#also we have confirmation some of these scenes are definitely in the movie so i’m ready to scream into the void forever after august 11th

[ninacarstairss]

an incomplete list of things that will make me go feral if they’re included in the movie:

alex pulling henry in the red room and “impugning his virtue” against a painting of alexander hamilton and amy out the door pretending not to know what that horny little bitch of fsotus is up to

henry offering to get out of alex’s life to make it easier for him and alex brushing it off, only to realise later what henry was truly offering him and how stupid he was not to see it

oscar talking to alex at the lake house. oscar seeing him and accepting him. alex looking at henry, nora and june (yes i know she’s not in the movie just let me dream. he can be looking at henry, nora and pez too) and feeling like his world is complete. the night on the porch swing. sometimes you just jump and hope it’s not a cliff. the night in the lake. the little stone of certainty alex feels in his chest as he’s making breakfast.

yeah so just the lake house part

uma thurman delivering a power point presentation about dating the prince of england and alex running out when she brings up protections and pamphlets

jesus, could you stop being an obtuse fucking asshole for, like, twenty seconds?

so glad you flew here to insult me—

i fucking love you, okay?

the issue of le monde that henry keeps on his nightstand from the first time they woke up together

i want you. then fucking have me—

alex waking up in kensington in an empty bed, henry coming back, looking at alex and going “your hair in the morning is truly a wonder to behold” before making the world’s best declaration of love

“When he got older, he learned about love as a strange thing that could fall apart no matter how badly you wanted it, a choice you make anyway. He never imagined it'd turn out he was right both times.” there is like a 0,1% chance of this making it into the movie but i have this tattooed on my skin and it would be so perfect to see it on screen

alex saying in front of the fucking queen that he wants henry’s children

henry rambling about art and history in the v&a and alex pulling him into a kiss because he just loves him so much

i’m taking a picture of a national gay landmark. and also a statue

alex panicking about henry having to enlist

shaan having to dislodge philip from the chandelier when henry comes out to him

i’ve been gay as a maypole since i came out of mum, philip

henry’s obsession with jaffa cakes and mr wobbles

the memories email. I took that down to the gardens. I pressed it into the leaves of a silver maple and recited it to the Waterloo Vase. It didn't fit in any rooms.

alex being a brat about the turkeys “put them in my room put them in my room put them in my room”

And then, inexplicably, you had the absolute audacity to love me back. Can you believe it?

alex calling henry at christmas and telling him all about his family drama and henry simply telling him that he did his best, the only thing he really needed to hear

most things in this world are awful . but you are good

alex’s list of things he loves about henry (especially points 16 to 18)

henry writing down the list in the email and then calling henry anyway because he knows he likes to have these things written down but he needs to talk to him

alex kissing henry in front of a giambologna

Sería una mentira, porque no sería el.

the drunk bad metaphors about maps email

alex being summoned by the president after the email leaks and ellen just asking him “are you okay?”

alex’s whole family being there for him after the email leaks, hugging him through a panic attack and allowing him to be himself after a traumatic event that had to be dealt with in a strategic political way

or so help me God I will personally make your balls into fucking earrings. zahra you fucking queen

the call from the plane. “sweetheart” he hears henry’s exhale over the line. “hi love. are you okay?”

alex and henry running to hug each other as soon as alex gets to kensington

i won’t lie. not about you. alex and henry saying at the same moment that they want to do this, they want to tell the truth, because lying about this is not an option

the little touches between them. whether it’s holding hands beneath a buchkingham palace table or hugging in a closed room or pressing a knee agains the other in a public place, because that is a tether, a gravity that makes the world make sense

bea’s speech about grief and how it’s like a pie. i want to cry really hard

numbers on one of us getting involved in a sex scandal before the end of second term?

henry sticking out his chin in that defiant way

I love him, with all that, because of all that. On purpose. I love him on purpose.

"Plus we banged it our last night” shaan and zahra being a power couple

bea dumping the tea pot on philip and going “all that cocaine i did must have really done a job on my reflexes!”

the han and leia mural

dc dykes on bikes chasing protesters

To you, specifically, I say: I see you. I am one of you. As long as I have a place in this White House, so will you. I am the First Son of the United States, and I'm bisexual. History will remember us.

alex’s face being plastered on chocolate bars and thongs with henry’s after the royal suitor photos

henry telling alex he’s opening the queer shelters worlwide. henry telling alex he bought a brownstone in brooklyn

the flashbacks to election night 2016 when alex saw zahra crying and all those women taking in the moment their first madam president was elected

alex and henry biking through austin, alex opening the door to his childhood home with henry by his side

a little flash forward into their future and alex calling henry the love of his life, henry choosing the place for a credenza in his brownstone, going on vacations together and falling in love all over again, savouring their time together with no fear of getting caught, june and nora finally kissing and alex being shook at pez’s comment, henry realising he doesn’t want to ever go back, henry listening to alex talk to his mum about marriage when he has also bought a ring, henry and alex buying a house far from the public eye, having the quiet life they never had, june subletting the brownstone to be closer to pez and nora, “you and me”

[sourcherryandsprinkles]

Ménage à trois | Billy Loomis x Reader x Stu Macher

Summary: A typical movie night at Stu's turns into a ménage à trois

Word count: 2.9k

Warnings: smut, threesome, oral (m receiving), non protected p + v (this is the 90s), anal, any incoherence are part of the world of Scream...just enjoy the smut that took way too long to write

Request: Threesome with billy and Stu plsss There's barely any fics for them

I’ve been wanting to write something like this for a while, but I couldn’t find characters that fit (i tried so many!). This is my first Billy fic and it’s sort of exciting since I’ve been crushing hard on him (well, Skeet Ulrich) since forever. Although I like his character, I am not into Stu, so that was challenging for me to include him in the scene. I hope it's good enough!

—

The best thing about Stu’s house was that his parents were often out of town because of their job, making it the perfect spot for hosting huge parties without having to worry about parents coming home and ending the fun. It was also perfect for private parties.

Stu brought out a stack of VHS from the blockbuster while you made popcorn in the kitchen, getting ready for the horror movie marathon. Billy was out getting beer and other snacks, needing your sweets with the popcorn.

The kernels were almost finished popping and you felt someone press against your back, pulling you flush against them. The familiar cologne filled your nose and you leaned into Billy’s presence. He pressed his lips on your neck, distracting you from your popcorn duty.

‘’Stop, I’m gonna burn the popcorn,’’ you told him, trying to push him off you but Billy was not letting you go. ‘’Did you get the blue—’’

‘’— lollipop with the sour dip powder? Yes,’’ he confirmed. ‘’I also got a candy necklace and a roll of sweetarts.’’ Billy pulled them out of his jacket’s pocket and your mouth twisted into a smile.

After the popcorn was ready, you brought it to the living room and joined Billy and Stu who were already drinking beer and talking nonsense.

At least they had not started the movie without you.

‘’What are we watching first?’’ you asked, taking a seat on the couch.

Stu offered you a beer in exchange for a handful of popcorn. ‘’The Exorcist.’’

Although considered the scariest movie ever made, you wouldn’t say it’s scary. It was definitely iconic for the horror genre. Some scenes were a bit shocking and disturbing, but it didn’t keep you up at night.

‘’I’m gonna stuff you like that later,’’ Billy whispered beside you as the ‘best parts’, according to him, were not edited out.

The scene was in no way turning you on — that would be disgusting —, but his promise and the sultry rasp in his voice so close to your ear made your core tighten. You bit back a sound as he squeezed your thigh, a wave of arousal running through your body.

‘’What are you kids whispering about?’’ Stu asked, sticking his head in your and Billy’s personal space.

Billy shot a glare at his friend.

‘’Oh!’’ Stu smirked, figuring his line of thoughts. ‘’If you want to fuck, feel free to use my bed. Last door on the left.’’

The offer was tempting, but Billy declined the offer quickly.

‘’So your perverted ass can listen and jerk off while we fuck?’’ He shook his head, knowing his best friend a little too well. ’’Not happening.’’

Stu gasped dramatically. ‘’I would never do that!’’ Billy gave him a ‘I know you’ look, and he sighed. ‘’Okay, maybe I would, but that’s your fault for not letting me join.’’

A wicked idea crossed your mind. ‘’And what if we did? Let you join, that is.’’

The taller one’s brain short-circuited. ‘’W-what? You want me to join?’’

You shrugged, not seeing an issue. Him and Billy have been close friends for years and you’ve always secretly wanted to do it with another partner. This was your chance.

‘’If you’re in.’’ You looked at Stu, then Billy, needing both their approval. Although you were the one getting to experience them both, you didn’t want to force anyone into doing something they didn’t want.

‘’If I’m in?’’ Stu repeated. A grin spread on his face, excitement shining in his eyes. ‘’Babydoll, I’ve been dying to tap it.’’ He ghosted a hand on your other thigh, getting very close to your crotch.

It was no secret that Stu had his eyes on you — even while he was dating Tatum. You had caught him shamelessly staring at your breasts a handful of times. But you were his best friend’s girl, so he would never make a move on you…unless he was given the permission to.

‘’Don’t get too excited, she’s still mine,’’ Billy was quick to remind Stu, pushing him back on his side of the couch.

After making eye contact with Billy and silently agreeing to the plan, you detached yourself from your boyfriend and joined Stu, taking him by surprise when you crashed your mouth on his. The kiss didn’t match the perfect mix of tenderness and intensity of Billy’s kisses, but it wasn't less enjoyable. He expertly hooks his hands under your knees and drags you on to his lap, swallowing the gasp you let out into his mouth, lips never leaving each other. You subconsciously pressed yourself further into Stu as his hands ventured up the sides of your thighs, guiding you on his lap.

You didn’t mean to drag the kiss for too long, not wanting to give Stu all your attention, but you started feeling his cock stiffen beneath his jeans and took it as your cue to pull back.

He groaned in protest. ‘’It was starting to get good…’’

‘’We have all night, there’s no rush,’’ you told him, crawling back to Billy and kissing him in turn.

Unlike with Stu, everything was easy with Billy. You knew what he liked and how to get him going, and vice versa. You slipped your hands under his shirt, your palms covering the soft planes of his stomach and chest while his tongue caressed yours, causing you to let little moans and sighs slip into his lips.

Stu watched excitedly, feeling his cock twitch underneath his jeans. He never thought he would be so turned on by watching his friends make out.

You tugged at Billy’s shirt, trying to pull it off. He broke the kiss and you helped him discard it, crashing your lips back on his right after.

For a moment, you almost forgot that someone else was there, watching and waiting. You blindly reached behind you to wave Stu over. He scooted toward you and nipped at exactly the right spot on your neck while you started to rock your hips against Billy, feeling his cock press at your core even under his jeans and underwear. His hands moved to your hips, following your moves and eliciting a beautiful groan from him.

The temperature was quickly rising in the living room, so you undid the buttons and peeled it off, revealing your delicate bra. A mewl escaped Stu’s lips at the sight, dying to unclasp your bra and see those tits he's been dreaming about. He reached for it, but before he could, Billy smirked and undid the clasp with one hand, letting your bra slide off your shoulders and breasts.

‘’How does it feel to live your dream?’’ you teased your friend, turning to give him a better view.

His eyes zeroed-in right on your full breasts, glistening like a kid getting the toy he wanted on Christmas morning. Without saying anything, Stu cupped them, slender fingers kneading into your tits and thumbs rubbing your nipples into hard peaks. You threw your head back as the contact sent a jolt of pleasure through your body.

While you and Stu were having a moment, Billy loomed behind you and started working on the button of your pants as he attached his lips to your neck, suckling on one spot and leaving a hickey behind. Your head rolled back on his shoulder, your soft moans evolving into a choked cry when Billy’s finger found your clit. He grinned against your neck, his erection digging into your ass.

Screams came from the TV, but you paid it no attention — no one was listening anymore —, pressing into Billy as he continued rubbing his finger over your clit and causing more slick to pool in your panties. They’re gonna be fucking soaked by the time you take them off.

‘’Give Stu some pleasure, baby. He looks left out,’’ Billy said into your ear.

You nodded and reached down for the growing bulge in Stu's pants, grasping at the firm mass beneath the fabric, forcing a whimper to escape Stu's lips as he finally felt some form of stimulation.

‘’Ah, fuck,’’ Stu breathed out.

Before taking things a step farther, the three of you moved to Stu’s bedroom. Stu led the way, eager to get the 'party' started and get his dick wet. You and Billy followed behind, a laugh bubbling out of your lips when he scooped you by your thighs and threw you on his shoulder.

When your ass touched the bed, you grabbed Stu by the front of his pants, unzipping them and pulling out his hard, swollen cock. It was more lean and lighter in color, but with a nice mushroom tip. You stroked it up and down before playing with the tip, a glint of mischief in your eyes as you watched it glisten with a bead of pre-cum.

‘’Mmh, keep doing that, babydoll.’’

Billy snuck behind his friend, a knowing smirk on his lips. ‘’Wait until she’s got her mouth around you.’’

He glanced down at you and you got the hint, getting off the bed and on your knees as the tall boy quickly pushed his clothes down to his ankles, then shrugged off his sweater seeing as it was getting in the way. The sight alone made Stu slightly dizzy. It wasn’t every day that your friend brags about how excellent his girlfriend is at giving blowjobs and lets you try.

You grabbed him and kitten-licked at the leaky slit of his cock, licking up all the pre-cum that dribbled out and sighing as the taste of him landed on your tastebuds. Stu hissed, getting pleasure from the small attention to his sensitive tip.

Now that Billy had bragged about your skills, you didn't want to make him come off as a liar. You needed to give Stu a blowjob worth remembering.

You moved to lick a broad stripe on the underside of his cock, lips wrapping around the tip before taking him inside your mouth. Your hands flew to Stu’s hips to steady yourself as you took him deeper into your mouth, your warm mouth enveloping him, causing Stu to groan and slid a hand through your hair, keeping a grip at the back of your scalp.

On the left, Billy palmed himself over his jeans, the sight of his girl on her knees making him even harder. He rid himself of his jeans and boxers, wrapping his hand around his cock to stroke himself — and relieve himself — while he watched Stu’s cock disappear past your lips slowly. You bobbed your head up and down his shaft, making Billy wish it was his in your pretty mouth.

‘’What a little slut. Sucking your boyfriend’s friend's dick right in front of him,’’ Stu said, pushing you deeper on his cock and making your eyes water.

You took it all, letting him use you until his breathing fastened, getting close to cum. Your knees were starting to hurt on the wooden floor, but you didn’t stop and sucked Stu so hard he knew it was only a matter of time before your lips were covered in his come.

Once he did, you swallowed and released Stu’s cock with an audible pop, moving back with a sly grin, a string of saliva connected from your lips to his cock.

‘’Holy fucking shit!’’ he exclaimed as he released his grip from your hair and took a few moments to collect himself.

You glanced over at Billy, looking so pretty in his naked glory, and wiped your mouth.

‘’That’s my good girl,’’ he praised with pride in his eyes.

The corner of your mouth lifted up.

Billy pulled you up and swiped his thumb over your bottom lip, catching the little bit of cum and you wrapped your mouth around it, sucking it clean. ‘’Get undressed, babe.’’

You didn’t have much clothes left on, just your pants, panties and socks.

Then, you got on the bed and pulled Billy with you. His mouth magnetically found yours and you spread your legs to give him room to get closer. He rubbed two fingers along your folds and his cock twitched as they got wet with your arousal.

‘’Mmh, that sweet little pussy’s so wet,’’ Billy said against your lips, sliding two fingers inside and making you instantly moan. His fingers knew exactly where to go and what to do.

Your hands came up his shoulders, fingernails digging into his shoulder blades.

You felt the bed dip and Stu flopped on the bed, already getting hard again and wrapping his hand around his cock to stroke himself at the sight of you getting fingered. He couldn’t wait to be inside your tight wet pussy.

‘’Have you figured out who’s going where?’’ Stu asked, keeping his pace slow and steady.

Billy nodded, answering in your place as you grinded down against his fingers. He curled them, eliciting a series of mewls from you. ‘’You got any lube in here?’’ BIlly said over his shoulder.

Stu scrunched his face in mild disgust. ‘’Eh…no. Why the fuck would I have lube?’’

‘’For—’’

You forced yourself to hold your next moan. ‘’It’s okay,’’ you cut in. ‘’You…you’re good to go. I prepped before coming here.’’

Billy groaned, the thought of you prepping yourself making his dick twitch.

You had not planned for Stu to join, but you did plan ahead for a good night of sex with your boyfriend — including for anal. You didn’t do it very often due to the preparation it needed, but you liked it from time to time.

‘’I knew you wouldn’t have any on hand and I was not gonna let you stick it raw and risk ripping tissue. My ass is gonna be sore enough in the morning, I don’t want to sit on a bag of frozen peas like the first time,’’ you explained.

Stu looked between you and Billy. ‘’She’s let you in her backdoor?’’ he asked his friend, jealousy in his eyes. ‘’Tatum never lets me.’’

Billy grinned at you. ‘’Fuck, I love you.’’ He kissed you hard.

Stu situated himself on the bed, getting ready for you, and you climbed over his lap, facing him. You took hold of his dick and tapped the head of his cock over your clit to tease him, then down your folds, coating it with your slick.

Stu lowered his eyes to where your genitals were rubbing, cursing at the sight. ‘’Mmh, rub your sweet pussy on me.’’

You did it again and he smacked right over your clit, sending jolts of pleasure up your spine.

‘’Cut the teasing and get to it, will you?’’ Billy told the two of you.

He didn’t want to rush you, but he was the only one who didn’t get any preliminary care and he was starting to get impatient.

You nodded and lined Stu up at your entrance, secretly eager to know what it felt like inside you. You lowered yourself on his hard cock, swallowing him between your soaked folds.

Stu was unable to contain the groan crawling from the pit of his stomach as you finally bottomed out. ‘’God, you’re so tight,’’ he whispered. He felt every detail of you, from the way you clenched to your lower lips and your puffy bud just peeking from under its hood. A mischievous grin curled on his lips and he reached to rubbed your clit, making you moan and causing your walls to clench around Stu absentmindedly. ‘’Ahh, fuck.’’

Billy chuckled, knowing exactly what happened.

He came and positioned himself behind you. ‘’You good?’’

You nodded, rolling your hips and slowly riding Stu's length.

With a hand on your shoulder, Billy gently leaned you forward, getting you in a better position. He spat on his fingers and stroked himself a little, pre-cum mixing in, and lined it up with your ass, carefully slipping in and easing himself inside. It stung at first, making you curse Billy's girth.

‘’Fuck, you’re tight,’’ Billy gritted out.

He didn’t move, staying still as your body adjusted and then pushing more in. After a moment, the burning subsided, making its way into pleasure.

Billy gave the first thrust and sighed, feeling you tight around him. ‘’This is even better than last time.’’

Beneath you, Stu figured it was okay to do the same and thrust up, eliciting a soft moan from your mouth at the simultaneous sensations. You had never felt more full.

‘’How does that feel, babydoll?’’ Stu asked, watching your face twist with pleasure.

‘’Feels so fucking good. So fucking full.’’ You rocked back against Billy, signaling for him to go again.

He did and soon enough, Stu was snapping his hips up and ramming into you at fast speed while Billy grabbed firmly at your hips and drilled into you, your loud moans echoing through the four walls of the bedroom. Your body was in overload, every sense heightened, every feeling magnified.

‘’Fuck, right there!’’ you cried, throwing your head back as Billy smacked your ass cheek.

‘’You take our cocks so well,’’ Billy praised, seeing both himself and Stu slip in and out of your holes, eliciting a series of mewls from you. ‘’Looking so fucking good stuffed like that.’’

Unable to form words, you just moaned.

You would have wanted the intense pleasure to never stop, but all good things had an end. You gave the boys a warning that you were about to cum and, just as you were about to conclude, your walls clenched around Stu and he spilled inside you, joining you in your orgasm, cumming all over his cock as Billy continued his assault on your ass before following shortly.

You fell against Stu’s chest, completely and utterly exhausted. A wince of discomfort stretched across your lips when Billy pulled out. He smiled as he watched his cum slip out of you and dripped down to where Stu's softening cock was still inside you.

—

Scream taglist: @misfityanii @beautybyfire @iluvscream191 @mariposa555 @bella7866 @o638 @lulubelle14 @luvvtxinityy @frasersgf  @Eddiefrickenmunson @jasperr-the-friendly-ghost @ghostf4cee @thesebitcheslovesosadotcom @wandaswigglywoos @xjennyx2 @jennasslut @thatonesblog  @mikaelsonsstuff @icarly23 @tcddszn  @bt.oliana  @skyesthebomb @a1mzcruml3y @red1culous @iluurmom @popeheywardssecretgf @michaelangdonsslut @byhrxb @kamthecoolest @kattybug @ravenstrueluv @landryslxys @die4niyahhh  @sl4sh3rfuck3r @radiant-whore  @Meadzy21

All and more taglist: @spiokybirdstarfish @kenqki @liidiaaag @hawkegfs  @gillybear17  @areaderinlove @acornacreacure @black-rose-29 @fudge13 @cece05 @rosie-cameron @Caxddce @laylasbunbunny @gemofthenight @beautyb1ade  @hi-bored-as-fcuk-rn  @lovelyy-moonlight @mellabella101 @vxnity713  @marzipaanz  @bisexualgirlsblog @queenofslytherin889 @thatbxtchesblog @softb-tterfly @ethanlandrycanbreakmyheart  @xyzstar  @graceberman3  @Heartsforneteyamsully

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

The Current event makes me smile since it kind of confirms a headcanon I had that the Great Seven have animated movies based on them. Makes me wonder about the plot of the movies

Disney should get on the Twisted Wonderland AU Animated Remakes. What is Ursula was a good witch, what if Scar was right to take the throne and did he take it from Mufasa? (Or whoever is the stand in for him)

The Evil/Beautiful Queen...actually GOOD?

Yeah, it makes sense! Since the Great Seven are historical figures and the stuff of legends, surely there would be popular media made in their image. It’s like how the Disney fairy tales borrow from stories in the public domain or how there are historical retellings and reinventions (Hamilton, anyone?).

I believe TWST has mentioned films based on their own stories and history before too, but purely in the animated sense rather than live action. In book 3, Ace and one of the Atlantica Museum guards talk about an animated movie based on the tale of the mermaid princess and her prince; this movie is said to have come out ~30 years ago, which corresponds with Disney’s animated The Little Mermaid. Ace compliments the movie’s soundtrack too way to stroke your own ego, Disney/j.

Later on in Tapis Rouge, the characters discuss other films based on the Great Seven, including one Queen of Hearts movie. A Sea Witch movie is also mentioned; in it, she “goes gigantic” and also sings as she brews potions. The Octatrio quite enjoy this particular film.

(Side note: Another anon once suggested to me that people probably also write fanfics of Neige and Vil since they’re celebrities… Think like “My mom sold me to One Direction?!” Wattpad kinds of fics, but replace One Direction with Vil or something. You can read those post here!)

It’s… interesting this event specifically has Vil promoting a live action adaption of an in-universe animated film about the Beautiful Queen—an animated film which was the first full-color animated movie AND it originally released close to 90 years ago. They also reference the funding issues that Disney suffered while producing Snow White + inviting bank employees in to preview the movie to acquire more investments, stating that the studio that made the animated Beautiful Queen experienced the same. The in-game live action is even slated to come out “NEXT YEAR”. They’re not being subtle here with TWST’s references to their own version of the irl Disney Snow White (the live action is coming out in 2025, the OG is also almost 90 years old, etc.). I wonder if the EN server will actually get Tapis Rouge around the time of the irl release of Disney’s live action Snow White as part of a promotional campaign? 😂

UPDATE: There are even more not-so-subtle references to Disney animations in part 4 of the event, including discussion of cel animation, rotoscoping, adding blush to the characters, and how Disney brought in real animals/observed the “real thing” to help with animating similar scenes or subjects. They also cheekily say that most animation nowadays is CG 💀

I know some books under Disney publishing try to show alternate tellings or show the villains in a more sympathetic light, but I don’t know that they would ever commit to fully animating a film like that. It definitely would not happen in the style of traditional animation, Disney no longer seems well-equipped to handle that task 😔 I feel like it would also be pretty niche or might not get overwhelming positive reception with recent audience calls for “true bad guys” instead of twist or sympathetic villains (though I’m not sure what percentage of people watching Disney actually have this opinion).

I do wonder how those “AU” films would work though…? It wouldn’t be as simple as suddenly turning the G7 into “good guys”. The scenario and other characters would also have to drastically change. TWST doesn’t necessarily make the original “good guys” “bad” in a world where the villains are historical figures; we still hear plenty of positive or neutral stories about the achievements of the mermaid princess and other Disney heroes.

There are also times when the same story diverges into multiple separate stories that seemingly have no connection to one another. For example, there is a story where a princess marries a street rat (clearly referencing Aladdin) and they live happily ever after in spite of the difference in their social statuses. However, there simultaneously exists a story in which the Sorcerer of the Sands saves a princess from being deceived by a fake prince (also referencing Aladdin). The same goes for the mermaid princess (Ariel)—there is both a story referring to a “mermaid princess” who married a human prince and also a different story (clearly still pulled from the same film) about a mermaid who made a deal with the Sea Witch to find true love but broke her contract in the end.

Very cool idea, just not sure where it would lead or it it’s feasible or worth it monetarily for Disney.

[gloriousburden]

Debunking the “thanos brainwashed loki” theory (kind of)

DISCLAIMER: i don’t really have any problems with people taking this theory more lighthearted/just as an headcanon/au sort of thing, my issue is when it is accepted as fully canon, and words, meanings, and statements in interviews are completely twisted. people too often use it to mischaracterize loki, and disregard any of his motives, acts, and issues.

when i first got into the mcu and started interacting with the fandom, i too believed this theory when i first heard about it. until i thought about it a little more, and learned more about loki.

i’m aware that this is a little controversial to say since a lot of people truly take the theory as canon and have basically forever now… but in all honesty i REALLY don’t think it’s true. but let me just state that yes, loki definitely was persuaded/coerced into doing the things he did in avengers by thanos and his goons in order to retrieve the tesseract, that’s very canon as we can see in the scene of loki interacting with the other. loki fears thanos for a reason. thanos is a piece of shit and is shown to be a piece of shit to others including nebula and gamora, who were supposed to be his “daughters”. if he would torture his own “children”, why wouldn’t he torture and subject a stranger that he wanted to use to get the tesseract? so loki definitely was tortured.

i know there’s these two interviews, one with tom hiddleston (here) and the other with joss whedon that confirm loki went through a lot of horrible things between the ending of thor 1 and the beginning of avengers. they don’t necessarily give any specifics, just that it was really bad for him. please forgive me as i cannot find the joss whedon one right now, but i believe it was a video. the article with tom hiddleston which i’ve linked, is him saying “I think somewhere between the end of Thor and the beginning of The Avengers, Loki has been to the Marvel equivalent of the 7th circle of hell. At the end of Thor you see him let go. He lets go of the spear, he lets go of Asgard, and he lets go of the need of his brother and father’s affection and approval. He has bigger plans now.” and joss whedon pretty much said the same (in regards to loki going through horrible things between thor and avengers) from what i remember.

(but even with that being said, i’m going to focus more on canon rather than interviews.)

i’m not here to disprove that loki was tortured, i fully believe that he was and it makes sense considering thanos’ character, but i’m here to prove that he wasn’t FULLY brainwashed into doing what he did.

also trust me, i know that most of the movies loki has been in disregard a lot of the shit he’s been through, but i do feel that if he was truly forced into it, it would’ve been elaborated on. which i will elaborate on in this post.

…………………………………………………………………………….

if anyone was brainwashed into committing the acts loki committed in avengers, they would be very distraught and traumatized when they eventually gained full consciousness and realized that they did those things. examples of this in the mcu being clint (who is literally in the same movie), as well as bucky who really was brainwashed by hydra into being an assassin, and is shown as being deeply traumatized when the brainwashing is undone. even if he didn’t commit those acts intentionally, and in his own will.

we can see in the dark world that loki was not really shown to be regretful about what he did. and honestly, i don’t think that was just them choosing not to show loki as being vulnerable, or them disregarding loki’s issues (per usual) because we actually get to see some of his true feelings, as well as him having a breakdown in the movie. he is willingly vulnerable. “now you see me, brother.”

he is shown to be deeply troubled, and vengeful about the possibility of him unintentionally leading algrim/kurse to frigga, the fact he was locked up and unable to be of any sort of help, as well as obviously frigga’s death in general. it was something that was truly done unintentionally by loki.

if loki had really unintentionally, and unconsciously committed the acts he did, he would be shown to be very distraught about it in the dark world, and it would’ve been elaborated on.

the approach the writers, as well as tom hiddleston wanted to take for loki’s character in the dark world was one that showed us as the audience, and as fans of loki more about him, as well as to see him at his most vulnerable, so why would they leave out his supposed trauma from brainwashing? because that’s not really how it happened.

they would have shown him be vulnerable about being brainwashed, and doing something unintentionally if it were something that really happened. since loki’s writing in the dark world was meant to “humanize” him. we’ve seen him at his most villainous in the last movie, so now let’s see him at his lowest in the one after that.

a major point of mine that disproves the theory is that although loki is shown to fear thanos, he’s not necessarily doing this whole thing JUST for him. he is also focused on ruling over earth, rather than just retrieving the tesseract.

if he was brainwashed, however, he would’ve got the tesseract to thanos without anything in return. thanos wouldn’t have had to bargain with loki, or offer earth/an army to him. he would have just mind controlled him with the scepter, the same way loki did with clint, and called it a day.

another point that disproves the theory is that if loki truly was mind controlled by the scepter, he would act almost robotic, and would be quite still, only doing things when told/motioned to the same way clint was when the scepter was first used on him in the beginning of the movie. (i’ve linked this scene further down in this post when i talk about the misconceptions of loki’s eyes being the same blue as the character’s who were mind controlled.) loki clearly says, and does whatever he wants in the movie. this would not really be the case if he were being mind controlled.

(also another example of loki realizing he had partially caused something unintentionally was thor’s banishment. he is shown to be quite nervous about the fact that thor got banished, although it did end up working in his favor later on in the movie.)

loki has shown many times, even before avengers when he is undeniably a villain, that he has no issues with hurting people to get what he wants. people who use the theory and accept it as canon often (i kind of hate this word, so forgive me for the lack of better words) infantilize and mischaracterize loki as being this character who is completely innocent, and helpless. and that he only became “bad” in avengers. meanwhile loki has always (always meaning since after/during the events of thor 1) been shown as a manipulative character with dark thoughts and violent tendencies. in thor 1, he committed genocide against the frost giants BEFORE he was under the influence of thanos or the scepter.

(let me state that i’m not saying loki is a bad person or a psychopath who just goes off hurting people left and right merely for the fun of it. i’ve elaborated on this, as well as loki’s motives in this post. but basically i’m saying that loki does everything he does with reason, and purpose. he is conniving, and calculated with his decisions. he doesn’t get satisfaction in hurting people, he gets satisfaction in getting closer to his goals.)

loki is already a “tragic victim” type character. you don’t need to erase that he’s capable of and willing to do wrong, and imply that those things were very out of character for him to prove that. characters can simultaneously do bad things out of their own will, while having a shitty past. not all victimized characters are completely innocent, and without flaws.

loki is never shown to have any love for midgard, or midgardians in general. he genuinely wanted to rule over them. in thor 1, loki says “i never wanted the throne, i only ever wanted to be your equal.” in thor 1. but in avengers, he says “i’ve grown, odinson, in my exile.” showing that he, and his motives have changed since then. he’s not the same person he was in thor 1, begging for his father’s love and recognition. not wanting a throne isn’t the case for him anymore. if he wasn’t able to prove himself to his own father, then midgardians were the next option.

in the dark world, loki no longer cares for odin’s approval. “he’s not my father!” “i didn’t do it for him.” as well as banishing/exiling him, and taking his throne. his focus shifting from odin’s approval as his own son in thor 1, to the approval of midgard as their king in avengers, to the approval of asgard as their king in the dark world, shows how loki’s character and his motives developed and changed with each movie. he realized that odin will never approve of him as his own son, let alone as king of asgard. thor 1 was just the start.

the reason this is relevant to disproving the theory, as well as the points i’m trying to make are:

1. the motives were already there. the will to do bad things, was already there before thanos and even the scepter’s influence/interference.

2. loki has changed between thor 1 and avengers, and he didn’t need to be brainwashed for this change to happen. he didn’t change and become “evil” because of what thanos put him through.

3. some people who take the theory as canon, believe that loki is fully good and would have never willingly hurt others to get what he wants, or to prove a point. which could not be further from the truth.

i know most of this won’t really make sense to people who already know these things, but my words (and this post in general) are more directed to/are about those who use this theory to try and make loki seem like he’s a character who only started doing bad things, due to being brainwashed. that he’s a character who would never do anything wrong against his own will. meanwhile, he’s exhibited “bad” behaviors willingly since the first movie he was in.

he’s a character with manipulative tendencies, and deep rooted resentment and jealousy towards those put above him. he is insecure, and is willing to do anything to prove himself worthy.

also a lot of the things and points that the people who believe this theory as canon use as proof are things that have been debunked. a point that they often use is that marvel has confirmed that loki was influenced by the scepter. but the only thing they confirm is that it heightened his anger and negative feelings. a big issue is that people hear “influenced” and misunderstand, taking it as a confirmation that loki was mind controlled, and not that the scepter was just amplifying his negative emotions that were already there, and have been since thor 1.

(link to the whole page.)

nowhere does it say that he was brainwashed, or mind controlled. influenced? yes, that’s what the scepter does.

another thing is people talking about his eyes supposedly being the same blue as clint’s, and erik selvig’s when they were under the influence of the scepter. when in reality… their proof of this is just lighting, edited photos, or them mistaking loki’s eyes as being green when they’re actually blue. tom hiddleston has blue eyes, and loki in avengers has the same blue eyes that he did in thor 1, before he even met thanos. his eyes aren’t green, and have never been. (also if loki was MIND CONTROLLED by the scepter, his eyes would be EXTREMELY blue, considering his natural eye color is blue.)

examples:

he has the same beautiful big blue eyes eye color. not the insanely bright blue that clint, or erik selvig had when they were mind controlled by the scepter.

more examples:

guys, if loki was being controlled by the scepter… his eyes would be the same color as theirs since the cgi was purposely used to make their eyes very unrealistically blue so that everyone would know they were being controlled. these two characters both have blue eyes. these pictures show them before being mind controlled/brainwashed, versus afterwards. also… his eyes would be that same blue throughout the movie. which they’re not… clint’s eyes remained that bright blue until the mind controlling was undone by natasha.

it won’t let me add any more pictures so forgive me, but trust me… it’s not the same blue. loki’s eyes do look a little brighter here so maybe i understand the misconception a little bit, but that’s due many factors that can be explained. one being the makeup put on tom hiddleston in this scene to make his skin lighter as well to make him appear exhausted. another factor being the lighting!! as someone with blue eyes, i know that basically anything can make them appear a different shade. but that even goes for other eye colors. that’s just how it works. another thing to mention is that tom hiddleston is naturally blonde and has warmer skin than this. the contrast of the darker hair and the makeup (ESPECIALLY the makeup used to make his under-eye area look dark, which is only used like that in this scene btw) will make his eyes look really bright especially when he already has bright blue eyes. here’s the scene.

another example of his eye color being this post of mine right here. he literally has the same eyes

we can see that the avengers, specifically the hulk, were influenced by the scepter as well. but their eyes weren’t bright blue, because they weren’t being brainwashed by it and instead their negative emotions that were already there were being heightened. this caused cap and tony to argue even more, bruce banner to become angry and emotional about being the hulk, everyone else to become more hostile, etc… these were pre existing issues. loki’s resentment towards thor as well as his need for approval were pre existing.

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anyway i will probably update this in the future if there’s anything i left out/to correct mistakes.

moral of the story is, loki was canonically tortured, subjected, and manipulated by thanos. but even with that being said, he was not necessarily brainwashed and he was definitely not brainwashed by the scepter. there is no canon proof of that. the scepter only heightened his negative emotions that were already there.

if loki really was brainwashed, don’t you think he would’ve just retrieved the tesseract for thanos without wanting to rule over earth? it would’ve been that simple. but since that isn’t true and loki was consciously and intentionally doing these things, he wanted something in return. neither clint, nor erik selvig wanted anything in return. they did whatever loki needed them to, unconsciously.

people tend to take the proof of his torture, and mistake it as proof of him being brainwashed for some reason. loki is not an innocent character who only started exhibiting “bad” behaviors in avengers. just because he’s done bad things doesn’t mean that you cannot love him, sympathize with him, or see him as the true victim in the story. he is the god of mischief. he is manipulative, and has deep rooted issues that causes him to do bad things in order to prove himself. you don’t need to dumb down his character, and motives in order to like him.

sorry if none of this makes any sense. i’m really bad at explaining my own thoughts and putting them into words, and i’m sure this could’ve been worded better. i just made this to clear things up as well as give my own take on the theory. don’t take it too seriously but also feel more than welcome to correct me on anything, as well as add your own take or anything else onto this.

thank you for reading!!

[nattikay]

Shoutout to my mom who let me dump a bunch of spoilers on her so I could cry about Neteyam. Finally had the chance to get all that sobbing that dehydration robbed me of yesterday out of my system, and I’m feeling a little better now. I mean, the situation still makes me sad, but I don’t think I’ll continue to have my eyes suddenly start leaking every other hour like they did for most of today. :’)

so uuuhhh now that I’ve more or less gotten over that hurdle, I can finally sit down and make a post about all the other stuff from the movie! So here’s a list of some of the other thoughts and observations I had, not exactly comprehensive cuz this is all coming after 24 hours of grieving so I may not remember every single little thought I had, but here we go anyways (also tagging @tenebrius-excellium cuz you said you wanted to hear my thoughts):

-I just want to watch the first five or so minutes on loop for a while (although maybe without the cuts to Neytiri singing the songcord because 🥲, good golly the moment I saw that shot I, already being familiar with the lore behind songcords, was like oh NOOOOO), just the scenes of those ~14 peaceful years where the kids are growing up and the RDA is gone and everyone is happy together and it’s all just so sweet, this is the content I want, I want more of it, please pretty please, I know it’ll be a while before all the gif-makers are able to get a hold of those scenes but man as soon as they do goodness gracious I’m just gonna stare at it all for hours 😭

-While I was already assuming that the Metkayina didn’t actually know English and that we the audience were only hearing English for convenience, I was expecting that issue not to be directly addressed. So I was pleasantly surprised when it was subtly addressed with Jake’s voiceover about now being familiar enough with the Na’vi language to understand it as easily English as the audio of the kids bickering swapped from Na’vi to English. Theory confirmed!

-Speaking of the Na’vi language, I did feel very excited because I was able to understand some of the unsubtitled lines, which was a goal! so yay!! I mean, I didn’t understand every Na’vi line spoken (some of the longer ones I’ll definitely have to listen to more than once to piece together), but to even understand any of it at all, especially the ones without subtitles, felt very awesome!! dopamine rush babey!!!

-And on that note, the fact that Quaritch of all characters was making an effort to learn the language really surprised me! He struck me as the type of character to not give two craps about that sort of thing but hey. I definitely got a kick of out of Spider absolutely roasting him for his lack of skills hrh (note, I very most certainly do not condone actually mocking new learners making mistakes, obviously, but seeing as this is Quaritch we’re talking about...^^”) Spider’s line here was also a place I even managed to catch a subtitle discrepancy -- iirc, the subtitles read “You sound like a three-year-old!” but the actual line was nga plltxe na ‘eveng ahì’i! you speak like a small child! Which, I mean, y’know, same gist, but it was cool to be able to understand the actual words!! I also greatly enjoyed Spider trying to teach Quaritch the distinction between na and nga, just because man that’s one of those things every learner has been through, idk it was delightful to watch it go down between canon characters hrh

-Speaking of Quaritch and Spider....wow, I was surprised just how early they dropped the “Quartich’s son” bomb. That had been a pretty popular and plausible theory for a while, but I was expecting it to either be left up to interpretation or used as a bombshell later in the film. But nope, from the get-go it’s pretty heavily implied that not only is Quaritch Spider’s biological father, but that they’re both aware of this. So. Yeah, that was certainly a surprise.

-Kiri “I would rather drink acid than have Norm be my biological father” good gracious girl! like I mean yes the idea that Norm and Grace were secretly hookin’ up is obviously preposterous, but what did Norm ever do to you to deserve that reaction ^^; haha

-I mentioned in my High Ground post the three primary theories on Kiri’s origins. Having now seen the movie, I now think the mystical-Eywa-conception theory is by far the most likely. However, canonically it still remains a mystery/up to interpretation. Perhaps we’ll get more answers in movie 3...

-Y’know what, vulgarity is not typically my type of humor, but Lo’ak flippin’ Quaritch the double bird when asked to let him see his fingers did get a chuckle out of me hrh

-hey um yo the Metkayina kids were absolute JERKS, what the heck?? like good golly heckin’ rude. Except for Tsireya she’s chill I like her :)

-Personally I don’t think the story of this movie is a total rehash of the first one overall, but I can very mostly definitely see how people would consider it so. There were several lines in two scenes in particular, the one where the Sullies arrive at the Metkayina clan and the one with the tulkun hunters, that were just soooooo similar to lines from the first movie, not quite verbatim but certainly awkwardly close. I can absolutely see this becoming a common complaint from internet critics.

-Tuk pretty much solely exists to make the audience go d’awwwww!!, and y’know what, that’s ok because boy did she succeed :’)

-unfortunately, Quaritch’s ikran has by far the coolest design of all the ikrans, like bruh that color palette is heckin’ dope. what a shame ur now stuck with this jerk lol. Though I did snicker at Quaritch feeling the need to bond with the ikran “the hard way” solely because he couldn’t stand to be outdone by Jake lol

-I liked Lo’ak and Payakan’s friendship, it was very sweet. Also very interesting design-wise that a tulkun’s queue is in his mouth, and that the mouth has more of those bioluminescent patterns on the inside.

-The fact that the tulkun hunters are 100% aware that the species they’re hunting is fully sapient feels very ick to me. Sir that’s...that’s murder. Good gracious. and um “tulkun brain juice stops human aging” wh...what?? can uh...can we get some more explanation on that??? like is that gonna be somehow relevant to later movies or is it just some arbitrary thing to make the brain juice valuable, valuable enough to attempt to justify murder idk but uh....yyyyyyeah 😬

-minor thing, but I was surprised that the swimming baby from the trailer was, in fact, not Ronal’s. In fact, we never actually meet Ronal’s baby, which, again, surprised me. Why make her pregnant if we don’t get to see the baby, it feels kinda random ^^; to link her to her spirit tulkun who just had a calf I guess?? idk. once again, maybe it’ll become more relevant in movie 3.

-until proven otherwise, I am heretofore declaring that final “a son for a son” line to be Spider’s official adoption into the Sully family 😭😭😭

anyways, I guess that’ll do for now. I’m sure there was other stuff but I’ve been sitting here typing for over an hour already. Perhaps later I’ll come back with more comments, idk. I’ll be seeing the movie again next week with the rest of my family, so maybe I’ll notice different things/remember stuff that got swallowed up in the feels. Will I cry more than I did on my first viewing because I’m gonna try not to go in dehydrated again, or less because by then I’ll have had a week to process and accept everything? I have literally no idea. Guess we’ll have to just wait and see...

[shackleton2]

I'm working on this fic where I'm trying to write an emotionally dark take on post-Winter-Soldier recovery, where Steve & Co capture Soldier-Bucky right after the events of Insight, when he's still almost entirely in the grips of Hydra's programming.

I loved this Sebastian Stan quote someone shared on here: “That’s why he doesn’t kill him. That’s why he saves him. That end scene to me was always like: ‘I don’t know what this is, I just know I’m supposed to do this right now. Whatever this is, I’m supposed to protect this for some reason.” I love the heartbreaking urge to protect Steve being impossible to erase or repress despite everything, but what stands out for me is also that this confirms what his expression and act of walking away seem to say on the riverbank: he has no idea what the hell is going on. His brain didn't go "OMG STEVE" and switch him back over to Bucky Barnes in that incredible final moment on the helicarrier—the wall of programming just got its first tiny crack.

It drives me crazy that the Soldier walks away after saving Steve—he wants to know why he saved him, how he knows him, obviously, but he walks away from the simplest way to find those answers-STAY WITH STEVE, drink hot chocolate under blankets with steve!! It also drives my fangirl heart crazy what a stubborn resilient competent independent SOB post-WS Bucky is. He doesn’t trust anyone and he doesn’t want anyone to own him ever again.

He’s got conflicting lines of thought that lead to the same conclusion: He’s programmed to kill Steve, those are his final standing orders, and obeying orders is all he knows. If he wants to keep Steve safe on some level, he knows that won’t be with him, because of those orders, because Hydra owns him. On the other hand, if he’s realized that Hydra is his enemy, he also knows that SHIELD is Hydra, and Cap is affiliated with SHIELD, and thus can’t be trusted to keep Hydra away from him. And/or he disobeyed orders and abandoned his mission, and he doesn’t know why, but he does know the consequences for doing that, and thus has a lot of resentment for the guy that made him do so.

To be clear, I love the Bucky Barnes character and I think any narrative that casts him as a reformed villain who needs to make up for his past actions is bullshit. He is a victim, not only of what was done to him, but also what he was forced with zero agency to do. Having said that, I’m also totally riveted by the Winter Soldier as a bad guy, a threat, a killer. In the MCU movies he goes off after the Insight debacle and somehow deprograms himself all alone, and the next time we see him in Civil War he’s got his sense of himself as Bucky pretty much back—he’s in control of his actions, he knows his and Steve’s history, and he doesn’t want to hurt people. I’m stuck on what else the story could have been instead of the hand-wave transition from brainwashed murderer to Steve Rogers’ loyal friend. The only traumatic encounters with the Soldier Steve experiences are those in the movie where he’s actively trying to kill him, which that’s definitely bad enough for poor Steve—but what about traumatic emotional encounters? What about Steve Rogers trying to talk and reach his friend, but the person he’s talking to is the Soldier immediately post-Insight, still mentally in Hydra’s possession much more than his own?

Anyway one day this little scene came to me and I'm building this WIP, including these notes, around it. Successfully? Who knows, not me.

He regarded Steve through the glass with a hint of curiosity. His voice was soft and quiet. “Why do you come?”

Steve leaned forward and tried to meet those icy eyes. He couldn’t help it. “You’re my friend. You might not remember me, but I will always be your friend.”

The Soldier tilted his head, still questioning. “That’s why you come here?” Every day, Steve thought he heard unspoken; he wasn’t sure whether Bucky registered his presence at all some days, but maybe every instance was recorded in his mind. Maybe not. What happened to a supersoldier brain when it incurred severe sustained deliberate damage was a riddle they were just beginning to examine.

Steve was determined to be steadfast, but there was little he could do to calm the intensity of what he felt. He wanted Bucky to ask these things, because he wanted him to know these things, and he would tell him again and again forever in the hope he would one day believe him and then remember himself.

“I’m here because I want to know how you’re doing. I want you to know I’m here. I’ll come every day unless you tell me honestly you don’t want me to.”

Still the cocked head, the mystified expression. “You come because…he was your friend.”

He leaned in an inch more and found his forehead touching the glass. “You’re my friend. You are Bucky Barnes. You were born in 1917 and we grew up together. You are a good man. What happened to you…was wrong, and I will do everything I can to make it better, for the rest of my life. That’s a promise.”

The cocked head straightened and it looked like some kind of comprehension dawned. He was looking at Steve in a way he couldn’t remember Bucky ever looking before, and after wondering for a few moments Steve realized it was pity on his face.

“You think he’s here.” The look of pity intensified. “You think you...can talk. To him.”

Steve swallowed. “I…I know he is. I don’t know how to convince you it’s true, but I swear it. We played together as kids and then we grew up and lived together and then the war came and we fought together. And now we’re here. I know you don’t remember, Bucky, but there’s no way I’m giving up on you, even if you never do. I know you. I’ve known you as long as I can remember.”

On the other side of the glass Bucky’s expression had settled into the blank resignation the Soldier often wore. He licked his lips, an oddly human gesture that hurt Steve’s heart, and then said, with what might have been an attempt at gentleness, “Your friend. Is gone.”

Steve took a moment, felt his forehead press a little harder on the glass. “If he’s gone, who am I talking to?”

“What,” the Soldier corrected, and then answered, “Hydra.”

He was going to need a lot of punching bags later. “Emotions don’t help,” Natasha had told him, brisk and flint-hard the way she was when she was being kind. “Men think they understand this, but they don’t. Understand it.”

Steve was beginning to understand. He didn’t howl or pound on the glass or leave to find a fight. Instead he swallowed again and asked with a calm that shocked him, “So you…believe in Hydra? In what they do?”

“The Soldier is the fist of Hydra. Weapons don’t believe. They do not need to. The Winter Soldier. Is. Hydra.”

That was the most the Soldier had spoken in one go.

[nouies]

Annual Writing Self-Evaluation

thanks to @allwaswell16 for tagging me! i enjoyed reading your answers a lot! 1. List of works published this year:

ready for a war

Devoted

fuck around, find out

seven, seven

the embers are new

bet on it

Harmony

Cold Spring

two languages, one love

could start a cult

must be love

don’t let the fire die

2. Work you are most proud of (and why): i’m proud of all of them for different reasons, this is very hard to choose. i’m going to say Harmony bc it was the first time i made a collab with an artist.

3. Work you are least proud of (and why): not necessarily a work but i’m not proud that i couldn’t meet my writing goals set for this year (writing a fic longer than 20k words, finishing a wip i’ve had for three years).

4. A favorite excerpt of your writing: from fuck around, find out

“Everything looks lovely but please, call me Louis. What was your inspiration for the menu, Chef Styles?” Louis asks, beaming. Harry lets out a laugh, refocusing his gaze to the dining area. “I’ll call you Louis if you call me Harry, can we agree on that?” Once he gets a nod of confirmation, he continues. “When Oli mentioned you wanted to retribute to the people working for the movie, and that you wanted it to feel personal, it immediately made me think of the time I arrived in New York. I was a youngster, with no family in the city and only a promise of a job that I wasn’t sure I was talented enough to fulfill,” Harry tells, remembering the nerve-wracking feeling of accepting the sous chef position when he was so young and with not much expertise. “Uh, an old lady by the name of Vittoria welcomed me to her house. She was like a second mother to me, sharing with me not only her home but her culture as well. She came to the States with her parents when she was just a toddler but grew up surrounded by the Italian community. We used to have gatherings every weekend with all her family—and I mean all the family, children, grandchildren, neighbors…I learned a lot from her, from all of them. And I used that as an inspiration for today. You’ll see three courses of my version of some of the food I had the pleasure to share with Vittoria and her family. Just wait until you try the tiramisù…it’s to die for,” he ends with a sigh. When he looks back at Louis, he notices something on his face. Fondness, maybe?

5. Share or describe a favorite review you received: i love getting comments, and there are so many that i keep in my heart that it’s hard to choose. i love especially the ones under my rare pair fics bc it’s when ppl usually tell me that they don’t read rare pairs but they gave it a chance bc of me. it means more than words can express when someone trusts you like that.

6. A time when writing was really, really hard: when i was ill around july and i kept changing and changing my blff prompt. i was very close to drop out bc i thought i wouldn’t make it. fortunately i did and i finished my second fic on time.

7. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you: writing Pedro Pascal surprised me a lot lol like i’ve obviously read Louis/Pedro fics before but i had never entertained the idea of writing one myself and it was a nice surprise. also, writing Louis/OMC wasn’t on my plans either but i welcomed it.

8. How did you grow as a writer this year: i personally don’t see any growth.

9. How do you hope to grow next year: i just hope to finish the ideas that i have. i don’t expect for them to be masterpieces, i just need them to be finished.

10. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc): definitely my friends, the ones that read pairings or tropes they don’t like only bc it’s me writing them, the ones that hype my fics even if they don’t know if the story is good yet, the ones that offer their help and their advice to help me improve.

thank you to Anitra @allwaswell16 for being so supportive all this year, for betaing my works and offering your advice, and for encouraging me to keep going.

thank you to Emma @alltheselights who always reads my fics and leaves gorgeous comments under them, your support means a lot to me.

there’s three fics that wouldn’t exist without Mar @sunbellylou so thank you so much, my love, for being an inspiration to write the filthiest things.

thank you to Kenny @luviebaybie for being the most supportive even when life gets busier and busier. thanks for taking the time to beta for me, i appreciate it a lot!

thank you to Andy @outropeace for inspiring me to write abt Louis and the bodyguard, and for teaching me how to write a smau.

thank you to @linhuine, @smittenwithlouis, @nooradeservedbetter, @lemelous, @punkpillowprincess, @voulezloux, @disgruntledkittenface, @tokyolou, for your constant support and your friendship.

11. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year: fortunately nothing bc i write romantic stories, no sad stories 🤭

12. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers: joining fic fests is not only an opportunity for you to shine, it’s a chance to build community so pls support works from the other authors in the fest, that’s what a fest is about.

also, hide your stats from ao3. there’s a lot of freedom in not knowing if your fic has hits and kudos or if it doesn’t.

13. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year: YES! i’m only working on two projects and i’m so excited abt them. the first one it’s a collab between me and @lemelous so expect a lot of gorgeous art, and the second one is a Louis/SebStan wip i couldn’t finish this year.

14. Tag three writers whose answers you’d like to read. ;)@voulezloux, @nooradeservedbetter, @disgruntledkittenface if you haven’t done this already.

*All answers should be about works published in 2023

[nuttytani]

Farewell, My Dear Boomer Lord

Fandom: Genshin Impact

Pairing: Tartaglia | Childe x Zhongli and Xiao x Aether

Premise: Genshin Impact is back with a new addition to their movie franchise, with a talented and an exciting cast. What are you waiting for? Come find out who they are!

A/N: This is a social media au fic, except in text form… Just crossposting it from my ao3 (which you can read it here if you’d like!!) and this is the final chapter :DD

prev chapter

Ch 2 interview and behind the scenes

Spiral Abyss ✓ .  @ abyssalmoon

Farewell Archaic Lord : Zhongli, Aether, Xiao and Ajax talk 

1.9 M views 

Watch now 

—

( The screen brightens up, Xiao, Ajax, Aether and Zhongli can be seen sitting on black studio chairs. They wave at the camera )

Aether

So, how shall we begin ?

Charlotte

Hello hello! Hmm, now that I’m facing all of you, I have no idea what to ask- (looks at the camera sheepishly) 

Ajax (gets ready to leave)

Alright, that’s the end of the interview! Thank you everyone for watching– 

Zhongli (interrupts him by placing a hand on his shoulder and chuckles)

Not so fast, I’m afraid. 

Charlotte 

Very funny, Ajax. We’re not letting you go until all the tea is spilled! 

Hmmm.. Oh right! This reminds me, where is the Liyue trio? I had thought Ms. Ganyu and the others would be attending?

(Charlotte looks somewhere off camera, as if to confirm something. Some rustling and muffled noises of people talking can be heard)

Xiao

Ah yes, unfortunately they got caught up in some other work and couldn’t make it. It was last minute and they couldn’t inform you in time.

Zhongli 

Mmh, that is correct. 

Charlotte 

Awe,how unfortunate! We were quite excited to meet up with the bona fide Liyue Qixing. Next time, I suppose!

Okay, let’s start off now. Who among you guys messed up your dialogues the most? 

(Camera zooms in at Aether’s face, who looks quite embarrassed as everyone stares pointedly at him)

Aether

It was me, ‘m sorry. Are spoilers allowed? 

Xiao 

Obviously, go on. 

Aether 

Ahem so- I might have gotten super annoyed by the side quests that the uhh… Traveler received from Mr. Morax. Such stupid side quests! I felt annoyed on behalf of Traveler, I mean– going all the way to Mondstadt to BOIL A FREAKING STONE? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?? And then walking all the way back to Liyue. Also, don’t forget about spending absurd amounts of money on FLOWERS– FLOWERS I TELL YOU!

(Aether does the jazz hands to express his frustration. Meanwhile, Zhongli observes bemusedly) 

So I may have said some things extremely off the script and we had to redo scenes. Multiple times. I’m so sorry guys! Blame Morax, he’s the problem. 

Ajax 

Yeah! We basically played “take a shot every time Aether says OH FUCK YOU”. I think it’s best to say we all got drunk, really really bad.

Xiao 

Hmph. You just can't hold your liquor. I was sober, thank you very much. 

Zhongli 

Oh? Really now? Ajax, where did that recording of him singing “My heart will go on” go? He did the entire Titanic ship pose and all.

(The camera zooms in again, now at a very red Xiao, who looks like he’s about to burst. To make it worse, Aether and Ajax are wheezing, trying to hold their laughs in but failing miserably)

Charlotte 

Is that so? I’d love to see that.

Xiao (looks at Zhongli in horror)

NO.

Zhongli 

Aha, so you do remember!

Charlotte 

Sounds like you all had a fun time during the shooting. Any interesting moments that you’d like to share?

Xiao

Oh yes definitely, I’m sure you all remember seeing a clip in which Morax stares at Tartaglia’s butt.

For those wondering, no, it was not part of the script. It was just Zhongli. All him, I swear. 

(Ajax visibly chokes on air and hides his face at Xiao’s comment, grumbling indistinctly) 

Zhongli (clears his throat)

Well I– it wasn’t on purpose… I was… Lost in… thoughts. Yes.

Aether 

Lost in a daydream, you mean to say. 

Charlotte (cackles and almost falls off of her chair)

Interesting! Well, let’s change the subject otherwise a few people might die from embarrassment here. Not that they haven't already. 

We can all agree that the scenes in the movie were absolutely epic! Such a beautiful landscape. And the sunset skies! Was it all CGI or did you all actually go to those gorgeous places? 

Ajax 

It was mostly real, a few things were CGI but honestly you could say 85% of it was the real deal. Acting in these areas was super difficult though. I mean, you can’t really control weather and most of the time, since we did a lot of shooting around mountain areas, it was WINDY and all the hair would keep going in my mouth, the hanfu wouldn’t stay in place… A nightmare honestly. 

Aether 

It wasn’t that bad though. 

Ajax 

Yes, it was that bad and you can’t change my mind! 

Charlotte 

Well Mr. Ajax, despite all your struggles, I must say your acting was superb. You had me gripping the edge of my seat! How thrilling! It’s hard to believe such a bubbly personality such as yours could act as a villain. I’ve heard that the directors saw you and called it.

Ajax 

Oh yeah. Umm, I’m surprised as well! This is my first acting experience honestly and sure, I’ve done concerts with Rosaline and Kabuki, but acting? Way above my paygrade. But they were super adamant I must audition for the role of Tartaglia. Next thing I know, I said a few lines and they picked me. 

Aether 

He was absolutely nuts, I swear. Super in character! Directors made the right choice, he looks and feels like THE living breathing Tartaglia. That one scene where he pulls out his water blades and does the cheeky toothy smile? That was all impromptu, off script. Ajax did all that and he didn't even realise it. 

Charlotte

Impressive! Also back to the hanfu and hair. Oh my god, you all looked stunning! The costumes were gorgeous and the hair! Looked so real.

Zhongli 

Mmhm, the costumes were all designed and made by Menogias. It’s always a pleasure to wear his hanfus, they really take your breath away. 

Xiao 

Yes, and it’s always a pleasant experience too. Which is rare, for such heavily embellished attire. You’d think they’d be heavy and itchy to wear but for some reason, Menogias makes only the best. It feels like you’re wearing pajamas. They're that comfortable. 

Aether

Agreed! Oh and by the way, we actually needed to grow our hair out for this movie. I mean, mainly me, Xiao and Ajax. Since Zhongli does a lot of historical movies and dramas, his hair is almost always long. I’m sure you must have noticed. 

Ajax (nods along) 

Yeah, it was all our hair. We had extensions in a few scenes but it was mostly just… us. Honestly, I didn't think I’d like long hair, since it seems to be quite a hassle to take care of, but I kinda enjoyed it. 

Xiao 

Mmhm. It wasn’t bad. Plus, the kids had fun braiding it. Mostly Qiqi, she’d see us and immediately give us those sparkly puppy dog eyes. She’d have fun braiding and we’d get a free hairstyle so, win win. 

Charlotte 

I can totally imagine the kids having fun, this is giving that tangled scene vibes right now. 

(Someone off camera comes and whispers into Charlotte’s ear and she looks surprised)

Oh dear! Time sure flies when in good company! I didn’t even notice that we’re almost about to go over your schedule. 

Zhongli 

Oh don’t worry about it, we can spare a few more minutes. This has been quite enjoyable. 

Charlotte 

Alright, let’s go through a few more questions then! I’ll go rapid fire speed, alright?

(Everyone says “yes ma'am!”) 

Any scenes that made you feel like you were in actual danger?

Aether 

Oh yeah, that one scene where I had to do the free fall and Xiao caught me. My heart almost jumped out of my chest!!

(The others nod) 

Xiao 

That scene was a bit scary. We had those rope contraption things holding us up, no idea what they’re called. Still, it felt awful. 

Charlotte 

Mhmm, the fans call it the moment “conqueror of demons falls in love with the traveler”. You were both gazing at each other quite intensely. 

Aether 

Trust me, it was the fear of falling. Nothing deep. 

(“Whatever you say bro,” Ajax adds sneakily)

Charlotte 

Any personal favourite scenes?

Zhongli 

Hmm if I had to choose, it’d definitely be the Osial part. From its release and battle, it was all incredible. 

Aether 

Definitely the Osial scene, but also the scene where Morax just sits… while drinking his oolong tea IN THE MIDDLE OF A TSUNAMI.

OH MY GOD. That was insane. Like dude– run for your life– then you remember he’s immortal. And also a bit wrong in the head. Rex Lapis apparently does not know how to behave like a human, even after living for thousands of years.

Ajax 

Oh preach. It was funny as hell. Zhongli came back looking like a wet rat too. 

Xiao 

We all looked like wet rats. Keqing took a picture of it too, she must have posted it somewhere. 

Charlotte

Well now I’m curious! Gotta look into Keqing’s skygram for that, huh? And thank you all for your precious time. I really enjoyed talking with you, it was lovely! 

Aether (grins at Charlotte)

Awee, thanks for having us!

Ajax (waves at the camera)

Let’s hope we meet again for another interview!

Zhongli 

Soon. Hopefully. Thank you, and have a good day everyone. 

Xiao

Mmh, bye. 

(screen fades out for a few seconds as the cast wave at the camera smiling, before you can hear someone talk in the background)

Xiao

Ajax, you better delete that singing video, otherwise you’re dead meat–

Bonus behind the scenes (leaked by yours truly, Keqing <3)

—

[ Attached : a picture of Zhongli, Aether, Ninnguang, Ajax, and Ganyu looking like soaked and pitiful wet rats as they throw up a peace sign at the camera. All looking beyond exhausted ]

Caption : How come I wasn’t invited for that anime beach scene? I feel sad and left out — Keqing:3

—

Aether and Zhongli

“Ah it seems I do not have mora.. Traveler would you be kind enough to–”

“Fuck off, get your fatuus wallet to get you mora.”

“That wasn't part of the script.”

“CUT! AETHER PLEASE, THIS IS THE 4TH TIME IN A ROW.”

“Sorry….”

—

Ajax and Zhongli

“I can't believe I was betrayed by someone whom I thought of as a friend. Was everything just a lie?”

“Hmm.”

“Xiansheng?”

“Hmmm.”

“Hello?? Earth to Zhongli??? Did you just zone out?”

“CUT! Zhongli, you can stare at Ajax’s ass, chest, waist, all you want but later. Please.”

“What–”

—

Xiao and Aether

“Madame Ping gave me a teapot. Umm..”

“Ah yes.. So I heard.”

“I’d like it if you’d come over once, maybe tonight– for dinner y’know?”

“Of course, you just need to call out my name.”

Someone yells off camera

“WHY DON’T YOU JUST STAY FOREVER?”

“Hu Tao, please be quiet!!!”

“Boohoo, I just wanted to do that Mulan scene. You’re no fun, fatui boy.”

“CUTTTTTTTTT!!! You rascals, go away!!! It’s not even your scene right now.”

[cto10121]

Re-watching the New Moon movie and I have many Thoughts(tm), namely

Why is the cinematography is so warm toned compared to the first movie when New Moon is the most depressing book and truly the worst era of Bella’s young life: A Mystery in 2 Hours

At least Pattinson!Edward looks a little better than usual. They put him in these crisp suits. Very nice (Edit: Never mind, that awful Volturi bathrobe with the pasty-ass makeup was horrific yuck, yuck, yuck)

They just had to introduce Jacob this early on, didn’t they? And ofc Bella is much more emotive and gets all the witty dialogue with him (!!). In the books she is much more romantic and wittier with Edward as a whole. Jacob tended to bring out her immature side

“How come Jacob Black gets to give you a gift and I can’t?” “Because I have nothing to give back to you” Nice to know the screenwriter(s) still doesn’t understand the Bedward dynamic. And by nice I mean horrific

…What film version of R&J are they watching??? It’s not the ‘30s version and definitely not the ‘60s or ‘90s one. Is it the ‘70s BBC one? In the book it was the ‘60s version, which is the correct answer. Did they not get the rights? Also, also, why are the human characters much more affected by R&J than Bella and Edward????

“[Romeo] Killed his only love out of sheer stupidity” “Yeah” Oh no, no, no, no, movie, you are not going to make Bella, a close Romeo iteration, agree with Edward!!! Edward is meant to be 100% wrong by his take. Dumbass script!!!

Edward: “Eyes, look your last” 😐 Couldn’t Pattinson just inject a little bit more feeling into his line reading? Most of Edward’s objections were Romeo’s actions, not his suicide. These are the lines Edward can and should relate to.

The movie people garbing the Volturi in 18th century clothing when they are older than the Romans is just laughable

“Dating an older woman. Hot.” Okay, Emmett is 💯, no notes. Definitely erred on the side of frat boy, but you know what, it’s fun and ho boy do these movies lack it

Bella holding up her whole bloody finger in a coven of vampires 💀 Why, movie

Stewart!Bella’s chemistry with almost everyone else in the cast (that scene with Carlisle tending her wound!!!) but Pattinson!Edward confirms what I have known all along: Film and real life chemistry are very different and they shouldn’t be confused. The proof is in the celluloid.

I’m just going to call it: Stewart and Pattinson are modern subtle quirky actors playing what are essentially neo-Gothic star-crossed lover roles. They absolutely should never have been considered for these parts at all by a competent director. Absolutely not fitting at all

“You’re just not good for me.” Hmm, this is what Bella believes about herself, not Edward. I suppose Edward could have done it on purpose, but the fact that he was flabbergasted his lie worked indicates that he doesn’t. Movie just straight up portrays him as more manipulative than in the books, where he just lies baldly

Oh God the months-on-the-screen thing was terrible. This movie fails so much at portraying Bella’s depression, it hurts. It’s like visual SparkNotes

The Bella-writing-to-Alice device sucks. Not too badly, but still. We had her voiceover in the first movie without any problems but for this one, we need a justification? Also, it fuels the Bella/Alice fan dumb something awful

Really dislike the way they did Hallucination!Edward with the ghostly transparent effect. It’s corny and also…way to pass up a chance at some mystery and intrigue by just having Edward be there without any special effects (maybe keep the echoing voice). I guess they really didn’t want people confused and think he returned when he didn’t. But c’mon.

Movie Bella going off with the biker 🤮 Book Bella at her most insane would never. The only good thing about it is that it does lead to Bella having an interest in motorcycles. Efficient movie storytelling and all that.

“Bella, where the hell have you been, loca?” Wonder why this line became so meme-worthy. It’s by far not the worst (“spider monkey” is perhaps the most awful) and Lautner’s delivery was natural enough. Is it the random Spanish? It is random.

Bella is already smiling at her first scene with Jacob…this movie is just awful at selling her desolation. Meanwhile Jacob’s first thought was how awful Bella looked

The Quileute characters are well-cast and nicely played so far, and their banter is good. Emily especially is beautiful and her scar makeup was convincing. Great

Book: “He took off his shirt” Movie: He took off his ~~~~shirt 😍

Laurent’s arrival and his death should have been a much better and weightier scene than we got. God, the pacing is so bad in this movie. Jacob becomes a werewolf, Bella finds the meadow, Laurent suddenly arrives—all within a minute or so. Ugh

“As soon as you put the dog out.” Damn, why, movie? Book Alice did not begin the slurs until she was well and truly angry. But sure, let’s do some really obvious racebaiting 🙄

Whoa, whoa, whoa, Jacob KNEW he was talking to Edward and not Carlisle????? Movie, wtf? And all to save up on some screen time…sigh

Bella: “I can let you go now.” What. The. Fuck. Movie????? Not only could she not let Edward go, Bella never wanted to let him go. That was and had never been her arc!!! She would have gone to Edward regardless of anything!!! I hate this, I hate this oh GOD

No, I’m not done, I need another bullet point for this BS. The whole reason why Twilight was picked up to be adapted in the first place was because Hollywood execs saw “Ooh Romeo and Juliet with vampires 🤑” written all over this one…only for the actual filmmakers to just say, “Actually her whole ~journey this movie is letting go of Edward uwu” Poor Meyer…she just had to grin and bear it until she became the producer, I suppose

*Bella and Edward having a whole-ass conversation and making out* *Felix and Demetri watching in the shadows*: “So…should we interru—” “Don’t you DARE” “Felix” 🤣 I’m sorry, but this whole “I lied I do love you” convo should have been in the bedroom scene proper; there are literal Volturi about!!! Also, also, no “Amazing. Carlisle is right”!!! No Romeo quote!!!! Fie, for shame

Dakota Fanning as Jane…Well, probably not perfection, but she is great as usual. The Volturi got done so dirty overall, though—they look and act like Vampire Diaries rejects.

THAT ELEVATOR SCENE, OH GOD. So much meme potential. Why does this series keep injecting humor and comedy where there shouldn’t be and just ditching the actual humor and comedy of the actual books?????

Again, these Volturi gives me discount Vampire Diaries. Also, that chamber is so damn small. Where is the mystique, the grandiosity?There should be a crowd of vampires around, it’s their dinnertime.

Michael Sheen is just too British for the la tua cantante, lol. He also says something else (“Forse le vostre l’uno per altro”??? The accent is just too thick). He’s way too handsy (movie, they’re regular vampires who are sharks!!) but overall I guess his creepy-genteel approach works. Again, the cringy script fucks him over, as it does everyone. The movie has him touch Edward only now and not immediately when he meets him. Oh, God.

Edward just stumbling forward to Jane’s demonstration on Bella 💀 Jane saying “Pain” and Edward just standing there instead of collapsing 💀 Stewart!Bella freaking out and begging them to stop…actually, no, there she did very well, I liked it

Edward and Felix fighting ewwww…and with that awful slow-mo. What’s with these movies and including non-canonical battle shit???? Also, Aro would not order Bella’s execution if simply because he wants to collect Edward/Alice and Bella once she turns (it’s obvious she is a shield).

Of course fucking Alice speaks up at the very last minute before Aro chomps on Bella!!! When she would have had a vision of this exact scenario!!! This movie I swear!!!

THEY ACTUALLY SHOW THE VISION OF VAMPIRE BELLA, OH GOD. AND WITH THE CORNY SLOW-MO. KILL ME

“Once Alice changes me, you can’t get rid of me.” Okay, Movie Bella is officially more interested in immortality than Edward, the exact opposite of her book counterpart. Dishonor on your cow, Rosenberg.

“Jake, I love you.” Aaaaaand it’s official, the movies are definitely Team Jacob. Fuck you, too, movie

[thefandomenchantress]

DRDT Mean Girls AU

So a while back I saw some posts about DRDT Heathers AU, and I was like ‘woah! I have so many AUs like this one where I assign DRDT characters to roles in my favorite media, I should make a post about one of them!’.

Then I forgot.

But I remembered after listening to some of Mean Girls The Musical yesterday, so I’m finally doing it. Speaking of the musical, I’ve listened to many of songs from that a dozen times, and seen the movie exactly one time. So characterization will probably be based a bit more on the musical than the movie. Anyways, let’s get started!

Cady Heron: I’ll be honest, since Cady is arguably the least eccentric of the Mean Girls cast, and her main role in the story is changing her personality based on what other people want her to be without too much focus shown to her true personality for a large chunk of the film/musical, I had trouble figuring out which character I should put here. Eventually, I settled on Teruko. Along with being the main character of DRDT, it’s also confirmed that she spent at least some of her life living in Japan, so I figured we could swap the ‘moving from Africa’ plot line to ‘moving from Japan’ since most of the Africa stuff doesn’t impact the plot too much, besides Cady’s inner monologues, which don’t effect the physical world. And I know Teruko would need to be good at math in order for the plot to work, which she probably isn’t since she’s been on the run and stuff, but just pretend she, by some miracle, got really good at math for some reason.

Regina George: I was kinda stuck between David and Arei on this one, but decided to go Arei in the end. Since it’s been stated she was a high school bully, her being the high school bully in this AU just kinda makes sense. Unlike in Miss George in the movie, I think her parents would be rather absent, which is why she wants all the positive attention at school that comes with being popular. Plus, in the musical Regina gets a small scene where it basically shows she’s starting a redemption arc after the whole bus incident, so Arei can get better, just like in DRDT.

Gretchen Weiners: Ever since it was shown in chapter two that Ace has the habit of eavesdropping and overall being a bit nosy, I’ve loved shoving him into the Gretchen role, and gossipy roles in general. Plus, Gretchen’s hair is said to be ‘big because it’s full of secrets’ and. You have seen this man’s hair, right? Plus you can swap her wanting to make ‘fetch’ a thing to one of Ace’s strange idioms (go swing your bat into a beehive, petal backwards on your tricycle). Since there’s no killing game, he’d probably fit more into his chapter 1 characterization where he’s slightly less aggressive and more of a ‘kickable scaredy-cat’ in his words, doing anything Arei says (while harboring a fuck-ton of resentment towards her, but being too scared to act on it) until Teruko comes around to ruin their tenuous friendship.

Karen Smith: Arturo. One of thier main character traits is about their looks, Karen being the ‘hot one’ according to her song ‘Sexy’ from the musical. And while Karen is definitely nicer than Arturo, I think you could still make him fit the role, by having him act a bit less air-headed and a bit more condescending than Karen (aka like himself while still filling her role in the story, which is basically just to stop being friends with Regina/Arei). Since Arei is the closest thing to a celebrity they have in the school, because of her popularity and rich parents, he’s decided following her around will be the best option for his school career, especially since it boosts his own reputation. But it’s less so that he wants to be in her posse more like he settled for it, so he’s willing to break it off with her once Teruko starts breaking up the plastics.

Janis Ian/Sarkisian: J Moreno/Rosales, and I’ll be honest. One of the core reasons is because they both dress and act in a less feminine way than their other female classmates. But J also was confirmed to really like Teruko in the Chapter 2 refresher (I’m too lazy to look up the actual name), so her wanting to be friends with Teruko right off the bat makes sense. Janis also seems artistically inclined, inviting Cady to come to an Art Show, so switch that with J wanting Teruko to come to a play she’s doing the effects for, as well as them hanging out in the theatre instead of the art room (I know the musical has them in the art room for a scene, not sure if it’s the same in the movie). The ‘people say J’s a lesbian but she’s not’ plot thread is the only thing that bothers me, since having J be mad about being called a lesbian while there are lesbian relationships in the AU that no one bats an eye at wouldn’t make much sense. But I think you could probably play around with this plot thread a little, maybe J and Arei were friends when they were kids, just like Regina and Janis, but once people started saying J was weird/a loser/insert insult here, Arei threw J under the bus (get it??? cause regina gets hit by a bus??? i’m hilarious i know) to save her own reputation and told everyone that they weren’t even friends anymore. Which obviously hurts J’s feelings and she swears revenge for Arei’s betrayal.

Damian (I couldn’t find his last name): If Damian didn’t exist, I probably would’ve cast Whit as Karen, but Damian does exist so Whit goes here. Damian kinda just goes with the flow in Mean Girls, he doesn’t seem to have any reason to ruin Regina’s life but he helps anyways because he wants to be a good friend. Whit also just kinda goes with whatever he thinks will lead to the least conflict, which in this situation is going along with J’s plan, though he does try to talk her out of it a few times, since he isn’t too keen about the idea of ruining someone’s life. Understandable. But he wants J to be happy, so he follows the plan. Plus he’s one of the few characters to be confirmed to like boys, (along with David and Ace but neither really fit this role).

Aaron Samuels: I ship Minruko so of course I made Min Teruko’s love interest. There’s a scene in the musical where they talk about how Aaron’s hair looks ‘better pushed back’ which made me think of Min’s bangs and how Arei would want her to show off her pretty eyes. Aaron also tutors Cady in Math, which would definitely work for Min, since she’s the Ultimate Student and was helping another student study in her bonus episode. The main reason Regina wants to date Aaron in Mean Girls, other than to make Cady mad or jealous or whatever, is because he’s popular and hot. And Min has got that second thing down so good enough. I’d imagine dating the most popular girl in school would make Min rather popular by association anyway, so I don’t think it’s too big an issue that she’s not a football player that everyone wants to date or whatever.

And that’s it. This AU is…kind of a mess, but I like it. If you have any arguments for why certain drdt characters should be switched around or if any characters not mentioned should be casted, I’d love to hear them! I know making two of the ‘mean girls’ trio boys is a little strange but I thought they fit the roles best. Plus I had fun imagining them gender swapped.

[commenter2]

Helluva Boss (other) S2 trailer breakdown

Viziepop and the crew are back to releasing Helluva Boss content, which also now includes shorts, so to celebrate they released another trailer going over what will happen for the rest of Helluva Boss season 2.

So the trailer opens with what sounds like I.M.P. being wanted criminals, but I bet it’s taken out of context. Same with the scene of Blitzo saying they are on the run, which likely means he is just trying to get away from someone like Verosika or a ghost given what happens later on.

Points for the writers having Moxxie stand up to Blitzo by saying how much he hates him XD.

The Cherubs will be working with DHORKS! I recall that being a prediction/episode idea in a past work of mine so it’s nice to see that coming true. Looks like they will work together to open a portal to Hell where they kidnap Stolas or Blitzo but more on that later. I will say if it’s possible that at the end of the episode, their actions result in the Cherubs becoming fallen angels as stated in Hazbin Hotel.

Looks like some crazed robot runs amuck in the Lust Ring. If you pause it just right, the robot seems to have a symbol I think is inspired by something from Invader Zim. Wouldn’t be the first time as HH had a Overlord that looked by Dib’s dad.

No surprise, the "GhostF^*$ers" episode is a Ghostbusters parody, among other horror movie parodies and it seems like that hotel manager is possessed by something like demon. Blitzo is confirmed to be afraid of ghost so it would be interesting to see him deal with that fear. Also the episode could go over ghost and states between life and the afterlife, and how they work. I’m also getting a Zestial vibe from the manager from time to time.

We will indeed finally learn what Stolas does on Full Moons, which seems to involve a meeting between the royals of Hell, and not just the Goetia/bird demons. I see a snake demon (which maybe is part of the dinosaur population in Hell), a Baphomet, and what looks like a dog or cat like creature that has same ears as Queen Bee among what looks like wings! Are there other insect hybrids in Hell besides Bee? Could my bee demons headcanon still be actually canon?

However the biggest character seen there is that red bird Overlord from the Hazbin Hotel pilot! We finally know his name, which is Basago, I think it’s how its spelled because the subtitles aren’t helping. It’s cool to see that he is still around, actually wasn’t he or that 2 faced Overlord originally supposed to be Stolas before VIvzie changed it? I wonder if Basago is still an Overlord or not? This bring up some other questions, like can Hellborns (especially royals) be/also Overlords? I think so as along with Rosie being an Overlord with her also being implied to have been born in Hell, Zilla looks like she could be part of the Hellborn dinosaur race.

Basago seems concerned about Stolas, making me wonder if he could become an ally of his in the future. Could they be brothers?

Just wanted to point out Stolas reading another romance book, this one called Passion’s Brimstone. The cover has 2 Goetias looking lovingly at each other, making me think the book is about Goetias not happy in their arrange marriages and have an affair with each other, AKA what Stolas is going through. I wonder if it’ll be revealed that the book is based on an actual story, and Stolas finds comfort in another Goetia who hates the arrange marriage thing.

Andrealphus will be getting more screen time. Good because I’ve had some interesting ideas about him since his last appearance but let’s see the rest of the trailer first.

I wonder if that part about Stolas wanting someone to care about him will happen in front of the rest of I.M.P. or even a Goetia?

Blitzo is definitely going to say that rant in front of the Goetia meeting.

BLITZO’S MOM!

(sees tough character in shadow) Who is that? Could that be Satan? Does he agree that royals shouldn't date Imps, or does he think someone is just acting pathetic and dishonorable like Ozzie, Mammon, or a royal?

Blitzo and Stolas are around snow. THEY ARE GOING TO FIGHT ANDREALPHUS!

Yeah that hotel guy is definitely possessed. Given you can see aquatic features, its likely something from the Envy Ring. Looks like it can possess demons too given it is followed by

Millie fighting Blitzo.

That was Verosika cutting that dead Blitzo cake. No surprise she still has issues about him, but it looks like she and him will be able to deal with them in “Apology Tour” kind of like what happened with Blitzo and Fizz in “Oops”

Also is it just me or does Verosika’s chest look smaller then before?

Mammon is at the Goetia meeting? Does that mean Bee and the other sins will be there too? I bet Lucifer won’t be there due to more important things, aka making ducks or spending time with Charlie. Not to mention they haven’t had big HH cameos yet so I don’t see them doing it now, though prove me wrong writers. Also Mammon has a fidget spinner and finger skateboard with him. I don’t think I need to remind people that he is an idiot.

Is Fizz hooking Blitzo up with a romantic hotel room? I see the thing having a hat that looks like Stolas, yet I bet this will be for Blitzo and Verosika.

(Millie with glass in eye) OH SHIT MILLIE! PLEASE don’t let her loose that eye. I’ve said it before but there are too many similarities between Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel already, and we DON’T need any more.

Looks like Millie joins in with Blitzo on his “higher ups suck” speech.

While its likely Stolas’ comment about feeling remorse for what someone does is aimed at Stella or Andre, I feel like he is talking to Blitzo. Maybe Stolas wonders what it’s like for him to kill someone, as maybe he is debating about killing Stella and Andre before they go after him again?

Again, Blitzo and Stolas will fight Andre. Did he ice Stolas’ house? Is that the house Stella was living at during season 1? Did Andre inherit it? Again more on that later.

UGH Again Octavia is complaining about her father liking Blitzo more than he does her and Stella. We’ve seen this already; can we please get something else from her. Back when the Instagram accounts were used, I recall a Halloween pic of her and Stolas where Stolas says Octavia was always against the norm, so why not have a plot with her wanting to do something else with her life besides be royalty, like become a professor in astronomy? This also reminds me of a Tumblr post I made about how Stella could be trying to take her away from Stolas, but now I feel like she would WILLINGLY try to stay away from her father, and I think we can agree that would be sad (and boring) to see.

This is the only time we see Stella in this trailer, meaning she will likely have a small role…again. Recently I made a Tumblr post about if Helluva Boss might have been better if she was dead before the events of the series, and I want to know your thoughts about it.

Looks like Octavia will be getting a song. She is holding a tear drop, which I wonder if it’s a callback to the name of the meteor shower she didn’t get to see with her dad, or if it represents how she feels. Likely the latter.

Are the agents and cherubs going to torture Blitzo by making him look at his past mistakes? That is messed up and would definitely make the cherubs become fallen angels. At least Cletus and Keenie. It would explain that scene of Blitzo seeing his mom. At least it sounds like Blitzo will finally move on from his pain this season.

Stolas singing at a what I think looks like a “Blitzo Sucks” concert with Verosika and Tex. Obviously they want us to think he’s moved on from Blitzo, but I bet they will get together either this season, or they will at least become friends and get together in season 3, as it’s confirmed that Helluva Boss will have a total of 4 seasons.

Nice to get a timeline of when the episodes will come out, I think no one doubted the Ghost and Sinsmas episodes would come out on their fitting holidays. Fingers crossed there are no delays…and that we get shorts between the long gap between June and October.

With this I have predictions for what the episodes will be about. “Full Moon” will be Blitzo and Stolas dealing with DHORKS and Cherubs where they FINALLY get over their drama but decide to become friends/friends willing to try dating. “Apology Tour” has IMP helping Verosika, likely from some fan/rival given the robot looking thing, where they get help from Fizz and Blitzo and Verosika have their own little “Oops” plot line. “Ghostf%$%^ers" will be a Blitzo and Mille team up episode where they deal with a wandering spirit or demon, where tension will form between Blitzo and Millie which I think would be great to see as they haven’t really had conflict between them yet. “Mastermind” is a bit tricky, but I think during a meeting of Hell’s royalty/higher ups Stolas will be missing because he has to deal with something involving Blitzo or Octavia, or both and its likely Andre’s fault. That’s bad as they need for something, so it’s a race against time. I feel like this will be the beginning of a storyline where people will start to look into Stolas to see if he committed any crimes. Maybe it will be about Mammon using that robot I mentioned earlier to try and get Fizz back, and IMP is hired to protect him? “Sinsmas” will be the episode where Blitzo and Stolas fight Andre, who is likely there with Stella visiting Octavia during the holiday. They get into a fight, but I feel like this will make Octavia mad at her dad and decides to live with her mom from now on. This could lead to a finale cliffhanger where in a reverse from season 1, Stolas wants time away from Blitzo, hopefully not as we don't need to go through that again.

That was an entertaining trailer. Love that they seem to be going back to storylines like Blitzo dealing with his past (especially those involving romance) by interacting with his former love interest face to face like Verosika and especially Stolas. I really like that we will get to learn more about things like what Stolas does on Full Moons (if anything) and that meeting of Hell’s royalty.

What I really loved is that Andre will be getting more screen time, as recently I’ve had a new idea for what could happen if he was made the main antagonist of Helluva Boss. In the past I said he would go after Stolas’ family and while I still think that will happen, he will eventually realize Stolas’ position is small when compared to becoming a Sin. That’s right I think it would be crazy awesome if Andre tries to overthrow Asmodeus! I could see other royals not liking the idea of a Sin dating an Imp, so I bet they would want to get rid of him for that and I can see Andre taking that chance to get more power.

What were your thoughts on the trailer? Do you agree/disagree with anything in this breakdown?

[panda-janai]

Gojo’s confession

It’s like 3am right now so random thoughts but I’m like, lowkey convinced that gojo said, “I love you” to Geto during that one panel in Volume 0 and in the movie itself.

For the movie, that scene was WAY too intimate bro like I swear everyone in the theatre could feel there was a little more going on in that scene, especially for anime onlys. Like even the creators of the film themselves did a little changes in comparison to the manga (e.g., having Gojo crouch down to eye level) to bring it more across. 

Ik theres still no proper screencaps of the movie rn but damn that 240p quality

Especially this scene, like they could have easily just showed the sky or something and then have Geto’s reaction after but they had to show it like this, where we could see him saying something but its not audible to us as well as his eyes being hidden in this scene which is a pretty common thing to happen in anime especially when something emotional is happening. ★ Also I’m not sure if this is true or not, but I’ve heard that some people were able to read his lips and think he said I love you but I’m not really gonna go solely based off that since something like that probably would’ve blown up by now.

And then we go to the manga..

To be honest for the manga, I thought Gojo said something along the lines of “Welcome home” or something but I immediately threw that option out the window after reading that one interview with Gege.

First off, during an interview with Gege about volume 0, the interviewer asked them what Gojo said to Geto during that panel in Volume 0 to which they said that Gojo had already said it in the volume 0 manga. So the only two things I thought of that Gojo probably said would have to be associated with either:

 1. “[Geto] he was my friend, my one and only.” 

or

2. “Love is the most twisted curse of them all”

Now I know you might think yeah, Gojo definitely told him, “You’re my best friend” or anything around that

But with a reaction like THAT doesn’t seem too fitting for when your ex-bestfriend from 10 years ago tells you they still see you as their best friend since it is a little too much of an overreaction, especially considering Geto didn’t react so much as in shock when Gojo told him that he still trusts him which is equally as surprising considering everything he has done up to that point.

But instead he just laughed it off, more like something along the lines of a ‘Wow I can’t believe it’ kind of reaction either because its simply amusing to hear that Gojo still harbors trust for him after all that hes done, or he just finds him foolish.

But Gojo telling Geto, “I love you” just seems....fitting. In a way his love for him (whether you view it as romantic or familial) was sort of like a curse when you think about it. It prevented him from killing him during his confrontation with him after his first massacre (KFC breakup), it prevented him from going after Geto for the 10 years after that leading up to the events in volume 0 fully aware of his malicious actions, and it prevented him from having Shoko properly dispose of his body after he killed him-- which in turn has led to Kenjaku having access to his body thus leading to the events that are currently happening in the manga.

There also is a bit of a melancholic feel when Gojo meets pseudo geto for the first time, which ultimately lead to his capture

His gay ass fr froze up not even for a whole minute in his head but mans really had the entire 3 years he spent with him flash before his eyes like pack it up nojo

aswell as his reaction when he found out who pseudo geto really is

Anyways, Gojo’s reactions coupled with his actions and the things he said to Geto make me think he probably told him he loves him in volume 0, but the only true way of knowing (if we’ll even get more proof or a whole confirmation) is if we’re able to see Geto again and or have them encounter once more since it sort of already has been hinted at that Geto might potentially come back with the way Kenjaku had to grab his own neck after Gojo triggered something in their last meet.

But yeah these are my thoughts ✨

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hello! I’m the same anon that asked about the school system, but this time I have a question about Lilia. So it’s pretty heavily implied on Lilia being based on the Three Good Fairies (Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather), but aren’t only Kalim, Rook, and Silver confirmed to be the good guys since they use light magic? Do you think Lilia may be based off someone else or some other reason?

Thanks and have a great day! :)

[Referencing this post!]

Welcome back, Anon ^^ I hope you found the response to your last question to be of use; I know that I learned a lot myself as I went back to research and pull lore for the post.

To be clear, several TWST characters have no definitive single inspiration. It may be easy to state that Kalim, Rook, and Silver are twisted counterparts for the Sultan, the Huntsman, and Princess Aurora respectively. These three have light cosmic magic and it has been speculated by fans that this reflects the "non-villain" characters they are heavily twisted from. It should be noted that TWST itself has not yet confirmed the exact reasoning for why the "light trio" has this kind of magic compared to the rest of the cast. It hasn't even been acknowledged in any way by the characters' dialogue. Other characters' inspirations are not so clear and instead borrow elements from many different places. For example, there is no singular wolf that Jack is twisted from, but rather many different wolves over various Disney media. The same can be said for Ortho, who has no immediate Disney counterpart but does have a story very reminiscent of Pinocchio while also boasting Cerberus-like characteristics. Lilia is also one such case of not having a clear inspiration. Certainly he has elements of the Three Good Fairies (ie he raises an adopted child in the woods and sucks at cooking), but he is also quite literally a bat fae (because I believe there is a brief scene with bats in it) and a general (think of Maleficent's armored minions). These latter two traits are more closely associated with Maleficent than the "good guys" that share the same movie as her. Some have even suggested that Lilia is similar to Diablo, as he is an advisor to Malleus (who is clearly twisted from Maleficent) and is also a dark flying creature. The traits of the Good Fairies aren't limited to just Lilia either; there are instances when others in Diasomnia act like the Good Fairies (like when Silver and Sebek argue about what color Lilia's suit should be in Lilia's Suitor Suit vignettes). Essentially what I'm saying is that Lilia isn't based on the Three Good Fairies; he and several other characters have many inspirations and I think we should try to get over this idea of thinking that each TWST character has a singular Disney counterpart. The truth of the matter is that everyone references and borrows ideas from several Disney properties and getting hung up on trying to solve the mystery of who connects to whom will yield no meaningful results. You can still speculate and theorize of course, just try not to worry too much about finding the "right" answer because chances are that there isn't one.

[zhongxia246]

The Magic of Suzume (Review with spoilers)

First of all, I’d like to apologize to Weathering with You because I’ve found my new favorite Makoto Shinkai movie. I can see why fans of the director and screenwriter may be divided on his newly imported film because it has several elements that have already been done in his previous ones, but I think that Suzume stands above the others for me due to the excellent execution. It offers a new glimpse into familiar themes such as recovering from grief and finding hope in your future, connecting with strangers, and combating huge forces of nature – usually in the form of natural disasters, but also fate.

Spoilers begin here!

The movie opens on a child running through fields, normal except for the vivid sprawl of blue and pink sky. We see the mysterious figure of a woman who hands her something and then our protagonist, Suzume, wakes up. It’s confirmed eventually that she was the child and that she sees the figure as her mother, who is dead (later on, we learn it was in a tsunami). 

Suzume has been taken in by her aunt, who sees her as her own daughter. I was afraid that this familial relationship and the tensions evident between the two at the beginning would get lost in the possible main relationship and the action of the movie, but I’m happy to say that the familial conflict was addressed.

On this particular day, Suzume meets a strange young man who asks her if she knows of any ruins in the area. They part ways but she remains fascinated by him (and it definitely helps that he looks a bit like Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle, just look at that hair!). She stumbles upon a mysterious door standing by itself when trying to find him, opens it, and sets off a series of cataclysmic disasters. An ancient creature called the worm, which is contained only by the closed doors and two keystones that hold gods, is temporarily released. The creature floats in the sky, unseen by everyone except those who have interacted with these special doors, but once it hits the ground, earthquakes and other natural disasters occur. Suzume not only opened the door but also released one of the keystones, which turns into a mischievous cat nicknamed Daijin that refuses to turn back into a keystone.

A quest begins as the young man named Satou and Suzume travel across Japan in an effort to close all the doors that were triggered by Suzume opening the first and to put Daijin back as a keystone. It’s made harder when Daijin curses Satou by putting his spirit into the three-legged child’s chair that Suzume’s mother left her. The cat-god-gremlin then runs off and the two kids are left trying to track him down through social media.

The magic of the show lies in how Suzume combines what is basically a road trip with the more magical bits. I found myself getting more invested as Suzume and Satou meet various folks as they close in on Daijin, only to have the cat-god escape them every time. For me, Shinkai movies shine by contrasting the more fantastical action scenes with the quiet and ordinary moments. For example, seeing Suzume babysitting and then helping out a bit at a bar grounds viewers in the world. When the worm escapes through a door Suzume and Satou must close time and time again, it feels tense every time. We get to know some of the characters that live in the area so there’s a personal investment in there as well as the fear of, y’know, tons of other people dying too.

Suzume running away though means her aunt, Takami, comes after her and it culminates in one of my favorite scenes where the two get into the car of Satou’s friend, Serizawa, who has no idea what’s going on. This part of the road trip in which Takami and Suzume don’t speak to each other and Serizawa’s personality and slight confusion at the family made me realize that Suzume would probably end up being one of my comfort movies. 

I’ve always thought that movies that blend magic with modernity like some Studio Ghibli movies or Shinkai’s films are comforting, especially ones that tackle huge disasters. Of course, Japan has its own history with natural disasters that definitely influenced Shinkai, and there’s something so hopeful in these movies in seeing the way life was before and after these disasters. The gravity of them also sinks into you as you watch these movies, seeing how a person’s sense of stability is ripped from them in seconds. 

There’s an ache that follows in seeing the effects of disasters, not only when the worm descends, but also in the abandoned and ruined places that have been discarded over time because of disasters or through sheer human indifference. An amusement park, a school, etc. To close the doors, Satou and Suzume must tap into the voices of those that inhabited these places once as well as those of the gods and then “lock” the door. This strong sense of community being expressed through both magical and realistic means is great thematically. 

Alongside communal loss, personal loss follows Suzume. When she opens the first door, she remembers seeing her mother in the space it leads her to but is told that the living can never enter it. She gives up but through Tamaki chasing after her and her stories about her mother here and there - sometimes drawn for us as flashbacks with scrawls at the edges like a kid’s drawing - we see her loss and longing for her mother. At the ferris wheel, Suzume is entranced and tempted by the idea of seeing her mother again and almost walks off the ledge to enter the door. Personal loss hits her again when Satou must become the new keystone and is sacrificed to keep the worm at bay. 

Instead of taking the sacrifice in stride and returning to her ordinary life, as Satou’s grandfather encourages her to do, she chases after Satou. Luckily, she has been through one of the doors before, which means she can go to the land he’s in if she goes through that door. Returning to it means returning to the home that was taken from her so violently when her mother died. Once this goal is realized, Suzume, Takami, and Serizawa set out in Serizawa’s hilariously cool on the surface but super broken convertible.

The tension between Suzume and Takami is palpable during the ride, and it culminates in the two exploding at one another at a rest stop. Takami lays out all the things she’s sacrificed for Suzume, like her youth and dating prospects, and it’s one of the best emotional moments of the movie. At the end, Takami collapses, exhausted, and it’s revealed that one of the other keys, Sadaijin, has been released and was possessing her. This moment confused me but I assumed that the cat helped Takami vent her negative feelings so they could continue their quest and it makes sense even if Sadaijin’s appearance is pretty sudden.

Revealing that a rift was there between Suzume and Takami is what allows them to begin repairing their relationship. There’s a very important moment in which Takami apologizes but says that she did feel that way and Suzume accepts this, knowing that her aunt’s love for her is bigger than the resentment. The point is not to push down your negative feelings towards someone you love, but to set it aside and make peace with it, knowing that you will love and care for them more than all of that.

The door left by Suzume’s now torn-down childhood home leads her to a hellish landscape full of fire in which the worm is trying to escape again. With the help of Sadaijin and Daijin’s sacrifice, Suzume manages to reach out to Satou, connecting to him through the desire to live. Crying, she tells him, “I want to live more…I want to hear your voice. I don’t want to be alone.” Similar to the protagonist of Mamoru Hosoda’s Belle, Suzume’s character journey focuses on the pleasure of connecting with others and how that helps our protagonists develop a desire to live after deep familial loss. 

Suzume and Satou escape, trapping the worm, and they see Suzume’s past child self wandering the landscape. It’s a very Shinkai thing to do (demonstrating the past and present’s connectivity and circularity) and Suzume realizes that she never saw her mother as a child, but rather her future self. She tells her past self, “You’ll meet a lot of people you care for, and you’ll meet lots of people who’ll care for you, too.” Suzume hands the chair back to her past self and waves her goodbye. 

It’s a poignant moment and I love the twist that those words that probably helped Suzume survive all that grief came from some version of herself, not her mother. It feels more hopeful and symbolic of how we process our losses and move on, continuing towards our future selves. The magic of Suzume lies in its near-perfect combination of humor, fantasy, and the glimpses of living that ordinary people do every day. 

[ponds-of-ink]

Thoughts on that one Midnight Motorist section that I need to get out

So, it seems that a post on Freddit was right about some of the cars driving on the “wrong” side of the road. “Wrong” for the U.S., that is.

But for England?

Nope. To anyone from Britain, it’d be the “right” side of the road.

Which means, all things considered, some bloke is disobeying all the traffic laws somewhere in Britain— not Hurricane, Utah. Which also means that we can eliminate Jr’s being a Freddy’s location, since Freddy’s hasn’t gone international by this point. Or just Freddy’s Pizzeria/Fredbear’s Diner being a thing to even consider here.

So, uh… What’s the point of this game if it’s got nothing to do with Freddy’s? Or Fredbear’s?

Welll, there is a theory that one YouTube comment introduced in some Midnight Motorist videos, and I’m here to relay it to y’all… Kind of. I actually do have some thoughts of my own.

Paraphrasing TL;DR: The Orange/Mustard Guy is William’s Father coming home from… somewhere… and he stops by JR’s, a local bar he’s been kicked out of. A Green Dude basically tells him “My guy, you know you can’t be here. Please go”. So, Mr. Mustard Afton comes home in a rage and leaves The Gray Person alone. But his own son? Nope. Bang, bang, bang goes the locked door and thump, thump, thump goes the unseen boy’s heart as he runs for his life with some mysterious figure. Mr. Mustard Afton realizes that his son’s gone back to “that place”, vows that “he’ll be sorry when he gets home”, and ends the hidden part of that mini-game.

Now that we’ve got the basics, I’d like to add some more headcanon/speculative stuff. Yes, even more than the above. Because at least OP could back up stuff better than I can right now.

Anyway… If I combine the potential backstory we might’ve learned in Security Breach’s therapy CDs, I think I can infer even more context into this. First of all, I’m pretty sure this would take sometime after the infamous custody case Lil’ William had to deal with. His father’s going out more often and coming back way, way too ornery and trigger-tempered to deal with. A sick, tired, and mourning Lil’ William decides enough is enough. Through some miraculous feat of strength, he shatters the window and hobbled over to someone in huge, rabbit-like shoes. They flee the scene together, with Lil’ William hoping The Grey Person doesn’t take the blame for him.

Of course, he came back to that house. He’s always had that habit to return— for better or for worse.

Where did he go, though? Well, I have a guess.

There are two things that are his trademarks in this franchise that’s not his purple-colored sprite: Circus-themed animatronics and rabbits. So… What if this place was where it all started for him? What if it was a circus starring some rabbit mascot as a ringmaster? Maybe even a precursor to Frebear’s and Freddy’s, thanks to the Circus Animatronics and Freddy’s Singin’ Show being confirmed to exist.

I know the last part’s a bit out there, but it might be a bit better than William putting on some rabbit shoes and sneaking off to his mom’s grave at a nearby graveyard for solitude.

Obviously, I’m just spitballing here. Until Ruin or the movie comes out, we’re not gonna actually know anything about William’s past.

Oh and uh… Not sure about The Gray Person’s identity. Definitely has long legs, though, so it’s probably an adult. William’s Uncle who’s come to visit, maybe? William’s brother? Cousin? Huh.

[tailsrevane]

[movie review] avatar: the way of water (2022)

“the way of water has no beginning and no end. our hearts beat in the womb of the world. water connects all things, life to death, darkness to light.”

pretty bold words from a movie that asks me to not pee for 3 hours & 15 minutes but also asks me to buy & drink a big soda in a ridiculous souvenir cup.

so, yeah. i’ve now seen this in both dolby & imax, and while i think imax was the better experience of the two, i can confirm that (as is usually the case in a james cameron venture) there just isn’t a bad way to see this movie. it’s funny, because most of the interesting things i can think of to say about it are criticisms but overall i definitely enjoyed it?

look, at a base level, the reason i liked this and i’m probably going to like all of the hopefully dozens of sequels this series keeps churning out is that the avatar franchise has become one of the few remaining standard bearers for high-effort filmmaking in blockbuster movies. like, basically every visual you see in this movie was probably created in a computer, but it does not look like it? at all? and i’ve said it before but i’ll say it again, it’s pretty clear that this is attributable to the absolute obsession that james cameron has for making movies look the way he wants them to look, and the fact that he seems to bring other people with that same obsession along for the ride.

the things that were problematic about the first movie (and the expanded universe surrounding it) are still problematic, plus a few new problems that they decided to add on top just so we don’t get bored, but before i start really digging into those things i just want to pause and say that i really miss when this kind of approach in blockbuster filmmaking was… not the norm, exactly, but definitely not as uncommon as it is now? so yeah, at the end of the day if i’m going to be watching some shooty scifi bullshit, i’d love for it to keep looking this good and having this much of an imaginative (but also extremely thoroughly well-thought-out) approach to the creation of a genuinely alien world. because the real star of these movies isn’t jake, and it isn’t neytiri, and it isn’t their kids. it’s pandora.

the movie seems to understand this, too, because yeah we start with jake narrating but it’s over this fucking wonderful shot of the camera just rapidly zooming down to the surface of pandora and then through the trees, and just sort of bludgeoning you with the fact that yeah, we’re back. and what i’ve kind of been dancing around is the fact that it’s pretty clear that creating pandora & bringing it to life was a labor of love for everyone involved, and that’s something that’s been obvious to me since the first movie, and i think it’s why so many people found pandora so achingly beautiful. returning there weirdly feels a little like returning home, or at least returning somewhere you really like being. it carries an actual emotional weight with it.

and, again, this opening narration is trying to very quickly usher us through the last 15 years or so of the sullys’ life but the visuals of these little vignettes are always emphasizing how much the forests of pandora are a starring player in these experiences.

honestly these opening scenes are asking you for a lot, because the status quo has changed quite a bit, and they’re about to hit you with the whole weird clone soldier thing? which still to this day doesn’t really make a lot of logical sense to me, but i’m willing to roll with it because such an entertaining movie is wrung out of it. and also because it fits in great with the thematic thrust of these movies, that the sky people are trying to steal pandora out from under the na’vi, so the idea of them literally appropriating na’vi bodies and shoving their gross human capitalist/military brains in there is just viscerally horrifying.

(... which makes it pretty fucking awkward that one of my biggest problems with this movie/franchise is that it appropriates & profits off of gross tons of indigenous culture…)

yeah okay let’s go ahead & pivot.

the white savior stuff is less visually apparent here because jake spends the whole movie as a na’vi, so that’s nice & i do drastically prefer things this way, but it’s still totally there? but on top of that jake is just the fucking worst father in this? like, neytiri calls him out exactly once for treating his family like a squad he’s the commanding officer of instead of a family? but he just proceeds to continue doing this for the whole rest of the movie and it’s never again a source of conflict? and i’m sorry, that’s not just bad writing, it’s fucking abusive?

in the first movie jake at least realizes he’s kind of a piece of shit and gets his ass kicked constantly for it. this movie acts like he’s just a big damn hero whose only flaw is that he tries to hide & protect his family (the objectively correct thing to do) instead of singlehandedly defeating the sky people. and i just. cannot.

i want to print out flyers about neytiri & staple them to telephone poles like she’s a lost cat, because where the fuck was she in this movie? she’s barely in it, and the one actually kind of big thing she does in the movie (threaten spider’s life to save her get blue!quatritch to release her daughter) is terrible? i just. ugh.

this is mirrored by the fact that when we see jake & neytiri with the omatikaya we barely hear from mo’at, who is one of the fucking best characters in the first movie and is even more awesome in some of the expanded universe stuff so i had a lot of high hopes that we were gonna get to see more of her, but nah, she basically just patches up some wounded and apparently has zero opinions about jake & neytiri leaving. (i mean, obviously that’s not the case, my point is that we don’t hear from her about it at fucking all.)

for that matter, we don’t see jake & neytiri interacting with the omatikaya at all really? we literally just see the clan functioning as a resistance cell against the returning rda. it’s hard to feel the sense of loss that you should feel when they leave because you never get to see them just… being the people? you’re asked to feel the loss exclusively through neytiri getting mad about it for exactly thirty seconds, which is treated dismissively by jake, which by the way is also an awful character moment for him. just. yuck.

i also don’t feel like i got to know the metkayina well enough? i know this movie is a lot more plot-heavy than the first movie, but it just feels like there’s an entire dimension missing this time, and i’m sad about it.

i know i’m starting to sound like i hated this movie, and i didn’t, for all the reasons i stated earlier plus a few more that i’m about to pivot to, but i just need to be really clear that me enjoying this movie is not an endorsement of everything about it? like, i feel like this is less of a star trek situation where i’m like “this 90% aligns with my values but has some issues because sometimes the writers suck” and is more like when i used to like star wars and was like “this is an extremely well-designed universe that it’s fun to immerse myself in and the movies are damn entertaining even if i frequently don’t like the stories that are being told.”

(okay i have to go on a quick tangent here since i don’t talk about star wars much anymore to clarify what i mean. hilariously, the last jedi coming along and actually being a good movie with good things to say is what made it impossible for me to continue enjoying star wars when i realized it had never been that before and was never going to be that again, like, it actually “ruined” star wars for me, but not in the way most people mean when they say that? like it’s probably the only star wars movie i’d rewatch if you asked me to. and i used to rewatch all of them frequently, and write fanfiction & whatnot. i was one of those.)

like the first movie, the way of water is a deeply problematic movie with superficially anti-imperialist themes, but like… considering that the vast majority of tentpole blockbusters are imperialist propaganda with a very thin coat of paint over them, that’s clearly better, right?

like, i think we often do this thing where when something at least superficially aligns with our values we hold it to a higher standard, and i’m not about to lecture anyone (especially if they’re indigenous) if they do that with this movie, it certainly deserves it because wow does it ever not practice what it ineptly preaches, but i am going to say that for me personally i would prefer imperfectly anti-imperialist movies that are made this well over unabashedly pro-imperialist movies that were clearly filmed in empty rooms composed of green screens or that circular led thing that the mandalorian & star trek discovery popularized. (for the record, star trek discovery does a much better job with it, but it’s still pretty obvious at times.)

and the other reason i really enjoy this is because, as much as i’m starting to feel like i kind of genuinely hate jake (but i can still empathize with him and i think the lengths he goes to to throw his own life between the bad guys & his kids is genuinely heroic) and as much as i fucking hate the way neytiri is written in this movie, i fucking love their kids? this jumped out at me even more on rewatch when i was more familiar with the general shape of the movie. when i first saw it i loved lo’ak & kiri but i thought neteyam especially wasn’t characterized nearly as much? like, he was just the “good kid” to lo’ak’s “rebellious kid,” but the thing about cameron movies is that so much characterization happens in the margins and when i was able to pay more attention to the details the second time through is fucking loved & wanted to protecc neteyam?

but yeah, i totally get why we focus on lo’ak. he’s an extremely good boy and i’m super invested in his story going forward. (kiri also rules, but i feel like that’s more obvious.)

also like, this movie has na’vi bullying in it, so uh. yeah. that’s… nice. for me. (sorry not sorry.)

so, uh, yeah. at the end of the day you have a deeply problematic but wildly entertaining movie that is kind of the standard bearer of high-effort blockbuster filmmaking in an age dominated by “just film it in front of a greenscreen & redirect people to the disney+ series”? again i have no beef with anyone who cannot enjoy this movie because of its problematic elements. i’m not out here waving my embarrassing unironic avatar fandom like it’s something to be proud of, and i don’t think i’ll ever really be able to enjoy this franchise in an uncomplicated way, which could very well result in me burning out on it like i did star wars before it, but idk. for now i’m enjoying it. and for me at least, this movie had more than enough to enjoy about it to overcome the things that infuriated me about it.

a-rank