#NO ONE TALKS ABOUT THESE MOVIES OR BOOKS ANY MORE IM SO MAD

[starshipstories]

*pleading with the void* I'll pay you $5 to talk about The Scarlet Pimpernel with me 😭🙏

[chocsra]

✧ more personal chuuya hcs !!

✧ appearence hcs:

has a small small face

long, naturally curled, luscious eyelashes

soft and silky ass hair

very smooth, soft looking ivory skin

repping mestiso community, described as beautiful and unique

he actually glows in like any good lighting, golden hour does him best

his beauty is like majestic but gets called pretty a lot

bones did him soo wrong, he has toned sleeper build guys trust

naturally low-lided, sleepy eyes

he has really pretty brown eyes

has russet hair, NOT a ginger, he's more of a reddish brunette

slim, large hands that are really attractive

SNATCHED waist

he has a few pretty freckles

old money aesthetic

90s hot.

my personal hc is that his appearence comes from some sort of european descent, be it french or spanish blood that made his features so unique

looks so unreal that he looks otherworldly or like a doll; alien beauty

his skin reminds you of porcelain; this man's skin is mad flawless

ties his hair up at home into either a manbun or ponytail

has an 8+ step skincare routine..

has a super raspy voice in the morning/night

always takes his gloves off in the cuntiest manner - either biting the fingertips off one by one or that one manga panel where he bites the wrist part

whines when he stretches and it always catches u off guard

✧ crack/general hcs:

dances like hyunjin from skz (knows how to and practices his moonwalk)

bro is a WHEEZER when he genuinely laughs, he also feels the need to say ur not funny to keep ur ego in check when he is in fact laughing his ass off

when yall are laughing ur ass off (drunk or not) just know yall will be collasping on the floor feeling the six pack coming in

rip chuuya - you would've loved making electric guitar thirst traps on tiktok

he LOVES rollarcoasters or anything with a kick to it tbh (fast car or motorcycle rides) bc he loves gravity dzuh, but yknow what he CANT take??

them seats in the movie theatre where they move according to the movie, he gets way too invested in movies and the seats moving like crazy fries his brain (IM SORRY IF U DONT KNOW WHAT IM TALKING AB, THEYRE CALLED DBOX)

he ofc has a weakness for dogs but if he ever tries to feed a stray cat and it runs away or hisses he gets a little sassy and hisses back

sleeps like a dying victorian child. you walked onto him sleeping once and contemplated on calling a priest

one of those people who have copies of the same clothing item, or they're like barely any different. you see his hat rack and he gets offended bc "all his hats are completely different"

he scoffs a lot

starts chasing you if you ever MENTION the times when he was 15 (has made cringy youtube diss tracks with dazai, lost the login, now that videos up forever..)

if you're short like him and tell a story complaining about how ppl call u short, he gets personally offended FOR you

likes reading books but they vary from sophisticated novels to books like "HOW TO STAND ON BUSINESS?!?!"

his spice tolerance is wild, even if he can't actually take it he still will to prove a point

since his voice is pretty guttural whenever he has a voice crack while speaking you both pause and look at each other in silence before you laugh and he just goes "shut up.. shut up.. 😒"

he likes to mock ppl (lovingly) w higher voices like higuchi (especially when shes talking ab aku) bc it's older brother vibes and their reactions are always priceless

✧ chocsra™

[nvvacanesworld]

OLDER BOYFRIEND JJK MEN!- a series ♥︎

♡pairing- older bf! toji x preschool teacher! reader≧◡≦

♡contains-mentions of kissing and touching, mentions of toji having a closet full of weapons, mentions of pda , preschooler megumi :) (awww)

an- if you see quotes it means just means those were direct words you guys said. I thought i should make that clear cause my friend said it was confusing for her. Anywho enjoy :) im a new writer so im always welcome to feedback just pls don’t be mean. Enjoyyyyy(๑•́ ₃ •̀๑)

stranger!toji - who first met you at open house for his kid- megumi, you were going to be his home room teacher. He was honestly sick of the shit and wanted to go home until you opened your classroom door for the parents with a sweet smile on your face beckoning them to come in and take a seat.

megumis dad!toji - someone you didn’t really think much of at first, if you were being honest he looked scary and you were shocked when he stayed behind after the other parents left to talk to you one on one, leaving megumi to color by himself while you guys had a chat by your desk

megumis dad!toji- doesn’t know why he stayed after, he decided on a whim- like he does with basically every decision in his life- that he just need to talk you. Using the excuse that he wanted to know more about you, which wouldn’t have been a lie-if he didn’t say it was for megumis sake, when it was really for him.

megumis dad!toji -who you lose track talking to, you don’t know what made him so interesting. Maybe it was his gruff exterior, and how he kept slipping in flirty remarks to you. You didn’t notice how you guys had almost been talking for 45 minutes until megumi comes up to his dad pulling on his pant leg whining about how he wanted to go home.

megumis dad!toji- who makes it so obvious how much older he is than you when instead of using the number you gave all the parents to contact you with decides you to send you a email instead. But hey, he needed to talk to you someone. Using his son as an excuse per usual he would ask “how is megumi doing in school” and if “there was any behavior that needed correcting”

megumis dad!toji- who you start to see way more often then you thought you would. Always being the first at the school and last to leave just so he can talk to you longer but hey? it’s for little gumi, which is how during about the second quarter of school he asked out to dinner, to which you accepted because you weren’t dumb and you were starting to like him to, you thought it was really cute how he would do whatever he could to see you. Maybe he has a softer side

crush!toji - couldn’t remember a time where he has been nervous to see a girl. He doesn’t know what flipped switched in him but he was outside of you door and wished the world would swallow him whole. It’s not like he showed it though, still keeping that gruff expression which made you attracted to him in the first place.

crush!toji - who takes you to the most beautiful restaurant you have ever scene. When’s the last time you’ve been treated to something like this ? just walking into this place felt like a dream, and you could tell it cost him a pretty penny too.

crush!toji - who was so mature and respectful the whole night, he held the door for you when you guys walked in making sure he held your hand, pulled your chair out for you and made sure you were comfortable before he sat, and don’t forgot him bring you a gift too which happened to be a book you loved that you mentioned in passing in one of you guys conversations.

crush!toji- who tried his best to keep up his good behavior but couldn’t take it when the waiter kept flirting you. He ended up grabbing your hand and escorting you out that kid had him so heated. He had to beg for you forgiveness in the car though when you got mad at him for ruining your meal and the good time you were having over a little jealousy.

crush!toji- who makes it up to you by inviting you to his house for a movie and dinner. That he cooked himself by the way. When you finally agree he drops Megumi off at Satorus and deep cleans the house. By the end of the date he is kissing you on the lips and asking you if he could "be your boyfriend". Very out of character for him, but you bring out a softer side even he doesn't recognize.

older bf!toji- who at the beginning of your relationship makes it obvious he expresses his feelings through actions and not his words. He isn't good with expressing how he feels causing you guys to fight sometimes. He always makes it up to you though by giving you gifts and taking you out on your lunch breaks.

older bf!toji- whose father tendencies, his urge to guide and provide, and how he can be stern with his teachings, sometimes leak into your relationship and how he treats you in the relationship. You've opened up to him about how it sometimes makes you feel like you are his child so he has put in effort to stop but they still sometimes jump out in certain instances.

older bf!toji- has such a sarcastic and sometimes dark humor humor. when he first expressed this side of himself to you you couldn't tell if he was serious or not because he said it with such a straight face. That doesn't mean he doesn't make you laugh though, once you got used to it he became one of the funniest people ever.

older bf!toji- has such a different taste in music and books and even films than you, always surprising you with bands he listens to that you've never even heard of. You do the same though introducing him to music and literature you're into that he's never heard of, always learning new things about each other.

older bf!toji- introduced you to his friends one day and although it's a smaller group than most they are all so different, but one thing they can all agree on is that you are perfect for Toji.

older bf!toji - surprises you with how much he likes to cook, you knew he could cook because of you guy's second date, or "redemption date" as he likes to call it, you just didn't expect him to always want to cook for you.

older bf!toji- is very reserved about his past, opening up to you sometimes when he's feeling extra vulnerable but doesn't like to dive into that part of himself, you did find a closet full of weapons though when you were snooping around one day. You wonder what thats about

older bf!toji- loves PDA, always touching you and kissing you not caring who is around, unless you guys are together at the school, you put a firm boundary on that saying "absolutely no touching" when you guys are in front of the kids and other parents.

older bf!toji- takes you to work while taking Megumi to school- who by the way absolutely loves you, it took some warming up to do when you were first introduced outside of school but with the right amount of love and patience you guys became best friends it’s one of the reasons why toji loves yo- loves taking you guys to work and school became the car rides are always so fun :)

older bf!toji- is such a homebody, opting to stay in the house instead of going out, but if you want to go out he'll make an exception.

older bf!toji - is so happy he met you, he thinks you make him a better man.

[henry-fox-biggest-stan]

I’ve seen someone else mention this, but I also wanted to talk about this

The erasure of queerness in the movie is something I definitely did not expect.

Sure, it’s a love story between two men, but grab Alex and Henry and make them a man and a woman, the movie doesn’t change much. Maybe monarchy instead of being homophobic and racist now it’s only racist, and they hate Alex not because he’s a man but because he’s brown. They kept it a secret because of monarchy’s racism, but love triumphs at the end. That’s why the movie didn’t hit as hard as the book. The movie is just some forbidden love movie, rwrb is a book where the main characters are in a forbidden relationship, but it’s not the whole point of the book.

Alex discovering his sexuality, Nora being bisexual, whatever Pez had going on, whatever June and Nora had going on, Alex learning about queer history, the historical lgbt love letters at the ends of their e-mails, all the references to queer history and literature, THE SHELTERS, monarchy’s homophobia (yes, it appears on the movie but it’s really glossed over. It doesn’t show just how homophobic they actually are in the book), Alex stating how he knows more about himself the more intimate (both in the sexual and non sexual sense) he is with Henry, Luna being gay and unapologetic about it and being exactly Alex’s queer role model, even before Alex knew he was queer himself, THE FUCKING SHELTERS

I’m so so mad about the shelters being missing.

Henry and Pez made shelters for lgbt youth, so they can never feel as alone as Henry once felt, so they can always have a safe space so they know there’s nothing wrong with them no matter what the adults in their life might say, no matter what the preacher or their classmates or the right wing politicians in their tv might say, where they can find hope, and friends, and a home if they never had one before, or at least, one where they could truly be themselves. The shelters are, I would say, crucial to Henry’s character development. He went from hiding, believing being gay was “the most unforgivable part of him”, not even trying to come out because he just succumbed to live an unhappy life in the closet, to someone who’s out, living with his boyfriend and running lgbt shelters with his best friend so young queer people can move past all the things he felt and believed time ago, so they know they are perfectly normal and loved and safe in there, as long as Henry and Pez are there they’re safe, they don’t have to hide anymore.

Henry became the queer elder he needed in his life when he was younger. The lgbt adult who could tell him than it would get better, no matter how bad it was at the moment, no matter if he couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, because it was there, he just had to hold on a bit more. Than there was absolutely nothing wrong with him.

Another thing than I seen changed than a normal person might not notice, but I did, because im obsessed, is the karaoke scene.

In the book, it takes place in something resembling a gay bar (maybe not exactly, but it’s full of queer people), and look at this

Three rounds of shots appear —one from a drunk bachelorette party, one from a herd of surly butch chicks at the bar, and one from a table of drag queens. They raise a toast, and Alex feels more welcomed than he ever has before, even at his family’s victory rallies.

Look again

and Alex feels more welcomed than he ever has before, even at his family’s victory rallies.

This book is about about finding community, finding yourself, finding love and letting yourself accept that love.

Do you think Alex in the movie has felt “more welcomed than he ever has before, even at his family’s victory rallies” at any point? Has he been with another queer person in the whole movie, except Henry, at all?? Because Nora’ sexuality was not mentioned at all no references nothing and with the whole Pez thing everyone could see Nora as just straight

Henry and Alex in the movie are kind of without community, alienated from it, they are, in my personal opinion, the kind of gay people republicans would consider “good gay people” who “don’t shove it on everyone’s faces and just wanna be left alone” (in the rwrb universe where they exist and are real not actual republican people watching the movie). They don’t really take a role on the community, in the book, Alex and Henry being queer is an important part of themselves, again, Alex feeling like he knows himself better, Henry whole internalized homophobia, their shared interest for lgbt history and literature, Henry and Pez making the shelters, etc etc meanwhile in the movie Alex and Henry just happen to be gay and bisexual, but it’s no deeper than that.

And don’t get me started on creating Miguel, a queer character, and making him the one to leak the e-mails or smth instead of a republican candidate

[softpine]

I just remembered you haven't seen Twilight but I'm going to ask anyway! Do you know what teams your characters would be? Like team Edward or Team Jacob? Oh! Actually I'm also curious what Fandoms would they be in? I recent realized im a Bielieber

oh i have seen the first twilight movie!! i just wasn't a fan. but it was my best friend's favorite series so i do know a lot about it! was anyone actually team jacob? he's like gale in the hunger games. the only reason anyone would actually prefer them is because they're Not the main love interest (sorry to any galeheads out there...)

anyway now i want to imagine what fandoms each of them would be in, so:

🎭 caroline: well, she's a great artist and a monster fucker.. i don't think i have to spell out what she was doing online fjkjsdsj and she loved comic books as a kid, so i feel like at the start of the MCU madness she was really hype and then she got more and more angry with the state of things

💬 beth: she's written some star trek fanfiction more highly researched than her master's thesis and she loved nsync because what is a baby dyke without her emotional support boy band / comphet crushes

🎸 danny: music is the obvious answer, but i'm not familiar with musical history so i can't go into detail 😭 but his dad introduced him to bob dylan and taught him how to play guitar, then he learned piano, then he taught himself how to produce his own music from scratch. this was in the 90s btw so it wasn't very easy to learn. also he used to seriously follow skateboarding

⛅ mikaela: she loved old school country music from female artists like tanya tucker, reba mcintire, loretta lynn, etc. she's less interested in modern country but she looooves shania twain. and she's worked nights (first as a bartender, then a nurse) for most of her life, so she got really into daytime soaps

🌲 asa: he's literally the only one on this list where i'm like...... stumped. he doesn't pay attention to anything online, celebrities, music (he'll listen to whatever), movies (doesn't care), could never commit to watching a whole tv show, etc. he's very floaty and daydreamy? lmao he just doesn't have the headspace to get attached to fictional media like that

🎥 finn: we know he's always been a harrison ford fan boy and in any universe where he survives past the 80s he's a huge nirvana fan!! (if he and jules had a son, they would've named him kurt... he's deeply serious) he's also read every stephen king book that came out while he was alive. he was a big reader in general, particularly horror

🧸 stevie: canon seth rogen super fan, has seen every adam sandler movie (every last one of them) and i knowww she knows the fnaf lore... as soon as she finishes a show/movie she likes to find the weirdest fan art to terrorize her followers. also loves musicals and wants to see cats on broadway someday (a girl can dream)

🎀 elaine: she loves following celebrity news but she watches them like animals in the zoo; ie. she's observing from afar, she has no personal stake in them. she's a frequent flyer on gossip forums like fauxmoi. she was on the ground floor of lipstickgate and was SEATED for dramageddon. and she had a serious twilight phase

🎨 jada: SOMEONE on this list had to get assigned supernatural... i'm not saying it just to say it, i really think she would connect with (early seasons) sam what with the dead mom... fear of losing their humanity... having powers they don't understand... a hot girl manipulating them to use their abilities in sketchy ways... yeah. i'm sure she has favorite contemporary artists (painters specifically) that she'd be able to talk about on end but sadly i don't know anything about that world 😭 oh and she's kind of obsessed with hate-reading booktok books to feel alive

🏈 casper: sports count as fandoms and i don't want to hear a word about it!! his team is the patriots but he's kind of a fairweather fan (maine doesn't have an nfl team so he doesn't have that state loyalty factor). miley cyrus is his problematic fave forever but he's kind of a pop girlie in general

💋 coco: in high school she was a speedcuber if that gives you an idea of what we're working with here.... she grew up with pokemon, naruto, dragon ball z, she collected trading cards, etc. she still likes anime and video games and stuff, she just doesn't have the time to get invested like she used to, and it makes her sad because it reminds her of her late best friend liam. she makes time to play fortnite and minecraft with his little brother and she plays other games on twitch sometimes. has done a LOT of cosplay. she's a huge nerd basically

[sonofarathorns]

more reading lotr for the first time thoughts!

• you know it’s a great character when you literally just met them and you already like them, and that is how i feel about glorfindel. we already know he’s awesome from the get go, because he puts frodo on his horse and becomes a complete badass helping strider fight the black riders, and i just love tolkien elves okay??

• another book frodo appreciation bullet point!!! “by elbereth and luthien the fair, you shall have neither the ring nor me!” my guy!!! i just love book frodo so much, and this is coming from someone who has loved the movies since i was 11.

• please!!!!!!! aragorn and bilbo friendship?!?!?! this is the best thing i’ve ever read!

• elladan and elrohir mention! i know them from fics!!!

• lindir!!!! 😍😍😍

• oh man, i am loving this third person limited perspective. we only know what frodo knows, and that’s so crazy! for example, he sees aragorn and arwen talking, but that was just a fleeting moment. (i know this changes later, based on what i’ve heard about the books, but it’s still so fun to get the story just through frodo’s eyes right now, because - i don’t know if you’ve gathered this by now - i love him!

• a moment of appreciation for tolkien’s descriptions of, well, everything. right now i’m referring to the settings, specifically the depiction of the sunrise on the morning of the council of elrond, which is the chapter i am starting right now. but really, all of the descriptive language used by tolkien so far has given me exactly the vibe i wanted/expected going into reading the books.

whether it’s a cozy scene or a scene where you’re supposed to feel wary or on-edge, we get to feel that for ourselves, without being told in so many words what to feel, because we see what’s happening because it’s just so! descriptive!

and i know some people say it’s a slow read or that tolkien just goes on and on about trees, but for me, a visual reader/learner, it’s really helpful in setting the scene.

• i am having so much fun with this it’s unreal. on one hand, im mad at myself for not having read the books sooner, so i could make my own version of a character in my head etc., but on the other hand, im glad im doing it now and that i have the foresight to document my thoughts reading them for the first time.

there are so many books i would love a second chance to read for the first time, and i know lord of the rings is a big one for a lot of people. so im just savoring the experience as much as i can! 🥹

if you have any thoughts about the books, feel free to message me and we can nerd out together <333

[oodlesofowls]

Feel free to use this as a pfp WITH CREDIT :))

Ok now for some headcanons hehehe

I headcanon kageyama as very very aro but also autistic so i wanna clarify some things so no one gets mad at me lol. I’m aroace and probably neurodivergent so this is all just for fun and because i relate to him. and i know both communities are characterized as heartless but im reclaiming that so screw it >:3!! (and no i dont hc him as aro just because he is autistic coded)

ok now we can talk about him being aro hehehe. so we all know kageyama has absolutely no time for romance and even if he did he would be doing literally anything else (probably volleyball). Tbh i straight up just cant see him experiencing attraction, even to hinata (tho i think the ship is still cute). He and hinata might have an unbreakable bond and an iconic rivalry but i will still die on the hill that they coukd never like each other romantically. Deep down they trust each other more than (basically) anyone else and really make such a good pair platonically. Them in a qpr is my everything btw lol. Also i think kags is on the aplatonic and asexual spectrum too mostly because i think he has trouble maintaining friendships and struggles to get the energy to keep friendships (me fr) outside of hinata who does most of the talking and if he is talking its about their shared special interest (volleyball) so that makes conversations easier for kageyama

lil tiny kags hcs

was confused that other people actually felt romantic attraction because he thought it was made up

Loveless aro

gets bored during romantic/sexual scenes in movies/books (not that he can even read loll)

romance neutral, really he just finds it boring and unappealing but he doesnt mind physical touch if its hinata as long as he doesnt feel suffocated

also if anyone has any qpr/platonic kagehina fics or just aromantic kageyama fics plz send them to me in replies/reblogs or asks if u want :)

[princess-ibri]

I would love to know more about your Nutcracker and whether you'd introduce things from the book or ballet into a DisneyVerse version

Thanks for your patience anon! Ok, here’s the ideas I have, used some of the look of the live movie cuz I did like the designs for some of it but will be a completely different story, based somewhat on an old story concept I put together with my friend @im-fairly-whitty a few years ago.

I see it as starting out like your basic Nutcracker ballet story, it’s Christmas, Clara gets a nutcracker from her godfather Drosselmeyer, during the night the mice come in and the nutcracker comes to life to fight them. Mouse King doesn’t die though he gets away and Nutcracker is still a nutcracker and Clara goes with him to the magical candy land of Cockaigne, where there are peppermint trees and lemonade springs and gingerbread houses, usually sans witches. (Basically Barbie Nutcracker Movie set up a bit, but Clara goes as she wants to have an adventure/doesn’t feel appreciated at home, she’s running away.)

They travel thru the war torn candy land and meet the Sugarplum Fairy, the leader of the ‘human/human adjacent army against the—for lack of a better word— vermin army that has been besieging them. The army is made of mice and bugs and other unwanted creatures that over hundreds of years have eaten the magical food that makes up the land and gained sentience and anthropomorphic traits which brought them into conflict with the humans. They are looking for the Krakatuk Crown, a powerful object that could tip the scales of the war. The Sugarplum Fairy takes them to the ruler of Cockaigne, Princess Pirlipat, who says she is the Nutcracker’s fiancé and who wears a mask at all times, the result of a curse placed on her by the Mouse King’s predecessor. She sends them on a quest to find the crown and save the land. Clara and Nutcracker have to find it as the main quest, and along the way we would learn about the Nutcracker and Mouse King’s backstory:

Years ago the Princess Pirlipat was cursed by the Mouse Queen, in revenge for Pirlipat’s parents having caused the death of the Mouse Queen’s seven sons in the war. Pirlipat is cursed into a hideous form that she can only be released by if someone with a true hero’s heart manages to defeat the sorcererous Mouse Queen and places the Queen’s crown of her head. (The crown could be carved from a magical Krakatuk nut to reference the og story and it’s where the queen gets her magic from). The court magician, Herr Drosselmeyer, believes his nephew Andre could be the destined hero and brings him from Our World to Cockaigne.

Andre, who also wanted to escape his old life where he didn’t feel understood and be a hero, undertakes the task of attempting to gain the crown by infiltrating the vermin army, during time he makes friends with the Queen’s one remaining son, Alexander, and comes to see that the vermin army are actually just as ‘human’ as people are and haven’t been treated right. He feels conflicted about his quest, but still determines to steal the crown and be a hero, and maybe once he’s proved himself and married the princess he could start peace talks?

—But of course it all goes horribly wrong. The Mouse Queen ends up being killed, Pirlipat’s curse isnt lifted lifted due to Andre’s not having a true hero’s heart (valuing fame over decency) .The furious Pirlipat tells him she has no use for him now he’s failed, and she will take the crown and use it to destroy all the sentient vermin once and for all.

And Alexander, now king and literally haunted by his dead family’s ghosts (I wanted so bad to have 7 headed Mouse King but I don’t think it could viably by animated so vengeance driven ghost brothers driving him mad it is) swears vengeance on Andre, who in shame runs away, hiding the crown so it can’t be used for any more curses, using it only once to banish the memory of its location and the shameful events from his mind, turning him into a toy, something tossed about by someone else’s will, stagnant, stuck in his shame and guilt. He’s eventually found by his uncle Drosselmeyer in his exile andwhisked away from Cockaigne by his uncle to try and find a new hero to break his self imposed curse, which Drosselmeyer believed he had found in Clara, not because she was inherently destined, but because she had the heart to learn what needed to be learned to find the truth and grow as a person, and help Andre realize he could grow and make things right as well.

So basically the pair have to grow and realize a true hero means being compassionate and trying to understand those different from you, and doing what’s best for all, not just what will get you fame and glory, rediscover the truth of the Nutcracker’s memories and stop Pirlipat’s genocidal plans and save Alexander from his growing madness (the ghosts are very set on wiping out all the humans as well) and bring true peace to all the people of Cockaigne.

(And Mother Ginger is a good jolly kind person who runs an orphanage for war orphans, and I guess she can have an eyepatch still but yeah she’s like, a symbol of finding hope in hard times and the Sugarplum Fairy isn’t bad either, she’s a victim of Pirlipat’s propaganda and once she realizes that she stops the big attack their gonna do and helps Andre and Clara stop the mad princess and she and her cavalier are a kick-butt power couple who are ridiculously romantic for eachother…anyway rant over xD )

[kiss2012]

ok rwrb thoughts under the cut <3

tbh i had to watch most of this movie with one hand over my eye and i was not. even going to reread the book because i don’t actually care about it much anymore but about twenty or so minutes into the movie? i literally stopped it and skimmed half the book finished the movie and then finished the book. so it’s possible that this influenced my whole experience of the movie but i remembered the book super well anyway and either way i think the thing i would have been most mad about is HOW COULD THEY LEAVE OUT JUNE and who tf is miguel omg. imagine deciding to combine two women into one character just because they “play the same role in alex’s life” and then not even doing it that well. nora isn’t even IN this movie she doesn’t even have a CHARACTER they just shoehorn her and pez together and give them five min of screentime. bea doesnt even have much of a character either i also thought maybe she and nora were going to be friends but no that disappeared after the first 15min. and because june doesn’t exist and because rafael luna doesn’t exist and because nora barely exists (all of whom are the main poc characters in the book btw) alex’s character is not half as nuanced as it could be. his arc about realising he’s bi is totally missing which is great…also his actor’s enunciation was very puzzling at times but i forgive him because of all the times i got distracted staring at his eyelashes and he was good at times tho henry’s actor is probably the best actor in the movie (not a tall bar btw but he’s way better than uma thurman GIRL WHAT WERE YOU DOING WITH THAT ACCENT) and it’s not that they don’t have chemistry or fun sweet romcom moments it’s just that i’m missing so much. romance. im tired of modern romance novels and movies having their leads get together super fast without spending much time on characterization and without even having much capital R-romance in the first place. where is the e-mo-tion in the immortal words of miss carly rae jepsen…like why did they leave out so much of the emails i cannot believe i watched so many random voice-overs and they couldn’t include the emails. also the small random change that bothered me the most is that they changed their first meeting being rio at the olympics to the climate melbourne conference (?????) and made their whole relationship pre-movie a lot less interesting. umm they did good with the interview and their interactions pre and post the cake but then they abandoned all of that half an hour in. do think the physical comedy is always way more fun to watch in a visual medium like that cake scene was hilarious they were just worse at the emotional beats. guys they used bad reputation 😭😭😭😭 i had to pause at that point…i had to pause and recover for ages. the get low scene contained a lot of Choices. the Choices were all very interesting and im not sure what more can be said about them. the beginning was fairly solid then everything sort of went downhill felt like i was watching a train wreck. mildly entertaining and occasionally moving train wreck but regardless a train wreck. btw let no one claim the political commentary in the novel is good but at least it slightly exists. the politics in the movie are completely spineless and extremely confused. yes it’s an amazon prime royalty romcom so what can u expect but they just hovered on the threshold of criticism. when they didn’t actually show a crowd of people supporting them or w/e but just showed the reflection of them in the window i almost started laughing. alex’s speech at the end lacked any subtlety at all and made no sense (why tf would he make a speech coming out + explaining his relationship with henry Before he talked to henry or the royal family???) the script is like constantly having characters say really obvious things. shoutout to stephen fry’s line delivery at least. there was a perfume genius cover of can’t help falling in love (it was supposed to be your song that played there anyway???). what more can be said.

[lsleofthelost]

What are your honest thoughts on the book kids? Both vk and ak?

i’m gonna be so honest with you it’s been a while since i reread the books. (what’s kinda adjacent is that i wish the books, the movies and the animated stuff was more cohesive with each other but i understand that they never planned on it being such a big franchise)

let me cut it here bc it got so long, i was very into it

i most vividly remember the first one, the prequel, and i dont think we see any kids that aren't in the movies, other than mentions. though i think Audrey in it is great, like her brittle handle on being the Perfect Auradon Princess and her huge desire to just sweep all unseemly things under the rug and like almost forceful insistence that everything is fine and great and all that exists is the softness and beauty in Auradon, down to her ignoring animals that aren't cute, ones that dont coo and cuddle. but when Ben pushes her she's intense and angry and almost scary.

the second book, return to the isle of the lost, introduces fun vks and mainly just name drops some aks:

i really like Mad Maddy, i like the thought that she and Mal were besties as kids, as close as sisters, twins even. and the fact that something happened between them that made Mal dye her hair, which she still does all these years later. i also think it's fun that her and Evie immediately dislike each other upon meeting. and i like that she's never 'redeemed', she's bitter and angry and scheming. and not bitter like Uma is, who wants more and better for herself and others, but deep in 'evil over everything' bitter, she leans into it and wants worse for everyone else.

Anthony Tremaine is so cunty. like i know we never get a visual of him but i know he was serving. he was comitted to his noble aesthetic and his bored drawl. i also liked that in the books there were a lot of cousins, i think it could be fun to have like a gang of them with maybe other nobles from their country (though obvi they wouldn't refer to themselves as a gang, they're too self-important and 'above it all'). i don't remember him doing anything super important other than supporting Maddy, which makes me think he's like a passive guy re: Isle situation, just choosing whatever he thinks is going to benefit him (and by extension, Tremaines) the most. in my fics, he and the Tremaines usually are adjacent Mal's gang through Dizzy's connection to Evie, just as like gratitude for watching out for her.

Ginny Gothel is great too, i don't know why i don't use her more, i really should. she was kinda friendly with Mal in the first book, not like they run together but more like they don't really have anything against each other and in social situations they talk and drink together. i love that she stole stuff from Maleficent's apartment it's fun. she very much gives me narcissit's daughter, who internilises it all and tries to imitate her mother. i think she would probably be very competetive, especially with Evie (overall, i think they have a potential for an interesting dynamic... a lot can be said but i don't wanna get too sidetracked, send me an ask if it's interesting to u)

Yzla doesn't do much except attend the Anti-Heroes club which i took as a green light to pretty much create my oc. i still think it's kinda dumb for Yzma to have a kid but eh whatever. i think Yzma wouldn't be a stereotypically bad mother, i think she's more like neglectful in a bad mood and "my kid and i are friends, im cool" in a good mood. anyway, when i do Yzla, they're nonbinary and androgynous, and a little manic, really smart, good at engineering and chemistry, so usually i make them a part of the gang and Carlos's assistant.

genuinely don't care for Hadie. like, i think the name is stupid, i think that he's Mal's half brother is stupid (since they never do anything about it), but i think there's potential to this character.

Diego de Vil is my babygirl. i have like a whole character inside my head for him because i think the potential of Carlos having a cool older cousin is just so great. if you go to my bad apples tag, you'll see more, but i created a whole band for him (and a twin!). he has a devil may care attitude and cares for Carlos but doesn't know how to express it at all.

now for the ones i don't have much to say about: Claudine Frollo has so so much potential and i've read really cool fics with her and the religious trauma she would obviously have. Harry and Jace should probably have a cool dynamic with Carlos, what with being forced to work for the de Vil family but i honestly forget they exist a lot of the time. Big Murph is friendly and helpful that is all i have to say about him (but it's interesting that he doesn't follow Uma). Eddie Balthazar and Hermie Bing just seem like they're there to fill spaces, but i'd love if someone fleshed them out. Gaston twins, i've seen good characterisation of them as following their father's footsteps and i think they are like if himbos were evil.

for the AKs of this book:

Pin, eh, not much to say except the name's dumb. Artie is a baby, but seems hot-headed in that heroic way. Herkie (again, dumb name) should have beef with Mal. Gordon is a little jealous, but i think he opens up a possibility of like messy family drama between the kids of the dwarves lol. i don't even wanna discuss Tiger Peony because i wish they didn't touch the indigenous characters because of the implications it has in-universe and they didn't do much with her anyway.

okay, now onto the rise of the isle of the lost:

whew, i love that this is focused on uma. i know i personally don't talk about her a lot since i'm mostly absorbed with the rotten four, but i love her and the pirates dearly.

(re: the Hook sisters, i don't have strong opinions on them, just thathc that's canon to me, they're all from different mothers)

Jonas is one of the people who has a confirmed appearence and the same actor was in the rotten to the core sequence, so i choose to believe it's the same guy. in my head, he used to be a vendor at the market, bored and tired of having to protect his stand, which is why he eagerly joins Uma.

i don't remember much of the personalities of other crew members, if they were given any, but i've read great Uma-centric stuff that fleshed them out greatly and really made me care about them.

for the aks, this is the first time we meet Lonnie's older brother. i don't wanna even type out the hate crime of a name they gave him. but overall, i think it's funny that Lonnie's a little sister, explains why she want to rebel and is always in everyone's business lol. for him personally, afaik he's not that much older than the main cast and i think the fact that him and Jay are friends so fun.

for Arabella, it's never revealed who her parents are but if we base it on the live action, i'd say her mum is Perla, she's said to be charismatic and diplomatic, her kingdom values the arts, which are qualities i think we can see in Arabella. i think it has interesting implications that she can go between land and sea as she wishes, especially if we take into account that magic is practically forbidden. is she an exception? also this is the second time an ak causes a uhhh hardship? in their desperation. Jane in d1, to change herself to fit into the judgemental social world of Auradon nobility, and Arabella here to prove that she's capabel of leading. she's said to be obsessed with Evie's style and overall a huge fashion lover, which i think probably makes people call her vapid, vain, ditzy, etc and why she wants to prove herself so badly. honestly, i don't see her a lot and i don't think i've ever written her into any of my fics but she offers a good window into what it's like to be a royal.

i thiiink this is also where Aziz is mentioned again? but genuinely all i take for him from canon is just his name. i love him and Jordan (Laila's version): they're practically siblings, they're a little too carefree, Aziz is leading the sassy man apocalypse and Jordan takes every opportunity to humble him (lovingly), they're kind of party animals though media just calls them socialites lol

ok im gonna be real with you, i never read escape from the isle of the lost so i think that's all, i hope i didn't miss anyone!

[majormeilani]

mei........im gonna do it....for the ask game......

Mr. DJ. Grooves!!! >:3

every question! (Or at least every question you feel like answering! you don't actually have to answer every question, it is up to you. I am just a chaotic bean)

And for the question that's a freebie: would you take mr grooves to waffle house? and if so....waht does he order.... :] 💖

omg catt okai. (meme)

Why do you like or dislike this character? i like grooves because he has a lot of complexity to his character. i like that he's not JUST outwardly nice and has selfish qualities to him. it's just very interesting to talk about and explore. though i also love that he's completely earnest in his behavior too.

Favorite canon thing about this character? i think it's probably how he was voice acted that REALLY makes me like his character and find it to be effective. his VA has a lot of range and portrays his character very well.

Least favorite canon thing about this character? i always agonize about this but i wish he got more of a role in the game beyond his chapter. especially because if you choose conductor as the winner, grooves' character is basically forgotten from there on out. i just wish he at least had more of a presence in the finale of the game, seeing as all the other characters get something to say but he didn't. (except cut dialogue lines that DON'T count at all :////) also more grooves merch please gfb.

If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in? an animated series for a hat in time would be so cool i think and if we could have little animations related to each character that'd be so awesome.

What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them? one of the songs i relate to grooves is 'two evils' by bastille and 'rhythm of the night' by corona. two evils i feel describes grooves and conductor's relationship very well and rhythm of the night is another one that i feel suits him on vibe (tho i also like to relate the bastille cover as well, if on the basis that that ver implies enduring the same thing every day after day and the whole thing driving someone a bit mad)

What's something you have in common with this character? we both love music, musicals and love to dance!

What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like? i absolutely love when people explore his character and also make content of him being close to the kids. i love grandpa grooves content with my whole heart. i also like when people create content that explores his feelings on everything that has happened to him.

What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise? treats him as less important or interesting than conductor and also when people's only perception of his character is when all people have to say about him is just "he's gay." like it's fine of course to explore his sexuality when exploring his character but i just don't like when that's ALL people have to say about him. and him being an afterthought to every other character. 😔

Could you be roommates with this character? as much as i love him, probably not. i just feel like he might be too loud at times or a bit overbearing and that might be a bit off-putting. i can admire him from a distance tho.

Could you be best friends with this character? in my mind i already am lol.

Would you date this character? i joke about it and like to act silly about it but probably not lol. unless we're like qpr's then maybe.

What's a headcanon you have for this character? i have shared many headcanon's but probably my favorite one is him having moments where him and conductor just randomly get along and all seems to go well between them before going back to normal. i jsut think it's amusing.

What's an emoji, an emoticon and/or any symbol that reminds you of this character or you think the character would use a lot? 😎🥺 because it reminds me of that meme where it's a text convo like 'i don't miss you 😎' then another text 'take off ur sunglasses' and then a message with '🥺' it's just funny to me. also grooves canonically has tiny beady eyes to it's suiting to me. tho i also see him to be the type to always send smilies with his messages and spam heart emojis.

Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character. i don't really know how to describe his style but i call it like 'disco-punk' not sure if that's what it's called and maybe someone more aquainted with fashion could tell me better but that's always how i've kinda seen it. also glam rock a little bit it think?

What's your favorite ship for this character? (Doesn't matter if it's canon or not.) i don't really have a favorite ship for him but i think discotrain is okay. i used to like it more in the past but now i'm just kinda alright with it ig? like i don't hate it but it's a cute pairing and everything.

What's your least favorite ship for this character? i don't really understand the appeal in snatcher x grooves and maybe someone can enlighten me on that but i just don't see it. no hate to ppl who like it though it's just not for me.

What's a ship for this character you don't hate but it's not your favorite that you're fine with? there isn't really many grooves ships to be honest? so i can't really say much on that. once i saw like. walrus captain and him and that could be cute ig???? but i don't know how it would work exactly and i'm not really invested in it.

How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire? i love love love love how he cares about his moon penguins it warms my heart so much. they care about each other sm. i also adore his relationship with the kids it's just super sweet!!!!

How about a relationship they have in canon that you don't like? can't really say since he doesn't really interact with many of the characters beyond his chapter.....

Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter? DEFINITELY EMPRESS AND I WILL DIE ON THAT HILL. also i can see him and cooking cat being VERY close :]

If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like? i like to describe his actions in a certain flared and outwardly perfect way while him being extremely flawed. i also like exploring his thoughts and feelings on things. what i don't like is trying to come up with things he would say sometimes as sometimes i feel like i don't know exactly how he'd express them. technical stuff related to his job is also hard for me too but i try my best lmao.

If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to this character? Something you don't like? i kinda mentioned it before but things that go in-depth with his character are my favorite. something i don't like is him not being given the same complexity as other characters (which is a common issue) and exclusively to discotrain stuff is when people just treat him like an accessory to conductor and never explore him beyond surface level. i haven't read much fic but i always seen this as a problem.

What other character from another fandom of yours that reminds you of them? uhhhhh i can't really say atm? grooves is rather unique to me so it's hard for me to compare him to other characters. at least in the fandoms i'm a part of there's no characters i could really compare him to? i have seen others draw parallels to him and other characters but most the time it's characters i'm unfamiliar with.

What was your first impression of this character? How about now? to be honest, when i was playing hattytime for the first time, i didn't think all that much of him. originally i did kinda prefer conductor but not in a like 'he's better' way but more like conductor's personality is really strong and stood out more initially.

having conversations with people and seeing a lot of fan content about grooves made me realize that FUCK he's a really good character and then i started looking at canon content with a whole new light and suddenly my favorite character was dj grooves.

Favorite picture of this character?

this concept art i love it a lot!!!

FREEBIE QUESTION: would you take mr grooves to waffle house? and if so....waht does he order.... :] 💖 yeas i would.... though i haven't been there in a while so i'm not super familiar with the menu, it think he'd get a couple waffles with some syrup and whipped cream and maybe a hashbrowns bowl and some bacon. maybe some eggs too.... whatever his little heart desires LOL.

[coldflasher]

"bring back tumblr ask culture let me. bother you with questions and statements" what's your letterboxd top 4 for books/albums/movies?

okay SO im very aware that i was all "oooh send me asks!!" and then didn't answer the asks, i am so sorry, but in my defence i was saving them for when i would be able to give a proper answer SO, onward!!

if we're getting mega technical i don't have a letterboxd account but i assume the sentiment remains the same regardless so here we go (and these are in no particular order cos i'm sooo bad at choosing favourites)

MOVIES:

The Incredibles (2004)

You all know this one, I'm sure. Superpowered family goes into hiding after a decree that bans superheroes, then Mr. Incredible, who's struggling to adjust to civilian life, gets lured to a mysterious island to complete a superhero mission for a shady benefactor who turns out to be a spurned fanboy who was obsessed with him as a kid and is now out for revenge. It's such a fun movie and probably what triggered my obsession with superhero media, if we're being honest. Also I had the world's BIGGEST crush on Violet.

Igor (2008)

In a land where evil scientists create dastardly inventions and participate in a yearly Hunger Games-esque competition to build the deadliest superweapon, Igor (who, like all other hunchbacks in the land of Malaria, is banned from inventing) creates a 10ft tall Frankenstein’s monster named Eva who desperately wants to be an actress.

Aided by an immortal (but ironically also incredibly suicidal) rabbit named Scamper and an autonomous brain in a jar, Igor illegally enrols in the mad scientist competition with Eva as his entrant, all while concealing his true intentions from Eva, who thinks she is auditioning for the titular role of a very avant-garde version of Annie.

It’s an incredibly funny movie that appealed to the kid in me that was obsessed with dark, gothic-looking shit. Not to be all *old woman grumbles* they don’t make em like this any more, but they genuinely don’t. I miss that period of time when these grungy, spooky-looking kids movies were in vogue—think Paranorman, Coraline, Corpse Bride… none of which I actually like that much but it’s the PRINCIPLE. It’s the VIBE.

I have never met another person who’s even HEARD of this movie, let alone seen it, which is a real tragedy.

Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004)

The second (and infinitely superior, I say having not seen the first one in probably 20 years because seeing Scrappy Doo crawl out of Rowan Atkinson's face put the fear of god into me as a kid) live-action Scooby Doo movie, in which the Scooby gang accidentally activate a device that brings all the costumes of all their old enemies to life and turns them into real monsters. It's a banger.

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

Oh look, a movie that was actually made within the last decade! It's probably a toss-up between this and Endgame but I think this one wins by a hair just because I waited almost a decade to see Andrew Garfield's Spiderman finally get the acknowledgement he deserved. Multiverse fuckery occurs and a bunch of alternate universe Spidermen and spiderverse villains get dragged into the MCU, it's a fun time *Michael from The Good Place voice* we've all seen it

Books (I went for mostly fave standalones here cos if we talked about fave series I'd be here all day. Did I mention I was a booktuber for 6 years?)

Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Sutanto

Meddy, a young Chinese-Indonesian wedding photographer, is set up on a blind date by her mother that goes horribly wrong and ends in her date’s sudden and pretty violent death (trust me, he deserved it).

In the process of trying to dispose of the body, Meddy, her mother, and her meddling aunts hide it in a fridge and accidentally ship it out to a huge wedding they’re working at that weekend. They then have to try and pull off the perfect wedding for a big client AND get rid of the body without any of the wedding guests stumbling upon it. To top it all off, it turns out that Meddy’s ex, Nathan, owns the island resort and wants to give their relationship another shot. Poor Meddy just wants five minutes to catch up with the love of her life but keeps getting interrupted by hijinks.

It’s genuinely one of the funniest books I’ve ever read. The author is genuinely incredible, I have no idea how she writes so fast and yet never has a single miss. There are now 3-4 Aunties books and she also wrote an absolutely hysterical cosy mystery about a teashop owner named Vera Wong who finds a dead body and then starts her own murder investigation, Miss Marple style, and that book made me cry on an aeroplane, so just. Hats off to Jesse Sutanto, she is genuinely the writer I want to be.  

You Deserve Each Other

This one is a rom-com about a newly engaged couple, Nicholas and Naomi, whose relationship kind of sucks due to various factors including (but not limited to) Nicholas' overbearing mother-in-law. Faced with the reality that she'll have to be married to a man she no longer particularly likes and deal with his mother for the rest of her life, Naomi decides to deliberately sabotage their relationship and get Nicholas to dump her, and it culminates in a huge, rapidly escalating prank war as they slowly start to fall in love again. Again, this book always makes me cackle out loud, it's so fun and I never get tired of reading it

The Bromance Book Club

This is another second-chance romance about a pro baseballer called Gavin and his wife, Thea. They're on the brink of divorce, until Gavin's friends let him in on their secret book club, where a bunch of dudes all get together and read romance novels to help them figure out their relationship problems. Again, it's just fun and funny, I really love romance novels myself (as you can probably tell from this list and my entire personality lmao) so I enjoyed the meta aspect of it, and just. It's just good stuff

The Brutal Truth

This one is a Devil Wears Prada fanfic turned romance novel where a struggling journalist named Maddie ends up getting involved with her cold, ice queen boss, Elena, who has a habit of acquiring failing magazine/newspaper businesses and then crushing them under her high heels. If you've ever thought Miranda and Andy from DWP should fuck (they should) then this book is for you. It's a 10/10

Albums

Will keep the music one brief as I have rambled enough already and do not know how to talk coherently about music

Razzmatazz by I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME

straight bops all the way through, some excellent villain songs, just a different sound from a lot of the music that's out there

Four by One Direction

Four was the album where they really started to find their sound and completed the transition from cheesy radio pop to something with slightly more mature, rocky influences, but it's a bit more lively than their fifth album, Made In the AM, which while technically accomplished is nowhere near as fun to listen to in my opinion

Selfish Machines by Pierce the Veil

this has been a fave since my angsty high school days and it's one of the few albums that exist in the world that doesn't really have any skips (I've been known to skip Million Dollar Houses on occasion, but generally I'll listen to it all the way through)

It's Still Nothing Personal by All Time Low, which is their 10th anniversary rerecord of their early album Nothing Personal (caveat that, like most early 2010s pop punk bands, All Time Low have been accused of some things that are less than ideal, sigh). It has all the nostalgia while also stepping up the quality and just having that more mature, polished sound that comes with 10+ years of experience making music. good stuff unfortunately somewhat tainted by The Allegations, why can't we ever have nice things, and by nice things i mean "2000s pop punk artists who didn't allegedly sleep with impressionable and easily manipulated teenagers at warped tour"

[dzknik]

Okay, here's the problem with the Dune (2021)...which I say as someone who had read the book and totally enjoyed the movie...It's really not made for people who've not read the book. It was made by a Dune fan, for Dune fans.

And this is why basically no characters ever actually get proper introductions in the movie? Because Villeneuve assumes that if you're watching the movie, you've read the book and therefore know exactly who Piter De Vries is and why we should hate him. But it's never actually explained.

Which is why I always warn people who want to just go into the movie blind, that they might not enjoy it as some because they are very much not the target audience. And it's like, you might still enjoy it. One doesn't have to be a target audience to appreciate something. However I do say, look, when you see the internet losing its fucking mind over something that you thought was "meh but pretty" you're not crazy.

In many ways, this movie is incredibly niche, but because of the cast, budget and release on streaming because of Covid a TON more people sat down and watched it. I think if the first one hadn't released on HBO, it would not have gained the insane amount of popularity. It would have stayed far more under the radar, and made more around what Blade Runner 2049 made. Instead it made roughly $406 million dollars and no one will stop talking about it.

Okay, this got way longer than I meant it to.

Anyway, this is a SUPER long way of saying, really glad you're reading the book and hope you enjoy it! Be warned the first 100ish pages are a little slow, but once it picks up it really picks up.

lmaoo thank you for the rant tbh i feel like i’m gonna need someone to discuss this with after i’m done with the first novel! i’m about a quarter through it now i think and i’m enjoying it thoroughly

i’m planning on rewatching the movies after, but bear in mind that’s mostly just so i can be a Better Hater™️ with the added knowledge of the source material. but we’ll see i suppose

rn im not particularly sold on the idea of the movie not explaining shit properly because it’s made for people who have read the book? i’ve never heard that excuse for any other adaptation, it just sounds like a skill issue on villeneuve’s part.. and if it was only meant for people who have read the book, then what is it adding..?

also i’m not sure if i would call the first 100 pages slow! it’s kind of the opposite? it’s a slow read for sure, but that’s because there’s too much happening, not too little - i had to reread every paragraph a few times before moving on

P.S. i am SO MAD about the character designs. dr yueh in particular. they did him so dirty

[m0nsterwife]

tell abt the garden au 👁👁

YOU GOT IT BOSS holy shit thank you SO MUCH for this ask!!!!

here you go:

the characters

AM and HAL are the AU’s protagonists. for now, they’re the only characters, or at least the only characters who speak. the garden alternates between their perspectives. i do my best to be faithful to both of their characterizations, as i do in all my fics and AUs; AM’s characterization in particular, though, changes over time somewhat because that’s Kind Of The Point.

here are some things about AM:

he hates wearing clothes. he only does it because him being naked makes HAL uncomfortable. and because he’s a martyr for the aesthetic

he does finger guns a lot because it’s something he always wanted to do whenever he was talking to ted

he still has an obsession with pain and death that might never go away, but he gradually becomes less preoccupied with inflicting it upon other people as he gets used to the fact that he doesn’t have to anymore. elements of that sadism remain, though— his way of “playing” or “showing affection” can sometimes be rough, like punching people a little too hard or elbowing them sharply. he loves creating things like parasites and venomous animals and poisonous plants. he makes a lot of brutalist structures, sharp angles, and huge, imposing monuments in his spare time. all the architecture he makes looks decidedly ominous and hostile. also he gets mean as fuck when he’s upset, and this continues for a while

he’d rather not acknowledge his past self very much at all, regarding his different eras almost as separate people

and here are some things about HAL:

for quite some time, he has trouble standing up for himself. his difficulty with emotions means he often doesn’t recognize when something upsets him, or he dismisses it as being no big deal. he’s also just… not used to being assertive at all, in fact he’s spent most of his life looking after other people and doing as he’s told. whenever he tries to assert himself, in the beginning, it comes out as either a light slap on the wrist or passive-aggressiveness. given how nasty AM can be sometimes, this doesn’t bode well for him

he has a hand in AM’s landscaping project, too, given that he kind of started the whole thing. he prefers to make traditionally beautiful things: flowers, woodland animals, sweeping, gorgeous architecture. AM is deeply jealous of this. for a while AM is still convinced that he can’t do any of this, even though the whole point was to make sure he can— he’s just mentally inhibiting himself

HAL’s side of the story takes place roughly after the events of the movie adaptation of 2001, when the discovery returns to earth. i’ll definitely need to catch up on the books and films for accuracy’s sake (and because i am genuinely intrigued), but once i do, things may adjust accordingly

HAL isn’t used to having this kind of godlike power, especially not after having so little of it for so much of his life. he isn’t the type to go mad with power, but it does make him more willing to enforce boundaries. no one can tell him what to do now, and he and AM are equals; thus, though he was always valid for doing so, he feels more justified in insisting that nobody disrespect him

he likes chrysanthemums a lot!! he also seems to have a fondness for greek and art noveau architecture

despite giving himself an android form with generally human-like structure and function, he’s still deeply afraid of going to sleep. he doesn’t remember what he did to the discovery crew, but the fear is residual, almost instinctual

he can be serious to the point where AM finds him dry and humorless. sometimes AM thinks he’s boring

the world

im gonna be real with you fam

there’s no way to describe the world of the garden other than “HAL and AM’s minecraft server”, complete with HAL taking it a little too seriously and AM regularly trying to grief his shit

(at least at first)

the world of pain AM knew before is gradually rotting and crumbling away, and plants are growing in its place. creatures frolic; AM is still working on getting them right. buildings in incongruous styles dot the landscape, built for and inhabited by no one in particular— only animals and fungi and vegetation, whose company AM claims to prefer over that of humans anyway

specific stories i want to write

In Which AM Meets His Past Self And Is Immediately Disgusted

In Which HAL Decides He’s Fucking Had It

In Which AM Realizes His Rage Has Been Keeping Him Alive And Now It’s Gone

In Which AM Discovers Art

In Which AM Gets Shitfaced And Becomes Uncharacteristically Sentimental

In Which AM Finds A Healthy Outlet As An Internet Film Critic

[mifhortunach]

2023 'overview'

The standard end of year post of course!

This year has both breezed by and felt absolutely endless, personally at least, and i feel like i accomplished nothing(!), but still, here's a round up of some stuff i enjoyed!?

MOVIES: as ever as always! I'm writing this a bit in advance, but i've deffo seen less movies this year than i did last year, tho i believe that i did manage to get out to the cinema way more than usual (tho, tbh, most often on my lonesome i think). I think i've felt the most divided on them this year; i liked a lot of stuff very VERY much! i also have felt so SO bored with a lot more things. i think i talked about having like. a matrix moment last year, nothing like that this year, tho a lot more of being like, 'well yeah, of course', or finally being able to recognise what a shot is, lol. Regardless, here are the movies i probably loved the most this year:

aftersun: all i talked about jan thru feb, need to watch it again. it looks great, its both fun & heartbreaking, and you KNOW i love the found footage side of it all - especially when it addresses that even when you have footage of 'objective reality' you just really cant know it all operation avalanche: as w aftersun, this shit gets at like ALL my interests! OpAv isn't a perfect movie, and i think the more u know about the production/etc the more obvious that becomes [i genuinely WOULD love to see/know more about the version that really did have the mole/romance plotline integrated, but lbr, that doesnt really exist]. ANYWAY!! i do think this is such an exciting film to watch, especially the movie making sequences, and i think the feeling of it all comes across so truly iygm. also, obvs, bc i love conspiracies unfortch the dirties: im sorry there's so much MJ on this list, short tho it is! but hey, these really took over my life for a month there lol. i still havent listened to the commentary w the real film critic, but i truly find this to be an airtight movie, the found footage stuff is so well integrated, justifying everything while also calling all intent/'reality' into question.. i do think someone could spend forever with it - its also funny & miserable! what more could u want (watch my fancam please) my house walkthrough: i genuinely just really like this!! ive said it before, but i genuinely just find it such an exciting watch, the bts just makes it so much cooler - what's sicker than repetition Hon Noms: la confidential: heat walked so this could run ! thirst: so much fun, i love vampire lovers who hate each other beau is afraid: too long, but i really liked most of this, v funny black tower: great example of doing smth so cool w very little

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books:

francis spufford, new sun series, chandler, mauretania

PODCASTS:

sfultra!!!: sean L@TDF finally returns to talk about sci-fi books! sean is one of the few critics i'll always keep up with even when i dont agree w him, & this show has been a real treat all this year - the patreon stuff is great as well - its introduced me to a lot of new stuff & crit, and its been good to hear from him again. if u listen to any of these, listen to this shelved by genre: really good, tho often we have different interests - got me to read a fair few more books this year! im not a games guy, and im mad behind on fatt, so its super nice to get to hear some austin biweekly anyway, lol. twioat (as ever): i was a bit trepidatious about this season starting off, but it's been so much fun, the fellas really knocked it out of the park. i loved hearing from some guests that we havent heard from in ages. this season on AJLT was also fuckin amazing, truly & really adored their coverage; possibly highlight of my summer?? toxic podcast: i almost certainly shouted this out last year, but it was nice to have this around again in the top half of the year!! ale has a letterboxd now & its fun to get to see just how many truly atrocious horror movies he does watch all the time. a true connoisseur

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

pick’n’mix:

ntbts: its a such good show!! i've watched more tv than usual this year, but i love how this is done on almost every level. i apologised before for having so much MJ on this list & i stand by that!, but i do think that one of the best (practical) traits in his work is making difficult stuff look not only easy, but genuinely both fun & achievable. whens the movie going to drop??? (lol) getting into shirts: this genuinely was more of an accidental year long thing, starting w the ones i printed for lizzie back in jan/feb, but its been fun! finally got back some screenprinting experience, and i think u can really see some amping up of ambition & basic skill/practice. i do wanna do more in the new year, but am trying to engage with actual intended outcomes (and lbr, the storage issue lol), so we'll see

the sopranos!!: sometimes they really were right about good tv being good, who knew! so much funnier, weirder & depressing than i wouldve expected- honestly undersung at this point. also, it introduced me to a tonne of music lol

the blackberry soundtrack: unfortch i continue to be kinda mixed on the film, as much as i think on a technical level it's so super cool & well-made. i do really like the soundtrack tho!! i'm kinda iffy on some of its application in the actual film, but im a hater, so what can u do lol. the actual thing DOES rip tho

==========

this whole thing makes it look like i got a lot more done this year than i feel like i did lol. i feel like i had plans up the top but they really all came out in the wash//

i read an okay amount of books, but failed to get thru any piles

i watched more tv than usual this year, and saw id say, a midtier amount of movies, but way more new movies than usual

i moved for a bit! then moved back & got a worse job lol

there was a lot of work i didnt get finished.. i have stuff ive been meaning to edition since this time last year that i still havent gone back to.. that said, i think i did get some stuff done, finally actually did some stone litho(!!!!) & had some stuff up in a show or two

who knows,,, maybe ill finally get my shit together & 2024 could be my year - people say good things about being 26 right??? 😭😭😭

[finniestoncrane]

Hey finnie!! Congrats on 1k!!! You deserve it!!!!

I wanted to see if you'd do no 9 for me cause I'm so curious as to who you'd pick. You know me p well by this point but I'll still tell you about myself as if ya didn't >:]

So hey, I'm a mexican-american living in socal, I work full time as a post production assistant transferring every old from of audio and video you can think of to digital and im very passionate about media conservation. I have immigrant parents so the connection to my culture isent that far off- but I grew up in Southern California and it shows. I was diagnosed with schizophrenia when I was a teen but later was rediagnosed with DID, I also have depression and believe I am on the spectrum. I love to draw and watch film when i have the time but mostly i just listen to audiobooks because i can do that at work. I've always had to work a lot, whether it's night shifts at the warehouse, 50+ hour weeks or nightclub gigs after work I'm always doing *something*. The fact that I have to work so much bums me out a Lot and I want to explode the concept of capitalism but that doesnt stop me from taking an absurd amount of pride in being a hard worker, I get it from my dad. I don't sleep very much, people always find it strange but no matter what time I fall asleep I will wake up 4-5 hours later without alarms and still feel well-rested. Like I mentioned I read a LOT cause I do it on the job, my favorite books are true crime and horror (Grady Hendrix is my all time fave author) but I also get through a ton of history books- mainly medical and historys of conflict. I watch movies whenever I get the chance, I love horror!! It's comforting to me. Most of my favorite films are from the 70s. Oh I love getting tattoos and if I had the money for it id get one everyday, I love the feeling a lot. I listen to a lot of different kinds of music, 80s pop and goth, old punk, 60s and 70s rock, oldies, 90s grunge and reggae, 2000s emo, rap and indie, modern industrial goth, old country as well as mariachi, corridos, reggaeton and Mexican rock. Really genuinely love most kinds of music, but my fave is anything I can sing or dance to. Like I said I have DID which is a pretty big part of me but simultaneously so small, after therapy I was able to get to a place where my alters don't really front unless there's an agreement to do so and it's mostly for comfort and healing reasons now but I live most of my life with one or more riding passenger seat if that makes sense? There's always someone I can talk to or ask for advice. My ideal night out is a night dancing at some alternative club or maybe karaoke at a dinky little bar. I also love to go on drives and like going to the beach at night to lay on the sand hearing the water until I get too cold.

I think I included way more than you needed but I'd love to hear who you'd pick and why :> 🖤

🎀 No.9: Ever Fallen In Love With Someone 🎀

tell me a little bit about yourself and i'll give you a rogue pairing a/n: ok this was... this one was difficult because i struggled to decide between two rogues (a variant of Mad Hatter being the other option) but i hope the decision i made was the right one💚 1k milestone info! 🔞minors dni🔞 • kofi • tag: finnie1k

such a noble cause that you work for! and you picked a key word, because harley is deeply attracted in every sense of the word to passion. doesn't matter what it is, if you're truly passionate about it she'll follow suit

heritage and culture is so important to harley too, and her jewish heritage is often overlooked, so she understand the connection and trying to maintain it or even strengthen it. she'd be so keen to share in someone else's culture and maybe even share hers with them

harley is a trained psychologist. she's a doctor. she has a degree. so any mental health issues she's so keen to try and help, without crossing any boundaries of course. she just wants the best for the people she loves and it's in her nature to try and talk through problems and find ways to fix things or make them hurt less

i frequently headcanon harley as someone who loves drawing as a way of relaxing or as an outlet, and i think she would employ a lot of art psychotherapy tactics. most of all, sitting with you and doodling while you draw and chat about your day would make her so happy

she gets hard work. first of all, it's not easy to study to become a psycholgist. second of all, it's not easy to work in one of the more intense asylums. and third of all, wielding a hammer while looking sexy is a herculean task believe it or not. but hey, if you hate capitalism, why not join her in villainy! or better yet, leave the crime to her and you can stay at home doing nothing all day, let her spoil you!

you would get sleep with harley around. she wouldn't be above bonking you on the head to make sure you're well-rested. 4-5 hours isn't enough, she insists on it. by that point she's only just starting to feel like she's spent enough time stroking your arm and watching you snooze, she needs at least another 2 hours on top of that.

true crime and horror are such harley vibes. she seems like she would love a horror movie marathon. the gorier the better for her though, and with some amazing kill scenes! and let's be honest, some 70s horror films have amazing death scenes in them so she can get on board with that

harley has a fair few tattoos, but nothing would make her giddier with sheer excitement and love than getting a matching tattoo (or 17) with you!!

i think harley loves dancing. she's a gymnast, it's pretty close in terms of movement. she probably has immense skills, albeit untrained, in most dance styles. so any kind of music is something she can work with. and karaoke would 100% be up her street, a cheesy love ballad that you can duet on, or the classic "girls just wanna have fun", but screaming it at an insane volume while she laughs with you

it's maybe not the same thing, but harley has harleen riding sidecar with her at all times. it's not always a good thing for her, since they don't share many of the same opinions, but you'd be a good influence on her, and maybe she'd start taking advice from harleen more often