#like it looked great obviously but also. like it’s one thing to trust your actors but it’s another to give them zero guidance for something

[ropebunnykant]

i have another lil acting thing i noticed - though this time it’s less of an acting thing and more of an industry thing. i’m like 90% sure they used an intimacy coordinator for our skyy 2 x the eclipse - at least for those episodes, idk if they’ve used them for all of our skyy 2 or even for all of the eclipse, but i’m fairly certain they used one for the our skyy 2 eps and it’s for one very specific reason.

now if you don’t know what an intimacy coordinator is, it’s kind of exactly what it sounds like - it’s a specialist that is used on set (of a show, a movie, a play, etc) where the actors have to play out an intimate scene. this can honestly range from anything from a simple peck to a full on sex scene. my school recently used one for two of our mainstage shows, but one of them didn’t even include anything kissing or explicitly sexual touching, but she helped create the build up to a scene that was happening off-stage. and typically how it works is that it’s broken down like choreography, so you use beats and breath in order to determine how long to hold for, when to move to the next thing, when to pull away, etc. and it’s helped to make sure the actors are comfortable with everything going on and having it broken down in a formulaic way like that also helps with comfort. unfortunately intimacy coordination isn’t an industry standard in the us even though it definitely should be, and idk how much they use them in thailand, so i could be totally wrong here!

however! i did notice that in the opening scene of the second episode, aye is tapping on akk’s neck during their kiss. and i found it a little strange because it’s not like he’s playing with his hair or moving his hand around, he’s just tapping against his neck. but i was rewatching the scene today and it hit me. khaotung is tapping out the beats! almost immediately after the second time he taps his hand, akk pulls away. khao was tapping out the beats so first knew when to pull away, which is a sign they were using an intimacy coordinator!

which, while obviously firstkhao are incredibly comfortable with each other, i think it also makes a lot of sense and could be part of why all the kiss and intimacy scenes are so well done and feel so natural and comfortable. again, i could be totally wrong here, but i thought i’d share this lil detail i noticed.

[kookidough]

analysing vance hopper because he lives in my head 24/7 !

tw for like. literally everything the black phone covers!!!!!!

also there's some special effects gore rather far down in the post idk just i feel like i should warn you just in case

okay so before anyones like "but bee!!!! he only had 6 minutes of screen time in a 102 minute long movie!!!!! he was only on screen for 5.8% of the movie!!!!!" and to that i say i Know it was a real tragedy so a lot of this will be built on personal interpretation and subtext and stuff said behind the scenes and whatnot

so firstly i wanna rot about what his childhood/upbringing might've been like..... i havent quite decided on something definitive but i think we can take one look at his character and realise that is glaringly obvious he had a bad childhood, in one interview the actor that plays him (brady hepner) says "the background i had set up for vance is that the reason he was the way he was is his home life was fairly difficult, you know maybe his dad was either not there for him or he wasn't supportive, maybe he was fairly abusive, and so that creates a hair trigger sense of rage in vance" hair trigger meaning his patience is literally as thin as a strand of hair it does Not take a lot for him to snap

there more to it after that which i'll get into soon but yea thats the gist of it it's clear he had absent/neglectful/abusive parents and that would certainly contribute to why he's so angry all the time, maybe acting so explosive was the only way to get his parents' attention, either good or bad, so he just internalised that. obviously rage and anger issues like vance's lead to violence (not in all cases but in his case it does) and i think a neglectful and abusive upbringing would obviously expose him to more violence than a normal childhood would, therefore normalising it and desensitising him to it, whether he's seeing it play out in his own home and/or on television or something like that (because i doubt his parents would be the kind to monitor what content he's viewing)

i feel like he has little control over his life and that only adds to his anger, which in his case leads to a fight when his buttons are pushed too many times. i think he probably takes great pride in being the toughest in town and whatnot and winning fights and being perceived as strong and scary is good to him and helps him regain control/power, something he doesnt have at home. the rest of the quote from the interview i mentioned earlier states "this pinball machine could have been the only thing that he has in his heart that's like, good, like 'holy cow i did this, i set the score,' so when someone comes along and messes it up for him, it takes away the only thing that he has. i think that that's when he switches to a 'now you're gonna pay for that'"

similar to what i said about fighting, the pinball machine and his high score is something he has control over and its an important part of his reputation/image like. hes literally pinball vance ! and the whole thing about that high score being the "only thing he has in his heart that's good" implies that hes. well. pretty shit at everything else, which is pretty much canon if you remember that gwen said vance was held back twice in school. makes me think that while he's not the brightest in school he's certainly street smart

moving onto ermmmmm him getting kidnapped era because im sure youre wondering "well bee if he's so street smart then why did he get kidnapped" so may i raise two theories (this is. literally all i got and its not even concrete, me and my friend gray (@staggersz) tried to figure out how this could even happen and this is the most plausible thing we've got. so shoutout to him real quick he has had to deal with me being unnormal about vance for like a year and a half thanks king couldnt have done all this without my rotting buddy)

so either he got taken by surprise (most likely option) or vance's trust was gained first via getting given quarters at the pinball machine and small talk and shit like that but this is unlikely because i feel like it'd take a loooooong time for someone like vance to trust a some random stranger adult man when he clearly has issues with trusting and respecting people older than him and people with authority (e.g. cops, his parents, or school officials) so yea being taken by surprise would probably be the most realistic option, i always see people on tiktok being like "how did the grabber kidnap vance hes so strong!!!!" dude its a 15 year old boy against like. a 45 year old man who's already claimed two lives its really not gonna be a fair fight here

before i get into the next part i wanna quickly address a theory i absolutely Hate and it is so easily disproven and that is the theory that vance is the grabber's son or is related to him in some other way and i see it Far too often on tiktok and i HATE it. from what ive seen this all stems from his dream sequence where he kicks open the fence to albert's house and, presumably, goes inside after being dropped off by the police after the grab n go fight. idk if some people just straight up didnt realise this but clearly in real life he is going to his Own House??? in the dream it's only albert's house because this is how he chooses to show gwen the house she's trying to find her brother in, the house that he himself was killed in??? i hate the theory i hate it sm

the dream sequence itself is interesting though as the ghosts seem to only be able to conjure up what theyve seen in real life (like how bruce can picture the outside of the house and show that to gwen but the house number is all flipped and not right beause he doesnt know it) so vance being able to picture the house and the number and the gate and every detail would imply that hes seen it before, but im going to explain that away as either he got out once before like with finney's failed escape attempt, or the house is most likely on the route he walks to school or the grab n go or something and he hasnt actually been there prior to being kidnapped

mini rant over now onto being kidnapped i guess, so i used the missing posters to try and estimate a timeline of how long each ghost boy would've been in the basement for (although the missing posters are notoriously unreliable for details such as looks/height/age/etc, the dates seem to all line up). so we know the order is griffin, billy, vance, bruce, robin, finney, right?? if we use the poster date then billy was taken on may 4th, 1976, a month and two days after griffin was taken (april 2nd 1976). vance was taken on september 23rd 1977, almost a full year later (stay with me im going somewhere with this), and after that bruce was taken on july 18th 1978, again almost a full year later

its established in the movie that the grabber stalks his victims before he takes them (canon because we literally see the van watching finney and gwen as they walk home from school early on in the movie) but we dont know how long he does this for since griffin/billy and robin/finney were taken such short distances apart and then the others were taken such long distances apart, also it's possible he could stalk his next victim while the previous one is still alive, etc etc lots of confusing factors, but if i've done the maths right then the absolute maximum time vance could've spent down there is 9 months and 25 days, or 298 days, so erm . let that sink in !

howeverrrr in the movie gwen states that vance went missing "last spring" and september is definitely not in spring, meaning he could've been down there for a year or even longer. an explanation or excuse i could think of for the movie and the missing poster saying different things (other than the missing posters being known for some areas being wildly inaccurate) is that maybe he was taken in spring but wasnt labelled as officially missing until september, when he was properly linked to griffin and billy's similar disappearances and the mysterious grabber? i can imagine it'd be very easy for law enforcement, especially in the 70s, to dismiss someone like vance as a runaway until they get solid evidence that he was taken. idk though thats just my personal excuse / angsty headcanon for the difference in information

not sure what exactly killed him but we do hear from vance himself that "he took his time with me" so it was probably blood loss from a variety of injuries, if we look at him in his ghost scenes we can see his hair is absolutely covered in blood which indicates head injury, he clearly has a broken nose and bruising around his eyes as a result of it, he has these deep cuts on his abdomen area (apologies for the image quality but i believe they're like. sfx pieces you would wear under clothing)

and he also has just like. minor bruising (like the fingerprints on his arm) and other random blood splatters on his face and neck (assuming the blood down his neck comes from wherever he was bleeding on his head) so Yeah overall very unpleasant way to die obviously

okay now the part thats actually in the movie and it only took me 13 paragraphs to get here: vance as a ghost!! first thing i wanna point out is appearance wise i just want to say that when he's a ghost he's missing his choker and that fact Pains me. anyway personality-wise i feel like being violently murdered has, understandably, kicked his rage up to like. the highest level it could possibly go. he's insanely snarky and downright rude to finney on the phone, showing no empathy to the fact that finney is literally in the exact situation he was in

i feel like the whole "this is the nightmare end of your pathetic little life" and "if you knew what you had coming, you'd be fucking terrified" thing is definitely to scare finney on purpose and to get him to do something, vance might as well have just told him he's never going home cuz thats how it came across LMAOO, it is startling though because vance is clearly speaking from experience, that he was literally fucking terrified, and he is warning finney in his own weird way

the thing i think sets vance apart from the other ghosts is that while he does help finney, he does it for a different reason than they do. the other ghosts want finney to escape, to get out, to be free, to live, but personally i dont think vance cares about that. the only thing he wants is for albert shaw to be dead, for someone to seek vengeance, to do what vance couldn't. vance doesn't care if it's bruce or robin or finney or whatever boy could've come after that, he doesnt care as long as that man gets what he deserves after what he put vance through, and i see this through the scene at the end of vance's call where finney thanks him for his help and vance says, and i quote, "helping you? this isn't about you, fuck him! and apologies for being repetitive but to me it just literally proves that to vance, this isnt about finney or his escape, its just about revenge

we dont get to find out what happens to the ghosts once the credits have rolled, and i dont think we quite know enough about tbp's version of ghosts to guess what theyre up to, but i have a few theories :3 maybe theyre no longer bound to those two houses and they can now go anywhere they want in town? or maybe since their shared goal of stopping albert has been achieved, the ghosts can finally pass on to whatever is waiting for them next. i dont think vance would be content to pass on that quickly or easily as anger lingers, but i hope he'd be able to let go of it eventually, and hey we might find out in the sequel. i pray it mentions him cuz i will just die if it doesnt

sometimes, ok thats a lie, frequently i think about an au where he survived or escaped or whatever but ohhhh boy this post is already a train wreck so that au would deserve its own essay of a post :3 if u actually genuinely read this far then Wtf thanks for reading the ramblings of an absolute madman, only pure delusion could get like 20 paragraphs about a guy with 6 minutes screentime but hey thats how i roll, thanks again to my pal gray for letting me rot and thank u to my other pal ana for also enduring all this rot

hope u enjoyed my interpretation of vance hopper im going to crawl in a hole now and probably brainrot some more, thanks again for ur time :3

[graceshouldwrite]

How to Write Political Intrigue (with book recs)

POLITICAL INTRIGUE! Intrigue in general! What is it?

For the purposes of this post (as well as how it's usually used in the writing/reading community), think: scheming. Plotting. Conspiracies in the shadows, bids for power and survival, secret plans, masterful illusions, all of that stuff.

It could be on any scale that you'd like, from a duel of wits (think Light's and L's game of cat and mouse in Death Note)

...to a large-scale plot involving entire countries and their people (like any espionage networks during any major wars, such as the American Revolutionary War to World War II, and so many more)

...or even medium-sized conflicts (families, like in The Godfather, or smaller national disturbances like the Watergate scandal).

Below are 4 core tips on how you can successfully write (political) intrigue plots:

1. Read + Research

Despite how hard it may sound, it's actually pretty easy to craft a realistic yet thrilling intrigue plot—with so many examples in real life and fiction, you can easily base your plot on an existing one and just change a few things like the characters, setting, and maybe a few plot points.

History and current events are always great places to look to, but here are some books that are chock-full of great politics + intrigue:

Leviathan (Thomas Hobbes): one of the most famous treatises of politics + human nature and their intersection. The book is an in-depth exploration of human nature, government, politics, and all of the root causes of why they exist. While it does take a specific philosophical angle (you might not agree with Hobbes' ideas), they are detailed explanations of how things work + why they are required from one perspective.

48 Laws of Power (Robert Greene): GREAT BOOK for helping you plan out the means by which you want the intrigue to happen. There are lots of simplified rules that tell you why people plan and scheme (e.g. "control the options; get others to play the cards you deal," or "pose as a friend, work as a spy"). There are LOTS of really great small stories of when a rule is applied in real life that are also general plot inspo!

The Godfather (Mario Puzo): very very good, intricate, and more emotional because it deals with the intrigue surrounding families

Joseph Fouché: Portrait of a Politician (Stefan Zweig) (biography): Fouché is absolutely insane. A genius at political intrigue. His life is literally one of the craziest stories of scheming, betrayals, survival, and a general vying for power, especially behind the scenes.

The Prince (Machiavelli): obviously, I can't leave out the original tips + tricks book with explanations of WHY intrigue matters as a means, especially in terms of protecting your power.

Trust Me, I'm Lying (Ryan Holladay): a large part of intrigue plots (you need to cover up the actual game you're playing) is the manipulation of information, creating illusions and spectacles for other people to believe. This book goes in-depth about media manipulation and information wars.

Empire of Pain (Patrick Raden Keefe): takes a rather different angle, through the personal/corporate manipulation of government, as well as how wealth dynasties (especially within families) are established. Remember the opioid crisis? This book explores the generational politics of money and power that led up to that.

Prince of Thorns (Mark Lawrence): Look! Fiction! Anyway, I'm biased because it's one of my favourite works of fiction of all time, but it explores political intrigue not only through an actor participating in it, but through the lens of the common folk. I.e., the consequences all that power play has on the populace due to a lack of actual good governance...

A Song of Ice and Fire (George R. R. Martin): I haven't personally read/watched anything GoT, but it's pretty much obligatory to put this series down in a post about political intrigue. It's famous for doing it well.

2. Plan. Like, meticulously

First of all, decide what scale you want your intrigue to be on: large-scale government/international affairs type, a corporation thing, something between two people, or even within a family? There are so many possibilities.

Intrigue plots are like mysteries; they must be tightly logical to be satisfying. One of the best ways of ensuring this is through analyzing each involved party—the actors.

Each actor has their own motivations, goals, and psychologies. After you establish what they want OUT of their intrigue, think about how they'd go about achieving it: a naturally hot-headed person might try to intimidate their way into getting what they want, or they might learn through the course of the story to cool down a bit.

A naturally imaginative and analytical person might come up with all sorts of scarily genius plans, and near-flawless execution. Of course, they would also react in different ways, depending on personality. Character consistency alone will make your plot seem that much more logical.

However, cracks in logic will happen because humans are inherently imperfect and not always rational. These cracks must be DELIBERATE and realistic and must seem planned out; they can't seem more like the author forgot a detail, or didn't know how to explain something (e.g. something happened and the writer never included the consequence of it because they forgot). It must be clear that it is a flaw on the character's part.

3. Never write intrigue for the sake of the intrigue

The incentive of all scheming comes down to mainly two things: gaining power and keeping it. Of course, you could choose to explore more unusual things, such as characters exercising intrigue to satisfy boredom... (think Light and Ryuk from Death Note).

But, the bids for power, security, and survival can be used to highlight things about human nature. Themes to explore include ambition, sacrifice, the pursuit of happiness, the corruption of character, the preservation of innocence in a cruel system, etc.

4. Explore through a narrow lens

Most intrigue plots are full of complex motivations, characters, goals, and the means they use to achieve said goals.

You should gradually let your intrigue plot unfold through the POV of a few characters, preferably one or two. An omniscient narrator for this type of story is INCREDIBLY difficult to pull off without confusing the reader.

However, more POVs work if you use all of them to focus on ONE or a few intrigue plots only—it can provide a multi-layered effect, exploring the same line of action and consequence through different perspectives. But, if everyone has their own intrigue plot, it's too easy to create a tangled mess where readers can barely delineate one plot from the next.

∘₊✧────── ☾☼☽ ──────✧₊∘

instagram: @ grace_should_write

Sorry for the massive hiatus—I have officially started college!! I've been pre-occupied with settling in, classes starting, a social life, extracurriculars etc. etc...life has been super busy, but great :)

I've started working on my books as well as poetry more recently, and I'm glad I'm getting into a new workflow/lifestyle. It certainly is different, but I'm starting to enjoy it.

Anyway, I'm surprised it took me this long to do a post about this topic, considering the fact that it's basically my writergram niche and my entire personality IRL, but I think it was mainly because I was trying to find a good angle to approach this massive topic. But, stay tuned for (probably) a part 2 because there's SO MUCH MORE to cover.

Hope this was helpful, and let me know if you have any questions by commenting, re-blogging, or DMing me on IG. Any and all engagement is appreciated :)

Happy writing, and have a great day!

- grace <3

[scream-by-coop]

Stu Macher - Rant #1

oh yeah spoiler warning - scream 1

this rant reveals who the ghost faces are so if you really want to watch the movie with a blank slate i suggest not reading this, but come back when you do to agree or debate me =]

ik no one asked for this, and I'm somewhat new to the fandom… but I've been seeing a lot of people saying stu was manipulated, he loved tatum, billy forced him into the situation and had no clue billy was gonna kill her. stu was not manipulated, you guys are all blind. he was a sociopath.

if you think stu didn't know billy was gonna kill tatum and that he felt bad… you have to think again. billy and stu had planned this out since they killed sidneys mom. they could have no ties back to the murders so obviously anyone in the group would have to go. this includes tatum and randy. i dont believe stu loved tatum, i think she was probably a coping mecanism from being dumped by casey. i dont think he was heartbroken by casey, i think he was offended. the reason i dont think stu cared for tatum is because after her death, while choking sidney he says "i've always had a thing for you" to her. even if he was joking, or trying to get on sidneys nerves, would he really get over the girl he 'loved' so easily after her death. stu and billy were not friends with tatum, randy or sidney. they needed a way to get to sidney. this is a very very common structure throughout all 6 of the movies. many people also headcannon stu as queer, even the actor who portrays him. and i believe this is very possible. you can see the way he looks at billy, and i dont think billy was using this to manipulate him. but this is just a headcannon so it shouldnt be taken very seriously. people also like to mention the "he killed my tatum" line. he was clearly trying to gain sidneys trust, he was a theater kid for sure. he knows how to act.

the idea of people victimizing stu is actually insane. you are telling me the man who murdered sidneys mother, claiming it was fun, making constant jokes and comments about it was not insane and was forced into that situation because of peer pressure. he is a psycopath. when sydney asks him for his motive and he says "peer pressure, im far to sensitive" he was JOKING / lying, he had not been peer pressured. this was his ALIBI as a COVER STORY. sideny even said "stu whats your motive, what are you gonna tell the cops" knowing he would lie. stu didnt seem to have a solid motive seemingly doing it just for fun, although it can be assumed due to his parents not being in the picture often that could create a great motive, billy had also said "total abandonment causes serious deviant behaviour." while pointing to stu. stu very clearly loved the attention he got from being a famous killer, just like in the movies he watched. he constantly made insensitive jokes about the people who got murdered.

in the third movie, it was suggested that billy just picked stu as a way out. someone to sell out if he got caught, people also claim billy was gonna kill him off after the fact but i just cant believe this, i personally think billy cared for stu. they were best friends, possibly lovers, and any of the ghost faces always killed off there partners before attempting to kill sidney to show they had no remorse. if billy really was gonna kill stu, he probably either wouldnt have gotten his help due to him being unstable and very very impulsive or he would have killed him infront of sidney. stu had added killing his ex girlfriend and her new boyfriend to the plan, would billy have allowed this if he didnt care for stu. i dont believe billy would do anything for stus gain, even if it solidified his loyalty to the plan.

thank you for taking the time to read my rant/debate. feel free to comment your argument points, i love debating so i find this real fun to see your opinions. this is just my personal opinion, even if i think its the right idea. you dont have to agree with me, i also have only recently joined the fandom and watched all the movies. stu is my favorite character, he is not a good person but i like his character design. i have watched the first movie twice now to try and see if there is anything i missed, so correct me if i got anything wrong =]

[maximumzombiecreator]

Hi, you seem to have experience with improv theatre? I'm in an amateur improv group, do you have any tips?

Fun question!

I'll assume you know all the basics, though if you want me to go over what I consider the basics let me know.

The main things I think separate great improv-ers from merely good ones are listening and vulnerability.

By listening, I mean really picking up everything scene partners are putting down and reacting to it. You're probably familiar with the concept of Endowing; another actor treats you as though your character is terrifying, you pick up on this and shape your character in such a way as they warrant that reaction. The best people I've done improv with would pick up on really small signals, little things in body language and word choices, and anticipate ways to craft the scene around that. They'd pick up that I was being a little more verbose than usual, realize that even without a clear situation to show it off in I'd made my character a nerd, and then choose their own character traits to play off of that. They'd pick up on the gait a character was walking with, and know immediately what kind of character that represented and how to let that choice shine.

By vulnerability, I mean the ability to play everything honestly and sincerely without necessarily playing it realistically or seriously. Like, obviously we'd want things to be funny pretty often. Great scene partners would completely accept whatever silly or absurd premises we were going with, but still really commit to a sincere internal life for their absurd character. We'd be in a scene where they were playing the fanatical minion of a supervillain and be able to play with such sincerity and vulnerability that you believed in the internal life of Mook #41. And that was so much funnier than a sort of disinterested sarcasm that mocked the premise of the scene. And for serious scenes, of course, that kind of vulnerability is the lifeblood of good drama.

Also, like, everything benefits from just spending a lot of time with the same people. My best scene partners had run so many scenes with me that they knew my mannerisms and when I'd done something different with them automatically. They'd run so many scenes that they'd trust they could commit wholeheartedly to whatever bit we were doing and I'd have their back, I'd support them, and make them look good (or stupid but in a fun way), and it'd be safe. So honestly just riffing with the same people is such a muscle to develop, and pays off so much.

[lemonhemlock]

https://www.tumblr.com/lemonhemlock/763163615828361216/adding-to-your-nuanced-discussion-regarding-sara much of the hatred towards sara hess is gross and openly misogynistic. unfortunately, it also muddies the waters for making valid critiques of her writing overall. i’m only familiar with her work on HOTD, and while i think she does basic level serviceable work (ie- mostly the plot makes sense) i find a lot of it extremely lazy. take both HOTD finales for example; we have two scenes of domestic violence (daemyra and helaena/aemond) being used to communicate the pretty elementary idea that these men are bad, wrong, and power hungry for anticipating war in a struggle for succession. now with both characters, you can argue it makes sense; daemon has been orbiting the throne all season, he sees the greens as the threat they are and, understands war is inevitable. he’s frustrated with rhaenyra’s lack of response and lashes out after finding out viserys didn’t trust him enough to communicate aegon’s dream. meanwhile, aemond has just discovered he is at a great disadvantage in this dragon cold war, has already committed severe violence to become regent in the first place, and is also lashing out because he is insecure in his position and fearful of what might happen.

the problem is instead of exploring these (very sensible) feelings for the characters or developing them through actual scenes and dialogue, we have this shorthand where Men = Violent, because they couldn’t possibly explore these emotions for these characters in another way. i can’t remember if it was olivia or phia who spoke about the aemond/alicent/helaena scene as helaena refusing to feed aemond’s violent male ego… girl you are literally at war! idk if this is about his male ego so much as he doesn’t want to fucking die 😭 not to point the finger at the actors, i am just assuming that idea came from somewhere, and it seems most likely to be the writer or director. and daemon isn’t in the wrong for expecting battle- yet instead of having that be a real conflict between him and rhaenyra, we have this moment of abuse that is quickly brushed aside and moved past. it exists only to show us how aggressive daemon is in the simplest, laziest way possible, and then it’s disposed of when it’s no longer needed. you can say the same for “civilians don’t matter”— it’s just lazy writing! they don’t have to, in that the story can function without an in depth look at the smallfolk’s relationship to dragons and the targ dynasty overall, and why bother to do any of that when you can just decide that for this one scene, none of them matter!

this is very long 😮‍💨 i’m sorry for the essay! i find this topic hard to discuss because too often people come in to just call her a cunt because she wrote a medieval man who didn’t articulate feminism perfectly. there are real issues here!! and it’s not all on her, condal obviously approves everything and they are on the same page here. anyway. thanks for reading as always!

Coming back to this ask after some time, sorry for the delay!

I agree very much with your assessment of her doing serviceable, but ultimately lazy writing. Perhaps that under a more competent showrunner, she could have written something decent. But one of her problems is that she is only superficially familiar with the source material - I'm saying this because she gave an evasive answer when asked if she read the books ("a long time ago"). This matters because she clearly doesn't understand the politics of the universe she is writing for (the scheming is nonsensical in HOTD) or the themes (dragging back the "civilians don't matter", but it's very revelatory to how she approaches the scripts). How can you write ASOIAF media, a series that relies heavily on politicking and dismantling tropes, without a grasp on those two things? D&D misunderstanding the themes of the series is famously one of the reasons for its lackluster show ending.

And that's just not going to rectify itself on its own. If she lacks the initiative to analyse the text properly, then someone should direct her as to what exactly to write. I'm sorry, but that's you can't just have it both ways - not do the work and then shrug your shoulders when you end up creating a divergent version that doesn't fit in the plot you're bound to follow.

take both HOTD finales for example; we have two scenes of domestic violence (daemyra and helaena/aemond) being used to communicate the pretty elementary idea that these men are bad, wrong, and power hungry for anticipating war in a struggle for succession. [...] the problem is instead of exploring these (very sensible) feelings for the characters or developing them through actual scenes and dialogue, we have this shorthand where Men = Violent, because they couldn’t possibly explore these emotions for these characters in another way.

Exactly, and the reason it ends up working for Daemon is because he previously got a ton of screen time and we got to know his personality, whereas Aemond gets little next to nothing in Season 2, in addition to his in-built disadvantage of being much younger and, thus, getting introduced later on. Well, surprise surprise, what worked for Daemon will not work for Aemond in that situation, because if you don't invest in Aemond's characterisation, the parallel will fall flat. Aemond and Daemon had very different upbringings and it's very silly to think that what applies to Daemon will automatically apply to Aemond and, therefore, you don't need to bother to dissect Aemond on screen in any meaningful way.

That's just concentrating on the logistics & not even critiquing the very lazy stereotype of men = violent & women = peacemakers.

i can’t remember if it was olivia or phia who spoke about the aemond/alicent/helaena scene as helaena refusing to feed aemond’s violent male ego… girl you are literally at war! idk if this is about his male ego so much as he doesn’t want to fucking die 😭

This. ^^^ I often find that the writers were trying to make some kind of point that, in other circumstances, could have been relevant, but they have a knack for picking the worst situations as illustrative examples. And, after that, they're surprised their simile felt mismatched.

Aemond having a violent male ego and being critiqued for it within the text is absolutely fine, but is it reasonable to do it when he's trying to ensure his family are not getting killed? And have Helaena be that agent of critique, when she herself has just been subjected to horrific loss and trauma at Daemon's hands?

Conveying that the smallfolk live miserable lives that often lead them to forsake their morals and commit horrific acts in desperation (such as becoming assassins for hire) is another valid point to make. But is it really appropriate to beg for clemency from the audience via a widowed dog (the lowest form of sympathy begging, if you ask me) when we are talking about a cruel child-murderer at the end of the day?

In the same vein, high-borns having more resources at their disposal to recover after trauma is very true. But is it appropriate for that comment to come out of the mouth of a mother who only just recently lost her son to horrific violence? Especially after having her grieve so halfheartedly, it's giving less intersectionality and more her not actually giving much of a shit instead. No one in their right minds would go to a rich lady mourning her dead child and start lecturing her on the privilege of grief. Helaena is just not the appropriate vehicle in that moment for that kind of commentary.

Neither are the smallfolk of King's Landing in a position to mourn the dragon Meleys mere days after it butchered so many of their fellow townies. So many times I can sense this disconnect between what a believe, humane response would look like and half-baked attempts at social commentary.

and daemon isn’t in the wrong for expecting battle- yet instead of having that be a real conflict between him and rhaenyra, we have this moment of abuse that is quickly brushed aside and moved past. it exists only to show us how aggressive daemon is in the simplest, laziest way possible, and then it’s disposed of when it’s no longer needed.

Yes, in some ways, Daemon is the writers' opportunity to eat their cake and have it, too. They make a lot of noise about how much of a problematic bad boy he is, but, when it comes down to it, nothing he does has any kind of real consequence. The only consequence he ever faced was Viserys banishing him and that was way back before any kind of time jump (and it got overturned in the end, anyway).* Alys doesn't do anything to him except hold his hand and gently nudge him in the "right" direction. Rhaenyra takes him back with nary a snide comment.

Even back in season 1, he can kill Rhea Royce with no fallout: the Royces don't do anything and Lady Jeyne is still Rhaenyra's lackey with no explanation given. He can spread the rumour of killing Laenor with the intent of sowing fear and decapitate Vaemond in front of the greens. Yet the greens are not worried about him and scrambling to prevent Rhaenyra from seizing the throne. Oh no. Crowning Aegon is just misunderstanding Viserys' dying words. 🤦‍♀️ Daemon can even kill Jaehaerys and still Helaena decides to help him instead of her own brother.

*honestly, that's one of the reasons I think the first 5 episodes of season 1 are the show's strongest. It's like back then you did stuff and it had consequences. Incredible achievement.

you can say the same for “civilians don’t matter”— it’s just lazy writing! they don’t have to, in that the story can function without an in depth look at the smallfolk’s relationship to dragons and the targ dynasty overall, and why bother to do any of that when you can just decide that for this one scene, none of them matter!

You know, I would actually like to take this opportunity to point out that I get this conundrum as a showrunner. You don't really want to make a story about smallfolk suffering, because it would be a massive downer and it would not sell as much or be as popular. Not many people are interested in Les Miserables but with dragons and that's understandable! But there is a way to simultaneously not delve into the intricacies of oppression in your escapist nobility fantasy, but not be downright insulting about it.

They don't need a ton of screen time to set up the basic theme of "it's always the innocents who suffer when you high lords play your game of thrones". They just don't and I'm tired of pretending otherwise. They can very well illustrate the point of smallfolk suffering without resorting to insane suspension of disbelief like King's Landing starving after two weeks of blockade. And, if they can't, then they shouldn't be in the writers' room for productions that have the audacity to submit episodes to prestigious award shows.

[djevelbl]

Also just finished watching a video that made me ACTUALLY ANNOYED at the guy who made it and like. ok if you don't want a story told through Minecraft that is made through the lens of content creation in ANY capacity then don't??? watch stories told through Minecraft????? Cuz like. they're mostly like that; even parkciv which is still good IS done through a content creation viewpoint — either as a parody on the medium it was being told through (scripted Minecraft content/Minecraft storytelling) or just as a result of telling the story and like. needing to pay the bills or whatever is a bit up in the air I guess BUT STILL. don't sing praises to a series that's GREAT in all cinematography aspects that JUST SO HAPPENS to be told through Minecraft all the while you're saying "oooh Minecraft storytelling shouldn't be scared of being called cringe just bc it's embracing roleplay to tell it's narrative, it shouldn't pretend to be non-scripted when it so clearly is" which true, JUST TO THEN critique parkciv for...

*checks notes*

... Embracing its medium AND its limitations to tell its story, JUST bc it didn't necessarily strive to be groundbreaking??? What??????

From what I understand, the series the guy was singing praises to like it was his own child at the local school's dance recital, Whitepine (which I'm currently watching so I'll just come back to this once I've finished — let's see if I'll eat my words [doubt it]) is GREAT in terms of visuals, audio and the likes — it obviously takes great care in forming its atmosphere and from the little I've seen the youtubers are genuinely being actors, not just their normal selves masquerading as characters (something that, admittedly, happens A LOT in scripted Minecraft content/Minecraft storytelling like SMPs or solo series [I'm looking at you, later half of the DSMP]). But it isn't Minecraft storytelling — in my opinion, at least.

Minecraft storytelling implies that it includes Minecraft and its mechanics in some way, shape or form that becomes impactful to the story that is being told — it isn't just a REALLY good story that just so happens to use Minecraft as its movie set. This, ultimately, is why I think the guy was wrong — not necessarily in the idea that the stories he critiqued had more room to grow (which parkciv at least does. I haven't watched ParrotX2's Unstable Universe videos and I don't really plan to; they're not my thing) but in what "Minecraft storytelling" should strive to be.

I have a vivid memory — trust me, this is related — of when I was younger (they say, like she's an octogenarian instead of not even being halfway through his lifetime. anyway) having played Minecraft Murder Mystery with my friends in the playground bc I really REALLY liked Gona89's video series on it. This is like, not really the same storytelling but they did have a sort of story — the chemistry between the youtubers felt like watching a series of characters interact with one another, and certain jokes from one video would seamlessly move into the next as well.

And y'know what? IT DIDN'T FUCKING WORK — playing the thing in the playground, that is. Because the thing wasn't made for that; stories have their medium of expression because they're tailored to it, or the medium is tailored to that story — if your Minecraft story can be told perfectly fine when divorced from its primary medium of expression (Minecraft), then it's LITERALLY not a Minecraft story: it just happens to use the game as the backdrop

... Kinda like The Lego Movie: a lot of the mechanics within the movie CANNOT be divorced from lego that easily BECAUSE it's a fucking LEGO MOVIE — partially related but not really the point of this rant: this is why A Minecraft Movie's trailer fucking FLOPPED. It showed absolutely NO POINT in being made bc it's NOT a Minecraft movie (pun accidentally stumbled upon but I shall confidently roll with it, actually), instead it JUST SO HAPPEN to use the videogame as its set.

TLDR: IF YOUR STORY DOESN'T INCLUDE MECHANICAL ELEMENTS THAT ARE INTRINSICAL TO THE GAME YOU USE TO TELL IT, THEN SAID GAME IS JUST THE FUCKING SET. IT'S NOT A MINECRAFT MOVIE JUST BC IT HAPPENS TO BE RECORDED IN MINECRAFT FOR FUCK'S SAKE

[life-in-the-monster-haus]

omg not u believing a quiz in a website made by a third party company solely for the purpose of a failed giveaway in australia that mixes up the movie and cartoon/doll continuities over an actual leaked bible from a huge 4chan (not reddit!) nickelodeon leak that matches up with stuff released after it that's firmly believed by all the trusted doll leak sources...

and what was that about twyla and venus?

Why is it y’all only have the guts to air your greviences to me on anon? I wont block you for disagreeing with me, I’m not sensitive or a wuss and I’m much more inclined to be polite to someone with a name and not a faceless nobody. Just an FYI.

An international branch of Mattel is a way more reliable source than Reddit & if you think it’s a flex telling me the “leaked show Bible” came from 4chan & NOT Reddit, BOY have I got some news for you about the legitimacy of 4chan.

Yes, the Live Action Movie & The Show have different canons… is there a point to that statement or are we just saying the obvious? Not everything is going to be quadruple confirmed in canon like Draculaura being Asian or Frankie being nonbinary (movie character, actor, TV character, voice actor) all things won’t be hammered in that hard so we gotta take what we can get and international monster high is fair game because Mattel has to approve everything they do.

That leaked show “Bible” is sketchy as hell & no Monster High enthusiast worth their salt has taken it seriously. If you know anything about children’s media there is a lot of language used in it that is not Nickelodeon appropriate and I’m not the only one who thinks so. We don’t know where it came from, who wrote it or who posted it. Y’all saw something that looks slightly official and ran with it and that my darlings is a fool’s errand.

Y’all need to be more critical of the information you consume and perpetuate. “You should believe in nothing that you hear and only half of what you see- Edgar Allen Poe.”

And we need to stop screaming theories as if they are canon. I PERSONALLY head canon Twyla & Venus as lesbians (not together, Twyla is obviously in love with Howleen) because UNLIKE Clawdeen who has shown an interest in boys in previous generations they have never shown an interest in actual boys as far as I know. (I also made a chart of Clawdeen being attracted to girls for equal measure) that is how I see them, I don’t go shooting off that, that is canon information.

I know a lot of you desperately want Clawdeen to be a lesbian, I am very, painfully aware of this head canon but it is just that! A head canon! Yes it’s a very popular & persistent head canon but it’s a head canon nonetheless. G3 Clawdeen appears to have a crush on Deuce, now we don’t have time to unpack that weird ass ship but it does rule out Clawdeen as a lesbian. It does NOT however mean she is straight! Clawdeen could very well be Bi or Pan or any other sapphic inclusive sexuality. I PERSONALLY see her as Bi (for the reasons stated above) but you don’t see me claiming it’s canon.

“But Jess! What about compulsory heterosexuality!” - Clawdeen was created by a gay man. Do y’all really think a member of the LGBTQA+ community would put her through something that was hell for so many of us!? I highly doubt it.

I do not make the canon, I just study and report the canon, if had my way everyone would be fatter, browner and gayer.

Please, for the love of your deity of choice: stop believing everything you read, always ask for a source and stop being so cool with people making fake leaks it’s not some fun new fad it’s intentionally misleading & a little cruel to those of us who aren’t so great at social cues.

Mattel makes the canon & if it’s not from Mattel it’s probably not real.

[littleraccooncarl]

Here's another Carl the Collector related interview!

Zachariah, [in] tackling this series, the subject matter may seem difficult or even taboo to some people, but it feels like this show is already part of the zeitgeist. It just feels very familiar. What made you want to create the show? 

Zachariah OHora: It's been nine years in production, so it's been a long time coming. At the time, it just seemed obvious that we should have more stories about this. I had some experience—at that time, my kids were going to school. They attend an inclusion school, and we're lucky that they could go there. In all of the classrooms, there were kids with different needs. It was a lightbulb moment for me; it normalized the idea that people have different needs.

My kids were friends with everyone, and they accepted each person as they were. It was a moment where I realized, "Oh, yeah, this is the obvious thing." If everyone has more exposure to the whole spectrum of humanity, then we’ll all understand each other better, and the world will be a better place. That's how it started.

Lisa, I know you've been a part of some of my favorite shows. I grew up watching Martha Speaks, and I thought you were a storyboard artist for it. This is a really cool full-circle moment. Coming on to direct, how has it been collaborating with Zachariah to help bring these ideas to life?

Lisa Whittick: Zach has been amazing to work with. He really trusts us at Yowza! [Animation] to fulfill his vision for the show. Zach is obviously an illustrator, and taking those flat drawings and the perspective he created and turning them into an actual show is a bit of a challenge.

Early on, we came up with certain rules for Fuzzytown that we needed to stick to regarding perspective. Not everything is going to look perfect, and that's the point: we don’t want it to look perfect. The environment isn't perfect, and people aren't perfect either, right? So it's a nice, full-circle thing that way. It’s been amazing working with Zach. He’s a really incredible creator.

The aptly titled production company, Fuzzytown Productions. When I looked at the key art and, in general, this episode, the illustrations and animation elicit a very warm and fuzzy feeling—a safe space, in a way. I'd love to know, as an illustrator, your inspirations for the drawings prior to the animation. ZO: It's a lifelong thing. When I was a kid, I collected comic books and wanted to be a comic book artist. I also loved picture books. I admire Ben Shahn, an illustrator from the '50s and '60s known for his heavy black lines. Inspiration comes from so many places. The other part of it is just working with what you have. There are things that I am terrible at—I can’t draw realistically—but I lean into the things I can draw so it's all those elements.

Some writers on staff are neurodivergent. Ava Rigelhaupt is part of the team. It’s incredibly necessary, and almost mandatory, to bring these voices into the show. What was that dynamic like in the writer's room? What perspectives did you all have when crafting the storylines?

ZO:  The point from the beginning was that we wanted an inclusive atmosphere as possible, with different voices. We don't need to hear only my voice. We wanted an authentic representation of all the kids and parents that we show in the series and in order to do that, we have to have the same range of people writing. And that's what we attempted to do. And it's been really, really great. Lisa technically is not in the writer's room, but when we go through [story] boarding, she has so many ideas, too. On every level of the production, some people are adding valuable additions to how the stories get crafted that no one person could do.

LW: We also have, not just neurodivergent writers, but we have neurodivergent animators. The voice actors are neurodivergent as well for Carl and Lotta. That's Kai Barham and Maddy Mcllwain. And yeah, it's a really collaborative process where I feel like it's becoming more of an outlet for autistic voices to be heard throughout the entire production, which is really, really great.

We can't forget about our star, Carl, and how he moves throughout the show, as well as the lead character, who loves collecting things and being around family. When it came to crafting Carl as a character, what was that process like? Was he an amalgamation of people or kids? How did that come to be?

ZO: I originally came up with Carl as he looks now, with the sweater vest and everything else. Often, when I create characters, they don't come with a backstory, so I'll make a drawing or usually a card for my wife if I've upset her and need to say I'm sorry. I try to think about what the cutest animal with the cutest outfit possible would be. Not that Carl was created that way, but sometimes these characters will hang on the wall of my studio for a year, and then they start to talk to you and reveal their personalities the more you draw them.

Eventually, a story and scenarios develop. Carl followed a similar process. I want to emphasize that a lot of the development occurred when we got to the animation stage. There were different aspects of Carl that had to be figured out from an animation standpoint—things I hadn't even considered. 

LW: Once Zach provided us with the artwork and the story premises, we had to work closely with advisors to ensure we were accurately portraying the autism aspects of Carl's personality. We worked with two advisors, and many of the crew members also contributed. As a parent of an autistic son, many of Carl's mannerisms—like the stimming and pacing—are things I've observed in my son as he grew up so it feels like he is an amalgamation of various people.

From the perspective of an audience—whether it’s a parent, a caregiver, or a young child watching—they know it’s authentic, and that’s the best part. I also noticed there's a character named Forrest, a squirrel with a tree nut allergy. I want to talk about that for a minute because I love the humor behind it. When developing the other characters and their personalities, was it just ideas that came to you, or what was that process like?

ZO: I try to think about characters in a similar way. I focus on three elements: humor, a little bit of weirdness, and a lot of heart. I'm always trying to incorporate those three aspects. With Forrest, he has ADHD; he runs around really fast and is quite impulsive. I considered the different things that can make us feel isolated from our families or communities. For a squirrel, eating nuts is a staple, so having a nut allergy—which many kids can relate to—would be particularly tough. There’s a great pizza place around the corner, and he loves pizza, which is his favorite food. So it’s about addressing serious issues while adding a touch of levity, making it relatable and fun to watch.

Do you two have a favorite character that out of all of the people, all of the characters in the ensemble, is there one that sticks out to you?

LW: Forrest is the funny one. He's the one that I think the audience is really going to love because he's got all these funny little quirks and sayings and just the way he moves. I do really love him. I do have a kinship with Mama, Carl's mom. I feel like she's me, and everything that she is thinking and doing, I've thought and done all those things before. There's going to be a lot of parents out there with neurodivergent kids who are going to really relate to her.

ZO: Carl was the first, so Carl is the closest to my heart. There are some ancillary characters that we are starting to explore that are also my secret favorites. There's a skunk who's a DJ named Jam Master Spray, who I really love, but we haven't actually really gotten deep into his story yet. There are those other little fun characters that have come out of this process that we're waiting to explore.

[bomberqueen17]

interested in your thoughts on the casting of Laurence Fishbone as Regis ? As someone who likes the show and also knows book and game content

I am a fan of Laurence Fishburne and have been impressed by him in every media property in which I have seen him perform. In terms of his appearance and demeanor-- well, Regis is only pretty minimally described in the books, and i think the most vivid description of him is at one point when he's at a dinner in a black velvet coat "looking very much like a vampire". I will say I'm glad they're casting people of color for not just villain roles (is it a spoiler that Vilgefortz is a huge villain? no we're to that point now in the show right?)-- I mean, in their defense, basically everyone in the novels is morally gray at best but it was a bit yikes to realize that the whitest actors are playing the characters we're most supposed to sympathize with and they both racebent Yennefer and gave her more morally-dubious things to do at the same time. Thanks guys. Regis is... has his dark past but at least he's unambiguously A Dude The Narrative Likes. You know? It's kind of a relief.

But my attitude toward the Netflix show is very much that I've taken what I needed and they can do whatever they like and I will probably watch it and enjoy some of the things, and I will probably hate some of the things, and that's just how it goes.

I'd love if he went more of a Cowboy Curtis direction with this than Morpheus, but again, they'll do what they want with this, and I'll enjoy what I enjoy and be annoyed by what annoys me and that's that. I'm not very like.... normal in my fannishness, but I also don't have a great visual imagination, so I have no concrete notion of what I expected Regis to look or sound like. Laurence Fishburne may well wind up fitting it perfectly and being my headcanon henceforth when I reread the books! I do like when that happens.

(Speaking of show stuff, I recently reread my whole Trust series with Keira and Lambert and man now that I've seen show!Keira I regret that she wasn't introduced until after I wrote all that, because I love her look SO much more than the video game character. However, the video game character being so obviously a male fantasy (and a boring one, at that) of what a sorceress might look like is kind of integral to the characterization in that series, so it's not like I could change it if I wanted. Ha maybe I should have Keira settle her appearance on show!Keira's as she's learning to like herself, that'd be kind of funny.)

[bonesandthebees]

ooooh i love the idea of king elaric and the seer like having each other in a world of politics and being able to find a friend in someone and trust them and make the most of a childhood that is stripped from you by a title hanging over your head (sorry i get carried away with my own analysis of things) and i think that will definitely be a cool thing to see especially as it falls apart once the weight of elaric’s title falls on him!!! i also love the mental image of him looking like snow!

on the note of mental images do you have any other descriptions of the characters and how you want them to look and like their vibes like those littles details that make them unique like scares and clothing styles and things of the sort yk all the silly stuff :D

- 🪿

god yeah the two of them manage to find something resembling a friendship with each other but it's always overshadowed by their respective titles and roles. the closest they can get to childhood but never quite what it actually should be

oh yeah I definitely have images for most of them in my head. some of them I got from references either from actors or just random models I saw on pinterest, most though just kind of exist in my head

Ana, whose full name is Anara, kind of looks like the actress who plays Edwina in s2 of Bridgerton (Charithra Chandran) though not exactly. I think her skin tone is a bit darker, and obviously the actress is 27 and Ana is like 19-20 in my head so she's a bit younger looking too. but she's a good reference! I'm still deciding on if I want to keep the whole tattoo bit of death worship so I don't know if she has tattoos yet or not. Style wise when she's not dressing in more practical all black clothing for missions, she wears kind of athleisure type outfits. oversized sweatshirts and bike shorts, crop tops and leggings, etc. though if she's actually going out like to a bar or something she dresses in what's trendy, which is usually colorful techwear kind of clothes

when I was trying to figure out what the Seer looked like I just went on pinterest and scrolled through model pics until I found a girl who felt fairly close. again, not exact, but I picture the Seer as a redhead with lots of freckles and more angular, sharp features. her hair is also very long and is done up in very intricate braids with her Seer gowns and veils and all that. however, this isn't really her choice. the Seer hates her hair being long and doesn't really know how to braid it herself, so she usually either leaves it loose or pulls it back into a half-assed ponytail once she's with the Ghosts. she also hates all the gowns and everything, so when she has control of her wardrobe she adopts a more loose-fitting, androgynous sort of style with big sweaters/sweatshirts/hoodies and wide-legged cargo pants/jeans or just straight up sweatpants

the only other one I have kind of a reference for is Kestrel. But for some reason my brain is stuck on picturing Kestrel as kind of like the real life version of Lee from The Walking Dead video game. though unlike Lee who has short hair, I think he'd have dreads he probably pulls back into low ponytails a lot of the time. that's really not a great reference point and my mental image of him is still shifting a bit but like, it kind of vaguely works

while I know what the other Ghosts all look like, I don't really have references for any of them and this post is already long enough so that's what I'll say for now lol

[pensat-i-fet]

"Little" summary of the new Rúben interview, which you can watch here:

-We obviously start with a joke about the Manchester weather.

-Rúben is asked if he's in his best moment as a player because last season was the best of his career, trophies-wise. And he says it's one of the best but he can't know if it'll be the best.

-Then he's asked about what went through his mind after winning the CL and Rúben says it's really hard to put into words. That once the match was over, he didn't know whether to cry, run, hug people, ...

-We then move to the importance of disconnecting after the season and going back to friends and family for the holidays. And Rúben mentions that he wanted to "disappear". And they talk about how being famous, he can never entirely "disappear" but he still manages to find a level of privacy. And then they talk about his friend the actor and how they went on holidays together. That they are both busy but finally found time to spend together.

-After that, they talk about how important it is for Rúben to maintain his physical form and how his routine is what works for him. Other players do different things that work for them but Rúben knows what works for him. And everyone should do what they feel comfortable doing.

-The presenter praises his mental strength and leadership skills, and Rúben repeats that it just comes naturally to him to be like that. And that he was always the most responsible on his teams. He always played so the team could win, not so he could look good. Even at a younger age. And he always trusted himself and believed he could be successful.

-He's asked about two teammates, Haaland and Bernardo. About Haaland, they talk about how he is also very disciplined. About Bernardo, he's really happy about being a dad now and they mention what a great person he is. That they come from different backgrounds but they are actually very similar. And he's his bestie in football.

-They also talk about Benfica and that Rúben tries to watch their matches but can't always. And they talk a bit about how well they work with youngsters and that's why they find and create so much talent.

-About the national team, they mention Rúben was about to play his 50th match and he wants to play at least another 50 and he really wants to win a big trophy with Portugal. Because winning for your club is great but winning anything for your country means more. It's hard to explain why but it just is how he feels.

-Then we finish with some quickfire questions (and I don't understand what the first question means but the answer was Bernardo):

*Best music taste: Akanji.

*Best dressed (didn't say worst dressed but was asked): he goes for a top three of Wanker, Akanji and himself. No words...

*Fastest player: Wanker.

*Biggest diva: Grealish.

*Best at playing video games: he doesn't know well but between Kalvin, Stones, Kevin and Ortega.

*Bookworm or intelligent guy that knows it all: and he says Bernardo. Shocked he didn't say Rodri, to be fair.

[storiesofsvu]

happy thursday hoes. time for some law and some order

Well fuck…what an opening..

“but there are definitely still traces of blood” girl… that hammer is COATED wtf…

I would like to point out that the way Kate runs her squad is the legit way that squads run. The CO (whether it be captain, lieutenant or sarge) is gonna stay in the office, they’re piled up with paperwork, the brass, putting out fires, they’re not out in the field…. Like svu. Ugh. I’m already not prepared for svu tonight, I’ve been watching through velasco’s eps and his older seasons were so good, esp compared to this year…

So we’re really doing this Ukraine surrogate/adoption plot line again, hey?

(I mean it is slightly different so far but like, it’s the same idea, right lol)

Samantha crushing it in the wardrobe dept as per usual

I like this new DA so much more than mccoy. Sorry not sorry.

I haven’t been paying too much attention to what’s going on (surprise) BUT, wtf does this case have to do with the grand jury that was taking place at the beg of the ep? With the girl all “he doesn’t know I’m here, right?” like, that girl was the murder vic? Or am I on crack? What is the connection?!

Uugggh… saaaammm my baby just needs a HUUUGGG

Okay, im actively not watching Toronto, see ya in an hour for svu.

Starting off with some personal, at home comfort. This is what we’ve been asking for forever (now give us rollisi at home pls).

OHHH GOD WHY ARE WE ALREADY BACK TO THE MADDIE SHIT FFS.

“I googled you”

Oh booooyyy are we in for it now. HOW MUCH DOES NOAH KNOW?! CAUSE LORD KNOWS HE PROBABLY FELL DOWN A PIT OF NEWS ARTICLES.

NO

WHY

WE DO NOT NEED TO BRING WL BACK TO THIS SHIT LET US HAVE SOME PEACE PLS.

Okay so we finally did get noah discovering where he came from. Woof.

Olivia kinda sucks at parenting sometimes. Like… he’s a kid, he’s an *adopted* kid who already knows about gramma Sheila and ellie… he’s gonna be curious, he’s gonna wonder, also what kid HASN’T snooped through their parents private things? Like yeah it’s not ideal… it’d be best for him to ask you a question and you slowly reveal into things or whatever but we all know she just would’ve shut him down right away anyways.

Lowkey love those heart lights in noahs room, ngl.

I’m not gonna lie. If it was olivia I’d be more concerned about him knowing/reading about William lewis and all the shit that went down than finding out johnny d was his dad…

You know what I think? I think this would be a great time to call you bestie amanda and have her over for a bottle of wine while you talk this through and see what jessie knows about her dad/how amanda’s gonna approach that. Also like, does billie just think sonny’s her dad or does she know? LOL. But will that happen? Obviously not.

Okay you know what, carisi is the second best bet so I’ll take this.

Olivia really needs to catch a fucking break

Carisi you sit like a whore. But we already knew that.

Is there not a way to trace this call? Or like, I know the phone is about to die but like…find my iphone even works on dead phones…use the stepmoms phone rn to find out where she is. Easy fix. Use your brains.

Man… parents on these shows are always so fucking trusting of their kids and they think they know everything about them. Like...what world are we living in?

Awweeee lil carisi back in cop mode!

Girl… you barely looked in that one, that’s not clear

Me: where do I know this actor playing the step mom from?

Checks imbd: ah. She’s been on svu as a diff character before. Of course.

We love a good parent who immediately offers up all their money to pay ransom of their kids bff with no question.

I swear to god it wasn’t raining 5 seconds ago.. I get that these are likely filmed on diff days but that really came outta nowhere

Olivia’s drenched and velasco’s barely wet… wtf lol

Oh god she’s really about to go feral isn’t she?  Like, even velasco’s nervous af.

That’s exactly what I knew he was gonna say. Like, liv should’ve just said she was dead.

Okay what about the other three perps? Where are they?

JESUS FUCK. Velasco… be mean to me. yell at me.. degrade me. jfc.

Okay I love that when she told Velasco to put the perp in her car he was all “uh… that a good idea boss?” kinda unsure thing but as soon as she started going feral he was just all “yup. Okay. I know how to do this.” And was totally on board. That’s my boi

“youre lucky im not in IAB anymore” damn right bitch.

That’s a cozy ass looking sweater liv has on and I want it

He already knows about ellie…why are we starting there?

I can’t wait until this conversation sparks a “hey… can we go see grama Sheila? Is she still sick?” and liv THEN has to explain that gramma Sheila is in fact in JAIL because she kidnapped him

Okay… that episode was honestly really good. It was a nice balance of the at home/personal lives and the case.

OC time.

Pls god have a last time on cause I do not remember what was happening… baby bro joe was doing heroine? That’s all I remember

Is this his apartment or elliots apt? it looks similar but also I like it better lol.

Bernie is a blessing to this show.

Elliot all “an intervention?” as if they didn’t host one for him like two years ago?

Also I JUST watched the ep with Muncy’s brother this week and that actor is baby boy joe stabler so this is throwing me off.

Is this an apt or a hotel? CAUSE ITS GORGEOUS!! HOW TF ARE THESE STABLER MEN AFFORDING THIS SHIT IN NYC?!

 “we don’t do that…” jet. Another fucking legend on this show

SO glad Bell’s back.

Clearly im not paying attention to this ep in case anyone’s wondering (and yes, it is because it’s a stabler ep…)

Leave it to stabler to be there less than 5 mins before beating someone

OH MY GODDDDD BELL LOOKS SO FUCKING GOOD IN THAT BLUE SHIRT

Thank god bell had bobby with her cause homegirl had a cane last week, there’d be no way she should be on a foot chase rn. Lol

Omg jet and bobby UC yet AGAIN. I fucking love it.

Jet being absolutely the person that likely annoys the hell outta her, love that. 

[posebean]

Summer Rain: Storm-Given Flu 1

Writer: Beanosei

Season: Spring

Characters: Niki, Kohaku, Himeru, Rinne

Niki: (Why do I have a bad feeling about this…)

A week before, Cafe Cinnamon 

Niki: Thank you for waiting! Here’s the lunch set for Kohaku-chan~ Niki: And a coffee for Himeru-kun! Kohaku: Thanks Niki-han. Wait, what’s this?

Kohaku: Did you order this parfait, Himeru-han? Himeru: No, Himeru did not. Himeru only ordered a coffee.

Niki: Nahaha~ It’s mine! I’m testing out a recipe for Valentine’s Day~ Niki: My manager came up with the name though…Which I really hate! Kohaku: Oh? Kohkohkoh, Niki-han, what’s the name? Himeru: Shiina seems to have quieted down. Shiina should know he can’t just say things without meaning to say them.

Niki:...(small voice) Love-Love Heart-Kyun I love You Parfait.

Kohaku: What? I didn’t catch that, did you, Himeru-han? Himeru: Nope, Oukawa is right, Shiina. Speak up.

Niki: Agh! Geez! (louder voice) Love-Love Heart-Kyun I Love You Parfait! Rinne: Awww, my heart is beating so fast, dokidoki. I love you too, Niki~Kyun~

Niki: GWAH! Rinne-kun where did you come from?!

Rinne: Through the front door, obviously. Niki’s stupid~ Right, Merumeru? Kohaku-chan?

Kohaku: (Ignores to eat his meal)

Himeru: (Also ignores)

Niki: You- You know what I mean!

Niki: Weren’t you off at a meeting? Why are you here?! Are you messing around again?!

Rinne: Boohoo…Rinne-kun is hurt that you’d think that!

Rinne: While you three are off here sitting on your lazy asses, your leader is working so~ hard.

Himeru: No he’s not. Amagi is here right now.

Rinne: Gyahaha ☆ That doesn’t mean I haven’t worked hard for you! Right, Kohaku-chan?

Kohaku: (Busy eating)

Niki: …

Niki: Rinne-kun. What are you planning? 

Niki: Please don’t tell me it’s another sudden offer to be on a variety show. I think for now we’ve about had it with those~

Rinne: Nope~ Even better!

Himeru: Amagi. Himeru hopes you haven’t taken on something ridiculous. For Himeru’s and everyone else’s sanity.

Rinne: Oh shut up and let your leader speak! Ya know how we’ve been getting good jobs lately? All because of your great leader?

Niki: Nahaha Rinne-kun, they weren’t all because of yo-MPHGHH

Rinne: (covering his mouth with his hand) Well, this one’s gonna blow your tiny minds!

Rinne: We’re gonna be in a movie, boys! Gyahaha☆

Rinne: Finally, our screen debut!

Himeru: Himeru has already been in a movie. So has Oukawa.

Rinne: Yeah, but that’s all shuffle work~ We as Crazy:B are gonna be in one together!

Rinne: Look, Kohaku-chan can barely contain his excitement~ Typing up a storm over there.

Kohaku: No- I’m just helping Rabu-han with somethin’

Niki: (Breathing heavily as Rinne releases him) But I’m a chef…not an actor…

Rinne: Yeah? But you’re also an idol, and now you got an opportunity you just can’t refuse!

Himeru: Himeru is suspicious. There must be a catch.

Rinne: Oi oi, Rinne-kun is heartbroken boohoo my heart is breaking into pieces~

Rinne: No one in my damn unit has any enthusiasm…what must I do to be recognized around here~

Rinne: Well, except Kohaku-chan. He looks very excited.

Kohaku: (puts his phone down) I am not!

Rinne: Excuses excuses, all I hear are excuses.

Rinne: Any~ways, here Merumeru, Kohaku-chan. Got your scripts already! We start filming in a week, so be prepared.

Niki: What about me, Rinne-kun?

Rinne: Don’t worry about it Niki~kyun~ Yours is special.

Rinne: Ah! Forgot to mention, I’m one of the leads~ I’ll be counting on Niki~kyun to help me rehearse!

Niki: ?

Niki: Sure, I guess?

Niki: (No script for me?)

Niki: (Why do I have a bad feeling about this…)

Present day, a changing room in the studio

Niki: (I should’ve trusted my gut!!!! Why did I let Rinne-kun push me around like this!!!)

Niki: (Thinking that I only had a minor role compared to the others, which I was fine about because really, I’m a chef, not an actor!)

Niki: (I helped Rinne-kun rehearse his lines by playing the second lead-)

Niki: Ughhh! Why did I let this happen!!

Niki: (Don’t tell me- He planned for this since the very start?!)

Niki: (slamming his head against a wall)

Kohaku: Niki-han…Are you okay?

Himeru: Leave him alone, Oukawa. Come here, let Himeru straighten your jacket. Niki: (AGHHHH. And It’s not like I can just. Quit either.)

Niki: (This is so frustrating! But everyone’s counting on me…)

Niki: (We ended up having to scrap that first scene…leaving it to another time.)

Niki: (Director-san and the crew were so understanding…I guess to give me more time to actually get used to this.)

Niki: (You’re the worst, Rinne-kun! The absolute worst! I can’t believe I thought nothing would go wrong!)

Kohaku: … Niki-han you’re actually gonna hurt yourself if you keep doing that.

Himeru: Director-san is calling. We’ll be going now, Shiina. Please maintain at least some sense so that we can successfully complete this movie.

Niki: UGH

Niki: (I guess they’re right, though. I’m here and stuck with this role.)

Niki: (Nahaha…everyone’s counting on me. Guess I’ll do my best.)

Niki:...

Niki: (Not for Rinne-kun, though!)

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[romajuliettemai]

The Archer-Rosalind Lang Lyrical Breakdown & Lyrical Relationship

Combat, I'm ready for combat I say I don't want that, but what if I do?

To me, this shows Rosalind always constantly prepping herself for some sort of battle, whether it's a physical battle or something mental that she has to fight. She's always kind of on her toes now and scared to do anything at all after the incident, since she doesn't want to accidentally screw up again. This is also kind of like her preparing herself to almost sort of fight Orion in FHH.

'Cause cruelty wins in the movies I've got a hundred thrown-out speeches I almost said to you

Rosalind is a character who's relatively cold in a sense- it's just her nature. She's not a very warm person, she likes to be sarcastic, and we love it. But obviously a lot of it unfortunately comes from her constantly guarding her heart and being on high alert all the time, too scared to show kindness to too many people in case they take advantage of her again.

She had so many things she wanted to say to Orion, which were a lot of her just calling him dumb and such, but we know she wanted to say things after he confessed his love too. She just never got the chance.

Easy they come, easy they go I jump from the train, I ride off alone

It seems that almost everyone she loves comes and goes like it's nobody's problem. She is always left alone. Dimitri left. Juliette left. Dao Feng left. Now Orion is gone. So many people lie to her as well. As soon as she trusts them, they reveal themselves as some great actor. Which is kind of going to happen again when Juliette reveals herself, since a good number of people besides Rosalind knew.

I connect the train part to the train scene that opens FLF. She literally climbs to the top of the train. But she's alone there as well, alone to bear witness to the unforgiving night.

I never grow up, it's getting so old Help me hold onto you

She's permenantly stuck at 19. She doesn't age. But it's just getting old. She's stuck in a stage of her life where everything went wrong, and it's just an awful reminder.

Again, reinstating, that so many people she loves leave her.

I've been the archer I've been the prey Who could ever leave me, darling? But who could stay?

She's been the hunter (assassin) and she's been the hunted (victim) in many different scenarios.

She's wondering why so many people seem to want to leave her. No one wants to stay with her anymore. They all just leave.

Dark side, I search for your dark side But what if I'm alright, right, right, right here? And I cut off my nose just to spite my face Then I hate my reflection for years and years

Rosalind is scouring for the bad in people often, because she's scared of getting hurt again. She's looking for something that will turn her away from them. Something that will give them away for being some sort of evil mastermind so she has a reason to walk away before it's too late.

We know she doesn't like to see herself much anymore, since she's stuck in her 19 year old self, trapped in time, and unable to escape all of her mistakes. She is simply self-destructive, and does not like herself one bit.

I wake in the night, I pace like a ghost The room is on fire, invisible smoke And all of my heroes die all alone Help me hold onto you

She doesn't sleep anymore- always awake, dwelling on how she could have changed the past. What she could have done differently. And the memories haunt her. Memories of an explosion- smoke and fire.

To her, her very on cousin exists now in a memory of ash and smoke. Juliette is long passed to her still, since she doesn't know the truth. Juliette was kind of a hero to her as well- even though she didn't 'die' alone. But Rosalind wants someone to be able to hold onto when she goes as well. She doesn't want to lose anyone anymore.

But it's too late. Orion is gone for now.

Screaming, who could ever leave me, darling? But who could stay?

This kind of reflects her frustration with wondeirng why everyone always wants to leave and never wants to just stay in her life.

(I see right through me, I see right through me)

'Cause they see right through me They see right through me They see right through Can you see right through me? They see right through They see right through me I see right through me I see right through me

But so many people can see through her facade if they look close enough. She pretends she is okay, when she really is not.

This also reminds me of the scene with when Orion is seeing the similarities between her and Celia after he found out who she truly was.

This is also a reflection of her constant anxiety and worry about so many things. She's constantly on her toes, constantly anxious, constantly scared. It's trauma.

All the king's horses, all the king's men Couldn't put me together again 'Cause all of my enemies started out friends Help me hold onto you

She's like a broken vase. It's difficult to put her together again. She's broken to what she thinks is beyond repair.

So many people she thought as friends or loved ones ended up being enemies in a sense. Like Dimitri, who was only using her. Celia, who isn't her enemy, but is in a different political faction, the one to which her faction is fighting. Now like Orion, who was taken by her side and is now being used as an experiment.

Who could stay? Who could stay? Who could stay? You could stay You could stay

She just wants someone to stay with her. To be with her. To not leave her again.

Combat, I'm ready for combat

This is almost a full circle moment if we're going by the order of the story with the order of the lyrics. Because at the beginning she was ready to fight and protect her heart, and at the end, when Orion was taken from her, she's now ready to fight again. It's kind of like a restart to the cycle.

I also generally associate these lyrics with scenes in FLF, but I just didn't feel like stating them cause that would take too much time and make for a way too long post.

(I think I've been working on this post for around half an hour and I desperately need sleep so enjoy this lyrical breakdown!)

[boonalina]

My review of ATLA Live Action episode one:

(Keep in mind, at this point I have only seen episode 1 and so this is just my first impression)

Remember, there are spoilers ahead and I seriously think you should watch it yourself before reading any review. Trust me, having your own impression first before anyone else's is way better... Okay here we go:

-----

Review of episode one, first impressions:

I really loved how we got to see what the air temple genocide looked like. It really shows that they're fully aware that the main audience has grown up. I watched it with my sister, her hubby, and my 5-yr niece and we didn't know that it would literally show people getting burned alive, so we had to cover her eyes a lot lol. I loved how we got to see firelord Sozin when he was first declaring war.

I really liked how we got to see monk Gyatsu (having that name in 2024 is sure rough buddy..) actually want Aang to have a childhood before they told him he's the avatar. The bending looks really cool, not slow and cringey like in the first live action movie haha. I thought the way that one air-bender died, the woman doing the air tornado, was fricken BRUTAL. And it's great to see just how far they're going with the onscreen death.

My brother-in-law (sister's hubby) felt really iffy on the fact that Aang can just sort of fly on his own now, without his glider thing. I honestly don't mind it, I don't think it really affects the story all that much. And it also just.. makes sense, for an air-bender to be able to fly on their own. I love how they got the grandma to say the original intro from the cartoon in a natural way as an explanation to Aang.

I liked how they kept the original motifs. The fire tribe still has that classic "BUM bum bUm baaaaam" idk how else to describe it haha

Aang: I thought his acting was pretty good for a kid. The crying parts were decent at best... but obviously I don't expect a kid to be great at faking tears. I thought his acting was great when he learned that he was the avatar, just that silent panic, the breathing getting faster and darting the eyes. The scene where he closed himself in the ice ball thing looked really cool. (My brother-in-law was fanboying the whole time, so much so that my niece started imitating him by saying "O M G the acting is SO good!" which made us all laugh, she didn't have ill-intent, she was just learning by example)

Katara: Her acting was a little iffy to me, I have hope that it'll improve later on. She had good lines but her face just didn't make me believe those lines. During emotional moments she was just kinda '_' But I know how tough it is to be a child actor so I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. (And to be fair, it is hard to convey emotion as good as a cartoon can) Her water bending looked really pretty, and I love that they kept her hair loopies. And I love that she still has her motherly personality like when she was comforting Aang near the end.

Sokka: Again, I thought his acting was pretty decent, child actors and whatnot. I really love how they didn't just reuse the same jokes from the cartoon and got original. My favorite two jokes were when it cut to him screaming on Appa, and when Aang said that he had to save the world and Sokka's response was like "Gee, is that all?" sarcastically, got a good laugh outta me. I love how his weapon looked exactly like the one in the cartoon. And I love how he got to have a one-on-one stand off with Zuko.

Haven't seen Momo yet, gonna be a bit disappointed if we don't but I mean.... Now that I think about it, Momo didn't really add anything. He was just kinda there in the cartoon for comedic affect...

Anyway, just in case someone is reading this before watching it, I'm not gonna spoil/talk about anything else (like Zuko and Iroh). So please go get your own impressions of it, even if you have to watch it on a pirated site.

Thanks for reading :)

(Side note, I do wish they chose tanner actors for the water tribe but eh, what the hell do I know? Could just be the lighting that's making them look pale)

Edit: So I just found out that Sokka and Katara's actors are not children lol (well, Karata's is 17 but that's almost an adult) so it is now a little less excusable.... But whatever, it's okay.