#god i wish she was likable cause she has really sick powers

[spacegrayjay]

im going to be so for real crystal pissed me the fuck off and charles and crystal together pissed me the fuck off. the only way crystal wouldnt have pissed me the fuck off is if she ended up with niko. hot take.

[reviewingshittynetflixshows]

Ragnarok Review

okay so I really liked this one, definitely not shitty at all. Characters are likable and plot is good maybe a few lil issues or questions about how they will continue in the second season 

okay always let’s begin with the setting of the show. The setting of the show is great but of course non-negotiable. But they really made the best out of it, making it cold, eerie and mysterious. Like the characters constantly saying “you should’t drink the water” making clear that something deeper is wrong with the town, something you can’t see. Making the whole thing creepy and also a bit sad, when you see the people of the town, like Grys father getting sick. Also showing the pollution and power of Jutuls company is represents the oppression and repression of the people. The big polluting company, that is destroying the nature and that controls everything, is a nice parallel to the Giants, the Jutuls, position in the town, and it also brings a very modern side to the show. So it is in my opinion a great component of the show, making it relevant and giving the show a realistic dynamic.

Now to the plot, obviously the company is a great “plot-line”. Overall I have to say I was a fan of the plot, it was a very classic build-up, with Isolde’s death unraveling everything and then a Magne finding his power and building it up and the tensions rising and then the final battle, that i was honestly kinda disappointed in. It was very much anticlimactic. Like do a lil more, I mean the biggest fucking villain in the show just died. Also I just wish Isolde hadn’t died to soon, she was one of the most interesting characters, but her death was necessary. Also I think they could have focused more on Fjor noticing that his family isn’t always in the right, it was kind rushed for me and he didn’t really second guess the actions, he was more like randomly I’m in love :/. But side characters always get done dirty. The lil question is: are there other gods in the town? other students? if not it would kinda suck very much.

Now to the characters: Magne

very good main, lovely, likable, not cringe and not the typical white straight male lead, biggest plus: has actually issues and doesn’t have a hero-complex. Also no anger issues which is nice. But I don’t know if he is a recarnation of Thor or like his son. Verdict likeable main

Fjor

I just really wish the would have showed him exploring his role a bit more, it seemed as if he didn’t actually think. Maybe thats how giants are supposed to be. Anyway I liked his character, even though I do wish he did have some more interesting motivations than Gry. Lets say it like this he is a good “hot-guy”. Also he seems like he enjoys his life as student and friend more than his sister and seems to be more genuine. I feel like next season he will be really important now that he has a mind of this own and his feelings and all that yk.

Gry

I’m sorry guys she is boring at fuck

Saxa

Saxa is a very interesting character and with a lot of power and influence. Definitely will be key in season 2. She is strong-minded and willed and takes after her father being emotionless and compulsive, violent and quit self-absorbed. She is a really good character and important.

Laurits

Now on to the by far best character, Laurits, who according to me will be revealed to be Loki. Even though in Norse Mythology, unlike in MCU, Loki and Thor are not brothers. But I still suspect that the writers might go down that route. I mean he is mischievous and does what ever benefits him, with little regards for others, he also likes to transform into other people (Ran) like Loki does. And in Norse Mythology Loki is even half Giant, which would explain why he danced with Saxa and Fjor and it would make sense that he is their half-brother and it would explain the relationship between Laurits mother and Saxa and Fjors dad. Like he is their child. It all makes sense like that. Since it’s clear that they had a relationship. Now back to Laurits, he is the best character, he is always there to cause tension and mess things up and still get a kick out of it. He is always having a good time and has no enemies or allies. Also him being openly gay is a nice change, and he has no problem flirting with Fjor. Also I mean he is just fucking lovely, just like his way and his jokes and like he’s just chillen, but is absolutely independent. I mean u just need to love him and everything he does I cant even express why he is so cool. He’s just a baddie.

So overall the show has good characters a great setting and a solid plot with a good cliffhanger. And who doesn’t love a show based on mythology. Modern adaptions of mythology. Sooooo I give it a 9/10 not shitty at all.

[conaionaru]

Honor and Blood (Ivar the Boneless)

Brother and Sister

Synopsis: Silas and Vanya talk on her name day. The pregnancy is coming to an end soon.

Warnings: Silas, Toxic family, sibling rivalry, mentions of murder, angst, fluff

Tags:

@queenbeeta @heavenly1927 @xbellaxcarolinax @shannygoatgruff @lol-haha-joke @youbloodymadgenius​ @didiintheblog​

P.S. Anything in cursive is Old Norse. Anything in bold and cursive is a memory.

I don’t own the gifs. Also, thank you for your support. I really appreciate it. If you want to be tagged please write me<3

f there was one thing Vanya hated, then it's definitely seeing Silas walking around looking down at everyone. Or maybe it's just Silas himself; after all, he isn't exactly the most likable person. Stithulf is probably the only one who truly cares for Vanya's cruel brother and not for his title. The blond knight seemed to her like a good influence on her brother. He cared about the people and Silas's survival, which no one else bothered to do up until now. She just hopes that his concern is sincere and not a front he put on to win her trust.

"I was never happier that I didn't have a sister. Just imagining him as our brother in law makes me sick." Sigurd commented, sitting next to her on his bench, tuning his oud as she stitched a pattern on Ubbe's new shirt.

Vanya shrugged at his choice of words and looked down at her stitching. She was so absorbed into her thoughts and watching Silas that she butchered a part of her work. The ginger cursed under her breath and tried fixing it. Her husband's older brother snickered at her adorable rage, but shut up when she glared at him.

"You do have a sister now. And she doesn't like you talking about her brother that way." She snapped angrily as Sigurd raised an eyebrow at her tone.

"Please don't tell me you like him. I get that he is your family, but Silas doesn't seem like a good brother. When was he ever nice to you?" Sigurd asked, thinking back to his own brother. He and Ivar were brothers, but if someone were to treat him the way Silas treats Vanya, he would kill them. Only Sigurd gets to insult Ivar and get away with it. Afterall they are brothers; it would get boring if everybody were nice to each other.

Vanya saw Stithulf leave her brother's side and walk over to the other knights, both Silas and the knight seemed annoyed and sour. "When were you ever nice to Ivar?"

"When he was a babe. Things were easier when he couldn't talk."

"You mean when neither of you talked." Vanya pointed out, walking over to her brother's side, gathering all her courage to talk to him. "Are you alright?"

Silas glared down at his redheaded sibling and walked away from her. He stomped his way past two of his knights who looked at him, terrified. "Get out of my way, you lowlife filth!" He spat at them as they made a path for him.

"I am sorry, I am sure you bathe regularly. Have a nice day!" Vanya apologized in her brother's stead as she heard Sigurd run after her, cursing her sudden getaway.

"Stop following me!" Silas spat at her, turning on his heal. His nostrils flared in rage; the king looked like a bull ready to charge. "What do you want, Vanya?"

"I want to talk. Like civilized people would."

"Do you take me for uncivilized, you worthless bitch?"

She definitely didn't miss these types of conversations with him. Why does she even try? "I don't want to fight. I want to talk to you privately, without it seeming like you will kill me."

Silas huffed at her comment and mentioned for the shore. She sat down on the pier to rest her legs while he stood over her, glaring at the water instead of her. "Talk, or I will leave."

"What did you argue with Stithulf about?" She tried not to sound demanding and timid to soothe his anger a little bit. It would be easier if he were less murderous.

Silas sighed and gave her a letter from his pocket. It held the royal seal of Slegia, which could only mean that their mother sent it. Vanya opened it and read over the writing in astonishment. "Dear King Silas, I wish to inform you that I got married again while you were away. Me and Lord Ceolmund will continue living in the castle. Have a safe journey, and greet Vanya for me. Greetings, Queen Mother Siflæd." It was short and to the point, and an obvious dismissal of Silas's authority as she married without his consent or knowledge.  

"She did it to spite me. I forbid her to bring any more lovers to the castle, so she married the one that would anger me the most." He seethed, tearing the letter out of her hands and ripping it into pieces that he threw into the sea. "I want to raise my armies and cut off his head!"

"Maybe she did it out of love. Or she is with child. Whatever the reason, he is our new father now. Murdering him isn't a wise choice." Vanya reasoned, trying to remember if she ever met this Lord Ceolmund.

Silas shook his head and slammed his hand against the post he leaned on. Vanya jumped at the sudden outburst. "Oh, he is as much of father to us as Siflæd was a mother. Ceolmund is rich and young, a perfect victim to her charms. The moment he returns to his senses, she will drop him, pregnant or not."

"If you know that, then why fight with Stithulf? Why plan a murder if the outcome is obvious?" Vanya pressed, trying to decipher her brother's thinking process.

The King spat on the ground in disgust and looked at her stomach. "Because this poses a problem for my marriage."

"Your marriage? You will take a wife?" Vanya questioned, failing to imagine Silas as a husband. He always seemed like the type that wouldn't marry even if his life depended on it.

He leaned into her face and smirked. "I am supposed to marry Lady Eoforhild. She will give me an heir and connect Slegia with Ecbert. Considering that she is his brother's granddaughter, he will support us against threats to keep her safe. But Mother destroyed the plan the moment she married that halfwit."

"How does that destroy your plan? You can still marry her."

"Ceolmund is Eoforhild's father, you dumb cow. The deal was to marry her, as it is the honorable thing to do after I took her maidenhead, leaving her no longer a virgin and unfit to marry anyone. She seduced me at a dance on my name day, that bought dishonor on their family name, so Ecbert offered me her hand in exchange for his armies. They keep their reputation and get some form of power over Slegia, while I get allies and heirs. And that option is now out of question when Mother went behind my back and married my betrothed's father!"

"And now the church won't allow you to marry her anymore." The ginger sighed in defeat, seeing the reason behind his anger. Their mother destroyed a chance of protection and the poor girl's life.

Silas rolled his eyes at that and looked back at Sigurd, who stood behind them, glaring at Silas as if he will beat him with his oud soon. "Mother did it to gain back some sense of control. She has been throwing tantrums since you left; she is humiliating herself and the whole kingdom. She always hated being in the background; that's why she acts out like a child. Just like when Father was alive. That's the truth of it all."

Vanya knew what he was talking about, when Osmond was still alive Siflæd paraded her lovers around to spite him and his lovers. Their relationship was anything but love; they hated each other and fought daily behind closed doors. After his funeral, the vicious cycle was over, and she could do as she pleased. That is till Silas got fed up with her behavior and forbid her to take any more lovers. And now she married his future father in law.

"The truth is always either terrible or boring. Why can't there be a middle ground? Like she married him out of love and not spite."

"She doesn't know love, not to me or anyone else. She is a dark pit of hate and selfishness. Siflæd never held her tongue about me being a monster, but we both know she is no better. The only difference is that I have no problem showing it." He sneered in his rage, stomping off to either brood or plan murder. Whatever it was, Vanya understood his feelings. A perfect opportunity thrown out of the window because Siflæd got something to prove.

"Well, that was eventful," Sigurd commented, helping Vanya up. The ginger flinched in pain, causing the Ragnarsson to panic. "Is it the babe? Is it coming? Please say no, you can't give birth here!"

Vanya rolled her eyes at his hysterics and wrapped her arm around his. "Just a kick. The child is stronger than one would think." Sigurd sighed and helped her walk back to the Great hall to collect her stitching.

"A gift, Princess. A pretty rose for a pretty girl." A woman stopped them, giving the Saxon a flower before walking away.

"Well, that was strange," Vanya muttered, cradling the gift in her hand, smelling the sweet aroma.

Sigurd snorted and pointed at the rose. "Maybe it's an offering. Hvitserk heard some people say you are Freyja or Frigg in disguise."

The pregnant girl gawked at him in shock. How could the people even think of her as a goddess? What about her seemed divine and godlike? "I am not a goddess, Sigurd! I am human, just like the rest of you. I'm not special, who am I to think I am special?."

"Pretty, smart, kind, selfless, lots of patience considering your husband. You are right, nothing special at all. I guess we are all just naive." The sarcasm was strong with that one, and it made her smile. It was nice to be seen, but she would prefer a little less worship. She wasn't a god or anything near Freyja and Frigg. Vanya is and always was a plain mortal born into money. There are thousands of them all over Midgard. "And you should get used to getting gifts. It is your name day today. You are seventeen now, Little bird."

Vanya chuckled and smiled at the passing people. A year ago, she wasn't pregnant, married, or living in Kattegat. Things change so fast it's almost scary. Everything she went through in the last year feels like it happened a decade ago. "Oh I will still complain about getting gifts, I will just limit for Ivar's ear before we go to bed.

"Well, I hope you won't complain about my gift. I think you will like it."

"No promises, Brother." She teased as he snorted, shaking his head.

[phoebenavarro]

My Doctor Sleep Review

Here’s the short version:

If I like The Shining movie but haven’t read the book or Doctor Sleep, will I like this? YES. It pays homage to the film beautifully but doesn’t rely on it too much, and it creates a beautiful story of it’s own.

If I’ve read both books, will I like this? Well, here’s where things get complicated. It’s definitely still worth your time for how beautifully Ewan McGregor and Kyliegh Curran bring Dan and Abra to life, but you will also probably find yourself incredibly frustrated with the third act.

My more complicated thoughts are under the cut. (Spoilers, obviously!)

Overall, the film does a wonderful job blending the differences between the movie and the book, although overall it felt to me like they were privileging the film and mostly just giving nods to the book, so that book fans could be happy. And as much as that frustrates me as a book fan, it worked! I can absolutely believe that in a world where the Overlook didn’t explode at the end of The Shining, that this would be what happened.

I guess my biggest issue was that I wanted them to mostly ignore the movie. They could keep the Overlook standing, sure, that was just fine with me, but I wished they’d followed both books’ canon basically to a T. And for the first two acts that is pretty much exactly what they did! It was almost beat for beat the book. And the things that they did change in the first two acts, I loved. I loved their take on Billy as a character!

And well, let’s talk about the good for a second, shall we?

Every actor gave a STELLAR performance and was perfectly cast. I knew I was gonna love Ewan McGregor and he went above anything I ever imagined. Abra was amazing too! She really captured Abra, her rage, and her love for her family. Rose was great, the only thing that kept catching me off guard was that she kept changing her accent and I’m not sure if it was intentional? Like there were some scenes where she sounded Irish to me, and other scenes where she sounded completely American. It could’ve been that she was Irish with the Knot and American around rubes, but it didn’t seem purposeful enough. Minor characters that really stood out were Billy and Crow Daddy, especially Crow. He never struck me as particularly interesting in the book, but he was very engaging in the film. The little boy who played Danny killed it as well. He merged the catatonic Danny from the film and the talkative Danny from the book in a way I didn’t think was possible.

Also Azzie the cat was perfect and I’ve never been so happy to see a cat in a movie in my LIFE.

The scene where Dan fell into his role as Doctor Sleep for the first time was really wonderful, and that was the first time I cried during the movie. His speech at the AA meeting, about Jack, absolutely WRECKED me. I was straight up sobbing. Because it was the first (and only) time in the movie (or the Shining movie) where you see how much Dan loved his dad, and how he’s been struggling his whole life with continuing to love a man who hurt him and his mom, tried to kill them, and that’s just as much why he drank as trying to drown out his shine. THAT’S Dan Torrance right there, and a hint towards the Jack Torrance from the novel, the one who loved and died for his family. THAT is why the Shining is a tragedy, that’s why I cried for an hour after I finished reading Doctor Sleep for the first time. It showed that Dan was finally moving on, he’d found friends and community, he broke the cycle of abuse and alcoholism.

And from there, we go into another scene of Dan helping someone pass as doctor sleep. It’s such a stark contrast to the first time. He’s comfortable with it instead of horrified by it, he’s HAPPY to help these people, to comfort them in their final moments, because he knows what that fear feels like. He’s been trying to escape that fear since the Overlook. So he sings with him, he’s not afraid to use his shine to look into his mind to make it easier for the man. For the first time in his life his shine brings him something other than pain. And I loved it.

The scene with the baseball boy was WAY more brutal than I expected it to be. Like I was genuinely surprised that they really showed the Knot torturing him like that, and all the blood. It was harrowing, and it worked so well, because before that the Knot was pretty likable. Sure, they killed kids, but we didn’t SEE it, and they’re cooky and fun! And then there’s THAT, and we see that they are monsters. I loved Abra making murder appear on Dan’s wall, and him seeing REDRUM in the mirror. Dan’s face was CHILLING.

We also GOTTA talk about Dick Hallorann. He was really perfect, and I loved how excited Dan was to see him the last time they talk. And well, I heard him tell Dan “ka is a wheel” which FLOORED me. The last thing I was expecting was a Dark Tower reference! I’m not 100 percent sure he said it, I might have misheard it, but it works. I mean, in the book, King describes many things as a wheel, and that’s a running theme in his work, so it makes sense. And that’s really what this story is about, the wheel of ka turning and the mentee becoming the mentor.

This is a scene I have slightly complicated feelings about, but I mostly liked it, and that is Dan’s conversation with Jack’s ghost at the bar. I loved how they paralleled Dan to Jack but also highlighted how Dan is his own person, and in many ways succeeded where his dad failed. I gasped incredibly loudly when Jack referred to the whiskey as medicine, and called Dan a pup, cause that is something from the book that (correct me if I’m wrong, it’s been a while) he never says in the movie. And ohhhhh god, the way Dan cried. The way he got mad and said “Don’t you want to know what happened to your family?” and how Jack finally broke character. It fucked me UP. But it was Jack from the movie basically saying fuck you to Jack from the book, which like, I GET it. It would feel really weird if Nicholson!Torrance showed ANY warmth or love to Dan in any way, but still. I mourn book!Jack Torrance every day of my life. (But would Nicholson have been able to pull it off? Probably not. So maybe it’s for the better. Steven Webber, on the other hand, from the miniseries, is MY Jack Torrance.)

And here’s where we start to get to the bad, or the things I have very complicated feelings towards.

Well first of all, there was genuinely no fucking reason to kill off Billy OR Dave. They don’t die in the book! And it’s not a great look that they killed off the two men of color who are on the good guys’ side. It’s as stupid and pointless as killing Dick Hallorann in the Shining. But I guess we gotta continue that legacy right? /s If they wanted to get Billy and Dave out of the way for the final confrontation, there were other ways for them to do it, like they did with Abra’s mom! Crow could’ve just drugged Dave. He still could’ve told Abra that her dad was dead, to manipulate and fuck with her. And hell, Dan could’ve made Billy stay behind, to take care of Dave, or to wait for Abra’s mom to get back and fill her in on what’s happening. They definitely didn’t need to fucking DIE, Mike! You don’t need them to die to raise the stakes, nothing raises the stakes like watching a child be tortured and murdered.

And well, in concept I really like Dan and Abra having their showdown with Rose in the Overlook. And uh, “waking it up.” It makes sense, I mean, he already uses the Overlook ghosts against the Knot in the book, so why not? And I liked that part. I think Dan walking around the hotel went on a little too long, like they just wanted to show off that they rebuilt the overlook set. I liked the continued parallels between Jack and Dan, but again, it highlighted how Dan was different. Like when Dan is on the stairs holding the hatchet, he’s actually playing Wendy’s role, while Rose is Jack in that instance, walking up to him with her arms out, falsely trying to placate him. She has the power in that moment. And her toying with Dan? MM. I liked that a lot. I’m a sucker for whump. And her finally getting destroyed by the Overlook ghosts was SO SATISFYING.

I had kind of thought that Dan would find a way to harness Jack’s spirit and sick her on Rose, and that would be able to be Jack’s redemption, and then Jack would be able to finally move on. It would’ve made sense, since in the book he uses Abra’s momo, but in the movie she’s not really important. Tbh I think that would’ve been the best way to let Dan finally find peace with Jack, to give us something like that moment in the book where Dan sees Jack at the end and Jack blows him a kiss. But whatever, it’s fine. I think the conflict between Dan and Rose as it was was pretty great.

If it ended with that, I would’ve been VERY happy. Maybe there could’ve been a bit of a scare with the hotel trying to possess Dan and Dan being able to fight it off, and Abra and Dan leaving, letting the boiler explode. And then maybe Dan could’ve collapsed from blood loss outside the hotel, giving the audience a bit of anxiety over whether Dan will survive or not. But it didn’t end there.

I take issue with the very premise that the ghosts would be able to possess Dan like they did Jack. Jack had so many weaknesses, more than just the alcoholism. Jack was insecure about everything in his life, his career, his role in his family, his talent of an artist, but Dan doesn’t share those insecurities, just the alcoholism. ALSO Dan’s been sober A LOT longer than Jack ever was. He’s much more skilled at resisting that temptation. Maybe back before Dan hit rock bottom and started fixing his life, I would buy it, but not Dan at this point in his life. ESPECIALLY since they couldn’t get him when he was a kid, when his shining was so much stronger. Why would they be able to get him now? Dan has a lot of similarities to his dad, but he is his own person.

But whatever. Let’s assume that it’s possible for the hotel to possess Dan. I loved that they played out some of the scenes from the Shining novel, because the climax of the Shining has my favorite moments from the whole novel. I gasped when Abra said “You’re not my Uncle Dan. You’re just a mask.” And I ALSO gasped when he said “let’s unmask then,” (or something to that effect) because I thought they were gonna do MY FAVORITE moment from the Shining, when the hotel bashes Jack’s face in with the mallet and we see a different ghost after each hit. As cool as seeing that would’ve been, I’m glad it didn’t happen, cause Dan would’ve been gone after that. And oh god, the hug between Dan and Abra. It hurt. And Abra remembering the boiler, knowing it’s gonna blow.

And well, finally seeing the Overlook burn was VERY satisfying. In a lot of ways this film was both a love letter to Kubrick and a “fuck you” to Kubrick simultaneously. I wish they’d leaned into the “fuck you” side more because honestly, WHY should we keep celebrating him or his films? Especially with the Shining. The pure disrespect he showed to the source material, and to Stephen King, and of course, the way he tortured Shelly Duvall on set.

I think my feelings of betrayal come down to this: I was COMPLETELY blindsided by Dan’s death. I TRULY did not expect Dan to die. I thought that would be departing from the book too much, and honestly I didn’t think King would’ve gone for that. Like, I started to get worried when he got hit in the femoral artery, but, perhaps foolishly, I kept holding out hope that he would be okay. And I know the whole point of the end is that yes, he’s dead, but he’s good, but he deserved to LIVE and die of old age. The Overlook should not have been given the satisfaction of getting him, even if it was destroyed in the process.

I did like that as he died Wendy was there with him, since in the movie she’s the one who actually loved him. But mostly I was in a state of mixed rage and sadness, because Ewan SOLD that performance. He was perfect. He IS Dan Torrance. But I did not come to the theater to watch Dan suffer Jack’s fate. I came to see Dan finally move on from his trauma and embrace his shine!!

Ultimately, It feels like the movie undermined it’s own climax. The whole film was building to Rose’s defeat, which is then COMPLETELY overshadowed by the hotel trying to use Dan to get Abra. It focused too much on the Shining, and forgot that Doctor Sleep is DIFFERENT. Dan is not Jack. Abra is not Dan. There are parallels, of course, but they are different. And why undermine your more interesting villain? The ghosts of the Overlook PALE in comparison to how interesting and engaging Rose is. It was a great nod to fans of the book, and as a book fan I enjoyed it, but I think it made the film weaker.

If Flanagan wanted to do the ending scenes of the Shining, he should’ve just remade the Shining, for God’s sake! And actually, I would’ve liked that very much, Ewan McGregor could make a VERY good Jack, as shown in the scenes when he’s possessed by the hotel. I actually would love to see adaptations of The Shining and Doctor Sleep where the same actor plays Jack and Dan. I think that would produce fantastic performances and really force the actor to highlight the differences between the characters. And anyway, we need a new version of the Shining. Steven Weber and Rebecca Du Mornay are PERFECT in the miniseries but it’s just that, a network television miniseries, and it’s aged pretty poorly. A new Shining remake is gonna happen eventually, if Kubrick’s estate ever gives up those rights.

And finally! They ignored the BEST PLOT TWIST in the book!!!!! That Dan is literally Abra’s uncle! They kinda set it up, too, which is extra frustrating. I wonder if it was present in an earlier version of the script and got cut? I had a sinking feeling that they weren’t gonna do it when Dave was killed, but like, without that reveal, the audience is gonna be left with a lot of questions. Namely, WHY was Abra drawn to Dan? And of course, it’s because he’s her uncle, but in the movie we never find that out. I wouldn’t be surprised if it shows up on Cinema Sins or whatever for being a plot hole, which is frustrating, because it’s NOT. It’s just a lazy oversight in the film. I also wished we got to see more of Abra’s parents, and Dan meeting Abra’s mom! But I guess they couldn’t include any of that in the movie since they basically cut Momo out completely. Still, that in itself is frustrating. Abra’s momo is so important to Abra in the book. In general it kinda felt like they elected to focus more on Dan and his relationship to Jack than Abra and her family, when in the book they’re pretty evenly balanced!

It’s frustrating, because the first two acts of the film are nearly perfect. And the third act has a lot going for it too, but it is just not the way to handle the ending, in my opinion.

My final feelings are: Dan Torrance is not Jack. That is the whole POINT of Doctor Sleep. And he did not deserve to burn in that hotel. He deserved to finally live out his life in happiness and with the family he’s built for himself. And that will always upset me.

[tubbotums]

((What do you think warrants a retelling of RWBY? Is it just a fun world, or is the story actually misguided?))

Oh boy, grab your popcorn and get ready to listen for a while. Gonna put this under a cut so people who don’t feel like reading it can skip.

Do I love RWBY? Yes, I 100%. This show has done so much to change my life and has quite literally changed me as a person. It’s put me on the career path of wanting to make my own animated show, tell stories etc. It’s allowed me to meet new friends, and had it not been for the show I wouldn’t even be here typing this. When the new episodes are coming out, every Saturday I wake up at like 10:50 in the morning and wait on both my laptop and phone app so I can watch the episode at exactly 11 when it drops. Most of the time I have to wait, but regardless you see the point. My drawer has RWBY merch, my desks have figures and plushes, hell even my backpack is a RWBY one and I wear a sweatshirt that’s RWBY related basically everyday.

However, in my opinion, the show is heavily flawed from a production standpoint.

RWBY is a very inventive show, I’ll give it that. It tries to do so much with so little, and I applaud it for that. What Rooster Teeth has created is a unique world with lovable characters that have inspired so many. It’s hard to believe that this company that made this show were making Halo parodies in 2007 and still are. RWBY is probably at this point their most popular show, and the most popular web series as of now (discounting live action stuff like Content Cop or whatever). Hell, Warner Bros. Japan went to RT wanting to dub it  and air it there so people could experience it in Japanese. It’s wonderful to see this show blossom and grow. But it has one thing holding it back from truly being great in my opinion.

It’s being produced by Rooster Teeth.

Like I said before, I applaud Rooster Teeth for doing what they’ve done with this show and for all the hard work they’ve done with it. I love their content and the people responsible for bringing the show to life. But for what it wants to do, Rooster Teeth is far too small of a company to produce it and don’t have the necessary people to make it what it can truly be. It’s a show that has so much untapped potential, and I keep waiting for it to tap into it and show me what it can really be. But I get nothing, and waiting every episode after every episode gets tiresome.

RWBY likes to take from a lot of different things for inspiration, but I feel like it’s too scattered and all over the place from it’s inspiration to make logical sense. I hear Final Fantasy (which I see in the character designs, weapons and dust as a concept), but then I see Game of Thrones, Gurren Lagann, and other things that don’t even remotely cover the genre that RWBY is in. I’ve brought this up to people before and have been told that it’s “Monty’s true vision” and that “I just don’t understand it and shouldn’t question it”. God bless Monty Oum, he was a great animator and a wonderful man who I would love to meet and pick apart at his brain. But the man couldn’t tell a story, which was why he brought on Miles Luna and Kerry Shawcross, the lead writers of the show.

But before I get into M&K (who I both met and are lovely people), I want to touch up on the show’s inspiration. Monty wanted to create a show that revolved around his fight scenes, you know the stuff that you saw in Dead Fantasy or Red vs Blue Seasons 8-10. He didn’t care about the story and wanted to show off his fights and creative, lovable characters. If that’s what the show was going to be, I wouldn’t watch and I wouldn’t care as much as I do to write this. In my unpopular opinion, the show needs to stray away from Monty’s original ideas and gather more from outside sources that are doing the genre right. Shows like Hunter X Hunter, My Hero Academia, Fullmetal Alchemist, Sailor Moon and more that I can’t even list off the top of my head. These shows tackles themes present in RWBY and do it leaps and bounds better than what the show does. It’s frustrating to watch Gon Freeces or Izuku Midoriya get character development and progression that changes them and the path of the story but see Ruby Rose become a side character with no development since the beginning of the show. I’ll also add this in, if you want to take out My Hero from this list you can since RWBY started airing before MHA first published, and it has it beat by a few months I think? But I think the point still stands.

Now for Miles and Kerry, who I both love so much, there’s a lot of controversy around them. A lot of people, especially on this site, hate them and want different writers for the show. I’ve heard names like Lindsay Jones (voice actress for Ruby) and Mica Burton (a RT employee) as people who “should” be writing the show. Here’s the big issue with that:

Neither one has produced a show before and has written a script. Know who has? Miles Luna, who wrote three seasons of Red vs Blue. 

Yes, both are still amateurs and not professionals. They’ve been doing this for about a little more than half a decade, which isn’t a lot of time in the content production world. But this leads to another problem: Amateurs are writing this show. I don’t doubt the effort both of them put into making this show. They have A LOT to deal with, considering what happened with Monty, the show’s sudden boom in popularity, and much much more. But the fact that more experienced script writers aren’t writing a show this big is an issue, and you see it all the time in the show. They like to go with this “tell don’t show” approach, which doesn’t allow us to see the world and make it feel alive. We have to trust everything the characters say instead of actually getting to see it ourselves. We don’t see the racism Blake talks about except for a sign in a background shot that shows up on screen for two seconds. TWO SECONDS of seeing this one “No Faunus” sign is more signs of racism than we ever got from 4 and a half volumes and almost 20 minutes of exposition on it. There’s also just some really bad characters in the show as well, just really poorly written. I think my best examples are almost every villain, especially Adam and Cinder. I think both are just really shitty in every aspect and don’t add anything unique? If Adam wasn’t abusive and crazy, his cause would be more sympathetic and the White Fang would feel more like a Civil Rights group like they should be instead of a terrorist group like they’re portrayed to be. Cinder’s whole deal is just “I want power”, and the big question is why. We have no explanation as to why she sides with Salem and what her motives are. She’s just a puppet for the big baddie and that’s not right considering Cinder was the main antagonist for three volumes and will have just as big of a role going forth. A backstory can really help with this, but until we get one she’s a mediocre, borderline shitty villain in my books.

If the show was handled by, lets say Studio Madhouse, or Studio Bones, and if those don’t really sound familiar lets even throw in Toei, the show would be a lot better handled. Shows like My Hero, Hunter X Hunter, One Punch Man Season 1, Fullmetal Alchemist, Miraculous Ladybug and more have come from them and have done phenomenal. The writing, worlds, characters, all written in this just amazing way that I can see RWBY being written in. I can see RWBY having this expansive, almost unexplored world that we the viewers and the characters are going to explore together. But Rooster Teeth can’t provide that simply because they don’t have the money to. That’s no knock against them either, it’s just a fact. A RWBY fight will never look as good as Midoriya vs Todoroki or Meruem vs Netero, and that’s because the budget and time isn’t there. I just want to see this show thrive and become something special like these other shows, because I know it can be that. I know it can be tightly written with a power system that makes sense and a world that’s rich and vast, with different people having different motives that makes us really question who is right and who is wrong.

Aside from all that, what do I think the show does write? It creates really likable characters that almost everyone can relate to. All of Team RWBY is really likable, same with JNPR. The cast as a whole is colorful, and they’re the main reason I come back to watch the show week after week. The music is also pretty good? But tbh I wish there was more variety in the soundtrack as well. But aside from the characters and music I can’t think of much else.

So, with all that being said, I want to rewrite RWBY to fix these issues and tell my own version of the story, the version I’d like to see. A lot of people in this fandom might not agree with me on the ideas I have and my opinions, but quite frankly I’ve gotten tired of hearing people tell me that my ideas about the show are lesser because it doesn’t align with their views or Monty’s views (which are basically the same thing). I’m doing this because of my immense love for the show and because I want to see it be better. Please don’t take these words as anything harmful and as an endorsement to not watch the show. If you haven’t, I’m actually begging you to go watch RWBY. It’s a fun adventure, but it’s just very flawed and something I as an objective viewer who pays Rooster Teeth for early access to episodes cannot overlook. I’ve done it for far too long thanks to people and I’m sick of it. This retelling also is going to help me as a writer in making a long running story, and while most of the outline is made thanks to the show, there are still going to be a lot of differences from the canon counterpart. 

So please, go watch RWBY if you haven’t so you can see what I’m talking about, and to also let yourself be immersed into a wonderful world with wonderful characters. I love this show with a passion, and this retelling is being done because I want to see it do better is all, like I know it’s capable of.

[bookishreviewsblog]

Cassandra Clare: Queen of Air and Darkness (The Dark Artifices #3) | Lara

Dark secrets and forbidden love threaten the very survival of the Shadowhunters in Cassandra Clare’s Queen of Air and Darkness, the final novel in the #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling The Dark Artifices trilogy. What if damnation is the price of true love? Innocent blood has been spilled on the steps of the Council Hall, the sacred stronghold of the Shadowhunters. In the wake of the tragic death of Livia Blackthorn, the Clave teeters on the brink of civil war. One fragment of the Blackthorn family flees to Los Angeles, seeking to discover the source of the blight that is destroying the race of warlocks. Meanwhile, Julian and Emma take desperate measures to put their forbidden love aside and undertake a perilous mission to Faerie to retrieve the Black Volume of the Dead. What they find in the Courts is a secret that may tear the Shadow World asunder and open a dark path into a future they could never have imagined. Caught in a race against time, Emma and Julian must save the world of Shadowhunters before the deadly power of the parabatai curse destroys them and everyone they love.

It came. Finally. After all that waiting and panicking I endured for this book, I can't believe I have finally read it. For me, this was the most anticipated book of this year and I am so glad my 2018 is going to end with reading this book. I've been following Cassandra Clare's work for years and I am huuge fan of her work. I was in love with Shadow World since I read the copy of City of Bones, I got for my twelfth birthday. Words can't describe how much I love her stories and characters she created. Reading this book made me extremely happy for so many reasons and I cannot be grateful enough that she keeps writing new stuff for me to fangirl over.

This book was enormously long, I think over 900 pages. I read the Kingdom of Ash in November and I am going to take a break with long-ass books and read some fluffy teen fiction for the rest of the year. But, despite its length, this book was really amazing, intriguing and entertaining from first to the last page. This book was never boring. No, for one moment I didn't think "God, I wish this scene would finally be over"; whether it was some action scene, battle, revelation, Clave meeting, romantic moment or even simple interaction between characters Cassie kept me chained to my kindle. It was nearly impossible to stop reading (seriously I read this in Tokyo metro, which is practically impossible).

There was a lot of action, parallel plots, problematics, storylines, and characters that filled this story. From the beginning of the Dark Artifices series, there was more than one villain: it is a long way back when we all thought Blackthorn's only problem was Malcolm raising his lost love. Now there is Unseelie King wanting to destroy all Shadowhunters sided with Annabel, who killed Livvy and Robert and cause a great havoc in Allicante. Then there is the inside, political threat of Cohort who want to bring back old ideals and hate for all who are not Shadowhunters. After (and during) Lord of Shadows so many new problematics made a way that I was seriously concerned how will it all turn out. But all I can say Cassie did a most wonderful job developing all those plots and problematics individually and in parallel and finally bringing it all together in one big finale.

I always loved how she represented political life of Shadowhunters and work of the Clave. Like, nothing is ideal and there are always new problems, new people with questionable agendas, but the point is to change for better, no matter how small the change is.

Cassandra Clare's writing style always was and will be one of my favorite things of all time. I adore her rich descriptions with a touch of purple prose, her love stories, and characters. Most of all dialogues and interactions make me burst out laughing whether I want it or not.

She has created an impressive spectrum of characters through all these books and all of them are equally special, unique and wonderful. One of the biggest perks of reading this book is POVs. There is just so many of them, but it doesn't seem too much at all. I wanted to read, with all my heart, I wanted to see this story from the perspective of each character, whether old or new. She combined all (surviving) characters in this one story that changes everything. Of course, TDA squad has the main word and it can be easily read without knowledge of other series, but for us hardcore fans it was soo inspiring.

*this part is going to be mostly about characters and spoilers will be clearly marked for those who haven't read to skip, but if you don't want my review to change your perspective of characters and their development through the book, I suggest you skip it*

I am going to do some analysis of characters because I really feel like it, so let's start with my otp Jemma: one of my favorite couples of all times. I love Jemma from the bottom of my heart and they are really so adorable. Cassie always does a great job with love stories, but this one is especially dear to me. Just how they are there for each other since they were children and how they complete each other uwu

“I still love Emma more than I ever thought was possible. I love her more every day, and more every time I try to stop. I love her like I’m being ripped in half. And I want to cut the throats of everyone in the Cohort.”

Emma is my favorite character from the Dark Artifices and one of my all-time favorites. I always, always come to adore badass fearless girls who fight for those they love. My favorite scenes were usually those that included Emma fighting (*plot spoiler* when she confronted Zara, god that was the best thing ever).

Another amazing and my favorite male character – Julian. I just want to give a huge shoutout to this perfect boy who raised five children, took care of his sick uncle and led the whole Institute by himself. He always tended to be anti-hero(ish), but that's what I loved so much about him, that he was willing to do anything to protect his family. He is considered ruthless and cold, while he is just protective of his siblings, who have suffered a lot. Many people were confident he was going to go all anti-hero, even villain, (and he almost did, khm we know why), but I kind of knew he wouldn't. *spoiler* It was believed he will try to break all parabatai bonds, that he was that selfish, but in the end, he knew that was wrong, and he stopped Emma because he knew she was going to regret doing that. (*end of the spoiler*)

After those two comes my new otp for TWP, Kit and Ty of course. I couldn't really see all the hype about Kitty before, but after QoAaD, I am probably the most hardcore Kitty shipper ever. I mean they are perfect, ADORABLE. ! Just the way they interact, work together and solve problems makes it clear they are made for each other. It was clear Ty was having an awful time coping with Livvy's death and Kit was always there for him. Not to mention Kit is one of the most hilarious characters ever (sometimes he beat Jace, Will even).

“Funerals are always so sad,” said a woman who had introduced herself as Irina Cartwright, staring at Julian with a deep pitying stare. When he didn’t respond, she shifted her gaze to Kit. “Don’t you think?”

“I wouldn’t know,” said Kit. “My father was eaten by demons.”

The boy gave Kit a considering look that seemed to say you look familiar. Several people had done the same. Kit guessed it was because he looked like Jace, if Jace had suffered a sudden and unexpected height, muscle, and overall hotness reduction.

I mean just reading his perspective made me laugh sometimes. *spoiler* Anyway, that moment at the lake when Ty did the spell and Kit said he loved him!!! I was so so so happy. So, of course, their separation at the end of the book almost killed me, because that means 3 years without any of them and they will barely be in contact since Ty will be at Scholomance and Kit is at Jem and Tessa's… TDA just ended and I am already desperate for TWP, it's going to be a long way.

I liked Cristina's and Mark's characters a lot, too. Cristina-Emma friendship is one of the most amazing things in these books, and if it weren't for the curse, they should have been parabatai. I rooted for Cristina and Mark to get together, but Cassie decided to go for polygamous relationship between Kieran, Mark and Cristina. As much as I love her representation and diversity (she is kind of a queen when it comes to that), I hated Kierarktina. For starters I never liked Kieran, sure he had his redemption and became quite more likable, but I always found him kind of bland and annoying. Then, I can literally see no chemistry between Cristina and Kieran. Kieran and Mark, sure, they had a lot going on in the past. Cristina and Mark had fireworks going between them, but Kieran and Cristina? Nope, I felt nothing. I really didn't like three of them together and, to be honest, I felt really uncomfortable reading Kierarktina scenes.

Those were characters I wanted to point out or say something about. I love rest of them as much, especially those who were important in other series. Their appearances, interactions and contribution to the plot warmed my heart (*spoiler* especially Livia's Army when all of them worked together).

*From this point there will be spoilers and they won't be marked because I am going to comment on ending and some parts of the plot*

I am going to refer to some parts of the book and problematics that were solved one way or another.

First: Thule. I didn't see this coming, so there was no particular theory of mine about this, but a trip to Thule took a good third of this book. I wasn't entirely satisfied with it and couldn't say I actually liked it. It brought an interesting perspective on what would have happened if Clary hadn't won The Battle of the Burren, but aside from that, it wasn't of much significance. Sure, they brought back the mortal sword, but they didn't figure out anything with the curse or how to defeat the Unseelie King. I don't like concepts of parallel universes and such, so that is the reason I feel kind of bitter about that part (if it is like that, there are infinite universes and versions of characters and all could go in any direction, so what is the point anyway…). So maybe I am wrong and it was really important (it will be important for TWP for sure), but I did not like that part.

Then comes the big problem that stretches through all three books –the parabatai curse. I was eager to know how are things going play out with the curse for Julian and Emma, Cassie created an amazing plotline and mystery about the origin of parabatai. My theory was that Cortana was going to break the curse somehow, but that wasn't the case. Not even close, actually. I liked how were the effects of the curse shown and how Emma and Julian suffered not only mental but also physical changes. Yet I didn't find myself entirely happy about how things turned out. I didn't expect Julian and Emma to turn into half-giant angels in the middle of the battle and then just ? stop being parabatai?. That part is still a little bit foggy, like all that with the True Nephilim and what that has to do with parabatai. It was cool and I can't say I hate how things turned out, but I expected something a bit darker or something.

Second thing, how things got resolved with Faerie. Honestly, I expected Faeries to be of more importance in the end. The Unseelie King died in the middle of the book and his half-drunk son inherited him, so the only actual threat that was left was the Cohort. I was surprised that Ash was the weapon that caused the blight they were talking about and that was one big and quite an important point to the plot. In the end, Kieran inherited the throne of the Unseelie Court, which wasn't a big surprise and I think there ends the rivalry between Shadowhunters and the Unseelie Court. About Seelie… well, Queen fell suspiciously quiet in the second half of the book and I have this feeling she isn't done yet (which leaves another thing for The Wicked Powers).

Now I'm skipping to final battle because I have been dying to say something about that. I always enjoyed reading Clare's battle scenes, because all of them felt so inspiring and epic. One of the best scenes I have ever read is fighting between Julian, Emma and Riders of Mannan when Emma killed Fal. It was one, the last thing this book needed – an amazing battle, with all characters working together. Let's just not forget Dru, who has become one of my favorites through this book and Kit (Heir with powers!!! I already see TWP is going to be awesome). The outcome was pleasant, but not unexpectable. I knew Blackthorns and squad are going to win, but I was (pleasantly) surprised with the lack of death. After Lord of Shadows, I expected this to be a massacre, but it was less brutal. I'm not sure if I could take any of them dying.

And finally, the political outcome aka Cohort plot. As I said before I love how Cassie develops political life of Shadowhunters, as a forever changing constant that needs to be updated and fought for constantly. It had all led to the point where Horace became the Inquisitor and turned whole Council against Downworlders. After ending of Lord of Shadows, where I thought nothing could go wrong with that final plan, I was kind of anxious about Livvy's Army, but it all turned out well. Except for the Exile. When Cassie said Shadow World is going to change forever I didn't expect anything near this. I am eager to see how Clave works without Idris and I feel like this is going to be a major plotline in The Wicked Powers.

The ending of the Dark Artifices was pretty important to me and I had really high expectations for this book. Probably too high. I was hyped all year about it, so when it finally came, I expected it to be this epic book where I wouldn't be able to breathe and everything would surprise me. Which is totally unrealistic, I know, but that sense of disappointment disappeared after thinking through it and seeing how amazing this book actually was. So, all these negative comments are just small critiques or something that bugged me a bit, but all in all, I loved this book. This is probably the longest review I have ever written, so I think it is time to finish.

Cassandra Clare will remain one of my all-time favorite authors and I will never stop being so excited about her books. Can't wait for The Red Scrolls of Magic and then Chain of Gold!

Some other notes that I can’t fit in my review but have to share:

· I hate Zara more than anything I have ever hated

Zara always chose the same chair in the Inquisitor’s office. Manuel suspected it was because she liked to sit beneath the portrait of herself, so that people would be forced to gaze at two Zaras, and not just one.

· Some Kitty fluff

He made a face that was probably supposed to be scornful but was actually just cute.

“Yes, you can,” Kit whispered. “You can. You think this will make your family stronger, but it will destroy them if you bring her back. You think you can’t survive without Livvy, but you can. We will go through it together.” Kit’s face was cold; he realized he was crying. “I love you, Ty. I love you.”

Ty’s face went blank with surprise. Kit plowed on, regardless, hardly knowing what he was saying.

“She’s gone, Ty. She’s gone forever. You have to get through this. Your family will help you. I will help you. But not if you do this. Not if you do this, Ty.”

· Jemma fluff of course

So who am I to you, then?” he asked, dropping his hand.

“You are the person I have to protect until my Julian comes back to live inside you again,” she said. “I don’t want this. I want the Julian I love. You might be in the cage, Jules, but as long as you are like this, I am in the cage with you.”

· Ragnor Fell is one of the most amazing characters that ever existed

· Jem calling Emma little sister uwu