#The Rise Reprise Project

[risestarkiss]

No paywalls. (a mini rant + a promise!)

So, I'm working on my Kofi page and looking around for inspiration, but I don't like what I see: "Become a member for exclusive content." or "This tier gains you access to blah blah videos." etc.

It's the same on Patreon. All of the cool stuff is behind a paywall.

Also, I've realized that YouTube is quickly following suit... I tried to click on a video this morning only to not be allowed to view it because it was "members only." ....I don't like that feeling. And I never want YOU to feel that way either.

(BTW, No hate to any one plugging their exclusive content! I have no issue with people who do this! It's just a practice that I realized I'm not comfortable with doing myself, and I'll explain why below. )

You see, new Rise content is already few and far between. Also, when it comes to "exclusive content," I feel like the show itself was ultimately put behind a wall that we can never scale, a wall of executive decisions that were driven by MONEY.

They can do what they want. It's their show! But as for me, unless it’s an exchange for goods or services, I don't feel comfortable monetarily restricting access to my content. 😤

...SO, I'M MAKING A STAND:

I will NEVER lock my Rise content behind a paywall or make my Rise videos "exclusive to members only!"

Instead I want to offer free content, content that anyone can enjoy!

❤️ My ROTTMNT Analyses will be available for free.

🧡 The Rise Reprise Soundtrack will be available on YouTube for unlimited listening.

💜 All seasons of my ✨Don the Fashionista: The Animated Comic✨ will be available for free.

PLUS

💙 I will be offering free ROTTMNT assets on my KOFI (Backgrounds, digital downloads, extra tracks & scores, and more!)

All I ask is if you want to send me a slice 🍕 you can!

💜Otherwise, enjoy the free content in the shop!💜

(...OH AND PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL. I'M TRYING TO GET MONETIZED THERE AND NEED SUBSCRIBERS. MY BIRD’S GOTTA EAT-QUICK! SHE’S RUNNING OUT OF TREATS-)

[phoenixyfriend]

Star Wars Time Travel Rec List

About time I put together a General Rec List for Star Wars Time Travel, yeah?

Organized by the time-traveling character(s). I'm adding a star for my favorites that imo you have to read. I'm not going to claim that those are necessarily the best, because I feel like that's not objective and also kinda mean to the ones that are good since they might just not be to my personal taste, but they are my favorites.

Obi-Wan

Anakin Skywalker

Ahsoka

Clones

Other Prequels-Era Characters

Two or more people

Luke or Leia

Other

Tagged authors where I could. If they aren't tagged, I either couldn't find their tumblr, they have their settings such that no one can tag them, or they blocked me for one reason or another.

Obi-Wan

It Was Another Time and I Another Man by Pell_Binterhol - under "Groups"

Ashes To Ashes, Dust To Dust by @livsy ~35k+, complete Obi-Wan is a time traveler, mental from the OT. What makes it unique is that the fic is from Anakin's POV. It's a very heartwarming piece.

⭐Take it from the top and try again by @mauverawrites ~170k, series - two fics complete, more on the way Possibly the best way to describe this series is as the platonic ideal of an Obi-Wan time travel fic. Weird Force stuff? Check. Obi-Wan having spent years on Tatooine? Check. Qui-Gon surviving? Check. Obi-Wan doing some shady illegal stuff to get money and infiltrate crime rings so he can save the galaxy? Check. Anakin being adorable as an initiate, and Shmi being saved from Tatooine? Check. Surprise Feemor? Check. It's all the bits you (or at least I) hope for when opening a new Obi-Wan Time Travel fic, and it never feels stale or repetitive or cliche. It's just a Very Good Fic.

The Exchange by @misslearn - under "Groups"

An Abundance of Obi-Wans by The_Last_Kenobi (orphan_account) ~45k, abandoned Unfortunately we'll never know how this ends, but it's a lot of fun while it lasts. Baby Obi is being haunted by three ghosts of his future self.

A Padawan at War (Again) by @itstimeforstarwars - under "Groups"

Free Jedi to Good Home by @itstimeforstarwars- under "Groups"

These Paths by HiddenEye - under "Groups"

⭐the massive machinery of hope by @killbothtwins 150k, complete Do you want comedy? Yes, you do. This one is great. Go read it. It's one of my favorites for a reason, and the reason is that Obi-Wan is a sarcastic little shit with a billion quips.

Living Memory by elsa3beth 353k, on hiatus, possibly abandoned? Obi-Wan Time Travel, leans a bit more heavily into the distrust and despair surrounding Anakin (due to Vader things from the future) than most.

⭐The Desert Storm/Rise and Fall by @blue-sunshine-mauve-morning ~1.6m (1592k), ongoing This is one of the longest, most consistent, best-regarded time-travel fics in the fandom for a reason.

⭐Reprise by Elfpen ~560k, ongoing Another Obi-Wan time-travel fic, this one using that favored cover story of "Ben is Obi-Wan's biological uncle," and I love it so much for how it explores both characters and political events.

Realign the Stars by @fortunerainwrites, @TerinAngel - under "Groups"

Current of Fate by @feybarn ~195k, on hiatus? It's been so long since I read this one that I can't quite remember what it was that I liked about it so much, and it's too long to do a reread right now... but I do remember loving it, especially when it switches to an outsider POV for the second fic.

Anakin Skywalker

The Exchange by @misslearn - under "Groups"

A Padawan at War (Again) by @itstimeforstarwars - under "Groups"

Free Jedi to Good Home by @itstimeforstarwars - under "Groups"

War Drums by @intermundia ~91k, ongoing Vader travels back to TPM. Runs off with Obi-Wan into the stars to Achieve Some Goals to take down Sidious. Gets quick-aged to 19 by some Dathomiri magic. Projected to be Obikin.

These Paths by HiddenEye - under "Groups"

Old Promises by @threebea ~65k, ongoing Time Traveler Anakin panic-kidnaps Initiate Kenobi. Absolute disaster of a man.

An (Un)fortunate Haunting by @kooriicolada, @scarletjedi 3.5k, oneshot Anakin thinks the Vader ghost haunting him is a hallucination. This one is technically more than just Anakin, but it's... mostly Anakin.

⭐Force of Many Sights by DAsObiQuiet ~480k, on hiatus? Vader to TPM, possessing his younger self. This fic has a heavy, and much-appreciated focus on therapy as it functions for someone of Vader's... particular situation. This is also technically a "Groups" series, since it's also got Siri Tachi as a time-traveler, but her POV is much smaller, and it takes... I want to say about 100k words for her to really start playing a more active role in the plot.

Realign the Stars by @fortunerainwrites, @TerinAngel - under "Groups"

Ahsoka

I don't know why all the good Ahsoka time travel fics are her as part of a team, but they do in fact fuck, so. I LIED I forgot to bookmark one of the Ahsoka fics I like.

Free Jedi to Good Home by @itstimeforstarwars - under "Groups"

These Paths by HiddenEye - under "Groups"

Realign the Stars by @fortunerainwrites, @TerinAngel - under "Groups"

Living in Borrowed Time by @scribbling-albatross - under "groups"

⭐Although He Smiles by @autumnillustration - ~157.6k, ongoing This one is amazing, it's an Ahsoka main, and she is very funny with Padawan Obi-Wan and adorable with 9yo Anakin. Lovely.

Clones

love is with your brother by Petrichor (Mythmaker) ~8k, complete TCW Rex bodyswaps with his baby self. POV is Ahsoka during the clone wars.

Free Jedi to Good Home by @itstimeforstarwars - under "Groups"

These Paths by HiddenEye - Rex and Cody - under "Groups"

Realign the Stars by @fortunerainwrites, @TerinAngel - Rex and Cody - under "Groups"

Living in Borrowed Time by @scribbling-albatross - Rex - Under "Groups"

⭐Dominoes by meridianpony ~380k, ongoing All five Dominoes go back to the beginning, from the points of their deaths! (Disclaimer: Echo's treated as having died at the Citadel. I think the fic started before his survival was revealed.) Technically this is a group, but all five are clones, so...

Other Prequels-Era Characters

there is no death by @ashkav ~140k, ongoing There is something really cool about Cal Kestis time travel fics, especially when he's got a decent amount of knowledge of The General Situations (e.g. Anakin will become Vader) but is missing so many details, like Why and How.

⭐An Echo in the Force (a whisper in a cave by @stardust2flame ~8k, complete Feemor is trapped in a time loop. This was actually written as a gift to me, so it has a special place in my heart.

⭐Mace Windu Fixes the Timeline... And Breaks it in Whole New Ways by AbsentmindedAuthor98 ~52k, ongoing Absolutely choice series based on an AU by @suzukiblu. Mace Windu does some time-traveling. He takes on Anakin as his padawan on an impulse, but he ends up doing his damnedest to be a Good Master for the kid. Depa helps.

Twilight on Owl Creek Bridge by @yellowocaballero - Fox - under "Groups"

Make a Brand New End by @batshieroglyphics ~120k, I think on hiatus Another Feemor fic! This one's not time-loop, just time travel. Lots of juicy Qui-Gon drama.

⭐Not a Good Man by @feybarn ~28k, ongoing Imperial era Boba Fett goes back to AotC. He decides to fix things, partly by trying to get his dad to fall in love with Obi-Wan Kenobi.

a distant fire is burning by e_va ~47.5k, ongoing This is another Cal fic! It's got video game logic in it. Also, Anakin and Cal are both being so weird about sort of being adoptive brothers, it's great.

⭐They Don't Care About Us by @ironhoshi Time traveler Boba! And Cal! They're doing great, sweetie. Their best. Obi-Wan and Jango are mostly just confused. (Has anyone checked on Anakin? Someone needs to go check on Anakin. Again.)

Groups

It Was Another Time and I Another Man by Pell_Binterhol ~200k, incomplete This is a very fun fic that involves multiple time-travelers from multiple points in time. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon from the Legends novels are pulled forward into TCW, and Old Ben and Luke are pulled back from the OT, and some spoilers as well.

⭐The Exchange by @misslearn ~120k, complete A swapping-style time travel. RotS Anakin&Obi-Wan end up in TPM, and TPM Anakin&Obi-Wan end up in RotS. Shenanigans ensue. (Also trauma.)

⭐Can We Start Over? by @triscribe ~22k, ongoing Most of the Jedi have time-traveled from the points of their deaths to about a year pre-AotC. Some handle it better than others. The POV is Aayla, which I find very cool.

A Padawan at War (Again) by @itstimeforstarwars ~183k, ongoing It's technically more of a de-aging than a time-travel, but hey! Still a good read! TPM Anakin and Obi-Wan take the place of their TCW selves, who no longer exist.

⭐Free Jedi to Good Home by @itstimeforstarwars ~complicated as the second fic has been hidden, ongoing This is one of my favorite series, but as you can see by the above, it's in a bit of a timeout right now. Bookmark it for later? Also, there's an entire side series called Inspired By One Hundred Hours To Rearrange The Stars.

These Paths by HiddenEye ~90k, complete Our five TCW mains (Obi-Wan, Cody, Anakin, Ahsoka, Rex) are booted forward to the Original Trilogy. The latter three are deaged to their TPM ages (9, 4, baby respectively). Also it's CodyWan.

Twilight on Owl Creek Bridge by @yellowocaballero ~33k, complete Leia and Fox time travel! This one is very dark. That said, it has a comedic counterpart that I love, which is only available on tumblr: ⭐Fox & Leia's Holiday Special

⭐Realign the Stars by @fortunerainwrites, @TerinAngel ~68k, abandoned Obi-Wan, Anakin, Ahsoka, Rex, and Cody, from TCW to TPM. Despite the unfinished state, I cannot deny the oddly intense level of influence this fic has had on my own approach to star wars time travel fics.

⭐Living in Borrowed Time by @scribbling-albatross 118k, ongoing Rex and Ahsoka are time-travelers! They are so, so very fucked up. Sure do wish they had access to therapists that could actually be cleared for knowing their Extensive Lists Of Traumas. This one definitely had a huge impact on how I characterize Rex and Ahsoka since I entered the fandom.

Luke and Leia

Twilight on Owl Creek Bridge by @yellowocaballero - Leia - under "Groups"

There is another Skywalker by WabiSabi ~85k, on hiatus? Time-Traveler Leia! Mentally in the sequels, physically in her thirties, and chronologically in the clone wars. Also Luke's sharing space in her noggin.

Shifting Sands by @chancecraz ~180k, ongoing "Ongoing? But it hasn't updated since 2021!" The last time it updated, the chapter was 65k, after over two years of radio silence. Trust me when I say that the lack of recent updates means nothing for this author. Anyway, Sequels Leia to about a year pre-TPM, hangs out with baby Anakin and Shmi and then neatly inserts herself in the plot.

⭐Of Queens, Knights, and Pawns by @chancecraz ~860k, ongoing Same author as above, same disclaimer for the gap since last update. Sequels Leia does a mental time-travel into her ANH self, specifically the 'being tortured on the Death Star' moment. It's so fucking good.

Old Man Luke by @scarletjedi ~110k, ongoing Sequels Luke to TCW! He is very cryptic, channeling the Jedi who taught him! Fun!

⭐Sith Lord Swell by AMournfulHowlInTheNight ~53k, ongoing Luke and his students (including Ben Solo) travel back in time to a bit before AotC. They decide the best way to proceed is to pretend they are Sith Lords. This is primarily a comedy fic. Luke really enjoys fucking with people.

⭐Don't Look Back by @this-acuteneurosis ~700k, ongoing Post-OT Leia (after the deaths of most of her friends) physically time travels to a year or two before AotC. She is taken in by the Lars family, and then she and Shmi start to head for Coruscant, run into Padme, and join the Nabooan government in Padme's employ. Do you want a fic that feels like 70% politics and logistics and trade routes? Because that's what this is and it's great.

Other

The Way of Conquest by pagination ~76k, ongoing There is something very funny about the time-traveler not even realizing they are about thirty years into the wrong time. Din has no idea when he is. Grogu does, but he's not telling.

[yurimother]

'Puella Magi Madoka Magica -Walpurgisnacht: Rising-' Announces Winter 2024 Debut

On Sunday, at Aniplex Online Fest 2023, Aniplex revealed a new teaser trailer for Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: -Walpurgisnacht Rising- (Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica: Walpurgis no Kaiten).

The trailer revealed that the anime film, which continues the Puella Magi Madoka Magica main timeline after the events of the 2013 film Rebellion, will debut theatrically in Japan in Winter 2024.

Aniplex also revealed a new key visual for the film and announced that director Yukihiro Miyamoto, who directed the original 2011 television anime series, its two film adaptation, Rebellion, and spin-off Magia Record is returning for Walpurgisnacht: Rising at SHAFT.

He is joined by the previously revealed staff, including the original creators Magica Quartet, chief director Akiyuki Simbou, writer Gen Urobuchi (Nitroplus), and character designer Aokiume. Additional returning staff includes character animation designer Junichiro Taniguchi, who served as Chief Animation Director on previous projects, parallel world designer Gekidan InuCurry (Doroinu), who created the iconic, unique looks of the Witches Labyrinths, and composer Yuki Kajiura.

All of the original Japanese main voice cast from the series and Rebellion are set to reprise their roles:

Aoi Yuki as Madoka Kaname

Chiwa Saito as Homura Akemi

Kaori Mizuhashi as Mami Tomoe

Eri Kitamura as Sayaka Miki

Ai Nonaka as Kyouko Sakura

Kana Asumi as Nagisa Momoe

Emiri Kato as Kyubey

The anime was originally announced back in 2021, but in 2019 at Anime Expo, Homura's voice actress, Chiwa Saito, foreshadowed the sequel, saying that "the actual series has not ended yet" and that she was looking forward to everyone seeing Devil Homura, a reference to the ending of Rebellion, again.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica aired in 2011 to critical and audience acclaim. It became a cultural phenomenon and spawned two movie adaptations, Beginnings and Eternal, the sequel film Rebellion, and multiple manga and video game spin-offs. It is credited with popularizing mixing dark, postmodern tropes with the magical girl genre.

Source: Aniplex Online Fest 2023, Press Release

[geotjwrs]

Hi mate. Can you please do a Jenna Ortega x Male Reader

Both of them have always had a enemies relationship since they were little kids, they always competed against each other. But couple of years later when they both are 21, they get casted together in the Wednesday show and Emma and Georgie see that they won’t get along so they trap them into a room for the whole day making both of them resolve and admit that they love each other. And you can finish the story with a couple years in the future where they get married. You can pick 🫡

behind our shadows

Pairings ; Jenna Ortega x Male!Reader

Warning/s ; none

From the moment Y/N and Jenna met in elementary school, they were rivals. Whether it was competing for the top spot in spelling bees, racing each other during recess, or even vying for the best grades, the two seemed destined to clash. Their competitive streaks continued through middle school and high school, where they joined opposing teams in every club or activity they were a part of.

Now, at 21, Y/N and Jenna were both rising stars in the acting world. Their paths crossed once again when they were cast together in the highly anticipated "Wednesday" show, with Jenna reprising her role as Wednesday Addams and Y/N playing a new character introduced to shake things up.

The first few days on set were rough. Jenna and Y/N's old rivalry resurfaced quickly, creating an awkward atmosphere for everyone around them. Emma and Georgie, who played Enid and Ajax respectively, could sense the tension and knew something had to be done.

"Those two are impossible," Emma whispered to Georgie during a break. "They're going to ruin the show with their constant bickering."

Georgie nodded. "We need to do something to make them see eye to eye. But what?"

Emma's eyes sparkled with mischief. "I have an idea. But it's a little drastic."

The next day, during lunch, Emma and Georgie lured Jenna and Y/N into one of the unused rooms on set under the pretense of a meeting. As soon as they were inside, Emma and Georgie shut the door and locked it from the outside.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Jenna banged on the door.

"Yeah, let us out!" Y/N added, equally frustrated.

Emma's voice came through the door. "Not until you two sort out whatever is going on between you. We're not letting you out until you can at least be civil."

Georgie chimed in, "We have plenty of snacks and drinks out here, so take your time!"

At first, Jenna and Y/N sat in silence, glaring at each other. Minutes felt like hours as the tension grew.

"This is ridiculous," Jenna finally said, crossing her arms. "Why do we always end up like this?"

Y/N sighed. "Because you're always trying to one-up me. Ever since we were kids."

"Me? You're the one who always has to be the best at everything," Jenna retorted.

"You're just mad because I actually am the best," Y/N shot back, smirking.

"Oh, please," Jenna rolled her eyes. "You wouldn't know best if it hit you in the face."

"Is that so? At least I don't have to resort to dirty tricks to get ahead," Y/N snapped.

Jenna glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean," Y/N replied, leaning forward. "Remember the science fair in eighth grade?"

"You mean the one I won fair and square?" Jenna crossed her arms defensively.

"Fair and square? You sabotaged my project!" Y/N exclaimed.

Jenna gasped. "I did not! You're just mad because you couldn't handle a little competition."

Y/N shook his head. "You've always been impossible."

"And you've always been infuriating," Jenna retorted.

As they continued to argue, rehashing old grievances and misunderstandings from their childhood, they started to realize how much they had in common.

"Remember the time we both got detention for fighting over who got to lead the science project?" Y/N chuckled, breaking the ice a bit.

Jenna smiled for the first time. "Yeah, we were so stubborn. I think the teacher just gave up on us."

Slowly, the conversation shifted from arguments to shared memories and laughter. They talked about their dreams, their struggles, and how much they had changed over the years.

"I never hated you, you know," Jenna admitted quietly. "I just... always felt like I had to prove myself to you."

Y/N looked at her, surprised. "I felt the same way. I guess we were more alike than we thought."

As the hours passed, something changed between them. The rivalry melted away, replaced by a deep understanding and connection. Jenna looked at Y/N, her heart pounding.

"I think... I think I might actually like you," she confessed.

Y/N's eyes widened. "You know, I've been feeling the same way. I guess we were too busy competing to see what was right in front of us."

They sat in silence for a moment, letting the weight of their words sink in. Then, slowly, Y/N reached out and took Jenna's hand.

Emma and Georgie finally opened the door, peeking inside to see the two sitting close together, holding hands and talking softly.

"Looks like our plan worked," Emma whispered to Georgie.

Over the next few months, Jenna and Y/N's relationship blossomed. They worked together seamlessly on set, their chemistry undeniable. The cast and crew noticed the change, and the show's production ran smoother than ever.

Two years later, Jenna and Y/N stood in front of their family and friends, exchanging vows. The rivalry that had defined their childhood was now a distant memory, replaced by a deep, abiding love.

"I can't believe we started as enemies," Y/N said, smiling at Jenna as he slipped a ring onto her finger.

Jenna grinned back. "It's funny how life works out. I wouldn't change a thing."

As they shared their first kiss as a married couple, the crowd erupted into cheers. Emma and Georgie, standing off to the side, high-fived each other.

"We did good," Emma said, beaming.

"Yeah, we did," Georgie agreed.

Years passed, and Jenna and Y/N's love only grew stronger. They continued to work in the entertainment industry, often collaborating on projects and supporting each other's careers. They built a life filled with love, laughter, and the occasional playful competition, just to keep things interesting.

Their journey from rivals to lovers was an unexpected one, but it proved that sometimes, the person you least expect can turn out to be the love of your life.

As they sat together on their porch, looking out at the sunset, Jenna leaned her head on Y/N's shoulder.

"Do you ever miss those days when we were constantly trying to outdo each other?" she asked with a smile.

Y/N chuckled. "Not really. I like this version of us much better."

Jenna nodded in agreement. "Me too."

And with that, they watched the sun dip below the horizon, content in the knowledge that they had found their way to each other, despite all the odds.

[dailysimoneashley]

Simone Ashley will receive this year’s International Golden Nymph for Most Promising Talent award from the Monte-Carlo Television Festival. The British actress, who is best known for playing Kate Sharma in the extremely popular Netflix drama Bridgerton, will be presented with the award at the festival’s opening ceremony on June 14.

Ashley has had a meteoric rise in recent years after breaking through in Netflix’s beloved British teen drama Sex Education. The actress has featured in a number of high profile Hollywood projects, including a key supporting role in Disney’s recent live-action remake of The Little Mermaid and a lead role in the upcoming Amazon MGM Studios feature Picture This. Ashley will reprise her role as Kate Sharma in Bridgerton when the highly anticipated third season debuts in May.

[7grandmel]

Rip of the week: 30/12/2024

Uncanny Approaching

Season 6 No Album Release (Read More) Enemy Approaching (Extended Version) - Undertale

Ripped by Blookerstein, Myeauxyoozi Visuals by Moralem, Galacksy, A-Man, Sarvéproductions

Requested by @realchickenmanny and crickqt! (Ask Box, Discord)

And so, we've reached the end of the year. Christmas, holidays, Season 8 of SiIvaGunner; all come to an end with the celebratory bang of fire in the sky. And for this blog, too, I knew had to end the year in something big; in a rip of cosmic, cataclysmic power. After finishing up the previous post covering PRIMEneria, I solemnly returned to my expansive archives with arms folded behind my back, my gaze passing across dozens upon dozens of possible rips left in the blog's drafts; each possible contenders for a future post. Requests, gimmicks, anniversaries, lore, good rips, bad rips, a collection of treasures gathered across one-and-a-half years of running this blog for the purpose of review...and yet deep down, I always knew what had to be done. Since the blog's very beginning I was aware of its existence, a rip with energy so potent that I never once dared to approach it, yet I knew that it could not be ignored forever. The rip is, indeed, perhaps the most vile creation the SiIvaGunner team has yet made, a weapon of torture unleashed upon us at the apex of Undertale's 7th anniversary celebrations. Indeed, it is the magnum opus of SiIvaGunner's 6th Season; Uncanny Approaching.

Take a moment to picture yourself, sat at the computer in the far away time of September 2022. You're a big fan of the SiIvaGunner YouTube channel, which had uploaded high quality rips for six years and have been an absolute delight to follow throughout. A large part of that investment has been the channel's close ties to one of your favorite games: Undertale! From the very beginning, you've noted that it's as if the channel and game have had a sort of brotherly relationship, with lots of rips like Locked in the Underground, Field of Love and Cringe, Aphex and more showing a fantastic understanding and reverence for the game and its soundscape. Earlier in the very same year, for the big Minecraft anniversary event you also followed quite attentively, there was a particularly resonant piece – Fell From a High Place (Reprise) – which made it ever so evident how much Undertale means to so many people all around the world. And now, it was September 15th, the celebration of the game's release in full swing; midway through the day, you notice the upload of and watch the impeccably made Jesus of the Underground, floored by the ripper's devotion to such a large project and amazed at the end results. This is a truly fantastic anniversary indeed! What could possibly go wrong?

Yet at the back of your mind, you recall rips that appeared as if to hint at the brewing of a greater evil to come. SiIvaGunner, like Undertale itself, has always had a dash of insanity to it, a pinch of the insufferable for the sake of comedy. None had captured that vibe better, perhaps, than Mad Mew Mew Becoming Uncanny, merging Undertale with a multitude of sources - chief among them, as featured in its title, the king of brainrot. Whilst commonplace enough today to become 2024's word of the year, I think it's reasonable to say that 2021-2022 or so were when this kind of content truly began to rise in notoriety. It can be hard to put a proper definition on the term; it's the kind of widely attention-grabbing slop that infests TikTok and YouTube shorts, which has gone through so many degrees of ironic and unironic evaluation to where nobody really seems to know what to think of it anymore. The face of brainrot changes by the month – CostCo Guys, Skibidi Toilet (hey there, Hidden Headtoilets (skibidi toree 2)!), Gegagedigedagedago –but to me, its icon shall forever be the legendary Uncanny Mr. Incredible; a series of edited images depicting Mr. Incredible from The Incredibles in increasing stages of grief. These images and the video edits made for them are truly some of the sloppiest slop you can find online, like an evil and fucked up extension of the age-old meme format of "Thing -> Bad, Thing -> Good", yet designed to where it could theoretically...go on forever.

This brewing, bubbling evil, already being toyed around with by the SiIva team in rips like Level 8 - Eversion HD, would only grow and grow throughout the year; the true power of Uncanniness yet to be wholly harnessed, it's potential for creating endlessly engaging slop yet to be fully understood. Until at last, the fated day came; Undertale's anniversary stood in the crosshairs of the canny, and the day would be remembered not for its festivities, but for its pain. For Uncanny Approaching.

Even without playing the embedded video above, you've likely already put the pieces together of vaguely what sort of rip we're discussing here. A step above merely having images of Mr. Incredible react to captions with befitting music, Uncanny Approaching – as was foreshadowed in the aforementioned Level 8 - Eversion HD – features a selection of freshly-made images of Frisk, Undertale's protagonist, matching every stage of Mr. Incredible's canniness; and additionally, more than just a simple spiral downward, we're also treated to images of Frisk *gaining* canniness across escalating stages of celebration. The original Mr. Incredible Uncanny posting comes with a set standard of music tracks to pair with every image featured; similarly to the legendary Story of Undertale, each of those tracks are here rearranged in the sonic style of different parts of Undertale's vast soundtrack.

All of this in unison sets the stage for a genuinely high-quality adaptation of the braindead Uncanniness-posting; accolades already thrown toward the previously mentioned early appearances of Mr. Incredible Going Uncanny on the channel like Level 8 - Eversion HD. It is, indeed, perfectly befitting for the SiIvaGunner channel to take a concept so run into the ground by low-effort posters and to reenvision it into something truly grand...yet Uncanny Approaching goes many steps further beyond that simple milestone. Indeed, more than just music and images, more than just featuring every image for a one-and-done bit, Uncanny Approaching goes the full mile and features captions and Situations for our canny friend to react to; "you hop on your PC" -> "you see you friend connected on discord" -> "he sent you a message" -> "you decide to check it" -> "he invites you to a party after school tomorrow" -> "he says EVERYONE is invited!" and so on, and so forth. As you'll notice just from these brief excerpts, this "story" is written in a way that feels almost deliberately slow and painful, each snippet given a full Canny reaction, sometimes multiple identical ones in a row – althewhile also containing multiple grammatical errors and a general sense of slapdash-ness, perfectly capturing the feel of Canny-posting on TikTok and YouTube shorts; like super mario 64 but it's in the buddy holly soundfont, its authenticity to the source material is to be commended despite the pain that it brings.

Pain is not an area unexplored by SiIvaGunner – one of my all-time favorite rips, Sex - Steve Harvey, occurred on a day pretty much entirely dedicated to it – yet the lengths that Uncanny Approaching goes toward inflicting it feels like a new level altogether. I've already set the stage for the lead-up to the rip, the absolute rug-pull of a surprise it provided after the beautiful Jesus of the Underground - yet I've been careful to omit one core detail. You're capable of seeing the runtime yourself right now just by clicking on the video embed, a gargantuan 37 minutes and 51 seconds; but back on its release, this video released as a YouTube Premiere, to be witnessed live in its entirety by an audience unaware of just how long they would have to endure it for. As someone who was there to see it all unfold, it was like seeing a prophecy come to life – the "Endless Slop" theory proposed in my mind during the months leading up to the rip was playing out in front of me, like a SiIvaGunner-branded precursor to that one AI Generated "Endless" Seinfeld parody. Only, of course, this was still a SiIvaGunner project, still ever so carefully teetering the line between slop and quality; the artwork still excellent, the rearrangements of all the Canny themes as fantastic as the same concept was back on Story of Undertale, and the story having some genuinely fun ties to the actual...well, story of Undertale.

And in a way, having all of those genuinely excellent qualities tied to a viewing experience as deliberately mind-numbing as this made the experience torturous in an even more special way. Later in the same day, we would get to see the images and music arrangements released in isolation from Uncanny Approaching through Enemy Approaching (Extended Version) (Short Version); yet before that released, if you wanted to hear just your favorite part of the Uncanny-posting's Undertale re-imagining, or explore the different pieces of art made for the project, you had to hunker down and sit through the premiere like everybody else. It's the perfect storm of slop and cinema; a blend of appeal and brainrot that draws you in with something compelling and keeps you stuck through a brainwashing regime of canniness. I've sat through the entire thing twice and I still don't believe I could tell you upfront what exactly happens in the story due to me outright zoning out of focus repeatedly both times; other than excellent quotes like "he look at you with evil intents, he about to grab you and turn you into a glitch man like jerry", "you get theb ox and run out of their as quick as you can", and "mom die", it's all become a noise of Undertale iconography and canniness.

Nevertheless, Uncanny Approaching is a true testament to the will of the SiIvaGunner team; to commit to an idea as genuinely insane as this is on paper and continue through with it despite – or perhaps even BECAUSE – of how much the audience will suffer through it. I can only imagine how long it must have taken, past drawing the artwork and arranging the music, for the video to have been put together; for each section to have been penned and composed so specifically as to maximize the torture involved. Indeed, I understand it to where it was Myeauxyoozi in particular who was responsible for this script, working with Blookerstein's arrangement talent demonstrated on The expanse of meme in past was split, A fiendish trap has now been set; Behind a tree the villains sit, Terror of sport, the Robbie's Net. alongside the art talent of four of the SiIva team's best artists; and given Myeauxyoozi's previous contributions to the channel such as Among Drip Drop Galaxy, Shaky Mountain and being the channel's biggest provider of rips using Harlem Shake, there is no doubt in my mind that he is – said with affection – mentally unwell enough to have been the best possible writer for the job.

Commendable in both its authentic arrangements (I especially love the Heart of Fire segment) and the surgical precision with which its attack on the senses was delivered, Uncanny Approaching was a once-in-a-lifetime event for those there to witness it all unfold. It's the kind of experience that's easy to forget amidst the insanity of SiIvaGunner's long history of uploads and events (mind, this was the same year as the insane Harlem Shakeover mentioned on Totally Shaaking Out Right Now), yet one that those who were there to see it will surely never forget. Indeed, I was there to suffer alongside everybody else, and it was the kind of pain I can only dream of experiencing through the channel again in the years to come.

[jaxs-beanie]

Speaking of workshop drafts, here's what's legible on a page from the 2012 draft with Hades with a gun and an aviary of mechanical birds.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwUgOspATQi/?img_index=3

"plastic flowers. There is also a ticker tape machine spitting out quotes. (Papers II) ...the books, Hermes realizes he has stumbled upon the economic engine of Hadestown.

Persephone visits Orpheus in the ruined speakeasy who sings to her about the hopelessness of his plight while Eurydice listens in via Hermes' wiretap. (If It's True) Persephone takes the case to her husband and in the bedroom, pleads with him to acknowledge the situation of the lovers and take pity on them. (How Long) Instead, Hades retrieves a gun and storms out, determined to end the unrest once and for all. [Rewritten Keep Your Head Low - Hades among them]

But at the speakeasy he hesitates, unwilling to make Orpheus a martyr to be worshiped in his stead. Orpheus seizes the opportunity to sing about Hades and his once-innocent love for Persephone (Epic II). As Hades leaves, he discovers his workers have been listening to Orpheus's song via the loudspeaker. They rise up singing, and all at once cease their labor. When he calls upon his guards to punish the defiant workers, they also refuse. The mood becomes celebratory as the prisoners are freed from their bonds. Hades retreats. (Lover's Desire) [The transformation of the electric chair into charmed snake] [Everything together - Lover's Desire a show]

Hermes retrieves Orpheus's guitar, buried in the works.

Hades stands in his bizarre aviary. With sudden violence, he smashes the ticker tape machine, fuming about this interloper and his power. A clock ticks and the uprising is quelled. (His Kiss, the Riot) Hours later, while the clean-up is underway, we see a more calm version of Hades sequestered in his workshop tinkering at a mechanical bird. All the while he winds up a tiny box with a flashing screen. As he solders, Hades decides to release the lovers from Hadestown on the condition that Orpheus walks away, with Eurydice following behind him. As the song concludes, the mechanical bird is wound and released. [Motion - Hermes directing the ---- (i can't read this lol)

Eurydice is returned to her rag doll dress. She longs for her love, while Hermes instructs Orpheus to focus on the task of ascending (Wait for Me Reprise) [Rearrange]

Orpheus signs the contract. (Doubt Comes In) He begins his ascent. Light projections against the stairway indicate the collapse of American history - the period between the wars until the 1960s. [Furnace hole] A flashpoint occurs, and the projections accelerate into the present, news rush of violence and fear. The Fates appear in front of the projections to give form to Orpheus' curse of cyclical destiny. Orpheus cuts through the Fates, but they whisper to him and compound his anxiety. As he reaches the light of day, he is suddenly consumed with doubt, and betrayal. he turns and watches in horror as Eurydice slowly and forever dissolves into shadow. The Fates seize Orpheus and schlep him to the door's edge of the moving boxcar that has suddenly materialized beneath him. They release him. Orpheus collapses in despair as the whistle of a train moans in the distance. He is picked up by a stranger at the side of the tracks, and dragged into a dusty hospital room with shades drawn. The stranger is Hermes. With a heavy heart,

END OF PAGE

[desperatelyseekingcannibals]

A Mads poll with a difference!

A poll of Mads Mikkelsen movies where the selection is based on range of factors, including but not limited to: genre, writer/director, country of release, date of release and 🎉vibes 🎉

Some of the movies may fit in more than one category, so vibes have mostly informed those decisions.

Round One:

Choose your fave!

Mads working with a fave...

Pusher is a 1996 Danish crime thriller following low-level drug dealer, Frank, who eventually has a deal go bad. Mads plays Frank's friend and aspiring criminal, Tonny.

Bleeder is a 1999 Danish crime drama about a loose group of friends whose lives go in different directions. The film follows Leo who is unable to cope with the news his girlfriend is pregnant and turns to violence. Mads plays Lenny, one of Leo's friends, a sweet-natured shy boy and film obsessive who works at the video store.

Pusher II: With Blood on My Hands is a 2004 Danish sequel to Pusher. Mads reprises his role as Tonny, now the main character. Pusher II follows Tonny after his release from jail. After trying to reintegrate back into the criminal world, his life changes when he finds out he's a father.

Valhalla Rising is a 2009 Danish historical movie set around the 12th century. The story follows One Eye, a Norse warrior captured by a Norwegian chieftain and forced to fight, until he escapes along with a young boy, a fellow captive. Mads plays the ill-fated and hard-done warrior One Eye.

What's your fave Refn project?

(and yes, I am counting Tonny twice because: character development!)

[pegasus-624]

Carmen Sandiego: Trips Through Time

The Rock n’ Roll Caper

The team Rocks and Rolls over to the 1950s where they meet a (future) girl gang and go to a drive in! VILE is still after something…

Read it here!

[djuvlipen]

Women beheaded and bodies dumped in rivers under Taliban rule in Afghanistan, report says

‘We have seen reported cases of femicide on the increase, the reintroduction of public lashings and executions, a steady stream of deaths and detentions of former security and armed forces personnel,’ expert says

Women are being beheaded and having their bodies dumped in rivers and streets under Taliban rule, according to a troubling new report.

A study, by Afghan Witness, found 3,329 claims of human rights infringements in Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power of the country in August two years ago.

Researchers, who used open-source data, documented 1,977 claims of human rights breaches involving killings, arbitrary detentions and torture of the population since January last year.

The study notes hundreds of reports of women being violently killed by the Taliban, with the figures indicating a “gradual rise” in femicide cases.

“Since January 2022, Afghan Wintess has been recording reports of women being individually killed, often in circumstances of extreme violence and brutality,” the report states.

Researchers state they recorded 188 such cases across the country from January last year to July this year – with reports including cases of women being beheaded or shot at, as well as cases of stabbings. Bodies are said to be frequently discarded in rivers or streets, with reports sometimes stating their bodies indicate torture or suffocation, according to the Afghan Witness study.

David Osborn, of the Afghan Witness project, said: “The Taliban have reneged on many of their early promises regarding human rights, particularly for girls and women, and an amnesty for officials and security personnel who worked under the Republic.

“Since then we have seen reported cases of femicide on the increase, the reintroduction of public lashings and executions, a steady stream of deaths and detentions of former security and armed forces personnel, and the continuing repression of civil society, the media and activists.”

He noted while not all cases can be verified, the “sheer scale” of reports from “so many Afghans” sheds light on the “widespread and wide-ranging nature of human rights abuses being carried out, with impunity, by the Taliban and others”.

Mr Osborn added: “Despite the risks, some – predominantly women – have continued to protest. But these voices and wider civil society within Afghanistan, are increasingly isolated on the ground after two years of Taliban rule.”

Researchers documented 56 announcements by the Taliban Supreme Court issuing public punishments to more than 350 people – with this form of reprisal mainly linked to so-called moral crimes like adultery, sodomy and entering an illicit relationship – since the first public corporal punishment in October 2022.

The Taliban has blocked women from the workplace, education and public spaces, as well as barring them from taking part in all sports since retaking power two years ago.

Researchers verified almost 70 women-led street protests since the first demonstration in August 2021 – with protesters showing their opposition to the curtailment of girl’s and women’s access to education and the workplace.

The report documented 67 reports of civil society activists and demonstrators being arrested between January 2022 and July this year. Meanwhile, there were 98 reports of journalists, photographers and media commentators detained by the Taliban.

[risestarkiss]

Soo...I can finally spill the beans.

Introducing:

Here's more information + when I'll be dropping the first full-length track!

I've always said that if they don't make us a Rise of the TMNT Soundtrack, I WOULD MAKE ONE MYSELF 😤!!!

...so here we are! 😌❤️🧡💙💜

Soooo, WHAT RISE SONGS DO YOU WANT IN THE SOUNDTRACK?! I'm all ears! 😋💜

○○○○

💜💜💜MY CARRD💜💜💜

Info about all of my Rise Projects, how to Support, and More!

[jules-has-notes]

10,000 Hours (Disney Evolutions) — PattyCake Productions music video

Dating in the 21st century has been made both easier and more challenging by the rise of multiple dating apps. Sometimes a girl just wants to escape into a fantasy world where everything is easier, and a handsome prince will simply come along to sweep her off her feet. With that in mind, PattyCake wondered what it might look like for the men of Disney's animated films to make themselves available for virtual matching. Who will make you swipe right?

Details:

title: Disney Evolutions — 10,000 Hours — Disney Guys on Tinder

performers: Hannah Laird (Emma), Matt Rothenberg (Prince Florian), Mike Marin (Prince Charming), Devin Michael (Peter Pan), T. Robert Pigott (Captain Hook), Julian James (Prince Phillip), Bradley Mack (Roger Radcliffe), Harrison Beeson (Prince Eric), Matthew Alexander (Prince Adam), E. Michael Evans (Gaston), Bryan Perri (Aladdin), Navid Nowakhtar (Jafar), Brad Pettitt (John Smith), John Wright (Phoebus), Russell Warner (Claude Frollo), Timothy Olmo (Hercules), Nicholas Hartford (Shang), Justin Beard (Tarzan), Chaz Hine (Kronk), Gregory Coleman (Milo Thatch), Deion Galindo (Naveen), Chris Ross (Dr. Facilier), Daniel Gugel (Flynn Ryder), Brandon Wood (Kristoff), Steve Moeslein (Hans Westergaard), Michael Lwin (Maui), Will Holderness (Tyler), & Tony Wakim (featured vocals)

original song / performers: "10,000 Hours" by Dan + Shay, & Justin Bieber

written by: Dan Smyers, Shay Mooney, Justin Bieber, Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd, Jessie Jo Dillon, & Jordan Reynolds

arranged by: Layne Stein & Tony Wakim

release date: 7 February 2020

My favorite bits:

how close their version of the song sounds to the original

the emoji replies in the chat box referencing each guy's story

the jazzy piano riff as Roger scores approval 🎹

Frollo not just getting rejected, but being reported as a creep

the demigod glow on Hercules

Shang getting a bit of guqin music when he accepts the dinner invite 🎶

Facilier disappearing in a puff of smoke

the slight dissonance on ♫ "gotta cure my curiosity" ♫

Tony's vocals dipping into a minor key for ♫ "I might never get there, but I'm gonna try" ♫

the rubber Hei-Hei popping into frame and screaming over Maui 🐓

Pan and Hook taunting each other from their adjacent frames during the scroll

Milo's dropped book falling past Maui 📙

Trivia:

○ Many of the actors featured in this video had appeared in earlier PattyCake projects.

Hannah had provided many vocals for the "Unexpected Musicals" series, and portrayed Charlotte La Bouff on screen in the Princess Academy holiday special episode.

Mike played the animator in the "Disney Girls Like You" video the previous spring.

Robby, Michael, Navid, Russell, and Chris are all reprising their respective roles from The Villains Lair.

John had embodied Thor for "Avengers: Thunder" a year and a half earlier. He'd also had a supporting role in the PattyCake-produced music video "Dad Bod" from his wife's semi-fictional girl group 4Eva29.

Chaz first appeared as Kronk in the "Teamwork Makes the Scheme Work" episode of The Villiains Lair.

Julian took over the role of Prince Phillip from his brother Jason, who had played him in "Michaeleficent". He'd also had a supporting role in 4Eva29's "Dad Bod" video.

Brad, who plays John Smith here, was previously Prince Adam in "Beauty and the Bieber".

○ Some of the new faces made a good enough impression to be asked back for future productions.

Steve has reprised the role of Hans in the second season of the Villains Lair series.

Deion would soon play one of the restless folks enduring lockdown in "Quarantine: the Musical".

Daniel has returned several times over the ensuing years for roles in "Once Upon a Time: the musical", "Villains Haunted Mansion", and a tongue-in-cheek version of "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" featuring The Grinch.

○ Ever After Character Events, who got a shoutout in the end screen, provide costumed performers for parties and other events in the Orlando area. Unsurprisingly, many of their services are for Disney princesses, but several of these cast members had also worked with them as princes, superheroes, and pirates.

○ There's a slight production error with the time the video takes place. The analog clock on the wall sits at 6 o'clock, but the phone's lock screen shows 12:00.

○ The rubber Hei-Hei later appeared in VoicePlay's music video for "Friends on the Other Side", filmed on PattyCake's stage procenium set with J.None wearing their Dr. Facilier costume.

[fwitolei]

Wish: The City of Dreams - Concept Soundtrack

I haven't talked about Wish in a while, so let's fix that--

SO I have talked about this project for a little bit now and since I just finished rewriting all of my lyrics, I think it's time to release some info on the soundtrack!

First thing's first, here's the Spotify playlist:

Stronger than Ever Before By: Tangled The Series Cast

So this song is like an alternate "Welcome to Rosas" kinda thing. It introduces the plot, and showed how the kingdom has changed since the end of Wish (how everyone's doing now that Magnifico is gone, etc.)

This song also introduces the events that are to occur later in the film, which is the return of Sophia, or the "Jewel" of Rosas. I've added snippets of Sophia traveling through the kingdom as the song goes on in the screenplay, which I will be sharing soon :)

Princess Rising (Original Title: The Moon Rises) By: Ponyphonic & fritoley

This is the first song that I completely rewrote. This was originally a MLP song, but I changed up the lyrics to fit the story. In this song, Sophia is coming to the realization that no, everything is not better now that Magnifico is gone, and she's going to do something about it.

I'm going to be adding a bunch of magic in this song, as well as a time bubble in which she looks into the past and sees what exactly happened to her beloved father (reminiscent of a certain Disney character with the gift of foresight 🐀).

Good to be Royalty (Original Title: Good to Be King) By: Journey to Bethlehem Cast & fritoley

While in the Wish fandom, I saw a LOT of people talking about this song and how it would be an AMAZING villain Magnifico song, so I thought it would be a really great idea to include it in the film.

However, it's not just Magnifico singing this song. I decided to turn this song into a duet, so it's not a total rewrite, like Princess Rising. I've edited some of the lyrics, as well as rewriting the second pre-chorus (you'll know when you see it).

Let Me Make You Proud By: Tangled The Series Cast

This is the song Asha is going to sing when the "villains" have taken over the kingdom, and she realizes what she must do to save Rosas. Due to Sophia being the "protagonist" of this film, I really wanted to put Asha in a more "antagonist" role, even though she's not evil. I wanted to put her in a tough position where she has to see the errors of her ways in order to move forward, and I think this song is the way to do it.

The Man I Used To Be By: Thomas Borchert

Believe it or not, this is a Magnifico song. I know what you're thinking; wasn't he just a power-hungry supervillain in Good To Be Royalty? Yes, he was, but just like how I saw many people in love with a truly villain Magnifico, we also loved the idea that Magnifico wasn't actually the villain.

So why does he sing this song?

This is meant to be his "redemption" song, where just like how Asha sees where she went wrong, Magnifico comes to realize that the things he did were wrong, and he wants to change for his family. He sees how his mistakes are affecting his daughter, Sophia, and he doesn't want her to follow in his footsteps to defeat.

Ready As I'll Ever Be By: Tangled The Series Cast

This is where all parties come together for the final battle. Sophia is getting ready to unleash her big spell to take total control of the kingdom forever. Asha and The Seven Teens are rallying to fight back. Even Amaya and Magnifico have come together to save their daughter. It's a classic good guys vs. bad guys fight that's sure to have you cheering on your favorites.

Let Me Make You Proud (Reprise) By: Tangled The Series Cast & fritoley

This is a pivotal point in the story, where Asha and Co. finally defeat Sophia. As you can hear, the original does NOT fit the theme I'm going for, so these lyrics were rewritten as well. The way the final notes start as quiet and serene and build up as the tension rises is a great way to portray the difficult choices all the characters made to get to where they are now.

So there you have it! I know I adopted like half of the Tangled series soundtrack but whatever floats our boats yk--

Feel free to give a listen to the songs you're unfamiliar with, and let me know what you think!

[denimbex1986]

'We often talk of comeback years, with actors returning to the scene after an extended hiatus or an unintended drop in bookings, but just as worthy of celebration are the cases of a quiet, exponential rise. Sometimes, a name reaches household status by way of an explosive debut, while other names slowly ecru credit after credit for commendable performances, until the subject of occasional recognizability becomes the frequent favorite. David Dastmalchian is the epitome of such a case.

He's had the biggest 2023 out of anyone, showing no signs of slowing down ahead. From the Marvel Cinematic Universe to the latest Christopher Nolan banger, Dastmalchian's year has stretched across just about every kind of scale and genre an actor could want, with parts in some of the year's biggest movies...

Christopher Nolan's 'Oppenheimer' Marks a Powerful Collaboration

While Dastmalchian won't be closing out the year with a reprisal in Dune: Part Two, considering his character's fatal demise in the first film, it's safe to say that he would have if his character lived on. One of his greatest strengths is his evident desirability, with filmmakers asking him for project after project. His portrayal of Piter de Vries, one of the sinister House Karkonnen's Mentats, was the third collaboration between Dastmalchian and director Denis Villeneuve. After first working together on 2013's menacing thriller Prisoners, the pair reunited for two incredible blockbuster follow-ups: Blade Runner 2049 and Dune: Part One.

This is a common occurrence in Dastmalchian's career and a key element of his well-earned success. Arguably the best example of this came this year with Oppenheimer, Dastmalchian's second Christopher Nolan film, arriving over a decade after their first outing together. Most people that have had their "I know that guy" moment over the past few years could likely trace that thought back to 2008's The Dark Knight, the crown jewel of Nolan's Batman trilogy and the first feature film of Dastmalchian's career...

Aside from The Dark Knight and the Ant-Man franchise, Dastmalchian played a pivotal role as Polka-Dot Man in James Gunn's The Suicide Squad in 2021 (collaborating with Gunn once again after working together on The Belko Experiment), and further adding to his gloriously bloated 2023, Dastmalchian had another superhero-centric entry with Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham...

Dastmalchian, as you may have noticed, has a history of playing incredibly dark supporting roles, a track record that began with The Dark Knight...'

[unovasrose]

re: acting and Pokéstar Studios

Rosa’s acting career started inadvertently and very early on during her journey as a gym challenger when she was scouted by one of Mr. Stu Deeoh’s aides after her battle with Roxie. The scout was impressed with the passion and energy that Rosa projected during her battles and thought she’d be a good auditioning candidate for Riolu Girl in the studio’s upcoming film, Brycen-Man. Despite having taken part in some enjoyable drama skits in Trainer School, acting wasn’t something that Rosa had ever actually considered doing so she was a bit resistant at first, but she was eventually convinced to give it a try.

As it turned out, two years of successfully pretending to be someone she wasn’t (or pretending not to be someone she was?) prepared her well for playing a character in a movie. Immersing herself in a role and developing a new persona came easily to her and, since she never does anything in halves, she gave the audition her best shot. Even knowing how much effort she had channeled into her performance, she was still dismayed to find out that the audition had impressed both director Sergeo Pokémonski and Brycen, and thus landed her the role. While she agreed to stay in Virbank long enough to film her scenes, she took off for Castelia as soon as she could and didn’t stick around to see the finished product. The movie did well in the box office, but it didn’t suddenly inspire her to become an actress; at the time, she was more focused on her pokémon journey and learning more about the rising ‘Neo Plasma’ threat, so her brief acting stint was quickly forgotten.

It wasn’t until the tail end of her journey that Rosa was summoned back to Pokéstar Studios at Brycen’s request so she could reprise her role as the heroine in Brycen-Man Strikes Back, this time as Lucario Girl. This happened around the time when she first hit rock-bottom with her mental health, which led to her fully throwing herself into that and many other roles that the studio offered her. Acting quickly became a coping mechanism for her depression, where it was more about her pretending to be someone else—ANYONE but Rosa Vail—just so she could run away from all her problems.

Immersing herself in fantastical worlds where she could completely push aside reality helped her for a while, but it wasn’t until her mother confronted her over her depression that Rosa fully realized what she was doing and that she had to stop. She took an extended break from acting while she journeyed in Kalos and only returned to it after she became the champion of Unova. After a few rough patches during her first year, she found herself in a healthier state of mind and then returned to acting, this time because she actually enjoyed it, at which point her career fully flourished.

While Rosa does well in the action genre, her best work has always been in the fantasy genre and under the direction of Sydney Pokémet. Her first big solo hit and also her favorite film series to work on was Mystery Doors of the Magical Land, which is widely considered her best work. Her least favorite film series was Love and Battles because she felt like a pathetic, simpering fool the entire time during filming. Ironically, that series was also one of her greatest box-office hits and widely acclaimed by film audiences, particularly for Rosa’s emotionally evocative performance in the third installment of the series.

[deweyduck]

i hope its not too hot over there! i've started celebrating a little bit.

since the naughty nine just came out, what upcoming disney channel projects are you looking forward to the most? or what are you hoping they announce soon (besides kim possible 2 we know that one)

- gcwca secret santa

it's cooled down a little bit (still hot but not as bad as last week)

i'm the most hyped for the rise of red!!!!!! i would be excited for a new descendants movie regardless but i'm especially looking forward to it bc of the cast. i've always thought kylie cantrall was so talented from gabby duran which i still haven't finished whoops and her music and i LOVE the babysitters club so when they announced malia baker was in it too i was so happy. brandy and paolo montalban reprising their cinderella roles is so fun and ofc having china come back!!!!

i'm also looking forward to moon girl season 2 next year since that ended up being a big fave of mine this year. and they haven't announced new seasons for secrets of sulphur springs or the villains of valley view yet so i'm hoping for those 🙏 sulphur springs always likes to end the season on a massive cliffhanger and this season's was especially big so if we never find out what happens next i'll be so upset 😭

are there any disney channel projects you're looking forward to? or did you have any favourites from this year?