#I love me a good villain song

[peggykicks-ass]

[prosebushpatch]

Okay so I recently, finally, watched Wish and I have some thoughts. Overall, not as bad as everyone makes it out to be, but still has a lot of fundamental story problems and I've got to get them off of my chest. I'll mostly be focused on Magnifico because I think his motivations and arc largely represent the problem with the overall theme.

Okay so my biggest problem with Magnifico is his motivation. His tragic backstory. How on earth does he go from losing his whole family to thinking, the only way he can prevent that from happening again is to grant wishes? The logic doesn't track. It almost makes sense in his creating a kingdom where he protects everyone and "doesn't even charge rent," but it does not make sense with his wish granting. Having a great need to be control to make sure he doesn't lose anyone ever again can be a compelling motivation for a villain, where we see lines crossed that don't justify the intent, but in the movie, he's too self-absorbed to seem to have any actual care for the people of Rosas.

I think if the motivation was changed to something like Magnifico had once been a bright-eyed, enthusiastic wish granter who blindly believed all wishes were good but learned the hard way that that wasn't true could have been a better fit for the overall goal of the movie. Imagine that he granted a wish for a wicked person who used that wish to hurt others, or if Magnifico granted a wish but that wish ended up ruining the person's life because what they wanted wasn't what they needed (i.e. Remember The Princess and the Frog? Dig a little deeper) and that person could have went after Magnifico and blamed him for their troubles (harkening back to We Don't Talk about Bruno). This would be an understandable tragic backstory for Magnifico, and better explain why he's so careful about the wishes he grants. And, perhaps the reason he keeps the wishes he doesn't want to grant is to keep the people in his kingdom docile. No one will be angry with him for not granting their wishes if he makes them forget them and lose that drive and motivation, which makes more sense than the unexplained hording them like he does in the movie? Why does he keep them in the movie other than admiring the wishes? It doesn't make sense to me.

This would give Asha more of a reason to oppose him, if it's shown how his desire to not get hurt or to inadvertently cause hurt turned into a paranoia where he drains people of wishes to fly or play music that inspires others. And, as a side note, we need to see more of how Rosas is a kingdom of people who lack drive and motivation, where only those younger than 18 have that special part of them that inspires them to chase after a dream (something that Astor Rhymemaster touched on). Because that's the point of wishes, right? That's the point of the entire Disney canon. A dream is a wish your heart makes. That star can only get you so far, it takes hard work and determination. It's wanting something better in life, it's dreaming of leaving behind all you know to chase after a tangible light. It's finding a new dream, it's finding a new wish as you grow and learn about yourself and the world.

I don't think the movie Wish understood what makes wishes so important in Disney stories. You know what wishes do? They ignite change. It's not about getting what you want, it's about finding the courage to chase after something better. Ariel wants to be where the people are, but really she wants to be somewhere where others are willing to understand her and in the end, she finds that and makes amends with her father, who finally is willing to see her for who she is. Rapunzel wants to see the lights, and that desire pushes her to leave a tower she's been trapped in her whole life, learning that the world is not as cruel and cold as her abusive mother told her. Cinderella wants to go to the ball, to dance with people who treat her as a person and not a servant of cinders and ash. That wish is granted by a fairy godmother and gives her a hope that is worth fighting for, a hope that helps her reclaim what is rightfully hers; a glass slipper that fits only her and the love that comes with it.

Wishes inspire change. The movie should have been about that. Magnifico could have been right, that some wishes inspire negative change that can drag down multiple people. The kingdom of Rosas could have been so placid because change is scary. Maybe Magnifico could have convinced people, after taking their wish, that it wasn't worth it. Maybe the wish ceremonies could have changed so it wasn't portrayed as some sort of lottery everyone looks forward to, but Magnifico would grant wishes on the spot if he decided they were good and worthwhile, and he would lock away the wishes that would cause trouble and tribulations. 18 year olds could be enthusiastic to give him their wishes, thinking they were surely good and worth granting, only to forget their wish and be told that their wish would have only brought about their unhappiness, this would have justified a more solemn tone in the kingdom, setting up a world where people are mostly downtrodden, thinking their wishes are bad and pointless and they're better off without them. Imagine Cinderella or Rapunzel being told their wishes weren't good, reinforcing all the things their abusive families tell them, taking away that hope and courage to find something better for themselves.

Here's where the true conflict could come in. Asha could be onto this from the beginning, and her opening song could have been about this concern that the people who didn't get their wishes granted aren't willing to try at all. (Because, after all, why doesn't Sabino play music at all? Having that taken from him would take so much joy and creative expression from his life!) But why does Asha know something is amiss?

Simon.

Imagine that Magnifico has a strict rule not to ever share your wish with another person because then it wouldn't come true. It makes sense with our own superstitions, and then makes it so that no one knows anyone else's wishes. Maybe your best friend changes so drastically after giving up their wish, but you believe, like everyone else, that their wish would have only caused suffering. What can you do about it? Well what if Simon told Asha about his wish? What if Asha knew his wish wasn't dangerous and couldn't imagine a way that it could go wrong? That would give her a reason to doubt Magnifico and put more emphasis on how Simon has lost his drive like all the other adults in the kingdom. And it can also emphasize in the end that sharing your wishes and dreams with others can be a powerful thing. Just the act of sharing your dreams can inspire others to go after their own, and they can give you the encouragement to chase your wish too. Wishes inspire change, love gives you the courage to make it happen.

Imagine if the star boy used to be a human, who wished to help others and lost his humanity to do it. Imagine his wish confirms Magnifico's belief, that wishes cause suffering because star boy lost his tether to earth and is separated from the people he loves. Imagine how he foils Asha who also wants to grant everyone's wishes. Imagine him ensuring she doesn't make the same mistake he did while she gives him a reason to change again, to anchor himself to humanity again because he loves her enough not to leave for forever.

Imagine the movie confirming that, yes, change is scary. Chasing your dreams won't always make things better. You might fail more than you succeed and some wishes cannot coincide with each other, leading to grief and strife. But some wishes are worth it. Sometimes, chasing after something better and failing is worth leaving a worse situation. Sometimes taking that chance is worth it, and, like in all fairy tales, if you are kind and generous and act with love, that will make all the difference in the end.

Also, I know everyone wished for a Magnifico and Amaya evil power couple, but imagine if Magnifico was truly in love with Amaya, as he is in the movie, but that love is eventually his undoing. Like Amaya leaps in front of Asha, and Magnifico stops or redirects his attack because she's the one thing he loves more than himself and that is the weakness that Asha and co can take advantage of. Imagine Amaya keeping Magnifico in the mirror and he gets to dote on her from his imprisonment for forever. I'm just saying. At least 30 sickos like me would be into that. Imagine the depth it would give to the themes of love and change and wishing and how acts of love make all the difference.

Alright, I'll get off my soap box. I just really wish Wish could have been stronger because these fairy tales Disney is famous for matter. They really do. But the movie feels too stale and shallow and too much of a cash grab that knows the outline of a disney musical, but is unable to understand the heart of why they work.

[pitske]

"So watch me rise up Open the skies up And take the world by storm I'll flood the dry lands Low and highlands And take the world by storm Every inch of the land, every part of the sky Will be water when I transform it So watch me rise up Open the skies up And take the world by storm"

[gruvu]

Tomorrow is treat yourself day so I treated myself early to just an impluslve flat doodle of Crimm. Gave him that thing that I do is dance terribly as I have my ear buds up completely.  Also.. He is wearing these, just want people to know.

[hanma-apologist]

mutuals are at work. Quick, post the Hanma fancam

[bamboozled-distress]

why is there so much hate on poppy 😭 god forbid a woman do anything

[daylighteclipsed]

ngl the more I hear about Wish, the more excited I get about it

[hallwyeoo]

I don’t want to flesh out the details but modern AU where Shen Yuan teaches Binghe how to clean and restring a guitar. After, Binghe is like *puppy eyes* “Yuan-ge, could you please play something for me?” And Sy absolutely crumbles. Sy playing and lbh just staring at him.

[sparklespectres]

Going absolutely WILD over the musical episode of Dead End: Paranormal Park bc it did NOT have to go that hard but it DID and this is just reaffirming my already Strong Belief that there needs to be more paranormal musicals like the two things work so well together-

[steakout-05]

headcanon: 'Everybody Loves Raymond' by Lemon Demon is about this guy whose wacky family just won't stop watching all these family sitcoms on TV because they're stuck in the 80s-90s and the song is just him listing all the shows they watch in order of what pisses him off the most, all leading up to him getting so absolutely purely unadulteratedly enraged by the mere mention of Everybody Loves Raymond that he transforms into a screaming demon. he hates it so fucking much it summons the power of the demonic

[fruitsofhell]

Random observation while listening to the FF9 OST. The track Eternal Harvest that plays over that scene of Freya joining the Cleyrans in their protection ritual is absolutely gorgeous, but I wish my memory of it wasn’t that awkwardly mocap-ed scene and was a cinematic instead. It had the potential to be a lot more powerful if given the weightiness of a cinematic, and ofc is Freya had been more fleshed out instead of having her arc come to a dead stop in the middle of the 3rd disc.

Freya and Garnet are both great conduits to explore the devastation that Kuja left in his wake on a personal level. But while Garnet is through the eyes of a young woman struggling as a leader against such incredible odds, Freya had the potential to be a great exploration of the more personal and cultural aspect of that destruction. Her people are already appeared to be a somewhat disliked minority, which is what made them an easy first target for Brahne compared to her in-laws in Lindblum. And unlike Alexandria and Lindblum where despite their state, it’s implied that the kingdoms are still fit to rebuild, the Burmecians are really fucked over. Their country was the first to be attacked and therefore didn’t have time to prepare, and then the other Burmecian state of Cleyra where most of the refugees fled to was DISINTEGRATED.

Like Freya might be the character with the most baggage to explore. After witnessing the ruins of Burmecia she comes to this ancient bastion of her people, and despite not fully respecting their distinct way of life, she partakes in their ritual, hoping it will be able to protect the last of them. And then not even an hour later, right from under her that citadel is literally wiped off the face of the earth. It’s haunting to think about, and I deeply wish it could have been explored beyond just a bit of her grieving before launching into more shenanigans.

Not that her being forced to so quickly move on isn’t powerful in itself, but I wish there was more EMPHASIS. Emphasis that could have come from a beautifully directed cinematic of that ritual she performed in vain. Able to visually represent that fragile, majestic hope the track accompanying it conveys.

[themichaelvan]

I feel like I’m gonna explode (fnaf movie excitement)

EHGJEHSAJEGHJESG YEAH . btw here is a (somewhat older, like oct 2022) bingo card i made for fnaf movie.

the deepest yearnings of my heart. for the world 2 see <3

[gaminegay]

For all the villainfuckers/enthusiasts out there

[taliaglitch]

I'M DONEEEE with bg3!!!!!! CREDITS ROLLING! almost 110 hours for one playthrough, doing the main + companion storylines and whatever sidequests i stumbled upon in the process. steam says i have 150 hours in the past two weeks, and since i didn't play EA any that shortly before release, those 40 extra hours are i guess from reloads and... does the time played displayed in-game not count loading screens? good lord i hope i didn't spend 20+ hours in loading screens. i think i spent about 30-35 hours in act 1, 30-35 in act 2, and the rest in act 3 (which would be my favorite if my performance in the city was better - but i at least never did have any crashes in it! just the first 2 acts)

some rambling thoughts on the ending/my playthrough in the tags, but tl;dr i'm not as underwhelmed as reddit led me to believe i would be (certainly less than i was by dos2's ending!), but i am frustrated by a great deal of visual bugs (flat textures, missing meshes, etc) i experienced in the ending cutscenes - but i have no idea how much was the game itself and how much was my computer not being up to the task (i'm leaning towards it being my computer, because it has a habit of making textures super fucked up after playing for a while, like they don't decompress properly or something and theyre 5 pixels big & nasty-looking, but also that's different than the bugs i got in the ending). i'm also confused by the lack of ending slides since those have been an rpg staple probably for as long as there have been rpgs. but overall: WOW I REALLY LIKED THIS VIDEO GAME. extremely worth the $60 i spent 3 years ago, and will be worth however much i have to spend to upgrade my computer to do it justice.

[retvenkos]

Olive, my darling, do humour me: cym as classical songs that SLAP to you

MUTUALS — let me know if you want to be included or taken off!

this one is my absolute FAVORITE actually but also i’m sorry for my classical music illiteracy

@noesapphic: lacrimosa — mozart | ♩

@permanentreverie: masquerade suite waltz — aram khachaturian | ♩

@teaand-dreams: nocturne no. 1 in b flat minor op. 9 no. 1 — chopin | ♩

@anthonysharmaa: devil's trill sonata: iii. allegro assai — giuseppe tartini | ♩

@moonlit-imagines: the four seasons: summer, presto — vivaldi | ♩

@heliads: piano concerto no. 2 in c minor, op. 18: 1. moderato — sergei rachmaninoff | ♩

@locke-writes: the orange tree — philip glass | ♩

@amortensie: orfeo ed euridice, wq. 30 — christoph willibald gluck, raniero de' calzabigi | ♩

@juliastrojan: 1812 overture — tchaikovsky | ♩ (but also !!! every time i hear carpe diem from dps,,,, i think of you 😭)

@murswrites: dracula enters — philip glass | ♩

@swanimagines: badinerie — bach | ♩

@biqherosix: elfentanz — david popper | ♩

@the-radio-star​: swan lake, op. 20, act II: no. 10, scene. moderato — tchaikovsky | ♩

@musicallisto: après un rêve, op. 7, no. 1 — gabriel fauré | ♩ (but also,,,, ma’am,,,,, light of the seven from GoT my BELOVED !!!!! ramin djawadi did the absolute mOST there and i love him for it <3)

@ughgclden: slow dancing in the dark — nicholas yee | ♩

@donnakenobi: études dans le genre fugué, op. 97: no. 4b, allegretto è sempre legato — antoine reicha | ♩

@scvrllet: wyden down — riopy | ♩

@mirclealignr: string quartet no. 1. mov. ii — derya kavuncu | ♩

@oceanspray5: finding melody — gavin luke | ♩

@missameliep: ave maria — charles gounod | ♩

[jondalars]

movies, tv shows, and books of 2023

((* is a rewatch/reread; currently watching; can’t get through))

She and Her Perfect Husband (s1)

1899 (s1)

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (vol. 4) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

White Noise (2022)

New Life Begins (s1)

12 Angry Men (1957)

Babel, Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by R.F. Kuang

Bliss Montage by Ling Ma

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

Popular Chinese Tales by H.F. Chiang

First Love (s1)

Spare by Prince Harry

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

Heroes (s1)

A Romance of the Little Forest (s1)

Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

Heaven Official’s Blessing (vol. 5) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

Twenty Five Twenty One (s1)

Physical: 100 (s1)

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

The Circle (s5)

Unchained Love (s1)

Liberation Day: Stories by George Saunders

Extra-Ordinary You (s1)

Stay True by Hua Hsu

Three-Body (s1)

Something in the Rain (s1)

Falling into your Smile (s1)

My Roommate is a Gumiho (s1)

Survivor (s44, s45)

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

Romance is a Bonus Book (s1)

The Journey of Chong Zi (s1)

Mr. Queen (s1)

True Beauty (s1)

Nope (2022)

Outlast (s1)

Begin Again (s1)

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand *

The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton *

Weightlifting Fairy, Kim Bok-Joo (s1)

W (s1)

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen *

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen *

Murder Mystery 2 (2023)

To Have and the Hoax by Martha Waters

Sh**ting Stars (s1)

Scarlet Heart (s1)

About Fate (2022)

I Told Sunset About You (s1) *

Lady Chatterley's Lover (2022)

Weak Hero Class 1 (s1)

Swarm (s1)

Thirty-Nine (s1)

Flower of Evil (s1)

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

Beef (s1)

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

Jury Duty (s1)

Promising Young Woman (2020)

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Nothing but You (s1)

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte *

Love in the Air (s1)

Till the End of the Moon (s1)

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell *

Semantic Error (s1)

School 2013 (s1)

The Eighth Sense (s1)

The Love You Give Me (s1)

Hana Yori Dango (s1)

School 2015: Who Are You (s1)

Happy Place by Emily Henry

What Six Survivors Told... (s1)

Heirs (s1)

I Think You Should Leave (s3)

XO, Kitty (s1)

Boys Over Flowers (s1)

Back from the Brink (s1)

How Much of These Hills is Gold by C. Pam Zhang

Personal Taste (s1)

The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

To Love and to Loathe by Martha Waters

F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers (s1)

The Guest by Emma Cline

To Marry and to Meddle by Martha Waters

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone

Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

School 2017 (s1)

Dog Day Afternoon 1975)

Tár (2022)

See You in My 19th Life (s1)

Black Knight (s1)

Black Mirror (s6)

D.P. (s1, s2)

Jade City by Fonda Lee

Hidden Love (s1)

M3gan (2023)

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (vol. 5) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

Bride of the Water God (s1)

Devil Venerable Also Wants To Know by Cyan Wings

Guide on How to Fail at Online Dating by Jiang Zi Bei

Heaven Official’s Blessing (vol. 6) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

2gether the Series (s1, s2)

Claim to Fame (s2)

Beyond Evil (s1)

The Legend of Anle (s1)

Knock at the Cabin (2023)

Doom at Your Service (s1)

Jade War by Fonda Lee

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center

Bloodhounds (s1)

Uncontrollably Fond (s1)

Bones and All (2022)

Red, White, and Royal Blue (2023)

When I Fly Towards You (s1)

The Starry Love (s1)

Only Friends (s1)

Between Us by Mhairi McFarlane

Commonwealth by Ann Patchett

Cocaine Bear (2023)

Mad About You by Mhairi McFarlane

You Are Desire (s1)

The Blonde Identity by Ally Carter

The Out-Laws (2023)

You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah (2023)

Fake It Till You Make It (s1)

Love at First Sight (2023)

The Glory (s1)

My Lovely Liar (s1)

King the Land (s1)

The Devil's Plan (s1)

Flux by Jinwoo Chong

The Genius (s1*, s2*, s3*, s4*)

The Romance of Tiger and Rose (s1)

House of Villains (s1)

Coffee Prince (s1)

Society Game (s1, s2)

Barbie (2023)

No Hard Feelings (2023)

Secret Garden (s1)

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

My Love Mix-Up! (s1*)

Heaven Official's Blessing (vol. 7) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)

Comet (2014)

X (2022)

Zola (2021)

The Green Knight (2021)

Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams

Twinkling Watermelon (s1)

After Yang (2021)

Only For Love (s1)

Pearl (2022)

Dear Ex (2018)

Ma (2019)

The Worst Person in the World (2021)

Deathless by Catherynne M Valente *

Your Name Engraved Herein (2020)

Tune in for Love (2019)

Lost in Translation (2003)

My Roommate is a Vampire by Jenna Levine

Crimes of the Future (2022)

Only Just Married (s1)

In-House Marriage Honey (s1)

Love to Hate You (s1)

Supervisor Husband (s1)

Aftersun (2022)