#anyways i loved the movie and as someone who recently rewatched the whole show from start to finish | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

arthurslesbian · 10 months

Text

anyway, as someone coming at this movie from not having read the book but being an avid rom com fan, i kind of don't like how rwrb is being called not original or not creative or not inventive or silly or basically not good

i mean. i get if you don't like rom coms. i do, they're truly not for everyone. but like. this movie was really fucking good. maybe rom coms just don't get credit for how hard they are to do well?

like idk actors repeatedly say how comedy is harder to do than dramatic, serious scenes, which is probably why there's a whole group of actors who are known for doing comedy, because it's really hard and a specialized skill set. getting those comedic beats right, the expressions that have just the right amount of irony and im in on it is hard!

and with romance, you need to have that chemistry, that rhythm it's really hard to do well because there's nothing external to the characters to distract from their performances there's no cool effects or world at stake plot or menacing villian

and rom coms?? really hard to get right. the whole genre has been in a decline for like the past ten years if I've been honest. so many recent rom coms have not been good at all! horribly written, terribly edited with really bad pacing, the flattest acting with no chemistry and not to mention uninteresting sets and costumes and stagnant camera work

meanwhile. rwrb is brilliant. it's written so well, with hilarious one liners (thank you zahra) and so much humour and comedy from the couple, the actors went all out with phenomenal performances, the shots showed so much care and attention to each scene, and the pacing was perfect for what it is - a rom com.

like so many recent rom coms take 4k way too far and it looks so bad, but rwrb looks so beautiful in every still. every single background was gorgeous every set, every detail with costuming. and this is important in rom coms! the two leads look so incredible!! taylor looks like a greek god with his long legs and his abs and his eyelashes to his nose while nick looks like a beautiful angel. (sorry it had to be said)

and the thing is, this is really hard to do. I believe rom coms have been in decline as the industry grapples with how much technology has pervaded dating recently, from dating apps to communicating constantly through things like texting and facetime, which it's really struggled to show convincingly on screen. the last good rom coms were before things like smartphones really took off

and rwrb did that so well!! romance as a genre in books recently has kind of been leaning into the tropes we're nostalgic about while incorporating those more recent aspects of relationships, and rwrb translates that so well on screen. the way they did the text messages was honestly innovative!!

the way it kind of led up to having henry physically in the room was an amazing way to capture growing closeness and how we now perceive text conversations to be just like real conversations, while still highlighting the kind of difference of actually being there which is actually really hard to portray and not really something the industry has figured out how to show well imo.

i loved the chemistry in that scene, and i loved how they did the emails as well because those are two different things!! and how it was able to show their togetherness while they were apart. even the way that ghosting works and alex literally storming a castle was shown so well!! that's not easy or done before!!

all this to say, i for one really appreciate matthew lopez's vision and will be rewatching this movie just as much as movies like 27 dresses, bridget jones' diary, and the proposal and i can't wait for a new wave of (queer!) rom coms

#rwrb #Im js #really loved this move #haven't read the book yet!!#i also really loved how many different sets there were like that makes it feel so lived in #like it may not be something you notice right away but it adds so much to the production value and the overall feel of the movie #it feels so real and expansive and it does such a good job of capturing the amount of time that it covered #and the lives of the characters!!#again different from recent rom coms which can again be really flat and have like two sets

19 notes · View notes

platypusplayhere · 1 year

Text

Thank you @dangerliesbeforeyou for tagging me, im mentioning all kinds of media bc I love to rant, I have a lot of love in my heart and I have trouble choosing just 8: (im making this on mobile hope it's readable).

Howl's moving castle (2004)

My first experience of gender envy, gender fascination, gender emulation for Howl, at a time I didn't even know that gender was a thing because I was like idek 7 years old.

Kiss of the rabbit god (2019)

A short movie, stumbled onto it bc of Tumblr. You honour, I simply love it.

Shrek (2001)

I'm not being ironic I'm very serious about this one. My mom used to braid my hair weekly when I was little and I constantly played this one, I know it by heart and I'm not joking. I freaking love this movie. Same goes for Mulan, Beauty and the beast, Charlie and the chocolate factory, and the whole Shrek franchise up to the 3rd one. (Gotta watch Puss in boots 1 and 2 tho.)

V for vendetta (2005)

This is a shout-out to 14 years old me who might have at some point based their personality around this movie or maybe they didn't, who's to say. I'm not sorry. Kinda still like it tho.

Corpse bride (2005)

There is an independent cinema in my hometown and they did run it often over the years. Bestie I don't know how many times I went to see this movie with my mother as a child. Recently learned about the Jewish origins of this myth and im a lil upset about the stolen storyline without the context. But some will say it's a Burton movie and they're right.

Valentine's day (2011)

First movie I went to see alone with my friends, I was like 12yo. Rewatched it again like 2 years ago, yeah it ain't that great but it's the memories right.

Father and soldiers (2022)

The last movie that made me cry. I hate war movies but my friends convinced me to go because it was less than 2 hours and I've been mad at movies being more than two and a half hours lately (looking at u House of Gucci, Doctor Strange 2) yeah, I cried my eyes out. It's not a perfect movie but the message is great and very moving. I don't like the English title because the original/French title directly refers the name of a group of African soldier recruited by France in its colonies during WWI -> "Les Tirailleurs" (if I remember well, the soldiers were recruited in every colonies but they left Africa from the Senegal and so all these soldiers are referred as Senegalese regardless of their actual origins). The English title is more fitting thematically wise I'll give you that.

Fulmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (2009)

Knew about it, was recommended by a dear mutual of mine on this very hellsite and yeah, ppl keep saying it's good because it just is.

I told sunset about you/ I promised you the moon (2020-2021)

If you read my tags u know how I rant about this show often. Watched it 2 years ago thanks to someone i follow on Tumblr (but im not really sure who it was anyway if you're a mutual thank you sm). My first foray into BL (back when I didn't even know what it was) and I couldn't be happier that I started with this. I don't have enough words to praise it. (currently writing a post about it tho, stay tuned for whenever I get around to finish it (tell me if u wanna know when it's up), big up to Bad Buddy and To My Star too)

Honoured mentions bc I started making a list and had more than 8 and couldn't not mention them:

Other movies: O'brother, Love and Leashes, God's own country, Jackie Brown, The big lebowsky (idek if I like this movie but I needed something to base my personality around when I was 15yo)

The book The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo, I'm gonna keep my rant about how the English title is a misunderstanding of the book locked and not even start it.

Alice isn't dead and The Magnus archives (although they're podcasts and I haven't quite finished them, the first seasons are exquisite)

Welcome to Night Vale, I have a lot of episodes to catch up on (currently working on that) started listening like in 2016 then stopped around idek 2 years ago. Some of these episodes are masterpieces ( some I know by heart: Guidelines for disposal, Love is a shambling thing, What happened at the Smithwick House, If he had lived, and The Pilot ofc)

the ballet Swan Lake (1995, 2012) by Matthew Bourne. I don't have enough words. I'll just say it's on youtube.

.....and many more im not think abt rn

*acts surprised* this became a real long post, real quick

(That's why I take a lot of time to answer those lmao, shout out and thank you to the ppl who tag me in these and then I take a lot of time to answer)

Tagging these people and anyone who wants to do it can mention me: @sherlockig @dontbesoevil @lordmeowdemort @namelessbeing @hairbackc0llarup @comrademichael @johnlockdynamic @lovelywickedsoul @frenchsiren

#tagged #ask game #yeah this could have gone on for a lil while #i have some ive yet to answer but its coming #i have many rants locked if u wanna know about them just ask #thanks for tagging me #platypustalks

20 notes · View notes

nibeul · 3 years

Note

i’d love to hear your thoughts on qui gon?

Alright, this is the second part of answering that I mentioned earlier so I’m just gonna.. go into a breakdown of Qui Gon’s character and how I view him.

I haven’t fully watched the Phantom Menace since I was a kid (10-ish years ago), so I wouldn’t say take my word as gospel. I have, however, recently touched up on some other material to refresh my memory and I’ve also rewatched some of the scenes, so I think I have a firm enough understanding of his character to discuss it. Anyways, let me actually get to my breakdown.

Qui Gon is a weak character. Not in the sense that he’s physically weak, but in the sense that he lacks depth and we only see him onscreen for one movie before he kicks the bucket. Maybe it’s thanks to the fact that they only had one movie to make an interesting character which is why he fell flat (for me at least), but I’ve seen single movies do much better in the character development area, so it’s a bit of an iffy excuse. Regardless, looking at the Phantom Menace from start to finish, I think the first thing that comes to my attention is the fact that Qui Gon doesn’t change.

Why is that a bad thing? Well, ok, nobody changes overnight, we know this. And some people don’t change at all, aren’t open to it, but we know refusing to keep an open mind is detrimental. The thing with Qui Gon is that he doesn’t change because he refuses to see outside of himself, and this isn’t put into a negative light either. To be honest, I am unsure if Lucas was trying to paint Qui Gon as an objectively “good person” or “bad person” (Liam Neeson himself is deplorable, but that’s not my point at the moment). Of course, it isn’t just black and white, but I feel there is a certain way that “morally grey” characters should be done (it is broad, because you will still have nuance in that gray area) and Qui Gon does not really.. fit. He seems like someone who is meant to be seen as a likable character but he just isn’t.

Qui Gon clashing with the Council in itself isn’t bad. My character, Ko, harbors a strong dislike for the Council and I think it is an interesting point to explore, the difference between various Jedi and their relationship with the Council. That being said, when it leads to direct butting heads without progress and/or a willingness to see the other side, it becomes less of a “difference in opinion” and more of a “overgrown man child refuses to look past his own beliefs”. And don’t get me wrong, I have my own problems with how the Council functions, but the way Qui Gon handles it is pisspoor.

Going onto my next point, Qui Gon is very manipulative. I mean, Obi Wan had to get it from somewhere (and I would not entirely say that Obi Wan is a manipulative person, but he is not above using manipulation), but if we look at how Qui Gon interacts with Shmi (along with Padmé and the rest of the handmaidens), he takes advantage of his charisma in order to establish himself in her family setting. He knows that he isn’t going to free her—which actually leads into the whole problem of the Jedi ignoring the slave trade in general, but once again, not something I am going to delve into here—which is why he needs to show himself as someone who can be a “father figure” to Anakin in order to effectively distance him from her. Anakin doesn’t get the choice of being a Jedi; it’s either that or he remains enslaved.

He views people as tools. If we breakdown his relationship with the Force, it can basically be summed up as “he believes it will guide everything that happens” (which actually reminds me of very religious people who attribute everything to their Maker) to a point where he isn’t really.. putting in the effort to get there. For example, he does not worry himself with figuring out a way to get off Tatooine because he thinks that the Force will sort that out for him. With Anakin, he believes that the Force has led Anakin to him so that Qui Gon can train the kid. His freeing of Anakin does not come from a place of good will, but more so the fact that he thinks the Force is telling him to.

This also bleeds into him betting on podraces and loaded die, which also ties into the fact that he knew he wasn’t going to free Shmi. Once again, he is not freeing Anakin because he believes that them being enslaved is wrong (in fact, earlier he states that he is not going to free them), but because he believes the Force is telling him that he needs to train Anakin. He tells Anakin that he is the chosen one—I mean, imagine the weight of that status on a child? I honestly believe that if anyone but Qui Gon had found Anakin, like Plo Koon for example, things would have gone differently. Anakin did not need that weight on his shoulders at such a young age—and views him as that. He makes it clear when he is speaking to the Council.

Which becomes another thing where he literally brushes off the fact that he already has a Padawan. He is very willing to toss Obi Wan aside in favor of training Anakin, and he states so with indifference. This ties back to an earlier part in the movie where he says something along the lines of “stop focusing on the future, focus on the present” because, thanks to his inability to think about the future for just a moment, he has condemned his Padawan and put himself in a predicament that is the result of him getting caught up in the moment. His blind trust in the force does not account for the actions and opinions of others, nor does it account for the fact that he still needs to treat things with tact/put the effort in himself.

Then, kind of looping back a little bit to my statement about how he views Anakin, he does not bring up Anakin’s former life to the council (if I remember correctly Anyways). It is just “this boy is the chosen one. He needs to be trained”. This also ties into my earlier points about how he refuses to see issues outside of his own, and how he is very “it has to be my way”. He has tunnel vision; he does not see outside of that. There is a reason that Xanatos fell, and it is not just because of Xanatos’s own actions. Yet, even after having a Padawan that has fallen, Qui Gon does not change his ways. Yoda guides him to Obi Wan as an attempt to heal Qui Gon, and I can only imagine the emotional stress that would put on a literal child.

Running off this point, the most insight we see of Qui Gon (?) is through Obi Wan/how Obi Wan sees him. Because Obi Wan grieves for Qui Gon, we are sympathetic for him, yet Qui Gon abuses Obi Wan’s attachment to him in order to ensure that Anakin is trained. Obi Wan should not have been taking on a Padawan at that age, certainly not when he had just been knighted, yet he does because of Qui Gon. It’s deeply problematic, and while I do thoroughly enjoy watching Anakin and Obi Wan interact, Anakin needed a parental figure, not a brother.

So that is my brief? Analysis of Qui Gon’s character and how I specifically view him. I went more into why I personally dislike him since that is what I had talked about before, but also because if I am being honest, his negative traits outweigh this redeeming qualities. Anyways, I am going to create a tag for my general Star Wars thoughts since I have made a couple of posts and it is probably time I organize a little bit.

#nibeul talks #character analysis

112 notes · View notes

staczak91 · 3 years

Text

So I’m kind of obsessing over the Spider-Man: No Way Home Trailer

What else is new???

So...anyone who has been following this blog closely knows that Tobey Maguire is my favorite Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 (Sam Raimi) is my favorite of the Spider-Man movies. I literally watch Spider-Man 2 at least once a year to bring back that old magic that I’ve always loved that that movie contains.

Well, I recently rewatched Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home with a friend recently (ending with Far From Home today) and Tom Holland has really grown on me. I don’t know if Tobey Maguire is my favorite Spider-Man/Peter Parker anymore and I’m having trouble with that fact and feel so torn!! But I love Tom Holland in the role a lot now! (And may have a slight crush on him even though he’s five years younger than me. Humiliating, I know...)

I’ve just noticed with these rewatches Tom Holland may have the most range out of the three actors who portrayed Spider-Man/Peter Parker, and dang it, he’s also just so much fun! I think I really love him in the role now, even though it took some convincing because of my love for Tobey Maguire in the role. (Can I have two favorites now? Can I have a tie? Is that even allowed as a Spider-Man fan??)

Well, anyway, I watched the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer again with this friend too and showed him something in the trailer that got my hopes up for Tobey’s return, which I will touch on later. But, anyway, this trailer looks fantastic! And the whole multiverse concept could bring back both Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire as the famous webslinger, which I hope is true, because after the travesty of Spider-Man 3, I’m desperately hoping for the return of Tobey Maguire as the superhero on the big screen in a GOOD movie!

But, anyway....I digress. Some stills from No Way Home trailer that got me excited for this movie:

Alfred Molina returning as Doc Ock, from my favorite of the Spider-Man movies and a great villain to boot! That “Hello, Peter” line of dialogue sent shivers down my spine, as a long-time Spider-Man fan....

At first glance, I thought this bomb looked familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it. (I know. Bad fan...) But then I saw a commentator on Youtube point out that it was the Green Goblin’s bomb, used in the OG Spider-Man with Tobey Maguire and Willem Defoe. Another clue for Tobey’s return, perhaps??

Seriously, though!! This easter egg has got me the most excited!! Is Tom Holland’s Peter Parker seriously wearing OG Tobey Maguire’s suit and tie?? When he faces off against the OG Doc Ock as well?? Again, I thought this suit and tie looked vaguely familiar and I didn’t know why (bad fan again...) until I started scrolling through the Youtube comments and someone pointed out this was Tobey’s suit and tie. This has got me all sorts of excited!! Why place all these OG references in the trailer if Tobey isn’t even going to make an appearance?? The suit and tie also sent shivers down my spine when I watched the trailer with my friend. I explained to him what it meant as an OG Spider-Man fan and we both agreed: this is one cool reference, and may just mean Tobey’s return.

The concept of Peter’s duality as Spider-Man in this movie. It plays a part in Homecoming and Far From Home, but seems to play a much much bigger role in this movie, from what the trailer shows. And I’m excited for this! Peter’s duality as Spider-Man is one of many things that makes Spider-Man 2 the fantastic movie it turned out to be. Bring on the duality! I’m ready for it!

The world knowing Peter Parker is Spider-Man! I’m so so excited for this angle to be explored. I never read the comics, so don’t know if they ever explored this in that form. But Peter keeps his Spidey identity a secret for a reason, so as not to harm those he loves. Seeing the consequences of his actions as Spider-Man looks like it’s gonna be great in this movie. And that jail questioning scene looks freakin’ intense!

The return of Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange is always a nice addition! I always love seeing his character, as Doctor Strange is one of my favorite movies in the MCU. And just seeing how he (inadvertently) helps create a multiverse and gonna shake things up will be a treat!

So, in conclusion, I am very excited for December to come. This movie looks fantastic and I hope it lives up to the hype. I just also hope it doesn’t make the same mistake as Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 and have way too much going on with it, that the point of the movie gets clouded and confused. (As well as NO godawful dancing sequences please!!)

So, yeah, these are my thoughts on the new No Way Home trailer. So, so excited to see hopefully Tobey Maguire return as Spidey. To see Zendaya, who I really love as MJ. To see Ned, who is hilarious. And Aunt May, who is great to watch onscreen as a caring aunt. And Doc Ock return as a villain. And, of course, Tom Holland as Spider-Man, who looks like he’s really grown into the part, and will blow this film right out of the water. I think this film will cement me as a life-long Spider-Man fan. And, man, I can’t wait to see the surprises in store!

35 notes · View notes

delyth88 · 3 years

Text

Thoughts after rewatching Episode 4

Okay, so I took a couple of days to get over the excruciating cringeworthyness of a few many moments in episode 4 and have just finished rewatching it.

And I have to say thank goodness for whatever it is in the human brain that allows us to adapt! lol No, but srsly, I found it a much easier watch the second time, and its definitely keeping up the trend of the first three episodes of being something I can enjoy more the second time than the first.

So, my now somewhat less instant reaction thoughts:

I hadn’t noticed that it’s Sylvie that initiates the hand holding on Lamentis 1. And I think I prefer this. One thing I can’t stand is romance in TV or film where it’s all about the guy winning over the girl, like she’s clearly not interested, but somehow by the end of the movie she’s in love. Okay, that’s a bit harsh, sometimes it’s done well, but it’s a convention that gets my hackles up and gets me all defensive, so I think I was taking some of this into the episode with me.

Interestingly, now that I’m thinking of it, I think this moment and the moment Sylvie asks if Loki is okay while they’re being escorted by the guards are the only moments I can recall where she showed any form of affection for him. *shrugs*

Poor boy also seems so surprised at this. And uncertain how to respond. And I can’t help but see this in relation to the scene in Thor 1 where the frost giant grabs his forearm... :’(

I also think another part of the reason I so disliked the romance on my first watch is that it was just another example of Loki over-doing the emotion thing in comparison to his previous characterisation. He certainly looks more into it than Sylvie, and this just bugs me, because again I think the way Sylvie is acting here is what I would have expected from Loki based on the films.

In the time prison, while I still don’t like the getting kicked in the crotch gimmick, I do like that they showed us Loki attempting to get out of the situation in what seems quite a reasonable way. He explains the situation to Sif and asks for her help to escape. I thought it was quite interesting, because we see his first instinct is to use his skills of persuasion and try to escape. Firstly because it’s an instance where he’s trying to plot an escape, not just avoiding her or fighting her. I like that he seems to have some hope that this is possible and isn’t just 100% resigned to the TVA being all-powerful. And secondly, he speaks to Sif as a person, he doesn’t just treat her like some sort of solid hologram and try and knock her out, or stand by the door to make a surprise attack. It doesn’t work, of course, and we’re supposed to find that funny, but at least he tried in a plausible way onscreen. unlike IW And he asks her to trust him. Which I found interesting because if he’s asking this then he must think there’s some chance that she will, which means there’s at least some level of respect between them. And I like that. I know I’m reading way too much into this that the writers certainly didn’t intend, but let me play over here.

I still don’t like the narcissist line. But I think I can buy Loki exaggerating in his confession to get her to stop. He doesn’t seem to be really particularly bothered by what he’s saying. But when she walks out and says he will always be alone, even after what he’s just said, that seems to have an impact on him.

I do love this image though. He looks so smol. So sweet.

When Mobius retrieves Loki from the time prison after the first time, I can see after a second watch that Mobius is actually a little angry/disappointed that Loki ran off after the variant in Roxxcart. Its subtle well subtler than Loki’s reactions so I hadn’t noticed.

I still dislike the way they did the romance thing. The interrogation scene where Loki’s all “eww no, I don’t like her!” and then has this realisation that perhaps he does. I felt like I was being beaten around the head with it. Like teenagers teasing someone for liking someone else. smh

I’m also reminded that the English language really isn’t very good when it comes to words for ‘liking’ someone. I mean the UK seems to have ‘to fancy’ which would be more accurate, but gotta say I’m glad they didn’t use that here.

I still hate that Loki seems utterly unable to keep a secret or hide his emotions. To me this was a fundamental part of his character, and yet here we have Mobius calling him out because he can’t help but have this pained expression on his face and can’t keep his voice steady. Black Widow wouldn’t have had to spend more than a minute with this variant of Loki.

Mobius: “What are you doing?”

Loki: “Passing the time.”

This line made me laugh this time. Sassy Loki!

I still like the slightly veiled way Mobius apologises to Loki for saying he’s only destined to be the villain to make other people better. Nice, not too over the top. Makes Loki smile.

That animatronic timekeeper stuff was just weird. There better be some good payoff for this in the next two episodes.

And now to the bit I hated the most on my first watch – that super cringey interrupted confession of feelings.

Looking at this again with fresh eyes I wonder if Loki was about to explain Mobius’s theory that their moment on Lamentis 1 might be able to destroy the TVA. It just got awkward because to explain that he’d have to explain how he feels. And I think they exaggerated that to make the impact of the pruning bigger.

First he says “then who created the TVA?” Then he turns away and he seems to be looking around for inspiration, and I think he’s actually thinking about this. It wasn’t just rhetorical. We can see the moment he realises something, and he doesn’t seem particularly happy about it, and then he turns back to Sylvie.

“Sylvie, I have to tell you something.”

“We will figure this out.” I think this is an aside after he’s taken in how upset she is about this. And it’s true that if they take down the TVA then they probably have to learn who’s in charge eventually. And then he gets back to his original point.

“Because… er… back on Lamentis…” I think here he’s trying to find a way to explain that their moment caused the nexus event, and a big one at that, but he’s struggling to do so in a way that doesn’t make him completely vulnerable by telling her how he feels. But it’s not possible to talk about it so clinically, so he hesitates, “This is new for me…” he realises he doesn’t actually know quite how to put this.

Now, if I can rationalise it in this way as being an important piece of information he needed to tell her that would help them bring down the TVA then I can be more okay with this than if it was just a poorly timed romantic confession (which is certainly what it appeared to be on first watch). Again, I’m probably clutching at straws here, but it helps me not want to gag while watching this. lol

I mean I still think it’s just a cringey awful scene and it’s so very cliche to interrupt someone before they can say ‘I love you’. But this is a way I can rationalise his actions and I’ll stick with this till proven otherwise, presumably in the next episode. Ha!

I can’t help but give a nod to another beautiful example of Tom’s eyes matching his shirt in the mid-credits scene. <3

I also think that what I’m experiencing watching each episode the first time is much more from Loki’s point of view. Like I’m more personally invested in him doing well, him not being embarrassed, him looking good to others. And so since the story is actually giving him a hell of a time I’m experiencing a lot of negative feelings on his behalf. And this is because it’s unfolding in real time in front of me and in that moment it could go anywhere! So it feels more real perhaps?? On a second watch I know what’s coming and I’m able to watch it with an eye for the storytelling as a whole, not just as the real events of Loki’s life. I don’t think I’ve been this much of a fan of any character in recent times to have experienced this before. So it’s a fascinating thing to learn about being a fan. *shrugs*

Anyway, in summary, much more bearable on second watch. Some good stuff in there, and I can ignore a good amount of the stuff I didn’t like – at least until next week.

So again I’m sorta somewhere in between loving and hating this show.

@iamanartichoke @scintillatingshortgirl19 maybe some of this is useful to you?

#ah loki #loki series #my review #loki episode 4 #spoilers #negative #loki series negativity

43 notes · View notes

captainpikeachu · 3 years

Text

So having recently rewatch the first Cap movie for my MCU rewatch, I have so much feels about the ways many things about Steve in this film actually echoes John’s story in TFATWS.

-----------

Steve: Bucky, come on! There are men laying down their lives. I got no right to do any less than them. That’s what you don’t understand. This isn’t about me. Bucky: Right. Cause you got nothing to prove.

In a way, Steve did have something to prove, to prove that he could do his part for the war effort and not be left behind, forgotten, considered worthless, and not given a chance. He fights to have the chance to prove himself. In this way so did John. John comes into the story with a chip on his shoulder, to prove that he could live up to the legacy and the mythology set by Steve. His chance to prove that he could do the right thing and help people.

The thing is though, Erskine did give Steve a chance to prove himself, he believed in Steve and had faith. John never really had someone who would fight for him and believe in him on his behalf to others.

-----------

Phillips: Hodge passed every test we gave him. He’s big, he’s fast, he obeys orders. He’s a soldier. Erskine: He’s a bully. Phillips: You don’t win wars with niceness, doctor. You win war with guts.

I know that everyone consistently compares John to Hodge, that John is what Erskine was afraid of happening and what would have been if Hodge had been given the serum. But that surface level comparison is misleading at best, because when Phillips throws that fake grenade to test everyone’s guts, Hodge runs away. John would have jumped on the grenade just like Steve did. John wouldn’t have hesitated. Hodge was a bully who purposefully tried to mess with Steve in training and mocking him. John didn’t purposefully try to mess around with anyone, he only ever just wanted to do his duty just like Steve did. In fact, John has far more in common with Steve than he ever does with Hodge.

Phillips said that you win war with guts, and Steve jumping on that grenade showed that he had guts, this links directly to John's comments while doing that GMA interview, he specifically brings up that he may not have flashy gadgets or super-strength but that he has guts and that’s what Captain America always had and needed. And John does have guts, nobody earns 3 Medals of Honor without having guts.

-----------

Erskine: The serum amplifies everything that is inside. So, good becomes great. Bad becomes worse. This is why you were chosen. Because a strong man, who has known power all his life, will lose respect for that power. But a weak man knows the value of strength, and knows compassion.

This comment from Erskine is often used by fandom to show why John is the wrong choice as opposed to Steve. He’s the bad that becomes worse or the strong man who has had power all his life. But that interpretation is only there if you take everything Erskine says to be a binary choice of good and bad. It’s this automatic assumption that because John is not Steve, then he has to be the bad. Except John is really the middle ground. He has light and darkness within him, it’s a constant civil war, the serum didn’t just amplified everything bad to become worse, it also amplified the good in him to become great. The interpretation that John is a representation of only “bad becomes worse” plainly ignores John’s decision in Episode 6 to let go of revenge to save people. This choice was made AFTER he got the serum, if he is only bad that becomes worse, then he wouldn’t have saved those people. By saving those people, John shows that the serum doesn’t simply work on a binary standard, just like people aren’t binary of only good and only bad. John’s story deepens what the first Cap movie set up about how the serum works, and shows a story progression that is very much like how in real life as kids, we are first taught those fairy tale stories of good versus evil, but we grow up and learn the world is more complex and that people aren’t just one thing or another.

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

Senator Brandt: With all due respect to the Colonel, I think we may be missing the point. I’ve seen you in action, Steve. More importantly, the country’s seen it. Paper. The enlistment lines have been around the block since your picture hit the newsstands. You don’t take a soldier, a symbol like that, and hide him in a lab. Son, do you want to serve your country on the most important battlefield of the war? Steve: Sir, that’s all I want. Senator Brandt: Then, congratulations. You just got promoted.

---

Steve: I don’t know if I can do this. Brandt’s Aide: Nothing to it. Sell off a few bonds, bonds buy bullets, bullets kills Nazi’s. Bing bang boom. You’re an American hero. Steve: It’s just not how I pictured getting there.

---

Peggy: I understand you’re "America’s New Hope"? Steve: Bond sales take a ten percent bump in every state I visit. Peggy: Is that Senator Brandt I hear? Steve: At least he’s got me doin’ this. Phillips would have had be stuck in lab. Peggy: And these are your only two options? A lab rat or a dancing monkey? You were meant for more than this, you know?

Steve’s desire for service and duty being manipulated by politicians to sell bonds is the exact same scenario as John’s desire for service and duty being manipulated by politicians to make him the new Captain America. It’s even echoed by Val’s continued manipulations in using John’s loyalty to service and country into getting him to do what she wants.

Steve was nervous, reluctant, and unsure of going on stage to perform. We saw the same concerns that John had in that locker room before his big interview. Neither Steve nor John wanted the fame and pageantry, they just wanted to do the job, they just wanted to help, but both having to accept that the “dancing monkey” aspect came with the job description.

But Steve breaks free of the confines of others’ demands of him because Peggy not only points out that he has other options, but also because it was in that moment he discovered that Bucky was either missing or dead and he could do something about it. If Steve wasn’t having that conversation with Peggy, if Steve hadn’t heard that Bucky was missing, then he might have just stayed with the USO tours and been a dancing monkey his whole life. Circumstances arose in Steve’s favor, and he had people who believed in him helping him to get to the goals that he wanted. John on the other hand lost the one person who did have faith in him and there was no way to bring Lemar back, and Val swooped in at the exact right time to give a lost and in-mourning person the opportunity to feel like not everything had been lost.

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

Senator Brandt: I am honored to present this medal for valor to my personal friend, Captain America!

This is an interesting moment because I don’t know if this “medal for valor” is a Medal of Honor or not, but if it was, then it makes Steve’s story and John’s story even more of a similar parallel.

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

Private Lorraine: I read about what you did. Steve: Oh! The…yeah! Well, that’s you know? Just doin’ what needed to be done. Private Lorraine: Sounded like more than that. You saved nearly four hundred men.

When Natalie Dormer’s character comments on how Steve was able to save nearly 400 men and get them back alive, all I could think about was Lemar’s line to John in Episode 4, “think of all the lives we could have saved that day if we had that serum.”

If John and Lemar had the serum on the day of the event that gotten John his Medals of Honor, maybe everyone could have made it back alive, maybe it wouldn’t have been the worst day of John’s life, maybe he wouldn’t have looked at those medals like badges of failure because he couldn’t save everyone.

And it also reminded me of comments from Wyatt Russell during an interview where he mentions that John was in the service while Steve was still operating as Captain America and going around to save the day, but Captain America never saved the day for John. In a way, there is almost a sense of resentment, that Captain America could save the day for everyone else, but John still had to fight through the horrors of war and find a way to survive on his own and protect his men, all without the serum, without Captain America’s help.

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

Peggy: He damn well must have thought you were worth it.

Peggy’s comments to Steve about how Bucky must have thought Steve was worth dying for just reminds me of how Lemar jumped in to tackle Karli and stop her from killing John, all knowing of the risks to his own life, because Lemar definitely thought that John was worth dying for.

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

Anyways, these were just some of the moments that really jumped out at me in regards to how Cap 1 laid a very interesting foundation for what would be John’s story in TFATWS. This is why I love doing occasional rewatches, it really makes you look at the story in new ways when there’s new information that recontextualizes the film.

#john walker #steve rogers #lemar hoskins #wyatt russell #the falcon and the winter soldier #captain america the first avenger #marvel #mcu #tfatws #tfatws meta #marvel meta #mcu meta

29 notes · View notes

popculturebuffet · 3 years

Text

Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Ember Island Players Review (Birthday Review for Jess-The-Vampire)

Happy Birthday Jess! Yes this review is a gift for one of my best friends, @jess-the-vampire. Followers of the blog have likely seen her mentioned as she’s watched several review subjects with me and given me her thoughts when I cover a Star VS or Owl House episode. But more than that she’s one of the people closest to me, a good friend who tolerates my anxious BS with grace, watches way too much scooby doo with me and draws me neat pictures, with my Icons being enitrely thanks to her. She makes my life better just by being in it and providing someone to talk to and for that I can’t thank her enough. I love you man.

So for her birthday review , after some thought I was suprised she went not with more scooby doo, including the one where scooby looks like he’s been through Vietnam:

But instead another show we both loved Avatar: The Last Airbender. I haven’t talked about this one yet and that’s because I was going to cover it season by season at some point along with it’s sequel and still might, but i’m not opposed to covering individual episodes, good and bad either. So if you have an episode of the show you want me to cover, feel free to comissoin it for just five bucks an episode and i’ll find a way to add it to the schedule as soon as possible. Just hit up my ask or messages to talk over which one you want and get my paypal for payment.

Anyways I am happy to finally talk about the show. Avatar was easily my faviorite show in my late middle school and early high school years, a masterpiece of animation that has such a large fanbase it’s only GROWN in the decades since the show wrapped, with help from a healthy number of dvd releases, a decent sequel show with a groundbreaking ending, sequel comics for both shows, prequel novels and Nick cranking out merch including a fairly recent line of high quality action figures. And the show’s only going to keep growing with a proper live action remake coming soon from Netflix, and plans to make more spinoffs for Paramount+. It also had a movie, I guess, which I guess I have to both watch and cover at some point.

I love this show and desperately need to rewatch it. It has deep character arcs, plenty of humor and probably the most elaborate and well thought out worldbuilding i’ve seen, grabbing from Chinese, Japanese and Innuit history to craft the four nations and going to actual martial artists to craft the series gorgeously animated bending styles. The series shows a level of detail, scope and effort that was little seen at the time and even as most cartoons since have followed in it’s footsteps, it still stands as one of the most beautifully crafted. It’s not perfect of course, it has it’s dud episodes, one of which gets beautifully roasted here, but their just not enough to take down the whole epic.

So naturally i’m starting not only one episode from the end but with the episode that lovingly spoofs the entire damn series. This episode is a faviorite of mine and many fans for good reason as it takes the journey so far and abridged series’ it for 24 glorious minutes. There are shots at what fans likely miswrote characters as, the creators own mistakes, and just some general fun with the premise. It’s a nice pallette cleanser before the intsense and utterly awesome finale so let’s talk about it shall we under the cut.

Our plot gets started at the Fire Lord Family Beach House, the current base for Team Avatar. Aang is doing some firebending training with Zuko while the others watch. Katara understandably asks “Won’t the Fire Lord you know, find out we’re crashing in his swanky beach house”, but Zuko’s retort is brutal as it is helpful “He hasn’t been to this place since the last time my family was happy”

I really hope the Avatarverse has therapists because Zuko needs ALL of them. Their interrupted from Zuko’s sad childhood and present day when Sokka and Suki arrive, holding up a poster. As it turns out a local theater troupe, the ember island players, is doing a play recounting our heroes exploits. If your wondering how the hell they got this info, the playwright apparently interviewed, in order: The annoying hippies from the cave of two lovers, the pirates from the water scroll episode, various prisoners of war (i.e. all their friends and allies captured during the day of black sun debacle) and the Cabbage Man. Finally his suffering got him somewhere.

Zuko is less than thrilled since these players apparently butchered love and dragons every year but the rest of the Gaang is excited to go since it could be a fun palette cleanser before the upcoming battle. Plus come on man troupes change their members frequently. Only four of the current roster of team starkid have been there since day one. They might of gotten some fresh new talent.

So our heroes go to a show with Aang wearing a pope hat to cover up his tattoos and Toph stuck only listening to the play since they got the cheap seats.

With that our play begins with where our story did: the boy in the iceberg. We meet the play versoins of the main trio. The Ember Island versions of our heroes are voiced by an all-star cast which i’ll break down as we go. Sokka is voiced by my blingdy blongidy boy Scott Melenville, aka Kevin French, Robin in both the good and bad teen titans shows, and a lot of side rolls in scooby doo movies for some reason. Seriously me and Jess have watched them all, he’s in their a suprising amount.

Katara is played by Grey DeLeise, aka Azula as well as Daphne Blake for the last few decades among many, MANY other roles. if you’ve watched a cartoon in the last two decades she’s probably been in it. Finally we have Rachel Dratch of SNL fame as Aang, who in this play is played by an adult woman as a nod to the stage versions of peter pan.

The Gaang aren’t happy with their play counterparts: Sokka’s is reduced to talking about his stomach which is now his entire character instead of half of it, Katara talks about hope and cries and worries a lot, so spot on there, and Aang is a loveable trickster ala peter pan. Basically their the characters boiled down to which trait would be the most funny and it’s just fantastic, as is the gaang’s facial reactoins to this, with Suki and Toph needling them about how their portyals are spot on. We also get a fantastic puppet of appa and Momo is reduced to a monkeything and a hand puppet. Look they had to put the budget into the Appa puppet he’s in more of the show. Momo is just sorta there. Finding Aang makes the siblings tearbend and makes me do it too from laughter.

Speaking of which we get to Zuko who famously goes on about HONOR every five minutes. There are honestly WAY too many memetic lines to pack in here and just about every bit of the play is hilarious. It’s 24 minutes of top notch self parody. Anyways in a fun gag Zuko is played by Derek Basco, Dante’s brother. Less fun is their iroh who just talks about food and having fun because , as we learn with the climax this play is partly propaganda, so naturally a public traitor like Iroh wouldn’t be treated all that well. His uncle not only being a mockery of himself, but seeing how he used to treat the old man really gets to Zuko and that’ll only grow as the play goes on. Iroh is played by John DiMaggio, who likely needs no introduction but just in case he’s bender, Jake the dog and most recently Col. Dolphman.

So we get a condensed version of season one with some truly top notch gags, from Play!Sokka getting chased around by a man in a fur suit during the bumi part of things, to the play version of katara egging Jet (played by Dee Bradley Barker who did the animal noises for this show and every show before or since) into drowning the city, to my two favorite bits.

The first is one i’d forgotten as in the play the blue spirit is not zuko but a separate entity that frees Aang and then they dance, both for the goofyness of the blue spirit head.. but mostly for Aang and Zuko’s baffled reactions that just scream

The best though is the one that stuck with me all these years:

“Oh look the Great Divide The Biggest Canyon in the Earth Kingdom!”

“Eh Let’s keep flying”

We get some more fun antics and end Book 1 with an intermission, with the crew commeserating over how bad their counteparts are while Suki laughs at their misfortunes and failings.. only for Sokka to point out you know, her stint in prison. Toph is laughing all the way though.

Naturally you’d assume as Act 2 begins that Toph’s enjoyment at the other’s misfortune would lead to her commpuance but unlike Aang, who unnecessarily whines about his actress being a girl, Toph is utterly happy to realize her actor is a muscle man played by John DiMaggio, as that’s clearly who she WANTS to be, and is entertained by the guy screaming to see. Though really given Tophs is probably the least insulting of the main cast it’s easy to see why.

We go through book 2, meeting Azula as played by Tara Strong, and the crew poke fun at a less liked episode again as the reenactment of the drill goes on for the same amount of eternities as it did in the actual episode. My faviorite bit of this section though is when they get to the reenactment of Jet’s brainwashing and death with this equally famous exchange

Zuko: Did Jet just die? Sokka: You know it’s really unclear

A goof on the fact many fans, myself included, geninely weren’t sure if he survived or not. He did not if you were curious. Less amusing to Aang at least though is the play shipping Zutra, with play Katara saying Aang’s too young for her and like a brother to her, as many fans likely did to brush off the ship despite obvious evidence of his crush on her. This causes Aang to leave in a huff. I do like the writers giving a nod to how much the audeince shipped Zutra, I thankfully was blissfully unaware of the shipping wars. They also have both Katara and Zuko more embarrassed by it than anything to show where there real otp opinions lie.

So after the reenactment of the season finale that hilariously just has Iroh shoved down when Zuko chooses team evil, we get intermission and the Gaang splits up: Katara, worried about Aang goes to look for him, Sokka, annoyed at his portrayal, goes to pitch some jokes to his actor with Suki sneaking him in, and Zuko is sulking.

He explains his reasons to Toph when pressed: For her the play is fun as she gets to be an uber badass who takes out a hundered bad guys with swords and spout one liners, just like real life. Zuko on the other hand had to relieve every shitty thing he did to his uncle and the rest of the gaang and is sad he never got to properly reconcile with Iroh or make his true father proud. Toph helps cheer him up though, bringing up the time she and Iroh hung out back in season 2, and how , even when they were estranged at the time, Iroh couldn’t stop talking about his nephew and how proud he was of the boy and that all he wanted was for Zuko to find the right path. And Toph figures he has, having found true friends, a better purpose and become his own man. Zuko actually smiles at this which is rarer than an eclipse so good for Toph

Sokka’s bit is just some fun as his actor counterpart isn’t happy to hear more suggestions until one of Sokka’s jokes makes him laugh, and thus gladly takes in his notes. I also like Sukki int his, both eyerolling at her boyfriends jokes while also clearly being happy when the actor likes them. She dosen’t tolerate Sokka’s shit, it’s the bedrock of her relationship, but she does love him for who he is and support him. It’s a good relationship and better than I honestly remembered.

Worse than I remembered though... is Aang and Katara. Back at the time of the show I shipped the hell out of them because the show told me to. I was naive like that back then. Now I get that just because the show has a main ship dosen’t mean you have to root for it. I still do sometimes, Luz and Amity, Stolas and Blitzo, btu that’s because the show’s given me proper investment in it instead of just saying “here accept this”. When a show does that it rarely works and even shows i geninely love like final space are really bad with that.

This show is obviously no exception: the ship tease was handled frustratingly, just kinda sprinkled throughout with no resolution, not helped by the promos fully exploiting the shipping for ratings. I mean it worked but it dosen’t make it any less frustrating. Over 61 episodes of show no real progress is made in their relationship romantically. it just sorta happens in the finale because that’s what they’ve been waiting for. It was a really nasty habit of 2000′s era shows to have tons of build up for a couple but no actual getting them together until the finale IF THAT. Thankfully that seems to be buried in this day and age outside of one or two shows, but god is it not great to come back to. That said Legend of Korra would get SO MUCH WORSE in seasons 1 and 2 before course correcting in season 3, downplaying the romance stuff to more cute and tolerable sideplots and having it’s main romance be far gayer and more interesting than any of the series main romances thus far, and only not showing it on screen because Nick felt strangulation was okay but gays weren’t till the last minute of the series. The comics thankfully course correct this.

My point is the romance wasn’t handled well and this scene is ESPECIALLY bad, possibly the worst of it outside of Cave of Two Lovers: Aang asks if Katara REALLY sees him like a brother like her play version then asks how she does feel when she says no. She RESONABLY points out they have a war to fight, that she just can’t think about this now and maybe when it’s over. Aang then asks when then. While she is SLIGHTLY stalling I can’t blame her: these feelings are confusing and again she has a war to fight, a war neither of them might come back from. Maybe wait till it’s over and you both live. Instead Aang kisses her.

Just.. nothing is right here, and Katara rightfully storms off. Just... ewww.. I get consent wasn’t as well defined then but read the room riders. The two get back in time for Zuko to join up and to see the plays ending.. which to Sokka’s confusion goes beyond what they’ve experinced. The ending is one of the best parts of the episode... and as you’d expect from a play that’s mildly propaganda it ends BADLY for our heroes: Zuko is killed holdling off Azula and Aang dies despite having mastered the four elements as the Fire Lord has the comet. The audience cheers as Aang gasps in horror at what COUDL be his future and his friends gape at what will happen to the world if they don’t win. There’s a comedy scene after this where they all talk about how much they didn’t like the play.. but it doesn't undercut the ending. It’s surprisingly terrifying, letting our heroes and audience know their not safe, anyone can die in the finale coming up and reminding them the stakes. It also nicely foreshadows the finale in places: on Zuko’s end, it foreshadows his final battle with azula and having seen this gives reason besides his love of the guy for finding Iroh: Zuko is genuinely certain he cannot win a fight with her. it also amps up Aang’s fears, as well as highlights the fact that he HASN’T mastered all four elements. He’s learned all four and can use them well, but he’s not a master yet... while his opponent is about to get a massive boost. It’s a gloomy but necessary button to an awesome episode

Final Thoughts: This episode is a masterpiece: the jokes are all pitch perfect, there’s tons of comedy, but there’s also small subtle setups for the finale that I mentioned. Other than that godawful Kataang scene, it’s a truly excellent love letter to the series from it’s own creators as they readied to say goodbye to it. It’s worth checking out again if you haven’t seen it in a while> Truly great. And I hope to return to this series one day. For now though, follow for more reviews of various cartoons and thanks for reading.

#avatar the last airbender #aang #katara #sokka #toph #zuko #suki #the ember island players #nickelodeon #paramount plus #paramount+

18 notes · View notes

gothicthundra · 2 years

Text

Sex in the City... Thoughts.

No one asked but I’m gonna share anyway.

I loved Sex and the City and recently rewatched the series because why not and braved the new series And Just Like That...

And rewatching and then checking the new series has made me appreciate and dislike things I overlooked when I was younger... so here it is. Feel free to comment or add to it because I like hearing perspectives on this show.

I think I’m just going to go by character and then plot issues that bother me.

Charlotte:

I’m not gonna lie. She is my favorite of the four for various reasons but primarily as a whole... he character development. She is a romantic to the very core and even though in the earlier seasons it was almost cringe how fast she would fall for “the one” but it’s real. But I loved her because of her choice not to compromise on things she valued and stood for, often coming off as spoiled at times... but I didn’t care. Her development from only falling for the classical perfect looking man to falling in true love with someone that wasn’t that typical guy... Harry.

Whom I love to be very clear! He is perfect for her!

I know I’ve seen criticism in certain areas of the fandom about her conversion to Judaism. but TRUE it started off for her to be with Harry... but when they broke up... because she refused to compromise her needs... she didn’t just drop it. No. She found that her values and being worked in that faith and it became her faith and not just a fling.

And I loved that with all the plot holes in the films and in the new series ...She is still Charlotte. She reacted the way she would and didn’t box her in to a new character she never was... unlike some of them.

She wanted to be a wife and mother and that’s what she got and strived at. Even in series arches where she seemed more wild than normal... it was typical of the situations she had been going through like breakups, etc... and honestly... She is probably the most consistent character... and I love it.

Samantha:

Is Queen! For real, I remember when I first watched this series that most anti-SitC people were dramatic about it because of her. Because she was unapologetically her.

This women deserved everything and she buster her ass to get where she got and I loved that they never made that anything to do with her promiscuity. She was just intelegent, confident, and honest... and frankly ahead of her time. I remember her speech about the future and how it would be and those writers knew what the world would shape too and she was the embodiment.

That being said... I will never get over she and Smith breaking up in the movie, because it never made sense to me given there relationship and connection... and the fact that her moving didn’t even make sense as it had been fine in the series but made it a big deal for his career that she needed to relocate... BUT..

The way they broke up... was 100% Samantha and I’m not mad about that... just the breakup never made sense to me. I also HATED that she wasn’t in the new series and just shoved her character off to Paris... which contradicted her “Never leaving New York again” attitude... just... I know they had to do something BUT really?

Miranda:

Ah,,, Miranda, Miranda. So much to say about the hardworking, driven, powerhouse. She like Samantha was unapologetic in who she was but in a different light. But as far as her character... was a hot mess of setbacks and inconsistence at times as if the writers would forget who she was and then back track... realize try and fix it.

Her character seemed to get more consistent after Brady and I loved that they kept it going...

BUT. And Just Like That... was a HOT mess of utter chaos. So focused on making her character more “modern” and fit the actress rather than the character... it was like they forgot her completely. Am I saying that Miranda couldn’t be gay? No, not at all... but there handling of her character was just horrible, I’m sorry.

One of her and Steve’s biggest things was Infidelity so having her character do so... was NOT a Miranda move. If anything she would have talked to Steve about any of these feelings first and they would have figured it out together and frankly.. Steve would have supported her if this was how she felt... but to make her just act like an impulsive wreck was insane... and playing her as if she was ignorant to the world or something when Miranda is not... uhg.

(Shay and Steve didn’t need that migraine)

Carrie:

Carrie.*Deep breath*

Listen, she is the narrator, the writer, the one weaving this tale of life, friendship, drama, and relationships... and for that. Amazing... but she is was probably the Queen of Hot Mess and made it look stylish. Which was probably the most realistic of the four as far as life in the city... But her as a character is both a joy and a deep heavy sigh sometimes.

There is just one thing... Big.

One think I liked about the new series was that other’s called it out on how toxic that relationship was even when it was good... obviously it was who she had to end up with but it always felt so... right but also so wrong.

It always seemed like when they ran out of drama for her or lost interest in a romance... there he was again. Big. And I loved when they got together but I also hated it... because it was off... and don’t get me started on the movies... because just... yeah.

Of coarse then if not Big than who? Aiden? He was the least toxic choice and he would have made her happy but that wasn’t the life she wanted. He wanted a family and she didn’t... but I think the one I always remember was Jeremy and I wished they’d revisited that... But that’s just me.

As far as the new series with her... well it’s Carrie... and she delivered.

So... any thoughts?

#sex in the city #and just like that #thoughts #opinion

3 notes · View notes

buddiewho · 3 years

Text

I was bored this weekend so I rewatched season 4a. Spoilers ahead.

Honestly, I don't think things get popping until episode 3 [but weren’t actually nearly that great until the last 3 episodes tbh] and I am not even being Buddie biased or Buckley-Diaz family unit biased [this might be a bold face lie, but on second rewatch, I noticed I was paying more attention to everything else as well]. 4x03 is just a really good episode. Good old emergencies, mixed in with Eddie's paranoia over Hildy. Then from there it's Buck Begins and the whole Buckley family secret. Then of course, I feel like when we get to Jinx that starts some kind of path. The universe path, you know? There Goes the Neighborhood also continues on this path. Buck is still trying to work through some stuff; a terrible date, the bit about SAFE SPACES. Then Breaking Point. Everyone has one right? Even Christopher and getting angry or as Buck put it “ I heard you blew up at your Dad” and that’s not over yet though. Taylor needing a friend. Nearly Buck reaching one, but he managed to repair it. Eddie for the sole fact Christopher runs away. Hen and Karen actually not having a breaking point until... Chim and Maddie breaking and repairing it in regards to how Baby Mango arrives in this world. Athena and Bobby just being parents to everyone as usual.

Fun fact. Breaking Point was on as I typed this and it's the one on one scene between Buck and Chris. "I don't want to miss anyone else," Christopher says after he names all the other people he misses first. Buck is probably also telling himself, don't make it about you Buck, this isn't about you, but you are going to promise, "I'm not going anywhere." The last three episodes (Jinx, There Goes the Neighborhood, and Breaking Point) were like some kind National Treasure bullshit; *Nicolas Cage voice* "The secret lies with Charlotte." "Paul Revere went by horse and it was two lanterns not one" or some bullcrap that movie talked about (not going to lie, I once thought it was comedic), but I just mean the overall premise of National Treasure being about secrets or coded messages and a Treasure Hunt (which if I'm correct is also a name of a potential 911 episode...?)

Can I backtrack a moment to 4x07? You know the awkward double date that Buck invited Taylor to? Buck is sitting awkwardly in that chair, wondering about his life choices and little bit of a song played. The lyrics, "There's someone else for you." Just that bit of the song, for the record and I don't think it was already playing in the previous scene to end so coincidentally over Buck’s face?

I'm also not over Taylor talking about looking for a miracle in which Buck gave to her and Eddie also called Buck a miracle worker.

Okay, the end of Breaking Point: Ana comes over to the house, like some awkward new beginning parallel to Madney being cute as they prepare for Baby Mango. Buck patches things with Albert. Then the not so happy crescendo/breaking point for Hen and Karen. Adopting Nia may not happen.

It's really coded like a treasure hunt and if there's an episode named that, well, that'll be hilarious. I'm forever going to hang onto Future Tense as a way of showing us the future, Buck and Eddie have yet to realize. So when they do realize it, it'll be soo damn good. So if the presumed treasure hunt the universe sends the boys on (with everyone else on their own kind)- but if Buddie doesn’t end with them figuring out what connects them and how they want to be connected...like if they don’t meet in the middle at the X marks the spot (or the universe tether aka Christopher) then I really am just creating this treasure hunt out of thin air and it doesn’t exist like the Dad profusely told Nic Cage’s character in National Treasure...or maybe it’s also like PLAYING DETECTIVES? Cagney and Lacey inspired True Crime podcast brought to you by Buck and Eddie two LAFD firefighters and best friends occasionally featuring their Captain of the 118; plus Bobby’s friend Michael and his partner David who reluctantly participates in these shenanigans but could provide key medical evidence/research. In my mind, they read [mostly Buck and Eddie] their cases/script for this made up podcast as 1940s detectives. Smoky voice Buck: “It’s a locked room mystery.” *1940s detective music* Smoky voice Eddie: “Correction. It’s a locked yard mystery...” Anyway...

Did I mention the clowns to ya'll? We didn't forget abut those clowns did we (Jinx might actually be my fav episode of the season after FUTURE TENSE). The clowns are so pointedly shot after Eddie mentions Ana to Buck. Okay. Then there's also the love languages thing. That's a book Buck’s therapist would've recommended right now or for some reason he’s choosing to read it? As we can see, I think the show might be reeling it back in for Buck. As Eddie put it "I don't know what inspired this software upgrade." Coincidentally, Buck 3.0 is looking to the FUTURE. Anyway, the love languages. NO one immediately thinks about the coffee machine prank. Absolutely no one so I won't even make that a thing, but I notice in that scene Buck "outs" Eddie by telling the team about Ana.

Hen: Ana who?... Is this the one you yelled at? Eddie: I apologized for that. Chim: Yeah okay and you still didn't ask her out? Eddie: She's Christopher's teacher. Bobby: I thought you said she got a new job. Buck: *crickets*

What's the intention behind Buck bursting this supposed secret and then not have him encourage Eddie? Like in his way, Buck could’ve said well, does she do this or that? Words of affirmation? Gift giving? Are yours and her love languages truly compatible? Oh, wait, there’s implications behind the book Buck is reading but also...there's implications behind Chim and Bobby's statements. They're implying okay so go for it. Neither Hen or Buck really do that. Why don’t we have Hen jumping on the encouragement train either? Instead she brings it back to that one unfortunate moment any of them really remembers of Ana... Hmm, it's secrets and coded messages and the one thing that Buck has said from this entire season that truly resonates with me:

Buck (directed to Eddie): The universe is screaming at you and it's like you're not even listening.

Irony is. Neither is he.

Oh wait, another line that resonates with me (and I made a recent post with it too):

Bobby (directed to Eddie): They're so focused on what they don't have that they might miss out on the chance to have something else, something real.

Something real.

You really want me to think this line is about Ana Flores, even if Eddie thinks it somewhat is? And the foundation of it is to encourage Eddie to think about moving on, to stop being so STUCK (2x04 anyone?). If it really is about Ana then we're actually painting Bobby as the character who has no idea...? None whatsoever as to HOW CLOSE Buck and Eddie could be, if that's what they wanted. Seems fake, but okay. Bobby's line actually should highlight that they both are looking in the opposite direction when in fact the SOMETHING REAL is right in front of their faces. The something real is what Eddie came home to after his supposed date.

Just saying because to me it looks Buck and Eddie are still looking in and RUSHING INTO the PAST TENSE and have yet to understand the FUTURE TENSE.

#buddie #911 spoilers #a rewatch #a messy one #but sure why not #how could I still not watch it with Buddie goggles on or my clown hat #...

44 notes · View notes

haunted-medievalist · 3 years

Text

tag game time!

i was tagged by the lovely @contre-qui, with the aim of tagging nine people to learn about their interests - i'm unlikely to find that many people myself but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it! going under the cut because this is a pretty long(ish) one.

music!

fave genre a little bit of everything but right now especially medieval folk & pop rock

fave artist a strange mixture of måneskin, kraftklub, siames, cavetown, and rainbow kitten surprise

fave song hard choice, but probably 'brothers' by siames & eddy capparelli

most listened to song recently either 'coraline' by måneskin or 'king orfeo' from the child ballads

song currently stuck in your head 'happy pills' by weathers

five fave lyrics oh boy, this is gonna take some thought.

"called to the devil and the devil said / hey! why you been calling this late? / it's like 2a.m. and the bars all close at ten in hell, that's a rule i made / anyway, you say you're too busy saving everybody else to save yourself / and you don't want no help, oh well / that's the story to tell" ('it's called: freefall' by rainbow kitten surprise)

"today i coo, today i caw / i have a pistol party and i kill 'em all / i think i might be scared / of the man and the men with their hands inside / and the women, oh, the women all they do is cry / and i, well i lose my mind" ('little pistol' by mother mother)

"so did you pack your bag, or did somebody pack it for you? / take me to the sad, sad party that you're bound to / whether you're a 'have-not' or a 'have', i got a question / are you living dead, or is this some kind of possession?' ('blast doors' by everything everything)

"but what if i run out of fertiliser? / what if the clouds run out of rain? what if lemon boy won't grow no longer? what if beaches dry of sugar cane?" ('lemon boy' by cavetown)

"now they tell you that you're their muse / yeah, they're so inspired / but where were they when they called your name / and they lit the fire? / when the voices came, you cut your hair / but you're stilled confused" ('joan of arc' by arcade fire)

books!

fave book genre fantasy all the way

fave writer bernardine evaristo, leigh bardugo, madeline miller

fave book oh dear, here we go. 'circe' by madeline miller, 'six of crows' and 'crooked kingdom' by leigh bardugo, 'girl, woman, other' by bernardine evaristo, 'good omens' by neil gaiman & terry pratchett, 'the raven cycle' series by maggie stiefvater, 'oranges are not the only fruit' by jeanette winterson, and a whole lot of old norse literature of dubious authorship (but especially 'gisla saga' and 'hrafnkels saga freysgoða', and pretty much all of the eddic poems in the volsung cycle)

fave book series it's a tie between leigh bardugo's grishaverse novels and maggie stiefvater's 'the raven cycle'

comfort book 'the secret kingdom' by jenny nimmo

rainy day book any of my norse books, sagas or poetry

fave characters nina zenik in the grishaverse, ronan lynch in 'the raven cycle', gisli in 'gisla saga' (not sure if that counts as a character or historical figure, dependent on perspective...?), and circe in, y'know, 'circe'

five quotes from your fave books?

"i thought once that gods are the opposite of death, but i see now they are more dead than anything, for they are unchanging, and can hold nothing in their hands" ('circe' by madeline miller)

"'spreader of swords, it is your own sons' / corpse-bloody hearts you've chewed up with honey, / proud man, you've consumed dead men's meat, / eating it as ale-dainties, sending it to the high seat' [...] with the point of a blade she gave the bed a bloody drink, / with a hel-keen hand, and set the dogs free; / she woke the servants, and in front of the hall-door / she flung a burning brand: she paid them back for her brothers. / to the fire she gave everyone who was inside, / who'd come from myrkheim after murdering gunnar and his men; / the ancient timbers fell, the temples smoked, / the buildings burned of budli's kin, and the shield-maids inside; / their lives stemmed, sinking into hot flames." (gudrun avenges her brother in 'atlakviða', a poem in the old norse poetic and elder eddas)

"you aren't a flower, you're every blossom in the wood blooming at once. you are a tidal wave. you're a stampede. you are overwhelming." ('crooked kingdom' by leigh bardugo)

"from the passenger seat, ronan began to swear at adam. it was a long, involved swear, using every forbidden word possible, often in compound-word form. as adam stared at his lap, penitent, he mused that there was something musical about the ronan when he swore, a careful and loving precision to the way he fit the words together, a black-painted poetry. it was far less hateful sounding than when he didn't swear." ('the raven cycle' by maggie stiefvater)

"but where was god now, with heaven full of astronauts, and the lord overthrown? i miss god. i miss the company of someone utterly loyal. i still don't think of god as my betrayer. the servants of god, yes, but servants by their very nature betray. i miss god who was my friend. i don't even know if god exists, but i do know that if god is your emotional role model, very few human relationships will match up to it. i have an idea that one day it might be possible, i thought once it had become possible, and that glimpse has set me wandering, trying to find the balance between earth and sky. if the servants hadn't rushed in and parted us, i might have been disappointed, might have snatched off the white samite to find a bowl of soup." ('oranges are not the only fruit' by jeanette winterson)

tv and movies!

fave tv/movie genre fantasy, travel/road trip & comedy

fave movie the secret life of walter mitty, supernova, any and all ghibli films, scott pilgrim vs. the world, lord of the rings, the how to train your dragon trilogy

comfort movie the lion king (original), how to train your dragon, from up on poppy hill, kiki's delivery service

movie you watch every year elf, howl's moving castle, love simon

fave tv show she-ra and the princesses of power, skam, bee and puppycat (i guess more of a web series than a tv show?), adventure time, the it crowd

comfort tv show adventure time

most rewatched tv show skam, every october without fail

five favourite characters catra (she-ra and the princesses of power), sana (skam original), marceline (adventure time), moss (the it crowd), inej (shadow and bone netflix adaptation)

tagging (absolutely no pressure, this is a pretty long one!): @crowcaves, @the-obsidian-soul, @natscbi, @somehowmags, @gabrilearnelle, @clockwords, @starsspace... and that's it, that's as close to nine as i'm getting, but if anyone else just feels like doing it then feel free to consider yourself tagged!

#tag game #long post #tysm for the tag!!!!

13 notes · View notes

ihatetaxes99 · 3 years

Text

A Brief Retrospective Look At MVA (In The Anime)

Well. Here we are. Every end of the time is another begun. After what has felt like years of anticipation (mostly because it actually has been years), My Villain Academia has been fully animated. Well, "fully" may be the wrong word here, but that's something I'll get into later.

To honour the end of the arc, I decided to do two things: One, I re-read the entirety of the arc in the manga all in one sitting; Two, I rewatched all five episodes of the anime's adaptation back to back once again. My life is pain and I know not of sleep. Anyway, the reason I did this is because of a little project I proposed to myself back just before the first episode aired; Once MVA was done and dusted, I would go back and give my own retrospective on the whole thing. Because why the hell not, sounds like fun. This will also hopefully be less emotional than my thoughts I shared as the episodes were still airing, but who knows?

So, let's begin. And I wish to start by stating that My Villain Academia is my absolute favourite arc in the manga. It did a lot of things right. It focused entirely on my favourite faction, the villains. It offers a glimpse into their lives and goes a long way in humanising them, particularly Spinner and Shigaraki. It sets up key points for others too, such as Mr. Compress' habit of thinking more about the bigger picture than the others, which would factor into his major reveal during the Paranormal Liberation War and of course the formation of the Front itself. It introduced us to Rikiya Yotsubashi, one of my favourite characters in the manga, even if he honestly peaked in this arc and was never as good again. And it gave us a large-scale, grueling fight for supremacy in which I found myself actively rooting for the League. It is, in my mind, the very best of BNHA, the only arc I would want them to do well in the anime. They could screw up literally everything else and I would be happy if MVA was even just as good as the manga, it didn't even need to be better. I would have been delighted to have an excuse to experience the arc all over again, seeing my favourite moments with the sublime soundtrack and voice acting.

Yeah…

But before I get to that, let us take a little trip of sorts down memory lane to see the road to MVA, what led to it. So, 2021 rolls around. What a fun year. It's just 2020 without the excitement of everything being so uncertain, and frankly it's been really fucking boring as a year. However, BNHA Season Five was announced. In February, we get the first trailer for the upcoming season. It's... It's fine. Obviously, it focuses heavily on the Joint Training Arc (in fact, that is all it shows) and although I despise that arc with a passion, it's not too bad. I had not watched the anime since Overhaul ended, so my plan was I just wouldn't watch JTA and would wait until the big attraction, MVA. And so, Joint Training starts. And it goes on. And on. And on. I checked back almost two months later to discover it still wasn't over yet. Now I found this odd. Joint Training Arc was horrible for many reasons, but the big one was that it dragged on for so long as a result of Horikoshi's health complications, which is by no means his fault. But, surely the anime, which would consistently release on a weekly basis, wouldn't have the issues associated with this. Episodes of BNHA have always encompassed around three to five chapters, and Joint Training's were shorter than usual, so why was it taking more than ten episodes to adapt it?

Very strange, but I didn't question it much. Then, the key visuals released, confirming that MVA was at the very least happening. Great, wonderful. I love it. We've got the whole gang there, seeming like they're in Deika, looks pretty good.

Wait, did I say whole gang? Yeah, my bad, there was someone missing. Spinner. Now, I am not the biggest Spinner fan so I wasn't prepared to riot over his exclusion like I would have been if Compress wasn't in it. But this was starting to get strange. Spinner was the main narrator of MVA. Even if his importance was not on the level of Shigaraki, Twice and Toga, it was certainly more than Dabi and Compress, who did both appear in the art. Why was he excluded? Obviously, I bet you're all having a good old chuckle to yourselves right now because in retrospect, this makes perfect sense now.

Alright, then. I heard from a friend around June time that Joint Training was finally over. Awesome, great, time for the good stuff- why is there a Christmas episode here?

Yes, this was probably what really started to get the alarm bells in my mind going. The Christmas episode- in June. Very, very strange. Also, absolutely no mention of Rikiya, which even if they were reshuffling things, I would have expected him to appear in the episode of Bakugo and Todoroki getting their licenses, since it directly ties in. Concern levels rising, I shrugged it off and waited for next week.

Bam. Major reshuffling. Now, Endeavour Agency comes first, fuck you if you want context for who the hell the PLF are or the significance of Destro's memoirs. This was really starting to worry me now. I told myself that the key visual meant that MVA had to be happening, but it was starting to seem like the villains were being shafted. A fact not helped by the new OP.

Look, I'm sorry. I don't mean to complain or whine, but season five's second OP is just bad. The music is fine, I have no problem there. But the visuals are just awful. Not only is there an extended focus on that stupid bloody trio of Midoriya, Bakugo and Todoroki, not only is there more screentime given to characters who don't appear in MVA or EA than the main cast of the former, but the animation itself is just so stiff and lacking. It had potential, but the visuals are the worst out of any recent anime opening I've seen in a good few years and this was what got me really panicking.

Boom, a beach episode smack in the middle of Endeavour Agency to promote the upcoming movie. Boom, adapting two chapters per episode during EA. Boom, the Shirakumo episode, which I always thought was part of the War Arc and not EA. But finally, mercifully, the title leaks came and it was revealed that episode 20 of season five would be the start of MVA.

20. Out of 25. And it was pretty obvious that they weren't going to end the season with MVA, so really, up to 24. Ohhh no…

But hey, I'm an optimist sometimes. I was excited to just finally be clear of all this nonsense and get to the real good stuff. Hell, in preparation, I watched the entirety of the season up to that point. I finally realised why JTA took so long and it's one of the most depressing things I've ever learned, in a bad way. Were all those flashbacks really necessary? EA was okay, as someone who as a manga reader, already had the necessary context for the PLF stuff. The beach episode, I watched half of, got too bored and skipped the rest of. And you know what, I liked the Shirakumo chapters. They weren't as good in the anime, but it was nice to see.

And then, finally, in comes episode one of My Villain Academia, on a cold, dark August morning. I even bought Crunchyroll Premium to watch it as soon as possible, I was excited. All the messing around, all the crap, it was finally over and the time had come to enjoy what this season was really all about.

I can now safely say why Bones kept pushing back MVA, because if I was them, I would be embarrassed to show this.

No, that's not fair. I promised I wouldn't get too snarky, so let's reek things back in. As a whole, MVA has been… fine. Just fine. Not good enough to justify the bullshit, but not horrendous (mostly.) In fact, right now, I'll give a ranking of the episodes, my worst to best:

5) Episode One

4) Episode Two

3) Episode Three

2) Episode Five

1) Episode Four

Yeah. So, there's a clear pattern here, that things more or less got better as time went on. From just straight up bad, to still not great, to alright, to the final two episodes being what I would comfortably call good. This is not a good look. I'm sorry, but Episode One, an episode that I just called bad, is still one of the season's best in spite of that. That spells out awful things for this season as a whole. But what exactly made this such a disaster?

Well, cut content is the big thing. MVA in the anime cuts out:

The League's battle with the CRC

Their struggle with poverty

The sushi joke setup

All of Spinner's character

All of Rikiya's character, including most mentions of Detnerat and Miyashita

Fairly integral pieces of Skeptic's character

Most of Giran's integrity and bravery

This doesn't look too bad at first. It could be far worse. We got basically everything else from the arc, so what? Well, I would already be annoyed about all of these cuts, but the issue is that they cause a knock on effect. Without the establishment of the League's poverty, the payoff of Toga's duffle coat now makes no sense. Without the setup of Spinner's characterisation, his battle with Hanabata now feels hollow. Rikiya's surrender to the League now makes even less sense, as his love of human life and desire to cause no more death is completely non-existent. The first time Rikiya being a CEO is mentioned is in the closing minutes of the arc. The sushi scene is hamfisted into a two second flashback just so that the payoff makes some sort of sense, but again, it is hollow without it being at the start (this is also the first mention of the League's poverty and it literally happens just as they are freed from it.) Can you see how these little seemingly unimportant cuts spiral into bigger problems? I would have been pissed even if they hadn't caused some tremendous cascades, but the fact that they did just makes this from a subjective issue to an objective one.

Yes. They did some things well. Toga's backstory is mostly intact, SMP is just as satisfying as the manga, Tenko's backstory is one of the best things the anime has ever done, the awakening is very well done, I adore the PLF formation as much as I did in the manga. Everything important is intact, but as I keep saying, you cannot just keep the bare minimum and expect it to work. How about in the next arc, they decide to cut everything involving Bakugo out, and only keep him jumping in front of Midoriya because it's the only absolutely necessary thing he does in the arc? People would be pissed, and it's the same thing that's happening here. It's a problem, it's not just a bad adaptation, it leads to bad storytelling in general.

The animation. Now, I do not believe this is a be all, end all. BNHA's anime is never going to look as gorgeous as Horikoshi's art, that is a fact and I do not begrudge them for that. They have a week to draw hundreds upon hundreds of frames, it's not a process that lends itself well to good looks and the animators and artists do their best with what they have. This does not change the fact that it is extremely hit or miss. Some things, Tenko's backstory in particular, look fantastic. Other things, mostly every action scene, make me laugh at how bad they can look and some things, particularly Twice and Re-Destro's hideous designs in the anime, make me cringe. The lighting is also an issue. Garaki's lab looked fantastic, but every other scene is just boring mid-afternoon with dull, basic lighting. I don't expect huge detail, but sometimes, it fails to achieve competency and as an extremely popular show, I don't think that's okay. I don't blame the animators, I blame the higher ups. And while I wouldn't mind the poor animation and art in an MVA that at least has all the story content, this does not have that and so I am even harsher than I would have been.

MVA was rushed. That's not up for debate. It took forever to get to it and once it came, things moved so quickly that they gave me whiplash, with no time to think or lament. Now, this could be attributed to the story structure of the arc, which is essentially a series of big fights, and it just isn't as bad in the manga because I can stop at any time to catch my breath. But I think it's worth noting that the anime at least highlights these issues. Curious dies in the same episode where she first appears, really driving home how pointless she was in the end. Episode Two alone tries to cover everything from the journey to Deika up until Jin finding Toga's body. That's a lot of content to fit in one twenty minute period and it was bound to feel messy in the end. I will say that, much like everything aside from the animation, this did get better as time went on, with episodes three, four and five adapting more reasonable amounts of content, compared to one giving us almost nothing and two giving us too much.

At the end of the day, that was it. The show's over. MVA has been closed in the anime. It will never be given a chance to improve, to go from just fine to anything even close to the manga. Why did this happen? I don't think we'll ever truly know. Some blame the new movie, others the studio's lack of faith in the villains, and there are those who say that it's just how fate turned out. I personally think it's a combination of all of these things. Without the movie, that beach episode wouldn't exist, giving more time to MVA, without the studio's hesitation, we'd perhaps get stuff like an actual good OP and perhaps some more general hype for it (I mean, MVA didn't even get a trailer.) Whatever the reason is, we got what we got. My verdict is something that's very overplayed as of late, but seriously, just read the manga with the fantastic soundtrack playing in the background. The anime's adaptation of MVA is not worth the time investment, when you could read the manga in roughly the same length of time and get more content, a more coherent plot and beautiful artwork.

So, what may come next for Season Six? I don't know. Season Five has definitely been one of the most unpopular seasons in the anime, with a lot of people speaking out against it, but this mostly seems to come from the Western fanbase, so it's up in the air if Bones will learn from their mistakes. Since they'll have a full season to do presumably the War and Rouge Deku arcs, then I feel like they'll put on a better show. But we just don't know. Spinner had his spotlight stolen this time around, will Compress suffer the same fate in Season Six? Dabi and Toga will probably be handled well, since they have inexplicably high amounts of popularity, but with his own lack of recognition rivalling Spinner's, I can see Sako ending up much the same way. Time will tell, I suppose.

#my villain academia #mva #league of villains #Meta Liberation Army #studio bones #bnha season 5

19 notes · View notes

s1rcus · 3 years

Text

Second Chance (NatDex/Blackhill)

Rating: Teen and up

Words: 1555

Fandoms: Marvel, Stumptown

Characters: Natasha Romanoff, Dex Parios, Original Female Character

Additional tags: Reincarnation, Post-Avengers: Endgame, Reincarnation AU, Stumptown Crossover

Summary: After Vormir Natasha wakes up in a new world where she has a different name and works as a ballet dancer? She also finds a familiar face she has missed, when her best friend/co-worker, Katya, drags her into a bar on a Friday evening.

Authors note: So this a thing I've been working on pretty much since I watched Stumptown. There's also a little cameo for one of Emily VanCamp's characters because I've been watching the Resident and rewatching Revenge recently.

Story below the cut or in AO3 here

The last thing Natasha can remember was her falling. She rubs her eyes and sits up in a bed, the covers pooling on her lap. A bed? That can't be right. She very much remembers falling to her death to save Clint from doing that.

A phone goes off on the nightstand next to her. She grabs it and realizes it's an alarm she had put on. Dismissing it she gets up and heads towards the bathroom. She's not alarmed by the fact that she clearly knows where it is until the shower is running. Something is very wrong.

She gets out of the shower and dries her hair with a towel and wraps it around herself. She goes to check the mail to see who's apartment this is. Veronika Bobrova is the only name in the few letters that lie in front of the door. She's starting to think she's hit her head or something but then the phone starts to ring again and she goes to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Vera where are you? We're starting in fifteen minutes and there's so much I can do until someone notices you're not here."

And with that voice her life flashes back to her. She is Veronika Bobrova, a ballet dancer. They have rehearsals for shows during daytime and during evenings they teach children. Her class is on Tuesday and Thursday evenings so today was a free evening. She shakes her head to clear her head.

"I'm so sorry. I had put the alarm wrong. I'll be there as quickly as I can. Thank you Katya. I owe you some drinks or something."

"I'm gonna keep that in mind."

She ended the call, got dressed and grabbed a toast on her way out of the door.

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

And Katya did keep it in mind. When Friday evening came she was being dragged across town to a bar she had never even heard of. Bad Alibi was such a weird name for a bar anyway.

Katya sat down at a table and Natasha went to order them a couple shots of vodka. When she got back and was sitting across from Katya, she saw a face she knew she could never forget. It didn't matter what had happened, if she was Natasha or Veronika or whoever she was supposed to be, but that face she could never forget. It was Maria. Somehow she hadn't even thought about how her sacrificing herself to keep Clint with his family and to get everyone else back would affect her. Does that make her a bad girlfriend? It probably doesn't even matter anymore. She's dead. In that world at least.

She must've been staring for a while because Katya speaks up next to her.

"She's actually the reason we're here. She's a PI and I really need help with the Jack situation."

Before Natasha has time to really say anything, Katya has downed the rest of her drinks and is making her way towards the woman who looks like Maria. She comes back with her and sits next to Natasha while the other woman sits across from them.

Veronika had never been this happy she was single, while Natasha was happy that Veronika actually was single. Being single had never been a problem for Natasha, she actually kinda preferred it, but Maria had proven how wrong she was. While Veronika definitely hated being single. That probably shows the difference of how they grew up. Or so at least Natasha thought.

The woman says her name is Dex Parios and she asks Katya to explain her situation to her. Natasha hears none of Katya's explanation, barely registering Katya introducing her as her "emotional support". She just keeps staring at Maria/Dex, whoever she is.

This version is way more laid back as her Maria. She's more like the Maria Natasha got to know. The one who'd watch movies with her and eat popcorn. The one that'd cook her dinner after a long mission. The one who called her grandma every Sunday evening no matter where she was. The one Natasha fell in love with.

After a while it becomes too much and Natasha excuses herself, making her way outside. Without a thought she digs through her purse and pulls out a small carton. When she's holding a lighter on her other hand, she makes a face. Of course Veronika would have a bad habit Natasha couldn't stand. She puts the lighter back into her purse and throws the carton to a bin. Leaning against the wall she takes a deep breath. She needs to get a grip.

"What's going on with you? You've been weird these past few days."

Of course Katya would follow her. She needed a lie, a good one. Because telling her best friend that a couple days ago she woke up and suddenly she has all these memories of another life in her head. A whole new personality that had mostly taken over. Maybe just telling a partial truth would be for the best.

"I quit smoking."

"Oh. Well good for you! I was expecting something totally different. Maybe even something bad."

"What? That I joined a secret agency and killed a bunch of people?"

"Uh, no? That was weirdly specific?"

"Sorry, just a dream I had. How'd it go with the PI?"

"Good. She said she'll contact me when she has something."

Before Natasha even realizes she's speaking, she's said her thoughts out loud. "She's so beautiful."

"Oh?"

Shit. Does Veronika date women? Did Katya know if she does? Natasha tries to start thinking back on the memories she's still trying to figure out but it's still all mixed up with her own memories.

"She didn't really seem your type. Well, mainly she wasn't blonde or rich."

Okay, good. Yes to all of the questions. Wait, blonde and rich? Why is her memory showing her Carter in fancy clothes and why does it hurt? Not really important right now but she does need to figure out her mixed memories.

"Well, you saw those eyes yourself. You tell me they weren't the most beautiful eyes you've ever seen."

"Sure." Couple beats of silence until Katya lets out a breath and continues, "I'm heading home. You wanna share a cab?"

"Oh?" Looking back inside where she could see Maria/Dex. She's got a second chance in this and she has to take it. She shakes her head. "No. I'm good. I think I'm going to try to get her number."

"You know I have her number right or you could just get it online?"

"Yeah, but where's the fun in that?" Natasha smirks.

"Fair enough. Don't have too much fun without me though."

"No promises. I'll see you on Monday."

"See ya."

Natasha watches Katya wave a cab and makes her way inside. She goes to the bar and orders a beer. Not really her choice in drinks but Maria had liked it and she had got used to the taste. Also maybe getting drunk while she's mixing memories isn't a good idea and beer isn't strong enough to get her drunk. She moves to a table with her bottle and sits down. Slowly sipping her drink she keeps her gaze at Maria/Dex. Dex, that's her name and she really should start calling her by that. She isn't Maria, just looks like her (and maybe sometimes acts like her).

It doesn't take too long before Dex catches her watching her. Natasha flashes her a quick smile and shifts her gaze to the table top. Dammit, she's way off her game. This isn't how Veronika did things and her body keeps betraying her by doing small things the way it used to. When she lifts her eyes back up, she sees Dex making her way towards her.

"I was wondering if you'd come back," is all Dex says as she sits on the empty chair across from Natasha.

Being this close to her makes Natasha feel at ease, Maria always had that effect on her, and having a gentle smile on her face feels almost effortless and natural.

"How so?" Natasha responds, tilting her head as she tries to read Dex. It's hard, because she clearly isn't Maria like her brain and heart are telling her. Was she interested in her? Part of her was saying yes, but the other part couldn't get a read on her.

"Someone like you doesn't stare at a person without a reason. Either you're hoping to get something or I have something on my face. And I checked myself in the mirror after your friend left, so I'm pretty sure it's the former."

"Someone like me?" It's a challenge and Natasha knows that Dex knows it too.

"Fuck. I didn't mean it like that. I-"

Natasha smirks at her, "I'm just messing with you. I know what you meant. Let me buy you a beer?"

Dex is smiling now and suddenly Natasha has butterflies in her stomach without a reason. She blames Veronika, but it might also just be her.

"I don't think you buying me a beer at a place where I get them always for free is fair. But how about I'll get you one?"

Maybe she really does have a second chance at this. Natasha smiles at her, "I'd like that.

#blackhill #dex x natasha #natasha romanoff #dex parios #black widow #marvel #mcu #stumptown #my fic

18 notes · View notes

rebelparacosm · 2 years

Text

Slightly tipsy from the strong espresso martini my husband made me but I had the weirdest dream during my short nap (which felt like forever).

I blame this on my iron infusion this morning, all the times I watched Spiderman No Way Home interviews at 3AM while trying to go to sleep when I was trying not to catch covid from my husband who had it recently, my rediscovered love for Finn from the Star Wars reboot and rewatching John Boyega and Daisy Ridley interviews because I love their friendship, and talking to people about Fleabag, which I have not seen, btw. Idk how Teyonah came into the picture but I guess my brain randomly picked her because she's a good actress??

I dreamt of a movie starring:

(edit: my read more tag didn't work on the mobile app)

Zendaya as a vampire superhero (American accent)

John Boyega as the vampire who turned her/her mentor, who is equal parts Charlie (Charlie's Angels and Wade (Kim Possible) (British accent)

Teyonah Parris as Zendaya's vampire girlfriend/teammate (American accent)

and Tom Holland as a clone of someone Zendaya's character used to love (British accent but has an American accent in flashbacks)

who is also an assassin for a guy who remains faceless until the end of the movie, but is played by Andrew Scott playing a Moriarty-like character but waaay more fiendish (Irish accent).

So like, Zendaya is a crime fighting vampire who fights alongside Teyonah, who are both sort of Charlie's Angels type characters for John's character. They're all healthcare professionals by day (Zendaya is a nurse, Teyonah is a pharmacist, John is a doctor), crime fighters by night. They all have to get iron infusions all the time because they don't want to hurt any innocent humans.

And along comes Tom who looks like Zendaya's former boyfriend who died trying to save her aaaages ago when interracial relationships were frowned upon, and couldn't be turned into a vampire on time. John saved her all those years ago by turning her into a vampire (Twilight much?). She can't fight Tom properly because, duh, he has her former lover's face.

Anyway, he tries to kill people, some who deserve it, some who don't, but is usually thwarted by the Zendaya-Teyonah-John team. Stuff happen, I can't remember, but Tom one night breaks into Zendaya's room while she's there, wondering why he's so drawn to her but does not remember a single thing about their past relationship. He tries to kiss her, she refuses because she is a loyal gf to Teyonah, and during the struggle, which Zendaya is losing because she doesn't want to hurt him, she is saved by Teyonah and John. Tom runs away. Zendaya realises that a necklace Tom gave her in their previous life was taken off of her. Cut to Tom in his room looking at the necklace, trying to remember where he's seen it before.

And then more things happen, idk what they are because I cannot for the life of me remember the whole dream, and then...

There's a final battle scene, etc etc, Tom hurts Teyonah's character, and very nearly kills Zendaya's character but stops himself for reasons he can't explain, and then Andrew finally shows up with his other henchmen, explains how he cloned Tom and brainwashed him, but it obviously wasn't enough, un-brainwashes (??) Tom, who reverts back to his American accent and remembers Zendaya from his past life, idk how but I guess his cloned body's cells remember her?? I don't get it either but ANYWAY...

Andrew kills Tom in front of her after he confesses that he still loves her, and Zendaya, in a fit of rage, tries to kill Andrew, who escapes. She rescues Teyonah's character, grabs her necklace from Tom's dead body after kissing his forehead in another goodbye, and runs off with Teyonah. John saves Teyonah and they all vow to catch Andrew's character. The end.

I told my husband about this dream and he's like, oooooookay?? Lawl

Anyway, I kinda wanna see this movie now. Thsnks.

#tomdaya #john boyega #zendaya #tom holland #teyonah parris #andrew scott #vampire movie #fever dream?#I might edit this when I have more coffee and less alcohol

6 notes · View notes

roleplayfinder · 3 years

Text

Hi, everyone! My name is Kayleigh. I am a literate 18+ RPer looking for fellow literate 18+ RPers in order to( you guessed it )RP over Discord. Triggers and NSFW topics will be discussed immediately after we start interacting so that boundaries are in place. I’m based in the Eastern Timezone, not picky about much of the general stuff, have 7( ? ) years of experience in RP altogether, am not comfortable with doing doubles from the first interaction( though we can potentially have multiple RPs in one server after getting comfortable with one another ), will only play females, and the fandoms that I am looking for at the moment-though most of them might be long shots-include...

One Tree Hill: I am DYING for someone to play Nathan Scott against my Haley James-Scott. I have about 4 years of experience playing Haley altogether and am looking for someone who is just as passionate about Naley, both as individuals and as a couple, as I am. I also have an OC for Nathan and one for Lucas, so, if anyone would like to try those out, just lmk.

This is Us: I have an OC that I’ve come up with for the show. This OC, without giving too much away, had a complicated home life in her youth and, therefore, spent most of her time with the Pearsons. As a result, she has really interesting dynamics with each of them. There is much more to her backstory and going forward if you’re interested, but I am looking to ship her with Kevin and, so, anyone playing him would be great. Though I’m literally begging for anyone to RP this show with at all, tbh XD

Newsies: I’m mostly referring to the 1992 movie here. That’s really where my comfort zone is, tbh. I have two OCs, one for Jack and one for David, or can play Sarah if I give her a bit more personality. We can discuss all of that when we actually start talking, I believe.

Disney/Nickelodeon: So, I understand that this one is slightly weird, but it’s honestly more of a comfort RP than anything. And I want to go a bit deeper than just a show or movie on Disney; like the characters will be allowed to cuss and go through ‘ real life ‘ shit and stuff. That’s actually the only way I’m willing to play it, as it’s the most creatively-freeing for me, personally. But it won’t be too bad; it all just depends on what we’re both comfortable with. Anyway, I’m mostly an early 2000s girl, so, approach me with anything from that era and we might be able to work something out, but I really wanna play Layla Williams against Warren Peace from Sky High because I just recently rewatched that movie with more mature eyes and it’s occurred to me that they should’ve been endgame all along. I’m also open to playing Gabriella Montez from HSM, though. Anyway…

Bonnie and Clyde Musical: So, for this, I am looking to play Bonnie Parker and am searching for a Clyde Barrow. Jeremy Jordan and Laura Osnes is just probably my favorite combination in the whole world, tbh. I’ve had a few weird dreams lately that have inspired me to break back into the fandom. Obviously, I’m mostly taking from the musical with this, but you can sprinkle in some irl things if you wish. I may or may not.

I think that’s it? Basically? I love fluff( ESPECIALLY domestic fluff ), angst, and AUs. Being open to NSFW would be preferred, but is not required. I love hearing your ideas, coming up with some together, and chatting OOC. I want this to be a comfortable, chill, and fun experience for both of us, and will respect anything that will make it that way for you. I think that’s it. My discord is Haley#8989. You can either message me on there or like/interact with this post and I will get back to you ASAP.

#submission #eighteen and over #one tree hill #one tree hill roleplay #one tree hill rp #this is us #this is us roleplay #this is us rp #newsies #newsies roleplay #newsies rp #disney #bonnie and clyde musical

9 notes · View notes