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dinoyoongi · 5 years

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Romance Is Dead

SYNOPSIS: You try to surprise Yoongi with a night full of romance but he manages to ruin all of your plans.

PAIRING: Yoongi x You

GENRE: Angst, Fluff

WARNINGS: Language, *Implied* smut

WORD COUNT: 4311

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Yoongi: Practice ending in twenty. I'll be over after. Do you want me to bring anything?

You: Just yourself. ❤️

You drop your phone onto the counter, doing a quick study of the dining room. Plates, cutlery – check. Ambient lighting, candles – check. Dinner that you spent a whopping five hours slaving over – check. You had gone over this checklist in your head about six times now but it didn't seem enough. Everything needed to be absolutely perfect. It wasn't an anniversary or birthday, although you know Yoongi might momentarily suspect so when he walks in and sees your usual cluttered apartment so romantically decorated. Perhaps it was the marathons of dramas you've been binging lately or perhaps you were just hit with the lovebug, but you craved romance.

It wasn't that your relationship with Yoongi wasn't great. It definitely was. Your personalities fit together like a glove, you got along with each others friends and families, you made each other happy. You were … comfortable. And while the two of you had some memorably heated moments, it's been a long time since you felt that spark of excitement in your relationship. You didn't blame Yoongi though. Being one out of seven members of the biggest music group in the world at the moment, his mind was always preoccupied – recording songs, producing songs, learning choreography, filming videos and comeback appearances, putting on concerts, etc. You didn't begrudge him his job and you certainly didn't expect him to have the energy to initiate anything extra into your relationship.

So that's why you're going to do it instead. Tonight.

You have a three-part plan of action. First? Dinner. You've spent the majority of the week watching YouTube videos and cooking programs on cable, looking up and purchasing the necessary ingredients and utensils to make the greatest plate of carbonara that Yoongi has ever tasted. Second? A romantic movie. You've converted your living room into the ultimate cuddle area. Both couches have been rearranged and pushed against the wall. You've lined the width of your floor with pillows and blankets and bowls of snacks that you know he enjoys. You even rented a new release that you've heard is super romantic – The Sun Is Also a Star. And third? Well, after the cuddle session, being pressed up against Yoongi for so long, you know your body and you know what it will be craving. That's why you've saved and used two of your paychecks to purchase the most expensive, scandalous yet sexy black lace lingerie you could find.

You were definitely getting lucky tonight.

After making sure everything was in place in the dining room, living room and bedroom, you go to the mirror to confirm you still look as good now as you did an hour ago when you first got ready. You've worked hard on your hair and makeup and put legitimate effort into your outfit – a dark yellow sundress with a flowing, loose black cardigan. The lingerie feels uncomfortable under your clothes but at the same time you feel a boost of confidence knowing you're wearing such sexy undergarments. You can't wait for Yoongi to see them.

There's a beeping on the other side of your door and your heart immediately skips. Yoongi is here. Typing in the passcode to your apartment. It's showtime.

“Y/N, why is it so dark in here?” you hear your boyfriend grumble softly, kicking his shoes off at the front door. You whirl around the corner, meeting him at the entrance of the dining room. You take satisfaction in watching his eyes widen, moving up and down your body before settling on your face. “Why are you so dressed up? Did I forget plans or something?”

You giggle nervously. “No, I just felt like getting dolled up.”

You wait with bated breath for him to compliment you. Tell you that you look beautiful, that you look nice, that your hair looks shiny or your skin looks dewy. Something, anything. Instead, he shuffles past you into the dining room, tossing a plastic bag onto the table. You swallow down the hurt. It's not in his nature to be affectionate but you're determined to have him swooning over you by the end of the night.

“I was craving some Chinese so I got us a few dishes. What do you want?” he asks, popping open boxes. You frown, watching as he moves away some of the fine China you've set out to spread his takeout containers.

“Yoongi, I told you not to bring anything. I made us dinner,” you say, motioning toward the big bowl of pasta and plate of steaming bread sticks in the center of the table. His eyes move over the carbonara before he looks down at his sweet and sour chicken.

“I just had pasta yesterday. Can you put it in the fridge? I'll take some back to the dorms to eat tomorrow.”

Part 1 – officially crashed and burned. You stare at him for a few hard seconds, mentally wishing that the damn Chinese food would be spoiled so he wouldn't touch it. But from the way he happily plops himself down onto one of the chairs, yanks apart his disposable chopsticks and digs in like it's the best food he's ever had in his life, you give up hope. Fixing yourself a small portion of pasta, you sit across from him, stealing quick glances at his plate. The Chinese does look delicious but what romantic dinner has ever been served with sweet and sour chicken? He might not be eating the food you cooked, but you can still enjoy the romantic atmosphere together.

Almost as soon as you sit down, Yoongi hops up off of his seat, jogging over to the switch panel and flipping them all on. The sudden brightness hits you like a punch to the gut and you wince, dropping your fork. You've suddenly lost your appetite. Yoongi sighs in satisfaction as he sits back down and without a word, dives back into his food.

Okay. That's okay. It was just a few candles. This night is not ruined. You may not have gotten him with the food, but you can hook him in with the romantic movie and cuddles, you're sure of it. After the two of you finish your meal, you move to the living room. You notice Yoongi is frowning as he takes in the layout.

“What's going on with the couches?”

You flash him a grin, nodding toward the floor. “I thought we could stretch out and get comfortable on the floor while we watch a movie.”

He scoffs in disbelief. “I've just finished four hours of practice. My back is killing me and you want to lay on the floor?”

A bubble of annoyance rises up. Why is he fighting you on everything? “I put like four layers of blankets and pillows down, Yoongi. You won't feel the floor, trust me.”

With a disgruntled huff of acceptance, he throws himself down ungracefully. You mentally count to ten. He's either going to get some love or get some ass-kicking tonight and right now, you're not sure which one. After pressing play on the blu-ray machine, you lay down next to Yoongi. You half expect him to throw another wrench in your plan by pushing you away but he's full of surprises, fingers gripping you around the waist and tugging you against him.

You sigh happily. Maybe there's hope for the night after all.

“Oh! I've seen this movie already.”

Okay, maybe not.

You groan loudly, tilting your chin to stare at your boyfriend in disbelief. He frowns at you. “Why are you looking at me like that? My laptop died on the flight home last week so I watched this film to pass the time. It's not that good.”

“Why would you watch a romance movie by yourself?” you ask, restraining yourself from using the vicious tone that waits dormant at the base of your throat.

“I didn't watch it alone. Jin watched it with me.” Oh my god. Jin was getting more romance out of your boyfriend than you were? Yoongi suddenly emits a gasp, finger pointing at the television screen where he has pulled up the On Demand menu. “Detective Pikachu is already out on digital? I'm renting this one!”

You're wearing a dress and expensive lingerie for … Pokemon? You sit up abruptly, moving your bewildered gaze to your boyfriend. You didn't expect him to initiate the romance, no, but you expected him to be smart enough to catch on that you were. A candlelit dinner with Italian food? A romantic movie and your girlfriend dressed to the nines in her own apartment for no reason? Have you always been dating the largest idiot in the world or is this a new development?

Yoongi glances up at you, meeting your furious stare. His eyes shift down to your choice of clothing and you think maybe – just maybe – for one moment, he's going to use that creative brain of his and put everything together.

“You and Pikachu kind of match right now,” he chuckles, pointing to the red blush on your cheeks and the yellow of your dress. “Y/N, I choose you!”

“Oh my god,” you mouth silently, slumping to the floor next to him. You watch in stupid amazement as he turns up the volume of the television and throws the remote next to him, another satisfied smile on his face. Seeing the bowls of snacks lined up, he grabs a few and sets them down in front of him. Plucking a strawberry from a bowl, you can't help but feel defeated when he tosses the entire thing into his mouth in one go. You had plans for those strawberries. You had daydreams and visions of seductively biting an end off, of slowly and sexily crawling over to him and gently feeding him the rest. It was then that he would toss you over his shoulder, take you to your room and toss you onto the bed. It was then that he would find the lingerie.

Part two of the plan? Obliterated.

Despite actually having a genuine love for Pokemon and a desire to see Detective Pikachu, you begin to get restless about forty minutes into the film. Yoongi is engrossed, eyes glued to the screen as he blindly reaches for the snack bowls and throws handfuls of whatever he can reach into his mouth. Instead of watching the movie, you've been imagining new scenarios that involve getting Yoongi into the bedroom. Okay, the scenarios went a little beyond just getting him into the bedroom. All of your hard thinking has left you anxious, the lingerie suddenly feeling suffocating. This needs to happen. Now.

“Yoongi,” you whine, gripping his upper arm. He hums in response. “Can we finish watching this tomorrow?”

He frowns. “We're more than halfway through. Why would we stop?”

“I want to go to bed.”

His eyebrows lift questioningly. “So go lay down. I'll be in whenever the movie is finished. I don't think there's too much left.”

Wow. He really is dumb. Yoongi has been your first relationship so you weren't sure – does every woman have to work this hard to get some from their man or is it just you? You decide to stop playing around. He's obviously incapable of grasping any of your attempts to be sexy and coy.

“No, Yoongi. I don't want to go to sleep. I want to go to bed. With you.”

That get his attention. His head snaps over in your direction so quickly that worry he might have given himself whiplash. There's a faint dusting of pink tinging his cheeks and you giggle inwardly, relieved that you've managed to crack whatever stone wall he's had up all night. It's not as if the two of you haven't had sex before – oh, definitely not. You've been together for years and have done it many, many times. You have never been so straightforward with him about it, though. Feeling bold by how flustered he is, you reach over him for the remote, wordlessly turning the television off before lifting yourself to your feet. He watches you closely, accepting the hand you offer to help him off of the ground. When you're both standing, you take advantage of your grip on his fingers and lead him to your bedroom.

This is it – the grand finale. There's absolutely no chance of ruining this. Yoongi is a hot-blooded man who has the same cravings and needs as every other living, breathing male in this world.

You push him gently onto your bed. He sits on the edge, resting back on his elbows. He watches you intently. His heavy, hooded gaze is like electricity, filling you with jolts of desire and contentedness. This is what you wanted. This is the feeling, the excitement, that you've been craving. Leaning down into him, placing your palms next to his elbows, you catch his lips with yours. It starts off chaste, pulling away every few seconds for quick, little pecks. But after a few seconds, the aching between your legs begins to intensify and you decide that you're done with being soft. The kiss deepens, a moan vibrating from Yoongi's chest as you slide your tongue against his. You feel his hands grip your waist, massaging the skin of your hips through the fabric of your dress before his fingers start to dance downward. Pulling away breathlessly, you grin down at him.

Your cardigan goes first, tossing it haphazardly somewhere in the corner of your room. You make of slow show of unbuttoning the straps of your dress, keeping eye contact, doing your best to be the most seductive woman Yoongi has ever met. You know that you weren't his first, or his second or even his third. But you want to be the one who makes him forget about everyone that came before you. Your dress drops to your feet. You feel triumphant when his eyes widen, moving slowly down your body as if he was taking in every single detail. You watch as the corners of his lips turn upward. You close your eyes. This is the part where he completely ravishes you.

He laughs.

He laughs hard.

It's like a balloon pops and you start to deflate, your eyes snapping open in hurt and surprise. Yoongi lays back on the bed, arms wrapped around his stomach as if the sight of you in lingerie is so funny that it causes him pain. You look down at yourself, at the swell of your breasts encased with satin, lace and ribbons. Was it that funny? Did he not find you beautiful enough to pull something like this off?

You watch as Yoongi continues to laugh, absorbed in his own amusement. The sound of his guffaws are like punches to the gut, over and over and over again. Though you've never voiced it out loud, you've always felt a touch of insecurity in your relationship. He was Min Yoongi. He was Suga. He should have supermodels or equally beautiful idol girls standing beside him. Despite that, he always had a way of making you feel pretty, like you had something that no other girl in the world had.

But now? Now you question everything. Would he laugh at a supermodel if she stood here in lingerie? Would he laugh at any of his frustratingly beautiful ex-girlfriends?

Feeling like he has maxed out your hurt tolerance, you shamefully retreat into the bathroom, slamming the door and locking it behind you. Your first order of business was getting out of the frilly contraption, the complete waste of two paychecks. The second was wiping every bit of product from your face. If he didn't think you were beautiful, why should you even try?

Making quick work of the lingerie, you whip it into the corner, wondering what the most effective way to burn it would be. You change into a normal pair of panties and toss on an old, baggy BTS concert tee that you use for pajamas. It isn't until you're washing your face that you realize you're crying.

There's a timid knock on the door. “Y/N? What are you doing?”

You ignore him, the sound of his voice propelling you to scrub your face even harder. When you pull the cloth away and look up into the mirror, you wince at your own reflection. Wet and puffy eyes with skin tinged red from scrubbing it nearly raw. It only makes you feel uglier and you can't help the cry that slips out.

There's another knock on the door, quicker this time. When you still don't answer, he tries the doorknob to no avail. “Y/N, are you crying? Open the door for me.”

You contemplate spending the night in the bathroom. The tub is nice and spacious. There's a pile of clean towels on top of the hamper than you could use for blankets, padding and pillows. You already ate so you won't get hungry. This could work – you could stay here until Yoongi has to leave for his schedules tomorrow morning.

“Are you really not going to open the door?” Yoongi demands, the knocks turning into pounds with his fists. “I'll just kick the door in. You know I can.”

You huff in annoyance. There goes your plans for a sleepover in the bathroom. Others might think Yoongi is bluffing but you know what he's capable of doing and you know he won't mind ruining your door if it inconveniences him too much. You exhale deeply before flipping the lights off and throwing the door open, studiously ignoring your boyfriend who has to jump out of your way as you storm past him. You can feel him following close behind as you hastily retreat to the living room, throwing yourself down in the middle of the blankets. You turn your back to him, tucking the thickest blanket up under your chin. You hear Yoongi sigh from behind you.

“Are you that angry with me? I'm sorry that I laughed,” he apologizes. You continue to ignore him, eyes blurred with tears as they fixate on the fibers of your blanket. He groans in frustration, reaching out to grip your shoulder. As much resistance as you put forth, he still manages to twist you to face him. When he sees your face full of tears, he drops his grip in surprise. “Jagiya, what is this?”

“Jagiya, what is this?” you mock him in disbelief. You can't take it anymore. Seething, you sit up, wiping your eyes before fixing your glare on him. “Your girlfriend is absolutely and understandably fucking devastated because she not only worked SO hard to plan a perfect, romantic night with her boyfriend – which he ruined every fucking chance that he got, I might add – but when she tried to surprise him by attempting to spice things up in the bedroom with really fucking expensive lingerie, he laughs in her face! I wanted to look and feel sexy for you, Yoongi, and you laughed at me. Hard. So yes, I am that angry with you.”

You throw yourself down again, this time pulling the blanket over your head. Yoongi sighs heavily. “Jagiya, talk to me.”

“Go home, Yoongi. I don't want to talk to you anymore tonight.”

Exploding on him released a lot of your anger but now you just feel sad. Every time your head replays the image of him rolling across the bed in laughter at your expanse, your chest throbs and a fresh round of tears build behind your eyes. You feel Yoongi plop down beside you, arm reaching around your shoulders to turn you once again. You throw an elbow to dodge his attempt. “I'm not going home. We're going to talk about this. If you insist on sleeping here tonight, I'm going to sleep right here next to you whether you like it or not.”

“Do whatever you want. I'm not the one who will have a stiff back at dance practice tomorrow.”

“I thought you said you put enough layers of blankets down that I won't feel it?” he jokes. You decide to ignore him. He sighs heavily again. The blankets shift and you feel his head rest against the middle of your back. “I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. And I didn't mean to ruin everything you planned – you should have told me we were going to be romantic tonight.”

You scoff. “I shouldn't have to tell you that we're going to be romantic. Romance isn't something you plan, it's something you feel.”

“Well then, what did you plan for if not romance?”

He's got you there. You knew Yoongi wasn't the most romantic man in the world but you still tried to force it on him. Maybe this is your karma. Maybe this is a wake-up call. If he doesn't feel any kind of romance for you … why are you still together?

“Yoongi,” you croak, blinking away more tears. “I want to ask you a question and I want you to be completely honest with me – do you still love me?”

His head pops up from the floor. Not even a full five seconds pass by before he's forcefully gripping you around your shoulders, pinning you flat against the floor as he hovers above you. His eyes pierce you with the most intense gaze you've ever received from him. “I can't believe you even have to ask me that.”

He seems almost angry. “What am I supposed to think? Okay, maybe I planned for romance, but did you have to brush off every single thing I tried to do with you tonight? It just seems like you're not that interested anymore.”

He groans, moving into a sitting position. His hand rubs down his face, a habit of his that you know usually comes out when he's frustrated. “I'm interested in you. I love you. I brushed off everything you planned because to be honest, that's not us. That's not who you and I are, it's not our relationship.”

You frown. “But that doesn't-”

“You love Chinese take-out, you love Pokemon and you've mentioned many times how ridiculously silly and overpriced you think fancy lingerie is. Do you think romance is defined by a certain meal, genre of movie or undergarments? If you ask me, we would have had a perfectly romantic night without all of your planning.”

He renders you speechless because – holy crap – he's actually right. Okay, maybe the two of you have your lazy moments but when have you ever been unhappy in your relationship with Yoongi? He knows you. He knows what you like. He brought over Chinese and rented Detective Pikachu for you. In a weird, comfortable way … it's your own Yoongi kind of romance.

With a dramatic sigh, you turn towards him, scooting close. With his soft cat-like eyes, he gives you a gentle smile and you nearly swoon on the spot. “You're right. I'm sorry for being so cheesy tonight. I think all of those dramas I've been watching lately have gone to my head.”

He laughs, reaching out to pull you against him. “It wasn't a total waste. I really am going to tear that carbonara up tomorrow.”

You giggle in agreement, resting your head against his chest. Your eyes close in satisfaction of being so close and so relaxed with him after a night of pushing him away with stupid expectations. Although you feel a million times better, there's something that still causes your chest to ache when you think about it. “Yoongi? I know that you laughed at the lingerie because you thought I was joking but … I mean, you laughed really hard. Did I look that ridiculous? I didn't look … good?”

He laughs again and you pull back to punch him. Still chuckling, his large fingers envelope your fist, pushing it down. “Jagiya, stop fishing for compliments.”

“I'm not fishing for compliments,” you argue defiantly. “A girl genuinely tries to be sexy for her boyfriend and he laughs at her? That's enough to make her feel ugly. I just want you to confirm whether or not you think I'm ugly.”

“It's like I said before – that lingerie was not you. It didn't suit you. Of course you looked gorgeous and tempting. However-” he pauses, reaching down under the blanket. You gasp when his hand grips your ass, moving you impossibly closer until even a feather couldn't come between your bodies. “This is what I find sexiest. Just you. No fancy underwear. Well … no underwear at all, really, if you're giving me the choice.”

You slap him playfully, not bothering to fight the stupid grin on your face. He buries his face in your neck. You can feel his smile against your skin.

“We should finish what we started earlier,” he whispers, his lips peppering soft kisses along your collarbone, his fingers dancing along the waistband of your panties. You hum in pleasure, craning your neck to give him better access. An embarrassing moan escapes you when he sucks the skin a bit harder.

“Detective Pikachu? Sure, I'll grab the remote,” you joke, twisting as if you're going to move away. He grunts, pulling on your waist until you're straddling his hips. You lean down, ghosting your lips against his.

“This romantic enough for you?” he asks, his mouth moving softly against yours. You narrow your eyes to glare at him.

“Yoongi, shut up,” you mutter as you throw the blanket over your heads and lean back down to thoroughly ravish him this time. Min Yoongi would be doing a lot of swooning tonight.

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timeagainreviews · 4 years

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Are you there Xoanon? It’s me, Leela.

At the time of writing this article, many of you will have in your possession the season 14 Blu-Ray box set for Doctor Who. Within it are classics like "The Deadly Assassin," "The Robots of Death," and the controversial, but still much loved "The Talons of Weng-Chiang." However, today I would like to talk about an often overlooked gem in the form of "The Face of Evil." While the serial does introduce the companion Leela and showcases some classic Fourth Doctor moments, it has also received a fair bit of ire from certain fans over the years. I’ve found myself defending it in the past, to people whose opinions I value. My hope is that by the end of this review, some of you may come away with a new appreciation for what is one of my favourite classic Doctor Who stories.

For a little bit of background, when devising the character of Leela, producer Philip Hinchcliffe and script editor Robert Holmes were looking to do something new with the companion. They wanted a female lead that could also do heroics. The initial concept for Leela was a mix of Eliza Doolittle, Emma Peel, and Loana from "One Million Years B.C." The decision to make the companion more of an action star was one that was met with resistance from Tom Baker, who in this humble writer’s opinion would have been happiest acting alongside a sock puppet. While he claimed not to like the violence of Leela, I often wonder if it wasn’t because such a dashing co-star would pull focus from the main event- the Doctor.

The writer tasked with bringing Leela to life was Chris Boucher, an avowed atheist. And remember this fact, as it will remain relevant throughout this entire review. Right away, Boucher’s knack for comprehensive dialogue is laid out as we meet Leela, a young tribal woman, being cast out by the rest of her tribe, the Sevateem, for heresy. However, it is her own father that offers to take her place in the "test." Leela’s tone changes from defiance to pleas of mercy for the life of her feeble, but proud father. Right away we’re struck with a series of science fiction tropes, and it’s one wonderful pulpy delight after another. Also telling is the presence of anachronistic technology. Such as the gasket turned into a chest-piece adorning the tribe’s local zealot and shaman- Neeva.

In his element, the Doctor arrives at this frontier world by himself. However, as much as Baker would have relished travelling solo, it becomes immediately apparent why this would be a bad idea. Having no companion to sound off with, he resorts to directing his comments toward you and I, the audience. While I love the Fourth Doctor and his penchant for breaking the fourth wall, it’s not a sustainable recipe for good storytelling. The Doctor needs a companion, if for no other reason than to have someone to explain the plot to.

The Doctor walks through this wilderness without a care in the world as little critters scurry past in a Star Wars or Dark Crystal fashion. It reminded me of moments like when the First Doctor and his companions come across petrified creatures on the surface of Skaro. I wish modern Doctor Who would do more of this- tiny creatures that have no greater bearing on the storyline other than world-building. Leela, having been exiled finds herself walking deep into the jungle. However, it seems that exile wasn’t enough, as she soon finds herself being hunted by her former tribesmen. It would appear that allowing her form of heresy to live is not something Neeva, or his god "Xoanon," are willing to let happen.

Leela dispatches one of her would-be assassins, while another is taken care of by a sympathetic friend named Tomas, who followed the killers after overhearing Neeva’s scheme. While they never touch on it, I wonder if Tomas didn’t have feelings for Leela. It would make sense as she is fierce, intelligent, beautiful, and around the same age as him. Had things gone differently, perhaps they could have had a life together. However, Leela is past the point of no return, and his boyish crush. She pridefully tells him to turn back but warns him not to trust Calib, a man she sees as having more ambition than sense.

Leela walks past what is known by the Sevateem as a great protective barrier. Finding herself pursued by invisible monsters, she runs for her life but falls to the ground at the feet of a man unknown to her. Upon following her gaze up to the feet’s owner, she is shocked and terrified to see the Doctor, a face she of which she is surprisingly familiar. Despite the fact that the Doctor resembles the "Evil One," the Sevateem’s own version of Satan, Leela doesn’t know what to make of his friendly demeanour. This is a moment of great internal conflict for her as only a few scenes ago she was telling her tribal leaders that their god Xoanon was a lie. Now here she stands, looking the devil in the face and he’s offering her sweets.

I’ve always maintained that the story arc for Leela is one of atheism but in the most Doctor Who of manners. Much in the same way that the Doctor will go into a haunted house and prove that it’s actually an ancient alien force, the show has widely maintained the stance that the spiritual is just science we don’t yet understand. Leela’s first lesson comes in the form of the Doctor deftly dealing with their invisible predator. After discovering that a protective boundary is a machine that projects a sonic disruption, the Doctor deduces that the creatures must be blind and sense things by vibration. Using an egg timer, the Doctor distracts the monsters, while he and Leela make a break for it. It’s a great special effect, as even now I can’t figure out how they managed to crush a clock with what looks like nothing.

Back with the tribe, we learn that Neeva speaks with Xoanon through a transmitter that he believes is a magic relic that allows only the holiest to speak to God. Xoanon commands Neeva to go to war with their enemies the Tesh. But the chief of the Sevateem, Andor, wonders why their God would have them go into battle on empty stomachs. A reasonable concern which is met by Neeva’s assertion that Xoanon will feed those of true faith. The tribe gears up for war, but on their way past the boundary, discover the Doctor.

The men shoot a couple of warning shots across the Doctor’s brow, embedding themselves into a tree. While the men deal with the fact that they are now looking eye to eye with their version of the Devil, Leela slips away. Upon seeing the Doctor, the men do a sort of "Sign of the Cross," gesture with their hands touching their neck, their shoulder and their waist. The Doctor notes this is interesting as it’s also the method one would use to check the seals on a spacesuit. Using his newfound infamy to his advantage, the Doctor holds one of the tribesmen hostages with a "deadly," Jelly Baby. But the men call his bluff and the Doctor is taken to meet Neeva and Andor.

Seeing this as an opportunity to prove their faith, Neeva declares they should kill the Doctor without haste. However, Calib, an atheist in his own right, sees this as an opportunity to make Neeva look bad in front of the whole tribe. He suggests they put the Doctor through the "test." Knowing that if the Doctor dies, it will prove that he wasn’t a god, and if he lives, Neeva will look just as bad, as the belief is that only mortals can survive the test.

Knowing her father to have died from this test, an eavesdropping Leela sneaks her way in to stop the Doctor from being killed. Leela uses local Janis thorns on one of the captors, paralysing him in a rigid posture with no hope of revival. The Doctor is appalled by this and commands her never to use Janis thorns ever again. After making a break for it, the Doctor and Leela make it past the boundary where the Doctor learns why his face is so infamous. Out across the horizon sits a giant mountain with his own visage carved into its precipice.

Meanwhile, the rest of the warriors continue toward the mountain for their attack. I was genuinely surprised as I had never noticed the inclusion of a single female warrior with black braids in her hair. Initially, I had thought Leela was the only female in the entire story, but there comes braids looking like a badass. I instantly want to know more about her and to see her in extended media. Sadly, braids and a bunch of other Sevateem are cut down by beams of light before they can meet the impenetrable time barrier. Clearly, something about this was a trap put on by Xoanon, but why?

The Doctor decides that the only way to understand what is happening is by going back to the tribe, despite the death sentence. Upon returning, most of the camp is still deserted, allowing him and Leela a chance to snoop around. Upon discovering the room of "relics," kept by Neeva, the Doctor reveals them to be nothing more than the scientific instruments of the human colonists from whom the Sevateem and Tesh descend. The Doctor finds the helmet Neeva uses to speak to Xoanon and realises that Xoanon speaks with his own voice. Furthermore, Xoanon seems to think the Doctor and he are one.

Being one of the first to return from battle, Calib discovers the Doctor and Leela. Afraid they will ruin his plans to make Neeva look a fool, he poisons Leela with a Janis thorn. With little time, the Doctor demonstrates to Calib that the equipment they've been worshipping for years is actually capable or analysing and concocting a cure for Janis thorn poison. Leela is revived but slightly incapacitated, which makes her and the Doctor easy to capture when more, including Neeva, return from battle.

Now, remember the little critter I mentioned earlier? Well, it would appear that they're a carnivorous bunch known as the horda. Much like piranhas, they are able to strip a body of its flesh when in large numbers. The Doctor is made to stand above a pit of them while a rock tied to a rope slowly lowers, opening the pit more and more with every inch. Leela tries to give the Doctor a pointer, which causes one of the Sevateem to strike her. The Doctor's response is to kick a horda at him which causes him to run in fear. I mention this because any time the Doctor is violent is cause to pause.

One of the things I find irritating with modern Doctor Who is the insistence that the Doctor is never violent. The Third Doctor used Venusian Aikido. The Fourth Doctor practically breaks a guy's neck in "The Seeds of Doom." Hell, even in modern Doctor Who we see it. Like when the Ninth Doctor punched that guy, or when the Twelfth Doctor punched that guy. Or how about the Eleventh Doctor teleporting a bomb onto Solomon's ship in "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship," written by Chris "I don't understand the Doctor's morality" Chibnall? My point is, that the Doctor isn't violent unless he needs to be. The Doctor is non-violent up until the point where either A) it's the only option left, or B) he's mad. In this case, it's B, he's mad.

What does it mean that the Doctor chose this moment to break his rule? I would venture to say he was punishing unnecessary cruelty in kind. But think even more about the theme of the episode. At this moment, the Doctor's morality isn't what's in question, it's his mortality. It's as if Boucher is taking this moment to compare the actions of a man to the expectations of a god. Before the Doctor shoots the rope with perfect precision, he's revealed himself to be a person subject to the whims of his own emotions. In this way, Boucher is asking the viewer to look at the vengeful nature of our own gods and to see the inherent humanity entangled within. Or in the Doctor's own words- "You can't expect perfection, even from me!"

With the Doctor somewhat exonerated by being able to pass this asinine test, he is given a bit more freedom to move about. But this doesn't mean an end to the unrest. The Doctor reveals that the Sevateem are actually descendants of a survey team (creating a portmanteau), and heads back to the mountain to discover the secrets of the Tesh. Meanwhile, Xoanon removes the barrier surrounding the Sevateem, allowing the invisible creatures free roam to terrorise the simple tribe. The Sevateem are quickly overtaken by invisible beings, which kill Andor and many others. The Doctor takes his leave to climb up the mountain into his own face.

The Doctor discovers a spacesuited man within the mouth of the carving. He also discovers a derelict rocket for the Mordee expedition. It's about this time that the Doctor begins to remember having come to this planet in the past. In an attempt to fix the AI, Xoanon, the Doctor linked his mind. Only instead of repairing it, he created a duality that drove the AI to madness. Thus creating a desire in Xoanon to reconcile these two aspects in itself. Its solution for this quandary was to influence the two groups of humans into two very different evolutions and see who would come out on top. The primitive yet cunning Sevateem, or the brilliant yet passionless Tesh?

At this point, the story takes a somewhat extreme turn as the Tesh are found to be rather advanced in every way by comparison to the Sevateem. The Tesh, being descendants of the technicians of the colonists, are more intelligent. They dress like the Great Gazoo if he went through a harlequin phase. They caper and cavort about in an almost jovial sense, but their belief in Xoanon is no less zealous than their primitive counterparts. They seem peaceful at first until the Doctor discovers they plan to atomise Leela. After showing his disapproval, the Tesh turn on the Doctor, subduing him with their mental powers which looks a lot like staring super hard at the guy until he collapses.

I absolutely love that with two reviews in a row I'm able to talk about two separate James Bond type laser scenes where our heroes are incapacitated in some way and are forced to escape the laser with a mirror. This isn't me calling out the show for overusing a trope. There were eleven years between these two episodes, and it's completely by chance that I decided to review them back to back, but how funny is that? And their titles both have to do with faces! I swear I didn't plan this.

As I said, the Doctor and Leela escape with a simple mirror. The Doctor uses the technology to imitate Xonanon and communicate with Neeva. However, Neeva surprises the Doctor when he calls the Doctor by name, showing that even the most fanatical is not so forgone as to be unreachable. The Doctor tells Neeva to instruct Calib to lead the men to the mouth of the mountain where the invisible beings cannot reach. Soon, the Doctor and Leela find themselves running from the Tesh through corridors. It's classic Doctor Who with the bad guys giving chase through endless corridors which are actually the same corridor. After a scuffle, the Doctor once more is forced to use violence as one of the Tesh comes at him and gets kicked into an electrified wall. The Doctor notes that the man appeared to be hypnotised, as if under the influence of Xoanon.

Leela is given a laser gun to fight off the Tesh, which I find to be the perfect metaphor for this entire story. The cave girl gives up her crossbow for a laser gun. It is as if her transition from a primitive to the scientist is coming full circle. It's as though she is claiming the birthright of her ancestors. She's gone from a person questioning her faith, to a person functioning within this new paradigm. Even though she still finds herself cowering when she hears the supposed voice of God, her confidence is growing.

Leela continues trading fire with the Tesh, while the Doctor seeks out Xoanon within the "Sacred Heart," a large computer complex. An array of large screens project the Doctor's face. But as the Doctor enters the room, Xonanon experiences an identity crisis, causing it to repeat the question "Who am I?" The panic creates a psychic assault on the Doctor, causing him to drop to the ground. As the question repeats, Xoanon's voice fluctuates between the Doctor, a man, a woman, and a child. The child's voice is a particularly chilling juxtaposition with the Doctor's frantic orange face screaming in a panicked frenzy. Fun fact: the child's voice is provided by Anthony Frieze who won a competition at his local school to be in the episode. For a kid that won a contest, it's surprising how much he nailed that take. It's quite easily one of the most effective moments in the entire serial.

The fourth episode of this serial is easily one of the weakest as it degenerates into a lot of your common science fiction tropes. As I said, once they enter the mountain, the tone of the entire story shifts. This is really my biggest criticism of the entire story. But it's also a bit of a further metaphor for the whole atheism argument. Man leaves the primitive world into the world of technology. But with false gods present, man still struggles to find an identity beyond their god. In their own way, the Tesh are no more advanced than the Sevateem. It would appear that Xoanon's little experiment in eugenics was all a bust.

The Sevateem arrive and fight back the Tesh. They also bring the Tesh's weapons into the fight against the invisible monsters, which turn out to be manifestations of Xonanon's id. This explains why the one time we do see them, they just look like a giant apparition of the Doctor's face. Having saved the Doctor from Xoanon's psychic assault, Leela and the Doctor continue trying to stop Xoanon. Because of this, Xoanon, in a last-ditch effort to stop the Doctor, takes over Leela and the rest of the Sevateem to kill the Doctor. However, having been broken from his own religious spell, the unlikeliest of heroes appears in the form of Neeva. Neeva shoots Xoanon long enough to stop the link and save the Doctor but loses his own life in the process.

The Doctor finally repairs Xoanon but gets knocked unconscious in doing so. Upon waking, he discovers he had been out cold for two whole days. A casual Leela sits beside him eating chocolate in peace. The Doctor assumes this means his plan worked and that Xoanon was stopped. The Tesh and the Sevateem are living together in a sort of shaky truce. The invisible monsters are gone, and Xoanon is now at peace. To prove so, Xoanon offers the Tesh and Sevateem the option to destroy it at the push of a button. They discuss needing new leadership and decide Calib is not the right man. Instead, the people (see: Tomas) want Leela to lead. However, Leela turns down the offer to travel with the Doctor, much to his chagrin. Leela has seen enough of this primitive planet. It's time to see the stars.

If you can't tell by now, the aspect I liked so much about this story was its delving into atheism and theology. It may seem like a heavy subject, but at its core, it's something that represents the show as a whole. The perspective that all problems, at their core, can be met with logic and reason. Furthermore, I greatly admire the way in which they continue this story arc for Leela over the remainder of her tenure as a companion. This idea of a woman raised out of ignorance into the realm of greater knowledge continues to build in her character until she becomes someone capable of living among the Time Lords themselves.

That is not to say this serial is not without its faults. For some, it may not be a fascinating storyline. They may not be as enthralled by its themes as I was. Which is fair. There are also some silly moments, such as the invisible monsters leaving footprints, despite being the projections of a giant head. The use of the word savage is also a bit dated, as is the whole concept of the "noble savage." Also, Xoanon got off a bit light. It was like at the end of The Dark Crystal when urSkeks leave like "Peace out, sorry about all the genociiiiide..." What kind of society are the Doctor and Leela leaving behind? Can the Tesh and Sevateem find common ground, or will it be war in perpetuity?

Truth be told, I rather like that it ends on a bit of an open-ended question. I don't believe it's always the Doctor's job to handhold and change the diapers of every developing society. The most the Doctor can hope for is that things have found some sort of balance, free from meddling or outside influence like aliens, robots, or in this case, himself. Furthermore, I love the concept of the Doctor taking a companion on reluctantly. It's almost a form of penance for the Doctor. You created this madwoman with a knife and Janis thorns, and now you've got to tote her around the universe. In many ways, I find Leela very sympathetic. Having come from a religious background, I know the struggles inherent in losing faith, how it shakes your foundation. This type of representation happens so seldom in fiction, and it's rarely a positive thing.

"I too used to believe in magic, but the Doctor taught me about science. It is better to believe in science." –Leela, from "The Horror of Fang Rock"

#Doctor Who #Fourth Doctor #Tom Baker #Leela #Louise Jameson #The Face of Evil #Xoanon #leela of the sevateem #sevateem #tesh #bbc #TARDIS #chris boucher

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bridgertonlife · 5 years

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Pepper & Tony in “Avengers: Endgame”

Worst ending ever. Nothing prepared me for this. God, I can't believe this is the real deal. That’s it. Tony’s dead, Pepper’s a widow, Morgan’s a fatherless orphan child at age 5. How cool right?

Speaking as a Tony and Pepper fan they give us everything we wished for during all those 11 years, right? Pepperony married and iron baby girl and Rescue... BUT, there always has to be a but, only to kill Tony, love of my life, Stark in the end and stab our hearts with a knife, and tarnish all our memories of the MCU and this 11 years.

We didn’t get our wedding. They were married off-screen. Yeah another big #Pepperony event that happens off-screen YAY! Just like the break in “Civil War” which we will never know a single thing about. We can add to this the wedding that happened but we never saw, we’ll have to use the power of imagination. I loved to see the ring on Tony’s hand though. I delighted in it. ^^

My queen Pepper Potts wasn’t nearly enough on screen. No Mom-Pepper time with Morgan (only the funeral/post-funeral hologram thingy) so so sad.

Remember when we all thought that scene by the lake was the wedding? Sure, good times.

Speaking of this... Could this funeral be more fast paced? Hey Tony, here you go bye bye. Let’s have 15 minutes more about Captain America’s whereabouts. Russos, Markus, MCFeely we know you love Cap BUT show some respect, because Tony Stark just died sacrificing himself to save the fucking Marvel Multiverse or whatever this quantum time travel shit ended doing with the time-space dimension. Future movies are gonna be a crazy convoluted mess, let me tell you. I don’t care. Won’t be seeing any of them. Good luck explaining THAT. lol :D

Back to Pepper Potts. She suited up at last, after 22 movies, as RESCUE, and she was a glorious kick ass queen in her purple and gold suit of armour... YAY! but it wasn’t even close to enough. I think even Valkirye got twice her screentime in that battle, logicall if they want to sell us “the future of the MCU” without shame. Rescue in the final battle was so brief I couldn’t even taste it. No explanation about how or why she finally put herself on the suit, only that she finally wore something her beloved husband did for her (that was super cute, let me tell you). But it sure gives the impression that she was only thrown in there because in the moment Tony died she could hold him in her arms. Beautifully acted scene that makes me cry again only thinking about it. Gwyneth Paltrow can give acting skills class to half of the cast in this movies. That’s an Oscar winning actress for you all, take notes.

“We’ll be okay. You can rest now.” That broke my heart.

Where the hell is my TEAM IRON MAN battle scene? War Machine, Iron Man and Rescue fighting together like an armored team? Never to be seen. We lose that opportunity, sad forever. :(

More scenes of Pepper with Tony in their cottage by the lake would have hurt someone? Their everyday life with Morgan? I guess we’ll have to go to fanfic to cover those needs too. ¬¬

“I love you 3000″ made my heart sing. So lovely and cute and Tony telling Pepper how much their daughter loves him. That was the sweetest thing I’ve seen in my life.

I loved when Tony disguised himself as Howard Potts in front of his father, really made me smile. Tony is so in love with Pepper and respects her so much :) Cutie pie.

There were truly amazing and cute and lovely scenes that I will treasure forever BUT at the same time I’m salty, and pissed, and kinda disappointed, mostly because after 11 years of loyalty, buying ticketts, blu ray, merchan and free promotion of the Marvel brand, we only wanted Tony Stark to retire in the end and truly SEE his wedding with Pepper on screen. It's all we wanted. Retirement for him and to have a good memory of these 11 years forever. Not this sacrificial death thing.

I guess doing the surprise move was more important than viewers satisfaction.

That “we all want a happy ending but sometimes we can’t have one” sorry Tony/Robert but my soul will always feed on happy endings. And fantasy should guarantee them. Life is hard enough.

#avengers endgame #pepperony #pepper potts #tony stark #about me #my feelings #avengers endgame spoilers #spoilers #engame spoilers

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moonlightmadnessreviews · 5 years

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It Chapter 2, and The Importance of Patience in Modern Horror Cinema

“For 27 years, I’ve dreamt of you. I’ve craved you. I’ve missed you!” We saw the release of the final trailer for IT Chapter 2 last week, and Pennywise’s words really struck a chord with me. This is a story about a monster who sleeps for 27 years, reappears amidst a great tragedy in the town of Derry, Maine and brutally feeds on the town’s children. They then return to the sewers to sleep, hungry as they might be, satisfied knowing that in another 27 years there will be a new batch of children to devour. Until they come in contact with The Loser’s Club, there is no sense of urgency for them, there is no rush. There is only patience. Much like the patience film making siblings Andres and Barbara Muschietti have displayed putting what is considered to be one of Stephen King’s most ambitious works onto the big screen. It’s that patience that helped IT Chapter 1 and will likely help the upcoming sequel.

Many of us grew up watching the original IT miniseries, released on TV in 1990. That miniseries was broken up into two parts in which we followed the Loser’s Club through their encounters with Pennywise The Dancing Clown (Tim Curry) as children, and their eventual return to Derry, Maine as adults. It is interesting to note that the series was split into two parts for the sake of time, not to separate the story of them as children and the one taking place 27 years later. After all, each part ran for about 2 hours with commercial time. This format stuck fairly close to Stephen King’s novel IT, released in 1986. At the time, this was King’s longest and most ambitious work and the constant bouncing between time periods was part of that. On the page, it was fairly easy to follow these time jumps and it certainly flowed nicely, keeping you engaged through out. However, when put on the screen, the story of the adult Losers Club paled in comparison to that of their childhood experiences.

IT 2017 spent much of its time in gestation, awaiting the day it would be unleashed upon audiences. In fact, the beginning stages of the production date back as far as 2009. Originally, the film was to be directed by Cary Fukunaga of True Detective fame, and would star Will Poulter (And his god damn eye brows, here we go again), of this year’s Midsommar, as the titular boogie man. The script underwent a number of rewrites as the director wished to update the story and inject some bits of his own childhood. The studio was pushing for a more conventional horror movie while Fukunaga wanted to venture out of the box of horror and dip into much of the same art horror style that was on display in season 1 of True Detective. Eventually, both Fukunaga and Poulter would leave the project.

Enter the film making duo of Andres and Barabara Muschietti. The siblings were known for their 2013 effort Mama, with Andres, or Andy, acting as director and writer and his sister Barbara sitting in the producer’s chair. After taking over for Fukunaga and rewriting his script, they set about making sure the studio was clear that this would once again be a two part project. Fukunaga had floated the idea initially, as it would allow ample time to dive into each character’s backstory and traumas, while also separating the time lines. With this laid out, the Muschietti’s were on a mission to find their Loser’s Club and Pennywise. Bill Skarsgård would take over for Poulter, and the Losers Club would be rounded out by Jaden Martell (Bill Denbrough), Finn Wolfhard (Richie Tozier), Jack Dylan Grazer (Eddie Kaspbrak), Chosen Jacobs (Mike Hanlon), Jeremy Ray Taylor (Ben Hanscom), Sofia Lillis (Beverley Marsh), and finally Wyatt Oleff (Stan Uris).

With such a large ensemble cast of child actors, the Muschiettis knew they would need to work on building a team dynamic, allowing the actors time to build actual friendships and camaraderie that would come across on screen as genuinely as possible. As shown during special features on the Blu-Ray and digital release, the Loser’s Club took part in a summer camp of sorts, getting to know one another while also getting into the mindset of 1980s children. The time spent laying the ground work helped to create a dynamic between the Losers that is certainly one of the film’s highlights, harkening back to movies like Stand By Me and The Goonies, as well as Netflix’s Stranger Things, which had premiered in the summer of 2016. We were seeing friends rallying together on screen because most of the cast was, and still are, friends off screen as well.

The efforts of all involved made for one of the biggest horror releases of 2017! Whether facing down bully Henry Bowers (Nicholas Hamilton) or Skarsgård as Pennywise (An absolute standout performance, honoring Curry’s performance while making the character very much his own, displaying great physicality and commitment to the role), the Loser’s Club managed to make us root for them every step of the way. Jaden Martell in particular elicited a heart wrenching performance in his portrayal of grief and guilt over the death of his brother Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott). The Muschiettis also showed patience and restraint with the marketing for their movie. They could have drowned us in images of Pennywise throughout the entire trailer, and though his image was posted everywhere by fans in the months leading up to the release, we got just enough to leave us wanting more. This isn’t always the case with big studio movies, which helps IT Chapter 1 in standing out.

Too often these days, we see a studio rush through their process to set up a sequel, or an extended universe, for a quick payoff. The DC Extended Univeres and Universal Studios’ Dark Universe are prime examples of putting the cart before the horse, trying to establish a shared universe the likes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They become too preoccupied with catching up that they forget to simply make good movies, ones that fans would care to see again and ones that would build to the exciting crossovers fans really love. Where Marvel’s MCU has been so successful is building a universe since 2008 with individual films on our main hero’s and then culminating in big cross over events, much like the way Chapter 1 spent time to get us excited for the return of these characters in Chapter 2.

All of these elements have now laid the groundwork for IT Chapter 2, hitting theaters September 6th*. By reworking the way the story is told, Chapter 1 handling the children in the 1980s and Chapter 2 showing them as adults in 2016, we were given enough time to care about the film’s large ensemble cast. We are invested in their story and we are even, at times, rooting for Pennywise. The patience and care with which this retelling has been handled is proof positive that even a big budget studio horror movie can work its pacing to leave us hungry for more. I’m just glad we didn’t have to wait 27 years to see the sequel come to light.

*The adult Loser’s Club will be portrayed by James Macavoy (Bill), Jessica Chastain (Bev), Bill Hader (Richie), James Ransone (Eddie), Isaiah Mustafa (Mike), Jay Ryan (Ben), and Andy Bean (Stan). Bill Skarsgård will reprise his role as Pennywise the Dancing Clown.

#it #it chapter 2 #it chapter two #stephen king #tim curry #bill skarsgard #bill skarsgård #the losers club #pennywise #pennywise the dancing clown #andres muschietti #barbara muschietti #cary fukunaga #horror #horror movies #horror films #youll float too #moonlight madness #moonlight madness reviews

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recentanimenews · 5 years

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Check Out These Awesome Anime And Manga Deals For Black Friday

The holidays are here! When your belly’s full of turkey and your loved ones have gone home, skip the nap and squeeze in some online Black Friday shopping! We’ve rounded up a whole bushel of online Black Friday deals featuring anime, manga, video games, figurines, and more. A few of these deals will be available long after you’ve had your last leftover turkey sandwich, so check it out!

Viz Media

Viz Media has announced a whole host of exciting anime titles that will be available for purchase during this holiday season. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable, Sailor Moon Sailor Stars, Bleach, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, and Megalobox round out the box set options. Manga readers can enjoy the Assassination Classroom, Dragon Ball, and Dragon Ball Z full box sets. Concept art books featuring Dragon Ball, Transformers, and many other titles are also available.

RightStuf

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are cool. But what about a whole two weeks of discounts and shopping therapy joy? Still want more anime and manga goodies? How about another big sale on top of all that, just for kicks? RightStuf is offering weeks of sales and deals starting November 24th for Black Friday week. This week will also include daily Mega Deals that could bring down the price of select titles by up to 95 percent. December 1st kicks off Cyber Monday week, which flows right into the company’s Holiday Sale beginning December 8th. RightStuf’s Holiday Sale promises deep discounts on anime and manga up to 90 percent off.

Books-A-Million

Books-A-Million is staying true to its name and offering up a buy 2 get 1 free deal for manga and graphic novel shoppers. Popular titles like My Hero Academia, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Tokyo Ghoul, Berserk and more are available for purchase. Additional discount codes may be available throughout the shopping season to make your holiday extra merry and bright.

Comixology

Comixology is offering lots of original manga bundles like The Drops Of God and You’re My Pet, through the first week of December for anywhere between 67 and 70 percent off. Early shoppers can get their hands on a whole bunch of Death Note, Bakuman, and other Viz Takeshi Obata issues for a discount through November 25th. Also running through the 25th, is the adorable Kodansha Animal Manga sale featuring deep discounts on titles like Animal Land and Chi’s Sweet Home.

Bandai Namco

Gamers will want to check out Bandai Namco’s anime-heavy Black Friday sale. Discounts of up to 40 percent promise low prices on favorite tiles like My Hero One’s Justice, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, and Jump Force, just to name a few. With many titles spanning XBox One, PS4, and Switch, there’s something for everyone!

Sentai Filmworks

Sentai Filmworks is offering everything from $2.99 single anime and live-action Blu-rays to full boxed sets between $39.99 and $129.99. Titles include Chihayafuru, High School Of The Dead, Himouto! Umaru-Chan, The Return Of Godzilla, and much more.

Barnes & Noble

Barnes and Noble makes holiday shopping easy with their convenient gift guide. The guide breaks down available gift items by demographic and theme, creating a one-stop shopping experience with lots of ideas for gift-receivers with specific interests. The BTS/K-Pop section features figures, playing cards, Funko! Pops, albums, and loads of other fun offerings. There’s plenty in store for Studio Ghibli lovers, including novels, puzzles, teacups, plushes, and keychains. Take a spin through the Year’s Hottest Collectibles section for more Pops, plushes, figures, Gundam model kits, and more.

These are but a small sampling of the amazing deals that you'll be seeing for weeks to come. With options like these, why not treat yourself to a few of your favorite anime and manga titles along with your family and friends? You deserve it!

What are your plans for the holidays? Planning on getting some gifts for others and yourself? Let us know in the comments!

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Carolyn also writes for Bunny Ears and Cracked. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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tarthserjaime · 5 years

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I realized today that there are really only three things we're still 'waiting for' here in the JB/GOT/ASOIAF fandom:

1. the release date (and release) of TWOW

2. news about any Jaime, Brienne, or JB content in the final DVD/Blu-ray release

3. possible GOT golden globe noms and attendance at the GGs by ours truly, bfffs extraordinaire

. . . otherwise that's it. We're done as far as new content. And that's a really strange place to be in, at least for me. Not sure if I'm feeling sad or relieved the main ride's almost over with the pain of S8 still lingering.

Thank the gods for our *own* new content creators -- all you brilliant artists and writers feeding us so well on a daily basis. Bless. ❤️

#p s. we're never getting ADOS so im not even gonna count that in this list mmmkay?#jaime x brienne #braime #brienne of tarth #jaime lannister #they deserved a soft epilogue #never getting over it #nik & gwen #jb fam #at least we all suffer together

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mongoose-king · 5 years

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GOD I am so tempted to buy the Feeding Hannibal: A Connoisseur's Cookbook(like 30 bucks) when I buy the Hannibal Complete Collection on Blu Ray (just over 40 bucks) but Im like

will I use it? Will I ever cook that fancy?

buT Its got behind the scenes stuff??? Tempting

#fuck I have the wORST taste in fictional men but Mads as Hannibal? God That Is Hot #pls #end me now #MongoosePosting.txt

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undeadwicchan · 5 years

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Rewatching RWBY: Volume 1, Episodes 6-10 [Live Blog]

The second half of Volume 1, and yes if you combine the parts. Volume 1 is actually only 10 episodes long.

[Episode 6]

I know it’s first volume and the budget isn’t as big as it is now, but Ruby’s arms in her uniform are unusually long.

Blake is actually somewhat OOC during the ‘Banzai’ then again, Blake is one of Miles’s hardest characters to write and it’s Volume 1 so…

Omg that Achievement Hunter poster

It’s always the quiet ones hehe.

I don’t understand why Ruby would cut the curtain to this very day unless it was an accident.

Weiss is womanlet compared to Yang omg.

Oh right, JNPR’s room is right across from RWBY’s!

“Remember when STRQ was late to class? Good times”

Okay so who is that guy with the black hair and green shirt?!

Also hello Port!

Yeah just yell at Ruby while Yang and Blake were cheering too lmao.

“Sheesh what’s with her,” tell me about it.

“Ozpin made a mistake” Oh hell no.

“My ‘Ruby is having a conflict with herself or with someone’ senses are tingling” - Ozpin, probably.

I love Ryan voicing Port omg.

“I have made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet” can we talk about how tired and sad Ozma sounds here? Yes, I strongly believe that this is Ozma in control talking to Ruby.

Boy I wonder how that opinion that Port has of Ozpin is going to change now…

You tell her Port.

Yeah, you see Weiss. Ruby is working very hard. Baby girl is doing her best and that’s all that matters. ;v;

HHHhhhhh Weiss is so sweet omg

And now it’s time for probably the most skipped on and criticized arc in the series. Jaundice.

[Episode 7]

Now isn’t that some alluding regarding the characters they’re based off of.

So it’s been a considerable amount of weeks and a few months before the Vytal Festival kinda sorta starts. Interesting.

Omg Ren’s and Nora’s story telling.

Ruby and Pyrrha are on the same wavelength regarding their concern for Jaune

I WILL 1v4 YOU TEAM CRDL IF YOU CONTINUE TO BULLY VELVET.

Oh my god, I know it’s for comedy relief but, that’s kinda messed up Cardin would send Jaune trapped in a locker flying.

Cardin. You. Me. 1v1 now. You dare hurt the Bun?! Speaking of, I know Velvet’s teammates designs aren’t completed, but they would kick Cardin and his team’s ass.

“It must be hard to be a faunus” Yeah… Looking at how shitty society treated Adam and Ilia, it is not much of a brainer.

OOBLECK!

Aw poor baby is so hesitant to speak out about the discrimination she faced as a faunus :c

C’mon Jaune….

Oh man, Adam would just… have a field day with the way Cardin would show his disgust over the faunus .

YES BLAKE. GO PYRRHA. TEAR THAT MAN APART AND DRAG HIM

I wish I had a teacher like Oobleck back during my days of High School.

“You know, I really will break his legs” please do Pyrrha.

...F...Forever Fall is that you I hear? ;v;

I’m sorry guys, but the lyric version of Forever Fall messed me up so much, that if I hear it I start to tear up a bit…

Pyrrha deserves the world god damn it.

This arc does give some perspective on Jaune’s character and how he can grow. I actually love the Jaunedice arc.

SCREW OFF CARDIN.

[Episode 8]

I can’t even blame Pyrrha for being mad and disappointed with Jaune here.

I love this moment between Ruby and Jaune, they’re very supportive of each other and I really like they let each other lean on the other’s shoulder if needed to be. Lancaster man…

C’mon Jaune…

Okay. So we got a tease of Forever Fall in Maya via Adam and Blake shorts but, I really hope we see the forest again!

Pfftttt Nora.

How did Glynda not notice that box of wasps?

You hurt Pyrrha. I hurt you.

Don’t do it….

Yeah Jaune!

Oh no Jaune!

LMAO

Oh because I’m watching on the blu-ray it contains the bonus scene of Nora stealing Pyrrha’s collected sap.

YEAH JAUNE!

Cardin deserved that one.

“Time to save the boyfriend.” - Pyrrha and Ruby, probably.

Go Jaune, go!

I’ll give Cardin this. He actually does keep Jaune’s secret a secret.

*cries internally* God damn Forever Fall…

Ah, there’s that smile from Pyrrha.

And so begins Jaune’s training arc.

[Episode 9]

Alright the Vytal Festival is coming!

Weiss being excited is so precious.

And so begins the Blake vs Weiss arc.

That’s racist, Weiss.

S U N. MY SUNNY BOI.

I miss him having gray eyes omg.

Okay so, Sun winked at Blake. An angelic choir suddenly starts playing and it makes it seem like Sun is introduced as Blake’s future love interest.

Blake looks like he took her breath away or just confused or both.

P E N N Y. MY BABY GIRL.

FRIEND.

Asdfghjkl I miss Penny omg. ;v;

“It’s a combat skirt” iconic.

Where did she find the time to draw that picture of Sun lmao

God damn it Weiss. That’s rude af.

I can feel the discomfort from here too…

“There’s no such thing as pure evil,” now if only a certain part of the FNDM can be aware of that….

Weiss’s anger is valid, but she shouldn’t be generalizing all faunus with the same mind set like that….

Damn, Adam managed to steal an entire train worth of dust even after Blake left all on his own?

Speaking of Adam, he indirectly caused Weiss to have a difficult childhood, I hope people remember that.

“Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!” How many do you want to bet Adam said the same thing…

I always wondered if there was a connection between the Faunus and the Grimm….

Awww Volume 1’s purple ears.

And so the S.S. Blacksun sails.

Jfc Weiss

In the manga it’s only been a like not even a full day, but here it’s been two days that Sun has been with Blake.

[Episode 10]

Sun’s disgust over the White Fang is interesting tbh like did he ever encounter them in Vacuo or Mistral?

The only time you see Blake with brown hair.

Okay so… the silhouette on the right…. That looks… an awfully a lot like Adam if you get rid of that tail…

Ffs Weiss….

That slow realization lmao.

What great teammates they are lmao

Sun is great here, he tries to help whenever he can.

Yang is still thinking about Weiss’s words, “Is she innocent?” “She’s our teammate we have to at least talk to her…”

Some nice insight….

Touche.

Yikes, Roman is pretty racist towards them too.

Battle time!!

Man Roman’s dialogue is so witty I love it.

GUN CHUCKS. GUN CHUCKS.

Sun has one of the best fighting styles, but I imagine it’s a pain in the ass to animate it though.

“You hurt my friend, now you’ll pay”

Get em’ Penny!!

Rip those members of the White Fang. Seriously how does Adam manage to bullshit his way into making them help Roman still after this.

“Kinda cute” Bless Ruby

Weiss get some off screen development

And Blake… finally is starting to get her wings… *cries*

How is Ozpin is getting that kind of live feed?

Wings plays and the credits roll for this volume…

But wait there’s more!

Volume 1 Mercury and Emerald look wack. I’m glad they look so much better in Volume 2!

And that’s Volume 1, and now onto Volume 2…. Where the bees start really buzzing since… I hardly could spot a thing for Yang and Blake except during their initiation in Volume 1 and Yang wanting to be understanding. In contrast to where Blake and Sun have established a friendship. But, Volume 2 hoo boy… Buzz buzz.

Buzz.

#RWBY #Yuuri rewatches RWBY

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empty-movement · 6 years

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GOGAI! GOGAI!

August 18th, Saturday at 6PM MST & August 19th, Sunday at Noon MST:

Musical Utena ~ Bud of the White Rose, THE BLU-RAY (translated, obviously), will be streamed from our twitch account: http://twitch.tv/emptymovement If you joined us for the stream of the live feed, you know it’s a total blast. Why should you come back? Because this cut is radically different, hugely improved, and you can see every little bit of everything. Including WAY MORE JURI THE HOT MESS. Also, we will be screening the extras!

- A short behind the scenes video that includes Saionji with his hair up, and people doing impressions of the other actors during the performance - All the musical numbers (literally half the show) from a full stage camera shot showing everything (this is translated)

Join us! :D

#utena #revolutionary girl utena #shoujo kakumei utena #rgu #sku #musical utena #Bud of the White Rose

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halloweenhorrornightsnerd · 6 years

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So I just got out of an early screening of The Nun...

Spoiler Free Review:

So I highly recommend going to see this film and gathering your own opinions on it whether they agree or disagree with my own. I’m addicted to the Conjuring franchise and am a huge fan of The Warrens IRL so you can see how much I love this series!

To put it bluntly, I hated it.

I would describe it as a superstitious french canadian catholic’s love letter to James Wan. 95% of it was boring, 5% was cringey, 4% wanted to be good but couldn’t quite reach it and only 1% of it at the very end was actually good. And when I say the end I mean after the “finale confrontation” scene that every demon movie has.

It lacked any feeling or charm of the others in the franchise, feeling more alien to the series than the Annabelle spin-offs. If you’re going to this film to see Valak in all of his evil glory prepare to only actually see him be a badass for like .02 minutes at the end.

Now onto the spoilers!

SPOILER ALERT DON’T READ ON IF YOU DON’T WANT SPOILERS!

First things first, if you’re going in expecting the main girl nun who’s played by Taissa Farminga (who is actually Vera Farminga’s sister, Vera plays Lorraine Warren in the main Conjuring films) to be a young Lorraine or possibly Lorraine’s sister or something, prepare for disappointment. She’s not. Lorraine appears only in the very beginning of the film and the final minute of the film (which is the only actually good part, only because it reminds you of the franchise’s actually good films). It felt like they went out of their way to make Taissa (famous from her roles on AHS) look, talk, and present as her older sister Vera, which was weird that they ended up doing nothing with that. Why not have let Taissa stand out more as her own character, perhaps more strikingly different from Vera? But no, we get this weird “is it supposed to be Lorraine? is that the twist coming at the end?” thing.

Now secondly, I love Canada. I’ve been to Canada, I have friends in Canada, my favorite teacher in High School was a French Canadian, and I have even dated a French Canadian. The film’s character of Frenchie was the worst part of the film. The movie would have improved by 80% had they just cut him from the final draft. His sole characteristic (aside from lusting after Taissa’s nun character) is to be comic relief. Comic relief that fell flatter than an under cooked flapjack. Almost every line he utters is supposed to be humorous yet my entire theater didn’t laugh at his comedic words or gestures not even once. The poor actor had nothing to work with as they turned him further and further into a caricature of his pre-established character as the film went on. He literally shows up half way through with a rifle, shooting buckshot at the demons as if this was an episode of The Walking Dead.

The entire film can be summed up by this scene, Valak has 'Frenchie’ pinned with the rifle to his throat and growls “You’re dead, Frenchie!” To which ‘Frenchie’ says and I fucking quote, “I’m French Canadian!!!” And wins. No I’m not joking.

Onto the tropes. There were far too many of them, I don’t even want to waste my time going into it. If you think you know what’s coming next but then think “oh no that’s too easy they’re going to do something else to try and pull one over on us” it will be the easy thing you originally thought they were going to do. It’s 90% heavy breathing as they wander around the dark for NO REASON, 9% jump scares, 1% actually plot important moments. Which brings me to my next problem.

EXPOSITION DROPPING. Holy hell, they just drop tons of important exposition through out the whole film and never fucking talk about it again aside to let the demon have something to bother them with. Like wow, just info dumping to make us feel for a character - spoon feeding us with “this person had a bad past” “this is how this exists” “this happened so now this is happening”. Like god, no one figures anything out in this movie through piecing the dots together and having that “aha now I understand!” moment, it’s literally just everyone knows what’s going on and we’re gonna tell the viewer, now watch as this CGI demon face yells at you while we do this cool camera technique.

It ripped off a lot of other franchises. James Wan is also famous not only for The Conjuring and Saw but also for the Insidious franchise. Remember that creepy scene in Insidious Chapter 2? When they walk into that church where all the pews are full of people/ghosts under sheets? Remember that other cool horror movie based on the beloved game franchise, Silent Hill? Remember that scene with the nurses in bloody wrapped up masks standing in a dark room and as the protagonist tries to pass they twitch and make cracking sounds? Did ya like those two scenes? WELL GET READY TO RELIVE THEM FRENCH CANADIAN STYLE IN THE NUN.

Taissa Farminga’s acting is the only thing that saved her character from being a Mary Sue. The nun actresses did stellar for what they were given. The priest was forgetful af and I’ve seen the character done better on The Exorcist TV show. Frenchie/Maurice shouldn’t have been in the film at all and was their biggest mistake. Valak never gets allowed to be fully badass and is defeated by Taissa spitting in his face. Literally. Just read that sentence again and put that side by side with the french canadian line. It’s that bad.

Now onto the positives. The music was amazing, Abel Korzeniowski perfectly captured Joseph Bishara’s high bar that he set with the original films and makes it his own. Blending best aspects of both horror soundtrack geniuses.

Vera Farminga and Patrick Wilson’s cameos at the end in a throw back scene to The Conjuring 1 was by far the best part of the film, and how they branched the two movies together was the only thing that remotely worked as far as Maurice’s story arch goes.

Bonnie Aarons killed it as Valak and looked as imposing and treacherous as ever.

Vera Farminga’s costuming and wardrobe was so adorabley vintage that Mod Cloth would be jealous, I want every piece of clothing she wore when not in her nun outfit.

And there you have it, my full review of 2018′s The Nun. I still suggest you go and see it for yourself and make your own opinions on the film, perhaps you’ll see it differently than I did. As they say art is subjective. My mother liked it, stating it wasn’t her favorite of the franchise she did note that she would happily see it again and enjoyed watching it. So to each their own. I’m just saying that I won’t be buying this one on blu-ray and will go on to consider it separate from canon.

Valak was better in The Conjuring 2.

Final Score: IM FRENCCCHHH CAAAANNADIIUUUUNNNNN!!!!!!! *bitch slaps demon to hell*

#The Nun #the nun 2018 #movie review #horror film review #horror movie review #spoiler free #spoilers #hate me i don't care

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yeonchi · 6 years

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Dub Logistics Part 27: Working Together

“If game publishers, localisers and voice acting studios worked with anime licencing companies like Funimation, then more games would likely be dubbed.”

This is an extension of Parts 3 and 5 of Dub Logistics, which in turn is an extension of Part 54 of the Koei Warriors Rant Series.

Before I start, I’d just like to quickly address a comment I found. So a fan shared the previous instalment in a Facebook group for dub fans and someone commented, “Didn't the Tumblr website say it's close to dying soon? So therefore, Tumblr is no longer relevant. No longer reliable.” Well, since I haven’t heard any news about Tumblr actually dying, so I can presume he was talking about me.

First of all, I’m not “close to dying”, but I am ending this series (and hopefully, my English dub rants) at the end of this year, which is something that he would have known if he had at least read Part 22. I’m not sure about the second half of the comment, but I can guess that he was playing on the stereotypically generalised cliché that Tumblr is a cesspool of intolerance, SJWs, fanboys and fangirls. I’ll come back to this point in Part 30, but what I’ll say for now is that I don’t consider myself to be in any one of these groups and that the commenter shouldn’t have generalised me that way.

Now, I’m not entirely versed in the ways of localisation and voice acting, but through the research I’ve done for these posts in the past few years, I’ve got a bit of an idea about how it happens. Of course, like many other things I’ve suggested, there isn’t much of a chance that they will be actually implemented for various reasons. Anyway, here goes.

Some time after I started my English dub rants, I thought that Japanese gaming companies should work more closely with their Western divisions so that more games can be dubbed. Recently, I realised either it might not be enough or I may have missed the point. So I thought, “What if Japanese gaming companies actually worked with companies and/or studios like Funimation?”

Think about it; games adapted from dubbed animes (such as Attack on Titan) could have been dubbed as well, but their publishers never thought about reaching out to them. Really makes you think, doesn’t it? This idea could be expanded to accommodate collaborations between different voice acting studios, but I imagine the workload and difficulty of the project would increase.

Anime licencing studios working with gaming companies can also help their merchandising portfolio as well, even if at base value, it only equates to one extra product (the game) being available for purchase.

Now, what if the scenario was reversed so that companies like Funimation actually reached out to game companies to help dub a new anime for Western audiences? Since there is less work involved with dubbing an anime than localising a game (I’m not saying that one is easier than the other since I probably imagine that they’re just as difficult), this would be a more likely scenario. If the game is dubbed, then getting the English voice cast back would mean not having to cast new actors (provided the localisation was released before the anime’s release in Japan). If the game isn’t dubbed, then that’s a different story.

See, I believe that if an anime or game is dubbed, then any spinoffs and adaptations made (including anime and game adaptations) should be dubbed as well, preferably with the same voice cast from the original work (if it is the case in the original Japanese audio, then it should be the case in the English dub). If the original work is subbed, then I don’t really have an opinion on it, although I think that dubbing spinoffs or adaptations in this case would make the franchise’s dubbing record seem inconsistent.

One example that comes to mind is the Senran Kagura game series. While the games are localised with subtitles, an anime adaptation premiered in 2013 and was dubbed for a DVD and Blu-ray release in 2014. Judging from a few comments I’ve seen on Reddit, the dub wasn’t that good, but that’s beside the point. If the dub was successful, however, then I don’t see why the cast can’t be carried over into localisations of future games in the series.

However, given the SJWs’ obsession with feminism and “rape culture”, I feel like I have to go on a tangent and make this counterpoint about how such a scenario would actually turn out. At face value, I think the series would be praised because the characters are predominately female, but then I realise that it would be severely criticised for the amount of fanservice shown. I think fans of this series already know about this problem, because the creators have been praised for stating that they would not tone down the content of the games in response to these concerns. Honestly, I think the fans of the series should be lucky that Marvelous, Tamsoft and Xseed still get to keep doing what they are doing, because God knows what will happen if they cave in to the SJW bandwagon, but I digress.

This is where I expand the scope of this instalment’s statement to cover this lingering issue. When it comes to games such as the Koei Warriors series that have at least a hundred characters to be voiced (and that’s not just the main character roster, either), one must wonder how the original Japanese version can be fully voiced while Western localisations can get away with skimping on lines or not dubbing the game at all. Here are my thoughts on this debacle.

In Japan, voice acting is such a prevalent aspect in their media due to the prevalence of anime and video games, while in the West, licencing and localisation are, in a way, feeding off of this in an attempt to emulate that prevalence. It’s no surprise that the voice recording process, whether the original or the dub, is different in Japan than it is in the West. I’ve been unable to find a lot of significant information on the Japanese side of things, but my theory is that there are more voice acting studios in Japan, centred around Tokyo and Osaka, than there are in North America, the main ones being in Vancouver, Los Angeles, Dallas and Houston.

I’ve touched on the location theory in an earlier instalment of Dub Logistics and I got to wondering, “Is it possible for voice acting studios to collaborate with each other?” I thought it was a bad idea since it would be too complicated for the different studios to coordinate their work (particularly if it is a video game), but then again, how else were Koei Tecmo Japan able to voice over a hundred characters in a crossover game and/or with as little double-up roles as possible? I believe that studio collaborations are a way that voice actors can do roles that they wouldn’t be able to do otherwise, particularly due to location issues.

I haven’t followed anime for years so as I said at the start of this, I’m not exactly someone who has a decent grasp on the topic. However, I am interested in hearing your thoughts on this, so feel free to do that if you want.

UPDATE - 14 September 2018: A fan on the English Dubbed Game News page asked, “Don't they have to collaborate with the companies anyway to make sure the material in the game is consistent with the anime?” and pointed out that the Funimation logo is on the box of the One Piece Romance Dawn game for the 3DS, which is voiced in Japanese. After briefly checking, I can confirm that to be true for the US version, but I still don’t think Funimation had a part in localising this game, putting aside the fact that this is a 3DS game and not a PS4 game.

First of all, the credit on the back of the box says “Licence coordinated by Funimation”. That doesn’t really say anything to me about them having any contribution to the localisation, particularly given the fact that their logo doesn’t appear on the European or Australian boxes.

Secondly, yes, there would obviously have to be some collaboration with the publishers, but you would think that they would have reached out to the original creators rather than localisation or licencing companies. Inevitably, with a dubbed anime, there may be some terms which are different to the original release, but any translator working on the game would probably have seen the dub already and took care to take any localised terms into account. This is not exactly “dubtitling” per se as long as the subtitles are not heavily localised to the point where it might as well have been dubbed. I’ll be touching on this in the next instalment.

Thirdly, even if Funimation actually had some part to play in the localisation of this game, then the point that I was trying to get across in this instalment was that they could have done more on their part in regards to providing a dub for the game. That’s assuming that this is actually true, which is unconfirmed and likely not the case.

In summary, this doesn’t really change any of what I said in this instalment. Yes, I still agree that game companies collaborating with companies like Funimation could help with the funding and production of a dub. If Funimation are already helping in the other aspects of localisation, then they could certainly do more to help.

The Dub Logistics series is reaching its end and I’m pretty much done with my usual way of writing English dub rants (mostly involving research and observation). Parts 29 and 30 will be dedicated to my retirement speech (which mostly involves reflecting on the past), so the next instalment (Part 28) will be dedicated to discussing any remaining statements I have, given that I have had no special requests from my fans over the past 6 months. Although I am open to discussing this topic outside of this series, this will be your last chance to have your question or topic answered or rather, featured, so if you have something you would like me to cover, don’t hesitate to send it to me.

#dub logistics #anime #video games #english dub #english sub #dub vs sub

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