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feerz · 6 days

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Ranking all the Jesuses from every version I've watched/listened to so far

without further ado let's get into it 🙌

Ian Gillan - 1970 Original concept album

The True Doer that you cannot outdo. The og who made this role what it is today. And since the og album was were I got my start and obsession with jcs, I have a huge fondness for him. There's just something so- so... about him. His vocals? Insane, fantastic, the golden standard. His Gethsemane is Everything. He raised the bar so high (literally lol) and made this role harder for everyone that came after him and I respect that. I also love his characterisation. He is a rockstar and he knows it. Adore this whiny ass messiah and his dramatics. 9/10

Ted Neeley - 1973 movie

Sad little mouse man. He's like some small rodent to me. His gethsemane is iconic, but beyond it I don't care to much about his Jesus. He's perfectly inoffensive, but I find him a bit boring. Poor guy also had the disadvantage of performing against Carl Anderson, who's too powerful and who commanded every scene he was in, outshining Jesus. Tedsus is not for me personally, but he's definitely not bad. 6/10

Camilo Sesto - Madrid 1975 album

I like him! He reminds me of Ian's Jesus but sadder (love to see it). Really good vocals. That 'POR QUE' ate. And his Gethsemane in general too. I don't have that much to say besides that, but Señor Sesto is really good in this role. 8/10

James Whitson - San Jose Civic Light Opera's 1990 production

Uhhhhhhh. Watched this in a discord watch party and for half of it we were thought this was Ted. It wasn't. Don't really know what to say, there wasn't anything really memorable or notable about him. Also has the disadvantage of being pared up with Carl Anderson, except it's even worse here. If Carl was anywhere near him, no chance I was paying attention to Jesus. Um... he chased Santa out of the Temple! That's something! 3/10

Steve Balsamo - 1996 London revival album

Steve Balsamo Jesus, my dearly beloved. How can you not love him. Just rewatch his Gethsemane for the 1000th time. His vocals are out of this world, man has organ pipes in place of vocal chords. Props to him for actually crying in gethsemane and still killing it. Absolutely fantastic. And his beautiful hair and those brown eyes really add to it. He's such a sad pathetic man, it's great. No complaints 10/10

Glenn Carter - 2000 movie

I'm shaking, please buy him brown contacts. I am a glensus hater, although I have to admit that during my second viewing I didn't dislike him as much. Easily my least favourite gethsemane (lmm excluded), except his delivery of "what you started, I didn't start it", that was surprisingly good. Again, I'm a hater but bonus points for the entertainment factor. 4/10

Paul Nolan - 2012 Broadway revival

BORING! Sorry your trouple doesn't save you from being so incredibly bland. It's like looking at a white wall that has just been painted over and you're watching it dry. Gethsemane is solid vocally, I like his interactions with others. But Jesus himself? No thanks. The staging of the crucifixion was so great, but then there he is with his mouth agape like a baby bird being fed and unconvincing "suffering". Also, no blood? 3/10

Ben Forster - 2012 UK Arena tour

THIS IS THE ONE. My roman empire. My most dear blorbo. He's been living in my head rent free for months. I love him so much. He's just so incredibly stressed out and angsty and pathetic and constantly on the verge of a complete mental breakdown. His gethsemane is my favourite. Just pretty much everything I could want from a performance of it. The way he curls up on the floor? The little moments when his voice breaks a bit from emotion?? The knee thing??? Great, fantastic, stunning, no notes. Also I adore his costuming, finally Jesus is given something more interesting. 11/10

John Legend - 2018 NBC

Hot take, but he's not nearly as bad as people make him out to be. He's just fine. I do enjoy his voice, Poor Jerusalem is especially good. Although I don't love his acting in the second act, but I really liked him in the first one. This Jesus just seems really nice and friendly and I love that. Gethsemane is solid vocally, even without the G5. Anyways he's not bad at all! 6/10

Andrew Latobesi - 2018 Villanova College

This was another wildcard from the watch party. Jesus didn't stand out much because we were all a bit distracted by Judi. And Mary. He was bland and the acting was not fantastic, but this is a high school prod, and for what it's worth he's not bad. Gethsemane was solid enough considering everything. The crucifixion surprisingly hit, good crying there. ??/10 since I don't think it would be fair to rank him against all those adult professional performers.

Jack Hopewell - 50th Anniversary North America tour

The only Jesus that made me cry while watching. He suffers real good (and looks very pretty while doing so). He's just so- so... I just wanted to wrap him up in a soft blanket and give him a kiss on the forehead and feed him soup. Tbh I think he's one of the best vocally too. His high note is my fav. Gethsemane in general is just great too. Love how much he's just some silly guy who then has to face the Horrors. He's just very cute :] 10/10

Jeangu Macrooy - 2024 Netherlands national tour

The most poor little meow meow Jesus ever. He's so pathetic it's great. Him smiling and being happy was also so cute. Really good vocals too, man killed those high notes. His gethsemane too... Jeangu Macrooy absolutely steels the show and it's fantastic and incredibly heartbreaking. Want to see his performance again so so badly. In the meantime everyone should check out a snippet of his performance 10/10

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#jesus christ superstar #jcs #jcs50 #jcs 1973 #jcs 2012 #jcs 2000 #jcs 2018

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purpleturtle9000 · 1 year

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What's your opinion about the take that say:"all turtles in rise are mikeys and have same personalities"?also what you liked/disliked the most about they they ate written?

All turtles are Mikeys? I have no idea what that means, but hard disagree that they all have the same personalities. There's times where they're similar (they all love Jupiter Jim and Lou Jitsu movies, for example) but idk that you could live with someone your entire life and not have some things in common. Plus I think if characters are all 100% different, it would be so hard to find common ground that the plot wouldn't work.

Raph falling apart when he's alone and talking in third person, Mikey's interest in cooking and art, Leo's sense of humour and need to prove himself, Donnie's favourite music and tech knowledge - there's a lot of ways they differ from each other. They approach things differently and have interests that don't overlap! Like how Mikey is the only one to recognise Meat Sweats, and it seems like the others' knowledge of wrestling comes secondhand from Raph talking about it.

I love how autistic Donnie is in Rise, it's the thing that got me to watch it in the first place. I've always headcannoned him as autistic so it's really fantastic to see that being expanded on 'officially' and to see so many things about him that I recognise as The Tism. I also really love 'why would you guys need me if mystic powers can do everything I can do' and everything between him and Shelldon. Not to mention him and Leo putting the 'disaster' in disaster twins, and how affectionate he is with Mikey. Though I maintain it's a crime that he stopped wearing glasses as a kid cause Bayverse Donnie having glasses was my favourite part of his design (they're tortoiseshell do you get it they're tortoiseshell).

This is also the first time I've actually liked Leo? Other versions didn't really capture my interest, and I didn't really see much to him besides him being 'the leader' (though it's also been forever since I watched any of the other series so I'm probably forgetting a lot). I think not giving him the leadership role opened up a lot of avenues for development and characterisation that couldn't be there in versions where he was preoccupied with leadership. Totally normal about Mr Daddy Issues being the one most similar to Splinter. And the all the character development in the movie that blew me away. He has horrible puns, he's insecure, he's gay, he hates Jersey, he's a dad after a timeskip. What more do you need in a character, right?

Mikey's love for cooking is so near and dear to my heart. Also I really like that he's an optimistic character, and that does get him in trouble personally sometimes like in that moon truffle episode, but it doesn't screw up things for everyone else. I think the Draxum redemption thing was too rushed and made Mikey seem too innocent, but I vaguely remember seeing that a lot of content was cut from that arc? There's a couple times where he seems too careless, like yelling 'echo' in the library, but tbh it's nothing I wouldn't expect of a character his age. Also he had a hand in a lot of character changes, especially regarding Draxum and Donnie-and-Shelldon, and was the only reason the time travel and Leo's rescue happened in the movie, so like, there's a lot of power and knowledge at play there.

I love how excited Raph gets about wrestling and that bit about him mimicking the pirate accent from Jupiter Jim movies. Also him eating that salami paper is iconic, let the boy snack. Kinda wish we could've gotten more of a look at his anger issues and how that affected the team/family dynamics sometimes but I really love that it's still clear in canon that his anger doesn't make him love them any less, or make them afraid of him. It's wild that it's canon that he goes insane when he's left alone but that was never mentioned again after that one ep??? And I loathe how Raph had leadership taken away from him with a throwaway line, I'm gonna stay mad about it forever, thank you very much.

#not 100% sure i understood the first part but hope this answers your question!#rottmnt #chatter

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cina-full-moon-xanadium · 9 months

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What’s your ranking of the doctors

it's very basic due to my very disjointed and lacking exposure to showa dr who which i must fix soon. so:-

9 and 10 are what i grew up with so between the insane nostalgia and the actually insane quality of the writing (not biased not biased) they are my favourites. it's really hard to go wrong with an ageless god who lost his people rediscovering the beauty of the universe through the eyes of ordinary people

11 much like his seasons i'm very mixed on; i like a lot of his series 5 stuff where there was a fairytale theming going on and they started to make him much more genuinely alien and detached from humanity compared to how 9 and 10 could literally just feel like dudes (not a bad thing either way, either option is an interesting portrayal for different reasons) and they started to confront his morality and influence in series 6 and 7, but a fair bit of it falls flat for me. series 7 eleventh doctor in particular i really dislike i found him annoying to watch

12 is slowly becoming my favourite. everything i just said about 11's best traits being when he's written as truly alien and engaging with the ideas of his influence on the universe and the morality involved? 12 is all that in fucking HYPERDRIVE and it has a lot of charm and a much higher feeling of genuine honesty to it when he is portrayed as an actual old man with a lot of anger and sarcasm to how he does things; which of course also harkens back to doctor who's beginnings and provides a very sharp contrast to the other 3 main doctors since the revival. Very strong case for being my favourite

13. sigh. oh 13. where did it all go wrong girl. it's difficult to say anything about her because i don't think they ever truly landed on a solid characterisation or vision for her; and much of it feels like nostalgia-pandering David Tennant tablescraps and the most severe militant inaction ever put to television, with a very lacking performance which i absolutely cannot blame Jodie for because I don't know what the hell I'd do with those scripts either. I REALLY wish I could say something like "even if I didn't like this era I at least have fond memories of 13 herself" but tragically I think she's the worst doctor there's ever been and it's absolutely criminal

Fugitive/Ruth, conversely, I actually really liked what was shown of her and like many at the time I felt she was a far more compelling Doctor than 13 and the one I'd rather be following! It's a bit harder to go back to her now you know it's setting up the timeless child nonsense but for a single episode, wow; I really do wish this is what we got

War I really liked; I think if you are genuinely going to show the time war and do a story about it this was the best path to go and is a great transition between classic and modern doctors. Really solid bash at it

7 I really love what I've seen of. Token classic doctor mention here but I have seen a fair bit of him and I really am in love with his whole mysterious gait and have been for over a decade

I generally like all the others but haven't seen enough to really say anything on (i have seen the TV movie but ages ago). I really like 3's vibes!

14 is a fascinating decision and I'm looking forward to seeing where they go with him

15 IS GOING FUCKING CRAZY RN I NEED HIS RUN TO BE SO REAL YOU HAVE NO IDEA

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twinhood-2dot0 · 11 months

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A Shallow Dive Into: Batman’s Rogues Gallery

I’ve introduced you to the Batfam, but an even more crucial a part of the Batman mythos is his Rogues Gallery, since the villain makes the hero, and all. Despite being mostly just troubled human beings, they’re one of the most varied and the most famous groups of villains. Some of them also represent some part of Batman’s psyche, which will be the ones I’ll get into first.

Joker

Joker is so prominent, there are as many theatrical versions of Joker as there are Batman’s in this century. Count ‘em, Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight (unarguably the best), Jared Leto in the DCEU (Worst one ever. Not gonna miss him in the new DC Universe.), Joaquin Phoenix in the eponymous movie, wait wait wait, are there actually more Jokers??? There’s also the cameo in The Batman played by Barry Keoghan! Okay, did not expect that. So, it’s 4 Jokers to 3 Batmen. Interesting. He’s also in all 4 Arkham games, so much that fans were jumping with joy when they thought he wasn’t going to be there in the 3rd and 4th games. Welp, even if he was overused, they probably had one of the best usage of the character in those games, and, I mean, can you really complain when Mark Hamill is voicing him?

Anyways, The Joker, in most versions, was a member of the Red Hood Gang (you might recognise that name. Yes, Jason Todd named himself after a previous identity of his killer.) who fell into a vat of acid (by Batman himself, most times). The acid bleached his face, and turned his hair green, and- in some versions- psychologically scarred him enough to turn him into the Joker. Do I really need to introduce Joker? Well, even so, kinda ruins the point of this post if I don’t. Joker is a psychopathic, possibly insane, supervillain with a sadistic sense of humour who has smarts that rival Batman’s and dedicated himself to ruining Batman’s life and hopefully breaking him psychologically. Most of his weapons include deadly prank objects or playing cards related stuff. His calling card is the Joker, the playing card version. The Joker famously said in Alan Moore’s “The Killing Joke” “If I'm going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice!”. The Joker holds the belief that all it takes is One Bad Day™ to turn into what he did, and that is what he tries to do to Jim Gordon in the aforementioned graphic novel. This is the aspect of Batman that he embodies. They both had One Bad Day™ but became the polar opposites of each other.

Riddler

A much less prominent character in theatrical releases, but probably one of the best in the comics. I think the terrible Jim Carrey version in the equally terrible Batman Forever had something to do with that. The Riddler, aka Edward Nashton/Nygma depending on the story, (although I prefer Nygma, because, well, E.Nygma) is another criminal mastermind, but he is obsessed with proving that he is smarter, sorry, “intellectually superior” to Batman. “[Nigma] exhibits personality disorders consistent with a fanatic narcissist, egocentrism, and megalomania crossed with severe obsessive compulsion". – Batman in Arkham Knight replying to Catwoman asking “What’s Eddie’s problem?”. Riddler has figured out Batman’s identity once, although with the help of a Lazarus pit. How did Batman not get exposed? Check this out. I think that’s a great way to characterise Riddler with just one page.

A lot of Riddler stories tend to make him a little goofy, so I loved Matt Reeves’ take on him in The Batman and also his stories since the New 52. In the movie, he’s an orphan who was left to suffer due to the corruption in Gotham politics so he commits, well, political killings to fight corruption. I think Riddler was the perfect villain for the movie, as it’s an introduction to a new Batman and his psyche. This villain represents Batman’s intelligence.

Two-Face

Harvey Dent was a district attorney who was an ally in the court for Batman and Jim Gordon. Harvey was the White Knight, supposed to save the city from crime and corruption buuuuut one of Salvatore Maroni’s men splashed acid on his face during a trial, permanently disfiguring half of his face, and breaking him, leading to him developing a split personality, insanity, and an obsession with duality. Two Faces, dual pistols, two sides of a coin. He’s obsessed with flipping his once double-headed coin with a disfigured side to make decisions. You betrayed him? Heads you die, tails you go free. Also look at this detail from Arkham City.

His courthouse has two sides, one well-kept and the other trashed, just like him.

Scarecrow

Co-antagonist of Batman Begins and Arkham Knight. Damn, poor guy, always has to share the spotlight. At least his arc in Arkham Knight was decent enough. Jonathan Crane is a brilliant psychologist, obsessed with fear, and develops a toxin called the uh Fear Toxin. It makes inhalers hallucinate their greatest fears (or not, sometimes it’s just a disturbing warping of the environment, like seen in Batman Begins). Scarecrow doesn’t have much of a niche beyond making Batman face his fears, sadly, I think he’s a pretty awesome villain. Yeesh, he has a crap ton of origin stories, and with the speed DC seems to be creating relaunches, I don’t know if anything I say will be relevant for long. I just started reading Rebirth after finishing the important Post-Crisis storylines and they did like 3 more relaunches after that ;-;. Scarecrow represents the fear aspect of Batman. As Batman famously said, “Criminals are a cowardly and superstitious lot”, so he dresses up as a bat to strike fear into criminals.

Okay, that’s a few of the famous ones. Batman’s has a huge gallery of rogues and a lot of important ones that I failed to cover here, like the Al Ghul family, so I might have to create a second, and maybe a third part. Hope your journey into the DC Universe, if you do decide to partake (which you probably won't because you're such a busybody over-achiever :P so these might all just be boring and a waste of time) won’t be as daunting because of all these posts.

#batman #dc comics #a shallow dive into #arkham asylum #joker #the riddler #scarecrow

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vintage-bentley · 6 months

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Hi! I need to inform you that I decided to watch GO after stumbling upon your blog, and now I'm OBSESSED. What have you done? The show has completely consumed me. YOU CAN'T IMAGINE. And it's so nice to see that there is an unapologetically gender-critical side of the fandom. It makes my fandom experience much more enjoyable. So I wanted to thank you for basically making me watch this show❤ And please could you recommend some other shows or movies that you like? (I've already added First Kill to my list) Please please please

Have a nice day😊❤😘

YESSSSSS ONE OF US ONE OF US ONE OF US O

I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the show and that you were able to find the gender critical side of the fandom! 💖 It really does make the fandom experience more enjoyable to know you won’t have to deal with a ridiculous amount of unchecked sexism and homophobia. Funnily enough, it was that aspect of the fandom that led me to peaking!

First I’d recommend that you read the book if you haven’t already. It does have homophobic slurs, but it’s still a very good book and it’s interesting to see the differences between it and the show, especially in the characterisation of Aziraphale and Crowley!

As for shows other than First Kill…

First is of course, Our Flag Means Death. It’s a lightheaded comedy about pirates, specifically Stede Bonnet, the Gentleman Pirate. Who is eerily similar to Aziraphale. The way they wrote Blackbeard is also very similar to Crowley in certain ways, and there’s lots of similarities between OFMD and GO in general that I won’t go into much for the sake of not spoiling it. If you like GO and you like pirates, you’ll probably like OFMD. It’s second season just came out at the beginning of the month, and it’s fairly easy to get through because there’s only 18 episodes of the show in total, each around 25 minutes. Unlike GO I would say the second season ends on a satisfying note.

What We Do in the Shadows is one of my favourites, the basic premise is “what if vampires were idiots”. It’s a mockumentary following a house of vampires and their human familiar (voluntary slave) who is the only competent one in the entire house. It’s hilarious in my opinion, and all the characters are really interesting. Nadja is a very well written female character I think, because she’s allowed to be stupid and doesn’t fall into the trope of “woman is the only one with a brain cell and is constantly exhausted by taking care of idiot men”. It seems like they were going to go in that direction in season 1, but quickly flipped it around. There’s also a movie about different characters which is hilarious. The actor who plays Blackbeard in OFMD is in it.

(I should mention that GO, OFMD, and WWDITS seem to have a huge crossover in fans, and are often considered to be a “big three” similar to SuperWhoLock despite not being as insane lol. Personally, I think First Kill deserves the third spot so much more than WWDITS, because I think it’s main plot with the characters is closer to GO and OFMD than WWDITS. But it’s an F/F show so I guess it’s to be expected that it’s overlooked).

I’d also highly recommend Lucifer on Netflix. It’s based on a Neil Gaiman comic, and I feel like it’s similar enough to GO that GO fans would enjoy it? The premise is that the Devil takes a vacation to Earth, finds he really enjoys it and decides to stay permanently against the wishes of Heaven. He becomes a civilian consultant for a detective named Chloe, so each episode involves a case they have to crack which I find really interesting. Lucifer always manages to make the case about himself and often uses it to work through his religious trauma. Also he goes to therapy. TW: heterosexuality, but there’s an F/F relationship in later seasons that I love.

Derry Girls is one of my favourites, it’s about teens growing up during the Troubles in Ireland. It’s mostly a cast of women save for one guy, and there’s a very well written lesbian character. It’s a rare instance of teens, specifically teen girls, being written and acted realistically, as there’s no glamorisation or sexualisation. They’re all just awkward idiots. I highly recommend it. It’s really lighthearted and funny but given the setting it has some really emotional moments that are so good. The ending of season one always makes me cry.

Some honourable mentions that I love but don’t have as much to say about, in rough order of how much I like them:

-Buffy the Vampire Slayer and by extension it’s spin-off Angel (this is actually one of my favourites, I just don’t have much to say because it’s fairly self-explanatory!)

-Shadow and Bone (based on a book series I haven’t gotten around to reading yet)

-Prodigal Son (has Michael Sheen and a female character who’s likely sociopathic and I love her)

-Cunk on Earth (parody of history documentaries, representation for stupid women)

-Inside Man (seems to be really unpopular, but I loved it. David Tennant is the lead)

-Warrior Nun (SUPER boring at first, but gets interesting)

That’s all I can think of right now! Thank you for your kind words and I hope you find something out of these shows that you enjoy! 💖

#asks #anon

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lizardgimpking · 1 year

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Book Review: Aliens vs Predator: Ultimate Prey (Various Authors)

It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I’m a huge fan of the ‘Alien‘ franchise, and also a big fan of the ‘Predator’ series. Their famously crossed over butting of heads has led to some...decidedly mixed cinematic offerings, and a whole bunch of games, books and comics that vary from fantastic (Fire and Stone) to indisputable guilty pleasures (A v P v Judge Dredd). I must admit I’ve never read a AvP novel before this anthology offering, although I’ve dipped my toes into the written world of the ‘Alien’ franchise several times in recent years (The two Alex White novels are excellent). This collection of short stories seemed like a fun way to see how these two franchises merged in writing...and, well, indeed it was!

Featuring 15 stories from 16 authors, this is a pretty robust little anthology book. One thing I really appreciated was the consistency in length. There’s a little give either side, but pretty much every installment in this book runs for around 30 pages. That’s just the right amount to make for a solid day’s reading, which means you can comfortably work your way through the book at a nice clip of one story a day, with no need to pause in the middle of each one. You can obviously read more, or indeed less, but I found the pacing of each story to be just right for a fun daily excursion into the AvP universe.

As with any anthology collection, there’s ups and downs in terms of quality. It’s hard to feature so many authors, all dabbling in the same playground, without encountering some lackluster offerings along the way. There’s no utterly unreadable stories in the book, especially since none particularly outstay their welcome, but there are some rather uninspired concepts and iffy characterisation going on here. I won’t call out any of my least favourites, but needless to say there’s about 3 or 4 that just felt completely bland and/or more than a little goofy in premise and execution. There’s also a frequent lean towards including ‘female’ Predators in the mix, which whilst not the worst thing ever, did rub me the wrong way a little. I personally consider the Predator species as something of a gender ambiguous design, but several of the stories use the female body template designed for the game ‘Predator: Hunting Grounds’, which means they have breast armour and a generally smaller, curvier figure. That’s not to say they don’t still kick ass, and it’s also not to say that several of the stories don’t use the concept of female warriors/hunters in thematically interesting ways, I just prefer the idea that the basic Predators we’ve met in the films aren’t necessarily male or female, or...we at least can’t tell. Not every two-legged fictional species needs to conform to human body standards.

My favourite story is definitely ‘The Hotel Mariposa‘ by David Barnett, which pairs Aliens and Predators with a ‘haunted’, reality distorting hotel, where a group of amateur ghost hunters get caught up in the chaos of both the hotel’s influence, but also the two warring factions within. It’s a really creative and fun idea, pairing shades of ‘The Shining’ with AvP in a way that seems insane, but ultimately really works. I would love to see that concept, or something similar explored more in a full novel. This anthology really works best when it’s pairing these franchises with interesting concepts and time periods. Or at the very least, interesting portrayals of its creatures...particularly the Predators themselves, which are obviously intelligent beings with a known honour code. When they’re made into characters themselves, with internal thought processes and relationships with the human protagonists, rather than just being big beefy monsters, that’s when things feel especially engaging. I could’ve done with less of the ‘hoomans’ kinda internal dialogue, but I did tend to enjoy the stories with Predators as characters more than the ones with them as generic killers. Included of note in this anthology book are follow-ups to both the movie ‘Predators’ and the novel ‘Aliens Phalanx’, the latter of which even written by the original novels author; Scott Sigler. Whilst the ‘Predators’ continuation is a little lacking, I really enjoyed the ‘Phalanx’ sequel, and it’s interesting to see what was once just an Aliens story weave in Predator mythology in ways that work surprisingly well and open the door for another continuation, short or long-form, in the future.

All in all, this is a mixed bag, as all anthologies are. But none of the stories are complete duds, and those that are a little lacking are never unending, thanks to the rather nice ‘tight 30 pages’ format of the novel. It’s worth getting through some of the duds to enjoy the highlights, because there’s some really fun reads here. If you’re a fan of these franchises, particularly combined? This one’s a fun read, and definitely worth a look.

Read it or Leave it : Read It.

Reading Next (Dead Ground by M.W. Craven)

#The Stickman #Alien #Predator #Aliens #Aliens vs Predator #AvP #Novel #Anthology #Scott Sigler #Titan Books #Sci-Fi #Horror #Review #Book #The Shining

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mrmallard · 6 months

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Okay, first of all I'm Normal about FF13 because I got that closure I was talking about.

Secondly, chapter 7 (of 13) is the best chapter of the game so far.

At this point I'm about 14 hours into the game. If I hadn't played it during a more patient and less hectic part of my life, I would have given up by now. But now I'm here on a replay, it's pretty good - the Paradigm system is finally showing its full depth, the chapter does a lot of heavy-lifting regarding characterisation and it's the longest and most action-packed chapter yet.

I'd love to see a documentary on how the game was made one day, because the series was kind of a trainwreck for the entire seventh generation. The Fabula Nova Crystallis series was meant to be a ten year project, but 13 had so many issues and caused such a violent schism within the fanbase that they ended up just turning it into a trilogy to try and patch things up. A lot of what the world initially saw of 13 wasn't set in stone, but once footage came out, they couldn't really change what was shown. It sounds like a creative nightmare.

Versus XIII didn't just become FF15, it was wrested from Tetsuya Nomura's control and completly divorced from the project. Type-0 had its own issues, like middling reviews, being released on outdated hardware and initially having no international localisation - the first two probably contributed towards the latter, though it ended up getting a global PS4 port. And completely unrelated to Fabula Nova Crystallis, but XIV was - once again - so poorly received that the only thing that saved it was a crazy ploy from a new producer to nuke the game from orbit and rebuild it from scratch. Square Enix was kind of a dumpster fire during the seventh generation of consoles, it's insane.

You can kind of feel the ambition of the seventh generation of consoles on 13's shoulders, as well as the awkward struggle of a big, shiny and new dev team working with new tools in a media landscape where games cost as much to create - and generated enough revenue - as a high-end Hollywood movie. Moreso than saying that I love FF13 (because while I'm a defender, it's not even my favourite game in its own trilogy of Final Fantasy games), I do want to say that for all its quirks, it's a very interesting game and I have a lot of esteem for it, warts and all.

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everythingispirates · 2 years

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I'm actually so in love with how the brethren court scene characterises jack, barbossa and elizabeth it's insane, so let me just kinda go through it real quick.

okay so barbossa is the one who takes the lead from the very beginning and immediately makes sure he can go through with his plan no matter what the outcome of the meeting is by getting his hands on almost everyone's pieces of eight. note that he doesn't know that sao feng is dead at this point, but the last time they met they were at the very least scheming together (and tai huang does say that sao feng would have been down to free calypso) so from barbossa's pov it'll definitely be easier to get sao feng's piece of eight than any of the brethren. same goes with jack since they're on the same ship and as we see in the movie he has no problem with just stealing from jack.

then we have elizabeth coming in like with her new crew behind her, sticking her sword in that globe and standing right next to barbossa at the head of the table which immediately establishes authority, and she does get like. a relatively large amount of respect considering she's by far both the newest and youngest of the court. like the rest of the court do go into a bit of a frenzy after her entrance but first of all that's not just because of her, it's because of what she's telling them about the dutchman and second, they do listen to her and take her word when she says there's a betrayer, and it's not until she suggests they go to war against the eitc that they show the most disrespect towards her by laughing, which is because she's showing what is at least to them clear naivety.

then we get barbossa's speech where he argues in favour of freeing calypse which I find super interesting because while he could theoretically believe in what he's saying, he's not saying it because he believes it, he's saying it because if he doesn't free calypso she's gonna let him die again. however, barbossa is a really good speaker, and we see this with how elizabeth reacts and later reuses his words in her own speech. like he is probably going a bit overboard with the pathos but elizabeth is genuinely moved by it and genuinely believes in what he says, which you could argue speaks to the aforementioned naivety but also shows a certain like. lack of cynicism compared to barbossa himself.

finally, jack is at the head of the table with barbossa and elizabeth but, crucially, never takes the same direct authority as they do. he says very little and never actually argues with anyone during the first part of the meeting. there's this great moment when the court start laughing at elizabeth for suggesting they go to war where we see jack look to the room and then join in on the laughing. he just goes along with the majority, biding his time until he can take the stage which he doesn't do with anywhere near the same amount of rethorical "force" as barbossa or elizabeth. when the meeting first starts, barbossa uses those balls on chains or whatever they are to silence the room before speaking, and elizabeth tells everyone to be quiet, whereas jack is invited to give his opinion by barbossa. the way it works is that barbossa once again commands the attention of the room by firing his pistol, makes an argument for his case to which jack interjects and undermines his ethos by suggesting that barbossa is only acting out of self interest, contrary to what he's been saying to the court. barbossa then says "if you have a better alternative, please share" which is a dig at jack but actually works to let jack command the meeting without "force" like barbossa and elizabeth have been doing, by essentially inviting him to take the stage.

finally, jack's speech works in almost the same way as barbossa's since you could argue that what he's saying is technically true, he's not actually arguing in favour of the court but rather his own gain. in my opinion, though, the reason jack's speech works so much better is because unlike barbossa's, it rests far more on logos than pathos, which - at least the way I see it - makes it harder to immediately disagree with. like yes, if you gave the court some time to think, they could probably poke a lot of holes in jack's argument (as barbossa does) but they're short on time and jack is the first speaker to base his argument on logic, so to the court he probably feels very refreshing.

anyway these have been my insane ramblings for the day thank you and goodnight

#if it wasn't obvious i recently started a course in rethoric and it's eating at my brain #pirates of the caribbean #at world's end #hector barbossa #elizabeth swann #jack sparrow #meta

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crazyyfilmyfreak · 3 years

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OKAY THIS IS A SAFE PLACE AND HERE IS MY NO SPOILERS REVIEW ( not exactly a review but my feelings after i have seen The Film )

Before Speaking about how i felt i wanted to say this i was like not at all interested in Shang-Chi because this is an origin story and i have never read any shang-Chi comics before i mean i do know him from Spiderman cross overs and other crossovers in marvel also lets be honest its Simu liu he's not like Jackie chan or sth 😭 So i was obviously not at all excited but since i am shameless mcu slut since ironman1 i just fucking couldn't stop myself from Watching Shang-Chi on sep3rd and damn God i was spell Bound After watching the Film 😳🙌🏻 and i want to kick myself very badly for underestimating Simu Liu , He was so fucking good and Every cast member in the Film did a Marvellous Job by bringing the Characters to life and creating this epic of a cinema .

The Film starts in such a great note and the opening sequence itself is something out of the world and something that we all have never seen in a Mcu film and the director Daniel Cretton did not waste a single second once the film has started he took the audience straight into the story and even the visuals were too good to be true during the first 10 - 15 mins 👀 if you see the movie i will understand what i mean , it was Epic .

Simu Liu and Awkwafina's Chemistry was really refreshing to watch it on screen and it worked really great for me and i can't wait to see more of them 😏❤ ( i actually thought Awkwafina would ruin the atmosphere of the film when i saw her on screen but she was one of the best parts of the film 🤗 )

Considering This is Meng Zhang's first big role in a movie i think she did a phenomenal job not only she's insanely hot and pretty i loved her a lot in the action Sequences , she did a fine and perfect job and i am actually scared if Marvel is gonna Ruin her character in the future with silly Jokes and stuff 😭 Because i don't want that as the character has a very big potential and a lots of untapped Trauma behind her and i want the makers to explore more of that side and want them to showcase her bad-assery in the future i would even go further and Say more than Shang-Chi i could able to relate more with Xialing and i loved her more 👀❤

THE FIRST ACT WAS GREAT

The second act kinda Flat but

THE THIRD ACT WAS FUCKING MAGICAL , BAT SHIT CRAZY AND EPIC which makes up for the flat second act and the visuals , the CGI , the action scenes , The war , the battle and emotional moments in the end everything worked fucking fine and perfect for me and i think you can just watch Shang-Chi alone only for the last 30-40 mins , IT WAS THAT EPIC

i don't really have anything to complain except a very few things

1. i expected some real-Time action choreography sequences like in Hong kong action movies that we regularly see without too many cuts i mean come on i know its a cbm and its a mcu film but atleast one single take action sequence should have been there in the movie anyways its not a big deal this is sth personal for me and what i expected but other than that action sequences were incredible in the film and may be the best action choreography so far in the Mcu ?

2. SIMU LIU AKA SHANG-CHI WAS FUCKING UNDER-USED is what i think , This is His Fucking Film , His origin so i Hope they will make it for this mistake in the next sequal

3. Just like 80% of The Mcu Films The villain characterisation was so bad , dumb and ridiculous .

and That's it i have nothing else to complain or point my fingers at .

Finally The acting was great , visuals were top-notch, even tho it is a pretty simple origin story the story telling was good and entertaining and the Film has a lot of heart and you can fucking feel it when you are watching it on screen , i will not say The makers did something out of the world Shang-Chi is Basically A Regular Epic Action Drama we all see in Chinese movies but the Director Daniel Cretton has Presented it in a completely new way by adding some elements to fit both the western and universal appeal in a very stylish manner and he fucking knew what he was doing and he did it with most respectable manner .

so i guess i gave you guys enough reasons to watch the Film and please fucking watch it if it is released in cinemas near you PLEASE DON'T MISS IT coz this is a type of Film which you are supposed to only WATCH IN CINEMAS and if you scared and if the pandemic situation still sucks in your place then its fine i can understand so don't pirate it better watch it on disney plus when it gets released which is either october 17th or sth and if you are vaccinated and if Shang-Chi released in cinemas near you then PLEASE FUCKING WATCH IT ASAP , trust me you will love the movie and take all the necessary precautions even if you are vaccinated coz you will still catch the covid even if you are fully vaccinated , the vaccine only reduces the severity .

also some of you might think Marvel made this movie to target China but that's not fucking true Marvel already dominates the China Market and has been dominating it since Avengers ( 2012 ) and most of you don't know this but Shang-Chi maynot release in China coz apparently according to the government rules they don't accept to release a foreign movie where Villain is a chinese guy and the protagonist is someone who's Mixed ( Half-Chinese ) and some of the dweebs infact many in Chinese community thing Simu liu is not attractive enough to lead Shang-chi and they have been harassing him and making fun of him in internet since he was casted ... these mother fucking incompetent chinese government couldn't Stop the spread of covid from their country and entire world is suffering because of them but have these weird absurd directorshippy Rules when it comes to cinema ? mfs even cut the gay scenes from foreign films or entirely ban the film in their country huh so guess we have to fucking support this movie please watch it if you have the chance to watch it and the film requires 375M$ for the break even which is kind of very hard right now considering the pandemic and all but is definitely possible coz the word of mouth is really great and you guys also need to watch it with your families if Shang-Chi becomes a Hit then the eternals gets released on time and so will SPIDER-MAN NO WAY HOME 👀 so please go and watch it asap

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monte-cristo-incorrect-quotes · 3 years

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In your opinion, the main differences between Le Comte de Monte-Cristo and comte de La Fère? (my two favorite boys❤️)

oh well Monte-Cristo didn’t hang his teenage wife, for one thing.

I’m joking I love Athos <3

But listen you asked for it, so beware of an unnecessarily long rant, feel free to skip!

The main differences are obviously their (multiple) names, their physical appearance, their history, and their age, but also the role that they play in the two story, not in terms of plot, but in terms of characterisation, which is where I’m going to go batshit crazy.

The Three Musketeers is a satirical book (with a little bit of tragedy sprinkled at the end, similarly to La Reine Margot) and you laugh at the characters and their shitbaggery or at the very least criticise it but essentially you enjoy yourself.

They’re awful people and that’s what makes it funny, with Athos murdering (twice) his own wife, Aramis being a hypocritical sleazy bastard, Porthos being a himbo in the bad way and d’Artagnan being a selfish irritatingly reckless bitch -- you kinda go “they’re complex characters” but in a “I love them because they’re awful” way, not in a “I’m trying to justify why I love them and give them more depth than they actually have” (the second books are much more tragic and a lot less comedic than the first, so this thing I’m saying only really applies to TTM) -- this is my off-hand comment to anyone who’s ever tried to adapt the book (except for the 2019 Italian movie), just accept it: the Musketeers are fucking awful and that’s great. Play with that aspect. It’s there for a reason.

TL;DR basically Athos is a horrible fucking person, but you laugh at it because of how exaggerated the whole thing is, especially since he has like... no reason to be so awful.

On the other hand, The Count of Monte-Cristo is, essentially, a tragedy with a hopeful/bittersweet ending depending on the point of view; it does have its insanely funny moments (Beauchamp <3) but really it all boils down to a man suffering horribly and deciding it’s time to all go Batman, and that’s the whole point.

Monte-Cristo isn’t any better than Athos, but because of his history and his motivations and the things that happened to him, you tend to justify or at least explain his actions. Monte-Cristo is an incredibly complex character, much more than Athos in my opinion (and again I adore Athos), and while reading the book you’re kinda... not supposed to enjoy yourself in a funny way. Especially because you feel for the characters he hurts just as much as you feel for him (Albert, Mercédès, Édouard etc), unlike in TTM where (most of) the background characters are just there to serve the story and to play as stereotypes (Buckingham, the King and others), so if something happens to them you kinda just... eh ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (again with exceptions, this my personal interpretation).

TL;DR the Count is a horrible fucking person and that’s what makes him so incredibly interesting and complex. There is no exaggeration or satire or comedic goal in who he is, even his performative exoticism and grandeur all serve a very specific purpose within the plot and the characterisation.

Super TL;DR TCoMC gives a certain level of depth and personality to even the least important characters (think of the gardener that the Count corrupted or even bloody Château-Renaud), because you see them as what they are -- human and relatable and understandable. TTM takes certain flaws and characteristics and amplifies them to the point you can’t even really justify or explain the characters’ choices anymore.

Politics also play a very important role in TTM, it moves and motivates not just the 4 main characters but almost the entirety of the others as well (with the exception of Raoul, de Guiche, Mordaunt and La Vallière and a couple of others), whereas in TCoMC politics only give the initial push to the plot (the Denunciation Scheme and Villefort) and then motivates like... two of the characters that I can think of? Villefort and his dad.

Rant over! Jesus. This is so unnecessarily long but boy did I have fun with it.

#meta #aaah this was so good to write thank you SO much!! <3 #the three musketeers #the count of monte cristo #count of monte-cristo #athos #dumas crossover

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sunriseverse · 2 years

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i have to be an ass and suggest, for the blorbo ask game, eagle of the ninth. dealer's choice whether you wanna go book or movie

YESSS EOTN THANK YOU BELOVED!!!

blorbo: esca eotn film. god what an insane but incredibly interesting man. every day i think about his hatred mixed with grudging respect. the Scene. when he COMES BACK FOR MARCUS……..ugh. the movie is objectively awful but jamie bell’s performance is very engaging.

scrunkly: COTTIAAAAAAAA she reminds me of myself when i was her age. wish we saw more of her. she’s probably in the other books but i’m too afraid of marcus/cottia possibly being there to keep reading -_-

scrimblo bimblo: marcus’ uncle!!! i um. forget his name. but i think he’s really interesting! especially in the book.

glup shitto: liathan!!! his characterisation is really interesting (in the book at least). also honestly the seal people in general are incredibly underrated i think suttcliffe made them fascinating.

poor little meow meow: cub………he never did anything wrong and he’s not pathetic at all but in spirit he is my poor little meow meow.

horse plinko: THAT ONE ROMAN DUDE………..his name starts with a p or something i don’t know i don’t care. constantly makes remarks about esca and i want to kill him.

eeby deeby: marcus. there’s no reason for this i just think it would be funny. go romanboy go (to superhell)!

#ask meme #ask #theo tag #thank you for indulging me <3

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daisylincs · 3 years

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Today is, officially, the last day of 2020 - so it's literally just in time that I'm getting to @aosrecweek's amazing challenge. But that does go to show the nature of this crazy year a little bit, right? Time has just been INSANE, and I honestly cannot believe it's so close to over.

That said, I want to put it out there that everyone - absolutely everyone - who created something in this mad year, is a SUPERHERO. Like. We could have hidden away in dark corners, curled into little balls, and lost touch with our creativity entirely - but instead, we made some of the most fantastic content I have ever seen. And, excuse the language, but that is fucking amazing, of each and every single one of us. We're bloody INCREDIBLE, you guys. We really are.

Now, the rules of this challenge dictate that I've got to start with some of my own things, then repeat with the same number of creations by other people. So I'm going to do that, and I apologise for the sheer length (and self-plug-iness) of what is about to follow - but, bloody incredible, remember? I really mean that. 💜💜💜

My Own:

you could call me babe for the weekend - 19k of Spideychelle being oblivious, mutually pining IDIOTS while being snowed in. And, you know, fake dating. (This thing was SO MUCH FUN to write and though, yeah, it got completely out of control, as evidenced by the 19k, I still really love it.)

'tis the damn season - my first attempt at writing a multi-chap, and, yeah, it only has one chapter as of now, but I really love said chapter. Basically, it's Daisy and Mackelena being friends, and honestly just the BEST friends - I adore the style I managed to achieve in this thing. Plus, the Skimmons I have planned up next is going to be da bomb.

the closest thing - Philindaisy plus fake family. Also; amusement parks. And for a fangirl like me - well, it was pretty much a dream come true to write!

oh valley of plenty - in this fic, I basically told myself, so AoS won't give us Huntingbird in the finale? Fine. I'll just do it myself then - in the fluffiest way possible. And that's exactly what I did - making them, and their kids, be best friends in Perthshire.

maybe life should be about more - a very angsty Skimmons and Daisy-centric AU, focusing on the internalised homophobia Daisy has experienced through her life, and shaking it off (and eventually, y'know, getting together with Jemma.)

and it's dark in a cold december (but i've got you to keep me warm) - Fitzsimmons just make such a supreme pairing for hurt/comfort, what with how insanely well they understand each other and care about each other, so I'm really glad for the Fitzsimmons Secret Santa giving me the chance to write this! Basically, this follows our science duo through a stressful mission on Christmas Eve (so yes, it's a mission fic!!) and realising that the two of them can do anything together.

july second - ahhh, one of my personal favourites to write! Daisy birthday surprise fluff will always be top-notch for me, especially for all the team-as-family fluff you can add in, especially especially that this is set in Staticquake times! Also, it's from Hunter's point of view, which will forever be the most insanely fun thing to write, I do think.

i just wanna be with you - man, I'm such a big royal fan, so getting the chance to write a modern royalty AU for my OTP was nothing short of amazing!! This is Princess Daisy and her fiancée Lincoln Campbell at their official engagement interview

see the line where the skye meets the sea - shameless season 1 bby Bus Kids fluff, featuring movie nights, singalongs and... so much fluff your teeth will rot. Also I'm really freaking proud of the pun in the title okay

'cause all that you are is all that i'll ever need - Huntingbird waking up together fluff (because, fight me, Huntingbird in their sweet moments is one of the sweetest things you will ever get to read or write.) This is also my, fluffy, take on the origin of the Franny's Saloon keychain.

we love you, we love you (and we hope you love we too) - aha, my first polyship fic! Also my first try at some actually fancy HTML formatting (forever thanks to Kat for explaining.) Both of these things combined to form a fic that even I think is ridiculously fluffy and funny, and kinda amazing, at that.

and man I don't know where the time goes (but it sure goes fast like that) - Another Bus Kids movie night fic, but this one set post-season 7, and reflecting on how far they've come. A little bit more hurt/comfort-y than it's pure fluff prequel, but still super fluffy and soft. And, of course, with a happy ending.

she shares my dreams, i hope that someday, i'll share her home - snowy Fitzsimmons fluff, complete with them falling in love at the Winter Olympics, as you do.

then you walked in and my heart went boom - 16k of Dekesy for the wife, and remarkable for that, because literally a month ago from this, I hated Dekesy with my entire soul. Then I started reading Kat's fics, and, well, fell in love with them... so much so that I wrote sixteen thousand words of enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, bed sharing holiday fluff for them.

a love like that - a Fitzsimmons Cinderella AU, featuring my two favourite science babies, in true science bby style, falling in love over science and how stupid the whole courting thing is. Also, Daisy makes a brief appearance, and she's the freaking best.

ever after - ah, probably the one single fic I'm proudest of. A post-season 7 Daisy character study focusing on her emotional rollercoaster re: losing her family/things never being the same again, which just achieves... an emotional level that I have never managed to replicate again. I was full-on sobbing while writing it, and, guys, it also part-holds the Closest To Making Kat Cry prize.

blue - Daisy character study spanning snapshots of seven seasons, and before - but tied together by something blue in every moment. Researching for this, and finding all the blue moments, was very interesting, and immensely satisfying, especially since all the moments where a little bit of blue was present actually combine to chronicle Daisy's journey on the show remarkably well.

who is that girl I see - the one time I decided to write straight angst, and straight angst with no happy ending. Melinda May post-Bahrain, folks.

take my hand, take my whole life too - aww, the first thing I wrote that I really and truly loved. A Staticquake and Fitzsimmons Actors AU, featuring a proposal on set and INCREDIBLE amounts of fluff and softness.

hold out your hand, 'cause friends will be friends - the wife's favourite, and, as second fics go, pretty damn good, if I do say so myself. It's a Soulmates AU for Staticquake and Mackelena, with the focus being on DaisyMack friendship, and lots of denial, angst, and guilt about finding their soulmates. (They figure it out eventually, don't worry - it's me, of course I made them happy.)

Fitzsimmons + Fake Dating moodboard - Fake dating will always be FAB, and picturing it out in a moodboard - especially for my clueless bby best friends in love - was the best, and super satisfying.

Staticquake + Orange moodboard - One of the cooler ideas I had for Trick or Treat (which I still have not finished, heaven help me) was to make a series of moodboards for my OTP plus different colours. This orange one is just so light, and cheerful, and happy, and honestly I kinda adore it.

This Philindaisy + Family Moodboard - making moodboards can be insanely frustrating when you just can't find the photo that fits exactly right. With this one, however, I found all the pics I needed pretty insanely fast, and, better, the whole thing just worked, and really nicely so, too.

This Bus Kids + Baking Cookies moodboard - there's absolutely NO faults to be found with tiny, adorable Skye, Fitz and Jemma concocting choc chip cookies - but I'm actually doing a tiny cheat here, because, cute as my moodboard here is, the accompanying fic by my love @eowima is the SWEETEST and best thing you could ever wish for!!!

This Daisy Johnson Appreciation Week Photoset - Day 3 of Daisy Johnson Appreciation Week focused on an emotion, and I picked confidence and power, because honestly, it's nothing short of amazing how confident and powerful our gorgeous girl has become.

This Daisy Johnson Appreciation Week Photoset - One of the times I wish I could gif, because this quote about struggling though never giving up just suits Daisy perfectly. The photos I found are cool, though, and I mean, it's Daisy, so that's already absolutely fabulous.

Other People's:

I managed to find twenty-six of my own things that I liked enough to put up there (because, yes, I'm that big a dork, 26 things for me being 26 is the way to go :D) Anyway, now that gives me the amazing chance to spotlight twenty-six of my favourite creations by my FANTASTIC mutuals! 😍

To start, my wife - Kat said I couldn't put everything she's ever written on here, so, ugh, I guess I'll just do my top five then. *grumbling* Everything by Kat is on here in spirit, though!!

Chasing Cars (even after the story ends) by @aleksandrachaev - the epic Dekesy roadtrip AU and incredible Daisy character study itself, which, I do believe, finishes today!! Words aren't enough to describe how freaking AMAZING this thing is, or how spectacularly well characterised. Just: if you haven't read this yet, you are missing out. You will laugh, you will groan, you will want to wrap Daisy in a very tight hug, and you will probably cry, too. This fic just has it all, really!

there goes the maddest man this town has ever seen by @aleksandrachaev - the post-season 7 Deke-crashes-the-Framework-Zoom-call fic I didn't know I needed (but spent the next two weeks rereading every single night.) It is absolutely INCREDIBLE, with all the Deke & Team feels we missed in the final outro scene, and honestly just the most fantastic writing. I cannot recommend it enough!

To Box It Up And Start Again (everything must go) by @aleksandrachaev - bloody hell, this BROKE me. Deke never really got to say goodbye in canon, but Kat gave him the chance to do it here. And, my freaking GOODNESS, she made it so incredibly bittersweet and heart-shattering. 10/10

i am a leaf on the wind by @aleksandrachaev - a little bit of a stretched-out, reflective moment in the season 7 finale. As Daisy lingers on the edge of death, she reflects on all the lives she could have had - and, man, what a study in bittersweetness!! This entire fic is utterly incredible, and something I think all Daisy fans should read.

Falling Into Place by @aleksandrachaev - here's a tiny cheat from me (sorry, babes, lmao) because technically this isn't one fic, but a series of three. Way too amazing to miss out on, though!! Set mid-season 7, this has the Chronicoms go after a young Mary Sue Poots to kill Quake before she can become a problem for them. They stop the Chronicoms, yes, but not without a TREMENDOUS dose of feels and hurt/comfort. There's also a wonderful little dose of Dekesy friendship, and then an adult adoption (!!) that honestly made my entire day to read. Actually, that's true for the entire series - I really canNOT yell about it enough!!

destroyer of worlds by @bobbimorseisbisexual - a study in incredible parallels between Jiaying's daughters. Utterly breathtakingly done, this will give you ALL the feels for this small and complex Inhuman family.

Muscle Memory by @robotgort and @bobbimorseisbisexual - a Huntingbird!! Bones!! AU!! And also a collaboration between two of the most fabulous Huntingbird authors in the fandom - honestly, what more can you ask for?! This will make you laugh, and gasp, and wince, and keep you guessing at each new plot twist (and also screaming at your screen for Hunter and Bobbi to get their acts together and TALK ABOUT IT.) In short: it's completely and utterly amazing, and I cannot, cannot recommend it enough!!

You Belong Among the Wildflowers by @libbyweasley - a freaking incredible Scis & Spies Regency AU! I only just started reading, but I was hooked all the way through, especially on the way Libby writes all four characters' complex relationships (and their attraction, and their history!) Everything about it is just completely stunning, and I for one cannot WAIT for these beautiful idiots to figure out they all belong together.

Family Snapshot by @tomatobookworm - if it's family fluff you're after, especially Staticquake family fluff, look no further! This tremendously soft and utterly amazing fic follows a day in the lives of a pregnant Daisy and her husband Lincoln, and their not-so-little family of Inhumans, both adopted and biological. There's also shopping with Grandma May, lots of feels, lots of shippiness, and just AMAZINGNESS all the way through!!

Best Day Ever by @loved-the-stars-too-fondly - Jemma and Daisy want to adopt a pet, and make a very special trip to Wisconsin to do it. Also, whether he knows who he is or not, Jemma has an important question to ask Cal - and just, AHHHH, everything about this is utterly stunning! For starters, Aubrey's writing is FANTASTIC, and the scene she sets is absolutely beautiful, and so very bittersweet. I was actually misting up a little with happy tears towards the end of this - really, I cannot recommend this enough, to any Skimmons fan.

so why don't we go somewhere only we know by @loved-the-stars-too-fondly - more Skimmons (platonic this time, though), more hurt/comfort, and, yes, again, more absolutely INCREDIBLE writing. This one is canon compliant, following a shaken Jemma struggling to sleep after Maveth, and how Daisy finds a way to help her out. Incredibly sweet, tender and BEAUTIFULLY written, this one was an instant favourite the moment I read it!

Unspoken by @anxiouslynumbme - a birthday fic for yours truly, and, honestly, one of the most STUNNING Staticquake introspectives I've read. It follows Daisy and Lincoln in a beautifully tender missing moment in season 3, with them both realising their feelings, and just... AHHHHHHHH, everything about it is utterly incredible!! I cannot, cannot recommend this gem of a fic enough

the thing about water droplets and ruffled hair by @que-mint-tea - here's another fic that proves, once and for all, how good Kat's Dekesy is, because it managed to convert T to write some Dekesy smut. And, oh my GOSH, what Dekesy smut - so goshdarn angsty, but so FANTASTICALLY characterised and written that it leaves you more than a little breathless, and gaping at your screen. The first chapter initially left us on the most HORRIFIC cliffhanger, but then T fixed it, and it's just... this thing is really a whole new level of emotional writing, raw and gripping and intensely perfect for both of these characters. My haw still drops whenever I think of this thing, and how utterly AMAZING it was, so yeah. Fic rec!!!

beautiful stranger, there you are by @justanalto - I do believe I still owe Serena a long and very gushy comment on this thing, because, MAN, does it ever deserve that!! Pipsy and fake dating, with the most HILARIOUSLY incredible writing, plot and characterisation, and honestly just a giddy "askhdfkhsfh" whenever I think back to how much I enjoyed it. Yup, it was that good.

Jumping to conclusions by @eowima - a very special one, because it marks my love Océane's first venture into writing AoS fic! It's an AU of 1x06 (the Fitzsimmons episode of s1) where Fitz does actually jump out of the plane to save Jemma. Realisations of feelings, and some of the most genuinely FANTASTIC Fitz characterisation I've read in a while, follow - and, yup, I was shouting at my screen for them just to get together already. Amazing stuff, really!!

Look into your eyes and the sky's the limit by @eowima - okay, this. This. Another gift for me, and one that I will probably treasure forEVER, because it is just?? so?? utterly?? perfect?? Just for starters, the title is a Hamilton reference - and then the theme of Hamilton references continues into the fic itself, I'm delighted to say. There's also the most BEAUTIFUL, playful Skimmons friendship, and teasing, and then of course the bet about who can make out with their crush first... Staticquake & Fitzsimmons perfection. And all rendered in Océane's delightful, best-thing-ever-to-read writing!! I'm going into a giddy keyboard smash just THINKING about this, so yeah, cannot recommend it enough.

lullabies and clear blue skies by @springmagpies and @bobbimorseisbisexual - okay, I never thought I'd catch myself shipping FitzBobbi, let alone shipping it this hard, but... wow. Maggie and Al teamed up to completely blow me away, and MELT MY WHOLE ENTIRE HEART with the sheer cuteness of this!! It features Fitz, Bobbi and adopting two daughters, and it's just the most tender, beautiful development through that little family - I love it so, so much.

We made all the wrong choices by @browneyedgenius - the winner of the AoS Angst War 2020, how could I not include this one? It is such a well-deserved win, though, whoa - I was sobbing, full-on sobbing, at least twice while reading. It follows the season 5 team through the events of the time-loop, after they failed to save the world - and, oh my gosh, it ripped my heart right out of my chest, but beautifully so. Everything about this fic just hits so hard, and it's written so well - yeah, really a most AMAZINGLY deserved win, for an utterly SHATTERINGLY incredible fic.

I threw stones at the stars (but the whole sky fell) by @nazezdha321 - this is Z showing us all how to write a backstory for a minor character, and write it so well that everyone's hearts break all over again when she dies. This one is about Victoria Hand, and it builds a stirring and profound childhood for her, also making her rise through the ranks of SHIELD and just her entire character mean so much more. Really, fic-wise, this is goals, and I take my hat off to you, Z, 1000%, for writing it.

in which the universe is put together by @besidemethewholedamntime - Rebecca's emotional writing, particularly Fitzsimmons' emotions, is incomparable, and she proves it all over again in this fic. If follows Fitz and Jemma before, after and during the bloodwork, and I just... wow, honestly. The emotion!! And the characterisation!! Absolutely stunning, and honestly all I could wish for in a we-had-time fic.

Agents of SHIELD Season 8 by @egumal - THIS. This, this, this, oh my gosh - as fix-it fics go, this has to be the most spectacular one I have ever read. What it does is find a way - a potentially canon compliant way, too - to bring back Lincoln Campbell, and reunite Staticquake. Basically: just about as season 7 finishes, the Astro Ambassadors get an unexpected visitor from another timeline, who asks them to come help out against Hive. Case in point, Daisy meets her lost love again (... but he has no idea who she is) and also has to relive the Fallen Agent drama. It all gets even more complicated when Kora restores Lincoln's memories, and Daisy meets the full team Deke has assembled around him in the 33 years (for him) that they've been apart... in short, this is one of the most thorough, well-written and downright SHOCKING plot-twist-wise fics that you will ever read, and honestly, saying "I can't recommend it enough" is an understatement. This thing is thd BEST, plain and simple!

Black Roses aren't real (but you and I are) by @ohwriteiforgot - ahhhh, a fic that will always have an incredibly special place in my heart, because it introduced me to one of my best fandom friends. The main focus is on Clintasha, it's true, but it's also a crossover with AoS in the sense that Clint was adopted by Coulson and May. Also, Daisy is his little sister, and their bond is gold. Also - there's Staticquake!! And flower shops!! And rivals to friends to lovers!! All I'm going to say is, what more can you ask for?!

A book to shield my story by @maybebrilliant - Staticquake High School AU, ahhhhhhhh!! There are only two chapters out so far, but the way this is shaping up is making my DAY - with Daisy as the new girl who meets Lincoln and his group of friends, and, though her foster parents are absolutely shit, starts to find actual happiness in a school for the first time in her life. Also - THE REFERENCES. Guys. I'm crazy for those, and in this book, so are my favourite dorks, Daisy and Lincoln - and let me tell you, it's nothing short of the best thing ever.

This AoS Finale Gif Edit by @heysteverogers - AoS really has been the most INCREDIBLE journey through the years, but what's really made it special is the company - and that's summed up perfectly in this gorgeous gifset. Also, the graphics on this are just, ahhhh, stunning - I'm in awe, and I've spent very long periods of time just looking at this thing in a state of heart-eyes.

This AoS Finale Gif Edit by @jemannesimms - combining Auld Lang Syne and the final scenes of my favourite show was a raw emotional - but utterly brilliant experience - for me. It's just so absolutely beautiful, and perfectly suited to the team, and their goodbyes!! Breathtaking editing work here, too.

This Daisy as Peter Parker and May as Tony Stark moodboard by @agentsofcomedyandchaos - ahhhh, a crossover of two of my favourite fandoms!! And what a lovely one, too - the colour scheme, quotes, and just the whole FEEL of this is absolutely genius, and I am guilty of being inspired by way too many fic ideas by it. Stunning stuff!!

And... whoa, that was long, but I really do feel that we deserve a bit of a proper pat on the back after creating such magical content in such a messed up year. So that's the note I'm going to leave you with for 2020, my friends: hell-year or no, look at the absolute beauty we were still able to create!! We really are freaking amazing, guys.

#aos best of 2020 #fic rec #massive fic rec list #and honestly; WHAT a list!!#despite this utter hellstorm of a year #we as a fandom have still been nothing short of INCREDIBLE #and honestly; I am SO proud of us #💜💜💜

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tasteslikemolecules · 3 years

Note

Top 5 fanfic tropes you like reading and Top 5 fanfic tropes you like writing

Top 5 Tropes I like Reading:

5. Modern AUs

I'm not actually a big fan of fantasy, horror and the supernatural. I'm mostly into SPN for the characters and their dynamics. I mainly read realism and literary fiction in novels, so if someone manages to transport the characters into novel-length plotty or character-driven modern stories, I love it. I don't really like High school settings, but anything from college to coffee shop to stuff I know nothing about is fine. I didn't like AUs when I first got into SPN, but the longer I'm obsessed with the show, the more open I am to all kinds of settings and worlds.

4. Case Fics The trope lists said this is a trope and not just a genre, so I'll take it. I love a well-written case fic with great characterisation, especially if it's Sam-focused. I also really like love stories or stories that focus on interpersonal trouble with case fics as a secondary plot – perfect for Sam & Dean stories. It provides such a neat story arc and I'm always impressed with how much better fan fiction cases tend to be compared to actual cases on the show. Case Fics are how I like to get most of my Gen fix, too.

3. Slow Burn

If I'm in the mood for a straight forward love story, it's always Slow Burn. It's pretty much the only way I enjoy stories that aren't dark or overly sad (depending on the pairing I sometimes even like some fluff this way). I especially like Slow Burn with obvious mutual pining and lots of miscommunication. Maybe one person 'obviously' being unavailable for whatever reason.

2. Unrequited Love Suprisingly difficult to find. Especially in longer stories. A great subcategory is unrequited love combined with themes of asexuality and aromance. It doesn't have to be necessarily fully unrequited love, but just they want different things. Basically I enjoy the dynamic: Person A wants something from Person B that they can't give/don't want (but they really care for Person A). (Or maybe they don't. Also good!) 1. Love Triangles These are so hard to find. At least the ones I'm interested in. I have only ever read a handful of the type I like, and I always go insane when I do find one. I don't like stories where one person is the 'bad' one and there is a pairing that is obviously supposed to belong together. I like the dynamics of people wanting different things and being unable to negotiate between themselves. I like people being torn and indecicive, making wrong decisions. I like reading what jealousy does to people. I like when love isn't described as destiny between two people, but as a journey, and when relationships are hard. I've honestly thought way too much about why I love this trope so much, but I don't know. It's not just fan fiction. I eat it up in novels, tv shows, movies... The tragedy being, again, that it's mostly handled in a stupid way. If there's infidelity, I don't want excuses, I want to see the consequences. I want to see what acting or not acting on impulses does to people. I want people sad and not getting what they want.

Top 5 Tropes I like Writing:

5. Cas has no grace /Sam has powers It's pretty much the same trope, just switched.

4. Slow Burn Friends To Lovers & (apparent) Unrequited Love Write what you know. 3. Lucifer/Halluficer returns Obviously I like reading this too, but with writing it happens unvoluntarilyy. I just always end up slipping in Lucifer in some shape or form. I guess I just can't ignore a main character's lifetime of hell trauma very well. Sam's relationship to Lucifer is one of my favourite things in the show. That itself isn't tropy, but the 'Oh look, Sam is feeling bad, let's make him see the devil' kind of is.

2. Love Triangles So, I know these are really not 'en vogue', but I already talked about why I love them above in general. With SPN and TFW specifically I love them because they feel, um, quite canonic to me. They all love each other in some way, and if you crank that up a little, violà. And even if you don't: a platonic love triangle is still that ('I mean, who are you gonna turn to next time instead of me? Another angel?'). If you devote your life in such an insane way to just one person, there's not really room to have a full-fledged relationship with someone else in any normal way without letting go. 1. 'Someone (Dean) is gone' Not sure if it's a trope, but I always end up writing this. I think this came up when I started wanting to write Sastiel and felt there was no way for Sam and Cas to explore anything with Dean being there. Not because Dean would necessarily 'disapprove' but because they are both so focused on and centered around Dean. And I also just love the hole Dean leaves in Sam's life, and the way it makes him free and disorientated at once. Because when Dean is gone, he's almost taking more part of the story. For Sastiel stories that means you get them both emotionally confused and vulnerable and... yeah, just typing this makes my fingers itch. Dean being gone doesn't mean dead. This also works with MOC Dean, Michael Dean, Dean in purgatory, Dean being sick, etc.

Overall, I don't really like reading very tropey writing, although it can be fun. I mostly like character-driven, slow stories focusing on interpersonal drama that make me sad. I'm honestly a lot more picky when it comes to writing styles than tropes. I'll give any trope and any pairing (bar Sabriel) a chance, but I nope out pretty quickly when the writing style doesn't work for me.

#writing #fan fiction #sastiel #my asks #writing is hard #tropes #this was actually illuminating to me...

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reachexceedinggrasp · 3 years

Text

So the majority of the shows I’ve seen lately can be charitably described as ‘light entertainment’, including the ones with dark elements or more weighty, ponderous plots. They might be entertaining or interesting, they just... don’t stand up to scrutiny. Turn your brain off because this isn’t that carefully or skilfully made and you’ll only be annoyed if you start thinking about it as a whole. Including the last couple 'tragic’ historical dramas I’ve watched, which were not effective tragedy for that very reason. If you’re going to kill off the main cast, you have to earn it, and overwhelmingly writers don’t. Anyway, I’ve been getting despondent about whether stories which actually hang together and form a coherent narrative unit with consistent themes are the exception rather than the rule.

(And I feel like that should be a pretty low standard to meet, it’s sort of Step 1 of ‘being a story’: be about something! Communicate something, no matter how basic it is. Dead simple stories with rock basic messages can be revelatory! Just do it well!)

I’ve seen very little genuinely focussed or meaningful storytelling in my ventures for what feels like a long time. Basically, I can kind of count on one hand the number of films or dramas or whathaveyou I’ve seen from the last few years where it felt like the filmmakers were in complete control of their story and everything in it was purposeful and intentional. Most things have felt slapdash or shallow or fleeting. Story elements and character choices come out of nowhere just to derail already concluded arcs and fill screen time with empty repetitious drama, not to serve a meaningful narrative purpose. I would be watching with zero confidence anything in particular was going anywhere or that the writers knew where that should be. It’s just throwing shit at the wall, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants type writing all the time and it fucking shows.

But then I watched Money Flower.

Money Flower is different. Money Flower is towering head and shoulders above every modern drama I’ve ever seen. Titanically good writing which rises above its genre and makes conventions seem radically new and fresh not by reinventing them or deconstructing them, but by playing them straight, taking them seriously, and committing 1000%. This is all your familiar rich family tropes but with masterpiece execution, infused with consequence and meaning because they’re all driven by the psychology of complex three-dimensional characters. So many moving pieces and none of them are random or unmotivated. Just... GOOD WRITING. And I want to make the point that it is this wherein art lives. The difference between a rank Lifetime movie and Romeo and Juliet is not novelty or tropes or plot twists- it’s execution.

This show is such a perfect example that it is not ‘mere events’ (aka plot) or novelty or shock value or cool ideas which separates something brilliant and timeless from forgettable schlock; it is solely and entirely execution. It’s writing itself, if you know what I mean. You can describe many of Shakespeare’s tragedies and history plays as soap opera plots. What makes Macbeth a deathless masterwork and Death Wish Hollywood wank isn’t a fundamental difference in subject or genre. It’s Shakespeare’s characterisation and purposeful storytelling. It’s the poetry of the dialogue. It’s the craft of writing. Most of Shakespeare’s plots are based on existing stories or on historical events and that has never mattered because novelty is not an inherent good or of any inherent artistic value.

Like, this is the problem with storytelling right now blah blah GOT, shitty endings everywhere etc. because power over the audience (can’t let anyone guess the plot, looking ‘clever’ with meaningless callbacks) and novelty are valued over narrative structure or things making sense or emotional verisimilitude. We have so many writers thinking being ‘shocking’ is all it takes to be a genius. It’s easy to be shocking if your story makes no goddamn sense because things that don’t make sense are literally unpredictable. Not in a good way, though. A great twist or sudden swerve needs to be unexpected but inevitable in hindsight or it does not work. I should be able to rewatch your thing and think ‘oh, of course! you can see it was [x] all along!’

We have so many popular writers now who are so shallow they don’t think anything needs to make sense on a character or emotional level. They don’t think their story has to be about anything. Substance is irrelevant as long as the surface is flashy enough. That has no staying power, you can only watch it once and you will forget about it quickly.

However, if you have ever wanted to experience the constant heightened stakes and High Drama of a soap opera without being annoyed at how ridiculous it all is and while actually giving a shit about the characters because they feel like real human beings, if you’ve wanted to feel repercussions when characters make choices, and get the emotional payoff that is the entire point of drama- now you can. Watch Money Flower. And let me tell you, it is fucking riveting. This show is mostly made up of people sitting in rooms talking and yet it is heart-pounding excitement nearly every episode. It is profoundly traditional and by the book while being totally fresh. It’s the most engrossing and satisfying artistic experience I’ve had in a long time.

Like, THE TENSION, THE DRAMA, THE REVEALS!!! You can, in fact, spend most of 24+ hours on the edge of your seat about family problems and business mergers. It seems unlikely, but that is the power of this series, it creates insanely high stakes and mesmerising suspense out of the most commonplace ingredients. Familiar plot elements become brand new and surprising under the deftness and tightness of this narrative. The plot itself is certainly 100% melodrama but it never feels like a soap opera and is never ever soapy in in a pejorative sense because it handles its classic tropes with such maturity and nuance that it's like you've never seen them before. The writing is incredible.

It is on an entirely different level than the vast majority of dramas, with a total self-assurance that keeps the pacing relentless yet unhurried- taking its time to let the impact of events be felt, the narrative always knowing exactly where it’s going and how to get there. The characters are all multi-faceted and unpredictable without ever being incoherent, their motives and goals always being gradually uncovered in more detail that only makes the storytelling and characterisation even tighter, even richer. The twists and cliffhangers are always mind-blowing but always earned, never cheap or nonsensical, and I can't remember ever thinking that about another show. (There’s literally one exception towards the very end where something a bit random happens for reasons of pure symbolism- it’s a misstep imo but it’s minor in the scheme of things)

Every time I started to doubt the writing, started to think ‘oh no, they’re going off the rails’, they showed me I was wrong and they were in total control. The only 'problem' with the show is that the drama is also profoundly painful to watch unfold, particularly in the beginning, because it's a story where everyone makes terrible life choices and moral corruption is everywhere. It's hypnotic though, like a car crash. If you can handle something dark, insidious, cerebral, and character-driven there is nothing I've seen in the same vein that can approach its brilliance. It’s like The Magnificent Ambersons as a slick modern revenge drama. There is also (PRECIOUSLY!!) a core of stunning romanticism around which all the horrors revolve and that saves it from becoming hideous or cynical. There is a chance for redemption and a new beginning after all, in spite of all appearances.

The ending has apparently been controversial, and it is definitely not quite as climatic as you would have expected given how powerfully climatic almost every regular episode is, but it's a good ending. There isn't full closure, they don't provide final resolution in a bow, but to me it's an ending about hope. It suggests optimism for our characters and I was satisfied with that. It's extremely rare for a 'revenge story’ to allow this kind of room for healing and it can do that because, imo, we discover in the end that it wasn't ultimately vengeance in Pil Joo’s heart. He has not become a tragic hero who will be consumed by the cannibalistic darkness of revenge, his quest was for justice. He teeters on the edge of the abyss but he avoided falling in; he didn't sell his soul, at least not irrevocably.

He is nonetheless a very tragic figure and an anti-hero, but despite having dedicated his life to bringing down the Jang cabal, it’s not that he’ll stop at nothing. He will make any personal sacrifice no matter how desolate, he lives as a mere husk of a man, and he facilitates enormous emotional harm to others in service of his goals, but he has ethical hard lines he never considers crossing. His sense of decency and compassion is never extinguished; he does care about the collateral damage he is causing even when making justifications for it. It’s important to him to give people as much agency as possible in their choices, to mitigate the damage done by his schemes as much as he can. To try to prevent harm coming to undeserving bystanders. Not that this makes it okay that he uses people, which he does, but the point is he never completely surrenders his moral compass to avarice. He’s never okay with burning down the world or ruining innocent lives just to get to his target.

Pil Joo is less a vigilante and more an avenging angel, he wants justice more than retribution. He wants fairness and a better, safer world where what has happened to his family won’t happen again. The reason this story never becomes Sweeney Todd (aka: a full on tragedy where we see the inevitable outcome of lust for revenge) and the reason he can survive twenty years spent pursuing someone’s downfall is exactly that principle. Searching for retribution would have destroyed him, he would have become the very thing he hated, but instead he goes as far as necessary to publicly expose the Jangs for what they are and then willingly submits to penance for his complicity in their crimes and tries to atone with the people he hurt along the way. Purged, he’s symbolically reborn and takes back his real name to maybe finally have a chance at the life he should have had. He moves on, content, a positive force. He’s capable of healing from the ordeal because he realises he doesn’t need retaliation, just seeing them stopped and facing consequences for their actions is enough.

The love story is a superbly poignant part of this. Their love is the ‘victim’ of his revenge and it will forever be impacted by it, but it’s not something that can be killed, so there’s still hope. Mo Hyeon’s bookending rescues of Pil Joo from death mean first that he has a purpose he must fulfil and then the second time that he has freedom to finally live as himself, for himself. There’s a future. And maybe they can be together there. I’m emo about it.

Anyway, if there was the slightest doubt about me becoming a long-term Jang Hyuk fangirl, it’s been put to rest. This performance is easily one of the best I’ve ever seen, period. No contest it’s the best I’ve seen in a tv drama. It’s also the most subtle and masterful turn he's delivered in his whole career. He's so restrained, but he is giving absolutely everything; he has total control over every microexpression, every gesture, every molecule in his body. There is so much simmering under his surface, so much going on in his eyes; the layers and depths are endless. The intensity and sharp intellectual focus he brings to the character is breathtaking. Everyone else is doing amazing work too, but he is almost constantly on screen and has this spectacular command of such a sprawling story, such a complex character, and he makes it look effortless. All artifice has melted away. The fact that being so tightly contained is in stark contrast to the bombastic element in many of his other roles renders its delicate precision even more startlingly impressive. I thought he was a great actor before, but I didn’t fully appreciate what he was capable of until Pil Joo.

#money flower #kdrama #writing #jang hyuk #long post #I've written a bit before about revenge and how it will inevitably lead to tragedy #so I wouldn't without explanation even call MF a 'revenge drama' because it turns out it's a complicated yet beautiful 'hope' drama lmao #it's actually a 'romance' in the Shakespearean sense #like the Winter's Tale #I guess we just call that 'tragicomedy' now but I don't find that word very helpful or descriptive #I don't think anyone actually know what you mean when you say that #anyway the first writing that is every bit as good as the production/acting side I've seen in what feels like forever #I just feel like everything is great characters in a mess of a story or brilliant performances elevating a bad script or good start-bad end #like no one knows what they're doing any more or why #but this show is incredible #it's only not perfect because the last four episodes are not up to what you'd expect for the rest but they are still really good #just not perfect #the last episode has problems but they're not with the concept of the ending at all- the concept IS perfect #and apparently I'm the only one who thinks that lol #apparently a lot of people did not understand what was happening and some misread it as a dream sequence #(this is an insane take to me- it's really not confusing or ambiguous at all)#(bc God forbid the main character not die and have a chance to heal after his absolutely miserable life?)#but yeah it's the only time anything feels rushed or not quite smooth #and one major character's fate isn't as satisfying as it could be #but I felt like I was never going to see something as engrossing as this again for a while there #anyway anyway NEW OTP #I didn't even get into it because no one cares about my giant rant here but it's SO traditional while being VERY different idk #the romanticism was so unexpected in a show that seems like it's going to be intensely cynical- it's handled with such gravitas #romance with gravitas is PRICELESS to me #the best swerve ever is for a show to NOT be cynical when it seemed so dark- that's a plot twist I can get behind

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bird-in-a-cage · 4 years

Text

Impression

“So, they don’t know they’re brother and sister yet?”

Billy rolled his head a little from Steve’s shoulder to look up at his face, chocolate drop eyes concentrating on the Harrington family television. This was the third time they were going to watch through all the Star Wars movies because Steve, stupidly brilliant pretty boy baby face Steve Harrington, still didn’t quite get it, but wanted to so he wouldn’t be teased by his pack of almost teenage dweebs anymore.

Billy understood the movies. It wasn’t that hard. And really any excuse to spend another Friday night in Steve’s arms, on his stupidly huge couch with one too many decorative cushions was more than okay. They were just a tangle of limbs, snacks and drinks on the coffee table in preparation so neither would have to move more than to just change the video tape over or use the bathroom.

There were far worse ways to spend a Friday night than trying to get your secret boyfriend to understand the plot of Star Wars.

“No, not in this one. That happens in the third one.”

“Oh! The one with the little bears?” Steve’s eyes sparkled a little when he remembered something. It was a cute little trait Billy had picked up. It happened over a lot of things, mostly small and inconsequential, but it was nice to see it so close up.

“Well, they’re Ewoks, not bears but yeah, that one.” Billy sat up a little to light a cigarette. Usually he wouldn’t smoke indoors, but Steve’s mansion was always empty and he didn’t seem to mind. Plus it was winter outside.

Fuck Indiana winters.

“But then why do they look like bears if they’re not bears?”

Steve's hand was warm on Billy’s lower back, as he inhaled and chuckled on the exhale. “Because it’s space? Shit can be called anything if it’s not real.”

The blank blink Billy received made him chuckle all over again, want to pinch Steve’s soft cheeks and call him an idiot between kisses to that natural pout and confused forehead. “But they’re bears though…”

“One movie at a time doll face. You’re missing the plot of this one.”

Billy settled back down and there was no more talk of bears. There weren’t many questions at all really. During the first viewing Steve had been a barrage of whys and who’s that and why is that important and why does that guy in the black cape get his own music, trying to walk before he could run in understanding what the plot was and trying to guess where it was going. Now he was quiet, just watching, sharing Billy’s cigarette for as long as it lasted. It was nice, homely. Something Billy wasn’t quite used to yet. But the movie played and he was happy. It was getting easier to be happy around Steve. Just be himself.

The phone rang during Han Solo’s big scene. It ruined the emersion a little bit. Billy would never admit out loud he had a crush on Han Solo, because he wasn’t stupid, but he felt that everyone had a little bit of a flutter for him. Surely? Right?

Steve reached back to where the phone was sitting on a side table. It was still so weird to Billy that his house had more than one, but the perks of being rich. More than one phone, a massive television and a personal VCR player. A whole bathroom for just downstairs. Billy sat up again, reached for an open soda and paused the movie as Steve answered, tucking the dark green rectangle under his chin.

“Harrington residence…. Oh, hi Mr Hargrove…”

Billy froze dead on the spot for just a second, his blood running cold, eyes probably wide and frantic as he grabbed Steve’s wrist to check the time on his watch. Curfew had been half an hour ago. He’d been so wrapped up in the movie and Steve and just being content and happy for once he’d completely forgotten to keep an eye on the time. And now he was going to get it for sure. The only reason he’d been allowed over anyway, to spend time with another boy, was because of the Harrington name. It held a lot of prestige in this dumb hick town. And Neil was a stone cold sucker for keeping up appearances.

Billy went to move, to get up and find his boots he’d kicked off hours ago and drive back as fast as he fucking could, but Steve put a hand on his leg, gave him the eyes, pushed down slight but firm. Stay.

“Yeah he’s here… We’re just working on a school project Mr Hargrove I-...”

Steve’s regular phone voice was equal parts butter wouldn’t melt innocent and boardroom professional. It was a wild mix. Billy stayed frozen to the spot, giving eyes he wasn’t sure weren’t completely insane. The longer he stayed, the more trouble Billy would be in, they both knew this, and yet Steve just rubbed his thigh like it was no big deal. Like he wasn’t on the phone to someone who had broken Billy’s wrist in the past for breaking curfew when he was thirteen.

That had been by half an hour too. And because Billy had been at another boy's house.

“Oh, you want to speak to my father? Sure. I’ll just pass you over, hang on...”

Billy just sat back and watched, now in total fascination and complete confusion as Steve tossed the handset back and forth to himself like he was passing a basketball in warm up drills, as he swung his long legs off the couch and stamped his sock covered feet on the floor, rocked and rolled in place to make the couch springs squeak in certain ways, talk muffed things that weren’t even real words into the back of his arm, before tucking the phone on his shoulder again on the opposite side.

“Yes?” The voice that came out was a whole octave deeper. It still sounded like Steve, but it didn’t. Each letter was far too pronounced to be how Steve would say it. He grinned at Billy, listening to Neil talk through the handset. “I apologise for that, but the boys have been working very hard all evening, I don’t think they’ll be done anytime soon. Maybe it would be best for their educations if William were to come home tomorrow?”

The smirk Steve shot across the couch was something wicked. It was so clear he’d done this many times before. Billy had never heard Harrington Sr, had only seen him in that one photo in the hall, but the voice Steve was using matched the figure pretty perfectly. He even molded his body to fit more in an upright posture, arms and legs straight, face more square somehow. Morphed into what Billy assumed was a perfect characterisation of his father. Even scratched his top lip all pretentious like Harrington Sr looked like he would do.

“I understand your concerns Mr Hargrove but I assure you this is for their best interests. There’s quite the setup on my dining room table, and heaven knows my son needs all the help he can get.”

Billy finally started to relax again, sinking back properly into the cushions, when Steve rolled his eyes dramatically, mimicked Neil yammering on with his free hand. Neil was a totally different person when he spoke to people he respected, tried to always get on their good sides no matter what town they moved too. It was a show of course but no one really knew that.

"I assume the reason he didn't call is because it wasn't planned Mr Hargrove, boys will be boys after all. William is perfectly fine here. More than welcome to stay, he's a good influence on my Steven."

Steve reached out to the coffee table for the half empty pack of Billy's Marlboros and his lighter, hitting one out as he balanced the phone on his shoulder.

"Now if you don't mind, I do have some important work to get back too. Please refrain from calling unless it's an emergency. We will do you the same courtesy. Goodbye."

With that, Steve stretched his body back to hang the phone back on his receiver and light up the cigarette, laughing at Billy’s expression which must have been a weird mix of everything but mostly, what the hell was that?!

“What?” He chuckled around the puff of smoke. “You think I’ve never pretended to be my dad on the phone before. Gotta keep the school off my back somehow.”

Billy snatched the cigarette without malice, just for a calming inhale, just to let it sink in that stupidly brilliant pretty boy doll face secret boyfriend Steve Harrington was actually something of a genius. Just to let it sink in that Billy was free for the night. Without a second question asked. All because of a voice and a name.

God, small towns were weird with their hierarchies.

He passed the cigarette back and settled back into his previous spot on Steve’s shoulder, felt lean arms come back around before one of them started the movie again.

“Your old man’s a fucking dork by the way,” Steve muttered, stubbing out the filter in an ashtray after a few minutes. It made Billy laugh and squeeze Steve’s thigh, just where his hand was.

“I know man, I know.”

#harringrove #billy x steve #steve harrington #billy hargrove #fluff #also on my ao3 #my writings

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