#i was a little eh :/ on his characterization initially but it does kind of feel like this is some Other aspect of the man. hes dead now-- | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

pebblysand · 11 months

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hey hey good morning and salutations and completely optional Ask!

There is RedditDiscourse about the question of if Harry would find it hard to say 'I love you' for the first time, and re-reading Castles, as one does, I notice that you have him fairly easily saying it to Hermione (along with a beautiful little meditation on the different forms of it), in Chapter 2, but yes, struggling with Ginny--a thing I really like is that you portray it as also him struggling to BELIEVE it from her.

So, anyhoo...Deep Thoughts if you'd like, on this somewhat silly but also central topic--saying it versus displaying it non-verbally, what exactly might make it difficult for my boy to say it out loud, and characterization choices you made in having him able to articulate this to Hermione (would she, in your head canon, be the first person he said that to?)

All very optional, of course. Enjoy your day!

oh wow, redditdiscourse™ - sounds frightening lol 😅.

jokes aside, yeah, that's something i did think about quite a lot, especially when i wrote that hermione scene. initially, i was like 'eh, would he say that?' and remember being a bit unsure. i must also come clean on the fact that i did recently ret-con the hinny break-up scene in chapter 3 re: 'i love you,' - originally, harry said it to ginny as they were arguing to try and get her to stay, now he admits it to hermione, when they're talking on the couch instead:

'I fucking love her,' he says. 'Dumbledore said it would always be enough, he said -’

that change wasn't so much due to the fact that i thought he wouldn't admit it, though, it was more to do with the fact that i thought as they're arguing, he's totally in shock, and i thought it just wouldn't actually occur to him to say it in the first place. he's still trying to process and she's slipping away, and it all goes too quickly for him to really do anything. he admits it later to hermione cause he's drunk off his mind and has no filter. but, i might change it again whenever i do another re-read. castles is a work in progress and i do change some things sometimes, and so we'll see where i ultimately land with that.

but coming back to your question, i think it's one of those where, when it comes to characterisation, you can really argue both points. on the one hand, love is everywhere in those books, and harry's never particularly shy about it. it's what saved his life, that of his friends, etc. he argues for love in his last faceoff with voldemort, still believes in love in spite of everything that's happened to him, and that's what's remarkable about him, etc. so, i don't think he's scared of love. he's pretty open about the fact that he loves ron and hermione in narration, although he never actually says it to them "on screen". i'd definitely see him say it to ron pretty routinely, the way men sometimes do - like if ron did something stupid, harry'd laugh and say 'ah, love you mate,' and the like.

that's what made me "side" with keeping that line in when it came to hermione, in the end. i was like: this is someone who won a literal war thanks to love, i can't imagine him being shy about it. it's also what led me to initially write him saying it to ginny so early on. when you've lost so many people you cared about so much, you tell those who remain you love them. and, it kind of feeds into the frantic nature of the early chapters, of this sort of post-war euphoria with a lot of Big Feelings and i-love-you-i-can't-believe-we're-alive. it's not necessarily the same kind of love he later feels, but it's a love that's there. be it hermione or ginny, it's like: 'omg, we made it.'

also, harry's not someone who's particularly private or guarded, most of the time. when he kisses cho, he tells his best mates. when he kisses ginny, he does so in front of everyone without giving a fuck. and, this is obviously castles-canon, but he's also not shy about how he feels re:Mia - he knows he loves her, says it, even if it's not the way she wishes he would. i'm not saying he wears his heart on his sleeve, but he's not someone who's particularly secretive about the way he feels. same thing: when he's upset or angry, everyone knows it.

on the other hand, it's true: i don't think he ever says it in the books. so, you could also conceivably argue that he thinks it a lot but doesn't say it out loud, and that he might think it makes him seem more vulnerable. i think his reluctance to say it a second time in chapter 16 is however more rooted in what you pointed out: he doesn't believe ginny when she says it. so, he's more guarded. and, also, i think it just takes him a while to understand his feelings. they're slowly building themselves back up, you know? and generally, i do think that because of his upbringing, he would find it harder to believe it when it came from other people - not just ginny. i think if hermione or ron said they loved him, part of him would think 'ah, they're just saying that.' he's not someone who grew up being wanted. he loves Other People, but can't imagine Other People loving him.

in terms of headcanon, i think the first person he actually says it to is ron, as i said. but again, i don't think it's such a massive deal to him. i do headcanon harry and ginny as this sort of couple who say 'love you!' every time they hang up the phone. again, they're gryffindors. they're not shy and have Very Big Feels.

thanks for the question though, it's a super interesting one.

#asked and answered #castles

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surfalldaybaby · 3 years

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SPOILER ALERT!!!!

DONT READ UNTIL YOU HAVE FINISHED!!!!!

My full review of ACOSF 3 seconds after reading it.

Probably unpopular opinion. Idk.

First off wow. I did not expect that shit at alllll! I liked it but I would rate it a solid 6.5/10. To me it wasn’t that good. It was a book with a good plot for about 3/4 of the way and then it gets weird with smut scattered throughout it with no real purpose.

First I want to say that I still feel that Nesta and Cassians relationship is so strange and forced. I wish I liked it more. I don’t. The initial romance scenes were so quick and weirdly put together they literally did nothing for the plot. It was just a lot of sex scenes that I was like eh ok. They’re steamy and raunchy but with little to no purpose. Like Maas just decided to make this her sexiest book bvs of how many views it would get without calculating the plot into it. They just end up making out and having sex a lot but I didn’t see the buildup or anything it just happened out of nowhere. And then it stopped and then it happened again. I wish their mating bond snapping into place had been more of a plot line I was left a little confused when I read it. Nesta apologizing and accepting Cassians apology was too quick he said he was shackled to her. Hellllll no. She became a pushover.

I did like how now Nesta has a relationship with all the IC. However her instant forgiveness and her apologies to the IC were very rushed and ingenuine. She was treated very poorly by rhys and amren and shes the one who throws herself at rhys and apogkizes? She’s the one who apogizes to amren? No. It doesn’t seem at all like the Nesta that I would have expected. I wanted at least a little rebuttal or fire. Like I understand all of their hesitantion and why they were so mean but I wanted a little apology or explanation.

I hate to say it but Maas really did seem to cut the fire out of Nesta. I didn’t want her to be a bitch but I wanted to go retain of her sassy energy and she just seemed like a wash rag at the end. Nesta was done wrong by Cassian rhys and amren a lot and she was the one who ended up fixing or apologizing in those relationships and it doesn’t fit right that they don’t at least mention their mistakes to her as well. And this is coming from someone’s who didn’t like Nesta, or didn’t rlly care for her, so I can’t imagine what people who liked her thought after reading this book.

I didn’t like how she never apologized to feyre or Elain. She did in actions but I wanted a verbal apology. I loved the total sacrifice and I thought it fit her arc. I thought it was very full circle. Obviously Nesta and feyre love eachother and I’m elated about that. I like that Nesta had to give up her power and was able to keep a bit of it. The power would have killed her I think if she was able to keep it.

Lowkey I was expected each sister to have to be called to a made item and I thought it would have been a cool plot idea to introduce Elain into the story.

I love how Elain was so bold in this book but there were moments where even I was like calm down girl.

I loved her slow development with Mor. mor was aggressive at the beginning but really came into herself and i liked their friendship all the way through. I liked how mor is portrayed a lot. Hopefully mor snd emerie are a thing. But, how does nestas jealousy just go away? How does mor just accept that Nesta and Cassian are having sex? How does every charter just act fine with it when they all were so cautious around her? Seems kind of gross to constantly smell the sex. Ew.

Az and Nesta are so great as a pair. Hopefully we see more of Gwyn with him.

Love emerie and Gwyn but how the three of them were able to complete the blood rite after only a few months of training is so unrealistic and just not what I expected. It seemed so played out and sacrificial martyr like I was bored of it. Very predictable. Especially how Cassian goes against the crown to save his mate like okay next.

I wish Maas had just kept her as a leader for assault survivors I think that would have been amazing. But Nesta and her friends after literally 3-4 months of training being illyrians is unrealistic. Nesta seemed to transform into Feyre at the end and while I love Feyre Nesta is not Feyre and I was not a fan of seeing another recreation of that sacrificial lamb trope.

The whole pregnancy plot point was weird and I didn’t like it. I get it at the end but literally I could have done without the whole thing. Rhys keeping it from Feyre that she was gonna die- horrible. Them making a pact they would die together is absurd and so weird. They would never do that like ... someone has to fucking rule the night court.

I loveeeeeed the dance scenes and the importance of music.

Eris is fine. I don’t like him I don’t hate him. He’s whatever. Same with Lucien. Literally this whole thing he was with Mor about her knowing the truth like literally don’t care. It’s mor making me curious it’s just a stale detail now that’s been repeated a lot with no follow up information.

I would have liked more touching up on mor azriel and cassians relationship. It’s like Maas is fostering confusion with Elain and morrigan over azriel and it’s not mysterious it’s just annoying.

There was some amazing detail that went into this novel and I applaud the well thought out and carefully constructed attention to history and mythology. I thought a lot of the smaller scenes and chapters were brilliant- the harp scenes, the initial training, the library and house scenes, the female relationships, music scenes, etc....- but as a whole plot it felt like 6 stories being forced together and tied with a ribbon but the stuffing was coming out so your left confused and a little like wtf okay.

Overall I liked the story thought it was very good “redemtption” arc for nesta but I wish it had more to do with her psychological journey and not so much out on her psychical one- Illyrian blood rite, hiking, weird sex- with odd plot points and rushed relationships and forgiveness.

Also I liked the azriel extea chapter it was fine. Kinda made az look like a little morally grey but we now know he is interested in Elain, that Elain wants him back, and that he is lonely. Hopefully he doesn’t hurt Gwyn.

Loveeeeed the feysand chapter. Rhys is dead on about his characterization of Elain.

The next book will def be about as, Lucien, Elain, mor, and probably Gwyn. LOVE THAT.

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stitch1830 · 3 years

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Heyy, how are you? Sorry if I'm annoying you I just want to give a little bit of my opinion about Toph as a mother.

I personally think that Lok did something very weird with their character and how they portrayed her as mother because it's difficult for me to believe that Toph would be the kind of mother to let her kids do whatever they want AND not pay enough attention to them. Like the whole issue with her parents is that they treated her like she was helpless, they didn't pay attention to her and they ignored what she wanted. So I personally don't see why Toph would do the same to her kids, like why would she kind of ignore them by not being very present and attentive.

I belive that Toph would be an amazing mother. With flaws of course, because no one is perfect.

I hope I made myself understandable, English is not my first language and it's difficult for me to express what I think even in my own language.

Btw I love your hcs and the way you think :E

Hi Anon, I’m doing well thank you for asking, and thanks for the ask! I hope all is well with you.

And not to worry! You’re not annoying me :)

First off, I love your thoughts and opinions on Toph as a mother when it comes to LOK. You are right, I too feel that her characterization is a bit off, and I’ve talked only briefly on my thoughts about this as well. I see what the writers were trying to do, but it doesn’t really come off right if we consider Toph’s background and her issues with her parents, as well as her overall characterization.

Like, Toph Beifong is one of the most observant people in the ATLA universe. She understands what people need, she can pick up on changes in mood and tell when people are lying, and she waits and listens on the other person to move to decide what her next move will be. Toph is one of those characters that other members of the Gaang open up to, and she picks up on things pretty fast for a kid.

So why would those traits/tendencies not carry over when she taking care of her kids?

Toph’s seismic sense would most likely alert her and she would know if something was upsetting Lin or Suyin, even if they didn’t say anything to her. And sure, she’s prideful, but that’s never stopped her from asking for someone’s help in the Gaang (one scene that comes to mind is when she asks Katara to correspond with her parents). She’d obviously prefer to handle things on her own, but there have been times where she does admit to fault. So it would make more sense to me if she notices the change in her kid’s mood, try and figure out what’s wrong on her own, and if that didn’t work, turn to others.

And you’re right, ‘abandoning’ her kids would not be a flaw in Toph’s parenting style. You said it—she was neglected and not seen as her true self with her parents, and that led to the strained relationship. I think it’s safe to say that she would want to do the opposite of what her parents did to raise her, and the main point in Lao and Poppy’s parenting failures was that they only saw Toph as their tiny disabled child. So, not understanding her kids wants and needs doesn’t seem right. She reads people and observes their tendencies to get to know them, and that’s how she determines how to handle a situation.

So, if Lin came stomping home one day frustrated about something, I don’t think Toph’s instinct would be “Eh she’ll figure it out, she needs freedom.” I feel like it would be more like “Okay, is Lin sad? Upset? Angry? What does she need next in order to feel better?” And maybe her execution is flawed, but I think at the very least, Toph would ask her kids what is wrong and try and determine what they need to feel better. Maybe it’s a moment to themselves, maybe it’s a conversation, maybe it’s just comfort. But she would need to ask, and then wait for a reaction to determine her next move.

I struggle to come up with an actual parenting flaw with her sometimes, only because I love her character and like the idea of her being this amazing single mom and having a family that breaks the entertainment stereotype of “If it isn’t a nuclear family, it’s gotta look broken.” I guess one that comes to mind would be that she waits and listens too much… if that makes sense. Like, if Lin or Suyin don’t react or respond in a way that engages them with Toph, maybe she wouldn’t push the conversation further. Parenting does take initiative on the parent’s end when it comes to conflict and problems, and I think for those situations, Toph would rely on her earthbending tendencies and wait for the problem to approach her, and then she’d face it head on. An example I can think of is that Lin would prefer if her mother came to her about stuff, especially praise, and maybe since that’s not something Lin would explicitly state or something that Toph can feel, that need would go unnoticed if that makes sense.

Those are my thoughts, hopefully they make sense! And I agree with you, sometimes it’s just so hard to convey feelings and opinions into writing. Lol and I’m sure my thoughts are flawed just because I love Toph’s character so much, but I think she would be an awesome parent, and it’s a shame we don’t get to see that. I do enjoy reading metas about why Toph was portrayed as a bad parent, it helps give me some perspective on character creation and what makes them dynamic. But in my purely self-indulgent ATLA world, Toph ROCKS (pun intended) and she’s a great parent we take for GRANITE (okay I’m done now lmao).

Thank you again for the ask, and the kind words! I’m glad someone out there also likes my HC’s and thoughts lol! Feel free to send in more asks; I especially love a good question/HC about Taang, Zutara, or Sukka lol (also I'm off work today, what else am I gonna do haha).

Hope you have a great day :)

#toph #atla #mama toph #lin #suyin #my asks #thanks for the ask!#toph was a good mama okay?#at least in my head lol #who need canon hahaha #also wow I like to ramble #sorry

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itsclydebitches · 3 years

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it's so funny to me bc the way you talk about show!witcher makes me not want to play the game bc. i love the way jaskier and geralt are in the show and i dont want THAT ruined for me by whatever the game does with them. which is probably weird but it just goes to show everyone has their own tastes i guess slkjfhgdskfjhgkjh

aksdjflaksj oh no! lol Honestly though, if you like the Netflix dynamic you may still like the game dynamic, if only because so many of the criticisms against Netflix — that Geralt is too cruel to Jaskier, Jaskier is too much of a caricature, they don't start out as the close friends they're meant to be, etc. — exists for TW3 as well. So for someone who does like their dynamic as opposed to being critical of it, the game and show might somewhat go hand-in-hand? Or at least that’s a theory of mine. Though TW3 takes place post-canon and thus the two have settled into a solid relationship (we've already gone through the development the Netflix boys will presumably get), there's still this undercurrent of Dandelion as this... grudgingly loved annoyance, I guess. Which, if you've read any of the books, feels totally off base, whereas if this is your first/only Witcher experience it can feel like a whole ocean of potential. We know Geralt does like Jaskier, so what does it mean if he doesn't always act like it? The whole "I pretend like I hate you, but deep down I'd totally die for you. Now what tragedy will make me finally admit how much I care?" characterization can be GREAT. Great enough that I've got a 37,000 word fic derived from the Netflix dynamic going, despite my own complaints! (I am a contradiction) So yeah, I both like aspects of their relationship even as I'm frustrated by them, and more importantly, I can see many of those same characteristics in TW3. Which might make it more palatable for you, anon, than previously assumed.

It's the books where Dandelion truly differs and, as an adaptation — not just that, but an adaptation where the creators said time and again they were going to be faithful to the books — where Netflix fails to my mind. There's plenty of great Dandelion-Geralt moments to discuss, but you know Netflix's initial meeting? Jaskier begging for any acknowledgement of his work, Geralt dismissing his song as untrue, the whole man with bread in his pants? Compare that to the scene that exchange was likely taken from:

“Geralt,” said Dandilion, standing in the stirrups to pick a fine apple from a branch which stretched over the orchard fence, “all the way you've been complaining about it being harder and harder to find work. Yet from what I just heard, it looks as if you could work here without break until winter. You'd make a penny or two, and I’d have some beautiful subjects for my ballads. So explain why we're riding on.”

“I wouldn't make a penny, Dandilion.”

“Why?”

“Because there wasn't a word of truth in what they said.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“None of the creatures they mentioned exist.”

“You're joking!” Dandilion spat out a pip and threw the apple core at a patched mongrel. “No, it's impossible. I was watching them carefully, and I know people. They weren't lying.”

“No,” the witcher agreed. “They weren't lying. They firmly believed it all. Which doesn't change the facts.”

The poet was silent for a while.

“None of those monsters…None? It can't be. Something of what they listed must be here. At least one! Admit it.”

“All right. I admit it. One does exist for sure.”

“Ha! What?”

“A bat.”

They rode out beyond the last fences, on to a highway between beds yellow with oilseed and cornfields rolling in the wind. Loaded carts traveled past them in the opposite direction. The bard pulled his leg over the saddlebow, rested his lute on his knee and strummed nostalgic tunes, waving from time to time at the giggling, scantily clad girls wandering along the sides of the road carrying rakes on their robust shoulders.

“Geralt,” he said suddenly, “but monsters do exist. Maybe not as many as before, maybe they don't lurk behind every tree in the forest, but they are there. They exist. So how do you account for people inventing ones, then? What's more, believing in what they invent? Eh, famous witcher? Haven't you wondered why?”

“I have, famous poet. And I know why.”

“I’m curious.”

“People”—Geralt turned his head—“like to invent monsters and monstrosities. Then they seem less monstrous themselves."

The casual intimacy of traveling together, grabbing a snack, and chatting to pass the time. Dandelion waves at "scantily glad girls," but it's just a single line, not his defining trait. He plays a little music without Geralt insulting him (because Geralt likes his music and has always been willing to admit it). Here, when Dandelion is wrong about what kind of monsters exist, he's not made to feel lesser for that belief, or to have it presented as a means of coning people out of their coin (note that Geralt doesn't take exception to the suggestion of staying and getting "some beautiful subjects for my ballads”). Geralt kindly explains the villagers' ignorance — an ignorance Dandelion is a part of, even if the text simultaneously points out that he can read people well and he wasn’t wrong to pick up on the fact that the villagers think this is all true — before they share a moment of humor together: "Ha! What?" / "A bat." A few minutes later though Dandelion challenges things a bit, leading to a philosophical discussion about the nature of monstrosity. Dandelion is intelligent! Geralt welcomes his insights! They jokingly call one another “famous witcher” and “famous poet”! It’s a totally different feel from the grudging acceptance to outright hostility shown in the Netflix show, or even the general annoyance that can permeate their interactions in the game. The books are the one place where I believed, without a shadow of a doubt, that Dandelion is Geralt’s best and truest friend — and not just because no one else will put up with the Butcher of Blaviken.

So you might still like them in the games! Even if you don’t, I’d recommend not letting that stop you. Obviously I have some criticisms there, but TW3 remains one of my favorite games ever. At the end of the day, the Dandelion-Geralt interactions are an incredibly short part of the tale compared to the whole. For those who aren’t happy with that relationship, aren’t happy with Yen, don’t like playing Ciri, can’t stand Triss, even don’t like this major arc... everything is just one small piece of a truly massive game. So I’d definitely still recommend giving it a try sometime. If you don’t like their interactions, go watch some Netflix clips on youtube after the Dandelion scenes to wash away the bad :D

#witcher #mymetas

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a-libra-writes · 4 years

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

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

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

Northbois

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

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

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

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

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

VERY Northbois

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

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

Southbois

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

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

Kingslanding bois

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Heckin south n east bois

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

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

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

& lastly Essosssss

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

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

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

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

#libra says #libra says A LOT OF SHIT LOL oops #yall can send in stuff like this anytime idgaf its interesting #libra headcanons #got x reader #got imagines #game of thrones x reader

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mikami · 4 years

Note

Following on from your thoughts about Matt, how would you build on his character using the traits you feel fanon has largely ignored?

I started a write-up of that before, a year or so ago, and then got really bored and gave up, so thank you for forcing me into doing it after all, haha.

Mail “Matt” Jeevas, third ranked of Wammy’s House. I need to get the implications of ‘third ranked’ out of the way immediately: I don’t think Matt is a Genius™. I think he’s smart, but not smart enough to stick out from a crowd of other fairly smart people. I wrote about my impression of Wammy’s House before, but the tl;dr is that I don’t think the average Wammy kid’s intelligence really surpasses average ‘good student’ intelligence elsewhere in the world. They just get a very good and costy education because Watari is rich.

Does the skill level thing impact his growing up? Not much, initially, I don’t think. We know thanks to Chapter 109 that the actual successor candidates were only picked sometime in 2003, thus when Matt was around 13. Until then there had presumably been rank lists, but nothing was really set in stone and rank 3 is like… pretty good. Nothing to feel bad about here.

And when there’s the L Q&A, Matt seems reasonably interested in L alongside the other kids. That doesn’t mean he was sincerely interested in becoming L, but let’s assume for the sake of argument, that he was.

After this, Mello and Near get picked as successor candidates. What used to be a far-future idea of a job that they could build up to over years is now something that he’s more or less locked out of. Even though he’s got good grades, they’re below Mello and Near by far, so hopes of breaking into the candidate spots are slim. The adult Matt we see in canon seems pretty aimless, so you could argue that this is the point where he loses any ambition. Just goes ‘eh, what’s it all for’ and starts focusing more on video games and hobbies than his studies.

And that’s where the backstory speculation ends and we can start digging into what little traits he has in canon.

Matt’s stats say he likes videogames and hates going outdoors, so you’re forced to conclude that he’s just kind of a nerd shut-in stereotype, which is an impression aided by the way he’s untidy about his trash:

And I think that all plays into the trait I always see as Matt’s most defining one: aimlessness.

That’s probably a controversial take, but I don’t think him working with Mello on his plan is really a product of loyalty at all. Mello and Matt were friends but there is no particular evidence that they were very close. For all we know, they probably haven’t really spoken at all since Mello left Wammy’s House.

So then why does Matt go along with Mello’s plans? Aimlessness.

We don’t see him having picked up any career or anything meaningful unlike, say, Linda, who’s already a very successful painter as a young adult. Matt just… kind of exists, and this state of ‘just kind of existing’ makes him more open to doing anything that seems like it might be interesting. (Between his chainsmoking habit and the fact that we know he’s a good and/or reckless driver, thrill-seeking behaviour doesn’t seem unthinkable for him generally.)

Given how chill he is during the chase scene generally, I don’t think this is his first car chase rodeo. I could see him doing illegal car races for a time just to try it out, haha. But that’s very up for interpretation.

Morally, he doesn’t really seem to care about the Kira case at all. The priorities he voices during his few appearances are all boredom-related, really.

Which again ties into aimless/thrill-seeking. Matt wants something to do but mostly just something that is quickly entertaining - it doesn’t have to be meaningful. He’s as satisfied with checking out girls as he is with video games or car chases - as long as it is just something that’s going on.

Though Matt doesn’t like it when they get the better of him in his observation, you never really get the picture that he cares particularly about the reason he’s observing them (the order to follow them to Japan surprises him). Rather, he just doesn’t like having the wool pulled over his eyes, and to be fair, who does?

This also is the one time that really breaks his fairly deadpan perma-bored expression and body language. Frustration about loss, though he’s usually aimless. If I wanted to go out on a leg, I could count that as evidence for my earlier theory that his one-time loss at becoming a successor candidate just kind of frustrated and demotivated him for life.

Also as a side note, he’s 19 and describes a woman he’s attracted to as child-like and potentially as young as 14, which is :/ Not sure what other characterization to derive from this though other than ‘he’s into girls and mildly skeevy’. Guess that just adds to the image of ‘stereotypical gamer bro’ in the end... (Also he’s off by 10 to 4 years, Misa’s 24.)

In the end, Matt dies as he lived: casual and kind of bored-looking. Up until his last moments he’s treating things as a random pastime more than a life or death situation. He’s clearly not expecting to actually die here.

And that’s as far as I get with canon Matt. I’ve almost convinced myself he’s actually a logical character, I can’t believe this.

#domofthedoctor #death note #mail jeevas #matt #answers #luna thinks #thoughts

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solarianradiance · 6 years

Text

Jellyatinous Rose

Calliope: Welcome lovelies, to oUr little get together for an adventure throUgh the Use of a Role-Playing Game system called DUngeons & Dragons! Tonight we have a new player joining in oUr dUngeon delving, oUr lovely friend, Roxy.

Roxy: hey erebody, its ur gurl roxy!

Dave: hey rox

Rose: Welcome to the game Roxy, nice to see you came tonight~

Kanaya: Pleasure To Have You Dear Roxy!

Jade: nice to see you again!

John: glad you could make it tonight!

Roxy: tnx 4 the warm welcum gaiz, makes me feel good bout this venture here

Roxy: so, when do we start playin?

Calliope: Shortlym bUtt first, we shall introdUce oUr varioUs party members for the road ahead, so that we may give oUr newest addition a chance to Understand her new chUms? Jade, why dont we start with yoU?

Jade: ok!

Jade: im a level 5 chaotic good gnoll ranger called groche’a, and i was ousted from my tribe for not wanting to plunder tombs for bones because i was scared of waking the dead and having them get revenge on us... which they did! im the only survivor!

Roxy: wats a goll? Roxy: *gnoll

Jade: a gnoll is a dog person

Jade: like this!

Roxy: oh so ur a hyna furry basically then?

Jade: well no, im more like a malamute husky, i actually based my character off of bec and what jake told me about my scratched other self

Roxy: yeah, ur gilf self was pretty smokin for an old lady, so i can c y u chose her

Jade: ...what?

Calliope: Lets keep this train of introdUctions going, Dave YoU’re Up love!

Dave: im dave, and im a barbarian. im a level 4 chaotic good guy i guess, gettin my rage on with my magic shit talking sword and doin all kinds of awesome shit!

Roxy: u men like connan the barbarian?

Dave: no, not liek conan Dave: *like Dave: fuck

Roxy: wats ur backstory?

Dave: im a kickass barbarian, i showed up one day and started kicking ass, what more backstory do you need?

Roxy: that sunds lame

Dave: youre lame

Calliope: Moving on, John, how aboUt we introdUce yoUr character?

John: im Salamon of the Hearthlands, a level 4 neutral good halfling jester!

Roxy: wats a halflin?

John: they’re pretty much just hobbits but a bit more... “earthly” i think would be a good word to describe them? they’re sort more vice than virtue and do things like eat a lot of food, take whats not theirs and breed like rabbits.

Roxy: le gasp, ur a bunny boy! that sounds adorable!

John: heh, no, im not a bunny, but i guess i am bunny-like in that sense

Jade: you know, that would actually be a good fursona for you

John: eh, nah, its not really my thing, besides im more like a tiger

Jade: hahahaha! no you’re not!

John: in fact i think would be more like tigra from thundercats

Jade: i said no. you’re fucking. not.

John: uuuuh!!!

Roxy: calli!

Calliope: Yes Roxy, what is it?

Roxy: can u make jon into a bunny boy?

Calliope: I... can, bUt I need a good reason like a magical invocation or something like that, I cannot simply do as I wish with the players whenever I wish.

Calliope: Besides, the game has not started. Rose, why dont yoU go next?

Rose: 𝐼 𝒶𝓂 𝒶 𝒩𝑒𝓊𝓉𝓇𝒶𝓁 𝐸𝓋𝒾𝓁 𝒟𝓇𝑜𝓌 𝒩𝑒𝒸𝓇𝑜𝓂𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒𝓇, 𝒞𝓎𝒶𝒾𝓃𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝐻𝑜𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝒢𝓊𝓁’𝒢𝒶𝓃. 𝑀𝓎 𝑀𝑜𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇, 𝓌𝒽𝑜 𝒹𝑒𝓈𝒾𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝒷𝑒𝒸𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝒶 𝒫𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝐿𝑜𝓁𝓉𝒽, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈, 𝐼 𝓈𝓁𝒶𝓎𝑒𝒹 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓊𝓈𝑒𝒹 𝓂𝓎 𝒩𝑒𝒸𝓇𝑜𝓂𝒶𝓃𝒸𝓎 𝓉𝑜 𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓊𝓇𝓇𝑒𝒸𝓉 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒶𝓈 𝓂𝓎 𝓅𝓊𝓅𝓅𝑒𝓉, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝒶𝓁𝒶𝓈, 𝓂𝓎 𝓅𝓁𝑜𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓁 𝑜𝒻 𝓂𝓎 𝐻𝑜𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝒻𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹 𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝒶𝓈 𝐼 𝓂𝒶𝒹𝑒 𝒶 𝓂𝒾𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝒾𝓃 𝒸𝒶𝓈𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓂𝓎 𝓈𝓅𝑒𝓁𝓁 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓀𝑒𝑒𝓅𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓇𝑜𝓉𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜𝑜 𝓆𝓊𝒾𝒸𝓀𝓁𝓎, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝐼 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓈𝑒𝓃𝓈𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝒾𝓃 𝑒𝓍𝒾𝓁𝑒 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓂𝓎 𝒽𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒟𝒶𝓇𝓀 𝐸𝓁𝒻 𝒞𝒾𝓉𝓎, 𝑀𝑒𝓃𝓏𝑜𝒷𝑒𝓇𝓇𝒶𝓃𝓏𝒶𝓃, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝓅𝓁𝑜𝓉 𝓂𝓎 𝒾𝓃𝑒𝓋𝒾𝓉𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝓉𝓊𝓇𝓃 𝓉𝑜 𝓇𝑒𝒸𝓁𝒶𝒾𝓂 𝓂𝓎 𝒷𝒾𝓇𝓉𝒽𝓇𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝒶𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓊𝓅𝓇𝑒𝓂𝑒 𝓇𝓊𝓁𝑒𝓇 𝑜𝒻 𝓂𝓎 𝐻𝑜𝓊𝓈𝑒, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓅𝑜𝓈𝓈𝒾𝒷𝓁𝓎 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝒻 𝒟𝓇𝑜𝓌𝒹𝑜𝓂~

Roxy: ur kinda given me the willies theres rosie

Rose: Hah! Thank you! I try to accentuate the nature of the Dark Elves as much as possible~ I am a Level 5 Necromancer by the way, just so we are clear.

Calliope: That was a nice sUrprise, always good to see dear ole Rose to give Us a performance and bring a little life throUgh characterization. Now, for oUr last member, Kanaya!

Kanaya: Salutations, I Am Mildred Of Baldurs Gate! A Neutral Good Human Cleric Of Lathander. I Am Level Three And I Am Looking Forward To Keeping You Out Of Trouble, As I Am The Primary Healer Of The Group. Though I Can Take A Swing With My Shredder Axe If I Wish, I Can Be More Than Helpful In Most Situations!

Roxy: i dunno boit that but i think ill be hpy 2 have u round when the magical shit hits the fan! Roxy: *about

Calliope: Well, now that we have oUr standing party’s introdUctions oUt of the way, how aboUt we have Roxy introdUce Us to oUr newest member?!

Roxy: what bout u calli, whats ur character?

Calliope: I am the DUngeon Master, I recant the tale to the party based on the actions and decisions they make. Technically, I am all of the characters that are not part of the party! BUt I do have a rather sUltry lass that i have been meaning to play for a while. When my tenUre as DUngeon Master is Up, I shall pass the responsibility of rUnning the game onto others and break her oUt!

Roxy: rly? what is she? tell me!

Calliope: She isn’t finalized, but shes a YUan-Ti Magician, specifically an assistant. Haven’t qUite figUred oUt if shes a fUll-blood or a half-blood.

Roxy: a yankee?

Calliope: A YUan-Ti is more or less a snake person, mUch like myself I sUppose. I’ll admit shes a bit of a self-insert, bUt I made her for immersion for flarping. John helped me in crafting her!

Roxy: oh... he did now, did he?

John: yeah! it was actually pretty fun! learning about the lore of the snake people was kinda neat!

Calliope: Indeed! And in retUrn, helped John create another character to pair alongside with her! He is also a Magician, and she acts as his assistant!

Roxy: assistant huh? does that mean you can make his magic wand

Roxy: disappear?!~♥

John: whoa! roxy!

Calliope: Making a Magicians Magic Wand disappear is childs play.

John: uh calli, thats not what she mea-

Calliope: BUt making his wand spit magical glowing seed, now thats the magic~

Calliope: Mwah!~♥

Dave: whoa-ho, damn!

Rose: Ooo, how racey~

Kanaya: I Must Admit, That Got Quite Raunchy Awfully Quickly!

Jade: you can do that?!

John: ok! moving on! time for your introduction rox, before this turns into a smut campaign.

Roxy: how do u know that it wont turn into 1 when i do get my intro on? ;)

John: rox!

Roxy: relax! im jus teasin y Roxy: *u

Roxy: ok, my character is xerox gundalf the pink! shes a level 1 chotic good gun wizard!

John: gun wizard?! that actually sounds cool!

Jade: that actually sound cool, maybe ill roll one next campaign!

Dave: gotta admit, that does sound pretty bitchin rp as

Rose: Um, Roxy, as creative as that is, “Gun Wizard” isnt a valid class within the ruleset of DnD.

Roxy: wat? naaah, its fine! got xeroxs character shit filled out and everything! even drew her!

Roxy: c? kickass sex witch! put a spell on u make u her enchanted slav! put a magic bullet in ur butt and set her enemies on fire! abraka-sexbang!!

Rose: But we already have a Wizardess! Why don’t you be another class, a legal one such as a Rogue or a Thief?

Roxy: those dont sound legal 2 me sister, sides im a rogue in real life! i dont wanna play a rogue i wanna b a badass gun wizard! calli help me out here

Calliope: Mmmmm, well, while technically “GUn Wizards” are not what they are called, “GUn Mages” are in fact an actUal class! So I sUppose thats no significant issUe

Roxy: gasp YAYS!

Rose: Wait, “Gun Mage” is an actual class?

Calliope: Why yes, it is! QUite the interesting one too, might even roll a character to play as one myself at some point!

Rose: Well, anyways, as I said, we already have a Wizardess, which is myself. So how about you roll Up a Rogue? John can moonlight as one, but he isnt able to specialize as one. Here, lemme just get you started and roll you a character right now!

Roxy: uh, no, imma play a wizard!

Rose: We’ll make her Neutral Good, for maximum opportunity while still being approachable. Some good Dexterity for all of that lockpicking you’ll be doing.

Roxy: rose, water u doin?

Rose: Dump all the skill points into stealth, traps, and lockpicking!

Roxy: ross! Roxy:*rose

John: you know i could just spec into those skills myself, i was planning on doing it anyways!

Rose: We can make her pink, with some blue trimmings~

Roxy: stahp!

*Roxy latches onto Rose’s pen hand, preventing her from drawing further. The two devolve into a bit of a struggle*

Rose: Stop... getting... in the... way, Roxy!

Jade: you do know you can multi-class in this game, right? as in you both can have both.

Roxy: well i don.. wann play... fuckin rogue, i wan be... a wizard of bullets!

Rose: We need a Rogue to-*is bitten*-FUCK! ROXY!

Kanaya: What Is Happening?

*Roxy and Rose devolve to a mother/daughter/sister squabble between petty bitches who both want the same thing, but are unwilling to share, complete with hair pulling, bites, scratches, clothes ripping and an assortment of name calling.*

*Its a good ole fashioned cat fight yy’all!*

Jade: shouldnt someone stop this? like kanaya, isnt this your thing?

Kanaya: ...I... Want To, But I Think I Am Enjoying The Sight Of This Conflict? Should I Do So Anyways?

Dave: with them? nah man itll sort itself out eventually. just let em get tuckered out.

John: ... roll for initiative?

Calliope: Haa! Hahahaha!

#homestuck #jade harley #kanaya maryam #rose lalonde #roxy lalonde #john egbert #dave strider #the barbarian #calliope #long post

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lightsandlostbells · 6 years

Text

Druck episode 3 reaction

thirteen minutes is UNACCEPTABLE

Episode 3

Clip 1 - Returning home

I love the look of the show. That shot of them coming up from what I assume is a train station is so simple but effective, with the group breaking into two and Hanna and Jonas being left on their own to work through what happened on the trip. Us having some distance from the situation, being able to see Hanna turn away first away from Jonas.

I think the cinematography is adding a lot to my enjoyment of Druck. I just find it so calming and gently pretty, and the lighting is bright and there’s plenty of soft colors.

Matteo and Carlos left together, which might not mean anything except they’re going the same way, or maybe they’re legit friends, or maybe Matteo doesn’t really like him but he puts up with him because they have Jonas in common or because Carlos is their weed hookup.

Jonas saying that it’s just been the two of them (Jonas and Hanna) together lately. Interesting, implies that it’s not so much Hanna-Jonas-Matteo as we might have guessed. Or just that he’s feeling stifled by being around his girlfriend so much. Orrrrr that he has a secret that he wants to keep from her and it’s hard when she’s nearby?

Man I really really am wondering if the changes in these character dynamics are going to build up to something, I really hope!

This Jonas is earnest as hell and it’s going to suck if he has some big horrible secret. He’s my favorite of the remake Jonases so far; he’s flawed but he seems vulnerable and he’s got great chemistry with both Hanna and Matteo. We haven’t seen him at his worst yet, it should be said.

I legit laughed out loud at Hanna’s texting of Mia, especially Mia’s text bubble disappearing. I mean, that wasn’t a bad joke on Hanna’s part, except you usually don’t talk about STDs with people you just met.

I mentioned in some other posts that I find the credits/title cards on each clip of Druck and Skam France distracting, but I like that Druck has been putting things like casual banter and (as in this clip) Hanna’s heavy sighing over them. They can easily be cut from the scene when the whole episode is put together, but it keeps the atmosphere going a little longer and adds some small details of characterization or mood. I prefer it to having music always close the scene and play over the credits.

Clip 2 - Hero Party meeting

THEY CHANGED SHIT, YES

Awww, Kiki turns out to be cute! She turned it around fast. Also props to her for acknowledging that it was sweet of Hanna to try to find her a Sam. And she clearly did not make the decision to not be on the organizing committee on her own, and Sam knows she’s fibbing.

An explanation for the hero party! So from what I can tell from German viewers, this isn’t a usual German tradition or anything, it’s specifically for the show? IDK how realistic it is but making it a tradition specific to this school makes it a little less contrived. I don’t really get how throwing an amazing party for the graduating class will make the party for this class even better, since it’ll be a whole new class throwing the party for them, unless it’s in the sense of “we raised the quality level so far that they’re going to have to try to top us.”

This isn’t a bad way to adapt russ. I’ve been waiting for a version where the five girls all got assigned together on some project/event rather than coming together voluntarily. Plus Hanna met all the girls separately prior to this meeting, so there’s an established connection between her and all the girls.

Nice way to show Hanna being a follower with her just joining Kiki/Sam at this meeting and raising her hand after everyone else does. She does feel a very insecure version of this character.

This setup makes Leonie directly reject Hanna, Kiki, and Sam based on prior beefs, and her shunning Amira to the end is not a great look. IDK what she has against Mia except she’s a new girl who had the audacity not to know what the party was, so I guess that’s enough? They really are Los Losers.

Let’s talk about what a glorious nickname Blondus Maximus is and how there was a missed opportunity to call the Penetrator Chris character some variant of that (Brunettus Maximus?) Max can be a girl’s name too! Not sure how popular it is in Germany, though.

Shout-out to Amira’s brothers!

They also did something that I hoped they would do, instead of explaining Alexander to Hanna, they explained to Mia, who is the new girl, which makes sense. And we got her initial reaction to him.

German William/Alexander looks old as hell, even older than French William/Charles, lmao. No disrespect to the actor, I’m just not sure why the remakes are casting older-looking dudes in this role. Like Charles looks older than a teenager but almost everyone on Skam France does. Druck’s characters look like teenagers for the most part, so IDK why the William character has to be the one who looks like a teacher. Thomas Hayes was the right age.

I’m laughing at his socks. And him getting out of his car just isn’t the same without being flanked by several nameless members of his posse.

Some of the slow-motion effect is kinda strange and doesn’t look right. I noticed it in the first clip with Leonie’s walk, too.

I really liked Kiki after being somewhat underwhelmed by her first appearance (the same with Daphne, tbh). Sam and Amira remain great. Mia is the only one I’m not 100% sold on, though I think she could turn out OK.

Clip 3 - Mia and Hanna in Spanish class

OK I was wayyyy too excited that Mia mentioned her roommate using her IG to stalk guys. GERMAN ESKILD WHERE ARE YOU.

I did find it kind of weird why were they weren’t sitting together in the first place, because they walked into the room together and if Mia can just get up and move it’s not like they have assigned seats.

I felt kinda bad for the teacher in this one even if she shouldn’t be making mistakes. Her wardrobe looks like that of every enthused language teacher I’ve ever had.

Ahhh, still not sure how I feel about Mia so far? She’s cute but seems kinda stilted, and she looks a little older than the other girls (she’s 21 IRL). I do think she was better in this clip than in prior ones. Her character was more polite to the guy who’s talking to her than Noora or Manon was. She’s so far a far sweeter version of the character.

Also this clip amped up the Mia/Hanna. Mia was very, very eager to talk to Hanna at the start.

Clip 4 - Friend

You know what? I’m kinda with Jonas on this one. Why should you actually treat a bunch of assholes that you don’t like? Like this dude who apparently puts Nazi symbols on a teacher’s car? Fuck that guy, I wouldn’t throw him a party.

Obviously I don’t think he should make fun of Hanna wanting to participate, and Hanna is right, not all grade 12 students are going to be assholes. But Jonas’ reaction at least makes sense, rather than being like “this is wrong because I hate capitalism and this ties in for some reason.” (To be fair, Jonas’ opening monologue isn’t about capitalism this time around. He does mention Nazis in it, though!)

“Netflix and chili con carne” is the German version of Fresh Prince and nachos, eh?

Awww, Hanna made a friend! This Jonas seems very happy that Hanna made a friend, too.

General Comments:

Thirteen minutes?? THIRTEEN MINUTES??

no i’m not bitter

I cannot believe they teased that Hanna/Mia hangout and didn’t deliver. We didn’t even get any IG posts from whatever they were doing.

ok yeah i’m a little bitter. a smidge

Is it normal to be back at school the week following Easter? They weren’t there on Monday but I’ve seen people say they should be off the full week, I think?

Kinda wish we were going full on with the Hanna and Amira friendship but I can see how that scene was mostly there to establish her as a character through Hanna before the Hero Party, and I guess it’s possible that they will bond as a duo at some point. Maybe. I’m not thinking this is gonna be a total overhaul of S1.

Jonas and Hanna being all “it’s about being friends AND being in love” in the texts - goddamn they’re so sweet.

Also from the texts, it sounds like German Eskild is into bears. Man bears, to be clear.

This week’s episode better be at least 20 minutes, you can’t do me like that, Germany. I actually like your take on Norwegian teenagers.

#druck reactions

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some-flyleaves · 6 years

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when I pick up a book called What the #@&% is That? I know I’m in for a ride, for better or for worse

conclusion: inconclusive, but you can get quite a variety outta the prompt “a character has to say or think the phrase ‘what the [fuck] is that’”

So this book came in the library a few months ago; checked it out, read one or two stories, drowned in schoolwork, returned it, and have since read it on and off when things are slow and I got nothing better to do. (Yeah, I get paid to sit around and read sometimes. It’s a good gig.) Finally finished it tonight and, well. It’s a thing!

Aside from the titular phrase, none of the stories are connected - different authors, different writing styles, hell even different genres. Have some bullet-point thoughts.

“Mobility” by Laird Barron is... weird. I vaguely remember reading that the guy is a master of cosmic horror, and if this is how the genre usually works then I’m in no rush to read Lovecraft. Surreal imagery turns into pretentious metaphors turns into torture porn turns into surreal pretentious metaphors. Not a fan.

“Fossil Heart” by Amanda Walker is, uh, gay? I think?? I’d need to reread this one to get a better grasp on it but I’m in no rush. From what I remember, it’s about a woman who’s literally haunted by her past (got her girlfriend killed or drowned or something?) and then... changes that. somehow? I guess??? The prose is dreamlike, present tense, and while I’m all for not spoonfeeding the audience, I feel like I don’t remember this one as well because I didn’t really understand what was going on. It was one of the earlier stories I read, to be fair, but I also recall other early stories much more vividly.

“Those Goddamn Cookies” by Scott Sigler is clever as hell, and while the progression is a tad predictable post-twist reveal, I was definitely not expecting a little space scifi out of this book. There are some nice characterization touches throughout, the intersection of thoughts and narrative gets intense when needed, and honestly? Would not have called the ending when the intro has the protagonist smelling fresh-baked cookies.

“The Sound of Her Laughter” by Simon R. Green is apparently forgettable enough I needed to skim it again just now to remember what the hell it was about. There’s a couple. Unreal stuff happens, I guess. Characterization was alright...? Uh. Yeah. No dislike but not impressed.

“Down and Deep in the Dark” by Desirina Boskovich is at least memorable, albeit for mixed reasons. Narrated by a snarky teenager(/young woman? I forget the age) whose brother is getting married, the story finds narrator whatshername in charge of babysitting her near-future nephew. It doesn’t seem particularly horrific until ~things go wrong~, something with animals turning up dead by the hotel the family’s staying at and rooms in the hallway that shouldn’t be there.... The first-person and initially casual tone were a nice change of pace, but once the buildup started, it kinda just seemed like creepy stuff for the sake of Creepy Stuff. And of course the aforementioned nephew gets to be a creepy child, because of course he is. I have a habit of reading spoilers before actually getting into a piece of media, which in the case of short stories means skipping to the end before reading from the start. Sometimes the buildup and resolution is very clever, and at least one story later still caught me off-guard once I knew the context of the twist! But sometimes, as with this story... Stuff Just Happens.

“Only Unclench Your Hand” by Isabel Yap is mildly haunting with an ending that, while not exactly thought-provoking, sports just the kind of... not bittersweet, but it’s got a hesitant, uncertain vibe that I can’t quite put into words but always appreciate. Also narrated in first-person by a youngish gal whose name and exact age I forget, the story finds her studying abroad in a small village where everyone knows everyone, for better or for worse. The family she’s staying with has a couple daughters, one around the narrator’s age and the other younger but thankfully not in the “obligatory annoying sibling” way. And then Shit Goes Wrong(TM), but in a less random way than the previous story, and from what I remember it’s not even that heavy on the supernatural stuff until later! Overall a good read with an interesting twist. Also canon gay, I think. There’s a pleasantly surprising amount of Gal Pals(TM) in this anthology.

“Little Widows” by Maria Dahvana Headley also has gals who are friends (not romantic though), cults, and... dinosaurs, I guess? Its premise is interesting enough - “sisters” raised in a cult encounter their “Preacher” and Comeuppance Ensues - in a way that begs to be taken seriously but... can’t, really, imo. Weird Religious Cult(TM) is already asking or some suspension of disbelief from me, since while of course they exist they’re a lot less common than their prominence media would suggest, but fuckign. dinosaurs? when the story up until then has been grounded enough?? Yeah, nah, ya lost me.

“The Bad Hour” by Christopher Golden is BRILLIANT. That thing I mentioned about skipping to the end first? applies here, and this is the story that still floored me once I finished it. An army veteran visits a closed-in town for reasons that aren’t revealed upfront but make for some great fridge logic, and I can’t say much else without spoiling but it’s very much worth a read. Great atmosphere, interesting characters, holy shit.

“What is Lost, What is Given Away” by John Langan is another story I had to skim just now to remember and even then Iiiiii got nothin. The narrator attends a high school reunion and eldritchy stuff happens to a guy or something. I vaguely remember thinking some moments were clever when I was reading but apparently not too clever. V: Also, it’s long. Next.

“Now and Forever” by D. Thomas Minton is about a father protecting his family from a mysterious Fiend in a vaguely post-apocalyptic setting. Until he isn’t. Can’t say much else without giving it away but while it does its job, I wasn’t a huge fan. Spoiler alert: unreliable narrators aren’t my favorite trope, though I appreciate that we didn’t learn right off the bat the guy wasn’t actually doing his job as well as he thought he was. Or was he. For obvious reasons, the circumstances are left vague; presumably you can pick up a few more worldbuilding details on a reread, but I think I’ll pass.

“#ConnollyHouse #WeShouldntBeHere” by Seanan McGuire is creative as all hell, and even if the scares given are kinda flat, I gotta give it points for format alone. As the title might suggest, the entire story is told in a series of tweets from @boo_peep, including timestamp, hashtags, and retweets from @friends as they, as part of a regular haunted house exploration gig, delve into the titular Connolly House. The format makes for a breezy read, and a certain twist will probably have you rereading just to catch some fun little details. Which is impressive, considering character limit is (presumably? I ain’t counting) obeyed throughout. And when Boo Peep isn’t SCREAMING about the hell she’s seeing, there’s an awful lot left to the imagination. #FunTimes

“The House that Love Built” by Grady Hendrix is also forgettable. There’s a guy. He dates women. People die. Wheee. Actually, it was this or the other one with the couple where I at least liked a couple characterization tidbits. Maybe both? But yeah, not my favorite. Movin’ on.

“We All Make Sacrifices: A Sam Hunter Adventure” by Jonathan Maberry is, on one hand, a cookie cutter story about a cynical vigilante-ex-cop, and honestly I kinda regret looking up the author’s other work after reading because it pointed me towards reviews calling out his writing for being so tropey. Because while reading? Might be that I’m not too familiar with the mystery genre, but it was a heckin fun ride. Great characterization, both on behalf of the titular protagonist and the various side characters, even if the antagonist being described as (paraphrasing) “pretty much your typical entitled rich boy” gets a little grating. The story is cliche but shamelessly so, and eh, I usually don’t care for that but it got me anyway. Also, Hunter is a werewolf. That’s fun and it spoke to my old flame of werecanine appreciation but shhh.

“Ghost Pressure” by Gemma Files is... kinda all over the place? a bit? Horror, now at a senior home. I wasn’t entirely clear on who the narrative was following, and while the means of Supernatural Horror is interesting, it leaves a lot to be desired. Ah well, shout out for being about the older among us, I guess? Come to think of it, it could’ve done something thematically with the whole “no one wants you anymore/the people who take care of you are dead” idea, but it... didn’t. discernibly. to me.

“The Daughter out of Darkness” by Nancy Holder features a misogynist unreliable narrator, presented as a sort of case file. Does its job I guess, but lost me at the “letter from an asylum” setup.

“Framing Mortensen” by Adam-Troy Castro is one of if not the favorite story of mine in here, because holy SHIT, is it vivid in all the wrong ways. The narrator has a hellish grudge against Mortensen, for reasons I don’t quite remember and that aren’t terribly important anyway. The real horror (and call for suspension of disbelief) is in what he does with the guy, both in terms of “murder” because of course he does and subsequent, er, treatment. It’s dawning on me this makes it sound like a necrophilia nightmare but it’s not torture porn I swear. Also, if the opening story failed at eldritch abomination-type horror, this one more than compensates by the end. Another good read, would definitely recommend.

“The Catch” by Terence Taylor also features a rather despicable narrator, and while I’m tired as anyone of ~ooh no serial killer who has no feelings what a [insert outdated psychology buzzwords here]~, I gotta say this surprised me. It’s... weird. Not really pornographic but because of Reasons it may raise some eyebrows. Can’t say more than that without giving away the big twist, but I’ll admit the ending threw me for a loop and not for unforeshadowed reasons. Bonus points for fridge brilliance in the title!

“Hunters in the Wood” by Tim Pratt is gay, now with dudes, and also trying really hard to be a hunger games spinoff while lampooning the very premise of the hunger games and dystopias like it. (Side note: I have not actually read or watched The Hunger Games. Writing style didn’t catch me, not too interested in the movies.) Take the self-aware commentary from the Sam Hunter story, boost it way up in some expository worldbuilding, throw in some vague eldritchy stuff, and you get this. Mind, it doesn’t last, but it was just annoying enough to me while it did that I wasn’t too invested in the rest of the story. Ah well. I just wish it was bigger on the eldritch and smaller on the totally-not-social-commentary.

“Whose Drowned Face Sleeps” by An Owomoyela and Rachel Swirsky is, for lack of a better word, haunting. Like “Fossil Heart,” it’s got an almost dreamlike narrative style while the actual events are... sorta down to earth? more or less? Except not really, but once the weird stuff starts happening, you’re in the appropriate mood. I found the execution much better here though, between most events being much less vague & more grounded characters. And while exactly what happens and why is unclear, it blurs that line between psychological “haunting” and real life disaster in a way that reminds me of Paranoia Agent. Mind, I read this one tonight and the earlier on months ago; to really compare/contrast I’d have to reread both in one sitting. (Also, could have done without the allusions to sex scenes but At Least It’s Lesbians(TM).)

“Castleweep” by Alan Dean Foster is the closing story of this anthology and boy is it a “love, hate, or love to hate” narrative. A rich tourist and his girlfriend are taking a trip through the ~jungles of Africa~ and he’s about as entitled as you might expect. The narrative doesn’t bend over backwards to condemn the guy because it pulls no punches letting his thought process speak for itself, whether he’s talking his guide into a side trip to a forbidden castle or sticking to his pride when the detour soon proves less than worthwhile. By the time the horror kicks in, you may or may not want the fucker dead anyway - the story seems aware of this and lavishes on the grotesque details. Which... I found unnecessary, and the reasons for the castle being haunted as it was were decently foreshadowed but heavy-handed as hell. Decent enough read if you wanna see a snobby dude and his girlfriend (the latter of whom deserves better, tbfh) get brutally mauled...!

Overall, for a cover and title that promise top notch eldritch horror, the actual stories range from generic spooky shit to really clever but not necessarily scary plot twists and story developments to... what the fuck did I just read. Seriously, a good amount of the phrase drops weren’t even at some big moment of Monsterening - there weren’t even monsters (in the nonhuman creature sense, blablabla ~humanity is the real monster~) in like... half of these? So if that’s what you expect, back out. Also, none of these are gonna keep me awake at night, and I wouldn’t say I have a particularly high tolerance to horror (good ol’ fashioned creepypastas and jumpscares can and have given me all-nighters), but YMMV on that.

However!! Despite my middling reviews on most of these, there are a few that really stand out, and I’d say the anthology is worth checking out just for those. Not a read I regret, overall. And everyone didn’t even die at the end!

(Oh, and did I mention it’s pretty gay? I counted like... at least three Gal Pal duos and one #YesHomo couple, and while I’m definitely not about to get into a story just because it has ~representation~ and the m/f couples probably outnumber 'em by a long shot, it was still a nice surprise. Just sayin’.)

#tonight on 'I need a tag for spontaneous media reviews'#.rtf #this is partially for my own reference because I wanna revisit some of these stories #but like hell if I'll remember them by name alone

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lightandwinged · 6 years

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HOO BOY.

(non-spoiler: my Carrie spent the entire film kicking me like mad; I think she knew. Isaac, on the other hand, seemed to sleep through it all)

(there be spoilers within)

I am trying to decide how much of my feeling right now is “I really liked that” and how much of my feeling right now is “AHAUHSUHASUHFHGUHH CARRRRIIIIEEEEEEE” because I do not know. Because it was, objectively, a good film. Really well shot, really well acted, no more plot holes than the OT and pretty good writing overall (I heard somewhere that Carrie script doctored it, so of course the writing was good). I just don’t know if I liked it.

So let’s go through it, shall we?

First of all, if you’ve been venturing into spoiler tags like I have (I can’t not be spoiled, I’m sorry, I did my time with Lost and Harry Potter and feel I’m worse for the wear), everything is true. Luke milks some sort of naked space sloth slug thing and it’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen. Luke also dies, but I don’t know how you’d recover from that milking scene, tbh. Like he just milks the sloth and then he drinks the blue milk and looks at Rey like “wut” and LITERALLY THAT SCENE IS AWKWARD AND TERRIBLE WHY WAS IT IN THE MOVIE.

Sorry.

The other rumors are true, too. And I’m going through the smaller ones first because I’m still processing the big ones.

Leia flies through space like Superman, and honestly, it is the most awesome thing I’ve seen in my entire life. Every fake fanboy in the world has been like “SHE DOESN’T EVEN HAVE THE FORCE” and I’m like you fakers, you know nothing. And that scene was awesome and 100% how I imagine Carrie Fisher ascending to the heavens to watch over us all and bring sexual predators to justice. My only regret about that scene is that she wasn’t flipping off the First Order as she flew, but Disney and all that.

Porgs were... look, I don’t like the noise, but they weren’t obtrusive. They did not redeem themselves enough to receive billing alongside like. R2 and BB8, but they didn’t kind of reach out and poke you in the eye and force you to enjoy them. They just were there.

Like the SLUG SLOTH THING OKAY I’M SORRY I’M MOVING ON.

it makes a sound like it’s aroused and it’s like RIAN JOHNSON WE DO NOT NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR LACTATION FETISH YOU WEIRDO

The subplot with Finn and Rose... it wasn’t a complete red herring, and it was interesting enough, but I think it’ll end up having way more payoff in the next film. Finn, Rose, and Poe aren’t as sidelined as a lot of spoilers led me to believe, and honestly? They have the most fun of anyone in the entire movie. ...well, Finn and Rose do. Poe kind of mutinies against Laura Dern because something or another, which

Actually, I rather liked it. Poe got way more characterization in this film than he did in the last, where he largely served to sort of follow orders, shoot things, and think naughty things about Finn. You learned things about him that you probably could also learn from reading the novels, but lbr, not everyone’s going to read the novels. Poe (and everyone, really) got a real arc in this film and got to be fantastically dynamic, and honestly, as much as I love and want to protect Finn and Rey, he’s my favorite of the new trio.

Back to the Finn and Rose plot. I felt like... you know, I felt like a lot of it was kind of the emotions that have been surrounding life since the current administration took office. There’s every form of resistance out there, and Finn gets a fantastic arc about that, where he’s initially just selfishly looking out for himself and Rey, but Rose kind of gives him some deeper insight into “look we’re not just rebelling against the First Order because it’s cool; if you just peel back the surface of all these places that seem to be doing okay with them in charge, you’re going to see that NOBODY IS FUCKING OKAY.” In a sense, she’s able to show him his privilege, and ultimately, his compassion gets him to a point he didn’t quite reach in the last movie--where he’s fighting for the Resistance/Rebellion (it kind of changed names at some point? Why are we quibbling about this?) not because Rey is there and it’s the thing to do but because he honestly believes in it. And that’s awesome.

Finn and Rose’s little smooch at the end was kiiiiiiiiinda weird, we’ll have to see where that goes next time. But Rose Tico is literally the cutest most wonderful sweet thing in the galaxy and please let us all protect her at all costs.

And then we get Rey, Luke, and Crylo Ron (who is ACTIVELY THE ACTUAL WORST see below). I’m still processing all of this, honestly, because it’s like... even though some unexpected things happened, it went pretty much exactly like you’d expect and hit all the beats you’d expect. And it wasn’t all filmed as well as the rest of the movie, which... bugged me. The rest of the movie looked really awesome, but these sequences just smacked of a director who was like “...I legit have no idea how to do this, so let’s just do it this way.”

For example, the Rey/Crylo braning thing (HEY MOVIES STOP DOING MY THING). It was weird, but it also like... wasn’t filmed well? You got the idea of how they were acting like crazy people in the real world, talking to and shooting at nobody, but it didn’t feel like they were talking to each other just like... I don’t even know. There are great ways of making that sort of scene work, and instead, it all just felt very lazy.

As a plot point it was... eh? I can see where the R3yl0s are coming from, but I’m also 7000% not on board because half the lines that nightmare douche used on Rey were lines that were used on me in the past by abusers. “You’re nobody. But not to me.” Like holy shit, you piece of garbage. You just get right to it, don’t you? He was literally every abusive piece of shit I dated in college telling me how broken they were and letting me think I could fix them. And bless her heart, Rey fell for it, just like we always do when we’re young and haven’t been bruised that way before. And bless her heart, she stopped herself from falling and was like... “yeah no, you’re the worst, byeeeee.”

(like literally slammed the door in his face)

So I mean, ship what you wanna ship, but I’m not going to jump on that bandwagon, and I’ll be honestly pissed if she does redeem him because what a sick fucking idea to perpetuate... that yes, you are the one to fix this awful person who’s told you that you’re nobody, your heroes are nobody, that they’re the only one who can make you awesome. NO, girls. You are awesome on your own; don’t listen to that stinking dump heap.

Anyway.

Luke’s arc was way better than I expected it to be, and I think Yoda helped with that along with the final scene (with the kid and the broom that I saw and was like SAMMMMMMM and that was not the last time I cried). I vastly appreciated his impact on Crying Rong because MY GOD DID IT REMIND ME HOW AWFUL HE IS. Like much props to J.J. Abrams and Rian Johnson for taking the literal worst male human in existence and turning him into the villain he is. It’s extraordinary. He’s so hateable.

BUT ANYWAY. His impotent raging against Luke, against himself, against everybody... boy is going down hard in the next film. He’s not going to get his ass redeemed because he won’t allow himself. He sees going full dark as the only true success and he will not let anyone turn him... not even Leia (which was my pet theory but now can’t happen, sob). And our entire theater whooped and cheered when it was revealed that Luke wasn’t actually on Crait. I mean, they also whooped and cheered when the lights went down, so that’s not saying much, BUT STILL.

Luke’s arc closing made me absolutely sob and it was... you know, I’m satisfied with it. Knowing that he was at least partly responsible for Ben turning, even if only because of an instinct, that made his self-imposed exile logical. It wasn’t that he’d failed; it was that he’d almost succeeded and by coming that close to succeeding in preventing Ben from going dark but ultimately failing, he made something worse than he could have imagined. Leia and Han would have forgiven him in a heartbeat, but he couldn’t forgive himself, and that was where his storyline went.

And what Yoda pointed out, and the gasps of delight and surprise when Yoda appeared on screen were fantastic.

Um. What else.

Hux kind of gets shafted, but oh my lord, Huxlo has wayyyyy more ammunition now than R3yl0, I AM JUST SAYING. I was half expecting him to say “choke me harder Daddy” when Crying Rain was taking over the First Order. I am not kidding.

Phasma got RIPPED OFF.

Snoke proved himself to be about as useful as a lamp covered in bubblegum, which was... annoying, honestly. His death was awesome, and the Praetorian Guards were SO COOL, but Snoke was useless. Absolutely pointless. And everyone applauded when Kerler Rern killed him but I was like nope. His death was preceded by Snoke telling Kerler Rern to complete his training, and I turned to Kyle and whispered, “Sith complete their training by killing their masters, shame nobody told Snoke that.” And sure enough...

I couldn’t find the Gary Fisher stand-in :(

BB8 is still the most precious and wonderful of things.

Laura Dern goes out like a badass, which made up for how much she bothered me to start. Poor Leia’s Purple Girlfriend :(

The dedication to Carrie made me sob while we all applauded.

And now I am dead. We’re taking Sam this weekend, so I’ll likely have more to say on Saturday.

#star wars #the last jedi #the last jedi spoilers #non spoiler review: look I don't know ok #I want to say yes I liked this but I'm still processing it

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moonshroooms · 7 years

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Random Fandom Questions Oh My

A - Ships that you currently like a lot. (They don’t have to be OTPs because not everyone has OTPs.) Friendships, pairings, threesomes, etc. are allowed.

Currently the other ships I like right now are Human Bill Cipher and Dipper (a big guilty pleasure). If there are any Billdip shippers reading this may I humbly recommend Defining Bill Cipher, cause it’s 100% fantastic with plot, characterization, and some uh, heated moments if ya get what I mean.

I always enjoy Frisk x Sans from Undertale, though I’ve been lagging behind on fanfics. I also like Sans and Toriel (which honestly, I like Frisk and Sans better for fanfics, but I’d want Sans and Toriel to be canon), and Frisk and Asriel are super cute too.

I’ve started reading Owari no Seraph (like, I think I’m only like ch 5), and I already knew about Mika x Yuu long before I ever started reading so I’m absolutely shipping them right now A++

I also ship Gon and Killua from Hunter x Hunter, though I don’t read a lot of fanfics for them. I just kinda annoy my friend with it when we watch the show XD

B - A pairing–platonic, romantic or sexual–that you initially didn’t consider, but someone changed your mind.

You know, I actually don’t think I do

C - A ship you have never liked and probably never will.

Ciel and Sebastian from Black Butler. And it’s weird cause like, they are absolutely ripe for shipping and there are plenty of other ships in like, nearly the same position I like but just. He doesn’t love-love Ciel man. He don’t even friendship-love him. Sebastian wants to eat his soul like literally and that’s it he’s just food. For whatever reason I just can’t get into that pairing. Please just let Ciel be with Elizabeth she’s such a cutie and let them be happy forever on okay good okay

D - A pairing you wish you liked but just can’t.

Ichigo and Masaya from Tokyo Mew Mew. I am 100% a Kisshu x Ichigo shipper and I know Ichigo x Masaya is like, oddly, one of the healthiest relationships you could have in an anime and Masaya would be a boy I’d fall head-over-heels for myself if he was real like honestly everything about him is basically perfect but I just. He’s so boring. He’s a really boring character to watch. And he gets more interesting near the end of the show, but it was just kinda too little too late, yanno? If they’d put more hints at the darker side of his wonderful personality then I’d probably would have shipped them, but I saw Kishigo first and that’s who I glommed onto srry

E - Have you added anything cracky/hilarious to your fandom? If so, what?

I don’t contribute anything to society let alone a fandom XD

F - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom?

I mean, that’s under the idea I’m actually in a fandom? Do I have to do something to be in a fandom? Can I just enjoy content? Does that count? If it do then I’ve been in the Tokyo Mew Mew fandom for like, 10 years or more. It’s like 99% dead so it’s not like I’ve searched up anything recently, but believe me if it ever gets a good remake I will be there 100%

G - Have you ever had an OTP? If so, do you remember your first one? Who was in it?

My first OTP back before I ever knew what an OTP was was Kisshu and Ichigo from Tokyo Mew Mew. And that fandom is super dead and I’ll probably never read a new good fanfic ever again but I’ll probably never let them go. I still consider them my OTP, and I’ve never found anyone that tops it XD They’re also completely toxic but just. Ah. I love them so much I just want them in a cute relationship plz

H - What is your favorite source text for fandom stuff (e.g., TV shows, movies, books, anime, Western animation, etc.)?

Ennething. I guess anime is the easiest one to find though. I think I like Western animation better than anime, if only for comedy that hits home a little bit more, since I grew up in that culture and whatnot

I - Has Tumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why?

Nah. I avoid the Discourse by never joining the conversation e v e r. And most of the time I don’t really follow fandom blogs specifically, just blogs that happen to post some fandom stuff, so I probably don’t see any sort of annoying people or awful environments or anything. I don’t understand how people can get so annoyed I feel like discourse is just so easy to avoid/ignore??? But maybe that’s just me

J - Name a fandom you didn’t think about until you saw it all over Tumblr. (You don’t have to care about it or follow it; it just has to be something that Tumblr made you aware of.)

Voltron. I didn’t even know it existed until some of the funny blogs I follow started posting stuff about it. I don’t even know what Voltron’s about, other than the name sounded really familiar, like it’s an old anime being remade or something.

K - What character has your favorite development arc/the best development arc?

Peridot from Steven Universe. No wait, Rinna from Forest Born. Forest Born is one of my favorite books (from the Books of Bayern series by Shannon Hale, I highly recommend them). When I was younger I related to Rinna a lot (and I’m like, nothing like her now but that’s beside the point), and I loved her development her slow development towards not hating herself so much. It’s wonderful and steady and feels real

L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves. (Characters you’re neutral about are fair game, as are characters you merely dislike. Characters that you absolutely loathe with the fire of ten thousand suns are exempt, as there is no point in giving yourself an aneurysm over a character that you hate.)

Jackie from Star vs. is a really nice girl A+ girlfriend material and if I didn’t ship Marco and Star she’d be next up for the Marco ship train. I absolutely don’t hate her and she’s a fun and nice character, but sorry you can’t be Marco’s girlfriend the bloodmoon and also me said so

M - Name a character that you’d like to have for a friend.

Isi from the Goose Girl. She already reminds me a lot of my friend, so maybe I’m a little biased, but she seems like an absolutely wonderful person to be friends with and I’d 100% love that. I’d also like Dasha from River Secrets and Enna from Enna Burning. Just. Any of the main girls from the Books of Bayern. I love them all

N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice).

Since I don’t have a main fandom, I’ll just choose one:

From Steven Universe I want more funny comics, dumb memes, and Stevonnie anything. And that’s considering there’s already a shitton of all of that. There’s never enough

O - Choose a song at random. Which ship or character does it remind you of?

He’s Hurting Me by Maria Mena. And Kisshu x Ichigo, mostly because I’ve seen an AMV with them and that song XD

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas).

Active Fandom for Tokyo Mew Mew AU!

Okay fine, that doesn’t count. But oh geez I can’t think of any good ideas though. I don’t know but anything but a coffee shop AU. Give me something with adventure man. Uhh *spins wheel* Siren AU with *rolls dice* Pokémon. Make it happen, people

Q - A fandom you’ve abandoned and why.

Eh, considering I’m never an active part of any fandom, I can’t say I’ve abandoned anything. I’ll even go back to really old fandoms and try to find something I haven’t read before

R - Which friendship/platonic relationship is your favorite in fandom?

Do Steven and Connie and Star and Marco count even though I ship them? Because I value their friendship just as much if not more than their shipping capabilities. If not then, Sailor Moon and the other sailor scouts from Sailor Moon (from the original anime). I just really like that they joke and roast and support each other. A lot of the episodes focus a lot on their random interactions and it’s a joy to watch.

S - Show us an example of your personal headcanon (prompts optional but encouraged)

I have none honestly XD I’m not usually a person that gets into headcanons much. I ship plenty of people that aren’t together but I wouldn’t really call them headcanons, I dunno. Gon and Killua end up married. There, there’s your headcanon.

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending?

Kisshu returns to Earth for Whatever reason (any reason that means more battles and adventures is good), Ichigo ends up falling in love with him, Pudding and Tart end up together, Lettuce and Pie are together, Masaya is just fine and not dead, and everyone’s happy the end

That’s the best I got XD

U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites.

Kisshu from Tokyo Mew Mew: Other than the fact he’s from my long-standing OTP, he’s just really fun to watch. He’s probably the reason I have an immediate attachment to character that are slightly crazy and shit tons of dangerous. He’s cheeky and flirty and gawd I luv it A+

Peridot and Lapis from Steven Universe. I couldn’t choose really. Peridot is such a trash gremlin and Lapis is amazing when it’s not complete angst she is just Ultimate Emo Child.

Willis from Awful Hospital (I highly recommend this comic by the way. It’s weird and wonderful). So far he’s just the cutest little thing and I love watching him it’s great

V - Which character do you relate to most?

I used to relate to Rinna from Forest Born a whole bunch, especially when I was younger. Nowadays I relate much more to her older brother Razo from River Secrets. He’s self-concious, but always cracking jokes and always in the mood for eating. I think he’s hilarious and honestly I hope I can be as funny as him. He’s got a lot of talents he just never notices. I hope that gets to be me, too.

W - A trope which you are virtually certain to hate in any fandom.

Characters with no personality. And I think this is mostly just in the otome and harem anime’s that this kind of thing is rampant, cause you gotta make a character that people can slip into but just. My god. I tried playing an otome once and I couldn’t even finish it it was so awful and infuriating. Watching Diabolik Lovers was so painful this girl just L E T everything happen she didn’t even try putting up a fight even when some dude GAVE HER A KNIFE TO STAB HER VAMPIRE WHATEVERS WITH. MY GOD. I hated everything I wanted to cry. And don’t even get me started on the manga Black Bird I hate it so much they just rinse repeat everything. ‘No love interest don’t do sexy things at me I don’t want it’ ‘I’m doing it as punishment for you doing/not doing Whatever’ ‘Noooo’ and then proceeds to just continue to love the assbag. Just stop oh my goooood

X - A trope which you are almost certain to love in any fandom.

Enemies to Lovers. Or enemies being in love in general. Or forbidden romances of any kind. Basically I want a shit ton of angst and a happy ending.

Y - What are your secondhand fandoms (i.e., fandoms you aren’t in personally but are tangentially familiar with because your friends/people on your dash are in them)?

I know a little bit about Homestuck, which I tried to read once and got bored. I keep wanting to pick it back up but just… aaaah the beginning is so boring I can hardly tell what’s going on. And I hate the 1 panel thing. I’m sure it was good while it was being posted, but it just takes so long to load the next page. I need a multi-page version please.

I also know a tad bit about Madoka Magic, which I’m not entirely sure how. I just kinda. Read stuff I came across, despite never being interested in the show myself.

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go! (Prompts optional but encouraged.)

Dear god please let Star and Marco be together (they probably will).

I want at the very least a cute cheek kiss from Steven and Connie, also, can Stevonnie fuse with other gems??? That’d be wild.

Danny Phantom needed to be longer also he needed to be with Valerie I loved her why the flip flap did they give her such a crappy reason to not be with Danny AAAH

I haven’t been able to watch the Legend of Korra because I tear up anytime I see something about the old gang being old or dead like legit if I ever see Aang being all dead and spiritual and shit I will cry

The Amazing World of Gumball is hilarious and I want more people to watch it

I tried watching Bob’s Burger’s for just like, a funny show without a plot and I got bored eventually. Thankfully Gumball saved the day

I think Ni no Kuni is an adorable game and I love their little definitely-not-Pokémon monsters and I’ll probably rant about who’s on my team one day

I ship Link and Midna 100% but like, only the TP incarnation of Link. Skyward Sword and Breath of the Wild and Spirit Tracks Link can be with Zelda. Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass Link can be with Tetra (specifically Tetra).

Speaking of Tetra, why the flip flap SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN’T PLAYED WIND WAKER BUT LIKE, IT’S REALLY OLD AND HAS A REMAKE SO I GUESS THAT’S MOSTLY YOUR FAULT BEWAAAAAAAAAARE. ALSO THE BEGINNING OF BREATH OF THE WILD I GUESS? THOUGH IT’S NOT REALLY A BIG IMPORTANT SPOILER.

does she get pale when she turns into Zelda? Like, bam you’re royalty also kiss your tan goodbye. Same thing happens to the mysterious old man when he becomes the king. Do bluebloods just not get tan or something like, the flip?

#fandom #fandoms #personal #asks

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shenmeizhuang-blog · 7 years

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legend of the dragon pearl: the indistinguishable road – midway musings

(This is a 90-episode drama, so at this point, I’m really up to Ep 45. Exactly, right smack in the middle of this show.)

Yes, that’s right – in order to retain the greatest accuracy and objectivity, I resisted temptation with three released episodes left unwatched – all for the sake of this post and you, the readers.

JUST KIDDING! It turns out that in the case of Longzhu (the pinyin of this show’s [shortened] native name, as the full title, 龙珠传奇之无间道, is a bit too cumbersome), wherever I stop to provide “commentary” really doesn’t matter. In fact, in trying (admittedly not very hard) to write this post, it became apparent that the best meta viewers can create for this is either live-blogging or the snarkiest recaps ever. Because let’s be real – there’s really nothing to analyze or synthesize at all (yet? Eh, I highly doubt so.)

So, of course, I’m doing neither. Let’s start from the basics. From what I’ve gathered, the “plot” is something like this (maybe?):

SYNOPSIS: Lots of weird mix-ups happen, resulting in a Ming Dynasty princess with a terminal illness (supposedly curable by the emperor’s tears) with no idea of her real identity and betrothed to a fake Crown Prince entering the Forbidden City to help this secret organization overthrow the Qing Dynasty. Naturally, she and the young Emperor Kangxi fall in love, but, 45 episodes into the show, apparently not yet, because everyone is stuck dealing with corrupt officials both in the palace and in the countryside.

Comments and comparisons on the web have revealed this as essentially really this weird mash-up of Princess Huai Yu (identity and love-line with Kangxi), Mischievous Princess (fallen princess + wild personality & young emperor + attempting to overthrow the new dynasty), and The Duke of Mountain Deer or The Deer and the Cauldron (anti-Qing organization, (b)romance with Kangxi, finding some key treasure, helping Kangxi defeat Oboi). But since I’m a relatively newer drama watcher who hasn’t seen these shows at all, I’ll give the scriptwriter the benefit of the doubt and accredit these plot points and bits of humor to the writer herself (spoilers and lots of roasting below the cut):

To be brutally straightforward: Longzhu is really a visceral mess. If I really bothered to pick out all the show’s flaws and plot holes, I would have more than enough material to write my own 90-episode drama. But from basic things from the questionable costuming (see: our protagonist Li Yihuan’s fugly “prostitute” outfit, the concubines’ hairstyles, or really overall a clear low budget) and shaky execution to ridiculous mistakes such as thinking Oboi’s (鳌拜) last name is “鳌” or “O” (lmao…), even when he’s clearly part of a prominent Manchurian clan under the Eight Banners (I’m especially sensitive about historical accuracy when it comes to the Qing Dynasty), or just the very many plot holes riddled everywhere, I must say I’ve dropped better shows.

(There’s also the matter of watching The Firmament of the Pleiades alongside this, which definitely highlights a lot more flaws than usual. For one, both shows deal with a young emperor trying to assume full power, but the way either show deals with such really speaks measures of the genre differences.)

Another thing that’s been nagging me for the longest time is: why go with this plan – training these kids lots of weird stuff like espionage – at all, instead of mobilizing the masses? Why endanger important people like the Crown Prince in this “dangerpous plan”? If Zhu Cixuan is so smart, why would he so easily display his amazing medicinal abilities, rather than display himself as “good enough to become an imperial doctor, but not the best” to avoid suspicion? Why hasn’t there been suspicion?

So what’s the saving grace? Throughout the sometimes decently interesting “missions” our leads, or the recruits of the secret anti-Qing organization 明珠谷, accept, there are indeed moments of hilarity.

There’s no denying it; it’s a nice show to get a good laugh out of, be it from sheer stupidity or mostly Yihuan’s quirky and adorable persona.

The plot goes by both quickly and frankly nowhere, making each episode easy to breeze past without much thought; given the amount that I fast-forward through, I tend to watch it 5 or 6 episodes at a time. Frankly, the show should be grateful that my Chinese is decent enough/the language is simple enough that I can watch this at 1.5x and 2x speed, because otherwise I’d definitely be dropping this. I think. I guess the producers and promoters really didn’t have high expectations for this, either – they’re actually dropping 12 episodes at once for Premium Youku and Tencent Video users every Sunday, which I find a strange format.

Even so, I’m still not quite sure how this is supposed to be 90 episodes. Although, since Princess Huai Yu was apparently 105 episodes long, maybe, just maybe, it’ll all work out.

Yet already Longzhu is showing signs of some dragginess – I guess out of ideas after the whole initial set-up and Oboi arc, the writer decided to pull a In The Name of the People and have our characters leave the palace in disguise and deal with corrupt officials in the countryside … for the freaking past 20 episodes, and judging from the YouTube thumbnails, it’s not going for a while. (I know the show is trying to depict Kangxi as this super awesome emperor who really cares for the well-being of the common people, and does crazy things like copy Buddhist scriptures with his own blood to end a drought, and honestly this was never going to be a good palace drama, so it’s not too bad, I guess.)

Of course, throughout all this, we have this complex love heptagon thing with multiple “enemies-to-lovers” relationships, as typical when dealing with people from two different dynasties. There’s been lots of tension and character interactions presented throughout the stupid plot, but weirdly it feels that everyone is pretty much still at square one, with honestly little meaningful development. (When was this show ever about meaningful development?)

(Oh wait, I think I was supposed to talk about this show’s strengths and ended up roasting it again.)

Easily the best thing about Longzhu is the cast’s solid acting and wonderful chemistry – given the mostly flatly written characters, actors for the corrupt officials such as Oboi, Liu Dezhao, and Qiu Gui have managed to give memorable, even adorable, performances. Even very minor roles, such as the suffering peasants, are portrayed with admirable nuance, despite some of their really stupidly made-up names.

Of course, I am largely fond of the leads. From real-life couple Yang Zi (portraying protagonist Li Yihuan) and Qin Jun Jie (Emperor Kangxi)’s sizzling chemistry, as well as Qin Jun Jie’s hilarious and intense expressions, to **Mao Zi Jun **(fake Crown Prince Zhu Cixuan)’s charisma (is that him looking ridiculously hot in the Qing hairstyle? I think I under-appreciated his beautiful face in The Glory of Tang Dynasty, but here I’m half-drooling) and Shu Chang’s phenomenal acting in differentiating (probably long-lost twins) Shu Wanxin and Xue Qincheng, this drama easily fits into the “great cast and acting but trash plot” category. (Also kudos to He Zhonghua for masterfully portraying long-lost twins Li Dingguo and Li De Fu (Eunuch Li), characters who frankly couldn’t be more different.)

(And, yeah, Allen Ren cameos in this…for like ten minutes…)

Combined with my fondness for the actors, the characterization is overall likable (Kangxi might be a bit too pushy and clearly doesn’t really get boundaries – typical of royalty – but I like how he’s motivated, though at times (like most characters in this show) prone to bouts of stupidity), with characters from both the Qing and anti-Qing largely rootable. I also adore certain side characters such as 索额图 and his nephew, so I actually haven’t resorted to looking for an OTP cut.

However, as likable as Yihuan is – I like the whole “jack of all trades, master of none” idea – I can’t help but complain about how Yang Zi seems to almost always be typecast into these sort of roles. Lu Xueqi in Noble Aspirations (Chusen) the notable exception, it seems that most of her roles – even Xiang Xiang from the critically acclaimed Battle of Changsha – are largely “quirky, immature, and adorable foodie with exaggerated expressions”. No one is involved in this production is particularly concerned by this, either – the official promotions actually call Yihuan the “ancient version of Qiu Yingying” (Yang Zi’s character in Ode To Joy).

Another problem is: given that the main appeal is Qin Jun Jie and Yang Zi’s relationship and strong chemistry, the show should know to service us with OTP moments, but apparently they’d rather show the characters dealing with corruption and a revenge plot-line that, frankly speaking, no cares about.

Then when I consider dropping this, they serve up fanservice of all kinds on a platter. The experience is something like:

Me: cringes at the off-putting execution

Longzhu: Look! An Allen Ren***** cameo!

Me: Yeah, I’m not relating with this who anti-Qing revenge plan. Maybe it would be better if I skipped these parts

Longzhu: But look at how likable these leads are!

Me: Okay, this is getting draggy

Longzhu: Hey, it’s a flashback featuring 李嗣兴 (re: RJL cameo)!

Me: They’ve been at this stupid corruption arc for so long; maybe I should drop this

Longzhu: K even though the OTP won’t be mutually admitting of their feelings for a while, it’s fine because we’ll drug them with an aphrodisiac! Then they can have an intense make-out scene!

(& etc.)

Despite being a very flawed show, I think I might actually watch all 90 episodes, and not just for the cast – it’s stupid and cliche (remember: based on the premise that the emperor’s tears can cure our heroine’s terminal illness), but somehow inherently likable and decently addictive. I guess…I’m looking forward to the angst and falling-out?

*****Allen Ren is this bundle of talent, cuteness, and extra-ness with super nice micro-expressions who also is probably the closest person to my bias.

#don't get me wrong i still like this show #sort of?#i'm being entertained #legend of the dragon pearl #legend of the dragon pearl: the indistinguishable road #legend of dragon pearl: the indistinguishable road #i'm laughing at how the official youtube channel is translating it to 'legend of the dragon ball'#龙珠传奇 #龙珠传奇之无间道 #commentary #long post #my commentary #a bit more of a roast #cdrama #cdramanet #yang zi #qin jun jie #mao zi jun #shu chang

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redscullyrevival · 7 years

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The Beekeeper’s Apprentice: Mary Russell Rundown

Oh boy oh boy I do love a good bump and dig into Holmes canon - especially if it has the potential to ruffle male fans! @sonnetscrewdriver knows me so well.

Plot/Setting/Narrative

So what’s the live or die, sink or swim, aspect of a non-Conan Doyle Sherlock-like tale?

Surly its not Sherlock’s characterization.

A child can get Sherlock right.

Is it the mystery? Is it the logical detective steps or flights of barely believable deductive ability key to the kingdom?

Nah.

While the ride is important and a big draw most every Sherlock versed individual typically learns not to put their eggs in that widely inconsistent basket.

How about the narrative expression explaining and driving the Sherlock-like things in the story?

You friggin’ bet ya! That’s the important stuff.

And Laurie King can certainly write a Sherlock-like narrative!

Holy hell.

King is as close to emulating a Doyle style narrative I’ve ever personally read but injects it with a wonderfully feminine perspective.

And not overtly flowery and romantic lyrical male-writing-feminine but feminine in the ways important to a Sherlock-like story; in the detail observations our Mary Russell is often to share.

The cases I feel could be a bit tighter other than the Kidnapping of Jessica which was surprisingly moving and really when I started to connect to Mary.

Mary Russell

The elephant in the room, “is Mary Russell a Mary Sue?”

I don’t really care but very brief digging has resulted in learning many people do.

Personally I think the best and most important thing to know about Mary Russell and by extension her creator is that on the official website there is a downloadable PDF titled “Information for the Writer of Mary Russell Fan Fiction” and is 17 pages of free organized information for fic writers and fans.

That’s simply beautiful.

Seems to me Laurie King knows what shes fuckin’ about and what she owes in debt.

And I don’t care if Mary Russell is viewed as some sad woman power fantasy by a wider Sherlock fanbase - but I won’t necessarily argue that she isn’t that either.

Mary Russell most certainly is a Mary Sue as viewed by some people and the argument is easily kindled.

And that’s not inherently bad is it? A little frustrating as its pretty obvious female characters get labeled Mary Sue disproportionately to male ones, to the point where there is no doubt in my mind that if Mary Russell were simply Russell hardly anyone would question or doubt his ability or companionship with Sherlock.

To get to the point:

I think Mary Russell is many things and like Sherlock as a character is adaptable to many reader views and interpretations - and ultimately its the controversy and wider discussion of her that makes Russell “valuable”.

I also think a big clue into the author’s intent with the character has to do with how her gender is discussed and made pronounced in text.

If Mary Russell never questioned her abilities or strength or worth as tied to her being a female in a very (very) male narrative space both within the one presenting her as well as the history of the character(s) she is tied to then the “Mary Sue” argument would have a lot more ground to claim, but as it is I am of the opinion that Mary Russell is meant to be a bit much and slightly antagonistic to what readers understand and unquestioningly accept regarding Sherlock and Sherlock canon.

I’m also pretty certain she is meant to be just a good time as well!

Lots of humor and love in this first book and it’s easy to like Mary, it really is, and while she initially comes off a bit pious as her story goes on she becomes more honest and open with her readers.

The first person narrative is uncharacteristically Sherlock and probably what drives a lot of “Mary Sue” arguments I’d imagine (“It reeks of self-insert!”) but works well enough and allows us insights into Mary we need.

Sherlock Holmes

This is a good Sherlock.

Very much a woman’s Sherlock.

And I mean that in the nicest way possible and not a comment on the impending romance.

‘Cause it’s going to happen and I might as well come to terms with it.

I’m actually really upset how okay I am with it to be completely honest.

I’m a romantic turd and I’m a sucker for relationships rooted in trust and belief in the other’s abilities so for me the impending romance (which is more “Mary Sue!” fodder and actually probably the biggest sore spot for anti-Russell folks I bet) is a combination of irritate and excitement.

Sherlock has always been an attractive figure for a lot of people - the age old “Smart is Sexy” at work.

I am one such people.

Very much a Spock vibe with Sherlock amirte???

The aloof disengaged approach to viewing relationships and emotional response paired with the logic and brains makes those characters someone you’d reallllly enjoy seeing crack (hence how their common and intense pairing with their closest ((of happen to be male)) confidants is so deeply satisfying).

The age gaps between Mary and Holmes is intense though innit?

YIKES.

A part of me wants to wax and wane on how irritating that is but then another part of me is practical and knows I can a.) ignore it b.) can’t help BUT ignore it because Holmes has the permanent visual image of stinkin’ Jeremy Brett in my traitor mind and I’m cool with watching him snog just about anyone!

So.

Hard to get up in arms about that really.

A third part of me also doesn’t give a shit.

Why am I so certain romance will bloom?

Because this is a woman’s Sherlock and I don’t mean that then obviously romance must present its self but what I mean is that this Sherlock isn’t alien and convinced that romantic feelings are unintelligent.

Kind of hard to explain but know it comes from years and years of reading various Sherlock Holmes fan fiction from various Sherlock Holmes properties and I know a “female holmes” when I see one.

Eh, I’m not explaining this well I’m loosing steam here but yeah.

*shrugs*

I’m not being negative!

Highlighted Passages

“As both I and the century approach the beginnings of our ninth decades, I have been forced to admit that age is not always a desirable state. The physical, of course, contributes its own flavour to life, but the most vexing problem I have found is that my past, intensely real to me, has begun to fade into the mists of history in the eyes of those around me.”

So, yes, I freely admit that my Holmes is not the Holmes of Watson. To continue with the analogy, my perspective, my brush technique, my use of colour and shade, are all entirely different from his. The subject is essentially the same; it is the eyes and the hands of the artist that change.

He was, as the writers say but people seldom actually are, openmouthed.

It was none other than the long-suffering Mrs. Hudson, whom I had long considered the most underrated figure in all of Dr. Watson’s stories. Yet another example of the man’s obtuseness, this inability to know a gem unless it be set in gaudy gold.

“Youth does not inspire confidence, in life or in stories, as I found to my annoyance when I set up residence in Baker Street.”

“I suppose you know I was prepared to hate him,” I said finally. “Oh yes.” “I can see why you kept him near you. He’s so…good, somehow. Naïve, yes, and he doesn’t seem terribly bright, but when I think of all the ugliness and evil and pain he’s known… It’s polished him, hasn’t it? Purified him.” “Polished is a good image. Seeing myself reflected in Watson’s eyes was useful when contemplating a case that was giving me problems. He taught me a great deal about how humans function, what drives them. He keeps me humble, does Watson.” He caught my dubious look. “At any rate, as humble as I can be.”

Looking back, I think that the largest barrier to our association was Holmes himself, that inborn part of him that spoke the language of social customs, and particularly that portion of his makeup that saw women as some tribe of foreign and not-entirely-trustworthy exotics.

It was a mad time, and looked at objectively was probably the worst possible situation for me, but somehow the madness around me and the turmoil I carried within myself acted as counterweights, and I survived in the centre.

It was the same, but I was different, and I wondered for the first time if I was going to be able to carry it off, if I could join these two utterly disparate sides of my life.

“Thank you, Mr. Holmes, I hope—” She looked down. “If my fears are correct, I have married a traitor. If I am wrong, I am myself guilty of traitorous thoughts against my husband. There is no win here, only duty.” Holmes touched her hand and she looked up at him. He smiled with extraordinary kindness into her eyes. “Madam, there is no treachery in the truth. There may be pain, but to face honestly all possible conclusions formed by a set of facts is the noblest route possible for a human being.”

“Are you telling me the butler did it?” “I’m afraid it does happen. Shall we search the woods for the débris?”

“It is, I can even say, a new and occasionally remarkable experience to work with a person who inspires, not by vacuum, but by actual contribution.”

Somehow me Da’ had raised a drunken mob in this tiny place, had summoned thick voices in song, and was driving them down the lane with the goad of his mad fiddle—a magnificent Welsh chorus, singing Christmas carols, in English, in an infinitesimal Welsh village, on a warm August night. Suddenly nothing seemed impossible, and as if the thought had loosed the house from stasis there was movement within.

“Is it always so grey and awful at the end of a case?” He didn’t answer me for a minute, then rose abruptly and stood looking down the road towards the house with the plane trees. When he looked around at me there was a painful smile on his lips. “Not always. Just usually.” “Hence the cocaine.” “Hence, as you say, the cocaine.”

The amazed adoration in her eyes was too much. I pulled her to me so I did not have to look at it. Her hair smelt musky-sweet, like chamomile. I held her, and she began to cry, weeping oddly like a woman rather than a young child, while I rocked us both gently in silence. In a few minutes she drew a shuddering breath and stopped. “Better?” She nodded her head against my chest. I smoothed her hair. “That’s what tears are for, you know, to wash away the fear and cool the hate.” As I suspected, that last word triggered a reaction. She drew back and looked at me, her eyes blazing. “I do hate them. Mama says I don’t, but I do. I hate them. If I had a gun I’d kill them all.” “Do you think you really would?” She thought for a moment, and her shoulders slumped. “Maybe not. But I’d want to.”

“Yes. They are hateful men, who did something horrid to you and hurt your parents. I’m glad you wouldn’t shoot them, because I shouldn’t want you to go to gaol, but you go ahead and hate them. No one should ever do what they did. They stole you and hit you and tied you up like a dog. I hate them too.” Her jaw dropped at so much raw emotion aired. “Yes, I do, and you know what I hate them for most? I hate them for taking away your happiness. You don’t trust people now, do you? Not like you did a few weeks ago. A six-year-old girl oughtn’t to be frightened of people.”

“You were brave, you were intelligent, you were patient. And as you say, it isn’t really over yet, and you’re going to have to be brave and intelligent and patient for a while longer, and wait for the anger and the fear to settle down. They will.” (And the nightmares? my mind whispered.) “Not right away, and they’ll never go away completely, but they’ll fade. Do you believe me?” “Yes. But I’m still very angry.” “Good. Be angry. It’s right to be angry when someone hurts you for no reason. But do you think you can try not to be too afraid?” “To be angry and—happy?” The incongruity obviously appealed to her. She savoured it for a moment and jumped to her feet. “I’m going to be angry and happy.”

No, I refuse to accept gallant stupidity in place of rational necessity.

“I dislike the idea of a murderer employing children,” said Holmes darkly. “It is, I agree, bad for their morals, and interferes with their sleep.”

The more I thought about it, the curiouser it became. What kind of human being would need a refuge capable of sustaining life in a siege?

“Good God, Holmes, where have you been to pick up such a stench? Down on the docks, obviously, and from your feet I should venture to say you’d been in the sewers, but what is that horrid sweet smell?” “Opium, my dear protected child.”

“The admission then caused me some shame. But, that was half a lifetime ago, and since then I have learnt, slowly, and painfully, that time and distance can prove a powerful weapon.”

The thought of telling someone, and having to see their face afterward, had always clamped my mouth down on the words, but now, to my exquisite horror and relief, I heard the words trickle from my mouth.

“I was merely going to say that I hope you realise that guilt is a poor foundation for a life, without other motivations beside it.”

#The Beekeeper’s Apprentice #year of book #fandom talks #Russell and Holmes

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