#pam manson

[briarruler]

I've seen (and loved) fics were Team Phantom band together and go on the run from the Guys in White. I don't think I've seen a fic were the families of Team Phantom band together and go on the run from the Guys in White.

Imagine it. The kids vanish and the next day the Guys in White are showing up at the door and bundling the parents into vans. The plan was to use them as hostages against their kids. They made three mistakes:

They threatened to harm them.

They promised to harm their children.

They put them together.

The Fentons, the Foleys and the Mansons promptly team up and escape. After that it's Team Parent vs the Government.

Optional characters include:

Ida Manson, assuming that the Guys in White didn't overlook her.

Jazz Fenton, if she isn't already on the run with Team Phantom.

Damon Gray, if Valerie is on the run with Team Phantom.

Their goals may vary depending on how much information they have (and what Team Phantom is up to) but includes at least some of the following:

Evading the Guys in White.

Finding their children.

Dismantling the Guys in White.

Figuring out what is going on with their children.

Leaving the country.

Protecting their children.

Getting the Federal Anti-Ecto Control Act revoked.

Although the real challenge might be cooperating long enough to succeed.

[tomboy014]

It seems like a lot of the DP/DC crossovers I’ve seen have Danny either secretly related to Bruce or Damian or Dick, and if he’s not directly related to one of them, Bats is at the ready with adoption papers.  But if it’s a fic where anyone is related, it’s one of the bats related to Danny, but I think there’s a better candidate.  May I present for the Phandom’s consideration:

Sam Manson.

Hear me out!

Bruce and Sam have a lot in common.  They both

Have black hair

Have eyes in the same color family (Bruce and Sam’s parents are blue, Sam’s are purple)

Are both goth

Come from inherited, generational wealth

Are Jewish

Are intelligent and athletic

Will aggressively fight for causes and the change they want to see

And of course, they both fight superpowered entities that should be beyond their capabilities to handle as normal humans.

The timing also works out for Martha and Ida to be sisters.  Out of ease, the kids use the titles of Aunt and Uncle for Bruce, Pamela and Jeremy even though they’re actually cousins. They don’t really see each other that often, mostly for holidays and big events like graduations or Sam’s bat mitzvah. Every so often, they all get together for more formal galas and charity events.

Plus, it makes it so much funnier if these are the “cousins” Sam refuses to babysit.  Can you blame her?  Would you want to be in charge of keeping Tim and Damian from killing each other?  Plus, the interactions between them and the way they relate would be great!

Bruce (43), Dick (26), Jason (21), Cass (19), Steph and Tim (18), Duke (15-16?), Damian (10), Sam (14)

Dick:  Is the perky ball of sunshine Pamela wishes Sam could be, and she get compared to him a lot.  Sam can’t stand him.  Dick has never seen Sam when her mother isn’t around, so his impression of her is she’s moody and surly.  Doesn’t like being in the middle of their fights or getting his cheeks pinched by Pam every time he comes over.

Jason:  Pamela can’t stand him.  Due to whatever cover story they made up to cover up Jason’s death and return, Pamela is now convinced that he’s some delinquent who’ll wind up a criminal (she’s not entirely wrong?).  Such a shame since he was so sweet as a kid.  His death is what started Sam’s interest in the occult.  Sam’s favorite cousin.  She loves that he’s actually a giant dork and bookworm behind the cool, tough-guy façade.  He keeps Sam well supplied in combat boots.  If they both disappear at a function in Amity Park, they’re probably hanging out at the Skulk n Lurk. 

Tim:  Another problem child according to Pam.  He’s the one who introduced Sam to videogames and Doomed.  Tim changed the Manson’s home theater set-up so they can play videogames on the big screen whenever the Wayne’s come over.  Will go out of his way to piss Pamela off.

Steph and Cass:  Steph doesn’t always come over when the rest of the Wayne’s do, but when she does, she sticks to Cass.  Big sister vibes from them both, scarily insightful, and good listeners.  They’re cool.

Damian:  They have the most shared interests, so you’d think they’d get along, but neither can stand the others’ attitude.  It’s a case of like repelling like.  Sam helped him figure out what kind of vegetarian he wanted to be and gave him a bunch of her favorite recipes.  If the two of them disappear while at Wayne Manor, you can usually find them hanging out with Batcow.

Duke:  The newest addition to the family, Sam is aware of him, but they haven’t met yet.

Part 2

[mahimahi713]

I was watching Mamma Mia today and the scene with the song “Slipping through my fingers” made me think of Sam and her mom. Like most of the time, we really don’t see Sam being close to her mom.

But then hearing this song made me think of how Pamela might feel about Sam and her being rebellious. She sees Sam pushing away from her, not wanting to be anything like her, going and spending time with Danny and Tucker.

I do think Pamela loves Sam. She did get her that purple and black dress that Sam was more than happy to wear, even if she wouldn’t admit it (though considering there was a scene in an episode where Sam dyed a pink dress she got her black, it’s possible that Sam also altered this but whatever). Her and Jeremy hired a team of doctors and nurses to look after her when she got sick.

And I just think this song probably sums how she feels. Even if a lot of it is Sam pushing her away because of how she is.

I think she could have a moment where she realizes she needs to do a little better and meet Sam in the middle

[imekitty]

Omg that Pam and Danny fic sounds like it has so much angst potential ... could you maybe give a tiny peek at what one of the reasons she dislikes him could be? 👀

Lol, I can't just give one...

A few reasons would be out of Danny's control. She doesn't like that his parents are ghost researchers because she thinks it's Danny's fault Sam has such an interest in the occult. Like I imagine Sam was probably more "girly" and "normal" in Pam's eyes until the day she met Danny and then she became more goth, so Pam of course blames that on Danny.

And I imagine that she's aware Sam has a crush on Danny and Pam just doesn't like that at all. She thinks Danny is beneath their family and Sam could and should have higher standards than that.

As for why she thinks Danny is beneath their family, he gets bad grades, is on the lazy side, and has what she probably thinks is childish/immature aspirations (i.e., wanting to become an astronaut).

She sees Danny as a troublemaker and a bad influence, but she also recognizes that he's handsome and so of course Sam is attracted to him and Pam just can't stand that she has no control over who Sam might date.

[4rainynite]

Danny Phantom Neutrals Headcanons

This headcanon is gonna be about the many characters from the series Danny Phantom and see what their relationship with Team Phantom would be in the series ranging from: ally, neutral, and enemy. Now, it's time for the neutrals, Enjoy. Allies here!

P.S. This strangely took longer than the last one!

Warning : Some character explanations will be super long, mentions of death, and other things rated PG-13.

Neutrals:

Jeremy and Pamala Manson - We all know Sam's parents think the Fentons are dangerous and bad examples. As much as they don't like Danny when they find out he's Phantom and the reason why is because of his parents Ghost Portal they would get in contact with child services immediately, Only for Team Phantom to come in Danny's defense and Sam revealing her role in Danny's transformation. Knowing they can't reveal Danny out of the fear of Danny being experimented on and Sam's reputation would be destroyed they decide to go silent, but Jack and Maddie are on thin ice seeing their son being half-ghost is their fault. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if they tried to make Sam be friends with the A-listers or make her date Dash or Gregor/Elliot to distance her interaction with Danny. With them being rich they might have interaction with Vlad even becoming friends with him, who would make Sam miserable. But once they find out that the A-listers are a group of bullies, Dash being the leader and that one party where some of the guest up as their daughter, Tucker, and Danny as 'losers', Elliot/Gregor was a fake, and Vlad is half-ghost and has been tormenting the Fentons the alliance is broken. Even though the Mansons are killjoy elitist their main goal is safety and as much as they dislike the Fentons they draw the line at bullying and everything Vlad has done. Over time, now knowing Danny's secret and Maddie and Jack ease up on property damage their dislike becomes neutral, when Danny and Sam finally start dating they'll accept, but wish their dates were a safe trip for ice cream instead of ghost fighting.

A-Lister (Mainly Dash, Paulia, Kwan, and Star) - The only time the A-Lister interact with the trio is to bully them, so I doubt they'll become allies with each other. During, 'Reality Trip' when Danny was exposed and needed to leave the school his classmates were the ones to get him out. Showing that after everything Danny has done for them, they will return the favor. I can see Dash still being a jerk to them (mainly Danny), during sophmore year Danny gains muscles due to ghost fighting and is so untouchable Dash fears being beaten by him so he ignores the young Fenton. Dash still worships Phantom so he somewhat follows Phantom's morals and eases up on the bullying. The two will never be friends and both are fine with that. The rivalry between Sam and Paulina end in neutrally as well. We know Paulina is a daddy's girl mentioning and seeing him multiply times in the series, but never her mother. My headcanon is Paulina's mother is a stage mom and points out Paulina's mole as a flaw or just isn't around. Heck, she's probably one of the reasons Paulina is so fixated on looking good 24/7. I can see Mrs. Manson try to arrange a playdate between Sam and Paulina revealing Sam is rich. Sure, Paulina could blackmail Sam, but if word got out the goth geek was richer than her, Paulina's popularity would crumble so she keeps quiet. During the playdate Sam sees how pushy Paulina's mother and why Paulina is so shallow. The two girls agree that their mothers are annoying and to keep the other's secret. I see Sam and Paulina dynamic similar to Mandy and Mindy from 'The Grimm Adventures of Billy and Mandy' and after the 'Wraith of the Spider Queen' both girls agreed that hangout wasn't bad, but being friends with neither girls cup of tea. Kwan seems nice and only bullies due to peer pressure and to not lose his spot with the A-listers, which is still no excuse. Kwan spent the most time with Sam and Tucker so he probably gain a soft spot for them. Over time Kwan stops bullying and even tells his fella A-listers to knock it off even if it means he getting ban. Seeing that he's some type of scientist or just has a good job in the future he probably stopped hanging with the A-listers. Star doesn't care for the trio and the only reason they interact is because of Dash, Paulina, and Kwan (I don't know if she's still friends with Valerine). Once, Sam's secret of being rich is exposed the A-listers would try to make her join which she refuses. At first they try to blackmail her or something and Sam reveals she's not just rich she's old money rich and most of their parents work for her family. Now realizing the girl they used to bully and her friends could rat them out at any second they avoid her like the plague. Over time Team Phantom while overshadow the A-listers before senior year. I can see once they get older all the A-listers having a falling out with only Dash, Paulina, Kwan, and Star still remaining friends.

Youngblood- Just a brat trying to have fun. In one of the Nicktoons comics Danny ended up babysitting him, and he probably still does. Over time the two bond (maybe about space stuff due to his astronaut costume). He still causes problems for Team Phantom, but he won't enslave the adults or anything serious. I also see him and Dani becoming close friends.

Ember - We all know Ember's story - unpopular girl who dreams of being a rockstar gets asked out by a boy to see a movie. She waits for him all night at the movies only to realize she's been tricked. Once she makes it home a fire starts and she's too unconscious to wake up and dies. Once, a ghost and escapes the Ghost Zone she becomes what she couldn't be in life - a star! One day Team Phantom gets a report of a ghost attack outside Amity Park and investigate it. The ghost attack is happening during a class reunion and the ghost haunting the place is Ember. They do their resource and find out how Ember died and try to convince Ember not to kill the man responsible for her death. Only, to find out the guy who tricked her all those years ago is a slob, a loser, and owes a lot of child support, so Ember let's him live to continue his horrid life (like Katara did in that episode when she confronted her mother's killer). Ember feels depressed seeing that she spent years planning her revenge for nothing and wondering if she really wanted world domination in the first place. Team Phantom remind her she has a huge fanbase in both the human and ghost world so that encourages her to focus more on her music. In time she will join Team Phantom, but for now she is focusing on herself.

Freakshow's Ghosts - Unlike Lydia they didn't have a choice being under Freakshow's control and they seem more neutral than evil to me.

Ghost Writer- He'll never forgive Danny for what he did with his first book but seeing how his second book is better he'll let Team Phantom use his library for information.

Desiree - I can see Team Phantom pulling an 'Aladdin' on her and setting her free. She can still grant wishes and now her own, but she'll probably just go off to find herself or something.

Dairy King - He did help Danny escape Vlad and Skulker's trap thingy, but he didn't help with the fight. I honestly think he passes on after 'Bitter Reunions' because that's the only way Vlad got away with all the crazy crud he's done.

Ghost from the Ghost Zone- Let's face Danny has saved both the Human and Ghost world a dozen times so the residents of the Ghost zone either love, neutral, or hate Team Phantom. For the hate part it's for Team Phantom's enemies like Skulker, Spectra, and others who wish harm. The neutral part is for those who don't believe the Halfa exist, in the Ghost Zone Danny Phantom is an urban legend. For those who love Team Phantom is because they helped the ghost or put ghosts in a positive light.

[katlimeart]

Made in 2017

If you’ve seen this anywhere else, I posted it back on my deviantArt when it was made.

Mario girls cosplaying as characters from Danny Phantom - requested by moon-shadow-1985

1- 3. Sam Manson

4. Nightmerica

5. Terminatra

6. Vid

7. Desiree

8. Maddie Fenton

9. Pam Manson

10. Pandora

[thenewgirl76]

You know what I have yet to see in any fics where Danny is biologically related to either Bruce and Damian or one of the other batboys? The Mansons attempting to use that to their advantage and enhance their public image.

Either by spouting false praises and lying about being in Danny's corner while interacting with Bruce and his sons, or after discovering Danny's true heritage being the ones to take him in after a bad reveal in the hopes of getting into Bruce's inner circle.

Many usually gravitate towards Vlad as the abusive foster or guardian Danny needs to be rescued from, but his best friend's snooty parents that regularly look down on him just because of the elder Fenton's antics and reputation would do just as nicely.

Just imagine the comedy gold of Jeremy and Pamela barely masking their disdain for their daughter's "troubled friend" by pretending to dote on him while in Bruce's presence during a gala. Not realizing that Bruce along with every other Wayne in attendance can see right through them and is simply humoring them as well as biding his time.

Or if angst (hopefully followed by some comfort) is more your thing maybe have Danny, still reeling from Jack and Maddy's rejection latch on to the Mansons out of desperation for an adult he can trust and start believing they've had a genuine change of heart and come to care for him despite both Sam and Ida continually telling him otherwise. Only to feel the sting of betrayal a second time when while at a gathering Bruce or one of his boys approaches and tells him the Mansons are just using him to get in their good graces then show proof when Danny tries to deny it.

[esqueletosgays]

JAWBREAKER (1999)

Director: Darren Stein Cinematography: Amy Vincent

[pransesdp]

surprised no one’s asked yet, but Sam Manson for the ask meme?🦇

Headcanon A:  realistic

She has a pet black cat named "Pumpkin", whom she found as an abandoned kitten one day while walking home from school. While the lil fuzzball isn't always the nicest to those like Danny or Tucker (or, really most people in general), Sam sees the kitty as her lil baby no matter what~

Headcanon B: while it may not be realistic it is hilarious

One time as a dare/joke, Sam decided to sign herself up for cheerleading not too dissimilar from when she signed up for that pageant in "Beauty Marked". Little did she know that she'd actually end up passing the try-outs with her agility/athletic skill... so cue her grumpy disposition for the next few football games she's stuck waving around pom-poms with Paulina & Star lol.

Headcanon C: heart-crushing and awful, but fun to inflict on friends

Way back in the day, little Sam actually used to get along pretty well with her mother Pamela (constantly spending time doing makeovers, hosing tea parties, taking part in ballet & beauty pageants, etc.). It was only when she became more independent-minded that Sam started to realize how... "controlling" her mother was, and how anything they bonded over was solely the things Pamela enjoyed, nothing Sam actually wanted to do...

Being the first time her daughter ever told her "no" to any of their activities caused a huge rift between Pamela and Sam from then on... only becoming more strained now that Sam's a goth (and thus Pam can't help trying to "recapture" old memories with pushing those girly dresses on her, oblivious to the fact that this was what drove Sam apart from her to begin with...).

Headcanon D: unrealistic, but I will disregard canon about it because I reject canon reality and substitute my own.

While she and Danny come to terms with their feelings much like the end of the canon series, the two of them don't actually start to "date"-date for real until a little later in highschool (once the dust settles from ghost-fighting for them to have more free time together). In college the two of them would have a brief break from eachother so they can focus on 'finding' themselves better (as any young adult would at that age). By their later 20s they’ll be back together for good though ❤️

[crazycatgirl420]

Gotham's Black Rose

Dpxdc fanfic

I saw a post about Sam being Bruce's daughter and I've been reading a lot of comics recently about family and stuff. Idk what I'm actually thinking right now but the vibes are talking to me okay?

So it's a little implied kinky? Nothing happens but Sam gets lost in her thoughts for most of this chapter and she trails off into thinking around some kinda related topics, Everlasting Trio, so Danny/Sam/Tucker. Its just a short ch 1 so I'll see what happens if I write more.

Chapter 1: In My Head

Sam could feel the rage boiling in her blood. She was months from turning Eighteen. She had everything planned out for her grand escape from the Manson Mansion, from her car to a two room apartment in Gotham near Gotham University. Once she graduated she'd grab her boys, their daughter, and they'd ditch this fucked up town they would never accept them.

But here she stood, every inch of her individuality scrubbed away, to pose as the Manson's perfect daughter one last time.

"Of course we love our community-" Pamela said, it was a lie if Sam ever heard one.

This was a public event, the opening of a Children's Home. The polite new way of saying Orphanage.

Why she had to remove the purple dye from her hair for this she had no idea. She wasn't even allowed to wear her contacts. First of all they're prescription contacts now, so instead of having cool purple eyes, she had to wear glasses. Black hair and blue eyes, if she wasn't so tanned she could pass as another Fenton kid.

Not that there would be anything wrong with that sometimes... Sam bite her lip to chase away the naughty Tucker voice whispering in her ear. But maybe she could get a few photos with Danny before she re-dyed her hair and ditched the glasses again...

"Why, I remember it like it was only yesterday when Pam and I adopted Samantha-"

"What!" Sam turned to face her parents - The Manson's. "I'm adopted?"

[dragonsdomain]

Bleeding Out in the Backyard

"Mansions are rich and have a lot of security. One day their lead officer shows them a concerning video of Danny Fenton in the back ally behind their home."

A phic phight prompt by DizzlyPuzzled

...

Pamela Manson sipped her tea before blinking at the camera again. It had been a while since she'd paid attention to these security cameras, but she's starting to think that may have been a mistake.

"Honey?" she called into the hall. "Jeremy? Can you come over here?"

"Sure, sweetie!" Jeremy swept into the room, then drew to an abrupt stop at the view on the screen. "Is that Sam's scraggly boyfriend bleeding out in the backyard?"

Pamela opened her mouth to argue that he wasn't her boyfriend if she had anything to say about it before slapping her forehead. "Oh dear, I should call an ambulance! I wouldn't want to get sued by his crazy parents."

"Why is he bleeding out in our backyard?" Jeremy muttered.

"Here, call the cops, dear," Pam said, handing her phone to Jeremy before poking her head out to the hall again and shrieking "Sam! Get down here!"

Pam's phone dinged in Jeremy's hand. He glanced down at it. "Sam says 'what?'"

"Ugh!" Pamela grabbed the phone back from him and called Sam. "Get down here, you ungrateful girl! Your wretched friend is bleeding out in the backyard!"

There was a beat of silence. Jeremy was thankfully pulling out his own phone to call 911 with. "Mom..." Sam answered, "Are you trying to April Fool's prank me? 'Cause this is a really bad way to do it. Or-- wait, Tucker? Are you pretending to be my mom?"

"I am your mother!" Pam screeched. "Get down here before I have to come up and get you!"

Jeremy was speaking with an operator on the other side of the phone, describing the situation. Good.

Sam strode into the room presently with eyeliner half-removed. She takes in the screen, and Pam watches some indeterminate firecracker of emotions smack up onto Sam's face and then right back off. "...I forgot we have security cameras."

"Ugh," Pam rolls her eyes, mentally brushing off the fact that she had also forgotten.

"Okay, so... he's probably doing a prank."

Pam's eyelid twitches. "You can't be serious, Sam. Your father has already called an ambulance."

Sam cursed under her breath. "Uh, lemme go check on him, see what's going on. I'll call you from the yard and tell you what's up."

"Make it quick," Pamela said, gritting her teeth.

Sam dashed off again. Pamela propped herself up on the desk next to the cameras. She noticed she was shaking and tried taking some deep breaths to soothe her nerves. That boy was going to regret this if it really was just a prank.

Pam nearly shrieked when her phone rang, before she managed to fumble it up to her ear and answer.

"Hey! Haha, so! Yeah, it was just a prank!" Sam said, and Pam wondered if she was imagining that strained note in her daughter's voice. "It was just fake blood. Y'know. Uh, he didn't know about the cameras. And he was going to call me down to come see. So, ha, sorry about the ambulance, but you can send them away when they get here. 'Cause he's. He's fine."

Pamela's head drooped down on the desk. "Sam. Samantha."

Sam laughed nervously. "W-what?"

"You're grounded."

"Hey!"

Pam hung up. She gave a long, drawn-out sigh.

"What? So is he fine?" Jeremy asked.

"Yes," Pamela said exhaustedly.

Jeremy frowned at the screen. "He's still sticking to the bit."

Pamela glanced up and watched Sam dragging her friend across the grass, leaving behind an ugly trail of awfully convincing fake blood. She hoped it was water soluble.

"That girl is going to stop hanging out with those awful boys if it's the last thing I make her do."

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Michael After Midnight: The Films of Quentin Tarantino

There are few directors out there as ridiculously praised and extremely controversial as Quentin Tarantino. He’s done nothing his whole career but release films that garner critical acclaim and massive fanbases due to the stellar acting and writing within his films, but at the same time he’s been relentlessly criticized for his excessive use of racial slurs, his excessive homages to the point of plagiarism, and his habit of inserting his fetishes into every single one of his movies. What fetishes do I mean? Let’s just say his films have a lot of sole, and it would be no easy feet to go toe-to-toe with how in your face he is about what he likes.

While the man does have his problems (don’t get me started, I’m here to review movies, not gossip) and his style certainly isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, I’ve found myself enjoying his work a lot ever since I was a teenager, and his films are what pushed me into checking out a lot of more obscure films in the exploitation genre; in particular, I’m a pretty big fan of blaxploitation thanks to Tarantino’s work, and I doubt I would’ve ever checked it out if not for his constant homages. I can’t really hate a guy who helped make me aware of Pam Grier, can I?

What’s most impressive is that out of his ten films there’s not one I would say is genuinely “bad.” Sure, there’s at least one I think is a boring, middling affair, and there are a couple of heavily flawed but still solid films, but there isn’t a single awful movie in his filmography. That’s honestly pretty impressive, especially considering the sort of weird throwback films he makes. After finally sitting down and watching Once Upon a Time in Hollywood recently, I decided it was finally time to bite the bullet and do what was a long time coming on this blog: Review Tarantino’s movies. And then I just decided, hey, why not review them all at once, as an homage to Schafrillas Productions and his director rankings? Oho, see, I can homage things too!

To be clear here, I’m only reviewing the films Quentined and Tarantined by the man himself; the “Tarantinoverse” is a bit more expansive than his own filmography, as True Romance (which he wrote) is canon and Machete, Machete Kills, From Dusk Til Dawn, Hobo with a Shotgun, Planet Terror, Thanksgiving, and the Spy Kids movies are all part of the “show within a show” side of his world, but those are all topics for another time. Right now, it’s all Tarantino baby! Now let’s get on to the actual ranking, and pray that I don’t put a foot in my mouth with these opinions.

10. Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood

I feel pretty safe in calling this Tarantino’s worst film. It’s not necessarily awful or anything, it has good qualities to it, but it takes every problem Tarantino’s style has and cranks it up to 11.

The film is long and dialogue-heavy, with lots of that classic Tarantino writing, but while individual scenes are good such as when Leonardo DiCaprio’s character is filming a scene with a little girl or Brad Pitt’s character goes to the ranch the Manson Family are holed up at they never really feel like they congeal into a cohesive narrative, instead feeling more like a long string of vignettes. This is especially bad in regards to Margot Robbie’s Sharon Tate, whose numerous scenes really add nothing to the movie but constant looming reminders that Helter Skelter is going to happen and lots of shots of Robbie’s feet. The excessively padded runtime is so bad that when you finally get to the part where the tables are turned on the Manson Family, a historical twist that should feel fun and cathartic, it comes off as too little, too late instead.

It’s really a shame the film is so meandering, because in almost every other aspect it really shines. Every actor is giving it their all; Pitt and DiCaprio are absolutely fantastic, Robbie brings charm even to her filler role, and every single bit part actor is fully committed and leaves a mark. Standouts include Dakota Fanning as the de facto head honcho of the Family when Manson is out and Mike Moh as Bruce Lee in a scene that is at once deeply disrespectful to one of history’s greatest action stars and also very funny. This is a film you can tell everyone involved gave a shit about.

But for me, it’s not enough for me to really love the film. I like a lot about the movie for sure, but I just hate how nothing ever really comes together in a satisfying way. Maybe if a bit of the fat was trimmed I would have a higher opinion of the movie, but as it is three hours of vignettes (even well-acted ones) is truly excessive. It’s mid at worst, but for Tarantino that’s still pretty shocking when everything else he’s done is above average at worst.

9. Death Proof

This is a truly underrated film, but frankly, it’s easy to see why it is that way. This half of the double feature that was Grindhouse is a throwback to films that were actually two movies spliced together, and it has all the issues that entails. The first half of the film is a more grounded, dialogue-heavy buildup to a terrifying conclusion, while the second half is a wild and crazy action and stunt showcase, and the two halves feel at odds with each other…which is by design, but still.

This might be a hot take, but I find the slow burning first half to be the superior part of the film. As much as I love Tarantino’s insane action films, Kurt Russell’s portrayal of the sinister Stuntman Mike is just just utterly gripping; he is easily one of the best villains in Tarantino’s filmography. The whole first half establishes him really well, building up the anxiety until he finally gets to show the girl he leaves with just how well he death proofed his car. He’s just so damn cool.

And then comes the second half where he’s reduced to a bit of a chump. And this probably wouldn’t be nearly as bad if the protagonists up against him were compelling, but they’re not. They’re a bunch of girls who are boring at best and relentlessly unpleasant at worst; the fact they leave behind one of their friends to an uncertain (but likely unpleasant) fate at the hands of a creepy redneck is especially appalling. Beatrix Kiddo they ain’t.

This is a wildly uneven film, so I can see why it didn’t find its audience right away, but I think these days it had garnered a minor cult following. If you can handle the flawed second half, this is still a really good movie with a captivating villain performance that more than makes up for its shortcomings, but I definitely can’t justify putting it any higher on this list.

8. Inglourious Basterds

Oh, this might be a controversial one. This movie is the same sort of beast as OUATIH, which is why I have it so low, but with one crucial difference: It does everything better. Yes, this movie is long and a bit meandering, but it always feels like it’s moving towards a final goal. Yes, it ends with a history-altering plot twist, but this one might be the most cathartic one of all time. And yes, there’s gratuitous feet shots, but at least they’re in plot-relevant scenes.

Of course, the best thing about the movie is the villain, Hans Landa. Christoph Waltz’s big American breakout is one of the most compelling villains of the 2010s, a charismatic, cunning, self-serving Nazi bastard who you really want to see get what’s coming to him. I might be inclined to call him the best Tarantino villain of all time.

I think what weirdly brings the film down is the titular Basterds themselves, and not because they ultimately feel superfluous to the plot; it’s the same sort of thing as Raiders of the Lost Ark, them being absent wouldn’t have changed much but we also wouldn’t have much of an exciting adventure. My issue is that Brad Pitt aside they are just not interesting or compelling at all. You really need to work hard to sell attempted filmmaker Eli Roth as the ultimate Jewish badass, and the film doesn’t really deliver. If only Adam Sandler took the role as was the original vision; we really were robbed. It’s all the worse because it cuts away from the actual compelling plot with Shosanna for these schmucks.

To be clear, I don’t think this is a bad film by any stretch of the imagination, but I find it falls short of the hype around it. I’ve seen it described as movie with a lot of great scenes that never really comes together to be a great movie, and I mostly agree with that assessment; there’s so much to love here, but also so much I don’t care about. It’s definitely worth watching but it’s also where you can see the seeds for the problems with OUATIH planted.

7. The Hateful Eight

This isn’t a Tarantino film held in a particularly high regard; it’s not exactly hated, but it’s not what anyone would call their favorite either. Its contentious nature boils down to something apparent right in the title: Every character in this movie is a fucking asshole. It can be genuinely hard to get invested in these people when they’re a big collection of liars, killers, sadists, criminals, racists, and rapists.

Now, if you can stomach these nasty characters, what you’re left with is “John Carpenter’s The Thing… but a Western!” And I have to admit as a huge fan of The Thing, this is a very solid reimagining of the concept in a grounded setting. I do wish there was any character to root for here, but watching a group of people slowly tearing each other apart in a claustrophobic, isolated setting is still fun to watch. I don’t think it’s nearly as good or insightful as Carpenter’s movie, but very few movies are.

This is definitely a movie I can see people hating more than the previous two films, but I feel like this movie is more consistent than Basterds or Death Proof. Those movies have higher highs, but this movie never hits the lows they do, and even if his character is a massive asshole Samuel L. Jackson is always great to see in a Tarantino flick. Plus that brief appearance from Channing Tatum is great, especially with how it ends. This is a very solid film, but “very solid” is about as high as the praise I’ll give it will get.

6. Reservoir Dogs

Tarantino’s directorial debut, and boy is that readily apparent. It does a good job at establishing hallmarks of his style, like the sorts of conversations his characters have, their love of racial slurs, non-linear storytelling, and his trend of casting himself as a douchey minor character. It does everything fairly well, and I’d go as far as to call it one of the best directorial debuts ever… and that’s about it, really.

Like this is a very good film with strong performances—Michael Madsen and Steve Buscemi being the standouts—but it definitely feels less refined than his later works with the same style. His sophomore film just completely blows this one out of the water, to the point it’s hard to muster up the interest to revisit this as opposed to watching Pulp Fiction for the hundredth time. It’s not that this film is bad; it’s just that Tarantino’s later films do what this one does better.

It’s definitely a good film, maybe even great, but there’s clear room to improve. Hell, there wasn’t a single shot of a woman’s feet in the whole movie! Tarantino was slacking.

5. Kill Bill: Vol. 2

Now we’re in to the really great movies. And yes, while it doesn’t keep up the energy of the first film, I would definitely call this a great movie.

Where the first volume was driven by action, this one is more driven by talking, and thankfully the characters are saying a lot of interesting things here (the standout being Bill’s media illiteracy in regards to Superman, which reveals a lot about his character). There’s also the reveal of Beatrix Kiddo’s name as well as her backstory, and there are some standout moments like Beatrix escaping from being buried alive and the tense final conversation with Bill. Overall, the film does a fantastic job at fleshing the story out and expanding our understanding of the characters.

Like I said, though, it just doesn’t keep up the energy of the first film. Budd is great and serves as a more psychological opponent, burying Beatrix alive as a way to test if she has the resolve to finish her quest for revenge, but both Elle and Bill himself are dealt with in a rather anti-climactic manner. It says a lot that O-Ren, one of Bill’s former lackeys, put up a grander and more impressive fight than her boss did. While I do appreciate the more philosophical approach, it’s hard not to be miffed when a duology called “Kill Bill” doesn’t kill Bill in a more grandiose way befitting the character.

Obviously, I don’t think it brings the film down much, and this is still a good conclusion to the story. I just can’t help but feel it could’ve amped things up just a bit, y’know?

4. Jackie Brown

This is probably the weirdest film in Tarantino’s filmography, being an adaptation of a book that lacks a lot of his usual style and features a lot of people he didn’t work with afterwards (like Robert De Niro and Pam Grier). This has led to a lot of people praising it as one of Tarantino’s best works for being unique among his oeuvre… and also a lot of people deriding it for how different it is from his usual style.

I definitely think it’s up there with his best works, but I don’t think it’s the absolute best. It’s sort of like how I see Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies; they’re great films (well, the first two anyway) but I can’t in good conscience hold them up as the best Batman media because they ultimately lack a lot of what makes me love Batman as a character. And this film lacks a lot of what makes me love a Tarantino movie; it’s a fantastic, realistic crime drama, but that’s not really what I’m watching Tarantino for, you know?

Still, its placement on this list should tell you I still see this as a must-watch. Starring Grier alone makes it worth checking out, and it definitely showcases Tarantino has far more range as a filmmaker than you’d expect.

3. Django Unchained

Right from the opening song, you can tell this is going to be an epic movie. Tarantino truly nailed the Western on his first go around, adding his own spin to the genre and making a truly stellar film. However, it’s not without a few issues.

The main cast is fantastic. We have Christoph Waltz as a noble and heroic abolitionist, an atypical role he pulls off flawlessly; Samuel L. Jackson as a sinister house slave who is all about licking the boot that treads on him; and of course Leonardo DiCaprio as a hammy, egotistical slave owner, a stellar villain role that should have nabbed him an Oscar. Even minor roles are great, with Don Johnson appearing as a plantation owner early on and Jonah Hill of all people popping up as a proto-Klansman.

You might notice I didn’t mention Jamie Foxx as the titular Django. That’s because, unfortunately, he’s a bit of an issue with the film. It’s not Foxx’s performance; he makes Django cool and likable, and his awesome trademark Tarantino roaring rampage of revenge in the third act sells him as a truly badass character. No, the issue is the narrative seems to seriously sideline him in favor of Waltz’s character, to the point for large swaths of the film he feels a bit like a side character in his own story. I don’t find it to be a huge issue, but it can be frustrating, especially since this is a very long movie and a few scenes drag on a bit longer than necessary. You really couldn’t give the title character a bit more to do until the last half hour, Quentin?

Still, I don’t think its issues hold it back all that much. This is an incredibly fantastic film whose highs easily overshadow its frustrating lows. Frankly, if any Tarantino movie deserves a sequel, it would be this one; I think Django has a lot of interesting stories in him, and a film where he actually gets to be the central character the whole time would be great.

2. Kill Bill: Vol. 1

This right here is pretty damn close to being my absolute favorite Tarantino film. Where something like OUATIH is all of Tarantino’s flaws compounded into one film, this is all of his strengths together in one film. Fantastically violent action, stellar casting with not a single weak performance, an awesome soundtrack, tons of great homages to the works that inspired it, non-linear storytelling used effectively, and more style in a single frame than some movies have in their entire runtime.

Frankly, I don’t have a lot of issues with the movie, though I kind of don’t like how all the action is front loaded while all the character insight and dialogue gets shoved into the second part. It’s nothing that makes me think less of either film, but I think maybe sprinkling more insight into who the Bride is in this movie and putting some more action in the second part would keep the sequel from feeling a bit anti-climactic. I also wish we got more of Vernita Green, the first assassin we see dispatched onscreen and the one who gets the least characterization; with a third film increasingly unlikely at this point, meaning we won’t ever see her daughter seek her vengeance, it’s a shame we don’t get at least a little more of a look into who she is as a person like we did with Budd and especially O-Ren.

Aside from that, though? This is Tarantino at his best, and Uma Thurman’s crowning achievement as an actress, one that cements her as action royalty alongside the greats like Schwarzenegger, Stallone, and Weaver. There’s just one film Tarantino did that, objectively, is a much better film, and I’m sure as soon as you saw this ranking you knew exactly what it’d be...

1. Pulp Fiction

Of course this takes the top spot. Was there ever any doubt? This movie is everything Tarantino is about rolled into one supremely satisfying package.

The cast is nothing short of phenomenal. We have Bruce Willis in his prime, we’ve got John Travolta pulling out of a career slump, we’ve got Uma Thurman and Ving Rhames in roles that put them on the map, and we have a veritable buffet of talent in minor roles, the most memorable of which is Christopher Walken telling a child the delightful story of a pocket watch’s journey home from war. There’s not a bad performance here. But of course the real superstar is Samuel L. Jackson, who gave a career-defining performance as Jules, the baddest motherfucker around (it says so on his wallet).

The great performances wouldn’t matter much if not for the great script, though. The dialogue in this film is unreal with how good it is, with characters having very odd yet also very realistic and natural conversations. Jules and Vince discussing burgers, for instance, is one of the most memorable sequences in the film… and it’s just them driving! Some of the writing is a little contentious (did you really need to have your character say the N-word fifty times, Quentin?), but none of it is really bad.

I will say Tarantino as Jimmy is one of my few issues with the film, but also an issue I kind of like anyway. His acting is a wonky and there is genuinely no reason why he should be spouting off all these racial slurs (even in-universe, since his buddy Jules and his wife are black), but the sheer audacity of the whole thing saves it. Still, I can’t help but feel the scene hasn’t aged as gracefully as a lot of the film, and the amateur performance from Tarantino sticks out all the more because he is standing right next to two of the most talented actors ever.

Another aspect of the film I think has aged pretty poorly is the gay hillbilly rapists, but I don’t think this aspect is as cut and dry as “hey maybe the white director who has little acting training shouldn’t play the guy who says the N-word.” On the one hand, having the only queer characters in your movie being depraved rapists is not a good look, though this was par for the course for the 90s. On the other hand, the movie treats Marsellus getting raped with the same level of deadly seriousness that a woman in that position would receive in a film. That’s a pretty bold, progressive plot point, especially since men getting raped (especially male-on-male) was and still is used as a joke. And watching the movie in a day and age with tons of queer characters in media does soften the blow a bit, because these aren’t the only gay characters you’ll see in fiction anymore. I think it’s important to have discussions about these sorts of archaic portrayals of queers in film, but I don’t think this breaks the movie.

In modern times the film has gotten a reputation as a “red flag” film loved by toxic guys, and I think that’s unfair; is it the movie’s fault dudebros fail to see the movie is a refutation of crime and violence? Think about it: The only person in the film who gets an unambiguously happy ending is the one who has a spiritual awakening and abandons his criminal ways to walk the Earth. Every other major character pays in some way for their continued violent ways: Butch goes through Hell and ends up in exile, Marsellus Wallace gets raped, Mia overdoses and nearly dies, and Vince does die. Hell, there’s an entire segment where Jules and Vince are repeatedly chastised for careless violence causing a huge mess; as you may recall, Jules’ pal Jimmy was not too keen to find Phil LaMarr dead in his garage, and had some choice words to say about it. Stupid people see the blood and slurs and take it at face value, but the narrative itself tells these sorts they’re well and truly fucked because when you live by the sword, you die by the sword.

Of course, my favorite interpretation of the film is that it is espousing the belief that Beatles fans are superior to Elvis ones, as an extension of Mia’s comment in a deleted scene that you’re either an Elvis person or a Beatles person. Vince is clearly an Elvis guy, and he is presented as an unprofessional, careless buffoon who causes numerous issues and ends up dying due to his own inattentiveness; meanwhile, Jules is vaguely implied to be the proverbial “Beatles guy” (he calls the robber in the diner “Ringo”) and escapes the film unscathed. This is even funnier when you consider that one of Tarantino’s first onscreen roles was as an Elvis impersonator in Golden Girls, something that implies he might be an Elvis guy himself, which would make the film the most epic act of self-deprecation ever.

This is one of the greatest sophomore releases from a director ever, and one of the greatest films of the 90s. This film frequently finds its way to the top of “best films of all time” lists, and with good reason; it is, to this day, just that good. I think there’s a temptation to call any of his other films his magnum opus due to just how acclaimed and pervasive in pop culture this film is, but it got that way for a reason. It is a damn good crime story with all sorts of twists and turns and plenty of stuff for viewers to ruminate on and interpret as they please. Hell, I thought I liked Kill Bill more than it until I rewatched it, but boy does this just blow even that masterpiece out of the water.

If nothing else, the film is incredible for one simple reason: Tarantino managed to insert his foot fetish into the film without it feeling as needlessly gratuitous as it is in some later films! Bravo, Tarantino!

[tomboy014]

@withjust-a-bite  I can’t believe I forgot about Bruce, Alfred and Babs, so consider this a Part 2 to this post

I’ve got a lot more of these in the works, so to keep them all together, I’ll be tagging them #extended family au

Barbara:  So, let’s start off with Barbara.  As much as she’s a part of the batfam, she’s not one of the Bruce’s adoptees and doesn’t live at the manor.  Most likely, the two have never met, but they’ve heard stories about each other.

Alfred:  Alfred usually stays behind to hold down the fort when the family goes to Amity Park, so Sam only sees him when her family goes to Wayne Manor, but he always has her favorite vegan snacks on hand when she comes over.  And the sheer amount of sarcasm and sass that man can sling at Pam without her notice is something to behold; he’s cool.  Alfred has also been sneaking Bruce’s old MRC albums and paraphernalia into Sam’s room whenever the Manson’s come to visit.  He’s been trying to get it out of the manor and hoping she’ll take it, but she’s emo, not goth.  Still, it’s more effort than her parents put out, so she appreciates the gesture.

Bruce:  Sam doesn’t spend a lot of on-on-one time with the guy.  More often than not, one of his kids gets hurt and is sent to her house to “keep out of trouble.”  It doesn’t work.  Sam once caught Tim trying to climb out the window with a broken arm. or Pam ties up his attention whenever he comes over.  At least he never pushes her to eat meat or gives her grief about her wardrobe, so that’s a plus.  Still, she’s a 14-year-old girl raging against the machine, and Bruce is part of the machine, so she can never admit she likes her uncle.

And as a bonus, INTERACTIONS WITH IDA!!!

Dick:  Holds her yarn while she knits and takes over whatever conversation they have.  Ida’s fine just letting him talk and talk, the subject doesn’t matter.  She knows that sometimes you just need to vent.

Jason:  Ida’s found the best way to keep Jason from running is to get him into the library.  They usually have a nice back and forth in the together, and Ida can recommend a lot of books.  Jason also does a lot of venting toward Ida.

Tim:  Tim is banned from all forms of caffeine in the Manson estate, so as soon as Ida can get him to sit still for 30 minutes, he usually passes out.  Tim is the one who souped up Ida’s mobility scooter.

Cass:  Likes to hold Ida’s yarn while she knits and just listen to her voice.  Her tone and body language are super relaxing and comfortable.

Steph:  Loves to sit and listen to stories about Ida in her heydays.  This woman has stories!

Duke:  Thinks Ida is super sweet, but scary insightful.

Damian:  Has yet to willingly sit with Ida and thinks this whole ritual is ridiculous.  He does not need a babysitter!  One of his siblings or Sam has to literally pin him down with their legs while they sit.  Can usually be appeased with an art book or two to flip through.

Grandma Ida:  She has figured out everyone’s vigilante activities, especially Sam.  She’s the original rebel in the family; the rest aren’t about to sneak anything past her.  Oh, the stories she and Alfred could tell… Also, it’s never shown in the show, but I’m adding elevators to Wayne Manor and the Manson Estate so Ida can get around.  I don’t care what B*tch thinks, I’m making the place accessible.

[lexosaurus]

Danny Phantom au where the Fentons are the filthy fucking rich ones and the Mansons are the paranoid ghost hunters.

Rich Danny constantly dropping that he has a bowling alley in his house. It's fucking insufferable and no one can even go bowling in it cuz he's filled it with space stuff and nasa paraphernalia.

Sam enacting a vegetarian regime due to moral reasons brought about by fighting the hot dog wieners that got infected with ecto shit. They can come back to life. What the fuck they can come back to life we shouldn't keep meat in here-

Pamela and Jeremy Manson would rather die than be ghost hunters though lmao

I mean just think about it. Like PAM as a ghost hunter?

That woman would sooner eat an ecto-weenie than spend a single day in a HAZMAT suit.

[madametamma]

I don’t know when I’d have time to write this fic, if you think this idea has potential, let me know.

Thurston Manson and Pamela Rosenburg, had a close friend when they were growing up.  Her name was Lucy.  Lucy had an adoration for the spooky and macabre.  She’d often drag her two friends with her to explore haunted houses, abandoned buildings and creepy dark forests in the middle of the night, looking for monsters.  Lucy was a weird little goth girl but she was fun.  Together they were an inseparable trio, even as they grew up. 

In their early twenties when Thurston and Pam married each other and Lucy had a baby from a one night stand they stayed close friends. They were practically one big family. No one but them (And Thruston’s mom, Ida) understood why they hung out with one another.  They seemed so different.  But that didn’t matter to them.  Thurston and Pamela kept Lucy from going off the rails, reminding her to be more responsible, and Lucy helped make their lives interesting, getting them to lighten up, and enjoy life.

Until one night when Lucy gets the three of them in over their heads exploring the backwoods. She heard rumors of a vampire hiding out there and wanted to see for herself. Unfortunately for them, the rumors were true.  Lucy helped her friends escape but the vampire got her, transforming her into a monster. 

Lucy could no longer be around people.  As a new vampire, her bloodlust was too great.  She drove herself crazy trying to control herself.  It terrified her down to her very core that she was even tempted to drink from her own baby.

With a heavy heart, Lucy decided to give her baby to her two best friends and leave town, refusing to come back until she got control of her bloodlust and could be around people again.  

Thurston and Pamela Manson agree to love and raise the baby as their own daughter.  They name her Samantha Manson and vow to keep her safe.  It’s wasn’t easy.  As Sam grows she turns into a person so much like her bio mother, having a deep fascination for all things dark and spooky.  They watch her make friends with two neighborhood kids, Danny and Tucker and it worries them just how much the kids remind them of themselves when they were young.  They’re terrified to one day lose Sam like they did Lucy. The Mansons became desperate to steer their adopted daughter away from that kind of life to no avail.  The more they try, the more Sam resents them for it.

Things become extremely complicated when Lucy shows up at their doorstep one night, days before Sam’s 15th birthday, claiming that she’s finally ready to be Sam’s mother.