#it's funny how I have so little in one genre for film or tv and on the other side it's bursting lol

[luvtak]

sandcastles, lfx x reader

✧ genre/ tw f2l <3!! sugary sweet fluff, angsty confessions, a couple pet names, a very sweet kiss, and felix and mc being unbearably down bad for each other, unedited <3

✧ w/c 2586

✧ a/n okay so i am writing this at 2 am after basically throwing this up, I've had this idea in my head for a couple days and finally had time to execute it, I am a sucker for f2l!felix and I hope you enjoy this very sweet confession, as well as the fun summery vibes I hoped to embrace the story in, happy reading! mwah <3!!

The first time you saw him you thought he was a daydream, sun bright and shiny–a made up boy for a lazy sunday afternoon. He came with golden hour, everything orange and yellow and the floral july smell was creeping around you. At twelve, you’d never seen a boy so sure of himself or so kind. Usually, the boys at school were listlessly mean or energetically cruel–ever patient in their mission to bother you. But here was Felix, funny and sweet and asking to be your friend. 

The summer passed in oceanfront days and popsicle covered nights, pop songs on the radio as you talked from the backseat. Goofy and glamorous months spent together as you awaited Fall. You remember those days like the lines of your palm, linen sheets wrapped around your bodies as you told scary stories and held each other to ward off nightmares. Some days, going to bed with the sun still high in the sky–naps on the beach with his head on your tummy. 

Felix’s sister’s hands in yours while you played ring around the rosie, giggles loud when you let go. The little girl’s voices as they yelled they all fall down! And Felix's own little voice asking if you were all okay, always worried about skinned knees and chipped nail polish. Childhood flashed with bandaid kisses and sandy shoes, freckled skin and ocean covered giggles. 

You’d never forget when you realized he was beautiful–stepping out of the ocean like Aphrodite herself, a boy born from sunshine and seafoam. His wide eyes were crinkled with sun, surely adding more stars to his golden skin, and he was smiling. Smiling at you of all things, bright and incandescent Felix grinning at you like the happiest man on earth. 

You think of that boy now as he sits next to you, watching the movie with an almost exaggerated delight. Taking in the action and the humor like someone just shown technicolor after a life of black and white. He’s grown up so much, grown up and away from you as you’ve gotten older. Those summer nights are just an origin story for who he is now, a big bright star like you always knew him to be. 

As his very first fan, you always saw in him this man he could become, but sometimes under the cover of midnight you selfishly wished you could have kept him to yourself. He was always just yours; until he wasn’t… Always your north star, leading you on your journey since you were just a little thing, and now he’s that to thousands of people–none of them knowing he was yours first. 

If you told him this he’d giggle up a storm and tell you he was still yours, but he wasn’t, not really… not in the way you wanted him to be. How could you tell him you loved him when in an instant he became bigger than you or any childhood wish. 

“Silly, why aren’t you watching the movie? It’s the best part!” eyes gleaming and mouth pouty, Felix looks so pretty in the tv light, “I know we’ve seen this one like a billion times, but that doesn’t mean you can’t pay attention.” He huffs, undeniably pretending to be annoyed with you. He can’t really, couldn’t even if he wanted to. You’re just so dear to him, one half of his heart, and he could never attribute any negative feeling to you, even if you deserved it. 

When he came home and saw you, more grown up and more beautiful than his phone screen allowed, he couldn’t believe he ever left you. He was so excited to watch your movie together, and while Ponyo had lost the astonishment of childhood, it still held its charm. The film was the background of so many childhood memories–putting it on after midnight nightmares or days spent sick in bed; children versions of you wrapped up and watching every sleepover. 

It was silly, he had you there right next to him, but he still missed you until the movie was on, and here you were not watching it. 

“Sorry, Lix, I just can’t believe you’re actually here.” your voice trembles a little, hiding the true emotions and fear that he’ll find you out. He would never stop being your friend just because you had a little crush on him, could never abandon you for something so little as a flutter in your tummy. But this wasn’t just a crush or a flutter, this was a stampede. You’d been in love with him for so long now, kept it hidden away in teenage diaries and grown up journals. A secret between you and the moon. You could never be sure how he’d take it, that for years now you’d been cowardly and afraid of him, a boy so brave he conquered his dreams. 

“Well, believe it baby! And watch the movie… or else…” He said it in a funny voice, and even though you knew he meant well, the pet name pushed an ugly feeling in your gut. 

Quietly and painfully you looked back to the screen, avoiding the way you can feel his body breathe next to you. For so long you missed this, the knowledge that your best friend was next to you, but now you think he should go home. Back to Seoul where he doesn’t hurt you by being him, sunshiney and starlit him. “Hey, seriously, are you okay? Where’d you go?” Felix is genuinely worried now, a sinister feeling arising in his chest that you’re not okay, and that it’s because of him. 

Sure, he’s been gone a lot the last couple of years, but he never forgot the way your eyes got misty before you cried. He grew up alongside you, nursed bloody knuckles and broken hearts and he could feel when you were sad–knew like the back of his hand when you were devastated and hiding it, but was this just because you missed him? 

“I’m fine, star boy, I just always get a little sad when I watch Ponyo. You remember don’t you? The way I would cry and cry when Sasuke promises to love and take care of her?” you mutter, softly without any conviction, and while the boy knows this to be true, he can’t help but notice your fidgety hands and the way you won’t look at him. 

You’re so worried, crushed beyond belief that one night home and he’ll figure you out. You could never keep a secret from him, running to tell him as soon as someone told you a whisper of hidden truth. Since you were twelve you told him all your innerworkings and private feelings, all but this one. It was easy when he was gone, easy to train your voice to sound happy over the phone, but you couldn’t hide anything with his eyes so close to you. 

Shoulder to shoulder you sat on the sofa you grew up on, right in this position with this beautiful boy. Watching this movie at 12 and 15, holding hands to ward against scary movie monsters. You couldn’t keep this secret here. 

“You’re a shitty liar, Y/n, is it some boy? Do I have to defend your honor?” it was so silly to him, you were so silly. How could he think any other boy mattered to you but him? Him with his golden hair and bright eyes, star studded cheeks smiling at you in the sunshine. 

You would never forgive yourself for that day on the beach. The day he became more than Felix, your best friend. You used to gag when your parents teased you about him, winced when one of your girls would say you looked cute together, and then all it took was the sun hitting him just right. 

You would never forgive yourself for this night either, you had to tell him. Had to make sure he knew it didn’t matter if he couldn’t feel the same. Who were you other than his friend? He was an angel and you were just someone he knew before he ascended. 

“Yeah, I guess. Some boy who I just can’t get out of my head.” 

“Oh, my silly sweetheart, is he devastatingly handsome.” he was giggling, the way he always did when you brought up boys to him, like it was ridiculous you would think a boy was cute. 

“I think so, he’s handsome and sweet, and I’ve never known anyone like him.” 

“This sounds intense, Y/nie, you must really like him…” 

“Yeah, you could say that.” 

You can’t help but notice his body language shifting, turning inward and hesitant. His voice got quieter too, shifting back into his normal voice. You wonder if you transferred some of your fear to him, then dismiss the thought–your Felix has always been brave. 

The movie still plays, little kid voices filling the otherwise silent room. The picture can be seen in his eyes, lighting the dark with bright oranges and blues. They're looking at you, and some tiny part of you can tell he seems sad. That piece of you that always knows how he’s feeling; attuned even when he’s in South Korea and you feel with all parts of you that you need to send a message to cheer him up. 

You feel that now, and reach out to take his hand, calloused and warm in yours. 

You stay like that for a while, finishing the film hand in hand like you did when you were both still small. Until finally, he asks so quietly you can barely hear him, 

“Do you like him more than me?” 

Shocked, you can’t help but let out a surprised laugh, which stuns Felix enough to pull his hand from yours–rubbing with his other hand where yours touched. He’s hurting, and you’re laughing at him, and this is enough to pull all of his bravery into you. Deep breathe in and out until you are sure every ounce of courage he’s ever had is running through your veins. You need to tell him, and even if he never speaks to you again, it's better than if he never knew he spins your whole world around. 

“Oh my god, Felix, it is you.” it comes out in a breath, faster than you’ve ever said anything and more relieving than any sentence you’ve rattled out before. The tears you’ve been fighting off all night come tumbling down, cascading over your cheeks with reckless abandon into your shaky hands. He’s silent for so long, barely even moving from his place next to you. The only indication he’s still hear the shaky breaths he’s releasing, and still you don’t look at him.

You’re waiting for him to leave, to walk out the door and go home, waiting for him to walk out of your life and back into his place in the sky, when finally you feel his hand on your wrist. His hold is so delicate, nervous as he moves your hands from your face and can finally see your eyes. Eyes sad and exhausted and so familiar to him, even through the tears their lovely–a reminder of home and unconditional love, and growing up. He can’t believe you would like him, Him with all his idiosyncrasies and softheartedness, you were so beautiful and so strong and you liked him. Thought he was handsome and sweet, you’d never known anyone like him… 

How long could this have been going on, how could he have been living never knowing you felt this way? Never knowing he felt it too, not just butterflies in his belly, but falcons, wings so strong and so big they started hurricanes. 

He looked at you like he always did, like you were the most important thing in the room. Eyes on yours and a smile of disbelief rising on his face. Slowly, without any reservations he brought his forehead to yours, looking down at you in all your snotty glory and lifting a hand to swipe at the falling tears. His voice is a whisper, deep and familiar, the same voice he used to tell stories and secrets, 

“It’s me? You promise?” 

“It’s always been you, Felix, how could it be anyone else?” 

He shudders, the hand sitting atop your cheek bone falling to your neck before he moves closer, settling his lips next to yours. Eyes lifting in a silent question, is this okay? With a nod and a close of your eyes he’s leaning in, moving to kiss you with all the desperation the moment requires. His tongue wiping up all the fallen tears as his lips moved with yours–when you were children he always kissed your wounds better, sweet pecks over bandaids and foreheads, and here he was now fixing up a broken heart–putting it back together. 

When he comes back up for air his eyes settle over your frame, flushed and hair messy from his hands, and he smiles. He’s loved you since he was a boy, since you asked to build that sand castle, 12 years old and braver than anyone he’s ever known. He’s loved you through teenage tantrums and silly crushes, it’s always been you. 

“We’ve been so silly, sweetheart.” he finally gets out, laughing at the impossibility of it all. The one secret you kept from each other being the same. Like always, exactly on the same page–telling the same story over and over again until you met in the middle. “When did you know? When did you know you loved me?” 

He’s so happy, you can feel it in the way he’s holding you, in the way his hands haven’t left your skin since they arrived. You can’t believe it, this beautiful boy is holding you. 

“That day you told me you were gonna audition… you came from the sea smiling and covered in sunshine, and I saw you for the first time–larger than life, my dream.” 

His eyes closed, and then he laughed. A great big wonderful laugh that took him away from you, falling onto his back with happy tears streaming. It was such a lovely sound you couldn’t help but join in, giggling with him even if you didn’t know why. 

When he finally speaks again his voice is still twinged with laughter, breathless and happy when he says, “You were so late” pausing to laugh, “I loved you since we were 12, you were covered in sand and I was in love.” 

You move to him quickly, settling your body on top of his as gently as you could manage, and you take in his happy face. This is what he looks like in love, not any different than he’s ever looked, but the shock of it–the fact that it’s you who he loves and is loved in return makes you want to cry again. 

This is where home is, here in his arms with your movie playing, smiling at each other in awe. There's so many moments you can share with him now, moments you shared with the moon and shooting stars, things you never thought you could tell him. Days and weeks holding a secret that he carried too. How silly you’ve both been, to deny what everyone has told you since you were children–two humans made for each other, sculpted out of the same sand. Lives entwined since that day on the beach when you asked him to build a sandcastle, how funny looking back, that you never did.

© LUVTAK 2024

#felix x reader #felix fluff #skz x reader #skz fluff #lee felix #skz felix #stray kids x reader #stray kids fluff #skz imagines #stray kids imagines #skz scenarios #felix scenarios #felix imagines #felix x you

[gracexthoughts]

Okay, I have a lot of thoughts about the Percy Jackson show and the discourse I have been seeing about it. This is going to be long and possibly all over the place but I just want to share. If you disagree, that’s fine. Just don’t hate because you have a different opinion. Deal?

I want to start this by saying I am a new fan. I did not read the PJO books when I was a kid. I watched the first two episodes when they came out in Dec purely out of curiosity and was just immediately in love with the world. So in true ADHD hyperfixation fashion, I devoured Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus books and I am currently on Book 1 of Trials of Apollo. And maybe it's because I am a newer fan but a lot of the gripes I see about PJOTV just don’t make sense to me and I feel like they really are just rooted in nostalgia. Watching the show and all the interviews of the cast and crew, it is clear to me they wrote this season with the intention and hope that they would get to make all 5 seasons, and possibly even further. I can see how all the changes make sense when looking at the narrative as a whole. They are really setting up this world and this story in a way that I think lends more to the future of this narrative better than The Lighting Thief book does.

I also want to say I have yet to find a book to screen adaptation that is beat for beat accurate. So much of what works in novels, especially novels told in first person, just does not translate to third person screen adaptations. Ultimately, literature and film/TV are art forms and what works for one may not work for another and the creators are allowed to make changes, especially when it is for the overall good of the product.

To start, the exposition dumping didn’t really bother me that much although I agree it is there and noticeable. Now, I watched the first two episodes before reading the books but after reading the books, I think the exposition is just as noticeable in the books as it is in the show. Percy walks into this world without knowing or believing in any of it. In the book, he learns about this world through the people around him explaining it in dialogue. It is just condensed a little more in the show which makes it feel a little heavier. Nonetheless, fantasy tends to have a lot of exposition because there are a lot of things you as a reader/ viewer need to know at the start of the story. It is part of the nature of the genre, especially when it is intended for a younger audience. Exposition that seems clunky to an older viewer is probably not going to feel the same way to a younger audience member (which is the target audience).

The biggest complaint I see, and disagree with, is that the kids are “too smart which ruins the suspense.” Annabeth has been at camp since she was 7 and it is clear, both in the books and the show, she is determined to prove that she is strong and capable and intelligent. She has been training to go out on a quest since she was 7 years old. Annabeth would have been studying these monsters and these myths so of course she can figure out the traps. They aren’t that hard to figure out, even for someone who isn’t super knowledgeable about Greek mythology.

Grover’s job is a protector of demigods. It makes sense he knows these myths like the back of his hand. I imagine that after Thalia, Grover would have studied and worked so hard to prove he was ready for another chance. Grover in the books also fell a little flat in The Lighting Thief to me because it seemed like most of his personality was just to be scared and funny until later books. I love what they did with Grover in the show because he feels like an actual character with his own goals, intelligence, trauma and authority.

Now onto Percy… I have so many thoughts about Show Percy so bear with me.

While I was reading the books, I was confused as to why Sally didn’t teach Percy about Greek mythology. Book Sally seemed to just hope Percy being attacked by monsters and going to camp isn’t going to happen or just assumes that when it does happen, Percy will figure it out. Sally always knew what would happen to her son, at least to some extent, so why wouldn’t she do everything in her power to prepare her son for this life she knows is inevitable? I loved the addition of her teaching Percy about Greek Mythology and Ancient Greek because it makes so much sense because I never saw her as a just “sit back and wait” kind of character. Percy is her son, her baby, her miracle. She is terrified for him (which we see in EP 7 in the flashbacks) and, to me, it makes sense she would do everything in her mortal power to prepare him in a way that doesn’t scare him or reveal to him who he actually is. (It is also such a beautiful call back to Rick telling his son these stories as a kid, like I just think that is beautiful).

While on the subject of Ancient Greek, I saw someone complain how Percy doesn’t inherently know Ancient Greek in the Olympus scene in EP 8. “Poseidon and Zeus looked at each other. They had a quick, intense discussion in Ancient Greek. I only caught one word. Father.” - The Lightning Thief, page 343. This moment was literally pulled straight from the book! Percy talks about Annabeth tutoring him in Ancient Greek in the book (The Lighting Thief, page 107) and I loved how the show changed it to be his mom that taught him because of the previous reasons I gave above.

In general, Percy is an unreliable narrator. We see that in The Last Olympian when Rachel painted him defeating Antaeus. Percy is shocked at how he looks. We also see this in Heroes of Olympus where he is constantly talked about as this powerful and sometimes scary person whereas Percy never describes himself as anything other than kind of mediocre. Percy is constantly underestimating his intelligence and power in his POV because at his core he is still an insecure kid who was bullied and uses humor as a defense mechanism. But no matter what he thinks, he is smart and powerful and capable and I love that we get to see that in the show because it isn’t in first person.

In the books I was constantly frustrated that they weren’t seeing the traps. Aunty Em’s is so clearly out of place and weird and creepy but the Book Trio just ignores it? Also the Medusa story change was beautiful and needed and added so much depth to what was a very simple scene in the books. The Crusty’s scene was jarring at first, but in hindsight it didn't bother me either because Hermes told them about the entrance. Why wouldn’t he tell them about the trap too? The way Hermes is portrayed, I get the sense that he really wants Percy to succeed, in the books and show, and that he is holding onto hope that somehow, someway, he can still save his son. Why would he send them somewhere just to lead them into a trap that does not benefit Hermes in any way? (And us not seeing that conversation happen is showing and not telling BTW)

Also, the overall claim that Percy, Annabeth and Grover know everything is just… wrong. (@pareiwheeler made a post about this that really made me realize this so go read their post too: https://www.tumblr.com/pareiwheeler/740600563986808832/theres-know-mystery-or-suspense-they-know) They know the small things but the big things? They didn’t think Luke was the thief, they didn't know it was Kronos, they didn’t know they would lose the fourth pearl, they didn’t know the casino would mess with time, they didn’t know the shoes were a trap, etc etc. They walk into these situations thinking they are prepared, thinking they know everything they need to but they DON’T And that is where the suspense lies, in the overarching storyline that is the driving force of the plot. Not in these moment to moment scenes that are not the main conflict.

Now onto the smaller changes that, in my opinion, benefit the overall narrative of this story.

Missing the solstice deadline: Not only is Percy choosing to continue the quest despite missing the deadline such a great character moment for him but this ups the stakes so much!! Zeus and Poseidon are currently at war for the last two episodes of the show and even if they don’t talk about it much, that knowledge is still there in the characters' heads and in the viewers’. Every moment they take in the Underworld, you are watching with the knowledge that war is raging above. And it's a great way to show the kind of hero Percy is and what he will become. Percy doesn’t care he “failed” because he didn’t come all this way just to run back to camp with his tail tucked between his legs because that is not Percy. Percy sneaks out of camp twice to go on quests he was not invited on because he will not let someone’s rules get in his way while he is protecting people he cares about. Percy doesn’t want war to happen so with even the slightest chance he can stop Zeus and Poseidon, he takes it! Also the addition of Poseidon stepping in and saving Percy from Zeus was beautiful.

I also loved that Poseidon gave them 4 pearls instead of 3 because such a small detail shows how Poseidon cares about Percy and Sally. And, plot wise, it didn’t change anything. Percy still left the Underworld without his mom. But starting with 4 pearls gives them hope that they actually can complete the quest AND save Sally. Percy leaving the Underworld without Sally is so much more impactful in the show than the books because of this tiny detail change.

The fact that the pearls take them to the east coast rather than the west coast works well too. I loved that they returned to the cabin because of how important that cabin is not only to Percy and Sally but also to Poseidon.

Hermes being added to the Lotus Casino and bringing in Luke’s background earlier on was beautiful and Lin Manuel Miranda’s performance was one of the standouts for me. It is such a beautiful moment and you can see the anguish in Hermes at his feeling powerless and I think it sets up Percy learning about Luke’s family in The Last Olympian in a great way. This is one of those moments where you can tell the writers and showrunners are playing the long game with this series.

Last but not least, the change in the betrayal scene. I love it. I do. Not only in the changes in the way it happens but how they characterized Luke. Luke clearly does not want to hurt Percy, he wants Percy to help him and to come with Luke because he cares about him. The prophecy states “You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend” and Luke in the book didn’t really seem to care about Percy or view him as a friend at the end of it. But Show Luke? He cares about Percy and he is heartbroken that Percy doesn’t side with him. Also the addition of Annabeth hearing Luke’s betrayal first hand was brilliant, in my opinion. Not only were Walker, Charlie and Leah ACTING but it was so much more impactful that Annabeth sees Luke turn and chooses Percy in that moment. And I don’t think it will change much of Annabeth’s actions in the future because you can see how hurt she is and how desperately she still wants him to come back and be good.

Anyway, I think the show is brilliantly done. That isn’t to say it doesn’t have its faults but nothing is perfect and if you were expecting this show to be 100% perfect then I think you just set your expectations too high because that is not realistic.

If you made it to the end of this, I love you. The Percy Jackson brain rot is real and if we don’t get an S2 announcement soon I’m going to riot

#percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson #pjo tv show #pjo fandom #pjo series #pjo spoilers #pjo #pjo disney+ #pjoverse #percy series #annabeth chase #grover underwood #poseidon #sally jackson #percy jackson and the olympians spoilers

[stardew-shitposterino]

Stardew Valley Bachelors watching a movie/show with you

Sam:

-Is very excited

-will talk through the entire thing …

-…unless he falls asleep before you can finish it

-prefers action movies or animation , if you are watching that, then he’s all eyes and ears

-thinks movies with complex social commentary and little action are boring

-“I don’t get it, it’s 2 hours of them just talking ?! How is that enjoyable?”

-won’t complain if he can cuddle up to you and play with your hair though

Sebastian:

-likes Sci-Fi movies, but isn’t too into watching movies in general

-won’t be too thrilled to watch a movie as he’d rather play video games than sit there and do nothing for 90 minutes

-will probably scroll on his phone and occasionally comment on something happening

-will end up very invested in the movie regardless, but don’t you think he’ll admit it

-hogs all the snacks, you’re not getting one of those salted pretzels

Elliott:

-LOVES romance movies

-especially historical ones like Jane Austen stories (he loves pride & prejudice)

-but watches almost anything with you

-If you’re watching a movie with bad writing in it, he will complain about it

- will SOB through every heartfelt moment

-will react a bit too intense when the scene gets heated

-yes, he will point out anything he sees as symbolism for something else, no, he doesn’t care that it’s annoying

Harvey:

- someone call a doctor, because he’s in love…with cinema that is

-he doesn’t have a preferred genre, he likes the classics and that can range from 1950s old Hollywood to “newer” adaptations of novels and dramas

-though he has a soft spot for romances , so he will become all mushy and fluttery when you watch one of those 2000s rom coms together

-will definitely sob when the couple has their happy ending, wishing it was him (forgetting you’re married lmfao)

-if you’re watching a movie he already knows, he will info dump on you the entire time

-“did you know that in order for them to film that scene, they had to…”

-if you want to see him scoff all over the place, watch a medical movie/to show with him. He won’t shut up about how bad it is

Shane:

-by himself, he watches gridball on TV

-with others, he likes comedy movies and TV shows, even if they are very trashy…(especially if they are very trashy)

-if you watch some TV show like Love Island, he is all on board running his mouth at the stupidity of the contestants

-buuuut, no matter how much he likes what you’re watching…

-he’s a dad without having kids of his own, ok

-Shane will “rest his eyes” and is gone, take it or leave it

- will probably end up leaning against your shoulder, snoring (…is he…drooling ?!)

-mumbles some funny stuff in his sleep which makes you forget the movie/ show for a minute

Alex:

-like Shane, he loves sports and comedy movies, but also action movies and baking shows

-he watches The Great British Bake-Off with Evelyn, don’t you ever tell that to anyone else

-when you watch a movie or show together, he will cuddle up against you and try his best to stay focused on the TV and not you

-you probably end up doing some Netflix and Chill as this man is extremely horny for you and will make sure it’s reciprocated by rubbing your thigh and kissing you all over

-if you don’t want to, it’s fine, but it will be hard to resist

-if you make it through the entire thing, he will probably have fallen asleep in the middle 🤷🏼‍♀️ he doesn’t strike me as the kind of person to ever finish a movie

#stardew valley #sdv #sdv bachelors #sdv shane #sdv Alex #sdv Harvey #sebastian sdv #sdv sebastian #sdv Sam #sdv elliott #stardew valley headcanons #sdv headcanons

[accio-victuuri]

CPN : XZ interview bits that made us 👀

I missed XZ and his long interviews, so this one he did for weibo night 22’ was such a treat. It truly gave us an insight on the things he did for the past few months and he is such a good person to interview! he is generous with his answers and is thoughtful with them too.

now let’s see what sections peaked our interest & it’s cpn connection. everything is fake ‼️‼️‼️

disclaimer that interview like this can definitely be enjoyed without the cpn-glasses on. that’s how it should be. but since i’m a turtle and this blog does cpn, i can’t help but point certain things out. the general point is, we see connections between them in these things cause we pay attention.

He is so very pretty and glowing in this interview. compared to his weibo tv & drama stint, where he was still smiling and all but you can tell that the mood is a bit off. Maybe it’s because he was able to spend time with wang yibis. 💕

• His goals and what he wants to do next truly mirrors that of WYB. even in WYB’s short speech, he mentions that he will work harder. I’ve said this multiple times but the goal they had in 2018, when they were still newbie actors still stands today. They never stop learning and want to improve. If they are gonna do something, they are gonna do it right. It would be easy, with their fame, to just go with the flow and let their fans do the rest. but no, they respect the profession and are willing to do the work.

I also like it when he says that people will see his growth in his works. It’s a WYB type of answer. I won’t tell you, see for yourself. I’m so excited to his new dramas tbh! Ace Troops was filmed 2020 so I can only imagine how much he has improved since then.

• The part of the interview that moved us, was him talking about a puppy-style warmth and how smiley he was while saying it. The kind of sweet smile you see when certain topics are brought up ⬇️⬇️⬇️

funny thing is, after he said it, the interviewer was like — what do you mean? what kind of warmth is that? puppy like? lol. sister, it’s okay if you don’t understand — but certain kind of people will. *ehem* bxgs.

Puppy is of course, his one & only —WYB. I never got this bit before, that one thing he sees in Yibo is that he has that warmth in him. People who meet WYB will say that he is too cold and quiet but he was never like that with Yibo. He was basking in his warmth although out that summer and beyond. Also WYB’s devotion to him was probably something else and we all saw it. 🥹🥹🥹🥹

( this puppy yibo please. no wonder ZZ went to BAH filming to see him. allegedly. )

• HAHAHAHAHAHA! I have no words but Himalaya podcast incident. A legendary fandom cpn if you ask me. 😂😂😂😂

He should make one from this genre! It would be amazing!

• ZZ has always been someone who loves watching movies, especially foreign ones. both for enjoyment and also now that he’s an actor — for studying. this reminds me of WYB being asked by CE to watch The Godfather and other films as a reference for his role as Mister Ye. I wonder if when they are together, they sometimes pick a classic movie to see.

I love them! Go on and explore more films ☺️

• Oh! The character development! I’m so proud of him for eating well now 🤍

While I do think this is something that he has discovered this fact on his own, I can’t help but think back on the time in 2018 when WYB was nagging him to eat. At the time, there was his “little friend” who always reminded him that food is important. It’s these changes because of each other that make me soft!!!!

• Lastly, there is talk about ZZ choosing Deep Sea as a movie that he watched during the Spring Festival. I mean, we all know that he will not say Wuming. Even if he watched and loved it. Saying that will go on HS, and not in a good way, it will cause another rift between fandoms and it’s better to keep each other’s name out of their mouth.

Turtles have noticed that he said a lot of “fillers” and did not just answer the question directly like he did with others. So it’s like, he has something on his mind but ended up answering different. He also stopped and stuttered a bit and we take that as a cue that he is trying to hide something. LOL. Not to say that he didn’t enjoy Deep Sea, i’m pretty sure he loved it like he said he did.

even though Hidden Blade ticks all his boxes, I mean, come on! :

interview screenshots with translation was taken from this video.

- END.

#bjyx #yizhan #there is no science here folks im just clowning like i always do #all of this is cpn

[yurisorcerer]

God.

OK. So, this requires a little context. In a Discord server I'm in, they're groupwatching every KyoAni show. Starting today, they got to Haruhi Suzumiya and are going to be watching an episode per day until we finish it. I'm not gonna write about every single episode of this show---I've seen it several times at this point so while I have a fair bit to say about most episodes it's just a lot of effort for a series I don't think many people here on tumblr specifically care about anymore---I do wanna write about this one

because, like can you fucking IMAGINE opening an anime like this in 2024? It'd be impossible. When an anime in the present day wants to make a big impact it'll go for laser focus, trying to present its absolute best foot forward, or a grandiose overlength premiere like Oshi no Ko or Frieren or something. The idea of opening your anime with *this* is just....I mean, even at the time it was baffling. I watched Haruhi a couple years after it aired and I remember being SO confused. What was this? Why is the first episode of this show---a show that aired deliberately out of order, by the way. I'm calling it the first episode here but if you're going by DVD order it's one of the last---some weird, deliberately bad student film that has a snarky narrator CinemaSins-ing over top of it?

The short answer is just that from the very beginning, the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya has a somewhat antagonistic relationship with its audience. Haruhi herself, as we'll learn in upcoming episodes, is kind of a really unpleasant person before eventually getting better. And I'm not going to claim that this show invented the idea of having your title character be a complete jackoff---it did not---but at the very least, it felt new at the time. (Contrast that to nowadays where every two-bit isekai has a total fuckboy who you're clearly supposed to love from episode 1 anyway.) So the first episode is kind of a....I hate this term, but almost a troll move I guess? More than anything, it's supposed to be *confusing.*

Improbably, this worked, and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya became, for both better and worse, one of the defining anime of its era. It's been nearly 20 years and I have no idea how this happened.

Some amount can probably be attributable to the charisma of Haruhi herself---she sucks, but she makes an *impression*---but none of that is really present here since she doesn't show up until the end of the episode for the big mic drop moment, a moment where we get slightly more of an idea of what this show even actually is.

I think honestly the charm of the deliberately bad film might have been a factor. The thing is completely nonsensical; we have Mikuru running around in a bunny outfit doing plugs for random local businesses while vying for the affection of Itsuki. Itskuki himself plays a character best described as "on-screen" and "present." Mikuru's big rival both in love and for the fate of the Earth (?!?!) is Yuki, who wears a fucking awesome witch hat throughout most of the episode. At one point, in scenes that seemed utterly baffling without the context that later episodes would provide, Mikuru's eye appears to actually change color and fire a beam from it, and Shamisen the cat talks like a person. This shit was weird! Even at the time.

Also the bit where she fires a gun and goes "aaaah!" as the recoil gets out of control is still funny to me 16 years later. Many things about me have changed since I first watched this show but apparently my sense of humor isn't one of them.

Haruhi Suzumiya as a series is really important to me in that it was one of the first things I watched that was REALLY OBVIOUSLY "anime." There wasn't the plausible deniability you got with something that aired on Toonami (and thus was visible to anyone with cable TV) or one of the common entry-level access points like Cowboy Bebop or such, which are considered classics not just of their medium but of their *genre* and thus didn't carry the same stigma. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is an anime-ass anime, with its bunnygirl outfits and improbable high school antics and psychic powers and aliens and yadda yadda. When I first started watching the series I was vaguely embarrassed about my interest in Japanese cartoons, by the time I'd finished it, I had an actual fucking SOS Brigade patch on my jacket. No less a figure than Tatsuki Fujimoto said that the series was responsible for turning his generation into otaku, and, anecdotally, he's pretty much right about that; most otaku I know of my age had a Haruhi phase at some point. (That's part of why Aya Hirano playing Makima in the Chainsaw Man stage play was such a big deal. It's not just that she's an incredible actress---although she is---that's fucking Haruhi playing Makima, man.)

Its success is also partly responsible for the light novel adaptation hellscape we now live in, so I'm not going to shy away from criticizing it either. Right off the bat there's a really uncomfortable kind of semi-"ironic" sexualization of Mikuru, helpfully lampshaded by Kyon as the film's narrator. This does not let up at any point throughout the show and is probably the worst thing about the series (although it doesn't reach its nadir for a while, if I recall). I'm not a fan.

Other than that element, I think as far as first episodes go, I wouldn't mind if more shows went back to this approach. There's something to be said for just baffling your audience into submission.

#the melancholy of haruhi suzumiya #yurisorcerer talks about media #yurisorcerer rewatches haruhi #<-this gets its own tag

[sugdenlovesdingle]

Since Hollywood is on strike (take down the greedy studio bastards!) and I saw a post calling people to check out non-American media - let's start a rec list!

as far as I know these are on Netflix (I don't have any other streaming subscriptions at the moment so I can't rec anything from the others) and might be available online *elsewhere* with a little internet magic.

La casa de papel (also known as Money Heist) A group of criminals are robbing the Spanish Mint - chaos ensues. I think everyone and their grandmother has seen this by now but still. I loved this show - I stayed up until stupid o'clock because i HAD to know what was going to happen next and how they were going to get out of the shit they'd gotten themselves into. 5 seasons. La casa de las flores (also known as House of flowers) Think telenovelas/soap operas. It's unhinged, it's funny, it's a little queer (mlm and wlw). Long lost children, affairs, Big Family Secrets, drag queens - what more could you ask for?? 3 seasons, a special episode (la case de las flores el funeral), and a film (la casa de las flores la pelicula)

Anne+ (film + 1 of 2 seasons tv show - it originated as a webseries so the episodes are pretty short but Netflix deleted the second season) The life and loves of Anne - a queer millennial living in Amsterdam.

Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga Queer (wlw) Bollywood film. A friend recced it to me once. I had never watched a Bollywood film in my life, didn't know anything about the genre, but still enjoyed it. It's a drama. Don't go into this thinking it's the Hindi version of the L word though or you will be disappointed.

Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan Another queer (mlm) bollywood film my friend recced me. It's a little more "blatant" than the one I mentioned before (this one is from 2020, the other 2019) and it's more of a comedy This one is not on Netlfix - it used to be on Amazon prime but I don't know if it still is. I found it *elsewhere* though with better subtitles than on amazon.

Kalifat This is a Swedish show about a young girl getting pulled into the world of extremist Islam, a young mother who already is in the kalifat (and wants to leave) and a (female) journalist trying to help her. It's intense but really good - and kind of scary how easy it is fall down an extremist internet rabbit hole.

Meskina Dutch romantic comedy about a Dutch/Moroccan woman in her 30s who is still single and her family play matchmaker. Featuring one of the funniest women in the Netherlands (Soundos el Ahmadi - who is also a stand up comedian and her shows are on netflix too)

Isi & Ossi German romantic comedy film about a rich girl who wants to go to culinary school but her father won't let her, so she pretends to be in a relationship with a poor guy who is also a boxer to piss off her parents.

Family business Completely unhinged French comedy series about a guy who turns his family's butchershop into a shop that sells weed - because he heard weed was about to be legalised in France. Really funny - 3 seasons.

Lupin French crime/heist show - but from the POV of the thief. Based on/inspired by the Arsène Lupin books. With Omar Sy. IT'S SO GOOD! 2 seasons, season 3 coming in October.

Dirty Lines Dutch (kind of) comedy about a woman who takes a job at a sex phone line.

reblog and add your own!

#tv shows #movies #tv/film recommendations #hollywood strike #wag strike #sag aftra strike

[canmom]

Animationo Night 177 - Kizazi Moto + Fatenah

Hey everyone. It's Animation Night again. We aten'nt dead!!

Huge apologies to European viewers that I couldn't stream this one earlier. Still, I'd like to get back into the swing of things, so we're back. (Bros. We're so back.)

So. tonight we're gonna be checking out Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire. This is a collection of scifi films created by studios from five different countries across the length of Africa.

The impetus came from the South African studio Triggerfish - originally a stop motion studio, but they switched over to CG a few decades ago. We saw some of their work back on Animation Night 166 in Star Wars: Visions, which came close enough to the stop motion feel as to leave me in doubt. There's no question they have a ton of talent.

Like Visions, this short film collection has the financial backing of the Mouse; it also has another American, Spiderverse director Peter Ramsey, serving as executive producer. But there's no monolithic franchise involved this time - the individual directors and studios were given considerable creative freedom. Styles range from anime-esque to Hanna-barbera; stories span aliens in high speed races through near future dystopias to apocalyptic stories about gods.

The creators are a little hands off towards the term 'afrofuturism'; in an interview with Skwigly magazine, producer Tendayi Nyeke asks us to interpret it just as scifi more broadly:

We don’t use the word Afro-futurist! Part of that is we are seeing science fiction, but through the context of Africa, and trying to demystify Afrofuturism. It’s not a genre for us. Because, you start to raise questions like can a French person do an afro futurist movie? And what does that even mean? So it’s an African filmmaker using science fiction as a medium to communicate. Science fiction allows them to imagine big futures. I love when a lot of Western science fiction is looking at  a dystopian context, we’re looking at hope. It really comes from trauma in some ways, though we have a rich heritage prior to the trauma. And then we’re like, hey, technology is evolving. We’re evolving as human beings. If there was hope, what could that look like? Science fiction as a medium allows you to explore that just by its design.

Among the filmmakers, there is considerable ambition to change the general layout of the animation industry. Raymond Malinga, director of Herderboy, remarks:

But somehow, because of all these things like colonialism and everything, it’s almost like our creativity was stifled by that and we just keep on accepting the fact that we are supposed to tell mundane things, you know? Mundane. Normal. So with “Herderboy”, I just took one of the oldest professions of the whole continent. And I said if I can update that and Ugandans watch that, they can start saying, you know, if cattle herders can look cool, then what else can look cool?

It's a cool interview, he's very charmingly down to earth when he talks about how after working on the film for a year he has no idea what's funny or not. Isn't that a mood...

Of course, until fairly recently there were a lot more animated films about Africa, such as the French Kirikou series, than animated films created in Africa. Which is nuts when we're talking about an entire continent, right? Thanks, "legacy of colonial extractivism". But things are really moving now! African animation was the subject of Annecy 2021, and in the online version of the festival I got to see the impressively varied Mshini TV collection of the edgier end of the spectrum, which carried all sorts from Newgrounds-esque flashes to South Park-like comedy skits. And this year at Annecy 2023, I got to see the first feature-length animated film from Cameroon, The Sacred Cave. A bug is spreading!

With this field, Kizazi Moto stands out for its startlingly high level of technical polish. And of course, I just like scifi. From the Mouse's perspective, they have their eye on the long game - trying to capture an 'emerging market' and all that. But, I would far rather they spend their money this way than having animators add yet more weight to the sinking Star Wars boat, you know?

So let's go take a look at what they've put together! In total, Kizazi Moto comprises 10 films, typically about 10 minutes long each. You can get summaries here or just watch along tonight, and I'll be posting my thoughts on each one later~

And. For a dose of the heavy along with this fun stuff - the ongoing genocide has put Palestine and specifically the Gaza strip in the front of everyone's minds. While there have been a few animated films touching on the occupation from the Israeli side, like Waltz With Bashir, a celebrated psychological drama in a realist style in which a former Israeli soldier reflects on whether he did a warcrimes, and Seder-Masochism, in which Nina Paley attempts to lay out a story about how the patriarchical Abrahamic religions suppressed an ancient matriarchal religion (she is a terf, how did you guess!), which includes the undeniably conceptually effective but highly equivocating This Land Is Mine segment... there is less available from the Palestinian side for the obvious and sad economic reasons.

But, a couple of weeks ago, Animation Obsessive wrote an article to celebrate Fatenah (2009), a short film animated in the West Bank about a woman in Gaza struggling to get breast cancer treatment. It's available free on Vimeo:

It's directed by Ahmad Habash, a native of the West Bank who came to study animation here in the UK, and secured WHO funding after they saw his student film. But the film is not a one-note activist project, it's a careful character study trying to give a convincing portrait of the different facets of its title character's life. This film was completely new to me and I'm grateful to AniObsessive for highlighting some Palestinian art in my favourite medium. So I'd like to slot this into my little Twitch show as well!

I have a bunch of other short films I'm excited to show, between recent Gobelins works and another AniObsessive piece highlighting their favourite short films from the festival circuit which have become available online. But given the ludicrously late start, I don't want to pack too much in to this one. We'll save that for another week!

I know Animation Night has been very spotty recently. I've been going through it with the old brain a bit ('a bit' she says). I'm trying to get things back on track with sleep and stuff, thank you for all the kind things people have said, and for bearing with me.

So! Let's go! Animation Night 177 will be going live in just a moment in its usual home, https://twitch.tv/canmom!

#animation night #kizazi moto

[antstarion]

Headcanons wise, what kinds of books or movies do you think each of the boys and Layla if u feel like it would be into? Like genre wise, tropes, era, whatever!

ahhh thank u for this question, it sparked something within me and I let it get a little bit away from me but we move. I actually had a wip about what books I think the boys would like so i merged that into this. I'm no book or movie expect so pls don't rinse me for what I think are classics or what films belong in what genres.

Marc:

Marc's favourite trope is enemies to lovers. He likes it because of the vibe that someone can see the worst parts of you but then love you anyway. That sort of redemption. He'd probably relate a lot to people in stories including this trope because marc is pretty disconnected from his emotions and I think at first he wouldn't know how to open up and show that he loves someone, so he could come across cold and distant, like a lot of people in this trope do.

Marc is an 80s movie man, and he's into dude-bro movies like fight club. He's just a guy, he doesn't watch many films so he's only seen the popular stuff and a couple cult classics. In the mix there are also movies he's seen at the cinema with Layla so she influences his taste a little bit.

Maybe he watches films that give tomb buster vibes, like the mummy (he and steven could watch it together) and Indiana Jones.

Marc's a simple movie enjoyer, would go crazy for that moment in an action film where the main character walks away from an explosion.

I think marc is a comic guy, if we're talking marc from the comics you can see from his room that he liked star wars as a kid so we know he's a bit of a nerd. Maybe comics are a thing he'd reconnect to during his adult life and allow himself to indulge in to relive the better parts of his childhood. Maybe he walks past a comic book shop or something and wanders in just to check it out. He'll pick up a few of the recent issues of the stuff he used to read (I won't say any examples of heroes since we're talking marvel so idk how that would work). Although marc wouldn't call himself a superhero I still think he'd find it funny to see how being a hero is sort of romanticized in some comics, since he knows what it's like.

Reading them wouldn't have the same enjoyment as it used to but it would allow him to reconnect with his inner child and his nerdier side. He'd hide it from layla though, only keeping physical copies of his favourites and mostly reading online and at night so it's more inconspicuous.

Maybe he'd pick up a few poetry books to try and connect with Layla's interests, but he isn't into them or reading really.

Also, I think marc vibes with pop science books, you guys are probably sick of me and my marc loves space headcanon (I'm not projecting😔). he'd mainly be into the fun physics book like What if? by Randall Munroe, nothing too heavily complicated or mathematical. just books that are a little bit thought-provoking for when he has the energy.

More specifically I think marc would enjoy The Outsider by Albert campus. I don't know, I think marc could be interested in philosophy, or some of the ideas included in this book. He certainly thinks about morality a lot because of his work with knonshu and I think he'd have some interesting takes to bring to a discussion.

Steven:

Unrequited love is his favourite trope, he's a sad romance kinda guy

Prefers documentaries to fictional movies, he likes to learn and will put on a documentary when he's too tired to read. Not just history though, he's big on nature documentaries too. Stuff like the blue planet, maybe Blackfish. Occasionally he'll watch a true crime documentary too, but he prefers ones about crime in america because the british ones feel too close to home.

You didn't ask but I also think he's big into podcasts to help him stay awake. Casefile is his jam.

But also Dr Who and British reality tv shows (GBBO, love island, gogglebox).

I feel like the 2000s is his era. Like lord of the rings, finding nemo, maybe shaun of the dead.

I feel like steven would be into international films too. He strikes me as a big language learner so he'd love watching films in different languages and trying to pick up a few new words from the subtitles.

You all already know steven loves his egyptology and history books so I won't talk about non-fiction. But I feel like he'd be big on fiction too for the escapism.

I think steven would like classics, books like The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde and Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. I think he likes searching a book for the messages and rereading to notice little details. Steven thinks a lot about the message a book is trying to tell and how it applies to the world outside of the book.

Stay with me here, I'm gonna talk a lot about this one book but trust me, it screams steven. Its The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. Like the beginning of moon knight, we discover the story of the book as the main character does and all the pieces come together as the mystery involves.

"For those who feel homesick for a place they’ve never been to. Those who seek even if they do not know what (or where) it is that they are seeking. Those who seek will find. Their doors have been waiting for them"

This quote is what first made me think of steven. In the way that he says he's been feeling like he's been waiting for the adventure his whole life. This relates to steven being a fictive too. From what I understand fictives in systems can have memories from their source materials. Maybe steven gets flashes of his adventures from tomb buster sometimes and that's why he yearns for it. Or maybe his desire for adventure is just from his interest in Egyptology. Either way, both the main character of this book and steven go on a journey, learn about themselves and get the adventure they've always wanted and I think that's cool.

Jake:

I don't think he's into romance stuff, so I won't give him a favourite romance trope.

Doesn't have much time to watch movies or shows so I think he'd rewatch the same things over and over. He doesn't want to take the risk of watching something new only to waste his time and not enjoy it.

Jake's a big comfort movie guy. His comfort movies are mostly movies that people close to him have recommended to him or that he's watched with friends, so they have good memories connected to them.

Again he doesn't have much time for books but I feel like he'd read more since he could carry books around in his taxi. On missons I can see jake reading to pass the time.

Because he can't really have possessions jake had a library card, he goes to the library so much all the librarians know him by name.

His favourite genre would be thrillers and maybe crime novels or mysteries. Simple and shorter books that he doesn't have to think too much about. He likes books with main characters with a darker vibe, maybe morally questionable like the detective gone off the rails vibe. If jake can't get into the mind of the character he struggles to get into the book so he will drop a book without a compelling protagonist.

I don't read this type of book so I won't try and give any recommendations. Although if we're talking true crime I do think jake would enjoy In Cold Blood by Truman Capote.

Other than that jake just reads books for research, maybe picking up books on places knonshu is sending him if he has time. He likes to get to know a location before he arrives and studies in the local libraries when he has time. Maybe he looks at the tourist attractions for each place, fantasizing about going there and wishing he was visiting the city for a different reason.

He also reads cook books to find new recipies to try. He'd look for a simple vegan cookbook to send to steven from his "mum" to try and get him to eat some proper food.

Layla:

I think layla would like the fake relationship trope. I can see that being how she and marc got together. Like they act as a couple for a mission and they both slowly realize there's something actually there.

She likes simple romance films, with how complex her and marcs relationship is, I think when she sits down to watch something with romance she wants to get away from that.

She likes romcoms, her and jake could watch mamma mia together,

She likes documentaries too, because of her adventures and "liberating" artifacts I think she likes to watch history documentaries and wonder where the items have ended up.

Layla likes movies that are so bad theyre good, or like movies you know are bad but you can't help watching them anyways. a bit like tall girl. like not a cult classic, you know it's shit but you watch it anyways because it's easy to watch. basically just bad Netflix movies.

Obviously, layla likes her poetry, I know absolutely nothing about poetry but I think it was french in the show, I feel like she uses it to connect with her emotions and find the words to describe how she's feeling, she and steven could share their favourite poems together almost gift giving like a love language.

I think layla would be into classical books too, maybe her dad introduced her to reading through the classics. She seems to be influenced by her dad a lot and I think it's nice to imagine them reading together.

Books I think layla would like: The Secret History by Donna Tartt, All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. Sort of that dark academia vibe.

#guys look normal content im okay im normal #moon knight headcanon #moon knight #marc spector headcanon #steven grant headcanon #jake lockley headcanon #layla el faouly headcanon

[invisibleicewands]

A mum shouldn’t have to go to her child’s funeral’: Sharon Horgan and Michael Sheen on making moving TV

f Best Interests – a drama about a mother who takes the NHS to court after doctors decide to allow her teenage daughter to die – feels too harrowing to countenance, you’re not alone: even the cast can’t bring themselves to watch it. “It was hard enough doing it on the day,” says Sharon Horgan of playing Nicci, the mother in question. Michael Sheen, who co-stars as her husband Andrew – a man devastated by his daughter’s illness but unwilling to back his wife’s appeal – is also avoiding it. “I’m more nervous than usual,” he admits. “I know it’s going to be a difficult watch.”

That’s an understatement. Best Interests begins with Nicci and Andrew on a train, giddily happy, slightly frisky and, as we soon realise, uncharacteristically carefree. Over the next four hours, we see their relationship falter under the pressure of caring for their younger daughter Marnie (Niamh Moriarty) who has muscular dystrophy, as consultants tell them her condition has progressed beyond all medical intervention – something that leads Nicci to mount a headline-grabbing, life-upending legal challenge. It’s little wonder Horgan had doubts about taking the role in the first place. “I was really nervous about how much this was going to fuck me up,” she says. It ended up being as crushing as she feared. “We spent a lot of time in terrible pain. You have to go to some really awful places to get yourself into that mindset and stay there. Sometimes you come home and go: ‘What kind of a weird job is this?’”

And yet – and this is the caveat that makes the show not simply a gruelling experience, but a life-affirming and thoroughly absorbing one – Best Interests is also very funny. There is droll banter about crisps in waiting rooms, there are silly jokes about knickers and, after the unthinkable finally happens, there is daft familial teasing. “People will be put through the wringer,” says Horgan. “But we want this to feel like a real family, and in real families – even when they are in the worst possible situation – people laugh.” That said, desolation is never far away: at one point, Andrew is reading The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole at Marnie’s bedside when an inadvertently pertinent passage prompts a flood of tears: at moments such as these, the show dances between comedy and tragedy in a remarkable way. Thankfully, it is not quite the slapstick affair it could have been. “I remember doing a very stupid dance at one point, I don’t know if that’s still in?” Sheen asks tentatively. I tell him it’s not ringing any bells. “That probably means it’s not there, so that’s good!”

Instead we have Sheen’s Andrew as a slouchy, goofy beta male, who enjoys 90s indie and the odd spliff, and is an expert teller of comfortingly lame dad jokes (such is the casual majesty of Sheen’s performance, he has already won the best actor award at French TV festival Series Mania). Horgan is equally brilliant as Nicci, a weary but awe-inspiringly on-it woman suffused with the actor’s trademark wincingly honest wit. While Sheen is a garlanded dramatic actor who was well established in theatre before becoming film-star famous in the 00s for his exceptional impersonations (Tony Blair, David Frost, Brian Clough, Kenneth Williams), Horgan is still best known for her pioneering TV comedy. From gritty sitcom Pulling to dramedy Catastrophe and recent hit Bad Sisters, she is now a giant of the genre; as a serious actor, however, her career is only just taking off. “If you’re known for comedy, people don’t generally throw a lot of dramas at you,” she says.

In 2021, she was a revelation in pandemic drama Together, written by her Pulling co-creator Dennis Kelly, yet Horgan feels Nicci is her “most dramatically led role” – another reason she’s not keen to watch it back. “I just don’t want to get all hypercritical on myself. I did it – there’s nothing I can do about it now!” Horgan says she has always wanted to do comedy and drama simultaneously, and is happy the genre binaries are melting away. “Back in the day I used to do a lot more sitcom-style shows, and now it blends a lot: a lot of dramas are really funny and a lot of comedies … aren’t,” she says, dissolving into laughter at her damning critique of the current comedy landscape. “What I mean is some of my favourite things, like The Bear, there’s not many laughs in it.”

I speak to Horgan and Sheen separately over Zoom – the former perched on her bed, the latter bearded and avuncular in a tartan shirt, sitting in his office in Margam Park near Port Talbot, where he’s about to direct BBC drama The Way. (So idyllic are his surroundings that he pauses to show me two gambolling baby deer from his window.) They may be miles apart, but the pair are very much on the same page when it comes to Best Interests. Instead of meticulously researching the kind of media circus court cases that inspired the drama (the 2017 case of Charlie Gard being perhaps the most famous example), they opted to come to the action unschooled, as they imagine Nicci and Andrew would have been. And while both were left awed by the parents with disabled children they met – “I just don’t know how I would have the strength in that situation,” says Horgan – they ended up drawing primarily on their own personal experiences.

Sheen found himself recalling his own family history while thinking about the cosmic horror of losing a child. “My grandmother’s son – my uncle – died of cancer while she was still alive. I always remember her saying a mother should not have to go to her child’s funeral. That just shouldn’t happen.” He was also reckoning with anxieties of his own. During the filming of the show, Sheen’s partner Anna Lundberg was pregnant with their second child and the due date was fast approaching. Then the pregnancy turned out to be “not completely straightforward”, Sheen says. “There were some fears about our unborn baby, and if there are any kinds of complications or worries that really weighs on you.” The stress filtered into his performance, especially when it came to the heartbreaking flashback scenes in which a six-month-old Marnie’s bewildered parents receive her diagnosis.

For Horgan, Nicci’s story was incredibly close to home. “My kid had meningitis when she was young,” she says (Horgan has two teenage daughters with her ex-husband, businessman Jeremy Rainbird). “While we thought we might lose her – as I was watching them trying to find a vein and get some antibiotics into her – I remember thinking: ‘I don’t care what happens – like, take off her limbs, whatever you need to do – just keep her alive.’”

In Best Interests, the story of Nicci, Andrew and Marnie (plus elder daughter Katie, played with mild insolence by Conversations With Friends’ Alison Oliver) doesn’t exist in a vacuum. In recent years, writer Jack Thorne – one of the most respected figures in British TV – has dedicated himself to making programmes about people with disabilities, partly because of his own struggles: he suffered from a debilitating long-term illness in his 20s, and was recently diagnosed with autism. In 2021 he made Help, which starred Jodie Comer as a carer looking after a man with early-onset Alzheimer’s (Stephen Graham) in the pandemic, and last year he created Then Barbara Met Alan, a one-off drama about the founders of the Disabled People’s Direct Action Network, a protest group fighting for disabled people’s rights.

According to Sheen and Horgan, Thorne’s advocacy for disabled people permeated the entire shoot. The cast was populated by actors with disabilities: Moriarty, who has a form of cerebral palsy called spastic diplegia, is joined by Lenny Rush, the Bafta-winning breakout star of Am I Being Unreasonable? who has dwarfism, and Mat Fraser, an actor and activist with thalidomide-induced phocomelia. Behind the scenes, things were just as inclusive. “Our set photographer was hearing-impaired, the person shadowing our director was a wheelchair user – there was an enormous amount of diversity,” says Horgan. “It just felt like this is the world we live in and unfortunately TV and film doesn’t usually represent that.” There was an attitude of presumed equality. Sheen remembers coming to do a scene and “in the script there was no mention of a physical disability and then the actor who did it had a physical disability and it was not a thing. That was so refreshing.”

The show wears its politics lightly, though. Even the Christian pressure group Nicci turns to in desperation is portrayed with relative ambivalence – after all, says Sheen, “you don’t want to wink at the audience about how you feel about the characters”. Thorne is too clever a writer for obvious didacticism, and while you might come away feeling conflicted – or even disgusted – by the legal process that has lawyers brutally picking holes in the parents and consultants in court, it’s hard to envisage what could replace it.

What you will be invariably left with, however, is a sense of the existential struggle those with disabled children face in a society unwilling to accommodate them. Sheen remembers Thorne talking about the attitude towards disabled people in the pandemic: “that somehow people with disabilities were slightly more dispensable and anyone dying through Covid who had disabilities, it wasn’t as big a deal as people who didn’t have them.” For Horgan, playing Nicci alerted her to a system that “sees disabled life as less important. Everything she gets for Marnie is a struggle, whether it’s equipment or a wheelchair or education. Her life is battling.”

It’s a sad, outrageous truth, which this excellent drama unflinchingly captures. Yet the show is also keen to emphasise that this is just one element of life with a disabled child. Despite its tragic ending, the real beauty – and, for me, lasting impression – of Best Interests is the way it evokes the overwhelming joy that comes with parenting any child, whatever the difficulties. The worst of times, yes – but also the best.

#Michael Sheen #Best Interests #Movie

[theharpermovieblog]

#HARPERSMOVIECOLLECTION

2023

I watched Blood For Dracula (1974)

I have somewhat seen this before on late night tv, along with it's counterpart Flesh For Frankenstein.

A sickly Dracula travels to Italy to find a virgin to cure him.

If I was to ask, "Hey, do you wanna see a very bloody, soft-core-esque Dracula movie starring Udo Keir and presented by Andy Warhol?" You'd either say, "What? No." Or "Absolutely, give me that now, push it into my face if you have to." There would be no in-between.

Well, before you answered you might ask, "What does PRESENTED BY Andy Warhol mean?" And I would tell you that he had nothing to do with this movie, other than knowing the guy who made it.

Director Paul Morrissey, has made some other movies, which I have not seen. They all seem like slightly queer trash art. A genre I'm absolutely here for in theory.

I'll start with some of the technical stuff, then move on to the movie as a whole.

Morrissey is very competent behind the camera. He understands shot construction and I rather like his visual choices.

The dialogue is often clunky and I'd argue that the script isn't well written or very engaging. And, the fact that a lot of the actors clearly speak English as a second language isn't helping that clunky dialogue.

I should also mention that this is supposedly a horror/comedy, but its less funny and more "funny" in the way which artists think they're being "funny".

Udo Keir is very good here as a rather vain Dracula. He's stage acting and it fits his character. The other acting and actors throughout are hit or miss, but some people definitely shine and would shine more if they had interesting things to say. Arno Jeurging is definitely having fun in his role. Joe Dallesandro's New York accent is almost shocking amongst the Italian, German and British accents that surround it. His acting isn't good, but he's good for a few chuckles.

Overall this film, technically speaking, is ok for shitty gothic horror of the era and a film that has a look that I adore. Dreamy, with a hint of British soap opera and a handful of italian horror. The locations are gorgeous , as are the people and the costumes.

So, how's the movie as a whole.

Well, it's not a high art piece by any means. Outside of attempting to have more tits and ass and excessive blood, nothing really separates this from other horror of the era, and a lot of directors were doing this much better back then. It's stilted and none of the story or action has any weight to it. There's no real scares or laughs either. A few moments of being able to laugh at it, but not with it. Also, the hero assaults a couple women, rapes a 14 year old, and is just kind of a dick. Not really a guy you want to root for.

But, despite the movie not being all that great, there are some moments I enjoyed. I laughed through most of Dracula's Seizures and a few strangely delivered lines. (Not sure if I was supposed to, but I did.) I loved looking at the pretty people being pretty and wearing pretty things, or being pretty and naked. I loved the look of it all, honestly. I loved the end where Dracula is being hacked up. I loved how self indulgent it felt and how absolutely trashy it really is. I loved that it tries to toss in some form of a classism discussion and doesn't really follow through on. Is Count Dracula's illness supposed to be a metaphor for the dying upper class? If so, it's a pretty weak one, and just an attempt at trying to make this seem more high minded than it is.

Basically, I admired the terribleness surrounded by pretty things.

This movie is trash with a little bit of fun to it. There's enough here to it to watch it once, just to see it.

[nerdby]

The Loki season two trailer dropped today. Judging from the trailer, the series seems to be leaning more into the series' horror elements. I'm basing that largely on the soundtrack because I have not met a single person that isn't creeped the fuck out by theremin music, myself included. That being said this is definitely your typical horror story. It falls into the social horror genre, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite subgenres.

Social horror is a newly emerging genre of horror that examines all of the fucked shit that we as a society allow to take place simply because the mainstream says that it's ok.

In the case of the Loki series that is allowing one person to take the fall for crimes that he didn't even do and also hunting down and murdering someone simply cause they're transgender. And I know that not everyone headcannons Sylvie as trans and for those of you who don't, I have a question for you:

If Sylvie isn't trans and was simply born female, then why didn't the TVA come for her as an infant? Why would they wait until she was a child capable of complex magic and, ya know, running away?

Just a little something to think about.

It does seem as though Sylvie's story is taking the back burner in season two. Or that's how it seems in this trailer. She didn't exactly turn out to be a fan favorite among stalkerish Hiddlestoners who can't stand to see Tom have a love life even if it's an imaginary one. Or among biphobic assholes who insist that being a straight-passing relationship negates a bisexual's queerness. So it would make sense if Sylvie got less screen time, but she was also a huge part of the season one story arc.

I, personally, thought it was nice that Loki had someone who didn't exist simply to remind him of what a terrible person he was simply for existing. But it's like I said their kiss didn't really eek me out as much as it did other people cause I guess I'm desensitized. Desensitization is what happens when you watch A LOT of horror movies over a long period of time. Or when you just live through so much fucked up shit that you just stop caring.

I do have a line, though, and I don't go out of my way to read about incest and shit like that. Like there's this book called All The Ugly & Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood that I absolutely refuse to read because the plot is basically that this girl's life is so fucked up that the only good thing she has is an incestous relationship with her brother or someone. That's just fucking torture porn, ok? It's disgusting. But the whole incest/self-cest trope also plays into the social horror thing cause that happens quite often in horror stories.

Cause usually when characters end up in a consensual incestous relationship it's because they've bonded over shared trauma and are kept so isolated both socially and psychically.....That I guess it starts to feel like it's impossible for someone other than this sibling or whoever to love and understand them.

It's not meant to be sexy or funny. It's meant to be tragic. And like you think you might be some desensitizing yourself I highly recommend--

Vampire Knight by Matsuri Hino

Flowers In The Attic by V.C. Andrews

Bates Motel tv series

Vampire Knight also exists as an anime, but I don't think the complete series was ever put to film. So if you wanna know how it ends then you need to read the manga. Flowers In The Attic is also a movie and you definitely want the 1987 version if you decide to watch it. Here's the trailer--

The movie is (or was) available to stream for free on Tubi.

And Bates Motel is a TV series that depicts a prequel to Robert Bloch's classic horror novel Psycho. The novel was adapted as a movie by Alfred Hitchcock whose well-known for putting horror movies on the map with his film, The Birds. Bates Motel stars Freddie Highmore and my favorite scream queen, Vera Farmiga who you may know from the Conjuringverse movies that depict the work of famed paranormal investigators (and con-artists) Ed and Lorraine Warren. Here's the trailer for that, too--

If you guys think some of these are too much for you to handle or that they're too triggering, I recommend looking up reaction videos and embracing schadenfreude because I can promise you if the person watching is a first time viewer.......Well, the first time I watched Bates Motel I was pretty much making this face the entire time--

So yeah.

#comic books #marvel #marvel comics #mcu #marvel cinematic universe #graphic novels #marvel movies #books #comic book movies #loki series #loki show #loki season two #marvel loki #thor movies #horror genre #horror novels #horror movies #social horror #flowers in the attic #v.c. andrews #bates motel #robert bloch #vera farmiga #classic horror #horror series #nerd stuff #nerd thoughts #horror nerd #this has been a psa #schadenfreude

[wroteonedad]

Dogtooth Isn't A Good Film

Yesterday I logged the original Charlie's Angels onto my Letterboxd. A couple of beers in and watching the original major camp girlboss film. When I was younger, I never had the attention span to be able to sit down and watch an entire film so now I'm a grown adult it means I've been spending the whole time playing catchup with forms of media that I've missed out on. Lots of feelgood films and laughs filled in with binge watching TV shows and exploring the art house genre of film. Watching everything so fast means that I've finally been able to grasp what is good cinema and what is not. Unfortunately, I'm here to tell you all that Dogtooth does not make the cut of good cinema in my eyes.

Dogtooth is one of those films that I've been eyeing up for a little while. I've seen it Mark Kermode's top picks on BFI and I read the synopsis and said to myself, yeah I'm going to watch this. That was 6 months ago. This evening I opened up MUBI to try and find a movie that was different from what I've been watching lately and up comes Dogtooth, a yellow banner across the top reminding me that it leaves the streaming service in less than two weeks. Tonight I was going to make it my mission to finally watch the film.

I don't really know what I was expecting with this film. At first glance into what the plot was about, it seemed to be one of those movies where the kids all live under one roof, they have controlling parents and that it was going to be rather comedic. Maybe when I think of comedy I think of something that is in your face, silly, a loud = funny type of comedy. This film was actually, and pardon my French, seriously fucked up. Almost to the point that my stomach felt like it was turning for a good while after the abrupt ending credits and silence appeared on my screen. If you were a filmmaker and you were mentally ill, had about 50p in your bank account and a cool film camera that you inherited from one of your dead relatives then this is the type of film I expect to see.

The plot follows three children / teenagers / young adults, it's never really disclosed how old these people are. They are placed into what is a lovely spacious home, they live with their parents, their mother being pretty much a stay at home and their father being the real breadwinner of the house. They are completely isolated from the outside world, unable to leave. So as lovely as this home is, it quickly becomes a beautiful prison cell. The entertainment they are allowed to see in the home is subjected and controlled by the family, i.e only homemade family videos, performances are done by the children, they are not allowed to learn words that are deemed 'unsafe' from their safe space. In fact, the cats are deemed the most cruel creatures of them all.

Despite not liking the film, I think the way in which Yorgos Lanthimos tackles controlling parents is powerful. The way in which the plot for Eldest Daughter is experimented is enticing, it's one of those where no matter how awful the film is you can't turn away. The way in which she grows to rebel against her parents, to become meta in realising that she is being controlled by them. I believe that one of the major domino effects as to why she ended up rebelling the way she did was due to her parents forcibly allowing her to sleep with her own brother. Prior to this, the trio of siblings would spend all their days listening to homemade tapes trying to teach them their own vocabulary. Almost like this movie is supposed to be an extreme way of discussing the concept of home schooling and the major impact that it can have on young people's lives upon entry into the real world.

Despite the film having one of the all time lowest budgets I have ever seen, the filmography at times was also quite beautiful. Green and yellow hues in the garden and throughout the home indicating the middle of the summer, a time when most young people are out socialising with one another. But it also stays disturbing in nature, the correlation of the film camera creating the idea of perhaps we as the audience are also there. We are in the corner of the living room as the father puts the VHS into the TV and suddenly it's this film that's rolling, and you're there. It creates the idea of if they're living this forced homemade lifestyle then are we also living that same life by consuming this movie?

The mystery of the characters is also really interesting to me. There is only one character who is revealed to have an official name, that person being Christina who is later on denied entry into the families lives after exposing the eldest daughter into the world of cinema. The only time the eldest daughter is ever given any form of name is when she tells the younger daughter that she wanted to be called Bruce. This creating another underlying layer of the exploration of sexuality between the three children as well. Though I don't want to go into much detail about this because of the nature of how it is described.

Truthfully, I think the main reason why I don't like this film is down to its ethical value. Its narrative is doomed and morbid, it ends on an open chapter so you can decide for yourself what happens to the eldest daughter in the exploration of the world. There are many factors in this film that are just left for interpretation, but it doesn't stop me from feeling disturbed and disgusted. I am angry at the parents for raising them in the way that they had, it seems like a living hell and I can sympathise with the eldest daughter for wanting to escape. I am also angry with how all of the characters were written, though I think it was done on purpose. I don't believe any of these characters were written to be liked, rather most of them were written to be plot devices for the eldest daughter. Ethically, gross. Visually, pretty. I give this film 2 stars out of 5.

Dogtooth (2009) is currently available to stream on both MUBI and BFI.

#writing #review #dogtooth #dogtooth review #movie review

[stylecouncil]

any biopics you’d recommend?

I still think Love and Mercy was really good and a great example of focusing on a particular aspect of a persons life / a specific time (or in this case alternating between two)! also an example of doing a music biopic and still making it worth while as a film and not totally about spectacle / soundtrack (although if we’re being honest that can be fun too in certain doses/context! I already talked about how I think the elvis movie was fun even if it was a hot mess, i’m human lol. also in this zone, say what you will about rocketman but I still think it was done fairly well and kind of gets an unfair rap for helping start the recent music biopic avalanche). I have somewhat mixed feelings about Control (2007) myself but it’s an interesting watch that feels like a movie not just a blockbuster if that makes sense? Walk the Line, also very good! 24 Hour Party People is fun and a little different than your usual approach. Coal Miners Daughter! Funny Girl!

Also oh my god Amadeus! I almost forgot about it. and Litsztomania ! (also two films where it’s like…a good story / presentation matters so much more than strict adherence to every fact with biopics because like you’re never gonna be able to achieve that)

and in the realm of general biopics, I mean Lynch’s The Elephant Man is always a classic / good example of what I mean about vision! and I mean onto my point about a lot of great films being biopics, goodfellas, raging bull etc etc are all technically biopics (based on memoirs) even if that’s not always the first throught / genre distinction that comes to mind. I also love I, Tonya… I don’t have concrete reasoning I just think it’s a fun watch and well done. I know maybe some think it was approached too lightly probably and there are some things that could have been done better, but I personally really enjoyed Pride (2014). Fruitvale Station also technically falls into the biographical film category and I’ve only watched it once but I remember thinking it was fantastic. some others that I liked to varying degrees: Mishima: A Life In Four Chapters, Serpico, In the Name of the Father, The Favourite, Chaplin, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, 12 Years a Slave…and do I even need to bring up The Social Network on this site? also death 2 woody allen and it hardly counts but I still think Midnight in Paris was a fun approach to showing a snapshot of a few real peoples lives in a very particular moment in time through a very fictional lens….could have been done better but I like the concept

(also Persepolis is great and I always end up forgetting about it because it’s animated)

also lmao it barely counts but in the realm of imaginative takes on the biopic format of course velvet goldmine (also on this topic, I’m literally one of the only stardust defenders that exists, but I think if you’re bored of big loud flashy biopics and like a more slow paced road-trip / character study, it’s honestly worth a watch for the parts that are well-done) is one of my favorite films of all time, here’s some good stuff from an article (although I don’t agree with the article in full necessarily) about its biopic-ness that I think is a good addition to this:

(X)

it’s like, I think my point about biopics is that it’s more about having a view point on your subject / something to SAY about your subject etc.

you didn’t ask for that digression but it was on my mind lol

I’m sure there are SO MANY more I’m missing, wasn’t sure if I wanted to put them (like for example I think Wilde is pretty good as well, but I watched it when I was like 12?? for the first time so it might be nostalgia googles / a heavy interest in the subject. I also have such a soft spot for made for tv boy george biopic Worried About the Boy because I think there are some like genuinely great scenes in it and it actually presents the main subject?? a lot more fully / is a better character study imo than some much bigger budget things, I don’t know maybe that’s a weird one, I just think it’s good!) but! those are a few

#I’ve also yet to see spencer but I liked the premise of it being very constrained to a specific time and everyone I know that watched it #liked it! #sorry that was insanely long! #asks

[put-me-in-a-movie-mp3]

Hi! Can I please have a matchup for Stranger Things and The Maze Runner, I have a male and female preferences ✨

𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘: 21 years old, 5'3, I am on the curvier side so I have been cursed with large chest, big hips and a soft tummy. I have a blonde, medium length wolf cut, and Blue/Green eyes. My style is either relaxed 90's Grunge style or Femme Punk and there is no in between. I have tattoos taking up my left hand and forearm and one on my ankle. My makeup is usually neutral toned smokey eyes and eyeliner.

𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬: I am an INFP, the mediator. I am also the designated Mum/Big sister friend in any given situation, I will be almost black out drunk and still helping others. I grew up as a very shy kid and let people walk over me a l o t, so now days I try my best to come off as confident and badass even though I do get flustered and shy way too easily. It's very hard to hide the fact I get that way because I blush like no tomorrow. As a short person, I do get easily flustered by people bigger than me. I think I have a size thing but I'm not about to get into that here. Anyways, I do always make sure my people are taken care of, if anyone needs anything I'm usually the first person to do it and if anyone needs a shoulder to cry on or even just to talk, I try my best to always be there and make them feel comfortable and safe. I am a judgement free zone for all so I usually am a therapist without the pay. I am definitely not the kind of person to do that to other people though, I do keep a lot of my own personal turmoil bottled up so I don't bother others.

𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗦: Art, very much into the rock and punk scene and it's music, reading, photography, tattoos, zoology and nature documentaries, Dimension20 (DnD show), and finally I am a massive geek, so very much into film and TV, especially horror.

𝗛𝗢𝗕𝗕𝗜𝗘𝗦: I design tattoos (I've designed all of my own) and take commissions, Photography, blaring music and singing (when I'm alone), sleeping, listening to music (I listen to almost anything but rock is my favourite genre), watching videos on YouTube, I study Zoology and am finishing school for it next year, I love drinking with my friends, and then also having to take care of them afterwards. It's a nasty habit but I do smoke because s t r e s s.

Thank you sm, I hope this wasn't too much info 😅❤️

Here is who I ship you with! :)

Stranger Things

Robin

I think you and Robin would hit it off because of how confident and funny you are. You guys would clash at first because of how she blunt and confident she is. I think Robin would make you flustered with just her personalty because she would be extremely flirty but also teasing in a certain type of way. Also, you and Robin would get black out drunk together and just have a great time! You both would annoy the shit out of Steve but he still loves you both! You guys would also have a great music taste together!

Maze Runner

Gally

I think you and Gally would be a little like enemies to lovers maybe or like secret lovers. You guys are somewhat alike in some ways and in some ways you're not. But I feel like you guys would really understand each other. Nobody would have guessed you guys would ever be a thing because you never were seen talking together or even really hanging out. But it just so happens when you get the job of being a builder and he is in charge of everything, you learn more about each other and you guys actually have a lot in common. You both bottle your emotions up and don't talk about except for each other because you feel like nobody else understands. I think he would absolutely be in love with your tattoos! He would love seeing your create designs and just be in awe about how creative you are. I also think that since you come off as confident you would defiantly attract Gally and intrigue him. I also think since he is a lot taller than you, when you first meet you would immediacy start blushing!

#gally maze runner #mazerunner #the maze runner #gally #imagine #love #ships #ship requests #stranger things #strangerthingsimagine #steve harrington #billy hargrove #x reader #robin buckley #robin #robin x steve

[erigold13261]

You like monsters. Gnarly teeth. Horror aesthetics. And that’s totally valid!

I fucking love monsters so much! I advocate so badly for monster films and how horror now-a-days is a lot more psychological or supernatural horror instead of slasher or monster.

Like I'm pretty sure that's because of the times (like there's a theory that the horror of the time period reflects the populations fears either in a direct or subtle way), but I want to go back to good fucking monster designs in horror movies!

All to often it's just a person with makeup on! (and I don't mean prosthetic makeup, but like literally just body paint and nothing else) I get that it might be a budget thing, but I really want to see stuff like the Xenomorph or Jeepers Creepers (I know how bad that series was/is because of the creator, but I genuinely loved 1 and 2, one of the only series I would say that I liked the sequel more than the orignal. 3 fucking sucked), like full on monsters who barely look humanoid or might not be human at all!

Anyway, it's also funny how you say I like gnarly teeth because I didn't even think of that! Though I do love me some teeth. I've had plenty of dreams of eating teeth and LOVED pulling out my teeth as a kid and looked forward to dentist appointments where I knew I would get needles in my mouth to numb my gums in order to rip out my teeth. Heck I even ripped out two totally perfect baby teeth that weren't loose while watching Insidious (I think it was that, or the Conjuring, idk) because I was having fun! (also one of my favorite songs is Losing Teeth by The Scarring Party lol).

Definitely love me the horror aesthetics! It brings me comfort! Probably because I started watching horror and death shows when I was way too young. First horror movie I watched was either the Fair Haired Child or Dead Silence. One being a horror movie that ended in love and one that revolved around puppets and dolls, both having grotesque imagery and contorting bodies.

So those two movies probably had a greater impact on me than I realized considering how much I love mannequins, puppets, dolls, and why I associate love with horror!

It could also be that I was neglected as a kid, which is why I was able to watch things like the Human Centipede when I was like 10 years old, and used those horror movies as comfort to my anxiety riddled brain to try and cope with death so I saturated myself with death and horror in the hopes of finding love in the subject but all it did was fill me with more anxiety which then turned horror characters into love interests because that was the only way I could take that subject/genre/thoughts and make it "good" enough for me not to have constant panic attacks of dying.

(Off topic, but also there was this horror movie I watched even earlier than that, like I was definitely around 5 or 6, where these people were at some point in a mine shaft/cave system and were running away from this ghost who was under the control of this guy who would drop his blood on the ground to make the ghost kill people. I watched it around the same time as I watched the first Tremors movie, but I can't find the ghost movie. I think the main characters, a guy and girl, won by feeding the blood guy into a rotating machine through control of the ghost somehow, but that might be an entirely different movie I watched as a kid around that same time. Heck the movie might not have been a horror movie at all, it could have been a different genre or a tv show idk, I just know that those scenes stuck with me and I want to try and find that movie/show again).

Okay, you probably didn't want to read my little psychoanalysis of myself, but I had fun! (it's always fun seeing someone tell something about me that I didn't realize and me trying to find out why I do said thing). Thanks for sending this ask in! :D

#eritalks #noart #asks #love analyzing why i do shit! #i keep forgetting i had a pretty shitty childhood #probably because i lost myself into media to forget about it #which is also probably why i love horror characters so much #they are broken just like me! #or at the very least look fucking amazing #:3

[ecsundance]

Back in Florida, having had time to thaw out from our time in Utah, it is time to recollect on my 2024 Sundance experience. This was my second Sundance but it was my first time being able to go in person since the 2022 Sundance was virtual. While that was an unique experience with the virtual spaceship and karaoke, it was a much different experience being there in real life with face to face interactions with other festival attendees. In Michael Newland’s book Indie: An American Film Culture he says “The discourse of independent cinema moves through various institutional channels to form a set of common conceptual frames shared among filmmakers and support personnel, distributors and marketers, cultural gatekeepers such as film festival programmers, tastemakers including journalists and scholars, and many ordinary filmgoers. This makes a community of the different persons and groups for whom indie is a meaningful concept; they form this community around their investment in ideas of what indie is and is not.” I think this best describes how it feels to be at Sundance. Everyone there has either already seen what you have or is about to. This allows you to connect with different people in the lines with you or on the same shuttle. In my review of Sundance from 2022, I talked about how virtual screenings are here to say and that if Sundance couldn’t accept that, they would be left behind. I am glad to say that they heed my warnings because while they did promote in  person screenings by not having certain films be available, they still offered online screenings for many films and all of the shorts.

Justin’s Sundance Screenings:

Feature Films:

Freaky Tales

A Different Man

Kidnapping Inc.

I Saw the TV Glow

Ponyboi

Love Me

Little Death

A New Kind of Wilderness

As We Speak

Handling the Undead

The Greatest Night in Pop

Short Films:

Lea Tupu’anga / Mother Tongue

Merman

Pasture Prime

The Lost Season

Thirstygirl

Indie Episodic/New Frontier Projects:

Lolla: The Story of Lollapalooza

Eno

Talks:

Mental Health in Film: Using Narrative Film to Impact Mental Health in Underserved Communities

Feature Films:

My favorite film from all of Sundance was Exhibiting Forgiveness which I saw online since I wasn’t able to get in person tickets. This film really impacted me in the way that it dealt with generational trauma in a black family which is a topic that I am very interested in exploring with my own films. My least favorite film from the festival was Handling the Undead because it seemed like it was supposed to be a horror film because it was about the undead but there was little to no action and it just felt so anticlimactic due to its slow pace. Another film that I watched was Freaky Tales which had a lot of traction due to its star-studded cast and I liked the way that the film seemed to take inspiration from Quentin Tarantino’s film Kill Bill despite not really liking the ways that they tried linking the stories together. A Different Man was interesting because it talked about type casting and exploitation but I felt that it failed to do what it was supposed to. Kidnapping Inc was one of my top five films that I saw at Sundance because while it did have many jokes and funny dialogue it didn’t take away from the real world problems of kidnappings in Haiti. I had high hopes for I Saw the The TV Glow since it was associated with the production company A24 but it let me down in the fact that it felt like it couldn’t choose between Thriller or Fantasy so it just felt sort of lackluster in both genres. Ponyboi was interesting in its focus on intersex people and Love Me intrigued me in the way that it used different mediums to get its message across but also in the story that I felt was similar to the Disney Pixar movie Wall-E. I felt that Little Death was unique in its own way in that it portrayed the characters and how they changed physically or emotionally based on what they were talking about or dealing with. A New Kind of Wilderness was a film that really pulled at my heartstrings in the way the story was told, the film was edited, and the shots were filmed making for a very emotional piece. As We Speak was my favorite documentary without a doubt due to its incorporation of narrative aspects in it that created for a really interesting and engaging story. The Greatest Night in Pop was a good documentary and I liked the backstory about a song that I grew up listening to but for me personally I didn’t like it because it didn’t really have any conflicts in it.

Short Films:

Mother Tongue was probably my most anticipated and I am glad to say that it did not disappoint me due to its great dialogue writing and story. Pasture Prime and Thirstygirl both had really interesting stories that I could enjoy but The Lost Season did not keep my attention at all and I am sad to admit that I fell asleep through it. Merman was in between for me because while I did think the subject was interesting I personally didn’t relate to it and I think that’s part of the reason why I didn’t like it as much as the others.

Episodic/New Frontier/ Talks:

Lolla was the only episodic that I watched and I felt so disconnected from it that I fell asleep during it (to be fair it was late at night) and we left before the second episode. Eno was really good and I found it interesting in how each showing of the film would be different due to the use of ai changing the editing of it everytime. The mental health talk that I attended was really insightful and helped me to curate my voice for my short films.

-Justin Hollis

#sundancefilmfestival #indie #filmfestival