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kitkatopinions · 8 months

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thank you so much for saying how crwby = roosterteeth because it's shocking how willfully ignorant fans can be. the blatant racism of rwby bleeding into the writing is a result of the writers own bigotry and prejudice. rwby fans, especially rwby twitter fans lack any sort of media literacy (im not saying this to be pretentious) on why you can't blindly seperate art from the artist and how rt's bigotry affects the show. they keep on brushing off really huge issues within the writing such as the white fang with 'ok everyone admits that arc was bad!!! moving on!!!' as if it was one bad episode and not a 5 volume long arc built in the very foundation of the show. like, it says something about the writers who tried making a racism allegory yet in their latest season and fucking spin off they keep on dehumanizing their minority character by referring to her as a cat or removing her ethnic traits like WHAT????? tldr: so sick of rwby fans huffing the roosterteeth fumes and not understanding that roosterteeths bigotry is a problem that bleeds into rwby like sewer water

I mean, for real! One of the most frustrating things is that a lot of people don't even bother with saying 'everyone admits that arc was bad' when it comes to the White Fang and they instead try to insist that there was nothing wrong with it!

Like it or not - intentional or not - RWBY is full of the bigotry and lack of education of the writers and company. It's wholly unable to be looked at as a standalone. People want to watch RWBY without acknowledgment towards Miles and Kerry, the other members of CRWBY with bigoted pasts or who are RT higher ups, and without acknowledgement towards Rooster Teeth, because they want to constantly give RWBY the benefit of the doubt and insist that everyone else gives it the benefit of the doubt too. People will straight up pretend that RWBY isn't made by the people it's made by, like I once saw someone say that RWBY was 'made by and for queer people.' People literally just want to cut Rooster Teeth out of consideration when it comes to RWBY so that they can feel better about liking or watching it.

Also the same people that were like "Well, CRWBY isn't Rooster Teeth, and I want to support CRWBY, but fuck RT" so that they could still feel morally a-okay while watching RWBY on crunchyroll and tweeting 'greenlight volume10' are the same people that sold out bumbleby merch selling directly from the Rooster Teeth store that idolize the voice actors for Blake and Yang despite Yang's voice actor being an RT higher up who was on a homophobic podcast, and they took no issue with them being models for overpriced Bumbleby stuff on the Rooster Teeth website in order to sell the stuff better. Like, they were all gung ho about not giving any money to Rooster Teeth (even though they did nothing to ensure that watching RWBY on crunchyroll wouldn't give money to Rooster Teeth still) and about not being down with Rooster Teeth higher ups, but they'll do anything for that bees merch, and to feel better about the bees, so who cares if Barb was literally name dropped as a bad RT higher up who treated people badly.

This fandom is wild tbh, and people's behavior regarding the White Fang is absolutely the worst of it. They'll shrug and dismiss anything and insist that we 'give them more chances' and 'stop seeing everything so negatively' and 'realize that people make mistakes.' The mistakes aren't just a blip in the radar, and aren't few and far between, and aren't even fully in the past, because they're still doing things like having Robyn (a character meant to be a cool hero) call Marrow 'Wags,' and having Blake get called not human, and having Yang essentially say 'You're a minority!' as a means of flirting in the same season where they make a thieving racoon into an anti-romani stereotype and introduce their first non-binary characters in the form of animals that get brutally murdered. Like this is not the behavior of a progressive show made by progressive people that isn't at all affected by the open bigotry of a parent company. This is a show that makes me go 'yeah, it totally makes sense to me that one of the frat boys with a history of misogyny who helped create and write the show for a decade said the n word at age twenty six, this show reflects that sort of behavior.' And people need to take off their (ruby) rose colored glasses and start seeing the show for what it is.

#rwde #rwby

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thesilverlady · 7 months

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Who do you think the most whitewashed/changed 5 characters in hotd and why?

Alicent

I've explained it here so I'm adding the post instead of copy-paste

Rhaenyra

Also ranted a bit about it here

Daemon

His entire existence in the show is about Viserys and to an extend Rhaenyra. I know many many many people enjoyed him in the show but meh, I blame the Matt Smith magic. He's just a beloved actor. Daemon in the show was drastically changed; he doesn't seem to have any ambition, he's a shitty father in every sense of the word, add terrible spouse to all three since none of the women play a role in his life because, as it's been confirmed he's kinda in love with his brother? If we ignore Ryan's bs, it's still hard not to see that daemon at best is always seeking his brother's attention like a kicked puppy and his "funny" moments are him acting like a clown... idk this character was George's favorite, and the old man didn't hide it. Daemon is the character you get the most stuff and info to work with so they don't even have the excuse "the book was vague" about it. They just wanted him to be loser in an agent-of-chaos way and it worked

Criston

Do I really need to say it? They took/ tranformed the creep who preyed on the princess and had the ambition as high as the sky into some "poor working knight" who princess sorta betrayed him? His whole thing with rhaenyra in the show is a mess and deserves a seperate post on its own but they rewrote this character to be some noble self sacrificing heartbroken man whose dedication to the queen isn't because he was spiteful over being rejected but because the queen "saved" him from offing himself. Not to mention, they made him fully dornish aka the quickest way to have team anti targ ride on his dick even though canonically he was simple born in the Stormlands and wasn't even poor. He was the son of a steward who served a highlord

Viserys

He was a flawed man in the book (definitely deserves some lashes) don't get me wrong. He forced Rhaenyra into a terrible marriage while ignoring the tension between her & alicent to have a happy marriage, he essentially caused Mysaria to miscarriage, and caused all the more misery to daemon and Rhaenyra who loved ones another because he didn't trust that said love.

With that being said, he's also a man who was willing to turn the blind eye for tons of other things daemon did. He loved his brother and that went unquestionable. I'd even boldly claim that he put daemon above rhaenyra before his "heir of the day" toast.

He loved all of his children one way or another; he adored the grandkids from both helaena and rhaenyra and seem to take the most joy in family moments.

Meanwhile show viserys is just a full of yikes. He willingly murdered his first wife, married his daughter's best friend because compared to the other bride (laena) she was old enough to carry a child, he was constantly berating rhaenyra, never acknowledged helaena's existence, the only time he turned to his grandson & sons was when they were fighting. And to add the cherry on top after decades of show alicent taking care of his rotting ass he still pins after his first wife - y'know the one he gave the ok to be butchered?

so yeah, all of these characters are day and night to the canon material and non of the changes brought any benefits or new perspectives to the story

#ask reply #how do I even tag this? 💀 anti all these show characters?#eh #anti hotd #hotd critical #ok i think that will do

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definitelynotafurinasimp · 2 years

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How they act when they are jealous [part 2]

characters: Amber / Barbara / Eula / Fischl / Jean / Lisa / Mona x gn!reader (seperate)

warnings: none

1st part not necessary for the plot, it only shares the same concept

a/n: somewhat part of a request, but only the Eula part. I originally planned on writing for all of the female Mondstadt characters, but I ran out of creativity juice along the way, so I hope this should be enough.

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Amber

Whenever Amber would feel herself swell up with the unpleasant feeling of jealousy, she would try finding ways to distract herself, often through challenging you or the person causing her envy to different competitions. If competing against you, it doubled as spending fun time with you, and while she wouldn’t make a scene out of competing against the other person, not wanting you or anyone to figure out her true motive, letting you and others instead think, that it was simply her competitive nature shining through, something that wasn’t entirely false. And while she would often find herself enjoying those times as well, partly seeing it as making new friends, she would lie if she said she didn’t feel especially proud when winning.

But there were times when you would figure out her feelings, sometimes before, other times after she had challenged anyone, after which the two of you would sit down together and talk things through. And while acknowledging such ugly feelings was embarrassing for Amber, it would never fail making feel her better.

Barbara

Barbara had a strict policy where she wouldn’t allow herself to feel sad for more than a specific amount of time per day. And while planning to pull through with something like that might be easy, actually doing so was much more difficult. But being the good actor that she was, the deaconess of the church of Favonius would make it almost impossible for anyone to notice when she was feeling jealous.

But no matter how much work she would put into covering and bottling up her feelings, you would find out about them each and every time. You wouldn’t be able to call yourself Barbara’s number one fan if you didn’t, even though there might have been another person disagreeing with you claiming that title for yourself. The most difficult thing about helping her deal with her negative feelings was making her stop denying their existence, and while others would do it for their pride’s sake, Barbara just feared you might see her, the usually so perfect seeming idol of Mondstadt, in a different light afterwards, no matter how often you would assure her otherwise. But once you’d make her acknowledge their existence, all that was left for you to do was to reassure her.

Eula

When Eula was jealous, it was something that not only you would quickly notice. While she’d normally keep a distance to you whenever the two of you were in public, her pride and upbringing keeping her from showing her affection in any way while in public, only an idiot wouldn’t notice how she would act much more possessive about you whenever being near the person causing her jealousy. It wasn’t anything serious, she didn’t have a problem with you hanging out with them, she knew after all that you wouldn’t sully your name by being known as her significant other, if you weren’t in love with her, but almost standing shoulder to shoulder with you was an effective way of making all but the densest people realise that you were a couple. And while simply stating so would be a much more direct way, Eula’s pride as an aristocrat didn’t make that possible.

You of course knew when the Lawrence was being jealous, it was hard not to after all, but there wasn’t much you could do about it, since she would vehemently deny it and get annoyed whenever you mentioned it, so everything you could do was to weather the storm and wait for her jealousy to die down eventually, something that would happen each and every time. But you’d lie if you said you didn’t enjoy her much more blunt way of showing affection the tiniest bit.

Fischl

Probably the worst person at keeping her feelings a secret. Just a look at her blushing face whenever you ask her about it was enough to confirm your suspicions, and as if that wasn’t enough, her talking bird-companion would spill the beans at some point. And while seeing her struggle with trying to remain in character, even though her behaviour was far from that of a princess and more akin to the flustered Amy you had gotten to know and grow attached to, was adorable to some extent, her stutter, coupled with her usual, unique way of speaking, made it even harder for you to understand her, forcing Oz to translate for her. And while you were happy to have him, since you wouldn’t be able to understand her otherwise, his remarks certainly didn’t help calm her down in the slightest.

Jean

Whenever Jean felt herself get jealous, the feeling swelling up in her next was always shame. She was the acting Grandmaster of the Knights of Favonius after all, people looked up to her and you’d been nothing but supportive and caring for the whole duration of your relationship, so feeling such feelings made her feel disappointed in herself. And while others might rightfully recognise that unpleasant feelings were as much a part of life as good ones, Jean’s conclusion made her dive headfirst into one pile of work after another, somehow making the impossible possible and overworking herself even more.

When she entered that stage, the only thing managing to get her out of it was an intervention from her friends and co-workers, forcing her to go back home and to you, causing her to shamefully admit her feelings to you, fully expecting you to be as disappointed in her as she was herself each and every time, only for your words to be surprisingly caring and comforting. And while she was still far from getting that she didn’t need to be “perfect” and the people of Mondstadt would accept her flaws as much as you would, she grew closer and closer to realising it with each time.

Lisa

Lisa, being the laid-back person that she was, wasn’t someone that felt jealous often. Why would she? It wasn’t like she had anything to worry about after all, since you, her little helper, were still as flustered by almost everything she did or said, your face turning red whenever she called you by a pet name, even though you ought to have grown accustomed to it at this point.

But Lisa was still human, so even she wasn’t completely resistant to the feeling of jealousy, and while she was a polite, although sometimes overly flirty person most times, witnessing her when she felt someone threatening to take you away from her wasn’t something anyone would want to. Sure, the words that would come out of her mouth were innocent enough, but the tone of her voice was a completely different story, and as if that wasn’t enough, the static aura around her managed to make your hair stand on end for more than just the obvious reasons. Only for her to immediately return to normal once she felt as if she made your relationship clear enough to the other person, inviting you to a cup of tea with the same relaxed smile she wore most of the time.

Mona

Don’t be silly. The Mona Megistus being jealous because of you? It was much likelier that all of the stars disappeared in an instance than that happening. Although there were times when she seemed remarkably close to doing so, being both too proud to admit it, while letting out enough passive aggressive remarks to make even the densest person realise that something was wrong. And while, at the end of the day, she knew that nothing bad was going to happen, since she may or may not have used her astrology to make sure of it, your behaviour certainly didn’t help calming her down.

You knew what the best way of dealing with Mona’s jealousy was. Simply assuring her would almost always do the job, no matter how much she denied being jealous in the first place. But just because you knew what the best course of action was, didn’t mean you would take it, instead choosing to use the opportunity to tease her, causing an argument, during which you would twist her words in ways that made her even more embarrassed and caused her to get more and more defensive. The whole scene only ending, once you’d have enough and decide to play along with her, leaving you amused, although with a numb shoulder, and Mona cursing herself for falling for you in the first place.

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cryptidafter · 2 months

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the fmv reminded me of what an amazing actor chen kun is. he throws himself into his scenes with his whole chest. do u have a fav moment in the show thats stuck in your mind because of his acting performance? maybe even a list? // seperately: it feels redundant to ask the same just with ni ni because (gestures at the entire show) but which scenes did u find yourself speechless at that u maybe even replayed because ni ni is stunning and great in them and she moved you deeply? // also fav headmaster scenes and are they the ones with his wife? if the answer is no, why not!

Siren you're too good at getting me to talk a lot! lol (also sorry not sorry to the person that unfollowed me probably because I'm talking too much pft).

Chen Kun really is such a fantastic actor! Some of my favorite scenes are:

The battle at Minhai! We finally get to see Ning Yi at his most desperate and violent. It's the first time we actually see him in combat and without any of his masks. All of his plans have sort of fallen apart and so he's acting on instinct. Chen Kun has this uncanny ability to go from calm to terrifying with such subtle expressions! So good.

Reuniting with his mother (and the subsequent scenes after he renounces his title and tries futilely to live as a commoner). There's something so painful seeing Ning Yi almost childlike, trying to recapture a time that's long gone. It's such a tonal shift from the Ning Yi I described above and, once again, Chen Kun pulls it off so well.

Any scene where Ning Yi interacts with Ning Cheng or Shaoning. Something about the way he treats them both being on total opposite sides of the spectrum even though Shaoning is his sister and Ning Cheng is his servant really does something to me lol.

My favorite Feng Zhiwei and Xin Ziyan moments under the cut:

Ni Ni is also fantastic and truly embodies Feng Zhiwei. Seeing how much time she put in to learning the character in the behind the scenes footage makes her performance even more impactful to me. I was captivated by her acting from her introduction but the scenes that rattle around in my head the most often are:

The deaths of her mother and brother. I cry every time I watch that scene. It's gut-wrenching because the pain Feng Zhiwei feels is so visceral. Ni Ni just absolutely crushes it. (sidenote but I'm always happy when actors can ugly cry. Just feels more realistic to me).

The scene where she first runs into Gu Nanyi and tries to get him to leave her alone. It's such a fun interaction and given that Gu Nanyi is a very stoic character, Feng Zhiwei's exasperation carries the moment (not that Gu Nanyi isn't great in his own respect; Feng Zhiwei's personality just really shines through here).

Every scene with Zhiwei and Hua Quiong. I maintain my belief that they should've kissed at least once. They really act well off each other.

Xin Ziyan! Headmaster Xin! He's amazing! Okay, so, while I do enjoy every scene he has with his wife, the scenes that I love the most are:

When he has that serious talk with Zhiwei on the balcony and we're given our first real look at who Xin Ziyan is at his core. He will do anything for the greater good of the kingdom. His loyalty is not to a single person but to the empire. He has no qualms about telling Zhiwei he'd kill her in a heartbeat, despite Ning Yi's feelings for her, if it meant Ning Yi being able to take the throne. He says it all so nonchalantly which makes the entire scene so nerve-wracking. I can only imagine how FZW felt in that moment.

The scene with Ning Yi towards the end, where Ziyan is desperately trying to get Ning Yi to wake up, and Ning Yi is simply refusing to acknowledge him. Knowing that Ziyan's sister in law(?) has been killed, his wife had a miscarriage, and he's there at Ning Yi's house - not begging, not pleading or crying - trying to reach him as his teacher and getting nowhere. Really hammers home how, despite how close they seem, Ning Yi and Ziyan have this disconnect between them. They both choose to hide their most vulnerable pieces from each other and that causes a rift in their relationship that will likely never be mended.

Every scene with him talking to the Emperor. It's like a smaller scale version of the cat and mouse game everyone's playing but it makes me anxious every time lol.

#asked and answered #cryptid's thoughts #fandom asks #the rise of phoenixes

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feraltuxedo · 2 years

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Good Omens Fic Recs: Actor/Celebrity AU

It's been a while since my last AU recommendations post, (you can check out my previous ones here), so I thought I'd rave a little about some favourite actor/celeb AUs.

It's a compelling trope with many storytelling possibilities, and one I love reading over and over again.

There are so many good ones in this category that I'm sure there will be a part 2 to this post at some point.

South Downs by summerofspock Rating: E Words: 48707 Summary: Blackballed from the industry ten years ago, Anthony Crowley jumps at the chance to star in a new Regency romance miniseries with well-known gay actor Aziraphale Fell in the hopes that it will help him restart his career. The trouble is, Crowley has played all sorts of characters and for the life of him, he can't figure out why he's struggling to play the romantic lead opposite a man.

An absolute comfort read I return to over and over again. I love the characterisation of Crowley in particular, his impulsivity and the way he interacts with those around him. Tonally this hits the sweet spot between funny and dramatic, with a good dose of smut and just a sprinkle of angst.

Boyfriend Debut by snae_b Rating: E Words: 20045 Summary: It’s fucking on camera. It’s not that complicated.

Does a porn AU count? Well, I say it does. It takes a skilled writer to pull off a multichapter story with little actual plot, no drama or angst, no major obstacles for the protagonists except to have mindblowing sex on camera and subsequently fall in love. When I tell you just how compelling this one is, you'll just have to believe me, or find out for yourselves. An absolute delight from start to finish.

That Gay Pirate Show by TawnyOwl95 Rating: E Words: 28946 Summary: If anyone had ever been in any doubt about where the relationship between Captains Angel and Bentley was going, Newt's stage direction ended them. 'If these two weren’t on opposite sides', he'd written, 'and seperated by a sword they’d be fucking each other into the deck right now.' No one was going to argue with that. Least of all the actors playing them.

I loved this despite not having watched that gay pirate show. The author manages to create such a three-dimensional world. The chemistry between Aziraphale and Crowley is so good, so much pining on and off set, and the side characters are so three-dimensional and fun, this feels like a novel squeezed into a short story.

How to Win a Lifetime Achievement Award for Services to Television (and how not to) by GaryOldman Rating: T Words: 31481 Crowley hosts a late night comedy talk show. Aziraphale hosts a feel good morning talk show. When Crowley is asked to present Aziraphale with a lifetime achievement award, everything goes a bit skew-whiff. ----- Normally when I don’t get something that everyone else seems to be mad on my first point of call is the wonderful world of the internet, but we’ve had a falling out you see, the internet and I. Despite my many years as late night show host meets investigative journalist meets comic genius meets veritable sex god (though Wikipedia only acknowledges the first of these accomplishments, despite my many attempts at editing the listing) they have turned on me. I’m a gif. And a meme.

Probably my favourite first-person fic ever, where the POV really enhances the story and characterisation. Crowley as a chaotic night-time TV show host is so much fun, and the whole story is so well thought-out, funny, and cleverly written, it really is unique among celebrity AUs.

#FeralTuxedo's AU Round-Ups #Good Omen AU #Good Omens fic recs #good omens fanfic #good omens

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walliam-ribbiton · 1 year

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guess who just watched the mario movie

SPOILERS!!!!!

if you haven’t watched the movie yet, DONT READ THIS POST. but here’s a spoiler free review in a few words; good and simple movie. 10/10.

before we start, i laughed over the fact that right after the little mermaid live action trailer, they show dreamworks’ upcoming movie; teenage kraken ruby gilman and HAAAOOOO my god i was laughing because guess what the antagonist of the movie is; a mermaid, looks exactly like ariel. 😭😭💀💀

okay lets get to the movie now. the dude that plays the arcade when the brothers see their plumbing ad on tv in the pub, is who i like to call “the demo super mario” because he’s the guy who’s in the donkey kong barrel game, yet i think in an interview with miyamoto, he said that jumpman and mario are the same person, but in this movie they are two seperate characters. so thats interesting. also i think that spike guy looks similar???

missed opportunity for bowser to throw one of the penguin babies off a cliff /j (if you know you know)

JACK BLACK. I LOVE YOU. YOU WERE PERFECT FOR BOWSER. PERFECT CHOICE TEAM. 🤧🤧

i feel like chris pratt actually starts to fit mario’s “normal” voice now with luigi (keegan michael key) like…no hate, but idk its like it fits mario only if he’s with luigi

LITTLE MAC IN THE PICTURE FRAMES

the amount of kids laughing in my theatre because the dog went ham on luigi and mario. 💀

OKAY, bowuigi aside, CAN WE JUST TALK ABOUT THE FACT THAT THEY REMOVE THEIR GLOVES IN THE MOVIE. Like not to be dramatic but…eh..i feel weird and idk how to explain, at least they didnt give them fingernails but- you know the weird feeling?? where you see a character without their iconic gloves??? yeahhhh-

so they have a family, cool. i swear their parents look similar tho, and the mum sounds similar as well…idk and i probably forgot the voice actor’s name but if anyone knows reblog this post if you want

this movie made princess peach a W. BIG W if you will (not the store). rahhh idk why but i was expecting a daisy cameo from this movie but im fine without that

THE FACT THAT THEY ADDED THE DK RAP!!!! unfortunately it was only the start of it but REJAHSHAH i had to sing along

ALSO, diddy, dixie, chunky and CRANKY? you see guys, this is the actual movie that really stays true to their source material.

also missed opportunity for chunky’s death /joke

Idk why, but i thought they were gonna acknowledge or reference a meme of mario in some form in the movie, just like how in the sonic movie sequel they referenced sanic.

from an avid mario kart player that only plays with their family, RAHHHH the mario kart segment made me so HAPPY. actually this whole movie made me happy

the amount of leitmotifs i was able to identify…this movie’s ost is A BANGER. and yes, i will talk about peaches soon dont worry

the animators and artists of this movie deserve a raise, BIG RAISE. they really made the average mario kart race as actual 150cc (thats the cc i normally play on)

im kinda happy that they made the blue shell a character lol and they ended up actually acknowledging that WE CANNOT EVER ESCAPE FROM THE BLUE SHELL

idk the name of the super mario galaxy blue luma star…but i love them, i love how they made them, a cute thing, spit out existential shit, like, that’s me! im the blue star! no i didnt voice act in the movie but this blue luma star is literally me‼️

HOLY SHIT, the fact that they made the terrifying-ass eel monster from sm64 as a minor character in the movie. RAAAGHHHH so much heart was poured in this movie. if i were to choose a movie that did well because they stayed true to their source material, it’d be “mario movie > sonic movie” PERIOD

i mean, they could do a little better on the plot and pacing, because the pacing is a little FASTER than the average splatoon pace lol

the fact that they made kamek (called him lamek bc i forgot his name) dress up as peach when bowser was practicing his wedding shit….🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈-

PEACHES TIME. jack black ABSOLUTELY SLAYED AS BOWSER. AND BOWSER SLAYED TOO HARD IN THIS MOVIE.

peaches peaches peaches peachespeaches peaches peaches peaches peachespeaches I LOOOVVE YOOOOUUUUUUUU-

the jokes coming in, for the dirty mouths it kinda sounds like bowser’s singing “bitches” instead lol 💀

“sorry, the princess is in another castle.” “what if she says no?” IM DYING 😭😭😭💀 ESPECIALLY “THE PRINCESS IS IN ANOTHER CASTLE” ONE 😫😫😫💀💀💀 kinda happy they added that *wheeze*

okay, if anyone dont know who ludwig von koopa is (the name on the piano), its one of bowser’s koopalings (his minions that are the same species as him, bowser junior is his only son, thats it)

anyways. bowser’s marriage hat is the one from super mario odyssey i think! bro how much references are in this movie? yes.

holy shit peach backstory real. she was just a human baby that somehow ended up in the untouched pipe system and went where she is now.

speaking about peach, im so glad that SHE literally slayed in this movie. this wasnt the first time she broke her damsel in distress role tho, idk aside from the smash games i think there was one canon mario game where she broke her typical role..idfk i forgot the game but i swear she girlbossed in another game aside from fighting in smash bros!

missed opportunity for the brothers to do the mario at the end of the movie /j (if you also know then you also know)

seth rogen ALSO SLAYED as donkey kong. like PERFECT voice for a character that doesnt speak english. **chefs kiss**

expect a part two yall. really tired at the time of writing this final dot point but this movie was fire🔥. and yes more references that I pointed out will also be included.

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linkspooky · 3 years

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Touya is Dead, Dabi is Here.

Dabi is the foil to Endeavor. His villainous foil. However, not everything is about Endeavor. Let’s shove him to the side for a second. Dabi is also the villainous foil to himself, in a stranget twist and turn of events. Dabi has a villain persona that he plays up, he’s trying to show everyone that he’s the monster created by Endeavor’s monstrous actions, but I think he’s also playing himself as the opposite of Touya, the villainous foil to Touya’s once heroic ambitions. Touya was supposed to die, but Touya lived. Now, Dabi is trying to destroy everything Touya is, by embodying the opposite of everything Touya was.

1. The Child Who Didn’t Get Saved

Touya’s remembered in a certain way by his family members. Endeavor doesn’t even seem to pity the child who died on his watch, so much as he pities himself. He pities the fact that he didn’t get to raise his son up into a successor. When he sees the scarred up Dabi still alive in front of him, he doesn’t feel happiness that his long dead son is alive, or even pity for the monster covered in burns.

His first thought is disappointment, that Dabi didn’t grow up into what he wanted him to be. Natsu remembers the crying child that always clung to him, but he probably has the most realistic view of his brother. Someone who was suffering under his father, and someone whose pain shouldn’t be forgiven or swept under the rug. Whereas Fuyumi and Shoto who were both less close to Touya, don’t even seem to know how to talk about him, or how to feel.

Touya is in the eyes of others around him, either a sad and tragic case. A crying child in need of saving who unfortanately did not get saved. Or he’s just not talked about at all. I’m not going to talk about Shoto and Fuyumi because of course they don’t know how to feel about the death of their own brother, and their mom who they’ve been seperated from for a decorated they’re coming to terms with all that slowly but... not only did society as a whole forget about Touya but, Endeavor too. He doesn’t really see Touya. He just sees an unfortanate lost child. He sees a son who he wants to come home. Touya died so young, and so suddenly that his feelings aren’t really recognized. Nobody really knows Touya, and the Touya they all understand is the sad child he used to be. The sad, pitiful, tragic, child.

And is it any wonder that Touya doesn’t want to be this person anymore? That Dabi denies being this person? If all Touya used to be was a sad child, constantly crying, who was never good enough no matter how hard he tried. Then wouldn’t it make sense that Dabi wouldn’t want to be this person anymore?

It’s painful being Touya. Touya is vulnerable, a child who couldn’t do anything about his situation. A child who tried so hard he ended up burning himself. Not only is Touya vulnerable, he’s frail, weak, all the things Dabi doesn’t want to be and all the things his father found worthless. Touya has flames stronger than anyone, but a weak constitution to go along with it, so much so he always ends up hurting himself with his own fire. It’s pretty obvious to see that Dabi is in pain, everyone else around him except for Dabi himself seems to notice it. He’s covered in burn wounds at all times, he’s literally constantly smoking, and just barely stitched together. Yet, Dabi denies being in pain, and through doing that, he denies himself.

2. That Child Grew Up Into An Asshole

Denial is a coping mecahnism. Refusing to acknowledge that something is wrong is a way of coping with emotional conflict, stress, painful thoughts, threatening information and anxiety. Rather than simply being vulnerable, it’s sometimes easier to deny that you are ever vulnerable atall. Especially for people like Dabi who spent long periods in their childhood feeling helpless and week.

From the moment a baby comes into the world, forming attachments to parents or other caregivers is critical to a child’s emotional, physical and psychological development. For an infant, having a gentle and responsive caregiver provides the nurturing a child needs to grow into a healthy adult. A cared for child develops self-esteem, feels secure in exploring the world around him or her and has a strong foundation for understanding how to build healthy relationships later in life.

But if those earliest relationships break down, the child may experience what is known as abandonment or neglect trauma.

One way of coping with this trauma is to be entirely self sufficient. To basically close up, never need to rely on other people ever, and therefore never open up. Basically, what Dabi denies more than anything else is his vulnerability, even though it’s obvious he’s in pain.

Vulnerability, after all is the reason he got abandoned. Touya was tossed to the side because he was too weak. Therefore, in an effort to be strong Dabi denies feeling any pain at all, and in the process shuts out his other feelings. He also denies anything, his connection to his family, any feelings of guilt or remorse he might have.

Self-denail, and self-abuse, it’s the same reason kids from bad homes end up acting irresponsibly and abusing drugs, it’s all a fancy way to hurt yourself.

If overthinking about things causes him pain, causes him to break Dabi’s solution is to simply not think about things. If being Touya is too painful for him, then Dabi chooses not to be a person and plays up the monster.

It’s almost like Dabi and Touya are two separate people stitched sloppily together, but they’re coming apart slowly at the seams. Dabi pretends to be a remorseless villain when facing off with Endeavor, but then in front of the crowds when he’s begging for sympathy he shows off all of his burns, sits politely, and presents a character that is much more human making his case that he killed innocent people but he did so with reason, for a good cause. While, the same Dabi instead of Endaevor seems to just want to burn everything for the fun of it. The point being that, Dabi contradicts himself a lot. He argues with himself.

It’s because Dabi is putting on deliberate acts. He’s changing himself based on the audience. It’s just that he’s also not as good of an actor as he thinks he is. However the performance seems to be pretty consistent at least for the most part, he wants everyone to regret what Touya became because of Endeavor’s abuse so he purposefully makes himself into the opposite of everything Touya was. Touya wanted to be a hero to carry on his father’s legacy, Dabi is a villain dedicated to completely destroying his father’s reputation and leading him to ruin.

Touya was known for being particularly close to Natsuo, not only playing with him all the time, but confiding in him. Touya must have been a good big brother to Natsuo if Natsuo misses him so much. Yet, Dabi acts like Natsuo is nothing special, just another casualty in his revenge on Endeavor.

Touya was someone always working hard to earn Endeavor’s attention and please him. Dabi seems to only want to bring about Endeavor’s ruin and think of ways of hurting him. There’s a certain irony in Dabi being so laser focused on Endeavor, because once again you reap what you sow. Endeavor wanted to raise his child to exist solely for his purpose, to carry on his legacy, to center everything around Endeavor’s needs rather than to care for another living human being with needs of his own and that’s what he got - someone who is singularly laser focused and obsessed with bringing him down. Even if Touya is still obsessed with only Endeavor to the point of forgetting the rest of his family, that’s literally just a symptom, a side effect of child abuse, of Endeavor raising Touya with the expectation that he had to please him.

Touya was a kid who is always crying, and Dabi seems to have no feelings at all. Once again, always, always he presents himself as the opposite of everything that Touya was and wanted to be.

Dabi denies that he is Touya, and therefore denies that he is in pain.

He pulls his brother close, and hugs him, and then does the opposite of what a big brother is supposed and hurts his younger brother instead of protecting him.

It’s not just Dabi being the opposite of Touya, it’s almost like he’s doing everything he can, to burn up and riun Touya’s memory. To deny that any part of him ever was Touya.

Dabi is in denial, but also I think some part of Dabi is aware of his denial. Like I said, he contradicts himself. He says that these are Endeavros’ flames, then just as easily he says “no duh, it’s obvious I’m not Endeavor.”

I think Dabi realizes what he is doing, it’s just at the moment he believes he has to do this. It’s the only way. Whatever, Dabi is hoping to achieve, the radical reform of society, the destruciton of the hero system, it’s more important the feelings of his family, and more important than his own feelings.

However, if those feelings are there it means Dabi isn’t without hope. There’s still a human side to Dabi. Dabi is still Touya, the same way Shigaraki is same Tenko. Their child selves died, but they never did die. Dabi is trying to be pure evil, but parts of him are still good he’s just suppressing himself.

I think what Dabi needs to realize is that his hurt feelings, his feelings of vulnerability, are just as important as the strength he fights with. He needs both parts of himself in order to live on, weak little Touya and villainous Dabi. I don’t think Dabi will turn into a 100% good person, but as for character development the same way that Shoto is learning to reconcile his two disparagent sides, his ice and his flames. I hope that Dabi learns that he’s still Touya, while being Dabi at the same time. He’s not a villain, he’s someone capable of being both good and bad. It’s only that way he can learn to live on as Touya, rather than hoping to die and drag his father to hell with him as Dabi.

#mha meta #touya todoroki #todoroki touya #dabi #lov meta #league of villains meta #my hero academia #my hero academia meta

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itsonlystrange · 3 years

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THE EL VS WILL BATTLE NEEDS TO STOP.

you have no clue how many times I’ve seen this ‘battle’ go on. It’s usually on Twitter, but it’s gotten so bad that people end up trashing BOTH el and Will, which is disgusting. There are people that claim to be ‘el stans’ then end up trashing her or Millie Bobby brown. Some people only like El because she has powers. Which I think is great, but we need to remember that she exists outside of her abilities and Mike. I remember after season 3 came out, so many people stopped stanning El because she no longer had powers. And so many people said they found El and Max’s relationship ‘annoying’ just because she found a true friend and wasn’t with Mike all the time. People need to realize that a healthy relationship involves being around other people. All the stuff milevens find “romantic” would actually be really damaging realistically. El needs to develop into her own identity before she can date anyone. She didn’t even know what a state was in season 3, yet we are supposed to believe she knew what true love was? She spent 12 years stuck inside a lab being experimented on.

If Lucas treated El the same way that Mike did to her, El probably would have ended up with Lucas. It isn’t a case of “it’s Mike and only Mike!” It’s the case of “whoever is nice to me first gets to be with me.” I can assure you that if Mike was the one stuck in the upside down and Will was the one that took care of El , el would have latched onto him the same way. The official stranger things account has also said that “love at first sight” does not exist in the stranger things universe.El is a phenomenal character. Not just because of her powers, or Mike, but because of her compassion, her kindness, her loyalty, and her bravery. She is willing to risk it all for her friends. I’ve seen people claim to stan her yet refuse to acknowledge that she had an identity outside of her relationship with Mike and that she deserved to be a teenage girl and meet new people.

Will is also a FANTASTIC character! The people that claim he is “just a plot device” is insane. Seasons one and two wouldn’t exist if Will wasn’t apart of it. Will is the reason Mike and El even met in the first place.

Will is sweet, caring, and generous, and he is stronger than anyone might believe.

Will has already developed his own identity, and unlike Mileven, Will can actually be in a healthy relationship as he atleast knows what one is.

Up until Mike, el was abused and manipulated, this makes her a very gullible character. And that is fine! El knows herself better than anyone, but she simply needs to develop into an actual person rather than just an add on to Mike or Hopper. She’s been through so much trauma, and so much horrible sh!t. And despite Will also going through trauma, Will has had the time to learn and deal with it. El immediately jumped into a relationship with Mike head on. She had no time to learn or grow. She basically went from being abused to being in a relationship which ISNT healthy!

El is such a beautiful and strong and independent character. And i feel like in season 4 she will learn that she doesn’t need Mike. She doesn’t need to depend on anyone. El can be very dependent on Mike, and so can will! I believe they both deserve to learn more about themselves.

I think that in the future el will find someone who genuinely loves her. I simply believe Mike and El are at very different wave lengths. El really deserves a chance to be who she wants to be and not have that shaped by any man in her life. That is a very toxic trait to have and I don’t want her to fall victim to another ‘Brenner’ because she has become so dependent on men. I think the audience needs to love her character through thick and thin. They need to love El when she is single or powerless. When she is crying and when she is happy. El is a brilliant and well thought out character. And i truly believe we will see more of that in season four.

Will is also such a strong character. He has been at the center of almost every danger that the Party has crossed paths with, and still prevailed and ended up stronger than before. He is such a bright and strong young man. And he has gone through abuse from not only the mind flayer but his own father. He too has trauma that he needs to deal with.

It’s very obvious that Will and El are beautiful characters. They are empowering. We need to stop putting them against eachother and start loving them as a PACKAGE! It doesn’t have to be one or the other. It doesn’t have to be black or white. El and Will can BOTH be strong and lovable characters!

And also, stranger things is an ENSEMBLE show. Everyone has an important part, so can we stop with “el is the main character” or “Will isnt a main character!” Because that’s BS. Every character is important and both el AND Will are strong main characters that kids will be able to look up to in the future.

This war is getting tiring. Let’s stop the hate on two phenomenal characters and let’s learn to love them fr their flaws inside and out. And PLEASE can we not let our opinions on the actors affect our opinions on the characters?! If you hate Noah or Millie, you do NOT have to dislike el or Will. They are seperate people. The hate that’s been going around with Millie and Noah need to stop. They are both very strong actors and will go very far. This isn’t meant to be a competition. El and Will go hand in hand!

#byler #stranger things #mike wheeler #will byers #el hopper #eleven

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jnlnyaface · 4 years

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The Rise of Skywalker...Thoughts...

I finally bit the bullet and saw “The Rise of Skywalker” in theaters. I have some thoughts...

Spoilers Obviously!!!!!

My general review is that the whole time I was in the theater all I could think about was how much better it would’ve been if this movie and “The Last Jedi” were combined and divided in two. By that I mean, there were so many things in this movie that would’ve worked better if they were done in the 2nd movie and then built upon in this one. There were things in the 2nd movie that I thought would’ve worked great in this one.

Have you ever taken a creative writing class and the teacher gives you a sentence to start a story and 2 mins to write. When your time is up you pass the paper back and continue the story the person in front of you wrote on their paper. And you keep going until everybody in your row has written a piece of each story. Do you remember reading that story and how one kid turned it into a fairytale and then the next into a horror show? And the last kid was left to try to put a bow on it and call it one cohesive story?That’s what this trilogy felt like.

Here are some quick thoughts before we dive in:

1. Finn being force sensitive *chef’s kiss*

2. Poe-Finn-Rey relationship = actual gold

3. I can now understand why people ship Poe and Finn

4. Even though the story was all over the place the effects with Rey and the Emperor were creepy in a good way

5. Overall I wasn’t as disappointed as I thought I would be but there’s so much that could have been done to make it better.

More under the cut!

Ok guys! Here’s where we do the deep dive. I’m pretty much going to outline all the problems I had with the film, why and what I think they could have done to make it better.

1. The whole Rey Palpatine thing - even though I (and many other people) wasn’t the biggest fan of “The Last Jedi” (because it was just one long car chase where nothing really happened) I did like the idea that Rey didn’t come for a force sensitive family.

I thought it would be cool if the stronger Kylo got on the dark side, Rey got equally as strong on the light side to keep balance in the force. (Like the force itself chose someone to keep balance, someone random) I didn’t like the way it was handled, him just saying it in an offhand way, but I thought it was a good choice. To backtrack and have her be Palpatine’s granddaughter was more than a little ridiculous and way too rushed. If they would’ve introduced this possibly in one of the last two movies that would’ve been fine. But a third movie plot twist? Why?

2. Finn - There are some topics in my life that I feel like I could literally write a college level dissertation on and the treatment of Finn is this trilogy is definitely one of them. Finn was teased so heavily before “The Force Awakens” and ended up being a misdirect for Rey being the real hero/chosen one. I was ok with that because Rey and Finn were so intent on being together. That meant, to me, that throughout the trilogy they would be with each other. They became each other’s family and they weren’t going to let the other go. Then TLJ happened and they were seperated for most of the movie. Why would you separate characters with such great chemistry? (They actually separated all three of the main trio in their own storylines. The problem with this? They never got a chance to be all together and build up their bond (as a trio) before they’re separated.)

This would’ve been fine (ish) if Finn’s storyline wasn’t a side quest of epic proportions. He’s one of the MAIN CHARACTERS and he went to a planet to get a thing for reasons. WTF?! (I will concede he did have some ok character development but it didn’t happen until the very end of the movie) Then they hint that he’s force sensitive and do nothing with it. I’m with the group that believes he moved the rocks at the end of TLJ when he ran to Rey and that was the first hint of his force sensitivity. I was hoping he would be training with her by the time the 3rd movie started (it was a long shot but one can dream). It’s obviously more explicit in TROS but nothing comes of it. He doesn’t have some big moment where he uses his powers and saves someone. He doesn’t have some confusing moment where he’s wondering what’s happening to him. Nothing! He just senses some stuff and exists.

He really doesn’t even add much to the plot of the movie itself. He’s once again benched but they give him busy work to make it seem like he’s actually contributing. John Boyega is an excellent actor and their underuse of him is criminal.

3. The Knights of Ren - Soooooo..... What’s up guys? In the first movie they talk about Kylo and his Knights of Ren being amazing then in the second movie they are never mentioned. Now in TROS they are there lurking in the shadows and....doing nothing. They seemed like they would be these fierce badasses but they get beat while by Kylo while he pretty much has one hand tied behind his back. Wha...

4. Kylo and Rey - I have very many problems with Kylo and Rey. Like so so so many. My biggest one is the kiss. Not necessarily that it happened just that it made zero sense. Yes they had a connection throughout the trilogy but why would that have to translate to romance? Why is it that when a female hero tries to redeem a male villain (or anti-hero) it means she wants to smash? Rey should have been allowed to want to save Kylo/Ben without having to fall for him. I asked a question on here a while back (when I was still contemplating whether or not I wanted to go see the movie).

I asked why people ship/started shipping Reylo. None of the answers I got gave me an “aha” type moment. You know that moment when you’re like “oh I get it now” (not that it changes your mind about the couple just that you understand why that person likes them so much). I didn’t get that at all for the answers I got. Some people said “because of their connection through the force” and I’m like ok...and? Why does that mean romance?

I have never seen him as anything more that a homicidal villain. I always thought their connection was a way for the audience and Rey to get to know Kylo so he wouldn’t be some one dimensional villain. I never saw them in a romantic light. In my opinion that final kiss could’ve been a hug and it would’ve had the same effect. (Or he could’ve just died. I would’ve been fine with that too)

5. Kylo Redemption - My problem with his “redemption” arc is that he didn’t earn it. He literally started the movie taking out an entire battalion by himself to get the pyramid thing. In the first movie he ordered his troops to destroy a whole village of innocent people. After killing Snoke he didn’t disband the first order he just took over and reaffirmed his commitment to the dark side. He killed his father, tortured Rey and Poe and the only reason why he wanted to help Palpatine was to get the fleet he was offering. But then in the 3rd(?) act Leia dies, Rey almost kills him, he has a conversation with the ghost/memory of his dad and suddenly he wants to be a good person again? Kylo is dead and Ben is just back?

The thing is (in my opinion) every great redemption story starts with the person admitting they were wrong and asking for forgiveness. Then putting in the work to earn that forgiveness. Or at least acknowledging they were wrong and dying for the greater good. But Kylo/Ben never acknowledge the mistakes he made, he never asked for forgiveness, he didn’t do anything the showed he should be redeemed. (But he didn’t shoot on Leia’s ship in TLJ and he and Rey fought together on Snoke’s ship) wow he did one not terrible thing and fought with Rey so he could take over the first order. I’m not seeing how that creates a redemption arc for him.

I’m going to expand on this more in my next point but I think if he just fully embraced his villainy it would’ve been better. If he killed Palpatine and became the final boss I think that would’ve been more interesting than a last minute turn as a good guy then dying.

6. Finnrey - When I said I was going to expand on that what I meant was: I’m going to tell you what I think should’ve happened in regards to FinnRey and how they should’ve been handled. In no other movie/book/tv show/short story/play will you see the main female actress and the main male actor not get together. It was so heavily hinted that Finn and Rey had/were going to have romantic feelings for each other (they were supposed to be our Han and Leia) and this was just forgotten about so abruptly.

Even in the second movie, the first thing Finn thinks about is Rey when he wakes up. He wants to get the beacon as far away from the resistance’s ships as possible so when she gets back she won’t be in danger with the rest of the fleet. And Rey talking to Chewie before she goes onto the ship “tell him I said...” what did Chewie say? Who speaks wookie? This movie was such a great opportunity to expand on that relationship and what do we get? Nothing...again. They didn’t even have one full conversation. Ok but why though? Don’t even get me started on the whole quicksand incident. Why wouldn’t he be telling her he loved her? Why is that such an absurd possibility? This is what has been hinted at for 2 movies and now...? Sensing a theme when it comes to hints involving Finn? Yeah me too.

There was a comment or article that I read somewhere that talked about Finn getting knocked out in the first movie during the final battle. This person said it was unfair because of the bait and switch in regards to the trailers teasing Finn vs Rey being the force sensitive in the movie. And I thought “wouldn’t it be cool if Finn and Rey fought Kylo together?”. I don’t just mean that one battle I mean throughout the whole trilogy. Wouldn’t it have been interesting if Kylo and Rey were connected because they were the equals in the dark and light sides of the force and if Rey and Finn were connected because they were a force dyad? That way if Kylo was going to be the ultimate final boss Finn and Rey could train/fight/work together to beat him once and for all. I thought that would be much more compelling. They didn’t even necessarily have to become a romantic pairing.

I’m ok with subverting the, every series ends with a romance trope (even though it seems like the only time this trope is subverted is when a character of color is involved) but in this last movie Finn did little more than follow Rey around the galaxy and call her name when crap was going down. At least if you have force sensitive Finn, who has trained with and is connected to Rey he can actually help her instead of standing around staring the whole time. I, of course am a FinnRey shipper so I was disappointed when they didn’t get together but I’ve had plenty of other ships disappoint me in the past so this was nothing. I just wish they would have communicated for longer than two collective minutes in the 2.5 hour movie. They had such a great relationship/friendship. It was one of the best things about the first movie and it just evaporated in this movie with no real explanation.

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These were some of my thoughts about Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. I didn’t write this to offend anyone so if I did I’m sorry. I just needed to get this off my chest. I really got into the Stars Wars fandom with TFA and it has been a rollercoaster ride ever since. I try to reserve judgement on a series until it is over, since middle movies can be kind of boring because they’re trying to move the plot forward. I like to wait until the story is done before I say whether or not I liked it and this well...I’m still not sure.

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bookishtickles · 4 years

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Just so everyone knows, I will still be taking HP prompts because I strongly believe in separting art from the artist, you can enjoy the books whilst acknowledging that jk Rowling is ignorant, both are possible, it may take others longer than some to be able to do it, but I'm quite good at it

Also, I actually will still be taking prompts for Peter Parker when my MCU prompts reopen because Tom took the criticism. I still will not be writing for Tony, Nat, Bucky, or Loki (I didn't realize Tom Hiddleston hasn't done anything either). And before I get any questions, the reason I can't seperate the characters from their actors is because the actors represent the characters and therefore I can't write for the character without thinking of the actor

Reminder, I am taking prompts for these fandoms:

Harry Potter

Yuri On Ice

One Direction

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thesilverlady · 9 months

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What do you think of Emma? Do you think that they are the best choice for Rhaenyra? Or you had someone different in your mind? I don't think they're bad but i think that there are more talented actors out there but probably it's not Emma's fault since Adult! Rhaenyra wasn't given much beside some birth scenes

i think only 3 actors from hotd were well casted for their roles. And while I think the script was garbage I could easily see them play the characters from the book if they were given better material to work with.

So with that being said, no, Emma isn't among those 3 actors I have in mind.

My Rhaenyra will always be Holliday Grainger. She's 35 and Rhaenyra was 33 by the time she died so she could technically match in age range. With that being said, I always like unknown actors being casted for big roles so I have nothing against Emma. My biggest beef with the show is the script and the styling - which are things that none of the actors have anything to do with and thus shouldn't be judged for it

In terms of acting, i haven't seen them in anything outside of the show (meanwhile I've seen Matt and Olivia in a bunch of different projects) but they seem okay! As you mentioned older Rhaneyra wasn't given many scenes for Emma to prove themselves.

When I sometimes say how older Rhaneyra came off as passive and more naive, that's 100% due to the way she was written and not due to how the actor portrayed her.

Generally I think actors always get so much hate for things that are beyond their control and that's just unfair.

I'd also like to acknowledge that I've definitely seen lots of transphobia against Emma in the fandom and that's just disgusting. Hating a portrayal is never an excuse to come after a real person like that, and once more I truly wish fandoms could seperate actors from the characters they play

#ask reply #show rhaenyra #tw transphobia #also something I forgot to mention is I'd have liked for some bigger sized ppl to play Rhaenyra. Helaena and Aegon #but given how fatphobic the fandom is already with using the book descriptions I'm glad than an actor doesn't have to suffer with this #anyways just to be clear any time I hate on show Rhaenyra it's the writing and not Milly or Emma

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banjodanger · 4 years

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X-Men: Days Of Future Past(2014);or, How To Squander Potential Without Really Trying

Yes, I should absolutely have posted this by now. However, what I actually did was doomscroll twitter and refresh three news websites constantly for a week and a half and give myself anxiety attacks.

We live in a country where seventy million people thought Trump was anything more than dogshit in semi-human form. Three turds in a poorly-tailored suit. Ugh. Can we please get just have a candidate that supports UBI and M4A? Like, basic human rights?

Anyway.

Let’s get something out of the way. The Rogue Cut is the best version of this movie. Hell, it’s the best of the core X-Men movies. They made a mistake not releasing this in theatres, because I can easily say this movie has everything that make the X-Men team great. It’s dramatic, there are fights, the movie is horny...it is everything you would want out of this movie. It builds off of what made First Class great and continues that story, while still bringing in the characters that made the first three two movies enjoyable.

Even things that didn’t work in previous movies comes back here and get a chance to succeed. Ellen Page was used as a dramatic tool in the(ugh) third one and her version of Kitty Pryde really suffered as a result. I won’t act like she’s given much more to do in this film, but she’s a bit more clearly defined. Her conversation with Logan involves more characterization than the entirety of the third movie. And by bringing in Rogue as Kitty’s salvation at Bobby’s expense, you get a dramatic tension that Ratner either isn’t capable or has never bothered to try.

I think what really makes this movie, and The Rogue Cut specifically, distinct is the amount of world-building it does. The expanded cut gives time to suggest Quicksilver’s mother is a alcoholic, which goes to explain his own risk-taking behavior. It suggests a world that exists beyond his moments in the movie, and that’s something this series has been extremely lacking in. A flaw in this series, and indeed in the entire superhero genre, is a fear of showing these characters as anything other than ON. It’s ok to allow these characters to breathe. Do we need to see his mother’s frustration and coping mechanism? No. But it brings us further into this world

Specifically, take a look at when Beast asks Logan if he makes it in the future. In the theatrical moment it’s a brief aside during the final battle. It’s not a bad choice, Hoult has played Beast as someone who is conflicted and not extremely self-assured; it makes sense that his character would look for encouragement before running off. However, in the Rogue Cut it’s placed before any excitement. We still get the character beat but here it is allowed to breathe, given it’s own room and it’s own focus. It’s seperate and distinct and much better as a result.

All of which makes everything that comes after this movie all the more frustrating. This movie goes out of its way to put the franchise in a new spot, and then it does nothing with it. Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds give us some great solo movies but Hugh Jackman has continuously been the highlight of this franchise, and Ryan Reynolds has basically been auditioning for Deadpool his whole career. There’s a reason he’s the only actor making the transition to Marvel from this series.

While I do still consider this the high point of the franchise, I do wonder if, in hindsight, the movie deserves a little reconsideration. Obviously hard work was put into making this movie, but where does the hard work go? Assume for a second Disney hadn’t consumed Fox into its gaping maw, as to go all intellectual property on its own sullen death march. Apocalypse had certain moments of fun but still brought nothing new to the series, and everything after Deadpool 2 was bogged down in reshoots and delayed releases(Dark Phoenix was originally scheduled for 2018, hardly the delay New Mutants got but by no means did it help.)

Which leads us into problematic stuff. You can’t make an X-Men movie at Fox without some problematic stuff, there’s an ancient incantation in the first movie or something. I mentioned this in the last post, but let’s go through it again. Days of Future Past is a Kitty Pryde story, not a Wolverine story. I get not introducing Rachel Summers and in fact I’m glad they didn’t. And before you get mad, Rachel Summers is a great character. But this movie introduces a half-dozen characters for their “film debuts,” and apart from Quicksilver it wastes every single one of them. Fox does this throughout the entire series too, and I’d rather they not introduce a character than use them for a cameo. This series introduced Jubilee three separate times to literally forget about it in the next scene, so yea, we should be happy they left this character for the inevitable Marvel reboot.

But they had already introduced Kitty. She’s supposed to be the main character in this story. Days of Future Past, in the comics, was Kitty Pryde’s first major story. She was coming in as the brand new character right after the Dark Phoenix Saga which(in case you somehow didn’t know) saw Jean Grey’s death and Cyclops leave the X-Men. It’s not a huge arc but it gave a brand new character a memorable introduction. And in the movie, she’s pushed to a supporting role. This isn’t to say Jackman isn’t great in his role, but that’s something that has been proven time and again. If the movie as a whole was about acknowledging the mistakes, then it stands out that they’re unable to cede the spotlight to another character. People have devoted time and energy to documenting all the ways female superheroes have gotten neglected and pushed to the side, and a lot of those thinkpieces are done by better writers than I. So I’ll just say that Kitty Pryde is absolutely a character that deserves better than this treatment.

This movie does play fast and loose with history and I’d be remiss if I didn’t make notice here. The Paris Accords were signed in January of 1973, so Peter’s Dark Side of the Moon shirt and Hello Hooray are anachronistic by about a month’s time. Though RFK stadium was there, Washington did not currently have a baseball team in 1973. So, it’s nice that guy is maintaining the baseball diamond but he’s probably doing it for free, and Erik’s probably better off not accepting his help. It deserves mention, however, that this movie doesn’t gloss over the fact that the US decisively lost the Vietnam war. It’s not a huge leap but considering Hollywood in the eighties made “winning the Vietnam War” its own subgenre the change is respectable. The advent of examining DNA is also anachronistic by about forty years. As the last two core films in this series are both set up as period pieces I believe it becomes more necessary to call out these mistakes.

Throughout all of this I feel like this is an essential movie in the franchise. I also don’t think it would have the same impact without watching the six previous movies in the franchise. Not to say people wouldn’t enjoy it, but there’s some jokes and plot beats that I don’t think would hit the same. It’s nothing compared to where the MCU is now(in half the time no less), but I think Marvel as a studio had the benefit of seeing other studios screw up. Fox, in 2000, had no blueprint. I think a move like DOFP was always going to become inevitable, but that it would turn out so well was not. In the end, this movie proves that a launching pad does nothing if you cannot grab that next rung.

Up Next: Ryan Reynolds ensures this franchise will have a second legacy, and finishes out the longest streak of solid movies in this whole franchise.

#xmen #xmenmovies #foxmovies #days of future past #x-men #Movie Critic #movie critique #x men movies #x men films #x men universe

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nclkafilms · 4 years

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When love is vulnerable and enduring

(Review of ‘Marriage Story’. Seen on Netflix on the 3rd of January 2020.)

Noah Baumbach is back at Netflix after 2017′s ‘The Meyerowitz Stories’ and he is one of several acclaimed director to join the streaming world and helm a film produced by Netflix. In recent years, this setup has provided memorable film achievements such as last year’s ‘Roma’ by Alfonso Cuaron and this year’s ‘The Irishman’ by Martin Scorsese. With ‘Marriage Story’ Baumbach secures himself a place next to Cuaron and Marty with a cinematic succes story for the major streaming service. ‘Marriage Story’ is a very different film in comparison, though. Not unlike ‘Roma’, ‘Marriage Story’ is deeply personal film, but that is where the comparison stops. Baumbach’s divorce drama is a delicate study of the mechnanisms of love and what happens when love is no longer enough.

The film centres around Adam Driver’s dedicated theatre director, Charlie, and Scarlett Johansson’s dreaming actress, Nicole. They share everything together; they live in a Brooklyn apartment, has established and developed a theatre group on the brink of its Broadway breakthrough, and - most importantly - they have their son, Henry. On the surface everything is great and as we are shown in a beautifully composed set of first scenes, Charlie and Nicole love and admire each other. But is that enough? Are they truly happy? Living their dreams? The rug is pulled from under us as the initial scenes of love and admiration are quickly revealed to be part of a couple’s counselling setup helped to aid them through an imminent seperation and ultimately divorce. From here on, Baumbach treats us to a deeply personal, essentially human and heart-wrenching tale of two people facing the despairs of love that’s fading.

This succeeds so brilliantly thanks to - among other things - two stellar performances from the two leads. Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver have arguably never been better as they fully embody their characters making them feel real, vulnerable and recognisable despite the often so obvious issue with films like this: that reality never is as strictly written or composed as a film script. Johansson shines as the dreaming actress and mother, who’s caught in between her own dreams, her need to ‘have a voice’ and her desires for her son. She is simply brilliant and heart-breaking and in several scenes she really shows what she is capable of. One of many scenes highlighting this is in her first meeting with her divorce lawyer, Nora (Laura Dern); here, Nicole goes through all possible feelings within a matter of minutes, and Johansson makes every fibre of these emotions crystal clear to us in the audience without uttering more than a few words.

Opposite her, as the driven Charlie, Adam Driver shows his character’s journey through such complicated feelings as compassion, frustration, hopelessness and regret. Charlie is a relatable and flawed character and, just like Johansson, Driver embodies every aspect of his character’s emotions. The last part of the film includes one of the most hard-hitting and explosive argument scenes in modern cinematic history, and having been calm, composed and compassionate almost all the time up until that scene, Driver’s slow but brutal verbal eruption in this scene will not only be tear inducing but also heartbreakingly recognisable for anyone, who’s been in a row and lost their temper with someone they loved. The acting from both him and Johansson in this scene, as they realise what they have allowed themselves to become during the argument, is simply among the finest acting, I’ve seen in years.

‘Marriage Story’ is without a doubt Driver and Johansson’s film, but they are aptly supported by especially Laura Dern, Ray Liotta and Alan Alda as three L.A. divorce lawyers. Dern is perfectly annoying as Nicole’s laywer, Nora, who does not listen to Nicole’s story but acts through her own agenda picking up every little snippet of information spilled by Nicole in order to use it against Charlie. Liotta is just as annoying as Jay, Charlie’s aggressive and merciless lawyer, who applies all the same questionable strategies as Nora and as such they do not just stand as each other’s perfect opponents but also in sharp contrast to Charlie and Nicole. The dynamic between the four of them is electric when they face each other in court. As a - somewhat - voice of reason in the otherwise brutally cold and procedural world of law, is Alan Alda’s Bert Spitz, who is Carlie’s initial choice of lawyer. He delivers a fine performance as a man who tries to see the reality behind the conflict before he is ultimately weighed and found wanting as the ante is upped.

The stunning acting performances are accompanied by an equally stunning score by Randy Newman. Newman’s compositions seem like the perfect fit for this story as they are filled with the similar bittersweet melancholy as the reality of the story it backs. Not unlike some of his Toy Story pieces, Newman’s score is fine, delicate and utterly beautiful. Listening to it afterwards will take you through all the mixed emotions of the film, and that is the perfect proof of the central role, Newman’s tunes play in the film.

The cinematography by Robbie Ryan is naturalistic and yet it still produces some memorable and unforgettable scenes. For instance when a Halloween night feels hauntingly lonely or when a fence door becomes a simple, yet powerful symbol of division.

It is a difficult feat to convey the many aspects of love and despair that fills in a break-up situation. Often it might become overly sentimental or unequally portrayed with one clear villain in the relationship. Baumbach manages to steer free of any of these potential pitfalls thanks to a brilliant mix of heart-warming laughs and heart-breaking reality. That is a sentiment not only to the actors involved but to the beautiful and personal script by Baumbach and equally brilliant directing in which he allows his actors to breath life in to their characters and, thus, free themselves for the inevitable feeling of “constructed reality” that often haunts a “talkie” as this film (they talk - A LOT). Thanks to this, the film alternately made me laugh, regret, love, acknowledge and hope. In short, it made me feel.

4,5/5

#Oscars 2020 #Oscar Nominees #Film Review #Movie Review #Marriage Story #Noah Baumbach #Scarlett Johansson #Adam Driver

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mobydickmusical · 5 years

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Every book chapter a song is named after: Knights And Squires (Ch 26 + 27)

Since most of the (most recent) tracklist is named after chapters of the book, I’m going to attempt to work through the whole of the show this way, talking a bit about my thoughts on each chapter’s translation into a song. Based on the tracklist chronology rather than the book chronology. Skipping the songs we’ve already heard, for obvious reasons.

Also fairly obvious, but even though I’m using the chapters to imagine the songs, I naturally can’t be sure how closely they’ll follow the text of that specific chapter (see, The Pacific, which actually follows completely different chapters).

(I’ve making these actually shorter, and just some dot-pointed thoughts rather than going through everything in the chapter, because I’d still like to write them down but also don’t have the energy, so).

The book chapters: these are two consecutive chapters that introduce most of the main players in the crew of the Pequod. (The mates as knights and their harpooners as squires). The first is dedicated entirely to the first mate, Starbuck, and focused around his relationship to courage. The second then goes through the second mate, Stubb; the third mate, Flask; the three harpooners belonging to each mate’s boat, Queequeg, Tashtego, and Daggoo; and an acknowledgment of the general make-up of the rest of the crew with a little shout-out to the cabin boy, Pip.

This’ll be where that tiny clip from The Public Theater workshop of the cast all singing “Queequeg, Tashtego, Daggoo” comes from.

In the musical, this song occurs directly after Loomings, i.e. unlike the book, which dwells onland for a while first, we’re onboard very quickly! This makes me think that the musical either explicitly takes place entirely at sea, or (probably more likely) is loosely rooted to exactly where it is happening.

A few songs in the musical are written in the tracklist as having multiple sections, K&S being the first song where this happens. I’m unsure if these sections are more likely to flow-on directly, or act more like seperated songs? But, in the case of Knights & Squires, the three sections are Knights & Squires I, Knights & Squires II, and Isolatoes. “Isolatoes” is a term which in the chapter is applied to the general crew of the boat, so I have to assume the first section is dedicated to Starbuck, the second to the other mates and harpooners, and the third to the rest of the crew:

They were nearly all Islanders in the Pequod, Isolatoes too, I call such, not acknowledging the common continent of men, but each Isolato living on a separate continent of his own. Yet now, federated along one keel, what a set these Isolatoes were! An Anacharsis Clootz deputation from all the isles of the sea, and all the ends of the earth, accompanying Old Ahab in the Pequod to lay the world's grievances before that bar from which not very many of them ever come back.

This term and quote also feel quite at home in what we know of Dave’s musical. Especially being “federated along one keel” and striving to “lay the world's grievances before that bar...”

Along similar lines but a bit more of stretch, I could maybe see “As for the residue of the Pequod's company, be it said, that at the present day not one in two of the many thousand men before the mast employed in the American whale fishery, are Americans born, though pretty nearly all the officers are” being shaped into lyrics in a way to refer to refugees and/or migrants in modern, capitalist America??

Queequeg is skipped over in this chapter because we already know who he is, but in the musical this is the first time we see him, so he does need an introduction. I feel like the obvious thing to do would be to just pull from Ch 12 Biographical?

Starbuck’s “Outward portents and inward presentiments were his” is a line I just really like. Also “What doom was his own father's? Where, in the bottomless deeps, could he find the torn limbs of his brother?”

Also, literally just like how the phrases “momentous men” and “kingly commons” sound together.

This song is an important moment in the show in regards to how you need the audience to pick up who all the "featured actors" are and get a first impression of their characters, one after another, in a short space of time. While you're not dealing with quite the amount of characters right from the get-go as Comet (literally) tells you to, there's obviously Some Degree of similar function making me think of Prologue. Which. On one hand, is a joking comparison because the way Prologue introduces the cast of characters is very silly, and the descriptions are intentionally both simplified and ironic. K&S has a lot more it needs to accomplish. On the other hand, Prologue has the structure it does because it's a great way to make people remember who characters are very quickly. Basically, more structured rhymes, repetition etc could definitely have a place in this song because it’d assist its function. Also, I could say you even see a little bit of that in the Public Workshop clip, with the cast all singing the harpooners names.

Can or could this be a more upbeat song? (Or part of it, w the three sections issue). At this point of the show we're three songs in, none of those songs nor the one directly after K&S really lend themselves to being upbeat at all, and it'd be the first time we hear from most of the characters so it's a spike in activity - a reasonable time to hit you with something more fast-paced, I feel. Also, in the workshop of Act I, this spot in the tracklist directly after Loomings is where the song The Ship was, which was pretty upbeat ("the Pequooood, she's a cannibal craft…" snippet one), but that song isn't in the tracklist anymore, so you're cutting that "please get pumped we're getting Into It now" moment, which maybe means K&S will have to make up for it in some way? Idk.

These chapters include a fair few moments of the heavy-handed foreshadowing/lack of the concept of spoilers which pervades this novel. Not 100% sure how much this'll translate? But I think it'll come across a fair bit, since A) Dave's Melville + Ishmael, and The Sermon, both already lean that way, and B) when you’re reading Moby Dick, it very quickly becomes never a question of suspense around how it’s all going to end, because it's consistently made pretty blatant, and a lot of people know the ending anyway. It's more about the suspense you get from being emotionally caught up in the process, the spiralling to that point right before your eyes. It’s just the idea of “how do you replicate that emotion and pace in a musical?”

#moby dick #moby-dick #moby dick musical #dave malloy #knights and squires #mdtracklistchapters #my post

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