phantasmicfish

[phantasmicfish]

I’m always rooting for these two

#I ship them so hard I don’t know what to think #ofc I ship Chani/Paul more but Feyd/Margot had undeniable chemistry #chani x paul #feyd x margot #dune #dune part two #dune part 2 #dune part one #dune part 1 #paul atreides #chani kynes #feyd rautha #margot fenring #lady fenring

[phantasmicfish]

Just some more Dune Part 2 things that I thought were interesting with a specific focus on Feyd-Rautha:

- just… the way that he’s so very accurately portrayed as a psychopath adds a level of grit I didn’t get reading when the book

- the scenes with him and Lady Fenring got me good. The book mentions that he finds her attractive, definitely echoed in the movie. There weren’t explicitly written scenes in the book of how Lady Fenring slept with him (but this was confirmed through dialogue), so I liked the movie’s interpretation of her luring him using her Bene Gesserit abilities

- I would have liked to see Feyd-Rautha tested by the Gom Jabbar the same way Paul was. In the book (and I think part 1 of the movie?) it’s specified that Paul has endured the most amount of pain anyone can handle from the test, but given that movie Feyd-Rautha seems canonically a sadist + masochist, I wonder how long he would have lasted?

- overall the vibe and aesthetic of the Harkonnen’s was terrifying and great. The black and white visuals, dimly lit rooms, flashing lights… There are a lot of different villains in Dune, especially in Part 2 — The Emperor, Jessica, but the most clear-cut ones by far are the Harkonnens. I think the visuals definitely amplify that. I find it rather interesting that the Harkonnens are portrayed to be evil as an entire house. The fact that they all had bald heads gave them a mass identity, served to make them seem perhaps more alien and less human, all capable of committing heinous crimes. Even Feyd-Raytha’s servants or whoever eat human organs

- I think it was an interesting choice to have Feyd-Rautha actually stab Paul during their final fight, we see the blade actually hurt Paul, penetrate his skin, we see Paul gasping for breath, we see Paul struggling for survival. I believe the book made the fight seem more cut-and-dry, that Feyd was a formidable opponent but he didn’t actually stab Paul (though he does draw blood). So I sorta felt the fight was a good contrast between showing Paul as still human while he maintains this cult status. I could see how his ability to survive this fight, despite his injuries, also elevate his messiah status among the Fremen

#I was on the edge of my seat the entire time Feyd-Rautha was on screen #he was terrifying #but also really cool #also that final fight scene was insane and choreographed so well #feyd rautha #feyd rautha harkonnen #paul atreides #dune #dune part 2 #dune part two #house harkonnen #lady fenring #margot fenring #dune spoilers

[phantasmicfish]

So I saw Dune Part 2 yesterday and I was initially super crushed because of the deviation from book canon but the more I think about it the more I sorta like it…

So without further ado here’s a list of stuff I liked about Dune Part 2:

- all the scenes initially of Paul growing closer to the Fremen. You can clearly see that they become friends, accept him as a Feydakin, that they’re laughing, joking, hanging out. (And contrast that to the end of the movie, where Paul has no more Fremen friends, only followers. In the book, this is echoed, where Paul recognizes that he has lost his friends to the Muad’Dib religion. Take book Stilgar, who truly embodies this… by the end of the book, Paul says: “I have seen a friend [Stilgar] become a worshipper.”

- giving Chani explicit rejection of Paul’s messiah status was an interesting choice. Chani’s main thought over part 2 is that they don’t need religion to save them, that through Fremen power and desert power, the Fremen can save themselves. She recognizes that this fanatical worship can be a vehicle to control and enslave her people, and I sorta wish we saw Paul lean into that more… that they found a way to stay together and ‘fight’ the prophecy together based on Chani’s ideals…

- also, I love how engrained this rejection of religion and prophecy is in her character. Book Chani takes no issue with her Fremen name, Sihaya (desert spring), but movie Chani hates it “because it’s part of some prophecy.” Later, we see that despite her rejection of prophecy and religion, that the prophecy does indeed come to pass— the tears of desert spring save Himx aka, Chani saving Paul after he drinks The Water of Life. (Interesting how Jessica has to force Chani to save Paul using the Voice… another example of Jessica explicitly forcing Paul to become the messiah).

- adding more depth to Fremen culture— the South being the more religious fundamentalist tribes vs the North being more secular. Early on, the movie paints this immediate divide between the tribes of Fremen who accept Paul and Jessica versus those who treat them as offworlders (who murdered Jamis). In the books everyone accepts Paul and Jessica after Paul bests Jamis and Jessica quotes some scripture, but I think it makes more logical sense that there’s be friction over these two random offworlders coming in

- I love love loved Paul speaking at the meeting of the Fremen tribe leaders in the South. He fully accepts his messiah status, exercises his power of the Voice + his prescience as a way to command all the Fremen under his name

- I’m a big fan of omitting the two-year time skip, so with that I’m glad Leto II was skipped over entirely. I always felt that Leto II was an unnecessary character addition to the book, especially when he just dies and everyone sort of goes “oh well” and moves on, so I’m glad it’s omitted.

- another interesting choice was to paint Jessica as a straight up villain in comparison to her book counterpart was. The Jessica we see here is seemingly corrupted by the Water of Life: she walks around talking to herself (Alia) and scheming Paul’s ascent to Lisan-Al Gaib. She knows about the Holy War, which is the very thing Paul is trying to prevent, yet she expresses no concern about bringing it to fruition. (Probably because Jessica knows it’s impossible to prevent, but still.) The very last line of the movie, where Alia asks Jessica what’s going on and Jessica says “The Holy War has begun” is just total villain in my mind— explicit acceptance of the Holy War, like it’s just another stepping stone in her plan. Plus, the fact that Paul has visions of Jessica leading him into this period of great starvation totally cements her as a villian.

- going off of that, I like that we see Jessica undergoing actual agony when she takes The Water of Life. When book Jessica and Paul take The Water of Life they accept it calmly and without obvious pain (book Jessica was sitting with her eyes closed, as if sleeping), so this physical reaction that Jessica has to the poison adds to the idea that The Water of Life did change her in a negative way.

- I feel like so far we’ve been introduced to Alia as just a weird talking fetus who’s been consorting with Jessica, so Paul’s vision where Alia says “I love you” really strikes home, that she really does care for Paul which we might not have understood otherwise

#I should probably add something about Feyd-Rautha bc I thought his scenes were really cool so that’s a TBC of this post #also I can’t believe they skipped over Count Fenring! The one person who could defeat Paul in battle… I’m crushed #dune #dune book #dune part two #dune part 2 #chani kynes #paul atreides #jessica atreides #alia atreides #dune spoilers

[phantasmicfish]

So like are we boycotting Netflix

#I am absolutely crushed shattered shaking screaming #but like not in the fun way #shadow and bone season 2 #shadow and bone #renew shadow and bone #boycott Netflix?? #I am ready #never getting to see kanej again is gonna kill me #kanej

[phantasmicfish]

So I’m getting really into the Crowley Doesn’t Remember His Time In Heaven headcanon and Idk if anyone’s done this yet, but here’s to keeping track of what Crowley does/doesn’t remember about Heaven:

- I think the main basis of the theory, and what really sells it for me, is he seems awfully familiar with Gabriel��s inability to access his memories, and knows exactly how to ask him, properly, so that Gabriel does end up remembering The Beginning

- he created the stars (“let there be light”) and met Aziraphale while doing so, doesn’t seem to remember him when they meet a second time in the Garden of Eden

- he worked with Saraqael on the horse head nebula, doesn’t remember them

- knew, or maybe was close with, Furfur, who says they fought together before the Fall, and adds that Crowley (as an Angel) used to jump onto his back like a monkey

- seems to remember the passwords, since he’s able to open up Gabriel’s file when Muriel couldn’t, or maybe Heaven just recognizes him and he’s able to do that

#im getting really into the Crowley Doesn’t Remember His Time In Heaven head canon… so here’s this #if anyone had anything to add lmk and I’ll add it #good omens #good omens season 2 #go2 #go2 spoilers #spoilers #good omens season 2 spoilers #anthony j crowley #Crowley

[phantasmicfish]

Okay so I want to get all my good omens s2 thoughts out there in one big swoop and try to sound coherent… and ofc I’ll later post exclusively what I loved because there is A Lot to love about this show!

I largely loved the first four episodes. I thought they were amazing, there was fantastic chemistry and humor between Aziraphale and Crowley. The back in time sequences were brilliant and slightly darker than they were in season 1! I felt they portrayed Heaven in a more critical light than we’ve seen before… ex: Heaven condoning the murder of children, messing Job’s life over a silly bet, kicking Crowley out for asking several questions.

I think the back in time sequences really showed Aziraphale’s struggle with his desire to follow Heaven/God because they're the Good Guys verses what Heaven/God is actually telling him to do being straight up bonkers. We see the first time he lies to other angels to save Job’s children, but this deed ends up in direct violation of God’s orders, so there’s this internal moral conflict here…

It was amazing to see angels and demons try to understand humanity and fail, versus Aziraphale and Crowley who are well-versed in humanity and their traditions and have the upper hand in this regard.

I love love LOVE Jim. I mean, Gabriel. I mean, James! The dynamic between him, Crowley, and Aziraphale was amazing! You have this horrible, completely awful boss who’s narcissistic and self-centered and completely detached from any form of human emotion… and you wipe his slate clean and stick him with two characters who think he’s a mega level asshole and watch their interactions unfold. I think Aziraphale promising to protect Gabriel and then upholding that promise despite Gabriel being a douche is so sweet, so in character… and Crowley going along with it even though he hates Gabriel with all his heart. And the way Crowley struggles to reconcile and accept this version of Gabriel with the one he’s seen in the past was very interesting to watch. Gabriel learning the alphabet, dusting the bookshop because he wants to be helpful, Gabriel jumping out the window because Crowley tells him this is how he can help Aziraphale really sold it for me— now, without his memory, Gabriel is kind and nice and just wholesomely curious. I think I would have liked to see more Gabriel-as-Jim scenes before he got his memory back, which brings me to what I don’t like about the show, namely, the last episode.

(HRHSHSHSBSZHSH)

So, the ultimate episode has the big resolution— it’s revealed Gabriel decided against a second Armageddon after his blossoming romance with Beelzebub, then he gets his memory back and the two of them go off together to live a life of romance and love and all that on Proxima Centauri, presumably.

And.

Just.

It’s too neat. It’s too tidy. Crowley and Aziraphale had all of creation to alleviate their prejudices and fall in love *cough they just don’t know it yet cough*. It’s not believable to me that Gabriel and Beelzebub would fall in love in such a short period of time based on such minimal interactions, I feel like love (a very human thing) is something pre-Jim Gabriel would look down on altogether. I wish we had more of Jim. I would, frankly, be fine without seeing the return of Gabriel altogether… or at least some scenes that show Gabriel as being grateful to Aziraphale and Crowley for hiding him out and risking destruction just for him…

I don’t know. I think that end was wrapped up too neatly and too tightly. I’d be happy if Gabriel never got his memory back this season, and we see the continuation of Jim in season 3. Why build a character up only to have him disappear just when we start to like him?

I didn’t care for Nina and Maggie. I thought they were superfluous in every sense of the word. I feel like their characters had a lot of potential in the beginning and then the plot just sort of ended up… not doing anything with their characters? Nina is in a maybe emotionally toxic relationship with Lindsay, but then that ends and we don’t even get to meet Lindsay. Maggie’s character has no development except for her love of Nina and her owning a record shop. And the two of them giving advice to Crowley at the end to just talk to Aziraphale just didn’t do it for me.

I was crushed when Aziraphale was asked to rejoin heaven and did so immediately and with open arms— it’s like that scene at the bandstand all over again, when Aziraphale said, there is no our side. He still believes in and wants to follow Heaven, whereas Crowley made his peace with being on his own side (not Heaven or Hell’s) many years ago.

So, essentially: I loved the show, but I’m not satisfied with the conclusion to Gabriel’s story or Maggie/Nina’s involvement, which sorta soured it for me. I do love the show! Especially every back in team featurette with Crowley and Aziraphale, any and all Crowley and Aziraphale interactions in the present today together and with Gabriel, the major ship vibes this season was pumping out! It was funny and lovely and aside from the imo lackluster Gabriel resolution, all around great!

#sorry just wanted to get all my thoughts in a bit ranty thing done and out of the way #long post #good omens season 2 #good omens season two #good omens #good omens spoilers #good omens season 2 spoilers #go2 #go2 spoilers #aziraphale #crowley #good omens jim #the archangel gabriel #crowley x aziraphale #ineffable husbands

[phantasmicfish]

Ngl I ship them so freaking hard

#their chemistry was SO FREAKING GOOD! #mission impossible dead reckoning #mission impossible #ethan hunt #mission impossible grace #Ethan x Grace #ethan/grace #hayley atwell

[phantasmicfish]

#I wanted to read some really well written kanej fanfic #and then I thought #why not literally read the six of crows or crooked kingdom #Or exclusively watch the crows parts in shadow and bone #so now I’m happy!! #new plan: read six of crows again for lack of good fanfic lol #actually if anyone has any good kanej fanfics drop it in the comments please I’m starved for content #six of crows #shadow and bone #kaz brekker #inej gjafa #kanej #kax x inej

[phantasmicfish]

#love them #my interests are so sporadic lately it’s kinda insane #I’m gonna give myself whiplash #anyway love love them #the bear #carmen x sydney #season 2 glimpse has me hooked

[phantasmicfish]

I already mentioned this in an earlier post but I wanna expand upon it because I think it’s so interesting… namely the XO, Kitty characters posing as the cast of The Breakfast Club

I just think their placement in the photo is hilarious… and sorta fitting if you consider their respective characters on the show.

I think Yuri could be Bender or Claire— she’s a Queen Bee but also the most rebellious out of the Xo Kitty characters since she’s closet LGBTQ and her parents are assholes (though her mom becomes better at the end).

Min Ho being Claire is fitting because he’s incredibly self-absorbed and definitely a drama queen… I keep picturing when he brought his whole ass suitcase to go on the hike.

Dae as Brian is perfect— studying all the time and being the top student, being super kind and willing to help out his friends!

#xo kitty #the breakfast club #kitty song covey #min Ho #yuri

[phantasmicfish]

While watching episode 7 of XO, Kitty I swear the only thing I honed in on were The Breakfast Club parallels…

So in episode 7 Kitty, Yuri, Dae, and company are forced to go to detention after they’re caught underage drinking at Min Ho’s party. To me, their entire detention scene mimicked the beginning of The Breakfast Club, and the episode went on to have all these little snide similarities between the episode and (totally iconic) film.

Although the most blatant similarity was when Kitty just went right out and said it:

The first thing I noticed was, loosely, the similar settings. Both detentions take place in the high school library. Even initially when the kids walked into the library the first thing I noticed was how similar they seemed, wooden furniture everywhere and all the desks set up in the center. This one’s kinda a stretch but still valid:

Especially when Yuri walks in, there’s even this similar wooden library desk thing:

Then there’s the scene when detention actually starts and all the kids are finding things to do to starve off boredom. Min Ho is studying next to Madison, someone else is yawning and slumped over on the table, and then there’s this kid playing with his sweater strings JUST LIKE ANDREW WAS

There were other minor ones: Professor Lee seemed to heavily mimic Vernon, both dressed in suits and general strict in manner. Professor Lee also had to get up halfway through detention, just like Vernon did.

Madison showing up at detention even though she didn’t get caught or need to be here, just like Ally came to detention because she had nothing better to do.

Even Q calling Florian a nerd for wanting to study during detention seemed like stereotypical jock-like (Andrew) behavior.

And then there’s this…

…they’re literally posing as the breakfast club and I’d like the show runners to tell me why??

#or for someone to write a breakfast club fanfiction AU #xo kitty fanfic writers wya #Don’t tell me I’m the only one who noticed this #xo kitty #the breakfast club #Kitty song covey #min Ho

[phantasmicfish]

Manifesting a Jake/Amy/Rosa threesome that the writers are probably too chickenshit to bring to fruition

#brooklyn nine nine #amy santiago #jake peralta #rosa diaz #Amy/Rosa/Jake #*manifest manifest* #literally the only one who thinks this #I shipped Jake/Amy but then the ‘one thousand push-ups’ thing got to me

[phantasmicfish]

Started watching Brooklyn Nine Nine a decade late (which is a show that I’ve been sleeping on for ludicrous reasons…) but anyway praying Rosa doesn’t end up with Boyle, tbh right from episode 1 I’m sensing Gina/Boyle vibes

#more manifesting #just musings from season one #why have I never watched this show #literally a decade late to the fandom #I’m obsessed now #brooklyn nine nine #Rosa Diaz #charles boyle #gina linetti

[phantasmicfish]

Okay so I guess I’m exploding into a pile of green goo now bye

If Lockwood & Co doesn’t get a season 2 I might explode into something insane like a pile of green goo

#fml #lockwood & co #save lockwood and co #renew lockwood and co #i really hate the progression of these reblogs #Julie and the Phantoms all over again literally why

[phantasmicfish]

Okay but where is this scene I need this scene

#I ship them so hard they’re so cute together I literally can’t #hitting ​all the ship vibes #and all the tropes! #I want to write so much fanfiction!!! #min ho x kitty #Min Ho/kitty #xo kitty

[phantasmicfish]

Also in my adventures of watching XO, Kitty ima keep a list of stuff I like from the show…

- most characters switching flawlessly and consistently from Korean to English throughout the show

- The fact that Kitty changed schools not just for a boy. Like yes she came all the way to Korea to surprise Dae, but she stays at KISS despite their breakup because she wants to experience new things and get to know her mom and find her family!

- Min Ho being a jerk to literally everyone all the time, because I think it’s hilarious

- The LGBT+ representation! Yuri and Juliana, Q and Florian

- When Kitty makes a friend (Q) and then comes over to Dae/Min Ho/Q’s dorm room and knocks on Q’s door, I thought that moment was really cute cuz it sorta shows his Kitty is tentatively finding her own friends at this school and will actively see them regardless of if Dae is around

- Dad’s sister is 100% adorable

- the scene where Min Ho and Kitty were cooking together… that was so cute and nice! ALSO the fact that Min Ho knows Kitty’s fav foods during the detention scene killed me

#xo kitty #just some moments that made me smile/think/interested in this show #kitty song covey #min ho #min ho x kitty

[phantasmicfish]

So I’m halfway done with XO, Kitty and I’m just truly floored by all the complex parent-to-children relationships that exist. Honestly this show went hard to explore inner family turmoil/trauma and I did not expect it to go that deep:

- Yuri’s family’s homophobia, but also the fact that they argue all the time/bring each other down/can’t seem to connect, despite the fact that Yuri’s Mom definitely wants to… and also there’s Yuri’s Dad who’s prone to chaotic outbursts and has no time to spare for his family in general

- Min Ho’s mom not having time for him, being separated from his family who’s in LA, his parents very clearly messy divorce that was made public

- Dae struggling with shame over his financial situation/his father’s profession

- Alex trying to find his dad, Professor Lee (??), who clearly has no interest in having children/some sort of deep seeded resentment of Western conduct/poor academic performance/kids overall

#xo kitty #I’ll probably keep adding to this as I go #parental relationships with their children are complicated #kitty song covey #min ho