#Isabella Sierra

[moviesandmania]

THE SACRIFICE Folk horror with a splattery finale! Trailer

‘Feed the beast’ The Sacrifice is a 2022 horror film about two sisters forced to fight for their survival at their grandmother’s remote farm. A folk horror story based on legends from all over Latin America. Directed by Alberto Serra (Piedra Roja; La Isla del Diablo) from a screenplay co-written with Diego Cañizal and Simon Tejeira. Produced by Fernanda Beiner, Frysha Boilard and Carlos…

[balletomaneblog]

Royal Ballet's Joiners and Leavers!

Royal Ballet School graduates Bethany Bartlett, Sierra Glasheen, Seung Hee Han, Casper Lench, Isabella Shaker, and Blake Smith are all joining the Royal Ballet as Aud Jebsen trainees for the following season!

Out of the 22-23 Aud Jebsen Dancers, we know that Martin Diaz, Olivia Findlay, Luc Foskett, Scarlet Harvey, and Ella Netwon Severgnini have been accepted into the company as permanent Artists. I'm not sure where Alicia Rose Couvrette and Alix van Tiggelen are headed but I know Ava May Llewellyn has joined the Birmingham Royal Ballet. Out of those that didn't get an artist contract, I liked van Tiggelen very much so it's a bit disappointing. Hopefully she ends up in another great company.

We also know that Julie Joyner will be the Prix de Lausanne Dancer for the 23-24 season and this season's Lausanne Dancer Darrion Sellman is joining the Royal Swedish Ballet next season.

[alatismeni-theitsa]

In "KAOS" nothing is anything, and everything is wrong

Two disclaimers: I am no stranger to modern art, and I have no issue with queerness in shows, or in my own mythology (I'm Greek). I am also aware that KAOS is a comedy. It's in the gutter of British comedy, but still part of the genre. At least I laughed every time they said "Oh God!". I don't believe this is the same person who wrote the great and amusing "End of the F**king World"! The premise of "The gods in our modern world" appeals to me a lot, so that wasn't my problem either. My general issue with KAOS is its horrible delivery, bad writing, and piss-poor Greek representation.

This is gonna be long and full of stupid gifs, so sit comfortably, grab a coffee or some popcorn and... pame!

The "ILoveGreekMythology" Kid

Art without context is just a pretty thing to look at. Most of the time, this context can be found within the art piece itself, as the artist has taken care to weave it in. KAOS refuses to connect itself to any context besides the names and a few vague powers. It aims to exist outside of those "boring old stories of the Greek myth" and be entirely "fresh and modern". Something impossible when the entire show and the meanings are based on ancient recorded material. In other words, KAOS is so meta that it ends up being nothing. KAOS cannot stand on its own because you need more than the viewers being familiar with the Greek myth basics to pull such a show off.

KAOS tells us "See? I know all the names of the gods, and what they did, and I know all the locations, so I am qualified to tackle this". More or less like any Western kid who takes all their knowledge from PJO and Marvel and proceeds to unironically hate ancient deities and make a girlboss out of Medusa.

Here's a Greek word for you guys, ημιμάθεια, meaning "half-knowledge". Α Greek saying very well declares "Half-knowledge is worse than no knowledge". The confidence of thinking you know enough often leads you to grave mistakes whereas the humility of not knowing prevents you from touching shit that you shouldn't. When you have no idea what the original myth is trying to say and spit on its meaning, knowing a few names and locations is just smoke and mirrors. I don't believe the audience fell for that.

And don't get me started on the "subversions". A good subversion is intriguing and thought-provoking. In KAOS, every twist was hollow - Greek myth related or otherwise.

"What if Euridice doesn't love Orpheus?" I don't know, babe. What if??? What was the point of that? What did you show us? That women's stories are dominated by men and men don't listen to women, perhaps? And you chose to twist... the love story of Orpheus and Euridice to show this?? One of the best and most tragic love stories Greek mythology has to offer?? You just mocked the myth, you didn't make anything profound out of it.

The Greek Stuff (Nothing salvageable)

I was surprised to see they had a Consulting Producer (Georgia Christou) and an Assistant Script Editor (Isabella Yianni) who happen to be Greek. And I stress that because those people probably weren't hired or utilized for being Greek. We are not sure they were involved in cultural decisions because we have no evidence and because shows with no Greek elements can have more Greeks than that on their staff.

Okay, perhaps they took 5 seconds to ask Isabella about a greeting - which they proceeded to say in a wrong intonation 🙄🤌It's where Poseidon says "ya sás" in the Fates, by the way. How he said it sounds more like "for you (pl.)" than "health to you (pl.)".

Surprise! The only Greek actor present (Peter Polycarpou) has less than 5 minutes of screen time and plays the caricature of an immigrant with a thick (and inaccurate Greek) accent. He has a canteen, selling falafel which is not Greek, and Dionysus buys from him an unidentified tortilla wrap (which... is also not Greek, if you haven't caught up).

For the show they brought in actors of Maori, Nigerian and Sierra Leonean, Pakistani, Black American, Latvian-Jewish, Iranian, Egyptian, Indo-Fijian and Malay descent and you tell me it was impossible for them to seek and find an English-speaking, skilled actor of Greek descent in a show regarding Greek heritage. Sometimes I wonder, do y'all hate us so much?

They considered Greeks only to give us a simple (and wrong) greeting and a stereotype. Crumbs, we are supposed to be happy with. By the way, there are over 70.000 Greek immigrants just in the UK, usually in the urban centers, many of them students or fairly young employees in the corporate workforce. Not the largest minority but not hard to spot either.

Another plague of Anglophone shows: Almost everyone's Greek name is shortened. Yes, we know their full names but we are told that we will use the short ones. Greeks and their "long and difficult" names am I right fellas? Because saying "Ariadne" apparently requires 5 years of Greek language training, and no English word ever has more than two syllables.

Coincidentally, short names are cool in Anglophone imaginary universes and the "long" names are not. it's so strange Anglophones never make universes where it's cool for Greek names to be spoken in full hmmm... They don't even want to practice saying a whole Greek name for just 2 minutes in preparation for a show full of Greek names. And don't give me that "Greek is hard" shit when we only talk about a few syllables. If Greek kids can learn English since first grade and people here can sing English songs and spell English names, you have no excuse.

They also said the name "Fotis" means light, which is close enough but... ugh.. It's like saying Sebastian means "respect". I am not sure if they asked anyone or what their research was here. If I had the writers in front of me, I'd be like:

(This character from an all-time favorite Greek show is called Fotis)

They also made the flag of "Krete" an alteration of the Greek flag and the local Cretan flag. Which is the stupidest move, because they had to remove the religious symbol of the cross to make the flag fit the universe. These are flags created based on 1) Christianity 2) the Greek Revolution of 1821.

National Greek flag to the left, local Cretan flag to the right:

Flag of the KAOS' "Krete":

The only time they seriously took into account anything Greek, was the time when they decided to remove the religious symbol of our ethnoreligion AND (from what I could observe) keep the nine stripes?? The nine stripes of our national flag represent the syllables in "Freedom or Death". The colors are from the white foustanela of the mainland attire and the dark blue vraka of the island attire, the clothing of the Revolution fighters. (That's more of a meta explanation but the characteristics of the flag were decided during and nearly after the Revolution.)

I think I don't have to explain it more but it's not a homage to put the nine stripes in an ancient era where they have no meaning, and to replace a cross??? Let's... not replace religious symbols on national flags, okay? Thank you.

Another cultural element they changed was making everyone have a dedicated coin to pay Charon. Orpheus has Euridice's coin, "her coin", and he's meant to put it on her before she got buried. In Greek culture, any coin would do. Sorry that our culture restricts your script, dear writers. I guess you had to bend this too, in order to create a cohesive plot with a semblance of a twist.

Finally, the many "Kerberus" dogs were cute and I can understand the creative decision behind that. However, in a show full of inaccuracies, this made me roll my eyes a little. I think the showrunners know that Kerveros is not a breed of dog, and there can only be one of him because he doesn't have any other "Kerveros" to breed with. On the other hand, as demonstrated from art/writing on the internet, quite a lot of Westerners are not exactly aware of how our monsters work, so forgive my uncertainty 😅

Nothing is Anything

Every element KAOS played with ended up meaningless. In the words of a Lifo article:

“Zeus is a paranoid authoritarian dictator in mid-life crisis who fears losing his power and murders his aides to vent. Hera is a promiscuous goddess who repeatedly betrays Zeus and has mutilated mute priestesses for protection. Dionysos is a spoiled and immature zoomer who, apart from pranks, indulges in orgies with all genders. Poseidon a sadistic god of the sea, who tortures the crew on his ship for fun. Prometheus is gay and killed his lover so he could overthrow Zeus. Orpheus is a famous pop singer and Eurydice does not love him. Theseus is black and gay. The Erinyes are tough-as-nails mechs that look like they stepped out of ‘Sons of Anarchy’. The Fates resemble a three-member jury in a talent show. The Trojans are a terrorist group that acts against the gods. Crete is more reminiscent of California than the Mediterranean.”

The "River Styx" is a sea, the "River Lethe" is a lake, the gods are nothing more than spoiled humans, the Moirai are drag queens, the Cave is a club where you have to take a quiz to enter the underworld, and generally everything is modern, flat, mundane and anticlimactic. The producers aimed to achieve a work so meta that a "river" is now a concept, a metaphor, whatever you have in your heart. And those who want to see a river when we speak of a river are probably uncultured swines and don't understand postmodernism. Never mind that rivers are rivers in Greek mythology for a reason. That's not culturally interesting enough to explore compared to the new, cool approach of not assigning meaning to anything. That totally shows love for the original rich and meaningful material...

And the reason behind all this subversion? Probably the shock factor. They brought the characters to a point where they said "We have to save the world from Zeus" - Zeus! The father of gods, heroes and humans! - just because they could. It gives off a certain type of smugness that I personally don't like. I mean, I would like the smugness and cheekiness of KAOS if it wasn't a vapid and practically meaningless show. As nothing symbolizes anything anymore, we are just led from hollow plot point to hollow plot point.

If you cut it out of any cultural influence and see it as a story then it's... okay, I guess. But when you consider that it's meant to derive from certain material and it fails spectacularly, it's not a good story. It forgets its bases and doesn't play with the ancient elements at all. Disney's Hercules did it better, FFS!

Bad Writing (pt.1)

KAOS is not without recognizable themes but their demonstration is so juvenile and heavy-handed that it fails to influence a viewer of average intelligence. For instance, "Riddy" says to her religious mother "You dedicated your whole life to Hera, what about me?" Okay, KAOS, we get it. At the same time, this theme nulls itself because it turns out that Ridy's mother was right to do what she did, as she had a greater goal in mind. (And this, kiddos, is called Bad Writing, because your themes and scenes contradict each other)

The biggest theme I spotted was a criticism of religion and religious people who say "Do as I say, not as I do" and create exceptions for themselves. Only, it's not a criticism of anything real, in this case. It's a fact that some people in the clergy tend to preach peace and love and then they do harm, but we don't know, for example, that The Goddess of Marriage is a cheater and yet she pressures everyone into strict marriages. By focusing their wrath on divine beings who are not known for their hypocrisy, the creators missed the mark.

I can give KAOS props for how it handled Trojans to reflect real issues regarding how immigrants and war refugees are mistreated and blamed. I'd argue it was the only (nearly) well-done theme in the whole show because it had the least on-the-nose delivery and some genuine/serious scenes. But that's it.

More Bad Writing!

Jeff Goldblum's Zeus is shit. He'd crap his pants in an argument with a stern Greek dad/uncle his age. Is this character supposed to be intimidating? (Laughs in Mediterranean) That's not to say that Goldblum is not a good actor, but this role wasn't for him. The same can be said for the other actors, too. They are competent but they only give off the air of "The Greek gods if they lived in London, from the minds of people who think beards and body hair are an affliction". In addition to being misplaced, the actors cannot show their talent when following a script that resembles a children's book.

Why does THE GOD Dionysus have the maturity of a 15-year-old? I repeat, The God Dionysus. He's a freaking deity, and a very old one at that. He is not a teenager neither in appearance nor in experience. In our culture, he is mystical, mighty, wise. Why did they downgrade him so? Just for the plot? This is not Dionysus just because you named him so.

The dialogue rarely takes itself seriously to the point it has you wondering at times "Do people talk and behave like that?". In a comedy where everything is meant to be already extreme and parodied. Even in comedies, something must occasionally be serious so there is a healthy fluctuation in tone and the funny moments can hit you. In KAOS very few scenes treated their impactful dialogue as it should be treated.

The queerness and diversity (good elements, in general) were worse off for being in KAOS. Like, I want these elements to be there. I'm just sad about the whole situation. It's not enough that the show is shit, now you also give an additional reason for conservatives to shit on diverse and queer characters because they are part of a stupid narrative.

I'm the type of person who doesn't mind the queerness of Astyanax and Theseus being lovers in the context of this specific show but they're still the oddest pairing to me because they're from the most irrelevant myths and eras. Also, Astyanax in my mind is a baby who died tragically, for little reason if we are honest, so to bring him back and make him a love interest is... ekh.

In addition, isn't Astyanax supposed to be crippled after a fall from the city walls when he was a baby? Sorry to change subjects but the show is so convoluted and with so many issues that it's extremely difficult to stay on track with what's wrong.

To the person who thought this show was a good idea:

Whatever. Bye. I'm fucking done.

[cspasfan15]

TDA Orlando Predictions

Mini female

Top 20: navy Forrest, Elizabeth pugach, Amaya Rodriguez, Ella venerio, mila simunic, tinsley Wallace, Lainey Hess, Elliana macioce, Harper schwalb, Emma semtak, Reese braga, Marley Evans

Top 10: remi hilson, Antonia demartinis, Mikaela florez, leighton white, Amelia burres, lyric Simmons, Zoe ynguanzo

Top 3: Avery Altobelli, Sylvie win Szyndlar, Aliya yen, sienna dipietro

Mini Male

Top 3: jay ramos-Rivera, Rory Ross, Hudson Matthew’s, Isaiah santos

Junior Female

Top 20: Kendall brown, cydnee Abbott, Reagan Hess, Bianca rebellto, Elsie sandall, lily hackney, Estelle newsom, Leilani lawlor, Sara von rotz, Regan gerena

Top 10: olivia rose toneguzzo, madeleine shen, keringtyn spencer, ruby Arnold,Samantha geller, Berkeley scifres, Isabella zhong, Camila giraldo

Top 3: Helena olaerts, Anita Rodriguez, amabella tarrago, bristyn scifres

Junior male

Top 3: Gabriel gebara, Dylan Custodio, Josh Lundy, neo del corral

Teen Female

Top 20: ava d’ambrosio, miyah lagrant, Bella Rey d’armas, Jaya campagna Terrell, lekha rajkumar, savy luechtefeld, balbina cueva toussaint, joli du quenne, Brooklyn ladia, Stella eberts, Lilly Barajas

Top 10: desa jankes, Leila winker, braylynn grizzaffi, Hudson benayon, Hayley marshall, elie rabin

Top 3: Kylee casares, Bella rose Penrose, gracyn French, Giselle gandarilla

Teen Male

Top 20: Odin Baldwin, Nolan brinker, jack mckenzie, Holden griffin, nick d’ambrosio, Jayden hui, iain Cooke, jack Moore brown, Zolan laird

Top 10: Ryan Newman, Duane Ferguson, Sasha chernous, Anthony labritz, cam Williams, Angelo Durante, Jonathan archer

Top 3: Kylan wright, Blake metcalf, Kaden brown, garret sawyer

Senior female

Top 20: Elyse wingertsahn, Brooklyn law, Isabella bolivar Lopez, Ava Carroll, victoria reith, Gillian Gordon, Ellen grace olansen, sammi Chung

Top 10: preslie rosamond, sienna morris, Catherine Clayton, Savannah manning, Angel dimartino Palladio, Arianna quant, Lexi Blanchard, Ashley choy,

Top 3: Tatiana hagee, Sophie Garcia, dyllan Blackburn, sierra drayton

Senior male

Top 20: Patricio hoyo, Damian caraballo, Jayden lau, tyreke holt, Seth hendley, Anthony dessables, Alejandro Ruiz, Darius Goodson, Keaton Evans, Devon barner

Top 10: chance Phelps, skai llorente, cynsear epting, joshuah Rivera, Mekhi Johnson, Hugo Silva, Kaden Golding, Tristan gerzon, Jesse flaherty

Top 3: Nicholas bustos, Jackson roloff hafenbreadl, Sam Evans

[mermaidsirennikita]

Hi! What are your favorite marriage in trouble or second chance romances? Thanks!

I would say...

Marriage in trouble:

The Day of the Duchess by Sarah MacLean. One of the only books where the hero actually cheated on the heroine back in the day, and they've been separated for years before she comes back demanding a divorce. He agrees to give it to her, but only if she helps him find his next duchess. Very angsty and nuanced.

Lady Isabella's Scandalous Marriage by Jennifer Ashley. The couple got married right after meeting and had a super passionate relationship, but it fell apart and they've been separated for three years before she shows up to inform him that his paintings are being forged. A really angsty, hot, great book.

Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas. They've been separated since the day after the wedding (so like... ten years) and she finally asks for a divorce so she can marry her lover. He agrees to it, but only if she first gives him an heir. So... babymaking commences.

Possession by Adriana Anders. He's an A-list actor, she's an ingenue, they married for PR and live chastely together... Until he "cheats" on her with a woman who looks just like her and gets caught, and she follows him to his ~kink camp (to which he runs off to hide).

Winterblaze by Kristen Callihan. Paranormal historical. They've been married 14 years and he didn't know she was a witch (and a powerful one) until after he was literally attacked and scarred by a werewolf. So now they're separated, but he's gotten involved in an investigation of this, like, demonic force, so she rolls up like "HELLO, NOBODY IS HURTING MY STUPID HUSBAND WHEN I'M AROUND". I love it so much.

Regarding the Duke by Grace Callaway. They've been married eight years; she adores him, but he won't let himself get emotionally close (so they only have sex once a week, on the same day every week). Then he gets amnesia and wakes up like "ONCE A WEEK?????"

The Beast Takes a Bride by Julie Anne Long. The two have been separated since right after the wedding, marriage was never consummated, there was much betrayal and hurt... and now he shows up after five years to bail her out of prison and needs her to put on a good face until they can flee to separate residences permanently.

Second chance (no current marriage):

Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan. A recently-divorced couple co-parents well, but when he starts to move on, she realizes she's still in love with him. Angsty perfection.

Paradise by Judith McNaught. Kinda in between, actually, because essentially... He was working class, she was a blue blood, they had a one night stand and she got pregnant so they married immediately and were infatuated; then tragedy struck, misconceptions were had, they divorced... except... the divorce didn't go through, and now over a decade later he's a tycoon, she's a businesswoman and engaged to another man. They run into each other again, and IT STILL ISN'T OVER.

The Pairing by Casey McQuiston. Childhood sweethearts fall in love in college and start dating; but they break up on the way to a food and wine tour. Four years later, they're both on the tour at the same time by accident (have to use their vouchers or lose them) and decide to renew their friendship in a bet about who can sleep with the most people. Funny, HOT, ridiculously emotional to the extent that I almost cried.

The Scoundrel in Her Bed by Lorraine Heath. First love between a blue blood lady and a lower class man turns to tragedy when they're torn apart and he's sent to prison. Years later, they meet up again, and she's on a mission that he reluctantly gets roped into... which has a lot more to do with him than he realizes. This one DID make me cry, because Lorraine.

Saint by Sierra Simone. A monk ends up touring monasteries internationally with his reporter ex-boyfriend. Another gut punch of a book, and stupid hot because Sierra.

The Duke's Perfect Wife by Jennifer Ashley. An all-time favorite of mine. The hero and heroine were engaged in the past, and broke up for quite valid reasons. Years later—during which time he got married and lost his wife and baby—they start spending time together again because... someone has been sending her his old Victorian nudes lmao and she's like "SOOOOOO"

Never Seduce a Duke by VIvienne Lorret. A duke and a madcap young lady on a European tour end up tangling over an Arthurian cookbook (he thinks she's trying to steal it, she has no idea what he's talking about) but end up getting separated due to a misunderstanding... A couple years later, they run into each other again. He's pissed. She has a secret. It's both hot and funny (and also sweet).

The Notorious Lord Knightly by Lorraine Heath. He leaves her at the altar, and years later she begins anonymously publishing her scandalous memoirs of their nights together in a very obvious way. Again, Lorraine Heath is kind of the QUEEN.

Scoundrel of My Heart by Lorraine Heath. He's her best friend's brother, she ends up asking him for help in charming a duke. They fall in love in the process and are about to be together... When his family loses everything and he basically has to go underground. Big time jump, and when they get back in contact she's now engaged to aforementioned duke... A must-read.

Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas. Childhood sweethearts are torn apart by her father; as an adult, he wants vengeance for a situation he thinks was her fault, whereas she's hiding the realities of her current life from him. Maybe Lisa's best, technically speaking?

Queen Move by Kennedy Ryan. Childhood sweethearts meet again at her father's funeral; she's a political strategist, he's fresh off a breakup with the mother of his child. It's PERF.

[toastedcinnamonflakes]

Books around the world

A while ago, I made a post that I want to make a list of books from every country of the earth. The qualifications are rather simple: The author needs to be from that country and the novel needs to take place in that country. The books themselves don't need to be the best from that country, just something I've read. They need to exist in a language that I can understand (which, for me, are German, English, Norwegian and Swedish).

If you have any suggestions, please send them to me 😊 So, without further ado, here is the list! (Books that I've already read are bold, books I have picked out for the country but haven't read yet are not)

Abkhazia:

Afghanistan:

Albania

Algeria

Andorra

Angola

Antigua and Barbuda

Argentina

Armenia: The Gray House, Marjam Petrosyan

Austria: Liebelei, Arthur Schnitzler

Australia: Picnic at Hanging Rock, Joan Lindsay

Azerbaijan

Bahamas

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Barbados

Belarus

Belgium

Belize

Benin

Bhutan

Bolivia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Botswana

Brazil

Brunei

Bulgaria

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Cambodia

Cameroon

Canada

Cape Verde

Central African Republic

Chad

Chile: The House of Spirits, Isabella Allende

China: Beijng Comrades, Bei Tong

Colombia

Congo

Costa Rica

Croatia: Marble Skin, Slavenka Draculic

Cuba

Cyprus

Czech Republic: Valerie and her world of wonders, Vitêzslav Nezval

Denmark: Vintereventyr, Karen Blixen

Djibouti

Dominica

Dominican Republic

East Timor

Ecuador

Egypt

El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Estonia

Eswatini

Ethiopia

Fiji

Finland

France: The End of Eddy, Eduard Louis

Gabon

Gambia

Georgia

Germany: Krabbat, Otfried Preußler

Ghana

Greece: Medea, Euripides (I would love to read a contemporary greek novel tbh, please recommend me one!)

Grenada

Guatemala

Guinea

Guyana

Haiti

Honduras

Hungary

Iceland: Moonstone - The Boy Who Never Was, Sjón

India: The White Tiger, Aravind Adiga

Indonesia

Iran: Reading Lolita in Teheran, Azar Nafisi

Iraq

Ireland: Skulduggery Pleasent, Derek Landy

Israel

Italy: Swimming to Elba, Silvia Avallone

Ivory Coast

Jamaica

Japan: Convenience Store Woman, Sayaka Murata

Jordan

Kazakhstan

Kenya

Kiribati

Kuwait

Kyrgyzstan

Laos

Latvia

Lebanon

Lesotho

Liberia

Libya

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Madagascar

Malawi

Malaysia

Maldives

Mali

Malta

Marshall Islands

Mauritania

Mauritius

Mexico

Moldova

Monaco

Mongolia

Montenegro

Morocco

Mozambique

Myanmar

Namibia

Nauru

Nepal

Netherlands

New Zealand

Nicaragua

Niger

Nigeria

North Korea

North Macedonia

Norway: Vildskudd, Gudmund Vindland

Oman

Pakistan

Palestina

Panama

Papua New Guinea

Paraguay

Peru

Philippines

Poland:

Portugal

Quatar

Romania

Russia: Demons, Fyodor Dostoevsky

Rwanda

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

Serbia

Seychelles

Sierra Leone

Singapore

Slovakia

Slovenia

Somalia

South Africa

South Korea: The Vegetarian, Han Kang

South Sudan

Spain

Sri Lanka: Die sieben Monde des Maali Almeida, Sheban Karunatilaka

Sudan

Suriname

Sweden: Herrn Arnes Penningar, Selma Lagerlöf

Switzerland: Homo Faber, Max Frisch

Syria

Tajikistan

Tanzania

Thailand

Togo

Tonga

Trinidad and Tobago

Tunisia

Turkey

Turkmenistan

Tuvalu

Uganda

Ukraine: Kult, Ljubko Deresch

United Arab Emirates

United Kingdom: Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

USA: The little Friend, Donna Tartt

Uruguay

Uzbekistan

Vanuatu

Venezuela

Vietnam

Yemen

Zambia

Zimbabwe

I am also including some parts of the world that are not independent countries, but that I want to have in this list:

Faroese Islands

Greenland: Blomsterdalen, Niviaq Korneliussen

Scotland: The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, James Hogg

Wales: Fire and Hemlock, Dianna Wynne Jones

[em-gets-shifty]

little ab characters i scripted that aren't in eah!!

i scripted a neverland realm (kinda like wonderland) and obviously other ppl live there so here are some of the most important characters i created:

Isabella Fae- daughter of Tinkerbell

she is my my childhood best friend and were still close obviously, but not as close as I am with cerise, cedar, & ginger.

she's dating sparrow..

i told her not too but here we are

when she gets nervous she shrinks and is in her shrunken fairy form

really close with farrah goodfairy and duchess swan

she is the epitome of clean girl fashion

Tavvi Lilium- daughter of Tiger LiIy

in peter pan (the movie) the native american representation is horrible so i made sure i picked an actual name that is from native american origins for her 😭

she reminds me of one of my cr bestfriends ngl

shes crazy and fun and so so so delusional

she has an obvious crush on Daring but she keeps denying it

they do text (a lot) and i think he likes her too??

she probably has the highest grades out of anyone ik there

she and blondie despise each other and it's so fucking funny

she wears boho chic type fits (think flowy tanks with jean shorts or ripped jeans; american eagle would be her favorite place to shop)

Jeremiah James Hook- son of captain hook

he's lowkey kinda fine 🤭(act like i didn't script this man to be fine)

manipulative asf

i dated him for a month and it was not fun

he was a love-bomber

made me think it was my fault for everything

wouldn't let me talk to my friends (especially dexter)

he would pick my outfit, my clothes, my makeup, my hair, food i ate...

sosososososo possessive

like i made 0 decisions the entire time we dated until i broke up w him.

he called me the last time i shifted there, and was begging me to take him back

he is the definition of pathetic man whore

cerise fought him... (it was as cool as it sounds believe me)

is like a 2020 e-boy (EWWWW)

Sierra Smee- daughter of smee

LEMME GET STARTED ON THIS BITCH

she follows jeremiah around like a puppy

pick me asffff

once broke into my dorm to steal my homework, so i would fail, so she could steal my destiny...

she wants to be me sooooo bad

made tavvi think that bella and i didn't like her so she could manipulate tavvi to fuck w us (didn't work)

constantly scheming

only friend is faybelle.

her voice is super high-pitched and it bothers me

she's called cedar slurs i- (in eah universe; not slurs from here. ex: mudblood in hp)

my actual reaction to her saying a slur:😮

she wears christian girl autumn esc fits ALL THE TIME

[xoxoproject21]

TDA Orlando Predictions

Mini Female

Winner: Sylvie Win Szyndlar (Club)

Top 3/4: Aliya Yen (P21), Sienna DiPietro (The NINE ), Avery Altobelli (Epic Dance Complex)

Top 10:

Amelia Burres (3' N Motion Dance Studio)

Amaya Rodriguez (Dance Unlimited)

Mila Simunic (Legacy Dance Studio)

Elizabeth Pugach (Elite Danceworx)

Tinsley Wallace (Renner Dance Company)

Navy Forrest (Club)

Harper Schwalb (Club)

Mikaela Florez (Stars)

Leighton White (South Tulsa)

Top 20:

Reese Braga (Stars)

Ellianna Buck (CDC)

Remi Hilson (Starstruck Performing Arts Center)

Valentina Cancellara (Vlad's)

Alexis Yu (Vlad's)

Lainey Hess (West Florida Dance Company)

Cece Chung (P21)

Charlotte Watters (SpotLite Dance Studio)

Lyric Simmons (South Tulsa)

Junior Female

Winner: Regan Genera (P21)

Top 3/4: Anita Rodriguez (Stars), Bristyn Scifres (P21), Amabella Tarrago (Stars)

Top 10:

Ashley Otano (Stars)

Camila Giraldo (Stars)

Amabella Tarrago (Stars)

Helena Olaerts (Mather)

Berkeley Scifres (P21)

Sara Von Rotz (P21)

Isabella Zhong (Vlad's)

Elsie Sandall (Club)

Madeleine Shen (Northpointe)

Rylie Borden (Dance Unlimted)

Dakota Casteel (Spotlight)

Top 20:

Leiliani Lawlor (P21)

Kendyl Miller (club)

Keringtyn Spencer (Denise Wall)

Cydnee Abbott (CDC)

Bianca Rebellato (Vlad's)

Skye Harrell (Mather)

Reagan Hess (West Florida)

Malia Gazda (Dance Enthusiasm)

Francesca DeMartinis (Loperfido Dance Academy)

Kendall Brown (South Tulsa)

Teen Female

Winner: Gracyn French (P21)

Top 3/4: Kylee Casares (Stars), Bella Rose Penrose (Evolve), Hudson Benayon (Elite Danceworx)

Top 10:

Giselle Gandarilla (Stars)

Bella Rey D'Armas (Stars)

Hayley Marshall (True Dance and Company)

Lekha Rajkumar (Elite Danceworx)

Savy Luechtefeld (Carolina Collective Dance)

Leila Winker (Millennium Dance Complex - Nashville)

Desa Jankes (West Florida Dance Company )

Miyah LaGrant (CCJ Conservatory)

Stella Eberts (P21)

Brooklyn Ladia (P21)

Top 20:

Makaylyn Lewis (Northpointe)

Shayla Blair (Studio 412)

Ava D'Ambrosio (Westchester)

Jazmine Raine Werner (Dance Enthusiasm)

Kynlee Schultheis (South Tulsa)

Haileigh Brennan (Impact)

Elizabeth Bilecki (Impact)

Malaya DiMonte (Art&Soul)

Onna Williams (Evolve)

Senior Female

Winner: Sierra Drayton (Elite Danceworx)

Top 3/4: Sophie Garcia (Stars), Angel DiMartino Palladino (Vlad's), Dyllan Blackburn (Mather)

Top 10:

Catherine Clayton (Stars)

Arianna Quant (Stars)

Brooklyn Law (Elite Danceworx)

Kennedy Clouse (Elite Danceworx)

Tatiana Hagee (Evolve)

Ashley Choy (Art & Soul)

Sammi Chung (P21)

Lexi Blanchard (P21)

Top 20:

Savannah Manning (CCJ)

Isabel Joves (Impact)

Preslie Rosamond (Studio 413)

Elyse Wingertsahn (Evolve)

Kaitlyn Ortega (Mather)

[undeath1245]

Headcanon full names for the TD contestants

I figured that I should share my list of headcanon full names of each of the characters of Total Drama, with a couple of exceptions here and there (i.e. Chris McLean, Blainely O'Halloran, Alejandro Burromuerto, Cody Anderson, Harold McGrady, Devon "DJ" Joseph, Dakota Milton, Lightning Jackson, Cameron Wilkins, Nichelle LaDonna, Valentina MacArthur). Results may possibly vary.

Original Total Drama contestants

Gwendolyn York (sharing the same name as the York Region)

Trent McAllister

Duncan van Jensen

Courtney Ferrera

Heather Yang

Lindsay Berglund

Tyler Greenwood

Bethany Collins

Geoff Baskerville

Brigette Heinemann

Justin Carroway

LeShawna Martin

Isabella Crampton

Eva Alexandrova

Sierra McAnthony

Katie Bisonette

Sadie Jeong

Ezekiel Brimstone

Revenge of the Island contestants

Michael Holmvik

Zoey Abendroth

Brick Hopkins

Scott Bronson

Josephine "Jo" Arnold

Samuel Braxton

Anna Marie Lombardi

Dawn Nicholson

Beverly "B" Norwood

Staci Murray

Pahkitew Island contestants

Shawn Romero

Jasmine Abbott

Sky Rouleau

David Corduroy

Sugar van Hoffman

Amanda Dufresne

Samantha Dufresne

Topher Fellows

Ella Grimm

Maxwell Hunter

Scarlett McGrady

Rodney Fieldston

Leonard Hammersmith

Winslow Beardman

The Ridonculous Race contestants

Devin Letterman

Carrie Brennan

Thomas Wesley

Jennifer Walcott

Brody Simpson

Stephanie Fairchild

Ryan Carmichael

Rosalind Sanders

Josée Guillaume

Jacques Beaumont

Emma Zhong

Katherine Zhong

Stuart Rockford

Theodore Spudman

Dwayne Broker Sr.

Dwayne Broker Jr.

Kelly Greenwood

Taylor Greenwood

Jay Henderson

Mickey Henderson

Ennui Craven

Marie Crimson

Tammy Lundgren

Laurie Delcroix

Kristoffersen Miles

Ellody Newton

Marie Poindexter

Chet Levett

Lorenzo Antonelli

Gerry Drummond

Peter McLean

Total Drama Revival contestants

Caleb Edwards

Priya Rouhani

Millie Baldridge

Hezekias "Zee" Wanchai

Julie Martinson

Mary Kate "MK" Chung

Wayne Rupert

Raj Samaroo

Bowie Davison (based on the late English pop star)

Emma Wahlgren

Damien Laurence

Ripper Alderman

Axel Emerson

Chase Rodgers

Lauren "Scary Girl" Metcalf (sharing the same name as the actress)

Why don't you share me your fan name ideas?

[tutuprincesse]

TDA Orlando Preds

Time to make people mad

Mini Top 21: Sylvie Win, Brinley, Aliya, Nyla, Mikaela, Tinsley, Remi, Amelia, Lainey, Sloane, Avery, Harper, Navy, Sienna, Mila, Amaya, Ella, Prairie, Stella, Audrey, Victoria

Mini Top 15: Sylvie Win, Brinley, Harper, Navy, Aliya, Mikaela, Amelia, Avery, Sienna, Amaya, Tinsley, Sloane, Ella, Victoria, Mila

Mini Top 4: Sylvie Win, Brinley, Avery, Sienna/Tinsley

Junior Top 21: Sunday, Rylie, Helena, Skye, Elsie, Anita, Berkeley, Regan, Bristyn, Lily, Cydnee, Kendyl, Dakota, Ruby, Leilani, Isabella, Keringtyn, Amabella, Camila, Samantha, Collins

Junior Top 11: Dakota, Elsie, Helena, Anita, Ruby, Samantha, Berkeley, Bristyn, Rylie, Amabella, Camila

Junior Top 3: Helena, Camila, Elsie

Teen Top 4: Kylee, Gracyn, Bella Rose, Braylynn

Senior Top 3: Dyllan, Sierra, Sophie

[moviesandmania]

THE SACRIFICE (2022) Horror based on Latin American legends - trailer

‘Feed the beast’ The Sacrifice is a 2023 Panamanian horror film about two sisters that have to fight for survival on their grandmother’s farm. The storyline is based on legends from all over Latin America. Directed by Alberto Serra from a screenplay co-written with Diego Cañizal and Simon Tejeira. Produced by Frysha Boilard. Executive produced by Fernanda Beiner. The WP Films production stars…

[wondererryn]

why did my friend send me this i thought we were past chain mail

" Hi can u put your name in it and send it to 10 different people We’re trying to make the longest iMessage for the 2021 Guinness World Records. Put your name below (copy it) and send it to 10 people, Don’t be th e one to break the chain

🐱Sylvia🐱

🐷Sadie 🐷

🦋Brynley🦋

🌸Karsyn🌸

🐴Carly🐝

⚾️Matthew ⚾️

😎Spencer 😎

🏀JoJo🤙

⛸Olivia⛸

👌Tessa👌

💔madison💔

🐉Elise🐉

🌻Lacey🌻

🦎Gabriella🦎

😝Siobhan😝

🤤Bella🤤

🥴Mia🥴

🤪Kaylee🤪

😒Allegra😒

🍫Daniella🍫

🤠Audrey🤠

💖Kortney💖

🥶Kayla 🥶

🤘🏼Brianna🤘🏼

🏁thomas🏁

🌈Justine 🌈

📍Aniyah 📍

🔐Priscilla🔐

🦄Marissa🦄

😹Lauren😼

☺️jocelyn☺️

🌺Janneth🌺

🦋marycruz🦋

💔Evelyn💔

🍎Karina🍎

😇Anjela😇

💙Janice💙

🖤Astrid🖤

💎Audrey💎

💍Mia💍

❤️Layla❤️

🤞Emily 🤞

💋Aaliyah💋

😁Melanie😁

😜Brenda 🥎

⭐️Maria⭐️

🥵dezire🥵

🤩Melissa🤩

🤣Alex🤣

🍯giuliana🍯

🥺Madelyn🥺

🥱Laryssa🥱

🐱Emerson 🐱

😛Amelia😛

⚽️Gracie⚽️

🥸Sierra🥸

🥎Ava🥎

⚽️Katia⚽️

🐷thea🐷

😈Marissa😈

🐘McKenna🐘

🦒Rylee🦒

😱Skyler😱

🤪Kimmy🤪

🤸🏻‍♀️Abby🤸🏻‍♀️

🦮Aubrey🦮

😛Bryn😛

🥳Embry🥳

🎉Sawyer🎉

🦄Willow🥳

🤪Stella🐶

👋🏻Kaitlyn🦄

⚽️Sedona🥰

🤤Lucy🤣

😷Maureen😷

😺Keira😺

😇Molly😇

😚izzy😚

✌️CJ✌️

🤣Levi🤣

🐶Nicky🐶

🔥Rohan🔥

🏈 Vishal 🏈

🌐Arthi🌐

🦊Sahithi 🦊

🐶Homa🐶

🐣Chetan🐣

🦜Saketh🦜

🐰Sravya 🐰

🦚Bhavita🦚

🌊Saanvi🌊

🥳Sloka🥳

😜Raaga😜

😁Sriram😁

🐘Risha🐘

🥸Cora🥸

🤪Riya🤪

💕Navadha💕

💔Ally💔

🥀Seher🥀

✌️Lauren✌️

🙃Emily🙂

❤Addison💜

💃🏼Jacqueline 💃🏼

Chloe🏒

Alex🏒

😻Audrey😻

✨Raegan✨

🐶Sienna🐶

⚽️Meg⚽️

🏄 Reilly 🏄

😂Lyla😂

😋Hailey😋

💗Gigi💗

🥳Evelyn🥳

✌🏽Willa✌��

🌻Bianca🌻

🥵Jaylah🥵

💋Sariah💋

💀⛓Corine ⛓💀

🤠Jessica🤠

🫐Brei🫐

🙃🥸Jenna🥸🙃

💖Alexis💖

🤍Mia 🤍

💗marli💗

🎀Aylah 🎀

😎Breanna😎😎

😏Ava😏

🌻Bella🌻

💛Avery🌻

🧩Makenzie🧩

🪴Merrill 🪴

💕 Kendal 💕

🍬Chloe 🍬

🍭 ♡Taylor ♡🍭

🍡𝙼𝚊𝚍𝚍𝚒𝚎🍡

💋💄MARYLIZ💄💋

💖Aniya💋♥️

💁🏻Adia😂❤️🥳

😜Reece😜

🐻Keira R.🐻

🥳Karis🥳

🐝✌🏽Hannah ✌🏽🐝

🤩Mandie🤓😏

🤗Arial🤗

💋Samie💋

🤪Tom🤪

🦊Lexi🦊

🐺Rainey🐺

🍀Jeseni🍀

✨Isaac✨

👉fabian👈

🏀Dominic⚾️

📣Amie⚾️

💖Johannah 💖

📣Amie⚾️🥁

🦥C

arlyn 🦥

🏵Emily 🏵

🍔Taylor🍔

🦋𝓴𝓪𝓼𝓱🦋

♡︎𝔸𝕟𝕟𝕒♡︎y

🤤𝕃𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕒𝕟🤤

🌈Caroline💥⚡️

✨Vanessa✨

🐋Caroline🥥

🌺Sofia🐾

🏳️‍🌈 Rayno 🏳️‍⚧️

🍄Kate🐛

😂📚Lucy🤩🤦🏼‍♀️

🥰Katie⭐️

🏃🏻‍♀️🤪𝚙𝚊𝚒𝚐𝚎📖🥸

👽🍕SAdiE🍕👽

🥝🧸 Tessie!! 🧸🥝

🍑Lucy🍑

🍍grace 🍍

😋Ada😍

💀 Lucas 💀

🤩Allie🤩

😭Pheobe 😭

🦻🏻 Sierra 🫀

🥭Lydia🦦

😁Elliott😝

😩Zoey😏

⚽️Tristin🫐

⚽️𝕃𝕀𝕃𝕐⚽️

🟩Aubrey♠️

♎️ANNORA🏳️‍🌈

😎Peighton😘

🤓Joanie🤓

🏐Kylie😜

🏆Kate😂

🌙Selah🔑

🦄Kinsley🌈

🥎Hadley🥎

❤️Bailey❤️

🩰Audrey🩰

🦩Lailagh🦩

🐾Kailee🐾

🍉Macy🍉

⚽️Malia⚽️

Layna⚽

Fiona😜

🏀Brooke🏀

🌸Lily🌸

🌊Brooklyn

🐷Tinzley

🤗Emilio🤗

🦖Gisella 🦖

🦋Nolah 🌼

💅illy💅

🌺Khloe🌻

🐛Eisley🦋

🐸Alyssa🪱

🦕Avery🐋

☁️macey☁️

🐳Bella🐳

💛Tarah🍄

🧊Eli🧊

🙃Peyton🙃

🏈 Will 🤪

⚽️Marvin🔥

⚽️Dominic🥶

⚽️Parker😝

⚽️Noah 🤡

⚽️Caden 🇮🇪

⚽️Brady🤨

🏈Nate🥍

🐓Conrad🐔

😏Ishan🎾

🏀Drew😭

🏈Gavin🏀

🍓Mia🍓

⚾️Gavin🏀

⚽️Davis🏈

🏋️‍♀️Marc🤼

🏀Quinn🏀

🏀Liam🥍

🏒Jack⚾️

🏒Joey🏈

😎Carson🦆

🌸Isabella🌸

🐢Ava🐢

🧸Makayla🧸

⚽Evangeline👑

🌸 Beatrix🌸

🐸丂ㄖ千|乇🐸

🦑 LuCiA🐳

🐬Claire🐬

🐱Stella🐱

🐧Max🐧

🐾 Abby-Rose🐶

💛Sadie🌸

⚽️Amelia⚽️

🎬Daphne🎬

😂N҉a҉d҉i҉a҉😂

🥎Hailey🥎

🥵Zoey🥵

🥶Kylie 🤫

😏Phoenix🏐

🧃Olivia🧃

🤍Evy🤍

😋Natalie😎

🌈Ailey🌈

🏀Sophie🥎

🥎Julia🏐

🥎Abby🏒

🏐Lily🥎

🥺Claire🥍

🤪Ava🦋

⚾️rylan🏒

🥓Daniel🏒

😤Brady🥶

💴Wesley🐤

Colton💪

💞Leighton💞

❤️Trinity❤️

🥎Ava🥎

⚽️Gracie⚽️

🐶Anna🐶

😎Molly😎

🌸Taylor 🌸

✨Greta✨

���🇪Jordan🇸🇪

🌑🐺Natalie🐺🌑

😍Olivia😍

🌺Dailyn 🌺

🩰Whitney🩰

🍩Harper🍩

❤️Kaylee💞

🏀Ava🐶🐔

🍉Charlee🍉

🐻Bridget🐻

🌮Jacqueline 🌯

🦒McKinley⭐️💫

🌻Alli👭

⚽️Emery🐶

🦆liv🏒

🍓Evie🍓

🏐Roci🐶

🐵Alivia⚽️

🐱 Aria 🏊‍♀️

🐢Maggie🍌

🍄 Evelyn 🍄

👾Isaac 👾

🍕Pearl 🍕

🐹Margaret 🐹

🥋Zoe🥋

🙄Piper🙄

👩🏻‍🎨Siri👩🏻‍🎨

♋️Piper♋️

👩🏻‍🎨🥞🥗🍕🍝🍬Siri🛼⛸️⛷️🛹🎨

😺Maya😺"

temped to put my name and pass it on now

[artisticlegshake]

THE DANCE AWARDS ORLANDO RESULTS 2023

SENIOR SOLOS:

1st Sam Fine - STARS JP!

2nd Robert Williams Nicolau - STARS JP!

3rd Destanye Diaz - STARS JP!

3rd Sofia Benning - EDX JP!

3rd Sebastien Leroux - ECOLE DE DANSE JP!

3rd Bella Tagle - STARS JP!

4th Jackson Roloff-Hafenbreadl - STARS JP!

5th Iliana Victor - STARS JP!

5th Caleb Monnell - WEST FLORIDA JP!

5th Kennedy Clouse - EDX JP!

5th Andres Jimenez - ARTISTIC EDGE JP!

6th Julia Lowe - EDX JP!

6th Zuzu Duchon - PROJECT 21 JP!

6th Sierra Drayton - EDX JP!

7th Ivanna Vaitkus - THE NINE JP!

7th Lamonte Sadler - CHARLOTTE PAA JP!

7th Angel DiMartino Palladino - VLAD’S JP!

7th Sammi Chung - PROJECT 21 JP!

7th Ally Pereira - STUDIO 61 JP!

7th Madison Mier - YOUR HAVEN JP!

8th Kristin Howell - EDX JP!

8th Sofia Gander - WEST FLORIDA JP!

8th Loila Rhee - PROEJCT 21 JP!

9th Claire Riegler - STARS JP!

9th Jayden Lan - VLAD’S JP!

9th Kaden Golding - EDX JP!

10th Maya Morrison - EDX JP!

10th Tatiana Hagee - NORTHPOINTE JP!

10th Isabella Weidmann - WESTCHESTER JP!

10th Yasmina Granic - CDC JP!

[animelover28sworld]

Part two just to let you know I'm not on the seventh book and I won't be doing Ortho sorry

Vil Schoenheit- two or three if it's two both girls, the oldest is named Naomi Lynn Schoenheit and the youngest would be named Victoria Marie Schoenheit. If it's three, one boy and two girls. Same name for the girls but the boy would be the oldest and named Kyle Isaac Schoenheit, then Naomi then Victoria.

Rook Hunt- two or three. If it's two, one boy and one girl. The girl would be the oldest and be named Melody Isabella Hunt and the boy would be named Hunter Rook Hunt. If it's three two girls and one boyHunter would be the oldest, then Melody, and then the youngest Arrow Amanda Hunt.

Epel Felmier- two or three if it's two both boys the oldest would be named Zeke Isaac Felmier and the youngest would be named Matthew Daniel Felmier. If it's three two girls and one boy. The oldest would be Zeke, the second oldest would be a girl named Ezra Lynn Felmier then the youngest would be named Ericka Marie Felmier.

Idia Shroud- one kid it would be a boy named Charlie Daniel Shroud.

Sebek Zigvolt- probably one kid and a girl named Sierra Ray Zigvolt

Sliver- two kids both girls the oldest would be named Madeline Lynn L/n (Last name cuz sliver doesn't have one) and the youngest would be named Grace Isabella L/n

Lilia vanrouge- three or two not counting Sliver. If it's two one boy and one girl. The boy would be the oldest and would be named Xander Matthew Vanrouge and the youngest would be the girl named Valerie Isabella Vanrouge. If it's three two girls and one boy. The oldest would be named Vanessa Marie Vanrouge, then Xander, then Valerie as the youngest.

Malleus Draconia- five at most. Three boys and two girls. The oldest would be a boy named Brandon Lucas Draconia the second one would be a girl named Michelle Elizabeth Draconia then the third would be a boy named Eric Martin Draconia then the fourth a girl named Zoe Marie Draconia then the youngest a boy named Stephen Malleus Draconia.

[collinthenychudson]

"One thing about trains: It doesn't matter where they're going. What matters is deciding to get on." - Conductor

Twenty years ago, The Polar Express made it's theatrical debut in cinemas across the United States. Loosely based on the 1985 children's book of the same name written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg, the film was directed by Robert Zemeckis (who also directed the Back To The Future trilogy, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Forrest Gump, etc.) With Alan Silvestri producing the film's music. Although the film's premiere was held at the Chicago International Film Fesitval on October 13th 2004, the theatrical debut took place on November 10th of that year.

Among the cast members was Tom Hanks (the voice of Woody in the Disney-Pixar Toy Story franchise) who took on the roles of Chris the Hero Boy, the Conductor, the Hobo, the Ebenezer Scrooge Puppet, Santa Claus, Chris' Father, and the narrator, although Chris' child voice was done by Daryl Sabara with additional motion capture done by Josh Hutcherson.

Other cast members include:

Nona Gaye (voice), Darrian O Driscoll (additional motion capture), Meagan Moore (singing voice), and Tinashe (motion-capture model) as Holly the Hero Girl.

Peter Scolari (motion capture), Hayden McFarland (additional motion-capture), Jimmy Bennett (voice), and Matthew Hall (singing voice) as Billy the Lonely Boy.

Eddie Deezen and Jimmy Pinchak (additional motion capture) as Know-It-All.

Michael Jeter (voice) and André Sogliuzzo (additional voice) as Steamer the Engineer and Smokey the Fireman.

Leslie Zemeckis (motion capture), Isabella Peregrina (voice) and Ashly Holloway (additional motion capture) as Sister Sarah and Chris' Mother.

Dylan Cash as a Boy on the Train.

Brendan King and Andy Pellick as the Pastry Chefs.

Josh Eli, Rolandes Hendricks, Jon Scott, Sean Scott, Mark Mendonca, Mark Goodman, Gregory Gast, and Gordon Hart as the Waiters.

Julene Renee as Red Head Girl and an Elf.

Chris Coppola and Connor Matheus (additional motion capture) as Gus the Toothless Boy and an Elf.

Phil Fondacaro, Debbie Lee Carrington, Mark Povinelli, and Ed Gale as the Elves.

Charles Fleischer as the Elf General.

Steven Tyler as the Elf Lieutenant and Elf Singer.

The locomotive that pulls the train is based on No. 1225, an N-1 class 2-8-4 "Berkshire" type locomotive that was built by the Lima Locomotive Works in October 1941 to pull freight trains for the Pere Marquette Railway. The locomotive's design and sounds were used for the Polar Express while the whistle came from Sierra Railway No. 3, a 4-6-0 "Ten Wheeler" locomotive built by the Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works March 26, 1891.

Upon it's release, the film was met with mixed reviews with many people labeling the film as a "Christmas Classic" and others criticizing the film's characters as "lifeless zombies". The movie recieved a Rotten Tomatoes score of 56% but had otherwise performed successfully in the box office at $318.2 million reaching over the film's budget of $165-170 million. Over the years follwing it's theatrical debut, the film would be released to home media both on DVD and VHS with occasional DVD releases from time to time.

Like all films, The Polar Express also has marketing and other promotional materials. One example comes in the form of games based on the film such as a PS2 game of the same name, a Ticket Chase game, a Train Adventure game, and so forth. Another example is with model railroad and toy train companies such as Lionel and Brio have made various train sets based on the Polar Express train.

A third example includes various Polar Express-themed train ride events loosely based on the train's journey taking place at various heritage railroads during the Christmas season such as on the Durango & Silverton, Grand Canyon Railway, the B&O Railroad Museum, and even from Pere Marquette 1225, although under the name of "North Pole Express". In addition, SeaWorld Orlando did a temporary Christmas Layover of the Wild Arctic motion simulator ride called the "Polar Express Experience" from 2007 to 2015. Other forms of marketing, promotional materials, and merch has come or have came in the form of various board games such as a matching game and Train-opoly, a book showcasing the film's concept art, and even a limited edition cereal.

Despite what some people think of the movie, The Polar Express continues to remain one of the most iconic Christmas movies to this day making occasional returns to cinemas during the Christmas season alongside various other Christmas movies. In fact, this is my number one favorite Christmas movie of all time not just because I'm obviously a railfan, but it's also because that this was the first ever movie I have seen in the theaters. It was this film, alongside Thomas The Tank Engine and I Love Toy Trains, that have gotten me into steam locomotives and trains in general.

To Robert Zemeckis, Alan Silvestri, Tom Hanks, and everyone else who took part in the making of this film, thank you. Happy 20th anniversary to The Polar Express!

Models and Route by: K&L Trainz, Auran and Download Station

The Polar Express C) Warner Bros.

[mermaidsirennikita]

Can you recommend a few books with amazing Fellatio scenes?

For sure!

Thief of Shadows by Elizabeth Hoyt probably still has my favorite historical BJ scene. He cries because it was his first orgasm with another person and that's a Lot; she cries because she's emotional and also because like, you know, gag reflex stuff. They're super close to being caught by people. It's GREAT. Tbh though, Elizabeth Hoyt writes generally solid to great ones.

I mean, let us also not forget the scene in Duke of Pleasure wherein the hero is like "oh no the bad guys are about to catch us" so she just starts blowing him to make it look like she's a street wench or whatever they're trying for, and once the guys leave he's like "okay you can stop". And she. Does. Not.

New Camelot by Sierra Simone has several of my favorite BJ scenes. Most likely the "blindfold 'im with a novelty Mount Rushmore tie and go down on him to express your *eternal* gratitude" blow job is the best one, but I also really love the "the mighty Maxen Colchester has a gag reflex" [*cut to the mighty Maxen Colchester glaring balefully*] scene.

Naturally, Sierra's Salt Kiss has great scene in this context, and her Thornchapel series has some of the most "this is sinning" fellatio scenes I'e ever read. Like. The one where they're spit-roasting a priest is honestly not the most sinful BJ in that series. And speaking of that, her book Saint has an amazing scene in which ex-boyfriends, one of whom is a current monk, act out a "I'm a naughty monk and you're tempting me" fantasy BJ in like, the great outdoors lmao.

Mila Finelli's Kings of Italy has great ones. Like, full "you look so pretty like this" scenes, smudged makeup, love it.

Act Your Age by Eve Dangerfield literally begins with the heroine blowing her boss while calling him daddy without realizing that it is, in fact, her boss.

Give Me More by Sara Cate is an MMF romance with a couple of truly iconic blow job scenes, including hits like "giving my best friend head in the dark" and "my best friend goes down on me after his wife decks my dick out with whipped cream".

All of the Mackenzie brother books by Jennifer Ashley have good ones, but Lady Isabella's Scandalous Marriage probably has my favorite in the series because Mac is a Whiny Squirmy Hero.

Kennedy Ryan writes great ones in her All the King's Men duology--including one with the thing we don't see enough of in m/f romance novels (heroes getting their asses fingered).

Oh SPEAKING of that there's an amazing BJ scene in Kristen Callihan's The Friend Zone that includes the same thing. The man almost like, dies.

Cate Sebastian's The Queer Principles of Kit Webb has one of my favorite BJ scenes because Percy is a throat goat who happens to be going down on a man who's afraid of hurting him so he has to be like "YOU UNDERESTIMATE MY POWER" about it.

Grace Callaway's books are generally great in this regard. I once compared an enthusiastic but inexperienced Grace Callaway heroine trying to go down on her hero to someone attempting the chubby bunny challenge. And I'm correct there, and boy do their heroes love it (while also being like, "she's objectively kinda bad at this").

Joanna Shupe's books usually have good fellatio scenes (oh, and she's also Mila Finelli). The Duke Gets Even and The Devil of Downtown especially win out in this regard.