#i guess i might as well start a hashtag thing for when i'm watching shows so i can keep track of things

[hotasfahrenheit]

OKAY i got home a lil before midnight last night, spent today sleeping in and chilling around the house with my partner who called out of work to stay home with me (he slept super poorly and woke up when he was supposed to be at work so like staying home with me was only partially the reason) and i have a few hours before i need to go to bed myself so it's time to start the overwhelming pile of catching up i have to do: -Pit Babe -Twins -Middleman's Love -Playboyy -Bake Me Please -The Sign -Cooking Crush -Love Senior (this week's) -probably something else obvious that i'm missing ...and tomorrow just adds more episodes. the only things i squeezed in on my trip were Love Senior (because of Max, obviously), My Dear Gangster Oppa, Last Twilight, and Lucky My Love so hopefully it doesn't take me too long to catch up on all this since there's a few other semi-recent shows i never watched the last few episodes of that i need to finish off as well. there's so MUCH how is there so MUCH all of a sudden???

gonna start out of order with Cooking Crush then work my way through the rest 🌟

[wowowwild]

Dahlia or Iris for ask meme?

I will do both! (Also, I wrote up a little thingamajig recently about the twins of all time.)

For Miss Dahlia

Favorite thing about them: Her motivations are so interesting. She is right in her anger but takes it so far to the extreme I want to watch her forever. Put her in situations and see what she does. She tries so hard to come off as sweet and unassuming but has trouble containing her rage.

Least favorite thing about them: ??? 10/10 no notes Actually I think she should have murdered MORE people. As a treat.

Favorite line: When Phoenix asks about what Dahlia thought of him to who he thinks is Iris she says "… Well… I did hear one thing… She said she hated his guts." and she is so real for that. Queen behavior.

brOTP: No.

OTP: Nuh-uh.

nOTP: All of them.

Random headcanon: I think there's only one person she cares about and it kills her that she feels anything like that for anyone. She knows it's a weakness, but the benefits outweigh the risks bc that one person she cares for is also the only person who truly cares for her. And that's almost worse.

Unpopular opinion: Idk I guess that she was right? Is that unpopular? Like I don't think killing people is the best way to solve your problems and I don't condone murder, but she was right to be angry. From her point of view the world was absolutely fucked and she was right.

Song I associate with them: Tongues & Teeth by The Crane Wives. Possibly Icicles by The Scary Jokes. She has had enough and she does not care about you.

Favorite picture of them:

Essence de Dahlia. Get evicted, idiot.

For Sister Iris

Favorite thing about them: Again a very interesting character, a tragedy the second side of the same coin as her sister. They are so intertwined and she literally BECAME her sister for a while, but in doing so highlighted exactly how different they are. I would love to see who she is without her sister. A Ken without Barbie situation.

Least favorite thing about them: There's nothing she does that makes me dislike her as a character, but as a person she is someone I wouldn't be able to stand to be around. Grow a back bone, babe.

Favorite line: All of her lines suck tbh. Hashtag sorry not sorry.

brOTP: I want her and Phoenix to be bros kinda. I want her to get over whatever lingering feelings she has, get therapy, make more friends, and then she and Phoenix can talk it out and be besties.

OTP: I cannot see her in a relationship with anyone with where she is at when we leave her.

nOTP: People actually ship her with Phoenix so I'll say I'm not about that personally, but I'll also say that I've never seen anyone do it, but Larry is worse.

Random headcanon: Actually the reason I tag her Iris Hawthorne instead of Iris Fey or Sister Iris is bc I think she would like to have the same last name as her sister and neither of them would want to be a Fey since they're treated like they functionally aren't. To be a Fey woman you channel spirits. They were cast aside for not having the ability and so I think they would cast aside that name. Now I'm positive Dahlia only took the last name Hawthorne for like, logistical reasons and isn't particularly attached to it, she certainly doesn't care for that family, but for Iris that was her sister's last name so it's hers too. She might go by Fey at some later point, if she and Pearls ever start to be sisters. I think they would both get a lot out of that.

Unpopular opinion: I like Iris as a character, but as a person she is a mess and just as bad as Dahlia. She might not be committing the murders, but she is enabling them and helping cover up other crimes as well. In fact she might even be worse bc she knows it's wrong on more than a 'my parents and society told me so' level, she feels that it's wrong and shows remorse but still doesn't do anything. And a lot of it is her being sheltered and feeling guilt and other stuff that I don't have time for in the silly ask meme, but still.

Song I associate with them: Don't have one :(

Favorite picture of them:

Does this count?

Oh! What about this one where she's stabbing Misty Fey?

Living vicariously through her.

[mrdrhenwardhykle]

So, I had this thought process

I've been thinking a lot about that Adam Sandler movie "Pixels", and I think I just wrote a summarized alternate plot for it in my head and I need to write it down.

Okay;

Let's start by brainstorming on writing better and more relatable protagonists. For many, this movie is very hard to watch because it almost feels like a bunch of middle-aged guy's writing in nice-guy self inserts of themselves to feel better about whatever mid-life crisis they're having. And maybe this wouldn't be too bad if their characters were just a bit more than "middle aged creep who lives in his mom's basement is secretly a romantic warrior when put in the right scenario".

At least for me, it's very hard to relate to that kind of protagonist; given how that character is usually the most developed out of all the characters in this type movie. I often find that it's hard to relate to nerdy nice guy characters who often get away with the lack of likeable qualities just because "life should have treated them better". It comes off more as a pity-party more than anything, and their unmotivated dynamic with the "out of their league" love interest, who always comes off as nothing more than a trophy and\or act as an excuse to get the climax rolling in the last 20 minutes after getting captured by the big bad.

So then, how would I write an 80's nostalgia themed adventure movie? What, say, would you think would be a practical way to write the main cast in a way that audiences new and old can relate? Easy; If your intention is to give your entire audience a wave of nostalgia, but to still keep it relatable, then why not make your main cast kids? (credit to Black Nerd Comedy for that idea) I would probably suggest between the age of 12 and 16, and maybe with the occasional big brother\sister type characters and some of their friends . Kids often have a ton of freedom, a large imagination, basic priorities, and a lot less worries than adults. Just about anyone should be able to relate to that, since everybody either was or is a kid at some point of time. And I'm not saying that you can't write for\relate to older protagonists, but you don't want to alienate your audience, especially when making something that might catch the eye of a younger crowd.

Not to mention that ever since the 80's, kids have always been a major player by the impact of technology. For some reason though, the plot of Pixels doesn't really have to do with technology. There's guns and contraptions that are specifically made to destroy the pixels, but it doesn't really go much father than that with the tech. The plot more focuses on going on the "alien invasion" route (which I would think would be more 60's sci-fi based than 80's, which was more experimental in cosmic horror with its alien media)(not including Space Invaders. Shush. That does not count). Honestly, I think 80's nostalgia can be replaced with just about anything when it comes to a "shape-shifting aliens who mimic earthly cultures" plot. It's very basic, yet it doesn't really fit in with the theme of arcade games. It just comes off as a poor excuse for pandering to 80's kids, instead of using that element to bring up interesting concepts and world-exploring in this universe.

So I have two solutions for this, either;

A. Do not do a time jump, and keep the story in the 80's. Make it an alternate universe where different forms of consoles and computers are being developed. Maybe the adult characters are very unfamiliar with these changes, but allowing for the kid characters to have more of an advantage because that stuff would be more relevant to them. Because this was before a time where kids often thought about becoming programmers, it will also work as a disadvantage to the kids because they won't have an excuse to suddenly know how the opposing side works.

Or B. It takes place in a modern era, with Virtual reality, game consoles, and laptops, but it doesn't overly modernize itself with teens on phones, saying outdated things like "lemmie just take a selfie" saying "hashtag" out loud, or any junk like that (Because guess what? Teens and kids don't usually act like that). Maybe make the environment time neutral by making it a mix between the 2010's, 2000's, 1990's, and 1980's. I don't really think it's relevant enough to work in a present setting.

And lastly, let's talk about the big bad of the movie.

Really in Pixels, it's more of a self-struggle either projected upon others, or manifested into it's own being for the protagonist to succeed. There's not really a lot of leg space for anyone else to develop other than the main character (and perhaps something happens occasionally to the comedic reliefs\mascot characters). I imagine maybe this version doesn't have just one central character\plot, kind of like Stranger Things. However, unlike Stranger Things, I would also like a compelling and intriguing villain. Sadly, Pixels doesn't really have that; i has Donkey Kong, but he's nothing more than an alien catering to the protagonist's inner struggles (and nostalgia). There's nothing really more to DK other than that, so there's not a lot of difference between him and any of his previous minions.

And there's nothing really compelling about DK; because at least in canon, he's just a scared circus animal. There's not a lot of reasoning behind his actions other than to just invade. It's basic alien stuff like I said before, it can basically be replaced with some other theme than arcade games.

So what would be a compelling antagonist? Foils to the main group of characters (such as an older school bully, or maybe twisted programmers), create conflict, but if we're keeping the theme of attack of the machines and videogame characters, there has to be a bigger bad than that.

Oh! If only there was an already established villain-coded, tech-based, 80's icon with the ability to control almost all technology!

....

Trust me, I'm onto something!

Max Headroom was always presented as an egotistical talking head. He had multiple shows in the 1980's, as well as guest starred on multiple shows. Perhaps Max survives off of his viewers, and constantly strives to expand his audience. Max does not tend to care about other's well beings, and just wishes to use them as a way to gain publicity for his shows. Max also has a tendency to step over whoever he needs to to gain popularity, including his own film crew.

Max also has multiple canon abilities such as:

Being able to transfer to any screen (including arcade games)

See and interact with the people watching him

Control more than one screen

Interact with himself from one screen to another (multitask)

Turn on and off lights (and likely other outlets as well)

Manipulate the visuals of the screen that he's controlling

All of these abilities can be expanded and explored enough to set him up as a powerful and unpredictable villain.

I've also came up with a couple motives as well;

A. If this is in a modern era, Max could be suffering from a long hiatus since he hasn't been that active since the 80's; causing Max to seek as much attention to thrive off of as possible. To do this, Max hijacks as many outlets as possible to air his show. He might also use this as a way to repel audiences away from all other media; making it easier to turn to him for entertainment.

B. This takes place in an alternate universe where Max Headroom became more popular than it originally was. He starts taking over half of ads and television shows on air, getting more power hungry with each channel he takes. However, in his media take-over, ratings take a slight drop due to uninterested children who have turned to other outlets like toys, videogames, and arcades. This inspires Max to take a full takeover over everything electrical, causing a full invasion of all things electrical.

(I also forgot to mention that Max very likely hates children, and has canonly protested the execution of all of them)

Bam! And there you have it. A slightly more efficient plot for Pixels.

This was rotting in my head for a while and I wanted to let it out. Sorry for the ramble.