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rowanthestrange · 6 months ago

Note

i just read the entirety of your Rogue is the Bad Guy essay, and i’ll admit, you’ve convinced me, but not that he’s the Master, but that he’s trying to cosplay the Master cosplaying whoever. Also, it was really long so, like, i’m asking with full concern: are you okay? it just seemed like it took a ridiculous amount of time /lh

What I think is the case, probably 51% the Master. Just squeaks it.

What I want is Chuldur/Pantheon member ‘The’ Rogue cosplaying the Master cosplaying Jack. I’d prefer it by a very large margin. A huge one. But as to whether I think it will happen, I give that 49%. But that’s still good odds.

(I’ve got a lot of Pantheon!Rogue feels, ideas, and desires and have had nowhere else to put them yet, and this is a valid place to share them, rip. And to anyone else who followed the first Essay, let me convince you of my secondary Sub-Thesis in it.)

I’m giving that seemingly crazy high 49% despite the risky complexity of double-layering, because A) that was the Ruby resolution: she cosplayed the bird cosplaying as her - we’ve done it already and everyone got it.

And B)…Is actually complicated literal-meta but hear me out. Since they’re the only other writers this season I think there’s a very high chance they’re forerunners for next showrunners. I know at least one has high level management experience, and if they were given that as a test to do highly complex work to cut their teeth, this would be an incredibly good test that they passed imo. The Master is in themselves hard to write but necessary to fully comprehend because even when not present they are a lynchpin of the show. Here you’d have to write him well. But also effectively set up two twists (that he’s the Master, and then that he’s not he’s just pretending he is). You have to establish a Pantheon member - make an important part of an overarching narrative. And link together with other writers current and past. As well as create a good story with all functioning meta, on multiple levels.

The second you let Rogue be The Bad Guy the complexity of literally everything skyrockets anyway. (And one of the reason I’m a little annoyed that people want to believe he’s so flat - it does the writers a deep disservice to just think they wrote Space Darcy and there’s no shared metaplot there). But while Russell likes a certain amount of simplicity — Occam’s Razor 51% Master — RTD2 has been having fun with more complicated stuff, more prior-knowledge and using that, more thinking needed if you’re going to get the answers early. I think if he was going to give future showrunners something hard to do this would be it. For me Chuldur/Pantheon!Rogue is the pinnacle of that while still being perfectly possible to pull off to casuals without too much brainache. ‘The American accent guys, come on.’

I certainly think they have seeded all they need to, obviously can’t grade without seeing the full execution. And they certainly succeeded in writing ‘the Master’ well. Rewatching that ending? That actually got to me. And I’m a wall. I hated him which is what makes an actually good Master/Master-Proxy - you can neither go too far with that or the character becomes too unenjoyable (Simm!Master), but also too little with the hatred being turned almost entirely into pity (fandom), or even just they’re pretty purely enjoyable (Missy - but she’s an odd duck anyway), also robs them of something essential. This is pitched very well. Test passed on that score.

If my preference and height of percentage seems confusing, to me it makes no difference when talking about them whether he’s the Master or The Rogue perfectly playing the Master. Because if he’s perfectly playing him, as his Pantheon power should presumably allow him to do, it tells us about the Master anyway, so I don’t actually feel any need to differentiate most of the time. Certainly in The Essay it seemed stupid to bog it down with that and risk confusing the people still on ‘but he’s a good guy’ where it wasn’t necessary, because all arguments stay basically the same for a perfect copy. I trusted the reader to apply the level of abstraction themselves for the most part, only coming in with that where I thought something could be particularly relevant/missed in regard to that specifically. Muddying the issue with too repetitiously focusing on ‘remember it called also be a perfect Master cosplay’ and that seemingly complicated (even if I think valid) double-layering didn’t feel like the right call for something where just Rogue Is Playing The Bad Guy was already a hard sell to who I wanted to reach. Ymmv.

The only things that give me pause are that 1: The implication that he’s cloaked seems very high - the earring interference, psychic scents can mask real ones, seeming lack of recognition by allies (until the end I think - they shut up while he’s doing the scene rather than threaten or beg for their lives) etc. The Pantheon seem to have a lot of reality twisting powers. You wouldn’t need to, surely? You’d need to have a reason other than ‘same devices too close’ for that interference which starts the whole thing at minimum and I think ‘he made it happen for the Doctor to come over’ is too cheaty. And 2: The Bag. Why would you need to pack a bag and ensure you have it on you at the end if you can just snap your fingers?

But could be that it actually just contains his dice and he’s a stickler for doing things manually - think of daddy here, rules and ways to do things and following structure while also being creative within those constrictions. Which also very much applies to Dungeon Masters (won’t lie, the ‘Master’ part of that is what eeks it to 51% for just being him). This could come up, it’s feasible.

A Chuldur needing the teleport is also fair of course. And would want the psychic jewellery for the reverse of Ruby - being a Chuldur who needs to smell human to keep the gang on their toes and unsuspecting it’s him.

And there are lots of little things that complement the Pantheon element. We have the dancing scene where the lights dim. We have the fact he’s working with alternate dimension creatures and knows a lot about them. Certainly shows no fear at being sent to an alternate dimension once he’s got what he wanted. We have the American accent. We have him probably having watched Doctor Who like Bridgerton because he’s very familiar with Jack’s introductory episodes with all the references. We have the Vitamin String Quartet’s cover of ‘I’m The Bad Guy’ - Dungeon Masters love making playlists for their scenes, so why wouldn’t he (and also Theme of Music)? Maybe he doesn’t overtly use his powers during The Session because that sort of ugly manipulation of the world is cheap and bad DMing. Daddy liked the Spice Girls, why wouldn’t he like Kylie? He’s a game player like daddy but there’s no winning D&D, especially as DM, which makes an easy natural conflict between them. And we need at least one Pantheon member, cus while I think this is actually just a set-up season for them, there needs to be at least four, really five to truly feel ‘Pantheon’, three would be bare minimum and not enough for when the shit actually starts to go down next season, need at least four by then. I’m assuming we see one: The Writer, or The Audience, or Death or (The Twist At) The End/Grand Finale or whatever else you interpret the oldest one/one who waits to be, in the finale itself.

And this means we get a new (and if Pantheon rather than Chuldur) long-term character. Cosplaying the Master means The Rogue isn’t a copy of them, can just be playing The Bad Guy cus it’s fun right now, but they themselves don’t have to be Master-like, they can be anything. Something new. Anyone who knows me knows I wanted more rogue Time Lords and these guys are like that but with magic powers - what’s not to love? If The Rogue is a Joker, A Wildcard, and they just become a character that fills a void, that’s fascinating. Or they want to create exciting stories whatever that means and become whatever NPCs necessary to drive them on, that’s so interesting. Or they’re guided by being whatever they find cool much like the birds, with all the capricious ‘eh, bored now I’m wrapping this story up’ of a greek god (cus, well.) with all the associated dangers and disregard of these not being characters but people they’re playing with, and also expects there to be no hard feelings after The Session is over and next time it’s a new one. Can they perfectly roleplay a character but still break character if needed, or are they locked in to it until The Session’s done? Do they believe themself to have a ‘real’ personality or is that all fuzzy? Or all of the above. You could go anywhere from standard villain to a full Chaotic Neutral with that. And all the implications you could have of their power being to perfectly roleplay a person. And I use ‘they’ here because surely this is the most genderfluid a character you could get. The Rogue could literally be the red-nailed woman who picked up the gold tooth, think about that. How perfect would that be. Maybe that’s what’s in the bag. Live Tooth Reaction To The Kiss Not Clickbait. A character that could literally be anyone at any time, we would never know peace again. If Susan Twist appearing everywhere is something Pantheony, The Rogue is the inverse of this. Siblings maybe.

And see my Christmas Special pitch. Which is both a joke, but also an example of what fun you could have with The Rogue if you wanted. It doesn’t have to be pure heartbreak and misery Master 2.0. Especially if they are as seems here, a god not just trying to entertain themselves, but also entertain others. D&D requires a group, it’s co-operative, we see Rogue appear to adapt rather than (in any way immediately evident to us at least) externally force the story a certain way like a good DM. He never shoots the birds or threatens to or gets them in actual danger despite the in-character reasons to, and they looked like they all had fun - besides squished beak #5. But also sees NPCs as little more than set dressing as we ourselves would in a D&D game. What a dynamic that could be in a Pantheon god. It’s unique. Which is so valuable. A Chuldur slightly less interesting in that score but still.

If it is the Master I’ll be fine and accept it, but I want this, because it does double duty. It might as well have been a Master episode as it has most of the benefits of one (for me anyway), but also gives us all this new possibility and complexity on top of it. Those options are currently open and I want it.

It’s not popular, but I’m really pro trusting the writers. All of them. They’re smart. And I know these two just seem like randoms, but I doubt they are, they could be our new mothers, and I really think that while the Pantheon Rogue option is complex, it’s viable and has so much scope. If I hate people trying to see Rogue as flat Space Darcy because it shows zero belief in the writers, then I gotta do the opposite and entertain the option that they have intelligently created a deep and complex story, and have taken that to the end of the road. Even if complicated is by nature less likely than simple.

also lol I started The Essay at around 11pm sunday, wrote til gone 4am. Then woke up at 9:30am and wrote solidly plus edits until about 4am, and in-between edited the subtitles into that video. Am I ok? Physically, yes. Mentally, probably not. It is literally 10k and that’s why I made the joke. But I’ve done infinitely worse writing fanfics so...

EDIT:

‘Chuldur/Pantheon member The Rogue cosplaying the Master’ has just flipped into the dominant reading! Alert! Alert! Cus he’d never do this about him literally being the Master. If he’s acknowledging we’re having the feelings we’re intended to have, there’s another twist in it.

I officially move The Rogue Cosplaying The Master to 55% from 49% likelihood, and Rogue Is Just The Master down to 45% from 51%. You may wish to adjust your stock investment accordingly.

#replies #meta #pantheon rogue #tl;dr #pantheon!rogue can often include chuldur!rogue it just means cosplay #when i say rogue!master #i mean both just the master #or chuldur/pantheon!rogue playing the master #AS OF EDIT:#now not only is cosplay rogue my preference #but i also think most likely by a slight margin

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jadelotusflower · 1 year ago

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Rewatch: Stargate (1994, dir. Roland Emmerich)

What to do when there's so many shows and movies on the to watch list? Revisit shows and movies I've seen many times before of course! Maybe I'm just in need of some comfort viewing right now.

I can't remember when I first saw Stargate. It certainly wasn't at the cinema, but probably rented from the video store (yes, I am an Old) and was certainly keyed to my preteen interests: mythology and Soft(TM) male protagonists.

Over the years and though several rewatches, online fandom, and my love of behind the scenes featurettes, director's commentaries, and retrospectives, I've also gleaned quite a bit of background tidbits and trivia, and I have many thoughts! Most of them through the lens of nostalgia, but that can't be helped.

Are you ready to go back to Titanic Stargate?

The much maligned Pharaoh's head, but it makes for a symbolic opening, trying to find the meaning to the different patterns before the whole picture becomes clear.

David Arnold's theme remains a banger. One of the GOATs.

I'm watching the Extended Edition/Director's Cut, which opens in the North African Desert 8000 BCE to depict Jaye Davidson being abducted, which is only seen in flashback in the theatrical cut. It's atmospheric, but it does tip the hand of the narrative a bit. The stronger opening is probably:

Giza, 1928, where the Stargate is unburied. Even this scene is extended, where the fossilized head of an Anubis is also found. It reveals the sinister undertone far too soon, imo, and it was the right choice to cut it.

Present Day! Love of my life Daniel Jackson ruins his career by arguing that the Egyptian pharaohs of the IVth Dynasty did not build the great pyramids. He does not claim (as the show later does) that aliens built the pyramids. Important distinction!

"Is there a lunch or something, that everybody...?" lol, James Spader is great. This was the first role I ever saw him in, and didn't realise this was actually playing against type a bit, but I have been a fan of his ever since.

Shoutout to Viceca Lindfors, who plays Catherine with steely grace.

Jack O'Neil (one L) aka Kurt Russell (two L's), in a great character introduction that is ruined by some voiceover exposition. We get everything we need to know from his scene without it, except that Tyler shot himself with Jack's gun, but honestly it would have been more impactful if that detail was held back from the audience and revealed in the later scene with Daniel.

The great Richard Kind everybody! He will later appear in an extremely tone deaf episode of Stargate: Atlantis, but here he's Dr Gary Michaels, aka the guy Daniel gets to show up by swanning in and correcting his translation.

Daniel: That's a curious word to use, isn't it? Michaels: ...Yeah

Rae Allen plays Barbara Shore - you may remember her as reporter Gloria Thorpe in Damn Yankees. It's a shame neither of these characters ever turned up in the show, I like them both.

"You must have used Budge, I don't know why they keep reprinting his books." LOL, Daniel with his petty academic grudges. Although as I understand this is a valid criticism, as Budge's translation methods were very much outdated by the 90's. But Budge conceivably could have been a contemporary of Catherine's father, which is interesting to think about.

Jack arrives with his haircut to correct Daniel's assumption that the hieroglyphs are 5000 years old - they're actually 10,000 years old, which Daniel ironically finds ludicrous. To pick some nits, according to the opening Ra arrived on Earth in 8000 BCE which is presumably where the 10,000 number came from, but doesn't take into account Ra establishing a culture and ruling on Earth for however long before the rebellion, which is when the coverstones would have been carved.

Leon Rippy plays the General West and his utter disdain for Daniel despite him solving "in fourteen days what they couldn't solve in two years" kind of gives me life. His surly "any time" and passing over the reference materials without looking at them is so great. Fantastic performance in a tiny role.

Several people are smoking in this scene, including Jack and Barbara. It's easily forgotten just how common casual smoking was back in the day - 1994 seems a little late for it to be so prevalent, but it gives the room that atmospheric haze.

Emmerich was also a big smoker, so ...

Unrealistic that Daniel would be presenting his theory without running it past Catherine and the team first, but hey it's a movie, dramatic effect and all that.

Important to note that Daniel's contribution isn't only realising that the symbols were star constellations, but the purpose of the symbols, being a map to determine a course and destination. He also deduced that seven symbols were needed, realised that the seventh symbol was below the cartouche not inside it, and then identified the seventh symbol on the gate itself.

This is a really nice illustration to Daniel's core strength - he's not just a repository of knowledge, he's a puzzle solver.

Some small character beats - Michaels questions Daniel twice, while Shore reaches out to pat Katherine's hand in victory when West orders Daniel be shown the Stargate. Again, they should have been brought back for the show!

There's a star map in the control room, implying that they had at least an idea that the Stargate was a transportation device, making the team look even more foolish for not figuring out (in two years!) that a) the symbols were star constellations, and b) that seven symbols (address + point of origin) were needed.

Daniel assures West that he can decipher the gate on the other side in a stunning display of hubris - a character flaw that will stay with him in some form through all ten seasons of the show.

Although West doesn't actually ask Daniel how he will make the Stargate work for the return trip, so that's kind of on him.

Jack correctly deduces that Daniel's full of shit, then goes to look at the Anubis head found in the Giza sequence. Again unnecessary inclusion imo, Jack's motivation works better as ambiguous at this point.

Everyone has their own little character moment before going through the gate - Jack grits his teeth and raises his gun, Brown looks back to the others, Porro kisses a St Christopher medallion.

Daniel toying with the event horizon was a Spader addition (much to the chagrin of the VFX supervisor!)

Foreshadowing for the Abydos point of origin symbol.

"That's a nice tent! Oh, we each get a tent, that's nice."

A snarky Ferretti (the great French Stewart) throws Daniel's suitcase at him, scattering his books on the sand. Daniel is completely nonplussed, starts to gather them up and then sits down to munch on a 5th Avenue bar. I love original recipe Daniel. Don't get me wrong, I love show Daniel too, but the OG, man, just 100% unbothered when antagonised.

Although to be fair, Ferretti's frustration is justified (if not his reaction) so that probably is a factor in Daniel's (lack of) response.

Daniel feeds a mastadge chocolate and gets dragged across the dunes and slobbered on for his trouble. But he doesn't hold a grudge, because he goes from "get away from me" to patting the creature on the snout in about three seconds.

Sha'uri, my beloved!

Important to note that while the other water-bearers keep their eyes downcast, Sha'uri is the only one bold enough to look up and make eye contact with Daniel, who smiles at her.

Daniel, in return, is the only one to say thank you.

She's also very wary of Daniel at this stage, here and on the walk back to Nagada - she laughs at Skaara and Nabeh taking his handkerchief, but tenses up when he looks her way. Does she know at this stage that he has been earmarked as her husband?

It makes me curious, because I don't think that it's ever explicit in the film that Sha'uri is Kasuf's daughter and Skaara's sister (although it's implied), but it makes sense that she is the daughter of the chief and would therefore make a high status offering (ugh I feel gross typing that) for an emissary of Ra.

We know that Ra surrounds himself with child slaves (the creepy implications of which I don't want to think about), and it's unclear how old Sha'uri is meant to be (Mili Avital was 22), but I wonder if the reason why she was not married already is that this was always the role intended for her - to serve Ra in some capacity, perhaps (in tv show timeline) as a host for one of his underlings.

If so, it makes her fate in the show even more tragic.

Brown takes a picture on their approach to Nagada which is a nice little character beat - I wonder where that camera ended up? Derek Webster also had bit parts in Devlin/Emmerich joints Independence Day and Godzilla, fwiw.

"Ferretti, say again." Great line reading from Russell - he gets flack for being humourless/not being Richard Dean Anderson, but I think he has great presence in the role and character at this point - RDA!O'Neill is the product of Russell!O'Neil's experience in this film.

A sandstorm approaches and in the extended sequence there's a miscommunication that Skaara (Alexis Cruz) clears up. I like this addition, as it gives more scope to the connection between Jack and Skaara - he sees that Jack is the one in charge, but also that he's willing to listen, and Jack sees that Skaara is brave enough to face a threat, but also clever enough to diffuse the situation.

"Well that would have been an excellent reason to shoot everyone." lol, and people say snarky!Daniel was a show-only thing.

Trying to learn the word that means "sandstorm" from Kasuf and the incredulous/frustrated little laugh after is a nice touch too.

Erick Avari steals every scene he is - he was also in Devlin/Emmerich's Independence Day ("what's with the golf balls?!?" was an ad-lib), and of course he's great in The Mummy (the delivery of "Do you really want to know, or would you prefer to just shoot us?" is perfection.)

He was only 42 during this movie! Hasn't aged a day since.

A great deal of Kasuf came from Avari as well - the role was only a few lines in the script and was mostly developed during rehearsals - the same was true for Alexis Cruz as Skaara.

While "tastes like chicken" was in the script, the clucking like a chicken came from Spader.

Pivotal scene, because it really shows Sha'uri's courage - her fear is palpable, first at her duty to offer herself to Daniel then at what his rejection may mean for her and her people. She is confused by his behaviour, delighted when they are able to exchange names, but guarded again when he draws in the sand. At this point she doesn't know if he is an emissary of Ra testing her resolve, but she takes the chance and fixes his drawing to make the symbol from Earth, then takes him to the hidden catacombs.

Sha'uri's leap of faith here is underrated I feel - she's been watching Daniel so closely and makes a very correct judgement about his character - there is something in him that she recognises, and decides that she can trust. At this stage she probably knows that she is safe with him, but she wants to go beyond that and actually connect with him.

Also she's wearing red here, the same colour as Kasuf and some of the other elders wear, which does imply it's a colour of status.

LOL, this scene would never happen today.

It was almost cut from the movie! The studio's focus was on the action and wanted to eliminate a great deal of the character stuff, resulting in the film testing very poorly. Devlin/Emmerich redid the cut to put everything back in and (surprise surprise!) the next audience screening was much more favourable.

Because Jack's character arc doesn't work without this scene! We need to see Jack actually bond with Skaara, to gift him the lighter, be amused when Skaara mimics him and takes a drag of the cigarette, then for things to turn when Skaara innocently reaches for Jack's gun and he blows up.

"I guess the word dweeb doesn't mean anything to you guys, does it?"

Too good! Too pure for this world!

The hidden catacombs fascinate me - the entrance is blocked with rocks so presumably Sha'uri hadn't been there for some time. Is it something she came across as a child? Was it secret information handed down through the generations, perhaps from her mother?

The symbol for Earth is only visible from inside so she must have explored the catacombs at some point, perhaps wondering what the paintings meant, and she must have been aware that at one point writing wasn't outlawed. I do like the idea that both Sha'uri and Daniel have this great curiosity and yearning to understand - they also share a great capacity for trust and willingness to take leaps of faith that makes them very well matched.

The backstory with Ra changed very late in the process - originally the Egyptian boy was merely appointed as a proxy for the alien creature to rule Earth, not possessed by the alien. This is unfathomable to me and really don't think it could have worked - where's the menace if Ra isn't the actual alien being but just some guy who works for him?

Presumably, it means Spader came back to do reshoots for the tale of Ra's origins, and if you notice he only mentions possession in a closeups where the lighting is slightly different. The frescos in the wide shots also don't match the closeups, which Emmerich himself did.

Brown is the one who gives Daniel a gun. RIP Brown.

Djimon Hounsou as Horus!

The Anubis/Horus/Ra disappearing headgear was one of the few noticeably CGI effects - most of the film was done practically and it shows (in a good way). I will take puppets and props and extras every day over CGI, there's just something more visceral about films made this way.

Daniel dies for the first - but certainly not the last - time.

The extended edition has Daniel walking through Ra's ship after being revived - there's a cat on Ra's throne, and we see more of Ra getting bathed and dressed by his child slaves just to notch up the creepiness.

Whatever happened to Jaye Davidson?

Apparently he had difficulty with the role, no doubt because as written it made no sense, which is why they had to change it in editing, adding the flanges and the glowing eyes.

Davidson was concerned he'd ruined the movie, and apparently was relieved rather than upset to see the final film. I actually think it's a great performance, and Ra has a menace that feels genuinely dangerous.

The Abydonian langauge was based on Ancient Egyptian as developed by Egyptologist Dr Stuart Smith, and apparently great care was taken to make it as authentic as possible. I...don't think the same can be said for the show.

Dr Smith also consulted on The Mummy, fwiw.

O'Neil, Kawalsky, Ferretti, and Guy Who Will Soon Die (Freeman).

Is is Kawalsky or Kawalski? The credits say Kawalsky, but his uniform at the beginning of the film says Kawalski. I personally prefer the latter.

The extended edition has an extra scene following the escape - Jack and Daniel jump on a mastadge which takes off and separates them from the group as Sha'uri and Skaara look on thinking "where are those idiots going?"

They get stuck in a sandstorm where Daniel collapses, and they're only found because the mastadge is so upset about his new friend he wails - this explains why Daniel is coughing and spluttering when they get to the cave.

Many a slash fic has started this way, I'm sure.

I really like Kawalski in this scene - "these kids don't have anywhere else to go" really hits me for some reason. He's bonded with them too.

"I don't want to die, your men don't want to die, and these people here don't want to die. It's a shame you're in such a hurry to."

The pivotal Jack and Daniel scene - this where the reveal about how Jack's son died should have been, so we find out when Daniel does. Then we'd think back on all the previous interactions - Jack knocking the gun from Skaara's hand, being unable to shoot the kids Ra uses as human shields - and be able to read new meaning into them.

A tender moment that I kind of wish they'd let play out a little more, although Avital captures Sha'uri's vulnerability so well. This was her first scene!

While I do love the Daniel/Sha'uri romance, I think she gets unfairly dismissed as just the love interest when she's so much more. Sha'uri is the one who starts the Abydonian rebellion - she's the one who decides that "we can no longer live as slaves" and rallies the boys to save Jack and his men - she's the one who passes on the knowledge of Ra's true identity.

At that point it's unclear if she thought Daniel is dead or just captured - her reaction following the massacre in Nagada perhaps implies the former. When Skaara tells her that Ra has called an execution she's been looking at the cave paintings, so clearly rebellion is already on her mind, and she's willing to go against everything she's been taught to try and save - maybe Daniel - but maybe only his friends, to help them overthrow Ra.

Interesting costume change for Kasuf here - he no longer has his outer robes or headdress, nor is he riding a mastadge - has he been stripped of his leadership role? Horus is now in charge.

Also nice little character beat - while the other have their guns pointed at Horus, Daniel is looking back at Sha'uri.

I do love Skaara's defiance - telling the others not to bow when Kasuf orders them to, and later he'll be the most reluctant to surrender, throwing down his gun in disgust before kneeling.

Sha'uri carries a gun into the pyramid, but I think it would have been better to at least see her try and shoot at the horus guard before she is killed.

Ostensibly this is a plot necessity to get Daniel up into the ship to give him a final faceoff with Ra and setup using the rings to deliver the bomb, but I think it's also needed for the Daniel/Sha'uri relationship - if he hadn't almost lost her and been willing to risk his life to save her, I don't think his choice to remain on Abydos with her at the end would have rung as true.

"I am no longer amused." idc, Davidson is great.

The first - but certainly not the last - time Daniel will get his brain friend by the hand device.

Ra's ultimate downfall is his hubris - if he'd never revived Daniel to make an example of him it's likely he never would have been overthrown, or at least not in the way he was. Yes he may still have had the public execution, and Sha'uri and Skaara may have still tried to rescue Jack and the others, but without Daniel to shoot his staff to set off the disturbance it may not have been successful. Jack wouldn't have been able to properly communicate with the Abydonians to form a plan, Daniel wouldn't be there to reveal Horus as a mortal not a god to Kasuf, etc.

It's interesting to me because as I said above hubris is also Daniel's main flaw, although it manifests differently, but that's what really draws me to these kind of characters - people who are a force for good but in such a way that their idealism and drive could easily tip over into ruthlessness/villainy in the right circumstances, and we definitely see this explored a few times in the show.

Also interesting is even though Kurt Russell gets top billing, it's really Daniel who is our protagonist - he's the one who is the true adversary to Ra, they share the relationship and confrontational scenes - Jack's antagonist is really Anubis.

Kasuf arrives with the uprising, and ultimately I do love that all three of our Abydonian family - Sha'uri, Skaara, and Kasuf - play a vital role in overthrowing Ra, even if Jack and Daniel get the credit for actually killing him.

We're meant to be la la la don't think about it re: the child slaves who were presumably still on Ra's ship when it blew up.

And I'm a sap! Skaara and the boys saluting Jack, and getting his salute in return always gets me.

Kawalsky and Ferretti too!

It's very important that Sha'uri is the one who instigates the kiss with Daniel, to balance the earlier scene where he kissed her.

Because it's a relationship that could very easily veer into problematic or feel unearned, but by this point having saved each other's lives, having communicated and bonded and come to understand one another, they do seem to be genuinely falling in love rather than there being any sense of obligation.

I think there might have been an alternate ending - on the bts there's footage of Daniel and Sha'uri walking with the Abydonians. Daniel looks back, presumably at the pyramid, as if reckoning with his decision to stay and a last look back at his life on Earth. Then he puts his arm around Sha'uri and they blend into the crowd as Daniel becomes part of the Abydonian people.

And then they both lived happily ever after and no one ever bothered them again! I choose to see the movie and the show as very similar but different universes/timelines, so hold true to my headcanon that this version of Daniel/Sha'uri got that long and happy life together on Abydos.

But as it is, we get our goodbyes - Skaara gets a handshake of respect from Jack, and Daniel gets some nice closure on his relationships with the three surviving members of the team:

Ferretti - goes from "Isn't there something you should be doing right now? Like getting us out of here?" (throws suitcase) to "I always knew you'd get us back"

Kawalski from - "You're a lying son of a bitch!" to "Thanks Daniel"

And Jack, from "He's full of shit" to "I'll be seeing you around...Doctor Jackson."

Of course this was setting up the sequel in the planned trilogy, but it works well moving on - as I will be - to the show.

#stargate #stargate the movie #stargate rewatch #nostalgia rewatch #jack o'neil #daniel jackson #sha'uri #kurt russell #james spader #90's movies #dean devlin #roland emmerich #jlf posts #long post #rambling #meta #jlf watches #jlf watches stargate

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turnips-dont-grow-on-trees · 2 years ago

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Weighing in on the Russell/Russoff question

A treatise on family and inheritance

First off, show canon gives us very little backstory for Jack. It’s not even confirmed that he inherited his curse! (I’m writing with the assumption that he did inherit it, because I think it makes the most sense: it creates a parallel between him and Elsa, both having inheritances from their families). Therefore, I think it makes a boatload of sense to pick and choose from the comics to create a scaffolding to build headcanons off of. It gives us something to work with, instead of trying to create backstory from whole cloth!

What we do know, in show canon, about Jack’s family:

He honors them in a very conspicuous way with the paint he wears on his face. (I would love to know whether painting those designs to honor ancestors has roots in any specific cultural tradition, and if so, which one(s), or whether it was invented for the show! Is it something Jack wears all the time, or only for specific ceremonial reasons (such as hunting)? Whatever the case, it seems intended to evoke imagery of las calaveras, rather than anything specific to Transylvanian culture (I could be wrong; I am neither Mexican nor Transylvanian, but Giacchino would ideally want his imagery to be understood by as wide an audience as possible, and this includes being aware of what cultural assumptions audience members are likely to make when presented with specific designs.)

And: “All families have something in common. They follow us. For good, for bad. They stay, like they become an atmosphere. And sometimes, we think that by doing something very specific, we can change everything, and not be like them.”

As I see it, there’s three possible ways to cut this cake:

It is possible Jack is honoring non-werewolf ancestors, and talking about non-werewolf reasons for family to hang over you like an atmosphere, and then, incidentally and apropos of nothing, he just so happens to be a werewolf. This does not make as good storytelling, imo.

Or Jack is honoring his non-werewolf ancestors, and then talking about a completely separate (werewolf) side of his family in the crypt, unconnected to the aforementioned ancestors. This, too, lacks continuity.

Or - and I think this one makes the most sense, narratively speaking - when Jack is talking about ancestors, and talking about family following him, he is talking about his family on his father’s side, about lycanthropy being passed down to him. This scenario creates more of a parallel between Elsa and Jack; both have complicated inheritances.

So let’s assume the third scenario. If Jack is honoring his paternal ancestors with his face markings, then, again, there are three scenarios (All scenarios assume the face painting comes from a Mexican or Latin American cultural tradition, based on design):

Jack is honoring his paternal ancestors in the tradition of his mother’s people. Sure, this could happen, but it’s a bit of a weird choice for the writers to make.

Jack is honoring all his ancestors, paternal included, in the cultural tradition he grew up with. (This is also a strong contender and why I don’t discount Gregory Russoff as far-fetched for show backstory. I could totally see it playing out this way!)

Jack is honoring his father’s ancestors in the tradition of his father’s people. This is, personally, my preferred scenario. It’s a little bit tighter, story-wise. It’s the reason I have “Él Vive En Ti” in my Jack Russell spotify playlist. Say what you will about direct-to-home-video Disney sequels, but Lion King 2 gives us both English and Spanish covers of the Broadway show’s ‘He Lives in You,’ this time with male lead vocals, and they are so pretty. Give me chills.

What I like about emphasizing that Jack connects to his paternal family specifically, is that I really like diving into the complicated ways Jack thinks about and relates to his dad. Borrowing from the comics to build backstory, his father died when he was quite young, too young to remember him. Also from the comics, he does not have a great relationship with his step-father: he did not like Philip Russell, and did not like the way Philip treated his mom, even before he thought he was responsible for her death. (Deviating from comics, here: I’d like to see Philip as his step-father or his uncle, but not both. That’s too Hamlet for my tastes, lol; “A little more than kin and less than kind.” Don’t put Jack’s mom in Queen Gertrude’s shoes!)

So you have this kid, whose father is dead and who doesn’t like his step-father. This kid is going to fucking adore his late dad. He’s going to idolize him, and fantasize about how much better his life would be if his dad were still around. Suppose one of the only things he has of his father’s is a copy of La Llamada del Salvaje, allegedly his father’s favorite book (there’s even an inscription on the inside cover, ‘to my son, Jack’). He’d read that over and over as a kid, he’d adore it, he’d wonder if his dad named him after Jack London.

And then he turns 18. And the curse takes effect. And ever since he has not been able to get through that book. The few times he’s picked it up since becoming a werewolf, he’s had to put it down. It’s too sentimental, it’s overly romanticized, it was obviously written by a normal human who was not a werewolf himself. Jack struggles with the question of what, if anything, did his father mean by gifting him that book, what takeaway was he supposed to get from it…?

…yeah, kinda got off on a tangent there. Basically, I think there’s a lot to explore in the Jack-and-his-late-father dynamic, and therefore I headcanon that all the talk of family and ancestors that Jack expresses in the show are in service to this narrative. Therefore, I probably won’t be using the Russoff name in my fics unless I have a compelling reason to include it (rather than defaulting to using it unless I have a reason not to). But, as I said at the beginning (and also briefly in the middle), I think using the Russoff backstory makes a lot of sense to build headcanons with, so this whole essay is not intended as a criticism of that position at all! It is equally valid! This is just my two cents, make of it what you will

#werewolf by night #wwbn meta #jack russell #wwbn #mcu #marvel #headcanon #listen i have very fond memories of my dad reading me 'call of the wild' as a bedtime story #i swear i'm not dunking on it #jack's a literal werewolf he's got a unique perspective on the text

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nomorenormalcy · 1 year ago

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Uh oh, art dump!

I've been away far too long, I need to post some art that was completed in the meanwhile. So have a bunch of art.

This is Ærin, a human who ended up becoming a cyborg. I plan on writing them into a story as a secondary character of a Sci-Fi story idea I've been sitting on for literal years.

These are the ponysonas of my husband and myself (from left to right)! It was just a cute and quick drawing and my husband loved it.

This is Caloré Flare, a pyromancer, and Nathan, a skeletal horse! They're from the game World of Warcraft (avid fans would have noticed and asked me why I mentioned it) and this is my most favorite traditional drawing I have ever so far. Yes, They are both on the same level of ground. Nathan is very tall and Caloré is only 5'1".

Master Chief riding a great white shark that I have decided to name Sharkie. This was a wood burning project that my husband and I collaborated on together. I did the sketch, and my husband went over it and burned it into the wood. Sadly, I don't have a photo, but it turned out great! Obvioulsy, Master Chief is from the Halo game franchise. First console FPS I played and my favorite still. Hilariously enough, I don't play it anymore at this time.

A humanized version of my dog, Nula! After all, how else would an energetic Jack Russel mix look?

Loradel Darkflight, blood elf blood knight. I enjoy playing as him and there's a huge family dynamic with him and other characters I have. All of the blood elves I have are connected (except for one) in some way. Even the one void elf.

I have to put these side-by-side as it's a redraw! Ten years between these drawings! Both were drawn for my now husband! We had met in college back in 2010 and have occasionally messaged off and on until it became more regularly when we started dating in late 2019. One year into our two year engagement, I drew the redraw for him! I was quite pleased with the improvement! Funnily enough, I knew nothing of My Little Pony, then.

My ponysona in their earth pony disguise. Only after I finished the drawing did I realize that the mouth was a bit on the long side. Reminded me of the "horses with dog mouths" trend a while back. It's canon, now.

Not only is this cat a reminder that I really need to work on my proportions, but it's also a birthday gift to my little sister as a nod to her nickname from her deadname with the blooms of a sunflower as a nod to her new chosen name! She has this hanging up in her home in a frame. I am a bit bashful about it.

I mean, you see that arm, right???

Just a few sketches of my ponysona doing a couple of poses.

Keeping the pony trend going, we have Balanced Scales! An r63 and r59 (is that the AU internet rule?) of Phoenix Wright from the Ace Attorney franchise. I dove deep into that fandom a while back after looking around on YouTube for some MLP fanfics and saw the crossover there. It was some pretty good work, imo! So I just went, "What if there was a female pony version of Phoenix?" and it kinda spiraled from there... I made the whole cast in Pony Town.

Finu the Helpful! A skittermander biohacker! I played this menace in a Starfinder game with my friends. She's basically if Medic from TF2 had a small mascot character that learned medicine. She ate anything biodegradable and had no issues shooting her allies with needles as much as her foes. Her allies were indeed thankful that those were loaded with boosts and healing potions...

She also once ate a mushroom that was hacking into their ship's computer. That was fun.

HE IS THE SAND DRAGON! DRAGON OF THE SAND! I mostly drew this while thinking of that time in the comic Looking For Group when the party encountered the Sand Dragons. Especially when Richard turned one of them into glass.

A book cover for my story Teamwork (found on AO3, Fanfiction.net, and FimFiction) that I had some fun with. On the cover, we have Breezefeather with the left half in her natural pegasus form and the right in her human disguise! Might make more art of that story at some point. We'll see...

Another story! Cover art of My Little Ninja (also on AO3, FanFiction.net, and FimFiction). I had a lot of fun with the background for this. I'm more than a little upset that the cover just doesn't want to be allowed for some reason on FimFiction... Is it the explosion? If so, wack...

So far, that's all I've got that I would like to share. Some of these may be a repost, but that's fine. I still like them all!

#nmnart #nmnupdates #commissions #commissions open #my little pony #mlp fim #original character #worldofwarcraft #art #traditional art #traditional ink #mixed media #character art #oc tag

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thegreatlibraryfangirl · 2 years ago

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if the great library characters became animals, what would they be and why??

(I have seen your previous ask, it's epic, but my brain is currently refusing to answer it, apologies)

ok so, easiest first:

Wolfe

Crow.

Why? Because of 'Stormcrow', of course. Also:

They are fairly solitary, usually found alone or in pairs, although they may form occasional flocks.

Source RPSB website

Fun fact btw, Gandalf is referred to as Stormcrow, and this article has a lot of stuff about Gandalf being seen as a harbinger of chaos and destruction that works very well both for Wolfe's personal circumstances and his job confiscating originals.

Rather than wolf as an alternative, I could see Wolfe as a black panther (melanistic leopard).

Again, a loner animal, but this is more playing off Jess' obsession with pointing out that Wolfe is lean and athletic in physique (S&P has it like 3 times, other people say various things about Wolfe's size throughout the series).

Santi

Dog. Of some huge, imposing and loyal type. Suggest breeds for me in reblogs or something. Google informs me there is an Italian livestock guardian dog breed called Maremmano, so that'll do for now. Or a mastiff, maybe.

Jess

Ok so before I even think of anything at all - Thomas canonically compares Jess to an otter, in Sword and Pen. How very heterosexual of you, Thomas. So we have to consider this!

Other than that, thank you Thomas, I think Jess is a dog too, for how much he enjoys affection and the exercise of the High Garda Specifically a Jack Russell terrier (small, fearless, English in origin, incredibly persistent).

Jess himself might identify as a rat, as a fuck-you to both Dario and his father. The brown rat, which is actually apparently nicknamed "street rat" according to Wikipedia.

Note, the Wikipedia article on black rat gave me: "The black rat also has a scraggly coat of black fur, and is slightly smaller than the brown rat." paging @wheel-of-whimsy can you headcanon the Brightwell twins as these two rat types??

Khalila

I should really have put her first tbh, as the most solid one of all; I headcanon her as the blackfooted cat. It's one of the tiniest wildcat species, and it is known for being particularly fierce when it defends itself. Tiny predator Khalila. I will say no more.

Dario

Reluctantly, I'm actually going to call Dario a lion. Like, a lion who's bad at fighting. Royal associations obviously, needs a group around him to survive. Except he'd be bad at being the head of a pride for aforementioned fighting reason. Dario as Scar, is what I'm saying here. That or he's just a standard pampered housecat. Take your pick. (Note, the domestic cat is actually much more social than people think!)

Maybe he's a wasp. Stabby stabby, underappreciated lol.

Glain

Glain is a difficult one. Argh. Suggestions welcome. Soldier ant??? That seems unfair. Ink and Bone Glain is a bit of a honey badger tbh, but idk about later. Is she a lioness, actually?? Quite possibly. Part of a family team, killing machine.

Thomas

Thomas' two main traits are Big and Genius. (Yes I know there's obviously more to him than that but we're simplifying). Therefore he's an elephant.

Morgan

I know I always say this every time a personality/categorisation thing comes up, but god damn it Morgan is hard to do. Her entire arc imo, start to finish, is based around not wanting to be enslaved, ended up enslaved anyway, and then being a martyr. What does she enjoy doing? We don't know. What are her skills, hobbies, characteristics other than 'gets Jess' dick hard'?? Smoke and Iron and to a degree Sword and Pen does give us more insight into her, but only based around "How do I get out of this?"

OK, so creative, intelligent, ridiculously determined. Also magic powers. Idk. Grey parrot.

#the great library #animals #asking things

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chaotically-cas · 4 years ago

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Tombstone spoilers

- - -

Oh my god. This is my raw reaction (I’m posting in the morning) to finishing Tombstone at 3:30 am. I finished it less than a minute ago. I’m in shock. I’m still crying oh my god. Literally crying.

I did not expect to enjoy a western cowboy movie that fucking much???? But I did??? I don’t even know where to start. I’m not sure if the acting from Wyatt Earp’s actor was good or bad. I genuinely can’t tell. But I thought that Val Kilmer fucking carried that movie dear lord is he so beyond talented oh my god. He is so good in these kinds of roles (Jim Morrison) I swear I literally got goosebumps so so many times. I think he is an incredibly underrated actor & that movie is excited why. Jesus fuck he was incredible it felt so real. It was one of the best performances I’ve seen on that type of role from anyone I can’t. The acting overall was for the most part down right magnificent.

The absolute heart wrenching showing of tuberculosis too omg. Especially in lines as small as ‘forgive me if I don’t shake hands’ to his beautifully the makeup department & Val did with showing how physical the disease was. I’m not sure what else to complement besides the fact that ‘the dying man’ is such a common character but I don’t think you can really do much better at all in this case. Top marks.

& the way it was filmed & the shots were so beautiful. It was so timely & cinematic oh my god I can’t describe it. They used close up shots & far away shots both so beautifully & in such a meaningful way I wanna give the director I high five man.

Jesus even Johnny Ringo’s character was absolutely perfect. I don’t remember the actors name off the top of my head but he is absolutely brilliant as well as the rest of the cast. Including Russell who practically directed the entire thing. Jeez I think he was incredible in that role. Even Ike was a fantastic character I’m sorry but I can’t lie.

I could talk about the scene where Johnny Ringo & Doc Holliday first met forever I think. Not only did they but probably two of the best actors in the movie the same room together. But it’s probably one of the most well known scenes too. Just the belligerence & the absolute wit between the both of them, especially Holliday, is mesmerizing. I love the way he turns to his girlfriend & talks to himself over whether the fact he should hate him or not. & he ends up deciding to hate him because he reminds him of himself. Which is again brought up so fucking incredibly later on in the movie. I think it’s amazing they didn’t let that aspect of their characters fall though. I think that scene is just magnificent. The way Doc is so sly & coy with a simple shot glass. Just the way the own shots are mocking themselves as well as the characters in a way is just. God. It’s unmatched. & the way they bring back the ‘he’s drunk’ later in the movie too as such a juxtaposition is just. Shit man. It’s beyond brilliant.

The scene where they all were at a draw & then Doc just winks. & you can see the other actors face go from fear to anger. & then wyatt realizes. Good it’s just a greatly filmed & directed scene everything about it is perfect from the reactions to the shots.

Now. Here is where I might be getting a bit controversial. This movie is gay. It’s fucking gay.

It’s a love story between Earp & Holliday. I said it. From the very very beginning when they first see each other again I could tell that Holliday was pining, he was crushing. & Wyatt was too except he didn’t know it. It was in the ways he cared for his well being & if he needed anything. They both just supported each other & were such good friends throughout it all even in the small things. But the big gestures is where it gets me.

The first being the multiple times Holliday stood up & actually took a deadly fight for Earp. All whole literally dying himself. He was literally willing to do fucking anything for him he was in love idc. & the second being the scene where he is saying goodbye oh my god. & Earp gives him the fucking book ‘my friend Doc Holliday’ oh my god. That’s when I started crying. Cause it was Doc saying that if Wyatt really loved him he would have to let him go & be happy. & then he died clutching the little book his best friend gave him omg. I cried. & of course Wyatt had to fulfill his best friends last wish. That killed me.

There was even a deleted scene between Doc & his girl where she is asking him why he is leaving again. & she is like ‘it’s Wyatt, isn’t it? It’s always Wyatt’ or something to that effect. & dear god I wish that scene was included because it only further shows how close they were. Both did & his girl also went to the lengths of pushing at the fact that he could & wouldn’t mind dying from him. I just think that’s interesting. He literally would do anything for his friend & his girl knows it (as she called herself.)

But what strikes me most is both times Wyatt was walking away from Doc, thinking he would never see him again, he give him something. Like pretty important too. Idk it really got me in my feels & I’m kind of glad it was so subtextual as well as implied through the clearly more than friendly gestures. I don’t think they could have portrayed the fact that they were so sadly in love any better. In my opinion. God I cannot it’s so sad. & the fact that they stayed by each other. The. Whole. Time. Through literally everything. I can’t describe it. They deserved better but at the same time it was so perfectly heartbreaking.

The way he looked down at his feet at the end & laughs right before he died breaks my fucking heard. Because he thought he would be dying down the road or honestly anywhere else. With his boots on. With his friends. I can’t it just kills me. It’s such a small & missable detail but holy shit if you notice it it hurts like a bitch.

I just. I can’t. I really loved this movie. I didn’t expect to like it a bit. I expected to be bored. But the action sequences were amazing. Everything was beautifully filmed. The dialogue was amazing (see quotes below) & just. Overall it was a great movie. I can see why it’s so a-claimed. I understand Dean Winchester so naturally I have to watch the tombstone supernatural episode again. Ah.

I strongly suggest the movie. Obviously with consideration of heavy gun violence & death. But yea it was incredible. Val Kilmer is god I’m pretty sure. I will most definitely be watching this again & sobbing.

- - -

“There’s no normal life. Wyatt. Theres just life. Now get on with it.”

“Don’t know how.”

“Sure you do. Say goodbye to me.”

- - -

“Live Wyatt. Live for me. Wyatt if you were ever my friend. If you ever had the slightest feelin for me. Leave now. Please.”

- - -

“What does he need?”

“Revenge”

“For what?”

“Being born.”

- - -

“I was just foolin’ about.”

“I wasn’t.”

- - -

“Apparently Mr. Ringo is an educated man. Now I really hate him.”

- -

“You’re so drunk, in fact, you’re probably seeing double”

“I have two Guns. One for each of ya”

- - -

“Maybe pokers just not your game, Ike. I know. Let’s have a spelling contest.”

- - -

“You’re no daisy. You’re no daisy at all. Pour soul. You were just too high strung.”

- - -

“You’re a daisy if you do.”

- - -

“What you doing this for anyway?”

“Wyatt Earp is my friend”

“Hell, I got lots of friends.”

“I don’t.”

- - -

“I’m your huckleberry”

- - -

“Not me. I’m in my prime.”

- - -

God I could quote this whole movie.

But lastly y’all when they were playing cards on his death bed & Doc was like ‘I don’t wanna play anymore’. Yeah. That broke my heart. That scene is 10x more sad imo than Jack’s death in titanic.

& just the fact that his very very last moments alive were spent thinking about his friends future just shows how much they cared for each other. My heart hurts. Such a beautiful portrayal.

& yes I’m going on again about Val’s acting in this because he deserved a fucking Oscar. God. His sophisticated sarcastic & overall ugh everything of the role was absolutely perfection. It’s most definitely my favorite performance by him & maybe actually one of my top ever performances. He is so talented I cannot stress this enough.

I was tying fast. Ignore any typos.

#tombstone #cas spams #Cas talks about movies #pos #tw cursing

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mk-wizard · 4 years ago

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Top 10 Things Robots In Disguise Did Wrong IMO

Hello, fans.

I really hate knocking a series because I hate trash talking, so I won’t do it, but rather, I will some criticism on Robots in Disguise aka RID. I had a lot of high standards for this show especially considering it was supposed to be a sequel to Prime. There are many things about it that didn’t sit well with me, but there ten things I feel really stood out that really hurt the show the most. Note that Strongarm is not one of those things. Not liking Strongarm is a matter of taste it is not the make or break aspect of an entire series. Despite what many people think, one character you don’t like doesn’t ruin an entire series.

1- It didn’t feel like a genuine sequel to Prime. - I understand that in RID, some time has passed after the end of Prime so things around going to be different. However, the only thing from Prime that was brought over to RID was Bumblebee himself and I felt he did not have a lot in common with his Prime counterpart. RID felt like a completely new show or rather like the sequel of another series. The old cast is never brought up or shown, old alliances seemed to have been forgotten and whatever happened to the Predacons? When making a sequel TV series, it should follow a certain level continuity with the series it is following kind of like how Beast Machines followed Beast Wars so smoothly.

2- Fixit’s performance as the first handicapped Autobot was rather insensitive towards the viewers. - I don’t mind Fixit being handicapped or being the comic relief, but I do find it kind of insensitive especially in today’s day and age for Fixit to be comic relief because he’s handicapped. He was portrayed as weak, an invalid and at times, incompetent which he clearly isn’t. In fact, he has an arsenal and can hold his own, but even after this was found out, he was put back into his “weakling” role. This is not a good look for Transformers. A lot of people watching the show wound up handicapped because of an accident like Fixit did or have handicaps similar to his, and I don’t think it’s very nice to give off the message that people like them are “broken” and this makes them clowns we should laugh at. This is backwards writing at its worst and shame on Hasbro for that.

3- Forgettable human characters. - In Prime, Jack, Miko, Raf, agent Fowler and even Jack’s mom had very strong personalities that made an impact in the show. They were actually helpful to the Autobots and could even be forces to be reckoned with. You could never say the humans of Prime were weak or just played humans in distress. They would rescue the Autobots just as often if not more so than the Autobots rescued them. In RID, Denny and Russel were not as impressive. If anything, Russel felt like a copy of Jack at times, but in a much weaker way. He lacked Jack’s maturity and character development. At times, I also wondered why Bumblebee never just tried to make contact with Agent Fowler at least upon returning to Earth (more on this later).

4- The quality felt like a step down from Prime. - I understand RID was supposed to appeal to a younger audience, but when you’re following an act like Prime, you should put your best foot forward even when presenting to kids. After all, Rescue Bots was also made for kids, but it took place in the same universe as Prime and never compromised its quality. RID felt very silly in its humour, the majority of the episodes felt like the old fashioned and outdated “monster of the day” formula, the plot felt made up as it went along and the characters were rather one dimensional.

5- It should have brought back a large majority of the Prime cast as regular characters. - I understand that even a sequel series is going to have a few new characters. Beast Machines did, but what it didn’t do was scrap 99.9% of the old cast for a new one. It didn’t fix what wasn’t broken and kept the characters who worked best for the series. Like I mentioned before, why didn’t Bumblebee ever try to contact the old human gang especially agent Fowler? Didn’t they keep in touch? And didn’t Ratchet stay on Earth at the end of Prime because he wanted keep Earth safe from any remaining Decepticons? And what happened to the Decepticons who were already on Earth? RID is supposed to be a sequel to Prime not a parallel. It should have brought back most of the old gang especially for its setting.

6- It had tons of plot holes. - As well as forgetting its own cast, RID forgot a lot of pivotal plot elements left behind by Prime that it should have worked with. The most obvious being the Predacons considering most of the enemies in RID had animal motifs. Also, if Bumblebee was so important on Cybertron, his absence would have been felt on Cybertron. People would have gone looking for him. And as mentioned before, there were already a lot of Decepticons still on Earth. It wasn’t necessary to bring in these new animal themed Decepticons.

7- Optimus stole Bumblebee’s spotlight. - RID was supposed to be the series where Bumblebee was supposed to shine, be the hero and leader, and possibly become a Prime. He kind of did those things, but the way Optimus was brought back overshadowed him a lot and that’s no good. Rescue Bots showed a good way to bring in Optimus as a guest or secondary character without overshadowing the heroes of the story. In Rescue Bots, Optimus is assisting, but stepping out of the way for the most part. In RID, as soon as Optimus came back, he completely got in Bumblebee’s way and even made him look bad. This just seems like muddled storytelling to me. Maybe it would have been better if Optimus hadn’t been brought back at all.

8- The enemies were rather lackluster. - Prime gave us tons of enemies that shocked us, had grit and were not afraid to be truly bad like Megatron the conqueror, Starscream the snake and of course, Unicron himself who truly did live up to his chaos bringing persona. And even Predaking was the stuff of nightmares yet at the same time, has this majestic aura hence his name. The enemies of RID felt like a bunch of thugs, they were mostly monsters of the day and even Megatronus felt like a step down in villain quality. He didn’t make me feel anything really and while I know the series wanted to be child friendly, I think it tried too hard. Megatronus just felt like a lesser version of Unicron and many of the villains felt like lesser versions of their Prime counterparts. And this is bad. Even when they explained their motives, I didn’t feel like they delivered that impression that they were all that bad. Just more like they were trying to play the role of being bad like actors in a show. Pardon the harsh criticism, but that’s how I felt.

9- The ideas it presented had been done before. - I hate saying this, but everything I saw in RID had been done before in other Transformers series. None of the ideas felt that fresh at all especially not the setting of Autobots being marooned on Earth and then needing to fight the Decepticons marooned there with them. Like, come on! Even the idea of reviving Optimus had been done before. I think the plot of RID would have benefited more and would have had more of an opportunity to be original if it had literally picked up where Prime had left off with rebuilding Cybertron or tying up loose ends left by Prime.

10- Bumblebee’s performance felt like a step down after Prime. - In Prime, Bumblebee went from being a Scout to a full blown Megatron slayer. He was a badass who didn’t take trash from anyone and he knew what to do without needing to say it. And as soon as he did have a voice, he showed a lot of promise as a leader in every way possible. However, in RID, he seems to have regressed in both leadership skills and in maturity. He’s goofy in all the wrong ways, he is overly concerned with catchphrases and he can’t keep his team together. As mentioned before, RID Bumblebee did not give me the impression that he was the same Bumblebee from Prime. He felt like a different guy.

To anyone who is a fan RID, I don’t mean to offend you. I just had to get this off of my chest. Usually, I don’t care for a sequel following its legacy, but RID felt like a huge drop in standards to the point where it didn’t even look like a sequel anymore.

To anyone who agrees with me, what are your thoughts and what reasons can you think of that caused RID to not live up to Prime’s legacy?

#transformers #transformers fandom #transformers prime #transformers robots in disguise #robots in disguise #prime #tfp #arcee #bulkhead #ratchet #transformers rid #rid #bumblebee #autobots

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lalalariot · 5 years ago

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I’m watching again gossip girl(never watch it lineally) BUT I’m doing this for HBO I guess (and this Nostradamus series predicting my love life to an extent )

Soooo....

1 .I still don’t like Vanessa,the most annoying character being hypocrite .

2. “SereNate” is a horrible and forced shipping . Serena wasn’t over Dan in the whole series and Nate had a platonic love towards Serena,wasn’t that real to begin with ,he was in love with the fantasy of Serena not “the flawed Serena” as Dan did(he started platonic but they loved each other even with flaws)

3. Georgina is a boss (not as good as Blair but second best) she was like Cassie from skins but evil .

4. I still love Blair ,she is childish sometimes but she is the best character

5. Jenny and Nate had WAY more chemistry than most other people they dated (Vanessa,the gay,Damian,Serena ,Milf and the ginger) They should approach more this characters and they did dirty to Jenny (yes ,she slept with Chuck but she should loose here V card with Nate ...Not Chuck)

6. Chuck is a character I have mixed feelings .

7. The shippings were toxic AF but they had sense somehow .I meant ... they talked things specially Dan and Serena .

8. Dorota and Cyrus were the best

9. I don’t understand why Georgina and Carter never dated . They could have been a power couple.(she looks good with Jack tho)

10. Eric deserved more scandals or being into the main characters drama more

11. Dan is the less toxic of the main characters ... but has an inferiority complex .But e less toxic was Vanya(the Russian door keeper) the rest were more messy

12. I don’t think Serena is a bad person BUT she always plays victim roll and put puppy eyes to justify her mistakes .EDIT she doesn’t have the right to raise her voice to Rufus for her daddy issues

13. I think Williamis pretentious as F ...

14. Why all Brooklyn people are “poor” or feel less than upper east siders?! (Maybe was the time the series was done because Brooklyn now can be as expensive as Manhattan)

15. I felt bad for Jenny ... not even hating her ,just pity her

16. When those robbers took Chuck’s ring my heart broke ;( ,honestly ... I mean,he deserved all Dan’s punches honestly BUT taking the engagement ring that was going to be Blair’s ... sad

17. Why didn’t Blair call Chuck saying she was running late because she was supporting Dorota while she was on labor.

18. Dorota’s wedding no was beautiful,thank you Chuck and Cyrus for making that wedding beautiful!

19. Eva is so nice ,I think Blair crossed the line with her for jealousy and inmaturity.

20. Juliet(Columbia chick ) is worse

21. Vanessa was nice supporting Dan and Milo (the baby) I liked Dan and Vanessa while taking care of Georgina’s baby as a couple

22. Chuck was a better person with Eva , but I sill love Chuck and Blair more but was not bad with Eva,don’t hate on her just because she dated Chuck lol... if she was a snake like Juliet or Vanessa maybe but she was nice ,just a prostitute but a nice person.

23. I can’t relate to Juliet ,her brother is nice but sheeee .I don’t know ,she had to go to far for a grudge that is not even hers , her cousin was helping her ... what kind of sabotage is this?

24. Serena is kissing a lot of guys ... damn,this is so annoying and awkward

25. Can’t believe Serena leaves Blair and acts up like is the end of the world if Blair is busy,double moral much ...so Blair has to be ok with Serena leaving following guys and Blair can’t leave while pursuing her goals?

26. Russell vibe reminds me to the guy from Shark tank ... the whole vibe ,wouldn’t be surprise if the author did based the character on him

27. I don’t want Chuck to loose his empire

28. Raina is not a bad character BUT if she has to be dragged to save Chuck’s empire we’ll .... it has to be done

29. Damian is a thot level 100 ... first Jenny then Jenny’s best friend, Eric ! That’s so low ... this guy is so complicated

30. Jenny is just easily manipulated ,but Vanessa and Juliet are bigger snakes.Still no empathy to neither

31. I still don’t think Nate’s dad is a reliable lawyer .

32. Just a genuine question ,why all characters that are not from the upper east side have inferiority complex?

33. What Lily did with Ben was HORRIBLE but I don’t think he’s for Serena,he deserves better.

34. Dan and Blair are getting into each other?! Is not bad

35. I like Charlie(way more than Vanessa or Serena)...lets hope they don’t screw her having some inferiority complex to make everyone look nice 😂

36. Selfish Serena

37. Jack Bass looks SO NICE WITH BEARD ... I would keep him ...

38. Chuck crash a window and he finally fights for Blair when she has an engagement ring?!

39. Snake Serena ...

40. Russell Thorpe has a double moral but Chuck’s dad is not behind.

41. Why everyone banish others “go,never come back to New York “ .Blair did it with Jenny and Chuck with Russell .

42. Cyrus is so nice ,he’s helping so much Blair ! God bless this man

why she made her cousin spend her trust funds ?!

43.Is getting pretty dull and boring all this boring royal family and Ivy’s boyfriend ,he’s plain imo ... never mind

44.I still like more Ivy/Charlie than Vanessa

45. Serena’s auntie is a mess,I liked her as a teen but this lady is greedy and lazy .I liked her but she goes so low :( ... this is how you destroy a good character

46. Chuck and Blair in therapy ... something that should happen way before if you ask me ,but we wouldn’t have as much seasons

47. That milf is so annoying (Elizabeth Hurley’s character) ... why can’t she make her mind if she loves Nate or is a toy boy (but we all know he’s everyone’s toy boy)

48. Nate barely has self respect ,that’s not something just women should have ...men also

49 I can understand Ivy but she goes too far ,she could run away with the money and that’s it ! That family is rich af and will “recover “ in less than a month .

50 low key Ivy and her ex dynamic is so toxic ... both greedy people who try to climb social class seducing or stealing ... damage each other during and after the relationship,wtf

51 Honestly I could care less about those two ...

52 I would rather to have Rhodes family crazy flashbacks

53 Dan is so entitled ,he says he doesn’t care what people say about him and goes to his hater’s address.Kinda creepy

54. Nate’s cousin ... Chip is not thaaaat bad :(

55 But he got what he deserved

I’ll give more insights while I advance ...

*EDIT #1 started season 4

*EDIT#2 Season 4 almost over

* EDIT#3 season 5,half way

#gossip girl #chair #chuck and blair #blair waldorf #chuck bass #nate archibald #serena van der woodsen #jenny humphrey #dan humphrey #eric van der woodsen #opinions

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almaasi · 7 years ago

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reaction post typed while watching SPN 13x06 “Tombstone”

DEAN AND CAS ON A COWBOY CASE YEEHAW

03:00pm

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH i’m so excited but goddamn i keep seeing spoilers i dON’T WANT SPOILERS NOO

i know dean calls cas “pal” at one point and jack kills a guy???

AND I AM OF THE OPINION THAT CAS’ HAT IS TOO SMALL AND TOO BRIGHTLY COLOURED BUT IT’S PROBABLY MEANT TO SYMBOLISE A HALO IMO

okay download is *ping!* done!!!! yessss here we go

it’s not 720p, because looking up that twitter feed i was recommended only got me spoilers and no links, so i closed the tab sharpish

03:04

NOPE video file not working let’s start again shall we

03:06

ARRGH TWO WEEKS AGO IT WAS NOT THIS HARD TO FIND LINKS

03:08

aaah @spndestiel on twitter is COMING THROUUUUGH with streaming links yesss

/sits and refreshes page for download links

YEAH THANK U SPNDESTIEL https://twitter.com/SpnDestiel/status/931343602801872896

03:11

well it’s 720p so either 20 minutes or 2 hours to wait. i’mma read dodie clark’s book in the meantime

03:31pm

alllmost done......................