#ralph only acts this romantic to mess with him

[tenten18282]

Legend Long hair AU + Ralink Doodle

#linked universe #lu legend #lu ralph #legend x ralph #ralph only acts this romantic to mess with him

[backstage-if]

DEMO (updated january 26th, 20.4K words)

PINTEREST BOARDS | SPOTIFY (IN PROGRESS)

A few years ago, you wouldn’t ever believe where you are now. 

Living in the City of Artists and getting your biggest role after so many years of waiting for a big break as a theater actor, things seem to finally be going the way you dreamed of. It doesn’t matter if this play is your producer’s last chance of saving her family legacy or if you’re the last one to get casted and barely has time to fit in, you’re not letting any of this get you down. 

You’re going to make yourself proud, make all of your work to get out of your hometown seem worthwhile and…

A few years ago, you wouldn’t have blood on your hands.

As an accident with one of your castmates results in a death of your conscience, seeing the theater packed was the last thing you expected to happen. It looks like whoever said people are intrinsically drawn by tragedy was completely right. Now, you have to balance your rising, potentially brilliant career with sleepless nights leaden by guilt. 

All while hoping all of these new accidents happening backstage are nothing but coincidences.

Backstage is rated +18 for explicit language, violence, mentions of addiction, drug use, alcohol use and non-explicit sexual content. Things might be added or changed in the future.

FEATURES

Customize your MC and their personality! Decide on their personal feelings, how they interact with others and how well they’re coping with everything that happened ever since they came to town.

You’re one of the lead actors now and every day is a chance to decide how you act around your castmates, the stage crew and with the media’s sudden spotlight on all of you.

Have the opportunity to deal with fame or renounce it. Help the people around you or mess them up even more.

Also, you never know when romance will shine! Have the chance to meet these five people and establish a romantic or platonic (or even destructive) bond with them.

RO's physical descriptions | Theater's group! (Side characters)

Cassandra/Callahan Ralph (24 | F/M) - Fun and bright, as you remember them to be. Once your best-friend/partner, it feels like just yesterday they left your old town behind to go to college and you watched as all contact between you was cut. Now they’re back and both of you are sharing a stage like nothing ever happened.

Neil A. Sadecki (25 | he/him) - Son of two renowned actors, Neil has known the ugly parts of this industry for longer than any of you and tries to stay out of its spotlight whenever he can. The youngest director you ever worked with, you wonder how much of his indifference is real or simply part of an act.

Spencer Caetano (27 | they/them) - You have reasons to keep your distance from Spencer now, even if they aren’t aware of it. However, all of this keeps working against your plans as you have to pretend to be in love with them every show for the sake of art and running from their easy friendship is starting to be more and more difficult.

Johanna 'Joy' Pham (25 | she/her) - Living up to her name, Joy is a breath of fresh air. Currently the only person who is doing fine and not crumbling under pressure among your colleagues, it doesn’t take you long to notice how she seems to remember every small thing about everyone and, still, you don't know much about her.

Ameera/Adarsh Bhandari (25 | F/M) - Your castmate’s #1 enemy, they’re the one who ended up opening a spot in the play for you. Since day one, you’re confused about why they decided to pick on you out of all people, and also why they seem to be always around instead of with their own cast mates. 

#interactive fiction #interactive game #interactive fiction wip #if wip #backstage if #dashingdon #cog #choice of games #choice script

[blissfulparker]

Not like us→fratboy!tom pt.1

Parings: fratboy!tom x reader

Warnings: pure angst

Summary: you over hear some things tom said to Harrison and it turns out your relationship has been something tom doesn’t want the rest of the world to see.

A/n: there will only be two parts to this but this was from a blurb requested by an anon and I got multiple requests to do a second part or make it into a fic so this is the extended version and also the first part! I have another frat boy tom fic this week along with ‘black beauty’ hope y’all enjoy!!

“I don’t wanna be rude or anything it’s just that...it’s just that people aren’t use to that type of stuff.”

It was Friday afternoon. After your last class of the week you found yourself curled up in Toms plaid comforter bed trying to cool off after a long stressful week. You were no stranger to his bed, or his room. You spent endless nights here studying, sleeping, cuddling, watching movies, the left side was your side and the right was Toms. Tom joked he slept closer to the door to protect you if anyone came in.

“I mean, yeah...you’ve been dating for about What? 5 months? If you wanna break up with her just do it now, it’s just gonna suck if you wait longer.” Harrison, Toms best mate since primary school, spoke loudly.

The kitchen, the boys were talking about you in the kitchen. You were awake now, trying to fix the mess on your head and wiping off mascara that moved in your sleep. You clung onto Toms university hoodie that smelt just like him and always made your stress go away.

“I love her though, I do. I just don’t want her to get hurt you know? Guys like me aren’t supposed to date girls like her.” Toms voice broke at the beginning but stayed strong at the end.

You, they were talking about you. You who’ve been dating the infamous campus fratboy Tom holland for about five months and it started over a broken down car, Taco Bell, and mental breakdowns. It was the stupid start to a loving relationship but you and tom were almost made for each other in the strangest way. You two were polar opposites that became one when the two of you were with each other.

“I get it, she’s kinda a dork...no offense.” Harrison spoke and you now cracked the door open to hear the conversation a little bit clearer. You didn’t know if any of the other boys were downstairs and you really didn’t want to find out.

“No I understand, she is. And like that’s the thing, she’s dorky and cute and all nerdy and I’m this fratboy who can chug a whole bottle of vodka in an hour if he tried. What does that say about us? More me specifically.” You look down at the jaw strings of the hoodie and mess with them. Was it safe for you to keep listening? No. Were you going to anyways? Yes.

“I’ve got a reputation to keep up, so does she. Remember Megan? Megan is the type of girl people want to see me with. Not (y/n), but I love (y/n). That’s the thing, I love her and people are going to hate us for that.” His voice was broken but it was almost like he’s been needing to rant for awhile now. You couldn’t go out there, what would you even say?

“Have you fucked?” Harrison’s bold statement made you step back. Tom was your first, it was two months in and you were 100% ready. Tom has had sex Dozens of Times But you, you were different because this time it was for love, not for fun.

“Of course, but it’s best if no one knows. Keeps her safe. Keeps our reputations high.” The sound of a beer bottle hitting the recycling bin made you crawl back into bed. Pretend you’re asleep and act like you’ve never heard a thing.

Everything made sense though why he never wanted to post pictures on Instagram, no snapchats, you never went to the parties—not that you wanted to anyways—never got super affectionate around his friends. Why Harrison was the only one to know about the relationship.

He was ashamed of you. He was embarrassed to be in love with you.

No, you weren’t like the other girls he’s been with. Not a party animal nor a outgoing person. You were simple, nerdy, studied hard, loved to stay in, hopeless romantic. You were a girl tom always dreamed about but never thought was real, and you were perfect but he knew other people didn’t think that.

“Baby?” Tom whispered and you sat up rubbing your eyes and pretending like you just woke up. “What’s wrong?” He noticed the tears and the red eyes and flushed look in your face.

“I—it’s—my allergies, they’ve been acting up. Seasons changing are the worse.” You lied and tom wrapped his arm around your waist. How could he act like this, a loving and adoring boyfriend, when he just claimed he was ashamed of you.

“Oh, I have some medicine if you want—“ he starts and you shake your head.

“It’s best if I go back to my dorm. Alone. I think I need a full nights rest.” You sniffle as you stand up and look over to his mirror and fix yourself up.

“Oh okay, text me when you get there please.” He hands you your backpack and kisses your forehead. The kiss felt sour against your skin, his lips no longer felt soft and plump but bitter and hard.

“I will.” You give a soft, fake smile before walking out. You pass Harrison who gives you a sweet smile before you exit the door.

He was ashamed, he was ashamed, he was ashamed. That’s all that ran though your head. You weren’t like Megan, his ex who was drop dead gorgeous—she cheated on him with two different guys so you have that huge advantage of not being an asshole—but she was still what he wanted. They were perfect, the light of every party.

People like you weren’t supposed to be with people like him. Study hard, nerdy, good grades, good girls, weren’t supposed to end up with frat boys like Tom Holland. Boys like him were supposed to be with party animals and adventurous people. Not you.

Boys like him are never supposed to be with girls like you.

-

Saturday evening, the next day.

Books scattered across your bed as you shoved information into your brain about chemistry. Your glasses have a glare and your roommate was out for the night. Normally you’d spend your Saturdays with tom but currently you didn’t know where he was and didn’t bother to see him. You didn’t respond all day and you made sure to let him know you wanted to be alone.

Two knocks. Two knocks on your front door is what made you jump and take out your headphones.

“I’m coming!” You shouted as you hopped off the bed and jogged over to the door.

There stood tom, two bags of Chinese food and a bag from wallgreens. He wore a skin tight green Ralph Lauren polo shirt and some joggers.

“You never told me if you made it home safe.” He pouted as he walked past you.

You forgot that your Saturday nights were perfect, cuddled up in bed, eating Chinese food and having messy makeout sessions.

“Sorry, my phone was off and I fell asleep.” You lied. He set the stuff down before opening the wallgreens bag.

“I got you some more medicine, and this green smoothie thingy? I dunno, the lady said it helps clear your sinuses. I kinda looks gross I wouldn’t drink it either.” He sets it down and you watch him with folded arms.

“Don’t you have a party to attended tonight?” Your voice bitter as you talk about the frat.

“It’s overrated. Saturday’s are meant for us and I like them this way.” He sets kicks off his shoes. You were mad and you didn’t know how to handle it, so you did it in the most petty way possible.

“No, lets go to the party, what’s the theme I bet I can find something.” You walk over to your closet. Tom follows you to stop you.

“Why would we do that? You hate parties remember? Too many people. We always stay in.” He grabs your hand and you can’t help but to feel your eyes water. He was an idiot, an actual idiot that you wish wasn’t so pretty.

“Why don’t you want me at your parties?” You step back and he furrows his brows.

“Peach, What are you talking—“ He starts and you shake your head.

“You can at least invite me! An offer would be nice! But you never did, because I’m too dorky and nerdy to be around you. Or maybe it’s because I’m not like your other Ex girlfriends in the past.” You sniffle and he steps closer.

“Are you on your period? What’s happening? Who’s telling you all this?” He stands there clueless and you wipe your nose.

“You! Yesterday I woke up from my nap and I heard you and Harrison talking. ‘People Like me shouldn’t be with girls like her’ and ‘I’ve got a reputation to keep up’? What the fuck tom!” You shout at him and he steps back.

You heard all of it and it was hitting tom. He never meant any of it, not in the way you took it. He just didn’t want people teasing you, making fun of you, bullying you, he wanted to keep you safe. He was also selfish, he knew that if he took you to one of his parties you’d get taken advantage of. He would leave you for one second and you’d be gone, he can’t even think of the worse case scenario or else it would hurt him.

“You know, I know I’m not super popular nor am I this victoria secret model but I’m not embarrassed to be around you nor am I ashamed which I probably should be because smart girls can’t be with guys like you!” You say out of anger and now tom gives a look.

“Are you calling me dumb?” He asks and you walk over to your bed.

“You didn’t listen to me at all! You are the one who said all these things and that was only the stuff I heard! What else did you say, Huh? I want to know.” You wipe your eyes and he shakes his head.

“Nothing! I said nothing else! Harrison just asked me why I never post with you or why the other boys don’t know about you it’s to keep you safe! It’s only to keep you safe! The people I hang out with are not good people and I just don’t want anything bad happening to you!” His face was red and you wanted nothing more than to run out and never speak to him again.

“I’m a fucking adult I can take care of myself! You’re the one who said that people will care if they know about us. I don’t care about my reputation, Holland! I have absolutely nothing to lose, it’s you who are selfish and it’s you who still wants to be the golden boy of the circle. The one thing that I have that all those other girls don’t is fucking loyalty, and trust, and I give a shit about you! They don’t! Megan cheated on you and I would never even think of that! Sydney only used You for sex and popularity and guess what tom? I’m not doing that because I actually love you but it’s very obvious that you only care about yourself.” You grab your keys and purse which causes tom to freak out even more.

“What are you doing?” He stops you but you yank away and keep going.

“I need time to cool down, im going for a drive. When you decide what you want to do with us, come find me.” You storm off leaving tom in your dorm.

Tom fucked up. He did that a lot but most of the time he could find a simple way out of fucking up. This time he couldn’t, He was about to loose the most valuable thing in his life.

The most logical thing for him to do was not chase after you. You didn’t want him to chase after you anyways, you wanted him to figure out what he wanted not for him to beg on his knees for your love. He stormed out of your dorm as well, leaving everything he’d brought and went back to his frat house.

He couldn’t forget though that there’d be a party in about two hours, the boys were setting up and tom stormed in and ruined their mood.

“Hey! Look who showed up to help!” Yelled one of the boys, Alex.

“Hey mate, you alright?” Harrison stopped him. Bright red eyes, heavy breathing, tension in his whole body, he was pissed.

“Leave me be.” He mumbled and Harrison stopped him again. The whole frat was looking at him, even the extra friends who came to help out.

“Hey, What happened? Where’d you go?” Haz stops and tom tries to push past him.

“She heard, she fucking heard everything and all the shit—“ tom started and everyone was confused but Haz.

“(Y/n)?” Haz says and immediately everyone goes to shock.

“Woah man, you’re fucking (y/n)? Nice!” One said and Haz gave a look to the boy. The rest were confused with who you even were.

“Let me go, please.” Tom had tears back in his face and Haz let him run up into his room like a child. He didn’t know where you were and didn’t know what he’d say if he called you.

-

You had found yourself at the place where it all started, the place where your car broke down at 12:00am trying to get home from the library and tom just happened to be driving around that night.

“Hey, are you okay?” A thick voice pulled you out of your crying and knocked on your window. You had your hazard lights on and pulled to the side.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s just my car broke down.” You sniffle and he helped you out of the car and popped the hood.

“Can you call someone to tow it? I don’t think I can really help you here.” He asked and you nodded calling your insurance and trying to figure the most out.

“So uhh, you’ve got someone coming?” He asked and you nodded.

“Yeah, yeah, thank you.” You smile at the stranger and he stands there. “You can leave...” you trail off and he shakes his head.

“It’s midnight and it’s a college campus, not so safe to leave a pretty girl alone.” He goes to lean up against his car.

“Thanks.” You wipe your eyes and start to feel yourself cry some more. It was a really long week. Tom jumped up and came over to hold you. Comfort you, make You feel safe.

That was the start of your relationship

He helped you call someone to get it towed and offered to get you some food to help you calm down. The first time you met tom you were crying while eating a burrito from Taco Bell in the back of his car. The fratboy held you in his arms and let you cry all that you felt that day.

Now it was different. It was just you. No tom, no broken car, no Taco Bell, nothing.

Tom holland had broken your heart, how did you not see that coming? Maybe it was because you were blinded by the British charm and the white lopsided smile and floppy curly hair. Maybe if you weren’t as naïveté as other girls then you wouldn’t be stuck in this situation.

If you could go back five months ago and just stay at the library a little longer and have someone else help you, you would’ve. If you could go back and jut say thank you instead of saying yes to his dates, you just might’ve.

The last thing you wanted to feel was tom Holland’s little secret.

Some tags(because my perm tag list is too long): @thollandss @quitetommy @keepmeholland @spiderboytotherescue @delicatepeterparker @candlelightparker @klusterffucked @stormyholland @spiderboytingle

#fratboy!tom #tom holland imagine #tom holland x reader #college!tom #tom holland angst #tom holland fluff #imagine tom holland #tom holland au #tom holland smut #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland fic #tom holland x y/n #tom holland x you

[non-sequitura]

Non-sequitura Disney in-depth analysis (after making a tier list)

Warning: SUPER longform. If you don’t know a movie well, you should skip the summary. I tried to be light on spoilers, but they’re there.

I went chronologically from favorite to least favorite. So S tier is, in order from fave to least fave, The Incredibles, WALL-E, then Zootopia.

S tier (Something I consider high quality AND a movie I greatly enjoy. I would love more Disney movies be like this.)

The Incredibles - one of my favorite movies of all time, possibly THE favorite. Rockin social commentary, epic action scenes, memorable characters, not a minute of screentime wasted, great take on the Fantastic Four, hilarious parts for both adults and children, an interesting villain, etc. 

WALL-E - I love how social commentary was done here. Also skies above, what a beautiful love story. Really blazed a trail in non-verbal storytelling (especially given it was an animated kids film!) Robot animations are particularly delightful. 

Zootopia - another social message delivered excellently and entertainingly. I love Judy and her persistence, I love the expressiveness of the faces and the epic city setting. I love Judy and Nick's banter. This movie deserves to be remembered longer than it has been so far. Admittedly, not one of my fave villains, which makes it my least favorite of the Ss. 

A tier (either super high quality or something I greatly enjoy and deem of at least reasonably good quality)

Mulan - this movie did everything right. Truly feminist protagonist, an icon for strong Asian women, fairly culturally accurate (tho Mushu confuses me), GORGEOUS and iconic music. Lets a relatively natural romance develop. I frickin love the action scenes, I love the emporer. Sadly, this movie just didn't lodge its way in my heart as well as Pixar did. Pixar just has some magic, yo. 

Cinderella - my gosh what an underrated protagonist. Her family straight-up abuses her and she never loses sight of her goals for a better life. Iconic visuals helped bring Disney out of bankruptcy. A gorgeous alto singing voice. 

Wreck-it Ralph - alright alright ppl don’t crucify me for this. I honestly can’t think of much wrong with this movie. Vanellope and Ralph’s vitriolic best buds relationship is adorable, her forgiveness of him is heartwarming and (relatively) deserved, rockin’ Owl City song, epic visuals that mix together bc of all the different games. ALSO ONE OF THE BEST DISNEY VILLAINS NO CAP. One of the only twist villains I like. And we stan the romantic pairing. 

Tangled - I’ve talked about this a lot, but Rapunzel deserved the whole world after what she’s gone through. That being said, Gothel is not some shallow monster she needs to escape from, but an intelligent, well-defined monster with backstory. I could totally see this story happening if the world of Tangled existed. Epic love story, hilarious dialogue. Music is… good but much of it is less memorable to me. Visuals are good but not quite at the level/creativity of many other disney films. 

The Lion King - they really put Hamlet in Africa and pulled it off lol. But in all seriousness, no one took the premise of this film seriously at the time and it became sooo iconic. I love Scar and his eventual downfall, I love how Simba grows emotionally, I love the sad moments that don’t overpower the overall feeling of light goofiness. And music so memorable it was one of the first Disney musicals. 

Coco - not a super unique story premise. But an incredible culture to explore with such creativity and sensitivity. I love the themes of death not being the worst and music being so central to the story. Twist/twist villain was memorable and not expected. And yeah, it did make me cry, so props there. 

Ratatouille - the most recently watched of these films for me. This movie is soooo unique! Back when Pixar was truly super out there with their concepts. Super Parisian visuals and soundtrack. It somehow starts goofy (THE OLD LADY TRIES TO KILL REMY WITH A SHOTGUN WHILE WEARING A GAS MASK) but really drives home the message that you can truly do what you want regardless of who you are. Colette can get it. And the monologue by Ego at the end is one of my favorites in film. 

Frozen - Anna is one of my favorite Disney protagonists. She’s so resilient and loyal. Elsa ain’t bad either but she experiences… less character development. The film is a tad too pleased with its own self-awareness for my taste, but there’s no denying how iconic the music and visuals were. 

Inside Out - Alright, this movie hits home for me bc I tried to run away after moving. A super thoughtful, heartfelt depiction of (potentially depression? imo) with great moments of humor. Riley’s inner world is so creative and lovely. Also realistic depictions of Minnesota/California culture. 

Tarzan - Jane! is! smart! and! adorable! Her scientific curiosity makes her very endearing. it’s so cute to see her and Tarzan learn from each other. Also Tarzan’s “found mother” is epic. Solid score. Solid film all around. To quote Lily Orchard, “This film is what Pocahontas tried to be.” 

B tier (one of my favorites but has a few significant flaws that bring it down (or not quite as memorable to me, but consider good quality))

Peter Pan - Haven’t seen it in a hot sec, but I remember being super charmed by this as a kid. Just going out, having incredible adventures, and returning to a warm home at the end of the day. Tinker Bell is hilarious and beautifully drawn. Gets major negative points for the depiction of Native Americans tho. 

Big Hero 6 - I was super charmed by the protagonist, his family/friends, and the setting. The plot/villain’s motivations are a bit of a mess, though. 

Princess and the Frog - This movie has so much flavor to it! The visuals/music are lovely and unique. Tiana is incredible but it’s kinda annoying how EVERYONE keeps trying to shoehorn her into romance. The thing is, her goals are entirely reasonable. Focus on her restaurant, then look to settle down. But they’re like “nooo you’re ignoring the important things in life” smh. Also, epic villain, woohoo! The movie dragged significantly for me when they were in the bayou. Charlotte is delightful. 

Winnie the Pooh - don’t remember it super well, but I think it was charming and occasionally dark, which is an addictive concoction. 

The Little Mermaid - MAN ppl roast Ariel way more than she deserves. Visually, it was… fine. idk. This movie is good. I don’t have much else to say about it. 

Snow White - the one that started it all. Visually, super impressive. Musically, lovely. I find the romance a bit… off. Well, more than a bit. What is it with Disney and kissing sleeping people? 

Alice in Wonderland - a nerdy acid trip. Right up my alley! I also like films where ppl go on incredible adventures and return to the status quo, but THEY changed bc of it. Epic. SUUUUPER creative visual interpretation of Carroll’s book. Brave - gosh I loooove films where a parent and child learn to understand each other. Never got why ppl hated this movie so much. The Scottish flavor is present and fun. Merida made one mistake and made it up. The arrow scene is iconic. 

Cars - a fun ride! (hahaha puns.) We love seeing Paul Newman as a car. 

B-minus tier? (same as B, but problematic, or weaker story-wise.)

Hunchback - man… settings-wise, this film might be my favorite. I also love Esmeralda and Quasimodo as characters and as a duo (though the sexualized depiction of Romani ppl is not epic.) I also don’t find the discrimination against Esmeralda/Quasimodo jarring bc it matches the time period. Frollo is super interesting as a villain. The gargoyles are… def not necessary. Basically, this film doesn’t know what it’s doing with tone. 

Sleeping Beauty - Aurora was my favorite when I was younger because I thought she was the prettiest, and that still defines how i feel about this, basically. Visually lovely - everything is kind of elongated and gothic. Maleficent is spiteful and epic. I have no issue with the fluffier parts of the movie, like the music or the fairies. RIP for lack of consent being a plot point, though. 

Hercules - Megara is incredible. one of the only Disney “princesses” who acts like an adult and has cynicism as a major part of her personality. I love her and Herc’s progression where she learns to trust him (yes, he is genuinely that sincere, it’s not a front.) Muses are unique, whoever came up with them was high on something and I’m living for it. I just think the plot itself was somewhat unrealistic/ weirdly-paced. There are some memorable songs, some less-than-memorable songs. Art style is cool but I’m personally not a fan. EXTREMELY inaccurate depictions of the original Greek gods. 

C tier (entertaining, but I don't consider it a great movie)

Bolt - I watched this like 11 years ago. It was fun! A cool concept about those put on a pedestal learning their worth even without celebrity boosting them up. Animation was… fine I think. not super memorable to me. 

Frozen 2 - They really took any scrap of character development Elsa had in the first movie, threw it in the garbage and set it on fire. Anna deserved so much better. Songs are bombastic and impressive, have the occasional interesting lyric, but are really weirdly placed and none are quite as iconic as the first movie’s (except Aurora, she does great work here. Also the song Anna sings after she thinks Elsa died.) 

Not a big fan of the vaguely homeopathic theme. Not a big fan of Olaf’s WEIRD character development. Not a big fan of the suuuuuper awkward dialogue and the animations that imply not only that Kristoff is into his reindeer but that Elsa and Anna are into each other (if you’re questioning if they did that, yes, they did, I can find screenshots of some really weird expressions/moments. THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO PANDER TO YOUR WEIRD FANS, DISNEY.) 

The voice actors did great work, the animators did great work (look at the details on their clothes! Look at how Elsa’s posture changes to be more confident! look at how they're animated while they're singing!) Some weird costume/makeup choices that make Elsa look like an aging starlet, but she also has some gorgeous moments so eh. It’s a wash for me. 

They really did not know what to do with Kristoff this movie, huh. The only thing that happened to him was singing a cheesy 90s ballad and marrying Anna, both of which were admittedly epic. Also, the trolls got 0 appearances despite being literally psychic. Probably could have helped with a lot. I'm not a huge fan of lore/worldbuilding, and thee was a lot of it here. Overall neutral on it. 

Also a big theme in this movie I don’t love - **** TANGIBLE CONSEQUENCES TO OUR ACTIONS!!! The danger is Elsa’s death, the elements, colonialism, and Arendelle literally being destroyed. None of those end up playing out, so I was left at the end going “this film had literally no stakes.” 

Monsters U - same as above - entertaining at the time! Not super memorable. The ppl we were supposed to dislike kept switching. Doesn’t really match the canon of Monsters Inc (I thought they were supposed to have known each other since childhood so why did they meet in college?) 

Cars 3 - so apparently, everyone HATED this movie! Fun! I never watched Cars 2 (yes watched Cars 1 if you haven’t been paying attention to this list), but I didn’t think this movie was bad at all. Well-acted, some fun chase scenes, the scene where Lightning fails at driving in the simulation is genuinely hilarious, and some interesting perspectives on teachers getting the spotlight for their skills for once. 

Incredibles 2 - I liked this film at first, but then it was… just okay in retrospect. I love me some good family dynamics. The plot here makes not a lot of sense. THEY BUILT UP THE UNDERMINER FOR NOTHING AND THEN FORGOT ABOUT HIM. I was surprised by the villain swap, but it happened so last minute I never really understood their motivations even after they explained them. Tried to tackle waaaay too many messages. 

D tier (I didn't enjoy these or consider them mediocre)

Finding Dory - Maybe I should have put this higher? Like C tier at least. Ah well. Wasn’t a huge fan of the body/physical comedy (not my thing), but it was entertaining and awww finding family is heartwarming. 

Finding Nemo - I remember nothing about this movie. 

E tier (this film has significant problems)

Beauty and the Beast - *sigh*… I want to love this movie. The score is gorgeous. Visually, they could have made it more distinctly Rococo-era France but didn’t (why?) The voice actors did good work and I think Paige O’Hara is SUPER underrated here. 

The Beast is emotionally manipulative with an awful temper that (for MOST of the movie. He doesn’t change.) That’s the main reason this is in E tier. This movie shaped so many generations of people thinking they can change the behavior of someone who treats them badly through the power of love. But you can’t. She learns to “love” the beast under coercion. It’s not Stockholm syndrome - it’s a trashy romance novel. Big fan of Gaston as a villain. He’s an archetype ppl can recognize and it’s so satisfying to hate him.

F tier (I think this film actively harms the industry and would rather it not have been made. Both the one in E tier could be considered harmful to the industry, but I think they had significant enough artistic accomplishments to scrape above that. I'm also generally a fan of "lack of censorship bc it's better to teach what not to do.")

Pocahontas - this movie took real historical events and romanticized them AND sexualized one of the only Native princesses they’ve had. Boo. Nothing wrong with animation!Pocahontas as a character, it’s just people put her in a story that doesn’t represent history well at all (and these historical events, unlike those in say, 14th-century Germany, had super relevant effects on people alive today.) And they portrayed the Native Americans and colonial settlers as equally in the wrong. (though I like Governor Radcliffe as a potential villain and love the line “see how I glitter.” I can’t NOT laugh when I hear it.) Lovely music, though. Nice animation, but the colors are weirdly… muted? 

Bad Garbage (I don't wish this film had never been made, but I wish I never had to see it.)

Planes - this movie was ridiculous. I remember not much about it except that I kinda hated it and that it was super cheesy with tension one could see right through that immediately resolved itself via one twist or another. 

Haven’t seen tier: Recess, A Bug’s Life, A Goofy Movie, DuckTakes Movie, Lilo and Stitch, Pinocchio (actually i have seen this but I remember nothing about it), The Nightmare before Christmas, Toy Stories 1, 2, and 3, Up, 101 Dalmatians, The Great Mouse Detective, Cars 2, Moana, The Good Dinosaur, Pete’s Dragon, Fantasia, Peter Pan Return to Neverland, Fantasia 2000, The Black Cauldron (read the book, though!), Bambi (or I did and remember nothing about it), The Rescuersm, The Rescuers Down Under, Planes Fire and Rescue, Bambi 2, The Fox & the Found, Oliver and Company, Atlantis, Treasure Planet (I want to, though), Piglet’s Big Movie, The Jungle Book, the Emporer’s New Groove, The Jungle Book 2, Chicken Little, Brother Bear, The Three Caballeros, Pooh’s Heffalump Movie, Dumbo, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Aladdin (seen parts but never the whole thing), Strange Magic, The Sword in the Stone, James and the Giant Peach, Frankenweenie, Lady and the Tramp, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Doug’s 1st Movie, Monsters Inc. (want to, though), Meet the Robinsons, Dinosaur, The Aristocats, Robin Hood, The Tigger Movie, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, that pooh movie at the end without the title on it

-11/21/20

#blog #non-sequitura-blog #11/21/20 #november #2020 #longform #analysis #disney

[jlf23tumble]

This one’s for @homosociallyyours and @silverfoxlouis, the former because she’s not going to listen and the latter because they’re listening as we speak! I saw a post earlier that low-key annoyed me because it either misrepresented today’s Stern interview or it skipped right over the fascinating bits, so here are the parts I enjoyed (I won’t waste my time on the shit I hated, lol):

Shrooms and the song-writing process are related to Harry’s anxiety about fucking shit up and needing to get out of his own head; related: coming from a band, if there's something you don't like, you can tell yourself that it wasn’t your choice.

The Rob Stringer talk made me SIDE EYE w/r/t the delay, like, okay, you’re a label boss who’s gonna drop a ton of money, but you’re cool with telling the artist to just relax and take all the time they need, you’ll just pick up the thread when hs2 is completely finished, lolz (I have my own theories about allllll of that, but okay!).

I love Stevie and her coven of nocturnal witches, too, but tell me more about how she hated Harry’s choice of first single (in my heart, she wanted “Golden”) and the song that she thought should have been on the album but isn’t, god, she’s such a yoda, and this entire bit was so much bigger than the coven.

I live in Harry’s soft, breathy “thank you” whenever Howard praises SOTT.

I feel like all the White Eskimo talk is a fic waiting to happen, the whole battle of the bands and them winning studio time and how Harry talks to maybe one of them and there’s a guy who IS STILL IN WHITE ESKIMO I GUESS???? WHAT?

Howard Stern hatesssssssssssss Simon Cowell, so his attempts to get Harry to talk shit were both wonderful and expertly dodged, lmao. 

My only positive comment about the discussion around Harry “putting on some timber” during his bakery (cashier at a baker) years was how much it echoed Louis’s comment about “having extra timber” during one of his recent BTS specials.

Were the guys in One Direction REALLY saying that Matt Cardle was “so fucking good” back in the day? This junior statesman!

Ralph pointed this out when we were talking about the interview, but a lot of the time, Howard just makes statements (as per usual), and Harry says, “Right,” which is a great response because it isn’t really an answer, yet it’s still participatory.

Howard is obsessed with coronavirus, so it was hella interesting to hear Harry’s thoughts about it affecting his tour, when his tour is still so far away (yet another tour is so much closer and in the direct line of fire).

Howard (like me) was pleased that Harry’s band is a mix of women and men and not just dudes (I should take a drink every time Bowie is mentioned, like around Harry’s clothes, how Harry is starting his tour in Philadelphia, the entirety of that convo making me want to see Harry’s face as much as all the xarries want to).

One of the things I hated seeing earlier today was this notion that Howard “forced” Harry to talk about the robbery because he absolutely did not, Harry went into CRAZY levels of detail about it when Howard asked, “When did this happen to you?” (and the way Harry talked about it wasn’t full of trauma or sadness, it bordered on humorous in spots but still serious; it clearly shook him up, but he wasn’t about to let it change his life of feeling free to walk around at night). 

I wanted to hear a lot more about all the musicians hanging out in the ‘70s and being competitive in terms of who was writing the best songs about a particular party vs. the competitiveness of banging out the best single today. Harry’s focus was that if you say you like a song, people think you should collaborate…if two musicians hang out, they're dating or recording (like with Adele, and case in point, Howard immediately asked if they were working on something).

I also loved the bit about acting and how nervous Harry used to be about EVERYTHING because he’s waiting three hours to do three minutes, and he focuses so much on his voice or hands shaking, but this last SNL really helped (in my heart, his “little tweaks” were on the Sara Lee sketch).

I live in the guffaw from Harry whenever Howard unexpectedly hit his funny bone (like Harry saying Anne gave him some money to buy clothes when he first moved to London, and Howard saying it was good return on investment for her, what with the house Harry eventually bought her, etc.).

I absolutely LOVED the entire bit about Ben Winston’s attic (and Ralph’s related takes on it), the fine line of the plausibility yet the doubling down; the word “cocaine” coming out of Harry’s mouth; the parts about dating and keeping your relationship normal/secret, etc., GOLD, ALL OF IT. 

Harry, like Phoenix Mendoza, writes every day, which is part of why he wasn’t really into giving up his phone to muggers because that’s his writing zone of choice for lyrics and poems (the whole robbery clapback here: “for the purposes of not getting mugged again, no, they’re on a different device”).

MITCH SPEAKS!! He was into his Nick Drake phase when Harry met him, but apparently everyone is into the open D (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) chord, so he was a shoe-in. Also, Harry met Adam in 2010??? I’d like more information.

We move back into 1D territory with Zayn’s departure, which is still shittily handled but somewhat more maturedly discussed, and yet another attempt to get Harry to talk shit about Simon, which is getting us closer to what we want/need (Harry’s very real answer to Simon being pissed that Harry didn’t consult him about going solo: “I’m in a band since I was 16, there were five of us, we had a lot of managers, lots of people at the label, and all of these decisions affect your life in a massive way, every decision I made was a group call. I didn't know who I was as an adult,” and a lot of that is paraphrased in spite of the quote marks, but just know that I am screaming LIAM).

There’s a lot of weird downspeak to Sarah and Ny (Adam and Mitch were talked at earlier), but everyone’s very much into Sarah, and rightfully so. I loved the slip up where Howard is trying to figure out if there’s anything romantic going on between Harry and the female band members, and someone says, “Mitch!” so you can hear Howard process Harry and Mitch for a hot sec, cracking the Hitch dream, before we get clarification and Harry gleefully taking us into the story of their love. (Me as the speech Howard gives Sarah and Mitch about how dangerous it is to be in a band together and to have a relationship because if you fuck it up, it’ll be terrible.)

SLEDGEHAMMER NICE.

We get a bit into the “Adore You” video because Howard’s an animal softie, and he loves it (it’s downplayed, but Howard also mentions how fans have put a lot of “thoughts” into the fish), but then we get into talk about how this song is about the girl Harry’s banging (HIS SNICKER HERE) and how the common denominator in all of Harry’s failed relationships is him, huh. All of this relationship talk here makes me want to DIE with how much I love it.

Everyone focuses on the gross talk from Howard about Harry having a lady therapist (this is a long-standing Howard trope), but some good shit disappears between those cracks, like how Harry decided to go into therapy, how he’s keeping his LA therapist instead of having two in different countries, etc., and it’s actually Robin who asks Harry about seeming weak or vulnerable in front of a female therapist, but clearly, he’s not bothered.

I’m so interested in how the shrooms tongue-biting incident cured a speech impediment I wasn’t fully aware of but that is still so impossibly endearing.

Harry himself picks out his opening acts, which we already knew but is always nice to hear confirmed. 

The drug convo in text from earlier today makes it sound like he doesn’t smoke cigs, but to me, it seems like he doesn’t like to smoke weed (an edible king, relatable).

Harry says, “you’ve said it all,” which just makes me think he’s a long-time (or recent) Stern listener, because that’s what Howard says when he’s done/interview’s over.

We think it’s all done but the shouting, and then Robin gets into Harry’s clothing, which is where it gets dicey. Howard (of course) mentions that Bowie wore a skirt and how he himself did full drag on TV (“legs shaved and everything, you should see how gorgeous I am as a woman”), but Harry keeps it very much in the realm of what he wears is what he wears because it’s fun for him, he’s not wearing a school uniform or trying to look cool for his friends, he’s a lot more comfortable with himself: “At shows, I tell people to be who they want to be, I plan on telling my kids that, so I don’t want to be a hypocrite, I’m not wearing it for shock value.” 

Howard says people will assume he’s gay or bi (like Bowie, YEAH, SIGH), but Harry says it’s not performative. This whole bit is fascinating on so many levels, he touches (without saying) on the entire queer-baiting issue, and it’s cringe-y, with Howard saying “I’m not criticizing, wear what you want, I’m a big mess, etc.”

Anyway, they pivot out of that with Howard moving beyond into asking Harry who he wants to badmouth: “Simon?” Harry: “This has been great!” and this entire bit about how Howard wants to know if Harry considers Simon a friend, and Harry saying he doesn’t talk to him gives me life. There’s a lot of gross talk about who Harry has his eye on for his next girlfriend, but I will tell you that I never in my life expected to hear the words SUSAN BOYLE thrown into this convo. 

The interview closes out with Harry getting progressively more silent about the women he should date, saying that he doesn’t talk in interviews about his love life, he talks in music (oh?????), so Taylor Swift comes up, and Harry says it’s flattering to think you’re in a Taylor song because she’s such a great songwriter, which, true, I guess?

Harry hasn’t used a dating app (duh), but Howard thinks he should create one, and…scene. 

#recap #stern show

[butterflydm]

The Magicians Revisited: 1x04 The World in the Walls

Significant moments: As part of Marina’s plan to steal from Brakebills, she’s done a cooperative spell with Julia to mess with Quentin’s mind in order to trick Dean Fogg into lowering the protective wards around the school. I’m assuming she picked Quentin because it’s a powerful cooperative spell so she needs a strong witch like Julia, and Julia’s mad enough at Quentin to be able to use him as a target. Julia might not be willing to trap just any random student into a hell-dream, but she’s pissed enough at Quentin to do it to him. The dream itself is a mishmash of the hospitals he’s spent time in with elements of Brakebills, and it preys on his own thoughts and twists them.

So, potentially, twisted reflections of what’s in Q’s mind — Dean Fogg becomes another authority figure, a doctor. Both Eliot and Alice are very sexually aggressive towards Quentin, and Q turns Penny into a janitor with a heavy accent (which real!Penny calls out as racist of Q’s subconscious).

Julia, otoh, is the actual Julia. Which… man, oh there is so much ugliness to unpack there. Actual, real Julia takes malicious joy at Quentin’s pain in her first scene, and only starts to be worried/concerned in her second, when Q has gone past being freaked out and is so mentally burnt out that he’s non-responsive.

As Julia is leaving from her second visit with Quentin, real!Penny walks into the dream/spell. He sees fake!Penny and is instantly offended which, you know, fair. Anyway, Q asks Penny to find him in the real world and wake him up, and that, at 23-24 minutes into the episode, is the first time we leave Quentin’s head.

On a more acting-based level, I feel like this kind of episode only works when the actor has a rock-solid understanding of who their character is and how their character sees themselves and isn’t afraid to embrace the uglier sides of their character, and I’m pretty impressed at how strong a grip Jason Ralph has on Quentin only four episodes into the show.

In the scene with Julia and Marina, Julia expresses concern over what the spell is doing to Q, and we see that Kady has been watching, too, and Marina is definitely aware of Kady’s relationship with Penny at this time. Kady is also concerned at the idea that the spell could potentially trap Q in his own mind forever. When the later attempt by the Dean and Penny to break Q out of the spell fails, Kady goes to Julia to tell her to reverse the spell because Q might never wake up otherwise. Julia goes to the Dean & Co. and confesses that she cast the spell.

One big thing that this episode does is soften the antagonism between Q and Penny — ironically, being a little inside Q’s head pissed Penny off, but when he was more deeply inside and exposed to more of the trauma Q was going through, he became angry at Julia on Q’s behalf for putting him through that. It did this to a certain extent with Kady and Q, too.

With Jane’s help, Quentin is able to pull himself out of the Web even when the Dean seems pretty certain he’s fucked. Jane looks damn proud of him for it, too. Eliot, the Dean, and Penny are all visibly relieved that he’s awake again. Julia is guilt-stricken as, you know, she should be. Looking forward, I’m relatively sure this is the ugliest thing that actual, shade-having Julia ever does to anyone. Anyway, not only has she set fire (for now) to her relationship with Quentin, she also gets kicked out of Marina’s hedge witch group for betraying Marina.

In Q’s last scene in his head, we get him quoting from the books, “Jane saw only one way out for him: stop playing, start living”, which ties into the “live your life here” throughline that’s been thrown at Q a few times over the course of the series. That’s also tied into the ‘stop overthinking’ theme that Q gets a lot, too. Q runs into issues when he lives inside his head instead of living his actual life in the real world, and this nightmare that Julia and Marina trapped him in is just an extreme manifestation of that tendency of his.

That’s actually also related to that flaw of his that I mentioned in the 1x03 post — where he holds other people accountable for his emotions. That’s him living like he’s in a Scarlatti Web all the time, where other people are just projections of his fears and desires rather than being, well, other people. And that’s the epiphany that he has during the endgame of the Beast arc when he gives the… god’s come… to Alice instead of drinking it himself (what is this show that I had to write out that sentence). That he is not the sole protagonist, that he is not the only person who has emotional importance. And that life is actually better when he embraces that truth, because it means that he can actually see other people for who they are and not as echoes of his own thoughts. It was really great character growth, until- well.

Magic: 1. Quentin "wakes up" trapped in a mental world created by a cooperative spell cast by Julia and Marina called a Scarlatti Web. 2. Quentin is able to cast a fireworks spell while in the Web. 3. Jane is able to penetrate the spell enough to send a vision of her younger self to Q to try to get him to work on breaking the spell by giving him hints about where to look. 4. There was a magician in Fillory named Ellesworth Downs, who was cursed by a witch to only be able to cast game magic. 5. Kady tries to cast healing magic on Q; it fails. 6. Marina uses a spell to light her cigarette. 7. The wards are lowered to allow the bug-spirit in to save Quentin. 8. Marina uses magic to get into the room where the stolen memories are kept. 9. Jane is able to get to Q again after the first part of the spell is broken, and she tries to let him know how to get out of the spell. 10. Marina pulls Julia to her side. 11. Marina crosses out Julia’s hedge witch stars and kicks her out of the bodega.

Relationships: Quentin & Julia: estranged friends Quentin & Eliot: friends, confidantes, romantic undertones Quentin & Penny: frenemies? I think they qualify as frenemies now Quentin & Alice: estranged friendship?, crush Penny & Kady: romantic & sexual relationship Kady->Penny: manipulative relationship Marina & Julia: burned bridges Marina -> Kady: blackmail/extortion Quentin->Kady: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Kady->Quentin: friendly enough to be concerned about him & pissed at Julia for being willing to turn on him Jane&Fogg->Quentin&co: manipulative mentorship Eliot->Julia: contempt Kady->Julia: contempt/anger

Physical contact: Fake!Eliot searches through Q’s pockets for pills, grabs Q’s hand and presses it against his chest and pushes it down his body. He puts a finger on Q’s mouth and smacks him on the ass as he leaves. Fake!Alice grabs Q’s face and kisses him. Julia reaches out to touch Q’s hand during her visit to him. She brushes his hair out of his face. Fake!Penny grabs Q’s hand to show that Q was palming pills instead of swallowing them. Q grabs pages out of his fake roommate’s hands to keep him from destroying the books. Q touches several of the residents of his mind during his musical number. Q shares a hug with his fake father. Fake!Eliot and Fake!Alice do some very close sitting with Quentin during the montage after he’s been told that he tried to kill his father. Julia touches Q’s knee in her second visit with him. Penny shoves Quentin against the wall. Q shoves him back, Penny shoves him back harder (as requested). Marina smacks Kady’s ass. Q pickpockets one of the fake nurses for a key into the office to finally get some tape to fix the pages of the book. Penny shoulder-checks Eliot a bit (not too hard) as they’re looking for Q’s body. Penny slaps Q’s face to try to wake him up. Fake!Penny and another fake employee of the hospital haul Quentin off to get the lobotomy. Dean Fogg touches Q’s forehead after the attempt at breaking Q out of the spell. Eliot pets Q on the head after he’s woken up from the spell.

Character Notes: Quentin: he last saw his dad (Ted) a few months ago; they had dinner. Actual Alice, in real life, does not appear in this episode. Only the fake Alice in Q’s head. Margo does not appear in this episode.

Students: Marina used to attend Brakebills; she was kicked out three months before graduation.

Timeline Notes: Quentin fell asleep at a party on Tuesday and then went under the spell. Penny arrives in the dream on a Wednesday.

#TMRevisited #tmwk2 #the magicians #long post #text post #keeping track of things

[make-it-mavis]

( It’s been a year and a couple days since I first re-read my old fanfic and fell back in love with it, leading to picking it up again. Now seems as good a time as any to do a mushy post that’s as long as my arms will allow!

The past five years have been really rough. A handful of undiagnosed mental illnesses and conditions on top of just shitty circumstances really took their toll. Been in and out of jobs, lost a lot of friends, had rough times with family, been in near-constant financial trouble, and lived with an abusive roommate for three out of those five years. It feels like I’ve been locked in full-on survival mode for so long, I forgot how to relax, how to actually enjoy myself, and, really, I feel like I lost touch with who I am as an individual and what matters to me.

And then, on top of all that, I was forced to rely solely on art commissions for income for almost two years. I was drawing things I hated almost every day, and honestly, sort of forgot why I draw in the first place. My art has always been how I understand myself and the world around me. I understand now just how strongly tied it is to my well-being. Somewhere along the line, my art stopped being for me. I had no voice in it anymore.

I had no voice at all. And I didn’t think I had anything of value to say.

Then, in an effort to reclaim old loves that I’d abandoned because they’d been deemed ‘cringey’ by others, I gave a shot at reading my old fanfic that I was certain would make my skin crawl. It was a mess. It was poorly planned, had no plot structure, and inconsistent character writing.

And I fucking loved it. 

I think I loved it more than anything else I’ve ever made. Because when I made it, it was for me. All the good parts about it, parts that I still read and go “There’s no way I wrote this!”, all came from me making something purely from a place of love and self-validation -- it all came from me, in my purest form. The whole story was me! Messy, all over the place, but clever, charming, quirky, and bursting with love. 

When I read it again, I swear I could physically feel a spark ignite in me that had been out for so long. I remembered that I was a person. I’m still working on this. I’m a person with thoughts and feelings and ideas that matter, a person who can make something as wonderful as this fanfic that had made me so happy. 

Reading my old fic made me remember that I matter. There are things inside me worth a great deal, and they’re worth sharing.

Then, deciding to reboot the old fic was a big deal. Thanks to a lousy, traumatic childhood, I kind of have major struggles with being open about how genuinely I enjoy certain things, out of fear of being ridiculed for it or having that thing mocked. And, well, let’s face it, a Wreck-it Ralph fanfic with an OC that’s definitely romantically involved in some degree with a canon character? By most people’s definitions, that’s cringey as fuck. That’s something that’s hard to be open about. But I’m really pushing myself with this to do what I want to do, and trust that my own interests and ideas have value. I’m pushing myself to pursue what makes me happy, and not cave to that chronic shame in me. And you know what? It’s going great! I can’t make much right now, unfortunately, but what I am able to do, and the constant ideas I have flowing, I love all of it! And I love that I can make something that I love again! My relationship with my own creativity is better than it’s been in years.

As for my rainbow trash daughter? Writing Mavis and being in her headspace has been so therapeutic. She’s a shameless mischievous asshole, which is not only a good way to vent my inner snark, it’s really forced me to loosen up and get creative. When your character is a prankster with item-creation power, you really gotta get loosey-goosey with it. She’s also really fed the more colorful, adventurous side of me -- I’ve noticed I’m trying new things more, pushing through my anxiety, and laughing easily. I think writing her has just really encouraged me to not sweat the small stuff, and take every opportunity to be playful and have fun. Hell, I’ve even gotten into an exercise routine because of her and the fic -- walking and listening to music is how I get my ideas. She’s brought out degrees of my old optimism I missed so much.

Mavis just means a whole lot to me. She represents a lot more than what she is.

Turbo has been a bit more of a struggle, but I’m really happy with how things are going with him now. I had a lot of anxiety around my personal interpretation and portrayal of him, especially in relation to Mavis, because he is a fan favorite and there is a smattering of other good Turbos on here and canon characters doing almost anything with OCs is always under major scrutiny, but now? Now, I say, fuck it. I did what I wanted with him back then, and I’m forcing myself to do that now. That’s what all of this is about, after all -- doing something for me. Developing and embracing my Turbo is just another step in this huge journey of self-love and it feels great.

And, of course, the shitgoblins together? I mean, how good does it feel to write your own OTP, lmao? Everything that their weird and broken and delightful relationship is, all the goofy playfulness and heavily-masked sweetness and gut-wrenching heartache, all of it means so much to me, to be able to write that. Because it’s the most self-indulgent thing I’ve made in years. I love it. And hearing that you guys love it just pulls back the rotten dusty curtains of my heart and lets the sun shine in. It makes me so genuinely happy, because this all comes from such a genuine place for me. 

It says to me, “We’re hearing your voice, and we like what we’re hearing!”

God.

This all means so much more to me than just a fanfic or an OC. This has been my therapy. This has been me recognizing that I deserve to be uniquely and unapologetically me, no matter what anyone else thinks. Everything I’ve done with this over the past year has been a radical act of self-love and self-acceptance.

And I want to thank you all so much for sharing in it with me. It means the world to me, it really does.

With the mushiness sufficiently scrawled, I will close by saying: 

Happy anniversary to We Can Make It 2.0! )

#「ᕮᗩSTᕮᖇ ᗷᑌᑎᑎY」ᴼᴼᶜ

[cutegirlmayra]

I'm actually interested in the difference between Japanese Sonic/Amy and American Sonic/Amy. I know that Japanese is more pro in the games themselves and in marketing, but do you have specific examples? Also slightly off-topic, but do you think there is a reason why Sonic universes outside the games (Sonic Boom, Sonic X, the comics from time to time) are more liberal when it comes to Sonic/Amy moments? I have one or two ideas but I've never quite put my finger on it.

(Official SEGA Sonamy artwork: Sonic Advance 3 -that is meant to be funny lol-)

I’d be more than happy to oblige!

Much like the Anime Trope, these two fall into a rather old but still used one. Girl chases the main hero, main hero either is oblivious or doesn’t show any response to the affections.

SEGA has stated Sonic is ‘Shy’, since he can’t just ‘be oblivious’ to Amy’s open affections… nor can they state he’s ‘neutral’ when that could mean he’s ‘ignoring her’ which would go against Sonic’s natural good heart.

So it’s ‘ambiguous’. Verses- Neutral.

However…

This does in fact differ when it comes to translations.

Examples:

Sonic Adventure 2 Battle:

American: Amy, take care of yourself.

Japanese: Amy…. -long, dramatic pause- Take care of yourself..!

This scene suggests that Japanese Sonic actually paused to think about what to say to her, and also suggests that he felt it was ‘him who should take care of her’ which in Japanese, is very touching and borderlines romantic intent.

American Sonic sped this long pause up to where it was quick and more of a - Winky charm. Whereas, with Japanese, it was more tender and addressed specifically so that more emotion was conveyed. (Some would say at a deeper, more personal level that Sonic wouldn’t natural show anyway.)

—-

Sonic Riders Zero Gravity:

American: Girls hate it when you rush them, Jet!

Japanese: Girls hate stubborn men!

This scene discreetly shows Sonic stepping up to defend Amy, but what’s interesting is that American Sonic is simply telling Jet to back off, whereas… Japanese Sonic is suggesting that Jet stop ‘flirting’ with her. ‘Stubborn men’ suggests that he won’t ease up his targeting her, and is mostly stated for when men are trying to win a girl over -negative connotation at times-. Japanese Sonic is being sarcastic for humor’s sake, but also warning and calling out Jet. Whereas, American Sonic is simply teasing and poking at Jet to turn his anger to himself instead of Amy. (Some, again, would argue the response technically means the same thing, but when you look at the two cultures, you’ll notice that ‘stubborn men’ is more addressed to men who won’t leave a woman alone. -cat callers end up getting beaten up by the main heroes?- In other-words, Japanese Sonic was acting more personally defensive with interceding Jet and Amy; whereas American Sonic was offensive in protecting her and directing Jet to himself for the fun of another race/rivalry.)

—-

Sonic Generations: SEGA of Japan actually stated that Sonic putting his hand up to Amy’s face and pushing her away was out of character. (Something about Sonic not treating his friends like that? I’m sure in Japan, that kind of behavior is considered extremely rude…)

—-

Sonic Adventure:

American: She’s so weird!

Japanese: Amy! Wa-wa-wait just a minute! Sheesh, guess I have no choice…

American Sonic is a bit ‘too cruel’ to most viewers in this scene, though it’s meant to come off as comical. However, in Japanese Sonic is more naturally surrendering to going after Amy’s lead, startled by her suddenly taking off into the park. (Far less harsh, if you ask me.)

—

Sonic Lost World:

American: Hey, Amy! Looks like springtime’s come early!

Japanese: Yo, Amy! Glad to see you’re okay.

Clearly, the difference is substantial. Japanese Sonic has a tender-care to his words as he addresses Amy, showing he remembers her last ‘farewell’ message and is relieved she’s alright. Whereas, American Sonic is going for the joke, being more peppy instead of relieved and commenting on the environment instead of her directly to her. (Some could say she reminded of him of spring… lol okay, I say that. But spring hints at things, okay!? lol)

—-

There are plenty others, lol. But I don’t want to make this too long.

Overall, American Sonic in the Modern Games is much more ‘for the pun’ and ‘about images’ than Japanese Sonic, who still keeps up ‘face’ but also warmly encourages his friends and treats them respectfully. Most of the American Written games have been stated to be ‘out of character’ by SEGA officials.

America treats Sonamy much like they do their franchise, a meme or joke to be poked fun of. Whereas, with a much more refined atmosphere, Japan treats Sonamy as an endearing and lovely couple. Though both resign to say they can’t really see Sonic ever ‘settling down’ or really being focused on romance. And,… that makes since to me. Knowing who Sonic is. But even that doesn’t mean he can’t have a crush XD (The heart wants what the heart wants, lol!)

My honest opinion?

American Sonic get awkward and werided out by Amy, but still cares about her well being.

Japanese Sonic is shy and uneasy with Amy’s antics, but he appreciates her.

And that’s all folks! ;Db If you’d like more discussions on Sonic or pairings, I’ll try and let you know what the facts verses opinions are!

—WOAH! there was way more to answer in this than what I thought! Let me try and.. here we go!

American Amy comes off as a bit much and mood-swingish. Japanese Amy is more caring and understanding of Sonic.

In Sonic X, Japan has a scene where Amy admits that Sonic may never really want her idea of love, he may never even want a family! But she’s not going to give up trying, cause she does love him.

In America, Amy just complains about Sonic not coming on the date and possibly stating he doesn’t care about her.

Japanese Amy is also shown as ‘playful’ in her culture, and her actions are more reflections of ‘positive attributes’ for the culture. America tries to twist and make this ‘funny’ instead of ‘loveable’ and that throws audiences off.

—-

Most Japanese Companies are very ‘tight’ with their characters, protecting them from being ‘out of character’. Nintendo for one is famous for this ‘tight-grasping-hold’ over their characters being portrayed well.

Sega of Japan knows they have too many people using their characters, and so they created ‘Mandates’ to make sure they stay in line. The reason other medias of Sonic are so ‘liberal’ is because Sega of Japan doesn’t ‘closely watch/inspect/is right in their faces’ to be able to regulate it. And honestly? The officials were more concerned about if it’s making money and getting exposure than anything else. They’ve tried to change that policy, visiting America more to secure some credibility in the characters. They first tried this with Sonic Boom but ended up seeming to abandon it. (I don’t blame them) but they have been here more recently with Sonic Mania; Giving me hope that Sonic Forces will be regulated to more ‘in-character’ themes. (Also, the original writer is Japanese, meaning America JUST has to translate correctly)

Most companies generally want to make sure they still have some control over their franchises, mandates and other rules are not uncommon. SEGA is rather ‘looser’ in their holds then Nintendo, for example though. Nintendo will shut down a fan-project that doesn’t treat their character in good light, or even caution Hollywood like with Wreck-It Ralph and Bowser. They gave some particular suggestions for animation and the like on him. SEGA just had fun with it, cause I didn’t hear much of anything from the interview with the director about them other than they ‘were fully on-board!’.

Sonic Boom got away with Sonamy through loopholes and ‘less supervision’ at times. But they have their limitations too. (Other characters comment on Sonic and Amy, but never Sonic reacting/stating blunt comments. Amy could, but they’re going with a more ‘discreet/quiet’ love when it comes to Amy’s crush.)

Sonic X was by SEGA of Japan, they’re allowed to / can do whatever the heck they want. -z formation, hip rotation, snap, snap, hair flip.- It’s 4Kids (illegal?) editing of original content that sometimes messed up translation. But there are things that were only exclusive to Japan’s release. (such as Natsu no hi which was confirmed to be from Sonic’s POV, along with the anime bubbles at seeing Amy in her ‘dress’)

Archie had their hands tied with some strict contracts, such as ‘Sonic can’t have a permanent girlfriend’ and ‘Sonic can’t show any interest in Amy’, but even Ian admits some hints and others in Archie have stated their ‘case’ on the matter too. (One even admitted he thought Silver was Shadow and Amy’s kid xP

Now, I’m not trying to dis America. They’ve survived a lot. But I know where most confusion comes from is that the company can’t decide ‘what Sonic is’. This can be problematic, along with bad marketing ploys. So it’s not entirely their fault. Other forces are to blame here too. Such as the fandom sometimes placing their opinions on things as facts, without checking sources sometimes.. (It happens -shrug-)

I hope this helps! ^^ (If there was something I missed or misunderstood regarding your question, feel free to ask me again! I wrote this at 6 in the morning so if somethign doesn’t amke sense, you call me lol)

#sonamy #sonicxamy #sonic #amy rose #cutegirlmayra #sega of japan #sega of america #sonic the hedgehog #sonic and amy #sega #sonic team #sonic x #sonic games #sonic riders zero gravity #sonic adventure 2 battle #sonic adventure 2 #sonic archie #archie sonic #sonic boom #boom!sonamy #modern sonamy #sonamy boom #sonamy modern #ask cutegirlmayra #cutegirlmayra ask

[sveasauvageon]

I can't go when you look this freaking beautiful || GW

☾♔; March 14, 2018 ☾♔; sotd: idk ☾♔; comedian otd: idk ☾♔; GW: Side Character Audition ☾♔; {G} https://goo.gl/XSTtMc ☾♔; mod(s): @themadmonarchist @maybones et moi  

FINALLY DONE WITH THIS

Me every time Russia sends a "love, love, peace, peace" type song to Eurovision: *rolls on the floor laughing my arse off and literally dying from the irony*

GW SIDE CHARACTER TEMPLATE

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ஜ۩۞۩ஜ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀Viggo Asbjörn Rasmus Sauvageon, (21)

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Un jour je suis prédateur ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Un jour je suis la proie ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Un jour j'ai chaud au cœur ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Un jour j'ai tellement froid ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀-⠀Au Coeur de moi - Amir

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ஜ۩۞۩ஜ

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⚜️ THE BASICS

Nickname: Vig, V/Vi, Vígi, storebror (Svea and Lili)   Gender: cis-male Date of Birth: December 24 Place of Birth: Lake Mälaren (it's in Enköping, and next to the Sauvageon estate. He was born in an underwater cave)   Nationality: Swedish Ethnicity: caucasian (swedish/frankish descent), also half-fish person.   Accent: Swedish Blood Status: half-blood/half-breed, he's half-merperson (hey, theoretically, it's possible in the wizarding world, plus, see; Shape of Water, The. 😛)  

Profession: Curse-Breaker for Rökstenen Wizarding Bank (the Swedish counterpart to Gringotts)

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⚜️ PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Face Claim: Mooms-mooms, I mean Måns Zelmerlöw

Hair: short, black, sometimes dark brown, soft

Eyes: brown, turn into a deep sea-green when he's angry or feeling like a huge surge of love (as in the emotion, don't be gross, also, not limited to romantic love, basically any love that would qualify for "save the world" level up's in anime characters)

Height: 1.74 m/5'7"-ish (he's so short, I mean, I can't really judge being a measly 5'2", but still)

Weight: idk

Body: slim, fit, super hot swede, wannabe James Bond tbh (did he dreaming of being bond as a child? Maybe.)

Any Scars/ Marks?: not scars exactly, but he has sort of scale-like cravings. Like groves in a stone wall, except on his skin and in the shape of scales. He has a large section on the right side of his rib cage, left shoulder blade going down in a slight diagonal angle to the right back of his hips (decreasing in amount as it moves down his back), left angle, and left wrist.

Any Tattoos/ Piercings?: n/a

Quirks/ Mannerisms: - not really a mannerism of his, but always ends up as a thing for Svea to lean on, since they're basically the same height, and in heels, she's taller than him.

Style: as "erratic" as his cousin's, but generally well-tailored, and figure-flattering. Likes wearing shirts that are a bit too tight (ala Marvel superhero tight), but generally walks around either in suits and ties, or a superhero shirt (as in the fit and not a graphic tee) and jeans. Favours Dolce & Gabbana, Ralph Lauren, Burberry, and Guess (because he's a fu.cking nerd).

Additional Information:

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⚜️ PERSONALITY:

Head cannon: Super dorky, super cute. Like Svea, he's super Swedish (ie liberal socialist), but he's a lot nicer and pleasant (well, she's not, not nice, but she's also not nice, ya feel?, less elitist is the phrase I'm looking for). Literally sunshine, he's pleasant and joyful and a lot of fun, somewhat reckless, quite a mess, very loveable. Tiny bit of a wh.o.re (manwhøre, yes, but why do men get a different word that doesn't really have a negative connotation), he's never single. He's always dating someone or "causally" seeing someone. The longest he's been single (since joining the dating game) is a week.

Personality (+ 5, - 5): dork, nerd, smarter than he looks/acts, playful, thrives in stressful situations, prefers to have leadership "thrust" upon rather than actively seek it out, sweet, thoughtful, bad at flirting (seriously, it's embarrassing), lazy magic user (like that stupid scene in fantastic beasts when Tina's sister used magic instead of just sliding her hands into the fu.cking robe herself, that's mooms-mooms. I mean Vig), more vain than he cares to admit (spends a surprising amount of time on his hair every morning), act first-think later type of idiot (will jump into a dark tomb for the # adventure without even checking for curses first), adventurous, reckless, silly, quick on his feet, adaptable, resourceful, loyal, protective (though, usually it's him getting protected, he's more of a sweet summer child with a somewhat hidden armour of steel, valyrian steel)  

Any mental health issues: - bursts into eurovision songs spontaneously, usually with Svea. Like, it's technically not an illness, but at this point, I'm pretty sure I've got it.

Favorite Quotes/ Sayings that your character would use: - "I am Thor, God of Hammers." (Probs Syn: You are Vígi, god of the losers) - "I miss when I had two feet of authority over you." (To Svea, also Syn tbh, pretty she and Svea are the same height) - "you wanna be my Waterloo?" (Vig, attempting to flirt. Tbh, Svea would say the same thing. They have a Eurovision problem) - "a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor" (someone off in the background: you're half-fish, and a curse-breaker)

Additional Information: - I was originally thinking of "Au coeur de moi" as his theme song, but it's so definitely "I can't go on" by Robin Bengtsson  

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⚜️ BIOGRAPHY

Relation to your OC: paternal cousin, like once removed? No, twice removed. he's the son of her grandfather's sister's son.

♣️ Family Background

:: House of Sauvageon ::

The Sauvageon's are a very family old wizarding family, they were originally French, and later immigrated to Sweden in the late 1700's. Unlike most ancient wizarding families (particularly the British ones), they have never shied away from breeding with muggles and muggleborns, often gaining the label of "blood traitor" from the British families, but they're Swedish, and blood density is irrelevant there. There are as liberal and socialist as their country. Despite being loathed by the blood purist-type families, they are still approached very few generations for marital matches, as they are exceedingly wealthy and when the aforementioned house runs out of options.  

One could say he's from a branch family, they're no longer the main family, technically, but are still closely related and also still have the same name. So it's more like a developing branch family. His grandmother (Frida) was Svea's grandfather's (Ludvig's) younger sister, so I think that makes them cousin's twice removed? Or is it three times? I don't know, this sht always confuses me (in my defense, I do have around 6000 cousins, and I don't know how I'm related to any of them. Not even joking about that tbh).

Sauvageon aesthetics (with a tiny bit about both Vig and Svea's maternal families, still editing it though): https://goo.gl/u4nRiU

--only father-side relations listed here-- ▪️ Father: Acke Bengt Adrian Sauvageon | Alex Jennings | 56 | former socialite (kind of missing, lives underwater)

▪️ Grandmother: Eira Katja Karita Sauvageon | n/a | deceased former politician (in the muggle world, rose to mayor of Enköping)

▪️ Grandfather: Danil Benjamin Sauvageon née Vengerbojrn | n/a | deceased (muggle businessman - ran KronLund, which specialized in developing luxury estates, hosting events, and owns far too many wineries. He changed his surname upon marrying Eira, half-Icelandic)  

▪️ Uncle (father's brother): Edvard Ragnvald Fritjof Sauvageon | n/a | missing, disappeared whilst exploring Geiranger Fjord in Norway

▪️ Cousin (closer than Svea and Lili, biologically): Frej Egil Fredrik Sauvageon Bernadotte, Duke of Västergötland | Matthew Goode | 36 | businessman/royal consort (took up control of KronLund after Danil's death, later married the crown princess of Sweden and added her house's name to his. All children of the marriage shall take the name of the royal house)

▪️ Cousin-in-law: Crown Princess Kristina Ulrika Viktoria Margareta of the House of Bernadotte, Duchess of Västergötland | Vanessa Kirby | 32 | heir apparent to the Swedish Throne

Main Sauvageon family/extended family: ▪️ Great-uncle: Ludvig Sauvageon | Patrick Stewart ▪️ Great-aunt-in-law: Linnéa Sauvageon | Judi Dench ▪️ Uncle: Petter Sauvageon | Colin Firth ▪️ Aunt-in-law: Iliana Drubetskaya | Lena Headey ▪️ Cousin: Svea Sauvageon | Cara Delevingne ▪️ Cousin: Lena Sauvageon | Dafne Keen ▪️ Aunt: Brigitta Sauvageon | Gillian Anderon ▪️ Uncle: Kåre Sauvageon | James D'Arcy

:: Maternal "family" :: A merwoman calling herself "Freyja", whilst he's visited his mother and her "family" many times, he's still not quite clear about which merpeople in the Lake he's related to, and which not, nor even how he was born (*cough* conceived but ew *cough*). They basically just sing and sht when he's underwater, and then he goes up, kind of in a haze and with a mild euphoric feeling, like he's been drugged.  

Although he doesn't know much about his mer-family, according to Swedish mermaid legends, they're known for helping lost sailors and are generally considered a friendly peoples. They largely help deal with the lake's grindylow population.

♣️ Family Affiliation: Swedish Ministry of Magic, Durmstrang Institute of Magic (not a happy association, but it's their homeschool, and most Sauvageon's have attended it, including Vig himself), House of Bernadotte, House of Châteaudun (and their successive houses), and the Riddarhuset (The House of Nobility in Sweden -- don't really have any power or special tax exemptions anymore, basically protection of historical titles and coat of arms), Rökstenen (that's more his personal affiliation though, since banks are seperate entites run by goblins who employ some humans)

♣️ Socio-economic status: meh. He technically has a lot of money via family, and earns quite a sum from Rökstenen, but he's one of those rich people who are oblivious to how much things cost (making him slightly disaffected, though, in his defense, he was rasied in palace, basically)

Quick facts: Vig was born underwater in Lake Mälaren to Acke Sauvageon and a merperson who calls herself "Freyja", they're still not sure if it's her real name. He was born with mostly the physical features of a regular human, so he was taken above water to be raised by the Sauvageon's, his father, however, remained underwater (originally he sustained himself via gilly weed and the bubble head charm, but eventually became an animagus and lives as a blue tang because Dory). Closest in age to Svea out of her generation of Savaugeon's, they essentially grew up as siblings, and even attended muggle school together for a time before it was time for him to go to Durmstrang. To say he did not like it there would be an understatement, he nearly flunked out of his dark arts classes out of pure protest, but later actually tried since the information would come in handy when he decided he wanted to be curse breaker. In his 6th year, he attempted to petition the school to change their rules and let muggle-borns in, but lacked support from his fellow students and was ultimately unsuccessful.  

Additional Information: n/a

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⚜️ HOGWARTS INFORMATION Hogwarts Stats: N/A

Whilst a (half-)wizard, Vig did not attend Hogwarts, but instead went to the Scandi homeschool; Durmstrang. Like the other Sauvageon's who attended Durmstrang (as well as Swedes in general, because JKR didn't even fu.cking google Sweden before making it the Scandi school, it's a socialist country, and unlike Denmark and Norway, isn't allergic to migrants!), anyway, like the other Sauvageon's and Swedes, he did not like the school, especially it's attitude towards muggles and muggle-borns (his own grandfather being a muggle). Despite his hatred of the school, he did well, earning the equivalents of Outstandings and Excellents in his exams. Svea jokes that he would've been an "uncool Hufflepuff" (probs would've been in Ravenclaw though, he's smarter than he looks. And acts).

Any Pets?: does Lili count? Not really, she'd reducto his as.s if he said to her face.

Reputation at Hogwarts: doesn't really have one, he only shows up to the events that open to non-students/family, and would really only interact with friends of Svea and/or the Lothbroks. I guess his rep would be "hot dude that sometimes shows up". Also, just to be clear, he literally has nothing to do with the Hogwarts social hierarchy (just in case anyone got confused).  

Additional Information:

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⚜️ INDIVIDUAL MAGIC

Wand: Rosewood Wand Core: Unicorn hair Wand Length: 10½" Wand Flexibility: Swishy Patronus: Arctic Fox   Boggart: drowning (appears as his almost-corpse, like pale and wet, but like seizing and struggling to breath) Amortentia: burning wood (like the scent that arises from a bonfire), cinnamon, sea salt Affinity to any particular magic?: not exactly, but he's naturally drawn towards water related spells and sea type plants. It's not super special, they were just the easiest for him to learn and work with when he was still in school, having completed his education, he's perfectly skilled with other stuff now too. Additional Information: - great singer both above and underwater, underwater it becomes more ethereal, known to occasionally leave listeners with an ecstatic, somewhat loopy feeling, like marijuana does to muggles - he's incapable of performing any of the unforgiveable curses.  

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⚜️ USER INFORMATION

Username: @drownedinmoonlight Activity Level (Scale 1-10): 8

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⚜️ OPTIONAL Playlist: Moodboard: Social Media (instagram, facebook, snapchat, twitter, etc) : Storyboard: Aesthetic Collection: Wardrobe/Style Collection: Plotting Set: Story:

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ஜ۩۞۩ஜ

When you have completed the audition, please tag the mods: @.drownedinmoonlight @.themadmonarchist and @.maybones and use the hashtag #GWnpc

Also, don't forget to add it to the group. Happy character creation!

#polyvore #audition #mine #gw #viggo sauvageon #template

[livingwithashipname-blog]

Ermanda’s Inner Sanctum: Scorpion 4.09 “It’s Raining Men (of War)”

Happy Thanksgiving to my US peeps!  Yet, let us not forget the Natives who view this holiday very differently!  Anyways, this episode was awesome!  We learned about a pivotal moment that shaped Cabe’s life.  Robert Patrick and Eddie Kaye Thomas’ acting was superb!  I have enjoyed Cabe and Toby’s time together in this arc.  I also liked the mission because it talked about NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), garbage patches in the oceans, and techniques implemented to remove them.  It tied well with Scorpion’s plight to book jobs where their inventions and solutions can be used long-term and fix their financial deficit.  I applaud the art department for the look of the trash mound and the VFX team for the aerial view of it in proximity to the team’s rented boat! 👏🏾👏🏾  I have some interesting topics for this review, so let’s get started!  

Learning More about Florence Tipton

The writers are making a very quaint distinction with Florence Tipton.  She is a chemist, but she is not a genius.  She can relate, but she is not exactly like the members of Team Scorpion.  However, her personality is very similar to Mr. 197, which is why Toby makes that pot & kettle pun in response to Walter’s description of her.  During the mission, we learn what motivates her independent work.  She’s trying to redeem herself from failure and rejection.  She is so eager to prove herself once again that she doesn’t take kindly to distractions of any kind.  It is also why she presents her binding agent to the team when it hasn’t been properly vetted for practical efficiency.  It is commonly said that pride comes before a fall and Florence falls HARD when she projects onto Paige.  But Paige, acting as the skilled communicator she is, finds a way to get through to Florence in the same way she does for her geniuses!  She has exposed an emotional opening that I think will become significant in upcoming episodes!  

Papa Cabe 

“I’ve realized recently that I’ve been messing a bit with my memories… been rewriting them over the years. I’m not gonna do that anymore. It’s okay ‘cause I got a great girl and I’ve got great friends. No matter what the future holds for me, I want to remember this moment right now exactly as it is. ‘Cause to have you all in my life… I am truly thankful.”

Cabe’s speech is so touching because of the truth it possesses and what it represents!  This process has been hard for Cabe because he feels like he is failing himself and Scorpion in the same way he feels he failed his father.  He completely constructs a new memory in order to cover his shame over his father’s death.  It explains a lot more about why he is who he is.  This is why it’s no surprise he fears old age as we saw in 3.17 Dirty Seeds, Done Dirt Cheap.  His whole life is his way of subconsciously overcompensating for his perceived lack of bravery and a means to honor his father’s legacy as a lawman.  The idea that his humanity while on the job could land him in prison and strip this identity is really hard for him to fathom.  He is convinced that a hardened exterior keeps him objective for the purposes of his job.  The most important thing he needs is support from his loved ones.  The support he receives from his children and Allie give him the strength he needs to endure this legal battle.  I truly appreciate this reality expressed on screen in this manner!  

Walter’s Legacy: The Influence of Ralph, Happy Quinn, and Baby Quintis

Walter may not have considered fatherhood in the past, but he has always taken great pride in the development of young minds and making his mark for the next generation of geniuses.  We see this when he meets Ralph for the first time in the pilot and recognizes his genius.  This reality becomes more apparent in his interactions with Ralph throughout season 1.  He acts as a father figure and mentor to Ralph, sometimes overstepping his boundaries out of passion over Ralph’s potential (1.21 Cliffhanger).  

Walter: Do you see what you're sacrificing by leaving, by taking Ralph away from us? Paige: I have to think of his safety. W: Earlier today, you invoked the greater good so that I would team up with Cabe. But do you just throw that term around? P: My son nearly died because he wants to be you. W: Is it so awful being me? Being around me? P: I just don't want him to become you! W: What is your solution? Keep him in a cocoon? Have him watch you move to Maine to follow some guy who's already abandoned you? That's idiotic! P: That guy is his father, Walter. You are not. I... I have to go. Good-bye, guys.

He encourages Ralph’s academic pursuits and respects his intelligence, reminding him to never diminish himself for the sake of others (2.22 Hard Knox).  

Walter: I couldn't understand the details in your incredibly complex code. I used to think that I-I had the fourth highest IQ in the world, but now I realized that you have dropped me down to number five. Ralph: That's what got you upset? W: (laughing) No. No, what upset me is that you were willing to slow down for me to-to let me go down the wrong road, when that would've hindered you, because I couldn't grasp your work. Never hobble your intelligence for anyone... because if you do that in this garage, imagine what you'll have to do out there... for humans. The world needs to catch up to you... because if-if it can, just a little, imagine what a... a beautiful place it could be.

However, Ralph is not the only person in this series used as a means to future possibilities.  Happy Quinn's individual growth and her relationship with Toby repeatedly serve as examples of life goals Walter can achieve.  Happy Quinn is his closest friend.  He trusts and admires her and has a lot of respect for her intelligence and abilities (3.05 Plight at the Museum).  Plus, they are alike in many ways.  

Walter: I know Toby believes that I only think about myself, but I will do what is necessary to protect your family. Even if that means that I have to go back home to Ireland. Happy: You are home. We're not losing you, and we're not breaking up Scorpion. We'll do whatever it takes. You talk nonsense like that again, I'll punch you in the neck. W: Toby's a fortunate guy. You know, I know ours isn't a real marriage, but since the day I met you, you've been a faithful friend, you've come through for me when I needed it, you've helped me build Scorpion from nothing. That's loyalty, selflessness, collaboration. If those are the traits that one looks for in a spouse, then you've been a... You've been a great wife. Thank you.

At first, he rejected the notion of romantic love.  He had a no-fraternization rule for his employees because he thought romance would make his employees less efficient and possibly as a means to conceal his own fraudulent green card marriage to Happy.  Now he believes he is capable and worthy of love and seeks to understand it in his own way.  He roots for Melvester, Quintis, Callie, and Ralph x Patty!  He never thought he would have children because he didn’t think he would be a great father.  But Happy’s evolution, Quintis’ parenthood quest, and his own familial bond with Paige and Ralph are slowly convincing him that he can succeed in these pursuits as well.  

W: But you and Toby… I hired you. You would’t know each other if it wasn’t for me. So if you had a child, if would just be something I take a lot of pride in. H: Fine, you’ve touched my heart. Walter is on the list. Just don’t tell Toby.

I think it is by design that Toby (seasons 1 & 2), Happy (season 2), and Ralph (season 3) are the three people so far who have encountered Walter just before he makes MAJOR moves in his personal life.  He may be egotistical, but he strongly desires to leave a mark on the next generation in the hopes that the hub he created for his team will continue to flourish in his absence.  This is why he is so eager to be an important figure in Baby Quintis’ life.  He brought Toby and Happy together by hiring them, which planted the seed.  He wants a little credit, which is not surprising for a man who focuses on research, not athletics. 😂  If not by name, then maybe he could be a godparent.  Yet, I have a feeling choosing godparents will turn into a competition like the one for Quintis’ Best Man & Maid of Honor!  We all know how that turned out!  #dejavu 😉😂😂😂😂😂  

It’s Official! Toby & Amy Reunite! 😱 

I don’t usually address spoilers in my reviews, but this one is EPIC!  As you’ve likely heard by now, Toby’s ex-fiancee, Amy Berkstead, wife of his nemesis, Quincy, will be introduced on screen in episode 4.13 Apocalypse Nerd, which premieres after winter break (premiere date unknown right now)!  The actress, Shantel VanSanten, is slated to recur this season.  Given the current arcs, her occupation as a geneticist doesn’t seem like a coincidence!  This news is very exciting because we are finally meeting a character who has been mentioned in the series and has a history with a member of the team.  It’s logical to assume that she knows Toby in ways Happy and the others do not.  Although it might not always seems as such, Toby hasn’t talked extensively about his past, except for the few quips here and there about his parents and gambling experiences.  (Here’s looking at you, writers! 👀)  Therefore, this development opens possibility to get more Toby backstory the fandom has craved for a while through Amy.  The Baby Quintis storyline also gets interesting in the wake of this news.  If Happy isn’t pregnant before Amy’s arrival, then the events of this episode in relation to this arc will provide more clues to the eventual direction of Baby Quintis’ introduction to the series (biology or foster; end of S4 or during S5).  Is it possible that Toby, Happy, or both of them reach out to Amy for fertility and conception guidance?  As a geneticist, she can provide a unique perspective on fertility even if that is not her specific scope of practice.  All I know is things just became interesting!!!  So excited!  

Drabbles…

Toby smells a fish! He knows there’s more to Cabe’s story! Time for experimentation!

I love that Paige and Happy went grocery shopping together and discussed baby things! This is what I want for my ladies at this point in the series! 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾

Really Walter? Walina? The looks from Happy and Paige… 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂💀💀💀

I know the fandom has really advocated for a girl named Grace after Happy’s mother given all the promptings surrounding that theory for Baby Quintis. But what significant names would you choose if Baby Quintis is a boy? My first thought is Marcus after the middle name Toby wished he had instead of Meriwether. 👶🍼

Chair of Blades… have I heard this before?! 😉😉😂😂😂

A fish-based protein shake inspired by Walter’s brain food regimen? Sounds like 2.23 Chernobyl Intentions all over again! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Wardrobe mention: What is up with Paige and these blue blouses?! Still wondering if this connects to something significant. It’s a nice color on her! This is why I keep throwing blue hearts on all my Waige mentions. 💙💙💙 Hehehehe!

Ralph was trying to prevent a problem and only created a bigger one! Oh pobrecito! Florence wasn’t having it! Insert Mama Paige!

Walter comes to Paige’s defense on her parenting skills! 😍💙🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾

Florence and Walter are having an ego-filled IQ scuffle! Something about this exchange feels like deja vu. Maybe Toby has something to say… W (to Paige about Florence): She’s arrogant… and condescending. T: Hi pot! I see you’ve met kettle. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂💀💀💀 #likeforeal

The formula on the board is nice, but I am shocked at how neat it is on that board. Who wrote it down? It had to be Paige! 😂😂😂

Happy with the launch gun… 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

S: I’m having a little bit of trouble dropping the anchor. H: Have you tried a high fiber diet? W: That kind of humor is Toby’s influence. (Happy smiles) S: Guys, seriously, I’m jammed up! H: I’ll let that one lie. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂💀💀 Happy Quinn, wife of Toby Curtis, everyone! This is the content for which I live!  More Quintis playing with their little brother, Sly! 

H: Since when does Toby force my hand on anything? W: He got you to marry him. H: Touché. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂💀💀💀💀

W: I’m just saying that history has had its share of exemplary Walters. F: Milwaukee North Side Strangler, Walter Ellis; Sir Walter Raleigh, founder of the doomed colony of Roanoke; and, of course, Walter Mondale. W: What wrong with Mondale? F: He lost 49 out of 50 states. (looks to Happy) So if you want your kid to grow up to be a loser, that’s your choice. W: Just spread your worms. F: Heh, my buckets are empty. H (smirking): Yeah, me too. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂���😂😂😂😂😂💀💀💀 Anyone else think that “spread your worms” sounds like a funny innuendo? 😉😂😂😂

Sly and the harpoon gun… 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

W: I focus my time on research, not athletics. F: (looks Walter up and down) Yes. 😂😂😂😂😂😂 Looks like Florence’s focus on Tae Bo is helping her out today, Walter, while you’re stuck to figure things out on a quickly disintegrating island of trash! 👀😂😂😂

I was thinking about what Toby would’ve said if he was there or listening via comms the whole time Happy climbed across that rope. You know he would say SOMETHING about the possibility of Happy being a goner if she entered that water with the jellyfishes!

S: We have extra plastic balls from when we launched the binding agent. We can fill them with my protein shake. H: Paige, I will talk you through modifying the launcher so it can properly toss Sly’s lunch. F: Really? Could you people be any less mature? P: …we could be infinitely less mature. Happy could’ve easily said it was time to launch Sly’s balls, but she didn’t. S (to Florence): Hmph! Me: Tell her Paige!!! 👊🏾👏🏾👏🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

It’s so funny how Walter automatically listens to Happy just like Toby does with her. And yet, he doesn’t know how Toby does it. Um, hello pot! Meet kettle! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂💀💀

PAIGE LAID THE SMACKDOWN ON FLORENCE!!! FLO TRIED IT, BUT PAIGE SAID, “NOT TODAY, SWEETIE!” Paige is great at her job! She’s working well with Florence.

Anyone else see that smile from Florence when Paige accepted her apology? I think we have found an emotional point of entry! 😉

Florence might have failed with her binding agent, but she came through with the sealant!

Well, well, well, 👀 who decides to save Florence and acknowledges her future scientific contributions are a part of the greater good! We see you, Walter! Someone has developed a sense of respect in the midst of a small moment of redemption. 😱👀😉😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

How many zippos has Happy surrendered at this point in the series?! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

W: Oh Happy, if I ignite, will you tell Baby Walina I was a hero? H: That’s never gonna happen. W: What? Me igniting or you naming the baby after me? H: Don’t make me choose. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂💀💀

Jadyn Wong is so flippin’ gorgeous!!! That shot of her taking off that apron with her hair tossed to the side… 😍😍😍😍 I’ve got a girl crush!

Y’all… neither Toby and Happy really cook for themselves. So what are they gonna do when they have kids?! That will change real quick when the food bills for that kid start racking up! 👀😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

It’s so funny how the team has decided to say “Flo” instead of “Florence” and Florence keeps correcting them each time! 😂😂😂😂😂😂

T: Cabe, you did not fail your father. And you’re not failing us. You’ve taken care of us for a long time. Now it’s time to let us take care of you. 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 I sense this will come back again later down the road… 🤔😉

I get really giddy when I see Allie with Cabe! CALLIE!!!!!!! *insert fangirl scream* ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

#ermanda's inner sanctum #cbs scorpion #s04e09 #it's raining men (of war) #cabe gallo #walter o'brien #florence tipton #scorpion cbs #team scorpion #episode review #livingwithashipname

[4ever-untitled]

The Emoji Movie trailer is just about what you’d expect.

So…a couple things with this.

First off, can we be done with this “inner workings of __” or “hidden world inside __” trope already? Wreck-It Ralph and Inside Out did it first and did it the best that them and probably anyone else could so we should really move on. But the people at Sony Pictures animation don’t know how to move on, which is not good news because this trailer makes it seem like The Emoji Movie is leaning less toward Inside Out and more towards Foodfight.

Of course, Hollywood would never pass up a chance to ride that sweet trend combined with the worldwide phenomenon of Emojis. Plus, they’ve literally given themselves an excuse to make characters that are completely one dimensional and full of easy jokes. How could they resist? 

I’m guessing the meeting where they pitched this took approximately 45 seconds. What they’ve done here with the Emoji’s, which to be fair could have led to some actual fun and creative ideas, is so easy and expected that I could have written the script myself. Let’s break it down. Emoji’s are used to show an emotion. If one were alive, they would have to show that emotion at all times. With that basic knowledge in mind, the conflict pretty much writes itself: one Emoji goes rogue and starts expressing other emotions. He’s exiled by society, supported by other outcasts, and eventually shows everyone the error of their ways. Happily ever after for all the Emojis and all the Sony Pictures producers’ wallets. 

The trailer starts with an introduction to our protagonist Gene the meh emoji, played by T.J. Miller, who is disowned by his parents after he starts to showcase other emotions and messes up his first day on the job by making the wrong face when he was called forth to be used in a text. Recently T.J. Miller has gained a bit of notoriety for his supporting role in the Deadpool movie and his hilarious portrayal of Urlich Bachmann in HBO’s Silicon Valley. The fact is, T.J. is a hilarious and talented actor, and the other fact is that he is still early enough in his career where this will probably be considered his “breakout role” and will most likely be what many remember him for, and the third fact is that it breaks my God damn heart. James Corden is already at star status, Maya Angelou has already proven herself, and (As much as this also pains me considering he’s playing a character literally named Poop) Patrick Stewart is a respected enough actor where he’s allowed to do silly things like this. But I will never forgive Sony if they take a talent like T.J. and ruin his chances at being taken seriously just as his career was truly taking off. (To T.J.’s credit, his performance is actually pretty entertaining, particularly the ending scene where High Five throws up a candy corn. Good to see he’s at least trying to make this character interesting.)

Anyway, the rest trailer is cliche garbage as expected. Gene is sent away to the island of misfit emojis or whatever and meets High Five, a goofy lovable sidekick played by James Corden, and Jailbreak, a real badsass hacker girl/ extremely uncessary love interest played Anna Faris. Together they try to reach the “core” so Gene can finally “fit in” (Yeah, I don’t fucking know either). Oh there’s also a human love interest named Addy. Also yeah there are humans in this movie. We’ll get to that later.

I just have a few questions first. So the whole plot is that Gene feels more than just the emotion he was assigned (Born with? I don’t know how Emoji’s are created and I don’t think I want to) and is shamed for it by his parents, but shouldn’t that rule only apply when they’re “on the job” so to speak? If an emoji is not actively being used, why can’t it just relax and show whatever emotion it wants? I mean to be fair Gene does fuck it up when he actually has be used in a text, but that was due to his nervousness, not him wanting to feel some other emotion. Imagine if the people at Disney world had to keep up that fake always happy demeanor even when they got home. It makes no sense. Assuming that the creators of the Emoji movie weren’t going for some Orwellian dystopia with a totalitarian government that controls everyone’s minds, this feels unnecessarily cruel towards Gene and appears exists only to serve the films overdone moral of “Express yourself” , “Be true to who you are”, “Don’t let them tell you what to do” etc. ad infinitum. Also, wouldn’t it be cool if it turns out Emoji land actually was ruled by a brainwashing dictator and Gene had to start an underground group of vigilantes to overthrow him? Now there’s an Emoji movie I would look forward to seeing.

More questions I have: Did Gene’s parents ever have to work as an Emoji? If you’re not being used for messages then what do you do in this world? Are the non-face emoji’s supposed to adhere to certain standards as well? Do the animal ones have the act like that animal all the time? Why would I assume the writers gave any deep thought into this at all and will actually answer these questions in the movie?

Now let’s talk about the humans. I mean, it makes sense to involve humans because we are the ones who use Emojis but I hope they don’t become too much of a plot point because underdeveloped human characters are such a bore to watch. At least with the Emoji’s we get something cartoony and silly, but with real people it feels less fun. And do we seriously need TWO romantic sub plots? One is too many, and adding another in the mix is sure to result in some next level eye-roll-inducing forced chemistry.

When this film does come out (July 28th if you’re curious) and is as trash as we all thought it would be, I’m hoping we can at least learn something from it. We need to teach these kids movie companies that we DO NOT WANT THIS. We have to let them know that we expect something thoughtful and unique for our children, not just pretty colors and fart jokes. So parents, next time you want to watch something with your kid, watch a Pixar movie, or put on an episode of Adventure Time. Don’t give in to the money grabbers. Find creators who are passionate about their work. Our kids deserve better. 

[randomrichards]

MOVIES (THAT MIGHT BE) WORTH CHECKING OUT IN JANUARY 2020:

January 3:

THE GRUDGE

We begin with an attempted reboot of the hit horror flick based on another hit horror film.

Based on the Japanese import Ju-On, the film centres around a curse born from a fit of anger that attacks anyone who dares to enter a house. The pale boy ghost and the contorted woman became instantly iconic, especially when they made that crackling sound. Of course, people in North America are more likely to recognize its remake The Grudge. While not on the same level as its predecessor, the American was still a hit. It has become so iconic that there was a crossover movie where it faces off against the ghost from Ringu.

This time, the target is Peter Spencer (John Cho), a real estate agent who intended to sell a house not realizing it contained the title curse. Believing a homicide occurred, Spencer calls on Detective Muldoon (Andrea Risborough) to investigate. But they fail to realize the curse inside dooms all who enter it with a violent and it’s coming for them.

Here’s another of a long list of Horror remakes Hollywood has been peddling in the last decade. For every good one (It, Child’s Play), there are three times as many failures (the recent ones being Pet Semetary and Black Christmas). I’m not having much hope for this one. It can still be good, but it needs a director with as creative a vision as Takashi Shimizu’s.

THREE CHRISTS

Based on The Three Christs of Ypsilanti by Milton Rokeach, Three Christs tells the real-life experiment involving three men who claim to be a certain savior.

In Michigan’s Ypsilanti State Hospital in 1959, Dr. Alan Stone (Richard Gere) conducts a revolutionary experiment where he brings together three men (Peter Dinklage, Walton Goggins and Bradley Whitford) who each claim to be Jesus Christ. He hopes to use this experiment to force them to confront their delusions. It would certainly be preferable to electroshock therapy.

A real-life story like this comes with a lot of potential. But with the director of Fried Green Tomatoes helming this project, it looks like this will be a typical biopic. This is a shame with 4 great actors working together.

January 10:

1917

Sam Mendes, the director of American Beauty and Skyfall, takes us back to World War One and hopes to enter the Oscar Race with his latest war movie 1917.

Generla Erinmore (Colin Firth) tasks young British soldiers Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) and Schofield (George MacKay) with a difficult mission. 1,600 of their fellow soldiers are heading into a fatal trap and the two soldiers must deliver a message calling off the raid before tomorrow morning. And one of them is Blake’s brother. Racing against time, Blake and Schofield are forced to rush through enemy territory to deliver the message on time. Benedict Cumberbatch also

The film is already garnering high praise for its gripping suspense and graceful camera. It’s already garnering nominations at the Golden Globe Awards for Best Dramatic Motion Picture, Best Director and Best Original Score. It’s especially getting praise is how it makes the film look like one long camera shot following the two leads through their mission.

CHHAPAAK

All the way from India is a film inspired by real life acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal.

This film looks at Malti (Deepika Padukone), a woman horribly scared after an acid attack. The film follows her through her physical treatment and eventual trial. It looks like the core of the film will be her journey of emotional healing, regaining her self-worth with the help of loved ones.

Unless you know films that show Bollywood movies, I suspect this film will be hard to find for many people. Kind of a shame

JUST MERCY

Writer/Director Destin Daniel Cretton (Short Term 12) brings ups the real-life story of a lawyer who battled systemic racism to free an innocent man.

Harvard graduate Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan) heads to 1980s Alabama to assist advocate Eva Ansley (Brie Larson) to defend those wrongfully convicted. His first and most important case is Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx), who was sentenced to death for the notorious murder of an 18-year-old girl despite evidence proving his innocence including a group of people who could vouch for him.

As Stevenson works prove McMillian’s innocence and those of other death row inmates, he faces up against an uncaring political maneuvers and systemic racism.  But neither he nor Ansley will let this stop them.

Audiences love and underdog story and this one is sure to satisfy, especially with Jordan, Larson and Foxx starring in the film. It’s also sure to offer some catharsis for those frustrated with current systemic racism. But this could by a typical biopic forgotten by the end of the year.

January 17:

BAD BOYS FOR LIFE

I’m going to be brief because I don’t think we’re going to get anything special from this movie. This film is pretty much a checkmark of every plot element you see in every Buddy Cop movie. Cop considering retiring. Check. One last job? Check. Training arrogant young upstarts? Check. A forever disapproving superior throwing a tantrum of our heroes. Check. It doesn’t matter how flashy the trailer is, a cliché is a cliché.

But then again, the original two film were also piling of buddy cop clichés. The only thing they had going for them was Will Smith’s charisma and Martin Lawrence’s over the top delivery. Only the second movie was memorable thanks to some well shot, over the top action scenes. But I highly doubt this one will be memorable when Michael Bay has backed out of the film.

We don’t really need another Bad Boys movie, especially when we have the Fast and Furious series and the John Wick movies.

DOLITTLE

The famous physician who can talk to animals returns in a new reboot. This time the Doc is played by Robert Downey Jr, fresh from retiring his iconic role of Tony Stark after 10 years. It also looks like it will be going back to its roots as a fantasy story set in the Victorian era. There’s not much plot summary to go on, but judging by the trailer, it will have him setting sail on an adventure alongside his animal friends. At the core of the film seems to be his friendship with two kills. Also, among the cast are Jessie Buckley as Queen Victoria and Antonio Banderas as a pirate.

There is an all-star cast voicing the animals, including Tom Holland, Emma Thompson, Ralph Fiennes and Rami Malek just to name a few.

This film seems to rest its shoulders on Robert Downey Jr, hoping his charm will do for Dr. Doolittle what he did for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But the film lives and dies on writer/director Stephen Gaghan, who is an unusual choice for a family fantasy considering that his resume consists of gritty war movies like Syriana, Traffic and Rules Engagement and crime drama tv shows like The Practice and NYPD Blue. He’s even written for the video game Call of Duty: Ghosts. It’s strange that someone with this resume would be chosen to reboot this franchise. It’s especially risky considering the original attempts to adapt Hugh Lofting books for the big screen. But if Martin Scorsese can make Hugo, there’s a chance Gaghan can make Dolittle work

The first one was a musical that tried to bank on the Sound of Music’s success but was an epic flop. It didn’t help that lead actor Rex Harrison was a notoriously difficult drunk who couldn’t sing. In fact, his behind the scenes shenanigans were way more interesting than the actual movie as proved by Mark Harris’ non-fiction book Pictures at a Revolution. Decades later, 20th Century Fox reboots the franchise was a hit thanks to Eddie Murphy as the title character and a variety of comedic voice actors (especially Albert Brooks, Chris Rock and Norm McDonald) voices the animals. No matter the quality, there’s a weight of nostalgia for both movies with many people growing up with these movies. This film will face the challenge of pushing past the nostalgia.

WEATHERING WITH YOU

From beloved anime writer/director Makoto Shinkai comes another romantic fantasy about two teens.

Teenage boy Hodoka (voiced by Kotaro Daigo) runs away from his isolated island home for Tokyo. Homeless and desperate, Hodoka takes a job as an assistant for journalist Keisuke Suga (Sun Oguri). His job involves finding “The Sunshine Girl”, a local teen girl who can control the weather. He soon finds her in Hina Amano (Nana Mori), a cheerful teen girl living with her brother. He is in awe with her power when she freezes the rain and love soon sparks. But messing with nature comes with a price and soon Hodoka and Hina are fighting to stay together.

Of all the movies on this list, this is the one I’m most excited to see. Once I saw his recent his Your Name, I was in pure awe. Never has a sunset looked more beautiful than in Shinkai’s anime. Every environment in Shinkai’s films enchant you with their vibrant colours and stunning details. Just as beautiful are his fantastical stories of young people growing up. At the core of each story is teens in love kept apart by unusual circumstances, whether it’s distance or time or even being in each other ‘s bodies.

This film’s already a major hit in Japan, which is very encouraging for anime fans.

January 24:

COLOR OUT OF SPACE

And now for something a little weird.

Nathan Gardner (Nicholas Cage) has moved his family to a remote farm to escape city life and live a life of peace and quiet. Then God was like “LOL No!” and sends an asteroid down their way. Then weird shit starts happening, most with colours mutating everything.

With a crew like this, you know you’re getting into some crazy shit. First, the film is based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft, the inventor of cosmic horror and the man who gave us Cthulhu. Then there’s co-writer/director Richard Stanley, known for his odd genre flicks including Hardware and Dust Devil.[i] And then there’s Nicholas Cage, whose as well known for his scenery chewing Kabuki acting as his acclaimed Oscar-nominated roles. Last year, writer/director Panos Cosmatos found perfect use of Cage’s Kabuki acting in the ultra-stylized revenge masterpiece Mandy. Let’s be honest, the only types of films Cage’s Kabuki acting can work are either stylized, unintentionally hilarious or tongue-in-cheek. With the producers of Mandy working on this film, there’s high hopes it will be deliver on the stylized goods.

THE GENTLEMEN

After remaking Aladdin (and making lots of money in the process), director/writer Guy Ritchie returns to his roots with his latest English crime comedy The Gentlemen.

From what I can gather, the films about an American Pot Dealer (Matthew McConaughey) who plans to sell off his Empire in London when a young gang led by Dry Eye (Henry Golding) starts a drug war. There’s not much plot to go on, but with a Guy Ritchie movie, the plot will be way too complicated to explain. What is guaranteed is that there will be lots of oddball gangsters with weird names, hilarious and gruesome deaths and shit blowing up.

The film features an all-star cast including Charlie Hunnam, Colin Farrell and Hugh Grant continuing his streak of getting his groove back by playing against type.

So far, Ritchie hasn’t made a film that’s reached the same level as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels or Snatch. For the most part, he has been unsuccessful stepping out of his comfort zone. Here’s hoping The Gentleman will bring his back on his A Game.

THE TURNING

This day concludes with a modern take of Henry James’ classic novella The Turn of the Screw.

Kate (Mackenzie Davis) is hired as a governess for care for her boss’s orphaned niece Flora (Brooklyn Prince) and nephew Miles (Finn Wolfhard). But as she cares for them in a secluded mansion, she comes to realize they are being haunted by hostile spirits. Can she protect them for what lies in the mansion?

The film has been remade multiple times, with the most acclaimed one being the 1961 classic The Innocents. This once changes it up by setting it in current times, with a notable scene of Miles creeping Kate out with drums. The film also gives some Conjuring vibes, especially with its cinematography. But it should be noted that similarity doesn’t equal copying and there could be some unique elements in this film.

There certainly is a good chance with director Floria Sigismondi will offer a unique vision. She has already directed episodes of stylized shows like The Handmaid’s Tale, Daredevil and American Gods, but she’s already well known for her stylized directing from her work in music videos. Since Marilyn Manson’s “The Beautiful People”, dilating, jittery camera work has become her trademark, working alongside artists including David Bowie, Bjork, Christina Aguilera, Katy Perry and Justin Timberlake (just to name a few).

January 27:

BEANPOLE

Here’s the film Russia hopes will be nominated for Best Foreign Language film.

Set in Leningrad in 1945, Beanpole centres on Masha (Vasilisa Perelygina) and Iya (Viktoria Miroshnichenko) struggling to trying to rebuild their lives in the ruins of a city demolished by war. At the core of film is the infertile Masha hiring Iya as a surrogate mother.

There’s not much go on, but with the film winning Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival, there’s good prospects for this film. It seems to be a character drama like Roma. Here’s hoping this film’s as quietly engaging as Alfonso Cuaron’s masterpiece.

January 31

THE TRAITOR

We conclude this with an Italian biopic about Tommaso Buscetta, the first Mafia Informant in 1980’s Sicily.

Tommaso (Pierfrancesco Favino) was a member of the Cosa Nostra. Then in 1983, half of his family is killed in a gang war. Now he intends to make them pay using the arm of the law. He knows the mob will do whatever it takes to stop him, but he’s more determined than ever. But as the trials continue, Tommaso will show the rabbit hole goes deeper than the law expected with political figures in the mafia’s pockets.

This is another film that may fall by the wayside, which is a shame because this film seems like a great biopic. It could certainly give overdue attention for director/co-writer Marco Bellocchio, who has remained a criminally overlooked director despite making acclaimed movies since the 1960s.

[i] And being fired from the Brando version of Island of Dr. Monroe.

#random richards #Grudge #The Grudge #The traitor #Tommaso Buscetta #pierfrancesco favino #marco bellocchio #Beanpole #vasilisa perelygina #viktoria miroshnichenko #marilyn manson #The turning #turning of the screw #henry james #finn wolfhard #mackenzie davis #the gentlemen #colour out of space #hp lovecraft #Richard spencer #nicholas cage #weathering with you #dolittle #bad boys for life #just mercy #chhapakk #1917 #three christs #john cho #MOVIES (THAT MIGHT BE) WORTH CHECKING OUT IN JANUARY 2020:

[claritywithachanceofnuance]

What Rear Window Taught Me About Our Current American Moment

I have always wanted girls to like me. When I was younger, I studied leading men in movies and on television, hoping to develop an arsenal of moves and phrases that would keep my lips in business regardless of my proximity to jukeboxes I would coax music from with one perfect slug. But somehow, my voracious gaze usually internalized the quirky sidekick so instead of accessing my inner Fonz, I wound up acting more like Ralph Mouth.

In retrospect, I understand that my chief obstacle to achieving studliness was the fear that for all I wanted from whatever girl I liked, I had little to offer her in return. I was too young to recognize how badly I was objectifying the fairer sex, and too cowardly to realize that I’d learn more from talking to them than I would from men onscreen, but I did sense there was something fundamentally unjust about my approach to women. To glorify my girl troubles, I convinced myself that undermining my own desires was a form of beauty worship- that I was protecting the people I liked by keeping my filthy paws to myself (which of course, I did with vision-compromising frequency). Maybe I sensed that the comic relief was also more introspective and self-deprecating than the hero and thus more kindred with me. But whatever the explanation I was an absolute mess of competing desires and fears. I lacked clarity.

So of all of the lady killers I guru-ized, from nebbishy Dr. Bricker charming the pants off of passenger after passenger to street smart David Addison making some weird toast to a lady at a bar and jump-cutting to putting his clothes back on the next morning to Brando wiping an eyelash out of a damsel’s eye as pretext to kissing her, the strongest impression I got was from Jimmy Stewart’s portrayal of J.B. “Jeff” Jefferies in Rear Window. While Jimmy Stewart wasn’t as obvious a surrogate of romantic overachievement as Richard Dreyfuss or Woody Allen, he neither was as beautiful as Paul Newman or Brad Pitt. His attractiveness relied heavily on his personality. Hoping against hope that my own personality was still fledgling enough to sculpt into something charistmatic enough to make Grace Kelly throw herself at me, I replayed every interaction the two actors had, hoping to crack the code for what made a creature that delicious fawn so shamelessly over a tortoise-like fuddy duddy, and maybe more importantly, how he handled it without betraying any sense that his reception of her unbridled affection sullied her beauty. And what I found was that, in line after line, he remained steadfast, unruffled by any temptation his girlfriend offered to coax him from his principles. Never mind how easily he was drawn into Perry Mason’s backyard intrigue, the more interesting story for me was how he faced off with a woman far more self-possessed than any I had ever met, and emerged equanimous, his code dominating hers. The chief quality his character exuded was clarity (romantically, at least).

To extend the analog, I did not start ferreting out heinous national crimes until George W. Bush was sworn in. Much like our current moment, my outrages and heartbreaks were daily. And really it was not until his winning a second term (still can’t call it a re-election) that I was able to calm down and realize that the apocalyptic tenor his opposition assumed was a tad overheated. It’s not that I thought he was a good president or even decent human being, overseeing the most violent foreign policy of my lifetime and snickering all the way. But I began to understand that my own life was only different by knowledge of events far away from me. And the local injustice I did combat had very little to do with W. None of his supposed draconian domestic policies affected me at all. And moreover, I noticed how unflappably Bush administration officials would react to damning evidence presented by news program moderators. And while I question the validity of the principles they clung to, there is no question that they withstood the onslaught of opposition through firm rooting in some central idea that was more important than whatever cudgel of facts Tim Russert employed to unmoore them.

Trump is not like this. He’s undisciplined and insecure. But he champions one idea and it’s what delivered him those rust belt states on November 8: America First. I have paid close attention to Steve Bannon, not to look for evidence of his evilness, but for the source of his strength. America First. Strange as it may seem, no public figure has been touting that as clearly as Trump has for a very long time (with the notable exception of Pat Buchanan, but somehow he frightens people that Trump doesn’t). Regardless of their cultural sophistication, vast segments of our populace believe that American sovereignty has been undermined by soft immigration policies and globalist trade agreements. I am well aware that our current economy would not benefit from tariffs and mass deportations. But I am also aware that us coastal elites don’t give a shit about American First. Meanwhile, the Sconies, Michiganders and Pennsylvanians sure as hell do.  This is their lodestar, and why they think we’re dumb no matter how smart we think we are. Whether they’re right or wrong is beside the point. The point is American nationalism has been given a bad name and right wing talk radio has spent the past 20 years priming its audience to fight back against maligners of our sovereignty. Why does America First feel so threatening? It’s not a question to be answered by an argument packaged by Rachel Maddow or Charles Blow. It’s a question for us to grapple with individually, without all the media noise. Do we want to grant citizenship to anybody who shows up? Do we want trade agreements that bleed jobs by the millions in favor of cheaper goods? Many of us on the left expect the top 1% to pay more taxes to fund programs to help the poor. Would we be willing to pay extra for clothes and electronics if it guaranteed more jobs for men and women struggling to put food on their tables?

We are in a heated moment and if I get any reaction from this (or if anybody reads it at all) I would anticipate it to be pushback against any advocacy of normalizing Trump. And I am sympathetic to that vigilance. And I remain virulently anti-Trump myself. But I am wary of the chasm between resistence and support. Like many marital arguments, I suspect a lot of I’m right/You’re wrong could be ameliorated if not upended by greater communication. I see so much eagerness for scandal and disaster, so much longing for vindication. It’s natural. But setting aside what a gaping, fetid asshole Trump is, what idea do we have that’s better than America First? Because when the most prescient man in America doesn’t understand how resonant a message is, how can we justify skipping our own personal recalibrations?

Fight for refugees, fight for immigrants, fight for workers, fight for minorities, fight for the press, fight for your neighbors and yourselves. But while you’re at it, see if you can reconcile inclusion and sensitivity with a shoring up of American sovereignty. It’s actually not that hard. And it will help us win.

#politics #donald trump #resist #america first #sovereignty #rear window #jimmy stewart #grace kelly #alfred hitchcock