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readerwithsalt · 1 year

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Sun and the Star Review: (With snippets from the book)

Since I just finished The Sun and the Star I’m just gonna say the first thing I have a problem with is the TELLING and NOT SHOWING.

• And I was wondering if anyone thought that they made Will super lame and ooc compared to previous cooler depictions of him. Like he’s supposed to be Super Chill under pressure and the Calm Dude but he’s so WHINY the entire book. He’s constantly complaining, judging, screaming, crying or sleeping. The cool, chill vibe Will had before is gone which was one of the things I liked about him before.

• someone else said ‘Tsats Will thinks there’s something wrong with Nico, something wrong with his personality. Will thinks Nico needs to be “fixed” and “healed” and so he can be “normal” and then Nico will be actually appealing to Will. Tsats Will may love some parts of Nico (or at least thinks he loves some parts of Nico). But there are more parts of Nico that Will finds unsavory or unnerving or scary or unsettling or unsatisfactory or unappealing’ I agree sadly

• Like he tells Nico in the beginning of the book that he’s just as capable of survival as Nico (which I snorted at cause no) and then is the hugest burden I’ve ever seen on a quest EVER in a riordan book. Like Nico tries to lift Will up every time he passes out from ‘lack of sun’ (which is so stupid btw) and Nico can’t lift him up cause he’s not strong enough so he’s constantly WAITING on Will. And it’s really boring to read about how every few seconds Nico has to turn around and let his boyfriend catch up.

I think Will’s character could have shined and been more likable in a completely different plot and quest.

Like, I thought since they weren’t giving Will any weapons that his strengths would lie in being the fast athletic character that didn’t need a magic item in order to show off…

• the whole ‘role reversal’ caretaker thing made Will look completely useless. Nico did 80 percent of the work and Will sadly fell flat. I thought he was coming along to keep Nico safe and to heal him when he got injured but Nico was pretty much doing almost every job. It was like he was riding Nico’s coattails to become a ‘hero’ and prove himself. But he didn’t really prove anything except that he complains a lot when things get rough.

They didn’t give Will a character weapon (even Piper has one and she doesn’t fight that much. Neither does Leo and he at least uses a hammer) they made him exhausted the whole book so he didn’t have his normal physical strength, his backstory was also pretty boring.

• and Will keeps randomly getting irritated at Nico bc Nicos irritated at him. Like?? Your shitting on his underworld home every chance you get. I’d be irritated too.

• in previous books he’s described as an archer. Even tho Leo calls him ‘the archer dude’ in TLH he suddenly doesn’t know how to use a bow AT ALL. He only said he wasn’t as good as his siblings not that he was complete shit at it. Previously he used a bow and had a dagger in BOO. Also will randomly says he never wanted to be a fighter and loved healing but in previous books he’s insecure about just that. Also the book forgets Will is a BATTLEFIELD MEDIC. Like he can fight and heal just like Apollo.

• Will whines constantly. And it’s grating and annoying to read. Either about the lack of sun (you knew what you were getting into dumbass) or the dead people walking around or about Nico’s horrible ‘darkness’ that he has to heal. It’s like he never thinks of Nicos feelings when he says stuff. And there little ‘fights’ end unsatisfactory.

• The vibe of Camp-Half-Blood is nonexistent. It does not feel like camp at all. It feels like we’re in a 12 year olds fanfic mind. ALL of the campers are gone even though it’s been established MANY are orphans and we see no beloved background characters and background chaos that makes us smile like in the past books. It made me surprisingly more depressed than I thought it would.

• it’s also missing the mystique of a quest. Like going up to the big house to have the quest recited around a table full of cabin counselor demigods all fighting to be the third member to prove themself a hero (mostly the ares cabin) no matter how important a quest in pjo was for Percy Chiron ALWAYS enforced certain rules. Even if they broke later on.

• Loose Ends. Reyna is. Not. Mentioned. Once. It never comes up how Nico feels about his big sister friend joining the hunters like his other one did even tho in BOO he tore apart a courtyard cause they took her. The girl whose shoulder he cried into, the girl who was with him during his last quest. The girl who thought of him as a little brother and tucked him in her cape and said he resembled his surname as he slept.

Hazel is mentioned… but it’s literally just a couple shallow mentions that don’t have anything to do with the fact that he may not ever see her again if he revisits Tartarus. He mentions his beloved little sister who was the actual first light in his life (don’t know why the book says Will is) in a long time only once and it’s because he can’t remember something and thinks Hazel would?? It’s weird that he iris messages Piper at the end instead of Hazel. I thought that’s what he was going to do and then it was just a big cringe fest of Piper shoved in at the end talking about the label of her sexuality?? Like we actually care??

And It’s never stated that Nico finds out where Jason is even though HE SHOULD KNOW. He literally talks to Beckendorf and Luke when they die in pjo to find out where they went but he can’t figure out where his best friend is??

Also at the end of the book it says Nico still hasn’t redecorated his cabin even though he told Jason he was going to a YEAR AGO bc the ‘decor was disgusting’ (I think that was the worst loose end not fixed 😂)

Every other relationship of Nicos is thrown away so he can admire Will Solace’s mediocrity. who’s kinda a loser in this tbh….

• The Percabeth scene was weird. What relevance does sally jackson have to Nico’s story? Why did he have to go all the way to Percy’s bedroom to iris message him?? And the fact he uses the ship name Percabeth to describe them (which he’d never done in previous books) proves a cringe fan is the one writing this.

The fact that they don’t OFFER TO HELP Nico is ooc of them. Bc even if Percy wants to chill at college he would never want Nico to clean up his mess without offering his help. Also the fact that Percy turns to Annabeth and says ‘oh man I forgot about him’ is like… WHAT?? And they just say oh yea if anyone can get through Tartarus it’s you two.

To Will who’s never been on a quest and doesn’t fight (at least in this book) that’s a weird thing to say. Percy and annabeth only survived bc they’ve fought together FOR YEARS. And bc of Percy’s big three power. It was just a forced add in cameo. Would’ve been better if they didn’t know till the end that Nico got Bob out and then they suddenly see Bob in an iris message and start crying or something…

• it broke my heart that Nico gave his SKULL RING to Will. The last gift from Bianca Nico ever got and he gives it to someone that doesn’t even appreciate his element.

And what does Nico get in return? A coin. I mean, an engraved coin but still. It’s kinda symbolic of the relationship. Nico giving Will something of such RELEVANCE to Nico’s character, something he’s always described with wearing and then Nico receiving a token in turn.

• Will asks Persephone how he’s SUPPOSED TO LOVE NICO. Like I almost blew up my house with me in it at that part. It never feels like Will is as attracted to Nico as Nico is to him. Nico instigates every kiss (which is ooc of him and his reservedness to touch). It seems Will likes to look at others a lot because one of Nicos insecurities were of him staring at fucking Paolo. While being right next to his boyfriend, Will checks out other people… Like Nico deserves so much better. He at least deserves respect.

I would’ve appreciated Nico and Ghost Jason way more than this shit. At least Jason described Nico better and they weren’t even dating. And I liked Solangelo before this. Will never describes physical attributes that he likes about Nico the same way Nico does about Will. Like Nicos inky dark eyes and baby bat winged hair, and his smile that is apparently like winter sun breaking through snow flurries, and his hair smelling pleasantly of rain against stone (I think Apollo is more attracted to Nico than Will is). But Nico has to call Will hot every five min.

• Also I simply don’t understand the idea that Will being away from the sun would drain him to the point where he can’t keep up with NICO’S WALKING PACE within a couple hours. Like the super athletic, physically strong character that can lift Nico over his shoulders and run with him (and Rachel in TON) walks into the underworld and has to be healed by a stupid portable night light within five minutes.

• Don’t even get me started on his JUDGINESS. I always pictured Will as the guy at camp that thought Nicos powers were cool and stuff, right? And now he just judges every ‘dark’ thing nico does like darkness is synonymous with evil. And only his light can heal him. I HATED that trope and honestly thought they would make him more original. But I have to say it: he was so boring. Like in a way that made my stomach hurt.

• Wills kind of a jerk in this. Like it’s weird to read.

• The PACING. It was off the whole book. The only part i enjoyed was the part where they didn’t know they were dreaming (that part got me) but that was it. But like gorgras scene keeps overlapping with the rest of the story and I kept forgetting my place. The fact that riordan or oshiro or whatever 12 year old fan wrote this put the words FLASHBACK & DREAM SEQUENCE over the chapters gave it SERIOUS fanfic vibes. The pacing is simply not suspenseful enough for a place like Tartarus.

• And do NOT get me started on Tartarus. Okay I’ll say it anyway: it wasn’t scary AT ALL. LIKE ANY OTHER QUEST. Actually it seemed easier than other previous quests which is a big nope. Hades might as well have sent him to Target.

• And about the fact that is was HADES who gave him that prophecy is SO OOC of him. He loves Nico. Nico is probably Hades most favorite child ever as of right now and he sends him horrible nightmares, and a prophecy respouted 12 times to get him to save Bob (whom Hades could care less about btw) and go back to a place that he knows haunts Nico every day MAKES NO FUCKING SENSE!

Also HOW did hades give Rachel that prophecy? He has no power over the Oracle of Delphi.

• Maria and Bianca MAKE NO SENSE! How in the hell is there any piece of thier souls left when Hades gave Maria ancient rites and was the one soul Nico was not allowed to see and Bianca reincarnated. WHICH WAS FORGOTTEN BTW. NOW SHES BACK IN ELYSIUM?? Like?? Like maybe I could see Hades letting Nico see a piece of Maria but Bianca is literally GONE forever.

Nico was ooc. Like not too badly but still bad. But the fact that Will didn’t let Nico shadow travel even once irks me. The fact Will didn’t let him summon Jules Albert irks me. The fact that Will kept brushing off nicos feeling about the underworld irks me. The fact that Will called Persephone the most beautiful PERSON he’d ever seen right in nicos face and then asked his (insecure) boyfriend if he was jealous irks me. The fact that Will is BORING AS FUCK irks me

• And the COMING OUT story. Horridly ooc. Nico shouting to the whole camp he’s gay and getting all the other kids to come out too is like??? and apparently he asked out Will before Will had even come out?? Nico would NEVER do that. Especially since not long before Cupid had done the same to him. And apparently Nico is like the first out character in a MODERN GREEK camp with DIONYSUS as a director. No.

In character Nico would’ve shadow traveled back to his cabin or the woods the moment he figured out what was happening.

• the nicknames are extremely cringe. Little ball of darkness is used to much and it made me itch. I think Will simply calling him babe or something would’ve been simpler and made them seem more like a real couple instead of a caricature of light and dark.

• ‘he’d always been the demigod who WOULDNT eat.’ ………..what the actual fuck is this. Nicos always been naturally skinny but being starved in jar is what messed up his hunger. Not that he WOULDNT eat. Why is everything always his fault in this book?

Like, he didn’t ‘LET’ himself get to the point of starvation over and over. I mean first of all he became homeless at ten years old, probably had to steal food items. And most recently he got KIDNAPPED by TWO GIANTS and starved forcibly. And then when he got out he was under so much stress of what just happened to him in Tartarus, the war with Gaea, his forced outing, and having to lug an enormous statue ACROSS THE WORLD. but nah, I guess he just LET all of that stuff happen to him

• the references are BAD. Out of touch bad. Unfunny and the joke never becomes a joke. It’s never explained how a kid from the 1930s knows how to use the internet and look up lil nas x in a camp that doesn’t use any technology. Doesn’t explain how Nico knows about Care Bear powers (I didn’t even know that) and the beginning scene with the Star Wars ‘joke’ set a weird tone for the book and wasn’t even funny.

• I hated the cocoa puff demons coming to live with Nico. Like I was fine they got created ig even tho it was weird and kinda dumb but the fact that Nico is so keen to have his worst memories and insecurities sleep in bed with him makes no sense once again. In character Nico would’ve burned them with hellfire.

• Also Nyx is a unfathomably weak villain. A PRIMORDIAL GODDESS that even ZEUS fears is taken down in two seconds. Also she’s just trying to get Nico ‘accept his darkness’. WHICH HE ALREADY HAS DONE. The moment he called himself The Ghost King in battle of the labyrinth at eleven years is when he truly accepted his powers and who he was. So… why is she even in the book in the first place??

• Also Will STILL insists it’s Nicos fault he wasn’t accepted. And that it was all in his head….

Also Micheal Yew was simply never mentioned again. Neither was lee fletcher. If they were I missed it.

There were a COUPLE of cute parts and lines but really this is simply too weird (and bad) to be canon to me. This book is just not canon. I see it as fanfiction from a random author that riordan probably let write the entire book or at least most of it. I think sadly riordan put his name on this for money and for fanservice because the writing is first draft material.

(And it kind of feels like they got this version of Nico and Will from cringy meme posts about them. Like, you know the ones where Nico’s all like ‘I am darkness, i am a vampire’ and Wills all like ‘come on, my uwu baby, no more shadowtravel for you, doctors orders~’ 🤣😭)

just because they thought that’s what the twelve year olds wanted and not realizing that a lot of those posts are simply made as a joke and not actually taken seriously in canon…. And that most people in the fandom thinks those are bad cringeposts

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ghenry · 7 months

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What do you think of GHMs more "Mainstream" titles such as LC, SoTD and NMH3 compared against their more underground works like Killer7, Silver Case and NMH1. I find the latter has a sense of mystique and weirdness that's missing from the former when the studio seemed pigeon-holed in a brand of "Sex, Violence and quirky"

I've been meaning to write about this here, so good question! I gave it a lot of thought after finding a JPN copy of Killer Is Dead and seeing this within the box;

Here's a quote of Suda reflecting on the production of said game;

Suda was not interested in eroticism when it came to his company's games. However, the more mainstream games GHM made (without his direction) were full of instances that were little more than eye candy. Sex appeal for the sake of it. And much of that was against Suda's will;

Paula running around in a thong (and even tits out a couple times if you played the NA version) throughout Shadows of the Damned also reminds me of Tim Rogers recalling his time working at Grasshopper as a designer in the late 2000s. He sat in a lot of meetings with Suda talking to EA and mentioned a time Suda talked about a save function idea he thought of while reflecting on Travis always using a toilet to save in the NMH games.

An early idea was Garcia going to bed with a woman every time he had to save. This was likely when the game was still going to be open world-ish and Garcia was single. From how Tim Rogers talked about this, it was pretty much the only idea Suda had that EA actually showed interest in. Obviously this idea never panned out, instead saving being delegated to a little demon that poops to signify a saved game. Funny that it connects to NMH's toilet save function in that way.

Something else worth bringing up would be the "gigolo missions" from Killer Is Dead. This also derived from a concept Suda had for Shadows of the Damned where Garcia was gonna take girls out on dates, bring flowers, and it'd actually be cute and romantic. At least, from how he described it.

(These screenshots are from Feel the Magic, a DS game where you played mini-games as you tried to win the heart of a girl throughout the story)

This idea was repurposed for Killer Is Dead, but, according to Suda, the sexual aspects of it were conjured up by Hideyuki Shin, the game's director. Therefore, it devolved into x-ray glasses, staring at boobs, and giving gifts to a robot that repeated animations. A cannibalization of the original concept.

Suda seemed afraid of Grasshopper's reputation being mutated into an identity he didn't consent to. Sex appeal is not something he really thinks about when it comes to making games. It's not his style;

The only times Suda has shown sexuality in the games he directed is when it's discomforting or deeply disturbing, almost never for eye candy.

I still appreciate games like Shadows of the Damned, Killer Is Dead, and Lollipop Chainsaw. As much as this era of GHM was railroaded to chasing some mainstream trends and trying too hard to be quirky, they still had unique aspects that help them stand out above other games of the same subgenre. But I can't help but notice a fissure between these games and the ones he actually directed. The nuance, mystery, and thought-provoking stories are most prominent when he's the one directing.

I'm not going to fault people for liking eroticism and such in video games. I've played plenty of horny games too, and there's obviously an appeal there. But anyone still expecting that from Suda is barking up the wrong tree. Looking at how he's been handling everything since 2018 makes it even sadder when you reflect how these publishers tried cramming Grasshopper Manufacture into this box they didn't want to be in.

One last thing I have to retort, though. I don't lump No More Heroes 3 with the quirky "mainstream" games the way you did in the question. Sure, NMH3 definitely went for a more mainstream marketing plan and the game got super silly at times, but it still has an interesting narrative with a ton of nuance. Way more than any GHM game between 2010-2016. Hence my 4+ hour long analysis of the game;

youtube

Many people even rejected this game outright because the eroticism and scantily-clad female cast was mostly absent. This was likely expectations they built after experiencing games like NMH2, SotD, LC, etc.

Speaking a bit more on the sense of eroticism, it's funny to think how that was admittedly present in NMH1, obnoxiously expanded upon in NMH2, and then mostly done away with in NMH3. Going as far as turning Naomi--and her balloon tits--into a goddamn tree!

However, I don't believe Suda turned Naomi into a tree for the sole purpose of removing her sex appeal. I believe this just further accentuates how that aspect is not something he's interested in or finds important for the game itself. He likely didn't even think of it that way, but instead "Hey, she should be a tree now."

And then there's Kimmy, whose death was not only a very harrowing moment in the game, it was also depicted in a sexual manner. Similar to Bad Girl's death in the original NMH. Note the motions and angles in her death scene.

Like I said, this rather disturbing sense of sexuality is more Suda's vibe. And I'm happy to see he hasn't lost that edge, so many years later. Anyway, thanks for the question! I had a lot of fun writing out this answer.

#suda51 #grasshopper manufacture #killer7 #nmh3 #no more heroes #no more heroes 3 #lollipop chainsaw #shadows of the damned #killer is dead #the silver case

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persephoneflouwers · 9 months

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First off i just want to say im not trying to play blame game, I just want to talk about a few things that is not really mainstream in larry fandom, I remember your thoughts about babygate and how it might be related to Harry’s level of visibility, what im thinking about situation surrounding Louis, his solo career, babygate and Harry is not that unsimilar to that line of thinking.

I think that Harry’s solo career is an extension of 1D project, he was the one that was chosen by big executives to appeal to the group of fans, which was huge in numbers so it would be waste for sony not to tap into that potential, the band managed to garner throughout the years. Sony created a new brand for those fans in a way that they wouldn’t be embarrassed to carry that brand into their new adult life which should be free from their teenage obsession so they heavily leaned into harry being inspired by rock legends at first (with a sprinkle of sex god harry) but it felt flat because the connection between harry and those legends didn’t go beyond critics calling harry fake (lol), and then they realized they needed to put in more work to this rock persona so they brought in the rockstar gf and amped up rumors about his sexuality bc the mystery around his ‘not so secret’ love life was a hook for many of those fans, i also wanna mention that imho harry is not contradicting himself and what his life is supposed to sell just to pat larries on the back in interviews, him saying i want privacy around my love life but we knowing every detail about all his relationships is playing right into that persona of rockstar that is caught in his love or him saying that these things wouldn’t happen for people like him is selling this fantasy of underdog coming from nothing and being everything to thousands of fans, people relate to that but the money they are spending on Harry is unparalleled and beyond that the power they have with media is nothing similar to any underdog quality having small artist could have. By the way im not saying that harry is undeserving of his highly publicized (and sometimes made of) achievements, im saying the work and money that go into it already guarantees this kind of ‘success’

Anyway i think this all kind of ties in how Louis has been struggling with industry-wide blackout all his solo career. Im just guessing but my life experience tells me that Sony wouldn’t let anything or anyone get in the way of millions of dollars they are getting through harry the brand and them, we all know that Louis is the biggest thread to that brand they have been supporting and creating, first they burdened him (and ancient/old/new larries or larrie narrative with babygate) and then they literally made it so that Louis could never the shadows (by the way the mystique around larry proved to big executives that people are intrigued by big stars having secrets or compassionate side that is willing to fight for their love and partners, so they were aware of the void harry’s solo career would have once louis was removed from the situation and they tried to create new larry in their own terms with xander and brad which is so laughable at best because you cant fake the genuine fight or love or yearning, not even proximity would warrant that as we can see with brad and breads lol)

So what is frustrating (to me) about this whole tattoo convo that some people are so hell-bent on minimizing what it really is -a dumb decision- because babygate is still going on as it involves a kid, it is morally fucked up situation on another level (while i agree with that i also question where was that energy when harry was letting olivia bring her kids to his show and his family was getting actively involved with those kids, he was publicly and very visibly inserted into their family situation as well.) Im just dumbfounded that some people bending backwards to give Harry a free pass for every questionable thing he does are somehow missing the fact that Louis’ involvement with babygate only doubled when Harry as a brand finally got the level of fame he or they wanted, im not saying some sony bighead are putting a weapon to louis’ head to say that you should be more hands-on father but they are playing a game of putting all the responsibilities -be it legally or verbally- on his shoulder.

Im sorry for talking your ear off in your asks but i wanted to get that out there even if only one person reads it and i realized i wrote in absolutes in terms of my writing but it is not because im trying to present my thoughts as the facts it is because i didn’t wanna put i think, i guess, i suppose at the beginning of every sentence i wrote to signal that these are my thoughts based on being involved with this fandom more than ten years and real life experiences.

I’ve been looking for someone to share this sort of opinions with all my life. I could have written this honestly, because it stands more or less where I stand with my takes on everything (especially the frontman push, the threatening larry rumours, the mega comeback of babygate coincidentally when Harry’s career has taken a turn for the sky). And I find very silly, very naive, very biased - three words that can easily describe this fandom - the opinion of those who say ‘babygate has nothing to do with larry’ or ‘babygate has nothing to do with Harry’.

I say the tattoo fiasco has been a wake up call for me, because it is a statement, a very dumb, very greedy, very mean - three words that can easily describe the people in the big picture- from Harry himself. It means he went full in for this stunt and from this there’s no coming back. And people will say it’s convenient and ambitious and they will also say they do what they can with their career, but you know… I don’t like these takes because there is a very fine line (pun intended) between ambition and ambiguity, because everybody and their mothers know that if you decided to get involved with the worst people in Hollywood you are not going to end up be a saint. OW being so close to H. W had always creeped me out, because look at how much organic success and organic achievements has brought to our beloved.

Anyway thank you for this very well articulated opinion. I’m sorry I’m only replying to this now. If you want to talk more, we can in private too :)

#casella di posta numero 32 #tw stunt #tw hot takes #im not saying harry likes it #im saying he was/never could be opposed to it #don’t send hate because I don’t have much time to waste on haters #babygate #forgot to say that this visibly unimpaired situation is why louis will always have my support #from up close or from afar i will always root for his nemesis #long discourse #long post

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brown-little-robin · 5 months

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4, 13, 29, and 33!

4: which cryptyd being do you believe in? — well, technically none of them. but my favorite cryptid is Bigfoot! I find the mystique of an American possibly-sentient being that effortlessly evades cameras... appealing. imagine it! something beyond what we can track with our sordid cameras and profit-mongering consumerist culture and the urban sprawl. imagine it! wilderness that is eternally just unclaimed enough to house a dignified species of humanlike megafauna, untouchable unlike the rest of the Euro-American-urbanization-ragaved country. AND I find it incredibly ironic that Bigfoot, that weird symbol of unmapped areas and vague Indigenous persistence... was made up by white people and is the most widely merchandised cryptid out there. Bigfoot just makes me think all kinds of thoughts, ok.

Mothman is my second favorite (love that funky guy), jackalopes third. jackalopes also do exist! not as a species but as a horrifying disease that rabbits can get where hard growths emerge from their faces. :( again, jackalopes make me think serious thoughts about disease and death and prey animals and mistaking tragedy for beauty, but also I just unironically love the idea of rabbits with deer horns. I make a good number of jackalopes (beautiful version) in clay. SHAPED

13: when was the last time you ate? — this morning, two hours ago! I ate three banana muffins for breakfast and drank a nice refreshing glass of milk.

29: how do you like your shower water? — warmmmm 🥰

33: the last adventure you’ve been on? — hmmmm... venturing into one of the more esoteric science buildings on campus this morning in search of a bathroom lol! all the rooms were named incomprehensible things like... uh... Cryptogenesis Facility?? it was so weird, and there was like this mural thing on the wall with little blobby swimming..... cells??? zooplankton???? something???? it was really cool though and it smelled like green tea in there

(from here)

#they're definitely making clones in there (joke)#ask games #Robin speaks #thanks for the ask Grace! :D

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gasterofficial · 1 year

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stupid question maybe but why do you like gaster? what made you like him so much or brought your attention to him?

question of the CENTURY. i wish i had a more clearcut answer for this fidnfjdnj i always originally liked him when i got into undertale when it was first released but i was in middle school at the time so obviously i kinned sans. but maybe getting into the magnus archives and kinning jon so hard made my brain shift into pathetic guy mode LMAOO i started reading more gaster fic and Remembering He Existed after chapter two was suddenly announced sheerly to prepare myself for its release but. i didnt expect it to lead into this obsession with him HA

but yeah i guess something about the mystique around him and all of that old video game secrets and glitches theming really appeals to the part of me that used to spend all of my time reading about that kind of stuff as a little kid. (my noelle codedness) and now that deltarune is a thing with all kinds of hints towards his existence down to the very FILE NAMING it just seized my neurodivergence by the throat. also hes a scientist and tormented by horrors and those are like two of the only canon things we know about him so what more could i ask for

#answered #gaster tag

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the-empress-7 · 1 year

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Once Charles made such a big deal out of that vegan coronation quiche- VEGAN quiche, mind you- I should have known this coronation would be bland as fuck and retired any and all hopes altogether.

I mean, sure it's your coronation, so you do you, boo. But, other women, royal women esp, wearing fancy clothes and jewels isn't going to take any limelight away from you and yours being the King and Queen. Grace, humility and a little mystique would have served CnC well.

But when you are making such a big deal about it's symbolism, the deep meaning, the heritage the lineage etc etc - which they have been through social media and articles - then the glamour of the visuals of the actual ceremony should also be considered an essential part of it. When it comes to the ceremonial nature of such occasions, the visual appeal does matters. It's what people see that they remember. And what the public takes away from it does matter.

This just seems like that time Meghan went to South Africa but left her engagement ring back in the UL.and made a point to announce that she is doing this because she is mindful of the poverty and safety or whatever dumb excuse she gave.

Charles and his team seem to be a bit confused about presentation and projection.

The quiche is not vegan, maybe you saw a different recipe where someone made a vegan version? But yeah I agree with you on the rest.

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punkrogue · 1 year

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I always feel so frustrated with how unimaginative Marvel is with Remy, the only interesting things he's had is New Sun and X-Factor. Idk if this is true, but I read there was some rumor that Remy was gonna be an alter ego of Sinister, which would've given the writers more to work with imo. I think why some writers like Rogue and Erik more since they're much easier to work with outside of shipping. Same with Kurt, whom I sometimes think Remy is a pale imitation of (Catholic, martial artist, looks demonic, ladies man, even his powers suit a thief more than Remy's). If Kurt and Rogue weren't siblings, I'd sooner ship Rogue with him than Remy. Also, since Remy can only charge non-living things, it just makes him look weak and limited compared to other characters. I don't say all this shit to be mean, but I do get frustrated with how little material he's given, and can understand why his character is constantly put on the back burner in various media compared to other X-Men characters.

Yeah I remember reading somewhere they'd thought about doing something like that with Remy and Sinister and I think instead went with New Sun? Something like that. Also considered having him be ANOTHER Secret Summers Brother and I'm glad we didn't go this route lol we need to stop the Summers-Grey family tree from taking over the whole X-verse while we can.

I'll say that I don't feel that Remy is a pale imitation of Kurt mainly because I feel Remy deals with a lotta things that Kurt really doesn't on a personal level (true parental abandonment like no margali in SIGHT kinda shit, street life, crime, child soldier gangland shit, the greys and blacks of morality etc). You see more of those things in his solos which can even get a bit of a noir vibe to them which is nice but people just rarely wanna put in the time and effort with Remy. They rarely get him so they knock him down into say, the TAS 90s Gambit mold and call it a day. Which is just ....... no one wants that. Not Gambit Haters, not Gambit Stans.

And I get what you're saying about his powers but I think if he could charge living matter constantly like he can as New Sun homie would be so comically OP. I think the real issue here is just again, fuckers don't know how to write him so they go for whatever's easiest. So it's all lame, dumb and boring. If they let him get funky with his powers a bit more it'd could be super cool.

The pro of Rogue and Magneto when made scene partners is that they do have much more solid pre-existing characterizations, vibes and "story packs". As a writer you can walk in and already there's a couple of things you can do which are kinda like Rogue or Magneto Classics. Remy not so much so he ends up being like, Rogue's loser sidekick which sucks.

I feel you tho on the shitshow that is comic Rogue-Kurt dynamics. I too can see the appeal and charm of them as a romantic ship just as much as I can see them working wonderfully as a sibling pair. My beef around them has been for years that we get this Big Reveal that Mystique is Kurt's Bio-Mom but after he has his initial freak out for a couple issues in Excalibur or Uncanny or w/e he was in at the time I forget I just remember Amanda is there this whole thing-- IT NEVER REALLY COMES UP AGAIN BETWEEN HIM AND ROGUE AND THEY JUST ACT LIKE NORMAL AND OCCASIONALLY MENTION THEY'RE SORT-OF RELATED IN A WAY THAT'S MORE OF A REMINDER TO THE AUDIENCE????? LIKE IT'S FUN TRIVIA INSTEAD OF A PLOT POINT OR IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIP????

their first serious non-combat interaction was basically Kurt telling her to drop dead when she comes to Xavier for help when she's 17 and he's 21. He finally cuts her some slack after she ALMOST DIES IN A SUICIDE BY VILLAIN ATTEMPT to save Wolverine's fiance which makes Wolverine go "yeah okay fine your not total dogshit ig" so NOW Kurt'll stop being a raging asshole to the mentally ill teen lol (I'm shit talking Kurt rn but this is genuinely part of why I love him). Then there's MAYBE a couple of scenes that are outside of Action Stuff before the X-Men "die" in the late 80s and we get Excalibur where the two of them interact, the biggest of them is him FLIRTING WITH HER.

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #192

Now-- it's Kurt so this isn't anything really all that crazy. He jokingly flirts with like 90% of the X-Men. It's just the kinda silly funny quirky guy he is. But when I'm trying to think of say, Rogue-Kurt moments POST the Mystique Reveal that really feel like People Connecting or them Actually Being Siblings I draw a blank. This flirting scene is more iconic and stand out than basically all of their 00s and on interactions because it feels like a natural and very emotional conflict they WOULD have. He goofs around like he always does, her feelings get hurt, he realizes what he's done and feels like an ass and wants to fix it. EMOTIONS HAPPENED HERE, CHARACTERIZATION AND CONFLICTED OCCURRED. THIS CONFLICT AND LATER RECONCILIATION WILL LEAD TO A BETTER FRIENDSHIP AS WE GO! THANKS CLAREMONT!

Even at her wedding he's basically just like "well I AM her brother (remember? did you see that watchmojo listicle? have you read my wiki recently) and I AM blue so I should ALSO be in the wedding."

There's really not a lot of content of them like, hanging out, post 2004 or so. Some of that is just them being in different books but a lot of it just no one putting in the time or effort. X-Treme X-Men (2001) was all about Rogue looking into shit related to Destiny's writings and grappling with some Family and Personal Grief at the start there. Kurt shoulda been around for at least the first arc. Not thunderbird that absolutely nothing of a dude. It was the perfect setting to work on this issue that the 6 degrees of Mystique™ has made. One of the only other encounters between them I can think of that's post-90s is this:

Rogue (2001) #4

And this interaction is set like VERY SOON after she joined the X-Men!!!! So it's not even a truly modern scene of them just vibing!!!!

To me, they're NOT siblings. Not in the way Kurt is with Amanda who's his ACTUAL adoptive sister or even in the way that Rogue is with Bobby, Sam or Scott who she just has Massive Broship Energies with and it's entirely because their 6 Degrees of Mystique™ is tenuous at best for how much it would really matter to them. Kurt HAS a family! He HAS siblings! Mystique abandoned/lost him and never looked for him or intended to tell him about their connection until forced to. He was raised by Margali and sees HER FAMILY as HIS family and they think the same! Like that's a standard ass adoptive family vibe.

Rogue is found by Mystique and Irene and raised by them in near isolation ON ANOTHER CONTINENT and is never informed about Kurt even in a past "i had a baby and lost him" tense kinda way or Graydon either. To her knowledge growing up she HAS NO SIBLINGS OF ANY KIND. She meets and fights against and then beside Kurt with no idea there's literally anything connecting them but that they're both mutants and x-men for like, YEARS even IN canon. Their whole relationship is rocky as shit for a WHILE there and then she gets YEETED SECRETLY TO AUSTRALIA AND HE THINKS SHE DIED. And let's be clear-- sure he's upset about her "death" too but he is MUCH more upset over the "deaths" of Logan, Ororo and Peter who he ACTUALLY NAMES WHILE TALKING ABOUT THIS GRIEF. Because you know... THESE RELATIONSHIPS ACTUALLY HAD FUCKING SCREENTIME.

Excalibur (1988) #1

He's not a monster, he does give a shit about her, but realistically over the years VERY little time has been put into building ANY relationship between Rogue and Kurt of ANY kind and it's frustrating when they really wanna act like they've got one. They don't. And it pisses me off because realistically Rogue/Kurt is less fucked up than Amanda/Kurt and guess which one is canon. Because of the 6 Degrees of Mystique™ people don't really ship them even tho there's an even more Yikes Kurt ship that's canon and Does Not Seem To Fucking Die, there's been no real development of ANY kind of relationship between him and Rogue, they've lived their ENTIRE lives not knowing each other or not really being more than coworkers and Kurt has NO INTEREST in truly claiming Mystique as his mother which is valid-- she fucking sucks.

I think Rogue/Kurt has legs and it's aggravating to me because I also really like Rogue & Kurt siblingship! I grew up watching Evolution! The sibling vibes and friendship that grow naturally up between them even BEFORE the Mystique Reveal in that show are just CHEF'S KISS. But in comics they IMPLY a familial connection that really.... doesn't mean much... and then they don't show these two deciding it to make it mean something or organically falling into a good sibling relationship... so they cut off the dynamic at the knees. You'll be shit on if you try to go off script and explore a more romantic angle because "ew they're rElAtEd" (ignoring all the previously stated flaws in that argument), there's nothing in canon that helps you figure out how friendly they even truly are so good luck building something canon compliant and they just generally don't seem to even give a shit about this dynamic at all so without dipping into other adaptations/AUs it can be hard to find something to even SAY about them.

Like I'd love to see Rogue and Kurt engage like, finding out what the Mystique Reveal means to them and how they see each other. I'd love to see them becoming friends and then family. I'd love to see them making that CHOICE. Because really in this context it's a CHOICE. She's not his adoptive sister, Amanda is. She's not his bio sister either in 616, that idea got shot down early on. She's a girl his bio mom who is a stranger to him raised an ocean away while he was raised in a loving home with siblings he adores. They met when she was a villain, he vehemently disliked her until she almost died saving someone's life then he tried to at least be civil and friendly. He finds out Mystique is his bio mother and asks Rogue about her but at the end of the day feels no real connection to Mystique or her life. His mother is Margali. The circus was his family. He cares about Mystique, Irene and Rogue because he's a decent human being but like, not in the same amount or extent as his adoptive family.

You can't have a scene of him flirting, even jokingly, with her in the 80s then think a 1993 mom reveal some how totally erases that vibe. Especially when you then put like no effort into exploring that GOLDMINE OF A PLOT THREAD. They've got so few non-combat just hanging out and engaging in character development interactions in 616 canon I can count them on my hands. At this point you could spin a wheel and decide to give them any relationship dynamic and it could genuinely work because there's no real content of them in comics to use contest it.

Like at her wedding they bring up that he's her brother again. That shouldn't be something we have a "turn to the camera and remind the audience" moment about. That should be as "well duh" to me as Bobby being her best man or Scott and Alex being brothers. It's not. It's just not. Their connection is just a factoid at this point and I hate it. You can't close off all these other potential dynamics for them (romantic/enemies/rivals/shitty roommates/etc whatever) by making them connected via Mystique, having an line every like, 10 years that reminds us they're "siblings" (are they tho? are they really? is that how this works?) and kinda vaguely imply they don't hate each other which is really just riding on the fact that pretty much ALL the X-Men like Kurt and we the audience like both of them and then GIVE US NOTHING WITH THAT STATED DYNAMIC!

MORE TIME AND EFFORT WAS PUT INTO MAKING NATE GREY SEE MADYLENE PRYOR AS HIS MOTHER OVER JEAN THAN HAS EVER BEEN PUT INTO MAKING ROGUE AND KURT FEEL LIKE THEY'RE EVEN FRIENDS LET ALONE SIBLINGS AND I'M VERY MAD ABOUT IT!!!! EITHER GIVE ME WHAT I WANT OR CUT THE REINS AT LET ME DO WHATEVER!!!

fsdkjghksdl so i just get VERY heated about this it's a pet peeve of mine.

#answered #meta #i have similar issues with the rogue and storm 'friendship' given that storm NEVER APOLOGIZED for saying ROGUE DESERVED TO DIE #WHILE LEADING THE XTEAM IN AUSTRALIA!!!#OR HOW SHE BLEW OFF ROGUES WORRIES OVER HER POWERS POST-ANTARCTICA AND IMMEDIATELY ACCUSED HER OF AN ATTACK ON A FELLOW XMEN THE SAME DAY #USING THE INFO ROGUE HAD GIVEN HER THAT MORNING IN CONFIDENCE AGAINST HER!!!!#but yeah sure they're FrIeNdS and storm has anna marie privileges #as tho that isn't borderline rogue's dead name and only used consistently for YEARS by people like her MOTHERS or her LOVERS #WE DON'T NEED TO SEE PEOPLE ENGAGE OR GROW ON SCREEN IT'S FINE!!!!!

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lwbu · 1 year

Text

Love Will Bury Us

Chapter 4

PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER

MASTERLIST

pairing: aemond targaryen x targaryen!oc

summary: Alyssa Targaryen cherished chaos, its presence a comforting reminder that she was alive and breathing. But when dragons danced and fire erupted, her chaos was no longer her own. As the last of control slipped through her fingers, a hand came in its place—cold, possessive and unforgiving, and it belonged to Aemond Targaryen.

content & warnings: f!oc, targcest, so much tension it hurts, slow burn, enemies to lovers, blood and violence, spoilers for hotd, morally grey characters, additional tags to be added

word count: 4.3k

notes: a lot of aemond in this chapter; we’re nearing the main plot—i really hope you’ll enjoy it. english is not my first language. all feedback is very appreciated.

also on ao3 and wattpad.

Alyssa Targaryen was long gone and, like a splash of silver paint on canvas with a harsh brush, blended to this: chest heaving with violent flutter; a breath so rapid it hurt; cold feet against colder yet stone; a heart's turmoil formed with forbidden and obsessive ache. Enslaved, completely and outrageously, to the insanity of her mind. Destroyed to be built by fire, and burning, burning, burning.

The darkness around offered the comfort of keeping her shameful thoughts hidden away. It would be scandalous, she knew, to be discovered all alone in the night. But it was the night that ensured privacy, covering the senseless disobedience with a blanket the shape of stark compassion. And what could not be seen surely would not hurt; surely would not beget a tragedy. And so she welcomed the blackness and its corrupting nature, hands against stone, lip between teeth to stop any abrupt sounds from escaping her mouth. There she was, once more on her own amongst endless passageways tainted intrinsically by mystique; now, though, with a purpose.

At some moment undefined, Alyssa had taken to running away and wishing to be hunted. A prey and predator, a flame chasing another, a candle burning for yet another lick of scorching fire so as to grow more uncontrollable and powerful. It was the rawness and danger of the absolute unknown that appealed to her the most, the thought of just how severely she could get hurt and what she'd be willing to do to save herself. It was madness—complete, devastating, enticing.

She had always been told that her improper, rebellious attitude mixed with despicable temper would ultimately get her in trouble. Her nature, so similar to that of her father's and so, so different from her sisters', could only ever result in ruination: that of herself or those who dared come close enough. And yet there was nothing that made her feel quite as good as this: a defiance, sugary and soft as it poured into her heart and filled it to the brim, the very core of the organ now sticky with honeyed rebellion. Nothing could ever feel more real. And was it really trouble, she wondered, if no one would ever find out?

But they would, she realised bitterly, because they always had their claws deep in her mind. They would, because unbounded freedom was as much a foreign concept as being a child of a mother; denied with equal fervour.

And when deprived of said freedom for too long, Alyssa crawled her way to it with nails drawing blood.

She knew Aemond was not far behind—sensed it by the atmosphere alone, a bizarre coldness against hot breath as though he had managed to reshape the surroundings to veritable submission. He had left the hall mere moments later than her, just seconds after Alyssa had fed Rhaenyra soft-spoken, polished lies. She had promised to join the family on Dragonstone soon, claimed that she only wished for some time alone with Blindfyre in the sky as she knew he must have been anxious, unfamiliar with King's Landing. Rhaenyra had been, perhaps, too unsettled herself to put too much attention to the way Alyssa hesitated for just a second, voice faltering ever so slightly. She had stroked the girl's arm gently and asked her not to take too much time before she was gone.

It was only after they had all left that Alyssa truly understood the situation she'd willingly put herself into. It was upsetting, an angry thudding in her chest, to acknowledge the fact that this was what she craved. Whether it was Aemond himself, a complete unknown, or the simplicity of exhilaration that came with roguery of his games—she never felt this alive and her heartbeat never had such worth. Like a prisoner of foolish desires, she pushed deeper into corridors, deep enough to no longer recognise her surroundings. She was lost, yes—and she not once doubted she'd soon be found.

Her lips dried impossibly more when his steps rang in her ears louder than before. Alyssa allowed herself this much: a moment of nothing at all, void of emotion and thoughts, a calm before the storm.

Then, the first wave came.

"You cannot hide where I've lived forever, little girl. I have each passage memorised." He was closer than she'd believed him to be, now only a few steps behind. She heard his sure strides, aiming to memorise the sound if only to one day have an advantage over him. "But you knew that, did you not?"

"Does it look like I'm hiding?" A treacherous tremble once more putting her unease on display; fury in blood stirred by her body's betrayal, teeth sank into lip almost hard enough to bite through.

Alyssa did not want to turn around and look at him—and yet still did.

Irrationally, he appeared more at ease within the darkness of the cold walls than she'd ever seen him before. Silver hair turned golden in the dimmed light of the torches around, violet eye forever observant and unwilling to let anything escape its sight. Aemond's posture expressed everything his lips did not care to say—his confidence, the superiority he believed to have over her, the damage he intended to cause. Arms elegantly folded behind his back, chin tilted, patch over his eye darker in the subdued luminosity; mouth once more curved, challengingly, condescendingly. Little girl, he'd called her, without a doubt in an attempt to establish his dominance, as though he truly believed for her to just let him.

"Is it running away that excites you?" The corridor appeared so much smaller with him standing there and taking an unashamed step forward. Now, to obstinately stare at his face instead of backing away, Alyssa had to lift her head just so.

"Is it chasing me that's your only source of entertainment?"

His smile, she noticed, was never quite a smile. It was a promise, unspoken yet nevertheless felt in every bone, of a disaster she pined for. A mere quirk of the corner of his lips, a deceitful fire behind his eye, a wordless warning. She felt it poison her brain, felt like she was drowning, for once abandoned by flames that instead gave into the force of wrathful water. And still, in spite of the tremble that took over her entirety, she remained motionless.

"It appears so," Aemond murmured, a long, pale finger briefly coming up to brush the sharply carved chin as though deep in thought, "although I'm sure you're the one who enjoys it most."

And wasn't it truly outrageous, the ease with which he erased any last traces of distance between them? Wasn't it dangerous to have him so close she almost felt the rising of his chest against hers? Their robes touched when skin did not. The texture of the leathers he wore was harsher than anything she'd known. The curve of his jaw and nose were the only things she could now see; violet fell upon violet to be held captive. Stupidly, her breath hitched.

"I was promised a song, was I not?"

"I find myself tired of singing," spoken in a voice so loud it startled even herself before the much quieter, "and your presence."

And of course it was a lie—she knew by the triumphant glint in his gaze that he understood as much, too. Aemond offered a low hum, the sound a chilling caress against her spine. Too close, Alyssa thought, he was too close.

"Hm. A gifted singer," he said, "but such a terrible liar."

Her body clashed with the wall as she kept his gaze. Alyssa briefly wondered if this was the first time she encountered a true dragon with fire that truly threatened to burn. Because he could do it easily—she felt it in her flesh, in veins amidst blood, in mind that had chosen to betray her and, in turn, led her to betraying. Alyssa's palm brushed through the comforting coldness as though trying to take it in, take all of it and make it a place inside her chest, have it calm her foolish heart.

But this was what she wanted, was it not? She had known, even before she entered the dark corridor, that it would lead to this: unknown, unpredictable flame.

"If it's a song you want, you'll have to take it with force."

"We shall see." His voice was now dismissive, as if he chose not to indulge her spurious words; as if, in truth, he was assured that eventually he would be the one to win without having to do much fighting.

It was striking—the want to both play along and deny him. A velvety confusion overwhelmed her and she could only hope it was not visible in her eyes. To give him the satisfaction of knowing he had instilled quandary in her weak mind would perhaps be the most painful of defeats. Alyssa raised an eyebrow, feigning indifference with all the precision she had learned and memorised, and took a step away from the solid wall; it felt like jumping off a cliff and falling on top of bloodthirsty rocks. The proximity once more regained offered little warmth; maybe Aemond was too cold a soul to possess any semblance of heat. Maybe the coldness had all along been hers.

Before Alyssa could speak, he once more robbed her of the opportunity.

"I must admit it is rather injudicious to walk around the castle at night." He was still, not having moved an inch since he had crossed the distance between them. A strand of straight hair had fallen onto his forehead and splattered the white with glimmering silver. Alyssa remembered how once, so long ago, she had grasped onto it to pull; in a moment of weakness, she wondered if now the attempt to rip it off would be successful. "Ignoring the dangers of the keep is unwise."

"Surely I have nothing to fear now that you're here." It came out as a whisper she had not intended for it to be. Still, even with his words that always carried a silent threat, Alyssa stepped even closer and, in an innocence of derisive nature, lifted the corner of her lips in a short grin.

Aemond's face betrayed his delight for a moment too long to go unnoticed and she once more understood that this was precisely what he wanted. It was cruel how each of her words and reactions only seemed to assure him of his victory. Did he not yet realise that when two dragons clashed, they could both burn?

Did he not yet acknowledge her own fire?

"Of course," he responded, voice equally quiet as though spoken in secret. An unmistakable glint of amusement sneaked onto his otherwise impassive face.

Of course, he had said. And yet what she'd heard was: "You only need to fear me."

"Come along, then." Aemond's sudden movement was sharp, a contrast to the tranquility of the corridor. Hands still behind his back, eye never leaving her face, he took one, two, three steps back. Then, he offered a mocking smile that was, still yet, not a smile at all. "Unless you want to confess that you are afraid?"

Admitting even to herself that she verily was felt like a slap to the face. Admitting it aloud, to him, would probably hurt a hundred times more. Alyssa took a moment, a mere second, to try and shut her brain down. She inwardly fought against the urge to flee; shattered her instincts and common sense to pieces with one forceful shove. Aemond watched her and, irrationally, she believed he already knew of all the reservations of her conflicted mind. He looked at her with silent pride, once again appearing as if he had long known the exact course of this moment.

Rage lifted her foot and made her take a step. Madness, the purest of all, tilted her head jeeringly. Stupidity had her hold his gaze.

Aemond nodded to himself, accepting the lack of surrender he had sought.

"You do not seem a person who finds the dullness of the usual appealing. Come with me and I'll show you something worth seeing."

It was odd to, for once, be the one who follows him. The lights around brushed through his silhouette and accentuated the rigidity of his posture. Aemond moved with a precision long acquired, trained with strength and endurance, wielded like a sword. His steps, she noted, were much longer than those of hers, and with a grimace she picked up speed so as to not be left behind. The passage remained empty and silent, with only their footsteps a disturbance of the calmness. Alyssa's eyes refused to leave the invisible spot somewhere between his shoulder blades, burning through leather with intensity of unknown source. They turned left three times, steps echoing, and walked down steep stairs that forced Alyssa to hold onto the wall in case she lost her balance. It was infuriating to notice with how much ease Aemond moved, not a trace of struggle, still so stupidly graceful.

Alyssa wished he'd fall down and break a bone or two.

She tried to memorise the path they'd covered—it would be foolish at best and disastrous at worst to be left at his mercy. If she had to run, the smartest option was to remember the route back. If she was indeed in as much danger as her mind viciously whispered, the only way to flee was to not lose control. Aemond was too cunning to harm her in the daylight; now, though, it was only them and the moon as a witness. If he'd ever dare act on his hatred for her, she couldn't be sure.

The corridors stretched and widened, a never ending trap that strived to suffocate those inside. Alyssa cursed herself as she followed Aemond, silently regretting her rushed decisions. And the man in front was surely aware of her sudden discomfort, wordlessly cherishing the way he had managed to crawl underneath her skin and sink into bones. She knew it by the pride with which he carried himself, a boundless composure—he knew of her torment and craved more. Her yield, it seemed, was what he wanted the most.

In the overwhelming silence, they both found themselves somewhere deep enough into the keep that no soul would ever be able to hear her screams nor smell her blood. Then, for the first time since they'd begun walking, Alyssa allowed her eyes to leave Aemond's back; only for a second, she promised, only for one. Vulnerability grasped her into a tight embrace; if he decided to attack, perhaps it was distraction that he wished for—perhaps that was precisely why he'd led her here.

But she didn't care. She couldn't—not anymore—not when a gasp erupted from her mouth, eyes wide, steps abruptly coming to a halt. Alyssa blinked in confusion and watched the stones with bewilderment, fingers flexing, itching to come closer and touch. An unbearable wave of unexpected warmth crashed into her; she felt sweat on her brow and neck, underneath the silver plaits, staining them and forming a mess of loose curls.

"Where are we?" she managed to ask, still frozen where she'd stopped. Alyssa couldn't force herself to revert her gaze back to him; she was still aware of his presence, though, and realised that she'd probably be able to sense him coming closer without seeing, even in the darkest of passageways and no lightning at all. It was nearly upsetting to admit how striking his energy was and how aware of him she'd become.

"It's one of the passages few have explored." With the way his voice sounded, so fading and quiet, she assumed he must have decided to allow distance between them to temporarily remain. "I often grow tired of all the filth in the castle. Here, it's still pristine and uncorrupted."

Pristine and uncorrupted, and the walls were on fire. Emerald flames seeped from the crevices, biting into stone, painting it black and green. The passage was lightened with blaze flashing around, flickering but never dimming. Sculptures of dragons were carved into the walls, detailed with immaculate precision as though real bones had been placed there—their jaws widened in a roar, the fire coming out from between their vicious teeth. If she decided to boldly brush her fingers through the marble wings, she'd probably feel flesh and scales with how genuine the creation appeared. If she dared step closer, the green flame would burn her skin.

The corridor itself was much longer than those she'd already explored—now, it seemed endless, a stroke of blazing paint on black, the ending of it erased. It was all nothingness and everything; it strived to pull Alyssa in, encouraged to go forward, far enough to never be able to return. But there was no fear anymore—only a sense of bemusement, and she wanted more.

"It's been years since I've found this corridor."

She didn't even bother to look back at Aemond, choosing to let her eyes take the sight of the passage in.

"And the fire—"

"Wildfire," he explained, though she already knew. With that, he finally decided to once again come closer. "People come and go, are born and die, but this . . . it remains. In a way, it's greater than any of us could ever be."

Alyssa believed that to be true; after all, how could a human existence ever come close to this?

"It's beautiful."

With her mind clouded and gaze blinded by fire, Alyssa attempted to reach out for the wall. She probably should've paid more attention to Aemond—the touch of his hand on her arm was like ice. Alyssa shivered, startled so much her hand fell down immediately, and turned her head. His fingers wrapped around her bicep, firm but gentle, as he loomed over her, barely even blinking. He had been close but never like this; never before could she truly feel the fire of his blood, the wildfire around fading in comparison. He had her as he wanted—caught unaware, unable to step back, frozen in shock. If he wanted to lash out, to set his anger free, to rid himself of resistance, Alyssa would be a helpless victim. She would, in a moment of weakness, give him this much—a victory, a won battle, a successful strike that makes one bleed out. Perhaps he'd do it and leave her right there to never be discovered. Perhaps he'd take her back if only to cherish her defeat forever.

Perhaps—though unlikely given her unforeseen meekness—she'd try to fight.

"You enjoy flames," he murmured softly, lowering a bit to speak directly in her ear. She tried, oh, how she tried to stop the choke when Aemond's fingers brushed through her hair. He didn't seem to notice the way she came close to breathlessness, pulling delicately at the braids and loosening them more. "Do try to be careful, Alyssa. You could get burned."

Images of the wildfire swallowing his frame came to her mind as rapidly as they disappeared. Alyssa would rather have them present for a few minutes longer. As it was, such pleasures were rare enough to remain denied. She knew that when Aemond finally moved away, his hand leaving her locks.

"Come. We're almost there."

Reluctantly accepting the defeat, Alyssa didn't offer any words of refusal. She swallowed her pride and replaced it with a promise of payback—her troubled mind accepted the vow, and so once more she walked with Aemond Targaryen. This time, he kept his pace even with hers, their proximity almost making shoulders and arms crash.

"Why would you take me here?" She kept her voice light and innocent but wouldn't accept silence in return.

Aemond, however, seemed to have awaited it, too. "Here, you cannot run."

Alyssa buried all of the irritation deep in her chest and instead only hummed.

True to his word, they had been almost there, for not even a minute later they were stood outside of ancient, worn down gates embellished with golden markings that covered most of its surface in spiralling sophisticated lines. In a swift motion, before she could memorise the sight, Aemond pushed at the door and went inside with no hesitation. Alyssa, ever the fool, followed.

She'd expected to find many things upon entrance: a chamber of tortures, a room overflowing with blood, a place for slaughter. But it was clean and unscathed by crimson, and full of nothing but enormous shelves.

It was so ridiculous she couldn't stop the giggle that escaped her lips. "A library?"

Alyssa, with great pleasure, noted that the sound of her laughter was one thing that managed to make Aemond's eyebrow furrow and well-preserved balance waver. How odd it was to realise he found it more striking than harsh, taunting words and mockery; how unusual to see him overtaken by perplexity.

"The books here will not be found within the reach of those unworthy of reading them," Aemond explained, the bewilderment of his tone stirring immense satisfaction in Alyssa.

"And you are worthy?" she mused, unwilling to give up the brief control over the flow of the conversation.

He must have noticed her pleased expression, for he adjusted his stance to once more appear unbothered, cutting her smugness short.

"I wonder . . . are you?"

Bastard. To him, all she was was a bastard. Unworthy, inferior, an impostor staining the bloodline with filth that, even when legitimised by the King himself, could never come near being polished.

Alyssa wished she had taken a dagger with her to attack; wished she could tarnish his immaculate skin with dirty touch; wished to corrupt the flawlessness forever.

All she had was cold detachment and fiery haughtiness. She watched him for a moment longer—long enough for him to take the hint of defiance in. Then, in a few steps, she reached the nearest shelf and averted her eyes to the books. There were hundreds of them, all leather-bound and dark, and she silently read the words written in a long known language.

In disbelief, she read them once, twice, three times more.

"Blood magic," she gasped, greedy fingers itching to move forward and touch the spines. "These are the books of Old Valyria."

"Some of the only ones left," he confirmed quietly.

She looked back to catch him staring intently. Caving into the excitement, she allowed herself to ask, "have you read them all?"

Perhaps she shouldn't have said it—all it elicited was a sudden stiffness in his posture, so slight it would have gone unnoticed if she hadn't been watching him so carefully.

Instead of answering, as though the question had fallen unheard entirely, Aemond moved to the side and towards the wing chair in the corner. He took his precious time to get comfortable; all the while, she kept looking at him, as though just by the intensity of her gaze alone she'd be able to force him to indulge her questions. It seemed to not affect him at all, though. With tilted head and smirk plastered on the lips, he said, "you can touch them."

Was he hoping for a proof to the foulness of her hands? Did he want blemishes, ones that would serve as a verification of his beliefs? Surely a bastard could only ever defile and taint everything within the reach—leave behind nothing but disgrace.

Clicking her tongue impatiently, Alyssa took one of the books in her hand.

It was an uncontrolled wave of wrath crashing down her mind that made her do it; an act of desperation that could very well become her downfall. His eyes burned as he watched, clearly waiting for something. Alyssa held her breath, anticipation crawling over her shoulders, a heavy weight that aimed to push her down. A curious finger crossed over the cover, trailing the crimson letters.

It felt like minutes and hours, and nothing at all.

She quickly understood that there was no price for touching the book.

"What did you think would happen, Aemond?"

She saw the furious blinking, the heavy exhale, the way his nails sank into the cushion. Finally, finally he gave her what she had longed for—an unbridled rage that seeped from his entire being, so powerful she sensed it within every cell.

Triumphantly, she offered a smile and a silent, "how terrible it must be to lose."

Navigating through the Red Keep had been easy enough this time around—perhaps due to the overwhelming sense of victory. Because it was a victory; she felt it deep in bones and flesh, and it had already found home in her heart. The sweetest of all, the most gratifying—because she had been able to do something Aemond Targaryen could not.

It must have hurt him, she thought. It must have had his blood boil; must have made him sick with the want to hurt her. There were things Alyssa now knew for sure: fleeing was the only sensible option and leaving the castle entirely should be the very first thing to be done. The previous apprehensions and dread that came with Aemond's proximity were no longer a dubious threat; had she provoked him further, he was likely to strike.

Perhaps this could be enough. Perhaps she could keep herself satisfied to the last of her days with only the thought that she had one time beat him in his game.

Perhaps she'd crave more and come back for it, and then pay in blood.

Perhaps she'd burn—he had mentioned it, and when he did, it sounded like a sweet promise.

Alyssa was willing to accept it all if it meant she'd feel something real.

#aemond x oc #aemond smut #aemond fic #aemond targaryen #hotd #daemon targaryen #aemond one eye #house of the dragon #ao3 fanfic #targaryen!oc

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kleenexwoman · 1 year

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Ship it/Don't ship it:

Steve/Bucky

Steve/Tony

Steve/Peggy

Loki/Tony

Stucky

What made me ship it: Chris Evans and Sebastian Stan's longing glances and general chemistry. Before that, it was a side dirtybuthot ship. Taking away the inherent power imbalance really made it take off in general--people are very reluctant to ship hero/kid sidekick that openly right now--and it gave them a sense of shared history and interdependence that a Bucky who met Steve when he was bulked up wouldn't have.

What I like about it: I had a lot of crushes on my friends when I was a kid, and the idea that someone could have reciprocated that as deeply as Steve and Bucky is a nice one. It's really cozy to pair someone with their best friend growing up. And there's a lot to be said about someone who has seen you at your least appealing and still adores that version of you.

My unpopular opinion: Steve would never, ever have been the first one to make a move. He's aware that he's not a conventionally appealing partner, he sees Bucky as a brotherly type he has a guilty crush on, and he doesn't want to do the wrong thing and change things, so he's always going to repress the shit out of it until Bucky makes a clear move. I think Bucky's a lot more okay with his own feelings for Steve than Steve is with his feelings, and tbh I think Bucky sees Steve as a lot more--what are the kids calling it?--babygirl-coded. You know, when you want to act like you're someone's partner, but you're not actually together, so you just treat them kind of like it? And sometimes it can be toxic, or can be sweet and loving, depending on how self-aware you are and how well you deal with your feelings.

Steve/Tony

Why I got into it: It was one of the many, many ships surrounding Tony in the wake of the first wave of Marvel movies and before the Avengers movie. There wasn't that much good fic with Rhodey, I was the only person who liked Justin Hammer, everyone was writing Stony because they had been such good friends for so long in the comics. Nobody thought Joss was going to... Joss that.

What I like about it: JOSS WHEDON TOOK IT FROM ME. *deep breath* Okay. I like all the shit I liked before Avengers (2012) and their stupid bickering. I like the idea that Steve can help Tony get past his daddy issues by existing in the flesh as a person who stands in opposition to all the lies that Howard told Tony. And I like when Tony delights in introducing Steve to modernity and treats him to a lifestyle that boggles him. I like that they help each other heal from the past and understand the future. But I also like messy party monster Tony who can't keep it in his pants and enjoys going wild to relax and is one manic coke binge away from building a death ray, and I like clean-living, frugal Steve seeing the good in Tony past all of that.

My complicated opinion on it: My wife had this boyfriend who was a lapsed Catholic asshole. He had a lot of Catholic problems, like the whole guilt over feeling good about literally anything problem, and a stupidly rigid moral standard by which he would judge others without communicating it until he blew up about it, but he also had this whole transcendent artist's mystique that my wife really liked. He had a messiah complex, too. I mean, the people I know who thought, "Hmm, I wonder if I'm the second coming of Jesus", including myself, I could count on two hands. But this dude fucking externalized it, you know what I mean? And his girlfriend (not my wife, his live-in girlfriend) was this loud, sarcastic, ebullient bipolar alcoholic who was a lot of fun sometimes and just unstable as shit in general. She shipped Stony really hard and had framed pictures of Captain America and Iron Man as a diptych on her wall. It's hard for me not to think about them when I contemplate Stony long-term.

Steve and Peggy

1) I rarely ship the Hero and their Designated Love Interest. Often it doesn't matter, because the Love Interest is portrayed as episodic or incidental. It's really easy to ignore Napoleon Solo loving any girl, because they're all gone by the next episode. Peggy is not that. Peggy is a crucial part of Steve's MCU backstory. She shapes the world Steve wakes into. And he ultimately goes back to her at the end instead of staying with Bucky. I can't avoid Peggy and Steve; it is there, incontrovertible. I cannot discount it; I must ship around it, as it were.

2) Peggy is more than a person in Steve's mind. Peggy is The Girl Who Saw Him. She's like his mother, she's Not Like The Other Girls, she's Home and Country and Winged Victory and Steve's North Star--and oh fuck she's shooting at Steve because the blonde woman kissed him. Oof. I love that even Hayley Atwell figured they'd have massive house-shaking fights and Steve would have to leave to "go fishing" (this IS going to be something that happens in "Every Breath That I Held For You", btw). Likewise, Steve is Peggy's Ideal Man because to her, he is LITERALLY the Ideal Man. Because she's a crypto-fascist. I want them to be so, so unhappy together. I want Steve to feel trapped and to fuck other guys on the down-low and let Peggy whale on him for spilling her tea because he feels guilty for fucking the guys. Everyone assuming the fast-healing bruises are because he stopped a mugging. Y'know? Sometimes I really enjoy reading about people in terribly unhappy relationships, and I just like watching Captain America suffer in general. Endlessly, if possible.

With Bucky the suffering must have an end, and more intense suffering means I can imagine more intense comfort. But Cap must be tortured, mentally, emotionally, endlessly. It is a fight he can never win, the Captain, and the fact that he wins individual battles against foes only serves to obscure the reality of the endlessness of the oppressive systems that he labors inside of, that he ultimately defends. God, is that what they mean by "one must imagine Sisyphus happy"? Am I having a philosophical breakthrough here? I'm starting to understand why Batroc feels so sorry for Cap upon learning that they are but fictional.

3) There is a sense of symmetry to it, a feeling that Steve ended up right where he started. It's not, as the Russos intended, an evolution from selfless to selfish. Instead, it's the story of a person being taken from a body and a time that's small and slowly killing them, finding a new world, shaping that new world to fit them... And then coming right back home, better. It's Dorothy back from Oz, Sam back in the Shire. It feels like going back into the closet. It's a heterosexual narrative, upholding the status quo you escaped from. And there's a sense of meta-narrative closetedness about it because of the sudden change in the way the cast and crew addressed the Stucky vs. Peggy ships as Endgame approached, the storyline spurred on by Disney's corporate concerns.

Wanda is the vehicle by which this change occurs; the dreams she sends to each of the Avengers seems to not just spur their fears into action but also fundamentally change their priorities as people. Wanda, scarred by Tony's bombs, sends him back to his old coping mechanisms, which result in Ultron; Wanda, seeking comfort in the heteronormative sitcoms she watched, gives Steve a sense of longing for a heteronormative and idealized past. Wanda's magic comes from her emotions, from within, instead of Strange's technical and practiced magic--stripped of her science-fictional "probabililty-altering" backstory that made her unique in her original comic appearances, she's just another Disney magical girl, souring from sad princess to wicked witch. Shave your beards, move in on Main Street, learn to square dance, and wish upon a fucking star! Her mind-altering magic represents this algorithmic Disney influence, straightening out the gays and looping the war racketeers back into constant conflict. The Celluloid Closet meets Smedley Butler.

Anyway, I would ship it the normal way a little more if Peggy was actually Cynthia Glass, the Nazi spy, and she repented of her Nazi ways and then DIED about it.

Loki/Tony

Why I started shipping it: Peer pressure!Nah, just kidding, you convinced me :P

Why I like it: I love the idea that Tony thinks he's going to get into this complex, passionate battle of wits and hearts with a centuries-old being who can rival his intellect... and he's dating the developmental equivalent of a spoiled, brilliant, and rather bullied 19-year-old with Daddy issues. Loki can spend an entire month floating around in the pool drinking pina coladas and reading fluffy romance novels. He's not plotting anything, he's just chilling out.

Unpopular Opinion: I already said I like Tony best when he's a messy party monster trying to do good. I love the idea that he's trying to be responsible and clean up his life, but he's STILL dating a teenaged heir(ess) who nearly burns down the city with one good party. I like Loki when he's fucking around, too.

#stucky #stony #steggy #frostiron

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iseeweirdthings · 2 months

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Thoughts and Notes on Netflix's 2024 Live Action Avatar the Last Airbender (spoilers!)

Good:

The Casting overall I think is good, I have some problems with characterization but overall everybody looks the part -azula.

The Effects good all the way through actually

Some of the Added Scenes, such where Zuko gets his platoon from

The Score, it's the same score

Bad:

Incredibly Show and Tell, like illude to something, foreshadow something, don't just show me it and explain it right away, not every plot thread has to be on screen.

Pacing, condensing 20 24 minute episodes into 8 one hour long episodes really hurts character moments and overall story progression.

The War!!! 70% of the dialogue is about THE WAR. That's not really what the original story is about, so much focus is about the war and you lose so much of the necessary innocence of the characters

The Live Action why do we doing this.

Nobody seems like friends when the camera is on, the chemistry isn't working sadly, I think it has to do with Dialogue and Pacing of Dialogue, they need to actually talk to each other rather taking turns performing one liners and monologues. There's too much space in between lines.

Every character is playing their trauma as if it's their first card in the deck, and pouring it out to everyone immediately, it's lazy, and unemotional when it should be.

I feel like I just watched 8 episodes of this show and followed this group but I don't know any of them, we're not given time to spend with them.

Character Notes

Avatar (the war) Aang, this isn't a child, he is played by a child but sadly he isn't allowed to be one. He's too weighed down by his trauma and responsibilities that he isn't given the space to have fun, and he does have a nice smile and he does look like Aang but they're playing him as a fucking rock. A Rock who can fly???

Also all the past Avatars give him such shitty advice which he always disagrees with and then when he leaves the spirit world he's like "they're absolutely right!" stand up for your own beliefs baby!

He gets so boiled down to being a hero and having to save everybody that he loses his own essence and appeal.

Katara (the prodigy) It just doesn't feel like the same character, she doesn't feel motherly, she doesn't feel angry, she isn't shown to be hard working, idk she's just there, so much of her original struggle was learning but through some nice words from Aang and Jet she's already a master before she gets to the North Pole.

Sokka (😐 this is the face he's making) I think he just needs to be more expressive and charismatic, I want to like him but he's just too stiff. Get that man high before filming or something idk. Should've been more sexist. it's a plot point.

Appa and Momo aren't characters, they're just there but not even there.

Zuko!! he's cute! I think he might be my favourite casting. He's frustrated and whiney and annoying in all the right ways. He's by far the most rounded character so far and that's helped by more screentime from not only him but Ozai and Azula. But! that's at the cost of their own mystique and characterisation.

He's also not funny enough, like original Zuko's dialogue is 90% "My Honour!!!!" and new Zuko at least to my knowledge doesn't say it one time. Like they're both hyper-fixated on the same task but one is just naturally funnier. idk maybe that's an easier thing to pull off in animation.

And like most people I think adding the platoon he thinks shouldn't be sacrificed as his crew is a good decision, I just wish he made it himself, rather than Ozai gifting/pawning them off to him. would've made it just all that better in my opinion.

Iroh! loved you at first! great casting, but you're allergic to smiling, I get it this first season we're really playing into the RIP Lu Ten but like Zuko is right here and you need to spend time spending time with this kid, show him that war ain't all that. there's joy and love in this world man, and so many amazing wonders. be happy just to live in a world like that. be happy man please. you're too old to not know how to grieve.

I think Azula's casting has yet to prove itself. The young girl playing her just seems like a really nice person, who doesn't at all look crazy enough.

They're also fucking her character, where is her self confidence? where is her unwavering faith in herself? Why is Ozai doubting her?? She's the mother fucking queen? why isn't she acting like it??? She just isn't giving crazy bitch.

Ozai, fine, but why are we seeing ur face??? sit in the chair!!!!

I think overall i want to give this show the benefit of the doubt, you're not doing a terrible job. Just give us more character moments and relaxation, it's not all about the war. it's about kids and growing and friendship and shit. also like write faster dialogue you can get more lines in like always. Especially for Sokka! he's the filler to any dead air. In 50 minute episodes there shouldn't be this much silence.

I'll keep watching, for season 2 I just hope that even as the show gets more serious, they can still create the beautiful moments of quiet and calm and fun. The show needs more fun, and the kids should have more too.

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rocketrecord · 1 year

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Creem Magazine “The Elton John Interview” by Jaan Uhelszki and Lester Bangs published May 1, 1975

"I'm the Connie Francis of rock 'n' roll."

Elton John is a man with nothing to hide. Meeting him is instantaneous recognition that his image - puckish but professional, easygoing, tolerant, a gentleman with a flair for sartorial supernova -is simply a totally natural and organic outgrowth of his private self. He is in love with his work, and it is a very healthy relationship. We found him in his hotel suite, cherub in a soccer uniform, snapping his fingers and bouncing while listening, with a self-critical attentiveness that bordered on the ruthless, to his latest single. In spite of being caught between myriad hassles - a new test pressing to okay, a radio station to run to afterwards, a slight case of the flu - we found him polite, charming, unaffected, as smooth as the white German wine he gave us and not even as saccharine. - L.B. Full interview transcript under the cut.

JU: I think that's because a lot of the songs on that first album were really serious love songs and all of a sudden here was this Liberace guy kicking out a piano . . .

EJ: All the songs on EJ were classically morbid. Most of our songs are pretty morbid. Someone once wrote that there's only one happy song on the whole album, "Harmony."

JU: I read once that the contrast between your comical clothes and your serious songs is part of the reason for your success.

EJ: I suppose so. I just don't know anymore. I mean when you look back at those costumes I used to wear - those weren't even costumes! They were Mr. Freedom jumpsuits. People thought they were outrageous. I think the reason we became successful is because we played more rock 'n'roll. A lot of people said, "I don't like rock W roll, you should just sit at the piano," but I think rock appeals to a much wider audience.

JU: The concept of rock 'n' roll used to be that parents weren't supposed to like it. Parents like you.

EJ: I know. Isn't that odd ... I don't mind as long as they buy the records. But it's true. I can see four or five rows when I'm on stage, and the cross section of people is staggering, it never ceases to amaze me. In the front row last night was a couple who must have been in their forties and I thought, "they must be friends of the promoters". . . then you get 13 year old girls and everybody. It's great. Though mothers seem to brood on me.

Lester: One problem you have in terms of image is you have a tough time right now building the mystique of someone who lurks, the phantom of rock or something like that. You've made yourself so accessible and pinned yourself as so positive ... Mr. Nice Guy.

JU: Other stars of your stature like David Bowie want to create a mystique that you can't see beyond.

EJ: That's bullshit. I hate that. It's all bullshit. I mean, why build a mystique? LB: What happened at a certain point is that people decided that the way to become a star besides writing a song is to say "I'm a star!" And stardom became very brutal... the ego had much more to do with it than the music.

EJ: There have been classic examples of people with no musical talent being built up even before their first record. In England that happens a lot. King Crimson was a perfect example. When they first started in England they played a few gigs at clubs like the Marquee and the press on them was just unbelievable and the publicity just sort of fell out from their people, people who surrounded them. And by the time their first album came out there was an unbelievable amount of excitement.

LB: Well, don't you think things have changed? I mean Bowie or Todd Rundgren steps up and says "Well I'm a superstar," and two years later he's still not selling.that many records but he's still saying "Yes, I'm the biggest star in history."

EJ: And what really annoys me is that people believe it. Especially in England, they're so gullible. You pick up the paper in England and you read who are the biggest stars in America and they say Yes, Bowie, Jethro Tull and they never even mention me. That's real bullshit. I can't believe that. You pick up the English papers and read "Steeleye Span Storm Across The States. " Really bullshit! But people believe what they I read. I do tend to laugh about it, it is a bit 11 of a joke.

I hate all that sort of moodiness you mentioned before. There's no reason for me to be moody, it's not all that important, I mean who really gives a shit. So Bowie's inaccessible and he's got a mystique and he's got a great stage presence. But so do people like Marlene Dietrich, who've been around 60 years.

LB: I think it's a very sick sort of personality cult.

EJ: I suppose so. I also know David wanted to be Judy Garland.

LB: It's almost on a Mel Lyman or a Manson level, I mean a Bowie or a Leon Russell. . . the people surrounding them are vicious, and they're supposed to be nice guys.

EJ: Oh yeah. I've always thought rock 'n' roll was people's music. It's always been a thing that everyone should enjoy, as far as I'm concerned, I don't see why they should bring moodiness into it. On stage you can create an image without all the hassles. Who needs it? I can walk into a room and be surrounded by just as many people as David Bowie. You meet John Lennon, he'll talk to you for 25 hours straight and he doesn't give a shit and he's been through the whole scene. Backwards, forwards. He still talks to you. Ringo does. Paul does. George doesn't. . .but I respect George for what he's doing, he's doing it because he really believes in what he's doing and he's not just some moody . . .

JU: He's not difficult, it's just an extension of that whole religious thing he's going through.

EJ: Right. I feel sorry for him in lots of ways and in fact like him. He might be being used. I'm very skeptical about religion. If something's that fanatical it can you for their ends.

LB: Another thing that you sort of step out of is that rock 'n' roll is so much associated with the burnout syndrome. You're supposed to do that, to live fast and die young. I mean Dylan looked beautiful in 1966 when he was on the edge of death; he looked better than he did the rest of his life. But the whole thing is such ah adolescent dream.

EJ: Well. . . I'm the Connie Francis of rock 'n' roll.

JU: Will you be doing orange juice commercials in ten years?

EJ: Like Anita Bryant (sings a bit of a jingle), no, no way. I've got very strict sensibilities like that. That's why people annoy me when they compare me to Vegas acts. I can't bear show biz.

These people come to my parties, not my idea, it's just a publicity thing. It's nice to meet them, a couple of them I really do like, Steve McQueen and Diana Ross and Cher. You shake hands with 70people. Barbra Streisand came into the dressing room when I was just wearing underpants and she went "OHHH!" I went, "Barbra, you must have seen it before."

JU: You know you make Rona Barrett's gossip magazine. Not many rock stars do.

EJ: She loves me! Well, I'm perfect fodder for her. I'm perfect fodder for everybody. If anyone's gonna say let's pick on somebody, let's pick on Elton. JU: But they can't pick on you.

LB: Not very good fodder for a scandal sheet. You seem to lead a pretty sedate life.

EJ: I'm not talking scandal. I'm talking about like in England with the money situation and everybody moving out. So everybody says... and I never said it in an interview, I mean, Rod says it in interviews... but the big headline will be "Elton Leaving England; Deserting a Sinking Ship. Well We Don't Need Him!" And if anyone's gonna be picked on it's always me. I take the can back from so many people.

LB: Do you ever find yourself in the syndrome of being on the road so much that the graph of your alcohol intake just goes up and up until you're just reeling and you lose control?

EJ: Yeah, that happened to us last year. We went to Australia and Japan and then we had a crisis . . . we'd been on the road for four and half years and we all looked like just unbelievable zombies, felt like death warmed up, and we were just at the point of breaking up. So we cancelled everything from there on. We had a big tour of England planned, a big tour of Europe, and cancelled both. And we just took time off. I went to a tennis ranch and I read in English papers that I was huge and they were right ... I'd put on about 45 pounds because I was drinking at least half a bottle of scotch each day. I just felt awful and I looked at myself-at 27 your hair's going, body's going, you're going. Also I'm the director of a soccer team. People connected with soccer do drink a lot, and I was beginning to drink like ... I mean I was just becoming an alcoholic. It was just ridiculous, so I just had to say no. I just started drinking again. I don't drink spirits, just wine and... The worst thing is the next day. I got to the point where I was taking things to get me over getting up. After two weeks of getting up and feeling like that you just feel like, "Ahhh." So I thought that's it, it's gonna be health from now on.

JU: So how's your romance with sports? I've heard you call yourself a sports groupie?

EJ: Oh I am, I'm an absolute sports groupie. I played doubles with Jimmy Connors, that was great; every time I hit a winning shot he used to sit on the floor and laugh. I'm not a bad tennis player and when you play with someto play better anyhow.

JU: Weren't you in a tennis tournament with Bill Cosby?

EJ: You know they have World Team Tennis now. Well, Billy Jean's team is in Philadelphia and I might get involved with that next year. I came over on the SS France to the States and went straight down to Philadelphia cause I had arrangements to play with Cosby, in an exhibition game. Usually they get 3,000 people at the Spectrum. They had 9,000 that night. It's one thing to go out there and play rock 'n' roll but to play tennis like a schmuck is another. I lost the first two games . . . but I knew I could beat him.

JU: You beat Bill Cosby?

EJ: Yeah.

LB: Do you think on one level being a rock star is like being a frustrated sports star?

EJ:It's been said that there's a parallel between sports people and rock people because they come from the same background. No way. Sports people go through hell. You have to be far more dedicated.

It's not a question of physical ability, because if you've got it you've got it, like playing the guitar; it's a matter of concentration. If a tennis player loses his concentration for one minute it can blow the whole game. I actually think it's more of a mind thing than it is a skill.

I was never any good at sports and I remember one year at school everybody had houses and on Sports Day they would compete against one another, and because I was fat they used to put me into the shotput. And the first time they put me into the shotput, I went to it it and the ball spun off my chin and fell on my foot and broke my toe . . . that was so funny . . . But I was never any good at sports except tennis and soccer.

Tennis has exploded here. Someday soccer will just explode. But I love American sports too. I love the Monday night game; if I have a gig that night, I'm distraught. Hockey I love, and baseball.

I can't find any Americans who like baseball. I hate the fucking Oakland A's and they win it every year. I'm a Mets fan. I really wanted them to win last year.

JU: Mets used to be on the bottom. EJ: I always felt sorry for the team on the bottom. Texas'll do all right this year ... We were up in Montreal when they got back from Russia. We got into the airport at the same time.

JU: Montreal is a hockey town.

LB: Canada's a hockey town - what else have they got?

EJ: They've got Anne Murray.

LB: Do you like Anne Murray? s EJ: She's great . . . reminds me of « Dusty. I used to have pictures of Dusty stuck on my wall... about 400 of them. She was my idol. Dusty had a desperate desire to be needed.

LB: We hear that you're the Santa Claus of rock. Like Elvis. Like giving John Reid cars.

EJ: Well, its' just that I like giving away presents. My whole philosophy is ... / could be dead tomorrow or something gruesome. I've met so many people who are so miserable with their success. They never have any fun, they stay in their houses. I've got enough money. Really I don't think I'll ever be able to spend all my money. I very rarely buy things. I buy paintings. I have a great art deco collection. I buy a lot of clothes. LB: Do you think there's an element of compulsiveness in the spending and the way you push yourself to be prolific?

EJ: I've got tremendous drive. What you said before, Lester, about spending money now because you can make more tomorrow - that's true to a certain extent. I believe that I'll be around for quite some time. But I'm quite willing to admit that if something happened I could be the world's biggest bomb. I quite like that, that uncertainty. If our record comes in number one in England, great; when our Hits album went straight to number one, beat Bowie's album, I was absolutely delighted. We don't sit down and write something to go to number one but I'm always on the phone saying how's it going . . . especially with Rocket, the label, it's just murder. I worry more about that than I do about me at the moment.

LB: Don't you think there's an element of the ephemeral intrinsic to rock, very few rock stars sustain over the years, they become hacks like Elvis or Jerry Lee or Chuck Berry.

EJ: I don't want to be like them at all, appearing at the big hotel in town in 15 years doing "Crocodile Rock" for 40 old ladies. I know the time will come when I have to say "enough is enough. " LB: You think you'll be able to pack it in?

EJ: Yeah, there's lots of other things I'm very interested in. I'm very interested in the supper club at this time.

JU: What about film?

EJ: "Pinball Wizard," you're gonna die when you see Tommy, Ken Russell made me pull more faces in that bloody movie than I'd done in my whole life. Pulling the worst faces of all time. I get beaten in the movie.

LB: About the ephemerality, don't you think there's a point at which they know they've peaked? I think Lennon's at that point now, but people can't throw in the towel. They can't admit they're not as good as they were, that they've passed their prime and it's a very pathetic syndrome.

EJ: I suppose so. I don't agree with you about Lennon. He's got himself out of those two or three years of chaos. He was surrounded by chaos, John. And / he's got himself out of that and is on the verge of doing some really good things.

But I know what you mean ... I love reading a review that says "Well, Elton John is finished." I must say there was a review in CREEM of Caribou, and it was the worst review (by Billy Altman, November, 1974 - Ed.) It was great. It made me laugh. I don't mind reviews like that because it was very comical. When the guy said that I pinched "Honky Cat" from Lee Michaels that really finished me off.

One magazine printed a letter to the editor from a Kim Sand in Montego Bay, Jamaica, I'm sure John Lennon wrote it, that says "I'm tired of seeing this tired old closet queen and he doesn't even move around on stage anymore. Elton John belongs in one." It was worse than that. But I love those. LB: After we had Wayne Robins review Yellow Brick Road and he said "he doesn't have sufficient heterosexual good looks blah blah blah," we got this deluge of letters, "the girls at Beaver College think he's sexy and peachy keen." They're absolutely serious.

JU: How do you feel about being a sex symbol?

EJ: I can't understand it. I've always said that rock stars are supposed to be skinny and wasted. I think (with me) with a female it's very much a mother image, "Oh, hey, can I cuddle you. " It's a very subtle thing. In England it isn't. I can't walk around the streets there for fear that I'll get clothes ripped off. They're not subtle at all in England, they just go crazy.

LB: You had a turnover of fans at a certain point in your career which I would place at the release of Madman Across the Water. That's the point where I think a lot of the old Elton John fans decided you were jiving, weren't a serious artist, that you were finished. That's the point I began to like you. You took on a whole new audience at the very point where your initial audience split.

EJ: Like when I say at a show, "This one's from Tumbleweed Connection," there's hardly a ripple. I know exactly what you mean and I think you're quite right. Adding a guitarist made a difference; we've been a band ever since. LB: Did you consciously burn your bridges behind you?

EJ: I'd made my records with session musicians. We had a band but weren't making records together; it was ludicrous. They were getting uptight and I could see their point, and after Madman Across the Water we began to use other musicians more. I thought, "I've gotta start using the people I play with all the time. I've gotta start writing some different types of songs. " That album was Elton John stuck on a bridge. Luckily we went across.

Someone once said to me that I make the funniest records. He said it as a compliment. I mean, "Grimsby?" Grimsby is a pretty atrocious town. Singing a song about it that just makes it sound wonderful.

LB: Do you intend to make your records funny?

EJ: Yeah ... all these people spend all this time creating masterpieces, hours and hours really into things that are just five .chords. I could never believe that they thought they were creating, that they took themselves so seriously . . . I'm serious about some of my songs. "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me", is a serious pop song, but "Grimsby" -how can you be serious about Grimsby? That's the whole point of rock and roll.

LB: One last question. Perhaps you can clarify something I've been wondering about for a long time. Why is it, do you think, that there are all these acts like Slade, and Gary Glitter, the Sweet, probably Suzi Quatro, certainly Alvin Stardust - all those teeny tigers who are such a rage in Britain, and they all bomb in the States?

EJ: You have a more sophisticated audience over here. We have a better educational system, but your kids are much more advanced by and large. An English 14 year old boy who buys a Gary Glitter record is simply younger and more naive than a comparable American 14 year old who spends his money on, say, the Allman Brothers. You must remember that you have so many more media outlets over here, more radio stations and television channels and all the rest of it, so the poor dears are bombarded constantly; consequently they become a bit more callous, or at least less gullible. They grow up so fast I sometimes suspect they're older than I am.

LB: They’re certainly more jaded than you seem to be.

EJ: Faugh. Pity, isn't it?

#elton john #1975 #interview #Jaan Uhelszki #lester bangs #!!!#ANITA BRYANT DISSING!!!#sports groupie #creem magazine #mine #nigel olsson

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justzawe · 2 years

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Mr. Malcolm's List Actor Zawe Ashton Taps Into The Feminine Mystique [Interview]

After watching her turn as the cunning Julia Thistlewaite in "Mr. Malcolm's List," one might expect Zawe Ashton to be similarly intimidating. She's the kind of scene-stealing performer whose reputation definitely precedes her: Ashton's career spans decades, following the actor-writer-filmmaker from the stage to the screen and back again. It's easy to feel intimidated by the thought of speaking to Ashton (I definitely was), but all that melted away when I sat down to chat with the "Mr. Malcolm's List" star.

Speaking with Ashton is like making fast friends with a stranger in the place you least expected to. Her thoughts on Regency life and antiheroism are candid, hilarious, and considerably devoid of ego. Ironically enough, it is ego (and a thirst for revenge) that catalyzes the plot of "Mr. Malcolm's List." After Ms. Thistlewaite is humiliated by the titular Mr. Malcolm (Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù) — and immortalized in a Regency-era meme — she sets off to knock the bachelor down a peg. She asks her childhood friend, Selina Dalton (Freida Pinto), to pose as Malcolm's perfect woman, only to leave him high and dry once he starts to fall for her. It's the kind of story you'd expect from a '90s-era rom-com, where the stories usually begin with a harmless bet and feature at least one makeover montage. In that kind of story, Julia would be the villain, a cut-and-dry mean girl who gets what she "deserves" before the credits roll. But for director Emma Holly Jones and writer Suzanne Allain, "Mr. Malcolm's List" was not that kind of story.

Not only is Julia a character worthy of redemption (despite her questionable choices), but she's also worthy of a happily ever after. Her subversive arc appealed tremendously to Ashton, who'd never had the chance to star in a period romance before "Malcolm's List." The process was undeniably euphoric for the actor, especially when it came to the film's gorgeous costumes, but not without a few corset-related challenges. "Getting used to seeing your own bosom whilst acting is definitely a journey," Ashton mused. "But also what I love is, again: The sensuality, the feminine mystique that I'm not drawn to necessarily in my own life. I don't think about enhancing my bosom, necessarily. And I definitely will now from now on — for myself, not for anyone else."

I chatted with Ashton about walking the line between hero and villain, and tapping into the iconography of the Regency period.

You've spoken before about your attraction to more extreme characters. Is that what attracted you to Julia?

Well, do you know, I loved ... when I read [the script], I had 24 hours to read and decide and meet with Emma, our director, because two fantastic actresses had not been able to do the role. And Lyvie, I have no ego about that kind of thing because filmmaking is an intricate process that has lots of just twists and turns. But as an actor, the way that you come onto a project is often so influential. So having that very, very short decision time kind of made the decision easier in a way, because you go straight to the heart of things, I think. So I instantly read the intersection of genres present in this film. I'm a rom-com fan, I'm a fan of the new Regency-core journey that we're on as an industry, so that was an intersection that was a tick.

I also was like, "There's something so contemporary about this woman, Julia." We meet her at a point in her life where she's four seasons without a match. Her mother's starting to give her the side eye at every opportunity, reading out the latest matrimonial news at every opportunity. And that's something I think women can really understand, when society starts to kind of close in on you with that messaging of where you're supposed to be at in your life versus where you might be.

And I think I said to Emma in one of our initial interviews — or our only interview — I was like, "She feels like the Regency Bridget Jones." And that's a wonderful place to start. And then she becomes this protagonist. And then she becomes this humbled figure who lets her guard down and finds love and gets that intention that she sets off in the beginning of her life with, which is to marry for love. And I just really embraced the arc of that. I embraced the lightness and the kindness of the movie. We were in the second wave of lockdown and I knew that it was going to be a really wonderful spiritual reset to do something this fun.

And I have a very, very strong intentionality when it comes to supporting first-time filmmakers from underrepresented intersections. So it was just like "tick, tick, tick, tick, tick" in the space of 24 hours. And then I found out who the cast was and then I said, "Definitely. Please yes, I'll do this."

I love that you touched on kindness, because I feel like Julia sort of walks the scorned woman archetype throughout the film and she does make questionable choices, but she's never demonized. At the very end, she's able to find that she is worthy of love and forgiveness — which from a modern perspective, especially for women of color, that was so, so refreshing to see.

I think it's deeply refreshing to see. And you asked about a penchant for extreme characters. I wasn't drawn to Julia's extremes necessarily, but I'm always drawn to walking that line, I think. People in life are complex and I think I have a superpower as an actor for just really not minding if I'm disliked. I think lots of actors really desperately would like to be liked, but I don't know. I'm open to anti-hero-ness. I think they were the characters that I always warmed to as a child, when I was watching animated films or when you were at a puppet show, or just those first formative steps into understanding different creative worlds. I was an Ursula "Little Mermaid" fan. [Laughs]

They have much more fun, to be honest.

I think it's sort of ... you have to do more work as an audience member, and as an actor if you are going to win them over in the end. And of course you can win people over by just being extremely devious, and that's a very delicious experience.

I really love that also we're seeing an antagonist in a film of this genre who is a woman of color, who isn't attempting to be anything other than who she is. I really don't want to ever defang a performance for the purposes of being palatable. I personally don't feel like I make good work if I'm trying to pander to an audience in that way. And I also feel like you don't keep the door open for even more complex interpretations in that space, unless you really commit to walking that line. So I have a penchant for walking the line.

You've spoken about your relationship to secondhand clothes and how vintage has helped you find characters in the past. How did costuming inform your kind of molding of Julia?

Huge. And I'm so glad they have the costumes on show here at Saks Fifth Avenue as a way of representing this film. I love it mostly because there wasn't a huge amount of budget to make a lot of costumes. We really had to kind of do a lot with a little and that's down to our fantastic costume designer, Pam Downe.

Costume is very influential in this film, because I'd never played this era before, the Regency era. It's something that you've watched for such a long time. It has so much iconography attached to it. Stepping into it is a very, very unique experience, because the door has been closed to this genre to me for a very long time. So putting on a bonnet was heaven. I was like, "I feel cute! And I feel aspirational." Putting on the little ballet slippers that they wore at that time, it's extremely ... again, it's just very, very gentle and very ... it has a softness to it that really does transport you from this world to that one.

Also, I feel like there was something really, really fantastic about how sometimes wrong Julia was getting the fashion of that time. Her huge feather that was extremely offensive to Malcolm, I mean ... there was just a wonderful freedom in that to be someone who was presenting this very fashionable high society woman, but without making those fumbles and mistakes that we all make. Because of course, it was a hedonistic time. We don't think of it necessarily as that because we see the slightly more repressed behavior. Then the Victorians came along and corseted the Georgians up for a reason, because it was kind of sexy and out there! It was, again, it had this contemporary edge of a woman who's kind of embracing the fashions of the time and not necessarily always hitting the mark, but having fun with it. There was a huge freedom in that. (x)

#zawe ashton #slash film #interview #article #mml promo

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