#Idk it just feels like they tried to make it like a Disney film. And it didn’t quite fit with the story

[shima-draws]

Watched the MLB movie and I just. I WANT to gush about it but the fact that Marinette’s regular voice actor and her singing voice actor sound SO different just took me out of it every time and left me feeling very disengaged;; At least Adrien’s singing voice kind of sounds like his speaking voice (and Gabriel’s is 👌 bc my king Keith Silverstein can actually sing and he can sing REALLY fucking well) but Marinette’s. The voices are COMPLETELY different and it threw me off every single time. Like obviously her singing voice is really good and I understand why they picked that person to do her songs but bro you could have at least TRIED to get someone that sounds similar to Cristina Vee. It drove me nuts every time she sang bc I was like “That is CLEARLY a different person entirely!!”

I’m realizing this might have been a dubbing issue but still 😭 I feel like I would have enjoyed the movie way more if it didn’t look like Marinette was lip syncing the entire time bc there was such a huge disconnect between her speaking and singing voice

[annes-andromeda]

Wish Rewrite

I have this tendency for rewriting material I either don’t like or think had wasted potential. At the time of writing this, Wish hasn’t come out in theaters but I did pirate it as there was an early screening. I also read the junior novelization and bought the concept art book. Needless to say, I was disappointed by what I read/saw.

I feel like Wish could’ve been better. Granted, the story and characters are not terrible, but they certainly leave much to be desired. This is literally Disney’s 100th anniversary, yet it doesn’t really feel like it. Not only that, but the movie felt incredibly rushed. Yeah I know that most Disney movies try have a run time of 90-100+ minutes, but I think a few more minutes could’ve been added to this film.

So, I decided to indulge myself and outline some changes that I think could’ve made the story slightly better. These ideas are by no means perfect, and in the end, this is all in good fun.

Spoilers ahead btw

The main story of Wish is essentially that Asha wants to get a job as Magnifico’s apprentice so that her grandfather’s wish is granted. But Asha finds out about the King’s true nature, and after questioning him, doesn’t get the job, and Magnifico vows to never grant Sabino or Sakina’s wishes.

Asha makes a wish on a star, and the star comes down, Magnifico tries to hunt down the two of them, he uses an evil spell book to create a staff, Magnifico destroys some wishes, Asha gets help from her friends, they sing a song to defeat Magnifico (I ‘wish’ i was joking), Star gives Asha a magic wand, and all is well.

Oh, and Amaya is… there.

It’s nothing complex, pretty cut and dry. And I don’t have a problem with a simple story! But this feels like it’s… missing something.

Firstly, I’d change the title. Disney already has a boat called Wish, and not every movie needs to be one word like Tangled, Frozen, and Brave (amongst others), so the story could be renamed “Asha and the Wishing Star” or “Asha and the Kingdom of Wishes”. Idk, something that evokes a classic fairytale book feel (or that does confuse people with a boat).

((Side note #1: I honestly enjoy that the story started off with a book, as a nod to classic disney movies, especially Snow White. That was cute))

Secondly, and I know I sound like a broken record at this point…

AMAYA👏🏼SHOULDVE👏🏼BEEN👏🏼A👏🏼VILLAIN👏🏼ALONGSIDE👏🏼HER👏🏼HUSBAND👏🏼

The original plan, according to the concept art book, was to have Magnifico and Amaya to be a villain couple who were partners in crime and owned a black sphinx cat named Charo. However for… reasons, the creators took the ‘safe’ route and made Amaya the good one out of the two.

But the problem is, by erasing Amaya’s evilness, the creators of Wish essentially removed any purpose or personality she may have had and thus, she was left to become a literal ‘supporting’ character. First supporting both Magnifico and Asha, then leaving Magnifico to prop up solely Asha.

Deadass, you can literally remove Amaya from the story and nothing would change. Which is probably why she was exempt from much of the promotional stuff minus the dolls. Because she literally serves no purpose but to be… there.

So, in my version of Wish, Amaya would be a co-conspirator to her husband and yes, I’m adding Charo too. Her personality would be inspired by classic female villains such as the Evil Queen from Snow White, Lady Tremaine from Cinderella, and Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty.

Vain, glamorous, cunning, and unabashedly evil, Amaya would be the Morticia to Magnifico’s Gomez, the brains to his brawn. She’s the girlboss, he’s the wife instigator. Magnifico spoils Amaya rotten with countless gifts and praises, whilst Amaya is the more calm and collected evil compared to her husband’s ever-growing temper.

While she starts the story with no magic, Magnifico just can’t leave his wife hanging and shares the power of the evil spell-book with Amaya. And yes, even Charo gets in on the fun, turning from a small house cat, to a massive shape-shifting beast who breaths blue fire similarly to a dragon (shut up i think it’d be cool)

Magnifico and Amaya essentially keep the wishes of Rosas locked in the castle as a form of obedience. By giving the citizens false hope, it makes them more dependent on the royal couple, and the two have more power over everyone.

Anyways, let’s get to the main characters: Asha and Star.

I don’t have much of an issue with Asha’s character, more so her design. I already made a post showing my redesign of her, so that’s out of the way. Tbh tho, I also have an issue with the rest of the costume design of Wish, being a big costume nerd myself. The movie’s supposed to take inspiration from the Mediterranean, primarily places such as Spain and Morocco (and the Amazigh people for Asha), but the fashion feels like generic European medieval fashion.

I feel like the whole storyline of Asha’s interview with Magnifico was pretty pointless, so I would have it that she just starts off as the kings apprentice, whilst also working as Amaya’s scullery maid.

The couple took Asha in when the girl lost her father at the age of 12 (according to the film), and she’s been working for them for five years. Asha works not only to support herself, her family, and her community, but also as a way to distract from the grief of losing her father. Which is no issue, as Amaya always bombards the girl with chores, and Magnifico only teaches Asha the most basic of magic for fear of her growing more powerful than him.

I made Asha work as a scullery maid not only as a reference to princesses such as Snow White and Cinderella starting off their respective stories as maids, but also because scullery maids acted as assistants to the kitchen maids. Dahlia works in the kitchen, Asha and Dahlia are best friends, I figured it made sense.

But anyways, on the day of Sabino’s 100th birthday, Sakina tells Asha to take a break and return home, as she hardly visits anymore due to work. Asha says she’ll try asking the king and queen to get off early, but that she can’t make any promises.

Asha meets with Magnifico and asks for the day off, but the king refuses. However, wanting to keep her loyalty, Magnifico finally shows Asha the wish chamber, and even allows her to witness the wish ceremony that night. But once Asha starts questioning the king on his methods, any goodwill between them begins to fade.

Another thing I’m disappointed in, is that originally Star was going to be a shapeshifting humanoid inspired by the Genie and Peter Pan, and may have even had a romance with Asha. But, the idea was scrapped for the more cutesy, ‘marketable’, version of Star.

In my retelling, I’d choose to do this human shapeshifter version of Star, but I’d name him something else. The star Earendel was mentioned in the concept art book, which is the farthest known star from Earth and not only means ‘morning star’ in Old English, but is also named after the Tolkien character, Eärendil.

I would call this shapeshifter Star Earen, and because Disney loves their animal/cute sidekicks, Earen can have the ‘Kirby’ Star as a companion, just like how Asha has Valentino and Magnifico and Amaya have Charo.

((Side #2: Anybody else notice that Star lowkey looks and sounds like Kirby😶))

Earen and Star journey down to Rosas once they hear Asha’s pleas for guidance. Once Asha tells of Magnifico and Amaya’s lies, Earen reveals that he actually met Magnifico decades ago. The amount of years shocks Asha, as she realizes that the King and Queen might be far older than what they are.

((Side note #3: I didn’t realize this till someone mentioned it, but if Sabino is 100 and he gave Magnifico his wish at 18, then he’s been waiting 82 years for his wish to be granted. Which means it’s likely that Magnifico might be immortal. That, or Disney didn’t think this shit through (most likely)))

Anyways, Earen actually attempted to stop Magnifico and Amaya’s ploy to keep the wishes of Rosas locked away, but he was sealed within the heavens until he and Star heard Asha make her wish.

We can have it that the king and queen spun the story so that Earen was made out to be an evil that once threatened Rosas, but Magnifico banished him and saved everyone, essentially making himself out to be the good guy and manipulating the narrative.

Asha and Earen must now work together to expose the lies of the royal couple, and along the way, the two begin to fall in love. Earen disguises himself as a peasant boy so as to remain inconspicuous, while Asha tries to go about her job as if nothing happened, evading the King and Queen’s suspicions.

Star gives Asha a stick infused with stardust once finding out she is, quite literally, the sorcerers apprentice. It is also so that she may defend herself, as Earen has his powers and a sword (similarly to Peter Pan).

Unlike Magnifico, Earen and Star teach Asha the wonders of magic and the potential she wields, showing that there is no need for her to hold back when her gift can help so many, including those she loves.

The three manage to sneak into the kings study, but only have time to retrieve Sabino’s wish and return it to him. However, Magnifico and Amaya, now strengthened by the powers of dark magic, find Asha and Earen and threaten to destroy all the wishes should Earen not surrender to them.

And as a way to ensure that Asha doesn’t foil their plans, Magnifico destroys both Asha and Sakina’s wishes, despite Asha not being eighteen yet. However, the evil magic allows him to do so. This act weakens the two women, and infuriates Earen.

Earen then willingly complies despite Asha’s opposition, and Sabino takes Asha and Sabina to the seven (well six) teens for aid, who are in hiding after Simon ratted them out and who now serves as a puppet to the king and queen.

Despite loosing her wish, Asha finds the strength to carry on through the memory of her late father, enlisting the help of her friends and Star, who managed to evade the royal couple’s grasp. The team must work together to save Earen, whose power will be drained by Magnifico and Amaya. And if such a feat were to happen, then Earen would die and Rosas would be lost.

The five teens go into the woods to distract one of the royals, with the aid of the forest fauna and Star. Amaya chases the group alongside Charo while Magnifico tortures Earen and begins stealing his power. With the help of Dahlia, Asha sneaks into the castle to confront her former mentor and save Earen before it’s too late.

At first, it seems that the heroes have the upper hand with Magnifico neutralized, but then, Amaya swoops in riding Charo, who now takes the form of a giant dragon. Earen transforms into a dragon himself and battles Charo and Amaya, while Asha continues battling Magnifico. Star even comes to help after the original plan fails.

However, the unholy trio have the upper hand, and Amaya strikes down Earen, giving Magnifico enough time to not only drain Earen’s power, but to trap Star within his staff. With their combined powers, Magnifico and Amaya gather all of the peoples wishes, even stealing the wishes of those not yet of age, which includes the teens.

With all the wishes gathered, the couple and their pet destroy all the wishes, taking their energy for themselves.

Asha falls into despair as she watched her friends, love ones, and community succumb to the grief of loosing their wishes. The king and queen force Asha to apologize to the people, mocking her and making her feel even more guilty.

However, Earen comforts Asha despite his weak state, telling her it’s alright and that she shouldn’t be ashamed of wishing on Star, as he brought the two of them together. The two kiss, the strength of their newfound love and hope shining through the darkness and inspiring the people of Rosas to rise up.

As the sky and stars become alive, Magnifico’s staff is destroyed, releasing Star in the process. All the evil magic he, Amaya, and Charo used is sucked out of them and vanquished, and Earen is restored to full vitality.

Think of this as the transformation scene from Princess and the Frog. Asha and Earen get new outfits, with Asha even gaining a crown and a new wand from Star.

((Side Note #4: The “transformation” in the finale of the film is so stupid. Asha could’ve literally gotten a new dress once she becomes a fairy godmother, but instead, Star just made her sparkly. How magical🙄))

Rosas rejoices, as they realize they don’t need the king to make their wishes come true, and they can pursue them themselves. With Magnífico and Amaya banished from Rosas, Asha and Earen become the new rulers, being names Prince and Princess respectively.

And that’s basically how I would’ve done Wish. It’s not perfect, but it’s just an idea. I’m just disappointed that Disney do something better for their 100th anniversary.

[2010s-nostalgia]

frozen hate discussion??? 👀👀 take my hand

no but really. even just aside from how they took a pretty good fairy tale and did... um, nothing with it? nothing interesting at least, frozen is still just a mediocre movie with bad designs and music that's really just okay.

what really bothers me more than anything else is that frozen just comes off as cynical. it's making fun of older movies that are better than it.

every single time someone tries to make a fairy tale edgy/adult or feels the need to point out every unrealistic aspect about it an angel dies. "you can't marry a man you just met" represents a fundamental misunderstanding of both the genre and the disney movies based on it. it's this annoying tongue-in-cheek tone and utter pessimism that quite literally sucks all the magic out of the movie, and then they have the balls to make fun of better films. it's just cynical and grating and honestly coming from disney itself just annoys me. oh you think snow white and cinderella are unrealistic? you think love at first sight is stupid? should we throw a party? should we invite buzzfeed.

whereas movies like shrek, which also try to deconstruct the fairy tale/disney genre, actually work because instead of someone busting out an "erm, actually!" line every five minutes or pulling some cheap twist, they simply tell a story that reverses the tropes. and there's no moment in shrek where the movie turns to the audience and goes "you dumb dumb fuck ass idiots came here to see a fairy tale? well fuck you! twist villain attack!"

I don't much care for tangled either but at least you can tell it was made in earnest. also literally everything frozen was applauded for has been done better before. the sisters thing? lilo and nani have an actual bond. playboy villain? gaston. taking time to fall in love? beauty and the beast? tarzan? hercules? literally like most disney movies? anna and kristoff were together for like a week before saying I love you. get real.

okay thanks mod love your blog <3

I agree with everything. Honestly, making fun of past movies would be okay if it succeeded at all. Enchanted exists, it made the same points, and it worked soooo well. In Frozen, Anna is told she can't marry a man she just met, then gets with Kristoff within like two days. Love's not supposed to be a major part of the story? A whole song is sung by the love interests' family about how they should get together (they get together later). So much of the movie is focused on a romance with so little chemistry instead of being about the sister relationship the film claims to be about!

I should say I don't hate Frozen. It's fine, but I don't want fine, ya know? I want great!!! (Also didn't love Tangled either. Idk what management change happened in the animation department in the mid 2000s, but they really lost the groove around that time. Maybe Bob did a shake up)

[ilovescaredysquirrel2]

My thoughts on Trolls 3 & that Adam Sandler Lizard movie Leo (and also my thoughts on Wish)

So there's a lot to unpack here; let's start with the most basic, Trolls 3! It's adorable, nothing bad to say about it, good movie to watch with your family! For once I don't have a lot to say about a DreamWorks film, other than it was so cute and funny. I still prefer the first two but this was great and I loved the songs. I thought the 2D scene was a little bit weird my uncle thought the same. Didn't care for the villains' design but Velvet and Veneer were funny! I like how they had colorful lipsticks tho haha XD anyway, I recommend Trolls 3, see it in theaters if you still have time.

As for that Adam Sandler Lizard movie, it was great! It's called "Leo" and it's on Netflix. It kind of gets heavy when Leo finds out that he one year left to live and when he talks to the kids, it's amazing. I love how they tried to show different types of kids and different struggles they had. One girl talked to much, the other girl whose parents were going through a divorce, there was also a boy who was insecure about his voice and another one who was insecure about body hair, and I even liked how they didn't make the rich blonde popular girl be mean, they even showed her struggle too! There was also this one boy whose mom didn't allow him to play outside and be a kid and he had this drone follow him around all the time, and she even made him wear a hazmat suit inside his house which to me, was the most depressing. The part with the teacher, was on and off. I hated her for most of the movie but she even had redemption. The teacher at the beginning was really nice but it was the old lady teacher, idk man I didn't like her for most of the movie but at the end she's okay. I still think characters get redemption way too easily sometimes. Just my opinion... btw the humor was really good! It had that 90's Nickelodeon type of humor (like from CatDog or Rocko's modern life or Angry Beavers). Like, there were a few dirty jokes and just a few fourth wall breaks. Also, the movie had a good message. I wasn't expecting it to be a musical but it was. Let's just say that the songs weren't as good as Under the Boardwalk, but they weren't bad songs. Honestly, I even think the songs in Wish were better but Leo is over all a better movie and has a way better message.

About my opinion on Wish now, I don't recommend you watch it in theaters, unless you're a really wealthy person who can afford to see movies all the time. I mean, in my opinion it's a waste of time and money. It's better to watch it in the comfort of your own home on a free website, don't even watch it on Disney plus. There's a few reasons why but here's one of them https://www.instagram.com/reel/ but the other reason is because I don't think Disney deserves to make a lot of money form this. Part of me feels bad because I LOVE the character design, and the diversity. I feel bad for black girls, they can't get at least one modern Disney princess who from a good movie. Tiana's movie is old and she ends up marrying the dumb hunk prince when she just wanted to be a restaurant owner, Ariel is racebent but she's pretty cool even tho there's a war over her being black, and Asha's a sweet character but her movie doesn't make sense. Like, Wish's plot was all over the place; at first you were kind of on the king's side but they did make him out to be evil enough that you were on Asha's side. The hardest thing for me to understand was that at first she wanted the king to grant everyone's Wish because she wanted her grandpa to be happy since he was 100 years old, then she wanted to get her grandpa and mom's wishes back from the king, and then she wanted everyone to be happy but I was so lost... the only time I laughed was that one song and it showed the bear and the deer, and they called the deer "Bambi" as a joke, but really, it looked like Boog and Elliot from the Open Season franchise. The dancing chickens was pretty funny too, it reminded me of the Flip flop and fly scene in Chicken Run. Honestly, Wish isn't the worst Disney movie ever, but it's not that good. If you're planning on seeing it, know what you're in for. The story was incredibly boring as well, and the background characters barely had any personality or lines but were still cute (I like Asha's friends, especially the plus size girl in the red and also the girl with the yellow dress and blue thing in her hair). And like, the best thing about this movie had to be the character designs. Not only did it show race and skin color diversity, but it showed body type diversity as well! Some shows and movies just show skin color diversity and make the plus size characters the joke (like **cough cough** Total Drama show) but this movie actually have TRUE diversity! It's a shame that the story's a disaster because the designs were a 10/10... as for the story, it's a 4.5/10.

We've come to a conclusion. Watch Leo on Netflix and if you don't have Netflix, you can use kisscartoon, actvid, or whatever other free movie website you have. If you want to watch Wish I don't recommend seeing it in theaters but I'm not stopping you. (Please click the link to the video I sent). Also, Wish is better than most of the old Disney movies, don't go comparing it to peter pan or something, we know that movie's outdated and way worse than Wish. If you're a Trolls fan or just have any interest in seeing Trolls 3, GO SEE TROLLS 3 in theaters! I recommend it! And also, if you have any thoughts, whether you agree or not, just let me know. Even if you have different opinions than me, just let me know!

[nghtchngs]

🪄๋࣭ ⭑☾˖⋆ (  victoria moroles,  demiwoman,  she/they  )  —  🎬  just  announced,  VALENTINA AYALA  has  been  cast  as  ALEX RUSSO  in  the  upcoming  WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE  reboot.  the  twenty-six  year  old  is  trending  as  people  are  debating  if  the coffee with too much creamer, leather jackets, always sleeping in, one headphone in at all times, late night drives, & always knowing the best food spots that  they  are  known  for  is  enough  to  make  them  as  good  as  original.  a  quick  google  search  shows  that  their  fans  call  them honest,  but  internet  trolls  think  they’re  more careless.  i  guess  their  newest  interview  for  variety  where  they  talk  about  the screenplays they’ve written will  let  people  to  know  them  better.

+ pinterest . + playlist.

BASICS:

full name: valentina milagro ayala nicknames: vale, val, tina, mili gender: demiwoman pronouns: she/they sexuality: gay gay lesbian gay age: twenty-six date & place of birth: december 28 in el monte, ca faceclaim: victoria moroles character inspo: ahsoka tano (star wars), beca mitchell (pitch perfect), america chavez (marvel comics), taissa turner (yellowjackets), leah clearwater (twilight)

BULLET POINTS:

— acting for valentina started young — what was a passing comment to her mother about wanting to mimic the children on their tv turned into various commercials, small projects, & student films to bulk her resume up. — soon enough she was scouted by disney, & would become a familiar face in all things disney by age 12. — the more money valentina made the less fun acting became ; more of a job and less of a hobby, they were now the main breadwinner for their family. the mortgage payments for their new house depended on her, a happy christmas was a result of a good holiday paycheck, & the newfound stability the ayala family never had rest on valentina’s shoulders. — disney paid well, but it stifled her, in more ways than just creatively. her teen years were spent going through the throes of gender & sexuality confusion, and by the time valentina decided she wasn’t quite a girl and definitely did not like boys, her image was decided for her — and a demigirl lesbian did not fit into that. — this caused her to retreat into herself, walls building up in an attempt to push away what she didn’t want to come to terms with. while they’re much more sure of themselves now, valentina still holds onto those walls tightly, uncomfortable with being herself. they may be rough around the edges but they’re fiercely protective of those they hold close, and are quite easy to talk to when they’re not in a (unfortunately common) judgmental mood. — while she’s ecstatic to play alex (a formative character in her life), valentina is also ready for her time with disney to be over. more serious roles have garnered valentina more acclaim & respect, and have helped them feel fulfilled as they continue their career. she plans to get more into screenwriting after, thinking that maybe her time would be better spent behind the camera than in front of it.

WANTED CONNECTIONS:

— former beard & current best friend ; someone valentina was pushed to have a pr relationship with before they both realized it was doing more harm than good. ended up as best friends & considered their platonic soulmate and most trusted confidant. — ex (ended on awkward terms) ; someone valentina dated before she came out & was still going through inner turmoil about her sexuality. (probably) ended because of vale’s issues & they are now a sore spot for her that she tries to avoid as often as possible. — roommate ; idk could be cute yktv — childhood friends/long term friendships — fwb — frenemies, enemies, other exs — flirtationships (might be one sided idk her way of flirting is being kinda mean) — literally anything ever this is all just me throwing play doh at a wall

PAST ROLES:

— maya hart in girl meets world — mal in descendants — sydney novak in i am not okay with this — mari in yellowjackets — christine in to all the boys i loved before

[birtuch]

Ok so someone asked me to explain how billford fanfictions follow basically the same plot as the emperor's New groove

So here I am

Quick warning, I'm not great at explaining my thoughts, so I might repeat myself a little or not make complete sense in some areas. If this happens, please tell me and I'll correct it <3 (also I do not care enough to watch whatever other films or series there are of the emperor's New groove, Disney sequels suck so bad that I'm not putting myself through the misery of watching them just for whatever this is)

The emperor's New groove follows the story of a greedy, selfish Emperor named Kuzco and Pacha, the leader of his village in Emperor Kuzco's kingdom (which is unnamed)

Kuzco summons Pacha to the palace and tells him quite bluntly that he will be destroying his house on the hill to make room for Kuzco's summer home, his birthday present to himself. Does that sound familiar?

Well it should

The entire threat Bill poses in gravity falls is about how he wants to take over the world for his master party. Ruining earth to make room for his own entertainment.

"But birt!" I hear you saying, "gravity falls and the emperor's New groove have very different stories, how can they be similar?" And to that I say

FANFICTION.

I'm a disgrace to my family, and have read an ungodly amount of billford fanfiction to the point there's not a singular billford fanfic I haven't read on wattpad and physically HAD to move to AO3 for some more content. So let's just say, I've read a lot of them

Especially the ones where Bill turns human because I'm a sucker for any human Bill,

In those stories, it usually takes place after Bill has been defeated, and usually the axolotl brings him back to life as a human because of that backwards chant (prayer?? Idk what you'd call it) Bill made where he said something along the lines of "axolotl my time has come, uh, please save me, don't let me die, lol thx" something like that. Or, something like dipper brings him back or even that to defeat Bill, they had to trap him as a human, it really depends on the fanfic. But by some magical plot moment, Bill is human, he's back as a human and he usually does not have any of the powers that be had before, or he has a very limited amount of powers, not enough to destroy the world. He basically never has his full powers in them

In the emperor's New groove, in retaliation to Kuzco firing her, Yzma, with the help of Kronk, tries to poison Kuzco, but accidentally ends up turning him into a llama, stripping away all his power he had in the kingdom and rendering him useless.

In gravity falls and the emperor's New groove, Kuzco and Bill are incredibly selfish characters. They only live to serve themselves and do not care even the slightest about another person. They're also both.. incredibly flamboyant. Kuzco is definitely gay I'm so sorry, he literally looked at a line of the prettiest women in the kingdom and IMMEDIATELY said no to marrying all of them, but that's besides the point. The point is, they're very similar

In every billford fanfiction where Bill turns human and the entire plot of the emperor's New groove, both characters go through a journey of self growth as they try to go back to their original bodies, Stanford and Pacha teach Bill and Kuzco how to care for another person, and how their consequences have actions, and they eventually become a better person by the end.

But what about Yzma? And Kronk? Ha! I found a difference in the storie- Kryptos and (sometimes) Pyronica.

I'm not entirely sure why but for some reason I'm most of these fanfiction, Kryptos plays a MASSIVE role, usually becoming the new Bill cipher. I really have to ask.. why-? Why is Kryptos the new Bill cipher-? I mean, I get it, kind of, not entirely, but you have SO many other henchmaniacs.. and y'all chose Kryptos -? I mean, alright I guess-

But anyway, Kryptos is usually the new Bill cipher, and to fully claim his seat as the new leader, he feels he has to kill Bill (haha, reference).

Yzma, in the emperor's New groove, after Kuzco is turned into a Llama, she's ALSO trying to kill Kuzco, to fully claim her seat as the emperor of the unnamed kingdom

So uh, that was my thought process behind it.. I might add to it later, if I feel like it.

And to end, I will show you all the NEW CANON HUMAN BILL DESIGN

Totally definitely canon yup, mhm :)

[thedreadvampy]

I think a huge amount of my issue with how people (leftoids) recieve (leftist, countercultural or similarly aligned) art online is:

a) a lot of it seems to be based on a perceived failure of the art to live up to some radical ideal of Changing The World. this is an issue to me because I don't think art is for changing the world. creating art isn't an act of direct revolutionary praxis the way like, blowing up pipelines or drafting new legislation or building mutual aid networks are. art is there to change you so you can change the world. no art whether it's Disney Film #284367 or some indie antiart installation piece is sufficiently threatening to the status quo in and of itself to Be The Revolution - revolution comes about through connection and unification and art can help us do that. or can help us believe in fucked up shit. but like. it's happening in us not in the art. getting mad bc a piece of art isn't Sufficiently Changing The World is missing the point imo. the question is does it change you?

b) the closer a piece of art is to challenging the hegemonic art institution the more critical we are of it, and I don't think that's down to corporate capture or a failure to notice the institutional issues as much as that people's reactions to institutional art is 'well what can you expect' whereas there's a much more personal betrayal from indie or countercultural art sources. a version of this might be how people have responded to shitty corporate exploitation and abuse at say CDPR vs Ubisoft, or to the value of art made by A24 vs Disney. Or like, in general the reception to artists like Neil Gaiman or Amanda Palmer or Lil Nas X or Rebecca Sugar or Contrapoints who are engaging imperfectly but nonetheless engaging with stuff like race, sexuality, gender, colonialism, capitalist power etc. Like the criticisms levelled are usually valid, it's not that they're wrong or necessarily disproportionate, it's that there much more often levelled at people who are trying to say something we broadly agree on than they are at people who aren't. you know? and I think it's a fatigue thing. like the entire mainstream arts establishment is fucked and full of people and institutions who hold awful beliefs or have done awful things and we can't get mad at all of them. but the annoying impact of that is that collectively that energy seems to land more with, you know, Taika Waititi than Mel Gibson. More with A24 than Marvel Studios. More with Contrapoints than The Quartering.

like we give more critique to artists we expect more of and that's fair enough. except a) this is the internet so it's often not really so much critique as CANCELLED CANCELLED CANCELLED NONE OF YOU ARE FREE FROM SIN but also b) idk. it feels like when we're waiting for the Perfect Piece Of Radical Art To Lead The Revolution and will accept no less from any art that tries to make any kind of critique of the world as it is, but don't hold the same expectations towards art which is fully hegemonically aligned and within the expected norms, what we've ended up with is a world where

let's say for example

a fun murder mystery about evil rich people defeated by the cleverness of a working class heroine is Bad because it criticised capitalism and racism in a broadstrokes and milquetoast liberal way that won't Change The World, and this makes it Counterrevolutionary Pro Capitalist Propaganda That Is Making You Stupid

but a Disney film about how the US military is great actually and the only problem with it is that you don't believe hard enough in yourself!!!! and in reifying that punching things will fix the world and anyone trying to enact change from the status quo is de facto evil regardless of how correct their complaints are? that's just a fun film, it's Disney, you can't expect it to be radical, just have fun!

Idk it's very wearing.

[calliecat93]

Valentines' Day List: Ranking The Disney Princess Couples

Happy Valentines Day everyone! Whether you are with the love of your life, still waiting for Cupid's arrow, or are 100% happy single, I hope that you are having a wonderful day. So for the past couple of years, I've been doing lists for the holiday. A Top 10 Ships list (that is now outdated hence why no link), Top 10 Disney Couples, Top 5 Disney Love Songs, and a Top 5 Spones Episode List for Star Trek TOS. What's in the cards this year?

Well after forgetting, the only thing I could come up with was a Ranking List. In this case, we're going through all the main Disney Princess pairings and I will rank them from least favorite to favorite. I'm also going to count Frozen cause why not? However, this will NOT include Merida, Moana, and Elsa as they do not have any canonical love interests at the time of this writing. Also a note for Pocahontas, I am focusing this based simply on the context within the film. We know about the inaccuracies and such that I don't feel like going into here, so just be aware that I am talking about the pairing simply based on the in-film interpretation. And of course, these are just my opinions, so please take it all with a grain of salt.

Everything clear? Good. Then let's begin!

#11. Snow White/The Prince

Right at the bottom is the first ever Disney Princess romance. No, it has nothing to do with the whole 'he kissed her while she was asleep' argument. People have tried to demonize the film by saying the prince denied Snow White's consent and I could write a whole essay on why that's stupid... and I kinda sorta did a few years back. But The Prince is ultimately a plot device with little to no screentime and not even extended material to y knowledge has seemed to do much to further the relationship. The guy doesn't even have a name (Florian is the one I see pop up the most but IDK how official it is). It may be one of my very few fleeting hopes for the remake to explore like they did Cinderella.

That's pretty much my only complaint. It's fine. It's cute. I'm happy that Snow White is able to finally be happy after all the Hell the Queen put her through. But that's really all that I can say about it. It's just... a thing that exists cause we need the kiss to awaken Snow White. But hey, everything's gotta start somewhere and without this we wouldn't have had anything else. So it deserves our respect.

#10. Anna/Kristoff

Back when Frozen came out, it was praised for addressing and calling out Disney's cliched 'fall in love at first sight/marry a guy he girl just met' trope. It's meant to be against rushing romance, especially when you know absolutely nothing about the guy... and then proceeded to do precisely that with Anna and Kristoff. Oops. I think the two are cute and fit together, don't get me wrong. But Dear God their development is REALLy bad. It's very rushed and comes out of nowhere which I wouldn't have an issue with... but because the movie outright rubbed in our faces how you shouldn't do this and that is a bad thing, it makes it really hard to ignore. And trust me, I tried. And no, Anna waiting like... a day or so longer than with Hans doesn't excuse the execution. Really the whole message when taken as a critique of the there Princess films is incredibly problematic and outright inaccurate, but that's for another day.

I go back and forth on how much I like these two as a couple. You can even see how different my opinion was back when the film first came out. Anna is my favorite character while Kristoff is okay and gets more 'meh' as time passes. I watch them during the movie and like their interactions, but they come off more like bickering buddies than anything prior to them finding Elsa. Then Kristoff worries and cares for Anna... and then Fixer Upper happens and it feels even MORE forced. Then in Frozen II, Anna misunderstands Kristoff various times and ultimately ditches him without really any thought or care about it in order to support Elsa. Which is great, sisterly love and all and to be fair she did apologize, but it really shows how much the film really didn't care about their relationship. That's not going into how the movie in general treated Kristoff as useless with even Olaf being more relevant and like he was just there cause there would be questions about where he was otherwise. But then we get to him proposing and Anna's reaction and... God these two give me so many mixed signals.

If I have to accept that Frozen III is happening, I REALLY hope that they give Anna and Kristoff the treatment that they deserve. Because ironically in the first film's attempt to call out rushed romances, it created one itself with all the problems that it tried to criticize its predecessors over. It's far from the worst romance ever, it has a lot of cute moments and I do think that the two are a good match. I just need the films to realize that.

#9. Pocahontas/John Smith

As I said, we are going to just focus on how this is presented in the film and leave it at that. These two are... okay. Pocahontas is a film that legit gets me emotional and has since I was a kid. But looking back, even now knowing the actual history, I wonder '...why did this have to be a romance at all?'. I know they were going for a Romeo and Juliet vibe, but I feel like it may have been stronger had Pocahontas not been aged up and just became friends with John, ultimately willing to risk her own life to save him and stop the bloodshed. It would certainly cause fewer ugh... unfortunate implications, let's just say that.

I feel like I like the atmosphere and presentation more than the actual relationship. The film has so much beauty and Alan Mencken's score is just so beautiful. Whenever I watch everything from Pocahontas visiting John before his execution to the very last scene of her waving goodbye as the ship sails away... dang it, the emotions! You all have no idea how many times I've listened to the end credits version of If I Never Knew You. There is a reason I listed that as my Favorite Disney Love Song a few years back.

But once I finish the movie and get back down from the emotional high, I think it over and again go '...why is this a romance? did it really need to be?'. And I kind of just forget about it until I decide to put the movie on again. I can never bring myself to hate this film due to how it impacted me, though I acknowledge its problems and how upsetting it can be for people. But ultimately the romance is just forgettable at best to the point that I sometimes wonder if the second movie pairing Pocahontas with her RL husband John Rolfe really was that bad of a move. But best to not think too much more on that

#8. Aurora/Phillip

This is Snow White/The Prince done better. Not a surprise since the film reused some of the early ideas for Snow White, but still. Of the three original princesses, this is the best-done relationship. This may make you wonder why Cinderella ranks above it, but I'll go into that in that entry. So these two are cute. Phillip certainly proved his love by fighting Maleficent and her forces and by his kiss awakening Aurora. As I said above, the 'the kiss was non-consensual' argument is a non-issue for me and we're just gonna leave it at that.

There's not a lot more to say honestly. They had a bit more development in their meeting than Snow and her prince did, we have Phillip saving her, and... yeah that's it. I don't dislike them by any means. I can't think of any negative points aside from maybe it's rushed, but that was just the nature of things back then. It's a Hell of a lot better than how it goes in the original stories. I like it better than the other three I already listed, just not as much as the seven below. That's really it. Sometimes you just like something cause you do, nothing wrong with that.

#7. Mulan/Shang

You would think that this would be near the top considering that Mulan is my favorite movie of all time. But I never loved it due to its romance, which while not irrelevant is a side-element compared to it being so major in the other seven previous films. Mulan isn't driven by love like Aladdin and Aurora, nor is it love at first sight like Snow White and Cinderella. She meets Shang while posing as a boy and he's her commanding officer. Before we go further, for this film at least Shang being Mulan's superior is a non-issue, especially since nothing happens until Mulan's out of the military anyways.

These two are cute. They start off simply as commander and trainee and Shang is frustrated with 'Ping', even kicking 'him' out. But Mulan refuses to give up and earns Shang's respect, and even friendship. She outright risks her life to save him during the avalanche despite being injured, that's nothing to sneeze at. She's clearly crushing on Shang and Shang may be crushing on 'Ping', I'm not very qualified to go into that since I honestly never saw it. His feelings get more complicated after discovering the truth and he's upset... but it doesn't last too long with him ultimately trusting and accepting Mulan and her abilities. Then we get awkward Shang at the end and it just cracks me up XD

We end the film with the early signs of them forming a relationship and being able to get to know each other. Shang gets to know Mulan as she truly is. Mulan gets to know Shang away from the battlefield and from him being her captain. Mulan II focused on them getting engaged... and that's all I wanna say about it. Yeah, as much as I love Mulan and like the two fine, the romance meant very little to me over the focus on finding one's true self. But I know that especially for the bisexual crowd, Shang was so important to people and this relationship in turn means something to people. And that is a beautiful thing. But for me they're good and they rank above the others cause it's Mulan.

#6. Belle/Beast

There was a time when I was indifferent to the film, let alone the romance that is at the heart of it. But now that I'm older and especially seeing all the arguments about them from all sides, those times have changed. I love them. Are they perfect? No. Beast is a temperamental brat who only wants Belle's love to break the spell. Belle is there only because she took her father's place and wants nothing to do with the Beast and his behavior. It seems like they're a match made in Hell... but then something happens. They change. Belle, after the Beast saves her from the wolf, is grateful and ultimately tends to his wounds because she's just too kind, but still stands up for herself. Beast, touched by this kindness, finds he wants to return it and starts to experience happiness for what may be the first time in his life.

When it becomes clear that the Beast is a damaged person who despite his issues is able to make himself a better person is when things change. The Beast doesn't become kinder for Belle... well okay maybe a little but that's not the main thing. The Beast became kinder because of Belle, as shown when he gives up his chance to become human again so that Belle can rescue her father. Why? Because he loved her so much that he let her go. And Belle tried to defend the Beast from the village and returned to try and save him, proving how much she'd grown to care for him.

The Beast gave Belle the one thing that she wanted: to be loved for who she was. Not because of her beauty. Not as some kind of trophy. But because the Beast genuinely loved her. A love that she returned and thus freed the Beast from the curse. It's such a beautiful love story. Is it for everyone? No. As much as I've disagreed with some of the arguments, I can see why the Beast's behavior may make people uncomfortable and how it may enforce an 'I can change them!' mindset even if indirectly. But I think that this is that kind of story done well with Belle never letting the Beast treat her poorly and the Beast taking it upon himself to change. They bring out the best in each other and earned their happy ending. And when it comes to tales as old as time, that's all I could ever want.

#5. Cinderella/Prince Charming

Some of these rankings were due to movie preferences. Chances are I would have ranked Aurora/Phillip above Mulan/Shang, but since I had similar feelings about both it boiled down to me liking Mulan more than Sleeping Beauty. Which is why Cinderella/Charming ended up here in Number Five. Let's face it, they have a similar issue as Snow/The Prince with Charming IDT ever having an on-screen name until the live-action remake. If I was counting the remakes I would use Ella/Kit's relationship as a justification for the placement and it may have even been higher, but I'm not so ah well.

Some of it boils down to nostalgia. Cinderella was one of the first movies I ever saw and is very special to me. Another big reason is what the relationship means for Cinderella herself. Cinderella endured significant emotional abuse, but always found a way to remain kind. Especially after her step-family destroyed her mother's dress, seeing her at the ball and just so happy as she dances with the prince is beautiful. And Charming looking up, seeing her, and forgetting about everything else as he personally approaches her, especially with how bored he'd been with all the girls going up to him? Perfection. 100% perfection.

Sadly, Charming has the same issue as Snow White's prince in being more of a plot device than an actual character, hence why I can't rank this higher. To Disney's credit they have given Charming a few moments of characterization in other works such as the DTV films, the third one especially doing him a LOT of good. But even without it, sometimes you just like a ship because you like seeing the one-half happy. Seeing Cinderella happy and loved at long last? How could I ask for anymore reason to love these two?

#4. Ariel/Eric

These two are adorable and I love them. Is it another fast-paced one? Yeah, although at least we kind of have a justification for it. Speaking of said justification. Yes, Ariel made a rash decision in becoming human. Does that make her and Eric's relationship bad? No. Eric is what Ariel always imagined about humans. He's friendly, brave, and outright risks his life to save his dog. Who wouldn't fall for that? He's also the first human that Ariel got to see up close and thus she becomes infatuated. Chances are it would have stayed like that if her father didn't take the actions that he did and Ursula used Eric as the catalyst for Ariel taking the deal.

When we finally get the two to interact, it's just adorable. Ariel is living out her dream with her crush. Eric, although infatuated with the mermaid that saved him, is nothing but kind to Ariel. He, a royal who could leave Ariel with anyone else and leave it at that, takes what he thinks is a shipwrecked mute girl back to his home and gives her the royal treatment just because he's a good man. The two's interactions are just so cute with Ariel being so excited and expressive even without her voice and Eric being won over. It's just... dang it they're so cute!!! AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!

Is the pairing perfect? No. I get it, it's rushed and overly idealistic. Do I care? No. It's a Disney Fairy Tale. I'm here for the warm fuzzies, not cynical reality. And these two ALWAYS give me the warm fuzzies. It's at Number 4 only because I think the Top 3 have more development between the pairings, but it's still in one of the top spots. People will likely always criticize the movie for Ariel and her decisions and I guess we'll see if the remake addresses those things. But for me, I'll always love these two and getting to be a part of their world.

#3. Tiana/Naveen

This could have easily been a miss. Tiana's an independent working woman aiming for her dreams, sacrificing any free time and personal life to do so. Naveen is a spoiled playboy who loves to party and has no sense of responsibility which has caused him to be cut off and left to his own devices. They are such opposite personalities. It would be so easy to make us hate their interactions and make the pairing seem forced. But despite how fast-paced it is, it doesn't feel forced at all.

Not only is it fun to watch these two bicker and clash over their differing lifestyles, but they really did need each other. Naveen needed Tiana to realize his flaws and find the initiative to both take responsibility and have the drive to care for someone outside himself. Tiana needed Naveen to realize that there's more to life than just working and to see that even if she can't reach her dream she has what she needs: love. It's so cute when the two start to bond and start to realize what the other person needs, willing to sacrifice their own needs for that person. They even accept being frogs when it seems they've lost their chance, happy that they can be together.

As I said it's very fast-paced. It's kind of a common trend in the Disney Princess films directed by John Musker and Ron Clements. Yet they somehow do it SO freakin' well. Like I said it was so easy to screw this pair up, but Tiana and Naveen are well-written characters who don't cross the line into annoying and their development comes off as more funny and sweet than annoying. They're great and I love them~!

#2. Aladdin/Jasmine

I adore them so much. I can say that about most of these, but these two? IDK what it is. Maybe it's A Whole New World. Maybe it's the beautiful magic carpet ride along the night sky. I don't know, but I know I love it. Aladdin's a street rat who wants to be seen as more. Jasmine is a princess who just wants her freedom. When the two meet it's love at first sight. Their interactions are so cute and natural and their chemistry just sparks instantly. Despite being from completely different worlds, they connect to feeling trapped in their lives and it's just so beautiful and God I love it~!

The only issue is Aladdin feels unworthy because he's a street rat and Jasmine is obligated by law to marry a prince. Thus once he gets the lamp, he decides to lie and act like he thinks a prince would. What goes horribly wrong as Jasmine is no prize to be won. She liked Aladdin because he treated her as a person and related to her. As far as she's concerned, Prince Ali is just another stuck-up asshole who wanted her for her looks and money and she ain't having it. It's only when Aladdin drops the act and acts like himself that he starts to win Jasmine over, even if he still lies once she figures out he was the same boy she met before.

Once the truth is revealed and Aladdin proves himself by saving the kingdom, the two are free to be together. Aladdin chooses to be true to himself. Jasmine is given the freedom to choose who she wants to love. Jasmine loves Aladdin because he loves her for her. Aladdin loves Jasmine because of her independence and beauty inside and out. It's again a very fast romance, arguably the biggest offender of the 'love at first sight and makes bad decisions due to it' argument (which ironically Aladdin is probably THE most guilty protagonist of this yet he never gets heat unlike the girls, but that's all I'll say). But I don't care. They are adorable and the extended material, DTVs, and the series only made me love them more. I recommend the episode The Secret of Dagger Rock where you get to see what happens when you both kidnap Jasmine's man AND make her mad. You'll NEVER question why Aladdin fell for her when you see that XD

As much as I love these two, there was only one real choice for number one. And it wasn't even close. You all know what it is.

#1. Rapunzel/Eugene

I normally hate going for the obvious, but sometimes there's a reason that it's... well, the obvious. I love these two together so much. Admittedly that can be blamed on the series to some degree, which also really helped Aladdin and Jasmine be in the number two spot. But even discounting that I just love their relationship so much. It starts off as hilarious then becomes sweeter and sweeter until by the end you're bawling your eyes out from sadness then from pure happiness.

Rapunzel is a sheltered girl wanting to see beyond her tower. Eugene, going by Flynn Ryder, is a thief pretending to be something he's not. When the two meet at first Rapunzel has him agree to take her to see the lanterns and Flynn is trying to trick her into giving back the crown he stole. But ultimately they start to bond with Flynn revealing his true name and Rapunzel letting him know about her magic hair, Rapunzel is finally able to connect with someone away from Mother Gothel and Eugene is able to be himself and trust someone after only being with himself for so long.

There are just so many beautiful moments after that. The two having fun in the kingdom with Eugene going out of his way to ensure that Rapunzel has the best time imaginable. The two talking about dreams and finding a new one. The entire I See the Light sequence, which is one of the most beautiful Disney moments ever. Then the ending where Rapunzel is willing to be locked away by Gothel forever just to save Eugene. Eugene, despite dying slowly and painfully, cuts Rapunzel's hair to free her. "He chooses that over his own life"You were my new dream." Just... just everything oh my God. Now, of course, Eugene survives and the two get their happily ever after, and out of all of the happily ever afters, theirs feel the most powerful and it only got better in the series.

Just talking about it now makes me emotional. It's just so beautiful and pure and everything I dream of when it comes to love. These are two people that found what they needed in each other and they're both willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for the other's sake. It's done in such a fun yet beautiful way and I just love them. I know I've said that about almost all of these, but this one? Aside from Mickey and Minnie, this is the best romance that Disney has ever done bar none. It is my favorite of the Disney Princess romances and while I know to never say never, it's gonna be tough to ever top this one.

And that's all for this year! Hopefully next year I won't forget. Maybe I'll finally do a new version of that Top 10 OPT list, we'll see. But thank you all for reading and have a Happy Valentine's Day~!

[catsafari25]

Okay so I've finally seen Wish, which was a trip after all the talk I've seen about the villain being Right.

Because I can see what ppl mean about not granting all wishes willy nilly but, like, I felt there was more of an emphasis on the king not allowing ppl to take their wishes back? It was less "you should grant all wishes" and more "if you know you're not going to grant them, you should return them to their owners so ppl can pursue them themselves"

Idk perhaps it comes from the worldbuilding, the magic especially, being fairly thin. It feels like the rules for how wish magic works are just there to make the magic do what the writers need it to do, rather than being a cohesive plot detail. How much control does the king have over how the wishes are granted? What is inherently bad about the evil magic? If stars grant wishes then why can't Star? Do people develop new wishes as they get older? Why do ppl only have One Wish fully formed by 18?

Plus I thought the film was going to end with a "you can't just rely on someone to magically make your dreams come true, you've gotta take responsibility for them" message, which it tries to, but then also makes Asha a fairy godmother, so ppl can still just have their wishes magically granted??

(I have other issues with the film, chiefly the lacklustre songs, the tragic backstory hinted and then dropped, the sometimes blinding or shoved-in references to other Disney movies, but the villain having a point wasn't the part that broke it for me. Idk I think Once Upon a Studio should have been the Disney homage, and Wish allowed to be its own story)

[life-in-toontown]

That last reblog just made me wanna clarify that I absolutely hate 90% of Disney’s direct-to-video sequels but I do still like Lion King 2, despite having several issues with it.

I admit maybe this is just because I’ve been so deep into the Lion King fandom since I was a kid that disliking TLK 2 despite having so many problems either it just feels impossible lmao.

As for the problems, well first off there’s the one mentioned in the last reblog about how Scar having an heir that isn’t biologically related to him wouldn’t benefit him, but of course you can’t make him Scar’s bio son because that would make Kiara his cousin which means instead of their Love Song being “Upendi” it would instead be “Sweet Home Alabama”.

Also, where did Zira and the Outsiders come from? Yes you could say they were just background lionesses in Mufasa’s pride that remained loyal to Scar but then why weren’t they helping protect Scar once Simba came back and challenged him for the throne? I know the answer is “because the sequel wasn’t planned yet and they were worked on by two separate teams” but STILL, if you’re a person who completely accepts everything in TLK 2 as canon then it’s kinda hard to explain this one.

Also since Scar isn’t Kovu’s father then who is? And when did Zira have time to meet a male lion, mate with him then show her cub to Scar to convince him to let him become his heir? And what about Nuka and Vitani? I have seen a theory that Vitani is actually NALA’S daughter with the implication that the scene where Scar tries to seduce her (which was cut from the movie but used in the Broadway show) had a more horrific ending where Scar impregnated her and somehow Zira ended up adopting her. And while I do love that as a “what if” AU, I don’t consider it canon myself.

Now I’m gonna leave the massive plot holes for now and focus on little character pet peeves that annoyed me:

First of all, Timon and Pumbaa weren’t funny at all in this one. Like they’re one of Disney’s most iconic gay couples comedy duos but they were so “meh” in this. One time I did a screenshot redraw of them to resemble the art style from the first movie and in the description I added a rewrite of ways they could’ve been used better which I’ll link here just for funsies:

And now onto Nala. She was a strong character in the first film, leaving her home by herself to look get help, wasn’t afraid to call Simba out for refusing to go back to Pride Rock, plus she helped fight off the hyenas with the other lionesses. In the sequel? Well she popped a baby out which means now her only character trait is Supportive Wife and Mom. She only showed up to occasionally say “Hey Simba, chill out man, Kiara’s totally gonna be fine, stop worrying” then leave. Yes I know this was a father/daughter story but that doesn’t mean Nala has to be reduced to a robot that’s only capable of repeating phrases letting Simba know things will be fine.

And lastly maybe this one is just me, but I kinda wish Nuka as a tragic character was portrayed more. Yes I know his death scene was absolutely heartbreaking and yes you can tell he was jealous of Kovu getting his mother’s love but he was mainly just goofy comic relief. And I actually don’t mind him having funny moments but idk, I wish the tragic side of him was explored more before his death scene. Idk, maybe this one’s just me lmao.

So after all this you’re probably thinking “Wow are you sure you like Lion King 2? It sounds like you hate everything about it”

And like…I mean…I do but…can’t I also fantasize about how it could be better??

[marciabrady]

I completely agree on Belle, I actually don't dislike her as much as I used to but my gosh her stans used to be the worst. Always going after the previous 4 princesses esp Snow White who is a literal angel. But I was wondering do you see Mulan being treated a similar way as Belle by fans? No doubt Mulan is 100x more accomplished but Disney and her fandom both treat the other heroines like garbage to lift her up in the same way I've noticed people do for Belle. which I don't get because Mulan herself doesn't have a problem with other women!!

Totally agree! The Disney Princess franchise has weathered so many attacks against people who hate anything inherently feminine and I think the brand heads are still trying to reel from the damage control they tried to do in the 2000s and 2010s, which was essentially prop up the masculine and combative princesses and diss the classics the company was built upon.

The Mulan topic is interesting because I like Mulan fine, and her fans aren't as bad as Belle fans...but I think she and Tiana are misunderstood. They're well rounded characters with an arc and visible flaws that make them human, but possess so many redeeming qualities, and they're actual people with shortcomings and also things about them that are great, etc, but their fans glorify them and make them into these Mary Sues that have no issues and idk I just feel like it takes away from who they are and fans always end up focusing on the wrong aspect of said princess. Like, Mulan wasn't obsessed with combat from day 1 and this badass girl that did whatever she wanted. She was someone who was willing to enter an arranged marriage to appease her family, someone who was clumsy and didn't know her place in the world, someone who didn't have tact in her interpersonal relationships- but her love for her father and her wit in the strategic way she approached battle and her determination is what should be applauded. We shouldn't be rewarding her because she was naturally the best fighter on the field- but because she overcame her natural shortcomings (when compared to the men she was up against that were physically more competent than her in the beginning) and, through sheer grit, she managed to rise above it all. Also, because she's a fascinating blend of masculinity and femininity. Tiana's another good example- fans prop her up for being a "girl boss" and embodying grind culture, when that's who she was before her arc. Her story became complete once she realized hard work would only take her half the way and she needed to remember the love she had in her heart for her father and the people around her and to keep the hope alive that her father instilled in her as a child, with things like wishing upon the evening star.

I think in the case of these two princesses, though,they largely are misunderstood because the shift in Princess marketing in the past couple of years is to put certain princesses in front of us more than others- Moana, Belle, Mulan, Tiana, and Merida are given priority imo- and I think they try to group them together in the pre-arc versions of themselves and tell the masses that they're whatever values we deem as more important in our current vernacular of what it means to be a "strong" woman but it generally is removed from how the characters were in their films and the princesses are just kinda used as mascots for whatever traits are popular at any given time.

[adrianasunderworld]

Someone brought up Prince Florian slander and I am here for it! I really don’t like him. Yes Disney romances usually have an age gap. But take Philip and Aurora there’s only a four year age difference between them, which might be cringy to some people but like… It’s not that bad? Like at least when their parents arranged the marriage he probably understood the situation as much as baby Aurora since he either just turned four or was three so… Also Cinderella’s is 19 and her prince is 21. Two years, pretty normal…

Florian is out here at thirty one saying his heart belongs to a 14 year old girl….

I remember in one of my writing classes a classmate presented a short story where Florian was there to court Queen Grimhilde and instead of praising her, she looks outside and sees him instead saw him proclaiming his heart to her step-daughter… I think about that once a month or so… just… just why does that work so well? Even in the Disney Snow White…

Also!

Most of the princes do something?! Like Philip saved Aurora, Cinderella’s prince tried to look for her- what did Florian do? Show up after the Dwarfs built her coffin- Didn’t event help put it together cause he only came to check out a rumor that the fairest maiden was in a glass coffin. My dude you rode in a month later with Starbucks and asked the people that did have jobs but agreed to give up those jobs so they could forever be by your one true loves side in death to open her coffin so you could kiss her…But sure… sing your one song, the Forrest animals and the dwarfs will be busy making the coffin and keeping vigil at her side, come see if she’s really dead when you get a chance…

I think most of the Disney age gaps are at most a 2-3 or 4 ish years. Which I'm not here to debate age gaps of fictional characters in the fictional past. But for the most part they are somewhat reasonable, it's just Snow White and Florian that is the weird outlier here. Which while we're on the subject, where the hell are these numbers coming from? Like in some movies they clearly state a characters age. Like Ariel stating she is sixteen. Or in more modern movies, like princess and the frog onwards we have official ages. But all the other ones feel like guess work. Unless the people worked on them have outright said it. I've heard the whole Florian being 30 thing is taken from some concept stuff but it was never official. Idk I would have to look it up. Also if it was, Disney has to have recon that and changed it by now, right? Idk but it is a weird choice regardless.

Even if the whole age thing was not a factor, it's almost sad, because Phillip is what they wanted Florian to be. But the animators didn't yet have the skill set to make him the hero they wanted. They originally wanted a whole side plot when the queen captures him, I think so he can't find snow or to force him to marry the queen or something. And then he escapes. But Snow White was their first feature length film. Before it was all the classic rubberhose animation style. So they were still figuring when they made the movie and found animating Florian too difficult and scrapped all that. And couple decades later, Phillip got everything. He got his capture and locked in a dungeon escape adventure that they wanted to do. Rip Florian.

Also I know people love to point out that Phillip and Florian kissed these girls without their consent. Which is valid to be uncomfortable with. But there is a big difference between the two. Merryweather, when she lessens the curse into a sleeping spell, she explicitly says it can only be undone with true loves kiss. All these powerful fairy ladies are telling him that's what he's gotta do to save the girl he loves. Wtf else do you want him to do? The platonic true love twist was not as popular in the 50s idk what you what you want me to tell you. Meanwhile Florian didn't know that. He didn't have that information that his kiss will wake her. All he knows is that girl he sang a song with once is in a glass coffin, and has been for a while. She's probably dead. "How shall I express my grief?... I shall kiss the corpse!" He has no context for anything going on, this is just what he decided to do. Florian is probably the Disney prince most deserving of slander. Because if you ever think about him for more than five minutes, he never comes out looking good. I can't defend him.

[noxiatoxia]

Hi! So I have a few things I wanted to say/ask so hopefully this isn't too long or out of place or anything

Okay so first off, you always reblog and say such nice things about my art in the tags and I wanted to say I appreciate it so much, I never know what to say but like you're the backbone of the hikakao community so it feels like a seal of approval in a way haha. And your art is so amazing like, damn! I love it sm. Kaoru has been my fav character for nearly a decade so I love seeing that its not just me he has a grip on, and as an autistic person myself who loves princesses’ and specifically Cinderella… well your hc means a lot to me haha. Oh and your hanahaki fic??? I ugly cried. SO damn good like the characterizations… one of the best Hikakao fics I've read on god

So I kinda wanted to ask two things, first being if you had to choose for the other hosts to have a fav princess who would it be? Im personally very partial to Tamaki loving Belle, given the like french beauty and romanticism of it all, plus her giving herself up for the safety of a parent connection. I like the idea of him being kinda dumb and taking it as you need natural inner AND outer beauty, which he oh so obviously has in spades and that kind of nonsense. Idk I was just curious if you'd have an opinion on this as ive been giving it some thought lately. Especially on Hikaru, I think he would like a more down to earth princess that doesn't have too much frills or singing in the film, like Merida because it's the most adventurous one without character songs if you're just going off disney. But idk I feel like another princess would suit him better, I just can't think of one rn

Second was if you had any thoughts or analysis of how the maid the twins had when they were young impacted them and their development? And more importantly how it impacted them each differently? Like obviously her saying no one may ever be able to tell them apart fucked with their heads, but like idk. Ive been thinking about it. And what if they never met her, and she never said that? Would they of been less warped? I think they'd just meet someone else who they liked who couldn't tell them apart, who'd just say the same thing in a different way. But how key was her betrayal of trust during a high stakes robbery of their parent's estate to all this? Im just musing at this point lmao

Oh also less an ask but I personally hc Kaoru to dissociate and the like frequently, and how maybe them being in sync all the time in their mannerisms really helps him with his autopilot moments, and Hikaru is always ready and able to catch him up to speed on what's happening and what they just did, if its something he would care to know that is. And I hc Hikaru as bipolar, his depression just manifests really angerly instead of traditional sadness. But my point is I love the idea that they're just so used to the other that any mentally ill or neurodivergent behavior one of them does the others just like “Oh yeah Kaorus just like that. You know how it is. What do you mean you don't know anyone afraid of hairdryers? Like legit afraid? Yeah no thats just a thing. Hmm. Well you should get over it it's his fear not yours I dont see how it concerns you.” and like gets defensive if anyone tries to say it's weird lmao

Okay that was long oops I hope this wasn't out of place or weird or anything, I got excited talking about it haha. Hope all is going well!!

THIS IS SO FUCKING SWEET YES!!! I WAS DRAWING HIKAKAO RIGHT AS YOU SENT THIS ASK TOO BTW.... i was htinking like, should i post this... theres kissing..... but then i remember why it's so rewarding to do what I love <3 really and truly. I've met SO many incredibly kind, creative, and thoughtful people through hikakao it's insane. And tbh it makes me want to never stop posting about them even if it nets me hate every now and again LMAO it's just, stuff like this is irreplaceable to me. And I LOVE your art!!!!!! It's SO cute... the picture of Kaoru dressed as cinderella made me legit scream. I sent it to all my friends and showed it to my brother haha. The whole Kaoru/Cinderella headcanon is very personal to me as you can probably gather from my carriage posting. so whenever I see it I go nuts (in a good way. it not destructive).

I think it's very funny (in a good way) that you already had a special interest in princesses, esp Cinderella. For me, it's like...I can NOT look at anything Cinderella related normally anymore because I'm reminded of the carriage allegory, and yet we have Cinderella movie nights every thursday now because of me...I describe my relationship with Cinderella as "stockholm syndrome" because i legit didn't care about or really even know Cinderella before all this went down, but now she is my Worst Enemy but Best Friend and if anybody says Cinderella is mid I'm blowing up another hostage.

Also!!! Thank you so much about the fic!!! While looking back I feel like there are def things I could improve on, I do really like that fic. As somebody who's personally arospec, I have trouble writing the "feelings" of romance so I tried my best. I have other Hikakao adjacent stories I'm writing and I wanna post them here!!!

Okay, onto the questions...firstly, YES, Tamaki DOES seem like the type to love Belle. He may also enjoy Rapunzel and her whole being held captive her whole life because maybe he feels the same way with his own family situation. Haruhi strikes me as a little mermaid type, no real reason, I just get that vibe. Although Kyoya probably relates to the original fairytale of the little mermaid in some ways for sure. I actually HC Mori's favorite movie is Beauty and the Beast, so he's probably also really into Belle. As for Hani, I'm not sure...Giselle, maybe. He likes her whimsy.

Hikaru is interesting, because I feel like he's like Me in which he HATES Cinderella because he has to hear about it 24/7 but if ANYBODY said anything mean about cinderella he'd be like...you bitch...you take that BACK. Altho I have this headcanon that Hikaru's favorite princess is Alice from Alice in Wonderland (tho she really isn't a "princess") because he always liked that movie better. Kaoru would cry as a kid tho when Hikaru said he thought that movie was better so he pretended to like Cinderella more. But he doesn't. Merida tho...that's a very good choice, I can defff seeing Hikaru being a big Merida fan.

So, to the second question: it's very interesting! What stood out about that maid to Hikaru and Kaoru was the fact she was mean to them. being raised as rich and "better" than everyone else, all the maids HAD to be nice or they got fired pretty much, so to see a maid go against that status quo, to treat them honestly...that's why they liked her so much.

If anyone else had said "nobody will be able to tell you two apart", would it have hurt? sure. But it wouldn't be devastating, because they likely wouldn't care about that person's opinion. but they liked this maid, they looked up to her in a weird way. Having somebody you like and trust tell you something hurtful is way more harmful than if a stranger did it.

Now...would they be LESS twisted if it never happened? I doubt it. I mean, maybe they'd be LESS focused on looking identical, but they would still be rather cruel and mischievous, because that's how they were simply raised: they were raised being taught their actions have no consequences, because they're better than everyone else. Simple by being "Hitachiins", they had a pass to do all sorts of nasty shit to people because they were rich and powerful. Besides, canonically, their mom & dad were barely in their lives, and child neglect causes the children to act out to get attention, usually via things that would get them scolded. So, while they miiight not have been AS keen on matching had that maid never said what she did before leaving them forever, they would probably be just as mean and cruel.

To le third point: YES that is so good. Kaoru very much dissociates in my heart of hearts as well. He has days on end where he doesn't feel like he's in his own body, everything's sort of a blur, he can't remember things well...Hikaru's there for him in those moments at least.

I always saw Hikaru and Kaoru as ADHD/Autism solidarity. But bipolar is an interesting one, too. I could def see it.

Also the hairdryer thing FUCKING RELATABLE...I'd think Kaoru is "afraid" of hairdryers/thunder - just really fucking loud noises that are sudden and/or unceasing. They don't make him "cower" necessarily but like, he gets super jittery/irritated because he gets overwhelming anxiety from it. Hikaru as a kid probably didn't understand why his brother acted so strangely to certain sights/sounds/touches, and maybe at first teased him about it, but when it was clear these things actually DISTRESSED Kaoru he stopped and did everything he could to make him feel better. and if anybody makes fun of kaoru for it Hikaru beats the shit out of them.

This was super nice ;w; I love receiving long asks, asks about ouran and the twins especially. legit if you ever wanna talk about them u can send an ask or DM me you seem really nice!!

[irregularcollapse]

i was watching the movies that made us ep about alien (ik ik ignore it) and they shot it at shepperton studios in surrey, and sigourney weaver was reflecting on how hilarious it was that the local crew would insist on taking a tea break at the same time every day. like it was this big ha ha moment, silly brits and their tea! totally ignoring that it’s fucking labour laws. james cameron tried to get them to work through, incredulous that they’d want to take their legally mandated break. they’re called worker’s right, james. sigourney my girl you’re entitled to a break as well.

i read sharon stone’s memoir the other day and she also talked about working 23 hour days without a break because she agreed to waive her lunch break for the day — because that’s apparently a thing you can ask an employee to do. and when she did take a lunch break, it was half an hour that included getting hair/makeup/costuming fixed if they were filming at the time, so she could be ready to go right back to set when her half hour was up. which, if you ask me, is still work time technically. and she was probably getting paid more than the crew (though not as much as her male costars).

some film industry professions are unionised. some aren’t. there is a union for actors, but not all actors are members. we all know about the liberties disney/marvel are taking with cgi crew bc they aren’t union. regardless, even when the crew are unionised, they probably come up against some pretty strong busting practices. idk i don’t really have a point except that the us film and tv industry has collective brainrot and their unions probably aren’t doing enough tbqh. i feel like worker’s rights should be a good enough reason to sacrifice our constant, rolling access to new entertainment. just take longer to make the movie it’ll be fine

(ps research and join your relevant union if you haven’t already, no matter what industry you’re working in ✌️)

[the-invisible-queer]

Not sure what was in the water last night but I also dreamed of Nick being violent lol. In my dream the guys were suing their manager/team for some reason I don’t remember, so they were going to court all together. There were a bunch of people waiting outside the courthouse for them, some fans (including me apparently) trying to show support I guess but also a bunch of paps filming and shouting questions and stuff, just generally being invasive. As they were walking by one of the paps made a snarky comment to Joe about how he just can’t stay out of court or something, and Nick just instantly got super mad and grabbed the guy’s camera from him while yelling at him to leave Joe alone, and when the guy tried to grab it back Nick just fucking decked him in the face lmao. The guy punched back and then they just started like fully brawling on the ground in front of the courthouse, surrounded by a huge crowd of people just standing there watching/filming/taking pictures. Kevin and a security guard were trying to pull them apart while Joe was just kinda standing there watching in shock and then I woke up. So that was weird and dramatic lol. On one hand I want to say it’s sweet that Dream Nick was so fiercely protective of Joe even though the dude’s comment wasn’t even that bad lol but on the other hand…maybe he does need anger management classes 💀

HONESTLY

Them be fighting words because I'd fucking fight a bitch for speaking out of turn like that to Joe too

So Nick is valid

It's just disrespectful

Especially if that dream takes place anywhere near the divorce

Nick and Joe are best friends and you know literal brothers so it makes sense that Nick would get protective

I've seen Nick hug Joe more on The Tour than like the whole 17 years I've been paying attention to them

Kevin being damage control and trying to break it up is on brand

Joe staring in shock is a little off brand I feel like he'd tell Nick to leave it alone and wrap his arm around hom to physically remove him from the situation before it got out of hand

But Nick really said keep my brother's name out yo fucking MOUTH as he SHOULD

Idk what's with the aggressive Nick dreams

I don't see him like that AT ALL

At worst I see him as an unapologetic asshole sometimes but that's me projecting my bad experiences with Virgo men on him

I don't think any of the three of them are like that or have the ability to be like that

I mean they were raised pentecostal Christian and homeschooled I'm surprised they ever learned how to socialize before the Disney era

NOW FRANKLIN

If it came out tomorrow that Franklin got into a fight I'd be unphased

He gives me brings brass knuckles to a fight vibes like Franklin gives me Jersey guy ready to fight when he needs to vibes over the other three

And I can see Franklin fighting someone if they said disrespectful to his brothers because he still sees them as his heroes and us a bigger ride or die Jonas Brothers fan than ANYONE

Franklin is THE #1 JB stan wholeheartedly