#ned sucks at showing his love or feelings meh

[eruverse]

Indonesia isn’t necessarily possessive of Netherlands but he is pretty possessive of his feelings for the man. All his fondness and disgust, love and hate, and he doesn’t necessarily like others being nosy or questioning them, because these ARE exclusive. This is between him and Ned only. Ok this is projection but I think many if not most ppl here are like that about this one country lol, and it’s not as simple as a hatred aimed at a colonizer from a former colony. IF ONLY it could be as simple as that, lol, and Indonesia has had his fair share of existential crisis and angst over it at the dead of night, etc etc. He’s not an inherently angsty person tho, don’t expect a lot of it from him.

The hatred for a (former) enemy is of course expected, but it’s not just that. Indonesia also hates him for taking over his brain, for lack of better word. He’s not head over heels for the man or anything but he’s like a tumor in his brain, not lethal but very much annoying. And it stays. That’s the most unfortunate thing.

And he sometimes just. Relishes in those feelings, for these are the only moments Netherlands is his, and he is Netherlands’.

[rh-fanatic]

General Hospital Review December 1 2021

The Cassidines dine on Noodle Buddah for Thanksgiving. Didn't expect that one coming, Alexis doesn't trust Esme. That is a big shock...NOT. Ned wants to get Valentine out of ELQ and he thinks he can use Drews shares to do it. (eye roll) Carly on the bridge and Britt shows up. I can only hope that Britt pushes her off. But I know that won't happen. Sonny breaks his phone after a call from Cyrus. I still don't care. Monica asks Drew if he saw Sam and Scout. WTH no mention of Liz AGAIN. I hate these writers...really! Sam and Dante sex. It's not Roger sex scenes, (he does sex scenes SO good) Dante kissed her shoulder and I thought of the time Franco bit Nina. THAT was hot. Dante's verson was meh but I'll take it. Monica all open arms with Drew. Why can't she be the same with Austin. He is family to ya know? I wonder now what Drew will think of Austin. Spencer is outraged when Val shows up at Alexis' house for Turkey day...LOL! What the holy hell is this? Carly and Britt are bonding over Jason? Just shoot me now. This is painful!!! BLQ being sincire? No. this is not happening. I don't believe this crappy writing...Mac shows up...with questions about Valentin! I see promise here! Valentin and Spencer argue Alexis is pissed, Ava and Nicolas show up all happy! I am laughing, this is GREAT!!! Brick said the Cassidine Thanksgiving is not boring...LMAO! Ned Olivia scenes suck. More Monica and Drew scenes. I have lost interest. More sex scenes with Dante and Sam. Ava looks amazing as always. Back to the Cassidine dinner, Alexis pissed off says before she opens the door to Victor, who is this Satan? LMAO! Best Cassidine dinner EVER! Sonny tells Spinelli about Jason and Spinelli is in denial. I feel bad for him. His bestie is gone. Stone Cold is Stone Cold for sure now, get OVER it. I did. Carly apologized to Britt. You should YOU signed the damn permission slip you twat!

ohhhh...Valentine pulls a Karen and pressed charges on Chase for assult! Muahhahahhhahhhhaaaaa...I love this! Back to the Cassidine dinner. Oh noes are the look of surprise and shock when Valentin tells everyone that Victor is his daddy! This episode is getting good! LOL! Ned and Olivia made up. I still don't care. I guess Dante is good in bed because Sam asked him to stay the night....booty call! Victor puts his foot down and tells everyone to stop with the in-fighting. GO VICTOR! I like him. Chase is suspended for 6 months! ha ha ha!!!!! Hell yes!!! I guess Drew is gonna stay at the Q's. ok then. whatever writers. Ned tells Drew to watch out for Valentin. Victor tells everyone to behave and become a united front. Spinelli is gonna go cry in his merlot. Carly and Britt are besties now I guess. Again writers this makes NO SENSE to me!!!

GH you get a C today. Not bad - parts were, some were good, mostly an average episode. I didn't want to turn it off except through the mourning Jason stuff.

[a-libra-writes]

who do you think would prefer an s/o who’s charming, more of a people person, using their words to get what they want vs an s/o who’s more quiet, strategic, and plans and schemes to get what they want? is it a case of opposites attract, or would they want someone to compliment them? 👀

.......so i ended up having a lot of thoughts about this LOL 

okay so i think this depends on the s/o’s morals! like you can be scheming to help others instead of hurting them. so let’s go with that bc i dont wanna brainstorm a low ethics/morality s/o (this makes me think of 7KPP, a fantastic visual novel that’s the only decent Court Drama Simulator vn i’ve come across). Also there’s a loooot of characters so imma just list the ones I have Strong Thoughts on and sort them by region oh lord what have you done my dork is showing

Northbois

So while I feel like Robb and Ned would prefer a more outgoing and charming sort of person ... I really can’t help but ship them with someone whose more cunning and can actually play the game of thrones. Like lord someone help these Starks because their intrigue score is 0 and they need someone protecting them from Tywin, Roose and Walder LOL. I can really see both father and son thinking their s/o is this sweet thing and not having a clue of how much scheming they’re actually doing to protect Winterfell... Ned would probs catch on after a while but Robb would just be blinded by love and devotion haha. 

Sansa would probs want the first ideally, but as she gets older she’d greatly appreciate someone who has that sort of cunning and uses it for good purposes. Also she’d like a calm and steady personality to rely on.

Jory is a straight up honest guy to a fault, kinda like Ned, so he’d also prefer the first type of person and appreciate them more.

OKAY SO you’d think Roose would go for the second type but HEAR ME OUT. I think he’d go for both equally, or a mix of the two. Listen. I have a strong HC that he would be very attracted to someone who is his opposite in many ways - outgoing, charming, sweet and kind. If that person also happens to be cunning as hell and willing to manipulate anyone - even him - to protect what’s their’s, oof. He’s gone. I think he’d really get off on the idea of having an s/o who everyone is shocked he’s involved with bc “omg they’re sooo nice” and only he really knows their “other side”, so to speak. Realtalk I don’t think he’d go for someone just as morally awful as him bc he’d see them more as a threat than a potential partner.

Ramsay is a little shit that would also be attracted to the first kind of person but honestly needs the second type to keep his ass in line. That’s the sort of person who would figure him out and manipulate him accordingly so he isn’t skinning the goddamn neighbors. Also he wouldn’t give a damn about their morals so go off i guess just dont start any revolts in the north

VERY Northbois

Jon really doesn’t care for schemes, even if he acknowledges they’re useful, and he’d be attracted to someone who knows just what to say and is charismatic bc lord knows he’s struggled w that for a bit.  Benjen really loves outgoing, charming and talkative peeps esp when they wiggle their way out of stuff or convince the upper command of the Watch to consider a different plan. He’ll be soooo attracted to that. Edd is kinda meh on both I’d feel? Like he’d prefer a quieter person but not a scheming sort, that’s too troublesome to deal with. I think he could come around to the first one eventually.

Mance super respects the second type, he finds it very attractive actually, especially when they start manipulating him into something and he catches them. Tormund is a dork and prefers outgoing people, totally doesn’t notice when he’s being taken in lol. He rlly hates the second sort of person, sees them as snakes.

Southbois

Edmure would absolutely be drawn to a gregarious and outgoing person! And if they can talk their way into or out of things thank god bc fishboy has a habit of putting his foot in his mouth. I really don’t think it’d work out with a schemer person bc of that Tully honor, and unlike Ned or Robb, Edmure would start to catch on (I don’t buy into the show characterization of Edmure like frack that he’s not an idiot). Brynden has a lot of experience and has seen a lot of BS, so he’d understand the risks and sacrifices his s/o would be making when they’re playing the game, and he’d really wish they wouldn’t!! Like yeah it’s to protect their family and friends but he wishes they didn’t have to do that. He wants to protect them on his own.

Brienne REALLY prefers someone whose honest and can talk their way in and out of things!! Like the Starks she’s very honorable and has no patience for lies and manipulating even if it’s for something good. It’d take a lot for her to trust and be attracted to that kind of person, they’d have to like... be very honest with her about what their plans are and why they’re doing them. 

Kingslanding bois

oh lord Stannis okay so INITIALLY he’d be put off by both personalities for diff reasons - outgoing because socializing and diplomacy is something he just sucks at and the second one because holy hell he hates dishonesty and scheming. Now, he can admire a strategic and collected mind, but as soon as dishonorable plots roll in he starts side-eyeing. I think it would take some time for that latter personality to gain his trust, and if this is like... his wife we’re talking about, she’d probs have to scheme behind his back, even if it’s for his own sake. For an outgoing person, he could eventually befriend or fall for them once some common ground is found. He wouldn’t be able to admit how much he admires their people skills haha.

Davos understands that sometimes manipulating and scheming is needed and can be used for good, but personally he prefers a more diplomatic, out in the open approach. So the first type is def his kinda person. He could still befriend the second type as long as they’re not assholes, though.

Tywin would honestly work with both sides of the spectrum and in between, but ultimately, you’d have to understand who you’re dealing with. There’s no honor or high ground being involved with Tywin Lannister, and the s/o should expect to get dragged into his schemes, esp when he trusts them ... and that’s no easy feat. Ultimately it’s less of how you get what you want and more of ... what are you willing to do to get it. Pesky morals and all that.

Tyrion has had enough of his dad’s bullshit that he’d only be romantically involved with the first type, someone who uses sass and flattery like he does. He can still respect and befriend a more cunning person, though. Jaime also prefers the first type, he thinks it’s just because “oh I like outgoing and forward people” and not...”i’ve spent years dealing with lies and schemes from father and cersei”, yanno that old chestnut. Bronn definitely prefers gregarious and cheeky peeps, schemes go over his head and bore him.

Sandor dislikes both sorts of personalities for different reasons ... He’s offput by someone who would be very talkative and outgoing with him (like why are they talking to him wtf), and he also hates scheming and lying and all that, he’s seen too much of it. The first type has a better chance of befriending and getting close to him, the second not so much. 

Petyr very much respects and admires both but like ... you know he’d prefer someone that he thinks he can outwit and manipulate, so probably more of the first type of personality because they seem less cunning and more of “just” a people person. Given his obsessive/yandere tendencies he probably wouldn’t notice he was being taken in by someone friendly and kind. 

like okay weird thing to think about but just consider this... I really wonder what it’d be like if Robert had an s/o like the first one you mentioned. Not Cersei, certainly not his beloved Lyanna - a third party, a gracious and likeable queen that kinda makes up for his faults and she’s TRYING hard as hell. like idk if they’d ever fall in love but like idk i feel like his depression would be slightly lessened to have a partner that’s very beloved and tries to help him and put him in a good light in his subject’s minds. Am I making sense? She’s not perfect but she wants what’s best for the realm and if she’s gotta do it herself she will. IDK sorry this is a tangent, i think about major change AUs and their political consequences a lot

Heckin south n east bois

Margaery is a Big Gay and you can’t fight me on this, you will lose. She’s super attracted to the first kind of gal bc that’s def how she is herself! So she’d love to play those little word games with them. The second personality type she’d just write off as “eh quiet person” but once she got closer and began to realize their cunning and wittiness she’d def take an interest, esp if she found out about some good things they did. Then it’d be a classic “outgoing babe dating more reserved babe” and yall both would be VERY well-known in court. absolute power couple

Oberyn likes both equally! Especially if your motives are to help others and/or save your friends and family. He loves that kinda loyalty and he really admires someone who has a way with words and schemes in equal measure. Hell he does both himself. He might lean more toward an outgoing person just because that’s how he is too.

idk where to put Beric but he rlly likes the first kind of people!! He’d probs ask you to get supplies or money on the Brotherhood’s behalf, and he actually kinda likes it when he finds himself doing something you wanted cause you asked so nicely or talked him into it ..... Thoros calls him a simp and it’s true ok don’t bully he can’t help it

& lastly Essosssss

So, I think Daenerys would be a lot more drawn to the second kinda person. First of all: Very mysterious, ooh. Secondly, she’d appreciate a cool head that will tell her the truth and is willing to do more unsavory things bc they believe in her so much. Obvs she would need someone with unquestionable loyalty, and once she tests and is reassured of that loyalty, then she could start some kinda romance. She’s def attracted to someone who can get shit done that way.

Jorah is a big opposite in that he’s kinda had to do that unsavory stuff himself and is still ashamed by it, and generally doesn’t trust people like Littlefinger and Varys and Illyrio, etc so he’d prefer someone who is just genuine and talks their way out of things. Also yall know him he can’t resist once he starts liking someone like cmon

Grey Worm is absolutely in the first camp too but for diff reasons! Scheming and all that shit just makes him nervous and he distrusts it, even if it’s for Daenerys’ sake. He just wouldn’t associate with the person ... Someone more outgoing would definitely fluster him more but at least he could feel like he could trust them. Missandei can go either way - she knows the power in both diplomacy and manipulation, and would likely admire and be pulled to someone who uses both to help people. 

sorry i got so wordy and a bit repetitive lol both are like, my fav kinda character archtypes, esp for court settings.

[ts-hvv4]

EPISODE ELEVEN: “MAYBE IM PARANOID OR MAYBE IM ABOUT TO GET CLAPPED” - LUKAS

This game is genuinely getting to me. With all the world going mad and panic’d, my schedule and thoughts has been all over the place. I’ve come to realize that a lot of the people in the game require actual effort to talk to because in games, you kind of have to be ON all the time in order to get your point across, be nice, or to avoid slipping up. But it’s getting overrated for me. I’m an introvert and at the moment, talking to these people requires too much of my energy when all I really want to do is cuddle with my boyfriend or hang out with friends I may never see again because they might leave my college campus at any moment. Since my college is completely virtual for the rest of the semester, I may graduate before saying goodbye to some people I truly care about. It’s all very surreal and depressing. I no longer really care to hear about what Sharifa’s doing when I know she’s just plotting stuff with other people while I’m talking to her. Why waste my breath? I could just sit and do nothing and not worry about this considering I’m not getting anything real out of it. I’ve had fun for a bit but now it’s overwhelming. One of my biggest outlets just left the game because there’s some people who are too content with just allowing a CLEAR trio of people with 2 idols stay in the game unchallenged. Yet, I can’t even do anything about it myself. I don’t have the numbers and I already fucked up by trying to make amends with Jake in the first place. Which is what gave that trio another idol. Oops. The worst part about it is that I’ve genuinely tried to be a good ally to those who I’ve felt have been good allies to me. I was fully on board to take out Sharifa and fucked my own game to tell Lukas the truth. Now, any time I talk to him, I feel like I’m talking to someone completely different. Like talking to a person who could go crazy at any point. The week after, I tried SHEEPING an alliance that I knew had too much power but wasn’t going to do anything about because I figured I needed their safety. But while I was doing that, they decided to fuck me over last second and try to completely vote me out. Why? Cause they were paranoid because I was being loyal. This week, I considered taking out Kurt but realized it wouldn’t happen. Yet, since the damage has been done by everyone already, why wouldn’t they take out my closest ally? Why give a fuck about me when they can just do whatever they want anyways? No reason to. They can just do and say whatever and have fun doing it. Now, I get to decide if this challenge is worth me trying to win or not. If I win, they can target someone else. Someone they all just talked about votes with. If I lose, they can vote me and I don’t have to deal with their bs anymore. It’s kind of a win-win not gonna lie. But if I win the challenge and STILL nothing happens, I’m just gonna be straight up annoyed. I’ll be frustrated and care even less about what happens which is wild considering all that I just wrote. But realistically, the vote would probably just go to Sarah or Ned anyways. Take out an inac or someone who might have an idol/power. Compared to the wild card Lukas who is following them or the overly nice person they shit on all the time (in Malik). So meh. We’ll see how much time I want to waste tomorrow but rn I’m not feeling it that much. 

I won immunity holy FUCK. 940583 people tied, again, but I won the tie breaker, again. Lukas is going around calling me a comp threat sldkfjs SIS I WON A STAY UP ALL NIGHT CHALLENGE, A “HEY WHAT’S YOUR COLOR” CHALLENGE, A GUESS A NUMBER BETWEEN 1 AND 4 CHALLENGE, AND A FILM A VIDEO OF YOU EATING WHILE YOU TALK CHALLENGE LKAJDSFLKSJDLFKJ ITS NOT THAT DEEP!!! Stephanie voice: You want to call me a threat? I’ll show you how threatening I am. I’ve been cooking up a lil plan for tribal and the best part about it, no one knows I’m at the center of it. Operation backstab Jake is commencing in 5, 4, 3, 2…. Everyone is scared about Jake, Kurt and I being a trio and they want to split us up. Why is everyone scared you ask? Because Jake fucked us over by spilling our tea to Nicklas and not disclosing that relationship to us. It’s just funny because I remember how mad Jake got at me, when I let him know I was pissed. Jake spilling the alliance to Nicklas and telling him I was going after Sarah, is the whole ENTIRE reason why I almost went home at top 11. It’s the whole ass reason why Nicklas had enough information to expose me. It has been a wrench in my plans since the merge. What Nicklas wasn’t prepared for is the fact that I can adapt to whatever situation that is thrown at me, and I’ve been able to shift gears, adjust, and keep on driving down the highway. Part of that adjusting though is getting rid of the target on my back from this trio. Winning this immunity was high key crucial. By me being immune, and Kurt having the social game he has, the only member of the Gross Sisters that people can get the votes on is Jake. The smartest thing for the The Butterflies to do was to plant the seeds and reap the harvest. Just nudge nudge Malik/Lukas/Sarah to something they already want to do, just don’t realize they would have the votes for. Oh just in case if I haven’t updated, The Butterflies consists of Ned, Kurt and myself, named because when I told Ned to be smooth with his game play, he responded “I’ll be as smooth as a butterfly” FLSKDJ got to love the straights <3. Ned and Kurt have a tendency to overthink, they’re really nervous about the execution of the move, and I am to. Because Jake has an idol, and he has enough info to blow up all our games. Voting him out is like trying to deactivate a bomb. One cut of the wrong wire and BOOOOOOOM, we’re dead. Because of that we have to make sure that this doesn't get back to Nicklas. To help stall, I’m telling literally everyone I can get my hands on that I want to vote Nicklas out. That bridge is already burned so might as well keep lighting it on fire hehe. If the destraction vote is Nicklas, than that can hopefully justify my shady behavior to Nicklas and Jake. Hell, maybe Jake would play the idol on Nicklas, which would be beautiful. The thing I’m most worried about is Malik or Lukas approaching Nicklas with the plan to vote out Jake. If they do it’s imperative I organize a split vote. 4 votes on Jake, 2 votes on Nicklas, and 2 votes on Sarah. It will suck because Jake will be left in the game with ample time to expose Ned, Kurt and I, but at least Nicklas will be gone and Jake will have lost some power. Malik and Lukas are already plotting, thinking this is their idea, and Sarah approached me acting like she talked about it with Malik and not Lukas. IM TELLING YALL SARAH AND LUKAS ARE TIGHT AKLSDJF THEY CAN TRY TO HIDE IT FROM ME BUT IM THE QUEEN OF SECRET ALLIANCES. So Sarah brought up voting out Jake and I acted all morally conflicted, said I needed the night to think about it. Sarah can be really flighty so I need her to think she’s in the driver seat. I feel awful. I'm promising an end game and everything, I even made a final 3 with her and Ned, but I need to do what I need to do, to get The Butterflies to the end. Plus I think she’s high key playing me because her and Lukas are def something. I made a deal if we did Jake this time, she HAS to use her vote steal to get out Nicklas right after. I’m pretty sure this is going to be a double tribal, and that’s when I’ve been planning to take Jake and Nicklas out in one fell swoop. This plan is so fragile, and can literally blow up at any second, but if I don’t make this move, I know Jake will not let me touch final 3. My game has always been taking people out, before they could take me out, and that’s just what I have to try to do. If this move does work, final 7 is going to be tricky tricky, if Ned, Kurt and I can make it past it, we’re almost home free, but everyone is going to want to take a shot at me if I lose immunity. Kurt and I have talked about him being the one to pull the trigger. He’s going to go around saying it’s time to take a shot at me, and we’ll see who goes with it, and who won’t. The idea is forcing Sarah into using her steal a vote to help me get out Nicklas. If it is a double tribal, everything is going to happen fast, I just need to make sure I keep myself grounded and calm. I know this jury is bitter as fuck at me right now. And as my body count gets higher and higher, so does the salt level. But even though it seems impossible, I am WINNING this game I swear to God. I have fought tooth and nail, I’ve run this season, and I will take my rightful place on the throne, with my third crown. 

So this vote will go one of two ways: 1) Jake or Sarah go home, which are both fine by me. I would die for Jake to be taken out since he’s so distant towards me, but if Sarah goes due to some shifty shit I’m fine with it. Kurt and I have been working soooo hard on getting the votes on Jake, and we think we have Malik and Ned and maybe even Sarah. But Sharifa is still on her warpath towards Nicklas and Jake wants Sarah, so who knows. 2) Either Kurt or I go home. People have been eerily quiet around me and I know that in this season, that’s a bad omen (as Matt and Dennis have proven). So maybe I’m paranoid, or maybe I’m about to get clapped. All I know is that if I survive this round and a potential live round tonight, this game will be more in my hands than it ever has been.

[elescritora]

A. Malcolm - 3x06 musings

I've just watched 3x06 again, and here are some fresh thoughts - fresh in they I don't think they've been rehashed to kingdom come by every single fan who ever fanned. It's a curse, not getting to see the show til Tuesday nights.

Geordie is hilarious and Claire is totally going to cure that goiter. The end.

Ok, not really the end.

I'm calling any OOC moments for Jamie in the print shop 'shock'. Sometimes he was emoting like mad and sometimes he felt a bit icy. Shock could do that. They're cute though. Claire's so nervous and hopeful and gorgeous and doubting herself and insecure and proud, and Jamie's so 'what the fuck?! Give my mind a moment to catch-up! Ok, it’s caught up and I want you. But I'm conflicted! Halp!’

Cait acting with her chin all through this episode - that chin deserves awards all by itself, let alone put together with the rest of her. I do love me a good chin wobble.

Fergus - everyone has been rabbiting on about how gorgeous Cesar is for months now, but honestly, I was just a bit meh. But now I've seen him in action - awww, he's wee Fergus all grown up! Didn't he catch Romann's mannerisms well? He's lovely, and I loved his and Claire's reunion, although I wish we'd seen a bit more of her missing him or telling Bree about him in the previous episodes.

Fergus isn't stupid though, he grew up as a pickpocket and is used to intrigue, plus he knows Claire's glass face - and boy, was it glass when she was making up her story about where she'd been for 20 years. Every man and his dog could tell that was a bullshit story, so surely he knows she's lying. So does this mean Fergus will he find out about her time-travelling abilities sooner than in the book? It never rung true to me that he was the last to know - actually, did he even find out ever? It would be another thing for him to bond over with Murtagh when they finally catch up. OMG, Murtagh and Fergus reunion! I hadn't really thought much about it but how awesome and cute and gruff is that going to be?

I also loved Fergus going back in for the second hug with his cute little grin. Maman's boy!

From his convo with Fergus and a few other hints dropped along the way, it sounds like Jamie is already trying to extricate himself from the marriage to Laoghaire. He's inherently honourable, so I don't see him leaving for no reason or just because he's unhappy - living apart perhaps, but not divorce, and if he's speaking to Ned Gowan then it sounds like he's taking legal proceedings. So I reckon divorce is on the cards. What happened to push him that far? Perhaps the show writers are trying to get around having him know what Laoghiare did to Claire, by having had him marry Laoghaire under duress or false pretenses? Considering his stall and quick acquiescence to 'not rush things' when Claire asks him what he did 'when he had the need', it makes me wonder if perhaps he once had sex with Laoghaire 'as a brute, blind with need' and she in her desperation/need for someone to support her family/long-lost love/delusions used this to make him marry her. The only thing compelling enough to make Jamie overcome his dislike and distrust of her (or rather, try to learn to live with them) would be pregnancy. Did Laoghaire fake a pregnancy to get Jamie to marry her? And then pretended she lost the baby and Jamie found out the truth - and how long after the fact? I mean, it might have been real, but I don't know if Jamie would go to divorce in that instance, cos he'd feel bad for Laoghaire. To take it to the next level, did Jamie even have sex with her or did she make that up too?

Is it wrong that I'm hoping this happened? It's one of the only ways I can think of for the show to justify Jamie marrying Laoghaire while knowing all along that she tried to have Claire burned at the stake. Like, that's the only reason it was acceptable in the book - because he was unaware of this. But since he definitely knows in the show... I hope I'm right!

Yi Tien Cho was better than in the books, but it would be hard to get worse. I think he still came off as a second-class citizen and Jamie still spoke patronisingly to him. So that sucked a bit. Hoping it improves.

All the sexy times were seriously some of the least gratuitous sex scenes I've ever seen, and they lasted for ages so you'd think they'd eventually cross the line to tits and arses just for the sake of them at some point, but I really didn't feel like they did. It was hot as, of course, but there was just so much development of the characters and their connection that it all felt beautifully necessary. I even got a bit watery-eyed at a few points on the first watch, and I am pretty sure I can say that's the first time I've ever nearly cried while watching fictitious characters bonk. I mean bond. Via sexy times.

I wasn't in love with all the cinematographic choices though. There were a few really long lingering shots of body parts that I thought were overdone - like a big pan down Jamie’s back, where they were initially following Claire's hand, but that went mostly out of frame, so there was just scar city and nothing else for a while. (Which reminds me, earlier there was a shot of Jamie's back where he moved in such a way that the prosthetic scars folded a bit, and it was at the end of a shot so would have been so easy to cut so why didn't they, argh! Pay attention!) Aaaanyway, they then followed up by another big long shot of arms and necks - this time with Jamie's hand, but after a while that too became less of a focal point. Then it was just so much of Claire's shoulder. I know they were trying to break the shots up - like those shots of Claire's face were already super lingering - but I wish they'd been able to do something that focused more on the relationship rather than rando body parts.

Love how Claire is teary after their midnight chat about Bree. She misses her baby! I hope we get more Bree bonding and more of Claire missing her, and maybe telling Fergus about his baby sister!

Jamie's 'maybe I'm a ghost' statement got me wondering - what if there was a super angsty AU fic where all this was Claire inside her head? A dream, a hallucination..? Maybe she was seeing his ghost and hallucinated the rest around it to make it make sense?

Not a fan of what they've done to Madame Jeanne's character, she's a bit of a harpy and I don't remember that from the books. I loooooved the 'hoors though, that scene vies for my fave scene of the episode (admittedly it had numerous scenes as competition). So hilarious, love the facial expressions and the nether mouth line was brilliant and so well delivered.

Was Claire being choked or grabbed by the face in the last scene? Hard to tell with the lighting. My eyes say grabbed, but my ears (that noise Claire makes) say choked. Just, you know, for interests' sake. To distract me for gratuitous rape threats (the one bloody gratuitous scene in the whole episode!).

Overall, I liked it, job well done!

[brian-lozano91]

Spider-Man: Homecoming review

Spider-Man : Homecoming is directed by Jon Watts (Clown, Cop Car) it's the second Spider-Man reboot and the sixteenth film in the Marvel cinematic universe. It stars Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Jon Favreau, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Tyne Daly, Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr.  The plot is, “Thrilled by his experience with the Avengers, young Peter Parker returns home to live with his Aunt May. Under the watchful eye of mentor Tony Stark, Parker starts to embrace his newfound identity as Spider-Man. He also tries to return to his normal daily routine -- distracted by thoughts of proving himself to be more than just a friendly neighborhood superhero. Peter must soon put his powers to the test when the evil Vulture emerges to threaten everything that he holds dear.”

Spider-Man: Homecoming had a tough hurdle to get through, one being the second reboot of Spider-Man and the fact that the last Spider-Man movie was not good. I felt people were having Spider-Man fatigue, but once people saw the film everything started changing. Also in my opinion this is the second best Spider-Man movie since Spider-Man 2, they finally got the character right. Tobey Maguire was great in the Sam Raimi films but he was only a great Peter Parker and a good Spider-Man, but those films made Spider-Man epic and the character is smaller than that and it’s fine for those films, then in The Amazing Spider-Man films Andrew Garfield played a good Spider-Man but a bad Peter Parker.

Tom Holland plays both parts perfectly, when he’s Peter Parker he is shy, he doesn’t really know how to talk to girls, he gets picked on a lot and nobody seems to pay attention to him, at least not the cool people and like any teenager at that age he is trying to fit in but can’t. Then when he is Spider-Man it’s different, he is confident, sarcastic and doesn’t really know what he is doing. Which is the best part because that’s Spider-Man, Spider-Man is not perfect especially since he’s just barely starting out. But as the films go forward we will see a growth with the character, and hopefully more growth as more films will go on. Also we see that Spidey has a A.I. in his suit like Iron Man did and him interacting with it was really great and funny. I was a kinda worried because I felt that the suit was just an excuse for Spider-Man to have a Iron Man suit, however it works because at the end of the film he doesn’t have it and has to use his old suit to beat the bad guy, that was great because he learned his lesson.

Also a new character created for the film Ned who is Peter’s friend, is really good. It’s nice to see Peter actually talk to someone about being Spider-Man, also the fact that his friend keeps asking him questions about how his powers work and is excited that his friend is a superhero, it felt relatable, because if it was anyone in high school including me and my friends we would feel the same way and probably not be able to keep it a secret. Then we have young Aunt May and I was afraid that they were going to have too many Aunt May is hot jokes, but their wasn’t a lot just two. Her relationship with Peter is like any mom she cares for him and worries about him and wants him to be safe. She was the same Aunt May from the comics and other movies all that was different was that she was younger. New version of Flash, instead of being a big jock that picks on Peter it’s someone in his social circle another nerd. Which is great because that’s now, it’s relatable.

Also of course the best part of the film is Michael Keaton, he does a really good job playing the villain. But the screenwriters also need to be complemented because they actually made a villain that you could actually relate to, you understand why he’s doing these things and he’s not just a bad guy who wants to destroy the city or the world. He just trying to make money for his family, so you actually feel for the guy. Also can I just say that they actually made the lamest villains in the comics the coolest in this film. The Vulture looks awesome, so much better design and character wise. Then we have the other villain the shocker, he doesn’t have the costume but the way they made him look was better. Then we cameos have future villains that hopefully will come in the sequels.

However their are some negative things to say, one of them is the cinematography for the film. The cinematography is alright it’s standard per usual for the Marvel films, but like those minus Guardians it lacks the color that this movie needs. The film is fun and exciting, so it’s needs to look like that. Then the score for the film is mediocre at best. Which I really hate to say because it’s Michael Giacchino, and I know he’s made good scores in the past, but his scores for his Marvel films have been meh. I don’t know if he came in the last minute like he did for Rouge One and wasn’t able to compose a good score or that Marvel are cheapskates and don’t want pay more for a better score, which is probably what it was. Also the marketing for the film was not that good. The posters suck, really bad. They look so lame, nothing to get you excited for it. Then the trailers show way too much of Iron Man making you think he’s big part of the film, also spoiling a cool moment in the film.

Spider-Man:Homecoming was awesome, I love this movie second only to Spider-Man 2. One of the best superhero film this year and I think my favorite this next to Logan. I hope everyone sees this film. You should go out and support it and watch it multiple times. Thank god Marvel had some say in this movie or else Sony would’ve probably made another bad Spider-Man film. Lets see what happens with sequels and other appearances from Spider-Man in other films.

4 and half stars out of  5