#i have so many thoughts about how they're gonna do this in the tv adaptation but man i can't wait regardless

[vega-international]

THEY ONLY WANT YOU WHEN YOU'RE SEVENTEEN

[heavenbelongstociaran]

me and my wilmon playlist

i like to think of myself as the second coming of christ when it comes to making playlists right, and i have this completely reasonable in length young royals playlist and i feel like i nailed it, in terms of the general vibe of the show AND scene specific themes.

ANYWAY, the reason i'm bringing it up is because i think there are a few songs that are very season specific that are in there.

season 1: visions of gideon by sufjan stevens

I KNOW everyone and their mother would agree that this song is very tragically wilmon.

"I have loved you for the last time

Is it a video? Is it a video?

I have touched you for the last time

Is it a video? Is it a video?"

giving very much episode six, when simon and wille were saying goodbye just before wille left for the palace. even though simon was being reassuring, comforting and encouraging (calling him brave, saying the royal court couldn't force him to do something he didn't want to do), wille (imo) didn't seem to believe him. and i think the way they kissed just made it seem like wille had already made his mind up, even though he said that he wouldn't lie about the video. it felt like he knew he was going to do it, and that it would inevitably be the end of the relationship, hence the lyrics being "i have loved/touched you for the last time."

honourable mentions include:

i'm your man by mitski

on and on by djo

favourite crime by olivia rodrigo

love in the dark by adele

it almost worked by tv girl

hurts me too by faye webster

take me home by pinkpantheress

let light be light by lizzy mcalpine

season 2: crack baby by mitski

gonna start with the honourable mentions first because there are loads:

i loved you by sunday cruise

thursday girl by mitski

why didn't you stop me by mitski

capable of love by pinkpantheress

genuinely, there are so many more but these are the ones that popped into my head as i was scrolling through the playlist.

you know that one saying that's like, "you never know how good you had it until it's gone" or however it goes? that's how season 2 felt.

both simon and wille were trying to recreate what they had or could have had with other people (marcus and felice, respectively) and realised that that would be impossible.

"Crack baby, you don't know what you want But you know that you had it once And you know that you want it back Crack baby, you don't know what you want But you know that you're needing it And you know that you need it bad"

said realisation definitely hurt wille incredibly, considering he said he wished it hadn't happened. it made him realise what life could be like, but he threw that away because he thought he was doing the right thing by denying the video ("protecting" simon). i actually have no idea how to explain this but like, trust me bro.

season 3: too many to name.

heaven by mitski. these fuckers were so in love this season, it was quite sickening (/affection). thinking about season three wilmon makes me want to cry, ignoring their communication issues, and other things that had a negative impact on their relationship.

a part of that by anna kendrick. HERE ME OUT. so, the song is from the movie adaptation of the play "the last five years" and anna's character, kathy, is watching her husband succeed and do all these amazing things in his life and is wondering where she fits into all of it. in season three and maybe the whole series, there's the topic of where the big five fit into the society or positions they're placed in and their positions in each other's lives. wille's struggle w/the monarchy and wanting out, august wanting in (for example).

dark circles by ryan beatty. this has simon written all over it.

casino by ryan beatty.

capable of love by pinkpantheress. goes with what i yapped about regarding season two. whenever they break, or rather when simon breaks up with simon, they seem to feel like this is the be all, end all of everything and that they won't love anyone ever again. in capable of love, pinkpantheress is saying that people pretend that the bond that she has with her love interest doesn't exist, ie people ignoring the fact that simon and wille were together at one point and only acknowledging wille when he got with felice BUT she also says that that doesn't matter, considering everything they went through to get to where they are now. she goes on to say that she'll never be able to love anyone the same way if they were to ever break up and i think that, throughout the series, this has shone through.

ribbons by ryan beatty. https://genius.com/31122186/Ryan-beatty-ribbons/Whos-gonna-hold-you-while-you-sleep-well-its-brave-to-be-nothing-to-no-one-at-all

little faith by ryan beatty!!!!!! (quite frankly, the entire album, Calico.)

general

there are a lot of songs that could encompass the show. capable of love. literally any loyle carner song about struggling with your identity and familial relationships and breaking cycles (polyfilla). sufjan stevens (mystery of love, everything that rises). so on and so forth. but wilmon and the young royals are not one dimensional enough to be described by one or eighteen songs, they're a whole catalogue. that playlist on paper is the most random thing i have ever crafted because fo&o, boygenius and brockhampton have no right to be in the same playlist, but hurt like we did, cool about it and any way want me absolutely deserve to be together; in a cool way, i think that's literally what simon and wille are like: on paper, they don't make sense. the crown prince of sweden, white and privileged and a gay brown boy from a small town who just happens to be an antimonarchist, but if you take that all away, they're two boys trying to find their place in the world, making mistakes.

feel free to give feedback and song recs !!!

playlist links:

apple music: https://music.apple.com/za/playlist/young-royals-but-i-made-the-soundtrack/pl.u-6mo4ZzvSBedVApW

spotify: (i haven't updated it on there in at least six months): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/25Pf9bDFBl6vtXOH9cvJC5?si=0b8a0ff36bb5435e

[badass-queer-couples-battle]

Do you mind if I ask your top 5 (or top 7) favorite BL and your top 3 (or top 5) favorite GL? And why do you love them? It can be from any media : books, manga, anime, manhwa, tv series or movies.....

Hard question again! I'm going to do 7 for GL and 7 for BL, again under the cut!

In no particular order:

GL:

Revolutionary Girl Utena - is including it on this list cheating since it's not primarily GL? I don't care, it's too good to not recommend. A teenage tomboy fencer gets 'engaged' to a mysterious girl by winning a duel, many more duels happen alongside symbolism, feminist messages and a really mature handling of topics like depression and abuse. REALLY dark though, but worth it! Deserves its place as one of the classic anime.

Bloom into you - incredible handling of internalised homophobia, first love, high school relationships both in the platonic and romantic sense and golden child syndrome. A heartwarming but occasionally heartwrenching story that felt very real. Bonus points for the author actually being a sapphic woman.

The Handmaiden - sapphic thriller from Korea set in the early 1900's! Dark but incredibly engaging, surprisingly happy and hopeful despite how much the girls have to suffer to get their happily ever after. The book it's based on, The Fingersmith, was also great!

GAP - Thailand's first GL series and got so popular there are now multiple other projects coming this & next year! The protagonist is a uni graduate hired in her idol's company only to discover the lady is both meaner and hotter than she thought. Lesbian crisis and full-on romcom shenanigans follow, though the series also comments on traditional family values in Thailand acting as an excuse for homophobia (the idol, Sam, is in an arranged engagement to a man as ordered by her grandma). Don't worry though, the show is mostly very fun and light & ends very very happily for the ladies.

Whisper Me a Love Song - look, as a former band kid I can't not mention the band lesbians manga. It's a highschool romance full of miscommunication and funny/cute shenanigans with occasional sadness to balance it all out. Very relaxing. It's getting an anime adaptation next year so looking forward to that!

Riddle Story of Devil - as an action series fan this was pretty incredible. A school full of assasins, everyone is sapphic and they're all badasses? High school me was obsessed and I still am. The manga is much better though, the anime is both way less gay and develops the characters much less due to the story being compressed into 12 episodes.

Legend of Yunqian - short fantasy drama from a small Chinese studio, it's about a regular young lady going back in time via a magic fan and falling for a magical warrior woman. Lovely and available on Youtube for free!

Honorary mentions: Flip Flappers (anime), Clear and muddy loss of love (novel), She likes to cook and she likes to eat (manga & TV series)

BL:

Heaven Official's Blessing - come on, it's incredible. Dark fantasy with immortal love that breaks even the most powerful curses, a complex and deeply human protagonist, a lot of emotional moments and incredible use of flashbacks to slowly reveal his backstory to the readers- what's not to love? Just a warning, when I say it's dark fantasy I'm not kidding. The series has funny and light moments but when shit gets real, it gets REAL.

No.6 - just like RGU isn't technically GL, this isn't technically BL but I am gonna talk about anyway, it's incredible. It's a dystopian sci-fi story about Shion, a teenager who discovers a government conspiracy and works to stop it alongside his new friend/love interest Nezumi. It treats the gay relationship super casually, there's no sexuality angst or anything, it was super refreshing! Read the novels though, the anime compressed the story a lot.

The Untamed/Mo Dao Zu Shi - love the intrigue, love the main romance, love the fantasy elements! My first Chinese series and one I hold dear for introducing me to the wuxia (Chinese fantasy) genre. Any version of the story is great but I'd recommend to start with the series and then read the books.

Kinnporsche - it's deeply insane and I love it for that. Everyone is gay, everyone commits crimes (they're in the mafia, so. Yeah) and it makes for a really entertaining show even if its darker elements aren't always super well handled.

Not me the series - Motorcycle gang of young anarchists against corruption! Very radical and critical of capitalism and the police system, engaging and fast paced. The director/showrunner is a trans activist/filmmaker so it's not like she doesn't know what she's talking about. It's very universal so I'd recommend it even to people who normally don't watch BL. One minus point for minor queerbaiting with 2 side characters, nothing major but it did bother me a bit + felt unnecessary in a series full of queer characters.

Cherry magic - queer office romance + mind reading! If that combination sounds interesting please do check it out, it was super cute. Bonus for very realistically human protags and an explicitly aroace side character.

Semantic error - opposites attract-type romance between an introverted, collected STEM prodigy and an extroverted art student partnered together for a project. The protagonist is autistic and written pretty well so I latched onto the show immediately, bonus points for side queer representation (bi character who's a super cool and pretty lady, love her).

Honorary mentions: Word of Honor (series), Yuri on ice (anime, only homoerotic sports anime to make the gay explicit, iconic), Nobleman Ryu's wedding (series, short but v heartwarming!)

[scumcoin]

Pondering and Rambling About Isekai A Little Bittttt.....

Rewatching VS Knights of Lamune & 40 Fire. (mouthful of a title, henceforth 40 Fire)

For the unfamiliar, the Lamune series is SD mecha anime series, comparable to Mashin Eiyuu Wataru and Madou King Granzort. in both TV anime the hero is some bozo kid who gets sucked into a video game (in 40 Fire's case, a CD-ROM game that was inserted into a console that suspiciously resembles a playstation) only to be gilded with the title of the great hero Lamuness: in this case, our new protagonist Lamunedo is christened Lamuness the Third. It's pretty much text that Lamunedo is the son of the previous hero... I honestly don't wanna think about it too hard so I won't but his parents look like Milk, the last show's heroine and love interest, and the original protagonist.

It really be like that.

Given I've already watched this show (albeit over a decade ago and never in Japanese, and I suspect heavily censored as well), I probably won't be doing a lot of posts on it, but I recently rewatched a chunk of the original and I've been thinking about both shows approach to isekai and hell, the approach many other isekai shows take. Shows like this, Fushigi Yuugi, Those Who Hunt Elves, et cetera. There... wasn't much "I died and now I'm permanently in another world"... was there? But I'm not really thinking about those shows because I have seen neither, we're talking about Lamuness, a series aimed at kids. There's a lot to unpack about modern isekai's penchant for escapism in a Japan that's settled into its post-Bubble Era woes, but I'm not qualified to talk about something so culturally heavy nor is it super related. But I do wanna touch on the "method" of being spirited away into another world, and the story structure.

Like I said, it's anything but permanent. There's no truck, no sudden heart attack from overwork. Come, Lamuness, time to save the world. There's no time to waste. Get in the fucking TV. The method is an incredibly accessible one, arguably: getting sold a shady CD-ROM for like a dollar and getting whisked away when it boots.

The premise of this series is very goal-based, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that even if the person in these kinds of older isekai in general comes to love the world and decides to stay, there is always the goal of "get back home". Lamunedo has the hefty weight of defeating the demon god's henchmen before they revive him, and when it all ends he gets to go home (sorry for spoiling an anime that's like 25 years old at this point, but that's how most of these ended). In contrast to newer isekai shows where the story begins with the protagonist's life ending, cementing that this is their new life and that they have no real grand goal... unless the goal is to not die. You have to live your new life, effectively an escape from the old life lived previously. The protagonists often skew older in their original lives, office workers over the age of 20 or NEETs who have wasted their lives and what have you. The issue with a lot of newer isekai media is not that they're paint by the numbers, but that because there isn't much of an immediate goal in most, many cannot deliver on the breadth of the premise or many would consider a gimmick. They drown in trying to tick boxes of "you should know the genre the protagonist is stuck in if you've picked up this book/manga/anime, so I'm not gonna think too hard about it either". It's not a diss or anything, but if your protagonist is just going to live and adapt to a new world and you make it the entire premise then you better have thought of the world building at least a little, or give it an actual plot structure to follow that isn't just you going through a buffet table and piling on more cute girls/boys/etc onto the protagonist's plate. They overwhelm with technicalities like video game stats (STOP!!!!!!! STOP PUTTING STATS IN YOUR SHIT I'M GOING TO KILL MYSELF AND YOUR NAME WILL BE IN MY NOTE) and are indulgent in a lot of the wrong ways that may alienate those who do not consume the inspiration of the isekai much.

The best isekai that don't get immediately lambasted by the audience are isekai that dive right into the story without treating the outsider protagonist like someone standing behind the fourth wall at all times, and the rest of the world actually matters. Drawing attention to the fact that other characters are NPCs is tiring and makes me think I'm not supposed to care about them. It creates a vacuum where the only real person in the story is the protagonist and it's difficult to feel for a protagonist when everyone else is treated like an object. Both a literal object to interact with in a video game sense and in many cases a sexual object. Most good isekai will have you forget that the setting is based on something previously assumed to be fictional. It's not enough for the protagonist to be invested in the world, by the way. That's why shit like Shield Hero sucks ass even when you ignore the slavery shit (why would you though?!). I find that I prefer when it seems like the protagonist is in the story just like everyone else, rather than someone who consistently pushes against it. Of course there are many different ways to do it. This is a topic that's way too deep for me, and contrary to what my tone may convey I think that the genre is painted with an unfair brush so a lot of good shows slip through the cracks.

Or to be honest... the fact of the matter is that people are biased and judge stuff harshly just because they're a genre that's in vogue right now. Go figure. <-guy who hasn't even watched that many newer isekai shows

I'll make myself clear here: both old and new isekai are escapist fantasy and I dislike it when people try to paint escapism as a pathetic thing that only the NEW bad isekai shows employ. What's more escapist than being sucked into a video game and being told you're the hero that will save the world? You, a normal kid. What I find refreshing about the Lamuness series that I think newer light novels could learn from. There isn't any "I'll use my experience from the old world". Because Lamunedo is a child, and hero can never be an adult.

So that's a modern isekai shorthand immediately eliminated. (Note that I haven't once called anything a cliche in this post, I don't have that kind of scorn for the genre. I think it'd be good for actual critics to remove this buzzword from their vocabulary unless they truly face off against something that is an actual ripoff, because people have now taken the word cliche and turned it into an entirely negative thing, same with the word trope. But I digress.)

The entire point of the series is to be an escapist fantasy for little kids who love RPGs, but you'll never once see a stat block nor will you hear much of bosses in the video game sense. Sure, maybe the tyke will wonder about home every now and then but after this point you're set off into the story with the express goal of saving the world. There's nothing deep to think about. Traversing through different "space"s and RPG village-like places is a given, and it seems like they're made up as you go unless they're on a map explicitly (they are supposedly, but they still feel made up). You won't hear much about what Lamunedo thinks besides the fact that his (and Da Cider's) BIG COOL MECHA has his blood pumping.

This is what I mean by goal driven: it ironically feels much more like a video game without constantly bringing attention to the fact that it's supposed to be a video game. A big greater goal punctuated by smaller goals and pitstops is how a lot of JRPGs progress. Perhaps it's prescient to compare a lot of newer isekais to an open world game: you're doing... something, there are story important cutscenes, but you meander around until you hit them and often you are sidetracked. It works when you're the one doing it, but when an isekai story is overwhelmed by the lack of nothing it is accomplishing that's when the audience disengages and starts wondering why the protagonist is a fucking idiot, and why they won't do something that actually matters. Have you ever watched someone dick around in Skyrim? Unless you really like Skyrim in my opinion it's not very fun to watch.

I find that this is why villainess isekai is so popular. Many employ the otome genre, which are much more linear in comparison. Sure, you make choices that lead you off to other routes and affect what ending you get, but everyone who plays Norn9 for example is playing the same Norn9 that the next person plays. Even with linear RPGs, you could be underleveled, you could favor certain characters, your experience can still be somewhat varied. Therefore, in a villainess scenario where the base is an otome game, there is an enforcement of an in-game clock where events will happen regardless of how much you dawdle. In fact, slacking tends to be punished. I'm aware that there are similar premises that don't employ a villainess or are based on other genres that are associated with women like management sims and mobile games, but in general they tend to emphasize proactiveness (also I'm speaking very broadly). Even the characters are treated with care. Sure, the heroine may casually spoil their supposed fate and metagame with previous knowledge, but they feel like actual characters.

In any case, as I've stated several times I carry no ire towards the genre. You'll catch me dead before I watch crap like Mushoku Tensei and Shield Hero but there's plenty of isekai manga and anime that I've either enjoyed or am looking forward to enjoying, past or present. But rewatching the Lamuness series got me thinking a lot about it. I wasn't even intending on writing most of what I wrote and I'll be honest when I say I don't consider myself a writer: I'm not the most eloquent and I struggle to express how I feel but by god do I express.

[creeperthescamp]

adapting video games to film/tv is a relatively tricky process that very rarely works but it's always been one of my absolute favourite things to think about. how do you strip a game of its interactivity and still tell its intended narrative? is it still possible to try and capture a sense of the experience of playing a game without actually playing it? hm okay I'm gonna put a read more on this since this turned out to be a long post and specific to elder scrolls

like I have so so many thoughts about adapting tes to screen. rpgs are tricky since they're very character-driven/narrative focused but the whole point of them is to let a player shape their own character and make choices that shape the world around them. so as much as there's so many questlines that are really interesting and fun, you can't really directly adapt any of them without fundamentally restructuring them, like cutting all the bits of a tree branch to make a stick. even relatively linear quests don't really fit with a non interactive medium since they often rely on a transactional relationship with the player (like get info from npc, do task, receive reward in form of loot and/or story progression) and tend to be quite episodic.

but then besides the interactivity, there's also the general experience/vibe of playing a game, especially a bethesda game! how do you convey the massive scope of tamriel without spending dozens of hours listening to hundreds of npcs, walking from one end of the map to another, and generally fucking around? are there ways of translating the bugs, janky game engine, and dated graphics into similar elements conventional to film? (like an emphasis on obvious practical effects, older fashions and style of costuming/editing/music, etc)

and also what part of tes do you even focus on? with film you're more able to build upon lore that is otherwise quite difficult to implement in a game (ie different khajiit forms) and focus on creating a narrative with limited characters that actually works and feels cohesive. and doing that would be pretty hard since tes lore is so wildly inconsistent from game to game, bethesda (or at least their management) has such a strong reactionary style of development that each tes game is basically it's own interpretation of the general setting, rather than a coherent timeline of events. I think that a lot of fans recognise that too, just considering how different people interact with certain elements (like where eso fits in the series or kirkbride bullshit) and the variety of approaches to lore in insanely ambitious modding projects.

I think perhaps what would be in the most elder scrolls spirit is to do several different adaptations that are completely separate projects and teams. just a bunch of people with different creative visions just kinda fucking around!! that seems to be how everyone approaches this franchise, and its how I tend to understand it! :3

personally, I think I would make a TV series focusing on cyrodiil (perhaps before the events of Morrowind) where a team of mages guild scholars travel around the province and try to record and research all of the daedric shrines in order to understand them better and compile all the info into a centralised source, the book of daedra. then of course, there's many hijinks to be had and their perception of themselves as objective observers is completely shattered by the end. also one or two people will probably die. this would be a cast of original characters that are unrelated to any quests in the games, though perhaps there'd be a familiar face here and there (like a certain eventual priest of akatosh). one episode per daedric prince, and they would perhaps explore each prince's realm of influence and how they impact people and cultures of tamriel. I think it'd be cool to also look at how and why people worship daedra, and how the mages guild team's own biases and desires (being from a colonial institute) affect how they view daedra! it's also fun to just put characters in situations that involve mindfuckery lol

i think something like this could work as a show and be accessible to both fans and casual viewers: introducing Some Fun Lore to new people and giving fans a bit more nuanced takes on daedra! oblivion's structure of daedric quests is pretty straight forward and also some of the most fun questlines of the game, and there's also potential to explore different cultural approaches to daedra (like the anticipations of the tribunal, which is part of why I think it'd be cool to set the show before Morrowind). I would love to try out a very stylised retro-inspired aesthetic of filmmaking, with practical effects, colourful dated costumes/hair, sound design and music that sounds kinda fuzzy and a little goofy, and using (or digitally recreating the effect of) real film to get that kind of that weird 'smeared vaseline over the camera lens' effect. as much as oblivion is massively influenced by lotr, I want something more like terrible made for TV movies in vibes and craft-wise. i think that would convey the actual experience of playing oblivion and Bethesda games in general :3

okay that's a shit load of my thoughts and fantasies. I'm not sure about the specifics, putting together coherent stories has never been a strong suit of mine but yet I am cursed with ideas anyway.

[fernweh-s]

Fr it really was but honestly it was all the bullying n sense8 was internationally good so all the countries was throwing punches at Netflix. I don’t condone bullying but when it’s big companies like Netflix yes bullying is necessary. If Santa Clarita diet had a global fan base I’m sure their bullying woulda worked for a Santa Clarita movie wrap up 😭

I’m not familiar with batwoman but yeah i agree that is such an integral part n ya can owe that to the wonderful magic of CW bat woman adaptation 🤭

Wait dick took up the mantle I thought he had refused to do it. Ahh shit I might have to backtrack again 😅. We don’t talk about that lmaoooo Im fuckin dead 🤣🤣

I loved Jason he’s definitely my fav bat child.

Omfg I remember there’s a scene in the first season of titans where Jason and Dick meet n he tell him I’m the new Robin n Dick looked so distraught I had a full on belly laugh at that scene.

I remember there would be hella AOS cars driving around town here where I live n it would make me feel like I was in the MCU. I was like omfg they gonna go get the runaways 🤣

Lmaooo I absolutely support bullying Netflix, they deserve it for cancelling like every single show of theirs that I ever like. 😤😤

Honestly I hate it so much whenever a TV show (or even a movie) adaptation of a comic does something, and then it becomes something that the comics try to work in. 😭

He did for a bit, yeah! Around (one of the many) times that Bruce was dead. Tim was his robin for a bit (which I loved, I actually love Dick and Tim being brothers and interacting, they're one of my favorite sibling duos, and I feel like dc always tries to push Dick and Damian, but I want Dick and Tim to interact more!!!!), but then dc had him fire Tim and make Damian his robin instead, which was such a jerk move, especially because Tim considered Dick one of his best friends, how you gonna FIRE your little brother who looks up to you and considers you one of his besties, Dick??? 😭😭😭

Jason is my absolute favorite batkid too. Damian is actually a surprisingly close second, and all the rest of them just kind of switch around lmfao.

Lmao

[anthonycrowleymoved]

I know this is old discourse but in light of destiel becoming canon, what are your thoughts on neil gaiman not allowing Crowley and Aziraphale to be gay lovers? He said that they're angels, not men, so is that supposed to imply that they're not gay simply cuz they're non-binary (so they're asexual)? I just wanna know if they'e in love or not lol. I ship them so much.

yeah okay this is gonna have to be tagged neil discourse because thinking about this over a year later i’m still mad huh

so like. i know very well what he said at the time. he was basically like, and i’m paraphrasing but that’s because i simply do not care enough to give a direct quote but on twitter he was like ‘oh well angels don’t UNDERSTAND human concepts like GENDER and SEXUAL ATTRACTION so NO they’re NOT GAY’ and then someone was like ‘but they’re in love right?’ and he was like ‘of course.’ right? everyone agrees that’s what happened right after the show aired? and like, okay, i’m not going to begrudge people seeing this as representative of themselves if they’re nb and/or ace, that’s cool and fine, and you do you. i find it interesting that i saw a ton more criticism about it on here than on twitter, but that’s probably just more indicative of who i’m following and how much i’m on here than anything else. anyway.

let’s break this bullshit down and explain piece by piece why i think neil’s quote unquote representation in gomens is a hot garbage fire and why it kind of rubbed me the wrong way from the moment i saw it.

1. he posted it on twitter. he wrote the script and could have like, you know, put it into the show, if them being In Love was like, actually part of the story. he had the ability to do that. gomens was already going to piss off right wing groups because of how it treats religion, this wasn’t something i legitimately think amazon/the beeb would have just said ‘no’ to if neil was serious about it. mean, maybe that’s a bit far into conspiracy territory, but i truly believe if they really wanted to make azcrow canon the one person who could have managed getting a scene would have been the author/showrunner. and because he didn’t if you’re a casual viewer who’s not fucking following his goddamned twitter seeing gay representation is now a rorschach test

‘they don’t adhere to human ways of thinking about gender and sexuality’ MANY THOUGHTS HERE but let’s start with

2. i think hallie originally said this and neil i know you wrote the book but like. did you read the book neil. because i thought one of the main points of it was that aziraphale and crowley had effectively ‘gone native’ and saw themselves more like humans than like celestial beings. and they’d been on earth for all of human history. it’s a bad take i’m sorry i know he literally wrote it but like really. really.

3. look i’m nb and i’d love some nb rep. but that was not nb rep. those were two cis male actors playing (largely) male presenting characters with absolutely no in-text indications that they aren’t cis. there’s one (a few? god it’s been a minute since i watched the show) character referred to by singular ‘they’ and it’s not aziraphale or crowley. and like, look, i get that in real life there’s nb people who don’t go by gender neutral pronouns and that’s cool and fine because that’s what those people feel inside. but, like, this isn’t real life, it’s a tv show, and referring to male presenting characters as he/him and then occasionally putting them in feminine clothing isn’t representation because people who aren’t looking for that kind of representation aren’t going to see it, they’re going to see a joke about a man in a dress

4. and i’m not ace so i can’t speak on that, but i do remember at the time ace people being like ‘that....was not ace rep’ so like, make of that what you will. again, i’m not going to tell you you can’t see them as nb and/or ace, but like, i’m just asking you, was that really representation? like, was it? in your heart like, would you have been happy with that representation if neil didn’t tell you it was representation? because if you’re just starved for content, that’s FINE, you’re ALLOWED, all i’m asking you is to not praise the creator for doing fuck all.

5. ‘of course [they’re in love]’ again where??? where??? where is it neil. where is it in the actual text of the show. like there’s in text evidence that they love each other platonically and there’s lots of jokes made by other characters but like. i hate to say that but that’s it. i don’t know why this off the cusp response still makes my blood boil but boy does it

6. i don’t want to go looking for it because i’ve done that like six times but there’s a post on neil’s tumblr from before the show dropped about how there would be moments that people who ship it would be happy with but it wouldn’t become canon. you can look it up i swear he said that in like....december of 2018ish? something like that. which, again, is fine on its own, but combined with the fact that after he was like ‘lmao that’s what i was going for’......not my favorite look

what i’m saying is like, if he wanted to create an actual queer narrative he could have but he just like, chose not to and then when he realized he could have people watching his show just because they’re thirsty for representation that isn’t there i think he went ‘oh i’ll jk rowling this’ i don’t KNOW that that’s what happened but, like, that’s what it looks like to me.

i used to regularly refer to the “representation” in gomens as nu-queerbaiting, which i still like as a term, because to me it’s the person in charge (not the actors, usually, unless they have some say in the writing process) going, oh no they’re totally in love with each other totally trust me :) and then like, they’re not, not really, not to the people who like, watch the show but don’t fucking follow the author on twitter. and that’s. i’m sorry, that’s not canon to me.

and, to be honest, how this is presented honestly makes me more angry than if it was just maybe in-universe wink wink nudge nudge, because i’m USED to queerbaiting and i know that like, almost nothing ever ever ever comes of it and i get it and i like having fun anyways, so i deal. and like, i was a book fan before the show came out. the book was written in the late 80s, and i knew that it wasn’t going to be anywhere near as gay as the fandom has made that work for thirty goddamned years, and i was fine with that. like, going into it, i joked, but it was fine because it was a relatively faithful adaption of a book i like. i wasn’t looking for gay representation, even though i ship aziraphale and crowley.

but like, there was this wave of people who came looking for representation, and the show is so vague on that concept that they saw it, but it’s like. it’s not actually really there. there’s no one saying ‘yes they’re really irl in love.’ there’s two male-presenting characters who COULD be in love, if you choose to view it like that, but maybe aren’t. and like, that’s FINE, on it’s own, but i hate that someone in a position of power said ‘no you’re right lmao’ even though he didn’t do shit. it was made in 2019. queer representation should be better than that. i’m not patting neil on the back for doing literally nothing.

so like, tldr: yeah the rep is bad in my opinion!!! it’s not good!!!! i don’t like how neil handled it and it’s gross!!!! i hope this answers your question!!!!

anyway that being said azcrow is such a good ship anyway, so like, why does it matter if they’re canon? ship em anyways no one can stop me from doing it even though how it was handled by the actual creator is a garbage fire when you look at it for more than like, thirty seconds. like......why must a ship be ‘canon’? is it not enough to read a book and see two celestial beings, in love with humanity?

[teledild0nix]

Fic Writer Questions! (you can find me here on AO3 if you're interested!)

tagged by dear @theburialofstrawberries mwah!

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

112 yowza!

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?

750,421 kinda tempted to go delete one word so it can be 750420 which is a far more Pleasing number

3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

12ish but some of them overlap: BBCS/Sherlock Holmes/ACD (these are all different bc my bbcs fics are not the same as my own modern fem Sherlock Holmes adaptation are not the same as my ACD Holmes fic; Good Omens; Harry Potter/The Werewolf Draco Malfoy Cinematic Universe; Captive Prince; The Hobbit; Fleabag (it was a crossover with BBCS but Fleabag is the perspective character so it still counts as a separate fandom imo); Doctor Who; The Office; Parks and Rec; Broad City (one a piece for those last 5 but I AM going to write a Parks and Rec polycule fic for @gaykagome)

4) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

They're all Good Omens fics from the 2019 Summer of Good Omens! Susceptible to Summer, Fragments Shored Against My Ruin, Something So Magic, Enter Serpent, and Anything We Like

All of those have over 2k except the last one, but average engagement for me is like 400 kudos or so

5) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I try! It depends on what's going on with me. Sometimes I just don't have the energy, and I figure people would rather I spend my brain power on writing new fics than on writing replies to comments. Wish I had a fave button tho so I could let people know I read and reread comments, because I do!

6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Oh I wrote this ficlet series called A Chemical Defect about John and Sherlock's relationship in s3 of BBCS, and it's WILDLY unpopular. People don't read my fic to cry sad tears I guess! John and Sherlock are having an affair in the story, and it ends with the implication that their relationship is unsustainable and that Mary knows about it anyway. I intended to come back to it after s4 and write a more optimistic ending but LOL! Didn't have the heart.

7) What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

I know this answer is kinda up my own ass, but like. I think stories that feel true to life sort of feel like they end on a beginning if you know what I mean? You don't really consider a chapter of your life closed until you look back on it from the next? SO that said, I think I'd have to say that it's my big BBCS serial The Only One in the World. I spent 2 years writing it, and it ends with John retiring from medicine to solve crimes and write books full time.

Could also be my WDMCU (werewolf Draco Malfoy cinematic universe) series Moonrise, which starts with Draco isolated in his abusive mother's house, trying to cope with lycanthropy essentially alone and ends with him in love and surrounded by found family in a cozy cottage in Hogsmeade, having gotten some lycanthrope rights legislation passed after working at it for years and talking to Harry about whether they want to have kids. Oh man I feel warm and fuzzy just thinking about it

8) Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

I have written one crossover. It's BBCS/Fleabag, because me and @loudest-subtext-in-tv were laughing about how John seems like one of the horrible guys Fleabag sleeps with basically out of self loathing, so I wrote this fic to make Nattie laugh, and you should read it bc it's so good and so underrated.

9) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not really, but people don't seem to know that authors can read bookmark tags unless you private the bookmark, and someone once put in the bookmark tag on one of my fics 'writing was meh but it was okay.' Okay so why bookmark it then??

10) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Fuck yes! I'm not sure what 'what kind?' means? People fucking? Sloppy, silly, and awkward, with lots of laughing. I also really like writing afterglow scenes which are even sillier and gigglier and often involve one character cooking for another. Food as love language is a very distinct pattern of mine tbh

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of, but occasionally I'll write a post on here where I make some elaborate head canon, and I'll see people in the tags talking about how they want to write fic of it, and it makes me breathe fire out of my nose like a dragon like PLEASE DON'T. The WDMCU came out of a ficlet post I made on here like a year before I actually wrote the 60k series so like!!! Please don't do that!

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! To Russian and I believe Chinese. Not my entire oeuvre but a handful of BBCS and Good Omens fics

13) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, but I wrote a fic inspired by an RP I did with my gf right around when we met (actually now that I think about it, it's two fics), and I waaaaaaanna do a WDMCU collab with my beloved Sally @clytemenestras at some point if he has time bc he inspired me to even write werewolf draco with his original lesbian werewolf story

14) What’s your all time favorite ship?

favorites are hard for me? I always think I'm currently doing my best writing lol so I'll say drarry

15) What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I don't post fics unless theyre finished, so I don't have any WIP up on AO3, but I did intend to continue with my fem Sherlock Holmes series, Your Many Tendencies. I just haven't been in a Holmes mood for a long time. Maybe I'll come back to it idk. This particular series is honestly very unpopular? People will just straight up say they don't read femslash, and it hurts a lot. This series feels really personal too, bc it's about a Black autistic nonbinary lesbian, so it does hurt my feelings that no one seems to care, yknow? I mean the people who read it are extremely kind and thoughtful in their engagement with it, but it has vastly less engagement than my m/m fic, and that's painful. It gets literally 1/10 the attention my fics usually get.

16) What are your writing strengths?

Almost all of my writing is romance, but I tend to write concurrently about recovery and found family, and I think I'm very good at doing that in a way that connects with my audience. I once had someone ask if they could use my words in their wedding vows, and I've had people tell me they started doing things with their spouse that my characters do with their partners in order to express love. I think about that all the time. My Impact. It makes me feel like I have a real duty to my audience yknow?

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

This question is hard for me like I've been writing so long and so much that I'm literally always happy with my final draft! It's always exactly to my taste, yknow? I suppose I could say that my fics tend not to be terribly plotty but so WHAT? That's beside the fuckn point for me. Plot who? I don't know Her. Also honestly like. Stories feel more True to me when they aren't ruthlessly devoted to plot bc like life isn't like that yknow?

18) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

If you're not fluent in that language, get a beta who is!!!!! That said, I have written scraps of very simple dialogue in French using mostly Google Translate (sometimes I check w Sally bc he speaks French but I am usually too impatient), and I am perfectly well aware that I take my life in my hands each time!!! Also don't do that bullshit thing where it's in italics? That shit is weird and exoticizing. Just write it in quotation marks like normal dialogue.

19) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

BBCS babey back in 2012. Ended a 5 year dry spell for me after I got my writing degree.

20) What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Hmmmm I think it's probably gonna be the fic I'm working on now that I haven't posted yet, but I know it's called Names for a House, and here's a tiny bit of it

Thanks again Shreya for asking me to do this bc I really love talking about myself. I tag @the-moon-loves-the-sea, @clytemenestras, @tomiano, @gaykagome and @totallysilvergirl

No pressure <3

[voidstilesplease]

this city's gonna mend our hearts

part 1: this city's gonna break our hearts

(steo au)

---

"All right, Mr. Rochester," Stiles's agent says over the phone, giving him a bright smile. "I'll email the transaction details immediately. Yes, thank you." She puts down her phone after the call ends and squeals at Stiles. "Congratulations! Your first sale!"

Stiles beams up to her, accepting when she opens her arms for a hug. Amy is like a big sister to him more than his art agent. She's helped him settle when Stiles first came to New York, got him a spot at the gallery she works at, gives advice and offers her criticism of his art, and now sold his first painting. It really does take a while to stand in New York. You don't arrive one day and take on the world the next. It was a laborious steady climb, and Stiles is just grateful that Amy's with him all the way.

She holds his shoulders, her face still alight with excitement for Stiles. "Mr. Rochester is a patron. He brings the gallery good money. If he likes your work - and trust me, he's not typically into pop art so this is a first - he's more likely to buy from you again."

Stiles laughs, still processing the fact that he has, in fact, just sold one of his works. After nearly five months, he finally took a significant step on the ladder of his dreams. For the first time since arriving in this city, he believes he can make it, that he has a part here.

Amy reaches for the coat rack, takes his hand and leads them out of her office, while still chattering about his painting. "I mean, it is beautiful, the painting. You have such an exquisite muse," she cocks her head sideways to look at him quizzically. "I'm sorry, it's none of my business. But I notice you paint this particular man more than any other."

Stiles is taken aback by the statement. He has wondered when she would ask about it, but it still surprises him now that she mentions it. More so because she referred to him as his muse. And thinking about it, he is, isn't he? Theo is Stiles's muse. Even if he probably moved on back in Pittsburgh. Living his life as it was pre the annoying virgin who fell in love with his first fuck and decided to latch like gum on Theo's shoe. His club is open again - his playground. He probably dances every night like a god who descended to Earth with everyone tripping over their feet for his attention. Back to his routine. It could be why he can't make a single call. Maybe he'll never do.

Stiles clears his throat, ignoring the twinge in his chest. "He's the design inspiration for the lead character in the comics I co-wrote, too."

She perks up, smirking. "Oh, The Chimera League, was it? And he's the brooding anti-hero we all secretly wish existed?"

Stiles nods with a faint chuckle. He has shown her volumes of the comics that he packed with him. He might have failed in Hollywood when The Chimera League TV adaptation project shut down after six months of extensive work, but he has faith that he'll do better this time. This city does not look so unconquerable anymore.

Amy hums, pulling on her hand gloves. "Must be some man to inspire many of your most beautiful creations."

She pushes the front door, and the chilly night air of The Big Apple quickly swoops in to greet them. Stiles draws his coat tighter to his body, hugging himself as they walk down the pavement. "Yeah," he replies later, more to himself. "He is such a beautiful man."

***

Stiles digs through his pocket for his keys as he nears his apartment building. He's only moved out of Amy's a month ago when he made enough money freelancing at an advertising agency and designing posters for a product. The executive still contacts him, sometimes to pay for his expertise, sometimes to pay for his drinks.

He's been forward, honest with his desires, and Stiles wants to give in and fall into his charms. It would be so easy. He wouldn't be cheating on Theo. They're not together anymore, and the asshole can't even pick up his phone. But it feels wrong. It feels too close to home - like a mockery. After all, Theo is an advertising executive who tells people when he wants to fuck them with a straight face. They're similarly confident, similarly detached. Stiles has done it once. A repeat is just plain stupid.

Sighing at his thoughts, Stiles pushes the small gate into the building and stops short at the sight he sees.

It feels like the wind is knocked out of him, slowing down the time as he stands paralyzed by the front gate. His mouth falls open wordlessly, and the keys jingle as they slip from his fingers to the ground.

Theo looks up and abruptly stands from the front steps of Stiles's building when he sees him. He's dressed as prim and expensive as usual, like a successful businessman who just left dinner with another signed deal. But his expression lacks its usual suave. Instead, he breathes deep when he moves forward and swallows when they're eye-to-eye.

They stare at each other in silence for a few heartbeats too long. Because what do you even do when the person you've been yearning to see for months, not hearing a single thing from them, is suddenly in front of you, stealing glances at your mouth like a man deprived? Does Stiles hit him like he wants to? Or does he kiss him like he wants to?

Theo answers for him when he cups Stiles's neck with one hand and leans to close their distance, faces angling automatically, bodies slotting together as if no time has passed at all.

Stiles wants to be angry, and he is. He will let Theo know how cruel he has been. But for now, he can't help the whimper that escapes his mouth when Theo slips a familiar velvet box into his hand.

He's not the only one holding on, after all.

~•~

this city - sam fischer

[koalas-koalas-everywhere]

Yes yes yes spec Spidey is so good I'm so glad you're watching it! Imo it's the best adaptation. I would love to hear all of your thoughts on it!

Lmao I was planning on not commenting on it to avoid clogging up people's dashboards (also the reason why I've taken to making all the liveblogging of one issue into a single post instead of little comments), but hey, if you insist! I mean, if you really twist my arm!

I am enjoying it! I'm only on ep 6 but I'm definitely enjoying it!

Honestly, the one TV show where the opening credits aren't only watchable, they're (ugh) enjoyable! The song is so great I kinda wonder if it doesn't affect my opinion of the whole show.

The action, especially the web-slinging, is so good! They really have a handle on Peter's agility.

I already know some of the beats they're gonna hit, partly because I got spoiled, partly because I caught some of it when I was younger, but there's stuff I still wonder about. Is Flash gonna get a bit more sympathetic, like in the comics? I don't mean post-Gwen's death and Harry's capture levels of sympathy, but I did notice that he's quite a bit more aggressive than he was in the Ditko era, so I wondered if they're gonna balance it out with his admiration of Spidey and the few sparks of decency he showed back then, too. Then again, he hasn't tried to disguise as someone Peter believed to be a dangerous criminal in order to scare him, or led the whole class to Peter's house so they could see how he beat him up, so. It just seems like they traded some of his particular dislike of Peter for his sense of overall nobility, you know?

Eddie Brock being Peter's "bro" was a huge surprise! Didn't see that one coming at all. I do know that some beats will remain the same, so I wonder how he'll make the change into Venom.

I am kind of upset that they made Hobie a mean jock. At least make him a nice jock, like Rand(y)! Oh, well, there's still 20 episodes for him to redeem himself. Do I think it will happen? No, but a girl can dream.

Between the Raimi movies and this show, this was the decade of making Ock sympathetic, huh?

Norman's voice is sooooo evil.

I usually dislike when retellings try to sort of compress all the origin stories? You know, like Spider-Man Chapter One? This time, though, I'm digging it. I think it's because it's a whole new thing instead of something that would replace the old stuff.

I think they hit a nice compromise between not repeating the origin story (even though it hadn't been done that many times by then) and honoring Ben with the first episode. It showed both his emotional importance, since both May and Peter talked about him, and how his death affected them practically. Like, the first episode opens to an unbalanced household for the Parkers. I think they're gonna show it anyway, eventually, too?

Gwen's more bearable than she was originally, but she's a bit peripheral, isn't she? At least, she has been, so far. Of course, they had to set up an introduction for Peter as well as at least one villain each episode (in that sense, streamlining it with pre-existing minor characters like Marko and O'Hirn [I JUST realized that's a pun for horn] was pretty genius), build up the Big Man reveal, and have a Peter subplot to balance the Spider-Man one for each episode, it's no wonder she's been kept on the sidelines a bit, even if she'll be a major love interest later. It's not like she can contribute much to the action plot, like Harry.

That said, I also don't like her voice acting - I don't know why tbh. Or Mary Jane's, for that matter! I've only heard the jackpot line, so far, but that's like, the line you don't mess up. I don't know, she might redeem herself. it just seemed too whispery.

That said, making Liz latina, both in looks and in how she speaks (I mean, I'm not sure I recognize it as a Spanish accent, but I wouldn't, would I? I just speak it), paints a potentially interesting picture of her social standing. I mean, in the comics, while still nicer than Flash even before she got a crush on Peter, she was also very much her own girl - outspoken, resolute and a leader. Also very rich. There haven't really been any reference to her economic background, yet, but her accent brings the question of how long has her family been settled in New York, as opposed to the 616 Allans, who had a fancy hotel that had existed at least long enough for Ben Urich to have taken her wife dancing there.

Making Martha Curt's partner was a good call, as long as it lasted. It did away with the passivity of her old role without losing the effectiveness of having someone to worry for Curt. I do wish they'd had him befriend Spider-Man, if only because I liked that friendship in the comics, but I understand that they had to streamline a lot of things. Still, it would've been an interesting contrast of not trusting Peter but being one of Spidey's only friends. I wonder if he'll come back. I wonder if any of the villains will come back.

There's something so funny about Peter just. Shooting his shot with a 20 year old Betty. His game was impressive enough in the comics, but the guts here.

Poor Sally. First they kill you, then they whitewash you and make you a mean girl. I mean, she wasn't a saint or anything, but, you know.

I think that’s all for now lmao.

[tricewithaz]

THOTS ON SHADOW AND BONE

Hello everyone! it is I, Trice, and i come with my thoughts on the Shadow and Bone show cause ive got many

I'm gonna divide this in what i liked, what i disliked, and what i think could have been better but didn't really bother me. Feel free to send your opinions too!

As a whole, I really liked the show and I think it's a great adaptation that both fans and newcomers will enjoy. It's super well done! and every episode had me glued to the tv even though I knew what was going to happen.

Beware this is long

To start,

What i liked

Mal and Alina

I never really liked Mal in the books, mainly cause he had like, nothing going on for him, and not having his pov made him no favors whatsoever. Alina's perception of him was everychanging, two factors that didn't make him unlikeable necessarily, but that made me not want to read about him. In the show he's way more likeable and even though he still doesn't have a lot going on for him, you can see that he's always trying to protect alina, and you also see a bit of his demeanor through Archie's acting. I think he made a great job at portraying him. And Alina! Alina who in the books was essentially a y/n sort of character (although she did get better over time), her character, likes, dislikes, her DRIVE was incredibly portrayed in the show. Also Jessie (loml, marry me) and Archie have incredible chemistry together and they sold their yearning SO WELL (and so did the kid actors portraying them as children oh my GOD)...yall...i cried when they held hands. My favourite scene was definitely when Alina took care of Mal's wounds (a favorite trope of mine). And the HURT in their eyes whenever they thought the other was in danger....i saw the show dubbed but I'm sure their voices made it beyond incredible as well, their face acting was just on. point. Overall the show rEALLY makes me root for them both individually and together which is something the books didn't manage to do.

The Darkling

AAAAA i really enjoyed the Darkling omg, incredible charisma, Ben does such a great job (and so did his voice actor in Spanish oh my GOD). His acting was just as I imagined it in the books and i loved how he could be as sweet and mysterious as he could be menacing. In fact! i liked him more than i did in the book, and i think it was a great choice to make him more human. I'm not sure if this was Ben or the writing, but i could really see his yearning for an equal, for Alina, his loneliness and his thirst for power and control too. Great love interest, even greater villain. And his wardrobe was phenomenal. I also really liked how they implied that The Darkling was a name given by other people, it was very believable that people would call someone who literally controls shade something akin to "son of the dark" or something of the sort, instead of it being a name he gives himself or his job title (both if which are incredibly pathetic and cringy to think about).

Jesper

No comments. He was just great. I love Kit.

Nina

Omg Danielle did SUCH a great job at portraying Nina, it's exactly how i imagined her in Six of Crows.

Helnik

THE. YEARNING. THE. CHEMISTRY. I didn't love their scenes at the boat but once that was over I was practically screaming at the screen to jUST KISS ALREADY. Calahan and Daniell have such good chemistry together and the few changes they made only served the story better. I did wish they had development over more time cause Matthias' change of mind felt too quick, but i get why they had to rush. Because of how good their chemistry was, their fallout also was incredibly painful.

Inej's fear of the Menagerie and her morals

Amita's portrayal of Inej's hurt, devotion and her refusal to kill (and later hurt cause she has killed) is incredibly subtle but so SO effective. She's so talented really and truly sold Inej's feelings throughout the show.

VFX

Man.....the fold, the volcra, the grisha powers.....kudos to the animators and overall artistic team cause they were incredible. Also seeing the different title animations in each episode was such a tiny detail that made me so excited and they all looked so good.

Ketterdam

Again, kudos to the artistic team, everything about Ketterdam felt so alive (and weirdly moist), truly sold a kind of aesthetic and life that is so characteristic if the Barrel, even when i didn't imagine it that way in the books.

David

He appeared like, twice, and both times were so cute and charming I can't wait to see more of him both on his own and with Genya.

The Wardrobe

So, at first i hated the keftas. I thought the looked tacky and costume, but when you see them on screen they're just perfect (although i have to say the patterns on some of the keftas were kind of...cheap looking? and the training keftas were just kinda boring. My favourite was the Darkling's. Aside from that, i really liked Kaz's and inej's clothes too. Very distinctive and recognizable (although it was kind of weird seeing Inej in teal instead of purple lmao).

And the queen's dresses. Chefs kiss.

It's...so cheesy (affectionate)

The whole show felt like the kind of movies I would watch as a kid like Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean. The writing was stylized enough to make it incredibly dramatic and overall there was just so much heart behind all of it. Definetely a show to watch again and again and feel all of it, cause that's what it being so cheesy managed, to make me actually feel for it. It feels like something to watch on a rainy afternoon after a bad day....it's great okay i really enjoyed it, even (specially) the most unbelievable parts of it. And here's the thing, it's something that i think a lot of newer tv and film have lost, so this is good.

What i didn't like

Zoya

Mostly cause of the writing. Originally, in the first book, i didn't like her, neither as a character (stereotypical mean girl with no other motivation than to bang the love interests....all three of them....what's new i still think it's an incredibly sexist trope) or a person (hey at least this was intentional), but over time i grew to LOVE her (mean girl turns out to have a good heart and actually respects the mc and decides to fight alongside her cause it's what's right, without necessarily liking her or giving up her character??? AND she has strong motivations??? now THAT'S new). In the show, i hoped they would keep her mean girl nature while foreshadowing her depth, but all they did was turn her into a petty seductress with barely any screentime, and that only makes her not even a bad antagonist but just a boring character to watch. Not only that but they took away a big part of her character that needed to be developed in the next books. I wanted to watch her rivalry with Alina, her unjustified venomous tongue too, I wanted to be entertained by her and I wasn't. This was also a problem cause when she finally changed teams, and when she hugged Alina, it was incredibly unsatisfying, it would have had a way stronger effect if we had seen her being Ruthless Zoya with a big ambition. I also didn't like how we were told that she didn't like alina, or that she had a family, instead of it being shown on screen. Just from the show, all i can tell you about her is that she likes to bang people and she has a good moral code i guess. Yall, I'm so petty about this.

Kaz

So, I didn't hate him, in fact i think I would have enjoyed him if I hadn't read the books first, cause the two things that bother me about him were two essential characteristics of him in the books. FIrstly, he seems so strained, instead of the seemingly laid back, almost chill looking (even though we know he's not chill at all) Kaz we see in the books, the Kaz that always knows something that you don't. Show Kaz doesn't seem to always be in control, to always have the last word, the last laugh. Instead he seems strained, all the damn time. And I think this is mainly a writing and directing issue. And he also seems weak, something Book Kaz would never do. This is also an issue cause because he doesn't have the same presence he has in the books, the times where he is weak, don't seem as effective. Sure, Pekka Rollins has essentially reduced him and humiliated him, but I haven't seen enough of Kaz being actually dangerous for this to be shocking and for Pekka to seem even more hateable (and, i really liked Pekka, loved him as an antagonist more than i did in the books). Idk, Kaz was so charismatic and just fun and engaging to read in the books that his portrayal in the show felt lacking.

Alina's power's VFX

The little suns were cute and all but the light coming from within her was just ugly I'm sorry.

SFX

A lot of the sound design was just too stylized for the tone of the show i think. I particularly remember the sound of Mal's punches....what's that about.

What i think could have been better, but didn't particularly dislike

The Crows' storyline

And i think part of this is a consequence of Kaz not being as witty as he was in the books. Where's the incredibly complicated heist moves? the even more unbelievable C and D plans when something goes wrong? I didn't like that them getting Alina was essentially just luck, cause i didn't see enough of them being smart and quick on their feet. I also think it was unnecessary to have their storyline mixed with Alina's, i would have enjoyed watching a different heist, maybe in Ravka as well, and them incidentally crossing paths with Alina, more than i liked this storyline. ironically enough, the heist was the part i was least interested in

Genya and Alina

I just feel like her relationship with Alina wasn't strong enough, and i think it's because the show tried to make us believe they were much closer than they were without spending the necessary time in them.

Overall, I really really enjoyed the show, i will be watching it again (particularly cause i want to watch it in English) and i cannot wait for the second season omg (although i have to say, I'm scared for Nikolai)

I think that's all! I would also love to read yall's opinions and have a conversation.

[theladyjojogrant]

Book ask: 4, 8, 14, 18, 28, if they're not too many? :D

Of course it’s not too many, I’m so glad you asked! Sorry about the delayed reply, the last few days have been kinda busy for me. :) 

4) 📗 favourite second book in a series 

I’m probably gonna have to say The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (though, technically, it can be considered the first book XD). It’s actually not my absolute favourite Narnia book, but it’s the most outstanding second book I can think of. The Two Towers is great too, all the second books in Bryan Davis’ series are always good, and I can think of several other noteworthy second books, but you just can’t get much better than The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. 

8) 🎁 book that was surprisingly good

The most recent book I read that was surprisingly good was The Kite Runner! I heard a lot about how great of a book it was so I bought it really cheap with several other random books at an estate sale. It sat on my shelf for a year or two but a month ago I finally decided to read it. I wasn’t expecting anything spectacular because I’m usually not too impressed by books that everyone seems to rave about, but I actually ended up really liking it! It was a very captivating and moving story. 

14) 🎬 book you want to be a movie/tv show

My first thought was the Dragons in our Midst series by my favourite author, Bryan Davis. He’s been trying to get a movie deal for a while now and he’s gotten close, so maybe it’ll actually happen soon! The other series I’d LOVE to see as a Netflix show is All the Wrong Questions by Lemony Snicket (a companion/kind-of-prequel series to A Series of Unfortunate Events). I really hope they decide to do this series after ASOUE! (And Alex Kingston HAS to play S. Theodora Markson). There are also a lot of classics (Mansfield Park, The Three Musketeers, Oliver Twist, etc.) that I’d like to see more accurate and updated adaptations of. 

18) 🐲 favourite book creature 

Dragon, without a doubt. I’ve always loved dragons!

28) 🔮 power you’d like to have 

It’s not a power, really, but the character Bonnie Silver from the Dragons in our Midst series is a human girl with dragon wings, which is awesome. I started reading those books around 10 years ago now and I’ve always kind of wanted dragon wings since then. It would be so cool to be able to fly around and see things from an angle you’ve never seen them at before! 

Thanks so much for asking, I really enjoyed this! :D 

Emoji Book Ask