#they left important dialogues or scenes in tho so at least that!

[yensunflowers]

watched first episode of the nier automata anime and hmmmm..... i have opinions (all in tags)

[sammansonn]

my thoughts on dead boy detectives season 1

- the season should have had more episodes we should’ve had more time for characters to develop connections and do a deeper dive into the intimacies of charles and edwin’s friendship

- the special effects were slay at times the pain wraith and the angler fish very very cool

- hate hate hate the romance between crystal and charles actually the biggest problem I have with the show even more than the occasionally shit dialogue (which at least did get better as the season progressed)

- devastated that we won’t have cat king in season 2 he deserves to be forever hope he comes back somehow which his relationship with edwin was again tied up with a perfect bow but ig they just wanted to end his arc here I just think he’s an interesting enough character that they could’ve kept him and his toying of edwin going longer

- the genre of this show was baffling and sometimes too harsh of a shift between scenes

- very funny tho aces on the comedy front they were funny guys

- niko and edwin were SoulMates they were the definition of mlm and wlw solidarity and they were the most important relationship of all

- really though niko and crystal would be a thing big bummer on that side

- still wished edwin hadn’t already confessed his feelings so quickly I want more secret pining!! the not wanting to say anything in fear of ruining your friendship!! like yes it was a very healthy and endearing scene and I love that at the end of the day they’re still best friends but wish that had gone different

- in a perfect world they would’ve gotten at least 15 episodes to flesh out the world and story at a slower pace and season 1 could be about edwin discovering he’s into boys while season 2 can then be about his Specific boy things just felt too rushed at times (and I know part of that is the limitations placed on the showrunners very limited episodes and you have to conclude your season satisfyingly enough due to the high possibility that you don’t get another season so I Get making the ending like that and having all these boxes checked off so if there is a season 2 you can make new boxes to check but some boxes need to be left unchecked!!! at least for a bit everything just felt too perfectly tied up with a bow I would’ve liked to see less of a resolution in regards to the afterlife catching them don’t love that after 30 years they only now get the Perfect solution to their existence)

- want more magic from edwin!!! let him be cool and powerful and scary!!!

- overall though I did have a very good time and all the aspects I didnt like make sense in a way I just don’t like em

- still thinking about those clowns in the first episode what the fuck was that about

[nightrae13]

I'm still on Neverland after the Wendy Bird Fell, so no wonder I ended up grieving again my lost OTP and fav character

Rewatching the Tinker Bell films with my 4-year old cousin (Lydia really hit it home lol), and I keep on thinking how this franchise was my first exposure to mix signals (I mean, not just in shipping, but in general), with how they kept on implying Terence and Tink's romance, but not fully committing to it until it was unfortunately cancelled... like c'mon right? You had Rosetta and Queen Clarion have cute scenes with their boyfriends, but Terence did not even speak. My inner ten-year old self is still angsty about this ship baiting. If y'all just want a representation of girl and boy just being friends, Tink with Clank and Bobble is right there! Ship what you want, but Terence was obviously framed as the love interest, and then they just did nothing with it!

Terence went from having these cute special scenes highlighting his bond with Tinker Bell since the first film, to a background character who doesn't even exchange a line or share a frame with his apparent (to the very least) best friend; Look, he was barely in GFR, but he was the first and last character Tinker Bell spoke to in that movie, and was part of the squad hanging out in the end; his presence and absence were addressed properly with respect to his character and relationship with Tink.

Afterwards... he was just there for a little fanservice in a few seconds. They started the mix signals or ship baiting by SotW when Tink looked at him at the start, and how Peri asked her about them (where she did not even deny if they're dating), yet Terence was with less than a minute screen-time and no spoken dialogue. It's just sad yk (Jesse McCartney was still credited tho lol).

I get that they had to expand the stories and characters somewhere else and he was really too kind of a character who already solved his conflict with the mc (where I think many could see as a mary-sue even tho he had his flaws and fights with Tink), but as the very least, bff character, he was just sadly overlooked. Like, why is he barely there in Pirate Fairy?? The whole movie revolving around his best friend literally is about his expertise lmaoo The writers had to throw away an already established talented dust-keeper fairy just for the plot they wanted like how they did with the concept of winter fairies in SotW.

In the end, maybe some people just don't like or care about him (which is sad, bc how could you not??), or/and the writers just wanted to focus on the girl group (or maybe Jesse's talent fee is too big who knows? haha) ... I mean, it's still good they left it open-ended, so people can ship and interpret it however they want (no wrong with that esp. since the franchise is towards a younger audience and promotes friendships more). My disappointment just mainly comes from the erasure of Terence's importance in the later films. They could have just done what GFR did; he's just a supporting character, but he was still treated as one of Tink's friends. He didn't deserve being shoved aside especially as one of the fairies who originated from the books, and her best friend.

Now, excuse me if I'll watch Lost Treasure for the nth time.

[seduceme-lovestruck-thearcana]

@megatraven

I was going to put this in your ask box bc I didn’t intend for it to be long….but it is and I have to put it as it’s own post lol.

So Do you remember the Hercules song fic of “Love Me I Beg” and breakdown for how it fits him? If not here it is again. When I made that post, I was thinking of doing a fic for Hercules and MC friendship and everything that I mentioned…but it’s not coming together properly. The only part I have done, which I thought would be nice to share, is a scene where MC and him are arguing about something he did or said. Like how he believes he himself is not as great as others bc he’s a demigod (even tho he doesn’t say it directly like that bc of pride and he has to be a Man and can’t be emotional) and MC will not stand for it. She may not like him very much, but she sees the person in him (though it’s difficult to) and she sees the insecurity and she hates how it contorts him and hurts him and others. His own feelings hurt others around him, whether he truly believes that or not or doesn’t even realize it.

They get into the argument of MC saying he shouldn’t hate on humans or monsters bc he sees them as different and ‘weak’, because he’s just been raised to see things that way and has this insecurity fueled by the others around him for millennia. He can change and be different and can alter his view and be better. But he keeps arguing on and on, and at some point I have the dialogue of MC getting fed up and pushed past her kindness saying,

“I don’t see a hero in you, all I see is a MONSTER!”

And then she leaves him with that slap in the face. Not physical…though I have considered it to happen to stand as a waking up call. But anyways it hits him hard mainly bc he’s all about taking auras and has taken monsters’ aura (and she knows about this. In this AU I see her being close friends with basically everyone so she knows the stories) but he understands she’s not talking about a monster, but a MONSTER MONSTER. An evil creature, and not a Hero he believes he is. At least, in my head Hercules sees himself as that because isn’t he Zeus’s hero? Like in literal terms like how Nyela was Aphrodite’s hero, isn’t Hercules Zeus’s hero? If not, then let’s pretend he is lol.

Anyways, it really hits him and makes him think of how he’s been raised. AND the other really hitting dialogue that makes him mad (but also really think™️ about things) is MC literally saying, “Your family has failed you,” bc she sees his opinions, learns more about the gods’ views from him, and begins to see the turmoil and problems he has and the harshness and ugliness of the gods and and see the awful ways he was raised and she can’t help but compare it to how her mother was so loving and accepting and encouraging and how his family SHOULD be like that and AGH. MC may not like him, but she wants to help. But she also is like “and I mean if you could give the auras back…” since she loves the monsters in my AU lol.

But, yeah, I just have these two pieces of dialogue (and a few others if you’d like to hear about them) and kinda ideas for them. That I need to write one day bc it’s one of the thoughts in my head constantly and I need to get it out😭.

And I also hope you enjoy your vacation Meg💙. You deserve it🥺💙💙💙💙.

And side note that’s not too important: Eros is the one MC vents to bc he’s a worm that hasn’t left my mind yet so rn he’s the romance for me. Those fics for him I mentioned I AM working on as well lmao.

[kenobihater]

so, uh... netflix avatar certainly is a show, huh? i just finished episode 1 and i'm gonna ramble on about it below. blacklist "#len watches natla" or "natla spoilers" if you either don't wanna see this shit or you don't want spoilers.

fair warning that i was relatively neutral going into the show, but episode 1 was... hmm. i'm still struggling to formulate words on it. i didn't love it, but it wasn't shyamalan levels of bad by any means. i'm gonna hop right into episode 2 after this post bc i've heard the pilot and the finale are the weakest episodes and i genuinely wanna give it a fair chance before i cast judgment.

so, they open with the air nomad genocide. i knew this going in, but it certainly sets a Tone, a Tone that does NOT feel like avatar. like, i understand they wanted to elevate the level of maturity a bit and make things more serious, but was it rlly necessary to see a shit ton of air nomads get fireballed to death, culminating in gyatso getting burned alive trying to protect a room of children, who also presumably get incinerated?? they didn't show that part, instead doing a hard cut to katara waterbending a century later (resulting in EXTREME whiplash for me), but them violently dying is the only way that ends.

also, minor quibble: the firebending looked normal to me, but the general who killed gyatso said smthn like "you might have beaten me any other day, but today we have the power of the comet!" but their bending doesn't look very different from zuko's bending later? it's a little more flamey ig, but in s3 when ozai gets juiced up the motherfucker is out here destroying whole forests from his airship.

onto the acting. gordon cormier's portrayal felt a little too rehearsed and theatrical rather than natural, but he's a kid and acting is hard so i'm def gonna cut him some slack, and he does seem pretty happy and earnest, even if his delivery is a bit forced. kiawentiio tarbell is pretty good, but her dialogue left a bit to be desired, which isn't on her and i'll complain about later. ian ousley gave the best performance imo, tho ymmv bc ik there's some controversy around his heritage that i don't feel i have the right to get into due to tribal registration being a complex topic, blood quantum being awful, and me being white. gran gran was barely there and just exposited everywhere in a weird callback to the og intro, so i don't really feel like she's that important even tho i liked her casting. uncle iroh... i'm not sure. he wasn't too prevalent, which is understandable this early on. i liked paul sun-hyung lee's warmth, but don't have much to say otherwise yet. and then there's dallas james liu. i think his acting was pretty solid, at least on the level of dev patel's performance (which i swear is a compliment bc he was the only good part of shyamalan's dumpster fire of a film imo). i think the issue i have with the performance is down to the writing, which i guess i'll get into now bc it's my biggest issue with episode 1.

the dialogue flow was mid, and there was a bit of info dumping from gyatso in his scene with aang which i found distracting. speaking of info dumping, gran gran was just kinda there to explain the last hundred yrs to aang and then have zero interactions with her grandchildren before they flew off, which was dumb.

still on the topic of writing: i mentioned the tone set by the opener, and i think that's bad, but it also fucked up the pacing by not starting at the same point the og did. by the end of the episode they shoehorned in the trip to the southern air temple with like 11 mins left (i checked) and so that made aang's grief triggering the avatar state feel rushed. i also thought the flashback to gyatso's earlier dialogue when aang saw his corpse was unnecessary. like bitch, i watched that 30 mins ago, i remember it fine! by the end, aang seemed waaaay more driven than he did in s1 of the original, almost as self-confident as he was in s3. like, he accepted being the avatar real quick. i'm pretty sure he'll display a bit more uncertainty later in the season (at least, i hope he does), but that still felt off to me.

my biggest complaint about the writing is zuko. i KNOW he's a brat, i am well aware of that as a lifelong zuko girlie, but was him trying to kill sokka necessary??? he was literally about to throw a fireball at him when he was lying defeated in the snow before aang stepped in. he also commanded his soldiers to burn the village to the ground at one point. i understand he's a villain and that they're attempting to corner the Prestige TV market here, so they've decided to make him grittier. i don't like it, though. in the cartoon, zuko is driven in his awful quest, but he's also honorable - in the village he nods his head in agreement when aang asks if he'll leave the village alone if aang goes with him. that little moment showed his honor, his true honor, peeking through. also in the cartoon, he's really bad at finding the avatar despite being very skilled in combat. i don't know how they're gonna have him show up very much in this season if he's gonna be more of a ruthless asshole tbh.

overall, i'm left just kinda confused with the tone and character writing of the show. i'm going to watch the whole season because it's only 8 episodes and i genuinely hope it improves somewhat, but i'd give it either a 6 or a 6.5/10, i can't quite decide.

[rice-pudding-slaps]

are you researching about pinochet's dictatorship in general, or a specific topic? It makes me sad but I'm thinking about also researching about it

Hi anon! I'm doing my thesis on Retablo de Yumbel, a play by Isidora Aguirre that talks about the Laja Massacre on 1973 under Pinochet's dictatorship. Sadly most of my sources are in Spanish, but the Rememberance and Human Rights Museum in Chile has an english page with first hand testimony and research on the topic from the 60s to present time.

If you want sources as in books, I can recommend Gabriel Salazar's books on the more historical side. But I am a literature major, and the topics that I have a special interest in are the remembrance and narratives around it, so my recommendations go more by that side

In books that are more "tellings" or fictions "Tengo miedo, Torero" (I'm afraid, my bullfighter) by Pedro Lemebel not only sheds light on the dictatorship by itself, but also on queer issues. Isabel Allende's "House of spirits" is absolutely translated and you *should* read her books. Nona Fernández's "La dimensión desconocida" (Unkown dimension) and "Space Invaders" are two of the more recognized modern books on the topic, which are fairly recent and are translated! So give them a read

If you want outright testimony "Tejas Verdes: diario de un campo de concentración en Chile" (Tejas Verdes: Diary of a concentration camp in Chile) by Hernán Valdés tells his own experience in the detention camp. Is the first testimony book about the time published in Chile and you'll find a lot of important stuff in there. Also books like "Amor, te sigo esperando" (My love, I still wait for you) is a new one about mothers and widows that are still looking for their loved ones who disappeared.

If you want theatre, Retablo de Yumbel is one of my favorite plays ever, but also "Los que van quedando en el camino" (The ones that were left behind on the road) also from Isidora Aguirre. Nona Fernández's "Liceo de Niñas" (Girl's High School), Ariel Dorfman's "La muerte y la doncella" (The death and the lady) (This one is noy only tranlsated but presented around the world. You can absolutely find a copy), and Marco Antonio de la Parra's "La puta madre" (Mother whore) are good reads, but I don't know if they're translated. Also I can recommend Juan Radrigán's work, and Jorge Díaz's.

If you want poetry, Raúl Zurita, Damiela Eltit, Nicanor Parra and Víctor Jara. I'm not much of a poetry guy, but I bet you can find a lot of their work translated.

If you look for art, the obligatory one is Miguel Lawner's "Venceremos!: Dos años en los campod de concentración de Chile" (We will win!: Two years in the concentration camps in Chile) which I know for a fact is translated to at least english and portuguese; those are the drawings that represent different scenes on Dawson Island and other camps were Lawner was. You can also look at the Rememberance and Human Rights museum in Chile with a pretty complete collection of art, both in the recognized art world and clandestine and domestic world.

If you're looking for movies, I think "NO" by Pablo Larraín is a very good watch that talks about the end of the dictatorship. Also "1976" by Manuella Martelli. Honorary mention to "Bear Story" by Gabriel Osorio for being a short film with no dialogue that also tackles the topic.

Also shot out to the series "Los 80" (The 80s), which is a chilean soap opera about a middle class family living through the dictatorship and everything that ensues. It's on Amazon Prime, tho I don't know if it's translated.

If you're looking for documentaries, I think "Colonia dignidad: Una secta alemana en el sur de Chile" (Dignidad Colony: A german cult in the south of Chile) is a very good watch. It's on Netflix and completely in english. Also "ReMastered: Massacre in the National Stadium", also on Netflix, talks about the murder of Víctor Jara (Tho there's new developments on the case). But the ultimate ones are everything that Patricio Guzmán ever did. "La Batalla de Chile" (Chile's battle) a series of 3 documentaries that tell the story of the country between 1972 and 1973 on the historical front. In the remembrance front he has "El botón de nácar" (The nacre button) about Villa Grimaldi and the Death Flights and "Nostalgia for the Light" about the Atacama desert, the concentration camp there and other searchings that were done there.

I hope this helps a bit to start. Sorry if I went a little bit overboard, and I do wish you the best researching the topic. These are all off the top of my head so I definitely forgot some important ones lol

[kyogre-blue]

Started a low effort playthrough of 3H Golden Deer. I actually played part of Blue Lions a year? two years? ago and got up to the month where you choose the dancer, but then just kind of put it down and didn't touch it again.

This time, I'm going to play the least emotionally involved route (or so I hear) with the least politicking, no talking to NPCs, no looking up anything about anyone's optimal builds, minimal grinding, keeping the recruiting down. Hopefully, I'll be able to get through it this way.

So far, without the personal connection the Blue Lions had to the missions, the story slants much more toward the mythological aspect, with a side of "Claude is kind of sus, what's his deal."

The progression of lore is actually pretty clean and direct. Red Canyon is a long term mystery, then we see a Relic for the first time (via Catheryne), then we get our super-Relic (Sword of the Creator), then Nemesis is introduced and our Crest of Flames, then we find out that Relics have a dark side (turning people into Black Beasts).

It holds together pretty well as a fantasy adventure kind of story, so far.

However, it does run into the flipside - (non-Avatar) characters aside from Claude and maybe Lorenz feels entirely disconnected from the storyline. Every time we get a whole class group discussion about things, it's very... awkward, because these characters were dumped on you en masse from the very start, and none of them know each OR have anything to contribute. Even once you start getting their supports, they're largely so low-stakes and simple that they don't feel like they explain the class being adjacent to the Relics and Church storyline.

Additionally, it's not immediately noticeable if you're not keeping track, but the fact that we go to the Kingdom twice is weird. We don't go to Alliance (so far), we don't go to Empire... you're just arbitrarily leaving out two thirds of the continent, including your team's homeland.

And at the same time, the more Blue Lions related aspects weren't removed from the quests entirely. Catheryne name drops the Tragedy of Duscur in a way that is very specific and too detailed for an event that's nearly irrelevant for this route. It's good in Blue because you'll be hearing about Duscur a lot from supports and such, but on Gold? You hear about Almyra, but Duscur is just a mystery noun that feels important and yet isn't. Same for stuff like the Miklan chapter being named "The Gautier Inheritance" when you're quite likely not even keeping track of what Gautier even is, or him not having a Crest coming up out of left field depending on your dialogue choices (since you're not told why he was disowned unless you picked that option).

Even Edelgard becomes a weird kind of existence that isn't really present until she suddenly barges into a scene between Claude and Byleth, where she... really just serves a ham-fisted segue into listing off all the ways Claude is sus and him dropping on you that he has a totally selfless dream, promise.

The route format of 3H is really... it's just not great.

Minor notes I took while playing, nothing interesting:

Year 91 "do you remember the Red Canyon"

"you took everything I loved" lol what about your other siblings?

birthday day 25 of moon 12 lol

chose "dreamed of a girl", Jeralt says he doesn't recognize her, this is a recurring dream, which Byleth has told him about, wonder what he says if you choose you dreamed about a war

Jeralt doesn't know Seteth, wonder why

Jeralt tells Rhea that Byleth was born many years after he left the monastery. Presumably Byleth saying they don't know their age is to facilitate this lie.

the fact that you choose a house so early is sending me

three way battle is intended to gauge current progress... But presumably this refers to their starting level, since they haven't even been assigned teachers yet

tbh this game is kinda disappointing visually

voice acting is good tho

the houses are explicitly "for students of X nation" which makes the cross-house recruiting so ridiculous...

unlike holy blood in Genealogy or Awakening, Crests don't seem to have a physical mark on bearers. Hanneman uses a machine to check its shape and doesn't ask about any birthmarks

I saw a windmill in a panning shot, but I can't see it while exploring :(

"I had a bunch of other schemes too" other schemes?? You didn't do even one scheme, Claude

the announcer on the chapter namecards and the new month images is uh... I can't say it does much does much for me

sothis music is cool

why was Zanado renamed to Red Canyon, Claude wonders, it's not very red L M A O

For Lonato's mission, we're only handling the "aftermath" when the bulk of the fighting has already been done by the Knights of Seiros

Tragedy of Duscur was 4 years ago. There were accomplices within the Kingdom and one of them was Christopher, Lonato's son. The Church passed down judgement on in place of the Kingdom, which was in chaos. Supposedly. (This won't really matter on GD, I guess)

some soldiers slipped past the knights using the fog

Claude was only recognized as Riegan heir a year ago.

Rhea is admittedly sus about "I hope the students learn not to fuck with the church" but I've heard Things about localization changes, so I wonder if this was there in the JP script too.

The tone of the deer group discussions tho...

Hilda's brother beat "Nader the Undefeated" and Claude claims (unclear if true) that Almyra has been keeping quiet recently because they're wary of him.

Ignatz's family has received the patronage of House Gloucester

The Relics glow red when used by someone with a compatible Crest.

The Flame Emperor, at minimum, knows that the Crest Stones set in the weapons are part of their power, but I'm not sure if normal nobles do. Like, has a relic ever had the Crest Stone removed?

Nemesis was the King of Liberation. Weird that they let him keep such a positive sounding title, though I guess they're selling it as him being originally worthy of being given the goddess's power.

It's kind of implied he might have a bloodline (aka descendants) but we don't actually see any, right? I guess it's just an excuse for why Byleth can use the sword.

It's been more than a thousand years since he got his ass handed to him.

Fodlan was attacked by "wicked gods" lol

Rhea hasn't explained anything about Byleth to Seteth. Which is... a choice. Does she think he won't approve of her mom necromancy attempts

Sothis says the sword feels distinct from "other Relics we've seen" GIRL we've seen ONE

Claude "finally found" the sword... so he was looking for it?? He wanted to use it?!

Judith out of nowhere

This is very funny because Claude previously said his grandfather is disgustingly healthy. 4shadowing... OR--

Byleth's crest is too... big?? to be analyzed like other crests

students do the grocery shopping, cleaning at least some common areas... These are noble kids tho.

Raphael and Ignatz have known each other since they were kids. Notable that I think they're the only ones with history in GD

Hilda and Leonie C rank... Hilda complains about organizing the library, background is the woods. Something here is not right.

Claude is very interested that Miklan had been using the Lance without a Crest.... Which is very funny because I didn't get the dialogue path about why he was disowned and didn't talk to anyone else, so I think him not having a Crest just gets dropped here out of nowhere

Claude is also very funny going "oh, you're counting on me? How about you give me your magic sword then? Haha, I'm joking" after we already had the scene of him saying he had been looking for it before

no option to keep the Lance of Ruin, guess it requires Sylvain?

I don't remember this scene of Tomas being ominous and also sus

Edelgard out of nowhere. Kind of abrupt, especially since it seems just a segue into talking about Clayde’s lack of history

Claude used to have an uncle, his mom's older brother, but he died

[wack-ashimself]

Everybody is hating redfall, but, dead island 2 is where the real hatred should be placed...

I played both. Beat dead island 2 last night.

Dead island 2 isn't even a proper sequel. It isn't! They change the game in so many ways (can't drive, better weapons/powers in the first, and the second IS NOT FUNNY AT ALL), that it feel likes a knock off of itself. Like how Back 4 Blood was NOT Left 4 Dead. Similar, but one was CLEARLY FUCKING BETTER. Not joking, dead island 2's story AND dialogue are the most uninspired bland crap that...I don't like skipping cut scenes, but there was no reason to watch....70% of them. Added nothing to the story, characters, or anything. They're just 'witty' ways describe your mission. You genuinely don't care or find a reason to care about anyone or anything. I mean, there's a mission to get cigars and whiskey. WHO THE FUCK CARES?!

Fairly, redfall isn't much better so far. The ONLY reason I put redfall above dead island 2? It's more fun. That's about it. The powers and guns (also how fucking EASY it is to get overrun), make it a fun new(ish) challenge. Story wise? JUST as fucking lame. Actually, story wise, even weaker than dead island 2 (better dialogue tho!) But when you have to play HOURS AND HOURS just to get your FIRST gun in Dead island 2, getting one from the start in redfall seems a lot more appreciative of the gamer. Dead island 2 is FPS blunt damage with melee weapons for a VAST chunk of the game (and tho they swing differently, after 12 hours, you don't fucking notice). Then a few guns. Then a berzerker mode where you can (eventually) just mod your character to basically NEVER run out of the stuff (making the game almost TOO easy). Redfall makes you work for it. Also one of the STUPIDEST saving/load spots when you die. If you didn't unlock fast travel, enjoy running (fairly, hands DOWN the fastest FPS game I have ever seen you run in without stamina.)

Both are bad games. But as dead island is a sequel and WORSE than the first, it is worse by comparison (and repetitive as FUCK. ALL side missions <not lost & found> are basically doing main missions again, in the same places, same ways, but for different reasons. Fucking lazy programmers.)

Just saying for the $15/month, you can get redfall on gamepass. Dead island 2 you have to buy, in full. Also dead island 2* fucking leaves one of the biggest (and only interesting) plot points CLEARLY waiting for DLC. I FUCKING LOATHE WHEN GAMES DO THAT. Introduce an essential part of the game/story, then leave it on a cliffhanger SO YOU GOTTA BUY MORE SHIT!

*spoilers for dead island 2. Entire game is you get bit, you're immune, you're gonna save everyone, but it turns out (kinda like so many RE games) they purposely released the disease to evolve us (because our DNA is programmed to self eradicate eventually?). ANYWAYS, about 1/2 way thru the game (they take a while to get ANYWHERE important) you meet a cult of other immune people who hint that they are the next stage, and push you to evolve. End of the game? Those cult people are DLC basically waiting for you, you killed the guy who caused the whole thing, and the main guy from the last game gives you his BAD ASS HAMMER (you have been eyeing the WHOLE game), and you go on a bad ass zombie killing spree......IN A CUTSCENE. You don't get to do it, you don't get the validation of one last blow out, AND YOU DON'T EVEN GET THE HAMMER AFTER THE CREDITS! FUCK YOU. Dead Island 2 is the most expensive disappointment in years. Worst game ever? No. Worth the money? FUCK NO. Just replay any of the others. NOT A PROPER SEQUEL! At least redfall didn't fail in that way. Dead island 2 had, what, TEN YEARS!? At least redfall can say they changed owners in the middle of production...

<sorry if I ruined the DI2 story, but....it's so BY THE BOOKS BASIC, outside of WHO did it, nothing is a surprise. Not a god damn thing. Lazy writing.>

[joanna-lannister]

1, 2, 3, 9, 14, 21, 33, 38

THANK YOU NONNIE ❤️✨

1. Do you prefer writing one-shots or multi-chaptered fics?

Oh, I got a question like that once! And I’m more into writing series of one-shots. They are all connected, but they aren't in chronological order. I find this way of writing more freeing.

2. Do you plan each chapter ahead or write as you go?

I plan each chapter ahead. I know what the great lines of the chapter will look like, which POV will be used, but for the more detailed stuff, I write as I go.

3. Describe the creative process of writing a chapter/fic

Oh, it's kinda messy tbh. First I brainstorm ideas after finding the inspiration, which can come from anything, really. Sometimes I write down those ideas. Then if it's a multi-chaptered fic like “open your eyes” or the Teen Pregnancy AU, I outline the biggest moments and pick which POV will be used. Then goes the process of writing. I write in chronological order, I don't jump around or write my fave scenes first. I just can't, it has to be in order. I won't lie that sometimes I write a few words or snippets of dialogue for later, but otherwise, It's in order. I connect the dots then between each important event and write the details as I go. Once I’m done with the process of writing, I try to let my brain rest for a day or two, and the story as well. But it’s a big “I TRY” because sometimes I’m too impatient 😭 Next is the editing. Not gonna lie, my editing process lowkey changed over time and now I’m editing like a pig lmao, but I highlight in red the paragraphs that need to be improved, and then I rewrite what needs to be rewritten. Once I’m done, I highlight those in green. Then I read, and read, and read to check if there are any typos or mistakes left. It’s such a long process to be honest, but once I’m mostly content with my work, I post. If It's a one-shot, my process is kinda the same except I don’t really outline, I just know what the great lines are going to be.

9. Do you comment on stories you read?

I try my best to leave a comment on each story I read, tho sometimes I’m shy, especially in the Jonsa fandom, I fear I wouldn't be welcome here. But if I enjoyed a story, I always leave at least a kudos!

14. how do you write emotional scenes? Do you ever feel what the characters feel? Do you draw from personal experiences?

Ouch the question I was scared to get, because I’m not sure how to reply. I try to put myself in the character’s shoes? What they would feel, and how they would react while respecting their characterization. If I can’t, I listen to some music that reminds me of them or the event that is about to unfold. And yes, I do feel what they feel. Not all the time, but for “grieving for the living”, I was as numb with the pain as Cersei was. Like killing Jaime made me feel like I had a hole in my chest. As for drawing from experience, not really, except for “sweetest devotion”, Joanna’s feelings were inspired by my own when I was little and my mother gave birth to my little brother.

21. Would you ever collaborate with another writer for a story?

I don’t think so, to be honest. I know myself, I’m too independent and I like things being done my way. I would be just awful to work with 😭

33. Do you want to be published some day?

God yes, it’s one of my top dreams. But I don’t think it will ever happen.

38. Would you ever write commissions?

I’m open to the question. If someone really wanted a work from me, and if I find the idea interesting, why not? I think that could be a lovely experience.

[rawwkfingers]

Destiny of the Daleks

I wanted to like this serial, it was our first Dalek serial in several years after all. But there was just *something* about it that really held me back, and it took me a while before I could articulate at least part of what that was

The closest reason I can give is that the serial totally depends on the viewer just accepting what's given at face value, with a total disregard for in-universe cohesion. Which is a really weird flaw to have for a serial that lives in the shadow of the previous Dalek serial

Tbh, I dont think expecting viewers to be open-minded of whats in front of them is necessarily a bad thing. Doctor Who is an inherently silly show that demands a large suspension of disbelief to enjoy. But, usually, the episodes that rely most heavily on that are the comedies and this wasnt one. In tone and subject it has more in common with the high-concept scifi stories this show does so well; the best of which understand that you need some grounding within the show's universe to properly engage with

The best example of this is the opening scene I think. First, we have a comedic scene of K9 getting laryngitis. How does a robot get laryngitis? Dont worry about it. Its cute and funny and tells the viewer what they need to know: K9 is out of action this story

This is immediately followed up by the reveal that Romana has regenerated. Now, I understand that Mary Tamm left quite suddenly, leading to Lalla's casting due to Baker already having chemistry with her. I wasnt expecting to see Romana I die or anything

But we're given literally NO explanation as to how or why she's regenerating, she just is. Its followed by Romana testing out a few different bodies before settling on the body of Astra, whom they had just met. This scene is also meant to be comedic, but now dealing with something that at this point in the show's mythos is a much more important subject than K9. (It's also more than a little sexist in what forms Romana takes and the Doctors reactions but thats another point entirely)

How and why did she regenerate? How is she able to have such total control over her regeneration that she can swap between multiple bodies before deciding? Why did she think picking Astra's body made sense? We're given no answers to this and, by now, the show's mythos has developed to the point where we need a better explanation for these things than "just because"

You could argue this is a fan-brained way of looking at this but like, this serial brings back Davros and the Daleks. Its a serial STEEPED in the history of the show. We deserve better than "Daleks are using humans as a workforce even tho machines would.be better because reasons" or "the Doctor and Romana are able to move giant boulders from the Tardis because reasons"

I also wasnt thrilled by the new actor playing Davros. I do wonder how much of that was due to being forced to use props built for a different actor, but even with that I just felt like his delivery was missing the menace of Wisher's original. I did like the dialogue in the final episode though, where you really get the sense that the Doctor and Davros respect each other even if they hate each other

[swemtpotamtam]

Revisiting this post, even tho the game still hasn't released (don't worry, I will make one more update to the post after I start playing and after I complete it at least once). Now that more time has passed I kinda am okay with the smaller amount of initial choices that carry over from Inquisition, or rather from Trespasser, to be more exact. Still dunno if there will be more additional choices about past entries during dialogues once the game starts but that would be a fun way to include previous choices - or at least have teeny-tiny mentions of them!

As an aside, the points from the first part of this post still kinda stand though, the world should still be interconnected. It's impossible to separate kingdoms and countries in a political and religious way, there will always be some ties. But I am beginning to see the point of view of why these changes were made. I still think that simplifying stuff for the sake of new players is a bit of bs. People aren't stupid, as I said, and do catch on to bits of lore. The desire to understand more will drive them to play the whole series from start to finish which is a win-win for both the newcomers to Dragon Age and for Bioware.

The more I think about it, the more it starts to click - Veilguard has vibes of Dragon Age 2. Both are on a smaller scale than the game before them, both have a more secluded story (albeit, the areas we will visit in Veilguard are more varied than DA2, in the sense that we're not bound to one place and nearby areas only), the character we play as is just an average person (as opposed to the Inquisitor, for example, that was "chosen by fate" in a way), or, at least, Rook does come off that way.

If you think about it, this game's story is going to be from Rook's perspective and I can totally see how they wouldn't really know everything about Southern Thedas and what's happening there just because there's so much stuff going on in their own life. Depending on the faction you choose, your Rook will be preoccupied with internal struggles of Northern Thedas - for example, liberating slaves and, by extent, abolishing slavery if you choose Shadow Dragons. If I were in their shoes, I'd be too busy trying to deal with that tbh <:D

I feel like the Divine of Souther Thedas will probably be addressed - she will likely just be mentioned as Divine Victoria, since no matter who you support for the role - Cassandra, Leliana or Vivienne - ends up being "crowned" as Victoria.

As for the Well of Sorrows, I still dunno what to think (mostly 'cause my inky drank from the Well). It could just be left unresolved because Solas absorbed both the Old God soul that was taken from Kieran and Mythal's soul (or rather a fraction of it) from Flemeth in that scene where they hugged next to an eluvian. After all, Solas refuses to control any and all elves just like the other Elvhenan did, thus making inky free of the Well's master's grasp. It could also be something akin to the logic of "whoever carried Mythal's soul isn't here now so there's no way to control whoever drank from the Well". Or they could go the route of Morrigan getting Mythal's powers - since she can be seen wearing Flemeth's circlet in the trailer (timecode provided in the link). Or they could just simply default to Morrigan being the one who drank from it, which would be a shame, to be honest.

As for the fact that we won't be able to choose inky's class - I've watched a video recently that had a pretty good point about this. Inquisitor is a very important figure, not only a force to be reckoned with but also a person with a lot of political and possibly religious power. And since all eyes will be on them, it would be hard to run into situations spells/blades ablazing without reputational loses. Especially if inky will do that in Tevinter, being perceived as a foreign representative of sorts.

And, connected to the point above, I feel like Rook is Inquisition's agent for a reason. The nickname alone implies a strategical deployment since "rook" is a piece in a game of chess (which also makes me think of Bull and Solas playing a game of chess as part of party banter. The way Solas played was very telling and acted as a foreshadowing of sorts to what happens with his character arc and actions). So they act on their behalf where Inquisitor can't reach on their own. At least, that's how I see it and how it all works in my canon world state.

In conclusion, I am very much excited for Veilguard and looking forward to playing the game. I want to explore all the intricacies, all the character arcs and great writing (as well as amazing character creation). Even if I was a tad frustrated and let down with some of the choice carryover, I'm more than happy to give this game a chance to change my mind even more about that! See y'all in the next update to this post after the game releases!

Yikesss, bioware taking away all the previous choices from the whole series and limiting them to only 3 choices (all of which are trespasser-only) is wild in the worst way possible <:D

The excuse for it being "we don't want new players to get overwhelmed" is weird too 'cause they could've gone with a default world state thing, just like they did with Inquisition if you didn't have saves/Keep info from previous games.

Like, are you telling me that all those things don't matter? Why? Because we're not in Southern Thedas? That's weird 'cause the world is, you know, interconnected. The decisions made in Southern Thedas would still reflect on the Northern part.

I understand that writing all of those things in, tying it all together, is hard but I don't believe that it was straight-up impossible. And using the "new players won't understand" excuse is just.. cheap? People aren't dumb. People can catch on to little details as they go, you don't need to know everything from previous titles to experience the story and enjoy it. In actuality, it gives new players the incentive to go back and play the whole series from Origins to Inquisition, and then replay Veilguard after they've seen everything to make everything click even better now that they possess the knowledge from those older entries.

I just... I dunno. It feels wrong to even just say that the whole of Inquisition can be narrowed down to: 1) who your inky was (race and gender) and who they romanced, 2) if they wanted to hunt down or redeem Solas and 3) if you disbanded the Inquisition or kept it around. What about other choices? What about who became the Divine? Sure, it might not affect Tevinter or any other Northern kingdoms but come on, it still has ties to all those other areas. No Well of Sorrows stuff? That was such a cool and mysterious detail, with no resolution in Trespasser as well. What about Hawke? What about Hero of Ferelden? No mentions at all? Wild 'cause there's a chance that Hawke went to Weisshaupt and also Hero of Ferelden is part of the Grey Warden history. And does this mean that Kieran isn't a thing?

I know that there's still a whole month ahead before we find out everything but this just puts such a sour taste in my mouth.

The game that was all about player agency and consequences just suddenly ditches this whole system.

Edit: I might come around on this whole thing if Veilguard proves that there is a reason why they cut down on choices carrying over. Perhaps they decided to do this because it really is a more secluded story, kinda like it's own little thing with no outright outside connections aside from some cameos. I don't know yet.

But I will likely revisit this post, adding on to it my thoughts and opinions after I get my hands on the game and complete it at least once.

[jadethest0ne]

Just wanted to day that I really love your work!!! And Aldo was wondering if you'd be able to talk through the process of how you make your comics? You get them done so quick!! And their always so good from backgrounds to expression their amazing!!! Loving your aftermath comic BTW, I look for it constantly even tho I know you post mostly on Tuesday lolol.

Also- Ace solidarity unite!!! ✌️

Hey there! It is possible that you have me confused with @happyfoxx-art who is the one who does the Aftermath comic, so maybe she can say a thing or two about her comic process.

The comics I'm more known for are "The Brains and The Brawn", "Puppet on a String", and "Mikey Bakes a Cake."

In case you are asking about me specifically, I'll talk about my comic process. I usually start with lots of brainstorming in the form of daydreaming and occasionally scribbling out ideas. I often switch between creating a script and sketching out rough scenes depending on how visual the moment is. If there's more dialogue or I want to note down the events panel-by-panel, I'll script more, if the scene is more action-y and I have a specific idea for the layout that I want to visualize, I'll sketch it. I already talked about how I figure out posing in my sketchwork on a previous ask.

Often I create the scenes out of order and write/draw whichever comes to mind first. For example, these are an assortment of drawings I did on my first concept sketch page for "The Brains and The Brawn".

These are from pages 3, 4, 8, and 10, and while they have nothing to do with each other, they represented the main ideas I had for the comic overall.

After that I'll essentially finalize my written script to make sure everything flows well story-wise, and then go about adding or subtracting panels to lay them out in a proper page-like format. It's kind of like slotting puzzle pieces together to see what fits. This is how I get more dynamic action paneling in my comics. Below you can see some of my more disjointed initial sketches (left) become a bit more finalized (right):

From there I block in all the panels with lines, then trace over the sketches with lineart, and fill in the lines with color. Those stages involve a little less thinking on my part, since a lot of it is just filling in what I already have planned out.

I would personally like to get a bit better with color since I tend to color-pick from other source material a lot. I'm hoping in my next comic project to get a bit more trippy and abstract with the coloring. I make sure to keep each color on a separate layer, and group the layers by character to keep things organized. I usually fully color a character at a time.

After that, I add in lights, shadows, and any special effects. I think the shading and lighting is where it really comes together because it adds a nice sense of depth to everything.

Eye shines are very important to me.

I do dialogue and sound effects last. Yes, there is a basic dialogue I put in the script, but honestly, I struggle most with dialogue (I am shocked folks think that the lines are so in-character), so I put the most time and effort into finalizing that. I will make sure to keep space for where the dialogue bubble should go, but it's often filled with placeholder dialogue until I finalize it on the last step.

I'm aware that this is rather rare for comic artists - often the dialogue comes/is blocked in first for most from what I hear, But for me, the final drawing helps me figure out the right mood/tone for the dialogue in the end anyway. That's just what works for me.

Anyway, that's at least how my comic process goes. Thanks so much for asking! And if you were looking for @happyfoxx-art, then maybe she'll add onto this post. I, for one, would be interested in her process as well :3

(also, heck yeah! Ace solidarity baby!!! [shakes your hand])

[hohoz]

How RE Village (8) SOLVED almost every problem that I had with RE Series

Okay - a few weeks ago I made a post that was “The ones that suffer the most” where I showed and explained my main problems with Chris and Jill and the RE series in general 

RE 1 is my fav game of this series and probably one of my all time favs, I player every RE there is to be played except 4 (because I dislike Leon, sry) 

Recently, specially after 4, the franchise had a few problems, specially in writing/map design/lore 

Resident evil 5 for example (I love this game) but it has it flaws, Chris there is only driven by anger and action - Sheva is used as a tool for lore exposition and to be Chris’s new partner 

PLEASE: be aware that game at that generation didn’t have much lore - with some exceptions, like God of War 1 2 3 were a simply game with a simple lore, and the most recent GoW has evolved a little bit in the storytelling

Until we hit rock bottom in RE6 - I know a lot of people like this game, but this is only and action game, bad writing and generic stages. 

Chris there is so mistreated that makes me mad (if you want to read more about this go to my other post “the ones that suffer the most”)

Until RE7 appeared, Capcom had a new engine and they wanted to do a game that was more horror like - since RE is know for being a Survival horror game.

I liked 7 - some people complained about Ethan being without emotion and others complained about the mold, a few didn’t like the FEAR vibes from Eveline. 

I personally enjoyed the game, I thought RE series was going back on track, that game has it’s problems but it was really nice compared to what we had in 6.

After that game I had a conversation with my best friend and I said that I wanted a game that portrayed Umbrella’s fall since the only game that shows this is Umbrellas Chronicles (and that is most a resume of what happened)

And I said: “Bro, I wish that when they made that game, they could tie some mythological lore and human evolution before Umbrella - using Spencer, this would solve LOT OF STUFF and open new ways to handle this series”

and guess what - this happened in RE8 and kudos to the one writer that did that, i have my gratitude. 

RESIDENT EVIL 8 is probably one of the BEST RE games that we had IN YEARS

And I want to address all thing that I loved in this game and do some predictions to what will happen in the next games.

“WELL WELL IF IT ISN’T ETHAN WINTERS” (The Father of the year)

My father was not a great guy... really, so I want to be the best dad ever, I really want be like Ethan - a guy who is ready to sacrifice and fight every monster in the way to save my family. 

Ethan was a character that in RE7 was used to make us fell like that it was us in the Baker’s house, so that is why he didn’t had that much personality (in my opinion) but they changed that in RE8, here he has nice dialogues AND a diary 

He has one of the best story line in the whole REverse, a guy that did EVERYTHING in his power to save his daughter - and you saw that playing the game, every sentence line that he delivered, he tried to save others too and even tho Chris said to him stay put ... but he couldn’t, he had to go to the altar, he had to help Chris, he had to go forward and keep going, specially after having the tools to face Heisenberg. 

The plea from a father, that was his last wish, after he heard that Mia was alive he knew that someone had to stop that monster, he made a promise to his daughter “Daddy won’t let those weird fairy tale monsters get you” so he trusted Chris, to be the one that teaches his kid how to be brave and strong

I will not address Chris and Rose situation here because this is Ethans part and he deserves completely all the spotlight, his sacrifice was 100x times better than Steve (CV)/Piers(6)

My cheers to Ethan Winters - You have my respect !

Revelations -> RE8 

So leaks from earlier times said that RE8 sucked and Revelations 3 was amazing

Revelations FYI is know for using old tales in RE stories 

Revelations 1 - Dante’s Inferno 

Revelations 2 - Frans Kafka 

Revelations 3 - Dracula 

But since RE8 sucked, Capcom said to the REV3 team that they could make REV3 become RE8 and they accepted 

Revelations series is one of the best in the games, they handle Jill in a way that I love, Claire and even Barry - so they deserve all the spotlight for making this awesome game - you CLEARLY can see that they love this series and that they treat all the characters with the love that they deserve. 

Keeping that in mind, they are the same team that made Rev 2 and in REV 2 we have this file here 

So they had a plan for Jill and we can see that in RE8 - I will address that later but keep that in mind - this team cares for the old characters, they were the ones that brought Barry back to the games :V 

Chris Redfield 

This is a hard one, because he is my fav character and I usually have the most critics regard him, since I’ve expect a lot from Capcom 

In the latest games they made him kind dumb, only muscles type of guy and an alcoholic that let all the people in his surroundings die (RE5,RE6,Vendetta) 

RE6 treats him the WORST

But in RE8 he had an amazing part in the storyline, it was obvious that he wasn’t evil and they FIXED HIS EYE COLOR - FINALLY 

I still don’t like the model face that much but it’s way better than 7 - so I believe Capcom, I still feel that he need more jawline 

But let’s go to the most important thing - here he really feels like a squad leader and a veteran, he has his team but he is the one in the front line, he covers and ask for help when he needs, everything about his line delivery makes you feel like “Woah, this guy is a badass, he is not some stupid guy only driven by emotions”

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR FINALLY GETTING THIS RIGHT 

If you remember my post about the ones that suffer the most / Jill is also in that list and I will talk about her a little bit later but if my guess is right RE8 saved her character aswell

Another thing that I enjoyed here is the fact that he is kind of a mercenary / Neo Umbrella kind of guy, even tho he is one of the founders of the BSAA

So I will give you all my score to this game: 

9/10

I won’t give 10/10 because of some technical issues, the cursor lock didn’t work and mouse sensitivity was i dunno, not the best. 

RE8 and the future (PREDICTIONS)  - Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield, BSAA, Neo Umbrella, Ada Wong and Rosemary

First let’s look Rose

The first time I saw Rose all grown up - I thought to myself : She has the same problem as Eveline (age a lot faster than normal) 

But she also absorbed Miranda’s power since the metalicite (something like this) thought that she was a better host. - so maybe she will live longer or something because I doubt that they will do a 14 years time skip. 

This is not the same as Terra Save logo (Claire’s job) but it kind reminds me of it - her shoes appeared at least 3 times in this cut scene so maybe they are trying to show some hints with this 

She really reminds me of Jodie (Beyond two souls, a game where a girl has a lot of power and the gov uses her in missions and stuff, but she also is learning how to be her own person) 

Another thing here is that they don’t have a logo in this car, it really reminds me the car that Chris as using in RE8 

This supports the theory that Chris’s organization is dealing with her instead of the BSAA, the she is a hot headed girl and that she had a lot of powers. 

So here you can say that she is just a kid because she is a teenager, but what if she actually grows older really fast (like Eveline) maybe this is just 1 year later / 2 yrs later. (after RE8)

So this is the tricky part, this is Chris’s guard/soldier, someone that Chris trust to stand by her side, in my mind I do believe that Chris is kind of a father figure to her, so when this guys says this he is thinking about hot head Chris but she replies “Yeah” thinking about Ethan - (she has the mold memories, so she can actually remember Ethan’s memories) 

Now let’s look at this 

BSAA 

So in REV1 is hinted that BSAA is not the best organization in the world, but since our heroes work there we think that they are the good guys right ? 

In REV 2 (it’s important to remember that the team that created RE8 is the same from the REVELATIONS and they had this file here in REV2)

This email is from Jill and what does Jill have ? T-Virus 

Wesker is a different case since he was a project and she had the vaccine but this would make a lot of sense if they had this tests with Jill to get the T-Virus

If that is the case, they explained Jill’s absence in the main games, could even explain why Chris left BSAA and opened a new window to a lot of possibilities 

My Predictions: 

- Chris had trouble dealing with BSAA and Jill’s case, he wanted to get her out of there, maybe he removed her from there but that resulted in him being expelled from the force

-Jill may or may not know what they are doing with her blood, but she will have a huge part in the BOW used by BSAA 

-Chris is married to Jill (sorry- I had to place this here, in a perfect world he has two kids with her and they all love aunt Rose) 

-Chris will hopefully be a father figure to Rose and they will be in a game together since in the end they came to get her

-Rebecca is still involved in BSAA activities (leak from new REV3) if you consider Vendetta canon, she maybe the one that used Jill’s sample of blood to create the virus soldiers

-Barry maybe retired 

-I don’t think Leon will be in this game, but he will get his RE4 Rmk 

- I do believe RE9 will be release after Code veronica rmk and MAYBE they will do a game about Umbrella’s Fall (Chris and Jill in Europe against Red Queen and BOWs) 

But that is it, you can see a lot of elements from old RE games in RE8, they tried to do something really smart and the game felt amazing to play, that was something else and it’s been a while since a player a RE game that made me feel that way <3

[bandersnatch-cucumberpatch]

cbs ghosts opinions

i hadnt intended on posting about cbs ghosts because i hadnt intended on watching it (it just didnt seem like my cup of tea) but the curiosity got to me and now i have thoughts, please stick around for below the cut to hear them (pls note that i have nothing against the show, but i also dont think i owe it any favours just because the story comes from our six idiots):

it was,,, alright. it wasnt a struggle to watch, i laughed a couple of times, but it didnt do all that much to draw me in (that being said perhaps if i hadnt seen the bbc one first i would have been more interested). but there are a couple things i want to talk about

visuals - we all already knew what it was going to look like, very set like, basic lighting setups, cheap costumes, its not ideal. the look of the show doesnt strictly take anything away from it, but i feel like if more effort had been put into costuming and cinematography it really could have elevated the show. also i had some issues with editing; theres one scene in episode one that i found super confusing because they kept breaking the 180 rule and i couldnt get a sense of the locations, there were also some very obvious edits in this scene which really took me out of it. the greenscreen/sfx werent fantastic either but im willing to look past that because its not something i care about personally

dialogue - there are definitely some good jokes, tho it felt odd to me just how much they lifted from the original scripts. i appreciate that the cast have clearly seen the og series but it meant some of the line delivery was exactly the same and that did feel like a bit of a cop out. i did enjoy how they played the sams dead ‘tough loss’ joke, because im sure for first time viewers there really would have been a moment of worry. 

writing - a little bit separate to dialogue a guess; there was too much exposition. they revealed so much information so quickly and it makes me worry how theyre going to stretch out a story. im not a fan of plot twists that simply contradict what we’ve been told and i feel thats all they can do from here. I cant see it having more than one decent season, because they havent left much space for the story to develop. i also didnt like how much they overexplained the jokes, i think it undermines the audiences intelligence. 

characters - the characters were a little cartoonish for my personal taste. in the bbc show the characters are the heart of the story and i dont feel theyre all that grounded in this version. i know the characters we know and love are flawed but theyre still likeable, and im finding it hard to like the cbs counterparts. im torn on isaac, i dont think hes bad as a character, im perfectly happy for him to be more camp than cap. but i do think theyre overdoing the gay jokes, and a lot of them are at his expense (ie the musical theatre jokes), i think itll be hard to create a layered, empathetic arc for him if the writers are too busy making us try to laugh at him.

relationships - i didnt enjoy the argument between sam and jay, i think thats not a good way to frame a caring couple (at least not from the outset) tho im pleased at how jay came around at the end. they dont feel on the same wavelength but im happy to give that time. i did NOT like petes comments about carol, why did they have to make him dislike her? i feel like its a very cheap and overplayed joke

pace - i feel like they jumped into the story too quickly, we didnt get as much context establishment prior to the start of the plot. its supposed to exist separately to the bbc version but it didnt take the time to set it up for a newcomer audience which feels a little odd. it sort of presumes you know the deal already

alright those are my major points, ive got a couple of tiny complaints:

- a couple of times it felt like they were going to address important aspects of history and colonisation but then they backed out, i think they should either commit or not, because edging a conversation does nothing productive

- the trevor nudity joke just felt a little crude and out of place, i dont think it was necessary 

- i like thorfinn but it sounds like hes doing a bad impression of chris hemsworths thor, which is already a bad impression (sorry chris hemsworth), idk why hes doing a weird english accent instead of a Scandinavian one

- sam was just a little too quick to adapt to the ghosts, its a major life event and she accepted it very suddenly

overall its fairly decent. i think the cast and crew enjoyed making it but it doesnt have the love put into that our beloved bbc ghosts possesses; tho that might develop over time as the cast gets to know eachother.  its not really my preferred sense of humour, but i enjoyed it enough to keep watching. and at the end of the day this version isnt a show for me and thats ok, other people should get to enjoy it.

i dont think anyone owes it to the idiots to watch and/or enjoy it, they really have no creative input. just because they approved the use of the idea doesnt mean theyre an active part of this version, so if  you dont wanna watch it isnt a slight against them. tho i presume they get royalties or something so if you wanna watch to help them get more then go for it. 

please feel free to discuss in the comments im open to all opinions so long as youre respectful

[meetmeatthecoda]

I absolutely ♥️ADORE♥️ Scripted and would love to read your director’s commentary for it!

Oh, anon!! 😍 I'm SO THRILLED that you loved Scripted so much, that makes me so happy!! 🥰 Especially that you loved it enough to want to read my "director's commentary" (that phrase makes me laugh, you'd think I created a feature length film all by myself 🤣), so I think I'll skim through the fic - it's been a while since I re-read it - & make a bullet-point list of any special BTS info I can think of 😊 Anddd I'll also put it under a read more cause you know me, I never use one word when one hundred will do 😂

So, the fic itself was inspired by the ending of 5.08 where Liz wakes from her coma to Red reading to her in an armchair as he had been for the past 10 months, it's fine, I'm fine but she still has a ventilator in so she can't talk & instead has to write "how long?" on a piece of paper & her handwriting is super shake-y bc her muscles are so weak (I think Red even helps her hold the pen? It's clearly been a while since I re-watched the ep whoops but ugh, be still my heart.) For some reason, I just latched onto the idea of a mute Liz, really suffering with the implications of everything she went through (since her recovery was so glossed over in the show boo) & Red 1000% being there for her. Mostly, I just wanted to dive into the dynamic of Liz letting Red care for her the way he's always wanted to (without Tom & Agnes btw) to the point where their relationship is unhealthy in its reliance, but neither can see it bc Liz is blocking things out (& unknowingly falling in love with him) & Red is just so thrilled to be able to love & care for her (while already deeply in love with her obvi). So yeah, that was the kind of dynamic & closeness I wanted to explore between them & it was... really fun 😊

The idea of the coma providing the perspective Liz needed to see that Red has always had her best interests at heart & clearly loves her (in addition to the fact that he never left her side or gave up during those 10 months lol peak romance tbh) seemed very organic & logical to me.

I liked the idea of Red & Liz playing board games as a way to pass the time & get to know each other better. It's the kind of casual interaction we were never gifted with in the show & I think they're both competitive in the right circumstances, even if its playfully so.

I liked the idea of Liz being urged to learn ASL, as I'm deaf in one ear & would dearly love to learn it at some point.

The detail of Red sleeping on a cot close enough to Liz's hospital bed that they can hold hands in their sleep was a total guilty pleasure addition & I'm not sorry.

I loved the scene in the beginning where Red is talking to Dembe on the phone in the hallway & Liz is practicing her letters. She's purely doing it so Red doesn't worry & I loved the idea of her being apathetic to everything except Red's concerns, plus I added in the parenthetical of (Red sometimes squints at her k's.) bc I thought it represented that well, but also bc it was just cute af. I also added the little detail of him waving at her through the window at the last minute bc I thought the scene needed something else & once I pictured that, it was too adorable to leave out.

Red handling all the details of Liz's care & transportation without asking (bc he instinctively knew that's what Liz wanted) only to turn around & panic about excluding her seemed like a very RED thing to do & I like how it emphasizes his well-meaning intentions, respect for her preferences, & desire to see her happy, even if she did actually want to leave him lol as if.

I liked the visual of Liz stumbling into Red's arms as she stands from her hospital bed to leave with him (sets a precedent for later) & I also loved the visual of a pen in her ponytail & of course Red using it to flirt a little bc come on.

I remember struggling to write the car ride transition to the lake house. I usually get ideas & visions for specific scenes, moments, or bits of dialogue, so those kind of transition moments are hard for me sometimes. But I liked that I settled on Red helping to ground Liz through touch (again, sets a precedent for later).

Red & Liz playing hangman in the car with Red using the word "fedora" & drawing a suited hangman made me giggle.

I can see the lake house very clearly in my mind, complete with the willow tree, bench, & tiny house (included bc I desperately want a tiny house in real life) & I really enjoyed describing the interior & imagining the joy Red would get out of decorating it with Liz in mind.

Their first night in the house where Liz has her nightmare & Red comforts her - that was a scene I had in mind very early on & I love how it turned out, especially with Liz mouthing "stay with me" into Red's neck, that part gave me All The Feels™.

The "morning after" scene where Liz realizes on some level that she's too dependent on Red is an important moment in the fic & the off-hand detail that at least "she's not going around murdering people & calling it therapy" was a bit of shade to Ruin (which I don't think I ever saw bc I was kind of appalled with the idea lol) I think I posted Scripted after Ruin aired... if not, I guess I'm psychic?? LOL

The breakfast scene - & the fact that Red is preparing every breakfast food known to man bc he's nervous too - is near & dear to my heart. I think that's a pretty pivotal scene since they kind of reach an unspoken agreement & peace &... "things settle after that first breakfast."

I liked the teeny little parenthetical section that comes next as well, which acts as a sort of middle point for the fic.

The next large chunk of the fic was pure indulgence for me. I LOVED writing about all the different things they would do together when it was just the two of them, it was basically a collection of Lizzington headcanons & that's how I sketched them out LOL Here's some notes on them:

I came up with the jigsaw puzzle headcanon (that Liz is bored by them bc they're easy for her bc she's a trained psychologist & easily sees patterns in things) late in the editing process but loved it so much that I included it.

Liz's sandwich preference is actually mine LOL

The Monopoly banter was fun af to write bc I love that game.

The love notes Liz leaves around the house for Red is still an all-time favorite headcanon of mine.

I loved the idea of Red reading to Liz in a foreign language, holding the book only for looks, but not actually reading from it at all & instead professing his love for her. I think I've even used that headcanon in another fic LOL

Their movie nights were also something I was dying to include, especially since they include snacks & cuddles.

Their co-sleeping habits were also something I wanted to include & Liz's newly tactile nature is both a symptom of her dependence on Red & also a guilty pleasure thing for me bc we all wanted more of Red & Liz touching on screen, plus I felt obligated to explain through Red that it wasn't sexual in nature (though if I ever get around to writing part 2, that will change 😉)

Dembe being the one to observe & interfere in their situation was an early scene I imagined as well, that was always going to be the climax of the fic (or at least part 1). I so enjoyed writing about Red & Liz's relationship through his eyes bc he just loves them both & only wants to help them.

Another pivotal scene I imagined early on was Liz having a panic attack with Dembe when she discovers Red has left & that was super engaging to write, as well as the reunion between them which... I pretty much wrote the whole fic with the goal of getting to that lovely angst LOL

Red's resolve to finally urge Liz to speak was heart-breaking to write (so naturally I loved it lol what's wrong with me) & in particular the detail of them eating fruit for lunch before he broaches the topic with her & the parenthetical about it being "a sign from the cosmos that they are meant to be together just because they don't eat each other's favorite fruit" made my heart happy even tho it's stupid LOL & when Red asks her if she would ever try to speak again & she responds with a simple written "Why?" that was a huge moment that I loved the angst of, of course. As well as the absolutely gutting: "Lizzie, I miss your voice."

I liked that Liz needs some time to think & accept everything Red forces her to realize at the end, that was super important to me in the resolution of the fic/part 1 & I tried really hard to include both their mentalities there at the end.

The fact that Red hasn't had a drink since he started caring for Liz also made my shipping heart happy.

And - lastly - the fact that the only thing Liz actually says in the whole fic is Red's name? Yeah 🥲🥲🥲

Welp, there you go, anon, I'm not sure if that was interesting to you at all, but I certainly hope so!! I know that was a lot but... it's a long fic, my longest ever, so I figure it's warranted, right?? 😂 Anyway, thank you so much, both for the compliment of loving Scripted AND for wanting to read more about it, anon, you are so sweet!! 🥰 I hope you enjoyed this & much, much love to you, my friend!! ❤️

Fanfic Writers: Director's Cut

[levis-wings]

needed a little break in between reading summer rain and silent storms by @astridthevalkyrie to process the first book's ending. i thought going straight into silent storms would literally break me (like actually murder me lol)

yet, i was rendered pleasantly surprised.

i began reading silent storms during my commute to work. and lemme tell you, i haven't been wanting to go to work for a while now because it's been HECTIC (new ehr system is driving us all NUTS). i was also expecting to hold my tears in public (in fear of the angst of the ending of summer rain to bleed into silent storms' beginning). however, i spent like thirty minutes trying not to squeal with happiness and adoration, instead. it also just so happened that when i reached the first smut scene, i was still on my commute (fairly easy to hide my blush behind a mask though, thank god LOL). and by the time my commute to work finished, i was so energized by what i'd read, that i felt excited?? to walk into work??? like levi and oc's romance??? literally rejuvenated me LOL

the overall feel of silent storms, for me at least, was much lighter, fluffier than what summer rain was. don't get me wrong. it was a still massive fucking idiots to lovers, but the idiocy was adorable and tolerable. (mainly because i got to see what was going on in levi's head, which was an AMAZING touch.) i didn't wanna rip out my heart and cry at any point of the story; instead, i wanted to scream and dance with joy 99.9% of the time. i cannot emphasize HOW WELL the emotions, the feelings, the butterflies are written. i feel like i'm feeling love for the first time reading what the characters are going through and not many pieces of media can actually make me feel something

it's the way in which the thoughts are written so... realistically. you hear the characters' doubts, their wishes, their fears. you see what they hide from the other, what they pick and choose to share. you see what they secretly struggle with and what the other assumes of them. and every single one of their reactions/thoughts feels organic to me. also very true to character

[spoilers]

i think this was in chapter one. but this fucking quote:

"The tea is just as bad as last time, if not worse, but he dutifully drinks it all, as she makes herself at home in his office and starts talking his ear off about the many unhealthy effects of insomnia and why does she care why is she looking at him like that what's the matter with her why doesn't she just shut the fuck up for once why is she so pretty—"

the moment i read the latter part, my heart flew out of my chest. it's fucking adorable the way he can barely have a linear thought because he's so whipped for her. i can't even explain with words how HAPPY i was to see how he had felt through all of this

let's also talk about the fucking character development. oc out there pulling uno reverse cards. i think she's the kind of person who grows and learns from others. she takes each person's word to account AND she is aware of this (also the reason she tries to avoid telling levi about important life choices she knows he'll try to talk her out of). sometimes, her inner demons get the best of her. she's complex. (i had an inkling of this is summer rain but more of her childhood was explained in silent storms and the puzzle pieces just fit.) she likes to think that she lives for herself. degrades herself into thinking she's selfish (though honestly, there's nothing wrong with looking out for yourself). but i think it's natural for her to also look out for the people she cares for. her way of caring is listening. and taking in the information they tell her. it's just the cherry on top of her already lovable character. anyways, after understanding her character better, for a while, i suspected she'd somehow(?) try to join the scouts. i was very surprised (and supportive) of her decision to do so as well!

in summer rain, i thought she wasn't ready to be a scout yet. but clearly, she's had quite a few epiphanies and they'd led her to believe in herself. she's totally ready now

i still can't believe i went in thinking i'd fall for levi more and came out falling for the female lead help??

levi's sweet moments sprinkled throughout?? the fic?? killed me.

" 'I'm glad,' he confesses to her, 'I'm happy you didn't join the Scouts. I ... want you to be safe.' "

there are moments like this where he speaks his truth... but it's so tender, so sweet that it's just almost out of pocket. but at this point, he should just fucking say the opposite of what he wants for oc because she'll do the thing he doesn't want her to do, anyways

and listen when he said:

" 'Your mother didn't do her best,' he says honestly, 'you did.' "

i very much did cry inside. and the fact that this left oc speechless. like same, babe, same. it's these rare moments of sweetness that leave me feeling giddy. i don't expect it at all, so when it just comes out, i get so caught off guard LOL

my favorites scenes HAD to be when they had a full-on verbal fight in front of oc's date LMAO, when levi initiated their second kiss, when petra convinced oc to join the special operations squad, when levi and oc finally fucking decided to make something fucking official and then he proceeds to pull out a list of rules from nowhere. hilarious

their constant bickering and dialogue is just *chef's kiss.* never exactly read a couple with better chemistry. i'm also the type of person to like the chase but loathe the aftermath of a couple finally getting together. but fucking goddammit, with these two, i know it'll never get boring. it's also because they tend to banter a lot and i'm that bitch who ships dramione and zutara so you know i like the drama

ALSO?? ERWIN?? when i was watching aot, my friend told me she thought erwin was a 'bad' character. i asked her why she felt that way. she told me because he had no depth to his character—that he was plain. i disagreed. i think erwin (along with levi and eren) is arguably one of the most complex characters in aot, and this fic just brings it out sooooo well! there's just?? something in me?? that makes me believe erwin is SUS of levi and oc. also the fact that he remains a mystery to oc too. she's always questioning the relationship erwin has with levi and even that in it itself makes the man 10 times more enigmatic. i absolutely love it

and the smut. goodbye. i only expected one scene. i was given like... i can't even count because i can't do math when i'm excited lol. but it was much more than what i expected and i was LIVING for it. something about levi letting go of control????????? please. didn't think subby levi would be my cup of tea but i guess i was proven wrong. i'm not even mad

i forgot to say in my last review. but listen. oc liking milk makes me feel so validated. like i literally do not know a single fucking real-life person who likes drinking plain milk like me. and yes, people have poked fun at my habit. BUT SEEING OC DRINKING HER PLAIN MILK SO UNAPOLOGETICALLY. GODDAMN. plain milk drinkers rise 😩😩

but i also need levi to teach oc how to make good tea tho. like girly, you add hot water and a good amount of tea leaves 🤨 what are you getting wrong?

anyways, i've said way too much again. but i can't help but get excited when i come across such a great work of art. though i admit i'm terrified going into warmth. i don't think i'm ready to see the show's events unfolding... because when petra dies i will fucking cry. it's funny because when i first watched aot, i didn't even know who petra fucking was until AFTER she got squashed... yikes. but the more i learn about her character (in aot and in this particular setting), the more i like her

i always end up having some sort of stupid side character syndrome. in aot, i focused on levi/hange/erwin and sasha/connie/jean. and now even in a whole ass fanfiction ABOUT levi, i'm fantasizing about petra and erwin??? huh???

i hope things go well for levi and oc in the future. i'm not ready to see the shit go down in warmth though 😭