#It's an incredible movie and they included some of my all time favorite lines from the books

[brothermoth]

Russell Crowe did a good job and all but I can't help but feel terribly robbed that they didn't find a man built like a powerlifter to play my king Jack Aubrey. That man is on page described as having a dumptruck ass big enough to take up two chairs. He's the guy a crowded plane hates to see coming down the aisle. He's pro sodomy. He can tell you everything about boats. He has a parasocial relationship with Horatio Nelson. He plays the fucking violin.

Paul Bettany however can play Stephen Maturin forever he was perfect. They saw him butt ass naked in A Knights Tale and said "yep that's him" and they were so right. He was a bit too tall but that could be improved by getting an even bigger man to play Jack

[theartofpixar]

"Joy’s body language is generally pretty broad: her arms always stretching and reaching, and she’s constantly jumping around so as a former 2D animator, drawing her on the movie was quite the delight! Being not *that* extroverted myself, bringing that attitude to life, especially on days when I felt more like Ennui, had some really interesting effects. Have you ever drawn someone yawning and started yawning yourself? That kinda happened to me with drawing Joy. Stepping into her shoes (although she wears none!) was somehow always therapeutic and added a lot of energy and positivity to my days 💛

I am loving the cascade of incredible art pouring out from every department with the release of Inside Out 2! 💙 At one point I was assigned a Sadness action sequence called “Cry Hard�� (!) which I’ll share in a future post, so before boarding I spent some time drawing poses and expressions to get a feel for her character. Can we talk about those little slippers. 🥺

Drawing Anger was always somehow satisfying! My Mediterranean roots probably have something to do with it ❤️‍🔥 One thing I loved about boarding sequences with these guys was how the Emotions felt emotions themselves, yet still kept their primary self. When Anger felt joy, it was a fiery happiness; when he felt fear or disgust, his eyebrows would never lie! These sketches are warm-ups from when I was exploring his fiery range of expressions and as I built my library, some of these definitely found their way into my sequences..

When I think of my favorite Emotion to draw, oh man. Disgust 100%. The SASS. Those mouth shapes and the fabulous lashes that just amplify it all. I had so much fun drawing her on Inside Out 2. I don’t wanna spoil the story posting my sequences yet, so these are some warm up sketches from when I was getting familiar with her volumes and expressions. The movie is out TODAY! Go see it in theaters!

And last but not least of the original emotions, Fear! I always thought he was kinda challenging to draw. His design includes a lot of sharp angles and jittery lines to convey his constant tension. His hands are usually close to his body as if to protect himself, and his shoulders always raised. It made me realize it takes a lot of energy to be constantly afraid of something! His eyes are also quite funny; his brows were disconnected, and somehow the back of his head had the shape of eyes too! Here are a few character studies. The poses with him clinging to the rope are taken from one of my sequences." – Alessandra Sorrentino

[11cupids-tarot11]

What can help your dreams ★Manifest☆ ?

1 -> 3

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Tarot Deck used: Garbage Pail Kids

Oracle Deck used : The Roast Iconic

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Pile 1- The Devil, Six of Coins in Reverse, The Hanged Man

Oracle cards- "Billionaire: Are you hoarding wealth to fuel your King or Queen Baby dreams? Do not pass Go, do not collect a million dollars, don't even go to jail or pay taxes- think about doing some good and using your hoard to end WORLD HUNGER ALREADY!"

"Black Square: Apparently, you are only down for doing the bare minimum during an incredibly significant time to stand up and advocate for human rights. Drawing this card reminds you that your actions need to not be just performative, they must be based in real knowledge and include follow-through, both online and IRL (in real life). You don't have to be on the front lines, but at this point in history, you can't be silent either."

Hi my pile 1's 😭 I feel like it's been forever I hate being away from my blog for too long cause I start to miss y'all literally lol.

So anyways for your reading today I feel like Spirit is wanting to draw attention to maybe some addictions, self sabotage is what I heard while shuffling the cards. I feel this heavy energy of someone purposely messing up their own blessings in a way I feel like maybe someone's stuck in this very heavy energy but also not really doing anything about it? Like maybe you know something's not good for you, maybe it's a connection or even a job that's tiring you out, it's something along those lines but you just can't stop it, you know? I heard someone needs to do an energy cleanse! I heard take some time off. Maybe someone's drowning themselves in something like studying too much, there's something about over doing something. Someone could have very curly hair here.

So I'm hearing here someone should take the time off and do something fun, relax a little. I think there's a message here also of feeling like you haven't done enough of something and you're obsessing about it mentally a lot and spirit is saying just take a little break from it and endulg in something else, something that makes you happy and makes you feel like you, you know? Even if it's just taking a walk while listening to your favorite music or maybe reading your favorite book and watching your favorite movie, you know? So with the six of coins here I'm also getting a message of like you've worked really hard already and you've done a great job honestly it's okay to rest and not be perfect already already, Rome wasn't built in a day I'm hearing!

The hanged man is just confirmation you've definitely been making yourself sick and stuck by obsessing over this thing. I also feel like maybe you're stuck because spirit is wanting you to see things from a different perspective, like in my garbage pail kid tarot card Wacky Jacky is hanging and all stuck in a tree but while she's stuck she realizes she sees the world in a whole different perspective and it's then new ideas come to her. Approach your goal from a new angle!

I feel like someone here is also someone very important with a very hard position and that might be why you work so hard, you have a lot of pressure on you maybe. Take what resonates!

Hope you enjoyed this reading! Let me know, I love you and take care ♡

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Pile 2- Queen of Wands Reversed, Seven of Wands Reversed and Three of Cups.

Oracle cards- "Troll: Are you a Necessary Evil? Do you feel you must play Devil's Advocate? Or are you someone who hates themselves so much they feel they have to try to get others to feel the same way? If you answered "yes" to one or more of these questions, please seek help or therapy, or get a hobby."

"Bitch: Are you being a Bitch, or just making sure they can't take advantage of you? Stand up for yourself, but make sure you don't steamroll anyone in the process. Do no harm, but take no shit."

Hi pile 2's, hope you're doing amazing 🤩

So right off the bat I'm picking up shy energy lol, someone who's maybe more reserved or introverted. I don't want to say basically Spirit thinks you should be loud or more outgoing but I definitely think you'll go through a time period of weird energy and out of the ordinary situations happening that are forcing you out of your comfort zone. You might not get any more extroverted but I definitely do see branching out might help, sitting with your close friends and just letting yourself let loose or just enjoy the company. You might be someone who people look at and not get the big picture right away, like they have lots of accusations about you but you're kind of closed off so these accusations aren't 100% true because there's more to you than people know, you're just not the type to go and give yourself away that easily. You might be someone who prefers to keep a very close knit group of friends, I heard something about trust issues.

You could be petite, someone who doesn't look like they're very strong and that's what surprises everyone when you finally do show them you are indeed strong. You can be loud and extroverted too I think it's a choice to really be in this shell of yours, maybe it's what's comfortable and that's exactly the problem, when we're too comfortable we don't see the point in changing. Like why fix it if it isn't broken? But you hold great significance, you're just a significant person to the universe and I'm not even sure if you're aware but you are lol.

It's crazy because I'm picking up mixed messages lol, with the Queen of Wands in reverse it makes me feel like someone here is very down and unsure about themselves, needs to take some me time and get away from socializing but with the Three of Cups someone here needs to "stop being alone so much" is how I channeled it, advising you to go out more with the people you love and celebrate, have a good time and just have fun so take what resonates as you know yourself best and what applies to your situation.

With the seven of Wands I'm getting a message of someone who's stressed, you maybe have felt very tired, over worked maybe, even dealing with certain responsibilities or relationship makes us feel tired and all worn out so take this how it resonates. You're on the brink of giving up, maybe you felt like it's not worth it or simply just can't find results you've been wanting to see, maybe this thing is literally killing you because Spirit is stressing you drop it enough to take the stress off you. I wouldn't advise anyone to just give up, but Spirit used such words as "drop it" like maybe the thing you're supposed to drop isn't serving you and that's why it's making you feel so bad. I'm just hearing Spirit even ask if you think all of this is worth it? This is something tough that's been bothering you, it could even be as simple as negative thoughts with all of the wands energy here, I think this is a group in their head a lot always trying to hold themselves accountable and very motivated to just do right. I heard a message that it's hard coming up for new creative endeavors because of all of the negativity in your thoughts holding you back, this energy is blocking your ideas. It's like you vs you almost, I think you have the power to help your dreams manifest all on their own just with your thoughts alone so keep a check for your energy, watch who you share your energy with because it's important and powerful. You're powerful I heard!

I hope you find this helpful! Take care angelz love you! ♡

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Pile 3- Seven of Cups, The Chariot and King of Wands.

Oracle Cards- "Black Square: Apparently, you are only down for doing the bare minimum during an incredibly significant time to stand up and advocate for human rights. Drawing this card reminds you that your actions need to not be just performative, they must be based in real knowledge and include follow-through, both online and IRL (in real life). You don't have to be on the front lines, but at this point in history, you can't be silent either."

"Red Flag: No matter how often you try to bleach the red flags white, they only turn back to red. You have been warned- now PULL ANOTHER CARD!"

"Cult Leader: You are not a guru, a Timelord, or a demigod. You are an egomaniac who needs minions so you can feel like an authority to compensate for your own feelings of inferiority. Grow up!"

Hi pile 3! Hope you're having a fantastic day where you are!

So right away I'm picking up a message of not seeing the bigger picture, this pile feels more like a "How to Manifest more quicker" lol. I'm hearing this very slow moving energy, someone refusing to move on to the next chapter though you might be aware it's time to even but I'm getting a sense of fear. Even if you are unaware of these changes there's still so much anxiety and fear surrounding you at these times because the universe is basically forcing you to move lol! Move or be moved I'm hearing.

So overall I feel like someone in this pile might have lots of distractions, someone might have adhd and a hard time concentrating on tasks. Spirits drawing your attention these times and reminding you to stay focus.

With the Chariot card I feel like there's some movement here that needs to happen, you need to take action. I think that's the best way to help your manifestations right now, maybe someone here even forget exactly what they were manifesting and Spirit is like "Uhh HELLO? DO YOU REMEBER THAT THING??" lol. I heard someone's just been away from the job a little too long, I even get from the Seven of Cups it might've been you were distracted with something else that just sparked your attention better, but all that glitters isn't gold!

So I think you're working on being in this King of Wands energy, someone who is very productive, knows what they want, speaks up about anything, rather it's an idea they have or just wanting authority. I feel like a few of you even might know exactly what this is, I feel like a few of you might not even have a specific dream you want to manifest just clicking on the reading for fun lol but there's still a secretive message here I think you'll understand as you apply it to your situation.

Spirit is asking you to maybe think about the roots you want to plant and start from there, stay true to your craft and perspective and be committed.

I hope you enjoyed this reading! I love you, see you soon ❤️ ★

[adrienneleclerc]

Cachetona

Pairing: Henry Cavill x Hispanic/Latina! Reader

Summary: Y/N gets told she’s cute all the time by everyone including her boyfriend and she worries that he doesn’t find her sexy

Warning: grammar and spelling errors, no translated Spanish porque me da flojera, IMPLIED innocence and corruption kink if you could call it that, honestly. It's kinda angsty fluff

A/N: I actually requested something similar to @shellyshellshell but this time I’m gonna add my own spin to it. I get told I’m cute and adorable by my bestie, I’ve been told I was cute by some adults, and I’m fine with it. Like I’m 21, I know I’m cute and adorable, because of my personality along with my chubby cheeks, so this is something I worry about and lowkey struggle with. Like I feel I can’t dress in a “sexy” way or do my makeup in a “sexy” way because I feel like it doesn’t match my face or hair at all. Así que me toca vestirme “cute”

Y/N has always had a rounder face and chubby cheeks. Even at her big age of 32, she still has those chubby cheeks that her mom likes to point out all the time. She thought she would have looked more mature by now like other women her age, she thought wrong.

However, truth be told she really didn’t mind being called cute growing up. It wasn’t until her previous partners only saw her as cute, it was even worse when her current boyfriend, Henry Cavill, started calling her cute.

They met a few months ago at Disneyland, which was already a bad start, Henry took his nephews (and nieces, idk) while Y/N went with her friends as a big Disney fan herself. They met on the line of the INCREDIBLES rollercoaster because his niece liked the loungefly bag Y/N had, again, not the best start.

Henry thought that Y/N was adorable in her Disney bound of Marie from the Aristocats and they kept talking in the line until he made the move to invite her to eat after the ride, to which she obviously said yes to because who the hell would say no. And that’s how it all began.

At Disneyland

“So Y/N, I like your outfit, it’s adorable, Marie?” Henry asked, gesturing at her outfit that consisted of white shorts, a pastel pink top with a pink bow in her hair, wearing a pearl choker with a gold bow charm, and pastel pink platform converse.

“Oh yes, it one of my favorite classic Disney movies. I’m a big fan of Disney. What about you? You have a favorite Disney movie?” Y/N asked.

“I’d have to say Hercules.” Henry answered.

“The music is amazing, and I love Megara. Anyway, what are you working on right now?” Y/N asked.

They were together for the rest of the Disney trip until on of her friends, Valeria, called her to say they’re leaving. Henry asked for her phone number and he called her the next day so they could have their first date.

First date

Y/N went to her closet and chose a White lace top with light blue shorts, nude block heel ankle boots, and her pearl choker again. Henry sent her the address of the coffee shop he wanted to meet at and when he saw her at the door, he thought she looked beautiful.

“Thank you for meeting me here, you look precious.” Henry said.

“Thank you, you look handsome.” Y/N said, sitting down at the table. When they ordered, Y/N ordered a brownie and a strawberry creme frappe for some much needed sugar and Henry ordered a croissant and coffee.

They talked about whatever people talk about on first dates, it went really well until...

"I'll call you later, cutie." Henry said, kissng Y/N on the cheek.

Present day

Y/N was in Henry's living room, wearing glasses, hair in two braids, a cream knit sweater, and shorts with Kal by her side. Henry came through the door after a meeting with his agent.

"Hey, Bunny, you're looking adorable today, how was your day?" Henry asked. 'Bunny' was your nickname because after you sneeze, you would twitch your nose before rubbing your nose with your thumb (guilty), much like a rabbit would.

"My day has been fine, took Kal for a walk, made him one of those frozen treats that are safe for dogs, safe to say he enjoyed them, el muy goloso." Y/N said.

"Thats good to hear." Henry said as he got close enough squish her face. "I love these chubby cheeks of yours, you're so cute." and Henry kissed her and went to pet Kal. "Are you going to stay and eat? I can make my specialty."

"I'd love to but i actually gotta head out." Y/N said, hoping Henry doesn't notice anything wrong with her.

"I can take you, it's no problem at all." Henry said.

"No, no, its fine, you cook whatever, I'll just make something at my apartment." Y/N said and kissed Henry before going to her car. She couldn't take it, she has been called 'cute' one too many times by Henry and to top it off, he mentioned her chubby cheeks, she was a grown woman, there are only so many times a grown woman could be called cute.

She drove to her apartment and began muttering.

"Can't believe he called me adorable." Y/N said, closing the door, putting her bag on the couch. She then saw her reflection in the full body mirror Valeria insisted in getting for their apartment. "No wonder he calls me cute." She observed her hair in braids and took it off, messing up her hair. She took off her glasses to see if that makes anything better - it didn't. Thats when she heard the door open.

"Amiga! No sabes cuanta gente estaban en las tiendas." Valeria said, putting her shopping bags down. "What happened? I thought you were going to be with your superstar boyfriend all day." Valeria said, looking at Y/N who is staring at her reflection.

"Henry called me cute again, y dijo algo sobre yo siendo cachetona." Y/N said.

"But Amiga, I thought you were okay with being called cute." Valeria said.

"I am fine with my family members or my friends calling me cute because I know that. Like I’m not exactly built like a Victoria’s Secret Angel, but I thought that at least my boyfriend of all people would at least find me hot. Clearly Henry doesn't see me that way." Y/N said as she plopped down on the floor.

"Hey, you don't know that." Valeria attempted to comfort her friend.

"He was called me adorable, precious, cute, not even beautiful, and he has never called me sexy." Y/N stated.

"Yeah, I can't argue with that." Valeria said.

"See! Y siendo cachetona no me ayuda. Men call you sexy, how can I be more like you?" Y/N asked. "Agh, I sound like a fucking teenager."

"It's all about confidence." Valeria said but Y/N kept looking at her. "Okay, I love you, you know I do, but you do own a lot of pastel colors in your closet. You can borrow my clothes whenever you're out with Henry, that's a given, but even the way you do your makeup is cute, and I know you hate hearing that."

"You're right, you're right. Okay, show me how to do my makeup so it could look ‘hot’ instead of ‘cute’.” Y/N said and that’s exactly what Valeria did. She gave Y/N a Smokey eye with Fox eyeliner, a darker lipstick, contour so her face looks slimmer, and minimal blush. “I feel ridiculous.” Y/N said.

“That’s because you’re not used to it. Also, if you want to look hotter, you need to straighten your hair. Like that sleek straight look.” Valeria said. “But that’s for the next time you want to see Henry, has he texted you?”

“Mm, no, not yet. Which one of these outfits do you think would look better on me?” Y/N said, opening up Valeria’s closet.

The next day, Y/N was in bed when she got a text from Henry.

Toro: hey Bunny, you want to come over tonight? I’ll cook your favorite.

You: yeah, Torito, I’ll come over, what time?

Toro: 6 sounds fine?

You: yep, sounds good.

Toro: okay, see you later, cutie 😘

“Cutie.” Y/N mocked. She got off her bed and went to Valeria’s closet and took out some things that she believed Henry might like her in. “Valeria, I’m borrowing your clothes!”

“Okay!” Valeria shouted from the shower. “You gonna shower so I can leave the water running for you?”

“Yeah, thank you!” Y/N shouted.

Y/N took a shower, washed her hair really well, shaved, when she finished, she put on lotion, her underwear, and a robe to blowout her hair. She changed and her her robe back on to do her makeup, took off her robe, and put on a perfume Henry bought you. She put on some black heels and a pair of her gold hoop earrings. She went to show Valeria.

“How do I look?” Y/N asked.

“Estás buena.” Valeria said.

“Thank you, let’s hope Henry thinks so.” Y/N said.

She got into her car and drove to Henry’s. She stayed in her car for a few minutes.

“Okay, it’s all good, you look hot, you look sexy, you’re not cute, not adorable, you’re hot.” Y/N said to herself before leaving the car and knocking on Henry’s door. Henry opened it and was in awe of how Y/N looked.

“Wow, Bunny, you look great!” Henry said, hugging her and letting her in the house. “So I’m making the rice now, the chicken is already done.”

“Great. Hola, Osito, how are you, Kal?” Y/N cooed at the fluffy Akita.

“You’re so cute.” Henry said. Y/N paused for a second.

“Toro, can we talk about something?” Y/N asked.

“Yeah, of course. What’s on your mind, cutie?” Henry asked.

“That.” Y/N pointed at him.

“What do you mean?” Henry asked.

“Okay, I’m going to ask you a serious question and I need you to answer me honestly. Do you find me attractive?” Y/N asked.

“What kind of question is that? Of course I do, you know I think you’re precious to me.” Henry tried to reassure Y/N.

“No no no, not like that, I mena like sexually attractive.” Y/N said.

“I Don’t understand.” Henry said.

“Okay, we’ve met at Disneyland, right? You thought I was cute, that’s understandable because I tried to look as adorable as possible because I was Disney bounding. But the dates after Disney, you kept calling me cute or adorable or precious. Now i grew up getting called cute, my friends and family call me cute, I don’t mind getting called by them. But when my boyfriend calls me cute, someone I’m supposed to feel desired by…I know it’s stupid, and even saying this out loud is stupid, but when I’m dressed like this.” Y/N said, gesturing to her outfit. “And you still call me cute, it feels like you’re not attracted to me the same way I’m attracted to you. So please tell me something before we go any further in our relationship.” Y/N said. Henry was stunned. He didn’t know what to say. He turned off the stove and led Y/N to the living room so they could talk on the couch.

“Y/N, i am very attracted to you.” Henry said, look into her eyes.

“It doesn’t feel like it. Why do you always call me cute though? Why is it never beautiful or gorgeous or even sexy?” Y/N asked

“Because your adorable nature is something I find very sexy.” Henry said leaning in.

“A ver, Toro, i Don’t understand.” Y/N said, leaning back.

“Your aura, your way of presenting yourself, is very innocent and cute. It’s like loving an angel. So I find you very sexy, the way you dress in your pastel colors makes you look so angelic when we both know what’s underneath is down right sinful. You are so bloody tempting that I call you cute to hold myself back from doing what I really want to do to you.” Henry said.

“Who knew the great Henry Cavill has a innocence kink.” Y/N giggled a little.

“Yeah yeah, tease all you want, bunny. But do you understand what I’m telling you?” Henry grabbed her chin to tilted her head so she’s looking in his eyes. “You are very sexy, I find your cuteness very sexy. And I’m sorry if I made you feel like you weren’t desired because you are, I desire you every night.” Henry said and they kissed. “You feel better now, bunny?”

“Yeah I’m fine. Thank you, Toro.” Y/N said. “So…when did you first think I was sexy?” Y/N asked and Henry chuckled.

“Alright, let’s eat first and then we’ll discuss that, Bunny.” Henry said, leading Y/N to the kitchen.

The End

So Henry’s nickname is “Toro” which means “bull” because he’s a Taurus and of course really strong like a bull.

Taglist: @warriormirkwood

[nerdanel01]

Emmrook at the Opera

In honor of Sylvia confirming Emmrich’s occasionally into a “bold Orlesian opera” (one of the most exciting things to ever happen to me), I wanted to put together this little post on resources for anyone who might be curious about the genre, or want to incorporate it into their fic writing.

It’s going to be a little USA-heavy because I do, unfortunately, live in the land of hamburgers and assault rifles, but the silver lining is that I also live in the country that created this:

The Metropolitan Opera House in NYC has to be one of the largest opera houses in the world, at least partially because of the fact that it was built much more recently than many of the old ones. When it’s full, it fits over four thousand people in it. I once took a tour of the backstage with one of my best friends who told me, partially in jest, “Wow, I’ve never seen you look at your boyfriend the way you’re looking at this building.” I broke up with that boyfriend like a year later, but the Met is my love for life. I love the red velvet on the walls and the seats. I love the giant Marc Chagall paintings. I love the sputnik chandelier. I love the peeling gilt gold on the ceilings, which I often have a perfect view of from my seats in the nosebleeds. The Met is my boo. 

Onto the resources!

If you just want to watch a movie that FEATURES opera but is not specifically an opera:

Moonstruck - Cher tries to invite her fiance’s brother (Nicholas Cage) to her wedding. Can you imagine what happens to Cher and Nicholas Cage next. Features the both of them on a date at the Met Opera (my beloved!) and excerpts from La Boheme. One of my all time fave movies, I identify deeply with Cher’s grandfather in the film. 

Falling for Figaro is a pretty cute romcom about a finance chick who quits her job to pursue her dream of becoming a soprano. 

And listen like the singing in Phantom of the Opera (2004) is. Not great. (I’m sorry Gerard Butler, I loved you when I was twelve.) But the opening sequence of the rolling camera pulls through the opera house as the overture plays will haunt me for the rest of my life. 

If you’ve never seen an opera before, and want to watch one (either online or in person), I recommend starting with one of these:

La Boheme - One of the most popular operas, period. Also, it’s literally RENT. Beat for beat, from ‘will you light my candle’ to ‘la vie boheme,’ it’s RENT, just sung in Italian and set in Paris. (Spoilers, the ending in the opera is more tragic.)

L’Elisir D’Amore - If you like Agnes and Emmrich because you enjoy watching two idiots who are obviously in love with each other pine for each other, this is a good one. Very sweet. One of my faves.

The Barber of Seville - I think this one is very approachable if you think of it as a comic version of Sweeney Todd, if Sweeney had no tragic backstory and Jamie was a young noble. It’s a romance, shenanigans are had, and Largo al Factotum is one of the biggest bops of all time. 

My personal favorites also include Akhaten, La Fille Du Regiment, Le Nozze di Figaro, and Turandot, but your mileage may vary with these—Akhnaten is very contemporary, productions of Turandot sometimes feature some pretty heckin’ yikes orientalism. 

If you want to listen to opera music:

WQXR is NYC’s Classical Music Station. In addition to their regular classical music stream (which is also very good) they have a separate stream of just opera music called Operavore. (I also love New Sounds, but the streams vary wildly and its definitely an acquired taste.)

The Met broadcasts a series of live Sunday radio transmissions every year starting in the spring, available online and also via WQXR.

The Chicago Lyric Opera has a bunch of their live streams archived online.

I have also made a playlist where I’ll be adding all the songs featured in my Emmrook fics. :)

If you want to watch an opera stream online:

OperaVision

There’s this incredible list from OperaWire

But there’s also this site, where you can find pretty much anything

The Met also has it’s own paid streaming service, which is SPENSIVE on the subscription model, but if there’s something you really want to see and can’t find elsewhere, they allow you to rent single titles for $4.99 each.

I do strongly recommend, if you have any interest at all and have the opportunity, to go see an opera in person. For me it makes such a difference to be there in person, and it’s not as expensive as you might think! Plus, since opera is a dying art and opera houses are desperate for new audiences (at least, in America) there are usually a number of discounted ticket programs. (Again, the list below is super USA centric, I’m so sorry—and of those below, I’ve only been to the Met myself.)

The Metropolitan Opera is the biggest opera company in the US in terms of literally the number of operas they put on a year. Other than a brief break in February, the opera is pretty much in session 5 nights a week, from October through the end of May. 

Family Circle. I love the family circle. I’ve spent so much time in the Family Circle. The acoustics ARE genuinely better up here than they are in other parts of the house, and depending on the opera, tickets in the Family Circle typically go between $26-45 dollars each.

Rush Tickets are available every day online—these are usually seats in the orchestra. I can’t remember exactly but I think these are always $25. 

If you’re feeling ~opulent and looking for a very special date night, the Met also runs a program called Fridays Under 40. It’s a special priced Orchestra ticket for people under 40. Many of the dates also include little parties where they usually have photo booths, charcuterie, etc., and opportunities to meet some of the cast.

The Detroit Opera offers student rush tickets, although it looks like you have to be at the box office in person to get them. 

The Chicago Lyric Opera has discounts for students and 50% off rush tickets.

The San Francisco Opera has a great offer for first-time opera attendees who live in the Bay Area - $20 for two great seats

The L.A. Opera also offers student rush discount tickets, and $30 tickets for attendees under 30 years of age.

I am not aware of any discounts for the Santa Fe Opera but it looks so cool and it’s on my bucket list to go one day <3

Dallas Opera offers student discounts and discounts for attendees 21-45 (although it looks like they’re aksing for a membership fee for the 21-45 program—boooo Dallas Opera)

Not super clear on the specifics, but Houston Grand Opera also offers some kind of Under 40 discount on select performances

Opera Philadelphia, which recently appointed my all-time-favorite opera singer Anthony Roth Constanzo as their director, offers $10 rush tickets and student discounts

Tips for your first time at the opera, if you do go:

A thing I did not know before I started going to the opera is that even though they are sung in foreign languages, there are almost always subtitles. At the Met, these are transmitted to the chair back in front of you and available in a variety of other languages. Other houses often project the titles above or at the side of the stage.

If you don’t want to read and listen at the same time, synopses are almost always available in your program or ahead of time.

The food and drink is expensive and almost always not worth it. When I go to the Met with my friends, I regularly bring in alcohol minis as well as little cheese/meat/fruit plates in tupperware in my purse. We eat these outside the theater at intermission. No one has every batted an eye at me. (Mileage may vary at other theaters.)

I know opera has a Reputation, and I definitely was a little worried at first that I would look out of place and people would be snide to me. I have never found this to be the case. The only reason someone will be an asshole to you is if you have your phone out or are talking during the performance—don’t do that. Keep it in your pocket until intermission and silence your notifications. 

Crawl into my dms to talk to me about opera at any time, I will happily yap your ear off

[misscammiedawn]

50 Days of HypnoKink - Day 49: Hypno in Media

My heavens... we made it to the finish line. Tomorrow is the final day.

I wanted to save an obvious one for the end because I do so enjoy MC in fiction so very much. So much, in fact, that I made a Twitter thread with 110 recommendations and never even came close to emptying my resources.

I know so many of these scenes, both that Twitter thread and this page are skimming the surface.

I'll be using some of those recommendations here but let's divide by category:

Film

So let's get the obvious out of the way. You have

Trance

A Danny Boyle thriller with a terrible plot and Rosario Dawson as a hypnotherapist trying to get hidden information from James McAvoy's mind. Silly movie but one that doesn't get brought up a lot. Dawson learned hypnosis to get into the role.

Candyman

Horror movie in which the director literally hypnotized the actress so any time she was being stalked by the titular killer she looked completely entranced. Link above is an interview discussing this.

Hypnotic

HORRIBLE movie on Netflix but Sleepyhead and I have hosted a number of watch parties and let me tell you, this is the PERFECT movie to watch with a bunch of rowdy hypnokinksters. The therapist is unethical to a laughable degree and his office looks like it's inside of the Death Star. He's a living breathing red flag. The movie does have a really hot freeze scene, a good ragdoll and the dollification sequence. It's just enjoyable because it's terrible. Check CWs first though, this movie has a bunch of things that can make it an uncomfortable viewing experience.

The Great Hypnotist

This is a Not For Daja movie. A Chinese movie that doesn't get brought up a lot. Like Trance above it is a thriller with some twists and turns that I don't really want to spoil.

Stir of Echoes

A visualization of a dissociation induction designed to make a person view events on a screen so they are separate from the memory. It's a remarkably well done scene.

Now You See Me 1/2

The hypnosis in these movies is STUPID and I love it. The first movie has a punchline that every time Mark Rufallo's character makes a frustrated comment people who Woody Harrelson has hypnotized will start acting as if they're in an orchestra. Second movie has a twin Woody Harrelson as an evil hypnotist and he uses a pizza box as an evil induction. It's amazing.

Sherlock Holmes Woman in Green

This induction is one of the coolest I've seen in a film and I try my hardest to channel the energy of this when I am doing a relaxation focused scene.

TV

Charlies Angels

This is bar none my favorite hypnosis scene in any fiction. The typewriter induction is amazing, the hypnotist has such a smooth voice, the entranced gazes are lovely. It's just perfect. Heck, the link above is "hypnosis scenes" from the episode and is 26 minutes long. From a single episode of television.

Doctor Who

Sarah Jane gets hypnotized so often that I could make a list purely from her.

Legion

I just wanna link this one as it's one of those scenes that works so much better without context and the aesthetics are incredible. Plus who doesn't like Aubrey Plaza?

Quick Bonus Animation Round

Carmen Sandiego (Neflix) has a ton of mind control including the bad end to the interactive movie.

Totally Spies is a meme for a reason

And this one is a reason many of us are here <3

Comics

DC vs Vampires

I think the page speaks for itself. "Hypnosis isn't lying, Diana. It's speaking to your vulnerability."

Korra

This sequence of Asami, brainwashed to hate the avatar, being deprogrammed is so good that someone on AO3 did an incredible fan-fiction which may well be one of my favorite hypnokink stories of all time.

Super Mario Comic

I bring this one up as it was one of my earliest moments of "...oh... this is kind of making me feel some kind of way."

Video Games

A note that a full directory of video games featuring Mind Control can be found at mindcontrol.fun the MC Games Wiki, run by @soveryverytired

Nyx Gaming (Featured game: Enthralled)

Nyx do incredible games which are designed to hypnotize the viewer and their consent practices are wonderful. They recently teamed up with Secret Subject to release a vampire enthrallment game and let me tell you, there is not a single word in that synopsis that doesn't make me happy.

Mind Melting Massaging Machine

The best tool for VR hypnosis. Upload custom files and program spirals, subliminals and chose between static spiral or headtracking. I have had so much fun with this over the years. There's a desktop version too but VR is optimal for this experience.

Spiral Clicker

It's such a simple concept. Click on the character and watch their will go away. Spiral Clicker is backed with a fun little universe, fun characters both original and community sourced, amazing art and a clever little gameplay loop that is quite addictive. Careful, the game features a constant spiral, you may find yourself falling in to trance. Don't worry. The game will wake you up. You can even ask the game to include suggestions for you :)

The sequel is being worked upon now and I cannot wait <3

Music Videos

Anna Soares - Hypnodoll (NSFW)

Straight up just a song and music video about hypnokink. If you click anything in this thread, click this one.

Little Big - Hypnodancer:

Silly antics but a fun music video.

Pharrell Williams - Hypnotize U

It's just Pharrell hanging out in a mansion with his hypnotized harem.

Grimes - We Appreciate Power

It's dronekink baby.

Andamiro - Hypnotize

Maid hypnotizes their employer.

I could do so many more in all areas. But the point is, media is hypnohorny. I never went over advertisements (UK ones especially), books, musicals (Phantom and Next To Normal for instance), anime (Sailor Moon) or manga.

But I write about a bunch more in my Twitter thread.

---

Day 48: Stealth Inductions

FULL SCHEDULE MASTER POST

FINAL Day 50: Presentation

[decoy1]

Had a dream I was watching season 3 of Rottmnt, it was so vivid and now I’m sad that it isn’t real. So I’m writing some highlights from the dream before I forget.

Draxum and Casey focused episodes on what they were doing during the movie. There were really cool action sequences with original music and everything. It was so cool. There was one scene where the screen divided in half to show both battles.

Music during action scenes. There was a lot of it. I suspect it might have been because I watching Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur before going to sleep tho.

An episode premise: April finally had a good stable job. She was going steady for a whole 2 weeks setting a new record. The turtles got a little suspicious since April can never keep a job for long. Cue investigation, it turns out the job is a front. A front for a cult. April accidentally joined a cult. By the end of the episode April accidentally destroyed the cult in the same way she usually ends up losing her jobs. Alas the curse of April losing her job was too strong.

Another Episode Premise: Splinter and Draxum go undercover for an intel mission at a fancy club. The cover story being that they’re two friends who are trying to reconnect. They’re kinda bad at it since both argue like a married couple. This actually works in their favor tho as the person they’re trying to spy on to get info on is a huge romantic who is super invested in trying to get the two to “reconnect”. Both are forced by the turtles to play along for the sake of the mission. By the end of the episode Draxum and Splinter have performed a proposal, a wedding, a divorce, another re proposal, alongside with a remarriage, but not another divorce because they have to book it away because the turtles got captured. Which meant by the end of the episode Draxum and Splinter were still married.

Over Arching Story: Bishop was hunting down the remaining Foot Clan members. Which included trying to find former Foot Clan members for any information. Of course leading Bishop to Casey. Casey sends him on a wild goose chase as she goes on her own mission to find her former bosses. Being the B plot for a lot of the episodes. In one instance she teams up with Piebald in a gambling ring to win some info.

Running Gag: Casey Jr tries going into the dating world but has trouble since most people who are his age now, were adults during the apocalypse. So if he does find someone to date who he doesn’t recognize they usually end up being some form of “not real”. Highlight examples being: an alien who assumed a human persona to lure specimen to experiment on their ship, a demon with similar motives to the alien except it wanted to eat Casey Jr’s soul, an ai made by Bishop made to find potential Foot Clan members. What was funny was how obvious a lot of them were, like the alien wore a “I believe” shirt but with sharpie added “don’t”, changing it to “I don’t believe” (real master of disguise right here). The demon’s “flirting” was something along the lines of “if souls were edible and had taste, I bet yours would be a delicious meal that would amplify my demonic powers. If I had demonic powers, which I don’t because I’m a perfectly normal human. But in the hypothetical where I do-”. The ai when asked it’s favorite hobby responded with “breathing and being human”.

Bishop had an entire episode where he beat up different clans in his attempt to find the Foot Clan. Making some leave their old clans to join Bishop since he bested them in battle. But Bishop didn’t want a bunch of ninja (idk why not, that sounds incredibly useful) so he sent them on a wild goose chase but every time he did they came back having accomplished the goal. (Again I don’t understand why he kept acting like they were an annoyance when they were getting him things like THE GOD DAMN ELIXER OF EVERLASTING LIFE)

That’s all I have the energy to write. If I remember anything worth adding I will but I think these were all the highlights.

[fortheloveofshitsandgiggles]

Unreal Unearth is an album that means a lot to me. It’s one of if not the greatest albums I’ve ever heard. Each song impacts me in a different way, so I wanted to go through each song with my own experience and interpretations (disclaimer, some of these analyses are my personal interpretation or how I react to the song, art is subjective and is what you make it)

De Selby (Part 1): oh my god I’ve been dying to hear Hozier sing in Gaeilge. I actually sang a song in Gaeilge in choir a few years back, and while it was difficult for me pronunciation wise, it was super fun to sing and is a beautiful and underrated language in my opinion. I also adore how haunting it is. It sounds like the soundtrack to my crisis (and it has been). I struggle to explain it, but the melody is so tormenting, especially with the layered voices in the second half of the Gaeilge verse. They feel very ghost like. It’s such an incredible way to introduce us into the decent into hell.

Transition: Yes I’m giving this special section because it’s one of the greatest song transitions I’ve ever heard. It’s really difficult to transition from a slow song into an upbeat one, but this one did it in a way that allows my brain to adjust to the difference in tempo. First of all, it lowers in pitch until it matches the key of part 2, musically representing our slow decent into hell. Then it starts with this beat that goes into part 2, and to me, this represents a building of insanity, one that is further explored in part 2.

De Selby (part 2): This is one of my favorite songs on the entire album. First of all, the beat is so addictive and the song generally makes me want to shake my ass. But beyond that, this song encompasses insanity in a way that I haven’t seen before but is also so relatable. Even with the music video, like there are times where I have felt exactly like the guy in the video and I just want to run into the abyss and forget everything and hit myself with a shovel. Hozier has such a talent for making relatability so artistic and unreal (forgive the pun).

First Time: This song is so full of complex lyricism that I couldn’t even begin to dive into. It’s super vibey, which I appreciate. A few notable lyrics I’d like to point out is “But you spoke some quick new music that went so far to soothe this soul as it was and ever shall be, unearth without a name.” I don’t know if anyone’s talked about this, but this lyric was so similar to the “glory be” prayer (I grew up Catholic lol) that goes “glory be to the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit, as it was and ever shall be, a world without end.” I don’t know if that was intentional/ the direct inspiration but I def did a double take when I heard that lyric. If it is intentional, I love how he twists it from a praise god I’ll get into Heaven sort of plea into describing the limbo we are trapped in, unearth without a name. The other lyric is “These days I think I owe my life to flowers that were left here by my mother, Ain't that like them, giftin' life to you again” I just think that’s such a sweet line that appreciates the kindness in humanity, especially so many mothers including my own. I would like to give a shoutout to Hozier’s mom for birthing and raising him, I would love to shake hands with her.

Francesca: This is maybe one of the best songs Hozier has ever put out. It has been on repeat since the second he dropped it. First of all, the sheer concept of this song, to love someone so full and so deeply that you would endure every ounce of pain and suffering that is inflicted on you because of this love, that is so powerful and just has such an element of storytelling that is as thrilling as watching a movie. To endure such hardship for the sake of a simple touch makes me want to cry. We all want something like that, to be protected and to be worth the sacrifice of another. And the lyrics encompass that perfectly, especially “Heaven is not fit to house a love like you and I.” Now, being religiously traumatized myself, Heaven is a concept that I’ve gotten to know well. Eternal bliss and joy in the comfort of Jesus. It has hung over my head and has been used to keep me in the religion, especially as a comfort when it comes to the concept of death. But to say that even this place of eternal bliss and love and joy isn’t fit for the kind of love we possess just absolutely guts me. It is just beyond incredible.

I, Carrion (Icarian): As if Francesca wasn’t devastating enough, Hozier had to follow it up with this one. I absolutely love the use of Icarus imagery in songs, I love Icarus by Bastille (it especially reminds me of Crowley and Aziraphale from Good Omens). I know he used Icarus imagery in previous songs, and this is no hate to Sunlight, but I was def looking for something gentler that further explored the different perspectives of the story. And you know what, Hozier delivered. To paint the fall as something beautiful or as not even perceiving it as a tragedy is such a fresh take that I love the exploration of. “If I should fall on that day I only pray don’t fall away from me,” that hit me like a bag of bricks when I first heard it. Like, he’s plummeting from the sky, and still says “allow the ground to find its brutal way to me.” No matter what the ground holds for me, as long as I’m falling with you, everything will be alright. It becomes this state of delusion that is both heartwarming and devastating.

Eat Your Young: This song is what I have affectionately and repeatedly referred to as the “sexiest political commentary I’ve ever heard.” The melody and beat are so seductive, which just contributes to the appeal of the message, despite it being a pretty horrifying one. But it is from the perspective of the villain, which is an interesting point to write from. To say that it’s easier to cut out the middle man and eat your children rather than do atrocious things for power and money that will kill them anyways is such a relevant take on not only politics and capitalism but just the greedy side of humanity in general. The song is almost a trick, like it makes the greed sound so appealing and acts as a siren song to push the narrator’s unreliable narrative.

Damage Gets Done: I love Hozier songs that dive into the feeling of being young. Songs like Sedated and even Jackie and Wilson are reminiscent of that. We often think we’re indestructible when we’re young and we think we can do anything. We become reckless, but that recklessness isn’t what kills us. It’s the people in power who damage us with the laws they pass and systems they create. It sounds so happy like childhood, and yet it reminisces on what it was like to not be forced to participate in these systems such as capitalism. It felt good to just be free and not be tied down by the world. The melody of this song sounds nostalgic and hype like the energy of a young person. Also shoutout Brandi Charlie, I adore her voice on this track and in general.

Who We Are: We have to get through things one way or another, but “getting through still has a cost.” God, this line hits because even when the “damage gets done,” we still have to hurt in order to heal. And it hurts the most when you didn’t realize what you lost until it’s gone. The other lyric that hits is “someone with your eyes might come in time to hold me like water or christ hold me like a knife” hold me even though I’ll slip through your fingers, or if you can’t do that, wield me as something that can cause damage. And there’s nothing else we can do about it. Why? Because that’s who we are. Also, Hozier’s vocals on this song are absolutely insane, those high notes are so angelic. I don’t think I knew his range went that high but I was super impressed.

Son of Nyx: It seems like I say every song is my favorite (because they’re all so freaking good), but this one has got to be my favorite on the album. Despite the lack of words, this song stuck out to me the most. I want to kiss the composer of this piece. First of all, I’m an absolute slut for orchestral/ cinematic songs. And this song is unlike any of his other songs. It carries this haunting melody that is almost angelic in a way but the minor key pulls you back down into this journey of hell that we’ve been going on. It incorporates the melodies from other songs on the album beautifully. I’ve only been able to pick out the melodies from who we are and abstract, so let me know if there’s any others I missed. But the moment where the orchestra swells makes me actually ascend into the next dimension. I swear I had an out of body experience when I heard it for the first time. It’s so terrifying in a beautiful way and words can’t properly convey how this song makes me feel. It doesn’t need to have words for me to understand it, and pieces like that are especially impactful to me.

All Things End: Wow what a way to follow that. It definitely gives a bit of whiplash. First of all, I love the music video for this because the cut from Heaven Hozier singing with his little surgeon church choir to him dead on a table makes me giggle every time, it’s so abrupt. Anyways, it’s interesting that this song goes under the circle of Heresy, because the connection isn’t immediately obvious. But, to me, it does make a lot of sense. To say all things end, including Heaven and hell, inherently denies the belief in Christian ideals. Which, to me, is empowering in a way. This song is simultaneously hopeless and hopeful at the same time. It says that joy will end eventually, but so will the pain. It’s a comfort and an anxiety all wrapped up into one song.

To Someone From a Warm Climate (Uiscefhuarithe): I’m gonna be honest, this one was harder for me to figure out. It’s incredibly simple in a way that is so effective. To me, this song sounds like being unable to provide for someone what they need. And that’s one of the most devistating feelings, one that the simple sad sound of the song encompasses very well. I know what it feels like to be unable to give what someone needs. It makes you feel so stuck and so useless, a feeling which I despise. And Hozier, as he always does, broke my heart with this one. But he was only gearing me up for what would come later with Unknown.

Butchered Tongue: One thing this song reminds me of is how much history we’ve lost. I think about this a lot, the texts we could’ve had, the wisdom we could’ve shared with one another, all lost to the greed of other human beings. I think of the Indigenous cultures that were viciously stripped away in the name of god, the languages lost, the abuse endured. I think of the stories of LGBTQ+ people that remain untold because it didn’t fit the ideal image of those in power. I think of the untold thoughts and lives brutally taken to early. We build incredibly complex and beautiful cultures but we still put in the hours to tear them down. It’s a really upsetting reality, to know that loss happens all around us and there’s nothing we can do to stop it. But we are also encouraged to be kind, so if you take anything from this post, from this song, please show kindness to all, especially those whose stories remain untold.

Anything But: This one is just so groovy I always gotta do a little dance when I hear it. What’s interesting is this song is framed like a love song. But to me, this sounds like running from something or someone. Like “I don’t wanna be anything but I would do anything just to run away” like yeah same. I just want to run away from everything and move into a cottage in the woods or something. It really captures that feeling of just wanting to get tf out of here.

Abstract (Psychopomp): Circling back to the religious trauma thing, I’ve always had a fear of death. Or rather, what comes after death. With the threat of hell always hanging above my head, I was scared to step out of that narrative they always trapped me in with. I don’t wanna suffer for eternity after my short existence. So I’ve always struggled with the idea of dying. But this song frames the journey to the afterlife as something beautiful, which is so comforting, I can barely put it into words. The idea that a spirit guide could be escorting you to the afterlife and they tell you to look back at Earth and “see how it shines” makes me feel a relief unlike any other. I know this song is based on an experience Hozier had where he watched an animal get hit by a car and watched someone comfort the animal in its last moment. But the way this song treats the concept of death is just so moving. It captures the fear and the pain but also the beauty of having someone to share those last moments with and having someone guide you beyond. The imagery in this song is such pure storytelling I feel like I am recounting the memory as if it’s my own.

Unknown / Nth: Not only is this song the most devastating one on the album, it’s maybe the most devastating song I’ve ever heard. I went through a breakup a while back and every single lyric described every single thing I was feeling about that lost relationship. It captured me and my pain so well I’m convinced Hozier crawled into my brain and wrote this. He described feelings I couldn’t even fit into words. The teaser that Hozier posted for this song on tik tok actually came out right in that stage where I could feel they were drifting away from me. This was a long distance relationship, so first the “you know the difference never made a difference to me” hit hard. Not only that, I always called them my angel, so “I thought you were like an angel to me” was just double the emotional damage. Then, we get to the bridge. This bridge is the absolute most gut wrenchingly genius string of words ever written. “Do you know I could break be with the weight of the goodness love I still carry for you? That Id walk so far just to take the injury of finally knowing you” Holy. Shit. I’m someone who, when I love someone, I love them with every ounce of myself. I would bend the Earth if they asked me to, I would give them my life and soul to sell to Satan. For a long time after that breakup, I still loved them and that love just fueled my grief. I knew this person like the back of my hand, I knew every inflection in their voice, every joke they hadn’t yet made, every feature of their face. And they knew me, fully and deeply in a way few people do. They listened, and they made me feel heard. And all of the sudden, it was all gone. And I did break beneath that weight, because I still loved and knew them, but didn’t get to know anymore. I didn’t get to know what they were doing now, how they were doing, I didn’t get to call them every single night anymore. But despite all of the pain, I would gladly do it over and over again. I can’t bring myself to regret any of it. “And there are some people love who are better unknown.” All I’ve ever wanted was to be understood. I struggle to make friends, and sometimes when I do, I’m only relevant when I’m beneficial. I’ve only ever wanted to be known by those around me. And they knew me. But when they left, I felt like I was unknown again. And I too resigned myself to that idea that maybe I am better unknown.

Transition: The transition between Unknown / Nth and First Light is much more subtle than the one between the De Selbys. But it’s there and it’s worth mentioning. When Unknown / Nth ends, we are left with this sinking and hopeless feeling that we will forever be stuck in that ice, flapping our wings. That hopelessness is drawn out in this ghost of a lingering note that pulls through the end of the song. Then the very first note of First Light is the same as the last note of Unknown / Nth.

First Light: The beginning of this song sounds exactly like rays of light spilling through the cracks. It sounds like the relief of light hitting your eyes after being trapped in a place of darkness for a long time. As the song goes on, it starts to sound more like an ascension. The vocals become very angelic and the whole song grows into this powerhouse of force that just gives off such a hope and determination that we haven’t felt for this whole album. To me, it’s very interesting that Hozier decides to end this album on such a hopeful note despite how devastating every other song was. I was convinced he was going to end the album on Unknown, and he very well could’ve done that. He could’ve left us in the deepest circle of hell. But he chose to end on this super optimistic note of finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I think it just gives us a look into his own optimism and his belief that our resilience as humans has and will pay off. We are constantly faced with adversity and won’t stop until we take our last breaths. But our desire to keep fighting is what makes us such a uniquely incredible species. And the payoff afterwards is a satisfaction that nothing else can quite compare to.

Hozier has such a way of turning the human experience into something otherworldly. He never ceases to amaze me with how his mind creates. I hope I get to tell him one day how much his art means to me and how deeply it’s affected me.

[extant-exhaustion]

Can I ask, what are your top 7 favorite media (can be books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series/etc) and your top 7 favorite ships (can be canon or non canon) from any media? Why do you love them all? Sorry if you've answered this questions before......

Hello! Thank you so much for taking the time to ask! I'm sorry for the delay in my reply. I'm so excited to be here to answer though. I didn't rank these in order, but here they are (and oh my gosh was it tough to choose! I especially agonized trying to narrow down the last spot in my ships list, and honestly, it could have gone so many ways...):

My Top 7 Favorite Media

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood: If we’re basing purely off of what I think is the best media maybe ever written, FMAB is close to the top. It is the full package of stunning worldbuilding, characterization, emotional depth, intricate yet clear plot lines, and incredibly important themes. I could write an essay on each of those points. It’s the sort of show (and manga) that is a masterclass in how to tell a story beautifully.

Yu Yu Hakusho: Yusuke and Team Urameshi mean so much to me. YYH is a classic ’90s anime in some ways, but it has so much heart. Yusuke’s character growth is amazing. And the humor in the English dub never fails to make me laugh. Yet this show also deeply affects me and has such beautiful messages about love and friendship. What a dichotomy.

Assassination Classroom: This show is criminally underrated. Or, rather, not enough people have seen it. It is one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen. It’s so sweet. It’s so fucking funny. And it’s so heartwarming. I love these kids so much. I adore Korosensei. Every episode teaches us something—like a real learning opportunity!—and I genuinely cannot say enough good things about it. It makes me smile forever.

Kuroko's Basketball: I am a huge fan of sports anime and this one has so many elements I’m obsessed with. (Plus, Kagami Taiga is in my top ten favorite characters of all time.) There’s Kagami and Kuroko—a red/blue duo who are in love. There are emotionally high-stakes sports games. There are compelling “enemies.” There’s an incredible soundtrack. But most of all, there are basketball superpowers—things no ordinary basketball player could ever do (100% accuracy!?) that just make it so much fun.

Haikyuu!!: My other favorite sports anime is on the other side of the spectrum for realism. It has no superpowers, just hard work and friendship and lots and lots of great characters. I love this show so much because it constantly makes me root for Karasuno, but then I’ll still cry when the other team loses because the characters have all been shown to just be high school kids with dreams who love the sport and are having fun. It’s really sweet.

Demon Slayer: As a total package, Demon Slayer is incredible. It has stunningly beautiful animation; a wonderful protagonist in Tanjirou (and deuteragonist in Nezuko); a lovely sibling story that drives the narrative; a compelling and mysterious central conflict with the series’ big-bad Muzan; an absolutely kickass soundtrack; lovable side characters; high stakes; questions of morality and duty and tradition; and honestly, more that I’m struggling to even name. It’s just an incredibly good anime (and manga).

Tortall books by Tamora Pierce (includes 3 quartets, a trilogy, a duology, and a few standalones; my absolute favorites are the Protector of the Small quartet): Tamora Pierce shaped who I am as a person. I grew up reading her fantasy series and still reread them often. Essentially, they’re books about heroines who conquer various odds, save the day, etc. And because there are so many books that take place in the same universe over many years, you get to see various characters in different lights through different characters’ eyes. My favorite series is about Keladry of Mindelan, the first girl to pursue her knighthood since the king made it legal for girls to do so. Kel is an absolute badass, and she never turns away from injustice, and I genuinely want to be the type of person she is.

My Top 7 Favorite Ships

Kagami/Kuroko (Kuroko’s Basketball): These two will forever and always be one of my top ships. I genuinely don’t know how people can hear some of the things they say to each other and come to a not-in-love conclusion. They complete each other in the way only a true light/shadow metaphor can, but they’re also best friends who laugh together and support each other and have an insanely strong bond. By five episodes in, Kagami is already so protective over Kuroko that he's ready to throw down with street basketball punks over his not-boyfriend. And by the end of the series the trust they have in one another is so beyond a basketball anime that it’s almost ridiculous.

Yusuke/Kuwabara (Yu Yu Hakusho): The number of times these two were willing to die for each other (or gave up their life energy to save the other from death; or found hitherto untapped power as a result of having seen the other hurt) makes me want to scream. Kuwabara crashed Yusuke’s wake to scream at his corpse that he couldn’t die (“You’re supposed to be here…for me!”). Kuwabara shared his life energy to save an injured Yusuke after their very first mission. Yusuke fought multiple insanely powerful demons spurred on at least twice specifically by the fact that they’d wounded Kuwabara. Kuwabara faked his own death thinking it would help Yusuke in battle (which it did, but it also devastated him). Yusuke chased a car down on a bicycle when Kuwabara was kidnapped. Kuwabara cut through the fabric of reality for Yusuke. You get my point. I fucking love them.

Yusuke/Keiko (Yu Yu Hakusho): Yet, I also love Yusuke’s canonical love interest with him. Keiko is his reason for fighting, the light at the end of the tunnel. In one of the very first episodes, while he’s still trying to earn his resurrection, he says that he sees no point in coming back to life if Keiko won’t be there when he does. She’s the only person who stuck by him until he met Team Urameshi. She’s always believed in him, but she doesn’t take crap from him either. They have such a strong relationship that he even once saves the world by essentially trusting in his love for her. (When asked by terrorists to press one of three colored buttons to save the planet, he chose the blue one because blue is Keiko's favorite color.)

Zuko/Mai (Avatar: The Last Airbender): I will probably never shut the fuck go about how important Mai is to Zuko’s journey or how cool she is as a character and how ridiculously underrated she is. She’s so much more than people give her credit for and she understands Zuko on a deeper level than so many other characters. She counters his angst (as only Iroh can do) and she tries to cheer him up (and she inspires some of his only true smiles in the series!). And most importantly, she stands by him even when he abandons her. For me, “I love Zuko more than I fear you” will always be the standard by which other Avatar couples will be measured.

Tamaki/Haruhi (Ouran High School Host Club): I love these two so much. They’re both so queer. Haruhi is my gender-nonconforming fave and the most wonderful character who’s ever responded *shrug emoji* to the question of their gender or sexuality. She’s sassy and hilarious and the reason I say “these damn rich people” with relative frequency. And the fact that she fell for Tamaki, the flamboyant dumb-dumb with a heart of absolute pure gold…ugh. I adore it. He is too good for this world. And they bring out the best in each other. I love them so much.

Ed/Winry (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood): The balance that Edward and Winry strike together is beautiful. They’re both insanely strong people emotionally, and they’re both wildly intelligent and talented. But their compassion and care is what truly helps them shine. They’ve seen each other at their lowest and supported each other through those times, and they know the weakest and most vulnerable parts of each other. The strength of their bond covers distance and time, and Winry is the home that Edward can always return to. She holds him (and, by extension, Al) together and offers the unwavering support he so desperately needs throughout his journey.

Simon/Baz (Carry On series by Rainbow Rowell): This series hit me like a punch to the gut when I first read it. I love chosen ones who don't really match their prophesies and star-crossed lovers who find workarounds because they care more about each other than whatever is standing in their way. And these two are wonderful together. They're so messy and hopeless and sad sometimes, but they have each other and it's really lovely. Simon Snow is a disaster who loses just about everything except his friends and has to claw his way back from the brink throughout the series; and Baz Pitch never thought he deserved much happiness anyway but finds out that he does, but he's going to have to fight for it.

[ziggy-stardust-is-in-love]

musical rant rn go

goodness gracious I wrote an entire novel yesterday and it all got deleted. Whatever.

OKAY HERE ARE ALL OF THE MUSICALS I THINK ABOUT IN ORDER

Frozen: Every six year old girl was obsessed with Frozen, including me. Good soundtrack and nostalgia. I still really want my theatre to do this show, but I’m not sure which role I’d want. Elsa, Anna, Christof, Olaf? I dunno. Too many good options

Hercules: One of my favorite movies since I was little. Insanely good soundtrack and super fun characters. If my theatre did this one I still wouldn’t know which role I’d want. Hercules would be great, but Meg is so fun, but Hades is even more fun!!

The Lorax: I’m considering this a musical so shut up. This has also been one of my favorites since I was little. Fun fact: as student council president I came up with the idea of making a Lorax themed bulletin board and we did it!! 💪 I think my presidency will be remembered as year of the Lorax or something like that. We’d come in every meeting and I’d play the soundtrack while we worked, it was perfect. I ALSO WANT MY THEATRE TO DO THIS BUT ID WANT TO PLAY EVERY ROLE. THEYRE ALL SO PERFECT

Sister Act: Pretty uncommon. The only reason i really listen to the soundtrack or anything was bc I was in it. This is the first musical I ever did (I’ve done 5 now) and in this I played Monsignor O’Hara, which is a pretty great role for a first time actor. I got to dad dance a deliver cheesy lines. The soundtrack is pretty good to me, but that might just be because of the distinct memories I have with each one. Like the time the power went out during a rehearsal so everyone sat in front of the stage with their phone flashlights on. That was super fun. Or all of my friends and I playing flee the facility on Roblox. 🥹 miss all of that

Dear Evan Hansen: or however it’s spelled. I’ve only read the book and occasionally heard the songs. The book was really good and I should really learn more about the musical.

Newsies: Second musical I was in and my first big role. Jacks best friend. It was awesome!! Before auditions I went over to my friend Emma’s house. She’s the one who brought me to theatre and we were watching newsies bc we knew nothing about it. I immediately, from the very first scene, wanted crutchie. Emma really wanted Katherine. I’ll always remember Emma FaceTiming me as soon as the cast list came out and telling me we got our dream roles and we were in the same cast. That was the best summer ever.

Elf: I don’t talk about this one too much bc it’s just trauma. I simply played a background elf because of my big role last show. I had two lines 😭 We did this for some reason and I decided “wouldn’t it be just great to bring my bf (now ex) to theatre!” So I did. What was I thinking. Halfway through rehearsals he broke up with me. I had to see him twice a week and it really sucked. I’m not gonna get too far into it bc my ex literally ruined my life but anyways

Wicked: My theatre didn’t do this play, I got to see it on broadway in November. It was really great. I went in knowing nothing about wicked and I came out obsessed. I was able to get a full cast signed poster and a copy of the novel. I’d definitely want to do this production at my theater someday but I just don’t know who I’d want to be. Elphaba or Glinda? Either way great show and good soundtrack for sure

Sweeney Todd: EEE!! Okay so the show itself is incredible. Great story, good characters, magnificent music, a 10/10 show for my theatre to do. The bad part is that this was just for the older age group, which means our director put a lot of pressure on us. Ever rehearsal someone went home crying (usually me) and nobody was having fun. I actually had an incredible role because I mentioned wanting Sweeney in auditions and I didn’t realize how much work that actually was. Thankfully they gave me an even better role: ANTHONY!! Still not my favorite role, Crutchie will always have that, but it’s awesome!! Being a lovesick sailor is basically me.

Heathers: Another fun musical!! We haven’t done this at my theatre and I don’t think we ever will 😔 I personally love belting these songs when I’m home alone, but that applies to basically all of these. Also if you’ve read this far that’s impressive bro. (Also I might start a secret side blog of me singing) but that’s a secret between you, me, and anyone else who read this far

American Idiot: The Green Day musical!! The music is obviously super good and the story is a bit strange but it’s really fun to watch slime tutorials of it on YouTube. (For any of you who don’t know, slime tutorials are what we call videos filming broadway productions because they’re illegal and a way for YouTube to not take them down is if you title them “slime tutorial.” If you ever want to see a bit of a musical poorly recorded on a trash phone, look up the name of the musical and you’ll usually find some.)

Peter Pan: Honestly a trash musical. The story makes no sense and most of the music is garbage. I played a lost boy, which is basically the only fun role in the whole show. I knew all of my other lost boys well, someone of them were already my best friends, so we were just a gang of rascals. Little Shop of Horrors: I went to a local production knowing very little and I came out of this one obsessed as well!!!! The soundtrack is sooo goood and my friends and I are super close to getting our theatre to do it. I would def want Seymour, Audrey, or Orin (the dentist)

WOW TYSM FOR LETTING ME GO ON A RANT I REALLY NEEDED THAT!!!!! YAYYY!!!! I think this is a complete list but I dunno. I’ll see if I forgot something at some point

[themattress]

As we rapidly approach Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker's 5th anniversary, I find that, much like this person, I can defend the movie from almost all charges made against it.

When I say almost, I mean there are five things I simply cannot defend:

- The hackjob editing in the first half, and especially the first act. I truly believe that a good chunk of the flak this movie receives is based upon bad first impressions created by the editing, which is trying to be way too literal-minded in regards to the pacing of the Original Trilogy and desperate to fit into a specific runtime that, as the finale of the Skywalker Saga, it shouldn't need to fit into. As a consequence, important things like the Eye of the Webbish Bog, Palpatine saying that he's a clone, specific interactions at the Resistance base which includes more screentime for Rose, Lando's story about his daughter being taken plus Finn's emotional response to it, and Kylo Ren's confrontation with a captive Chewbacca are cut out.

- Palpatine's return being announced through a broadcast that we never hear, unless you happened to be playing Fortnite at the time it was played there, is all kinds of nonsense. Have either the Resistance or First Order replay the damn broadcast. We need to hear it! You can't just open the movie with "The Dead Speak!" yet not let us hear what The Dead Spoke!

- I can accept and even embrace a lot of stupid convenient happenstance in Star Wars movies; it kind of comes with the territory. But even I have to draw a line somewhere, and I draw it at the heroes just happening to crash into quicksand that just happens to drag them underground where they just happen to find the exact thing they were looking for that Luke and Lando were never able to find. That is ridiculous. An easy work-around is that Rey instinctively caused the crash because she felt the Sith Dagger calling to her through the Force due to her blood ties with Palpatine, which obviously wouldn't have happened for Luke.

- Hux being killed almost immediately after his spy/traitor reveal was incredibly lazy and wasteful. I get that the movie was trying to cement Pryde as a competent threat, but I don't think it was called for since letting Hux survive to the final battle and have some kind of confrontation with Pryde there would have felt more satisfying. As cool as Pryde is, the fact of the matter is that Hux was the main First Order general throughout the entirety of the previous two films, so bumping him off unceremoniously halfway through the final movie so a guy we only just met can supplant him feels cheap and makes him feel kind of pointless.

- Finn never receiving proper pay-off to him wanting to tell Rey about his Force sensitivity. It's baffling that we have him use it during the final battle and also when he senses Rey dying, but then nothing comes of it once he reunites with Rey. That big emotional hugging scene should have continued with actual dialogue from Rey, Finn and Poe where this comes up. It would also make it explicitly clear that Rey does indeed intend to continue Luke's work in training a new generation of Jedi, rather than the audience just being left to assume that.

There are other nitpicks I have here and there (ex: Leia's lightsaber should have been purple, the Sith Fleet should have caused more damage than just blowing up one planet, the Knights of Ren should have done a lot more than they did, we should have seen the Force Ghosts in Rey and Palpatine's final clash, and several of the choices made by The Last Jedi hamstring the movie in certain areas), but none of them are actively harming the movie the way those five things I list above do. If those things had been fixed, I'd be going to bat for the movie as objectively the best of the Sequel Trilogy, rather than just my personal favorite while The Force Awakens is clearly the best put-together film (maybe The Last Jedi too, I'm torn on it).

[puffballwarrior-blog]

Saw your character opinion thing..

Opinion on Venoct or Hovernyan from ykw?

OOOH I WILL GIVE MY OPINIONS ON BOTH!

First off, Venoct. Y'know it's kinda funny talking about it but he was one of the first fictional crushes I had as a kid. Guess I just really liked dark, broody, mysterious characters at the time. Says a lot about me lmao. My opinion of him is mostly based on the first and second games as I have not caught up on the anime and haven't played YKW3 (curse you, Eshop closing). My opinion of him is he's overall an extremely chill guy who does his job of protecting Springdale great as seen by how he's the one who helped the player out of Terror Time in YKW1. He's super badass and his design is beautiful. I have some things planned with him for my Kirby Yo-Kai Watch AU uehehehe~

Now for Hovernyan. I love him, I love him so much. His heroic, sassy personality is enough to make anyone admire him as a character and his witty comebacks make me wheeze every time, especially the "I said 'legend has it,' not 'Hovernyan has it'" line. His character throughout the game is amazing and it shows how much he truly cares for Nathaniel/Kenny and his other Yo-Kai friends. He's a very kindhearted hero and will do anything, including sacrificing himself, to keep his friends safe. He encapsulates the main theme of the Yo-Kai Watch franchise as a whole, make friends and they'll support you through thick and thin. Unlike Venoct, I do know a lot about him from the anime, and well, my opinion of him still stands. Though, I would like to talk about how well his fight scenes make him look even more heroic than he already is. The humor in the first and second movies with him is incredible, I MEAN HE FUCKIN YEETS JIBANYAN INTO WHISPER IN THE SECOND MOVIE. Overall, I love Hovernyan so much as a character, he's probably one of my top favorite Yo-Kai of all in the franchise. And also like Venoct, I have plans for him as well in my Kirby Yo-Kai Watch AU mwehehehe

[frommybookbook]

Top 5 hardboiled books/movies/whatever?

Oh, you make this so hard! I'm going to try to keep this broad and not overthink it, as you know I'm wont to do.

The Long Goodbye: I don't care if it's the original novel by Raymond Chandler or the 1973 film adaptation, this is probably my favorite Philip Marlowe story and Marlowe is easily my favorite of the hardboiled detectives. It's such a tender story, Marlowe is at his most melancholy, the mystery is one of the most achingly human, and Chandler was just having the hardest time in his personal life as he was writing it.

Farewell, My Lovely: I promise, not everything on this list will be a Philip Marlowe story but there's a reason they're so iconic! And Farewell is one of the most iconic of all, having multiple film adaptations (Murder, My Sweet from 1946 and Farewell, My Lovely from 1973, which is my favorite Marlowe adaptation). This novel has some of Chandler's snappiest lines—my favorite is "he was about as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a slice of angel food cake"—and his most iconic femme fatale in Helen Grayle.

The Case of the Velvet Claws: You know I had to include a Perry Mason. I mostly mean the novel in this case, but this is one of the stories that also has one of the OG movies from the '30s and an episode of the show; all of which are great in their own way. The book is the first in the Perry Mason series, it really introduces our beloved characters and sets the stage for what kind of man Perry is. This also makes it a bit of an anomaly among the books because it definitely has more of a hardboiled bent to it that most of the novels really end up having. The 1936 movie is also wild because it's the only time Perry and Della are ever actually married in any version of canon so you know I love it!

"Who Killed Bob Teal?" and "Fly Paper": I'm doing these together because they're both short stories featuring Dashiell Hammett's best character, the Continental Op. I love all of the Op stories, but these two in particular stand out in my mind. "Who Killed Bob Teal?" is as much a mystery as it is a quest for vengeance and really highlights the Op's sense of obligation and loyalty. "Fly Paper" is one of those clever stories that's hard to describe without spoiling so I won't say anymore. The Op is my favorite Hammett character because he's he most real, the one closest to Hammett in real life.

The Maltese Falcon: Some things are a classic for a reason and Hammett's novel is one of those things. The book is wonderful, it's crisp and tight and Sam Spade is what you think of when you think of a hardboiled detective (I still think Marlowe is better, but that's why he's No. 1 on this list and Spade is No. 5). And the movie is one of the most perfect film adaptations of a novel ever. I don't love Bogey's acting in it, though when he says "Mrs. Spade didn't raise no dummy", I scream every time, but the supporting cast couldn't be more perfect. Peter Lorre, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet, Elisha Cook, Jr., they're all incredible. And it's one of the most true-to-the-source adaptations of the time, despite the Hays Code, which really hurt a lot of the early Chandler adaptations.

Honorable mention: "The Big Goodbye", Star Trek: The Next Generation: This is one of the most loving pastiches of any genre ever made. It hits all the right notes of the reluctant hope and resignation and attempts to follow a moral code against all odds of the genre in 42 minutes of a sci-fi television show. If "Our Man Bashir" is the best James Bond film ever made, this is definitely one of the best hardboiled films ever made.

[dandylovesturtles]

For the ask game! :)

LMNSTU

L: How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

Usually as I'm writing it (assuming I don't just do it all in one sitting), I'll come back and give it a read over and edit before I start back to work, and then I read over it once more before I post it. that's usually it though. I'm lazy when it comes to editing lol. pretty much all my fics are first drafts.

M: Got any premises on the back burner that you’d care to share?

well, I do still want to write the fic about Splinter's son (that he didn't know he had) stumbling into their lives post-movie. I have a post about it on here somewhere.

the fic I MEANT to write after I was done with IMBI (before a different AU plagued my brain, which I've been actively working on) is a fic whose working title is "Mikey and Donnie's Step-by-Step Guide for Saving Your Doomed Family," which is the obligatory peepaw fic. It follows Mikey and Donnie, post-movie, building a cross-dimensional time machine to try and save the bad future Hamatos and bring them to the saved present. It's told from Mikey and Donnie's POVs and has a heavy focus on their relationship, both pre- and post-Krang invasion.

I do still really want to write it, it's just that this other thing completely consumed my creative energy. oops.

N: Is there a fic you wish someone else would write (or finish) for you?

uhhh idk. I have lots of ideas all the time that I'll probably never write just because, you know, time and labor lol, but not really any I can think of to put here.

this is the nice thing about fandom kinkmemes (or whatever you would call a SFW kinkmeme), if you have an idea you don't want to write yourself you can just go drop it in a comment and let someone else write it.

I have already answered S

T: Any fandom tropes you can’t stand?

uhhhh I think my biggest thing that is Popular In Fandom but I Don't Like is AUs that bring fantastical canons into our reality and like, have the characters going to college or working office jobs or whatever. so "modern AUs," except it bums me out that that's the name we settled on because actual modern times in the setting of a fantasy canon could be really fun! Like, I don't want the "modern AU" Dragon Age to have Hawke working at a coffee shop and taking writing classes at the local uni, I want it to have them fighting darkspawn on top of a skyscraper. or like, you can have the Gaang going to college, but why can't they bend anymore! just let them have it!

FFXV is one of my favorite canons purely because it actually shows some of the thought behind like, what if a world had normal modern technology (they're driving around in modern cars and using smartphones) but also monsters and gods and magic. but so many fantasy settings in fiction are either medieval or do the bullshit where you have the "magic world" hidden from the "normal world". no! boring! I want to know how legislative proceedings are affected when congressmen can challenge each other to wizard duels. expand your mind!

U: Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.

this is list is not in any particular order:

taizi is an amazingly talented writer, there are so many lines in their fics that make me go "wow", and they have such a grasp on character and emotion. they also have some great One Piece fics!

MagicalSpaceDragon is another absolutely incredible writer. their "theseus, and" series is particularly good, but I actually have them in my bookmarks for one of my favorite ROTTMNT fics of all time, "i guess we've really been out of touch (but can it really be so serious)"

and reccing my friend Kiaxet, who is also an amazing writer who mixes hilarity, angst, and heartwarming moments with a deft hand. I'm so excited for the rest of her "Siblingquest 20XX" fic, but all her fics are amazing!

and while they aren't a TMNT writer, I wanna shout out Asidian, who has written several of my favorite FFXV fics (including and especially "Running Behind", which is one of the best MT!Prompto fics, right up there with "poor wayfaring stranger"), and also has some amazing Rise of the Guardians fics (I especially love "Bits and Pieces", which has my favorite trope of "hungry character gets fed", but "Every Boy And Girl" also makes me cry everytime).

thanks for the ask!

[twistedtummies2]

Top 5 More Marvin the Martian Appearances

In my previous list, I ranked all five of the classic Golden Age Looney Tunes cartoons featuring my favorite Looney Tunes character, Marvin the Martian. Of course, while those five theatrical shorts were the only appearances Marvin had during the Golden Age, they were not the end of the adorable (yet incredibly dangerous) little gremlin from another world. It’s hard to say when and how Marvin’s popularity took off, but the fact remains that, despite sparse appearances during that great period, Marvin became a favorite character for creators and fans of the Looney Tunes alike. They kept bringing him back, over and over again, using him in all sorts of different ways. His popularity only seems to have grown over the years, with numerous appearances in films, TV shows, video games, and so on. I thought it would be fun, having ranked all of his classic appearances, to count down some of my personal favorites that have come about since then. To keep things even, I’m once again limiting this to just five appearances (although I will note a few Honorable Mentions, besides), so let’s see if any of you recognize them! Let’s waste no more time. Get ready to launch in 3…2…1! These are My Top 5 Favorite Marvin the Martian Appearances since the Golden Age!

5. Marvin the Martian in the 3rd Dimension.

This fifteen minute short film was made as a 4-D attraction at Six Flags Great America, along with a few other theme parks around the world. It was notable for being the first CGI animated film produced in stereoscopic 3D. The short is essentially a reimagining of the classic cartoon “Duck Dodgers in the 24th ½ Century,” with references to some of Marvin’s other cartoons included. The plot sees Daffy Duck as a struggling actor, playing Duck Dodgers; in this world, Dodgers is the hero of a series of space adventure films. Marvin, who has been observing Earth, mistakes a rehearsal tape for an actual declaration of war against Mars, and thus sends K-9 to kidnap Daffy, planning to make him watch as he destroys Earth for their perceived hubris and aggression. The short is essentially one giant space-themed comedy of errors, as not only does Marvin misunderstand the situation, but so does Daffy, who believes all this is an offer for a new movie. It’s an interesting bit of Looney history, and really seems to mark the point in time where Marvin was officially being recognized as a major cartoon star in his own right: although Daffy is the true protagonist, it’s Marvin who gets the headline in the title.

4. The Man From M.A.R.S.

This was an episode of the cartoon series “Taz-Mania,” which featured Taz the Tasmanian Devil as the main character, going on a series of cartoon adventures. By far my favorite episode of the show was this one. Not just because of Marvin, but because…(thinks)...okay, yeah, actually, it IS just because of Marvin. But there’s a little more to why that is than you might think! Much like the previous pick, the plot is the result of a series of misunderstandings: Taz - who has been spooked by a radio play about an alien invasion (a parody of Orson Welles’ adaptation of “War of the Worlds”) - gets scared when Marvin comes to his homeland. Thinking the Martian plans to do him and his home harm, the Tasmanian Devil decides to fight back in the only way he knows how: wrecking and eating everything in sight, in the hopes it will drive the extraterrestrial away. However, Marvin hasn’t come to Earth planning to conquer it, but instead just to spend a humble vacation camping in the wilderness. He takes the aggressive antics of Taz as an outright declaration of war (again, sound familiar?) and thus decides to use a special bomb to destroy the planet. Unfortunately, Marvin’s plan works too well, as he gets stranded on Earth with no way to get off the planet before the bomb goes off. With their lives mutually on the line, Marvin and Taz must put aside their differences and work together to deactivate the explosive and save the Earth. I absolutely LOVE the pairing of Marvin the Martian and Taz: it’s the character among the Looney Tunes who seemingly has the most self-control, up against the Looney Toon who has the LEAST self-control. Taz is a wild, dumb brute who thinks with his stomach more than his head; Marvin is an egotistical intellectual who somehow manages to overthink everything while also missing important details. It’s also interesting to see the two together as they share similar histories: both were characters created fairly late in the game for the Looney Tunes cast, and each only appeared five times during the Golden Age. Yet, somehow, both rose in popularity and are now considered two of the most iconic and beloved Looney Tunes characters of all time. My only gripe with this cartoon is Marvin’s voice; in all his other appearances on this Top 5, Marvin is voiced by the late Joe Alaskey, who does a pitch-perfect impersonation of Mel Blanc’s original vocals. In “Taz-Mania!” however, Marvin is played by Rob Paulsen, whose impression is…not necessarily BAD, but definitely sounds like an IMPRESSION of Marvin, not Marvin himself, if that makes any sense. It’s not enough to cause any real trouble, though…unlike Taz and Marvin themselves, who ALWAYS seem to cause trouble wherever they go, but that’s another story.

3. Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas.

It’s sort of ironic that “Bah, Humduck!” is in my Top 3, because I’m actually not ESPECIALLY fond of this direct-to-video reimagining of “A Christmas Carol.” As a huge fan of both the Looney Tunes and the Dickens classic, I feel like a lot of this holiday special misses the mark for BOTH sides of the spectrum. It’s not terrible, mind you, but it’s not brilliant, either; it’s on the lower end of “meh.” HOWEVER…one thing I absolutely, positively, unconditionally ADORE about this special is Marvin’s role in the story. The plot focuses on Daffy Duck as our Scrooge surrogate; he’s the owner of a major shopping center, and works his cartoon employees to the bone. Marvin is one of these employees, and longs to go back home to Mars to spend Christmas with his family. (“I long to hang garland on the Laser Annihilator Cannon!” he says with sinister relish…I freaking LOVE that line.) You’d think they’d play that up for laughs, and, yeah, there’s definitely some chuckle-worthy things…but surprisingly, the special treats Marvin’s wish to go home seriously and sincerely. There’s this beautiful scene where he’s looking through a telescope at the night sky: it’s late, it’s snowing hard, and he knows he can’t go back. Then he sees a shooting star; his face lights up happily, and he clasps his hands together as if to make a wish…and sheds a few quiet tears. Daffy dismisses this as “cheap holiday sentiment,” but honestly, that scene - told entirely through visuals, with not a spot of dialogue - might be one of my favorite Marvin moments of all time, and my favorite scene in the whole film. This Christmas Carol reinterpretation may have gotten a lot of things wrong…but in making Marvin the Martian arguably the most heartfelt part of the entire story, I think it’s safe to say they got a few things right.

2. Looney Tunes: Back in Action.

In contrast to the previous pick, which may be Marvin’s single sweetest appearance (unless you count “Baby Looney Tunes,” which…I do not), this movie is probably one of Marvin’s most despicable since the Golden Age. I’m not sure how people feel about “Looney Tunes: Back in Action” as a whole - whether folks generally love it, hate it, or just acknowledge it exists and move on - but I personally think it’s…okay. I’d rather watch this than “Space Jam,” if nothing else, I’ll tell you that much. (Sorry, “Space Jam” fans: I don’t hate the movie, but in a contest between the two, I think this one does the toons more justice.) The film is a parody of the James Bond franchise, with Bugs & Daffy helping a pair of human protagonists (played by Brendan Fraser and Jenna Elfman) try to save the world from the evil machinations of The ACME Chairman (played by Steve Martin) and his many secret operatives, all of whom are classic Looney Tunes villains. Marvin is one of the most prominent villains in the movie; he first appears as a captive in Area 52 - a secret military base devoted to studying alien life. On orders from the Chairman, Marvin breaks himself and the other aliens out to attack the four. They manage to escape Marvin, but the Martian returns in the climax. There, Bugs and Daffy (as Duck Dodgers) battle the evil alien in space to stop him from finishing the Chariman’s mad plan to turn all of the Earth’s population into monkeys. It was cool to see Marvin play such a big role in a feature film, as a major antagonist, and the references to various famous sci-fi properties found in his scenes (such as Doctor Who and Star Wars) are a lot of fun. It was also cool to see him face BOTH of his nemeses from the cartoons, rather than just one or the other. Again, I don’t know what kind of reputation this movie has, but if there’s one thing I will always defend, it’s the film’s use of Marvin the Martian.

1. Duck Dodgers.

This early 2000s animated series, another reimagining of “Duck Dodgers in the 24th ½ Century,” is something of a cult classic. It’s largely forgotten by a lot of people nowadays, and, looking back on it, it wasn’t perfect: some episodes, character reinventions, and general jokes worked…others did not. With that said, I don’t think I’m alone in the opinion that, for any flaws this show had…it was, without a shadow of a doubt, Marvin’s magnum opus as a character. While he has had guest appearances and occasional spotlight or supporting roles in other films and TV projects, this series marks the only time to date where Marvin was truly a main character. As a result, the show was able to give him more attention than any other appearance of the cartoon Martian before or since. Marvin (known in the show as Commander X-2, in reference to “The Hasty Hare”) was the main antagonist, usually acting as the villain trying to stop Dodgers and Cadet (Daffy and Porky Pig) on their many adventures. However, while Marvin was still the disintegration-happy, Earth-hating alien from the cartoons, the show was able to play with more facets of his personality and his relationships with characters. We got some cartoons focused on him and K-9, saw his devotion to his Queen (who was also his love interest), and the relationships he had with his arch-enemies was a lot of fun to see unfold in all of its ridiculousness. For as much as Marvin and Dodgers try to destroy one another, you quickly realize each sort of depends on this mutual feud, like with a lot of great nemesis relationships. Meanwhile, the Martian and the Cadet seem to get along surprisingly well; anytime Marvin and the protagonists team up, it’s usually Cadet who convinces him. On that note, for as often as Marvin was the villain, it was just as often that he would help the good guys, or even show a heroic side of his own accord. He was essentially an anti-villain: not necessarily EVIL, so much as just an obstacle in the hero’s path. And considering Dodgers was hardly a flawless hero, often just as terrible as Marvin (if not worse), it was easy to sympathize with the Martian Commander. It’s this series, just as much as his original cartoons or anything else, that cemented my love for this little rapscallion…and for that reason, if nothing else, “Duck Dodgers” deserves the title of My Favorite Marvin the Martian Appearance since the Golden Age. “Isn’t it delightful?”

HONORABLE MENTIONS INCLUDE…

MultiVersus.

Looney Tunes Cartoons.

The Looney Tunes Show.

Bugs Bunny: Lost in Time.

Looney Tunes: Rabbit’s Run.

Duck Dodgers Jr. (from Tiny Toon Adventures).

[jules-has-notes]

Mission: Jingle Bells — VoicePlay music video

After the events of "Panic! in 4 Minutes" (and its prequel "Trapped" that they hadn't filmed yet), you might think the VoicePlay guys would be more vigilant against being abducted. But no, they've gotten kidnapped and tied to a circle of chairs again. At least this time their captor isn't actively trying to kill them. He just wants a private performance… or else.

Details:

title: Mission: Jingle Bells

original songs / performers: theme from Mission: Impossible; traditional American carol "Jingle Bells"; rap verse inspired by "Dopeness" by the Black Eyed Peas

written by: Mission: Impossible theme by Lalo Schifrin; "Jingle Bells" by James Lord Pierpont

arranged by: Layne Stein

release date: 21 December 2018

My favorite bits:

the group being awakened by Earl, Eli, and J.None singing in three part harmony

Geoff busting out that iconic bass line

the extra bindings securing Earl's beefy legs (and the gift bow on the end of his beard)

J.None singing those happy lyrics to the M:I minor key melody

the lovely bell chord for ♫ "laughing all the wa-a-ay" ♫

the increasing concern on Geoff's face as their captor puts him through his bassy paces

J figuring out a loophole by speaking to the beat

Layne's percussion under the rap switching from resonant wood block sounds to quick high hats to ramp up the tension

the cautious ♫ "Time… to… get… out" ♫ from Eli inspiring everyone to pull against their bonds

Earl hitting that sky-high ♫ "jingle BEEELLS" ♫

the syncopated harmonies from Eli and J

that crisp diction in the final chorus

"Someone's coming to untie us, right?" 😟

Trivia:

○ Like most of the spoken dialogue in VoicePlay's music videos, the kidnapper is voiced by Eli. The mystery person at the computer equipment is Kathy.

○ The guys have never released a conventional version of "Jingle Bells", but they have done serveral creative things with it:

They performed a fun remix as a commercial bumper during the Sing-Off season 4 finale.

They did a Bollywood-inspired version on their 2012 holiday album, "Peppermint Winter".

And, of course, they included an excerpt in their "Most of the Songs" holiday medley that they performed at seasonal shows, including their three annual residencies at Disney World for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.

○ VoicePlay later included the Mission: Impossible theme in their "Aca Top 10 – Movie Themes" countdown with guest Rob Lundquist from Home Free.

○ The fellas made some festive hostage-note-style promo posters that they posted to their individual social media accounts. (Though I can't find J.None's anywhere.)

○ This video was commissioned by Paramount Studios as part of the advertising campaign for the home media release of Mission: Impossible – Fallout, the sixth movie in the series.

○ Instead of a note in the YouTube description, they posted a comment reading: "MERRY CHRISTMAS! This video was sponsored by Mission: Impossible – Fallout — If you're looking for something INCREDIBLE to watch this holiday season with all of your fav secret agents, 😎 👉 http://paramnt.us/Get.Fallout. Today (This comment will self destruct in 5 seconds)."

○ The video won a 2019 Clio award, the industry awards for advertising. The coordinating agency, Think Jam Inc., took home a bronze in the Home Entertainment: Original Content category.

○ Earl got a little lost in the sauce when he picked up breakfast for the guys and their crew on the way to the filming location.