i think the new spider-man was such a beautiful movie because it wasn’t about another huge multiversal/“big potato” crisis. it was about being human.
there are so many themes woven into it. maturing through loss. accepting every version of yourself, no matter how much you change. learning to let the people around you help instead of carrying everything alone.
i think that’s why spider-man has always been the people’s superhero. he’s the most down-to-earth one. we relate to him because he struggles the same way we do. one way or another, a lot of us grew up with a spider-man, whether it was Tobey, Andrew, or Tom. and there’s something so comforting about seeing someone with incredible power still having to deal with ordinary life, grief, loneliness, relationships, and simply trying to figure out who they are.
this movie left an imprint on my soul in such a healing way, the same way the new superman movie left me with this quiet hope that things can get better. i love superhero stories that remind you that saving the world is important, but learning how to live in it is just as heroic.
i wish mistborn was more popular bc i think kelsier is primo tumblr bait. he's a smartass bastard con artist who hired a little freak teenage girl for a heist and immediately swerved into being her adoptive dad. his immediate first instinct upon meeting a god was a solid right hook and he has repeated this at least twice more. he refuses to stop fucking up everyone elses plans and will die if he goes more than 12 hours without making a Devious Plot of some sort. hes started at least three religions/cults that revere him.
Is Kingkiller Chronicle worth reading if it may never be finished?
I have heard lots of good things about the two books, but considering that the third one has been getting delayed for the past 15 years i’m wondering if it’s worth reading a story that’s unfinished just because it’s that good. And is it that good?
So… i’m trying to get into fantasy/sci-fi finally (have only read asoiaf out of these). I would be incredibly grateful if someone could tell me how solid books on the list i’ve assembled are and recommend some more!!
High Fantasy:
• The Poppy War Trilogy - R.F.Kuang
• The Lord of the Rings - J.R.Tolkien
• A Song Of Ice and Fire - George R.R. Martin
• The Kingkiller Chronicle - Patrick Rothfuss
• The Shadow of What Was Lost - James
Islington
• The Will of the Many - James Islington
• Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson
• The Stormlight Archive - Brandon Sanderson
• The Farseer Trilogy - Robin Hobb
• Nevernight - Jay Kristoff
• Empire of the Vampire - Jay Kristoff
• The Gentleman Bastard Sequence - Scott
Lynch
• The Dark Tower - Stephen King
• Avalon - Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Throne of Glass - Sarah J. Maas
• The Witcher - Andrzej Sapkowski
• The Bloodsworn Saga - John Gwynne
• Roots of Chaos - Samantha Shannon
• The Burning - Evan Winter
• The First Law Trilogy - Joe Abercrombie
• The Shadow Campaigns - Django Wexler
• The Green Bone Saga - Fonda Lee
• The Chronicles of the Black Company - Glen Cook
• The Earthsea Cycle - Ursula K. Le Guin
As of now I haven’t yet looked into good sci-fi series in particular. Though heard very good things about Red Rising.
Also! I would really like to make mini categories for all these high fantasy novels, but don’t really know the best way to go with that.
Okay, huge rant about the supergirl movie incoming…
Man I tried SO hard to like this movie. I knew beforehand about all the dumb hate Milly was getting and I genuinely wanted it to prove everyone wrong. And Milly did! She was a great Kara. My problem is literally everything else.
I don’t even care that it’s different from the comic. Adaptations change things all the time. What bothers me is that it feels like they completely misunderstood what the og material was actually about. Kara killing Krem, Ruthye having to be convinced not to take revenge instead of making that choice herself, it all just destroys what Tom King wrote so beautifully. The comic understood Kara as a person. This movie mostly understands her as an action hero. It just loses SO much of the emotional weight.
They also made it seem like Kara’s whole motivation was saving Krypto, when in the comic that was never really the point. They cut out so much of Kara’s compassion too, like her helping people across planets, everything she did during Krypton’s destruction, and instead made the movie way darker and edgier than it needed to be. The comic feels so beautiful and almost magical (Bilquis Evely’s art is undefeated btw), while this just felt…loud? Chaotic? Super edgy? And yeah, the needle drop was as bad as they say.
I also didn’t care for Lobo. Jason Momoa was fun, don’t get me wrong, but he felt so unnecessary (along with his 500 motorcycle explosion sequences). While Comet who was actually important in the comic is just gone lol.
I think if I hadn’t read the comic, I’d probably think this was a kinda decent action movie. My friend who never read it liked it enough. But when your movie is centered on adapting ONE comic that’s only eight issues long and somehow misses the entire point of Kara’s character that’s just disappointing.
Still love Milly as Kara though. She deserved better.
By the way, the questions of "Who is the biggest Tim glazer, Bruce or Dick?" and "Who is the biggest Dick glazer, Bruce or Tim?" are both rather close, like we are talking President and Vice President of the respective fanclubs.
But the question of who is the biggest Bruce glazer is Dick. And it's not close. Not remotely. He's the biggest Bruce glazer alive. And Tim doesn't even really glaze Bruce. But Tim is conversely the biggest Bruce excuser, which is like the opposite while maintaining positive feelings. So basically if Bruce actually fucks up, Tim ends up like "well what did you expect?" and Dick is like "BETTER OF HIM" which is why Dick is the one that gets angry.
I'm very disappointed that Netflix has decided not to pursue a second season of THE MIDNIGHT CLUB.
My biggest disappointment is that we left so many story threads open, holding them back for the hypothetical second season, which is always a gamble.
So I'm writing this blog as our official second season, so you can know what might have been, learn the fates of your favorite characters, and know the answers to those dangling story threads from the first season.
So for those of you who want to know what we were planning to do, here's a look at what would have been season 2!
AMESH
Season 2 would open with Amesh, his glioblastoma advancing quickly. He would tell the first story of the season, but would be struggling to make it through. We'd focus on his love story with Natsuki for those first few episodes as it becomes clear that Amesh's death is imminent.
Meanwhile, Ilonka is trying to reconcile how she was fooled by Julia Jayne, all while falling further in love with Kevin, and she realizes he may be fading faster than he lets on.
Ilonka begins a serialized story in an effort to encourage him to "stay alive a little longer," like he did in season one. And the story she tells is...
REMEMBER ME.
This was the thing I was most excited about for this season.
REMEMBER ME is one of my all-time favorite Pike books - it tells the story of a teenage girl who is pushed off a balcony, and awakens as a ghost. She has to navigate being a spirit while trying to solve her own murder. We would have stretched this story out over 5 episodes.
We were going to use it as a vehicle for Ilonka to try to come to terms with the fact that she is going to die, and to begin to trying to wrap her head around being a ghost... but this is the coolest part... the lead character of Ilonka's story wouldn't be played by Ilonka. She'd be played by...
Anya.
Because this is how we live on, isn't it? In the minds of those we leave behind. And Ilonka would use REMEMBER ME as a way to imagine her dear friend Anya, waking up as a ghost, navigating the afterlife.
And this sets up one of the best mechanisms of the show - even if a character dies, as long as they're remembered by members of the club, they live on in their stories.
As the story starts to pick up steam, though, the group will have to deal with the death of Amesh, which he greets with grace and bravery.
In his final moments, he sees someone in his room - the Janitor from the first season, as played by Robert Longstreet, who says comforting things to Amesh even though he can't respond.
In his final, final moments, the SHADOW descends upon Amesh, and he is engulfed into it, which reinforces the idea that the Shadow is DEATH...
With Amesh's death comes something that upends the entire thing: a NEW PATIENT. We didn't work out too much about who this would be, but it would be a new roommate for Ilonka. Someone taking Anya's old bed.
Ilonka would find herself being initially cold to her - just as Anya was when Ilonka arrived. Even feeling like this new girl shouldn't necessarily be ushered into the Club. But of course they would develop a beautiful friendship over the course of the season.
The new girl joins the club, where something else exciting is happening - Cheri is telling a story. We hadn't decided which one, but I think it might have been MONSTER.
Natsuki would be the next to die, which would be heartbreaking. And again, she would talk to the janitor just before it happened... and again, the Shadow would come in the final moments.
For Spence, though, things would take a different turn.
The advancements in HIV treatment in the late 90's would come into play, and we'd see his prognosis change. The HIV cocktail came out in Dec 1995, and we really wanted to explore that.
Spence would ride the swell of antiviral advancements, and by the end of the season, he'd no longer be classified as terminal. In the finale of season 2, Spence would leave Brightcliffe just like Sandra did in Season 1, heading off to manage his disease and live the rest of his life.
But onto the BIG MYSTERIES of the season one... here are some answers:
What is up with Dr. Stanton's tattoo and bald head?
Well, a few things. First, Dr. Stanton is actually the daughter of the original Paragon cult leader, Aceso. Her nickname was Athena, she wrote the Paragon journal that Ilonka found in S1. She turned on her mother and helped the kids escape, but because she was part of the cult in her teenage years, she had the tattoo.
It was her initials that Ilonka found carved into the tree in season 1 (her maiden name was Georgina Ballard, hence the G.B. that Ilonka finds carved in the tree).
She hated what her mother became, and the atrocities of the cult. She reclaimed the property after her mom was gone, and wanted to change it into a place that celebrated life. She was trying to undo her mother's legacy and leave something behind that was beautiful.
She is wearing a wig at the end of S1 not because of a sinister reason, but because she is undergoing chemo. Dr. Stanton has cancer. Having helped so many people deal with disease, she now has to deal with it herself.
Her treatment would be successful, and she'd go into remission, but having to face that - while caring for the terminal kids at Brightcliffe - was going to be a very introspective arc for Stanton.
What about the Living Shadow? It's Death, right?
Well... no.
At the end of the season, Kevin will die... followed shortly by Ilonka. And as she is dying, two things will happen. First, she'll find herself talking to the Janitor, played by Robert Longstreet... and she'll make a discovery.
HE is Death.
And nothing to be afraid of. It turns out no one else ever saw this character. Stanton has a cleaning service, and the Nurse practitioners make up the rooms - the only people who ever saw this mysterious Janitor were the patients. He is Death, and offers them kind words before they die.
Then what was the Shadow?
This is an idea we take directly from the book REMEMBER ME, and we'll see it play out in the final moments of Ilona's final tale. In Pike's book, Shari is pursued by a dark entity called The Shadow. When it finally catches her, though, it turns out it is not a bad thing at all.
The Shadow is THEMSELVES. It's the Unknown. As it engulfs someone, in the last moment of their life, it takes them through a place of understanding and catharsis, preparing them for the next step.
THIS is what happened to Anya in S1 when the Shadow finally reached her - that's why she fantasized a life beyond Brightcliffe, which ultimately let her find acceptance of her death. It looks different for everybody, depending on their mind-set - because it is simply an extension of themselves.
The Shadow is just the final catharsis, a return to our original form - it is a moment of true understanding, and once we experience it, we move on to the next place.
We see the Shadow in full effect when it finally comes for Kevin. KEVIN DIES with Ilonka at his side, and it leads to the biggest reveal of the season:
Who were the Mirror Man and the Cataract Woman?
They were Stanley Oscar Freelan and his wife, who built Brightcliffe (fun trivia, he is named after the real-life Freelan Oscar Stanley, who built my favorite hotel in America - the Stanley Hotel. The Stanley is also the inspiration for THE SHINING!).
But more than that... there's a reason that Ilonka only sees Stanley in the mirror, and sees the Cataract Woman whenever she looked at Kevin. This is something else we took from Pike's original book... these aren't ghosts, but glimpses of PAST LIVES.
Ilonka WAS Stanley Oscar Freelan, and Kevin WAS his wife. They've lived many lives this way, and are true SOUL MATES - they always find each other, and they always fall in love. In this life, they knew it would be a short one, so they agreed to find each other in the house they built.
They've been "remembering" who they are, and glimpsing their former selves in reflections, and sometimes when they look at each other. This is also why Ilonka's very first words to Kevin in S1 were "Do I know you?" and why Kevin thought she was familiar as well. They are two souls who always find each other, again and again.
The story is this:
Stanley was dying, and built this cliffside home hoping that the seaside air would help him. It did, and he far outlived his prognosis (this is also true of the real-life Freelan Stanley). However, his wife began to succumb to dementia.
She would wander the halls, looking for him ("Darling!") and would even forget to feed herself ("I'm starving...") and she eventually refused to leave the basement. Heartbroken for her, Stanley painted the walls to resemble the woodland view, and the ceiling to resemble the night sky, so that it would be a little more beautiful for her.
He also painted a labyrinth on the floor, which was a technique used to try to curb the effects of dementia. She'd walk the pattern of the maze and it was believed it could help her cognition. Eventually, she developed frightening cataracts, but Stanley loved her through it all.
They were soul mates.
So while they seemed scary in season 1, that was just how Ilonka and Kevin's mind were trying to remember their pasts. We even had their faces distorting in ways consistent with how memories degrade over time.
When the Shadow comes for Ilonka, and gives her this understanding - this "remembering" - she realizes she has nothing to fear. She and Kevin will shed these personas and be reborn, and have the joy of finding each other another way.
The Shadow comes for her, Death takes her gently, and Ilonka goes off with Kevin back into the cosmos, ready for their next incarnation.
The series would end with Cheri telling this story to a whole new table of patients, including our new series leads. Most of our original cast now would exist as stories, a story told to the next "class" of storytellers at the table, all of whom we will have met by the end of the season. A story called "The Midnight Club."
Well, that's it... that was what we had in mind. It's a shame we won't get to make it, but it would be a bigger shame if you guys simply had to live with the unanswered questions and the cliffhanger ending.
I loved making this show, and I am so proud of the cast and crew. Particularly our cast, who attacked this story with incredible spirit and bravery each and every day.
But for now, we'll put the fire out, and leave the library dark and quiet.
To those before, and to those after. To us now, and to those beyond.
Seen or unseen, here but not here.
I'll always be grateful that I got to be part of this Club.
I want to read a good Danmei, any recommendations?
I’ve recently started Case File Compendium as my first one…which was probably a mistake. I’m almost 3 volumes in and the sheer amount of noncon in this is absolutely mouth dropping. Don’t know if I will continue reading this, but apparently the plot gets super bizarre, and the relationship even weirder. I love me some toxic bl, but this shit seems feral. So, I would love some recommendations (with happy endings also pretty pls🥹)!!!
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms - Worth It or Not? New spin-offs coming out...
Still haven't gotten around to watching the new spin-off? prequel? WHATEVER MAN. From what I've seen, it's basically situated somewhere in between HoTD & GoT. So I need hard opinions on the episodes that have come out, as well as SHOULD I READ THE AKOTSK BOOKS??
Also, there have been some news on other shows connected to the ASOIAF universe being in production. Anyone know anything? I read that Aegon's Conquest is finally in production.
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