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crankynewt · 2 years ago

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MCU Phase 5 & 6 Predictions and Theories

Clearly I’ve had too much time on my hands lately, but please feel free to reply with your thoughts and own predictions! Links to sources have been provided in cases where tweets, articles, or interviews are referenced!

**Quick disclaimer that these are merely my own theories and predictions, not necessarily what I want or hope to happen, but are based on patterns and predicted storylines.**

Regé-Jean Page as Reed Richards/Mr.Fantastic.

I am pretty sure that Secret Invasion tweet error was a copy/paste issue from a cast list provided to social media reps of cast members so he has likely been cast in something. However, I doubt it is Secret Invasion and it would not be a minor role, and he would be a perfect choice for the smartest man alive.

Cillian Murphy will not play Doctor Doom, but he will be cast in a non-F4 project.

Although he has been fancast by many as Doctor Doom and would do a great job playing the villain, I really doubt we see him take up that mantle. However, I do believe we may see him take on another anti-hero or grey character as that he would do just as great a job as.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau cast as Victor von Doom/Doctor Doom.

This rumour has been circulating a while and seems the most likely scenario in my opinion, more so than other popular choices among fans such as Murphy and Cavill. Marvel has successfully cashed in on the Game of Thrones appeal of many actors in the past and they are sure to again.

**Although Coster-Waldau is a phenomenal actor and would play a MCU villain very well, it must be noted that Victor von Doom is a Romani character and should in fact be played by a Romani actor. Yet as Marvel has unfortunately not been competent in their appropriately cast Romani or Jewish characters of actors of a shared heritage, I find it difficult to believe that this behaviour will be amended in time for this casting (which may have already taken place).**

Laura Dern in New Asgard.

We saw Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill in Thor: Ragnarok, giving us 2/3 of the original Jurassic Park trio, and both were set to be in Thor: Love and Thunder (but only Neill did as Goldblum’s scene was cut), I NEED DR. GRANT AND DR. SATTLER TOGETHER IN THE MCU. Possibly as actress Frigga in an Asgardian play? Maybe the Grandmaster could be in the audience?? I don’t care how this would happen as I don’t see Thor 5 happening, but it is very important to me personally that it does. (This is the only personal indulgence prediction I promise).

Sylvie will die in Loki Season 2, Loki returns to New Asgard.

Both of them won’t make it out of the next season, yet I see Loki being a more likely option to survive in this case as he would return to New Asgard as a whistleblower about how dangerous Kang has become. However, none of the Avengers would believe him until Scott Lang confirms following the events of Quantumania.

Valkyrie adopting a much larger role in the MCU, dates Carol Danvers.

As we are nearing the end of our time with Thor and Loki, Valkyrie will likely be our link to Asgard. It’s also about time they give our King a girlfriend, and it being Carol Danvers would make them the ultimate power couple.

Nova announcement for Phase 6.

It’s overdue that Nova be introduced into the MCU, and with the Guardians making their exit in May it is the perfect timing to introduce a new connection to the galactic aspect of the MCU. It would also possibly be something hinted towards or appear in a post-credit scene in GotG vol. 3, and be connected to Adam Warlock’s future in the MCU.

Midnight Sons announcement for Phase 6 or 7.

This one feels pretty obvious given the introduction of Moon Knight & Mr. Knight, Blade, Werewolf by Knight, Man-Thing (Ted!!!) and Elsa Bloodstone, we’re seeing much more characters falling into the darker and monster-related side of the MCU who are all tied to the Midnight Sons. In addition to the fact that other affiliates are likely being introduced soon, including Wolverine and Ghost Rider, and others including Doctor Strange, Wong, and Mordo already present, it is certainly in Marvel’s plans for the future.

Antony Starr cast as Dracula in Blade.

Another highly rumoured casting, this time based upon Starr tweeting about being busy with little explanation and other alleged leaks. He is amazing as Homelander in The Boys, so him undertaking a villain such as Dracula would be great.

“Ralph Bohner” revealed as Peter Maximoff, explains Deadpool and the X-Men’s introduction to the MCU.

Given the possibility that Ralph Bohner is the member of WITSEC that Jimmy Woo was going to Westview to visit, a theory I explain more in depth here as WITSEC is not typically FBI jurisdiction, it would make sense that he will be connected to Deadpool and the X-Men entering the MCU, albeit with a different cast. Peter and Wade would be from the same universe, with the new X-Men being from another, thus explaining the discrepancy of having seen the first reboot of the franchise in Deadpool 2.

Daniel Brühl’s “surprise” return as Helmut Zemo in the Thunderbolts.

We were all expecting that Zemo was going to be in the Thunderbolts given that he plays a significant role in the comics, and Brül addresses this by reminding fan’s that Zemo is “not dead” and “even if he could [explain], he couldn’t” tell fans if he will return. Yeah, he’s definitely coming back. Marvel’s probably just waiting until the trailer drops or even hiding it until the film’s release to generate hype closer to it’s release.

Okoye returns in Thunderbolts and Wakanda plays a large role in the plot.

Given Bucky’s history with Hydra, it’s difficult to see Bucky joining Valentina given her ties with the organization, leaving two scenarios plausible: he is not aware of them, or is a double agent. If the possible rumours that it involves a heist in Wakanda, especially considering how Valentina likely has a vendetta against them for aiding Ross in escaping, it is surely the latter as I cannot see Bucky so blatantly defying Wakanda after all they did for him unless there is a more pressing threat at hand (ie. in TFATWS/CAATWS). And, if this is true, a large threat such as the Hydra under the guise of the U.S. Government classifies it as that.

Andrew Garfield appearance in Venom 3.

This is pretty popular, but considering his line in Spider-Man: No Way Home that he “want[s] to fight an alien,” it feels foreshadowing. That, plus the fan reception of his return and performance as Peter Parker, makes it natural that Sony would want to continue featuring him in their non-MCU universe, and have him face off with Venom or join forces against a common foe.

Milly Alcock cast as Gwen Stacy.

Another GOT/HOTD related casting prediction, Milly Alcock as Gwen Stacy is something I have seen discussed as a fan cast rapidly growing in popularity. And, as mentioned before, Marvel has historically favoured actors who featured in GOT, including Richard Madden, Kit Harrington, and Emilia Clarke in the MCU, with Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams in the XCU. Not only has she proved herself a great actress and bears a striking resemblance to the comic and Into the Spiderverse depictions of the character, but Gwen Stacy needs to be played as independent, strong and proactive in her behaviour. In her portrayal of Rhaenyra Targaryen, she has proved herself capable of portraying these traits as a strong female lead tenfold.

Donald Glover Returns as Aaron Davis/Prowler along with Miles Morales.

Again, another pretty obvious development, but I do not think Glover’s role of producing and starring as the titular character of Hypno-Hustler, a Sony film about another Spiderverse villain, will impact his role as Prowler unless we explicitly hear him confirm that he will be handing the reins of the role over to another actor. And, of course, it is incredibly likely we see Miles Morales introduced within the next few Spider-Man films.

Scott Lang is the one Avenger who remembers Peter Parker.

We know that there has been some exploration of the possibility that one Avenger remembers Peter Parker, and the one possible option is Scott Lang. It is through the Quantum realm that we know time travel is possible, and it may have been something being experimented with by Scott, Hope, Hank, Janet, and possibly Cassie, at the time of the spell being cast. We also don’t know what other kind of characteristics the Quantum realm may possess with regard to impacting how the spell may effect someone in it and/or absent at the time it was cast. However, this is just one of many possibilities.

Hank Pym dies in Ant-Man: Quantumania.

Pretty self explanatory, but I think as this is most likely the final Ant-Man movie, especially with Paul Rudd, that one of their main characters will die and, since they just got Janet back, Hank seems like the most emotional loss for the other characters.

Druig will adopt a more villainous role by the end of Phase 6.

I love Druig and Makkari so much, but in the comics, Druig is a villain that the Eternals fight against as well as being related to them. I don’t see them killing off Makkari and would be devastated if they do, but I think she may be injured or have something happen that would send Druig on a spiral. We would probably not see this until after Eternals 2 or the next Avengers films, but I fully expect Druig to have a character arc quite similar to Wanda’s.

Richard Madden returns as Ikaris in Eternals 2.

Arishem has the power to recreate any of the Eternals he wishes and, given that Ikaris was his most loyal follower and would be difficult both emotionally and physically for many of the Eternals to fight again, it would be in his best interest to bring him back.

Upcoming Avengers movie(s) death predictions:

Stephen Strange, Thor Odinson, Bucky Barnes, Scott Lang, Bruce Banner, Nick Fury.

Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3 death predictions:

Rocket, Nebula, Drax, and Peter Quill.

Henry Cavill cast as any character.

He needs to be petty and go to DC’s competition lmao.

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dorkyungsoowrites · 5 years ago

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Exo in "Hot Fuzz" AU

Part of my crackhead saga in where I imagine the Exo members as characters in different universes they don’t belong in for no reason other than fun.

Spoiler warning if you haven’t seen the movie (obviously).

Minseok:

Head of the PTA. Regular at the pub. Thinks the teenagers in hoodies doing graffiti are the worst blight since the jugglers. Is the one who called in the complaint about Arthur Webley trimming his hedges. Won’t murder anyone, but will cut them to size with his words. Everyone keeps off his lawn.

Junmyeon:

Was looking at Sandford as a nice place to move to and settle down until the news broke. He’s decided he likes the city just fine.

Yixing:

On the police force. The only person in the village that can capture the escaped swan without hassle. Refuses to do so on account of his phobia. Great with grandmas, though. Still doesn’t know what happened with the village conspiracy fiasco. Always has food somehow? Not even nutrition bars or mints. Like, corndogs and whole bowls of wonton soup. The eighth wonder of the world is how he stays so fit.

Baekhyun:

Brother of Aaron A. Aaronson, Byun Baekhyun. Helped build the model village. Was more devastated that it was destroyed and impounded as evidence than the damage to the actual village.

Chanyeol:

Oh, he’s Janet’s husband’s nephew’s best mate’s ex-boyfriend’s–good for him–cousin. Used to work at Skinner’s store before he got outta school. Always dressing in those bloody baggy clothes, he is. How’s he expect anyone to properly see him like that? That sergeant’s gonna think he’s hidin’ somethin’, he will. And with his jumpy nature, bless him. Not lookin’ forward to that phone call.

Jongdae:

The new bartender after the last owners of the pub were arrested. Always cheerful and brightening the atmosphere. Starts a music program at the school. Can hear his laugh across the pub. It’s a good thing the neighborhood watch was dissolved.

Kyungsoo:

Farmer on the outskirts. Keeps an eye on the border for strangers. Has a cash of weapons in his shed next to his mother’s wheelchair for if her knees give out on her. Also her shotgun is under the bed. Pretends not to be affiliated with the neighborhood watch after the police precinct explodes and takes over the villages horticultural needs.

Jongin:

Janet’s husband’s nephew’s best mate’s ex-boyfriend–good for him. Left the village to study dance in the city before everything broke down. Returns after seeing the news to most of the village being in prison. Helps organize a fundraiser to rebuild the village square’s shops.

Sehun:

Sees the cheap new real estate and moves in right away. Is surprised to find most of the windows in the village square being replaced and later discovers shotgun pellets in the pubs bar. Shrugs it off and keeps drinking.

#literally watched this movie 2 times last week #its so amazing #fun fact #it shares 2 actors with game of thrones which is the next one of these im doing #exo imagines #exo au #exo #imagine exo #junmyeon #yixing #baekhyun #chanyeol #jongdae #kyungsoo #jongin #sehun #minseok

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twstarchives · 4 years ago

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Hello! There used to be a list about which characters have mentioned to have siblings/be only childs but I can't find it anymore ;; do you still have it or was I imagining it? If so, do you know what is there so far about each student's family life?

Riddle

Parents

Riddle lives with his mom, the status of his father is unknown. He has implied that his parents don’t get along.¹ Both parents are magic doctors, but his mother seems to be more well-known. To Riddle, she is extremely overbearing and planned out nearly every second of his life: controlled his education, his schedule, his diet, his clothing, the supplies he used, and which friends he could have. She put a heavy emphasis on studying and always being the best.²

1. Riddle Ghost Marriage voice lines 2. Main Story 1-19

Ace

Parents

Older brother

Grandmother

His brother is 7 years older than him and a Heartslabyul alumni.¹ He seems to have often messed around with Ace & make him angry on purpose, but it was all in good nature; they are very close. Apparently his brother was even more excited than their parents when they found out Ace got into NRC.² Ace has also mentioned his grandma a few times; she taught him about the Ghost Camera³ and warned him about magic blotting.⁴

1. Ace School Uniform PS 2. Ace Ceremony Robes voice lines 3. Main Story 0-19 4. Main Story 2-4

Deuce

Mother

Grandmother

He is an only child¹ and loves his mom very much. The entire reason he’s trying so hard to be an honors student is so that he can become a son she can be proud of. He once cried when she called him to tell him just that.²

The only time his grandma was mentioned was when he told a story of his mom crying to her on the phone, thinking she’d failed as a parent (during Deuce’s delinquent days).³

1. Jack Dorm Uniform PS 2. Wish Upon A Star 12 3. Main Story 1-13

Trey

Parents

Younger brother

Younger sister

His family runs a bakery. As the oldest child, he often had to take care of his little siblings (ie. ensuring they all brushed their teeth at night)¹. They all would pester him to bake them desserts,² but he cared for them a lot—one time his little brother really wanted to go to a live magift game so Trey spent his whole allowance to get him a ticket.³

1. Trey School Uniform PS 2. Ace School Uniform PS 3. Trey Wish Upon A Star voice lines

Cater

Parents

Two older sisters

Because of his dad’s work as a banker, their family had to move about once every two years, all over the world.¹ Cater hadn’t had any long-lasting friends because of this.

He has described his sisters as “unreasonable,” his dislikes in his profile are listed as “having to suck up to his sisters,” and when everyone was going home for winter holiday, he said he’d rather stay with Trey’s family.² In his voice lines, he mentioned that he can’t relate to Yuu feeling homesick because his sisters would just be waiting for him at home. His sisters rated everything by how cute it was, and if something “wasn’t cute” to them then Cater would have to redo it.³

They would get more excited about his birthday than he would, and buy him all kinds of presents he didn’t particularly like (such as stuffed animals, dolls, perfumes, soaps, etc). But they weren’t trying to be intentionally mean, and recently have started paying attention to what he really wants.⁴

When he was about 10 years old, his mom and sisters were always baking sweets. Cater was excited about this at first because it meant he could get lots of treats, but his sisters would make him eat everything. If he refused, they’d look so disheartened, and Cater couldn’t say no to that, so he kept forcing himself to eat. Because of this, he now hates sweets.⁴

1. Cater Scary Dress PS 2. Main Story 4-3 3. Cater Lab Coat PS 4. Cater Birthday PS

Leona

Falena (older brother)

Cheka (nephew)

Sister-in-law

Leona is a member of Afterglow Savannah’s royal family. His brother and his sister-in-law are the current rulers, and Cheka is next in line to the throne. Leona has constantly felt inferior and bitter that he and Falena are treated so differently based off nothing but birth order.¹ But he greatly respects his sister-in-law; she’s one of the only people he would never talk back to.² Cheka is very affectionate and clingy towards him.

1. Main Story 2-27 2. Ruggie’s Chat w/ Jack

Jack

Parents

Younger brother

Younger sister

Grandparents

Jack is the oldest in his family with an 11yo brother and a 7yo sister. He and his siblings are all very athletic; they used to play tag with each other for 6 hours on end.¹ Jack has said that wolf beastmen pick one soulmate to spend their whole life with, and his parents + grandparents are always at each others’ side, when they wake up, go on walks, eat, and go to sleep.²

1. Jack Happy Beans Day PS 2. Ace Ghost Marriage PS

Ruggie

Mother (deceased)

Father (unknown)

Grandmother

Ruggie's mother "became a star up in the sky" shortly after giving birth to him. His father went away for work and never came back, and to this day Ruggie doesn't know what happened to him.¹

He lives with his grandma in the slums of Afterglow Savannah. They were poor and struggled to find food to eat, but his grandma could make delicious food out of any ingredients they could find. Ruggie learned to cook from her.² He described her as very kind but also tough.

Ruggie seemed to have taken care of the other kids in the neighborhood too-- when everyone went home over winter break, he brought home leftovers from the cafeteria to feed his grandma and the kids.³

1. Ruggie Birthday PS 2. Ruggie School Uniform PS 3. Main Story 4-3

Azul

Mother

Stepfather

Grandmother

His mom fell in love with her divorce lawyer while separating from Azul’s biological father. She’s also the owner of the Ashengrottoes’ famous ristorante in the Coral Sea.¹ Because of their business, Azul grew up a foodie and was exposed to a lot of different foods from a young age.²

His stepfather is kind and honest, and very clever when it comes to his work. Azul respects him and they seem to have a good relationship. He taught him about law and contracts.¹

Everyone in the Ashengrotto family is a mage, but Azul’s grandmother is said to be especially powerful. She was known for helping those in need, and very “merciful,” just like Azul.¹

1. Azul Birthday PS 2. Azul Dorm Uniform PS

Jade & Floyd

Parents

Their parents started teaching them self-defense since they were little.¹ We don’t know many details of their childhood, but there was an interesting exchange between them—Jade once said “he made the right choice choosing Floyd as his partner,” and Floyd replied that “he’s glad Jade is the one that survived with him, too.”²

In Floyd’s Wish story, he brought up how their father told him to buy a nice pair of shoes when he went on land because “men who don’t pay attention to the small details get patronized” so your appearance is very important. Hearing this gave Idia and Ortho an uneasy feeling about Mr. Leech.

1. Jade PE Uniform voice lines 2. Floyd Dorm Uniform PS

Kalim

Parents

30-40 younger siblings

Kalim’s father comes from a long line of merchants and is supposedly the greatest one in the family. But despite how busy he is, he’s always wearing a smile. Kalim’s mother is the only one in the family who can use magic. She’s described as very kind, is always praising Kalim, and almost never gets angry.¹

Kalim doesn’t know the exact number of siblings he has, but he can put names to faces for all of them, and he often plays hide and seek with them in their house. He doesn’t come from a royal family (they’re just extremely rich), but some of his distant relatives are actual royalty.² One of his distant cousins apparently owns a tiger.³ His family has about 100 servants along with specialists like a personal doctor⁴ and a beast tamer.

1. Kalim Birthday PS 2. Main Story 4-8 3. Silver Lab Coat PS 4. Main Story 4-17

Jamil

Parents

Najma (younger sister)

His family has served the Asims for generations. His parents knew Jamil was a very bright child, but they insisted that he must always let Kalim be better than him, and would reprimand him for talking too casually to his young master.¹ Jamil seems to share a typical sibling relationship with his sister Najma. They often bicker with each other, but they’re on good terms. Najma used to bake him cookies for his birthday² and they would also get into fights because she’d tell him his cooking looked too plain.³ Jamil gave his VDC plus-one ticket to her during Episode 5.

Najma made her first in-game appearance during the Aleab Naria event. Their father had sent her to deliver a message in-person to Jamil, since he isn’t versed in technology likes PCs and phones and didn’t trust that a text would suffice.⁴

Najma claims that she and Jamil look nothing alike, but they tend to make near-identical expressions. She was relieved to see that he has a few friends at NRC because he never talks about them whenever he comes home.⁴ In one scene, Jamil reminds her to wipe her hands before eating and gives her a wet wipe, and she huffs at him to not treat her like a child. Trey notes how well Jamil looks after her, but Cater thinks he is a little bit overprotective.

1. Main Story 4-36 2. Jamil Birthday PS 3. Jamil Dorm Uniform PS 4. Aleab Naria 3-4, 3-5, 3-7

Vil

Eric (father)

Vil’s father is an extremely famous actor and goes by the stage name Eric Venue. Even the Leeches’ father is a fan of some of his movies.¹ Vil has mentioned that his dad would come home dressed in special effects makeup & costumes every Halloween,² and also used to read him stories about the Beautiful Queen.³

1. Vil Scary Dress PS 2. Vil Scary Dress voice lines 3. Scary Monsters 3-2

Epel

Parents

Grandparents

Aunt & Uncle (uncle is biological)

Male Cousin

Epel’s family lives on an apple farm that’s been around for generations. They all live in the same house. His village is also made up of farmers, and they often help each other out during the busy season and have big barbecues together. It feels like they’re one big family.¹

His relatives often send him apples from home since they have such an abundance of them. They seem to have some business struggles; Epel taught himself how to beautifully carve apples when he was young because many were blemished and wouldn’t otherwise sell.² He has also mentioned wanting to make a potion that strengthens weak apple trees to make his grandpa happy.³

Besides Epel, his grandma and great-grandma are the only ones in the family who can use magic.⁴ They ride brooms to pick apples that are too high to reach on foot. Epel wanted to help them when he was little so everyday he would get on a broom and try hopping up and down, and then one day it worked! Ever since then he’s helped with that task as well.

1. Epel Birthday PS 2. Epel School Uniform PS 3. Epel Lab Coat voice lines 4. Epel Ceremony Robes voice lines / Birthday PS

Idia & Ortho

???

The Shrouds are a noble family and famous for some reason, but Idia has said that being from a noble family isn’t all that great.¹ When he was worrying about being seen at the entrance ceremony, he expected people might gossip about how he’s from “the cursed Shroud family,” and that he’ll “spread misfortune to them.”² At another time, he mentioned that the audience would be apprehensive about what kind of “weird research” he did if he had to present his research on stage.³

1. Idia PE Uniform PS 2. Idia Ceremony Robes PS 3. Main Story 5-3

Lilia, Malleus, Silver

Malleus’ grandmother

Lilia was one of the Queen of the Valley of Thorns’ most trusted soldiers when he used to fight for the royal family.¹ In Cater’s Lab Coat story, they created mandrakes that reflected parts of themselves, and Lilia’s was said to “carry the cry of a tragic hero.”

He has watched over Malleus “ever since he had an eggshell over his head.” An infant Malleus once singed Lilia’s bangs by breathing fire and Lilia was so proud that he raised a glass of tomato juice to him.²

Malleus is the heir to the Valley of Thorns, a descendant of the king “who rules over all creatures of the night,” and his only living relative is his grandmother, the current Queen of the Valley. He spent much of his childhood alone in the castle. He used this time to learn how to play all kinds of stringed instruments. His grandmother is so busy that she shouldn’t even have spare time to write him letters, but every year on his birthday, she sends him one without fail, along with rose seeds from the garden by their castle.³

Long after Malleus had grown up, both he and Lilia took in baby Silver for an unknown reason. Silver thought he was his biological dad when he was little, and continues to refer to him as “Father.” They lived deep in the forest in the Valley of Thorns before coming to NRC. Apparently Silver was very easy to take care of; he would fall right to sleep after eating Lilia’s homemade food.⁴

At one point, Sebek also became one of Lilia’s pupils. He and Silver are the only two from their generation living in the Valley.⁵ When they were little, Lilia would have them undergo training like soldiers, but then he realized he should raise them more like kids, and started making their training more fun. He had them play tag in forests crawling with beasts, hide and seek in vast deserts, and “the floor is lava” in the mountains of needles.⁶

1. Silver Ceremony Robes 2. Lilia PE Uniform PS 3. Malleus Birthday PS 4. Lilia Lab Coat voice lines 5. Sebek School Uniform voice lines 6. Lilia Birthday PS

Sebek

Parents

Older brother

Older sister

Grandfather

Sebek’s mother is a nocturnal faerie and his father is a human who works as a dentist. They met when his mother had an appointment at his clinic. She was immediately charmed and courted him despite her surroundings being against her marrying a human. Now, she works at the clinic as his assistant.¹

Sebek greatly respects his mother and raves about how she’s extremely gifted with magic and has a strong sense of justice. His opinion of his dad, on the other hand, is much different—his dad seems very loving and often showers his children in praises, sweets, and gifts, but it drives Sebek crazy. He doesn’t understand how his mother saw any appeal in him.¹

Since his parents were often busy with their clinic, Sebek spent his childhood running off to visit his grandpa, or fishing and playing in the water with his siblings. Based on the fact that Sebek and Silver were said to be the only ones in their generation living in the Valley,² his siblings are most likely considerably older than him.

All we know about his grandpa is that Malleus also knew him, and mentioned that Sebek shares his hot-blooded temper.³

1. Sebek Birthday PS 2. Sebek School Uniform voice lines 3. Scary Monsters event story

No current info: Rook

Last updated: July 27, 2021

#twst notes #misc lists

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canary3d-obsessed · 4 years ago

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Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 11 second part

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Absurdity)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Message from the Lan Clan

After dinner the Yunmeng bros go to talk to Jiang Fengmian in his study. They're quiet and respectful here, with no shoulder-shoving or arguing. This scene has such Brady Bunch energy, where Dad's Study is the Man Place where boys come to talk about Serious Things.

The boys tell Dad Jiang about the Yin Iron and he says yeah, I know. This is probably why he let them run off on their road trip without punishing them, but he could have, like, shared data with them so they might have actually achieved something related to the Yin Iron, rather than just wandering around the countryside bonding with Lan Wangji and Nie Huaisang.

He shows them a letter from the Lans that basically says the Lan Clan is in the shit, and he tells them they've got to go to the Wen indoctrination because otherwise they will also be in the shit.

He gives the boys a warning about the Yin Iron, which is that

1. it can be refined and

2. if you refine it carefully, it will not control you.

Awesome tip, will definitely use, thanks pop.

(more behind the cut)

Jiang Cheng wants to argue about going to the Wen party, but Wei Wuxian vocally gets on board, not leaving any opportunity for whining.

Wei Wuxian is only sucking up a little bit in this scene. He obviously has a lot of affection for Jiang Fengmian, but WWX doesn't play up to his favoritism nearly as much as he could. Compare, for example, how he leans into Yanli's preferential treatment of him.

Fight Outside the Cold Cave

Over on the Gusu side of the country province township, the disciples have gathered outside the cold cave that previously none of them knew about, and Su She is freaking out.

Most of the acting in The Untamed is naturalistic, but then there are occasional characters who are portrayed with a much more theatrical, broad style. Su She's villainy is not given a lot of layers; he's playing a type, more than a person.

Many of the villains in The Untamed are played this way, but not all. Wen Zhuliu, for example, is a genuinely horrifying bad guy while also conveying depth and ambivalence--despite having hardly any lines. And JGY is a masterpiece of a performance. For Su She, the directors or the actor have opted for "sniveling backstabber" as a type, which is unfortunate, because it robs his final scenes of emotional impact.

Lan Qiren tells the disciples to get to safety. He rushes forward, gamely getting his ass kicked by human cuisinart Wen Xu. He's not as effective a warrior as either of his nephews but he's a brave S.O.B.

Hanguang Jun to the Rescue

Before things can go completely pear-shaped, Lan Wangji sails in with his guqin.

The Blue Steel technique of the Lan Clan

Like many gifted learners, Lan Wangji's musical abilities are more advanced than his social skills. Here he musically makes the ground literally explode, almost as if it had been specially rigged with incendiary charges.

Lan Wangji is very pretty when he's worried, and his affection and concern for his uncle is touching. He's 100% not interested, as we will see, in Lan Qiren's whole "lets all die for the future of the Lan Clan while my nephews hide" agenda. He's on his own agenda of smiting the wicked and protecting the weak.

Notice how Su She is standing right next to Lan Qiren here, even holding his arm? The next thing that Lan Qiren says is to tell all the disciples to keep up as they run into the cave. Somehow Su She totally does not keep up, and he gets caught outside along with a bunch of other disciples.

Giving Up

Wen Xu and his men kill most of the other caught disciples, and then threaten Su She, asking him how to get into the cave. In fear for his life, he tells them. Not cool, Su She, but possibly forgivable. Although when you voluntarily join a, you know, battle cult, physical courage is kind of an important qualifier.

But this shit here...

They didn't fucking ask about the books, douchebag.

Su She was there in Lan Qiren's house when the two heads of his clan knelt to each other, each claiming the right to be the one to stay behind and die. And he heard Lan Qiren say that the ancient books are the foundation of the clan and that only if LXC and the books survive, will the clan continue. By giving up both men, and pointing out the book situation, Su She has totally earned his expulsion.

Lan Wangji Takes a Stand

Lan Wangji decides, for the first but not last time, to openly defy his uncle...and it's got nothing to do with Wei Wuxian. Lan Wangji is a hero, who follows the dictates of his conscience. His conscience is extremely filial and extremely orthodox, but he’s got a growing open-minded streak. This is going to cause a whole lot of conflicts for him over the next few years.

This time, however, he manages to skate out from under the whole disobedient, unfilial thing by citing Lan Yi's directive, which means Lan Qiren has to accept it because she's his predecessor and elder relative (She is probably not a literal ancestor, since she spent her life in a cave putting fucking headbands on fucking rabbits which probably didn’t leave time for having babies).

This is a pretty extraordinary moment for Lan Wangji and for Lan Qiren, because Lan Wangji just asserted his own form of authority to do the exact opposite of what Lan Qiren wanted, and Lan Qiren just sucked it up and let him.

It's also very different from western stories involving a holy McGuffin such as the Yin Iron. Lan Wangji's solution of "fuck it, just let the bad guys have it, it's not worth so many people dying for" is refreshing and surprising to me, a westerner raised on The One Ring, the Grail, the Death Star Plans, etc.

Lan Wangji steps out of the cave and uses a sword blast to save Su She, the ungrateful bastard, from getting stabbed by Wen Xu. Then he surrenders, and they break his leg to slow him down. This does not actually incapacitate him, because he is Lan Fucking Wangji, already a BAMF at like 17 years old. When they whack his leg, his chunk of Yin Iron falls out onto the ground.

That thing was in a magic bag of holding before. So...it just falls out when you whack him? If they whack him again will his guqin fall on the ground? What about candy?

Archery Practice at Lotus Pier

Meanwhile, back at Lotus Pier, the brothers are enjoying some quality time together before they head to the hostage-taking indoctrination.

Wei Wuxian is such a great cultivator that he can hit a distant target even when he jerks his bow upwards as he releases the arrow.

Jiang Cheng seems fairly pleased, and proud of his brother. He's competitive and fundamentally grumpy but not, at least here, a sore loser.

Club Ruohan

We go over to Da Club, where Wen Ruohan is yelling at Wen Qing for letting Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian go. He names them both, so they're becoming more and more known to their enemies. Which is not a good thing.

He menaces her with the zombie mosh crew, having them kill a dude in front of her and then saying her baby brother will be next in the circle of zombies if she tries any more stunts. Neither of them can imagine how much zombie ass her baby brother is going to kick, later in his (un)life.

Side note: What is up with WRH’s hair? Why bother pulling your hair up over your ears if you're going to leave an enormous curtain of it over your face? It's because he knows there's a wind machine next to his throne, isn’t it?

Leaving Lotus Pier

Jiang Cheng: when I ran off earlier in the year on my road trip you didn't pack a goddamn thing.

Wen Indoctrination

Is it even possible to stand next to this much active volcanic shit and not, uh, die? I live in the tornado part of the US so I don't know much about lava (yet. 2020 still has 2 months to go). But it seems like it would be hard to breathe the air. Also they appear to build houses on lava piles, which seems imprudent. I say that even as someone who plays The Elder Scrolls Online, which is full of lava towns and nonsense like “ash farming.”

Nie Huaisang is adorable at all times, but particularly here, when he's so happy to see his friend who *didn't* fuck his gege and then abandon him without an explanation.

Nie Huaisang: I'm so glad I can count on Wei-Xiong to be consistent and not vanish for months, or become a traumatized shell of his former self, or, like, horribly die.

Jin Zixuan isn't quite as happy to see Wei Wuxian.

Wen Chao enjoys the sound of his own voice way too much, and is malevolent and boring. On the plus side, he likes to stand with his hand stuck out in the air, which is fun for your resident photoshopper.

Nie Huaisang is so miserable every time he's holding a sword, or blade, or whichever we're supposed to call this. He's got his fan tucked into his belt, which is sweet. He is happy to give up his sword but don't you dare try to take his fan.

Meanwhile Wei Wuxian is worried about Lan Wangji, and Jiang Cheng isn't.

Lan Wangji shows up under guard, and takes his position at the front of the line, but without any extra disciples. The Wens let him change into snowy white robes after breaking his leg which will go well with arterial blood spray. He's focused and is determined not to interact with Wei Wuxian in this public context.

When I was little, I would sit near my best friend at church on Sunday, but not be allowed to talk to her until church was over, and it was exactly like this. She was good at churching and I was hyper and hated church. We are still best friends and these things are still true.

This interaction is like a thumbnail for the whole dynamic of these three boys: Lan Wangji outwardly ignoring Wei Wuxian while having many interior feelings about him; Wei Wuxian demanding attention and creating a bit of a scene, due to his very genuine caring; Jiang Cheng telling him to leave that boy alone for fuck's sake.

Lan Wangji: Stop trying to talk to me Wei Ying, I’m busy composing a song in my head about the two of us and our love for each other.

#fytheuntamed #the untamed #the untamed gifs #the untamed meta #wei wuxian #lan wangji #jiang cheng #lan qiren #su she #jiang fengmian #restless rewatch the untamed #canary3d-original #my gifs #the untamed spoilers

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meeedeee · 4 years ago

Link

Here is a list of fan-run, professional and semi-professional virtual conventions for the rest of 2020. This is not a comprehensive list, feel free to drop a link below (Name; URL; dates; type; whether the event is free or charges a fee)

https://tinyurl.com/virtual-cons

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vLyi3qcuOUZGcPKWd0PF4mTtYNlpEbgmjhQtR1sHKv8/edit

I am also posting a recent essay about the history of virtual conventions written by Claudia Rebaza with her permission

________________________________________________________

Many fan conventions aren’t being held this year but some are going virtual. Surprise – this isn’t actually new!

by Claudia Rebaza

Pandemic restrictions have meant that many events are moving to some kind of online equivalent, but fan conventions have offered online alternatives for a very long time. What’s more, conventions have only been one type of activity fans can take part in online with other fans.

Although numbers are hard to agree on, there’s little doubt that fan conventions have never been more popular. But while it’s possible to find a fan gathering in most cities (or even on the ocean!), there are still barriers that keep many people from participating. Whether it’s because of high costs, difficult travel schedules, physical disabilities, or social anxiety, many people have found themselves on the outside when it comes to fandom events. However fans have always been inventive, so the virtual convention developed decades ago. These virtual cons might mean:

an entire convention held online

live streaming of a physical gathering

activities taking place online at the same time as other fans were meeting in person

The 2000s Say Hello

Yuri Con began in 2000 not as an in-person gathering, but an online fan community. A few years later it sponsored a three-day anime and manga convention in Newark, NJ. The convention brought together fans of Yuri with panels, an academic lecture series, games, vendors and video programming. This was similar to FemSlash Con, which ran from 2012-2017.

Femslash, which is art, fiction and more involving female/female romantic pairings, was celebrated with panels for different TV shows as well as workshops for the creation of fanworks.

In the UK, VidUKon has been held since 2008. The convention focuses on the making and sharing of a style of fan videos called vidding, and features showings, panels, and workshops. People who can’t attend can still follow along with events through the use of convention memberships, which allow access to real time streaming as well as access to content after the convention ends.

But if an event isn’t online or doesn’t offer access to drop into the in-person event, there’s a third option. For example, the Starsky & Hutch fandom's Share Con began in the 1980s and is now held every other year. Like many conventions it has a mailing list and a Facebook group, but some fans also held a Virtual ShareCon from 2012-2016. The virtual con was a side event that took place at the same time as the physical gathering for people who couldn’t meet up in person. At the virtual con, members met at a community on LiveJournal, with an organizer making posts and people commenting. They watched an episode of the show together, watched fan videos together, played a trivia game, had panel discussions, and had a drawing for prizes. Attendees also contributed to the creation of a virtual goody bag with pictures of Starsky & Hutch items.

Virtual con attendees also used the opportunity to prompt one another to create fan art and fanfiction in what has become a common practice among fans – the challenge or fest.

Challenges and fests

Given that not all convention activities are free, and many a fan is having a particularly hard time economically this year, there are fan events that don’t cost a thing. They do, however, require some time and creativity. A fanworks challenge or fest, is an organized event that prompts participants to create fanworks. These events can take many forms, one of which is the “challenge” where people create fanworks to fit certain criteria, or an “exchange” where people create fanworks to order for one another. The fandom wiki Fanlore lists nearly 800 entries on fests that have been held for a wide variety of fandoms over the decades, with many more out there.

The fest is a typical option for a virtual con, so that fans who are not going to an in-person gathering can celebrate as well. In some cases people sign up ahead of time to create fiction, art, videos or other fanworks to share on an assigned day. In others, people respond randomly to prompts from the fest organizers or other participants in a more game-like activity. But in the case of a virtual con, the fest is important for both keeping people engaged, as well as producing new content that outlasts the few days during which the con is held. That way the benefits can be shared with people who couldn’t attend the virtual con due to its timing.

Sometimes virtual con events are held at the Archive of Our Own which includes a feature for fanwork collections and tools for creating specific types of fests. Some virtual convention contributions that can be found on the site include fanworks for Due South, The Closer, Shadowhunters, Game of Thrones, Highlander, and the K-pop group B.A.P.

The con on your laptop

With large public gatherings prohibited almost everywhere, many fan conventions have been cancelled or postponed, including the mega-popular San Diego Comic Con. But other organizers and fans alike are still trying to keep fan activities going. As a result some events are still being held, only online, and sometimes at no charge.

May saw Balticon 54, WisCONline/WisCON 44, Con Carolinas, and the 2020 Nebula Conference go virtual. July will see more taking place from smaller events such as CON.TXT 2020 (free) on July 24-26, to major cons like CoNZealand (WorldCon 78), host of the Hugo Awards, on July 29-August 2. Just as with the early virtual cons, these events will adapt activities to online space, and not just for panels and vendor rooms. In the past many fans have paid to shake hands with their favorite artists, writers, or actors in quick meet-and-greets, photo or autograph sessions. Some events are shifting these bookings to one-on-one video chats, where each person has a few minutes in which to spend some face time with those celebrities.

What about next year?

Researcher Dr. Naomi Jacobs published an article on virtual conventions in 2018. Discussing the future of such events, she said “I think that as the barriers between online and offline fandom become more fluid, and as technology improves, we might see new ways that conventions become digital spaces as well as physical ones. Conventions are about fans coming together to share experiences, to ‘convene’, and it is no longer the case that this has to involve a face to face meeting.”

Jacobs studied fans’ experiences at Supernatural conventions and found that, while most of them preferred meeting in person, there were various reasons why virtual attendance was important. For some fans who go to many conventions a year, attending them is a part of one’s social activities and a way of staying up to date on happenings in their community. Jacobs said, “Being part of the digital space during a convention seemed to be almost as important as being at the event, particularly because there were so many conventions each year and many people attend several, but very few could go to them all.”

For fans whose favorite part of attending a convention is meeting celebrities, a virtual con might not seem like much of an alternative. But for many fans, the principal draws of a convention might be interacting with other fans, shopping, or sharing information about their fandom interests through meet ups or attending panel discussions, all things that could be done in other ways. There are many conventions whose principal draw is activities rather than celebrity guests – although even celebrity appearances will be going virtual in some cases.

For example, one staple of conventions that has become a central part of many fans’ experience is cosplay. While you’d think that this kind of fanwork would be something missing at a virtual con, being online doesn’t have to be a barrier to sharing one’s costuming skills. A lot of cosplay experience has already gone virtual. For example, in 2015 Nicolle Lamerichs wrote about the rising popularity of cosplay music videos (CMV) which are created and shared after the event. In discussing common factors for the videos, Lamerichs notes that “the videos are usually shot at the fan convention and are also a means of preserving the performances and making them accessible to a wider audience.” The practice has developed to the point that “some CMVs are also fan works in their own right."

Is it for you?

While the virtual con may not replace the experience of an in-person gathering for the majority of fans, it does address the importance of these events for both specific fandoms as well as fans as a whole. When writer/producer Alison Zeidman wrote that comic books changed her life, the examples she gave were of personal experiences surrounding comic books, such as attending a fan convention. "At Wondercon, I was the most relaxed I’ve been in years, but it was also so incredibly creatively stimulating and inspiring. And I realized that how I felt on that exhibition floor is how I want to feel every day of my life: constantly learning, seeking out new experiences and meeting new people — whether or not they’re dressed in a custom-made Captain Marvel uniform.” Whether in-person or online, many fans share that feeling.

#convention #fan convention #fan con

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low-budget-korra · 4 years ago

Text

About Bryke leaving the Netflix's live action

A friend saw on twitter a tweet with three possible reasons for Bryke to leave the live action series project. I will list these possible reasons and comment on them.

1) Bryke wanted a bigger budget for the series.

This I dont believe to be true because since the project was announced I read in several places that Netflix would use a good budget for the series, in some places I even read that the series would have Game of Thrones budget. Which makes sense since Avatar has the potential to be the "new" Game of Thrones like being the fantasy show of the moment.

2) Bryke left because Netflix opened the cast for white actors.

Unfortunately of all possible reasons, this is what I find most plausible to be one of the things that made Bryke walk out the project. Look, I understand that casting is not so simple but I'm sure there are many Asian American, Inuit... l who are talented and fit in all those things important for the roles (like have martial arts experience for example) and ready to bring ours beloved characters to life.

And particularly, I don't mind seeing one or two white actors making small appearances here and there, what is really unacceptable is white actors in important roles since no one of the Gaang is white, and no important and prominent character is white.

3) Bryke left because Netflix wanted more blood, violence and sex.

Well, I already commented more than once that for The Legend of Korra I find it very difficult not to adopt a more adult stance, since the series itself is more adult than TLA because of has more political themes that speaks to our world and because the fights are more graphic.

But this approach would be totally unnecessary for TLA, of course, there are things that in live action would be more graphic, like the bloodbending if the series reached book 3, but in general there is no need for blood, violence and sex. something that only served to shock the audience, since the cartoon has already shown that this is not necessary in terms of storytelling.

And if Bryke chose this approach(which i believe is not the case at all), i would prefer to see this live action be made by HBO and not by Netflix. Since the last time that Netflix decided to put violence to shock the audience, the result was extremely problematic scenes in 13RW.

Violence, blood, sex ... they can be used very well to magnify the natrative, but when it is used only to shock the audience ... it sucks

What i think?

Honestly i was hoping it would be a great adaptation but now that Bryke is out i think It would be more like the Movie live action. I dont think Netflix would do an 100% whitewashing cast but i do believe they would do this to at least one of the Gaang characters and i think the fire nation also can be major white, with them using the "we dont wanted to make it the villains asian american like they are in the cartoon because we dont wanted to share the wrong msg about asian people...." Type of thing to be seen as progressive and all.

I usually dont talk shit about movies and tv show's without watching them but in this case i made an exception, now i really think this live action tv show would suck.

Which is sad because it really could be the next big thing in fantasy tv show

#avatar #the last airbender #tla #netflix #Bryke #avatar Aang #Gaang #fire nation #azula #zuko #toph #katara #sokka #legend of korra #the Legend of Korra

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aion-rsa · 4 years ago

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Mortal Kombat (2021) vs. Mortal Kombat (1995): Which is Better?

https://ift.tt/3vh6gqd

This article contains Mortal Kombat (2021) spoilers.

“Test your might.” These are the words of a minigame in the original Mortal Kombat arcade fighter from 1992. They were meant to signal an interlude between the simple pleasures of digitized sprites spilling buckets of blood. Yet they’ve also become synonymous with a franchise that’s arguably the most popular video game fighter of all-time. The phrase is also a pretty apt description for the various filmmakers who’ve attempted the challenge of taming this crazy dragon on screen.

More than any other video game series, Mortal Kombat has seen a plethora of live-action adaptations, from Hollywood movies to syndicated television. This weekend marks another milestone in that history, too, with Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema’s hotly anticipated Mortal Kombat reboot opening in theaters and premiering on HBO Max. It’s the third Mortal Kombat movie released under the New Line banner, but let’s just call it the second serious attempt at putting this universe on screen after the 1995 cult classic directed by Paul W.S. Anderson.

That ’95 movie holds the dubious honor of being generally considered the best video game movie adaptation of all-time, thanks to a tongue-in-cheek tone perfect for its mid-‘90s moment and maybe the greatest use of techno music in film. Genuinely, how many other pictures have the soundtrack scream the title of the movie over and over again, and it seems like a good idea?

The new movie took a different approach to the material, and certainly a bloodier one. While both adaptations share the same basic premise of chosen “Earthrealm” guardians protecting our dimension from an invading force via martial arts fights, the executions diverge radically. Here’s how.

The Story

The starkly different approach to storytelling in director Simon McQuoid’s 2021 Mortal Kombat is evident during the film’s opening scene. Beginning in 1600s Japan with a gnarly, brutal fight sequence between Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim) and Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada), this version of Mortal Kombat relies heavily on lore and world-building. If you know the video game backstory of Sub-Zero/Bi-Han, and how he was kidnapped as a child by the Lin Kuei cult so they could brainwash him into the magical ninja we now see slaughtering Scorpion’s family, the scene has a sense of fateful tragedy.

If you don’t, well Taslim and Sanada are such gifted martial artists that it still looks really cool. By contrast, Mortal Kombat of the ’95 vintage is pretty straightforward and to the point. This is basically an interdimensional version of the Bruce Lee classic, Enter the Dragon (1973), only with magical powers and the fate of the world at stake.

We’re introduced to three fighters in ‘95, Liu Kang (Robin Shou), Johnny Cage (Linden Ashby), and Sonya Blade (Bridgette Wilson-Sampras), who all get on a boat to the tournament for different reasons. And while Liu Kang was raised by his Shaolin monk upbringing to know what this tournament is, the other two act as our eyes and ears into this strange world of mysticism and Outworld menace. By the time they reach the island, they understand they need to compete with superpowered foes to save Earth in a structured tournament.

Conversely, Mortal Kombat (2021) is curiously both more secretive and open about its bizarre universe. For a much larger chunk of its running time, the new movie’s point-of-view character Cole Young (Lewis Tan) is completely mystified by the superpowered horrors happening around him while the viewer is keyed in early by scenes set in the evil dimension of Outworld. There we see the dastardly sorcerer Shang Tsung (Chin Han) scheme from a throne about killing Cole in order to prevent a prophecy vaguely connected with the movie’s prologue scene in the 1600s. So he sends Sub-Zero to kill Cole in his day-to-day life as an MMA fighter, slaughtering him before he understands he’s been chosen to participate in the sacred Mortal Kombat tournament, which is held in secret every generation.

In fact, there is no actual tournament in the new film. Rather the plot eventually becomes Shang Tsung’s chosen band of evil warriors attempting to cheat ahead of the conflict by attacking Earthrealm’s depleted champions before they even discover they have superpowers (or “arcanas”) and know what Mortal Kombat is. The film thus becomes a quest movie with Cole joining forces with other “chosen ones” (or chosen one-aspirants) to find the Temple of Raiden, a lightning god (played by Tadanobu Asano) who represents the interests of Earthrealm in the tournaments. From there the heroes must learn their powers and evade preemptive, cheating attacks from Outworld’s thuggish baddies.

Side by side, the approaches appear to be the differences between a traditional (if derivative) martial arts flick and a modern studio blockbuster that is trying to cram as much fan service and world-building lore into a two-hour movie as possible in the hopes of making fanboys happy. I hesitate to say the 2021 film is fully following the Marvel Studios template given its copious amounts of blood and (seeming) lack of interest in building a shared universe of interconnected franchises. However, the 2021 film was certainly released in a post-Marvel world where the focus in studio committee rooms is less on telling a single story and more on building a whole convoluted mythology filled with fan favorite characters who are begging to be explored endlessly by future movies. It’s less story-driven than it is content-driven.

As a result, it leaves the narrative lacking. Viewers know long before Cole or 2021’s Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) what’s going on, and all the anticipation for a tournament that never materializes feels anti-climactic. With its simple structure, the Anderson-directed movie in the ‘90s plays out much more satisfyingly with three heroes (plus poor dead meat like “Art Lean”) entering a tournament by choice or trickery and then trying to survive it while learning vanilla, if tangible, life lessons. Liu Kang needs to accept his destiny; Johnny Cage must look before he leaps; and Sonya has to accept she’ll be the film’s damsel in distress even though she kicks ass. It’s an Enter the Dragon knockoff but it still has more kick than fan service.

Round One goes to 1995.

The Tone

The tone and aesthetics are also jarringly different between the two movies. Released in 1995, the same year Pierce Brosnan became James Bond, and two years before Arnold Schwarzenegger chilled out as Mr. Freeze, Mortal Kombat (1995) is an unmistakably campy movie and it leans into that fact.

Working with a low budget for a Hollywood spectacle even before New Line Cinema cut his funds by another $2 million right before cameras rolled, Anderson directed a B-movie that accepted its limitations and had fun with it. Apparently stars Ashby and Christopher Lambert, who played Lord Raiden in the ’95 movie, improvised dialogue throughout the shoot and rewrote entire scenes. As a consequence, Lambert’s lightning god was more of a jovial trickster in temperament, reminiscent of Loki instead of Odin. Johnny Cage, meanwhile, was essentially the film’s Han Solo: a cocksure wiseacre next to the stoic hero (Liu Kang) and a no-nonsense woman who doesn’t like to be called princess (Sonya).

As again signaled by the almost funereal opening sequence of Mortal Kombat (2021), where Sub-Zero murders Scorpion’s young family, the 2021 film is going for a differing sensibility. There is actually quite a bit of humor still present, with the real reason the Johnny Cage character got cut becoming apparent the moment we meet Kano (Josh Lawson), a loudmouth smartass who takes on the comic relief role but with an added slice of thuggery. Hence his dialogue has a lot more F-bombs than it does cracks about $500 sunglasses.

Other than moments where Kano is allowed to steal scenes, however, Mortal Kombat (2021) plays it pretty straight. Asano’s Raiden is imperious and his fighters stoic. However, it’s also worth noting Raiden is played by a Japanese actor, as opposed to a white American-born Frenchman who was raised in Switzerland (Lambert has quite the international background). Indeed, one of the more admirable qualities of the 2021 film is the focus on a diverse cast that includes more roles for Asian actors and people of color, whereas the 1995 film whitewashed Raiden and left out the Black American character Jax for little more than a cameo.

The 2021 film also upped the gore quotient considerably. While the martial arts of the 1995 film were decidedly PG-13, the tone of the movie was only a few steps removed from Power Rangers in some respects, including its introduction of a horrible CGI creation known as Reptile. The Reptile in the 2021 film appears more convincingly, like the latest monstrosity out of a Jurassic World lab, and the violence he commits is visually gruesome (more on that later).

Honestly, preferences over the aesthetic differences between the two films comes down to a matter of taste. I prefer the tongue-in-cheek eye rolls of the 1995 film given how nonsensical this universe is, and how at the end of the day its target audience remains children. Yet I imagine many adult fans of the video games will prefer the blood-soaked earnestness found in 2021.

Round Two is a draw.

Chosen Players

Anyone who’s picked up a fighting game will tell you it’s all about finding a character or two you like and then training up with them. In 1995, Anderson had the advantage of primarily adapting the original 1992 arcade game with its limited collection of playable characters. Ergo, his film’s lineup easily focused on the three aforementioned heroes of Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, and Sonya Blade, plus the ambiguous Princess Kitana (Talisa Soto), and Lord Raiden. Meanwhile he divided his villain screen time between the sorcerer Shang Tsung (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) and Shang Tsung’s minions, who were essentially glorified Bond henchmen with individual gimmicks.

Fan favorites Sub-Zero and Scorpion are present in the ’95 movie—with much more colorful, game-accurate costumes—yet they’re relatively low-hanging fruit in the tournament’s brackets. Their rivalry is given lip-service but they are dispatched by heroes Liu Kang and Johnny Cage relatively easily. Meanwhile Trevor Goddard’s Kano is more a hapless comic relief baddie who Wilson-Sampras’ Sonya kills with a great laugh line. “Give me a break,” Kano pleads with his head pinned between her thighs. “Okay,” she shoots back before snapping his neck.

Still, the movie largely belongs to Tagawa who makes a meal out of the scenery as the big bad. The guttural pleasure he has in so naturally turning all the over-the-top commands in the video game into his dialogue—“Finish Him!;” “Fatality;” “Test Your Might”—is infectious.

The 2021 film relies on a much larger cast of characters and, unlike the 1995 movie, attempts to give them each a moment to shine in the way Kitana and the original Kano could only dream. This surprisingly begins with the introduction of a totally new character in Cole Young as our point-of-view protagonist. While fan favorite Liu Kang was the hero in ’95, the character is now a supporting player played by Ludi Lin in 2021. And he’s not alone. The new Liu Kang’s cousin, Kung Lao (Max Huang), also gets enough screen time to show off his character’s beloved razor-rimmed hat, which he dispatches one of the movie’s villains with.

There is also the new Sonya, who may have the most complete arc as she strives to be accepted as a champion for Earthrealm, and Jax (Mechad Brooks), who is Sonya’s partner with the chosen one birthmark and who gets a new nasty origin story for his metal arms. And then the new Kano spends as much time working with the good guys as he does becoming a villain in an entirely rushed and unconvincing third act plot twist.

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There are even more villains, most of whom amount to glorified cameos, including Mileena (Sisi Stringer), Nitara (Mel Jarnson), and Kabal (Daniel Nelson). However, they’re all even more perfunctory than Sub-Zero and Scorpion were in 1995. At least the ‘90s ninjas each got a few minutes to show off before being dispatched. Even the ostensible main villain of 2021, the new Shang Tsung, is fairly underserved, left to state banal dialogue from a throne without a throne room, and he’s never allowed to dominate scenes the way Tagawa did so gleefully back in the day.

Unfortunately, this is because the 2021 film has so many characters that it lacks any sense of narrative focus or cohesion. Tan’s arc of wanting to learn his power/arcana to defend his family is as broad and serviceable a hook as Shou’s 1995 Liu Kang wanting to avenge the murder of his brother. But Tan’s Cole Young gets lost in the shuffle after the first act and until the movie’s ending. Character turns like Kano betraying the other heroes similarly feels hackneyed because there is too much noise on screen to really care about who’s making it. Even Kang Lao’s death falls flat. It’s admirable that it’s a good guy fans theoretically should care about (unlike 1995’s token Black character created by the filmmakers to die), but the 2021 movie fails to make the uninitiated be concerned.

Of course there are exceptions. Namely Sub-Zero and Scorpion. Even though Scorpion ill-advisedly disappears for nearly all of the movie’s running time after the film’s terrific opening 10 minutes, Sanada has such presence, and such strong chemistry with Taslim’s Sub-Zero, that their opening salvo leaves you waiting the rest of the movie for Scorpion’s revenge. Taslim is also able to give Sub-Zero some surprisingly tangible, if only hinted at, pathos even after he kills a kid in his first scene and is then forced to act behind a mask thereafter. He’s the real villain of the piece you want to see go down, and his death scene is incredibly satisfying as a result.

It’s probably enough for fans of the games to favor this kitchen sink approach. But overall, less is more.

Round Three goes to 1995.

Fight Scenes

If there is one realm where the 2021 movie truly excels in over the previous film, this is it. And yes, a big part of that is the gore quotient. Whereas the 1995 flick was produced with a PG-13 rating in mind (my elementary school thanks New Line for that), the 2021 movie was able to embrace the gross out charm that made the original game stand out at the arcade all those decades ago. Street Fighter might’ve been first, but only Mortal Kombat let you pull the other player’s spine out.

While that effect doesn’t quite happen in the 2021 movie, almost everything else does. Nitara goes face first into a Kung Lao’s buzzsaw hat, which cuts her cleanly in half; Sub-Zero freezing Jax’s arms and then shattering them in a stomach-churning effect; and instead of going off a cliff, Prince Goro is disemboweled by Cole Young—which almost makes up for the fact that Goro is reduced to a mindless mute this time.

It’s like a highlight reel of fatalities from the video game. But the reason why this film’s fight scenes really stand above the 1995 film isn’t the bloodletting; it’s the action leading up to it. With brutal fight choreography, the new Mortal Kombat shines whenever it lets actors who can actually do the stunts take the arena. That includes Lewis Tan, whose Cole Young mostly fights other MMA types or CG monsters. But it’s especially true for Joe Taslim of The Raid fame. As the villainous Sub-Zero, his moves are lightning quick, even if his powers leave opponents frozen stiff. So when he shares the screen with Tan or Sanada, the action reveals an auhentic flair.

In comparison, the 1995 film suffers a bit from the sin Johnny Cage is trying to dodge within the story: it relies on stunt doubles and tight editing to make the fights exciting. It’s a shame too since Shou is an excellent martial artist, and the one scene he got to choreograph—Liu Kang versus Reptile—has an edge. But much of the time, Shou’s constrained by the direction and editing. Ashby and Wilson-Sampras, conversely, are not actual martial artists, though credit must be given to Wilson-Sampras for doing all her own stunts when getting the role of Sonya at the last minute.

Still, the fights stand taller in 2021. It’s a bit of a shame though that the movie is so heavily edited that it too often hides this fact. Unlike the 1995 ensemble, most of the cast has the moves in 2021, but the editing still feels stuck in the past with its reliance on confounding quick cuts and coverage. During our current era of John Wick and Atomic Blonde this is both a bizarre and disappointing choice. Nevertheless, this is an easy call.

Round Four goes to 2021.

Ending

The final fight was relatively satisfying in 1995. Tagawa is a preening villain, and when the Immortals’ techno “Mortal Kombat” theme plays, it’s a pleasure to watch Liu Kang wipe that smug smile off Shang Tsung’s face. However, the ending keeps going with a Star Wars-esque sendoff to Liu Kang’s force ghost brother, and then the movie undermines its catharsis by immediately setting up a sequel.

In the picture’s final moments, our three heroes, plus Kitana, return to the real-life Thai temple that’s supposed to be Liu Kang’s home. Lord Raiden waits for them there, getting some final sideways cracks in before Outworld’s evil emperor Shao Khan appears like a giant specter in the clouds. He immediately threatens an Earthrealm invasion, despite losing the tournament.

I can attest that in 1995, this was a stunning cliffhanger for eight-year-olds everywhere. But then… Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997), one of the worst films of the late ‘90s, happened.

Meanwhile in the 2021 film, we have a much more satisfying death for its villain when Scorpion returns from hell to send Sub-Zero to the hot place. Their fight is much more technically satisfying, and the cliffhanger setup is a lot more subtle. After defeating Shang Tsung’s warriors, if not Shang Tsung himself, the heroes of Earthrealm saved us all without an actual tournament ever occurring. And instead of Outworld cheating in this moment by invading anyway, they retreat. It’s an odd choice since they’ve been cheating the whole film, so why start playing by the rules now?

Even so, it leaves a destination for a second movie to actually head toward. And to tease that fact further, it’s implied Cole Young will now travel to Hollywood to recruit movie star Johnny Cage for a sequel. It’s pure fan service, but the kind that leaves the possibility open for better things to come. Considering we know where the 1995 movie’s cliffhanger leads—to pits of cinematic hell worse than any faced by Scorpion in the last 400 years—this is a victory for 2021 by default.

Round Five goes to 2021.

Final Victor

Ultimately, neither of these films are high art nor do they aspire to be. In some ways, it’s a case of picking your poison between schlock or schlock. Each has advantages over the other, as laid out above, and each is a long way from a flawless victory. Nonetheless, due simply to narrative and tonal cohesiveness, and just more memorable lead characters, I’ll go with the one that actually gets to the tournament this whole damn thing’s designed around.

Game over.

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sm0ak-queen · 5 years ago

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Spotlight Saturday - Part 2

This is part 2 of my Jaime/Brienne fic recs. You can find part 1 here. If you’re stuck at home right now and looking for something to keep you distracted these fics are a good place to start.

Multi-Chapters

Title: Briana Tart Undercover Author: @ladyinredfics Rating: E Word Count: 19,749 Chapters: 8 Tags: Modern AU, Bodyguards Summary: Brienne of Tarth, bodyguard to the Westerosi elite, loves her job. That it leaves her little free time to pursue a personal life is a perk, not problem, until a mix-up at the local coffee shop opens up new possibilities with the coworker who fascinates and frustrates her most.

Title: Bright Lights Author: lionheartedghost Rating: T Word Count: 23,300 Chapters: 10 Tags: Modern AU, Actors AU Summary: Brienne Tarth finally gets her acting break when she's cast as a detective in new crime drama 'Crowns'. What she doesn't count on is her producer's arrogant brother Jaime Lannister being cast as her partner.

Title: On the Night’s Watch Author: Miss_M Rating: M Word Count:105,820 Chapters: 26 Tags: Modern AU, Police Procedural Summary: Detective Brienne Tarth transfers to the King’s Landing Police Department and is assigned to permanent nightshift duty: the Night’s Watch, where careers go to die. As if that weren’t bad enough, her new partner is the infamous Jaime Lannister. When they land a time-sensitive missing person case, trusting each other is the only way they might solve the mystery.

Title: With All Your Faults Author: @seaspiritwrites Rating: M Word Count: 140,326 Chapters: 37 Tags: Baseball AU, 1940s Summary: In 1943, small-town slugger Brienne Tarth is recruited to play for Tywin Lannister’s newest business venture: the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. There, she meets Jaime, a maimed former Major League pitcher who’s been talked into managing one of his father’s teams. She can't stand her arrogant coach, and he is definitely not interested in his annoyingly principled star player. They don't like each other at all, really...until they do.

Title: This Is The One Author: disappointed_turtle Rating: Not Rated Word Count: 32,329 Chapters: 8 Tags: Modern AU Summary: Jaime, Brienne, football, feminism, friendship, dogs, cake, sex. Good things, basically. No one is getting crushed by bricks after a wildly unbelievable 'relapse' in this

Title: I never knew home until I found your hands Author: @shipping-receiving Rating: E Word Count: 60,294 Chapters: 16 [WIP] Tags: Modern AU, Office AU Summary: A woman punches a man at an office party. This is the story of how they fall in love.

Title: She's Beauty, She's Grace (She'll Punch You In The Face) Author: @slipsthrufingers Rating: T Word Count: 49,826 Chapters: 13 [WIP] Tags: Modern AU, Miss Congeniality AU Summary: When the Miss Westeros pageant receives a terrorist threat, Agent Brienne Tarth finds herself in the most difficult deep cover she's ever been: beauty queen. As if her job isn't already hard enough, now she has to do it in heels and a ballgown.

Title: Your Mouth is Poison, Your Mouth is Wine Author: LSquared80 Rating: M Word Count: 19,085 Chapters: 5 [WIP] Tags: Modern AU, Cat and mouse game Summary: A painting is stolen from a prominent Westeros museum. After Jaime Lannister makes a donation to take its place, insurance investigator Brienne Tarth becomes convinced he had something to do with the theft.

One-Shots

Title: A Little Less Conversation, A Little More Action Please Author: @sapphiresandsunlight Rating: T Word Count: 6,869 Tags: Book-Canon, Canon Continuation, Hyle Hunt POV Summary: Everyone who's anyone knows you can't shack up at the Quiet Isle if you're not married. So, Brienne's posse of Dudely Hangers-On decides to do the next-best thing, and set up camp right outside her door for an all-night jam sesh. What could go wrong?

Title: I will always hold you close, but I will learn to let you go Author: @angel-deux-writes Rating: T Word Count: 12,343 Tags: Canon Divergence, Season 8 AU Summary: Jaime is gravely wounded in the battle against the dead. When he thinks he's dying, he kisses Brienne. After, he heals, kept asleep with milk of the poppy. Brienne worries about what will happen when he wakes up.

Title: Of babies and misunderstandings Author: Apple_Queen Rating: T Word Count: 5,148 Tags: Modern AU, Meet-Cute Summary: The last thing Jaime expected when Tyrion persuaded him to take his nephew to a baby sensory class was that he would end up with the world's most inappropriate crush, and on a woman most people would describe as ugly no less...

Title: The Other Side of the Sky Author: @hardlyfatal Rating: T Word Count: 8,002 Tags: Canon Divergent, Fix-It Summary: Bran came awake one morning and said, “Huh.”It had been a long time since he had had a proper greendream, separate from what visions the crow permitted him– certainly not in the two years since he had assumed the throne of the six kingdoms. He sat there and thought hard about it, waving off the servant come to help him wash and dress, until there was a knock at the door. Bran knew who it would be. “Enter, Lord Commander.”

Title: The Unicorn Incident Author: @ajoblotofjunk Rating: E Word Count: 14,183 Tags: Modern AU, Fantasy Summary: Catelyn needs a unicorn horn. Jaime knows where one is. Brienne is the only virgin she trusts to go with him. Time for a road trip!

Series

Title: Jaime Lannister Investigations Author: ShirleyAnn66 Rating: M Word Count: 166, 842 Works: 13 Tags: Modern AU, Private Investigators, Remington Steele AU Summary: The great detective, Jaime Lannister? He doesn’t exist. I invented him. It was working like a charm—until the day he walked in, with his green eyes and mysterious past.

Title: The battlefield between us Author: @robotsdance Rating: E Word Count: 20,147 Works: 2 Tags: Canon Divergence, Secret Marriage Summary: “I missed you,” Brienne says like she’s admitting something else, and Jaime wants to say it back to her in exactly the same way: loaded with all of the things they’re not saying. Let that truth settle between them, unsaid but at least somewhat spoken. That could be enough. To share that quiet understanding with Brienne, here, alone together in the middle of the woods, in the middle of a war, in which one of them will be on the losing side. That could be enough. I missed you too. Brienne would understand. What Jaime says instead is “Marry me.”

Title: Works and Days Author: Mussimm Rating: E Word Count: 25,396 Works: 7 Tags: Canon Divergent Summary: Post-canon ficlet series

#jaime x brienne #jaime x Brienne fic #spotlight saturday #game of thrones #game of thrones fic #got fic #fic rec #my fic recs

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this-is-a-podcast-fanblog · 5 years ago

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PENUMBRA LIVE

I just got home from seeing Juno Steel and the Train From Nowhere Live, and I have SO MANY EMOTIONS AND THOUGHTS AND THINGS I WANT TO TELL YOU GUYS

so full reaction under the cut. Obviously, massive spoilers for the live show, so don’t read if you plan on buying the recording and want to experience it for the first time that way.

Something you guys should know: AS I WROTE THIS, Alice Chuang (whom I met at the show) DM’ed me on Twitter and we have been chatting back and forth for a while now, I am LITERALLY TEXTING ALICE CHUANG AS I WRITE THIS.

Okay. Holy cow. First of all, the obvious: the show was amazing, the actors were all crazy talented, the energy of the crowd was great, I had a fantastic time and am so happy I went. The music, sound, and lights were really cool, minimalist, but conveyed the show tone beautifully.

And THE COSTUMES!! Not sure who picked them, but they were perfect. Joshua had the same trench coat/white shirt/jeans combo from the last liveshow, but for Dahlia Rose he wore a lacy white blazer that also had pink flowers on it. It looked very good on him and his face when Juno says “You bought me clothes?!” was hysterical. Engstrom and Valencia were elegant and totally creepy. M Sutherland had a red and grey suit and waistcoat; he also had eye makeup but it was a little more subtle. Valencia was in a gorgeous shiny red dress and lounge singer black gloves up to her elbows. Those were all cool, but nothing is EVER gonna top Noah’s Nureyev outfit, which was a pair of black pants, white shirt, black tie, and a black and white striped corset with the tie tucked into it. You may be thinking, “oh, HG, that just sounds like a waistcoat” nope!!!! It was like actually a corset! He also had killer eyeliner. For most of the show he wore a black blazer, but as Duke Rose he wore this crazy glittery golden blazer covered in sequins. It was gaudy and he rocked it, it suited Duke so perfectly!

Those four made up the main cast, but there were two other actors - first of all, Kate Jones, obviously, as Miasma. She had ghostly white makeup and covered her face and head with a white shawl. That, plus the fact that the lights turned red whenever she stepped on stage, made the perfect creepy vibe. She had a lot more lines in this than the original - Juno would refer to her voice in his head a lot, and every time, she came out and said something creepy. She was on a little raised stage behind the rest of the cast so she was glaring down at him and it was just asdggkfj;fldj a it was so cool.

Then there was another cast member I totally did not anticipate - Melissa DeJesus (Quanyii) played the Ruby7! She also worked props, so when Juno was talking about Nureyev’s coat, she held it up, when the bell rang during the card game she rang it, and she also played Miasma’s assistant pointing the gun at Nureyev (it was a cardboard rifle, they also used it when Juno had to shoot out of the car). For the Ruby7 she held a steering wheel and stood in front of Joshua and Noah making the car noises into a microphone or with a whistle. Also she had a necklace shaped like a license place that said “Ruby7″. It was such a cute way to show the car, which some of you may remember was something I was speculating wildly about when I first bought the ticket. Every time Nureyev mentioned how great the Ruby7 was she would vamp and at one point she blew him a kiss and he blew one back it was so adorable.

i’ve been typing for a half hour and I haven’t even gotten into the actual show yet

Before the show even started, there was amazing energy. I bought two posters from Kat Buckingham, who was working the merch stand, found a great seat, chatted with the people sitting near me, and just felt the excitement. There were so many amazing costumes, and like a third of people were wearing ear cuffs with chains in honor of Peter (I was among this number). Kevin Vibert made some announcements about emergency exits and whatnot, and then the lights dimmed. There were two curtains on opposite sides of the performance area, Joshua and Noah FLIPPED OPEN the curtains on different sides and just did this power walk to the mics in the middle while all of us audience members screamed and cheered for a solid minute, it was glorious.

Almost immediately I noticed a change to the script - they added a subplot about an additional Martian artifact Miasma had stolen, called the Key of something I don’t know how to spell, which apparently locks away any concept, like locking away sound around a person (this was revisited during the assassin bit). When Nureyev mentioned the key Juno said something like, “Wait, I don’t think that’s how this is supposed to happen” which was a cute way to acknowledge the changes they were making. Then he started mentioning some Season 2 stuff (”I dreamed I only had one -” “We all only have one life, detective!”) and Nureyev cut him off and then launched into a recap of the events of 2Murderous2Mask. He brought up audience members to reenact it, and it was really funny and I loved it a lot.

One of my favorite changes was that a couple of times when Juno was internally monologuing, Nureyev would be there too. At one point Juno acknowledged it like, “I do this thing where I just talk, and usually it’s just me.” Nureyev was really energetic, Noah got super into those parts and would take the mic down from the stand and be gesturing and hopping around while Juno watched. They also went into a lot more detail about the Throne of Arkuthusis (I probably spelled that wrong) and Samantha Carthwright (now called Sammy), who was played by an audience member. Juno explained that anyone who sat in the chair could have infinite knowledge and people would ask them questions. Nureyev then asked the audience member a bunch of questions in different accents which A.) was really funny B.) was crazy because apparently Noah can do an insane range of accents C.) cute because Juno just let him do it for a while before cutting him off. It had a very “petulant married life” vibe when Nureyev shared Juno’s monologues, and I’m not sure if it was supposed to be some significant commentary that Nureyev was “in Juno’s head” or just fun staging. Either way, I loved it.

For the card game, there were a few changes. Engstrom asked Juno if he knew how to play Rangian Street Poker and Nureyev-as-Duke said “Don’t say no!” through his teeth right as Juno said “nope.” and then an explanation followed. After a while Juno lost track and got annoyed and before Engstrom could get mad back or explain the whole thing again Nureyev-as-Duke covered Juno’s mouth with his hand and then when he pulled his hand away he fucking caressed Juno’s cheek with his knuckles while Juno glared at him and the audience went feral.

Hey by the way Noah Simes? Is just fucking incredible like his mannerisms as Duke were so over-the-top but amazing, when he reverted back to Nureyev there was an IMMEDIATE shift just in the way he talked and the way he stood, like with Duke everything was all exaggerated and he drew out all the “you’s” (So in the phone call he basically went “See youuu SooooOOOOnN!!! :D”) but then for Nureyev he was a lot more reserved, and he had this smug little half smirk for most of it. Just like, what does it feel like to be that talented, wish I could relate.

They didn’t actually play cards, but Noah did rip a piece of paper to be the dueling wargoats card. Even so, the tension was strong and you could feel the suspense even if (like me) you knew exactly what was coming next. Also, I forgot to mention, there were a lot of sound effects! When Juno heard someone’s thoughts (he heard Valencia’s and Nureyev’s a few times) that would be a voiceover, the train noises were all played, gunshots, etc. The assassin wasn’t actually shown, but you could hear the voiceover for that as well.

You’re all probably wondering: THE DOODLES. They were actual crumpled balls of paper that Juno pulled out of Nureyev’s coat; later when they were back in the hotel room, Nureyev took off his jacket and said he was going to bed (Noah just kinda stood there with his eyes closed) and Juno threw one of the notes at his head and literally went “Nyeh” as he threw it. We all laughed for quite a while.

Jupeter jumping through garbage chutes was great, Noah sort of pushed Joshua and then they pantomimed jumping down - but apparently I’m supposed to believe that Peter backflipped into the garbage chute, from the way Noah gestured, and I’m HERE FOR THAT, he’s just that much of an extra bitch. (Nureyev was very much an extra bitch throughout this entire show, as you know if you have ever listened to The Penumbra Podcast).

The whole getaway chase was awesome. Not sure if I mentioned this yet, but they had one mic that could be taken away from the stand and walked around, which is how they did the phone calls, the person on the other end of the line would stand off to the side with the wireless mic and perform like that. Once Juno, Nureyev, Valencia, and Engstrom got on the train they did all of those lines, but a nice new addition to the script was Valencia threatened Juno with a gun and Nureyev pushed Juno slightly behind him with a hand on his chest (actually I can’t remember if this scene happened here or in the casino, suffice it to say it happened and it was gay and wonderful) and said basically “if you even so much as warm his skin” and followed that up with a threat, I forget exactly what. Then when Nureyev pumped the brakes of the train he grabbed Juno and pulled him to one side, and Valencia and Engstrom’s actors left.

For the tight room they ducked into to hide, Noah and Joshua sort of pressed together back to back and tilted the mic stands so they were still able to talk into the mic. There was a great line where Juno said something like, “Is there a reason why you keep shoving us into tight spaces together?” and then they got out and Noah took the wireless mic and went up to one of the curtains on the side of the stage, then he sort of fell through with a shout and Juno was locked in the room with Valencia. She took the other wireless mic and circled him, which was soooo creepy and really cool, especially with the moody lighting they had over the whole scene. When Juno pretended to faint Joshua just like,,,, threw up his arms and dropped to the floor in the most dramatic swoon possible it was great, and when Valencia died she fell through the curtain on the side of the stage and someone caught her.

The showdown with Engstrom was tense and great. M Sutherland has a great presence and because he’s really fucking tall he seemed very menacing next to Jupeter (especially earlier when they were in their crazy suits and he was just all polished). With his suit and beard and eyeliner he sort of looked like a younger president Snow ala The Hunger Games, perfect villain vibes. Nureyev did the whole pin-him-by-the-arms thing as Juno described it in his monologue and oh god Noah did the most PERFECT fox smile throughout the whole thing, but what’s weird is I can’t actually remember how Engstrom’s death went?? I assume he fell through the curtain but I just,,, genuinely can’t remember?

Right after that they seemed to have a technical issue with the train sound effects so Joshua and Noah adlibbed it for a few seconds, then it started working again and they grabbed each other’s arms and did the whole jump-off-the-train thing. When Juno asked where the Ruby7 was, Melissa DeJesus came out with her arms tied in ropes, I guess to show the car had been captured and then BOOM KATE JONES AS MIASMA. She’s so scary and intimidating, and her voice sounds even cooler live than on the show.

Then!!! The gun is pointed at Nureyev!!! and oh god Noah’s face in this scene first he looked a little panicked, but then resigned, and the lights went BACK AND FORTH BACK AND FORTH from regular to Juno’s monologue, and this super scary layered clip of Miasma saying “I will have what I want” played and oh god it was just so totally incredible and I loved it and by that point I was aware the show was about to end but I never wanted it to, I wanted to sit there and watch this forever, and I knew I couldn’t which made me a little sad.

and oh wow wow wow...

then we got to the part where they got in the car, and Juno had his monologue, and Nureyev was watching him for the whole thing with the sweetest loving smile on his face, and then he told Juno not to give up on him yet and then Noah and Joshua reached into the space between the microphones and took each other’s hands, so they were holding hands and the crowd went WILD. Obviously this episode didn’t have a kiss, but the ROMANCE of that moment was just PEAK it was so freaking phenomenal, and when Miasma said the whole “There it is, your final resting place,” they didn’t even look at it, for a while they were just looking at each other for a few long seconds, and then they both turned to look at the tomb and they just stood there holding hands looking ahead all resigned and determined, and then the lights went down and it was over.

(the cutest thing about the whole hand holding though was Noah kept glancing over like either he was trying to show Peter’s intense desire to hold Juno’s hand or else he wasn’t sure when he was supposed to grab Joshua’s hand and he was trying to make sure they did it at the same time. Either way it was sweet and looked really good.)

They did the curtain call, I screamed so loudly for each actor, and then anyone who wanted to meet the cast went and lined up in the hallway outside the theater. The staircase by this hallway was also the staircase into the bar, so all the bar and restaurant, so all the restaurant patrons were very baffled to see the Penumbra-goers in our cosplays, (and me wearing the pride flag around my shoulders.) While I waited to meet with the cast I got to chat with Kat Buckingham! I also talked to her when I bought merch, and I told her I thought she was talented - she said “I bet YOU’RE really talented!” and I almost cried, then she told me I was free to DM her, also encouraged me when I told her about my podcast, and was all around just the sweetest.

The cast were at a table, sort of like a convention, and we just went down the line and got our stuff signed. I got to talk to all of the actors and they were SO! VERY! SWEET! I hadn’t thought at all about what I was gonna say, so I just kind of mentioned whatever. I told Noah that I write Jupeter fanfiction and said, “So that means I have your voice in my head a lot”, and he said like “That’s... somewhat unusual to hear, as I’m sure you can imagine.” I told him he was really talented and he signed my poster and was very friendly, thanked me for coming even though literally I was thanking him because HOLY FUCK HE WAS SO AMAZING. Also, Kate Jones asked me what my shirt said (it said “I am too emotionally attached to fictional characters” and thought that was cool.

I told Joshua, Sophie, and Kevin that this podcast inspired me to start my own podcast, and they were so incredibly encouraging and supportive about that! Joshua asked if I had fun (as if I could have not had fun!) and thanked me for coming - like both of these amazingly talented stars of this hit show are thanking me for coming to see them, that’s so humble and kind and ugh I just stan this cast so much. @rudzik-art made some amazing artwork, which I turned into prints to give to Sophie and Kevin, and they really loved it! Sophie even signed both my poster and the one I got for Robin, even though their rule said only one item per person. Then they both thanked me for coming, and I headed out to catch my train home.

Overall, this show was phenomenal. There was only one thing in the whole production that I disliked: they took out the “It’s not polite to tell someone his gift means nothing to you” line, and I’m not really sure why, because that line forms a lot about the characters? But artists’ choice, of course. Personally, I would have loved to see it, but the pacing was just as good without it.

I’ve been looking forward to this for so long, and now that’s it’s over I’m experiencing some pretty strong post-show depression, not gonna lie. I just want to come back and see it again every night for the rest of my life, even though that would not be good for the cast. I want to go out and make art and share my work and maybe someday inspire someone anywhere near as much as this inspired me.

TL;DR THE LIVE SHOW WAS FUCKING INCREDIBLE.

If you weren’t able to make it to either live show and you have some questions about it, feel free to send them to my inbox!

#the penumbra podcast #the penumbra podcast live #juno steel and the train from nowhere #juno steel #peter nureyev #jupeter #rita #miasma #live show #i can't wait for the video #i loved this so much and I love that I can experience it again through the video #aah #I hope the second one went really well too!!!

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cilliansaccent · 5 years ago

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The Peaky Designer - Cillian Fanfic, Chapter 2

Hello, welcome back. Below is the next instalment of my fanfiction!

Please leave a like or any comments below on ways to improve, please be kind but you are welcome to be critical! I’m open to ideas and fixing up mistakes. Also, sharing would be amazing!!

Note, PLEASE READ:

I will not be including Cillian’s family as it’s kinda weird since he has children lmao. Just a mention of his parents and a previous lover.

I will indicate in a chapter if there is smut in the beginning and before the actual scene!!

I will add trigger warnings if there is any!!

There is a variety of levels of swearing during a chapter, I will not hold back, everyone swears.

The timestamp for the Fic is now 2016 and onwards!!

——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——-

Background: Gabrijela Babic is a Croatian girl from Sydney, Australia. She is born in the year 1991 on the 24th of December. She studies a Fashion degree in a University with a major in Game Design as well. Her teacher in the fashion designer class managed to nail an Internship on the set of Peaky Blinders with the shows very own Costume Designer, Allison McCosh. There, she travels to London for under a year to learn how to be one, working alongside the actors as well the man she admires, Cillian Murphy. But, her platonic feelings for the man begins to grow into something more, and she wonders whether she should pursue them or let him go for fear of her strict parents and her three older brothers…

Characters:

Swantje Paulina as Gabrijela Babic (swalina on Instagram)

Cillian Murphy

Word Count: 5,265

!!Warnings!!: Small scene of sexual harassment after Gab leaves to go to the toilet when shes at the pub.

Date: March 2016

Chapter Name: Dinner and a Gig

Brief Chapter Outline: Second day in, Gabrijela spends the afternoon with Cillian, getting to know each other better before he treats her to a lovely dinner and then to a gig of a local band Cillian attends for a buddy of his...

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The theme song of Game of Thrones blared in some faraway land. Gabrijela was sound asleep, wearing nothing but a singlet and lacy panties.

She let out a sound when it finally stopped but it wasn't long when it started up again. She finally rolled on to her back and grabbed her phone on the bedside table. She hadn’t made it under the covers last night, she simply collapsed on top and fell asleep after she had dinner and wrote in her diary and updating her family again.

“What?” She groaned, answering the phone.

“Its Cillian,” the Irish accent made her skin prick and she sat up.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to sound so rude.” She rubbed her eyes.

“No worries. Did I wake you up?” He asked, there was a smile in his tone.

“Noooo, I was getting up anyway. Let me open the door and you can come up.” She got up and pressed the button which unlocks the main door. “My door is unlocked so just come in.” She said.

“See you then,” and he hung up.

She was still groggy and sleepy as she rubbed her eyes again and knelt on the floor. She pulled out the drawers under the bed and looked for an outfit for today. It had rained overnight and it still was, it was cold.

Cillian walked in, “I hope you have this locked when you--” He stopped when he saw Gabrijela on the floor, “Oh! Gab!” He covered his eyes, a slight blush spreading across his cheeks.

“Yeah? Oh right,” She laughed and grabbed a pair of blue jeans and a white knitted halter neck sweater. “Sorry. I forgot.” She scurried into the bathroom. “If you want tea or coffee, just boil the water.” She called out as she changed.

“Sure. Did you want tea?” He asked.

“Yeah! Just black tea with honey.” She said. She brushed her long, blond hair and braid it back. She washed her face and applied makeup, she looked dead and had bags under her eyes. So not a good look, she thought, making a face in the mirror.

“It’s midday, by the way,” Cillian said after a bit.

“Whoops.” She smiled as she came out. She looked fresher and felt fresher.

Cillian was dressed quite casual, black jeans with boots, a white shirt and a denim jacket. The harsh haircut made it seem so at odds, she smiled more at the thought.

“What are you smiling about? Tea is ready.” He handed her the spotty cup.

She took it, “The way you're dressed, and that haircut. So strange. But definitely not in a bad way.” She quickly said.

“You’re not the first one to say that.” He laughed, drinking his tea.

“Oh? I hope it didn't offend you.” Her brows rose.

“No, no. I just don't prefer to talk about work or much about my acting.” He admitted, taking a seat on the couch.

"Oh okay, that's fine." She said as she came over and sat beside him, facing him.

"So, it's really midday huh?" She played with the end of her braid.

"Yeah." He showed her the time on his iPhone, "I knew you'd fallen asleep and wake up later."

"Oh yeah, not because I had said I hadn't slept on the plane." She stuck up her nose, drinking her tea.

"Definitely not because of that." He agreed, that same cheeky smile returned on his handsome face.

It was so easy to play around with him despite meeting him just a little over twenty-four hours. She loved the playfulness, and always would be drawn to people who were able to tag along.

"I think we should head off, nighttime falls quickly here so I want to use as much of the day as possible," Cillian said as he finished his tea.

"Yeah, alright." Gabrijela got up and he cleaned up the cups while she pulled on her suede cream jacket.

Boots on, she grabbed her bag and her phone, and together they headed out. She locked up and down the stairs, they went.

They took the walk down the road together, a cool wind made her pull her jacket closer. It had stopped raining by now.

"In the coming months, it's going to rain like, almost every day," Cillian said, his hands in his jacket pockets.

"Well, lucky for me I brought my winter stuff. I'll have to buy an umbrella that's all." She said.

"Yeah, that's much needed. Always have one on hand to." Cillian nodded.

"Thanks for the tip. I'll keep that in mind." She paused and took some photos of the area, "So pretty." She whispered as she checks her phone.

"Can I see?" He peered over her shoulder.

She showed him the photos, "I love taking photos. I brought my Canon camera with me, kinda an amateur photographer." She said shyly.

"Huh, you might need to show me sometime. I saw a photo there, sorry to pry... Is that your family?"

She flicked back on her phone to show him a group photo on a birthday a month back. It showed her parents, her three older brothers with their wives and their kids.

"I'm an aunty to five kids." Gabrijela grinned, "This is Ante and his wife Louise and their five-year-old son, Caleb, and three-year-old daughter, Sasha. Ante is the eldest, then the middle boy is Dominik with his wife, Leah and their one-year-old son, Luca. And the youngest boy, Leo and his wife Tatiana and their one-year-old daughter, Tijana."

"Wow, you got a big family. Names are fancy, what nationality are you?" He asked as they continued to walk.

"Croatia. Both parents born there and as well as my brothers and myself. We lived there till the year two thousand and one before we all moved to Brisbane until two thousand and ten then moved to Sydney since my Dad had to move for his work." She explained.

"Huh, that's a big move. Did your brothers meet their wives in Croatia or...?" He was curious and fascinated.

"Ante met Louise in Croatia, they dated forever until they married about eight years ago. Dominik and Leo found their girlies in Sydney." She told him, then continued, "Dom married four years ago and Leo three years ago."

"And you are the only girl, yeah?" Cillian asked they paused at a set of lights.

"Yep. The baby of the family, it's tough." She said a little tentatively.

"How'd the parents feel about you coming here?" He noticed she didn't really want to elaborate on that subject.

"Not happy. But I'm hoping it's only fear for me being here by myself rather than their eternal disappointment in me." She said with a trace of bitterness to her tone.

Cillian looked over at her, seeing the cloudy look she had on her freckled face. He nodded, "But you look out for yourself, you do what you enjoy. Life is short, and you shouldn't let the opinions of others bring you down." He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah. I know that" She looked up at him, "But, my whole life felt like I just kept disappointing them no matter what I tried to do. They didn't, especially my mum, want me to pursue a fashion designer career. More with business and that crap. That's not me. I want to create, make things, design. That's why I've also picked up a major in game design." She gulped as they walked across the road, they came to a shopping strip after the walk.

"Come on, this doesn't seem to be a happy subject. Look, there's a lot of boutiques here, a lot of famous people had once wandered the streets here." He said, changing the subject for her.

She was grateful for the change and walked along the strip, looking through the windows.

As they walked, he pointed out things of interest for her. She took photos of the buildings or the interesting architecture and even got him to snap a photo of her next to the red phone box.

She wanted to ask him to join but thought otherwise, feeling a little embarrassed to ask.

She weaved in and out of stores and he happily tagged along inside, not minding the feminine clothing that surrounded him. He even went as so far picking things out for her and they had a good laugh when she politely said it wasn't her style.

After she bought some stuff and even snuck in lingerie or two, they headed towards Buckingham Palace and the park nearby.

It began to rain once they reached there, and using her brand new umbrella they huddled very close under it as it was quite small.

She giggled as they paused under a large tree, "So much for coming this far." She said.

"You never know with London weather." He said, grinning.

He smelled really good, like cinnamon and a hint of wood fire and luxury.

They stood under the tree, and he had moved an arm around her to make more space for them both.

She leaned into his body a little, his warmth transferred to her and she thanked him mentally for it.

The rain let up, sprinkling now. "Should we go get coffee instead of standing here?" She asked in a timid voice.

"That might be a good idea. I know one just around the block."

They hurried across the road together, dodging puddles and mud. They scurried into the little coffee shop where she ordered an almond cappuccino and he had a black coffee.

There wasn't any space in the shop so they stood outside under the awning, shoulder to shoulder, clutching their take away cups.

Gabrijela giggled softly, she was cold but the warmth of the cup made it sort of bearable.

Once they drank that, they came to the edge of the road but a car drove way to fast.

Water splashed everywhere on them both, Gab taking the brunt of it. They turned to each other and looked at each other, then burst out into laughter.

"Oh my god," She whined but had a big grin, "We definitely have to head home." She said.

"Indeed! Before we catch a cold." He hailed a taxi and they got in with the bags that were still dry. "At least I got a new shirt in here, I can put that on." He mused.

"Lucky. I'll have to get this all cleaned up." She pouted. "I love this jumper."

They arrived back to her apartment and they headed inside. She set her bags on the bed and went through the dresser to find some fresh set of clothing for tonight.

"May I pick you up around six instead?" He asked.

"Sure, but that leaves us one hour to get ready now. You might as well stay." She said as she held her clothing in her arms.

"I know. But I'll head home quickly, change and come right back." He said, she noted the slight nerves in his posture, especially in his eyes. Why was he nervous?

"Okay. I'll be ready by then." She said.

He departed and she had a shower, reapplied her makeup and pulled on her new outfit for tonight. It was a black, blue and red checkered mini skirt with a white button-up blouse and a red coat that came just to her knees. She had thigh-high boots and left out her wavy hair.

The bell rang and she let him up again, unlocking the door and he stepped in.

Cillian was dressed very well. Black jeans with a nice pair of loafers, a white button-up shirt that was tucked in with a casual suit jacket on top. His cologne was rich and smelled good.

She beamed, she spotted purple socks he wore, "Flashy." She mused, "You look good. And you smell just as nice."

He looked at her, eyes darting up and down and his expression was bright and cheery, "You look... lovely." He said with almost a stutter as if he couldn't find the right words. That small intimate smile returned.

She bit her lip and looked away, her cheeks heating, "Thank you." Her stomach was doing flips but in a good way. This man was really seeping into her heart, intoxicating her with his lovely smiles and cute accent.

"Should we go? I-I'm ready." Gabrijela said she picked up her crossbody bag.

"Lets." He held the door open for her, and place his hand on the small of her back as he guided her out.

The pair left the building and drove off somewhere else in London. The area was named Covent Garden, he found some restaurant called the Ivy Market Grill.

It had stopped raining thankfully, as Cillian had to park quite far from the place. "The only problem here is the shit parking." He cursed as he found a spot and parked.

"So I've heard." She said as she got out of the car. "So why here?" She asked him as they walked along the footpath.

"Its a bit pricey but the food is good, or so my friends have told me." He said, "Atmosphere is nice, comfy. The whole place is designed almost authentically, too. Wanted to bring you to a place which makes authentic food." He explained.

"Okay. Sounds lovely." Gabrijela was eager to try some good food, she loved her food, and if it was local, even better.

They arrived at the restaurant, and once inside she felt like she was taken back some decades. It was mostly brown, green, rust and cream colours, mixed with odd patterns and round lights. There was a large bar and the place was almost packed.

Cillian spoke to a waiter and they were taken upstairs to the terrace, which was covered and was seated next to the railing that overlooked the piazza below.

"It's really nice." She nodded, it was cosy and light, especially upstairs.

"It is, it is. I hope the food is just as good." He said.

The waiter came by after a bit and Cillian ordered a glass of red wine, she did the same, she liked red.

"You're a red girl, huh?" Cillian sat back in the chair. He ordered a bottle instead.

"Yeah, I don't mind it. I like having it with dinner mostly. White... Hmm, I like Moscato, I'm a sweet person. When I go out though with my friends, its either vodka or tequila, or a mix of both and various other killing kinda spirit." She laughed softly.

"That's alright, at least you like a wide range of drinks. I stick to my red wines or some good local ale." He replied, "You said you go out? Where to?"

"Uh, well in Sydney, mostly night clubs or do a classic pub run with my best friend and her mate. I'm a single gal, so I'm hoping to find a man who is willing to uh, date me or something. I get dates but uh... It ends up in bed and no more after that." She blushed a little.

"Really? You seem like a really smart and talented girl. Who wouldn't want to date you?" He asked, clearly shocked with his raised brows.

The bottle came and the waiter poured them a glass each, she took a sip of hers, "I guess Sydney boys don't like a smart girl. Only for a good fuck for a couple of times." She sighed, "I'm over that, those friends with benefits. I'm twenty-five, and most of my friends are getting married soon, three of them are next year. One already has two kids." She twirled the glass on the table, "Guys I meet are immature, or like I said want to just get laid, they don't want anything serious. I want something serious. But it seems like a turn-off." She whispered.

"Well, if you want my honest opinion, I don't think its a turn-off. It's nice to hear a girl like you who wants something for herself. You want kids eventually?" She nodded, "Marriage?" She nodded again. "I can say the same for myself."

She almost choked on her drink, "Ah, yeah. Yeah." She hastily wiped her mouth.

"I-I mean, not with you- I-I mean unless- Ah- Fuck, sorry. Fuck." He let out a nervous and embarrassing laugh.

"It's okay." She laughed, reaching over suddenly and took his hand, squeezing it. "No offence." She winked at him and it seemed to calm him down.

A waiter came over finally and took their orders. It seemed to calm the air between them. Whatever it was. Her heart had skipped a beat when he spoked about how her needs and wants wasn't a turn-off. Was that a turn-on for him? She kicked herself mentally for thinking such an absurd thing. He was so way out of her league, and her parents would definitely not approve.

Besides, she was here on an internship, not to find a guy.

But she looked up and met those pretty baby blue eyes, and she could see something appear in them. Something.

"So," she finally said after some seconds that passed once the waiter left, "Music. You were in a band. What do you like to listen to?"

"Uhm, just to name a few, Daft Punk occasionally, Blur, or Nils Frahm when I need something to chill out to." He said. "I got some old records that I still listen to, helps me get into a good mindset when I need to act."

"Cool. I'm pretty easy, I listen to whatever sounds good I guess? I love a bit of everything except like heavy metal or country. If you check out my Spotify its a mixture of music, old classic pop and rock, or today's music. Even got a Croatian playlist too." She shrugged.

"Top favourite band?" He asked, "Or two."

She thought for a bit, "Imagine Dragons and... Fuck, I don't know. I love a lot of bands. My top song is Live it Up by Mental As Anything and Born to Be Yours by Imagine Dragons. Even Radioactive, god, I could put that on so loud and I'd be so far away from this world." She sighed, smiling.

"In what way?" Curiosity laced his voice.

"I read a lot of fantasy books, young adult, paranormal romance. I like to envision myself in those worlds as the heroine, fighting monsters and... stuff like that." She blushed. "I daydream a lot, writing is another thing I do. Whenever I get the chance."

"Brilliance of a creative person, so music helps you dream?" He seemed very intrigued, fascinated. And truly interested in what she had to say.

So she continued, surprisingly, "Yeah. Sometimes the lyrics don't need to help me, but mostly the tune. So, like alternative, indie rock. I like that stuff, gets my mind rolling." She said, her eyes glittering with joy. He didn't seem afraid either, he spoke wildly and passionately about how music also affected him in ways that let him experience highs and lows.

When their food came, it didn't stop their conversation. They chatted about music, about the changes in genres and all that.

It connected them very well, and she felt so unafraid for the first time to open up about her likes. She was over the moon that he didn't judge her, he asked questions, genuine questions of herself.

Even went into their dislikes, and they clicked through that.

Their dinner was over and he was quick to pay despite her trying to offer money.

"Keep it," He said as they walked out of the restaurant. He held her coat and helped her put it on. "Buy something for yourself. Tonight is on me." He kept his arm around her shoulders as he guided her down the street.

"Where we going now?" She asked, sliding an arm around his waist. It was more comfortable to walk like that, not because she wanted to. Or maybe she did.

"There's a pub here that has live music. Alternative rock. Haven't heard of the band before but thought it would be fun to go." He said as the pub neared.

There was a shit ton of people, they all piled outside and drinking. Music spilled out in the night. It was a very good beat.

"Ladies first." He said and gestured with a hand for her to go first. She did, and his hand found that spot on her back.

Once inside the pub, it was fairly large and people were seated in booths or tables or gathered around the bar.

She saw a bunch of people wave from a booth, "There. Come on." He took her arm instead and they pushed through the throng of people.

"Hey, mate! Glad you could come!" A man rose up from the booth, shaking hands with Cillian. "Oh man, my friend is so stoked you could be here tonight. It means so much." The guy was grinning wide.

Cillian smiled, "Yeah, man. No worries. You talked him up so much, so he better be good." He teased.

"Definitely! Ah, and who's this pretty lady?" The man turned to Gabrijela.

She could see him and his buddies were a little tipsy but she gave them a lovely smile either way. "Hi," She shook hands.

"Gabrijela, she's come all the way from Sydney! To work with me and the rest of the cast." Cillian explained.

"Oh! Lucky girl. I'm Joel by the way. Don't worry, Cillian 'ere is a fantastic man. He'll look after you splendid." Joel winked at her, picking up the subtle hint.

She frowned a little but she was ushered to sit. She sat at the end opposite Cillian to some other man whose name was Lawrence.

"I'm gonna get drinks, what do you want?" Cillian asked her as he knelt beside her.

"Surprise me." She leaned in to speak into his ear.

He nodded and stood up and disappeared in the crowd.

"So," Joel leaned on the table, "How long are you stayin' in London?"

"About a year. It's the length of my Internship with a month of free time in December." She explained.

"Oh yeah? Neat. How you feeling? Are you by yourself?" Lawrence jumped into the conversation. He was uncomfortably close to her, especially his hand.

"Uh... I'm feeling okay. Nervous." She said, not answering his last question. The situation made her on edge. She had been in this scene before. Cillian, she thought, where the fuck are you?

"You looking for something here?" Leo hummed, giving her a once over.

"No." She said, standing her ground. "I'm here for my studies. Nothing more." She gave him a pointed look.

"I'm just asking, Miss. Usually, you girls are after more than just a job. I work for a taxi company that--"

"Listen here, mate." She leaned over, slapping the business card out of his hand. She knew what kinda taxi driver this sick prick was, "I'm not here to fuck with men or women. I'm here to work, to get experience in a fashion career. And you fucker give me shit like this? You're sick." She spat.

She'd walk, but Cillian had come over looking cheery as always. He looked at Gabrijela, seeing her posture of her crossed legs and arms.

"Hey, we good here?" He asked as he set the wine glass in front of her and one for himself, and two beer glasses in front of his friends.

"Yeah, mate. It's fine. Hey look they're about to get on stage." Joel nodded to the band setting up now after the first one finished.

As the band fixed their gear, she felt a nudge under the table. She looked and Cillian mouth 'Are you okay?'

She nodded, giving him a smile but it didn't reach her eyes. Cillian frowned sitting back before Joel sucked him into a conversation.

Lawrence on the other hand, wanted to talk to her, "Is this your first time overseas?"

"No," She said blandly, sipping her wine as she faced the rugged man.

"Where did you go? If this isn't your first time." Lawrence continued.

"Europe with family. I'm here-" She stopped herself.

"By yourself? That's brave." He purred.

Fuck.

"Yeah. Very." She looked away, the band began to play.

The night went on and Lawrence seemed to leave her alone and she began to feel a little better. The boys talked about work and whatever, and she listened to the band playing.

They were pretty good and she bopped to it, even taped some of it as a memory.

Then she spotted a photo booth, and a smile broke out, "Cillian." She said, bringing his attention to her. "There's a photo booth. Can we go to it?" She asked.

"With me?" He asked.

"Yeah, I love those things." She stood, holding out her hand for him.

"Alright. We'll be back." He said to Joel and Lawrence.

The pair went to the photo booth, and she paid for it. They took six photos together, silly poses and some serious or smiling ones. They looked at the photos and both laughed, there was one for her and one for him.

"I'm gonna cherish this." She said to him, hugging him suddenly.

He was taken aback but hugged her back, "Same here." He said.

"I'm gonna head to the ladies room, I'll be right back." She said to him and pulled away to go to the toilet.

Cillian returned to the table, tucking the photo into his pocket, "Where'd your girlie go?" Joel asked.

"Ladies room," Cillian replied lightly before they went back to the conversation.

Lawrence took a moment before he got up and went towards the toilet.

Gabrijela was just walking out when she ran right into Lawrence.

"Woah!" He gripped her arms.

"Let go." She growled and pushed his arms away.

"Damn girl. You are a feisty one." He smirked, cornering her.

"You fucker. Let me through." She tried to get past him but he had her pinned.

"Why you acting like this? Shouldn't you be happy? Getting the attention yeah?" He purred. His breath reeked.

"Get off me!" She cried, but the music was so loud, and the area was dark that no one really paid attention.

"Come on girl, I know you like this-"

No. She definitely wasn't. Before his hands could yank up her skirt or jumper, she brought her knee between his legs.

He gasped and fell to his knees, clutching himself.

Gabrijela picked up her bag and tried to fix her jumper, tears began to fall down as she rushed through the crowd.

When she reached the table she grabbed her unfinished wine and threw it on Joel.

"Fuck you." She snapped, "How dare you. How dare you!"

Cillian shot to his feet, "Hey! What's wrong? Gab?" He grabbed her arms.

"Let me go!" She shook herself free from him. "That old pervert sent his cocksucker on me! He had his hands on me!" She was infuriated, humiliated in a way and frightened.

She turned from Cillian and pushed through the crowd, and stumbled out of the pub as tears fell down her cheeks more freely now.

She stormed down the street, she needed to get home, have a shower.

"Gabrijela!" She could hear Cillian's voice call for her. "Gab! Wait!"

He caught up to her and got her to stop by standing in front of her, "Gab, hey. Look at me, hey." His voice was gentle and soft.

She couldn't look up, but his fingers took her chin and he tilted her face up, "What happened? Talk to me," He was seriously concerned and worried.

She sniffled, she explained what happened and had clung to his arms. "I-I'm sorry I-"

"No. You're not at fault. I'm sorry, I should've picked it up sooner. God, I'm so sorry," He pulled her into his body, and she wrapped her arms around him.

He stroked her back slowly and she found it comforting. "Let's go home, yeah?"

"Yeah." She nodded and pulled away slightly. He kept his arm around her shoulder as they walked back to the car.

He put on some gentle music and it eased her all the way back to the apartment.

They silently walked up the stairs and he came in with her. She sat on her bed, sighing heavily. She tried to take off her boots but she couldn't.

"Let me help." He came over and knelt in front of her. His fingers brushed her skin and watched him closely as he peeled off her boots. He set them aside and then helped her out of her jacket and hung it up for her.

She flopped back on the bed, eyes shut.

"Will you be okay? By yourself?" He asked her as he sat beside her.

"I..." She opened her eyes, looking at him. Her heart melted at the sight. She didn't think she ever saw a man so worried like he did right there. She smiled a little, "I... Stay. Please." she sat up slowly, leaning closer to him.

"Okay. I'll sleep on the couch-"

"No. Could..." she sucked in a breath, "Hold me? Please? U-Unless that's too much since we-"

"Of course. Doesn't bother me." He reached up and brushed a knuckle along her cheekbone. "Get changed into something more comfortable though." He added.

She nodded and got off the bed, she grabbed her singlet and the silky booty shorts she had and changed in the bathroom. She cleaned up her face and combed her hair before she stepped out.

Cillian had kicked off his shoes and his jacket and was simply in his shirt and his boxers.

"Someone's comfortable." She said with a smile.

"Ah, I mean- I can put my jeans-" He stuttered and reached for them.

"No," she rushed to him, taking his hands, "No, I was only kidding. It's fine."

"I'm wearing underwear under them." He offered.

She snorted, and then laughed, "It's fine. Really. Do I look any better?" She huffed.

He looked her up and down quickly and his cheeks went a shade of pink. He didn't answer her.

He got into the bed first and she went to the other side.

Once they were in and comfortable, he held open his arm, "Come here." He said softly.

She accepted the offer and rolled into his side, her hand resting on his chest, her head on his shoulder.

His arm came around her, his other arm was bent under his head.

"I'm sorry for tonight how it ended. I had hoped it went better." Cillian said softly.

"It's okay, Cilly. Dinner was wonderful, made perfect because of you." She looked up at him. "I will remember that most."

He looked at her, and sighed softly, "Okay, but I will make it up to you."

"Don't-"

"Shush," He said and she raised a brow, "I want to okay? Please. This was on me, and I should've been more aware."

It was her turn to sigh, but she gave in, "Okay. Okay. Make it up to me." She whispered.

They held each other gaze before he blinked and laid his head back, "Get some sleep. Tomorrow... who knows. We'll see." He said.

She nodded and shifted a little, her leg brushed along his. "Goodnight." She murmured.

"Goodnight." He replied he pressed a kiss to her head. His fingers slowly moved up and down her side, it made her body relax.

She listened to his heartbeat, letting it lull her into a dreamless sleep. Cillian held her the whole time, even after he fell asleep.

#cillian murphy #peaky blinders #thomas shelby #fanfiction

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brokehorrorfan · 5 years ago

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Event Report: Rhode Island Comic Con 2019

The eighth annual Rhode Island Comic Con took place November 1-3 at the Rhode Island Convention Center and the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, RI. With the new layout implemented the previous year proving to be successful, the show ran like a well-oiled machine. When not enamored by the countless vendors, I spent a good deal of the weekend in the panel rooms listening to anecdotes from a host of beloved actors.

The first panel of the weekend was with The Office's Brian Baumgartner (who played Kevin) and Leslie David Baker (who played Stanley). After being forced to turn away dozens of fans from last year's The Office Q&A with other cast members, the convention smartly booked the bigger panel room this time around. They discussed the show's longevity and the possibility of a revival. "It will never be the same," Baker stated, but they remain open to the idea; he encouraged fans to write to NBC if they want to see it. Many laughs were had, with Baumgartner occasionally slipping into his character’s voice, in addition to dropping not one but two "That's what she said!" jokes.

Richard Dreyfuss' panel immediately followed. The Academy Award-winning actor opened by saying that he has answered every Jaws question over the years, so if you ask one he hasn't heard he'll give you $10 - but if you ask one he has heard you owe him $10. He promised more than just funny stories from film sets - although that's what most people wanted to hear. More than half of the 45-minute discussion was dedicated to the absence of civics in today's educational system, a subject on which Dreyfuss wrote a soon-to-be-published book. He did answer a few film-related questions, but the moderator - a local podcast host - did not help the situation.

A Q&A with Freddy Krueger himself, Robert Englund, was a fun way to cap off the first day. A born storyteller with an encyclopedic knowledge of film, his panels are always fascinating. He discussed his work in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise at length, citing Part 4 has his favorite performance, New Nightmare as his favorite to make, and Tina from Part 1 as his favorite death scene. With questions culled from Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, Galaxy of Terror, and Never Too Young to Die, Englund called it his most esoteric panel. He concluded by telling the audience about True Terror, a new Travel Channel series he's hosting that's set to premiere in February.

I've never watched a single episode of Star Trek, but I had a hunch that William Shatner's panel would be wildly entertaining - and he proved me right. With no need for a moderator, he began by telling the captive audience about The Ride, an upcoming documentary following his eight-day motorcycle journey from Chicago to Los Angeles, and his new blues album that's due out next year. Surprisingly, there were no Star Trek questions; topics of conversation ranged from Judgment at Nuremberg and Better Late Than Never to working with whales and his likeness being used for Michael Myers' mask in Halloween.

The godfather of the modern action figure, Marty Abrams, shared the fascinating story of his Mego Corporation. While Abrams remained diplomatic, Mego consultant Paul Clarke asserted their side of the infamous Star Wars story. Abrams did not pass on the Star Wars license; he was in Japan working on Micronauts and never had a meeting. In a "perfect storm," Kenner happened to be located in the same building and signed the deal before Abrams returned. He estimates it cost him billions of dollars. It was a riveting companion to the Kenner-centric Star Wars episode of Netflix's The Toys That Made Us. Abrams also revealed that a Micronauts TV series and movie are in development. The recently relaunched Mego is looking into more contemporary packaging and more play value to appeal to the younger demographic. They're also continuing to expand their licenses, with Star Trek: The Next Generation coming soon.

I attempted to attend the Stranger Things panel on Saturday evening, but my lack of a mysterious wristband - about which no advanced information was issued - prevented me from doing so. It was a blessing in disguise, however, as I used the spare time to score a front-row seat for Elijah Wood's Q&A. Despite being one of the headlining guests, Wood was in the smaller panel room, which quickly reached capacity.

Wood shared several anecdotes about The Lord of the Rings, confirming that the fellowship actors have matching tattoos and disclosing that he has never read J.R.R. Tolkien's source material. ("I lived the books," he quipped.) He revealed that although Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency is likely done for good, there have been talks of an animated continuation. He also expressed his desire to direct, stating that he would gravitate toward genre films. He cited The Thing, The Exorcist, Rosemary's Baby, Don't Look Now, Carrie, and The Innocents as his favorite horror films, with Goodnight Mommy, Hereditary, and The Witch being recent favorites. He even rushed off stage to hug a Canadian fan who drove over four hours to see Mandy - produced by Wood's SpectreVision - on the big screen.

Sunday morning kicked off with Christina Ricci's panel. A self-described "very different child," she hypothesized that being raised in a chaotic atmosphere led her to darker roles as a child actress, but playing those parts also impacted her. She cites Buffalo 66 and The Ice Storm among the roles she's most proud of. She loved the technical aspects of working on The Addams Family and considers herself particularly lucky to have worked with Raul Julia. When asked about playing Morticia in an Addams Family reboot, she said she'd be happy to, but it would make more sense for her to play an adult Wednesday. She also discussed making her debut at the age of 7 in a Saturday Night Live skit, an embarrassing experience filming Casper’s kissing scene in the early days of CGI, smoking her first cigarette with Winona Ryder on the set of Mermaids, and understanding the importance of Lizzie Borden upon appearing in New England that weekend.

Like his Star Trek co-star, George Takei was not accompanied by a moderator. He began by speaking about They Called Us Enemy, his new graphic novel about being imprisoned in a Japanese-American interment camp at the age of 5 following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, despite the fact that he and his family were born in America. The subject matter sadly remains relevant, but it was heartening to hear his resolve as well as the audience's reaction. The actor/activist also publicly revealed his support of Pete Buttigieg for the Democratic presidential nomination. He discussed how Star Trek has "lived long and prospered" for over 50 years before proudly speaking about his recent work on AMC's The Terror: Infamy, on which he served as a consultant in addition to acting. While answering fan questions, he shared a humorous anecdote about doing the Howard Stern show for the first time without knowing what he was getting into.

Rhode Island Comic Con marked comedy legend Chevy Chase's first convention, leading a Vacation family reunion, and saw the final public appearance of Sesame Street's former Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, Caroll Spinney. In addition to those mentioned, the guest list included Gaten Matarazzo (Stranger Things), Benedict Wong (Doctor Strange), Evanna Lynch (Harry Potter), Alfie Allen (Game of Thrones), Anthony Michael Hall (The Breakfast Club), Patrick Warburton (The Tick), Alex Kingston (Doctor Who), Robert Patrick (Terminator 2), Steven Yeun (The Walking Dead), Lou Ferrigno (The Incredible Hulk), Jaleel White (Family Matters), Richard Brake (Three from Hell), professional wrestling legend Mick Foley, and dozens more.

Beyond the impressive line-up of celebrity guests and a wide variety of vendors, Rhode Island Comic Con also featured comic book creators ranging from big names to indie up-and-comers, exclusive merchandise, after parties, kids activities, geek speed dating, and more. Cosplayers are always a highlight, so I was eager to catch the costume contest on Sunday afternoon. A great Buzz Lightyear - who nailed not only the costume but also the mannerisms - took home the grand prize, bringing the weekend’s fun to infinity and beyond.

Click here to see all of my Rhode Island Comic Con 2019 photos.

#rhode island comic con #christina ricci #elijah wood #robert englund #richard dreyfuss #william shater #george takei #article #event report #cosplay #the office #brian baumgartner #leslie david baker #chevy chase #freddy krueger

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heliosphoenix · 5 years ago

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State of the Planet: 2019 Edition

Alright everyone, it's time once again for Helios' annual wrap up of the orbit we've just taken around the ol' Sun. This is the State of the Planet as we close out 2019.

Now before I begin I want to state that, unlike seemingly everyone else, I'll only be looking back at things that happened this year as opposed to this decade. For those wondering why, it's because I want to save my decade wrap up for when the decade actually ends. And as anyone who was around for Y2K can tell you, because there was no Year 0, the next decade doesn't actually begin until 2021.

Which means my decade wrap-up will be a year from today (and thus quite lame) but at least I'll be consistent.

So, with that in mind, let's take a look back at what happened this year:

Same-sex marriage became legal in Austria, Taiwan, Ecuador and Northern Ireland.

Pope Francis became the first Pope to visit the Arabian peninsula.

Avengers: Endgame became the highest grossing movie of all time.

A 17 year old in Britain was the first person to receive a genetically modified phage therapy to treat a drug-resistant infection.

Jane Goodall won the Luxembourg Prize for Outstanding Environmental Peace.

Humpback whales recovered from near-extinction in the South Atlantic.

71 new species were discovered this year.

The Antarctic ozone hole was the smallest on record since its discovery.

One third of the world's electricity is now powered by renewable energy sources.

A record number of African American women (34) graduated from West Point.

The Indian Navy welcomed its first-ever woman pilot.

The European Commission elected its first female President.

Chicago elected its first African-American woman mayor.

Ali Stroker became the first wheelchair-bound actor to win a Tony award for her role in "Oklahoma!"

Game of Thrones, The Big Bang Theory and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic came to an end with strong finales (2/3 anyway).

The New England Patriots won the Super Bowl, making it 6 rings for Tom Brady.

The Washington Nationals won their first World Series.

The US Women's National Team won the 2019 World Cup, their fourth title.

A new form of messenger RNA Aerosol was developed, which could be helpful for treating diseases like Cystic Fibrosis.

Malaria was eliminated from Algeria and Argentina.

Two men may have been cured of HIV.

Child mortality rates are at an all time low.

Researchers at the University of Michigan and UC Berkeley developed new 3D Printing methods.

Waymo has chosen Michigan to be the site of the world's first autonomous vehicle production factory.

All 16 gigabytes of Wikipedia were encoded into synthetic DNA.

The US Government authorized funds for Geoengineering.

Video was taken by NOAA researches of a Giant Squid in the Gulf of Mexico.

SpaceX's Dragon 2 and Boeing's Starliner capsules made their first flights.

The first all-women Spacewalk was conducted on the International Space Station.

India, Israel and China launched probes to the Moon, with China making the first soft landing on the far side.

Water was detected on Mars and K2-18b, a Super-Earth 110 light years away.

The New Horizons space probe made a fly by of the KBO Arrokoth (then known as Ultima Thule)

For the first time ever, a Black Hole was imaged.

The above is a snapshot of where I'm at right now, the final hours of 2019. You, dear reader, are in the future. Let this list above serve as a reminder of what we've experienced in this past year.

Now the time has come for me to give a little speech to tie up everything that we've been through in 2019. Usually this is the part where I have trouble, but the truth is that I've known for a while what word I want to use to describe this past year.

The word of the year is "sacrifice."

This is a word that isn't supposed to be thrown around lightly, but I feel it's lost its meaning. When sons of certain politicians equate their lost business opportunities to what the soldiers buried in Arlington gave up...I get the feeling that the meaning has been cheapened.

As Captain America said to Tony Stark, it's about fighting for someone besides yourself. It's about laying down on the wire to let the others crawl over you.

It's about giving up your youth to bring attention to a coming environmental disaster, as we saw with Greta Thunburg.

It's about going into a disaster zone to save one life, as we saw with the first responders who ventured into areas ravaged by Hurricanes or Earthquakes, or battled raging wildfires in the United States and Australia.

It's about risking your own life in the name of standing up for your rights and liberties, as we saw with the protesters in Hong Kong.

It's about nearly destroying yourself to save an entire continent, if not a planet, as we saw re-enacted in HBO's Chernobyl.

As we here in America prepare to once again ask ourselves what course our nation should take, I feel that we've lost sight of the sacrifices the Founders made to get us to this point. We seem less concerned with the prosperity of our nation and more concerned with the prosperity of those that we happen to like, with the misfortune of those who disagree with us not only accepted, but desired. We've gone from E pluribus, unum to "my side needs to win no matter what, fuck the others."

This is not to say we are averse to the notion of sacrifice. We're perfectly willing to give up something for our friends and family as well as anyone who happens to share the same views. But I feel that we're not willing to go further than that. If we are to continue to proclaim ourselves, as we indeed are, the defenders of liberty and freedom wherever they may exist in the world, then we need to uphold ourselves to those values. We need to be willing to make sacrifices not just for ourselves and our "side", whatever that may be, but for all Americans.

And more importantly, all citizens of this Earth must be willing to make a sacrifice not just for their city or country or race or ideology, but for all of humanity. This is the only way for us to fulfill our destiny. The future of our species awaits us among the stars, and I know that the only way to get there is together.

So as we head into the true final year of this decade, consider what you are willing to give up and who you're willing to give it up for. And remember that the time will come when we all will have to decide whether or not to make a sacrifice in the name of something that's greater than all of us. What that sacrifice is and whether or not you choose to make it is for you to decide.

Just know that somewhere out there in a sea of 400 billion Suns is a world just like this one.

We owe it to ourselves and our children yet unborn to give our species the best possible chance to visit. Just in case it turns out to have Jedi or Ponies.

Have a great day, a great week, a great month and a great 2020.

See you next year.

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trinuviel · 6 years ago

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Winterfell’s Daughter. On Sansa Stark (part 15)

I’ve previously written a series of essays that analyse Sansa Stark’s narrative arc in Game of Thrones - during season 1 (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6) and during season 2 (Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10) and now during season 3 (Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14).

As I’ve repeatedly stated, Sansa’s season 3 arc revolves around her political importance as Robb Stark’s heir apparent since her younger brothers Bran and Rickon are dead in the eyes of Westeros. Several major power players attempt to secure Sansa in order to control her claim to the North but it is the Lannisters who win that political game by wedding her to Tyrion after Petyr Baelish revealed the secret plan of the Tyrells to marry Sansa to Ser Loras. In this post, I’m going to take a closer look at how the wedding between Sansa and Tyrion plays out in episode 8.

BEFORE THE WEDDING

In my previous post, I criticized the manner in which the show frames Sansa’s reaction to the fact that she is forced to marry Tyrion Lannister - a marriage designed to exploit her status as Robb’s heir, a marriage predicated upon a plot to murder her brother and his pregnant wife so that Sansa will become the Key to the North in truth. It is a diabolical plan when you really think about it but the show mainly presents this whole thing from Tyrion’s perspective and when we are shown Sansa’s reactions, they are framed as shallow and intolerant (i.e. she’s not attracted to Tyrion because he’s a dwarf). The fact that she’s the victim in this scheme is effectively glossed over in episode 7 when Margaery attempts to console her.

Fortunately, the show turns out to be rather inconsistent in terms of how it frames Sansa’s reaction to this marriage in episode 8 where Tyrion comes to see her before the ceremony. The scene starts with a close-up of Sansa’s doll, the one that Ned gave her after he killed Lady. This doll may have functioned as a symbol of Ned’s guilt (x) and a reminder of Lady’s death in the beginning but after his death, it has come to mean something else for Sansa. Now it is the last tangible link to her father as well as a source of comfort to her (x). It is also a visual reminder to the audience that Sansa is still a child – and too young to get married! This is something that the show also explicitly states – both Shae and Tyrion call her a child within the context of marriage and sex, which really drives home how callous Tywin Lannister is in his exploitation of her claim to the North.

After the close-up of the doll, the camera pans up and we see that the doll is placed on Sansa’s dressing table, next to the mirror wherein we see her reflection as her maids prepare her for her wedding. There’s a knock on the door and Tyrion enters the room, his reflection joining Sansa’s in the mirror. Sansa stands up to greet her intended while Shae remains at her side.

Sansa: You look very handsome, my lord.

Tyrion (sarcastically): Oh, yes. The husband of your dreams. But you do look glorious.

Sansa fidgets, wringing her hands nervously as Tyrion asks for a moment alone with her. The conversation that follows is very awkward, mostly because Tyrion repeatedly says the wrong things, then realizing his blunders and trying to backtrack.

Tyrion: My lady, I want you to know. I didn’t ask for this.

Sansa (tonelessly): I hope I will not disappoint you, my lord.

Tyrion: No, don’t. You don’t have to speak to me as a prisoner. You won’t be a prisoner after today. You’ll be my wife.

This is a rather tactless utterance on Tyrion’s part. The fact remains that Sansa IS a prisoner – and the marriage is designed to keep her a permanent one. Tyrion may not have asked for this marriage but Sansa never gave her consent and she isn’t in a position to refuse. This is a FORCED marriage and she is not obligated to try to make the best of it or relieve Tyrion of his unease. However, she doesn’t dare to express her displeasure. Instead we see Sansa utilizing her trademark courtesy as a piece of emotional armour, keeping up a wall of icy politeness to keep Tyrion at arm’s length.

Tyrion: I suppose that is a different kind of prison.

So he does understand but then he immediately tries to forge a connection in another way, only to fail again.

Tyrion: I just wanted to say… I’m just trying to say, very badly… I just… Just want to say I know how you feel.

This is just incredibly presumptuous of him. While he didn’t ask for the marriage, his feelings cannot be compared to Sansa’s. Her hopes for freedom have been crushed and she can only look forward to a lifelong imprisonment as the Lannisters attempt to steal her home. Tyrion is trying to make himself feel better because he knows that this marriage is designed to disenfranchise her while it is set up to benefit him. Thankfully, Sansa refuses to play along here.

Sansa: I doubt that very much my lord.

Tyrion: You’re right. I have no idea how you feel. And you have no idea how I feel.

It is clear that Sansa’s impassive demeanour makes Tyrion very uncomfortable, which makes him defensive. However, he is also very much aware of how wrong it is of Tywin to force Sansa into this marriage and he’s trying to make himself feel a bit better about the role he is to play in this farce.

The camera cuts to a close-up of Tyrion taking Sansa’s hand.

Tyrion: But I promise you one thing, my lady. I won’t ever hurt you.

Finally, Tyrion strikes the right chord. He ought simply to have lead with an acknowledgement that she doesn’t want this marriage but that he’ll never hurt her. He takes her arm and they leave her chambers. Then the camera cuts to an exterior view of the Sept of Baelor where the wedding ceremony is to take place.

What is notable about this shot is the fact that the cinematographer uses a frog’s eye perspective (from below), which makes the building loom threateningly over the spectator. This is a good example of how the camera work can be invested with emotion. The prospect of the wedding and the marriage is an oppressive threat for Sansa – so one can argue that the first view of the Sept of Baelor is set within her POV and the audience is invited to share it through the visual language.

THE CEREMONY

After a barbed conversation between Margaery and Cersei, the camera cuts to an exterior view of the doors to sept, shot from the frog’s eye perspective that lends the visuals an oppressive, even threatening quality. As the doors are slowly opening, Sansa walks into frame until she is framed by the door way.

Then the camera cuts to an OTS (over the shoulder) shot with Sansa framed by the light from the open doorway and a pair of septas.

She’s the visual focal point of this scene though the OTS shot locates the camera (and thus the eye of the audience) within Tyrion’s POV - since the OTS shot is a device often used to anchor a shot within the POV of a given character.

The camera gets to peek over the shoulder of our main talent and assumes a point of view like that of our talent. The camera (and therefore the viewing audience) sees directly what the main talent sees. Granted, the face of the actor is hidden from view, so we do not know what he or she may be thinking or feeling from this angle, but since the audience is placed into the shot from the character’s point-of-view (POV), the audience is encouraged to do the thinking and feeling for the character or as the character more directly. This is sort of an objective – subjective shot type where you get a privileged point of view from what is usually a more neutral camera angle. (x)

The OTS shot is followed by a close-up of Tyrion - this reaction shot also functions to make clear that we are dealing with Tyrion’s experience as Sansa enters the sept. We are still within his POV.

A reaction shot is one of the basic units of film grammar and it is used as part of the non-verbal story-telling in order to express the inner life of the characters:

A reaction shot usually implies the display of some sort of emotion on the face of the actor being shown, and is thus most commonly a close-up shot (although a group of actors may be shown reacting together). A reaction shot is also generally bereft of dialogue, though this is not an absolute rule. Its main purpose is to show an emotional response to the immediately preceding action or words of another character in the scene, or to an event in the immediately preceding scene which may or may not involve another actor (e.g., an explosion, monster, empty room, etc.) (x)

There are a lot of reaction shots in this scene as we see the various characters respond to what is happening - and since this is a fairly long scene with very little dialogue, these shots are quite important in order to lend the proceedings emotional intensity.

After Sansa has moved into the sept, Joffrey approaches her with a swagger and a smirk. He can hardly contain his glee because he’s using this event to torture her emotionally. He reminds her that her father is gone and since the King is the Father of the Realm, he’ll give her away to her husband-to-be. The fact that Joffrey, who is responsible for Ned Stark’s death, is going to act as proxy for Sansa’s father during the ceremony just underscores how much of a farce this wedding is.

Sansa reluctantly takes his arm and they begin to walk forward as the doors close behind them.

The walk up to the altar takes a fair bit of time - from the moment that Sansa enters the sept and until she stands at the altar - is about 1:30 min long. That is, in fact, a very very long in terms of cinema and television. The moment of her approach to the altar is dragged out to an almost uncomfortable degree - and this underscores the awkward and uncomfortable nature of the event.

Joffrey and Sansa ascend the stairs to the altar and as they come abreast with Tyrion, Joffrey takes away the little stool that Tyrion was to use for the cloaking of the bride. Because Joffrey is a little shit who likes to humiliate people, especially the two he seems to hate the most: Tyrion and Sansa.

After this little piece of assholery from Joffrey, Sansa and Tyrion face the alter and the septon. Once again we get an OTS shot, this time from the septon’s POV. This shot is angled from a bird’s eye perspective (from above), which is the opposite of the frog’s eye perspective - but the effect is the same. This angle lends the scene an oppressive quality, which helps to convey how unhappy event this wedding is for both Sansa and Tyrion.

Septon: You may now cloak the bride and bring her under your protection.

Sansa turns her back on Tyrion so that he can put the Lannister cloak on her shoulders. However, Joffrey has removed the stool that was provided for this purpose. Tyrion shakes out the cloak and approaches Sansa. A wide-shot makes it clear that it is impossible for him to cloak her when she remains standing.

Sansa remains standing for quite a bit of time while Tyrion struggles with the cloak. In fact, she remains standing for 10 whole seconds, which is a LONG time in terms of television. Long enough for the crowd to begin laughing – in fact, the scene includes a number of reaction shot of various people laughing.

In the end, Tyrion has to ask Sansa to kneel, which she eventually does.

This scene is somewhat different than the way it is portrayed in the books where Sansa refuses to kneel for the cloaking ceremony and Tyrion eventually has to resort to use Ser Dontos as a stool.

The bride's cloak he held was huge and heavy, crimson velvet richly worked with lions and bordered with gold satin and rubies. No one had thought to bring a stool, however, and Tyrion stood a foot and a half shorter than his bride. As he moved behind her, Sansa felt a sharp tug on her skirt. He wants me to kneel, she realized, blushing. She was mortified. It was not supposed to be this way. She had dreamed of her wedding a thousand times, and always she had pictured how her betrothed would stand behind her tall and strong, sweep the cloak of his protection over her shoulders, and tenderly kiss her cheek as he leaned forward to fasten the clasp. She felt another tug at her skirt, more insistent. I won't. Why should I spare his feelings, when no one cares about mine? (ASoS, Sansa III)

The question is: Why did the show make this change? I suspect that this change was made for practical reasons. Having Peter Dinklage balance on the back of another actor while putting an unwieldy piece of fabric on Sophie Turner seems a bit unsafe for him. He could easily fall and hurt himself in such a scenario. So the way the scene played out may just have been a pragmatic solution to a practical problem in order to prevent a situation where an actor could possibly be injured.

Many fans were very upset with this change and so was I at first because it seemed as if the writes removed what little agency Sansa had left in this situation. However, upon a re-watch I have changed my stance on this issue. Once again, I want to point out that Sansa remaining standing for the duration of 10 seconds is almost an eternity in terms of cinema! The fact that Tyrion literally has to beg her to kneel does highlight that she is quietly refusing to make things easy for him because she is being forced into this marriage.

Her action is a piece of quiet resistance on her part but it is very subtle – so subtle that it is very easy to overlook unless you pay attention and think critically about the way that this scene plays out.

youtube

(The cloaking scene begins at timestamp 6:20)

After the cloaking, Tyrion and Sansa face the High Septon who proceeds with the ceremony. We get a close-up of Sansa with a downcast gaze as sighs audibly.

High Septon: We stand here in the sight of the Gods and to witness the union of man and wife. One flesh, one heart, one soul. Now and forever.

The scene ends here - and we don’t get to see the rest of the ceremony.

A CURIOUS OMISSION

Re-watching this scene, I noticed something odd. What is interesting here is the fact that the wedding ceremony doesn’t include the most important parts of the way that a wedding is conducted in the Light of the Seven:

The hand fasting.

The recitation of the wedding vows. (Father, Smith, Warrior, Mother, Maiden, Crone, Stranger. I am hers/his and she/he is mine, from this day, until the end of my days)

This omission becomes even more glaring in comparison with Edmure Tully’s wedding that takes place in the very next episode because this wedding scene includes ALL the ceremonial elements of a wedding performed in accordance with the religion of the Seven:

The cloaking of the bride.

The hand fasting where the hands of the couple is bound together.

The recitation of the traditional wedding vows.

It begs the question why the show omits these elements during the wedding of Sansa and Tyrion. One possibility is that the show didn’t want to depict two full wedding ceremonies back to back - but if that is the case, then why not show the full ceremony with Tyrion and Sansa since their wedding takes place in episode 8 and Edmure’s wedding takes place in episode 9. Yet it is Edmure’s wedding that shows all the elements of a Westerosi wedding in the Light of the Seven.

Furthermore, after investigating the issue further, it is worth noting that EVERY OTHER WEDDING performed in the Light of the Seven are all shown to include either the hand fasting and/or the reciting of the vows! Even in scenes where the wedding ceremony is truncated - like in the weddings of Margaery to first Joffrey and then to Tommen. Whether it is Robb/Talisa, Edmure/Roslin, Margaery/Joffrey, Margaery/Tommen or Rhaegar/Lyanna - the weddings always feature the hand fasting and/or the recitation of the wedding vows.

So I cannot help but conclude that the rather conspicuous omission of the two most binding elements of the wedding ceremony in Sansa and Tyrion’s wedding is not only by design but that it is also meaningful. Since their marriage is never consummated, its validity remains open to doubt and I wonder whether the omission of the crucial elements of a Westerosi wedding ceremony is a subtle hint that the marriage is a sham.

To be continued...

(GIFs not mine)

#game of thrones #sansa stark #winterfell's daughter #character analysis #tyrion lannister #joffrey baratheon

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rhetorical-ink · 6 years ago

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Rhetorical Ink Reviews: Game of Thrones, Season 8 Episode 1

** PREMIERE HYPED SPOILERS BELOW **

After waiting nearly two years for this premiere...the HYPE was real! I barely watched any media about Game of Thrones’s season premiere in anticipation for this episode! And...let’s dive in!

My Top Then Thoughts on Game of Thrones: Season 8, Episode 1:

10. Right off the bat, we see Dany and Jon Snow coming back to Winterfell and it feels like such a “Bizarroworld” parallel from Season One, when the Lannister’s and King Robert visited Winterfell -- looking back at that first episode and seeing this, there is such a stark (wink wink nudge nudge) contrast, it’s actually hilarious...more on that parallel later!

Oh, and Arya’s expression when she first sees the dragon?

“Imma ride one of them...just you wait.” *Cue Hamilton soundtrack*

9. Of COURSE Sansa has to be petty and hate Danearys -- I get the reasoning behind it, though I’m not happy that she’s clearly being snobby and not trying to understand Jon’s reasoning -- even Arya, though her reunion with Jon Snow is touching -- shares in Sansa’s sentiments, in a more chilling moment. One that really has Jon Snow give that “what all have you been through while I’ve been gone” look, especially knowing how much Arya and Sansa hated each other in the earlier seasons...oh, you know nothing, Jon Snow.