#like. unless they get angry and storm out the audience of the film would have soon realized *why she doesn't like him*

[toss-a-coin-to-your-stan-account]

havent watched the pjo series & not really sure i want to but when season 2 happens i will be watching the tag like this to watch how they depict my sweet baby boy tyson and hope they don't fuck it up

[my-unruly-heart]

my heart’s at the wheel now

Tag List: @radcowboyalmondtree @annabanana2401 @babeebobo

masterpost

sorry if this is bad, it was kinda just me exploring a different way of writing and how Anne deals with her trauma around the beginning of May. So it will talk about her beheading in passing and there is a minor panic attack.

30th of April

“This quarrel with Norris, and the gossip it caused, may have been the reason for an argument between the King and Queen on Sunday 30th April, recorded by Alexander Ales and written as an account for Elizabeth I, Anne and Henry’s daughter, in September 1559:-”

“Never shall I forget the sorrow which I felt when I saw the most serene queen, your most religious mother, carrying you, still a baby, in her arms and entreating the most serene king your father, in Greenwich Palace, from the open window of which he was looking into the courtyard, when she brought you to him. I did not perfectly understand what had been going on, but the faces and gestures of the speakers plainly showed that the king was angry, although he could conceal his anger wonderfully well. Yet from the protracted conference of the council (for whom the crowd was waiting until it was quite dark, expecting that they would return to London), it was most obvious to everyone that some deep and difficult question was being discussed.”

The queens knew may 19th would be a bad day for Anne but they didn’t expect her to pull away from everyone so early. They had all been at an interview (that seems to be how all these stories start) and it was seemingly going very well, the historian was kind and genuinely cared about hearing the queens’ stories. He also was very aware of the date and before they began pulled Anne aside and told her she didn’t need to answer anything that she didn’t want to, he also asked what topics she would like to avoid. So, all in all, it was a pretty successful interview. 

The feeling of dread Anne had begun to feel that morning was forgotten by the time she had retired to her room that evening. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits as the second queen fell asleep with a smile on her face.

1st of May

“Henry VIII and his second wife, Queen Anne Boleyn, attended the joust just as they had in previous years, but this one ended with the king abandoning his queen unexpectedly. If Anne hadn’t figured out that something was going on before this point, she surely must have been suspicious at the king’s sudden departure.

We know that court musician Mark Smeaton had been arrested the previous day and that within 24 hours he’d confessed to sleeping with the queen. However, Anne was in the dark. Bad things were happening around her, but she did not know what was going on.”

Anne had to drag herself out of bed that morning. The usually energetic girl shuffled quietly to the kitchen where all the other queens were already seated. 

“Morning love,” Catherine smiled at the younger queen as Jane turned to make Anne a cup of coffee, a rare allowance for Anne that early in the morning. “Sleep well?”

Anne looked at Catherine for a moment, blinked a few times then shrugged, “Oui, mais ça n’en a pas envie.” Catherine laughed for a moment before turning to Cathy,

“Do you mind translating love?” Cathy nodded giggling a little at how out of it her girlfriend was, “She said yes, but she doesn’t feel like it.”

The first queen nodded and smiled sympathetically at Anne. Soon all six women had settled down at the table. Kit was talking about something, using dramatic hand gestures for emphasis as Anna laughed at the girl quietly. Anne tried to listen to her cousin but her mind was fuzzy, she was so so tired. Maybe if she just closed her eyes for a minute-

“ANNIE! No sleeping at breakfast!”

Anne looked up blearily at her cousin, gave her a smirk, and dropped her head back onto her arms, folded on the table. The rest of the day went on in a similar fashion and the daze Anne seemed to be in never lifted.

2nd of May

“In “Las nuevas de Ynglaterra de la presion de la Manceba del Rey”, recorded in Letters and Paper on the 2nd May, it reports Rochford’s arrest as being to do with him covering up his sister’s crimes and being an accessory, rather than being one of her lovers:-

“The Emperor has letters from England of 2 May, stating that the mistress of the king of England, who is called queen, had been put in the Tower for adultery with an organist of her chamber, and the King’s most private “sommelier de corps.” Her brother is imprisoned for not giving information of her crime. It is said that, even if it had not been discovered, the King had determined to leave her, as he had been informed that she had consummated a marriage with the earl of Nortemberlano (Northumberland) nine years ago.”

This leaves us wondering whether George Boleyn was arrested first and then the charge of incest made up later, a shocking and horrific allegation which would turn everyone against him and his sister.”

The show that night went well, it was one of those nights where everyone got really into it, including the audience; and for what it was worth, Anne was in a good mood. The second queen joked around with the others, although she stuck close to Maggie’s side the two seemed to be in better form.

The queens and ladies in waiting were all well aware of the date and were frankly quite shocked at how well Anne and Maggie had been handling everything, considering the mess the year before had been. When the group of 10 Tudor women got home that night the adrenaline from the show left them all awake. After some friendly banter back and forth it was decided they would watch Moana.

It was about halfway through the movie when Maggie and Anne began talking amongst themselves, “à quoi sert le crabe ? Je suis désolé de ne pas l’avoir, il se sent un peu plus”. (what's the point of the crab? I'm sorry I just don't get it, he feels a little bit extra)

“Je suis désolé a fait Anne 'Kitty est triste alors j’ai besoin de lui obtenir un chat' Boleyn juste tout un film supplémentaire ?” (I'm sorry did Anne 'Kitty is sad so I need to get her a cat' Boleyn just all a movie extra?) Cathy looked up and laughed at Anne, “Vous n’avez pas de place pour parler, mon amour” (you have no room to talk, my love)

The three girls laughed before turning their attention back to the movie. As Anne got ready for bed she smiled, it had been a good day.

4th of May

“Sir William Kingston, the Constable of the Tower of London, was ordered to make regular reports to Cromwell regarding Anne Boleyn’s imprisonment in the Tower. Obviously, Anne could say things that her enemies could use against her and for that reason her ladies in the Tower were appointed by Cromwell and were also ordered not to speak to Anne unless Lady Kingston was present to remember or record what was said.”

For the next few days Anne seemed to be glued to either Maggie or Cathy, it wasn’t surprising for anyone really so they all went on as normal. It was around this time that Anne and Cathy began going on walks more. No one asked about the change as it wasn't hurting anyone, but it was the first sign of the storm that was brewing.

  The show that day had gone well and they had rehearsals for some events afterwords. The girls were all goofing around on the stage while the directors took a few notes,

“See here’s the thing there is no way to know that we all see colours the same!”

“Anne, I thought we had a no talking nonsense at rehearsal rule,” Aragon looked over at the girl and sighed, “stop mumbling to yourself.”

Anne just stuck her tongue out and leaned back onto Cathy who was braiding the girl’s wild hair. She looked up at her girlfriend, smiled, and gave her a quick kiss. The rest of the day carried on in a similar fashion, although Anne couldn’t ignore the heavy feeling in her stomach.

15th of May

“On the 15th May 1536, Queen Anne Boleyn was tried in the King’s Hall in the Tower of London. The trial was to be a huge public spectacle, attracting, according to Chapuys, around 2,000 spectators, so Sir William Kingston had arranged for a “great scaffold” (platform) to be erected in the middle of the hall, benches and seats arranged for the lords, and benches along the walls of the hall. Alison Weir writes of how a special throne for the Lord High Steward, the Duke of Norfolk, was placed on the dais at the end of the hall, underneath the canopy of estate which bore the royal arms – the Duke of Norfolk was to represent the King and would have to put aside the fact that Anne and George were his niece and nephew.”

Five out of the six ex-wives of Henry VIII were awoken by a shrill scream from the loft bedroom. A conversation wasn’t necessary to make the decision that Jane and Catherine wouldn’t be any help, try as they might to help Anne. Kit and Cathy went up the stairs while Anna went to help the other two girls make tea for everyone (“no Cathy you do ‘t get coffee until breakfast and that’s final.”) 

When the girls got into the room Anne was thankfully awake, and she wasn’t scratching at her neck. Instead, she was just sat staring at the wall opposite her bed. “He was innocent you know” Cathy frowned as she sat beside her girlfriend, not really knowing what she meant. “Can I touch you, Annie?” Anne nodded before continuing her thought as she curled into Cathy’s side and Kit played with her hair. 

“Why’d Henry feel the need to go after George?” Kit sighed, she wasn’t annoyed at her cousin, she just didn’t have an answer for her. Cathy looked at the youngest queen for a second before turning her focus back onto her girlfriend, “No one knows Annie, but it wasn’t your fault.” Anne shook her head and sat up straight, pulling her knees up to her chest. Anna returned at this point, handing everyone a cup of tea before sitting down to join the conversation.

“I know I don’t deserve forgiveness, but I like the idea that some people think I might” It was Anna who spoke this time, after a few moments of stunned silence. “How do you KNOW you don’t deserve forgiveness? What did you do wrong?” Anne just looked at her, part of her agreeing with Anna but the ‘what ifs’ were loud and overbearing. 

After a few moments of silence, it was obvious that Anna wanted an answer, “Nothing.” It was meek and not very convincing but it was a start, and that’s all anyone could ask.

[mwdders]

The Late Late show.

Summary: You and Sebastian are secretly married and have been for a year, will the truth finally be revealed?

Pairing: Sebastian Stan x reader

Warnings: Swearing, ENDGAME SPOILERS (Even though the ban has been lifted don’t read if you’ve not seen Endgame.)

Requests are open!

Hope you enjoy!

——

“So my next guests are the stars of Avengers Endgame the worldwide phenomenon that came out last month and they’re here to talk about the film! Please welcome, Robert Downey Junior, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Holland, Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan and Y/N Y/L/N!” James Corden yells as you all walk out.

“Hey guys, how are you all?” He asks as you all sit down on the purple sofa. You all reply politely, and he smiles, “So Endgame has been out for over a month now and the spoiler ban has been lifted so if you’ve not seen the film turn your TV off now!” He points at the camera before turning back to us.

“Now Robert, your character Tony Stark dies in Endgame, as a cast, what was it like finding that news out?” Everyone turns to you, which makes you laugh, “What? Why did they all look at you?” James puts a hand on his chin, “Because I took it the hardest. I didn’t find out until they were actually filming the scene, I was stood with the directors watching the play back and I tell no lie, like any other fan, I was crying while I watched it, they had to do a retake because the sound guys kept picking up me crying.”

This made everyone in the audience laugh, “Are you serious?” You nod, “Yes! It was so bad, Sebastian literally had to carry me away with how much of an emotional mess I was. Everyone thought it was funny though and just laughed at me.” James giggles and asks, “So marvel kept most of the cast in the dark about this then?” You nod as heads turn to you and Tom, “Yes, no one knew anything, especially me and Tom.” Your accent ran sweet as the sentence slips off your lips, it was weird being on a talk show hosted by a fellow Brit but it being broadcasted in America.

“Cause we all know he can spoil a thing or two.” Robert says, as he lightly elbows Tom.

“Sure I know I can but so can Y/N! I mean, she told everyone what happened in Civil War before I even got the chance!” This made you laugh, remembering back to how you let slip in an interview some huge secrets for Civil War, unintentionally but it still happened.

“That interview was awful, I couldn’t get her to stop talking.” Sebastian said remembering back, “I’ve refused to do press just me and her ever since.” James laughs, “Now I want to ask, Sebastian, how’s the wife?” Your eyes go slightly wide, you didn’t think James would ask questions like this, your PR manager said he wouldn’t. “She’s very well thank you.” He smiles widely at the host, “You announced that you’d gotten married nearly a year ago but we still don’t know who to? Surely we’re gonna find out soon!” James teases and your palms begin to sweat. “I don’t know, you might, you might not. We like our secrets me and the Mrs.” Sebastian blushes and Chris catches your eye and can tell your uncomfortable talking about it but before he can say anything James thankfully moves on asking questions for a bit longer before it was time to play the game.

“Okay! So we’re going to play spill your guts or fill your guts. This evening playing we have Y/N, Sebastian, Chris and Tom! Take a seat guys.”

You sit next to Tom and opposite Sebastian.

“First question is for Tom, and I am going to give him the crows eye.” James spins the table and you almost gag at the smell.

He laughs, “No way are you answering this.” He coughs before continuing, “Tom, is it true you’re dating Zendaya?” Everyone ooohhhss and you laugh slightly, looking all smug, you knew it wasn’t true and Tom would deny it. “It isn’t true.” He says confidently before spinning the table for you.

“Y/N,” he pauses as he reads the question, “Who came up with these?!” He says before looking at you, “Out of who’s sat at this table, who would you marry, fuck or forget you ever met?” Your eyes nearly pop out of your head at the question. “Erm.” You consider not answering but look down at the pigs brain in front of you, “Fuck sake.” You mumble, “Alright, well I’m sorry Tom but you’re easy to say forget cause of our age difference, so I’d marry Seb and fuck Chris.” Sebastian eyes you slightly, a scowl on his face probably jealous saying you’d fuck Chris.

“Harsh.” Tom mumbles.

You turn the table and give Sebastian the fomented egg, “Seb, is it true-“ you stop and your eyes go wide and your heart pounds in your chest, you nearly fall off your chair from shock as the question reads, ‘Sebastian is it true Y/N is your wife?’ You grip the question card a little tighter and finish, “is it true, that Y/N is your wife?” He coughs nearly spitting out the water he’d taken a sip of, “Who came up with that?” He chokes slightly and your concern rises before Chris pats his back and he composes himself.

He looks at you as if to silently say, ‘Shall we tell them’ all you do is nod slightly. You’d been married a year now and at first you wanted to to be quiet and private, keeping your professional life separate and you’d managed to do that for the last year but now rumours were building.

“I guess it is.” He says quietly but confidently causing everyone to gasp including James, “Seriously?” He asks, “We made that question up on the back of a hunch!” He’s over exited about the fact you two have announced your marriage on his show.

“Wait?! You guys are married?!” Tom yells directing attention to him causing everyone to laugh. “You didn’t know?” Sebastian jokes, “I guess it was another Tom Holland who was the page boy then.” He scratches his chin and Tom scowls at him, as page boys are typically younger friends or family.

“Hey! Sebastian don’t be mean to our page boy, he’s only a baby.” You put your arms around Tom as he rolls his eyes and Chris and Robert both laugh.

“Seriously, what was the wedding like? When and where? Who was your best man? Who were your bridesmaids?” James was like a small child in a sweet shop asking you a million questions.

“So we got married in London, obviously last June, and Sebastian’s best men, he had two actually; Anthony and Chris, and my bridesmaids were Lizzie, Scarlett and then two of my best friends from home.” You smile widely thinking back to the happiest day of your life.

“I am honestly shocked. I never would of guessed.” James says, you giggle, “Better believe it my man.” Sebastian places a hand on James shoulder as he pats it sarcastically, “That’s my wife over there.” He points at you, and your heart bursts, as he smiles and his eyes crinkle and his dimple shows, you couldn’t be more in love with him.

“Damn, well there you have it folks! That’s all we have time for, goodnight!” James waves at the camera as you all do the same.

Once you know your off air you stand up and walk around the table but not before bending down and taking off your uncomfortable stilettos.

“So everyone knows.” Sebastian says as he wraps a tight arm around you, “I guess they do. It was probably the right time.” You look up at him, and smile before placing both arms around him and your head on his chest and hug him tight.

He kisses the top of your head before letting you go, as he does your PR manager comes bursting onto the stage.

“What the hell are you doing? We told you not to announce it yet!” He practically screams at you both, thankfully the studio audience had all left and it was just your co stars and James left on the stage.

“John, calm down. It came up and me and Y/N both felt it an appropriate time to tell people.” Sebastian stands between you and John, in a protective manner, not that he needs to, but just as a precaution.

“You’re stupid! The pair of you! Do you know how much money you’ve lost by not doing a proper PR announcement? And also how stupid you’ll have made me look!” John was furious.

“Dude calm down, in the end it was our choice, it’s our marriage and we didn’t want to make a big deal out of it anyway.” Seb says which seems to only make him angrier.

“Sebastian, you really don’t have a clue.” He shakes his head before storming off.

“Ohhh you made him angry.” Robert says in a high pitched tone, relieving the tension in the air causing you all to laugh.

You shrug your shoulders, “Oh well. It’s his loss in the end.” You’re still stood behind Sebastian so you wrap your arms around him from behind and rest your head on his back, mumbling, “I love you.” As he grabs your hands, lacing them with his. “I love you too.” He says over his shoulder, and you sigh in content.

As he plays with your fingers he says, “You can finally wear your wedding ring now.” You smile widely into his back, “I can.” You mumble in happiness.

You were glad your marriage had been revealed because as much as you enjoyed the privacy, it was hard, not going out in public together unless with the rest of the cast, you not being able to wear your wedding ring, not being able to flaunt your love, with Instagram posts or tweets, it was nice to share everything with the world now and you couldn’t wait to spend the rest of your life together.

——

[captain-aralias]

8, 15, 17, 28 for the writer meme, if you didn’t already get any of those

8. Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

i just answered this, but since it’s you, i’ll go for some blake ;) hm.... 

i must say, i think i have written some pretty great dialogue for blake’s 7 in my time. here’s one of my favourite bits - 

“It’s a quality operation,” Vila said. “They wouldn’t skimp on a thing like that. You want a boyfriend, Blake – and I want to go to Del Ten. Give me your promise that we can spend a week there once we find Docholli and I’m your man.”

“Vila, once we’ve found Docholli, we will have the key to finding Star One,” Blake pointed out.

“Are there any dancing girls on Star One?”

“I very much doubt it.”

“Then I’d still rather go to Del Ten,” Vila said.

“Couldn’t you wait?” Blake suggested. “Until after we blow up Star One?”

“After you blow up the Federation’s weather control systems, you mean?” Vila said. “And throw the civilised world into chaos? Right, I’m sure that would be a lovely time to take a holiday. Got any more suggestions like that, Blake? Perhaps I should invest in the stock market at the same time.”

“Two days,” Blake said. “I could give you two days on Del Ten.”

“A week!” Vila repeated.

Blake shut his eyes, and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. He willed himself to find the strength to complete this conversation and make the right choices.

“Oh, Blake,” Vila said kindly. “You really need this, don’t you?”

Blake felt a hand rest on his shoulder and looked up into Vila’s sympathetic eyes. “Yes,” he said with relief. “I’m sorry, Vila. I don’t want to put you in this position. But I really do need this.”

“You’re going to have to give in then,” Vila told him in the same kindly tone as before. “Unless,” he said, a twinkle in his eye, “that is, you want to ask Avon to be your boyfriend...”

i could have quoted this entire scene - even this is a lot. i love writing blake and avon, i love writing avon and vila, but i really really love writing blake and vila together because there are some lovely moments in canon to draw on. they’re two characters who have very little in common except that they’re both smart. this conversation is about how blake - who almost always gets his own way - now needs something he can’t just demand that vila does, and that gives vila the upper hand repeatedly throughout this conversation. blake, even though he knows this is an awkward conversation and really should be better prepared. 

i also like the different lengths of the dialogue - it has a good patter. 

it’s also funny, and funny because it’s cruel to someone (in this case blake, not usually), which is very blake’s 7. also also - it ends with vila insinuating what is essentially the plot - i.e. that avon will have to pretend to be blake’s boyfriend by the end of the story - and this is a trick that i always enjoy for a section end. the audience is like - oh ho, wouldn’t that be simply TERRIBLE? ;) ;) 

good times.

--

15. If you could choose one of your fics to be filmed, which would you choose?

hm - not sure. maybe right now ... ‘Hang the Moon’? it’s got a lot of good action that would translate well to film, and i have a very clear idea of how most of the scenes look.

it would be kind of weird, though, right to have a film of a ‘carry on’ fanfic before we have a ‘carry on’ film. so i’m finding it quite hard to visualise. 

i would have loved to have written some dialogue for blake’s 7 people to actually say (assuming they remembered how to do the voices properly, paul darrow). i would be so embarrassed to present paul darrow with my porn, though (although ‘An Apple Cleft in Two’ would be so great, though, as it’s practically a bodyswap - i love the idea of seeing the real stephen pacey pretending to be blake, and paul darrow just being so angry), so it would have to be some sort of gen. 

ok - i think i choose ‘Showdown’ because it basically is ‘Duel’, so I know the Beeb could have staged it. it’s got some mega emotion that gareth would have done beautifully, too - 

Blake extracted his hand slowly from Avon’s. He pressed his fingers against Avon’s wrist and waited, but there was no pulse. He let the hand drop and tried the artery in Avon’s neck, but he knew he was just prolonging the inevitable. Avon was dead.

He forced himself to look back at the man who had been his friend.

Avon looked peaceful. The blood spattered on his face was not his – it was Travis’s and had fallen from Blake’s cheeks like tears. Blake screwed his eyes shut again in an attempt to stop it, and in the darkness Sinofar’s voice said,

“So – the battle is over.”

--

17. Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?

i almost always write in order. when i think of a scene that is in the future, i will usually write some notes about it, but try not to write it because i very much build on (in my head? i dont know how much comes through in what gets written) what i wrote before in terms of how people think and feel/i do a lot of dialogue call-backs. 

there are a few occasions where i go ahead and write something that happens later, but then i feel like i really screw myself when i try and go back and write the missing piece. i have to re-write everything i wrote previously to make it make sense... ‘Greener Grass’ actually is an example where i didn’t write out of order on purpose, but i thought i’d start with simon’s section which introduces all the bodyswap stuff fine, but it was too heavy with the bodyswap plot AND the introduction of the agatha-isn’t-here/get simon’s magic back stuff. there was just too much going on.

so then i had to write an intro section for baz, which i thin is good - it frames the story as baz’s story, which i know is what rainbow would want, and gives us calm before the storm ... as well as giving me an opportunity to write the exposition i needed. 

but i had to go back an edit the next section a LOT to make room for it. which i hated. 

28. Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.

i’ll do two batches. 

blake’s 7: 

x_los is my girlfriend, but i knew her first as an amazing writer. i wouldn’t have written half the things i did for b7 if she hadn’t started writing these epic, involved political stories, and she writes great porn. i really am not interested in david copperfield/uriah heep, but she thinks baz is a cat killer who does not deserve the time of day, so there you go. we’re in different fandoms now. 

elviaprose is not only a great writer (the foot fettish fic is incredible, given that neither she nor i have a foot fettish as far as i know), she’s also really engaged with other people’s writing and i love that. it’s really good fun. 

judith proctor  - i wanted to put in a second generation fan, and i was tempted to go for willa shakespeare (so good, so plotty, so porny) or nova (such pain!), but i have to go for judith. judith taught us all how incredible blake is. her love for this character, and the way that she always writes him as smart but flawed, and attractive to avon because he is smart and principled, rather than for any other reason, is fundamental to any of us reclaiming him for the future. (it’s probably not a surprise that the authors i like really influence me as a writer, but worth calling it out - i am very much saying that as well). Touching Life! so good.

carry on:

we have some amazing writers, thank you fandom <3 three of my very very predictable favourites (the same three, i think, who wrote my favourite fics of last year) are: 

@basic-banshee - what can i say? (insert long pause while i think of what to say.) i mean, we all know Ban is a great writer. it’s a pleasure when the most popular writer in the fandom is also a genius. i love all her secondary characters and that she spends so much time with them. she writes the way i want to - lots of good tropey stuff, great fun AUs, and plotty plotty good plot stuff. also - she always writes the most perfect endings that just make you feel GOOD. 

@sharkmartini - i think we share a lot of the same ideas about what we like in fics i.e. we like the same tropes, we like that baz is a vampire, we think the same things are hot and romantic. i love the way sharkmartini plots this and she always writes great dialogue. also, i do think we owe snowbaz smut to her - maybe it wasn’t the first-first, but ‘Monster Under the Bed’ (which is SO good, honestly still one of my absolute favourite things) seems to have influenced so much of what came after it. 

@krisrix - also an amazing artist, but for me an even better writer. the smut is amazing and sexy while also at the same time being really tender. kris also writes beautiful, long amazing kisses - and again, endings that are so beautiful and tender. also - let us talk about the plotty things! i love writers who mix plot and romance (or even dare i say - smut) because i love to have all the things in one fic. What Stays and What Fades Away is so smart and interesting. and, of course, kris has written my all time most favourite trope - fake relationship.

[simonjadis]

Anon I’m ASSUMING that these are from the same person; apologies if they are not

I would say that my feelings are similar to yours, but not quite identical ...

Disney’s handling has been imperfect, and some of the mistakes have been made the highest level (I know that people give Kathleen Kennedy a hard time, but if rumor is to be believed, some of the interference that made IX kind of weird came from higher than that)

for example, Kennedy said in an interview that she tries to find people who just make big, successful movies to make sure that these are also big, successful movies. I can understand that as being a safe bet from a business stand point, but that’s not the same thing as finding someone passionate about very specifically telling good, new Star Wars stories, which we did not really get in the Sequel Trilogy

(one of the most common theories that I saw from TLJ apologists was that people didn’t like that it was new/different than what they were expecting, which was really not the issue for me or my friends. Also it was just a speedrun of parts of Episodes V and VI)

I think that I’m “too close” to Star Wars to see it as a financial asset rather than a beloved universe full of characters and stories that I adore, but I don’t think that “literally just rehash the Original Trilogy for two movies and barely acknowledge any other part of Star Wars until IX” was a good idea

Rey deserved her own story. and Luke deserved to not be retroactively robbed of his

as for George Lucas, I do think that years of backlash over the Prequels sucked the fun out of it for him. Also, who doesn’t want four billion dollars? it was a sweetheart deal for Disney, of course

the sad thing is that this meant the end of Clone Wars, because Disney took one look at Lucasfilm’s budget and was like “OH NO YOU CANNOT SPEND THAT KIND OF MONEY ON A CARTOON” which is why Season 6 was paid for by Netflix and why Maul: Son of Dathomir was a comic

I love Star Wars Rebels and I’m not trying to knock the show at all, but the budgetary difference was palpable. Clone Wars did have it a little easier because of the Clone Troopers (all having the same face), but on Rebels, you notice that 90% of the Imperials are the same guy wearing a hat with his visor obscuring most of his face. market scenes show just a few people (but plenty of Storm Troopers)

the designs of the main characters -- Ezra, Hera, Sabine, Zeb, Kallus, Thrawn, Kanan, etc -- are great and loving and detailed and most of those change a little over time, but there’s a reason that we only see so many planets on Rebels. look at the huge armies and crowds in Rebels. my friend @drunkkenobi​ is the first who pointed out to me that in Clone Wars, you sometimes see lines of ships (Space Traffic) and each ship in line will be unique, distinct from the others

it’s not Rebels’ fault that they didn’t have that kind of budget. that’s also why their space battles (and space ships) never quite look right. meanwhile, for Clone Wars, if they wanted a particular scene or ship that went over their planned budget, all that they had to do was ask Uncle George

eccentric billionaires funding expensive media isn’t necessarily the most sustainable model for storytelling, but it sure worked out well for Clone Wars and for The Expanse

(Jeff Bezos personally called up the head of Amazon Prime programming, who had already been considering acquiring the extremely good but expensive show, and was like “hey the cast from this show is at a thing where I am, I’d love to just tell them that their show is saved, give me it?” and we saw as many new locations in Season 4 as we did in the first three seasons)

but streaming -- where you actually get money directly from customers who then, through their activity on your platform, show you exactly what they want to see aka what is keeping them on your platform -- offers a new opportunity for high quality genre media. remember, scifi and fantasy were EVERYWHERE in the ‘90s and the early aughts, and then because too expensive for regular TV unless they had huge audiences. only through streaming do we have these new Star Treks, The Witcher, and the real possibility of a new Stargate series

why do I bring up streaming? because

The Mandalorian goes to show that Disney can 100% do good Star Wars. Rebels was good, despite its budget, but can you imagine how much better it would have been if it had aired on Disney+

as with the DC movies (three of which are good and I’m also excited for Birds of Prey), the solution to the our-movies-made-a-lot-of-money-but-aren’t-strictly-speaking-good is literally just “let the people who do the cartoons make the movies”

and now we’re getting a final, seventh (half) season of Clone Wars! twelve episodes looking better than the show has ever looked!!

if you’re like me, you probably thought to yourself “gee, only 12?” and, cynically, you figured that it’s a trick -- announced at ComicCon in 2018 to build up the first wave of hype for Disney+

and it is ... but it 100% worked on me, I signed up for Disney+ and will pay anything for Clone War

my HOPE is that this is a test run to see if people really like high-quality animated Star Wars stories enough to continue with it. there’s only so much clone wars that one can cover (my suspicion is that we will see Ahsoka fake her death during Order 66 in these eps, so yep, that’s the end of the Clone Wars right there)

imagine a well-written series with everything that Clone Wars had in terms of content and visual quality, but it’s set after Episode IX. to my frustration, IX ends with effectively the same worldstate as VI which essentially means that nothing much happened in the Sequel Trilogy. but imagine a series set after IX. we could see a new set of (Force-wielding) characters. we could see Rey, Finn, Poe, and Rose during some episodes. Rose could finally get to do something that’s not an insulting fool’s errand (she deserves so much better!!!!!)

we don’t need a new Big Scary Empire/First Order thing, just organized crime and pirates and Hutts and bounty hunters and individual planet systems going to war as the characters try to assemble a NEW New Republic (gods I hate the unchanged worldstate)

now, I know that Star Wars Resistance is not ... reassuring. this is the only screencap that I have from it because I couldn’t get into it. it’s not the animation (I enjoyed Tron Uprising and Iron Man: Armored Adventures and this is the same kind of deal), but three things:

-I watch Star Wars for the Force primarily; other stuff can be cool but I need the Force

-I will never care about ships racing and really I don’t care about an individual ship flying; I’m a Command Ship kind of space nerd

-apparently the writing doesn’t improve much during the first season. people tell the main character to not do something, then he does it, and disaster ensues. that’s ... it’s fine, it’s fine to exist as a show, it’s just not for me

obviously, not all Star Wars media is for me, but when something -- like TLJ or the Sequel Series as a whole (even though VII and IX are enjoyable) or Resistance -- disappoints me, I would never accuse it of “ruining Star Wars”

Star Wars is a whole franchise. the breadth of canon isn’t all wiped away by some disappointments. was the MCU ruined by Age of Ultron? no. it was a bad movie but from the same franchise that gave us The Winter Soldier and Thor Ragnarok. hell, Dawn of Justice doesn’t “ruin” Wonder Woman or Aquaman or Shazam. bad movies aren’t contagious

for the past several years, the Entitled Dude crowd has felt empowered. they were radicalized in the altright/redpill/MGTOW/meninist/nazi/gamergate/comicsgate/etc spheres of the internet and now they just have a reflex where they see any sort of representation and decry it as “SJW,” which they also seem to think is a bad thing

in the same way that well-meaning people on tumblr can get radicalized into being antis/puriteens, people with certain vulnerabilities on reddit or youtube can get sucked into a world that tells them that they are the default and that other people existing is “political” in media and in real life, and that people being upset by outright cruelty towards them is both funny and means that the cruel person is the victor. they need therapy and studios need to not listen to them

unfortunately, sometimes there are movies that are bad despite having things like solid representation. Ghostbusters 2016 was a delight, but my friends and I with whom I saw TLJ (all of us queer feminists) left the theater angry. we’ve bitten our tongues a lot (even if it seems otherwise) because publicly criticizing the film too often leads some incel monster to chime in with agreement, and we’re just like

the redpillgate crowed et all is a natural ally of conservative white evangelicals, even though the former group is generally made up of New Atheists (the short version is atheists who hold socially conservative views because racism/misogyny/transphobia benefit them without using christianity as an excuse). it’s kind of like how terfs will side with conservative hate groups because, though they’re natural enemies, they both despite trans people just for existing

unfortunately, when you’re looking at who went to see a movie or who hated it, not everyone posts with an ID card saying exactly their demographic. which is only going to make studios like Disney even more nervous about including queer content in Star Wars and in the MCU (I mean real queer content with characters whose names don’t have to be searched on a wiki)

that was a bit of a tangent, but yeah. sorry if I missed anything

[getoffthesoapbox]

[SW:TLJ] Trailer musings

Ordinarily I try to avoid the Star Wars fandom, as I’m already in enough toxic fandoms as it is. However, this new trailer is blowing my mind and I have to write my thoughts about it or I’ll probably implode. 

Spoilers for the new Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer abound. For the sake of those who might be uncomfortable with viewpoints like mine and for those who’d like to avoid spoilers, I’ll be placing this bad boy under a cut. For everyone else, well, enter the dragon’s lair if you dare. Mua. Ha. Ha. *ahem* 

(Word of warning: I wrote this puppy at 3AM, so it’s most likely completely incoherent. Sorry in advance lol.)

Kylo’s Trajectory

This trailer was undeniably Kylo’s. It’s clearly preparing the audience for his character journey, probably because the general audience isn’t prepared for it. As far as I can tell, he’s going to begin his trajectory trying to maintain his dark side fealty. 

We don’t know the exact order of the shots, but my suspicions right now are that at the beginning of the film the FO has located Leia’s new base of operations. Kylo and co. are dispatched to take Leia down. Kylo of course can’t take his mom down, and he fails the mission. This leads to disciplinary action by Snoke. Where his temper tantrum with his mask takes place could be either before or after the Leia scene.

If it takes place before, then he’s probably tearing down his mask because his self-loathing is getting the better of him and he is angry at himself for not doing what he thinks he should be capable of doing now that he’s killed his own father. 

But I just don’t get that sense from the shot. He looks like he’s frustrated with himself and perhaps is rejecting himself based on his own actions. Honestly, this to me seems like it comes after the Leia failure. He breaks his own mask because he wants to destroy Kylo Ren, but he doesn’t know who to be next. He may also be disenchanted with his own admiration of Vader, and he might be searching for something different. 

This might actually cue him hunting Rey down. Rather than revenge, it may be that he merely wants to talk to her. He wants her help, or at least he wants to rekindle that connection he felt with her. It may be entirely instinctual on his part. 

If he deserts the FO, that would mean he arrives on Ach-to alone, and the FO arrives to take him back rather than to attack Luke and Rey, which might be kind of interesting. 

There is a shot of him walking with the storm troopers at the Crait location, but this might be after he’s forcibly (or willingly) brought back and Snoke gives him a good dressing down and convinces him to be a good boy again. He may have multiple potential snapping points throughout the film--first Leia, then hesitation after meeting Rey again, then the choice Snoke gives him to prove he’s loyal by sacrificing Rey at the end. 

Either way, it’s not possible for him to kill his mom. He’s a mommy’s boy--you can see it in his face during the piloting shots. Adam manages to wonderfully express a child’s emotions, and that’s exactly what Kylo’s going through when he’s contemplating shooting down his mother. The kid’s not going to be able to go through with it. He’s cracking big time. 

On another note, it’s wonderful that Kylo’s healing the scar on his face throughout the film, but won’t remove it entirely. His bb Rey marked him and he’s staying marked for her. ;P Love it. 

Kylo’s Monologue

Kylo’s voice over monologue is interesting. His voice is tender and thoughtful. He must be speaking to someone, and I’d say chances are high it’s Rey. He sounds like he’s giving advice, but not in a malicious way. His “kill it” seems metaphorical to me, and perhaps is more about how moving forward requires sacrificing your past, which in his case would be his Kylo Ren days as well as his heritage, and for Rey would be her family as well as her new connections. This might be a truly great “animus integration” scene for Rey--what she learns from Kylo will help chart the course of her character. 

Rey and Luke

There is a lot to unpack in all the Rey and Luke moments. 

From what I can tell, it looks like Luke initially agrees to train Rey after she proves herself. But as he gets a better grip on her power, he grows fearful of her and perhaps rejects her entirely. 

It’s clear Rey’s searching for answers for herself. She can’t understand what’s going on (and honestly, if she does have a force bond with Kylo, she’s probably in a massive state of confusion), and she’s hoping Luke as a wise older person will guide her. 

But Luke is probably hung up on his own failures with Kylo. His line about not taking someone’s power seriously and regretting it is most likely about Kylo, but I’ll grant it could be a misdirection and perhaps is pointing to something related to Rey’s past. I prefer it to be about Kylo, as it cements how similar Rey and Kylo are. 

I’m also starting to think that Kylo may not have intentionally killed all the Jedi padawan--it’s quite possible that his power was out of control and killed them by accident. Or perhaps it’s more nuanced, where Kylo got into a fight with the students due to him being the “favorite” and tried to scare them a bit but went too far with his power and couldn’t pull back in time. Luke might have rejected him at this time, leaving him nowhere to go but Snoke, who had already prepared a place for him. 

But Star Wars is fairly simplistic, so it might be that Kylo really did kill the jedi padawan for “reasons.” Luke’s reaction to Rey seems a bit odd if Kylo turned evil by deliberation though--then Luke should be afraid of intentions, not ability, and Rey clearly has no ill will toward anyone other than Kylo lol. But with Luke seeming to fear raw ability, that implies Kylo may not have had much control over himself and his raw destructive abilities and Luke’s inability to help him find inner peace made Luke paranoid about young, powerful talents. 

Rey’s trajectory with Luke appears the most tragic. She clearly starts trying to do her best to meet his expectations--this weird hermit she doesn’t even know but admires anyway. Yet the more he learns about her, the more he rejects her. 

Her expression in the shot above is truly heart breaking. She’s looking for acceptance and a home, and it’s nowhere to be found with Luke. 

Now, I’m of split minds on how Rey’s going to get off Ach-to. On the one hand, I think she might leave after Kylo does (assuming the FO comes to pick him up lol) or when he does (if they leave together), and Luke may reconsider how he treated her and determine to do better this time and go after her. 

It’s also possible that she and Luke will come to an understanding and he’ll accept her and they’ll leave Ach-to together. But given how she and Kylo seem to be connecting at some point in the film, and given that she gets captured by Snoke, I just don’t think Luke accepts her in time to keep her from ending up in the hands of the dark side. It probably works better if he rejects her, she leaves after being influenced by Kylo, and Luke regrets his rejection and decides to take action. 

This is just speculation, but it’s also possible Kylo gets taken away by force and Rey runs to Leia to get help because Luke won’t. This means Rey might be going to Crait in order to meet Leia/find a way to get Kylo back. (Oh wouldn’t that be interesting lol.) This might explain too why she ends up in Snoke’s hands--she’s going to retrieve what’s hers and finds Snoke’s got his claws back into Kylo again. Just random thoughts lol, assuming she even meets Kylo on Ach-to and they bond then. 

Snoke, Rey, and Kylo

No pictures here ‘cause I don’t like torture. (I also don’t like ugly things and Snoke is ugly.)

Snoke’s voice over at the beginning of the trailer is interesting because it’s deliberately cut to be referring to either Rey or Kylo. However, I think it’s delivered to Kylo and is a reminder of his “place” and what he owes Snoke--Snoke “discovered” him and is the only one who thought he was “special.” Ego stroking is a manipulator tactic, and an effective one. 

Since we know Snoke is a groomer, I don’t think he’s interested in Rey, surprisingly. The reason I don’t think he’s interested in Rey is that he’s willing to torture her, and his MO seems to be seduction rather than torture for the things he wants to keep around. While the torture may have worked on someone like Kylo, that’s hardly going to make Rey switch loyalties. The torture seems to be for Kylo’s benefit instead--a test to see if he can sacrifice Rey for the “greater good” (or bad in this case lol). 

My current speculation is that Kylo probably disappoints Snoke early on in the film when he fails to kill Leia. Snoke probably decides to quarantine him or demote him or something, which maybe triggers Kylo running to Rey on Ach-to (unless Kylo runs to Ach-to in order to redeem himself in Snoke’s eyes by capturing Rey/Luke). While on Ach-to, Kylo bonds with Rey instead, and perhaps gets forcibly taken away by the FO or escapes with Rey. 

Whatever happens on Crait happens, and somehow Kylo and Rey end up back with Snoke. At this point, Snoke probably tortures Rey in order to prove a point to Kylo. Perhaps this is where the dialogue from the beginning of the trailer takes place. So the reason he’d be torturing Rey would be more because Rey is making Kylo weak. But this is likely Kylo’s snapping point (Kylo may even be restrained somehow at this point and is forced to watch Rey’s torture until she breaks herself and him free). 

Since we can safely assume Kylo and Rey fight the Praetorian guard together, that makes it likely they’re escaping after this torture scene. When this happens in the film and what comes of it are likely huge spoilery things, so I won’t speculate too much right now. But this trajectory seems to make the most sense to me at the moment. Until more information arrives. We know so little at this point, lol. 

Leia

There’s not a lot to say about Leia other than I love all her damn outfits and she’s looking wonderful and motherly. It’s such a shame about Carrie. I have no idea what they’re going to do with Leia in the film, but I hope she at least gets to have a reunion with her son before it all goes to the devil. 

Finn

Might I irreverently say that Finn is looking fine in dem First Order duds. The FO uniform agrees with him quite well! He looks so manly and imposing! Too bad the resistance doesn’t have style the way the FO does lol. Baddies always get the best clothes. =P At least Finn gets to wear them when he infiltrates.

Otherwise, not enough Finn. Hopefully the next trailer will focus on his storyline. I was disappointed how little of him and Rose we got. I’ve been looking forward to their interactions ever since I saw a little snippet of an interview they gave together. They’re too freaking cute. 

“The” Scene

The highlight of the trailer is undeniably the end. Maybe this wasn’t the impression others got, but I certainly had this incredible sensation of “I was waiting forever for this moment.” The trailer leading up to these two connecting was everything I had never known I’d wanted. It felt just like TFA did the first time Kylo and Rey’s trajectories intersected--this sensation of “oh I didn’t even know I’d wanted that but I’d wanted it all along.” I cannot express how much I appreciate this wonderful quirk in this story--I’ve never had any other story do this to me, set up a subconscious expectation that I don’t even realize I have until the moment arrives to reveal it to me. Truly wonderful. 

Anyway, I’m going to start with my initial impressions of the scene, then I’ll break down all the buzz about whether it’s a misdirection or not and whether or not I think misdirection even matters.

So my initial impulse was that the scene was a cohesive whole, not a spliced scene. My reason for this multi-fold, but most of the scenes throughout the trailer that had film dialogue (rather than VO) were clearly spliced from the same scenes, which should lead a viewer to assuming the same is true from the final scene. Case in point: the Finn/Phasma section is also three shots clearly from the same continuous scene, including a line from Finn. Going by this trailer’s “logic”, the three final “Reylo” shots should all be from the same scene. If not, this makes the trailer rather illogical because it misdirects on some scenes but not others. I think only a poor editor would do this, but perhaps Lucasfilm’s got a hiring crunch these days. ;P

One could argue that the Kylo/Leia scenes might be different scenes spliced together, and I agree, but there’s no direct dialogue in those scenes, only voice over, so they fit the “logic” of just random scenes being spliced together underneath voice over. Basically, my point is, all the scenes that are pulled from the film with present action dialogue appear to be linear in nature for the brief time they’re on screen. I might be wrong (I haven’t edited a film in a while), but filmmakers want to convey a message and they want to avoid confusion (who wants to see a film they’re confused by). Random scenes spliced under disembodied voice over are fine for this, but once you start matching dialogue with film, the viewer has a different expectation. 

The reason I like the scene being all one scene is because of the implications. If the scene is all one scene, Rey has decided who she wants to guide her in the new world she’s found herself in, and that person is not Luke. She herself has made the decision through careful consideration, and she has made her choice. For me, Reylo is all about agency, and Rey choosing Kylo to train her after careful consideration continues that truly important theme between them. 

Something else that’s really interesting in this shot is how womanly Rey looks. In TFA they did their best to infantilize her in all her shots. She doesn’t get to grow as a woman via visuals until she encounters Kylo in TFA. They’re continuing that here; her make up and lighting give her a more wordly appearance, fitting for her taking her destiny into her own hands and making her own choices.

Assuming this scene is one cohesive moment, Kylo’s response is appropriate here. He looks at her like she’s bestowed upon him the biggest favor a goddess can bestow, and offers his hand to her. The gesture is gentle and open, not demanding. She has called, and Kylo is answering her call. His hand shakes a little, and who knows why, but there’s clearly a lot of unspoken emotion going on here. His offer this time isn’t his idea--it’s hers, and that’s what makes all the difference. 

Now, assuming this scene is a cohesive whole, it must take place during the Ach-to section of the film. This is admittedly more limiting, and would make this scene more about Rey and Kylo connecting as two powerful force users who are lost and abandoned. At this point Kylo hasn’t rejected the dark side, nor has Rey chosen a side. 

It might actually be better if the scenes aren’t sequential. This gives us more scope for what unfolds. If Rey’s initial scene is separate from the Kylo hand extension scene, that means a few things:

The filmmakers want us to understand on a meta/thematic level that the person who will answer Rey’s call is Kylo, not Luke, even though he won’t answer it until late in the film. 

Rey’s moment of vulnerability might be with Luke, or it might be with Chewbacca, but either way neither of them are the answer for her. 

The Kylo scene being separated from Rey’s question opens up some options for why Kylo is extending his hand. He doesn’t seem to be bending down, so he’s not helping her up after a fight. His mouth isn’t moving, so this offer isn’t something he’s verbally making. It seems likely that she’s asked him for something, and his answer is to extend his hand to her. No matter how the scene goes down, she’s probably still the one making the choice, and her choice is still going to be him. 

If the Kylo portion of the scene occurs later in the film, then it’s going to be a huge reveal of some kind that they’re carefully trying to hide from the audience right now. This shot could even be the final shot of the film, where Kylo saves Rey from Snoke and they both decide to go rogue together after being abandoned by both their teachers. It could also be that his extended hand is the end of the film, and we will be left in suspense for two years as to whether she takes it or not. 

If this scene isn’t at the very end of the film, it means Rey and Kylo will team up earlier than expected. Perhaps this might feed into why Snoke ends up capturing Rey--she’s interfering with Kylo’s development and has to be nipped in the bud now. This may prompt Kylo to making his choice about Snoke--will he stay with him and destroy his last chance at redemption or will he leave all he knows and enter new territory?

I don’t think there’s any question that the hand is Kylo’s and the person he’s extending it to will be Rey. Men don’t look at their mommies like that unless they have Oedipus complexes. =P Adam’s really careful to make more boyish expressions for Leia, whereas with Rey he has love interest expressions. We’ve clearly got the latter going on in his scene here at the end. 

No matter how things play out, if it’s a misdirect or not, I think the intention is clear that Kylo is Rey’s match and they’re going to keep crashing into each other until they light up the galaxy. They’re both unstoppable forces who are incomplete without each other. They are the belonging each other seeks. There may even be a much deeper understanding between them by the time the film comes to a close. 

I am a little concerned now that they might try to make it look like Kylo dies toward the end (we still have that scene where it looks like he’s at the rebel base that isn’t accounted for). That would be quite the shock, having Kylo begin his redemption arc only to fall. 

Cute Things and Music!

OMG all the animals in this film! The porgs and the space horse and these fox wolf things! I cannot wait for all the damn plushies! GIVE THEM TO ME!

Also, the music is to DIE for. I LOVE the strings at the beginning of the trailer. If this shit doesn’t make it into the actual soundtrack, I will be furious. I love Rey’s and Kylo’s themes intertwining, and the Force theme rising at the end. I cannot wait to hear what’s in store for them as far as duo themes go. Not expecting a romance theme yet, but a pairing theme would be just fine with me. XD Hopefully some wonderful enterprising soul on youtube will upload a cover of the trailer theme without audio for me. *sad puppy dog eyes*

*ahem* I’ve rambled enough for one night I think. This probably isn’t even coherent anymore. I’m sure I’ve got most everything wrong, but hey, I enjoyed myself and these are just my impressions and speculations from the trailer. If anyone made it all the way to the end, congratulations, but this dragon has no money in her coffers to give you. =P Times are tough even for hoarding dragons!

[a-baleful-howl]

This is Not a Love Story: part 2

Check out or refresh with Part 1 here.

To tell a good love story on screen, scenes, dialogue, camera angles and shots are important. Usually you have lots of quiet "get to know you" moments. Or single shots showing one of the love interests reactions. You need to give obvious and believable reasons for them to be falling in love. Television caters to the lowest common denominator for exposition. Usually its the big plot twists and mastermind moments that are subtle little easter egg hints.

When you compare the scenes between Jon and Sansa in S6, to the Jon and Dany scenes in S7, there is a big contrast. And the audience picked up on it, and thats why we now have a lot of Jonsa shippers after S6. People speak in body language, and movie language helps audiences to pick up on that. If you surprise your audience with a romance that wasn't well built up, you're audience will be colder to the idea and it will not feel believable. Or, the love story will not be the main focus, instead perhaps the conflict and the repercussions of it will be. It would not be a love story.

I am not sold on really anything right now. Ive said it before and I'll say it again. Im not sold on undercover!Jon. I'm not sold on horny!Jon. I'm not sold on Jon being in or out of love right now, either. It could go so many ways. But, after months of doing research on how to write romance for my own books and stories, I know when I see a well written romance vs a bad one. And I sure hope this badly written romance isnt the victim of a rushed season or cocky writers.

I definitely got the feeling from S6 that Kit was given direction that he was slowly falling in love with his "sister" and super conflicted about it. I know Kit can do it. I know he can - so why are we not seeing it here? He could be fighting against the idea of a relationship because he has bigger things to worry about (See: Night King) but what would he be falling in love with?? Right now, the only conceivable answer would be "her looks" - which is just....infuriating. Enraging. Just... jaw droppingly maddening.

Looks can be a starting point - yes. But once Jon sees more and more of who Dany really is, theres just no way he would fall in love. They have totally separate goals. Old, pre-crow Jon would have looked at Dany and just laughed.

So have the scenes theyve shared so far shown us how they would possibly fall in love? Let's see.

Directly after the power-struggle cave scene, we have Jon and Dany exit the cave onto the beach where Dany gets some bad news.

She flips out. Jon and Davos stand awkwardly by while mommy Dany and daddy Tyrion fight at the dinner table. When Dany turns around to bite Tyrions head off, Jon steps several steps back. She is frightening everyone else on that beach. This is a display of Dany's temperamental behavior. She is angry and turning against someone who was supposed to be her most trusted advisor. Her loyalty and diplomacy is hanging by a thread. She is not as calm and level headed as everyone would want you to believe. She will turn against anyone, at anytime.

She accuses Tyrion of being too attached to his family. Who else thinks family is super important? Jon, of course. He sees Dany basically say "fuck family" and threaten Tyrion, her hand, for putting family over her. Apparently, the only one allowed to be sentimental towards family is her?

She is worked up in such a rage over starting to lose her war that she immediately goes into the "dark place". Fire and blood. Tyrion tries to calm her down but she bites his head off more.

Emilia says in the BTS, "Every time that things go wrong, more Targaryen comes out. More fire comes out."

She's being rude to Tyrion, embarrassing him in front of others, disrespecting his advice. We have seen this in the past - Dany DOES NOT like being told what to do. More often than not she completely disregards her advisors advice, does what she wants to anyway, and it comes back to bite her in the end. Every season highlights a direct piece of advice she ignores and how it fails horribly. Why hasnt she learned her lesson by now? Because she never admits when she fucks up and learn from her mistakes.

Then she turns her attention to Jon when Tyrion doesn't tell her what she wants to hear.

Dany has shown Jon little, if any, respect since he arrived. Being cold, distant, imprisoning him, not calling him by his appointed title, only offering to help if she gets something in return, etc. So why does she ask him for his advice? Its surprising and makes little sense. And Jon does not want to get in the middle of this. This isn't his war, thats not why he came, and he just saw how she treats her advisors. But she's insistent. She wants advice from someone different.

Back to the dragons. He uses them to take a stab in the dark about how/why she has so many followers. He makes that great speech that boils down to "don't be more of the same. Be different." He's also taking a little bit of his own story here. He came back from the dead, did something impossible, and is trying to be a different ruler for his Kingdom than what they've seen before.

What's odd is that Jon visually calms her. She doesnt bite his head off for saying pretty much the same thing as Tyrion. She's a little more receptive to his advice. She already likes him more than Tyrion. Her eyes soften, she doesnt yell.

But as we see later, she didn't really take the advice to heart. Yes, she didnt storm Kings Landing with her dragons and kill thousands of innocent people - but she does go off immediately to kills soldiers, burns loot and frightens people into bowing to her. Thats not what Jon said to do, either.

So we see Dany softening to Jon. He made it about her dragons - and *whew boy* is that a way to get to her heart. He praised her to be this savior she wants to be. So, this is another hint that Dany is coming to like him and respect him. But where are the signs for Jon feeling the same?

He is frightened of her when she has her tantrum. He only answers when she insists. He wants no part of this. He sees her basically say "fuck family", turn on her most trusted advisor, flirt with a dark place and do what she wants anyway. Not attractive qualities for Jon. They are still opposites. She is still preoccupied with her quest for power.

She flies off, and then we see Jon and Davos walking around on Dragonstone, probably relaxed because Her Grace is gone for the moment.

Davos makes a comment about how Jon has been staring at her "good heart."

1. What have we seen yet, that would make Jon think she has a "good heart"? Shes been cold, uncooperative, prone to anger and entitled.

2. When have we ever seen Jon look at her boobs? In the cave, he keeps his eye line at her face/eyes. On the beach they were too busy backing away from her yelling to even look at her chest. In the throne room, any attraction he might have felt when first seeing her was eclipsed by her personality and attitude.

3. This is weird exposition to try and force the audience into thinking Jon is attracted to her. You should not have to spell out a romantic attraction. Looks and camera angles and dialogue should do it for you. We're watching film, not listening to a radio show.

Maybe this was a way of the writers spelling out why Jon is avoiding an attraction? "Theres no time for that". He is single-minded with the fight against the Night King. He's not open to the idea of romance.

Then, Jon reenforces this idea that he doesn't trust Dany at all. He is hesitant to believe she respects her subordinates because that is the opposite of everything he's seen so far. He's a King and she has imprisoned him against his will.

But Missandei's response gives him a little bit of insight into why people love and follow Dany. He had not seen it himself before Missandei spelled it out for him. He's been imprisoned, he's seen her be cold when he asked if she believed him, and he's seen her turn against Tyrion. He doesnt necessarily believe it, but he listens to Missandei.

This is why his speech on the beach made no sense to me. Why have him give that speech before he talks to Missandei or another one of her followers? Where did he get that speech from? Its almost an identical speech to Missandeis. And if he believed that, and came to that conclusion before talking to Missandei, then why is he doubtful of Dany's "good heart" in letting Missandei leave or Dany giving hope to her followers?

It would have made more sense to have him talk to a follower first, before his speech on the beach about Dany making "impossible things happen." Unless he came to that conclusion on his own - but then why ask Missandei? Why look so reluctant to open up to her? It makes no sense.

Immediately following is the Theon scene. Honestly, the more I rewatch this scene, the more I realized I love it more than the LF crypt scene. Oh god, the nuances. Jon's quivering rage voice. His dead eyes, which are more expressive than we get to see lately. Holy crap I love this scene.

But this, I guess, is also important to show Jon what kind of rag-tag gang Dany has as her allies now. Theon was such a little shit - growing up and when he betrayed Robb. It speaks to the type of person Dany is that she has this guy on her side.

Kit says in BTS "I think he's willing to forgive anyone if they are willing to help fight against the Night King."

But Jon explicitly says he is only sparing Theons life because of what he did for Sansa. Theon helped her escape. He sacrificed himself to save her - to take her away from that awful place. I'm sure Sansa and Jon have had many conversations since her escape about what Theon did. And not only did Theon tell Sansa that he didnt kill Bran and Rickon - that he murdered two innocent farmer boys, instead - but they got the proof in Rickon on the battlefield and Sam seeing Bran beyond the wall.

But Theon still did horrible things. He's still a slimey person in Jon's eyes. And here he is, on Dragonstone, fighting for Dany. What does that say to the company she keeps? That shes allied with morally questionable people? Or that she's a forgiving person, with a weakness for "cripples, bastards and broken things"? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Theon asks where she is, and Jon does not look happy or okay with the answer.

So far, we're in episode 4 of 7 and there is no reason for Jon to be attracted to Dany. He has seen bad sides of her. He has given her a few chances to show any good side, and she doesn't.

Dany is intrigued by him. He's kind and different. She asks for his opinion. His advice seems to calm her. He's played to her good side. So we can see her starting to soften.

But Jon is not really intrigued by her. He wanted to go home. He's been held against his will. She is stuck on this quest for power. She is hot-headed, selfish, and short sighted. He has seen very little redeeming qualities to warm up to her. He just wants his dragonglass and to GTFO. So far, she has only agreed to help IF he bends the knee. She wont help simply to save people. She wont help because of her "good heart". She wants his power and his kingdom in return. Not what he was hoping.

So then we have Dany coming back to Dragonstone after scaring people into bending the knee. The Tarlys dont, so she burns them to a crisp. She aint playing around.

Jon is just standing out on a cliff, in his cloak, probably brooding some more? Waiting for her? Welcoming party? Why is he out there?

And then we have a moment between him and her dragon. This is a moment ONLY between him and her dragon. Dany is just a spectator here.

He is frightened of the dragon, but YOLOs and faces his fear. He is literally facing his fear. Testing his own courage. Proving his own strength to himself. This moment has nothing to do with Dany, but everything to do with him.

He is awestruck. Dragons were a thing of legend. And now he is connecting with one. His adrenaline must be off the charts. Its a magical moment.

Now Dany is very attached to her dragons. She believes she is the only one with a connection to them. Most people would scream or run away. Her dragons have reacted violently to those who have ever threatened her or wished her harm in the past. They are one with her. And here is Drogon, a dragon which is aggressive and unpredictable, acting so gentle and different towards Jon. And shes just an outsider to this moment.

Another check mark that would make Jon attractive to her. Her dragons didn't scare him. Her dragon liked him. And Jon seems to like the dragon. Thats different. Thats new. Thats on the same level as her. He's surprised her yet again.

Now, Jon looks up at her as if "this is yours? This magnificent beast is yours?" But as soon as she comes down, he's all business again.

His moment with her dragon warmed her up to him a little. She wants to talk about her babies with someone else who probably has the same unhealthy admiration for them like she does. But he's not quite on the same page. Now, what word was Jon thinking instead of "beautiful"? Frightening? Terrifying? This sets off another one of Dany's "fire and blood" looks which scares Jon back into submission. She's a firecracker just waiting for a match. Dont want to get on her bad side. She's mama dragon - and hes seen that quite a lot.

Now, here is The Look(TM). Arguably the only time Jon seems to really look at her without thinking. In the scripts, the stage direction is "He watches her watching her dragons and wishes that he could keep looking at her and forget about the world events weighing on his shoulders." And dear god, was the impact lost.

In contrast, look at how Jon gets lost staring at Sansa in S6.

honestly, this scene is just ripe with Jon looks.

Focus shifts, single shots, close ups, and lingering on him lost in thought with no context. If you want to point out a look or reaction - THIS is how you do it. There are focus shifts, to highlight Jon's face. To bring attention to it. You can't miss it.

Him watching Dany in 7.05 is actually so subtle you might miss it. Its not the focus. We arent supposed to be honed in on his reaction. If it was oh-so-important, there would have been a single close-up, or a camera shift for us to see that he was distracted watching Dany.

Also, this is related to her dragons. Her relationship with those dragons is important to Jon. Jon only seems to show thought and softness when her dragons are involved. And it is over before you know it.

Back to business. He brings up what she left to do. And it's not good.

He's conflicted. She did the opposite of what he hoped she would do. He can understand why, but it's disappointing. Not a turn on. Not an attractive quality. Not something that is winning him over. Another chance she had to show him she was good, and she chose not to.

She has dragons. And shes not afraid to use them.

Then we move on to the talk and walk. He is still acting reserved. Shes in charge of the "get to know you" talk again. Shes standing closer. She's warmed up. She's talking much more like an equal and not like a cold ice-queen.

And she grabs his arm. But there’s no close up. ;)

Then she tries to get more acquainted by asking a more intimate question, in a more intimate way. Why is she so stuck on this knife in the heart line? And why is he still so insistent on not telling the truth? He still doesn't trust her. He is still on the fence about her. He lies to her face. And she just wont let it go.

This is not level playing ground. This is not "getting to know each other". Dany is trying but Jon is resisting her getting to know him any better. Why?

It looks like its about to get uncomfortable - that he is upset by lying and she might press the issue. But thankfully Jon is saved by Jorah. Dany looks so happy she might cry. Jon is confused by her sudden change in attitude. Who is this guy shes much more agreeable towards? Thats not the Dany hes seen in his time there.

Then she introduces him. Jon knows who he is.

Now, some say Jon looks "jealous". Um - why? Why would he be jealous? He trying to avoid a connection between them, as evidenced by his lie right before. He's simply clicking the pieces in his head - figuring out her relationships.

He sees her embrace and welcome this man who he was raised to think as a traitor, a bad man. Someone who his father had sentenced to death for doing unspeakable things. A coward who ran from his sentence. And here Jorah is, acting noble and completely loyal to this girl who has been cold to him and her other advisors the entire time he's been there. He sees more of her misfit rag-team, first Theon and now Jorah, and how she treats those who are loyal to her.

He's only clicking the pieces and starting to figure her out. His "good heart" line would have fit better after this scene, too. It made no sense where it was before.

This is the first time we see any hint that Jon might be able to warm up to her. The way she cares for her dragons. The company she keeps. How warm she really was to Jorah. But thats overshadowed by her action towards her enemies. Her look when he almost dare speak ill of her children. The fact that he still wants to keep his own secrets from her, whatever his reasons may be.

Its now episode 5 of 7 - and just now his side starts to come into play in this "supposed epic love story", and it's shaky at best. He is still wary of her.

Jon is staying very mysterious. Honestly, ever since he showed up in Dragonstone we are not shown much of his POV. We see a lot of Dany's POV - her talking with her people a lot. Her talking in her war room with Tyrion. We don't see a lot of Jon talking with his people, or talking about his wants and plans. He is staying a big mystery. Davos and him talk a little about how "theres no time for that." Jon and Theon have a Sansa moment. Gendry and Jon have a bonding moment. But do we ever see him talk about his plan for bringing Dany to his side? We really only see his actions through Dany's eyes or someone else's.

These non-focused looks are very mysterious. Why does he get lost staring at Dany? Why does he keep lying about dying? Theres no exposition. Which is really odd, because Dany has quite a bit of it.

This romance is shaky, forced, rushed and confusing at best. I mean, it helps explain the backlash and the disappointed fans. How viewers are confused by this outcome. Why everyone is desperate to think there is something else going on besides "true love".

I think everyone can agree that this relationship is doomed in one way or another. But the big question right now is - does Jon actually love/have feelings for her? What evidence is there for that? What has been shown on screen to support a mutual romance? Not much, so far.

I'll do the rest later. Tumblrs mobile update might ruin my current work (it only lets me tag one hashtag at a time because I have to use the mobile browser- blah) - but I'll get onto it! These take a lot more work than I'd expected, and coding from a smart phone is a bitch. Part 3 and (maybe?) Part 4 coming soon.

xoxo

edit: and it keeps fucking up on me. T.T I hate formatting on Tumblr so much...

[taiwanpuppetryproudthunderbolt]

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Interview 1

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(1988)

Q: Did you always want to act?

RC: Yes, but I never thought I had the talent. I had done plays in high school, but I wasn’t very good, so in college I majored in my second love -art. You can see how prac­tical I was -I didn’t think I could make it as an actor, but I did think I could become an artist.

Q: What finally made you decide to try acting?

RC: At college the drama department had a wonderful directoress –a frail, older woman with a wonderful talent for seducing stu­dents into the drama department. I used to go to tryouts, but I was so shy, I never spoke up. Then one day she began talking to me about my interest in acting and con­vinced me to try out. From then on I moonlighted in her department and got so far behind in my art course that I had to stay at school over Christmas and sum­mer vacations to catch up.

Q: Your role as TV’s Dr. Kildare made you a star, but it had a downside for you, didn’t it?

RC: Yes. I played the part for five years, and unfortunately, people couldn’t imagine me in another role. Then, one day at lunch at Raymond Massey’s home Cedric Hardwicke said. “Richard, you’ve done it all backwards -you became a star before you learned to act.” He said it kindly, wisely, and I knew he was right. At college I’d learned that an actor worked primarily on the stage and that he could do anything: classics, comedy, tragedy, modern. I couldn’t do that, so I had to learn -I needed more basic actor training. So I did some summer stock, but that wasn’t the answer. I’d always had a hunch that the place for me was England -English actors and acting had always fascinated me.

Q: How did you get to London?

RC: Director Richard Lester asked me to come to London to play Julie Christie’s American husband in Petulia. Lester described the character to me as “an empty Coke bottle.” Well, I knew a lot about playing empty characters -I’d been Kildare for five years. And besides, I felt I understood the man I was to play -he was full of emptiness because of the things he thought he was but wasn’t; and he was full of rage because of the things he thought he was not but was. I was full of rage at the time but didn’t know it; and I had talent but didn’t know it. So I took the part . . . and I was good in it.

Q: Did you stay in London?

RC: No, I came home, but the hunch I had about broadening my horizons in England was intensi­fied. And then Amem Andrew, a sort of British Johnny Carson, offered to pay my way back to London if I would he on his show. I thought to myself: This is a sign! Sure enough, almost the day my plane landed, my agent asked me if would he interest­ed in playing the American in the BBC television production of Henry James’ Portrait of a Lady. I jumped at the chance. The producer didn’t want me. but I convinced the director to give me the part. That role was the turning point of my career.

Q: Why "turning point"?

RC: After that role I was accepted as an actor in Britain. I worked with the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, and was accepted not only by the company but by the audiences. I think British audiences, because of repertory companies, are used to seeing actors playing different roles and accept them more readily in any role. In America we tend to see actors over and over in the same role. In America, I was Kildare. Also, without Portrait of a Lady I never would have been asked to play Hamlet with the Birmingham Repertory.

Q: Did anyone warn you that doing Hamlet was a huge risk?

RC: Oh, yes. My agent told me not to do it, and practically everyone else told me I was crazy to try. Originally I turned it down, but when they asked again, I said yes but only if the director Peter Dew’s would work alone with me for months prior to rehearsal. He agreed. I was the first American to play Hamlet in England since John Barrvmore had done it -I think in 1927.

Q: And the risk paid off -the reviews were good?

RC: Yes.

Q: Would you take that risk today?

RC: Maybe. But I would do Hamlet again if someone asked -quick!

Q: Since you had to leave Hollywood to be accepted as an actor, do you hold any kind of grudge?

RC: Absolutely not. They gave me a gift. If they’d accepted me as anything other than Kildare, I might have stayed and missed out on the wonderful experiences I’ve had. I like to think that each of us has his own little destiny and we have to seek it -no one will hand it to us.

Q: You have a reputation for being a nice guy. Are you?

RC: I think I’m easy to get along with, easy to work with -unless I am ig­nored or double-crossed. When that happens, I scrap. I’ve been in the business long enough to speak up if I think a scene can he improved or a line made better. If I am listened to, my ideas considered, and then thrown out that’s okay with me. But I have to he shown that I’m not right, not just ignored.

Q: Have you ever lost your temper on the set?

RC: Yes, once. It was violent, but it was also kind of funny. I was doing a dueling scene. The director didn’t have the proper equipment. I had to use a 20-pound sword that was more like a saw -it was so chipped up from use. And the actor I was fighting was practically blind and out of control physically. I got so angry I stormed off the set, knocking over everything in sight –chairs, ladders, everything -with my sword. I demolished the set.

Q: What happened?

RC: The director saw the light and we finished the scene the next day.

Q: Why did you want to do The Bourne Identity?

RC: I read the book and thought it was fascinating. I felt that if we could find a writer to simplify the story it would he perfect for TV.

Q: There is a lot of violence in the story. Do you have any qualms about adding to the violence already on TV?

RC: First, let me say that I don’t watch much television, so I don’t know about the amount of violence. Secondly, I’m not sure that violence on TV leads to violence in life. There are two schools of thought about that: One contends that television violence acts as a catharsis, preventing real-life violence: the other side feels that viewing violence makes people vio­lent. I think the jury is still out on which side is right. I will say that I would never accept a role in which violence is portrayed for violence sake. I turned down the role of a rapist not because I wouldn’t play a rapist, but I felt the rapes were portrayed for shock value only. The violence in The Bourne Identity isn’t like that.

Q: Do you have any say in choosing your leading lady?

RC: Oh, yes! I was able to "suggest" and "agree," and I was thrilled with Jaclyn Smith. I’ve wanted to work with her for a long time.

Q: Why is that?

RC: She is so beautiful, she really doesn’t have to be able to do anything else -but she does. She is a very good actress, very natural, vulnerable, sweet, feminine. In the beginning she was not available for the role -I don’t know why. But I was delighted when that changed.

Q: You’ve worked with Katharine Hepburn and Barbara Stanwyck. Are they alike? Different?

RC: They are both phenomenal person­alities, both extremely professional. Hepburn is probably a little more eccentric in her working habits. Stanwyck is the total professional. They are curiously alike even though they come from exact opposite ends of the social spectrum. Stanwyck worked her way up from being a sort of foster child, probably unloved and lonely and poor. Hepburn came from the tipper echelons. I admire Stanwyck for fighting her way to the top and staying there. She is magnificent. I did Thorn Birds with her in 1983. I was much younger when I worked with Hepburn in 1968 Madwoman of Chaillot, and I was scared. But she was very kind. Actually she likes men better than women, so we got along.

Q: You seem less motivated by money than by the role. Did you ever take a part merely for the paycheck?

RC: Yes, twice. I did the film, Swarm, purely for money. I think most of the actors in that film did -the script was awful but the pay was good. Sorry, but I won’t mention the other time.

Q: How do you manage to stay so trim, look so good?

RC: I think it’s part of my job to stay in shape -but I don’t do anything spe­cial. Maybe it’s partly genes; maybe it’s partly because I’ve been addicted to exercise since I was about 15 years old. And maybe it’s because I like my work, like what I’m doing. Some people hate their jobs and can’t wait till the clock strikes five. I can’t wait to get to work.

Q: Of all the roles you’ve done, aside from Hamlet, which pleased you the most? The least?

RC: I am proud of Cyrano de Bergerac and Wallenberg. Least proud of Swarm.

Q: What’s next for you?

RC: After Bourne I’ll have about a three-week break at home in Los Angeles before I start my next project, a theatrical film for my production company. It’s a wonderful story about a father -a film director -and his problems getting along with his son.

Q: Few TV actors have been suc­cessful switching to movies. Are you taking a new risk?

RC: I don’t think so, but I hope it works out. It’s something I really want to do.

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http://www.richard-chamberlain.co.uk/online.htm

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Q: Of all the roles you’ve done, aside from Hamlet, which pleased you the most? The least?

RC: I am proud of Cyrano de Bergerac and Wallenberg. 

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http://www.richard-chamberlain.co.uk/online.htm

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Interview 1

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