#but stevenson only gives us so much to work with | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

prettyinaccurate · 2 months

Text

jekyll and hyde except its how i pictured them the first time i read the book like 7 years ago

#for some reason i was fully convinced hyde was canonically ginger until i reread it #i was so confused why people drew him with black hair #but stevenson only gives us so much to work with #jekyll and hyde #edward hyde #henry jekyll #BY the way. my favorite character is utterson thank you for asking

1K notes · View notes

cryptidghostgirl · 2 months

Note

Lets say that Alastor and cat-demon! Reader are friends, both of them are staying at the hotel. Alastor gives them catnip just to mess with them.

A/N I love this mischief. Also, I am 100% basing the character off of Catra from Nate Stevenson's She-Ra remake.

Prepare for Battle (Platonic!Alastor x Platonic!Cat Demon!Reader)

Pairing: Platonic Alastor x Platonic Reader

Warnings: None but please correct me if I am wrong.

Word Count: 1,276 (Sorry it is on the shorter side, most of my fics recently have been super super long and I needed to do something different.)

Master Lists:

Master Lists

Hazbin Hotel Master List

Y/n had showed up around the same time as Alastor did to the hotel. She was a cat demon, like Husk, only much more humanoid. The only real traits she had to show for it were the claws, tail, ears, and, of course, the wild mess of her hair.

Much to everyone's surprise, Alastor had greeted her upon her arrival with a genuine smile, even a hug. A warm welcome by anyone's standards, not just the frigid Radio Demon's. According to Husk, the two had been friends for longer than he'd known either party, possibly even when they were alive although neither spoke much of their pasts. She was never involved in his work as an overlord, but she was always there, according to him. Y/n lurked, waiting, watching for the opportune moment. A mischief maker were the exact words Husk had used.

Y/n and Alastor balanced one another out. Where she was practically feral, he was calm and composed. When he lost his cool, she kept an even temper. When the pranks had started, they had taken everyone by surprise, even with Husk's vague warning. She had just seemed so together in an odd way, so imposing. Not in the way Alastor was but she still held her own. No one expected this sort of juvenile behavior from either of them but once it started, there was no stopping it.

The first one had occurred just a few days after the cat demon's arrival. It had been small, nothing too crazy. Alastor's microphone had simply been replaced with a bright red and white striped candy cane when he had left it leaning against the fireplace to go handle something for Charlie. It wasn't often he left the device unguarded but, he was only a few steps away from it and had figured there was no reason to worry when all the hotel's inhabitants were people trying to be redeemed.

Y/n had watched giddily from the couch, her legs crossed and sporting a failed attempt at a poker face, as Alastor had picked it up again. It had taken him a second to realize the switch had occurred and when he did, his eyes went wide. Y/n had burst out into laughter.

"Here we go again." Husk had sighed, shaking his head slightly.

Thats when the inhabitants of the Hazbin Hotel learned two things. One was that Y/n was not in fact a guest in the sense that she was trying to check out of Hell and into Heaven but rather a guest in that she was there to visit Alastor. The second was that the two had been engaged in a war of practical jokes for the past several decades at least.

From that point forward, the game was on. Each prank became more and more destructive, more and more insane. They took turns with it too, a highly civilized format for an extraordinarily childish pursuit.

Y/n brought out a different side of Alastor, one they had never seen before. It was a youthful side, a side of non-threatening laughter and genuine smiles. While unnerving in some ways, it made them all a bit more at ease with the notorious Radio Demon, to know he had friends and a bit of a soft side beneath his persona.

After the microphone switch, Alastor had tricked Y/n into sitting on a stool beneath a bucket of water. When he had dumped it on her, he had not only made a mess for Nifty to clean up but caused the cat demon to shoot up into the air, hissing loudly. Y/n had gotten him back by changing the locks on the door to his recording studio and used some of her own special brand of magic to block him from teleporting within. The result of this was a very irritated Alastor who broke a fresh hole through the wall. Y/n had been forced by Charlie and Vaggie to be the one to fix it, it was her fault after all, but she insisted it was worth it.

Next had been the vacuum cleaner. The fucking vacuum cleaner. Charlie had had to repaper a whole wall to get the claw-marks to go away after Alastor had used the machine to chase Y/n up it. For her revenge, Y/n had been crafty. She had rounded up a group of several demons she knew had it out for her dear friend and set them on the hotel.

Vaggie had tried her best to kick the cat demoness out after that one but, Alastor had, surprisingly, stepped in. He had fixed the wall with a snap of his fingers and they had both promised to tone down their competition, but never to stop it entirely.

It was Alastor's turn now and as he approached Y/n with a cup of tea, everyone knew something was bound to happen. It was out of character for the man after all, the random act of kindness. She was cuddled up in a sunspot on the couch, reading. So engrossed in her book, she barley looked up at him as she took the cup from his hand with a muttered word of thanks.

Alastor had retreated to the bar beside Angel and Husk with a satisfied expression on his face.

"What did you do now?" Angel asked as he watched Y/n take a sip from the cup.

"Just you wait." Alastor hummed in response.

Five minutes was all it took for the cup to be empty and suddenly, Y/n was on the floor. She reveled in the sunlight, her book now forgotten on the couch as she rolled around.

"What the fuck?" Angel laughed, turning to Alastor, "What the fuck did you give her?"

"Cat nip?" Husk asked, his eyebrows raised, "Really? I mean, that's low. Even for you."

Alastor shrugged.

"Charlie and Vaggie made us promise to tone it down."

Angel shifted his gaze back to Y/n who was wide eyed, staring up at the ceiling intently. The sun reflecting off Angel's glass as he raised it to his lips shot across the ceiling over her head and she immediately rolled over onto all fours, her tail flicking back and forth.

"She's certainly 'toned down.'" Angel noted, laughing once again at Y/n's antics as she tried to grasp the spot of light.

"She's gonna kill you." Husk scoffed, shaking his head slightly.

Angel moved his glass again and Y/n shot forward, clasping her hands around the spot of light once more. It was ten more minutes of the guys laughing and Angel fucking with Y/n using the glass to reflect light before she finally came back her senses.

She sat up from where she had lain on the floor moment's ago, a hand to her head.

"Jesus." she grumbled, "Why... how'd I get down here?"

"Three." Husk said, crossing his arms.

Y/n took her hand from her forehead, looking around the floor of the lobby curiously. Her gaze shifted to the sofa. Her book, the empty cup.

"Two."

Y/n turned to face Alastor, her eyes narrowed.

"One."

"You fucking drugged me you dickwad!" Y/n exclaimed as she pulled herself to her feet, "Catnip? Really? That's low even for you."

"Your turn." Alastor hummed placidly in return, seemingly undisturbed by her anger at the situation.

"I..." Y/n trailed off.

With another look thrown over her shoulder at the empty mug, she marched up to him. Determination glinted in her eyes, Y/n smiled, her teeth bared.

"You are so fucking in for it now."

357 notes · View notes

superectojazzmage · 10 months

Text

Watched the Nimona movie last night. Review I guess. It was pretty damn good. Definitely would’ve probably been regarded as Blue Sky’s magnum opus if they’d gotten to release it instead of being fucked over by Disney. Very cute, very funny, very powerful in the right moments. A thing that stuck out to me is that it’s really only an adaptation in the loosest sense of the word. It takes the core premise and beats of the comic but is functionally an entirely different kind of story that does its own thing. And given that ND Stevenson was heavily involved in production, I suspect that was intentional.

The comic was much darker and more downbeat in a lot of ways, plus it was significantly longer and thus could afford to be slower paced. But more than that, it was a lot more meaty in terms of themes and scope. The whole “LGBT allegory” element was there, but it wasn’t the sole focus, the comic was a story about a lot of different things; not just an LGBT experience, but also discussion of fantasy genre tropes and clichés, criticism of other fantasy deconstructions, character study, exploring what it means to be a hero or villain, critique of the glorification of crime and cruelty in underprivileged communities, corruption in governments, peer pressure, the senseless and self-perpetuating nature of violence, the worthlessness of revenge, etc.. And above all that, it was a story about trauma and people’s responses to it, with Ballister representing people who actually deal with their problems and move on while Nimona represented people who let their mistakes and suffering and grief consume their identity, or worse, use it as an excuse to indulge their worst qualities and take out their feelings on everyone around them.

The movie, by contrast, has a much more narrow focus. The LGBT allegory is front and center and basically the entire focal point of the movie, aside from a spattering of themes about the danger of zealotry and rigid fundamentalist thinking. This gives the movie a much tighter narrative and pacing that suits its inherently shorter runtime, but also leads to a ton of changes to the story either to convey a different kind of message or just work better in a different medium. Most obviously in how Nimona is vastly more sympathetic in the movie and essentially really is the silly gremlin the comic fakes you out into thinking she is, scrapping the comic’s twist that she was a genuinely bad person who was completely serious about wanting to be a villain, caring nothing for the lives she destroyed with her behavior and idolizing Ballister because she thought he was the same as her and would thus tell her what she wanted to hear (i.e., that she was justified in killing and destroying everything around her in the name of getting even). And in the changes to the Institution’s history and nature. And all sorts of other things.

All in all, I feel if you go in comparing and contrasting the movie and the comic, arguing which changes are for the better or worse, you’ll be setting yourself up for disappointment in either direction because they’re two different beasts and it’s like comparing apples and oranges. So keep that in mind if you’re a fan of the comic watching the movie or a fan of the movie wanting to look into the comic. I think ultimately I still like the comic better, but that’s purely my personal opinion and there’s plenty that I think the movie did better.

Some other observations:

Riz Ahmed my beloved, thank you Mr. Stevenson for this perfect casting. Literally perfect for Ballister.

Acting in general was very good. You can tell this was a passion project for a lot of people, not just Stevenson.

Only two changes that are objectively bad are Ambrosius losing his awesome Van Halen hairdo and changing Ballister’s last name — Blackheart is a way cooler name than Boldheart and it’s a pointless change, one that I’d argue even hurts the narrative since it makes it too obvious that Ballister isn’t actually a bad guy.

The animation is really great with fantastic expressions, stylish movement, and wonderful aesthetics that perfectly suit the story, but there’s times where it feels a little off. But there are parts where it looks less “movie” and more “cheap mid-2000s CGI-and-Flash cartoon show from France”.

The humor can be a hit and miss, in a “going through the motions of a Hollywood animated comedy for kids” way. The movie excels when it’s either imitating the comic’s Old Internet sense of humor or going hard on the drama, but there’s bits where it seemingly slams on the brakes to do Illumination-esque Twitter humor and those bits definitely throw off the vibe.

Having an actual straight up attempted suicide in the climax was shockingly ballsy. I genuinely can’t believe they went there, but I’m glad they did because the film wouldn’t have felt nearly as raw without it.

I don’t know how they managed to make the Director even more of an asshole than in the comics, but they did.

#nimona #nimona film #nd stevenson #ballister boldheart #ballister blackheart #ambrosius goldenloin #movie review #animated movies #movies #films #comic books #dc comics #webcomic #web comics #indie comics #netflix #blue sky studios #lgbt film #lgbt fantasy

719 notes · View notes

little-cereal-draws · 8 months

Text

ok i see everyone's "ballister and ambrosius as nimona's parents" stuff but i'm going to raise you this

Ballister and Dr. Blitzmeyer as nimona's parents

I know there's the Gay Dad au sanctifying ambrosis as nimona's dad but he seems to get frustrated with Nimona more frequently than Ballister and I kinda got the sense that adopting her was mostly Bal's choice. Don't get me wrong, ambrosius has moments where he enjoys himself and he loves her, but I don't think he's thrilled abt the idea of her being here forever. He gives "good at babysitting but needs to give the child back at a certain point" vibes and obviously he can't do that when it's his kid

However in the Everything Is Fine au (the one where they all live in the cabin in the woods) Blitzmeyer is Nimona's guardian and they move from the city to the woods together, eventually moving in w Bal and Ambrosius.

Besides this au I don't think Blitzmeyer and Nimona ever interact, but I thought it was very interesting how the one time they do, she's also Nimona's guardian (I believe that's the word ND Stevenson uses, not "parent.") Already in this one picture, they look happier than Ambrosius did lol

I'm sure movie ambrosius would be much more willing to try and get to know nimona but what if the sticking point is with her this time? She can't get over what he did to both her and Bal, he reminds her too much of Gloreth, she's still wary of anyone that was that ingrained in the institute, and a million other things. She knows he's really trying and feels bad about everything but bc of all she's been through, she's not quick to trust people who betrayed her. Especially if she's only had bad interactions with them until this point. She avoids/shuts down his attempts to connect with her and is generally closed off and angry when he's there. It's like a kid hating their new stepparent lol Both Bal and Ambrosius know it's nothing personal, just the defense mechanism that's kept her safe from people like ambrosius for so long, but it still hurts. Eventually, he gives up trying to reach out to her and figures maybe she'll come to him or maybe they just won't be as close as he hoped.

Now, Bal's weird science friend is someone more Nimona's speed lol Blitzmeyer has somehow remained almost completely immune to institute propaganda, doesn't really care abt breaking things (the law included) if it can further her work in some way, and is just kooky enough to appeal to Nimona. She lets nimona help in the lab and doesn't mind the million questions she asks because that's just another opportunity to talk abt her work. They go on some adventures getting stuff for Blitzmeyer's experiments and really bond. Eventually they become pretty close and Nimona frequently goes out of her way to see Blitzmeyer.

One night late in the lab, Bal mentions that Nimona really likes her and Dr Blitzmeyer is like "really? no, not that much." And Bal's like "no, really that much. About as much as she likes me actually." And then with creeping awareness they both slowly look at each other with the realization that they're co-parenting now and actually have been for a while. After the initial freak out, they keep going almost like normal but throw in an outing every other month or so. They'll take Nimona for ice cream or some other casual thing and she's none the wiser that they've figured her out. One night as they were coming home from a movie or smth Nimona says, "I'm so glad we did this, I love spending time with my two favorite people." Nimona keeps walking but they have to stop to silently freak out to each other a bit lol

The only problem is that they frequently get mistaken for a nuclear family on these outings. And it doesn't help that Bal and Blitzmeyer often refer to each other as "my partner." (They open a lab together at the end of the comic and I think they would as well after the movie, so they are literally business partners and lab partners. But I like to hc them in a queer platonic relationship as well, so the word "partner" has a double meaning here. Ambrosius is Bal's romantic partner and Blitzmeyer is his platonic partner. They all talked abt it, it's all good.) Every time this happens though, Bal has to explain that they're just friends and he actually has a husband back at home. Some people go "ok, 'just friends,' sure. wink wink nudge nudge ;)" or "ok... does your husband know...? That you... and her...? ok, ok." It makes Bal angry when this happens but neither him or Blitzmeyer cares enough to actually do anything about it. Nimona just laughs at the stranger's confusion at their unconventional family.

Anyway, they're just two friends who somehow found themselves raising a 1000 year old shapeshifter together lol Ambrosius is disappointed Nimona didn't like him as much as he hoped but now he can just stay home and vibe lol

#it's like a Laszlo Guillermo and Nadja situation when it came to raising baby colin. nadja wasn't involved at all and colin was their kid #nimona #nimona headcanon #ballister boldheart #ambrosius goldenloin #meredith blitzmeyer #dr blitzmeyer #nimona comic

156 notes · View notes

joelswritingmistress · 3 months

Text

You Scare Me, Professor: Chapter 34

Summary: The reader is taking graduate classes at a local university in the wooded upstate New York. She is drawn to her professor, Dr. Joel Miller, though she is also inherently aware that he has something dark about him that she can't quite put her finger on. As the reader's attraction grows deeper, she has to decide whether to endure the danger or run away as fast as possible.

Pairing: Professor Joel Miller x f!reader

The night ended more lighthearted. Dr. Miller and I took advantage of the frozen lake and the scenery again, skating around and taking pictures of the winter wonderland. We had a few drinks, went out for dinner, and spent most of the night thereafter in the loft. If I had it my way, I wouldn’t have left that little nook in the woods.

“We should rent this place again in the summer,” I said to him. “I bet it’s nice to kayak around.. maybe go fishing.. hike the trails. Oh, and I saw a new, little brewery is supposed to be having its grand opening in May nearby.”

Dr. Miller smiled. “I can book it now for July.”

I loved thinkin about the future, even if it was just a matter of months. For a second I daydreamed images of a tan Dr. Miller by my side, shirtless and glistening in the sun. It made me smirk.

Bidding a temporary farewell to the lakeside cabin was bittersweet, though Dr. Miller already put in a request for the summer before we took off for home.

“The good news is we have another getaway at my sister’s wedding next weekend,” Dr. Miller explained as we hit the highway. “Can you get off work for the rehearsal dinner on Friday? I may cancel Thursday’s class so we can hit the road when you get out of work on Thursday. It’s a pretty good haul up to Vermont.”

I nodded, “Of course. I can’t wait.”

When Tuesday’s class rolled around I decided to confront Trevor on the walk out. His constant stares were starting to bug me and he hadn’t spoken a word to me since the day I’d left Dr. Stevenson’s class to give a sneaky kiss to Dr. Miller in his office. A part of me wanted to ask him what he thought he knew, but I also didn’t want to accidentally rat myself out - or Dr. Miller.

Otherwise, I was very much into the class discussion, and loved how Dr. Miller smiled a certain way when he called on me to answer a question. I loved his class. On a side note, there was a certain level of sneaky amusement I felt from having this secret life with him. No one in the class had even the slightest indication that we lived together, or that we just celebrated Valentine's Day shacked up in a remote, lakeside cabin. There was a part of me that got off on our secret.

“So,” Dr. Miller clapped his hands together. “I'm going to post something for you to read and look over. You'll be able to even discuss points online if you'd like, but Thursday's class will not meet in person. My sister is getting married out of state and I'll be traveling to Vermont on Thursday in preparation for that.”

“Congratulations!” Someone's voice echoed off the walls, making a few others laugh. “To your sister,” the person added, drawing more laughter.

“Thank you,” Dr. Miller responded with a chuckle. “If there are no further questions -”

“Class dismissed,” the group said in unison.

I smiled to myself and stuffed my notebook into my bag. It was always odd to me as I left the classroom. Dr. Miller and I were so affectionate and borderline clingy everywhere else. That's the only part I hated - not being able to be ourselves during that short time frame we had together on campus.

My phone went off and I glanced down, smiling when I saw it was him.

See you at home.

I glanced toward him and our eyes briefly met as he began packing up his black bag.

And then, as I ducked out into the hallway, Trevor leaned over getting a drink of water. He was one of the only people I ever saw use the water fountain in the building.

I went to call out to him but then decided against it. Why was I about to create a conflict out of nothing? Plus, I reminded myself, he had walked with me to class when I didn't want to walk alone.

I passed by, glancing over at him. Just as he finished getting a drink our eyes met for a brief moment. I looked away and kept walking, using the stairs to get up to the main floor.

Behind me, I heard Trevor clear his throat and then his feet peppered up the stairwell behind me. I yanked open the door to enter the lobby and Trevor’s footsteps came faster.

“Could you hold that, please?” His nasally voice called out.

I sighed to myself but turned around with a half-smile and a nod.

“Thank you.” He hurried to reach for the door and held it so I could go ahead first.

“No problem.” I continued walking and Trevor cleared his throat again as he scurried up beside me.

“Have any plans for the long weekend?” He asked, gripping the straps of his backpack as we wandered toward the main doors.

“Hmm.. I might go visit my parents,” I lied, “But nothing else. You?”

He shrugged. “I may go skiing.”

So am I, I thought, even though I didn't know how. Carol’s wedding. “You ski?”

“Doesn't everyone in the Catskills area?” He snorted a laugh at himself and I smirked.

“Everyone but me.” I smiled back. “I don't know how.”

“I've been skiing since I've been five.”

“Cool.”

“I could always give you lessons. I used to give lessons before I started working for UPS.”

“I didn't know you worked for UPS.”

“For now.” He grinned and followed me out into the parking lot.

I glanced over at him as he continued to trail me out into the parking lot. I felt like he was velcroed to me. He was so close.

“Well, I'll see ya later Trevor.” I reached for the handle on my car as I approached and he cleared his throat again.

What is his deal? I wanted to blurt it out, but I wasn’t the type to be super direct like that. He wasn’t doing anything wrong - just being awkward and slightly annoying.

Trevor raised a hand to wave, almost robotically, as I pulled out of the parking space and edged my way down the rows of cars to exit the campus parking lot. When I was close to a half-a-football field away, I caught a glimpse of him waving his hands wildly in my direction. I wasn’t even sure if he was trying to flag me down, or was summoning someone else. And so, I kept driving. I didn’t see Dr. Miller exit the building.

“What’s the matter?” Dr. Miller approached Trevor when he heard the commotion.

Trevor reached into the pocket of his jacket and stared down at the screen of a cell phone. He eyed the screen, reading a notification as it flashed across.

YOUR STOWE, VT LIFT TICKETS ARE NOW AVAILABLE TO PUT INTO I-WALLET. CLICK THE BANNER TO CONFIRM.

Dr. Miller’s eyes landed on the familiar phone cover. He had the urge to yank it from Trevor’s hand and demand why he had (Y/N)’s phone, but he knew he had to restrain himself.

“Who’s the phone belong to?” Dr. Miller asked, knowing damn well who it belonged to.

“I-I..” Trevor looked down at it again and spoke to himself. “She said she couldn’t ski.” He scratched his head and continued to stare at the screen.

“Trevor.” Dr. Miller closed the gap between the two of them. “Why do you have that phone?”

“One of my friends from class dropped it,” he claimed, “She just drove off. I was trying to flag her down.” Trevor slipped the phone back into his pocket and Dr. Miller extended his hand.

“I’ll turn it in to campus police.”

He kept the phone in his coat. “I can do that.”

“I insist.” Dr. Miller nodded and kept his palm facing up a few inches in front of Trevor. “I’m sticking around here anyway to do a few things.”

Trevor stared up at him, and then looked back down to his hand. He didn’t immediately hand over the phone. “Where did you say your sister’s wedding was?”

CLICK HERE FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER

@untamedheart81 @suttonspuds @cesspitoflove @michilandcof @grogusmum @morallyinept @akah565 @brittmb115 @magpiepills @poodlebae @gobaaby-blog-blog @mermaidgirl30 @mandijo17 @shotgun-shelby @itscatrodriguez-thepearl @macaroni676 @acciowolfstar1 @smolbeanzzz @sarcasm-theotherwhitemeat @bandluvr97

83 notes · View notes

testudoaubrei-blog · 1 year

Text

So being in both the she Ra and tLT fandoms I definitely see a lot of posts about religious trauma. Which, fair. But Tasmin (Edit: Tasmyn whoa I am dumb) Muir is a practicing Catholic and Nate Stevenson is an atheist who was raised Calvinist. And in addition to tLT being arguably more in the tradition of Very Gay, very subversive Catholic art rather than a more straightforward account of trauma written by someone now 'on the outside' there is also the theological specificity to think about.

She Ra isn't just about the psychological harms of Christianity or Evangelicalism but -Calvinism specifically-. This is true of a lot of Nate's work. The rejection of total depravity in Catra's redemption of herself, of a 'good' elect and 'bad' damned in the shows consistent ambiguities/humanization of everyone, and the shows rejection of (pre)destiny in Adora and Catra's arcs are extremely anti Calvinist. And of course Horde Prime claims to be a Calvinist God (but he isn't, this acting as a proxy for the -people- who claim their abuses and oppressions are the will of God - there is no actual deity on Nate's universe, only people).

But I have no idea what is going on, religiously, in the Locked Tomb. However I suspect that while Nate, raised Calvinist, is interested in the terror of damnation, Tasmin (EDIT: Tasmyn) Muir might be exploring much more ambivalent Catholic ideas of Purgation and of course, the Harrowing of Hell. TBH while I adore Nate's cartoon theological critique I am hoping Muir gives us some Man Who Was Thursday theological what the fuckery.

Note: if you want to read more about Catra and Calvinism here is one of the most batshit posts I have written on this website. (Note this was written before Nate transitioned to Nate so it uses his former name and both genders of pronouns since that was his preference at time of writing). I treat my old posts like articles so I don't keep them continuously up to date but linking to anything that doesn't say Nate still feels odd.

#the locked tomb #harrow the ninth spoilers #nona the ninth spoilers #john gaius #she ra spop #spop #nate stevenson #tasmin Muir

825 notes · View notes

fancyfeathers · 5 months

Text

Society of Protection, prologue (Yandere Bungo Stray Dogs x reader x original characters)

A/N-this is a series I’m gonna be starting here and on my ao3, this is an au of sorts where being a yandere is socially acceptable

The Society of Protection…

An organization in Europe made up of ability users, all members are prominent figures in the European social scene. A heiress of one of the richest families in Britain, a famous composer of the Paris Opera House, a genius doctor from the British countryside, a French architect behind the designs of palaces and churches, a young man from a rich family in the countryside of France who seeks out adventure and secrets in unknown corners of the world.

This may seem like some social club on the outside, for the elite and their close friends, but it was much more than that. That heiress, Jane Austen, is using her family’s fortune to help darlings sneak out of the country to other places to hide. That composer, Gaston Leroux, uses the catacombs of Paris to guide darlings to safe houses and out of the city if needed. That genius, Dr. R.L. Stevenson, is giving medical treatment to darlings so they can avoid a public place where they could easily be spotted. The architect, Victor Hugo, designs his buildings with secret rooms and tunnels for these runaway darlings to hide in and stay safe before either Gaston Leroux comes to lead them out of Paris or until that young man, Alexander Dumas comes along with fake documents to smuggle them somewhere safe and covering it up as one of his adventures.

They are able to see past their cultural blindness they were raised in to reach out a hand to help those who need a safe place. A group untied under a common purpose and message of kindness, because they don’t want to end up as a darling themselves.

Now they all sit in Miss Jane Austen’s summer home in the outskirts of Paris, in the drawing room. They sit and chat over a cup of tea that the maid pours, all seeming like a simple group of friends, but when the maid leaves the atmosphere changes. Now they are coworkers discussing business. Gaston sets his tea cup on the table and clears his throat. “Now we have business to attend to. I have received work that The Guild has set up base in Yokohama, Japan. Normally I wouldn’t care about such matters but with three power organizations, The Armed Detective Agency and Port Mafia, in one spot it is bound to become a war zone and who knows what would happen to the darlings there.”

There is a chuckle heard from across the table from Dr. Stevenson who shakes her head with a hum. “You say this like we are not darlings ourselves, but that is besides the point. I’m guessing you want us to deal with this? Who would be your choice? Alexander? Jane? Victor?”

Gaston only smirks in reply and says…

”All of us.”

(characters beneath the cut)

Jane Austen (she/her)

The head and founder of the Society of protection.

Age: 39

Sexuality: bisexual

Gaston Leroux (he/they)

Member of the Society of Protection

Age: 25

Sexuality: Pansexual

Dr. R.L Stevenson (she/they)

member of the Society of Protection

Age: 34

Sexuality: bisexual with a preference towards woman

Victor Hugo (he/him)

Member of the Society of Protection

Age: 21

Sexuality: straight (ally)

Alexander Dumas (he/him)

Member of the Society of Protection

Age: 19

Sexuality: bisexual with a preference towards men

picrew credit- https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/1564386

#yandere bungo stray dogs x reader #yandere bungou stray dogs #yandere bsd #original character x reader #bungou stray dogs oc #bungou stray dogs #bungou stray dogs x reader #yandere dazai #yandere chuuya #yandere mark twain #yandere mori ougai #yandere Fukuzawa #Yandere Edgar Allan Poe

54 notes · View notes

burningvelvet · 2 months

Text

to cope with my post-binge blues from watching black sails, i just finished the treasure island audiobook. it's my first time with any treasure island media - now i have to watch the muppets movie. any way here are my thoughts:

- i knew the character of trelawney had to be based on the romantic era edward john trelawny of byron/shelley fame and I WAS RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! sources: WONG, AMY R. “The Poetics of Talk in Robert Louis Stevenson’s ‘Treasure Island.’" A Sandison Robert Louis Stevenson and the Appearance of Modernism

- i know that black sails isn't fully intended to be a perfect prequel or meant to be taken as filling in all of the gaps to treasure island but i'm still going to compare & contrast the two lol

- billy spending his whole life obsessed with flint and having alcohol withdrawal induced hallucinations about him. OMG. and i'm shocked that they just casually dropped that he visited flint in georgia to get the map like did flint request to see him before he died, was it just about the map, or did he want closure about the whole thing, did billy seek flint out, why didn't they kill each other, how the fuck did that whole thing go? i need more information dammit

- saw another post on here talking about how in black sails flint has that speech about the drunk guy named flint asking his grandpa for rum before disappearing into the sea and then in treasure island we find out flints last words were asking a "darby mcgraw" for rum before he died SO IN THE BLACK SAILS UNIVERSE DARBY IS HIS GRANDPA and so im wondering DID FLINT 1.0 EVER EXIST AT ALL OR WAS IT SIMPLY FORESHADOWING ALL ALONG but at the same time it doesnt matter because the black sails creators said the ending is intentionally canonically up to interpretation and black sails canon and treasure island canon dont match up any way but still it gives us so much to think about bc we never canonically find out who the fuck darby is

- the doctor is the funniest character ever and him giving zero shits about billy or silver is hilarious LMAO

- rly enjoy the descriptions of the contents of billy's pockets and chest. i love old shit and that whole nautical aesthetic ugh. im currently wondering about the significance of the five sea shells billy had (jim wonders abt them too) if they were souvenirs from the island or what... but we never find out!!

- and what the fuck was up with those black spots I NEED ANSWERS! It worked on Billy but not Silver?

- having grown up on PotC i'm very enthused at the references (the song, the rum, "dead mens chest," etc)

- wish we saw more of jims mom, she was lowkey a badass for a moment there telling everyone off and willing to face the wrath of the pirates with her son lol

- love how the men just take jim on for his valour and then decide to make him a cabinboy and the mom just gets a replacement son to help her around the house lmaoooo i wonder if that was a common thing for single women to do though?

- long john silver has a sort of jekyll/hyde personality (btw the author stevenson also wrote jekyll/hyde for those of you who dont know!) - also why the fuck did they leave him to his own devices toward the end and not have a gun on him 24/7 like? i was also shocked that he didnt run off with all the gold only some of it. most chaotic character ever

- my biggest questions are why did black sails take out the alcoholism and the sea shanties? but importantly the alcholism - if they were going for gritty, as they were? flint and billy's alcoholism is integral to their characters (defines their characters actually) in the book as contrasted by silvers moderation & thats rly interesting. and the lack of singing is just boring - pirates rly did have sea shanties - however i can understand for time constraints per episode and whatnot them taking out the singing for practicality - but the alcoholism again is integral to those characters as well as being historically accurate and realistic & would have added a lot imo

EDIT: immediately after posting this i realized that since there are a few years between the treasure burial and flint's supposed death in georgia, he could have become a drunk in that time if we're creating a black sails to treasure island timeline, and billy wouldn't have become a drunk til later on since black sails is set roughly 20 yrs before treasure island.

HOWEVER - by the talks of it in treasure island, and all the pirates referring to flint as a drunk etc., it would still seem that flint was always that way when they knew him, prone to drinking... but at the same time i guess you could say all the characters are jollier than in black sails as indicated by their singing and their more stereotypical piratey ways.

however i still think the alcoholism & addiction theme would have added an extra layer to everything especially after flints sad drunk scene with eleanor. also in toby stephens deep fathoms interview he said flint is essentially like an addict when it comes to his delusion & desires. anyway i digress

transcript here, audio is on youtube: https://www.justsaypodcast.com/blog/2018/12/18/transcript-interview-with-toby-stephens-of-black-sails

14 notes · View notes

comtedelafere · 11 months

Text

So I just read this afternoon that Ray Stevenson has died at the age of 58 (which is absolutely no age, the poor fella, what a shock).

I'm not gonna pretend to know much about his back catalogue of work or say I was an especial fan or anything disingenuous like that, but I do really want to talk for a quick moment about the one role I really know and love him for - Porthos in the 2011 adaptation of The Three Musketeers.

Now, I know and you know that this version of The Musketeers is massively unpopular for a whole host of reasons - most notably the silly airship storyline (personally, I have such a well-trained suspension of disbelief that I can 100% deal with the airship aspect of it, but I totally get why it's an unpopular addition to the story) - but I will happily die on the hill that it is the closest combination of writing and portrayal of the Core Four yet (sorry, BBC version). Logan Lerman's d'Artagnan was a cheeky 19-year-old rascal who thought he was all that and a bag of chips and didn't care who knew it. Matthew Macfadyen's Athos was sullen and morose (but in a really hot way obvs, cos yknow - Athos) and didn't waste a word of dialogue. Luke Evans' Aramis was quiet, sober, extremely spiritual and didn't go around trying to seduce everything that moved the whole time.

But Ray Stevenson's Porthos? Oh. Oh this was sublime. Up until this adaptation, Porthos had more often than not been played as the comic relief: the large, overweight, affable drunk of no fixed IQ whose prowess at fighting was more down to luck and subtle slapstick than his good judgement. This version of Porthos couldn't have been further away from those portrayals.

He was a quick-witted, smart, physically powerful and agile fighter, whose hand-to-hand combat skills were so notorious that he never needed to use his sword. My absolute favourite moment that showed this fact so beautifully was at the end of the big fight scene with the Red Guards ("Four against FORTY? And you beat them like a drum?! *snort*!" oh, Louis!) when the Guards were reeling a bit, and trying to decide whether to go another round. At that point, Porthos casually pushed his sword from the scabbard with his thumb by about 2 inches - and that was enough to send the Red Guards running for the hills!! I screamed!! Perfect characterisation!! Porthos to an absolute T!!!!!

Not only that, but his version of Porthos was an unashamed yet impoverished dandy, a dedicated follower of fashion who took his time to choose exactly the right cut of new clothes in exactly the right colours - while his rich, married lover happily picked up the tab for him. He understood the way the right clothes and the right combination of appearance and demeanour in any given scenario could give him the upper hand, not only in fighting but also in all of his interpersonal relationships and encounters.

This is the Porthos I had wanted for years. This is the Porthos I cheered and applauded for when I finally saw the version that had lived in my head all those years had finally made it to the screen.

Don't get me wrong, of course the BBC Musketeers owns a huge part of my heart and soul and I love so much about them - but the 2011 Musketeers was so special because for me it was probably the very first time I finally got to see the Musketeers as the book described them, rather than just as the standard accepted carbon copies that had been passed down by Hollywood over the decades, and which bear little to no resemblance to the actual characters in the book. I have no idea if I've actually seen any of Ray's other performances or not, to be honest. Porthos may not be his finest hour onscreen, I really don't know. It may not be the part he's best known for. But if nothing else, Ray finally gave the world a Porthos that Dumas would have recognised.

Despite the fact the film as a whole was received poorly, his portrayal was a genuine gift, and I am privileged to be able to remember him as having given this Musketeer fangirl the abject joy of finally seeing Porthos played as he should have been all along. Not as a large, loud drunk who was just there to be big, strong and funny - but as a highly skilled, intelligent, audacious soldier with a sharp sense of humour and an even sharper dress sense; and who, rather than simply bringing up the rear as The Other Guy or the Big Fella, showed that he was quite possibly the Musketeers' MVP.

Thank you, Ray. Goodnight, and rest well.

#ray stevenson #porthos #the three musketeers #the three musketeers 2011 #rip #tw: death #tw: dead mention

67 notes · View notes

fictionadventurer · 6 months

Text

Victober Wrap-Up

The Romance of a Shop by Amy Levy: I read this one on October 1st. Very easy, very fun, if very underwritten, read about four sisters who open a photography shop. Gives a fascinating perspective on a different side of Victorian daily life.

The Europeans by Henry James: I forgot this one almost immediately after reading it, but I did enjoy it. The best way I can describe what I like about Henry James is that he writes like a woman. There's a concern for the inner lives of characters and the little moments of daily life that you usually don't see from male authors, and it works really well for the types of stories he tells.

Miss Meredith by Amy Levy: Short novella about a young woman who takes a job as a governess in Italy, and who gets a much nicer romance out of it than most of those types of characters. It's nothing ground-breaking, but it's fun to see her perspective on the setting, and the romance reminded me so much of some scenes from an old, beloved, abandoned WIP that I couldn't help liking it more than it probably deserved.

The Law and the Lady by Wilkie Collins: I loved the heroine of this book. I was so invested in her story. She was going to solve the mystery of her husband's past, no matter who stood in her way. Her (hilariously) pathetic wet napkin of a husband doesn't deserve her, but he needs her, and she loves him a lot, so I can root for them. It's astounding to me that a Victorian man can write such good female characters. They get to be people--strong-willed, intelligent, flawed, the center of their own stories rather than just a prop in someone else's. My love for Valeria papered over a lot of other flaws in this story (some not-great use of disabled characters, for one), and I'm seriously considering picking up another of his books next month. (They have perfect November vibes).

The Leavenworth Case by Anna Katharine Green: Not technically Victorian (it's American), but still the right time period. Apparently, this is where a lot of the detective genre started. I love the detective--he's got a quirk of not making eye contact with people, and I love that he's explicitly so working-class than he can't pass himself off as a gentleman for investigating this high-society crime--but I don't care about any of the characters, and the writing's not great. (Though it's kind of hilarious how often the narrator gets information because people come up to him and go, "You're a lawyer, right? Let me ask for advice about an intricate situation that just happens to tie into the case you're investigating.") I'm about 2/3 done with the audiobook, but it's going to be a bit of a slog to finish.

A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson: I'd probably find this a bit too cutesy most of the time, but I read this on a Sunday when I was feeling under-the-weather, and it was exactly what I needed. Very sweet, easy read.

Wuthering Heights by Emile Brontë: I made it a chapter and a half. It's a Hard No.

Diary of a Nobody by George and Weedon Grossmith: I heard it was short and funny, so I tried a couple of pages. Maybe there's a cultural divide, but I just wasn't feeling it.

The Odd Women by George Gissing: I tried a couple of chapter of the audiobook, because a story about women working as typists in late-Victorian England sounds right up my alley. I'm only two chapters in, but I'm debating whether to go further, because he already writes about women like a man--way too detailed descriptions of their physical appearance that suggest they're already decrepit in their early 30s, a suggestion that "we leave it to the men to decide if she'd be attractive"--and that doesn't bode well for a book with a female cast. It is just about to introduce the "progressive" woman who's about to drag the main characters into this newfangled job, so maybe it'd get better, but I'm not sure I'm invested enough to try.

#books #victober

20 notes · View notes

just-prime · 7 months

Note

Parachuting into your inbox because I'm ready to throw my phone into the sea, after seeing all of these posts about Ahsoka showing Luke Anakin's training holocrons.

IT WOULD BE CUTE, YES.

That is, if it made ANY sense for Ahsoka to have them at this point in time, let alone for them to still exist.

More terrible writing for fan service and we can't keep letting them get away with it.

Ahsoka left the temple with nothing but the dress on her back.

As far as we know and can easily gather from her living in the lower levels and having presumably sold her akul tooth headdress - the one symbolic tie she had to the only cultural identity she had that wasn't the Jedi, the only one she could still associate positive feelings with, she was not meeting up with any Jedi or Padme, and therefore was not hiding them at the Martez warehouse.

And it isn't likely that Anakin would have tried to find a way to find them to her. It isn't illegal to own a lightsaber, but Anakin kept them hoping that she would one day come back, making it even more likely that he kept her training holocrons.

Why, after all, when Ahsoka said she didn't want to be a Jedi, would she have either found a way to ask for them, or Anakin thought they would be a welcome parting gift, and there was no time.

We can then easily infer that the holocrons could only possibly have been relocated from her quarters to four places:

- Anakin's quarters in the temple

- Anakin's quarters on his Venator

- Ahsoka's quarters on the Tribunal, in the unlikely event that in the flurry of Anakin only being able to give her sabers back and leaving for Coruscant

- The archives in the Jedi temple, possibly to be used for training other Padawans, or for more secure storage

One of those three places (and the most unlikely) were destroyed, the other Vader had direct access to.

Are we really to believe he didn't ensure there wasn't a single trace left of any of the virtual time capsules of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker?

He minimally took them to Mustafar and hid them in a closet, but it's much more likely that he destroyed them.

I want as much Anakin and Ahsoka content as the next person, but I am beyond tired of heartstrings, including mine, being tugged on through shoddy writing that insists on breaking canon and logic repeatedly in order to evoke said emotional response from the audience, and distract them from the fact that this show is riding on nostalgiabaiting and milking beloved relationships from much better written shows (when this show didn't put in the work to earn it).

The sad reality is that this clusterfuck of a show isn't actually delivering satisfying nor compelling storytelling at all.

Name dropping fan favorites while saying absolutely nothing about them, while depending on Ray Stevenson and Hayden to carry this show on their backs through their excellent performances isn't good enough.

I really think that people either feel afraid of speaking openly about the show, or they are settling for worse than mediocrity, while Filoni is getting away with murder, giving Ahsoka holocrons and psychometry she shouldn't have, because he doesn't know how to tell his story without doing so.

I wanted Ahsoka to have a show worthy of the character she was up until the end of Rebels. Those who haven't watched her in animation aren't going to walk away from this series understanding why Ahsoka is so beloved, and it's a tragedy.

I wanted live-action only audiences to watch this show and be driven to give The Clone Wars and Rebels a chance, instead of doing the opposite.

I wanted to love this show instead of wanting to eat a plank of wood. Your scathing and accurate reviews are a balm for my soul right now. Wednesday can't come soon enough. Then the healing can begin.

Until the next Filoniverse show.

Exactly. All of this is so fucking true.

Filoni's playing around like a child in a sandbox. Except he doesn't care if the sandcastles he's knocking down are his or not.

The one of the earliest examples, but also the deepest cut that I can think of is the needless recon (and weird whitification) of Kanan in the beginning of The Bad Batch.

Now, a lot of people don't know this, but Kanan had his own book, exploring his backstory and how he came to meet Hera. It was also turned into a 12 issue comic run called Star Wars: Kanan: The Last Padawan which was how I knew about it. The story depicts Kanan and Depa Billaba final moments together, including banter with their clone troopers, on a very obviously desert planet, with no Bad Batch people in sight.

And there are numerous other examples of written Star Wars content being thrown in the bin by Filoni, like massive portions of the Ahsoka novel that was needlessly condensed for Tales of the Jedi. It's obvious that he must have nothing but contempt for the canon Thrawn books given how he's made Thrawn into some insane pro-imperial warlord that doesn't even fit with his Rebels characterization in a void, let alone his book characterization on top of it.

AND we all know it doesn't stop at written works either. Midichlorians, while incredibly stupid, are a pivotal part of Star Wars now and don't just get to be thrown away cuz Filoni doesn't like them. Entire character arcs have been utterly scrapped for the sake of the disgusting GirlBossification of Bo Katan, for the sake of making Luke more mystifying while seeking synergy with the sequels, for the sake of having an easy marketing ploy with Ahsoka the Jedi.

For me, this all ties back to the fact that Filoni actively discouraged people from watching the previous shows. It was a warning flag then that has morphed into the massive red flag that it is now. He doesn't want people watching the old shows, because he wants to appeal to a larger audience who is naive and will eat this shit up. The amount of people who I've seen online who are singing the praises of the show, but admit to having never watched Rebels let alone Clone Wars is really concerning. Because it proves exactly who his target audience was with this.

Which is such a shame because even on it's own, Ahsoka is a bad show. As previously discussed here, the choreography is laughable and the acting from everyone is that of a cardboard cutout and how the pacing is absolutely fucked and how the costumes could be outdone by a 5 year old's first cosplay. But that's not even touching the lackluster sets, and the really weird messaging (both @trashquisitor-shirozora and @kanansdume have extensive metas on the show's treatment of Xiono that are definitely worth the read), and so much more.

But to return to your original reason for persecuting in, yes. Those cards should not exist, in any way shape or form, and the fact that they do without explanation is fucking ridiculous.

#rambles #dave filoni critical #ahsoka critical #ahsoka series #ahsoka spoilers #star wars #prime responds #anti filoni

20 notes · View notes

immediatebreakfast · 3 months

Text

This was just wow, I want to shake hands with Robert Louis Stevenson, and tell him how much I enjoyed this whole book to the end.

The last stop of Davie's adventure, a last victory for the lad that traveled in a circle, and one of the most impressive dialogue showdowns that I have ever read. Because it is that, a showdowns of words, cadence, and arguments like no other. Between Davie's constant friend the Highlander Alan Breck Stewart, and Davie's scheming uncle Ebenezer Balfour, the old man who kickstarted the kidnapping.

This whole chapter is like a masterpiece in dialogue. What to say, how to say, when to turn, how to direct the point in between arguments, Alan mocking Ebenezer's fake concern for Davie by using threats that we know he is capable of doing, Ebenezer deflecting and deflecting until he is backed into a corner where he has to admit what he did to Davie in order to keep the House of Shaws to himself.

It was magical to read, and Alan certainly didn't pull any punches in his almost melodramatic telling, and accusations against Ebenezer. This is why it works! The exclamation of the truth while omitting that Davie is looking makes it so delicious to read.

“And what is’t?” asked my uncle. “David,” says Alan. “What was that?” cried my uncle, in a mighty changed voice. “Shall I give ye the rest of the name, then?” said Alan. There was a pause; and then, “I’m thinking I’ll better let ye in,” says my uncle, doubtfully.

When the conversation turns to this, when you can feel how somehow these words can convey the tension going through the roof, you know it's going to to be good shit.

Both Davie, and the readers could feel how this was Alan's element. It's doesn't if it's a sword, a bottle, a bagpipe, or his voice Alan always marches foward with such confidence that one can't help but be left impressed by his handling. Even if Alan made Davie's life hell when he glambled away the money, this was the chance of him truly apologizing, by helping his friend recoger what was his by right.

Moreover, Ebenezer wasn't left behind in his own side of the conversation. The man really held his own against this stranger that suddenly called for his presence in the middle of the night. And yet he was no match for a man who doesn't care for empty threats when weapons could serve as arguments.

“Powder and your auld hands are but as the snail to the swallow against the bright steel in the hands of Alan,” said the other. “Before your jottering finger could find the trigger, the hilt would dirl on your breast-bane.

Then, the reveal that not only Davie is there alive, and well! But also that Mr. Rankeillor was listening to everything! And that Ebenezer has no other option than to give Davie what was promised less he ends without nothing to his name.

And then there is this last paragraph by Davie, which weights on his last thoughts of his experience:

Alan and Torrance and Rankeillor slept and snored on their hard beds; but for me who had lain out under heaven and upon dirt and stones, so many days and nights, and often with an empty belly, and in fear of death, this good change in my case unmanned me more than any of the former evil ones; and I lay till dawn, looking at the fire on the roof and planning the future.

Davie is finally resting! Not sleeping because who would be able to sleep after such victory, but resting his mind while thinking of the future, of what he will do now.

How many times in the novel had Davie thought about his future? Not something that could change in a second if he doesn't move, not the catching future of being captures by the Red Coats if he doesn't run through deadly heat and plains, the actual future that is seen since today through many years, when Davie is older, and maybe wiser.

After running, hiding, fainting, begging, screaming, enduring, and walking Davie is finally able to just think about not only what he will to do tomorrow, but what comes after tomorrow.

#This is chapter 29!#Before the ending and the start of Catriona #This whole thing was gold #kidnapped weekly #catriona weekly #davie balfour #alan breck stewart #mr rankeillor #ebenezer balfour

17 notes · View notes

mk-wizard · 1 year

Text

“Thor” Speaks Out: We won’t take the hate that you give

First, the She-Hulk TV series’ creators admitted that they made the show with the objective of mocking fans, then Henry Cavill walked out on the Netflix Witcher because he had enough, and now, Chris Hemsworth who is famous for playing Thor in the MCU has had enough and is putting his foot (and hammer) down hard in how he is sick of being ridiculous on purpose.

THIS is what Disney, Netflix and a lot of media have to show making films and series that are not only devoid of love, but openly hate the source material and will create a media based on it just to spite it and its fans. Back when I was growing up, if someone on the set of a movie or show mocked the very piece they were creating and did not take it seriously, they got fired. If you don’t really want to be there and don’t even like what you’re working, then you shouldn’t be there. Now, it looks like insulting the media has become part of the creative process and is even encouraged. And that’s bad.

I admit that even fans laugh at the very fiction they love sometimes because we are not blind to its flaws or silly parts. It is even an art form to sit back and laugh at the silly side of our fandoms hence why we have spoof films like Dracula Dead and Loving it, the famous Naked Gun series, the Lethal Weapon TV series on Netflix, Shaun of the Dead, The Orville, the webcomic 8-Bit Theater and more.

But even then, it was still obvious that behind these parody pieces was a very obvious love and endearment towards the source material. In other words, we are laughing with them together with no hard feelings and we all still love what we love. The creators did not make these films or series because they wanted to make the original material look bad. They did it because they wanted to make us laugh. And even then, they were put together with care and with intent of making something great that all audiences could enjoy.

Now, pieces that are meant to be part of the official lore feel like hate letters to both the original fans and creators. And what do you really have to show for it when you create something with hate, resentment and with the intent to insult and punish the audience? Nothing. All you did was waste your time and made yourself look bad. Not to mention that when you make bad media on purpose, it becomes permanent on your record. Moreover, when you have a chance to work with something as big as She-Hulk, Star Wars, Superman, He-Man or other iconic figures in fiction, it would be wiser to give it your all and make it into something great like Noelle Stevenson did with She-Ra. Even if you aren’t a die-hard fan of the material, it is still honour to be picked to work on it, so it is better to treat it like an honour instead of a joke. And if you dislike it that much, it is better to kindly turn down the job.

The point is that Hollywood needs to not only remove hate from the equation, but to also put love back into the creative process. Too much of Marvel, Disney, DC and now, Netflix are plagued with meanness and hate, and the material is suffering for it. I also truly believe that deep down, these companies don’t want to be hateful or mean to anyone including themselves. They don’t really want to lose their loyal fans and don’t really want to make half-baked films or shows.

I believe that things are going to change and while I admit that maybe it will get worse before it gets better, I have faith. After all, DC, Marvel and Disney have been around long before this new wave of media came along. And it had its bad times before yet braved them. The Dark Knight rose once, he can do it again and so will all the other heroes.

After all, love is stronger than hate. If anything, the fact that these actors are taking a stand and speaking out is a sign of positive change. They are finally saying “no” and if there is one thing I have learned as a parent, “no” has love behind it.

Thank you for reading and as always, stay safe.

-Mary

#made with love #thor #chris hemsworth #henry cavill #the witcher #superman #superman and lois #dc #dc comics #mcu #marvel #marvel comics #she-hulk attorney at law #netflix the witcher #netflix #disney #no more hate

114 notes · View notes

hellhoundmaggie · 11 months

Text

5 comfort characters

Finally getting to this @cymatile. the notification email has been burning a hole in my inbox for weeks now and I'm glad to finally get to it!

The Beast/Prince Adam (Beauty and the Beast 1991) As a bookish autistic little girl, I of course identified very strongly with Belle. As a city kid in a small town, I still do sometimes. But as an adult, I find myself drawn to the other half of the pairing. Belle is of course a lovely young lady, and I appreciate how she only respects the Beast when he first extends respect to her. But let us face it, she is too perfect a character to be truly compelling. Beast is quite the work in progress, though, and that's what makes him so fascinating. You thrill as you watch him angst and snarl and throw his weight around -- first to frighten and threaten others, then to protect the woman he loves. You are charmed as he discovers joy and companionship, then mourn with him as he gives it up to return Belle's freedom to her. And you're just a little disappointed when he changes into a generically-handsome man, even if it does mean he and Belle get to live happily ever after. Plus, as the meme says: "I'll get that bitch a library. Bitches love libraries."

Shane (Stardew Valley) Okay, I've read all the criticisms many times. He starts out mean to you for no reason. He's a total slob and a sad sack. He never actually quits drinking. He looks like Ben Shapiro. And I gotta tell you: I cannot fault this very good chicken man for any of it. This is another guy that I feel no choice but to root for because he struggles with so many flaws. I appreciate that the game doesn't let you "fix" them for him: you only give him the help he directly asks you for. He makes the most important changes himself, and the stuff he doesn't change isn't a dealbreaker for me. Plus Shane kind of looks like my IRL spouse so I gotta love him just for that, y'know? I can't forgive him for liking gridball, though. As a nerd, jocks are my natural enemy. Sorry, I don't have a choice!

Entrapta (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power) Not a lot of people know this, but ND Stevenson called me up while he was developing the She-Ra reboot and asked for my input. I asked him, "Are you going to have a woman character with autistic coding in the show?" "Yes, we're going to have one of those," he said. "And is she going to have a special interest that few other characters in the show understand or empathize with?" "Okay, yeah." "Is she going to despair of ever finding genuine human connection and try to find solace in technology before learning that yes, there are people who care about her and value her uniqueness?" "Ooh, that's a good idea. Sure." "And can you pair her up with an angsty boy?" "I can definitely do that. Thanks, Maggie!" And that's why Reboot Entrapta is the way she is. You're welcome, everyone. 4. Wayne (Scarlet Hollow) I already post a lot about this guy, so I won't say much this time. I like him because he lets me explore the idea of being the subject of extreme passion and devotion in a way that doesn't put me in actual danger. I would never seek out that kind of relationship in real life, but love beyond proportion, beyond reason, beyond sanity is compelling in fiction. Plus he makes for some fun memes. 5. Mr. Pages (Fallen London) I love this big ol' nerd: its creative vocabulary, its book hyperfixation, and how bad it is at hiding the fact that it's not human. As soon as they put out the balance patch for Mask of the Rose, I am going to figure out how to smooch it, and you cannot stop me.

tagging nobody! Do this if you feel like it.

39 notes · View notes

archduke42 · 7 months

Text

My thoughts on Ahsoka

I kind of wanted to wait a few days before giving my thoughts. Lots of mixed feelings, some things I liked, and the things I didn't like are the typical writing problems Dave Filoni consistantly commits. I liked: The Fantasy space opera of it. Things like Ahsoka vs the space fighters, the Night sister magic, the Epic notions of the Mortis Gods and World Between Worlds, etc. I often take issue with how Filoni writes his stories, but when he writes an Epic fantasy energy, I do enjoy it. I love doing that in my own writings, so it taps into my vibe. I liked how Thrawn and the Night sisters and undead stormtroopers have such a Gothic thing (Ominous music, the chants of the soldiers, etc.) His Star destroyer has that feel of an old castle in a Dracula movie, which is pretty cool.

I did like the idea of Merrok being an undead Inquisitor, but I refused to take part in the speculations of who he was. I certainly got tired and anxious over the whole speculation of it being Barriss Offee. I just wish they had established early on he was a new character.

Overall, I am a flexible forgiving fan when a creator takes some liberties. Some things in the show were pretty cool, like the mysterious Planet Piridea, the Night Sisters working with Thrawn, the samurai motif of the scavengers on the planet and the little aliens with big shells for defense, etc. The light saber fights were pretty awesome (Ahsoka vs Morgan was quite excellent) I liked Baylan and Shin. Interesting characters with a bit of mystery of where they came from and where they want to go. Though Ray Stevenson has passed away, I have no doubt Filoni will try to continue or conclude the journey of Baylan Skoll somehow. I also get Filoni's Wolf thing that he puts in all his projects. It's a bit amateurish to have wolf stuff everywhere but I do that kind of thing in my fanfiction sometimes. Skoll, Hati, Morgan and Merrok are all from some kind of Wolf based mythology. But then that's where I start to take issue with Filoni (with all due respect to fans who liked the elements I am taking issue with) Much of Ahsoka is his own, unstructured, frenetic fan fiction. He changes and retcons things at the drop of a bucket. He drops things in our laps with no back story or explanation and expects us to just accept it. When did Ahsoka and Sabine develop this Master/Apprentice relation? Why was Sabine being trained to be a Jedi? How did Sabine's family perish? How does somebody with such low Force sensitivity suddenly have Force powers in less than a week when most skilled padawans take a lifetime to do what Sabine did with Ezra? Why would Sabine be such a rebellious teen skipping the Lothal celebrations? She could have just said no thanks if she didn't want to be there. Why is she the trouble maker now, while Ezra seems to be the sensible one? It's such a character switch from Rebels, when Ezra was the loose cannon when she was the team player. HOW is Thrawn going to be a threat to the galaxy with one rickety, barely working Star Destroyer and dwindling resources? I suppose he might unite the warlords but that is going to take effort if they are not impressed with what he's starting out with. Plus, I have never been keen on Filoni's portrayal of Thrawn. The trouble is that Thrawn is the most brilliant military mind in Star Wars. Not to anger anyone, but there is no way he was going to lose against the Rebels. He only gets defeated when there is an insubordinate officer, a mysterious obstacle like the Bendu, or just plain fan fiction contrivance. Filoni and the creators at Lucasfilm really should study Napoleon, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, General George S Patton, etc to create a believable military villain of this magnitude. But that's just my opinion. Thrawn is so unbeatable it would take a pack of Space Whales to totally counter his abilities (Another epic moment I enjoyed at the end of rebels) Not a fan of Filoni just dropping these plot complications without any backstory to explain them, but he does that all the time. He relies too much on fans just figuring canon out on their own when he really needs to explain things a little better. Also not a fan of Filoni's penchant for letting the protagonists be irresponsible yet suffer no consequences whatsoever for their actions.

Ahsoka disobeys the council/Anakin/etc suffers no real consequence for insubordination Ezra goes AWOL to try to save Kenobi from Maul, which would have severe repercussions, but gets a slap on the wrist and a wagging finger Sabine disobeys Ahsoka multiple times and endangers the New Republic by letting Thrawn have the capability to return, but no consequences are ever forthcoming. Now, I know sometimes it's exciting when the Star Wars heroes are mavericks who dismiss the rules for quick actions, but I'm 52, and it kind of chafes me when people break rules for selfish reasons and create problems for those of us who play by the rules. I sometimes wish Filoni would have characters go the common sense path, but there you go. The Asian Senator follows the rules, he gets boo hissed by everyone, while Hera breaks the rules (even with Good intentions) and is celebrated as a maverick hero. I got nothing but respect for Hera but Filoni's Star Wars has a habit of celebrating irresponsibility in the Heroes while the characters who follow rules are written to be sort of villains

The worst habit Filoni has is to end his stories with ambiguity. Characters leave dramatically to an uncertain future, leaving more questions on what happens next. I get that this is a way to make fans want more, but it's a tired tactic so he can leave things open rather than have a concrete conclusion. Plus, we have no way of knowing when there will be a followup. If there will be a season 2, it might not happen until 2025. They announced Filoni will be directing his movie, but that might not be until 2026. It's a lot of wait time, just as there was a lot of wait time after season 5 of TCW and season 4 of Rebels. Then there's the whole Barriss Offee question I've come to simply accept that Barriss Offee is likely never returning to Star Wars canon (I think Filoni tells us he has big plans for her just to keep us waiting). I saw a story about how Filoni wanted to bring back Ventress in the Resistance animated show but then scrapped it because her popularity would overshadow the main characters. That kind of brings me to the conclusion that I don't need to wait for Barriss to return to any animated show or live stream series. Her popularity would just distract us from other characters Filoni wants to focus on. As much as that saddens me a little, I accept it and will not be pushing any more speculation articles or youtube videos trying to sensationalize her return. We all got excited when there was a mystery over who rescued Grogu and that Illuminerdi article that boasted the casting of Barriss for the Ahsoka show (Another red herring) It kind of deflates us when we realized we were wrong about it. I think we should just celebrate Barriss with art and stories and not fall for the stringed carrot bait anymore. In the end, I can still watch future Star Wars stuff, and I am curious to see what happens to these characters. But the wait will sort of make it all it bit Meh. Overall, I liked the Epic style of the Ahsoka series and the characters but Filoni's bag of tricks are a tired thing for me.

#star wars #star wars the clone wars #ahsoka tano #star wars rebels #ezra bridger #grand admiral thrawn

14 notes · View notes

ixmelodix · 6 months

Text

Sollux: Battle

Erisol Week Day 2 - War

[This takes place during the beginning of Chapter 28 (Karkat: Honor), a week or so before the meeting.

Recommended listening: Give Them Hell - Fox Stevenson]

----------------

“ED? What the hell?”

“Can't talk, Sol, gotta go!”

Sollux stared after the seadweller. Why was he carrying a basin? And...

He looked down to see wet footprints on the stone floor. Why the hell was he wet?

Intensely curious, he trailed after Eridan towards the kitchen-

And almost got knocked over as the seadweller barrelled back out, his basin now filled with water and sloshing everywhere.

“Fucking- ED, stop, what the hell are you doing??”

A flash of focus, and red and blue held Eridan in place.

“The fuck, Sol, can't this wait? I gotta-”

“You have to what? What the fuck is going on?”

Eridan kicked at the air. “No time to explain, let me go and you can come with and see, okay?”

Curiosity overrode caution; he set the other down and released the psionics. “...okay?”

As soon as he was freed, Eridan took off again; Sollux followed at the more sedate pace up the stairs out of Sanctuary.

At the top, he finally got his answers.

Full out war was occurring.

On either side of the flat canyon base that extended from Sanctuary's entrance stood two makeshift barriers (which looked like they'd been cobbled together out of some warped wood planks and a couple chairs); behind each barrier crouched trolls, ducking down and popping up to throw something across the no man's land between the barriers.

Eridan skidded to a stop behind the barrier on the left as Sollux paused at the entrance, staying well out of the way of whatever was going on.

He had an answer quickly to what the projectiles were when one hit the barrier Eridan had just gotten behind and splashed open, drenching the normally dry, sandy ground beneath.

Where they'd gotten water balloons, however, was a question he didn't think he would get an answer to.

Sollux watched a moment more as trolls crowded around Eridan's basin with empty balloons to start filling them; another troll from the other side - Sollux recognized her as Crysta, an olive that split her time between working in the garden and helping the specialist miners at the ore vein - came racing towards him with a basin much like the one Eridan had been carrying, empty now of water.

Sollux stepped to one side to let her past.

Everyone out here was clearly having the times of their lives, throwing balloons and taunts back and forth.

Sollux thought for a moment...

Ah, what the hell. Not like there's anything else going on.

A few long strides brought him over to Eridan's basin; he crouched down beside it.

Eridan looked up with a broad grin. “Gonna help out? We could use another person, they outnumber us right now.”

A stray balloon flew over the barrier to spash its contents against the canyon wall behind them; Sollux shielded his face from the backspray.

“Not a hundred percent sure I want to get wet-” he began...

Then a lucky (or unlucky) toss from the other side, lobbed just high enough to get over the wall before coming down, caught him directly on the horn, and Sollux saw red.

“...Okay, fuck that. This is fucking war,” he growled as water dripped down from his face, and Eridan's entire basin was surrounded in red and blue sparks and lifted into the air, floating across the sand.

He heard some swearing from behind the makeshift barrier across the way; he grinned - and promptly dumped the entire thing on the trolls hiding back there.

Yelps and louder swearing met the action as the enemy was drenched; on their side, laughter bubbled up and catcalls flew across no man's land.

Sollux returned the basin to their side, to find Eridan doubled over in laughter.

“Come on, soldier!” he said, nudging the seadweller with his foot. “We need more ammunition out here!”

That only made Eridan laugh harder, but he managed to get himself upright and take the basin to make a run for the kitchen again. He took three balloons on the way - the enemy might be drenched, but they weren't backing down.

Sollux snickered, then turned his attention to the balloons they still had filled on their side and set to sniping any head or arm that popped above the enemy's barrier.

#championfic #aoafic #erisolweek #erisol #a-sides

7 notes · View notes