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poke-bon · 11 months ago

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Hello! I'm doing a rewatch of Supernatural! I started this halfway through season 9 and it's the first time I've done this. I've seen the first 6 seasons multiple times over the 18ish years but never caught up so I'm doing that now and having a wonderful show. I would honestly watch these two idiots do anything! Hope you enjoy the ramblings!

- deans boys home episode fucking had me crying. John Winchester I will fight you

- Kevin and Miss Tran is the most tragic story in this show to date.

- Kevin: just be nice to each to each other, yeah? Sam: yeah, promise. *Walks away*

- we're going to need snorkels, we'll be swimming in so much p-

- Not Moose.....hah

- Crowley's Winchester Intervention. This show is a comedy

- oh no, deans on the hooch again

- Shirley McLain??

- Gabriel!!! I knew they'd bring him back somehow

- wait that's not Gabriel is it

- why is he sacrificing himself again when he wants to be the king of heaven? Why is he pushing Castiel? Why is everyone pushing Cass?

- There it is....

- How fucking deep has Metatron gone??!!

- lmao Metatron burdening Cass with the knowledge of Fandom

- for a person who loves vampires, I really find the vampire eps in Supernatural so fking boring. I don't know what it is.

- look at me, bitch - I know between this and stabbing #thinman it's heralding Dean turning dark(er) but why was that kinda.....????

- Sammy sit down babe, you have no blood

- Taylor Swift reference last ep and now this ep, please let it end there

- I could go into detail but I'm not going to - is something I'm going to adapt into my life

- I love it when the boys aren't the main stars of the episode, it's so much fun

- David and Ennis buddy show when?

- I've always wanted to see more day-to-day monster life, this is cool. Real urban fantasy hours.

- I do feel like I'm watching a soap opera episode tho. What's gonna happen with the monster mob??

- oof seeya Abaddon

- I am a big fan of Crowley and I am an even bigger fan of seeing Crowley struggle with humanity

- did Dean just wake Sam up like George McFly?

- Dean claiming his fine about the blade.... Winchesters be honest with each other challenge

- Agent Spears and Aguilera LOL

- Metatron thankyou for gracing us with Castiel pop culture references

- Metatron with all due respect - you suck

- Castiel's Angels HQ

- I honestly love Castiel the Angel after he's experienced humanity too. Its so interesting.

- I didn't really get Samstiel before this season but now I do. I like the private moments between Sam and Cass, it's like they understand each other on a level they don't see elsewhere.

- jesus christ Metatron is such a slug (no hate to slugs)

- "a nerd trying to be one of the popular kids" NAILED IT

- ooof, Winchester toxic masculinity. They are doing alot of work on themselves but it still shines through every now and again

- Tessa Tessa??!!!

- Tessa!!!!

- oh no, she's in the cult

- I truly was hoping that Metatron would lose the bowling game. Suck shit loser.

- I'm very pop culture savvy now - AND I LOVE IT

- Dean Winchester does not like rules....I am concerned

- Indiana Jones trials bitch!!!!!!!

- this is a dictatorship - jesus Dean, did the spirit of you father just fly out of your mouth or did you mean to say that?

- ooof gadreel came in peace. not hot anymore, just gross. Dean get help.

- CARRY ON MY WAYWARD SON

- good lord, these boys will just throw themselves at anything that solves a short term problem forgetting down the track it will ALWAYS come back to haunt them

- is this Cain and Abel thing going to be prophetic of things to come I wonder

- I hate Metatron so much. Flame. Flames! Flames....down the side of my face. Breathing. Breathless. Heavy breaths.

- Sam is going to be so pissed when he wakes up

- okay, Metatron is cooking with the god doesn't care spiel...like I get it but there had to be another way bro

- Use the force Dean

- oh shit

- wake up buddy 😭😭😭😭

- Just a hunch, considering there's going to be 6 more seasons...I think he'll be right

- what did they do to my boy??!

End of season!! Hope you enjoyed. Will probably do this again.

#supernatural #dean winchester #sam winchester #Supernatural season 9 #Supernatural recap #supernatural rewatch

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witchbydavidcain · 1 year ago

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Witch by David Cain Prologue part one I have been writing this book because I believe my wife is a witch. Our history together has provided ample evidence to conclude that she has and uses magical powers. I’ve seen too much, been a party to too many weird things, to deny the supernatural qualities of our experiences together.

Looking back on the years I’ve shared with her, armed with twenty-twenty hindsight, I suspected that she was a witch from the very beginning, on the very first day we met. Nothing that has happened since has persuaded me otherwise, in fact, most of what has happened confirmed my suspicions.

In a way, I should have been flattered; she showed me who she was right away, revealed her true form, bared the witch within, so to speak. Having been with her all these years, I realize now that she has never shared her true identity like that with anyone else. From the start, I was different. I like that.

I wasn’t thinking about her in those terms yet; I wasn’t ready to begin accusing anyone of anything. I say I was suspicious but honestly, I never dreamed that she was really a witch. I didn’t think anyone was really a witch. I wasn’t open to the idea. I dismissed the connections, the visions and coincidences, just assumed the strange things that had happened were the result of an overactive imagination, fueled by the usual assortment of cocktails, beers, being under-fed and over-tired. I wrote off the experiences as a short bout of madness. Assuming that I was wrong made far more sense to me than the idea of her being a witch. Insanity made more sense to me than supernatural powers.

I call her a witch but that may not be what she is. Witches aren’t the only ones with supernatural powers so having powers doesn’t necessarily make her a witch, but you know what I mean. She’s clearly formed in the shape of a human being; she spends her days doing ordinary human things.

I don’t think she’s an alien or some other kind of supernatural being. I don’t think she shows any signs of possession. I haven’t seen her shape-shifting or anything dramatic like that. I suppose she might be a sorceress, a wizard, or a high priestess in some dark occult religion, perhaps. I’m just going to call her a witch. The title suits her. I can wrap my head around that.

The thing is, the reason I’m writing all this down, is that lots of strange stuff has happened since I met her and I want to make a record of it, just in case. Sometimes it scares me senseless. I don’t know what I mean.

If something should happen to me, I was going to say, but I don’t think anything bad is going to happen. Our time together has been phenomenally good. I would have to say that spending time with a witch has been very beneficial.

I guess I’m trying to make a record, in case some one needs to understand what has been going on with her. I’ve been a front-line witness to years of witchy behavior. I just think I should write it all down.

At the very least, it’s an interesting story. Maybe that’s why I want to write it down, because I don’t have anyone I can tell my story to. I’ve been alone with the knowledge. I can’t even imagine who I’d seriously discuss this with. They’d think I was crazy or laugh at me. Married to a witch. I’m dying to tell someone about it but I’m going to keep my mouth shut, for my own good. This will have to do.

Let’s get one thing straight: I’m not calling her out, not accusing her, not trying to bring her to justice or salvation or whatever I would be doing if I made her witchiness public. So I haven’t called any church elders; I haven’t been in contact with a witch hunter. Nor have I forbidden her from cleaning the house using magic. I’m quite happy, being married to a witch. It’s very nice.

I joked about the house cleaning but from what I’ve gathered witchcraft doesn’t work that way. She can’t just cast a quick spell and make the house clean or transformed into a medieval castle. That would be a good trick, of course, but that would be more of a Jeannie sort of thing. Witches are subtle in their use of power, certainly more subtle than that. They don’t make things happen as much as they smooth the path that leads wherever they want to go. They help or hinder.

I’ve seen a few weird things but I’m never going to prove anything using undocumented visual evidence. If I’d taken pictures or video or something, we could talk but eye witness accounts aren’t reliable. I have to be realistic; I may have been seeing things that weren’t there. Visual evidence is not a big part of my case, anyway; I wish it were. If I had seen more unexplainable things, it might not have taken me so long to reach my conclusion. That said, I have seen some weirdnesses.

My case is an accumulation of things I’ve seen, heard and experienced. It is an incomplete record of the events that transpired; lots of stuff may have happened that I don’t know anything about. Although I live with her, I can’t pretend to know everything she does magically. All I can attest to is what I’ve witnessed, what I’ve seen, heard and felt.

For what that’s worth. I’m not sure I’m a good witness or even a reliable one. Not just because I don’t always pay attention to details and miss lots of things that go past me. I think she messes with my mind, so even what I know is suspect. It isn’t a great place to start but it will have to do.

I’ve never seen anything float or magically blink into or out of existence. I haven’t heard any objects talk or seen anything suddenly transform from one thing into another. Just to be clear, there haven’t been any parlor tricks, no stage-type magic, no bright balls of light and big bangs. Nor does she ever wave a wand. I don’t even think she has one. There is a stick on her witch shelf but I don’t think that proves much of anything.

What I have seen, let’s say, that might prove she is a witch, has been her success. It seems like luck is always on her side. She can do things that I’m not sure she should be able to do, things I know I couldn’t do. There are lots of things I can’t do, but she does things I don’t think anyone could do. She has a knack for doing the right thing at the right time in the right way to accomplish the right result. It’s uncanny.

She can foresee the future, too often for it to be mere coincidence; she always seems to make lucky guesses, always has the right cards, so to speak. She knows things, things she shouldn’t be able to know, like who’s going to win or what exactly I’m thinking.

#witch #witchblr #booklr #reading #fiction #novel

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pnchinbeez · 8 months ago

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Alright , it's okay to learn from tiktok (yeah ew) and I learned from there originally too but here's a list

Bruce Wayne-Batman

He's batman Yada Yada we all know

Dick Grayson- Nightwing

He was the first Robin and then after being night wing for a while Bruce went missing and he became batman until Bruce showed back up. He's a derective in bludhaven right now (a city kinda close to gotham)

Jason Todd -Red Hood

He's the second Robin, he was killed by joker with a crowbar then brought back to life by the Lazarus pit (think toxic waste green pool that brings people back to life) and got mad when he found out there was a new Robin and that Bruce hadn't killed joker for him so he's basically deadpool with out swords and not girly pop. if that makes sense.

Tim drake- Red robin

He's the kid of some other billionaires which died. Then adopted by Bruce after Jason's death and Became robin #3 . Honestly we don't have alot of Tim content but he loves coffee and is probably the best detective ever.

Barbra gorden - The Ocrale (originally batgirl)

Shes Jim Gordon's daughter, she looked up to batman as a kid then as a teen became Batgirl and in a fight with joker hot shot by humans became paralyzed. She's the oracle now and is basically the man in the chair (if you know what that means) and is a tech genius

Stephanie brown - spoiler (once robin)

Daughter of cluemaster (gotham villian) was robin for a bit then batgirl then back to spoiler. (Her story is very confusing ) and she's just spoiler now

Cassandra Cain- orphan

Shes the daughter of the evil crime master David Cain an assassin and was trained as a weapon. She doesn't talk much because she was trained not to, then was saved by batman and became orphan (she's super badass) but I don't know to much more about her sadly

Damian wayne- Robin

He's the only bio kid of Bruce Wayne, he was raised by the League of Assassins (literally what you think it is) his mom was second in command there and his grandad runs it. Then when he was 10 (I think?) As a former of punishment or for spying I'm not really sure he was sent to his dad (Bruce) who did not know of his existence. He's mean and like Jason doesn't really follow the no kill rule but as he gets older he becomes more of robin and chills out.

Duke Thomas-The signal

He's got light powers and is pretty badass too ngl, he's parent were mind controlled by joker and he got sent to foster care and was (is?) Trying to find them. By this point he was already signal

Edit:

Alfred-MOTGER FUCKING ALFRED BITCH

He's the butler yeah yeah, but he was in the fucking royal Air force . He also literally won against fight superman like no joke. We don't really know how old he is but he doesn't really ever die so yk that'd great and can kick anyone. Anyone's ass any time

I think that's everyone but hmu if I missed some one and feel free to add on I know my convers weren't that good.

I hope this helps

Ok i recently started reading batman fanfics but i have never read any of the comics and barely seen any movies so all i know is from tiktok (ew i know) and tumblr

Now, the problem is im so fucking confused who is who. I know batman is Bruce Wayne, think Dick grayson is nightwing and Jason tod is red hood. Tim also has a alias but no clue what it is nor his surname. And im fairly certain that damian is the new Robin

(Cause all of them were Robin at one point right?)

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zahri-melitor · 2 years ago

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Honestly beechan is a good writer, it’s a shame that he was stuck with writing Cass going evil (which I believe was actually an editorial mandate bc they were thinking of bringing back babsgirl already), but you’re right that it’s a good read if you can ignore the character assassination lmao

Yeah for an editorially mandated evil arc, Beechen just throwing his hands up and going “ok so Cass can just be her mother for a bit” is…not the worst? In that Shiva was also being sort of weird and actually working heavily with the League of Assassins immediately prior to One Year Later? Like obviously we would all have preferred no evil!Cass arc, but as someone who LOVES Tim and Lady Shiva’s interactions, Cass getting set up in that dynamic with Tim is just good times for me, compared to the many many worse decisions that could have been made. (I don’t LIKE ‘you are fated to become your parents’ as a trope but also it’s SHIVA. Honestly I’d have been more offended if she instead had become a mini-David Cain)

(Especially the bit where Shiva shows up to check on Tim and basically goes “have you seen Cass recently? I care about you both a lot”. Beechen gets their dynamic)

Anyway, Beechen’s run has these good things going for it: a whole bunch of solid characterisation work (aside from you know, Cass); Tim and Bruce actually getting some moments to relate to each other as adoptive family; the villain plots are actually interesting? First time since Dixon left that the average Rogues knocking around a Robin book felt properly scaled again. It feels like it plays with and adapts a lot of the old Dixon status quo in interesting ways. I like the Dodge storyline. Zoanne actually reminds me a lot of Ariana.

Compared to other writers:

Dixon is Dixon (and there ARE no 90s Batfam comics without Dixon, love him or hate him).

Jon Lewis does decent character work but his plots are off the wall, and contain so much more magic than you expect to see in a Robin book. Letting Tim and Steph’s relationship breathe a bit and have them spend some time out of costume together? Necessary character work. The secret homesteading isolationist wrestling club plot? BONKERS. Charaxes clones? BONKERS. PLUS he forgot Janet Drake’s first name AND he wrote the 16th Birthday story (time-travel is NOT illogical to Tim, Tim’s literally best friends with BART ALLEN).

And then you have Bill Willingham, who CAN write, but is hugely uneven on Robin. When he’s on his game things are great. Dark Rider is hilarious, especially in how over him Tim immediately gets. Fresh Blood was a solid team up story. The Dana bits of #134-136 make me highly emotional, though I’m not thrilled about the way she was written out of the story (Issues #134 and #136 are both legitimately solidly written highlights of Willingham’s run). But then he got editorially screwed over by the necessities of War Games, the Johnny Warlock plotline was extremely dull, and it just. kept. going, and then once he was clear of THAT the end of his run devolves into a war plotline which is TOO WEIRD EVEN FOR CHUCK DIXON. Like, Dixon already WROTE a war storyline (the Dava Sborsc plot) and it was 300% better and not just because it contained Lady Shiva, but because Tim was wrestling with actually interesting problems about when is resisting an invasion justified and what actions are acceptable, rather than being in a post-9/11 gun ho invasion. I cannot forgive #147 ending with the “what might happen” moment for One Year Later being… Does Tim join the secret military with right wing fake Captain America? NO. NO HE DOES NOT. NO SHIT, SHERLOCK.

#z canon read throughs

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newx-menfan · 2 years ago

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I *would* like David to win the vote, he'd make a fun contribution especially now that he has his powers back, but it would also be funny if the Juggernaut was an X-Man and Professor X just had to deal with that wouldn't it? What's the best way to get David into a core cast while also messing with Charles and f'ing up his day?

I’m kind of biased…truthfully I just don’t find Cain very interesting…

The only stories I can think of that I really enjoyed him was Yost’s Amazing X-Men story where Santo spends the whole time wanting to be the new Juggernaut… and Claremont’s Colossus/Juggernaut brawl in the bar after Peter broke up with Kitty…

He’s fine as a villain…but I just don’t think I would care for him in the lead book.

Part of the reason I want Prodigy is because I am dying to see him interact with Synch and Doug Ramsey… an entire arc of just David and Doug would be AMAZING!

Honestly- Marvel didn’t even NEED the Synch romance drama; myself and most fans would totally pay just to see him being buds with Cyclops and David! 😂🤣

I’m actually hoping David wins just because…truthfully…as much as I like Sam Guthrie…Sam needs Roberto or someone to bounce off of- both Everett AND Sam are just too gosh darn nice guys that it’ll just get a bit boring…

Jubes would be fun, since her and Everett are the BEST!….but I would rather have Leah keep writing for her truthfully AND all Jubilee would be used for is Laura/Vault Laura/Synch drama 😕

If Frenzy is part of the team- writers will probably bring up her relationship with Scott…which I just truthfully don’t even care about…

I would rather see Dazzler written again by Leah OR have writers bring back Longshot and her in a mini (seriously- if Rogue and Gambit can get a mini…so should they!)

So yeah-David would definitely be the coolest and most interesting choice (yes I AM biased 😂🤣!)

#Question #Answer #x men vote #x men elections #x men vote 2023 #Prodigy #Cannonball #Juggernaut #Frenzy #Jubilee #Dazzler

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scrapyardboyfriends · 4 years ago

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No, they've not made a single decent storyline choice. NOT A SINGLE ONE. Ryan's exit wasn't a total calamity and that is literally the ony thing that can be said about them. Everything has been steady stream down hill for the show from their first day on. It is so depressing because yes I came for Robron but I did genuinely love the show as a whole and now it's basically a joke.

Just like...so many bad choices. Haha

- the whole Cain thinks he killed Joe saga that dragged on for months only to just abruptly end because they finally got Kim back on the show

- of course bringing in Nate as Cain's long lost son to have an affair with Moira, creating the least sexy affair ever that dragged on for months and then they forced him to try and learn to be his dad

- bringing Donny back to do...something? only to end up hurting Vanessa who he had never met and kidnapping her son just to get a Lachlan return that was absolutely pointless and went nowhere

- bringing Andrea and Millie in for Jaime

- deciding to do a story suggesting that Millie could be Graham's daughter and dragging that reveal on for ages only for him to just...not be her father

- that whole Lydia is really Jenny Finn story (which admittedly I didn't actually watch) but using that to then introduce her family who showed up long enough to be annoying and tell her she might have the Hutchinson's gene only to drag that out forever and ever and then she just didn't and we've never seen her family again

- the Maya stuff was going along kind of fine until the big reveal and then they promptly made it all about David and had him be upset with Jacob for sleeping with his girlfriend until he calmed down enough to realize she had groomed him but then they couldn't even be bothered enough to really resolve Jacob's trauma and feelings over all of it so it just sort of went away until they decided a Christmas Day baby was the way to go and then it was just...David's for...reasons??

- And speaking of the Maya reveal, having that whole insane thing on the Big Night Out with Leyla, Tracy and Priya only for it to amount to absolutely nothing other than that they I guess couldn't testify in the trial but then it was never mentioned again

- the entire concept of Bear Wolf (being named Bear Wolf and never getting a proper name) and him being Paddy's father. And not only did Paddy not need a father figure on the show, he definitely did not need to be regressed even further, if that's even possible, to try and desperately suck up to him for attention

- ruining Kerry and Dan's relationship for good and thereby kind of pulling Kerry out of the comfortable comic relief role she was great at

- bringing Amy back just to basically immediately make her partially responsible for Frank's death along with Kerry and then proceed to make them really unlikeable while they dragged that story out forever until it just ended because Kerry got a bump on the head. And they just never properly resolved it so it's still there hanging over their heads and people still get mad at them about it

- the whole Factory Fire in general because it was terribly done what with the comedy of errors that you could just feel setting it all up in a way that just felt totally contrived and ridiculous. And honestly Frank's whole exit in general because all he did was just run around and be weird and cryptic for weeks beforehand just to leave them and the viewers with an unnecessary mystery to unravel afterwards

- Robert's exit may have been fine but Vic's side of things certainly was not after the initial part. Just constantly throwing her under the bus to facilitate his exit. Bringing Wendy to live in the village. Luke being Lee's brother, which was just wholly unnecessary

- Billy and Aaron's whole feud that went absolutely nowhere

- Billy and Ellis's feud that was just like Walmart Sugden Bros and then they just like...forgot about it and we never really found out why Ellis was so mad at him to be so threatening when he first arrive and later try and arbitrarily run him over

- Jessie's constant refusal to believe that Billy might not be perfect, which all culminated in that random Max guy holding them all hostage at gunpoint and Jessie getting shot, but then she found out some truths about Billy and was mad at him for like five seconds so it wasn't even worthwhile and then everyone was just like...cool

- honestly...Marlon and Jessie's whole relationship

- giving Chaddy a second pregnancy

- Paddy locking Aaron in his own home

- Will stalking Harriet and then the two of them getting together in what could be an interesting story on paper but the two of them are so boring it was just dreadful

- Mandy showing up with Vinny and them doing that whole "is this Paddy's son" fake out

- the whole insane Arthur bullies Archie thing that went on forever so that it couldn't even be resolved before Covid and then it was just never mentioned again

- that excruciating scene where Amy and Eric treated Kyle like he was a two year old instead of what...7? at the time and hemmed and hawed for way too long over telling him that she was his mother

Honestly, the fact that Robert's exit was decent is a damn miracle. But I also think they just lucked out because they were able to tack it onto another story so it was actually given importance and build up and then had to have consequences that mattered inherently because it was an exit story. That and just Ryan and Danny's chemistry and character history added to the investment. Plus...we're biased. Haha.

#emmerdale complaints corner

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bigskydreaming · 4 years ago

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I’m still thinking through names I like for Cass better than Orphan or Black Bat (which I don’t hate like I do Orphan, but I’ve always felt that the name Black Bat came more out of just ‘come up with something franchise themed’ than trying to find something for Cass specifically), for when she’s not Batgirl or Steph is instead. Not for any particular project or anything, I’ve just been stuck on that train of thought since falling onto it the other day.

I think I’ve given up on it being Red themed lol. My dreams for Batfam symmetry are doomed to come to naught. C’est la vie.

Currently though most of the ideas I have are all central to or revolving around communication or connection, because I honestly think those are thematically so PIVOTAL to who Cass is.....but the danger is something like that coming across as ironic due to Cass not being particularly talkative in a lot of peoples’ interpretations or views, and its absolutely not meant to be, not for the reasons I’m thinking.

Like because the thing about her childhood is....there’s so much to focus on that was fucked up about what David Cain put her through, its impossible to have a specific place to ‘start’. But I think something that definitely at least has to be way up there is the isolation he forced her to live most of her early life in. Deprived of even the POSSIBILITY of connection to others. Because connection is so fundamental to what makes us human. As well as to what makes Cass “Cass.” Cass THRIVES due to the connections she chooses for herself. Don’t get me wrong, she’s fully capable on her own, its not about suggesting she’s reliant on them.....for me, its more about the triumph of her having the freedom and CHOICE now to connect herself to as many people as she chooses, when originally her father had meant for her to basically exist APART from society. Emphasizing the importance of connection and communication to Cass is like, a definite fuck you to her dad and his plans for her, a symbol of her freedom and independence.

But also its not JUST that, because its also just about the sheer joy of connecting for Cass, because its the fulfillment of dreams she never really expected to become reality. Because as much as her life with David defined a large portion of her childhood, she was also shaped in no small part by the years she spent on her own....where even though she was out from under Cain’s thumb, she was still influenced by the specter of him and everything he’d ever said to her. She kept herself apart from society for the most part, even though now technically she was free to mingle among it if she chose....because she felt guilt-ridden over the death she’d been party to though it had never truly been her fault and she was very much Cain’s victim there as well as the man who died, rather than him being her victim.

But the point is, a lot of the second half of her childhood was spent in silence as well, albeit self-imposed silence....except also no, fuck that, it wasn’t self-imposed because she was still suffering from the trauma of her worldview being so heavily shaped and influenced by her abusive fucknugget of a father, who’d essentially spent years convincing her that words weren’t for her, that communication, that connection, those were things for people other than her but would forever elude her because she just wasn’t BORN to partake in those things. She stayed outside of society, made no real effort to figure out if she COULD learn to communicate like others did, because her abuse in no small part had revolved around making her believe it was just her place to be silent, her role. That a weapon didn’t need words.

So in the family and fulfillment Cass found later in Barbara and Bruce and Steph and others, like.....it wasn’t just about her finding companionship or even a sense of purpose or direction......she found a voice. Even if she speaks more with sign than out loud or even if she has trouble translating her thoughts into words or sign language due to learning disability or the like, Cass very much COMMUNICATES, she connects, she has things to say, and she more than anyone understands the importance of a voice, whether spoken or written or signed, of the power inherent in just being able to use it and express oneself.

And its equally key that Bruce and Babs and others didn’t GIVE that to her, because how could they? It was something she had all along because the reality is no matter how hard he tried, it was something Cain couldn’t truly take from her. All he could do (and make no mistake, I use “all he could do” to emphasize the ultimate failure of his attempts to control her rather than to dilute the extent of trauma his abuse did inflict) - but even his attempts to cut her off from people and isolate her via an inability to communicate.....they relied wholly on denying her the tools and opportunities to learn how to make use of her voice, of the things she wanted and needed to say.

So its not a gift that Babs and Bruce bestowed on her, because it wasn’t something anyone COULD give her anymore than it could fully be taken from her. But they did help her find that she had things to say and she had ways to say them. That she deserved to be heard and understood as much as anybody, and that she had so much in her that had just been waiting for someone to tell it to and ways for her to do that. They helped show her how to connect her voice to the right audiences for it, to communicate to people who would hear her and as Batgirl and Black Bat.....to people who NEEDED to hear her. For whom the things she could communicate via her actions and protection as much as anything else.....like that was a message they needed to hear themselves due to the abusers and villains in their own lives.

And I just see that as so.....triumphant for Cass is the word I honestly keep going back to the most.

I’ve called Dick’s approach to vigilantism his form of performance art. Carrying something that holds great importance to him even if others might overlook its significance, into what he does as a vigilante in ways that everyone he helps benefits from. Even if they don’t realize that his light-hearted performances even while sweeping them out of the path of danger is as much to help buffer them from the trauma of what is happening to them and how much they’ve already suffered.....those are as much a part of his aim to protect and make peoples’ lives better as his actual martial arts.

In the same sense, I consider Cass’ approach to vigilantism her form of connectivity. Its her message to people who need to hear, to see, to believe that there is help for them out there, that there is someone who wants to come for them, someone who wants to bring them out of whatever hole or isolation or danger they’ve fallen or been forced into....they need this as much as Cass needs it to be able to say look at me, look at my actions, I did that, I said that, that was ME.

For Cass, I feel vigilantism is about finding her voice, finding ways to put into message form others can understand even on a primal level the things she wants to communicate, that she wishes had been communicated earlier to her...that everyone deserves to be connected, to have connections, and to just....speak. In whatever form they can or choose to.

Its about the ability and freedom to use her voice, to impart her messages....and see those things have IMPACT. Be heard. Seen. Communicated.

And for those reasons I keep coming back to something like Songbird, but its ugh....its such a Catch 22. It would be so easy to misconstrue, but honestly I think it fits what I’m describing so well and like.....whatever, ultimately it doesn’t matter since this is just a headcanony thing anyway and not going to actually change anything, but like....I am The Undecided.

(Also I know Marvel already has a Songbird, but a) I dont care, like Marvel is stupid so umm why would that even matter yeah thats what I thought and b) I mean Songbird is an easy name to attach to any color one wants to make part of her name and ascribe particular significance to. Like she could be Red Songbird? Scarlet Songbird? Yes? No? Give up the dream Kalen, Big Red, Middle Red and Lil’ Red just ain’t it? Ugh, fine. Booo.)

But anyway, that’s what I’ve been musing on.

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glassprism · 4 years ago

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sooo if alw and the phantom team came to you and said celina, we are doing a new phantom anniversary performance + proshot. we need you to cast it but only with phantom vet and favorites; how would you do it? Who would you give cameos to? outside of casting, what would you want them to do differently than the 25th anniversary concert? :)

Gonna be honest, if ALW and co. came up to me, my first conversation might be something like this.

Me to Charles Hart, Richard Stilgoe, and the ghosts of Hal Prince, Gillian Lynne, and Maria Bjornson: I am so honored to have been contacted by you. Just know that I love what you created and respect each and every one of you so, so much.

Me to ALW: I know we’ve had our differences. I have called you several bad names in the past. I still don’t agree with you on everything. But thank you for your 2020 redemption arc.

Me to Cameron Mackintosh: Absolutely nothing I said above applies to you. Why are you even here. We don’t want you here. We don’t need you here.

Now as for casting... I’m sure you’ve heard me talk occasionally about the four most popular Phantoms, Christines, and Raouls in the phandom, so if we really want to cast based solely on that, it might look something like this:

Phantoms: Michael Crawford, Gerard Butler, Ramin Karimloo, Ben Lewis

Christines: Sarah Brightman, Emmy Rossum, Sierra Boggess, Anna O’Byrne

Raouls: Michael Ball, Patrick Wilson, Hadley Fraser, Simon Gleeson

This assumes that I do not have necromantic powers (though I am apparently talking to ghosts, so hmm...), otherwise I would raise Steve Barton from the dead to perform. But honestly, I would pay big money to see that cast. The Raouls will be fine, the Christines probably fine (a little iffy on Brightman’s voice, but at least Rossum has acquired a lot more training). I just really, really want to hear whatever Gerard Butler sounds like now against Michael Crawford’s light tenor, Ben Lewis’s dark baritone, and Ramin Karimloo’s untrained-but-he-can-fake-it voice. Come on. Imagine it.

But if I was to cast an actual stage cast... I would probably try for a mix of actors from older and newer productions, the flagship productions vs. international productions, long runners with newcomers, gearing towards people who have made a bit of name for themselves in theatre. So maybe something like:

Phantoms: John Owen-Jones, Hugh Panaro, Alexander Goebel, Henk Poort, Saulo Vasconcelos, Osamu Takai, Hong Kwang Ho, Ivan Ozhogin, Peter Joback, Anthony Warlow, Jonathan Roxmouth

Christines: Gina Beck, Ali Ewoldt, Luzia Nistler, Joke de Kruijf, Giulia Nadruz, Sae Yamamoto, Kim So Hyun, Tamara Kotova, Emmi Christensson, Ana Marina, Claire Lyon

Raouls: Danny Whitehead, John Riddle, Timothy Breese, Peter de Smet, Fred Silveira, (realizes I don’t know many Japanese Raouls), Son Jun Ho, Evgeny Zaycev, Anton Zetterholm, Alexander Lewis, Matt Leisy

Carlotta: Claire Moore / Rebecca Caine

Firmin and Andre: Edward Staudenmayer and David Benoit

Piangi: Uh... Larry Wayne Morbitt

Madame Giry: ... Jacinta Mulcahy?

Meg: ...Kelsey Connolly

And yes, I had to be selective, so don’t anybody start coming at me going, “But where’s Peter Karrie / Earl Carpenter / Franc D’Ambrosio / any other actor???” This list is long enough, life is about hard choices, etc. And yes, I included the the restaged tour by bringing on its managers AKA the best thing about the tour and most deserving of a chance to be in the original. I envision the different actors each taking on a different scene (don’t ask me to break down which one, I haven’t thought that far ahead) or even singing some of them together, and then having one massive sing-fest at the end.

I’m going to leave off the cameos, but as for what I’d change from the 25th anniversary, I’d probably just bring back some of the things it omitted, such as the Mirror Bride and the chandelier crash. I’d also eliminate the use of projections, which just made the stage seem too bright and empty.

And there you have it, my absolute mess of a concert.

#Anonymous #GP gets asks

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our-happygirl500-fan · 4 years ago

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Since the RoundRobin sneak peaks came out I've been seeing a lot of Cass fans go 'so David Cain is alive again???' but I honestly think it is just for this story DC will tend to bring characters back to life & then ignore that they brought them back a lot

I say this as someone who watched DC retcon Arthur Brown into being alive again in one book & then said he was dead again in another book that both came out on the same month

#DC comics #david cain #arthur brown #dc

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agentnico · 5 years ago

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Tenet (2020) Review

Not sure I can like this movie......it made me feel stupid.

Plot: Armed with only one word, Tenet, and fighting for the survival of the entire world, a Protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real time.

The film to save cinema. Or so it is hoped. Christopher Nolan pushed Warner Bros. to stick with the movie’s original July release date for as long as possible (even with the COVID shutdown), and with Nolan being Nolan, Warner Bros. tried to appease him for as long as possible, but in the end Tenet was delayed to come out end of August, with hopes to bring audiences back to the multiplexes for the remainder of the year. First and foremost, having been to the cinemas now, I can assure everyone that it is very much safe to go back to enjoy screenings, as theatres have made all the necessary new precautions to ensure both visitors and employees are safe and protected. However, is Tenet itself worth the cinema visit?

Honestly, I don’t even know. I find myself in quite the perplexing situation where I watched the film, but it feels like I didn’t watch the film, as I legitimately didn’t understand much of what was being throwing on the screen. Mind you, there is a lot being thrown. Christopher Nolan takes full advantage of his $250 million budget (Jesus!) giving us intense action sequences, sprawling James Bond-style locations and so many LOUD NOISES!!! I DON’T KNOW WHAT WE ARE YELLING ABOUT!! Seriously, this movie is one hell of a kicker to the eardrums. If you come out of the cinema deaf, consider yourself lucky, that’s only the first phase. But not only is it loud, as a whole the sound mixing in Tenet is embarrassingly abysmal! Background sounds constantly overplay the dialogue, making most of the speech near inaudible. In addition, Nolan seems to be missing his The Dark Knight trilogy days, by turning every character in Tenet into Tom Hardy’s Bane, wearing masks which causes anything that’s spoken to sound muffled and near impossible to understand. I guess Nolan is unintentionally being with the times, as in our current climate everyone has to wear masks too, however both in reality and in-film, masks garble up lines making any kind of dialogue incomprehensible. Here I thought, I may not understand what someone’s asking me at a shop, but at least I get what this character in the movie is saying. Seems I was wrong then, wasn’t I! Gosh darn it Nolan, you ruined Christmas! And yes, summer ended, get ready for those annoying folk who start Christmas celebrations as early as September. But I digress, the sound editing is terrible and definitely undermines the film’s other technological accomplishments with the massive sets and all-practical effects. That being said, there is a wonderful exchange at one point in the movie between Robert Pattinson’s and John David Washington’s characters. “Hngmmhmmh,” says Pattinson. “Mmghh nmmhhmmmm nghhh,” replies Washington. Marvellous.

Moving back to the film’s plot though, I don’t get it. From my understanding, the main story thread-line is actually fairly generic, with Denzel Washington’s son discovering a secret organisation that deals with world threats, and he has to go and find some evil dude who does evil things and is very very evil who may be played by a Brit (of course!) who’s doing his best at a Russian accent (double of course!) who happens to have some deadly weapon that is to cause a nuclear war. So you know, typical Bond stuff. However Christopher Nolan chooses to present this story in such a ridiculously convoluted way, that you get confused by the entire shindig even before all the time-travelling weirdness is introduced. Speaking of the time-travelling element, Nolan introduces us to this new inversion gimmick, and don’t get me wrong, I think the concept itself is actually really cool with huge potential if done right, however its execution in this movie leaves us with only questions and no answers, but even with the questions, I don’t even know what said questions are, as I just didn’t get it. Apparently I’m not alone in this, as even one of the film’s stars, Robert Pattinson, was constantly confused by the script, so spent the entire shoot asking his co-star John David Washington to explain everything to him. It literally is an unsolvable puzzle. It kind of seems like Nolan had a dream, and once he woke up, he decided to just go ahead and make the film without understanding all the details himself, with the motto of “I’m Christopher Nolan b**ches!” and of course, he is Nolan, he could make a movie about a toilet seat having feelings and people would still dig that stuff up!

When it comes to the performances, there isn’t much I can say. All the characters are not given much depth and are quite one-dimensional, so even though both leads Washington and Pattinson are charismatic and likeable, it’s only because I like the actors themselves, not the characters. Same goes for the likes of Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Yesterday’s Himesh Patel, again, all likeable actors, couldn’t tell you anything about their characters. Elizabeth Debicki is the only who’s given at least some minimal layers, being the emotional core of the movie, but then again, she is mainly kept under the damsel-in-distress role throughout. Kenneth Branagh does the evil Bond villain fine, but his reasons for wanting to end the world kind of leave you thinking “is that it?”. Oh, and Michael Caine gets one of the top-billings on the movie’s posters, yet he’s in the film for less than 5 minutes. That must be one of the easiest paychecks ever!

I really wanted to like Tenet. I admire Christopher Nolan as a director and adore his passion for cinema, however this movie didn’t work for me. It’s too intricately complicated, but in a way where it feels like the movie thinks its more clever than it actually is, the sound design and muffled dialogue is atrocious, there’s no character depth and is overall one of Nolan’s weaker outings. Who would’ve thought that the big reason to return to the cinemas would actually be Bill and Ted!

Overall score: 4/10

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khoicesbyk · 5 years ago

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The Nanny Affair

The Vacation Of A Lifetime. Part 1.

Author’s Note: This fanfic right here is based off of the preview for Chapter 14. This will be three parts. First is what happens before they get to Italy. And the second and third parts will be what happens once they land. Talley Ho! *in my Sherlock Holmes voice*

Song and Story inspiration: I Feel It Coming-The Weeknd.

***Rated: Mature 18+. Contains sexual content and strong language. You know? The usual from me. 😁

***Bolded and/or italicized words are conversations and thoughts of the characters.

***Characters: Sam Dalton (LI) and Krystal Parker (MC)

***All Characters and names (except MC) are property of Pixelberry.

***Trigger Warning: Aviophobia aka a fear of flying. Read at your own discretion.***

Current Word Count: 1,732 words. Personal victory for me! I normally do over 2,000 words. 😁👏🏾🙌🏾💃🏾

Krystal stood there in the kitchen frozen in place. She couldn’t believe what she just heard Sam say.

“Krystal, you okay there?”, he asked her.

“Yeah…I think so. Did you just say that we’re going to Italy?”, she asked.

“Yeah. That’s exactly what I said.”, he replied.

“Uh huh! That’s what I thought you said. So, why are you turning your business trip to Italy into a family trip to Italy again? Because that part I missed.”, she said to him.

“You missed it because; I haven’t explained that part yet. Like I said before; you were right about me being a coward. I was just too stubborn to admit it. Not out loud. Not to you. And certainly not to myself. But being called on it; was enough for me to realize that I need you. I need you near me. I can’t even function properly, without you. And besides; I was kidding myself. I can’t leave my kids behind for 2 months. Business trip to Italy or no business to Italy; I can’t leave my boys. So, get packed because we’re going to Italy. We leave in 2 hours.”, he explained.

“Okay. I’ll go get packed…I’m going to Italy. Wow!”, she replied in a slightly nervous tone.

“I thought you’d be a lot more excited than this.”, he told her.

“No I am. I’m very excited to go. I’m just not exactly excited about flying to get there.”, she says to him.

“If you’re worried about flying with Sofia then; you can stop worrying. She’s flying in with her dad and brother.”, he told her.

“No it’s not that. It has nothing to do with Sofia. I’m not excited about flying because I have a not so small fear of flying?”, she says to him.

“You have Aviophobia?”, he asked. She nodded in response.

“Krystal. You know I would never let anything happen to you, right?”, he asked her.

“I-I know…I…it’s just that…I-I don’t like not being on solid ground. And being 50,000 feet in the air is my biggest nightmare. I know that I should’ve told you sooner but; I didn’t think it mattered because, we weren’t flying anywhere.”, she answered.

That’s when he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. She all but melted into a puddle of nothing, in his arms.

“Look at me. Nothing will happen to you, I swear. I won’t let anything happen to you. You don’t have to be afraid. I’m here. I’ll be there with you. Me and the boys. We’ll be there. You don’t have to be afraid.”, he said to her as he rubbed her back. He wanted to calm her fear. “I will never let anything hurt you.”

She felt safe in his arms. She felt home in his arms. “I’m okay. I’ll be okay. Thank you.”, she told him. He kissed her forehead and said to her, “I know you will be. Go, get packed. I’ll get the boys ready.”

2 hours later they were at Dulles Airport; walking to the Dalton Enterprises private jet. As they got closer to the plane; her fear started to take over. Sam took notice at her growing fear so; he decided to introduce her to the flight crew.

“Krystal; I’d like to introduce you to Frank Walton and David Young. They’re the pilots. And this is Wesley Caine, Andrea Baker, Dina Campbell and Xavier Trent. They’re the flight attendants. They will make sure that we will be completely safe.”, he explained to her; in hopes that it quell her growing fear.

“Everyone; this is Krystal Parker. She has a slight fear of flying; and wanted to assure her that she’s in VERY capable hands.”, he said as he introduced her to them.

“Krystal! You’re afraid to fly?”, Mickey asked.

“Yes, I am.”, she answered.

“So that’s why dad had us bring our airplane buddies!”, Mason said as he snuggled his airplane plushie.

“You two are my airplane buddies.”, she told them with a smile.

“Ms. Parker; I can most certainly assure you that are and will be safe. We will make sure of that.”, Frank said with a warm smile.

“Shall we Mr. Dalton?”, he asked Sam. Once Sam nodded they boarded the plane. And soon; they flying over the Atlantic towards Naples.

Krystal was fine as long as she didn’t look out of a window and controlled her breathing. So, to do that she focused on the boys; who were at the time watching Disney+ on their iPads. And although he was on a work call in the back; Sam still made sure to check on her and that she was comfortable. He wanted her and the boys to be comfortable.

After the boys fell asleep in their bunks; Sam went to check on her.

“How are you feeling?”, he asked her.

“Honestly, I’m struggling. It was fine at first because I had the boys to focus on; but now that they’re sleep, I-I-I’m back to being terrified. My anxiety is screaming and it’s getting harder to control my shaking”, she admitted to him.

“Come with me.”, he told her as took her hand. She followed him to his cabin in the back. He walked slowly with her so she wouldn’t be too afraid. As soon as the door closed; she collapsed into his arms.

“Hey! Hey! Hey! Shhhhh…it’s okay. I’m here. I got you. You’re safe.”, he whispered in her ear. He rocked her as she trembled and cried. “I know you’re scared Krystal. But; I promise you that you’re doing so good. I promise you that it’ll all be over soon.”

“I know I shouldn’t be scared; but I can’t…I can’t…I can’t help it. It’s an irrational and irrelevant fear I know but—“, she started to say through tears; before he interjected, “nothing about your fear is irrelevant nor irrational. You know that. I would never criticize you for being scared.”

She was able to start calming herself down; because of him. His strength. His warmth. Feeling his arms around her. Feeling him rub her back. All of this is what eventually calmed her down.

“Here sit down.”, he told her as they both sat down on the edge of the bed. She clung to him tightly. “Thank you for helping me. You didn’t have to do any of this for me.”

“Don’t say that. Of course I had to. I didn’t want you to feel like I don’t care. I might’ve been a little busy but; that doesn’t mean I wasn’t thinking about you.”, he said to her.

“What else can I do to make you feel better?”, he asked her.

After thinking about it for a few seconds; she told him, “Sam you’ve already done enough for me; but if you want to do one more thing, you can do this.”

She brought his lips to hers for a very searing kiss. He wrapped his right arm around her waist; while tangling his left hand in her hair, pulling her close. He wanted her; just as badly as she wanted him.

“I need you. Right here, right now!”, he told her in low growl.

“Take me…”, she begged him.

That was all he needed to hear before; pulling her into his lap. Soon; their clothes were in a lazy pile and they were higher up on the bed. They couldn’t keep their hands off of each other.

“God, you are the most beautiful woman in the world.”, he told her; before kissing his way down her jawline, her neck and stopping at her breasts. In between pleasing her breasts; he asks her, “what do you want Krystal? Tell me and it’s yours. I am yours.”

“I need to feel you inside me! I want you inside me!”, she tells him. Hearing the desperation in her voice; sent chills down his spine.

“Your wish is my command…”, he told her; before devouring her mouth again. He lined himself up with her sweet spot, wrapped her legs around his waist and with a thrust of his hips plunged inside her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and whimpered into his shoulder, as he took her.

“God damn you feel so good! So damn good!”, he said as he relentlessly pounded her. Every sound she made was like a shot of adrenaline to him. Every time he kissed her; he sent shockwaves running through her. Pulses radiated throughout her body every time he touched her.

“Yesssssssssss Sam! Take! Me! Just like that! Yes! Just! Like! That!”, she cried out; while clawing at his back. The pain from her nails digging in his skin; intensified his stroke.

“Yeah that’s a good girl! Tell me that dick feels good! Tell me that you want this!”, he growled in her ear. As if on cue she replied, “give it to me! Fuck yesssssssssss! Give it to me! It feels so good! You feel so good! Don’t you stop! Don’t ever stop!”

She was steadily unraveling. And she was getting dangerously close to her climax; and so was he. He was giving her exactly what she needed from him.

“Sam! I’m so close! Ohhhhhhhh God! I’m about to…”, she told him as she struggled to hang on. Her orgasm was right at its peak.

“That’s it kitten! Cum for me! There you go! Let it out! Let it all out!”, he encouraged her. And with that she gave in; and let her orgasm take ahold of her. Her body shook and her eyes rolled back as she rode the ginormous internal wave of pleasure.

And Sam was not too far behind her.

“Shit! I’m about to…fuck! It’s here baby! And it’s all for you!”, he said through gritted teeth. With last thrust of his hips and a deep guttural groan; he let go. His body went rigid as he emptied himself into her. Once he was done; they were both exhausted and satisfied. He laid down next to her and held her close. She laid in his arms shivering because of the aftershocks.

“Are you alright?”, he managed to ask her.

“Yes. I’m fine. Well as fine as I can be. Thanks to you.”, she replied; her voice barely above a whisper.

“Good. You should get some rest. We’ll be landing in Napoli soon.”, he told her. With a sweet goodnight kiss; she was soon fast asleep in his arms.

@lucy-268 @txemrn @choicesficwriterscreations

Stay tuned for Part 2!

😘

#choices #choices fanfiction #fanfic #khoicesbyk #pixelberry #choices stories you play #choices tna #sam dalton #the nanny affair

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aion-rsa · 5 years ago

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Best War Movies to Watch: A Complete Streaming Guide

https://ift.tt/32Bbpxh

Sadly, the human race has pretty much never not been at war. We remain an ever violent, combative crew. Hopefully one day that’ll change and we’ll enter an era of unprecedented peace. Until then though, we have the movies!

War might be hell, but war flicks can be pretty great at times! Armed combat and all the other various theaters and forms of battle makes for high-octane drama and gripping backdrops. And that’s pretty much exactly what we are looking for out of our drama films.

What follows is a (mostly) comprehensive list of all the war movies available with a streaming subscription on the major streaming services. If you’re interested in paying per movie, options like Amazon, Google Play and YouTube should help broaden the field. Otherwise, scroll below because the films here are all free with a log-in subscription to Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, or HBO Max.

‘71

Available on: Hulu (US), Amazon Prime Video (UK)

An underrated British thriller from the last decade, ’71 turns “the Troubles” in Ireland into a pseudo-horror movie. At a mere 99 minutes, this is lean, economical filmmaking with a barebones premise about a British solider (Jack O’Connell) who gets separated from his unit during a Belfast riot in 1971—the height of British-Irish tension. His plight to survive the night is riveting filmmaking and a grim look back to still fresh nightmares.

The African Queen

Available on: Amazon Prime Video (purchase only in UK)

An unlikely war movie at first glance, The African Queen is very much the story of two middle-aged people caught up in the chaos of the First World War. It’s also a crackling adventure yarn about autumn romance between a drunken river boat captain (Humphrey Bogart) and a Christian missionary (Katharine Hepburn) who’s brother was just killed by Germans in colonial Africa. Both set out to get down the river, and away from the Germans’ reach, in this charming John Huston classic with still stunning location photography.

The Alamo

Available on: Hulu

As an ironically little remembered version of the Alamo siege from director John Lee Hancock, The Alamo (2004) is still the best film version of these events. With a refreshing eye for historical authenticity instead of Texan mythmaking, the movie unpacks the lives of David Crockett (Billy Bob Thornton), James Bowie (Jason Patric), and William Travis (Patrick Wilson) with a warts and all approach. It also relays the events of the battle in its actual context at night, and in grim chaos, and gives needed attention to the overlooked contributions of the Tejanos to Texan independence.

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But most significantly, it has a bittersweet soul as expressed in Carter Burwell’s score, which is at its most beautiful when Crockett climbs a parapet to serenade both sides of the battlefield with his fiddle.

A Bridge Too Far

Available on: Netflix (US Only)

The last of its kind, A Bridge Too Far is one of those old-fashioned all-star war epics about World War II that came into vogue between the 1950s and ‘70s. But this nearly all-British production is not about one of the Allies’ greatest triumphs, but rather one of their most disappointing defeats: the failure of Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands.

Director Richard Attenborough and screenwriter William Goldman try to squeeze it all in, which will honestly be exhausting to some viewers. For others, seeing a historically accurate (if too lighthearted) rendering of this battle with the likes of Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Gene Hackman, Anthony Hopkins, Ryan O’Neal, Robert Redford, and more will be enough.

Casablanca

Available on: HBO Max

Another Bogie movie where the war is adjacent to the central conflict, Casablanca is the best wartime melodrama ever produced. Some even consider it the greatest American movie for that matter. Actually made during the Second World War, there is a great rush of patriotic idealism and anxious uncertainty about its vision of a seedy Moroccan city that is ostensibly under free French rule, but is not-so-secretly being occupied by the Nazis. There everyone goes to Rick’s, a café run by a disillusioned American (Bogart) who sticks his neck out for nobody.

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But Rick must soon pick up the fight again after an old flame named Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) walks into his gin joint, bringing with her a French husband, a freedom fighter who has the Nazis breathing down his neck. All three are going to make some tough choices, as will complicit French police officer Louis (a marvelous Claud Rains) as the forces of World War II finally start pulling.

Cold Mountain

Available on: HBO Max

An attempt at an old fashioned sweeping wartime epic, Cold Mountain still brings modern historical insight to the oft-mythologized Civil War. The film is about several people from North Carolina’s Appalachian region. Like many Confederate soldiers, particularly from NC, Inman (Jude Law) has no slaves and no real reason to fight for the Southern cause. So after hellish battle, he deserts and attempts to make a sprawling trek back home.

Elsewhere, however, his sweetheart Ada (Nicole Kidman) must make hard decisions of her own with the leering eye of the Home Guard peeking over her shoulder, especially as word of Inman’s desertion reaches the mountains. An odyssey of the Civil War from the vantage of the impoverished it rolled over, Cold Mountain is a refreshing melodrama.

Da 5 Bloods

Available on: Netflix

Spike Lee’s latest joint is also one that opened up wounds from the Vietnam War that never really healed. Set more in the 2010s than 1960s, Da 5 Bloods follows four Black veterans who’ve ostensibly returned to Vietnam to find the remains of their fallen brother (Chadwick Boseman in one of his final roles). But they’re also here to reclaim gold that was stolen back in ’69.

Something of a heist movie, Lee mixes genres yet never loses sight about the anguish of those who fought in a war, and the legacy it leaves even decades and generations later.

The Dirty Dozen

Available on: HBO Max

Even if you haven’t seen Robert Aldrich’s epic 1967 adventure, the term “dirty dozen” and the basic premise of the movie have found their way into popular culture over the decades and influenced recent movies like Suicide Squad.

A grizzled (as if there’s any other kind) Lee Marvin leads a team of prisoners–including Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, George Kennedy, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland and more–on a suicide mission during World War II, with full pardons as their reward if they survive. The results are explosive and, at the time of release, controversially violent. They also make for one of the great war movies of the era.

Enemy at the Gates

Available on: Netflix, Amazon (US Only)

Sniper versus sniper; eagle versus eagle. That is the basic appeal of Enemy at the Gates, the rare Hollywood World War II drama where America is not even present. Rather this is a film about the war of attrition between the German and Russian forces at the Battle of Stalingrad, the nightmarish conflict which began turning the tide against the Third Reich. The movie features an all-star cast, including Jude Law, Ed Harris, Rachel Weisz, and Bob Hoskins, but it’s the chilly environs of hell on earth which make this worthwhile.

Five Came Back

Available on: Netflix

A film told in three parts, Five Came Back tracks the singular, and now fairly astonishing, choices made by five A-list Hollywood directors: John Ford, Frank Capra, George Stevens, John Huston, and William Wyler. They all chose to leave Hollywood either at the peak of their careers, or at the beginning of it, to make films about the Second World War. Each ultimately served as an officer, and several were in the actual thick of combat to capture war footage (and propaganda) for the first time in history. It was a patriotic and revealing choice then and now, and it’s examined with insight by the likes of Mark Harris and Steven Spielberg here.

Flags of Our Fathers

Available on: HBO Max

Not as good as director Clint Eastwood’s companion film told from the Japanese perspective, Letters from Iwo Jima, Flags of Our Fathers is nonetheless a worthwhile film. A rather skeptical look at the lives of American marines who were turned into an inaccurate legend by the U.S. military when they were photographed raising the American flag above the sands of Iwo Jima, the picture tracks the home lives of soldiers who did their job only too well and were then asked to return home as glorified heroes… and then live an ordinary American life.

The Four Feathers

Available on: HBO Max

One of the great British adventure films of the pre-war era, The Four Feathers is director Zoltan Korda’s sweeping reimagining of the A.E.W. Mason novel. Set during Britain’s colonial wars in Egypt and Sudan during 1882, the film tracks an English officer who only took a commission in the military to honor his family’s ancient war record. However, when the call of war comes, he fears he would not do his duty in battle and resigns his service… so his three friends and even a fiancée give him four white feathers: white for cowardice.

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To redeem himself, he travels to Sudan and helps the British cause while posing as a local. Filmed on actual African locations and in glorious Technicolor at a time when American movies were afraid to leave California, The Four Feathers is a classic (and politically incorrect) throwback.

Gallipoli

Available on: Amazon

Australian filmmaker Peter Weir has directed just 13 films, but probably 10 of them are classics, and this 1981 drama is one of them. A 25-year-old Mel Gibson stars as one of several young men who enlist in the Australian Army during the First World War. They eventually find themselves on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey, site of a costly and lengthy battle that ended in defeat, but marked a turning point for Australia’s perception of itself and its place in the world and a seemingly disinterested British Empire. It’s a harrowing tale about the loss of innocence, national character, and the price of war for both.

Glory

Available on: Netflix (US Only)

Arguably the greatest film ever made about the American Civil War, Edward Zwick’s Glory continues to shine like one gallant rush. Based on the lives of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry regiment, the film tracks the hard fight for respect—and freedom—endured by the first African American regiment in U.S. history.

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With a still crackling ensemble that includes Morgan Freeman, Matthew Broderick, Andre Braugher, and Denzel Washington in his first Oscar winning role, the movie both mythologizes and humanizes the 54th’s struggle as the American struggle. It also soars with James Horner’s most transcendent and ethereal musical score.

The Great Dictator

Available on: HBO Max

The rare comedy on this list, The Great Dictator was a film of political courage by writer-director-producer-and-star Charlie Chaplin. Filmed in 1940 when much of the world was already at war, but the United States was not, this Hollywood film made a farce out of the hatred and fascism of the Third Reich, with Adolf Hitler being especially skewered.

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In the film, Chaplin plays both a fictional barber and Hitler-like dictator who switch places in a Prince and the Pauper styled mix-up. Chaplin thus makes a still hilarious deconstruction of Hitler’s madness and insecurities at a time when most Hollywood studios chose to pretend there wasn’t a war going on. The film also concludes in one of the greatest anti-war speeches in cinema history.

Hacksaw Ridge

Available on: HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video UK

The rare film that is told in merely two acts, director Mel Gibson’s World War II drama is fairly underrated. The film follows the remarkable true story of Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield), an unlikely U.S. Army corporal since he was also a conscientious objector who refused to hold a gun. Nearly court-martialed for his defiance of orders, as a medic Doss insisted he could serve his country well by saving lives on the battlefield. He got his chance at the Battle of Okinawa when he pulled 75 lives out of the carnage, which is captured in grisly detail by Gibson. Likely the bloodiest WWII movie since Saving Private Ryan, Hacksaw Ridge is also one of the best.

Hamburger Hill

Available on: Amazon Prime Video (US Only)

This 1987 film set during the Vietnam War recounts one specific mission: a 1969 assault by the U.S. Army’s 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division, known as the “Screaming Eagles,” on a well-fortified North Vietnamese position near the Laotian border. Dylan McDermott, Don Cheadle, Courtney B. Vance, and Steven Weber all make early career appearances in the film as young soldiers thrust into a situation where victory almost seems more like defeat—as good a metaphor for the Vietnam conflict as any.

Hostiles

Available on: Netflix

Director Scott Cooper did the rare thing with Hostiles: He looked back at American history with nuance and sincere contemplation. This film is ostensibly about a U.S. Cavalry officer on his final mission, which is to escort a family of Native Americans across the last remnants of American frontier. But when that officer (Christian Bale) knows he’s escorting the dying Cheyenne war chief (Wes Studi) who led the doomed side of American Indians in previous conflicts—and alongside a woman (Rosamund Pike) who just lost her family to Indian attacks—the ghosts of America’s sins and recriminations walk with them.

The Hurt Locker

Available on: Hulu, Netflix UK

The film which won Kathryn Bigelow the Oscar for Best Director, The Hurt Locker is the first great movie about the War on Terror in the 21st century. Boiling down the madness of war to being like “a drug” for some soldiers, the film essays the high-stake tension—and adrenaline—of being an officer in the Army’s bomb squad who is responsible for disarming IEDs, bomb vests, and other hidden weapons of death.

It’s terrifying… and exhilarating as personified by Jeremy Renner’s addicted Staff Sgt. William James. Also with a career-making performance by Anthony Mackie and a pseudo-journalistic script by Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker gets under your skin.

Platoon

Available on: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video (US Only)

There were plenty of Vietnam War movies before Oliver Stone’s Platoon, but what shook audiences in 1986 is that this was the first time one was made by a Vietnam veteran. Not that Stone didn’t take liberties: He makes his soldier’s eye view of the generation-defining conflict a fever dream of America’s darkest moments in the shit.

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But his lament for the soldier also brought a renewed sense of sorrow and regret to how veterans were treated in the aftermath. With a heartbreaking supporting performance by Willem Dafoe, whose demise in the film has become iconic, there’s a reason for many this remains the only Vietnam War movie of consequence.

Red Tails

Available on: HBO Max

Here is executive producer George Lucas and director Anthony Hemingway’s well-meaning but so-so aerial war epic about the Tuskegee Airmen. The real-life Black pilots, mechanics, bombardiers, and more made up a segregated flank of African American airmen (as well as flyers from Haiti, Trinidad, and other Caribbean nations) in World War II. This film attempts to honor them with a cast that includes Terrence Howard, David Oyelowo, Nate Parker, and Cuba Gooding Jr.

War Machine

Available on: Netflix

David Michod (Animal Kingdom) wrote and directed this Netflix satire set during the ongoing war in Afghanistan, eight years after the 9/11 attacks. Brad Pitt stars as four-star general Glen McMahon (loosely based on real-life general Stanley McChrystal), whose bleak assessment of the situation on the ground puts him at odds with President Obama and others. Like other less-than-reverent films before it, War Machine is interested in the sheer insanity of war: doing the same thing over and over again while hoping for a different outcome.

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lechemoflife · 5 years ago

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Getting out of Comfort Zone or remain in God’s Zone of Grace?

What comes to our mind when we hear the combination of words of “Comfort Zone”? I’m sure a lot of motivational speeches and inspiring quotes flashes across our minds. It’s because we often hear that we must move out from our Comfort Zone to succeed. On the other day I was listening to this Tedex Talk where I heard, “Successful life begins at the end of Comfort Zone”. So what do you think is Comfort Zone? Should we remain within comfort zone or move out of it? Well, personally for me, this is quite debatable. I’ll be trying to elaborate this on both the school of thoughts as listed below:

Step out of your comfort zone; success begins at the end of your comfort zone

Never come out of the Comfort Zone. Keep learning, keep expanding your Comfort Zone

Let us take a look at the first point. Does “stepping out of comfort zone” refer to some sort of adventure? We understand that it’s quite traditional to think that we must move out of our comfort zone in order to succeed. It has naturally become such a widely accepted thought. Yes, we must. We must get up and get out of our bed early morning even during the winters. We can’t lazy around like the way I do sometimes. We must get out of our homes to get to our respective work place. We can’t just sit and expect our rice-n-noodles bowl to come to our table on its own. We have to get up and get going. With respect to our professional life, areas where we feel we need to upgrade, we must step out, step up and open ourselves to learn the new methodologies, new technologies, adapt to new processes, pick up new skill sets and upgrade ourselves. We must open the door of our commitment levels; open and get out; open to learning, to practicing and be more effective. This is applicable to our jobs, business or even our personal lives. When we learn about Peter, we see him stepping out of his comfort zone. Peter seeing Jesus walking on the water, dares to step out of the boat in faith. Below is the excerpt from the passage; Gospel of Mathew 14: 24-29: 24But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. 25And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. 26And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. 27But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. 28And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

To step out from the boat on the stormy sea can be seen as a case of someone girded with a robust degree of faith and be perceived as an apparent case of stepping out of comfort zone. It takes courage and a mind that is incredibly faith-conditioned to do something seemingly so bizarre. It isn’t quite an informal affair…Is it?

Now, let us move to the other side of the table, to a school of thought that is poles apart. Let us turn to few references from The Word. Psalm 91:1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 4He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

Let me tell you something you may already know; “The wisdom of this world is always contrary to the divine Wisdom of God”. However, if you notice I quoted from The Word in support of the first school of thought. And perhaps one could serve even more references to support the same; and this is because The Word of God is a two edged sword (Hebrews 4:12), and we the children of God need to discern by His divine Grace what means to whom, when, in what context and why. God’s Word has repeatedly mentioned about 6 times directly or indirectly that means “the JUST shall live by FAITH” (Hab 2:4, Rom 1:17, Gal 3:11, Heb 10:38, Ezek 18:9, Ezek 18:22). If that is the case, then why step out from the secret place? Why step out from under His wings? Why shouldn’t we abide under the shadow of the Almighty? Now Bible says in Hebrews 11:1 that “Now faith is the substance of the things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”.

The wisdom of this world that promotes stepping out of our Comfort zone needs to take a back seat at least until the end of this article. I leave it up to you if you would want to bring it back to the front seat. Allow me to take you back to investigate the scenario of Peter deciding to step out of the boat into the raging sea to walk toward Jesus and a little further. Mathew 14:28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

Imagine this whole episode prudently may be with your eyes shut just as it happened. You’ll learn that Peter’s mind wasn’t fully conditioned with the kind of faith that Jesus talks about in Mathew 17:20. Faith of Peter, it was a momentary excitement seeing Jesus walking on water. If Peter had a high degree of faith-conditioned mind, he would have stepped out of the boat just as if he’s stepping inside the boat. Friends, when Jesus is walking on water, when Jesus the creator and the master of this Universe is walking on the water, when Jesus who gave us the authority to be called as the children of God through his name (John 1:12) is walking on the water; then why can’t we too simply step out of the boat and join him on an evening walk talking to him with his loving hands resting upon our shoulders?

I call this phenomenon as “Expanding the Comfort Zone” which is a greater challenge than stepping out of the comfort zone. For instance, in our professional life too, we need to take up the process of learning and development as a routine and not some sort “stepping out” ceremony. A true child of God, doesn’t need to step out from God’s zone of Grace but needs to keep conditioning his faith to perfection like how an athlete conditions his body for his race (I Tim 4:7 ….exercise thyself rather unto godliness). Let me reiterate, “The wisdom of this world is always contrary to the divine Wisdom of God”. Remember…. while most of us believe in the phrase “Survival of the fittest” that originated from Darwinian evolutionary theory, God teaches us something that is altogether conflicting in its entirety. Let us turn to the Gospel of Mark 8: 35 “For whosoever will save his life shall loose it; but whosoever shall loose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it”. This verse is just so brilliant and if you notice, is the precise inverse of Darwin’s theory, which simply means don’t try to safeguard yourselves or your life to survive and sustain; because in doing so, you’ll LOSE your life. And what Jesus further puts forth is also very significant.

Consider the professional athletes; an athlete has to step out of his comfort zone early morning and be on the training tracks regardless of summers or winters. He keeps conditioning his body every single day for years no matter what comes his way, certainly not to lose the race right? The pursuit of a true athlete is not just limited to winning the race on the track but also many associated reasons; Respect, Honour, Expectations, Anticipations, Pride, Signature identity, Mending broken relationships. It could be any reason; I can tell you these because I was myself a trained athlete for 800mtrs track event in school. However, what do we see in the Gospel of Luke 13:30 “And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last”. I understand this verse doesn’t mean literal but spiritual. Whatever the case, in God’s word “race” is always referred to as a “Quest” or a “Pursuit” of certain accomplishment. In I Corinthians 9:24-25 this accomplishment is referred to as “an incorruptible crown”. Further in I Tim 4:7-9, it’s advised to “….exercise thyself rather unto godliness” and while this world and its wisdom tells us to focus on physical fitness and endurance, the God’s word sets the tone straight; “…bodily exercise profiteth little”

Remember Noah whom God commanded to create an ark? Noah took about 120 years to create an ark, a 120 years to create a zone of comfort, a zone of safety, a zone of prayer and fellowship with his family and loved ones. God specifically told Noah to get locked up in an ark, and while he built the arc, he kept preaching too for 120 years. He built the ark exactly as per the mandate and blueprint that God gave to Noah. Because it was God’s will that Noah remains sealed in His grace.

Remember the garden of Eden? …where the first man Adam and Eve stepped out of the comfort zone to try some sweet adventure? This wonderful garden was created especially for both to remain within the divine grace and with all the comforts. That little adventure affair of disobedience had to be paid by the cost of having to step out of the garden forever losing the grace in God’s sight.

Remember Cain who ran away after killing his brother Abel? He was distanced and out of sight, fallen from God’s grace. Jesus says in the Gospel of Mathew 11:28 Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you “rest”. Jesus isn’t calling us for an adventure but rest and comfort. Honestly, stepping out of comfort zone is way easier than staying within the comfort zone and to keep conditioning our faith.

David, one of my favourite personalities, on many occasions of prayers and supplications mention that God is his hiding place. He never seemingly wants to be separated from God but always wants to be in His hiding place, in His safety and comfort. He keeps talking to God with so much of intimacy that it immaculately reflects in his Psalms. Let us look at few of them: Psalm 32:7 Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble... Psalm 119:114 Thou art my hiding place and my shield... Psalm 17:8 …hide me under the shadow of thy wings Psalm 27:5 …in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me... Psalm 31:20 Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man... Psalm 64:2 Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked… Psalm 143:9 …I flee unto thee to hide me. Psalm 61:3 For thou hast been a shelter for me… Talking about Psalms, I recall Solomon the wise’ Proverbs 18:10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. Yes, the righteous runs into it NOT out of it. Let’s examine if we are indeed righteous because we don’t see anyone running out or “Stepping out” and still remaining safe. Our strong tower is Jesus. I solemnly clinch on to the school of thought that a true child of God doesn’t need stepping out of God’s Zone of grace and run away into the wild, out of sight, distanced and fallen from His grace. Rather it’s so much more challenging to remain within God’s comfort zone. I’m strongly of the conviction that one should never come out of their comfort zone; rather keep learning, keep conditioning the faith, keep surrendering to God’s will and His divine grace, keep expanding your comfort zone (God’s Zone of Grace), invite others under your roof of prayer and worship, into your fellowship, share the gospel, keep advancing in your spiritual journey and intimacy with God”. Moses also kept listening to God. He kept learning and depending on God’s grace. And he did quite well. From Egypt to the Mount Sinai for an appointment to meet God, from a stammerer to a great evangelical and prophetic speaker, He was an “Exceeds All” Performer altogether. Wherever he went, he was confident because he was within the divine comfort zone, obeying and surrendering himself to the divine will of God.

Shall we meet Peter again who stepped out of the boat? By God’s grace, in His cover of comfort and assurance and by faith, every “stepping out” would become “stepping in”. Let’s depend more and more on God’s grace and be found sealed within His hiding place. And in this pursuit, may our focus be on conditioning of our faith. Praise God.

#BreadOFLife #LechemOfLife #StrumsOfLlife #JimsonKJoy #ComfortZone #ZoneOfGrace #JesusIsLord #JesusIsWay #JesusTheTruth #JesusTheLife #JesusTheWay

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