#OH AND THE DRAGON PRINCE TRAILER IS *SO* GOOD

[the-monkey-ruler]

what are some upcoming xiyouji media that you’re excited for?

Here are a few!

2020 Journey to the West: Conquer the Demons 西游降魔篇 - I think this is like a re-write of the whole Chow Xiyouji films into a tv series!

2020 I'm Not a Great Sage 我不是大圣 - the Six-Earred Macaque being seen as a hero when he is trying so hard to be a villain. (Correction there are two movies with the same name and I got the poster for the wrong one whoops)

2021 Seven Sages 七圣 - a movie all about Wukong's brotherhood like with Snub-Nose Monkey King or Flood Dragon King!

2021 Sun Wukong: Heaven Devourer Monkey孙悟空之噬天魔猴 Trailer - the animation for this looks AMAZING AND I CANT WAIT!!!

2022 King of Confusion: The Rise of the Great Sage / Four Monkeys in Confusion 混世之王：混世四猴 /混世之王之大圣崛起 - Super excited to see Wukong and ALL THE SPIRITUAL MONKEYS!!! FINALLY THE WHOLE GANG IS HERE

2022 Bajie: Movie Preview 八戒：電影搶先看 - I am a huge Bajie fan and this just looks ADORABLE!

2022 The Lower Boundary of the Canopy of Bajie八戒之天蓬下界 - Another Bajie love story and honestly this one looks precious, he really trying to just get his weapon back but oh no he is being WOOED!

2022 Red Boy: Newborn Calf红孩儿之初生牛犊 - super fun animation! Really want to see the back story in this one!

2022 Monkey King and JJ大圣和江流儿 - I NEED THIS I NEED THIS LIKE WATER I NEED HERO IS BACK WUKONG TO BE A FATHER PLEASE

2023 The Legends of Monkey King 凌云志 - This was based on like a web novel and it sound more insane that it should be. can't say it is "good" but it def sounds interesting at LEAST.

2025Monkey King: The Havoc in Heaven西游记之大圣闹天宫 - I have heard that THIS is going to be a prequel to the 2015 Hero is Back Movie SO !!!!!!!!!!!! WOULD LOVE TO SEE MORE HERO IS BACK WUKONG HE IS LIKE MY SECOND FAVORITE!!!

2030Monkey King: Flame Mountain孙悟空之火焰山 - the animation here just looks so interesting and Wukong looks so uncaney valley I'm really interested about this one.

NullThe Monkey Prince - this one is kinda a cheat but it is a WUKONG-inspired character and honestly, this looks like a lot of fun!!

NullJourney to the West - I can only PRAY that the art style of the poster for this movie is the same as the animation. I have NEVER seen a Xiyouji movie done by the French but if they make it this whimsical and colorful attitude I'm HERE FOR IT.

Needless to say, I'm excited about a lot of things.

[frostehburr]

Damsel Does What Disney Couldn't

I don't want to write about films or shows often because I'm not big on them. I also worried I might spill too much info while talking about it. However, I felt this one was too good to be silent about.

The premise is a princess fights a dragon.

Something.... I don't think has been done before. Maybe. Not sure if it's the first but it certainly feels like the first.

I'm going off everything that was from the trailer to avoid spoiling the movie since it just recently came out. Unsurprisingly, they put quite a bit in the trailer. That's the thing to do these days. Jam all the action bits in the trailer and hope the audience stays awake for the slow bits.

However, there's quite a bit of action left over after the trailer. Such as the princess exploring the caves and running from the dragon.

That's right, THE PRINCESS RUNS AWAY FROM THE DRAGON BECAUSE THAT IS THE OBVIOUS AND LOGICAL THING TO DO. Had she just picked up a sword and go head in for a fight, this would have been another Disney "empowered" strong woman sludge.

Thankfully, it's not and the princess uses her intelligence rather than magic deus ex machina and actually struggles while planning her escape from the dragon. Yes, ESCAPE, because that is what any normal person would do. Let's not forget this is a girl who expected to be married to a prince (for political reasons) and was tricked into being a dragon's dinner.

So yeah, Elodie (the princess, I'm done writing 'the princess' so often) manages to get her wedding dress torn up and hides in a cave with a map made by the previous princesses the dragon roasted over the century. Which help Elodie find a path to her escape.

A good chunk of this film is Elodie fumbling around the caves up and down, climbing chasms and running from dragon fire. It sounds like it would be boring but the film does it in a way that makes it all intense and fun to watch.

But after she escapes, OH NO, her sister gets set up to be sacrificed! So Elodie jumps back in the dragon's lair to get her sister out. This is where she does fight the dragon but she works with her strengths, which is her intelligence and strategizing skills. Never thought I'd see a modern movie give a girl a brain instead of a mcguffic to solve her problems.

Elodie is hands down the best female character we've been given in a long time and it's high time we got her. She's not physically strong like a man. She's emotionally and mentally strong, being able to confront terrible monsters, forgive bad decisions or mistakes, and having the courage to save her sister. THIS is what people have been begging for in female characters for years!

Hopefully, this is the start of better female character and not a jump into more stories of women fighting giant monsters ignoring the entire moral behind the story.

There's a megaton of stuff I left out for the sake of spoilers not being spilled.

The point I wanted to get across was that Damsel is a really good film that I highly recommend ... if you have Netflix already. Never going to condone purchasing streaming "service" just for a single show or film. I demand variety with that kind of thing!

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

Playing a little game with the HOTD S2 teaser trailer called "can I identify scenes". Nothing but spoilers (major, major spoilers) under the cut:

Rhaenyra at Storm's End looking for Luke's body, as reported in leaks.

Stokeworth and Rosby shields - this is the Sack of Duskendale / Battle at Rook's Rest. From leaks (re what happens to Meleys, um) we know that BRR is this season, probably near the end of it.

Criston cutting some guy's head off - possibly the execution of Lord Staunton after the battle of Rook's Rest. Staunton's head and Meleys's head were taken to KL and paraded.

may be Nettles, but I think more likely to be Addam of Hull, as that's Seasmoke.

It's a bit blurry, but pretty sure those are Darklyn shields. (<nerd> incorrect Darklyn shields, too many white shields for this point in history, they haven't had that many Darklyns in the Kingsguard yet.</nerd>) More from the Sack of Duskendale/Battle of Rook's Rest.

Possibly executions during Daemon's Assault on Harrenhal? Although that was Aemond who killed the Strongs in F&B... that's definitely a weirwood, though... but then, most castles have weirwoods, not just Harrenhal. Could also be part of the Taking of Stone Hedge.

Something in the North, almost certainly, but not sure what. Maybe the Winter Wolves leaving?

Seasmoke's back, back again. Rumors are that Laenor just gives him up or something? Lore nerds will freak ("a dragon never has two living riders!"), but babes, this is where you have to just relax and remember the show is not the books.

Nice establishing shot of the Dragonpit. The Storming will not be this season, but it'll be useful to compare once the show gets there.

This is either Prince Jaehaerys' funeral or the parade after Rook's Rest, but I think that's the carriage that was carrying Alicent and Helaena in mourning clothes (as seen in leaks), so possibly the former. OTOH leaks had a drum being beaten while Meleys's head was paraded, so it might be the latter. We'll see I guess!

Probably at Rook's Rest, trying to get the fuck away from Meleys's fire.

speaking of which. Rosby shields on the ground, that early scene where they were standing is probably right before Rhaenys and Meleys arrived.

yay Baela gets to do something. Wonder if she arrives at BRR too late to help, but in time to see Rhaenys's body? Would be a good setup for her and Aegon later.

KG doing the Secret Service thing with Alicent. Some kind of public panic, this may be in relation to the Meleys parade because the book says it made everyone want to leave KL, so they may have changed that up a bit.

Brackens, probably the Battle of the Burning Mill / Taking of Stone Hedge.

Assault on Harrenhal, probably.

well we all know what this is. 😭

ah shit, Erryk fighting in someone's bedroom? Cargyll twin vs twin, probably, I knew it was early in the war, but I liked him. 😔

Not screencapping this bit, but the cut that makes it look like Aemond is fighting Rhaenyra on their dragons is oh-so-clever to play with audience expectations.

Rook's Rest, the ground is all smoky because of Meleys, and shit here comes Vhagar to make it worse.

A few scenes I have no idea what's happening yet, like the Helaena underwater scene and Alicent in her nightgown at the Gods Eye... are we getting dream scenes at last? Would be a nice changeup. Could be POV prophecies also. Well, looking forward to it!

edit to correct: Helaena's not underwater, that's a veil, undoubtedly a mourning veil. 😭

[arcielee]

Arcie please give your honest opinion. do you think aemond will now be mean as hell to alicent because he murdered luke hurray he can feel better about himself. Why he was weirdly looking at her like this?

Hello my darling anon 💜

Here is my speculation on that scene from Green trailer that dropped yesterday. This is based on my Fire & Blood knowledge as well as my blatant favoritism of my darling baby girl war criminal.

Read more for spoilers.

HBO's interpretation of the aftermath of what I will tastefully (pun intended) refer to as The Incident, shows Aemond's reaction to Lucerys becoming a snack for Vhagar as him looking shocked. Possibly remorseful?

In the least, it is a definitive oh shit moment.

Anyway, in the book Fire & Blood, after The Incident, Aemond then returns to King's Landing to share what happened at Storm's End. The book details the reactions of his mother and grandsire:

Queen Alicent went pale when she heard what he had done, crying, “Mother have mercy on us all.” Nor was Ser Otto pleased. “You only lost one eye,” he is reported to have said. “How could you be so blind?”

If HBO commits to this decided scene (as we later got a snippet of his other possible reactions*) that shows his remorse, it may have carried with him in the small council chambers and is only lifted by his brother.

My theory (and mind you, this is me being hopeful, reading far too much into this, plus my tagline is literally Aemond Apologist™, etc.) could be that smug reaction is in response to when Aegon finally speaks up to defend, as he does in the book:

The king himself did not share their concerns, however. Aegon II welcomed Prince Aemond home with a great feast, hailed him as “the true blood of the dragon,” and announced that he had made “a good beginning.”

So that moment we see between Aemond and Alicent in the trailer could be the guilt/grief/whatever he was feeling prior just being lifted with how Aegon responds to Aemond's news of The Incident.

“Good. To war then!”

Guess we'll see on June 16th. 🥰

*Shoutout to @zaldritzosrose for helping me try and find that alternative scene HBO shot. We both knew it existed somewhere.

[kirans-wonderland]

Headcanons for (if you’re ok with it.) Twst staff if the reader showed them the movie Damsel (2024) on Netflix. It’s a good movie.

The trailer makes it look woke but the main girl is NOT the girl power,strong,bitchy woman,who can beat the enemy from the start kind of main character that we see in so many movies now a days.

She’s not, it’s a survival movie and she LEARNS how to survive in the place she is literally thrown.

I hope I this is what you were thinking! The movie was great. Thank you for the request <3

cw: Damsel spoilers

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Trein:

not a big movie watcher so it took some convincing

he’s the type to mumble comments throughout a movie

“There’s no surviving that fall. She would be dead” … Hush and watch the movie

He holds Lucius a little closer during the scene with the burning birds

He understood the dragon’s pain because of his own daughters

“How could that small bit of blood fool the dragon like that? It is preposterous”

“She should have died four times by now” … Suspension of disbelief Mozus jeez

He somehow almost fell asleep during the action

“The girl knows her worth… good” He commented as she didn’t spare the prince.

His final verdict: “it was not brain dead. I did enjoy it. Thank you”

Crewel:

He prefers to watch media alone, but he agreed none the less

He is silent while watching it

he does visibly tense whenever her dress is ripped

Though he is quiet, he’s making a long list in his head

As soon as the credits begin to roll, all his thoughts come pouring out

“Such a beautiful dress, RUINED!!”

He loves the costumes

He dives deep into how Elodie’s character development was shown in her color palettes

Later you would definitely find him designing clothes off screencaptures of Elodie’s wedding dress

Prepare to hear grumbling comments about the ruined dress for the next couple days

His final verdict: He loved the costumes… that’s all you can get him to talk about

Crowley:

So he can get movies from your world but not send you home?

He cries a lot for some reason

You can’t tell if it’s genuine or he’s trying to appease you by acting interested in the movie

The only time you are sure his crying is real is when the dragon babies were killed. (He’s not beating the Malleus’ father allegations)

He pulled his “oh how gracious!” card when she spares the dragon

Mans full on laughs when the kingdom gets torched

His final verdict: All he does is smile.. no words.. just smile

Sam:

Of course! He’s excited

He’s a pretty quiet movie watcher

The most he talks is about the glowworms

He finds them fascinating and imagines how many ways that they could be used

The blood ritual also peaks his interest

He appreciates how resourceful and creative Elodie is

His final verdict: He liked it. “I’d watch it with you again if you’d like~”

Vargas:

Again, not a big movie watcher but eventually you get him to sit still

I don’t know what’s going on in his brain, but he’s rooting for the dragon

He’s cheering like it’s a sports game

“WOOO! YEAHH! GET HER!! YEAH! WOO!”

It’s a big dichotomy at how pumped and loud he is during the chase scenes in comparison to how silent he is during.. anything else

His final verdict: “The dragon should have won” but.. she kinda did- “the dragon should have won.”

[fromtheboundlesssea]

HOTD Season 2 Episode 4 Live Watch Thoughts

I would love if they redid the opening credits of Game of Thrones in this tapestry style of HotD. Love it so much.

Wish Laena and Rhea would haunt Daemon too. They deserve to haunt him.

Oooo Milly should have been wearing dresses like this instead of that awful yellow dress.

Young Alicent should have haunted Viserys.

OH MY GOSH!!!!! He just beheaded her!!!!! I AM IN SHOCK

BLOOD ON HIS HANDS!

“Sad news about the usurper’s son” HE WAS MURDERED

Black goat was ominous.

Oscar! Baby!

King consort? Don’t think that’s the right title.

Aw! Little Oscar looks a little like Rickon’s actor.

Daemon asking a child to kinslay his grandfather. Good lord.

Why is House Tully heads always sickly during a time of war.

DOGS! I think those are Scottish dogs.

Oooooo Alyn and Rhaenys are going to talk!

OH SHE KNOWS?!?!?? She knows now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!

“Your mother must have been very beautiful.” 🫥

WASN’T RELEVANT!!!!!!??????

Let women be more angry!!!!!!!!

No! I wanted Alicent to break it purposefully!

Oh? So Alicent is going to have moontea?

Grand maester is hot, not gonna lie.

Man this is probably the first time Alicent has had autonomy over her womb for the entirety of the show.

Note how the women of color are the only ones who are allowed to want violence for more than a single scene.

Why could you not have at least focused on Jace’s hand on Baela’s that would have been nice.

Why isn’t Jace placed more in charge? He is the crown prince?

How fast are these ships or did Corlys ride with Rhaenys?

Rhaenyra’s council is honestly doing pretty much the exact thing Viserys’ did.

Asking for people to bend the knee without a dragon really does feel less threatening.

And ooooooo Criston being called Kingmaker.

And Criston listening to the man’s last words while taking the head himself. Very Northern of him.

“That castle is more crippled than I am” is kind of funny tbh.

I hate that the Greens can’t be united. Why can’t they be united after the death of Jaehaerys.

Ooooo does Aegon not speak Valyrian?

Also, not Aemond saying something similar to Daemon in the first episode of season 1

So he can speak a little? Just not well?

STAY AWAY FROM HER LARYS!

OH HE NOTICED! STAY AWAY FROM HER!

I am going to reach through the screen and strangle Larys myself.

No you may not be bold, Larys!

Oh, interesting, she’s saying this to Larys. The trailers made it seem she was talking to Otto.

Is Rhaenyra suited? Literally neither of his children showed any suitability for the throne.

“The significance of Viserys’ intentions died with him.” YES IT DID

Man, Daemon is not having a good time right now.

Oh? Aemond?

Oh? Daemon as Aemond? The heck?

Oh, so it wasn’t an American accent?

“Do you now try to make your own claim?” Yes he is.

“A girl child you bounced on your knee.” 🫥

Oh? Is Alys going for him because he looks like Aemond and isn’t sure who she is supposed to be projecting into?

Daemon really is not having a good time. Good lord. This man is getting drugged.

OH THIS IS THE GUY THAT MURDERED SOMEONE ON THE TOUR!

LAENA!!!!!!!

Laena serving as a cupbearer!!!!! I AM SCREAMING!!!

What were the dragons doing before to be fed?

Why isn’t Aemond on the council?

Why isn’t Alicent and Helaena on the council? Didn’t the book say Aegon listened to them?

Is this the same day?

Also, again, this is how Viserys was treated. He didn’t really do much either.

VISERYS WAS HARDLY A KING

RAT CATCHERS THAT KILLED YOUR GRANDSON!

I like that Aegon still called Alicent his mother. I noticed that Jace seemed to stop calling Rhaenyra that.

Why have I seen Gwayne’s actor? Was he in Witcher? He looks so familiar. I’ll have to look it up later.

And now Rhaenyra is back. That took forever.

And yep, Jace is no longer calling her “mother”

Jace is really channeling his inner Daemon.

Was it necessary?

Alicent isn’t queen anymore? She’s the queen mother? Helaena is the queen?

Your caution isn’t weakness, you have literally just not been doing anything.

JACE LACKS THE EXPERIENCE????? SO DO YOU RHAENYRA!

Emma channeling their inner Elsa with that braid though.

Ooooo it’s rather symbolic of Aegon pushing aside his wine thing. Honestly Rhaenyra and Aegon should have been better parallels.

Oh? So Rhaenyra is going to tell Jace the stupid prophecy.

SUNFYRE! Aw, Sundyre loves his rider! That’s so cute!

Jace learning the prophecy (which is about an enemy to the NORTH) would have been great to know before he went there.

The prophecy really is stupid.

Like, it’s stupid. It’s pointless. It’s lazy storytelling at its finest. And we know that it went nowhere because in the show Arya, without a drop of Targ blood, is what destroys the enemy to the North.

Did Meleys’ design change?

Old lady Vhagar about to wake! She is so done with people waking her from her nap.

And I hate that that Aegon going to fight wasn’t planned. Rather him acting on his own decision.

Dang Sunfyre is a sure shot with fire.

I hate that this is the one and only time we will get a Sunfyre. I know that Sunfyre was Martin’s favorite.

And ah, Aemond is doing this so that he gets glory and proves himself more worthy than Aegon. *sigh*

Also, props to Aegon for holding on.

Ugh. So they’re having Aemond be the reason his brother is scarred. *sigh*

This is the battle that was being hyped up? This is the battle? Didn’t people say it was going to be like Battle of the Bastards level? Because…. Yeah no. No it’s not. This is our second “battle” with dragons fighting and it’s not great.

The Field of Fire was also better.

They were hyping up this battle far too much.

I feel sad that Rhaenys died, do not get me wrong, but the whole battle just didn’t feel climactic. I didn’t feel like I was on the edge of my seat in the way I was for GoT battles.

That was a cool shot though, of Criston tapping the soldier on the shoulder and him crumbling.

How they are treating the Greens is what they did with “Dark” Sansa and the stupid Starkbowl, pointless. Utterly pointless.

That was another disappointing episode.

Promo Thoughts

I don’t even know.

I don’t understand what they are doing. And I feel like a lot of people will be leaving after this season. Half of it is over and I feel like we’ve covered very little time at all despite covering so much time last season. It all feels disjointed.

[zenthejackal]

Book 6 Prediction Worry-Rant

...Oh boy. If someone told me the teaser would've caused me THIS MUCH anxiety, I would've just waited until the full trailer (or even worse, the full-on premiere)! I've been freaking out so hard since Thursday's reveal and only now have I gotten myself relatively under control. It also gave me some time to look at others' speculations and theories, so that always makes me feel better too. But now, I've got some questions about what will happen with this next book, and what it will really mean to be "emotionally wrecked".

Slight disclaimer: I heavily reference the info from the post made here by xadian-daydreams. I'm basing my ideas off of this, but all credit on retrieving this info goes solely to him (assuming him, sorry if I got it wrong!). I'll also have some references about Dark Magic from the Dragon Prince Wiki.

First off, I need to understand more about the real toll of Dark Magic. What we already knew was that using Dark Magic requires some form of sacrifice of a magical being, it leaves some form of corruption on the user (with physical changes depending on the severity), and that corruption can be used by Aaravos as a means of linking them together. The first use is a sort of 'jolt' to the body and results in nightmarish fever dreams but is remediable. Apparently, it amplifies the values/feelings of the user when casting it (according to latest Q&A). It has been constantly been referred to as a shortcut, or 'too easy to use', but isn't technically addicting; if you want to stop, there's no strong resistance to make you keep doing it. However, each time you use Dark Magic, it's harder to come back from it. Personally, I imagine this to your teacher's cheat-sheet for a test: at first you only use it to answer a really hard question, but then you keep using it because it's so much easier than relying on your own knowledge.

I need someone to explain to me: what exactly is the "corruption" of Dark Magic? Does it darken the soul to make it more evil, make you prone to the emotions you felt at the time of casting, or a very subtle way of "changing you from the inside out" without you realizing it?

The reason I'd like to know this first is because now we're looking at our 3 main protagonists: Callum, Rayla, and Ezran. First up is Callum, my personal favorite (yeah, that's right, I'm not ashamed to admit my bias). Going into the next book, the main questions that came up for me were:

How will Callum handle Dark Magic from now on, especially now that Aaravos is closer to him (magically and literally)?

Will it be easier for him to give into Dark Magic's temptation now that he's given into it a second time now?

How does Dark Magic affect the trust/friendship he's created over time?

Up until Book 5, I always assumed that Callum would never use Dark Magic again once he got Primal Magic; his one-time use was out of sheer desperation. Now that he's done it again (and after learning a bit more about his true character and motives), my main concern is that continued usage will continue to change him more and more until he's a very different person, someone Rayla no longer recognizes, let alone loves.

Moving onto Rayla, there was no real "progress" in the latest Q&A concerning her and the coins (writers refused to answer the REALLY juicy stuff), but there's still some things I still want to know:

If she's given a choice between her new and old family, who would she choose?

She has always been the one to be willing to sacrifice everything of herself for the good of others; how far will she go, or is there a line she will no longer cross?

How does she view sacrifice in relation to others, i.e. Callum? Is killing him when possessed his sacrifice or hers? Would she be willing to kill those she loves (not exclusive to Callum on this last part)?

Who does she ultimately choose above the other: Callum and Ezran or the world?

I realize that most of these questions center around Rayllum, but this is just what concerns me the most right now. I definitely want her to grow as an individual too, but this relationship between the two is something very special to me, mostly because of how much stronger they are when they're together! I really miss their chemistry!!

...Ahem, finally, we have Ezran. While he is still a great part of the main team, he is also now king. But we haven't really seen him act as one in the show as of yet; he's only really been ruling on-screen for about 2 episodes, gave into the bargain with Viren to try and prevent mass bloodshed, have a brief meeting with his council after the timeskip, and have some strong speeches concerning Xadia and addressing the dragons/archdragons. ...Okay, so that seems like a lot, but keep in mind, that 1) while there are powerful moments, they are still brief, and 2) all of this takes place over the course of 3 seasons so far, when he has begun his rule. I would personally like to see him act/struggle more as a king, mostly because I still see some naivety in his approach. He still acts a bit childish in his views, kind of like: "this is the right choice, so we'll do it" from a logical side. This view oversimplifies the world, and while he does address this in his powerful speech in Book 4, we haven't seen him really struggle with this notion. Your words aren't as strong if you haven't been hurt as bad, and I know that Ezran has a lot of hurt that he's been hiding. I want to see how he handles it. (No questions regarding Ezran, just speculation this time.)

The final cherry on top: can someone please tell me what "emotionally wrecked" could possibly mean for this upcoming book?!! Every time the writers bring it up, I get nothing but depression with a side of gloom and misery sprinkled on top! The only saving grace we do have from all this... negativity... is that it's coming in the second-to-last book, not the last. This also likely means that whatever horrible tragedies we'll face this book have the chance to be resolved/redeemed in the next one. Additionally, any character arcs/growth we go through will likely either continue over to the final book or will be resolved in time for another one. That being said, PLEASE TELL ME, WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH BY DOING THIS TO US?!! THIS SUSPENCE IS EATING ME FROM THE INSIDE OUT, AND I'VE HAVEN'T EVEN DONE DARK MAGIC YET!!!

...Whew, got that all out of my system. Please reply if you've got any answers or comments, especially with the last part (better to rip the band-aid off now). I love a good dialogue! Just please keep it friendly and civilized. Thanks for listening to my rant, and here's hoping for Dragon Prince's continued success!!!

[being-worthy]

Saturday Home Cinema: Damsel (2024)

I haven’t done one of these, but I saw Damsel today on Saturday night (well, it’s already Sunday when I'm writing this 😂) and the movie surprised me tremendously!

When I watched the trailer before the movie, it already told me that certain scenarios if not most would be predictable, but I loved the end!

But before we get to it… it is OFFICIAL! Movie directors have run out of ideas and don’t know what to make a movie about anymore as all their imagination is gone, completely and utterly GONE!! I’m watching trailers of upcoming films and series and just found out that they’re making a series of Fallout and a movie of Borderlands… 🤦‍♀️

Play the video games. They are much much better and offer hours of countless entertainment and have so many funny scenes, but I guess the money is sitting heavily in their pockets and they need to waste it. Ever thought of donating it to charity? No? Ok.

Back to Damsel. Spoilers alert below the cut!!

As mentioned before, most of it was predictable from the start. A northern kingdom struggling, with barely any food for the people, no gold in the treasury, and so on. This stuck-up lady, dressed like a cult member from a prosperous and flourishing faraway kingdom comes to them with an arrangement – all the gold they need in exchange for the eldest daughter of the northern king.

The daughter, Elodie, marries the prince of the rich kingdom, Henry (I believe his name was), and they celebrate a very pompous wedding and even make a blood pact to “honour” the ancestors of the prince; this is where they throw her into a deep pit which leads to the dragon’s lair. Here I have to say, girl, whenever there’s a blood exchange it’s never for something good, but plot gotta plot.

Basically, the former king of the luxurious kingdom slaughtered the three children of the dragon for no apparent reason, apart from your typical men’s greed. They were the last of her kin, and as the tale goes; a debt of blood can only be paid back in blood. So, the dragon demands three daughters of the king as revenge, but jokes on her because they deceive her by marrying off the male offspring to foreign women, who were not always royalty but held a high status in their country, but by combining their blog with the prince’s they become part of the family.

Well, up until here the movie was scene by scene foreseeable, but the best part is when the dragon is told the truth and saved by Elodie (with the help of some luminescent, but kind of cute worms with healing properties), and then, they get their oh so sweet revenge on those pretentious asses. 😎

In the end, Elodie and her family go back home with a new friend in tow!! I rooted at the end so darn hard because finally!!! Finally, the dragon is not the bad guy and doesn’t die either, instead she flies into the sunrise!!! 🥰

[askroahmmythril]

Wall o’ Text : The Nintendo Direct

Figured I may as well type up my thoughts on everything from the Direct.  I have it going in the background to remember everything that was shown.  So yeah, if you care about trailer spoilers, now’s your chance to bail, yo.

So let’s get to it, and hopefully not get interrupted by another powerout.

1) Pokemon ScVi DLC - I’m looking forward to these.  ScVi can be a buggy mess, but I still overall enjoyed the games.  Since I’m not super competitive, I don’t look at a bunch of new legendaries as “OH GOD WHAT WILL THIS DO TO THE META QUICK BAN EVERYTHING,” I just see them as “Oh, cool, new things to collect and train, yay!” I do however hope there are still some things they might be hiding.  I’d like to see some new Paradox forms show up.

2) Sonic Superstars - Honestly looks pretty good.  I do wonder if we might get more characters as DLC.  I’d especially love to see what a Classic style Cream would look like.

3) Palia - ...... (checks “cozy farm sim off the bingo sheet”)  Nothing really stood out to me here, other than the phrase “free to play,” meaning microtransaction heck.  No thanks.

4) Persona 5 Tactica - Tactics games usually aren’t a go to for me, though this looks maybe more like the kind of tactics used in things like Mario + Rabbids, which I enjoyed, so I might be interested in this one?  Not super high priority, but on the radar.

5) Mythforce - This honestly might be on the “I’ll want to see more” list.  The artstyle is actually pretty dang nice, it definitely captures that He-Man style saturday morning cartoon look.

6) New Splatfest - Well, I can’t play online, don’t even HAVE Splatoon 3, but as far as choice, I’m torn between Strawberry or Mint Chip, love both of those.  But hey, Vanilla is good too.  Honestly hard to pick on this one.

7) Detective Pikachu Returns - Okay, was NOT expecting that.  I enjoyed the original, so definitely happy for it.

8) Super Mario RPG Remaster - Oh gods it looks beautiful.  It’s one of the rare RPGs that I really did enjoy, so I’ll likely be interested in this one.

9) Untitled Peach Game - Intrigued, but we know like, nothing.

10) Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon Port - I have the 3DS game, but never actually played it, so this might spur me to do so.

11) Batman : Arkham Trilogy - I might actually want this.  I loved Assylum and City, never got to play Knight, but I quite enjoyed the ones I did play.  A case of “wouldn’t mind an excuse to play them again.”

12) Gloomhaven - No real strong thoughts on this one admittedly.

13) Just Dance 2024 Edition - (checks the year)  Hey, you can’t do that!  Anyway, no real strong feeling here either,

14) Silent Hope - I’m not sure anything really drew me in on this one.  The concept of no one being able to talk, I at first wondered what that would do for storytelling, like, how they’d work with that concept.  I figured it could be interesting, but also would run the risk of if everything’s just pantomimed, it could get tiring.  But then we just get an NPC that talks for everyone anyway, so... (shrug).

15) Fae Farm - Oy, I already got the “cozy farming sim” checkmark.  No strong feelings here.

16) Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 Turbocharged - I never played that previous Hot Wheels game that came up, but it looked like it could be interesting.  Was the original any good?

17) Manic Mechanics - Basically Undercooked but with car fixing?  I’ve played Undercooked solo which, uh....  Oof.  It’s a lot to keep track of, haha.  Definitely something that would be more fun with other players.

18) Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope DLC - I still need to finish the first game, but it is enjoyable.  So happy for this, and already have the pass so got it downloaded.

19) Dragon Quest Monsters : The Dark Prince - Heck yeah new DQM, I did enjoy those games, so might want this.

20) Pikmin 4 - (hype intensifies)  Super looking forward to this.  I’m happy to see Pikmin 2 style dungeons return, I enjoyed those.  Wonder if we have a time limit this time or not, I can enjoy with or without, but I do wonder if this might be more PIkmin 2 style “take your time,” which I can appreciate.

21) Pikmin 1 + 2 - Heck yeah, all four Pikmin games on one system?  Well, no Hey Pikmin, but the mainline ones, which heck yeah.  I’ll probably wait for the physical version though.

22) Metal Gear Solid : Master Collection Vol. 1 - I’ve never been too into the Metal Gear series, buuuuuut I might be thinking of getting it as a holiday gift for my uncle.

23) Vampire Survivors - Already got it on Steam.  And still haven’t figured out how to survive a full minute past Death’s appearance which is like, a requirement on every stage.

24) Headbangers Rhythm Royale - My only real thought here is Team 17 made a pigeon game, so they will explode violently and not where you told them to.

25) Penny’s Big Breakaway - This looks super fun, I hope it turns out good.

26) Mario Kart 8 DLC - I’m kind of surprised Kamek got in as the Tour rep over Pauline.

27) Star Ocean The Second Story R - I have no real nostalgia for this one, never played the original, don’t know much about the series.

28) WarioWare : Move It! - My only concern is how responsive will the motion controls be.  I usually find motion controls frustrating.

29) Nintendo Live - No way I’d be able to attend, so no real thoughts.

30) Tears of the Kingdom amiibos - These look cool, definitely want them.

31) Super Mario Bros. Wonder - Honestly, yes please.  This looks super fun.

So yeah, all in all, very strong Direct.

[newsintheshell]

🎃 CRUNCHYROLL: ECCO IL PALINSESTO ANIME DELL'AUTUNNO 2024

C'è di tutto, nominate una serie e 99/100 la trovate in lista! Se non c'è, vuol dire che si sono scordati di annunciarla.

Non so se fa questo effetto anche a voi, ma ogni anno l'estate passa sempre prima. E non solo l'estate, qua è quasi chiuso anche il 2024. True Frieren momento.

Qua di seguito trovate il palinsesto completo (più o meno) di tutte le novit�� in arrivo su Crunchyroll, simulcast e non solo, fra ottobre e dicembre.

Oh, un piccolo momento di raccoglimento, per favore: bello il restyle grafico della piattaforma, con tanto di animazione e scrocchiata finale che ti mette un sacchetto di patatine in mano in meno di un minuto, ma... abbiamo perso Hime e Yuzu! Sono tristo e mesto.

🔶🔸NUOVE SERIE🔸🔶

📅 28 SETTEMBRE

DEMON LORD, RETRY! (Stagione 2)

Akira Oono si mette di nuovo in viaggio per trovare un nuovo incantesimo nel prossimo capitolo di Demon Lord, Retry!

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

📅 29 SETTEMBRE

AS A REINCARNATED ARISTOCRAT, I'LL USE MY APPRAISAL SKILL TO RISE IN THE WORLD (Stagione 2)

Ars affronta una battaglia per la prima volta quando Lord Couran lo convoca per il consiglio di guerra!

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

📅 30 SETTEMBRE

THE MOST NOTORIOUS "TALKER" RUNS THE WORLD'S GREATEST CLAN

Un oratore ha come ispirazione il suo leggendario nonno cercatore e fa di tutto per affinare la sua parlantina e diventare il migliore.

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

📅 01 OTTOBRE

I’LL BECOME A VILLAINESS WHO GOES DOWN IN HISTORY

Reincarnata nella villainess di un gioco dating sim, una ragazza cerca di essere malvagia, ma il principe non fa altro che amarla!

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

LET THIS GRIEVING SOUL RETIRE

Un cacciatore di tesori è pronto a levare le tende e a partire per un viaggio pericoloso!

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

TYING THE KNOT WITH AN AMAGAMI SISTER

Uryu vorrebbe iscriversi a una scuola di medicina, ma deve scegliere tra tre fanciulle del tempio per ereditare il loro santuario di famiglia!

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

📅 02 OTTOBRE

ACRO TRIP

Una giovane otaku farà della sua ragazza magica la migliore in giro, anche a costo di aiutare i villain!

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

KAMIERABI GOD.APP (Stagione 2)

La battaglia totale infuria mentre alleati e nemici combattono per il titolo di “Dio”.

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

RE:ZERO -STARTING LIFE IN ANOTHER WORLD- (Stagione 3)

Un anno dopo la vittoria di Subaru, l'accampamento di Emilia si riunisce per la selezione reale, ma una lettera porta con sé una nuova crisi.

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

THE PRINCE OF TENNIS II U-17 WORLD CUP SEMIFINAL

Le cose si fanno roventi sul campo da tennis, mentre Ryoma si prepara alle semifinali!

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

A HERBIVOROUS DRAGON OF 5000 YEARS GETS UNFAIRLY VILLAINIZED (Stagione 2) 🆕

La storia di Reiko e il suo compagno drago vegetariano continua in una nuova stagione!

📅 03 OTTOBRE

365 DAYS TO THE WEDDING

Per evitare di dover traslocare per ragioni di lavoro, due agenti turistici fingono di doversi sposare!

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

DAN DA DAN

Il paranormale sta per diventare la normalità per due studenti che affrontano degli esseri ultraterreni!

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

GOOD BYE, DRAGON LIFE

Un antico drago rinasce in un umano e incontra nuovi amici per avere una seconda vita!

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

MECHA-UDE: MECHANICAL ARMS

La vita di un alunno delle medie cambia quando incontra un alieno meccanico. Insieme, affrontano un gruppo sinistro di cacciatori che bracca i loro simili.

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

NEGATIVE POSITIVE ANGLER

Dopo essersi trovato a un passo dalla morte, un ragazzo viene salvato da un gruppo di pescatori e inizia una nuova vita al mare.

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

TRILLION GAME

I vecchi compagni di scuola Haru e Gaku decidono di guadagnare un trilione di dollari utilizzando le loro doti!

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

KINOKOINU MUSHROOM PUP 🆕

Dopo aver perso il suo adorato cane, lo scrittore Hotaru Yuyami trova uno strano fungo rosa e decide di tenerlo con sé.

RUROUNI KENSHIN (Stagione 2) 🆕

📅 04 OTTOBRE

THE STORIES OF GIRLS WHO COULDN'T BE MAGICIANS

Riuscirà la studentessa modello Kurumi Mirai a superare la disfatta del test di ammissione alla prestigiosa classe "Gruppo Magico" del liceo?

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

SWORD ART ONLINE ALTERNATIVE: GUN GALE ONLINE (Stagione 2)

LLENN prepara il suo equipaggiamento per l'attesa e impegnativa gara Third Squad Jam.

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

THE IDOLM@STER SHINY COLORS (Stagione 2) 🆕

Il produttore di 83 Production presenta la sua nuova scuderia di gruppi idol, sul palco della nuova stagione!

📅 05 OTTOBRE

BLUE EXORCIST (Stagione 4)

Rin è alla ricerca di Shura Kirigakure nella nuova stagione di Blue Exorcist!

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

BLUE LOCK (Stagione 2) ※ In arrivo anche in versione doppiata!

Iniziano le più emozionanti partite quando la U-20 Japan National Team fa il suo debutto!

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

YOU ARE MS. SERVANT

La vita di Hitoyoshi cambia quando una goffa cameriera ex-assassina gli chiede di lavorare a casa sua!

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

THE HEALER WHO WAS BANISHED FROM HIS PARTY, IS, IN FACT, THE STRONGEST 🆕

Cacciato dal suo party perché era un cattivo curatore, un inconsapevole DPS trova nuovi alleati e manifesta le sue vere abilità combattive!

📅 06 OTTOBRE

TSUMASHO

In lutto per sua moglie, Keisuke torna a sperare quando una persona che afferma di essere la sua reincarnazione bussa alla sua porta.

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

MF GHOST (Stagione 2)

Kanata fatica a dimostrare le sue qualità e scopre la verità sul passato del padre, affrontando nuovi rivali e difficili gare su pista.

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

AFTER-SCHOOL HANAKO-KUN (Stagione 2)

Hanako-kun torna in questo adattamento anime dell'adorato spinoff!

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

PUNIRU IS A KAWAII SLIME 🆕

Kotaro ha creato tempo fa una slime che inaspettatamente ha preso vita. Ora è una ragazza bellissima, spensierata e in grado di cambiare forma!

📅 07 OTTOBRE

NATSUME'S BOOK OF FRIENDS (Stagione 7)

Natsume e Nyanko-sensei continuano a prender nota del nome degli yokai mentre affrontano nuove sfide sovrannaturali.

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

IL MISTERO DI RON KAMONOHASHI (Stagione 2)

Nuovi intricati casi e misteri ci attendono con la nuova stagione di Ron Kamonohashi's Forbidden Deductions.

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

SEIREI GENSOUKI: SPIRIT CHRONICLES (Stagione 2)

Rio torna per altre mirabolanti avventure con Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles stagione 2!

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

YAKUZA FIANCÉ: RAISE WA TANIN GA II

Yoshino, un'erede della Yakuza, sposa un giovane chiamato Kirishima, ma uno scioccante evento le rivelerà la sua vera natura!

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

LOVE LIVE! SUPERSTAR!! (Stagione 3) 🆕

Le aspiranti idol di Love Live! Superstar!! tornano per un'altra stagione, mentre inseguono i loro sogni.

📅 08 OTTOBRE

A TERRIFIED TEACHER AT GHOUL SCHOOL! 🆕

Haruaki è felice di realizzare il suo sogno di diventare un professore, finché non scopre che l'accademia Hyakki è piena di mostri!

📅 09 OTTOBRE

THE DO-OVER DAMSEL CONQUERS THE DRAGON EMPEROR

Condannata a morte, Jill torna sei anni indietro nel passato per evitare il suo tragico destino!

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

📅 10 OTTOBRE

NINA THE STARRY BRIDE

Finita tra gli inganni di corte, un'orfana viene spacciata per principessa e prova la gioia di sentirsi finalmente necessaria.

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

📅 11 OTTOBRE

DRAGON BALL DAIMA 🆕

Goku inizia una grande avventura nella nuova serie di Dragon Ball!

📅 12 OTTOBRE

DEMON LORD 2099

Un antico re demone giunge nella Shinjuku del futuro per conquistare di nuovo quello che gli apparteneva!

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

📅 13 OTTOBRE

SHANGRI-LA FRONTIER (Stagione 2) ※ In arrivo anche in versione doppiata!

Cerca nuovi artefatti mentre il gioco divino continua con la nuova stagione di Shangri-La Frontier!

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

📅 14 OTTOBRE / NOVEMBRE / DICEMBRE

BANANYA (Stagione 3) ※ La serie verrà distribuita divisa in 3 parti

I gattini che vivono in una banana invadono il mondo nella nuova stagione di Bananya!

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

📅 DATA DA STABILIRE

ANOTHER JOURNEY TO THE WEST

Segui i passi di Wu Cheng mentre intraprende il suo leggendario pellegrinaggio nelle “regioni occidentali” alla ricerca dell'illuminazione.

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

🔶🔸SERIE IN PROSECUZIONE🔸🔶

📆 MARTEDÌ

TASUKETSU: FATE OF THE MAJORITY - ⏰ 21:00

Uno studente si trova invischiato in un gioco di sopravvivenza dopo che metà della popolazione svanisce ogni notte!

📆 MERCOLEDÌ

SENGOKU YOUKO - ⏰ 17:30

Demoni e umani continuano ad affrontarsi con l'arco narrativo The Thousandfold Chaos!

TRUE BEAUTY - ⏰ 18:30

La vita di Jugyeong sta per cambiare del tutto dopo che si trova al centro dell'attenzione grazie alle sue doti nel campo dello stile!

DELICO'S NURSERY - ⏰ Torna dal 16 ottobre alle 19:00

Un aristocratico di una rinomata famiglia di vampiri si rifiuta di andare in missione perché… deve prendersi cura di alcuni bambini!

📆 SABATO

WONDERFUL PRECURE! - ⏰ 15:30

Continua la prossima serie Precure, con nuovi amici morbidi come compagni!

MONOGATARI SESRIES: OFF & MONSTER SEASON ⏰-  16:30

Studio Shaft torna con altre storie di Monogatari, regalandoci nuovi misteri, colpi di scena e momenti indimenticabili!

📆 DOMENICA

ONE PIECE ⏰ IN GIORNATA

La ciurma di Cappello di Paglia continua le sue avventure nella fantascientifica Isola di Egghead!

TOWER OF GOD (Stagione 2) - ⏰ 16:00 

Nuovi personaggi vogliono trasformare i loro sogni in realtà, mentre la misteriosa torre presenta loro nuovi amici e nemici.

La lista finisce qua, per ora, con gli inevitabili punti interrogativi che ci ricordano che il palinsesto, come sempre, non è ancora del tutto completo e mancano ancora altri annunci e ri-conferme, come per esempio la seconde stagione di Rurouni Kenshin o di Love Live! Superstar!! e di The Idolm@ster Shiny Colors... tanto per citare quelle eclatanti.

La cosa che sappiamo già quali serie arriveranno a gennaio o anche molto più avanti (hanno appena annunciato il simulcast di Zenshu che non ha neanche una finestra di debutto, incredibile ma vero), ma a ogni reveal stagionale c'è il mistero da risolvere a puntate sugli ultimi acquisti, fa un po' ridere eh! Ci vogliono tenere sulle spine per forza! ( •̀ ᴖ •́ )

C'è da dire però che, riguardando, non è che ce ne siano rimasti così tanti liberi. Strano, non succede mai! 😂

🔶🔸AL CINEMA🔸🔶

Sezione bonus! Pe completezza.

📆 DAL 10 OTTOBRE

MY HERO ACADEMIA: YOU'RE NEXT

Il mondo dei villain si trova sul piede di guerra ora che All For One è fuori dai giochi. Shigaraki della League of Villains si schiera contro Overhaul della yakuza, in competizione per il totale controllo delle ombre. Nel frattempo, Deku è invischiato in un altro pericoloso tirocinio, mentre si impegna a tenere il passo con Mirio.

▶️ GUARDA IL TRAILER

⫸ NON VUOI PERDERTI NEANCHE UN POST? ENTRA NEL CANALE TELEGRAM! ⫷

Autore: SilenziO))) Se usate Twitter, mi trovate lì! 

blogger // anime enthusiast // twitch addict // unorthodox blackster - synthwave lover // penniless gamer // INFJ-T magus

[FONTE]

[safely-in-vhagars-belly]

Trailer thoughts. trailer spoilers.

Rhaerhae got herself a new hairdresser and a new stylist, good job queen. I do worry because how much of the war budget of the Blacks went into this new stylist.

Alicent seems to seek therapy at lake Laogai. Watch out, i heard they kept a nessie in there. Nessie is friend. Just in case, let Aemond befriend her, he likes green lizards.

Otto takes responsabilty ''Look, some mistakes were made but we all make them, amright?'' alicent: you dumb c-

Aemond seeking an active form of therapy, good to see it. If i dont see one corpse burning at his hand i dont want to watch this show anymore. ''Damn vhagar thats a little toxic dont we think?'' toxic is my second name. He likely is rampaging because for a PRINCE a ROYAL a TRUEBORN TARGARYEN RICH NOBLE SON WHO HAS A MF WALLET HE ONLY HAS ONE COSTUME AND FOR WHAT?!!!!!!!!! (Hook all over again im so so so done) ((i see this sh*t a lot with males in fantasy and they likely are ''oh focus on the women they wont notice'' YES I DO. I NOTICE. You cant convince me that Mr ''I-straight-my-hair'' has NO time to PICK a wardrobe before he rolls out of his bed every morning. NO. I wont believe you)

I want to see Aemond embracing his inner darkness.

Helaena. No thoughts. Protect at all costs, also new costumes for her. I love it.

Cheese: Look as a Dutch person, we dont associate ourselves with him. Ok? Just wanted to clear that up.

Criston got a haircut. Its his emotional area. Haircuts are happening.

Otto looks ...like otto. Idk what to tell you.

Aegon. Im not going to lie i was very anti-aegon before i joined tumblur but now look at that little golden retriever just pacing around and sitting the throne like he was meant for it. look at him rocking that little crown.

Baela. Baela is a very robbed character imo. I cant wait to see her on what looked like a dragon?

the book copy:*stares at me*

me:

the book copy:

ANYWAY-

Rip dragonseeds. We didnt saw any jace or cregan though.

or daeron.

Nettles.

Alys.

Is that old man that proposed to rhaerhae still alive btw.

the old one.

idk.

prob not.

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

~ reveal your watch & rewatch drama list ~

I was tagged by the wonderful @gunsatthaphan thank you so much for the tag 🥰!

currently watching

KinnPorsche: Actually, I had no intention of watching this. After the first two episodes I was still very unsure, there was just too much slapstick. But then...wow...it blew me away. It's just so good! And everything is somehow represented: violence, university bl, adult bl, crime, a bit of chaos and humour, sadism, torture. an electrokink, love, mafia, sex and a lot of weird, but lovable characters.

Check Out: The first episode was quite a good insight into the characters. What probably bothers many is that it was hyped as this very sex-filled, hot series and then there was hardly anything in the first episode...how bad! I think it's good that I can get to know some of the characters beforehand and understand their relationships.

Mama Gogo: I thought the trailer was great! And the first episode was also very promising. Not yet as cringe-worthy as I feared, but that will surely come.

My Secret Love: Oh my God! It's so much fun to watch the series! Earth and Fluk are performing so well! I just love them together and I'm so excited for the rest of the series! This is something that is very good for me and just makes me smile.

Sky in your Heart: I don't mind us rushing through it a bit, but I understand everyone who couldn't see the kiss coming after all the talking about the ex, the puking and crying. I'm scared about the next five episodes, but so far I just love Fah and his heart eyes! And Prince makes me want to pinch his cheek all the time, he's so cute. I'm really enjoying the series.

To My Star 2: Pain...the first four episodes were pure pain and I'm so scared of the rest, after the cliffhanger of episode 4...I'm so confused! But I love it?

Plus & Minus: It's all so cute and then depressing and then hilariously sad and now we're on the last episode. I enjoyed the rollercoaster ride despite the accidental kisses.

Senpai, Danjite Koidewa!: An interesting concept of the structure of the story. Kaneda is huggable cute and together they are also just cute. I'm curious to see what else is to come.

Love Mechanics: Since my Saturday isn't full enough yet, I'll also add this series to my watch list. The trailer looked so promising!

Dark Blue and Moonlight: Phew...the series doesn't make it easy for me. Everybody is cheating on everybody with everybody...I don't have a problem with that in general in fiction, but the way and the presentation and the dialogues!!!! I hate to dnf things, so I'll probably keep watching, but I won't enjoy it!

rewatching

Basically, I rarely rewatch entire series, just the episodes or parts or storylines that I liked best. Except for my absolute favourites! Then I can sometimes binge watch the whole thing.

At the moment I'm checking in on "Be loved in House: I do" every now and then (Shi Lei + Jin Yu Zhen are my current favourites).

But most of the times I've been more in the mood for new distractions and not so much for the old familiar ones.

looking forward to

Too many things: Vice Versa, Unforgotten Nights, The Eclipse, Moonlight Chicken, Fahlanruk, Even Sun Series, Coffee Melody, Big Dragon, Between Us, Bed Friend. And for 2023 I'm waiting for Light, the series adaptation of the short film of the same name from 2021.

tagging: @ellaspore @alsoran @smittenskitten @elmindredaniq @stars-inhereyes @meglaroque @combeferret @softkuea and everyone else who enjoys a little list 😘

[faroreswinds]

Well, a new Fire Emblem: Engage trailer dropped. 

Hmmm... thoughts below the cut.

Oh look, a dead parent. Again. 

And she looks a LOT like another mother we know.... Hmm....

:/

-------------------------------------

I betcha this dragon is Mom. It’s not the new MC- we see this dragon push the MC to the side as if to push him out of the way of danger. I’m guessing the purple lightening is the Fell Dragon’s attack- purple is Fell Dragon color. 

-----

“When your memories return to you...”

So our MC has lost his memories. 

Again. 

Thankfully this trope isn’t totally OVER done in this series for our MCs. However.... this character seems too much like Robin. More on that in a bit.

-------------------------------------

Honestly, Marth looks pretty good here. I like his model a lot, and I like is VC. 

It seems like he has a history with our MC. This Marth is specifically called Emblem Marth (Ok?) and he knows something more about the MC than he is letting on. 

Some interesting tidbits about the Emblem characters 

Based on Marth’s words about “remembering him”, the MC had to remember who Marth was in order for Marth to even answer is call.

Emblem can fight side-by-side with their ring-bearers. 

Apparently, they can float

And based off other trailers, the ring-bearer and the Emblem can merge together.

See? Float!

-------------------------------------

Good Dragon (Divine) versus Bad Dragon (Fell)

Wow, completely new territory! /s

Here is the Fell Dragon. Yes, it is actually called that. Which is a complete copy of Grima. 

Purple evil dragon called a Fell Dragon? Like, come on....

What’s weird though is that the color schemes they choose to go with the Fell side and the Divine side.

Ok, so, the Fell Dragon and his followers are in darker colors, like black or purples, while the Divine Dragon and her followers are in lighter colors, like blue and whites. 

So why is Red also being used to signify the Fell side?! 

The red hair is supposed to be the “evil” side, while the blue is supposed to be the “good” side. Absolutely no logic behind the color schemes here. Because we see Red also on the “good” side too.

-------------------------------------

:/

Bro. For real?

(Maybe the Engage one is the Fell Dragon’s human form or something, there is a Third eye and super pointy ears)

-------------------------------------

Is this our new “Young Girl is actually a ancient dragon” character? 

She shoots a fireball at some evil solider that looks a lot like a Risen. 

She is apparently “passing through” looking for someone. Who? Probably the MC but doesn’t know it yet. *shrug*

-------------------------------------

Ok, so the set pieces... are not as bad as I feared. 

They aren’t good, but they are certainly better than Houses. It’s still got a cheap, low quality feel to them, but they occasionally can look pretty decent. At least they can some scale to them. 

-------------------------------------

Fearine (Guessing the spelling here) is one of the Nations Named. If we are to believe the voice over, it is implied that these guys are from Fearine:

These two look like brother and sister, and are probably royalty. Only a guess, though. 

This also appears to be Fearine. A lush, farming country with plenty of green pastures. 

Based on the rest of the trailer and small clues, it seems Fearine is our “main” nation, the ones we either are from, were found in, or currently live in. I’m guessing the boy and girl will be our first allies and our main allies, sort of like Chrom and Lissa from Awakening. (Also, apparently the MC was sleeping when found, just like Robin! More on that later).

-------------------------------------

Brodia (Guessing the spelling here) is one of the Nations Named. If we are to believe the voice over, it is implied that these guys are from Brodia:

And this is outright stated to be their crown prince:

Brodia is said to be the Kingdom of Might, and it took some doing for Fearine to form an alliance with them. Their King is said to be ambitious man.

Based on what we can see, Brodia seems to be a more military-minded country, with rocky terrain more than lush fields.

I’m also guessing this guy is the King of Brodia based on his armor and hair color, looking a lot like the Crown Prince:

Kingdom of Might? Ambitious King? Took a lot to make an alliance with them? Main color Red? 

Possibly a traitorous nation then?

-------------------------------------

Solm (Guessing the spelling here) is one of the Nations Named. If we are to believe the voice over, it is implied that these guys are from Solm:

Probably Solm’s prince and princess. 

Solm seems to be a desert nation, but apparently has quite the abundance of food. They are an “open-minded country” and have always had good relations with Fearine. Solm appears to be the POC country and is... very tropical. 

The boy seems a LOT like a Claude copy, tbh. Charming, from a country that isn’t just European fantasy, darker skin.... Well, this series does copies a lot, so that’s not a surprise. 

-------------------------------------

Eluzia (Guessing the spelling here) is one of the Nations Named. If we are to believe the voice over, it is implied that these guys are from Eluzia:

Also, I just have to say it, but here is another generic “sexy dark evil lady”

I’m also guessing that these guys are also from Eluzia:

It is snow there with long winters, and apparently is not a part of the Alliance. This implies that Fearine, Brodia, and Solm have some sort of Alliance with each other, but the specifics aren’t clear. 

The Eluzians are said to also worship (some of them, not all) the Fell Dragon. Which... makes sense. Look at the guy! He’s dressed in black and purple. So this is our “cult” country. 

The voiceover said they “worship the Fell dragon” while showing this screenshot. We can see that weird girl in blue and blue and the white-haired man who is probably King of Eluzia (and possibly making the girl his daughter) standing in front of this alter.

Which is weird, the dragon in the center looks like the dragon who protected the MC (the Divine Dragon) rather than the Fell Dragon. Interesting. 

-------------------------------------

So here we have the King(?) of Eluzia with that Valider-like man from before. I’m guessing that this man is the Fell Dragon still. They are standing in some dark cathedral. The King is bowing to the Dragon here. 

Much purple. 

Also, interesting to note, but the voiceover states here that “he is not yet at full strength”. They either mean the MC, or the Fell Dragon. Or maybe someone else, but these are my two guesses.

More evidence that the guy is the Fell Dragon. Look at those Talons!

-------------------------------------

So the “bad” nation also has a ring of their own with some unknown Emblem character in it. And it looks like the King of Eluzia possesses it. 

Some cult woman. Doing purple evil magic stuff. 

-------------------------------------

“By virtue of your science, we will kill every living soul in this castle”. 

Her eye is interesting. She has blue and red in it. AND pointy ears. Perhaps she too is a dragon of some sort? Perhaps related to the Divine Dragon and the Fell Dragon, just as our MC is?

-------------------------------------

So the Crown Prince of Brodia apparently has Roy’s Ring. 

Princess of Solm gets Ike’s Ring.

Prince of Fearine gets Luncina’s Ring. 

We aren’t shown who is using her here but.... well, here she is. 

-------------------------------------

I’m guessing this is when the Fell Dragon turns into his dragon form from the scene from earlier in front of the King of Eluzia. Either catching him off guard, or to punish him. Guy looks terrified. 

-------------------------------------

So this is another angle from the scene with the King of Brodia from before, where we see a purple-glowing hand catching his blade. It looks like the King of Eluzia caught the blade, and is using his ring he pulled out from another scene to summon Lyn. 

Which means that rings can be used for evil, and they glow purple when under evil influence. 

I’m guessing the scene here goes like this:

-------------------------------------

Speaking of evil rings, it looks like the Princess of Eluzia eventually gets Lucina. We can see it also turned Lucina’s hair red. 

It also happens to Marth. It seems to be a painful process, since Marth is screaming. We can also see the Fell Dragon behind there. 

-------------------------------------

A memory scene perhaps? We see flames occasionally here, which goes well with this:

Which is our MC, surrounded by flames and with entirely red hair. Likely, he fell to darkness in the past and did something truly awful. I’m guessing when he banishes the evil, his hair will become fully blue. 

This location also looks a lot like this location from before:

Same pillars, and is also damaged. So likely, from when he burned the place. 

This place could be Fearine. 

-------------------------------------

One last big thing is... the characters they show. They show quite a few new NPCs, and man....

Non-Fredrick guarding Not-Lissa. 

A Pegasus Knight with a skirt... again. Please give these girls proper leg protection. 

These designs aren’t terrible but they sure are boring. But I can at least tell, based on color scheme, that they are likely from Fearina. But I can’t say the same for everyone.

Terrible design. Awful. Dumb as shit, and I cannot tell you where she is from. Maybe she’s from Eluzia based on the color scheme and the dumb tatoo on her face? Maybe not.

Compared to past “women in armor” designs it’s not terrible. But again, I cannot tell you exactly where she is from. Mayyyybe Fearina, with that green and gold and silver? 

No fucking clue where they are from. They are clearly in Solm but don’t look like they are from Solm. The blonde guy has a terrible design. The red-haired guy is a bit better but still not great. 

Here is the Princess of Eluzia. WTF? Her design is atrocious. Who signed off on this?

Urg. I hate it. 

I have mixed feelings about this one. Love the colors, but the big balls are just so tacky. 

I’m so torn on this game....

[skiplo-wave]

Lord have mercy Skip, I never seen so many racist grown adults thrown childish tantrums in all my life. It's all over The Little Mermaid, Lord of the Rings and House of Dragon. They are fucking fantasy stories! The Little Mermaid live-action for that matter actually looks really good and I am not a fan of live-action remakes. The trailer literally made me cry. Halle Bailey looked and sounded incredible. It gives me chills every time I hear the trailer. But if they want to throw history into it and forget about "fantasy" and the fact that mermaids are mythological (for now), they made Prince Eric the crown-prince of Portugal instead of Denmark which totally makes more sense and history wise. The music is Caribbean and Atlantica is suppose to be near Denmark when the closest sea to that country is the Baltic and North Sea. Make that make fucking sense. I mean if they go "where North wind meets the sea. There's a river full of memory", they may run into Elsa lmfao xD But definitely not Altantica. Portugal looks right to the North Atlantic Ocean. The Little Mermaid was my favorite Disney princess when I was a kid. I feel like this live-action corrects things. Again, if they still say "but it still doesn't make sense for Ariel to be black especially during that time period". Oh honey, let's go. Let's fucking go. I am going to bring Queen Elizabeth II's ancestry into it. It's something they don't talk about a whole lot. So Queen Victoria's grandmother Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was of African heritage that they tried to hide from the public during that time period during slavery times. They used powder on her face and wigs. And they made sure to completely erase her African features in portraits that was painted of her except a few. Charlotte was descended from a African branch of the Portuguese royal house. I am guessing there is going to be some inspiration taken from that for Ariel and Eric's story, however, if Disney really was going by the full history this would not be a fairytale. Ariel would of had to do the same things Charlotte did, even painful face peeling mixtures made of fruit to try to lighten her skin. But this is Disney and a FANTASY story.

All I say is all Disney live action remakes have been decent, mediocre, or trash. I don’t care with race swapping. Because seeing how Disney has just watered down their own characters stripping what made them likeable in first place doesn’t matter. That being said that’s gives zero excuses for racists to complain because the originals are available.

I get why Disney is doing it but it feels fake for sake of getting target audience in seats because ideally no effort is put making the movies worth something.

I’m sure Halie might be only good part of the movie but I have no faith in it. And I personally won’t be watching black lead or not. It’ll take lot more for me get invested besides main actress being same race as me.

Or maybe I just want something orginal for once

[milkbreadtoast]

ok forgive me but im going to ramble a bit LDBSMSJ (VA otaku...) *extremely long ramble actually sorry🫣

other voices/VAs than these could work ofc, I just tried to look for ones (from the kr VAs I know) that mostly fit my actual headcanons/the canon descriptions of what they sound like... (tl;dr cedric: deep, stoic, handsome; jesse: soft/gentle but also dorky side; christelle: clear + pretty but also confident, assertive, strong...)

Cedric is described as having a deep, reserved/stoic voice, that sometimes dips so low it's as if it's sinking into the ground; and also handsome, "like a voice actor"(🤭)... p much any VA that ticks all those marks could work... was also considering han shin/한신(welt's kr VA.. was worried he might sound too old but thats prob bc he was voicing welt?), jang minhyeok/장민혁(ayato VA; his ayato delivery doesnt fit but if he changed his delivery maybe..?), shin yongwoo/신용우(luocha VA... also milk cookie VA🤫 i liked his voice in the luocha trailer a lot... im still not 100% sold tho bc i feel like even tho hes good at pulling off a deep stoic voice, his voice is still...a little too soft/not deep enough at parts?? all of these VAs could make it work tho honestly, at least decently...) even considered pyo youngjae/표영재(red velvet, zhongli VA) but his voice didnt fit to me bc he sounds too... bad-boy like... like a haughty dragon... not stoic/reserved enough(also why he doesnt fit zhongli for me)... and han bokhyun/한복현(wildberry VA) but i think his voice sounds TOO thick? Ended up using park mingi/박민기(burnt cheese cookie) for the vid bc even tho I only just heard him for the new crk update he surpisingly fit rly well?? And even fit more than all those other VAs I had been considering... Could def imagine him saying Cedric's lines... he's got the stoic speaking voice down at least...

For Yeseo("Jesse")... i want him to have a gentle/pretty voice that can melt one's(cedric's) heart listening to it... but he also needs the range to sound dorky/awkward/boyfail 🤧 a voice that can capture the gamut of kind gentle prince and Just Some Guy... anyway I think shim gyuhyuk/심규혁 hits all the marks for me kdjfjd he's 1 of my fav VAs and has amazing range... (herb cookie, yoosung, xiao, khun, wei wuxian, baek eunyung, etc) he can sound rly soft & pretty, cute, and/or cool... tried to pick clips that show that he can also pull off the dorky side well... also im biased bc he can also sing rly well and yeseo is main vocal in the idol au🫣

And I know this doesn't really make sense bc Yeseo possessing Jesse should have the same voicebox + therefore same VA as the og Prince Jesse but in my mind I'd want them to have diff VAs... to be fair there's kind of a precedence for this?? Like the twins in ouran and the sextuplets in osomatsu-san all having diff VAs even tho they're identical... I'd want both Yeseo's inner monologue and his voice as Jesse to match, and for the og Jesse to have a diff VA... but still sound kind of similar? So I could picture Shim Gyuhyuk for Yeseo and Lee Woori/이우리(lord oyster cookie, cyno) for og Jesse... I looove lee woori's voice, he sounds so angelic soft and pretty... it almost sounds TOO pretty for yeseo🫣 LSJAKDJJS im sure he has range and could pull yeseo off too but... for me he really fits perfectly what I'd imagine the original blonde sub male lead of 'QPB' to sound like🥺 Gentle kind prince... A similar tone to yeseo!jesse but w an even softer and more refined "princely" feel... (edit: realizes that this doesnt even matter bc... does og jesse even have lines?? KDJJS oh well at least it fits my imagination...🤧)

Chris is described by Yeseo as having a clear, pretty voice... I want a voice tough and confident to fit her knight (+ shining protag) image but w a clear pretty ring to it, like fresh river water, that can ring out strongly across the field... fits the vibe of og romance protag turned into a powerful fighter... (shoujo protag turned shounen protag lol)

Song Harim(송하림) is also 1 of my fav kr VAs + has AMAZING range, she can do boy voices(razor genshin) and rly high feminine voices(white lily cookie) and sounds rly good in both... (sometimes high voices can sound grating but hers sounds rly pleasant & pretty/cute??)...soft airy voices as well as clear/strong voices... She rly hits every mark for christelle imo🤧💖 and her seele voice happens to be a rly perfect fit for how id imagine our holy knight christelle to sound... like that range/tone... giggles imagining her voicing chris's exasperated inner monologue + bickering w cedric too djhfd... her vulgar/threatening side too🤭... like she def has the range to capture every aspect of Christelle's chara!!! 🥹💖💓

cedjesschris fancast/potential voice headcanons... put together an edit for fun...🥹

[ganymedesclock]

So I discovered the trailer for Belle (2021), and it’s making me think about what I love about Beauty and the Beast riffs, and what makes a story scratch that particular itch for me or not.

And I think a huge part of it for me is the examination of monstrosity as a social role. To just use Disney’s animated classic as my base for comparison here, Adam, The Beast, is not literally cursed with fur and fangs, claws and horns- he has those things, and may have mixed feelings about them, others certainly have bad reactions to them-

-his curse is ostracization. His curse is to not be seen as human. What actual, physical features he has are irrelevant to that. They’re just quirks he can learn to live with, or a further excuse to tell himself he deserves this isolation, this frustration, this misery.

So the breaking of the curse, to me, is not the scene where Belle sobs confirmation of what we knew well before then into his stilling chest and brings him back, minus those quirks- if anything, that his happiness comes with the loss of those things has seemed to me (and I’m not alone) as almost something of a betrayal depending on how it’s framed.

By contrast, to me, the breaking of the curse is the ballroom scene, and the moments leading up to it. Adam returns to Adam, rather than The Beast, at the point that he decides that he deserves to be treated like a human being- not as a labor of love from Belle, but from himself. Yes, it’s love with Belle that they dance together, that they have this ball scene when there’s no high society to impress, but before that point, he had to make a decision; that he can clean up and dress nice and have an evening. That he deserves to.

When we first see The Beast, he has all of the means and resources to act like a prince, to present like one. He could make himself comfortable and be surrounded by splendor, but the truest thing he suffers under is he’s ceased to see himself as worth the effort. It’s not as if he could cut the fur down and prune back his claws, file down the horns, and look the way he feels he ought to- the way he thinks he should. He’s broken every mirror in his house except for the one he hides from, and this is a gesture of absolute defeat. He knows what he looks like. He can’t pretend he doesn’t. The only way he can tolerate this is not looking at himself.

As a neurodivergent queer person, the monster in the mirror is something I have a very complicated relationship with. I have an “advantage” in some ways. My appearance is not shocking to most people. I do not benefit from an obvious mobility aid or assistive device; I speak within a range people think of is normal. I have an “unusual haircut” for a “girl” and I don’t aggressively correct people on my pronouns or presentation.

But I’ve always had this feeling, that perhaps, my fangs and fur were simply easy things to trim off, and it’s so easy to wonder, would I still be okay if they weren’t? Because really, it’s none of the granular details that make a monster. For every imagined horror creature, there’s almost certainly a real animal it resembles, and real animals are not monsters. A monster is a monster; anything else, we believe, has a place, has a home. Deserves to exist.

To be a monster is to be a thing that doesn’t fit, or, more directly, to be a monster is to be a thing that is unaccepted. Rejected for not fitting. Unworthy of love, from within, or without.

At the end of the day, I know, factually, I am not a monster. I know that I’m a real person. I know that I deserve dignity and respect and love, even if only from myself. I’m not owed another person to love me just to prove that I can be, but, also, no man is an island; as humans we seek each other one way or another, romantically or platonically. That’s a fact of anyone, not just people who struggle to see a real person when they look at their reflection.

And yet, at this same time, I can’t help but feel betrayed, left behind, when the narrative goes that if the monster does everything right its reward is to be shaped into the likeness of a Real Human Being. Because you can’t just pull a feathered skin off me and make me like I “should be”, like my various diagnoses and self-identifications all present me as an aberration from. If you showed me a me without any of those qualities, that’s honestly the thing I’m the most afraid of, a me without me. A Miss Perfect who’s a good, normative daughter, and in my insecurity I wonder if people would like her so much better than me that they wouldn’t miss if I was gone.

Which, that’s nonsense. I know a lot of people who care about me the way I am. But nobody ever said fears had to be rational.

At the end of the day, as much as I hate the idea of being a monster to others, I also relish the notion of qualities that are categorized as monsters. I love dragons. I love putting big, horrible teeth and leering eyes and wings and claws on heroic characters. Because brought into the light, qualities are just qualities. And if you bring those qualities into the favoring, soft light of stories about human connection, romances, queerplatonic bonds, friendships and found family alike, those qualities can even be charming, alluring, inspiring; a character can look like anything and we still feel a rush of reassurance that this specific character is there.

And that’s the other side of Beauty and the Beast: Adam is running away from being a monster, and Belle is trying to run away from who she is, too. Because Belle is the other side of that trap.

Let’s be honest; it isn’t just that Belle’s an outspoken woman with opinions. It’s that she’s pretty. She’s the prettiest girl in town. She’s someone people want, people have expectations for- and those expectations have little room for what she actually wants. Hell, that’s one of the major dangerous driving forces of the climax- Adam nearly gets murdered by a mob because Belle made a choice that her community really didn’t like, especially Gaston, and it’s easy to point to Adam as the wrong choice because he’s pointy.

“Beauty”, as much as “The Beast”, are dehumanizing categories that people are sorted into. The doll and the monster. One is considered beneath monstrosity; beguiling, an object of appeal and desire but not someone with opinions, oh no, and not someone able to make a choice that you disagree with. People driven to the fringes by opposing forces but regardless find each other in the place they’re trying to find room to breathe in.

And that, I think, is one way some of these riffs can, for me personally, miss the point- and that’s not a mark against them, it’s just that there’s a specific thing I see in this story, and it’s very specifically not, “to be beautiful and desirable to mass public consumption is the way to be happy; we will have a story about how to rehabilitate someone so they can be beautiful too” but rather, “what does it mean when people stop seeing you as yourself, whether the alternative is perfection or a monster? what would you do to be seen clearly?”