Amber Speaks - Tumblr Posts

Approving Thoughts on TFATWS (and Criticism of the “fandom”):

With only six eps and half the vocal viewers devouring each other, can it be called a fandom? Idk. My real question is: what in the text of the script is there to cry and complain over? Approached with a level head, the creators do a great job of expanding on the movies’ foundation. 

I’m black (and female) so I have real experience about these things in this make-believe world of the MCU. *dry laugh*

Here are my five reasons to be satisfied with the first half of TFATWS season one, as far as a TV show can satisfy the human heart (which it cannot): 

1. The superheroes invite greater threats against their powers. Some superheroes turn out to be frauds. The superheroes too are people and are still subject to being mistreated by their fellow humanity. Personally, I think sweet and precious Sam Wilson gave up the shield for fear of what would happen to him as a black man. I didn’t think TFATWS would be that honest about human frailty, but it looks like they will. Is it too much to say Sam can overcome the fear and become his own Cap regardless of what other people say or how they treat him? It’s not too much; it’s an awesome lesson for the kids and adults watching. Now, Steve wasn’t dumb or racist; he gave Sam the shield, knowing that would be the challenge, and he had expected Sam to succeed in it, in his own time. Adjacently, the X-Men series deals with superheroes being mistreated a lot more flawlessly than most other major Marvel comics. I did hear that in a comic in the 90s, Black Panther and Storm got married and when Isaiah Bradley arrived, that’s how most of the white superheroes (including James “Bucky” Barnes, Steve Rogers and Wolverine) found out about his history and fame in the black community. Hilarious! And interesting. And sad. 

2. They’re gonna choose what kinds of wrongdoing they want to show in TFATWS. It’s up to us to be self-reflective on our values. I MEAN...they were at a criminal outpost, yet we only saw drug trafficking and weapon trafficking. It’s not as if there is not prostitution (“I look like a pimp in this thing!”) and sex trafficking and other worse kinds of human trafficking acting as the lifeblood of Madripoor, Indonesia. Yet viewers will whine that the creators chose a South Asian Pacific location to show it. You’re focusing on the wrong things, folks. What about Sharon Carter deciding to do the morally bankrupt “hustler thing” and push stolen artwork, the administration of which, is funded by...the above? Yet people will laugh and say Sharon called Bucky Steve’s whore—when no, she called him Steve’s wife, an infinitely more respectable title. 

What about Zemo putting on an act of “his old self before incarceration at JCTC” and groping Bucky’s face in front of those other criminals? What about the shoulders that got crunched in the battle on the cargo ship? Sharon’s awesome, a total badass. But working with Zemo sucks. And Walker is worse.

What about when Tony Stark made Ultron which made other dumb robots that plotted to destroy the “human threat” to earth, a plot which radicalized Sokovian deathsquad commander, Baron Helmut Zemo, who planted and pinned the bombing of Wakanda’s King T’Chaka on Bucky, who had spent 50 years as the world’s most lethal and most mind-controlled assassin—and remembered everything--at the signing of the superhuman-regulating Sokovian Accords? What about when Bucky told Steve he didn’t think he was worth it? And when Sam told Steve that perhaps Bucky wasn’t the same person he knew anymore? But Sam and the other half of the Avengers were sent to the Raft (superhuman max pennitenarary floating in the Atlantic Ocean) so Bucky could flee for his life which they thought he deserved to keep after seeing evil Zemo turn “on” the Winter Soldier? What about when Sam went with Steve to Peggy Carter’s funeral because Bucky was on the run and later found refuge in Wakanda and got his mind back? What about when Tony Stark sacrificed himself to Blip everyone back and Steve went back in time, became Peggy’s longtime husband, then returned, retired and gave the shield to Sam? And when Bucky looked on proudly?

3. Seems to me we need Sam and Bucky together for their own sake and for the sake of their world’s hope and future. There is also a lot between them to resolve as 1 and 1/2 Avenger. Insightful people say Thanos got an edge on the Avengers because they were still split up after the Civil War. Meanwhile, the Sokovian Accords are still active after the Blip. This has huge implications for MCU. I don’t know why we’re trying so hard to pull Sam and Bucky apart. They’ll do that just fine on their own. We need to hope they stay together! 

4. There are not many comic readers here on Tumblr. That’s good. I am not one, I just have comic-reading friends. They’re very hard to please...which is why it’s so funny that the people who only watch MCU are even harder to please, given that they have even less of an idea of what’s going on. It’s called hubris. For example, in the comics, Isaiah Bradley never fought against the Winter Soldier in Goyang, South Korea in 1951. Never happened. Yet some people want to call MCU Bucky a racist who is 100% blind to his own white privilege? Smh. 

5. What’s the point of watching a silly TV show that is not reductively hateful (unlike HBO’s GoT), if you’ll just complain about it, complain about other people’s responses and what they think or not think, and rant at each other over what should be? What do you know? It’s just big-budget play-pretend. Sit back and remember it’s a buddy cop show, too: a very unique installment compared to what’s to come in the MCU. 

Now, I look forward to seeing Captain America’s future resolved in Sam Wilson, and Captain America’s past resolved in James “Bucky” Barnes. That’s as imaginative as buddy cop shows come, these days.  

Thanks for making note of this exchange. It’s like this in real life.

As a black, American woman, in my experience I’ve found that people from other countries have great perspectives on the cultural traps Americans set for themselves. They make it very plain to us.

I think the creators of TFATWS do a great job of using global perspectives to raise a mirror before our American Avengers’ faces. It’s good for the American audience. Like...Sam was definitely being racist against himself. Zemo cut that short, quickly. Bucky had no opinion.

(I want to add that we’re easily manipulated by other countries over our racial hatred. However, we have the most solid constitution in the world. As a paralegal student, that’s how I feel.)

BUT like Zemo, the most white eastern/central European dude, out here acknowledging the struggles of the Black man in America. BRUH the man is woke as fuck/hyperaware and not at all gullible or naive. It shows the stark difference between Bucky and Zemo.

One being completely unaware...

Like can we talk about how Zemo spoke of Marvin Gaye and the African American experience on the jet and was spitting straight facts on the bridge when Sam thought he looked like a pimp??? 

Sam: “I’m the only one who looks like a pimp.”

Zemo: “Only an American would assume a fashion-forward Black man looks like a pimp.”

Approving Thoughts on TFATWS (and Criticism of the “fandom”):

With only six eps and half the vocal viewers devouring each other, can it be called a fandom? Idk. My real question is: what in the text of the script is there to cry and complain over? Approached with a level head, the creators do a great job of expanding on the movies’ foundation. 

I’m black (and female) so I have real experience about these things in this make-believe world of the MCU. *dry laugh*

Here are my five reasons to be satisfied with the first half of TFATWS season one, as far as a TV show can satisfy the human heart (which it cannot): 

1. The superheroes invite greater threats against their powers. Some superheroes turn out to be frauds. The superheroes too are people and are still subject to being mistreated by their fellow humanity. Personally, I think sweet and precious Sam Wilson gave up the shield for fear of what would happen to him as a black man. I didn’t think TFATWS would be that honest about human frailty, but it looks like they will. Is it too much to say Sam can overcome the fear and become his own Cap regardless of what other people say or how they treat him? It’s not too much; it’s an awesome lesson for the kids and adults watching. Now, Steve wasn’t dumb or racist; he gave Sam the shield, knowing that would be the challenge, and he had expected Sam to succeed in it, in his own time. Adjacently, the X-Men series deals with superheroes being mistreated a lot more flawlessly than most other major Marvel comics. I did hear that in a comic in the 90s, Black Panther and Storm got married and when Isaiah Bradley arrived, that’s how most of the white superheroes (including James “Bucky” Barnes, Steve Rogers and Wolverine) found out about his history and fame in the black community. Hilarious! And interesting. And sad. 

2. They’re gonna choose what kinds of wrongdoing they want to show in TFATWS. It’s up to us to be self-reflective on our values. I MEAN…they were at a criminal outpost, yet we only saw drug trafficking and weapon trafficking. It’s not as if there is not prostitution (“I look like a pimp in this thing!”) and sex trafficking and other worse kinds of human trafficking acting as the lifeblood of Madripoor, Indonesia. Yet viewers will whine that the creators chose a South Asian Pacific location to show it. You’re focusing on the wrong things, folks. What about Sharon Carter deciding to do the morally bankrupt “hustler thing” and push stolen artwork, the administration of which, is funded by…the above? Yet people will laugh and say Sharon called Bucky Steve’s whore—when no, she called him Steve’s wife, an infinitely more respectable title. 

What about Zemo putting on an act of “his old self before incarceration at JCTC” and groping Bucky’s face in front of those other criminals? What about the shoulders that got crunched in the battle on the cargo ship? Sharon’s awesome, a total badass. But working with Zemo sucks. And Walker is worse.

What about when Tony Stark made Ultron which made other dumb robots that plotted to destroy the “human threat” to earth, a plot which radicalized Sokovian deathsquad commander, Baron Helmut Zemo, who planted and pinned the bombing of Wakanda’s King T’Chaka on Bucky, who had spent 50 years as the world’s most lethal and most mind-controlled assassin—and remembered everything–at the signing of the superhuman-regulating Sokovian Accords? What about when Bucky told Steve he didn’t think he was worth it? And when Sam told Steve that perhaps Bucky wasn’t the same person he knew anymore? But Sam and the other half of the Avengers were sent to the Raft (superhuman max pennitenarary floating in the Atlantic Ocean) so Bucky could flee for his life which they thought he deserved to keep after seeing evil Zemo turn “on” the Winter Soldier? What about when Sam went with Steve to Peggy Carter’s funeral because Bucky was on the run and later found refuge in Wakanda and got his mind back? What about when Tony Stark sacrificed himself to Blip everyone back and Steve went back in time, became Peggy’s longtime husband, then returned, retired and gave the shield to Sam? And when Bucky looked on proudly?

3. Seems to me we need Sam and Bucky together for their own sake and for the sake of their world’s hope and future. There is also a lot between them to resolve as 1 and ½ Avenger. Insightful people say Thanos got an edge on the Avengers because they were still split up after the Civil War. Meanwhile, the Sokovian Accords are still active after the Blip. This has huge implications for MCU. I don’t know why we’re trying so hard to pull Sam and Bucky apart. They’ll do that just fine on their own. We need to hope they stay together! 

4. There are not many comic readers here on Tumblr. That’s good. I am not one, I just have comic-reading friends. They’re very hard to please…which is why it’s so funny that the people who only watch MCU are even harder to please, given that they have even less of an idea of what’s going on. It’s called hubris. For example, in the comics, Isaiah Bradley never fought against the Winter Soldier in Goyang, South Korea in 1951. Never happened. Yet some people want to call MCU Bucky a racist who is 100% blind to his own white privilege? Smh. 

5. What’s the point of watching a silly TV show that is not reductively hateful (unlike HBO’s GoT), if you’ll just complain about it, complain about other people’s responses and what they think or not think, and rant at each other over what should be? What do you know? It’s just big-budget play-pretend. Sit back and remember it’s a buddy cop show, too: a very unique installment compared to what’s to come in the MCU. 

Now, I look forward to seeing Captain America’s future resolved in Sam Wilson, and Captain America’s past resolved in James “Bucky” Barnes. That’s as imaginative as buddy cop shows come, these days.  

This is my swan song. In reverse.

What is romance? What is fate? I recently heard someone say, you had better make up your mind to marry. Because the right one will come along. And you need to be able to say yes. Otherwise you’ll lose him, and then the next one, and then the next one.

It threw my long-standing musing into relief: that many things have been built, shaped and remade in this world due to marriage. Something an individual could not do alone, was achieved due to their union with another.

I have found myself drawn to stories that ruminate on this beautiful phenomenon. I pour over them and swoon over how far people are willing to go, to put someone’s interest before their own. To foster intimacy on the heels of a tragedy. To travel miles and seek and find. To do impossible things for love.

Some call it romance.

But it’s fate.

A List of Things To Come

*a long post*

I was on hiatus for about 5 years, but I think it's worth the risk of coming back. These are some thoughts and hot takes I've had since then up to now. My professional life is busy, but when I have the time, I'll share. Anyone interested?

Here's a preview, categorized by fandom:

A Song of Ice and Fire:

For asoiaf canon, I’ll speculate on what Jon and Val could have been, and what they could have had together, if he had not kicked the bucket. I’ll also contrast it with Jon's dreams of a life with her, and why he put the torch to it. :( Because of the root of her dislike of Mel and Shireen, I figure she will not be pleased with un-Jon.

Game of Thrones:

In GoT canon, Jon did not love Dany as much as the script suggested he would. In fact, they both failed to take responsibility for the other person. I haven't seen anyone make a statement like this before. (The PTSD is real.) But fic writers did pick up on this and tried to fix it in canon compliant stories, with a lot of success.

Supernatural:

In Supernatural s12-s14, Mary should have found her sons to be way more weird, specifically with each other. But given what we see of her in s6, her characterization is consistent. She would have, and did, ignore the red flags for an idea of family.

I’ll share approving thoughts on Sam and Dean's relationship in the final seasons, disapproving thoughts on the final season of Supernatural, and how I speculated it would either go Gencest or Destiel. We know what happened. No one walked away happy and I think the fandom was all the better for it.

Destiel is not canon. It only became a one-sided love confession. (I know there's a lot of speculation on what happened b/w the studio, the writer's room and the post-production team. Idc. Not gonna touch it.) Thoughts on how I think SPN could have made Destiel go 100% canon involve tweaking the execution and balancing out the themes of Sam and Eileen's love story, the big bad plot, and Dean and Cas's 'love' story.

Outlander:

Outlander (show-only) thoughts, foremost on Roger Mackenzie. He has vexed me from the first time he appeared on screen. I love him dearly, but he vexes me, for how he consistently affects the plot and how that defines his role among the main cast. Later on, I'll run through my favorite moments, episodes and narrative arcs.

Miscellaneous:

I'll share a list of favorite ship-centric fics I've collected over many, many, many years. (Gotta be over 10 years' worth). Along with blurbs that explain my recommendation in a non-spoilery way. Fandoms include: Harry Potter, LOTR, Supernatural, The Walking Dead, ASOIAF, Game of Thrones, Star Wars (Sequel Trilogy), The Flash, Shadowhunters [look away book fans <3], Hannibal (show-only).

I'll also post drafts of fics I never got right and never finished. Mostly GoT-canon divergent Jon/Dany fics.

Most importantly, some very dear friends have encouraged me to vent and hype up my Jonerys fic series "We Could Live Together" as I write it. It's GoT-canon divergent, but I alter some of what occurred before 6x09. Then the story re-enters book territory and moves toward ADOS conclusions. I'd also love to break down and discuss songs from the playlists when it strikes me.

This is the summary of Part 1, "A Long Way Home" (published):

After the Battle for Winterfell, Jon was captured by Bolton men then later found by Daenerys not far from Dragonstone. Their meeting blossoms into the most honest love--until Jon suddenly leaves for Winterfell, only to return to Dragonstone months later with more terrifying tales of dead men and Winter storms. When Daenerys chooses to send her armies north to fight the dead, all is certain but the matter of their bond. After the pain they'd endured, can they come together again? Or will separation be too powerful to overcome? *or* A romantic tale of choice and second chances.

This is the summary of Part 2, "Awake For Ever In Sweet Unrest" (in-progress and unpublished):

Winter has come and further fractured the realm. Yet Jon and Daenerys's betrothal and alliance is well known throughout the Seven Kingdoms. The secret that threatened to break them has made their love stronger, casting a fragrance of hope that draws to the last Targaryens all who seek refuge from political turmoil. Cersei Lannister has fled King's Landing in favor of establishing a bank in Lannisport, to guard against her deposition by the Iron Bank. Euron Greyjoy has set up a naval blockade at Oldtown, yet manages to beguile the Hightowers. And Walder Frey's sundown years threaten to pull his House into a civil war. From the Wall, Jon and Daenerys begin to wage war on the Others. Yet the age of wonder and terror, of gods and heroes, leads them and their enemies in the least expected ways. It begs the question: does all happen the way it must? *or* A romantic telling of the new War for the Dawn.

This is what I've been doing the past few years: working, (dating lol), re-reading the books and joining theory discussions on other sites. What touched my heart was readers asking for me to continue the fic series. Even as I considered it, I was conflicted. Since the show and book canon are so enmeshed, I think we were really vulnerable to being whipped and scored by D&D. But we all found ways to lick our wounds. I'm grateful we were able to become closer and stronger. I'm glad to be a part of it.

So that's my preview. If you've read this far, thank you. <3

There's more to come.

I somehow read your whole excerpt while skipping the very clear note on the top about it being a sequel. So I was going to give you a note about the story being a bit confusing lol

With that clarified, I don't have any criticisms. You write very well and very vividly. Dany's thoughts being so prevalent make sense in her anxious state of mind. This wasn't any more meandering than Dany's last chapter in the books, where she is distrassed and alone. Made sense there and it makes sense here. Well done!!

Thank you, Beastie!

Dany’s anxiety lessens later in the chapter so that tells me I should cut to the chase in those sections. I re-read the excerpt I posted and decided not to change much, only to clearly indentify the callbacks to the first fic…as a review of what happened. I think that will make it less confusing, if someone read the first fic a loooong time ago or is new.

And I gave you a follow. Congrats on your return to your own fic!!! I read the first chapter. I love the swift speed, how Jon and Dany meet, and the way you relayed the backstory in their meeting. Can’t wait to read more ❤️

Mercy Chapter re-read: Yah, the Night's Watch is a total shitshow, in Braavos there are rumors that it's run by a ridiculously young and Wildling-friendly lad known as the Black Bastard of the Wall

Arya: *deeper into her psycho killer arc* *spoilers*

Me: Poor Jon--how will he feel when he finds out what she's done?

Also me: I gotta work that rumor into my Jonerys fic

Me again: Wouldn't it be cool if Dany had heard of him around the time she burned Volantis?

Finally getting in the holiday spirit! Changed my icon to my two bb’s Claire and Jaime living the frontier life, Xmas style. Just hatched an idea for the Jonerys Winter Wonderland 2023 collection. Sipping some piping hot coffee with my dog on my lap. Not gonna leave the house to hang out, just chillin! It’s a good Saturday. ❄️🎄❄️

In progress painting for “Second Chance Holiday Club”, my fic submission for Jonerys Winter Wonderland 2023! Can’t wait!

Oh boy! An hour before I have to go to bed for the night, I finally catch a second wind. After 4 days in the company of an Xmas playlist while I hammer this out like the keyboard kitty, I’ve gotten far!

The Second Chance Holiday Club is 80% finished.

Jon has found a workaround for the change in fate and is ready to approach Daenerys again, with success, for good. I can’t wait for them to fall fast and hard, and overcome a final twist together. And I can’t wait to share this fic with everyone!

But…this means it likely won’t be published and tagged with SnowxStormWorld until Saturday afternoon.

Am I behind? I guess! But once it’s done, I hope you’ll like it, friends!

First Thoughts on The Ones Who Live (1x01) ❤️⭐️🧟

To start, this love story speaks my language. My blog the mad lover is the home of all the little things I collect, canon content and headcanons alike, and is named for one of my favorite classical songs.

I have many other loves; music, shows and books I don’t blog about. The Walking Dead is one of them. I had nothing to say when the spin-offs from the main show started, though they are good. But this post isn’t about them. I just wanna say one thing. I remember the Talking Dead days, when many viewers were curious to hear from the cast and crew how they pulled off each episode. There were ups and downs on the storyline front, including up to Andy’s s9 departure from the show. (This was the occasion of Rick Grimes’s assumed death which prompts the Ones Who Live spin-off.) But by s10 I could see that TWD was fermenting; they knocked it out of the park with the Whisperer war. Despite the following mishaps, that occasion of brilliance gave me hope that they would strike out once again. And well—

Here we are.

This first episode is risky, confident, and concise. AMC has done it again—lightning in a bottle. Many in the TWD fandom have wondered if we’re gonna get 2 seasons. But with this level of storytelling and the punch it’s packing, I think they have a definitive ending in store for the sixth episode. And I’m more than fine with it.

If you like horror, don’t mind monsters, and could use cheering up with a love story, tune in and watch it. Especially this first episode which introduces us to the Big Bad.

For the long-term watchers, this is the moment we’ve waited 5 years for! I watched live with family and friends since s5. I was there for all their blunders and struggle sessions. On spin-offs too.

So, I thought they were gonna be lame and catch us up on Michonne first—which is not the hype. (We’ve seen hesitant and insecure writing like that in the later years too—looking at you, s11A). But they didn’t do it! They showed Rick’s story, delivered atmosphere, tone, poetry, themes and I believe, teased at the rise of a metatextual theme. (Looking at you, “Monsters that get the monsters—that’ll be over soon.”) The best part is that it’s a spin on the walking dead theme. This absolutely concise story tells me we’ll get Michonne’s years on the search for Rick in ep 2 leading up to their reunion. I do believe they will make it back to Alexandria/Commonwealth etc. What consequences come before then and what follows, I could not say with any confidence. And I love that.

They are clearly up to the task of surprising and wowing us. The one thing I will put my money on is seeing the execution or destruction Okafor’s vision for the CRM—and a connection to that new metatextual theme, in his quote above. There is SO MUCH Rick and the other 90% of the CRM don’t know, but we do, from World Beyond. And I think they are going to flip Okafor’s vision not once but twice for the viewers by the time all is said and done. They were so thorough that I have a few guesses for the military’s future, and the civic republic’s future, which I’ll write up later this week. Bravo once again, to team behind The Ones Who Live. Bravo to us, for being the audience they want to entertain.

Here’s the first one (thanks @bristebleu):

Rick kicking Okafor in the face.

And Michonne kicking ‘unknown CRM officer’ Rick in the face.

Where are the Richonne gif makers at? There are so many parallels I’d like to request…

I’m very surprised there is an “Okafor is for the resistance” theory circulating in the fandom. ‘He is fomenting a soft coup within the military to peacefully give power to the Civic Republic once the time comes.’ I’m hearing this going, what? I feel like the odd one out! What am I seeing differently?

Maybe it’s my interpretation of his vision: “Monsters that kill the monsters—that’ll be over soon.”

Okafor speaks well and is charismatic but that’s the trick. He doesn’t care about anyone’s freedom, including Rick’s or even his own. He’s a villain—someone to test our two heros’ limits and their beliefs, not support them. Well, if he and Beale were on the same path of destruction and control when they ‘recruited’ Rick and gassed Omaha, then they only disagreed on the tactics of the CRM’s coup of the Civic Republic. They split on something more subtle; Okafor wanted a soft coup but Beale wants a hard coup.

What does that make our heroes, Rick and Michonne? I think for Rick the question will be, to inherent the Lieutenant Colonel’s vision and change it, at risk of losing everything to Major General Beale—or to abandon the Civic Republic’s fight for the safety and comfort of family if he can? I think 1x02 will bring Michonne’s years gone by and her inner conflict into play. As always, she will lead Rick to make the right choice, which will affect a lot of people. ❤️

Even if I’m wrong, at some point I’m gonna argue why we should dislike Okafor and appreciate him as a villain. Think I’ll make it part of a 1x01 analysis thread: Rick, Pearl and Donald: CRM’s Alliance of Three.

Status: In a Love-Hate Relationship with my dash.

I scroll down and before I know it, I have over 1000 likes. How can I ever shift through them enough to reblog?