#i have literally only had one job ever and it was at a movie theater for 2 months when I was 17

[jalenjala]

literally how hard is it to get a job im gonna tear my hair out

[annes-andromeda]

Wish Rewrite

I have this tendency for rewriting material I either don’t like or think had wasted potential. At the time of writing this, Wish hasn’t come out in theaters but I did pirate it as there was an early screening. I also read the junior novelization and bought the concept art book. Needless to say, I was disappointed by what I read/saw.

I feel like Wish could’ve been better. Granted, the story and characters are not terrible, but they certainly leave much to be desired. This is literally Disney’s 100th anniversary, yet it doesn’t really feel like it. Not only that, but the movie felt incredibly rushed. Yeah I know that most Disney movies try have a run time of 90-100+ minutes, but I think a few more minutes could’ve been added to this film.

So, I decided to indulge myself and outline some changes that I think could’ve made the story slightly better. These ideas are by no means perfect, and in the end, this is all in good fun.

Spoilers ahead btw

The main story of Wish is essentially that Asha wants to get a job as Magnifico’s apprentice so that her grandfather’s wish is granted. But Asha finds out about the King’s true nature, and after questioning him, doesn’t get the job, and Magnifico vows to never grant Sabino or Sakina’s wishes.

Asha makes a wish on a star, and the star comes down, Magnifico tries to hunt down the two of them, he uses an evil spell book to create a staff, Magnifico destroys some wishes, Asha gets help from her friends, they sing a song to defeat Magnifico (I ‘wish’ i was joking), Star gives Asha a magic wand, and all is well.

Oh, and Amaya is… there.

It’s nothing complex, pretty cut and dry. And I don’t have a problem with a simple story! But this feels like it’s… missing something.

Firstly, I’d change the title. Disney already has a boat called Wish, and not every movie needs to be one word like Tangled, Frozen, and Brave (amongst others), so the story could be renamed “Asha and the Wishing Star” or “Asha and the Kingdom of Wishes”. Idk, something that evokes a classic fairytale book feel (or that does confuse people with a boat).

((Side note #1: I honestly enjoy that the story started off with a book, as a nod to classic disney movies, especially Snow White. That was cute))

Secondly, and I know I sound like a broken record at this point…

AMAYA👏🏼SHOULDVE👏🏼BEEN👏🏼A👏🏼VILLAIN👏🏼ALONGSIDE👏🏼HER👏🏼HUSBAND👏🏼

The original plan, according to the concept art book, was to have Magnifico and Amaya to be a villain couple who were partners in crime and owned a black sphinx cat named Charo. However for… reasons, the creators took the ‘safe’ route and made Amaya the good one out of the two.

But the problem is, by erasing Amaya’s evilness, the creators of Wish essentially removed any purpose or personality she may have had and thus, she was left to become a literal ‘supporting’ character. First supporting both Magnifico and Asha, then leaving Magnifico to prop up solely Asha.

Deadass, you can literally remove Amaya from the story and nothing would change. Which is probably why she was exempt from much of the promotional stuff minus the dolls. Because she literally serves no purpose but to be… there.

So, in my version of Wish, Amaya would be a co-conspirator to her husband and yes, I’m adding Charo too. Her personality would be inspired by classic female villains such as the Evil Queen from Snow White, Lady Tremaine from Cinderella, and Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty.

Vain, glamorous, cunning, and unabashedly evil, Amaya would be the Morticia to Magnifico’s Gomez, the brains to his brawn. She’s the girlboss, he’s the wife instigator. Magnifico spoils Amaya rotten with countless gifts and praises, whilst Amaya is the more calm and collected evil compared to her husband’s ever-growing temper.

While she starts the story with no magic, Magnifico just can’t leave his wife hanging and shares the power of the evil spell-book with Amaya. And yes, even Charo gets in on the fun, turning from a small house cat, to a massive shape-shifting beast who breaths blue fire similarly to a dragon (shut up i think it’d be cool)

Magnifico and Amaya essentially keep the wishes of Rosas locked in the castle as a form of obedience. By giving the citizens false hope, it makes them more dependent on the royal couple, and the two have more power over everyone.

Anyways, let’s get to the main characters: Asha and Star.

I don’t have much of an issue with Asha’s character, more so her design. I already made a post showing my redesign of her, so that’s out of the way. Tbh tho, I also have an issue with the rest of the costume design of Wish, being a big costume nerd myself. The movie’s supposed to take inspiration from the Mediterranean, primarily places such as Spain and Morocco (and the Amazigh people for Asha), but the fashion feels like generic European medieval fashion.

I feel like the whole storyline of Asha’s interview with Magnifico was pretty pointless, so I would have it that she just starts off as the kings apprentice, whilst also working as Amaya’s scullery maid.

The couple took Asha in when the girl lost her father at the age of 12 (according to the film), and she’s been working for them for five years. Asha works not only to support herself, her family, and her community, but also as a way to distract from the grief of losing her father. Which is no issue, as Amaya always bombards the girl with chores, and Magnifico only teaches Asha the most basic of magic for fear of her growing more powerful than him.

I made Asha work as a scullery maid not only as a reference to princesses such as Snow White and Cinderella starting off their respective stories as maids, but also because scullery maids acted as assistants to the kitchen maids. Dahlia works in the kitchen, Asha and Dahlia are best friends, I figured it made sense.

But anyways, on the day of Sabino’s 100th birthday, Sakina tells Asha to take a break and return home, as she hardly visits anymore due to work. Asha says she’ll try asking the king and queen to get off early, but that she can’t make any promises.

Asha meets with Magnifico and asks for the day off, but the king refuses. However, wanting to keep her loyalty, Magnifico finally shows Asha the wish chamber, and even allows her to witness the wish ceremony that night. But once Asha starts questioning the king on his methods, any goodwill between them begins to fade.

Another thing I’m disappointed in, is that originally Star was going to be a shapeshifting humanoid inspired by the Genie and Peter Pan, and may have even had a romance with Asha. But, the idea was scrapped for the more cutesy, ‘marketable’, version of Star.

In my retelling, I’d choose to do this human shapeshifter version of Star, but I’d name him something else. The star Earendel was mentioned in the concept art book, which is the farthest known star from Earth and not only means ‘morning star’ in Old English, but is also named after the Tolkien character, Eärendil.

I would call this shapeshifter Star Earen, and because Disney loves their animal/cute sidekicks, Earen can have the ‘Kirby’ Star as a companion, just like how Asha has Valentino and Magnifico and Amaya have Charo.

((Side #2: Anybody else notice that Star lowkey looks and sounds like Kirby😶))

Earen and Star journey down to Rosas once they hear Asha’s pleas for guidance. Once Asha tells of Magnifico and Amaya’s lies, Earen reveals that he actually met Magnifico decades ago. The amount of years shocks Asha, as she realizes that the King and Queen might be far older than what they are.

((Side note #3: I didn’t realize this till someone mentioned it, but if Sabino is 100 and he gave Magnifico his wish at 18, then he’s been waiting 82 years for his wish to be granted. Which means it’s likely that Magnifico might be immortal. That, or Disney didn’t think this shit through (most likely)))

Anyways, Earen actually attempted to stop Magnifico and Amaya’s ploy to keep the wishes of Rosas locked away, but he was sealed within the heavens until he and Star heard Asha make her wish.

We can have it that the king and queen spun the story so that Earen was made out to be an evil that once threatened Rosas, but Magnifico banished him and saved everyone, essentially making himself out to be the good guy and manipulating the narrative.

Asha and Earen must now work together to expose the lies of the royal couple, and along the way, the two begin to fall in love. Earen disguises himself as a peasant boy so as to remain inconspicuous, while Asha tries to go about her job as if nothing happened, evading the King and Queen’s suspicions.

Star gives Asha a stick infused with stardust once finding out she is, quite literally, the sorcerers apprentice. It is also so that she may defend herself, as Earen has his powers and a sword (similarly to Peter Pan).

Unlike Magnifico, Earen and Star teach Asha the wonders of magic and the potential she wields, showing that there is no need for her to hold back when her gift can help so many, including those she loves.

The three manage to sneak into the kings study, but only have time to retrieve Sabino’s wish and return it to him. However, Magnifico and Amaya, now strengthened by the powers of dark magic, find Asha and Earen and threaten to destroy all the wishes should Earen not surrender to them.

And as a way to ensure that Asha doesn’t foil their plans, Magnifico destroys both Asha and Sakina’s wishes, despite Asha not being eighteen yet. However, the evil magic allows him to do so. This act weakens the two women, and infuriates Earen.

Earen then willingly complies despite Asha’s opposition, and Sabino takes Asha and Sabina to the seven (well six) teens for aid, who are in hiding after Simon ratted them out and who now serves as a puppet to the king and queen.

Despite loosing her wish, Asha finds the strength to carry on through the memory of her late father, enlisting the help of her friends and Star, who managed to evade the royal couple’s grasp. The team must work together to save Earen, whose power will be drained by Magnifico and Amaya. And if such a feat were to happen, then Earen would die and Rosas would be lost.

The five teens go into the woods to distract one of the royals, with the aid of the forest fauna and Star. Amaya chases the group alongside Charo while Magnifico tortures Earen and begins stealing his power. With the help of Dahlia, Asha sneaks into the castle to confront her former mentor and save Earen before it’s too late.

At first, it seems that the heroes have the upper hand with Magnifico neutralized, but then, Amaya swoops in riding Charo, who now takes the form of a giant dragon. Earen transforms into a dragon himself and battles Charo and Amaya, while Asha continues battling Magnifico. Star even comes to help after the original plan fails.

However, the unholy trio have the upper hand, and Amaya strikes down Earen, giving Magnifico enough time to not only drain Earen’s power, but to trap Star within his staff. With their combined powers, Magnifico and Amaya gather all of the peoples wishes, even stealing the wishes of those not yet of age, which includes the teens.

With all the wishes gathered, the couple and their pet destroy all the wishes, taking their energy for themselves.

Asha falls into despair as she watched her friends, love ones, and community succumb to the grief of loosing their wishes. The king and queen force Asha to apologize to the people, mocking her and making her feel even more guilty.

However, Earen comforts Asha despite his weak state, telling her it’s alright and that she shouldn’t be ashamed of wishing on Star, as he brought the two of them together. The two kiss, the strength of their newfound love and hope shining through the darkness and inspiring the people of Rosas to rise up.

As the sky and stars become alive, Magnifico’s staff is destroyed, releasing Star in the process. All the evil magic he, Amaya, and Charo used is sucked out of them and vanquished, and Earen is restored to full vitality.

Think of this as the transformation scene from Princess and the Frog. Asha and Earen get new outfits, with Asha even gaining a crown and a new wand from Star.

((Side Note #4: The “transformation” in the finale of the film is so stupid. Asha could’ve literally gotten a new dress once she becomes a fairy godmother, but instead, Star just made her sparkly. How magical🙄))

Rosas rejoices, as they realize they don’t need the king to make their wishes come true, and they can pursue them themselves. With Magnífico and Amaya banished from Rosas, Asha and Earen become the new rulers, being names Prince and Princess respectively.

And that’s basically how I would’ve done Wish. It’s not perfect, but it’s just an idea. I’m just disappointed that Disney do something better for their 100th anniversary.

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

i watched spto and i'm down bad for matthew patel now so uh- can i request platonic matthew patel x reader where reader works at gman media and they become friends with him after he realizes just how out of his depth running the place and just like breaks down to the nearest person that he has no idea what he's doing?

Oufh I gotta admit the same thing-

......

Being a custodian at G-Man Media certainly wasn't the job you hoped for, but at least it was a job that paid well...better than anything McDonalds could have provided.

And of course, that's only because it used to be run by gazillionaire Gideon Graves.

Yes. Used to.

There was a huge change in management that literally happened overnight--as your boss was defeated in battle by Matthew Patel, and he became the CEO of pretty much everything the former had.

The two record labels, fourteen animal shelters, movie studio, etc. etc. were now all his for the taking.

Never in a million years would you imagine that this theater-obsessed punk who was Ramona's first evil ex-boyfriend would be able to overthrow the G-Man himself.....and yet he won.

Of course, the aforementioned battle they had resulted in some serious damages and a lot of repairs having to be done in several rooms and floors. But if anything you were just relieved Matthew chose to disband the League of Evil Exes. You didn't have to clean up all their messes or fix anything Luke, Todd, or the twins' robot might have broken.

Even better was that Gideon wasn't around to nitpick at every little thing anymore.

That was a huge upside for you.

On the downside, however...your new boss was somehow both better and worse than him.

Matthew was thrown into such a tough role so quickly, and while he seemingly had everything under control with his demon hipster chicks becoming his agents.....sometimes he just looked lost.

Sure, he seemed to like shouting out orders and getting escorts in fancy helicopters, but when it came down to actual business stuff, he kept asking his employees about different things--even painfully obvious things.

You've never talked to him much even before this, although you usually keep to yourself and don't really speak unless spoken to. But you can tell he's struggling to maintain his image.

Still, you don't wanna say anything that might anger him or get you fired.

And besides, he had mystical powers that were ten times cooler than anything Gideon ever had, so pissing him off would be most unwise.

.......

It's late in the evening when you're heading to your final stop before getting to go home: Matthew's office.

He didn't say anything in particular had to be repaired, although you figured there was no harm in double-checking things. For all you know, the TV's wiring might need to be fixed or a screw in the table might've come loose.

Hopefully he didn't mind. You're usually in and out of there by the time he returns from whatever business trip he attended.

Yet upon entering his office, you stood in your tracks upon seeing that he was there, sitting all alone....apparently brooding and monologuing to himself. You were used to seeing him doing that sort of thing.

But this time something seemed...off.

Even his demon agents were concerned and looked grateful you showed up, immediately stepping aside so you could walk in further, hearing his mumbling become more coherent.

"What am I doing with my life? This isn't what I went to college for..."

"Mr. Patel, sir?" You called out cautiously. "Is everything okay?"

"....no, actually. Everything is NOT okay!" Slamming his hands onto the table, he stared up at you from across the table, taking a moment to identify you. You could see how exhausted and bloodshot his eyes were, along with his eyeliner looking more smudged. "You're the custodian, right...[y/n], was it?"

You blinked, surprised he remembered your name. "Correct. I was just-"

"Look, [y/n]..I've been feeling really awful lately and I just need to....get some stuff off my chest. And since you're the only one here right now, you get to listen to me." He then pointed to a chair near him. "Sit, and don't you dare tell anyone what we've discussed, capiche?"

Even though the clock was ticking close to the time you went home, concern over your boss' mental stability took priority over everything else at that moment. So you listened to his demand and took a seat, remaining silent and patient.

As Matthew slumped back into his chair, his whole expression shifted into one of sadness, as though he just lost his best friend. "I'm....not cut out for this job..." He confessed. "This isn't what I envisioned myself doing."

"I imagine it's been difficult. But for the record, you've only been doing this for-"

"I've already lost this company billions of dollars."

You blinked. "Billions, sir?"

"Yes, billions! You know, I-I only defeated Gideon Graves in battle because he would have taken my life if he won. And for a while it felt good to have all of his fame and fortune.......but now it....i-it just sucks! The paperwork never stops, I can barely catch a break, I don't know any of the computer passwords, and I don't even like wearing this stupid suit!!" Laying his head on the table, he banged his fist against it, choking back tears. "I'm a theater major..not a business major, damn it!"

'Poor Matthew..' You frowned slightly. "If all of this is so overwhelming, maybe you could-"

"No." He quickly sat up, his face darkening with a deep scowl. "I am NOT giving anything back to that lying scumbag! Besides, we have a legally binding contract that states all his properties are mine! That means permanently! Forever!"

"My apologies, sir..i-it was only a suggestion." You put your hands up, feeling tense especially as his demons were now frowning at you. "I know you've been under a lot of pressure lately...and there's no shame in admitting that."

Matthew blinked. "You've noticed?"

"I have." You nodded. "I mean..a lot of people go to college for one thing and suddenly wind up in an entirely different field. I know my opinion may not matter much, but...I think you're doing a great job despite your lack of experience."

He shrunk back, no longer looking angry but rather...guilty?

"Thank you.." He sighed. "I'm sorry for never saying this, but you've been a huge help cleaning up after all our messes when we had the League of Evil Exes. So..you better give yourself a little credit, too."

Now it was your turn to be flattered, as you smiled and chuckled. "Thank you, Mr. Patel. I appreciate that."

"Uh-huh..and there's something else, too.."

"And what would that be?"

"....I only refuse to throw in the towel because this company can give me the funds necessary to make the Scott Pilgrim musical a reality." He confessed.

"Oh?" You raised an eyebrow. "A musical based off of that guy you killed?"

"Yes. But apparently he's alive. Ramona told me."

"....I see-"

"BUT as soon as the production takes off, I may or may not return some of Gideon's empire to him. I'm sure that asshole is scheming to reclaim it as we speak..." He grumbled, his attitude turning sour again.

You thought about what you could say to cheer him up without patronizing him...but fortunately that wasn't too hard to figure out.

"I wouldn't worry about him. May I ask who you'll be starring as in the musical?" You rested your arms on the table, smirking as you saw the way Matthew's eyes lit up.

"Why, of course!" With a wide grin, he jumped up onto the table, dramatically posing. "I will be the main character: Scott Pilgrim!! I vow to delight and entertain people everywhere!" He laughed, before he stopped and stared down at you. "[Y/n], may I show you a presentation of my many one-man shows? They've all prepared me for this moment and I'd love your opinion on them."

"Sure." Shrugging, you smiled and leaned back in your seat. "I'm getting paid overtime for this, right?"

His face fell flat. "...I'm supposed to give you guys overtime?"

"Well...Gideon never did, but--nevermind." You shook your head. "You can roll the footage."

His grin returned as he snapped his fingers, causing the room to darken and the TV to come to life, showing off one of his many recorded performances.

It was a two hour long video, but entertaining nonetheless. You recognized a lot of the songs and were impressed by all his method acting.

It's no wonder he made such a convincing CEO.

After that, he finally allowed you to go home with a promise to give you overtime....although not before he exchanged phone numbers with you as thanks for being his unofficial therapist for the day.

He claims it's so he can update you on the musical's progress and "other business stuff", as he put it.

But he kept calling you on your days off to talk, insisting you referred to him as Matthew instead. "Mr. Patel" was slowly starting to leave a bad taste in his mouth.

You didn't mind it, though.

At this point, you accepted the fact that you became your boss' first (and possibly only) friend.

Maybe after he surrenders the G-Man empire for good, that friendship can continue.

[arealphrooblem]

Mutually Assured Destruction Part 4

Synopsis: Villain x Civilian. Civilian can sense other people's powers through auras but hides this ability. They are terrified of the most boring person at their office job, who hides the most powerful aura Civilian has ever felt.

“How is this art?”

Civilian had never heard of Rothko before this date, but they had assumed they would be looking at normal paintings — portraits and landscapes.

Not squares of color on a rectangle canvas.

Sure they were impressive in their size. But their simplicity clashed against the other paintings in the museum, full of intricate details and delicate brush strokes.

It definitely clashed with their idea of art. But also part of them wanted to get under Jonathan’s skin.

“Did you grow up under a rock?” Jonathan grumbled. “How are you so uncultured?”

“It’s literally two squares of color. I could paint something like that,” Civilian argued.

“Yes, but you didn’t,” he pointed out peevishly. “And even if you did, these are so much more than squares of color.”

“How so?”

Jonathan guided them closer to one of the paintings, his hand gentle on their shoulders. He positioned them directly center of one of the paintings and then stood behind them, close enough for Civilian to feel his breath stir the hair at the nape of their neck.

“To understand and appreciate this painting takes time. You have to really look.” His voice, so soft, so close, sent a small shiver down Civilian’s spine. “Rothko uses simultaneous contrast in his colors to create the illusion of light. If you stare long enough, you can see the color shimmer and move.”

Civilian squinted at the painting, trying to see what he described. At first they just remained a block of color. But, true to his word, after a few minutes, they began to see the shimmer, the glow, of the paint. Faint hues appeared in the black — red-black and dark dark blue-black. They shifted into one another, almost like a dance. It was hypnotic.

“Do you see it now?” Jonathan whispered.

“It’s . . .surprisingly beautiful,” they murmured.

“Just like you.”

The spell between them snapped. Civilian jerked around only to be met with his wicked smirk.

“So the unrefined can be taught,” he said. “You should be proud.”

“Shut up,” they snapped, cheeks hot.

He gestured to the next room. “Shall we continue?”

As they coasted to a stop on the third yellow light in five minutes, Civilian side-eyed Jonathan.

“I think this is your power — getting every yellow light.”

“That’s not a power — that’s a curse,” he muttered.

It had become a game between them. A strange, fucked up game where Civilian guessed intentionally wrong answers about the power behind his aura and he neither confirmed nor denied it.

Downplaying such power made it easier to bear sometimes, but also . . .it was dangerously easy after a month of “dating” to forget that he even had a power. The aura had turned into the background noise of their life, the way people who live by train tracks learn to tune out the noise of the trains.

Jonathan treated them to lunch every day at work, and once a week he took Civilian on a proper date — dinner and bowling (he got a perfect score compared to Civilian’s five gutter balls) or trivia night at a local bar (they both lost miserably in the sports category) or an afternoon trip to the aquarium in the next city over (their favorite date so far).

Civilian did not have any choice in the activities or any knowledge of what each date would bring, but underneath the constant layer of anxiety and frustration that coated every interaction with Jonathan was genuine enjoyment.

The dates were the only real social interaction that Civilian had outside of run-ins with neighbors and coworkers. A fact they tried not to dwell on too much.

Tonight they pulled into the parking lot of the movie theater. Civilian raised an eyebrow when Jonathan bought two tickets to Blood in the Stone but said nothing. Refined Art Museum Jonathan didn’t seem the type to like supernatural horror movies, but so much of him stayed shrouded in mystery that predicting anything about him was impossible.

Civilian, on the other hand, did not like horror movies. But they refused to let Jonathan see their trepidation. Instead, they watched the screen stone-faced and ripped the napkin in their lap to shreds. Something warm and ticklish slide down the delicate skin of their wrist just as the movie protagonist got caught up in some horrific tentacle monster and Civilian could not stop the scream from bursting out.

Jonathan’s warm breath brushed against their ear as he chuckled. His fingers slid down to detangle the twisted remains of napkin from their hands.

“Should we leave early, before you wet yourself?” he whispered.

“Why did you pick this movie?” Civilian hissed, refusing to look at him.

“Maybe that’s my power — I’m not afraid of things that aren’t real.”

“Maybe your power is being an obnoxious prick.”

He chuckled again, a low rumble in their ear, and Civilian had to bite their lip against the strange shiver that rippled down their spine.

A jump scare burst onto the screen. Civilian yelped, their fingers reflexively squeezing Jonathan’s hand. They expected him to pull away the second their death gripped relax, but his hand stayed throughout the rest of the movie, fingers casually interspersed with theirs.

Part five here

Tagging: @those-damn-snippets, @heroes-villains-side-blog

@anonymousewrites @follow-me-into-the-fog @sunnyside-world @rivalriotrenegade @trappedgoose-in-a-writblr-room

Let me know in the comments if you want to be tagged!

[autistichalsin]

I think the bleakest thing I ever read was the article by a man who was called to discuss surviving a "SHTF" (shit hits the fan) event by billionaires who wanted to discuss how they would stay safe. The billionaires were informed that in an apocalypse, the people they hired now to be their security would not be interested in protecting them, but instead their families. The expert suggested they show kindness to these workers now, so that they will be inclined to want to help out in those cases; offer for their families to join them in their luxury bunkers if it comes to it.

The billionaires declined, and chose to start suggesting equipping the hired guards with shock collars to guarantee compliance, or perhaps, if they had enough time before something happened, to build robots to do the job instead.

Literally the basic suggestion of "just treat these workers, not even everyone you hire, but these particular ones who you want to safeguard you and your family in the event of an utter irreversible collapse of civilization, with basic human kindness and dignity," and still the billionaire class couldn't discard their sadism enough to even consider making the shock collars a last resort.

And, yeah, bunkers. Normal ones made for proles cost about as much as a house, so, totally doable (/s). Then there's the luxury units. Fitted with swimming pools and movie theaters and house-made pet food and aquaponics ponds, usually settled in decommissioned missile silos for the hardening against nuclear strikes. These start at a million and only get more expensive. Vladimir Putin has a complex filled with not only pools and wine cellars and movie theaters, but also, most bafflingly, a casino. Why would you want or need to gamble in an apocalyptic scenario that has rendered money meaningless? Simple: the rich can't conceive of a world where money is meaningless to begin with. Their entire lives revolve around it, they will subjugate as many people as necessary to get more to it. They willingly doomed the fucking planet for it. Of course they are fundamentally incapable of imagining a scenario where it was all for nothing.

Not even Dr. Strangelove, with its "Mein fuhrer, I can walk!" yells as the men get ready to evacuate underground, could have predicted something this bleak. This goes beyond apathy and beyond malice to some sort of Franken-evil we are just not able to wrap our heads around. Destroy the world in pursuit of money, then use that money to escape the consequences of destroying the world- while hoarding the money that will no longer be of any use to you.

That's who billionaires fucking are. They would rather build a luxury bunker full of things that will no longer be of any use to them and design shock collars for their planned security forces than even imagine treating just the security guards as human beings- let alone actually trying to stop shitting where they eat with their pollution bullshit.

[greatyme]

i'd be interested in your recent movie list - it's nice to hear what people are watching 🥰

OOOHHH thank you for asking!!! This gives me the perfect excuse 2 talk abt some of my favs ty hehe <3 The genres, years, countries, etc. might be wildly different and there’s no particular order to what I’m gonna list but here we go:

1. The Spook Who Sat by the Door

Ivan Dixon; action/political drama; America; 1973

EVERYONE needs to watch this honestly… it’s probably my favorite film I’ve seen this year. The movie’s about the first Black man, Dan Freeman, to be trained by the CIA, who then quits and takes the techniques he’s learned to create a team of Black youths to fight for freedom and against racism. Even though it’s a fictional plot, the real FBI pulled it from theaters for being too radical, and it has indeed been described as “the only true Black radical movie ever made.” I seriously can’t recommend it enough

2. Medicine for Melancholy

Barry Jenkins; romance/drama; America; 2008

If you’re familiar with Moonlight, you already know this filmmaker. Medicine for Melancholy is Barry Jenkins’ first film, about the romance between Jo and Micah after a one night stand that takes place in San Francisco. Some things I like about it are the ways the city and its racial issues so heavily influence the characters’ relationship so much so that it essentially becomes a character in itself. Since this is Jenkins’ first film, the budget was smaller ($15k) and it has a different feel from his newer movies which I personally really liked

3. They Cloned Tyrone

Juel Taylor; sci-fi/mystery; America; 2023

This movie was released on barbenheimer day and was WAY BETTER THAN BOTH OF THEM!!!! When Fontaine, a drug dealer played by John Boyega, seemingly gets shot and killed, Slick, a pimp, is shocked to see him walking around the next day as if nothing happened. Together, Slick, Fontaine, and Yo-Yo, a sex worker, work to uncover what actually happened and find that it’s much bigger than they could’ve imagined. This is a FANTASTIC sci-fi film with some fantastic writing (a lot of great one-liners lmao) and all the actors do amazingly. Also, the title goes hard!

4. Bad Genius

Baz Nattuwat; thriller; Thailand; 2017

I literally watched this last night (happy birthday Nonkul!) lol. In this movie the character Lynn gets paid to work with her friends to help other high school students cheat on tests. When I tell you this had me SWEATING from stress. It was very entertaining, I really liked the way it was shot and how it consistently kept the tension up

5. Do the Right Thing

Spike Lee; drama/comedy; America; 1989

Taking place on an unbearably hot summer day, racial tensions rise between the Black civilians and the Italian owners of a pizzeria in Brooklyn. This is a v famous movie, directed by Spike Lee, and honestly many of the themes still ring true today

6. Sorry to Bother You

Boots Riley; sci-fi/comedy; America; 2018

Set in the Oakland, Cassius Green becomes a telemarketer and uses a “white voice” to do better at his job. But when his coworkers form a union, he decides to take a promotion instead, leading to unexpected consequences. I don’t want to spoil anything, and this is another famous movie that many people have probably already seen and have probably been spoiled BUT. there is a crazy twist. I really enjoyed the messages and craziness this movie had to offer

7. Marry My Dead Body

Cheng Wei Hao; comedy/mystery; Taiwan; 2022

I saw this with my friend on my birthday and honestly it could not have been a better way to watch it. A homophobic cop accidentally gets into an arranged marriage with a dead gay ghost. Is that not one of the best plot descriptions u have ever heard. It’s horror, it’s comedy, it’s gay, it’s a romance (TO ME! And like everyone else who watched it)… WHAT MORE COULD U WANT!! It gave me a similar feeling as Secrets in the Hot Spring & Pee Mak, two movies that somehow seem to cover So Many Genres & that I love sooo much (the former is my fav movie ever). I literally laughed so hard I almost peed myself at times <3

Other than that some other movies I watched & enjoyed this year are: Love Lies Bleeding (2024), Claudine (1974), Eve’s Bayou (1997), and Bottoms (2023). I don’t wanna make this too long so I’ll stop it here but I hope you enjoy these films too if you decide to watch any!!

[sapphic-luminosity]

4.5 years

I’m so tired.

It’s really incredibly tiring living through the ongoing pandemic and feeling like the world around me does not care that it still exists and is dangerous as ever. 

It really does feel like few people care at this point. It’s very hard to be honest, but the threat is such that I can’t really just relax and pretend like it’s not there.

I do follow covid conscious people on social media and it helps to know that there’s many of us out there. And I’m glad to have a number of friends who have remained covid conscious, but like we really are few in number. A lot of friends and family members who used to be cautious have thrown caution to the wind, only maybe masking when, say, going on flights or maybe to crowded spaces if that. I still want to be friends and have relationships with these people but every time I meet with them I’m very aware that there’s increased risk in doing so. Meanwhile plenty of friends who stopped taking covid seriously have simply stopped really talking to me or including me in plans, even online friends. It’s disappointing. It’s isolating. It feels like I’m disposable to many people. But at least I do see some people repeatedly in person consistently wearing masks like I do. And that helps some.

Every couple waves I’ll see more people wearing masks such as the ongoing one. You know what, that’s welcome, I appreciate everyone who starts masking again after having stopped. But masking only during the heights ignores that the spread of the virus still goes on in between. So the next wave comes as people relax and transmission increases again. 

It’s hard feeling mostly housebound. I am a bit of a homebody, but not nearly to this degree. Not having an in person job outside of my home doesn’t help with that but also I’m not sure that I could bear to do one at this point. Being disabled already pre-covid and moving states literally weeks before the shelter in place orders came into effect (not lockdowns, we never had those in the US) meant that I did not have a job when the pandemic struck. I decided to wait it out for weeks months a year until the first vaccines got rolled out and thought about trying to apply again but then in the summer of 2021 Delta came. Then Omicron. And so on. Now we’re up to BA.2.86 and JN.1 as the variants of interest. It’s never stopped. There’s never been a break. The years start comin' and they don't stop comin'.

Working from home was a huge option early in the pandemic for many people outside industries that require people to work in person but gradually companies and organizations have rolled back this accessibility by requiring people return to office. And the economy sucks right now. Applying to jobs sucks even in the best of times with the current system, but now we have confirmed cases of job recruiters putting up phantom jobs, some admitting that 75% of the jobs they’ve posted being fake to make their company look like it’s in better shape or positions where the candidate has already been selected internally and they just want to make it look sorta fair. Not to mention all the scam listings. Job hunting sucks. It’s a lot of energy spent for very few returns and my disability/chronic illness means I just can’t channel endless amounts of energy without paying a far greater price in the future.

It’s not just work either. I haven’t seen a movie in theaters since the Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey movie in February 2020. Maybe I’ll actually go see one soon, but it’s a real risk, even during a matinee when fewer people might be there, even masked in an N95. (And definitely a much bigger risk if I should want some popcorn or a drink.) I have been to one indoor event (MBMBaM live show) that required masks of everyone in late 2022. It was a risk but masking made it feel a little safer. Nothing like the risks today where so many people seem to have forgotten the danger that they knew in 2020 and 2021 and maybe 2022 and will look at you funny if you even wear a mask much less suggest they might wear one.

We’ve known about covid spreading as an aerosol but I’ve had people I know act like it’s safe to eat inside as long as you’re far away from people regardless of ventilation. Some even still believe the six feet away idea that has been thoroughly debunked. We’ve known about long covid post-viral syndromes since 2020 and that you can still get long covid after vaccines at least since 2021. Research has come out over the last few years about covid having rampant effects on your immune system, heart, brain, pretty much any organ in your body, but people still think of it as just a respiratory illness.

Our government has failed us profoundly. I never had much trust in the government, becoming politically conscious in the early Bush era in the wake of Islamophobia and endless wars against concepts which got widespread support from both dominant parties in the US. Coming out as queer in my early adulthood, I learned about the Reagan response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic (ignoring it for several years because ewwwww gay people!!) which filled in the blanks of knowledge from my childhood where the education was pretty much just scaremongering. It’s truly monstrous how Reagan ignored HIV and yet I’m not sure anyone has really done that much better since him.

I’ve never liked Biden nor do I pretend to. But even so, he campaigned on how thousands of covid deaths in 2020 were unacceptable under a US president when it was Trump in power. Yet under him we’ve seen likely over a million people die and the dismantling of protections that helped prevent covid’s spread or monitoring. We were pushed the idea that you simply had to get vaccinated and then it wouldn’t be a problem anymore. But that’s never been true. He declared that the pandemic was over in September 2022 and in the two years since then I’ve watched more friends who mask consistently get sick than those I knew who got sick from November 2019 to September 2022. (I’m pretty fortunate in that regard, I know many people had lots of friends and relatives get sick and die or become permanently disabled prior to September 2022.) 

Sure, the White House approved 4 more covid tests per household again in response to the current wave (after getting rid of that program months ago), but the tests are notoriously unreliable for a single test unless it gives you a positive and generally you need to use them over multiple days to make sure you don’t have false negatives. Not to mention that we have known about asymptomatic transmission of covid since 2020, but people just seem to have forgotten about that. Testing daily would do so much to help track the disease, especially if our leaders were to encourage everyone to do them. But there’s a serious lack of test availability. The government could give each of us a test per day and help stop a lot of transmission. Where are free masks? Where is the continued funding for vaccines? Where is funding for improved ventilation including air filtration systems for every classroom and other shared public space? Where are protections to make sure that employers have to keep people home and give them sick pay? Any public health response we had has pretty much fallen away into privatized, “you-do-you” individualism. (Anyone remember that “you-do-you” MTA sign from 2 years ago saying masks were optional so wear them however the fuck you want? “You-do-you” feel free to get someone’s immunocompromised grandma mortally ill on the subway.)

There’s only one mention of the pandemic on Harris’ campaign website’s Issues page at the moment, only in passing while talking about automotive industry jobs. The pandemic is in the past, this seems to say. There’s no need to mention it except to compare what she has done under Biden vs. what Trump did. Biden may have stepped down from running after getting covid for at least the third time and possibly suffering lasting health issues including possible covid-accelerated dementia from it but there’s no need to address that. Simply move on and forget. Maybe she can’t even admit that Biden fucked up royally in 2022, she just has to save face for the DNC. Or she’s trying to appeal to anti-vax anti-mask “Never Trump” Republicans who still won’t vote for her. I don’t pretend to understand what she’s thinking of during her campaign’s numerous missteps so far.

We don’t live in 2019 anymore but so many people seem trapped there. They think that we who are covid conscious are unwilling to move on and are trapped in 2020, but I find that often we’re more attuned to the actual situation going on. So many people seem to be unaware of the long term consequences of catching covid, especially multiple times. So many people passively question why everyone seems to be sick all the time or why there are so many more heart attacks and such happening in young people or why there seem to be more dangerous drivers on the road or why there are so many fewer workers these days but never stop to pursue the answer to the most clear solution. Occam’s Razor never had a chance.

The pandemic has changed us all on levels we probably won’t realize for years or decades, but I feel like many people who have moved back to 2019 are worse for it. Worse empathy for those who had any empathy at all beforehand. Worse science literacy, especially amongst medical professionals. (“You’re not going to get sick in a hospital!” “Why would we wear masks in the cancer ward!?”) Worse critical thinking. Worse memory. I know people deal with trauma in different ways but so many people just seem to be so avoidant that any tiny reminder of it makes them want it gone gone gone. Or they seem to just sigh and laugh internally at those of us taking it seriously. “You just have anxiety!” they might say, even when in my humble opinion nothing is more rational than our desire to not get sick. Not to mention all the harassment people have gotten for doing things like masking because using a simple medical device has turned into a moral panic in some spaces. (I know of some people who would mask don’t anymore because of social pressure or outright threats used against them.)

It’s hard to have hope for the future and yet I hang in there. Maybe someday I’ll be able to work in person again. Maybe someday I will be able to be on a plane again and travel outside of the US or go to visit friends in parts of the US I’ve never been to. Maybe someday I will be able to eat inside a restaurant again instead of getting takeout or (rarely) taking a risk by eating outside of one. Maybe someday I’ll be able to casually sip an iced latte in a coffee shop while reading to pass the time again. Maybe someday I will be able to go to concerts or conventions or crowded outdoor festivals or indoor parties or board game nights or even ride the bus without having to ask myself if it’s worth the risk and without having to wear a mask. But with the infection rates we’ve been seeing that feels far off and most people don’t seem to care about making that world a reality.

I hope that there will be some treatment to finally end covid-19 and its numerous lineages that continue to mutate and spread across the world like wildfire. I feel like that’s one of the only hopes. We had a chance to end covid in other ways but our government leaders and greed from corporations failed us. Yet even with that, I know that if a treatment using some kind of super effective antibodies or such is developed, it’ll probably still be kept from many people by corporate greed. But still I hope for the future even if that hope is dim.

Until then I’m largely housebound. And I will forever be changed by this pandemic, largely not for the better. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to trust people in general again. I’m not sure how I would cope if covid suddenly disappeared from the face of the planet, like with magic. Maybe I would just completely lose it. Maybe I’d bounce back completely in a few months. (Unlikely. I’m still disabled and chronically ill from pre-covid times. My life would still have big challenges.) But I’m pretty sure it won’t disappear suddenly.

And I’m so very tired.

[lady-phasma]

Daemon is not a character I enjoy and I don’t feel any attraction to him. But I absolutely love Matt Smith. I am vastly more attracted to him when he is himself or the Doctor, than as Daemon. I think I just vibe more with his personality. What Matt character (other than the Doctor or Daemon) do you enjoy most? 💖

HI nonnie! Daemon certainly isn't for everyone, I get it. Eleven is goofy and funny and has his dark moments.

That's a tough ask. Like runner up I guess? So Eleven is definitely my favorite, Daemon a close second. Probably Prince Philip in The Crown (and not only for these two lines) is my third.

I thought I would do some honorable mentions as well and one where Matt has given his all to a role in a pretty terrible film. People might think of Morbius when I say that, but the one that comes to my mind first is always Terminator Genisys (2015).

Wow this movie is bad and I love the Terminator franchise. It was one of the first films he did after he left Doctor Who. I really want to spoil it for everyone but I won't. His character "Alex" isn't who he seems (you can google it if you want to). Matt really did a great job here, but it's painful to watch this movie fall apart over the 2 hours. My man gave it his all. (Not to mention that I like this haircut despite loving his crazy, floppy hair.)

Another honorable mention has to go to Jack, in the absolutely amazing Last Night in Soho (2021)! Matt is so good at playing villains that I really enjoy those roles. Jack is the absolute worst, but Matt makes him believable yet not over the top. Sleazy. It's a wonderful performance.

You can literally find some of my gifs of him by searching words like "Matt Smith's ears" because I have a serious problem.

So, I'm not going to review every role he's ever had because that's not what you asked. I will say I have yet to get my hands on a copy of Mapplethorpe (specifically the Director's Cut) and will watch it as soon as I can. I know it's been out for a while but it's hard to get. Until I have watched it, my last honorable mention is his role as Martin in Official Secrets (2019). It's his most understated supporting role, in my opinion. When he's the lead or part of an ensemble, he has loads of personality, almost overwhelmingly. This film is well written and well cast and that always helps. His role isn't huge but he performs it with sincerity and authenticity.

Rescue me chin boy and show me the stars. sigh. that chin though.

Was that long enough for you anon? LoL If you follow me (seems like you might), you know that I'm longwinded when I talk about Matt's acting. If you haven't seen these, I suggest you save the best for last and get Genisys out of the way first so you can enjoy the others more thoroughly. Most Matt fans have seen more of his work than they realize as his career his been relatively short and he takes time off from film/tv to do theater. He only left Doctor Who 10 years ago so you don't have a long filmography if you decide to work your way through it.

Always feel free to pop by and tell me more about your favorite roles he has played or let me know when you watch new ones! And that goes for this anon and anyone else. My blog is definitely one third Matt Smith, if not more. This ask made me so happy because I don't often get to talk about my man, since I mostly write fics. Thank you, anon!

[seonpremacy]

The Childe (Movie Review)

hi omg. so i just recently watched the latest korean film from dir. park hoon jung, the creator of the witch film series, which is called "the childe". i am not a movie expert or anything so take my advice with a grain of salt. let's talk about the cons first. the pacing of the first 30 minutes of the movie, wherein the characters are slowly being introduced. it was a bit slow and unorganized. there were some scenes in the beginning that can be considered as filler scenes, which adds to the slowness of the pacing of the film, and the character of go ara was not really fleshed out well, which is a missed opportunity. now the pros. okay, the plot is simple with a few plot twists and there, pretty much john wick vibes except it's asian LMAO because of the main conflict of the show. i was a bit confused in one of the revelations of the show but caught up quickly anyway. next is the comedy. actually, this was one of my fears to this film. comedy being used in action films are usually forced, and a bit cringeworthy, but SURPRISINGLY, seonho did it naturally. the comedic timing was so smooth and i genuinely laughed. it's like the icebreaker for the seriousness of the film. no forced jokes. there could be some lines that are cheesy for other people, but it's still tolerable. and i think the what excelled the most in the film is the line delivery of each character, and how they contributed to the overall ambiance of the film. Each of the major characters had contributed enough in their delivery of their dialogues. However, i would like to emphasize two actors: kang tae ju and kim seonho.

kang tae-ju really did an amazing job for his character. the desperation and the fear of the character were obviously portrayed accurately by him, and he had such a good chemistry with seonho. his english accent is topnotch ofc. he has the potential to become the next thing. and now of course, kim seonho. the kim seonho. oh my god. never have i ever thought, that he would also be fitting in the action genre. throughout the film, i tried to observe if there are resemblance of any past characters that he did e.g. han ji pyeong from start-up and hong du sik from hometown cha-cha-cha, and guess what? there was no resemblance AT ALL. i mean why am i surprised he studied theater acting for 10 fucking years before debuting in a small screen. of course, micro-expressions were obviously visible throughout the film i mean come on IT'S GIVEN already. next is his American English accent. oh. my. god. i truly lost it when he delivered his english lines in the movie. he literally has the potential to become really proficient in english. god he was so hot. the thought that he probably only took english classes for a short period of time... oh my god. again, the way he delivered his comedic lines throughout the film was just *chef's kiss, no more further explanation on that. of course, that popular filipino line that he said on the film, i mean, as a filo, it wasn't that bad actually, particularly the first filipino line, the filipino accent was present. and lastly, the fact that he filmed this, only weeks or months after that unfortunate controversy, blows my mind. dealing with that kind of stuff is so mentally draining and could obviously affect one's mental health but no, he insisted. he needed to continue what he's good at, which is acting. his passion to his craft is honestly one of the reasons why i just fall in love with this korean actor everyday. he had to act like the RENT WAS DUE.

now, is the childe a MINDBLOWING korean film? obviously not. but this just paved the way for seonho's comeback, and the exposure for his versatile acting. he should, at least be nominated honestly. the childe rating: 8.0 of 10.

[quillyfied]

Things I’m noticing on this rewatch, which I’m hoping to take slow and ponder on but we will see how it goes, PART THREE (obviously major Good Omens season 2 spoilers throughout, specifically for S2E3)

- First, going back to the previous episode: thank you to the person who reminded me that the Dirty Donkey pub is the pub that Crowley plans his holy water heist in!! (Which means Crowley LITERALLY planned his heist on Aziraphale’s stoop, unless Aziraphale moved the pub to be closer to himself in case it happened again. Hmmmm.)

- Also. I have been reminded that “Give me coffee or give me death” is a modified quote of “give me liberty or give me death” by an American revolutionary. Which. Explains all the Statues of Liberty around the place. I am Slow.

- Anyway, to e3: the fact that Jim has a labeled mug and hot chocolate canister. I feel like he tried to ingest something he wasn’t supposed to, so Aziraphale made sure he had his name on his things XD

- The sex worker is a treasure, for one; I hope I am reminded of her name soon.

- MURIEL. SWEET ANGEL BABY. Sorry they’re not a baby but they are so adorably innocent and inexperienced. I love that Aziraphale treats them so kindly despite his obvious terror. Though. It is a kindness that reminds me of my coworkers. I work in childcare. I know a “childcare” disposition when I see it.

- Okay, the framing there: the box, and the hat. The mystery, and the detective cap. Excellent.

- The gentle tutelage, Muriel’s scrunchy face when they realize what tea is for—I’m just SCREECHING.

- AND CROWLEY GETTING IN ON IT. THE WAY HIS WHOLE DEMEANOR IMMEDIATELY GOES FROM BITCHING TO DELIGHTED. AAAAAAAAAAH.

- AND HE’S SITTING. ON THE ARM. OF AZIRAPHALE’S CHAIR.

- The coparenting. Muriel’s utter naivety. I’m just.

- “I’m not sure how you lot have managed to stay in charge.” “I’m not sure we actually have.” SAY IT LOUDER.

- OKAY BUT HOW DOES HELL MEASURE MIRACLES THO

- ONE FABULOUS KISS CROWLEY. IS THAT ALL IT TAKES.

- “To tell if humans are in love you need to wait a few days” not bad advice really but also unrelated how many days are in like 6000 years? Asking for a friend.

- AZIRAPHALE TALKING TO THE BENTLEY AND IMMEDIATELY BEING A BIGGER MENACE ON THE ROAD THAN CROWLEY. VINDICATION.

- Thing the first about the opening theme: Crowley crawls up the cliff and Aziraphale lands on it. Just a nice touch.

- The movie theater in the opening has a different feature title and picture on the big screen every episode. I missed it for the first one but last time it was “A Companion to Owls” (which is a verse from Job that I only know because the full quote is “I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls” and it was a lamentation but of course teenage Quilly thought that was the coolest thing she had ever read). This time: The Resurrectionists, coupled with a shot of the Gabriel statue.

- I think Crowley’s hair is s1 color in this minisode but I can’t be sure. Lighting is…not. :P

- THE BONUS CONTENT SAYS NEIL GAIMAN THOUGHT IT WOULD BE FUN TO LET DAVID TENNANT DO AS MANY SCOTTISH ACCENTS AS HE CAN THIS CHAPTER. I AM DELIGHTED

- The second Elspeth says “English” Crowley starts losing it, which in turn makes ME lose it.

- I love the bringing back in the discussion from the book about privilege making its way here, and given a more visceral illustration and testing. Though I love Crowley literally helping Elspeth pull the wagon, a thing I’m not sure he’s ever willingly done in his life, and poking holes in Aziraphale’s arguments all the way.

- Wee Morag’s morals have about the same utility in this situation as Aziraphale’s, tbh. I’m not sure I have the mental capacity tonight to deconstruct that the way it deserves.

- Aha! Knew I recognized the tune in the car! Danse Macabre!

- He is AFFECTIONATE towards the BENTLEY. Which Crowley can FEEL.

- YELLOW CAR. DAMN YOU JOHN FINNEMORE.

- but it is pretty, Crowley!

- Spoilsport.

- I fully did not internalize the tartan hills and Nessie the first time around. I saw them. I immediately chalked them up to personal fever dream.

- The demon’s name is Josh. Why is that delightful??

- He wears a kilt! And has a wonderful little monologue about dung pits and tongue ripping!

- Beelzebub being off is subtle. Almost too subtle.

- The many stacks of books Crowley carries around and then chucks this episode. Love it.

- Crowley not having a cow about a fly seems weird tbh

- Vavoom. Where tf did he learn the word vavoom

- “David Tennant has occasionally played a doctor” OH HAS HE NOW

- the almost musical pulls Michael Sheen does for miracles this season. Lovely.

- Also: the dual nature of Mr. Dalrymple. Needs bodies to do good and study so he can save lives. Treats the people bringing him the bodies like dirt.

- Okay: is Crowley freezing time, or just putting Dalrymple in a mental time out? Very curious to know. The trivia bit on the side references the s1 trick of having Jean-Claude’s actor stand very still to achieve the time stop there, so perhaps freezing time?

- Alright moment of silence for how very very good Crowley’s outfit is this scene. Yum.

- The instant penny drop when Aziraphale realizes the reason for the body snatching, how he immediately uses prevention of future harm to classify it as Good.

- Also. His emotional reaction to the kid’s tumor. ;A;

- Edinburgh is so colorful!!

- HIS SMUG LITTLE GRIN WHEN HE POPS OUT HIS HAT AND NOTEBOOK. Also, wtf is in his hat. What is that.

- Okay but the double sided sign, and how Aziraphale first sees the Jesus side. IMPORTANT. PAINFUL.

- PRESS 66. That’s what’s in the hat.

- And Aziraphale being every bit as awkward as Muriel in his interrogation. Just slightly less weird. Angels.

- Listen I’ll probably say it again at episode 6 but the sheer magnitude of the importance that Gabriel and Beelzebub fell in love over the course of a year—with EACH OTHER. Not with earth or humans or creation. Just each other. Hggk.

- Alright, but Aziraphale DOES see the other half of the sign here. Does he get it? DOES HE GET IT?? No. Of course not.

- “I’ll help but it still doesn’t make it right.” That is such an uncomfortable truth to sit with. The whole adventure is, really. The whole show. SHADES OF GREY.

- Okay, I’m pausing this episode way too much, it’s been over an hour since I started this episode, but—the way Aziraphale overcorrects is. Sad? Elspeth and Wee Morag aren’t here to decrease human suffering. Outside of their own, of course, which can also be achieved by digging up a body that’s fresh. Scope of intent and how Aziraphale simplifies and moralizes it. Huh.

- Lot more this season about Aziraphale’s miracle allowances, too. Very interesting concept.

- MIGHT HAVE SLIGHTLY OVERDONE IT ON THE HOLE. MIGHT YOU INDEED.

- interesting how his dithering is what causes his chance to heal Wee Morag to slip through his fingers. And yet raising her is out of the question. Can Aziraphale even do that? We know he and Crowley together generate a ton of power, but what about on his own?

- interesting that elspeth takes Wee Morag to Dalrymple and is already contemplating suicide despite her actions suggesting she intended to keep on living. Hmm.

- Dalrymple the Ass. Not just unwilling to get his own hands dirty but disparaging of those who will. Another moral dichotomy.

- And elspeth also not wanting to get dug up? Wee Morag’s death affecting her?

- CROWLEY OFF HIS HEAD WITH LAUDANUM IS THE FUNNIEST POSSIBLE OUTCOME

- How much is 90 guineas compared to 5 pounds? …google says a guinea is worth slightly more than a pound. So. For the eight pounds Elspeth and Wee Morag were aiming for, for the three pounds shafted that Wee Morag died for…Aziraphale literally had over ten times that amount in his pocket. MORALS.

- …the stupid special features had the math onscreen already. Sort of. Heck.

- Yeah okay this scene adds way more context to Crowley asking for holy water fifty or so years later. Yikes. YIKES. The implications of it all!!

- Asking the phone nicely. Love these little Aziraphaleisms.

- The awning of a new age XD

- The little tipping of his cap!! Adorable!

- Nina and Maggie actually TALKING. HEY CROWLEY ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION???

- The rain is overdone and the awning rips. Gosh. Whatever could that be implying?

- Seriously how is Crowley able to pull these spells out of Jim?? And seemingly ONLY him???

- Alright, this prophecy bit. Seems to me to be about the future, also about the past, which is very biblical tbh. Specifically Isaiah. But I’m not up to snuff enough on my Bible to tell what all Gabriel is quoting. Besides the Buddy Holly.

- HELLO SHAX

- Okay, realizing that no angels pop up in Aziraphale’s shop in season 1, either. Gabriel and Sandalphon enter from the outside. I’ll need to rewatch to see if Aziraphale actively invites them in, or if it’s just blocking. I think it might just be blocking. But what an interesting detail, that only humans can enter at will and all else must be invited!

- The threatening of Aziraphale continues. The anxiety of Crowley intensifies. The obliviousness of Jim resets.

- Always too late. Poor Crowley.

Yeah this took an hour and a half to watch XD but I’m having fun. And killing quite a lot of time. Am I making sense or creating a thoughtful analysis? No, I don’t think so. But I’m solidifying the canon in my head, at least.

[moralesmilesanhour]

Ooh wait I forgot to do this. Seems like an appropriate time so [game show music plays]

Malika's official spiderverse ranking (REAL)!

(Excluding Miles G and Miles' family sorry guys)

Miles Morales ‼️

Duh. He's like, the Main Guy and the reason why most of us are here. He's weird!! He's lame!! He's smart and annoying about it!! Just like me fr 🔥🔥🔥 hope he gets therapy soon and maybe some meds

2. Hobie Brown

Lives up to his character description in every way possible. He IS an anarchist and he WAS in fact, "this cool the whole time". Bonus points for being the first guy to fuck off to his dimension the minute he did what he had to do (help the youth and ruin Miguel's day). Extra points for Gender

3. Pavitr Prabhakar

He just debuted and he's already got several iconic one-liners under his belt. Banger suit redesign and FAWK Marvel for that first costume ‼️ It's really the curly fringe that does it for me like EATTT

4. Margo Kess

Idgaf she's literally goated. Had she gotten more screen time slhe would've been number 3 tbh. She's here to slay and found a way to stay her ass at home while being part of an elite Spider Squad. Women in stem

5. Jessica Drew

"But she's on Miguel's side!" And wrdgaf 🤣 she beats bitches up not just with webs but with A MOTORCYCLE!! And she's one of the only Spideys not masked Jessica is literally here to clock in, do her job, and clock out. She's #real I can't take that away from her. Bonus points for Issa Rae

6. Spot

I know. Look, I KNOW. But this is quite literally one of the most genius and thematically-coherent supervillain reveals I have ever seen in a superhero movie. HE WAS THE BAGEL GUY I WAS SO GAGGED! I left the theater and had to stare at a wall like this is excellent usage of pre-existing comic book characters to further one of the movie's messages, which is to not underestimate people!

7. Gwen Stacy

DONT GET MAD AT ME FOR PUTTING HER BELOW SPOT I CAN EXPLAIN

Okay look, she's cool. She's a punk that does ballet and she is part of the Hailee Steinfeld Cool Girl Industrial Complex. But she hasn't done anything that blows my mind yet and she clearly wasn't taking Hobie's advice like girl sjdlslk. I also doc points for pissing me off so sorry to her. On god we gon get you a girlfriend and some therapy as well 🙏🏾

8. Miguel O'Hara

Ohh brother this guy STINKS‼️ But they went sooo crazy w his character design shout out to Kris Anka. Bonus points for Oscar Isaac but minus points again for throwing a trash can at a high schooler. He only eats cafeteria food and has NO BITCHES! But upon reading about his character backstory ive decided that this guy is so unhinged and pathetic that it is now comical. Therefore I can't hate him. LEWSER

9. Peter B Parker

Sorry peepaw we're gonna have to put you down. At least Miguel can say that he has strong principles and believes in his own flimsy theory out of trauma. Miguel also doesn't really know Miles, , but Peter MENTORED HIM. Bro literally helped train living, breathing proof that anything was possible and that there was no "right" way for Spider-Man's story to go and he still let Miguel convince him otherwise. YOU HAVE A BABY THAT WOULD NOT EXIST WITHOUT MILES! Sir you may be a genius but you are not smart. Then he has the nerve to insult this kid's intelligence multiple times like don't piss me off. The betrayal puts him lower than Miguel because you've disappointed me peepaw 💔 and put a coat on that baby. I love him but he SUCKS

That's it 🫶🏾 please don't take this too seriously these characters are not real and thus cannot read this and I'm also kind of joking here

[onigiri-dorkk]

Top 10 Films!

(Thanks for the tag SO long ago @a-slut-for-smut! I actually had this entire post written in my drafts right after you had tagged me but never got around to post it for some reason LOL)

I don’t watch many films anymore these days (shows/series have taken place of it) so it took awhile to recall all of my favorites. It’s actually nice to remember though, because it means all of these really lasted with me over my life.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012): A perfect coming-of-age film and story, discovered in my junior year of highschool. First of all I was in love with Logan Lerman looool and Emma Watson. But there are lines of this book/movie that stuck with me through my life, and the movie executed it perfectly. A story of finding belonging, first love, overcoming trauma alongside loved ones, growing up. The soundtrack is phenomenal, even the music score album (I listen to that often while writing).

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004): The cinematography and shots in this are just so gorgeous and creative. It’s a quirky and angsty film circling around two imperfect lovers who choose to love, who deal with the heartbreak in a terrible way, and who fall in love again, saying yes to the struggle. And, come on! The idea of having your memories erased, then during the process realizing you want to keep the painful memories after all? And navigating through memories trying to hold onto the good and the bad? Just a beautiful concept. Lots of fantastic lines and scenes. I took a lot of inspo from one scene in particular of this movie into some of the latest chapters of my longfic.

The Fault in Our Stars (2013): First of all, TFIOS is one of my all time favorite books. John Green is my favorite author, and is the only (published) author I’ve EVER gone out of my way to read multiple works from. TFIOS was the first book that brought me to *literal* tears. It rocked my world, this ill-fated story of star crossed lovers. The movie did a fantastic job adapting it; as soon as the production was announced I followed it loyally and the execution of the film made it so worth the journey. Hazel and Augustus’ actors’ chemistry was just SO good. The film STILL makes me bawl like a baby. Pls watch.

Anastasia (1997): A favorite since childhood! Romanov Princess gone missing, forced to pretend she’s the princess but she doesn’t know she’s the princess, until she finds out the conman she’s working with was the child who saved her long ago in her lost past? And they fall in love? So the conman lets go of all his con ways??? BEAUTIFUL. Love the music, love the animation, loved the idea of finding the missing princess and the love story of an unrecognized reunion of two childhood friends. I’ve always wanted to write a Rivamika/Anastasia AU 🥰 Someday.

Tangled (2010): I think as a teen I just really resonated with the “lost princess, aching for more in her life, feeling stuck in a tower, fall in love with conman” trope 🤣 But also, this was one of the first movies that made me just feel overwhelmed with heart-squeezing emotion. (I freaking loved Rapunzel; related to her in many ways) The lantern scene took my breath away and I had never really felt that in a movie theater before. Love the soundtrack and movie scores (did a music analysis presentation on the score back in highschool), animation was and still is beautiful even if it was one of Disney’s pioneering 3D animation movies.

Les Miserables (2012): I’m a sucker for musicals but this is one that I hold special in my heart. Aside from the fact that I played violin for Les Mis productions for two years, so I am attached to the music deeply... the story! The cinematography! The acting! The live singing! The instrumentals! Just a perfect cinematic experience. Eponine’s friend-zone story still breaks my heart, and I watched this movie at a time when I was going through her situation. I fell in love w the storytelling; how it took the journeys of multiple protagonists and perfectly interweaved each arc into each other’s so seamlessly. Also another movie that makes me bawl. Now that I stop to think of it, Fantine reminds me of Kuchel ;-;

Titanic (1997): I just rewatched this recently, after many many many years since childhood where I wasn't allowed to watch the kiss scenes (lol!) and holy wow it is a fantastic movie from start to end. It also helps now that I totally see Jack/young Leo as Levi. Beautiful timeless love story set in history. You know everything that happens and yet you still get so immersed into it.

August Rush (2007): I haven’t watched this in YEARS but 100% this deserves to be on my faves. August, an orphan who is looking for his parents, is discovered for his musical talents on an inspiring journey. Beautiful story about how someone’s passion for music/art (anything, really) can change their life; his parent’s story even becomes a reunion love story. This def had moments that took my breath away, too. (When August Rush gets up on that stage with the orchestra, ahhhh)

The Pianist (2002): (And honorable mention: Schindler’s List) Painfully beautiful movies. Terrible history of our world, depicted with care and pointing to the glimmers of hope in a heart wrenching way that deeply affects you. I think of both of these movies often. In The Pianist, Brody’s character is discovered to be a pianist by a German officer who helps him hide. Schindler’s List is about how a German man risks it all to save many Jews. The directing in both is phenomenal; the music—agh, that violin in Schindler’s List—too. I tear up thinking of this.

The Prince of Egypt (1998): Lastly, The Prince of Egypt. This movie rocked my world to see an ancient story, which I grew up with and was important to me and my faith when I was young, illustrated and animated with such beautiful art, music, etc. Moses leading a slave nation out of Egypt despite the odds. The burning bush scene and this one will always be iconic cinema scenes in my heart. Phew. Pls watch to those scenes with the music!!!

Thanks for tagging me @a-slut-for-smut! This was so fun to put together. I’ve been wanting to rewatch old classics to case-study the story writing and learn from my faves, so a movie marathon after the busy season will be a fun learning experience 😍

I tag: @chaosisbeauty23 @nuri148 @rivaille-13 @bryhaven @levi4mikasa @lady-purpleblue @warbarbie @your-lavender-dreams @nina-bean @onwriting-hrarby @randomposterofstuff @guliplum1 and anyone else in the community that wants to participate!!!

[ufonaut]

Will you please share your black adam thoughts?? I was also very nervous about it and how it would handle the JSA but i actually really liked it! I actually work at a movie theater so i saw it twice already 😂

i'm putting these together because they're all related to my thoughts on black adam 2022 and i thought it'd be more convenient for everybody (even if they're wildly antithetic povs)! i absolutely loved black adam and i think i'm gonna see it again quite literally as soon as i can. given that i only got back approx ten minutes ago, here's some jumbled thoughts right off the bat:

i think what makes or breaks a superhero movie is whether the people involved think comic books are beneath them or not (as the folks over at the mcu often seem to do) and black adam certainly loves comic books with its entire heart and soul and you can tell. from various black reign panel recreations to carter's picture perfect thanagarian ship from hawkman 2002, this is a very sincere and earnest movie with none of the parodic tone i so often despise in superhero media.

VISUALLY GORGEOUS. SIMPLY GORGEOUS. the fact that 99.9% of the film takes place in daylight immediately resolves the lighting issue of all modern cinema but lawrence sher (of joker 2019 fame) as cinematographer simply changes the game with this one. in fact, i can say the same thing about the magnificent use of cgi -- cyclone's powers, in particular, are one of the most beautiful things i've ever had the pleasure of seeing in action.

while there are certainly a few things i disagree with, such as carter's estate and kent seemingly having a chauffeur/butler, i think most of the major changes were unavoidable either in a lost in translation sort of way or simply in order to make this movie palpable to average audiences used to marvel. over all, i felt the jsa's dynamic was captured perfectly and what drew me to the team in the first place is very much still there in a way that's definitely absent from stargirl, for example. they're still a horrible little family made up almost exclusively of weird uncles.

SPEAKING OF. AL PRATT? I SCREAMED.

i thought it was made clear that this isn't the entire team but rather just the members carter chose for this particular mission, which i also enjoyed. and while we're here, to touch on some of the points from the anon, i don't think any marvel-style humour was actually present? or at least, it didn't come across that way to me. i mean, it's a very funny film, i was laughing nearly the whole time (or tearing up! or simply absolutely on the edge of my seat!) but it all felt perfectly natural to me, especially in al's case where it's a clear consequence of powers he's obviously still unused to. the relationship between him & carter is actually exactly the element that made me feel a first spark of recognition like.... man i'm seeing my favourite lil comic book guys up there on the big screen.

ALSO THE LEGEND OF CARTER - KENT GAY HOMOSEXUALITY LIVES ON. OLD FRIEND? CARTER CRYING? YES OKAY OKAY I'M ON BOARD. IT'S NOT CARTER IF HE DOESN'T HAVE A BIZARRE WARRIOR BOND WITH SOMEBODY.

considering i was all set on hating this portrayal of kent, i also can't believe how much i ended up completely utterly loving him. the movie definitely has a knack for making you fall in love with its characters nearly instantly (maxine!!!!!!!!! oh maxine!!!!!!!) because it's so well written but kent's random outfit changes for no reason whatsoever, the bit where he's parading around in a dressing gown on carter's ship, "i'm not that kind of doctor", the entire scene in adrianna's apartment... yeah babey. actually i was losing my entire mind at "i remember the day i saw my first aeroplane...", the way pierce plays him might not have been intended to be hilarious but by god, giffen himself couldn't have done a better job. you can tell he's not all there (and i did also enjoy maxine calling him possessed by fate) and it's precisely how kent should be even in the absence of unnatural youth.

the narrative actually allowing carter to be his usual arrogant asshole self-appointed leader with a heart of gold self was also a welcome bonus, i loved seeing him the way he's always been written at his best and i loved that his sharp edges haven't been dulled any by a script that could've easily gone the sanitized route. his black and white thinking is also something that's always been a part of him and i don't think it's necessarily odd to have him say superheroes don't kill -- superheroes certainly don't kill as easily and indiscriminately as black adam does, not even the jsa.

on that point, the jsa's actions are clearly framed to be in the wrong? i loved black adam's arc, i thought mr the rock was acting his little heart out and succeeding like never before but we're also definitely pushed to be on his side to begin with. adrianna and amon are the moral centre of the movie and they certainly stand with black adam! the movie doesn't simply co-opt anti imperialist languages for the hell of it, the jsa is plainly told they're coming here with a us-centric pov and helping nothing & nobody in the name of some nebulous form of justice. i thought it was definitely abundantly clear that the conversation opened around a colonized kahndaq does not condemn adam's actions against intergang etc.

FINALLY, MY THOUGHTS ON THE FATE HELMET AT THE END? HERE'S HOW JARED STEVENS CAN STILL WIN.

this got long enough but god, i really did love it. i loved black adam. i loved the jsa. a respectful, loving, beautiful cinematic adaptation like i never thought we'd ever get.

[colethewolf]

I posted 1,937 times in 2022

373 posts created (19%)

1,564 posts reblogged (81%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@chrisevansbuddy

@carlospy

@wolfflock

@sterekotp1

@feelsforsterek

I tagged 584 of my posts in 2022

#sterek - 265 posts

#sterekartwork - 142 posts

#dylpickle - 79 posts

#superhoech - 40 posts

#artwork - 36 posts

#teenwolfart - 21 posts

#derek hale - 21 posts

#geraskier - 20 posts

#the witcher - 20 posts

#stiles stilinski - 19 posts

Longest Tag: 100 characters

#now who told hoechlin to play derek as though he just found out that stiles is the love of his life?

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

you guys have to know that I go absolutely feral for this derek with this stiles.

Like, just imagine them bumping into each other like 10 years later at the local coffee shop or bagel place whatever. and at first they just stare at each other because neither of them know what they want to say

cut to a couple seconds later and they're pawing at each other and jumping each other's bones in the restroom because it's like every dirty thought or feeling they ever had about one another has decided to overflow right now in the moment

and then by the time it's over, the only thing either of them are thinking is "okay i'm literally not letting you go this time around"

please

1,066 notes - Posted April 3, 2022

#4

um hello?

like father like son?

it's there 1 thing derek hale's gonna do, it's gonna be him making sure he protects his own

1,116 notes - Posted October 7, 2022

#3

Eli Hale Headcanons

(because I’m still in disbelief that Derek & Stiles literally have a child in canon now)

1. Eli is prone to a very special Derek-level of broody behavior as he especially likes to scowl.

2. Eli possesses a perfect mix of Derek’s snark & Stiles’ quick-thinking sarcasm.

3. Eli attends school at Beacon Hills High & maintains decent grades.

4. Unlike his parents, Eli doesn’t enjoy sports. He doesn’t play basketball or lacrosse. He likes music instead.

5. Speaking of music, Eli is the lead singer and guitarist of a scrappy little garage band that he put together with his 2 best friends.

6. Eli’s band is called “BLUE IS PRETTY” which he named after the mantra his parents always say, due to there being a negative stigma towards people with blue werewolf eyes in the werewolf community.

7. Eli is a beta werewolf who is more likely to punch a bully in the face than sit down and talk things out, taking more after his human father.

8. One of Eli’s favorite activities is the weekly training exercises he does with Derek to help train his werewolf abilities.

9. Eli’s werewolf powers kicked in at age 5, which took both Derek & Stiles by surprise, because werewolves don’t typically get their powers until around age 9-10.

10. Surprise was an understatement. Eli’s powers kicked in during a normal trip to the grocery store wherein Eli took off running faster than a human child ever could, leading to an embarrassing display of Derek trying to chase after him and catch him.

11. Eli’s first word was “fucker” because Stiles has a mild case of road rage. This led to an awkward explanation later that night when Stiles had to explain to his husband why their son kept calling everything a “fucker”.

12. Eli wears Derek’s old leather jacket, which is pretty loose on him, but it was originally Derek’s father’s. It’s special. And Eli knows it makes him look cool.

13. Eli drives Stiles’ jeep, which yes, still works! It’s held together by magic now, as opposed to duct tape.

14. Eli is gay, but doesn’t have a boyfriend yet. Although he does have a crush on a cute hall monitor who always stops him for listening to music in the halls.

15. Eli purposely wears his headphones and loudly listens to music in the halls for this reason.

16. Eli isn’t close to Derek’s uncle, Peter, as Derek & Stiles have opted to not establish that relationship due to Peter being a seriously bad influence.

17. Eli has an after-school job with his friends as ushers at the local movie theater.

18. There’s a show on Netflix about teenage werewolves that’s really bad & moderately offensive to werewolf culture, but Eli & Derek like to binge watch new seasons together to mock how much the show gets wrong about being a werewolf.

19. Eli’s bedroom is painted black with lots of various posters from his favorite bands plastered onto the walls. He keeps his room at just the right amount of messy & likes to burn candles that aren’t strong enough to burn his werewolf nose right off his face.

20. Eli’s wolf form is devoid of eyebrows, just like Derek’s & Eli likes it because he thinks it makes him look cooler than other werewolves.

What are your Eli-Stilinski Hale headcanons, ya’ll?

1,317 notes - Posted March 27, 2022

#2

See the full post

1,626 notes - Posted February 23, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Tyler Hoechlin: There's something I want to say about Vince and the way that he plays the character (Eli Hale), can I kind of say who he reminds me of a little bit?

Jeff Davis: *shaking, shitting, & internally crying over the fact that Hoechlin is about to say that Vince playing Eli reminds him of Dylan O'Brien/Stiles Stilinski* : No.

1,750 notes - Posted July 26, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[walks-the-ages]

Got an anon trying to defend the Avatar 2 movie once again lol, only this time trying to do it from a "holier than thou" stance of ""you don't actually care about people with Epilepsy!"" To cover the fact that they're defending shitty racist garbage that gives people seizures. 🤷

I mean. I literally follow Multiple people on here who can't drive now because seeing Avatar 2 gave them their first seizure in awhilr and had their driving license revoked. 🤷 And I literally had a coworker at my last job have epilepsy and have multiple seizures while on the job, ( but you know. Failed to inform any of her coworkers including that she was epileptic and had abscence seizures regularly despite knowing shes had them at work before up until I was literally about to call an ambulance when she out of the blue stood frozen at the register making repetitive noises and not responding and then acted like it was no big deal to inform me AFTER the fact.

Like. Please. If you are epileptic let your coworkers know and tell them how to behave if it happens when they're around, especially if you have the tonic clonic ones (my worker didn't have them thankfully) because people are uneducated

and fucking stupid from movies and books perpetuating old myths and I don't think you want to wake up from a seizure to find you have a broken jaw from someone shoving their hand in your mouth to stop you from "swallowing your tongue" )

Anyway, the cowardly anon had been blocked now lmao. Here's their Hot Take™:

" Don;t go on about how the mo0vie was bad for people with Epilepsy, only 3% of people with Epilepsy are phtosensitive and its annoyances like who who spread misinformation aboptu how flashing lights are the Epileptics community's biggest fear. The most common Epilepsy trigger is stress and dehydration/overheating but you don't see anyone giving a shit about our mental health or temperature. people like you just like to pretend that you care without actually doing any research."

1) this person is soooooo desperate to defend Racist Movie 2 electric Boogaloo they're going to pretend people talking about the inrony of it including an epileptic character while having seizure-inducing flashing lights for the aesthetic means I "don't actually care about epileptic people". Uhuh, sure.

2) I guess it you're the one of the millions of " 3% of people " with photosensitive epilepsy who has been impacted by the recent trend of big box office movies flagrantly endangering people for the sake of aesthetics when flashing lights are the trigger people are most publicly aware of but STILL choose to use despite knowing full well it's harmful, according to this anon you don't matter!

Apparently no one should EVER talk about the real world harm of having painful flashing lights in movies for the sake of aesthetic when people are aware they're dangerous and taking them out of the movie does it zero harm.

And that's JUST for people with photosensitive epilepsy, what about people with migraines and other photosesitivity disorders?

I literally can't watch the original Alien without closing my eyes or looking away from the screen for minutes at a time because there's so many scenes where it's just minutes of flashing black and white strobe lights. Let alone Avatar 2 in a theater where you can't as easily look away and the screen is so bright you can still see the lights behind your closed eyes lmao.

3) " I don't see ~anyone~ caring about epileptic people's mental health or well being or temperature" okay well, here's the solution: follow more activists then, instead of harassing random Tumblr users who are criticizing your favorite racist movie.

I am not the 'be all end all' of epilepsy rights because I made posts immediately after watching the movie over a month ago, pointing out how shitty it is that James Cameron went out of his way to include flashing lights that are known to cause seizures (and migraines and headaches) despite apparently caring about epileptic people enough to include an epileptic character in his movie-- when NOT including flashing lights would be step one to actually caring about people with Epilepsy.

Just because "only 3% of people are photosensitive"

Doesn't mean that you can say "giving 3% of millions of people who will watch my movie migraines and potential seizures is acceptable for my aesthetics" , especially when you can literally find first hand accounts everywhere online from people who were personally given seizures or migraines from watching this shitty three hour racist movie.

Anyways, stop trying to defend the shitty racist movie to me, and stop trying to pick petty fights in the guise of "activism", if you don't care about the millions of people with photosensitive epilepsy harmed by flashing lights, cool, have fun with that, but I'm not going to throw people under the bus because they're 3% of the population, considering I'm part of a 1% part of the population that's aromantic and asexual lmao.

Using small percentage numbers to make a population of vulnerable people seem insignificant falls apart when you consider that the world's population is currently at 10 digits and counting.

[cassiebones]

Wish

Okay, so yesterday, as per my tradition on Black Friday, I went to see Wish. I typically try to avoid spoilers or reviews before seeing the movie myself, but that was kind of difficult this time because people seem to have a lot of strong opinions about this movie.

I don't think my opinions are that strong, but I do have them.

Spoilers below

Firstly, I would like to say that my cousin took her eight-year-old to see the movie, as well. I live in New York and they live in Texas, so we couldn't see it together. My little cousin (the 8yo) loved it. She loves animals, so the part where all the animals start speaking was the best part for her. She also really liked all the characters and all the bright colors. So it gets her stamp of approval, which is - to me - probably the most important part. Because this IS a movie for kids. The kids that surrounded my friend and I in the theater also seemed to like it.

So there's that.

Secondly, I didn't hate the movie. The storyline was solid. It had the classic Disney formula of "character wants something. character encounters a problem. character tries to fix problem. everything gets worse. character calls on friends to help. antagonist finds temporary victory. character and friends come together to defeat antagonist. happily ever after" that most kids' movies have.

I honestly don't think that it was "miscast" exactly, but they could have chosen different actors and it might have been more enjoyable. I do like Ariana DeBose and Chris Pine and I believe they did a decent job. Ariana is a Broadway girl and an Oscar winner for a movie musical, so obviously she can sing. Chris Pine has a good, solid voice, BUT the music in this movie was lacking. I agree with that criticism. I am not sure where they went wrong, but I am certain that it is more the company's fault than the people who wrote the music. The composers can only do so much when Disney is bossing them around. I think there also may have been an issue at my movie theater because the voices were so low that my hearing impaired ass was STRUGGLING to make out what they were saying half the time (did anybody else experience this?), but my cousin said she could hear everything just fine. idk.

I feel like this movie was made solely to make as many references to other Disney movies as they possibly could. Like they had Peter Pan, Asha is obviously Cinderella's Fairy Godmother, the goat speaks about making Zootopia, the king becomes the Mirror on the Wall, and Asha's friends are LITERALLY the seven dwarves. There are probably a lot more references that I didn't catch (because I couldn't hear SHIT), but this felt like a money grab.

And it was short! It was the standard 90 minute Disney movie, but DAMN. There was no short before the movie, which I found odd, and there was very little action. The musical numbers seemed out of place and more like those parodies of musicals where somebody will be speaking normally and then the next person just randomly starts singing. Like in the Central Park scene in Enchanted, but without the comedy of Patrick Dempsey's WTF face.

One thing I really enjoyed, however, was Star. The star was THE BEST CHARACTER in the entire movie. It had no lines, but it had a ton of personality, and it was fucking FUNNY. All it wanted to do throughout the movie was grant wishes and/or set them free for the people who made them. It hated the king, for obvious reasons, and how he wanted to possess all the wishes and keep them for his own selfish reasons. That star was one of the redeeming factors of the movie, but it couldn't have made that much of a different in the grand scheme of things, unfortunately. The movie still just...fell flat.

The king was also an interesting character (I cannot recall his name, nor do I care about him in the very least). He, like most major Disney villains, was a narcissistic asshole. He feeds the kingdom a story about wanting to grant their wishes and make them all happy, but he will not grant wishes if there's even the remote possibility of himself getting dethroned. There's a plot line in the movie about Asha's grandfather (who is 100yo btw) wanting to finally get his wish granted and when she asks him if that can happen, he looks at the wish (gramps playing guitar to a group of people, wishing to "inspire the next generation") and says that it's too dangerous because "what does he want to inspire them to do? rise up against me?" which is the BIGGEST REACH like???? He's so paranoid about people wanting to dethrone him even though literally everybody loves him and tells him constantly how much they love him until he shows his face in the last half hour of the movie. He even has his wife fooled.

But also, he is like a caricature of a narcissistic villain. He has very few redeeming qualities, if any. We don't have enough specific history from him to know what kind of childhood trauma he's dealing with or what is really driving him. He makes a comment that he 'lost my entire family' but not how or what it has to do with the fact that he's the only one allowed to use magic. He has a dark magic book for some reason, which ultimately leads to his villain arc. He descends into madness so quickly, too. Like one day he is this loving, lovable, generous king and then LITERALLY IN LESS THAN 24HR he is evil and consuming all the wishes, like????????? It just moves so quickly. I don't understand it.

Usually, the villains we see in Disney movies are already obviously evil, even when they're trying to hide it. Hans is one of the exceptions, but this king wasn't like Hans. They show us in the previews and the promotional material for the movie that this king is going to be evil. I feel like if we got a Hans-like reveal, then it would hold a lot more punch. But I guess that's the one reference Disney was unwilling to make because then they couldn't have shown off their sub-par, catchy villain tune. It's a shame, really.

Lastly, I am not against Asha being revealed as the "Fairy Godmother" because honestly that would have been a cool reference...if that was the only reference they made. But, like I said, they just did too much with this film. The end sequence even looks like the beginning sequence of all Disney films since Cinderella (with the arch going over the castle and all the fireworks.)

I was really excited when this film was first announced because I love Ariana DeBose and I was excited for another Latina princess (even though she and Mirabel are not technically princesses) to have her own movie, but it just fell so flat.

A lot of people have blamed Lin-Manuel Miranda for the pop music, but he had no part in this film. If he had, maybe the music would have at least been more....seasoned? idk

I give this movie a 4/10 overall. Disappointing, but not entirely bad.