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elialys · 8 months ago

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Per your lovely, lovely flawed show tag, I am curious what you think the flaws of Fringe are?

I’m sorry it took me so long to answer, I got distracted!

Fringe definitely had its share of flaws. I won’t even address the ones that can “be excused” by the fact that it was a show made before/early 2010s in terms of representations/inclusions, because you know, it is what it is.

I think my biggest ‘regret’/annoyance has always been the writers’ tendency to…shove traumas under a rug, or to not properly (if at all) talk about the consequences of some events that happened. I get that they had to make the characters go through a lot of drama because that’s the point of stories, especially on TV shows that have over 20 episodes per season, but the characters suffered through some terrible stuff time and time again, and they were just FINE. And it’s not like they didn’t know how to do it!

I’ve always loved the first few episodes of season 2 because they showed recovery. Olivia had a bad car accident, then she had to kill “Charlie”, and it took her time to get better from all of that, not just physically but emotionally, too. And yet, over and over again after that, she goes through horrible things and there’s…almost nothing? Like, I adore Marionette, I think it’s a brilliant episode through & through, but I still can’t believe Olivia went through all the shit she went through Over There (and coming back) and didn’t have some serious PTSD, on top of EVERYTHING ELSE she’d already gone through (aka why I wrote Shivered Bones). Peter too was barely allowed to mention what Walter did to him after he came back at the end of season 2, barely ever allowed to mention what Altlivia did to him either, except in some awkward bits of dialogue (I will discuss Peter’s character a bit more later).

Also, the whole REWRITING THE TIMELINE at the end of season 3?? Biggest cop-out. I mean, I’ve never hid the fact that any kind of ‘amnesia’ plot is honestly one of my LEAST favorite tropes, in anything. From the moment that season started airing and Peter reappeared being a complete stranger, I just disliked that so much on principle. But what will always pain me is how by doing so, the writers completely erased not just Peter but THE FIRST THREE SEASONS.

Like, poof, gone.

(adding a 'keep reading' because this is long 😂)

Conveniently, it erased Baby!Henry in the process, which the writers might have felt would be too much of an issue? Personally I would have loved to see that unfold. I know I’ve discussed this before on this blog, probably more than once, but they could have kept SO MUCH of season 4 the way it was, as far as the Bridge was concerned, could have come up with a brand new Vilain to do all the “NEW UNIVERSE” stuff Bell/Jones tried to do, while our core characters had to deal with the consequences of everything that happened in season 3 (including Peter being a dad, WITHOUT trying to force a stupid ‘love triangle’ down our throats, thank you). It would have made for great, impactful family drama, because who are we kidding. Anyone who loves Fringe typically loves it because it is such an emotional, family drama. So yes, I will forever mourn the universe(s) we had season 1-3, and endlessly daydream about what could have been.

Now let me talk about Peter Bishop, it’s been a hot minute. Peter Bishop, who was hated basically the entire time the show was airing, and still now is strongly disliked by a lot of viewers, and honestly, I can’t blame them? I’ve had over a decade to analyze his character, have spent hundreds of hours writing stories from his POV, explaining his traumas & mistakes, have written giant meta posts about him back in the days to explain his behavior, so I’m not exactly objective, but I’m also very honest about how flawed his character is. Not (just) as a human being, which is normal because humans are flawed. I mean, he’s flawed in the way the writers used him/wrote him.

He’s probably the most inconsistent of all the characters. He’s the character who suffered the most from the ‘let’s make this person act out a certain way to make sure it fits our plot’ syndrome. I will never forgive the writers for how…clueless (for lack of a better word), they wrote Peter in early season 3 during the Switch. Yes, Peter was traumatized as a kid, yes he was in love, yes yes, I know all of that, I’ve written endlessly about it to explain his cluelessness so I know.

Still, Peter should have figured it out. Peter as we saw him in season 1 and 2, especially second half of season 2, would have figured out. He figured out BY HIMSELF that he was from another universe, ‘just’ from his dad and Olivia’s weird behaviors and the fact that he didn’t go ‘POOF’ on that bridge in 2x18. Peter went to another universe, he met Olivia’s alternate. He’d just spent weeks running from his life, trying to accept the fact that he was lied to all of his life. At best, he was suspicious, at worst, he was paranoid (as was mentioned in 2x20 in Northwest Passage). Literally 3 days after he gets to THAT OTHER UNIVERSE, and 3 hours after meeting Olivia’s doppelganger, Olivia ‘I hide from my own emotions’ Dunham comes tell him he belongs with her and smooches him, so he goes home. Yet the writers want me to believe Peter would not have still been reeling from EVERYTHING that just happened in his life, and not be a bit on edge?

Like, ‘damn, the woman I love and have come to know quite well these past 2 years is suddenly SO DIFFERENT? ALMOST LIKE SHE’S ANOTHER PERSON? A BIT LIKE THAT ALTERNATE VERSION OF HER I MET 48H AGO, THAT’S NOT A COINCIDENCE AT ALL’. But nope, Peter just accepts it, EVERY CHARACTER on that side just accepts it, when Lincoln and Charlie keep on looking at our Olivia like “Is this chick for real? WHAT IF THEY SWITCHED THEM?”

I’m forever frustrated. It just doesn’t feel believable to me, never has. It feels like the writers went “we want everyone, and especially Peter, to be clueless the entire time so we can write our drama the way we planned it.” And that’s a shame, honestly, because that whole damn arc is already so good as it is. But it would been even better if Peter HAD figured it out, if he’d kept on pretending for a bit, if HE’D conned Altlivia the way she conned him. Like I mentioned before, Olivia already went through so much trauma during the Switch, they could have found ways to make her miserable upon coming back, without Peter having slept with her alternate for a few weeks—and the knowledge that he didn’t realize what was going on. More daydreaming on my part about what could have been.

I could go on when it comes to the way they wrote Peter honestly. The whole “maybe Peter has feelings for the other Olivia” crap in the second half of s3, and “the universe that will survive depends on which Olivia Peter chooses”, excuse me??? Altlivia basically abused him??? She used him in so many ways, including sexually. She wasn’t even herself, she was pretending, playing him the whole time. HOW IS HE SUPPOSED TO HAVE FEELINGS EXCEPT A LOT OF SELF-LOATHING AND MORE UNRESOLVED TRAUMA?

Anyway, I think you get my vibe and why I’ll forever be sad/mad about this. As a writer & storyteller myself, one of my strengths and favorite aspects of writing is figuring out the characters’ motivations, what drives them, and how it makes them behave. Peter’s character is just…wobbly, during those arcs. He’s inconsistent from plotline to plotline, and it feels off to me. He’s a lot more true and consistent to how I understand him in season 4, but in season 3, he’s a hot mess, meant as a plot device more than anything else, and that makes me sad. Characters are what drive stories and shape the plot, not the other way around. So yeah, I don’t blame people for always having such strong opinions/dislikes where Peter is concerned.

I could come up with more things, but this is already long enough 😂 In case that wasn’t clear, those flaws don’t stop me from having the deepest love for this show. What it did well, it did extremely well, and even all those years later, I still cry rewatching it, because the emotions were real. They're still real.

Plus it gave me Olivia Dunham, so really, it wins just for that.

#fringe #fringe meta #kinda 😂#also called 'ambre is ranting at 13 year old plotlines that made no sense'#meta

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datclassicrockfan42 · 1 year ago

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Who are the monkees?

YESSSSSSSSSSSS

DEAR LORD YES

(Sorry I don’t get this question very often)

Anyways, allow me to introduce you to The Monkees

They were a 60s rock band with a TV show(like the Aquabats). Originally created to make money and sell records but after a rebellion from their music producer, they truly(at least in my eyes) became a true band. Unfortunately a lot of factors caused the bands decline in popularity and their dissolvement. They did get back together in the 80’s and 90’s with a little surge in popularity, and thoughout the 2000s and 2010s they continued to tour. Currently the last remaining Monkee(Micky) is doing shows to honor the band these years.(this is definitely a cliff notes version bc(well I kinda lost my Monkee Autism for MCR autism and there’s no way I can fit the entire story into a single post, we can keep talking about this through dm through)

Now for the members. This group consists of four members. Davy, Micky, Peter, and Mike

Here’s a photo

The first member is Davy Jones.(Bottom Right)Short, British, and babyfaced. He’s basically the “Paul McCartney” of the group, the one that all the girls love(at least when the show first aired). In the band lineup, he does vocals, tambourine, and maracas(usually has like fifty maracas) In the show, he’s the group’s hopeless romantic. Always going after a girl and falling in love. However that whole “Davy falls in love and now it’s our problem” is much more of a season one plot line than season two(not to say doesn’t happen there too.)

Next is Micky Dolenz.(Top left). The bands…(for really lack of a better term here) wild card. He’s very energetic and comedic. In the band he’s the drummer but also does vocals most of the time. In the show, he’s wild, chaotic, and the jokester of the group.

Next is Peter Tork( bottom right). Sweet, sensitive Peter. Look at him isn’t he cute? In the band, he’s the bassist, but also plays a multitude of instruments. In the show he was the dummy. The butt of the joke all the time. His shy, awkward(auto fill suggested knees here, and I’m questioning everything), personality and lack of social skills was a constant joke during the series. Actual Peter is pretty intellectual.

Last but certainly not least(especially on this blog) is Mike(top right, in the green wool hat) the second Michael in my life(Mikey was the first). Ah Michael Nesmith. Where to start? Stoic, quiet,aloof, but a total goof sometimes.(starting to sound familiar here)He has what this website calls…autism swag. Usually wearing a little hat(okay now that I type this here I’m starting to realize the similarities between the two Michaels in my life), this Texan is the “serious one.” The dad of group basically. In the band he plays guitar and actually wrote a few songs(oh we’re gonna talk about this). In the show, he was basically the voice of reason. Not really focused on that much,but he had his moments. I should mention that he got rid of the hat around season two, but you can still identify him by his massive sideburns.

Look at these

Look at the size of them

NOW THE SHOW AND MUSIC.

The show: The show aired from 1966-1968 with two seasons. They also had two tv specials and one hella trippy movie. Currently a lot of the episodes have been taken off YT(damn copyright) but we have archive.com and many drive folders containing these episodes. Episode plots can go from “guys Davy’s in love again and now it’s our problem” to “Crap we can’t pay the rent” to “crap we gotta save America from spies”. And season two only gets weirder. Each episode usually contains two “romps” which are basically music videos that showcase songs(like I said made to sell records)

(I do gotta warn you tho. This show was made in the 60s…so some of the content is not actually…politically correct according to today’s standards. So yea just be prepared for that)

Episodes I’d personally recommend for beginners are

Season 1 Ep 8: don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. A simple episode. Displays each of the characters personally traits pretty well. Has good songs.

Season 1 ep 23: Captain Crocodilez a pretty funny episode. Got a lot of that typical Monkee rapid fire random humor(which is kinda Aquabatsish). Some good romps and I find this ep quite enjoyable

Season one ep 12: I’ve got a little song here. This is a Mike focused episode and is a little bit sadder than the majority of eps, but is overall good. It’s got the bands superhero personas, the Monkeemen. Good songs too.

Season two episode 16: fairytale. An iconic episode.(so sometimes the guys would dress up in drag to make their schemes work and there’s lots of that in this episode) it’s a bit more off the walls(which is normal in season two) but still overall a good episode.

Here’s the link for the archive(kinda bad quality but pretty accessible)

Edit: so i checked and something is wrong with the link….so yea

Ummm if yall want I can dm you a link to one of the drives

NOW FOR MUSIC

(Buckle up)

So the group(in the tv show years) released(holy shit) 9 albums.

The Monkees(a classic album of songs from the show) notable tracks include Last train to Clarksville, Saturday’s child, Sweet Young Thing, and Papa Gene’s blues

More of the Monkees(another classic, once again full of songs from the show) notable tracks include Mary,Mary , I’m not your stepping stone, the kind of girl I could love, and(you probably know this one) I’m a believer(yep the song from shrek was a Monkees song)

However, these albums were made with little to no creative control. Opting for studio musicans and writers than the actual guys themselves(who were all pretty good musicans) but after some rebellion, the producer getting fired, and a hole in a hotel wall(before the producer got fired,(guess who did this one lol). The band was able to play their own instruments.

Which brings us to an era which I personally consider the bands finest:

Headquarters: a masterpiece with the group playing almost of all their own instruments. Notable tracks include: Sunny Girlfriend, for Pete’s sake, and Randy Scouse Git

Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones(thats actually all the members zodiac signs, expect Davy’s bc him and Mike are both Capricorns and they actually share a birthday(Dec 30): this is their psychedelic album(hey it’s 1967 everyone’s doing it) Notable tracks here include: Pleasant Valley Sunday, Love is only sleeping, Star Collector and the door into summer.

The Birds, The Bees, and The Monkees: another classic👌. Notable tracks here include: Daydream Believer, Tapioca Tundra, and Dream World.

We then have the HEAD(that trippy movie i was talking about(that’s a little advanced tho, stick to the show for now) soundtrack: notable tracks here include: Porpoise Song, As we go along, circle sky, and daddy’s song.

Now for some mythbustijg bc oh boy

They didn’t play their own instruments: actually a lot of the guys were originally musicians before the show(Mike and Peter were folk singers, and Davy worked in broadway(not an instrument but still cool to know). We kinda already debunked this one though so let’s move on to the next:

They didn’t write their own songs: kinda true. The studio did bring in some studio writers to write songs, but the guys actually wrote some songs themselves(mainly Mike, but the others did too)

Ok well I’ve been typing for quite a while now and my hands tried soo ima leave this here. DM me if you want any more info(I have a master degree in the history of Micheal Nesmith with a minor in the band and show history)

#sorry for the Monkee introduction master post I just got excited #also probably not my best but blame the autism wanting Mikey Way instead of Mike Nesmith #(yea so this is my orginal classic rock/Monkee autism blog #the one you know me for this is my MCR/Mikey Way/Killjoy Ocs/Aquabats autism blog #Monkees introducry master post #the monkees

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thislovintime · 2 years ago

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Ann Moses with Peter Tork (plus Jimmy Page and Micky Dolenz) in the 1960s and in the 2010s.

“Peter Tork was not your typical teen idol. He was a musician first, and a genuine peace-and-love hippie the rest of the time. [...] [When he died] the world lost a kind, talented man. [...] After Peter and producer Bob Rafelson were inspired by the video tricks they had seen other bands use at The Fillmore in San Francisco, the Monkees made their political statement by including slide shows with scenes from the civil rights movement on huge black-and-white screens behind them as they performed. [...] His sincerity was true Peter. Never lived a rock-star lifestyle. He always smiled the brightest on the stage. That is his legacy. [...] [When I last saw him,] he seemed fulfilled and happy to be making music with his group, Shoe Suede Blues, and preserving his family home in Connecticut with his loved ones close by.” - Ann Moses, CNN, February 22, 2019

“Behind the scenes, they would joke with one another, and, you know, I’d see them ad-lib in some of the episodes. I would find out that it was a much more casual set than some of the other TV shows I ended up going to. […] They did what they felt like doing. When they — something would come into their minds, it would be, you know, they’d try that out, and half the time the director would say, That’s a take. The Monkees were just like no one else, and so those times on the set, it really gave me a chance to just see all the creativity that came out of these four extremely talented young men. […] Dave Clark and Jimmy Page would say, ‘Can you get us on the Monkees set?’ Because they knew I was out there all the time. And I would say, ‘Yeah, I can.’ And so I’d call up, I’d make the arrangements, and so… when Jimmy Page, when he went out to the set, I mean, he was just like gaga. And it was so cool, he just had so much fun watching the show. And so that was a different one. He was just a fan. And of course that made The Monkees just feel so good, because they, you know, the first year, they were fighting the battle of: do they play their instruments? Are they really musicians? And here a musician that they admired, from the UK, was excited about them. So it was very validating and made them feel really good. […] As I got to know Peter, he treated me with such respect, as if I were a peer. And in a way I was. But, you know, to me, I’m the new girl at the magazine, I’m in there less than a year, but he’s treating me like this has been my profession for years. And still I’m nineteen years old at this point. But I think Peter was rewarded in that when we would talk about whatever it was with him — whether he was doing yoga and he was talking about the Book of Tao, I would write as he would tell me these stories. It wasn’t like I’d go, ‘Well, we’re not putting that in Tiger Beat.’ Because as I was getting to know the real Peter, then so were the readers. And that — that was my goal. And so he was always just a very considerate, thoughtful person, and, you know, a pleasure to be around. He would [give me feedback on articles as he read them]. Like I would take out… like, I just came across an article that I had written about a day on the set with Peter. I said, ‘Hey, guys, here’s the newest Monkee Spectacular.’ And Peter’s looking through it, and he goes, ‘You spelled this wrong.’ And I said, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, I’ll correct it,’ you know. And he found a couple of other — you know, whether it was a typo or some word I’d gotten wrong. But I wouldn’t let it happen twice. It was like correcting your essay for the teacher. It was like, well, he’s not gonna catch me in a mistake again. So it made it really fun. And of course, he didn’t do it in a mean way. It’s just that, hey, we were talking about a serious subject and you made a mistake, and… and that was Peter. […] Peter did a story when he quit, and told me why. And do I know if he was being honest with me? You know, I don’t know, but it was the story that he wanted to put out, and he had been so open and honest the whole time, I didn’t think anything about it. […] By this time he was, you know, with Reine, and they got a place in the valley, had a nice pool. But when I went to the door, um, Peter opened the door and welcome me in, and of course, he was in the nude. And he said, Our house is clothing optional, if you’d like to, you know, disrobe, or I don’t know the word he used. But he said, If you’d like to join us, you’re welcome to. But there was a mixture there at the house. There were some people with clothes on, and some people with clothes off, and they were jumping in the pool. It was not something that fazed me in the slightest, so — you just gotta learn to look them in the eye. [As for Peter’s demeanor post-leaving The Monkees] He was very mellow. I mean, at that point in time, and, you know, I know he had struggles afterward because he had bought his contract out. But at that point in time, he just seemed comfortable in his skin, and he was talking about, you know, the new group [Release], and he just seemed to be, yes, unburdened, I think I would say at that point. He just, he was the chill Peter that you sometimes would see, just like he had just gotten up from meditating and he was as chill as he could be. And it seemed very natural for him. […] Often when I would interview Peter, he would tell me, you know, ‘I really want you to try LSD.’ And I’d tell him, ‘Oh, I’m afraid, I’m afraid I’ll have a bad trip.’ And he goes, ‘No, no, I’ll take care of you, I’ll make sure you have a good trip, you just — it’s such a great experience.’ And I was always really too chicken, I was just afraid of, well, what if I’m really out of control and I freak out? And so I never took him up on his offer. And then when we had our reunion in 2017, I said, ‘Peter, do you remember when you used to get me to try LSD?’ And he said, ‘Oh, Annie, you didn’t miss a thing.’ And, you know, after all the experiences that he had been through, it was that same kind of looking out for me type approach, it was like, ‘Oh, it’s just as well you didn’t,’ and it — he was, he was still being that kind of mentor to me, and it was just… it was so touching, I just couldn’t believe it after all those years, and still there was that closeness there. It was a really, really wonderful moment that I’m so, so glad I got to experience before he passed away.” - Ann Moses, The Monkees Pad Show no. 10, 2022

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violetren · 10 months ago

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Ok live action atla reaction for episode 2.

It was better than episode one. Where episode one was a dumpster fire actively trying to hurt me both as an avatar fan and as someone with a basic understanding of how multimodal media is used to craft stories, episode two is fine.

I hesitate to call it great or even good when my only other point of reference so far is one of the worst episodes of TV I have seen in the past decade. Or possibly just ever. But I can comfortably say it was fine.

Perhaps my biggest on going issue is still the dialogue. When they don't sound like they just walked out of a LA therapists office, they instead sound like they are either in a circa 2010 disney original tv show, or just straight up like the writer explaining directly to camera how they are justifying skipping events from the animation because they have made the characters so much more mature and self aware of what they need to do/become for the sake of saving the world.

In short, Sokka remains unfunny.

I can't believe the "I bet you taste like chicken" comment wasn't even in response to Momo doing anything in particular. Momo is just there chilling on Aang's shoulder and Sokka is glaring at him like Momo is his arch rival, talking about a singular non mishmash animal that he has probably never even seen before because where the fuck where the chicken coops in the south fucking pole!?

Katara's strives in bending probably look impressive to anyone who hasn't seen the first episode of the animation where she already outclassed her current progress. Girl was out there (accidentally) splitting icebergs out of anger, but I'm meant to be impressed she can make a water ball in 3 seconds? I hate how badly she has been nerfed.

I also hate how they made it that Gram Gram actively helped nerf her by denying Katara her inheritance until it was clear she was gonna hop on a flying bison and go on adventures with the Avatar. She didn't even give her the scroll directly and apologise to her face. Just shoved it in her bags with a sorry note and now we're deprived of Katara stealing from pirates! Which means Katara is gonna be carrying that "goody toe shoes always morally correct with no room for nuance mom friend" burden for who knows how much longer now.

We did FINALLY get some Iroh adjacent behaviour from Uncle Iroh. Him trying to cajole Zuko into eating some street food and getting distracted mid sentence because he noticed some sticky rice wasn't perfectly executed but it was better executed than any other Iroh moments we have seen so far. Mostly he still hits as gaslighty and condescending. And don't get me wrong. OG Iroh COULD be gaslighty but never so fucking blatantly. There's no finesse, no gentle distractions layered with concern. Where is the charisma? Instead we effectively get him going "you're wrong. you should consider giving up." at every other time he talks to Zuko (less so this episode than last but only because he "tries" to teach Zuko diplomacy. Yes there are quotes around tries for a reason. He basically says Do This, gives no real guidance on how and then steps in to do the thing the second Zuko is sucking because he's never had to do this shit before and doesn't want to do it now especially since he has no idea wtf Iroh means).

Anyways, didn't they say they were overhauling the Ba Sing Se arc to make it less gaslighty? Yet they let this vibe fly with Iroh of all people?

We did at least get Suki though. And she's mostly pretty recognisably Suki. Save for the instant and hardcore pining for Sokka because he immediately became a surrogate for her yearning for the outside world. I can appreciate that they wanted to nix Sokka's sexism and instead just made him insecure about his status as a warrior, and they almost made it work but they cut themselves off from such an interesting interplay of tension by having Suki just as, if not more, eager to show off her skills to Sokka as he was to act like he was a big tough southern water tribe warrior. They were on to something when they had her question how he could be the guardian of his village if he was here with the Avatar instead. They could of had her be dismissive of his claims at being a warrior when he was clearly acting like an undisciplined blow hard and the fanthrowing/chokehold scene could have been a "stop acting tough, I am the warrior you're claiming to be" moment which wouldn't have involved any sexism on either side and have made a basis for mutual respect when Sokka comes along to the training hall. They could have had him humbly ASK instead of awkwardly miming until Suki noticed. We could have still had Sokka in Kyoshi Warrior garb. It would have stuck closer to the original, it wouldn't have taken up more time, and it would have created a much more satisfying interplay of tension between the two characters which also would help ground their future relationship in mutual respect.

I will say though, although the writing fucking choked the cinematography, the lighting team, the actors and the editors all came through with creating a sense of attraction between the two characters. So that wasn't nothing.

Kyoshi was a high point. Still fell victim to the dialogue writing, but a very strong perfomance by Yvonne Chapman accented excellently by the sound design team during some of the more intense parts when they layered in all the other Avatar voices. She was a good choice for giving Aang a bunch of hard truths and I liked how she both told him he had to find his own path but when he kept pushing for a more concrete answer just started telling him to deal with shit her way, because that felt very Kyoshi.

Also the entire sequence of her manifesting through Aang to show him a bit of what he could do as the avatar and lowkey to protect HER island was fucking badass. Not a single fire nation soldier left that island with clean underwear after facing Avatar mother fucking Kyoshi.

Unfortunately I was very quickly brought down from this high by Aang closing out his part of the episode by saying that Kyoshi told him something terrible was going to happen to the Northern Water Tribe if he didn't get up there and do his duty as the avatar to stop it. A conversation beat that happened off screen btw.

This annoys me for several reasons, starting with since when can the Avatar's collective past lives tell the future? The big threat to the Northern Water Tribe was originally Zhao coming to kill the moon spirit, which is a culmination of his lust for dominance and power and his plans to capture the avatar for himself. So either that isn't happening (and they are unnecessarily trying to revamp a perfectly good finale to stroke their own egos) OR they have made the nonsensical decision to foretell this tragedy in the show instead of just letting the tension mount naturally because 80+% of their audience already know shit goes down in at the Northern Water Tribe. Which annoys the fuck out of me. Aang was always going to go North for water bending training anyways, and especially this borderline hyper responsible version of Aang who knows even if it will hurt emotionally he will need to learn the other elements. There was no good god damn reason to add a second layer of urgency by saying if he doesn't get there bad shit will happen!

My closing rant is really more of a question, but why the fuck is it every time we see a firelord, (Sozin and now Ozai) that they are just hanging out in the middle of the fucking chamber chatting with some fucking guys until a prisoner/messenger arrives while the fire throne looms menacingly in the background upstairs and 50 feet back. Where is the menace and pizazz of them sitting looking down on literally everyone and everything from up on high flanked by flames, committing atrocities with a wave of their hand and a few low spoken words that everyone grovels to hear? I believe in Daniel Dae Kim's ability to look scary and lordly on a fancy chair, especially if the fancy chair has FIRE, why doesn't the director?

#chirping wren #live action atla spoilers #live action atla critical

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active-mind-15 · 5 months ago

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Mini adventures of the rakuzan team my beloved!! A question I've always wanted to ask is what chapter did you have the most fun writing?

What a difficult question 🤣

All of the chapters had their own individual charm, but I think the most memorable chapters I've written are between three of them, so I'll just list them and talk about each one.

Chapter 23: Thy Kingdom Come

I'm not even sure where I got the idea from. Maybe because I've seen cartoons where the characters tell stories and use each other as characters in that story. Or maybe it was harking back to my drama class days when we would sometimes do exercises where someone starts a story and then we go around in a circle adding to it. Either way, the day I posted it was my 17th birthday and I think I was riding off the high of being 17, so I just let my mind wander wherever it would take me.

I just remember having so much fun with the premise of that chapter, because the potential for the Rainbow fam to try and create a story and then completely mess it up the longer it went on just seemed so on-brand and I wanted to see how far I could take it. This chapter was especially memorable because the word count ended up so high when I wasn't expecting it to. I think I just really wanted the younger ones to be childish and do something goofy.

Chapter 24: I don't think I'm that obsessed

This one was another high-word-count chapter that I didn't expect to be so long. I don't even watch soap operas like that, but this chapter was drawing inspiration from this one soap opera I did watch back when I was 9. It was called 'A Second Chance' and I remember being introduced to it when my family was visiting relatives in Nigeria, and every time a new episode aired, we would sit around the TV and watch. I don't actually remember the plot super well, but I do remember getting hooked on the plot twists, and even long after that one visit, I would still ask my relatives for updates on what happened next.

Using that memory, I thought it would be funny to make a scenario where one person gets the rest of their family into a show and now they're all obsessed with it. I also did that irl with my aunt and cousins who came to visit back in the summer of 2010. They had never watched ATLA before so I got all of them into it and then we watched the entire series during their visit. That same aunt actually visited us last month and she was telling me that she still hasn't forgotten about ATLA and how good it was.

Chapter 32: Idiots on vacation - Fatal attractions

This is the most recent chapter I posted related to this fic, and it does not escape me that I accidentally went on a massive hiatus in the middle of my biggest arc (LMFAO), but I had a lot of fun writing this chapter because I thought it would be fun to explore how the characters would tackle an amusement park. The circumstances that drove them to Six Flags were really just a setup to have an excuse for a classic filler-type slice-of-life story you sometimes get with animes. Not sorry about that in the slightest, though.

I remember that since it had been a while since I'd gone to Six Flags, I did end up researching a lot for this chapter by going to the Six Flags website and reading up on the names of all the different rides and what they did. I even watched those YouTube videos where they would put cameras on the roller coasters so you can get a POV experience as to what they would be like if you rode it. I was very detail-oriented in a lot of ways (still am), so I wanted to really make sure it was accurate.

When it came to how the characters moved through the amusement park, I once again drew from my own personal experiences. My family had an era where during the summer, we would pick one or more amusement parks to go to and kinda just road trip to each one. It got to the point where we developed a rhythm for how we navigated the parks. We would get there around noon and start off with mild rides, work our way up to the big ones, and then go back to the rest of the smaller ones to cool off. In the evening, we would go to the game stalls and try to win prizes. So, this is exactly what I had the characters do in the chapter.

Considering that this is very much a slice-of-life one-shot collection, most of the chapters are inspired by my own memories and experiences in one way or another. But these were the chapters I remember having the most fun with. Thank you for asking! (❁´◡`❁)

If anyone else wants to ask me something related to a WIP, please see the WIP list I made, pick one or more WIPs, and inquire about them through my inbox!

#it is quite fun to reminisce on those old chapters #sometimes i do re-read them and wonder where on earth i got the stamina to write so much #technically i know the answer but it still amazes me regardless #i truly do hope i can get around to cleaning up the chapters and updating because this fic does mean a lot to me in many ways #and reading through all my intro blurbs reminds me of the headspace i was in when i wrote for this story #almost like viewing a museum exhibit about myself #its both fascinating and nostalgic #a little bit sad too #but mostly fascinating and nostalgic #thank you for the ask!#writer ask game #tumblr asks

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britesparc · 1 year ago

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Weekend Top Ten #612

Top Ten Doctor Who Companions (2005-2023)

Happy 60th Birthday, Doctor Who! Yep, technically it was Thursday 23rd but Who’s counting, eh? The Doctor is now Bus Pass Age, not a bad achievement for someone who’s either 900, 1200, or over two billion years old, depending on how you’re working it out. Timey-wimey and all that.

To celebrate the anniversary of what is probably my favourite British TV show (just pipped at the post, I’d say, by The West Wing, classic Simpsons, and maybe – depending on my mood – Star Trek: The Next Generation) I’ve decided to look at that essential component of Doctor Who-ness, the Companion. The companions are great, because the Doctor is almost unknowable; an ancient cosmic being who has all sorts of weird powers and capabilities, who’s seen and done so much. It’s not just the two hearts and the time travel; they’re frankly weird, at times sage and wise, other times naïve and childlike. So the companion is our point-of-view, our entry-level look at the universe; they’re also a great leveller, bringing out the Doctor’s best qualities and humanising them. And, frankly, they serve that Watson function of allowing a brilliant character who knows everything to exposition all over somebody; they’re there to get talked at.

But, of course, the Companions are so much more, helping to bring Doctor Who to life in untold ways; they can be the heart and soul of the show, the even if a new companion comes in with a familiar Doctor, the dynamic can change enormously. Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor is very different with Bill Potts than he is with Clara Oswald, for instance; and Ten’s relationship with Rose was unique despite David Tennant sharing the TARDIS with several other people.

Now, whilst I did watch Who when I was a kid, I didn’t really get into it properly till the 2005 reboot; so, to keep things simple, I’m just going to focus on companions who’ve been in the show since then. Sorry, Ace! I love ya! But I don’t feel I can parse my Sarah Janes from my Bonnie Langfords with particular grace. Also, I needed to define exactly what a companion was; I settled on someone who travelled with the Doctor across multiple episodes, with the intention of remaining in the TARDIS. So this meant I had to, very sadly, discount River Song; she’s a guest star, and obviously a huge part of the Doctor’s life and Moffat’s grand over-arching storyline, but I don’t think she was ever a for-real in-TARDIS capital-C Companion. Captain Jack, on the other hand, did remain on Team TARDIS for a few episodes before buggering off to Cardiff. So he counts.

Anyway, enough waffle; let’s light up our sonics and celebrate.

Amy Pond (Karen Gillan, 2010-2012/13): feisty, funny, and flirty, Amy wasn’t a wide-eyed naif nor a grumpy sourpuss, but a someone who was just really enjoyable to watch. Her chemistry with her Doctor is some of the best in the series, but it was the stories that put Amy through the wringer – from a universe-defying romance to an impossible baby – that made her so compelling, and the deft way Gillan responded to the outlandish, hilarious, and ultimately tragic events. There was something about her performance right from the off; we were watching a movie star born before our eyes.

Donna Noble (Catherine Tate, 2006/08-2010/23): prior New-Who companions had mostly been besotted with the Doctor; Donna was pissed off by him. A human who saw the very alien nature of the Time Lord, she was often his conscience – such as in the episode The Fires of Pompeii – but chiefly Donna will be remembered for the humour she brought to the role. Tate was a tremendous comic double act with Tennant, and it’s going to be very exciting to see them together again.

Rose Tyler (Billie Piper, 2005-2006/08/10/13): a companion so important that the very first episode of the rebooted show was named after her. She was the show, arguably the main character in that first season; a woman from humble origins who was destined to change the galaxy. Her growing feelings for the Doctor – especially when he regenerated into David Tennant – were subtly drawn, but in so many ways Piper defined what a modern companion should and could be. So iconic they brought her back for the Fiftieth as a different character cosplaying Rose Tyler.

Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie, 2017): a bit of a milestone in Who history as the first queer female companion and only, I believe, the second woman of colour. Her dynamic with the Doctor was different to what came before; there didn’t seem to be the deep spiritual connection, but she was a funnier, more free-wheeling sort, who loved the adventurous life among the stars. She got to have her own mini-tragic-romance play out over the series, and was the centrepiece of storylines dealing with race and gender politics. A great companion, sadly underused.

Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman, 2012-2015/17): a companion who suffered a little bit with some flakier plots and character arcs, which is a shame as Coleman is a great actor who had terrific chemistry with two different Doctors, and very different relationships with them, too. A kindly soul with a fun spirit who masked a steely core, she was excellent in the anniversary special The Day of the Doctor.

Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill, 2010-2012): wow, the first bloke on the list. Mr. Pond is just, well, really nice; a massively nice guy. His total love for Amy is such a beautiful thing, spanning eons (he waits for her for two thousand years!). It’s uncomplicated but strong and fiery, and yet he’s totally trusting. He knows he’s the second fiddle in the relationship, forever overshadowed by his brilliant wife, yet he remains unthreatened and trusting and supportive. Plus, rather nicely, they fancy the pants off each other, so their fate – Amy choosing to be trapped forever in the past with him – is utterly believable. A great guy!

Jack Harkness (John Barrowman, 2005-2011/20-21): I’m a bit squiffy putting him on the list because Barrowman is, well, a touch problematic. However, Captain Jack was a great character, injecting a huge does of sex to the usually straightlaced Who. A phenomenal space-flirt who’d “how you doin’” every biped he came across (steady), he was fun in a wartime greatcoat. Torchwood gave him added depth and complexity. I imagine it’s unlikely we’ll see him again for some time, although I suppose he’s no Mickey Smith.

Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill, 2018-2022): New-Who had done variations on the “companion loves the Doctor” story, but this was the first one to give it a queer lens, without any sensationalising. In a crowded set of companions, Yaz was always the stand out: young, funny, with a great family to draw on, but the smarts and steel of a police background. Sadly – like many characters in that era – she didn’t really get the strength of story to justify her character, and as groundbreaking and well-handled as the developing romance was, it likewise fizzled out to nothing.

Graham O’Brien (Bradley Walsh, 2018-2021/22): most companions are young a sprightly; Graham was a resolute old duffer who provided a nice amount of grandfatherly charm and twinkle to such a propulsive show. You got the sense that Walsh was loving every minute of it; and whether he was just easier to write for, or Walsh was just a more experienced performer, he did the best out of some weaker scripts, always shining and giving the show a lot of comedic pep.

Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman, 2007-2008/10): coming after Rose was a huge ask, but Martha delivered a nice twist by falling in unrequited love with the Doctor, a thread of tragedy running through her whole arc and giving it steel. She was also just really capable and heroic throughout, even as her Doctor became an angrier, more bitter character, weighed down by his losses. She got to fight the Master! When the Doctor got turned into Dobby the House Elf! She’s badass!

Edit: now with fixed formatting! I went back in time and did it. Yay.

#top ten #doctor who #doctor who 60 #doctor who 60th anniversary #karen gillan #billie piper #catherine tate #tv #bbc #disney+

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bbcmerlinvault · 2 years ago

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[Article] “Bradley James talks Buffy, Merlin, and much, much more”

by Julia Hass for cliqueclack.com, first published 16:14 EST Aug 27 2010

[Original article]

A copy/paste of the article followed by screencaps (I removed a few links from the copy/paste because they went to YouTube videos which have since been removed):

Season three of 'Merlin' begins airing in the UK on September 11, so what better time to have a chat with one of its stars, Bradley James?

Well, Merlin fans, season 3 will be airing soon in the UK, and to celebrate I naturally thought, why don’t I call up my good buddy Bradley James (who plays Prince Arthur, for those of you not cool enough to be in the know)? Because, as I’m sure you’re all aware, I have him on speed dial. We’re tight.

Hah, hah.

No, in reality, it took me quite a few months, but I finally got a chance to catch up with Bradley James (he managed to second-hand charm my mother, who could hear him because he was on speaker phone) and pick his thoughts on Buffy (he’s a huge fan), soccer — sorry, football — Prince Arthur, and traveling with his co-star Colin Morgan.

Hello? Hello, is this Julia?

Yeah, sorry, I think we have a bit of a bad connection, can you hear me? I think we have a bit of a comedic time delay, which should provide us with some awkward silences, which we can talk about later.

We can. Next time you’re in Boston you can come over for drinks and we can discuss it. Okay, and then maybe we can pretend we have the same delay and play a little game where we have delays in between each line, before each one talks … but that’s just me.

No, I think it would be a good time! We could start a drinking game with that. Definitely, right.

So you’ve been actually kind of MIA lately, you weren’t at Comic-Con or anything. Have you been busy filming? Yeah, well, I mean, I was there in spirit. But I think the budget allowed for Mr. Merlin himself [co-star Colin Morgan] and Buffy‘s Anthony Stewart Head to get plane tickets. But they decided to send me in spirit by the form of an interview with Warwick Davis, so I was pleased to, you know, make some kind of appearance.

Well, if you could have gone to Comic-Con, what was the first thing you would have done? Is there anyone you would have wanted to go see? I … that’s an interesting question, but you’re clearly someone who knows more about Comic-Con. I have very little knowledge of it. I only know that it’s a huge event where lots of people have a great time and, you know, there’s just loads going on. So I wouldn’t have the first clue as to what I’d go and do. But hopefully the opportunity will arise for me to go at some stage. It sounds like it was a lot of fun.

It’s pretty much TV nerd Mecca, where you go and you meet everybody who’s ever been on a television show. Ever. Oh, okay … wow. That’s a lot of people.

It is! It’s huge. Wow! Okay then.

Well, you’ve mentioned you’re kind of a TV nerd yourself, especially when it comes to Buffy. How big of a Buffy nerd are we talking? Are we talking you know all the words to the musical episode? I know a couple … I have, in fact, sung some of the songs to Anthony as the course of filming happens.

So is that your next music video that’s going to happen [after You’re the Voice]? It’ll be a “Once More With Feeling” music video? I don’t know! Here’s my deal with Buffy, right. I’ve got … I mean, I’ve seen all the episodes, I’ve got them all on VHS. Not DVD.

So, old school. Yeah, and “Once More With Feeling,” I think it’s one of those episodes that, were I to go back, that’s one of the first ones to go back to watch, because it was very unique. And having Anthony around on set, there’s moments where, um, I sing him a few lyrics.

Which I’m sure he appreciates. Oh, I’m sure he does. I try to do it sparingly so I’m not just barraging him with, you know, Buffy moments that he’d, you know, perhaps like to move on from.

Well, have you ever considered that Camelot is, perhaps, on the Hellmouth? Considering how many monsters tend to come there? Yeah! It seems to be since Merlin’s turned up, that seems to be the case. I think before that, you’d probably have to ask the question of how Arthur managed to stay alive, due to the fact that hes been certainly healthy, nothing wrong with him, and then Merlin turns up and all of a sudden…

…it’s all Merlin’s fault. Yeah, absolutely everything. So yeah, being on the Hellmouth, I don’t think it’s that far-fetched a reality for Camelot. They might put that in the story somewhere.

But Arthur could definitely take on vampires, right? Ohhhh, that’s a good question. Vampires … To be honest with you, vampires are probably being done to death at the moment.

They really, really are! I mean, we’ve got,you know, the obvious, Twilight…

…oh, God. That’s doing the rounds at the moment, I think there’s various TV shows. But yeah, right, vampires! Let’s get on that bandwagon.

Yeah, Colin [Morgan] has mentioned he’s into True Blood, which is, like, the big vampire show over here. Yeah, he got into that quite a bit, I think. He’s sort of been talking about it on set. I’ve kind of faded out a little bit. I mean, when you do this [schedule] you have to be quite specific with your television watching, if you get any time to watch it at all, and I didn’t really keep up with that one, I’m sorry to say.

Did you get to keep up with the World Cup, though? Oh, yes. Oh, yes. I managed to, you know, install my flat with everything required, you know, getting a big TV to watch it on, the producers very kindly arranged so that the crew got to have a TV on set for the England games … it’s a very important part of my life, the World Cup every four years it’s like my, like my religion suddenly arrives, and I’m in my element, basically. So it was terrific, being able to see, you know, the England games, despite the fact that we were rubbish.

Yeah, my condolences on that. I was for Team Spain from the beginning, so I can’t quite say the same. Ah, I see, I see. Well basically, all you need to know is that we didn’t deserve to do any better than we did. We deserved to be taught a lesson. So just, hopefully well learn from it, and we’ll just change everything.

And they’ll call you up next time. Oh, I’d love if they called me. But I think, uh, 50 million other Englishmen are probably throwing their caps in that ring as well. So, you know, we’ll see how things change. Hopefully they will.

Well, so you are on this show Merlin, which is going to be premiering in England again soon. Yes!

And I have to ask about Arthur — first of all, you’ve mentioned before you think he’s pretty misunderstood. Oh, yeah. [Laughs]

What is it exactly you think people don’t understand about him? Besides that he’s secretly a good guy? Well I … the thing with Arthur is that his upbringing has kind of stunted his emotional intelligence, shall we say. He’s really a bit pathetic.

So he didn’t get hugged enough as a child? Oh, he didn’t get hugged at all.

Aw, poor kid. Yeah, Uther is not a hugging man. He is, at best, a sturdy pat on the back, but no he’s certainly not into hugging. So I’d say that basically, as far as Arthur’s concerned, he, you know, puts on a front that he thinks he has to put on a show and has to perform in a certain way, and, you know, really deep down he’s the guy who sort of guy you’d look to have on your side in times of crisis. So, you know, he’s a good guy, down deep. He makes the right decisions eventually.

Well, do you think he even had friends before Merlin? Um, I think his friends all consisted of his fellow knights, they all probably were involved in a lot of jocular behavior. And in the case of his position, they sort of had to look up to him, had to respect him. So you could argue his friends were people who were only friends with him because of who he was and what he was.

Well that’s I think what so many people find interesting about Merlin and Arthur is that they’re actually equals, because of Merlin’s power. Yeah, exactly! There’s that dynamic of, you know, Arthur not knowing about Merlin’s power, but I think you should sort of give him credit for his feelings kind of changing for Merlin despite not knowing that Merlin’s a pretty powerful guy. He’s, you know, seeing him [Merlin] for who he really is, or I think he’s trying. And then when he finds out about Merlin’s magic he’ll hopefully kind of say hey, well, Merlin’s my friend and that’s fine.

Right, but how is going to trust Merlin when he’s kept that secret for so long? I think that’s something a lot of fans wonder. Yeah, I’ve got no idea how or when that’s going to come about, but I’d like that to be delivered in an intelligent way, and I’d like… I think there’s some interesting ways it could be dealt with. So, you know, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that things work out with them.

You and Colin have just … fantastic chemistry. So how much do you guys rehearse before you go and actually do the scene in front of the camera? Actually … not a great deal. Myself and Colin are kind of in every day and we’re — I mean Colin’s certainly in every scene and, you know, I’m not far behind him. So we’re having to sort of go through the scenes very quickly without time to prepare three scenes ahead, or whatever. So we kind of just try to snatch moments in the car on the way home, or before the cameras the cameras start rolling we’ll try to go through it a couple of times.

When you’re not making video diaries, that is. [Laughs] When we’re not making video diaries, yes, we are actually doing some work. And it’s been fun! Colin and I sort of… we know each other very well now, and what each other’s rhythms are and each other’s timing, so when you sort of take that dilemma away of having to figure that out, you can kind of, you know, experiment with other things. And I really enjoy working with him. We have a lot of fun.

Well, you guys did go on a road trip, which, to my disappointment, was not to America. No, to my disappointment, it wasn’t to America either.

But, okay, you guys were late every single time. What was happening there? [Laughs]

It’s like every scene you show up and go “oh, we’re late, sorry.” Well, it was a bit of a bizarre road trip, we just found ourselves driving around… I mean, it was a trip funded by the BBC Wales, so there was a bit of propaganda around it. I mean, all the Arthurian points of interest aren’t in Wales.

Right, they’re in Cornwall, or somewhere near there. Yeah, exactly, they’re kind of in the southwest parts of England. But as I say, it was a bit of Welsh propaganda, so we found ourselves only being able to look at places in Wales. Which made it a little bit frustrating, because we didn’t actually find anything. But I sort of knew we wouldn’t find anything.

You did find that guy who did the ley lines with you! He was my favorite character, I think. Oh, yes.

He was … fantastic. We could have made an entire show based just on what he was doing, I think.

Colin looked terrified the entire time. Oh, God, I’m glad that came across. I’ve never seen him act so worried in my entire life.

I’ve never even seen him act that worried in front of fans. He’s normally … I thought I’d seen the most nervous he could get when he was in front of fans, and that was nothing compared to how scared he seemed in front of the ley line guy. Well the crazy thing about the ley line guy was, I think it might have been late October, maybe early November, I can’t quite remember, but it wasn’t warm. You can see we’re both all bundled up in jackets and whatnot. And that guy, he turns up in shorts, and they’re very short shorts. Like maybe footballers — that’s soccer players — in those shorts. And he just turned up out of the woods in a pair of shorts and carrying some handles. So we pretty much knew from the off this was going to be a bit of a freaky experience. But it was … you know, it was a pleasurable one. Not one I imagine I’ll experience again any time soon.

Well, Colin mentioned he was very upset he didn’t get to go see the Arthurian library. Do you know if he’s ever made it back there? He’s not been back there, I think largely due to the ridiculous filming schedule over the course of when we’re filming, so when we’re off it’s nice to, you know, take a bit of a break. But I myself would quite like to get myself down to Tintagel at some point, that’s in Cornwall, which is the epicenter of Arthurian legend. Or Glastonbury. I’d like to get myself out there. Probably around the time they have the Glastonbury music festival.

So if you and Colin could go on another road trip, is that where you guys would go? Yeah, well if it was based on Arthurian legend I’d go there, because we might actually find something about Arthurian legend. That would probably be helpful, of course.

I’m a fan of the idea of just the Bradley and Colin show, where you just go places and they film you two, because it’s pretty entertaining, just on it’s own. That American road trip, it’s got to happen sometime.

I’ve been rooting for it for a long time. I think that’s your next opportunity after Merlin, is you and Colin. I think you have your careers made as just traveling places as a comedy duo and just recording what happens. Right. [Laughs] After Merlin, I think myself and Colin have earned a well-deserved break from each other. I’m sure Colin, at least, would enjoy a five minute break from me.

Aw, I don’t think so! He’d like some peace and quiet, I think. As opposed to, say, having me around all day. But who knows! It could be something for us to do in later life, when we’re old pensioners.

Well, I would look forward to it, and so would a lot of fans. Well, if there’s anything in the works along those lines, I’ll let you know.

And if you ever come to Boston, myself and the people who work at our blog would be more than happy to host you. Wow, thank you so much!

So thank you so much for doing this interview with me, in spite of the technical difficulties, and good luck with season 3 and whatever comes after that. No, thank you, Julia, and here’s hoping … I’ve got the feeling it will go down well. Cheers!

#interview: bradley james #year: 2010 #article

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autisticandroids · 2 years ago

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not to become a disciple or something. but do you have any media recommendations, like books/films/shows. because i like the way you think. sorry for mass rbing btw

Smiley also knew, or thought he knew - the idea came to him now as a mild enlightenment - that Bill in turn was also very little by himself: that while his admirers - Bland, Prideaux, Alleline, Esterhase, and all the rest of the supporters' club - might find in him completeness, Bill's real trick was to use them, to live through them to complete himself; here a piece, there a piece, from their passive identities: thus disguising the fact that he was less, far less, than the sum of his apparent qualities… and finally submerging this dependence beneath an artist's arrogance, calling them the creatures of his mind…

this passage from tinker, tailor, soldier, spy is what i think of every time anyone tries to put me on a pedestal as Tumblr User Autisticandroids. like genuinely my main skill is making connections with other people and essentially propping myself up through them, though of course i don't really do it on purpose.

anyway unfortunately my taste in media isn't going to contain what you want i don't think. i'm going to give you an extremely random list of things i like. not favorites, but just stuff i enjoy.

my favorite episode of star trek: the next generation is season six episode fourteen "face of the enemy," but if you're going to actually get involved with star trek i would recommend deep space nine instead. when i want to alienate people i put on an episode of the prisoner (1967) because i love that show but it's deeply unenjoyable. i unironically think kill la kill is a great anime. the private life of plants is probably the tv series i've seen the most times.

talking to you, talking to me by the watson twins is underappreciated and contains some of my favorite pieces of music. however, the only thing i've listened to lately is the rise and fall of ziggy stardust and the spiders from mars by david bowie because it's a castiel thesis to me.

passing by nella larsen is one of my favorite books ever, and when i first read it i had this free online version where you could actually turn the pages, i think it was this version. i think speaker for the dead is wildly underrated but feel vaguely guilty about recommending orson scott card. a bad book that has brought me a lot of joy lately is absolute friends by john le carre. as a kid i really like the underland chronicles by suzanne collins. a while ago i read the three body trilogy by liu cixin and while the second one dragged and was rather poorly translated, i enjoyed the first for its creativity, classic scifi feel, and understated spookiness, and i enjoyed the third for its dark camp and comparatively strongly drawn characters. even the second had acceptable elements, but mostly because i was tickled by the fact that it reminded me a little of the futurological congress by stanislaw lem.

i just finished relistening to the white vault, a horror podcast which i like a lot but am more ambivalent about now that i know the ending (it wasn't finished the first time i listened). if you hate horror, my favorite non-fiction podcast is you're wrong about.

my favorite source for horror short stories is the scp foundation, and here are some faves.

my favorite movie is alice (1988) dir. jan svankmajer, which is an adaptation of alice in wonderland. it's very much a childhood nostalgia watch for me, unbelievable as that might seem. here's a link, but this version is in czech with english subtitles, so you might have to scout around if you want the english version. not that this movie has much dialogue. a rather eclectic selection of other movies i've liked that i just thought of in the last ten minutes is bride of re-animator (1989), x-men (2000), d.e.b.s. (2004), mirrormask (2005), isolation (2005), the host (2006), hard revenge millie (2009), black swan (2010), excision (2012), the handmaiden (2016), and swallow (2019). my movie taste is probably the closest you'll get in terms of media recs that you might enjoy based on my blog, since i hate movies and can only be tempted to watch them if they cater to me. but also big trigger warnings for some of those lmao.

#asks #leatherat

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mittensmorgul · 2 years ago

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Is there any evidence that Kripke wanted supernatural to only go for 5 seasons? Fans keep saying that, and I'm wondering if there's truth to it. I've tried googling it, but I can't really find anything definite. I'm wondering if because it's been so long, any actual sources are buried by opinions

Hello! Sorry it took so long to reply to this, but I wanted to find actual sources for you, because there are a few :'D

Let's start back at the beginning, or even at a random theoretical point in time. A major goal for all television series that run on a roughly 22 episode per season schedule is to reach five seasons. Why? Because then they'll have over 100 episodes, which means they can become syndicated-- i.e. leased to other television networks to be rebroadcast. So getting at least five seasons is A Major Milestone for any tv series. Or at least it was back in the pre-streaming era. But that's when Supernatural began...

So of course Kripke always hoped the show would run AT LEAST five seasons. I don't think he ever hoped it would END after five seasons, necessarily.

Over the years, the way Kripke talked about the show, and his plans for the show, changed. I mean, when you look at his early drafts of the pilot script, it was for a completely different show, and the premise and underlying larger narratives evolved so much even during s1.

(if you haven't read the Harrison draft of the pilot, it's definitely worth a read. They weren't even called Winchester lol.)

Then there's the evolving way he talked about some mythical "five year plan," that I think forms the basis for a lot of folks who made the leap from that to "oh he meant ONLY five years." Because even the BASIS for that leap is already a massive leap that breaks reality.

There's always been people who talk about the first five seasons as if they were unassailable, "pure" canon because they were supposedly always Kripke's original story, which only became watered down after he left the series... which... there's like three massive holes in the theory right there.

First, Kripke did not leave after 5.22. He was still deeply involved with the show, and even WROTE THE S6 FINALE HIMSELF. So like... yes he was still involved with production. So right there, that theory's shot to hell. But wait, there's more!

This farcical notion that Kripke started the series with some grand "five year plan" with a perfectly plotted out story arc leading to a carefully calculated series finale that we experienced as 5.22... well you can throw that notion in the trash just by looking back at any interview Kripke ever did between s1-s4. But also this:

(that's a link, despite the fact it turned itself into whatever the heck that is...)

There is zero explanation for how s4-5's entire arc existed at all, when until they showed up to break s4, Kripke had been adamant that Supernatural would never have angels. Never. Until they'd been backed into a corner by the writer's strike during s3 and had no plans for how to get Dean out of Hell. Originally, Sam was supposed to have "gone darkside" and somehow used his demonic powers to save Dean from Hell, just as Ruby had been teasing during early s3. That plot got reworked into one of the main arcs of s4, with Sam eventually using those dark powers to kill Lilith and free Lucifer instead.

But this fact alone, which is documented in other places (I have a whole tag for Kripke with factual information that he's shared over the years), sort of disproves all chatter about some Grand Five Year Plan after which he wanted the series to end.

I have no idea who's saying he always planned for it to end after s5, but heck... I'd probably trust very little else about what they say about the show :'D

#kripke

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deanwasalwaysbi · 4 years ago

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I've gotta say, I find the concept of Bedlund trying to Ben-Hur Jensen absolutely hysterical. I'm just imagining Jensen getting a script and being like "Ben?? What's this? Is this gay? This seems gay????" and Ben just soothing him like a frightened horse.

Hahaha - Look it wouldn't be the first time. What is this verb we're working with? Okay. Strap in everyone. The Multi-Oscar-winning 1959 movie 'Ben Hur' had a bunch of gay subtext. The writer, the director, and the second lead actor all knew that Charlton Heston's character, Ben Hur, was gay. However, one person didn't find out until the 1990s: Charlton Heston. The consensus on set was "Don’t tell Charlton, because he’ll freak out." and when Heston found out in the ninties, freak out was exactly what he did. (x) [the movie may have gotten a reference from Misha back in season 6 (x)]

Whether this happened with Jensen on SPN depends on two things.

Was the character of Dean intentionally written as Bi and, if so, at what point did that become true?

Did anyone tell Jensen? Did he figure it out? if so, when?

I personally DO believe at this point, I really do, that Bedlund - Ben Hur'd Jensen. I think it was part of the writers room but not all of it, until it was. (Which RN I believe finally happened under Dabb.) I think Jensen wasn't in on it, until he was. So for me? I think he really was in the dark at one point. But at what point that changed? Probably only he can answer that question. and RN? He ain't talking.

In the meantime we can only look at things Jensen has said on the subject - Like this unbearably ambiguous GIF set from @nikadd. Was this tongue in cheek? Legitimate ignorance? You're killing me, Jensen. That cheeky lil smile, Jensen. Nvm - I'm going to kill you instead. It's for my own survival. No hard feelings right? You understand.

UH OH HERE COMES A CUT TO HIDE A LONG DERANGED POST...

We can look at the text for number 1 - and I do that uh - a lot - see the blog name #Dean Was Always Bi

For number 2 we can look over some points when we got clues from what Jensen thought was going on [regardless of whether they make sense based on his jacting or directorial choices I guess] and get left wondering whether at any point he felt pressured to lie for his career, for self protection, or to protect the narrative from the network:

2010 - 'We're missing the gay angel' (x) (Season 5 gag reel) (x) “Sorry man, not what the show’s about.” Jared: One of the good and bads about playing the straight [non-comedic] character on the show… Jensen: What wait? I’ve been playing him so wrong

2012 / S8 - Trenchcoat - Jensen talking about how sometimes they change the lines because they're way too gay. Calls Cas a third brother

2012 - "What's Destiel?" Ben Edlund: That’s some weird shit. Jensen: Is this something that you created, Ben? Ben: You don’t want any part of that.

“Don’t ruin it for everyone now” “I still don’t know what the question was. I’m going to pretend I don’t know what the question was.”

2013 @ JIB, re Dean’s reaction to Aaron’s flirting in the season 8 episode Everybody Hates Hitler, (x)

“And the scene wasn’t written to be that kind of - I mean - It was written to be awkward. Ben Edlund wrote the - my favorite line in that scene was ‘carry on . citizen’ that was - I almost couldn’t say that with a straight face I was laughing so hard. But it was - you know - it was comedy. It was a comedic moment in the show and fortunately Dean gets a lot of the comedic moments in the show and it was just, you know, Ben was poking fun at the fact that - you know, how can we make this very kind of manly, heterosexual guy uncomfortable - uh -you know, or or have him back on his heels and throw him off his game a little bit.”

The thing is - Bedlund and Phil Sgriccia made very clear on the commentary track that THEY saw this scene as a 'romantic comedy kind of fluster' "This potential for love in all places."

Ben Edlund calling the writer’s room a boy’s club in 2013 (x)

Misha Collins telling Destiel fans they aren’t Crazy in 2013 after some executives said they were (x).

2014 Jensen says he was glad there wasn’t much Dean and Cas in season 9 - HA Hah HAH (x)

“I think the whole Cas and Dean thing has gotten out of hand” “I don’t think there’s anything secret to their relationship even though a lot of people wish there was” REMINDER - that season we got the nightstands acknowledgement and “play him like a jilted lover” and the “he dumped me James” cut and -

I certainly know that Misha and I don’t play that. SIGH. they Ben Hur'd Jensen.

2014 - the fan fiction joke - 10.05

“I didn’t have a positive reaction, The first time in I think 200 scripts I went and sat down in the showrunners office and said, ‘What in god’s name are you doing?! Why? I need to understand why this is happening.’” “[Carver] gave very eloquent answers and did a great job of explaining why we were doing what we were doing, I guess I had been aware of this ‘fan fiction’ for a while and I felt like maybe if I ignored it, it would eventually go away. When I read it in the script that is what I do for a living and is my work—I’m very protective of these characters and the story and I think we have a right to be—I wasn’t angry. I just wanted to understand why and what was the message we were ultimately sending with this script and story. By the end of it, I felt good and it gave me all the confidence I needed. It was better than I could have ever hoped.”

But then there's Jensen in 2015 talking about all of Dean’s bromances. (x) [gifs at the top] Could go either way - starting to figure it out? or No?

What had changed if anything? the entire Crowely season 10 story line? This was July 2015 - the same day as the SDCC 2015 panel where Misha talked about Destiel (x @ 13) Carver and Dabb were there -

By this time Jensen and Misha were nominated for a teen choice award for best chemistry against various tv couples (and one ensemble cast, but the award nomination did NOT include Jared) .... Misha and Jensen would go on to WIN this award one month after the panel.

At the Panel Rob and Rich ask the question: “You two have branded yourselves as TV’s greatest team since, ... idk who.... Ernie and Bert so.” [Misha says to Jensen & Jared, half not on the microphone: “I really didn’t expect them to throw us under the bus.”] “are we going to see that continue? Is the Castiel Dean relationship still aflutter and still growing as we move into season 11?” Jeremy Carver: “Ish.” [mocking from panel ensues] “Yes. Of course. I mean Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. There’s no doubt.”

Jensen Directs 11x03 and the choreo mimics Goodbye stranger (x)

2016 - Jensen: Dean could have a huntress, but you’d kill her.

Jan 2017 Con the infamous - no hedge - harsh - “Destiel doesn’t exist.” (x)

I would hope that if he knew he wouldn’t have been so harsh with it. So by that point either he still didn’t know - OR - to him ‘Destiel’ was specifically about internet porn/sex and not like - the potential for feelings / a relationship. It makes me think about something Misha had actually said, around 2013, “It’s called ‘Destiel’ and it’s about the romantic interludes between Dean and Castiel.” (x)

2017 - jib8 Jensen called Dean a lover of the ladies

May 2017 - After filming the end of season 12:

2018 - Misha confirms he and Jensen have talked about Destiel (x) - also 2018: The Bisexual Dean essay "? No." (Oh god was this really this recent?! I can't deal with this.)

Well. SOMETHING happened in 2019. cuz here it comes

2019 - "Dean has no taste, clearly." 2019 - 'So, tell us just a little bit about what you're most excited to tackle with your character this final season.' "Cas. Just like a full football form tackle."

Look at this face he gave Dean when Cas told him he loved him and tell me he wasn't playing into it here. You can't. (x)

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annethepancake · 3 years ago

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Sherlock rant

I recently rewatched BBC Sherlock for Rupert Graves, and aside from the lack of Lestrade appreciation I have a lot of problems with this series. Here are my thoughts:

1. It was all a blur

My second first impression of the show: I don't remember anything but the characters. And some characters I just blatantly forgot, like Mary. And I loved Mary on my second watch! I really forgot that at one point John actually got married and I don't even remember when I watched the show for the first time. I can still recall most of HIMYM's events and I hated that series.

2. It’s overall not a detective/crime show

Watching Sherlock for the second time, I mostly turned off my brain and just let it play in the background because (1) there's hardly anything for me to solve with the characters, most clues are taken by Sherlock off-screen anyway (especially after season 2), (2) they focus way too much on the quirks of the characters that make it almost like a sitcom that got dragged on for way too long. A crime/detective show shouldn't allow me to turn off my brain.

3. The characters just kinda fall flat

Exploring the depth of human emotions is not a bad approach to a modernized version of anything, I’m not trying to pretend I’m better than someone who gets sentimental over fictional character (if you know my blog at all, you know I am not), but at least write good characters. Sherlock is hardly a multi-faceted person; in fact, he’s kinda like the Wattpad teen fic main character sometimes. He physically fights off some terrorists with a machete to save the damsel in distress? He gets high off his tits but still got everything right all the time? John is just kinda there for most of the cases. Jim is a poorly written antagonist. Irene is a lesbian but gets the hot for our main character, surprise surprise. The only interesting characters to me are the ones who act like normal people: Molly, Greg and Mary. They are the multi-faceted characters, ones who I can actually relate to without feeling inferior to them in any way. Write characters like them, stop trying to be smart about it and stop writing Wattpad fanfictions for Sir Conan Doyle’s original works.

I get that they try to make Sherlock more like a human with emotions, making him quirky and arrogant, then make him quirky and more likable. It’s hardly a convincing character development though. He’s given over-powered deduction skills, so edgy, so high and mighty all the time. When he is finally written as vulnerable, turns out he has plans for that too. I would love to see him get it wrong once and maybe get humbled by that mistake, but getting Mary shot and killed is hardly even his fault, he is only doing his job. And killing off Mary is overall a bad idea anyway.

4. They treated the fandom like shit

I was absolutely disgusted at the start of season 3 when the showrunners just straight up shat on their fans. I wasn't there with the fandom during the wait between season 2 and 3, but I believe it was a pretty long wait (2 years, I could barely wait 2 years for my comfort series, and they have like 10 episodes per season), and they were presented with the first actual mystery of the series: How did Sherlock survive the fall? After years of waiting and having fun theorizing, they were met with a mockumentary about them, starring the most hated character of the protagonist and the fans. Those are the people who actually cared about the show for god's sake. The fact that the showrunners treated fans like crap and there's still an active fandom for the show appalled me.

Now not only The Empty Hearse bugs me, but the entire show does as well.

Allow me to digress.

Doki Doki Literature Club is a great example of audience engagement done right (Sorry for using this example I’m not actually that invested in the other franchises). After the success of the first game, the story provoked so many fans into solving the mysteries of the characters, some of them went really, really far. And that’s because of the actual mysteries that the development team took effort to plant into the plot. There is actual pay-off for painstakingly following the clues; as far as I know, only two (2!) people in the world have come close to solving the mystery of the first game (or they actually did). The game developers value their fans and their intelligence enough to have planted those clues where they did, and it’s a genuine exchange between the fans and the creators. Now even though you haven’t actually played the game, when you hear of the name and you’re only kinda familiar with gaming (like me), you’ll probably know what it is. What started as a mere open-source game by an indie developer became a sensation which left millions of fans begging for more.

Looking back at Sherlock, there are tons of logical flaws for a self-proclaimed crime series, virtually no clues for the audience to solve crimes along with their favorite detective, and when there was actually a mystery (Sherlock jumped off the building), they plainly showed him alive and well minutes later. Do we really need to see things spelled on screen to know what’s going on? Are we supposed to accept that Sherlock Holmes is an all-knowing future-predicting genius now too? Not a great sign of respecting the audience there.

So far, the only thing left that’s interesting about this series is the characters’ dynamic. Which brings me to the next criticism I have for the show.

5. The plague that infested mainstream media

Why is there still an active fandom? Queerbaiting and targeted marketing.

Community marketing is proven to be one of the best marketing methods there is, if not the best, to lengthen the lifespan of a product or service. The way they do that for shows and films and video games is usually by planting seeds of possible lores and history inside the content. Look at Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, they are franchises that ran for multiple years with a ton of history and world building that provokes fans’ imagination.

Sherlock - well, Sherlock has sexually ambiguous men.

Sherlock has a formula for success. It was an adaptation of the most iconic detective novel in the world, funded by one of the biggest TV networks in the UK and possibly the world (don’t quote me on this). Making this series means you can appeal to such a wide group of audience even before airing. Adding in the quirky smart men who live together, you’ve basically guaranteed a prime-time show with millions of loyal fans all over the world.

Fans are not stupid, and queer people don't just find queerness everywhere they go. They know a gay subtext when they see one. Sherlock came back from the literal death for John, pretty gay if you ask me.

This show is very much not just about some guys being dudes solving crimes, they have relationship that’s deeper than friendship, and definitely not platonic. They deliberately wrote a sexually ambiguous Sherlock Holmes from the get-go - literally from the very first episode, then capitalized off of the targeted demographic, never a pay-off for their anticipation. Martin Freeman said in interviews that he could recognize Sherlock fans, them being generally women from 16 - 25. No shit Sherlock, this show targets them and capitalizes off of them, being quirky and gay as hell, of course the fanbase is generally 16 - 25 and female.

Sherlock queerbaited the fandom for years for the sake of marketing and there’s never a pay-off, nor was there any recognition to the community, and to add to all that bigotry, queercoding pretty much all of the villains? Why was a show aired in the 2010′s allowed to do this? Why did Mark Gatiss, an openly gay man, a writer of the show, allow this to happen? Why are millions of fans all over the world allowing all this to go on?!

6. Conclusion

Now I haven’t read the books yet, so I’m not at all qualified to criticize the adaptation quality of the TV series; I’m just talking about the TV series on its own. Despite my criticism, I think the first two seasons did quite okay. There are quite a few nice cases there, I like The Blind Banker and The Hound of Baskerville. They did those well because the focus was on the cases themselves, and the connection between John and Sherlock was only in the background. I, like many other fans, like to figure things out on my own, to read between the lines, and to not have things spelled out for me. With the next seasons bombarded with Sherlock and John bonding it seriously felt like mere fan service for me and even though I wasn’t there when the show was on, I still felt like I was robbed and my interest in the show was abused.

Sherlock is undoubtedly super influential in pop culture even now. It has to have done something right to be in that spot (capitalizing off loyal fans?). I’m not writing this rant to change someone’s mind about the series, by all means, I’m still gonna love the hell out of Gavin Lestrade, and absolutely lose my mind over Mary Watson. So do take my words with a grain of salt, I’m just disappointed that one of the most influential shows there is is just short of my expectations.

#sherlock #bbc sherlock #rant #criticism

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jadoue1999 · 4 years ago

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Wanda and the life she deserved (she’ll make sure of it) Chapter 9

Summary: This chapter is about Monica and why she wants to help Wanda so much. It also follows the post credit scene of episode 7 and a little of the finale.

Previous part: chapter 1, chapter 2 , chapter 3, chapter 4, chapter 5, chapter 6, chapter 7, chapter 8, chapter 9, chapter 10, chapter 11, epilogue

Chapter 9: Rambeau

Ever since her talk with Wanda, Monica was even more determined to help the woman. She had had her own painful experience after finding out her mother had lived two more years, only for her cancer to come back. It had taken her multiple days to really accept that she could have had more time with her, had the blip not happened. Also, adjusting to a universe that was five years ahead of her had been a challenge. Everything was different, not only culturally or technologically, but even in spots she had thought untouchable. Her favorite shop her and her mom used to go to escape the everyday stress of life was now gone. The owners were blipped, they had come back to find an empty lot that once contained their whole life. Monica, not one to dwell too much, decided that it would be better to move. Her apartment only served as a reminder that her mother truly was gone. Maria had probably wandered the same walls trying to convince herself that her daughter would come back only to succumb without finding out she was right all along. So, she had changed town, one closer to S.W.O.R.D. headquarters, that way, she could concentrate on more assignments. She had tried going to therapy, the world had offered counseling for those who came back. Monica had found it unfortunate that no one seemed to consider that some needed more than just talking out their feelings. As much as she understood why they limited their service to this, the entire world was grieving after all, she just wished there were more options.

She had instead focused on getting herself back together and forming a new world for herself. She had tried socializing, but every conversation eventually ended up talking about lost opportunities and the grief people or their loved one had endured. She bought books of the latest invention and discovery, trying to understand the world who moved on without her. She had eventually settled her finances with the bank, her position at S.W.O.R.D. gave her priority over the everyday citizens. She was part of the lucky ones, her mother’s hope had kept her from claiming her life insurance, which made things a lot easier since she didn’t have to restart her life with a debt. While she wasn’t at peace with what happened to her mother, she decided to come back to her work. She couldn’t take the days alone, being assaulted by advertisements about fake opportunities offered by scam artists looking to make quick money on the web.

So, after three weeks of trying to adjust in a grieving world, she was back at S.W.O.R.D. headquarters. She was then assigned to the Westview anomaly which opened a whole new world of weird. Being mind controlled by Wanda had been one of the strangest things she had ever experienced. She was expected to hate her once she had been pulled out; but she couldn’t bring herself to. The avenger wasn’t doing this out of hate, but out of grief. She had felt her pain, one that was so similar to her own. The whole experience only made her more certain of her future: she had to help Wanda Maximoff.

...

That’s why even after being clearly shown that Wanda didn’t want her help, she decided to stick around. Agnes was definitely suspicious; she knew Wanda was grieving and seemed to want to keep it that way. Luckily, Wanda’s brother had intervened. That was another thing, who was he? He wasn’t on the resident board and he definitely wasn’t the real Pietro; she had seen the footage of Ultron. They didn’t even look similar. Yet Wanda seemed determined to keep him at her side and he seemed convinced that they truly were twins. She felt for the man, the mind control of the town definitely wasn’t a pleasant experience.

There were whispers of newcomers on the base the same day she, Jimmy and Darcy had been kicked out. She didn’t have time to learn much, but Hayward didn’t like them. Then again, he didn’t like most people that wasn’t directly on his team or that obeyed him without questions. Still, their arrival had ruffled some feathers, the identification process was made even more of a priority. She guessed that they were part of the many agencies that dealt with insurance and were trying to prepare for the storm of paperwork coming after the Hex would be brought down. As far as she knew, the counseling offered only covered the effect of the blip, not the after effect of being mind controlled by a grieving avenger.

After being pushed away, Monica wasn’t sure where to go. She walked around aimlessly; last time she was in town it was the 70s. Now, the advertisements were different, and everyone were dressed in the 2010s. She had to admit how impressive it was that Wanda was able to rewrite reality like that. She saw Herb, or John Collins, according to the citizen chart. He was watering his backyard and taking care of his garden, something he’d been a fan of even when she was part of the town. She didn’t see many other of the ‘main cast’, but she did see a few couples. Still no children, like Vision had pointed out on the last episode she saw on the base. The Halloween one didn’t count since she missed most of it trying to hide on her own base. After about half an hour, she decided that Wanda had probably calmed down. She had to talk to her again, she had begun to form a connection, she knew she could make Wanda see reason. She walked over to her house, but soon realized that nobody was there. Instead of going after her, she decided to investigate Agnes’ house. She looked through the windows, but not much was happening. The TV was on, but no one was watching it. She went in the back, perhaps she could find clues there. After watching through the windows and still not finding anything, she spotted a cellar.

She walked over and examined the door before opening it. She found what looked like vines that escalated the walls. She could see them glowing a deep purple, probably had something to do with her newfound powers. They seemed to give her the ability to see energy field that surrounded her. She was about to step inside when she felt a sudden gush of air.

“Snoopers gonna snoop,” came a voice next to her.

She gasped as she took in the person. It was the man who was cast at Pietro, only, he seemed off. Like he was doing something he didn’t want to. Before she could ask him anything, he grabbed her arm and the back of her neck. In a blur, they were in the house. Nausea suddenly hit, she grabbed onto a nearby table to stabilize herself.

“Give it a few minutes, it’ll pass,” reassured the man. “Happens with everyone.”

“W-who are you?” She asked once her head had stopped spinning.

“I’m Pietro, I thought you knew that?” She stared at him; something was strange about him. He seemed so kind, why would he help Agnes?

“That’s not what I mean,” she started. “It might be hard, but the mind control usually let you access a few memories of your true identity. You just need to concentrate.”

The man looked at her with a confused look. Seeing that she wasn’t getting anywhere, she tried running out of the room, but he stopped her only a few steps away from the window. He put a hand in front of him, with one finger, she was catapulted back onto the couch. The force of the impact knocked the breath out of her.

The man looked at Monica, “I’m sorry, I can’t let you out of here. T-the witch, whatever she is, she has my nephews. I have to keep you here or they get hurt.”

She smiled at his comment, relieved he wasn’t just another villain. “You truly care about them, don’t you?”

The man turned to look outside the empty street before answering, “of course, they’re family.”

“You truly can’t remember?” Monica looked at Pietro, who once again looked confused at her questions. “Nothing here is real, Wanda is giving everyone fake identity, giving them roles to fill. You’re no different.”

“What? Of course not, Wanda’s not like that.”

“Please, think about your life before Westview. Pietro Maximoff died; how can you be here if you were killed?”

“I-I,” He stammered. His confusion was a good sign, he was starting to wake up. He looked at her once again. “Look, I know my sister, she wouldn’t-“

Suddenly, his necklace glowed a scarlet red and his eyes glazed over. He looked disoriented for a second before shaking his head. “I’m sorry, I can’t let you out, my family’s lives are on the line.”

Monica didn’t react to what he said, she was all too focused on the necklace. What was it? It seemed to be controlling him, but what could the jewelry piece do that the Hex couldn’t?

She reached for it but stopped as the man backed off. Realizing how rude she was being, she cleared her throat, “may I?” Hesitantly, the man nodded yes. As she was about to touch it, it glowed red and sent a burning sensation through her hand. She gasped and put her hand in a fist, “I’m sorry, I can’t remove it. Do you remember when you got it?”

He seemed lost in thoughts for a moment before shaking his head, “I’ve just always had it.”

Monica had more questions but screams in the street made them both turn towards the window. Agnes was somehow floating in the air, holding both of the boys with a magical rope. She saw Pietro disappear, only to reappear a second later.

“I can’t get out, there’s a sort of barrier keeping me from leaving.”

She quickly got down the stairs, she was surprised he let her go, considering that his nephews’ life was on the line. She supposed the real threat compared to possible one was a good enough reason. She opened the front door, only to come crashing into a purple barrier. She put her hands on it, it felt strange, it was like... an energy field. She knew she could get rid of it, but she didn’t know how.

“So,” said Pietro, appearing beside her, “how to we get out? Considering we can’t even see the barrier.”

She pushed against it once again, the magic bending to the force but not letting them pass. “I can see it, but I don’t know how to break it.”

They both contemplated their options, but they couldn’t think of many. That is, until Pietro spoke up. “What... what if you synced your powers with the frequency of the barrier?” His eyes seemed slightly foggy, like he was remembering something from long ago. “You keep your hands there, and you concentrate as much as you can. You can match the strength, and slowly increase it until it becomes too much, and it breaks.”

She did as he told her, feeling her way through. Her fingers began to slightly vibrate, increasingly speeding up as her fingertips began to glow blue. After a few seconds, the barrier shattered, and they were free to go. She turned to the man, both surprised and excited that it had worked. “How did you know that would work?”

The man shrugged, “I think I did it once... on glass? Not sure but I definitely remember using this technique.”

She nodded and they ran to Wanda, Agnes, and the twins. The final battle was ready to begin.

...

Notes: So, we are close to the end! I promise that we will be back to Wanda's point of view after this one, I simply thought more context on Monica couldn't hurt. Also, she doesn't remove the necklace, I figured that if someone had to remove it, in the context of my story at least, it has to be Wanda. Props to those who understood the days of future past reference! Thanks for reading, reviews are appreciated!

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rotzaprachim · 4 years ago

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hi! sorry if this is random, but you're constantly churning out pages-long post about soc and the grishaverse and so i figured you'd be the right person to ask; as someone that wants to watch both the tv show and the read the books, which do you think i should do first? (oh, and from what i can tell there are two different grishaverse collections? so the question extends to what with what collection should i start first) thank you 😁 and btw i love your (kind of meaningless to me bc i understand 10% of it) posts about the show/books, keep at it 💙

AHHHH thank you so so much, i'm glad my posts have sparked an interest as SOC really is my book series of all time AND i think the show is pretty good too! my personal suggested reading and watch order is

a) six of crows duology- these books are just fantastic and while they're too good to be ruined or spoiled in a line or so one of the things that makes them so good is the release of information in the heist! the show follows some different adaptative routes that either hint or spoil things in the duology even if the main A plot of SOC hasn't started yet, so i'd really recommend reading these first (these books are six of crows and crooked kingdom)

b) the show! - as an adaptation, i think it's pretty good! for me there was a wierd levelling effect that while i think stuff i LOVED in the soc duology got a little less sharp and interesting in the show, stuff i found quite boring in the grisha trilogy show was massively improved upon in the show especially with the charm of some of the actors. it's good and it's one season! i wouldn't worry about understanding the show without reading the grisha trilogy, because while SOC is in parts massively adapted, the grisha trilogy plotline is copied almost exactly from the book, made more logical, and deeply enriched. (thank you jessie mei li and archie renaux especially!) (this is one season, eight 40 minute episodes, on netflix)

c) IF you like it. THe grisha trilogy. this was the first series Leigh wrote and it's... interesting. it's very much a freshman attempt and while i think there IS some interesting content in here i think the show really expanded on those threads in more fleshed out ways, while this remains a bog standard very very bland 2010's ya series. i slammed through two books on a plane journey it's a fast read but not a great one (these are shadow and bone, siege and storm, and ruin and rising). expect love triangles and purple writing

d) (moving up to C honestly) - supplementary materials- the language of thorns book is not essential! but it is fun. there's on one saints coming out i think?

hope this is helpful! i'm really glad you like the grishaverse content it's one of my favorite fandom things to talk about and if you have any other questions just let me know!

#these are my OPINIONS my OPINIONS #grishaverse #shadow and bone #six of crows

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goatsandgangsters · 4 years ago

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I want to hear your mental thesis on why GOT ruined television because I agree.

OH THIS IS EMBARRASSING, I GOT YOUR ASK, I IMMEDIATELY WROTE A RESPONSE LAST FRIDAY, AND THEN I.............. left it in a word doc and forgot I never posted it. SORRY

So for onlookers, this is in reference to my tags on this post, on how capitalism has resulted in our current TV landscape where TV shows are constantly getting cancelled (specifically in a Netflix context). But I have a little pet thesis about how Game of Thrones contributed to this trend and really shaped what the current TV landscape looks like

With the caveat that I have nothing concrete to back this up—I haven’t looked extensively at numbers or data, I haven’t read any specific analysis on this, I don’t work in the media or any media-adjacent field—and I am basing my claims totally on observations and vibes

Game of Thrones was unprecedentedly successful in a way that set the bar for TV networks who suddenly realized TV shows could be immensely profitable. Game of Thrones certainly didn’t invent the concept of prestige TV, but it aired in a period of time where there was a lot of good quality television. In the late 2000s and early 2010s, we were seeing a cultural conversation about the “golden age of TV” and how TV could actually be good, after a long period where the film was viewed as “art” and television was viewed as “entertainment.” Suddenly, that was changing. There was more recognition of the artistic and storytelling merits of television. Shows like Breaking Bad and Mad Men were acclaimed. The conversation was shifting. Game of Thrones was born into this golden age and it was at first another show that shifted the perception of television towards a cultural cornerstone that would be taken seriously.

But then Game of Thrones got BIG. I mean, BIG. It was everywhere. It was so popular. Everyone was talking about it! Everyone needed HBO so they could watch it! Don’t spoil me, I missed last night’s episode! Game of Thrones in your meeting on Monday morning. “Hey, have you heard of Game of Thrones?” “I just started watching Game of Thrones, I’m obsessed!” “I binged all three seasons last night, I can’t wait for the next season!” Okay, I did look up some data. Game of Thrones earned BILLIONS OF DOLLARS. Billions! Not millions, BILLIONS! PLURAL! Your friends were all watching Game of Throne! Your professor was watching Game of Thrones! Your dad watches Game of Thrones! Your boss watches Game of Thrones! Everyone watches Game of Thrones! Everyone talks about Game of Thrones! Game of Thrones makes MONEY, MONEY, MONEY!

And without getting into any discussion of the quality of Game of Thrones, because quality is secondary here to hype and money-making potential, suddenly TV shows aren’t just capable of being good like movies. They’re capable of MAKING SERIOUS MONEY. Everyone wants a Game of Thrones! Everyone wants a cash cow like that! But an enormous cash cow that brings in 13 million viewers for one episode alone and makes billions of dollars—those don’t come along every day (especially as we have more and more channels and streaming services and options pumping out content and flooding the TV market to the point where you don’t even know what new shows are out there because there’s just so many). But networks still want that cash cow. So they premiere a show. It does well, it makes some profit, a good number of people watch it. They cancel it. They premiere a show. It does well, it makes some profit, a good number of people watch it. No, cancel it! We want Game of Thrones! We want millions of viewers! We want all the money! Instead of putting money into additional seasons of a reliable show that has steady ratings, steady viewership, and makes more money than it cost to produce (i.e. profit), it seems like networks and streaming services are throwing as many shows as possible at the wall to see what sticks—and cancelling anything that doesn’t immediately have promise as The Next Big Thing, The Next Game of Thrones.

Of course, there are exceptions, as there are with everything. Plenty of shows before this time period were cut down in their prime after only a season or two, like Pushing Daisies. But on the other hand… Remember how much people TALKED about Firefly? I mean, they couldn’t believe it! They cancelled Firefly after only ONE season! Justice for Firefly! Can you believe that, only ONE season? It seemed like such a shocker. Nowadays if you recommend a really good show to me and say it was cancelled after only two seasons, I go “ah, another one huh? That’s a shame.”

And of course there are plenty of other factors as well for the constant death of shows, not all of which are about Game of Thrones. First of all, there’s more of them, overall, everywhere, on every network. So naturally, there will be more cancellations. Again, I don’t have the numbers to tell you if it’s proportionate. We also know that Netflix—which doesn’t rely on advertising but on subscriptions—leans on the premiere-and-cancel model, since they claim that new shows bring in new viewership to watch releases, whereas apparently later seasons of shows (apart from the BIG hype-trains like Stranger Things) don’t bring in the kind of cash and numbers they’re after. Plus, the longer a show airs, the more likely you’re going to have to give raises to the writers, actors, and everyone else working behind the scenes. You don’t have to increase their pay if you cancel their show.

It’s part of the overall trend of capitalism—ever-expanding and ever-increasing profits, constantly looking for things to cut and curtail to achieve them. It’s incredible to think back on shows of similar genre (drama and SF/F; I’m not getting into things like comedies which feel like they operate differently) and similar levels of cultural popularity and compare those shows to the television landscape today. Lost had six seasons with anywhere from 14–25 episodes per season. Buffy had seven seasons, plus five seasons of a spin-off, with 22 episodes per season from season 2 onwards. That seems unimaginable today. Of course, longer seasons (and MORE seasons) are not always better. The phrase “jumping the shark” exists for a reason and originated with the show Happy Days—and many other shows have dragged on past their endpoint, past when the story was finished, and continued beating a dead horse.

So shorter seasons can be a good thing! A tight few seasons of a show can be a wonderful opportunity to tell a complete story with a tight narrative and end in a satisfying way! I much prefer this to shows that drag on to the point where they become a chore to watch. That sweet spot is hard to hit—but it seems like the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction where shows don’t jump the shark because they don’t live long enough to have the opportunity.

Except Game of Thrones. Which did jump a shark. And then several more.

#runn0ft #thank you for the opportunity to Share My Opinions #I have a lot of opinions but I'm like a vampire and I need to be specifically invited inside to share them #also again PET THESIS: NO EXPERTISE JUST OBSERVATION AND OCCASIONAL SPRINKLING OF NUMBERS

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