#even thriller-era a little bit

[honey-milk-depresso]

Batboys watching anime with reader

You know my ass went FULL ON LOCK MODE with Tim. I went crazy- 💀

***S/o is above 18, which means characters below are also aged up!

Doing requests until 1 Feb! Please see my pinned post and read the request rules on the navi! Thank you!🩷

Batbros watching anime with you

Dick Grayson

He’s watched a few 90s anime before, more the basic ones like One Piece and Pokémon, and he probably still watches them to this day. Boy has old CDs he has and you should probably try finding a Blue Ray (or use his if he can have Tim help fix it because it’s good as dead 💀) because he’s popping in every CD of old anime’s he have lying about.

“Wow, I didn’t know I had cowboy bebop! Or Slam Dunk!” He got a few rare gems, which makes it all the more fun to sit down on the couch under a blanket as you huddle and watch the nostalgic 90s anime shows together while eating popcorn.

He doesn’t mind watching new, modern day animes, just be prepared for when you two watch sad anime shows because he will sob like it’s the end of the world.

“NO, WHY WOULD KAORI DIE LIKE THIS?? AND SHE LOVES ARIMA- OH MY GOD IM SO—”sobs even more. He gets emotional while watching them because it’s so sad that it’s sO GOOD-

Loves dancing to those danceable anime music with you. He goes ALL. OUT. He even sings all of it in Japanese like wow-

I would love to hear him sing Cruel Angel’s Thesis in his Discowing suit and with goth makeup on it because it “sets the mood”, PLEASE-

Overall, great time watching with Dick. <3

Jason Todd

You expect someone like him to like Chainsaw Man, Trigun or something like those grunge-y, guns and knives animes, right? I mean, he does, but only with you and ONLY with you will he let his inner Magical Girl enthusiast ass shine. Because he LOVES Magical Girl animes. That’s probably the reason and one point of time why he wore red ribbons around his arms, he wanted that Sailor Moon experience and Tim might’ve just teased him about that era without knowing his love for Magical Girl animes and Jason might’ve flipped and freaked the fuck out and started chasing him down the manor.

Jason watches Sailor Moon, Madoka when he feels edgier than usual, Cardcaptor Sakura, every Precure series, Tokyo Mew Mew, man has all these shows somehow. He swears they weren’t through illegal means and he just worked very hard to gather all of them. He also might be a shoujo anime fan because if he loves Jane Austen books, you bet his ass would be reading Fruits Basket, Maid Sama or something because of course he would.

Also a Studio Ghibli fan, although watching the Tale of Princess Kaguya might make him feel too much, especially getting pissed off with the dad who forces his daughter into a wealthy life without her input and- yeah, you gotta calm him down as he cries bitterly and sourly with a pout on his face.

The two of you can go on and on about debating about unclear endings of animes all day long. You know the “AND SHE WAS A PRINCESS” video? That’s Jason.

Great man to watch anime with, and he’ll gladly be your Tuxedo Mask to your Sailor Moon (and not the “But you did nothing meme- or the other way around- he don’t mind being the Usagi-). <3

Tim Drake

I’m very convinced this man got into his whole detective shit because he watched Detective Conan and honestly I can’t blame him. Tim has probably the largest vessel of anime knowledge out of all of them. He doesn’t really have a specific genre he likes but he’s pretty fond of old 90s and 80s animes. He can explain the whole lore of One Piece, Fairytale, Pokémon like Jesus Tim, calm down- 💀

I can see him watching Neon Genesis Evangelion, Serial Experiments Lain or Key the Metal Doll because he likes that little bit of horror nature and mystery and thriller in his animes although he really doesn’t mind watching Haikyuu all over again if you want to.

Might introduce you to underrated and/or old animes like Revolutionary Girl Utena, Nadia the Secrets of Blue Water, every Studio Ghibli movie, those kinds of animes that give off the really pretty and aesthetic old anime animations that is just so pretty to watch and with really good storylines that both of you can cuddle on a couch together and watch. I bet he even watches anime with you even before you two got together, so you guys pretty much have “watching anime together” as part of the foundation of your relationship. Owns so much manga that you can’t even count, too.

Just… don’t make him watch those really slow burn, comedy love animes, specifically Love War. Not that he don’t like romance animes, he watches Ouran High School Host Club and Your Name, trust me, but Love War? He is going absolutely insane because of it.

“OH MY GOD- PLEASE JUST KISS ALREADY. ME AND S/O ARE ALREADY TOGETHER FIVE MONTHS AGO ANF YOU TWO ARE STILL TOO PROUD TO ADMIT YOU LOVE EACH OTHER WHILE BLUSHING- JUST KISS ALREADY-” <3

Damian Wayne

Damian likes anime. Would 100% go to an anime convention with you as a date if you’re up for it. He doesn’t mind (surprisingly- just for you only-).

He doesn’t necessarily like showmen animes although he has enjoyed a few, but he really loves slice of life, I feel. It just feels like he wants to put himself in a normal life and with a tad bit of drama in it like what the characters go through. The touching ones like Hyouka or Natsume’s Book of Friends.

Also animal related anime maybe except Beastars because he didn’t understand shit-?? He calls that peak anime. Aggretsuko, Chi’s Sweet Home and My Roommate is a Cat?? Damian loves this shit, he watches it intently with his arm around you. Even if he doesn’t smile, you know he loves it by the way his eyes sparkle.

Just don’t tell his brothers. He will seriously feel betrayed if you do so because he only watches these kinds of shows with you: the cute animal ones that are actually wholesome and/or funny.

The whole family is into Studio Ghibli, and he is no exception. He feels like it’s the best kinds of anime to watch with you when you guys just want to turn in for the day and huddle up on the couch. It’s one of the rare times he relaxes and softens and he’s glad to have quality time with you. <3

Duke Thomas

He likes anime! Studio Ghibli is definitely a favourite of his and he would gladly watch it together with you! He also love a fair bit of Shounen animes, the more popular ones like Jujutsu Kaisen, One Piece, Haikyuu, or Spy x Family. He likes them a lot!

A big fan of romance animes too: Ouran High School Host Club and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (if you two are in the mood to huddle on the couch together and cry).

Duke doesn’t mind any kind of anime so long as it doesn’t have too much horror or gore like… Higurashi. He gets chills when that anime is mentioned. D-Don’t watch it for your own sake if you don’t know. And if you do, avoid it with him at all cost because he will.

Duke also like singing some good anime songs with you and you guys can go crazy and dance around, just not as dramatic as Dick.

He would be super excited to spend a date with you watching shounen anime movies like from Jujutsu Kaisen and he would be so hype to spend time with you being a fanboy while also sharing that romantic air for the shared love of anime between you two and the love that you two share, although that love is far stronger. <3

Reblogs help! ^^

#dick grayson x reader #jason todd x reader #tim drake x reader #damian wayne x reader #duke thomas x reader #richard grayson x reader #batfam #batbros #batbros x reader #dick grayson #jason todd #tim drake #damian wayne #duke thomas #richard grayson #nightwing x reader #red hood x reader #red robin x reader #robin x reader #signal x reader #dc signal #nightwing #red hood #red robin #robin #x reader #headcanon #fluff #self insert #dc

[vidavalor]

"You love trains": Crowley & Aziraphale inspired 'North by Northwest'

Putting my film studies background to good use here with some film history & historical context under the cut.

The "what does the J stand for?" exchange in The Blitz, Part 1 and the inability for the audience to initially understand what Aziraphale is mouthing in The Blitz, Part 2 are both references to Hitchcock's classic spy thriller, 'North by Northwest'. I didn't link the clip that goes along with The Blitz, Part 2 in case some of you have never seen this film because it would ruin your experience of it. (Definitely watch it if you have not as it's a masterpiece.) Since The Blitz scenes are taking place in 1941 and 'North by Northwest' was released 18 years later in 1959, Crowley and Aziraphale aren't referencing the film in the dialogue but, instead, could be presumed to be the source *of* the dialogue in the film... just like how Shakespeare lifted Crowley's love poetry for 'Antony & Cleopatra'... and the 'North by Northwest'-referencing part of The Blitz, Part 1 *is referencing* the 'Antony and Cleopatra' reference because it's the reveal of Crowley's first name. But... it gets even better...

The writer of 'North by Northwest' was legendary Hollywood screenwriter Ernest Lehman, whom we're now presuming to have been a friend of probably at least Aziraphale's. Lehman wrote a dozen or so classic films and, outside of 'North by Northwest', is most famous for writing adaptations of several famous musicals, including the adapted screenplay for... 'The Sound of Music.' But, no, somehow, we aren't done yet with how amazing this is lol.

The thing that makes this all even funnier is that 'North by Northwest' is responsible for probably the most famous train metaphor in cinema. I'll spoil just this bit as it won't really ruin the overall movie for you if you haven't seen it but don't go any further than here if you don't want to be spoiled at all. If you've already seen it, you totally know what I mean. *laughs*

In 1959, when this film was released, you still couldn't really show sex on screen in a mainstream film. If you showed two people in a bedroom at all, they were cisgender, heterosexual and married and they slept in two separate beds. The level of sex happening in the above clip was *wild* for the era and the fact that it was put into the film the way it is-- that an unmarried woman picks up a hot guy on a train and they sleep together and she's still the heroine of the film and all of that-- was really nothing short of feminist revolution in a film in this era.

The film has a famous "love scene" of sorts that follows not long after the one I linked above, where the two of them are in a cabin on the train and starting to get it on but constraints of cinema coding at the time limited how far it could go. So, to imply that the main characters do, in fact, sleep together, the film famously cuts away to a shot of the train entering a tunnel-- making the train itself symbolic of sex. Because of how famous the film overall--and this scene in particular--became, it became a thing to use trains euphemistically for sex in other cinematic works following it. There is literally no way that Crowley and Aziraphale have not seen this movie so while Aziraphale was happy to make The Bentley into a sexual metaphor while angling for the car keys, Crowley is half-heartedly griping in flirty response by continually referencing trains, another sexual mode of transportation-- the one that that they inspired lol. Hence Aziraphale's bemused little lololol-but-won't-give-him-the-satisfaction-of-seeing-my-amusement face here:

Sunglassed!Cary Grant is Crowley and the old movie chemistry and the semi-coded flirty banter and someone please, please write a fic where Aziraphale says "I don't particularly like the book I've started"-- I will pay you lol.

#ineffable husbands #aziracrow #good omens #good omens 2 #good omens meta #crowley #aziraphale #north by northwest #good omens 1941

[doctorprofessorsong]

More Destiel Fic Recs

Feast of the Assumptions by Amazonia_8 (Explicit, 19k)

I haven't laughed as hard at a fic since A Room of One's Own. When Dean agrees to host Thanksgiving despite his culinary skills beginning and ending at grilling a burger, he turns to the experts: a help hotline hosted by one of the turkey companies.

But he gets more than he bargained for when its Cas that takes his call. Before you can say butterball, Dean finds himself craving the enticing voice on the other end. But when have family holidays ever gone smoothly?

As I said, this fic is absolutely hilarious. I consumed it in a night, laughing hard enough to wake up my kid.

The Elevator Game by bexgowen, xfancyfranart @motherofdragonflies (Explicit, 88k)

A choose-your-own-adventure case fic must I even go on?? I will though. The fic is a thoroughly intense romp based on am urban legend. Your choices can lead you down any number of paths. Can you get everyone out alive and safe?

The fun of this fic is in part to read it over and over to see the subtle changes Your decisions make, but it's also a fun case standing alone. The other world is delightfully atmospheric and setting it in the divorce arc adds an extra layer of tense angst. It's a good time (for the reader, the guys go through it)

Salt and Rosemary by tiamatv (Explicit, 31k)

An ancient curse is coming for Dean - the result of a deal his mother made to save his father. On his 24th birthday, the curse will take his breath away. But Dean isn't going to take that lying down, especially because Sam will be faced with the same curse in a few years. So instead, Dean binds the curse, Castiel to him. But maybe the curse is exactly what Dean needed after all.

First of all, Curstiel is a delight so jot that down. He's dramatic and petulant and adorable. When you combine that with Stanford era Dean feels, the two of them make an unbeatable combination.

Despite some dark themes, this fic is so sweet and soft. It's an unconventional love story, but Dean and Cas are just deeply adorable in this fic. I found myself grinning at how cute they were.

The Crawling Dark by SylvanFreckles @sylvanfreckles (Teen, 16k)

Spooky season may be over, but now we are in family gathering and work event season which is the true horror. So if you find a need for a thriller as a break, this one has you. 

A simple case fic, Dean and Cas investigate some missing hikers and uncover a new and terrifying creature.

This fic delivers a pulse pounding atmosphere with the claustrophobia of caves and the knowledge that something brutal is lurking in the dark.

To counteract that is a softness in Dean and Cas who are together but haven't yet had sex, and who are extremely attuned and affectionate. 

Ungod by AmberXBoone, rezal @corrupt-touch (Explicit, 58k)

Some delicious blasphemy to keep you warm on those cold winter nights. Dean hates his job as an attorney (relatable) and especially hates his current case representing corrupt priests who have been stealing from parishioners.

That is until he realizes the one night stand he can't stop thinking about is one of the priests. Now he finds himself recklessly crossing ethical lines he can't bring himself to care about. 

But how far will the corrupt priests go to protect themselves? 

This one is a little bit thriller/mystery, but also a lot of horny, soft and sweet fun. Dean and Cas have a great dynamic (a profound bond even) and it's impossible not to root for them.

This Tainted Love You've Given by LazarusRose @lazarus-rose (Explicit, 17k)

This Stabfest fic has the most delightfully unhinged concept. Dean, a serial killer, meets a cute guy, hooks up with him, and then murders him. A regular night out.

Until his one night stand shows up at his door. Turns out Cas is an immortal witch now convinced he and Dean are meant to be. And, well, a serial killer and an immortal who can be killed just might be a pretty epic match. 

These two are so delightfully unhinged and weird. It's a great concept done well. 

This Blade for Hire by FriendofCarlotta @friendofcarlotta (Explicit, 20k)

Come for the really delightful adjacent take on the lore, stay for some delicious rare pair femslash. This stabfest fic gives the gays (me) everything they want.

Dean, Sam and Ava are a team. They hunt demons for a bounty from the angels with the help of Sam and Ava's special powers. Sure the angels are dicks, but the money's good and fuck demons.

Well, Dean made an exception for one angel, Cas. His lover and contact with Heaven. But Cas has disappeared without a word. So maybe he's a dick too.

But when Dean and Ava get tasked with hunting down Meg Masters, things get…complicated 

The Man in the Rock by FriendofCarlotta @friendofcarlotta (Explicit, 7k)

Another stabfest and another FriendofCarlotta (overachiever xoxo), this little fic packs a hell of a punch. It's beautiful and devastating and soft.

Ever since he lost his partner, Cas, five years ago, Dean has struggled to figure out what shape his life should take. But he's finally decided it's time to remove the monument to his grief - a giant statue of Cas that sits in his garden. But when he makes one last desperate wish, will that same monument give him the very thing he's been dreaming of?

#destiel #deancas #destiel fic recs #destiel fic rec #deancas fic rec #deancas fic recs

[biscuitboba]

Enies lobby (again??)

IDK but thinking about how after luffy managed to defeat rob lucci, zoro responded with "got me scared for a moment" my god, zoro was scared of losing his captain, im not okay? I get that he'd die for luffy, but i still can't handle this?!

I can't help but to think of alabasta, when sanji explicitly stated that zoro was feeling scared for luffy (that luffy might lose), and then zoro got genuinely offended "ME...? SCARED...!? SAY THAT AGAIN...."

But then look at him in enies lobby? He openly admitted to himself about how for a moment he felt scared FOR his captain, and im just?!@#$% character development indeed

OK SO, enies lobby. After zoro expressed his relief, unfortunately not long after that it turned out that luffy was unable to move his entire body (at that particular moment), AND poor zoro... he was literally panicking and losing his marbles, even at that time robin was more composed compared to zoro (the same zoro who didn't cry for merry btw, even robin shedded a tear)

Zoro is a very calm person but when it comes to luffy facing real danger, he will most definitely lose his mind???

Legitimately can't stop thinking about how often zoro loses his shit over luffy (and probably from the very start.. orange town most likely)

Zoro. One of the most emotionally composed, level-headed person out of all the strawhats. But when it comes to luffy? Suddenly he is losing all composure. He is Roronoa 'im all beaten up but gotta save luffy from drowning in arlong park', 'i cant stop worrying about the luffy vs crocodile fight', 'how dare you hurt my captain?! I will CUT you', 'LUFFY CANT MOVE HIS BODY AT ALL, AND IM GENUINELY FREAKING OUT', 'nothing happened in thriller bark', 'im still pretty much battered, but luffy you cant do that you idiot, let me do it for you' Zoro

AND those things above are just a few examples from the top of my head? and all of them are only from pre-TS era??

His captain is both his strength and weakness (and the rest of the crew too, no doubt! but like most importantly, his captain.) And ughh, i need to chill a little bit

#zolu #luzo #again #ughh #monkey d. luffy #roronoa zoro #one piece #enies lobby arc #alabasta arc #like i have so much to say abt zoro's devotion i wanna vomit

[carmybears]

Movie Night

Just in time for Halloween - Here's to all of my fellow horror watching, Carmy lovers out there!

pairing: carmy berzatto X reader

summary: Even though Carmy isn't a fan of the genre, he braves watching a horror movie just for you. (mentions/possible spoilers for The Rental, because how could I pass up the opportunity to make Carmy & reader watch the actual horror movie JAW starred in?)

word count: 1.2k

“Never let it be said that I don’t do anything for you,” Carmy mumbles under his breath as you settle into the couch together.

“Don’t be so dramatic, it’s going to be fine,” you tell him as you open up Netflix, scrolling to the movie you had queued up. “It’s just a scary movie.”

Horror had been your favorite genre for as long as you could remember - ever since you watched your first horror movie as a teenager. This year, you had challenged yourself to watch a scary movie every day in October leading up to Halloween. You had been having a great time with the challenge - enjoying old favorites, new releases, and some movies that had been on your watch list for ages. Carmy, on the other hand, was perplexed by your ongoing marathon.

“I just don’t get it,” he had said to you a few nights ago when he came home to find you sitting in complete darkness, curled up underneath a soft fleece blanket while watching The Ring.

He listened patiently as you regaled him with an explanation about the catharsis of experiencing fear from the comfort and safety of your own living room and rattled off theories about Horror being an excellent vehicle to understand societal anxieties of the era.

As much as he appreciated your love for the genre and the surprising amount of thought that went into your favorite slashers and supernatural chillers, Carmy couldn't quite relate to your enthusiasm. He recalled being young — far, far too young — when Mikey had shown him The Blair Witch project and it terrified him for weeks afterward. Needless to say, the nightmares that plagued him as a child following the experience put him off the genre as a whole.

Somehow, through no shortage of sweet talking, you’d managed to convince him to watch a movie with you tonight. You’d prattled off several movie titles (many of which Carmy shot down for being “too Catholic” for his liking) before eventually deciding on a horror/thriller from a few years ago about two couples on vacation at a scenic, oceanside Airbnb who gradually come to realize they’re being watched by a killer.

Popcorn bowl in hand, you press play on the movie, tucking yourself under Carmy’s arm as the opening scene plays.

“You look a little bit like him, you know,” you tell him, several minutes into the movie.

He scoffs. “Who? The guy whose girlfriend is clearly sleeping with his brother? I don’t see it.”

“Are you kidding me? Look at him!” You point to the screen and back to Carmy. “He’s got the same strong nose and dreamy blue eyes. If you cut your hair, you’d be twins.”

"Dreamy blue eyes?" He sounds skeptical of you, pursing his lips for a moment before he relents.

“Ok, maybe we look a little alike. We’ll see how I feel about that at the end of the movie though.”

Some 50 minutes later, a dog is missing, there’s a man dead in a bathtub, and the four main characters are decidedly having a much worse weekend than they had bargained for. Your mind is racing as you try to piece together the mystery of the killer’s identity. You feel your pulse quicken just a little as one of the characters suddenly hears the sound of the shower running in a supposedly empty house and Carmy’s arm tightens around your shoulder almost imperceptibly.

“Scared?”

“Nah, I’m good,” he stammers, looking just a little dazed.

“Very convincing,” you chide, interlocking your fingers with his as the chilling scene unfolds onscreen.

The simmering sense of dread trickles through your veins as the story gradually builds to a climax. Despite the plot being a bit of a slow burn, the image of the masked killer lurking though shadows and and sprinting through the fog has you on the edge of your seat. Carmy’s grip on your hand tightens with each passing scene and you have to remind him not to crush your hand within his own.

When at last the credits start to roll, he lets out a deep breath and drops your hand, wiping his sweaty palms on his thighs.

“So what did you think?” You ask, turning to him expectantly. “Did you love it?”

“Nope.” He shakes his head at you swiftly, although you don’t miss the fond smile on his face. “Do you wanna go ahead and turn the lights on?”

You stand, laughing a little under your breath as you cross to the far side of the room and snap on the lights.

“Oh so you don’t wanna sit in the dark and plan a remote, oceanside weekend getaway?”

“It’s not on my list, no.” He presses a kiss to your cheek as you drop back down onto the couch beside him. “So, horror buff, what did you think of the movie?”

You take a beat to gather your thoughts, fiddling with the frayed edge of throw blanket you’d pulled over your lap. “It was alright, I suppose. The plot was a bit thin, but that killer was seriously creepy.”

Carmy nods in silent agreement and you reach out to him, twisting an errant curl around one finger before resting your hand on his jaw, drawing his bright blue eyes to meet yours.

“It means a lot to me that you did this by the way. I know you don’t really like or understand horror movies, but I really appreciate that you still watched one with me tonight.”

A faint tint of pink rises in Carmy’s cheeks and you recognize the way he sometimes balks at such outright expressions of your affection. Carmy’s love was a warm meal after a long day at work; it was carving out time for unglamorous dates and nights in at your apartment; it was tight embraces and whispered confessions when he was at his most vulnerable. It was a kind of love that was often shown and acted upon, but much more rarely verbalized.

“I love you, Carmy.”

He smiles briefly and turns his head to press a kiss into the center of your open palm. “Even though I’m afraid of scary movies?”

“Especially because you’re afraid of scary movies.”

“Good, because I love you too – scary movies and all.”

Your heart feels full and your skin feels warm as you stifle a yawn and check the time on your phone, only to see that it had gotten later than you realized.

“Oh damn, we should probably get ready for bed.”

You reach for the remote, intending to turn off the TV, but Carmy grabs it first, turning the device over in his hand as he looks at you sheepishly.

“You cool with watching a cooking show first? As a, uh, palette cleanser I guess.”

“Of course,” you chirp, settling back into the couch, draping an arm his middle. “Show me the spine tingling terrors of Iron Chef America.”

#carmy berzatto x reader #carmen berzatto x reader #carmy berzatto fluff #carmen berzatto fluff #carmy x reader fluff #carmen berzatto x reader fluff #mine #y'all would not BELIEVE the halloweekend hangover I was fighting off while writing this

[kaelio]

DECEPTIVE MOVIE TRAILERS FOR DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE VAMPIRE CHRONICLES IF THEY WERE A CINEMATIC SERIES:

I love imagining misleading movie trailers, it's just a thing I do. If I had infinite money and time and a time machine and the rights to adapt the Anne Rice vampire novels, these are examples of extremely dishonest trailers for those movies I would enjoy:

Devil's Minion: Have it appear to be some kind of psychological thriller, either about a guy who is perceiving his stalker as a literal monster, or a guy who feels some Presence stalking him and envisions it as a mysterious, beautiful young man. He's not really my favorite but we need Christopher Nolan directing, like really hitting that Memento tone. What's real?? What's not real?? Daniel appears to be using drugs and the audience is like ohhh is this about addiction? And then it totally seems like a dark addiction metaphor, like Oscar bait maybe. Even when Daniel gets a handjob it isn't clear because Requiem for a Dream got a lot of awards.

(*Don't try to smoosh in with Queen of the Damned, you have enough going on here.)

Tale of The Body Thief: A romantic drama that doesn't seem to realize its intensely worrisome undercurrents (a la "Passengers"). We see a woman of the cloth ministering to a homeless man who, following a severe medical crisis that lands him in her care, seems to be having spiritual delusions. She connects with him over their shared faith... and their desire for meaningful intimacy. We get a swell of orchestral music... some sort of scene of them kissing in the rain... another scene from which we can infer they're in bed together, but the camera is centered on a crucifix on her wall. "I will find the power to come back to you..." he says.

Tale of The Body Thief (Part 2): Wham! Actually a lot of the audience doesn't realize that last trailer never gave you a title! Maybe they think it's a gimmick! It takes them a moment to realize this old man (Indiana Jones??) racing around the cruise ship is accompanied by the same actor as the homeless man described above. "GET THAT MAN!" David shouts as Raglan does some sort of parkour that isn't quite extreme enough to cue in the audience that he's supposed to be inhuman. We see Lestat-in-body pushing through people in a rave taking place on the cruise ship dance floor. It seems like a cynical tie-in because everyone is young and hot there (not really the primary demographic for cruises). Camera pans over some sort of jacuzzi tub with a bunch of women in bikinis in it. "Excuse me, ladies!" someone says as they jump over the tub and since he has a ripped shirt and he's hot the girls in the tub go "ooooooh!" And maybe they have cocktails so it's supposed to be funny. But really sell it as an action-comedy and then WHANG! "Tale of the Body Thief" appears in huge text onscreen like "COMING THIS SPRING" and Mojo's little head pops up from the bottom of the screen and barks.

The Vampire Lestat: Oh you just shoot it like The Favorite, like the exact same cinematography, or maybe Chevalier, but it's about a sensitive stage actor in pre-Revolutionary France, trying to focus on his art as the world becomes more fraught around him. It invites you into his sensitive artistic soul.... Is there time for gentleness, for optimism, for art, in an era of nascent conflict? What will social forces have in store for him, or for his troubled companion? And then maybe you do give away the game where at the last second you see the window explode and the big evil Nosferatu-Magnus bursts through the door with his big gummy mouth with the two fangs like "Rrrrraarrhg!!"

Memnoch the Devil: Starts with some overplayed song for 45-50 year old men in the background of a scene of Lestat and David stealing the artifacts from the dead Roger. Inter-cut with bits of Lestat dismembering Roger's body. They get into a car (no rooftops, Anne, it would look silly on screen! We can't!) and smirk at each other—apparent heist film. Lestat turns the knob for the radio and then another song for loser guys starts to play. "Dora's gonna get mad," David says, as if we're taking precious seconds of this trailer to no-homo the whole thing and establish regressive attitudes about women all at once. Lestat probably says something like "Chicks, man." The movie promises no actual content or any reason to be interested in it, as with most heist movies.

Memnoch the Devil: Hey? Is that the same guy? They're using the same guy for... what is this, a remake of It's A Wonderful Life? God this is worse than when Chris Pratt started voicing both Mario and Garfield. Find another actor!

Blood & Gold: We see a clawed hand sticking out of a glacier and suddenly... it moves!! Ice cracks around the hand! A huge, mysterious, looming figure bursts out of the ice, covered in rags and holding a giant battle axe!! Thunder and lightening appear in the background suddenly for no reason, and a song from Iron Maiden kicks in. Implies heavily that it's some sort of dark action film that may or may not be trying to lean on the popularity of Marvel's "Thor" movies. Like that Winnie the Pooh movie where he kills people. "THE OLDEST STORY..." the trailer narrator guy says, "... IS REVENGE"

The Vampire Armand: You start off with all of the boys sitting around, having a good time, talking about their futures, all the places they're planning to go, the things they want—like, highschool yearbook signing energy. And then there's this one kid who seems kind of smug and suddenly he's like, "pft, you guys, you think so small. You're focused about what the master can get you with his power... but I want the power 😏". And then you'd cut to him on his way up a big fancy marble staircase and you'd see him puffing himself up, excited, maybe even telling the narrator about the amazing situation he's in, but how since he's totally the favorite he's going to do what his peers are either too humble or doltish to consider: ask to learn the magic itself. And it's building tension and he's just-just-just about to ask and then you hear "No." Or "You're not ready. The magic isn't for you." Gives you this great set-up, like a Sorcerer's Apprentice thing. You're already in this kid's corner. How come he doesn't get the magic? Why would anyone try to keep someone from self-actualizing?? Not very cool. Anyway this would be almost exactly the same energy as the trailer for that new Disney movie Wish.

#the vampire chronicles #tvc #I can't explain why I love to do this but I do #plays on the back of my eyelids when I drive. cars in front of me as well.

[joesalw]

Man it's literally embarrassing how Taylor Swifts PR tries to manipulate and convince everyone she's bigger than Michael Jackson or the Beatles. Like given the narcissistic vibes this woman gives me she probably enjoys the comparsions and wants to be seen as bigger. But if you really look into it. It's bullshit.

Like her having 3 number one albums or something this year. Yeah she also released 3 albums. Not saying it's not impressive. But Mj did like one album every 5 year. He had admitted countless of times that he is a high perfectonist and doesn't get the product out until it was perfect. Why else does he have tje highest selling album (Thriller) and second highest selling album by a solo artist ( Bad). He has 5 out of 6 albums to sell over 20M.

He also wrote like 120 songs per album. So if he wanted to get like 3 or more number one albums he easily could have. But if you know a little bit how he was you would know that being just good wasn't good enough for him. With that man everything had to be perfect. That's not something I think just the fans it's knowledge of the general public in general.

Second the 1 billion Tour gross. Yeah impressive. But what about her attendance. MJs Tickets were cheap. Even for todays Standards. 16 Dollars back then or 20 Dollars and he also gave some of them away for free.

What matters actually is attendance. But ofc they never want to talk about that. MJ had a 12.4M or 13M attendance in a span of 3 solo tours. Taylor Swift has 9.7M in the span of 5 tours excluding the Eras Tour. So probably will have a higher attendance in total eventually but what he could done with 3 tours ( 2 of them not even touring in the US) she had to do with 6 tours.

And it MJ didn't Tour in the US during his History Tour where he pulled 4.5M attendance.

Second is that bullshit Eras suprassing This is it. First This is it which most normal people know can't even be a concert tour because he died before doing any show. Second Eras only grossed more in the US. Globally he is far ahead.

He has a top ten hit during 5 different DECADES! 6 if you included the Jackson 5.

And some said that she sells 1M albums (not specifically said which ones) per week. Which is very hard to believe. Couldn't find any data on that. The only thing I have that she sold like 13 or 14M in this year. MJs Thriller ( one album) sold like 1M for a week for a year. Bad sold 7M in the first week.

Like nobody cares how much money she makes or how many albums she gets to chart on billboard during the streaming era. It just shows how money hungry and chart obsessed she is.

And they still think they can speak on him. I saw some mjfans on twitter putting swifties in place as well as arianators rihanna fans and other fandoms for various reasons.

Like Rihanna is the best selling female recording artist in the 21th century. Rihanna made like 8 studio albums and Taylor Swift 10 so far. On top of that Rihannas last album came out in 2016.

But the only thing Swifties hear is Billionaire 1billion gross, economy. (Do they seriously think MJ never had an influence on the economy? The guy who saved MTV from bankruptcy? They guy who filmed They don't care about us in Brazil to showcase the poverty and had had a huge influence into making it a better place?) What has Taylor Swift done with her suppossed influence? Huh. Why does he have statues around the world and got crowned King somewhere in Africa. Taylor Swift ain't doing that. The only thing she does is ruining the planet with her carbon emissions of her private jet and stay silent on a literal genocide. Or weaponizing the word feminism ( I want to read a thesis how this woman puts feminism back instead of forward. Like I swear by misusing it for her damn white feminism and influencing her impressionable stupid fans she's actually doing more harm than good. )

.

#anti taylor swift #swifties dni #michael jackson

[cebwrites]

Hello! What if in an alternate path, Kaku joined the Straw Hats (Franky still joins)? To me, he seems the most likely to swap to pirate, and he seemed to actually enjoy his job at the docks. How would he handle the crew? What role would he have? Thank you!!!

a/n: dunno if anon would still see this answer at this point, though i finally came around to this idea - maybe it’s the holiday season 🎄

What if Kaku joined the Strawhats

slight zosan/usonami word count: 1.5k

He definitely does seem to be the type to switch sides, I feel like in his mind, given more freedom, Kaku would like to align himself with whatever seems the most interesting even if not entirely conducive to coming out on top - in canon the latter part is more important but something tells me he made his way into CP0 partly on a whim, to see watch what would become of the new era from a higher perch

Say for the sake of argument he gets cast aside entirely by the WG after the events of Enies Lobby (afaik the CP9 agents had a short romp in a cover story about raising funds to get back on their feet so maybe this was during then), he’s desolate and paranoid at every turn because in the back of his mind, even the kindest of civilians could be someone sent to keep an eye on him post-failure

So Kaku turns to the people he has no doubt would never hide anything from him, the only kid forthcoming enough who had the gall to march into a government island and declare war on the whole world - Luffy was the last person who’d be sneaky about his feelings and that’s exactly what Kaku needed right now, good old fashioned honesty

And it’s honesty he gets, when Luffy tells him that he doesn’t like this Usopp imposter (after needing a reminder as to who he was and complaints from Sogeking himself) for hurting Robin and that he should leave - as straightforward an answer as Kaku could get

Due to extenuating circumstances, though, be it the Grand Line’s unpredictable weather, enemies getting in the way, or plain old, “ah well, we can’t just drop him in the sea, that’s a bit too cruel” though certain members would beg to differ, and bonds would slowly be formed over the course of spending time together

Imagine there it takes longer for them to get to Thriller Bark or Sabaody where other plot things happen or something shdfbshtgndf

Considering his fickle (to outsider eyes) nature however, among other more important reasons, it’s difficult for the Strawhats to take as well to him as Luffy’s go with the flow attitude - although it has to be said that a former enemy who did hurt their own in the past eventually becoming nakama isn’t entirely out of the blue, given Vivi and Robin herself

Kaku is aware of this, he’s been aware of people’s mistrust in him since he was a child, always with too-wide eyes for the adults around him and a smile that never quite reached it, so he’s used to being held at arm’s length

It’s the unsurprisingly the youngest of the crew that warm up to Kaku first - Chopper tending to his wounds after Kaku helped the SHs in battle, he quickly becomes endeared with the little reindeer’s antics and complex about compliments, Usopp being very skittish at first but eventually spinning Kaku the long, tall tales he does to everyone else, and Luffy’s unwavering kindness that leaves little else to be said.

That, and Luffy’s endless amusement at his Zoan form, that seem to entertain the other kids on board as well. The next is Sanji, silently showing his care through his cooking while still being very verbally hostile, being one of the first to threaten Kaku during the first week that he was stuck on their ship due to unforeseen circumstances that if he dared to hurt another hair on Robin’s, or anyone else’s for that matter, head then being out of house and home - how he came to them - would be the least of Kaku’s worries; the cook still fed him though, and to Kaku, that was more than could be said about others he often found himself around before the Strawhats. Zoro follows soon after, laying down the fact plain and simple that he didn’t like him but if they were to cohabitate per captain’s orders, things would go much smoother if they learned how to get along sooner rather than later, Kaku doesn’t make the jab that it seems that Zoro and Sanji still don’t get along to this day in the moment, but over time he’d learn that the two of them shared something beyond anything Kaku himself has had, or even allowed himself, to experience. Zoro puts Kaku through the wringer day after day with sparring, only resting when Chopper yells at Zoro for overexerting himself since he’s keeping the newbie on his toes while still picking fights with Sanji and getting injured that way, so Kaku has to find other ways of making himself useful on a ship as lively as the Sunny.

It’s here that he finds himself helping out with Usopp’s tinkering, listening to the lad talk about grand would-be fantasies, helping him with parts of his inventions, and teasing him about the shy yet longing glances Usopp sends their lovely navigator when it seems like she’s not looking, not quite noticing Franky’s encroachment into the workshop until their resident Cyborg is firmly seated in his usual spot. Franky’s just a blunt as Zoro is, he’s up front about his feelings on the situation regardless of Usopp’s presence - when Sogeking tries to sneak away from a potentially very tense and awkward interaction Franky tells him to sit his tuchus down and get back to work.

Franky is painfully, well, frank, about the anguish Kaku’s previous allegiances have caused this crew and he states that it’ll be an uphill battle to earn everyone’s trust truly, let alone the Funkfreed in the room that Kaku’s only barely managed to avoid interacting with too much during his stay, but also says that he sees how hard Kaku’s trying, and that deserves recognition more than anything else. Nami doesn’t offer any leeway when Kaku finally gathers the courage to face Robin, determined to protect her friend at any cost when their lanky, tweedy new crewmate (but distinctly not nakama) makes his way up to the table under Nami’s mikan trees that the girls often lounged under - before Nami can rip into him too hard, though, Robin puts up a hand and asks for a moment of privacy between the two of them - Nami’s unhappy about it but acquiesces. 

Within the few short interactions Kaku’s had with Robin previously on this ship, it���s either been with tempered ire, suspicion, and then jabs said with her calm but characteristically unnerving smile, showing clear (warranted) apprehension to his very presence around her nakama, so he bears his soul - Kaku doesn’t spin a sob story or make grand gestures that would attempt to garner sympathy like his pathetic excuse for a former boss, but plainly and simply states his intentions, his anxieties, his remorse, in a very Zoro-esque way, one would even say.

Kaku knows that more than anyone here, Robin had suffered the most at Enies Lobby, he had been conducive to that suffering, and here he was, begging for a place to exist on the same crew that took her in, the very one that he’d been ordered to take out like nothing a few months ago; the small crew that the World Government severely underestimated and paid dearly for. 

He’d say he knows it wouldn’t mean much to her, nor does he have the audacity to ask for her forgiveness, but for what it’s worth Kaku is sorry.

Being under Robin’s scrutinizing gaze burns but Kaku doesn’t waver, he faces her head on even though through even passing second, it feels like this woman wants to explode his head with her mind. Almost like some strange, unspoken game of chicken to test his mettle against her, the direct consequence of his own actions. And Kaku blinks. He tries to excuse himself, to hide away in some dark, cold corner of the ship where he can bottle up all these thoughts again and manage his guilt in silence.

But he’s not allowed to. Of course not.

Robin says, just as he turns to leave, that obviously even if he were to get on his hands and knees to grovel like the worm that he was, eyes unemotive, he would never gain forgiveness, much less hers, that way. Only a fiery grave awaited those who were so spineless. She says that she doesn’t know if she’ll ever be able to forgive the things he’s done as a person, a former government agent. A dog to cruel masters. Her eyes follow the bob of his Adam’s apple as she takes a long, calculated sip of her tea.

But she wouldn’t be unwilling to start over with whoever Kaku made of himself now, as a potential ally. Not a friend yet, not nearly close to nakama, but it was a start and, smiling, Robin was interested in seeing what he’d become on the journey to get there. 

Contradictory to what anyone had to say, Kaku did not cry that day.

#cebwrites #one piece #one piece imagine #one piece headcanons #kaku #op kaku #kaku one piece #straw hat pirates #mugiwara crew #mugiwara kaizoku #luffy #zoro #sanji #usopp #nami #franky one piece #nico robin #zosan #usonami

[tomhollandnet]

Tom Holland on his emotional preparation for ‘The Crowded Room’ | Lifestyle Asia

Tom Holland is the man of the hour—or the day, months, and years. The British actor certainly needs no introduction. His face (and name) has been on billboards, in magazines, and even on your lock screen. (We won’t be surprised) While he certainly became a household name when he took on the role of friendly neighbourhood superhero Spider-Man, the 27-year-old actor already had promising beginnings since stepping into acting. Now, he heralds a new era in his career (no, it’s not just the long hair). Tom Holland joins The Crowded Room, a new series on Apple TV+ which marks his first series lead role. Check out our interview with Tom Holland!

Tell us more about your emotional preparation for the role of Danny Sullivan.

To be perfectly honest with you, I don’t think there was any way in which I could have emotionally prepared for how tough this show was going to be. My preparation was solely just based on how we are going to bring this character to life and set up this world that is New York in the 70s. This series is a true psychological thriller, and it follows a very complicated criminal case. 

So, I don’t think I really had anticipated how difficult emotionally it was going to be. It was a little bit of a slap in the face. But I’ve been slapped in the face before, so it was nothing new. (laughs) Still, it was a wonderful experience getting ready for this show. And I love to challenge so I was really excited.

You also serve as executive producer of the series; did you have creative freedom when it comes to shaping the character?

Yeah, there were creative decisions made every day. Whether they were by me or not, I was always a part of those conversations. And I loved being an executive producer on this show. At times, I had to take a step back and just focus on the performance because it was too much to do at once. But whether it was picking a location or talking about casting or changing certain aspects of the story in the script, I know that the ninth episode took a huge change and development as the show went on. And I’m delighted they did so. 

I think [my character] is breathtaking in that episode. So, I’m delighted that (creator and executive producer) Akiva Goldsman made that decision. I had nothing to do with that, but he definitely told me about it. So, I’m really happy to have been part of that. I love being an executive producer and I’m excited to do it again. I’m going to try and do it on every project I work on because I absolutely loved it.

Is your approach to playing Danny different from the previous roles you’ve worked on?

My own approach to playing Danny… Wow, it was so long ago so now it (feels) crazy. There was no real different approach to anything that I do. It was the same research; it was just more intense. It was the same process, but it was just more intense. Technically, it also felt the same, but it was just more intense. Everything about the show was more intense. So, it just was a little bit of an adjustment period to figure out how to deal with it. But in terms of process, it was relatively similar to things I’ve done in the past.

#tom holland #interview #tcr press #articles

[theaistired]

Blog introduction

Hello, my name is Thea (she/they), I’m acespec, arospec, and autistic. I speak German and English and I am trying to learn Italian, Swedish and Arabic (learning three different languages at ones is complicated, so trying instead of actual learning). I’m a big fan of the fantasy genre and like to read, write, draw, play the piano, and occasionally play video games. I also love birds and science.

Now, this is my main blog where I post about my writing, my art and also stuff in general. I might also post about some of my own music in the future. You can find a short introduction to my WIPs under the cut.

Hope you enjoy and I'll see you around on tumblr!

Galidean: A fantasy series that was supposed to be a trilogy but has grown into a much longer series. But I guess that is what happens when you look a three different projects and think to yourself "wouldn't it be hilarious if the took place in the same setting". So, the series can be divided into three different "eras" with their own little "main plot", but there is also a plotline running through all of them mostly in the background.

A hundred years after the joined victory over the Dark Sun, the human nations gather together in celebration. Future leaders attend a journey through each other's home, during which it becomes clear that scorching raids have left their marks over all the territories. With no apparent culprit, a prince, an orphan, a lord, and a sorcerer band together to find the power that turns banishment into death. With the help of a friend and a sibling, they start chasing mysteries and legends across the world, unaware that they all take root from the wounds of the world itself.

Old Gods: A fantasy series consisting of 3 – 4 books, while I also wanted it to be horror, that part has gotten somewhat lost while developing it. Oh well.

Cyr was young when the war started, he was young when he joined it and he was not so young anymore when the enemy captured him. After four years of imprisonment, he comes to terms with his inevitable fate. Surrounded by enemies, hated by his allies, stripped of his magic and will, there is no escape for him. While the voices and visions invade both day and night, Cyr prepares for his final day. His only true solace is the new courtesan who has endless stories of hope and rebirth to tell him.

The Human in Us: An urban fantasy series, that really is just two characters and my investment in their relationship in a trench coat. All started by me looking at different supernatural YA stories and going “wonder how I would do that”.

Students, alcohol and an abandoned house should have been the set-up for a fun, maybe spooky anecdote in their future. It should not twist and turn and talk, it should not turn nightmares real, it should not make Josephine’s hallucinations even more vivid and grotesque. Yet it does, and one month later, a burning girl appears to give her an envelope containing an address and a promise of answers.

There Are Voices In the Void: A sci-fi horror story, set in the same setting as a different sci-fi project of mine, but story-wise not connected to it.

While investigating a nebula, the scientists of the crew gather samples of cosmic dust, finding an unknown organism on it. The head biologists determines it to be deceased and proceeds with further testing. The death of two of his colleagues soon afterwards is just the beginning of the nightmare.

Little Remains: A bit of crime fiction/thriller, that happened by me looking at YA mystery series and going “wonder how I would do that”.

Detective Morgan has worked on many gruesome cases in the past, most of them took place in bigger cities with an anonymous population. When a teenage girl is found dead in the fields of a small town nearby, Morgan first assumes an outsider to be the murderer of the unidentified victim. However, with the murder of a local student a few days later, even the tight-knit community quickly realises that one of them is far more familiar with the gruesome case than the rest of them. Unwilling to sit back, the student’s friends start their own investigation, while Morgan begins to struggle with old ghosts.  

#blog intro #writing #writeblr #writeblr intro

[kamenstranger]

Review: The Bullet Train (1975) AKA Shinkansen Daibakuha.

I went back and forth on if I wanted to do this as a bluesky post or a review. I tend to prefer only using tumblr for longer more detailed reviews like Ultra Seven, Black Sun, and Minus One.

But this ended up longer than 300 characters so… here we are.

The basic premise is a train gets wired with a bomb and if the train dips below 80kmph it'll go off. Guy makes demands, cops try to figure out who/how many are involved, things continue to unfold from there. Sound familiar?

Bullet Train is a curious watch in the modern era, mainly in how clichéd it comes off. I don't mean that as an insult, merely an observation. In much the same way Whale's Frankenstein popularized and even originated many tropes of the mad scientist archetype, Bullet Train will be familiar thanks to all the various parodies and homages over the years, even if through more indirect ones i.e. parodies of "Speed." The premise, various plot points and twists; they're all likely to be things you've seen referenced, if not done in other thrillers. That's not a deal breaker per se, but chances are you're going to know some if not most of the twists and contrivances sprung upon the audience due to that pop culture osmosis. You can read a synopsis and immediately have a surface level idea of the film. This leaves The Bullet Train with a bit of an uphill battle when there are so many others that have done similar things. But I think with the right mindset and framing, there's plenty of merits to the film today.

The most obvious of course is the astonishing effects. I was about 40ish minutes into the film wondering as what point they would make more prominent use of the miniatures. There were clearly some used for an explosion scene involving a steam engine, and I was aware there had been a massive 80 foot long model built. But I hadn't realized how much footage was the scale model, and only occasionally inter-cut with wide shots of a real train. Even today the scale stuff looks incredible. The composites and rear projection on the other hand… yeah, they're rough, but that's expected.

The special effects were handled by Shozo Konishi; former TsuPro and Ultraman/Seven designer, Toru Narita; and Gunji Seisakusho. Narita is of course the most well know of the group, but it was Konishi who I see credited for acquiring one of the most advanced pieces of equipment at the time, a snorkel camera, allowing for very up close shots of the models. Star Wars would more famously make use of this 2 years later.

The other big draw is that the film is directed by Junya Sato. He had been doing films at Toei since the early 60s, and in the 70s he started to get bigger pictures, notably 1973's Golgo 13. But it was here when Sato truly entered Block Buster territory and would open up opportunities like The Go Masters and Silk Road. Sato wrote the screenplay along with Ryūnosuke Ono, who you may know as one of the writers on the Crying Freeman OVA series. The result is something that even today feels a bit more unique than you might expect given all the other familiarizes.

One thing that might come as a surprise is that unlike many films following in the same wheelhouse, we don't actually spend all that much time on the train. It's hard to knock them for that given the locked in nature of a rail. Outside a sequence about needing to slow the train down and just missing another train during a rail switch, they kinda spend most of the train's dramatic bits in the first 45 minutes, at least until the last quarter. There are occasional cuts to passengers getting more restless, and the most un-pregnant woman I've ever seen going into labor. But there's little that threatens the speed of the train, which is the far more exciting element. In fact, they actually use one twice, that being the brakes engaging if an external door is opened. You're simply more limited than say a bus in terms of what can stop the movement, so the Train is used as more of a bookend set piece with sporadic check ins.

Instead, the film is primarily a procedural drama about the police solving the case and learning details about the antagonists. We also have a lot of conflict with The National Railway in how disastrous the Police operations are throughout, as well as internal conflict regarding the safety of the passengers vs. cutting their losses. Sophisticated might be too strong a word given the film is still an Action Thriller full of contrivances, but it's certainly less schlocky than other films within the same genre. Think of something more than Airport, but less than The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3. Bullet Train wants to have nuance and a tiny bit of social critiquing.

This is most true with our primary antagonist, Tetsuo Okita (Ken Takakura) who is by far the best part of the movie. It's never tiring seeing him plan, adapt, and escape multiple times throughout the film. The script treats the character incredibly sympathetically, to the point where you're kinda rooting for him. Part of that is how great Ken Takakura is in the role. Ironically outside Japan the film gets hailed as a Sonny Chiba movie, it even appeared in a compilation by BCI Eclipse. Chiba's great as always and he has a starring role, but make no mistake, Takakura is top billed for a reason. He brings a lot of complexity to Okita, his experience playing a wide range of Yakuza no doubt being a great boon to that end.

Aside from Takakura's performance, there are some elements delving into Japan's economic and environmental disasters of the 70s, the exploitation of rural areas, and allusions to the Zengakuren (which Okita is implied to have been affiliated.) Some of that is likely to missed given the lack of relevance nowadays, but for those aware of the movements and political turmoil of the mid 60s followed by the mid 70s burnout, I think you'll have a better appreciation for what the film is doing with Okita's character.

Conversely, where the film feels most antiquated in a detrimental sense is the heavy reliance on flashbacks and narration to fill in character details. The problem isn't even so much the flashbacks on a base level, but sometimes their placement and their execution feels disconnected from the rest of the film, if not dated even at the time. Rather than appreciating the nuance it's giving to our antagonists and their plight, I'm thinking about how weird the pacing is, how Okita reminiscing about his comrades often lacks the emotional impact it's looking for by just a tiny bit. It wasn't unusual in this era for films made in Japan to be finished just three-four days before release, so it wouldn't shock me if this was a compromise. That being said… I was more invested in these characters than the last movie I watched. Which is kinda depressing, but makes sense the more I think about it.

Something I'm more down on is the run time. The JPN cut of The Bullet Train is surprisingly long, really fucking long. Two and half hours. That's longer than The Shining. By the hour and fifty minute mark, I was starting to notice. If it was 2 hrs. even, maybe 2:15, I think it'd be easier to swallow. For what it's worth, it's hard to imagine the film without its many methodical shots of Okita running through his tasks… but they probably could've shaved a bit off. I've heard there was an even longer 2:40 cut just before release, and if that's true, it's impressive they were able to cut a good 10 minutes out.

All the same, the run time does make it slightly difficult to recommend to just anyone, even Toku fans. I mean this is barely under the umbrella of what I typically cover here. There's plenty of reasons to still watch it of course: The incredible cast, stunning special effects, and being a notable entry in a directors career-- run time be damned. If you're in the right mind set and have an interest in branching outside the typical Kaiju/Kyodai/Kaizo Ningen fare, then I highly suggest it. Maybe even look into the Sanrizuka Struggle to help contextualize the film. For everyone else, the film might come off as a victim of its own formula being so well known and done to death as to instill contempt, not helped by being a tad long in the tooth. But I'd still give it a fair shot if the opportunity arises.

A word of warning, the film is streaming on Tubi, but unfortunately they only have the dubbed version and it looks like garbage. It's not just a bad transfer, it's pixelated as shit. I'm not convinced they didn't badly rip a DVD or possibly a Youtube vid and just shove it on there, which they have done before. Although this one is really weird because it has a Shoreline Entertainment logo, and I can't find any info on them ever being a distributor for any release. All this skeeviness is actually why this is yet another review free of screen grabs, as I watched the very nice Bluray from Discotek and can't rip those.

Tubi also made a shitty Al poster, but I repeat myself. Check out the mysterious third rail, the dropping of "The" from the title, "Sony" Chiba, and the completely wrong train that isn't even a Shinkansen. How embarrassing. Why didn't they just use an official Poster? Unless of course they're not supposed to have it and think Toei might notice. That place is worse than Kissasian while pretending to be legit, I swear.

Speaking of posters, I want to point out the Bluray by Discotek, which brilliantly uses the second release poster "Super Express 109" as the slip cover, and the original "Shinkansen Big Explosion" poster for the case. Love when releases do that. Sadly, committing to a purchase is your best bet if you simply want to check out the film, at least until Mubi or some other niche service picks it up. You can't even rent it digitally. But it is a damn nice release with both versions of the film in gorgeous 2k, new subs, plus a 24 minute interview with Sato. For the UK, Eureka Entertainment did a release with the same transfer and a ton more special features including commentary and several more interviews. So get out there and check out some classic Japanese thriller.

Hopefully you enjoyed taking a look at something different as much as I did. Doing these smaller quicker reviews is nice, and I'm going to see if I can get more done while still doing the deep dives. I've got a few things still in the works, so we'll see what next time brings. Might even do another book review. As always, you can find me on BlueSky and my Ko-Fi here.

#tokusatsu #review #toei #Shinkansen #bullet train #sonny chiba #ken takakura #Ken Utsui #Junya Sato #Super Express #discotek media

[lowcountry-gothic]

Why the High Republic may be my favorite Star Wars era

In some ways I’m not all that surprised, but honestly it pains me a lot that there’s so little awareness and enjoyment of the Star Wars: High Republic book series. As a fan of all three trilogy eras, as well as of the many TV series, the High Republic may be the most fun I’ve had experiencing stories set in this galaxy, for a lot of reasons. For those who don’t know, it’s a series of books (adult novels, YA novels, and middle-grade novels, all of which are honestly worth reading) and comics set 200-350 years before the prequel era, during the Golden Age of the Jedi.

The Jedi of this period are somehow both more morally complex and highly nuanced characters than those of the films, and more optimistic. It’s impossible to be cynical about them. They struggle with personal flaws and weaknesses more than any other Jedi I’ve seen or read, including temptations to the Dark Side. They feel romantic and sexual attraction (though some are asexual/aromantic), and wonder if they truly belong in the Jedi order. They struggle to process their emotions and remain aware of their implicit biases. They deeply question their culpability when things go wrong. And yet—perhaps more because of than despite this complexity—they also feel more heroic, more purely good. Their love of and dedication to all life, even the lives of their enemies, is mystical and beautiful. And their ability, often collective, to accomplish amazing feats with the Force (beyond much of what we see in any era of the films) doesn’t feel like “Force creep” because these Jedi—in their morality, complexity, their philosophy, their ethics, and sheer goodness—really do feel like they live in the Golden Age of the order.

The villains, too—primarily the Nihil, a horde of space marauders—feel more relevant. In contrast to the Sith, who can often come off as simplistic machines of hatred (which, don’t get me wrong, is still mythically rich, not to mention interesting as a metaphor for the harm caused by the emotionally-activated ego), we have a creepy, highly ideological cult slowly morphing into a movement of bitter, vengeful marauders bent on destroying what they hate. This touches on something I’ve always loved about Star Wars stories: their political relevance and applicability. I’ve never understood people who complain about too much politics in the prequels. I love it. It’s always been in the blood of these stories, from the very beginning. Connections can be drawn between the Nihil and the Path of the Open Hand to the alt-right, to religious extremism, and even to January 6th insurrectionists. There are also parallels between the era’s two major hyperspace prospecting families, the Grafs and San Tekkas, and billionaires who get rich off of the labor of others, controlling resources that should be public.

There’s also so much variety in terms of genre. The comics are good, old-fashioned adventures. The kids’ comics (The High Republic Adventures) and YA/middle grade books feature young people who really feel like they’re in the process of becoming themselves and finding their way in a huge galaxy. The novels are mostly adventure/thrillers, with a respectable amount of horror (the Nameless, and to a lesser extent, the Drengir) thrown in for good measure. And though it could be a bit more developed, there are even moments of romance in some of the books, both straight and queer.

Additionally, there’s so much interesting worldbuilding going on. Being set so far in the past, there are noticeable technology differences between this and the prequel period, that limit the characters and their stories in interesting ways. It’s believed impossible in this era, for example, to build a machine that pulls a ship out of hyperspace by using a gravity well, yet we know this is something that’s done in later eras. And in the earliest periods of the High Republic (Phase II, which flashes back to 150 years before Phase I), the galaxy is still being explored and mapped, and routes between certain areas are unknown and dangerous. Exploration and “prospecting” for safe hyperspace lanes is a major activity. Communications are still spotty, so you can’t just send a holo message anywhere in the galaxy you want, like you can in the prequels and afterwards; not without it having to be relayed several times before it gets to its destination, and sometimes not at all if there’s no reliable communications beacon nearby. These differences in tech between eras make the galaxy and its history feel realistic, more lived-in. The High Republic really feels like a different period in time than any of the later trilogies feel distinct from each other.

Finally, the themes. These stories are all about the inherent goodness in life—life in any and all races, species, genders, sexualities, or understandings of the Force. It’s about the harm caused by fear and repression. It’s about the destructive capacity of vengeance and resentment, and of economic displacement. And it’s about hope in the face of the truly hopeless. About the potential of all life for goodness, selflessness, and heroism, and the inherent value of the ordinary. You can find a lot of that in most Star Wars stories, but there’s something extra here that I personally find so pure and undistilled about these books. Maybe because they’re not just the vision of one or two writers, but of a whole team working together, a team that’s constantly expanding, constantly handing the microphone to new voices, so that the galaxy really does feel like a beautiful and many-textured place.

#text #mine #star wars #the high republic #jedi

[scientistofdeduction]

I respect Sherlockians who Play the Game (live as though Sherlock Holmes and John Watson were real and treat the canon as true stories), and admire the commitment of those who hold to that no matter what. It’s a fun and very unique experience across all fandoms that I don’t see anywhere else.

But I did see a post about the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series by Laurie R King (which is good fun though not without some stuff that does deserve questioning). In that thread, one of the comments was from David Marcum, who does the MX Publishing’s massive collections of Holmes stories and who is one of the more serious who Play the Game. He linked a post where he talked about how he rationalizes the series with The Game—specifically how can one rationalize a Holmes who is in retirement marrying a young woman in her twenties.

You can read it here

Basically what I find interesting is that Marcum firstly adheres to Holmes’ supposed age in the Game, making him in his very late 60s in most of the Russell years, instead of his early 50s as suits the story (Holmes remarks to Russell that he was often assumed to be older due to Watson’s stories). A woman in her 20s with a man in her 50s will still raise eyebrows, especially as he met her as a teenager, and yet that’s not the same gap as 70 and 20. Likewise Russell has gone through a lot of life experience by the time any romantic moves are made; her and Holmes are on fairly even footing by then. (Do I still approve of the age gap? No, but then again maybe that’s just my personal preference.

But my bigger qualm with Marcum’s rationalizing the Russell thrillers within The Game is how he rationalizes it all. Russell is a woman who is sick in the head after her family’s death, becomes obsessive over Holmes (fairly directly in opposite to the text where she doesn’t care if he’s a neighbor or a myth, and berates him to his face for assuming her intelligence—point in her favor, I might add), and further descends into madness creating a romance between them in her mind, a life well lived with family.

Here’s hoping I’m not the only one who is a little disturbed by this—yes, the way to rationalize an intelligent woman holding her own with Holmes intellectually, romantically, and as a crime solver, is that she’s insane and disturbed and creepy. Yuck.

He notes that he’s on board with Holmes having romance with Irene Adler, which is fairly bonkers to me. I can read stories where they’ve had a romance, in fact, if memory serves, the two had something brief pre-Russell era in that canon. But I do not like the idea that Holmes cannot be romantic with a “fan made” character. An argument can be made that many Dan made characters are Mary Sues, or John Does, for Watson, as many find the good Doctor difficult to write (and I agree, he is, but that doesn’t always warrant a stand in when Watson would’ve suited the same character actions). But it’s strange that when the newcomer is a woman, she’s hated or interrogated so thoroughly, especially when Mary Russell is so strong a presence and definitely holds her own as a unique character and not just a stand in (even if Watson is a bit dim in her stories compared to canon, we can forgive that because he is so loved by everyone in the Russell texts).

Instead, if I were playing The Game, i would submit this (and I plan on writing a fic to challenge Marcum’s own little story):

Russell is the neighbor of semi-retired Holmes and their meeting is unchanged, he begins to tutor her and saves her in his own way, and she him. The events of Beekeepers and O Jerusalem take place fairly close to recorded, save a few alterations.

Holmes in retirement is living with Watson, as a romantic partnership. Russell discovers this early and although taken aback at first, comes around to it quickly. She creates the stories as fabrications to hide their romance, and with permission from H&W, creates the romantic relationship on paper between her and Holmes to disguise what would’ve been illegal and perhaps reputation ruining for the pair.

The three remain their own sort of family and the series progresses as published to continue that fabrication of the truth.

No mentally disturbed Russell, but a Russell who’s still strong and sane and perhaps at times cleverer than Holmes. No creepy stalker behavior by a girl, but the same in canon amazing woman we get to see grow up. Same partnership, just no romance.

I wonder if this solution wouldn’t occur to a canon purist who plays the game— a purist up until the point where they play a game of rationalizing a non-canonical work to fit their version of Holmes. Not saying that to be scathing, just if one is to entertain the possibility of modern pastiche fitting into The Game, it would be fun to be a little more creative.

I wonder if queer H&W doesn’t slot into their version of the game, and so a clever woman protecting that deep love wouldn’t either. But it seems a far better solution to approach the Russell texts under The Game than Marcum’s rationalization. Again, I’d want for some more creativity than his version.

But then, My Holmes, when I finally write him, is queer, and I enjoyed the Russell series, so it wasn’t a difficult solution.

#sherlock Holmes #all Holmes is good holmes #Mary Russell #Laurie R King #David Marcum #John Watson #Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes #my posts #meta #sherlock Holmes meta #queer Holmes

[jamiebamberdaily]

TV Times Interview - Issue 25 (24 - 30 June 2023)

Tap/Click ‘Keep Reading’ to view the transcript.

Catching criminals isn’t often a glamorous business, but when your patch covers the sun-kissed streets of Cannes in the south of France, it definitely helps! In Acorn TV’s new six-part romantic crime crime drama Cannes Confidential, no-nonsense detective Camille Delmasse (French actor Lucie Lucas) is having a stressful day when she collides with charismatic art collector Harry King (Beyond Paradise favourite Jamie Bamber). For Camille, it’s hate at first sight - but as she keeps encountering Harry while investigating the murder of a famous street artists, the barbed banter between the two takes a flirtatious turn. Could some French kisses be on the cards? TV Times joined Jamie, 50, for an exclusive chat...

What can you tell us about your character?

When we meet Harry, he has an accident with Camille on the street - he’s on a bike an she’s in a car - and he fins himself gradually implicated in this case she’s investigating. You don’t really know anything about him, and we slowly suss that he’s probably up to no good The character reminds me of the Pink Panther movies, and Cary Grant films like To Catch A Thief [1955]. Harry keeps popping up in town and infuriating Camille, so they get off on the wrong foot. The badinage was what drew me in - that sexual chemistry between two people who find each other intolerable!

How quickly did you develop that chemistry with Lucie on set?

It was easy; Lucie’s so open to ideas and she’s got tremendous energy. When Harry finds out that Camille is a police officer, it’s a problem for him as he;s trying to hide a secret from her. But he happens to know a lot of the characters involved in the supposed wrongful imprisonment of her dad, the former chief of police, so they have something that the other needs. The make a quick agreement, and from that moment, they gradually get more dependent on each other as they become this odd couple that works together solving crimes.

What are your favourite shows featuring mismatched partners-in-crime-solving?

Moonlighting is the one I remember from my era, with Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis [the American comedy drama ran for five seasons between 1985 an 1989]. The chemistry was hilarious, and the writing brilliant. The Persuaders! [ITV’s 1970 action comedy is another, Actually, the genesis of this show is that the producers were trying to buy the rights to remake that, but, for one reason or another, the couldn’t, so they thought they’d invent something different, which, at it’s heart, had little nods towards Tony Curtis and Roger Moore running around Côte d’Azur. But, obviously, they changed it completely!

Was it an easy decision for you to sign up for a show where you’d be filming in a location in beautiful Cannes?

I’m a big Francophile and I’ve lived in France quite a bit over my lifetime, so anything that gets me over the Channel for a couple of months is something I will entertain, for sure! But it was more that that. I’ve played some quite dark, dramatic roles - [American sci-fi series] Battlestar Galactica and [ITV crime thriller] Marcella spring to mind straight away - and I feel like I’m a much lighter person than that. This guy felt a bit closer to who I am - not so much the potential con man, although I’m a multinational so, like Harry, I do have multiple passports [laughs]!

How hot was the weather during the shoot?

The most challenging thing I had to deal with was wearing a three-piece suit in the sunshine for three months, and trying not to ruin it with perspiration! Pascale Rodi, my dresser, did amazing work with portable fans, whipping one shirt off and drying it while I wore the other one. It was fun to play a dapper character, but he’s meant to be cool and not sweating all the time, so keeping the clothing dry was hard!

Did you get to shoot scenes in some exciting places?

I didn’t know this, but even the word ‘Cannes’, because of the film festival, is copyrighted, so you have to get permission to use it. But in doing that, we had the mayor’s office on our side, so we had access to some of the more extraordinary locations. We shot in Le Majestic hotel for two weeks - the presidential suite blew my mind; it had a private swimming pool. I found myself there for a couple of days with my own room - that could never happen any other way!

Could you squeeze in some sightseeing on your days off?

The work schedule was pretty heavy, but we had weekends. My daughter [Jamie shares three girls with his wife, Kerry Norton] had just finished her A levels, so she came out and we drove across the border into Italy, which was lovely. I didn’t do too much tourist stuff around Cannes because I know it pretty well but we went to the beaches and had nice dinners. I also played a bit of golf, which I love to do, and I found a tennis coach, too. I had a good time filming this, I can’t lie!

PERFECT PARADISE

Jamie was last seen on our screens earlier this year in series one of BBC1’s hit coastal crime drama Beyond Paradise playing vineyard owner Archie Hughes, who still harboured feelings for ex-fiancée Martha Lloyd (Sally Bretton) - even though she was now engaged to DI Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall). While Martha declined Archie’s amorous advances, Jamie says he had a whale of a time working on the programme... “I loved it! he smiles. “I was so thrilled with the reaction. Friends were calling me up because their kids wanted to ask me what Archie was doing, trying to steal poor Humphreys fiancée from him! People got really invested in that character and that story - I’m very proud to have been a part of the show!”

#Jamie Bamber #Cannes Confidential #Interview #Interview Updates #Magazine #TV Times #TV Times Magazine

[everygame]

Air Twister (iOS)

Developed/Published by: YS Net Released: 24/06/2022 Completed: 21/10/2022 Completion: Finished it! Trophies / Achievements: n/a

Air Twister is a fascinating bit of work, representing, as it does, the return of probably one of the most important game developers ever, Yu Suzuki, to the kind of classic arcade play that he made his name with–the most obvious comparison being Space Harrier, only his third game released mere months after his second (Hang-On). But… and I’m trying to be gentle here, Yu Suzuki is also in his sixties, and the last arcade-style game he directed was over twenty years ago, meaning Air Twister gets to be possibly the first example of something that cinema fans have long dealt with: an reappearing auteur putting out new work that isn’t a revitalising return to form but just a pale imitation of what they’ve done before.

The thing is though, it’s not like I hate Air Twister. It’s a little bit charming in its way, with a lot of work being done by Dutch artist Valencia’s, er, derivative–but catchy–score (His obvious Queen obsession means he might as well just be singing “he’s a thriller bean” on the game’s main track, but to be fair to him in one of the boss themes he’s biting Kate Bush’s Sat In Your Lap, which is comparatively a deep cut.) It’s just that with Air Twister I really couldn’t work out if this was something Yu Suzuki cared about or wanted to make or if it’s just like “people liked the bizarre fantasy sci-fi mish mash of Space Harrier, we’ll do that” the way that (say) Dario Argento keeps crapping out sloppy nonsense.

It’s probably not helped by the fact that as an Apple Arcade title, Air Twister either has a bunch of player retention nonsense in it that was originally intended for when it was a normal mobile title, or it’s go a bunch of player retention nonsense in it because you need people to keep coming back to your Apple Arcade game for the hours played stats. Neither option fits at all with the game, which is a straightforward rail shooter with no branching paths or random generation or anything that you have to play from the start every time!

Most of the game, honestly, boils down to you, the player, playing as far as you can get into the main game to unlock stars which allow you to buy things on the “adventure map”, which is actually just sort of a tech tree where you buy more life, charms that let you survive hits and occasionally new weapons and powers, but also have to buy loads of cosmetics to get to them. And then you play the main game as far as you can again, having basically memorised it.

Air Twister is not hard–but it does quickly get dull, because there’s not much to it either in gameplay–which is more like Rez or Panzer Dragoon than Space Harrier, as you’re mostly locking-on to enemies before firing–or in setting and story, and that it’s the same every time you play is kind of a death knell. You can’t even really argue that any of the enemy formations or level designs are particularly interesting, so the saving grace ends up being that you’ll eventually unlock one of the weapons (or get enough “trial tickets” to use them) and the weapons basically just infinitely kill everything on screen until you get to the last couple of bosses where you’ll actually have to dodge stuff.

Playing this is really a reminder that often what you want isn’t the person who made the thing you like making more things–because, after all, how can it live up to that first thing–but people taking that thing you like and evolving it in interesting ways. Space Harrier might have been a mad old mish-mash but it worked due to pixel art and super scaler tech, and by the era of the Saturn you needed Panzer Dragoon to evolve that into a consistent universe. By the Dreamcast, you have Rez adding music to the mix (and not just slapping a Dutch guy singing “Morovian Symphony” over it). If anything, Air Twister feels like an imitation of them more than a continuation of Yu Suzuki’s work.

Really, there’s a “you can’t go home again” sensation to this. While playing it, I tried to imagine it as a Dreamcast or even a PS2 cult classic, but it doesn’t feel like one of those, and no amount of squinting to imagine it being played at 480i helped (even with an iPad being about the size of a tiny CRT.) What it actually feels most like is an early iPhone game, which is not nostalgic.

Although I suppose for some people it might be? One day?

Will I ever play it again? There are a lot of bonus modes and stuff to this, including a kind of flappy bird thing and even an extra proper stage, but I didn’t even boot up the extra stage, so I’m done with this, clearly.

Final Thought: As usual, despite saying I don’t hate this, I’ve spent most of my time giving it a kicking, which is the result of playing it until I finish it instead of–like a normal person–playing it a few times and moving on. And I do think if you play this a couple of times, the combination of the mish-mash setting and odd soundtrack make it a charming diversion for just long enough. And, you know, Yu Suzuki is a legend, so add to his hours played for Apple Arcade and maybe they’ll do a new Hang On. Now that’s the nostalgia I’m talking about!

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#video games #games #gaming #text #txt #review #yu suzuki #air twister #ys net #apple arcade #ios #2022

[nomnomdiary]

Ranking My Favorite to My Least Favorite in Time Princess

I just read from Queen Marie to Princess Sissi and this is my opinion :)

Gotham Memoirs

Combination from things I like. Journalism, early 20th century, crime. All companions are good and they are equal. Also this is well-crafted story (has many route and many endings). My favorites is Davis route

Princess Sissi

Another political thriller story after Queen Marie but I prefer this one because of the issue presented in the story. The contrary between the Austrian empire and Hungarian revolutionaries and the responsibility of a future empress to prepare for it all. Even thought the story has cliffhanger ending, I have no problem with it.

Romy and Julius

I melted into the story especially for Laurence's sad ending and that's makes me fell in love with Laurence LOL. But yeah it's a little weird that there's demon in Romeo and Juliet adaptation.

Shadow of London

I admit it the story is a little so-so. But what made me put this story in this position is I forgive the story (some issue say that SoL will have season 2), Victoria era and Edward Grey lol

Queen Marie

Well-crafted TP story. It's good story, has many route, good companion. Story of a political thriller, save the French empire or the end. They're both are fun.

Tang Dynasty Hunter

I just finish it. I would say, it's not bad as people say. The ending doesn't hang because her mission is complete. It's bittersweet ending.

Magic Lamp

The one of well-crafted TP stories. I enjoyed with Light's route even though I'm not big fan of fantasy magical genre.

Swan Lake

A simple fairytale is fun to read even though the companion is weak.

Little Women

I'm not big fan of romance story like this but I'm enjoyed with Ben Shapiro Franklin Lee's route. Its seems like I'm from a small part of those who like Franklin Lee's route lol.

Taishou Adventures

The story is good, but not special for me.

Si-woo's Sight

At beginning, I enjoyed it because it tells about the point of view from a Kpop trainee. But in chapter 2, I started to feel bored. Beside that, the main character has a big armor plot and I don't like supernatural stories.

Saga of Viera

Boring. But I enjoyed it a bit when Salvia showed me who dark elves are.

The Phantom of The Opera

I don't like the story. The manipulator who always annoys the main character and always uses his unfortunate past as an excuse to excuse his actions.

Helen of Sparta

Boring story, worst companion, and the ending makes me think why this story should exist.

#time princess #dress up time princess #dutp #dutp queen marie #dutp magic lamp #dutp gotham memoirs #dutp swan lake #dutp helen of sparta #dutp romy and julius #dutp shadows of london #dutp little women #dutp the phantom of the opera #dutp taisho adventures #dutp siwoossight #dutp saga of viera #dutp tang dynasty hunter #dutp princess sissi