#Anyway go watch Hunchback again. One of the best disney movies actually

[bonefall]

so was ashfur just like sitting up in starclan plotting his really good dishonor titles while he watched people live their lives or is he just. lowkey a really excellent namer. actually how taboo would it be for a leader to have a friend of theirs come up with names bc the friend is better at it. that would be so funny

It's actually not taboo at all for someone else to come up with the name, as long as the leader makes it official! In fact, every leader probably has a couple of cats of high status (deputy, patrol head) that they run names by.

If the leader has fully outsourced it may be a bit insulting, like, "oh so you don't want to do your sacred duty??" But kept quiet or done respectfully, that's totally allowed. The leader simply has the holy authority to set the names.

(I like keeping name "rules" loose because I try to stress that names are very personal and dependant on the leader. A Star who knows they are uncreative and has someone they can trust to do this with them? That's a wonderful way to show something meaningful about the character and the way they rule!)

I can see Blackstar doing this with Russetfur.

Anyway... yeah, Ashfur is lowkey just a really creative person. His skill with his absolutely SCATHING Dishonor Titles is that he is FILLED with spite. He looks for something that will HURT his victim and crafts a name around it.

And he doesn't need a ton of "prep time." He came up with Clearface on the spot. She started calling him out on wanting punishments for people who had already paid for their crimes or done nothing wrong, and his gaze was clear and almost considerate, as if he was thinking about her words.

In truth, her little speech was all the time he needed to come up with something that would emotionally obliterate her on the spot.

Not that it was hard to find it for Blossomfall. She oozes insecurity, in his mind. The way she leans on her family. How she does nothing alone. Betrayed her Clan twice, ay? Ha. That isn't the action of someone truly self-assured.

Twigbranch was also easy. She's always apologizing. Eager to please, suggestible. Ashfur has heard she can stand up for herself, yes, so simply plant a seed in her mind. Make her think she's stupid, tell her to pay attention to her claws, and she will make them fumble all on her own.

And that was important for breaking some of the coalition between her and Alderheart. All the cats who are close with the Cleric's den are troublesome. So it's important-- construct a Blasphemy problem. Or, bring attention to it, really.

BB!Ashfur DOES believe in what he's doing. This isn't JUST incel entitlement like canon! Incel entitlement is part of it, but secondary. He really believes that the Clans have strayed from the righteous path.

Openly challenging a leader, defying the will of StarClan, all this inability to prove their honor in battle... he'll fix it. And he means it. These cats are becoming unruly heathens and he will snap them back into line.

Squilf is a bonus, really. The minute it's between her and his wider goals, his goals will win out.

[bibliophileiz]

I haven't seen Phantom Menace since college (when it came out in 3-D and was exceptionally terrible, lol) and watching it again now it's not as bad as I remembered.

Which isn't to say it's good.

Thoughts:

In general, I think the overall plot is a good one. It's the details in the execution that aren't great. The child actors (including sometimes Natalie Portman) are not great, the dialogue is pretty bland and Jar Jar doesn't work any better now than he did in the '90s (in fact he might be worse).

But the podracing is great, and some of the casting is really good. Baby Keira Knightley (who had to have been 12 when this was filmed) does a great job shelving her natural talent accent to play just a wooden bureucratic Natalie Portman. (This sounds mean about Natalie Portman. I usually like her a lot, just not really in this.)

I also think Andy Secome, who plays Watto, does a pretty good job. Also Warwick Davis is in it??? He doesn't have anything to do, but he is there if you want to play Where's Waldo (Where's Warwick).

Also, and I remember noticing this as a 6-year-old in the theater the first time I saw it, but Ewan McGregor as young Obi-Wan Kenobi is *chef's kiss.* Baby Iz watching this for the first time was trying to figure out how they made Alec Guiness look so young.

But the best has to be Pernilla August, who plays Shmi and who should have won a goddamn Oscar, she breaks my heart in this movie. Her line delivery is really good (especially considering some of the dialogue), and her facial expressions, i mean, gawd. This is a woman who involuntarily brought a child into this shitty, shitty world and all she wants is for him to be free and have a future, and that desire clearly battles with her fear for his safety, from the podracing to leaving with Jedi to help finish their secret mission. And in the end she gives up everything so that he can go off into the stars with strangers who think he's special but they don't know him like she does, and she's just left alone, with nothing, on Tattooine, and URRRGGGHHHHH.

Anyway, Shmi is my favorite character and Anakin is such a useless little fuckboi who didn't deserve her, he should have gone back and rescued her the first time he got Jedi leave.

(although I'm not sure Jedi have leave. Which is just one more way the organization in the prequels is supremely fucked up)

Hmm, what other things are good about this movie?

I really love that two teenage girls (Natalie and Keira -- yes, I know their real names are Padme and Sabe, fuck off, it's Natalie and Keira, and they should hang out more) basically come up with the entire third act on their own because they're tired of waiting for these fuckin old white men to solve their problems for them.

also the final space battle is cool but it needed less dialogue from childactorAnakin

(similarly, the gungun battle would have been fine and i think their space ball weapon thingies are kind of cool, but there needed to be WAY less jarjar and i can't figure out why anyone thought he would make a good foot soldier, let alone a general)

and the lightsaber battle has SUCH. AN EPIC. SCORE. ominous choirs over lightsaber sounds are something i didn't realize i needed from my star wars

(Actually there are a weirdly high number of similarities between this movie and Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame)

And Darth Maul is very cool and should have come back in the sequels.

But the pacing's not very good. Also apparently Liam Neeson hated working on this movie and it shows

So those are my deranged thoughts on Phantom Menace. Now I'm staritng Attack of the Clones (which does NOT have as good a plot) and I'm trying to figure out why Padme's dying decoy thinks she's failed her?? Like, she didn't plan on getting blown up, and clearly if the plan was to keep Padme from getting blown up, then it ... worked.... Which is obviously shitty for the decoy, and Padme should be apologizing to HER

I have a feeling I'm going to be more disappointed in this one than in Phantom Menace.

[radramblog]

Putting Chicken Little in Mid instead of Shit is my hot take- a Disney animated tier list

Was talking about this shit with some mates and I had my laptop about with a blank page so why the FUCK not. It’s my blog, I make the fucking rules.

For the purpose of this tier list, Pixar does not exist. It’s fake news. Buzz Lightyear fucking who?

(see now I’ve gone after both dreamworks *and* Disney, you cant complain I’m biased)

First of all: the tier of things I haven’t seen and have no intention to do so. The absolutely fucking not tier.

A bunch of the old ones that no-one remembers are on here. Considering nobody talks about them, and they’re fucking Disney, how good could they possibly be? In addition to that, we have Frozen, something I considered watching at the time, and then it got huge, and I just got sick to death of fucking seeing it everywhere. It’s a universality poison, an oversaturation complex, and I absolutely have no interest in seeing us build a snowman. Can people please let this movie go already? (I think I’m very funny). Also, Dinosaur looks fucking awful (y’all know Land Before Time already existed right), and the trailers for Ralph Breaks the Internet did too. Which is a real shame, because the first one slaps. Wait that’s spoilers FUCK

Anyway next is the ones I haven’t seen but could possibly be convinced to.

The classics I haven’t seen live here. But it’s one of those things where like, am I gonna go out of my way for this? Am I deadass gonna go sit my ass down and watch fucking Sleeping Beauty as a 22+ year old bloke? Not unless someone drags me into it. I could be more easily convinced for like, Aristocats or Great Mouse Detective, because cute animals good, but you don’t have the same easy in for Aladdin or Princess and the Frog. Also, Tangled and Moana are there because like, I really cannot be bothered watching those, not my kinda jam, but if I put them in the fuck no category certain friends of mine would be quite upset.

Next is Shit Tier! Shit Tier has one member.

Home on the Range was. A movie. A lot of the time when you talk about the really bad movies, what gets brought up is a bad film (or other property) that’s just the sheer absence of good. And that is what I have to say to describe Home on the Range. A deathknell for Disney’s 2D animated division, and honestly American 2D animation as a whole. I don’t know how the fuck Princess and the Frog got made after this, because this movie was just genuinely devoid of anything memorable or entertaining. Man, it’s just cows.

The Bad tier has a lot more of the “absence of good” style- like, Cinderella isn’t atrocious, but what does it actually have going for it? I genuinely don’t remember. I only have vague memories of the Black Cauldron, but I believe the general consensus is that its Not Good. Pocahontas and Tarzan are messy and not in the fun way, and the Jungle Book is something I found exceptionally annoying as a kid. Probably because my brother likes it, nothing he likes is ever good (love you bro).

Mid tier is mostly just shit I don’t really care about one way or the other. Like, Beauty and the Beast is fiiiiiiine. I gueeesss.  I don’t particularly care for Lion King either way, and please attempt to name a single thing that happened in Bambi after the mum got shot. One thing. I suppose I should attempt to explain my having Chicken Little here, even though everyone understands it’s a bad movie. And yeah, it is, but this is my Nostalgia Pick. I’m allowed one of those. I really loved that movie as a kid, And I don’t know why, I have no justification for this. It’s not that bad, surely. I refuse to watch it again to find out.

Also The Rescuers is pretty ok? I think? I remember very little about it. But The Rescuers Down Under has a motherfucking Goanna as the villain’s pet and she’s gorgeous. Movie aint great apart from that but the goanna gets it a whole bunch of bonus points.

Finally, some good fucking film.

Okay, let’s run this one down the list. Big Hero 6 was pretty good? I watched most of it on the plane, but I never finished is and I sure haven’t been assed to fix that yet. Wreck-it-Ralph was honestly really good, and the retro game shit was a direct target square at my face. Not top tier, but extremely solid. Hercules was a beautiful disaster, and Robin Hood was a disastrous beauty (and too many folks’ furry awakening for me to be comfortable with it (says the Pokemon fan))

Hunchback is genuinely quite good, athought you really need to skip past the gargoyle bits to get the best out of it. Zootopia gets a lot of credit, goes on top tier for a lot folks, but not for me- controversial opinion, but the second half was too heavyhanded for my taste. Like, I get that you had to hammer in that metaphor for the kids, but it really did it too hard for me. Also, they really made the villain a sheep, huh. Rude.

Alice in Wonderland is a beautiful creative classic with a healthy dollop of creepy, and I have too much nostalgia for Winnie the Pooh to put it any lower than this. Fox and the Hound and Mulan are the good shit, and I don’t have much more of a comment than that.

Finally, the top tier! Good movies allowed only.

You may notice that all these movies come from that era in the 90s where they actually let the creative minds behind the 2D animation team at Disney make the things they want to? And they cranked out the best 4 movies in the entire list. Like, goddamn. Treasure Planet is a fun as fuck adventure movie that’s criminally underrated and looks gorgeous, and Atlantis is just a more refined version of such (but I’m not quite as nostalgic for that one, sorry, also the second one exists). Emperor’s New Groove is just, such an incredible comedy flick, holy shit, they really did the nonstandard plot framing and fourth wall humour in this one, and they did it well. And Lilo and Stitch is, again, a perfect movie. I never know what to say about those. It’s so much less interesting to talk about things that don’t have flaws compared to something that does. It’s a perf fuckin film, fam.

And uhh, that’s the lot of them. Okay, that’s all the time I’ve got. I’ve got to get back to watching Shrek the Third on my friend’s TV.

(it’s not especially good)

[mysaldate]

Late night thoughts #1 — KnY demons and Disney

It's currently 6am here and I haven't been able to fall asleep yet so this still counts as late night thoughts, right? Well, even if not, just enjoy the crack please.

Also, when talking about movies that have been remade, I'm taking the old versions, I haven't seen any of the remakes yet and I'm not exactly planning on it either.

Muzan

Honestly prefers Dreamworks over Disney, especially their earlier works.

Probably still enjoyed Great Mouse Detective or The Black Cauldron. Oh right, and Hunchback of Notre Dame had its good moments for him.

Has that one book that ends every story before the villain gets defeated so it's like they won.

Kokushibou

Genuinely believes Mulan is the only valid Disney film. And that's really only thanks to Li Shang.

Will cut you up if you mention the sequel tho.

One he really hates is Lion King. It just hits too close to home for him.

Douma

HUGE Frozen fan. Emotionally constipated orphaned princess with ice powers who's lived her whole life in isolation and doesn't get people? Come on.

He felt a little called out at first but then he learnt Let It Go by heart.

Saw the sequel at 50 times at the cinema before letting someone talk him into buying the DVD. Cried every time.

Akaza

Really likes Mulan too. And for some reason The Little Mermaid and Hercules too but Mulan is his no. 1.

Won't admit it but he can lip-sync every single song in those movies. Ok, let's be fair, he can lip-sync the whole Mulan movie.

Also enjoyed the Hercules spin-off series even if he rarely got any of the refferences.

Hantengu (and his chaotic boy band)

Actually have Disney movie night marathons. Usually only Yoroko and Karaku make it till morning.

Every single one of them loves Lion King. Sometimes it's on twice in one night. The sequels not so much but Yoroko digs the Hakuna Matata one.

Sekido sometimes does Scar impressions when they act out. Some of them are actually scared of him (and Zira too).

Nakime

The Little Mermaid or Hunchback of Notre Dame are really the only two she enjoyed.

Still can play just about every Disney song EVER on her biwa. She can also sing but usually doesn't.

Yes, that includes songs from sequels and spin-offs. She has lots of time in the Fortress.

Gyokko

Not all that much into Disney, prefers japanese animation most of the time. And japanese movies in general.

Heard of the Ao Oni live action movies? He sent a couple letters to Disney, asking them to adapt the other novels.

Sometimes likes a little comedy. Emperor's New Groove really fell in line with his taste.

Daki

Thinks Cinderella is a comedy. So is Snow White. So is Sleeping Beauty. Yeah, every princess story is a comedy.

Secretly cried in her pillow when she thought Snow White died but nobody can know this.

All-time favourite is Bambi because humans are disgusting.

Gyutaro

Usually just watches whatever Daki does, only rarely on his own.

Likes Pixar production more than Disney originals but it's not major.

Adores Princess and the Frog and Hunchback for obvious reasons (though the literary basis for the later one hurt him to read).

Kaigaku

Not a very big fan but he enjoys the older movies. Thinks the new ones suck and isn't afraid to say that to your face.

For some reason really likes Robin Hood. And Oliver & company.

Can and will sing rock/metal versions of every Disney song that has such a version already made. Has made children cry with this in the past and can again if desired.

Enmu

Ever heard of Great Locomotive Chase? Being based on an actual event makes it all the more appealing to him. He will watch anything tho.

Usually falls asleep within first three minutes but somehow remembers everything anyway?

Sometimes goes to cons or public reading events to share the "real stories" the Disney movies were based on. He's banned from 4 cons and 26 libraries all across Japan so far.

Rokuro

Actually really loves Disney and remembers at least one quote for every character who has at least a line.

Really likes all The Three Musketeers movies.

Sometimes a little confused about early Dreamworks production since they look so similar.

Wakuraba

Not that much of a fan but he knows the classics. Not that any of them speaks to him personally.

Sometimes gets called Banzai after that one hyena in Lion King. He hates it but at least it's not Ed.

Doesn't realize Disney doesn't only make animated movies. Maybe one day.

Mukago

Knows the Disney renessaince era and then the modern movies. Also heard of Lady and Tramp at one point.

Probably kinda likes Pocahontas and doesn't understand why are the americans so angry about it.

Paint With All the Colours of the Wind is forever his (her?) ringtone and you can't do anything about it.

Rui (and fam)

Apparently there was a movie called The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band.

He gets bored by it anyway but keeps it on for the aesthetics.

Also have movie nights but usually not Disney-only. And he's the only one allowed to pick movies anyway. Bambi or Lion King are common choices.

Kamanue

Dreamworks fan.

Used to enjoy Marvel but refuses to support Disney.

Gets stuck babysitting Enmu far too often tho so he knows all the movies anyway.

Kyogai

Underrated movies fan. Both the "dark era" of Disney animation and anything else that got lost over time.

Top favourite is, and will forever be, Treasure Planet. He squeels like a little kid when watching that one.

Thinks sequels deserve some love too even if they weren't as good as the originals.

Susamaru

Star Wars fan mostly but won't say no to some older Disney classic. Just not anything too "woke" or princessy.

Emperor's New Groove is right up her alley and she knows everything about the movie.

Also really liked the Jungle Book. Except for the ending. She just wants Mowgli to grow up to be the next Tarzan but without the girl.

Yahaba

Prefers the book originals and complains about adaptations way too much.

Kind of enjoyed Hercules because of all the refferences to old mythology, that made him feel smart. But they messed up a few things so there's that.

What do you mean Prince of Egypt is not Disney?

Tamayo

Casual fan, doesn't really get the appeal beyond "Aw, what a cute cartoon!"

Not a fan of the dirty jokes slipped in sometimes, nor the other adult refferences.

Likes Jane from Tarzan because she's a good girl who came to study animals and found love and was overall super wholesome. She also likes Belle.

Yushiro

Pretends to be annoyed but actually loves princess movies most of them all.

Has a secret collection of figurines. Everything he can get his hands on, though villains usually get burnt or otherwise creatively disposed of.

Convinced Tamayo is a princess and that birds do her hair every morning. You can't change his mind.

Swamp triplets

Princess movies preffered because the girls are really pretty (and sometimes below 16, let's be fair).

Can never agree which one is the best though. One says it's Belle, Two claims Moana is superior to any princess, Three usually goes with Snow White or Sleeping Beauty but he can't make up his mind.

All of them are kinda scared of Jafar because he reminds them of Muzan a bit.

Hand demon

Probably knows all the animated movies by heart. And all the villain songs.

Loves Brother Bear. A lot.

Still scared of the bad guys, he just thinks they have hip songs and cool style.

Nezuko

Looks up to the badass Disney girls. No, not Anna and Elsa, the actual badass Disney girls.

Sometimes jokes that Tanjiro and her are a bit like Lilo and Stitch. Tanjiro makes sure to point out she's a princess though.

Absolutely loves Big Hero Six and Zootopia. You know, obvious reasons.

[sorakingdomhearts]

I just finished watching all of the Kingdom Hearts game cutscenes in 16 days! Under the cut, my super-long analysis post.

This was such a bad idea and also the best I’ve ever had. I can no longer tell the events of separate games apart, other than the stuff I added to this post’s draft while watching, but it’s given me so much to do in the quaran-times.

I would say my favorite games at this point are KH3, BBS, and 358/2 Days. I actually played through KH3 to like 90 something percent so I’m most attached to it, but storywise Aqua, Ventus, Roxas, and Axel/Lea have the best plots. If I had to pick a top favorite, other than Sora(because. Well. Sora’s my chosen middle name for a reason) I would say it’s Axel/Lea, and Aqua is the world’s closest second.

My favorite Disney worlds are probably Traverse Town for the music, Nightmare Before Christmas for the costumes(both the wintery ones and the spooky ones), Disney Town for the character appearances and aesthetic/colors, and BH6 for the plot/dialogue. Honorable mention to Hunchback of Notre Dame for being the only one I hadn’t heard about before starting this journey AND being a friend’s current hyperfixation so I got to share hyperfix joy with them for a bit.

I think Aqua has the best voice in the series. Especially with BBS 0.2/KH2.8 there’s quite a few scenes where the only dialogue is her talking to herself and she’s got such an emotional, pretty voice to pair with her heartbreaking journey home.

Axel/Lea’s relationship with his name is the same as a trans person with their deadname and I love that for him. For example, in the end of Dream Drop Distance, he gets frustrated with Riku not knowing it’s changed to Lea again but gives up on correcting him because the rest of what’s going on is more important. I’ve definitely done that with people deadnaming me.

On the other side of that coin, in ReMIND Demyx struggles to remember it’s Ienzo, not Zexion, but he corrects himself over and over. He doesn’t seem to want to deadname Ienzo, he just hasn’t gotten used to it yet. I think that more than anything else is what proved to me personally that Demyx really was trying to do something good.

Also, with Axel/Lea, can he not make bad jokes IN THE MIDDLE OF HIS OWN DEATH? Hello?! I said this on Twitter but hey, buddy, I love you dearly but now isn’t the time.

Xion’s name is pronounced she-on, not zee-on like I thought when I read it. Idk why I thought it was that way when I read it printed but it’s not.

Donald is always cute, all the time, and he’s cutest when he and Sora are squabbling like little kids. I love him. Or maybe that’s the Ducktales fan bias creeping in...

Speaking of HEY, WAS ANYONE GONNA TELL ME HDL AND SCROOGE ARE IN MORE THAN JUST THE KH TRILOGY?!?! What a pleasant surprise to see Scrooge in BBS and to visit Disney Town.

Nobodies make the wobble sound of laminated paper being shaken. I keep thinking about that for no reason.

Does anyone else think Riku saying he can “smell the darkness” on people in ReCOM is weird? Am I just really late to the party, or are we just going to ignore that? Yeah? Okay.

Aqua’s end of Birth by Sleep has some of the sweetest, most poetic dialogue in the series imo. When Aqua and Mickey are talking about Ven, and Sora and Riku talking about hurt within the heart? Yeah. I’ll cry.

Also, another sad scene: Isa and Lea as kids when Lea explains his whole “get it memorized” thing is so he can be remembered and live on, if need be. I cried real tears at that one.

Conversely, some of my favorite sweet scenes are: in the beginning of BBS when Aqua tells Ven and Terra they’d “make the weirdest brothers,” Sora meeting Santa in KH2(I think?) which reminds you hey, these are children, the scene right after they find out Goofy’s not dead and Donald flips out, Lea summoning his Keyblade for the first time(powermove,) and of course the series of reunions in KH3. There’s at least a solid scene or two in each game that really warms my cold sad heart.

Speaking of the KH3 reunions, the best one I think was Xion, Roxas, and Lea’s. At least with Aqua/Terra/Ven they started out with hope, and Aqua and Ven at least had the ability to hold onto that hope to get them through. The ex-Nobody crowd really didn’t have anything. Just the promise that they’d meet again, and maybe not even in this life. I will cry.

Some of the voice casting is surprisingly great. Like, Nala’s voiced by Vanessa Marshall, who did Gamora in the GOTG tv series. Love her. And Hynden Walch who does Starfire is the Alice voice at one point which was such a pleasant surprise.

Also hey, Zachary Levi went so fucking HARD on his voice work. Even Rapunzel has some lines that fall a little flat compared to the tone of the original, like the KH version of the “first time outdoors” sequence. But Flynn Rider has this consistent energy to him that I really love.

In ReCoded I really liked the second-person Mickey narration. Idk why. It just made me super happy.

Hercules is a movie that frequently becomes a level in these games and like every time they continue that trend of Phil’s “I got two words for you” joke like guys, wasn’t the thing in the original that it translated to two words in Greek? Not that he couldn’t count? Anyway that’s the best reoccurring joke. I hate it and love it in equal measure.

One of the frequent things in KH that I love is there’s this sense of ridiculousness to it. Like, it’s a lovely story with excellent worldbuilding and character designs, with a brilliantly complex plot, but like. You get into scenarios like the end of ReMIND, and Sora’s time-travelled to save his dying and sorta already dead friend(Kairi). He’s cradling his other dying friend in his arms and talking about how he found his way to them by tracing the connections between their hearts. Beautiful, poetic, showstopping, right? Except it’s Mickey motherfucking Mouse. You can’t find this anywhere else.

Speaking of ReMIND, the part where Sora connects all the keyhole things? It looks like a starry sky full of constellations? Yeah. Holy fucking SHIT is that pretty. I literally had to pause it twice to absorb the visuals in that scene.

To end off, here’s some of my pride headcanons: Terra and Xion are trans, Ventus and Riku are nonbinary, Saïx/Isa is agender, and Sora is genderfluid. Axel/Lea is pan, Kairi, Riku, and Sora are poly, and Aqua is bi. ((I definitely have more of these but these ones I think are most important.))

[starry-sparky]

Hunchback and dark themes

Ok ok, I need to get something off my chest, I watched Sean(jacksepticeye)’s “Unpopular Opinions” video recently and he said he didn’t like Moana and wishes Disney would go back to taking risks like they did with Hunchback of Notre Dame. Him not liking Moana is fine, I could not care less, what bothers me is him saying he wants Disney to take risks and talk about darker themes. Anyway, that’s what I’m gonna talk about, yeehaw.

Gonna start this by saying I’m not attacking Sean, he just happened to say something I had wanted to talk about for a long time but I didn't have a way of bringing it up. Sean just happened to say something that fit well as a vector for me to talk about what I’ve wanted to for a very long time now. This isn’t aimed specifically at Sean, it's aimed at ANYONE who thinks darker themes are necessary for everything. Ok, let’s get into it now.

First off, Hunchback is a good movie, I wouldn't say it's the best Disney movie, or even my favorite, but it’s good for what it is. Second, people have different favorite genres, some people prefer drama over comedy and vise versa but that doesn't necessarily mean they're right about a film or show in that category. Ok, now let's talk about Hunchback. Hunchback is a good movie but people have put it up on a high pedestal and regard it as one of Disney's best movies because of the fact that its darker than other Disney films. If it weren't for the fact that Hunchback has a darker tone, no one would be regarding it as one of Disney's best movies. In fact, a few years ago I saw Hunchback for the first time. For years I heard of how supposedly great it was and I was very excited to see this masterpiece of a movie I had been led to believe it was. And, even though it is beautifully animated(which is another reason people hold it in such high regard) I remember being pretty underwhelmed. I thought it was good but I didn't really have any interest in seeing it again(sidenote: I haven't seen it since). And yet, I’ve continued to hear people singing its praises even though it honestly wasn't all that special. People act like it’s a surprise doesn't make movies like Hunchback anymore but it isn't when you really think about it. As good as people like to think it is, Disney doesn't do movies with dark themes for two reasons. One, Hunchback didn't do well at the box office so it’s no wonder Disney wouldn't want to do another movie in the same vein as Hunchback. Two, Disney movies are family friendly, they can appeal to both children and adults but are made to mainly appeal to kids. Although, I think we can all agree Disney cares more about the money so.

Ok now I'm addressing something else Sean brought up about the dark themes he wishes Disney would address, racism. First off, I guess he forgot Zootopia existed, which is about racism through and through, even down to the fact that stereotypes exist in the world. Zootopia has lines that are very clever and 100% intentional, like when Judy says “You're not like them[predators].” and Nick responds with “Oh there’s a them now?” which are great lines. Hunchback does bring this up with Esmeralda being Romani(they say g****, but that's a slur so no). The difference here is, the main theme and message of Zootopia is centered on racism so the writers can dig into it, but Hunchback doesn't do too much with it outside of Frollo and Esmeralda(and even that’s mainly because he wants her romantically/sexually(and hates her for him being attracted to her)).So we talked about dark themes in Hunchback but those dark themes, and dark themes in general, apply to anything anywhere. Hunchback at least was made with those dark themes in mind and went with it because that's the kind of story it is. What I’m tired of though, is people thinking a movie or show is amazing, deep, complex, and deserves every Oscar known to man for having dark themes. People don't care if the dark themes are well handled or not anymore, what they care about is if they have dark themes or not. If an animated movie or show(or even a movie or show that's not animated) comes along that wants to be fun, people will dig through every part of it to find something that can be construed as a dark theme. If they find it then they’ll make theories and insist the next movie or episode be darker to fit their need to feel good about liking something that was made with kids in mind. If it doesn't seem to have a dark theme, people will hate it automatically, regard it as “kiddy trash”, and treat the show like it was made for 4 to 5 year olds, when in reality it was most likely made for 10 year olds. It’s fine to have drama shows, serialized shows, or even shows that have more serious moments. What is not okay, is making a comedy show and then completely changing direction to make it “darker”(by that I mean edgier coughcoughstarvsandtangledtscoughcough). There's a reason why people remember The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Tangled, and even Frozen more than Hunchback, because they were fun movies. As much as people claim to want media that has darker themes, it’s never actually the case because it's boring. It’s why Spiderverse won best animated movie in 2018, because it was fun and, though it had serious moments, they were well handled.Stop claiming to want dark themes from Disney and/or from cartoons because you think it would be cool. They aren't usually known for darker themes but you want them to be. If you want drama, go watch a drama and stop forcing drama upon cartoons that weren't made to be dramas in the first place. Going back to Hunchback quickly, I am not saying Hunchback starts off as a comedy and becomes a dark drama, it knows what it is and that's why it’s good, not great, not the best movie Disney has ever or will ever make. Hunchback is more of a drama, which is fine, but stop forcing Disney to make more stuff like it, because if you wanted that, it would be more well remembered and would have done better at the box office.(once again going to stress this is NOT an attack at Sean himself because people may think it is, thanks for your time, bye)

[headoverjojo]

Can I ask for La squadra/BucciG, (Whoever you want :3) With a S/o that loves Disney movies even being already grown up? Wich one they like/Don't like the most?

Hiiiiii :3 of COURSE, aaaaaaa, Disney movies 💖💖 I hope it’s satisfying!!

Bruno’s gang with a s/o who loves Disney movies even if they’re already grown up

(Under the cut for length!)

Bruno Bucciarati

When he was a child, Bruno had few occasions to watch movies and cartoons if they were not aired by RAI and such. One occasion to watch more movies were the “movie nights” for children organized at the local oratory, where kids could watch cartoons all together. But, even if he didn’t watch many cartoons, Bruno dearly holds the memories of the ones he has seen, especially the ones about 101 Dalmatians. It was the last movie he has seen with his father, before the tragic accident, and, when his mother was still with them, she always loved when it was aired, as dalmatians were her favourite dog breed.

He’s not one who judges poorly people who watch cartoons even if they’re adult. All in all, cartoons don’t have an “expiration date”! Watching them with his s/o would be a beautiful throwback and the occasion to build new, wonderful memories with them. He’s fine with every choice of them, but he’d be a bit tense if they suggest to watch 101 Dalmatians. Not because he doesn’t like it, no, but more due to the person the movie is connected to.

However, after a while, Bruno convinces himself to watch it. He never watched it again, after his father’s death, so doing it with his s/o is like a declaration of wanting to go on with his life. He’s tense for the first minutes, painfully remembering his father’s laugh and voice -he loved to comment movies-, but soon the tension leaves space to sincere enjoyment and contentedness while his s/o cuddles him, as they watch the movie. It’s not a way to say goodbye to his father, to forget him, he understands: it’s a way to connect the movie to new, beautiful memories, which will pile with the many he already has.

Leone Abbacchio

Abbacchio was picky also as a child. He didn’t like cartoons where there were too many songs or where the story couldn’t drag him in. His favourite one, and he was always glared for this by his friends, was The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. He even loved the songs! And he was fascinated by all the characters, especially Phoebus: he didn’t bend to authority, he followed justice even this meant to go against laws… little Leone admired him. He wanted to be a man like this, a man who always followed and seeked justice.

After all what happened, Abbacchio didn’t like to talk a lot about his past and, especially, about everything related, in a way or another, to his police life. It would take a bit of time to finally come to know about his favourite movie when he was a child, but his s/o, who loved Disney movie, already guessed that The Hunchback of Notre-Dame could be one of his favourite movies. Abbacchio always grumbled, when they put on a Disney movie -but actually always watched them, every single one of them-, but, when they proposed to watch The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, Abbacchio tensed, as he was in front of a snake. However, even if a bit reluctantly, he nodded, sitting down to watch it with them.

Slowly, it becomes easier, for Abbacchio, to face what concerns his past life. From bigger things to smaller, as a Disney movie. Now that he’s relaxed, he can actively watch his s/o when they’re enjoying the movie. He relishes in their happy and serene face, in their genuine enthusiasm… it really helps him to see the light in this world.

Guido Mista

Mista always loved to watch cartoons, especially Disney movies! When he was a child, he and his squadron of cousins were used to go to the house of one of his uncles, who had a video recorder, and one of the kids brought the movie to see. Mista’s favourite was The Jungle Book; he may or not may have taken inspiration from it for his flashy tiger striped trousers. He never admitted a connection between them and Shere Khan, anyway.

He’s not one who judges -too bad energies involved-, so his s/o doesn’t have to worry about his judgment. More than anything else, he’d be happy to know they still love to watch Disney movie! It’s good to know they’re still young at heart, that they still are able to enjoy something so genuine and good! He’d love to watch with them every cartoon they want, commenting with them. He even remembers few songs, if his s/o likes to sing along with the movie!

He’d be totally ecstatic if his s/o decides to watch The Jungle Book. Here it is, his favourite movie!! It’s easy, for him, to get quickly into the movie, singing along the characters and his s/o, laughing with them and cuddling them. Watching a movie, in particular a Disney movie, with Mista is such a fun experience!

Narancia Ghirga

When he was a child, Narancia’s mom always watched movies with him. At evening, before his time to sleep, his mom sat with him on the couch, holding him in her arms and together they watched a cartoon, while Narancia sipped his warm milk. This lasted for years and even when Narancia was too old to be held on his mother’s lap, he still enjoyed a lot to sit with her and watch a movie. His favourite one was Peter Pan and, when he was little, he loved to play Peter and save his mother, who was playing Wendy, from the evil Hook, usually played by their cat.

When his mother died, however, with her died also every happy moment linked to Disney movies. He never touched them again until he met his s/o. Even if at first he was a bit stiffy, worried to lose his cool in front of them and to seem too childish, soon he was again dragged into the Disney movie vortex. He still remembers the songs, so he loves to sing along his s/o, and even to dance with them, laughing and kissing them as they purposely dance awkwardly. It’s the best thing, for him!

The moment they decide to watch Peter Pan, however, a veil of melancholy drops on Narancia. That movie… he has so many happy memories linked to that movie. He knew that his mother would have liked to know he was still enjoying that movie even now when he was an adult, so he sits near his s/o and holds them, making them slide on his lap to cuddle them more comfortably. His smile is less bright than when he watched other movies, yes, but it’s warmer and sweeter; he feels like he’s honoring his mother by watching the movie she loved so much.

Pannacotta Fugo

Fugo never had time to watch cartoons and movies. His parents always pressed him to study and study without any break, so he hadn’t any time to watch a movie, as he was studying or he was too tired to do so. The only breaks he had were when he was with his grandma who, when he was with her, insisted to let him live as a child and not as a computer. With her, he could finally watch some cartoons and, among those, also some Disney movies. His favourite was The Aristocats, because Adelaide Bonfamille, the kind yet strong-willed madame, reminded him of his own grandma.

After his professor’s murder and his exile from his own house, Fugo never had time to sit down and watch a Disney movie. He was always on a rush: first he had to survive on the streets, then he was Bucciarati’s adviser and planner, then he became one of Giorno’s Consiglieri… he was always running and running until his s/o stormed in like a fresh breeze. They made him rediscover things he thought he had lost, as that bit of childish enthusiasm he could show just with his grandma. Even if he grumbled, saying he had things to do, his s/o always managed to make him sit with them and watch a movie, a Disney cartoon, to be more precise. And the look on Fugo’s face was priceless! The sincere smile, the frown finally disappeared… he seemed so young, now, so serene! Soon, Fugo came to love those moments with his s/o, when he could wrap them in his arms, relaxing on their couch and watching a Disney movie. It was heaven!

He’d gently smile, if his s/o decides to watch The Aristocats. He’d try to hide his glossy eyes, when Adelaide appears on the screen and, if his s/o asks him what’s wrong, he’d just answer “She reminds me of someone dear to me.” He’d reveal his secret, soon or later, finally saying who is this person dear to him.

Giorno Giovanna

Giorno never watched a Disney movie. When he was still living in Japan, sometimes his mother let him watch a cartoon, but they were always Japanese cartoons and, when he was in Italy, his stepfather always had the control of the television, watching sport or news. He spent his childhood always hearing about Disney and their cartoons, but without ever watching one of them. He never even felt the need to watch them, as he had his dream to follow.

His first Disney movie came in his life with his s/o, who still loved to watch them even if, by “standard”, they were too old for them. Giorno was amused by their “screw it” behaviour, and admired and approved that they didn’t care about what people said: they loved Disney movies and no one could stop them from watching what they loved. It was an attitude he loved and, as he never tried a Disney movie, he decided to sit with them and watch what they proposed.

Among all the movies, the one who really catched Giorno’s attention was Fantasia 2000. He wasn’t a great fan of songs -even if he appreciated really a lot the ones of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame-, but Fantasia… it was on another level. The music, the animation, the various pieces… it was perfect. Giorno was mesmerized by the whole movie. His favourite part was the one inspired by Pines of Rome by Ottorino Respighi: the powerful music, the story inspired by the music, the animation… Giorno could watch it in loop and never get tired of it!

[mearnsblog]

“Bolt” (2008)

For the second year in a row, I fell into a bit of an autumn Disney hiatus, this time partially due to a combination of baseball and the whole "moving to another state" process. It's not easy, and it didn't help that I wasn't super jazzed about the next animated classic, "Bolt."

That's probably not entirely fair to "Bolt." I just didn't know anything about it, wasn't super interested by the movie's trailer, and thus didn't push to dive back into watching movies. It happens. So what does it take to get back into the binge? Baseball going into both an offseason and a lockout, some down time after Christmas, and hey, another COVID variant. Oh joy.

Anyway, that's how "Bolt" finally appeared on our screens for the first day of 2022, which scientists are telling me is a real year (though I am skeptical). We watched it, ate some charcuterie, and, well, the charcuterie was better.

That sentence is also probably not entirely fair to "Bolt." I just really like cheese, whereas for as much as I enjoy good cartoon dogs, "Bolt" was merely fine. If I was the right age when it came out, I would probably love it. The otherwise-unknown Mark Walton is legitimately funny as Rhino the hamster, and Susie Essman's bitter humor as Mittens the cat plays well off John Travolta occasionally doing some good over-the-top John Travolta things as the titular pup, Bolt.

There was just some... je ne sais quoi missing from "Bolt" to keep me super engaged (similar to "Meet the Robinsons"). Certain scenes had a tendency to drag, thus making a 90-minute movie feel closer to two hours. The opening sequence of a typical day at work for the unwitting TV star Bolt goes on for a bit too long, and again, there are a few other parts of the movie that could've been edited to make it a bit tighter, too. I appreciated what the writers were trying to do by keeping the saga of Bolt's owner, Penny, as part of the side plot so that her semi-reintroduction and sadness about Bolt disappearing wasn't forgotten. But I just wasn't into it. Her greedy agent was more of a dumb cartoon character than the actual animal cartoon characters.

To be honest, I'd probably like "Bolt" more if I hadn't seen some aspects of "Bolt" done better in other movies. TV star fooled into thinking TV is the real world? "Truman Show." Sidekick a touch jaded about humans giving up on them? Jessie in "Toy Story 2." Street-smart New York animals? "Oliver & Company." And don't get me started on the classic misunderstanding trope near the end, when Bolt thinks that Penny has moved on because he caught her at the exact wrong moment.

This was a movie made for kids though, and at least the "Truman Show" aspect is something they probably wouldn't have seen before unless their parents are huge Jim Carrey dramedy fans. Perhaps it should thus be graded on more of a curve, but remember: The best Disney movies are the ones that aren't just background noise for parents while the kids watch. And while "Bolt" is undoubtedly better than generic background noise, it could be better. So I understand why it's become a touch forgotten in its generation of kids' movies.

As an aside, I'm glad to get back into the Disney groove though because we're about to hit a run of Disney movies that I remember seeing and liking! At the very least, I can thank "Bolt" for that. Good dog. Good boy. Biscuit for you!

Updated ranking

1. “Beauty and the Beast” (review) 2. “The Lion King” (review) 3. “The Little Mermaid” (review) 4. “Cinderella” (review) 5. “Mulan” (review) 6. “Sleeping Beauty” (review) 7. “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (review) 8. “Aladdin” (review) 9. “The Emperor’s New Groove” (review) 10. “One Hundred and One Dalmatians” (review) 11. “The Jungle Book” (review) 12. “Lilo & Stitch” (review) 13. “The Great Mouse Detective” (review) 14. “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (review) 15. “Fantasia” (review) 16. “The Rescuers Down Under” (review) 17. “Tarzan” (review) 18. “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” (review) 19. “Alice in Wonderland” (review) 20. “Lady and the Tramp” (review) 21. “Pinocchio” (review) 22. “Robin Hood” (review) 23. “Oliver & Company” (review) 24. “Hercules” (review) 25. “Pocahontas” (review) 26. “The Rescuers” (review) 27. “The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad” (review) 28. “Bambi” (review) 29. “Peter Pan” (review) -- retroactive slight adjustment 30. “The Aristocats” (review) 31. “Fantasia 2000″ (review) 32. “Dumbo” (review) 33. “Bolt” 34. “Meet the Robinsons” (review) 35. “Treasure Planet” (review) 36. “Chicken Little” (review) 37. “Fun and Fancy Free” (review) 38. “The Fox and the Hound” (review) 39. “The Sword in the Stone” (review) 40. “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” (review) 41. “The Three Caballeros” (review) 42. “Make Mine Music” (review) 43. “Brother Bear” (review) 44. “Dinosaur” (review) 45. “The Black Cauldron” (review) 46. “Saludos Amigos” (review) 47. “Melody Time” (review) 48. “Home on the Range” (review)

[drakorn]

My Current Top 10 Musicals

So, I thought I’d just make a little list of the musicals that I personally consider to be my absolute favourite ones at this point in time. This list will obviously change again when I find a musical that I like more than one on this list. Anyway, here’s my list, if anyone’s interested XD (Btw, I’m only talking stage musicals here, so if you see any musical that was also a movie, I am talking about the stage version).

But first...some honourable mentions that I still adore but didn’t make it into my Top 10: The Phantom of the Opera, Anastasia, Ludwig II, Mozart!, The Lion King and Jesus Christ Superstar.

PS: All of this is opinion-based. Of course, you will disagree with me at some point, that is just natural. And it’s great that everyone has different tastes!

10 - The Lord of the Rings: A LOT of people have not heard about this musical, but it actually exists. It’s nothing fan-made or anything, it’s an actual official musical adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, not the Peter Jackson movies but the actual Tolkien epic. It ran in Canada and the UK and was even supposed to make its way to Germany. Of course, it has changes in it because adapting the entire story into a three-hour stage musical is an impossible task. It’s also the only musical I know of that consists of three acts rather than two. There is actually a cast recording available with the main songs in it. Like, honestly, I personally just love this musical. For instance, take a listen to Galadriel’s big solo:

I know, I’m most likely in the minority here, but for me personally, The Lord of the Rings is one of the best musicals out there and it’s an absolute shame that it’s not performed more often.

9 - Wicked: I am an absolute fan of seeing the story from the antagonist’s point of view and understand all of their motives. Wicked is one of the best examples out there as it takes the classic tale The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and gives it a darker and more serious spin, mainly because the Wicked Witch of the West is now the protagonist. I know, this musical is loved by everyone and makes it into pretty much everyone’s top list, but...honestly, it really deserves it. The songs are amazing and the story is very touching, especially the relationship between Elphaba and Glinda. I love villain origin stories, and to this day, the part where Elphaba decides to embrace her role as the antagonist of the story still sends shivers down my spine. No Good Deed still counts as one of my favourite villain songs. I have seen this musical twice and would gladly go again whenever I get the chance to do so!

8 - Rudolf - Affaire Mayerling: Ok, so this is a little bit of a controversial situation for me. I LOVE historical musicals. I just love them. However, this musical is REALLY not what you would call historically accurate. However, to me, it doesn’t really matter. When I look at it from a musical theatre point of view, it’s actually really entertaining! I have never seen this musical live, only watched the DVD and listened to the cast recordings but I would LOVE to see it live once. The songs are so good! While the story is not the best, the music is phenomenal in my opinion. And it also has one of the most catchy villain songs to be ever put on stage: Die Fäden in der Hand. Yes, this musical has MANY flaws, I don’t deny that. The cheesy and historically non-existent romance between Rudolf and Mary is not really the best thing to watch (seriously, why didn’t they include Mizzi Caspar instead of Mary, that would have made MUCH more sense for the love aspect). But it also has a lot going for it, like the actual songs. It is still one of my favourite musicals.

7 - Dracula: Many people consider Frank Wildhorn’s best piece to be Jekyll and Hyde. I personally think that Dracula is that best piece. Sure, it had a very wonky start and the majority of the good and memorable songs came along when the musical came to Austria, but it’s also the Austrian version that I got to hear and see first (not live unfortunately but hooray to cast recordings). It’s an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula...but more the Francis Ford Coppola film rather than the actual book. The romance aspect between Dracula and Mina is not the strongest part of the piece by far, however, when the story isn’t about the romance, the music is actually really fantastic! Oh, and it also has my favourite ever confrontation song: Zu Ende. I REALLY want to see this musical live. Why does it never come to Austria again? It had a fantastic run in Graz! And why can’t there be one German-speaking version of this musical that actually sticks to the gothic aesthetic? Oh well, a man can dream.

6 - Artus - Excalibur: Frank Wildhorn seems to be getting on this list very often, eh? Oh well, what can I say? I just love a lot of his source material. Artus - Excalibur is by no means an accurate representation of the Arthurian legend. However, what it does good is: it gives the tale its own spin. It doesn’t even try to be a step-by-step recreation, it’s completely its own thing. And I liked it. A lot actually. I saw it two times, one time in St. Gallen and one time in Staatz. Both times I absolutely loved it. It has great music and a solid story. However, the songs are by far the best part of it. It also has one of my favourite ensemble pieces: Morgen triffst du den Tod. This is one of those musicals I could watch over and over again without getting bored at all. Whenever it gets put on again, I will try to be there!

5 - Les Misérables: Ok, of course this was going to be on here. Les Mis is just the definition of an epic and emotional megamusical that is guaranteed to touch everyone’s heart at some point. Now, the fun thing is, the first time I saw Les Mis was in the cinema...when the movie came out in 2012. I know, shame on me, but I actually really liked the movie. When I was in London, I went to see the stage musical and I was blown away! It was so amazing and powerful! Javert is my personal favourite character. But I also saw Tam Mutu as Javert in London and this guy is just having a total blast in this role. Needless to say that Stars is probably my favourite song in the musical. Also, this musical is very relevant, even in today’s world, just like Victor Hugo said himself. The melodies are great, the story is great and the characters are great. What’s not to love?

4 - Rebecca: Not everyone’s favourite musical but definitely one of mine. I think, one of the reasons why I love it so much is the whole mystery and thriller aspect it has going for it. It truly captured the spirit of Daphne du Maurier’s novel and brought it on stage. The set design is beautiful, the music is great, you can’t go wrong with Sylvester Levay, and Michael Kunze once again delivered with a great script. Plus, the title song has got to be one of the most menacing songs in german-speaking musical theatre, especially when sung by the right actress. It’s a musical I would really like to see live...and one that I would wish, the VBW would finally bring back! Come on, what’s stopping you guys? Tecklenburg had a fantastic run last summer!

3 - The Hunchback of Notre Dame: I love it when Disney decides to just go dark for once. The movie is seen as Disney’s darkest animated movie. Well, it’s nice to see that the stage musical is also the darkest stage musical Disney has put on. While the movie still had a lot of the classic Disney tropes going for it, the musical gets rid of those and adds tragedy on par with Les Mis, meaning, keeping the actual book ending in the show. Also, a surprisingly large amount of Brecht and Greek Chorus was added to the show and it works really well! However, the Disney songs stay and it works as a great combination! Making Frollo the Archdeacon again adds so much more weight to the Hellfire song, and overall all the characters are extremely well-rounded. I have listened to the cast recordings and would really like to see this show live once!

2 - Elisabeth: As I said before, I absolutely love historical musicals. And Elisabeth is my favourite of those. It isn’t exactly told as a history piece but more of a dark retelling in a Danse Macabre style. Seeing the story being told from Elisabeth’s murderer’s point of view was a very clever idea. It also gave us the characters of Death and Elisabeth, some of the best musical theatre characters ever in my opinion. Every single character in this show has great opportunities to shine. The music is phenomenal and this piece single-handedly catapulted Austria and the VBW into the top charts of musical theatre producers. Also...it REALLY makes you want to be a history student! Honestly, it did that with me! As soon as I watched Elisabeth, I wanted to find out everything about the Habsburgs XD Also, this is probably the musical I have seen the most out of any. I believe to have seen it at least 15 times when it was last running in Vienna...and the fun thing is, I didn’t even like it that much when I saw it the first time! That WOW factor hit me later when I was listening to the cast recording...it happens.

1 - Tanz der Vampire: Was that really a surprise for people who follow my blog? Tanz der Vampire is my favourite musical of all time and will always retain this position. It is the piece that got me not only into musical theatre but in theatre in general. It got me into wanting to study Drama and Creative Writing, it sparked a lot of my current interests and influenced a lot of my life decisions. Tanz der Vampire has everything going for it: a great story, fantastic music, very good moral lessons, beautiful and lush sets and probably one of the best characters to ever grace the musical theatre stage: Graf von Krolock, undoubtedly the arch-nemesis of Erik Destler in the race for the rank of best cape-swishing gothic lover. It also has a very untraditional story, breaking clichés and tropes left and right, just as Roman Polanski intended. It has the perfect mixture of being dark and serious but also utterly hilarious. And it has probably one of the longest and most powerful solos of any musical in my opinion: Die unstillbare Gier. I want to see the musical more than I already have, which is 11. It’s just THAT good. For me personally, there is no better musical than Tanz der Vampire.

Ok, I know, a lot of people will disagree with me now, but as I said: this entire list is opinion-based. I would really be interested to know your Top 10 musicals :D 

[theangelmojo]

So, after my 7th time watching Beauty and the Beast 2017 I had a thought

Actually this was after watching Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame too, which lead onto this thought

We were reading the credits and enjoying the music of HOND and saw that Phoebus (our favourite bro, the dummy, the feeble doofus) was actually voiced by Kevin Kline

BATB was next on the movie watch list, and I suddenly remembered that Kevin Kline plays Maurice

And that BATB is set in France

And so... I thought: what if Maurice used to be Phoebus? 

And Belle was his and Esmerelda’s daughter?

What if... after whatever time had passed, he and Es wanted to settle down to a new life, have a kid, grow some vegetables, IDK

And of course they took Uncle Quasi along

And Belle... Belle is their daughter. 

We started watching BATB, and the scene where the “How Does A Moment Last Forever” song came up (and I shed a tear, again), and my sister pointed out that “what if he learnt how to do all that artistic shit and tinkering from Quasi cos Quasi is really clever and knows how to build stuff” and I was like huh

I can practically feel the headcanon growing in my mind

And yeah, what if after Phoebus retired he became an artist? Quasi taught him some stuff. He discovered he was pretty good at it. Es was the best damn muse either of them could ask for in terms of art 

The rest of the BATB movie I was basically handing out “what ifs” to my sister till she wanted to shove my face into a wall, but yeah

(I mean, that’s how it goes, isn't it? You get a headcanon and run with it, and you drag your pal along no matter how into it they are or aren't)

SO... I even pointed out that the little drawn version of Belle’s mother had curly dark hair (bit of a stretch, but hey), and that Phoe- ahem, I mean Maurice, described her mother as “fearless”

Which is a word I’d associate with Esmerelda quite adamantly

Blah blah blah, skip ahead to Beast bringing Belle to her old home -- oh wait

wait

her old home which was in Paris

(you can even see the freaking Notre Dame in the distance. Sister even helpfully pointed out where the Court of Miracles wouldve been, so despite her denials she is totally riding with this headcanon)

Paris, guys, Paris

The immediate next thought, of course, was fuck Esmerelda dies from plague

And I cried a little

But then, you know, I had to fact-check when each movie was set out

Which is where my headcanon totally crashed and burnt because HOND is in 1400s and BATB is 1700s I thinketh

(“Ah well,” I said, quite airily in response to my sister’s smug face, and then, as she narrowed her eyes I added: “Artistic licence,” and watched her eyes go cold and dead)

Anyway, as a trash can I gotta let this headcanon live despite the historical implausibility of it because of reasons

(because it is late and I am lacking in common sense and leafy greens)

So I continued to lob additional pointers in my favour at my sister:

“Ah, unwanted male attention from an up-himself creep, I guess she gets that from her mother-”

“So she sings too, eh? Fancy that. Her mom was hella good too-”

“The ‘most beautiful girl in France’, hm? I’ve heard that one before-”

“Well lookit that! Walking talking inanimate objects! Do you recall Quasi’s three delightful pals-”

“Well if feeble doofus lost both Es and Quasi, of course he’s gonna go batshit if his daughter goes missing too isn't he-”

“Fearless, [sister], f e a r l e s s ”

Which is the point at which she decided to concede, because if you can’t beat ‘em, you gotta join ‘em, my dudes

And so, she began to add her parts (to my delight) to the headcanon fodder:

“So I suppose all people in France are comfortable jumping all over their roofs then, or is it just this family?” to which I replied: “They're French. In France it’s called parkour if you do it on rooftops. They're ahead of their time.” to which her eyeball rolled all the way back into her skull

Sister pointed out how all the villagers are totally oblivious to most things, like the townspeople of Paris, in that when Belle returns to save her father, no one believes she’s been at the castle even though she’s wearing a freaking ball gown covered in gold. I merely nodded in increasing enthusiasm.

And then my sister -- that’s right -- the very unbeliever and devil’s advocate to all of this -- put the final nail in the coffin. She turned to me, face slack in horror, and said: 

“[me], her name, it’s... it’s Belle.”

And fuck me, she’s right.

The final nod to HOND origins is THIS. Belle. Freaking Belle. I know it means ‘beauty’ in French, don’t tell me what I already know, but BELLE. 

B E L L S  O F  N O T R E  D A M E

I rest my case. And now I need to rest the rest of me, goddamn (and god bless)

[mahaliciously]

Hi, can i ask for recommendations about music and more in french. 'Cause I'm really trying to improve my understanding of the language but i don't know where to start. If it's not bother only

HELLO! Why of course, I don’t know if you’re still interested in French songs but I do have a ton for you to listen to!!

Starting with Chikita by Jul i’m kidding please that’s like the one embarrassing kid in the family that we’re ashamed of and hide upstairs when guests come over

Anyway, you’re right, listening to French songs can help you handle more the language as it is a very difficult one, but don’t worry friendo I got your back :)

Do keep in mind that I’ve tried making the most exhaustive list I could (it took me 7 hours to compile all of this, I beg for mercy) but if anyone wants to reblog this with additional songs, you’re more than welcome!!

Okay, I’m putting here regular songs that I personally really love. It’s a huge mix of newer and older songs. If there’s one thing you need to know about French songs is that there’s no such thing as old songs, and you’d be surprised to know that most French people still listen to songs their grandparents listened to. Some of them are very very kitsch, but the emotional aspect most of us, French speakers, have with these songs justifies everything.

La Bohème - Charles AznavourI initially put it a lot lower in the list, but then I figured it straight up deserved the first spot because that’s the one French song anyone who wants to listen to French music should listen to first. It’s a monument. Honestly.

La Jument de Michao - Nolwenn Leroy

Belle Demoiselle - Christophe Maé

On s’attache - Christophe Maé

Double Je - Christophe Willem

Soulman - Ben L’Oncle Soul

Moi Lolita - Julien Doré

Paris-Seychelles - Julien Doré

Chou Wasabi - Julien DoréThere are 2 versions of this song, the bridge being either in French or in English depending on the version. I included the link with the English bridge version, but free to you to check the other version if you like the song :)

Papaoutai - StromaeVERY SPECIAL PLACE IN MY HEART OVER HERE.

Formidable - Stromae

Tous les Mêmes - Stromae

Peace or Violence - Stromae

Dernière Danse - IndilaI’m not personally a huge fan of this song anymore as I’ve been hearing it waaaay too much here and there, but the singer really did the cool thing of trying to write a song that reminds you of the old French songs, and the lyrics are quite easy to understand as well. Still, it’s my least favourite of this list. I’m putting it because I think it’s a good thing to suggest for your request, I guess.

En Apesanteur - Calogero

Ecris l’histoire - Gregory LemarchalAny French person you ask probably had their Gregory Lemarchal era and honestly, the songs are super old but I just love him way too much

Même Si - Gregory Lemarchal ft. Lucie SilvasOkay that’s like a monument of French music. It’s a half-half song with Gregory singing all the French parts but it’s just so good. I can’t find a good audio, so you’re gonna have to deal with the music video which kind of breaks the song somewhere around the bridge but it’s good nevertheless.

Sous le vent - Garou ft. Céline Dion

Mistral Gagnant - Lara FabianThe original one is sung by Renaud and a looot of people are going to say it’s the best version, but I personally prefer this one. One of my all time favourites here. There’s no audio version though as it’s a live.

Je T’aime - Lara FabianStraight up hands down the one French song that the entirety of France knows. It’s like… I wouldn’t even be surprised if people know it more than the actual anthem of the country. It’s just the first thing you should even listen to when it comes to French songs, I don’t even know why I didn’t put it first in the list.

Pour que tu m’aimes encore - Céline Dion

Savoir Aimer - Florent PagnyUnrelated but he sings this one Andrea Bocelli song “Caruso” in such a beautiful way. If you can find it, listen to it. But it’s in italian.

Femme Libérée - Cookie Dingler

Mon amie la rose - Natacha Atlas

Aïcha - Khaled

Here I’m gonna put classics of French music. I’m separating here, and I was meaning to just put everything and everything but I wouldn’t like you to mistake commercial music with these. So aside from the first song of Charles Aznavour that I put first, everything I listed previously are from the 90′s to today. Those I’m gotta put down here are “timeless” songs.I haven’t put as many songs as one would wish, but do trust me when I say there are waaaaay too many of them. But if you’re interested in this kind of music, re-ask me and I’ll spend exclusive time to that list.

Emmenez-Moi - Charles Aznavour

Dans le port d’Amsterdam - Jacques BrelYou might not like him firsthand because he’s… Well, he’s special. But French people are very fond of him, and I quite like some of his songs, though they come straight from his guts in terms of intensity haha. I’m gonna put next a song from his that you probably know which is far more famous: Ne Me Quitte Pas

Ne Me Quitte Pas - Jacques BrelI’m giving you a link to his best of because I can’t find a good version of the song. But it’s the first one of the video so don’t worry.

Göttingen - BarbaraThis woman here is just incredible. Really. She has such a wonderful voice and her lyrics are a work of art if you care to read them. She was a singer from the 50′s so she’s super duper old but wow intensely timeless in my opinion.

Dis, quand reviendras-tu ? - Barbara

Je te donne - Jean-Jacques GoldmanOkay this guy is one of my very favourite French singers of all time. He has a very special place in my heart and I’m fighting myself not to just slam all of his songs in this list. But do youtube him.

Je marche seul - Jean-Jacques Goldman

La vie par procuration - Jean-Jacques Goldman

Alexandrie, Alexandra - Claude François

Belle, belle, belle - Claude François

Le téléphone pleure - Claude François

Elle a les yeux revolver - Marc Lavoine

Here, I’m going to put musicals and cartoons because they’re an entire world as well. Maybe you don’t know it, but France has a very good musicals culture. Along with that, cartoon songs, like Disney, are very good if you want to learn French as the singers spell well all their words, and the fact that you know the song already in your native language can help.For the musicals, I’m going to prioritise audio versions since the aim is for you to have good audio. However, if you like them, watching the live versions is definitely worth it :)

Belle - Garou, Patrick Bruel, Daniel Lavoie (Notre-Dame de Paris)

Le Temps des Cathédrales - Bruno Pelletier (Notre-Dame de Paris)

L’Assasymphonie - Florent Mothe (Mozart l’Opéra Rock)

Those three are my favourite favourite, but you can go check “Les Amants de la Bastille”, “Le Rouge et le Noir”, “Le Roi Soleil” and “Roméo et Juliette” for more musicals.Now on with the cartoon songs. That’s gonna be long but I’m not gonna put everything. Feel free to look up your own favourite songs :) I’m huge Disney garbage, added to all the animated movies I’ve watched. I’m not gonna write the name of the singers though I know them, to make it easier.

L’Air du Vent - Pocahontas (Colors of the Wind)

Des Sauvages - Pocahontas (Savages)

Je Voudrais Déjà Être Roi - Le Roi Lion / Lion King (I Can’t Wait to Be King)

Comme un homme - Mulan (Like a Man)

Jamais je n’avouerai - Hercules (I Won’t Say I’m In Love)

Enfant de L’Homme - Tarzan (Son of Man)

Je Veux Savoir - Tarzan (I Want to Know)

Entre Deux Mondes - Tarzan (Two Worlds)

Je M’en Vais - Frère des Ours / Bear Brothers (On My Way)

Infernal - Le Bossu de Notre-Dame / Hunchback of Notre Dame (Infernal)

Partir Là-Bas - The Little Mermaid (Part of Your World)I do believe the movie has been edited like 3 times by Disney and they changed the singer every time. But I’m a good old 90′s kid and the only version I tolerate is the one I grew up with, meaning with the original Ariel voice. So careful if you go youtube that again. The link I provided is, in my opinion, the best.

Le Monde Qui Est Le Mien - Hercules (Go The Distance)

Je Défendrai Ma Vie - Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (I Will Defend My Life)I’m putting the movie version, but I advise you to go check the full audio for better quality.

Dégage - Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron

Sonne Le Clairon - Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron

Loin du Froid de Décembre - Anastasia (Once Upon a December)

La Seine - Un Monstre à ParisOne of my all time animated songs ever. Really. An amazing French movie with amazing songs like thank bless.

[simptasia]

1 2 5 6 8 10 11 22 23 24 27 28 34 41 48 and 58 for the movie buff thing! (sorry i know thats alot. at least its not all of them)

Oh my gosh, okay. Thanks babe.

Note: there’s gonna be a buncha lists.

Not just because I’m a list person, but I legit have issues picking Just One Favourite when it comes to anything but, like, especially movies. So yeah.

1. Favorite action film?

Con Air. I picked that as my fave action movie like ten years ago and I’m sticking to that. But also. Star Trek: First Contact. And all the X-men movies.

2. Already answered

5. Favorite dead actor/actress?

you know what. i’m saying anton yelchin. because his death fucked me up pretty severely. that shit changed me as a person. it’s messed up

that and i can’t really think of many dead actors/actresses i’m a fan of

6. Favorite movie from the 90’s?

the disney renaissance. all of it

toy story 1 & 2

romy & michele’s high school reunion

death becomes her

titanic is pretty damn good. it’s a go-to movie for hot summers too

and like, uh, a lot don’t stick out to me but i know i’ve watched a lotta 90s movies in my time and enjoyed them. what with being born in 1994 and all…

8. What movie are you looking forward to coming out the most?

shit i watched most of the movies on my looking forward to list

ooh, pacific rim 2 (NEWTNEWTNEWTNEWTNEEEEWT)

and if any x-men movies are coming out in the future, i’m surely looking forward to them. especially if nightcrawler is involved, then i’m riding that movie’s dick.

also moana. that girl can fucking belt.

10. Favorite animated movie?

Prince of Egypt is a motherfucking masterpiece

22. Favorite Disney movie?

Beauty and the Beast by default.

But my gosh, gonna list a few more faves to The Lion King, Wreck It Ralph, Hercules, Treasure Planet, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Aladdin. Not all my faves, but still. I was not asked to do that but yeah. Lists. I do ‘em.

23. Favorite movie soundtrack?

Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion (i loooove that movie)

Because every time I watch it I think “there’s loads of great music in this”

24. Movie that makes you cry every time?

A.I: Artificial Intelligence. My go-to cry movie. Actually the first movie to make me cry, when I was 12. Before then, fiction had never made me legit cry.

27. Top 5 actors?

Alan Cumming

Michael Emerson

Dan Aykroyd

Billy Boyd

James McAvoy

not saying they’re the best actors in the world (though Michael actually is), they’re just my favourite actors in the world. and that fluctuates like hell

honourable mentions to all the actors who’ve played the doctor in doctor who. all the actors in LOST and especially… most of the actors in the star trek franchise

28. Top 5 actresses? (this is so hard because my mind is just on guy actors way more, which i’m legit ashamed of by the way. also i have loads of actresses i really like but wouldn’t put in my top 5????)

Alex Kingston

Kate Mulgrew

Emma Thompson

Catherine Tate

Lily Rabe

honourable mentions to every actress in LOST, doctor who and the entire star trek franchise. all of which contain my fave tv women ever so yay

my head actually hurts from doing this. holy fuck, i gotta fangirl over women more. that’s just a statement on life, really.

34. An underrated movie?

megamind and princess & the frog deserve all the love

41. Actors you’d like to see work together?

i’ve jokingly whined about it before but i actually sincerely want jeremy davies and rebecca mader to act in something together again. bonus points for ken leung too but that’d be a fucking miracle. but alas these three actors are a part of different genres. look at the cast of LOST. a fucking mixing pot of varied talent.

i probably have other team ups if i think about it but that’s something that instantly came to mind what with my recent burst of sci team love

sigh

48. A disappointing film from your favorite actor?

well, alan cumming is my favourite actor and: son of the mask

58. Movie where your favorite actor was the only good part?

alan cumming’s entire career except for X2 and tin man, which are good anyways. though alan is of course the best part.

to quote lindsay ellis: “have you ever told somebody alan cumming was in something and gone “no, you don’t understand, it’s horrible!”

alan cumming is one of those actors (like richard e. grant, jeremy davies, dan aykroyd, billy boyd…) who’ll often be the only good thing in a movie/show

[itsall-aconspiracy]

This is what happened when Lizzy and Shiro made plans for bowling.

(( OOC: Sorry, for posting this after so long. We had unexpected plans pop up and were not able to role-play. This happened the day before Lizzy’s nose job. Also, excuse our role-play skills. We are not the best. Hope you guys like it. Sorry again. ))

At around 4, Shiro arrived at Lizzy's drive way, waiting for Liz. Incase Liz did not notice the car, Shiro texted her that she arrived. After about 7 minutes, the door of the house started to open and Lizzy ran out

"Sorry I'm late I had to publically kink shame Jamie" Lizzy explained

"So how do you feel about dogs"

With one elbow out of the window, " Dogs....what do you mean?? I am fine with dogs.....why??" Shiro was puzzled.

"Well I was thinking, 'you know dogs are great. I love dogs. And there is an animal shelter filled with dogs nearby.' so yeah. we should go look at dogs" Lizzy rambled, getting into Shiro's car

Still in the driveway, Shiro looked the directions to the nearest animal shelter. She had no problem with dogs. All she wants is to waste time before going bowling. " You can control the music. If you want, you maybe won't like the songs that I listen to." Shiro said as she handed Liz the aux cord.

"Whoo, fun times, i'm playing garbage so feel free to take away my privilege." Lizzy said. Being the little shit she is, she started playing hell fire from the hunchback of notre dame

For the whole 20 minutes, songs from the Hunchback of Notre Dame were playing. Lizzy seem to be having a blast just listening to the songs. As for Shiro, she did not care the least bit. Actually, Shiro was into the songs and wanted now to watch that movie. Shiro never watched any Disney movies except Mulan. They finally reached the animal shelter,and Lizzy was out the car in seconds.

"Are you excited to see puppies cause i am excited to see puppies best early birthday ever!" Lizzy shrieked like the child she was.

Shiro paused just as she was closing her door. "Your birthday is coming. I guess this is a early birthday present from me. When is it actually??" She asked then closed the driver's side door, locked her car, and slipped her key in her jacket pocket.

"It's the 20th. But yeah. You know" Lizzy said, skipping toward the entrance

As we entered the building, a old woman with blonde hair at the reception desk and the smell of dog food greeted us. " We..." Shiro was cut off by Liz who was practically bouncing up and down ready to meet some puppies.

"I WANT A PUPPY WHERE ARE THE PUPPIES?"

Patting Liz's head to calm the fuck down, " What she means is we want to meet some puppies if possible?" The receptionist told us to follow her, and she lead them to a glass room filled with puppies. Liz was about to shove the old woman out the way and knock the door down for some puppies. Before she could Shiro stepped in front of her and Liz's face was smashed into Shiro's shoulder. " Calm down a little. It's just puppies." Shiro scolded her before they stepped into the room.\

"There is no such thing as just puppies shiro they are holy beings" Lizzy huffed

"Really. Holy Beings holy beings. Well anyways we have a hour till bowling. Have fun." Shiro commented sarcastically as she was swarmed by the  tiny holy beings.

Spoiler alert: Lizzy did have fun.

She was covered in a pile of puppies. How could it not be fun?

At one point, Shiro was overpowered by the holy beings and was being trampled over on the floor. Somehow, a chubby blonde puppy nested in Shiro's jacket hood.  When Shiro got up on her left shoulder was the head of said puppy. It was just chilling there with its tongue out. " Liz, look isn't this puppy cute? I'm gonna take a picture." Shiro asked as she got her phone out.

"Or you could take it home. Just saying" Lizzy suggested. she studied each puppy and tried to figure out which one would be the easiest to sneak out

"We could hide one in my jacket and leave. But that is wrong." Shiro replied.

"that's be wrong" Lizzy muttered in a poor imitation of Shiro

Just after she took a photo of her and puppy. Shiro noticed the time. It was 5:27. " We should go now. It will take us about 30 minutes to arrive at the alley. Right now, the time is 5:27. And help me take one of the holy beings out of my hood, please." Shiro requested

Lizzy pouted but complied with the request

Lizzy was so sure she would have been able to steal a puppy

After about 30 minutes of arguing how to steal a puppy in Shiro's car, they finally arrived at the bowling alley. Shiro was the one who did the talking at the desk while Liz was trying to find a bowling ball she could hold. Shiro got her bowling shoes. " Liz, what size bowling shoes do you wear?" she shouted loud enough that it could reach Lizzy.

"9's" Lizzy chirped. Lizzy was glaring at the bowling balls with a look of false seriousness. "Do you think we could steal one of these?

"9's" Lizzy chirped. Lizzy was glaring at the bowling balls with a look of false seriousness. "Do you think we could steal one of these?

Shiro payed for everything. Grabbing their shoes, she rushed over to Liz. " Well, it is possible.... Wait .. Why do you want to steal it?" Shiro questioned. "Our alley is number 5."

"murder" Lizzy whispered, making direct eye contact with shiro. She then giggle, booped Shiro's nose, and skipped off to their alley.

Shiro was just standing there for a moment with the weirdest expression then headed over to Liz. When she reached, Liz was typing in our names. Shiro found a spot to sit and started to change shoes after she set Liz's shoes beside her. Wanting to add a little pressure to the game, " Yo. Lizzy, do you want to make a bet?"

"what kind of bet" Lizzy asked with a look of wide eyed innocence. Little did Shiro know, something wicked this way comes. And it's name was Elizabeth

"Well, you know the classic bet. Where the winner makes the loser do whatever they want. Why not make it inter..esting? The winner makes the loser do whatever they want for a week and has to posted what and how they do it on Tum..b..lr. " Shiro offered with a quiet and persuading tone as she inched closer towards Liz to intensify the pressure with a smirk on her face.

"Well, i guess that couldn't hurt Shiro. Do you want to start?" Lizzy batted her doe eyes at Shiro and made a gesture towards the alley.

"Let the games begin" Shiro said confidently as she stood up and glared at the pins waiting to be toppled over.

"go easy on me, its my birthday" Lizzy pleaded.

" I can't and won't. It's a game. There is no holding back." Shiro was serious and had her game face on.

"Ok Edgelord time to chill. Fine, make the birthday girl cry. See if i care." Lizzy huffed. She looked just a little pathetic with her braids and pastel blue dress. like a ugly version of those pouting little girls in motivational posters.

Before finding the perfect bowling ball, Shiro took off her maroon jacket which revealed a dark purple tank top with Lilo and Stitch on it.  Her tank top was tucked in with high-waisted black jeans and a white belt. Shiro's hair was down like always. After about 5 minutes, she found the perfect ball, and Liz was the first one to go.

Lizzy scanned the bowling balls before picking up a navy.

She took a deep breath before rolling. She managed to down 7. She shot Shiro a wide grin.

Lizzy waited to roll before knocking two more down. She did a slightly dorky happy dance before turning back to Shiro. "Its your turn hot stuff" Lizzy grinned before plopping down on a seat.

"Hot stuff." Shiro repeated. Waiting for the pins to realign, Shiro was stretching out her right shoulder. Grabbing a ball, she was ready. "Stance, trajectory, force, speed, and curves" Shiro was whispering this to herself as she rolled the ball. The ball also hit 7 pins. Glancing back at Liz with a smirk, she rolled again and 3 pins were knocked out. "Spareee" Shiro whispered when Liz and she passed each other.

"You're a child." Lizzy called behind her. Little miss competitive wouldn't get to rain on her parade. Lizzy rolled and got an 4. She frowned but waited for her ball again none the less. She rolled a 5 next and squealed happily.

"I am no child. I don't know about you." Shiro remarked. With the same ball, she knocked down 9 pins but could not finish the last one. Putting her hands in her jean's pocket, Shiro strolled back to her sit while whistling.

"Excuse me, but I'm almost 15, thank you." Lizzy answered idly. Lizzy thought about rubbing that last pin in her face but decided against it. Lizzy rolled an  6 and managed to get 3 more afterwards. She smiled at the score and pranced back to her seat.

"You are excused. To add, I am turning 17 next month. For your information." Shiro added. Strolling to get her ball, she decided to change which ball to use. With the new ball, Shiro scored a  strike. Slowly turning with a smirk on her face, she with hand motions portrayed as if she had a cowboy hat on and pulled it down. "Howdy" Shiro said just for fun. She is not a cowboy.

"you are a child." Lizzy  huffed

Lizzy rolled a 8 and scored a spare afterwards. She, an adult, stuck her tongue out at Shiro

Sighing because she was fed up of being called a child, Shiro asked, "Why not we talk about something else?" Not looking or paying attention at which ball she chose, Shiro took down 2 pins then 3 pin

" Ok. I want to be a ninja turtle when I grow up." Lizzy said.

She rolled a 7 and then a 1.

" Do mean turn into a genetically modified turtle or have a suit?" Shiro questioned as Liz sat back down.

Standing up and grabbing the right ball, she rolled a 5 and then a 3.

"turn into a genetically altered turtle. Why would you half ass that?" Lizzy asked

Lizzy rolled a 7 then missed.

" Well, I was not sure what you meant, so I said all ways that you could become a ninja turtle. Anyways, which ninja turtle would you be or be a new addition. ? " Shiro puffed out and scored a strike.

" well, I relate to Donnie on an emotional level, but i'd be a new addition." Lizzy chattered as she rolled. Drat. a four. She managed to knock another pin down

After knocking 7 down then missing, "What would be your name? Lizzy or another name?"

Probably Eliza to stick with the aesthetic" Lizzy muttered. STRIKE LIZZY MADE A STRIKE

"Nice going" Shiro offered a high five but was declined. "Just wondering, why do a lot of people do things that is based on an aesthetic?" Shiro was walking backwards asking that question. She grabbed the right ball and knocked 8 down. " I mean you don't have to stick with it." Shiro rolled again and managed to hit one more pin.

Lizzy, who was too busy celebrating to even take notice of Shiro, rolled. "stick with what?" Lizzy asked before scoring a 8. she hit the last two and took back her seat.

"Why do people decide on things that stick with aesthetic?' Shiro repeated while moonwalking to the ball return. This was the second to last frame. Shiro had to be serious because she did not want to lose the bet. Thankfully, she knocked down all 10 pins.

"To stick with the aesthetic. As a faithful aesthetic hoe, you gotta stay faithful man." Lizzy answered. She rolled and landed a 9. She missed the next pin.

"What the fuck do you mean?" Shiro whispered to herself. Confused, she hit pin 5 pins then 1 pin.

"Don't question it." Lizzy chirped.

Rushing over to see the scoreboard, it said that "Edgelord Won!" From behind Shiro, Liz was giggling. Shiro never payed attention to the scoreboard because where is the fun in that.Turning around " You put my name as Edgelord. Really. I am no lord of the edge. Anyways, I won and you lost. Now what will you have to do for a week everyday?" Shiro first scolded her then intimidated  her.

"I mean ok man but i'll have a reconstructed nose so I won't be able to do much." Lizzy said with a shrug.

Shrio's stomach growled as she was putting her jacket back on and changing her shoes. "First let's eat. Where do you want to go? Afterwards, We gotta get some brownies and cinnamon rolls.''

"I like pasta. Know any good places?"

" Do you want fancy restaurant food or like fast food kinda?" Shiro replied as they gave their shoes back and left the bowling alley.

"Fast food. No need to spend forever right?" Lizzy said as they walked up to Shiro's car.

"Ummm...How about Fazoli's? I heard they have very good pasta." Shiro offered while turning her car on.

"I'm down" Lizzy said while bucking up. She didn't know what Fazoli's was but it sounded good

'' Okay. Fazoli's it is. Now, who will control the music??"

"ME" Lizzy shrieked as she put on Be More chill

" This is a musical, right?" Shiro really did not listen to the songs instead focused on driving.

"Yeah. Its about a computer that lives in his head. Its pretty good and Michael is the best character."

" A computer that lives in someone's head...nice..What is the name of this musical?" Shiro asked as she took a sharp left turn.

"Be More Chill. I have Rocky Horror if you'd prefer." Lizzy offered.

"This is fine." After 15 minutes, we finally reached a plaza that had Fazoli's in it.

"Whoo! Pasta!" Lizzy cheered as she hopped out of the car.

Shiro had the Penne with creamy Basil Chicken, and Lizzy had the Twice-Baked Lasagna. The food was very good. Liz, taking advantage that Shiro was paying, order more food and said that she would eat it later. Shiro thought that Liz loves this place so much, so she is planning her meals for days to come. " After ordering so much, are you just a little guilty that I have to pay for all of this?" Shiro questioned her while leaving the restaurant.

"I could contribute if you want"

'' It's fine. I was just testing you. By the way, I am rich like Laura, but I do not spend it like her. I make more than spend." Shiro countered.

"Ha, RIP. I'd think being rich would SUCK" Lizzy spazzed.

" Are you full now or have room for dessert?"

"I always have room for dessert." Lizzy said with a way to serious look.

"Okay.. conveniently there is a bakery right there" Shiro pointed at a shop that was in the plaza.

"Dude i am so excited for cinnamon rolls."

Stopping Liz from running off, "First let's put this in the car. Here give it to me and you can go admire the sweets. I will be right there." Shiro said as she took the takeout bag from Liz's hands.

Lizzy hopped into the bakery and completely disregarded Shiro's request to stay by the door. "Hello!" Lizzy greeted the person at the counter. "I'd like two cinnamon rolls and two brownies please!"

Shiro put the takeout in the back of the car and strapped a seat belt around it ,for safety measures. Then, she walked over to the bakery and saw that Liz was already eating a cinnamon roll. " Did you get some for me or is that all you?" Shiro asked while scanning over what the bakery had to offer.

"I ordered two. I'm decent" Lizzy said with a mouthful of cinnamon roll

While scanning over the sweets, Shiro's eyes found some macarons. "Yeah...I am gonna get some macarons." Glaring at the flavors, the person who was at the counter asked what she wanted. " May I have 4 pistachio, 4 almond, and 2 vanilla macarons?" Walking back Liz gave me a weird expression, " Half of these are for my mom. We love macarons!" Shiro said excitedly.

While at the bakery, Lizzy and Shiro discussed what should the bet be for Lizzy. Somehow, they ended up devising a plan to steal a holy being (puppy) from the shelter. It was not foolproof. In the end, they spent about a hour there. On the way to Lizzy’s house, Liz fell asleep in Shiro’s car. When they reached Lizzy’s house, Lizzy gave Shiro a hug and thanked her for that day. Reminder, the dare was never finalized. Shiro decided to reveal the dare a later time. First reason, she wanted to wait so that Liz will feel up to the challenge. She is getting a nose job. Second, Shiro had no idea what the dare should be. The suspense continues.