#jojo’s young four design is everything to me | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ygocollablove · 4 years

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@augustwritingchallenge‘s 2020 monthly prompts have come to a conclusion, and YGO Collab Love would like to present all its members who participated this year!

Before that, I would like to give thanks/applause to @cieryuu for creating the banner above (and another round to @darkmagiattack/@crshrs for making the template). Look how adorable it is! <3

There are many pieces still in progress even after the challenge’s end day, and we are excited for the day that the fics will all come to completion. Otherwise, please give love and comments and feedback to the pieces listed below!

For Art submissions...

scemo vampire yami Bakura by @crshrs Vampire AU Rating: Teens and Up Blood warning

For General Audiences...

Step One College, Step Two Take Over the World by Souless_Robot ( @soulessrobot ) Status: COMPLETE College AU Characters: Chazz Princeton & Ojama Brothers Summary: “Step one: get into Neo Domino University,” Chazz lifted one finger and waved it in his spirit partners’ faces. “Step two: get a Ph.D. in dueling. Step three: get hired to teach at Duel Academy. Step four: take over the school.”

Dueling Royalty by Elexica Status: COMPLETE Modern AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: Kaiba will block you on Twitter.

Diagnostic Don’ts by Souless_Robot Status: COMPLETE Hospital AU Characters: Jack Atlas, Seto Kaiba, Alexis Rhodes, Duke Devlin, Atem Summary: Dr. Seto Kaiba very much does not want any fellows in his diagnostic department. Unfortunately the hospital administrator Atem has different ideas. That's how Kaiba ends up with three fellows in his office. It's a good thing Kaiba doesn't plan to keep them for very long. He'll bet Wheeler he can get them to quit by the end of the week.

Mr. Jounouchi Will See You Now by Elexica Status: COMPLETE Role Reversal AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: The CEO of Jounouchi Corp. is known for being charming and lucky—not just a shrewd businessman who bravely took over the company for his alcoholic dad. Seto Kaiba is a bright kid who really needs to pay for his brother’s eye surgery.

Succ's to be You. by Elexica Status: COMPLETE Flower Shop AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: Kaiba is the worst at office plants.

For Teens and Up...

Cafe Nervosa by Elexica ( @elexica ) Status: COMPLETE Coffee Shop AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: Good morning, Domino! Dr. Seto Kaiba runs a call-in psychiatry radio show, and whether he wants to or not, he's listening. His sound engineer, Joey Wheeler, unfortunately has to listen too.

All the King's Men by Souless_Robot Status: COMPLETE Soulmate AU Pairing: Rivalshipping (Chazz Princeton x Jaden Yuki), Spiritshipping (Jesse Anderson x Jaden Yuki), Supreme King x Chazz Princeton Summary: Or Chazz is the Supreme King's soulmate but not Jaden's.

Wasted by Elexica Status: COMPLETE College AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: Kaiba gets drunk at Mokuba's fraternity initiation party and does the cute orientation leader's calculus homework. He's bad at flirting, but he's good at math.

Blank Slate by KitsunePhantom09 ( @kitsunephantom09 ) Status: COMPLETE Soulmates AU Pairing: Kingcrabshipping (Jack Atlas x Yusei Fudo) Summary: Everyone has a mark signifying their soulmate. Yusei doesn't.

The Voice in My Head by Elexica Status: COMPLETE Soulmates AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: The month leading up to when you meet your soulmate is the only period in your life where you will hear another voice in your head, their thoughts streaming through your mind. For Jounouchi, it's hell.

Demon Days by Souless_Robot Status: COMPLETE Angels & Demons AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: Joey never meant to be permanently assigned to earth after the events that take place in the Garden of Eden. Still, now that he is he really wishes he would stop running into his least favorite demon. Unfortunately, it seems the creator has other plans.

Cancelling the Apocalypse by Elexica Status: ONGOING Chapters 1/3 Post-Apocalyptic AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: Are Joey and Kaiba drift compatible?

Straight to the Top by Souless_Robot Status: COMPLETE Band AU Characters: Joey Wheeler, Seto Kaiba, Yuugi Mutou, Chazz Princeton, Jaden Yuki Summary: Joey is a folk singer trying to break into the mainstream with her childhood friend Yugi. Too bad she gets nothing but problems most from the Kaiba corp record label run by the young CEO and music prodigy Seto Kaiba.

A Good Match by Elexica Status: COMPLETE Superheroes/Superpowers AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: Or, Kaiba and Jounouchi can't wait for the whistle to start fighting.

Good Eggs by Elexica Status: COMPLETE Farm/Ranch AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: Kaiba is forced to work as a farmhand the summer before college. Joey doesn't mind the company.

Mercy by Elexica Status: COMPLETE Crime AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: Kaiba's a bit tied up at the moment.

Who You Gonna Call by Elexica Status: COMPLETE Treasure Hunters AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: Ghost hunter Joey and skeptic Kaiba enlist Yugi's help in answering the question: Are ghosts real?

For Mature audiences...

And Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.” by KitsunePhantom09 Status: COMPLETE Vampire AU Characters: Yusei Fudo Summary: Rule #1: Never answer when you hear them knocking.

Dark Web by Elexica Status: COMPLETE Pirates AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: You wouldn't download a car. Kaiba would.

The line that stands between us is 100 lives worth living by SwordsAndSwongs ( @blue-eyed-priest ) Status: ONGOING Chapters 8/32 Pairing: Prideshipping (Seto Kaiba x Atem), Rivalshipping (Kaiba x Yuugi Mutou), Stoicshipping (Kaiba x Priest Set), and Puppyshipping (Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: In a world full of multiverses, who will Kaiba meet? Is it his Pharaoh, his enemies, his few friends? Or is it himself, waiting at the end of every step taken?

Demon in a Bottle by Elexica Status: COMPLETE Angels & Demons AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: Kaiba overdoses.

Addicted (You’re My Favorite High) by KitsunePhantom09 Status: COMPLETE Crime AU Pairing: Kingcrabshipping (Jack Atlas x Yusei Fudo) Summary: Yusei has never felt like this before, and he desperately doesn't want it to end.

Netflix and Chill by auroraXborealis ( @xauroraxborealisx ) Status: ONGOING Chapters 11/? Pairing: Puzzleshipping (Yuugi Mutou x Atem) Summary: When the department of Human Resources from Kaiba Corp decides it is in the company’s best interest to send some of its employees on a team-building seminar for a whole weekend, Atem does not think his bonding experience with his colleagues will turn out to be this intense. Especially when he is thrown into a downward spiral of strange events with the one coworker he dislikes the most: Yugi. Now, they must work together to survive and figure out all the clues to make it back home.

Enemy Fire by KitsunePhantom09 Status: ONGOING Chapter 5/? Pairing: Kingcrabshipping (Jack Atlas x Yusei Fudo) Summary: Jack has just escaped a horrible alpha, but is in dire straits – heavily pregnant and out on the streets in the middle of winter does not bode well. But as his darkest hour arrives, so too does his savior.

Catalysts for Kindling by bewdofchaos ( @atems-leather-pants ) Status: ONGOING Chapters 11/? Pairing: Puzzleshipping (Yuugi Mutou x Atem), Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: In the eight months that Yugi and Atem have been roommates, they have formed a fast friendship over their fondness for coffee, late-night study sessions and video games. But recently, something has not been quite right. When Yugi receives a mysterious parcel, he is sent on an unexpected journey where each new step makes him reconsider everything he ever knew to be true… but mostly his relationship with his roommate.

The Dark Woods Circus’ Monster by KitsunePhantom09 Status: COMPLETE Circus AU Pairing: Kingcrabshipping (Jack Atlas x Yusei Fudo) Summary: Once, the circus was meant to wow and inspire its audience with feats of grandeur. Now it horrifies and terrifies them with unholy creatures of man's own design.

Time to fight fears, for once and for AUll by Seiyofira ( @seiyofira-doesntknowshiet ) Status: COMPLETE Chapters 11/11 Summary: These will be some scattered works for AU-gust 2020, which will either revolve around Yu-Gi-Oh! DM or JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, I will put the used AU prompt as well as either YGO or JJBA at the beginning of each chapter. They do not build a consistent story!

For Explicit audiences...

Forgiveness by KitsunePhantom09 Status: COMPLETE Angels & Demons AU Pairing: Kingcrabshipping (Jack Atlas x Yusei Fudo) Summary: An angel is offered as a sacrifice by a cult to appease their lord.

Scrubs by Elexica Status: COMPLETE Hospital AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: The door to the supply closet doesn't lock, but that doesn't stop Drs. Kaiba and Jounochi from having an intimate moment.

Embrace me, Love. It's been a long day. by Cleopatra ( @writelovetomeempress ) Status: ONGOING Chapters 20/33 Pairing: Flareshipping (Seto Kaiba x Atem x Yuugi Mutou) Summary: Atem is gone, back to the Afterlife when the Ceremonial Duel was complete. A piece of Yuugi's heart went with him. Kaiba, with all his genius and all his tech, has found a way to use the Quantum Cube to claim the victory he was denied. Per a reluctant deal, Kaiba brings Yuugi along. All the bravado in the world couldn't prepare Yuugi for that final goodbye, and with shaky hands, he broke their world completely.

Porcelain Wings and Shattered Dreams by Life_0r_Death ( @life-0r-death ) Status: ONGOING Chapters 11/17 Pairing: Kingcrabshipping (Jack Atlas x Yusei Fudo) Summary: Paradox has come to take his revenge against Yusei Fudo, but a former king will sacrifice himself for the love of the greater good. Too bad sacrificing doesn't mean death, but a perpetual prison of different worlds, different dimensions where Jack gets to witness what could have been.

For fics Not Rated...

Doin’ Time by Elexica Status: COMPLETE Childhood Friends AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: Joey is trying to get a contraband cell phone in Juvie Hall. Kaiba is a little more ambitious.

A huge round of applause for everyone who participated and who are still fighting the good fight of completing their fics! We hope to join again next year and provide a plethora of amazing YGO-related fics for you all to read! Congratulations everyone!!

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thebigladjake · 4 years

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AX3001: TV Show - Cognitivation: Main Characters and Roles in the Story

Alex, the PSI Prodigy

Alex is a young and adventurous boy in his small hometown, a self proclaimed protector, he roams the town with his trusty stick and keeps all evil do-er’s in order! He loves his home, his family and his friends. But, is suddenly forced to put on his big boy shorts and face the world outside of his hometown. The world is a big and scary place, Alex will be tested and his own emotions will come into question as he wonders. Why me? Why am I the ‘PSI Prodigy’.

Alex was the first character designed and is the heart of the whole series. His journey will be one full of self-discovery and self-doubt, I want to capture the pressure of expectations of children and how they can effect kids. The whole prodigy thing may be toned down, since I'm not the biggest fan of prophecy stories. I'm undecided, but right now, I think this will give him the added depth he needs and could be relatable to kids that may have the pressures of expectations, I know I certainly did.

Alex's name was originally Andy because he was actually inspired by a character called Alex, that Alex being from the Indie JRPG game known as YIIK (Y Two K, not Yiik). A game that suffers from several problems such as severe tonal shifts, terrible endings that make the entire game redundant and a character who is insufferable that doesn’t learn to change his ways and is rewarded at the end of the game. Alex is simply an awful character from an awful game and I was going to call my lead Andy, but that name wasn’t really vibing with me. So, I kept Alex since it was more gender neutral too, so boys and girls can reflect their own feelings onto him. It may still be subject to change, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Of course, as our lead character, I gave him a pinkish red and a gold colour combination. The red not being a strong red since red is a very strong colour and I didn’t think that level of passion would be embodied into Alex so soon. So, he’s simply a pinky red. The gold elements are there to reassure his good boy status, with the badges on his bag being a reference to the badges on Hambone’s hat from my first year film. Just a little Easter Egg that puts a smile on my face, like how Pixar or Disney may just throw something in there as a nod.

I chose the shorts as I’ve not drawn a lot of characters that wear shorts and a young kid that likes to run around would probably want the best clothing for the job. So, shorts it was. The cap too was to give him a unique silhouette compared to the rest as he’s the only one with the hat and very rarely will we see him without it. He also carries a gold coloured backpack that he keeps all of his helpful items inside.

Alex’s primary attacks are the most potent PSI abilities that Frank has ever seen and he teaches him how to activate them. Alex’s PSI abilities are both helpful for the team’s defence and offence. While physically, he wields a powerful stick that his Dad found and gave to him to use on his adventures.

For a main character, Alex gets the job done and I’m looking forward to where his character will go over the course of a season and over the course of this project.

Frank, the Frantic Freak

An aimless twenty something year old still living at his parent’s house, Frank is unemployed, never goes outside nor does many people know of his existence and since he doesn’t bother anyone, his parents just kind of let him exist. A member of the Orb.Net forum, he honed his PSI abilities purely from nonstop training with spoons. Bending them with his mind because he saw it in a movie once. Frank knows of the oncoming threat and for the first time in forever, leaves his room to embark on this epic quest with Alex. To save his world, a world he doesn’t even truly know.

Frank was always meant to be an outcast, original concepts were of him to be occupying a house where the kids would prank his house and get him to come out and shout at them. Until he finally catches Alex one day and recognises his psychic powers, taking him inside and telling him everything he knows about the oncoming invasion. Alex would then understand that, even though he’s a crackpot, he means well and is just misunderstood. While I loved this concept, I wanted to make Frank just a little stranger, so I went with the unemployed aimless twenty something who just practises psychic abilities in the comfort of his room.

Design-wise, Hector came first and then Frank was modelled after him. Since the brotherly resemblance was an important part of their design, it was important to nail what a younger brother of a family would look like first. And once I had the traits off of Hector, I used and tweaked a few things to make Frank older and also give him a few new design quirks. The main ‘quirk’ being his hairstyle as hair is always important to my character designs. I took Hector’s hair and instead of having the hair be styled up into a point, it was like an explosion. Symbolising his psychic powers being more volatile and dangerous with his hair all messy where his powers come from.

His facial expressions were important to show that he was a bit nutty, Ghiaccio from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure served as inspiration for that. Just the way his face angrily distorts just gives him a different feel compared to the regular characters.

His outfit was just simple loungewear because since he doesn’t care about who sees him, he’s not going to dress up too nicely and definitely not going to wear clothes that are restrictive and make him uncomfortable like jeans. Compared to the rest of the colourful cast and even his brother, Frank’s colours are incredibly limited and a way to counteract this a little was to give him mismatching socks. Just a little asymmetry to make him stand out more.

Frank’s weapon of choice is spoons, not really as an attack, but a way of calculating how powerful his PSI attack is going to be. He also bends them regularly and spent most of his savings on spoons so he can always stay on top of his psychic abilities.

Frank was a part of the original four, he’s an idea I’ve liked for a long time and is now a character that I will really enjoy working on and writing for.

Hector, the Apathetic Assistant.

Hector is just a kid that’s kind of done with it, just everything that’s going on in the world. What he thought would be a regular friendship, unfortunately turns into a big adventure and he’d just rather have the life of a kid. But, it’s too late for that now as Alex needs him by his side. Hector knows too much and if he’s only going to see his friend if he comes on this epic quest, then so be it. Hector doesn’t have many friends, but those he does have understand his extreme loyalty.

Hector was created as a contrast to his crazy brother, being much more relaxed and apathetic to this whole world ending thing. In the initial concepts, there were going to be four main characters much like Earthbound has, but I decided to increase it when I thought about Alex’s and Frank’s roles and how it might be a little strange if some stranger suddenly shows interest in this young boy. So, I figured a good catalyst would be a little brother to the crazy stranger! Alex has someone to be friend with and gets the plot started too.

I also thought it was quite amusing that it was the little kid that was the cynic and the big brother has much more enthusiasm about the world. Like the strangeness of his brother has no effect on him to the point where Hector is like, “Oh god here we go again.”

Hector and Frank have near identical colour schemes, their primary colours being green and greenish hues. It was all in contrast to Alex’s bright red, white and gold elements that make him look like an adventurous youth. Hector has dirty blonde hair and pale skin, sort of to hint at the fact that he and his brother are a little odd.

His hairstyle was created to be similar to Frank’s, but being styled and maintained because Hector does care about his appearance since he is the one who will be seen by others. It was made to contrast against Frank’s hair explosion, with Hector spiking up his hair to meet all at one point. I also like to think Frank also had hair like this at one point.

Hector and Frank also have weird shapes ears compared to what I usually do because some people do have weird shaped ears or other body parts and it will never be brought up in the show that they look weird. It’s purely visual to normalise these little oddities, that people shouldn’t judge someone for the most trivial things.

Hector’s weapon of choice is his backpack full of spoons, I chose this as I was drawing his pose and thinking about the relationship between him and Frank. Frank’s obsession with spoons to keep his PSI abilities in check requires a lot of spoons and I just had this sudden image of Hector with this great big bag full of spoons on his back. Hunched over a little as he looks annoyed like “I’ve got to carry this around all day...” And since it’s such a heavy bag, I imagined him using it as a weapon whenever in combat because Hector doesn’t have any powers and Frank only taught himself PSI. However, the less spoons he has, the weaker it becomes, effectively making Hector weaponless at certain points.

Hector is a great character in my opinion who I feel turned out really well as he was everything I wanted him to be. He filled a gap in the story nicely and I got a nice character out of it. An absolute win in my book.

Benjamin [Benji], the Anti-Social Armourer

A renowned child genius, famous in the orphanage for his Tools of Destruction. The other kids never interact with him if he doesn’t want you to, having a strange attachment to his box. Hiding under it when he feels threatened or if he just wants you to go away. His only friend is aware of his skills and is a member on the same forums as Frank... Which sets a mission to get him adopted into motion...

Benji was created as representation of shy kids and how hard it can really be to come out of your shell and make friends. Wanting to stay in somewhere that makes you feel safe and secure. Also, as a representation of kids that others may consider weird and outcasts, so we could get a closer look at him and show kids not to judge a book by it’s cover, maybe even give a kid they consider weird in their own life a chance of friendship.

Benji does have one major source of inspiration and may just have to go a few more designs before I’m truly happy with this design. Near from the manga, Death Note. Near was the replacement of the main sort of rival character, L, and is a child genius himself that displays some cases of social awkwardness. While Benji does have a lot of these similarities, the main aspect of Near that attracted me was that whenever he had a scene, he’d often have toys surrounding him and he’d play with them while deducing the whole mystery of the series. I feel one of the reasons that this aspect is my favourite thing about him is because I’m still quite fond of toys and sometimes fiddle about with them.

A specific scene (I can’t find a better screenshot I am sorry) where Near was surrounded by model train tracks with the trains going around him resonated with me, I saw him placed in a safe space where he’s protected by his toys and that imagery immediately gave me an idea of a boy that hides to be protected, but uses his toys to fight rather than help him think.

His weapon being model cars and toy trains with motors in them, creating ticking time bombs, I felt was a nice way of weaponizing Benji for the conflicts they will run into. Carrying a toolbox within his box, never getting to see his operations, only the results of when he converts a plane into a homing missile.

Benji needs a little more work, in my opinion, but so far, I am happy with this character.

Lottie Sweet, the Tough Nut.

The younger sister of Dentist Gloria Sweet, Lottie is a no-nonsense thirteen year old and always has a serious pouty face as she’s out and about. Using a Skipping Rope as a weapon, she has mastered the art and uses it to keep people away from her at a distance. While she remains unfriendly, deep down she has a good heart and a strong sense of justice.

Lottie came to be as a younger sister for Gloria Sweet, she was created to add a little bit of conflict between the main crew. With her not having very high opinions of any of them and then she has to work with them, causing her to try and take the lead. However, things don’t go as she planned with Gloria and Frank often getting her out of trouble.

Since Frank and Hector turned out so nicely, I thought to make the group an even six by giving Gloria a sister. While Frank and Hector were purposely designed to have very similar colour schemes to hint at the fact that they are brothers. The only shared colours between the sisters is the skin tone and hair colour. I chose the orange and purple for Lottie because I felt it was striking and that matched her personality, plus nobody else had those colours on them.

The Skipping Rope as a weapon came to me because I imagined a girl using her imagination to see one as a whip and just like that, it stuck. One of the charming things about Earthbound was that characters had specific weapons, Ness had baseball bats, Lucas had sticks, Jeff had guns and Paula had... A frying pan. Not stereotypical at all... With Lottie not being that kind of girl, I felt a more sporty weapon could work and the Skipping Rope was appropriate as both a sporty weapon and a girly weapon, depending on how you look at it.

I have also never designed a younger girl character, so this was a nice exercise to do. As well as just a nice design, I really enjoy drawing her pout and her wider eyes. Usually I go with the round eyes, so it’s nice to change up the eye shape. Her hair was definitely fun, as it’s usually my favourite part to design on a character, I remember the girls in my school tying their hair back whenever they did activities. Obviously, it’s so their hair doesn’t swish around in their face while they do things and I added the little hair strands on the front of her head to sort of hint to how intense her movements may have been. Since two strands have come loose.

I wanted to create a sporty girl and I feel like I did. Lottie was a successful design that I am really proud of.

Dentist Gloria Sweet, the Healer.

Gloria is a sweet and passionate dentist, that understands not everyone likes her line of work. So, she takes their feelings into consideration and tries to make everyone’s experience comfortable. Born with these PSI abilities, she was just able to do them rather than training to enhance them.

Gloria was one of the characters first characters I thought up back when I had created this series. Inspired by Earthbound, my initial group was made up of four people with three people being PSI users with Gloria filling the healer role that the Earthbound series typically has, the one character that learns the healing moves. Although, more characters have an array of offensive moves to go along with their healing abilities, Gloria was created much more as a support ally rather than an offensive fighter.

Gloria’s PSI abilities had to play a role in her field of work and the first job that jumped to mind was a doctor. A doctor that healed their patients using their PSI abilities, that then evolved into a dentist as a lot of people don’t like the dentist and are scared of going to them. Luckily, the mad dentist I had was long gone at the time and my dentist helped to inspire this idea, since she’s nice and it’s always an easy time for me (Though that’s probably because I care about my dental hygiene.)

Since people viewed it as an unpleasant experience, I thought it’d be nice if she was a really sweet character that makes her business by ensuring her customers shall be fine if they have anything done to their teeth. This also played into her design, I didn’t want to give her blue eyes like Lottie and I didn’t think brown eyes looked all that great. Then, I tried red.

Again, it was a play on the whole scary dentist cliché. People find her incredibly unsettling as she’s staring at their teeth with those red eyes, but are quite comfortable with her personality and painless operations. I really liked how this turned out and I just love how it contrasts with how she is as a person. Very happy with how Gloria turned out from an initial concept.

#AX3001-TVShowProject

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tediousoscars · 5 years

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2019

Predict-o-meter: This year: 9/11; Total: 108/134 (83%)

Welcome, welcome one and all to this year’s diatribe concerning all things Oscar.

With one glaring exception (see if you can spot it) this year’s class is solid with some soaring achievements at the top and a lot of really solid work through the middle.

So without further ado, let’s get to it ...

- THE CONTENDERS -

1917. In most war movies the MacGuffin is winning: a skirmish, a battle, a campaign, or, ultimately the war. In “1917” the goal is to call off an attack; to avoid a battle. Most war movies focus on the big picture: strategy, troop movements, etc. “1917” focuses on a single soldier embarking on a single mission for a single day. “1917” is not most war movies. The Germans have executed a strategic retreat and established a new defensive position. A zealous British commander is in hot pursuit, but Command has learned - through the new-fangled technology of aerial photography - that he is charging into a trap. No telegraph lines have yet been laid to the forward position, and radio is not quite a thing yet, so the only way to warn the commander is to send soldiers across no-man’s land, across the previous German line, across the French countryside to deliver the message in person. What follows is a quixotic quest full of constant fear and tension across a landscape made bizarre by the ravages and awful logic of war. It is a saga of commonplace heroism, of a man randomly plucked from obscurity, given an awesome, nigh-impossible task, and rising to the occasion for no other reason than it is his job. The film is expertly paced and while moments of sheer panic are rare, moments of relaxation are nonexistent. Though the time-honored message - war is hell - is definitely there, it is not driven home in the typical, ham-fisted way, and the final scene in which our hero collapses against a tree and gazes out at an idyllic sunlit pasture feels more triumphant than any victory brought about by explosions and bullets.

Jojo Rabbit. I often like to go into these films with no knowledge in order to avoid preconceptions, an approach that was a little jarring in this case, at least at first. In “Jojo Rabbit” director Taika Waititi creates a vivid, slightly out-in-leftfield world that will be familiar to fans of Wes Anderson (particularly “Moonrise Kingdom”). However, Anderson’s Boy Scouts have been replaced (as the vaguely authoritarian and hierarchical children’s organization central to the film) by the Nazi’s Hitler Youth. The opening scenes in which an excited 10yo Johannes "Jojo" Betzler bounces around his room in full Nazi regalia chattering away with his imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler (“C’mon, now ... Heil me!”), as he prepares for Nazi training camp are downright off-putting at a visceral level. For a second I thought I’d stumbled into an unironic production of “Springtime for Hitler.” But soon enough you realize that you are seeing the world through Jojo’s young eyes, and that he is a sensitive, insecure boy who is desperate for acceptance. Jojo uncritically accepts the worst Nazi propaganda about the Jews to the point that when he actually meets a Jewish girl he asks where her horns are (“They don’t grow in until you are 21,” she coyly replies). What follows is a complex tale of human drama told from a persistently childish (in the best sense of that word) perspective. The fact that it doesn’t just fly apart into an incoherent mess is a testament to Waititi’s skill as a director (WHY was he not nominated?) and a story that starts out uncomfortably off-putting ends up being thought-provoking and heartwarming. This film defies all expectation and should not be missed.

Little Women. A fresh take on a much-beloved classic, “Little Women” follows a family of 4 sisters through late childhood and early adulthood as they struggle with questions of marriage and career through the lens of an 18th-century culture that has quite definite opinions on these matters. The sisters are well cast and have good chemistry. Two of them - Saoirse Ronan as Jo and Florence Pugh as Amy - were nominated for their trouble. Throw in Laura Dern as Marmee and Meryl Streep as the irrepressible Aunt March and you’ve got a powerhouse cast that drives the film forward and keeps things lively. The storytelling is deft throughout, but for my money the best part is at the end when Jo suddenly and inexplicably agrees to marry a minor character from early in the film that she didn’t even seem to like. It all feels very out of character and more than a little deus ex machina, until the coda showing Jo haggling with her publisher over the publication of her book. When he insists that the main female character must be married (or dead, either is fine) by the end of the book, she reluctantly agrees but asks for more money in return. “If I’m going to sell my heroine into marriage for money, I might as well get some of it,” she declares, adding a nice meta twist that makes Jo’s sudden nuptials not only understandable but downright delectable.

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood. Director Quentin Tarantino (nominated) returns to a vein he previously mined in 2009’s “Inglorious Basterds”: The alternate-history black comedy. This time out, however, the group upon which he unleashes ahistorical vengeance is not the Nazis, but the Manson Family. Set in 1969 Hollywood in a reality not too far from our own, “Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood” follows Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio in a nominated role) as an aging TV cowboy who flies to Italy to make Spaghetti Westerns in an attempt to salvage his career. His constant companion, stunt double, and manservant is Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt, also nominated), a man of immense talent, but no ambition, who is content to carry Rick’s water as long as it doesn’t interfere with his generally zen lifestyle. What follows is a fascinating character study of the two men as they navigate the politics of Hollywood. Rick, in particular, pursues relevance with the panicked desperation that only middle-aged white men can achieve. But the show is consistently stolen by Pitt’s portrayal of Cliff as some combination of ronin samurai and burnt-out hippy. In every situation Cliff knows exactly what to do and how to do it at the same time that his motivation seems to be little more than, “Well, why not?” It’s breathtaking to watch. The Manson Family, for their part, play a minor, oblique role through most of the film, only to fall victim to Tarantino’s signature cartoonish uber-violence in the film’s climax. Never before has someone being set on fire been this laugh-out-loud funny. “Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood” is like a rollercoaster: don’t over-analyze it, just enjoy the ride. And it is a very enjoyable ride.

Parasite. This is another film I walked into with no foreknowledge and ended up being very pleasantly surprised. “Parasite” is a film from Korea that at its core is about income inequality, but the lens that it uses to examine this phenomenon is unique. “Parasite” follows the Kims, a downtrodden, working-class family of four barely scraping by in the slums of Seoul. Son Ki-Woo is very smart, but can’t afford to attend college like his friend Min-Hyuk, so when Min-Hyuk has a chance to study abroad he asks Ki-Woo to pose as a college student and take over his position tutoring the daughter of the rich Park family. Ki-Woo does so, and through a series of increasingly hilarious hijinks the entire Kim family becomes employed by the Parks in different capacities. The contrast between the capable, sensible, but poor Kims and the clueless but rich Parks is played to maximal comic effect, and you think this is an enjoyable romp and you pretty much know where it’s going. When all of a sudden, in the middle of the second act, the entire film takes a jarring left turn and sends you careening into bizarre, unexplored territory. I won’t spoil it for you, but director Bong Joon Ho richly deserves his nomination for crafting such a compelling story that completely defies expectations.

- THE PRETENDERS -

Ford v Ferrari. This is the true story of how legendary driver and car designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) teamed up with the Ford Motor Company to take on Enzo Ferrari and win Le Mans. Central to the effort is the cantankerous Ken Miles (played with verve and gusto by Christian Bale), a British driver and engineer who is obsessed with racing to the exclusion of almost everything else, especially social niceties. When an ambitious, young Lee Iacocca proposes that Ford buy the ailing Ferrari, only to be humiliated by Enzo himself, Henry Ford II (aka “The Deuce”) declares war on Ferrari’s beloved racing team and their dominance at Le Mans. Shelby is recruited as one of a very few Americans to have ever won that race, and he insists on bringing along Miles as one of the few people who share his burning, all-consuming passion for racing. But Ken’s brash, irreverent style conflicts with Ford’s corporate image, and there ensues a protracted battle between Shelby and “the suits.” This is all handled deftly. The interpersonal struggles are well-motivated and feel real, the racing scenes are exciting, and the ultimate, somewhat mixed climax feels very satisfying. Definitely a very good movie, just not a great one.

The Irishman. Pacino. De Niro. Pesci. Keitel. Scorsese. Must be a gangster movie. This time around Scorsese takes on True Crime by studying the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of one-time Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa (played by Al Pacino in a nominated role that is more than a little ironic given Hoffa’s frequent anti-Italian tirades). The titular Irishman is Frank Sheeran (De Niro); a Teamsters driver, turned scam artist, turned Mob enforcer, turned Hoffa confidant and Union Local President. All of the clichéd gangster tropes are here: the steak dinners, the smoke-filled rooms, the bizarre, posturing pseudo-conversations where nothing is actually said, but everybody “gets the message,” the sudden, brutal violence. All of it. And it is all executed expertly, being second nature to this team by this point. But for my money the film really revolves around Sheeran’s daughter, Peggy (played by Lucy Gallina as a child and Anna Paquin as an adult). Even as a child Peggy sees through the bluff and bluster of Mafia “honor” to its brutal core of senseless violence, and she holds her father in distain for it. This particularly rankles Sheeran’s Don and protector Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci, also nominated), whose lifelong efforts to curry favor with Peggy come to naught. And when Peggy takes a shine to Jimmy Hoffa, seeing him as an honorable man helping people live better lives, Russell’s knickers are well and truly twisted. After Hoffa’s disappearance (the film makes no mystery of it, but I won’t spoil it) Peggy and Frank become fully estranged. Towards the end of his life Frank feels compelled to make a furtive attempt at reconciliation, but offers no remorse nor even any understanding of why Peggy stopped talking to him in the first place. The film ends with Sheeran alone and forgotten in a nursing home, being interviewed by some FBI agents still desperately trying to close the Hoffa case. They point out to him that all of his compatriots are dead, running through a roll call of the characters we have been watching for the past two hours. “Who are you protecting?” they ask. Sheeran has no answer, but offers no assistance, for in the end his loyalty was all he ever had.

Joker. Not since 2012’s “Les Misérables” has a movie been as monotonously bleak as “Joker.” Purportedly the origin story of Batman’s nemesis, “Joker” is a Chinese water torture of debasement and degradation. There’s no real theme or plot; just drip drip drip of indignities piled one upon the other. For hours. The titular Joker doesn’t even emerge from the tortured psyche of Arthur Fleck (played by Joaquin Phoenix in a nominated role) until the film’s waning moments, and even then he is literally just a crazy clown with a gun; hardly a suitable foil for the Batman. Phoenix gamely portrays an abused, antisocial misfit, but the skill with which he applies his craft is not put to any greater purpose. There’s no redemption here, or even a moral, just misery piled upon a man who has always been miserable and always will be. Each year there are at least one or two nominations that I cannot understand. With “Joker,” not only do I fail to understand the nomination, I can’t even understand why it was MADE.

Marriage Story. Meet the Barbers, Charlie and Nicole. They are beautiful (looking exactly like Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson - both nominated) and accomplished: he a playwright and director in New York’s theater community, she a star of stage and screen and Charlie’s favorite leading lady. When Nicole is offered a TV pilot shooting in Hollywood she decides to take son Henry with her, but removed from Charlie’s directorial dictates and suffocating ambition she decides to never go back. What follows is a bi-coastal divorce proceeding and custody battle that pits two people against each other who actually like and admire ~90% of the other, but just can’t reconcile the other 10%. The Barbers have different goals and agendas, but no real animus towards each other. However, the only system available to them for moving forward is one designed along ruthless, winner-take-all grounds. This leads to much conflict and soul-searching. Eventually, through introspection and growth, they manage to achieve something approaching a conscious uncoupling without scarring Henry too much in the process.

So which SHOULD win?

There were a lot of very good, enjoyable films in the class, but only 3 that really made you think about film as an art form and its capabilities: “1917,” “Jojo Rabbit,” and “Parasite.” Of these three Jojo Rabbit was both the most thought-provoking and the most straight-up enjoyable. My pick for the best movie of 2019 is: Jojo Rabbit.

But which WILL win?

“1917” appears to be the favorite, with “Parasite” a potential dark horse. I’m going with “1917,” and I can’t quibble too much; it’s a really good film.

And in the other categories ...

Best Actress: Renee Zellweger looks like a lock for her role in “Judy.”

Best Supporting Actress: Laura Dern should win here, not for being the mother of the Little Women, but for being the glamorous, “take no prisoners” Hollywood divorce lawyer in “Marriage Story.”

Best Actor: Joaquin Phoenix should follow in Heath Ledger’s footsteps by winning an Oscar portraying the Joker. While I am loathe to see this depressing trainwreck of a film garner any accolades, I must grudgingly admit that Phoenix gives a powerful performance. Still not worth seeing the film, however.

Best Supporting Actor: Brad Pitt should run away with this category. His performance definitely IS worth seeing “Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood.”

Best Director: Again this is a race between Sam Mendes for “1917” and Bong Joon Ho for “Parasite.” And again “1917” is the clear favorite and “Parasite” is the dark horse. The Academy has taken to splitting Best Picture and Best Director of late, but I’m going to play it safe and choose Mendes.

Best International Feature Film: “Parasite” should earn its richly-deserved Oscar here. As well as ...

Best Original Screenplay: Look for “Parasite” here. It is definitely very original.

Best Adapted Screenplay: Jojo Rabbit. I would have loved to see Waititi nominated - and even win - for directing, but he will have to settle for winning for his writing. Something tells me he’ll be fine.

Best Cinematography: 1917

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Bombshell

That’s it for this year. Until next year, save me an aisle seat

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kingteeshops · 5 years

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tshirtfashiontrend · 5 years

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smuttyaf · 8 years

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Mr. Hemmings

To be honest, you don’t know where this new found confidence is coming from since you’re normally a red face blubbering mess in front of him. Maybe it was the wink he sent you this morning or his eyes constantly roaming down your body, whatever it was made your confidence boost and let your wild side escape.

Words: 5.5K

Request: No

Rating: R [A HIGH AMOUNT OF DOMINANCE AND TALKING DIRTY]

The sound of your bedroom door creaking open and the shutters of your blinds getting pulled up had your eyes beginning to peal open, the sunlight shinning through the curtains had a hiss falling from your lips as you turn your body over to look at whomever decided to disturb you so early in the morning.

“Y/N what time did you go to bed last night?” Your mom questions as you hear her wining your window open. The sound of birds chirping and lawn mowers shaving long strands of grass begin to flutter into your ears.

“I don’t know, two maybe four in the morning?” You respond while groaning and throwing your head into your pillowcase, the softness of the pillow comforting you as you let a please sigh slip from your lips.

“Really Y/N! Why were you up so late?” Your mom ask with such frustration in her voice that your actually scared to look at her, but you’re actually relieved when she sits down at the foot of your bed and begins to rub your calf in her thigh.

“I was binge watching The Vampire Diaries sue me.” You say, voice muffled because of the pillow but your mom lets a tired sigh fall from her lips before pinching your calf gently.

“You shouldn’t be doing that. It’s bad for your body.” Your mom says, only leaving you to blink your eyes open and roll them.

“Ugh.” You groan before turning around in her grasp and looking up at her, the sunlight somewhat blinding your eyes.

“It’s the truth Y/N, anyways freshen up. Breakfast is downstairs and I need to talk to you also.” Your mom states while rising up and off the bed, her warm skin leaving your body, causing you to pout.

“What do we need to talk about?” You ask while raising up, your left hand coming up to cover your eyes from the beaming sun as you watch your mom begin to walk out of your door. “Come downstairs and you’ll find out.” Is the only thing she says, causing another groan to fall from your lips before you hear the door slam shut, making you stand and walk out your bedroom and straight to the washroom.

You quickly brush your teeth and wash your face before you hop in the shower, the feeling of the warm water hitting your cool body had a please sigh slipping through your lips as you quickly washed up and hopped out.

You made your way into your room and quickly put on your under garments before lotioning your body up, the scent of coconut in the air as you walked over to your window with your towel wrapped around your body just in time to see your beautiful neighbor.

Just a few yards away from you, you saw Mr. Hemmings just getting out of the shower also, his body glistening with water as a white towel was loosely wrapped around his hips. His once blond hair now resting dark amongst his forehead, he brings his hand up and brushes it out of his face, making his body look so lean and slender.

A satisfied moan slipped from your lips as you watch Mr. Hemmings continue to paste around his room, continuously looking around for something that he lost. You watch as his body begins to walk towards the window that reflects yours, his arms reaching out and pulling open a drawer that is conjoined to his desk, his arm moving around like he is searching for the item before pausing and looking up towards you.

A squeal immediately slips from your mouth as you watch Mr. Hemmings lips tug into a smirk before dropping into a wink, your fingers quickly tugging back from the shutters and stepping away from them, your body turning around and walking to your closet to get decent clothes so you could go downstairs presentable.

It was a lie if you ever told yourself that you didn’t find Mr. Hemmings so remarkably hot; he has such an amazing body, he was smart due to him being a accountant, great with his daughter, and he has such a playful personality.

You remember the first time when he introduced himself to you, his charming smile set along his beautiful face as his strawberry blond hair was falling over his forehead in loose ringlets as a heavy brown box was shifting around in his hand when he met you, his daughter, Jocelyn, was running around and blowing bubbles on the lawn.

You knew from there you were going to be ruined even though he barley talked to you. Just a simple, ‘Hello my name is Mr. Hemmings and I’ll be your next door neighbor, and that little girl right over there is my daughter, Jocelyn,’ left with butterflies in your stomach.

“So what’s up?” You say while rising one of your freshly plucked eyebrows up on your forehead as your mother places a warm plate‒bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast‒out in front of you with a fork before walking towards the fridge.

“So you know Mr. Hemmings?” Your mom says while tugging open the fridge and pulling out a cartoon of orange juice. You nod, making her carry on. “He needs you to babysit Jocelyn… He has to go to an important business meeting.” She says while taking a tall glass out of the cabinet and pouring you a glass before setting it in front of you.

“Really!” You say while raising your eyebrows, a hint of excitement in your voice knowing that Mr. Hemmings asked about you and that you also get to babysit Jocelyn for the night.

“Yup, I told him you would do it, I know how much you love Jocelyn.” Your mom says while turning back around and placing the orange juice back into the fridge before walking towards you and leaning against the counter of the island that you’re eating at.

“I do love Jocelyn.” You state while taking a bite of your eggs.

And you really did love Jocelyn, you and her always hanged out together right after school because Mr. Hemmings couldn’t pick her up so early because of work, but that didn’t bother you because Jocelyn was very easy-going and nice, her personality very mature at such a young age but also energetic. You were actually surprise how quickly she understood you when you said that you needed to finish your homework first before playing with her, remembering a bunch of times were the kids that you use to babysit after school would just constantly annoy the living hell out of you just so you could stop doing your homework, but Jocelyn understood. It surprised you on how long it took Mr. Hemmings to actually allow you to babysit her at night.

“And she loves you back. So now hurry up and finish your breakfast, I want you to clean up your room while I’ll be looking for some flowers for the front, it needs to look pretty.” Your mom says while fluttering her eye lashes, a snort immediately trailing from your throat as you roll your eyes.

“Hey now, leave me alone and finish up.” Your mom says before grabbing her purse from right next to you and pressing a kiss to your head, a sigh of comfort slipping from your nose. “Love you.” Your mom calls from down the hallway as you hear the usual sound of her heels clicking together on the tile floor before the alarm system sounding off when she opens the door.

“Love you too!” You shout before you hear the door shut, you just sit in your chair and slurp on your orange juice.

With your charger and headphones in your hand, you walked up the concrete drive of the Hemmings home. Your legs bringing you swiftly to the army green door with decorative designs in the window that you’ve grown accustomed to, you bring your index finger to the familiar yellow door bell and press on it.

“Y/N! Thanks again for doing this for me, it’s greatly appreciated!” Mr. Hemmings says once he opens the door, not even saying hello first, which causes you to feel your cheeks begin to heat up.

“Yeah no problem Mr. Hemmings, you know it isn’t a bother,” You say while smiling, your fingers beginning to slip into the loops of your head phones before you hear a squeal of excitement being heard from down the hall, your smile expanding.

“Fruit Loop!” You hear Jocelyn scream before she is pushing between Mr. Hemmings legs and running into yours. Her small arms wrapping around your legs as you laugh before bending down and hugging her.

“JoJo! How has it been you bugger?” You say while gently tickling her sides, a giggle falling from her lips before she reaches over and wraps her arms around your neck, a hum of surprise falling from your lips before you wrap your arms around her again.

“It’s been too long Y/N! Can we watch a movie and eat popcorn!” Jocelyn exclaims, pulling her face away from your neck and smiling at you with her eyes filled with excitement.

“Why not, go pick out the movie and I’ll be there in a bit.” You say as you watch Jocelyn nod her head in agreement before scurrying away to find a movie. Your legs rising up as you look back at Mr. Hemmings who has a smile on his face as his eyes look at you with so much happiness.

“You’re so great with her.” He says while smiling his charming smile, causing you to feel heat rise back onto your cheeks.

“Thanks, it just comes naturally.” You say while laughing lightly, Mr. Hemmings joins in. His eyes trailing over your features slowly which causes you to quiet down and look around the porch that you’ve grown familiar to.

“Oh um, sorry, dozing off a bit. But make sure to feed Jocelyn there is a twenty on the kitchen counter so you can order pizza, buy yourself a pop because you deserve it, and make sure you put her to bed by nine the latest.” Mr. Hemmings says, making you nod at each word he is saying as you watch him reach into his back pocket and pull out his wallet.

“And here’s for…. basically everything really.” He says, placing two hundred dollar bills in your palm, causing your jaw to drop before you look up at him.

“I-It shouldn’t cost this much.” You stutter while taking a step towards him, wanting to give back the money.

“You’ve watch my daughter since September Y/N, it’s the least I can do.” Mr. Hemmings says while smiling down at you, causing everything in you not to surge forward and lock your lips with his, but you quickly shy back and look down at the ground.

“Listen Y/N I‒” But Mr. Hemmings words soon get cut off with the familiar sound of his phone ringing, your head popping up when you hear a annoyed sigh fall from his lips before you watch him answer the phone.

“I’m coming now. Yeah I’m just running behind, talking with the babysitter.” He says while stepping out of the house and down the porch, the sound of his keys clicking around in his pocket as he stuffs his hand in there to grab them.

“Jesus Christ I’ll be there soon.” Mr. Hemmings voice booms into the phone, the sound of anger and frustration obvious in his tone as he unlocks his car and opens the door. Thank god you hear Jocelyn’s feet pad against the wooden flooring and meet you at the door with the DVD Inside Out glued to her chest.

“Great movie to pick, never watched this before.” You say while smiling down at her, trying to push her back into the door way so she doesn’t see her dad all angry and flustered but that doesn’t even help.

“Bye daddy! I love you!” Jocelyn screams while waving her hand at her dad as he gets into his car, his hand coming out of the rolled down window and waving back at her.

“Love you too baby, have fun.” He calls back with his phone still pressed to his ear as he begins to pull out of the drive way.

“Would you rather have pizza or popcorn?” You say when turning away from the sun at the stop sign all the way down the street and looking down at Jocelyn as her dirty blond head of hair looks back up at you with her ocean blue coloured eyes.

“Why not both,” She says smiling before turning around and running back into the leaving room, causing a smile to spread on your lips once again as you step into the house and chuck off your shoes.

“Yeah, why not both.”

It was twelve o’clock and Jocelyn was upstairs bathed clean and now tucked into her bed. You couldn’t just leave a four year old to stay in an empty house so you stayed downstairs and decided to catch up on Stranger Things, which you weren’t really paying attention to, instead you were scrolling through Instagram and messaging your friends.

The sound of the front door opening had you leaning your back off of the couch and clicking your phone off, you heard a muffle groan before you caught sight of black jeans stepping into the living room.

Mr. Hemmings stood in the doorway, your eyes ran over the expense of what he was wearing which was a deep red dress shirt with a pair of black skinny jeans. You watch a smile tug on the ends of his lips as he steps deeper into the living room before plopping down on the seat next to you, the scent of his cologne clouding your senses.

“So how was your night?” Luke says, hands spreading along the back of the couch as his eyes flicker between the TV show and you. A smile spreads on your lips as you just give Mr. Hemmings a once over before speaking.

“It was fun, Jocelyn and I watched a movie, painted our nails, and then she took a bath and headed to bed.” You inform him, the smile on your lips getting wider as you remember painting Jocelyn’s nails a pretty lilac colour.

“Cute, I’m glad you two had fun, better night then what I had…” Mr. Hemmings said while taking his left hand off of the couch and brushing it though his unstyled hair, a sigh falling from his lips as his eyes tear away to look amongst the table in front of him.

“Oh yeah, it must be incredibly boring being in meetings, especially so late at night,” You say while laughing, Mr. Hemmings laughs also while turning his head towards you. His eyes, once again, taking in your physique as you stare back at him. Instead, this time you don’t dare to shy away from his alluring stare, you just look back at him with your eyebrows raised.

“Is there something on me Mr. Hemmings?” You question very teasingly, your eyes gazing down towards your tank top and shorts, eyes roaming amongst your front to find if you had crumbs anywhere on you.

“Hey, call me Luke, and no nothing, just… admiring.” Luke says, his lips tugging into a smirk as you flick your eyes towards him. You shake your head a bit before standing and stretching out your limbs while a small moan escapes your lips.

“I should be heading home now, you’re here… Luke,” You say, causing Luke to laugh before shaking his head. His hand trailing out of his hair and resting at his chin as he stares at you.

“No stay and finish your show, it would be a shame to have to watch it again,” Luke insists, and Luke isn’t wrong, you nod your head slightly before plopping down on the couch.

“So what did you do in your meeting?” You ask, eyes still focus on the show in front of you.

“Oh it wasn’t a business meeting…” Luke sighs, which makes you turn your gaze away from the show.

“What was it then?” You mutter, only making Luke sigh again while running his hand through his hair again.

“I had to meet up with Jocelyn’s mom to talk about having shared custody with her, which I don’t want her having since she’s an unfit mother, hell she doesn’t even have a proper place to live and she wants to take care of Jocelyn over the weekend.” Luke ranted, eyes rolling before they close for moment.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be talking to you about this,” Luke says, that only makes you shake your head while leaning towards Luke and place your hand on his shoulder while rubbing him gently.

“It’s fine Luke, I can tell that you haven’t been able to get your frustration out of you from how angry you speak, continue if you want to, I’m listening.” You state, that makes Luke send you a small smile before continuing to speak about Jocelyn’s mother.

He begins to explain to you about how Jocelyn’s mother did not even want her in the first place, stating how he had to convince her for the longest time. Then he tells you about her neglecting the exact replica of him, saying she would barley feed her, leave her crying in her crib until he got home from work, and physically abuse her for no reason.

He informs you about how his ex girlfriend now decides to pop up and demand some custody over her which is why he is so worked up. He had to take her daughter away from an unfit mother who now demands to see her again when she didn’t even want the spawn of her and boyfriend ever.

Anyone in Luke’s position should be angry, hell, even yourself was angry. Luke and Jocelyn should not be going through with this type of crap in their life since they are so happy just being close together as a small family.

You were next to Luke in an instant, hand rubbing his shoulder while the other on his thigh. His head was placed in the crook of your neck as his left hand continued to rake through his hair, he had his bottom lip tucked in between his teeth while his foot bounced around on the floor underneath the both of you.

“Ugh, that felt so good to get out… it’s just been building up inside of me for so long,” He sighs. “So much built up emotion, you know.”

“Who wouldn’t? But it’s good that you got it out, now you can maybe relax a little bit…” You remark, voice cheery and caring as you continue to rub soothing circles on his muscular thighs.

“Yeah, that did help me relax a little bit. Maybe I could go to the gym or have a pamper night,” Luke chuckles, making you laugh also.

Your eyes run over the exhausted figure nestled in your body, his hair messy along his forehead, lips red and bitten into, three buttons of his burgundy button up undone, and a tired looking crease in the middle of his eyebrows.

“A pamper night does seem nice,” You joked while inching the hand that is on Luke’s thigh closer and closer to his crotch, “But you know what else is very nice and relaxing?” You question, only making Luke turn his head towards you, his navy blue eyes filled with curiosity until you brush your hand against Luke’s cock.

“A good fuck,” You smirked, the palm of your hand digging into his crotch as you looked at him with devious eyes.

A groan slipped out of Luke’s lips as he bucked his hips up into your hand, his teeth biting down into his lips as looked at you with surprise but also attraction.

“You wouldn’t mind it at all right?” You inquire, your eyebrow rising as you shuffle around to get on your knees, your eyes still staring at Luke daringly and hand still palming his clothed and now semi-hard cock.

Luke shakes his head while tilting it back, a look of pleasure spreading on his facial features as he feels your finger tips run over his belt buckle. The smug smirk is still tugging at the ends of your lips as you lean into his neck that releases the odor of his sexy smelling cologne. You let your tongue slip out of your mouth and lick the expense of his neck before letting the tip of your tongue flick the lobe of his ear to then soon dangle before you tug away and begin to press kisses and let your tongue slide up his sweet smelling skin.

“Good because you need to relax…” You whisper, your hot breath skimming down his wet neck.

Your hand that was rubbing against Luke’s shoulder slides down his chest and to his pants, joining your other hand. Now with both limbs aside you begin to unbuckle his belt, fingers letting the leather strap slide through the heavy metal before your dainty hands unbutton his pants and slide down the zipper, your hands slipping into Luke’s boxer to tug his cock out of his trousers.

Pulling away from Luke’s neck you shuffle back a bit and lean your head towards his member. You let your tongue slip out of your mouth first to run along the slit in his cock, a pleasurable sigh escapes his swollen bitten lips as you continue to kitten lick the deep but small slit in his cock.

But you don’t waste any time, soon enough you’re letting your tongue circle around the crown on his shaft, the perimeter of his head causing you to feel an ache in your tongue since how thick and wide it is. So when you feel the slight stretch of your tongue become to overbearing you flick your tongue against the slit once more before wrapping your lips around his head, your lips sucking him into your mouth as a moan of surprise slips through your lips when you taste a bit of pre-cum drip onto your tongue.

You suppress the need to tease and wait any longer, you let Luke’s thick hard member glide down your throat with ease as you take your free hand and place it at the base of his cock, your lips sucking Luke deeper and deeper into your mouth as your tongue lies on the underside of your mouth and feels every vein protruding and beating with pleasure.

It surprises you when you feel a huge hand skim down your back and dip into your shorts, a moan of satisfaction escapes your throat and vibrates against Luke’s cock when you feel one of his fingers glide against your lips, the feeling so soft and gentle that it has you begin to grow wet between your legs.

That doesn’t stop you from continuing to swallow Luke down your throat though, the taste of his come and himself alone has you only growing wet more and sinking your lips deeper on his cock. Your hand that was continuously tugging at the base of Luke’s cock slips away from the skin due to your mouth covering the space and slides to his twin globes that you rub in the palm of your hand.

As Luke continued to run his finger up and down your now soaking wet slit the sounds that he made only made your heart pound in your chest. You’ve wanted to hear Mr. Hemmings moans, groans, and whimpers since you saw him shirtless the day after him moving in. It has been buried deep in your mine for so long and now that you finally get the chance to hear it along with yourself doing so, you were on cloud nine right now.

For a moment you let your lips pop off of his thick shaft, his member glistening in your salvia, your tongue slips out of your mouth and drags against the red angry protruding vein nestled in the underside of his cock.

Your spit dribbles down your hand and slides onto his two spheres, but you don’t care, you continue to lick all around Luke’s member and slurp his salvia soaked coat self into your mouth, your tongue absolutely loving the taste of him wet and dripping on your tongue.

Your tongue slips back into your mouth now as you lean deeper and suck Luke’s twin globes into your mouth, your tongue welcoming the neglected bits until your wet muscle is circling around the globe and sucking on it with your lips, even this part of him so much sweeter and saltier than ever.

And just as soon as your lips wrapped around the other sphere your mouth tugs away from it and a whimper climbs out of your mouth, Luke slid his finger into your now soaked core, his finger repeatedly thrusting into you as you rock against it. With your mouth distracted by Luke, you let your hand continue to tug him off while your other hand cradles and rubs his globes in your hand.

“Fuck that feels so good Mr. Hemmings,” You moan, the name spilling out of your mouth without thought as you swivel your hips against the length of his finger while your eyes are glued shut.

“You like that don’t you? You feel so tight also,” Luke husks, his free hand pushing your falling hair to the side as he watches your facial expression change with every thrust of his finger that continues to sink deeper and deeper into your heat.

“Holy shit!” You exclaim when you feel Luke curl his finger in you.

You’re completely caught off guard with the fact that Luke is making you feel so good with just one finger, normally it would at least take two fingers to have your toes curling the way they do now. You don’t know if it’s the angle that you’re sitting in or how long Luke’s finger, either one of it has your ears ringing and mind going numb.

“Sir, can you please fuck me,” You moan, your grip around Luke tightening.

“Shit did you just call me sir?” Luke mutters, voice so low and throaty that it has your thighs coming together with the rippling desire.

“Please fuck me, please,” You cry, eyes peeling open and staring into Luke’s, who lets a groan tear through his lips as he slips his finger out and places it in front of your lips, you don’t waste any time when sucking the glistening finger into your mouth, your juices spilling on your tongue that has you moaning and begging Luke for his cock with your eyes.

“You want my cock baby,” Luke whispers, face coming near you. His pupils blown wide as his lips are glistening wet as he tugs his fingers out of your mouth.

“Yes I want your cock, I can I have your cock, please, pretty please” You beg, eyes filling with desperation as you lick your lips.

“Strip for me baby since you want me so bad,” Luke says, and without a second thought you pull your tank top over your head, chucking your bra aside, next your shorts and panties sliding down your legs and hitting the floor. Your eyes peer up at Luke when you’re completely bare.

“Fuck you have such an amazing body,” He says, large hand tearing away from his side and sliding down your hip, a moan slipping from your lips while you nod your head filled with complete submission.

It catches you off guard when Luke’s demeanor changes due to when he shoves your body back against the couch, your head hitting against the couch cushion as he tugs you down a bit by your legs.

You watch as Luke unbuttons the rest of his button down before grasping himself in his hand and running it over your dripping heat. The head of his cock continuing to rub against your pleasurable bud, making your head lean back and dig into the pillow.

“You like that?” Luke grunted, eyes never tearing away from your body to look at your pleasure filled face.

You didn’t even have a chance to answer Luke because right after his question he’s thrusting into you, slow and deep that your eyes roll back and your hands grip the couch cushions beneath you.

The feel of Luke spreading you wide while sinking into you so deep that it has your toes curling and your back bending into the air. A heavenly moan trails out of your mouth as you just feel him glide into you so easily without any effort, your walls were expanding so gracefully with just the right amount of pain that it caused your mind to blacken for a second.

“Fuck you’re so tight,” Luke grunts, his head tossing back as his hand that was placed on your hip slides up and grips your breast roughly in his hand.

It never seems to stop either, the feeling of him stretching you out in the most blissful way possible. With just the right amount of pain and the fantastic feeling of having Luke’s thick member dive into you deliciously has you grinning from ear to ear.

Your eyes blink open and you let a heavy sigh slip through your lips, your eyes looking up at the most beautiful sight before you.

Luke towering over you with his maroon button up open and revealing his toned stomach, his pants peeled down his thighs as his thick member dives into you so slowly but beautifully. His facial features overcome by a pleasurable look; pupils blown wide, thin eyebrows come together to make a crease in his forehead, bitten lips hanging open, as a scarlet red is swiped over his cheeks while his jaw is hanging open.

“You’re so deep in me,” You whimper, legs wrapping around his waist causing him to push forward and sink even deeper and deeper into you that it causes his hips to finally meet yours.

The both of you groaning in unison; yourself at the fact that Luke is hitting your g-spot directly, while Luke groans at how tight you are wrapped around him. Luke pulls his hip back until only the head of his cock is breach only in you until he is thrusting back, rough and hard.

And it continues like that, his hard thrusts meeting your hips each time as he rocks into your core at a fantastic paste. With each movement it has a wet hot obscene squelch emitting from your pussy as the sound of his balls slapping against your backside.

“Fuck it feels like your pussy is under water,” Luke moans, his hand tearing away from his side to spread your legs even wider.

You don’t even have the time to giggle or smile at the comment; instead a moan slips out of your lips when Luke continues to rock into your g-spot with each thrust of his hips.

“Sir…” You moan out, hand tearing away from the couch cushion and slipping onto his thigh as you feel the rapid paste that he’s going at.

“Keep calling me that baby,” Luke grunts, eyes locking with yours and staring at you deeply with sensuality and dominance.

“Sir you’re so deep, fuck,” You whine, eyes begging for more of the feeling that Luke is sending up your core and straight to your mind.

“Yeah I’m deep, deep in your tight went cunt, right,” Luke says, voice so deep and just dripping in sex that it has you keening of need in your throat.

“You like me spreading you nice and wide,” Luke stated, hand tearing away from your breast and gliding to your neck, his fingers wrapping around your throat tightly.

“Please don’t stop sir,” You beg as you feel your ears begin to tingle and your stomach chum with the perfect feeling ever.

“You gonna come baby, gonna come on my thick cock spreading you nice and wide?” Luke grunts, his thick self delving into your g-spot so harshly that it has your legs shaking and mouth hanging open as you nod your head.

The pleasure only increases when Luke drops your thigh and begins to toy with your clit with his thumb and index finger. Now your mouth is stretched wide and gasps of air escapes your throat, your eyes staring into his sapphire ones so deeply as you try to control the little bit of self control you have left.

“I don’t think you should come yet though… I want you to beg me,” Luke smirks, now he has sweat cascading down the side of his forehead as his hand continues to tighten around your neck.

“Please sir, let me come, please, please, please…” You rasp, voice wavering with the constant grasp on your throat and the barreling feeling in your abdomen.

“I don’t think you should; have you’ve been good to me? Huh, have you been a good girl?” Luke says, head cocking to the side and eyebrows propped up on his forehead as you just continuously nod your head up and down.

“Yes I’ve been a good girl, been such a good girl. Please can I come? Pretty please?” You weep voice scratchy and raw that it has Luke groaning before he nods his head.

“Yeah baby, come, come on my cock,” Luke grunts, head dipping down and watch as your legs continuously twitch as you release all over Luke’s cock. A high pitched sound emitting out of your throat as the feeling that overcomes you just mind numbing.

And with the tight grasp of yourself wrapped around Luke’s cock it was hard for him to barley move from the tight grasp, so when he lets a delicious whimper slip out of his mouth along with his hot come sinking into you, you couldn’t help but let out moan.

When you both calmed down he loosened the grip that he had on your neck and slipped out of your dripping heat. A whine escaping your throat when the once thick member is now welcomed with air, with your eyes barley open but your body on over drive you lean up on your knees and begin to press kisses along Luke’s neck, sucking love bites up and down the expense of it.

“Jesus Y/N,” Luke mutters as you feel his hand rub up and down your neck gently, causing you to purr under the touch and dig your head deeper into his neck.

But then all of a sudden Luke just halted; his breathing slowed, fingers stopped touching you, a gasp escaped him before he pulled away from your embrace. A look of complete shock running over his features as his one bright face pales.

“W-We should have never done this… I don’t know what came over me…” Luke whispers, eyes raking over your naked frame before he is standing and putting himself together, eyes looking wild and scared as you just stare at him in question.

“Come on Luke, I know you liked it, its okay cause’ I liked it too.” You state while leaning over and running your hand down his arm, and for a moment Luke looks comfortable before he shakes it off and stares at you with concern before shaking his head.

“No this should have never happened… I-I need to get to bed, I just need to go…” Luke breathes before rushing himself out of the living room.

And with that you slipped back on your clothes, shut off the TV and headed back home. You didn’t try and pressure Luke into talking to you because you know it would have been hell, but shit. You couldn’t help the smile on your face, you finally got the courage to sleep with the man that you’ve been adoring for months and now you just need to plan away to do it again.

So did you like it? feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Sorry for any spelling mistakes!

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dailystarplatinum · 8 years

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We did it.. we made it to the big four digits. I never thought I’d get here, honestly. When I made this blog in May, I never thought I’d get to here. Maybe 2 or 300 followers, at the most?? Never this.

Here’s some sappy words to some people, I’ll cut this off because it’s going to be very long.

@daily-jojoanimals (I’m putting you at the top in case everything gets too sappy for you) I love your art a lot! The bright colors, the lines... I can’t draw animals for my life, but you? You’re amazing at it! Your blog is great and I hope that it gets more attention because you work really hard on all those drawings!

@dailydiadop nOON WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN… I love you and you’re probably my best friend. I have absolutely no idea where I’d be without you. Probably very very lost and very very confused. I’d also still be trying to figure out who is the best person at making hamburgers (it’s you). Honestly, if it wasn’t for you, I would’ve never gotten into jojo, or at least I would’ve taken longer to find out about it.

@dailynonbinaryukako eli I remember when we first started talking and it was kinda awkward but then I was like ‘oh hey I made a blog’ and you were like 'oh hey I should make one too’ and now look at us. You’re a huge nerd and I love talking to you about ocs and memes and my 1000+ year old hawk son and I think our muses need to interact more but you’re probably another big reason for why I’ve stayed in this community so long... I mean heck you’re the reason I joined Daily Discord Hell!

@dailyhierophantgreen S C R E A M S ILY RAY I can’t believe you looked up to me once… I mean first of all I’m like 5 foot 4 there isn’t much to look up to and second I can’t believe my art is of the quality and skill for someone as amazing as you to look up to it…. anyways you’re an amazing person and I love all of your hierophant doodles and I hope that we can draw more stargreen ship stuff and memes this year!

@daily-caesar Adam, you’re hilarious and really nice, and I love all of your Caesar and Torq and Capt doodles (how do you even doodle them so fast??? Ho w)! You always enjoy my Fresh Memes ™, and you always manage to put a smile on my face.

@dailysmolnareff I don’t know if I’ve ever told you this, but you were one of my favorite daily blogs that I was scared and/or unsure of how to interact with. If only my oblivious past self could see us now. You are number one, Cami. Never forget that.

:mon:

@dailystoneplatinum you’re definitely another huge reason why I’ve been inspired to try so hard with art on this blog and art in general. You’re one of the nicest people I’ve ever met, a huge inspiration, and I also always enjoy talking with you (ah yes one in the morning talks about Jolyne’s stand and how it’s unfair that Pucci got Made in Heaven and Jolyne got silly string with sunglasses). I’m really happy we get to talk, and I hope to see more of your beautiful art!

@daily-giogio L E A D E R O F M U T E C R E W ok that’s obviously not enough, let me write more I love your Gio art so much it’s just so pretty?? side note Reset Gio’s design is also gorgeous and you just manage to kill me every time I see your art??? You’re also just a really funny person and I love talking with you! Or just listening to the void with you too that’s great as well

@dailyrobertspeedwagon peri, you’re super sweet and you’ve got great ideas and OCs, and I love all of them! To be honest, you’re much much better at art than I was when I was your age *visibly shudders thinking about old art*… keep up the great work!

@weeklyheavendio laVA WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN you deserve a medal for the amount you’ve helped my art style change like I draw something for the reset au and you manage to one up me with amazing art so I draw something else then you make a beautiful giF SO I HAVE TO MAKE AN EVEN BETTER GIF AND IT TOOK SEVERAL HOURS BUT IT WAS WORTH IT AND I LOVE ALL YOUR ART AND YOURE JUST A GREAT PERSON AAAAAA 11/10 would rewrite existence out of possibly canon game history again

@dailyshadowdio Cake I can’t believe I was once scared of you with your beautiful art.. I was scared to talk to you and the big wry man himself… Now I know. I know that I must believe in gravy. Always believe in gravy. Gremlin Dio and pretty much all your art gives me life. I don’t know what it is about how you draw Dio, but he just looks??? So good?????? Long story short you’re great cake

@dailyhamonpires we didn’t talk too much before the space au, but now that we’ve talked more, i’ve really enjoyed seeing you and your art! SOLU is a very sweet goop boy and deserves only the best. Keep up the amazing work!

@dailyavdol you’re one of the sweetest people I know! Your art style is also super unique and beautiful, and I love seeing different characters in it! Also seeing you and Cami talk is really sweet too :>

@marinebiologistjotaro whERE DO I EVEN START You are an absolute blessing. Do you even know how much I love marine life. Like I really love cephalopods the most but all marine life is just really cool and if I wasn’t sure I wanted to do something with animation in the future I’d want to do something with marine biology and so when I found your blog some couple of months ago I died of happiness I’ve also enjoyed all the little inside jokes we’ve made over the past few months. I still miss Barbara…

@badlydrawnmekandmoney !!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOOD OCS! GREAT PERSON! It’s always a lot of fun to talk to ya! You put up with all my shitty memes and actually genuinely seem to like them, too!

@dailyyoungmrskujo *insert good shit meme but in french* I love Jolyne’s mom/Jotaro’s wife, so when I found that someone had taken her character and turned her into a fully capable headstrong young woman, I was so excited! You’re really sweet, and I wish you luck with your new job and I hope we sometime get time to talk (despite timezones >_<).

@badlydrawnjotarocean we don’t talk much but I kind of admire you from a distance because you’re pretty cool and I’m also madly in love with Joji from the reset au I mean sweet ocs you got there friend I mean um how much water do you need to quench your thirst

@badlydrawn-p4nareff a quality baguette… a handsome baguette… a good baguette… have I ever said how much I love pol and how good your pol art is I mean sometimes he’s just a piece of string cheese but you still manage to make him look beautiful???? What are your secrets I'm also sorry I'm a huge nerd you probably are wondering why I tagged you right I mean uh I should stop aaaa

@dailypisscop You’re an amazing artist and I’m so happy you like my art! It was a lot of fun seeing your progress on the johnny and gyro print and seeing other things you’ve drawn :>

@notsodailystarplatinum aaaaaAAAAA you’re so cool! I love all of your star doodles and it’s always fun to interact with you and the other star blogs! Also I still can’t believe you drew me

it me bubbles

@dailyghiaccio we've talked a couple of times, but I absolutely love your art! Keep it up!

@weeklyesidisi (i’m not tagging all 1837472 of your blogs) vince you’re very funny and great and, I’ve really enjoyed talking to you about the space au and other things!

@dailyjosukeandokuyasu !!!!!!!!!!!!! Dude you are great I really love your art and designs a lot, also you definitely put up with all my terrible memes. The only complaint I have is no shiny

@daily-goldexperiencerequiem KICK ME INTO SPACE PLEASE I mean you're super fun tot talk to, and I love your GER art ^_^

@otamer kinda different than a lot of the other blogs here since you aren't a daily/bd blog that does much (yet) but you're super nice and fun to talk to and I know you can make that blog and join us in the deep dark realms of daily discord hell ;D

@badlydrawnkirby !!! 10/10 youRE SUPER GREAT AND YOUVE ALSO CHEERED NOON UP A LOT THANK YOU!

@dailyyoung-jonathan YOU ARE GREAT OK?? Anyways thank you for taking celeste to the ball and also just for being really nice on kirb’s server.

@regularlyscheduledjolynemom We talk occasionally, but it’s always fun to talk to you! Thank you for the history jokes :>

@kindofdailyoingo GOOD BLOG BOOD GLOG 10/10 I love your oingos also thank you for always listening to me talk about my hawk son you’re just really fun to talk to and be around and I hope you remember that!

@poorlydrawnjosephjoestar I always secretly admired your art and your bad spaghetti jokes from afar, but since the space au, it’s been a ton of fun talking to you and the others onboard the Hayloft! (blease don’t kill off jovani)

@dailykakyoin I know you get this a lot but you're one of the reasons (I think you and dailypol maybe?) I started this (haha if you want go find the first ask I sent it was from my main blog it's terrible) and you're such an amazing member of this community! I mean, you answer tons of asks, draw really cute kaks, and you’re just really nice :>

Here's a big ol pile of people that I'd love to talk to/interact more with and/or am too scared to interact with:

Once again, thank you!

#thank you all #long post

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pod7 · 8 years

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Fall Anime* 2016 Lightning Review

*Just the shows I watched of course

Shows Included: 3-gatsu no Lion, All Out!!, Bernard-jou Iwaku, Bishoujo Yuugi Unit Crane Game Girls Galaxy, Cheating Craft, DAYS, Drifters, Fune wo Amu, Getsuyoubi no Tawawa, Kaijuu Girls: Ultra Kaijuu Gijinka Keikaku, Keijo!!!!!!!!, Kiitarou Shounen no Youkai Enikki, Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku, Nanbaka, Nazotokine, Nobunaga no Shinobi, Occultic;Nine, Okusama ga Seitokaichou!+!, Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan, Shakunetsu no Takkyuu Musume, Sousei no Onmyouji, Soushin Shoujo Matoi, Stella no Mahou, Teekyuu 8, Tiger Mask W, To Be Hero, Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari, Watashi ga Motete Dousunda, WWW. Working!!

A really mixed bag this season, though a much better season than the summer!

3-gatsu no Lion As expected of SHAFT, a great character driven coming-of-age story that is practically flawless. I really enjoy any time the three sisters are on screen, but I also appreciate the appearances that his step-sister has made. She’s just sympathetic enough that you feel bad for feeling bad for her, but she’s also cruel enough to make you tense up the moment she comes on screen. The one thing I don’t like about this show is the thing it seems to get the most hype for, which is it’s intro song. I just don’t feel like it fits the attitude of the show. Otherwise though, yet another home run from SHAFT. Series continues! Highest recommendation

All Out!! This isn’t the best show, I wouldn’t even say it’s better than DAYS, but it was enjoyable enough. If the retired pro player turned coach hadn’t of shown up, I might have dropped it, truth be told. Once he shows up the, the season really picked up. The show is continuing, so hopefully that upward trend is here to stay. Series continues!

Bernard-jou Iwaku I’m not much of a book nerd, so a lot of this was lost on me, but there were still some great laughs to be had. If you’re into science fiction and novels in general they have a lot of interesting factoids about books and you could probably pick up some good recommendations from it. 7/10

Bishoujo Yuugi Unit Crane Game Girls Galaxy The series got a budget this time around, so it was actually pretty well animated (for flash), and they were able to have a lot more detail as well. I loved the inclusion of Dark Cherry, they were great foils to CRANE GAMU. It was more of a nonsense comedy this season, as opposed to “crane game tips as brought to you by an idol anime” that the first season had. Ended on a pretty wild note with Kyouko and Rei seemingly becoming a couple out of nowhere, though in hindsight they make a great pair. 8/10

Cheating Craft A really weird show, like, it would be hard to even explain what it is without being incredibly vague. The characters were great, especially the home room teacher. One of several shows this season that had some surprise GL in it. 6/10

DAYS I still think that the coach from this team would have been fired already, for letting someone that inexperienced play in such important matches. I also feel like the show contradicted itself quite a bit; they said that all the starters are starters because they are out for themselves, but they were willing to play with a no-experience player AS A STARTER. Maybe it’s just a sports thing I don’t understand, but every time someone said “it’s not your fault” I was audibly saying “no, it really was!” Ubukata was great, but I feel bad for Tsukushi’s childhood friend basically getting zero screen time after the first episode. I would have liked for Tsukushi’s mom to have been more of a factor in the show as well. For a sports anime, it was good, but there were a lot of things I had problems with. 7/10

Drifters It’s a cool concept, of course, but I worry about the execution of it all. This great nation of Orte that some of the characters wish to protect was founded by Adolf Hitler, who is supposedly a Drifter, which makes him a good guy by default, since that’s what the protagonists are. If I need to spell out why that’s fishy at best, then you need to go back to school or at least watch the History channel once in a while. I also would have liked to have seen at some point in this season some kind of selection process for why someone ends up a Drifter and why someone ends up as an End. If the Black King isn’t Merlin, I will be incredibly shocked, because he’s the only historical figure I can think of that would also be excusable as such an all powerful deity type figure that can give other people powers, as well as using alchemy. I love the harsh art style, it fits the attitude of the show quite well. As a history nerd, I think it would be really funny if Teddy Roosevelt showed up with the Rough RIders to go ham on the Ends, but will just have to see what the next season holds. 8/10

Fune wo Amu I had originally thought this would be a much different series. After the first episode I actually looked it up to see if it was going to be something I’d actually be able to watch three episodes of without falling asleep. The synopsis I read was pretty misleading, though it may have been for the live action adaptation that came out before; it basically said that the protagonist would be tasked with defining “love”, and through that he would complete this dictionary and learn to live life to the fullest and so on. Unfortunately, for the animated adaptation at least, that’s pretty much a lie. He realizes he has feelings for his landlord’s grand-daughter, and then four episodes later they’ve been married for over a decade, her as a successful chef, and he on the cusp of completing the dictionary. It felt like they cut out an entire third (or even half) of the story just to fit it into 12 episodes, which was really disappointing to me. It wasn’t bad, but I felt like it could have made it’s point about seeing things through and the importance of words a lot clearer with just a few more episodes. 7/10

Getsuyoubi no Tawawa I’m kind of surprised that this show didn’t get a lot of shit, to be frank. It’s everything people love to guffaw about when it comes to anime; a large-chested girl who is too young for the guy she is talking to in most cases and is doing everything but dragging him to a love hotel. I’m not even sure what this would be categorized as; I wouldn’t call it a romcom, because there weren’t really any gags or jokes to it, and if you just call it a romance then people expect drama when there wasn’t any of that either. So... if you want to see a well-endowed girl flirt with nameless, faceless men for 12 episodes, this is the one for you. 6/10

Kaijuu Girls: Ultra Kaijuu Gijinka Keikaku There isn’t really much to say about this show other than if you like kaijuu and chibi/SD characters, you’ll probably like this show. If it had been more than a five minute show, I think it would have become boring, because they don’t really end up doing that much over the course of the season. Just a short, silly comedy about girls learning to use powers, basically. 7/10

Keijo!!!!!!!! I really want to compare this to Valkyrie Drive, because it was good, but... it was just a little too much. If they had dialed back the ecchi during the times they weren’t in a match, I think it would have had a greater comedic impact when it came to the action. Instead towards the end it was like “wow they are laying it on thick this episode.” Still, I salute them for just going all out with it. I usually complain about “boring sports” anime needing to rely on silly gimmicks for their characters to make the show more interesting, but Keijo already had it’s silly gimmick in place, so the super moves/abilities weren’t far as far fetched as say, a mahjong player that does better because there is a full moon out that night. The foley artists should be commended specifically for this show, they did an incredible job. 8/10

Kiitarou Shounen no Youkai Enikki This show came and went by in a flash. I didn’t even realize it had ended until I started writing this; it didn’t have a very definitive finale I guess. if you’re into Japanese folklore/yokai/bakemono/etc, but also are okay with those characters used in a comedic setting, you should give this show a shot. 7/10

Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku I don’t really know how to feel about this at this point. The character design bothered me a lot in the beginning, and by the time I got used to it, other problems sprang forth. It was another one of those “subversion of the genre” mahou shoujo series, which has become a genre on it’s own at this point because so many people are doing it. Out of all the girls, Swim Swim’s arc was the best, though I wish they had explained why she had her super OP power (since most of the others depended on what they wanted to do or their personality, seemingly.) It was also interesting that in the end they kept their powers, even though they broke their communicators from Fav, which was a nice change of pace. 7/10

Nanbaka This was a very strange show. At first I thought it was going to be like JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure because of the aesthetic, but instead it was just a fun gag show about a larger than life prison. Of course the highlight of the show for me was once again, Yuu Kobayashi as the warden, stealing the spotlight in a fairly minor role. I think I enjoyed it more as a comedy, because towards the end it gets pretty serious with some action mixed in too, and it just felt kind of like “Okay let’s get back to the gags now.” Overall though a pretty entertaining show. 8/10

Nazotokine An OL who works as secretary to the CEO of a major company finds excitement in her every day life, but suddenly gets sucked into a weird dimension where she is tasked with solving puzzles in order to go back to her normal life. Unfortunately, many of the puzzles involved Japanese words I didn’t know, so I was basically just watching for the performances (thought the two or three that didn’t I was able to solve.) A good premise, I think it could have been fleshed out a lot more. It seems like the kind of thing that was based off of a mobile game or even just a series of puzzle books. I just thought it was funny that this and Tiger Mask W aired in the same season because in TMW they show New Japan Pro Wrestling all the time, and in Nazotokine during one episode they go to an All Japan Pro Wrestling show. Would like to see more but I doubt it will happen. 8/10

Nobunaga no Shinobi A nice, short gag comedy about a little ninja girl who is super effective with her work but kind of a ditz otherwise. A cute show that can be surprisingly bloody, but most of the time it’s just goofball type humor. Series continues!

Occultic;Nine The first third and last third of this season were okay, but the middle part was really boring and a lot of the side stuff going on felt unnecessary. Spending so much time on the little girl practicing black magic and the guy using astral projection just to have a way to explain how time passes for you as a scandium ghost was a little much. The cast wasn’t particularly relatable either. I did like the reveal of the person who was going around “deleting” the ghosts, though, and the FBI with psychometry was really great (would have preferred to see the story from her perspective honestly.) It felt like someone who wrote a Persona teamed up with a studio that wants to be SHAFT. 5/10

Okusama ga Seitokaichou!+! Wasn’t a fan of this season as much as the last one. It felt like they had a meeting and said “Okay, the framing is established with season one, so now we can just go all out with erotica!” The problem was is that, they can only go so far, so showing what is basically the same thing over and over with just different characters makes it lose any ecchi power it may have had originally. 6/10

Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan An absolute joy of a show. I would not mind if I was still writing about this show in these season wrap-up reviews this time next year, it’s that good. Nendou-kun has grown on me a lot as the show has gone on, and Teruhashi has become my favorite character I think. 10/10

Shakunetsu no Takkyuu Musume I started to have the same problem with this show that I did with Saki (the mahjong anime), wherein they feel like the characters or action aren’t strong enough, so they have to give the players these goofy gimmicks that are beyond ridiculous. I really could not stand the green-haired yandere chick in this show, and was incredibly happened when that mini-arc ended. The beginning third of the show, I can understand people being perturbed at the lack of sport in this sport anime in favor of so much ~moe, but I think the episodes after the practice match arc are a great example of the show at it’s best, with a great balance of moe and sport. It’s not for everyone, but it has a fun, memorable cast. Reminded me quite a lot of KanaMemo, actually. 8/10

Sousei no Onmyouji Well, I would say the ride was fun, but it really wasn’t for the most part. The first arc of the show was pretty good, then they had a lovebirds arc which was horrendously stupid, and then it got into more action again and it was fine for a while but then you could tell the original writer started stalling at a certain point and it was really obnoxious how so little of what was going on week to week felt like it mattered in the grand scheme of things. It was like the series couldn’t decided to be a supernatural action show or a romcom, and you can’t really half-ass doing both when you have a masterpiece like Katanagatari out there. It had promise, but just took way too long to deliver, if it ever will. Dropped

Soushin Shoujo Matoi I don’t know if I’ve just watched too much anime by now or what, but I felt like I had seen this show a hundred times already. Nothing felt new or refreshing. It’s a very pretty show, at least, so I watched it all the way through, but I don’t think I’ll remember the name of this show next week, let alone next year. 7/10

Stella no Mahou I was a little worried about this show at the beginning because of how babyish the protagonist was, but she matures pretty quickly, and the remnants of her babyness become part of her charm. This felt like if you mixed Yuru Yuri and Wakaba Girl together, which is a pretty good combo. It also reminded me a bit of Saekano, even down to the girl in charge of music getting the least screen time. I would like to see another season of this but I think it would need to move about more into a more serious mood, like maybe they decide to debut at Comiket for real this time and put everything they have into a new game. 9/10

Teekyuu 8 I always love Teekyuu content, if you’ve followed me for a while then you know that quite well. 10/10

Tiger Mask W What knowledge I DON’T have from never having seen the previous Tiger Mask anime, the knowledge I have of him as an IRL pro wrestler and the current Japanese wrestling scene and attitude has made up for anything I would have otherwise missed. If nobody noticed, Monopoly is meant to be the WWE, and New Japan’s partnership with this series is a pretty clear showing on how they feel about WWE’s current move to basically create pro-wrestling colonies on other continents. There’s a lot of other BTS politics involved, but it’s interesting to see it as fodder for what amounts to a kids’ show. The main problem I have with the series so far is the inconsistency in violence and how much is tolerated. One of Tiger’s early foes causes him to bleed profusely and beats the piss out of him, but he says his match with Tiger the Dark was his hardest yet and he was barely even scratched. Also, a guy with a sword shows up in one episode, which is just bad, since he can never realistically use it (even in a cartoon setting.) Series continues!

To Be Hero I haven’t read anything about the behind-the-scenes of this series, but it would not surprise me in the least if it was a jab at One Punch Man. The dialogue is the star of the show here, with every character getting at least one really great monologue. The ending was actually pretty touching for a show about a guy that got superpowers from taking a dump. 8/10

Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari This show was great, but towards the end, it felt kind of forced. It had a great thing going, and then it was like they thought, “Wait, Poco is still a tanuki?! Crap, what are we going to do?” I think this would have been better served about a guy reconciling with his decision to go to Tokyo, and having a son he didn’t know about to deal with in the process. Maybe Souta left for Tokyo for the same reason, but while he was there, he dated a foreigner, and they broke up, which lead to him getting into a rut at his job, and then finally moving back home to take care of his father’s effects post-mortem, where he finds his dad had taken in the child his girlfriend never told him about. SOMETHING like that. There was also a great missed opportunity I think with Nakaji and Rinko. One of Nakaji’s problems in the season is that his parents are hounding him about getting married, so what if he hadn’t been even looking because he was having an affair with Rinko? It honestly felt like that’s where they were going with it to me. She tells him he should stop smoking, and he eats her cooking despite knowing it’s bad, and then when she tells him she’s pregnant, it just honestly felt like that scene was written out as her telling him it’s his, and he’s the first to know she’s pregnant. It was also kind of disappointing that Udon didn’t really have all that much to do with the show, despite being in the title. Kana Hanazawa’s character is about as big of a red herring as you can get in this kind of show, as well. It’s cute and genuinely funny, but could have been much better and poignant in another world. 8/10

Watashi ga Motete Dousunda I imagine the manga won’t end the same way the show did (assuming the manga continues from there), but I think the writers of the show ended it the best way they could. Say what you will about the comedy based around liking gay fiction (admittedly exploitative fiction) making you a weirdo, but I feel like when it came to Nishina, they treated her respectfully, even showing her as a true rival, an equal, amongst the other suitors that Kae genuinely considered. That in itself should be celebrated. Yuu Kobayashi is easily top 3 seiyuu for me, so any show that she is the focal point is always one that I will enjoy all the way through. 9/10

WWW. Working!! I had a pretty big falling out with the main Working!! series, but there were several things that I did enjoy about it. I’m happy to say that those things are present in this spinoff as well, not only that, but I feel like WWW does it even better. In the main series, several of the characters were a pain in the ass with no payoff, but in WWW, they wrap up everything nicely in one season, without any characters feeling annoying or worthless. My favorite, as per usual, was one of the characters with the least amount of screen time, Kisaki. Of course, the manager was my fav character from the main series, and since they share many traits, it shouldn’t be that much of a surprise. It almost felt like this was a reboot in retrospect, considering how similar some of the characters are to the main series cast; they were just written better this time around. 9/10

#fall anime 2016 #anime review #anime #review #lightning review

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inumbrapugnabimus-maybe · 11 months

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@akchimp75 I colored your old art request :D

it’s pretty messy but I had a lot of fun!

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lancecarr · 5 years

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DP Mihai Malaimare Jr. on Capturing the Dark Comedy of Jojo Rabbit in Living Color

Jojo Rabbit is director Taika Waititi’s satirical send-up and equally sober analysis of Nazi fanaticism told through the whimsical musings of an aspiring Hitler Youth. With Waititi in the scene-stealing role of Adolf, 10-year-old protagonist Jojo Beltzer’s imaginary friend, the film is loosely based on the young adult novel Caging Skies, about a Jewish girl hidden by a German family during World War II. It features Roman Griffin Davis, in his screen debut, Scarlett Johansson, and an entourage of Nazi nitwits played with darkly comic precision by Sam Rockwell, Stephen Merchant and Rebel Wilson.

Cinematographer Mihai Malaimare Jr. was captivated by Waititi’s script, which he read one night while doing reshoots on his last film, The Hate U Give. He was on a Skype call with the director the following day. “For me, the whole thing happened really, really fast,” he says. “I went back home for four days before flying to Prague to start filming.”

We asked Malaimare about shooting in extreme low light with the Alexa SXT, the challenges of working with first-time actors, and what Waititi did to on set to get the best out of his youngest stars.

StudioDaily: What made Prague the ideal location for the film?

Mihai Malaimare Jr: It’s interesting because I’m from Romania, and the architecture is very similar. It felt familiar to me. Lucky for us, the Czech Republic was very careful with the way they let people install air conditioning units and dish antennas, mostly keeping them from public street views. So in these cities there that we filmed [Prague, Ustek, Chcebuz and Zatec], we could shoot pretty much in 360 without having too many elements to remove. When we took the cars and the street signs out, it definitely looked like the photo references of Germany from the 1940s during the war.

What did those references include?

Taika and I spoke quite a lot about the use of color, and the references came from everybody: the art department, production design, costume and makeup. I remember I had quite a shock when I first saw color footage from World War II, because we’re so used to seeing images from the war in black-and-white. All the costume samples and art sketches were full of vibrant color. I talked to Taika about how we could actually use that saturated palette to our advantage, to show Jojo’s world at the beginning of the movie, knowing that we wanted to mute the palette towards the end for the war scenes.

We’re seeing his world through his eyes, too, so at the outset, it’s a kind of personal Disney World of his imagination.

Pretty much!

Jojo Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis, right) and his imaginary friend Adolf (director Taika Waititi) in an early scene from the film. Training camp director Captain Klenzendorf (Sam Rockwell) looks on. Photo by Kimberley French. © 2019 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Tell me more about how and why you shot your widescreen images on the SXT.

We were shooting 1.3x anamorphic for 1.85:1. We did a lot of tests and went all the way from 1.33:1 to 2.40:1. We felt that 2.40 was too overly cinematic for our story, but we still wanted to keep the quality of anamorphic, which creates a certain velvety look in the skin tones and it does amazing things with the backgrounds. There is a way to use 2x anamorphic and cropping for 1.85, but you often lose the most interesting aspect of the lenses that way. We used the Hawk V-lite squeeze anamorphic 1.3x, and they allowed us to [achieve] a real 1:85 anamorphic ratio.

The attic room, where Jojo discovers Elsa hiding, was lit very differently from the other sets. How did that setup evolve?

We had a conversation about the attic room in prep before we built it. It was interesting because we realized that it would be strange for the audience if they didn’t know when it was daytime or nighttime in that space; it can not be pitch black every time. We worked off the idea that building a few vents at the bottom of the roof would allow us to see some daylight filtering in or a beam of sunlight reflected in a subtle way. That still allowed us to keep the space fairly dark but you could see a difference between day and night. For the nighttime, we went with candles and petrol lamps. For those scenes we used a set of spherical lenses called [Vantage One] T1, which allowed us to shoot wide open at T1, so it was more like a Barry Lyndon approach. The lenses are also made in Germany, so it was nice to have that support nearby when we needed it.

What was the trickiest part about working with the child actors?

The kids were really terrific. Roman is unusual because, even though this is his first film, he grew up in the business [his father is cinematographer Ben Davis]. It was also the film debut of Archie Yates, who plays Jojo’s friend Yorkie. Inevitably, every single first-time actor will look straight into the camera at one point, but we never had this problem with Roman because he grew up around cameras. He was never intimidated by two big lenses pointing at him the whole time. The only challenge was the schedule, due to labor laws, for the young actors. They can only work 8 or 9 hours a day, including break time. This made it tough on the other actors because most of the time when you know you are running out of time, you can just use a photo double and shoot over the shoulder with the other actors. But what that means is probably their closeups will be toward the end of the day and they’ll have to act with somebody that’s not Roman, for example. Once we discovered that, it was our safety net, but definitely not ideal for the adult actors.

How did Waititi make his youngest actors feel comfortable on set?

Through a lot of rehearsals, mostly, then just blocking and figuring out how to shoot it. We only storyboarded the war scenes. This allowed all of the actors, but especially the kids, all the freedom in the world during rehearsals to search for the best way to convey the scene. We got so many interesting ideas from them during that process. I think you can see the results in the acting, because there’s nothing worse than telling an actor, “You better hit your mark or else you’re not in the light.” Our approach was to let them explore the scene first, and getting the ideas from them so we can figure out how to shoot the scene. It made everyone more comfortable on set.

What was your favorite place to film?

Definitely Jojo’s house, but particularly the hallway. I loved the way the wood panels would reflect the light and the way everything worked together with the wallpaper and all those practicals. It really felt amazing, no matter where you point the camera. Everything looked great in there.

As you mentioned earlier, the end of the film shifts to a much more muted palette. Did you do that in camera as well as in post?

It was a little bit of both. We definitely played with the color temp feature on the lights and in camera. We also did some grading for the dailies before finalizing everything in the DI.

What did you appreciate most about Taika Waititi’s style as a director?

He had a rule that there were no cell phones allowed on set, and that created a really interesting working environment where everybody’s paying attention and people are talking to each other. Another thing I loved was that we did projected dailies, which very rarely happens these days. We didn’t do it every day, because we did have some very long production days. But on the other hand, if you do it once a week or twice a week and have everyone in the same room, it really pays off. It’s so different when you’re by yourself in a hotel room watching dailies on a small screen. It’s a totally different experience, even when it’s a small screening room. You get to experience the film the way the audience will, and that lets you see and react to things much differently. You can better judge focus and lighting. Pretty much everybody, from the production designer and costume designer to producers, was invited to the screenings, depending on how long of a day it was.

The post DP Mihai Malaimare Jr. on Capturing the Dark Comedy of Jojo Rabbit in Living Color appeared first on Studio Daily.

https://www.studiodaily.com/2019/11/dp-mihai-malaimare-jr-capturing-dark-comedy-jojo-rabbit-living-color/

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cinephiled-com · 5 years

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New Post has been published on Cinephiled

New Post has been published on http://www.cinephiled.com/interview-creative-team-behind-taika-waititis-brilliant-jojo-rabbit/

Interview: The Creative Team Behind Taika Waititi’s Brilliant ‘Jojo Rabbit’

Writer/director Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok, Hunt for the Wilderpeople) brings his signature style of humor and pathos to his latest film, Jojo Rabbit, a World War II satire that follows a lonely German boy (Roman Griffin Davis as Jojo) whose world view is turned upside down when he discovers his single mother, Rosie (Scarlett Johansson), is hiding a young Jewish girl named Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) in their attic. Aided only by his idiotic imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi), Jojo is forced to confront his blind nationalism. The film offers a funny yet profoundly moving child’s-eye view of a society gone mad with intolerance. Drawing on his own Jewish heritage and his experiences growing up surrounded by prejudice, New Zealand filmmaker Waititi (whose mother is Jewish and father is Māori) makes a powerful statement against hate with this pitch-black satire of the Nazi culture that gripped the German psyche at the height of World War II.

I admit I am not a big fan of films like Life Is Beautiful that have attempted to bring fantasy or whimsy to stories of World War II, so I was nervous going into this film, and yet I loved every second of it. I thought that Waititi and his team achieved the perfect balance between the fantasy elements of the film and the stark reality of the situation. As one critic said, “It shouldn’t work…but it does!” Based on the book Caging Skies by Christine Leunens, Jojo Rabbit, winner of the People’s Choice Award at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, also stars Sam Rockwell, Stephen Merchant, Alfie Allen, and Rebel Wilson. I sat down with several of the incredibly talented people who helped create the unique look of the film: production designer Ra Vincent, Visual Effects Supervisor Jason Chen, Makeup and Hair Designer Dannelle Satherley, and film editor Tom Eagles.

Danny Miller: The details in the sets were just stunning. Did you recreate this German village from scratch or did you find real settings that you could adapt for the story?

Ra Vincent: We had done so much research about this time period and did our breakdowns of what we needed, but it wasn’t until we found our locations in the Czech Republic that this world we were creating really expanded. The borders during the Nazi occupation were constantly shifting and the Baroque village we found in the Czech Republic had become a German territory during the war. We even found out that there had been Nazi rallies in some of our locations. It was exactly the aesthetic we needed.

Given the history in that part of the world, was it a bit dicey to bring in all of the swastika flags and banners that you needed for the story?

Ra Vincent: Yes, it was. We had some early discussion about swastikas with the studio, they were very nervous about it, but in the end we decided to do what we wanted. We felt we needed the swastikas or the story and the satire would not work at all. The idea was to confront hate and how that regime was formed. We could not remove the importance of that insignia.

Jason Chen: The swastikas had so much weight in that town. I remember when we were shooting in the building that we were using as Gestapo headquarters and had to put up swastika banners. We actually had several local crew members who told us they couldn’t go in there because their family members had been tortured or killed by the Nazis. The weight our locations carried was a good reminder to us about the message we were trying to convey.

Dannelle, speaking of historical sensitivity, you will now always be able to say that you did Hitler’s hair and makeup. What was that like?

Dannelle Satherley: (Laughs.) Well, with Taika’s character, he was an imaginary version of Hitler as seen through Jojo’s eyes, so we were going for something more roughly hewn than you might see elsewhere. Sure, we had to have the touchstones that everyone knows like the moustache and the combover, but he was never intended to be a carbon copy.

Were there times when Taika was directing in full Hitler drag?

Dannelle Satherley: Oh yes, many times! It was definitely something to see.

I’m sure the on-set jokes were writing themselves: “Help! Our director is Hitler!” Tom, I imagine for a film with such serious themes with comedic elements, finding the exact rhythm in the editing was everything. How difficult it was to maintain that balance?

Tom Eagles: It helped that Taika’s script was amazing. There were differences in the details but we were faithful to the feeling of the script, trying to walk that tightrope between black humor and real emotion throughout.

Were there a lot of clues in the script about how everything should look?

Ra Vincent: Absolutely. Taika’s writing is so good and there were many clues about the characters in the script that you could pull from about what type of environment they would be inhabiting. For production design, it pays not to overstate things, you don’t want to detract from the performance. But, for example, knowing how artistic Rosie (Johansson) was, we added all sorts of nuances in the decoration of the house which also played into Jojo’s view of the world through somewhat rose-colored glasses.

I want to see the film again just to more closely examine all of the delicious details of that house!

I was working with a wonderful set decorator, Nora Sopková, who has been working in Prague for a very long time and she knew where to find all the best things. I like to provide as much realism for the actors as possible. If you’re going to put food on the table in front of them you make it really nice to eat, you fill the drawers with clothes of the period in case they open one during a scene, you add all these authentic touches so there’s an opportunity for bits of spontaneous characterization.

I know in many of Taika’s projects there’s a lot of improv. Was that a worry when trying to maintain the right tone in this story?

Tom Eagles: There were very different types of scenes in this film. For a dramatic scene between Scarlett and Thomasin, for example, they would run through it normally, get some direction, and then perhaps try a few new things when they did it again, but it was a very traditional process. They were amazing actors working with an amazing script. But with our comedians it was something else entirely. They’d constantly be stopping and throwing something new in. It did make it a challenge to keep the rhythm right.

I’m guessing that someone like Rebel Wilson went to town on her takes.

Tom Eagles: Oh, trust me we could definitely do a short film of just alternate takes from Rebel, Stephen Merchant, and Taika as Hitler. And you’d be screaming with laughter! Taika always encouraged them. Whether it was even his intention to use those takes or not, he really wanted these comedians to feel free to explore their characters. A lot of great stuff ended up on the cutting room floor because it just didn’t work with the overall film but we did get some gems that we used.

Dannelle, it looked like you were also able to go a bit above and beyond with Rebel’s look, too. Kind of an “Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS” aesthetic?

Dannelle Satherley: Oh, we had so much fun with Rebel and some other people in the supporting cast because we were able to go a little extra with them. I loved working on Rebel’s hair because we were really able to go to extremes with the look. She carried it so well! But some of the other characters were much more tame. I’ve worked so closely with Taiki over the years that I’m very familiar with his aesthetic. I know, with the possible exception of Thor which was kind of its own world, that Taika errs on the side of naturalism, he doesn’t like anything to look too overcooked.

The extensive research you all did for this project must have been so fascinating.

Jason Chen: I think that’s the best part of what we do. We really did a deep dive on the Hitler Youth. And a lot of the ridiculous things you do see the characters doing in the Hilter Youth camps were actually things that happened, like four- and five-year-old boys roughhousing with teenagers, punching and tackling each other, it was insane. They were completely brainwashed about what they were told would make them good soldiers.

I also really liked the color palette of the film which seemed different from so many films we see set during World War II.

Jason Chen: It’s true. Movies set in this time period are usually very dark and dreary, but the reality of the situation was that towards the end of the war a lot of people dressed to the nines as best they could, they didn’t know how much longer they’d be around. So Taika really wanted a bright and vibrant color scheme throughout.

Ra Vincent: And because this was a story from a child’s perspective, that included us injecting some whimsy and childishness into it. We used a few tricks, even things like having more cars in the background than would necessarily have been around during that point in the war.

To be honest, I was kind of surprised when I first saw the poster for the film because it seems so focused on the comedy whereas I see it as more as a very serious movie with some comedy in it.

Jason Chen: I agree with you, actually, and yet I think Taika’s instinct to lead with the comedy makes a lot of sense so I can see why that’s a big part of the ad campaign. Taika believes that humor kind of loosens people up and makes them open to things that they might not have been otherwise. You’ll notice that the film is quite heavy with comedy in the first act and then that eventually transitions in a big way.

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#Dannelle Satherley #Jason Chen #Jojo Rabbit #Ra Vincent #Scarlett Johansson #Taika Waititi #Tom Eagles #Interviews #What's Hot

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fattymattybrewing · 7 years

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Choose Morning Star, Shining Star, Wishing Star Or Wandering Star To Join Your Favorite Girl On A Path To Adventure

Alexandria, VA (September 25, 2017) — Books and dolls are always a sure bet when shopping for a special girl on the Holiday list. But a perfect present would be one where your girl and her doll are written into the storybook! Imagine her surprise on Christmas morning when she reads about herself in a make-believe adventure with her new dolly! That’s the premise behind Starpath Dolls ($79) combination of play, reading and imagination that has been wowing families all year.

“Starpath Dolls has a new set of beautiful, multi-ethnic dolls and story books which are available as printed books or e-books which incorporate the child’s name, city, appearance and other personal details to create a truly one-of-a-kind personalized adventure!” approvingly wrote mom blogger MomFabFun to her readers. “We chose the title Tiger Magic and input details on the website to help personalize the book (information like school attended, doll’s name, grandparent’s name, etc.). We settled in to read the book after it was downloaded and my daughter was thrilled with the results! She was tickled to see her name and details about her life and family incorporated into the story.”

Echoed mom blogger 3 Princes And A Princess 2. “My daughter thought really hard upon choosing her doll and found something special in the Latina doll – Shining Star – whom she has named Skylar. She just thought she was really beautiful. Prior to receiving her books she was really enjoying her doll, but the book took her excitement to a whole new level. With each turn of the page her intrigue grew. She kept running to me to show me what facts the next chapter held about her, like her school’s name, or town she lives in. She has already read the book multiple times.”

Simply put, girls ages 5 to about 9 years old can escape into magical, personalized chapter books starring them and their dolls! Girls, or parents and gift givers, can choose from four unique 18-inch dolls—Morning Star, Shining Star, Wishing Star and Wandering Star—and then visit the enchanting Starpath Dolls website, StarpathDolls.com, to create a personalized book.

First choose a chapter book — currently A Fairy Tale Gone Wrong or Tiger Magic — then fill in a few questions to create the story’s characters. Customized details are woven throughout every page of the book, making it truly her story. Gift givers have the option to purchase the doll and personalize the book at a later time or e-mail the personalization link to another. Paperback versions of the chapter book are sold separately ($20) and arrive by postal mail in approximately one week. Or choose an instant e-book, free with each doll purchase.

“With the purchase of each Starpath Doll comes one complimentary e-book,” explains Anita Winsor, Founder and Managing Director of Starpath Dolls. “Buyers can personalize and download the chapter book on an e-reader the very same day to read with your child at bedtime that night.”

Beyond the book, it’s the beautiful details of each doll that makes Starpath an instant favorite with the elementary school set. Reviews from mom bloggers have been overwhelming in their praise:

It has been a few days since we received our Starpath Doll (now renamed Mia), and Kinsley hasn’t left her side. Everything we do, Mia comes along for the ride. Seeing Kinsley interact with her doll is absolutely adorable. She is able to brush Mia’s hair, and change her clothes which makes the doll so much more life-like! I am so thrilled that Starpath Dolls are now available. These dolls are perfect and girls around the world are able to relate to their wide variety of backgrounds! — Momma’s Little Reviews & Giveaways

Since receiving Wandering Star, she and my daughter have been inseparable. Since the body of the doll is soft, she has been a perfect reading partner, cuddle buddy and car companion… I appreciate the detail that has gone into not only the doll itself but her backstory and the accessories. And at a fraction of the cost of other 18” dolls, it’s hard to say no. — The Kids Did It

I was amazed at the size and quality of our Starpath Doll as it is priced at only $79. When considering American Girl Dolls can be priced at as high as $115, the Starpath Doll is a steal. I can tell little to no difference. In my opinion the Starpath Dolls are actually better and hold up to a whole lot more play. Sierra loves dressing up like her doll. I was amazed at the sculpting in the face. It is so real and lifelike that Morning Star takes on her own personality. — In The Know With JoJo

Holiday shoppers can order now and forget about braving shopping malls or searching toy store shelves. There’s even a Gift Certificate to allow your favorite girl to do the selecting herself online! Choose from four personalities:

Morning Star • $79 Shines so bright, her smile lights up the sky. She’s happy and fun in every way and ready for any adventure that comes her way.

Shining Star • $79 Bubbly and playful, makes friends wherever she goes. With her twinkling laugh and loyal ways she can be counted on for a great time and amazing memories that last.

Wishing Star • $79 Tell this friend all your dreams and secrets. Life is full of new opportunities and adventures and she is a friend you can trust with all your ideas.

Wandering Star • $79 Curiosity always leads her on an exploration of new things to learn and exciting discoveries. Silly and mischievous she always finds hidden treasures and many amazing wonders.In addition to the dolls and the books, Starpath Dolls will be selling beautiful, plush animals that were featured in the stories.

Add a soft plush companion to the stocking or as an add-on to the eight nights of Hanukkah:

Tiger Plush • $15.50 Direct from the jungles of India comes a snuggly, plush tiger. This 8” plush tiger comes directly from the pages of “Tiger Magic,” the exotic adventure story that is one of the Starpath Dolls chapter books.

Swan Plush • $14 From the royal, fairy tale stream comes a luxurious, white, plush swan. This 8” plush swan is taken from the pages of A Fairy Tale Gone Wrong, the exciting adventure story that stars a girl and her doll.

When in doubt, choose the gift certificate! The wow-factor reaction will be the same.

Gift Certificate • Doll & Paperback Book • $99 This gift certificate covers the price of the doll and personalized chapter book, as well as the shipping and handling. The young recipient can then choose a doll and book on the website and personalize the story as they like. Once purchased, the gift certificate will be delivered to the recipient’s e-mail address that you specify during purchase, and will contain the To and From names you will customize during purchase, as well as a redemption code the recipient can use to choose their doll and book on the website when they please.

Gift Certificate • Doll with Free E-Book • $79 This gift certificate covers the price of the doll, a code to download one free e-Book as well as the shipping and handling to deliver it to the lucky recipient.

Ready to order? Starpath Dolls offers free U.S. shipping on orders over $50 at http://www.StarpathDolls.com.

These exquisite dolls can also be found at select retailers throughout the United States at nearly half the price of the top-selling doll in today’s market! Follow them on social media channels Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.

ABOUT STARPATH DOLLS Created by a mother and a young daughter who love to read, Starpath Dolls are designed to inspire a love of reading while encouraging girls to see themselves in worlds outside their own. According to Anita Winsor, Starpath Founder and Managing Director, “Starpath Dolls enable a girl to go on her own journey into the exciting world of her book. Her doll, who becomes her travelling companion and friend, further brings the story to life.” Find a selection of dolls, plush and clothing accessories at http://www.StarpathDolls.com.

STARPATH DOLLS CAN WRITE YOUR LITTLE GIRL AND HER DOLL INTO A CHAPTER BOOK THIS HOLIDAY! Choose Morning Star, Shining Star, Wishing Star Or Wandering Star To Join Your Favorite Girl On A Path To Adventure…

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readincolour · 7 years

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New Books Coming Your Way, September 5, 2017

Cuz: The Life and Times of Michael A. by Danielle Allen Memoir, 256 p. Cuz means both “cousin” and “because.” In this searing memoir, Allen unfurls a "new American story" about a world tragically transformed by the sudden availability of narcotics and the rise of street gangs—a collision, followed by a reactionary War on Drugs, that would devastate not only South Central L.A. but virtually every urban center in the nation. At thirteen, sensitive, talkative Michael Allen was suddenly tossed into this cauldron, a violent world where he would be tried at fifteen as an adult for an attempted carjacking, and where he would be sent, along with an entire generation, cascading into the spiral of the Los Angeles prison system. Throughout her cousin Michael’s eleven years in prison, Danielle Allen—who became a dean at the University of Chicago at the age of thirty-two—remained psychically bonded to her self-appointed charge, visiting Michael in prison and corresponding with him regularly. When she finally welcomed her baby cousin home, she adopted the role of "cousin on duty," devotedly supporting Michael’s fresh start while juggling the demands of her own academic career. As Cuz heartbreakingly reveals, even Allen’s devotion, as unwavering as it was, could not save Michael from the brutal realities encountered by newly released young men navigating the streets of South Central. The corrosive entanglements of gang warfare, combined with a star-crossed love for a gorgeous woman driving a gold Mercedes, would ultimately be Michael’s undoing. In this Ellisonian story of a young African American man’s coming-of-age in late twentieth-century America, and of the family who will always love Michael, we learn how we lost an entire generation. Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward Literary fiction; 304 p. Jojo and his toddler sister, Kayla, live with their grandparents, Mam and Pop, and the occasional presence of their drug-addicted mother, Leonie, on a farm on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. Leonie is simultaneously tormented and comforted by visions of her dead brother, which only come to her when she’s high; Mam is dying of cancer; and quiet, steady Pop tries to run the household and teach Jojo how to be a man. When the white father of Leonie’s children is released from prison, she packs her kids and a friend into her car and sets out across the state for Parchman farm, the Mississippi State Penitentiary, on a journey rife with danger and promise. Sing, Unburied, Sing grapples with the ugly truths at the heart of the American story and the power, and limitations, of the bonds of family. Rich with Ward’s distinctive, musical language, Sing, Unburied, Sing is a majestic new work and an essential contribution to American literature. Picturing Prince: An Intimate Portrait by Steve Parke Non-fiction; 240 p. Picturing Prince sees the late icon's former art director, Steve Parke, revealing stunning intimate photographs of the singer from his time working at Paisley Park. At least half of the images in the book are exclusively published here for the first time; most other images in the book are rare to the public eye. This edition also includes 16 pages of lost photographs, all of which have recently been uncovered by the author from within his extensive archive. Alongside these remarkable images are fifty engaging, poignant and often funny written vignettes by Parke, which reveal the very human man behind the reclusive superstar: from shooting hoops to renting out movie theatres at 4am; from midnight requests for camels to meaningful conversations that shed light on Prince as a man and artist. Steve Parke started working with Prince in 1988, after a mutual friend showed Prince some of Steve's photorealistic paintings. He designed everything from album covers and merchandise to sets for Prince's tours and videos. Somewhere in all of this, he became Paisley Park's official art director. He began photographing Prince at the request of the star himself, and continued to do so for the next several years. The images in this book are the arresting result of this collaboration. Silencer by Marcus Wicker Poetry; 96 p. A suburban park, church, a good job, a cocktail party for the literati: to many, these sound like safe places, but for a young black man these insular spaces don’t keep out the news—and the actual threat—of gun violence and police brutality, or the biases that keeps body, property, and hope in the crosshairs. Continuing conversations begun by Citizen and Between the World and Me, Silencer sings out the dangers of unspoken taboos present on quiet Midwestern cul-de-sacs and in stifling professional settings, the dangers in closing the window on “a rainbow coalition of cops doing calisthenics around/a six-foot, three-hundred-fifty-pound man, choked back into the earth for what/looked a lot, to me, like sport.” Here, the language and cadences of hip-hop and academia meet prayer—these poems are crucibles, from which emerge profound allegories and subtle elegies, sharp humor and incisive critiques. Take the Lid Off: Trust God, Release the Pressure, and Find the Life He Wants for You by Smokie Norful Religion; 224 p. According to Smokie Norful, sometimes our lives feel like a pot of rice in his grandmother's kitchen: hissing, boiling over, about to explode and create panic. The only way to avoid an explosion is to take the lid off--that is, to stop being trapped inside ourselves and instead look to God and his grace to make us all he intends us to be. Taking the lid off, Norful argues, entails four actions: look inward, experiencing the cleansing of forgiveness and the power of the Holy Spirit; look outward, seeking for others to experience the joy of living for God and have the best God has to offer; look upward and marvel at God's love and strength to accomplish his purposes; and move onward, devising a strategy to accomplish all God has put in our hearts to do. When we take the lid off by taking these four steps, the pressure goes down, we gain peace and perception, and things work out much better in the end. When we finally take the lid off, we can become the people God has created us to be and do what we were intended to do. We get in touch with the unlimited power of his Spirit, we're directed by the challenge of his purposes, and we experience the joy of seeing him use us to change lives. All of us need help in taking the lid off in order to trust God, take action, and reach our full potential. Defining Moments in Black History: Reading Between the Lies by Dick Gregory History; 256 p. A friend of luminaries including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Medgar Evers, and the forebear of today’s popular black comics, including Larry Wilmore, W. Kamau Bell, Damon Young, and Trevor Noah, Dick Gregory has been a provocative and incisive cultural force for more than fifty years. As an entertainer, he has always kept it indisputably real about race issues in America, fearlessly lacing laughter with hard truths. As a leading activist against injustice, he marched at Selma during the Civil Rights movement, organized student rallies to protest the Vietnam War; sat in at rallies for Native American and feminist rights; fought apartheid in South Africa; and participated in hunger strikes in support of Black Lives Matter. In this collection of thoughtful, provocative essays, Gregory charts the complex and often obscured history of the African American experience. In his unapologetically candid voice, he moves from African ancestry and surviving the Middle Passage to the creation of the Jheri Curl, the enjoyment of bacon and everything pig, the headline-making shootings of black men, and the Black Lives Matter movement. A captivating journey through time, The Most Defining Moments in Black History According to Dick Gregory explores historical movements such as The Great Migration and the Harlem Renaissance, as well as cultural touchstones such as Sidney Poitier winning the Best Actor Oscar for Lilies in the Field and Billie Holiday releasing Strange Fruit. An engaging look at black life that offers insightful commentary on the intricate history of the African American people, The Most Defining Moments in Black History According to Dick Gregory is an essential, no-holds-bar history lesson that will provoke, enlighten, and entertain. September 01, 2017 at 04:17PM from ReadInColour.com http://ift.tt/2wqzRlm

#Books #ReadInColour #WeNeedDiverseBooks Cuz #Defining Moments in Black History #Dick Gregory #Pic

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