#including the actors!

[hargrovel]

they’re fictional characters in fake realities. care about them/their motivations/behaviors/nuances/morals/backstories/relationships etc. etc. fucking etc. however much in whatever way you want

consider not treating actual human beings like shit! consider not conflating a person’s taste in & feelings about & subjective understanding of fake fucking people with who they are as humans irl! the self righteous high ground behind-the-screen bullshit is so. tired. & it doesn’t make you better than anybody else — it just makes you an asshole & you should maybe feed your ego some glass

[smileyobrien]

COUNTDOWN TO LOWER DECKS SEASON 5 4 WEEKS – Cameos

[runningmunson]

At the end of the day, I hope the actors know none of this is on them when people are upset or don’t like this season. They carried the show and their characters on their own when the writers clearly don’t understand any of them.

They were all perfect in every way.

[haldora]

I'm your biggest fan, I'll follow you until you love me

Armand sans aviators version below the cut

[libraryleopard]

the biggest plot twist in saltburn was actually when oliver was lying on the grave and he started taking off his shirt and i was like "oh god he's going to take off his pants isn't he" and then he only took off his shirt and i was like "oh phew" and then as soon as i relaxed he actually took off his pants. true emotional roller coaster right there.

[ex-libris-craux]

HELLOOOOOOO MY DARLING FELLOW ADORERS OF SPOOKY AUDIOFICTION

Hello hi it's me I'm back on my bullshit! Remember a while back I talked a lot about how fantastic the podcast Shadows at the Door is? They're still amazing, they're in the middle of producing season 3, and they are working on a WHOLE-ASS MUSICAL.

As in, multiple songs, a fantastic cast, amazingly talented people writing and producing it, it's going to be phenomenal.

Fan of shows like Re: Dracula? David Ault (Re Drac's very own Friend Arthur!) voices the protagonist, beloved fan favourite Doctor Geoffrey Troughton.

Professor Elemental (Fighting Trousers, anyone?) is writing several songs and voicing the production's deeply creepy antagonist.

Did you like The Silt Verses or The Secret of St Kilda? Shadows has got Erika Sanderson and Michelle Kelly on the cast, as well as a slew of other phenomenally talented voice actors.

Please check out the production's kickstarter page for more details about this beastie, and if you're interested and can spare a few bucks to help get it off the ground, please consider doing so! Shadows is well-made queer media created by hugely talented queer people and will more than meet expectations if they can meet their funding goals.

THANK YOU I LOVE YOU MUAH

[toki-toro]

Reed Jones as Skimbleshanks in the og Broadway cast from 1982-1984

[finelythreadedsky]

JSTOR Wrapped: top ten JSTOR articles of 2023

Coo, Lyndsay. “A Tale of Two Sisters: Studies in Sophocles’ Tereus.” Transactions of the American Philological Association 143, no. 2 (2013): 349–84.

Finglass, P. J. “A New Fragment of Sophocles’ ‘Tereus.’” Zeitschrift Für Papyrologie Und Epigraphik 200 (2016): 61–85.

Foxhall, Lin. “Pandora Unbound: A Feminist Critique of Foucault’s History of Sexuality.” In Sex and Difference in Ancient Greece and Rome, edited by Mark Golden and Peter Toohey, 167–82. Edinburgh University Press, 2003.

Garrison, Elise P. “Eurydice’s Final Exit to Suicide in the ‘Antigone.’” The Classical World 82, no. 6 (1989): 431–35.

Grethlein, Jonas. “Eine Anthropologie Des Essens: Der Essensstreit in Der ‘Ilias’ Und Die Erntemetapher in Il. 19, 221-224.” Hermes 133, no. 3 (2005): 257–79.

McClure, Laura. “Tokens of Identity: Gender and Recognition in Greek Tragedy.” Illinois Classical Studies 40, no. 2 (2015): 219–36.

Purves, Alex C.  “Wind and Time in Homeric Epic.” Transactions of the American Philological Association 140, no. 2 (2010): 323–50.

Richlin, Amy. “Gender and Rhetoric: Producing Manhood in the Schools.” In Sex and Difference in Ancient Greece and Rome, edited by Mark Golden and Peter Toohey, 202–20. Edinburgh University Press, 2003.

Rood, Naomi. “Four Silences in Sophocles’ ‘Trachiniae.’” Arethusa 43, no. 3 (2010): 345–64.

Zeitlin, Froma I. “The Dynamics of Misogyny: Myth and Mythmaking in the Oresteia.” Arethusa 11, no. 1/2 (1978): 149–84.

[bikananjarrus]

the only possible "appearance" i want from tarkin in andor season 2 is a scene where it is very clear he just hung up on krennic. i want it done in such a way that we know this isn't the first time tarkin has done this. maybe not even the hundredth time. i want krennic shaking like an angry chihuahua about it. i want them to have a phone call bitch-off so toxic and catastrophic that tarkin doesn't even need to be anywhere near a screen for us to feel the shockwaves of their old men yaoi workplace situationship.

[odysseusilver]

Ok so one of my lectures got cancelled so I had enough time to do this, here is a short list of the heights of some of the Terror cast!

Jared Harris as Francis Crozier = 6’0 ft/ 182cm

Tobias Menzies as James Fitzjames = 6’1 ft/ 185cm

Paul Ready as Harry Goodsir = 5’9 ft/ 175cm

Adam Nagaitis as Cornelius Hickey = 5’8 ft/ 172cm

Ian Hart as Thomas Blanky = 5’8 ft/ 172cm

Ciarán Hinds as Sir John Franklin = 6’1 ft/ 185cm

Tom Weston-Jones as Graham Gore = 6’0 ft/ 182cm

Declan Hannigan as Henry Le Vesconte = 6’2 ft/ 187cm

Matthew McNulty as Edward Little = 5’10 ft/ 177cm

Christos Lawton as George Hodgson = 5’11 ft/ 180cm

Ronan Raftery as John Irving = 6’0 ft/ 182cm

Sebastian Armesto as Charles Des Voeux = 5’8 ft/ 172cm

Trystan Gravelle as Henry Collins = 6’1 ft/ 185cm

Alistair Petrie as Stephen Stanley = 6’3 ft/ 190cm

Charles Edwards as Alexander McDonald = 6’1 ft/ 185cm

Liam Garrigan as Thomas Jopson = 5’9 ft/ 175cm

John Lynch as John Bridgens = 5’10 ft/ 177cm

Kevin Guthrie as Henry Peglar = 5’7 ft/ 170cm

Charlie Kelly as Thomas Armitage = 5’11 ft/ 180cm

David Walmsley as Solomon Tozer = ? (I couldn't find his height but didn't want to not include him :( )

Edit: multiple people ( @gadzooksvol1 @jammans ) have said that Nive Nielson is 5’7 /170cm so thank you for that addition!!

[thevalleyisjolly]

There’s a weird recurring take in D20 fan circles that Zac doesn’t play “complex” characters and that people are just waiting for the day when he “finally” plays an asshole, which kind of baffles me.  Quite apart from the idea that only morally grey characters are complex or compelling, are you sure we’re watching the same show?

In Fantasy High, we have Gorgug, an adopted biracial teenager whose journey includes realizing his self-worth, coming to terms with his rage (literally), seeking out and navigating new relationships with others (his birth parents, the Bad Kids, Zelda), and discovering what he’s capable of. 

From The Unsleeping City we have Ricky, a second-generation Japanese-American, who has a very personal struggle across two seasons between doing the dutiful/sacrificial thing for other people’s benefit and expressing his own needs, wants, thoughts, and feelings; it’s a very particular exploration of immigrant generations and the relationship between the sacrificial model of your ancestors and the culture you grew up surrounded by which emphasizes the self.

There’s A Crown of Candy and Lapin, whose snark and one-liners are honestly less interesting than the way he engaged with and sought to understand religion and faith; the different yet similar ways in which both the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Church exerted control over their followers, and the search for spiritual meaning beyond these figures/institutions.

Then there’s Cumulous, whose every character aspect navigates a space of tension - the ultimate war guy who made himself hardened (literally) and pragmatic to get the job done but who also remains soft and caring and empathetic at the same time; wielding the power of death without glorifying or giving into it; the cousin who both is a member of the family and yet who remains at somewhat of a distance from the centre; a literal warrior-philosopher who is single-minded in battle and quietly thoughtful about the mysteries of life and death outside of it.

As for actual assholes, we have Norman Takamori in A Starstruck Odyssey, a bitter man who is the living embodiment of both the Superior Orders excuse as well as scapegoating.  On a side note, the amount of absolute vitriol and double standards which people threw at Norman during ASO for being an unapologetic asshole -and he had less than two full episodes of screen time- kind of underscores the calls for Zac to play a “real” asshole.  Zac can and will play whatever type of character he wants, but is fandom really ready for him to play an asshole if that asshole doesn’t have a secret heart of gold?

From the same season, we have Valdrinor/Skip, who starts as the “prince running from his destiny” archetype with a dash of brain slug possession, has a humorous yet oddly profound exploration of what humanity is and what it means to be human, and springboards from there into “wait, who am I really and actually, why are we doing things (brain slug possession) this way when there are other ways to engage with the universe.” 

Most recently in Neverafter, we have Pib, who apart from the fascinating meta element of being a literal character archetype, constantly straddles the line between self-absorbed self-interest and putting himself on the line to help others; his repeated demonstration of both at various points throughout the season is a subtle yet intriguing manifestation of free will and choice-making in a story all about lacking free will and agency.

So, I mean, lack of complexity where?  Does a character need to be an asshole in order to be deep or compelling?  And because I’ve heard this specific rebuttal quite a few times now, does a character need to vocalize their innermost thoughts loudly and frequently in order to prove their complexity?  If a character is “less vocal” compared to other characters, does that mean they lack interiority? 

Also, other people have brought this up before, but I am once again asking that people remember the difference between fictional characters and real life people.  Zac playing one (1) himbo on the show does not make him a himbo in real life, nor does it make him incapable of creating or playing complex characters (especially as said himbo is himself an extremely complex character), nor does it make him a lesser player than other cast members.  You don’t have to find all or any of his characters interesting or complex, but can we stop conflating character with player?

[khaopybara]

september 3rd, 1998, everyone's favorite boba eyed blorbo was born.

[coralchoral]

honestly thinking about the sonadow twitter takeover and how the plummeting to earth thing very much affected Sonic a lot more than it affected Shadow. like in a previous takeover Shadow even made it a positive memory about Sonic trying to save him.

Meanwhile in Prime, Sonic has a moment of saving Shadow from falling into the void that's very reminiscent of that other fall (in the same way Prime has a lot of motivations and references that only make sense from a fandom insider perspective).

Sonic also gets repeatedly tilted, loud and anxious, (which I'm pinning more on RCS's/whatever writer's sense of humor, as is all the voice acting gags) and is coping badly any time Shadow comes out ahead. I think Sonic's insistence on his ability to grow chest fur is as big a Cope as floaties=fashion statement.

But really, Sonic's repeat date suggestions and Shadow's own descriptions of Sonic's behavior (dragging out their races, etc "just to annoy me") reads, whether romantically or platonically, that Sonic just really wants to spend time with Shadow.

He feels he needs to justify it, though, insisting that he and Shadow have something other than occasionally getting in each other's way ("two sides of the same coin") (friendly competition being "why you keep me around-" seemed like odd wording to me).

Needing to make it meaningful, because that's what Shadow wants out of a relationship- Shadow /says/ he dislikes Sonic for being frivolous and inauthentic, that (for instance) his hugs don't mean anything, and that he doesn't want "(Sonic's) kind of hug."

Sonic really wants to spend time with Shadow because he's also intimately aware that that time is limited. Either Shadow's patience (and/or social battery) is limited and he's liable to make a batman exit if he doesn't want to be somewhere (not that we've ever seen Shadow do this in canon, he seems to awkwardly/quietly hang around as if he doesn't realize he can just hit the bricks (or he likes being there and has no idea how to express it re: smiling at Big the Cat) ), Or Sonic and Shadow will get caught up in their own lives again and not see each other until Fate Deigns to Allow Them to Cross Paths Once More.

And Sonic misses him.

(This ties in with my Sonic Frontiers is the Saddest Game Ever posting from a while back, too. Sonic is lonely AF and Needs Other People to Talk To or he'll start talking to the walls and robots, and Shadow will almost always either talk back or groan in exasperation, which is as good a reaction as any.)

All this, plus Sonic's opinion flip-flops (shopping with Amy vs shopping with Shadow, opinion on Orbot) could be either (Sonadow Optimist) Sonic is Down Bad and not even conscious of his mirroring Shadow/trying to appeal to Shadow, or (Sonadow/overall Pessimist) Sonic trying to appeal to the Most Popular Character Right Now and getting increasingly desperate as he is rebuffed.

A few of these Twitter Takeovers have had moments of Sonic in particular getting thrown off and not really able to recover. (which makes me question what the writing is like, if there's any at all and these VA's aren't just riffing on an outline. Considering they don't talk over each other constantly, there must be something like a script, but it also does occasionally feel like a bad roleplay (and I've been a bad roleplayer).) It leads to a Something Is Wrong feeling in the "We're doing this for fun" question-answering joke show. Sonic needs therapy. (We all need therapy.)

Meanwhile, Shadow really is pulling out all the grunts, groans, and whines with Sonic that, if scripted, would be egregious as hell to read or write. He doesn't make these noises in the games (or shows, really?) mostly because there's a sort of efficiency necessary to production that cuts out that interpersonal realism and partly because it's annoying? Shadow, you're the annoying one?

Unrelated, everybody latched on to Sonic's "Go off, King" but nobody even noticed Shadow's "Deal With It."(sunglasses drop) How soon we forget the sacred texts and/or the deep magic, I guess? (It's an old meme, but it checks out!)

[seiwas]

instagram dump with your selfship! (model/actor!au sel x satoru ver.)

seltoru behind-the-scenes dump — work days and winding down~

liked by sstoru and others

sellybelly last week's shenanigans ✨ 1: shoot day! 📸 2: nails sponsored by mr. gojo satoru 💅 3. loved our outfits for the awards 🥺 (thank you dior! 💫) 4. that feeling when you change into home clothes tho >> 5. maybe he's pretty sometimes 🙄 6. caught him in the act (texting me during a meeting 😭) 7. satoru in hair & makeup (some good sleep he's had there 🤧) 8. our lil treat to end the week 🍓😋 9. phone hijacked by mr. gojo satoru 🧿🧿 👁️👁️

sstoru knew you were obsessed with me 😌

thanks for the tag my love @tteokdoroki this was so so fun 🥺 tagging: anyone else who wants to do this!! it's so pretty and so fun 🥺

[itsnotmourn]

the princess and her vessels

[sherrymagic]

Copper Phuriwat as JIN in Episode 9 DEAD FRIEND FOREVER (2023-2024)