#the mentor/mentee dynamic except it goes both ways | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dark-noctis · 3 years

Text

Favorite tropes/AUs list to inspire writers

I personally find these posts very helpful when I'm experiencing writer's block, which I currently am, so I thought why not do something like this in the hopes of getting inspired myself along the way. If your writing has any of these tropes, tag me. I want to see them so badly

Romance:

- Angry love confession but make it a bit more angsty: Character X risks their life to save character Y and they barely make it out alive. Cut to X waking up only to be greeted with an absolutely furious Y. They ask something in the context of why are you so mad at me, dumbfounded, but Y just yells because I love you

- Hurt/comfort is top notch for friends to lovers slow burn, to be honest. BUT it's before the relationship is established, and they're touching each other way too much, the line between friendship and something more intimate utterly blurred. The hug extends longer than it should, the one who's comforting the other strokes the other's hair in a way that can't be platonic, that type of shit. The pining and inner panic. Bonus if it's queer.

- Rivals/enemies to lovers and forced proximity. Either they're united under the same goal, locked away, or any other plot device you use to improve this. The slow burn and banter this trope serves is probably unmatched.

-Character X is bilingual. Before a particularly dangerous mission or the aftermath of a catastrophic event, Character X calls Character Y a word of endearment in their native tongue (could be love, darling or anything you wish really) and Y only understands what the word meant when they hear it with context days/weeks later. (Preferably enemies to lovers again)

- Okay this one is a personal favorite. Character X confesses their feelings for Character Y, truly believing that their love is unrequited. The dialogue goes something like Say that again / Don't mock me, please / You misunderstand. I am not mocking you, [name], I am asking the person I love to tell me they love me again.

- Characters X and Y had a really bad fight that ended in X saying they never want to see Y again. A few weeks/months/years later, Y goes to X, about to die, says that they wanted to see X one more time before dying then loses consciousness. Ultimately up to you if they die or not, but I love the angst either way.

-One MC being completely oblivious to the other one's jealousy. So fun to both write and read.

Character arcs & plot:

- Fantasy/sci-fi MC going BAMF. I don't care if there's romance for this or not, I just love it. Sheer show of power. Awestruck enemies. Aftermath that leaves the MC questioning their morality. God-tier.

- Already low-key morally grey protagonist slowly turning evil. Bonus points if it's in fantasy and their actions are grander than they could ever be in contemporary. Because let's face it, the sunshine friend becoming a cheater doesn't really do much, but a hero turning against the people who they would have sacrificed everything for mere months ago? Phenomenal.

- One MC being extremely hurt, bloody and bruised, knocking on the other MC's door, saying I didn't know where else to go and collapsing before the MC can even make sense of what's happening. Except that they're the most unlikely person —either a protagonist/antagonist, hero/villain or similar dynamic— they would ever go to, but MC has no other choice but to help. Not necessarily romantic, but that also works just as well. (Again, probably works best in fantasy. Apologies to my contemporary writers, I swear I'll do you good.)

- Usually emotionally distant character being really honest and vulnerable and loving when drunk. This isn't necessarily meant for romance, it can be a friendship, mentor/mentee bond, found family, or QPR. Anyway, the MC is vulnerable for the first time in front of the other(s) and they find it endearing, their bond naturally strengthening after whatever progresses.

- The private school friend group trope will never get old for me. Especially if they're overtly pretentious and elitist, and the whole book is just a mockery of that whilst still developing the plot & character arcs efficiently.

Some other things I love:

- Literary references. This usually appears in works with Dark Academia themes like The Secret History, but your work desn't necessarily have to be like that. Quotes in other languages, references to classics, quoting poetry.

- Mythology retellings. Bonus if it's something other than the Trojan War, there are rather a lot of books on it. (And I eat it up every time, what about it?) Doesn't have to be Greek Mythology, I love seeing more unique ones, especially Egyptian and Norse.

-Poetic language. This is more about the writer's style and the scene being written, but I love flowery language at times if it flows well and doesn't outshine the plot & characters.

AUs:

(This part is for my fanfiction writers. I adore you all. Anyway, getting to the point.)

- Modern Royalty AUs for historical dramas or period pieces. When I tell you that this AU is so good if you want to write forbidden romance and angst I mean it.

- It may be the biggest cliche ever, but I'm weak for coffee shop AUs. Sue me, but they're comforting. Amazing opportunity to write fluff, if you will.

-Can't go wrong with the aftermath of torture + hurt/comfort combination.

-Reincarnation AUs. Pretty self explanatory, I think. Bonus points if it's matched with a soulmate AU if you're writing romance and they fall in love in each life time.

#writing prompts #my writing #writing prompt #writeblr #writers on tumblr #writing #tropes #dialogue ideas #ship dynamics #enemies to lovers #fantasy #villain x hero #hero x villain

974 notes · View notes

hawkland · 3 years

Text

Dear Chocolate Box Creator

Hello and thank you for creating for me!

For this exchange I am requesting fic for my gift, but I would always adore any art treats! (I just am terrible at coming up with art prompts most of the time, which is why it’s hard for me to specifically request them.)

For this exchange I’m giving more general prompts/likes than a lot for specific pairings - because frankly with so many pairings requested this would turn into a novel otherwise. Please just have fun and know that with most of these ships being on the rarer side, I’m thrilled to see anything new for them (minus any of my DNWs, of course ;) If I don’t have specific prompts for a ship below that doesn’t mean I would adore it any less than the other ships - my brain is just broken on coming up with new prompts for them at this point in time because I’ve been requesting them for so long :)

Do Not Wants (unless a specific exception is listed below)

A/B/O

formalized BDSM relationships and kink

pregnancy/kidfic

permanent death or permanently disabling injury

violence/cruelty toward animals

2nd person "reader" POV

trans or asexuality headcanons.

General likes/prompts:

For both romantic and platonic ships...

* Vacation/travel stories. Being unable to travel this past year thanks to covid-19 has me desperate to explore and live vicariously through my favorite characters! So I’d love a story involving travel to somewhere new. It could be a romantic getaway/honeymoon trip to somewhere special (and I love it when an author “takes me” to a favorite city/place of their own). Or two friends just going on an escapade together, maybe one sensing the other needs some time away from a stressful situation or workplace.

* Quarantine/life-in-2020 stories. I also enjoy stories about how characters have had to deal with self-quarantine, covid, and other related issues this year. I know many people may be sick of it, but as a health care worker myself stuck with it all for who knows how long (and missing family members overseas I can’t visit), it gives me some comfort to imagine how my favorite characters and ships are coping, too. Are they somehow stuck apart for a long period of time? Driving each other crazy cooped up at home? Discovering some new hobby or passion together? Being good emotional support for each other while dealing with distance from other family/loved ones?

* Soumates with a twist. I love soulmate/soulbond AUs, as long as it’s just not a shortcut to happily-ever-fluff. I want there to be some conflict or angst involved. For instance, I’d love seeing any “fusion” fics based off the concept of the AMC-network “Soumates” series - where there’s a scientific test a person can choose to take to find their soulmate (if the other person out there has also taken the test). That way it’s a choice to find out or not. Would an already established couple want to take the test to find out if they’re really “meant” to be together or not? What if they find out other people are their “soulmates”? What about the possibility of platonic soulmates vs romantic? Discussions for the future if/when one partner dies before the other? I’d love to see these questions played out with one of my fave ships in a happy or even somewhat angsty/dark way.

* Someone has an unexpected hobby or talent. One person has been holding out on the other about some unique interest, skill or hobby that they have. Could be anything from being a secret gourmet cook to stamp collecting - I’d just love a story about the discovery of this hidden interest, why the person never talked about it, if it’s something they could share together (or it just leaves the other person completely bewildered, aka, “You do you.”)

For romantic ships, specifically:

* Age difference dynamics. The age gaps in a lot of my romantic ships are a plus, not a minus :) I like the general power dynamics involved in them, but generally with the twist where the younger individual is perhaps more experienced/worldly in some way than the older character (for instance, how Eleanor is so cynical and knows all about the world whereas Michael in The Good Place, despite being an immortal being around for millennia, has so much to learn about human behavior and humanity.) I’m not into formalized BDSM situations/power-play, for clarification, so it’s more of a relationship dynamic that I like, not a sexual kink.

Specific Ship Requests

Crossover Fandom

Stewart Copeland (The Police (Band))/Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters) - one of my perennial favorite ships to always request. Would love any of my general prompts above.

Murdoc Niccals (Gorillaz)/Stewart Copeland (The Police (band)) - I’d love to see them meet up backstage or at an afterparty somewhere, and bonding over having their annoying lead singer/frontman “steal away” THEIR respective bands.

Murdoc Niccals (Gorillaz)/Peter Hook (New Order) - Something during the recording of “Aries”, of course! Is Murdoc jealous about having another bass player as a featured/guest artist? Have to prove who’s the one in charge?

Lucifer (Lucifer TV)/Murdoc Niccals (Gorillaz) - “Hail, Satan!” indeed! What wouldn’t an avowed Satanist like Murdoc love about the chance to meet - and perhaps service - his hero and spiritual leader? What would (this particular) Satan think about Murdoc and some of his truly awful shenanigans?

Abe Morgan (Forever TV 2014) & John Munch (Law & Order: SVU) - I’ve had a long running headcanon that these two could have been friends back in their respective 60s/early 70s hippie days. I’d love either a story set back then, “pre-canon”, or them running into each other in NYC later in life. Munch ending up in Abe’s antique shop, for instance, while on an investigation?

The Police

Stewart Copeland/Sting (The Police) - any of my general prompts, of course. Plus I’m always a sucker for reunion tour-era fluff, getting back together after all those years. Or something hot and sweaty set on Montserrat during the Ghost in the Machine or Synchronicity sessions.

Gorillaz

Murdoc Niccals/Stuart "2D" Pot (Gorillaz)

Murdoc Niccals & Noodle (Gorillaz)

Gorillaz is my newest obsession/fandom - and yes I know I’m like 20 years late for it. For 2Doc I would love anything angsty related to Plastic Beach/Phase 3 - I know it’s been done to death by now but it is my favorite part of the lore (and my favorite Gorillaz album). Also The Lost Chord video was so amazing...I’d love any kind of “what happens next” story set afterwards, what with 2-D saving Murdoc and all the feels that had to involve, after everything Murdoc did to 2-D on Plastic Beach.

I also adore the father/daughter dynamic between Murdoc and Noodle in phases 1 & 2...he’s such a “bad dad” but I love it. I’d love to see anything where he reacts to her giving him an unexpected gift, or just manages to warm/melt his icy bastard heart just a little bit.

Law & Order SVU

John Munch/Odafin "Fin" Tutuola (L&O: SVU) - they’re my perennial favorite request these days and I will never tire of stories about these two! Anything goes that fits my general requests or prompts!

John Carter/Peter Benton (ER 1994) - I was quite excited to see this ship in the tagset, and yes, please, there needs to be more of them! I watched ER through completely for the first time a couple years ago and they were the first ship I had while doing so. The mentor/mentee dynamic is right up my alley, I loved how Peter was there with John when he needed help for his addiction, and oh, that final episode. Any little “missing scenes” between them would be so wonderful. Or, something modern day, where might they be now as a long-time established couple? Celebrating an anniversary, or perhaps taking a moment to acknowledge something less happy/lost loved ones from the past.

The Good Place

Eleanor Shellstrop/Michael (The Good Place) - some day, some how, someone has to write some decent tentacle porn for this ship. They’d have to figure out some way to make it work with Michael in his true fire squid form. And while I’m not normally into kid/pregnancy fic, what if somehow Eleanor ends up pregnant with a half-squid half-demon baby? Yes, I know she’s dead. But somehow in this canon it has to be possible.

#chocolate box #exchange letter #chocolate box exchange

2 notes · View notes

bellamygateoldblog · 4 years

Note

rate best to worst parental figures of the 100

worst → best (I tend to ramble throughout this, sorry!)

19 — Nia : I mean I don’t think an explanation is needed here lol. She burned Echo’s parents alive, it’s implied she then renamed her Ash, before forcing her into the identity of another child and filling her life with assassination and espionage. Mother Of The Year?

18 — Aurora : so firstly we have Octavia- who’s existence shouldn’t be. It was so incredibly irresponsible and selfish to subject her child to this life. If the ark hadn’t been dying and Octavia never caught, would she had been expected to grow old and die under the floor? Would Bellamy have spent his life, even after Aurora was long dead, being nothing more than his sister’s keeper?

And Bellamy- to manipulate your six year old son into believing it’s his responsbility to protect and care for his sister, so engrained into his mind and sense of self that he still lives by this mantra well into his 20s, to treat Bellamy being Octavia’s whole world as normal, having him go through his life with this small girl attached to him, entirely dependent on him, placing such a heavy weight onto a child- it’s UGH. No words, just a grunt.

He gave up his education and his personal life and he became a father when he was six years old. She took his life away.

This early family dynamic is at the root of ALL of Octavia and Bellamy’s major character traits, struggles and flaws, it drives them still, it’s effects are still felt and reinforced. BOO.

17 — Raven’s unnamed mother : And here is where I go off on a rant criticising the writing more than the actual mother. Just like Octavia, Raven was raised by another child, except in this case her mother is emotionally absent and said child is the same age as her (or younger) and thus i expect their experience and maturity levels are matched through their lives. Could this have bourne some co-dependency? Perhaps, but it’s never talked about i think because Raven’s backstory is practically a Schrödinger’s cat scenario with all the retconning that goes on. Like here- we recieved some more information in season six that directly contradicts what was already established of their mother-daughter relationship: “she never used me.”

*deadpan narrator voice* She did, however, use her.

That’s if we choose to accept this one as canon and not that one, god this writing is atrocious. Raven’s mother was neglectful, so much so that the only way she ate is through a boy sharing his own rations with her. Raven believes “she only had [her] so she could trade [Raven’s] rations for moonshine.” SHE DID USE HER DAUGHTER.

Furthermore, in season one she defended her mother (context: when a remark was made about selling sex in exchange for supplies), she tells her not to “dare talk about [her] mother that way” and i get the impression she at least respected her, but in season six she straight up calls her “a drunk who sold herself for booze.” In fact in season six she goes from being deluded one second- “she never used me”- to being scarily desensitised by a harsh reality the next, the same way she was in early seasons, speaking casually of her mother’s alcoholism. WHAT IS THE TRUTH? None of what we know of Raven’s family and backstory can coexist and yet here we are, talking about Raven’s family and backstory as if the writers ever cared enough to make it actually coherent.

16 — Murphy’s unnamed mother : did love him once, very much so, but let her grief poison her and turn her against her son. Another alcoholic/addict mother to add to the collection. We don’t have a lot of details about her, but the knowledge that she blamed her vulnerable little boy who had no control over his own health for the death of her husband who made his own conscious choice is enough for me to place her down here. The source of Murphy’s lack of self worth, *implied* intrusive thoughts, and difficulty connecting with others, and just in general sometimes being a total jackass. Yeah, it’s all her fault.

15 — Clarke : like mother, like daughter. She electrocuted her child, but what I find to be remarkably horrific about this is the simple fact the device is the same one used to torture her in the beginning of the season, the same one used by the so-called ‘villains’. She felt and endured the pain herself, and then decided subjecting her own daughter to that same treatment was an acceptable and necessary choice- before leaving that decision completely redundant later by switching allegiance and having Madi lead the army afterall. Madi was dependent on Clarke, the silent agreement is trust and respect, and this one singular action showed Clarke violating everything it means to be a guardian and protector. Also, she never apologised to Madi for this, nor did their relationship experience strain as a result when both of those things absolutely should’ve happened. That’s my main gripe with the relationship, the other being that it’s bourne of the same strain of co-dependancy as the Blakes.

Something about Madi wanting to go to school and be a regular child and Clarke responding to that with an ultimatum doesn’t sit right with me. At this point nobody cares about the Commander. Nobody- literally every single grounder is asleep- and, as her mother, Clarke has the right and the power to have Madi take out that damn flame to preserve her safety and youth and she doesn’t. She continues to let Gaia train her 12 year old for a dead position. Clarke is just as much culpable for the Sheidheda fiasco as Spacekru are for putting the flame into Madi’s head in the first place. That thing should’ve been removed as soon as it was no longer necessary. Clarke’s young, she had a child practically sprung upon her, and i want to give her the benefit of the doubt- but I won’t.

14 — Abby : I had no idea where to put Abby on this list and I think i’m being too generous but she’s a tricky one because I don’t think she’s necessarily a bad mother, not compared to the others on this list anyway, but the harsher aspects of her personality along with the high-stakes environment leads to the natural break down of her relationship with her daughter. I got the impression they were once close; Clarke is seen reaching out for her mother for comfort and validation multiple times during the first couple of seasons and she’s devastated and betrayed at the knowledge of what was Abby’s culpability in Jake’s death. Over time this falls apart. Abby never harms her biological daughter, but does have a very weird rival-like relationship with her, imo this being because they’re so similar. I can see so much Abby in Clarke and vice-versa. And they clash because of it, and Abby just doesn’t have any authority over Clarke, and over time their relationship distances to a point it lacks emotional value and other characteristics that make mother-daughter dynamics unique and meaningful. They love each other, no doubt about that, Abby’s been prepared to throw others to the wolves for her daughter a few times, just as Clarke does later in life. But the relationship between Abby and her daughter is strained from the beginning of the series, which makes her position as Clarke’s mother complicated.

Upon meeting Abby, Raven instantly viewed her through an almost idolistic lens- “relax, it’s a compliment, Abby’s a badass”- making me believe she latched onto this idea of The Mother She Never Had, and Abby’s first thoughts when encountering Raven were literally that she reminded her of her own daughter- “reminds me of someone.” This dynamic is absolutely intended as mother-daughter. While a mother-figure to Raven, though, Abby has directly and intentionally caused her harm. She’s electrocuted her, she;s then tried to avoid acknowledging her wrongness for that action- Raven in this moment of torture is as betrayed as Madi was by Clarke- she’s also hit her and while in a systematically higher position than her no less. These instances automatically make me wince away from the relationship because in no way does it come across as comfortable and safe for Raven. On the other hand, they’ve had a bunch of heartfelt moments even though they’re disguised as harsh jabs taken at one another. They’ve expressed the hard truth when nobody else will in times of the other’s vulnerability.

There is a stark contrast though between how she treats Clarke and how she treats Raven and the lack of biological relation, i think, is a buffer for Abby. IMHO i think her care for Raven is conditional, but unconditional for Clarke.

I don’t know what i should be feeling about her motherly-ness.

13 — Kane : I didn’t pay much attention to Kane’s dynamics, honestly, because I just didn’t like him, but as far as I’m aware he tried to do well by Octavia, Bellamy and Clarke, somewhat self-righteously and blaming, but trying is trying and he is always framed as in the right and morally superior so I guess that’s gotta count for something. This was all ruined during season five, though, with him attempting to have every one of them killed among other things. He didn’t appear concerned or reluctant- or anything about any of them.

12 — Hannah : I think it’s safe to assume Monty had a good relationship with both of his parents pre-show. Hannah came across as misguided and manipulative towards Monty often, though, which i think came from both a place of love and desire to protect, but also, at points of most controlling, from a place of desperation and fear having already lost her husband. Honestly all I remember is not liking her very much so i’m placing her here in the middle/neutral area with Indra and Jaha.

11 — Indra : I place her here because we don’t actually have a lot of information about her relationship with Gaia. And I view her relationship with Octavia as mentor-mentee and eventually friends. They’ve had some sweet heart-to-heart moments, but i’ve always struggled to see the maternal connection. Octavia might be the daughter Gaia never was to Indra (I think Gaia might’ve even said this in the actual show?) but such a fond and pronounced memory of Aurora still exists within Octavia and with her very narrow-minded vision I don’t see her prepared to replace her or at the very least share that position with other people in her life. Indra is a stoic character, but it’s almost as if her emotional expression is reserved for Octavia. This speaks something of the closeness of their bond, but also tells us the climate between her and Gaia is more distant and troubled. There’s love there though- she was, afterall, planning to die so Gaia could live. Is this the only intended motherly sacrifice we’ve seen on the show?

The Blodreina of it all, while on one hand strengthened one dynamic, shattered the other. Indra is someone Octavia respected, trusted and listened to. I have to believe she was in the position to guide and advice her through the entireity of the time jump, but instead we saw her stand by and let Octavia slip further and further into her own darkness before turning on her in the most critical moment. And she might’ve tried and nothing worked, but really? You want me to try to make sense of this myself? The writers were on a quest to villainise Octavia and the fall of this relationship was a product rather than an intention.

10 — Jaha : he created a treasure, i’ll give him that. Admittedly we don’t know an awful lot about Wells or about his relationship with his father, but we do know he risked his own life to take care of Clarke, similar to Bellamy and to Raven who both also came to Earth to protect someone they loved. Both of those examples had terrible parents, so Wells’ goodness doesn’t necessarily mean we can credit Jaha, and as far as i can remember Wells never actually defended his father against the angry delinquents. Does him choosing to follow Clarke over staying with his father in space mean he must really love Clarke, or could it ellude to a certain father-son relationship not being as comfortable as it could be? When Jaha’s handed another child later on, he stops Kane giving him extra food because of something along the lines of: ‘he needs to learn the world’ so I think his parenting style may be more of the tough love and respect type. Wells is practical and strives to maintain order and squash rebelliousness thus his butting heads with the rest of the delinquents, but he has people’s best interests at heart (letting Clarke hate him rather than Abby, for example) and those are very Jaha characteristics i can see he inherited/observed and imitated.

9 — Monty and Harper : we only have a handful of information on this. Jordan has fond memories of them, but so does Octavia and Bellamy about their mother and we all know the truth about that one. Jordan is a backwards Octavia. Monty and Harper were all he had growing up, he wasn’t forced into hiding, but I can’t imagine it was a fun existence for him to grow up in isolation- watching the faces of other children behind the glass and never being able to wake them up to play. BUT his childhood is different to Octavia’s in a few ways that make a big difference and land them further up the list: 1) he’s clearly educated, 2) he has two loving parents even if they are all he has, 3) he has knowledge about the Earth, it’s story and the people from it so has a much stronger and more complex understanding of morality, meaning he’s less judgemental, and he’s also better prepared to interact with others by the time this oppurtunity arises.

They get points for leaving him in Bellamy’s hands, but are automatically relegated a few places for making Clarke his god mother.

8 — Bellamy : yes Bellamy is on this list because yes he is Octavia’s father and nothing you say matters. So every child he’s ever ‘adopted’ has died, but he tries his best to think of these children when nobody else was ever doing that. Octavia’s damaged and her more toxic traits have a tendancy to become amplified in times of high emotion, especially in the vicinity of her brother, but he was just as much a victim in all of this as she was and Aurora is entirely to blame for the disaster that is the Blake sibling relationship (I mean neither of them even had a frame of reference of what siblings look like, how were they to know how to relate to one another?).

He tries. He’s more equipped to and committed than most on this show to helping vulnerable people, he’s proven time and time again he’s willing to do whatever it takes to protect and love his sister, he gets it wrong sometimes, his efforts can be misguided and recieved differently than he might’ve intended them to be. But the facts are: he understands what it means to be a parent, he knows what it’s like to lose their child, he knows what it’s like to pour himself into someone else and hope for the best of them.

7 — Luna : she founded a clan and those people were, in a sense, her children. She kept them safe for years, it was peaceful, life was simple and fulfilling. Clarke observed her interactions with the actual children that lived there and they loved her, she was good with them. Her people respected her.

6 — Monty’s father : yet another heroic father to add to this fucking collectio-

5 — Ginger dad : in one of the most heartbreaking scenes on this show to date, he does the David Miller thing, or i guess David Miller does The Ginger Dad Thing, and sacrifices his own life to pump more air into his child’s lungs.

4 — Murphy’s unnamed father : in a place you’ll be executed for petty crime, risking it all and stealing something as valuable as medicine just to give your son a chance at more life is commendable. He loved his son (literally) to death. It’s his memory and his sacrifice, like with Raven and Clarke, that pushes him to survive.

3 — Jake : I think the show has demonstrated quite nicely that Clarke is a daddy’s girl. Jake The Good Engineer, Jake The Good Father, Jake The Hero. He inspires Clarke so much she goes to prison for it. And, like Sinclair-Raven, Clarke’s consciousness dreams him up whenever she’s in an intensely stressful situation and/or feeling hopeless about life and void of direction in general. This was a comfortable and secure bond, and his death marked the beginnings of Clarke’s entire story.

2 — David : easily one of the best fathers on the show, i mean he gave up the oppurtunity of claiming a spot in the bunker just so he could give his son better odds of surviving, he gave up the possibility of being in the bunker with his son. Another fatherly sacrifice for the collection. He loves Miller unconditionally, even when Miller himself feels like a disappointment.

1 — Sinclair : this was an obvious retcon, but still good as long as I don’t think about it. A cute father-figure, the mentor that took a chance on her, the first (or second) person to pick her. Everything about this relationship is sweet and healthy, a nice diversion from the usually exhaustingly complex dynamics. Their relationship was so meaningful, in fact, that it was him who Raven’s dying mind manifested to encourage her to go on living. 10/10.

(and don’t think i don’t peep that bad/cruel mothers, good/heroic fathers pattern here. These writers WACK…)

#the 100 #rosie tag: share with the group #the 100: we ask we answer

11 notes · View notes

spaceshipkat · 5 years

Note

I absolutely love the enemies-to-lovers trope, so I always get disappointed when it just turns out to be romanticized abuse. So, any tips on how to write one and what to avoid?

oooooh i’m glad you asked! this is actually the love arc in my Icarus WIP, so i’m fresh from the battleground. i’ll stick it below a cut bc it gets a bit long (go figure)

first and foremost (and like the anon i just answered said) the characters have to be equals, which means there can’t be a master/slave dynamic, a teacher/student or mentor/mentee dynamic (though this one is a bit nebulous as it can be done well, but if one is a teenager, they have to both be teenagers), or something along those lines. what a power balance needs to do is establish that they are, in some way, equals, be it strength, age/mentality, status, roles, arcs, etc. i’ll give an example from Icarus, maybe? it might be easier to explain that way.

so, in chapter 1 my narrator Gideon is rescued from a lake that he’d just fallen in (after an Icarus plunge) by Asa. Gideon is Big while Asa isn’t as much, but they both have strengths that make them equals: Asa grew up hunting monsters and, when Gideon is recovered from dying (what a weird sentence…but he dies five times in the book, so), Gideon is his equal in terms of strengths.

to quote Gideon:

Grimacing as my bodypulses with pain from my impact with the tree, I square my shoulders, lift mychin, and try not to feel small by comparison. Sure I’m not trained the way heclearly is, but I could crush him by sitting on him, so I’m going to use mysize to my advantage.

i use these first chapters to establish how they’re equally-powered, just in different ways, as their bodily strength is what defines that in this case. they’re both just (mostly) regular guys who live (mostly) regular lives (if we ignore the monster hunting and the Icarus curse). plus, Asa is 28 to Gideon’s 25, so they’re both adults and fairly far from their formative years.

so, that’s how you set up the power balance. of course, the balance doesn’t have to be in physical strength, like i said up above; that’s just how it worked in this WIP’s case.

the best way to write an enemies-to-lovers story is to follow a certain arc that goes something along the lines of “i hate you i don’t trust you get away from me” -> “no i don’t trust you and i still hate you but we have to work together” -> “okay i guess i trust you but i still hate you even though we have to work together” -> “i trust and tolerate you” -> “i trust you without any if, ands, or buts” -> “okay i trust you completely and also let’s neck” (i doubt anyone will get my I Love Lucy references, but i find them amusing so imma just go with it and in this case “let’s neck” means “let’s make out”) -> “i trust you and fucking heck i guess i love you too”

it can go beyond there (or follow an arc that doesn’t contain those exact steps, bc every story and couple is different), but hopefully you get the idea. enemies-to-lovers has to be done in a very specific way that few people can master as, like you said, they often mistake enemies-to-lovers as “abusive asshole i hate bc he’s an abusive asshole” to “but i can change him!” or “but he’s nice to me now that i’m sleeping with him!” etc etc.

i think what’s also important is to have apologies be made, should they be necessary. to use my Icarus WIP again, Asa has heightened sensory powers (it’s a long story–105k, in fact) that allow him to overhear things that people might not want to be overheard. Gideon has known this from the get-go, but it didn’t occur to him that Asa did it unthinkingly, as it’s just second nature at this point to have his senses (particularly hearing) heightened. so in the case of Gideon, Asa overheard phone calls Gideon made to his mom and to his grandmother, and when Asa says something that makes Gideon realize “wait he heard everything bc he has heightened sensory powers” Gideon tells him he doesn’t trust him, even though Asa explains why it’s second nature to have them heightened. they’d gotten to “okay i guess i trust you but i still hate you even though we have to work together” and fallen back to “no i don’t trust you and i still hate you but we have to work together”.

so, a hop, skip, and 70-ish pages later, Asa says this:

Asa shuffles away andback. “I keep meaning to tell you I’ve been trying to turn down my senses so Idon’t overhear you—or anyone, for that matter. I’m sorry for doing it before.”

I blink at the drain.“You must be more tired than I thought.”

“Yeah, well, I meanit.”

“Thanks, then.”

they’re also both in a government lockup (again, a long story) and all they have is each other as their brains are both used as, to quote Gideon again (i just love Gideon, okay)

I was strapped to a dentist’s chair in that roomthere, forced to spend twenty-three days as a movie projector.

their escape from said government lockup is also a serious moment of trust growth between them, though Gideon keeps trying to explain away the lengths to which Asa is going so he doesn’t make Gideon withdraw again, so they remain at their current placement of “i trust and tolerate you”. Gideon, then, learns this around 50 pages later:

Asa grabs my hip,holding me still, and—to my complete surprise—I trust him here with these Watchers.“Don’t move until I say so.”

from that point on, they trust each other completely, if not hesitantly at first. bc this book only takes place over about a year, they’re still at the “okay i trust you completely and also let’s neck” stage–and they arrive at that stage nearly 100 pages later. that’s another important thing about this kind of arc: if your timeframe is short and the characters spend a good chunk of the book hating each other, it is unrealistic and lends itself to problematic aspects if they end the book at “i trust you and fucking heck i guess i love you too”. i suppose there could be exceptions to this, but i can’t think of any off the top of my head, nor do i really believe that there are any.

SO. i think that’s all i have to say on the matter? let me know if any of this doesn’t make sense, or if you want anything explained more fully! :)

#ask #anonymous #writing advice #writeblr #enemies-to-lovers #tropes #my writing #icarus wip #i was gonna throw some books with good and bad examples #but spoons

79 notes · View notes

bigskydreaming · 5 years

Note

Whats Nightwing and Deathstroke's dynamic? Why does it make you wince? Im not very familiar with it.

Nightwing and Slade actually have a really interesting and compelling dynamic in a lot of ways, that can be really good when written well and really terrible when not. My biggest issue is it is that its not sexual in the comics (Slade is a good thirty years older than him) or in other adaptations that have a version of it, like the Teen Titans cartoon. But fandom being fandom, Dick/Slade is a bigger ship than like, half his actual canon ships, so any new take on it always comes with a big sigh at all the new Dick/Slade shipping that’s gonna crop up or have a resurgence cuz of it. And I’m annoyed enough with YJ right now that I’m not giving them the benefit of the doubt that they’ll do anything new or interesting with it that’s worth having to wade through pages of new Dick/Slade noncon in the months afterwards. Its a ship that generates a lot of non-con fic in particular, or at least my old favorite, ‘dubcon’, with the dubious part of the consent referring to the fact that it usually involves mind control or brainwashing, both tropes that show up a lot in their interactions anyway. (Not that there’s anything dubious about this NOT allowing for consensual anything, just that people love to call it dubcon because….fuck if I know).

But anyway….in the comics, Deathstroke is a mercenary who’s one of the Titans’ earliest and most iconic enemies. Though at various times and depending on who’s writing him, he’s sometimes an antihero and even a semi-trusted ally of the Titans (usually with Dick specifically), other times a villain but with his own personal code of honor that means he won’t help the Titans or other heroes but he’ll refuse to take jobs that would pit him against them, and other times he’s full on remorseless and sadistic villain who hates them all and wants them all dead.

He also had three kids, his son Grant (the first Ravager), his younger son Joseph (Jericho) and his youngest, their half-sister Rose (the second Ravager). Basically, the first time he interacted with the Titans was when the supervillain group HIVE put out a contract to have the Titans all killed. Slade turned them down cuz of his personal honor code and how young the Titans were, but his son Grant accepted the contract in exchange for HIVE giving him superpowers to help him fulfill it. The process didn’t work right though, and when fighting the Titans, Grant’s powers overloaded and killed him.

Slade blamed the Titans for this, and vowed to finish the contract and kill them as some twisted way of honoring Grant. He doesn’t do Logic so good, well no, its more like he doesn’t really do parenting so good, as in he tends to have fuck all to do with his kids 364 days of the year, but then something bad happens to one of them and suddenly he thinks he’s Dad of the Year and going 0 to Homicidal in six seconds flat is the way to make up for all the times he’s let them down or screwed them over, instead of just…not Doing That.

So Slade recruited a young meta named Tara Markov (yup, that one) and trained her as his apprentice specifically to help him get revenge on the Titans. At his prompting, she joined the Titans as a spy for him, feeding him intel and plotting against them in one of the best known comicbook storylines of all time, The Judas Contract. It was up there with some of the X-Men’s best known stories like the Dark Phoenix Saga and Days of Future Past. (In the 80s actually, the Titans comic book was almost as popular as Uncanny X-Men at the time. Like way more than the Justice League. They were DC’s big hitters, popularity wise - specifically the lineup that for the most part was centered around Dick, Donna, Starfire, Beast Boy, Cyborg and Raven, with other members like the original Titans and later ones like Pantha and Wildebeest coming and going at various points in the 80s too).

Ultimately, Tara made her move and betrayed the Titans, enabling Slade to kidnap each of them one by one and turn them over to the HIVE….all except for Dick. In the meanwhile, he was approached by Slade’s ex-wife Adeline Kane - who has an equally all over the place dynamic with Slade, like sometimes she’s his worst enemy and other times she’s manipulating events behind the scenes to help him without him knowing, because she still loves him…it basically just depends on who’s writing her, same as with Slade. Also, Kane is Adeline’s maiden name, she’s distantly related to Kate Kane aka Batwoman in some extremely complicated manner I can never remember, but that’s mostly just trivia. I can’t remember a time its ever been relevant to a story, and it has nothing to do with Slade’s interactions with Dick.

ANYWAY. Point being, so Adeline, who blames and hates Slade at this time for their son Grant’s death, along with their other son Joey, seek out Dick and offer their help rescuing the Titans and defeating Slade. Joey is a metahuman as a result of Slade’s altered DNA (he has regenerative powers and is actually immortal, due to experiments the army did on him while he was a soldier). So Joey was born with powers although they didn’t activate until he was a young adult. His codename was Jericho and his power lets him possess peoples’ bodies. He’s also mute, and I’m half expecting him to show up in YJ fairly soon. If not this season then hinted at by the end of it. Also wouldn’t surprise me if they had plans to have him be gay in the YJ universe. He’s a character who was coded as gay practically from his debut. Joey/Dick is actually probably Dick’s oldest and most enduring slash ship, for the record.

So Joey works with Dick to rescue the Titans and defeat Slade, who’s captured and goes on trial for kidnapping the Titans. Joey ends up joining the Titans in the aftermath, and Adeline’s yay good, this was my Sekrit Plan all along, I did all this solely in the hopes that you would end up a superhero and have positive influences and not end up a murdering douchebag of flexible morality like your dad cuz fuck that guy, am I right Titans?

Did Adeline really just do all of that because she wanted her son to have more friends? Like…idk honestly it could go either way. Like….it IS the kind of thing she would do, tbh, so its as likely she was telling the truth as it is she just wanted to screw Slade one last time to avenge Grant and then was like hey if I take credit for my kid ending up a Titan now, I could probably play the “you owe me one” card later if I ever need to. Addy does like handing out “you owe me one” cards, just to be safe. Never know when you might need one.

The thing all this has to do with Dick is like, so it basically ended up being Dick versus Slade in the big finale, while Joey was rescuing the others and helping them face off against Tara. And for whatever reason - with multiple takes on this offered by multiple writers in the decades since - something about Dick just stuck with Slade and he’s had a kinda fascination with him ever since. Like he’s always talking about how much more he could teach Dick than what he already learned from Bruce, trying to convince him he’s got a killer instinct that Bruce just suppressed and its holding him back, blah blah, like saying he’s good, but Slade could make him great, so he surpasses both Bruce and Slade. TBH, he spends WAY more time obsessing about Dick and getting Dick to join him than he bothers paying attention to his own kids.

It really isn’t inherently sexual though, its a weird kinda pseudo father/son, pseudo mentor/mentee type thing. And its not entirely one-sided, because Dick at various times IS…tempted? Kinda? Like whenever Dick’s having some kind of crisis of conscience, or he’s pissed at Bruce or is questioning the effectiveness of superheroes or why they do the things they do or what does it all matter blah blah blah like omg I love you Dick, I really do, but sometimes you are such a drama queen, my god, blast some My Chemical Romance, experiment with drugs and chill out already, its not that deep. (LOL I kid. Well mostly). But point being, every once in awhile something happens that puts Dick in a funk and makes him second guess himself, and he spends like….a month being convinced he should reinvent himself as the anti-Bruce, that’s the solution, and this usually sends him in search of Slade except he’s always like ‘OH FANCY MEETING YOU HERE, THIS IS TOTALLY RANDOM AND NOT ON PURPOSE’.

And Slade likes to take any opportunity to try and convince him like BE A BAD GUY DICK, KILL PEOPLE FOR MONEY, ALL THE COOL KIDS ARE DOING IT. Except inevitably Slade does something that pisses Dick off and Dick snaps out of it and is like NO, IM A HERO AND THIS IS BAD, I REMEMBER NOW AND I’LL NEVER JOIN YOU, YOU’RE NOT MY REAL DAD I HATE YOU! And then they fight again, but with swords, not words, and then they’re like crap, we’re too well matched, this is going nowhere, you’re a worthy opponent, the only one I can truly respect, blah blah and then they call a breather and Slade’s like hey kid, wanna grab a beer and Dick’s like yeah but only if you promise not to kill anyone. And Slade’s like ugh fine.

And then Slade’s all, look kid, its been fun but its time you went home to your real family and your real life, this isn’t you, you’re a hero, I can’t try and turn you into something you’re not, its Wrong. And Dick’s like….umm yeah, I know, I literally JUST said that, how hard did I hit you? And Slade’s like NO SHHH, DONT TRY AND ARGUE, GO, YOU GO NOW, GO ON, LIVE YOUR LIFE, YOU DONT BELONG HERE IN THE DARK WITH ME, YOU’RE ONE OF THE GOOD ONES, GO BACK TO YOUR OWN KIND.

And Dick’s like no seriously dude, I already called my dad to come pick me up, what are you even on right now, are we having the same conversation?

Slade, sobbing paternally: I HAVE TO LET YOU GO, ALL I EVER DO IS HURT MY KIDS, I’M A TERRIBLE FATHER, ITS NO WONDER JOEY HATES ME.

And then Dick awkwardly slips out while Slade’s mid monologue, with his head thrown back yelling up at the sky and shaking his fists like WHY GOD WHY IS THIS THE WORLD WE LIVE IN WHY - because the thing about Slade is he’s actually even MORE of a drama queen than Dick, he just hides it better. Most of the time. But seriously tho.

Anyway yeah, this is like…a pattern with them basically. And Slade’s like, you’ve inspired me, I see in you the man I could’ve become, maybe even that I can still be, and he like doubles down on his personal honor code and becomes a Mercenary With A Heart for a couple years and even helps out the Titans every now and then (basically just whenever Dick’s in trouble and he goes on a killing spree, like NOBODY IS ALLOWED TO MURDER MY KIDS BUT ME - also by this point in time, Joey had died because Slade literally killed him, I forget why, it was a dumb story, but its okay Joey came back, its not like his name is Uncle Ben. But yeah, killing his kids is kinda a thing with Slade too, and he’s very proprietary about it).

And then he falls off the wagon and is like fuck, I forgot how much I like murder, ugh, you should have never tried to make me change, THIS IS WHO I AM, and Dick’s just like….I literally do not know where you’re getting these conversations from, like am I there when you think we’re having them, am I just blacking out…do I need to see a doctor??? And Slade’s like YOU WILL RUE THE DAY YOU EVER MET ME, GRAYSON, FROM NOW ON I AM THE TITANS’ MORTAL ENEMY and runs off all dramatically while Dick’s like…..wut, and all the other Titans are like srsly, dude, what is WITH you too, and Dick’s all I DON’T EVEN KNOW, HE’S JUST LIKE THAT.

In all seriousness though, ultimately my take on their dynamic is that for Slade, Dick’s a combination of seeing himself and Grant in Bruce and Dick’s dynamic, and its like….all about his regret and missed opportunities. Like, he tends to be super judgey of Bruce and critical of how he trains (and raises Dick) and passive aggressively like *I* would never do that and Dick just kinda lifts an eyebrow and is all, you’ve literally killed two of your three kids.

But like, Slade kinda views himself as the anti-Batman and thus Dick is inadvertently cast as Grant, but its like Slade can never decide if he thinks Bruce is actually holding Dick back from his full potential and he wants to push Dick the way he thinks Bruce refuses to, or if like, he blames Bruce for getting Dick involved in this life, the same life that got Grant killed, and wants to protect Dick from Bruce and from the same thing happening to him. So its this weird mix of Slade manipulating Dick sometimes and pushing him way further than even Bruce ever does and saying its for his own good, but also randomly mixed in there are these bouts of extreme protectiveness, and there’s like zero rhyme or reason to which he is on any given day and there’s never any way to predict where Slade will land and so it always fucks with Dick’s head in a big way, he’s like…I’m getting whiplash.

And then on Dick’s end, like, the thing about Dick like I’ve mentioned before is he’s a huge people pleaser? Like he’s a very empathetic caretaker type personality who sinks a huge amount of his identity into being everything for everyone, to the extent that he tends to lose sight of himself in the process, sometimes. And he’s also a perfectionist who was raised with the most demanding father of all demanding fathers ever, and has a lot of abandonment issues and insecurities that Bruce’s mutant power is to trip over and set off in the worst possible ways.

And so I think the reason Dick keeps seeking Slade out every now and then is not because he ACTUALLY wants to ever take Slade up on his offer and genuinely become his apprentice or partner and like, turn his back on how he was raised. I think the point of it for Dick is the fact that each and every time he ends up affirming for himself no, wait, this ISN’T actually what I want, I just needed to be reminded of that, to remember that. That he always pulls himself back before going too far. And at the same time, I do think on some level he likes that Slade is this kinda constant in his life, that at the end of the day Slade is like…so fixated on his potential and his achievements and his worth as a fighter and a hero, because like….Dick Grayson is a person who craves validation but will never ask for it ever.

And he’s one of those people who everyone is just so USED to liking without even thinking about it that it never occurs to them when talking amongst themselves about how great he is, that they forget to say this to his actual face? And so he never hears it? And never asks for it, because gasp, then people might think he’s needy, and that would be bad, so he mostly just goes and sulks in his apartment about how nobody likes him and he’s terribad. Except for Slade. Slade always compliments him on what a good fighter and what a good planner and what a good leader he is, so hmm wonder what he’s doing. He hasn’t committed any crimes in six months and I can’t find any reason to track him down and bring him in? Ugh, that asshole. Okay, ummm, I guess I could tell him I’m thinking of turning evil again, I haven’t done that in a couple years, he’d probably buy it.

And then later Bruce is pacing around the Batcave wrathfully shaking his fist, like “Damn that man and his sick hold over my son, if only I knew how he keeps getting his hooks into you!”

And Dick basically shrugs and plays games on his phone. “He mostly just tells me I’m special, and that’s nice to hear.”

Bruce, still pacing and ranting and fist shaking: “What kind of evil genius is he, how master a manipulator he must be to be able to get inside your head and upend your normal views of right and wrong, to make you entertain these ideas of working with him, learning from him…”

Dick: No its seriously just the saying nice things about me bit. I like that.

Bruce: If only I had a code word or phrase I could use to snap you out of whatever brainwashing he seems to be able to affect you with any time you come near him, perhaps some kind of alien tech….

Dick: You could try “I’m proud of you, son.” I mean if you’re taking suggestions.

Bruce: There’s also the possibility of a magical component to consider, blast, I hate working with magic so of course he WOULD do something like that, ugh I suppose I could ask Zatanna or Jason Blood for help there…

Dick: Cool cool, well this has been a fun and productive chat as always, so you keep doing…all that…and meanwhile I’m gonna go ponder my fixation on father figures who are 100% more committed to obsessing over their failures as a parent than like…actual parenting of their actual kids.

Bruce, ten minutes later: Dick? Where are you? DID SLADE GET TO YOU AGAIN? RIGHT UNDER MY NOSE? CURSE THAT MAN AND HIS UNNATURAL SKILLS, HOW DOES HE DO IT??!?

Anyway, that’s Slade and Dick. There’s also the whole Renegade thing, when Dick asked for Slade’s help in infiltrating the Society of Super Villains in his fake villain identity as Renegade, with you know, lots of Slade trying to corrupt him and also trying to murder any supervillains who looked as his not!son the wrong way.

And then there was the time Slade brought his daughter Rose to Dick to train and said he couldn’t teach her himself because his track record with training his kids and them not ending up dead is like, not good, and he’s superstitious or something? Idk, I forget his logic, it was probably bad though.

And Slade was like, I only trust you to be a competent teacher for my daughter, I want you to teach her everything you know! Except for like, being a hero. None of that nonsense. I FORBID you from trying to make my daughter into a hero or the deal is off. (The deal being that if Dick did this, Slade would not do crime in Dick’s city for a year).

And Dick was like, you got a deal. I will train Rose but there will be NO trying to make her a hero, I swear. /he said while crossing his fingers behind his back because duh.

And Slade was like okay, fine, you got a deal, I will absolutely still do crime and be villainous but only in every place except for Bludhaven specifically. /he said while crossing his fingers behind his back because duh.

And then Dick tried to make Rose a hero and then Slade blew up Bludhaven and that was definitely a thing, so…yeah.

In summation, Slade and Dick are weird but also very interesting but also if we get another rehash of the Renegade/apprentice arc aka the Teen Titans cartoon adaptation of that story aka the single most popular Dick Grayson fic trope of all time, like….I swear I will probably get a brain bleed.

#Anonymous

32 notes · View notes

tanbrian · 6 years

Text

The Last Jedi: BTan Review (Spoilers)

Here it is: I decided to write everything out because I obviously have too many feelings to process lol #allthefeels. A movie that has already proven to be a fairly polarizing 2nd (or 9th, if we're really counting) entry into the Star Wars metaverse deserves some cathartic play-by-play analysis. After all, that's more than half the fun (and point) of being a SW fan, is it not? Obvious disclaimer for SPOILERS, and I only saw the movie once - Thursday premiere night. Without further ado... here I go. *deep Lamaze breaths.

Comparison: Empire.

Let's be honest: with an ominous title and precedent-breaking RED Star Wars logo, it was inevitable that this second entry in this trilogy would illicit endless comparison to it's predecessor - namely, Empire, the 2nd SW movie ever in the OG trilogy, which has a darker tone and is widely regarded as the "Best" SW movie ever by fans - arguably, I might add. (IMO, A New Hope is the best SW movie of all time. BUT I DIGRESS) Considering how much TFA was designed after A New Hope, for better or for worse, it would be no surprise that The Last Jedi would mirror, borrow, or dare I say steal from Empire: major elements, settings, plot lines, et al. Fans and I alike were simultaneously loathed and relieved to find that this was both true and... not true, in this case.

Let's break it down via Empire lines:

Hoth: Empire/Rebel stand-off with low-rising ships and AT-AT fighters in a cold-climate planet with snow and winter-y creatures? Check. (this time at the end, not the beginning! what a twist.)

Yoda/Luke on Dabogah: Mentor/mentee jedi "training" period that transports a main character away from central Rebel action for the majority of the movie? Check.

"I am your father": Said main character is only to return for a climatic confrontation on an Empire ship with the main villain and discover parentage? Check.

Rebel characters engage in a cat-&-mouse run from a Empire ship that tracks them (A la Boba Fett & the Worm monster in the Asteroid fields)? Check.

Reunion-Hopeful end scene: With some medical care, hand holding, smiling, and small sliver of hope left just by still being together despite all the odds? Check.

Puppet-Yoda. period.

Thankfully, nobody's hand was severed or body was carbon-frozen. (Let's not get all Starkiller Base on us again.) Elements were certainly borrowed, but I don't think it was a hammer over the head in the same way that TFA was to A New Hope. A lot of the reviews are citing how "different" and "surprising" the plot twists and storyline went, and I will give Rian Johnson credit there. This was certainly not a carbon copy of Empire because, while borrowing fairly obvious major elements - Yoda/Luke and Luke/Rey being the most - it does its own thing with them....that doesn't always work out for the best, however.

1. Dagobah vs the Island (Ach-To, or whatever.)I think a lot of us expected (and were ready for) some head-on Yoda training of Rey. Give us a training montage. Knock her to her feet, do handstands, and make her lift that X-fighter from under the ocean (Did anyone catch that down there!?). OK - we don't need the whole she-bang, but give us something. I get that Luke is in no way the same master or teacher as Yoda, and he was going through this whole crotchety old-man complex and didn't actually want to train her. But when he and the movie actually got around to it... what even happened, really? We were treated to, frankly, weird and beautiful but unexplained cinematographic sequences (life! death! balance? and a dark seaweed-y dark tunnel?... ultimately leading to fun with mirrors? so many Reys, so few parents). My issue with them is this whole "training" period - which is a significant if not major crux of the whole movie - is that she's not really trained at all. Luke is basically like, "You're scary, Rey. ...OK, I'll watch you swing around my light saber." Like, what? I feel like the trailer gave the same level of impact of Rey's whole training on that damned island. She goes there, she gets trained eventually, and then she's a stronger Jedi - excuse me, er, "Force User." The movie really dragged its feet with this, and not in a satisfying way to me.

In Empire, you were on Dagobah forever but were enraptured by Luke's fear, frustration, and mystery over the force and his training (not to mention the charm of puppet-Yoda, bless him). Here, I couldn't wait to get off the island. I feel like I was stuck on LOST. Nothing was happening, the main mystery was "What Did Luke REALLY DO to Ben?", Rey talked to Kylo Ren a lot, Rey and Luke stalked each other... and - perhaps most insulting of all - our entertainment/comedic relief was pulled out of admittedly cute but pretty ridiculous creatures. More on all the creatures below, but for now: I'm anti-porg (hated all the random noise placements), and pro-caretakers - cute and funny. BUT - do you see what I mean? How was this adding to anything? We were charmed and entertained by Yoda and Luke all on their own as characters - their dynamic, struggles, values taught, etc. Here, it was like... welcome to the Island! We're, here... on the island. There are cute things and some mysteries. Train yourself Rey and leave as you like. See what I mean? Similar to Empire, but... not really, or at all, a better or improved version just by being different from it.

The saving graces are Daisy and Mark Hamill, who deliver strong and captivating performances as expected. Sadly, it's the writing and script here that fail them. Point is: this is a major/the plot point of this movie, Rey's training and answers as a Force User. Sure- what's happening with the Resistance is important, but the mythology and magic of this SW story is getting built with Rey. While necessary to bring her to the island with Luke, I just think our time there was a bit wasted. Too much "lemme follow Luke" ... "lemme follow Rey"... "oh look, another Porg!" *holds head in hands.

2. Rebels vs The ResistanceMeanwhile - because this movie, as SW movies are apt to do, requires a lot of Meanwhiles - the Resistance is stuck. They're out of fuel, tracked by the Empire after a mission, and getting clipped down. ...totally sounds familiar, right? In Empire, they run and hide - but get caught. They had the benefit of a budding romance with Han & Leia, and chemistry between them all - Chewie included. Here: they try to run, but are stuck. My issue is what they do to make it different this time, instead of Astroid Fields and a Cloud City: I guess they went with "A Codebreaker" and "Political Mutiny."

I have to admit: it must be really challenging to figure out to do with the Rebel/Resistance story arc. I'm sure when they sat down to write this script, they thought "OK: while Rey is off being important, what can we give the Resistance to do and make it fun, compelling, and just as consequential?" -Sadly, I think they really struggled here. It becomes the major middle of the movie, which just drags. Here was their solution: Introduce 3 new characters; go on adventures; solve the problem, and combine the plotlines. go.

First, as I'll discuss below with the Crowded Cast, the new characters (with the exception of Kelly Marie Tran) don't really amount to any new, exciting chemistry. It's less of a family, and more of a clusterf*ck to figure out what to do next... and then some.

Second: The Go on Adventures part was, simply put, random. Finn and Rose's romp to the casino land was a great plug/opportunity for a Mos Eisley Cantina - feel, not to mention pretty incredible wardrobe and set design. I felt mesmerized watching that first long shot of the casino: over the top, significant attention to detail, and fabulous. I do like the backstory we get on the planet's riches from sales to the Empire. Still, those are the highlights, but its all... random. and very quick. I don't want something to just "be a highlight" - it should have some purpose and add to the story. Otherwise, we're in prequel territory (Naboo is beautiful! ...so what?) The rest: "Find the Codebreaker" mission, randomly given by Maz - just seemed silly, and they didn't even manage to make contact with mustached Justin Thoreaux - settling for Benicio Del Toro in jail. Again, all random, and all just kinda like... ok, *shrug*, I'll just go with this? I know that's the spirit of SW - being a ragtag crew that just "figures it out" as you go. Here, however, they give a lot of twists and turns that your head is in a tailspin. They're in the casino, then in jail, but now they're riding creatures, but they got caught, but DJ saved them, but then he sold them out...? You're left feeling like, Wow. what was the point of that at all.

Meanwhile... Mutiny is afoot! Admiral Holdo vs Poe for control. Like I'm saying, it's all just like... so what? They're stuck in space and they need a solution, so Poe waits on one while Holdo pursues another one. It really feels like a placeholder, one that I think they just didn't need to develop all that much- yet, develop they did. They threw in so many twists into this plotline that felt unnecessary: we're abandoning ship?! oh - there's a planet down there? wait - leia's awake? no, wait - they're shooting us all down?... it felt like a waste of time. Sure, show them in struggle against the Empire, but let's move on. (Here, I'd like to note this movie is 2 hours and 30 minutes. that's LOTR territory, yall - not in the good way. Like, yikes.)

To summarize the Empire talk, I think they borrowed many checkpoint facts but didn't change them in truly effective ways. Let's be honest: the Empire framework is one we were all thinking about going into this. Below are more reasons why I think this movie's approach was successful... or not.

Crowded Cast.

Any true fan will tell you why the OG trilogy is the best: chemistry. Carrie, Mark, and Harrison had on-screen spark that continues to last 40 years later. All they had was droids and a walking carpet in Chewbacca as successful, impactful sidekicks (...forgetting the Ewoks, mind you.) We didn't need more. Even when Lando shows up, it's not a big deal - because it feels natural.

Characters aren't just being thrown in and added just for the sake of more characters. (If they are, it's for some plot point or twist that really pushes things along. Lando case in point: Empire needed a double-agent to get Han carbon-frozen & bring Luke out of Dagobah to encounter Vader, get hand cut off, hang from a Cloud City antenna, etc.)

I really thought in TFA, we were building to just that kind of "family" power. In our trio this time around, I think it was a solid effort at re-emulating what once was - The jokes and "banter" in TFA was believable, and you liked them as a crew. A family.

Unfortunately, this is less like a family of a cast than ever before; It's more meta, like: Here's this conflict in space that obviously involves hundreds of characters. Let's give each of them a little spotlight. There really is just too, too much going on character-wise. I'm just going to go at this bullet style with all the ancillary characters, because I have all of the complaints.

General Hux: admirable attempt to emulate Tarkin, but given way too much screen-time as if he actually matters. I think he's funny in the "evil" role - but that encapsulates my problem with it entirely. you should not be funny, or "evil" with g-d quotes around it. (Also, he's Bill Weasley. Like, just train your dragons.)

Snoke: NO. Why? Where's his story? Who is he? WHAT is he? He's just an <insert here> CGI bad guy from nowhere? What - were those scars that looked just like Anakin's head scars just to F*** with SW fan theories?! There are plenty of bad guys in the SW universe that have Force powers and came out of nowhere. Like, who is Count Dooku, even. But I'm even fine with Dooku. This is like decades after the Emperor has fallen, and now "Snoke" rules the world... we def need a little more than just a gold f***ing kimono.

Captain Phasma: Fail. What an absolute waste. She could've been a cool, deep, fun character. Give her way more screentime over Hux. Instead, we get two lousy fights and a shot of Brienne's eye... like, *applause for your death?

Emo Kylo Ren. Sorry, reviewers: this is NOT a spectacular show of acting. This is bratty, brooding boy turned young man all wrong. I get it, I know -- this shows how darkness is complex and conflicting and not one side of the coin, I get that. Despite that, he still comes off as an impish child. Like, King Joffrey status. (Does that change anyone's mind?!) I don't care that he has great hair and "broods" well. Snoke's dialogue with him is the only thing I like about the two of them: "Take that stupid mask off your face." "You're nothing but a child." Very, true. That's the character. I shouldn't be able to make fun of the darkest evil and now supreme leader in that way. (...then again... Trump.)

Overall, I have been incredibly disappointed with the dark side in this new trilogy. Not menacing, threatening, or even "dark" at all. Throwaway characters. The fact that it can basically be made a joke - Emo Kylo Ren on SNL; Hux's ridiculous flailing and fails - is telling. Now, the light side:

Admiral Holdo: more like Who, doe? Laura Dern is an incredible actor, and she was very underutilized here. Very few lines of dialogue to sink her teeth into, and the whole Mutiny situation all passed by in what felt like an inconsequential flash. I feel like her inclusion was not necessary at all. It felt very Battlestar Galactica-y: commander of a rival ship comes, creates political conflict. She's also completely out of place with that hair and wardrobe... I get you commanded another ship, but aint nobody else on the Resistance looking like that. She looked more suited to the casino.

DJ. again, who? Benicio Del Toro, another fantastic actor, underutilized in a way that demonstrates he prob shouldn't have been used at all. His stuttering was pretty insulting and not charming like I guess they thought it would be. I'm guessing he has some double-agent turn to play in episode 9 (I guess as the Lando addition), but he certainly didn't add any value to this cast or story whatsoever.

Maz Katana: Well, that was funny, but random. Another wasted resource in Lupita Nyongo.

Rose. saving grace of the movie! Anyone knows I'm the first to shout about inclusive representation in entertainment; giving an Asian-American nerd such a highlighted role was fantastic. and not just b/c shes an Asian-American Nerd; just because she was fantastic in it. She's also 28, so she's just like me. That's empowering and awesome to see. Totally emulated the Rey, Finn, Poe trio dynamic-chemistry we got in TFA. Sadly, she's the only one we really got it from, other than:

Finn and Poe. sorry, they go in together because they really didn't give me much this time around. A lot of snappy dialogue and jokes that mostly landed. I'm disappointed, because I was ready to see that TFA chemistry continue and build. It mostly just remained stagnant, which isn't development to me. Also, I guess they're supposed to be main characters, but why didn't it feel that way? In TFA, they had an excuse - this was all just starting, and they had star power in Harrison, Daisy and Adam Driver to share screen time with. Now, I really feel like I needed them to step up as movers in this story - the same way Han was. Sadly, script and writing spread their power potential across far too many others.

Basically: it's crowded. It's like double the cast with half the punch. It's part of why I criticized Rogue One: ensemble cast that seems thrown together, just for the sake of being together. I think Laura Dern and Benicio Del Toro, hands down, just should not have been added. I'm hoping they can revitalize the familial feel we got in TFA in episode IX; I think we will, now that we got that reunion scene and JJ will be back.

Separately, the OGs:

Leia. the movie did an incredible job bidding her adieu. Luke's reunion with her sends chills down my spine. "No one's ever really gone." She's reportedly not in IX at all, so I'm sure they'll have her pass peacefully.

Luke. By contrast, I think his death was anti-climatic.

Puppet-Yoda: was skeptical on his re-appearance, but leave it to Frank Oz to put you back at total Yoda-zen ease. His lines on failure particularly hit home for me, and it def maintains the heart of SW here: the empathy and hope, in the face of loss and despair, really is what matters.

Is this still Star Wars?

One of the more shocking allegations by angry twitterverse is that this movie "RUINED" SW, and that this "isn't a SW movie at all." Especially saying this is worse than Phantom Menace or Attack of the Clones! Can it be? I ultimately have to disagree. There are light sabers, the Force, Luke and Leia, spaceship battles, and droids. Also, it splits characters/storylines up in stupid ways on "adventures" that all eventually pull together and make sense (we guess). it's DEF still SW.

I do see their point, however. SW is a space battle/family drama, but you can't help but feel it's pull into different territories on this one. For one, I mentioned the Crowded Cast issue. My most immediate comparison on this one is Battlestar Galactica: stellar ensemble cast & chemistry, with very similar cat-&-mouse chases from the bad guys in space. Sadly, I just don't think SW is built for this kind of meta-character building. That's my main critique for this feeling less "SW".

Second: The chemistry. The humor, comedic relief, and jokes. I mean, where are we going with these? I'm mostly okay with a lot of the "easier" funny moments, because there are a lot of those in the OG trilogy; all it took was one Chewie growl to get us going. I'm glad they didn't do away with them completely - this is still mass entertainment after all. However, I do think they simply went overboard on this one. Ex: The milked BB-8's abilities way too far; is he really capable of taking out multiple humans? It felt a little like Guardians of the Galaxy but with a lot less natural comedic punch. Again, I credit that to chemistry and the crowded cast: there wasn't a lot of opportunity to build much on what was created in TFA. We got it out of Rose, Poe and Finn in limited doses; not much else. Otherwise, we were given a lot of Porgs. Please, let Jar Jar and Ewoks be a lesson of late.

The Last Jedi is totally a SW movie; however, it does admittedly feel different. I would say it feels stretched. Strained. A little frenetic & confused. It does all find itself by the end, but rather than all that being "Ah, The Plan All Along," it feels more like... "Oh, thank god they got there."

Action Sequences

One way it is totally SW, however, and I'm glad they did this justice: epic light saber battles. This struck a golden, perfect balance between the aerobatic, choreographed prequel fights to the more raw, emboldened OG trilogy fights that focus on face and grit. The climax fight is one to behold and is going down in the pantheon as one of the best, likely a top 5. Snoke's chamber and that red backlight is fantastic - ominous, bloody. A little shocked by how good those guards were; where the hell did they get trained? I'm sure we'll get more Kylo vs Rey in episode IX. Rey, thank god, has stepped up her game - treating it like an actual sword instead of a heavy hammer to drag. (But do you see what I mean about there being too much going on this entire movie? I totally forgot that Kylo Ren even had a crossguard lightsaber. like, completely.)

The space sequences are, as predicted, breathtaking and exciting. Wouldn't expect less. In the middle "we're out of fuel!" part of the movie, it does just feel like being stuck on a chess set piece; that's claustrophobic, but not really in the captivating way here. Not like Gravity. More like... I got tired of playing chess and left the board overnight & forgot it was there for a week. and i dont care.

Cringe-worthy.

There were truly a lot, like a lot, of cringes here. These are undeniable, in fact, and simply cannot be done away with. The movie lives with them forever. *sucks teeth*

Floating Leia. NOOOOO. (please send me every meme ever). This is obviously a very polarizing decision. Personally, I think they should've cut that entire segment and left it on the cutting room floor. Kylo Ren doesn't need to get close to shooting her; she doesn't need to be asleep; hell, there didn't need to be a Laura Dern or any Mutiny, imo. She could've hit her head in an explosion and been in a brief coma, if ANYTHING. Idk. It was a lot. Esp considering Carrie has passed, it felt... super, really, uncomfortably weird. Therefore, I will rewind that scene x100 times. (It's up there with "Anakin, you're breaking my heart! You're going down a path in which I cannot follow!" also, I cannot believe they killed Admiral Ackbar with such little grace as that. Offended.)

Blue Milk. What might be a charming easter egg to some was really just a funny-disturbing, horrifically-cringey moment. Luke Skywalker on his knees, sucking down milk from the Tittie-Testicles of a bantha creature in its crotch, spilling it onto his scraggly beard. humiliating. this is not the master jedi I'm looking for. I want to unsee that immediately.

Mirror, mirror. maybe some people thought it was cool. maybe its deep, insightful, or artistic in some way idc to know about. I just dont care. It was giving me Mirror of Erised vibes from Harry Potter, which felt stupid and went totally unexplained. *snap, snap!

Emo-Bitch Moaning: on behalf of Hux and Emo Kylo himself. So many lines, I can't even dredge up from memory just yet, they're that painful. Greatest hit: Kylo bitching "YOU SHOULD BE!" or something equally bitch-worthy to ghost-Luke during their fight. groan.

Benicio Del Toro's stuttering: painful and offensive. of no value.

Rose's "kiss" of Finn. Ouch.

-Creatures

There were, simply, a lot of creatures this time around. Here's some reactions to the greatest hits:

Porgs: I'm decidedly anti-Porg. I wish Chewie ate that roasted one in front of their crying faces. I also can't believe they started burrowing into the Falcon; the disrespect! Please swat them off the drawing board for episode IX, JJ. Unlike Ewoks and even Jar Jar, they added absolutely nothing to the story. Keep it purposeful, not random, please.

Caretakers: cute and hilarious. random.

Canto Bight riding creatures: They look like Voldemort. Actually a cross-breed of Dobby/house elves and Voldemort. Disturbing. (also, why all this Harry Potter crossover!?) random.

Ice Foxes: Cute, pretty, again very random and barely added anything of value.

One can't help but see the commercial angle in throwing the kitchen sink in with these creatures: they're automatic money machines to cash in on Christmas plush toys, not to mention drawings, books/resources to develop in on their stories/backgrounds, etc. Creatures are also a hallmark of SW. Again, though, you can't help but feel like it was a bit overdone here. I hardly remember any creatures from TFA, other than the octopus. (See? That was a fun adventure - and we met Han that way.)

Cliffhangers/Theories

It just seems hard to believe, however, that Rey and Kylo aren't TWINS to Han and Leia. How could they be otherwise connected so strongly and randomly? Just one fight in the snowy woods, and they've got psycho-powers to each other? I guess it could just be a coincidence of their Force powers. High midichlorian count, holla.

I'm still banking on the Kenobi theory myself: why else bring Ewan and Alec Guiness's voices from the grave for her TFA dream? Help us Rey Kenobi - you really are our only hope.

Conclusion

If you read this far, you need to get a life - much like myself. Ultimately, my word on The Last Jedi is: B. OK. Idk! I think there was a lot riding on this movie: It was going to determine how a huge leg of this new trilogy was going to continue and be as an identity, really. TFA did a beautiful job building the legwork, and Last Jedi was both a surprise and let down in many ways. You can't snuff the highlights that made it shine: Canto Bight's casino, the light saber duels, Daisy and Mark, and Kelly Marie Tran. It just needed a lot of editing, which it clearly didn't get enough of at it's running time. The Cringes shoot down at this film significantly.

Most importantly to me: Part of what makes SW fantastic isn't exploding ships and sword fights; plenty of movies have just that. What makes us fans is the draw of their mythology, continuing/evolving story, and feeling like we're on-board with the "Family" of characters we love the whole way through. It's why I love many installments of Final Fantasy, LOST, Battlestar Galactica, and GOT: it's character-based, character development that gets breathtaking. I think Last Jedi may have lost the heart of that, by nature of feeling random, sloppy, and going too long without going much of anywhere. I'm certainly glad to be off the island and out of that awful Chess-like impasse between their spaceships. Moments with Yoda and Luke separately were strong and kept the heart of SW. Still, there were just a lot of choices... too many polarizing choices. the kind you can't come back from, and that really get the movie off the swing of things.

I will obviously be re-watching and contemplating for weeks to come. Ah, to be a SW fan! Feels good. (and a little sad, but good all the same).

2 notes · View notes

startedwellthatsentence · 7 years

Note

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (I don't know ships so I'll send you a fandom then you can have ALL THE SHIPS)

I’m going to restrict this to Jake/Amy because if I don’t then it will be TOO MUCH. Also, written in order of my most to least favorite.

And of course, the subversions of all of these would be interesting, but if we’re playing these characters straight, in their fullest B99 personalities, then:

who’s the barista and who’s the coffee addict

I mean. Obviously Jake’s the barista and Amy’s the coffee addict. Jake is pretty good at his job, loved by the customers, but his life is terrible, his apartment is basically empty, and he subsists on scones and caramel syrup (that he pours directly into his mouth, of course). Amy is in Law School, after nearly a decade in the NYPD – she was on track to be the youngest sergeant, but the ADA path just … called to her. So she’s in the cafe pretty much always, at a table in the corner, noise-cancelling headphones on, downing thermos after thermos of coffee (she has found the exact size of thermos necessary so that refills and bathroom breaks always coincide, of course).

Holt is still a Captain in the NYPD, and is still her mentor. He and Kevin stop by the cafe at the same time every weekday morning, Tuesday evening, and Sunday night. Santiago attempts to be calm, poised, and in control when they’re around, but hiding the thermos doesn’t make 7 hours of caffeine just disappear. Rosa is a barista with Jake, and also a bartender and bouncer. She and Jake are super tight and Jake knows literally nothing about her. Jake has no idea how she got hired; even Terry, the Assistant Manager, has no idea – her application and resume were replaced by a pile of light grey ashes and a razor blade at some point. Charles is Jake’s best friend, works in some sort of white-collar office nearby, something about fraud control or accounting or something. Gina is Jake’s other best friend, and she’s also around whenever anything happens, and is never around otherwise. 25-32k of glorious fluff.

who’s the teacher and who’s the single parent

Amy’s the teacher, Jake’s the single parent. He has a nine-year-old, who’s in Amy’s class. Amy expects discipline and order in her class, and Jake’s kid is not good at that. Jake is less of a mess than normal, because he has to take care of his kid, but he’s still Jake. Terry’s twins are in the same class as Jake’s kid. Charles is still a new parent, so it’s weird that Jake is giving him parenting advice. Gina alternates between wine mom and vodka aunt all the time. Holt is the principal. Rosa’s the PE teacher.

who’s the professor and who’s the TA

Now, this is good enough both ways that I’ll tell both:

Amy is the professor, Jake is her TA. Amy is a Sociology professor at a respected university. Every semester, she teaches a full courseload, is in charge of the grad student and undergrad Sociology clubs, speaks at 3-5 conferences, and publishes at least two papers. She is the liaison with the Econ, Business, Anthropology, and Cognitive Science Departments, goes to every Faculty Board Meeting, and takes on three grad student mentees at a time. She has not had a sabbatical ever. She doesn’t have TAs, because they always grade things wrong and mess up her system. Dr. Kevin Cozner, the Dean of the P&L School, FORCES her to take on a TA – a grad student in the third year of his four-year doctoral program. She doesn’t understand how. He’s sloppy, messy, and doesn’t ever want to do work. All the other grads, AND all the undergrads, love him. She maybe starts to as well. Slow burn, 2 years of grad school and one year as a lecturer, 170k.

Jake is the professor, Amy is his TA. Jake is an Anthropology professor, and he’s an actual mess. Tenure track, because his publications, when they come, are always ground-breaking. Is only ever seen eating food in neon colors (mostly candy and icees). May live in his office??? Amy, a grad student in his department, has been his TA for the last three years. She does all of the grading, half of the teaching, and is pretty sure that he actually does live in his office. They get along great, and no one gets it.

who’s the witch and who’s the familiar

Amy’s the witch, Jake’s her familiar. Amy is a by the rules, perfectionist witch. All of her runic circles are exactly perfect, every spell is cast in the most efficient way possible, all of her rituals are planned down to the millisecond. And then this … explosion of dynamic energy and chaos drops into her life one day, and she can’t stand it. He throws in random runes while she’s working, and yes, they do actually make the summoning better, but they’re not how it’s supposed to be. He just sort of … wiggles and gestures and flails, and hey, magic spells. He just does a ritual whenever, it seems, waiting for one trigger to work, even though the best time would obviously be in three months, Jake. It’s exhausting. Kind of exhilarating. They’re great when they work together.

who’s the knight and who’s the prince(ss)

IF Jake is the Prince and Amy is the Night, then Jake’s a goof-off prince, a debonair bachelor who never takes anything seriously and constantly gets himself into mishaps, while Amy is trained and professional, and make sure he looks presentable in public. IF Amy is the Princess and Jake is the Knight, then Amy, the youngest and only girl, is married off to a foreign prince. Jake, her Knight, is one of the few people from her homeland to go with her. Amy is regal and trained, while Jake wants her to have fun. Somehow they get together even though Amy is married???

who’s the writer and who’s the editor

Jake’s the writer, Amy’s the editor. He never makes deadlines, he doesn’t understand chapters, he can’t spell. He is somehow one of the biggest authors at their publishing house. Amy gets a percentage instead of a salary, and every dedication is to her. Jake is a Canadian citizen and they have to go on an emergency visit to Amy’s family in Puerto Rico and also get married so that Jake can continue working for their publishing company (I know Melissa’s Cuban but Puertoriqueños can sponsor people for visas). Proposal!AU, 60k.

who’s the mermaid and who’s the fisherman

Amy’s the mermaid, Jake’s the fisherman. Jake’s lonely, generally solitary, getting by, doing his thing. Amy is bright and driven and gorgeous, but doesn’t really get all the stuff Jake talks about, until they start to grow closer. This wouldn’t be a selkie story, Jake doesn’t take her from the water. They fish together, work in harmony, and Jake never keeps her from pursuing her underwater life.

who’s the werewolf and who’s the hunter

Jake’s the werewolf, Amy’s the hunter. Jake’s mom was his only packmate and his alpha. He grew up pretty chill, but wasn’t allowed to have any real friends except Gina, who is not a werewolf but is obviously in the know about werewolves and also everything, duh. Amy and her brothers were raised to be hunters – follow the code, protect people, take out danger. Dating a werewolf isn’t easy, but Jake has no ties to dangerous packs and no prior incidents with hunters, so it’s all coolio.

And yes @seph-on-an-irrational-planet I did answer this like a month late sorry

-_-

#Brooklyn Nine Nine #b99 #Jake Peralta #Amy Santiago #Peraltiago

36 notes · View notes

silverflintdaily · 7 years

Text

cast & creators quote roundup [updated]

From inception, the show is about Flint and Silver and their relationship. It’s about a lot of other things, but that’s the spine of it. [...] they’ll never escape each other’s orbit. This is always going to be a story about how that relationship develops, and the highs and the lows of it, and the places it goes that you don’t expect. [x]

[Silver helps Flint in VIII. because] at this point he wants the money, and a live Flint gives him a much better chance at getting his share of the Spanish prize than a dead Flint. It just so happens that in this moment, Silver's self-interests and Flint's interests in maintaining control align with each other. I think there's some sympathy there, though. He has some awareness of Flint being something of a divided person. Silver tries to avoid the entanglements Flint has for that very reason, to avoid having to make tough choices about people. In that moment, there's definitely an understanding. [x]

[Flint and Silver's evolving relationship is] my favorite part of the whole show. I love every part of it, but the Flint/Silver relationship is what I find the most interesting. [...] The whole cast on this show is incredible, but when you get to face off with Toby Stephens in costume, it’s scary and it’s fantastic. One of the greatest acting experiences ever is getting to work with him. [x]

This show is about Flint and Silver. It's about the beginning and evolution and ultimate tragic end of their relationship. In some respects, this whole season [Season 1] has been a launch to put them into this place where they are, to each other, their only ally. Season 2 is about the building of that alliance and the deepening of it. [x]

For me, Season 2 is really interesting because the Silver and Flint relationship is kind of the central part of the show for me. [x]

[Flint and Silver’s relationship in Season 2 is] kind of a love-hate rela- no, you know… tolerance-hate relationship. I think, that they are… they have to work together, they have to deal with each other and that kind of double act was really fun. [x]

We reach a moment in the middle of Flint and Silver trying to spearhead to taking out the Spanish Man O’ War where Flint comes to the realization that they’re kind of all they have. We wanted to tell a story about how we went out to go get this gold but we came back with something entirely different. [x]

[Flint and Silver] are both on the outs with their crew and potentially subject to being executed. So, they only have each other to try to get out of that. The long arc through [Season 2] is about them circling each other, and trying to understand what they are to each and whether they can trust each other. And what happens in a moment where they realize that they can't. [x]

As good as John Silver is at getting into people’s heads, Flint is also a master in that domain. When we first start Season 3 there is a bit of a mental battle going on between the two of them. [x]

[Silver’s] got insight into Flint that most people don’t. That’s a two-way street if you want to dare go that way, and it’s precarious at the beginning of [Season 3]. The commonalities between the two of them start to become evident in a way that is not necessarily beneficial to Silver’s mental well-being. Silver begins to realize there’s a mentor/mentee relationship developing that he might want to resist but can’t. It’s a lot more complicated than he thinks when you’re sitting on the outside. [x]

[Flint] starts in a place of having lost Thomas Hamilton, who was very meaningful to him, and then having lost Miranda in such an awful way that he feels alone. Part of the journey in Season 3 is finding a new person that he feels he can be vulnerable with and understood by, and it comes from a surprising direction. [x]

Silver finds himself with the dubious honor of being the one person who understands Flint. That, in terms of the stakes of the show, has become a matter of life and death. He tells Billy Bones that he understands the things they’re forced to do at Flint’s behest [which] are the acts of someone who is in despair. Silver has to find a way to return Flint to a place where he gives a shit about the people around him and not thrust them into this nihilistic war on civilization. [x]

What is a tense partnership in Season 2 starts to become a friendship, and there are some big emotional moments in that journey that are really gratifying. You start to realize that this show has been [Flint and Silver] circling each other for all this time and as they start to understand that this person might be the thing that saves their lives, it becomes emotionally compelling in a way you didn’t quite see coming. [x]

The thing Flint doesn’t have in Season 3 that he’s always had is a partner. Part of the arc of the season for us was about him really flailing alone and not having anyone to have that human experience with. [We liked] him finding John Silver and having that become the person with whom he’s able to emerge from this awful experience he’s having. It’s a massive moment for us, in terms of these two guys who’ve been circling each other and mistrusting each other starting to become friends. [x]

[Flint and Silver] become co-dependent. I won’t give much away, but their journey is really cool. We’re starting Season 4 and it’s going further into that. It’s a tragic relationship. It could never sustain itself. But for a while, it’s sweet. [x]

[...] we’re at a place in [Flint and Silver’s] story together where there’s a real friendship there. [...] [What we’re looking forward to the most in Season 4 is] the Flint and Silver relationship dynamic, that, by the end of Season 3, has now reached a new state. [x]

[Silver and Flint] by the end of Season 3 have got a real mutual respect and friendship and it is one of the biggest, central things for the 4th Season. [x]

Season 4 is about this relationship with John Silver being a bit of a summation of all the relationships [Flint’s] had so far. [x]

I think right away you’ll sense that [Flint and Silver are] closer than they’ve ever been, and that becomes sort of very integral to not just their relationship, but to what happens at large for everyone in the story. I think they’re aware of how much is riding on their ability to sort of maintain this partnership and stay on the same level and not let anyone feel like there’s daylight between them, because a lot of people would like to take advantage of that if there was that. So you’ll really watch that, that relationship becomes extremely central right down to the last scene. [x]

Those narrative devices [Flint’s Season 2 flashbacks and Season 3 dreams] were useful because he didn’t have a relationship in the present where we could really access some of those emotions; and Season 4 is significantly different in the sense that he now has that person in John Silver, so really their relationship becomes the focus throughout. They’re both recognizing that they have something special between them […] and it figures into every scene they’re in right down to the last one. [x]

[The shark scene] was the first time it got to be just the two of us doing a big sequence together to that extent. We definitely top that in Season 4 — there is so much Flint and Silver stuff and it gets really, really deep. There’s a lot to look forward to on that side. [x]

[Season 4 is] really [Flint and Silver] ready to take this war to the world. [...] they’re about as close as two friends can be, [...] I think it’s kind of a surprise to both of them that they ended up there. [x]

[My favorite moment] is all [of] the Flint/Silver relationship. [...] as much as it’s been great working with everyone, working with Toby [Stephens] and charting the strange little journey of Flint and Silver through the whole show is what it all comes down to for me. [x]

The great thing is that it seems like everyone really believes this journey. You know, going through such a big dramatic character change. We've done it in such beautiful moments. And especially that Flint/Silver relationship, getting to work with Toby Stephens so closely. [x]

[Flint and Silver have] got a mutual respect. They’ve accepted that they’re friends. They’re the pirate kings together. [x]

How did this iconic pirate Long John Silver become Long John Silver? Who was Flint to him? There couldn’t be a simple answer to it. [x]

UPDATE:

It’s Flint’s show - it is a show about his tragic end - but at some point the levels were going to start to even themselves out and it was going to become a little bit more Silver show, and a little bit more Silver show - until by the end of it - it kind of is Silver’s show. [x]

After Miranda [Flint’s] lost, until he finds Silver. And actually realizes that Silver is probably… you know, the one he needed most of all. [x]

[Flint] finds a kindred spirit in Silver. It’s finding this balance between somebody who’s driven by pragmatism but also has this dark side — this anger that’s feeding it, these motivations that are emotional. [x]

I think [every character’s gotten a backstory] except for Silver going into Season 4 - which was absolutely deliberate - and his unknowability, I think, was baked into the nature of this story in terms of what he meant to Flint, so yeah, that was not an accident, nor was the moment in which it finally comes out. […] It will not be what you expect, I can guarantee that. [x]

I think you know, from the moment the show starts in Season 1, that things probably aren’t going to end in a terribly happy way for [Flint and Silver]. It’s just really a question of why, what does it, what affect does it have on them, and what does the aftermath look like? [x]

The big [relationship], the Flint/Silver [relationship]. [x]

It’s a tragedy, basically. The whole thing is a tragedy, because it’s about the dream of this man to lead this kind of emancipation of the pirate world and the slaves, and all of this stuff. So we know it doesn’t end well. His dreams don’t come to fruition, but most importantly, what happens to Flint at the end of that, and how does the Silver of that become the eponymous Long John Silver of Treasure Island? How does this person become that, and what happens to their partnership and their friendship? [...] also you see with Silver, it’s a tragedy because what has he become? He becomes this sad sort of guy who ends up in Treasure Island, kind of conniving his way back to this place. Everybody else has died, the golden age of piracy is over, and he fails to get the treasure. He fails to get what he wants. And also what this series sort of tries to create is why does he want the treasure? Is it purely for avarice, is it purely self-serving, or are there other motives for that? [x]

[Flint] needs somebody to be partnered with and Silver becomes the ultimate person. He’s had Thomas, he’s had Mrs. Barlow, and then finally, it’s Silver. In the end, [he’s] sort of... [the] love of his life, really. [x]

#black sails #john silver #james flint #silverflint #pirate husbands #misc. text #*

252 notes · View notes

drink-n-watch · 5 years

Text

This was a long episode. Technically or rather literally. The story completely dispensed of the OP and went on right through the credits to the very last available second. At witch time, I could have sworn only 10 minutes had passed.

It’s too early to call anything but a quarter of the season in and I have thoroughly enjoyed every single episode. Looking forward to seeing where this goes.

wait what???

I guess someone out there heard me, cause we got one more episode out of this mini arc and if I had to describe it, I would say it was graceful.

I don’t mean that visually, although half the episode was taken up by yet another dynamic fight scene which was beautifully animated and fun to watch. It’s too bad we didn’t get to know Rimbaud just a bit better. His ability to create and control a pocket universe (and raise the dead within it) seems quite interesting if a little inconveniently powerful from a narrative standpoint.

Even in this episode. they had to resort to some wonky friendship magic or something to bring Rimbaud down. I didn’t mind much though. There were lots of pretty colors and wild movement, that was plenty to keep me distracted!

I could practically hear the squeals

What I mean by graceful is that the narrative did a great job wrapping up just enough plot threads to feel satisfying while letting a few more go to keep us interested and not overwhelm the episode. It was very well done, swiftly aced yet clear. And aside from the above-pictured questionable power exchange and SPOILERS SPOILERS:

Rimbaud’s very dramatically timely death, END OF SPOILERS

Everything was actually explained away logically and simply. I kept wondering how they would make the rather loyal and surprisingly sentimental Chuuya join the Port Mafia. Well of course the Sheep would eventually turn on him. Not to mention that Chuuya is in many ways rather naive and just plain inexperienced, a man like Mori could have him wrapped around his little finger in no time.

he’s pretty strong as an Aragami as well

Without the need for any real explanation or exposition, Chuuya’s character fell right into place in a way that’s perfectly consistent with the teenager we’ve gotten to know in the past few weeks and the man he will become.

Then there’s the foundings of the Port Mafia. This was delicate. Once again, the organization has to live up to what we’ve come to know in the past two seasons. Or rather, Mori has to. As a character, Mori isn’t all that present or deeply developed but he still embodies the Port Mafia. Violent but not senselessly so. Oddly civilized yet undoubtedly menacing. Calculating and ruthless but also joyful and respectful.

The leader of the Port Mafia we got to know just a little better is a man wholly devoted. To his role, to his team and to his city. A man who’s morals may be shaky and who’s means are often brutal but who’s goals and ends are both selfless and reasonable. Again, this just makes sense.

please go ahead

In many ways this episode mostly served to backfill the Port Mafia and its members. A major element in the story that had been left relatively underdeveloped for two seasons (and a movie). But this was done in such a skillful way that it never felt like a belated expo dump.

Not only was the episode able to give us new and surprising information on well known characters or show us less known ones in a completely different light, it was able to do so while remaining completely true to the established canon and personifications. This is a lot more difficult than it sounds and very few stories I’ve read or seen have managed it this smoothly.

there were a few bumps in the road

Moreover, all these delicious bits of background and world building weren’t simply dropped in our laps they were naturally sprinkles through a fast paced and action filled plot thread of betrayal and rebirth.

I must say, seeing a wounded and incapacitated Chuuya cringing in pain and then only the distant sounds of gunshots was an impressively poignant moment for me. They didn’t show us the massacre which was a smart move but when you stop and think about it for a second, it once more reminds you who Dazai is. And Dazai is terrifying.

At the very beginning of the season, Mori told his young protegee that they were a lot alike. I think this is very true. Except I don’t think Dazai is as much of an idealist. Can you imagine Mori not restrained by his sense of duty and discipline. Well that’s who Dazai is deep down. Or at least that who he was.

what? what would happen?

It’s possible that the loss of Oda did change Dazai considerably. It’s also possible that it merely gave him an excuse to move on from a situation that was getting a bit boring to him. Bungo Stray Dogs has highlighted Dazai’s less honorable traits in the past. However in this season 3 opening arc, it seems as though the series is going out of it’s way to remind us not to trust the guy. This intrigues me.

As happy as I am to have discovered the roots of Chuuya and Dazai’s partnership, what I have always been curious about is what exactly happened between Dazai and Akutagawa. I know they had a mentor, mentee thing going but their relationship is just weird. It’s not like Akutagawa is obsessive with anyone else. Every time we’ve seen flashbacks of them together, Dazai is particularly cruel. I have a feeling things got…dark…

yeah

This time I’m pretty sure we’ve come to the end of this walk down memory lane. It’s odd that learning Chuuya is some type of ancient demon god was considerably less impactful than learning he is wracked with guilt over his failings as a leader.

And then the episode did something mean. It brought back, just for a minute mind you, Sakaguchi Ango. I have a love/hate relationship with this guy. I hate him but he’s part of the stories I love. Apparently, we got to learn all of this as Ango was recording it for the Special Ability Department. We had learned earlier that Rimbaud was a western spy who came with an accomplice. He thought that accomplice was dead but in the last seconds, Ango reveals that this person was still alive and ended up getting recruited into the mafia by Chuuya years later.

And apparently that is a story for another time….which means I nw have to go out and buy a light novel. I don’t even know what it’s called. It might not exist. Curse you Ango!

you heard me!!!

I took a bazillion screencaps. And tomorrow is Demon Slayer so that’s not going to be any better. Is there a screencap rehab I can go to?

Bungo Stray Dogs 3 – 3 : Get Ango This was a long episode. Technically or rather literally. The story completely dispensed of the OP and went on right through the credits to the very last available second.

#action #anime #blonde bishie #Bungo Stray Dogs #episodic #supernatural

0 notes