#(all love to Dan Stevens who was not at fault here)

[ordinaryschmuck]

Top 10 Favorite Fictional Couples

Happy Valentines Day, people on the internet who probably won't read this! I'm an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons. And even though I'm a lonely bastard who will absolutely die alone one day, I am also a sucker for romance. If a story decides to include a cute couple in it, then you better believe I'm going to gush over them for an unhealthy amount of time for a man my age. Even more so if they answer the three most essential questions that I think applies to every romantic couple in fiction:

Why do they like each other? (Looks don't count. It can be an option, but it shouldn't be the only option.)

Would it make sense for them to be together? (Like, if this couple would exist in real life, would you expect them to last.)

Do they have chemistry? (This is the most important one as a couple can dominate just by the chemistry alone.)

So today, I am going to rank my top ten favorite couples in fiction, who just so happen to answer most, if not all, of these questions. Now, I could be cute and make a top fourteen list...but not too long ago, I just listed off the twenty best-animated series of the 2010s, so I think it's best if I stick to the basics. Also, I should make a few things clear:

A. These are couples, not ships. The pairing has to have a canon kiss, or at the very least, a canon confession to be on the list. This means sorry, Lumity fans, but Luz and Amity are not going to be on this list...even though they would absolutely be #1 if they could be!

B. The couple has to at least spend an entire episode being together, which means no last-minute hookups because the writers wanted to drag out the romantic tension. (Sorry, Catradora fans)

With that out of the way, let's get started with--

10. Laura Hollis and Carmilla Kernstien from Carmilla (Web Series)

The chemistry between these two is on point. Laura’s and Carmilla's actors Elise Bauman and Natasha Negovanlis are so convincing when acting like a couple that I am honestly shocked to find out they never actually dated. This is good because everything else about Laura and Carmilla's relationship is...kind of the worst. Don't get me wrong, as a couple, these two are fantastic, adorable, well-written, and well-performed. But the writers seem very fond of keeping them bickering and broken up rather than actually having them together. And that is where the issue lies. If the writers committed to Laura and Carmilla being together instead of doing this whole "will they or won't they" crap, on top of them being selfish idiots in season two, then you better believe they would be in the top three, at least. As they are, they at least act adorable enough to make the top ten.

9. Gregg and Angus from Night in the Woods

Ok, I'm gonna level with you: I just wanted to put an mlm relationship on this list, and this was the best I can come up with (I haven't seen Good Omens, nor have I finished Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts yet to see Benson's relationship with Troy. Leave me alone). As a male bisexual, I'm kind of disappointed. I know that male pairings exist in media, but for the life of me, I don't think they are as celebrated as much, or as frequent, as female pairings have been. This is sad because I would honestly love to see how more couples like Gregg and Angus.

These two act so much like a real couple. Gregg and Angus care and support each other so much, yet they still have big arguments as any couple would. They clearly love each other but still have issues they both need to deal with if they want to grow. Plus, I'm just a sucker for opposites attract. And you can't get more opposite than the loud and bombastic Gregg and his quiet and serious boyfriend Angus. There are probably better mlm pairings than these two (And if there are, then let me know. I'd love to check them out), but Gregg and Angus prove that any relationship, no matter the gender, can be the same as any other. Both the wholesomeness and the faults.

8. Peter Parker and Michelle Jones from the Marvel Cinematic Universe

I put these two a little low because we barely see them spend time as a couple. Peter and Michelle got together at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home, and we only get a glimpse of how their relationship works in the last few minutes. However, I'm willing to argue that they count because they are guaranteed to be a couple in the sequels, and we'll be allowed to see them grow. How often do you get to say that for other fictional couples who get together at the end of a long story? Plus, Peter and Michelle earn extra bonus points for being the best couple in a Spider-Man movie. Michelle is a league's better character than the MJ in the Sam Rami trilogy, and the chemistry is still adorable but not overtly cutesy like it was in The Amazing Spider-Man movies. So even though Peter and Michelle just got together, they show a lot of promise, if you ask me. Their interactions are adorable, you can tell that Michelle likes Peter for Peter, and they are the most accurate depictions of young love you’ll ever see. Just look at that first kiss. It was one filled with inexperience and awkwardness and I just love it! I’m already interested in what these two have to offer and I can’t wait to see what happens next with them.

7. Andy Dwyer and April Ludgate from Parks and Recreation

The best description you'll ever hear about this couple is that they are what happens when a dog and a cat fall in love. Andy is dopey, happy, and loyal to no end. April is intimidating, cynical, and is already plotting your murder as we speak. What I'm saying is that these two shouldn't work...but they do. Somehow, by every leap of logic, Andy and April complete each other. They are both so far gone from reality, yet at the same time, both keep each other grounded in more ways than one. It's a weird paradox that never ceases to amaze, nor does it cease to be adorable. They do go through bullcrap love triangles and a "will they or won't they scenario" in seasons two and three, but once that crap is over, the writers lean into the potential these two have as a great couple. And trust me when I say that it is all lovely to watch.

6. Rapunzel and Eugene from Tangled: The Series

Huh. I guess romance really does exist after Happily Ever After.

Joking aside, I was surprised by how well these two work as a pairing. Usually, when the Disney Prince and Princess get together in the end, there is nothing more to the relationship. And even if their movie gets a spin-off series, the dynamic is as generic and forgettable as it can be. For Rapunzel and Eugene, it is different. Their chemistry is top-notch, their constant love and support for each other are admirable/adorable, and the complete trust they have for one another is absolute perfection. I was already surprised by how good Tangled: The Series was, but the fact that the main couple is somehow better here than they were in their own movie is something I would have never expected.

5. Rigby and Eileen from Regular Show

And seeing how we're talking about surprises, who saw these two being the best couple in the series? With the number of times that the writers focussed on Mordecai's romantic hang-ups and how often Muscle Man and Starla were considered the only canon couple, I was shocked when it turned out Rigby and Eileen have the best loving relationship in Regular Show. Even crazier, their relationship is built entirely in the background of the first six seasons. Since her introduction, Eileen has been head over heels for Rigby since the beginning (for reasons I'll never understand), and Rigby slowly reciprocated. Until the big reveal in the season six finale, there was nothing but implications as they were trying to hide their relationship and not rub how perfect it is in Mordecai's face (no matter how much Rigby wants to). But once we get to see them as an official couple, it all becomes clear why they work so well. Eileen loves Rigby for Rigby, and will always support him, faults and all. Rigby pays it all back in spades, wanting to be a better person, as well as a better boyfriend, for the one person who always believes there was something good inside. Not even his own best friend had that much faith in him. And on top of all of that, they're just cute. They may not have been the central hook in the series, but they are definitely much appreciated.

4. Chris and Elise from Dan Vs./Millie and Moxxie from Helluva Boss

These four are tied because they pretty much have the same dynamic. Chris and Moxxie are these pathetic losers who somehow managed to marry Elise and Millie: Badass assassins who could effortlessly marry any man they want. And what they want are their pathetic losers. It's extra wholesome for Chris and Elise, as Chris really can't do that much right, especially in comparison to the ever-perfect Elise. Yet, she still cares deeply for Chris and will promptly destroy anyone or anything that causes him harm. That being said, while Millie and Moxxie are both equally deadly, there is an odd hilarity to the fact that these literal demons from hell are so gosh darn wholesome. Seriously, their literal job is to kill people who screw over those who went to hell, and I'm always going "D'aww" when M and M always do something cute. Explain that logic to me!

There's nothing more I can say about these four, as they're adorable couples that prove love comes in the most impossible circumstances and the unlikeliest places.

3. Ruby and Sapphire from Steven Universe

I'll always remember that Ruby and Sapphire are the first couple that proved to me that there is nothing wrong with a same-sex pairing, especially in children's media. Before Steven Universe, I wasn't necessarily told that same-sex couples are wrong, but they're not meant for kids. Then I found out that these two girls, on a kids show of all places, we're madly in love and my first response was: "...Huh." And this was before I knew I was bisexual, so I wasn't even that obsessed about it at the time. But the more I saw Ruby and Sapphire, and the more I learned about how starved the LGBTQ+ was for representation, the more I really appreciated them. Ruby and Sapphire never fail to be precious, and the fact that they barely spend any longer than a few minutes apart is downright heartwarming (and incredibly literal if you've seen the show). They also broke a ton of barriers to proper representation. Not only were Ruby and Sapphire one of the first explicit lesbian couples in children's animation, but they're also the first ones to actually get married. Because of such a power move, many networks and shows make it less of a challenge for writers to include more gay characters in their stories. There is still a lot of hard work that those writers face, but it certainly seems it's less of a challenge than it would be before Steven Universe came out (Ha!). Ruby and Saphire are the first fictional gay couple I have been introduced to and have made an incredible impression ever since.

2. Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum and Marcelene Abadeer from Adventure Time

But while it's Ruby and Sapphire that introduced me to the concept of a same-sex couple, it's Princess Bubblegum and Marceline that made me root for one. In (I want to say) 2017, I started rewatching Adventure Time, knowing that queer relationships were indeed a thing. This means that not only did I finally caught the INCREDIBLY noticeable subtext in "What Was Missing," but I was legitimately chanting, "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" when I got to the episode "Varmints." And when they finally did kiss in the series finale, I full-on jumped out of my chair and screamed, "YES!" That never happens. Not even for the straight couples that I've obsessed over before this. Either I coo at how adorable they are, or just smile a warm and gentle smile. But letting out a very audible cheer that my college roommates definitely heard? That shows how deeply I cared for these two. And can you really blame me?

Not only is the chemistry on point with Bubblegum and Marceline, but it's interesting getting to see their relationship evolve through the course of the series. They have a dynamic of a couple who broke up on bad terms (long before "Obsidian" confirmed this), and you slowly get to see them reconnect to that spark they lost long ago. Plus, the more you see them interact, the more of their history is revealed, and thus it becomes clear why they fell for each other in the first place. Bubblegum keeps Marceline responsible, while Marceline helps Bubblegum learn how to loosen up. They balance each other nicely, and after some much needed growing up from the both of them, that spark returns. And they're much more of a loving unit than they were years ago. It's incredible to watch, and I would honestly see an entire spin-off series about them. But, as great as Bubblegum and Marceline are, there is a reason they are not my number one.

(There’s no art for this one because they’re characters from a book and I don’t want to steal someone else’s fanart for the sake of my crappy Tumblr post)

1. Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase from Percy Jackson and the Olympians/Heroes of Olympus

And that reason is that I can't resist the first-ever pairing that I obsessed over. Percy and Annabeth might just be the example I live by for how couples should be written in media. Dynamic wise, of course. In terms of telling a story, their relationship was handled poorly in Percy Jackson and the Olympians. It was filled with agonizing love-triangles, a very long wait, and they were one of those couples who didn't get together until the end of the series. Which is a major no-no, in my opinion. But, when they finally get to be a couple in Heroes of Olympus, it is downright perfection. Percy and Annabeth are what happens if these two badass warrior heroes fell in love. They worry about each other and are willing to die for each other (if need be) but still have an intense amount of faith and trust for one another. The number of times Percy or Annabeth knew they would be alright because they have each other is incredibly high, no matter what series of books they appear in. They work well together, as well as off each other. Percy is this bumbling idiot who wins his battles through a mix of luck and skill, where Annabeth is this intelligent warrior who has trained since the age of seven. They compliment each other perfectly, and their constant playful bickering is always fun. I love these two, I love their love, and they will always be one of my favorite fictional couples in media.

(That is until Luz and Amity from The Owl House become cannon. In which case, you better believe they'll be number one.)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And those are my favorite couples. Out of curiosity, what are yours? Or, at least, what are your top five? Don't feel afraid to let me know or even make a list of your own.

Have a happy Valentine's Day, with whoever you want to celebrate it with and however you want to do it.

Now, if you don't excuse me, I have an entire to-do list of s**t I have to do, and I gotta figure out which to work on first.

(Should I review Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles next, or do that scene breakdown for Amphibia? Oh, the possibilities are killing me...)

[theghostandtheblackhat]

My ranking of Jane Austen adaptations

Just my opinion, I don’t expect anyone else to feel the same

1. Pride and Prejudice (1995)

I know it’s cliche to put this one first, but I watched it when I was younger and it’s a real comfort to me. It’s also just great. Pretty much everyone is perfect, apart from some of the actors being too old for their parts. I will say one thing though, and this goes for all Pride and Prejudice adaptations: stop making the dad a nice guy! He’s an idiot who thinks he’s smarter than everyone

2. Persuasion (1995)

Persuasion in my favourite Austen book. I really enjoy that the main characters are older and have some life experience behind them. Even for the most fortunate of people, life damages you somehow. Anyhow, this is the best Persuasion adaptation so far (although there are a few on their way). It’s beautifully acted, and the romantic tension between the two leads is palpable. It captures the novel very well and the letter scene (oh my god THE LETTER) is perfect.

3. Emma (2009)

This adaptation is just so delightful. Romola Garai is so perfect in this role. It’s quite a kind Emma, a lot of the sharper edges are sanded off, but it’s lovely. I really enjoy Jonny Lee Miller in this too. In their big scene (after his speech) he does these big sighs before she reciprocates and I just love that. This is another comfort watch for me.

This is another one where I’m not a big fan of the father. I think he’s very emotionally manipulative.

4. Emma (2020)

Definitely a spikier Emma. I don’t love all of Anya Taylor-Joy’s performance, she can be a little too arch sometimes, but otherwise I think it’s perfectly cast (Miranda Hart as Miss Bates is a fucking genius move). I’ve really liked Johnny Flynn in other stuff, and boy can he pine (I loved the post-ball scenes). Oh actually one other thing I didn’t like about this was the depiction of Emma’s sister and her husband in this, why do they hate each other? But all in all, really enjoyable

5. Sense and Sensibility (1995)

I recently read the book and then watched the movie again. Although not a super close adaptation it does capture the feel of the book very well. Hugh Grant is perfectly cast in this movie, apart from being too good looking.

This is a book criticism, not a movie one (Alan Rickman is great), but I’ve always hated the Marianne/Brandon storyline. Apart from him being a lot older than her, the way he latched on to her because she reminds him of a long lost love is just kind of gross. Like, there’s a lot of projection there.

6. Northanger Abbey (2007)

I mean this movie is just fun! JJ Feild is lovely as is Felicity Jones. I don’t have much more to say about it, it’s just an enjoyable movie

7. Mansfield Park (1999)

I enjoy what the film maker was trying to do here (making a point about slavery etc). It’s not pulled off perfectly, but I do like it.

8. Persuasion (2007)

Ugh this movie. It’s not ‘good’, but I enjoy watching it. The casting is top notch, I really fucking like Sally Hawkins and Rupert Penry-Jones. They do a great job with SO MANY bad directing choices (so many). There are some good moments in this film, but it’s a badly made film. I still watch it though, because it’s fucking Persuasion.

9. Sense and Sensibility (2009)

Dan Stevens is too fucking confident to be Edward Ferrars. And again gross with the Marianne/Brandon thing. Apart from these things, this adaptation is fine, it has it’s faults but I’m not going to go nitpicking. The actors playing Elinor, Marianne and their mother are good.

10. Emma (1996 - Kate Beckinsale)

I haven’t seen this version for ages, but it’s fine. I love Mark Strong in many other things, but he is a weirdly shouty Knightley. Oh I do love the little factoid that the actor that plays Robert Martin in this (Alistair Petrie) is played by his onscreen son in Sex Education in the 2020 version (Connor Swindells).

11. Emma (1996 - Gwyneth Paltrow)

I just really hate GP in this sorry. And Toni Collette (who I usually love). It’s so simpering! It really puts off the rest of the movie for me.

12. Pride and Prejudice (2005)

I have tried to see why people really like this movie, I really have. I know people really love it. But I just. Don’t. Get. It. I think it’s badly cast (apart from Rosamund Pike, you are perfect), and I think it’s really obvious the director was a man. He makes some obvious director-y flourishes that really take me out of the story. Again I hate Mr Bennet being a good guy.

I do like Mrs Bennet being a little more sympathetic and the actor is good in this.

13. Mansfield Park (2007)

I mean this movie is just bad. I liked Hayley Atwell as Mary Crawford. That’s about it.

14. Persuasion (2022)

It’s just so bad. The character of Anne is completely changed, there’s no romantic tension, so many of the good lines are taken out, the wink-wink to camera tone of it is all off, the two leads have no chemistry. Persuasion is beautiful book filled with longing. This movie is just boring.

[barnesandco]

Ayesha’s 1k+ Writing Challenge!

Writing Challenge Submission Masterlist

Hey, everyone, I'm so happy to be back online - I think I was only gone for a week so that announcement was very extra of me - and to be introducing my first writing challenge! I'm so honored and flattered that so many people enjoy my work, and I'm incredibly grateful for your support since I joined this community. Tumblr is my greatest escape, and you've made it a very welcome and comforting one. 

A sense of community and friendship is particularly important in these trying times, and I extend my heartfelt prayers to everyone struggling right now. I'm here to listen if there's anything you need to say, and I'm sorry I can't do much more than be a metaphorical shoulder to cry on, and to offer this distraction as a brief reprieve from whatever you might be going through.

In order to present a gift of relief, and to share and create more stories of heroism - not that any of it can ever compare to the courage displayed by our health professionals and essential workers these days - and to honor and promote our collective of Marvel fanfic writers, I've decided to host a writing challenge. You don't have to follow me to participate - although that would be appreciated - you just need to follow the rules I've outlined under the cut. If you need clarification on anything, don't hesitate to ask! I hope you'll join, and I look forward to seeing what everyone comes up with. 

Rules:

Your fic can be about any character(s) from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. You can also include original characters that you create. If you want to write a romantic fic, I think it goes without saying that it shouldn't be underage (or having an excessive age gap), non/dub-con, incest, abuse, power imbalance/manipulation (e.g. employer x employee or teacher x student), etc. 

The sky’s the limit when it comes to the type or genre of the story, so let your imagination fly! You can write reader-inserts, pairings of pre-existing characters, OCs, or even just solo fics about the character you've chosen. I'm open to canon fics, AUs, fluff, smut, angst, romance, platonic fics, and whatever else you guys can dream up. (If you're writing smut, please let me know, as there are some additional guidelines I'm setting for that.) 

Word count is minimum 250 words, and anything above 500 words must have a keep reading tab. Multi-chapter fics will obviously be accepted - and with a lot of enthusiasm! - but please make a masterlist for any such series.

Kindly include any and all warnings that apply to your story.

The deadline for submission is the 31st of December, 2020.

Please tag me @barnesandco​ in the completed fic - and in every chapter of a series if you've chosen to write one - and also tag your work with #ayesha1kwritingchallenge. If I don't acknowledge that I’ve seen your work within a week of you posting it, please DM me.

One entry is allowed per participant, and you can send in an ask or a DM to participate, in which you should mention the one prompt you would like to use and for which character(s) from the list below.

Prompts

Dialogue Prompts:

"You fell asleep on me." --Taken by @lancsnerd

"Screw you." --Taken by @need-a-fugue

"I've got this." --Taken by @filia-sapientiae​

"I'd never forgive myself for it." --Taken by @oreostars​

"I trust you." --Taken by @readerandcinephileingeneral

"Oh, I'm so offended." --Taken by @iamthe-shadow-on-the-wall​

"Who, me? I would never." --Taken by @kaunis-sielu

"I don’t want to hate her/him/them." --Taken by @suz-123

"I can't explain it, but loving her is just… easy." --Taken by @littledarlinwrites

"You're my everything." --Taken by @chrisevansdaddycap​

"Leave me alone." --Taken by @constantaking​

"That's disgusting." --Taken by @ruffalomakesmyday​

"What on God's green earth was that for?" --Taken by @sweetwritesx​

"Is that a threat?" --Taken by @glxy-otter​

"Promise. Please just- promise me." --Taken by @blue-like-barnes​

"Oh, I could kiss you right now, you brilliant, brilliant woman/man/person!" --Taken by @megthemewlingquim

"You know that'll never work on me." --Taken by @allaboardthereadingrailroad​

"I'd let you if you asked." --Taken by @wordywarriorwrites

"___, I swear to God, if you do that again, I'll feed you to Tony's stupid robot." --Taken by @nekoannie-chan

"You can't do this." + "Then I'll die trying."

"You're stronger than anyone I've ever known." --Taken by @companionjones

"How did I get here?" --Taken by @thestorydetective​

"Why are you smiling this wide this early in the morning?" --Taken by @tinymalscoffee​

"What's the worst that could happen?" --Taken by @phant0m-queen​

"I can't believe they haven't caught us yet." --Taken by @indyluckycharlie​

Song Prompts:

Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles --Taken by @softpeachbarnes​

Finally//Beautiful Stranger - Halsey --Taken by @shield-agent78​

To Build a Home - The Cinematic Orchestra --Taken by @whistlingwillows​

Floating - Alina Baraz ft. Khalid --Taken by @chuuulip​

Summertime - Ella Fitzgerald

Wind Beneath My Wings - Bette Midler

To Die For - Sam Smith --Taken by @hailhydra920​

I Scare Myself - Beth Crowley

Speechless - Dan + Shay --Taken by @captain-kelli​

Growing Pains - Alessia Cara

Levitating - Dua Lipa --Taken by @samingtonwilson​​

Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers --Taken by @mermaidxatxheart​

Human - Christina Perri

10 000 Hours - Ella Mai

Despacito - Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee

Let's Do It - Ella Fitzgerald --Taken by @smediumsmeatbae​

Honey - Raveena --Taken by @opalsandlace

Talk Too Much - COIN --Taken by @subtlebucky​

Put a Little Love on Me - Niall Horan --Taken by @buckysbest​

Thinking Out Loud - Ed Sheeran

Meet Me on the Battlefield - SVRCINA

Centuries - Fall Out Boy

Titanium - David Guetta ft. Sia

Stay - Rihanna ft. Mikky Ekko --Taken by @jalapenobarnes-main​

Eyes Open - Taylor Swift --Taken by @helahades​

One-Line Prompts:

Recovery is tender, straining yellow-blue over his/her/their shoulders and delicate in the shadow of his/her/their smile. --Taken by @iced-capsicle

Laughter tastes like cotton candy. --Taken by @rogersumbra

" All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players; they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages." -As You Like It, William Shakespeare --Taken by @shakespeareanqueer​

How do you miss something you never had? --Taken by @shellbilee​

They're stuck, and it's all ___'s fault. --Taken by @buckybarney​

Gabe Jones' French skills come to good use. --Taken by @raindroptv​

Self-discovery is a path nobody likes taking, but sometimes, there is no other choice.

"Demons run when a good man goes to war." - Doctor Who, Steven Moffat --Taken by @harley-sunday​

Star-crossed lovers find a galaxy to take refuge in from the rest of the universe. --Taken by @sgtjbuccky​

The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that everything goes from order to disorder. --Taken by @alyxkbrl​​

One-Word Prompts:

Sacrilege

Bibliophile --Taken by @nacho-bucky​

Soldier --Taken by @writing-mermaid​

Chrysanthemum(s)

Schadenfreude

Deja Vu

Picasso

Self-Partnered

Petrichor --Taken by @redhairedfeistynerd​​

Serendipity --Taken by @xoxoeeveewritez​​

Momentum

Equilibrium

Entropy

Resplendent

Anemone(s)

Effervescence

Sweetheart

Absolute

Echo --Taken by @wintersoeldiers​​

Nefarious

Picture prompts:

1. Taken by @infj-slytherclaw​

2. Taken by @starrysebastians​

3. 

4. 

5. Taken by @corneliabarnes​

6. 

7. Taken by @bucky-smiles​

8. Taken by @monarchofallisurvey​

9. 

Special thanks to the following authors, who not only inspired and initiated my desire to write, but then encouraged me, supported my work, and were - and still are - tremendously helpful. Others in the following list I befriended later on, and I'm so grateful that I did, because they've helped transform my experience on this site, too. Point is, all of these people are so kind and amazing and marvellous beyond what words can describe. Thank you:

@samingtonwilson @suz-123 @nacho-bucky @evanstarff @tropicalcap @kentuckybarnes @buckyreaderrecs @mermaidxatxheart @corneliabarnes @buckyland​ @bucky-smiles​ @sebbytrash​ @jalapenobarnes​

And thank you of course to my wonderful, magical followers who comment and reblog my stories, and give me all the praise I do not deserve. Thank you for your kindness and your enthusiasm - I cherish it and do everything I can to earn it. Special mentions:

@readerandcinephileingeneral​ @notsomellowmushroom​ @sonjashuterbugjohnson​ @anjali750​ @severelytinyeagle​ @redhairedfeistynerd​ @parmisaanowl @starnight-charmer​ @alyxkbrl​

I'd like to conclude by saying that I debated whether or not to host this writing challenge now, in a time like this. I decided to do so in the end because I need it. Call me selfish, but I need a reprieve. I need to feel like this disaster that has us surrounded right now isn't all there is to the world. And if I've learnt anything from being on this platform, it's that you're very rarely alone. So I hope that this activity can provide some semblance of hope for others that feel the way I do, and if not, then at least a little escape.

So my last but not least thank you goes to everyone who participates in this challenge and thereby makes this shelter from the world's storm, a little stronger, a little safer, and a little warmer. 

I’m excited to see what everyone comes up with, and I look forward to making some new friends. Thank you all and good luck!

[love-geeky-fangirl]

The Oc Pilot Review

I had nothing to do so I decided to start a new show- The OC. I had heard some things about it before, that it's about rich kids from Orange County in California that party and do stuff that I don't get to do right now because Corona said no. So it's basically the Californian version of Gossip Girl. Or Gossip Girl is the New York version of the OC, since The OC came out earlier. And since I love watching teens party, fight, stab each other's backs, socialize and go to school, which we here don't get to do in real life, I decided to check it out.

We open with a leather jacket wearing bad boy Ryan stealing a car and crashing it. Ryan kinda reminds me of both Jess Mariano and Steven Hyde at the same time. Somehow he doesn't go to jail for stealing and crashing the car, but his brother does and his lawyer, who kinda looks like Lorelai's boyfriend everyone forgot about Alex. He seems to like Ryan because he sees himself in him or something and gives him his number.

Then we get to see a glimpse of Ryan's homelife which is not great (again the Jess Mariano/Steven Hyde vibes) because his dad's in jail and his mom is living with someone who could be either an abusive boyfriend or an alcoholic freeloading brother (I can't tell). So Ryan runs away and calls the lawyer guy. He decided to take him in and let him move into the pool house, which is wife, who looks eerily similar to Lily van der Woodsen isn't too thrilled about.

Later, he does out to smoke and we get a meet cute between him and the girl next door Marissa and some of the cheesiest lines of dialogue I have ever seen:

"Who are you?"

"Whoever you want me to be."

Then they share a moment but get interrupted by Marissa's douchey boyfriend.

In the morning, Ryan meets Dave Rygalski, but here he's called Seth Cohen and is the lawyer's son. And apparently kind of a creep too. He named a boat after a girl he's never even talked to before. Joe Goldberg is that you?

His dad suggests that they all go to some fashion show fundraiser thing but Seth doesn't want to because: "There'll be my rich trust fund babies classmates that I hate, even though I'm basically just like them." Dan Humphrey is that you??

We also get a piece of information that apparently Seth's mom and Marissa's dad almost got married. I see a Lily&Rufus-esque plotline coming.

At the fashion show, Seth's crush Summer is seen wearing a God-ugly dress with even worse eyeshadow, but somehow Seth is all hearth-eyed for her??

Summer has a crush on Ryan and invites him to an afterparty and he invites Seth along. However, the party is nothing like on Gossip Girl. It's not fancy and glamorous, it's a messy teen rager. Seth and Ryan get into a fight and then Marissa's boyfriend and his friends join in and attack Ryan for no reason. I gotta say, the casting department did a good job finding just the douchiest looking guy there is for Marissa's boyfriend.

When Ryan and Seth get back to their pool house, Seth is passed out and Ryan sees Summer leaving a blacked out Marissa out on her driveway. What a good friend. So Ryan being a good guy, carries Marissa into the poolhouse.

The next morning, Marissa is gone and Seth's mom is pissed about her son suddenly drinking and getting into fights and immediately assumes it's Ryan's fault because of the whole poor family and criminal record thing. So she wants to kick Ryan out of the house but is a bit conflicted when she sees he made breakfast. Then she kicks him out anyway, but plot twist- Ryan has nowhere to go because his mom abandoned him! What now?

[kolbisneat]

MONTHLY MEDIA: November 2019

Whoa November is over! So I didn’t see any movies this month but there are so many I want to check out. Parasite! Knives Out! Jojo Rabbit! Maybe December.

……….TELEVISION……….

Daybreak (Episode 1.01 to 1.03) This seems like fun so far! Characters are great, the world seems well-established and feels like it’s been lived in for a while, and it’s really just the plot that I’m not clicking with. Most of the stuff works until it goes back to “gotta find dream girl!” It just feels...dull. Especially when compared to all the other far more interesting stuff going on. Gonna keep watching but hot dang I hope they move on from the “where’s Sam?” stuff soon.

The Good Place (Episode 4.01 to 4.05) I’m not ready for this series to end but hot dang does it feel like it knows where it’s going and how it’s going to get there. I’m just happy to be along for the ride.

Queer Eye: We’re In Japan! (Episode 1.01 to 1.04) I appreciate that they addressed the magic of translators at the end of the first ep and I wish they would’ve gone into more of it. Their “guide” was likely a choice based on social media influence and bilingualism, but it seemed like a missed opportunity to have a gay Japanese man introduce the Fab 5 to the culture. Even the comedian from Episode 3 seemed like a better fit. I just don’t know if I got the right introduction into various nuances of the culture, you know? Also this article says a lot more and in a much clearer way. 

……….READING……….

Emperor Mollusk Versus the Sinister Brain by A. Lee Martinez (Page 191 of 293) Very breezy and easy read but for an interplanetary romp with a hyper-smart squid as the protagonist, it isn’t quite connecting. The book is full of alien tropes and the premise is fun, but the lead character doesn’t really get challenged and there’s little impact from events as they happen. It feels pulpy but doesn’t seem to have the melodrama that makes it read like the author couldn’t commit to the bit.

A Spell for Chameleon by Piers Anthony (Complete) I have a vivid memory of seeing this cover when I was a child and really wanting to read it. So when I saw it at a thrift store I immediately picked it up. There were some fun magical ideas in here but it is dripping with so much 70s sexism that I can’t, in good faith, recommend this to anyone. If it was maybe one or two moments then you could maybe give some leniency to the era, but every chapter has at least one moment where the author takes a shot at women. It’s real bad. 

Silver Surfer Omnibus by Dan Slott, Michael Allred, Laura Allred, and many many more (9 issues/chapters in...sorry this book doesn’t really have page numbers) Okay I love it. I didn’t know what to expect but you know when you just have a gut feeling that you’ll like something? Exactly this. I knew nothing about Silver Surfer but the book catches you up and then takes you on a fun series of intergalactic adventures. When I realized it was essentially Marvel Doctor Who, I knew this was for me. I’m really taking my time with this cause I think it’s something special.

James Bond Origin by Jeff Parker, Bob Q, Roman Stevens, Jordan Boyd, Jordie Bellaire, and Simon Bowland (Complete) Pinpointing what makes a Bond story a “Bond” story is tricky. This series is a fun and engaging spy narrative, but I think showing the early days of Bond makes it read the same way Young Indiana jones felt: you know where they’re going but they’re not quite there yet. That isn’t to say it’s not great, cause it is. I suppose I’d just recommend this to those who like spy stories, narratives set during the second world war, or a combination of the two. Those are likely the same people as those who like James Bond as a character, but I think it lends itself more to the genre than the character. Great start to the series.

Delicious in Dungeon: Volume 6 by Ryoko Kui (Complete) Still fantastic. It took a weird turn in the middle and I was worried it was moving away from the characters to focus on big fantastical monsters and melodrama, but it quickly corrected course. I can’t not recommend this to anyone who likes small fantasy with a gimmick.

The Tomb of Black Sand by Jacob Hurst, Gabriel Hernandez, and more! (Complete) This was mostly for research and I love this D&D module. It’s a fun concept with nuance and one of my favourite fundamental details: the characters are doing their own thing with their own goals and have been doing things before the party shows up. If you’re okay with spoilers, check out this review.

The Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean (Complete) It’s interesting reading a true picture book by Neil Gaiman. I enjoy it as an adult, but I wonder if it connects well with its target audience. With that said, I loved the craftsmanship of the story and seeing Gaiman’s work stripped down to its essentials really helps to understand his approach to writing.

……….AUDIO……….

The Adventure Zone: Graduation (Podcast) Back to D&D and having Travis DM is a great change up! With that said, I’m having a hard time getting past the first ep. It introduces so many characters and so much world-building that I’m not really getting into it.

……….GAMING……….

Untitled Goose Game (House House) Fantastic, silly fun. I love the concept and the execution is perfect. I wish the game was maybe...2 levels longer, but what we do have is fantastic. Highly recommend.

Maze of the Blue Medusa (Satyr Press) The group just sorted out a major threat that has been following them throughout the dungeon. A peek behind the curtain: I’m not sure this module is connecting with the group. I don’t think there’s a clear goal and the party hasn’t really taken the initiative to make their own goals. Maybe that’s my fault and I think part of it has to do with our previous adventure being fairly bespoke and rather on rails. They loved it, but I also think it set a precedent. I need to pull back and chat with the players to see how they’re feeling.

A Red & Pleasant Land (Lamentations of the Flame Princess) We don’t get to play often but when we do, it’s a great time. The party stumbled into a genuine warzone and had their first taste of real danger. But they also landed their first true kill and it really had a lot of impact! Up until now, enemies have been whimsically changing when they “die” so to kill someone really meant something. It was a moment that really stuck with me.

And that’s it! As always, Let me know if you have anything you think I should check out and happy Saturday.

[thesinglesjukebox]

NOISESTORM - CRAB RAVE

[7.15]

But what happens when the crabs rave too hard...

Kat Stevens: In 1953, Roland Barthes argued that the artist cannot escape the conventions of language or style, rendering both hollow, a shell devoid of creative meaning. True art lies in the form - the choices of the artist (or indeed the critic) - how they manipulate the common building blocks to create something novel. But once exposed, the new form itself risks becoming normalised, falling victim to the stale conventions of its predecessors. Can true creativity ever exist within popular art? A step sideways into post-structuralism reveals that analysis of the work is also meaningless without reference to an external semiotic frame. Jacques Derrida declared that our traditional systems of bourgeois cultural criticism are a fallacy, and that a work can only be examined relative to the universe surrounding it. It's clear therefore that actually listening to "Crab Rave" would harm both my enjoyment of its concept and destroy any inkling of creativity contained within. I will instead judge it on the amount of pleasure it has given me over the last few months to see Crystal tweeting "IN THE CLUB. CRAB RAVE STILL SLAPS" [10]

Crystal Leww: "Crab Rave" rose from an April Fools joke and found its way into the dark corners of weird political meme Facebook. It's actually...good? That shouldn't be surprising, really, as the label that it was released on was also responsible for The Only Good Marshmello song "Alone," which also leaned into a gimmick but cared a lot about quality as well. "Crab Rave" is light and euphoric, soars and bounces. "Crab Rave" is probably an unintentional nod to The Prodigy's 1996 album The Fat of the Land album cover, but dance music is an ever-evolving landscape, and yes I am extremely going to enjoy a world where the lineage of an album that contains "Smack My Bitch Up" is something as dumb and fun as this. [8]

Will Rivitz: OK, so it's a meme, and it's not always a particularly good meme, but that's less the fault of the song and more that of Monstercat's generally puerile fanbase, so let's analyze the song on its own merits instead of those assigned to it by people who aren't Noisestorm: It bangs. This is by-the-numbers electro house done exceedingly well, its bassline plunging and soaring beneath marimbas syncopated so precisely it's impossible to stay still. Its between-drop sections are fairly blah, sure, but this style of EDM lives for the drop, and in that regard "Crab Rave" throws down a whopper. [8]

Taylor Alatorre: No other song in 2018 was so wholly transformed by its surrounding context, a context which may seem bewildering and even repugnant to outsiders but which constitutes a blaring beacon of defiance to those of like mind and repute. To put it another way: "Crab Rave" was more successful than any major news outlet in providing a balanced appraisal of the life and legacy of John McCain. Bow before its power. [9]

Alfred Soto: Our long national nightmare of piety and credulousness ended when George H.W. Bush died last week instead of Inauguration Day 2017, thus giving the Beltway press an excuse to praise Donald Trump's restraint. The orgy over John McCain's death three months ago was even more grisly: a pompous, unlettered bully who deserves no decent house tracks turned into memes. "Crab Rave" is a throwback in every sense. What will we get when Dan Quayle dies? [7]

Katherine St Asaph: A not-infrequent occurrence: I'll be listening to some throwaway meme dance remix (no links, I'm clutching at my last scraps of dignity; find your own), and then it'll hit me: Shit, that's kind of a poignant theme. Shit, this beat sounds plausible. Shit, this is better than some of the actual charts. Shit, the second YouTube result for this song proclaims "Obama is gone!" and what the fuck am I buying into? Shit, there are like 1,000 others. Shit, I just ripped the YouTube audio. [6]

Iain Mew: From reputation, I expected something ridiculous and/or abrasive, and when it turned out to just be a half-full Yasutaka Nakata track, I was mystified. This is because I listened without watching the video. Tip: do not listen without watching the video. [7]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: Hearing this with the accompanying music video is a delight. But what's even better is hearing the song by itself after watching said video. Blasting this in my car, I still giggle to myself as images of those dancing crabs (and their return back home at twilight!) fill my mind. [6]

Anthony Easton: Is this one of those novelty tunes that has an accompanying dance? [7]

John Seroff: The video CGI is really bad, the song sounds like it came with the keyboard, and I suppose that all speaks to the appeal of Crab Rave as the 2018 shitpost anthem. I can't really get with this, even with its built-in ironic distance. Here I thought I spoke fluent meme, but I guess I'm gonna have to play the role of cranky uncle and acknowledge I'm too old for this shit. [2]

Alex Clifton: I love novelty music, I love crabs, I love raves, I love wordless trancey songs that are good for dancing, I love dumb music videos, I love memes, I love catchy things, I love stuff that reminds me of "Sandstorm," and I love all these things a thousand percent unironically. [9]

Ian Mathers: Now, more than ever, it is time for crab. [7]

Julian Axelrod: I think I'm terrified of crabs now? [7]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

[tipsoctopus]

"Bin him off", "A bit like Ricky Villa" - Alasdair Gold post has got loads of Spurs fans talking

Loads of Tottenham Hotspur fans have been pondering the future of winger Erik Lamela this week after reliable Football.London reporter Alasdair Gold penned an article about the long-serving Argentine.

The 28-year-old has been at the club since 2013 and has racked up 214 appearances but in recent times, his presence on the pitch has been limited due to niggling and persistent injuries.

The single toughest football logo quiz of all time…

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

This campaign Lamela has only averaged 51 minutes per game from a total of 27 matches, contributing to ten goals, via Transfermarkt.

Gold believes Spurs would be playing with fire if they were to sell the wide man in the summer as he’s an important squad player with a point to prove.

Some supporters in north London were of the same opinion, whilst others would like to see the club get rid of him as soon as possible.

Jose Mourinho has plenty of wing options to call upon, including January arrival Steven Bergwijn, Lucas Moura, Heung-min Son and Ryan Sessegnon – in addition to Lamela.

Here’s how fans have been reacting to Gold’s post…

Sell him in the summer pointless having a player who contributes so little (due to injuries)

— Musa

#LovePochBackJose (@Musathfc28) April 30, 2020

Not sure he is consistent enough to fit Mourinho’s requirements but has always struck me as being the sort of fella who would pop up and score the winner in a cup final . . . A bit like Ricky Villa? . . .

— Bold (@gilbrg2852) April 29, 2020

Lamela is 1000% my favorite player on the squad only because he always shows grit when he plays and he truly loves the club. Not many in our club have what he has mentally. Every time we go 1-0 down, the whole entire squad stops caring but you always see this man running around

— Tone (@TFootball022) April 29, 2020

No selling Lamela.He is a game changer with a great attitude.He can win a match with his 20 minutes availability .With Ndombele still unsettled Lamela and Lo Celso is what we have to drive the team forwards.They need to be 4 asJose has been using a game changing pair every match.

— Juliet Lubega (@ucragirl) April 29, 2020

Cut our losses and move on.

— Greg Mackett (@gregmackett) April 29, 2020

Lamela is no longer a viable option and needs to be sold imo. It’s not his fault that he’s injury prone and needs to be managed, but I firmly believe the Bergwijn injury could’ve been avoided if we had rotated Lamela in consistently. Problem is we never could…

— SB (@browniespurs) April 29, 2020

I’m a fan. He gives everything, tries stuff and sometimes makes his own teammates look daft for not seeing his pass.

— Joe Staines♲ (@JoeStaines1) April 29, 2020

Get rid

— Harry C (@HazSpur92) April 30, 2020

Bin him off. Never been anywhere near consistent enough to warrant a place in the team.

— Stuart Coleman (@BasedOnFactors) April 29, 2020

Love the guy. If we had more players who showed his fight and bravery we would be higher up the league the season. He’ll never be a regular starter due to his injury history but he’s as good as any squad player in the league.

— Justintrapmag (@JustinTRAPMAG) April 29, 2020

Guy need to leave for his own sake He would get regular games in a less demanding league and probably be held in a higher value more

— Dan Travers (@dandinithegreat) April 29, 2020

AND in other news, Spurs can end their search for a new Dembele by landing this costly Serie A superstar…

from FootballFanCast.com https://ift.tt/2YmGF1P via IFTTT from Blogger https://ift.tt/3bSIO9m via IFTTT

[phanwithextrafluffontop-blog]

Words Never Last

Summary: When Dan and Phil are informed that their daughter punched another student, they must figure out why. However, to do this, they have to face an incredibly homophobic headmaster. And a student to match.

Genre: Parent! phan, Fluff, Homophobia

Warnings: Swearing, Homophobic slurs

Word Count: 1.6k

“It was a call from the school,” Phil mumbled.

“And…” Dan urged Phil to continue.

“She punched a kid. Get your coat on, we have to go.” Dan slammed the lid to his MacBook and sat up.

“She what?” Dan convinced himself that he just misheard his husband.

“C’mon, we have to hurry up.” Even though the statement was nagging at his mind, Dan got up and slid into his jacket. He ignored the fact that his daughter might have punched someone. He ignored the fact that his husband seemed not to care. All he set his mind to at that point was getting to the school.

-

“Are you sure that’s our kid? Maybe they got the wrong number.” Dan was navigating his way through the streets, driving the all familiar roads to Meg’s school.

“Dan, it was her. Just calm down.” Dan sighed in response, leaving the car silent for a moment.

“Although it doesn’t sound like something she would do…” Phil thought out loud.

“Exactly.” Dan could barely believe it took Phil this long to doubt the fact that their loving daughter had hurt someone else.

-

“Meg!”

Dan screamed his daughter’s name the moment he entered the headmaster’s office. Without a second thought, both dads raced to their daughter and bent down to reach in for a hug. Right as Phil was about to speak, the headmaster entered.

“Mr. Lester,” he pronounced, reaching in for a handshake with Phil. Phil was obviously the more established one at the school as he was the head of the parents’ association for Meg’s class. Dan was involved in Meg’s school of course, but he preferred to let Phil take the lead when speaking directly to the school. Something about the staff made Dan feel uncomfortable, but he could never put a finger on what exactly he didn’t like. That was, of course, until he met the headmaster.

Phil gave him a firm handshake and let out a proud, “Mr. Stevens. Nice to see you again.”

“Please, call me Jared. And this is your brother, I assume?”

Dan couldn’t believe what he had heard. His jaw dropped nearly to the floor, and he speedily glanced over to see Phil’s reaction. He wasn’t shocked to see a calm Philip staring back at the man. That was something Dan loved about Phil – His ability to keep his cool in extreme situations.

“Oh, no. This is my husband, Daniel,” Phil stated without a fault in his voice. He seemed to be incredibly confident, like there was no problem at all.

“Oh. Husband?” Mr. Stevens sounded utterly confused.

“Yes. Is there a problem?”

“Oh no, not at all.”

He lied.

“Nice to meet you, Daniel.” He reached a shaky hand to Dan, signaling for a handshake. A simple, easy handshake. But Dan couldn’t do it.

It wasn’t that Dan was too scared to shake the man’s hand. It wasn’t that he physically couldn’t do it, either. It was more like he couldn’t draw himself to do it.  

Dan had no tolerance for homophobes. At all. He didn’t exactly freeze up when he ran into them, he just got insanely angry. And that’s what started to happen here.

Looking up from the man’s sweaty hand, Dan locked eyes with the headmaster. He stared at him for just a second, letting him know just exactly where he stood. He then maneuvered his way to a chair at the desk. Phil, already sitting down, gave a look to Dan saying something like, “Not the time”, but Dan didn’t care. He wouldn’t tolerate that behavior. Not even to please Phil.

Meg, who was sitting in the middle of her dads, started to sweat. She was an amazing student, and she had never been to the headmaster’s office before. Dan reached a hand over on Meg’s thigh to stop her from nervously swinging her legs that had been dangling from the chair. He gave a warm smile, letting her know that he would take care of her. Everything would be alright.

“Well then,” Mr. Stevens started as he made his way to his chair. “I hope you both know why we are here.”

“Yes, well sort of. We know that Meg… punched another student, but we don’t exactly know why.” Phil looked over to Meg, expecting an explanation.

“And that’s exactly where we are as well. Margaret, would you mind telling us what happened?” Mr. Stevens tried to maintain a peaceful tone while speaking to the child. He sounded like he was trying to be comforting. He was failing miserably.

Meg dropped her head down and mumbled some gibberish.

“Could you mind repeating that?” Mr. Stevens’ tone grew a bit darker. Again, some gibberish.

“Margaret, we do not have all day. Now please, would you speak up?”

Dan shot a dark look at the headmaster. He wasn’t one to get worked up over things, and he rarely ever spoke up in front of people like this, but this time, it was his daughter. He was not going to take any shit.

“Excuse me, she will talk when she wants to talk,” Dan bravely fought. Phil gave a small smile to Dan, recognizing his brave feat.

“Damn faggot,” he mumbled under his breath. Dan, Phil, and Meg sat up in their seats. He obviously didn’t intend to say it so loud.

Dan started to speak, but Phil stopped him with a warning hand he extended out across the chairs. Rightfully so, as Dan was already starting to go red in the face with anger.

“We-” Phil’s statement (that took him a while to craft as even he was appalled) was sharply cut off by Meg hopping out of her seat. She reached up to the door knob and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Dan and Phil immediately followed. While walking out of the office, Dan formed the darkest look he could muster and shared it with the headmaster.

“Meg!” Phil yelled, chasing his daughter down the hall. “What’s wrong?” Phil grabbed her petite arm and bent down, turning her around to reveal tears on her face.

“Nothing,” she fibbed, more tears streaming down her rosy cheeks.

“Don’t lie-” Phil didn’t even have to finish his thought for her to respond.

“He called Daddy a… I don’t even want to say it,” Meg cried, staring down at her pale blue Mary Janes.

“Oh, honey,” Dan comforted, wrapping his arms around the scared little girl.

“And- and when I punched her…” Meg started through tears.

“Yeah?” Dan and Phil urged her to go on simultaneously.

“it was because she… she kept calling you that- that bad word,” Meg stammered, looking back up at her supportive dads. Dan and Phil exchanged a smile. Meg was protecting her parents. And she went as far as she had to go to shut that kid up.

“I- I’m sorry.” Meg was obviously scared of the consequences she would have to face for getting physical with another kid. She was always told to keep her hands to herself, that she could fix these situations with her words. But this time, she couldn’t take it. “She just wouldn’t stop saying it. I tried to tell her! I did! But she never listened and…”

“Honey, we’re proud of you. Not every kid stands up for their parents like that,” Phil announced.

“And you tried to use your words. We appreciate that, too,” Dan added. “But you don’t have to worry about us, we’re fine. We really are. So next time, just ignore it, okay, honey?”

Yes, Daddy,” Meg mumbled, hiding her head in her father’s chest.

“Now, let’s go speak to that Mr. Stevens, alright?” Phil led the family back to the homophobic headmaster’s office.

-

“I would like to, uh, apologize for that,” Mr. Stevens stuttered, staring at the ground.

“You better be,” Dan uttered while holding Meg’s little eight-year-old hand. Phil shot him another look, but Dan just laughed in response.

“I’m afraid this is no laughing matter, Mr. Lester.” Again, before Dan could let a word out, Phil jumped in.

“So who exactly did she punch? I’m just asking so we can make sure they apologize to each other.” Phil, always being the diplomat, Dan thought to himself.

“Anne Stevens. My daughter,” Mr. Stevens spoke softly.

“Well, now we know where she gets it from,” Dan muttered.

“Excuse me?” Mr. Stevens looked completely confused.

“Meg punched your daughter because she wouldn’t stop calling us…” Dan took a quick pause. “She wouldn’t stop calling us faggots.”

Mr. Stevens let out a small giggle and whispered, “good”. And at that exact moment, Dan lost it. He lost everything. Instead of letting his anger out by screaming, he tightened his grip on Meg’s hand.

“C’mon. We’re leaving,” Dan briskly spoke as he led the three of them out of the office.

“Dan, she needs to apologize,” Phil bargained, stopping him from storming out with a hand upon his shoulder.

“Not now, Phil. She can do it tomorrow.”

“Dan,”

“She’ll apologize tomorrow!” Dan let out all of his anger with a loud screech. “Now, let’s go.”

-

The ride home was silent. Dan slammed the door to their vehicle once he had pulled into their driveway. Meg ran to the house to meet their corgi, Frisk, at the door. Sighing, Dan trudged his way to the front door until a hand stopped him on the shoulder. It was Phil.

“You’re adorable when you’re angry,” Phil crooned, caressing Dan’s cheek.

“Now’s not the time,”

“Oh, come on-”

“Not the time!” Phil stared down at his feet. Slowly, a giant smile wiped his face. Soft giggles followed.

“What are you laughing at?” Dan spat. More giggles.

“You’re so mad, it’s so cute,” Phil chuckled. Dan playfully slapped him on the arm and grabbed his hand. Swinging their arms along, they made their way into their house.

-

Dan tried his best not to dwell on those words in the following months. After all, they’re just words. Hurtful, offensive words, sure, but just words. And words never last.

A/N: Sorry for the wait. I’ve been extremely busy with school lately, but I finally found time to write! Writing this piece, I realized how much I’ve missed this! I had an idea for this because of all of the homophobia I’ve been experiencing recently. This story had been sitting in my unfinished folder for at least a month, so I’m glad I finally finished it! Thank for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!

[mermaidsirennikita]

I Saw Beauty and the Beast

And I have Opinions.

Firstly, I should say that I do have a huge attachment to the original movie.  I think it’s a masterpiece, probably Disney’s best work second only to The Lion King.  (Even then, it’s a very close second.)  I was always going to see this, even if I really didn’t want to, because the original is one of my mom’s favorites and I have a ten year old sister.  I’m going to see all of the live action movies; it’s becoming a tradition to go to them with my mom.  

What I expect out of these movies, tbh, is Experience First, actually solid movie outside of the nostalgia second.  While I think that the 2015 Cinderella was beautiful and great in its general fairy tale loveliness, I don’t feel like it really expanded on the original in any way or bettered the story.  The 2016 Jungle Book, conversely, darkened and matured the Disney story and honestly made it more enjoyable for me.

Beauty and the Beast wasn’t going to be as good as the original--nor was it going to improve upon it.  I think that acknowledging that you are seeing this movie as a visual spectacle and nostalgia bomb first is REALLY IMPORTANT in terms of enjoying it.  I wasn’t going to pay $8 and not enjoy it, you know?  I wasn’t gonna be the bitch who sat with people who don’t critique every bit of pop culture and rain on their parade.  For people like my mom who are seeing this because it’s a nostalgia bomb...  You’re going to love it.

And I kind of did too.

There are things I can critique to death, and they’re valid issues.  First and foremost--it’s too early to remake a masterpiece of this nature.  It will be too early when The Lion King is remade.  Cinderella and The Jungle Book (I don’t count Maleficent as a remake tbh because... it’s a separate animal for me and I dislike it) were working with very old material that is in many ways dated.  There wasn’t much story to either of the originals.  The original Beauty and the Beast is dated in some aspects that this movie tries to expand on or improve, sometimes for good and sometimes for ill--but it’s still a movie made in 1991.  By then, Disney had learned that it needed to expand upon its romances, it needed to add character development, it needed to make an actual story, not just a visual fairy tale.  So what the earlier movies missed, Beauty and the Beast already had.

Emma Watson is fine.  That’s how I’d put it.  She’s not doing anything great performance-wise, we all know her singing voice isn’t there.  (I didn’t go here for the singing, tho.)  The thing is that she’s pretty much a placeholder.  The “feminist Belle” angle is honestly kind of overplayed in the media.  Belle does invent a washing machine thing, she doesn’t wear a corset, but for the most part she’s kind of a placeholder character.  It’s fine.  She’s not MY Belle, but she’s not offensive.

Dan Stevens, I think, made the Beast a bit more his own.  He ain’t the Beast I fell in love with in the original, but I still like him a lot.  He feels more like an actual prince--snotty and a bit of a literature snob, evidently (the best parts of the romance where when he and Belle sparred over books) and honestly just super Dan Stevens-y.  I was like, Cousin Matthew, wtf happened?  It worked for me, it worked for my mom, my little sister spent the entire movie going “the beast is BRIT-ISH” so... there was more of a departure here, and I liked it.  I like the idea of these movies being more their own thing than trying to replace the original thing, you know?

The side characters were great, imo.  I know a lot of people don’t like the CGI--for the Beast, we aren’t where we’re supposed to be yet. I’ll give you that.  I got used to it, though.  (However, the scenes in which he sang threw me off.  “Something There” should have remained sung in their heads, imo.)  The servants, I liked.  They didn’t look like their 2D counterparts; but the movie was going more for a feeling that they were actually turning into “dead” furniture, which I appreciated.  It’s another separation, and if anything, this movie could have done with more separations.  That way, I wasn’t comparing it so much.  Lumiere was great, Plumette was adorable, Emma Thompson is PER-FUCKING-FECTION DON’T @ ME ON EMMA.

Gaston basically stole the show.  We knew this would happen.  The Le Fou thing would have been so much more enjoyable if they hadn’t mentioned it?  Like, Bill Condon, he’s obviously gay and Tumblr probably would have loved his clear gayness HAD YOU NOT SAID THAT HORRIFIC THING ABOUT “EXCLUSIVELY GAY MOMENT”(S).  That wasn’t even the gayest moment of the movie???  Like???  Anyway, I always thought that Le Fou was gay, he just got more character development in this movie.  Gaston is what mattered in that plotline anyway.  We all walked out of the theater talking about how great Luke Evans was, how fantastic he sounded.  My mom isn’t even into musicals and she was going on about how fab Luke Evans was; it was that obvious that he knew exactly what he was doing.  I wish his career was bigger.

The Dress.  Okay, so the dress Belle wears at the very end >>> the yellow dress.  We know this.  The yellow dress should have been so much better.  But tbh, I don’t blame Emma Watson for that.  I know it’s become popular to say that she RUINED THE DRESS ON HER OWN but... If she did have creative control, which I don’t think she did to the extent that people think she did, that’s the fault of Disney.  This is a huge movie for them.  If they allowed Emma Watson to go over the costume designer’s head, that’s because they let her do it.  Anyone could have looked at that dress, said, “Sorry Emma, but that’s not what we’re going for” and told the costume designer to start over.  It’s not like we’re dealing with a Movie Star here, it’s Hermione and she’s still rising.  With all that being said, I think it looks a lot better in motion.  The bodice leaves much to be desired and it could have been much better, but the skirt flows in a really lovely manner.  Should it have been better?  Yes, but I was pleasantly surprised by its movement.

The bits that really stand out in my mind are things like the opening.  Firstly, because Dan Stevens was in a David Bowie getup and I think we were all Very Unsure Of Where Our Vaginas Stood On This.  (I was... good with it...)  But that was an aesthetic moment that was sumptuous and over the top and its Own Thing.  It felt like real 18th century France on crack, and I appreciated it.  I just don’t know why THAT was so cool-looking, when the Beast’s transformation was so... lowkey... compared to the original.  That was where I felt they could have gone bigger.

Also, could have had Belle and the Beast make out more but that’s just me.

Was it as good as it could have been?  No, but I don’t think that was ever possible.  You can’t top the original, just like they aren’t going to be able to top the original Lion King.  They probably won’t even be able to do Mulan justice, because even though that’s probably not on the level of BatB or TLK, it’s too soon.  The film industry hasn’t progressed as much since the 90s as it has since the 50s and 60s.  You can’t put a fresh spin on movies that are still, relatively speaking, still fresh.  Especially since 2D animation hasn’t progressed much since; visually, there’s definitely an old style to Cinderella and The Jungle Book, but Disney hasn’t released a 2D movie since The Princess and the Frog--and that was after a long break beforehand.

So; I advise you to go in with realistic expectations, acknowledge that this is a movie you enjoy for the visuals and the nostalgia.  But also--hold Disney to higher standards.  Artistically, it isn’t where it was in its Renaissance of 1989-1999.  And it’s never going to get back to that place, or surpass it, unless people hold it to a high standard.  These remakes are fun, and I’m going to keep watching them; but I’m acknowledging that for Disney, these are cash cows, not artistic endeavors.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t something special about seeing it onscreen.

[kayleiss]

Well I just got home from watching BatB at the theatre!  Will tag spoilers, but also put under a Read More for those that forgot to blacklist.

I was REALLY impressed with this movie.  BatB is one of my favorite Disney movies so I really hoped they would do it justice.

I can fully say without a doubt they definitely achieved it.  I loved it so much, some extra songs were included as well as ones that didn’t make it into the original animated version.  That was nice to see and as always Alan Menken and Howard Ashman are incredible.

Couple of things I wasn’t sure about --  Beast CGI, as well as the guy (Luke Evans I think?) who played Gaston, and Dan Stevens as the Beast.

I can happily say that ALL of those worries were erased.  The CGI was actually pretty incredible.  Luke Evans COMPLETED Gaston.  I mean he was really one with the character. It was simply AMAZING how well he played that part.  Dan Stevens was perfection as well.  Now I simply would not have chosen another person to fill that role.  Like I said, all worries erased here.

I also like the couple of things they changed/added from the original.  Such as the story with Belle’s mother,  the Beast taking her to the place of her childhood, etc.  That was really incredible and added a whole other dimension to her story.  I also liked this version of Maurice better than the original.

How they included the enchantress throughout the movie (without us even knowing it) beyond just the beginning such as the original did, I thought was a good choice.  I cried at the end when the last petal fell.  But when the enchantress lifted the petals back onto the rose after Belle declared her love for the Beast, I cried even more.  The transformation was incredible as always, and  yes I got teary when they panned to the Beast’s eyes (as a human) as a parallel to the original.

Really, I couldn’t find fault with ANY of this.  Also Ewan McGregor as Lumiere and Ian McKellen as Cogsworth? P E R F E C T.

And now I’m going to make a really really really bold statement here that I didn’t think I would be able to make.

To me, this was better than the original. :D

[criticalpraisefilm]

Beauty and the Beast (2017)

Word of warning before I start: I have not seen the original animated Disney film. I do not care how this measures up to that film. I’m reviewing this as its own product. On to the review.

Belle (Emma Watson) is a rather ahead-of-her-time girl who lives in a boring provincial town and wants more out of life. When her madly eccentric father (Kevin Kline) goes missing, she searches for him, and finds him imprisoned in the castle of a terrifying Beast (Dan Stevens). Exchanging her life for his, she is kept in the castle, but once the Beast starts treating her better, she starts to realise he isn’t as bad as he seems.

Okay, so there are some sections of the movie that didn’t need to be there. The five-minute-long sequence when Belle’s father first enters the castle was overdrawn and kinda pointless. Some of the songs felt like they didn’t need to be there, and were just telling us stuff we had already figured out. There was this one subplot that came out of nowhere and had no real point besides getting a single object that played a minor role a bit later, that didn’t need to be there. Other than that there isn’t much I can criticise about the film, it’s really very good.

Okay, I can criticise that Watson seemed a little bit passive during a couple of important moments, but other than that I can’t fault the performances from the all-star cast that I barely recognised (because most of them were just voicing CGI characters) because they just seemed to fit the characters so well. Speaking of, the CGI characters blended in rather well with the live action stuff, the Beast genuinely looked like he was there, and oh the things I wouldn’t give to own that castle. Maybe it’s just my own love of gothic architecture here, but it was just beautiful.

The plot was interesting, developed believably and had actual stakes, the characters were engaging and entertaining, the songs were great fun, more than I was expecting, it’s just overall a really good movie. I don’t know how it stacks up to the animated one, but I don’t much care either, I enjoyed this too much to give a heck.

[awkwardpines-a]

Hey all.

It’s that time of year again, where everyone scrambles to squeeze every last bit of sentimentality out of an otherwise cosmically insignificant completion of the terrestrial rotation cycle. Still, in my thirst for attention and loneliness, I figured I’d be remiss were I not to join in on the festivities myself, especially considering my recent participation in the very same thing on another account. So, in the spirit of celebrating the constant rotation of our planet around the sun, here’s a list of people whose presence I tolerate more than others’ on this website, organized alphabetically for your convenience!

@captivatinginnocence​ - It seems fitting that you’re the first on the list, since you were the first person I talked to about RPing, the person who inspired me to make this blog, and the one who continues to motivate me to this day with her dedication and fascinatingly accurate portrayal of Mabel, as well as consistently entertaining and intriguing conversations OOC. I owe so, so much to you, Diana, and can confidently say I wouldn’t be here without you or your blog. Thank you.

@dexendens​ - There seems to be a trend developing in this list. You, too, were among the very first RPers that I talked to, and you helped me set up my blog, as well as teaching me the basics of Tumblr etiquette and courtesy. Clearly, those paid off, and here we are, both equally questionably active! In the process, though, I made an awesome and interesting friend, and met a writer who I’d gladly recommend to anyone looking for a Pacifica. Thank you, too.

@flannelandchill​ - Ah yes, finally, a (relatively) fresh face! With the sad lack of people RPing everyone’s favorite ginger lumberjack, it was such a surprise - and delight - to see you pop up some seven months ago! Ever since then, I’ve admired your take on Wendy,your dedication to her character and family (Manly Dan’s my favorite), as well as enjoyed the conversations we have, rare as they may be. Clearly, you’re a wonderful writer and friend, and I hope we get to talk more soon.

@goldendorito - It’s weird to think that I’ve known you for years, when in reality, it’s been less than one, but that’s just how it is with you, I guess. We talk nearly every day, and discuss everything from gender politics to the quality of Steven Universe memes, and your constant presence has made a tremendous difference in my life - and I can only hope I’ve done the same for you. Of course, none of this would’ve happened had I not adored your writing too. Honestly, you’re such a role model for me.

@grunkle-stud​ - There has never been someone to so accurately capture the essence of Stanley Pines as Bonesy - both IC and OOC. On multiple occasions, I’ve legitimately seen a post on their blog, and thought to myself, “this is a canon quote, right?” only to find that it was not. From the angsty AF AUs to just general Stan assholery hiding a heart of gold, I can’t express how on-point your Stan is. You’ve taught me so much, and I’m proud to be a part of the Peach Wrangler’s big happy family.

@llamanorthwest - Tots, you’re one of the few blogs on this list that’s younger than I am, and I have to say that it’s been a pleasure to watch you grow, learn, and improve as a writer, and, more recently, as a person. From the group chat to the dash, it’s been a constant pleasure to see you around, whether you’re being sweet as sugar or salty as the ocean. It’s a real shame that we haven’t been able to interact as much as I’d like yet (it’s my fault), and I hope to remedy that in the near future.

@pine-dexter​ - Ah yes, Jenn: another very close friend, who has represented so many things at different points in my RP career. From an idol, to a mentor, to a shoulder to cry on, to equals and sharers in everything from memes to salt. I’d compare our relationship to Dipper and Ford’s from our personal headcanons, especially considering how our conversations tend to seamlessly shift from IC to OOC on the regular,  but that feels a bit on the nose. Regardless, you’re the best.

@pirelien - When first making my blog, my original goal was not to become shipping trash. Sure, I would be open to ideas and exploring relationships if they came up naturally, but it wasn’t my prime directive. Then I met this Pacifica blog and that all changed. For some reason, our muses really clicked for me, and I was filled with the urge to make our muses kiss, to which you happily obliged. In doing so, though, I met a delightful, friendly person, and I’ll never regret sending that first meme. 

@rethink-everything - And here we have the other person who successfully dragged right down into the depths of ship hell. I didn’t even mean to do so, at first. I just wanted to interact with a cool as hell Wendy. But then, things just... developed, and I found my muse’s feelings for Wendy bubbling up again, and I knew it had to be done. Months later, and here we still are, obsessing over our two eggs ‘til the very end. It was a pleasure to meet you, and I look forward to making an omelet soon ;)

@starrypsychic - Andy, or Lando, you’re quite honestly one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met, and I think you have a real talent for building characters. What I mean by that is that you somehow managed to take a widely popular character among the fandom, whose portrayal I tend not to find too interesting in the first place, and make him your own. You made him funny and depressing and realistic and relatable*, and in the process made me fall in love with him (and you).

@sparklesandstarsandstuff​ - My twin! We might as well be family, we’ve been close friends for so long, and I’ve loved every second of it. From unconditional love and support, to fun times memeing and watching shows together, you’re honestly everything I’d hope for in a sibling. I know we sometimes fall out of contact for a while, and that’s entirely my fault, but you’re always right there when I come back, ready to love me with open arms. Can’t express how thankful I am for you, twin.

@wetheremnants​ - I know you from your original Bill blog, and then followed you to your Bucky, and then was elated when I saw that you were remaking Bill not too long ago. I did notice, though, that a couple of things have remained consistent across all three blogs - your excellent writing, and of course, the generous, amazing mun. You’re someone I look up to and admire, and it always disheartens me to see you down on yourself, since your writing possesses quality I can attest to.

@widdleolgideongleeful​ - To round off the list for the year, we’ve got yet another familiar face, someone I looked up to before my RP days, and someone who’s taught me a lot about how to create and write interesting, good characters.This person’s dedication to their character was an inspiration, and contributed a lot to how I write my own Dipper. A hilarious, intelligent, and supportive friend, Booboo is someone I owe a lot of who I am today, at least in the context of Tumblr, to.

And with that, we should be just about wrapping things up! Thanks for sticking with me through my inactivity, y’all! As a resolution, I’ve decided to really motivate myself to come on here more and give people the attention they deserve. I hope you all have a prosperous year moving on, and considering how absolutely 2016 was overall for most of us, it shouldn’t be too hard a record to beat.

[getseriouser]

20 THOUGHTS: GoFundYourself

THE Cricket World Cup is feeling a lot like an NBA game. 

With the basketball you needn’t pay any attention at the start – providing you tune in with two minutes remaining you’ll catch all the exciting and relevant action.

This World Cup, there’s a whole bunch of musical chairs pantomime going on but in reality wake me up when the semi-finals are on. The group stage is just foreplay dragging its heels.

Easy to say as an Aussie however. You’d be very hot under the collar if you’re the host nation after last night’s latest disappointment though.

 1.       Before we jump into some cricket, a serious one if I may, and bear with.

Monday Triple M is conducting 'No Talk Day', I won't spend column inches on details, please Google it if you're unaware, but what an amazing, sobering initiative.

Suicide is essentially the biggest killer in this country. Not cancer. And 100% of its deaths can be prevented.

Too many cancer diagnoses are terminal. Neale Daniher, future Australian of the Year, his fate has been sadly sealed.

But all future suicide deaths can be turned around. And it all starts with a circuit breaker, a chance, a conversation.

We don't do enough for suicide and mental health. Because we're cowards, because we are scared, because we can't relate?

Because it’s humanely quite difficult, and that's ok.

So I challenge you, if nothing else find the time, the gumption, the impetus to break that circuit, talk to that person you're care about, maybe you make that difference. Remember - 100% are preventable.

  2.       Onto a lighter note, England’s batting is as brittle as your Nan’s arthritic hip. Said as much pre-tournament in this column: they go hard and it either works, they make 450, or they go all out for bugger all way too soon. Any good bowling attack’s more than half a chance to skittle them cheaply so their World Cup hopes rest on a game of Russian roulette essentially. Will do well to make the semi’s now after previously giving themselves love bites in the mirror over their world no.1 status.

3.       This one will polarise – Lord’s is a trash ground. Oh, it’s the home of cricket, oh, it’s so historic, yeah but it’s got a dirty big slope going across the ground where one square boundary is like a million storeys higher than the other side, it’s ridiculous. Oh but it just gives it character they say, yeah nah, if you’re girlfriend likes to stay up and binge watch Play School episodes in a cold sweat, you don’t write that off as adding to her character, you split up with that freak immediately. Lord’s a piece of shit, I’m sorry.

4.       Go Fund Me Australia, well played to you friends.

5.       Ash Barty, well played you as well legend.

6.       FFA. You are still morons and that penalty shootout loss is your fault. Don’t tell me sacking a well-liked coach in that leadup didn’t have even a tiny bit of influence in the Matildas’ early exit. They don’t sack Stajcic they progress past Norway, simple.

7.       Craig Foster wants to keep Sam Kerr in Australia, against the idea she might consider a lucrative move to England or France. What a fool. Reckons it helps the standard here. No chance. It’s like keeping your kid in Grade Six year after year because it helps each new class of students. Don’t worry about how it holds back Sam Kerr from being even better, Craig…

8.       Last one before some footy – Lewis Hamilton, said he understands if fans now think F1 is boring. You don’t say Lewis. F1 executives, even the runaway leader can see how boring this now is, do something clowns.

9.       Ok, some Aussie Rules. St Kilda. Richo might not be ‘the guy’ but you’re not calling stumps on a guy in June who is 6-7, don’t care if he is a rookie coach or in his sixth year. When he is 8-12 or something in a couple months’ time, sure, but they’re one win away from squaring the ledger with a decent injury list. Settle.

10.   No Paddy McCartin, hardly any Jack Steven, hardly any Jarryn Geary, no Dylan Roberton, one game of Dan Hannebery and hardly any Jack Carlisle. One win out of the eight. You wouldn’t but you could argue a case of giving him two more years and hope he does a 2018 Nathan Buckley.

11.   David King, esteemed football pundit, reckons it would be a shock if Brad Scott isn’t at Moorabbin next year. How so? Because you’ve sacked Richardson in your mind already and Scott’s the only really available coach-in-waiting out there? But in what world do St Kilda go “yes, Brad Scott, that’s a huge upgrade/difference to Alan, let’s make that swap yesterday!”. Yeah nah.

12.   Robbo, we’ve missed him, led his Monday column stating Victorian teams are in crisis. Ah, what?! This wouldn’t be another attention seeking headline mutually exclusive from reality, much like when Port Adelaide was in irreparable crisis putting covers on seats at Footy Park, or how we should shut down Queensland footy because the Brisbane Lions were in turmoil? Port and Brissy look pretty good now, Mark, so forgive me for waiting and seeing on your outlandish remark.

13.   Hawthorn had the oldest team on the park last round, and looked woeful. This column still trusts in Al Clarkson, no question, but they’re in a weird spot right now, being the oldest and amongst the crappest. Could go anywhere this mob next year, stone last, prelim final, it’s bizarre.

14.   Brisbane could dead set be the 2018 Collingwood this year. Huge jump compared to the previous season, looks well ahead of schedule, but if it clicks, its working and its putting in performances worthy of competing at the top of the ladder, when it comes to finals and its 22 on 22 don’t discount them. Could make a prelim and I wouldn’t be shocked one bit.

15.   If you had someone who was really good right, and say won a best and fairest at his first club before heading to a new club in his home state, and had some ‘significant off field habits’ starting to distract him on and off the field, you reckon he might get ‘omitted’ from time to time for seemingly no reason? Few really bad financial issues for this player it seems, and it’s starting to get uglier before getting better, allegedly...

16.   So North would make John Longmire the most well paid coach in the land. Big money didn’t help lure Dustin Martin or Jordan De Goey, but neither of those two were a premiership player attending a flag reunion where a whole lot of Shinboner romance was swirling around and who knows how persuasive the pull was that night to return to his former club. I had North as very little chance, but now they’d be half a smokey, all based on a whole bunch of Shiraz consumption and “Hearts to Hearts and Hands to Hands” renditions.

17.   Steve Coniglio stays in Sydney or goes home to Perth. Money will be good anywhere so it’s either loyalty or go home – a Melbourne club is neither. This isn’t Adam Treloar or Dylan Shiel wanting to come home, or Josh Kelly weighing up a return home. Coniglio was a nark Eagles fan growing up, so if the Eagles can’t land Tim Kelly and think the Giants’ star is gettable, that’s the only trade plausible me thinks.

18.   I know Nick Blakey is a ripper, but gee if Jordan Dawson doesn’t become the Swans’ most importantly player in the coming months. Absolute jet. Great overhead mark, and even better kick. The epitome of the modern footballer with a bit of toughness about him too. A ‘Buy’.

19.   Port’s next month – Dogs at home, Crows, Lions at home, Tigers in Melbourne. Could win one, could win all four. Win three and they should make finals from here.

20.   Travis Boak, paying $15 for the Brownlow, but gee after 14 rounds, Tim Kelly is probably ahead of him but for anyone else though, confidently, I’d be struggling. Would go close to the three votes last weekend against Geelong, and could have five or six best on grounds to date by now. Worst case is on 12-13 votes I’d say, and even that’s well in the race if Kelly is on 17 or so.

[thereviewsarein]

The 2018 festival season is here. And on Saturday, June 2, the Country Wild Music Festival took over Cobourg’s Victoria Park with a full day of music.

The All-Canadian lineup brought a lot of country and a little taste of rock and roll to the lakefront park. With an excellent combination of male and female performers, Country Wild also showed itself to be one of the most progressive country festivals where the lineup is concerned.

Between about 2:30 pm and somewhere after 10 pm, the music played through the park and out onto the beach with Robyn Ottolini, Rebekah Stevens, Jesse Slack, Sawmill Road, Ben Hudson, Kansas Stone, Alyssa Morrissey, Gentlemen Husbands, Marshall Dane, and finally Jess Moskaluke all taking their turns. And as the sun shone down and the summer breeze blew in, the Northumberland crowd sang, danced, ate, drank, and enjoyed the start to their summer.

Robyn Ottolini kicked off the day with an acoustic set of country music. Accompanied by Tim Deegan on percussion, Robyn welcomed the early crowd to the festival and combined her music and sense of humour to entertain them as they got in, got settled, and got ready for a full festival day.

Ottolini is getting used to finding herself on festival stages, having played Aurora Magna Hoedown and the Boots & Hearts Emerging Artist Showcase – and as she wrapped her set with originals Just A Waitress and Him Problem, she showed Cobourg why they should be ready to see her in front of them on more stages in the future.

Rebekah Stevens was next on stage to keep the festival flowing, and with her full band on stage with her, she did just that.

Stevens brought shared her originals with the crowd including Give It A Try, Liar Liar, and Better In The Past. And with each song, it became clear to the audience that she belonged. It also made sense that she has also been a Top 8 finalist at the B&H Emerging Artist Showcase.

Rebekah also brought us our first surprise of the day when she and her band wrapped their early afternoon set with a cover of Wheatus’s 2000 hit, Teenage Dirtbag. We dug it!

Jesse Slack was next to take the stage, and the Peterborough native kept things moving!

With his band backing him up, and songs from his new EP, Young & Free (March 2018) to share, Jesse brought the energy we’ve seen him bring in the past and introduced himself to Cobourg. And whether he had his guitar strapped on, or he was focused on the mic, he was in control on the stage.

The sun-soaked festival goers tapped toes and listened as Jesse’s set included Stuck, Lip Sync, Counting On A Comeback, and his most recent single release, I Wish I Never Met You. The first dose of guitar lead rockin’ country was a hit with the crowd, and we’re certain that Country Wild and the fans would have Slack back in 2019.



This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Local country music favourites, Sawmill Road was next on the stage, bringing a selection of covers to the crowd. The band rolled through their mid-afternoon set including songs like Dierks’ Bentley’s 5-1-5-0, David Lee Murphy’s Dust On The Bottle, Tracy Byrd’s I’m From The Country and had the Cobourg crowd singing and dancing along as they played on stage.

The band also tossed in an original, playing their 2013 release, Whiskey Burn, showing that they have their own chops, and can be the party lovin’ good time band that plays the songs you know, and the country band that does it all their own and is happy to show it off.



This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The celebration of Canadian country music continued with Uxbridge’s Ben Hudson next on the Country Wild stage. Hudson was joined by his band, and wife Brooke (whose voice is a great match for Ben, especially when they roll on a duet together).

Hudson’s set was a great combo of originals and covers as they played Ain’t My Fault (Brothers Osborne), What Ifs (Kane Brown & Lauren Alaina) to go with originals including Wear And Tear, Smells Like Home, and Johnny And June.

The crowd showed their love – during and after the set as fans found their way over to talk to Ben all day – and as they wrapped with what they plan to be the next single, Deja Vu, it was obvious that Cobourg would have Hudson back in a heartbeat.



This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Barrie’s Kansas Stone followed Ben, and these boys came to party. Returning to Country Wild for the second year (last year they played an acoustic set, this year they plugged in and brought the whole band), the Wax Records recording artists were all in from the jump.

Brian and Matty have become known for their high energy sets, unafraid to let their hair flow in the wind and get loud. I spoke with the boys before they went on stage and they told me that they’ve been hard at work, and hope to release new music to the world soon. During their set on Saturday, Kansas Stone played new tracks, Up From Here, Me Day, and Cashin’ Out to go along with Luke Combs’ One Number Away to entertain the crowd.

The boys also brought a familiar song to the stage with Country 101. More than anything we were reminded that the blue collar, rockin’ country vibe that Kansas Stone presents is great for live crowds and perfect for festival season. We can’t wait to see more from them.



This slideshow requires JavaScript.

As we moved into the second half of the day-long festival, Alyssa Morrissey took the stage in her return to Cobourg.

With her full band in tow (including boyfriend JJ Thompson of JJ and The Pillars) Morrissey entertained the crowd with great energy and a smooth voice. Her set was a fine mix of originals and covers, including her own Hold Your Horses and I Ain’t Got Time to go along with Dolly Parton’s Jolene.

Alyssa (and JJ) also brought a little bit of rock and roll with them as they played through Feel It Still (Portugal. The Man), and Howl, a song they wrote together for JJ and The Pillars. And in a moment of personal happiness for me, they ended their sunny Saturday set with a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Go Your Own Way from the 1977 classic album, Rumours.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The Country Wild Music Festival took a rock and roll turn next as Cobourg’s own Gentlemen Husbands came to their hometown stage. The Universal Music artists were an upbeat treat as Derrick, Ryan, Dan, and Jed plugged in and played.

The band was another returning act to the festival, bringing a local flavour to the day. Their guitar-driven rock and roll was welcomed with open ears and arms, and as the crowd soaked it in, they rocked out themselves. Beer flowed, dancing ensued, and from start to finish, Gentlemen Husbands made everyone proud and proved that guitar rock and roll is alive and well, and fits perfectly with live country music.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

In the second to last spot of the day, as the afternoon turned to evening, Marshall Dane came to the Country Wild Music Festival stage and did his thing. As a professional performer, looking and showing that he was born to do it, Marshall Dane sucks everyone in and puts out all of the energy you could ever hope for. With guitars ringing, hair blowing, and love for the stage, he gave Cobourg a show.

The country artist with the Bon Jovi vibe played a solid set, including songs from his 2013 album, One Of These Days. And one of the crowd’s favourite moments of the day came when he rolled through a classic rock medley in the middle of his single, Alcohol Abuse.

Dane will have a spot on stage as long as he wants to. And if he keeps putting on shows like he did on the Cobourg waterfront, people are going to be into it.



This slideshow requires JavaScript.

In the headline spot, excited, enthusiastic, and ready to go, was Langenburg, Saskatchewan’s Jess Moskaluke.

The three-time Canadian Country Music Association Female Artist of the Year, and Juno winner for Country Album of the Year (Kiss Me Quiet, 2017) won over the crowd instantly as she opened her set with 2017 single, Drive Me Away, and didn’t slow down. Country Wild served as the kickoff to Moskaluke’s summer season, but it didn’t show. Her band was tight, her voice was on point, and the set was fire.

It was fantastic to see the Northumberland country fans singing along to the radio hits they’ve come to know from Jess over the last few years. And as the set progressed, they became louder and more involved. This was a Canadian country star on a festival stage, showing that women can headline and entertain and close out a show with all the power and punch it requires.

It was also proof (as if anyone still needed it) that Jess Moskaluke belongs in every conversation about top Canadian country artists.

We’ve been watching Jess on stage since 2014 when we first caught her at Boots & Hearts, and since then (including her set at Country Wild Music Festival 2018) she has grown more powerful, commanding, and entertaining on stage. Audiences see her smiling and laughing and singing her heart out. And all of it comes with an air of confidence and love for what she does.

There was nothing but love for Jess Moskaluke in Cobourg at the second annual Country Wild Music Festival. And as the festival grows and continues, and Moskaluke continues to release more hits (they’re coming, we’d bet on it) it would not surprise us to see her back again in the future.

Until then, the memories of everything from Good Lovin’ to her brand new single, Camouflage will be set in the minds of the lucky fans who saw her start the summer of 2018 with a bang!



Jess Moskaluke, Country Wild Music Festival Setlist

Drive Me Away Used Night We Won’t Forget Lightning Bolt Good Lovin’ Kiss Me Quiet Good For You Kill Your Love Amen Hallelujah Camouflage Right When Ya Left Parachute (Chris Stapleton) 80s Mercedes (Maren Morris) Shape Of You/No Scrubs (Ed Sheeran/TLC) Open Road Take Me Home Elevator Cheap Wine And Cigarettes

Jess Moskaluke at the 2018 Country Wild Music Festival

Cobourg Gets Country Wild to Kick Off Festival Season The 2018 festival season is here. And on Saturday, June 2, the Country Wild Music Festival…

[lydiahainesqut-journal-blog]

Online Journal Analysis

Seminar Week 4:

“EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT”

·       Contrast between historical building and contemporary, neon, capital letters (Old building- reassuring and authoritarian- the building has been around for a long time, and is reassuring the readers that everything is going to be alright)

·       Text is quite intrusive as it has been placed on the outside of a monumental building- subtracts the quality of the building.

·       Have measured the exact width of the building to fill the text of the entire width- taking into account the architecture of the building.

·       Public space, shown by the amount of people in the photograph.

·       The colour of the white text in combination with the sombre, grey atmosphere creates an overall solemn image.

o   The main presence of luminosity in the image.

·       The text is indicating that everything is not alright currently- something needs to change. An example of modern propaganda.

Week 5:

Lecture 4:

Type up written notes from class.

Week 8:

Premier Pro CC Workshop:

·       Exporting File

o   Select area that you wish to export (mark an outpoint so that your work goes from 0 seconds to the point you wish to include).

o   Make sure window is active with blue line.

o   File à Export à Media (Command M) à Change settings and place.

§  Click on file name and make sure you know where you’re saving it.

o   Format: H.264 (NOT blueray)

o   Preset: Vimeo 1080p HD (720 is fine also)

o   Click export audio and video.

o   Click queue- this will open up a list of things to export… then launches another programme called Adobe Media Encoda.

o   Once you have got your “list”, then click export.

·       Audio

o   Right click on audio à unlink, then delete the video instead of the sound.

o   Fade: selection tool, right click. Apply to fault transition.

Preparation for Assessment 2

Artist Talk- 2 minutes

This artwork MUST be new this semester, and NOT one of the 2 discussed in your Studio Report.

Form/Process:

Introduce and describe your work addressing its general information(e.g. medium, materials, scale, ‘gestalt’ impression, display method etc.) as well as specific formal qualities (e.g. texture, light, line, colour, evident methods etc.).

Content:

Discuss how these formal qualities can relate to and communicate certain ideas or experiences that you are interested in. Remember the adjectives you use to describethe work can contribute to the discussion of content. Your choice of words is important here to acknowledge your subjective position. Avoid overly didactic and ‘closed’ discussions of your work.

·       Paper Formations – organic flower forms, lined paper.

·       Are You Happy Now? – varied blue floor piece.

·       Art Annotations – Green plastic suspended piece.

·       Process Pronunciated – Fucia pink, plastic film.

Contextual Discussion- 3 minutes

Providing a very brief overview of a post-1960 contemporary artist who influences your work, choose 1 work of theirs to compare to your own. This artist MUST be a different artist to those you discussed in your Studio Report.

Form/Process: Describe the formal qualities of the work using adjectives to contribute to ideas of content. Content: What ideas, experiences, and emotions do you think the work communicates? Again, this is a subjective analysis of the work that should avoid exclusive claims and readings. It is expected thought that this analysis would be informed by further research.

Context: Now compare and contrast your work with your chosen influence. How do your formal choices of media and process relate or diverge? Why did you make these decisions? Why do you imagine they did? What overlaps and differences are there in your ideas, topics, emotions etc.? How does this manifest in the work? What else have you found out about this artist? Do you share any influences?

·       Marit Roland

·       Angela De La Cruz

Week 8

Lecture 5:

John Baldessari (1973)

·       He sits in front of some new technology for that time (video camera) making images that move- beyond cinema, beyond film. Was a very technically advanced and expensive activity making films but in the 1970’s video became more accessible for artists to make moving images.

·       Artists were playing with the idea of experience- what experience can they offer someone to take them on a journey? (early video works were documentations of performances)

o   35 Sentences on Conceptual Art- what Baldessari is singing/reading on the video performance.  

Dan Graham (1975) “Performer, Audience, Mirror”

·       This artist is purely narrating his actions in the performance (eg. I am moving my head to the right, to the left… etc.)

·       The large mirror allows each audience member to watch themselves watching the performance - become acutely aware of how they watch a performance.

Richard Serra (1973) “Television Delivers People”

·       Branding the use of television to show people how ‘useless’ television might be. Merely a source of branding/advertising for companies behind the scenes.

Gary Hill (1980) “Prosesual Video”

·       The monotone voice adopted when narrating creates a sombre atmosphere, enhanced with the use of a black background.

·       The powerful thing here is that we implicitly connect his narrative with the ever-changing image on the screen.

·       The very simple white line becomes everything it needs to be when it adapts to each different object narrated (eg. Horizon, ski slope, horizon etc.)

More works by Gary Hill- “Videograms” , “Happenstance”

·       Creates abstracted forms, moments of synchronicity between sound and image as well as discontinuity between image and language. A slippage becomes prominent between how we read text and how we see text.

General Idea “Shut the Fuck Up- Part III” (1984) – Artist Collective

·       Subtle reference to Eve’s Cline.

·       A multi-segmented video.

·       The artist collective’s cleverly deceit makes this video lightly comical.

Gillian Wearing (1997) “2 in 1”

·       An example of a very simple idea becoming very effective- mother and twin sons swap voices. The kids critique her parenting, and she explains how there is love and hate in all human relationships.

·       Simple creative choices that go together can create incredibly rich viewing situations.

·       This is quite a compelling video to watch in terms of time, as she critiques about how her children behave and they critique how the mum dresses.

Omer Fast (2002) “CNN Concatenated”

·       Again, this video is very compelling derived from the simple idea of creating a unique narrative using news reporters words in aid of this.

·       This very simple editing has incredible power to create a whole new narrative out of existing pieces.

·       Quite poetic- pauses, rhythm etc.

·       Post 9/11: in attempt to make sense of the world and what is currently happening. Utilizing the reports from this time to try and make sense of an incredibly complex and political landscape.

Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries (2002) “Dakota”

·       Create flash-based artworks – early net art makers creating these online experiences of purely text and sound, however it is poetry aswell.

o   What happens when you try and make poetry that has sound attachced?

o   What happens when a reader has no control at the speed to read the poem? (Entirely at the mercy of the time and experience that the artists make for us).

·       Forms a ‘porous poem’: one of different entry points, unable to refer back as it is continuous. If one is unable to keep up with the speed, then they will have a different artistic experience to someone who can.

Candice Breitz (2005) “King (portrait of Michael Jackson)”

·       Video recording of selected people singing other celebrities songs. Very effective.

Grant Stevens (2005) “Like Two Ships”

·       Pairs a fast paced poem with different sound: creates slippages between what we hear and what we see.

Video art usually operates on different time-based experiences, so try and push yourself to see what your attention spam is capable of.

Ignas Krunglevicius (2009) “Interrogation”

·       Took advantage of what it means to create a conversation between two screens.

·       This work recreates an interrogation between a police officer and their as yet un-arrested interviewee.

·       Formally, the very simple composition and rhythm adopted here reflects actually a very complex, kinetic soundtrack that is synchronised with every line typed.

·       Bursts of colour or light at certain points might reflect the states of the interviewee.

·       The speed and tempo change depending on the nature of the conversation between the interviewer/interviewee.

[bittersweet-dan-blog]

credit to: @wowos

//

1. the day i met dan and phil (irl) was during the american tour and i actually cried. phil smelled like strawberries and dan smelled like axe :’) they were so tol it was amazing 2. my mother and i are similar because we’re both artist and book worms and introverted. we’re different because she doesn’t play instruments and doesn’t like dan and phil xD 3. ‘you’re stupid but you’re my friend so i guess you’re okay’ ‘bryant.. you’re precious’ ‘well.. at least you didn’t fuck it up’ i’m a very sarcastic person okay leave me alone 4. ‘get a life loser’ 5. basically nothing. she’s the exact opposite of me 6. happiness 7. evan peters  8. at home and probably asleep 9. evan fucking peters and chloe fucking grace fucking moretz 10. my year seven science teacher 11. bodee from faking normal, hazel grace lancaster from the fault in our stars, meg from the night we said yes, and the cat from coraline 12. chloe, anna, sierra, sera, bryant, justin, osage, korbin, aaron, nicholas, marco, britany, michael and lisa marie 13. rebecca and eitan 14. don’t have any 15. bryant, just, osage, sierra, sera, anna - first period math korbin - band lisa marie, marco - third period elab 16. courtney stevens, lauren gibaldi, and john green 17. dan and phil, my best friend chloe, and my crush bryant 18. chloe 19. evan peters 20. hannah hoffman 21. phil lester 22. bryant ;; 23. bRyAnT 24. chloe 25. justin tbh 26. chloe 27. britany  28. bryant... 29. anna 30. MOTHER  FUCKING B R Y A N T 31. justin and marco 32. i’m grateful for chloe because she pulled me out of the shadows and showed me what true friends do for each other. i’m grateful for justin because he is my sarcastic soulmate. i’m grateful for bryant because he is giving me feelings i’ve never felt before. i’m grateful for anna because she pushes me to do things i don’t want to. i’m grateful for sierra and sera because they are who i go to if i need some band trash. i’m grateful for osage for being the meme he is. i’m grateful for korbin for being the weird perve he is. i’m grateful for moma’s boy (nic), marciplier (marco), and bi bi (lisa) for staying with me even though i’m a pain in the ass. i’m grateful for aaron because he loved me when no one else did. i’m grateful for britany because she makes me laugh even though i don’t want to. i’m grateful for michael because he has shown me that even if i don’t get the best grades, i’m still trying and i’m still the smartest person to him. 33. i’m grateful for my dad because he grew balls and decided to come into my life.  34. i’m grateful for my mom because she loves me no matter what. it doesn’t matter what shit i do or what i’m saying or anything, she still loves me. she supports me, she encourages me, and she motivates me. she has been here all my life and i could not be anymore happy that i get to share my life with my mom.