home sticky & gaming for the thrones
blergh, this heat is absolutely insufferable. It's like + 30 degrees outside and it's still early in the morning. At this rate I'm going to bake like a cupcake by mid day.
Forever bitter about Germany placing third in Euro 2012. I still think they deserved to win. :u
Some fandom things here and there:
I'm not sure why it took me so long to read Homestuck it but it definitely exceeded all expectations I had! It's such a fun read and the plot, even if complicated, is so much wider than you could think when looking at the first pages. I can't really think of a character I dislike - even those I don't care all that much about are still pretty interesting and loveable. That's one of the things I love about this comic- all of the characters have their flaws, they make mistakes, they act like typical teenagers but they all have the quirks that make them likeable and relateable. My favorite is probably Roxy (my queen of love and beauty♥♥♥) but Jade is a really close second. Dave and Karkat are both hilarious and terrible and hilarious. And so much fun as beloved fandom punching bags. Vriska was a difficult character to like at first (unsurprisingly to anyone) but somewhere along the road I think I started to understand her - all with being raised to kill and still wishing the best for her friends albeit in a troublesome way - and now she is one of my favorites. She is messed up and horrible but also amazing and her interactions with John were really a punch right in the feels for me (they are the best moirails and I'll fight anyone who disagrees. Diamonds are forever etc). John, I have to admit, is pretty bland as a character, at least in my opinion, but he is still a charming dorky jerk and I kind of love him for it. And then there's Tavros:
I mean, just look at this sweet creepy little face. His exchange with Dave was one of the highligths of the comic for me and I wish we could see more of them interacting. Or just more Tavros (well, or his spooky blank-eyed ghost) - I think there's still place to develop his character, especially after that conversation with Jade.
...and Sollux, Nepeta, Aradia, Feferi, Dirk, PM and and... I really just love every one of those stupid kids (well, maybe except Eridan. I don't love you, Eridan) and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a happy everyone-comes-to-life-including-the-guardians-and-even-random-carapacians-in-the-background ending.
Some random thoughts regarding latest updates (spoilers galore, obviously):
- I'm so amused by the idea of Lord English being this huge green monster who draws 4-year-old skill level pictures and blushes at the idea of people holding hands. The way to outrun the Lord of Time is apparently shaking hands with him and giving him a hug.
-Still not over the idea of Jake being related to LE. Not only because of his surname and the symbol on his shirt but also because of his role as a page - pages are technically supposed to serve lords and, well, now with Lord English being the Lord of Time and all...
-The Roxy-Jane thing really got me worried at first but now that I think about it, I don't expect them to stay dead. Chances are, they will be revived in the next flash.
...At least I really really hope so.
-uu's art seems to be improving. I'd say we are mor or less on the same level now.
-Terezi + Dirk interactions and Dave's face after seeing Dirk - ♥. His determination not to react is killing me.
Can't wait for the flash updates. Hoping we'll get to see the other Alpha kids' lands and what's the deal with Calliope and the giant red sun. And maybe if we're really really lucky we'll have the alphabeta soup meet up (probably won't get this one for a while, but one can hope).
I’m making my way through the A Song of Ice and Fire books and I just finished catching up on the show. I love all of the books dearly, though my favorite one is probably A Storm of Swords. A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragon were harder to get through but at that point I was already way too attached to all the characters to stop reading. I’m not that impressed with the show, sadly. Especially the second season.
(spoilers for the both seasons of the show and pretty much all of the books below)
You know, I really hate to be one of those “canon purists” who think you have to stick to the books word for word - there’s no way a long-running tv show can do it, but I really liked the show much better in season one, when it followed the books’ storyline more closely. Some changes they made just had me going "why would you do this? what does this add to the plot? /incoherent keysmash".
One of the things I like so much about the books is that the author didn’t play into the problematic archetypes that show up in fantasy literature. Instead he acknowledged tthey were problematic and tore them down. Butfor me it seems like the show is playing right into those archetypes: hooker with the heart of gold, romantic king and etc.
Plus, the show has thrown in a bunch of really gratuitous nudity which makes me a bit uncomfortable with the way it was handled. Don’t get me wrong - nudity itself doesn’t bother me at all - I mean I watched HBO shows like Oz and The Wire when I was 12 (and it taught me a lot of important lessons about life, justice and how to kill a man with ground glass) and I never saw anything wrong with stuff like that but the problem, in my opinion, is that in this case it serves no purpose except for shock value and appeasing the male audience which doesn’t sit so well with me. Sure, there was nudity in the books too, but I feel that the nudity there always served a purpose and the sex scenes were important to the story. In the show it’s just clear what kind of audience it’s catering to and I’m really iffy about that. :/
I really hate the way they changed Robb and Cat, or to be more precise, how the way the changes made for Robb affected Cat. Robb is pretty bland in the books, however, the first GoT season made him so much more interesting. And the second promptly ruined everything. In the books it was all about honor vs. duty for him and he and Jeyne had a nice if bland love story. Now it would be nice if in a show filled with so much violence and abusive relationships like GoT we could see an actually genuine romance. But the way it was played in the show like some “forbidden love” was way ooc, in my opinion. In the book, he makes one stupid mistake and knows it was foolish. In the show, he has a conversation with Cat about how he doesn’t care if it’s a bad idea and he’s going to do what he wants anyway (plus, he is extremely rude to her in the show while in the books he trusts her a lot). Not letting Robb and Cat know about Rickon’s and Bran’s “deaths” took away all the meaning between their actions - Cat setting Jaime free and Robb sleeping with Jeyne. Those were mistakes made in grief and now they were pointless.
Not only that, they gave a lot of decisions that were made by Cat in the book to Robb. The way he treats her in the show, all “mom, you’re embarassing me” doesn’t make sense since he respects her decisions a lot in the books. The show has stolen a lot of Cat’s agency and really, I feel they shoeherned her just to flesh out Robb.
I also dislike the speech Jeyne/Talisa gave to Robb in the show. The one about “not being like the other girls” because she doesn’t want to learn dances and wants to be useful. Now I really hate the whole “I’m not like the other girls” attitude especially when it’s used to create a strong female character because it does the exact opposite - it’s a very misogynistic notion that implies the “other”, feminine girls are somehow worse. And what I liked about the books is how different the female characters were - there were girly girls like Sansa and tomboys like Arya but they all were really fleshed out and strong. The show does the exact opposite. Another example is the way they erased some of Sansa’s storylines. I’m glad we got a lot of scenes with Arya because I adore her but the two sisters are like two sides of the same coin and I hate how they ignore the girlier side. They are both great and both deserve recognition.
Another thing I don’t get why Ros is apparently a character. She turned from an un-named extra in the book to having more screen time than some of the POV characters in the show. The only purpose she serves is more catering to the male gaze via pointless nudity and giving more attention to the male characters via having them monologuing at her. And that is not only really shady but also can ruin some of the plot points - it took away all the surprise from Littlefinger’s plan by having him tell everything to her beforehand. In the book it was a stunning revelation, in the show - not so much. It’s nice they are giving the perspective of the sex workers since it’s a part of the history that often gets overlooked but they’re wasting way too much time on Ros when they had two named characters to choose from in the books - Chataya and Alayaya. Ignoring them also takes away the chance to have more POC characters. Another problem with Ros is that with 10 episodes per season the series barely has enough time to include everything from the book. By introducing subplots that have nothing to do with the text they’re taking away the times from the really important parts. One of the things that I really wish happened in this season is set up for the Ramsay/Reek storyline. I’m not sure how they’re going to deal with it when it comes up in ADWD - that’s one of the things that should have been set up sooner, in my opinion.
Sansa’s storylines even more so - she receives very little attention in the show, despite the fact that she goes through a very important narrative arc and learns to not only survive with the Lannisters but also begins learning how to manipulate.
I would have also loved if it included Loras’ comitting all those murders after Renly’s death. It was very important not only to him as a character, but also it said a lot about his house and the way Tyrells can be vicious under their surface.
Finally, I’m disappointed in the House of Undying scene. It’s an important scene with a lot of foreshadowing, prophecies and glimpses of important characters. I realize some of those images would probably never work on the show because it hasn’t given any backstory into any of it and It would be a lot more difficult not to give anything away. However, some of the scenes were very important as foreshadowing and I’m not sure how some future events that were shown in the propecies will progress without them.
…And now I’m thinking how amazing that scene would look if it was directed by David Lynch in some bizzaro world. Would never happen, but could look amazing.
And I know I'm already horribly tl;dr-ing but I hate the way they killed-off Irri. She was Dany’s strongest remaining tie to the Dothraki -which will be important later in the story-line. I don't see what was the point of killing her and making Doreah a traitor.
And Stannis choking Melissandre. He grinds teeth, he doesn't strangle women. I just can't see book!Stannis doing that and that's a shame, because apart of that, they're doing a good job with his character.
But anyway, speaking about more positive things I love how are they dealing with Margaery and fleshing out her character, I love tv Shae too, even though I’m not sure how they are going to deal with her betrayal later. I didn’t want to like Tyrion but Peter Dinklage is making me very hard to dislike him. Show!Theon is also great and I'm starting to find him more likeable than in the books. Brienne has to be my favorite both in the books and the show - Gwendoline Christie is absolutely amazing and gorgeous. Stannis is also likeable in a strange way - he’s so boring he actually becomes amusing, plus I love his interactions with Davos (my sweet onion (◡‿◡✿) ) Arya and Sansa are also my favorites and I wish all the best for them, even if it’s so unlikely in this canon. Renly is incrediby amusing in his trolling. And really… I found myself caring for most of the characters, except for the obvious - Jeoffrey (though, I admit, I love the actor who plays him in the show - he makes Jeoffrey so delightfully hateable) , Littlefinger (addmitedly, his trolling and plotting is also interesting in a way), Ramsay and the likes.
The Blackwater episode was fantastic - I loved everything from the effects to the amazing Sansa/Cersei interactions. Even if I'm not exactly content with tv!Cersei in some cases, the actress is doing such a great job in her role and I love how you can see everything in her face during those conversations with Sansa - it's not like she hates the girl and maybe she even pities her, but no one helped her when she had to marry a man she didn't love and deal with the war, so she isn't going to hel Sansa either.
I’m all hyped up for this fandom and anticipating for more, even if I'll have to wait for nearly a year till the next season.
Forever bitter about Germany placing third in Euro 2012. I still think they deserved to win. :u
Some fandom things here and there:
I'm not sure why it took me so long to read Homestuck it but it definitely exceeded all expectations I had! It's such a fun read and the plot, even if complicated, is so much wider than you could think when looking at the first pages. I can't really think of a character I dislike - even those I don't care all that much about are still pretty interesting and loveable. That's one of the things I love about this comic- all of the characters have their flaws, they make mistakes, they act like typical teenagers but they all have the quirks that make them likeable and relateable. My favorite is probably Roxy (my queen of love and beauty♥♥♥) but Jade is a really close second. Dave and Karkat are both hilarious and terrible and hilarious. And so much fun as beloved fandom punching bags. Vriska was a difficult character to like at first (unsurprisingly to anyone) but somewhere along the road I think I started to understand her - all with being raised to kill and still wishing the best for her friends albeit in a troublesome way - and now she is one of my favorites. She is messed up and horrible but also amazing and her interactions with John were really a punch right in the feels for me (they are the best moirails and I'll fight anyone who disagrees. Diamonds are forever etc). John, I have to admit, is pretty bland as a character, at least in my opinion, but he is still a charming dorky jerk and I kind of love him for it. And then there's Tavros:
I mean, just look at this sweet creepy little face. His exchange with Dave was one of the highligths of the comic for me and I wish we could see more of them interacting. Or just more Tavros (well, or his spooky blank-eyed ghost) - I think there's still place to develop his character, especially after that conversation with Jade.
...and Sollux, Nepeta, Aradia, Feferi, Dirk, PM and and... I really just love every one of those stupid kids (well, maybe except Eridan. I don't love you, Eridan) and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a happy everyone-comes-to-life-including-the-guardians-and-even-random-carapacians-in-the-background ending.
Some random thoughts regarding latest updates (spoilers galore, obviously):
- I'm so amused by the idea of Lord English being this huge green monster who draws 4-year-old skill level pictures and blushes at the idea of people holding hands. The way to outrun the Lord of Time is apparently shaking hands with him and giving him a hug.
-Still not over the idea of Jake being related to LE. Not only because of his surname and the symbol on his shirt but also because of his role as a page - pages are technically supposed to serve lords and, well, now with Lord English being the Lord of Time and all...
-The Roxy-Jane thing really got me worried at first but now that I think about it, I don't expect them to stay dead. Chances are, they will be revived in the next flash.
...At least I really really hope so.
-uu's art seems to be improving. I'd say we are mor or less on the same level now.
-Terezi + Dirk interactions and Dave's face after seeing Dirk - ♥. His determination not to react is killing me.
Can't wait for the flash updates. Hoping we'll get to see the other Alpha kids' lands and what's the deal with Calliope and the giant red sun. And maybe if we're really really lucky we'll have the alphabeta soup meet up (probably won't get this one for a while, but one can hope).
I’m making my way through the A Song of Ice and Fire books and I just finished catching up on the show. I love all of the books dearly, though my favorite one is probably A Storm of Swords. A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragon were harder to get through but at that point I was already way too attached to all the characters to stop reading. I’m not that impressed with the show, sadly. Especially the second season.
(spoilers for the both seasons of the show and pretty much all of the books below)
You know, I really hate to be one of those “canon purists” who think you have to stick to the books word for word - there’s no way a long-running tv show can do it, but I really liked the show much better in season one, when it followed the books’ storyline more closely. Some changes they made just had me going "why would you do this? what does this add to the plot? /incoherent keysmash".
One of the things I like so much about the books is that the author didn’t play into the problematic archetypes that show up in fantasy literature. Instead he acknowledged tthey were problematic and tore them down. Butfor me it seems like the show is playing right into those archetypes: hooker with the heart of gold, romantic king and etc.
Plus, the show has thrown in a bunch of really gratuitous nudity which makes me a bit uncomfortable with the way it was handled. Don’t get me wrong - nudity itself doesn’t bother me at all - I mean I watched HBO shows like Oz and The Wire when I was 12 (and it taught me a lot of important lessons about life, justice and how to kill a man with ground glass) and I never saw anything wrong with stuff like that but the problem, in my opinion, is that in this case it serves no purpose except for shock value and appeasing the male audience which doesn’t sit so well with me. Sure, there was nudity in the books too, but I feel that the nudity there always served a purpose and the sex scenes were important to the story. In the show it’s just clear what kind of audience it’s catering to and I’m really iffy about that. :/
I really hate the way they changed Robb and Cat, or to be more precise, how the way the changes made for Robb affected Cat. Robb is pretty bland in the books, however, the first GoT season made him so much more interesting. And the second promptly ruined everything. In the books it was all about honor vs. duty for him and he and Jeyne had a nice if bland love story. Now it would be nice if in a show filled with so much violence and abusive relationships like GoT we could see an actually genuine romance. But the way it was played in the show like some “forbidden love” was way ooc, in my opinion. In the book, he makes one stupid mistake and knows it was foolish. In the show, he has a conversation with Cat about how he doesn’t care if it’s a bad idea and he’s going to do what he wants anyway (plus, he is extremely rude to her in the show while in the books he trusts her a lot). Not letting Robb and Cat know about Rickon’s and Bran’s “deaths” took away all the meaning between their actions - Cat setting Jaime free and Robb sleeping with Jeyne. Those were mistakes made in grief and now they were pointless.
Not only that, they gave a lot of decisions that were made by Cat in the book to Robb. The way he treats her in the show, all “mom, you’re embarassing me” doesn’t make sense since he respects her decisions a lot in the books. The show has stolen a lot of Cat’s agency and really, I feel they shoeherned her just to flesh out Robb.
I also dislike the speech Jeyne/Talisa gave to Robb in the show. The one about “not being like the other girls” because she doesn’t want to learn dances and wants to be useful. Now I really hate the whole “I’m not like the other girls” attitude especially when it’s used to create a strong female character because it does the exact opposite - it’s a very misogynistic notion that implies the “other”, feminine girls are somehow worse. And what I liked about the books is how different the female characters were - there were girly girls like Sansa and tomboys like Arya but they all were really fleshed out and strong. The show does the exact opposite. Another example is the way they erased some of Sansa’s storylines. I’m glad we got a lot of scenes with Arya because I adore her but the two sisters are like two sides of the same coin and I hate how they ignore the girlier side. They are both great and both deserve recognition.
Another thing I don’t get why Ros is apparently a character. She turned from an un-named extra in the book to having more screen time than some of the POV characters in the show. The only purpose she serves is more catering to the male gaze via pointless nudity and giving more attention to the male characters via having them monologuing at her. And that is not only really shady but also can ruin some of the plot points - it took away all the surprise from Littlefinger’s plan by having him tell everything to her beforehand. In the book it was a stunning revelation, in the show - not so much. It’s nice they are giving the perspective of the sex workers since it’s a part of the history that often gets overlooked but they’re wasting way too much time on Ros when they had two named characters to choose from in the books - Chataya and Alayaya. Ignoring them also takes away the chance to have more POC characters. Another problem with Ros is that with 10 episodes per season the series barely has enough time to include everything from the book. By introducing subplots that have nothing to do with the text they’re taking away the times from the really important parts. One of the things that I really wish happened in this season is set up for the Ramsay/Reek storyline. I’m not sure how they’re going to deal with it when it comes up in ADWD - that’s one of the things that should have been set up sooner, in my opinion.
Sansa’s storylines even more so - she receives very little attention in the show, despite the fact that she goes through a very important narrative arc and learns to not only survive with the Lannisters but also begins learning how to manipulate.
I would have also loved if it included Loras’ comitting all those murders after Renly’s death. It was very important not only to him as a character, but also it said a lot about his house and the way Tyrells can be vicious under their surface.
Finally, I’m disappointed in the House of Undying scene. It’s an important scene with a lot of foreshadowing, prophecies and glimpses of important characters. I realize some of those images would probably never work on the show because it hasn’t given any backstory into any of it and It would be a lot more difficult not to give anything away. However, some of the scenes were very important as foreshadowing and I’m not sure how some future events that were shown in the propecies will progress without them.
…And now I’m thinking how amazing that scene would look if it was directed by David Lynch in some bizzaro world. Would never happen, but could look amazing.
And I know I'm already horribly tl;dr-ing but I hate the way they killed-off Irri. She was Dany’s strongest remaining tie to the Dothraki -which will be important later in the story-line. I don't see what was the point of killing her and making Doreah a traitor.
And Stannis choking Melissandre. He grinds teeth, he doesn't strangle women. I just can't see book!Stannis doing that and that's a shame, because apart of that, they're doing a good job with his character.
But anyway, speaking about more positive things I love how are they dealing with Margaery and fleshing out her character, I love tv Shae too, even though I’m not sure how they are going to deal with her betrayal later. I didn’t want to like Tyrion but Peter Dinklage is making me very hard to dislike him. Show!Theon is also great and I'm starting to find him more likeable than in the books. Brienne has to be my favorite both in the books and the show - Gwendoline Christie is absolutely amazing and gorgeous. Stannis is also likeable in a strange way - he’s so boring he actually becomes amusing, plus I love his interactions with Davos (my sweet onion (◡‿◡✿) ) Arya and Sansa are also my favorites and I wish all the best for them, even if it’s so unlikely in this canon. Renly is incrediby amusing in his trolling. And really… I found myself caring for most of the characters, except for the obvious - Jeoffrey (though, I admit, I love the actor who plays him in the show - he makes Jeoffrey so delightfully hateable) , Littlefinger (addmitedly, his trolling and plotting is also interesting in a way), Ramsay and the likes.
The Blackwater episode was fantastic - I loved everything from the effects to the amazing Sansa/Cersei interactions. Even if I'm not exactly content with tv!Cersei in some cases, the actress is doing such a great job in her role and I love how you can see everything in her face during those conversations with Sansa - it's not like she hates the girl and maybe she even pities her, but no one helped her when she had to marry a man she didn't love and deal with the war, so she isn't going to hel Sansa either.
I’m all hyped up for this fandom and anticipating for more, even if I'll have to wait for nearly a year till the next season.