#who knew beauty by muppets existed

[jinx-on-mars-19xx]

#just gonna leave this here #i cant not see it #meme by me #who knew beauty by muppets existed #jinx edits

[bengiyo]

Comfort Films Tag

Rules: List 7 of your comfort movies, then tag 7 people.

Tagged by @callipigio

1 - Shelter (2007)

I often joke around here about how I’ve been watching queer cinema for over half of my life at this point, and it’s easy to recommend this film. This is a coming of age film about a guy who gave up art school to become the primary breadwinner and caregiver for his family. However, when the older brother of his best friend returns to their town to collect himself, our artist and he reconnect and find something special between them. Great use of a young actor in this shores up the caregiving aspects.

I’m probably going to rewatch it now. Because it was produced by Here! TV, you can only legally watch it via a subscription to their platform. I own it on DVD because I fell in love with it and knew I needed to keep it forever.

2 - Big Eden (2000)

Big Eden. Oh, Big Eden. This is the film equivalent of a warm blanket and a tight hug. It’s about an artist named Henry Hart, who is preparing for a big exhibition in New York when he’s called back home to Montana because his uncle has had a stroke. We are greatest with the most queer-friendly town to ever exist as Henry manages his old angst about his straight best friend as the local general store owner also secretly pursues him. It’s absolutely lovely.

3 - The Blues Brothers (1980)

Luna has great taste, because this is one of the best films ever made. What was originally just an SNL bit turns into a fun road film about getting the band back together so that two brothers can raise enough money to pay the back taxes owed by the orphanage they grew up in. We also run over Illinois nazis in this movie and demolish dozens of cop cars. Cab Calloway, James Brown, Carrie Fisher, Chaka Khan, Paul Reubens, and Aretha Franklin are in it. John Candy orders orange whips. This is the kind of film I would watch with my dad any time it was on.

4 - Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

This is one of the most man movies ever made. I don’t know any woman who wants to sit down and watch this film, but me and boys will spend an entire afternoon on this film in a heartbeat. The sexual tension between Russell Crowe’s and Paul Bettany’s characters goes unremarked on this website in a way that lets you know for sure this hellsite is dominated by femmes, because those two have definitely fucked. At least twice. It’s 1805 and oceans have become battlefields!

5 - Clue (1985)

A movie based on the board game of the same name should not have been this good, but it instead goes on to become a camp masterpiece. Many people will end up remembering Tim Curry for Rocky Horror or even Muppet Treasure Island, but this is still one of his favorite performances for me. This film is batshit and I love it. 

6 - Camp (2003)

Speaking of camp films, let’s talk about one of the best of all time. I know we often talk about the bad singing in Thai BL, but I unironically love all of the musical theater in this film. I regularly listen to this soundtrack, and have been for over 15 years. It’s a film about a bunch of weird theater kids who get to escape the bullying and hellishness of their lives for a few weeks during the summer, where they get to put on a bunch of classic plays. It’s so camp. I love this film because it was difficult for me to find queer films that had happy components with them, and this little movie has a wide array of queer kids in it.

7 - Make The Yuletide Gay (2009)

This was the first queer film I ever watched that had a happy ending that was also a comedy. Prior to this, I think I had watched Beautiful Thing (1996), Edge of Seventeen (1998), Get Real (1998), and Bent (1997). Most of those films ended resolved or sad. Yuletide is a silly little gay film of almost nonstop innuendo about a guy who goes back into the closet when he returns home for Christmas, but hijinks ensue when his boyfriend shows up unexpectedly. It’s an annual watch for me around the holidays, and I usually host people for it. 

Also, Adamo Ruggiero is in it! He played Marco on Degrassi: The Next Generation.

This was fun! I think most folks have been tagged that I know, but I’ll tag @warningtothecurious​. If anyone else does this, please tag me back if you do this! I want to know what films you all return to.

#tag meme #comfort films #shelter 2007 #make the yuletide gay #big eden #the blues brothers #camp 2003 #clue 1985 #master and commander #Ben watches #ben writes

[stitchyblogs]

Stitchy, How Do I Get Back into The Muppets?

Muppet memes are everywhere. They trend every time Brett Goldstein gets his hands on a microphone, or a British politician puts their foot in their mouth. Let the Muppets host the Oscars! Miss Piggy dumps Pete Davidson! Knives Out III! But, reader... it’s been a long time since you last hopped over to sip Lipton’s on Kermit’s lily pad, hasn’t it? And you kind of miss it.

I’m imagining you, dear reader. Not in a weird way or anything... I’m just being transparent about who I intend my audience to be, because I have Twitter poisoning. You know how it is, you rascal, you. I know, because I’m imagining you into existence! Let’s just go with it! Yeah, so- I bet you’re thirty something, low forties. You say ‘No worries!’ a lot, but you sure do have worries. How can you not? You’re way too online, but you hope to the Great Gazoo you’re pulling it off, looking merely casually plugged in, in public. You maybe don’t have kids, who've forced you to plumb the depths of Disney +, but you do have it, because you’re not immune to Baby Yoda and the bionic biceps of a one Bucky Barnes. Aside from that fatuous affair, you’re also in a ever evolving polycule with at least three streaming services, but they still aren’t *quite* delivering what you need from the relationship. You kind of miss being restricted to whatever 6 VHS tapes were in the TV hutch of your childhood home. If you’re too young for VHS, you at least remember having to mail actual disks back and forth with Netflix. You remember that once, practical effects were the only effects. You have taste! And curiosity! And heart! You tear up when you think about Mr. Rogers for too long, which is very sexy of you. Most importantly, dear reader, you appreciate a bit of cornball. You like a lil goof. A cheeky lil pun. A gag so cheap, the shopkeeper is looking the other way as you pocket it, secretly stoked to get it off the damn shelf already... Nobody’s looking, ya know. It’s okay to admit it! You like hokey jokes. In fact, you're spiritually wearing boxers with hearts on them right now, just in case. Not that I’m imagining you in your spiritual underwear.

Did I make it weird?

Shh, shh, it’s fine. I’m Stitchy, by the way! I am alllllll of these things too- it’s fine! Well, I’m not super into Bucky, if we’re being honest- which we are! Because we’re friends now! And you know, friends can ask each other embarrassing questions. Your question is the headline of this, so I won’t beat around the bush anymore. I’m gonna do you a solid. I’m gonna tell you.... How to get back into the Muppets.

Hey, wait! You sneak! You! That guy peeking over the shoulder of the reader I was just talking to. You’ve never seen any Muppets on purpose at all, and you’re hoping I can set you up, too? Ha! I knew it… Yeah, that’s okay. You can follow this list. I won’t rat you out, as long as you don’t tell Rizzo I said ‘rat’ in that context.

Muppet Immersion PART 1:  The New Shit.

You’ve already seen the stuff that came down the pipeline in the 90’s. You Mnah Mnah’ed your butt off in your tender youth, and nowadays you still get a little confused when there’s only one Marley in non-Muppet Christmas Carols. You vaguely know that the good people at Henson Co. made post-Y2K projects, but you haven’t checked them out, because you had important, more grown up things to worry about, like curating your MySpace top eight. Then time got away from you. That’s okay, bud- because I’ve been on my muppetfrickin’ grind.

(One note: not all Muppet Materials are made with our age group in mind, and that’s okay! I’m sure Muppet Babies 2.0 has its moments, but we’re only looking at the slightly more mature pieces.)

1. The Muppets, 2011 (watch on Disney +)

They struck gold when tapping lifelong muppet freak Jason Segel to write and star in the Muppet’s comeback to the silver screen. With the expert musical-comedy midwifery of Flight of the Conchord’s James Bobin (director), and Bret McKenzie (music), a beautiful baby Muppet was born! It’s a classic tale of “We’ve gotta get the band back together and put on the best show this town has ever seen Or Else!”. The Or Else, if you’re wondering, is oil tycoon Chris Cooper’s plan to obliterate the Muppet Theater. Best work he’s ever done, I tell ya. Same goes for Amy Adams, who absolutely nails her role as the doting but levelheaded Mary, who’s fiancé is troublingly codependent with his Muppet brother, Walter. Oh, Walter. A wide eyed, whistling optimist, who deserves love and puppies and the whole entire world. In the words of Phil Spector (Yikes) to know know know him is to love love love him. A great entry point for returning, or newly budding Muppet enthusiasts. Highlights include the knock off ‘Moopets’, hostage Jack Black, and Muppet turned man Jim Parsons.

1.5 The sequel, Muppets Most Wanted, 2014 (also available on Disney +) doesn’t work for me. Seeing as it’s my guide to Muppet Immersion, I say you can skip it if you’re not feeling like another feature film, just now! My beef may not be your beef, though. (Too much Ricky Gervais, too much faux-Kermit, and not enough Walter... ((My soul will never be at rest until I understand why TPTB lost faith in Walter as the new audience surrogate. I can only hope Serial has plans to investigate.))) Maybe Muppets Most Wanted will work for you! Definitely DO NOT MISS the absolute feast of bops, again penned by Bret McKenzie:

1.5 a. “I’ll Give it To You” 

1.5 b. The Interrogation Song, a thrilling double act by Ty Burrell and Sam the Eagle 

1.5 c. We’re Doing a Sequel!  

1.5 d. Something So Right featuring none other than powerhouse Celine Dion

1.5 e. Something So Right Demo Reel, because you need to have Bret’s Miss Piggy in your ears, too. 

Whenever Piggy wears a hat with one lil’ ear out!? That’s the good stuff.

2. It’s time to play the music, it’s time to light the lights, it’s time to fire up the Baby Yoda machine to watch The Muppets, 2015. Confusing, yeah... It’s the same-named, but sadly short lived series, spun out from the success of the new films. The docu-sitcom format is a natural fit for the fourth-wall breaking Muppets. For the first time since 1984’s Muppets Take Manhattan, Kermit is solidly the leading man. We find him back in the studio, producing Up Late With Miss Piggy, amidst a flurry of Muppet interpersonal problems. As a quintessential Will They, Won’t They couple of the last half a century- it’s kind of incredible that the Muppet media that best portrays why Kermit and Piggy love each other is the one where they are very emphatically Did, But Don’t Anymore. It’s a refreshingly grown-up main story line! Aside from that- we all know C is for Cookie, but B is for B-Plots and running gags that absolutely slap. Fozzie’s beleaguered love life, Uncle Deadly’s wrangling of Piggy’s vast wardrobe, Scooter’s ongoing beef with his mother’s boyfriend, the meddling network president June Diane Raphael... I truly can’t get enough! Because they canceled it! Hmmph! And a pink satin heeled kick, and a hiiiii-ya!!

Anyway, the cameos and needle drops are expertly deployed, as fitting and offbeat as ever. I’m especially fond of Christina Applegate, Ed Helms, and Josh Groban’s appearances.

My absolute favorite episode, if you watch only one, is “Swine Song”. The network saddles Up Late With Miss Piggy with a brand manager who’s dead set on giving the show a face lift. Key and Peele, now reduced to running an Etsy shop after their own fiasco with the brand manager, feature.

I don’t know what happened, that we didn’t get more of The Muppets. Perhaps the 30 Rock-ification of the Muppets might have been more at home on a different network, with a different pool of veteran talents and sensibilities? Were we as a society just not ready in 2015 for a story about workplace friends, grounded by such sincerity? Eh, maybe. It’s no surprise Ted Lasso’s Bret Goldstein is one of the most vocal proponents for a Muppet comeback, with that in mind. Same niche!

If there is any justice in this universe… [clenches fist]

3. The Muppets Haunted Mansion, 2021, on Disney + is a welcome return to form after the platform’s first “exclusive” but paltry offering of Muppets Now (Don’t even... Don’t even bother to look…). Gonzo and Pepe challenge themselves to face their fears and spend the night in the spookiest place on earth, inspired by the beloved Disneyland ride. It’s great. If you’ve taken my advice this far and you’re still in, just. Just go for it. It’s 52 minutes. What else you got goin’ on? You’re elbow deep in some internet weirdo’s ramblings about a fifty year old troupe of talking socks.

Can’t get enough? Need to soak in hours more of puppety perfection?

4. The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, 2019, Netflix. Not technically the Muppets TM, but absolutely a must see for a burgeoning Henson buff. Did you ever see the original 1982 film? Do! It’s rentable. The Dark Crystal is some high fantasy, live action, no humans, all puppet madness. It’s disturbing and strange and beautiful. An age old tale of corruption and ideals, told by some of the cutest, oddest little creatures you’ll ever see. (Deet and Hup!!!) And I mean. C’mon. The vocal talent! They didn’t even fit Bill Hader on the wiki cheat sheet, that’s how stacked it is!

5. Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock, 2022, Apple TV. This one’s definitely made for the kids, but it’s exactly as lovingly rebooted as you hoped.

We’re getting down to some slim, definitely non mandatory pickings, now. Uhhhh…

6. Miss Piggy made an appearance on Drag Race!

7. The creature workshop whipped up some puppets for Coldplay’s Biutyful music video!

8. And here’s a half hour supercut of a bunch of ads featuring the Muppets, in the last fifteen years or so. It’s not entertainment, per se, but at the very least, you’ll see the Kermit Sipping Tea origin.

PART 2: Outside Readings

The road to your Masters in Muppetfrickery has been paved by many scholars. Here are a few peers whose work you might like to check out, now that you’re no longer a tadpole, but a fully grown frog, with hard cover books and podcast subscriptions, and junk!

Jim Henson: The Biography, by Brian Jay Jones

This book is exactly the comprehensive, compassionate deep dive you hope it is. Watch out, though! It did make me cry in an airport.

I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story, 2015.

A feel good documentary about the man under the bird. Available on Prime, Peacock, and others.

Muppet Guys Talking, 2017

Five of the original Muppet performers discuss their iconic characters. Muppetguystalking.com

Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street, 2021.

You guessed it! A doc about Sesame Street, on HBO.

Defunctland has also done some stellar coverage of the Muppets, Fraggle Rock, and more!  

Follow ToughPigs.com for a survey of what's up and coming in the various Henson adjacent worlds, and top tier curation of Muppet history. They have a podcast, too!

If you are lucky enough to live in NYC or DC, you can even see some Muppets in person!

Museum of Moving Image 

The Smithsonian

PART 3: The Oldies!

Whatever Muppet movies you had access to as a kid- there’s a good chance there’s one you missed! Good news is there’s still time to play catch up- whew!

Stitchy’s TOP TEN of the pre 2000 canon:

1. THE MUPPET MOVIE 1979 (Disney +)

2. MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND 1996 (Disney +)

3. THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL 1992 (Disney +)

4. THE DARK CRYSTAL 1982 (Rent Only?)

5. LABYRINTH 1986 (Netflix)

6. THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER 1981 (Disney +)

7. MUPPETS FROM SPACE 1999 (Rent Only?)

8. THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN 1984 (Prime)

9. THE MUPPET SHOW 1976-1981*** (Disney +)

10. EMMET OTTER’S JUGBAND CHRISTMAS 1977 (Prime, Peacock)

If you’ve missed any of the top 5, BOY HOWDY are you in for a treat. Especially if you’ve never seen the original Muppet movie. I am on my hands and Always Conveniently Off Screen Knees, begging you to give it a shot. If it’s been decades- give it a watch with fresh eyes. It’s a sweet, simple, silly story about a frog who dreams of making people happy. It’s about art, and integrity, and joy, and friendship, and it’s just about the only place you’re gonna get Hare Krishna jokes, nowadays.

Of course, this list is just a start. There were quite a few obscure TV specials and series besides, but as they are very hard to track down on streaming, I won’t insist on their viewing. I do highly recommend the series Jim Henson’s The Storyteller, 1987-1989, however. These episodes are all self contained if you can dig one up on Google, and they are exquisite pieces of art. John Hurt stars as the gruff old Storyteller, weaving fantastical yet tactile folk tales that have stuck with me for decades.

***Sheesh! The Muppet Show is like, 44 hours of television. I can do better than just point you at it in its totality! That brings us to:

PART 4: Going Right to the Source.

It’s the OG. THE Muppet Show.

By all means, crack open that laptop and follow your nose! There are legends aplenty to pick from, and just about every one of the 120 episodes has a classic moment, somewhere in there. As you scroll through the many guests, I’m sure you’ll be drawn to such greats as Rita Moreno (This appearance is The E in her EGOT!), John Cleese, Julie Andrews, Bernadette Peters, Steve Martin, Elton John, Madeline Khan, Gilda Radner, the cast of Star Wars, and Carol Burnette. They all put on fantastic shows that are essential viewing, but I must also put in a good word for some personal favorites.

Paul Williams, one of the great American songwriters, author of The Rainbow Connection and many other classics 

Vincent Price, your favorite creepy uncle, and mine. (That’s right! We’re not just friends, we’re also cousins!)

Avery Schreiber, who never ever holds back, and whose episode features the fantastic Electric Mayhem rendition of “Tenderly”. 

Sandy Duncan, who’s “Nice Girl Like Me” is an unforgettable, leggy revamp of the Manilow classic.

Mummenschanz, who are impossible to describe, but who would have ruled Tik Tok.

Leo Sayer, serving up three of my favorite 70’s tunes.

Pearl Bailey, bringing down the house with a pastiche sure to delight any musical theater nerd.

Harry Belafonte. “Turn the World Around” never fails to bring a tear to my googly eye.

Linda Ronstadt, lacerating the ONLY live vocals in the history of the show, and also crushing so so hard on Kermie. Relatable af

PART 4: Looking Forward

 (video) 

And you may ask yourself, "What Muppet Am I?" And you may ask yourself, "Why are there so many songs about Rainbows?"

What should come next for the Muppets? I say, if Disney is gonna own everything and everypiggy, go whole hog! Make Kermit the Avenger’s new therapist. Maybe he’s outside their insurance network (and dimension) but they have great rapport! Give Piggy a real late night slot, and get Grogu on to host a remote segment! Keep making the kids their kid shows, but embrace the grown up Gen X and Millennial audience with their own fare. Get back to the Muppets Sex and Violence roots, I double dog dare ya! Make a Muppet dating sim! Reboot Statler and Waldorf: From the Balcony on Youtube! Hook up Lil Nas X with the Electric Mayhem! Stop dicking me around and get the Muppets to host the Oscars, for real! Bring back my best boy Walter, and take advantage of the Muppets’ unparalleled skill for literary adaptation. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Muppet is a story that demands to be told! 

Well, we do know one new series on the way in 2023- The Muppets Mayhem. A junior record exec must wrangle the unwrangle-able Electric Mayhem through the modern music industry as they record an album. I don’t know about you, but I’m crossing my furry little fingers.

#the muppets #muppet immersion #kermit the frog

[genuineformality]

Rules: List ten comfort movies and tag ten people. Or not. I’m not your boss.

Thank you for tagging me @taralkariel! I don’t watch a lot of movies these days, partially because the way our house is set up isn’t really conducive to that, but… I do have some that I think about all the time and bring me joy.

Here are my comfort movies in the order in which I thought of them:

Pride and Prejudice (2005): It’s such a pleasant adaptation. Is the 90s miniseries objectively a better adaptation in terms of closeness to source material? Probably. But this does such an incredibly beautiful job of capturing the essence of the novel and doing some really lovely things with showing the differences in class that exist between impoverished and wealthy gentlepeople which gets missed in a lot of regency romance adaptations.  

White Christmas (1954): I love this film. It’s only kind of a Christmas movie, in that it takes place over the Christmas holiday and features the Irving Berlin’s (noted Jewish composer) White Christmas, but let’s face it: it’s really a thin excuse to smash as many completely ridiculous dance numbers together with only the tiniest hint of a plot.

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992): Another completely ridiculous Christmas movie that I mostly love because it is probably the most faithful adaptation of A Christmas Carol that exists, even with the muppets. Possibly because of the muppets. I have a long, complicated history with Christmas (as someone who is Jewish; as someone whose mother tried to join cults a few times, and as a result, all holidays are weird; as someone with a lot of family trauma that often came to a head around holidays, both the ones we observed and sometimes especially when we were not observing them), but I found an uneasy détente with Christmas and now observe it in a way that makes sense for me and my (non-Jewish) family. So it seems weird that I have two Christmas movies on this list, but I cannot tell you how many good, fond, wonderful memories I have tied up with this movie. Just thinking about it lowers my blood pressure.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971): Angela Lansbury, my beloved. When I was growing up, we had a VCR and a very small collection of films on VHS, of which this was one. And this is definitely the one that I wore out through watching and rewatching. It’s such a weird, fun, lovely film.

The Birdcage (1996): Robin Williams and Nathan Lane clearly had so much fun making this. It’s a farce and looking at it any deeper than the surface means that the plot falls apart almost immediately, so you cannot take it seriously. And yet, it has such warmth and heart. I love this film, even though it has not aged well; even though it’s imperfect.

Empire Records (1995): What’s with TODAY, today? This came out when I was entering high school and it was the perfect film for that time in my life and it has remained a favorite ever since.

Auntie Mame (1958): Speaking of films that haven’t necessarily aged well, but are fun, hilarious, and heartfelt. Auntie Mame was a book (that also has not aged well) and was adapted to theater and film about making the best of the family you have and creating family from your friends as well as blood kin. My mom showed me this film when I was still in single digits and I knew then that my goal in life was to be Auntie Mame, the original wine aunt. And you know, I’m not doing a half bad job of it.

Galaxy Quest (1999): It’s the best star trek movie. Fight me.

Mystery Men (1999): It’s the best marvel movie. Fight me.

Persuasion (2007): Persuasion is my favorite Austen novel. When I was in high school/college, I was all about that Pride and Prejudice life, but as an adult (and one rapidly approaching middle age), I feel Persuasion to my core. There is something so incredibly human about grieving the life you might have had; of living with regrets and still living your life with as much integrity as you can; of having a terrible family and bearing with them; and of getting second chances that honestly were probably only available because of your lived experience, integrity, and living through that grief. Anne Elliot is my girl (and I’m actively mad about the Netflix adaptation, despite generally being very live and let live about adaptations being adaptations). Why is this one my comfort movie? Because this is the one that captured Anne for me. Sally Hawkins was beautiful casting and she shines with subtle, understated grace. 10/10, would Anne Elliot again.

Tagging (with no pressure whatsoever): @marycontraire, @saritasoyyo, @totchipanda, @capinejghafa, @whatanybodygets, @pyrrhlc, @tlonista, @feelinglikecleopatra; @jackwolfes; @carolinawrenn; @whimperandabang

#tag games #comfort films

[divine-donna]

robin buckley relationship head canons

i am so terribly in love with robin (more so than eddie) so here are some relationship head canons for robin!! naturally robin is a lesbian so (y/n) is a non-man. (y/n) is also the same age as robin as well.

you were in love with girls since you were a kid. you knew. you just knew. but of course, you kept this secret. why would you tell anyone? not when people were so casually throwing around slurs for, what you eventually learned you were, homosexuals (with you specifically being a lesbian).

you would say you were a popular kid, even if you were involved with band. everyone knew who you were. you got invited to parties where the popular kids would hang out.

except, of course, you always felt out of place.

carol perkins would always be making out with her boyfriend, steve with whoever he was with at the time. it was always boy kissing girl. you didn’t like boys. they were kind of smelly, rude, didn’t even know how to take care of their girlfriends.

more often than not, you’d be left sitting in the corner. and eventually, you thought that it would be better to stop coming and to stop being popular.

queer people have always existed. you learned this when you decided to hang out more with your fellow band kids. you guys developed a tight bond as a group of queer teenagers in a town where it clearly wasn’t the norm. no one batted an eye at your friend group. you guys were pretty great at pretending you feigned interest in heteronormativity.

the first time you met robin, you felt your tongue get all tied up. you didn’t know how to respond.

you guys were going to go see the hot new horror film, a nightmare on elm street. being someone who frequented the theaters for horror, you had refrained from going without your friends.

“hey guys! sorry i’m late.” she panted. you have seen her around before. of course you have. but never have you interacted with her. until now.

“oh (y/n). i hope you don’t mind.” your friend whispers. “i brought robin along. her plans got cancelled last minute and i convinced her to come along.”

you couldn’t speak. robin smiled at you and waved. she was just so...pretty.

you had your fair share of brief crushes. but never something that hit you as hard as this.

you took your seat next to robin in the movie theater, excited to see one of your most anticipated horror movies yet. “i’ve only heard good things about it.” you whisper.

“then let’s not be disappointed.” she whispers back.

you definitely weren’t. and while you guys were walking out, you could not stop talking. “i mean that twist! it was just so genius! i’ve never seen anything like that! the misdirection, the effects! how did they do that with freddy like reaching through the ceiling?” you mimicked the the scene with your arms. “and on top of that, heather langenkamp! my god she was just so amazing and beautiful and i don’t understand why her character was dating glen when clearly she’s much better off single and whatnot-” you had to stop herself. “sorry. sometimes i...ramble a lot. i mean heather langenkamp is like beautiful. you know like standard wise and stuff.” not like you had a celebrity crush on her. and sissy spacek. no, no, no. well...you did. obviously.

“that’s okay. i have that problem sometimes.” she laughs awkwardly. even her laugh was just...nice. “anyways i’ll see you around.”

“yeah...” you watched as she walked away. “see ya.”

being friends with robin was...nice. it was fun. you saw her a lot more often after that movie. but it was easy to tell that something was occupying her mind. that something being tammy thompson.

what was so special about her? really, what? tammy thompson wasn’t special. she had the voice of a muppet (you could not unhear it once steve told you). she was even a little bit mean. why her?

you didn’t realize that you felt this massive amount of jealousy within your bones thinking about tammy thompson. the way robin looked at her. you wanted her to look at you that way.

you only fell onto your bed and looked up at your plain ceiling to realize that you were harboring a massive crush on robin buckley.

she consumed your every thought. robin this, robin that. robin smiling, robin laughing, robin missing a note while playing, robin frantically trying to clean up the milk she spilled at the cafeteria table. robin, robin, robin. everything was robin.

you were quite joyous on the inside when you came out from the back of scoops ahoy to find robin with an application. “you told me scooping ice cream was a fun job.” she says.

“and it is.” you take the application. “the mall just opened anyways so we are in need of employees.” you smirk. “just gonna run this over and hopefully we can get you started.”

working with robin was great. and steve. you liked steve. but you weren’t going out of your way to hang out with him. not like with robin.

of course you weren’t expecting your life to suddenly turn upside down. but apparently, this was a normal thing now according to steve. you went along with it. not every day you get tortured and injected with truth serum.

you distinctly remembered just sitting in the third stall, your breath as quiet as possible as you listened to the conversation between robin and steve. your heart sank a bit hearing him confess that he liked her. he liked robin.

who were you to stand a chance against the steve harrington?

and then you heard it. “do you remember what I said about click's class? about me being jealous and, like, obsessed? yeah.”

“tammy thompson.” you remembered all the jealousy you felt about tammy thompson. “i wanted her to look at me. but she couldn't pull her eyes away from you and your stupid hair. and i didn't understand, because you would get bagel crumbs all over the floor. and you asked dumb questions. and you were a douchebag. and you didn't even like her and i would go home and just scream into my pillow.”

the truth was so obvious.

robin liked girls.

you liked girls.

you felt your lips purse together and your eyes begin to well up. you didn’t know why you were crying. was it out of relief? that your long time crush also liked girls? that maybe, just maybe, you had a chance?

it could’ve also been the drugs to be fair.

“but tammy thompson’s a girl.” god steve.

“you are so dense sometimes.” you mumble, crawling out of the third stall into the end stall where they were. you sat next to robin. you didn’t need to see yourself to know you looked like a mess.

steve opened his mouth. “oh. oh. holy shit.”

“holy shit is right.” robin leans against you. “i’m sorry (y/n). i-”

“it’s okay.” you say, taking her hand in yours. you began to stroke her knuckles gently with love. “i...”

steve looked at you with his eyebrows raised. “did you ever have a massive crush on someone?”

“yeah. i do.” your eyes flickered to robin’s. “at least she doesn’t sound like a muppet.”

“what does she sound like?” steve asks. robin looks at you curiously.

“she...” you struggled to bring up the words. “she sounds like...a goddess. and she’s my friend. and she even said she would come with me to watch the second nightmare on elm street movie. even if it won’t be good.”

robin blinked as it clicked in her head. her grip on your hand tightens and she pulls you closer. “and i wouldn’t change a thing.”

steve looks between the two of you before laughing. “guys, i would like to not be third wheeled in a mall bathroom.”

the three of you let out small laughs since that was all you guys could muster after everything you have been through.

every intimate moment with robin must be spent away from prying eyes. the movie theater is the perfect place for you two to hold hands and for you to rest your head on her shoulder as you guys watch another sappy, terrible rom com where the man treats his partner horribly and his partner clearly has more chemistry with her best friend.

you spend a lot of time at each other’s houses. most of the time, you guys don’t even do anything. maybe you put on a record or put in a vhs tape in the background. for the most part, you are content with laying against your girlfriend’s body, face buried in her neck as she holds you and talks about whatever she wants to talk about.

you love her cute rambles. you can’t help but giggle as you listen to her talk.

oh and that rasp. it makes you shiver every time you hear that rasp. robin doesn’t understand. at least steve gets it when you tell him.

you also love wearing robin’s clothes. her shirts and jackets are particularly very comfortable for you. you even wear them to school sometimes and no one notices. even if someone did, it’s easy to say you guys are so close that you swap clothes. a lot of people do it.

your favorite thing to do with robin, however, is go to the lake with her. you guys find an empty table. it’s late at night, the moonlight reflects on the water. you have a picnic basket with food and a small portable radio where you two listen to music. and you guys eat, talk, play a card game or two.

and at the end of the night, you get to kiss her after she gives you her jacket because you were cold.

#stranger things #stranger things season 4 #stranger things season 3 #robin buckley #robin buckley x reader #x reader #female reader #gender neutral reader #gn reader #fem reader #THIS IS ALSO LIKE LATE #I INTENDED TO FINISH THESE A WHILE AGO LOL

[the-hindu-times]

Iliza Shlesinger

Hammermith Apollo 6/12/23

I can't imagine anyone likes going to the Hammersmith Apollo; a full body search (whether you're going to see The Muppet Christmas Carol or a solo stand up) and water confiscation, in the hight of illness season, which turned into a water ban, when none was available inside on this particular night.

The name up in lights on the outside of the veune building read "ILIZA LIVE IN LONDON". As if just a first name was enough, like Beyonce, Kylie or Rihanna. In their cases, you know what they do and they are famous enough to go under just their first name. In this case, maybe it did work out for the best that only her fans knew because if it had "comedy night" displayed, you would may have had people coming along, taking a punt but not understanding anything, if not apart of that one social bubble this show was aimed at.

Of course, everyone here tonight knew the sign was for American comedian and actress, Iliza Shlesinger. And, whether or not it's because her second name may be difficult for some to pronounce on first glance, she could well be the most famous Iliza in their lives, as the £41 unsold seats at the rear of the circle had to be compensated by her charging £88.75 for a selfie to a number of fans who snapped up the opportunity and were patiently waiting at the front of the stage after the show.

Like the most successful comedians, Iliza has stuck within the same genre, so fans know that she will pick up where she left off in the previous tour/Netflix show - people are coming to see the act.

With a two day break since her last gig (in Amsterdam), Iliza appeared on other comedians' podcasts and posted Instagram partnerships with beauty companies to help promote her brand further in the UK; working on whatever she could whilst on the tour. As a final push for merch sales, she wore her tour tshirt onstage, as she stumbled over lines, mixed up words and restarted sentences. With no stage set design at all, like in her previous special, it soon became clear that the stand up performance itself came second to everything else in her day. Whether she looked at it as a promo trip or holiday, with an hour's gig as something to do in the evening, most comedians would have wanted to have stayed sharp and iron out the lines by jumping on at a comedy club on their nights off - Top Secret would have been perfect for her, as it's the exact younger crowd her material is for. I'm sure she doesn't really believe that her generalisations are about the majority of people; she knows they're just about the majority of her audience, which is why broader observational comedians like Michael McIntyre, Romesh Raganathern and Josh Widdicombe can sell out multiple nights, whist her appeal falls short of the venue's capacity.

On the surface, it may seem like she's stuck in the Stone Age, or still believing that all girls want to be Barbie who are wanting to impress a Ken... but judging by tonight's audiance, those ethics are still in existence. Being preached at, in the form of comedy, that you don't have to comply with this, is quite worrying and enlightening; that this ideology, created within this group, is not something relateable from the outside, and hasn't broken out into other genres of people, races or religions. They will, of course have their own definitions of expectations and maybe have their own comedians to act as their saviour from their own inventions too. But if Iliza does fix them, what would her next comedy show be about?

Since segregation has returned to London, and the "diversity quota" meaning that people from different cultures can only live and work together if they fit into the same box, tonight's show felt more like a social commentary of this backwards step, where everyone is being forced to be identical - and this may be true in the selection of major cities she's touring, and why London was the only UK date.

Oh, and Iliza's also noticeably pregnant, just to rub her success in Luisa Omielan's face, a bit more.

Nic Bennett

[tonkicountry]

Spongebob lock screen

#Spongebob lock screen plus#

#Spongebob lock screen series#

#Spongebob lock screen tv#

#Spongebob lock screen plus#

Like most parents of my generation, I watched plenty of television as a child, although my choices were comparatively narrow: there were just three networks, plus PBS. This was children’s TV? Why was it so beautiful? Yet, meditative as the show was, Miffy was a jolt to my expectations. The mood was so lulling that when, in one sequence, Miffy gave her broken toy a small, frustrated kick, my husband was startled. It was like a shelter magazine for toddlers. The colors-red, blue, and yellow-were brilliant. It was drawn in the minimalist, mouthless style of “Hello Kitty.” (The brand sued the owner of the popular Japanese character for ripping off Bruna’s style the two sides recently settled in court.) Its heroine lived with her animal friends in an idyllic Dutch town, but none of them spoke their small dramas were narrated in voice-over. The show presented a world so stunningly peaceful that I dreamed of entering it myself.

#Spongebob lock screen series#

“Miffy and Friends” is a Claymation series based on the children’s books by the Dutch artist Dick Bruna, who created the character in 1955. And it was then, rattled by sleep deprivation, that I discovered Miffy.

#Spongebob lock screen tv#

By 2007, when I was juggling a two-year-old and a newborn, a little TV watching in the pre-early morning seemed pretty appealing. I did so in the manner of other parents I knew, which is to say with my first child. Then, as a new parent, I dutifully followed the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines-no TV until two. Until 2005, I had no idea that such shows existed: if you don’t have young children, it’s easy to condescend to the form. And, like the top dramas for adults, they harness to bold new ends the genre most deeply associated with episodic television’s strengths-the formulaic procedural, familiar to viewers from series like “Law & Order.” The best of these shows are as visually thrilling as they are well constructed. I’m not a saint.) But, as a critic, I’d argue that it’s time to recognize what this exhausting, rancorous debate has obscured: a quiet renaissance among children’s shows, many of them innovative in ways that parallel the simultaneous rise of great scripted television for adults. I’m hardly immune to such concerns like many parents, I limit my children’s Tivo time. Not to mention radio: in 1936, the educator Azriel Eisenberg warned that parents “cannot lock out this intruder because it has gained an invincible hold of their children.” Over the years, such rhetoric has shifted from the moral to the neural, with spiritual anxieties now expressed in the fear that young kids will grow addicted to dopamine squirts, their brains ruined rather than their souls. Decry the trend of marketing to newborns, the co-branded toys, the childhood obesity, the dwindling attention spans, the fate of the picture book, the wasted hours the American child spends in front of the tube (three a day, on average!), and all those selfish, shower-taking parents who use TV as a babysitter.įor six decades, people have been wringing their hands with worry, echoing panics about the corrupting influence of comic books and rock music. (I suggest Beaker or the Swedish chef.) Then begin the lament, and lay it on thick, with comparisons to candy and drugs. Begin with the sinister idiom “screen time.” To show you’re no prig, make a warm remark about “Sesame Street.” Name your favorite Muppet. When children’s television comes up in conversation, everyone knows the drill. Some of the best shows for children follow the procedural format.

#Spongebob lock screen

[alwaysachorusgirl]

Playing Matchmaker

Pairing: Rafael Barba x Female Reader

Word Count: 2,028

Square: Blind Date

TW: none

Tagging: @thatesqcrush

A/N: Well, it took a massive re-write, but it’s done. This isn’t the story I originally started writing, but I’m okay with that. I like this version better. I like that it became more of an ensemble piece. And then there’s Janice. She’s named after Janice from the Muppets, and her personality is a combination of a few people that I know. She’s that friend who really cares and means well, but doesn’t always understand boundaries. And once I started writing her, it was hard to stop.

           “Janice, can you please just knock it off already?”

           You swallowed two ibuprofen tablets with a swig of your white chocolate mocha and rubbed your temples. As an SVU detective it was rare for you to have a Saturday off. You had agreed to meet your friend and neighbor Janice for coffee and breakfast. Everything had been fine until she had started sticking her nose into your love life, or lack thereof, and now you had a headache.

           “But Y/N, Valentine’s Day is a few days away, and once again, you don’t have any plans. Come on, just let me set you up with someone. One more blind date isn’t going to kill you.”

           “No, but I might kill you, “you shot back, glaring at your friend. “Look, I’m sorry, I know you mean well, it never works.”

           “It might, if you ever gave one of them a chance,” She countered. “You’re the one who always bails after one drink.”

           “I’m a detective, Janice, and a good judge of character. I can tell pretty quickly if a guy isn’t going to meet my standards. And besides, I hate Valentine’s Day. It’s not a real holiday, and it’s not worth me wasting my time and energy.”

           “Damn, Y/N,” remarked Janice, “You’re too young to be that jaded and cynical.”

           “I’m merely stating a fact, “you said with an exasperated sigh.  “It’s not my fault if you can’t handle it.”

           “What about your partner, that Italian guy? He’s cute.”

           “Sonny?” You nearly spat out your drink. “He’s like my big brother. I think I’m technically an adopted Carisi sister, at this point.”

           “Okay, so that’s a “no”. You mind if I ask him out?”

           “Janice, no; he’s a good Catholic boy and I will not have you corrupting him.”

           “Okay, okay, chill,” said Janice, sitting back and putting her hands up in defeat. “Oh! Wait! I know! What about that ADA you always hang out with? What’s his name…Raymond?”

           “His name is Rafael, and he’s also a “no”. I don’t think he feels the same way about me, as I do him.”

           “Aha! So, you do have your eye on someone!”

           “Janice, please, just drop it already. I have a headache and I don’t want to talk about this right now. Can we please order food? I’m starving.”

 ******************

After breakfast, you bundled up and headed out into the February air. You knew that Janice was just trying to help, but sometimes she just didn’t understand the concept of boundaries. Your love life had been non-existent since you had caught your last boyfriend cheating red-handed. That had been two years ago. Rafael Barba had offered you his shoulder to cry on, knowing all too well the kind of pain and humiliation that you had been feeling. He’d gone from work colleague to one of your best friends after that, and at some point, you had developed romantic feelings for the handsome, Cuban ADA. But for the sake of your friendship and working relationship, you intended to keep that to yourself. It wasn’t worth taking the risk of losing him or making things weird between the two of you.

Your feelings for Rafael were also why all the blind dates never went anywhere. Some of your dates had been nice, others total douchebags, but they weren’t Rafael, and therefore, there was no point in the stringing them along. As long as you were comparing them up against the standard that was Rafael Barba, they could never measure up. You were fine with that.

 **************************

           Janice walked into the SVU squad room on Monday and breathed a sigh of relief when she didn’t see you. She wasn’t there to see you anyway. Instead she looked around and tried to find someone who looked like they worked with you.

           “Excuse me, miss? You look a little lost. I’m Detective Amanda Rollins, Can I help you with something?”

           Janice turned and smile at the blond woman with the Southern accent. She recognized the name right away.

           “I think you can. I’m Janice Wilson. I’m a friend of Detective Y/F/N Y/L/N?”

           “Oh, Y/N’s not here right now. I think she’ll back in about a half an hour?” Amanda paused. “What a minute…did you say Janice? Janice the Matchmaker?!”

           “She’s mentioned me?” Janice’s eyes went wide.

           “Oh honey,” said Amanda, “we know all about you. You’re kind of famous around here. Hey! Carisi! Finn! Get off your butts and get over here!”

           “What?” Sonny called back from his desk, his mouth full of food. “It’s lunchtime, Rollins, I’m eating over here!”

           “Yeah, Rollins, what’s the fuss?” Asked Finn, rising from his chair.

           Amanda walked Janice a little further into the squad room.

           “Guys, this is Janice, the Janice! You know, Y/N’s friend?”

           “Wait, seriously? Janice the Matchmaker? Nice to finally put a face to the name,” said Finn, coming over and shaking Janice’s hand.

           “Hey, we’ve met before. It was that one time at Y/N’s apartment, “said Sonny, finally putting down his sandwich and standing up. “You live down the hall. So, what brings you to SVU?”

           Janice quickly filled them in the conversation from the coffee shop.

           “So, the thing is, I’ve been getting it all wrong. If I had had known sooner about the ADA, I would have tried setting her up with him. I feel bad and I need to make this right with her. The problem is, I think she’s a little pissed at me, and she’s not going to listen to me. That’s where you guys come in. I have an idea, but I need your help.”

           “Count me in, “said Amanda. “If anyone needs to get together, it’s Y/N and Barba.”

           “I don’t know, Rollins, “said Sonny. “Isn’t this kind of going behind her back?”

           “Carisi, have you seen the way they look at each other? Have you ever noticed how he’s less cranky when she’s around?”

           “Yes, Rollins, I know, we all know! But she’s still my partner, and I gotta look out for her.” He looked at Janice. “If I agree to this, what exactly would I have to do?”

           Janice motioned for everyone to come closer.

           “Bring it in, folks, here’s the plan.”

*********************

           When you came back from picking up warrants and getting lunch, everything appeared to be normal. Amanda and Finn were working at their desks. Sonny was nowhere to be seen, but that wasn’t exactly unusual. Any one of you could be called out on a case at any time. You took off your coat and sat down at your desk. You were just starting to dig into your lunch when Amanda got up and came over.

           “Hey, you, just the person I wanted to see.” She flashed her best smile, and you immediately suspicious.

           “Hi Amanda, what’s up?”

           “Oh, I was just wondering if you had any plans for Valentine’s Day…”

           “Amanda, you know that I don’t. What’s really going on?”

           “Okay, so I know this guy. He also doesn’t have any plans for Valentine’s Day, and I think he might be a good fit for you.”

           “Oh, dear God, are you seriously trying to set me up on a blind date?”

           “Yes, I am. Look, I vouch for this guy. I wouldn’t try to set you up with someone that

I couldn’t vouch for, and he’s a nice guy. I think you’ll like him.”

           “Fine,” you sighed, hanging your head in defeat. “But if this guy sets off even one red flag, I’m bailing.”

           “That is totally fair,” agreed Amanda. “You would be disappointed, I promise.”

********************

Sonny walked into Rafael Barba’s office at 1 Hogan Place and hoped that he wouldn’t screw this up. He still couldn’t believe that he’s agreed to this, but Janice and Amanda had been so sure that this would work. He heard his phone ping in his coat pocket. He checked it and saw it was a text from Amanda. She had succeeded in getting you to agree to the blind date. Now he had to do his part. Rafael’s assistant, Carmen, was sitting at her desk.

“Hey, Carmen, he in?”

“Yes, but he’s prepping for court, so he’s in a mood. Don’t take up too much of his time, okay?”

“No problem, hopefully this won’t take long.” Sonny knocked the door and waited until he heard “Enter!”, before going in.

Rafael looked up and wasn’t thrilled to see the detective striding into his office.

“What do you want Carisi? I’m busy, and Y/N already came by earlier to pick up those warrants for Liv.”

“I’m actually here to ask you a question. What are you doing for Valentine’s Day?”

“The same thing I do every year, working,” replied Rafael, rolling his eyes. “Why do you ask?”

“I ask because I have this friend, and she is into you. I really think you’d like her, and she doesn’t have any plans for Valentine’s Day. So, I’m just trying to be a good friend and help her out…”

“You’re trying to set me up on a blind date with your friend? Are you kidding me right now?”

“No, no I most certainly am not. Come on, Barba, it’s one date. Trust me, you’re going to like her. She’s worth it.”

“Does this friend have a name?” asked Rafael, suddenly realizing that the detective wasn’t backing down without a fight.

“I can’t tell you that because it will ruin the surprise, but come on, what have you got to lose?”

**********************

And so, on Valentine’s Day, Rafael Barba found himself walking into a little French Bistro a few blocks away from Hogan Place. He still didn’t know his date’s name. All he had been told by Sonny was what she’d be wearing, that she was beautiful, and that he’d know her when he saw her. It was all a bit too vague for his tastes, but Sonny had insisted. So, the ADA had chosen the restaurant and made a reservation. He looked around, hoping to see someone that fit the description he’d been given. Instead, he saw you, sitting at the bar and nursing a glass of red wine. He made his way over to the bar, secretly wishing that he was meeting you instead of his date.

“Y/N? What are you doing here?”

“Rafael!” You said, looking up in surprise. You got up and hugged your friend. He was warm and it felt so good to be wrapped up in his arms. He smelled of coffee and his cologne and it was nothing short of intoxicating. You probably held onto to him for a bit too long, but he didn’t seem to mind.

“Believe it or not, Amanda set me up on a blind date,” you told him, finally pulling away and sitting back down.

“Really? This is going to sound weird, but Carisi set me up on a blind date.”

“He did what? He didn’t tell me about that. Is it just me, or does it feel like something’s up?”

“Yes,” Rafael nodded, “Something is definitely up. Y/N, what color would you say your dress is?”

You looked down at your dress, and then back up at Rafael, thoroughly confused.

“I like to think of it as a cranberry wine,” you replied. “Why do you ask?”

“Carisi said my date would be wearing a cranberry wine-colored wrap dress, is beautiful, and that I’d know her when I saw her.”

Your eyes went wide as your thought back to what Amanda had told you about your date.

“Amanda told me that my date has green eyes, dark hair, is well-dressed, and that I’d know him when I saw him…” You trailed off, gazing into Rafael’s eyes, realization dawning on you. “It’s you. I’m so glad it’s you.”

“I’m glad it’s you, too,” said Rafael, taking your hand in his. “So, want to you say to having dinner with me?”

“I say ‘Yes’, nothing would make me happier. Just let me text Amanda real quick.”

Y/N: I’m going to kill you!

A. Rollins: Lol, that’s fine. Just make sure you say ‘thank you’ to Janice. She’s the brains of the operation. We couldn’t have done it without her.

#thatesqcrush vday bingo #rafael barba x reader #rafael barba #svu #svu fanfiction #rafael barba imagines #fan fiction #raul esparza

[myrtlew1sh]

today I am going to be analyzing Alnitak/ear and zuko from avatar the last airbender. so as you know, ear nd zuko are very similar. they were both banished/rejected from their cruel society and sent to find, and in ears case kill, someone. one difference though, is that zuko was sent to find the avatar, who is cool and carefree and has cool magic powers, and ear was sent to find Eyebelly, who is cringe and has mental illness and is gay. another difference is that zuko was kicked out by his dad, while ear was kicked out by some bitch called marshmallow. ears dad, Orion, is just existing. also, zukos mom was a good person and left the fire nation, whole ears mom was a bitch and got eaten by britney the badger. also, ear and Eyebelly are siblings. zuko and aang are not. speaking of siblings, zukos sibling is azula, who is an evil girlboss younger sister, while nose is a little scaredy cat crybaby who is the same age as ear (they are twins :3) if Eyebelly the the equivalent of aang, than Myrtlewish is the equivalent of katara. katara and Myrtlewish have a generally blue color scheme, but while aang and katara are a m/f relationship, Myrtlewish and Eyebelly are both nonbinary and thus are gay. also, while katara is like "hehe water powers go brrrr" Myrtlewish is like "hehe religious fraud go brrrr" Myrtlewish is also aental illness haver, while katara is not. also, katara has a mom and a dad. her dad is alive but her mom is dead. Myrtlewish has no mom, only a dad, who is dead too. katara dead mom was a water tribe lady, and Myrtlewish's dead dad was a avid muppets cosplayer. something similar though, is that Eyebelly and aand both saw their love interests and immediately went "😳😳😳" no questions asked. they both have cute little crushes on someone they idealize as beautiful and perfect. if Myrtlewish is katara, then Applecrunch is sokka. sokka is katarar older brother, and Applecrunch is Myrtlewishs older cousin. sokka and Applecrunch are very different flavors of dumbass though. sokka is sarcastic and sort of a jerk, also sexist, and Applecrunch likes minigolg and haunted mansion fanfic probably. by extent, that would make Midnightflower Suki. who is applecrunchs dead past love interest? we will never know. Midnightflower is too much of a fixing wreck to be Yue, and while Suki is not a wreck, she is alive, and Yue is not, so midders is Suki. back to ear and zuko though, zuko got a redemption arc, and as of now, ear has not. the last thing ear did was have a sad scene with nose and toothbrush, where they said "please d murder people" and xe was like "no" and everyone cried. is ear is zuko, than tooth rush would be jin, since they both were like "😳" at ear/zuko but in the end it did not work out. who is the uncle iron in this situation? well, that's an interesting question. the only three options I can think of are grapestem, Adhara, and Gallowshill. grapestego was cringe and died so not him. Adhara was the one who said ear and nose should go on the murder quest and is also from the celestials, so maybe her. both Adhara and iron had children, but irohs kid is dead and Adhara s kids are alive. also, whether Adhara was a good mom or not can still be discussed. that leaves Gallowshill. gallowshill has no kids and is a murder who died and got stuck in a mirror so not then. Adhara is uncle iron. ty lee and mai are Lyra and polaris. polaris knew about the murder missinn so yeah and Lyra is cute and bubbly like Tyler. anyways what did you guys think of my theoryM remember to like and subscribe so you can see my theory about how the minigolg course gives you radioactive brain tumors <3

#ogg #THIS IS A JPKE PLEASE DONT MURERR ME

[someone-worth-racing-for]

Me after looking at carlos' shoes - he still keeps the mclaren part closer to him and he misses lando ahhhh and can someone write a carlando wedding fic where they're exchanging vows and they're remembering how it parallels alot with their helmet swapping

..because I just couldn’t resist by this one 😉 read the story below or on AO3

Also, can someone please tell me/prove me that the shoes he has worn by Ferrari yesterday are McLaren teamwear and not just some random shoes? I need to know for sure to rub it under my boyfriend’s nose 😉 thanks!

Muppets getting married

While Carlos stood there and waited, he had to think back about their long journey, about the story of their lives, about the way that had finally brought them to here. Here into this little church somewhere in Spain next to a coast of the endless ocean.

This time it wasn’t him, who had been a little late, but still he didn’t get nervous, while he waited for his fiancé, his future husband, to finally appear. With a smile and a chuckle Carlos imagined the younger one running through the room he got ready inside all desperately and hysterical, because his curls once again didn’t want the way he wanted.

Or maybe he was late, because he had to share these last moments of his freedom, like he used to call it to tease his becoming husband a little with it, with his Twitch fandom. Carlos rolled his eyes, just imagine his boyfriend being live, while his mother tried to pluck his suit into the right way and everyone around him being all nervous and stressed, because they were already late anyway and he was still streaming.

And then suddenly the doors opened and through the bright light coming from the beautiful summer afternoon outside the cool walls of the church stepped the young man of his dreams, who did owe his heart since already such a long time.

With his usual cheeky smile over both of his ears, his wild curls in the same cute mess like always, with those sexy suspenders, like Carlos had to admit, he was wearing and with one hand in his pocked Lando was walking down the way to the altar all cool and casual, even when at the same time his boyfriend exactly knew how excited he must be. Because the Spaniard was the same mess since hours as well.

But the second the younger one was finally right next to his side, where he did belong, all the tension and nervousness was gone. Instead they both began to shine because of pure happiness and anticipation.

“Sorry, I couldn’t find my bow.” Lando apologized instantly about his delay, but like always Carlos just couldn’t be mad at him, at least not for too long. It was okay, because in the end he finally still stood here next to him and usual it was the Spaniard himself, who was always late, so it was alright. He would actually wait for Lando forever.

When Carlos reached over then to bring his boyfriend’s black bow, which made him look even cuter than usual, into the right way, Lando looked up at him through his lashes in affection and admiration. Carlos eyes filled with tears instantly, when he looked down in awe at his soon husband.

“You look amazing, carino.” The Spaniard complemented him and even when the two of them were already together since such a long time, Lando still hadn’t got used to his sweet and at the same time also honest compliments, so his cheeks blushed lightly into that cute pink colour.

“You look pretty handsome as well.” Lando gave that compliment back to him with a wink, while he checked his fiancé out. “No, no. No tears, Carlos. You have promised me. At least not now. You know, I also have to join you when you cry. So please hold it back, at least for some longer.”

The younger one tried to prevent the older one to share the first tears already now. Carlos tried his best, swallowed down the knot in his throat and blinked a few times to finally see the sweet, young man in front of him all clear again.

Both breathed deep inside for one more time, not stopping their connection, while they looked right into each other’s souls. “Ready?” Carlos finally whispered and his heart jumped all overjoyed inside his chest, when Lando nodded wildly agreeing his head and answered determined “Ready.”

With the brightest smile he ever had, the Spaniard leaned down to kiss the younger one’s cheek for one last time being only boyfriends, engaged. The next time they will kiss, they will be finally married. “I have thought we aren’t allowed to kiss anymore.” Lando protested half-hearted, because they both knew how much he actually loved Carlos’ attention and affection, especially when he was lightly nervous.

The older one only shrugged his shoulders in unknown, before he whispered down to him “I don’t care if we are allowed to or not. I’m just the happiest man on this world at the moment.” Now also Lando had tears swimming in his eyes, because Carlos knew that he was feeling the exact same way.

When it was finally time for their vows, the older one had to admit, that he got a little nervous again. But once again that panic was gone, when he turned over to his soon husband, their eyes connected and it was only the two of them anymore. All those guests around them were kind of forgotten. Only Lando did matter anymore, when he began to speak

“Lando. My little muppet.” He spoke all softly and gently, but still a giggle escaped the younger one’s lips and also from all those people around them. “I still remember the first day I have seen you. You were so incredible shy and nervous. I still tell myself it was because of me and not about McLaren or about you becoming a Formula One driver. But since the very first second, you have wrapped me around your little finger so easily with your cheeky, cute way. Since that moment my life wasn’t the same anymore and if I’m serious, I don’t remember anymore how it has been without you. You are my everything, you exactly know that. You made me to a better version of myself, you made my life brighter with you just being you, you light up every single day of my life and I can’t thank you enough for it. And I know things weren’t always easy for us, especially when we turned into a long-distance relationship, but in the end it only brought us even closer and finally to here, right where we are standing at the moment. I promise, I will keep on taking care of you as best as I can and I also promise to make sure you won’t burn down the house while you try to cook once again, for the rest of my life. I try to be there for you whenever you need me. I will love you until the very end, mi amor. You will always stay the centre of my life, no matter what will happen. Soy lago.”

By those last two words, Lando had to chuckle once again, even when those tears waving in his eyes were very shortly before falling over the edge from his very touching speech. Everyone inside this little church knew what those two, simple and actual not-having-any-sense words did mean for the two of them. It was their way to say I love you.

From the corner of his eyes, Carlos could see some of their families and friends wiping the corner of their eyes as well. But not only the guests were pretty emotional, also Lando seemed to be on the edge of breaking down into tears, so the Spaniard quickly reached for his hand to squeeze it softly and remember him so about that he also had to keep his promise. Because if he will start to cry, Carlos will follow him instantly and they would both end up being a total mess then.

Lando bit down onto his lip, while at the same time he beamed up at his fiancé and tried to smile back at him. The older one then pictured his boyfriend sitting with crossed legs on the floor of his gaming room with a notepad and a pen in his hand, thinking about what he wanted to say in his vow. Just like back then, on their last day being team mates, when they swiped helmets and he sat there on the floor like the little, cute boy he was and thought all hard about what to write on his friend’s visor.

By that thought Carlos’ smirk only grew even bigger, because he didn’t know what he had ever done to deserve this lively, sweet man in front of him. After Lando had cleared his throat, had breathed deeply in, exhaled long and had taken Carlos’ hand even tighter into his, his eyes met his again and their connection didn’t stop for one second, while the younger one told him his heart.

“Carlos aka my Spanish muppet.” Once again everyone chuckled, including the mentioned Spaniard. “I knew you would mention our first day, because yes, I was scared and nervous like hell and if I’m serious you didn’t make it any easier for me that day, even when you were so nice to me like we weren’t two complete strangers to each other, but I will also remember this day forever. Because it has also changed my life completely from that moment on and if you would have told me back then, that we will both end up here right where we are, I wouldn’t have believed you. I still really can’t thank you enough for everything you have ever done for me. No matter if it’s in Formula One or helping me to develop and become the man I am today. I’m sure I wouldn’t have made it without you and your always present support and your none existing exhaustion to motivate me and cheer me up. I enjoyed just every moment we have shared together, every fun we ever had, also our little arguments from time to time, because I exactly know you can never be mad at me for too long and yes, maybe I also take advantage of it sometimes. But it’s still the best feeling ever to know that no matter what will happen, in the end of the day you still hold me in your arms all tightly and I know nothing will ever happen to me as long as I’m with you. And if I’m serious, I really can’t wait to find out what the future brings for us. And I also don’t want to promise too much, but I will try, I will really try my best to become at least a as half as good husband as you already are. I also promise to finally take some cooking lessons from you, to play a little less on my PC every day and I also promise to finally learn at least some words in Spanish. And one day I will also finally beat you in golf, you will see. Soy lago.”

This time it was Carlos, who giggled with tears in his eyes, because he knew those words came right from his boyfriend’s heart and like always he had made it to make him all blissfully happy. Soft laughers, but also sobs were audible coming from their guests as well, while the couple still only had eyes for each other.

When it was finally time for them to exchange rings, it once again felt like back then, when they were swapping helmets on their last day being together at McLaren. But this right here wasn’t their last day together, it actually almost felt like it was just the very first day. The beginning of something new, of something even better 🤍

#lando norris #carlos sainz jr #carlos sainz #carlando #carlando fanfiction #Fanfiction

[pinkhysteria]

thoughts. (2x05)

- “And the entire world has forgotten I exist” in the promo vs. “you are literally the only person on the planet who knows I exist” starting off the episode... that’s beautiful.

- “--a human-sized muppet.” Lizzie roasting Landon is peak humor, as always.

- NAH, HIZZIE’S EPISODE STARTING LIKE A VIDEO GAME? THE SOUND EFFECTS, THE MUSIC? ICONIC, I THINK.

- Sebastian having an actual personality around M.G... his power.

- Lizzie being mad Hope didn’t tell any of them she had come back, despite having a year of “yes” in her absence... I love them so much.

- “You kind of look fierce too.” Lizzie lying to her girlfriend about that Justice outfit... cute, cute.

- “Relax, Fumbledore.” Alright, Alaric insulting Professor. V is one of the only time he has rights. I see where Lizzie gets the insults for Landon from.

- Lizzie pointing out that Josie/Landon have a void from the lack of Penelope and Hope in her life, YEAH, THAT’S GOOD CONTENT! 

- Lizzie being SO absolutely offended that Hope would think anyone is glad she’s gone or better off for it and making sure she knows it. Yes, she keeps her foot pressed to Hope’s neck at all times. Yes, she loves her. Yes, it’s my absolute favorite thing.

- Lizzie saying all she said, and Hope only commenting on Lizzie “hallucinating” a boyfriend... that sure is something

- Landon asking Dorian for advice on his first time; he’s such a dork, please! 😭

- Josie spitting some facts to Alaric - love her, love her.

- Kaleb being an intellectual king and playing Sebastian, I love to see it! I knew it wouldn’t last, but it was great while it did. I was surprised Alaric wasn’t more concerned about finding all that out. He couldn’t call Damon or something?

- M.G and Kaleb’s dance-off - their friendship is really just the best, huh?

- The way Lizzie is trying so hard to make sure that the Merge won’t even be an issue for Josie by eliminating herself... that hurts. 

- The soft way Lizzie said, “and my friend gets out, right?” GOD! 

- “We don’t exist for just one path.” Great line! 

- HOPE AND LIZZIE DANCING TOGETHER, YES, YES! THIS IS A NIGHT FOR ME!

- HOPE PARTYING WITH RAFAEL? Yeah, I love Lizzie and Raf making her smile and enjoy herself for once, it’s what she deserves.

- CLARKE? GARY POPPINS IS CLARKE? WOW, ALRIGHT! That was an ending! But the Keeper finally getting out after all that time and then being killed... rude.

- Last notes: Hope and Lizzie’s friendship is everything, we been knew. Everyone say thank you Lizzie for repping Handon and Posie tonight! Rafael’s crush on Hope is cute, but I still need him to get better, truly better! Josie doesn’t deserve to be hurt like this, this plot is such a mess. I was glad that Jandon trainwreck was briefly stopped, but she deserved to be happy for the night. :( Josie attacking Freya in the promo for 2x06 on the other hand? Don’t like that, don’t like that at all. Hopefully it’s Josie blasting her the same way she did Lizzie, though, so that she’ll remember! I am entirely looking forward to Lizzie/Raf/Hope all interacting, however! 

#legacies #hizzie #lizzie saltzman #hope mikaelson #I GOT WHAT I WANTED YALL I REALLY DID THIS WAS SO GREAT FOR ME #MY BRAND IS THRIVING GOOOODDDD #and i'M HAPPY JOSIE IS GETTING FREYA YES YES YES #THINGS REALLY GOING RIGHT FOR MOI I THINK #tvdu op #i had to edit this because i thought lizzie said josie had a void from both penelope and hope but she mentioned landon... #so nah there wasn't any hosie whoops

[shutupandshipit]

Little Life - Ch.13

Summary:  A baby could ruin his career before it had even started. If anyone found out, he would be kicked out of the Hero Course at the very least and UA at the very worst. Even then, how was he supposed to care for a baby once it arrived? He was a fucking seventeen-year-old boy, not a twenty-nine-year-old omega with their shit at least somewhat together.

…..

Or where Katsuki get pregnant, but is determined to make it to graduation. No matter what it takes.

Pairing: Bakudeku

Rating: T (just for language mostly)

Chapter: 13/16

Previous <- Chapter 12

Chapter 14 -> Next

Master Post

Chapter 13: Class

Katsumi snuffled, making noise for the first time since the class period had started. Without looking up from his notes, Katsuki started to purr low in his chest. He reached between his body and the sling he kept her in to open his shirt enough to tuck her head against his chest.

Immediately, she latched on. He only stiffened for a moment at the sharp pain that reawakened from his abused nipples before settling into the familiar rush of endorphins. Katsumi didn't always want to eat when she woke up, but they'd gotten her on a pretty good schedule. Katsuki also seemed to possess a preternatural understanding of what she wanted before she started to cry, which helped because he could barely stand the crying. He knew that before getting pregnant, and it had not changed. If she was fussy, Izuku usually took her without comment to find a place to soothe her.

Katsuki studiously ignored the way Jirou was stared across the short space between them in fascination.

Katsumi had started growing quickly after her birth. Already, she was six pounds and had sprouted long limbs. She looked like a fucking muppet, but Izuku refused to let him dress her as Kermit the Frog. Not that he still didn't when he got together with Kirishima and Ochako. Mina had been exiled from baby time after she couldn't control her quirk in the baby's presence the first time.

She was still a far cry from how big most pups were even born at, but she was growing. That was the biggest thing. Her small size and uncooperative limbs seemed to be the bane of her existence and the predominant reason for her fussy crying. When she fussed and cried. So far, she'd been a pretty quiet baby, and Katsuki couldn't have been more thankful.

All of her extra energy that didn't go to crying or growing limbs twice her size seemingly went into mass producing hair just like her damn father. While her eyes were still the vibrant red of Katsuki's, her hair had become a bushel of green curls that he just knew he'd be fighting for the rest of his natural life.

Ten minutes later, Aizawa snapped his book closed at the front of the class. "Take fifteen. Midnight will be here soon." Without preamble, he strode from the room to leave his rowdy students to their chaos.

Katsuki groaned, stretching one arm over his head and then the other to keep Katsumi still. In her sling, Katsumi's mouth pulled away. She started to whine against his skin. Fishing her out to wiggle his fingers in her face, he said without looking, "Deku, can you take Katsumi? I need to piss."

Izuku swooped in beside him, pressing a kiss to Katsuki's temple as he scooped up the baby. She was dressed in an All Might onesie that was still a little big on her, but Katsuki had modified it in the important places. "Of course I can. How's my beautiful baby girl doing?" he cooed, pressing kisses all over her face and stomach as she giggled.

Katsuki stood, stretching again before returning the kiss. "She probably needs a change before Midnight gets here. I didn't change her before this period. She might be dry, but you should check." He shoved his hands deep into his pockets to keep from reaching for her again. He trusted Izuku implicitly with Katsumi, but there was always a bit of anxiety when he let her go. Izuku wasn't the problem in this equation, it was the rest of the idiots who got up to coo at the little green haired baby. If he didn't have to pee, he wouldn't leave their sides for an instant, but if he were actually being honest, he needed a moment to himself. "You know, before she starts screaming. She needs to be burped too. Give her five more minutes, and then check if she needs a change."

Before he left, he turned to Kirishima. "Don't let Mineta anywhere near them. If I find him within ten feet of her again, I will string him up by his ankles at the front gate."

Looking aggrieved, but in complete agreement, Kirishima nodded.

Izuku didn't look up at he nodded as well, spending the time blowing a raspberry against her cheek to make her giggle again. "I can do that," he said before exclaiming, "You've been eating so much, but it's all going to your hair!"

Turning, Katsuki quickly left the room, ignoring the urge to snap the necks of everyone that crowded around Izuku in his wake. He'd just have to trust Kirishima -which he also did- to keep them mostly at bay.

Instead of taking a urinal, Katsuki locked himself in a stall. When he was done, he just pressed his back to the door. He scrubbed at his eyes with the back of his wrists. He was tired, so fucking tired.

Between class, homework, training and the baby, it felt like he never slept. Which was a lie. Katsumi never cried at night. Both his and Izuku's bodies were set on a timer now, and rarely did they not wake up before she even began to murmur. So, they never got the jerk of surprise from being woken by a cry. Waking up every couple of hours was still waking up every couple of hours though.

So far, Katsuki had only woken up three times to find Katsumi nursing while Izuku dosed with the two of them pulled to his chest, the baby cradled between them. And there had only been four times when Izuku didn't even twitch a muscle when Katsuki rose to get her from her crib.

Still, he was tired. He knew he would be. That was at least something that had been consistent in his research. He had been tired for ten straight months, and he was likely to be until Katsumi could at least make a sandwich on her own.

With a heavy sigh, he moved to push himself away from the door, but stopped when he heard the bathroom door open again.

"Yo, like what the fuck is up with that?" a voice asked, unfamiliar, but most voices were. He didn't usually pay enough attention to other students enough to recognize people he didn't see as frequently as his classmates.

"What's up with what?" Another unfamiliar voice.

"That prick from 3-A carrying around a baby. What the fuck is his name again? Bakugou or something?"

"Dude, didn't you see the news. That's the baby he rescued during that huge battle a month ago."

The first voice scoffed. "That's a load of crap, and you know it. Did you know he's an omega?"

"Yes? He's part of the big three and he's one of the only male omegas in the hero course? Do you even go to this school? What are you on about? Are you jealous that he's a better hero than you or just mad that he's not your omega?"

"Me? Jealous of that asshole? As if," the first voice laughed, "That baby is his for sure. He probably fucked his way to the top, and got pregnant doing it. Bet if I asked nicely, he'd get on his knees like the slut he is. I'd show him what a real alpha is supposed to be. He'd never get enough-"

Having heard enough, Katsuki kicked open the stall door, breaking the lock and the hinges in one fell swoop.

"Oh shit," the holder of the second voice whispered, eyes widening as he stood up straight from where he'd been leaning against a skin.

Darkly, Katsuki traced his eyes over the alpha standing still in front of a urinal, lingering on his dick in his hands. He smirked, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Like you could ever hope to be enough of an alpha to handle me. I would wreck you," he growled, stepping passed the broken stall door to stand next to him, "Like you'd be enough of an alpha to handle my mate." His eyes dropped to the alpha's dick again as he sneered. "Pathetic. Omega or not, baby or not, I'm still going to be the top in the end."

With that very specific, very pointed double entendre, he headed for the door. He stopped by the other student who was cowering by the sink. The boy stunk of the other alpha, but the scent was forced, not mixed like it was with him and Izuku. Their coupling clearly wasn't a happy one. He clapped the student on the shoulder, and the boy flinched. "Listen omega, I'm only going to say this once. Don't settle for an alpha just because you think you need to to make it at this school as a hero. You're better than the likes of him. There are way better people out there to be your mate and friend. You can stand on your own two feet just fine."

He left before either student could get their faculties about them.

.....

Katsuki and Izuku were on the couch watching Ochako float a giggling Katsumi in her lap when Katsuki's phone rang. Picking it up, he immediately yelled, "Kirishima, catch!" before chucking it across the common room.

"Ah man, not again," Kirishima whined as he caught the phone to answer it brightly. "Mrs. Bakugou, hi! No, he's not available right now. He's at training with All Might. Right. Yes, I know. Yeah, I'll tell him. No, I don't think he's avoiding you." He shot Katsuki a heated look before returning to the call. "He's just really busy right now with practicals and finals coming up. Yeah, I'll tell him. Okay. Bye."

Kirishima walked back to him, phone in hand. "Man, stop avoiding your mom. You're going to have to talk to her at some point."

Katsuki sneered. "Like hell I do."

"Kacchan, you still haven't talked to your parents?" Izuku asked, pinning him with an admonishing glare.

"You can't say shit to me. You haven't told your mom about Katsumi either," Katsuki spat back, standing to sit on the floor beside Ochako. He wiggled his fingers in Katsumi's face and she grabbed for them, face scrunching when she couldn't quite catch them. When he stilled long enough for her to grip his fingers, she immediately stuffed them in her mouth.

Izuku's face reddened, and he stuttered, "W-well, I'm just... waiting for the perfect moment. I don't want to tell her over the phone."

"And I don't want to wake up with a knife to my throat. I'm saving your ass too. She'll kill me, but she'll hang you outside the front door like a flag, and you know it."

Izuku groaned, but didn't protest as he dropped his face into his hands. "She's just going to be more angry the longer we wait."

Ochako sighed. "I know that Mr. Aizawa said it was your jobs to tell your parents about this since you're 'adults' -loosely defined- but this is honestly a childish way to go about it. You can't hide this from her forever. She already knows you're hiding something. You need to stop hiding, and get this over with."

"Give me back my baby," Katsuki growled without much heat.

"No, she's having fun," Ochako retorted, smacking away his other hand as it reached for Katsumi, "Anyway, just meet them at the mall or something. Take All Might with you to run interference or explain or something. Just get it over with. We have some time coming up, and you should tell them before we're completely swamped."

"We're already swamped."

"Bakugou-" Ochako started.

Izuku cut in before she could say something that would actually make Katsuki take Katsumi upstairs. "That's a good point and a good idea. I'll talk to All Might."

Katsuki groaned loudly, but didn't protest. Silently, he just started to plan his and Izuku's joint funeral.

#my hero academia #mha #bakudeku #dekubaku #bakugou katsuki #midoriya izuku #omegaverse #omega!katsuki #alpha!izuku #my writing #multi-chapter #little life

[letterboxd]

How I Letterboxd #9: Julie Collette.

Christmas movie lover Julie Collette tells Jack Moulton all about her seasonal movie habits, the best big screen Santa Claus of all time, disability visibility in festive films, and some of the weirder holiday picks.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year: when Letterboxd members turn to the Neverending Christmas List to help plan their Christmas movie viewing. Arrange it by highest rated, arrange it by newest release, or by popularity—any which way, there’s something for everyone, from corny TCM romances to obscure seasonal horrors.

Created six years ago by Canadian member Julie Collette, the list runs to more than 4,300 titles, and contains the word ‘Christmas’ 1,837 times at last count. Julie and her husband are die-hard Letterboxd fans, having allegedly used the platform every day for the past nine years. She’s logged every film she’s seen in theaters since 1996.

A message from John McClane in ‘Die Hard’ (1988).

What inspired your Neverending Christmas List? Can you please explain the minimum requirement for eligibility? My husband had told me about a list on Letterboxd of Every Horror Film Made from 1895–Present and that gave me the idea to start the neverending Christmas list. My eligibility rules are not strict at all. It can be a film that centers on or around Christmas time. Even New Year’s counts in my book—as long as there’s a moment in the film that has a Christmas song, a Christmas scene, or Christmas decorations. Die Hard is definitely a Christmas film. First of all, it takes place on Christmas Eve at an office Christmas party. There’s that great note that John McClane sends to Hans Gruber on a dead guy’s shirt: “Now I have a machine gun, ho-ho-ho.” Now that’s Christmas! There are a couple of titles that test my relaxed requirements. Examples would be Psycho—there are a few Christmas decorations at the beginning [and Bryan Fuller agrees]—and the documentary Beauty Day by Canadian director Jay Cheel, which has Christmas lights at the end.

And what percentage of the films have you seen? As of right now, I've watched 20 percent—that’s 882 of the 4,322 films on the list. I’ve got a lot of homework to do. Here’s a few hidden gems I recommend: Mon oncle Antoine, Holiday Affair, Remember the Night, Olivia, On the Twelfth Day…, Bing Crosby’s Merrie Olde Christmas and One Christmas, which is Katherine Hepburn’s last role.

David Bowie and Bing Crosby sing ‘The Little Drummer Boy’ in ‘Bing Crosby’s Merrie Old Christmas’ (1977).

When does your Christmas movie viewing season start? I usually start mid-November to try to keep up with the TV rom-coms because they start to air even before Hallowe’en. This year on Hallowe’en night we rewatched The Night of the Hunter and I had forgotten that there was a sequence that was set at Christmas time. It was a perfect segue between Hallowe’en and Christmas, so I started November 1st. As far as how I pick what to watch, I go through my list and randomly pick some. I try to watch as many first-time watches and mix up the genres. But the closer I get to Christmas, the more I want to watch my favorites—for the most part I go with the flow. Christmas Day is usually a day of family time, but I try to sneak in one favorite if I can.

What was the first Christmas film that got you into all of this? I’ve always loved Christmas and growing up I watched the yearly airings of vintage Christmas cartoons and A Muppet Family Christmas. When Home Alone came out it was an instant obsession, then Home Alone 2: Lost in New York was just as good. Even now it’s our yearly tradition for my husband and I to watch the Home Alones while we decorate the Christmas tree.

If not Home Alone, what is your all-time favorite Christmas film? It’s a Wonderful Life is up there for me. Partly because growing up I watched it every Christmas Eve and kind of forced my dad to watch it with me. I think he secretly didn’t mind. As a kid, I didn’t dwell on the sad parts of the story, I just wanted to go to that candy shop and run in Bedford Falls like George in that beautiful thick fake snow. Now as an adult, I appreciate the story about a small town coming together to support a man at his lowest of lows more. Jimmy Stewart is amazing as George Bailey and we can all see ourselves at some point in his journey in the film. The chemistry and comedic timing between Stewart and Donna Reed is one of the best. Every time they sing ‘Auld Lang Syne’, I always get a bit misty-eyed.

メリークリスマス Japanese style, in ‘Tokyo Godfathers’ (2003).

What have you noticed about the ways in which Christmas films have changed over the years? In classic Christmas storytelling, there are a lot more religion-centered ones like The Bishop’s Wife and It’s a Wonderful Life. The ’80s and ’90s were about the blockbusters that the whole family could enjoy; Batman Returns, Home Alone, and The Santa Clause. The last twenty years have brought us a lot of different movies, but I do find that the start of the 2000s had a better crop of Christmas movies; Love Actually, Elf, Tokyo Godfathers, Far from Heaven, Bridget Jones’s Diary, About a Boy and so many more. The last decade has been saturated by the rom-coms of Hallmark, Lifetime and their imitators, but from the last five years, a few stand out that could be destined to become Christmas classics: Carol, Little Women and The Night Before.

The best, most rewatched Christmas stories tend to be remade. Do you have a classic Christmas story that you always love, no matter who’s telling it? Hands down Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. From my favorite—Scrooge—to The Muppet Christmas Carol, to Scrooged. Growing up, I had the book of Mickey’s Christmas Carol and I loved the cartoon adaptation. I love to see the different actors’ excitement and elation at the end when Scrooge wakes up on Christmas Day. My ultimate favorite is Alistair Sim in 1951’s Scrooge. He’s so jubilant asking the maid what day it is and wishing himself Merry Christmas in the mirror. It’s a bit darker than others. When I was a kid, the intro with Jacob Marley and the build-up of the chains scared me, but I couldn’t stop watching. Patrick Stewart’s Ebenezer [in the 1999 TV movie] is also great for his relief that he survived the journey through time. What an actor! An honorable mention to The Shop Around the Corner, In the Good Old Summertime and You’ve Got Mail, which are all based on [the 1937 Hungarian play Parfumerie by Miklós László].

A Christmas Treat in ‘Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square’ (2020).

Treat Williams stars in not one but two of this season’s films (who knew he could sing?!). Which actors bring that special spark to festive films for you? Yes, and boy can he sing! Another actor who can sing and puts me straight in the Christmas mood is Bing Crosby. Those classic songs in White Christmas and Holiday Inn are favorites of mine. Jimmy Stewart is an obvious one. He has that charm that’s perfect for Christmas movies, especially in The Shop Around the Corner.

What’s your guiltiest pleasure on the list? Why do we love cheesy movies so much?! Every year I watch TCM’s Classic Christmas marathon [but I also watch] the Hallmark and Lifetime Christmas rom-coms. For me, I love them partly because there’s always a happy ending. I love to see all the decorations and all the cute small towns—some I wish existed so I could visit them because they’re so darn cute! Another reason I love them is the nostalgia, as some of the better ones star TV actors from the ’90s and ’00s like Candice Cameron Bure, Lacey Chabert, Jonathan Bennett, Adrian Grenier, Mario Lopez, Alicia Witt, Alison Sweeney and so many others.

One of the other great Christmas-themed lists on Letterboxd is the one about Christmas movie posters with white heterosexual couples wearing red and green—though many members pride themselves on having seen none of them. I like those movies because I can zone out and enjoy the predictable Christmas ride. However, like other Letterboxd members, I know that these aren’t Oscar-caliber films—though some are better than others! I’m glad that the powers that make these movies are starting to be more inclusive with more POC and LGTBQ+ characters. As a wheelchair user with a physical disability, I was happy to see that Lifetime has an upcoming one called Christmas Ever After, starring Ali Stroker.

Ali Stroker finds love in ‘Christmas Ever After’ (2020).

Indeed, our Make the Yuletide Gay list is an attempt to highlight queer festive films, but the pickings have been slim. Yes, very slim. There’s been queer characters in Christmas films but it’s your stereotypical gay friend or something like that. This year I feel there’s a shift in the air to be more inclusive. My favorites this year so far have been the star-filled lesbi-rom-com Happiest Season, The Christmas House—featuring a landmark first gay couple in a Hallmark festive film, Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square and Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey—with Ricky Martin! I’m looking forward to checking out A New York Christmas Wedding, The Christmas Setup and Dashing in December.

What is the scariest Christmas film that your horror-loving husband has made you watch? The best one is Black Christmas. I love that it’s female-centered and ahead of its time in their portrayals. The killer’s POV really gets me into it and still to this day puts me on edge, so much so that an ornament fell off our tree while watching it this year and it freaked me out!

Also, should we be watching The Nightmare Before Christmas on Hallowe’en or on Christmas? I watch The Nightmare Before Christmas on both holidays so you get the best of both worlds—the ghoulishness of Hallowe’en and the merriment of Christmas!

What other films on your list show Christmas in an unusual light? The first weird one that popped to mind is The Star Wars Holiday Special. That was weird! Also, from what I’ve watched I would say Eyes Wide Shut, The Ref and 3 Godfathers are not your usual Christmas films. I do have quite a few on the list I have to watch that seem weird and unusual like Elves, Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny and Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.

[Editor’s note: Previous How I Letterboxd interviewee Dave Vis urges you not to watch Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny under any circumstances.]

Which actor is the quintessential Santa Claus? For me, it’s the Santa in Miracle on 34th Street, played by Edmund Gwenn. He truly embodied the part in the way he plays Kris Kringle. The gentleness and innocence he shows throughout the film is magical. It’s no wonder he won a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his performance.

Gunn Wållgren in ‘Fanny and Alexander’ (1982).

Of course, so many films in the Christmas canon are American films. What are some of the best Christmas films from around the world? This question makes me realize I haven’t watched enough Christmas movies from around the world. With that being said here’s a few; A Christmas Tale from France, A Child’s Christmas in Wales from the UK, Tokyo Godfathers from Japan and Ingmar Bergman’s Fanny and Alexander from Sweden. Mon oncle Antoine is a great Canadian film set in a small mining village during Christmas. It reminded me of the stories my mom and grandma talked about their Christmas traditions in their small village.

Are there any overrated classics you want to protest? I didn’t watch A Christmas Story growing up, so when I finally did watch it as an adult, I didn’t connect with it. The iconic scenes are funny and all, but it’s just okay. Now I’ll be on my hubby’s naughty list!

Does the film marathon continue through that purgatory week between Christmas and New Year? Do you have any film-related traditions to ring in the New Year? It does continue during that week to a certain extent. Some years after Christmas I’m done and what I haven’t watched goes to the following year but other years I can watch a few more and not feel overwhelmed. On New Year’s we have no traditions per se, but this year we might do a Tarantino marathon.

Christmas season is also synonymous with awards season. You keep track of a lot of Academy Awards history. How are you feeling about the awards season this year? First off, like many others, I haven’t even set foot in a theater this year and that is sad. I hope that the theater-going experience is not irreparably damaged. One good thing that came from the pandemic is film festivals streamed online and we were fortunate to watch some great titles from TIFF from the comfort of our home in September. I saw Nomadland, and it’s going to be a frontrunner for many of the main categories. I hope Regina King’s One Night in Miami gets some love. Miranda July’s Kajillionaire script is so unique—Evan Rachel Wood and Richard Jenkins should be contenders. I haven’t watched a lot of docs yet but Boys State stands out. I’m also eager to see First Cow, Minari, Ammonite, The Truffle Hunters, Soul, Mank, The Father and Promising Young Woman.

This Christmas is going to be weird for a lot of people. What’s one film you’d recommend for a guaranteed happiness injection? Weird indeed. If I have to pick just one it would be John Favreau’s Elf. Will Ferrell as Buddy the Elf instantly brings a smile to my face. You can feel his joy for Christmas from start to finish. From the classic claymation, to New York City at Christmas, to eating all that sugar, to that hilarious scene with Peter Dinklage—it’s Christmas gold!

And finally, are there some other Letterboxd members you recommend we follow? Emily, Flurryheaven, Guyzo997, Peter Spencer, Michael Dean, Brent Vanhomwegen, Ara Hiddleston and also some more Christmas lists.

#letterboxd #how i letterboxd #letterboxd community #letterboxd culture #letterboxd members #christmas #christmas films #christmas movies #holiday movies #holiday films #jack moulton

[kootenaygoon]

So,

We were supposed to be having sushi.

Paisley’s mother was in Nelson for a visit, and we’d strolled down to Baker Street on a breezy summer evening in June 2015 to find a whole section of Ward cordoned off. Firefighters were congregating around a nearby alley, behind Touchstones Museum, and police cruisers were strategically parked to block traffic at either end of the block. On the opposite side of the street was a small crowd of gawkers standing outside the Hume Hotel. I’d just gotten off work, and I’d been looking forward to sushi all day, but there was no way I could keep walking and pretend I hadn’t seen this.

“You guys get started, I just need to figure out what’s going on, okay? It’ll take me like 20 minutes, tops. This could actually be a big story for the Friday edition,” I said, giving Paisley a quick kiss. 

“I’ll be there before you’re even finished your miso soup.”

When I got down to the corner I shook hands with Josh Hoffman, one of the local radio reporters. I asked him what was going on and he explained that some guy had terrorized his girlfriend, torn apart her apartment and was now throwing shit out the window into the alley. She had successfully extricated herself, thankfully, but now he was menacing the cops with a cleaver and threatening to throw himself out the fifth-storey window. Josh pulled out his camera and showed me the photos he’d taken, the last time the dude poked his head out. There was blood running down his chin, his eyes were wild, and he looked like a horror movie villain. He was also approximately my age, a regular-looking blonde guy in his early 30s. If the universe was sending me signs, then this one was was a little on the nose. 

“He was laughing and pointing at people, man. Like the Joker or something,” Josh said. “Creepy shit.”

I thanked Josh and jogged across town to the Nelson Star office to retrieve my camera, taking a moment to screw on my zoom lens, then called Greg on my cell while I power-walked back to the scene. Up until this point the Star had published multiple stories about the mental health crisis, as the NPD continued to call it, but I hadn’t been able to write about a specific example. This was my chance to illustrate what Wayne Holland had told me about, to make people see the immediacy and urgency of the issue. That being said, I knew Paisley would be pissed if I didn’t get back to dinner quickly. Her Mom had flown all the way from Nova Scotia to see us and so far I’d been busy nearly every day with work. It didn’t matter if this random dude was about to commit very public suicide, because I couldn’t change the outcome one way or the other. I imagined her sitting there with the menu, wishing I could just call the cops in the morning. But I was too addicted to the rush, the drama, the adrenaline of a breaking story. 

I’d never felt better suited to a task.

“So they have him barricaded in the room, and he’s completely in the dark because they cut off power to the whole building,” I told Greg, recounting what I’d heard from Josh. 

“They’ve got negotiators there now, trying to talk him down. They know he has that meat cleaver but they don’t know what else he might have.”

“And when did this all start?”

“I think it’s been about four hours now. Like it started with this big domestic dispute and then this dude just lost his shit. Word is he’s violating a court order.”

“Well, let’s hope he doesn’t jump.”

As I neared the spot again, I reflected on how this darkness could exist amidst such incredible beauty. Elephant Mountain remained omnipresent to my right, it’s trees glowing in the late evening sun. There were faded phantom signs on the heritage buildings and people were noisily enjoying patio time with a view that stretched out to the Big Orange Bridge. Beers clinked. Around town there were a number of mural projects going on, and my favourite was a collaborative art wall that changed every few months. Its latest iteration was a cyborg lobster that was harvesting bunnies to turn into slippers. It had been created by an artist named Coleman Webb, along with help from others, and I used it as a cover photo for the Star one week. To me it illustrated the rollicking chaos of the Kootenays, with bright vivid colours, but it also hinted at some of its shadowy elements too. Who could save us from the lobster menace? All around us were people that were taking things too far, that were getting lost in the intellectual jungles of drug addiction and mental illness. And who was there to catch these people, when they careened off the deep end? Who was going to intervene?

“Has he poked his head out again?” I asked Josh.

“Yeah, he’s putting on a real show now. I think he likes the attention. He keeps yelling at us, but I can’t hear him.”

“What’re the cops doing? Did they set up mats under his window or something?”

“It looks like they’re taking the firetruck ladder. I don’t know if they’re going to rush the place or what.”

I spotted Fire Chief Len MacCharles, who had also been at Ryan Tapp’s death scene. This was turning out to be a grim gig for him. He shouted orders, pointing and gesturing. It was just starting to get dark, and the red brake lights gave everything a hellish glow. I found a good angle on the balcony of the Hume, and my shutter clicked multiple times as the guy re-emerged swaying, his arms locked on the windowsill. Blood dripped from his chin to his chest, leaving little crimson spots below his collarbone. His eyes rolled around in his head, then suddenly they focused. He shouted wildly. His eyes scanned the alley past the firefighters and down to the small crowd in front of where I was situated. Then he saw me, with the camera, and grinned. He lifted his shaky arm and pointed right at me. He was on the other side of the lens, but I still felt his gaze. Goosebumps erupted down my arms.

“It was like he was trying to tell me something, like he was coming back from the future to warn me,” I told Paisley later that night, while we walked the dogs around the school playground.

“It was like he was saying: you next.”

Paisley scoffed. “Don’t say that. That’s ridiculous.”

We were sneaking a joint before going to bed, which was breaking the promise we’d made to each other that we wouldn’t smoke while her mother was in town. I loved Paisley’s mother, and trusted her deeply, but the flip-side of that was that she always knew more about my life and my secrets than I was comfortable with. She was a tough, ultra-discerning nurse who was intent on providing the best life possible for her daughter, and that meant making sure she regularly participated in boyfriend maintenance. She schooled me on how to properly act as a partner, correcting any missteps or faux pas. She’d held our hands through multiple near-breakups, acting as a mediator. Whenever she visited she bought us groceries, took us shopping for housing decorations, and sat delighted in the passenger seat while we took road trips into the countryside. The one down-side was her fervent anti-pot attitude, which necessitated covert moments such as these.

We stood in the moonlight while Muppet and Buster ran laps of the field, bounding along in pace with each other. One light, the other dark. Smoke tendrils rose towards the buzzing security light, then up into the darkness.

“So what happened with the guy, then? How did it all end?” Paisley asked, taking a toke.

“He took a run for the window and jumped right out, but somehow I guess he ended up hanging by his fingertips from the window frame. So the cops rushed the room and they grabbed him while he was dangling there. They were able to drag him back inside.”

She passed me the joint. “By his fingers? Holy shit.”

The Kootenay Goon

[postpunkpontypandyphantomthief]

7th Comedy Monologue

“Hey my Cheese bags I’m back from my adventure in 1985”

“No joke if you look it up

the timeframe of days for each month this year

are the exact same as they were in 1985”

So all this “80s revival stuff” with Duran Duran and Depeche Mode touring, Petshop Boys releasing a new album, a new generation falling in love with Queen and She-Ra while the world is being messed up by a tyrannical iron lady and a talking tangerine makes a bit of sense doesn’t it?”

Even though I was born in the 2000s I’ve always loved most of the media from that decade, the gothic and upbeat synthesizer music,the cheaply made but entertaining cartoons,the video games,the basic but stylish fashion,the musicals and John Hughes films,the mix of music genres in the charts,Goth,Synth,Punk,2 Tone,Post-Punk,New Wave,Glam Metal,Alternative,Shoegaze,Hip Hop,Electronica

I was watching Saved by the Bell  before Netflix even existed

Then again a lot of the shows from then were also being revived back in my day

Dal Winton was presenting game shows, Pingu replaced the scary walrus monsters with rap music, I watched or had VHS tapes of the Muppet show, Noddy, Postman Pat and Scooby Doo.

Scooby-Doo! Now that’s a show that never gets old because it never changes, anyone regardless of what generation they’re from would be able to tell you

“Oh Yeah, I remember Scooby Doo”

When you think about it Scooby Doo is quite philosophical

we are all just a gang going on our own adventures

that and the first few live-action movies are modern masterpieces

I was just browsing Twitter or Tumblr or literally anywhere on the internet only to see that screencaps were taken from the live action Scooby Doo interviews had turned into memes

*ahem*

Well,I was auditioning for the role of Velma, I could sense from the way Matthew Lillard just fully encompassed the role of Shaggy, it felt like he was Shaggy, he was our saviour as he felt his spiritual energy increase, that’s when I knew we were working with a legend

Something like that although Matthew isn’t too fond of the memes himself specifically the ones where his spiritual connections are described more like demon possession rituals

*ahem*

“Being Shaggy has led me down a path of death and destruction. I’ve killed many mortals in hope of replicating 1% of Shaggy’s being, by the end of filming I hope to become one with him”

In which Matthew responded with

*deadpan voice*

This is wrong

I mean I might also have inspirations where I feel like I can philosophically connect with them, in their performing style and personality but that’s where I draw the line

Personality?  That’s a tricky subject

You could say some people have consistent personalities

People said Freddie Mercury and David Bowie were party animals who were incredible on stage with their charisma, creativity and charm but other sources have said they were relaxed, laid back people who were shy when being interviewed.

That could just be the contrast between their onstage and offstage personas but not all of us have that, even if we are all  just actors in a play, hoping each day goes the right way

Some of us are punk, even if we don’t explicitly say that we are, or have the stereotypical style associated with it,a lot of us just try to be ourselves,some of us can enjoy reality shows and horror movies at the same time,some of us can enjoy One Direction and Gorillaz,some of us can love fashion but also love memes, Theatre, and 1980s aesthetics

I’d say I’m the same but sometimes my personality is all over the place

I can go from being cheerful, relaxed and happy to being dazed and clumsy or cynical or entranced and hyper-fixated to Pessimistic and Cold to Quiet and Timid to Mellow and Loud   what personality traits you associate with me, however, is up to your own conclusion

call me any internet subculture stereotype and I’d be able to tell you about how I either, unfortunately, was the stereotype or I hung around people who were those stereotypes

if you said I was someone who watched Cbbc and citv you’d be right

if you said I was a classic rock enthusiast years ago and now you’d be right

if you said I used to be a cringy anime enthusiast  you’d be right

if you said I was one of those theatre kids who watched Disney sitcoms you’d be right

if you said I was one of those meme posters who referenced movies like Shrek and bee movie you’d be right

Another thing punks did was and sometimes still do was creating fanzines, magazines related to their favourite band or tv show or their own opinions on what’s going in the world, nowadays you could say social media has replaced that, but publications like the Daily Mirror, The Sun and TMZ still have a presence on there,I’d say fanzines should have a revival.

The BAFTA’s also happened recently and I wasn’t impressed, then again when are awards shows anything other than beauty pageants for films anyway?

Some films deserved their awards, but some films barely got a mention, Paddington 2 wasn’t included in there or in any of the other film awards this year and Stan and Ollie got nothing…

A darn shame because that film was so well made, it felt authentic, while Stan and Ollie also have a bit of a universal following, there are still some people who probably don’t know who they are!

Before Walliams and Lucas, Before the Two Ronnies, Before Richie and Eddie

There was…Laurel and Hardy

Two moustached blokes, who in the 20s and 50s would just try to delight audiences the best way they could, through slapstick and laughter, without them, most of the world’s double acts wouldn’t exist and even Spongebob wouldn’t exist

Yep, you heard me right, all those misadventures Spongebob and Patrick would have, they were loosely based on the adventures of Laurel and Hardy, except instead of it being about a tall British man and a fat American it was about an anthropomorphic sponge and a dumb but caring starfish.

Speaking of Spongebob, there was some sad news involving Spongebob not too long ago

The creator of Spongebob, Stephen Hillenburg…had passed away from ALS

I know, it’s awful,stupid motor neuron diseases and stupid Adam Levine too,for those who don’t know there was an episode of Spongebob called Band Geeks where they ended the episode with the cast playing a song called Sweet Victory over a Superbowl type of event, for the actual super bowl Spongebob fans around the world petitioned for that song to be played in tribute for Stephen,however we got Adam Levine singing a different song instead….what a letdown

If it wasn’t for SpongeBob I and some of the rest of the new generation, wouldn’t know half the old music or old films we know now.

To let down millions of fans like that makes me sick

Honestly, I was a bit sick a few weeks ago, I’ve been sick before and hospitalized twice but this particular moment of sickness was odd

It was like any other night, I was trying to get some sleep and lucid dream, but then it happened, the shivers, the shakes the trembling aches,

Out of nowhere, I felt like an ice-cube stuck in a microwave, It was too cold but it was too warm, I eventually got to sleep but when I got up the next morning I felt sick again, sorry for disclosing those details but it was like the exorcist…

Usually, when I’m sick watching documentaries, Kitchen Nightmares or 90s films weirdly cheers me up

Speaking of films, Rocketman the Elton John movie is out and it actually looks good

It’s being directed by the guy who was the replacement director for Bo Rhap and if it ends up being brilliant I won’t be surprised, the trailer gave off Velvet Goldmine vibes, the style of composed cinematography and I’m sounding like Film Twitter, Isle of Dogs was a good film…oh wait it wasn’t acknowledged much by the award shows either.

Another amazing film I recently watched was Rocky Horror…I know I’ve mentioned it before but that was when I only knew the sequel and some of the soundtrack,

It was amazing, it was brilliant, it was fantastic, it was out of this world,

ah! Rocky Horror was splendid

I definitely now understand why it’s still going strong to this day

It’s that hybrid of rock and roll, optimistic nihilism and soft aesthetics

That just works for me, another thing I’ve remembered was that Richard O’ Brien played the dad in Phineas and Ferb, well that explains that part of me liked that cartoon for the music and some of the characters but other characters did my head in like that Isabel character

“Hey, Phineas what ya dooing?”

“How about you let me finish my invention and you mind your own business”

Oof that’s too harsh…but considering aspects of the marvel Phineas and Ferb crossover were surprisingly a bit sexist at times outdated for the show that is usually quite progressive in its representation and characters…it’s probably accurate

Another person who hasn’t changed but is also often harsh, Piers Morgan, a little tweety bird told me he had a mysterious illness, good riddance I’d say, he’s the new Noel Edmonds, the presenter who used to be ok but now is unbearable…because he never shuts up

Thankfully though he’s “taking a break” from GMB that will rest our eardrums

Russell Brand has also been in the tabloids again, even though he’s more focused on his Buddhist spiritual recovery enlightening, looking back he wasn’t as bad as people described him, yeah at times he was a bit too over the top,but he was and is quite an ok bloke, but I’d say temporarily banning tickling is a bit of a stretch,

when you think about the number of people who disrespect our literal and figurative personal space on a daily basis, it kinda makes a bit of sense,

whether your sensory sensitive or not, I’m sure you hate it, when people are too touchy at times

although years ago I would’ve been a bit of an ignorant hypocrite about that

Hating it when crowds of kids would chase me like how the paparazzi chase their next gossip target, yet often annoyingly running up to people to talk to or entertain them.

I really need to learn to enjoy loneliness more because I get some of my best ideas when alone, but emotionally I feel a lot better when around others, a bit of an Ambivert really,

I’m sorry I can be a bit all over the place, I’m trying to make my energy more manageable

as that lucid dreaming thing has been misused at times,

I shouldn’t let myself be controlled…

by anyone or anything..no overthinking, no overworking,

treat the world as your stage, start your first act, motivated and ready, take your recharging interval breaks and then move on for your second act

fancy that me an ex-drama student making that metaphor when my current course  involves digitally drawing art, editing audio and sitting at a computer for most of the day

But then again just because someone shows good charisma that doesn’t always mean their a good person.

Ted Bundy, one of America's most notorious serial killers used charisma and charm in his court cases, and with the amount of fangirls giving him fanmail it was like the Beatles fandom but for people with Stockholm syndrome,and now with Netflix’s documentary and Troy from High School Musical in an upcoming film about him, that seems to be repeating itself…

*Alien voice* Ted Bundy the 1960s called they want your fangirls back!

One show I know you probably haven’t heard of is The Boondocks, a south park esque cartoon with an anime esque art style, referencing the social commentary of African American culture and media, celebrating some aspects while critiquing others, through the lenses of a socialist boy named Huey Freeman, his rapper wannabe brother Riley and their activist grandad Robert.

This show was quite revolutionary,it referenced the issue of each episode quite well, even though it only lasted 4 seasons, however, because the show is quite American, apart from the animation which is done in Korea,The Boondocks is not well known in the UK, which is a shame because it is a really good show that still holds up…however, it does fall under one mousetrap that most other adult cartoons fall into….

Because of the references to violence,innuendo and other dark subject matter sometimes referenced in a satirically humorous way,some audiences  would just watch the show because it’s offensive thinking that the show was made just to be offensive..instead of what the show was actually made for..which was to give social commentary on the issues relevant to African American communities in America.

I had watched this show years ago, it only just came back on my radar, because the creator Aaron McGruder, who based the show off his webcomic of the same name, had recently made a new issue.

There’s a difference between being satirical and being offensive

Your either making fun of something bad that a system or people are doing to make people aware of how stupid and sad the world can be at times,subjectively making fun of a stereotype, or your an arse who thinks they’re a comedian when they waste their time on social media, thinking they’re amazing and funny when they’re holding up the line at Mcdonald’s and the only people laughing at their jokes are gammon and people who found Bernard Manning funny

“Oh Wait”

I know sometimes I have unpopular opinions such as how my views of someone dip depending on their views of Kanye West

and sometimes I can be a bit snarky, and I hate and love stuff in equal amounts, but we need a bit of that don’t we, if we bottle it all up we explode like volcanos, but if we overshare too much, we crash like out of control cars

It’s all about moderation, salt is a tasty condiment but eat too much of it and your arteries will get clogged,

A few days back it was the day Mark Ashton passed away, for those who don’t know,he was an LGBT activist in the 80s,he volunteered with organizations such as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament,he and the other activists helped to support the miners during the miner strike, creating the LGSM Alliance,Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners,there was a film made about them too, called Pride,but what some people don’t know is that….Mark Ashton was Northern Irish…he was one of us..he was the Marsha P Johnson of our time..if we were a bit like Mark Ashton this country would be a slightly more accepting place, why don’t we give love!

Let’s move on, plant more flowers in our garden..I know I sound like a hippie but it’s true, our Celtic Summerland is being used as a cesspool for Nuclear Waste

Oi! use your own bins, not the place we’re living in, pick up your rubbish and clean up your own mess…

The 80s were telling us something with all those protect and survive adverts, yes some of us were prepared as the older generation made us alert, others couldn’t recognize that a lot of innocent people were getting hurt.

When we say we want a 1980s comeback we want the music, clothes, games and  films,

but Nope

while we have some of that the 1980s revival we get is the one that involves Nuclear Danger and the ghost of Margaret Thatcher

All these TV and Film revivals, some are cool others are just unnecessary  Do we really need a Snow White sequel? No, we don’t but we did get one even if it was unofficial

Back in 2007 a French animation company made a sequel to Snow White which was also a bit like Shrek in how it satirised the fairy tale tropes, how Prince Charming feels like he is objectified while he ends up doing the same thing to the female characters, quite a tosser but that’s the point of the parody to point out the flaws with fairy tale logic, and to put the likes of Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella in more realistic scenarios.

…it’s strange, weird but brilliant too

The English dub had quite a few familiar faces doing the character voices

Stephen Fry as the narrator, Morwenna Banks, Simon Greenall and another British actor

Rik someone...

Ah! I remember his name now, he was in many successful sitcoms in the 80s and 90s,he was a legend, he knew how to keep people laughing, whether they were children, adults, teenagers,

in television, theatre, film or music

quite an eclectic range of talent

Although

I’m a new fan, I might adore his work, but I had just learnt his name 2 years ago, whereas, with other fans, they have created their own work, such as Charlie Brooker and Simon Pegg… some were able to meet him…lucky...

Some encounters were quite interesting, I had heard someone’s nan got to meet him in the 90s but she got his name wrong so she ended up saying

“‘oh hello can I have your autograph please Mr mayo?’

Well that happened, she probably still got that autograph,...

And somewhere up there, Rik Mayall is thinking of us, he, Stephen Hillenburg and David Bowie are probably chatting away

Let’s make the lord of misrule proud

#comedy #comedy monologue #1980s #original monologue

[oneweekoneband]

As I get older I have less resistance to certain strains of starry-eyed woo. Some of it comes from observing over time that the division into woo and non-woo camps correlates less with lived experience than I’d once smugly assumed; there are, actually, people with what anyone would agree are Real Problems that believe, for example, that everything happens for a reason, and there are plenty of easy cynics manufacturing bitterness out of a thoroughly average existence. Mostly, though, it’s that I’ve begun to accept that the mind does not rule the heart, and the heart follows its own laws, and I get further, easier, trying to learn the laws of my heart than I do trying to force it to submit to my mind. There are many important and beautiful realms where the mind can have its kingdom; I’m a teacher, I love and admire several of these domains. But then: I’m a teacher, I know reason has no curative powers for a wounded heart. Mostly I am learning to need things less to be smart and more to be useful.

Kesha wrote this song in rehab. Of its origin, she wrote:

This is how the song “Rainbow” came to be. The whole album idea and tour and everything, came from me crying and singing and playing and dreaming until my hour was up and they took the keyboard away again. Every day I would just cry and play that song because I knew I had to get through that incredibly hard time. I knew I had to change and learn to take care of and love myself, and I had no idea how to even begin.

“Rainbow” was the beginning. That song and the lyrics were a letter to myself promising that I was going to take care of myself going forward and that I was going to be okay.

I’m only rarely interested in the biographical backstories of creation as more than entertaining curiosities for my fannish side, but I think about this a lot: Kesha in rehab for an eating disorder, making music for an hour at a time, writing a song about seeing the beauty in the world. Kesha beginning to fight to save her own life, writing a song about what it looks like on the other side of survival. Rainbow is the album about living a free life Kesha made while she was not free; Rainbow is the song about joy Kesha wrote from the epicenter of her pain. A promise she couldn’t know yet she would be able to fulfill. A shooting-star wish she would be the one to grant herself.

She wrote I used to live in the darkness, still waiting for the sun to rise; she wrote been lookin’ for a star-sent sign that I’ll be alright, but she crafted her own omen, her own promise of redemption. I turn this over and over: how brave it is to choose to hope for something you don’t yet know how to do. To welcome in a love you can’t yet feel. To look at your sad, sorry self and decide she is worth believing in.

Belief is a hard thing for me. I say belief, but I mean useful belief. I still think about stumbling across David Foster Wallace’s famous Kenyon College commencement address as a depressed twenty-year-old who had never heard his name and being transfixed less by his exhortation to stay aware and awake than by this idea: that everyone worships, and we only get a say in the question of what. I never decorated my room that year or any other that I spent in a dorm, never bought anything for the sake of ornament, not because I couldn’t but because I thought it wasn’t worth the effort. It was only temporary, it was just my room—logic that expands too easily into it’s only temporary, it’s just my life. Or maybe that’s backwards; maybe all along it was my self I couldn’t see the point of, and the bare walls were just a reflection that deeper emptiness. Maybe it matters, maybe it doesn’t. Being wrong isn’t helpful, being right hasn’t once saved me yet.

Now I see that colors are everything Got kaleidoscopes in my hairdo Got back the stars in my eyes too Yeah now I see the magic inside of me

Inside, outside. Marie Kondo says Tidying is a confrontation with the self, that the heart of making a home you love is understanding the person you are. I wanted to believe there was no connection, I wanted to believe I could outsmart them both, I wanted to believe that if I understood the parameters of what had happened to me I would somehow be inoculated from the hurt. I own a turquoise couch now, a peacock-colored shag rug, some days everything is still hard—hard because it’s pointless, pointless because I’m hopeless. It’s so seductive, still, the story that feels like truth because it will never succumb to being proven wrong. I read about astrology, I pull tarot cards in the mornings, ways to circumvent the endless rational-sounding explanations my brain creates automatically for giving up, talismans of my tentative faith in the importance of faith. The most insufferable hippie belief I’ve been forced to make peace with is the idea that happiness is a choice, not because you choose it and then it comes but because if you don’t choose it it never comes.

This song is a penny in a fountain, a stray eyelash, blown-out birthday candles: little rituals that acknowledge what we want, that acknowledge that we want. I forgot how to daydream. Little kids are great at this: wanting things, wishing, understanding themselves as creatures that dream. Deep down I’m still a child / playful eyes wide and wild she sings, right before I can’t lose hope—like the two are connected, like she owes it to that little girl dancing in the sun. Like that girl is still inside her, and deserves to live as the person she might yet become. How do you develop that kind of faith, that kind of love? How do you find it in yourself to look at all the places you have rotted away and say what’s left of my heart’s still made of gold? How do you decide that you can become the person who lives in a life you love—that in fact you are that person already, contrary to all perceivable evidence?

Trust me, I know life is scary. We know she knows, and I wish we didn’t need to know why to take her at her word; some of us have always trusted that she knew how to see the darkness. Put those colors on, girl / come and paint the world with me tonight, singing to us the song that she sang herself. I turn this over and over: how gentle she is with her terrified self. How in making something beautiful and soft, she gave herself the language to begin rewriting the voice in her head, the story she was telling herself about herself. I’m feeling right back in love with being alive / dreaming in lights. Some days, walking home through light like amber, I do look to the sky, and it does seem magical, and the part of me that can see that feels like the truest part of me.

In The Goldfinch Donna Tartt wrote: “Whatever teaches us to talk to ourselves is important; whatever teaches us to sing ourselves out of despair.” Kesha has been that for me for a long, long time. I love the words to this song I couldn’t have believed in years ago, but the best part comes in the middle, in the wordless, soaring bridge. The orchestra fills the space like light spilling across floorboards, a warm swelling glow, led by Kesha’s voice, fluttering and playful, loose and lovely, arcing across the sky on a melody like the flight of morning birds, like the sparkle of a meteor shower. You can see in her voice what you hear in her voice: the delight of creation, the sheer delight of making something beautiful. No words, no arguments, no justifications. Joy is enough. She is enough.

My favorite use of a rainbow, lodged in me permanently through the wonder of childhood discovery, is still The Muppet Movie. Not the beginning, although I do love Kermit, alone, singing about wanting magic, about trusting that it’s there, waiting to be found. But the end, the big sentimental figurative and literal mess, the outlandishly happy ending collapsing into cheerful disarray for a moment of wonder, of something like awe: the crack in the ceiling letting in the light, the rainbow saying what a rainbow always says—you’ve made it this far: Life’s like a movie, write your own ending / keep believing, keep pretending. Write your own ending not because you write it and it comes true, but because it ends whether you write it or not: in the dark I realized that life is short. Choose what you worship, which is sometimes not so firmly after all on the other side of maturity from that idiom of childhood, make believe. In rehab, in the dark, Kesha made belief of out music, made beauty out of survival. A kind of magic, an alchemy of hope. Now it’s hers and ours too, the lovers and the dreamers and those of us trying to remember how to do both, to take from it what we need, to fashion it into something we can use. To sing ourselves out of despair. To believe in, until we can choose to believe that we’re enough.

—Isabel

#rainbow