#obviously there are so many plotholes in this but like.. it would be funny | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

nightlight-stardust-and-rain · 3 years

Text

OK so like. Fanfic idea because this had been in my head for days. So first of all : Jason joining the suicide squad. Not willingly (as I doubt anyone would do that) and maybe someone captured him IDK I SUMMON THE PLOTHOLE CARD but anyway it wasn't his family and he's in good terms with them ok that wasn't the idea. I akso have no idea which suicide squad it is. Maybe... A mix of both? Both suicide squads from both movies. Yes. So relationship wise, he doesn't exactly trusts them yet but it's... Getting there. Obviously he can't wear his domino in jail so they know his face but given that Waller and every guard calls him Red Hood, they just don't know his name (which honestly wouldn't give them a lot of information, like maybe Harley would recognize the name but also maybe not) so they call him red. They don't know much about him besides the fact that he's really dangerous, softer than he looks, likes to read, and is obviously very traumatized. He's also younger than everyone here except maybe Cleo so the squad is hm... Not exactly protective but maybe. Softer. And that's just the context, because the fanfic idea was actually a series of phone calls. So the idea is that once a week they're all summoned in the same room and a guard gives them their mail and they can have one phone call - cause people can't always visit, yknow? And when there are phone calls, which not gonna lie is pretty rare, it's on an old phone that must be put on speaker obviously, to monitor conversations. So the idea was, from the squad's POV, several times someone calls Jason and how they learn something new about him every time.

The first time, the caller is someone young. His voice sounds pretty arrogant, and he's asking to talk to "his akhi". The guard frowns, because there's no one called Akhi in this room, but then Red speaks up "oh, it's for me, gimme" and curiosity from the squad, because maybe his name is Akhi? And when Red answers the phone, he looks more relaxed than any other time they've seen him, and not gonna lie that's pretty fascinating. He calls the person on the other side of the phone habibi, or maybe Dami, they're not sure because suddenly Red is speaking Arabic and it sounds good, natural. The boy calling still sounds arrogant, but also fond, just as fond as Red. It's the most they've seen Red smile. He looks young.

(Harley asks, later. His name isn't Akhi, it's the word for brother)

The second time someone calls, the cheerful voice asks for a "little wing" and it sounds like a prank call until Red snatches the phone, blushing, and yells to stop calling me that I'm not a kid dickface! The caller laughs (and maybe Harley thinks the voice sounds familiar, but Red is from Gotham so the caller must be too, she might have met them in the street or something like that) and teases, à lot. And they've never seen Red blush like that, both from embarassment and rage. He looks young, again. It's weird to think about. They chit-chat a bit, and oh is that gossip?? Red likes gossip? The cheerful voice talks about a Cass, a Steph, a Tim, a B, a Agent A, a Dami, a Duke, a Roy, a Kori, about so many people. He gives updates, but mainly, he gives blackmail. Tim stayed up so late again and missed a whole day of college but the funny part is that he didn't notice that Steph scribbled on his face until the middle of the next day, also in college. Of course Cass didn't do anything embarrassing, of course not, she could never, and maybe I'm a bit scared of what she would do to me if I told you, little wing!! Sure, laugh, as if you're not scared of her too! And the whole time, Red vibrates with petty younger sibling energy. The teasing goes both ways, and he looks just as happy as he did last time someone called him. When the time is up, he glares at them and hisses that if they ever try to call him little wing he'll make their life hell (a few of them were thinking about it, but well they have seen the kind of chaos Red can unleash so they shall... Refrain. Except Harley, because she has no sense of self control).

(Chato asks, later. All the people the cheerful guy talked about, without exception, they're his family)

The next one to call is both not exactly a surprise and totally a surprise. The call itself, not so much. They've learned last time how large a family Red actually has, so they kinda were expecting another call. The voice, on the other hand, sure is a surprise. It sounds old, and incredibly proper and English. Precisely the kind of voice you'd never hear in jail. The caller asks for the Red Hood, even if he sounds slightly strained saying the name. Red honest-to-God giggles (will they ever stop being surprised by how young he is), and takes the phone. His voice is full of uncontained mirth when he informs the caller that he finally got you to not call me that, A ! And the old man on the other replies believe me if it wasn't for the sake of anonymity, I would never, young man. And Red laughs I know! But I still win the bet! And it's incredible how despite the lack of any noise the squad can almost hear a raised eyebrow. Turns out that there's a bet going on within Jason's family as to who could get "A" to call them by anything other than their name with honorifics outside of work, and it's been going on for a long, long time. The English voice sounds faintly, dryly amused when he promises to inform the others that Red won the bet. And they talk, and what the caller is doing can only be described as nagging. Asking if Red's eating well, sleeping well, not currently injured... Red is definitely being fussed over (a few of them discretely snicker) and bears it with the grace and slight childishness if someone who's used to being mother-henned.

(it's the younger he's ever looked, and it occurs to them that he looked like an adult barely out of his teenage years talking to his parent. Which he probably was, and wow isn't that a thought)

The next call is expected, and they're expecting it because Red has been almost vibrating out of his skin for the whole day and has been staring at the phone since they got in the room. When the time for phone calls comes he straightens up and his gaze is so intense that a good part of the squad expect the phone to straight up disintegrate, along with the table and part of the floor. The laser-like intensity doesn't leaves when a happy voice asks for Jaybird. At this point they're used to it, whoever is asking for a name they don't know is asking for Red. And Red barely waits for the person to say his name, grips the phone and without even saying hello, just bursts out (as if he's had it on the tip of his tongue for the whole day, as if he'd been waiting for hours to say it, which he probably did) Happy fourth year of being sober!! And for several seconds there's silence, the caller is probably startled. And then a soft laugh, and an unbelievably fond voice says god Jaybird, it's your birthday and that's the first thing you think about? And Red answers with narrowed eyes and a very determined yes. The voice of the caller practically drips with love as he thanks Red, thick like honey (that's so much love it genuinely feels a little uncomfortable to listen to, maybe a bit too intimate). Red sounds very, very proud of his friend, and said friend sounds a bit flustered by that but also quite proud of himself too. They talk, they catch up, the guy talks about someone named Kori, who'll call soon but is off... Country for now. It's very soft. Warm.

(the squad feels a little warm too, basking on the love that pours out of Red's body language, out of the stranger's voice, audible even through the crappy phone).

And like more people you know, but I'm tired rn and don't want to write more.

(also at some point Talia calls and one of the squad recognizes her cause you know, she's big in the criminal world, and they're like THAT'S your mom??? What the fuck ??)

It's kinda like a 5+1 idea, maybe at the +1 one they finally learn his name? Idk idk.... Or it can just be a bunch of phone calls, because outsider pov is the best thing, like ever.

#jason todd #red hood #the red hood #dc universe #dick grayson #nightwing #damian al ghul #damian wayne #alfred pennyworth #roy harper #arsenal #Feel free to write it!!#Idk about how the conversations would go really.....#dripping stardust

88 notes · View notes

char-lotteral · 3 years

Note

Look I'm not one of those people who believe Kishimoto decided to have Hinata and Naruto end up in the middle part of Shippuden. I believe he decided in the very last arc but he wanted to sound smart so he said he decided earlier on. Otherwise, they obviously would have more scene together. In Shippuden, they have only three scenes together ; when Naruto came back, the pain attack and the neji death scene. That's it. In the original Naruto, they probably have less than ten canon scenes not including fillers.

So I'm sorry I'm one of those who wasn't convinced by The Last. They literally had a basic villain go after Hinata who was cringe btw (the villain). They gave Hinata op powers which she doesn't have in the novel 👀. Despite having op powers, they made her the damsel in distress. Very "The hero saves the princess" cliche. Again, to justify them being together. I mean Naruto can't differentiate his love for ramen and romantic love so how??? He was just being nice to Hinata just like he does to everyone. He stood up for her just like he does for everyone.

Don't get me started on the Sakura Sasuke relationship 🤣. Cringe. They never knew each other. The whole Sakura's love for Sasuke saved him doesn't make sense. They spent barely a year in their genin year before sasuke left. Sasuke tried to kill Naruto and Sakura multiple times. Then at the end of the war, Kishimoto tried to do the "oh they have such a deep understanding between each other" which comes off as cringey. He gets her pregnant then leaves for years. She's literally a single mom who's broke.

Every relationship in Naruto is so cringey and forced except shikatemari. Kishimoto should've focused on the main story and fixed his potholes and leave the ending open.

Naruto would not have been perfect but at least it would've been remembered for staying true to its vision but instead it's remembered for cringey relationships, dumbass villain (except pain and madara) and a story that lost its core which is a shame coz I used to love Naruto. I was inspired by its messages but now....

OKAY LOL WAIT I ACTUALLY HAVE THIS LONG ASS RANT PREPARED XD

BUT FIRST Ive read what you said and I lowkey agree :p

HOWEVER

I DRAW THE LINE AT TONERI SLANDER. BECAUSE WHY

TONERI?? CRINGE?? THIS SEXY MOTHERFUCKER??

LOOK AT HIS WHITE FLUFFY HAIR AND HIS CERULEAN BLUE ORBS STARING DEEPLY INTO YOUR SOUL

SAY SIKE RIGHT NOW?!#*@*#&@*

okay lol now for the juicy part click readmore and beware I shall be brutally honest so yea enjoy

I mean, Naruto in general is a mess, not just the ships if we're being realistic. Alot of plotholes, rushed endings, this and that, the w a r a r c, Kaguya, the way they rushed Boruto ehhh. Honestly, getting into Naruto is literally my biggest regret of 2020 :"DD

Im an NH shipper as you can tell by my hotmess of a blog but i fully respect your opinion and understand your point of view. I also know a bunch of nh stans who have their complaints with their development. I wish Kishi gave more attention to his female cast really, thats all I fucking ask. If he did that one single basic thing, then maybe the endgame relationships wouldnt have been an asspull and theyd be given propper screentime with their love interest, both Sakura and Hinata. The Last tbh i think the writers played it safe and stuck to the whole Naruto shounen vibe thingy, so im not surprised it was plotted that way. Typical cliché shounen movie.

But does that bother me? No! The Last was a mess, their development was shit, they definitely needed more screentime but hey at the end of the day theyre cute as fuck, we have that kiss scene, flirting scenes, a shit ton of official art, three kids, Seiki's gif :33 and a whole ass arc for their wedding all that for just a shounen anime so eh. Compensates for it i guess xD theyre not toxic, unhealthy or whatnot. Theyre wholesome, soft and vanilla as fuck and exactly what i need in my hectic life rn. No drama, just two kind souls who are adorable as heck and theyre dynamic means so much to me and I will love them until i shall leave this earth.

Anon, im not even gonna waste my time and defend their development because i think it sucked too xD but if you wanna know why i love them so so so soooo much, Id be more than willing to tell you :33

Sasuke and Sakura on the other hand eeeehhhh i can see why people like them. Sasuke's hot, he's your typical hot bad boy aad Sakura's hot and pretty too. Basic blue and pink trope. Aside from their canon interactions, fans have all the opportunity to play around with their dynamic but for me, its just sooo basic and so hetero and can easily appeal to any 16 yr old teenage girl, no wonder it has an active fanbase on twt and---- AM I MAKING ANY SENSE? AHDBAJJE LIKE ITS SO-- BASIC, your usual bad boy x pretty girl trope that you get to read in YA and coming of age novels. Not only that, but going back to canon, they have too many negative interactions for me to like them together :p The least Sakura can do is put down her own foot and yell at him for not contacting them for god knows how long. I also dont like how he always gets easily forgiven >=[[. I mean at least He's compensating as a dad good for him but ehhhh i still dont like him and Sakura together :v And im not falling for that "Sakura is the reason why Sasuke isnt lonely anymore" because thats NARUTO AHHH. Sasuke said that Multiple times. HE LIGHTS A FIRE INSIDE OF ME. HES MY SUN. MY ONE AND ONLY FRIEND. LIEK?? THATS NARUTOOO romantic or not, Naruto was the reason for his not so lonely existence anymore smh >=[[

Sasuke almost murdered her and Naruto and made their lives a living hell but hey its all good!! He's my best friend and Sakura loves him!! So set him freeee into the worldddd~~

Sasuke left his family without even simply contacting them but can easily contact Naruto through a hawk but hey thats fine! His and Sakura's feelings are connected afterall! Sasuke gave her a ring and said thank you! Who cares about leaving your family. She loves him and he loves her so yey!!! All is forgiven :D

DID I MENTION SASUKE ALMOST MUREDERED HIS OWN DAUGHTER AND HE WASNT CALLED OUT FOR THAT@*#&@??!?#,*@#,#

Sasuke gets too many life points this isnt fair >=[[ But tbh he's nerfed so bad in Boruto manga and anime power wise. Like in that time travel arc and the manga. The rinnegan kunai thing was still so funny to me even if it was Borushiki. I just idk its so funny to me lmaoo

OKAY WHAT ELSE. I dont even know any more. Im tired of complaining about Naruto and just when Ive finally gone a little bit away from Naruto, Hinata fucking pulls me in again 😩 she has me on chokehold pls send help. Watch castlevania!!! and one piece!!!! ten times better than this anime about a loud blonde boi who wants to be president. Trust me

overall, i dont fully agree but i lowkey agree i guess. I do respect your opinion tho :))

EXCEPT WHEN YOU CALLED TONERI CRINGE. HOW DARE YOU CALL THAT SEXY MF CRINGEY---

#like at this point if you complain about naruhina to me id probably complain along with you #but at the end of the day #i really do not care lol #theyre CUTE AS FUCK AND I WILL COMMIT MASS MURDER FOR THESE PRECIOUS KIDS AND WOULD NOT FEEL AN OUNCE OF REMORSE #also i have like zero energy to find all those manga panels and debunk shit and stuff #i just say the first thing that comes to my brain and fart it out on my lonely tumblr blog #anon #hey hey anon ask me about why i love naruhina so much come on come on *aggressively bounces knees*#unpopular opinions

16 notes · View notes

the-busy-ghost · 4 years

Note

☕️ It seems like so many shows fumble the ball, but I'd love to hear about a portrayal of Scottish history in period drama that you thought did a good job?

Thank you for asking! I don’t watch that many tbh and so far I’ve never really found one that was really good. I said the other day that Outlander probably can’t be said to be all bad- but I really haven’t watched it, it’s more that it doesn’t at first sight look completely unrecognisable as the eighteenth century (also the soundtrack is dope).

There is also actually very little content about medieval and early modern Scotland to go on. We don’t even have that many televised documentaries to watch (I may be remembering incorrectly but I think it’s something like two in the last twenty years- one of which was appalling).

Which leaves by process of elimination, ‘Outlaw King’. The plot is not hugely accurate, there wasn’t enough Gaelic in it, and the whole depiction of Edward II was... not that good (I mean it wasn’t as bad as Braveheart but that’s such a low bar). The accents were a bit dodgy. There were also some annoying plotholes and in general it would probably have been much better as a tv series. On the other hand it was somewhat recognisable as fictional representation of fourteenth century Scotland, there wasn’t quite so much silly costuming and nor was the political situation reduced to ‘The Clans Are Fighting’. The Comyns got a bad rap but that’s about par for the course in popular Scottish history.

It was also a genuinely beautifully shot film and actually shot in Scotland for once- and some of the CGI was actually worth it for once, even if not 100% accurate (Stirling Castle, god what a great moment- and it even felt suitably dreich for Stirling. And Berwick was interesting too). One of the things too many people don’t have an appreciation for when it comes to Scotland is the variety of its landscape and the cultural and regional differences.

Characters who cracked jokes were actually quite funny and not just drunk stereotypes! And attention to detail was good (if sometimes a bit gross- James Douglas’ “Farmers’ Hanky” for example).

I think there was only one made-up character? I’m not sure I didn’t count- but it was a kid who served to drive home an emotional point about war so I suppose I’ll let it slide, even if Drew is not at all a believable name.

The obligatory sex scene could have been much worse. Also if there has to be a romantic plot at least the two leads felt like they had some chemistry.

I felt what really sold it for me was that if you watch carefully there are little asides and hints towards characters who don’t have important roles in the movie, but whose own interesting careers can be followed in the historical record. I think that is important because what’s often forgotten about the Wars of Independence is that it was so much bigger than one or two men, it’s not Bruce and Wallace alone against the world. Hundreds of people had their own complex reactions to the conflict and even though the film obviously didn’t have time to show all that on screen, it really gave a nod to some of these characters that showed that the creators had at least tried to build the world (even if some other characters were less well-researched).

From a general medieval point of view it’s not terrible either actually- at least the costumes are more colourful and the religious bits are not all one sided. The sheer level of violence is A Lot to take in, but tbh it can’t really be called gratuitous given how bloody the year 1306-7 was. But no gratuitous sexual violence on screen- even if some is implied.

I would say it was a half-decent historical film, with its fair share of inaccuracies. It’s no Lion in Winter in terms of Pure Class either, but it can still be an enjoyable film for someone who loves studying mediaeval Scotland to watch- and it’s even enjoyable to pick inaccuracies out! So often with Scotland there’s not even much point picking out the inaccuracies, because it’s all so inaccurate it’s practically fantasy. It’s a bit of a luxury with Outlaw King to actually be able to point out where it’s inaccurate for once, rather than just making incoherent whining noises.

Also if someone knew nothing about Scottish history, it does not have very many hugely misleading stereotypes that would hinder them in finding out anything more (except maybe the portrayal of Edward II).

And I’m not sure it would be everyone’s cup of tea but (aside from a few rather sickening scenes that I will only watch once, even though I know the history) I sort of enjoyed the film. I had issues with a lot of it but I can admit that I genuinely adored the colours, the dry humour, the tiny details and the attention to landscape, buildings, and weather.

Sorry I ranted a bit, I just have a complex emotional relationship to this film and that’s a new experience for me when it comes to Scottish historical media! I do think, to answer your question in short, it did a reasonably OK job, not sure about plain ‘good’. I just reacted to it with such relief my judgement may be clouded.

Thank you so much for asking!

Edit: Oh I forgot- funny thing is that Shakespeare’s Macbeth, in itself, isn’t that terrible either. The plot’s all wrong, as are the character’s title, but (perhaps because it was written in the sixteenth century) the usual stereotypes are not present in the script and the people in the play are about as human as in any other Shakespeare tragedy. The problem comes more with how most people decide to stage Macbeth rather than the play itself. The same could be said of Douglas’ scenes in Henry IV Part 1 (honestly what were the Hollow Crown thinking with that costuming?). So it’s not a period drama per se but when on screen the reason Macbeth adaptations are bad (in terms of portrayal of Scottish history) is because of the preconceived notions of the modern directors and not because of Shakespeare. But if I talk about Shakespeare too much I’d have to bring up historical novels which can sometimes do a better job too.

13 notes · View notes

michelles-garden-of-evil · 3 years

Text

Ian Martin’s Strange Paradise, Part II: The Top 5 Worst Things

Last week, I listed my top five favorite things about the first 44 episodes of Strange Paradise, when Ian Martin was headwriter and when the show had a very different feel to it than in the final four weeks of the Maljardin arc. But no creative work is perfect, and, despite my fondness for this show, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think that the writing for early Maljardin had several glaring flaws. Unlike Danny Horn, I don’t think that Ron Sproat was a better writer than Martin (actually, I consider Sproat the worst writer on SP), but that doesn’t mean that I don’t also feel that his writing needed some improvement. Note that this entry is specifically about the writing during this period, so things outside his creative control (e.g. the Conjure Man’s questionable casting) will be excluded from the list.

That said, here are my top five least favorite things about the writing in the first nine weeks of Strange Paradise:

5. Cheesy dialogue

More specifically, (1) bad jokes and (2) slang that was already outdated when these episodes originally aired in 1969. This one is #5 because, while these lines are cheesy, I can’t hate them because most of them make me laugh. Even my personal least favorite of Jacques’ jokes, the “pose” line from Episode 18, is kind of funny in an ironic, anti-humor sort of way, like the dad jokes that have become fashionable in recent years. While there are some jokes in this show that I find genuinely funny--Elizabeth’s Song of Solomon joke, for instance, or “the lady doth detest too much”--most others are the epitome of cornball. Sometimes you hear both in the same episode: Episode 21 is loaded with Devil jokes/puns that would be unforgivably corny if Colin Fox didn’t possess enough charisma to sell them, and yet the same episode also features a genuinely hilarious double entendre. The good jokes sneak up on you, sometimes amidst a hurricane of bad ones.

As for the slang, some comments that I’ve read mention that it was largely out of date even in the late sixties. My good friend Steve (with whom I often discuss SP) has told me that “you might not be aware of how campy that slang sounded in 1969 since you obviously did not live through the Sixties--this happened with a lot of TV shows during that period, the most egregious examples being the various ‘evil druggie Hippie’ episodes of DRAGNET.” Apparently Martin became infamous for using outdated slang later on when he wrote for CBS Radio Mystery Theater, putting lines like “I dig a man who’s far-out!” and “I think bein’ around here’s gonna be kicks!” in the mouths of some of his younger characters. Even if he had used up-to-date slang, it most likely would have still aged poorly (as slang typically does), especially for generations born after phrases like “the most” and “making the ___ scene” fell out of use.

4. Slow pace and excessive repetition

This one is also low on the list, because slow pace and repetition weren’t flaws when the show originally aired, but instead have aged poorly because of advances in technology that made them unnecessary. Before the advent of the programmable VCR, you had to be able to catch the program you wanted to watch on time or have someone you knew catch it on time and record it--which, in 1969, would have meant an audio-only tape recording. This meant that only the most fortunate and/or most loyal viewers would have been able to watch Strange Paradise every day, making it necessary to recap all the major events in subsequent episodes for those who missed out. This is also likely the reason why early SP (like most soaps of the time) has a relatively slow pace: if too much happens in one episode, you have to recap more and the people who missed the big episode are more disappointed.

Nowadays, with DVRs, video streaming, and DVD sets--not to mention certain legally-questionable means--it’s nearly impossible to miss an episode of your favorite show (with few exceptions), making extensive recap largely obsolete. Screenwriters can cram as many plot points as they want into one episode and no longer have to write five episodes of the other characters reacting to the news if they don’t want to.

Even so, just because the constant recap served a function at the time doesn’t mean I have to like it. It gets annoying hearing the same plot points reiterated episode after episode. Like I said while reviewing Episode 21, “if someone were to remake this show for Netflix or another streaming service, they could safely ignore about 75 percent of the original scripts and condense the remaining 25 percent quite a bit without omitting anything important.”

And don’t even get me started on the lampshading of absent cast members, like in Episode 9 when Jean Paul and Quito wasted two minutes searching for Raxl just to slow the plot down. It’s nothing compared to Ron Sproat’s “we must search for Quito” filler episode in Desmond Hall (Episode 78), but still, those scenes were pointless.

3. Extreme artistic license with certain historical/cultural details

Although Ian Martin did a surprising amount of research on certain subjects for Strange Paradise, there are some subjects where he either didn’t do enough research, or (more likely) made extensive use of artistic license. The first one is his portrayal of Jacques’ wife Huaco as an Inca princess despite their marriage occurring over a century after the fall of the Inca Empire. I discussed this all the way back in Part II of my review of the pilot, where I invented the theory of Jacques traveling back in time to marry her, but other possible explanations include Huaco being a 17th-century descendant of Inca royalty (as the Quechua people are still alive today), extreme artistic license, and/or critical research failure. I don’t know if we would have eventually gotten a good explanation if Martin had continued writing the series, but we would need a damn good one for the approximate equivalent of having a 21st-century character marry the Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia. I’m willing to suspend my disbelief and accept it considering that this is a fantasy series, but it still creates a lot of plot holes that need to be filled.[1]

Another example of artistic license about which I feel more ambivalent is the conflation of voodoo with the Aztec-inspired indigenous religion of Maljardin, which I’ve discussed before both in my Episode 23 review and Part I of this post series. I’m not sure if this is genius--religious syncretism is a real phenomenon throughout the Caribbean and Latin America, and some people today do syncretize the vodou Serpent God with Quetzalcoatl--or just an instance of Martin playing fast and loose with facts. I would like to think it’s the former, but it could just as easily be the latter (hence why I referenced it on both lists--I have mixed feelings about it).

2. Annoying inconsistencies

Does Raxl know that Jean Paul is possessed by Jacques Eloi des Mondes? Does Vangie? Why does Jacques’ portrait disappear in some episodes after he possesses Jean Paul, but not in others? All three of these things vary from episode to episode, and change annoyingly often as the plot demands. Steve and I have also discussed this subject in the past, and he believes that Martin used this device to make the story easier to follow; if that’s the case, it appears that he used Raxl and Vangie as audience surrogates, especially for new viewers or people who didn’t tune in every day. But surely there were other ways to do that without creating continuity errors? It may have served a function, but that doesn’t make it good writing. What Martin is essentially doing is filling and reopening the same plothole, episode after episode.

Regarding the portrait, I don’t know how much to blame Martin’s scripts for this inconsistency and how much to blame the directors, as I don’t have access to any SP scripts beyond the pilot script and the Vignettes. However, I’m going to assume that he’s at least partially to blame, because at least the pilot script mentions the disappearing portrait (which literally disappears in all three of the Paperback Library novels), Also, while none of the characters ever mention the portrait vanishing (unlike in the tie-in novels), some of his episodes have characters looking at it while Jacques is controlling Jean Paul and commenting on the uncanny resemblance. See also the diegesis tag for more discussion and analysis of the disappearing portrait.

1. Tim’s subplot

It should surprise none of my regular readers that Tim’s subplot is my #1 least favorite thing about the first nine weeks of Maljardin. I’ve already written an entire post about why I dislike this subplot, so I’ll keep my discussion of it here brief. Jean Paul saves the life of artist Tim Stanton when he hires him to paint Erica’s portrait, but then does nothing to make the commission easy for him--which is not a bad set-up for a plot in and of itself, but the execution is terrible. Tim chooses to use Holly as his model despite her barely resembling Erica, and Martin mostly uses their subsequent interactions to drive the old, tired, clichéd plot where two people who bicker and hate each other at first eventually fall in love (or at least he appears to be setting that up[2]). The payoff for the Holly portrait subplot finally occurs in Episode 33, but it’s underwhelming (not to mention barely recapped) and the already bland Tim quickly becomes a background character. In short, his subplot is a boring waste of time and should have either had more payoff or--preferably--been scrapped altogether.

That concludes my list of the worst things about Ian Martin’s Strange Paradise. Stay tuned for my review of Episode 45 within the next two weeks.

{<- Previous: The Top 5 Best Things }

Note

[1] Interestingly, there is a possible (if unlikely) historical explanation for Huaco’s sister Rahua having “skin as white as goat’s milk” and “hair like ripened wheat.” An early Spanish account of the Chachapoya people (aka Cloud People) of the Northern Andes describe them as “the whitest and most handsome of all the people that I have seen, and their wives were so beautiful that because of their gentleness, many of them deserved to be the Incas’ wives and to also be taken to the Sun Temple.” Assuming the Spanish account isn’t made up, this proves that reality is sometimes unrealistic.

[2] Thankfully, given the soap opera genre, it’s unlikely that Tim and Holly would have stayed together forever, even if they had eventually fallen in love during their painting-and-bickering sessions. Even so, that doesn’t make it a good subplot.

#strange paradise #ian martin #maljardin arc #review #analysis #arc review #list #bruce gray was a good actor but tim stanton is zzzzzzzzz #even jean paul agrees ;)

2 notes · View notes

smallcomebacknowyhear · 4 years

Text

unforgivable SV sins

(not an exhaustive list) (includes s6 spoilers)

-I feel like im not equipped to list every sin the writers committed against jared but there are Many (and please feel free to reblog with examples if you are so inclined)

-the STARK difference between Dinesh and gilfoyle’s friendship at the end of s4 (they were really vibing!! Gilfoyle was actually being hospitable towards Dinesh!! they were getting celebratory churros together and abandoning richard together!!!!) and the beginning of s5. I think the writers decided their best frenemies dynamic had run out of material which is ofc bullshit because it has infinite potential

-Gilfoyle’s degradation of personality/lack of development- they made him too untouchable to be relatable and too mean to be sympathetic. Plus the only real thing we know about him is that hes a satanist and its just kinda lazy that they tell us at every opportunity that he is one (goat plush AND baphomet plush on his desk, inverted cross tattoo AND baphomet tattoo!! give him another trait or interest besides being racist please!!!)

-setups with no payoffs: they introduce Jeff as a mole, then show that the guys know there is a mole but they dont know who it is, setting up a plotline that could have lasted the entire rest of the season, but instead the next episode they explain how jared and gilf found the mole offscreen in the most boring way possible (Jeff is STALLION coder. how could he be dumb enough to use his PP email to talk to Gavin? Jeff use ANY OTHER ACCOUNT its not hard.... also encrypting all your emails takes more effort than just using a different account to send normal emails)

(-plus the entire “jeff has to spend time with Dinesh as punishment” thing- not only is Dinesh someone jeff should enjoy spending time with bc jeff is at least the same level of dork as Dinesh, but dinesh’s personality seriously deteriorated in season 5 from someone who was a little awkward but would still be nice to hang out with, to a guy who tries way too hard to be cool and has absolutely no self awareness. Plus the jokes surrounding this whole arc just seemed “big bang theory” level lazy to me- Dinesh wants to go to battlebots with jeff and thats the entire joke, etc)

-and ofc the setup with no payoff that was “gwart dumped jared, how will jared get back in with PP?? - oh we’re not going to show or tell you he’s just back in the next ep like he was never gone”

-I dont think any human being would act the way Dinesh does in the episode where Danny tells him his code had less errors than gilfoyle’s. And honestly when you rewatch season one it’s like Dinesh is a completely different guy, they completely flanderized him but its not really flanderization because they kinda added in the characteristic “unjustly inflated ego” in like season 4??

-they took the concept of an engineer who builds a robot and falls in love with her and just.... didnt do anything to make it interesting or different from the current well of narratives surrounding that topic. Honestly making one change to the episode would vastly improve it- if they’d cast someone who looked more like the Blood Boy to play the engineer, and given him a charming and charismatic personality, it would have been way more interesting. First of all you would have never seen it coming, whereas I saw the reveal coming a mile away because it was so obvious, but it would also actually say something about a guy who has absolutely no problem forming bonds with human beings who CHOOSES to interact on an intimate level with a robot instead of putting that energy into relationships with other humans.

-I’m willing to suspend disbelief wrt plotholes when the episode was actually funny or had some overarching theme that was satisfying, etc. But Russfest had two plotholes (how exactly did entering Yaonet through the backdoor result in kicking laurie’s devices off Pied Piper networks? if this made sense they did not explain it well enough - and the whole thing with the lights turning off suddenly but then magically turning back on when Russ “voice command”ed them to) and its the friggin penultimate episode, it’s supposed to make sense and be funny and be narratively satisfying and although it did have some good moments (gwart betraying laurie and richard stomping on his laptop) those plotholes are just not excusable

-this is more the HBO marketing teams fault but I’m really mad that they put Dinesh saying “you turned down a billion dollars” in the promo material. not only did it completely ruin the suspense of whether richard was going to agree to maximo’s offer, but it also ruined the reveal that he wasn’t offering a few million but a billion dollars. maybe its just my fault for watching promos?

-speaking of maximo the fact that he was a big focus of the beginning of the season and then he just kinda dropped off the face of the earth. I’m sorry but when season 2 sets up the standard that “plotlines that get introduced in the first episode of the series will remain intact and be resolved in a climactic manner in the final ep of the season” I’m disappointed when plotlines just kinda fizzle out after two episodes. especially in a SEVEN EPISODE SEASON

-just generally not enough boyfamily bonding/interpersonal bonding in general. Its very unrealistic that they never so much as MENTIONED any of the guys birthdays or the bashes jared would obviously throw for them. its also very unrealistic that........ Dinesh and jared werent friends and its absolutely a sin that Dinesh picked on jared so much :c

#sv spoilers #silicon valley hbo #sv squad #thinky thoughts

23 notes · View notes

thisvaryingexistence · 5 years

Text

My thoughts on Code Geass: Lelouch of the Re;surrection

So I finally saw the Code Geass movie last night and OH MAN DO I HAVE A LOT OF THOUGHTS.

First of all I think I should start this out by saying this series came into my life at a very weird time I’d say. I first watched the show when I was in 7th grade (13 years old) and I don’t know why but it stuck with me. As soon as the last episode finished I immediately hit start on episode 1 (ah the good old days when Bandai had all the episodes on Youtube) to see what I was missing my first viewing. Since then I have easily watched the series over 10 times over both in English and Japanese. The show (and the fanfiction let’s be real here) got me through a lot of tough times. In my freshmen year of high school, I really took a turn for the worst and seriously thought I would die before I turned 15. That was when I met @projectcluclu and she (along with the show) became a really key part of my life. Her fics really made me fall in love with the pairing Lelouch and CC even more than I already had been with before. The pairing itself became a real comfort for me and just. TLDR: Code Geass is really important to me.

Writing now as a junior in college (20 years old), I could still say this series has my heart. Have I grown older now and seen many other things (mostly not anime related things)? Yes. Do I notice the endless plotholes in the story and how certain characters I once hated are actually okay and the characters I thought were flawless could actually be rather despicable? Yes again. But this story as a whole still makes my heart go BOOM.

NOW TO THE MOVIE!

So when I first heard they were making a movie I rolled my eyes. I get it was an anniversary and the show had had many other specials before such as Lelouch’s Birthday, Nunnally in Wonderland, etc. However, this one was going to make or break this show. The creators seemed to know this and pulled something I laugh so hard at but at the same time THEY KNOW THEY GET TO MAKE THE CAKE AND EAT IT TOO. After realizing that “oh shit. We really did have the perfect ending. Legit half the viewers are going to be upset no matter what we do” they decided. “YOU ALL CAN THINK WHATEVER YOU WANT. This is an alternate reality.” Now, to me this was a cop out for sure. They knew no matter what they did, someone would be upset. Even I joked around with my sister and said if Lelouch got with anyone else but CC in the movie I would burn all my Code Geass merch. Still, the war still goes on from the original show whether he is dead or not. The creators wanted the ending to be ambiguous, but couldn’t even handle the inner-fandom war when the ending first happened over 10 years ago that they were like HE IS DEAD STOP FIGHTING.

All that being said, I obviously knew I had to see this movie. I’ll admit the spoilers that it was a CluClu ending did give me a slight push to hit buy tickets on my online order, but I knew it was important to my sister and I. We drove an hour away to go see it and the theater was actually pretty damn packed. We anticipated being 2 of like 7 people there but it was FILLED. It was pretty cool to here people talking about the timeline under their breath and getting excited about the movie. So the movie. My God I laughed so hard. Like tears were streaming from my face. First, I saw it in English. I love my Johnny Young Lelouch so much and Kate Higgins as CC is great. Everyone else had the same voices as well but. It literally appeared everyone but CC forgot how to say Suzaku’s name and called him “Sooz-a-koo.” Legit sounded like fucking Shinjuki. The first time LELOUCH said it I was like who he is talking ab- OMFG ARE YOU KIDDING ME. My sister and I were in tears and I was shaking so bad. The new characters got me confused. Where the fuck was this big ass nation in the show? (Obviously non-existent as this is an alternate universe”) But I was like what is geass did anyone at the studio actually figure it out? In the show they got nowhere close to explaining it, but we got a very good understanding on what it does, it’s limitations, who had it and why, etc. This movie was like oh you have geass?! CHECK MINE OUT! The princess (at least I think she was a princess) was weird? That scene with her and her brother in the bath after she saw her prophecy was fucked. I laughed so hard again as everyone around me was saying WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT? With these new characters, why is Cornelia now the head of them?

My brain did not take it seriously and just laughed at how crack-fic this movie was. They showed almost every character and it was beautiful and almost bought me to actually cry no matter how weirdly they were placed and who they were placed with. Like why was Schneizel with Rakshata?? In a daycare place?? Why?? Ohgi and Viletta’s wedding though. My heart exploded Lloyd and Rakshata dancing? I approve. THE BABY? I approve.

The main characters. I know it has been ten years and it could be seen, and there were definitely moments where they were, out of character. One thing I saw a lot of before I saw it was that CC was out of character because she cared so much for Lelouch but to me? I think she was pretty in character. It had been a long time for her and Lelouch. As soon as Lelouch died, Shirley bought his body to CC and she had to take care of him as they looked for his lost consciousness. I imagine she was a bitch in the beginning to him but quickly realized she did this.

She did this.

She is the reason Lelouch is alive at all.

This is why I believe she was in character. It shows how she is not a stagnant character from the beginning of the story. When first knowing about her in episode five of the series, it was clear she was a stone cold bitch who made her own rules for her life (which makes her CC my favorite character so I’m not saying this as a bad thing). As the show moved forward, we saw her at her most vulnerable and how as a child she was desperate for someone to love her. After her own geass story and her immortality, she saw quickly it must have not been in the cards for her and how she was “utterly alone.” Even as she and Lelouch started to become closer to each other, she was rather distant. I don’t think she really let it show how important he had become to her until her backstory episode 15 of R2 when she would not let him take her immortality. Even when she was dying, mind you the only reason she went after Lelouch in the first place, she was crying at the thought of leaving. In the penultimate episode of the series, she and Lelouch had a very touching scene that Kallen had to ruin, but she voiced her care for him. Therefore, in the movie when it shows her caring so much for him, I do not find it out of character for her. It was already shown in the show and sound episodes that she was not sure what she thought her feelings for Lelouch were and she was confused and frightened by them. She was afraid she ruined his life by giving him the power in the first place, and she was selfish enough to do it again by reviving him knowing full well he intended to die for all the things he did in the rebellion.

I teared up at the trailer watching CC cry trying to find Lelouch in C’s world. You could tell that man is her new “meaning for living” so to say and she realized how close she was to losing him again. I teared up when they were in the knightmare and Lelouch was about to issue a surrender. She pulled her gun on him similar to episode 7 of the show and told him this was not the Lelouch she knew and bought back. That moment of shaky tears and words made Lelouch into his self again. They are the missing pieces the other has always lacked. They are better off together and they know it. Another reason why the scene at the end hit so strong when he told her he would follow LL and abandon the name Lelouch. He was stating how he was ready to let go of his past and begin a new life with her. Her face welling up and crying. Those scenes of them together were my favorite parts of the movie for the obvious ship reason but also for the fact that I felt more connections to the original story and the characters seemed to be staying true to their old selves.

Lelouch. He was pretty much in character. I do believe leaving Nunnally to make her own choices and let her grow up is something he would do. After all the lessons CC told him about keeping people you love at a distance. He was a little more flirty than usual but again? The scenes that mattered the most, he was Lelouch.

Suzaku. Excuse me Soozakoo was a pretty much his character from R2. Kind of a douchebag with a heart of gold. His scenes with Lelouch were very very in character and really touching.

Kallen was a little out of character. The one scene that touched my heart is when she cried (which by the way was fucking hilarious because the English cry was so bad) when Lelouch kept staring at her with his dead eyes. That was a really beautiful scene and I could admit that even though I despise the two of them together.

Everyone else was pretty much thrown in with no explanation. Ohgi apologizing to Lelouch made 0, no pun intended, sense. Cornelia leading this new nation? This new nation of a whole? How did Lelouch know where everything was and how to work this foreign computer network and equipment? Why was mostly everyone else not phased by the fact that Lelouch was alive? So many things were not explained in this movie.

THE ANIMATION. The characters were beautiful as ever but damn. Sometimes they left blobs and mouths moving and it was so funny. The close up shot of the camels had me laughing in my seat.

THE ENDING. And I mean the post-credit ending. I feel like the creators found this famous fanart of Lelouch and CC:

And were like LET’S GO WITH THAT! They were pretty much dressed like this and looked like they were having a wedding type thing? But they gave a weird vampire feel which was hm. Okay?

Overall, this movie was what it was. An anniversary movie to give the fans and give some more spotlight on Lelouch and CC’s relationship. In the moments it had its key characters, it was beautiful. Hell, it was all beautiful. However, it really did feel I was watching a crack-fic fanfiction in HD. That being said, I would not change anything about this movie. My heart is so full and I was smiling the entire time. So glad I got to go see it!

#code geass #rant #movie #anime #lelouch x cc #my thoughts

64 notes · View notes

zani-is-a-stan · 5 years

Text

suzani watches the Sherlock unaired pilot

Opening

- This version of John looks way more old and way more dad

- That close shot on the gun tell the viewer that John is suicidal

- The dark silhouette of the cupid statue kind of stands out. Given how the cinematography and shot framing is a lot sloppier in this version, I don’t think this is intentional. But if it was intentional, this would be a signal to the viewer that this is a love story.

- Mmm, pass on both Anderson’s beard and this way of introducing the concept of a Sherlock

- This title & credits sequence is so dated

- Anderson with no inflection is boring

- Dinner with wine is not a great place for John to be saying he’s broke

We meet Sherlock & Molly

- We start to see the beginnings of the geometric and precise framing that are the signature of the show in that one shot of Molly behind the glass

- Its nice to see that Molly’s character required almost no adjustment between the two versions. Given that she was the first character original to the show instead of the books, it’s nice to see that she stuck the landing so perfectly

- It’s starting to be really obvious how loose the editing is. There’s a lot of dead air at the beginning and end of every shot before each cut. Much better in the final version.

The lab

- This version of Sherlock seems a lot more accurate to the book Sherlock from Study in Scarlet than the series ultimately ended up being. He’s softer, more interested in interacting with other people than the antisocial, high functioning ASD (where’s the fic that explores that?) twanging brain haver he is in the first episode of season 1

- I want to read a take on Sherlock that discusses him as having ASD and interprets the violin playing and the mystery solving as his stimming techniques

- The camera shots in this scene are really starting to stand out as very different from the show. It’s not just the editing which is kind of thoughtless – these shots are poorly composed and poorly planned. I don’t think it would stand out so much if the final version of the show didn’t make so many deliberate and stylized decisions regarding with the shots and editing.

The apartment

- The extrapolation of john’s family based on the phone became much cleaner in the aired version

- Comic sans! I mean, mrs Hudson is better than that.

- Mrs Hudson definitely checked out john’s butt …

- “can I just ask … what is your street?” this was very good, if repetitive

- Sherlock needs an assistant? This sherlock has a need for human connection that the other one doesn’t – and he has a lava lamp.

- Ugh the apartment at 221B baker st looks so much more vintage in this setup. Not a fan.

- This sherlock definitely cares more about what other people think than the final version.

- Mrs Hudson is a much softer, premade character in this version. I like the final version better. She seems stronger that way.

The cab ride

- So boring. Such greenscreen. Wow.

- not just the greenscreen. the difference in the shooting and finishing of this sequence in the pilot and the aired episode is so incredibly improved that you can hardly believe there were part of the same thing.

- TOO MUCH SYNTH

- Sherlock has a far too human response to john’s compliments and more doubt in how accurate his deductions are

The crime scene

- Im glad they changed sally’s outfit, and smoothed out sherlock’s taunting of her and Anderson’s affair. Ugh I wish they’d kept sally around. This show needed more normie/casual sherlock opponents. Lack of closeups in this scene do it no favors

- They cut the Rache/Rachel clue. And btw, I do love how this was inverted from the book presentation in the show.

- “no, there are two women and three men lying dead, keep talking and there will be more” – this sherlock prioritizes people over mystery solving, and that’s a little more humanizing as well.

- When he’s deconstructing the scene around the woman in pink, there’s a switch in sherlock’s voice when he’s off camera. I’m wondering if maybe that’s a stat actor reading the script for some reason, or if they recorded the dialogue and the camera angles at the same time and forgot to switch when they were editing that shot? Makes sense given how messy the editing is throughout the pilot.

- “do you know you do that out loud?” “sorry, I’ll shut up” “No, don’t worry, it’s fine” (pleased smile) --- this exchange is so accurate to book Sherlock and Holmes

- This is not the same sally as the first episode. I had to check because I have a little bit of face blindness and there weren’t any closeups, but it’s definitely not her. Interesting how the actress who ultimately played her changed the inflection but brought very little new to the blocking.

a bit inbetween and the pink case

- No Mycroft, hmm. Don’t care for it. It added a lot with a really nice red herring feel.

- John returns to his place for absolutely no reason narratively.

- I don’t care for the red herring moment where john looks at the pink case and wonders if sally was right and talks out loud about it.

- The end exchange of this scene is awesome and should have stayed. “Donovan said you get off on this.” “And I said danger and here you are.” “DAMNIT!” It’s very funny, and it’s a fun spar between the two rather than the ultimate resigned tolerance that series John seems to settle into by season 2.

do you have a girlfriend? a boyfriend?

- Sherlock not eating is a brilliant touch, I think that should have been there.

- This version of the girlfriend boyfriend conversation is far more successful than the aired version, although I prefer the setting in the aired version. It’s flirtier, and the “Everything else is transport” line carries implications I prefer to the one we saw on on the official version.

- Sherlock knowing the cab thing ahead of time really lowers the stakes.

- Angelo and the headless nun thing is fucking beautiful. (although angelo is a bit of an upstager) But, the change in the plot to the John running and leaving the cane behind in the final version is much more relevant to the story.

- Ok, so the cabbie drugging Sherlock did show us that John is smart in his own right (we never got enough of that), but it showed us Sherlock fucking up in a way that is inconsistent with the show version of that character. For us to buy that Sherlock is other level super genius instead of just very smart, he can’t make this kind of mistake. If he can’t make a mistake, then John can’t prove his own intelligence. I do think it was a good idea to put the police back in his apartment now, as it gives us more interesting and fun things about those characters, and the ultimate build to the cab ride and the incorporation of modern technology really contributed to the modernizing of the adaption.

which pill

- WHOA that cabbie did just very much threaten to molest or rape Sherlock. Although if there were no women or gay men on the script team, I can totally see the writers not realizing that this line had that connotation.

- And this version requires a lot more explaining of plotholes with dialogue in a way that is avoided in the final verion. This is unquestionably good, because there’s nothing more graceless in filmed stories than having plot explained with words, especially by a villain.

- Taking the pills out of the bottle looks silly.

- Final version cabbie is better. More self-satified and mean.

- “Either way, you’re wasted as a cabbie” is a way better line in the final.

- Taking him out of the apartment and away from the police phone call was A+ the right choice.

- Everyone know the best cops scream “Who is firing, who is firing?” when someone fires a shot.

i’ve got a blanket

- Sherlock saying “Yeah, maybe he beat me, but he’s dead” is a far shot from the man who shook a dying man and demanded to know if he was right or not. Again, this Sherlock is far more human and far less computer.

- That bit with mrs Hudson at the end was unnecessarily mean, I’m glad they cut it

- “I’m his Doctor.” – this lines should have stayed forever.

Overall thoughts

Ok, so overall changes between the pilot and the aired first episode. Plot was a lot more polished. They scrubbed every trace of human need from Sherlock, which I think was a good choice, at least for the beginning of the show. His literal only love is his own abilities as the show airs, which leaves him with a very interesting and exploitable weakness – his arrogance, where as pilot Sherlock doesn’t seem to care all that much when he makes a mistake. We did lose a couple of scenes that had a lot of good chemistry in them, but I think the plot was much improved overall for the changes. The change of Sherlock from being casually mean to people like Anderson to swatting away an irritating fly is very successful. The focus of Sherlock’s relationship with Lestrade seems of a higher priority than Watsons a little bit, so I’m glad that changed. The lead up to John shooting the cabbie was much better in the final

Honestly the pilot doesn’t look like a pilot as much as it looks like a proof of concept piece. The budget was obviously smaller: that’s why they reused the same restaurant set, it’s why the final confrontation took place in the apartment rather than a second location, that’s why the effects are missing or budgety, that’s why the editing was low-end. This as a pilot was sold on the impact of the actors and the bones of the script, not on any of the look that would ultimately make the show what it was. The color work between the first and second version of this alone was amazing. I also think that the hair change in Sherlock was an excellent choice. It offsets BC’s face/head structure in a way that plays into the strangeness of the character in a much better way. Similarly, the coat and scarf that he wears in the series do exist in the pilot, but aren’t really a signature of Sherlock’s on-screen shape design in the same way.

I think the only thing I would’ve kept is the inflection, delivery & read on the girlfriend boyfriend scene, and the return of the “I said danger and here you are” exchange.

There’s a lot of talk about Sherlock’s sexuality and what was cannon in the books. TV Sherlock they seem to be confused about (Belgravia as an episode left me really confused about what statement the writers were trying to make there, which implies that they’re either not completely sure either, or they’re too straight to understand what they’re doing). In the books, Holmes chooses not to have romantic relationship because it stops his brain from working clearly – it’s a deliberate choice based on the Victorian concept of sex (and women, because they are clearly only sex objects) diminishing the capacity for clear thought and mental performance. This is not the same as him being asexual or aromantic as we not aro/ace people understand the concept in 2019.

Based on the scene as it airs, the girlfriend/boyfriend scene would leave me with the opinion that Sherlock is not just asexual but also aromantic. Possibly one of these by choice rather than nature. Based as how the scene plays out in the unaired pilot, I would think that Sherlock is celibate and also attracted to John, more likely gay than bisexual. (There was quite a bit of smoldering going on in the Sherlock to John direction.)

#sherlock #sherlock pilot #suzani watches #suzani watches the unaired sherlock pilot

12 notes · View notes

fishfingersandjellybabies · 6 years

Text

The Easiest Difficulty - fic

Characters: Damian Wayne, Jon Kent Pairing: jondami Summary: It was a simple choice, for both of them. The simplest choice. Or really, it should have been. A/N: In the same AU as Long Time, No See (where Damian left vigilantism completely). This takes place over a few years, though is not every instance they share on the topic/life stresses (ie Jon’s doubts on being a hero etc) and by the end, Damian is 27/28 and Jon is 24/25. Sorry if this is weird/has plotholes. I just wanted some jondami fluff and shit. They both date other people but obviously not seriously. This is one of those 5x1 fics, but I’m bad at that format so not really haha.

There were signs. Signs he chose to ignore but, in hindsight, probably should have used to escape instead. The girls at the front desk squealing with delight and chattering loudly. The office animals barking and meowing in greeting. Even Zooki, the cat he brought to the office with him every day, sat up, sniffed the air, and started purring.

Yeah, he shouldn’t have ignored those signs.

“Uh, D?” He glanced up towards the receptionist sticking her head in the door. Her smile was too bright, too excited. “You have a visitor.”

“Adopter?”

“Personal.”

“Let them in, I suppose.” He sighed, dropping his pen and leaning back in his chair. His family knows better than to bother him at work. And if they absolutely feel the need to, to call first. No surprise visits.

The receptionist nodded and disappeared, only to be replaced a moment later by a dark-haired man in dirty jeans and an ugly flannel shirt.

Damian’s frown deepened. And he couldn’t help but feel betrayed when his beloved Zooki rose from her perch to go greet their guest.

“…Jonathan.” He grumbled as he fixed his glasses, standing anyway.

“Hi.” Jon grinned, and suddenly produced a bouquet from behind his back. Roses of all different colors. “Happy Valentines Day.”

Ah. Now he understood why the front office was so giddy.

Still, Damian couldn’t help but smirk as he approached, and accepted the flowers. Zooki purred from between their feet.

“Cheater.” Damian mumbled, his nose dipped in the petals. “You can’t box me in with a romantic holiday.”

“I’m not trying to box you in.” Jon denied. “I’m just trying to ask you on a date.”

“And I gave you my stipulations.” Damian glanced up, keeping his face in the flowers. “Have you met them?”

Jon glanced down.

“…Jon?”

“Can’t you just like, put those off for now? For one date?” Jon mumbled, shuffling his foot. “Just so I can treat you for a few hours, for once?”

Damian sighed, and opened his mouth to respond, but Jon kept rambling.

“I mean, what if it goes horribly? What if it turns out our clearly mutual crushing was all for naught because we’re both terrible people and so we’ll never go out again? Then your stipulations won’t even be necessary!”

“Or, we could fall head over heels in love and be unable to live without each other. Then my stipulations would be very important.” Damian countered. “Trust me – I don’t like saying no to you like this. But it’s important to me, so I’d hope it’d mean something to you too.”

A pause.

“…So?”

“No.” Jon exhaled. “I haven’t met your stipulations.”

Damian clicked his tongue, and finally removed his face from the flowers. “Thank you for the gift, Jon. I truly do appreciate it.”

“…Can we at least get lunch while I’m here?”

Damian shook his head, turning away and returning to his chair. “I’m swamped with paperwork. Not to mention I need to start preparations for this weekend’s adoption event.”

“…Okay, no problem.” Jon gave him a smile, but Damian didn’t look at it, knowing it would be sad. “Call me when you’re free?”

“Only if you promise to call me if you are.” Damian returned. Jon gave a bitter laugh and turned away.

Damian pulled at his bowtie. He hated these things. Hated the monkey suits, hated the guests. Hated how fake it made his family, and even himself.

He also hated the inevitable kerfuffle when a bad guy tried to crash the party.

And this night was no different. The only thing that was maybe a little strange was that he’d had enough champagne not to care all that much when a gun was shoved in his face, or when he was shoved into a chair next to Tim and threatened.

Hell, he and Tim even toasted, clinking their glasses together and gulping their drinks down as the criminals screamed for Bruce to pay for their lives.

It’d been a crummy week at Wayne Enterprises. A crummy week at the animal shelter. They were allowed to have this.

The plus side of getting out of the hero life – he could sit back and relax, not waste much energy attempting to save himself. And his brother was probably too tired at this point to even try. Finishing the booze in his hand was much more important than his life at this point.

Besides – they knew they didn’t have to try tonight anyway. Their Super counterparts were watching for this exact moment, and it wasn’t long before the ballroom was being invaded by red capes, and various poorly designed uniforms.

Honestly, a leather jacket? A hoodie? A skirt? And Clark’s was just ugly, no matter how many times he tweaked it.

Regardless of their aesthetics, they were good at their jobs, and quick. There was still champagne in Damian’s own glass when he felt Jon’s arms wrap protectively around him, and whisk him away to safety on a nearby roof.

“You’re safe now, Mr. Wayne.” Jon drawled, watching as his family landed around the city with the rest of Damian’s family.

“Oh, gee.” Damian returned, just as sarcastically, downing the rest of his drink. He saw one of his would-be captors try to escape through a balcony door, and threw the empty glass at him with a well-aimed shot, shattering it along his temple. “How could I ever repay you?”

Jon laughed. “Well, you know, a kiss would be nice. That’s what a lot of the middle-aged women we rescue offer. Even to Kara.” He smirked, stepping closer. “And that’s a payment I’ll gladly accept from you.”

Damian stared incredulously up at him. “Sorry, I’m not a middle-aged woman.” He drawled, then gave a smirk of his own. “And I’m more into farmers’ sons anyway.”

“Oh, come on-”

“And only farmers’ sons.” He backed up a step, holding his arms wide while looking around. “And unfortunately, all I see around here are superheroes, so. Guess I’ll keep my kisses to myself.”

“You’re the worst.” Jon whined with an annoyed chuckle.

“From where I’m standing?” Damian said softly. He glanced over the building, watched the cop cars start to arrive. He turned back just to watch Jon take to the sky. “That title is yours.”

“I can’t believe it.” The old man said. One Mr. Sanchez, a twenty-four-year veteran of the Wayne Enterprises board of trustees. Damian was here with him because of the almost-kidnapping event at the gala a few months prior – his father was having a press conference today to talk about security, his family’s safety and how they’re coping, blah blah blah. The usual. Anyway, in Damian’s completely objective opinion - Sanchez’s mind was starting to go. “I can’t believe I know someone who has a superhero interested in him.”

Tim snorted into his water down the table.

“Trust me.” Damian sighed, keeping his voice even. He glanced fiercely at his brother. “It’s not all that uncommon.”

“I suppose.” Sanchez said. “But still! It must be exciting! Especially because it was a Super, no less!”

“There is nothing between the youngest Super-whatever and myself.” Damian droned boredly. “Regardless of what you and the idiot public think you see in that picture.”

“I don’t know, Mr. Wayne. This kind of chemistry is impossible to fake.” Sanchez said, holding up the newspaper in question. Above the fold, splashed across the page – Jon and Damian talking on the roof after Jon had rescued him from that party. Because, of course there weren’t any better or more relevant photographs of the event, right? “And in any case, it’s quite clear that Superboy is very smitten with you, regardless of what you claim. There are rumours about him, and even his heroics. The biggest one being he is only ever seen in Gotham on the rare occasion you are in town.”

“For one, he doesn’t go by Boy anymore, the whole world knows that. For two, I will tell you the same thing I told the reporter who emailed me about this drivel of an article.” Damian sighed, watching Dick come over to Tim, who was having a silent laughing fit behind his hand. He clearly asked Tim what was so funny, and Tim openly told him. Dick’s eyes shone in amusement as he looked up at Damian himself. Damian hated him. “I have no interest in my rescuer whatsoever, nor any superhero otherwise. Whom I’m romantically interested in is none of the public’s business, and I’d appreciate the courtesy of privacy.”

“Fair enough. You are a private citizen and wish to remain so. That’s why you left the limelight of Wayne Enterprises, I know, I know.” Sanchez waved off. “But, may I ask?”

Damian glanced at him.

“Why no superheroes?” Sanchez asked. “What turns you off to them? Even my mother said she’d leave her husband of fifty-seven years for the likes of Batman or Black Canary.”

“Because that’s not a world I want to be a part of. I had enough of all that Batman and Robin stuff growing up here. That’s part of why I left Gotham. Superheroes are nothing but trouble.” Damian explained. Then quieter, mumbled, “And what if they go out and don’t come home? What if they die in the field? Just because they’re heroes doesn’t mean they’re immortal. Doesn’t mean they can’t come back hurt and broken. And would you like to see that happen to someone you claim to love on a potentially daily basis?”

Sanchez didn’t answer that. He quickly dropped his gaze to the floor.

“And I, for one, have had enough loss and trauma in my life. So I’ll take a hard pass on a traumatic love life too, thank you.” Damian concluded. He let there be a pause of silence, then hummed, shaking his head as turned to the door to leave. “No, I’ll take the likes of…I don’t know, a poor farmer from Kansas over a superhero any day.”

The only warning he got was all of his animals twitching their ears and turning towards the front door at the same time.

He glanced up from his papers as he came out of his office. “Wha-”

And that was all he could say before the door flew open, practically knocked off its hinges, and he was thrown back against the stairs by the weight of a body stumbling forward and falling on top of him.

“What…” Damian blinked, watching the papers he’d been holding float around them like giant snowflakes. His focus was slow in his surprise, but eventually his vision evened out, and he recognized the body on top of him as none other than: “Jon?!”

Jon grinned, sloppy and giddy. His eyes were blurry and his cheeks were red. He was in his farm work clothes – an old t-shirt, holey jeans and muddy boots.

“…Hi.” Jon hummed, making no move to get off of him. In fact, he did the complete opposite. Seemed to settle his weight against Damian as he reached up and gently ran his fingers over Damian’s face, along the arm of his blue glasses, glossy eyes darting across his features. “…You know, you look way better in glasses than I ever did.”

“…Jon?” Damian whispered, feeling his own face heat up, just a little. “Are you okay?”

“Peachy.” Jon nodded awkwardly. “You know, Pop won’t let me grow peaches. I think it’s ‘cause we don’t live in Georgia.”

“What? What are you talking about?” And no sooner was the question out of his mouth, the stench hit his nose. The smell of smoke, of greasy food, of too much beer. “Jon, are you-”

Jon’s eyelids fluttered, and he sighed happily as he pulled Damian’s glasses away from his face, in what he probably thought was a seductive move.

…Oh god, he was drunk.

“Jonathan.” Damian scolded.

“You’re pretty.” Jon countered, closing his eyes as he swayed back and forth a little bit. “Did you know that?”

“Jon, how much did you have to drink tonight?” Damian demanded. He put his hands on Jon’s chest, not so much to push him off, just to steady them both against the sharp corners of the steps. He glanced out the destroyed front door, and frowned. “Oh my god, Jon, did you fly here?!”

“I’ll fly to the moon.” Jon slurred, leaning in to brush his nose against Damian’s skin. And as much as he didn’t want it to, Damian felt his heart hammer in his chest, as Jon fell into a ridiculous rendition of Frank Sinatra. “Come fly with me, come fly, oh, let’s fly away…”

“Jon.” Damian tried. “Come on, you need to sleep this off.”

Jon didn’t break his song, just pressed his lips to Damian’s jaw, fingers curling into his hair.

“Who were you out drinking with? Do they know you’re here?” Damian pushed, but even he knew in his soul it was half-hearted. “I’ll need to call your parents…”

Jon stopped singing then, and just turned the tune into a hum as he brought his other hand up to hold Damian’s cheek. He opened his eyes now, and stared at him in a hazy bliss.

Damian gulped, and hated himself when he felt his fingers twitch tighter into Jon’s shirt.

“Jon…”

And Jon kissed him.

And Damian should have pushed him off. Jon was drunk, his stairs were digging into his back, the animals were making a racket and probably escaping, and his stipulations –

But god, Jon tasted so good.

So he indulged. Felt guilt and shame running all through his system, but goddamn, he indulged. Just for a second. For a few seconds.

Because of course, this was all he wanted. All he’d ever wanted. All Jon ever wanted too. And it’d be so easy…

But no. Because he was out. He was out and he refused to be dragged back in, or involved in any way past what his family forced him to be.

Even for his potential – total, absolute – soul mate.

So, sadly, when Jon pulled back for air, Damian turned his face away before Jon could dive back in. Put his hand against Jon’s mouth, and pushed him back as gently as he could.

“You’re drunk.” He sighed. Jon gave a little whine behind his fingers, but moved back as Damian sat up. “Come on, Jon. Let’s get you into the guest room.”

Jon outright groaned as Damian stood and pulled him to his feet by his hands, grabbed his glasses from where Jon had tossed them, and dragged him carefully up the stairs, into – what he believed was – the wrong bedroom.

“Just like old times.” Jon smirked, throwing blankets towards the bed. Damian snatched them out of the air, rolling his eyes. “All those old sleepovers we had, like when our dads were working cases and stuff.”

He grabbed a few pillows from the shelf, then stepped over to Damian, very obviously standing purposefully in his personal space. Damian kept his scowl.

“I won’t make you sleep on the floor this time, though.”

“I’m not taking your bed, Jon. We’re adults, I can survive a few nights on the floor.” Damian mumbled. “Though frankly, the sooner this case of Grayson’s is over, the happier I’ll be.”

“Well, of course I agree. The sooner Dick and Dad find whoever’s threatening you and your dad, the happier I’ll be too.” Jon snorted. “And no, you’re not taking my bed. We’re sharing.”

Damian felt heat in his face. “Jon…”

“The bed’s big enough.” Jon grinned. “And like you just said – we’re adults, Damian. It’ll be fine.”

“I don’t know what you’re implying, but I won’t have a problem.” Damian spun away from him, unfolding the blankets and laying them out. “If there’s anything to worry about, it’s you and your…your crush.”

It was mean, borderline cruel. But it was the only way he could protect himself too.

Jon just laughed, though, and as soon as Damian had the blankets settled, flopped onto the bed.

“You wish it was just a crush.” He giggled. Damian let his frown deepen.

“No, I wish you would move on.” Damian scolded. He began to set up the pillows, began debating putting one between them as a barrier – just in case. “I wish you’d let yourself be happy instead of chasing lost causes.”

“I am happy. And I’m not chasing a lost cause.” Jon countered. “Even if we’re not together-together like we – I – may want to be, you’re still my best friend. You still make me happy.”

Damian pursed his lips, and kept his gaze on his task.

“Hey.” Jon suddenly took hold of his wrist, squeezing gently. “Don’t feel guilty about it, okay? I get it. I totally get it. You’re not being selfish, or greedy or anything. You got out, Damian. You got out of the mask, you have a life, you’re happy and safe and stable. You’re taking care of yourself. And you deserve that.”

“…I’m sorry I can’t be like your mother.” Damian murmured, still refusing to look. “I’m sorry I can’t…toe that line like she does. Or be able to have two completely separate lives like Grayson or Drake do.”

“Don’t apologize.” Jon repeated. “I’m glad you don’t. That means I don’t have to worry about you being out there getting hurt. Times like right now excluded, anyway.”

Damian closed his eyes. Jon gave his wrist another squeeze.

“And you’re not hurting me with your choice either.” He whispered. “I understand the ultimatum, I do. And I respect that.” He paused, and Damian felt him look out the window. “You don’t owe me anything, Damian. You don’t owe anyone anything. Not me, not your family, not the world. You always tell me to take care of myself; maybe you should listen to your own advice.”

“Love is about compromise.” Damian countered softly. “And I haven’t made any.”

“Neither have I.” Jon agreed. “In fact, if anything I should be apologizing to you. You gave me a simple choice, and I keep making the wrong one every day.”

“No you don’t.” Damian shook his head, opened his eyes, glanced at the other. “The world needs a Superman.”

“Yeah, and it has like four or five, even without me.” Jon laughed. “Honestly, I’m totally expendable. Which probably makes what I’m doing to you even worse.”

“You are not…!” Damian almost shouted. He stopped himself, though, and instead just pulled his hand from Jon’s. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I’m tired.”

“Same.” Jon allowed. He patted the bed next to him. Damian silently crawled in next to him, lying as close to the wall as he could. He waited a moment, knew Jon was watching him, then decided to put that pillow between them.

Jon snorted when he did so, and immediately tossed it to the floor. He scooted closer, hooking his chin over Damian’s head as he flopped his arm loosely around his waist.

“You’re here so I can protect you, remember.” He mumbled, like it was actually a valid explanation. Damian sighed, but didn’t shove him off. Didn’t make any move to return any affections, either. They laid in the silence for a moment, listening to the bugs chirp into the Kansas night. “…You’re always going to wait for me, aren’t you.”

“Always.” Damian promised quietly. “Unfortunately.” He added bitterly after. Another second, then: “And I guess I don’t have to ask you the same.”

Jon didn’t answer. Damian fell asleep.

He was just finishing watering the plants on his back porch when the sun began to rise over the tree line. He’d found he enjoyed gardening in his new life, specifically early morning or late night gardening. When the neighborhood children were asleep or inside, and cars weren’t coming and going. When there was utter silence and peacefulness. Just him and his thoughts, and sometimes, if they were awake themselves, his animals.

The water in the can ran out, and he placed it on the porch railing next to his pot of blooming zinnias. He gave a contented sigh as he reached for his mug of steaming coffee, holding it in both hands as he took a long sip, and paused to watch the sky light up in deep oranges and pinks.

Then – his house gave a slight shake, and he could hear things inside falling off shelves.

He turned back towards the house, setting his coffee back on the table as the animals inside began to stir and bark in alarm. When he got in, he watched his pets all rush to the front window, staring anxiously at something in the front yard. Damian frowned and followed the mob, but instead of looking out the window, he moved to the front door and opened it, facing whatever threat it might have been head on, like he always had.

But it was no threat.

Standing in the center of a small crater localized to his front yard, stood a man in a red and blue hooded sweatshirt, torn, dirty and open, exposing a bloody and disgusting white shirt underneath. His ripped jeans had even more holes in it, and he was missing his shoes.

Next to him was a duffle bag.

“…Jon?” Damian called carefully, stepping outside and closing the door before any of the dogs could follow. Jon glanced up at him with tired, sad, hollow eyes. “Jon, are you alright?”

“You were right.” Jon croaked as Damian approached him. “You were always right.”

“About what?” Damian reached up, and gently ran his thumb over the giant bruise on Jon’s face. “God, Jon – what happened?!”

“I should have listened to you years ago. I should have agreed to your stipulations. Then we could have been happy and safe and a family and…”

“Jonathan.” Damian tried again, dropping his hand to Jon’s chest. He could feel the blood still seeping, feeling injuries that Jon absolutely should not have. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t want it.” Tears welled up in Jon’s eyes. Overflowed immediately. “Damian, I don’t want to be Superman.”

Damian’s eyes widened, and he felt his heart maybe stop.

“I lost. Again. People died today, and it was my fault, Damian. I wasn’t good enough. My powers shorted out. I was…I was only a fucking human.” Jon wailed. “I don’t want it to happen again. I…I can’t let it happen again. But it was…I…” His shoulders slumped. “I’m so tired, Damian. I don’t know how Dad does it. I…”

He swayed on his feet a little bit, and Damian immediately reached out for his arms. His tears twinkled in the rising sun.

“I can’t be Superman. I don’t want to be. You were right. You were always right. I should have gotten out when you did. I should have given up this stupid symbol and helped people on the ground, like you do.” Jon repeated. His lip trembled. “I don’t want to be Superman, Damian.”

“Then don’t be.” Damian whispered.

“I just…I want…” He let out a tiny sob. “I don’t even want to be the Son of Superman anymore. I just…” Another louder cry. “I just want to be Jon.”

And Damian couldn’t help but smile, as he gently began to push that sweatshirt from Jon’s shoulders. “You are.”

“I just…” Jon repeated. He suddenly glanced down at his bag. Damian did too, saw the zipper wasn’t completely closed. Inside, he could see clothes and books and pictures. Jon’s whole life, more or less. He looked back up at Jon, and Jon was staring desperately at him. He was serious about this. “I just want to be yours.”

Damian couldn’t help but grin even wider. There was no more Superboy. There was no more budding Superman. There were no more nights laying up in worry that he would die, that they’d be separated forever. No more days feeling guilty or selfish, because he was making him choose. No more ultimatum between him and the cape.

There was just his love. There was just his soul mate, Jonathan Samuel Kent.

“Beloved, you always have been.” Damian breathed, bringing his hands up to carefully hold Jon’s face, and kiss him as sweetly as he could. As sweetly as he’d always wanted to.

Jon all but collapsed into his arms, clinging as tightly as he could, and Damian relished in the feeling. Even when their lips broke apart, Damian didn’t let him go. Kept a protective arm around his waist as he leaned down and picked up his bag for him.

He kicked the ruined hoodie into the dirt of his front garden, making a mental note to gleefully burn the thing later. (With Jon’s permission, of course.)

“I’ll need to find a job.” Jon murmured. “And I…I don’t know how to cook. Or understand banking accounts. And I’ll pay rent, and I’ll…”

“Shhh.” Damian breathed. “Later, Jonathan. One thing at a time.”

When they attempted to step forward, Jon immediately stumbled, and half collapsed further into Damian’s side. Jon couldn’t walk, his leg was clearly too injured. And that was fine. Damian merely flipped Jon’s bag over his shoulder, and slip his arm under Jon’s knees. Jon immediately curled into his chest, arms around his neck.

“May I show you to our bedroom?” Damian asked gently, as Jon desperately dug his nails in Damian’s back. “You look like you could use a nice long nap.”

And finally, he caught a smile on Jon’s lips, and relief in his voice. “Yes, please.”

Damian carried him to the door, balancing on one leg to kick open the knob, then walked across the threshold with him. The animals all began sniffing at the new arrival, but Damian paid them no mind, immediately moving towards the stairs, towards the bedroom.

Their bedroom.

“Welcome home, Jon.” Damian whispered into his hair.

Jon, still crying, let out a tiny laugh. “I’m so happy to finally be here, Damian.”

#Damian Wayne #jon kent #jondami #freedom au #has a name now oops

79 notes · View notes

spacepaladinranger · 7 years

Text

Encantadia: What they did right, and what they did wrong

The right things:

Worldbuilding. Encantadia is arguably one of Philippine TV’s most imaginative show. The sheer brilliance of its worldbuilding -- a perfect mix of fantasy and native mythology, is the core strength of this show. The amount of imagination and research, and the way these ideas are brought to life is what made this show so compelling for its viewers. I love that in this remake, they expanded the world of Encantadia and included new lores and myths that enhance our understanding of its characters.

Lira and Mira. Fated rivals turned into each others’ ride or die. I am living. This kind of friendship is so beautiful to watch because the actors’ (Mikee and Kate) natural charisma and skillful acting brought these characters to life. Lira and Mira were relatable. They made mistakes, but they learned from it. They were funny, but they were also serious when needed. They fought fiercely, but they also showed softness. Oftentimes we see friendships portrayed in Philippine television as lopsided -- there always one in a friendship that is perceived as the ‘sidekick’, but Lira and Mira were equals. They both blossomed and were each other’s support system.

Ybramihan. This is a controversial call because of the proverbial Alebarro pairing in the original series. But somehow, this remake just made this paring work. Ruru and Kylie’s chemistry is explosive and the more I watched them, the more I wanted Ybramihan to be endgame. Their love story was written poignantly, and with such subtlety that is very refreshing to see on Philippine television.

Cassiopea and Ether. Solenn was born to play this role. The way she portrayed Cassiopea as this complicated hero reminded me of a Greek myth. There is something very Greecian about her and the Bathalas and Bathalumans. The way they mold in, and actively take part in the shaping of the world of Encantadia is reminiscent of the way the Greek gods and goddesses interfere with the lives of the mortal heroes simply because they can and they want to. I live for that because they showed these divine beings as infallible and human.

The villains (well, most of them anyway). As I always said, any good vs bad story requires an amazing villain. Hagorn was the perfect antithesis to the Sang’gres. He was cunning, brutal, but also complex. He reminded me so much of Snape; a good character, but a bad person. Asval too was the quintessential villain -- backstabbing, dishonest, and self-serving. Andorra and Agane too were exceptionally loathsome villains.

The wrong things:

The format. Encantadia should have been a weekly series. The pressure to produce an episode 5 times a week is huge, and it showed in the show. Changing the format would have allowed them to refine certain plot points and edit the script, and also more time to prepare for it. The filler episodes (which is like every episode from Tuesday to Thursday tbh) were mostly bad, with a few exceptions.

Etheria. The Etheria arc ruined this show, period. Avria was a poorly-written villain. The time travel thing did not fit into the narrative of the story. There was no reason for Etheria to have been resurrected. The plotholes were too obvious and it seemed like everything were written haphazardly, with no clear direction.

Ariana and the sarkosi. Again, why was this on the show? It was literally pointless, narrative-wise. Ariana as a character was bland and one-dimensional, and the sarkosi bit was not explored enough.

Too many extra characters. They were obviously plot fillers and only existed out of convenience. The show could have exerted more effort in developing characters already there (Aquil, Muros, WANTUK, Wahid to name a few) instead of introducing us to characters that, like Ariana, did not enhance the narrative. Examples are Deshna, Amarro, Gilas, Azulan, Manik, and a whole lot more I could care less about.

Too much focus on moving the plot. Plot is important, I know, but if I were to choose between a good plot and good characters, I’d choose the latter. A good character in a badly written plot is still more watchable than a story with a good premise but botched characterization. The overall lack of character development for most characters made the show difficult to watch at times.

#encantadia

99 notes · View notes

firebunnylover · 7 years

Text

Hannah Watches LOSH - Timber Wolf

So I started to make gifs for the reviews because I found I was taking way to many screenshots in particular scenes in this episode. If anyone knows a good reference/guide on making gifs of parts of an episode with just one program that don’t stutter in tumblr and stay the same duration as the source, and the recomended sizes for images in text posts and, lemme know. I’m probably going to start assembling all images because i love them all and i hate how text posts kill the quality.

And this time I’m including the keep reading option.

Timber Wolf

The way the episodes starts off before the theme is on Rawl, focusing on Dr. Londo, and old man, with his robots, pursuing a werewolf like creature.

From an artistic standpoint, I found the planet’s environment very Halloween like. But here, writing wise, we get a dark glimpse of the show.

After the show’s theme, we cut to what is essentially a space version of the sea cucumber. Lorsax. Not sure how it’s spelled. We’ll just call it Space-Cucumber.

Lightning Lad is still the proud jock we encountered in the previous episode, as he cuts off Superman in mid question.

However, karma kicks in early by proving that Space-Cucumber is immune to lightning, and having a tentacle snag him.

The distress message, Dr. Londo does look panicked and anxious. Easy to believe he is in need if you’ve haven’t already seen this episode.

Oh Saturn Girl named Space-Cucumber Globby. Okay.

And it looks like Superman is coming out of his shell. He snarks back at Lightning Lad the very words he was told earlier playfully. That’s a good sign.

Garth u loser.

Creeping Cat B5.

And we get him insisting that Bouncing Boy used the system that he made to assist him, which results in one of my favorite funny moments.

That results in the ship hyper blasting off. And crashing onto the planet.

While we get our first hint at the Saturn Girl/Lightning Lad ship.

Upon landing, Bouncing Boy and Brainy are holding animosity towards each other judging by the facial expressions.

Lightning Lad seems to have the unquestioned position as the leader given Cosmic Boy isn’t in the picture. Makes sense given he’s a founder, but I think Saturn Girl is better.

Can’t help but smile at the confusion of Superman’s 21st century slang.

When Dr. Londo tells them about the Creature, he says it destroyed everything, including his team. I honestly can’t tell if he’s making that up or not, regarding if he had a team in the first place. More of that in the overall review in the end.

Ok, clearly the picture was several years old, given the hair was still dark for Londo.

Upon meeting Dr. Londo, Saturn Girl seems to be the hesitant one of the group, while the rest bought what he said. Obviously her powers give her an edge on the situation, but she is more observant than the others.

Thus return to more fighting B5 and BB. B5 is a stickler for order and doing things perfectly as much as possible, insisting that since he has a 12th level intelligence he doesn’t need to improvise, while BB is a “wing it” guy, as he will improvise in some way or another. But Brainy is also bad at picking up on social stuff, like Bouncing Boy being upset with him, who proceeds to break a rule Londo had set.

With the other three, Lightning Lad starts to tease Saturn Girl who snaps at him, catching him and Superman by surprise.

When she’s expressing her concern on what’s going on, they get ambushed by robots. When Saturn Girl gets separated from the boys, we see her powers can effect things physically, including robots. This knocks her out, but she is saved, but kidnapped, by the creature we saw in the beginning.

Bouncing Boy enters a restricted area, and is immediately hunted down by robots with guns. Nice welcome.

We then switch back to Saturn Girl, who is in a cave with the creature, groggy from her thought blast. We see her scared, telling, or begging rather, the creature not to eat her.

The creature is a good puppy.

Puppy is doing his best to tell you Saturn Girl.

“Why do I need permission? It’s a monster.”

HIS FACE

DON’T DO THIS TO ME OW

And then Lightning Lad and Superman swoop in, being two well-intentioned dummies. Knocking Saturn Girl out in the process.

PUPPY WAS TRYING TO CHECK ON HER NO SUPERMAN DON’T TOSS HIM

Karma has a stalactite chunk land on Lightning Lad, but he somehow survives??

And after getting his shirt torn and scratched, he then zaps Superman on accident. Which he apologizes for.

However, Superman had to hold Lightning Lad back after puppy is knocked out, although he seems upset about that.

We return to Brainy, who insists he’s not worried about Bouncing Boy… until he finds him held hostage by robots, and proceeds to save him instantly. Saying he improvised.

Well gentlemen, I don’t think this is what you were expecting in his labs, judging by your expressions.

You two are trouble.

Where did they get that net? Did Londo give them it?

LIGHTNING LAD YOU MEANIE TO THE PUPPY. I HOPE SATURN GIRL GAVE YOU AN EARFUL AFTER THE MISSION

The power of improvising. Works well in college.

NO MAH PUPPY.

SATURN GIRL SASS

She went out of her way to make sure Puppy was comfortable before she proceeded. Saturn Girl for queen of the legion please. And Queen of staring down twits.

Okay, time to address one question we all have: WHERE THE HELL DID THOSE BOXERS COME FROM?! I mean I get censorship and that the plot would have been spoiled if Puppy had boxes in full monster form, but COME ONE.

Brainy, don’t poke the Puppy. PET the Puppy.

Dr. Londo. With evil robots and can’t-determine-good-or-bad creatures. An absolutely abusive parent.

Saturn Girl being the friend to help keep Brin from snapping and loosing control. What a good person.

Then this declaration Brin makes.

So. Good. Holding Dr. Londo accountable for the abuse and determined to get away from his abusive parent.

“Take them all.” Dr. Londo, do you really think the rest of the Legion will just forget about them?

And we get some more jelly Lightning Lad. Garth u loser.

FEAR THE GREEN SMART CHILD WITH PERI-COPTER HANDS AND THE ORB OF IMPROVISING.

LIGHTING LAD IS A TSUNDERE. SAY IT WITH ME.

And after Dr. Londo’s animals try to gang up on him but then are scared off, the truly sickening part begins.

Using his own son for research. Against his will. Saying he should have thanked him for making something for battle. The music during this whole part is unsettling, as is the issue. Brin can’t go back to what he was before. The damage that has been done to him, it’s permanent.

Dr. Londo taunts him on how long Brin can maintain control over himself, but Saturn Girl rejects that. Saying that he will have help.

And Dr. Londo? He gets off. Jurisdiction can’t touch him because of where the crime took place.

Brin. He doesn’t get justice. He doesn’t get what he deserves.

To Brin, parents are people who should protect children from harm in the world. But his father didn’t do that. He deliberately harmed him.

Nothing will ever fix that. Ever.

The only thing he can do is destroy what Dr. Londo uses for his projects. And when he’s done.

His final statement to the man who should have protected him.

… Are there a bunch of spare uniforms just lying around? A machine on board that just made the outfit? TELL ME~

Brin expresses fear that Dr. Londo is right, that he will lose control. But this time, Lightning Lad is the one to offer words of comfort. Perhaps he’s seen something similar?

And so, the episode concludes with Brin swearing in as Timber Wolf.

So final thoughts on the episode overall.

OW. THE WRITERS HAVE TAKEN A SPEAR AND JABBED IT THROUGH MY HEART.

Except for a little plothole where they said in the last episode Colossal Boy was on Rawl. Brainy said there wasn’t much else aside from Dr. Londo’s research station. I don’t know how big Rawl is compared to earth, but kinda bothers me this wasn’t addressed. The only explanation I can think of is that his mission took place on the other side of the planet, and/or that the incident was resolved before Brin was transformed. Which leads to two more questions.

How much time did pass between this episode and the last one? And how long had it been since Brin was experimented on?

There has been enough time for Superman to start emerging from his shell clearly.

When I was younger, I didn’t get the significance of this episode. Now I do.

One of the main character has been abused by his father and changed into something he didn’t want any part of. And he doesn’t get justice in the end. Dr. Londo got off.

Let’s look at another infamous abusive Father and his son. Ozai and Zuko. A father who burned his son’s face for standing up in what he believed was right, standing up for others. Zuko still associated Ozai as a father though, as evident by the Freudian slip of “Father Lord”, associating fathers with negative things. But Zuko does have someone for support. Iroh. Who cares so damn much about Zuko it’s literally making me cry while writing this. And Zuko eventually held him accountable. But whether Zuko got justice regarding what his father did is arguable. Ozai got imprisoned, but Zuko still went to see him after the war in the comics. He wasn’t completely freed from him after two years.

Brin, there is no other father figure. No one else for him to lean on automatically during the abuse. But the Legion stepped in. They were going to be his support. They were new, but they were something at least. But he was determined to completely cut Dr. Londo out of his life, and knew fathers shouldn’t be associated with abuse. That’s different from Zuko.

Both are different reactions, but both are understandable.

But hey, Timber Wolf was far luckier than another dog person I know.

Now regarding what Dr. Londo said about Brin destroying his team. Did Dr. Londo kill off his own staff? Did they leave out of their own free will? Or were the staff impassive about what Dr. Londo did to his own son? Because if it’s the latter, there is the chance Brin could have injured/killed them out of anger when he escaped. Hence why Dr. Londo had to get the Legion. The way Brin was, he would have killed him. But if Dr. Londo had killed the staff himself, then he could have set it up to make it look like Brin did it.

Personally, I like the episodes that are on the dark side. I do think cheery episodes are important, but episodes like these? They are important.

Personally, I can’t think of any better way this story could have been carried out.

Characters in this episode:

Superman has clearly started to come out of the shell he was in during the first episode. He has more freedom to be himself. And given just how much my heart was breaking over him the last time, this is good.

Brainiac 5 has more personality this time, other than the gay/bi (going of the comics here; I probably should have addressed he’s canonically bi last time, I apologize, I was very hyped), and little evidence of the crush. This time, we see him as someone who tries to maintain order, and stick to the system as much as possible. But in the end, he is capable of change. We also see he’s not aware of certain social ques.

Bouncing Boy: We see he’s far more relaxed than Brainy, preferring to do things as they come along, and to improvise. He doesn’t let himself get trampled on. Is a happy version of a college student.

Lightning Lad you brat. I love him. Karma has got him several times in today’s episode, and he’s a jealous baby who hates being wrong. Garth u loser. But also nice to see him being nice at the end.

I WANT TO PROTECT TIMBER WOLF SO BAD. I WILL GET ALL THE BLANKETS AND WRAP HIM IN THEM AND GET ALL THE GOOD FOODS FOR HIM. HE DOESN’T DESERVE THE SHORT STICK LIVE HAS GIVEN HIM. But I’m so proud he went to join the team that is meant to help others. That’s a good way to go forward. Kind of sad he doesn’t get any speaking dialogue from him before the transformation though. I would like to see what he was like before the experiment happened.

Remember what I said in the last episode, about the villains needing development? Dr. Londo is a well-developed villain that he leaves us with an impact. He’s manipulative and smart enough so that when he does get caught, he doesn’t go to jail. He doesn’t have any remorse for what he did to his son. I would put the guy in a pit with venomous spiders because of what he’s done. And I would have let him get eaten, like Lightning Lad said.

Well, that’s all from me today! Lemme know if you think I forgot to mention anything, feedback is appreciated! Or if the gifs aren’t working...

#losh #legion of superheroes #legion of super-heroes #Hannah Watches LOSH #timber wolf #brin londo

39 notes · View notes

booksbeyondimagining · 6 years

Photo

To All the Boys I've Loved Before (To All the Boys I've Loved Before #1), by Jenny Han

Publish Date: April 15, 2014 Published by: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers Pages: 369 Genre: YA Romance My Rating: ★★★★★ (4.5 out of 5 stars)

Synopsis:

What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them… all at once? Sixteen-year-old Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren’t love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control.

My Review:

So, I've had this one sitting in my ereader for a couple of years now, and never felt like the right mood for it. But with the movie coming out on Netflix and seeing the trailer and all the posts about it on social media, the cuteness overload made me crave reading it to no end so of course I finally caved (despite having like four other books already in my currently-reading pile). This was fast-paced, funny and cute, with so much realness to it that I felt like the characters could easily walk off the page and into my life. I loved Jenny Han's writing style. It is very sharp and refined, but also full of life and beauty. The chapters are short, almost like small little vignettes into Lara Jean's life that all flow together to create a wonderful story, and the pacing is fast, pulling the reader along for the ride with ease. I enjoyed the tiny things that were mentioned throughout, little tidbits of Peter and Lara Jean's growing relationship and knowledge of each other. The sister theme was also very strong, and was beautifully written and felt so very real in every sense of what it means to have a sister. The whole thing just felt so down-to-earth and realistic in both the storytelling and the characters and had a way of making me feel happy no matter what. I thought Lara Jean was a great protagonist. She had me laughing out loud, cheering for her, feeling upset for her, and getting angry on her behalf. I'll admit there was times I thought she could be a little childish and naive, but I could also understand why she was so in those situations. Peter was surprisingly not what I expected based on what I've seen on social media - I thought he was going to be this perfect handsome gentleman, but he turned out to be such a regular teenager that it was kind of even better. Sure, he is kind and goes out of his way to make Lara Jean happy, but he also makes many mistakes and has flaws and can be an oblivious guy at times. They balanced each other well and I loved how natural their interactions were and every moment they spent time together was a bright point on the page. I think of all the other characters, though, my favorite had to be Kitty. She was such a snake. I loved how manipulative she could be, both for herself and for her sisters. And the way she spoke to Peter the first time she met him had me in tears. She is definitely a girl after my own heart. The dynamic between Margot and Lara Jean, on the other hand, was definitely both positive and negative, with a great relationship between them based on Margot's care for Lara Jean and Lara Jean's respect for Margot, but there was also the issue of Margot having a bit of a control issue over Lara Jean's life - constantly making suggestions about clubs and internships for Lara Jean to do, and also telling her that Peter wasn't good for her even though she barely knew him herself. These sisters don't have a perfect relationship, and that made for all the better a story and family dynamic. My only issue would probably have to be with Genevieve. She seemed to be a grade-A b*tch with no redeeming factor whatsoever. Her excuse for no longer being friends with Lara Jean? Kind of dumb. [SPOILER] She got angry at her for kissing Peter in seventh grade. (She also said it was at her house, when before it was said to be at a guy's house and they were alone so I don't even know how she found out about it? Plothole?) It's strange because he was the one who kissed her, and this was the second utterance of a guy kissing a girl where the girl gets blamed as though she had helped initiate the kiss in the first place. Why is Lara Jean being blamed for something she did not want to happen in the first place? [END SPOILER] Anyway, back to Gen - I just absolutely despised her and how her character was written. I couldn't understand just what Peter ever saw in her, and without a redemption arc, I felt zero sympathy for her. I think something more was needed in order to make her character feel more real, because as it was, she came off far too stereotyped and flat on the page. Oh, actually, there is one other issue I have - the ending. Ugh. Why do you play me like that, Jenny Han? [SPOILER] Where's my reconciliation moment between Peter and Lara Jean. I mean, there's obviously hope but I want an actual scene!! [END SPOILER] Way to force me into reading that sequel. Like I wasn't going to already. Otherwise, this was an excellent read. It was cute, realistic, and had me laughing out loud often. The characters are full of depth and life, and the writing is sweet and succinct. It is a fun and enjoyable story, with many ups and downs, and many, many moments to put a smile on your face.

Warning: this book may cause cookie cravings.

#book review #to all the boys i've loved before #jenny han #ya romance #simon & schuster

0 notes