#disney princess movies romcoms etc

[gizkasparadise]

Best fairy tale esque Asian drama

Beauty and beast type

Little mermaid type

Aladdin type

Cindy type

Etc

oh interesting! here's what comes to mind

for a beauty and the beast parallel, i think my favorites are:

hotel del luna. gender-swapped version! the female lead is a hedonistic immortal being cursed to run a hotel for ghosts due to her Traumatic Backstory. the male lead is a recent harvard graduate who was born for middle management and is in way, way over his head as he tries to teach her how to balance a checkbook

love between fairy and devil. the female lead is a little naive, very sheltered young flower immortal who accidentally unleashes the devil from a mystical space magic prison. so gorgeous and unexpectedly wonderful

for little mermaid:

my girlfriend is a gumiho draws direct comparisons to this story throughout its plot! it's a romcom/action/lite horror show about a gumiho (fox demon) who ends up transferring her power to a guy who wants to become a stuntman/action movie star. very cute and aggressively 2010 teen movie

i havent seen it yet, but legend of the blue sea is about mermaids and based off of a korean fairytale

for cinderella/rags-to-riches

okay it's not super cinderella-y on the surface, but princess agents has this vibe in a way? but instead of A Fancy Party the heroine instead was given An Awesome Sword, Spy Training, and Several Noblemen with Complexes

continuing to be super liberal with this interpretation, empress ki has the female lead go from smuggler to slave to concubine to empress. work.

shopping king louie is sort of this fairytale in reverse: the rich male lead loses his memories and ends up relying on a poor country girl. very fluffy and cute

100 days my prince is like a joseon version of shopping king louie, but at times darker with the subplots

i think a good chunk of 2000-2010ish kdramas basically lived on this trope

for aladdin i couldnt think of anything direct, so here's sort of a broader "making wishes/deals with immortal powerful fantasy beings":

mystic pop-up bar is about a cursed immortal female lead who runs a pop-up bar and is trying to resolve human being's grudges/grant their wishes by teaming up with a former ghost cop and a regular guy (or is he?) that has a special power of his own

goblin is about a girl who finds out she was destined to be the "goblin's bride" and bring about the death of an immortal cursed general who has been looking for a way to die for several centuries at this point. some wishes/genie-esque dynamics

angel's last mission: love. female lead is a cold, bitter former ballerina who has closed herself off from the world. male lead is her actual guardian angel. not one of my absolute favorites, but i liked the interesting dynamic and the OST is beyond gorgeouuuus

i did not like this drama that much but doom at your service might scratch this itch as well. the female lead is dying from cancer. the male lead is the actual manifestation of doom. would have been SO GOOD if it cut out the subplot and streamlined things a bit more

and these aren't really related to fairytales, but they have a similar vibe:

love and redemption. girl meets boy. boy is in a martial arts sect forbidden to love or marry. girl doesn't understand feelings and is in fact the reincarnated god of war. girl has also sort of killed boy for 9 lifetimes prior to this. boy keeps coming back for more because he thrives on masochism and costume changes. one of my top 3 favorite dramas

goodbye my princess is like someone had all the fairy tale tropes (rebellious princess, meeting while disguised, magical rivers) and then sort of took them in the backyard and shot them. lmao if you want it tragic, go here

craving more dysfunction junction? check out the wolf which starts with some sweet disney tarzan plot and escalates into fucking chaos

river where the moon rises is based on a piece of korean folklore. this one i wanted to like so much (and was enjoying for the first half), but the real-life drama lead to some unfortunate story complications (the show notoriously swapped out its male lead actor midway through airing)

alice in borderland draws a lot of parallels to alice in wonderland. it's survival horror so LMAO not the same vibe as the original story at all, but i figured i'd throw it in here. i have some mixed feelings about the drama, but i definitely binged it all

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

As a new member of the Toten BBF fanclub I present you some of my own scenarios:

1. The two going on a pranking spree. Their main target is Hawks cause they see him as both a ShigaDabi threat and they can tell he's sus as hell. Dabi approves for the latter and Spinner approves for the former.

2. Marathon movie night. Toga being scandalized when she learns Geten never watched any Disney/Pixar classics or just pre-quirk classics in general. She makes him watch all of then (princesses, Fox & the Hound, Great Mouse Detective, Robin Hood, Aristocats, Toy Story, Wall E, Monsters Inc, Lilo & Stitch, all of them). Afterwards, they experience Barbieheimer (in costume of course). Barely holding back tears with Everything Everywhere All at Once. Falling in love with period dramas, specifically Jane Austen stories (2005 Pride & Prejudice, my beloved). Watching ALL the shitty Netflix romcoms, not because they like them but because they're so bad that it's become a type of anger outlet for them (Twilight, Kissing Booth, 365 Days, 50 Shades of Grey, etc). Dabi once made a comment about how Dead Poets Society sounded boring and it got UGLY.

3. If Curious somehow survived, Geten furiously defending Toga from his bitch of a coworker. Out of all the MLA, Curious is the worst when it comes to dehumanizing the LOV and no way would the persistent journalist stop when they become the PLF. She's borderline harassing all the LOV, but especially Toga. When Geten starts warming up to Toga, he breaks into Curious' things and destroys her incredibly insulting article on Toga. He starts physically getting between the two and acting like Toga's shield. If Curious manages to reach Toga when he's not around, all Toga has to do is send a quick message and Curious barely avoids an ice shard to the head. This along with Geten’s constant glares and both Shigaraki & ReDestro ordering her finally gets Curious to back off.

4. Geten and Toga having sleepovers with late night conversations. Geten confessing his insecurities regarding his own personal identity outside the PLF (now that he's finally had chance to develop). Toga confiding in him all about her different crushes. Sharing their respective pastsand comforting each other. Just two besties being super soft with each other.

5. Baking together. I hc that out of all the LOV the best cook, Dabi is best cook. The rest are all disasters in the kitchen or never had the proper chance to learn. If you're sick of convenience store food and want something nice and homemade, you got to Dabi (he's too soft to say no). The domesticity of it and it baing made by Dabi make his cooking on very high demand (to the point the LOV ignore the professionally made 5 star meals). Geten hears about this and doesn't believe it. He is absolutely shocked at how delicious Dabi's cooking actually is (I'm talking like Shirou Emiya/Chef Bakugou levels) and being Geten, vows to surpass him. Surprise, surprise, Geten is part of the "disaster in the kitchen" group. But he turns out to be a pretty good baker/pastry chef, something Dabi never got the hang of. Capitalizing on this, Geten gets very good at making sweets that are both delicious and are super detailed/very artsy. He gets especially fond if making ultrarealistic cakes cause it's fun to surprise people with them. Toga wastes no time in joining him on his pastry quest and becomes his right hand man. Turns out Toga is very good with making details and with coming up with new patterns. Geten himself prefers bitter sweets but he doesn't mind sweeter flavors cause Toga and most of the PLF prefer them. Also they have pranked the others with the ultrarealistic cakes by taking objects and replacing them with cake. Also Geten helping Toga make Izuku & Ochako Valentines chocolates. The heroes in question are disturbed at how said chocolates came into their possessions but delighted at the taste (they were scolded by Eraserheard for not checking for poison or smth)

Bestie toten is already the ship name of Tenko x Touya, so we need to find a better name for the Toga and Geten friendship!!!

1) I think Geten would absolutely hate Hawks 'cause he'd see him as a threat to ReDestro too. Also Geten doesn't trust in Dabi having friends so wjdjdnjdjd Toga's in for the funsies

2) They are wasting ReDestro money again on streaming services but it's okay! ReDestro thinks it is wonderful they are getting along!! Twice's constantly joining the marathons and soon some of those nights become the PLF official movie nights (not all of them, not that often, just occasional). Geten is fascinated.

3) Curious is 100% because Toga make sure of that herself, so 😏😏 peace of mind.

4) Imagine how tragic this would be if those nights started soon before the big war event. Sorry sorry, I love the angst but-- Geten and Toga sharing those fears in a moment of pure weakness and then regretting it 'cause they are friends, but well... it's hard to fight back years of trauma.

5) I think Geten and Dabi would easily easily destroy one or two kitchens in weird cooking competitions. Easily. Also Toga is a master of the knife (to no one surprise) and Compress decides to act like the host of the event just for the jokes. PLF pure chaos!!!!!

[comradekatara]

What are the gaang's guilty pleasures?

already answered this here but i'm gonna use this as an opportunity to talk abt some cringe media that they would probably enjoy:

aang: he knows it's objectively worse than the original seasons, but he still watches the netflix seasons of arrested development, just out of nostalgia. he refuses to accept that his favorite sitcom is just a zombie of its former self

katara: she hates bridgerton. she has watched it five times since it came out. that guy from bridgerton is soo sexy tho.... she hates it. it's a bad show!!! she hates it so much!!!!! she can't stop watching it. help her....

sokka: is obsessed with back to the future parts 1 & 2 (but not 3 the third one is TRASH!!!!!) yes he is fully aware that the plot is insane, and baby, that's part of the appeal.

toph: she loves listening to youtube video essays of people explaining movies or postcolonial theory or whatever to her and then being like "i already knew that. weak analysis. bad. wrong" and then clicking on the next video even though she knows it's gonna be just as reductive & misinformed & just plain stupid

zuko: he's constantly saying "every pixar movie has the exact same story structure and predictable emotional beats designed to incite strong emotions in the audience to promote the illusion of depth and quality. it's sad how many people mistake that shallow hollywood drivel for anything remotely resembling true artistry" and then cries every time he watches one anyway

suki: she watches the bachelor in a similar way to how other people are morbidly fascinated by true crime. it makes her soul shrivel up and die but she can't look away. she asks sokka, "promise me we'll never get married" and sokka's like "ew god no why would you even suggest that???" which is always a relief to hear, even if she knew that already. eventually her friends stage an intervention because it's clear that watching this show was depressing her

ty lee: she does actually enjoy true crime, because there is something wrong with her. she also loves riverdale, which she claims is just "this generation's twin peaks"

mai: despite hating aaron sorkin with every fibre of her being, she has to admit that she harbors a deep fondness for the west wing. she also got really into overanalyzing the cw's supernatural and bryan fuller's hannibal during quarantine. she has an unfortunately high tolerance when it comes to enduring ugly white men on her screen :(

azula: as we all know, her favorite show is rick and morty. need more be said?

[stormblessed95]

Controversial question but what do you think of cis het Jikook shipper/supporters?

I am aware that a good many Kookmin supporters are LGBTQ/queer, at least compared to say Vkook, but still quite a lot of Jikookers are cis het.

Are they welcome to think Kookmins bond might be a romantic/non platonic one and celebrate that ?

Literally yes? I don't understand. Wouldn't we want relationships and love of all kinds to be celebrated by all kinds of people? My husband is a cis het man and a bigger romantic than I am. Half the time we pick movies together, he is the one asking for cute romances or Romcoms to watch. He loves the love stories, regardless of if they are heterosexual or queer. He recognizes all the same things I do in jikook about their relationship being different, special. He calls them the boyfriends. Lol should he not be allowed to see love where love exists just because he doesn't have a romantic or sexual interest in men?

Wouldn't we WANT more queer representation in media in general (not jikook, just like regular media consumption) and for all people, including cis het people, to celebrate that love the same way they do cis het couples? My husband and I talk all the time about how we are waiting for the day Disney drops a wlw or mlm Disney movie. Where the MC gets his prince. Or the warrior princess saves the day and gets the girl. Etc etc etc. Wouldn't we want the same energy that Rapunzel and Flynn got for a wlw Disney couple too?

If Jikook are boyfriends and are in a relationship together, wouldn't we want them to be accepted, loved and celebrated by EVERYONE and not just the queer community? I think it comes down to respect. A lot of the issues that people have with a bunch of cis hets in the tkkr (and shippers in general, jkkrs too) community is that when they talk about TK it comes across as fetishizing, it comes across as self insert fantasy too. It doesn't always read as actual support of a potential real LGBTQ couple. So in the end, I don't think it matters how you indenitfy, but it's about the respect. I also do think that while it doesn't matter, queer people do tend to see queer relationships and queer "hints" so to speak, quicker and louder than those who don't relate at all. And while I don't actually have any statistics over this, I would be interested to see some. But I'm pretty sure that KM as a "ship" have more queer supporters than other ships and KM are also the most popular ship in Korea. And I think those are things that are interesting to note and consider. Take that with a grain of salt though, because like I said, I don't actually know the statistics for those claims.

[fawad-khan]

hi folks, your local dumbass reached 1k two days ago and i cannot tell how shocked and happy i am!! so many ppl have supported me for so long ever since i joined and i’ve met so many lovely people here whom i’m very grateful for! i love you all 3000 <333

anyway, i’ve decided to hold a celebration for this milestone, so here are the rules!

must follow this sylvie laufeydottir lovebot

do reblog this post for signal boost (likes count as bookmarks)

send a 💙 for a blog compliment!

[for my mutuals] send in a ✨ + character/movie/tv show/ship/singer (preferably off anon) etc and i’ll make a gifset for you!

please do not send d*rklina, th*rki, *st*rker ad any incest or pedo ships pls.

please do not send an ask for like a whole fandom, simply because it is kind of tedious for me kashdasuhf

i will be using the tag *1k so feel free to blacklist the tag if you don’t want to see posts related to it!

once again, thank you all so so much for this <3 under the cut, i will be listing the fandoms/shows, etc that i will take requests for!

shows- b99, friends, modern family, disney shows, shadow and bone, julie and the phantoms, mcu shows (keep in mind i’ve only watched tfatws, wandavision and loki), 13 reasons why, sex education, alexa and katie, the irregulars, never have i ever 

fandoms- marvel, disney, harry potter, taylor swift

movies- romcoms like legally blonde, the parent trap, princess diaries and all, bollywood (the list is long oops)

singers- taylor swift, sabrina carpenter, olivia rodrigo, lil nas x, meghan thee stallion 

(i cant remember more rn oops)

tagging some lovely mutuals and friends for sb- @parkerpeter24 @sherlockisactuallyagaysname @spideyspeaches @peterbenjiparker @sharpay @shurii @niinaazenik @thankunnext @corqeliastreet @morgenthaus @anakinpadme @volcra @variantsloki @starlight-starks @celestialholland @lokilauffeyson @ginnyweasely @supermeh-krishnah @peraltastarkov @londonspidey @summerxtime @tswiftie @dearjohnrerecorded @cherryslips @karlimorgenthau @newrcmantlcs @laufeysons-lokis @ramblingsoftheconfusedsoul @andysambrg @rockyblue @nobie and so many more im missing ahsduashuahf

[gemsofthegalaxy]

i feel like one of the things that's interesting to me about the Large Amount of Loki Ship Wank is, the idea that "a man and women (or two genderfluid people presenting as a man and a woman) look at each other and instantly are in love" is one of the criticisms I've seen,

and I can see where it's coming from, to a degree, but because I don't actually agree, it's sparked a lot of messy bisexual indecisive thoughts on: the idea of shipping, romantic tropes/shorthand, what makes a ship compelling, etc. So I'm gonna share em.

warning: discussions of a selfcest ship

does the idea of Sylvie and Loki move fast? yes, I'd say. they have a few conversations during one-ish episode (in which many people evidently interpreted them as "sibling like". I did not, personally.) I wasn't expecting romance, not at all, but they did immediately discuss their experience with love, and Loki did serenade her so, y'know. I was surprised to see it acknowledged in text, but not shocked either.

Maybe I wasn't surprised in part because,

marvel does kinda have a history of using Romo Shorthand to shoehorn het relationships into every product ever, Right? I would say so. Obviously shipping isn't an objective thing, but I've never been impressed with most of marvel's romantic writing. Het-wise (because I have never been under the impression my gay ships will actually go canon), I was mainly rooting for Clint and Natasha, and it was the one thing that didn't happen. I liked it because they seemed to have a real bond, a friendship, a history together, and so on. And they were intriguing! they were both enigmas, it made me want to know more about their relationship from the amount we saw- neither of them even had a solo movie, and I was still more invested than any mainstream MCU canon romance ever. Sobs

To be fair, I am generally also neutral/cool with Pepperony, and I like the idea of MJ and Peter, I think that's because in both cases there's some time spent establishing them, but neither of them are things I'm super duper compelled by. They're just okay. I did, however, stan Jemma and Fitz from Agents of SHIELD quite hard, again, because they were friends! lab-mates! plus, they had pining, and it was good.

A least a few of marvel's (mainstream MCU blockbuster) ships are not born out of demonstrating they have a prior relationship and building it up from friendship/connection, but are somewhat whirlwind romances where the characters get a few moments to moon over each other, then Marvel falls into the trap of relying on tropes and cues to build what a romance first, and a friendship second? or perhaps not at all. And, it's not like a modern Disney princess movie or romcom where they meet, have a Spark/Connection and then go on a journey together, learning about each other and themselves through the process. No, for some of the main MCU "romances", the het couple get a few moments sprinkled throughout the shooting and fighting and KABLAM action, and kiss at the end.

And like, I know they are superhero movies so, like, don't go to the circus and expect not to see fighting and shoot-shoot KABLAM but like. but they're the ones who keep writing (het) romance into most of their products. It doesn't need to be in all of them. Maybe in some cases it'd be better to dedicate those few extra minutes to the platonic relationships that matter. I find MCU is, historically, better at writing compelling platonic relationships (and platonic relationships between men that, if they were het, would absolutely be romances!! but ugh we're not getting into that-)

I'm someone who loves romance & character driven stuff, so I (usually) like them to work a little bit harder for the romance, not just a look and a kiss. Build up that relationship! talk about yourselves! show me you're friends, that you have each other's backs, and show me longing gazes and little jokes as you fall for each other!!!

So I definitely, fully understand why people dislike those rushed-feeling, always het romances. I do, too.

But, I'm lowkey (lol) on board with Sylvie and Loki. Even after only 2ish episodes with them interacting. Mind you, I'm also on board with Loki and Mobius. I like the idea of both. Indecisive bisexual, here.

If hate fast, cheap, shoehorn romance, why like Sylki? For me, because of the discussions they had, and their potential dynamic. What I saw in their interactions was Loki, the main character, immediately intrigued by the idea of an alternate universe version of himself. He was relying on and trusting her more quickly than he might otherwise. They have interesting and unique personalities- She's had an extremely different life than he has, he goofs off to cope, she's cranky and bitter. That's a fun dynamic.

They're also quick to open up to each other, not just looking at each other and signaling interest for no other reason, but talking about things that matter to them, their history, what it means to be themselves, how they define themselves etc, which is a pretty deep and signifcant topic.

As well, this being a tv show and not a film, they miiight have the potential to develop their relationship further, if that's the direction they're going in. I long for a relationship that doesn't end with the "i love you" or The KissTM, one that's depicted without shoehorned overblown drama, fighting, etc. One that is part of a narrative and grows with the characters!! Now, I'm not getting my hopes up. I don't know if they'd get that far with Sylki, seems like kind of a long shot given the track record here, but a girl can fuckin dream, eh?

Even if I've been historically unimpressed by most of marvel's het ships, I feel like they have more potential and more basis than I've seen in other romantic ships. Also, helps I have no longstanding Loki ship that's competing against, we only had Lokius for like two weeks before Sylvie was introduced.

But... you also like Lokius? yeah, I contain multitudes. And, I will argue that Lokius and Sylki have, like, a similar amount of in-text backing, and both have neat potential. Loki's been (perhaps surprisingly?) vulnerable with the both of them, seems to like them both as people, and as confidants, and wants both of them on his side. He seems to believe in both of them, for whatever reason, and I think his faith in them is going to bode well for him and be instrumental in the plot.

I personally kind of get the vibe Loki's interactions with Sylvie are a bit more romantic in nature than with Mobius. Additionally, Mobius seems at least a bit romantically interested in Loki (he really did come across as jealous, anyway lol). However, I don't really get the vibe Sylvie has been acting romantically towards Loki.

So I see the canon standing at: Mobius likes Loki, Loki likes Sylvie, Sylvie is tired of this TVA shit.

Unless.... Loki's potential feelings towards Sylvie are a total fakeout, which also wouldn't be a shock, to me. I know people have pointed out, different writers/actors/directors have commented but I'm not paying much attention to that, I'd rather finish the show first and form my own opinion. even if they're not canon, I think either ship would be fun to play around with.

In conclusion: the biggest brained thing marvel could do is throw out the idea of love triangles and canonize poly Loki who falls in love with Sylvie and with Mobius and they're all like "well we're already all variants going against this Time Regime might as well date who we want" . or i guess let them be single ppbbbbtt.

And finally, I'd like to reiterate that shipping is subjective, our likes are subjective. The dynamics I find interesting are not necessarily what other people find interesting, and that's okay!! we all take different things from the narratives presented from us. and it DOES suck when something we liked, or we saw, goes unexplored in the narrative, especially when it's in favor of something we didn't like or don't find compelling (speaking from just so much experience) .

But, such is the nature of getting invested in stories, especially ones created to appeal to a very wide audience. They're never going to cater 100% to what we individually want unless we're writing them (and even then, writing is a hard creative process and doesn't even always turn out how one might expect, like any other artform).

my advice is: take what you want and leave the rest (while not trying to enforce your Best Version Of Events on others via replies/dms/comments on their works, etc)

thanks for coming to my tedtalk!!

[loisfreakinglane]

tell me about your favorite films and tv shows of the year!

oh gosh there was so much this year....... i'll try to be brief and offer up some of my favest content that was released this year!

FILMS!

raya and the last dragon...... i'm weak. its a gorgeous found family heist movie with distinct nations and one of my fav girlies playing a disney princess and theres a water themed dragon, I was always gonna be weak for this

the green knight!!!!!! i do have issues with this movie but on the whole it really sticks out to me as absolutely stunning and emotional, and honestly what i wish more mythological/fairy tale content was like? where its a super strange kind of magical and a lil episodic and doesn't need clearcut explanations or endings?

venom 2: carnage boogaloo- lmao i'm sorry i just. i love. FUN. it was so much fun. and it gave me a top tier evil villains in love otp!!!!!! THEY HAD AN EVIL WEDDING! NO BODY NO CRIME!

werewolves within- I love horror comedies, I love murder mysteries, I love soft sweet positive male leads, I love harvey guillen, I LOVE THIS MOVIE

gunpowder milkshake....... *jo march voice*: WOMEN!!!!!!!! I want to live in this world forever.

tick tick boom- much as I love andrew garfield I didn't expect all too much from this movie bc I was never big on rent, but I loooooved this. egot andrew garfield hours I demand it. also I got so fucking emotional during their rendition of sunday????? SO MANY ICONS

extra special additions: the eyes of tammy faye had me SOBBING, passing stuck with me for literal days, and the escape room movies are my new favorite horror franchise.

TV!

the five juanas----- you saw me flailing over this show. I fucking loved it. still praying for a season 2 renewal!!!!! but I'm gonna need them to listen to my complaints first off bc I DEMAND manuela get back together with isabel!!!

starstruck!!!!! this show was pure fucking romance, and so stunningly well done I adored it and I can't waaaaait for the next season. rose matafeo should lead every romcom ever made, she and nikesh patel have outrageously good chemistry, i really love this ship a lottttttt

cruel summer. I really really really love how this show was made and structured, it added so much to the story to be going back and forth between three distinct timeframes. also kate wallis is my daughter and CERTAIN PEOPLE SHOULD BURN IN HELL FOR WHAT THEY DID TO HER. i hope they turn this show into an anthology type thing, i'd love more stories told in this way.

clickbait!!!!!!!! I didn't think I'd wind up being into this show but it was so good????? I was obsessed with it, to the point I watched the last few episodes in the middle of the night while liveblogging the whole thing in @saint-cecilias dms. like i really really love shows that center every episode on a different character and their pov and this show utilized that SO WELL. (also something something been in love with adrian grenier since drive me crazy in 99 etc)

surreal estate--- I'm not caught up on this show!!!!! BUT I LOVED IT! SOMEONE SOMEWHERE PLZ PICK IT UP!!!!

shoutout to maid which emotionally wrecked me, but also a special shoutout to dollface and love victor which were not released this year but which I finally actually committed to watching for reals and completely fell in love with

so for me it was a pretty good year for content :)

[dreamingoftinystars]

tag nine people to learn about their interests

thank you for the tag @sinterblackwell <3

MUSIC

1. Favorite genre? Indie pop/folk and musicals

2. Favorite artist? dodie

3. Favorite song? that’s too difficult a question sorry lmao

4. Most listened to song lately? Before the Line by dodie

5. Song currently stuck in your head? Cleopatra by the Lumineers

6. 5 Favorite lyrics?

And I don't deserve you // You deserve the world // Though it feels like we were built // From the same dirt - Your Sister Was Right by Wilbur Soot

But I must admit it, that I would marry you in an instant // Damn your wife, I'd be your mistress just to have you around - Cleopatra by the Lumineers

I know I loved the world, but now it's flat to me // Oh, tell me, did someone snatch the light? // Why doesn't it look right? - Before the Line by dodie

My life has lost all porpoise // I lost my hare // I lost my hair // I lost my tortoise - Your Shell of Grief from Alice By Heart (mock turtles my beloved)

City life, apple pie baked just right // Home is wherever you are tonight - Apple Pie by Lizzy McAlpine

radio or your own playlist | solo artists or bands | pop or indie | loud or silent volume | slow or fast songs | music video or lyric video | speakers or headset | riding a bus in silence or while listening to music | driving in silence or with radio on

BOOKS

1. Favorite book genre? Classics or Contemporary

2. Favorite Writer? Virginia Woolf, Casey McQuiston, Gabriel García Márquez, Kurt Vonnegut

3. Favorite Book? There are many but Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

4. Favorite Book Series? I don’t really read that many series but I just finished PJO and liked it

5. Comfort Book? Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston and We Are Okay by Nina LaCour and Heartstopper by Alice Oseman

6. Perfect Book to Read on a Rainy Day? We Are Okay by Nina LaCour kind of fits the mood of a rainy day and also like is fairly easy to read structure wise. I also think rainy days are a good time for a good classic piece of literature (like Shakespeare, Virginia Woolf, etc) especially if you have a fire going during that time. A fairly easy classic book in my opinion is The Great Gatsby. If you want to be emotionally wrecked on a rainy day so that your face can match the outdoors, read They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera.

7. Favorite Characters? Everyone from Heartstopper, Nora from Red, White, and Royal Blue, (I don’t really focus on characters while reading lmao)

8. 5 Quotes from Your Favorite Book (these will all be from Red, White and Royal Blue)- also there are all from memory so they might be slightly incorrect:

But the truth is, also, simply this: love is indomitable

On purpose. I love him on purpose.

Exploring your sexuality: Healthy, but does it have to be with the Prince of England?

I loved you. And then, inexplicably, you had the absolute audacity to love me back

Two homes side by side

(the entirety of the turkey scene)

hardcover or paperback | buy or rent | standalone novels or book series | ebook or physical copy | read at night or during the day | reading at home or in nature | listening to music while reading or in silence | reading in order or reading the ending first | reliable or unreliable narrator | realism or fantasy | one or multiple POVs | judging by the covers or by summaries | rereading or just once

TV AND MOVIES

1. Favorite tv/movie genre? Cartoons, Contemporary, RomComs, or Documentaries

2. Favorite Movie? Rocky Horror Picture Show, Nightmare Before Christmas, Dirty Dancing, The Princess Bride, Frozen, Beetlejuice (there are more but those are off of the top of my head)

3. Comfort Movie? Starstruck (and any of the ones above) and almost any animated Disney/Pixar movie

4. Movie You Watch Every Year? RHPS, Nightmare Before Christmas, Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas

5. Favorite TV Show? I don’t really have favorite TV shows, I more so have tv shows that I obsessively rewatch which are: One Day at at Time, The Owl House, She-Ra and The Princesses of Power, Julie and The Phantoms, Young Royals, New Girl, Criminal Minds, Legends of Tomorrow, *insert more shows here*

6. Comfort TV Show? One Day at A Time (and any of the others above)

7. Most Rewatched TV Show? Probably JATP, Young Royals, or TOH also ODAAT

8. 5 Favorite Characters? I genuinely don’t really have any off of the top of my head but like Elena from ODAAT is one, Stargirl is one, Entrapta and Perfuma

tv shows or movies | short seasons (8-13 episodes) or full seasons (22 episodes or more) | one episode a week or binging | one season or multiple seasons | one part or saga | half hour or one hour long episodes | subtitles on or off | rewatching or watching just once | downloads or watches online

No Pressure Tagging: @c-nan @spookiest-sapphic @midnight-stereo @fanofthepod @book-and-music-lover @sunsetmolinas and anyone else who would like to

[yourheadisacannon]

Hey, it’s Studious Eir from Discord! I’m gonna be real basic here. Can you write some friend/fluff HCs for Veronica, Eir, and Sharena? Hope this is alright.

HHHHHHH OKAY HERE WE GO. i’ll be honest with you, i’ve never written these three before. i’ve imagined it, but never actually done it, so bear with me. here are your sheironica friendcanons and fluffcanons ft. brufonse. prepare for fuck tons of cute domestic… stuff.

so i started thinking about it and i ended up in a fucking whirlwind of stuff for a modern au and i just got really carried away with it, i hope these are okay.

so, in this modern universe, here’s how they met: sharena first met veronica via alfonse being with bruno. despite veronica being 5 years younger, they got along really well.

and sharena met eir in a college lecture. they’re both business majors. long story short, sharena’s alarm didn’t go off, she ended up being almost late, she arrived at the last second and took the last open spot next to eir.

“Is this seat taken?” “Oh, no, it’s not. you’re welcome to sit there.” “Oh great, thank you.”

and that’s how they met. they started sitting next to each other in their lectures, eventually exchanged contact info, and they became friends, mostly because of sharena’s unbridled enthusiasm.

the first time she invited eir over, her parents were away on a business trip, and alfonse had invited bruno and veronica over.

and that’s where veronica and eir meet!

and they find out that they all have similar interests in fantasy and, get this, D&D.

so they start a campaign with bruno and alfonse, bruno agreeing to be the dm.

somewhere along the campaign, veronica made sharena and eir get married, even though she’s not a priest. nobody is really sure what happened with that, but they’re still married, despite not being sure if it’s legally binding.

ANYWAYS

the two start inviting veronica along to join in their hangouts. shenanigans ensue (only a little). they take her out shopping and out to have fun, she starts calling sharena and eir “mom” and “mother”, respectively. they just roll with it. they’ve adopted her.

THEY BRAID EACH OTHER’S HAIR A LOT. sharena really likes doing the braiding, but doesn’t like having her hair braided, meanwhile veronica likes having her hair braided but not doing the braiding, and eir likes both, so sharena braids eir’s hair while eir braids veronica’s, and veronica tells them about this really weird dream she had where she was a princess hellbent on destroying this other kingdom (how strange)

oh yeah veronica has been scheming things too

scheme name: get sharena and eir to date.

step 1: get alfonse and bruno involved. status: failed. alfonse refused to get into sharena’s love life, bruno does not meddle.

step 2: talk to sharena, get her to admit her feelings for eir. status: success. sharena shares literally every single one of the feelings that eir gives her whenever she’s around.

step 3: talk to eir, imply sharena’s feelings for her, don’t outright say it. status: probably successful?. eir has also spilled her feelings for sharena, but in a much more calm and collected way, compared to sharena’s jetstream of emotions.

step 4: invite them both out to a specific location, don’t show up. status: ???

she receives several texts from the two, asking where she is.

“vero, where are you???” - sharena

“oh yeah, about that…” - veronica

“what did you do?” - eir

“something came up, i can’t come. enjoy your date, lovebirds.” - veronica.

[Veronica has logged off]

long story short, they actually went on a date, sharena was bright red the whole time, eir was dying inside because oh my god sharena is so cute

status: success

veronica is the first one to be told, obviously, as winglady #1 she should be the first one to know.

i can write that into a coherent story later if you want me to.

now back to our regularly scheduled headcanons.

movie nights are a thing most definitely.

sharena loves animated movies, i.e. disney, dreamworks, etc.

eir actually really likes action and romcoms.

veronica is a horror film fanatic. that has the other two shook.

so whenever veronica gets to pick, it’s always a horror movie. she starts off with the really chill, kinda boring horror movies, then progressively chooses scarier ones.

sharena does not like horror movies, she makes that perfectly clear, but she still watches them because veronica wants to watch them. eir is pretty indifferent, she’s not really bothered by horror movies (i mean, have you met her mother?)

it has become an established tradition that they always go out for ice cream or froyo on fridays after they all get out of school/classes. whichever one they get varies from week to week.

it has become a running joke that whenever something mildly inconveniencing happens, it’s veronica’s fault and she gets “grounded”.

a plate accidentally gets broken.

“VERONICA YOU’RE GROUNDED.”

“BUT MOTHER.”

eir is an amazing baker, meanwhile sharena is a fantastic cook. veronica isn’t particularly interested in either, but she’s pretty good at both.

after sharena and eir have been dating for a while, they get an apartment together, and the spare bedroom is officially dubbed veronica’s room.

sharena is a dog person, eir likes cats, veronica likes birds.

sharena and eir end up adopting an older male dog from a shelter, an akita named Ning (pronounced neeng), meaning “calm, peaceful, serene” after the dogs laid-back personality.

veronica becomes very attached to said dog. the dog watches horror movies with her when she decides to watch them by herself.

one day, veronica comes over and starts ranting about this girl in her class that she finds absolutely annoying.

neither of the two older girls is sure why she’s upset, other than that this girl, Ylgr they believe her name is, talks a lot and veronica finds it annoying.

veronica believes in aliens, sharena believes in ghosts, eir thinks they’re both full of shit.

the first time veronica utters a swear in front of them, sharena is scandalized, until eir calls her out, saying that she swears more often than the both of them.

“BUT SHE’S MY SWEET, INNOCENT DAUGHTER.”

“one, she’s not your daughter so you have no say in how she speaks, two, she’s like sixteen. so long as she’s not doing drugs or getting into any sort of trouble, she’s fine.”

hhhhhhh my brain has run out of ideas for now and i think this post is getting a bit longer than i want it to be. but i can totally flesh some of these out if you’d like! like sharena and eir’s date, or movie nights or whatever. just shoot me another ask! i’d be happy to write it for you.

[geekns]

I am at the point where i love the fanfic versions of my ships more than the actual canon versions of them because my ships rarely, if ever, actually get to a point where my hopes and fears and anticipation and tears are actually rewarded. Like...

Five years of Philinda for one kiss and then they’re off the team (i’m sure they’ll be back... they better be back). 

Three years of Twissy to no real fruition, nowhere near enough screen time for Michelle and the tragic death of Missy with no reward, then the regeneration of my favorite Doctor. 

This after getting my heart broken over Doctor/Donna and feeling like i was being forced to accept Doctor/River (i love Alex Kingston but ship her with the Doctor i do not, which sucks in a way because i love River, too).

Kylo and Rey still haven’t even kissed... they’ve got one movie left to fix things and it’s just too depressing for me to put myself through watching the Last Jedi repeatedly because they’re still not together...

...and i would love for Star Wars to actually do pregnancy right in recompense for ruining my then-favorite female character in the SW verse. 

One of my first ships ever having a ~decade long separation after apparently being the shitiest parents of all time, and no happy ending.

Carter/O’Neill with the no fraternization and RDA not even being in the final episode

Roslin/Adama happening just in time for Roslin to die (just one of the ships that frustrated me to no end on this show)

Janeway/Chakotay never happening

Picard/Crusher being promised for the TNG films, never actually happening, and then we don’t even get TNG films anymore like...this is one of the best shows of all time and i don’t even get to find out what they’re up to without reading books that are not considered to be canon.

No happy endings for anyone. Like what happened to true romance? Are they even making RomComs anymore (which aren’t even my standard go-to in terms of enjoyment, like Fools Rush In being my fave because it makes fun of Rom Coms and Decoy Bride being amazing because of its witty awkwardness)? Because i can’t find anything on Netflix that isn’t old. It’s a bunch of international stuff that i don’t even want to get into, i know the K-Drama is all full of angst and pining and they apparently never pay off (at least, the one my sister got me into has driven me up a wall in this way. And she told me that no one kisses in these things, so that must be where they’re going with Reylo). 

The current trend in sci fi and action films seems to be to eschew romance entirely as unnecessary or unwanted.

Hope/Scott seems to be on hold if in the works at all.

No real T’Challa/Nakia

Peter (Parker)’s a free agent

Christine doesn’t want Stephen and Stephen is too much of a coward to commit to what he obviously wants.

There’s no Thor/Valkyrie (not complaining, but what happened to Jane? not that Natalie and Chris have chemistry)

We get Agent Cap (or whatever else they call it, no idea) where they never even had a first date and knew each other for a couple of years out of four score...

...and Hulk (who is still hung up on his ex last we actually checked in?) gets Nat (but then discards her) rather than Cap or Bucky or even Hawkeye (any of which would make more sense).

Pepper doesn’t want babies and Tony does?!?

Loki, the apparent womanizer of the comics and father and mother of monsters in the mythology, never gets so much as a flirtatious look in his direction from any significant characters (yeah the tittering party-goers in the background of Ragnarok do not even count). All the ships for him are with Thor (his brother, so incest, and i know it’s not genetic incest but they grew up together and still love one another as brothers. It’s canon that Thor is abusive and dismissive towards Loki and the couple of times i’ve tried to read Thorki fanfic they were wildly OOC) or with characters he has zero screen time with (i loved TaserTricks for a while). And he’s the most popular character in the MCU but gets his abilities and redemption arc retconned repeatedly to the point that he’s just a guy with knives who doesn’t even know how to use magic.

Oh and Scarlet Vision, which is apparently in fact canon from the comic books but is just boring. And is already over.

I could go on.

I mean even in Frozen and Moana there isn’t anything going on there and this is Disney we’re talking about. Perhaps i should clarify that Anna clearly fell in love but then spent the rest of the movie with a guy who she was just friends with (are they more in the shorts???) when her fiance was only using her. And Elsa has zero chemistry with anyone. So yes, all of these films have some moments of chemistry, flirtation, but no real character development of a romantic bent, no real intention of even forming an exclusive, long-term relationship that might lead to cohabitation, marriage, babies, etc. Like even Peter and Gamora are not quite an official thing even as Infinity War did a lovely job of making it feel like Peter was meeting her dad because they are a thing.

I miss romance. So apparently shared disaster scenarios do not equal lasting love in today’s storytelling (Jurassic World, Speed, Age of Ultron, etc.)...and everyone is so busy kicking butt that who really has time for relationships? Unless they are the relationships that i do not care for in the slightest and i feel like are being forced on me. I’m not against pining, i’m reading tons of it as Reylo fic, but the pairing eventually needs to get to the point where the characters are actually together and working on doing things as partners.

I love Robin Hood, Tangled, the Princess Bride, Much Ado about Nothing (Beatrice/Benedick), and Pride and Prejudice. I want some tension there, for the man to actually pursue a woman and prove himself to her. I want verbal sparring. Even better, i’d like for the dynamic to shift to where they are fighting side by side as equals (which to be fair Philinda and Hope/Scott is working towards). And apparently i really dig it when the older couple is the one that gets to finally find love (because yeah, now i’m getting to the point where i’m the woman who’s running out of time).

But my real question is how Feige is supposed to give us Young Avengers when none of the Avengers are pairing off? The settled with a family dynamic is sadly missing in the MCU and watching Incredibles 2 has made me bitter about it. Like it feels like Pepper is nowhere near as invested in the relationship as Tony is. Thor wanted Jane but wanted to wander around looking in all the wrong places for info about the stones even more (like why didn’t he go back to his father? Odin clearly knew a little about the stones in Dark World and, result, Loki knows more than anyone else?). Nat can’t even have a family, Clint and Scott are the only ones with kids. Christine and Nakia and MJ aren’t even a shadow of a thought in IW.

Does anyone have a fandom to recommend that actually has this sort of dynamic to it? I’m hoping that Judy and Don heats up a bit in season two of Lost in Space (as my niece puts it, they need to repopulate) but that could be ages yet like post-A4 or even post IX. I am so tired of feeling like the people who i want to be happy together are doomed to be working together but never together together. Please help.

[delicatefury]

Y’know my criteria for ranking movies is very straightforward

If I can rewatch it again and again and never grow tired it’s a favorite. These movies are all tied at the top of the list. When ranked 1-10, they’d all be 10s or very near 9s. I can’t pick any one of them to be the favorite. Examples: Beauty and the Beast (1991), The Firth Element, The Princess Bride, Iron Man, The Dark Knight, The Cat Returns, etc. (There are quite a few, and it makes it impossible for me to do a ranking system).

If I want to watch it occasionally, enough to warrant buying it in the days before Netflix streaming, it’s a favorite. Ranked 1-10, these would be solid 7 or 8s. Examples: Most Disney-Pixar Movies that don’t fall in the first rank go here. A lot of Ghibli films, a lot of MCU movies, and pretty much any John Wayne movied.

If I don’t mind watching it if someone else wants to, or I’ll stop to watch when channel surfing, it’s a high 4 to low 6. 90s action flicks, a lot of RomComs, a few Disney films, some comedies.

If I’ve seen it once but have no interest in watching it again, that’s a 3 to low four.

Seen it and lost interest, or have no interest in seeing it at all, that’s a 2.

But 1s... oh, 1s. 

When it comes to 1s, the criteria’s a little different. 1s hurt. 1s are the “could have beens”. Not the, “if only they’d have taken this a bit farther” or “the acting was wooden” types. Those can still land anywhere from 3′s up to 8s. No, 1s... 1s almost convince me that they’re really 9s or 10s. 1s I watch all the way through, enjoying the ride, but when I leave the theater, I feel dirty. Feel like I’ve fallen for some sort of trick. Movies whose glitz and glamor and adrenaline highs might last the ride home, might last long enough for me to check AO3 before dissipating into nothingness. Worse, they make me angry, because when given any time to think it over, I realize that they’ve actually taken the things I’ve loved and broken them. That’s a 1. Because 1s lie to me. At first glance, it hits all the right notes to make it look like an 8, a 9, or even a 10, but it doesn’t stand up under even a passing thought. Sure, shame on me for being deceived, but that doesn’t save it. A 1 is a soulless monster, one that has the look but none of the heart. Movies like Superman Returns are found in this category. Movies that betray my trust. That take a tried and true formula, the bright hues and striking contrasts of epics, take heroes, and morality, and paint a layer of beige grime over it because that makes it more “realistic” and “relatable”. 1s break up Lois and Clark because that’s relatable. 1s take a farmboy from Kansas with home and love and responsibilities and have him abandon everyone for a venture he knows is doomed from the start. 1s, 1s betray everything the source material, the inspiration, the original premise stands for.

1s man... 1s.

[ferretrade]

Omg what are ur fave hockey/ice skating movies I need recommendations I mcfreaken loved ice princess and the mighty ducks growing up and now idk what to watch

I hope there are more that I can’t think of because this list is just not long enough. anyway, in no particular order:

1. the cutting edge (+ the cutting edge 2, 3, & 4 if you’re desperate). these movies are so cheesy dramatic and use all the best cheesy slow down/speed up/dark and inexplicably foggy filming techniques for the skating scenes. I love it. the first is about super uptight bratty figure skater girl who needs a new pair skating partner and the only guy who can handle being her partner is an ex-hockey player, and they hate each other so naturally they fall in love. also the Toe Pick scene in this film is iconic. the sequels then are the the same thing but with different combos. 2 is figure skater + rollerblading dude. 3 is figure skater guy + hockey girl. etc. 

2. go figure. thank you disney for another great figure skating vs. hockey movie, I can’t get enough of this rivalry drama. basically, tiny figure skating girl wants fancy coach so she can qualify for the olympics despite being like 12??? she looks so tiny and young. and the only way she can afford to go to the private school where stern russian lady coach (naturally) is, is to get a hockey scholarship. can she keep her double life a secret to avoid the hockey girls hating her??? no. will she inexplicably fall in love with the assistant coach, which is kinda awkward because I really have no idea how old any of these characters are? obviously.  will kristi yamaguchi make a cameo for no reason other than who doesn’t want a kristi yamaguchi pep talk cameo? of course. when you can add kristi yamaguchi, add kristi yamaguchi. 

3. ice princess. I know you mentioned it above, but I need it on my list for completeness. this time instead of hockey vs figure skating, it’s science vs figure skating! an adventure in how physics can make you great at figure skating and help you fall in love with a cute boy who zambonis an outdoor rink for you because true love. also hayden panettiere is there and wants to be a real teenager. 

4. miracle. this is like the outlier in this list because it is not a cheesy romcom, which is my jam. it’s basically mighty ducks for adults + a little extra patriotism. based on the true story of 1980 USA olympic hockey team beating the scary russian team who was supposed to kick their asses. fun fact, the 1980 olympics took place in lake placid, ny, which is not too terribly far from my hometown. I don’t think my dad actually went but he had an olympic beanie and I need to track that down and wear it next winter. 

5. the mighty ducks (+2, +3). a great combination of goofy comedy and hockey. I don’t really remember the second, but I know I actually enjoyed the third which is a rarity when it comes to sequels to cheesy movies. fun fact, the anaheim ducks were originally called the mighty ducks because of the movie. how wild is that?? 

6. h-e double hockey sticks. we are officially scraping the bottom of the hockey movie barrel. but who wouldn’t want to watch a movie about a hockey player selling his soul to win a stanley cup? basically a buddy movie about the aforementioned hockey player and a demon who is, underneath it all, actually a good guy. if you like jack & eric from boy meets world, these are those actors.

honorable mention: breakway. I have never seen this film and only just now stumbled across it when trying to see if there were any other movies I’d recommend, but the synopsis is “a young man is torn between his traditional indo-canadian family expectations and his dreams of playing hockey.” also rob lowe is there. this sounds like it could be interesting? bend it like beckham, but canadian and about hockey? 

not what you’re looking for, but worth mentioning: double teamed. not a skating movie at all. it’s just on my mind because hulu keeps telling me to watch it. but if you’re looking for a movie about women and sports, I mean, how can you not want to watch this feel-good disney movie about twin sisters who are really tall and good at basketball? it’s a good one. based on a true story. 

[mermaidsirennikita]

January 2017 Book Roundup

Because I’m excessively nerdy and decided that I wasn’t working on enough shit this year, I’m going to try to keep track of how many books I read/attempt to read each month this year.  This is my covert way of trying to push books that you would maybe? not? try? on you because honestly, I feel like I see so many of the same books over and over on Tumblr.  And many of them are good!  But many more are overlooked.  Without further ado:

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne.  5/5.  This is a great romcom to read while you think the world is ending.  It’s pure fluff, except for the smutty parts.  It’s the tale of Lucy and Joshua, two incredibly passive aggressive coworkers at a publishing company who are competing for a job while also wanting to hatefuck each other.  Joshua’s just mean enough without being a total dick?  Lucy can dish it?  A must read.

The Falconer by Elizabeth May.  3/5.  To be honest, I feel like I gave this three stars on Goodreads purely because I feel like other people will like this.  It’s your classic Victorian Era girl slays evil fairies book, which I normally would love, but--the writing just wasn’t for me.  It did have a nice romance percolating between the heroine and the evil faerie who wasn’t that evil.  But to be super honest, I expected more sex.  Why did I?  I don’t know.

Rejected Princesses by Jason Porath.  4.5/5.  I believe that this began as a Tumblr?  Essentially, Porath takes women of history (and mythology) that he thinks Disney would never make a movie out of, gives them a little write-up, and accompanies these write-ups with delightful Disneyfied drawings of them.  I honestly loved this, and only took half a star off because of the whole “I’m not sure about all of the women in this book being portrayed accurately because I don’t know about many of them” thing.  (He did include the “Caterina Sforza flashed her vag at everyone” story which, while popular, is bullshit.)  The fact that Porath used so many women I genuinely had never heard of really impressed me--I love these “bad women” collections, but most of the time I know the stories already.  Well done.

Tell Me Something Real by Calla Devlin.  3/5.  This book taps into the story of three sisters who live with their parents in a border town.  Why do they live in a border town?  Because their terminally ill mother regularly travels to Mexico for illegal cancer treatments.  This story was actually pretty interesting throughout and drew me in--but I predicted the twist VERY early on, and it seemed like much of the story depended on that.  Still worth the read if you’re interested in a very different YA with an out-there angle.

Ever The Hunted by Erin Summerhill.  4/5.  Following the death of her bounty hunter father, Britta is forced to help the king’s men track down his killer--who is suspected to be her childhood friend Cohen (who she’s obviously secretly in love with).  This book was not full of surprises.  It is a pretty standard YA fantasy.  But the romance is good--very much built on the two characters knowing each other, which is different for YA--and there’s a cool hook at the end.  It’s not going to SHOCK you, but it is enjoyable.

Poison’s Kiss by Breeana Shields.  2/5.  Marinda is used for her unique ability--she kills with a kiss.  Her employer/”owner” turns her towards a boy that she grows attached to, and--gasp, she doesn’t want to kill him.  This idea was kind of interesting, but like... No.  The writing is nothing special, the love is instant, and while the mythology is interesting, as it turns out the writer is not Indian.  Which is okay, except the mythology is and the world is based on India and according to several other reviewers she used terminology incorrectly and just didn’t seem to do her research.  Nah.

Little Deaths by Emma Flint.  5/5.  In 1960s New York, working class single mother Ruth Malone wakes up to find her two young children missing.  When they’re discovered dead a couple of days later, attention quickly turns to Ruth’s sexual exploits, drinking, and seemingly cold behavior.  This was SO GOOD.  Based on a real case (don’t google it), this story focuses not only on the perspective of Ruth, but on that of a male reporter who becomes obsessed with her as he follows her case.  Which annoyed me at first--until I realized where Flint was going with this.  Definitely a good book to read when you’re in the mood to hate men.

Windwitch by Susan Dennard.  4/5.  A followup to the first book, “Truthwitch” so I won’t say much.  Suffice to say that this is a YA high fantasy that focuses on Yseult and Safi, two girls gifted with witchery and their various exploits with people who alternately want to kill and help them.  This series has a great focus on female friendship, and the characters are diverse.  I also appreciate Yseult’s arc in particular, as it grew in this book and went in promising places.  (I want her to get with this guy who was a bad guy at first, and like... I’m not proud.)  The second book actually really improved upon the first and went in unexpected places, so--give this series a try.

Everything You Want Me To Be by Mindy Mejia.  4/5.  This story begins with the discovery of the corpse of teenage Hattie.  A non-linear storyline and the perspectives of Hattie, the local sheriff, and a schoolteacher new to town tell the story of what happened to her.  This book surprised me--I didn’t expect for the protagonist to be as dark as she was, seeing as she was the “dead white girl” of the story.  While certain aspects surprised me more than others, this is less about who killed Hattie and more about daily lies and the capacity of men to romanticize themselves.

When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore.  5/5.  I’ve already written about this book on my blog.  It’s about the romance between childhood friends Sam and Miel, it’s full of magical realism, and it touches on real issues--cultural divides, being transgender, sexuality, etc.  It’s beautiful, every word is poetic, I love it, read this.

Frostblood by Elly Blake.  1/5.  I... really do not like this book.  It had all the issues of Poison’s Kiss, except the concept wasn’t that interesting either.  Very boring, very typical YA Fantasy.  I don’t even know how to explain what it’s about because it’s that... Paint by numbers?  Just don’t.

[gender-media-3420-blog]

Normative Tales Invoked

Remember those assumptions on gender we mentioned before? Well... let’s talk about those assumptions, how these tales are normalized frequently throughout the year, presented towards all the public no matter their gender, and by media of all shapes, sizes, along all media platforms. 

We typically always talk about normative gender tales, but we contest them. For example, we often question why women are gendered the way they are. Commercials about men not knowing how to clean up a mess, women as the caretaker, etc. We touched on this in the “assumptions” category, and it’s not always pretty. So, let’s take a look at some of the “normative tales” or assumptions of genders and sexualities, and how as well as where these tales are invoked. And to make it a little more fun, we’ll focus on what our group has seemingly deemed worthy of our conversation, at least in our discussion board.

Romantic Comedies. Ahh, don’t we all love them? And if you (say you) don’t, they’re at least a guilty pleasure, right? The men are often unrealistically muscular, comical in one way or another, and often assuming these normative assumptions of male roles. Women are also portrayed in those stereotypical roles, maybe hyper-sensitive, caring, a good cook, and almost always have that tiny waist, perfect hair, face structure-- basically overall beautiful. I’m thinking The Holiday. You got Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, and Jack Black. So we’ve got a variety, at least of the men. Jude Law is drop dead gorgeous, of course has a huge house--ahem, breadwinner-- and even shows up drunk on his first meeting with Cameron Diaz-- not an uncommon trope for how men are portrayed in these tales. Jack Black is an iconic comedic character and of course in this romcom he’s the goofy friend who ends up with Kate Winslet-- also iconic, um hello? Titanic? Anyways, Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz are both absolutely perfect actresses for fitting into the normative assumption of women portrayed with that “ideal” body image. Cameron Diaz: overall petite, small waist, collar bones protruding, medium bust size-- not too big, not too small-- silky blond hair, nice makeup, flossy clothes, you get the picture. Let’s move on with these female normative tales in everyone's favorite: Disney Princesses!

Alright, so you’ve heard it before, it’s nothing new. We all can recognize the overwhelmingly unrealistic beauty standards DISNEY PRINCESSES are held to in every film-- literally, every film, so the frequency is through the roof in this production. They’re on the verge of Barbie status here, people. They’ve got their cute perked up noses, big doughy eyes, a thin waist, but still keep their curvy physique of a… larger booty, pretty big boobs for a disney character if you ask me, and a look that is just overall unrealistic and unattainable by the majority of the female population.

Apart from appearance, ”They are self-sacrificing and innocent ingénues whose happy ending depends on the discovery of their one true love (Lamb and Brown 2006; Wohlwend 2009). As such, they provide girls with a strictly one-dimensional vision of femininity and a rigidly defined set of gendered roles” (Golden). These roles portray women as the victim of weakness, relying on men to help, guide, and hold their hand through the way. So young girls see these movies and mimic the princess, their role model. I’ve seen it myself! 3 year old girls pretend to be sleeping, stuck in a castle, and holler through their homes, “hello! Prince oh prince when will you save me!”-- I’ve literally witnessed this. 

And you know the worst part? The main audience of these princess films are children! Young-- 3 to 5 year olds guys-- and mostly female. But regardless of the viewer’s sex, Disney is creating a beauty standard for literal toddlers, in how a woman is to appear, and young children’s conception of femininity. Yeah yeah, we talked about this in messages sent to children. But these are the normative tales y’all! We got children’s books, children’s films, children’s toys, almost everything sent to children is based on these stereotypical, biased, gender roles, and most especially through various sources of media. Christmas time, spring time, fourth of july, no matter what time of year it is these tales are communicated to our youth! And women everywhere, for that matter.

But times are changing! Have you even seen Frozen? With a frozen heart, Ana is relying on a true love’s kiss as “an act of true love”--original, right? But plot twist! It’s the saving grace and love of her sister that thaws her frozen heart. Some girls support girls! Woo! And the reaction to that film from the audience was incredible! Women (and men) loved the switch up from Disney’s common trope of relying on a man for love and / or saving, so maybe, just maybe, we’ll get more of this from Disney in future princess films to come. 

[haamuressu]

thoughts on la la land?

are you seriously giving me a permission to rant about something ily

la la land was the kind of movie I feel like I need to watch at least twice before I can fully make up my mind about it. but first of all, I have to mention the two things that I was expecting highly of (bc of the hype) and also wasn’t disappointed: cinematography, and soundtrack. the film really did a good job at honoring old hollywood films in my opinion, and the shots were sometimes just so beautiful that I legit forgot to follow the plot because I was staring at the scenery.

which brings me to my next point because although there was a lot about the plot that I did like (Im gonna tag this as spoilers bc I dont want to be murdered): for example the subject itself (how the entertainment industry can start to suck your soul out and how it’s hard to keep trying and dreaming after you’ve been laughed at and let down) is an interesting subject to me. I also liked the ending - it’s not the kind of happy ending that you’d expect but in my opinion it still kind of is a happy ending, which was refreshing to me bc if mia and sebastian would’ve ended up together I would’ve been disappointed tbh because that would’ve been so boring and predictable.

It was good to see a romantic film which also sent a message of “it’s okay, sometimes things don’t work out the way you want them to, sometimes they don’t end up together”, and the fact that both of them sort of chose their own dreams over each other was really great. Idk if everyone interpreted the ending as positively as I did, but I really thought that it made the whole film complete.

now that that’s out of the way, I feel like the plot isn’t as interesting as I would’ve liked it to be. I know it’s supposed to be a musical and the movie does a good job making the songs part of the story (I’ll give it that) but sometimes it just felt like I was watching a very, very long music video with not enough plot for the song so that it’s kind of stretched out, you know?

I love how they took risks with the film, though. there were many occasions I was taken back with the theater-like things happening, like characters freezing all of a sudden and all that. also when it comes to the scene where they dance in space or whatever: I honestly don’t know if I loved that, or if I thought that it was kinda ridiculous. as said before I really can’t properly make my mind about this film yet.

side note this is just my personal thing but I love both emma stone and ryan gosling and would gladly marry them both so to see them together was great and also they had a lot of chemistry and it wasn’t forced, so A for casting from me lmao.

favorite songs: I dont think that anyone can say anything else than mia and sebastian’s theme. fuckin??? I love?? gave me a sudden craving to learn how to play the piano. also the fools who dream and the city of stars. I really liked the music in general and that’s coming from someone who doesn’t particularly care about jazz so.

overall la la land felt like a mix of a disney film (an older disney film, something similar to princess and the frog etc.), an old hollywood film, a classic play and a generic romcom. but it was well done, entertaining and beautiful so even tho it’s not going into my top 10, I’m not saying it isn’t good bc it is and also ryan gosling if you’re reading this please contact me