#I REMEMBER WHEN THIS MOVIE WAS ANNOUNCED AND WE FINALLY HAVE A TRAILER

[ayo-apprentice]

I rushed this drawing out of excitement I’ll take my time with my next drawing I swear

[neo-zone]

Sweet Home 3 Teaser Personal Breakdown

As what I feared, Sergeant Tak and Sang-won collabed (for the lack of better word). The people showing symptoms, instead of being isolated in certain place outside the stadium until they die (if my memory is correct), will be taken to wherever the Neohuman gang intended to further undergo monsterization process and if some are lucky enough, will be Neohumans (since we know not all people become Neohumans, some turn into pure full monster form)

Dr. Lim is pretty much alive, doing the announcement on the beginning of the trailer (well I thought Sang-won gonna give him double amount of karma for the torturous experiment he volunteered, apparently a too high expectation my bad). My assumption is after the encounter in the last episode of season 2, he made an agreement with Sang-won (probably to save his ass) and let him to the stadium

Yi-kyung's daughter is also inside the stadium now. Hm, wonder how and when she get in 🤔 What is she gonna do in season 3? Whose side she's on? Or she's still on her own side with the non-Neohuman monsters like the ones she has befriended (notice that none of them are Neohumans)? We shall see

Now I remember why the high school shaman girl in Exhuma felt familiar, turned out few months before the movie, she played the monster girl Sergeant Kim met in the last episode of season 2 where his platoon went inside the facility (now she's outside with the others). Yeah, definitely a polar opposite role. Strange I didn't saw her actress name in the SH2 cast list, I wonder why

Some glimpses of tragedy and doom that will happen to the soldiers (and if my memory is correct there's the sick woman with military boyfriend as well). It's not pretty, I know

We got action duo Eun-yu and Chan-young obviously fighting the monsters (and probably Neohumans too). His fans on twt pointing out in an understandable fear because of the genre that this little sneak peak might be summarizing his final appearances (as in death flag), but let's see when the season is released. I'm positive he's gonna survive, but if he got the Ji-su treatment, welp won't be surprised again this time

The scene where everyone (including Hyun-su and not just the stadium survivors) gathered outside, I wonder what was that for? 🤔 There are some monster cocoons as well

Only Kim and one of his crew who survived Bamseom?

Where did Hyun-su get the cool black suit? Did he go to another shopping mall like at the early episodes of season 2? Have he consider wearing a sleeveless cloth because it's a shame the expensive sleeve got ripped again

My bad feeling and paranoia is skyrocketing again with that Eun-hyeok only scene 😶 Yeah I know he literally walked with Eun-yu and Hyun-su on the first official teaser pic back in February. But better safe than sorry, I never trust that kind of blank sinister look and head tilting

Hoooo, Hyun-su is talking about taking out and killing Sang-won? 👀 Can't wait for the unlimited stabbing and flirting between them (featuring Eun-hyeok if the battle royal gonna be real)

We (I mean Hyun-su) gonna fight a bigger protein monster?

Who does Sang-won refer to with the "we'll meet soon? Hyun-su? His biological child?

Good luck with your family drama and inner monster struggle, Yi-kyung. Wish you all the best

Please do correct me if I'm wrong or add what you noticed but I didn't on the reply. Thank you

[cjstheshethey]

I really wanna talk about Blue Beetle and why it's so important to me. SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT!

Ever since this movie was announced, I was excited because I have familiarized myself with the character of Jaime Reyes for over a decade now. My sister introduced to me to the character when we had our late night Young Justice marathons during a vacation in Mexico back in 2013. Eventually, we got to season 2, where Jaime was introduced. I remember when he would speak Spanish, I would say "Hey he speaks Spanish like us!" And sometimes my non-English speaking cousins would join us watching the show, and when he spoke Spanish, they were able to understand him. As time went on I kinda forgot about DC for a while since I was gaining other interests until Young Justice came back for its 3rd and 4th seasons(This is also your subtle sign that if you haven't watched Young Justice you should do that). Naturally, Jaime is still one of my favorite characters in the show. While I was still in my Young Justice hyperfixation, It was announced that a Blue Beetle movie was happening and even had some concept art shown. Me being the superhero loving Mexican nerd that I am, I was already hyped, and we hadn't even gotten a trailer yet. Then, on April 3rd of this year, the first trailer came out, and I was so excited. DC has been one of my special interests since literally as long as I can remember no joke one of the first shows I ever remember seeing was the original Teen Titans and so combine one of my special interests with one of the most important parts of my identity(my ethnicity) and an excuse to go to the movies? I was stoked. And so I finally saw it a couple of days ago, and I LOVED it. From the family dynamic to the music choices(La Chona in the beginning where Rudy was introduced was the most Mexican introduction ever and I love it.) and even a few references to Mexican culture I didn't expect, Blue Beetle was everything to me. Finally a movie centered around a Mexican family that wasn't afraid to go into topics like immigration and straight up racism towards Mexicans and those topics not taking up the whole story while also not stereotyping any of these characters and treating them like real people. These guys did their research, and it showed. During the part where Jaime comes back to Earth and starts saying something in Spanish, he's saying a prayer. I used to say that particular prayer a lot back when I was a kid, which is a good thing they added that in there because it makes relatable to someone like me. I really wanna make note of one of my favorite scenes from the movie. So after Jaime gets the Scarab and it attaches itself to him, he tries to find a way to get it off him. Once they go to Ted Kords' hidden lab and find out he can't get rid of it safely, he angerly walks out. His uncle Rudy follows him up to the roof. Rudy asks if Jaimes ok and Jaime apologizes for yelling at Rudy. Rudy then starts giving a really good talk about the family and how resilient they are. Then he says this. "I mean, look at your old man. He brought me here from Sonora....when I was 10." No joke, just ask @alextric-overload(Hey dude 😁) and my other friends who came with me, I legitimately gasped in that theater. Why? Because that's where my family is from. Never before did I ever imagine Sonora would even be mentioned in any media let alone a big screen superhero movie but I am so glad it was and I've said it before and I'll say it again: Never in my life have I felt so seen and so represented. The moment those credits rolled, I legit said word for word, "This! This is how you do representation. MORE. OF. THIS. PLEASE." This is why representation is so important because if we continue to make movies like this, more people like me can see themselves in media and feel the way I did. REPRESENTATION MATTERS! So please go support this movie if you haven't already, it's so worth it!

[wander-across-the-firmament]

When I saw Sephiroth for the first time

I've been wanting to share my personal story with you for a long time now, how I came to love FF7 and how I slowly grew to love Sephiroth. Since I don't have anyone else to share it with, apart from my best friend (she probably knows the story from the way I've told it so many times because this character just captured my heart haha. Love you best friend ♡ ), I wanted to write it here on tumblr and maybe also on twitter. The first time I saw anything FF7 related was the movie FF7 Advent Children. (Yep, I'm late to the party but I think better late than never) When the movie came out I was only eight years old and I can't remember how old I was when I saw the movie but I watched it with my family as well. Maybe I was older? Unfortunately I don't know. In any case, I was extremely excited about the movie from the start even though I didn't really understand the story. "It was from the FF series so it can only be good" thought my little self. I only saw action at the time and thought the fights were the coolest. When I saw Sephiroth appear for the first time I didn't know anything about his tragic story and had question marks over my head. My little self thought at the time "didn't the young man have short hair just a moment ago?" (It's not like Sephiroth was seen right at the beginning of the movie, silly haha) I found his style very interesting at the time and thought it was a shame that we didn't see him often in the movie and would have liked to have seen more of him (you'll see him a lot soon hehe) but my little self was always on the side of the good people and never questioned the backgrounds of the villains in FF7 (or in fiction in generel), so the focus on Sephiroth was gone for a long time and my focus was elsewhere and no longer on FF7 for many, many years.

The years flew by and pictures and videos on youtube about FF7 Crisis Core and FF7 in general kept appearing in my life but the focus was still not completely back. I knew that the story existed and that I liked it but my life took a different turn at that time and I was more focused on it. Until the trailer for the FF7 Remake was announced and shown at E3. From then on I started to show more interest in FF7 again and was still a Cloti fan to this day and initially concentrated on the story in general. By then Sephiroth was no longer unknown to me and I knew what he was doing, but when FF7 Remake came finally out I found Sephiroth already extremely pretty and ethereal (Oh yes, he is such an angel ♡ ) and my interest in him increased. However, I still had this "You're only allowed to like the good people" phase and asked myself internally whether it would be okay to like villains as well (oh dear you have no idea haha)

Because of the "you can only like the good fictional characters" phase, I kept my distance from Sephiroth and unfortunately this lasted until FF7 Rebirth. In the back of my mind, however, I wanted to know more about him and watched a few videos about him on youtube. Facts that I already knew, so I watched his scenes in the FF7 Remake many times until FF7 Rebirth was announced. The trailer came and you could see Sephiroth and Cloud both wandering around Nibelheim. From then on, the ice broke in me. I saw how Sephiroth behaved and my interest in him was enormous. I saw how he cared for others and because of that I was extremely happy about it. It didn't take long until I read all the content of FF7, watched all the playthroughs to understand what was happening around Midgar, Nibelheim, Gaia and then I turned my attention to FF7 Crisis Core again and was overwhelmed by the story and how Sephiroth was portrait at that point. The moment I read all the information and story lore about him, he grew closer to my heart. I could understand him and knew his pain. (Losing a mother is painful. I know that all too well. In his case he never had the chance to meet his mother what is extremely sad.)

After all the years he had to endure at the hands of Hojo, Jenova and Shinra, I just wanted a happy ending for him. Sure, he's an iconic villain. I agree with everyone there. I just think that he deserves a happy ending after everything he had to go through. I started to like villains and so I started to end my "phase" and concentrate fully on Sephiroth. FF7 Rebirth was released shortly after and the story was as exciting as ever. That was when I fell down the rabbit hole. Sephiroth became one of my absolute favorite characters in the entire FF franchise and I loved every second he accompanied the group in Nibelheim. It was refreshing to see him being helpful and kind to others. How he cared about others again while you could see his emotions. Since then I have hoped that he will also get his happy ending in the third part. No matter how, the main thing is that he can smile again.

It didn't take long before I heard about FF7 Ever Crisis and of course I was interested. A story for Sephiroth? That sounds perfect! So I watched videos about the game again and had mixed feelings. I was happy to learn more about him and was surprised that we see him in his younger years. However, this is by far the most tragic and saddest story for me in FF7. So I had even more reasons to hope for a happy ending for him and that will continue to be the case. Sephiroth building a wall around himself even though he is looking for social contact, how he searches for his mother in vain, how he is manipulated by Hojo and Jenova…The latest chapter broke my heart into a thousand pieces and Sephiroth simply deserves better than that. The worst part is that his tragic story could have been prevented if only he had been loved more especially as a child.

OK, I had to write all that out of my soul haha. I still find it funny how I used to "avoid" him when I was little because he was a villain and I didn't know him well, and now I love this character so much and his story that continues to be told. For me, he is a very well-written character and I am glad to have seen and read his story and that of FF7 in the right place at the right time. I can well imagine how he felt and that is why he has become my comfort character. I think Sephiroth also appeared at exactly the right time in my life because he gives me the strength to carry on and not give up. That's why he means a lot to me At the moment I'm catching up on all FF7 games and am currently playing FF7 Crisis Core Reunion and FF7 Ever Crisis. FF7 Remake and Rebirth will have to wait a little longer until I've finished the DLC for FF16, but then I'll get to work on those two games too. I can't wait for my journey! Thank you so much for reading this far. That means a lot to me! ♡

[nikathesiren]

Not-Jojo content for a hot minute! Let's talk about the Borderlands movie...

First things first, I don't know if you know this, but my nickname comes from Borderlands. Although now I only talk and draw about Jojo's, I'm still a big fan of the Borderlands games.

When I played the first game, I loved the concept about sirens, and it was back then when I started using my actual nickname (circa 2010). Then, when Borderlands 2 came out, I was obsessed with Handsome Jack. And when I say obsessed, I mean OBSESSED with huge and bold capital letters. I consider Borderlands 2 the best Borderlands game of them all, and The Pre-Sequel is a close one just because of my full Jack obsession, lol.

Keep reading for my opinion about the trailer...

I don't remember when they announced that they were making a Borderlands movie, maybe 2017-ish??? I was extremely excited, thinking that they would adapt the story of the games (back then, I think Borderlands 3 wasn't even announced, but they could have started as a trilogy...). I even fantasized about the idea of Dameon Clarke, Handsome Jack's VA in English, being Jack in the movie as well. But that dream was long gone when I read that the film would not exactly follow up the story we all know. And the wait to see something about this movie was LONG.

I finally watched the trailer when they released it, and even it's not the story I was hoping to see... I kinda like it. I didn't feel the hype I expected being a huge Borderlands fan, but I think I can still enjoy it. Some stuff from the movie feels off (like Roland's personality... he doesn't feel like Roland at all... and where are Lilith siren tattoos!?!?!?), but other stuff feels total in the style of Borderlands (people bullying Claptrap in some way is a must). The movie has its flaws, but people on Reddit keep bitching about Lilith and Tannis being too old, Roland being too short... ugh, I don't fucking care about the cast not being aesthetically perfect (but I admit that I would have liked them to). If the actors and actresses do a good job interpreting their characters and the story fits the Borderlands' universe with good humor and action, I'll consider myself lucky.

That was my impression of the trailer in English, but I'm from Spain, so the next day I watched the trailer again, but dubbed in Spanish, and... it felt way funnier! At least Tina's phrases sounded funnier for me (instead of saying "it's in my mouth!" she says "I swallowed it" lmao), and some voices suit the characters better than the original ones. Usually, it's the other way around, lol!

I think the localization will improve the movie for me, and that gives me some hope to enjoy the movie besides all the bitching on Reddit. Seriously, guys, stop complaining about people's bodies... there are other things to be criticized...

To try to introduce myself into the mood, maybe I'll do a redraw of an old Borderlands fanart... it'll be coming soon!

[haro-hawayu]

Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning

Watched Digimon 02 movie the other day with my friend in theaters~ not gonna go too much into details but just some general thoughts:

Random thoughts as I recall what happened, things won't be in order tho... but just wanted to say that I went in 99% blind. I only saw that ONE trailer where I posted that one screenshot. I had no expectations, it was literally at zero.

Bolero was literally all I remembered of the beginning LOL

I cherished/delighted over/soak up every single moment that had Takeru & Hikari together in the same frame #takari

^ I will 100% screencap those frames when there's a digital release

^ I also guarded myself because I knew there wasn't going to "anything" significant happening (hi Digimon Tri), but hey, I still love them so

I'm pleasantly surprised by the Ken & Miyako moments tho.

I love the designs for grown-up 02 kids, they all look so good.

Love how Daisuke & Veemon just going about at their own pace, and not being too swayed by all the "what ifs"--also love their #ramen way

The shadow/trauma that haunts Takeru every now & then will always gut me TuT I want him to be happy forever (not in the Ukkomon way tho)

Ohhh it's Ogata Megumi. I think I forgot that she was announced to be the VA for Rui, but I'm glad I can recognize her voice.

And Kugimiya Rie's of course.

I felt this weird laugh-cry emotion inside whenever they did the digivolutions, how did we sit through all of them as kids?? XD

Every time I hear Wada Kouji, Miyazaki Ayumu, and AiM, I feel so so so happy, but also feel that bittersweetness (Wada Kouji forever)

Rui in the movie is just like... what if Ikari Shinji existed in the Digimon world instead? (LOL I love Ogata Megumi)

The whole Ukkomon thing was just really creepy (like maybe except for the very very beginning when they first meet, and the very very end when they meet again), like dang, it way dark as heck.

Rui's backstory was just really sad too. Like I said, really dark, especially when things literally started falling/melting apart...

I'm a little sad that we only got to see Taichi out of everyone in the older gen, but I think I can appreciate why this was only about the 02 kids. I'm just glad Takeru & Hikari exist in both gens.

Takeru is old enough to drive and I kinda love that? Boy's all grown up.

Love the cameos we saw around the world too.

Loved the scene when everyone's Digivices just lit up the entire world, so pretty~

Random thought: The biggest brain move they could have made was have the movie released on 02/29/24 since it's kinda around the corner--maybe for digital release XD

Final thoughts: I'm glad that this movie just came as just one movie. I don't think I can handle it if it went on as long as Tri did, so that nothing gets too dragged out and resolves itself in one movie. No offence to Tri--I loved how Tri started, but things got weird and the resolution was kinda lacking imo, but I still appreciate all the good I remember of it tho. I think for Digimon 02 movie, I was able to just enjoy it as a standalone or alternative episode without thinking too much of how it ACTUALLY fits in to the bigger plot. Like the beginning, they talked about a Route 1 or A, and there's also a "Route 2"--I just think of this as a different route that our Chosen Ones could have taken. In my heart of hearts, their bonds are real, and their friendships are forever whether they have their Digivices or not, and whether they are together or not (Kizuna, I'm looking at you).

[seriously-nobody]

Hey I figured I should do a lil about me type thing. Plz don't judge too harshly again this is my actual life. So anyway here we go! 😵‍💫

@all-things-ghostly thx for this idea

I was born in 2004 in Newport Beach and grew up in sunny southern California, specifically one city over from Anaheim. And yes, I went to Disneyland, quite often actually. I'd say I went maybe 2-3 times a month or if it was around the holidays or a special event it was every weekend if I could. So, needless to say, I know Disneyland pretty well. Unfortunately, I had to move out of California in 2017, but that's a story for another day.

I was, for a long time, afraid of the mansion, surprisingly enough. The only thing I was afraid of was the pop up ghosts so everytime I passed the gate to the graveyard I'd close my eyes until the ghost host said his line "Ah there you are." and I knew I was safe. That was until a friend of mine who was a few years older than me took me through it and pointed out which graves had pop ups and when they usually spring up. I wanna say that I was around 5 or 6 when this happened. O also I remember the beating heart bride before Constance kicked her out lmao. I remember not being afraid of her because she just kinda chilled out there, she was super pretty according to mini me. My parents r super mega Disney fans and we used to go to an actual Disney club in CA and I remember it was a big announcement at our monthly meeting that a new ghost was taking over the attic and it was super exciting. I also remember when they announced they were installing Hattie into the mansion again and it was super cool to me since I already knew the history of the figure.

Anyway enough about the mansion (for now). For a long time my favorite attraction in the park was Splash Mountain. Yes I understand everything now but back when they were taking it out I had no idea about song of the south and the underlying story of it all. Now that I understand tho, I can say that it was super problematic and really shouldn't have been there. I really just thought it was about cute fluffy animals singing about a rabbit escaping death and u get wet. I mostly liked it because it had a single rider line and it was nice to ride alone on a hot day.

I'd say Indiana Jones was my 2nd favorite, even tho their single rider was kinda on and off sometimes, and I didn't come around to actually riding it for fear of the mummies that come out at you, that big projection of kali that appears on the cieling in the skull room, and the giant snake, until I was 6 or 7. I say 6 or 7 because again that same friend helped me through it. But after I got through it with my eyes open I loved it.

Ok enough of park rambling because I could probably talk about the parks until I die and I still wouldn't be finished talking. So I moved away from Cali sadly and I had to part with the park and characters I so loved. I wouldn't say I forgot about my love for these characters but I would say it faded, a lot actually. So let's talk recent, like early July 2023. I forgot what movie I was watching but I remember seeing a certain trailer before the movie that hit me over the head with a comically sized cartoon hammer. I remember seeing the purple wallpaper and I got real confused because I didn't hear /anything/ about there being another HM movie much less a scary one. Like this trailer made me so incredibly happy I cannot even tell u. When I saw that jerky constance in the corner shot I damn near cried. I was finally getting a more scary Haunted Mansion movie WITH ACTUAL HAUNTED MANSION CHARACTERS. Ya that went on the calendar real quick. Then I saw it in theaters and o my god was that THE hatbox ghost?? O my god??? They put him in here! O... o no... he's... he's evil... and he's so sassy and stupid... And then I fell. I not only fell for Alistair but I also fell back in love with characters and places I hadn't been since I was 13. And that love that had faded from being away for so long grew vibrant and close again. Ok quit it with the gushy mushy shit, me. Anyway so I really loved this movie and I had a Tumblr account at the time. I mean I wasn't posting anything but I had it to look into cool niche Fandoms. So I did just that. I didn't expect like anything but I was overjoyed to see so many people loving characters that I feel don't get enough of it.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

We finally have our teaser for THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM!

I think it looks pretty cool. The backgrounds are absolutely gorgeous, and it's nice to see a big 2D animated film getting a wide release. J.R.R. Tolkein's Middle-Earth is actually no stranger to animation, as it has seen animated adaptations going back to the 1970s... You also had the still-pictures short put together by animation legend Gene Deitch in the 1960s that was never meant for release to the public, more to establish a trademark. Described as an "ashcan copy", this was when producer William Snyder's Czechoslavakia-based Rembrandt Films - where Deitch worked, and made all of his TOM & JERRY cartoons circa 1961-62 - briefly had the rights to turn the books into a feature, but it didn't materialize.

Rankin-Bass - in working with Japanese-based animation studio Topcraft - finished the first screen adaptation in 1977 with an animated TV movie called THE HOBBIT, and a year later, Ralph Bakshi rolled out his rotoscoped adaptation titled THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Bakshi's RINGS didn't lead to a sequel despite being a part one and also being a box office success, while Rankin-Bass HOBBIT got a follow-up in the form of THE RETURN OF THE KING in 1980.

But Peter Jackson really set a standard with his ambitious, visually resplendent adaptations. Not just for LORD OF THE RINGS adaptations, but also big-budget fantasy movies in general. Even his HOBBIT trilogy was thought to have fallen way short of that classic trilogy...

So where do you go from there? How does an animated version made nowadays do its own thing and sit nicely alongside the Jackson trilogy?

Warner Bros.' marketing seems to think that beginning the trailer with moments from the Jackson films is the way to go... And then wham-banging from those big budget productions into... An anime film that's noticeably a lot lower budget. I think that's not gonna go over great for a lot of audiences, who will be thinking after those first 30 or so seconds... "Wait, why is this a cartoon?"

And what's your explanation? "It was to keep the rights"?

I think it looks cool, then again I'm an animation fan. I gladly ate this up when they announced it a few years ago. I remember INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE getting that sort-of "wait, they're doing a cartoon now?" reaction before it came out. We already had the three big-screen live-action iterations of the character (Sam Raimi trilogy with Tobey Maguire, the 2nd Sony series with Andrew Garfield, and the MCU movies with Tom Holland), and we had VENOM just a few months earlier which was possibly setting up another distinct universe... So this was yet another Spider-Man movie, another universe, and it was animated...

SPIDER-VERSE opened okay in December 2018. $35m wasn't bad, per se, but not exactly great. That was lower than what, say, fellow Sony Animation movie HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA opened up with six years earlier. It wasn't anywhere near a more recent Pixar original like COCO ($50m)... But then something happened. Those who saw the movie raved about it. I know I sure I did, I caught it opening day. And the movie went to make over 5x its opening weekend gross and more than covered its $90m budget. $380m+ worldwide was pretty successful, though it was far below what the live-actions all took in. Even the more mixed Garfield movies, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 made over $700m worldwide back in 2014...

Cut to ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE, which took in over $380m DOMESTICALLY last year, and $690m worldwide. INTO got by on being great and audiences discovering it... Maybe a similar leggy performance awaits WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM, if it's pretty good. It does face some screen battling with MUFASA and SONIC 3, along with... Coincidentally, Spider-Man villain movie KRAVEN THE HUNTER.

I'm very curious to see how it does, honestly. Do I think the future of wide-release 2D movies rests on its back? Absolutely not. An anime adaptation of a well-worn property that's really just a rights-grab is not some great decider, and shouldn't be seen as one IMO. If it does well, I think it'll just be viewed as a sort of one-time thing. Not absolute proof to executives that full-on 2D animation units MUST be invested in. If the occasional 2D SPONGEBOB movie or whatever can't, this certainly won't. It would have to take multiple 2D movies making FROZEN numbers back-to-back... Yeeeeah... I think a lot of 2D purists don't realize that are so many editorial, financial, and technical factors at play that keeps the wider American feature animation industry dead-set on just using CGI. Not cheaper, but easier in some regards, and it's also their way of not dealing with certain aspects of 2D production that they didn't have much control over.

Anyways, I hope this movie does well, and it's neat to see animation filmmakers playing in this particular sandbox. Showing that anyone can take a crack at the property once again. After all, director Kenji Kamiyama - in addition to having a history dating back to the '80s - did direct a STAR WARS: VISIONS short and BLADE RUNNER: BLACK LOTUS.

In general, I like this sort-of current wave of big screen animated feature adaptations of properties largely synonymous with live-action movies. Spider-Man, Ninja Turtles, Transformers, ya know. Movies that are more than just "Oh, and the cartoon." SPIDER-VERSE and MUTANT MAYHEM did such cool things with the medium and the properties they were adapting, and TRANSFORMERS ONE looks to do the same.

(Yes, I know, there was a CG TMNT movie in 2007. It made its money back, I know. It kinda just came and went, though, in the public conscious. Whereas MUTANT MAYHEM was acclaimed and it has a sequel coming. And I'm also aware of the 1986 TRANSFORMERS movie. It's why I said "largely synonymous with"...)

I wonder if more happen. I'd imagine it'd be for another franchise, though, not an animated take on a standalone live-action classic. Like, don't expect a really sick animated FRENCH CONNECTION film or something like that. Surprised Disney doesn't get the jump on an animated STAR WARS movie that's NOT a pilot for a TV series (yes, I also know the 2008 CLONE WARS movie exists). Warner Bros. was silly to not make that animated BATMAN BEYOND movie pitched a little while back. Maybe a horror mainstay could be next? Wasn't there an animated NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET in the works at one point? More animated horror would be neat, honestly.

[sege-h]

Thoughts on the State of Play reveal

Under a readmore just in case

1- I know I said I'd keep the Son*dow tag blocked for a bit after Prime ended but I think I'll keep it blocked till the end of the year now lmao

2- I know the rumor has been going around since yesterday but I took it with a grain of salt since it's. Yknow. A rumor. But even when I let myself think 'what if its real tho' this is SO FAR FROM WHAT I EXPECTED. A!!! I thought at most we'd get is a remaster that'd also make Shadow playable! As soon as I saw the new level I was like WAIT WHAT. WAIT WHAT!!?!? and it just kept going from there!!!

I'm so happy we'll be getting a HD biolizard fight! He'll no longer be contained to the 3DS! Also from what little we saw Shadow will get to have some dynamic posing in the boss fights, like Super Sonic did in Frontiers. Good! I loved those!

3- Ian Flynn has #KnowingSmile'd the announcement and I'm hoping this means he got to write for whatever new content there is.

And speaking of Frontiers! I'm hoping that this ends up being Shadow's 'Frontiers' moment. In that his writing and character get what Amy's, Tails', and Knuckles' did in Frontiers.

4-I had the stream off to the side in another tab since I wasn't interested in most of what was shown. And then I heard the first few notes of the Generations music and i immediately switched tabs and I just!!! Feel like I did in 2011 except my computer/internet is way better, and you tube is shittier!

5- I'm excited for this for such Me reasons. For those new here- I live in a country that had no Sonic stuff for...well, never, really. Not until about 2022. The second movie did what I'd hoped the first movie would do (but then the pandemic happened) and brought over Sonic stuff here. For the first time in my life I went to a toy store here and it had Sonic stuff. I got to buy physical Sonic comics for the first time. For the first time in my life I can go to a video game store and actually see Sonic games there. It's been wild

That being said, 2011 had Nothing. Sonic Generations came out. And I didn't want to pirate it because a friend of mine had worked on it. I was determined to find it. And I only saw it irl one time- for the Playstation. A console I've never had. It was pretty upsetting! I remember posting about it here even....I've been on tumblr too long SHDGSHDHS

Later I'd find that there was a 3DS version. I have that! So I looked for that version of it alongside the PC one

So, for almost a decade, I looked, to no avail. And for this whole time I refused to look at any playthroughs! Any knowledge I had on whats in the game came from the trailers we saw

And then in 2019 my best friend helped me buy the 3DS version. I had 9 dollars on my 3DS and whenever the game went on sale it'd be on for 10 dollars. So he gave me a dollar and helped me get it SHDGSHDH

So I finally experienced Generations! It was surprise after surprise in that one, because I knew it was different but I didn't know how. I didn't expect a Rush level in it, or for the Biolizard to be in there!

And then in late 2020 when I got my new computer and could finally get steam, another close friend got me Generations for the PC! I'd somehow managed to dodge spoilers on it all those years so all I knew about it was: Theres Green Hill, Chemical Plant, City Escape, and a Silver boss fight.

I got to play modern City Escape for myself- which is the level that inspired the current iteration of my main OC, Storm. It was a joy

All this rambling to say...it's wild to think that once this remaster comes out, I'll be able to get it day 1, at least I hope I will. Still-it won't take me almost a decade to get to it

And if there's a physical release? I'll be able to go to a store here- HERE, not in one of our neighboring countries, not from somewhere else, but in a store here. Right across the street. And I'll finally have a physical copy of Generations. That was my final goal with the game-- I love it, I have two versions of it! And the plan was always that even though I'd gotten to play them now, if I ever ran into a physical copy of the game, I'd buy it. And now I'll really get to do it

6- Bonus thought of me being silly: Wowow my OC was shown at the State of Play--

[allthingsfangirl101]

TOS Chapter 2: Definitely Not A Miracle

Masterlist

The day after Max woke up, Steve and Robin volunteered at the high school. The entire time they organized the supplies people brought in, Steve's mind was focused on other things. Mostly on Max and whether or not he should be at the hospital with her so she wasn't alone.

Every once in a while, Steve's mind would drift to the mystery woman who appeared outside Max's hospital room. He couldn't help but wonder who she was and, more importantly, what she was doing in Max's room.

Steve jumped when he felt a shirt being thrown at his head. He took it off, tossing it onto the table as he looked up to see Robin smirking at him.

"What's got you all spacey?" Robin's smile dropped when she figured it out. "Steve," she sighed, "you can't keep blaming yourself for what happened to her. We all knew Vecna getting to her was a possibility. She knew what she was getting into. We all did."

"I know," Steve mumbled. "That doesn't mean I have to be okay with the end result."

"None of us are," Robin said gently. "But Max is going to be fine. Remember what the doctor said? She should be back on her feet in a couple of days."

Robin went back to sorting through the donations. Steve couldn't. He looked around the room, seeing the faces of the other volunteers and the people they were helping.

"Steve?"

He looked up to see Robin looking at him. "Maybe you should head home," she sighed. "I can finish things up here."

"I'm fine."

"You look like you haven't slept in months," she said knowingly. "Go home."

"I'm good," he shrugged.

"Steve," she elongated.

"I told you I was fine."

"Go home."

"I don't want to go home," Steve confessed. "My house is empty and I look around, seeing all of the stuff my parents have and it makes me feel guilty. Our house is one of the only homes not destroyed by Vecna's insane earthquake."

"You shouldn't feel guilty," Robin said simply. "Think of how many times you've had the kids over, how many movies they've watched there, how many times the kids have ended up spending the night at your house."

"I guess that's true," he sighed. Robin watched him continue folding clothes before figuring that the best thing to do for him right now was to not talk about it.

So, she didn't.

Robin started rambling on about Vicki, but Steve's mind was still on Max. Whenever he thought about Max, his mind wandered to the woman he saw leaving the hospital.

The next week, Steve went back and forth between his job, the school, and the hospital. He couldn't help but feel like he was in limbo. He watched as people around him got on with their lives.

When Steve finally forced himself to go home, he walked into an empty house. He instantly went to the phone and called the kids. They agreed to come over and play their D&D game that was still set up on Steve's kitchen table but only if he ordered a pizza.

Just like he promised, as soon as he hung up with Dustin, Steve ordered a pizza. The kids came over, ate his food, and played their game. The entire time, Steve sat back and slowly drank a beer as he watched the kids.

As the pizza and sodas were turning into a sugar rush, Steve drove them home. As he drove, he looked at each one of them. He was willing to do anything to protect these kids.

A couple of days later, to everyone's surprise, Max's doctor announced that Max would be healthy enough soon to go home. None of the kids felt good about her going back to the trailer park, so Steve offered to have her stay with him. His parents went out of town when everything started. They wanted to drag him with them, but Steve knew he couldn't leave the kids. After a lot of discussion, the group still hadn't decided who Max was going to stay with.

The kids smushed into his car and they left the hospital after the happy news. Steve caught himself continually looking into the rearview mirror to check on the kids.

Steve pulled onto the main road in Hawkins with the radio quietly playing this week's top hits. He couldn't help but mentally plan to have Max stay with him. When Steve looked back at the road, something on the right caught his eye. He slowed down, his stomach jumping into his throat.

"That's not good."

"Is that. . . "

"That's the old Creel house," Dustin answered Will's question. Steve pulled over and they watched as the Hawkins Fire Department tried to put out the fire.

The kids started talking about the fire, Steve scanned the nearby crowd. For a brief second, Steve thought he saw something, a figure, behind the house. His breath got stuck in his throat when he recognized the figure. Ignoring the protests of the others, Steve jumped out of the car.

[crowdvscritic]

round up // APRIL 23

A selection of words capturing my April pop culture experiences:

Museum

Podcast

Amy Sherman-Palladino

Muppets

Vampire

Nike

American Girl dolls

Read on for everything that brought me joy this month!

April Crowd-Pleasers

1. Renfield (2023)

Did I write a review of Renfield, an ode to the two Nic(k)s, or analysis of the Great Resignation? Yes, yes, and yes. Read whatever, in fact, I wrote at ZekeFilm. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7/10

2. SNL Round Up

Whether they’re spoofing my childhood toys, my young adulthood wedding commitments, or my love for the Jonas Brothers, the crew in Studio 8H has been keeping me laughing this Spring.

“Southwest Airlines Announcement” (4811 with Michael B. Jordan) 

“The Big Hollywood Quiz” (4812 with Pedro Pascal) - A great example of how no one watches the same things anymore

“Waking Up” (4812)

“Protective Mom” (4812)

“Lisa From Temecula” (4812)

“American Girl Café” (4814 with Travis Kelce)

“Bridesmaid Cult Documentary” (4816 with Quinta Brunson) - I feel seen

"Weekend Update: Co-Worker Who's Extremely Busy Doing Seemingly Nothing on Returning to the Office” (4817 with Molly Shannon) - I feel attacked

“Sally O'Malley: Jonas Brothers” (4817)

“American Girl Doll Movie Trailer” (4818 with Ana de Armas)

3. Descanso Gardens

Because I can’t resist a botanical garden! Gardens are becoming a go-to attraction for me on vacations, and the Descanso Gardens in Los Angeles did not disappoint. The day we went was not too crowded but was impressive enough to earn a huge crowd—a hidden gem for LA tourists!

4. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Panel at PaleyFest

The gardens were lovely, but there were two other attractions that were the real reason for my visit to Los Angeles. The first was PaleyFest to see Amy Sherman-Palladino, Daniel Palladino, and the cast of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel! Just before the fifth and final season started on Amazon Prime, we heard Alex Borstein and Rachel Brosnahan share their mourning process for the show’s ending, Caroline Aaron and Michael Zegen reflect on what these roles have meant to them, and Tony Shalhoub crack up the crowd. (And who knew I would be so starstruck by him? When he came on stage I wanted to scream, “YOU WERE SO GOOD IN GALAXY QUEST!”) Check out SO IT’S A SHOW’s Instagram for more highlights from when my podcast co-host Kyla and I visited the Dolby Theatre (home of the Oscars!).

4. John Mulaney: Baby J (2023)

A full year ago I saw John Mulaney on his From Scratch tour, and now you can enjoy the set at home. His joke about not being interested in science “from magnets to ducks” did not make the cut (and alas now I can’t remember the setup for that punchline), but the other 90% of a show that made me laugh so hard I cried is preserved forever.

5. The Muppets. (2015-16)

Why did this gem only last 16 episodes? In this one-season single-cam sitcom, the Muppets are working on Late Night with Miss Piggy, a setting that could’ve produced comedy gold for years. With the frazzled Kermit producing, the Electric Mayhem as the in-studio band, and celebrity guests through the felt nose, I’m glad I checked out these 16 eps even though they ended on a cliffhanger. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like for Miss Piggy to date Josh Groban or to hold grudges against every blonde actress in Hollywood, you won’t want to miss it either.

7. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. (2023)

Special in the way that the best coming-of-age movies are. I suspect Margaret’s insecurities about boys, bras, and besties will feel relatable to Gens Z and Alpha if for no other reason than this movie’s depiction felt scarily accurate to my own experience in the mid-2000s. I promise I will never start a review with the story of my first period ever again! At least, probably—at the rate we're going, it will never be apropos again. Read the full review at ZekeFilm. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 9/10

April Critic Picks

1. AIR (2023)

Is it controversial to say Matt and Ben’s collabs only get better? If we're playing Greatest/Best/Favorite, this might be my new ranking:

Greatest: Good Will Hunting

Best: The Last Duel

Favorite: AIR

Read my full review for ZekeFilm. Crowd: 9.5/10 // Critic: 9/10

2. The Academy Museum

The other reason I went out to Los Angeles: After years of pandemic-caused delays, I finally made it to the Academy Museum! Six floors of movie and Oscars history and memorabilia? You know I’m in my happy place, but casual movie fans will find something for them, too. Some of my favorite exhibits included the several-stories high Mount Rushmore backdrop used in North by Northwest, the gallery that used The Godfather to show each element of filmmaking, and the pianos from Casablanca. Fanny’s (named for Barbra Streisand’s character in Funny Girl) serves exceptional museum food, and I learned about deep cut filmmakers and movements I was only vaguely familiar with before I went. I’d give the Academy a gold statue for museum execution if I could!

3. Good Reads

A miscellaneous round up of good stuff I’ve read lately…

Final thoughts on 2022 Awards Season:

“How Avatar: The Way of Water Can Make $2 Billion and Still Feel Irrelevant,” Vox.com (2023)

“How Did We Let the Golden Globes Back In?” LATimes.com (2022)

Unexpected responses to Cocaine Bear:

“An Attempt to Define the ‘Good for Her’ Cinematic Universe,” Vulture.com (2023)

“The Case for Cocaine Bears,” Slate.com (2023)

Glitches in the Sports Industry Matrix:

“America’s Bad Bet on Expanding Legal Sports Gambling,” Vox.com (2023)

“Will Damar Hamlin’s Injury Change the NFL? Why a Safer Game Could Turn Away Fans,” LATimes.com (2023)

Watching trends that need to be fixed:

“Mumbling Actors, Bad Speakers or Lazy Listeners? Why Everyone is Watching TV With Subtitles On,” TheGuardian.com (2023)

“Television Is Going Exactly the Wrong Direction. I Know the Solution.” Slate.com (2023)

Explorations of our malaise at work:

“How to Care Less About Work,” TheAtlantic.com (2021)

“The Age of the Crisis of Work,” Harpers.org (2023)

All the ways—okay, just some of the way—social media is on the struggle bus right now:

“Why Every App Now Feels Like TikTok, but Worse,” NYMag.com (2023)

“How Elon Musk Turned the Blue Check Mark Into a Scarlet Letter,” Slate.com (2023)

“Commentary: If Twitter Finally Dies, Where Do We Find the Smart People?” LATimes.com (2023)

And even more miscellaneous good reads: 

“You’ll Feel Better if You Go Outside,” NewYorker.com (2021)

“The Oral History of Helm’s Deep,” Inverse.com (2022)

“I’ve Had It With Stunt Ice Cream Flavors,” Eater.com (2023)

“Clothes Make the Con Man,” NYTimes.com (2023)

“Hailey Bieber, Selena Gomez, and the Easter Egg-ification of the Hollywood Feud,” Vox.com (2023)

“Why Are TV Writers So Miserable?” NewYorker.com (2023)

4. Current Exhibits at the St. Louis Art Museum

My membership to the SLAM always pays off. In April I indulged in two special exhibits:

The Age of Armor, which showcases the history of armor and battle gear with an emphasis on suits of armor. The galleries did a great job explaining how the armor functioned and provided model pieces to try yourself, but you know my favorite part was the Black Panther and Star Wars costumes at the end!

Monet/Mitchell: Painting the French Landscape compares the work of Claude Monet and American expat Joan Mitchell, and it brought me back to my magical trip to Giverny last summer! 

5. The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939)

Sumptous costumes and sets, Bette Davis doing the most acting, and Errol Flynn at his handsomest. This Queen Elizabeth I costume drama from Michael Curtiz is maximalist in aesthetic and romantic at its heart. Crowd: 7/10 // Critic: 9/10

6. Under the Umbrella: A Little Women Podcast (2023-)

Little Women superfans unite! Kate and Kelsey (friends and both teachers) are analyzing the book and film versions from every angle, and if you love the March sisters, Louisa May Alcott, or Greta Gerwig, they are going to be your new best friends. 

7. Just Like Us: The Tabloids That Changed America (2022)

Last spring the Ringer Dish podcast did a deep dive into the ‘00s tabloids and their obsession with Brangelina, Bennifer, and ‘90s child stars gone wild—so basically everything I obsessed over in middle school. Bottom line: They probably didn’t make our world better, but those mags (and emerging online blogs and reality TV) sure tapped into parts of our brains that made them addictive. This eight-episode series challenges any assumption we have about about celebrity gossip being harmless—or frivolous.

Until May’s Round Up…

In spite of the current state of things, I’m still tweeting in denial as @tblake24. Come join me until this platform burns to the ground!

If you want real-time updates on what I’m watching and loving, you can also find me as @tblake24 on Letterboxd. 

Photo credits: Good Reads, Under the Umbrella, Just Like Us. Descanso Gardens, PaleyFest, Academy Museum, and SLAM my own. All other IMDb.com. 

[morallygreyvigilante67]

what made you leave the fandom? it's perfectly fair, but you keep mentioning that you've come back so i'm a little curious

No worries, I'd be curious too.

I'm not entirely sure when exactly I left the fandom to begin with, because I know I was still clinging onto it even when I stopped paying attention to new game releases but it was kind of a gradual thing.

When the teasers for FNAF 4 started coming out, I was pretty excited. There were still so many mysteries left to solve and, while I couldn't tell exactly what the fourth game was going to show us, I had a good feeling about it.

The actual trailer was dropped & the game was described as "the final chapter" which only increased that hype. I was kinda sad in a way cause I loved this franchise so much and, at the time, I wasn't ready for it to end but it had to at some point y'know?

Anyway the game itself was perfectly fine and, while not all the mysteries/plot points had been neatly rounded up, it felt like a pretty good note to end things on. Except it didn't...

Because FNaF World was announced, which is when my interest started to wane.

Don't get me wrong, when that "thank you" image Scott uploaded to his site started to change and the animatronics started to be replaced by cutesy versions of themselves, I was curious. FNAF 4 was supposedly the end, but here was this new thing that was slowly being shown to us.

I hadn't been too sure what to expect at the time, whether we were getting a new game or whether it was just gonna be one last little image for us to see unravel before he moved onto something else. I don't know, it's been a while.

And then the trailer came out. I thought it was a joke at first, the tone shift was so major that there wasn't really any other explanation I could think of...at least until the game actually came out.

I gave it a chance, I really did. But I couldn't help but think that the series was starting to be milked a bit too much, it started to feel like I was dragging my feet.

Then Sister Location was announced. This game looked to be more in-line with what we'd come to expect with the series and I thought the animatronics were pretty cool in the trailer. I was excited.

Then when the game came out I just couldn't get into it, I don't know what it was, but I didn't feel that same draw towards it that I had with the others.

But, I didn't think much of it. People were already making videos about it going over all the details and theorising, so I figured I'd just watch those...except, keeping up with all the new lore fragments and theories was starting to become more tedious and less fun.

So, I got to the point where I'd think about looking up some videos only to think "I don't feel like it today" until eventually it just stopped occurring to me to look into it.

I think this was around the time when The Silver Eyes came out, which I did read and very much enjoyed, so I figured I'd just stick with the books (specifically referring to the TSE trilogy because I haven't read the others) and maybe give Sister Location another try in the future.

Except that didn't really end up happening, because by the time I first started to think about catching up on what I'd missed, a couple more games had come out and the thought of going over all that lore and all those theories was pretty daunting so I didn't.

I still periodically checked in for new fan songs, because FNAF had the best fan songs out of all the fandoms I've been in, but for the most part? I was more or less done with FNAF.

...At least until the movie came out.

I may not have really been in the fandom anymore, but I remember I was so excited when it was first announced that a movie was under production, so I figured it was only right to check it out now that it was finally happening. A nice little thing to finally close the FNAF chapter of my life with.

Though, of course, if you've been paying attention to my blog lately...you know how that turned out haha.

There's still a lot for me to catch up on, but yeah, it might have taken a couple of years but I'm back now.

[wolfyfoxyhedgy]

Has anybody ever made a Christmas movie that made us think it’s going to be those hallmark/romcom movies but it has a twist?

(I thought of this last year)

I imagine the first half of the movie will start like those hallmark movies but the other half it somewhat a poor decision from the main female-lead, this will be my little ideas for this movie.

The MF, her friend (female), and her boyfriend all worked at the same high-business company, the MF has to go to do a charity at a small town in a different state. (this part has been done ALOT)

Instead of making the boyfriend a jerk, make him a loving caring boyfriend (a good catch) that loves his GF and wants to go help her with the charity but he has to stay to help run a parade for another charity (toys for poor kids, donno)

Beginning half of the movie goes like any other movies (FM got to town, meets a hot guy, spend time in the town, falling for the hot guy she barely knew for couple of days)

MF phone calls her friend and tell her she’s seeing this hot guy, friend reminds her she’s already had a loving BF and not to cheat on him (obviously MF ignores her friend and continues to see the hot guy)

Hot guy job is selling Christmas trees, he mentioned he out of a relationship with his ex (this will come back later).

BF comes to town to surprise MF and brought her family, his family, their friends to spend Christmas together so she doesn’t have to send it alone. (he bought all of them plain tickets with his hardworking money and plans to make a little Christmas play featuring her little cousins for all of them to enjoy)

FM pulls the most BS thing and ruins the play by announcing she’s been seeing another man, wants to leave her job, and stay in the town; she also will cut contact with anybody who doesn’t agree with her decision (all the families and friends don’t approve it), she tell them to leave and never come back (never let her cousins do their little play).

Months later, we see how MF is doing and it’s not that good. She works a poor job (waitress, cleaning lady, donno), she lives in the hot guys crappy trailer, and she’s the only one with a job (hot guy is now jobless after his Christmas job)

After getting home from her job she found Hot guy in bed with his ex (they got back together) and he kick MF out of the trailer.

In a motel room, MF wonders what went wrong with her life (she forgot she chose to cheat). She receives an invitation on her phone from her ex (the party is in the grandparent’s house and the ex want to do a “redo” Christmas party), he having a party with his family, her family, and friends (he’s a good friend to her family, he also payed for a plan ticket for her).

She’s feels guilty for not talking/seeing her family and friends for a year but decided to see how they been.

When she got the party, none of her friends and family members don’t talk to her (they still remember what she did last Christmas, she hasn’t talk to them for a year, and ruined her cousin’s play they have been looking forward to do).

The (ex)BF and the friend been together after he got dump by MF and just got married, he became the new CEO/Manager at the company. (He did finally got to be with someone who doesn’t treat him bad).

While MF is moping outside, grandma came to talk to her, telling her Christmas may be to find “magical romance” but it’s also the time to spend love ones and people who care about you. (You know the talk in every Christmas movie)

MF gets everyone’s attention (everyone thinks she might pull another BS) and she said she’s sorry for being an idiot and what she did (to the families, friends, her Ex, and her cousins)

Everyone forgives her and continue to celebrate Christmas together.

If there’s a Christmas movie like this please give the name, thanks for reading this.

[og-reesetti]

I do not post here often, much to everyone's appreciation. So let me get a little annoying about the One Piece live action adaption.

(tldr It's good, some inaccuracies and cruddy changes but overall a delightful celebration of One PieceL

Early on when this was first announced, I was cautiously optimistic, with the rather dogshit history of manga to live action adaptions. I mean, sure we've never seen a single good adaption outside of maybe the Death Note movies? But maybe this time. Surely it'll go better this time.

We started seeing some of the sets, and imo, it was pretty lifting. They were building boats, using proper locations and translating designs of shit like the marine base and especially Baratie with excellent accuracy. Faith was building.

Then the casting started to be announced. I vocalized being cautiously optimistic, but I think at that point I was honestly sold. The casting and costumes of the show are honestly my favorite part of the whole project, and it was obvious from the choices that whoever was behind this show knew their shit and gave a shit besides. I can't remember when in the timeline it was announced Oda himself had a hand in the shows making, but that was also a glowing sign of "this might be it, folks". The man took time from working on the manga to travel and work on this even, the stars were aligning.

My big worry was that I've seen Sky High and Fantastic 4. Hollywood is not known for making rubber stretchy powers look believable, or good for that matter. Considering that the main character's power is the big stret, getting to see how the vfx team tackled it was what I was biting my nails the most over. Then we got the first trailers, and I was sold.

Cut to present, the show is out and I've watched it. There is a lot to think about, and I think I don't want to spend all the time just comparing it to the manga, so I'll start with the good. Visually, the show looks like One Piece. It's weird, things are just weird while still being believable. The costumes and sets are bar none my favorite part of the show and if I was an award giver I'd give it to those teams. It's a treat for the eyes. The casting was spot on and the acting is mostly right what I wanted. Acting highlights go to Luffy, Usopp, Sanji, Mihawk, Kuro, Zeff, the young SH crew, and ESPECIALLY Buggy. Music design was also a good translation from the anime. You have Bink's Sake playing, you have the We Are moments, and the character specific scores are all enjoyable.

With any adaption there'll be changes, and for the most part the changes here are good. My personal favorite was the handling of Syrup Village. Siam and Butchy were way more fun than their manga versions, the whole murder house vibe, Zoro getting trapped down a well compared to a slippery hill. Other things like showing more of Coby and Luffy's relationship, Sanji being not a drooling freak like his recent manga time, and Arlong Park being an actual amusement park. Tons of small details building to an incredible experience.

Things that I wasn't so hot on are a shorter list, but still present. First and foremost is Garp. We got a few shots where he got violent and loud, and the actor crushed those moments. But so much of the series with him is brooding, talking quietly and taking everything way more seriously than he should. Coco Village actually resenting Nami for her deal with Arlong instead of secretly bearing it with her, and really a lot of how that final stretch was handled, just didn't fit right. Once the fighting started it's aces (sans Hachi being absent) but aside from Nami's past, I think Coco Village should've been done closer to the source. The whole Garp chasing Luffy through the East Blue bit I understand but don't like. Okay, you wanted a natural way to show Coby and Helmeppo's growth without just whole cutaways like the source, but I think because of how... wrong, Garp was portrayed, the entire plot line just feels off.

You have a few small details that could've been better, but overall I think the series crushed it and definitely helped introduce a lot of people to an incredible world. I do not trust that Netflix will continue the series, because their leadership is pretty damn stupid regarding what to continue and what to cut. But if they did, and the team manages to capture lightning in a bottle more than once, I'd be more than happy.

Okay, I'm done. Fuck off, let the door hit you on the way out.

[generalstarkov]

 special thanks to @sanktnikolais ​ for editing my messy thoughts, i adore you

  As a Colombian woman, it really warms my heart to see how many people are loving Encanto—all the positive reactions and the praise the movie has received not only from the critics but from the audience in general make me happy beyond measure. I, as well as pretty much everyone in this country, have always resented the negative representation we have had in the media. 

  For instance, "Narcos" is one of the best examples of this hurtful representation that continues to profit from some of the darkest moments of recent history, events that we all would like to bury in the past.

  Nonetheless, the discourse I have seen about Encanto, especially on Tumblr, has disappointed me greatly. Most people have focused on coming out with headcanons about the characters' sexuality and gender, or writing Camilo x reader fics (do you realize he’s a teenager? please stop) shifting completely the real focus of the movie. Listen, I am not going to tell anyone what to do or to gatekeep these characters. The fact that you think Isabela is a lesbian doesn't bother me; what I'd really like to remind people of, specially queer white folks, is that this movie isn't for you. 

  This movie was made first and foremost for Colombians and Latinos. Therefore, when a movie like Encanto, which excels in every aspect and has finally given us the representation that we have been dying for, gets its every valuable aspect outshone by these woke and for the most part ridiculous takes (Bruno is autistic bc the knock on wood thing? Tell me you are white without telling me you are white.)  It is expected that people like me won't feel happy.  

  That being said, in this post I want to tell you about the amazing job Disney made at representing the armed conflict in my country and what this representation and the song "Dos Oruguitas" mean for Colombian people.

  As expected, when Disney announced Encanto as its 60th animated movie there were two kinds of people: the ones—including me—who couldn't contain our excitement and decided to trust Disney and cross fingers while saying "please don't mess this up"; and the ones who were convinced this would be a silly and stereotypical movie with zero to none cultural accuracy.

  I still remember waking up very early the day the first trailer was set to be released and waiting impatiently the whole morning, until it was finally there after two years of waiting, and I couldn't contain the tears. The trailer broke down Colombian twitter, everyone was posting threads with all the references to our culture, the animals, the plants, the clothing, the food, the real places who inspired the movie. Disney had finally done it right this time.

  And yet still, some people weren't content. “This isn't Colombia," they would say. “They aren't showing our long history with war and violence..."

  This, of course, pissed me off deeply because for the first time we had something to feel proud of, something to show to the world that allowed us to say "this is who we truly are", they expected a war documentary from a children's movie. It was very clear and widely accepted that this movie wouldn't include any references to our violent past and present and that we all should be fine with it, because there are other types of content in which we can explore that on a deeper level; but to everyone's surprise, we were wrong.

  Encanto opens up with Abuela telling Mirabel the story of the family's miracle. I saw the movie the day it premiered in my country, I can't remember seeing the cinema so full of people since Avengers Endgame. When Abuela explains how she and abuelo Pedro were forced to flee their home, everyone stopped talking. I'm sure we were all thinking, "Is this really happening? Did Disney just address one of the most painful events of this country?" 

  And the answer is yes. For the first time Disney decided to reference real life conflicts and not just any conflict, and I can't think of any different or better approach from the one the Encanto team chose.

  The armed conflict in Colombia

  I am aware that explaining a 70-year conflict in a Tumblr post is extremely difficult, even more to people who aren't citizens of this country. For this reason, I will try to oversimplify things as much as I can to get to the main point of this post. However, I will link some sources in case you want to do your own research, which I encourage you to do.

  Over the last 70 years, Colombia has been devastated by the armed conflict. I am absolutely sure that there's no one in this country whose life hasn't been affected in one way or another by it, me and my family included. The Registro Único de Víctimas (RUV) recognizes 9 million people as victims of the different violent incidents that have taken place during the war. This number includes murders, enforced disappearances, kindappings, sexual assaults, massacres, terrorist attacks, tortures, forced recruitments, among other forms of violence. According to El Centro Nacional de Memoria Histórica, between 1958 and 2018, 261.919 thousand people were murdered in the context of the armed conflict. 

  This is how it started: Violent times in Colombia go back in time as far as 200 years ago, when members of the liberal and conservative parties began hostilities. Most people think that tracing the conflict to the 19th century is an exaggeration, but the truth is that the bipartisan violence never ended, it only shapeshifted and continues to nourish all the future conflict the country would face.

  In 1948, Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, the liberal presidential candidante, and the most popular among the people was murdered in the capital. This was a breaking point in history that was followed by a wave of violence that quickly spread to the whole country and lasted until the end of the 50s. This period is known as "La Violencia''.

  During this time, a group of peasants of liberal tendencies who had fought during "La Violencia'' and had been forced to flee their homes, settled in Marquetalia with their families, and founded "a free republic" with no loyalty whatsoever to the current government. By 1964 they had a considerable armed force and political power and already had rejected demobilization. As a consequence, the army attacked their settlements, forcing them to flee once more. 

  This, of course, had the opposite effect since two years later, the FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) were created; the biggest guerilla in Colombia and the principal assailants of the armed conflict. A product of its time, the FARC - the cold war and revolutionary movements in Latin America - they adopted the communist ideology.

  At the same time and inspired the Cuban Revolution, the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) is also established, Years later, other guerillas such as The Ejército Popular de Liberación (EPL), the M-19 would also take part in the conflict.

  Around the 80s, the FARC had the objective to take over the government. Simultaneously, the ultra right wing, the army, politicians, landowners and even drug traffickers supported the creation of paramilitary units to fight the FARC and other guerrillas. As expected, this only deepened the violence because the paramilitaries fought the guerrillas but along the way they started murdering people in the country side and social leaders. These events coincide with the peak of drug trafficking in Colombia, which brought more harsh attacks against the people of this country but also money that at some point helped finance both groups.

  From that moment on, war has worsened. Think of any violation against human rights and for sure it has been registered during these past 70 years . The majority of victims were civilians, men, women, and children of all ages were murdered, kindapped, raped, conscripted. 

No one was spared. 

  Even after a peace treaty was signed between the government and the FARC, violence does not seem to stop. It is a combination of inequality, corruption, government neglect, a bad distribution of wealth, social injustice and drug trafficking, who continues to finance this very profitable business called war.

How is all of this related to Encanto?

   One of the most devastating consequences of war is forced displacement. As I mentioned above, the majority of victims were civilians—specifically from the countryside, the zones the government has neglected for decades—who found themselves in the middle of the relentless violence; they had no choice but to flee their homes leaving all their belongings, their lives behind them except for what they could carry in their backs or hands. 

  They ran away because they were afraid they would be killed if they didn't, they ran away because their home had become a war zone. They ran away because they were afraid the guerrillas would take their children. 

  Some of them are “lucky” if you can call that luck, and they can leave before war knocked on their door, while some families weren’t. They didn’t always have a chance to escape. Most of them had seen their husbands, fathers, brothers and sons being killed or tortured in front of their eyes; their wives, daughters, and sisters sexually assaulted. Sometimes they even took one of their relatives and then it was certain they will never know what has become of them.

  This is the wounding reality of this country. The more I think about it, the more I realize that it would have been impossible—even ridiculous—if Encanto prided itself on being true to Colombian culture if it hadn't included any reference to the armed conflict. No matter how traumatic and shattering this part of our reality is, it is still ours. 

  The story of Abuela Alma, a woman who had to flee her home in the middle of the night, with her children in her arms, a wife who saw her husband murdered in front of her eyes. She had to hold on to whatever strength was left inside of her to wake up day after day to raise three children and somehow try to come to terms to the traumatic events that forever changed her is not something that belongs in fiction. The scene when Alma falls down, powerless and helpless as her husband's life is brutally ended in front of her and their children, isn’t there because its purpose is to generate an emotional response in the audience. It is there because it has to be, because it is time the world knows what this country has endured.  

  This is the story of thousands of mothers, wives, sisters, daughters and all the strong women who somehow have been resilient enough to keep living after having suffered the unspeakable. The generational trauma in the family Madrigal is the heart of this film as much as it is their unconditional and enduring love for each other, as much as it is our music and our vibrant colors, as much as it is our grief but also our resilience. 

  Disney understood why it was vital to represent all of this in Encanto, and that’s why I cannot just sit here and watch how most people erase the heart of this film, you do not get the right to do it.

Dos Oruguitas

  I love my country. 

  I love my country and I am proud of this blessed land, the second most biodiverse country on earth. 

  I am proud of our culture, our music, our food, our diversity and all the beautiful details that make us who we are. 

  I am proud of all the things you got to see and love in Encanto but I won’t lie and say living in the country is the most mesmerizing experience. 

  Colombia is the second most unequal country in Latin America, the health care system is a disaster, corruption reaches ridiculous standards, people get killed for defending their rights, there are no jobs, not enough opportunities for real progress, and we have one of the most devalued currencies in the region—all of that in the eyes of a government who couldn’t care less about the citizens of this country. 

  In addition to that and as I mentioned in the first lines of this post, there is no one whose life hasn’t been affected by war and violence. I can count myself lucky, my whole life I have lived in the city, and never got to endure what people in the countryside have gone through. But during the peak of drug trafficking war, when Pablx Escxbar would set car bombs in the cities every now and then, when people were too afraid to set a foot out of their houses, I almost lost my aunt and my dad—he almost died from being crushed by a wall when a car bomb exploded in front of his workplace, and then I wouldn’t be here, writing this post.

We constantly wake up with news of a new massacre somewhere in the countryside and some days it is really hard to find a reason to smile. I won’t pretend a Disney movie can solve all these problems because it really doesn’t. But in the middle of all these tragic events, it gives us—me—a reason to smile. 

  The Encanto soundtrack was released before the movie, I had heard they were pushing Dos Oruguitas for the academy award for best original song so that was the first song I listened to. I couldn’t stop crying. And even before knowing what scene it would accompany, this song felt like a gift, like a warm embrace that brings hope for a country that needs it desperately and for my people who remain strong and resilient in spite of it all, a country who dares to dream of a better tomorrow.

p.s 1: If you read this far, you are amazing and i love you 

p.s 2: When Abuela Alma and Mirabel embrace they are surrounded by yellow butterflies, this is a reference to our nobel prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez and his novel “One hundred years of solitude”.

In case you want to read more about the armed conflict:

A more detailed explanation of the armed conflict in Colombia

If you are a spanish speaker, La Comisión de la Verdad released this podcast where victims of the armed conflict tell their stories

An amazing documentary by DW about what has happened in my country after the peace treaty with the FARC: 

Some pictures by Jesús Abad Colorado, a photographer who has dedicaded his life to accompany the victims and their grief. The pictures are in black and white, and while they don’t include blood, they could be somewhat sensitive for some people.  

Sources

https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-37181413

https://www.unidadvictimas.gov.co/es/registro-unico-de-victimas-ruv/37394

https://www.centrodememoriahistorica.gov.co/micrositios/informeGeneral/estadisticas.html

[thedaredevilsgirl]

This Costume

Announcements: Smut (oral - fem! receiving)

Word count: 840

A/N: I know that technically we don't really have anything confirmed about him being in No Way Home yet, and that I usually post for Holland & Co, but my crush on Andrew Garfield came back strongly after I watched "Tick Tick...Boom!" And I simply had to write about him. I hope you all enjoy it even though it's something different than usual. (I wrote this in a hurry during a boring math class so it may not be very good and contain some mistakes)

The trailer door opens and your attention is quickly turned to your boyfriend dressed as Spider-Man, he takes off his mask and smiles at you.

"How was the recording today?" You ask getting up from where you were sitting and moving toward him to leave a kiss on his lips.

"Complicated, but fun" he says in a confused way that makes you laugh "We are having to wear a black overcoat and hoodie when we are not recording so no one will know we are on set, hiding seems like the worst part, but when everyone watches the movie it will be worth it" he explains quickly.

"I'm sure it will" he smiles at my answer before pulling me in for a real kiss.

"I've missed you all day" he whispers against my lips.

"Me too, it's boring here without you."

He releases me for a brief moment and walks over to the mirror in his trailer, Andrew looks at me through the reflection with a smile and confused look on his face.

"What is it?" he asks noticing the way I was looking at him

"Can I admit a secret to you?" He nods and even a little shy you start to explain yourself "I kinda had a crush on you as Spiderman" you try not to blush at that statement but it was impossible.

"What?" he turns around and faces you while laughing a little "Really?"

"Yes, very serious" you admit "I mean, you looked so gorgeous and hot in that costume, it was hard not to be a little bit in love" you move closer to Andrew touching his shoulder and letting fingers make light circular motions in that area.

"Why didn't you ever tell me this?"

"When we met you didn't play him anymore so I thought this would be kind of weird, but..." you let your eyes admire him from head to toe and sigh at how that outfit managed to make him even more beautiful "but seeing you like this is awakening old desires that I didn't even remember I had."

You laugh to yourself but Andrew stands with his arms crossed in front of his body and staring at you in a serious way.

"I'm sorry, I knew I shouldn't have said that" you try to explain yourself "I knew it would be weird..." He interrupts you as he pulls you closer to him and kisses your lips with strength and desire.

"So you mean my beautiful girlfriend" he leaves a kiss on your cheek "You like to see me dressed as Spiderman" he gives a longer kiss on your neck leaving a light bite before pulling away "And you have old desires with me?" He asks looking into her eyes.

"That's exactly right" she replies sighing as she feels his touch.

He makes her sit on the make up counter and fits between her legs while his hands still covered by the costume enter her skirt.

"You should have told me this before, we would have had a lot of fun"

"Well, I just told you, so...why don't we have fun now?"

"That's my plan honey" he smiles mischievously before leaning in to kiss her again.

His hands were still inside her skirt, he moves them slowly up her thighs, his fingers caressing her skin and giving her goosebumps anywhere he touched her.

Andrew finally reaches your panties and removes them from your body quickly before kneeling before you.

"You're going to have to be very still honey, we don't want the whole Sept to find out how desperate you are for me" That's all he says before his mouth touches you.

You sigh as you feel the first touch of his tongue on your intimacy, only superficially the first few times before he places your clit between his lips.

He places one of your legs over his shoulder to get more access to you and deepen his touches even more.

"Andrew please" You plead pulling your hair and making it messier than it always was "I need more".

At some point he had taken the gloves off his suit and now he was touching you without any pesky fabric getting in his way.

"You want more baby?" He asks wryly before he penetrates two of his fingers inside you, your back arches with pleasure and you feel like you're falling apart "Is that good enough for you?" you can only answer him with a groan.

His mouth soon goes back to work along with his hand, his tongue teasing your clit slowly with circular motions and his fingers striking your g-spot several times in a row without any pause.

"An...Andrew, I'm close" you sigh.

"Come for me" he whispers before hitting your point one more time.

You feel your body relax and you think you might pass out from ecstasy at any second, Andrew holds your body keeping you safe and keeping you from falling.

"Let's go home honey" he gives you a small kiss "Iwill fulfill all your wishes tonight".