounds the wackiness. While a little overlong, this movie is quite underrated-- and sadly, its satire of American xenophobia and Cold War panic is not as dated as we would like to believe.

ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN (DIR. ALAN J. PAKULA, 1976)

Who knew a political thriller where most people know the twist could be so intense and riveting? It’s about as nonsensical as feeling suspense when you watch a movie about the Titanic and hope the boat won’t sink-- but damn, it’s magical. All the President’s Men is real white-knuckle stuff, with Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman projecting both youthful excitement and deep panic as they proceed with their investigation. It scarcely seems to have aged at all.

WHISPER OF THE HEART (DIR. YOSHIFUMI KONDOU, 1995)

There’s a scene near the end of Whisper of the Heart where the protagonist Shizuku shows the finished first draft of her fantasy novel to her first reader, the grandpa of one of her schoolmates. She weeps because it isn’t the perfect image she had in her head, despite how hard she worked on it, but the old man tells her that it takes polishing and discipline to make the work come to its full potential. Few movies about artists are so honest about how hard it can be, how unsupportive others can be in their demand that everyone be “practical.” As a writer who struggles to create and constantly doubts herself, this movie spoke strongly to me. I recommend it to any creative person.

THE PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (DIR. BRIAN DE PALMA, 1976)

I’d been wanting to see this movie since my high school phan days. Holy crap, is it WEIRDER than I could have ever imagined, a true camp masterpiece. I’m shocked it was never tuned into a stage show actually, but then again, we would miss those trippy camera angles and we wouldn’t have Paul Williams as one of the greatest villains of all time.

DUEL (DIR. STEVEN SPIELBERG, 1971)

When people talk about the best movies made in the “Hitchcock without Hitchcock directing” tradition, why is Duel so seldom mentioned? The scene in the cafe, packed with paranoid tension and tense camerawork, alone should qualify it. Duel is most known as the movie which put the young Steven Spielberg on the map. It’s quite different from his later work, grittier and less whimsical for sure. Even the ending seems almost nihilistic, depending on how you view it. But damn, if it isn’t fine filmmaking.

CAROL (DIR. TODD HAYNES, 2015)

This gorgeous throwback to Douglas Sirk melodramas is also one of the best romantic movies I’ve seen in a while. Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara have the sweetest, tenderest chemistry-- it was like seeing Lauren Bacall and Audrey Hepburn as love interests in a film. Unlike Sirk, there is little in the way of ripe melodrama here-- everything is underplayed, aching, mature. And I can say this is an adaptation that is better than the source book: it just feels so much warmer.

12 ANGRY MEN (DIR. SIDNEY LUMET, 1957

All I can say is that this was every bit equal to the hype. Common movie wisdom says people sitting and talking in a room is going to be boring on film, but movies like 12 Angry Men prove this is not so when you’ve got an excellently tense atmosphere, an inspired script, and a stable of fine actors to work with. Like The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming, this movie has not significantly aged-- much to society’s discredit.

A STAR IS BORN (DIR. GEORGE CUKOR, 1954)

Another movie I went into not expecting to love as much as I did. When movies from the 20s or 30s tended to get remakes in the 1950s, I always find them too garish and big, victims of glossy Cinemascope and overlong runtimes. Compared to the lean 1937 classic original, I expected sheer indulgence from this three-hour remake. Instead, I got my heart torn out all over again-- the longer runtime is used well, fleshing out the characters to a greater degree. Judy Garland and James Mason both give what might be the best efforts of their respective careers, and the satire of the celebrity machine remains as relevant and scathing as ever.

BLANCANIEVES (DIR. PABLO BERGER, 2012)

Oh, it feels like this movie was made for me specifically. It’s shot in gorgeous, expressionistic black-and-white. It’s set in the 1920s. It’s a clever adaptation of a classic fairy tale. It’s as funny and charming as it is bittersweet and macabre. Instead of more superhero movies, can we get more neo-silent movies like this? PLEASE?

THE FAVOURITE (DIR. YORGOS LANTHIMOS, 2018)

I’ve heard The Favourite described as a “bitchy lesbian Shakespeare play,” but this description, while a little true in terms of general tone, does not get to the heart of what makes this film brilliant. More than love or sex, this movie is about power-- particularly the corrupting influence of power. And it corrupts not only morals but love itself. Innocents become Machiavellian schemers. Lovers become sadomasochistic enemies. Good intentions turn to poison. This certainly isn’t a happy movie, but it is moving and, strangely enough, also hilarious. I was reminded of the chilly, satirical world of Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon more than once-- and for me, that is not a bad movie to be reminded of.

ON THE WATERFRONT (DIR. ELIA KAZAN, 1954)

Another classic that’s been on my list forever that I was delighted to find worthy of its reputation. It’s a classic tale of redemption and social justice, perfectly acted and shot. While I still prefer A Streetcar Named Desire as far as Kazan is concerned, this might be a better movie in the objective sense. Actually, more than even Brando, Karl Malden is the acting highlight for me-- he plays a priest torn between staying silent or truly speaking for the Gospel by demanding justice for the poor parish he serves. Just brilliant work.

KLUTE (DIR. ALAN J. PAKULA, 1971)

A perfect thriller, just about, and a great example of the “NYC is hell on earth” subgenre of the 1960s and 1970s. Jane Fonda is a revelation: she feels so real, not at all like a starlet trying to seem normal if you know what I mean.

KISS KISS BANG BANG (DIR. SHANE BLACK, 2005)

As far as subversive noir goes, this is the most entertaining. I would put it up there with The Big Lebowski as far as goofy takes on Raymond Chandler are concerned-- I don’t even really know what to make of it, but I laughed my ass off anytime I wasn’t going “WHAT???”

What were your favorite film discoveries in 2019?

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vivithefolle · 5 years ago

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Have you read endrina's "The Secret Language of Plants" series on AO3? It is so good and so long and it does some really amazing stuff with Ron. With all characters really, except for the Death Eaters and Voldemort (and a little bit of Dumbledore) this author creates the best versions of these characters that JKR *wishes* she had been well rounded and clever and emotionally honest enough to write. "The Meaning of Mistletoe" is the first one. Its a full canon rewrite. All 7 books are covered!

I am very torn.

On the one hand it contains Drarry and Snupin and Geormione and I hate those.

On the other hand... the Ron-appreciation is fan-freaking-tastic.

Find it here.

Ah of course it’s somewhat a “Severus Snape mentors Harry Potter”, so we get those:

Severus had a tell. His face would be impassive, his voice perfectly even and smooth and devoid of all inflection. But if he found something funny, his left hand would twitch and he would close his fist instead of laughing. Harry was probably the only person who knew (maybe Remus did, he didn’t know). Twice, Severus had found one of Ron’s comments funny.

I gotta admit I have a soft spot for the Ron&Snape BROTP, AVPM has a way of making you appreciate it

“He has a… a permanent poker face” whispered Hermione as Severus waved Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, in the direction of the lake.

“You just have to learn how to read him” explained Harry while petting Buckbeak’ head to keep him quiet. “I know for a fact that he finds Ron very funny.”

“Funny?” Ron was having a day full of affronts. “He has given me more detentions than McGonagall ever has.”

(Not true. It was a tie).

How the Yule Ball ought to have gone - minus the gross Drarry shit:

Harry’s robes had belonged to three different witches of various tastes and body types before being purchased by Mrs. Weasley and adapted to be Ron’s formal outfit.

The next step had been very simple. Ron still cared about what other people thought. Harry did not. He really, really, did not. They traded. Ron resisted at first, because it was the polite thing to do, but once Harry got ahold of the dress and started to jump on the bed saying “mine, mine, mine” he accepted the exchange.

His smile had been so soft and wondering, as if Harry had given him the world. Harry felt as if he were trespassing on some religious ceremony, so grateful Ron looked, so easy it had been to make him happy.

Harry’s robes were green, to bring out his eyes. The colour also went very well with Ron’s hair and he looked quite fine. Not as elegant as Draco, for sure, but certainly one of the handsomest students in the ball

[...]

Harry could honestly say that he loved his new dress robes. Specially the cuffs. Oh, the glorious cuffs with three layers of lace. Harry could say that he loved the robes in all their frilly magnificence, but that wouldn’t be completely truthful because what he loved was the effect he had on people.

Headcanon accepted:

“Honestly, I don’t know why are you all acting so surprised.” He said to a variedly pink audience. Seamus Finnigan looked as if he had measles. “They are my brothers, you know. I had to grow up with them. And I am friends with Harry.”

Ron, like Percy, was easily overshadowed by the more explosive and flashy performances of his siblings. Ginny in particular, with her choleric character and her excellent jinxes, came on top of Ron. But Ron was not the runt of the group, not at all. Ron had slowly and painstakingly come to master a subtle non-verbal almost motionless magic, ever since his first year of school when he smuggled his wand to use during punishments. You would not see Ron cast anything, but he was, all the time. All. The. Time. Like someone compulsively pressing the save button on a computer. This was Ron, only with magic, defensive magic. It was now past conscious habit and it had become a tic.

Look, his brothers turned his favourite teddy bear into a spider, when he was on his second year a teacher tried to obliviate him, and the next year he was mauled by an over-enthusiastic Black (“so sorry, Ronald. Do you want a broom? I will get you a broom. Or better yet, a flying motorbike. I am sure you will look great in leather”). Note that he very generously was leaving the first year out, because it was the one time in Ron’s life when he actually went looking for trouble. Every other time the trouble came to find him.

It was only natural, given that he lived in a magical household where he could practice magic during the summers, that he would practice all the protective spells he could learn. He lived with Ginny, too, in case people had forgotten that. It was mere survival instinct on his part.

(Oddly, Percy had been quite helpful. He gave him tips and let him borrow his notes).

By the time he was starting his fourth year, it wasn't that Ron could cast protego in his sleep, it’s that he did. Constantly and absentmindedly. On himself, on Harry, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, Luna (for heaven’s sake that girl was too fragile, someone should look after her). Really, he was casting protego on everyone all the time.

MY BABIES MY UNAPPRECIATED BABIES

Percy was not his dad, he did not share his fascination with muggle ingenuity, but he did pay attention to his father. More than any of his brothers, actually, not that it was ever appreciated. Percy was never appreciated. (Not a complaint, just a statement. At the moment that lack of appreciation was what allowed him to work unnoticed. Hooray for ignored middle children).

(Side note: He should check with Ron, because Ronald was also very much a middle child like him and it occurred to Percy now that his little brother might be sitting on some big secrets of his own.)

Even though this fic went with the “Draco is second best to Hermione in class” cliché and I hate it it does get some things right:

Hermione wasn’t very good with emotions, hers or anyone else’s. She had always exhibited more awareness than Ron, it’s true, but that was more due to Ron having a philosophical acceptance of life than to any particular sensitivity on Hermione’s part. She was not very good with emotions because emotions clouded judgement and Hermione put all her might in her razor sharp mind. This is something that she understood very well.

This is why that morning, after breakfast, she had unfolded a piece of parchment on the table (sadly there were only two notebooks in the house and they were mostly full) and had announced, with great assuredness, that Voldemort must had been and still be very scared.

We love a Minerva that appreciates her chess lion

Minerva had put a swift end to the competition for Most Mischievous Student Ever by naming Potter (Harry) and Weasley (Ron) the ultimate and unsurpassable winners. (“I mean it, don’t even think about trying to take their place, unsurpassable I said.”)

She stood by her judgement because Harry was giving her headaches even in absentia and although Ronald grumbled a little bit that “he didn’t do nothing” there was not much force behind it. Minerva didn’t know exactly what Ronald had done or not done, but she would glare at him as if she knew and the boy looked guilty enough.

At this point, she wouldn’t even be that surprised if he turned out to be an animagus too. He had kept quiet about Severus’ involvement with Harry and he casted protegos nonverbally, so who knew what else he could do.

Ron’s Patronus is the best Patronus and this is canon

Ron was good, had always been good. When asked, because the quality and endurance of his patronus was amazing, he said he just had to think of that pigeon message that told him that his friend was alive and that was enough.

[SPOILER ALERT]

And Ron fucking killing Voldemort is like... *chief’s kiss*

Ron had grown as a young child in a big family. Not even the youngest which is a position of honour in a certain way and often featured prominently in fairy tales. No, he was the one just before, young but not the youngest. There were so many brilliant brothers before him that he knew he would never get to have an “-est” for him. Not the brightest or the funniest or the bravest.

Ron had gone through a process of acceptance in life. By the time he came to Hogwarts he had known and accepted that if he didn’t manage to do something magnificent and astonishing, he would be a bit of an embarrassment for the family. The runt, the one who did nothing remarkable. But even if he achieved a wonderful feat he would still be following the steps of his brothers and so it would not be something extraordinary. He could not win either way and he had accepted that.

By the time he was in his fourth year he had come to accept that his best friend, Harry Potter, was too much of a good person to resent him for all the attention he got and that Ron craved. During that year with the stupid trials Ron had come to accept that he would always be overshadowed by his brothers and friends. Talented Bill and Charlie and even Percy and his good grades, funny twins, clever Hermione, and lastly Harry who was very odd but still the Boy Who Lived. Ron was none of that and it was a bit like drinking black tea with no sugar, it wasn’t nice but he could take it and he could still care about all of them.

Ron had accepted a life of being the runt, the spare, the disappointment. Not even the black sheep of the family, not even that because Percy of all people beat him to it. Ron would be the grey dull brother, not so bad to be the outcast, not so good to be someone for himself. He had accepted it because at that moment making sure all the people he loved were safe was way more important than Ron’s sense of self-worth.

He had accepted it.

Perhaps this is not clear. He had accepted it. He was resigned to a lacklustre life, to becoming an insipid note in everyone else’s lives’ accounts. Ron Weasley, brother of the founders of Weasley Wizard Wheezes. Ron Weasley, older brother of record holder Quidditch player Ginevra Weasley. Ron Weasley, brother of William the curse-breaker and Charles the dragon-tamer. Ron Weasley, friend of Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived.

Never in his wildest dreams and fantasies in which he got all the recognition and awards, never, had Ron thought he would become Ron Weasley the One Who Slayed Voldemort.

#ask #vivi answers #hp fanfic recs #ron weasley #ron weasley defense squad #ron weasley defence squad

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readmeinthehallway · 5 years ago

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Author Spotlight: Donna Tartt

Donna Tartt is an American writer, who grew up in Greenwood, Mississippi. Her work has been translated into over thirty languages, and she won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel The Goldfinch. She’s known for being incredibly well-read, and her work surely shows this off. Her attention to detail in her setting, plot, and characters is so thorough that each book exists as its own little world, one that’s often impossible to draw away from. Her intense exploration of art, individuality, classics, religion, friendship, love and morality makes her one of our favourite authors, and someone we would love for Harry to discover, too.

The Secret History (1992)

New England scenery, a backwards mystery, and an eclectic mix of young individuals all jumbled together into one tiny Greek Classics classroom. The Secret History is autumn personified, carrying a darkness and grittiness that’s as enthralling, unique, and slightly insane as it’s characters. The book pushes the limits of morality, of human thinking, of relationships, and of the concept of beauty. It grips you from the very first line and has you on edge until it’s last.

Favourite quotes:

“It's a very Greek idea, and a very profound one. Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it. And what could be more terrifying and beautiful, to souls like the Greeks or our own, than to lose control completely? To throw off the chains of being for an instant, to shatter the accident of our mortal selves?”

“Some things are too terrible to grasp at once. Other things - naked, sputtering, indelible in their horror - are too terrible to really grasp ever at all. It is only later, in solitude, in memory that the realization dawns: when the ashes are cold; when the mourners have departed; when one looks around and finds oneself - quite to one's surprise - in an entirely different world.”

“We think we have many desires, but in fact we have only one. What is it?” “To live,” said Camilla. “To live forever,”

“I liked the idea of living in a city — any city, especially a strange one — liked the thought of traffic and crowds, of working in a bookstore, waiting tables in a coffee shop, who knew what kind of solitary life I might slip into? Meals alone, walking the dogs in the evenings; and nobody knowing who I was.”

The Little Friend (2002)

The setting is Alexandria, Mississippi, where one Mother’s Day a little boy named Robin Cleve Dufresnes was found hanging from a tree in his parents’ yard. Twelve years later Robin’s murder is still unsolved and his family remains devastated. So it is that Robin’s sister Harriet - unnervingly bright, insufferably determined, and unduly influenced by the fiction of Kipling and Robert Louis Stevenson--sets out to unmask his killer. Aided only by her worshipful friend Hely, Harriet crosses her town’s rigid lines of race and caste and burrows deep into her family’s history of loss.

Favourite quotes:

“Running might take her forward, it could even take her home; but it couldn't take her back–not ten minutes, ten hours, not ten years or days. And that was tough, as Hely would say. Tough: since back was the way she wanted to go, since the past was the only place she wanted to be.”

“Even if it meant that she had failed, she was glad. And if what she'd wanted had been impossible from the start, still there was a certain lonely comfort in the fact that she'd known it was impossible and had gone ahead and done it anyway.”

“Restlessly, she stared at this. Like the woodcutter’s child at the beginning of a fairy tale, a mysterious longing had possessed her, a desire to travel far and do great things; and though she could not say exactly what it was she wanted to do, she knew that it was something grand and gloomy and extremely difficult.”

“All her grace was in her vagueness. Her voice was soft, her manner languid, her features blurred and dreamy.”

The Goldfinch (2013)

This is a sprawling tale of grief, devotion, memory; an ode to art and the lasting impressions objects leave on us when connected to the most significant moments of our lives. The Goldfinch spans years, and we’re taken on a turbulent journey through the eyes of the main character, Theo, as he attempts to navigate through his life and various relationships after his mother’s death in a gallery bombing, his displacement from his home out to Las Vegas and his eventual return to New York, all the while holding onto and obsessing over a piece of stolen art.

Favourite quotes:

“We looked at each other and just laughed; everything was hysterically funny, even the playground slide was smiling at us, and at some point, deep in the night, when we were swinging on the jungle gymand showers of sparks were flying out of our mouths, I had the epiphany that laughter was light, and light was laughter, and that this was the secret of the universe. For hours, we watched the clouds rearranging themselves into intelligent patterns; rolled in the dirt, believing it was seaweed; lay on our backs and sang "Dear Prudence" to the welcoming and appreciative stars. It was a fantastic night: one of the great nights of my life.”

“As long as I am acting out of love, I feel I am doing best I know how.”

“Isn’t the whole point of things—beautiful things—that they connect you to some larger beauty? Those first images that crack your heart wide open and you spend the rest of your life chasing, or trying to recapture, in one way or another?”

“We looked at each other. And it occurred to me that despite his faults, which were numerous and spectacular, the reason I’d liked Boris and felt happy around him from almost the moment I’d met him was that he was never afraid. You didn’t meet many people who moved freely through the world with such a vigorous contempt for it and at the same time such oddball and unthwartable faith in what, in childhood, he had liked to call “the Planet of Earth.”

Our top pick:

We’d love for Harry to read any of the books above, but if we could give him one, our pick is The Secret History. Nothing comes close to beating the dark academia genre, the gritty feelings, the lyrical wording of Donna’s prose, and the rag-tag group of impeccably and not so impeccably dressed students that inhabit the elite Vermont university. We think Harry would be drawn to Donna’s style, the story, the setting, and the deep character studies in The Secret History. We’d also love for him to play Henry in the movie adaptation that we hope never happens – let’s face it, the book is just too good to translate to the screen. They’ve already tried that once!

Discussion time!

What do you think of Donna Tartt and her writing? Have you read any of her books? If so, what are some of the stand out moments/quotes from the books that you loved? What would you like to see on the bookshelf next? We’d love to hear all of your thoughts!

#author spotlight #donna tartt #the secret history #the little friend #the goldfinch #this is the first of our author spotlights!!#let us know if there are any other authors you'd like us to talk about

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laurasimonsdaughter · 4 months ago

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Do you have any favorite regional differences in one myth? Or any fave regional differences in creatures (eg. The different ways to become a werewolf based on where and when you are)

Comparing similar folklore from region to region is always great! But I think my favourite at the moment is the one I discovered most recently, namely the Sicilian version of what most people know as the Grimms' All-Kinds-of-Fur.

In the Grimms' version a princess escapes from having to marry her father (because she is the only one as beautiful as her late mother), by disguising herself in a cloak made of a thousand kinds of fur. She is found by a king who thinks she is an animal, when it turns out she is taken to the palace as a lowly servant. One day she takes of her furry cloak and dresses as a princess again, to go to the king's banquet. He instantly falls in love with her and after two more banquets manages to discover All-Kinds-of-Fur and the beautiful princess are one and the same.

Now the version of this story I fell in love with as a kid is the adaptation in Jim Henson's The Storyteller: Sapsorrow/Straggletag, where they make the relationship between the young King and Straggletag more equal by letting them talk extensively while she's in her disguise and scold him for his pride and vanity. He does not win her until he has proven he respects Straggletag as well as the princess she secretly is.

So imagine my joy when I read a variant of this tale type called Betta Pilusa in Zipes' translation of Laura Gonzenbach's Sicilian Fairy Tales and it goes like this:

After going through the usual method of trying to delay a marriage to her father (asking for three impossibly beautiful, expensive dresses) this young lady (not a princess) asks for a dress made of grey cat fur and escapes to a forest.

A young king goes hunting there and almost shoots her, until she reveals she is not an animal. He asks her name, she says its Betta Pilusa (translated as Hairy Bertha). He asks her if she wants to come to the castle. She says yes, as his maid. He asks where he wants to live, she says in the chicken coop.

The king visits her at the chicken coop every day to talk to her and bring her treats.

He asks if she want to come to the royal ball, but Betta Pilusa grumbles at him that she could never go. Of course she does go, dressed in her first gown, but disappears before the king can stop her.

The first thing the king does is going to tell Betta Pilusa about the mysterious lady and she scolds him for waking her up.

This happens three more times. With the king inviting Betta Pilusa each time and her grumbling and growling at him and then scolding him when he confides in her about how in love he is.

Finally the king is so lovesick that Betta Pilusa bakes bread for him, every time hiding a golden trinket inside it which the king had given to the mysterious lady at the ball.

The cook reveals to the king that it was Betta Pilusa who baked his bread and he finally confronts her and declares that she is the mysterious lady.

Betta Pilusa denies everything and they argue until he resorts to threatening her with almost comical theatricality, after which she dramatically throws off her catskin gown and falls into his arms.

They get married and live happily ever after.

No recap would do it justice, but Betta is so feral (also in her interactions with other servants) and the young king is so honestly interested in her. It's so fun and I'm here for it.

#fairy tales #sicilian folklore #donkeyskin #straggletag #allerleirau #all-kinds-of-fur #laura babbles #sapsorrow

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darkdevasofdestruction · 5 years ago

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OC asks - YuGiOh & Assassins Creed

OH YES, THIS IS GONNA BE FUN~!

--- YU-GI-OH

1. What is your OC’s favorite color?

She loves green! It’s a calming colour that highlight her eyes and gives her a more alluring look.

2. Does your OC collect anything? What do they collect?

Not sure if it counts, as she doesn’t collect physical things, but she loves to take pictures of everything that makes her happy and look at them from time to time.

3. What kind of things is your OC allergic to?

Idiocy.

4. What kind of clothing does your OC wear?

Black jeans, with a regular green top, a black vest-like trench coat and knee length black boots, so pretty basic.

5. What is your OC’s first memory?

Uhhhh......Like, as a child? I suppose it’d be when her mother smiled at her and gave her the family heirloom, the Millennium Medallion.

6. What’s your OC’s favorite animal? Least favorite?

She loves all animals, but at first, she loved Wolves the most, since she thought it would suit her loner personality. Her least favourite animal were, ironically, foxes, because her father blamed every mistake on her and her ironic name. That is, until she meets Seto and Mokie, and becomes friends with Yugi’s group, who taught her that instead of listening to the bad stuff, she should make her own name meaning, and since then, she wore her name and spirit animal proudly.

7. What element would your OC be?

BYFIREBEPURGED

Well, if we go by elements meaning, I think either Earth, because she is a nurturing and healing person who helps others without realising. Either that, or water, because she is calm and relaxes people, but she can also become an outright tsunami.

8. What is your OC’s theme song?

I think “Too Late” by Dead by Sunrise, since it shows how desperate she was to find an escape from the darkness she succumbed to once her mother and younger sister were killed in a car accident and she was left under the strict hand of her father who had inhumane expectations of her and wanted only perfection and for her to follow the path he dictates.

9. Do you have a faceclaim / voiceclaim for your OC?

I never thought of that, to be fair? For voiceclaims no, but I imagine her to have a pretty versatile voice, feminine and casual most of the time, but can go low enough to either sound alluring or have a hint of poison darkness.

As for face claims, while creating my Game of Thrones OC, I stumbled upon this picture and she’s been my “faceclaim” if I can’t do a drawing of her, or if the fandom doesn’t have anime/cartoon characters, but real people.

10. What deadly sin would best represent your OC?

For a long time, I’m pretty sure it would be Envy, because she’s see happy people with no family issues, and envies them so much, having dark thoughts about them.

11. What are your OC’s hobbies?

Games of all kinds, travelling, staying in the nature, relaxing outside.

12. How patient is your OC? How hot-headed are they?

She’s incredibly patient with everyone and everything, in most situation, but can’t handle bad behaviour and dumb questions, especially if repeated, and especially if she’s tired, concentrating or the repetition of the conditions is a much too high number.

13. What is your OC’s gender / sexuality / race / species / etc.?

Kitsune is a human girl, but I haven’t thought of her sexuality or romantic orientation before, since she’s only ever attracted to Seto.

14. What foods does your OC like to eat? What are their least favorite foods?

She loves any kind of home-made food, but can’t stand some sea-food dishes.

15. If your OC could have any pet, what would they choose? Why?

Do foxes count? If not, dogs and snakes would be her first options.

16. What does your OC smell like?

Okay, so, there’s this perfume and shower gel that I love so much and they smell SO good, like chocolate...So yes, that exactly.

17. How do they make a living? What kind of job do they want / not want? What is their dream job? What do they think of their current job?

She’s a student, so she has no actual job, but her dream job revolves around technology - Either a programmer or a game developer, both options, later, allowing her to work together with Seto.

18. What are your OC’s greatest fears? Weaknesses? Strengths?

She’s afraid of being manipulated and controlled again, insects and loneliness. Her biggest weakness is her kindness and the fact that she has a hard time denying anyone’s requests, so she can very often be walked all over, if someone doesn’t interfere. Her strengths are her perseverance and ambition that keep her going on and not giving up.

19. What kind of music do they listen to? Do they have a favorite song?

She loves rock, trap and indie songs mostly, and has a hard time choosing only one song, but one of them would be Scorpions - “Still Loving You”.

20. If they came from their world to ours (if not already in our’s) how would they react? What would they do?

Honestly, the Yu-Gi-Oh world is pretty similar to ours, so I don’t think it would be a huge problem to adapt, and would try to make friends and pursue her dreams.

21. What personal problems/issues do they have? Pet peeves?

Apart from her family issues with her mother and younger sister dying and her father being a controlling jerk? She gets pretty restless when she feels something is wrong, and would go in an overly-protective mode and often get herself in trouble.

Her pet peeves are when people chew too loud, being too loud in general, people looking at her phone and people who aren’t punctual or go back on their promises.

22. What kind of student were they/would they be in high school?

“The Nerd” trope. Straight As, loner, shy, but that’s mostly because of her father and how he’d punish her if she didn’t do perfect, and would move her to other schools/cities each year, depending on where his business would lead him.

23. What is a random fact about your OC?

Her hair has more personality than she has. No matter how much she tries, she can’t get it nice and neat, so she stopped caring and leaves it as untameable as it wants it to be.

24. What is their outlook on life? What is their philosophy / what do they think in general about living?

She’s a realist that can often slide down to pessimism or fatalism, as she doesn’t actually have any experience in the real world and is afraid of failing and ruining everything around her.

25. What inspired you to create them / how did you create them? Were they originally a fan-character? What was their personality / design like when you first made them?

Honestly? She’s based on me and how I really am or I’d want to be, in a way. I love how I look with red hair, and I love foxes and their various portrayals and meanings, so I used them to create Kitsune, but instead of giving her black eyes, like I have, I gave her green eyes, like emeralds, to give her that touch of mysterious seductive aura around her.

26. Who is the most important person in their life? Why? Who is the least important to them (that still has an impact and why?

The most important person ALIVE in her life is Seto, because he was the one to take her away from her father and show her they are more than their bad parenting and tragic backstory. (Basically, after some exam results were showed, and she didn’t get the marks he expected, her father went to the principal’s office and realising the girl was using her mother’s old Duel Monsters, proceeding on lighting it on fire, making the girl freak out and put the slightly aflame deck in the principal’s aquarium, before having an outright breakdown, only for Seto to get mad and sass out the father, who was supposed to be a future business partner. When she left the school, she saw Seto and went to thank him, but he only asked if she wanted to babysit Mokuba for a short period of time when he’ll be in another country with business, and from then on, they bond.) On the other hand, the least important person, who still impacts her life, is her father, for the reasons stated before.

27. What kind of childhood did your character have?

Does it count as your usual sob story? Because until she was 13, her childhood was the dream childhood, but when her mother died, it all went down the drain.

28. What kind of nervous habits do they have? Do they stim? Do they have any kinds of addictions?

She tends to wet and bite her bottom lip a lot, she always walks out with earphones and music at max volume to avoid anxiety, walks fast when alone, focuses on her phone to combat the same anxiety and awkwardness, and when impatient or focused, she plays with a strand of her hair, drums her fingers on the table (she likes it when she hears the tapping of her nails), or bounces her leg.

29. If they could choose their epitaph for their grave, what would they choose?

Game over. Respawn time : 3...2...1...

30. Do they want to get married? Why or why not? Would they ever want kids? Do they have kids? Why?

She can’t stand children, they annoy her very much and especially doesn’t want to go through the whole childbirth mess, or have her child hate her. As for marriage...She is afraid of marriages, of rather said, of the possible heartbreak of a divorce, but she wouldn’t actually mind having a dream/fairy tale like small wedding, to make everything beautiful and ethereal.

31. What is their most traumatic memory/experience? What is their favorite memory?

Her most traumatic experience is hearing that her mother and sister got in a car accident, and while her mother was killed on the spot, her sister died in the hospital, in front of her, not long after giving her her favourite Duel Monsters card : Madolche Cruffsant , just because it was hella cute.

Her favourite memory is either her mother teaching her Duel Monsters, or her reading her Disney Princess stories.

32. If they could have one thing in the world, what would it be?

Her mother and sister back to life.

33. Would they ever kill someone? What would someone have to do to push them to kill someone? If they would kill someone, why?

She’d only kill in self-defense or to save someone else, otherwise, the farthest she’d go, is a hell of a beating.

34. What social groups and activities does your character attend? What role do they like to play? What role do they actually play, usually?

In a group of friends, she’s the moral and emotional support of the group, as well as the one to attempt to stop others from doing impulsive and reckless decisions.

In a game, she’d be the healer, priest, shaman or white mage.

35. How is your character’s imagination? Daydreaming a lot? Worried most of the time? Living in memories?

Her imagination goes through the roof, as she always day-dreams about literally everything and anything and reads a lot. Yeah, she does worry a lot and lives in the past, but she’s trying to work on it.

36. What does your character want most? What do they need really badly, compulsively? What are they willing to do, to sacrifice, to obtain?

She needs affections, validation and comfort. (Give her a hug pls) She’s used without it, so she wouldn’t do anything physically/aggressively to obtain it, but it’s eating her alive when she’s overthinking and doubting herself. Other than that, she knows she can obtain everything she wants by herself and just a bit of work.

37. What’s something that your character does, that other people don’t normally do?

I don’t think she does anything special that she does and others don’t... But she likes to carry Mokuba on her shoulders.

38. What would your character do with a million dollars?

Would make sure she doesn’t have to depend on anyone’s money, since she can’t stand being a burden to anyone, and would use the rest to make even more money, so one day, when she’ has a proper and constant living, she could help create animal shelters and donate to different charities.

39. What is in your characters refrigerator right now? On their bedroom floor? Nightstand? Garbage can?

Bubbly soda, water, chocolate and food in the fridge. A fluffy carpet on the floor and nothing else. Her laptop, a bottle of water and a bag of snacks. Fruit remains, empty snacks bags and other random useless things.

40. Your character is getting ready for a night out. Where are they going? What do they wear? Who will they be with?

She’s going on a calm walk on the shore, barefeet, with Seto, feet in water and letting the breeze mess up her hair even more. Kitsune’s wearing a soft coloured flowery patterned dress that’s above the knee, it’s flowy and somehow transparent with an underskirt, and the sleeves are long and loose, all the paired with a pair of sneakers that she can easily take off, knowing she’s going to the beach.

41. What does your character do when they’re angry? Why?

It takes a LOT to make her to visibly show her anger, but she’s going to become extremely verbally aggressive, insulting, sarcastic, barely able to keep herself from getting physical.

42. Does your character have any scars? Where did they get them from?

Nope, she’s clean.

43. What was the most offensive thing your character had ever said?

“If I wanted to kill myself, I’d climb your ego and jump down to your IQ, that’s lower than your shoe size. In fact, it’s non-existent, much like my respect for you. Get the hell out of my sight, can’t you see nobody wants you here? You’re going to be missed like the leprosy.”

44. How does your character react/ accept criticism?

If it’s not actually an insult or a rude remark, she’ll listen and see what she can do with the advice, more more often than not, she still does whatever she thinks it’s right.

45. If your character was given a slice of pineapple pizza and they HAD to eat it (or something bad would happen), how would they react? Do they even LIKE pineapple pizza?

She never tried pineapple pizza, so she’s not sure how she’d react, but it’s just 1 slice, so it won’t kill her. She’s not a huge pineapple fan though.

46. Your character is given a voodoo doll of themselves. What do they do with it? Do they see if it actually works? She takes a needle and gently pokes her hand, and if it’s actually true, she’s gonna keep that doll a secret for safe-keeping, so nobody will ever be able to use it.

47. Can your character draw? What do they like to draw? Do they doodle?

She’s not THE best artist in the world, but she draws cute things like flowers from time to time to relax. As well as that, she draws flowery borders on her notebook pages.

48. What were their parents like? How has that affected how they are as an adult?

I already talked too much about her father, but her mother was a sweet and kind soul, and incredibly ambitious and playful and competitive, which is why she won countless gaming competitions. Her mother’s angelic soul and kindness was the way she wanted to grow to be, and whenever she gets angry, she gets reminded of her father and hates herself for doing something he does that she hates so much.

49. Does your character like candy? Do they get sugar rushes? What are they like when they get a rush?

She loves sweets, but she doesn’t feel the need to eat too many, especially at the same time, so she doesn’t get sugar rushes, nor does she get hyper.

50. If your character was presented with imminent and unavoidable death/fatality, how would they react? Would they try to avoid death anyways? Would they try to make their last days count?

She would cry a lot and would try anything in her power to alter her fate, but if it isn’t possible, she’ll try to spend as much quality time with Seto, Mokie and Yugi’s gang as possible.

---

ASSASSINS CREED

I haven’t gotten around to actually drawing anything for AC unfortunately, and I’m not sure I’ll ever get around to do it ^^”

---

1. What is your OC’s favorite color?

She loves Green and Blue, but the longer she stays in Masyaf, the more she misses the beautiful shade range of purple and lavender.

2. Does your OC collect anything? What do they collect?

In her time, she didn’t collect anything, but when she traveled back in time to Masyaf’s 1191 timeline, she started picking different flowers, pressing them in an empty tome that Malik gifted to her, and together with him, she would draw the flower on the other page, and write information about the plant in cause, with the help of her beloved Malik, both in her language and in his.

3. What kind of things is your OC allergic to?

As to quote a line from the Secret Crusade novel...

“Stupid Altair. Arrogant Altair. He was in trouble.”

4. What kind of clothing does your OC wear?

During her time, in the Japanese Brotherhood, as she is the Master Assassin of the Stealth branch, she wears mostly black, light clothes that allow her to sneak around, spy, snipe and blend in.

In Masyaf time, she had to wear the usual male Assassin outfit that literally engulfs her, which is really annoying as she can’t play to her strengths, so she has to fight quite a lot to get some practical adjustments to the outfit, and ones that won’t attract civilian nor templar unwanted attention.

5. What is your OC’s first memory?

Her elder brother singing this song to her : LULLABY

6. What’s your OC’s favorite animal? Least favorite?

She loves foxes so much. She knows she looks like one, and she uses everything to her advantage, and since she doesn’t actually remember her real name, she chose “Kitsune” as her assassin name.

Also, keep spiders away from her, or she’ll feel her soul leave her body in a split second.

7. What element would your OC be?

Fire. Without a speck of doubt. She’s a little, smug firecracker.

8. What is your OC’s theme song?

I think “Demons” by Starset works pretty well, as whilst she’s a strong person, she still has moments of weakness and needs someone by her side, before she loses control of herself and become someone she’d hate.

9. Do you have a faceclaim / voiceclaim for your OC?

Same person as before. I don’t know who she is, but she’s my muse.

10. What deadly sin would best represent your OC?

I believe Pride is going to give her a looot of trouble.

11. What are your OC’s hobbies?

She loves ice skating, singing, dancing in the moonlight and chilling on the grassy ground, watching the clouds pass by.

12. How patient is your OC? How hot-headed are they?

This little firecracker is somewhere in the middle ground, because yes, she is definitely patient in a lot of circumstances, but Gods, when she gets angry or impatient, you can literally see fire around her.

13. What is your OC’s gender / sexuality / race / species / etc.?

Kitsune is a human girl who never thought of love, as she was married to her work as an assassin, but when she arrives in Masyaf, she falls in love with Malik Al’Sayf.

14. What foods does your OC like to eat? What are their least favorite foods?

Cherries! She loves fruits in general, but she LOVES to seductively eats strawberries or tie cherry steam knots! On the other hand, she won’t eat anything that looks weird or not aesthetic.

15. If your OC could have any pet, what would they choose? Why?

Give this girl a horse, she loves feeling the feeling of wind in her face as she feels the horse speeding up! It’s like she’s on a motorbike again, but a bit different!

16. What does your OC smell like?

Vanilla and Roses <3

17. How do they make a living? What kind of job do they want / not want? What is their dream job? What do they think of their current job?

Kitsune is the Master Assassin of the Japanese Brotherhood’s Stealth Branch, so it’s needless to say that she gets her pay from this.

18. What are your OC’s greatest fears? Weaknesses? Strengths?

She fears getting close to anyone, only to have them dying on her again, just like her parents and older brother. Her weaknesses are her physical strength, her fear of the unknown and the fear of failure. She is small, fast and agile, has an amazing sight and always does her job at perfection, thanks to her ruthlessness, and can easily seduce and manipulate people with words and a simple bat of her long lashes.

19. What kind of music do they listen to? Do they have a favorite song?

Give her the loudest rock music and the best trap and dubstep remixes, she loves the energy she gets from those kids of songs.

20. If they came from their world to ours (if not already in our’s) how would they react? What would they do?

She is from our world...Sort of, so she won’t have too much of a problem living her life at leisure.

21. What personal problems/issues do they have? Pet peeves?

She has a hard time straying from the rules or showing mercy because she’s been brought up by the Brotherhood since she was 7. Her parents died at such a young age (as they too were assassins) that she doesn’t remember them, and the man who took care of her, as per her parents’ death wish, died when she had to assist him on her first mission, at 12 years old, which was a chaos and he died saving her so she could make sure the mission was a success.

Her pet peeves are people getting too close to her when talking, breathing too loudly, children misbehaving and slow internet.

22. What kind of student were they/would they be in high school?

She didn’t actually go to a regular school, but was trained and taught by the brotherhood, where she was an incredibly perfectionist and diligent student.

23. What is a random fact about your OC?

She absolutely L O V E S to playfully flirt with people she likes, which makes Malik the one to endure all her flirting.

24. What is their outlook on life? What is their philosophy / what do they think in general about living?

She doesn’t care if she dies or not, as long as she’s happy. She’s an assassin, she’s been fearless for as long as she can remember.

25. What inspired you to create them / how did you create them? Were they originally a fan-character? What was their personality / design like when you first made them?

I love Malik, I want someone to flirt a lot with him, I flirt a lot with my friends, and hell, Kitsune, as I said, she basically myself with green eyes and maybe better make up skills.

26. Who is the most important person in their life? Why? Who is the least important to them that still has an impact and why?

The most important person in her life that is alive is Malik now, as her “Elder brother” died, and she never got personally close to anyone in the brotherhood, only professionally.

There’s nobody who really influences her negatively, apart from her own self and her perfectionism/over-thinking or the brotherhood creed.

You could say that, half-jokingly, her least favourite person is Altair because he’s a jerk who caused Malik to lose his arm and Kadar to die, but she forgives him when she sees true redemption in him.

27. What kind of childhood did your character have?

It was a pretty basic childhood, her elder brother taking care of her while studying and training for the brotherhood, and for her, that was normality so nothing was weird.

28. What kind of nervous habits do they have? Do they stim? Do they have any kinds of addictions?

She bites her lip very hard, until the point she draws blood, she cracks her knuckles a lot and she has a sort of internet addiction that went down the drain when she went back in time and realised her Brotherhood wouldn’t/couldn’t bring her back in her times.

29. If they could choose their epitaph for their grave, what would they choose?

I went down in the flames of success, so better throw my ashes in the Haunted Mansion from Disneyland Paris, or I’m gonna haunt everyone.

30. Do they want to get married? Why or why not? Would they ever want kids? Do they have kids? Why?

She’s an assassin, so she sees no reason to marry, or worse, have children, which she can’t stand. However, that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t want to to wear a pretty dress, have a nice hairstyle and make up and dance in the moonlight, alone, with Malik. It’s the closest she would get to a normal, domestic family.

31. What is their most traumatic memory/experience? What is their favorite memory?

Her brother dying in front of her, and him yelling for her to finish the mission and return to the Brotherhood, otherwise they’d kill her is a scene that still haunts her every nightmare.

On the other hand, her favourite memory is her brother singing to her that Lullaby, something which she took up and would sometimes sing to Malik, or would sneak out at night and sing while dancing by herself, trying to find a bit of freedom and sense of self.

32. If they could have one thing in the world, what would it be?

Her brother back...And maybe some fucking WiFi and electricity...And a bathtub...With bath bombs...And scented candles...

33. Would they ever kill someone? What would someone have to do to push them to kill someone? If they would kill someone, why?

She’s an assassin who struggles with showing mercy, need I say more?

34. What social groups and activities does your character attend? What role do they like to play? What role do they actually play, usually?

She’s the one who flirts and jokes a lot, I guess you could say she’s the popular girl stereotype?

In an RPG, she’d be the assassin, rogue or even warlock or necromancer, without a doubt.

35. How is your character’s imagination? Daydreaming a lot? Worried most of the time? Living in memories?

She doesn’t have too much time to day-dream, but now that she’s stuck in the past, she has more free time to do nothing but imagine random scenarios that would never happen.

Kitsune doesn’t live in the past or future, she lives in the moment...In a way that is borderline robotic and as if she tries to forget the fact that she’s human at all.

36. What does your character want most? What do they need really badly, compulsively? What are they willing to do, to sacrifice, to obtain?

She wants to find a life that won’t bind her to the Brotherhood in a way that she’d have to sacrifice everything for it. She wants a normal life that still has some of the assassin thrill, but not the risks...Keep the adrenaline though, she hates getting bored.

She doesn’t know yet what or how to achieve this utopia, but perhaps the fact that she’s in the past, with a Brotherhood that she’s not officially part of, might prove enough for her.

37. What’s something that your character does, that other people don’t normally do?

Does anyone flirt in Assassins Creed 1? Because if they don’t, Kitsune does A LOT.

38. What would your character do with a million dollars?

She’d take Malik with her and travel the world, exploring every inch of it, away from everybody she knows, and going to all theme and amusement parks.

39. What is in your characters refrigerator right now? On their bedroom floor? Nightstand? Garbage can?

Her laptop, phone and tablet on the nightstand, along with a water bottle and food. She has notebooks and ink and feathers on the ground next to her bed, since she’s usually too lazy to go to the table. There’s...No fridge in Masyaf, unfortunatelly...No more chocolate or ice cream... Lots of sketches and messed up scrolls in the trash.

40. Your character is getting ready for a night out. Where are they going? What do they wear? Who will they be with?

She’s so used to wearing either assassin or sexy clothes, that she chooses to wear something so simple and casual, like a pair of sneakers and a simple sundress, taking Malik on a walk at night, as during the day she wouldn’t really be able to dress as revealing, in public.

41. What does your character do when they’re angry? Why?

She tries to calm herself, but when she can’t help herself, she’d either go physically or verbally violent and harsh, depending on the gravity of the situation.

It doesn’t take long to piss her off, but it takes a LOT to actually get her to lose her temper.

42. Does your character have any scars? Where did they get them from?

She has a scar on the left side of her face, going from the forehead, to her eye and down to the middle of her cheek, because of the accident in Solomon’s Temple when she sneaked to get the artifact.

43. What was the most offensive thing your character had ever said?

“Tell me… Is being stupid a profession or are you just gifted? Why Don’t You Slip Into Something More Comfortable. Like A Coma? Wait, don’t worry, I can help with that. Whatever permission you thought you had to speak to me, I hereby remove. Honestly, did I ask you anything? No? Good, because nobody asked for your opinion, you filthy little mudblood.”

44. How does your character react/ accept criticism?

Can’t take it, especially if it’s not sugar coated or said in a gentle way, so she could understand it’s not an insult or an attack, but a suggestion.

She’d do whatever she wants regardless.

45. If your character was given a slice of pineapple pizza and they HAD to eat it (or something bad would happen), how would they react? Do they even LIKE pineapple pizza?

Pick up the pineapple slices, throw them at Altair’s face, then eat the pizza slice with no problem.

46. Your character is given a voodoo doll of themselves. What do they do with it? Do they see if it actually works?

Would keep it safer than her own heart and would try to track down whoever did the doll, in order to kill them. She doesn’t need potential killers on her case.

47. Can your character draw? What do they like to draw? Do they doodle?

She’s not too bad, but she likes drawings plants, animals and landscapes, which is why she likes to draw every plant she collects. On the other hand, she can’t doodle when absent-minded, she only taps the front of the pen on the table or paper.

48. What were their parents like? How has that affected how they are as an adult?

She didn’t really know them, as they died when she was too young, so they didn’t exactly affect her in any way. They weren’t bad people, despite being assassins, but as far as she heard around the Brotherhood, they were diligent, intelligent and reliable, so she was proud to be their daughter.

49. Does your character like candy? Do they get sugar rushes? What are they like when they get a rush?

She doesn’t get sugar rushes, nor does she eat too many sweets at once, but if she’s in a playful mood, she can get a bit more energetic than usual.

50. If your character was presented with imminent and unavoidable death/fatality, how would they react? Would they try to avoid death anyways? Would they try to make their last days count?

She’d try to see if it can be avoided, but if not, not a big deal for her. She’d just do the weirdest things possible and spend quality time with Malik and Altair, maybe even trying to make the Masyaf Brotherhood a better place, teaching them new healing methods and whatever...If she was in a good mood, at least.

#assassins creed #assassing creed oc #malik al sayf #Altair Ibn La'Ahad #yugioh oc #yugioh #Kaiba Seto #Mokuba Kaiba #yugi mutou #kitsune shimada #oc #my oc #oc asks

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aparecium-hq · 4 years ago

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Welcome to Aparecium, Becky! You have been accepted for Saoirse Finnigan. I must admit she’s one of my favorite characters here, and it brings me a lot of joy that she’ll be in such clearly capable hands. Check out the new member checklist, and jump right in.

Character Basics

Birthday (Age): April 29th, 2004 (23) Gender (Pronouns): Cis female (she/her) Sexuality: Homosexual Blood Status: Muggleborn

Hogwarts House/School: Hufflepuff Occupation: Trainee Healer

Faceclaim: Anya Taylor-Joy

Any requested changes? Nope, all good.

Biography:

The early years of Saoirse’s life could be viewed almost as fairy tale perfection from the outside. Finding her way into the perfect family, a fit exactly for her needs and the kind of support she needed, and having the opportunity to embrace both muggle and wizard traditions. She’d never had to fight to feel accepted, especially not by Grandma Thomas who quickly became her favourite relative and the one she begged to spend summers with as a teenager. Morgan was a brat, but they were her brat and she’d stick by them through anything. With all the good around her, Saoirse convinced herself not to think about the quiet things that had her crying in the dark. What she’d lost—if you could call it that.

At Hogwarts she flourished. Saoirse’s quick temper got her into trouble often, and she struggled some with understanding the views of others to begin with. She liked to argue, especially when something was said or happened that she didn’t particularly agree with. Saoirse developed a bit of a reputation as a loudmouth, a troublemaker, and—especially once she’d made the house team as beater in fourth year—a bruiser.

Saoirse never expected to fall for someone who’s world was so different to her own, but then she’d never really had a choice with Matilda. As second years, Matilda had once stepped in to stop Saoirse from punching a boy three years their senior and that had been it. Inseparable as friends for a time, Saoirse finally plucked up the courage to invite Matilda on a date to Hogsmeade when they were fifteen.

At nineteen she’d been ready to marry her, ring and all. Saoirse knew that things were different with Matilda’s family than they were her own, she’d long given up begging to meet them and thinking in her own stubborn little way that she’d win them over somehow. What she’d not expected was Matilda giving up everything they had together to make them happy. Saoirse tried, she really did, to talk some sense into her. To help her understand that she didn’t have to bow her head and marry the first boy her parents pushed towards her so she could be the perfect pureblood child. Fulfil the legacy. Whatever. Saoirse couldn’t make sense of any of it. She had to walk away.

Being alone—really alone—for the first time in her life, Saoirse found herself with a strange sense of focus. She’d always had a desire to help people, proven by the way she’d spent so much time and effort going out of her way to stick up for her friends and sibling. Only problem with the way she’d usually gone about it now was that going around getting into fist fights with strangers was hardly a very adult thing to be doing (Morgan told her as much). So Saoirse took her good grades and her stubbornness right into training as a Healer and found passion reignited.

Nowadays she certainly has a reputation among friends and family as the person to go to for back up. Not necessarily for good advice and calm reasoning, but Saoirse doesn’t care much for sitting on the fence anyway. She excels in her job and spends free time pushing for wix equality every chance she gets. Once a month she’s part of a group teaching the use of muggle technology to those who still struggle with the practicality of it rather than suffer from an unfortunate unwillingness to adapt. Through the group she’s slowly improving her own (admittedly basic) skills too, and has the chance to meet new people with similar ideals to her own.

Character Questionnaire

How does your character feel about their family?

Fiercely protective. Saoirse won’t tolerate anyone badmouthing her family after all they’ve done to help her. Morgan in particular is a difficult subject as she’s watched the way they suffer and wants to do everything in her power to ease the pain. She struggles to vocalise this, though, and if confronted about the way she acts sometimes can be counted on to explain with a string of profanities or a simple, cutting ‘mind your damn business.’

What does your character value in a friendship?

Saoirse feels compelled to surround herself with people who know themselves and refuse to bend to be considered more acceptable to others. She can’t stand wishy-washy behaviours and defecting from one thing to the next for fear of commitment. The ring box still sitting in her underwear draw is testament to that.

How would your character describe their own work ethic? Is that an accurate measure of themself?

Saoirse feels immensely satisfied when she’s able to say she actually helped somebody. She rides the high that comes with a job well done, finds it spurs her on to the next great thing. Particularly in the days following a success she’s at her most productive and can sometimes get carried away and overwork herself to the point of exhaustion.

How would a stranger who has just met your character describe them?

Those who have met Saoirse would undoubtedly describe her as something of a hothead. She’s intimidating when you first get to meet her on account of a cutting(see also:snarky) sense of humour and poor emotional sensitivity to those she doesn’t fully know. The biggest compliment said behind her back is her open-mindedness to those who consider themselves ‘different’. Saoirse herself would like to think that she’s softer than people see her, she’s not all fire and stone once you get to know her. Whether that’s true or not remains to be seen.

Para Sample

Coffee always tasted better after a night shift. Sitting in her favourite spot, in her favourite café, the first customer since opening with the place to herself… Saoirse sighed, content. She wrapped her fingers around the mug and felt the warmth seep in like a spell. It’d been a while, a few months maybe, since she’d been able to break away without a fellow junior healer at her side chatting away the first precious moments of peace since the shift began. Not that she minded the company. No, Saoirse was grateful to the people that kept her from going into a slump every time she let her mind wander to what She might be doing now.

Today was a good day, however, one where she would do exactly as she pleased and not let anything dampen her mood. First she’d make a trip to Flourish and Blott’s, pick up a few more textbooks for her growing collection, then it was her mission to find Fizzgig a new bed. Precious kitty that he was, he’d rejected the last one she bought and chosen it’s packaging to burrow into instead. A smile twitched at the corner of her mouth.

“Excuse me,” a voice said, “is anyone sitting here?”

Torn from her reverie, Saoirse straightened up and turned dark eyes to her intruder. A young woman in dark robes and thick, bottle cap glasses stood staring back at her. The rest of the shop was empty still bar the wizard cleaning down the counter so there were plenty of available seats. Saoirse knew the smile, the slight head tilt, the look of expectation. Today was a good day.

#apareciumacceptance #rp #rpg #hp rp #hp rpg #saoirse finnigan

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livvywrites · 5 years ago

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11/11/11

tagged by @jynecca! thank you :D

1. Go to song when you need to get into the mood to write?

None. I’m not really a “listen to music while you write” person.

2. Dream director for a film/television adaption?

I only really know of like a handful of directors? & I’mma go with Taika Watiti.

3. If you ever saw your WIP go to stage, is more likely to be a play or a musical?

Well, since music is super important to slaeyrs, & they’re a big part of the story, probably a musical!

4. Favourite thing you’ve written?

This is definitely up there.

5. Top five authors, go!

Sarah J Maas

Terry Pratchett

Maggie Stiefvater

That’s not five, I know, but I’m getting a lot pickier when it comes to books & their authors, so! I have yet to read anything I didn’t like by Pratchett; I admire the prose in the Raven Cycle & snippets I’ve read from her other books; and then I’ve enjoyed every book by SJM that I’ve read.

6. Biggest influences to your writing?

The Inheritance Cycle - Christopher Paolini

Throne of Glass - Sarah J Maas

Terry Pratchett

Neil Gaiman

Lord of the Rings & The Hobbit - Tolkien

& my mind is blanking but there are more

7. What do you use more, first/second/third person?

Third! But I love second person. First... I’m not real keen on, tbh.

8. What social media would your OCs have?

Alinora would have old accounts she deleted or abandoned long ago, before eventually conceding to a Twitter account.

Elaena would have Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr and be highly active on all three, but in different ways.

Lyr would have an Instagram, Snapchat, and a Twitter.

Ava would have a really nice blog, an Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter.

Talitha would have a blog where she hosted her own articles and research for free, as well as posted answers & such to people’s questions. She would have two Twitter accounts--one for her pseudonym and the other for her personal life; as well as an Instagram and Snapchat. And probably Tumblr.

Aishlynn would have a Twitter and an Instagram account.

9. Why do you write the genre you write?

I grew up with fantasy. Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, the Hobbit, Disney... Also had a lot of Sci-Fi in there too (Star Wars, mainly, but my parents both enjoyed Star Trek as well). So that’s part of it. But when I was about, I dunno, 8 or 9? I saw the Eragon movie, & the only part of it I really remembered was the baby dragon. I wanted to read the book something awful, & then I did, & I found out the author was pretty young when he wrote it & that made me realize that I could be an author one day & I wanted to write about dragons & cool adventures &...

Thus fantasy is my main genre.

10. Team Edward or Team Jacob?

🤢

Even back when I was into the Twilight books I always said I was Team Bella, tbh. Up until later, though, when I decided I was Team Alice all the way. Alice & Rosalie & Jasper & Emmett & pretty much anyone but Edward & Bella & Jacob lmfao.

tagging: anyone who wants to answer my questions!! (which are under the cut!)

1. Favorite song to sing? (Bonus: why?)

2. A story idea you wish you had the time/ability/skill to write right now?

3. What book have you reread the most times?

4. Favorite mythological creature?

5. Favorite myth/legend/fairy tale?

6. If you could retell any myth, what would it be and how would you change it?

7. Favorite subcategory of the genre you write in?

8. A genre you’ve never written but would like to try?

9. How do you keep your ideas organized?

10. Writing tools you can’t live/write without?

11. How would you describe your writing style? (Or voice!)

#tag games #writeblr #11 11 11

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keyofjetwolf · 6 years ago

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Elisabeth: Kitsch

SO EXCITED TO DO THIS ONE. This didn’t wind up being my favourite song from the musical, but I think it comes a very respectable second. The Interplay between the history and the FEELING of history is so interesting to me, the way that we soften the edges to fit the things we’d rather learn.

Perhaps more than any other, this is Lucheni’s song. He fulfills his usual role, bridging the scenes with the relevant high points, but it’s in this one where I feel he shines brightest. And that’s true, despite the fact that the Takarazuka and Essen versions come at it in very different ways with very different messages. Even with the lighter and less critical spin on the song, this is Takarazuka Lucheni at his cheeky best.

And as for Essen Lucheni, his anger for the aristocracy is perhaps outdone only by how much he hates each and every one of us for buying what they sell.

Both are great versions of the song, particularly in the story that they’re choosing to tell. SO COME LET US EXPLORE

Even just a cursory viewing of the two performances show how dramatically different they are in what they’re telling. The most important information we need to learn is how Hungary is becoming Austria-Hungary with Franz Joseph and Elisabeth as its rulers, so in this, both versions are the same. Both also, in a very broad way, look to strip Elisabeth of her mystique somewhat, but with very different ideas of what that means.

The Takarazuka version is almost entirely focused on Elisabeth’s beauty and her obsession with it. As I’ve been watching the two versions much more closely for these posts, it’s a recurring trend I’ve noticed where the Takarazuka makes changes. The song in the cafe, for example, has the patrons commenting specifically on her waist size and diet. (My guess is that this is a cultural choice meant to highlight something specific about Elisabeth, but I don’t have that perspective to extensively comment on it beyond noting it, and how those changes affect my personal relationship with the songs.)

Elisabeth, Takarazuka Lucheni tells us, has assigned diplomats throughout the world to send her pictures of their stationed country’s most beautiful women.

“She knew well that beauty fades and strength fails.” It’s a great line and probably the most critical the Takarazuka version gets of Elisabeth. Though I have to note that it comes right before discussing how Sophie is still in control in Vienna, and coupled with how Sophie will be shown fading shortly, I wonder if the line isn’t as much commenting on Elisabeth’s strategy against her rival as it is awareness of the expiration date of her own primary weapons. POR QUE NO LOS DOS

We also have this, which is wonderfully cynical and true.

It’s also a brilliant example of how Takarazuka Lucheni delivers that cynicism: slyly, like he’s sharing an in-joke with us. OH THE RICH AND POWERFUL WE SURE KNOW WHAT THEY’RE LIKE DON’T WE THOSE SCAMPS

This entire number in the Takarazuka version is ITSELF a fantastic example of the kitsch it sings about. The ladies are in hilariously overdone “national” costumes that border on offensive. They parade back and forth, representing everything but saying nothing, much like the gesture of Austria “joining” with Hungary. I still can’t decide if I think this was an intentional turn by the creators adapting the musical for Takarazuka, or a delightful side effect, but it’s a spectacle and I enjoy it either way.

The Essen version, though. The Essen version is here to slaughter everyone and it is gloriously full on its shit.

Essen Lucheni comes out swinging and socks you right across the jaw AS YOU WELL DESERVE. Much like Takarazuka Lucheni, he begins by interacting directly with the crowd. He’s not taking photographs though, not capturing the moment, he’s handing out fliers. I don’t know what the cards were, but I hope hope hope they were advertisements for what was on sale in the theater lobby. Either way, in the act of handing something out and the audience members taking it, we’ve become part of the performance. We’re complicit now, we’re willing customers.

Without pause, Lucheni begins. He sings before a dark backdrop, the inside of the cathedral where all the action is taking place. We can’t see, as those gathered at the actual moment would be similarly excluded. BUT WE’RE STILL HERE. We’re near the significance, and that’s good enough. We buy a token, proof that history happened near us, a cheaply made lie that assures us that we mattered.

Lucheni would rather sell us the truth, but we’d never buy it.

The Essen actor for Lucheni is really incredible. He’s not as likable as the Takarazuka actress (WHO AMONG US COULD), but he’s also not trying to be. What he is is darkly funny, devastatingly insightful, and FURIOUS. Even knowing that Lucheni will kill Elisabeth, I spent most of the Takarazuka version actively looking for the point at which he “turns”, a specifically placed marker for the murderer we know he will become. I never found it. OH I SPECULATED A LOT. There was nothing to find, though. It wasn’t seamless so much as it was a switch flipped, and suddenly Lucheni was a sniveling minion keen only to do Death’s bidding.

There’s never a question in the Essen version. I completely believe that if Elisabeth appeared in front of him at any point in the story, he’d shank her again, every single time, with whatever he just happened to have on hand. Nothing but a Playbill? THAT’S FINE I’LL MAKE IT WORK.

But as I said earlier, Lucheni’s rage is wide and deep enough for us all. “Kitsch” is doing several things, but none so much as it’s yelling at humanity past, present, and future, for lifting Elisabeth (and any rich powerful fuck really) to this level of uncritical, adored deification utterly removed from who and what she truly was.

ELISABETH IS STILL ON SOCKS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE IN THIS THE YEAR OF OUR LORD TWO THOUSAND AND NINETEEN

“People only hear what they want to hear,” Lucheni says in disgust, “and so what remains after some time from beauty and from shit, from dream and reality...”

A quick aside to say how much I love the background lights coming up briefly on Lucheni’s “Kitsch!” cue to reveal all the spectacle we’re not part of. But it’s a glimpse, a tiny taste to entice us to come back next time.

I feel I could keep pulling stuff out of this performance forever, but there are a great many more scenes and songs to go through yet. I’ll leave this here, then, the Essen version of this song. It’s just over three minutes, and even without more context than I’ve given in this post, I think it’s well worth your time to check it out.

youtube

There’s one more thing I feel it’d be disingenuous of me to not comment on, which didn’t quite hit me until partway through this post. I’ve said a few times now, how the Takarazuka version is the same play, but also really not. It goes out of its way to pull a lot of the complexity from Elisabeth as a person and a character, and in overall tone is generally uncritical and much lighter, choosing to primarily become a fairy tale style love story. There are several conversations that can be had in that, about that degree of story alteration, where the line is between history and fiction, how far that line can be bent, and a dozen other topics.

This thought isn’t anywhere near that deep, don’t worry. But I do think it’s extremely interesting how the Takarazuka version of Elisabeth is, in nearly every single way, the "heartfelt, sweet, and sensible” thing Essen Lucheni is furious with us all for doing in “Kitsch”.

And finally, I love how the Essen version includes this moment of intense self-awareness. What a good fucking song.

KITSCH!

#jet wolf watches elisabeth #a novel by jet wolf

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pokepartners · 6 years ago

Text

partner / team / trainer class / region request!

Hi! I’d like to make a big request! Partner+Team & Trainer Class+Region~

I’m a gay cis guy who is pretty fem leaning!

Zodiac: My birthday is November 1st, so that’s Scorpio! I kinda agree with Libra more, though. So I guess vedic/sidereal could make sense as well.

MBTI type: ENFP, but I’m the more quiet/shy & lazy type. I still have all the goofy & weird antics ENFP’s are popular for.

Favorite Colors: white/cream, mainly cool pastels + pink.

Favorite animal: Rabbit, fish, panda, deer.

Favorite Types: Fairy, water, grass, normal, psychic

Favorite season: Spring & Autumn.

Favorite place: Forests, gardens, beach, mountains, small cities, my bedroom, somewhere new

Things I Like: K-POP girlgroups, mythology, the environment, perfume, plushies & knickknacks, traveling, flowers+plants, mermaid stuff, ocean, moon watching, clothes+makeup, animals, sleeping, animal crossing, mysterious & weird themed stuff, being with friends, anything calming, emotional/artistic animation, nature documentaries, being comfy

Things I don’t like: Gore, violence, scary things, neon+loud colors, loud noises, busybodies, eating meat, bugs bothering me, sweating, grumpy people

Good Traits: Friendly, flirty, chatty, enthusiastic, very difficult to anger or upset, mellow & goofy, intelligent, capable of enduring tough times, adventurous, good with animals, very interested in friendship, witty, kinda have an innocent child like nature to my core, has a new main interest every week, adaptable to change, sharp humor

Bad Traits: Oblivious to how I come off to others, shy, erratic, naive, clumsy, forgetful, not super responsible, more interested in play rather than work, runs away from & avoids problems, comes off standoffish, bad at initiating social stuff, history with health paranoia, stubborn with my personal opinions, aggressive when truly annoyed/offended, sometimes come off as annoying & overly trivial, emotional intensity from others makes me feel uncomfortable, so I might not be good at handling touchy situations (but I will try), confidence issues with my appearance, lazy, allergic to most cats & dogs :((

I can’t wait to see what you come up with!! I’ve always wanted to have one of these done for me by someone else. xoxoxo

hello! it’s pretty great to see another enfp - i don’t actually meet them all that often. but anyway, this was a pretty nice request to start off with, since a good few pokemon came to mind straight off the bat!

✧ this is a pretty impressive pokemon to start this blog off with, but i really feel like mew would be your partner! mew is a pokemon that’s drawn to people with a pure heart, and is very curious and playful. despite its immense power, it is incredibly gentle with everybody so long as it isn’t in danger - and rather than fighting, it prefers to make itself invisible so as to avoid conflict! being an adaptable pokemon that enjoys new experiences and sensations, mew would be the perfect partner for somebody adventurous and changeable like you - but equally, mew is small and affectionate, meaning that lazier days will be taken in its stride just as eagerly as the more exciting ones!

✧ being insatiably curious, mew fears very little, and is a sociable, outgoing pokemon. it shares in your childlike innocence, naivety and goofiness, but can also help combat your shyness, as it wants to meet everyone new it comes across, which can easily help break the awkwardness of social situations! furthermore, its eager energy may help to motivate you when you’re feeling like putting things off - it’s a brilliant cheerleader!

✧ being as rare as it is, mew doesn’t often come across members of its own species, if at all, and is very accustomed to the weird and wonderful, given its almost cryptic-like status - any unconventional interests of yours will be incredibly interesting to it as a result. all in all, mew is an energetic and adaptable pokemon that’s ready to take on anything it meets!

as for the rest of your team…:

✧ granbull is, despite its appearance, a really shy pokemon - even more so than its pre-evolution! it despises fighting more than most pokemon, even though it has all the tools for it, and would much rather spend its time relaxing or enjoying life with its trainer. despite this, people tend to assume it wants to fight because of its fearsome looks - and as such, granbull can be quite self-conscious about the way people perceive it! i feel like training a granbull to overcome that timid nature and nervousness about its looks would really help boost your own confidence, and you can grow together!

✧ like granbull, clefable is a pretty timid pokemon - it doesn’t like spending time in loud, crowded areas, and is pretty easily spooked around negativity and chaos. however, in the right environment, clefable is a wonderful companion; it’s mysterious and ethereal whilst also being really friendly, and it’s said to bring good luck to married couples (and possibly, by extension, those who are lucky enough to encounter it)! furthermore, clefable is the perfect friend for somebody who likes moon watching or stargazing; it loves nothing more than to gaze up into the night sky - and, if you’re really trusted, it might even dance for you!

✧ audino is a very caring pokemon - it’s often used in hospitals and pokemon centres because of its natural urge to help. furthermore, its sensitive ears can tell how a person is feeling and check on their heart and other vitals just through listening! having this constant check of health would be a soothing for somebody with a history of health paranoia like you - and its naturally-calming disposition will help put any troubles to rest! audino is also very soft to the touch, so hugging it will feel much like hugging a plushie!

✧ like you, chikorita is incredibly mellow and laid-back! very little disturbs this calm and docile pokemon - and, being a grass type, it likes flowers and forests just as much as you do! if you ever go for a walk through the woods, chikorita will happily be by your side, and whenever you’re feeling down, it can use its aroma to make you feel better. despite only being a baby, chikorita is actually very self-sufficient, and so long as it has sun and a nice place to sleep, it’ll be happy - but it does love cosying up to its trainer, so be prepared for a lot of affection once you get past its aloof exterior!

✧ brionne (shiny) is an incredibly hard worker, and, like mew, is an excellent cheerleader - maybe even the best! brionne works tirelessly to achieve its goals, and never gives up regardless of how unmotivated it may feel on the day, because it knows that the end result is always worth more than the boring work it takes to get there. having a brionne around would really boost your motivation, as it’s impossible to not want to strive to achieve your own goals once you see how much effort brionne is putting in!

as for your trainer class, i feel like you’d be a fairy tale girl - or, err… the male equivalent? a fairy tale boy? fairy tale trainer? whatever it’d be called! fairy tale trainers specialise in normal, fairy and psychic-type pokemon, and have a mysterious - but elegant and inviting - aura about them! given that most of the pokemon i’ve given you fit into - or have the ability to fit into - one of the three types fairy tale trainers are known for, and given your love of the mysterious and aesthetically pleasing, it seems to fit that you’d be a fairy tale trainer!

finally, your region. since spring and autumn are your favourite seasons, it seems like you stray towards milder temperatures rather than the extremities - so i actually have two regions in mind, those being kalos and hoenn! my reasons for picking kalos are that aside from being a region with a mostly-mild climate, kalos is a place shrouded in mythology and aestheticism (the name kalos comes from a word for beauty!) - it’s a brilliant place for somebody who likes travelling to be, as the place is bustling with life no matter where you go, and every city / town is radically different from the last! as for hoenn, it’s a little more tropical than kalos is, but it has plenty of water for you to indulge in your love of the ocean, and, like kalos, it is also shrouded heavily in mythology and traditionalism. furthermore, hoenn is much more in touch with nature than kalos, and is very heavily focused on environmentalism!

sorry this got a little long, but i had a lot to talk about, haha! i hope you like everything, and feel free to request something different if things aren’t to your liking! <3

#pokemon partner #pokemon team #requests #pokemon match up #mew #granbull #audino #clefable #brionne #chikorita #pokemon #pokemon companion #pokepal #pokemon trainer #submission

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