#so you have to pick one to sacrifice: your series of events or your characterization

[brittlebutch]

possibly a niche statement but i feel like writing a character recounting a story is surprisingly difficult to do, like when i’m writing/reading i feel like That aspect of a fic is where accurate characterization consistently seems to breaks down

[itsclydebitches]

The thing that feels disingenuous about Miles answer about Ironwood is that he was part of the writing staff that framed the general as a cool character to start with. I do think that the signs about Ironwood's evil were clear since V2 and in V7 he was an outright dictator from episode 1. Nonetheless, he was still consistently framed as a cool character, someone you can trust and rely. You don't get to blame the fans for liking a genocide if you was the one framed him as cool in the first place.

I actually don’t think being cool is the problem. If we’re satirizing and/or making a  statement about the toxic masculinity that leads to something like a dictatorship, then being “cool” is a crucial part of that. People don’t leverage the power they have by looking lame, they do so by appearing desirable, enviable, awesome. Being in the military is supposedly “cool.” Being a white guy with a giant gun is supposedly “cool.” Having power over an entire nation is supposedly “cool,” etc. If you only make such characters look revolting  — even when they are  — then you miss one of the main recruitment tools for this kind of rhetoric. Any version of Ironwood that’s meant to make a point about the dangers of following someone like him needs to make him look “cool” and then deconstruct that, pointing out the ways in which this cool veneer is a lie meant to pull you in. To do otherwise is to claim that evil people are always easy to spot. Making your villains “uncool” implies that the people who do appear cool in real life must be fine then. That good looking, charismatic leader is great. Why would I look critically at his actions? He’s too cool to be evil. 

My personal problem is not that “They made the dictator look cool and we can’t possibly expect the audience to tell the difference between someone who is truly good and someone who is just using various Cool Points to skate by” because that would be the point of such a character  — the work the show needs to do. My problem is that RWBY didn’t do that work. At least, not to the extent they needed to. Rather than making Ironwood a truly heinous character (prior to Volume 7 ‘s shooting, I mean) and allowing the audience to learn how appearing cool can’t hide that, they just made him good person. Straight up. Flawed, absolutely, but no worse than any of the other character on screen, particularly post Volume 6 when our heroes are frequently putting people in danger, seizing power, telling lies, keeping secrets, and generally acting in the ways we’re supposedly meant to condemn Ironwood for. Since talk of Miles’ vid last night I’ve seen three separate “Ironwood was always bad, idk how people can miss the signs” posts and those people are half right. There 100% were signs we were meant to pick up on. The problem is RWBY then went and deconstructed those signs. Ironwood didn’t just bring an army to a peace festival, he brought an army to an event he had good reason to believe wasn’t peaceful  — and he was right. Ironwood didn’t wrest control from Ozpin (using a series of checks and balances that exist for this very purpose...) because he has an obsession with being in control, he did so because he honestly believed Ozpin was putting people in danger  — and he was right. Ironwood didn’t step up post-Fall because he arrogantly believes he’s the only one capable of saving Remnant, he did so because he’s actually the most qualified: a fully trained huntsmen leading an Academy (like Ozpin) with an army and knowledge of this secret war. What, was Ironwood supposed to read the script and wait for the group of dropout teenagers to arrive and save the world instead? To say nothing of how his power and responsibility are framed as sacrifices, not something he sought out. Ironwood doesn’t want to be the sole ruler here. His desperate relief at having allies again proves it. Good setup for the rise of a dictator would have been Ironwood being cagey with his information and exerting control over the group... not telling them everything, not giving them more power, not letting them keep the Lamp, not taking arrest off the table so as to keep them in line, and generally doing the opposite of everything he did do to share that responsibility and power. RWBY got very good at giving us the first half of these red flags  — he has an army, he’s stubborn, he’s hurting Mantle, etc.  — but then time and time again introduced a context that changed that flag dramatically: they are fighting literal monsters, he’s no more stubborn than our title character, hurting Mantle is a consequence of a plan he thinks will help the whole world and our heroes back this. Those who insist that Ironwood was 100% a villain in the making (or a villain already) prior to shooting Oscar are working from their assumption of what his archetype represents, not what RT actually put on screen. Because RT is just really bad at writing a dictator character. They didn’t have the skill to manage someone who only appeared good on the surface, let alone a character with the complex nuance of wielding “coolness” to their advantage, which is why in Volume 8 they had to resort to cartoon villainy with literal, evil spotlights. It’s not that the audience is too dumb to pick up on those red flags, it’s that RT couldn’t manage to plant them without continually introducing valid justifications. You can’t say, “Bringing an army is a bad thing. Look at this dictator coding!” without me going, “Yeah, except in the fictional world you created an army does not represent the problems it does in our real life societies. This isn’t a guy amassing soldiers to go after oil, he’s trying to protect people from monsters. Not even metaphoric monsters acting as stand-ins for a minority group. Literal, evil monsters!” RWBY ignores its own context and a good chunk of the fandom ignored it too. 

The problem with that (besides the general frustration of someone ignoring parts of canon to forward a particular reading) is that the fandom’s go-to claim is that everything is meaningful  — and it’s a reading the writers very much support. Fans do not, as the above attests, push for a simple reading of, “Don’t think too hard about it. Just take the surface reading and run with it” which, while still frustrating, would have at least been a valid stance. Rather, they insist very strongly that nuance and depth are what drive the show. From the song lyrics to a tiny detail in the opening, everything is important and if you don’t accept that then you can’t appreciate RWBY’s complexity. 

“Okay,” I said. “Then in that case Ironwood coming around to Ozpin’s position is meaningful too? Glynda  — one of our best and most faultless characters  — supporting him is meaningful? Flipping his gun, defending Weiss, Qrow writing to him, the group working with him for months on end... all of it is meaningful to his characterization? You said so yourself.” 

“No, no, no,” comes the reply. “He’s just bad. But he’s also nuanced. He’s tricked you into thinking he’s a good person by acting kind sometimes, by getting support sometimes, but none of that is true. His actions are what matter and his actions are simplistically bad.” 

“Ohhhh. So then does that mean this story is really about the creation of a villain?” 

“Huh?” 

“Well, Ruby. She’s ‘nuanced’ in the same way. She acts kind sometimes and gets support, but her actions are terrible. She endangered an entire city because she couldn’t wait to see if Ironwood got his letter. She condemned Ozpin for keeping secrets about Salem and then kept those same secrets just two days later. When the kingdom was under attack she sat around drinking tea, crying on a staircase, just hoping someone would come fix things for her  — all while actively sabotaging the one person who was trying to save people, even if that action seems silly to us (let’s fly really high). So if we’re looking at the impact of someone’s actions outside of their intent, as we just did with Ironwood, then she’s a bad guy too, yeah?” 

“No! She’s the hero!” 

“... these characters don’t know she’s the hero from a meta perspective. If we’re supposed to judge the meaning of RWBY based on these details — ” 

“But it’s not just the details. It’s also the allusions. Everyone in RWBY is based on another person or character. It’s very complex and that inspiration drives their story, so if you don’t have that information it’s no surprise you’re confused. For example, this is why Penny had to get a human body. That’s what happened to Pinocchio!” 

“Oh! So then Ironwood is destined to be a good guy!” 

“What?” 

“Well, you just said the allusions drive their stories, right? The whole point of the Tin Man is that he always had a heart and just needed to realize that. So clearly — “ 

“No! He’s supposed to be a classic dictator, he’s only bad!” 

And ‘round and ‘round we go. RWBY’s writing is atrocious yet the fandom pushes this narrative that it’s all a complex, multi-layered story that requires taking every part into account to understand the “real” message... but when you try to do that with certain characters like Ozpin and Ironwood it’s, “No, actually, they’re just simple archetypes of Bad Men.” Nuance exists for the bees, but not other ships. It exists for the characters fans like, but not the ones they don’t. And RWBY’s inspirations have to predict the ending for this character... but not that other character. It’s a nonsense grab bag! 

Fans are right that Ironwood had a lot of red flags to set up this downfall. Fans are also right that those red flags were severely undercut, thus reversing their impact. Fans are right that Ironwood becomes a 100% bad guy who kills because he can and threatens to bomb a city. Fans are also right that this characterization feels absurd for Ironwood, both in terms of his morality and his intelligence (how does bombing Mantle help you now??) Ironwood is badly written. He was badly written in 7 and 8, if he was always meant to be a dictator in the making then he was badly written in 2-6, and he’s conclusively badly written when it comes to lacking a backstory and a canonical semblance  — two things are are supposedly driving all of this characterization. That’s the answer: not that he’s good, or bad, but that RWBY can’t write a consistent character, let alone a nuanced one, so it’s no surprise the fandom can’t decide on anything. What’s there to decide on? It’s that nonsense grab bag. In a different show I think making the dictator appear cool would be a crucial bit of commentary, but RWBY doesn’t have the skill to pull that off. 

[paenling]

no ones saying you cant enjoy daniil? people like him as a character but mostly Because he’s an asshole and he’s interesting. the racism and themes of colonization in patho are so blatant

nobody said “by order of Law you are forbidden from enjoying daniil dankovsky in any capacity”, but they did say “if you like daniil dankovsky you are abnormal, problematic, and you should be ashamed of yourself”, so i’d call that an implicit discouragement at the least. not very kind.

regardless, he is a very interesting asshole and we love to make fun of him! but i do not plan to stop seeing his character in an empathetic light when appropriate to do so. we’re all terribly human.

regarding “the racism and themes of colonization in patho”, we’ve gotta have a sit-down for this one because it’s long and difficult. tl;dr here.

i’ve written myself all back and forth and in every direction trying to properly pin down the way i feel about this in a way that is both logically coherent and emotionally honest, but it’s not really working. i debated even responding at all, but i do feel like there are some things worth saying so i’m just going to write a bunch of words, pick a god, and pray it makes some modicum of sense.

the short version: pathologic 2 is a flawed masterwork which i love deeply, but its attempts to be esoteric and challenging have in some ways backfired when it comes to topical discussions such as those surrounding race, which the first game didn’t give its due diligence, and the second game attempted with incomplete success despite its best efforts.

the issue is that when you have a game that is so niche and has these “elevated themes” and draws from all this kind of academic highbrow source material -- the fandom is small, but the fandom consists of people who want to analyze, pathologize, and dissect things as much as possible. so let’s do that.

first: what exactly is racist or colonialist in pathologic? i’m legitimately asking. people at home: by what mechanism does pathologic-the-game inflict racist harm on real people? the fact that the Kin are aesthetically and linguistically inspired by the real-world Buryat people (& adjacent groups) is a potential red flag, but as far as i can tell there’s never any value judgement made about either the fictionalized Kin or the real-world Buryat. the fictional culture is esoteric to the player -- intended to be that way, in fact -- but that’s not an inherently bad thing. it’s a closed practice and they’re minding their business.

does it run the risk of being insensitive with sufficiently aggressive readings? absolutely, but i don’t think that’s racist by itself. they’re just portrayed as a society of human beings (and some magical ones, if you like) that has flaws and incongruences just as the Town does. it’s not idealizing or infantilizing these people, but by no means does it go out of its way to villainize them either. there is no malice in this depiction of the Kin. 

is it the fact that characters within both pathologic 1 & 2 are racist? that the player can choose to say racist things when inhabiting those characters? no, because pathologic-the-game doesn’t endorse those things. they’re throwaway characterization lines for assholes. acknowledging that racism exists does not make a media racist. see more here.

however, i find it’s very important to take a moment and divorce the racial discussions in a game like pathologic 2 from the very specific experiences of irl western (particularly american) racism. it’s understandable for such a large chunk of the english-speaking audience to read it that way; it makes sense, but that doesn’t mean it’s correct. although it acknowledges the relevant history to some extent, on account of being set in 1915, pathologic 2 is not intended to be a commentary about race, and especially not current events, and especially especially not current events in america. it’s therefore unfair, in my opinion, to attempt to diagnose it with any concrete ideology or apply its messages to an american racial paradigm.

it definitely still deals with race, but it always, to me, seemed to come back around the exploitation of race as an ultimately arbitrary division of human beings, and the story always strove to be about human beings far more than it was ever about race. does it approach this topic perfectly? no, but it’s clearly making an effort. should we be aware of where it fails to do right by the topic? yes, definitely, but we should also be charitable in our interpretations of what the writers were actually aiming for, rather than reactionarily deeming them unacceptable and leaving it at that. do we really think the writers for pathologic 2 sat down and said “we’re going to go out of our way to be horrible racists today”? i don’t.

IPL’s writing team is a talented lot, and dybowski as lead writer has the kinds of big ideas that elevate a game to a work of art, particularly because he’s not afraid to get personal. on that front, some discussion is inescapable as pathologic 2 deals in a lot of racial and cultural strife, because it’s clearly something near to the his heart, but as i understand it was never really meant to be a narrative “about” race, at least not exclusively so, and especially not in the same sense as the issue is understood by the average American gamer. society isn't a monolith and the contexts are gonna change massively between different cultures who have had, historically, much different relationships with these concepts.

these themes are “so blatant” in pathologic 2 because clearly, on some level, IPL wanted to start a discussion. I think it’s obvious that they wanted to make the audience uncomfortable with the choices they were faced with and the characters they had to inhabit -- invoke a little ostranenie, as it were, and force an emotional breaking point. in the end the game started a conversation and i think that’s something that was done in earnest, despite its moments of obvious clumsiness. 

regarding colonialism, this is another thing that the game is just Not About. we see the effects and consequences of colonialism demonstrated in the world of pathologic, and it’s something we’re certainly asked to think about from time to time, but the actual plot/narrative of the game is not about overcoming or confronting explicitly colonialist constructs, etc. i personally regard this as a bit of a missed opportunity, but it’s just not what IPL was going for.

instead they have a huge focus, as discussed somewhat in response to this ask, on the broader idea of powerful people trying to create a “utopia” at the mortal cost of those they disempower, which is almost always topical as far as i’m concerned, and also very Russian.

i think there was some interview where it was said that the second game was much more about “a mechanism that transforms human nature” than the costs of utopia, but it’s still a persistent enough theme to be worth talking about both as an abstraction of colonialism as well as in its more-likely intended context through the lens of wealth inequality, environmental destruction & government corruption as universal human issues faced by the marginalized classes. i think both are important and intelligent readings of the text, and both are worth discussion.

both endings of pathologic 2 involve sacrifice in the name of an “ideal world” where it’s impossible to ever be fully satisfied. in the Diurnal Ending, Artemy is tormented over the fate of the Kin and the euthanasia of his dying god and all her miracles, but he needs to have faith that the children he’s protected will grow up better than their parents and create a world where he and his culture will be immortalized in love. in the Nocturnal Ending, he’s horrified because in preserving the miracle-bound legacy of his people as a collective, he’s un-personed himself to the individuals he loves, but he needs to have faith that the uniqueness and magic of the resurrected Earth was precious enough to be worth that sacrifice. neither ending is fair. it’s not fair that he can’t have both, but that’s the idea. because that “utopia” everyone’s been chasing is an idol that distracts from the important work of being a human being and doing your best in a flawed world. 

because pathologic’s themes as a series are so very “Russian turn-of-the-century” and draw a ton of stylistic and topical inspiration from the theatre and literature of that era, i don’t doubt that it’s also inherited some of its inspirational literature’s missteps. however, because the game’s intertextuality is so incredibly dense it’s difficult to construct a super cohesive picture of its actual messaging. a lot of its references and themes will absolutely go over your head if you enter unprepared -- this was true for me, and it ended up taking several passes and a bunch of research to even begin appreciating the breadth of its influences.

(i’d argue this is ultimately a good thing; i would never have gone and picked up Camus or Strugatsky, or even known who Antonin Artaud was at all if i hadn’t gone in with pathologic! my understanding is still woefully incomplete and it’s probably going to take me a lot more effort to get properly fluent in the ideology of the story, but that’s the joy of it, i think. :) i’m very lucky to be able to pursue it in this way.)

anyway yes, pathologic 2 is definitely very flawed in a lot of places, particularly when it tries to tackle race, but i’m happy to see it for better and for worse. the game attempts to discuss several adjacent issues and stumbles as it does so, but insinuating it to be in some way “pro-racist” or “pro-colonialist” or whatever else feels kind of disingenuous to me. they’re clearly trying, however imperfectly, to do something intriguing and meaningful and empathetic with their story.

even all this will probably amount to a very disjointed and incomplete explanation of how pathologic & its messaging makes me feel, but what i want -- as a broader approach, not just for pathologic -- is for people to be willing to interpret things charitably. 

sometimes things are made just to be cruel, and those things should be condemned, but not everything is like that. it’s not only possible but necessary to be able to acknowledge flaws or mistakes and still be kind. persecuting something straight away removes any opportunity to examine it and learn from it, and pathologic happens to be ripe with learning experiences. 

it’s all about being okay with ugliness, working through difficult nuances with grace, and the strength of the human spirit, and it’s a story about love first and foremost, and i guess we sort of need that right now. it gave me some of its love, so i’m giving it some of my patience.

[mthofferings2020]

nostalgicatsea

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[telesthisia]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; mun & muse - meme.

TAGGED BY: @hyaciiintho​ thank you so much!!! <3 TAGGING: @rcguna​ @cadcnce​ either or whatever works for you bear, @panickypeachboy​ @paintmaid​ @emfiliae​ @windmcge​ and you as well!! The person reading this

FILL OUT & REPOST ♥ this meme definitely favors canons more, but i hope oc’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. multi-muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm. <--- leaving this here because this is super sweet ALSO FAIR WARNING my blog has right click turned off. I’m going to be placing this under readmore but I think you can see it on dashboard view! If not lmk we’ll work something out!!! 

MY MUSE IS:   CANON / OC / AU (Verse dependent) / CANON-DIVERGENT (Interactions & verse dependent) / FANDOMLESS

Is your character popular in the fandom?  YES well kinda at least thanks to ssbu before she wasn’t that well known I MEAN PPL KNEW HER BUT SHE DIDN’T HAVE AS MANY FANART AS OTHER ZELDAS SDJBKHJABSD/ NO

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK because not too many people talk about her and by her I mean ALTTP Zel, people are bonkers over SSBU Zel! 

Is your character considered strong in the fandom? YES / NO if we’re talking about the canon of ALTTP and OoX series rather than ssbu it’s a hard no, she has enough magic to be considered a sacrifice to break barriers and revive the dead but not enough to fend herself off from evil mages who want to talk over the world / IDK

Are they underrated?  YES / NO

Were they relevant for the main story?  YES / NO / MAYBE

Were they relevant for the main character?  YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG

Are they widely known in their world?  YES / NO / MAYBE

How’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL

HOW STRICTLY DO YOU FOLLOW CANON?   NOT THAT STRICT HONESTLY, she’s just an OC at this point haha because she has zero substance in her own god damn game ;v; she’s just exposition.txt with dulcina effect playing into view though it is somewhat justified since she is the princess and the only thing that stopped Agahnim from breaking out Ganon.... I MEAN!!! SHE’S NOT AT ALL A DEPRESSED CALM ROMANTIC IN CANON LET’S PUT IT TO YOU THAT WAY SDBKASDJHBDASD. 

SELL YOUR MUSE! AKA TRY TO LIST EVERYTHING, WHICH MAKES YOUR MUSE INTERESTING IN YOUR OPINION TO MAKE THEM SPICY FOR YOUR MUTUALS.   TAKES A DEEP BREATH

Tiny funky elf princess trying her best to rule elf kingdom. HJKA there’s more, I’m lazy but not that lazy. She’s the descendent of essentially a mortal god, more than likely acting as an avatar of sorts to the goddess Hylia, as such she’s gifted with fantastical abilities that’s been passed down her family for generations and she intends to use these powers to protect her kingdom that’s still on the road of recovery, as the sole survivor from Agahnim’s destruction upon Hyrule and thus sole scion she’s left picking up the small fragments from the tragedy that occurred ages ago where the Hero of Time had fallen. But here’s the downside to these powers: she was born with a very weak body and poor health as such she can’t utilize the abilities she has from her bloodline aside from a few powers without affecting her low stamina issues. Namely telepathy, clairvoyance, healing, sealing things away, creating barriers, and connection with the spirit realm. As such, she tends to rely on the wisdom given to her by her naturally bright mind and enhanced by the mythical object known as the Triforce of Wisdom. Surprisingly, she can be cunning despite her soft-hearted nature and is willing to do whatever it takes to protect her kingdom and people she loves, her silent determination more than makes up for the lack of powers she may have. That in mind, she’s often the target of more nefarious plans that means the downfall of her kingdom. She may not have the amazing light magic spells her ancestors did to prevent darkness from taking over but that doesn’t mean her magic isn’t any less potent, she just can’t tap into it. She’s an easy target for enemies that wish to use her sacred powers to revive the dead Ganon or break pass whatever powerful barrier or seal that’s in place. 

Her future is pretty grim as well, considering she has a shorter life span. But it’s fine, things are fine she may have a gloomy outlook on certain things but that doesn’t stop her from living life!! Despite how sour this may all seem Zelda is still that encouraging young woman whose kindness defines her, she’s playfully innocent around friends and enjoys exploring old places of decay that’s rich with history! She tends to bottle up her more negative aspects to not worry others since she’s the pillar of an entire ass nation, she needs to maintain her placid demeanor as a means to calm and soothe others around her. Because the truth of the matter is that the events of ALTTP (before the game where harsh plagues among other things happened before Agahnim arrived to fix everything as well as after the events of the game) and OoX, instances where she’s witnessed death of loved ones, the downfall of her kingdom, and coming across death herself has affected her greatly. She suffers from grief and depression that needs to be addressed but... ;v; 

NGL I’M ABOUT TO CRY 

NOW THE OPPOSITE, LIST EVERYTHING WHY YOUR MUSE COULD NOT BE SO INTERESTING (EVEN IF YOU MAY NOT AGREE, WHAT DOES THE FANDOM PERHAPS THINK?).   HJKA TAKE OUT MY BULLSHIT TAKE ON HER AND YOU’RE LEFT WITH EXPOSITION AND DAMSEL IN DISTRESS!!! She’s not at all interesting if you don’t take into account her roles in the mangas which I somewhat base her personality and thoughts on... she’s just.... nice pretty princess that needs to be rescued. A tale as old as time.... 

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO RP YOUR MUSE?   GOOD QUESTION!!! BECAUSE I STARTED OUT WITH HILDA BEFORE DECIDING TO GO WITH SKY ZELDA BECAUSE I WANTED TO DO A MORE OUTGOING MUSE and then I opened up a sideblog for this Zelda out of whim. There’s no reason why I choose the most obscure Zelda, I just did it because I thought it’d be fun. I did not expect this much characterization for someone like her ngl. I guess what keeps me going is the fact that she’s a fun character to write for! 

WHAT KEEPS YOUR INSPIRATION GOING? HA!!! NOTHING!!! Mental illness is a bitch, I will have my down... weeks. Not days, literal weeks or months depending on how long my episodes last. It sucks, and I try to work around it but there’s not much I can do. That said, inspiration depends on motivation and want to write. As well as focus because god knows I have so little of that. 

SOME MORE PERSONAL QUESTIONS FOR THE MUN.

give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO I TRY BUT UNDERSTAND THERE’S NOT MUCH TO WORK WITH IN CANON YOU EITHER LIKE HER OR DON’T 

Do you frequently write headcanons? YES / NO

Do you sometimes write drabbles?  YES / NO but I honestly should???

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day?  YES / NO

Are you confident in your portrayal?   YES where’s the kinda opition, because I personally love her and think she’s interesting enough but I’m still working a lot on her NO

Are you confident in your writing?  YES / HA HARD NO

Are you a sensitive person?  YES fun part of having ADD is that you feel emotions more intenstly, I’m naturally a senstive person too so :’)))) / NO

DO YOU ACCEPT CRITICISM WELL ABOUT YOUR PORTRAYAL?   YES OF COURSE!!!! As someone who wants to grow more in writing any sort of feedback is appreciated! 

DO YOU LIKE QUESTIONS, WHICH HELP YOU EXPLORE YOUR CHARACTER?   If you give me the chance to ramble about this stupid elf I will literally love you so much like I love all sorts of questions anyone may have about her!! Though I feel my rambles don’t really make much sense since I just type whatever pops in the mind and put it down as fast as I can without double-checking well enough. 

IF SOMEONE DISAGREES TO A HEADCANON OF YOURS, DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY?   Sí! Again, I want to grow more as a writer and rper! So if someone were to come across a headcanon they don’t like I’d like to know why so that I can think more critically about it and fix it so that it better fits Zelda. If someone were to say “I don’t like this” without saying why it really won’t help much aside from letting me know that you don’t like the thing, which is fine and valid but pls let me know why! 

IF SOMEONE DISAGREES WITH YOUR PORTRAYAL, HOW WOULD YOU TAKE IT?   Eh, fine with it. I honestly don’t mind if someone doesn’t like my characters, any of my characters I play as! Sometimes, certain portrayals aren’t someone’s cup of tea and that’s perfectly fine. I won’t take offense to it, at the end of the day while I’m still working on Zelda I’m happy with how much she’s grown over the years I’ve played her as... which were just two but it feels longer dude!!! 

IF SOMEONE REALLY HATES YOUR CHARACTER, HOW DO YOU TAKE IT?   Again, I wouldn’t care that much lol. It’s just rping, it’s really not that deep. It’s no different from someone not liking a book because they just don’t vibe with the writing style among other reasons. I may be sensitive but I don’t really take a lot of things personally. 

ARE YOU OKAY WITH PEOPLE POINTING OUT YOUR GRAMMATICAL ERRORS?   Ye uvub! I’m a literal dumbass behind a keyboard, don’t be afraid to say “hey this wasn’t spelled right” or “hey this doesn’t make much sense mind checking it over really quick”. 

DO YOU THINK YOU ARE EASY GOING AS A MUN?   I THINK?! I MEAN HONESTLY I’M SUPER ANXIOUS AND A WORRYWART I JUST DON’T SHOW IT MUCH AAAAAAAA I’d like to think of myself as chill ;v; I try to treat others how I want to be treated and just try to be nice. Idk if I come across as that or not, it’s hard to convey feelings through text sometimes to some. 

[mthofferings2019]

nostalgicatsea

See nostalgicatsea’s existing works here and here.

Preferred contact methods: Tumblr - nostalgicatsea Twitter - nostalgicatsea Discord - nostalgicatsea

Preferred organizations:

Anything from the list of approved organizations

Will create works that contain:

Tropes/elements: character studies, angst, soulmates, slow burn, mutual or one-sided pining, self-sacrifice, amnesia, time travel, reincarnation, fake relationship, relationship of convenience, hurt/comfort, de-aging, dream world, presumed dead, temporary or permanent death, post-breakup, getting together, getting back together, post-Infinity War to post-Endgame, substance abuse and recovery, grief/mourning, parental/child and mentor/mentee relationships, friendship over the years, Tony’s family issues, dark Steve, pre-serum Steve

AUs (Steve/Tony only): canon-divergent (I like sticking to canon as much as possible, though), mafia/gangster, magic, sports, non-powered, high school or college, supernatural, horror, sci-fi, etc. I love AUs!

For writing, I tend to focus on one specific moment or a series of small moments, feelings, and relationships more than action-packed plots.

Will not create works that contain:

I’m up for most things except some extreme kinks, incest, mpreg, infidelity, adult/minor romantic relationships, and partner abuse in a ship. I don’t have any triggers. If you want me to elaborate on my do-not-wants or have a trope, kink, or plot point that you’re not sure I’ll be okay with, please contact me beforehand.

Betaing: A/B/O, D/S, OOC, PWPs, OCs, self-inserts, tooth-rotting fluff without plot, Darcy-centric fics, unbalanced CW plots. I’m not that fond of coffeeshop, apocalypse, zombie, and vampire AUs, but I can help with them

Writing: A/B/O, D/S, poly, comedy, complicated plots, crack, 100% pure fluff/domestic plots, kidfic (unless it's canon), AUs that require a lot of specific knowledge (e.g., historical AUs or military AUs), reality TV AU, zombie AU, animal transformation, unbalanced CW plots, Hydra Steve

-- Fic or other writing --

Auction ID: 497

Will create works for the following relationships:

Steve Rogers/Tony Stark - MCU, Noir, AvAc

Work Description:

In addition to my wants/DNWs above, please keep in mind that I tend to be slow at writing and I mostly write short fics. The fic will probably be 1.5–3k; it’s possible that it may end up longer especially as over the past two years, I’ve written a few fics past that range such as my Stony Trumps Hate and MTH 2018 fics, but I can’t make any promises. Please don’t bid on me unless you’re okay with that length or a potentially long wait! That said, I’ll keep you updated on the fic progress, so you’re not in the dark about it.

MCU is my usual playground, but I’ve written Noir and I’m comfortable with AvAc. I’m open to doing 616 as well, but I’m not that confident in writing it, so contact me beforehand to see if I can do it. I would also appreciate it if you gave me several prompts, both general and specific, to choose from as that will increase the likelihood of the story being finished faster and lessen the likelihood of me getting writer’s block. If you have any questions of what I will and won’t write, don’t hesitate to reach out to me!

Ratings: G, Teen

CLICK HERE TO BID ON THIS WORK

-- Beta service --

Auction ID: 529

Will create works for the following relationships:

Steve Rogers/Tony Stark - any universe

James "Bucky" Barnes/Natasha Romanov - 616, MCU, AvAc

James "Bucky" Barnes/Sam Wilson - MCU

Carol Danvers/Maria Rambeau - MCU

Iron Man fandom gen - 616, MCU, AvAc

Captain America fandom gen - 616, MCU, AvAc

The Avengers fandom gen - 616, MCU, AvAc, EMH

Captain Marvel fandom gen - MCU

Black Panther fandom gen - MCU

Daredevil fandom gen - MCU

Work Description:

I can help with SPaG/copyediting, pacing, sentence structure, continuity, and America-picking, and I particularly love discussing characterization, world building, plot, and character development. I tend to like plots that tackle serious issues or big canon points, complex plots, and plots with multiple layers/levels. I also love character and relationship studies and contemplative pieces that dive deeply into who the characters are and how they feel.

Turnaround depends on fic length and my schedule. I’m relatively fast, but if something comes up, I’ll let you know immediately.

If you need references, I’ve betaed and acted as a sounding board for several writers such as aslightstep, captainshellhead/vibraniumstark, gil-estel, Kiyaar, laireshi, Sineala, and Woad.

Notes on relationships: I'm willing to beta some ships along with gen/platonic ones for the fandoms listed above.

Notes on characters: There are some characters whom I’m not that fond of or interested in (for example, Iron Fist in the MCU). I’m open to betaing almost anything, provided they follow my wants/DNWs, even with characters I’m less keen about/don’t care for, but feel free to contact me if you have questions about this.

Notes on universes: For 616 and Ults, I’ll only do an AU or a story that doesn’t rely heavily on canon events. I’ve only watched a handful of AA episodes, and I haven't watched Daredevil season 3 yet (I plan on doing so soon), so contact me first if you want me to beta fics set in those series. I’m open to Noir, AvAc, 3490, EMH, AA, and 1872 for Steve/Tony as well.

Ratings: G, Teen, Mature

CLICK HERE TO BID ON THIS WORK

-- Fic or other writing --

Auction ID: 530

Will create works for the following relationships:

Nebula & Tony Stark - MCU

James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark - MCU

Natasha Romanov & Tony Stark - MCU

Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov - MCU

James "Bucky" Barnes/Sam Wilson - MCU

Carol Danvers/Maria Rambeau - MCU

Carol Danvers & Nick Fury - MCU

Harley Keener & Peter Parker - MCU

Work Description:

This fic will probably be 1–2k; it’s possible that it may end up longer, but I can’t make any promises. It might take me a while to finish it as I'm slow at writing and RL is keeping me busy, so please keep that in mind when bidding. That said, I’ll keep you updated on the fic progress, so you’re not in the dark about it.

Although I won't say a hard no to AUs for these relationships, I'm primarily interested in writing a canon-compliant fic, especially one that acts like a snapshot of the characters at a specific time in their lives or a character/relationship study.

I would appreciate it if you gave me several prompts, both general and specific, to choose from as that will increase the likelihood of the story being finished faster and lessen the likelihood of me getting writer’s block. I also have a list of fics I want to write if you don't have any prompts in mind and you want to know what I'm interested in.

If you have any questions of what I will and won’t write, don’t hesitate to reach out to me!

Ratings: G, Teen

CLICK HERE TO BID ON THIS WORK

The auction runs from October 19 (11:59 PM ET) to October 26 (11:59 PM ET). Visit marveltrumpshate.com during Auction Week to view all of our auctions and to place your bids!

[sheikah]

Seeing the ask about you being a teacher of writing and literature got me wondering could you maybe explain the differences between bittersweet endings and tragic endings in stories with some examples to illustrate. I see so many folks predict things for the end of GOT and well it all seems so tragic but maybe its me that doesn't totally understand. I'd greatly appreciate a lesson teach if you have the time thanks!

Hi, anon! Sorry it took me so long to answer this. 

First I just want to say that I don’t talk about the teacher thing much because I don’t want to wave around credentials like it makes me better than anyone else trying to analyze the story haha. I don’t want to seem like one of those people who is like “I definitely know more about x than you do because I went to school here or have this career.” While that sort of thing matters a lot in some contexts, I just think fandom should be fun so I don’t want to look like I’m making it into some academic endeavor when half of my blog is thirst posts and the other half is literally porn in written form haha.

ANYWAY I will talk a little bit on this topic because it’s one that bothers me a bit as I see it discussed around the fandom. When GRRM said to expect the ending to be “bittersweet,” I immediately took that as a good omen. It seems that a lot of other fans, perhaps in the interest of not getting their hopes up too high only to be burned later, continue to expect the worst from the ending. By the worst, I mean the deaths of the main/our favorite characters. 

But objectively, regardless of who anyone’s fave is, Jon and/or Dany dying wouldn’t really feel bittersweet to me. Especially if it’s coupled with the deaths of other “big five” (Jon, Dany, Tyrion, Arya, Bran) characters, this sort of ending would be more tragic than it would bittersweet. 

Let’s look at what tragic means. The first tragedies were Greek dramas performed for the public in Athens. These were serious and important events attended by virtually everyone and treated with the solemnity of a religious gathering.

Tragedies were characterized by the sad endings that befell their heroes. Often in the pursuit of noble causes, the protagonists of these stories would die, and/or bring about destruction and doom to the people that they loved. 

One of the most famous early examples is Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. In this story Oedipus unknowingly marries his own mother and murders his own father. When the truth comes out, Oedipus’s mother kills herself. While some versions of the myth have Oedipus living on to reign as king, other versions feature him blinding himself and going out to live in exile. Either way, this is a very clearly negative ending and one that helped to define what “tragedy” meant from the earliest stages of the genre. 

Tragedy as a type of drama was also a big part of the culture of Elizabethan England, famously in the works of Shakespeare. Shakespearean drama laid the foundations for many of the archetypes we still see in contemporary Western storytelling, and his tragedies in particular have left indelible marks on our literature. 

Romeo and Juliet is probably the most well-known example: two young, “star-crossed” lovers are the unfortunate victims of their families’ bad blood and their love brings about both their own violent, untimely deaths, as well as the deaths of other members of their family. 

In Hamlet, “everybody dies” is pretty close to the mark. Hamlet’s father, his mother, Gertrude, Polonius, Laertes, Claudius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and Hamlet himself all die as a result of Hamlet’s actions.

In Macbeth, Macbeth’s ambition and desire for the throne–as well as his misplaced faith in prophecy and magic–lead to the deaths of the king, Lady Macbeth, Banquo, Fleance, Lady Macduff, and Macbeth himself.

In King Lear, Gloucester, Regan, Goneril, Edgar, Edmund, Cordelia, and Lear, all die as a result of Lear’s misplaced trust in Regan and Goneril and the exile of Cordelia. 

In all of the above examples of tragedy, the primary characters all die. It can also be argued that their deaths ultimately result from their own mistakes–hence “the tragic flaw”–instead of solely coming about from the malicious actions of an antagonist. 

So what’s the point? Why write something like this? 

I read a pretty good blurb about tragedy on Britannica back when I was building a class the first time I taught drama as an elective to my students:

“The tragic form, more than any other, raised questions about human existence. Why must humans suffer? Why must humans be forever torn between the seeming irreconcilable forces of good and evil, freedom and necessity, truth and deceit? Are the causes of suffering outside of oneself, in blind chance, in the evil designs of others, in the malice of the gods? Are its causes internal, and does one bring suffering upon oneself through arrogance, infatuation, or the tendency to overreach? Why is justice so elusive?”

I think that throughout ASOIAF, GRRM raises many of these same questions. But I don’t think that his story is ultimately building to such a nihilistic endgame. If our heroes were to die in the final battle, “justice” would indeed be “elusive.” It would ultimately be just another in a long line of stories commenting on the endless and futile toil of humanity against suffering and hardship. I think that ASOIAF is more than that. This sounds trite, and I’ve been accused of “Disneyfying” the story before, but I believe that a “bittersweet” ending means that something will be lost in the battle–characters we love, innocence and youth, dragons, ancestral homes, magic, etc. But ultimately our heroes will survive and live to see another day, a day in which their efforts were not in vain. A future where they can live to shape the realm and continue the progress they’ve already made toward a better world. 

In a tragedy, the primary characters die and often one small, minor character will live on to tell their story. Think Horatio, Albany, etc. If we apply this tragic formula into ASOIAF it would mean Jon and Dany dying, most likely Tyrion dying, Arya and Bran, ultimately as the result of one or more of their own faults. It would then leave someone like Davos to pick up the pieces. I don’t buy this. I can’t see this happening. 

After all, GRRM has said before that his “big five” will live through the series.

So that leaves us with “bittersweet.” Bittersweet is more subjective than tragic. Tragedy has a longstanding tradition and history to give us clues to its meaning. Bittersweet could mean different things to different people. So we should look to the most important person in this equation: GRRM. He has mentioned how his ending will emulate Tolkien. 

Tolkien’s ending might safely be called bittersweet–elves and magic have largely departed from the world. The main characters survive. Frodo never fully recovers from the wound he received from the Witch King. Frodo never truly feels the contentment that Sam finds, and he leaves Middle Earth with Gandalf, et al at the end of Return of the King. But Aragorn and Arwen are reunited, live, and restore the throne of Gondor in a glorious reign. 

To me this means that our heroes survive but find a world very different than the one our series started with. Much of the realm is destroyed by the war. Many people were sacrificed. The dragons have died. The direwolves are gone. Possibly the Iron Throne is destroyed. For many, this is plenty “bitterness!” We don’t need one of the big five to die for something to qualify as bitter! We don’t need either Jon or Dany to be widowed. We don’t need Tyrion to become a turncoat for Cersei and be executed by Dany. We don’t need Arya to be rendered “too far gone” and die in the pursuit of revenge. We don’t need Bran to sacrifice himself for some magical ritual against the Night King. Where would the sweetness be if everything is lost in the pursuit of peace? There would be no sweetness. It would be a tragedy. And I don’t think GRRM is writing one. 

Thanks so much for the ask! :) Hope this helped to answer your question. 

[aion-rsa]

How Clarice Continues Agent Starling’s Story

https://ift.tt/37cOLgW

In 1991 The Silence of the Lambs became a phenomenon; cleaning up at the box office, winning all five major Academy Awards (Best Film, Director, Screenplay, Actress, and Actor) and turning both of its lead characters into overnight icons. But while antagonist Hannibal Lecter has scarcely been away from our screens, the steely yet vulnerable hero of the film, Clarice Starling, only reappeared in the poorly received 2001 sequel Hannibal. Even Bryan Fuller’s cult classic TV adaptation of Thomas Harris’ source material novels couldn’t use Clarice due to complicated divisions of the rights.

But now Clarice is back, headlining a new CBS drama that picks up where The Silence of the Lambs left off and charts the next stages of the young agent’s career. For fans of the film it’s an enticing proposition, albeit one that has to contend with the inverse of the rights situation that plagued Fuller’s show; Clarice can use any character that originated in The Silence of the Lambs, but none from the rest of Harris’ works, meaning that Hannibal Lecter is nowhere to be seen. 

In some ways this is a blessing in disguise, allowing Clarice to chart its own path. The early episodes of the show demonstrate a commitment to Clarice’s point of view, paying tribute to what came before but never losing sight of whose story this is. We sat down with showrunner Elizabeth Klaviter to explore the genesis of the show, how she interpreted Thomas Harris’ world and characters, the challenges of reimagining a beloved icon, and what the series has in store going forward. 

Den of Geek: Seeing Clarice Starling back on screen is a real thrill. Can you talk us through the genesis and development of the series? 

Elizabeth Klaviter: Creators Alex Kurzman and Jenny Lumet both started asking themselves the question, “Where’s Clarice Starling now? What happened to her after The Silence of the Lambs when she was no longer in Quantico? And how did she deal with the trauma of Buffalo Bill’s basement while she was still a cadet?” Jenny is the most obsessed, amazing Thomas Harris fan and has an encyclopedic knowledge of all of his books completely available to her at any moment, just through her brain. It’s incredible. She was like, “I want to know what it looks like if Clarice and Ardelia live together? I want to know if they share shoes? Who does Clarice love? What does that look like? What does she eat for breakfast? How does she go through the world being Clarice Starling?”

So the two of them were really asking themselves that question in a deep and rich way. And then we were in the middle of a feminist revolution with the #MeToo movement and those things intersected. When Jodie Foster talks about reading the script and deciding to take the role, she has said “this is the story of a woman who is saving a woman in a well.” And that was revolutionary. That is revolutionary. It goes against the stories that we’ve heard since the dawn of time, since human beings were telling stories to each other. 

It seemed like the cable space would be the most logical place for the advancement of Clarice’s journey, but David Nevins at CBS was really interested in putting it on network television, where it could shine and be unique. And he said, “if you will be our partner in putting this on network television then we’ll give you guys creative freedom.” And that has definitely been true. They’ve been our true partner; incredibly collaborative, incredibly generous, and really supportive of Alex and Jenny’s vision of the show moving forward.

Outside of The Silence of the Lambs, Clarice has previously only reappeared in the novel/film Hannibal, which is largely built around her getting kicked down again and again. How important was it to you guys to see Clarice have some genuine successes?

One of the most fascinating junctures in a person’s life, but especially a woman’s life, is moving forward from being in school to being a professional. What does that look like? How do you carry yourself? How do you answer the questions of your childhood? How do they inform who you are? And then you get pushback to be maybe a different kind of person, to work harder, or to make sacrifices that maybe you don’t want to make as a professional, let alone an FBI agent who is constantly dealing with morality, ethics, and justice. So, I think that’s a particularly exciting time for a woman’s life.

It translates to the year that we set the show in, in 1993, but also really to today, particularly as it affects both our Clarice storyline, but also Ardelia’s storyline, which grows and becomes much more significant, both in relation to Clarice and also in her own right as the series progresses. In The Silence of the Lambs Clarice was still a student, still studying; she was close to graduation, but she wasn’t there yet. And this is the first time we’re really getting to see the beginning of who she is as an FBI agent. 

This is the second TV adaptation of Thomas Harris’s properties, and Hannibal did garner quite an intense cult following. Did you feel any pressure following not only that series, but also being a direct sequel to one of the greatest films of all time?

Thomas Harris created amazing characters who are complex, who have a variety of drives and nuanced motivations. So I feel like anybody who gets to play in the Thomas Harris sandbox has to A) be a fan, and B) feel the pressure and the responsibility that brings. But there’s another thing that it brings, which is pure joy and delight. 

Read more

TV

Clarice: How Does The Show Compare to Hannibal?

By Gabriel Bergmoser

Everybody who is involved in this show on every level, from our costume designer to our production designer, have all studied in the library of Thomas Harris. And also Jonathan Demme and his extraordinary visuals and filmic language. We really wanted to bring to life all of the textures of Thomas Harris’s work; the opulence, the extraordinary lavish visuals of his imagination, and most importantly, I think, the characters.

On that, let’s talk about Paul Krendler. In the source material Krendler is a lot more overtly slimy and antagonistic towards Clarice, particularly in the novel Hannibal. At least in the first three episodes of the show, he comes off more as a tough but fair boss who Clarice is slowly warming towards. Can you talk a little bit about the change to his character from the text to the show and what the impetus for that was?

I think a lot of it had to do with the question of who we’re spending time with. Certainly fans know where Krendler ends up; we all know his outcome in Hannibal, that his character gets progressively more awful and he ends up having a fitting demise. So we’re putting together this team on the show and have to ask if we want this awful, badly intended character in such close proximity to Clarice while she’s fighting monsters. 

We honor his history having been in the Department of Justice, but now we’ve brought him back to the FBI and given him a backstory that he was formally in that FBI before he went to the DOJ. Then we explored “what drives this man? When is he wrong-headed? And when is he right-headed?” And the answer that we all really enjoyed is, this is a man who is trying to keep his unit safe, who wants everybody to come home tonight. 

That means that Clarice can’t explore this case in the way that she wants to; to just run off and use her intellect to solve the crime and get an audience with the bad guy in a potentially unsafe way. Now she’s in the bigger world, and she’s having to learn what the rules are and how she has to function within them. Now when we talk about Krendler and his future, we’re not certain where we’re going. We don’t know who he will become in seven seasons because we have seven years until he ends up being the man in Hannibal.

So, in the minds of the writers’ room, are the events of Hannibal still off in the future, or is this potentially a re-imagining of where Clarice might have gone next after The Silence of the Lambs?

We don’t have the answer to that question yet. Nothing is out of the realm of possibility right now. We definitely are going to honor Thomas Harris, look at the path and see how it goes. I mean, Ardelia is in the book Hannibal, and there are some really interesting details. She and Clarice end up living together in that book, or not living together, but owning condos that are like a duplex together. And so there are definitely moments of characterization that we draw from, from that book. Then we’ll see where we get. And we should be so lucky that we have seven seasons to fully answer that question.

The show so far moves between more a traditional case of the week stories and this overarching conspiracy plot. How do you work in the writers’ room to balance that? 

It’s my favorite kind of storytelling to have a balance between those two things. I’m a huge X-Files fan, and they definitely had their overarching serialized plot. But the episodes I always responded to the most were the monsters of the week. I’m a sucker for a good monster of the week story. I’m also obsessed with, not just seasons, but series-long arcs for characters; with personal growth and character relationship growth. So, putting those two things together is my personal sweet spot. I feel like as long as the story that you’re telling for your case of the week is truly compelling and you’re honoring where the character journey is, you can organically bring the audience on a journey that includes both. It just takes some attention.

Rebecca Breeds does such a fantastic job as Clarice. Her work feels of a piece with what Jodie Foster did, but also very distinct. Was there a lot of discussion about where the line should be drawn between impersonating Foster but doing something new as well? 

Rebecca had her finger on the pulse of that from, really, her audition. She was stunning. I think it was a last-minute decision for her to add an Appalachian accent. She added the accent and then she said, “I just found Clarice.” And for all of us, the reason why we’re all showing up to work every day is because we’re incredible fans of Thomas Harris’s universe. His novels, yes, but also the movie. Jodie Foster is an incredible actor who gave an incredible performance and really embodied this character. So, honoring Jodie and her performance has always been paramount in all of our minds and yet we need to move forward and fully embrace Clarice as our own. And for us; for Alex, Jenny, myself, and Rebecca, the answer to that question has always been a truthfulness in writing and then a truthfulness in acting. That if the moments are real and genuine and fully present for all of us, then it becomes its own thing. It takes on its own life.

Due to the rights situation Hannibal Lecter is a notable absence, but in some ways a bigger one is Jack Crawford, who fulfilled the mentor role to Clarice in The Silence of the Lambs. Did you feel in any way limited by not being able to use him?

It’s interesting to look at the events of The Silence of the Lambs and the relationship with Crawford purely from Clarice’s point of view. For me, that relationship became caught up in the trauma. I feel like we are honoring his presence in her life, but in a very unpredictable way. When she went to see Hannibal, I feel like she was being given, yes, one of the most exciting opportunities of her life, but also being thrown into the deep end of the pool. And that’s part of what she carries with her. One of the definitions of trauma is “too much too fast”.

Clarice got too much, too fast, and now she’s unraveling that. So to my mind Crawford is a part of that. And that is how we’re paying tribute to him in our show. That’s how we’re thinking of him. And then to your point earlier, I feel some of the more mentor pieces of Crawford have become part of the Krendler character and will grow their relationship. It’ll have a lot of ups and downs, of course. But I think there are pieces of him in her relationship with Krendler.

One of the complex things about the relationship with Crawford is the fact that it is inherently built on an act of manipulation. He sends her in without giving her an agenda so that he can try to coax information out of Lecter. 

And later when she needs back up they’re all the way across the nation. To me, that’s also part of the male gaze. They asked her to go do this thing and then they didn’t listen to her. They just missed a lot of it. The way that has translated into our world is in the exploration of bosses asking young women to do things, and then maybe not listening to all of the answers or the pieces of the answers that are inconvenient for them even though they’re honest and truthful. It’s definitely something that we explore in the series.

Something that’s refreshing about the show is the fact that it’s a period piece but never feels like it’s hitting you over the head with the 90s setting. What kind of discussions did you have about engaging with the time period? 

We talk about it quite a bit. And of course there are all the practical conversations about making sure that the items that we’re using are accurate and the cars for those periods are correct. As we’re moving forward, there are more details that we’re drawing specifically from the FBI in 1993. We talk a lot about how our world view has and hasn’t shifted since 1993. An example would be how does the Waco siege inform the standoff at Novak’s in episode two. Who are these FBI agents, were they at Waco, were their friends at Waco, were they heard at Waco? What were their feelings from there and how did those attitudes inform this? 

Read more

Movies

The Silence of the Lambs and Clarice’s Lifelong Battle Against the Male Gaze

By David Crow

Movies

Hannibal: Did Author Thomas Harris Try to Destroy Dr. Lecter?

By Don Kaye

In the world of the show Ruth Martin is the first female Attorney General, and that creates more pressure for her. And the FBI has a legacy that was started with J. Edgar Hoover, which is filled with white supremacy. It’s hard to succeed there if you aren’t a white man. So, those are ways that it informs it. Lucca De Oliveira (Tomas Esquivel) showed up on-set one day and he called me and he’s looking around and seeing all of our extras being white and said; “it makes me feel so other”. Those are the ways that we started really exploring what it means to be in 1993. And we’re shooting those from the perspective of the non-white characters.

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Going forward, what can fans expect to see from the show? 

We will watch all of our characters get to know each other better and get to know themselves much better, particularly Clarice. Clarice goes on quite a turbulent journey of self-discovery. We really enter very deeply into Clarice’s relationship with Ardelia and what the differences in their worlds are as they’re learning. What it means to be a Black female agent, and what it means to be a white female agent, and how those two things are very different. We get to meet some more monsters and some of those monsters are vanquished quickly within an episode, and some of them will be around with us for the entire season.

The post How Clarice Continues Agent Starling’s Story appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3keOGit

[jaremmywade]

Best Video Games to Play in 2020

Best Games 2020

 is turning out to be an extraordinary year for computer games. Here are the titles that you need to play in 2020...

As Sony and Microsoft eye the up and coming age of computer game consoles, and Google explores different avenues regarding cloud gaming with its Stadia stage, studios wherever are planning to give this age its final appearance while making the eventual fate of the business. The outcome will be a year brimming with convincing new encounters, stunning changes, hotly anticipated continuations, and a couple of games that challenge characterization. Accordingly, we've picked all of the impending games you require to watch out for in 2020.

You might be pondering where games like Metroid Prime 4 are on our rundown. While it's surely conceivable (perhaps likely) that game and other exceptionally foreseen titles will be delivered in 2020, for the occasion, we are just including games that have been conceded a 2020 delivery window or delivery date. Have confidence that we will refresh this rundown as more games are affirmed.

For the present, here are the computer games you need to play in 2020:

Creature Crossing: New Horizons

Creature Crossing: New Horizons

Walk 20 | Nintendo | Switch

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While we calculated that Animal Crossing: New Horizons would be a triumph, few might have anticipated what a social wonder the game has ended up being.

Some of New Horizons' prosperity can be followed back to the remarkable conditions of its delivery, however it truly comes down to the nature of the game itself. New Horizons both refines the arrangement's exemplary equation and rethinks it in such manners that fans new and old will make the most of its plentiful universe of consistent disclosure.

Walk 20 | Ubisoft | PS4, XBO, PS5, Xbox Series X, PC

Professional killer's Creed Valhalla at long last uses quite possibly the most mentioned authentic subjects throughout the long term (Vikings), yet that is not by any means the only explanation it's on our radar.

The early word is that Valhalla will expand upon the RPG components of Odyssey in energizing new manners. In the event that Ubisoft can pull off a portion of their guarantees, this could end up being one of the more plentiful and engaging rounds of 2020.

Ninja Theory | XBO, PC

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We didn't anticipate Ninja Theory's (DmC, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice) first Xbox selective to be a multiplayer skirmish brawler, however that is actually what Bleeding Edge is.

Basically a sacred joining between the legend based Overwatch and the exemplary Dreamcast brawler Power Stone, Bleeding Edge has its heart in the opportune spot regardless of whether a portion of its thoughts aren't exactly there yet. We're intrigued to perceive how this title becomes throughout the next few months.

TBA | Nintendo | XBO, PS4, Switch, PC

Have you ever viewed The Thing and wished you could play an entire game as the outsider shapeshifter? That is generally the reason of Carrion: a converse ghastliness game in which you control a (for the most part) nebulous being as it gets away from an underground exploration lab, rebuffing its destined captors en route.

Carcass' "play as the animal" premise is interesting, however the core of the game is its strong Metroidvania interactivity, which sees you gradually develop your beast with extra approaches to kill, damage, and dissect the clueless people. We played the game at E3 2019 and can hardly wait to get our hands on it once more.

| CD Projekt Red | XBO, PS4, PC

It is anything but a stretch to call Cyberpunk 2077 quite possibly the most foreseen games in years, and that was genuine even before anybody realized Keanu Reeves would have been in it. Created by the group liable for the widely praised The Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077 means to be one of the biggest, most profound, and most extreme science fiction RPG encounters ever constructed. Assumptions might be high, however what we've seen of the game up to this point makes them feel extremely idealistic.

Dull Alliance

Fall | Tuque Games | PC, Consoles

The Dark Alliance arrangement is notorious for its community, Diablo-like ongoing interaction and Baldur's Gate folklore. While the Baldur's Gate name may not be available in this 2020 rendition of Dark Alliance, that equivalent unimaginable community prison crawler interactivity is set to make a radiant return.

We can hardly wait to plunge once again into the absolute most profound and haziest corners of the Dungeons and Dragons world with our companions to kill lethal beasts and acquire a portion of that staggering plunder. It stays not yet clear whether this title will satisfy that piece of the Dark Alliance name, however thinking about that the arrangement's equation is as incredible as could be expected, we have high trusts in this one.

Best Games 2020 - Destroy All Humans! Change

| Black Forest Studios | XBO, PS4, PC

For quite a long time, Destroy All Humans! has been alluded to as a religion exemplary. While the game's one of a kind reason — you're an outsider shipped off devastate mankind in the midst of '50s Americana — is essential for the purpose behind its faction status, the miserable truth is that insufficient individuals truly gave Destroy All Humans! a possibility following its delivery. That may before long change, however, as Destroy All Humans! Change holds a lot of what made the first so splendid while overhauling the game barely enough to oblige some essential current-gen enhancements.

We would have been completely cheerful if Doom Eternal was just a greater amount of the sensational 2016 Doom reboot, however Doom Eternal end up being unquestionably more driven than that.

Destruction Eternal is a rankling quick arcade activity experience that receives a one of a kind field like way to deal with its battle framework. The outcome is a difficult activity experience that regularly constrains you to imaginatively use its exceptional weapons and unimaginable capacities to endure.

Monster Ball Z Kakarot

January 17 | CyberConnect2 | XBO, PS4, PC

In the relatively recent past, we would have been mindful to indiscriminately suggest a Dragon Ball Z game, however the accomplishment of Dragon Ball FighterZ may have launched another period of great Dragon Ball transformations. Monster Ball Z Kakarot absolutely appears to be only that. Distributed by Bandai Namco and created by the group behind the Naruto Shippuden arrangement, Kakarot unquestionably fills in as an outstanding Action-RPG experience.

As the title proposes, the game is a lot of zeroed in on Goku's story during the occasions of Dragon Ball Z, however it additionally makes associations with a considerable lot of the manga and anime's other saints. The game lets battle through a portion of the story's most famous fights just as go on side journeys and new missions "that answer some consuming inquiries of Dragon Ball legend unexpectedly."

Purchase Dragon Ball Z Kakarot on Amazon.

TBA | Techland Publishing | XBO, PS4, PC

The first Dying Light was an incredible shock. When zombie game exhaustion was in full impact, Dying Light resuscitated the idea with its parkour ongoing interaction, huge levels, and a shockingly strong story. All things considered, Dying Light 2 looks greater and better in all the typical spin-off ways, however it's the story composed by RPG veteran Chris Avellone (Fallout: New Vegas, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order) that truly has us interested to perceive what this new game has available. It's simply a disgrace that the game has been inconclusively deferred and we're not, at this point sure when it will be delivered.

TBA | Romero Games | XBO, PS4, PC, Switch

Domain of Sin sees you play as a hopeful criminal overlord in Prohibition time Chicago who is simply attempting to become famous on the mean roads. It's dependent upon you to guarantee that they ascend to the highest point of a criminal realm that is not ailing in rivalry for the seat.

With its mix of X-COM system activity and romanticized '20s hoodlum climate, Empire of Sin offers quite possibly the most charming premises in ongoing memory. We can hardly wait to see whether all the parts meet up to shape something uncommon. Did we notice that the game is being created by John (Wolfenstein, Doom, Quake) and Brenda (Wizardry, Dungeons and Dragons) Romero?

Last Fantasy 7 Remake

Walk 2 | Square Enix | PS4

It was starting to feel like Final Fantasy 7 Remake could never satisfy everyone's expectations (on the off chance that it was delivered by any stretch of the imagination), yet in any event, Final Fantasy 7 Remake has end up being perhaps the most discussed rounds of 2020.

This is a striking and amazing analysis that has set off a discussion about the assumptions and commitments of a redo. It won't be for everybody, except Square Enix certainly made a special effort to offer something sudden.

Cog wheels Tactics

April 28 | Splash Damage | Xbox One, PC

We couldn't ever have speculated that a X-COM themed Gears turn off would end up being extraordinary compared to other early rounds of a stacked 2020 setup, yet here we are.

Cog wheels Tactics' mix of impermeable methodology mechanics and very much positioned pieces of legend will promptly speak to aficionados of X-COM and Gears. In the event that you so end up appreciating both of those game establishments, at that point you'll be in paradise.

Phantom of Tsushima (alongside The Last of Us Part 2) is set to fill in as one of the final appearance special features of the PS4. Thinking about the support's set of experiences of great elite titles, this activity game from engineer Sucker Punch has a ton to satisfy.

However, it seems like it may very well meet those impressive assumptions. Phantom of Tsushima remains a baffling game from various perspectives, however its surroundings, music, battle, and visuals appear as though they may rank among the absolute best of the age. Plus, the world can never have enough incredible single-player samurai games.

Godfall by Counterplay Games

As a title depicted as including "high-sway third-individual scuffle battle to draw in players as they chase for plunder, wear amazing covering sets, and annihilation horrendous foes," Godfall as of now has our consideration. In any case, what truly interests us about this impending title is its status as the principal affirmed PS5 game.

Godfall is one of a select arrangement of titles that will set the assumptions for cutting edge gaming regarding plan and innovation. That is a difficult task, yet based

[kathrynmjaneway]

Rules: Always post the rules. Answer the 11 random questions posted for you. Create 11 new ones and tag 11 people. Let the person who tagged you know that you answered.

I was tagged by @cozsheep​ - thank you! Sorry I’m so late ‘:)

1. What’s your favourite Torchwood episode from the TV series and why?

KKBB, without question! It just has everything - the team working together, Owen and Tosh, IANTO AND JACK, John Hart, The Best cinematography during The Fight + awesome soundtrack, a blowfish dring a sportscar????, “bloody Torchwood”, Ianto’s eye-rolling, Gwen being ready to sacrifice herself for Cardiff. I’m just. So in love with this episode. I can watch it over and over again and never get tired of it.

2. What’s your favourite Torchwood audio (BBC or Big Finish) and why?

ahhhhhh this is such a mean question because the choice is impossible. I’ll just list a few and skip the why, because everyone who follows me probably knows the why anyway. Broken, One Rule, ALIENS AMONG US, In The Shadows, Outbreak, Moving Target, The Torchwood Archive, The Sin Eaters, The Dead Line, The Office Of Never Was, Cascade, .... Listen, I can just continue to list every single one, so I’ll stop now. (and I sorta just answered a similar ask)

3. What’s your favourite Torchwood novel and why?

I’ve only read 3 so far, but I’m gonna go with Almost Perfect. I really love the general plot, how Ianto handles being a woman and Ianto’s and Jack’s relationship. Also, James Goss is a genius.

4. Who is your favourite Torchwood main character and why?

Ianto, I think. They are all very close to my heart, but in the end, it’s gotta be Ianto. I think he is the character I can most identify with and he’s just such a great character.

(special mentions for Ng and Orr from Aliens Among Us)

5. Who is your favourite Torchwood secondary character and why?

Ohhhhh this is more difficult. Suzie and Yvonne would be my top two picks I think? The are both such interesting characters that I would love to know more about.

6. What is your favourite line of dialogue from all of Torchwood (TV, audio, etc.)

uuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhh. How can ANYONE possibly be able to answer this? D:

7. Who is your least favourite main character and why?

Oh man, I kinda hate to say this, but Gwen. I love her most of the time and especially in everything post s2, but she wasn’t always well written.

8. Who is your least favourite secondary character and why?

This is a hard question. Can I say Rhys those dudes that were Rhys’ groomsmen in Something Borrowed? Creeps.

9. What is your least favourite Torchwood episode/story (TV, audio or novel) and why?

Random Shoes. Weird plot, weird characterization of Gwen, Eugene was a Creep (shudder). Just. No.

10. If you could go back and change one line/scene/event of Torchwood (that isn’t a character’s death), what would it be and why?

I think one of the other people who answered these questions said that transphobic comment from Jack in Greeks bearing Gifts? I’d agree with that. And that scene in Meat between Jack and Gwen, were Gwen refuses to retcon Rhys. I kinda get Gwen in that scene, I guess, but I really wish everyone else, especially Jack, would have said something more and set her straight about her assumptions. I have read some great alternative scenarios of this scene in fanfics.

11. What are the five best Torchwood fanfics or fanfic authors that you would recommend?

Listen, I got like 200 Torchwood fics in my bookmarks alone, I couldn’t possibly choose.

(sorry, I guess, my answers are both kinda boring and also really predictable, but it was fun nevertheless haha)

I’m not tagging anyone, because I’m lazy and I think most people in the fandom already got tagged :)

[anthonianrhapsody-blog]

And the Best MCU Film is...

by Captain

Admit it. When the leaked footage of the Avengers: Infinity War trailer came out, you did one of four things:

1. Weep like a baby when Peter said “I’m sorry” to Tony; 2. Scream your lungs out when Steve (beard and all) came out; 3. Let out a big “oooohhhh” when Thanos hurled down that planet; 4. All of the above

As a crossover of 10 years’ worth of cinematic storylines, this mega-event of a movie is unprecedented. Before Infinity War drops next May (which is just 7 months away, but it SURE feels like an eternity away), let’s tackle a question that will trigger debates, challenge friendships, and even put marriages (!) to the test.

What is the best film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

Before you blast this blog away with a Jericho missile (hats off to you if you got that reference), the writer would like to set a few parameters.

First, I’ll make it a top 5 list for better chances of acknowledging your favorite. Okay? Y’all happy?

Second, this article will cover only the first 16 MCU films—that is, the ones that have already been released at the time that this article has been published. Unfortunately, I have no Ancient One-like powers to look into the future. My list might very well be obliterated by upcoming flicks like Thor: Ragnarok and Black Panther (watch out for the reviews! ☺). Also, I won’t be factoring in TV and Netflix content like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Defenders series. Different medium, different criteria.

Lastly, and speaking of criteria, allow me to declare my standards for film quality. (Feel free to argue with my rubrics in the comments section, but this is my list, so tough luck.) My biggest considerations are plot and characterization. As in, how good is the story that unfolds in the film? How developed are the character arcs and motivations, and why should I care about them? I also care about effectiveness of acting, visual spectacle, quality of shots and editing, and impact of auditory effects.

With that out of the way...

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Captain America: Civil War (epic airport scene vs. wildly impossible coincidences); Avengers: Age of Ultron (messy in places, but it’s just a special thing when Avengers assemble); the first Thor film (an underrated movie...shout-out to Tom and Kenneth)

Raise your right hand if you knew who Star-Lord and Gamora were three years ago. Raise your left hand if you were also aware that they were not in the original Guardians line-up in the comics. No hands raised? Then you’re just like the thousands of moviegoers who were pleasantly surprised by this franchise in 2014. With the careful handling of director James Gunn, this movie featuring C-list Marvel heroes captured the hearts of comic book die-hards and casual MCU fans alike. Guardians’ strongest suit is its comedy—Rocket Racoon’s unstoppable mouth, Drax the Destroyer’s dry humor (made special by wrestler-turned-actor Dave Bautista), and Peter Quill’s dancing-out-of-nowhere in the movie’s climax. And of course...I am Groot, ‘nuff said.

Throw in the brilliance of the film’s color palette and the soundtrack known as “Awesome Mix Vol. 1,” and you could say that it’s hard to find fault with this flick. But I do have (gasp!) a minor gripe. The film’s third act is all about the Guardians protecting the planet of Xandar from Ronan the Accuser, who wields the might of the destructive Power Stone. Problem is, the Xandarians weren’t given quite enough screen time. Every time I watch the film, I think to myself, “Who are these guys?” Sure, there are images of Xandarian families and children scurrying for their lives, but I just wish the development of these ‘sympathetic’ figures had been better.

That, frankly, is my only problem with an otherwise colorful, highly lovable film. As you’ll see, the next film did not commit the Xandar mistake.

#4: ANT-MAN (2015)

“So I’m at this art museum with my cousin Ignacio, right? And there was this, like, abstract impressionism exhibit. But you know me, I’m more like a Neo-Cubist kind of guy...”

Impossible as it sounds, these lines managed to make people laugh. Thanks, Michael Peña! Just like Guardians, the 2015 flick Ant-Man proved that Marvel Studios can do comedy effectively. Beyond its penchant for humor—as well as its dazzling array of museum-worthy visual effects—Ant-Man also got story-telling right. Any human being can relate to Scott Lang’s quest for redemption after his three-year prison sentence. The film tugs at your heartstrings every time Scott interacts with his daughter Cassie. And the film makes you hold your breath during the climax, when Scott sacrifices himself to save Cassie from the villain Yellowjacket. (Spoiler: Scott survived.)

Yellowjacket, however, is a testament to the widely discussed “MCU villain problem.” For all the wonderful heroes that Marvel Studios has brought to life, there is also a legion of antagonists that the MCU films have failed to maximize. In Ant-Man, Darren Cross is a rather menacing jerk (thanks to a great performance by actor Corey Stoll). But his screen time as Ant-Man’s evil counterpart could have been fleshed out and extended. As it was, Yellowjacket became just another dispensable villain to join the likes of Ultron, Ronan the Accuser, and Malekith.

But Ant-Man still succeeds because it makes you care greatly about Scott and Cassie. And it is precisely because of this that this film is ranked above Guardians. When you compare the two films, it’s easier to care for a human father and his innocent little daughter than an entire planet of unknown, unfamiliar beings.

#3: SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING (2017)

I have to be honest: the subtitle did not work out for me at first. When Marvel and Sony announced that they would be sharing Spidey’s film rights (hallelujah), I was hoping for a comic book-inspired title. Like Sensational Spider-Man or Peter Parker: Spider-Man. I know that the term “Homecoming” has several connotations (such as the Spider-Man character being welcomed back to the fold of Marvel Studios), but it just isn’t fierce enough for a superhero film.

Trust me, that’s about as much I’ll complain about this movie. Because everything else was...amazing.

To begin with, Tom Holland is the perfect actor for the title role. He brought a more youthful vibe to the Peter Parker persona than Tobey Maguire. And he embodied a more light-hearted, wittier Spider-Man than Andrew Garfield. As remarkable as young Mr. Holland’s performance was, the film’s showstopper was veteran actor Michael Keaton. Finally, a well-rounded villain! Keaton brought emotional depth to the role of Adrian Toomes/Vulture, who is effectively portrayed as a blue-collar worker wronged by society’s elite. The rest of the crew is just as outstanding. Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark/Iron Man) is used in just enough doses as the hero’s mentor. Jacob Batalon is hilarious as Ned, the techie best friend; while Zendaya is quirky as the mysterious Michelle persona (eventually revealed to be...wait for it...MJ).

Distinguishing itself as a teen movie, Homecoming is a refreshing selection among the grittier grown-ups of the MCU. Take your pick of adolescent drama: Peter’s fixations on his crush, the thrills and frills of weekend parties, the suspense of inter-school competitions. Indeed, this film offers a new flavor among the political thrillers and world-ending catastrophes of Captain America and Thor. The plot keeps you on the edge of your seats from beginning to end (though the climactic battle could have been more, um, climactic). Even the mid-credits scene keeps you fascinated in what happens next (hello, Sinister Six).

This is how good Homecoming is: up until earlier this year, I had a different top 5 list. Captain America: Civil War was on it. When Homecoming came out, Spider-Man swung all the way into my top 3. Tom Holland and co. were so good that there are only two films that they did not displace in my nerdy Marvel heart.

#2: AVENGERS (2012)

Assemble.

This might be more of a sentimental pick—I know that several critics would have Guardians at this spot—but I’m listening to my nerdy heart. In Avengers, several effective elements come together. The best part, of course, is the unprecedented, seamless merging of characters and plot lines. Marvel heroes from a 3-year period of films come together to protect humanity from intergalactic threats. If you faithfully watched the solo Marvel films before viewing Avengers, you were duly rewarded with a satisfying conclusion to Phase 1. If you watched Avengers in isolation, you would still be captivated with the colorful adventure of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

And oh boy, how the sparks fly! Even before a single fist landed on a Chitauri cheekbone, the in-fighting among the heroes was fun to watch. The verbal showdown between Cap and Iron Man was fascinating—enough to get everyone excited for a possible Civil War (which happened). Thor vs. Hulk and Thor vs. Tony were exciting heavyweight fights, and the mind-controlled exploits of Hawkeye (who eventually turned into a protagonist) added an extra layer of conflict.

Speaking of conflict, the plot’s intensity keeps the audience hooked from start to finish. The film opens with a car-blowing, Tesseract-grabbing heist perpetuated by Loki, the best MCU villain to date. The action sequences that follow—which include the forest duel and the Helicarrier fiasco—are visual stunners. The climactic Battle of New York is made even more hearstopping when the Avengers have to deal with the alien invasion and the nuclear missile out of nowhere. By the time Mr. Stark wakes up after his heroic sacrifice (with Hulk’s thunderous voice as the alarm clock), the viewer smiles ear-to-ear, satisfied that the good guys prevailed.

We haven’t even touched on the excellent cast—from Downey to Evans, Hiddleston to Ruffalo—as well as the fantastic effects and brilliant musical score. My only nitpick would be the slowing down of the film’s pace during certain expository parts. Perhaps Natasha’s conversation with Dr. Banner could have been just a tad shorter. Other than this, though, I am satisfied with Joss Whedon’s work to the point of considering Avengers a top-of-the-mountain film.

But not the top film.

#1: CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (2014)

I will argue all day, any day with anyone who disagrees.

The second Captain America installment is second to none in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, The Winter Soldier is the MCU’s standard-bearer for film quality.

Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of this film is its realistic approach. All the elements of The Winter Soldier make you believe that a “super soldier”—the stuff of comic book lore—can actually trade fists and save lives in a true-to-life episode of political espionage. Chris Evans gives justice to a highly conflicted Cap, who finds his classic American ideals challenged by 21st century US military “values.”

The action sequences are exquisite. The moment you see Cap deliver a spinning heel kick to a pirate (hello, Georges St-Pierre!), you know it’s going to be special. My favorite scene in the entire film was the elevator scene, in which Steve fights about a dozen Hydra henchmen by himself...and wins. The final act of the film is packed with suspense as Cap attempts to deactivate Hydra’s three Helicarriers designed for mass eliminations. But standing in his way—literally, they stood face-to-face on a very narrow passage—is the Winter Soldier, who is revealed to be Steve’s best friend Bucky. Cheesy as it may have been, the line “I’m with you till the end of the line” was a nice touch to the Cap/Steve vs. Winter Soldier/Bucky plotline.

Comrade Barnes may have been the cybernetically-enhanced villain, but Alexander Pierce was a great antagonist as well in the role of the slimy, intelligent bureaucrat. Robert Redford (God bless his kindred soul) proved in this film that he can out-act any performer that Hollywood has to offer. Memorable performances also came from Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Scarlett Johannson as Black Widow, and Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson.

As garnish, the Russo brothers added touches of humor and cleverness. Like the running joke of Steve telling Sam “I’m on your left,” or the subtle graveyard reference to Samuel L. Jackson’s role in the cult classic Pulp Fiction, or Steve’s list of pop culture items (Star Wars and Star Trek, anyone?). Indeed, Messieurs Joe and Anthony deserved the call to direct Civil War and the Infinity films.

I can only hope that Infinity War and its sequel (Gauntlet, perhaps?) will live up to their gargantuan hype. But don’t get me wrong: I am highly confident because the directors proved how excellent an MCU film can be when they made Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Dear readers, what’s your top 5 list? Do you agree or disagree with the list presented above? Let us know in the comments below!

[hawkeyedflame]

So I was tagged for this forever ago by Robyn (@the-heart-alchemist), Marilyn (@haganenobeato), and Camila (@didsomeonesayroyai) and now I’ve finally recording it! I totally didn’t put it off because I hate the sound of my voice or anything. I rambled a lot so I put the abridged answers below.

Tell me about you!

1. Where are you from? Rural Massachusetts, but I live in Boston now.

2. Do you like the manga, brotherhood, or 03 best? I like the manga events the best, but I think part of that is because I watched Brotherhood first, so when I read the manga I could really hear the characters’ voices. I guess Mangahood overall is my favorite, though I do like 03 for what it is.

3. When did you get into the series? I’m a latecomer, I didn’t watch it until December 2016 even though people have been urging me to watch it since 2013. @schnee-dust-co and @the-heart-alchemist are mainly responsible for getting me into it.

4. Do you create anything for the fandom (fanart, gifs, amv’s, songs, fanfiction, etc.)? I write one-shots sometimes but I have yet to really commit to something big. I feel like a lot of the ideas I could have are already beaten to death because of how old the fandom is, but I still itch to write anyways. I also try to draw but I’m not very good at it.

Fullmetally questions:

1. Who’s your favorite character and why? (Try to keep as low as three.) Good god I mean, if you can’t tell from my blog my favorite two are Riza Hawkeye and Roy Mustang. After them I honestly...don’t know.

2. Would you want to be an Alchemist, join the military, or work on automail? I would probably want to be an alchemist, although I wouldn’t mind being in the Amestrian military. Automail is too mechanical-ey for me.

3. Any OTP’s? I mean if I could only pick one OTP from all my fandoms it would be Royai. I ship all the canon ships, but none of them come close to Royai.

4. List some of your favorite fics or amv’s. Oh boy I...there’s so many! Too many to list but the first ones that come to mind are Until Tomorrow by @rizascupcakes, which was the first one I ever read; Here Dead We Lie by mebh, which continues to hurt my soul; literally everything by @the-flame-and-hawks-eye, Reverberations by Antigone Rex (she says she’s going to finish it too!); The Elemental Chess Trilogy by @ladynorbert, which is one of my favorite gen series; and a bunch of other one-shots and multichaps by various people and I’m sorry but I really can’t list all of them because omigod there’s so many amazing writers for this fandom!!! (I promise that even if I didn’t name you but I’ve read your FMA fics I love and appreciate you a lot!!!)

5. Where would you want to live in their universe? Probably somewhere outside of East City. Resembool is a little too rural for me but the city proper is too urban. Somewhere in between would be nice.

6. Which way do you prefer the death of the Rockbells, mangahood or 03? Mangahood 100%. I feel like, as a plot point, it kind of fell flat in 03. Like, Winry found out and then...nothing really came of it? I don’t know, I feel like it was much more important to the plot and to Winry and Scar’s character development in Mangahood. I feel like, in 03, it gave us a good foundation for Roy’s characterization but never really drove him forward when the truth came out.

7. Moments that made you cry? How about moments that made you laugh? Good god I’m a complete wimp and I cried at the second episode and every single emotional moment on my first watch through. Rewatching, Al yelling at Ed after Scar almost kills him in Rain of Sorrows gets me, as does Roy crying in Separate Destinations, Riza’s breakdown in Death of the Undying, the entire Roy/Riza altercation in Beyond the Inferno, Ling crying and begging for someone to help him save Fu, Al transmuting his soul to bring Ed’s arm back, and Edward crying and yelling at Hohenheim. idk why I pronounced Hohenheim so weirdly in my recording?? For moments that made me laugh, pretty much anytime Ed or Roy are getting picked on makes me laugh.

8. How do you feel about Roy Mustang’s decision to use the Philosopher’s Stone? I understand why he did it and I hope that the events of the Promised Day helped forge some sort of understanding between himself and the people of Ishval so that they can rebuild Ishval together. I know Roy has a good heart and I sincerely believe the only thing in his mind when he accepted Marcoh’s offer was that having his eyesight restored would help him fix things.

9. Make up a question for the people you tag! I think everyone has done this by now so I’m not going to tag anyone! :(

Robyn’s question: What is your favorite quote from the FMA series? Hmm that’s hard but a couple are: “The one thing worse than death is to avert your eyes from it. Look straight at the people you kill. Don't take your eyes off them for a second. And don't ever forget them, because I promise that they won't forget you.” “You scum sit back and safely watch the battlefield as if it were some kind of spectator sport. You don’t know anything about sacrifice and yet you’re the first to talk about its necessity.” And of course, “I can’t afford to lose you.”

Marilyn’s question: How would you feel having your soul attached to a suit of armor? I like food and sleeping way too much so I don’t think I’d enjoy that.

Camila’s question: What was your favorite aspect of the series (like character development, plot development, humor, fights, romance, etc)? I mean I want to talk about how much I love how deep and complicated each character is but if I’m being honest the thing that keeps me coming back to the series time and time again is Royai and I can’t help it.

(Sorry about that suuuper awkward ending, my roommates and their friends all came back from wherever they had gone off to right around when I started answering the question from Robyn so I got all flustered because the walls in my apartment are super thin.)