#Mason thinks he's a tool and if the actor of the character says so?

[blogger360ncislarules]

NCIS: Origins with its winter premiere this Monday began to unspool the story of Michael, as in future NIS Special Agent Mike Franks (played by Kyle Schmid).

While Franks circa 1991 (just barely) dealt with a busted heel on his favorite pair of crocodile leather boots, flashbacks showed us a 21-year-old Michael (played by Berlin Station‘s Brandon Spink) being gifted with the fine footwear by his mom (Gigi Bermingham) and older brother (Matthew Erick White).

A wowed Michael vowed to wear the boots every day, but wasn’t quite braced for the breaking-in period. So, one day when big brother Mason saw Michael rubbing his aching dogs, he simply offered up his own, well-worn boots as a temporary trade. Once the new boots were broken in, the brothers swapped again. But then came news that Michael had been drafted for the Vietnam War. Mason urged his kid brother to make tracks for Mexico, but Michael didn’t fancy himself any draft dodger. As a result, Mason met his brother halfway, and volunteered to go to war with Michael, as their broken-hearted mother waved goodbye.

Will we see the Franks boys actually do battle? And what “heart-wrenching” tale is ahead for Mike and wife Tish (La Brea’s Tonantzin Carmelo)? Here’s what Kyle Schmid shared with TVLine.

TVLINE | How much did the showrunners tell you about Franks’ backstory when you first signed on, or even before you did? They didn’t. I mean, I always figured I’d come onto this and I would be playing a tool to explore the evolution of Gibbs — and yes, I am doing that in so many ways, but the fact that they recognize the opportunity to really explore Franks means so much to me as an actor, to have the opportunity to have a character grow in the eyes of the writers and the studio. When I go to work, I keep my head down and just try and do good work every day, so to experience a little bit of that recognition and have the opportunity to expand and tell that story, it’s an honor, actually. It’s a lot more than I ever expected or could hope for.

TVLINE | When I last spoke to [co-showrunner] David [J. North], after the mid-season finale, he didn’t say it in so many words, but he indicated we’d be getting flashbacks with Franks. I had to double-check with publicity, because I was not expecting that. Dude, I wasn’t, either. I mean, when David mentioned it to me — “Yeah, we’re getting your backstory” — I was like, “Oh, OK.” I didn’t think much of it. And then we get the script for [Episode] 11, and I immediately called [co-showrunner] Gina [Lucita Monreal] and David and just said, “Guys, thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you for writing just something that, to me, seems so meaningful.”

I’ve been doing this for 30 years. Now I’m on this network show, and you don’t know what you’re signing on for, and every single episode is phenomenal, and the writing is incredible, and the characters are so well thought-out, and they add so much…. They’re being very generous with me and the character of Mike Franks.

TVLINE | Have you met the younger you, that actor [Brandon Spink]? I have, yeah. What a great kid.

TVLINE | What do you see in his physicality that matches you, because I couldn’t quite latch onto anything in particular. His physicality had less to do with it than who he was as a person and what he brought to it psychologically as an actor. He’s also a very dedicated young actor, which reminded me a bit of myself growing up and seeing the opportunity to make a meal out of a particularly good opportunity or scene. [Brandon] was hungry, and honest, and the way plays the younger Franks is, to me, so important because Franks has this armor — he’s this gruff man — but below that is this childlike sense of love for people and things, like [NIS K-9] Gary Callahan and the bird with Gibbs. And that was not lost on me when I watched Brandon read this material for the first time. There was a genuine authenticity of caring deeply about the world and what is right.

One scene I think he played so well was when his brother’s trying to get him to run away to Mexico, and he’s like, I can’t do that. There’s a moral compass inside me that is guiding me to do the right thing, even if it is dangerous and even if it means possibly never seeing my family again, but on the off chance that I can survive this, I just want to come home to my loved ones. The way that he played that scene so genuinely, it is kind of like looking in a mirror where it’s [the older] Franks.

Franks lives so deeply in the cases and in his relationships with Gibbs, Lala, Randy, Mary Jo, Tish — all the people that he holds dear — that he just wants to get through it so he can come home to be able to see them, hold them, guide them, and love them. So for me, the physicality wasn’t as important as the intention of the character and the actor. Not to mention, we’re talking about an 18-year-old [actor], right? I’m 40, and I don’t look anything like I did when I was that age. There are liberties that we have to take when you find the right person, and he was the right person for the role.

TVLINE | Without spoiling anything, was there anything the showrunners told you about where this story is going that really piqued your interest? It’s hard to say. Let me think for a second….

TVLINE | Because I heard that you have a big episode coming up beyond this one. When David told you that they were going to be dipping a toe into the Mike Franks story, he wasn’t kidding. We get to see a lot of very deep and very exciting stuff that allows you to see the man that we’ve become familiar with on camera and why he is who he is.

TVLINE | We’ve got to talk about Tish. The last thing David told me was, “Tish asked Mike to leave it alone when it comes to the guy who assaulted her, but the reality is that not pursuing the person who hurt his person is a difficult thing for Franks to do.” It would be a difficult thing for Kyle to do, too.

TVLINE | So, that’s a story that we’re going to be revisiting? Absolutely. There’s an episode coming up, Episode 13, that I’m very proud of. Not to preach David and Gina too much, but it’s hard not to when you signed onto a show and you’re kind of putting your career and your life in these people’s hands, and you’re just, like, crossing your fingers, going, “I really hope this f–king works.” You know what I mean? They wrote 13, and it really is a Mike-and-Tish episode. If it doesn’t leave you with a whole bunch of conflict and emotion, you can’t have a heart, because … in learning the origin story of the assault, we as an audience and as human beings will understand why it is so difficult for Mike to let it go.

I like to joke around that he’s a bit more of a dinosaur, mentally. Like, if there was somebody that needed therapy at NIS, it would be Mike Franks. We dig into their past and Tonantzin is phenomenal in the episode. She’s a pleasure to work with. We get to dig into a different time period in Mike’s life, post-war, and explore the transition of who he was as a lost soul and what makes him who he is today.

I’m trying to pick and choose my words carefully because…

TVLINE | No, I get it. … they’re tight on this stuff. But Mike’s story is heart-wrenching, and I think that the relationship between Gibbs and Mike is so strong because of the things that they share in common and what their innate emotional reactions to tragedy are, the way that their fight-or-flight reaction is triggered and what triggers it. Franks gives Gibbs an opportunity and a second shot at life and is there for him in a way that involves a bit of tough love, and is able to pull him out through his actions and his words, and I think we get to see the inverse of that relationship moving forward.

I just got Episode 16 last night — we’ve got a read-through on [Jan. 27] and start shooting this week — and my mind’s going, “Holy s–t, that’s where we’re going?” I like to operate in a world where I don’t know what I’m doing tomorrow, besides working. And I shouldn’t know where my character’s going in a month. I don’t want to know. I don’t want to think about it. I don’t go to Gina and David, and I don’t beg for answers, because to use a metaphor, we can’t talk to God and say, “Am I going to be OK in two years?” We just have to live every day to its fullest with the integrity and the heart that we have, and that’s the way I feel about Mike.

So, I’m as surprised as you guys are half the time. They don’t let us see episodes until they air, so I sit on my couch with my wife [Legends of Tomorrow‘s Caity Lotz] on Monday night, we pop a bowl of popcorn, I cross my fingers, and I turn on the episode. She always gives me a kiss afterwards, and goes, “Holy s–t, babe, you’re making a great show,” and I can’t thank her enough for that because I love my wife. She’s been in the industry for a long time, and she’s a force, she’s a talent, and to be able to share the experience with her means everything to me.

TVLINE | Are we going to Vietnam with Michael and Mason? I think you’ll get a glimpse of it. You’ll get a glimpse of it, but it’s also not a necessary tool at this point in the story. A glimpse into what we all know, historically, to be one of the most violent wars in American history is all we need. We don’t need to tell the story that so many movies have already told.

TVLINE | I was a bit curious if we’d get some Forrest Gump-y battlefield moment that “forever changes things.” [Laughs] Well, dude, look, we don’t tell this story in order, and I think that’s what keeps everybody on their toes. So, just because we’re kind of moving through some of this stuff as we move through this season, that certainly does not mean that we’re not going to go back and experience other moments in Franks’ life. This is not a linear story. Our memories are not linear memories, right? And I think I’ll just leave it at that.

[phoenixwrites]

I've seen a couple of complaints on how Chrissy is characterized in fanfic--which is a wee bit frustrating to me, because one of the fun parts about Chrissy is every fanfic writer gets to choose how to characterize her and it's all kinda valid. I love a Chrissy who discovers a love of metal as much as I love a Chrissy who never gets into it and sticks with Madonna--I love a sexually experienced Eddie Munson who gets into fights regularly and a virgin dork Eddie Munson--both are perfectly valid headcanons to have about them. We simply do not have enough canonical information to make firm judgments. Chrissy gets, like, fifteen minutes of screentime total, which gives us leave to make choices about her. Which again, is part of the fun.

So I want to impress a few thoughts on WHY Chrissy is characterized so often as unhappy in her life or her relationships.

A lot of us project our own unhappy adolescence onto Chrissy. Perfectly valid thing to do.

We know that Chrissy was emotionally and likely physically abused by her mother--Vecna's visions for both Fred and Max were based on actual memories, it's not a leap to assume the same for Chrissy.

We know jacksquat about Chrissy and Jason's relationship, except that Chrissy's smile is rather fixed when Jason calls out to her during the assembly (compare to the scene where Eddie makes her smile--it's just an obvious difference.) And we also know that Mason played up Jason's jealousy of Eddie--he's said so in interviews, which is why he was so angry when Lucas tried to tell him that Chrissy went to Eddie for help.

Chrissy did not go to her friends or her boyfriend for drugs. Popular 'queen of Hawkins High' probably had any number of friends who could've gotten her drugs--but Chrissy chose to go to Eddie and to keep it private. Why? There are a number of possible reasons, but Chrissy being unhappy and not feeling safe enough to go to her friends is a large reason as to why writers characterize her as so isolated. I was a good girl in high school too, but if I'd wanted drugs, there were a number of avenues I'd have pursued before tracking down the "school freak".

Was Jason abusive? We simply don't have enough information to say so definitively. I can see it going either way. He was perfectly fine with his friends physically assaulting an 11-year-old girl and nearly killing Lucas--even in the throes of grief, that makes me pretty suspect of him as a character. Some of us are projecting onto Jason and that's fine--but at the same time, I've seen plenty of writers redeem Jason and give him pathos--more pathos than the show ever did, frankly.

My point is, because Chrissy, Eddie, and Jason don't have enough canonical screentime to make definitive judgments about who they are as characters. Which is where fandom comes in and it's one of the most fun parts about it. So even if you're not a fan of a fandom drope, it doesn't mean there isn't REASON for it to be there.

[nothingunrealistic]

Sun: I think particularly on a show like Billions – which as I shared before we started recording, I came to with a lot of preconceived notions and prejudices about what a universe that is constructed of hedge fund traders and wheeling and dealing politicians would be like – it’s kind of refreshing and I’ll admit a little bit surprising. It was surprising to me that nobody in the Billions universe has really struggled with or had trouble respecting Taylor’s gender identity. We’ve had Axe very matter-of-factly correct people’s pronouns and things like that. And it’s a little remarkable given that the characters are otherwise all kinds of assholes. (Laughs.) I say that with a lot of affection, they’re like sociopaths. To your knowledge, have people told you whether or not that’s actually true to life of the real-life hedge fund world? And more importantly, what’s the significance of having characters like the guys – it’s mostly guys – the characters at Axe Capital be able to normalize gender fluidity acceptance in this way?

Dillon: There have been cases on the show where Taylor has been purposefully misgendered, and it’s been done to reveal something about the character who is misgendering Taylor. Like when that happens, we don’t see Taylor being cut down by that, it just reveals that the person who’s doing it is horrible. (Laughs.) And doing it purposefully to try and disrespect Taylor, which is so clear because the writing is brilliant in it and the actors who do that are brilliant. I’m thinking of John Malkovich’s character, who misgenders Taylor and it’s like, well, that makes sense in that context. In season two, we have Axe in that scene where Taylor introduces themself and says, “These are my pronouns,” and Axe just says, “Okay.” And Mafee is the other person in that scene, who we already know is sort of Taylor’s BFF, very quick BFF, so we see Axe accepting Taylor in that moment and just moving on and being like, “Okay, on to business.” And then there is Axe I think correcting Dollar Bill in a subsequent episode. And so I think one of the incredible complexities that the show holds about this character of Bobby Axelrod is that, as you said, he’s all the things. He’s an asshole, he’s vindictive, he’s also a human being. He is able to also hold respect for this person who presumably is the first non-binary person he’s ever met, because he actually just sees Taylor as a tool that he can use to achieve his ultimate goal. Taylor’s gender identity doesn’t get in the way of his ultimate goal. And I think that holds true for the entire Billions world, which is, if whatever’s going on with you doesn’t in the way of you making money or you making someone else money, then it’s not really actually a big deal.

Sun: It is also great to see that – spoiler alert – when Taylor briefly breaks away and sets up their own rival firm for a while, basically Axe and Wags spent an entire season plotting how to take you down, but at no point did they entertain weaponizing gender identity against you or anything like that. It was just not a thing.

Last season, we got to learn a little bit more about Taylor’s past when Kevin Pollak recurred as your father. And, you know, again, as with all of the relationships on the show, the dynamic between the two characters was very complicated, very nuanced. The Masons – and these are just mild spoilers –

Dillon: “The Masons”! (Laughs.) It sounds so parochial, “the Masons.”

Sun: Yeah, it does. (Laughs.) The Masons – Doug and Taylor are somewhat estranged, but it’s primarily because of the clashing ambitions between these two incredibly brilliant people, but still there were moments throughout that arc where I feel like viewers got a little sense of what Taylor’s coming out was like for both father and child. I’m curious about whether you had any input in shaping that backstory, and would you be comfortable sharing whether or not any of it was informed or inspired by your own personal experience?

Dillon: Unless I’m misremembering, I had nothing to do with the writing of that scene. What I remember is receiving that script and reading those scenes and crying and thinking, This is exactly right on for Taylor, for Taylor’s father. It is exactly the kind of conversation that I believe that they would – it just rang so true for the characters, and I thought it beautifully handled a father who genuinely loves his child, genuinely wants to be there and to learn, and admitted within the scene that he’s trying, you know? And of course you have Mafee there sort of defending Taylor to their dad, which I thought was beautiful. All of it to me is a great example of how it could go. If you have a kid who comes out as non-binary, you get to watch this father actively work from a place of love to learn to love his child again, or in a new way, or something. And you see Mafee defending Taylor, which is important for people to watch. I knew it would be incredibly impactful. And the teaching moment didn’t hit anyone over the head with “this is the righteous way to be” because it rang true to the characters, and I think that is a credit to the extraordinary writing we have on the show.

[tigerkirby215]

5e Skree, the Mechanical Shaman build (Awesomenauts)

(Artwork from the Microsoft Store.)

Reject modernity; embrace indie.

Basically screw you my birthday is on the 28th (🥳) so I wanted to do a build for one of my favorite games of all time. And it was basically either Awesomenauts, an Atlas Reactor build (for a game that’s essentially dead btw check out Atlas Rogues it’s great and I love it), or like... an XCOM build? Unless I wanted to make a Killing Floor character build instead. (Also a possibility.)

Oh also: the game is free, so if you want a new MOBA to try out I highly recommend it. It may not be as popular as it was in its hayday and it may be dated, but the characters and gameplay are still top-notch.

As for why Skree? I had a few mains in Awesomenauts and Skree was my... second most played character. My most played was Chucho but believe it or not Chucho is simultaneously too easy and too difficult to make a build for. Like getting a turret and sticky bombs is easy (Artificer lol) but for the life of me I can’t figure out how to get him to ride Ramona. So you get Skree because he’s easier to make. Also because I get to stick every spell with the word “wall” into this build which is fun.

GOALS

I ascend, inta' da 'eaven! - Awesomenauts isn’t your standard top-down MOBA, which means we’ll need to be able to hover for some advanced movement in a platform fighter!

Uhhh... Dat make a big mess - Skree’s a master of continuous damage, with a lightning wand that will bounce to nearby targets... oh and a giant sawblade.

Dey is after me lucky shrines! - Not a day goes by that you shouldn’t pray to your lord. So set down a massive wall to block your foes!

RACE

The great thing about Awesomenauts (as opposed to League) is that since everyone’s an alien I can choose just about any race I want within reason. The downside of this is that it makes choosing races really hard. There’s only one trait that’s well defined about Skree and it is this: he is small.

So how about we powergame like an asshole? Tasha’s has made Mountain Dwarf one of the strongest races in the game for a number of reasons! You can get a +2 in two ability scores of your choice: Charisma and Intelligence will both be key in this build, so increase both of those to start out. You also get Dwarven Combat Training but seeing as we’ll be using magic a lot more than weapons I opted to take Origin Proficiencies instead: this means you’ll get a ton of different tool proficiencies, on top of Mason’s Tools from Dwarven Tool Proficiency. I’m not going to tell you every tool to take (because my god you get 5 total) but I’d recommend Drums and Carpenter’s Tools as those are some of Skree’s upgrades in Awesomenauts.

Of course on top of all of that you have Dwarven Resilience for advantage against poisons and resistance to poison damage, and Stonecunning for expertise on History checks related to shrines! (Or other stonework.) And finally as a Mountain Dwarf you get Dwarven Armor Training, for Light and Medium armor proficiency!

ABILITY SCORES

15; INTELLIGENCE - Even if Skree doesn’t make it known he built all his tools and weapons out of the scrapped Starstorm station. Accidental genius of turning the entire station on is still genius.

14; DEXTERITY - Skree is known for flying around constantly in a game where you constantly have to move to dodge attacks. Also “something something Medium Armor” from our race.

13; CHARISMA - Weazel’s a good voice actor, and even if Skree is a little... stoned out of his mind he’s still got the lovable 80s cartoon personality that Awesomenauts is famous for.

12; WISDOM - You mostly work with machines and a lot of the Awesomenauts are machines, but you still need Wisdom to read that Book of Medicine or to convince a Skroggle to let you harvest their weedlings.

10; CONSTITUTION - Skree is hardly a tank, focusing on backline damage dealing with magic.

8; STRENGTH - See above. Even if you’re fighting with heavy metal it does all the fighting for you.

BACKGROUND

Religion is still religion, even if it’s not accepted universe-wide. The Acolyte background will let you do whatever crazy ritualistic shaman stuff you wish (within reason.) You get proficiency in Insight and Religion as well as two languages of your choice: there’s tons of languages in the universe so pick whichever ones you think will help you communicate with your allies!

Your feature Shelter of the Faithful will let you find others who believe in the god of the machines. (You should probably pick a god from your DM’s setting instead of just worshiping robots.) You and your party can receive service from others in your faith, and you can lead ceremonies in honor of the mechanical gods!

(Artwork by Katonator on DeviantArt.)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - WIZARD 1

Starting off this build as a Wizard because if there’s one thing I am it’s inconsistent, so of course I’m starting the “easy fun build for my birthday” with one of my least favorite classes to build. But the main reason for the Wizard starting level is to get access to the Medicine skill thanks to your Book of Medicine, as well as the Arcana skill because you understand the spirit in the machines.

Regardless Wizards get access to spellcasting at level 1. You learn 3 cantrips and 6 spells from the Wizard list:

CANTRIPS

For a close-ranged zapping wand Shocking Grasp will let you taser your foes to keep them away.

Mage Hand will let you make sure that you aren’t losing any solar pickups.

If you need to hide in a bush Minor Illusion can make a bush to hide in. Consider it a tiny totem!

SPELLS

You fly around on a floating disk but unfortunately Tenser’s Floating Disk won’t let you do that. It will give you an easy way to carry either loot or your tools around, however.

To launch either a sawblade or some scrap at your foes Catapult will give you the option to do so!

For some damage overtime look no further than Tasha’s Caustic Brew to cover your foes in acidic Skroggle spit that will Gnaw away at them!

Knockback is a big thing in Awesomenauts; if you need some space then use Thunderwave!

People don’t really like blinds in ‘nauts but Color Spray is still useful if you’re in a pinch.

Silent Image will let you make a bigger illusion, such as a large totem that your enemies will hesitate to run past. It won’t be solid yet but it’s a good place to start with wall creation.

You also get Arcane Recovery, letting you recover spell slots equal to half your Wizard level. The exact details of how this works are detailed in the ability’s description so read that for more details.

LEVEL 2 - WIZARD 2

Second level Wizards can choose their Arcane Tradition and when in space gravity... is a harness. We’ll be going for the Graviturgy subclass from Wildemount to harness that harness! As a Graviturgy Wizard you can Adjust Density of objects (and creatures!) as long as they’re size Large or smaller. You can make an object either twice as heavy or half as heavy: when a creature is twice as heavy they move 10 feet slower and can’t jump as far but have advantage on Strength checks and saving throws, and the opposite is true if they’re light: 10 feet faster and greater jumps but they’ll have a tough time when it comes to Strength. Using this feature does require Concentration however, and will only last for a minute if you manage to concentrate on it for the full duration.

Yeesh that’s a mouthful to say “you can make things light or heavy.” How about some more spells then? The dunamancy Wizards unlock new spells based on their school, so we should probably grab Magnify Gravity since it’s a subclass-specific spell. You should also probably grab Shield seeing as I didn’t give you any ranged cantrips yet. Oops?

LEVEL 3 - WIZARD 3

Third level Wizards can learn second level spells like Misty Step for Fla... right Flash is a League thing... Well you can also grab Flaming Sphere to finally have a “sawblade” that you can move around! Be careful not to hit your allies though!

LEVEL 4 - WIZARD 4

4th level gives us our first Ability Score Improvement: you may notice that we have two uneven Ability Scores, so increase both your Charisma and your Intelligence by 1 to round those numbers up!

You can also learn another cantrip along with two more spells! For your cantrip Sapping Sting is a dunamancy-specific cantrip that can make you trip! It does very little damage but it knocks people prone, finally giving you a ranged damage option! As for leveled spells Levitate is a good way to start making yourself (or others) hover around, and Immovable Object will allow you to turn a nearby object into an unmovable totem to block your foes!

LEVEL 5 - WARLOCK 1

(Video by denkles on TikTok. Twitter link.)

What? Did you really not expect it? Warlocks get to choose their subclass at level 1 and to zap with some Magic Sunballs go for none other than The Genie patron. There’s four different Genie Kind you can choose from, which will alter your powers in various ways. Since you’re zapping people go for Djinni, because Thunder damage is the closest we can get to Lightning.

Regardless you get two benefits at level 1 thanks to your Genie’s Vessel. Firstly you carry around a container of some sort that’s meant to contain your patron; I don’t think saying that they’re contained within a little gem atop your staff is too out of the question. Regardless Bottled Respite will let you teleport into your vessel as an action. The inside of the Drop Pod is cozy, if admittedly a little tight. While inside, you can hear the area around your vessel as if you were in its space.

You can remain inside the vessel up to a number of hours equal to twice your proficiency bonus. You exit the vessel early if you use a bonus action to leave, if you die, or if the vessel is destroyed. When you exit the vessel, you appear in the unoccupied space closest to it. Any objects left in the vessel remain there until carried out, and if the vessel is destroyed, every object stored there harmlessly appears in the unoccupied spaces closest to the vessel’s former space. The vessel’s AC equals your spell save DC, and its hit points are equal your warlock level plus your proficiency bonus. Do note that you can only enter the vessel once per Long Rest, even if you only go inside for a few minutes to buy Space Air Max and some Power Pills.

The more important benefit however is Genie’s Wrath. Once on each of your turns when you hit with an attack roll, you can deal extra damage to the target equal to your proficiency bonus. Since you have a Djinni patron the damage type is Thunder.

Speaking of attack rolls: Warlocks get access to Pact Magic! Eldritch Blast is an Eldritch Blast which lets you roll an attack roll for a blast of Eldritch. Since it can hit multiple targets at higher levels you can consider this your lightning bouncing between targets. For a close-range Sawblade Sword Burst will slice up anyone near you, but it isn’t an attack roll so do note that Shocking Grasp will be able to benefit from Genie’s Wrath, even though it’s a Wizard spell.

As for leveled spells Hex is a good way to amp up the damage, and Distort Value from Acquisitions Incorporated can be a good way to get a bit of solar off your next purchase.

LEVEL 6 - WARLOCK 2

Second level Warlocks get Eldritch Invocations like Agonizing Blast to agonize your blasts. You can also get Eldritch Mind because hey we’re multiclassing two spellcasters so advantage on Concentration would be nice; thank you Tasha!

You can also learn another spell like Protection from Evil and Good, because you are still a priest (well, Shaman) who needs to ward off dark spirits.

LEVEL 7 - WARLOCK 3

Third level Warlocks get to choose their Pact Boon and honestly... the only one that makes sense is Pact of the Tome for even more freaking cantrips. To start off Sacred Flame will attack your foes with the light of God, even if they’re hiding behind their turret. Thaumaturgy will let you spook some folk with thunder and lightning as you praise the spirits. And channeling good vibes with Guidance is always helpful.

You can also learn second level spells like Phantasmal Force from the Genie Warlock list, for a totem that only one foe can see. But for that one enemy they’ll believe it to be real!

LEVEL 8 - WARLOCK 4

Level 4 earns you another Ability Score Improvement. Seeing as we’re doing Warlock stuff more Charisma would help.

But even without Charisma you can still cast spells like Mirror Image to keep yourself safe. And you can also cast Prestidigitation for more small magic tricks. "I and I is gonna find ya man!"

LEVEL 9 - WARLOCK 5

5th level Warlocks can learn another invocation. Sitting around in base to chat isn’t a good idea, but you can chat with your allies regardless of where they are thanks to Far Scribe. You can write names in your Book of Shadows, and write messages to those people through Steam Chat to cast Sending on them!

You can also pick up third level spells and we’ll be getting the first of many walls with Wind Wall from the Djinni list to block projectiles!

LEVEL 10 - WARLOCK 6

As a 6th level Genie Warlock you can finally fly! Elemental Gift will let you activate flight for 10 minutes as a Bonus Action. You can fly up to 30 feet and can activate this ability a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. Oh and you get to resist Thunder damage, which is always nice.

You can also learn more spells: to perform more Shamanistic duties Remove Curse will let your friends help themselves.

(Sun Wukong Skree artwork owned by Ronimo Games.)

LEVEL 11 - WARLOCK 7

7th level Warlocks get another Eldritch Invocation but there honestly isn’t much I want from the 7th level. We’re probably going to swap this out later but for now take Undying Servitude to Animate Dead. Who doesn’t love having a couple of zombies?

But are you sick of your teammates never being around to help you? Then make your own! Summon Aberration will let you summon either Nibbs (Slaad), Max Focus (Beholderkin), or Snork Gunk (Star Spawn) to help you! They’ll stick around as long as you keep your concentration, and have a variety of abilities that you can read in the spell’s description. Just remember that money makes the world go around, and mercenaries don’t fight without being paid in Solar first. (What I mean is you need a 400 gold component.)

LEVEL 12 - WARLOCK 8

Level 8 will get you another Ability Score Improvement, so you should max out that Charisma since the majority of your levels are in Warlock! There actually isn’t much I want from the Warlock spell list anymore, so for now you’ll have to wait until...

LEVEL 13 - WARLOCK 9

Hey would it be redundant to get a 20 foot fly speed when we already have a 30 foot fly speed? Well Ascendant Step lets you cast Levitate on yourself at will. While this can be used an unlimited amount of times it does also require your Concentration, so be mindful of that. I’d also suggest replacing Undying Servitude with Otherworldly Leap, because jumping is easy in low gravity! (Unless you’re on AI 404.)

You can also learn 5th level spells like Creation to make an actual real totem! Though it’ll only be 5 feet tall... You can also pickup Seeming from the Djinni list. Skins for everyone! "Shopping Skree!"

LEVEL 14 - WARLOCK 10

10th level Genie Warlocks can send everyone to the shop in their Sanctuary Vessel. When you use Bottled Respite you can now choose up to five willing creatures that you can see within 30 feet of you, and the chosen creatures are drawn into the vessel with you.

Anyone (including yourself) who remains within the vessel for at least 10 minutes gains the benefit of finishing a short rest, and can add your proficiency bonus to the number of hit points they regain if they spend any Hit Dice as part of a short rest there. You can eject any number of creatures from the vessel as a bonus action, and everyone is ejected if you leave or die or if the vessel is destroyed. 

Did you want more spells as well? Too bad; you get the Mind Sliver cantrip. What do you mean we have too many cantrips?

(Skree Announcer artwork owned by Ronimo Games.)

LEVEL 15 - WIZARD 5

Finally hopping back to Wizard to maybe use that Intelligence modifier of yours. 5th level class means third level spell slots, and third level spells in your book! Part of the reason we got rid of Undying Servitude is because you can just get Animate Dead from the Wizard spell list. Other than that I did say I’d grab every spell with “wall” in the title so go take Wall of Sand! People can walk through it, but it blocks vision!

LEVEL 16 - WIZARD 6

6th level Graviturgy Wizards can grab some Pills for the Mind and apply some slows. (Or well, technically knockback.) Gravity Well will cause anyone you affect with a spell to be moved 5 feet wherever you wish! Sure it doesn’t sound that impressive, but this does affect your Warlock spells too!

Speaking of spells: ha ha wall spells go brrrr. Wall of Water is, as the name implies, a wall of water! It slows projectiles, stops fire, and can be frozen solid! If you want to play more with knockback however Pulse Wave is a Dunamancy spell that can either knock enemies away from you or pull them closer!

LEVEL 17 - WIZARD 7

7th level Wizards can get some 4th level spells but I’m going to quickly grab Slow from the third level for a Voodoo Doll... or an Alien Hula Girl. And of course I’m going to take Wall of Fire because... wall.

LEVEL 18 - WIZARD 8

8th level Wizards can get another Ability Score Improvement which means finally you can max out your Intelligence modifier! This means you can prepare more spells like Gravity Sinkhole from the Dunamancy list for a deadly “sawblade” with the pull of a phone booth, and Dimension Door for a quick escape back to base!

LEVEL 19 - WIZARD 9

Hey look at that more spells! 5th level spells too like Wall of Stone and Wall of Force, both of which will be quite a challenge for enemies to get past!

LEVEL 20 - WIZARD 10

Our final level is the 10th level of Graviturgy Wizard for a few things. Firstly your Adjust Density ability from level 2 can now affect Huge objects and creatures, but more importantly you now have Violent Attraction. When another creature you can see in 60 feet hits with a weapon, you can use your reaction to amplify the damage to do an extra 1d10! Alternatively, if someone falls you can actually enable fall damage and make them take 2d10.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier and regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest. Is this a little weak for a capstone? Maybe, but what we’re really here for are spells! You can learn your final two spells... and one more cantrip! So why not grab Mold Earth, for a tiny totem you can spring from the ground at any time. For leveled spells we’ll be grabbing our last wall: Wall of Light... and the other spell with “wall” in its name: Passwall!

There are other spells at 5th level that are probably stronger but I’m sure you can spend some time consulting the spirits to let you learn more spells... as long as you’ve got the Solar for it.

FINAL BUILD

PROS

Ah, it be time to get Jammin - Do you like having a lot of options? Well with tons of spells you can prepare, plenty of options for movement and utility, and 12 different cantrips you won’t ever be lacking in an option for any situation.

I want to kill you, everyday and every night - You are easily the king of Short Rests. Warlock slots and Arcane Recovery can allow you to get a lot of your magic back whenever you see fit, so you can adjust your magic as needed.

Dat be epic wit da Capital Epic - You’re sturdier than the average spellcaster too. Good saves for all 3 mental saves and good AC thanks to being a Dwarf.

CONS

I don't remember dat being part of the Metal! - You’ve got a rather silly amount of Concentration spells, notably with some at-will abilities like Guidance and Levitate. Options are nice and all but you can only have one wall up at a time.

Dem play a card on me! - Speaking of walls: we took at lot of spells (especially at 5th level) that were more for flavor than actual practicality. Sure you can pick up new Wizard spells as you adventure along but... Look I’m not saying I’d prefer to cast Haste over Wall of Sand; just that Wall of Sand isn’t exactly an impressive spell.

Weakless fools, why ya makin me do everyting alone? - Half your levels being in Wizard plus a 0 Constitution modifier means your health is likely somewhere around 100. One-shots are cheap and Power Word Kill isn’t fun, so maybe buy some Power Pills Turbo before heading out.

But you can bring a great deal of mechanical magic to any adventuring party or band of mercenaries. Consult the spirits and let your foes see the voodoo you do! Put up walls to protect your friends as you cut through your enemies; if battle is what you need, you’d best see da Skree! And happy (soon to be) birthday to me!

(Skreelator promotional artwork from the Microsoft Store. Artwork owned by Ronimo Games.)

[ottofinch]

      so so thrilled to be here with the figurehead, n i know it was a really tough decision for the admins so i just hope i can do him justice ! please find below everything i have thus far on otto ballantyne, the younger brother of nate, and a theatre and classics student who was arranged to be married to daisey. i’ve honestly been itching to play a character like otto for months, so i can’t wait to get my teeth stuck into him. please bombard me with discord messages for plots.

part one: ooc information 

nora, 23, she/her, gmt.

part two: the muse !

skeleton: the figurehead.

faceclaim: froy gutierrez  

otto horatio ballantyne. 

cisgender male.

twenty-one

theatre arts major, minoring in classics.

clubs: student government, mock trial, theatre.

apartment 004. 

part three: the skeleton !

      heavy is the head that wears the crown, though yours is the size of a tennis ball when you are born three weeks premature, barely formed enough to open your eyes. for those first few weeks all your parents knew were fear and love --- fear that you would leave them, love that you had made it through so much, hooked up to wires like a fish in a cryogenic tank. to them your heart that learned one day to beat of its own accord was a miracle. perhaps that’s why you became their golden boy.

      being born as a boy on the brink of death makes you invulnerable. you were achilles and the world couldn’t touch you for you were shielded from harm by a mother’s protective spell. should nathaniel lay so much as a finger on your skin, a voice would raise like the sound of a god from the veranda where she sat sipping her wine, play nice, boys! the sound of it thick with merlot. in every fight they took your side ; angel-headed creatures never lied. you soon learned that adults would believe anything if they liked you, that flattery will get you anywhere and to the well-trained mind, conversation was little more than a parlour game.

      you harboured your mother’s beauty, the softness of her voice, the firmness of her skin and light in the corners of her smile. of your father, they’d say you inherited his wit, though that was your own --- as was the golden hair that tousled your head, taken not from ambrose ballantyne but rather the bout of his three-week business trip to germany when your mother had bedded the gardener. if he knew, he never mentioned it. to believe such a fate would imply that he was not enough for her. though you noticed one day when you were nearing five and the sun was ripe on your freckle-flecked skin that the gardener had stopped coming at all. the grass, once shaven to its scalp, now grew to your knees.

      at school, you learned with porridge still clinging to your mouth that the way to win over your teachers was through your smile. yours was the kind of school where the christmas play was not the nativity but rather the story of the gods, and stardom came to you in the role of apollo, sun shining from your beaming face, a bright halo of hair around your head. this was the first time you noticed a coldness in nathaniel’s eyes as your father threw you over his shoulder and your mother drenched you in praise. a bout of food-poisoning on your brother’s part rendered the italian restaurant, visited in your honour, abandoned. you never did find out if he was faking.

      the room to his door remained shut after that and you learned to wile away your hours in the company of nannies and children from neighbouring castles, played at knights and rescued princesses from nearby dungeons, a tin-foil crown lopsided on your head. you learned to seek influence in the faces of those around you, how their eyes would widen as they hung like stalactites to your words. storyteller. prophet. riddler. prince. you cut your tongue into a well-kept sword and sparred with it thrice a day.

      by nine you had read all of dickens novels. by eleven, all of shakespeare’s comedies --- though you understood them as much as a cricket knows the meaning of the cosmos. still, it sounded rich and impressive when asked by aunties at dinner parties, what are you reading in school, otto? he finds the curriculum tiring, your mother would say, stroking a hand through your thick head of hair. otto’s just finished the merchant of venice. soon you grew to ignore your brother’s glowers at your back. your mother’s was the only smile you needed.

      in cap and blazer your mother would drop you off at school, gated and turreted, the kind that was the envy of poorer neighborhood wives. when you were young, you were sure the gifts that came your way were yours alone, though as you grew older, you learned to expect them in the same way the school expected cheques from your parents. they named them benefactors, you noticed one day, on the wooden plaques fixed to the common room walls. the same plaques you would one day notice their names engraved upon in the arching hallways of st. ettienne’s. acclaim was bought, not earned, and your success was littered with blood money.

      what’s a king without a kingdom? your father surely wanted you to inherit his, though it was not in law and corporal finance that you found yourself a castle, but rather upon the stage. when red curtains split, you found you could become anything with the power of your will --- boy, man, lion, snake, each of them wrung out by wordsmiths dead in their graves, a certain romance in the dusky smell of stage lights. when every eye in the room was focused on you --- that was when you felt most powerful. like a piece of art, you were something to be looked at and admired --- and perhaps in the absence of self-earned merit your vanity blossomed, for even if the trophies that lined your cabinets and the a-grades in columns on a sheet came from heavy pockets, your parents could never buy the sound of applause.

      actors are by nature volatile. though your facade was swifter than an arrow, backstage they would call you tempestuous, bigoted, vain. still, it never left the wings of the theatre. there was a kind of reverence surrounding you that words could not taper, godliness following you from school to college, a peer admired in the practice rooms of st. etienne where you poured over chekhov and ibsen but yearned to read sophocles and euripides. 

      you learned to pride yourself on your looks --- a sharpened jawline and a sharper tongue --- and found that people would do almost anything for a beautiful face. in the beginning, daisey was one so much. first colleagues, then friends, then a frequentor to the table in your families house. with arrogance carried in the curve of your brow, you only ever saw her as an accessory. that changed when let yourself stumble, brogues in a size that differed from your own kicked beneath your bed, a shirt with a larger neck size, pulled sheets, the smell of a foreign cologne.

       talk travelled. it wouldn’t do to have word of your deviance spread further than the ballantyne house. while your parents would claim they were forward-thinking, more lenient than their parents had been, there was a conservative priggishness to the way they’d brush such matters under the rug, your father scarcely able to meet your eye over the dinner table. soon after, the arrangement was set with you all but exalted from the plans until daisey had been informed. too late to back out, neither of you all that eager to be wed, though your families would coo when you fixed your hair or she, in keeping with the role, adjusted your tie. at first it amused you to play house with one such as daisey, but soon you grew listless. like a caged beast you felt suffocated by the falseness of it all. you’d leave the dinners held by your joint households and return bedraggled, smelling of whiskey and sex. you’re not sure daisey ever knew the reason why you couldn’t love her, though perhaps she suspected. at night, the names that would fall from your lips would never be hers. oliver. daniel. mason. rupert. charles.

 part four: the secret !

REDACTED. 

part five: the investigation !

         otto’s an extremely materialistic character who obtains pleasure through the things you can buy in life rather than that which comes to you by way of humble experience. he likes rolex watches, armani suits, louis vuitton travel bags, silk scarves imported from india. he likes to drink wine from decades gone by, where he can almost taste the funk of a victorian farmer hand pressing the grapes into a pulp, or to read a manuscript from the special collections section of the library that he knows has passed through hands which have gone on to achieve greatness. to otto, daisey was always an extension of this hedonistic, pleasure-seeking attitude --- she was something to be paraded like the equestrian trophies on his bookshelf, or his name on the honour roll. it’s not that he didn’t see her as a person --- he’s hardly a chauvinist, although it could easily be inferred from the disdain with which he talks to some women --- but rather that he saw her as someone ethereal and admirable and of high social standing who would elevate his social standing, by extension, were he to spend time with her. (this was such a convoluted sentence omg sorry)

         obviously, the engagement was not his choice. even the idea of it had never crossed his mind. he had never thought to marry -- marriage to otto was a tool used for financial gain --- and being already wealthy, he was content to live out his days as a bachelor. he would take lovers, of course, but it would be on his own terms without the involvement of the law. daisey was chosen as a match for otto because she was from a wealthy, well-liked family and the two had been friends since childhood. it seemed to their parents inevitable that they would marry, and so all that was left was the agreed arrangement between the families and the exchanging of rings. strictly speaking, if the marriage between otto and daisey had gone ahead, then daisey would have been nothing more than a trophy wife to otto. it would have been a miserable marriage for her, and he would have grown to resent her for it --- not resent her for the fact that he could never truly be free to love someone he wanted (for he still would) but resent her, and by extension his family, for taking the option to do that openly and publicly away from him. she would always be seen as the beard, the scorned lover, the cuckold, and it would dampen any future relationships he held with the stain of that upset. 

part six: optional !

pinterest

wanted plots !

a secret society that exists vaguely timelessly where everyone communicates with pretentious quotes 

people who grew up in ashmont and have known otto since childhood, and know of his family. he’s always been fairly popular and well-liked, because he’s got this way of winning people over that he worked out quite quickly.

people who he was friends with as a child but grew apart from when he was sent to private school / they view him as entitled now and the two no longer have much in common

someone who he regularly meets up with to practise his french, maybe they go for coffee or for lunch and they just spend the whole hour speaking french.

fellow thespians ! they could really admire n respect him or ??? actually think he’s overrated as an actor and type cast ??

someone who auditioned for the same role as him, but otto got it, and they’ve resented him for it ever since

sOmEoNe WhO hELpEd hIM BuRy ThE bODy hAha no but seriously anyone who could incriminate him or has something against him, for example, knowing he’s low-key closeted gay and wasn’t into daisey, and therefore has a motive

on the topic of that, [blink 182 vc] all the. gay things. otto’s pretty hedonistic, when he goes out he goes all out, it isn’t rare for him to wake up with a stranger in his bed, he’s thought by most of the student population to be charming and beautiful. i feel like while he’s not out, and almost keeps it a secret, he’s pretty secure in his sexuality??? like he’s always known he was gay, but he’s never felt the need to Come Out bcos its no one’s business what he’s into. 

hasn’t really dated anyone? at college, he tends to hook up with people in a vapid sort of way? so he wouldn’t rEALly have past relationships with boys unless it was..... incredibly quiet and on the DL, literally meeting up in the woods after school to read plato and play with each others hair. suddenly realised i want this. 

alternatively someone who he had a vapid, senseless hook up with and grew attached to :/ rude

literally anyone to go on expensive shopping sprees with him where he spends his monthly allowance on ridiculously priced cufflinks and pocket squares

unlikely friendships ?? with people he wouldn’t usually be drawn to ?? like, he very much sticks to his people, birds of a feather flock together, but ?? maybe he is friend with someone from a vastly different lifestyle??

people he knows on a very superficial and base level in the fact that their only interactions together involve doing coke off someone’s sink 

ples plot w me

[dovebuffy92]

https://fandomopolis.com/2020/06/11/dirty-john-the-betty-broderick-story-season-two-episode-3-marriage-encounter-review/

Dan Broderick manipulates Betty and the legal world so he can appear intelligent, prosperous, and entirely in control.

Spoilers:

Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story Episode Three “Marriage Encounter” directed by Kat Chandler flashes between Dan at Harvard Law School and the Brodericks’ toward the end of their marriage just when Dan is opening his law practice. Betty Broderick becomes manic when Dan lies to her and rules the house with an iron fist. He never hits Betty, but he frequently demeans her. During the flashbacks to law school, Dan manipulates facts to appear better than his classmates while using a crutch that nobody else has at their disposal, his wife Betty.

The opening scene reveals that Dan Broderick believes that the law supports lying in order to win a legal argument. The first scene is a flashback to Dan back at Harvard attending a seminar. He explains Frazier v. Cupp, where the Supreme Court ruled that police are permitted to lie to defendants to get a confession without it being coercion. The professor questions if lying to defendants has ethical dilemmas, but Broderick pushes those concerns to the side. He believes that many people lie to achieve their opposing objectives. Broderick finishes his argument by stating that lying can be for the greater good. For Dan the greater good means the win.

Betty is always the tool, or the victim of Dan’s lies for the “greater good.” While in Law School during a library session with a group of fellow Harvard Law students, he bows out of a study group saying he became accustomed to studying alone during Medical School. One student questions how he could have the time to type up all of the cases on his own. Dan shrugs, and says he “makes the time”.  Meanwhile, at home, Betty quizzes Dan on case law while taking care of two children. She types everything up while Dan dictates notes to her. Dan never mentions all the support he receives from Betty to his fellow students so that he can appear like a superhuman.

Tiera Skyovbuyeas (Young Betty) and Chris Mason (Young Dan) do a fantastic job maintaining character continuity with such experienced actors.

Dan’s obsession with perfection starts to affect his marriage. Betty falls out of Dan’s favor because she has her own opinions and knows too much about his past. The troubles begin to pop up when Betty talks openly to one of his colleagues about how they used to live on food stamps. Dan bites her head off for revealing that they were not always wealthy. He claims he doesn’t want to talk about their past poverty because he wants to remain mysterious, but I think he doesn’t want to appear weak. Poverty equals weakness to Dan, which is why he excessively dines at expensive restaurants and joins exclusive country clubs in San Diego.

Betty senses their marriage falling apart. Dan starts spending all of his time at home working, and no longer gives her any affection. She often confides to her best friend Yvonne. Yvonne’s husband, Martin, divorces her and gets engaged with a much younger woman. Betty feels that Martin violated Yvonne by getting engaged before their divorce was official.  She promises Yvonne that none of their friends will attend the marriage ceremony. Betty is shocked when everybody, including Dan and all their friends, attend the wedding.

At that moment, Betty realizes that her marriage is not secure. In a panic, she asks Dan to go to Catholic marriage counseling. He agrees to go though he doesn’t take Catholicism or God seriously. At therapy, Dan says all the right things about trying to be a more present loving husband. But soon, the “real” Dan emerges through his actions.

Dan bullies Betty after realizing she can no longer be pacified with material goods and some kind words. Betty overhears her husband, talking about a beautiful woman. She learns that he is talking about Linda Kolkena the receptionist in the lobby where he works. Linda looks like a much younger version of Betty. Betty becomes neurotic, spying on the receptionist at her work.

Betty knows that Dan has lost interest in their marriage. He has feelings for this twenty-year-old “new model” who doesn’t know about his past financial struggles. Dan can be a mysterious, wealthy, and all-knowing man with Linda. Dan gaslights Betty by acting like her jealousy is ridiculous, then hires Linda as his clerk even though she has zero law training or even a college degree. Betty insists Dan fires her or find another place to sleep.

A couple of weeks after her ultimatum, Betty calls the law office to check if Linda has been fired. Linda answers the phone proving that Dan did not fire anybody. When Dan comes home, Betty yells at him to get out. Dan coldly tells her that she had the wrong impression of the situation. He pays for Betty’s whole lifestyle, including the home she lives in, so if anybody were going to be kicked out, it would be her. Dan betrays that he never saw Betty as a true partner or took her sacrifices seriously. In truth, Betty paid for that home through all the hours she spent working, caring for their children, and helping Dan study.

” Marriage Encounter” effectively cuts between Dan’s law school days and his interaction with fellow lawyers showing how he became this morally grey man. Dan appears charming to the rest of the world but coercively controls Betty through lies and verbal abuse. Editing between the past and present in the television show helps us understand Dan’s personality and the unloving nature of the Brodericks’ marriage. This show impressively depicts the way a husband abuse of his privilege drives his wife insane and ultimately leads to his demise.

https://www.facebook.com/palomabennett06/

[your-average-joe-blog]

The most dangerous gentleman in the world returns

Cold, piercing gaze, characteristic timbre of voice, unprecedented intelligence and undisputed genius of crime. In 1991, "Silence of the sheep" presented the world with a new face of "black character", Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Combination of cruelty with art, almost animal instinct with sophisticated refinement turned out to be the golden mean, so original personality, the horror cinema did not yet exist. A legend was born, and the enthusiastic audience eagerly demanded a continuation that would satisfy her hunger for strong sensations. In 2001, Ridley Scott served a "dish" according to his own recipe. It turned out, however, that his "Hannibal" did not taste all the same anymore ... "Good evening, Starling! Like in old times." Anthony Hopkins Universal PicturesDino De Laurentiis CompanyScott Free ProductionsMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Ten years have passed, a perverse fate decided once again to cross the career road of an ambitious agent with a cunning psychiatrist and cannibal. It turns out, however, that the reunion of the main characters is not the result of a pure case, but an element of the intricately woven intrigue of a man named Mason Verger. Mason, wheelchair bound, the only survivor of Lecter, he wants revenge. One might even be tempted to say that the possibility of retaliation against his torturer is the only stimulus that motivates him to continue his existence. When only an opportunity arises, he decides, with the help of all available means, to arrange a hunt. Starling is the owner of the attractive lure. Mason could not have chosen better, because Starling is one of the few weaknesses of Lecter. This specific magnetism, which accompanied every meeting of Clarice and Hannibal, has already been very specifically defined in the "Silence of the Sheep", suggesting that the heroes are connected by some electrifying tide of mutual understanding, based on mutual fascination. The creators of "Hannibal" decided to rely on the tried-and-true method and at every step tried to stress that Clarice and Hannibal are still not indifferent even after many years. She, as she admits, thinks about him every day, while he writes a "refreshing" letter to her and offers her her help again. Starling was in an uncomfortable situation, after recent failures at work, she begins to have doubts about her "life mission". The opportunity to meet Lecter again motivates her to act immediately, and returning to the old case is an opportunity to redeem and regain self-confidence. It can not be denied that Anthony Hopkins was cast in this role in the character of Lecter. This excellent British actor broke a real record, won an Oscar for only a few minute performance in "Silence of the Sheep". There was so much screen time to impress the Film Academy. It was also enough to get the trust of the public around the world, so that from then on nobody would have imagined that any other actor could replace Hopkins. The first performer of the role of Starling, Jodie Foster, however, was not able to accept the script and finally handed the baton to Julianne Moore. The actress had a challenge before her, she had to present a new version of Starling, according to her own idea. Of course, it was not without comparisons to the Oscar winner. Often also very harmful, because it is difficult to require Moore to be the second Foster. Fortunately, Julianne had her own patent for this character, and most importantly, she had the courage to defend her concept. Julianne Moore Universal PicturesDino De Laurentiis CompanyScott Free ProductionsMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Gary Oldman plays the role of Mason, who is almost "devoid of" his face as a result of self-mutilation. This has created some inconvenience because it practically ruled out the possibility of using one of the basic "tools" an acting profession. Due to the fact that Oldman does not belong to amateurs - he fulfilled his task perfectly, focusing mainly on the appropriate modulation of the voice of his protagonist. Also note the Giancarlo Giannini portraying Rinaldo Pazzi. The character, though rather a background actor, but very interestingly presented. Giancarlo Giannini Universal PicturesDino De Laurentiis CompanyScott Free ProductionsMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) What is undeniably delighting in "Hannibal" is definitely amazing pictures (mainly views of Florence), and great musical setting. From music to https://www.infolinks.top/vipmovies.to/ with a thrill is usually expected to maintain tension, meanwhile Hans Zimmer has put on a kind of innovative exp ..