#e.g.: the twins and Rachel

[tothelasthoursofmylife]

Finally stumbled over a "omg, Count (!) Cloudia couldn't have had kids out of wedlock!! do you have common sense??" thing. Oh, the second-hand embarrassment....

[comshipbracket]

Antis DNI

Comship Bracket 3 Round 1!

Round 1 is split up into 6 Segments, which are split into 3 smaller polls within them! These will be posted when I am able, with a 6-day voting time limit. Look out for your ships! Propaganda is both welcome AND encouraged, whether through the form of essays, art, fanfiction recommendations, or otherwise, Almost* All propaganda will be reblogged.

Disclaimer: All ships (other than NozoCoco) on this bracket are FOLLOWER-SUBMITTED ships, the Mods do not always hold necessary knowledge to be aware of any errors or fanonizing what should be canon material that may arise. Disclaimer 2: The mods are aware that in-system dating (regarding 0909) is not a problematic trait, 0909 counts as a comship in manners OTHER than this. Please stop constantly informing us "in-system dating isn't problematic", we already know this.

SEGMENT 1

Poll 1: Kyuumi (Kyubey x Mami Tomoe), Puella Magi Madoka Magica VS Komugiroha (Komugi Inukai x Iroha Inukai), Wonderful Precure

Poll 2: Stuilly (Billy Loomis x Stu Macher), Scream VS 10027 (Byakuran Gesso x Tsunayoshi Sawada), Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Poll 3: Finncest (Finn Mertens x Fern), Adventure Time VS ZADR (Zim x Dib Membrane), Invader Zim

SEGMENT 2

Poll 1: Aeshaia (Strophaia x Aeshma/Ichiro Umoregi/Akuma Kun II), Akuma Kun VS 0909 (Mikoto Kayano x John Kayano), MILGRAM

Poll 2: Amporacest (Eridan Ampora x Cronus Ampora), Homestuck VS Lucifadam (Lucifer Morningstar x Adam), Hazbin Hotel

Poll 3: Brujay (Bruce Wayne/Batman x Jason Todd/Robin/Red Hood), DC Comics VS Thoschei (The Doctor x The Master), Doctor Who

SEGMENT 3

Poll 1: Jimthan (Jimmy Valmer x Nathan), South Park VS Stannarrator (Stanley x The Narrator), The Stanley Parable

Poll 2: AiHina (Airi Sezaki x Hinako Hanamura), Kitanai Kimi Ga Ichiban Kawaii/I Love Your Cruddy VS Ayuno (Aya Asagiri x Tsuyuno Yatsumura), Magical Girl Site

Poll 3: Annie Edison x Jeff Winger, Community VS Cooprey (Audrey Horne x FBI Agent Dale Cooper), Twin Peaks

SEGMENT 4

Poll 1: NozoCoco (Nozomi Yumehara x Kouji Cocoda), Yes! Precure 5/Yes! Precure 5 GoGo/Kibou no Chikara ~Otona Precure '23~ VS Arthorin (Arthur Denton x Orin Scrivello), Little Shop of Horrors

Poll 2: LukeLeia (Luke Skywalker x Leia Organa), Star Wars VS The Floor Show (Dr. Frank N Furter x Brad Majors xJanet Weiss x Rocky), Rocky Horror Picture Show

Poll 3: Miki x Kozue (Kaoru Miki x Kaoru Kozue), Revolutionary Girl Utena VS Toukasaki (Aoyagi Touya x Tenma Saki x Tenma Tsukasa), Project Sekai

SEGMENT 5

Poll 1: Zackray (Rachel "Ray" Gardner x Isaac "Zack" Foster), Angels of Death VS Family Rentarou (Rentarou Aijou x ALL his girlfriends), 100Kanojo/The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You

Poll 2: Misato x Shinji (Shinji Ikari x Misato Katsuragi), Neon Genesis Evangelion VS Elriccest (Edward Elric x Alphonse Elric), Fullmetal Alchemist

Poll 3: HaniMori (Mitsukuni Haninozuka x Takashi Morinozuka), Ouran High School Host Club VS Tsumigiibo (Tsumugi Shirogane x K1-B0), Danganronpa

SEGMENT 6

Poll 1: FeaNolo (Fëanor x Fingolfin), The Silmarillion VS Tridentariicest (Coronabeth Tridentarius x Ianthe Tridentarius), The Locked Tomb

Poll 2: This Ship has been Disqualified on Bracket Rules VS Paire (Peter Petrelli x Claire Bennet), Heroes

Poll 3: FischOz (Prinzessin der Verurteilung, Fischl von Luftschloss Narfidort x Ozvaldo von Hrafnavins), Genshin Impact VS Studcoms (Steban the Student Communist x Ulixes the Echo Maker), Disco Elysium

- Mod Satou (She/Her Only) The mods of this blog use a COLLECTIVE Shes/Hers/Herselves pronoun (e.g. Both the mods on comshipbracket have been working hard lately. I really enjoy hers blog and hope shes are doing well and not overexerting herselves.)

[campercabeth]

Awesome! Thanks! Feel free to answer privately out publically, doesn't matter to me! So my nephew really struggles with knowing who or what is important and what's extra so he gets bogged down. Who are the main characters (and can I trouble you for a short summary of them, some spoilers are okay!)? Who are background/extra characters that can be given a very brief description (e.g. Mrs so-and-so: a boring teacher). What myths should I tell him about before he reads the book, and what ones are good enough to just read in the text?

Hello hello again! Buckle up! :)

Putting it under a read-more for those who don't want to scroll past a (potentially) long list. This does include major spoilers for the series as a whole. Feel free to describe these things or keep them to yourself for your own future reference down the road as y'all read!

I very well might forget things and add on to this after I post this. It's off the top of my head, but I'm writing out things and people that I can remember!

Main characters:

Percy Jackson: son of Poseidon and Sally Jackson. Eventually the hero of the prophesy and boyfriend of Annabeth Chase.

Annabeth Chase: daughter of Athena and Fredrick Chase. Invaluable support to Perseus Jackson, and his best friend throughout the series (minus Grover), and eventual girlfriend.

Grover Underwood: satyr. Life's mission is to find Pan.

Secondary characters:

Luke Castellan: son of Hermes and May Castellan. Has own arc we follow as the books progress.

Thalia Grace: daughter of Zeus and Beryl Grace. Comes back to life in a later book. Will she/won't she be prophesy child? Who knows?

Nico di Angelo: son of Hades and Maria di Angelo. Brother of Bianca and baby boy who has done nothing wrong in his life ever. Jk. Except for the war crimes and lying (one of those is a lie). But we love him anyways!

Chiron: centaur/mentor for CHB as a whole. Tends to stay out of action for the most part.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare: mortal friend of Percy Jackson, has a larger role later on in the series. Namely books 4 and 5.

Sally Jackson: Percy Jackson's mother and lover of Poseidon. A good momma who tried her very very best to help her son as she was able growing up.

Gabe Ugliano: Bad. Mean. Ugly. No. We do not like him here in this household. Rat. Stinky man. Ew.

The gods:

Zeus: Percy's uncle, King of the Gods, heavens, Olympus, skies. Father of Thalia. Symbol of power is thunderbolt.

Poseidon: Percy's father. King of the Sea, earthshaker, father of monsters. Symbol of power is trident.

Hades: Percy's uncle, King of the Underworld. Father of Nico and Bianca di Angelo. Antagonistic but not bad character. Symbol of power is helm of darkness.

Hera: Meet in book 4. Helpful at first, but antagonistic. Wife (and sister) of Zeus.

Athena: Annabeth's mom, Goddess of war, arts and crafts, rivalry with Poseidon and to a lesser extent, Percy. Do not antagonize at ALL. You will not win.

Mr. D: Trapped at CHB as punishment, God of Wine, revelry, insanity. Doesn't like Percy for forever, but does soften up as the series goes on.

Hephaestus: don't see much of him. Helpful on book 4, God of metalwork, blacksmiths, etc.

Hermes: Messenger God. Son of Zeus, Father of Luke. Loves his son, cannot help him.

Demeter: don't see much of her. Goddess of agriculture and grain, harvest.

Apollo: Twin brother of Artemis, god of Archery and the Sun. Helpful, if annoying.

Artemis: Twin sister of Apollo, god of Archery and the hunt. Maiden Goddess.

Ares: Antagonistic and annoying. God of (bloody and violent) war. Wants to start chaos to laugh.

Aphrodite: Goddess of beauty and love. Though love plays a role in the series as a whole, she is barely seen in the series.

As for some of your other questions, I really just recommend letting him get into the story and decide if he wants to continue on reading the myths and such. I can't even begin to try and say that Rick did a great job at research, but he did try, kind of. You don't want to overwhelm your nephew with so much info that he decides it's too much of a hassle to try and enjoy these books as books, you know? The PJO series is one very near and dear to my heart, and I've been reading it since the OG series was coming out. It was my intro to Greek and Roman myths, and I think it's a pretty good one, all things considered. If he has any questions about where myths came from, I've heard that theoi is a good jumping off point, though parts of the myths might need to be toned down a LOT to explain to him. Greek myths as a whole are pretty messed up. Currently, I've been reading the Iliad and the Odyssey, both by Homer. There's also the Percy Jackson wiki, which has a lot of spoilers, but might be good for your own personal reference?

Basically I'd say try to sift through the myths by googling them, and decided on how you would like to relate that info to him, if that makes sense. A lot of the way that Rick presents things is... lacking, but as I said earlier, it's an okay jumping off point. Feel free to reach out if you have any more questions! :)

[saglovesu]

𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐤𝐲𝐮𝐮 𝐡𝐜𝐬

Series Masterlist

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A/N: some of these might not be too realistic cuz of some canon aspects so don‘t take them too serious! They‘re just random HC‘s I came up with for fun, so enjoy them :P ALSO there might be Timeskip spoilers on some so SPOILER WARNING!! Also I haven’t finished the outline of the next chapter from „Stay.“ so I‘m giving u this instead for now <3 LMK if I should make a series out of this cuz this is very much fun!!

SUNA is a comedic genius and always makes the best jokes that crack everyone around him up. He‘s actually a very loud person when it comes to humor

KITA has different colors assigned for every month for his toothbrushes so that he doesn‘t loose track of when to buy a new one (e.g. yellow toothbrush in august, etc.)

once KAGEYAMA started imagining formulas and tasks from his physics class as if he were calculating volleyball sets on court his grades became much better

TENDOU befriended the Miya Twins when they met during nationals and they still occasionally have contact. He even texted Atsumu to [tauntingly] wish him good luck against his best friend before the MSBY vs ADLERS match

the only time OSAMU shared his food was when he saw a stray cat on his way home cuddling him up so he gave it a bit of his tuna Onigiri. He still thinks about it sometimes when he prepares the food for his shop

SUGAWARA learned english through watching Friends and agrees with Rachel that Ross and her were in fact not on a break

while KENMA loves video games he also reads a lot of fantasy books. He‘s an incredibly fast reader and has read most of the popular titles before they even became popular [eg Game of Thrones, Six of crows, etc.]

KUROO‘s the type to have many arguments in the comment sections of political videos, he‘s a proud feminism defender and also doesn‘t hesitate to cuss homophobes, transphobes or racists out. Most of the time though they stop answering when he responds to their „your ugly“ with „*you‘re“

HINATA tripped on the way to the stage on their graduation day when it was his turn to get his diploma. His friends haven‘t let him live it down and they never will, though they also found it adorable

though AKAASHI is very quick witted and sarcastic, his friends‘ parents love him. All of them. He‘s very polite and always offers to help washing the dishes or cleaning up when he‘s at their places

[queenofwerewolves]

Name a song you like that starts with every letter of the alphabet (e.g: a song that starts with A, a song that starts with B, etc.)

Bet babe

Animal I have become - Three Days Grace + Alone - Nico Collins

Broadcasting from Beyond the Grave- Motionless in White + Brutal - Olivia Rodrigo + Bubblegum Bitch - Marina

Crazy = Genius - P!ATD + Complicated - Avril Lavinge + Cigarette Ahegao - Penelope Scott + Check Yes Juliet - We The Kings

Dear Maria - All Time Low + Devil's Night + Motionless in White

Endless Possibilities - Tomoya Ohtani ft. Jaret Riddick of Bowling For Soup for Sonic Unleashed

Fly Away - Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt

Going Under - Evanescense

His World - Crush 40 - Zebrahead remix - Sonic 06

+ House Of Memories - P!ATD + Hello Kitty - Avril Lavinge + Happy Face - Jagwar Twin + Happy Pills - Weathers

I Write Sins Not Tragedies - P!ATD + IDFC - Blackbear + Immaculate Misconception - Motionless In White + I Hate Everything - Three Days Grace

Joker - Gakupo + Jewel Box - Tophamhat-kyo

Killpop - Slipknot + Knight of the Wind - Crush 40 + Karma - Kagamine Rin + Kruel Kreator - Tophamhat-kyo

Love is War - Hatsune Miku + Live and Learn - Crush 40

MAD RAT RAP - tophamhat-kyo + Mind Brand - Hatsune Miku + Miss Jackson - P!ATD

Nicotine - P!ATD + Never Good Enough - Rachel Ferguson + NaNaNa - MCR

Oh no! - Marina and the Diamonds + Overwhelmed - Royal and the Serpent

People I dont like (dont know the artist name) + Play Date - Melanie Martinez + Princess - Tomhamhat-kyo + Parents - YUNGBLUD

... Do songs starting with a Q exist-

Rock n Roll - Avril Lavinge + Red Cold River - Breaking Benjamin + Red White Boom - Motionless in White + Riot both by Sugarcult and Hollywood Undead

Sk8ter Boi - Avril Lavinge + Slaughterhouse - Motionless in White + She Wolf - Shakira + Stressed Out - TØP

This Machine - Team Dark - Sonic Heroes + Thnks Fr Th Mmrs - FOB + Teenagers - MCR + Teenage Dirtbag (forgot the band)

None for U that I can think of

Virtual Insanity (forgot the artist) + Victorious - P!ATD + Villian - K_DA

Werewolf Boyfriend - Fright Ranger + Wolf in Sheep's Clothing - Set it off + WILD SIDE - Beastars + We Become The Night and Werewolf - Motionless in White + Would You Love a Monsterman - Lordi +

You Call Me a Bitch Like It's A Bad Thing - Halestorm + You're Gonna Go Far Kid (Nightcore version)

And none for letter Z

Hope you like judging my music taste ❤

[scienter]

Hey.I miss your TVD metas so much & keep going back to them from time to time because they remind me why I loved Steroline & Stefan,Caroline,Katherine as individual characters even though I somewhat hate Plecverse.I was just wondering instead of subjecting us to Damon's manpain over a coffin for 2 seasons straight, wouldn't it have been better if they had him and Bonnie raise the twins & they could have explored Bamon dynamics in that way while Candice was on maternity leave & after as well? Alaric would have been involved but he would have been more of a wokaholic absentee-parent type.Do you think it was safe to have Damon around the kids considering his mental unstability was at a peak as an after-effect of the PS?Also he had a history of killing a pregnant lady...ughh who am I even kidding?! As for Caroline,they could have had her engaged with someone like Liam before Stefan came back?I guess this is just me deperately trying to erase the whole Ca*aric sham engagement narrative and BE cheesefest that damaged Bonnie's character in my opinion.Even though the show gave us some cute scenes with the twins over the following season,I never really felt any connection with Caroline's maternal bond with them.It just seemed like she held onto them because a part of her knew S would screw up his life for Damon all over again and at least she would have someone with her.Caroline being manipulated into leaving Stefan behind for her daughters like that felt so forced that it reminded me of Rachel giving up on her job and settling down for Ross because of Emma.

Hey, Anon!

I think that it would have been best if Alaric had raised the twins himself. They’re his kids. He should take care of them. Caroline shouldn’t have taken care of them. Bonnie & Damon shouldn’t have taken care of them. Those kids were Ric’s responsibility and no one else’s. I never, ever liked how Ric used Caroline as a nanny / mother, especially after the writers used Caroline as an incubator in that non-consensual magical pregnancy / forced birth story. It’s a misogynistic storyline. I hated it then, and I hate it now. And like, you I never felt any connection to the Caroline being the surrogate /adopted mother to the twins. I never bought the whole Caroline-is-such-a-control-freak-and-Ric-is-so-inept-that-Caroline-is-compelled-to-raise-them-herself. Bullshit. Someone who feels entitled to decide how other people carry out their responsibilities is a control freak. Someone who takes on another else’s responsibilities because of fear that the other person is inept is a co-dependent pushover. Caroline was not a pushover. That entire storyline was bullshit.

However, the Ross & Rachel storyline is different because (1) Emma was actually Rachel’s baby, (2) Rachel actually had a romantic history with Ross & she was still in love with him, and (3) Rachel wasn’t in a relationship with someone else. None of those apply to Caroline or Ric. The Ca*aric storyline was just some lazy, last-minute panic writing.

I also hated how the writers made Stefan go on the run, in order to save Damon’s life because that story was already done in season 2 & 3. I don’t like it when writers repeat a plot over and over again because the story gets stale and boring. That’s one of my problems with season 7.

The storyline that I always wanted for Damon was having him deal with his existential crisis from season 2 when he admitted that he missed being human.

I actually do think that Damon was a compelling character, but the he was written inconsistently as the series went on. Damon’s character arc went downhill in season 4 when the writers started molding Damon’s character to the plot rather than molding the plot to Damon’s character (e.g., the cure storyline; making Defan’s issues all about Elena). I’d love it if Damon was the one who took the cure in season 4 and became human or at least have Damon tell Bonnie that he missed being human and have a story come out of that. I think there was a real missed opportunity there. Still, Bamon was great. Having Damon & Bonnie become BFFs was one of the smarter things the writers did on this show. They probably should have done it sooner like in season 4.

[ptbf2002]

My Top 25 Favorite Voice Actresses

25. Carolyn Lawrence

Favorite Roles: Sandy Cheeks (Spongebob Squarepants), Cindy Vortex (The Adventures Of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius)

24. Izabella Alvarez

Favorite Roles: Ronnie Anne (The Casagrandes)

23. Jill Talley

Favorite Roles:Karen The Computer Wife (Spongebob Squarepants) Rita Loud (The Loud House) & Sam Sharp (The Loud House Season-2)

22. Lexi Sexton

Favorite Roles: Adelaide Chang (The Casagrandes)

21. Leah Mei Gold

Favorite Roles: Sid Chang (The Casagrandes)

 

20. Lori Alan

Favorite Roles: Pearl (Spongebob Squarepants)

19. Cristina Pucelli

Favorite Roles: Catwoman, Miss Martian, Amethyst, & Violet Lantern Ring (DC Super Hero Girls) Luan Loud, Dante, And Paige (The Loud House)

18. Nika Futterman

Favorite Roles: Luna Loud (The Loud House), Lola Caricola (CatDog), Sticks The Badger (Sonic Boom), & Smellerbee (Avatar: The Last Airbender) Hawkgirl (DC Super Hero Girls)

17. Jessica DiCicco

Favorite Roles: Lucy Loud, Zach, & Rachel (The Loud House), Okuni, Ami, Kita, Kimura Twins, & Yota (Shuriken School), Tana Nile (Guardians of the Galaxy) GIFfany & Tambry (Gravity Falls) Penelope Patterson (Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil) Celebrity Starr (The Replacements) Malina (The Emperor's New School) Olette (Kingdom Hearts II) Danika Hunnicutt (American Dragon: Jake Long), & Annie (It's Pony!)

16. Liliana Mumy

Favorite Roles: Panini (Chowder), Leni Loud (The Loud House), Madge (Howl's Moving Castle), Beth Tezuka (Bravest Warriors), Human Kimberly (Catscratch), Olivia Mears (American Dragon: Jake Long) Lucy Miller (The Santa Clause 2) & (The Escape Clause)

15. Tress MacNeille

Favorite Roles: The Medicine Woman (The Simpsons Movie), Osano (Kiki’s Delivery Service), Daisy Duck, Kanga and Shenzi (Kingdom Hearts II), Dot Warner (Animaniacs) Colleen (Road Rovers), Babs Bunny (Tiny Toon Adventures), & Bonnie (Lilo & Stitch: The Series)

14. Lauren Tom

Favorite Roles: Amy Wong, Inez Wong (Futurama) Minh Souphanousinphone, & Connie Souphanousinphone (King of the Hill) Angela Chen (Superman: The Animated Series) Ice Maiden #3 (The New Batman Adventures) Yoshiko, additional characters (Kim Possible) Yan Lin (W.I.T.C.H.) Su (Mulan II) Kuki Sanban (Codename: Kids Next Door) Market Sheep (Kung Fu Panda 2) Susan Long, Councilor Chang, additional characters (American Dragon: Jake Long) Tasumi, additional characters (The Replacements) Jo Dee, additional characters (Avatar: The Last Airbender) Jessica (Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare) Toni Sento (Mighty Magiswords)

13. Cree Summer

Favorite Roles: Abby Lincoln (Codename: Kids Next Door) Susie Carmichael (Rugrats 1991/2021) Paula Price (The Loud House)

12. E.G Daily

Favorite Roles:

Buttercup (The Powerpuff Girls), Buttercup (voice) (The What-A-Cartoon! Show), Louie (voice) (Quack Pack), Leslie (as E. G. Daily) (Friends), Tommy Pickles / Baby Stu Pickles / Various Voices (Rugrats/Rugrats: Still Babies After All These Years/All Grown Up!/Rugrats in Paris: The Movie/Rugrats: Search for Reptar/The Rugrats Movie), Lightwave / Heatwave / Radiowave (voice) (Darkwing Duck),

11. Christine Cavanaugh

Favorite Roles: Dexter (Dexter's Laboratory), Chuckie Finster/Chuckie's Guardian Angel, additional voices (Rugrats/Rugrats: Still Babies After All These Years/All Grown Up!/Rugrats in Paris: The Movie/Rugrats: Search for Reptar/The Rugrats Movie) & Many other characters

10. April Winchell

Favorite Roles:

Mrs. Herman Baby Herman (on-camera) (Who Framed Roger Rabbit) & Many other characters

9. Nancy Cartwright

Favorite Roles:

Bart Simpson (The Simpsons), Toon Shoe (Who Framed Roger Rabbit), Pistol Pete (Goof Troop), Fawn Deer (Bonkers), and Raw Toonage Rufus (Kim Possible), Todd Daring (The Replacements), Pumbaa Jr. (Timon & Pumbaa), Phantasmo and Shortstuff (Lilo & Stitch: The Series), & Goldilocksin (The 7D)

8. Cassandra Lee Morris

Favorite Roles: Alice, & Yubel (Yu-Gi-Oh! GX) Leo, & Luna (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's) Marble (Pok��mon Diamond and Pearl: Battle Dimension) Nathaniel (Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl: Galactic Battles) & Lola (Angelo Rules)

7. Tara Strong

Favorite Roles:

Bubbles (The Powerpuff Girls from 1998), Dil Pickles (Rugrats), Unikitty (Unikitty!), Timmy Turner and Poof (The Fairly OddParents), Beeza (Wander Over Yonder), Boh (Spirited Away) Ben Tennyson (Ben 10) and Reven (Teen Titans)

6. Kath Soucie

Favorite Roles: Lola Bunny (Space Jam) Daisy Duck (Quack Pack) Phil DeVille / Lil DeVille / Betty DeVille (The Rugrats Movie/Rugrats in Paris: The Movie/Rugrats Go Wild) Miriam Pataki / Marilyn Berman / Mona / Reporter (Hey Arnold!: The Movie) Young Nick Wilde (Zootopia) & Many Other Characters

5. Susanne Blakeslee

Favorite Roles: Wanda, Mrs. Turner (The Fairly Oddparents), Agnes Johnson (The Loud House), Dolores Derceto Ms. Birch (American Dragon: Jake Long), Mrs. Quackfaster (Ducktales reboot) & Valeriana (Amphibia)

4. Lara Jill Miller

Favorite Roles: 

Liam, Becky, Dana, Cookie QT, & Lisa Loud (The Loud House) Kathy (The Amanda Show), Juniper Lee (The Life and Times of Juniper Lee), Julie (Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi), Fink Casey Krinksy (DC Super Hero Girls), Matsuri (Naruto), & Libby Stein-Torres (The Ghost and Molly McGee)

3. Catherine Taber

Favorite Roles:

Padmé Amidala (Star Wars: The Clone Wars) Miss Hoe Cakes (Stroker & Hoop), Kendall Perkins (Adult) (Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil), Female Jeese (Minecraft Story Mode), Cadence (We Wish You a Merry Walrus). Lori Loud, Katherine Mulligan, Whitney, & Girl Jordan (The Loud House)

2. April Stewart

Favorite Roles: Wendy Testaburger, Liane Cartman, Sharon Marsh, Carol McCormick, Mayor McDaniels, Principal Victoria, additional characters (South Park), Pandora (Danny Phantom), Maria Rivera (El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera), Susan, Woman #1 (Regular Show), Raava, Fire Lord Izumi (Avatar: The Legend of Korra), Bratty Kid's Mom, Scout Leader (The Loud House)

1. Grey Griffin

Favorite Roles:Lola, Lana, and Lily Loud (The Loud House), Yumi Yoshimura (Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi) Daphne Blake (Scooby-Doo), Sherri & Terri (The Simpsons) Tootie (The Fairly Oddparents), Azula (Avatar: The Last Airbender), Puppycorn (Unikitty!), Sam Manson (Danny Phantom), Frankie Foster (Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends), Vambre Warrior (Mighty Magiswords) Photography Teacher Roselle Fanfic Prisoner (The Owl House) Mann (DuckTales reboot) Drooling Baby Little Girl with Doll Maitre'd Kiss of Death actress Security guard Vuka Vukojevich (Big City Greens) Bearded Lady (American Dragon: Jake Long) Black Cat (Spider-Man) Captain Marvel (Avengers Assemble and Guardians of the Galaxy) Miss Dewygood (Teacher's Pet) Betty Brant (The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes) Olive (Wander Over Yonder) Tana Nile (Ultimate Spider-Man) Darja Chava & Oora (Star Wars Rebels) Hope Hadley Jackie-Lynn Thomas & Queen Moon Butterfly (Star vs. the Forces of Evil) Naare (LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures) Maz Kanata (LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures and The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special) Carla McCorkle Mrs. Gleeful & Grunkle Stan's female voice (Gravity Falls) Morgan le Fay (Ultimate Spider-Man and Avengers Assemble) Greenly (The Legend of Tarzan) Weira & Miranda (W.I.T.C.H.) Hana Stoppable & Pet store worker (Kim Possible) Flute Girl & Miss Wickwhacker (Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja) Baby Unicorn (Fish Hooks) Brianna Buttowski (Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil) Hip hop hula girl #2 Phoon Baby Nani Animal shelter owner Female tourist Teenage Mertle (Lilo & Stitch: The Series) Margo Oneupher Beach Babe #2 Beach Babe #1 Yazmine Reporter Debate Club Member #1 Moxie (The Emperor's New School) Arista (The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning) Aquata (The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning) Penny's Mother (Bolt) Riley Daring Buzz Winters Alfred P. Dunleavy, Jr. Trixie & Wendy (The Replacements) Vicki Vortex & Mom (Buzz Lightyear of Star Command) Nona Lor McQuarrie (The Weekenders) Leslie Lambeau (Timon & Pumbaa) Roxanne (House of Mouse) Torgo as a female (Timon & Pumbaa), & Catwoman (Batman: Arkham Asylum)

Credit Goes To candialva11 For Template

Meme: https://www.deviantart.com/candialva11/art/My-top-25-favorite-blank-meme-template-892955464

[wonderofasunrise]

ER Appreciation Week 2020 - Day 6:

Favourite Holiday Episode

This is one of those days where I can’t simply pick one, so I’m posting two just because.

Great Expectations (6x08)

This is where we welcome Tess and Kate Ross. Plenty of other events occur in the episode (e.g. Greene Sr falls and has a head lac, Rachel gets her first period, etc.), but if there’s one major thing that the episode tells us is that Carol is well and truly alone. Sure, she has the ER gang, but it’s simply not the same as having the father of her babies around and taking care of them with her. The ending where one of the twins is crying and Carol can’t do anything because she’s preoccupied with the other? Still fucks me up to this very day.

Be Still My Heart (6x13)/All in the Family (6x14)

These are obvious choices, and although incredibly sad these two are high on my list because they are...just wonderfully well done (good job, director Laura Innes!). Poor Lucy Knight - by the time I started warming up to her, it was way too late.

And of course, who can forget this chilling line from Elizabeth (at Romano’s helpless insistence)?

“Time of death, 02.56.”

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

Given the tendency of the cats I've known to Stare Intensely at whatever you're looking at or just random objects I can picture chapman's yeerk going "oh the cat is staring intensely at random objects again" while an animorph in cat morph reads the map. honestly the animorphs probably missed some opportunities with animals that were just Like That. crows, geese, swans, raccoons, cats etc (here in NZ there are wild parrots that wreck people's cars. this is just an Obnoxious Thing Birds Do. )

When I said “Chapman apparently accepting that cats can read maps” in that one post, that was a tongue-in-cheek Harry Potter reference.  As far as I know there’s nothing in AniTV with Chapman literally seeing a cat read a map.  It’s more that there are several scenes where Rachel is running around as a cat in places where no cats should be (e.g. the middle of a yeerk base) while doing things that seem distinctly uncatlike (e.g. carrying Elfangor’s disk in her mouth, attempting to start a backhoe) and Chapman can either clearly see this happening or else is standing six inches away and should be able to see it... and yet we get no reaction whatsoever from the yeerk.

The fact that it’s HIS FUCKING CAT Rachel is morphing just adds a whole other layer of ridiculousness.  Because I can accept random civilians going “eh, there’s a cat inside a backhoe who appears to be attempting to start it? Cats are just like that, man.”  But a human-controller?  Who knows there are andalite bandits using animal morphs in the area?  Who suspects that his daughter’s cat has been copied by said andalites, and then sees that cat’s twin attempting to start a backhoe?

In context, I don’t actually think that it’s supposed to be Iniss 226 shrugging off this weird-as-fuck scene.  I think it’s supposed to be that Rachel is out of sight.

But like I said, the sight lines in the Animorphs show are... bad.  It’s probably a matter of there being tiny sets and massive constraints around where they can and cannot edit in the CGI kitties.  But we still get shit like (unmorphed) Jake and Marco crouching behind a waist-high console — with their heads still clearly visible above said console — while Visser One and Visser Three walk by on the other side and apparently just... decide not to comment on their presence.  Presumably Visser Three assumes it’s Bring Your (Host’s) Child to Work Day, and Visser One’s extremely bad wig prevents her from having peripheral vision.  I dunno, man.

[keiths3dart]

Max in the Black Lodge

Wondering whether to dust this old chestnut off, i have 5 episodes complete so far.

Max in the Black Lodge, a Life is Strange / Twin Peaks Mashup.

Note: For Black Lodge dialogue, the text reads Left - Right as normal but the individual words are reversed and read Right - Left. e.g: AIROTCIV SEVOL EHT D     =     VICTORIA LOVES THE D

Part 1

The wind was blustery that night, speeding through the tree canopy overhead with a constant high pitched hiss like a detuned radio, punctuated here and there by the hooting of owls.

She’d been warned about the owls. What she hadn’t been warned about was just how noisy it could be. In the middle of nowhere. In the middle of the night. And she was already tense. Hella tense. 

She’d been tense ever since the prickly subject of Rachel Amber had been raised, she always was, always knew the hold Rachel still held over her lover’s heart and yes Goddammit, she was jealous, and resentful, and insecure, and a lot of other things that might make someone judgemental but Max Caulfield had never claimed to be perfect, never claimed to be someone she wasn’t. She had faults and where she hadn’t learned from them, she had paid for them. Dearly in some cases, repeatedly in others, and blessedly temporarily in certainly the worst she had suffered.

Max scanned the inky blackness for the telltale flickering beam of the flashlight she knew Chloe would be using to see her way around the forest. Finding no sign, she illuminated her own torch as a beacon to her own location.

“Chloe, where the actual fuck are you?” she cursed into the wind.

Chloe had, naturally, gotten separated from Max in the forest, being focussed to the point of obsession with investigating the location provided by the old woman in the Double R. Well, not the woman per se, but actually her log. 

Apparently, it is a long, strange, and sad story according to Shelley, their waitress that morning. Apparently also, this was not the first message to be related via the incongruous length of fir and that “when she said, it said, you should listen closely”.

“Max Caulfield?” she had said, approaching their table as Max and Chloe were enjoying what was arguably the best huckleberry pie in the pacific northwest.

“My Log has something to tell you”.

Chloe and Max had looked at each other, each wondering which one of them had the number for the local psychiatric assessment unit, the wondering becoming outright longing when the woman had leant  in close to Max and whispered;

“Rachel is lost in the Ghostwood, and the owls are watching. You must find the Doe and free it”.

The smart and indeed sensible thing for Max to have done at this point would have been to have discounted every word this obviously crazy old woman was saying, but.. 

Yes, there was always a “but”. 

But how did she know who Max was? she had addressed her by name, had known they were looking for Rachel, had somehow known about Rachel’s link to the Doe that Max had repeatedly seen during her week of time travelling, and that their original reason for driving Chloe’s ailing pickup all the way from Arcadia Bay to the isolated logging town of Twin Peaks deep in the woods, nestled just a few miles from the Canadian border, was because when Rachel’s boyfriend / drug dealer  Frank Bowers had returned to Arcadia Bay sans Rachel, he had said that they had been in Twin Peaks and that Rachel had upped and vanished following an argument between the pair.

Chloe had insisted they head off immediately despite the failing light

Max had wanted to wait until morning, had wanted to tell the Sheriff who they were searching for and to get some local collateral.

 But Chloe was the very definition of headstrong and a clue to Rachel’s whereabouts along with a veiled insinuation that she may be in peril, even if it came from a lump of wood was enough to free her from any semblance of self control. 

Ghostwood was an area of forest formerly supplying the local lumber mill, now lying untouched after the plans of its new owner to construct a tourist complex within the woods fell through sometime in the early 90’s. It was a dark imposing land, densely packed with quick growing conifers and with barely a few forestry trails to travel. It was not a natural and safe environment to go padding about in the middle of the night at the best of times and certainly not in a hoodie and chucks.

Max had stopped. She’d hurt her foot stumbling over a protruding root. Fuck this to fucking fuck, she thought.

“CHLOE!!!” she yelled into the night, but she might as well have whispered, the shout sounded so dampened in the dense forest that she doubted anyone outside of the little clearing she found herself in would have heard her.

The clearing  was a smallish area ringed by what looked in the gloom to be Maple or more likely Sycamore trees with the remains of a stone circle around a charred area on the ground. Obviously, an old campfire site. Max resolved to stay there. Reaching her destination she reasoned was a lot less of an imperative than finding her wayward bluenette. And if she stayed in the clearing and perhaps even set a fire in the circle, Chloe, following the same set of directions as Max had been would be able to locate the clearing. 

And her.

Max hobbled towards the fireplace, the pain in her ankle easing off somewhat. The hooting of Owls punctuated the night as Max looked towards the edge of the clearing, the darkness forming a wall around her. Max suppressed a chuckle, in a certain light it looked more like a heavy deep red curtain, like a cinema drape.

The Owls continued their hooting.

Chloe had gotten separated from Max, and this discomfited her. She knew how jittery Max could become when Chloe was, let’s be honest here, out of rewinding range. Conversations and situations which (from Chloe’s perspective) went perfectly fine but nonetheless culminated in baleful glances from Max as she dabbed at the blood trickling from her nose illustrated full well how much Max looked out for her, smoothing her journey through life. And Chloe loved her for it. But Max could never see that. However deep Chloe’s feelings for her former lover were, Chloe understood and appreciated totally how Max sacrificed herself time and time again for her whereas Rachel had sacrificed her relationship with Chloe to pursue her own happiness. To a girl with abandonment issues, the difference between lust and love was important to know. 

But Chloe still pursued Rachel with borderline obsession not for the reasons Max feared but largely  out of self-preservation. Rachel and Chloe were inextricably intertwined, as were their fates, and if anything fatal happened to her.... Well there were limits to Max’s powers and Chloe, currently into double figures as regards violent deaths, wanted very much to stay alive.

The most important thing, Chloe decided was to find Max, they couldn't have gotten separated by much but nevertheless, Chloe could see no sign of Max's flashlight, had received no reply to her calls, and had heard nothing from her. They couldn't be that far apart, but then again any sound other than the trees and those fucking owls seemed to be swallowed up by the murk.

Chloe swung her flashlight to and fro, looking for a path through the trees, finding the undergrowth to her left slightly more passable, she headed off in that direction. 

And walked straight into the two men she'd failed to notice following a barely discernible footpath northwards.

Max was busy in the clearing, she'd put down her bag and was in the process of setting a small campfire in the stone circle. She fumbled around looking for dry kindling then arranging it in the fireplace, there was a small scrap of paper, presumably left over from a previous fire. Something familiar about it caught her eye so she picked it up.

Shining her flashlight on it revealed it's secret and Max froze. Hypnotised by the text spiralling round to a black blob in the centre. That blob reminded her of something. An image came to her mind. A crude graffiti tag written in black Sharpie. Two phrases now swam in her mind;

“Hole to another universe”.

“Max in the Black Lodge”.

There was a ripple in the darkness, the red drapes she fancied she saw beyond the clearing parted, the piece of paper fluttered to the ground.

Max was gone.

[comshipbracket]

Comship Bracket 3! Full Ship List, In No Particular Order

Antis DNI

NozoCoco (Nozomi Yumehara x Kouji Cocoda), Yes! Precure 5/Yes! Precure 5 GoGo/Kibou no Chikara ~Otona Precure '23~

Komugiroha (Komugi Inukai x Iroha Inukai), Wonderful Precure

One of these Doctor Who ships

Jimthan (Jimmy Valmer x Nathan), South Park

Aeshaia (Strophaia x Aeshma/Ichiro Umoregi/Akuma Kun II), Akuma Kun

Arthorin (Arthur Denton x Orin Scrivello), Little Shop of Horrors

Stannarrator (Stanley x The Narrator), The Stanley Parable

One of these MILGRAM ships

Finncest (Finn Mertens x Fern), Adventure Time

Toukasaki (Aoyagi Touya x Tenma Saki x Tenma Tsukasa), Project Sekai

Tsumigiibo (Tsumugi Shirogane x K1-B0), Danganronpa

Zackray (Rachel "Ray" Gardner x Isaac "Zack" Foster), Angels of Death

HaniMori (Mitsukuni Haninozuka x Takashi Morinozuka), Ouran High School Host Club

Annie Edison x Jeff Winger, Community

Brujay (Bruce Wayne/Batman x Jason Todd/Robin/Red Hood), DC Comics

FeaNolo (Fëanor x Fingolfin), The Silmarillion

Davey Wreden x Coda, The Beginner's Guide

Family Rentarou (Rentarou Aijou x ALL his girlfriends), 100Kanojo/The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You

Miki/Kozue (Kaoru Miki x Kaoru Kozue), Revolutionary Girl Utena

Tridentariicest (Coronabeth Tridentarius x Ianthe Tridentarius), The Locked Tomb

Cooprey (Audrey Horne x FBI Agent Dale Cooper), Twin Peaks

Elriccest (Edward Elric x Alphonse Elric), Fullmetal Alchemist

One of these Homestuck ships

LukeLeia (Luke Skywalker x Leia Organa), Star Wars

The Floor Show (Dr. Frank N Furter x Brad Majors xJanet Weiss x Rocky), Rocky Horror Picture Show

ZADR (Zim x Dib Membrane), Invader Zim

Misato x Shinji (Shinji Ikari x Misato Katsuragi), Neon Genesis Evangelion

Stuilly (Billy Loomis x Stu Macher), Scream

Paire (Peter Petrelli x Claire Bennet), Heroes

Studcoms (Steban the Student Communist x Ulixes the Echo Maker), Disco Elysium

Ayuno (Aya Asagiri x Tsuyuno Yatsumura), Magical Girl Site

Kyumi (Mami Tomoe x Kyubey), Puella Magi Madoka Magica

One of these Hazbin Hotel ships

AiHina (Airi Sezaki x Hinako Hanamura), Kitanai Kimi Ga Ichiban Kawaii/I Love Your Cruddy

FisOz (Prinzessin der Verurteilung, Fischl von Luftschloss Narfidort x Ozvaldo von Hrafnavins), Genshin Impact

10027 (Byakuran Gesso x Tsunayoshi Sawada), Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Disclaimer: All ships (other than NozoCoco) on this bracket are FOLLOWER-SUBMITTED ships, the Mods do not always hold necessary knowledge to be aware of any errors or fanonizing what should be canon material that may arise.

- Mod Satou (She/Her Only)The mods of this blog use a COLLECTIVE Shes/Hers/Herselves pronoun (e.g. Both the mods on comshipbracket have been working hard lately. I really enjoy hers blog and hope shes are doing well and not overexerting herselves.)

[faakeid]

So... I read Jessica Jung’s Shine!

Hey guys! After so much drama to read this book I finally made it!! And here I am to talk a bit about my impressions with less spoilers as possible. Who’s excited?

So, basically, the book is written in Rachel’s (I will refer to her as non Jessica) POV and talks about her path to stardom into Kpop debut. She faces a lot of obstacles and drama and shows this road is not as easy as some people may think. 

When we read the first pages we have the impression her group already debuted and will show drama related to the formed group. But it’s not true. She spent seven years into DB company (non SM) concealing her life with practice and studies. If she hadn’t her family with her (mother, father and Leah/non Krystal), her journey would be pretty lonely. I mention that because she doesn’t have many friends as a trainee. Actually her “enemies” (or frenemies) are more constant than possible friendships in this world. Which is a heavy critic regarding the competition that surrounds Kpop universe. Although it must not be accurate to all idols, considering some may create real bounds. Or can they really? The book questions this a lot and since we see everything through non Sica’s eyes, we are sure those people she’s involved with are far from being her friends. 

But, in other hand it makes us reflect about the idols we know and stand. What’s the boundary between their relationships on and offscreen? Are they friends or even family like they preach or just work colleagues? Or they simply hate each other? The last part of the book shows it in a such brilliant way that compensated for the first half of the novel.

Jessica Jung (or the ghostwriter who condensated this, who knows) can be a sublty writer, showing clues that will be important later. Some scenes I found extremely cliché and made me think about give up. But later some of this cliché were explained later and it blowed my mind. So, yeah, Shine can be more than ir reveals on the surface.

The characters aren’t one sided. We see many layers of the most important of them like non Jessica, Jason (who may not be a literal portrait of any idol, really) and Mina (as the antagonist that also may not be a literal portrait of any idol. Or not??). They are, in some sort, believable and if you know how Kpop world works, consider as real people struggling to be on top and doing everything to get there.

Another point that made me enjoy the book was how it was adapted to our era. Even when EXO members talk about their predebut days (Baekhyun did this at Radio Star last year) they mention how communication and diet were restrict and how newer trainees have more advantages than them at that time. It made me think about the time Jessica and the other SNSD girls were trainees with less technology and access like we have now. But she could talk about it well and, if it wasn’t for a lot of details that point for Jessica and Krystal as characters, we could believe it talks about someone else entirely different. 

Maybe it’s the point that gets everyone in a positive or negative way. So, is everything she wrote true? Does the book spill tea? I believe there is, indeed, tea, although not the one people are looking for. At the aknowledgments, she thanked someone for listening her “many tea-spilling stories” (maybe the ghostwriter?). But, when I read, I felt the impression the reality surrounding the story was more focused on details regarding the company and many kpop fans are, somehow, aware of, than regarding facts surrounding people. 

There are family points that I also believe that happened. At least some of them. E.g: Jessica actually has twin sister friends she met at school. And she also studied in a private school. And something makes me think Leah’s description fits Krystal smoothly (at least her 12 year old version). 

The other parts seem too fanficished for me. I know about the competitiveness and secret dating but some things just seem made for the story to get more flavor and to move forward. But as fiction it’s entertaining.

So, do I advise people to read this? In general, yes why not? I feel like the romance construction is a bit off and there are lots of times the script cheates on non Jessica so she can get away from bad situations and there’s also questionable events that look too fictional to be real, but there are good points in it too. Talks about how have family by your side is important to hold you on bad times and support you and how you need to be aware of everyone else. 

For a book with a title called “Shine”, it’s pretty gloomy but a needed point of view about the raising marker Kpop became.

[kitmcroninillustration]

‘The Colour of children’s gender stereotypes’ -  Rachel Karniol (2011)

Colour and Gender Stereotyping

Colours are often gender-stereotyped. In many countries, adults have different colour preferences for male versus female children and from birth, infants and children are exposed to colours that reflect their gender. Girls clothes, toys, and rooms in Canada (e.g., Pomerleau et al. 1990) and the United States (e.g., Shakin et al. 1985) are coloured in variations of pink, and boys clothes, toys, and rooms are coloured in variations of blue. This gender-based colour dichotomy extends to the pink versus blue congratulations cards for new born girls versus boys in the United States (Bridges 1993) and the preponderance of pink Halloween costumes for girls (Nelson 2000). Girls Lego world and Barbies social world are both dominated by pink (Falkstrm 2003) and the pink Power Ranger was the sole female in this popular children’s show. A content analysis of toy ads shows that pastels, primarily pink and purple, are used only for girls toys (Pennell 1994).

Red and green are also differentially associated with females and males. In a study of American mail-order catalogues, red was significantly more often associated with women’s, and not with men’s clothing (Frank 1990). In fact, Scherbaum and Shepherd (1987), who discuss a societal aversion to men wearing red (p. 398), found that males dressed in red were perceived by American participants as improperly attired as compared to ones in blue and as compared to women dressed in red. As for green, women prefer warm colours and green is viewed as one of the cold colours (DeLong and Cerny 1983). In fact, green is twice as prevalent in male versus female infants birth congratulations cards in the United States (Willer 2001) and an infant dressed in a blue/green striped shirt was confidently judged by American participants to be male rather than female (Leone and Robertson 1989).

In this light, colour plays an important role in children’s emergent gender stereotyping. First, reliance on colour allows children to disambiguate gender-ambiguous contexts. To elaborate, in a study with American 25 year-olds (Cherney et al. 2006a), children were shown photographs of new toys from a toy catalogue. Each toy had been classified by adults as appropriate for males, for females, neutral, or ambiguous. Colour was the primary justification in children’s classification of ambiguous toys as more appropriate for one versus the other gender. Across all toys, boys and girls did not differ in their citation of colour as the reason for classifying a given toy as more appropriate for a given gender, suggesting that even at this young age, both male and female children clearly associate colour and gender. About 95% of the children identified pink as a colour for girls whereas blue was somewhat less strongly associated with boys.

Second, colour drives stereotyped-based expectations as to the association of objects, clothing, dispositions, and activities with individuals of a given gender. For instance, as remarked by a 6-year-old American boy, if girls are going to play with trucks, they’d better play with girl trucks namely, pink ones (Gelman et al. 2004, p. 105). Even 1824-month-old North American infants associate pink with females and blue with males, as evident in a selective looking task involving violations of gender-based expectancies (Eichstedt et al. 2002). In a recent study conducted in Britain (Tenenbaum et al. 2010), drawings of figures wearing green were generally identified as boys by 6-year-old children. Similarly, Picariello et al. (1990) had 36 year old American children choose which of twin dolls, dressed in pink and blue, was associated with different adjectives (e.g., strong/gentle) and professions (firefighter/ nurse). Stereotyping increased with age, and at all ages, colour of clothing impacted children’s impressions of the weird twin.

Although there were no reported effects of gender in the above study, boys anecdotal comments are consistent with their greater distortion of gender counter-stereotypic information. Thus, a first grader insisted that a male twin, labelled clearly with a male name, but dressed in pink, was nonetheless a girl, a phenomenon Martin and Ruble (2010) discuss as identity negation. Identity negation could be interpreted as reflecting lack of gender constancy, but boys and girls of these ages do not differ in their levels of gender constancy (Karniol 2009; Levy and Carter 1989) and gender constancy at these ages does not generally predict diverse measures of gender stereotyping or gender-stereotyped behaviour (e.g., Gelman et al. 1986; Lobel and Sex Roles (2011) 65:119132 121

Menashri 1993; Serbin and Sprafkin 1986). In fact, the preponderance of evidence suggests that boys are more highly gender-stereotyped (e.g., Urberg 1982), their gender stereotypes are less flexible and more stringently held (e.g., Archer 1984; Bussey and Bandura 1999), and they engage in more distortion of gender counter-stereotypic information (e.g., Carter and Levy 1988). Maccoby (1998) contends that as part of developing a gender-based group identity, children engage in behaviours that mark themselves off from the other gender symbolically (p. 44) and that boys are more concerned with distinguishing themselves from girls than vice versa.

The rigidity of boys gender stereotypes may partially reflect the greater restrictiveness of parents with respect to gender counter-stereotypic behaviour in boys than in girls (e.g., Kane 2006). Thus, American parents hold more rigid stereotypes of males (e.g., Leaper 2002) and exert greater pressure towards conformity to gender-stereotyped behaviour in boys (Leaper and Friedman 2007). American parents apparently also actively prevent young boys from using female-stereotyped toys (e.g., there’s not many toys I wouldn’t get him, except Barbie, Kane 2006, p. 160), and female-stereotyped colours (e.g., He likes pink and I try not to encourage him to like pink just because, you know, he’s not a girl, Kane 2006, p. 160). In Spain as well, boys are apparently never dressed in pink (de Miguel 1984).

Parallel social forces may well account for girls use of a greater variety of colours. If there are fewer restrictions on girls in terms of their behaviour in gender-related domains, girls would be expected to be more flexible in their adoption of stereotypes related to gender and to colour. In fact, both male and female British children view male gender roles as more rigidly proscribed (e.g., Henshaw et al. 1992). Importantly, then, because selves are themselves gendered, they necessarily play a role in the way they structure and conceptualize the social world and the gender stereotypes that are embedded in it.

 The Gender-Stereotyped Nature of Illustrations

Colouring itself can be a gendered activity. Although there are colouring books geared to both boys and girls, many colouring books are geared specifically for one gender, as found in a recent analysis of randomly selected colouring books in the United States (Fitzpatrick and McPherson 122 Sex Roles (2011) 65:119132 2010).

Colouring books for girls are dominated by fairies, princesses, and various fashion dolls whereas colouring books for boys feature vehicles, weapons, and action figures (e.g., Fitzpatrick and McPherson 2010). In Britain, colouring books featuring Disney-type princesses are generally the top selling ones for girls and ones featuring action heroes are the top sellers for boys (e.g., Lights, Camera, Action 2007). Children’s colouring books, therefore, provide rich contexts for examining children’s gender stereotypes in their use of colour as it relates to different types of illustrations.

What constitutes a gender-stereotyped illustration? Gender is often cued by name (e.g., Mickey/Minnie Mouse), appearance (including clothing and long hair, Hodge and Tripp 1986), and the gender-stereo typicality of the activities engaged in (Arthur and White 1996). The use of children’s toys in general, and those based on media figures in particular, as illustrations in children’s colouring books necessarily raises the issue of the gender-differentiation of toys. Adults use gender-related cues to differentiate the world of toys into male-appropriate and female-appropriate ones. On a scale of 19 with the end points representing appropriate only for girls or appropriate only for boys, adults rated a Mickey Mouse toy as5.01but the equivalent Minnie Mouse toy was rated 3.33 on the same scale (Campenni 1999). Similarly, the Power Rangers, Batman, and other male superheroes were rated higher than 6 on the same 9-point scale but female superheroes were rated only 3.22, (Campenni 1999), clearly showing that adults dichotomize the world of children’s toys.

The relevant question, though, is what constitutes a gender-stereotyped figure for children? Dolls, especially fashion dolls, and action figures are probably the most gender-stereotyped of all children’s toys. By 24 months, girls look more often at drawings of dolls than of cars whereas boys evidence the opposite pattern (Jadva et al. 2010). By age 3, girls select Barbies and other dolls more often to play with and by age 5, boys select more action figures to play with than do girls (Servin et al. 1999). Nelson (2005) found that boys rooms included more male figures, especially adult male action figures, whereas girls rooms included more female figures, especially baby and child figures. Of course, the content of young children’s rooms reflects both parental and children’s preferences (cf., Rheingold and Cook 1975). Yet apparently, toy purchases that reflect children’s requests are more gender-stereotyped than ones that reflect parental preferences (Fisher-Thompson 1993) and children’s Christmas toy requests are highly gender-stereotyped, with British boys asking for and getting more action figures, and girls, asking for and getting more dolls (Robinson and Morris 1986). In American children’s letters to Santa, 45% of

girls asked for Barbie dolls and 45% of boys asked for various action figures (Otnes et al. 1994).

In fact, sales of Barbie dolls and accessories account for worldwide annual sales ranging from 1 to 2 billion dollars (Casey 2008; Stanley 2005). Young girls also own other types of dolls, including Disney dolls, and Disney Princess play is also prevalent in the United States (Wohlwend 2009). As well, by 2006, approximately 120 million Bratz dolls were sold all over the world (Felgner 2006) and Bratz dolls accounted for about 40% of fashion doll sales in 2006 (McAllister 2007). The fact that Bratz did not replace Barbie in girls preferential world indicates that both types of dolls are favoured by girls. Unsurprisingly, Bratz dolls are assigned scores of 1.53 by adults, with 1 indicating only for girls and 9 indicating only for boys (Blakemore and Centers 2005).

In a parallel fashion, male action figures, which accounted for about 1.3 billion dollars in worldwide sales in 2006 (Ebenkamp 2006), are stereotypically associated with boys. In particular, both Batman and Superman are recognizable superheroes even by individuals who have never read a comic book (Bongco 2000), possibly because of their prevalence in toy stores all over the world (Fleming 1996). They have become what Macdougall (2003) calls transnational commodities. Batman in particular appears to hold a special fascination for boys (e.g., Gardner 1982), with a Warner Brothers executive commenting that Batman is literally part of the process of boyhood, especially for 611 year olds (Cooney 2004, p. 148). This fascination is evident in boys tendency to draw male superheroes, including Batman, in their spontaneous drawings (Gardner 1982; McNiff 1982). Importantly, boys play with action figures (Marsh 1999), not with dolls, denying vehemently their association with dolls (e.g., preschool boys protest Only girls play with dolls! and boys don’t have dolls, Lowe 1998, p. 218). This dissociation is also evident when in a letter to Santa a boy declares, No Barbie stuff because I’m a boy! (OCass and Clarke 2002, p. 44). In fact, playing with Barbie dolls is taken to be a sign of gender-variance (e.g., Gerouki 2010) and boys tease each other with accusations of playing with Barbie dolls (Renold 2004). In this light, then, illustrations of dolls and action figures are clearly gender-stereotyped in the eyes of children and adults.

https://www-proquest-com.ergo.southwales.ac.uk/docview/871984689?OpenUrlRefId=info:xri/sid:primo&accountid=15324 

[imaginemycroftholmes]

Name: Rachel

Age (note that if you are under the age of consent your score will be significantly lower for Marriage, Friendship and Partnership): 27

Gender: F

Occupation: Teacher

Nationality: Caucasian

Country of origin: US

Personality type (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator): ISTJ

Education: Bachelor’s Degree

Marital Status (if not applicable put N/A): N/A

Number of children (if not applicable put N/A): N/A

Who would you shoot out of John, Sherlock, Mycroft and why:  John.  He’s been shot at before, knows what to expect, knows how to handle wounds and trauma.  He is also very good in high pressure situations.

Height: 5’2”

Position in the family (oldest, youngest, middle): Youngest (by a minute I’m a twin! :P )

Best subject: English

Favorite Subject: English/Music

Worst subject: Biology

Last song listened to: Emperor’s New Clothes by Panic at the Disco

Favorite color: Purple

Thoughts on Molly and Sherlock’s impending relationship: Good luck.  I hope she has the patience of a saint.  Though I have a feeling she will keep his butt in line! 

Illness/allergies/impairments: Seasonal allergies, eczema

Last sentence uttered to another living human being: Could you please help me?  I can’t reach.

Hair color/length: Collar bone length; orange and red

Who do you feel more sympathy for Sgt. Donovan or Anderson’s wife: Anderson’s wife.  Not only did she have to go through the cheating, she also had to go through the downward spiral that was Anderson after Sherlock “died.”

Eye color: Hazel

Constantly cold, hot or prefect: Cold

Seven Noteworthy skills (ex: can play an instrument, fire most guns, ride a unicycle, etc.): Classically trained musician (Opera, piano, ukulele, guitar), can pick locks, can change a tire, handy with tools, organizational master, good at memorization, and good at negotiating/deescalating situations

Nine noticeable sins: (ex: moody, bad listener, selfish, etc.): Perfectionist, overthinking, moody, anxiety, terrible sweet tooth, self-deprecating, frequent shopper, pessimism, and sarcastic

Languages known/spoken: English, some Spanish, Does music note reading count as a language (it should! :P)

Cats, dogs, both or other: Dogs, allergic to cats L

How often you help your community (1 never, 2 sometimes when prompted, 3 average, 4 often, 5 weekly): 4

Favorite Holmes family member: Mycroft

Body type (1 obese, 2 overweight, 3 averages, 4 fit, 5 skinny): 2

Number of past lovers (put N/A if virgin or not seeking marriage): N/A

Level of cleanliness (5 slobs, 4 messy, 3 average, 2 pretty clean and 1 spotless): 2

Would you rather piss off Sherlock or Mycroft: Sherlock.  To really piss Mycroft off…may God have mercy on your soul

Rate your mental health on a scale of 1-5 with one being terrible and 5 being fine: 3-4

Rate your confidence on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being poor and 5 being Sherlock levels: 3

Combat level (1 sitting duck, 2 somewhat okay, 3 can hold their own, 4 pretty damn good, 5 a proficient fighter): 3

Circle of friends: 2-3

Who do you side with more Sherlock or Mycroft: Probably Mycroft.  Sherlock throws himself into insane situations, many times without a lot of planning. 

Level of intelligence on a scale of 1-5: 4-5

Who do you side with more Mycroft or Mrs. Hudson: Mrs. Hudson.  She sees things that he simply cannot because she thinks in a different way than he does.

Introvert or Extrovert: Introvert

Political alignment: Left

Who would your rather be trapped in a long car ride with Mummy Holmes or Holmes Senior: Holmes Senior

Go to outfit for everyday: T shirt and jeans when I’m not at work, casual dress and flats when I’m at work

Go to outfit to impress: A-Line cocktail dress, nice heels, curled hair, smart makeup with a bold lip

5 hobbies (not to be confused with noteworthy skills): Singing, crocheting, writing, reading, and playing room escape games lol

Opinion of Rosie Watson and Mary Watson: Rosie is the most precious child to ever grace this Earth and Mary Watson was a loving wife and mother

Favorite music/book/movies: Music: folk, rock, oldies  Book: murder mystery Movies: Action/Comedy/Science Fiction/Classics

How well you take rejection on a scale from 1-5: 3

Religious or religious affliations: None

Kids or no (note this is wanting them not the ability to have them): Maybe?  Not sure.

Out of the Holmes family (Siger, Violet, Sherlock and Eurus) who would you kill, maim, kiss or roommate with and why:

Kill: Eurus—Any other option would leave her a danger to herself and others Maim: Violet—Her mind would still be intact and Siger would still be able to take care of her Kiss: Siger—Wouldn’t make it awkward, and dealing with his family he deserves a peck on the cheek :P Roommate: Sherlock—he seems like as annoying as he might be as a roommate, he could be very handy and useful in certain situations

Do you think what Mycroft did with Eurus (at the time) was justified and needed: I believe that Eurus was and is still a threat to herself and others.  She is extremely mentally unstable and needs constant surveillance, which any kind of civilian service would not be able to provide for her.  While she seems to be happier now, I don’t believe she will ever be allowed to be released into the public.  I think, which the decision is extremely tough, and will impact the lives of those around her, that the decision is both justified and needed.

Please bold the following that you wish to have with Mr. Holmes:

Friendship

Partnership

Marriage

Mentorship

=======================================================================

There are 10 sets of 10 coins. You know how much the coins should weigh. You know all the coins in one set of ten are exactly a hundredth of an ounce off, making the entire set of ten coins a tenth of an ounce off. You also know that all the other coins weight the correct amount. You are allowed to use an extremely accurate digital weighing machine only once. How do you determine which set of 10 coins is faulty?

I think what you have to do is take one coin from the first set, two from the second set, three from the third set, going all the way up to ten.  When you weigh them, you will know which set is the one with different weight by how many hundredths the weight is off by, e.g. if the weight is off by five hundredths of an ounce, you will know that it was the fifth set that had the irregular coins.

Bruce is an inmate at a large prison, and like most of the other prisoners, he smokes cigarettes. During his time in the prison, Bruce finds that if he has 3 cigarette butts, he can cram them together and turn them into 1 full cigarette. Whenever he smokes a cigarette, it turns into a cigarette butt. One day, Bruce is in his cell talking to one of his cellmates, Steve. “I really want to smoke 5 cigarettes today, but all I have are these 10 cigarette butts,” Bruce tells Steve. “I’m not sure that will be enough.” “Why don’t you borrow some of Tom’s cigarette butts?” asks Steve, pointing over to a small pile of cigarette butts on the bed of their third cellmate, Tom, who is out for the day on a community service project. “I can’t,” Bruce says. “Tom always counts exactly how many cigarette butts are in his pile, and he’d probably kill me if he noticed that I had taken any.” However, after thinking for a while, Bruce figures out a way that he can smoke 5 cigarettes without angering Tom. What is his plan? 

If you take 1 of Tom’s cigarette butts, on the 5th cigarette you will be left with a butt to put back into Tom’s pile (See drawing)

What is the true origins of a fortune cookie?—Okay this may be wrong.  But don’t they originate in the US…I think in California.  

Answered correctly: 2/3

Mycroft’s answer:

Dearest Rachel,

It is nice to find your submission gracing my hands once again as finding educators is a very herculean task with the increasing demand needed in the colonies. Although I am not a religious man myself I pray that your career receives the needed assistance and respect that it deserves considering the amount of work most teaches put into their craft for the sake of the students and on a grander scale; the future of civilized society.  It almost takes a person worthy of sainthood in order to find people that are willing to teach with such a large dagger hanging precariously over their heads should they fail to meet state standards but to those that stay or choose that journey I salute them.

While I find it a bit disconcerting that you would hold favor with Mrs. Hudson over me when pitted against one another I can see why the choice would be made should we be too similar in nature however, with political aliment I have no doubts we would see differently enough not to need Mrs. Hudson’s interference in order for us to butt heads metaphorically on a subject. I find no surprise that most are choosing to maim mummy and kill Eurus but am colored surprised when people would actively share a space with Sherlock even after the whole debacle with Mary. Sherlock is not an easy person to room with and I say that as both his brother and former co inhabitant from when he was detoxing, then again rooming with my father would also be rather strange so the question tells me a lot about the person when the choose between the four.

I do agree however that reading sheet music should constitute for a form of language as few outside of musicians themselves can read it. I know in the beginning Sherlock had some trouble learning it unlike Eurus who took to it faster than anyone could anticipate. In fact I would dare say that Eurus was only ‘playing dumb’ in order to get Sherlock to play with her. I appreciate that you would choose to piss off my baby brother as you would indeed be correct that crossing me would be...detrimental to any persons social, financial, and mental well-being but rest assured I am not prone to overly emotional outbursts and dramatic plots at revenge unlike some people in the Holmes family I could name.

Moving forward I would find it interesting to talk more about this over coffee but sans the sweets (I’m on a diet currently and Sherlock has taken to texting me ‘Hey fatty’ almost every hour on the hour until I lose a stone) but I predict that such a exception won’t put you off too much correct?

See you at precisely at 2:54. My assistant will text you the location and details.

-M     

Friendship: 8.79/10

Partnership: 9.1/10

Marriage: 7.99/10

Mentorship: 10/10

[helpfuckingneeded]

Week 4 - UOM

Currently in Manchester, having my 4th week of study.

Made some friends over the past few weeks. Eunice; a friend from HK, Marta; a friend from Italy, Rachel; a friend from the Carribean, and Leo; a friend from France. I wouldn’t necessarily say that I’m very close to all of them, but I would say I’m the closest to Eunice and Marta so far. Honestly grateful for the way we met because we just started talking while we were sitting beside one another during the lecture. It goes to show that despite the bad experience I had with the SS, I was able to put myself out there and get to know a few more friends. I’m honestly very grateful for them, even though I’ve only known them for a month.

Well school wise, it was quite a challenge because everyone here is obviously smarter than I am. Most of them took their A levels prior to studying here; whereas for me, I took a technical gap year since I spent a few months taking care of my nephew. Though once again; I’m sincerely glad that I was able to get back in track with studying. Truth be told, it’s so much more peaceful to be here because I don’t have any responsibilities when it comes to care-taking or whatever.

I might be taking a trip to Hamburg(Germany) with Eunice for Christmas break, maybe for just a few days before jumping right back into studying. Once again, I’m quite glad that I’m not the only one who’s staying in Manchester during Christmas, because it’s a big thing here which I am definitely not a part of ever since I was young. I’m looking forward to that too to be honest hahaha.

Being here has its perks but other than missing Singapore food(which is a small issue), I really miss my family. My friends and my boyfriend. 

The twins are growing up and so is my nephew. He can finally sit on his own without a problem, and the twins are speaking more and even started to ride their tricycles without any help. It’s nice to get an update ever so often on how my family is doing through the chat group, but of course, it made me miss them even more as well.

As for Rachel and Yani, I really miss being able to really be myself with them because I’ll never be able to find any other friends who can truly accept me for who I am, despite the mistakes that I have made as an individual. I love them to fucking death and I miss them so much. I always hope and pray that things are going well for them. 

As for Isaac, Chester and Evan; they’re currently in the army and well army is pure shit LOL but I’m just hoping that things are going well for them in the meantime too. Though, Chester’s not doing so well and I’m keeping myself updated with his situation. As a friend, I’ll take my responsibility to be there for him whenever he needs someone to talk to. Evan and Isaac seem to be doing fine, and I hope it stays that way.

As for Jonathan and Bevan; we talk ever so often because we don’t talk that much in real life anyway, but we have a special bond and I would always make an effort to chat with them to see how they’re doing. Lmao it sounds like a job, but I really enjoy keeping myself connected with the ones that matter. Jonathan coincidentally ended up in the same unit as CJ so that’s something funny to think about xD. 

And as for Wh, I really miss him especially when I walk home by myself, or when I’m stuck at home during the weekends. I miss just being able to see him, essentially. Whenever I see couples walking around in Manchester, it made me sad because I know that Wh’s not here and I can’t meet him physically, so that sucks. I mean both of us are probably used to not meeting that often, but it’s been a month since we last met and I really miss him, his humor, the way he pisses me off, and everything. We’ve been together for about 2 years now and I love the dynamic of my relationship with him. He’s never jealous; he’s understanding of the fact that I have guy friends that I’m close to. He’s a very loving guy only towards me (obviously), and he reinforces reality whenever necessary. He keeps me grounded as an individual and I swear, even though it’s only been two years I seriously do not see myself with anyone else but him. Though, it’s funny because he’s not interested in getting married even when we’re like e.g 25 years old so that may be a problem but ah well. I miss him, and distance really makes the heart grow fonder. 

I miss everyone back in Singapore, but I really hope that life is treating them kind and I hope that everyone is happy and contented with their lives so far hahaha. I’ll probably be going back to Singapore for about 3 weeks during Easter(April), so I can’t wait to see the ones I love, and also to drive a car because I haven’t driven in a month and I want to keep my driving skills in check LOL.

Well I guess the only time I’m updating this shit hole that no one reads in 2 months time. So I’ll catch you later. Meanwhile, stay hype and safe and happy. 

[thegloober]

The New York Film Festival 2018 Preview

by Godfrey Cheshire

September 29, 2018   |  

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“In between seeing a film about Orson Welles and the new Godard, I heard him blame ‘Animal House,’ ‘Caddyshack’ and ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’ for the yearbook. That’s today in cinema history, kids.”   

Such read the missive I posted on social media on the afternoon of September 27, 2018. The “him” was of course Brett Kavanaugh, whose testimony before Congress I listened to as I walked across Central Park between the midtown screening room where I saw “They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead,” Morgan Neville’s documentary about the torturous history of Welles’ newly resurrected “The Other Side of the Wind,” and Lincoln Center, where I was to see a New York Film Festival press screening of Jean-Luc Godard’s “The Image Book.”

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After nearly four decades of covering New York’s festival, I invariably find my memories of it combine impressions of films and filmmakers with events happening in the world at the time: wars, elections, hurricanes, etc. For 2018, the cinematic recollections will inevitably come intermixed with flashes of the Mueller investigation and the battle surrounding the Supreme Court nomination of Kavanaugh, whose testimony left me with a question: If he and his high school buddies had been watching, say, “Citizen Kane” and “Breathless” instead of the aforementioned Hollywood yukfests, would their yearbook have been as trashy and sexist?

I can’t believe it would have, which in a sense is a roundabout tribute to institutions like the New York Film Festival that educate filmgoers in the higher possibilities of a medium that’s too often used to feed trash to teenagers. As for the cinematic counter-examples that Sept. 28 offered me, they couldn’t have been more perfectly paired. Welles was arguably the medium’s first great modernist and Godard its last; in any case, they stand as twin icons of the kind of auteurist cinema that the New York Film Festival exists to celebrate. That the 2018 edition of the festival, its 56th, contains new films by both masters is more than remarkable; it’s downright astonishing.

Which is not to say that the films are great, just that they’re exactly the kind of works that belong in the NYFF. Of the two, “The Other Side of the Wind” is the problematic one. Like other cinephiles, I spent decades wondering what this legendary “lost” film—which Welles started in 1970 and worked on for well over a decade—would be like if it had been completed. At long last, Netflix assembled a team of experts who combed through 100 hours of footage and, using Welles’ notes, assembled a finished feature. Alas, it’s one that suggests it might have been better left as a tantalizing possibility rather than becoming a rather disappointing reality.

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By no stretch of the imagination will “Wind” displace “Kane,” “The Magnificent Ambersons,” “Chimes at Midnight” or “Touch of Evil” at the peak of the Welles canon. It’s more a sprawling curiosity with a bifurcated form: One part dramatizes the last day in the life of a veteran director (excellent John Huston) while the other is a wordless bit of arty filmmaking that was supposedly meant as a satire of European filmmakers like Bergman and Antonioni. To put it kindly, the latter doesn’t work as satire while the director’s-last-day part doesn’t really work as either comedy or drama (though it has a kind of documentary interest). Neville’s fascinating “They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead” wonders if Welles ever really wanted to finish “Wind.” If not, he’s now having the last laugh from the great beyond.

At 87, Godard is still with us and, amazingly enough, still cranking out films that bristle with energy and inventiveness. Though I wouldn’t place it as among his very best, “The Image Book” struck me as a more agreeable and engaging feature than his last few. Unlike “Goodbye to Language,” it contains no actors. More along the lines of “Histoire(s) du cinema” it’s a rapid-fire montage of film clips—referencing everything from “Alexander Nevsky” to “Freaks”—with overlays of cryptic texts and voiceover by Godard. Though less overly political than some Godard films, it continues his interest in the world of Arabs and Islam (the film’s title nods to “peoples of the book”). Though not for non-initiates, the film’s hypnotic meshing of sound and images will enchant longtime Godard fans.

As for the 2018 festival overall, it strikes me as one of the best in recent years. In a sense, that’s a rather paradoxical judgment. Most years, by the time I’ve seen more than half the festival’s Main Slate, I’ve encountered one, two or more films that I consider flat-out masterpieces (last year it was Chloe Zhao’s “The Rider”). This year, I’ve seen nothing so far that merits that description. Also, the complaint I made last year about the festival’s recent lack of global reach still stands; what’s missing this year is any film from Russia and most of its former satellites (Sergei Losnitsa’s Cannes-acclaimed “Donbass” is one example of a film that should have been in the lineup). Yet, on the whole, the mix of films in this NYFF seems broad and well-balanced, suggesting that 2018 overall is shaping up a strong cinema year.

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As regards geographic representation, last year I noted that in its first five years, the festival’s current programming regime (led by Kent Jones) had not shown a single Iranian film, having passed on the likes of Kiarostami’s “24 Frames,” Farhadi’s “Salesman” and Jafar Panahi’s “Taxi.” This year, thankfully, that trend has been reversed with the inclusion of Panahi’s “Three Faces,” which won Best Screenplay at Cannes.

Though Panahi is banned from making films and nominally under house arrest, “Three Faces” shows him not only making his fourth feature since the ban but also traveling to parts of Iran far removed from Tehran. The film’s premise is intriguing: a famous actress (Behnaz Jafari) receives an iPhone video apparently showing the suicide of a young woman whose dreams of acting have been thwarted by her family. Along with Panahi, the actress goes to the remote village where the girl lived in search of the truth about her fate, a village that’s also the home of an old actress who was banned from movies after the Revolution.

Though it connects with themes of previous Panahi films, “Three Faces” also is something of a departure in its intriguing, purposeful ambiguity. We are left wondering about the journey’s real purpose as well as the filmmaker’s intent throughout, which makes it a film that almost demands a second viewing. It’s also one of the director’s most distinctive stylistic achievements, with a visual elegance that sometimes reminded me of Antonioni films like “The Passenger.”

The European film that I’ve so far liked best in the festival, “Transit” by Germany’s Christian Petzold, also concerns journeys and has an air of mystery not unlike that of Panahi’s film. From its first scene, the film presents us with an anomalous reality: We apparently are in France under Nazi occupation, yet the setting is present-day. A German fleeing the occupiers (Joaquin Phoenix lookalike Franz Rogowski) moves from Paris to Marseille, where posing as a dead novelist whose papers he possesses seems to promise an escape to Mexico.

Based on a 1942 novel, “Transit” rests on a conceit that could have fallen flat. Yet the overlaying of two different era somehow works, and indeed it has a chilling undertow given the recent recrudescence of fascism in Europe. But the film’s real power stems from Petzold’s skills as a stylist and storyteller, which are on constant display in this suspenseful, romantic drama.

One change in the NYFF’s programming this year is that its Opening Night, Closing Night and Centerpiece are not premieres. Until recently all three slots were occupied by premiering films. Most major festivals place a great deal of emphasis on premieres. I’ve argued that sometimes this emphasis is excessive, but it’s also understandable in terms of prestige and image. Last year, I noted that the NYFF in recent times has offered fewer and fewer and premieres and discoveries. I have no idea why they’re leaving off having premieres in their main slots now, but it inspires this suggestion: if the practice continues, they should discontinue the practice of press-screening the Opening, Closing and Centerpiece films on the days of their public showings (which I believe began a few years ago when major studios didn’t want reviews to appear before the day the film premiered).

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In years past, before the short span when the NYFF had major-studio films on Opening Night, the slot generally went to major auteurs—from Robert Altman to Zhang Yimou to Mike Leigh—whose latest film seemed to mark a career high point. This year’s opener, “The Favourite,” comes from Yorgos Lanthimos, whose small body of work (e.g., “The Lobster”) has struck me as minor, pretentious and distasteful. But if he’s not a major auteur by a long shot, his latest is a very appropriate Opening Night film because it’s a bonafide art-house crowd pleaser.

Set at the beginning of the 18th century in an England of enormous wigs, elegant country houses and bitter infighting, the film centers on the conflict between Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz) and an ambitious servant girl, Abigail (Emma Stone), for the favor of Queen Anne (Olivia Colman). Reminiscent of Peter Greenaway’s “The Draughtsman’s Contract,” the tale here is droll, intricate and malicious, full of anxious scheming and devious betrayals. I don’t think this adds up to a vision on the part of Lanthimos, whose glib misanthropy hardly equals the more profound and potent variety offered by Michael Haneke. But his direction, with its showy use of wide-angle lenses, is capable enough, and it provides a very suitable frame for the film’s two most notable assets—Emma Stone’s luminous performance and Deborah Davis & Tony McNamara’s witty, well-constructed script.

Last year, the festival seemed surprisingly short on Asian films. This year, it contains an abundance, including a Chinese film that so far is my favorite among everything I’ve seen press-screened. Made by Ying Liang, a filmmaker who was exiled to Hong Kong after his previous film, “When Night Falls,” angered the Chinese government, “A Family Tour” is an autobiographical drama that has lots to say about the differences and complicated connections that exist between the People’s Republic, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

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Ying makes his fictional alter ego a woman. Filmmaker Yang Shu (Gong Zhe) takes her husband and toddler with her when she goes to Taiwan for the Formosa Film Festival, where her previous film is being shown; her elderly mom comes along, too, as part of a tour group. Since she, like Ying, is known as a dissident, she’s bombarded at every turn by questions about political issues, so she has to maintain a tricky balance between honesty and discretion.

A compelling, beautifully nuanced study of exile and displacement, the film underscores what a difficult position politically minded independent filmmakers still occupy in China. It is one of the bravest, most informative and persuasive films I’ve ever seen on this important subject, as well as one of the most elegantly crafted of recent Chinese movies. To my knowledge, “A Family Tour” currently has no U.S. distribution, so its shows on Oct. 2 and 3 at the NYFF may be New Yorkers only chances to see it.

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