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queen-of-my-goofball-army · 4 years ago

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An Ode To Miyazaki:

Hi everyone! So for my final paper for film, we had to pick our own director of our choosing and talk about them extensively between the attributes that make them special. Our course focused on the narrative and technical styles of directors. For my final project, I have chosen my biggest hero in the world of animation and somebody that drastically changed my life as a young child, Hayao Miyazaki. Learning about him for this project gave me so much insight into not just his films but who he is as a person. I hope that my paper is as interesting for you to read as it was for me to do research for!

1. Hayao Miyazaki, often referred to as the Japanese Walt Disney is the front runner of his animation studio Studio Ghibli. I picked him because I already have sufficient knowledge and love of his films. One of the first memories that my parents love to remind me of is my first time watching Totoro and laughing at the introduction characters. Miyazaki himself stands out for a number of reasons. Over the years, Miyazaki has made a humongous name out of himself, one of his most famous movies Spirited Away became the most popular film to ever be released in Japan and also won the academy award for the best-animated film that year. His most “popular” films (I say popular in air quotes because it is nearly impossible for people to agree on a favorite) remain the aforementioned Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Princess Mononoke. Beginning his career as a simple animator for Toei animation, he worked as an in-between artist. It was here that he met his future collaborator at Ghibli, Isao Takahata. His first big directorial debut in film before founding Ghibli was a team effort without Takahata was Lupin The Third, The Castle Of Cagliostro. His first successful movie was one that was based upon his own manga Nausicaa of the Valley Of The Wind. The first official Miyazaki movie that was made with Ghibli was one of my personal all-time favorites that had ever been created, Castle In The Sky. For many children, especially ones with parents who are lovers of a film like mine, Miyazaki was one of the first animators that I was introduced to. His films have become classics for every fan of animation, being referenced in culture, specifically back when Disney owned Studio in Toy Story 3, Bonnie has a Totoro.

2. So, this brings up the question, how does one recognize a film by Miyazaki? You can always expect for him to be critically acclaimed, for there to be some element of magic and whimsy in the way that he animates, for there to be something to do with flight (whether it be dealing with airplanes like in Porco Rosso, the idea of flight in Howl’s Moving Castle, or a floating castle up in the sky in Castle In The Sky.), his heroines are always strong-minded and live by their own rules never bowing down to anybody, his love stories are dynamic and fulfilled, a sweeping score by Joe Hizashi, and they have a meaning about nature somewhere, mostly about why it needs to be protected.

Let’s start by breaking him down narratively. The thing that is always in every Miyazaki film no matter which one you decide upon watching, is that his female characters are always strong-willed no matter what. In many ways, I think that he writes women better than Disney does. He has gone on record saying “Many of my movies have strong female leads—brave, self-sufficient girls that don't think twice about fighting for what they believe with all their heart. They'll need a friend, or a supporter, but never a savior. Any woman is just as capable of being a hero as any man.” Sometimes, this will cause them to come across as reckless, or stupid, but in my opinion, I have always looked up to his female characters and the way that they are portrayed. My personal favorite female character that he has ever brought to life through the screen is Sophie from Howl’s Moving Castle. She is strong-minded, not willing to put up with any of Howl’s dramatics, kind, an incredible adult figure for Markal, endlessly sympathetic to her friend’s plights (namely Howl and Calcifer), and somebody that I can always look up to. I spent most of my childhood looking up to characters like Kiki in Kiki’s Delivery Service, Chihiro in Spirited Away, or one of my personal favorite underrated girls, Fio in Porco Rosso. All of these female characters are independent and never let themselves be taken advantage of by anybody.

Another trait that can always be found narratively in his films is that Miyazaki is an airplane/ air travel fanatic. He absolutely loves airplanes, even to the point where his latest film, The Wind Rises was based upon the life of one of the first airplane manufacturers in WWII. Almost all of his films will involve something about flying in the air. Even with the ones that he didn’t direct and he just simply wrote. His obsession with flight is something that stemmed from his childhood and he never saw them as a thing to be used for war “airplanes are not tools for war. They are not for making money. Airplanes are beautiful dreams. Engineers turn dreams into reality.” My personal favorite of all of his flight animation is used in Howl’s Moving Castle when Howl and Sophie “fly” over the heads of all the people below them.

Narratively also one of the biggest things that set apart his films from any others is his focus on nature. The idea of protecting the beauty of nature is something that he has always stood by. A lot of the time, America tries to prove that it can make films about nature as well to usually varying results. I think that nobody can sell an environmental message quite like my biggest hero for Japanese animation. One of the main movies that focus on his will to protect nature above all else is Princess Mononoke. He always manages to animate nature in such a beautiful and majestic way no matter where the film is set.

I also think that a narrative trait of his that often gets overlooked is how beautiful the romance in his films can be. He never has a romance between two characters that feels stale or boring. I love the fact that you can pick any number of his films and the chance of there being a romance that you’ll get sucked into is a very large one. Everybody has their personal favorites, I love Howl and Sophie from Howl’s Moving Castle but my best friend loves Sousuke and Ponyo from Ponyo. He has on record saying that “I’ve become skeptical of the unwritten rule that just because a boy and girl appear in the same feature, a romance must ensue. Rather, I want to portray a slightly different relationship, one where the two mutually inspire each other to live - if I’m able to, then perhaps I’ll be closer to portraying a true expression of love.” Writing romance between two characters can be a very tricky thing which is why it’s always amazing when he can continually pull it off despite everything and how many films that he has made over the years. The beauty of having both a strong and independent male and the female character is that they can both lean on one another for love and support. Probably the biggest supporter of this is Whisper Of The Heart, a film that he wrote instead of directing. The romance is what makes up the entire film. It’s a beautiful love story about how two young teenagers fall in love with each other. The romance is something that continually keeps me coming back for more every time.

Technical style Miyazaki can always be assured to deliver breathtakingly stunning animation. There is a reason why so many people leave his films starving because the food that he draws always looks so good. For me though, it’s the backgrounds that stand out above all else. It’s nearly impossible to have one favorite shot in one of his films but I as a matter of fact do have one. The most breathtaking animation in any Miyazaki film is the scene where Howl takes Sophie to see his secret garden. Everything about this scene never fails to make my breath catch. It’s such a profoundly beautiful moment and how it is animated is something that I haven’t forgotten since my first initial viewing of the film when I was seven.

Another iconic technical trait is that Disney did a fantastic job dubbing the films from their original Japanese language into English. Back when Ghibli films first started to become popular, they needed a way for an American audience to see them. So Pixar’s CFO at the time, John Lassater made a deal with Ghibli that they would dub all the films from their original language for a brand new audience. Growing up, this was how I watched all of Miyazaki’s films. I fell in love with the way that they sounded in English. To this very day, I have yet to see one of his films in any other language. I don’t think that anybody could have dubbed them better. Ever since Ghibli and Disney went their separate ways and they went to GKids the dubs haven’t been the same.

Finally, the last technical trait is that a Miyazaki film will always have a score done by his longtime collaborator Joe Hizashi. The score is such a big part of what makes Miyazaki’s films his own. They are what get you sucked in through their whimsical and magical tones; they always fit the vibes that he’s going through at that moment. There is also the element of sound. Every Miyazaki film has a distinct sound effect that will set it apart from the one before it.

3. The first film that I want to look at is my personal favorite of all his films that he has made so far if you were to force me to pick just one Howl’s Moving Castle. Released in 2004, it was the 9th film that the director came out with. It has an 8.2 out of 10 on IMDB and an 87% on Rotten Tomatoes. The storyline for the movie follows a young woman named Sophie. She gets a curse set upon her by the Witch of the Waste and when she leaves home she finds the infamous Howl’s Moving Castle. This is the second Ghibli movie voiced by a Batman live action actor. Christian Bale voiced Howl Pendragon after Michael Keaton played the titular Porco Rosso.

Narratively this is definitely a Miyazaki film. From how strong of a female character Sophie is I spent most of my childhood looking up to her as a character. Strong female characters are everywhere in his films and in my opinion, Sophie is one of the strongest. Another strong factor is that flight plays a major part in this film. One of Howl’s main powers is that he has the ability to fly around. This leads to my favorite scene of flight in any Miyazaki film when Howl takes Sophie’s hand and they “fly” over the tops of the city down below them. All of his early films up until the last few were set in someplace other than Japan. This one is set in Europe, and he takes a lot of time while in the cities to show off all the different types of buildings while Sophie tours around the city.

Technically speaking this is also a Miyazaki film and holds all the titular traits of being so. The animation is utterly for lack of a better word, magical and spellbinding. It takes my breath away every time that I rewatch it. The food looks incredible, one scene that most of Miyazaki’s fans always think of when this movie is brought up is Calcifer making the food for Howl, Sophie, and Markal to eat. The dub for this film is also one of Disney’s best dubs for Miyazaki films. It even brings actors to the table that I usually would not like to see in other films like Christian Bale. I haven’t loved him in any other films than this one. Billy Crystal is a stand-out as well as my favorite fire demon Calcifer. The score is done by Joe Hizashi as well. My favorite part of the score is the main theme which has Howl and Sophie floating above the people below. The sound effect that follows throughout this film is the steady creaking of the castle itself.

Princess Mononoke was the first time that Miyazaki ever “retired”. Most of the time, whenever he tries to retire, he always comes back. A lot of his colleague's joke that it’s because he physically can’t stop working. He animated most of this movie by himself. Before Spirited Away it was Japan’s most famous film to date. The story about a young man who is just trying to erase the curse that was set upon him by an angry boar and it leads him to a place called Iron Town is something that never fails to amaze me. While in Iron Town, Ashitaka meets a young woman named San who was taken in by wolves and he finds himself caught between a war involving humans and the gods of the forest.

Narratively this is definitely a Miyazaki film. It has a strong female lead, focusing most of its screen time on how important it is to protect and preserve nature as a whole. The idea of protecting nature is such a moving part of the film, as we see what it does when man takes over the forest. We see how distraught it makes the Gods of this world and how they wish that the humans would just go away. However, you also see it from the point of view of the villain of the film Lady Eboshi, who also regularly helps lepers and people who would often never get work outside of her offering them a home and a family. I have regularly gotten into a debate with my mom over which side is “right” and which side “wrong” over the course of the last few years of me being a massive fan of this movie. She takes the side of the forest while I see Ashitaka’s side that everybody should just get along and interact in peace and harmony. Miyazaki never shoves the idea of nature down your throat. That is not what this film is. It’s instead about the beauty of what we have and learning to appreciate it.

On a technical level, this film is fantastic as well. It blows my mind that Miyazaki-san animated most of it all by himself. The backgrounds are sweeping and utterly gorgeous showing off the time period of the film. The fight sequences which make up the bulk of the film’s running time are engaging, thrilling, and fabulously animated. Mononoke’s score was done by Joe Hizashi as well. Its score is beautiful and I always find myself getting sucked into it, especially for the more dynamic scenes with Ashitaka and San. The sound effect for this film uses nature as a backdrop for brutality. Ashitaka’s arrows don’t just come out of his bow, they screech through the air.

Finally, my last film that we will be focusing on, Kiki’s Delivery Service was made in 1989 a year after his cult phenomena My Neighbor Totoro and was his fifth animated feature. Kiki is a young girl that is hoping to become a young witch in training. However, to do so she has to train a year away from home. She and her cat Jiji find a town by the sea where she learns her true strength and what she can really do to help others. Hayao Miyazaki didn't want to bore the audience during the film's end credits by using just the names. He set it up to be like a mini-sequel so that the audience would leave the theatre feeling happy.

Narratively this has all the traits that one should be familiar with and associate with a Miyazaki film. It has a strong-minded female character at the source of it that young girls can look up to and admire. As a kid, Kiki was my favorite female character of his because I loved her strength and her dedication to what she was good at. She knew that she was still young and had a lot to learn but even though she gets depressed she doesn’t let that stop her in the long run and will still save her love interest Tombo. The romance in this film is by far one of the sweetest. I love the interactions between the characters and the way that they both inspire one another to be better than they are. The idea of flight is basically the focal point of everything. Kiki finds that her best trait is that she flies incredibly well and decides to create her own flying delivery service.

Technically this also has a lot of traits that Miyazaki made a name for himself in doing. The animation is spectacular, especially for Kiki’s flying. I could watch her fly around all day and that was the idea that he was going for while making the film. The sweeping score by Joe Hizashi, especially in my favorite song A Town With An Ocean View, is something that I’ll often listen to outside of the film itself. The sound effects for the film are meant to be calming. From the first sound that you hear of the wind rolling through the reeds while Kiki lies against the grass to the waves when she finally finds a home.

4. Miyazaki as a director has inspired me since I was way too young to even remember. When I was a kid I would pretend to run around my apartment building's front yard imagining that I lived in a big house in front of a camper tree like the one in Totoro. His movies are perfect for children that “suffer” from having an overactive imagination. His movies are everything that is bright and beautiful in the world. The animation never fails to take my breath away, the characters and stories are unforgettable, the soundtracks sweep me away and tell stories themselves. His movies are something that even my parents, who are not anime fans, can watch over and over again. I think that speaks for itself. Miyazaki makes films that are art, not just animated films.

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allie1804-fan · 3 years ago

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Kerensa Part 2

This is a continuation of Kerensa Part 1 which you can find here

Kerensa (Part 1)

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5 , Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13

Kerensa (Part 2)

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3

Chapter 4 California Routine

Warnings: Some explicit content

Keanu had a script and an animated film voice-over going on through January and was usually gone the whole day. Kerry would start the day with some laps of the pool, do writing then walk Scout if she could quickly but she soon got put off by the frequency of being spotted by a “homes of the stars” tour bus. She ended up doing walks early and late then staying home all day. It reminded her a bit of working during Covid, only without the constant Teams meetings and it wasn’t long before the loneliness kicked in.

It was on one such lonely day that her mood was made worse by a FaceTime call coming in from her sister.

Rosie was quick to see the sadness in her sister’s expression and pushed to find out more. Kerry confessed that LA was beginning to make her feel trapped - not being able to just go for a walk out of your door like at home without being on a dangerous road or too hot or hassled by paparazzi or tourists really sucked. What she didn’t mention was that she also got her period that day. She didn’t want to tell anyone they were trying and it had only been 3 months so no time at all, but that didn’t stop her from quitting writing early and going to bed for a good cry.

The next day things weren’t much better and she was desperately craving company and fresh air by the time Keanu got home.

“Can’t we just order in” Keanu groaned when she suggested they head down to the beach and find somewhere they could eat out then take Scout for his walk.

“Please, I just need to get out of this place”? Her disparaging tone about his home wound him up.

“What this awful place in the Hollywood Hills, with a pool and privacy ….”

“Sorry I know, it’s just, I need to feel the breeze, have some open space, you know. I’ve been going stir crazy today and I’m on my period ….. again.”

“Come ‘ere” he soothed immediately. He knew she was on her period, but they had a pact not to talk about it so their trying for a baby wouldn’t become an obsession if at all possible.

He held her for a few moments.

“I’m sorry I’m just tired but we can go out, anything to make you feel better”

They did go out and the walk in the sea breeze really helped her feel better. They talked about what was coming up for them and there was a possible trip to look forward to which would give Kerry a change of scene.

Keanu had some location work in San Francisco in mid-February. He suggested they both go and he’d look into staying somewhere close to the sea if they could rather than a hotel in the city.

The production team found them a house close to the beach and they took a couple of days off to take a leisurely drive up with Scout, taking the PCH and Big Sur route. Kerry could feel the tension leaving her shoulders just at the sight of the cliffs and sea.

The house they pulled up to was in a Victorian-era terrace with pale blue plaster walls and a steep set of steps up from the street. The beach was a 15-minute walk through a park and Kerry loved it the minute she set eyes on it. The decor reminded her of the hotel in Tresco, all soft creams and blues that soothed the soul. There was a small garden out back so Scout could be outdoors while Kerry worked but walks would be much easier to manage with the park and beach so close.

After looking around, Kerry went to the bedroom to unpack.

“You making your nest?” Keanu said teasing her as he joined her in the bedroom.

“You know I like to have things in their proper place - and you do too Virgo boy so you can’t talk!”

“Alright! Anyway, are you happy? Did I do good?” he asked, wrapping his arms around her from behind, keeping her from her task.

She turned in his arms laughing.

“Yeah, you did good Reeves, very good. You know don’t take this, you know, the wrong way or like I’m fishing or anything, but …”

“What?”

“But life with you, it’s like a wonderful long honeymoon you know ?”

He laughed understanding why she hadn’t wanted him to think she wanted a proposal!

“Mmmm I agree because you, my love, certainly do taste sweet as honey” she giggled “and I do love your moons” he added, squeezing her buttocks. He kissed her then, deeply and it soon turned hungry and demanding, his hands moving to the buttons on her shirt and the zipper on her jeans.

He broke the kiss only to shove the half-unpacked case onto the floor and push her back on the bed where he began an attack on her breasts with his hands and mouth. It didn’t take long to remove the rest of their clothes and join everything that mattered. She welcomed him in every way, her pussy wet and wide open, her arms pulling him to her and hands raking up his back. He felt like he had become literally joined to her, the squeezing of her muscles starting a tingling and throbbing all along his rigid cock as he pumped in and out. He slowed a little, leaning down to kiss her, trying to hold back but it was useless. Her throat was like a fountain and he let go, filling her in a tremendous burst as her pussy fluttered and pulsed around him. He had to release her from the kiss to shout out his joy and she screamed hers. She fell back on the bed and he down upon her, breathing heavily into her neck for a while before lifting up and smiling down into her eyes.

“Love you Kerensa” he said using her full name which he often chose in moments of passion

“Love you too Kiki !” she’d taken to calling him that since he’d confessed it was a childhood nickname.

The trip passed quickly. Kerry loved San Francisco and split her days between writing and exploring the seafront, parks and the harbour side with Scout in tow as much as she could. She would report back each day with finds and suggestions for restaurants for dinner. Her worries from LA seemed far away.

@fortheloveoffanfic @kindainlovewithkeanu @omg-imagine @keanureevesisbae @penwieldingdreamer @paperplanesandwallflowers @witty-wallflower @karlee1225 @bitchyslut99 @toomanystoriessolittletime @ladyreapermc @kissmyromanticquote @tacticalchics @utterlynuts @kylosbitch @thebigbubowski @thelightnessofthebeing @gatsbynouvel @keanuficfiles @fanficsrusz @jardaniswife @cheezbort @mazzylana97 @maggiemoo1892 @girlfriday007 @siriussnape07 @yomnaislame @soarocks @fadingkideclipseempath @franny-banks-world @keanulowe @babylovejongin @lucky134ever @jasmindaughteroftheworld @tomorrowsanotherday @fokinqueen @littlefreya @leftyreea @wheretheriversrunintothesea @iworshipkeanureeves @fics-not-tragedies @ficsnroses @fickenstein @popacherryvisitalibrary @aah8903 @thethirstyarchive @cynic-spirit @australianpsychos @meetmeinthematinee

#keanu fanfic #keanu reeves fanfic #keanu reeves fanfiction #keanu reeves #keanu fanfiction #keanu #keanu reeves ofc

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kikifeliz · 4 years ago

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THE WEEK AHEAD: May 3 - May 9, 2021

By Kiki Feliz

♑️♉️♍️ Capricorn, Taurus, Virgo

More action this week than last, which is good! Last week was about planning — and in some ways, planning poorly or neglectfully. I saw last week that some of you are struggling with your identities, figuring out who you really want to be in this world & how you want to present yourselves to others.

This week, I see some of your ideas about who you are starting to take shape on the physical plane; I also see that you are putting your heart into it more! Not necessarily emotionally, as in self-love, but like courageously. Think about how they say athletes etc. have “heart,” meaning they are dedicated for the love of the accomplishment/the love of the game. The self-love aspect will come, but for those of you who know about the Tarot, this reading is dominated by Wands (spirited, organized action & courage) rather than Cups (emotions).

I see you’ve been fighting your intuition, likely about spiritual work that needs to be done. There’s a lot of resistance and defensiveness here. It looks like some of you are trying to protect yourself from something. For some, it’s from a player-type romantic figure; others of you may be trying to protect yourself from addictive behaviors and substance abuse.

You seem to be fighting a problem that you are wholly responsible for; something you’ve conjured up in your own head. Ultimately you have complete power and control over this situation, even if it doesn’t seem like it. Even if the opposition (the addiction or the romantic interest) does have some standing here, that doesn’t really mean anything — it’s standing that YOU have given them. Tear it down whenever you’re ready! If this means going to rehab for addiction recovery, do that. If this means cutting this person down from the pedestal you’ve built them, DO THAT! The pedestal might not even be that high (meaning you may not actually consider this person to be that dope) but still, cut that shit down. STOP FUCKING SPYING ON THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA!! It’s not helpful lmao 😂

Take a rest from engaging with whatever this is, and go find some respect. Whether this is respect from your community of likeminded people or self-respect, you need to figure out for yourself. Either way, focus on other people and other, healthier social activities. Maybe get off of social media for a few days altogether. Go hang out with people you haven’t seen in a while. Go for a hike and spend some time outside! But most of all, you need to give this old pattern a rest and cleanse your system of the person/substance so you can move forward.

Once you do this, I see things moving very harmoniously for you! Drop the ball on recovery, however, and you’ll be right back in the cycle of juggling dumb shit and self-sabotaging, taking away valuable resources from your own brain and/or wallet that you could be using for something else more valuable in the long run.

I don’t need to tell you that this addiction/person is bullshit, you already know. This situation may have brought out a side of you that you don’t like; maybe you have even resorted to negative manipulations in order to try to get what you wanted from this situation, or to score (relevant in both the sexual & drug-related sense of the word).

If it’s a person, maybe you thought that you were meant to be together ~/*if only you could outlast the competition*/~. This is simply just NOT TRUE. This is NOT an episode of The Bachelor!

If it’s a drug/alcohol issue, you may have stolen from your parents to fund the habit or done other things as an act of rebellion against tradition. Either way, I see you struggling mentally to win this fight, but not for long. There may even be some enablers in your life that you will have to eliminate.

You are strong enough to win and you do have a community of people cheering you on! Take that hype then use that as fuel to help you remember why it’s important for you to win this battle. Or, alternatively, rather than “hype” it could be negative reactions to the situation told to you by friends and family... maybe they didn’t like how someone was treating you, or how you were treating the community or yourself as a result of your contact with this person/substance. Either way, your community is far more important than this person or this substance. Remember that! There is absolutely hope on the horizon for success in leaving this situation behind.

Something fated is going to happen for y’all very soon! This may have to do with an adventure you’ve been waiting to take the next step on, a trip you’re already on to a new destination for those of you who are planning on traveling, or a goal you’re already pursuing. It may be the rebirth of a long-awaited dream, one that you’ve been stuck reflecting on for a while. You may have thought this dream was dead, but the universe was just waiting for the right time to give it to you.

You’ve had a lot of struggles, but I see you coming into a period of light, independence, joy and work. Some of you may be recovering from really horrible incidents, like depression, sexual assaults, thefts, break-ins, and anxiety, but I want you to know that recovery is imminent and I see you consciously taking a hold of your recovery through acts of joy and through your work!

Whether this defeated feeling you may have stems from addiction or a negative incident that had a bad effect on your psyche, I want you to know that recovery is a PRACTICE and it takes time. And that’s okay! Just keep the lines of communication open with yourself and others; most importantly be HONEST with yourself and you will absolutely be capable of taking back control over your life. Big CEO energy here — get ready to make some executive decisions soon!

Keep in mind that nothing happens overnight and that you will need to work hard on all of your goals in order to accomplish them. Temptation (that trap, that pit) is always going to be there, but you have to take the reins and drive around it, or go consciously in the other direction. This will be hard and it will take longer than you expect; you will also have to confront your shadow side in order to succeed long-term, which will be scary. But approach yourself with love and positivity. In the meantime, do what you can to make yourself feel attractive. This is the start of a whole new you! That person is worth patiently and consciously doing the work for, right?

In love, if you’re dating, it looks like some of you may be caught up with some lies, infidelity, or self-sabotaging (either by you or by someone else). If this is the case, declare your independence and GTFO. Seriously. This situation is giving off bad vibes anyway. It may take a while for you to trust enough to love again, but you absolutely will. You are attractive, kindhearted, and sweet! That’s an irresistible combo.

If you’re single and thinking about approaching someone romantically this week, you can... but you probably aren’t ready, and the attempt may come off as immature and poorly planned. If you really think this person is your soulmate, then I would advise giving it a better effort. The person you plan to approach may be very defensive or shut off. Be prepared to bring on a Major Romantic Gesture if you want to seduce them and take down their walls! Regardless, take a chill pill on the social media stalking, bud — you’ll just psych yourself out. Go outside and hang out with your friends instead!

If you’re in a relationship, it looks like silly squabbles may be coming between y’all, but I do see a possibility of them being resolved with some balance. Sometimes you just have to agree to disagree. Change the subject, have some patience, and if you are really at an impasse, then take a break to yourself to reflect. Otherwise, things could get ugly and we don’t want that! Is there something you’re being willfully blind to? Something you are ignoring? I see it becoming a big problem later on.

For those of you who are committed, someone in the relationship may be judgmental about the other person’s friend group (are they bad influences?? Perhaps. But that’s none of their business if everyone is adults). If this is the case, suck it up and go find some work to do... they aren’t going to change their friends for you, so let it go. Domineering attitudes will not help the matter. Just compartmentalize the time you spend with those people and leave it at that.

You and your partner are allowed to have your own independent lives, so let that happen. If this is an issue, I see it being unresolved for quite some time. But if you stay open to the love and to helping each other grow, and remind each other how attractive you find each other, despite the negatives, I see you bringing this back from the brink of death and successfully turning over a new leaf/making it to the next chapter in the relationship!

#capricorn #taurus #virgo #horoscope #kiki feliz #horoscopes

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franadamo · 4 years ago

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CASE STUDIES AND INSPIRATIONS.

Sleeping Beauty

Disney’s notorious and classic movie, Sleeping Beauty, was released in theaters on January 29th, 1959. The movie centers around a young princess, Aurora, who was cursed at a young age to prick her finger on a sewing wheel and to fall into a deep sleep on the day of her sixteenth birthday. At the end of the story, the Prince comes to her aid, by getting rid of this curse with a kiss. While it has been re-released four times, it is also the second highest grossing movie of 1969.

The writing for Sleeping Beauty began in 1951, after Cinderella was released and the success it followed. Some of the elements that are found in Sleeping Beauty were taken from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, although that doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Alongside Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty was the third fairy tale movie released by Disney, and the last to be released for some time, before returning to them with The Little Mermaid in 1989.

During the production of the movie, there was a series of replacements of directors. While the movie was originally led by director Wilfred Jackson, he had a heart attack in 1953, leaving the work to the directing animator, Larson. Disney would eventually replace Larson with Clyde Geronimi.

With this movie, Disney wanted the “film’s design aesthetic to be completely unique to anything the studio had previously crafted.” The idea for this movie was to go with a “moving tapestry,” in a sense, as if it was a moving illustration. This was a result of art director John Hench’s seeing the 16th century unicorn tapestries artwork at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Disney also wanted the work to be as detailed as possible with, both, the character designs and the backgrounds, this work falling on background painter, Eyvind Earle, who worked in the studio for only three years.

And this, specifically, is exactly why I wanted to include Sleeping Beauty as one of my case studies for my animation. While the overall aesthetic, color palettes and style behind Disney’s Sleeping Beauty resembles the one I envisioned for Mavis and her world, Eyvind Earle’s masterpieces are one of the things that stood out to me the most. While he had previously worked on projects such as Peter Pan (1953), For Whom the Bulls Toil (1953) and Lady and the Tramp (1955), he “truly left his mark” with Disney’s Sleeping Beauty. He was greatly notorious for his “lush landscapes” and strong verticals. After Disney saw his work, he decided that, instead of having the background artists follow on to the animators’ footsteps, he’d have the opposite, where Earle would lead with his paintings, and the animators would follow in with his style. As a matter of fact, “the animators found it difficult, even impossible, to translate Earle’s detail-laden style into viable character designs.”

Sadly, the movie was a “financial flop.” Not necessarily because of its art direction, but because, as author Bob Thomas noted, “the emphasis was on visual beauty and spectacular effects.” Furthermore, the movie was “released in Super Technirama 70mm, which means there was a higher level of detail and stylisation,” being a huge step forward in the animation field at the time. It also featured a significant transformation in terms of animating, where the traditional “round imagery” turned to a flatter and more graphic sophistication.

Similarly, in terms of style, I also wanted to include Disney’s One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) and Pinocchio (1940).

References:

Cain, A. (2017) This Artist Made Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty” Enchanting - and Nearly Impossible to Animate. Available at: https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-artist-made-disneys-sleeping-beauty-enchanting-impossible-animate.

Jamieson, D. (2020) The House of Mouse Project - “Sleeping Beauty”. Available at https://thejamreport.com/2020/04/22/the-house-of-mouse-sleeping-beauty/

Deja, A. (2013) Deja View: The Art of Sleeping Beauty. Available at http://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-art-of-sleeping-beauty.html.

Rowney, J. (2019) Sleeping Beauty Facts on 60th Anniversary - Movie that nearly Bankrupted Disney. Available at https://www.mirror.co.uk/film/sleeping-beauty-facts-60th-anniversary-13838175

Oliver, M. (2000) Eyvind Earle; Artist and Disney Painter. Available at https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jul-25-me-58783-story.html

Thumbelina

The movie Thumbelina was originally released on March 30th, 1994, by Warner Bros. It was directed and produced by director Don Bluth. While the movie was produced in the 1990s, the story itself originates from Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale, Thumbelina.

The story features a tiny girl born out of a tulip, after a woman struggled to have a child of her own. Thumbelina herself, like the name suggests, is the size of a thumb. Throughout the story, Thumbelina learns to love herself by undergoing several adventures. The production featured renowned voice actors, including Carol Channing, John Hurt, and even Jodi Benson, who’d notably voiced Disney’s Ariel in The Little Mermaid, in 1989. Some of the animators that worked on this movie were Paul J. Kelly, Jacques Muller and Mark Pudleiner.

When producing the movie, Merlin and Media Assetshave offered to spend 6 million dollars in the production of Thumbelina, as well as A Troll in Central Park. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as successful as it was planned to be, gaining almost half of what was put into the production of the movie. While I personally remember liked the movie as a child because of its colorful aesthetics and in the way that the animals’ features were overly exaggerated, it was also very colorful, while having a, somewhat, darker theme, when it came to the presentation of a fairy-tale world. In a sense, it stayed true to the darker hints that Hans Christian Andersen left behind his stories. Also, while the colors are plenty and to be seen everywhere throughout the movie, they’re also quite muted, and not as bright as they’d usually be for an animation that is aimed at children or at a younger audience.

Nonetheless, aside from the style and the use of colors, I also included this movie as one of my case studies because of the way that the creatures are shaped and presented. In a way, they serve as some sense of inspiration when I work with Mavis’ own universe, in terms of anthropomorphic and normal animals.

References:

The Big Cartoon Database. Thumbelina. Available at https://www.bcdb.com/bcdb/cartoon.cgi?film=23391

AllMovie. Thumbelina (1994). Available at https://www.allmovie.com/movie/v133496

Hersholt, J. Thumbelina. Available at https://andersen.sdu.dk/vaerk/hersholt/Thumbelina_e.html

Dawtrey, A. Merlin’s Magic May Animate DBE. Available at https://variety.com/1992/biz/news/merlin-s-magic-may-animate-dbe-100532/

Spirited Away

The movie was released in 2001, by the notorious Studio Ghibli. It was produced by the Studio Ghibli co-CEO Hayao Miyazaki. After releasing the greatly acclaimed Princess Mononoke, he immediately began working on this new project, after he found inspiration during an outing with some of his friends and their daughters. At that time, he noticed how girls were reading manga, and how the latter were often times focused on romance, and subjects of the sort. This made him think, ultimately asking himself:

“Is there possibly more that we can offer the young girls of this country?”

And so, the idea for Spirited Away, originally called The Spiriting Away of Sen and Chihiro, was born. The story follows the adventures of a young ten-year old girl through a “strange world of spirits,” where she needs to “find the will to live and save her parents,” who, in the meantime, had been turned into pigs. The movie began with a budget of 15 million dollars, while Disney agreed to finance 10% of its production costs. After its release, Spirited Away had a massive success, way more than the Studio could have ever imagined. In fact, “by the spring of 2002, the film would go on to shatter the previous record helf by ‘Titanic’ at the Japanese box-office.” Furthermore, “Spirited Away's $235 million not only sunk Titanic, but also set the film as the first non-American film to make $200 million outside of the US,” surpassing Princess Mononoke’s $155 million’s box office, back in 1997.

This movie is, to this day, the highest grossing movie in Japanese history. Additionally, frequent director of notorious Pixar movies, John Lasseter, was assigned with the task of Disney’s creative consultant in the US release of Spirited Away. This was also a key factor in the commercial success of the movie outside of Japan, as John Lasseter, aside from being a highly renowned animator, was also a huge fan of Miyazaki.

* Miyazaki is also very known for his use of watercolors. Furthermore, he often times includes anti-war, pro-environmentalism and feminist themes into his works.

In terms of the animation itself, Miyazaki wanted to explore the use of computer technology. However, while he and his team wanted to work with this media in particular, he also didn’t want it to use too much. Instead, he wanted to “keep the technology at a level to enhance the story, [and] not steal the whole show.”

“Studio Ghibli has forever shifted Japanese popular culture through their unique and constant quality storytelling coupled with beautiful visuals.”

Similarly, in terms of style and color use that I like to associate with the world and animation that I have in mind for Mavis and her own universe, I thought of Studio Ghibli’s Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989).

References:

The Making of Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away - Part 1. Available at http://jimhillmedia.com/alumni1/b/michael_howe/archive/2003/04/15/1391.aspx

Herskovitz, J. “Mononoke” Creator Miyazaki Toons up Pic. Available at https://variety.com/1999/film/news/mononoke-creator-miyazaki-toons-up-pic-1117759995/

Gurney, J. (2017) Watercolor Tips from Hayao Miyazaki. Available at http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2017/03/watercolor-tips-from-hayao-miyazaki.html

Ewens, H. (2016) Why ‘Spirited Away’ is the Best Animated Film of All Time. Available at https://www.vice.com/en/article/8geg4b/spirited-away-ghibli-miyazaki-15th-15-year-anniversary-best-animation-hannah-ewens

Mcdonald, T. (2020) Studio Ghibli and its Affect on Japanese Culture. Available at https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=b2e39738b7d140babc407db5a40415e8

BBC. (2016) Hayao Miyazaki: Japan's Godfather of Animation? Available at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-38074088

Honorable Mentions: Disney’s Robin Hood (1973), Tangled (2010).

#course: animation principles #animation principles term one #uni work #year 1 #myportfolio #case studies

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drangues · 4 years ago

Note

Try your best!!! I’m rooting for you, and even if you don’t pass (but I’m hoping you do!), doing what you can and giving it your all is just as noteworthy. Cheesy, I know, but it’s the best encouragement I’ve got- Though I do sympathize with you. Tests are stressful. And Chuuya and Atsushi are just some of those characters that I wanna see interact more because I think they’d have a great relationship but canon gives me: Nothing, so I must improvise. (Nyanon, 1/5)

As for mythology- It’s always been a weak point of mine, and I’m always interested in it, be it real mythology or a fictional one. It’s just! So! Cool!!! I’m sorry I’m a nerd but I could chatter for daaayyysss about mythology, especially ancient mythology like the Ogdoad, or fictional mythology in universes like the SCP Mythos! Also I want a Kerberos plush, he’s very cute,, Anyways, Studio Ghibli is,, So Good? I love it so much! (Nyanon, 2/5)

The art style is great and the stories are amazing (I’ll always have a soft spot for the Cat Returns and My Neighbor Totoro, they’re Very Good), and aaahhh I just wanna see how Atsushi and everyone would look in that art style I bet it’d be great. But! Yes yes yes, I could definitely see Dazatsu in Howl’s Moving Castle,,, Atsushi not seeing himself as Beautiful makes me sad but then I think of the fields of flowers and Dazai showing him something like that and I’m: Healed. (Nyanon, 3/5)

The only things I’d change would be small stuff? Like, if I remember correctly, the main character made hats- Maybe Atsushi binds or restores books for a living? Just little stuff like that- Though it would be. Totally, completely in Dazai’s character to freak out over his hair being the wrong color, it’d be hilarious. As a side note, Kyouka is absolutely in Kiki’s Delivery Service- Maybe they take place at the same time? (Nyanon, 4/5)

Like, Kyouka goes off to do witchy things right before Atsushi gets cursed, and now they’re both trying to pretend everything is going well because they don’t wanna worry the other. Moving on to another,, Well, I don’t know if it counts as an AU, actually? So a Scenario Concept, I guess: Dazai gets bitten and turned by a werewolf. Queue him (A) personally learning Atsushi’s weretiger struggles, and (B) being the biggest of brats about being a dog, because. It’s Dazai. (Nyanon, 5/5)

i love cheesy stuff pls keep it coming dude ALSO PLS KEEP CHATTERING ABOUT MYTHOLOGY I DONT JUDGE

i also agree that studio ghibli has great movies, i especially am fond of kikis delivery service, howls moving castle and spirited away (very basic i am aware but they were the most Impactful for me as a child) and i think atsushi would look so good TOO i think i saw a fanart of dazatsu as spirited away actually :OOO they looked sO CUTE BOTH OF THEM

(agreed on the book restoring/binding thing btw, it’s just. Yes . it’s so him im in love with him. AND HIM AND KYOUKA OUT ON THEIR OWN ADVENTURES NOT WANTING TO WORRY THE OTHER AAAA THATS SO FUCKING CUTEEEEEEE THEYRE SO ADORABLE I LOVE THEM)

dazatsu bonding even more cus dazai became a werewolf?? i stan. i love. im AMAZED. he would probably cry about it and atsushi is like “imagine how tired we are. imAGINE H-”

#anon #ask #ask anon #anon ask #bsd #nyanon #nyatsushi anon

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cofffeeekinks · 4 years ago

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Katsune no Hanayome Ch. 5

Normally, y’all gotta wait till Friday, but today is labor day so you get a bonus chapter and I’ll post again on Friday as usual.

This is a commission multi-chapter fic, for @eggyboi13, who has been so patient with me in regards to how long I’ve been taking to get this out. I’m hoping to get a new chapter out every Friday.

AO3

If you want to show me your support, consider asking for a commission (only for art though) or leaving a tip in my ko-fi.

Katsune no Hanayome Chapter 4

Rated: Mature (18+)

Trans!Bakugou Trans!Todoroki Trans!Kirishima

Later chapters will contain things such as: s e x , lots of it. Heavily pregnant s e x.

[Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4]

The trio, now in the middle of their month long pregnancy, often helped with clients when they could. Izuku’s clan often supplied potions for many of the different yokai in the spirit world and so they had many customers. They didn’t have to work, and Izuku actually advised against it. He didn’t want them to over do it and hurt themselves or their babies. However, all three boys couldn’t just sit around and eat all day, they had to do something and that meant help around the shop.

Most of the time yokai would ask for some sort of healing potion, or a good luck potion. A few have even asked for a sex potion, that of course would only work with willing partners. The yokai were friendly to the trio, congratulating them on their pregnancy and wishing them luck. After seeing many yokai throughout the day, they never expected to see anyone they recognized. And yet, here they were. They were staring at Iida and Shinsou at the other side of the counter.

But they were different, or at least Shinsou was.

Shinsou had a cute pair of cat ears perking from atop his head and a tail that wiggled about. He was also heavily pregnant, and from the looks of it he would probably be bedridden soon.

“Wh-what are you three doing here?” Iida asked, his voice shaken with surprise.

The three glanced at each other, unsure what to say but as usual Katsuki was the one to speak up first, “We got knocked up by a sexy fox so I guess we live here now, and from the looks of it, you kinda did the same?”

“Sort of.” Iida looked over at Shinsou.

Shinsou rolled his eyes, “Listen, just because I hung out with you all doesn’t mean I was a human.” he began to explain, “I was young, saw this handsome human and I knew I’d have to work to spirit him away.”

“Hey, that’s kinda cute.” Eijirou said with a smile, “Oh, maybe our babies will be friends?”

“Agreed.” Iida nodded.

“So, are you two here for some potion or something?” Shoto asked, getting impatient with the chit chat, “Like, why are you here?”

“Oh yes!” Iida answered, “We’d like some pain killers, for when he goes into labor.”

And with that awkward interaction, Iida and Shinsou departed.

Eventually though, as the days passed, it wouldn’t be so easy to move around and work at the front of the store. Katsuki was the first to drop from that position. Him being pregnant with a group of six kits, he quickly began to out grow robes of the largest size. Of course, it didn’t help that he was always being fed. And not just him, of course, Eijirou and Shoto were just about always stuffed with food as well. They had each gained at least 100 pounds in the course of their time pregnant, Katsuki a little more though. Katsuki was so fed up with nothing fitting, he opted to walk around naked. Why the hell not? He was pregnant and moody and nothing fit so he might as well just have this. It was a shock to the servants and when they asked, politely, “Please, why don’t you put some clothes on?”

Katsuki would respond with, “Fuck off.” or something similar.

Then, if Izuku caught him out and about without any clothes on, he’d whisk him away into another room and the two would bang each other for hours. But as fun as walking around in the nude is, Katsuki eventually became too big to move and was bedredden.

About four days into his bedrest, one of them who would no longer have to carry that giant belly around. The first one to go into labor was not Katsuki but rather a certain red haired gentleman who was carrying triplets. It was a surprise to the servants, who all had a betting pool with the majority of the participants betting toward Katsuki. He was the biggest out of the three, surely he’d be the first to pop, but no. It was Eijirou.

It happened late at night when a new sensation woke Eijirou up from his sleep.

“Did I just…” he spoke out loud as a wet liquid began to trickle down his legs and over toward Izuku.

Eijirou watched as the liquid spread over toward Izuku. It barely had to touch the tip of his finger for him to wake up. He opened his eyes and looked over at Eijirou staring back at him.

“I’m sorry, I think I peed.”

Izuku sat up, the smell of the liquid hitting him and alerting him that no, no this was not pee, “Eijirou, your water broke.” he announced with urgency.

“My water broker but --,” he was then hit by a sudden and powerful contraction, causing him to let out a little yelp.

Izuku quickly left to fetch a potion for Eijirou, it was supposed to numb the pain of childbirth but childbirth demands to be felt and not everything was numb.

“This is fucking bull shit, Izuku!” he screamed, his qurik activating and resulting in the bed boards breaking.

Katsuki and Shoto watched on in slight horror.

“I’m never doing this shit for you ever again!” Eijirou screamed, “No one is because as soon as I’m done pushing these babies out, I’m ripping your dick off!”

“Please dont…”

“Eijirou, please focus.” the midwife tried to redirect his attention, “This one is ready to come out, now I need you too --.”

Eijirou then bore down and pushed the first of Izuku’s children out. Ren slid out of Eijirou, screaming and crying. He was a big infant and was very much excited to be alive.

Everyone instantly fell in love with him, the midwife cleaned him up and passed him to Izuku who held him to his neck, scenting him. Ren was passed around to Shoto and Katsuki as well. They, unknowingly washed their scent on the baby.

The next baby to come into the world was Aiko, and only half an hour later, the first girl, Sakura was born. All of the newborns were scented, swaddled, and would be cared for.

Katsuki was the next of the trio to give birth, to which he was both relieved and horrified because yay, finally but then oh my gosh I’m scared. So, since they knew the remainder of the babies would arrive soon, Katsuki, Shoto, and Izuku decided to have some sexy fun. Eijirou sat out, he was still healing and exhausted from the birth of his triplets. Instead he spent the remainder of the night snoozing or tending to the needs of his little newborns.

During their sexual escapade, Katasuki’s bliss turned into pain the moment he felt a pop along with water gushing out of him and onto Izuku’s dick.

“Shit.” he swore.

Izuku and the servants helped clean up the mess, while Katsuki was prepared for birth. The painkilling potion didn’t work as well as Katsuki wanted and as the pain of childbirth branched out from his spine he began to sob.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” he breathed, then screamed as a ripping contraction tore through him.

“It’ll be okay.” the midwife soothed, “You’ll see your little ones soon, I just need you to breathe through the pain and push as hard as you can.”

Katsuki nodded, he squeezed Izuku’s and Shoto’s hands as he pushed with all he had. Haru and Maru were born only 30 seconds apart, to which the midwife said, “You don’t want to keep going so quickly, at this rate, you’ll rip.”

Ten minutes of agony later, Katsuki was tired of keeping an easy pace and he pushed out Tobi. Then Hana and Kana were born only two minutes away from each other. By the time there was only one baby left, Katsuki was exhausted. It took him forty five minutes to push out the smallest of his litter, Kiki.

With a smile, Katsuki stared at his little babies with awe. They wiggled and cried, and to his surprise Katsuki couldn’t wait to have more. That was his final thought before passing out a seconds later from exhaustion. He spent the entire next day sleeping, and no one disturbed him.

Shoto was the last to give birth, and he was overdue when he finally asked Izuku to have the midwife induce him and she did. Katsuki and Eijirou were there with him, they had known he had been a little fragile during his time being pregnant and knew he needed all the support they could provide. They were at his sides, each holding a hand. Izuku took position next to the midwife to aid in this birth.

Izuku’s instinct to assist the midwife was right. The first of Shoto’s litter would cause complications.

“It’s --I can feel the first one comming down…” Shoto stammered.

“Slow down.” the midwife advised, then stated, “This is going to be a breech birth. The legs are coming out first, Mr. Midoriya, I need you to put your hands here and --”

Shoto screamed, he was starting to feel a burning sensation leaking from his pelvis and radiating upward. It was getting hard to breathe. Katsuki turned and kissed him on the forehead, Eijirou whispered, “Hey, you can do this. Breech or not, you can get this baby out.”

“I can’t do this!” Shoto shouted, “Stop, stop stop! Make it stop!! It hurts, please I can’t--,”

Shoto was ripping. He could feel himself tearing.

“Now, I need you to push hard!” the midwife ordered, “We have to get the head out, now. Okay, push push push!”

Shoto wasn’t even sure he was pushing at this point, it was all so painful. His vision was blurring as he looked down and noticed the midwife and Izuku handling a very quiet and limp infant.

“What, what’s wrong...?” Shoto asked, breathing hard and seeing black splotches.

He overheard the midwife say something about ‘...not breathing…’

“Is she okay?” Shoto asked, “Why isn’t she crying?”

Katsuki and Eijiro both reassured him that everything would be fine and indeed it was because a few seconds later, little Sachi began to cry and with a smile Shoto passed out. Shoto was only knocked out for a few minutes before it was time to resume the rest of his labor. Which was easy and not as painful as the first. Mari, Touka, and Touya were all a breeze to push out.

Afterwards, Shoto ended up having to be bedridden for the next month to allow himself to heal.

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metaphoricalplutowrites · 6 years ago

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Roman’s Delivery Service - Chapter 1

ao3 link | Masterlist | Some art i did for it

Authors note: So i’ve had this idea of a 'Kiki's Delivery Service' au for a while and as im such a huge Studio Ghibli nerd i thought i’d make it anyways. It’s had a while in the making but i finally managed to finish it and i hope you like it as much as i do :)

Summary: When a witch or wizard turns 13, on the night of a full moon they must leave home for a year in order to train in which ever skill they choose to persue. Roman is no different. At 13, he must go away with his black cat, Virgil, to train a year away from home as is customary to do so with his family’s and village’s traditions.

Pairing(s): Platonic pinxiety

Warnings: witches/wizards?

Words: 3454

Tags: @novagalaxy4real @tree4life25 @ultimate-queen-of-fandoms2 @say-no-to-this-but-its-laurens @magicmapleleaf @moxiety--sanders101 @vrexemi @theresneverenoughfandoms @patchworkofstars @iris-sanders-athena @virgilssweaterpaws @ravenclawicecream

“-we’ve been receiving so many calls from people, asking about this marvellous airship called ‘The spirit of freedom’ which may or may not be passing over our area soon. I’ll let you know more as soon as we have more information available to us. But first, here’s the weather forecast; skies are clearing up, thanks to a high pressure front, moving in from the mountains. Mild winds will be blowing in from the west, pushing the clouds out by this evening. There will be a beautiful full moon lighting up the night sky, so if you’ve been planning something special, tonight might just be the night to do it. Tomorrow also looks good with more clear skies and sun-”

Roman switched off the portable radio with a ‘click’ and sat up from the lush grass he had been laying in previously, cloud gazing.

He stood up and brushed the grass which had gotten stuck to the back of his trousers off, bending backwards till his back cracked.

“Virgil! Wake up!” He said excitedly to the black fur ball who had curled up and was asleep, basking in the summer sun.

“Hmm?” The cat replied sleepily, only half awake.

The young boy then started to walk through the flowers of the meadow and back towards his house’s – making sure his black cat, Virgil, was following behind him. He could be a little sarcastic sometimes, well sometimes was an understatement, but Roman still loved him anyways.

“C’mon Virgil, let’s go tell mum and dad!” Roman shouted back to his cat as he started to race down the dirt path that lead home.

“Yeah, yeah, sure, just slow down already!” the dark fur ball shouted back. “Not all of us have long-ass legs like you!”

“Oh hush, let’s just go!” the young boy kept on running.

“Good afternoon, young Roman! Where are you off to today?” one of his neighbours called to him as they passed on their bike.

“Good afternoon, Mr Hamada! Just off home for now.” Roman slowed down ever so slightly and greeted him.

“Rightio, don’t let me be in your way now!” then he started to cycle on again.

“Have a good day sir!” Roman called and then continued running home, thoroughly tiring his cat out in the process.

“Slow down!” Virgil whined as he tried to keep up with the fast pace, but Roman paid no attention to his complaining, he was well used to it at this point in his life.

Soon enough, he could see the driveway of his house, the plants in the front garden coming into his view. He then picked up the pace only slightly, dodging and swerving in between all the pots and leaves. Once he got to his house, he went straight into their conservatory where his mum was busy making a potion for another one of his neighbours – an old lady he knew as Ms Flora.

She was a nice old lady, a neighbour he had known for as long as he could remember and she was also a regular customer of his mother.

“Hey mum-! Oh hi there Ms Flora,” Roman greeted the old lady when he saw she was there. “Hey mum, it’s gonna be a clear night tonight! And guess what?!” he continued, “The radio had said there is going to be a full moon too!” He finished a little too quickly, but that just showed his enthusiasm over it

“Did you go and borrow your father’s radio again without asking?” His mum scolded, raising an eyebrow as she concentrated on the potion she was making.

“Oh don’t worry, he doesn’t mind about that.” He waved off the concern and returned back to the topic he was talking about. “Please excuse me Ms Flora. Mum it’s going to be the perfect midnight to leave home! I can’t think of another night id want to, and it might not be like this again!” He half begged.

Roman’s mother was surprised, and momentarily paused in her potion making, but then continued as there was a timeframe she had to meet with the ingredients. Roman didn’t really understand why, but then again potions always seemed to bore him to no end.

“You mean tonight? Next month is what you told me!” She said, voicing her surprise as she mixed ingredients together.

“Yeaahhhhh, but the next full might well be on a cloudy night! And I want to leave on the perfect midnight! It is a special occasion after all!” The boy tried to reason, it made sense to him after all.

“Huh? But Roman-” said Roman had already to rush up to his room to start packing his back to be able to leave. “Wait!” She yelled after him, but little did she know her potion was beginning to bubble over and burn, and soon enough it exploded. Once the smoke cleared from around her, she could see that the glass tube had cracks down the side, and that the potion she was making had been ruined. She sighing, she started to go through and remake the potion again.

There was a chuckle from her guest who sat at a table in the room which had all sorts of different plants around it. “My oh my, what’s this all about hmm?” she laughed light-heartedly.

“It’s one of our oldest traditions, when a witch or wizard turns 13, they must leave home for a year in order to begin their training to become a witch or wizard.” She explained while making the new potion.

“Your little boy is 13 already? Goodness me how time flies.” Ms Flora smiled.

Roman’s mother agreed, “He seems so young to be leaving home now…”

Ms Flora sat back in her chair. “Well, I remember the very day you came to this town. A little girl flew down from the sky on a broomstick. And I was certain she was much too young to have such an important job as the President Witch.” They both chuckled.

Once she’d finished making the potion, Roman’s mum went and sat down across from Ms Flora with the potion.

“Yes, but at least I could actually fly, Roman barely knows how to do that! And every time I’ve tried to teach him how to make potions he gets too bored or I just never even have enough time to even teach him.” She said, worry hinted in her voice.

The old lady considered this for a moment and then spoke again. “Young people these days are all the same. They all want to do something different to what others want them to do. But I do hope at least that you get to teach him the potion that cures my Rheumatism.”

They both laughed at that and Roman’s mother was left with a tad less worry than she had before.

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

“Hurry up!” Roman rushed around his room, grabbing clothes out of draws, throwing them onto his bed and then shoving them in to his trusty red bag. “We had always said that we could leave on the perfect night, didn’t we?” He said to his cat as he sorted through a draw of socks.

“Nuh uh. Our plan was to stick around for another month and play it safe. I like that plan.” Virgil deadpanned and hopped aside to avoid his tail being trodden on by Roman as he ran around.

“And then if we put it off for a month and I find some wonderful boyfriend then what will we do?” Roman pulled shirts out of his chest of draws and without folding them very neatly, put in them into his bag, pushing them down to make them a little smaller.

“Uh oh…” Virgil said worriedly.

“Come on Virgil!” Roman then decided that unless he folded things then everything wouldn’t fit so he emptied the bag and then started rolling all his clothed up – a trick he learnt from his father to make clothes smaller.

“I’m going to put my paws together and pray you’re not serious about this princey.” The black cat had to dodge a shirt which was thrown his way, the boy deciding it wasn’t worth taking. Virgil didn’t blame him, neon orange wasn’t really Roman’s colour.

“Of course I am!” Roman replied a bit crossly and paused in his packing to look at his cat. “You very well know that ever since this prince has turned 13 I have been excited to make this trip.”

He swiftly finished off packing by taking his savings tin down from his bookcase and shoving it into the middle of his bag, so that it wouldn’t easily be lost. But then he remembered the prince outfit hanging up in his wardrobe and then folded that neatly, packing that too, he couldn’t leave it behind after all.

“There.” He said once he was happy with how things fitted. It was then that he heard a car pull into the driveway. “Dad!” He exclaimed and then ran over to the window, which, when he looked out, showed it was indeed his father who had pulled in.

Roman’s father looked very much like Roman, and Roman looked pretty much like his dad did when he was younger, except for the fact Roman had freckles, brown hair like his mother and he didn’t wear glasses.

“Dad! Guess what?!” He yelled out of the window. “I’ve decided that I’m going to leave tonight!”

His father was surprised to hear this, much like his mother, and paused in undoing the rope which was attached over the top of his car, keeping all sorts of different things in place.

“You’re going away tonight?!” he shouted up to Roman.

“Yeah! There’s gonna be a full moon tonight!” Roman called back.

“Well yeah, I guess so, but what happened to the camping trip we were supposed to take this weekend?” Roman’s dad managed to get the rope free from the top of the car. Pots, pans and other camping supplies were held atop the car. He sounded rather down about the fact that they may well not be able to go on the trip together as a family.

“Sorry dad!” Roman apologised and then went from the window back to his bag to check he had packed everything he needed.

“Oh, uh, Roman, wait-!” Being a tad distracted with talking to Roman, he didn’t notice the rope that was on the floor in front of him, so when he went to run inside, he tripped on said rope and then caused a lot of the equipment to come crashing off of the top of the car. He hesitated, looking back and forth between the house and the car trying to figure out what to what to do, but decided it would be best to at least sort out some of the things from the top of the car before he went inside.

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

Roman’s mother had finished up working on her potions and had gone up to Roman’s room. She had gone up to make sure all of Roman’s robes fit him correctly and to make sure the hem lines were right and fit right. His outfit was simple, a black shirt and trousers that matched. She had originally wanted Roman to wear what wizard’s usually wore, an outfit which was just one piece and was like a dress, but wasn’t a dress. Roman had protested against it and she ended up giving up on fighting him over it and they settled for a shirt and trousers. It wasn’t what she would have preferred but at least Roman was somewhat happy with it and it was traditional colours.

“Very handsome.” She remarked as she sewed up a hem on his right trouser leg.

Roman looked into the full length mirror they were in front of and frowned. “White would look better on me, or even my prince suit!”

“Listen, wizards and witches have worn this colour for a very long time Roman, you know that.” His mother reminded him.

“Oh but mum,” Roman continued, “I look really… dull.”

His mother finished and then stood up, putting her hands comfortingly on his shoulders as she grinned into the mirror. “It’s not really important what colour or style your clothes are dear, what matters is the heart inside.”

The boy smiled at this, “well I’m going to be the very best wizard that I can be mum! And I know that having a good heart is very important. But I do wish I could wear something different…”

His mother ignored the second half of his statement and replied, “Just follow your heart and keep smiling.”

Roman smiled at her in the mirror and agreed. “Yeah.”

“And be sure to write home as soon as you are settled.” She said as she packed up her sewing kit and proceeded downstairs from his room.

“Okay,” he called after her. When Roman saw his dad coming up the stairs he gasped and ran over to him. “Dad! Oh can I take the radio please?” he then proceeded to shout downstairs. “Mum, didn’t you say I could take the radio?” He looked over the banisters and saw his mother give him a nod as a yes. “Yay!”

His father chuckled. “Oh alright, it’s yours already!”

“Thank you!” Roman thanked him and smiled widely.

His father sat on his bed, he’d just come upstairs from calling all their family and friends to inform them of the date change of Roman’s leaving, they wanted people to be there for when he left after all.

“Well now,” he looked at Roman’s outfit. “You certainly look very grown up, Mr Wizard Prince.”

“Well I’m glad about that! One can’t be a prince if you don’t look grown up enough!” Roman beamed. “Hey dad, would you be able to lift me up high like you used to do when I was little?” he asked, holding his arms out.

“Well…” with a little struggle, Roman’s dad managed to pick him up and hold him up above him, spinning around a few times causing Roman to giggle, before dropping him back down, catching him and hugging him close while still carrying the boy.

“How come you never told me you were growing up so fast?” he murmured to Roman quietly. He then let Roman go from the hug but still held him. “You know, if this don’t work out, you can always come back home?”

Roman looked a tad taken back and smiled. “And come back a failure? No way!” he then made a face and stuck his tongue out, making both of them laugh.

“Will you write to us, if you have the time?” his dad asked him.

“Mhm,” Roman made a sound of agreement and then snuggled closer to his father. “I love you dad.”

They stayed like that for a little while longer before they had to double check Roman had got everything packed and then get ready for that evening. It was going to be a big event after all.

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

As the weather report had said, it was indeed a clear night, not a cloud was in sight and the full moon was up high in the sky. There were various groups of Roman’s friends, his parent’s friends, family members and neighbours gathered around outside of their house, ready to wave Roman a goodbye when he leaves.

Roman himself was joking around, or as some would say, having banter, with a group of his friends from the village.

“Ooh, so are you going to find a city by the ocean?” One friend asked him.

“Or maybe even a town?” Another added.

“Well, at least that’s what I’m hoping to do anyways!” Roman grinned, and his friends agreed on ‘how cool that would be’.

“Man I’m so jealous, you’re gonna have so much fun!” one of his friends remarked.

“I’m not going just for a good time though,” Roman stood up straight and held a finger up. “In order to become a good wizard, I have to train a whole year away from home.” He told them.

“Yeah, be sure to tell that to the boys,” his friend elbowed him in the ribs and the group all laughed. It was a well-known fact in the village that Roman had an attraction to boys, and they were all very accepting of it, those who weren’t were shunned however. It wasn’t really that big of a deal to anyone there, they just saw him for who Roman was and nothing else.

Their joking was cut short when Roman’s mother called him over, saying that it was time.

“Kay!” Roman waved to his friends, the broom he made earlier that day clutched in his grip as he ran over to his mother, who was also holding her broom.

“That’s going to be the broom you’re leaving on Roman?” she questioned, looking at his broom uncertainly.

“Yup! I made it all by myself this morning actually!” Roman said proudly, holding it out so she could see his handy work. His mother had other ideas however.

“Honey, that broom is too small to be truly safe, I’d much rather you took my broom instead, I know it better,” she insisted, not backing down.

“But mum that one’s so old! It’s pretty much ancient!” he protested.

“And that’s why it’s good!” his mum explained. “You can rely on it time after time and in any kind of weather too. Roman, do this for me please?”

“But I put so much effort into making this one,” He said, downcast. He then turned to Virgil, hoping for the cat to back him up. “Right Virgil?”

The cat paused from licking his paws from where he was seated on Roman’s shoulder. “Your broom is nice, but let’s take your mother’s.” He said flatly.

“Well you’re no help.” He pouted and glared at the black cat.

Ms Flora spoke up from where she was seated, “Now Roman, wouldn’t you be able to make yourself another fine broom once you’ve found a place and settled down?”

Roman sighed. “Yeah I guess so.”

Soon enough, it was time for Roman to leave. He went around and said goodbye to each of the guests there and hugged his friend’s goodbye.

“Be careful,” his mother told him as he hugged her.

“You be strong okay?” his father asked when Roman hugged him.

“I will!” Roman said to them as he made his way out into the middle of the clearing and then mounted his mother’s broomstick.

Flying took a lot of concentration for taking off and landing, so Roman had to focus. In not much time, the dust beneath him had spread around him and he levitated. This caused many cheers from the people around him, making him smile and become a little more confident.

“Oh dear,” Virgil muttered from where he was clinging on to Roman’s shoulder. “You know I hate flying,” but no one heard him say the second part as it was lost in the cheers.

The broom levitated off the ground for a few seconds before slowly falling back to the floor, much to Roman’s dislike. So, Roman did the only logical thing and gave the handle a good whack before he touched down again, which caused to broom to fly off rather suddenly upwards and then forward, making the crowd gasp. Roman hit a tree on his way out, making the little bells which were hung up there ring as he bounced back from that tree. Virgil, however, was screaming at Roman and could be heard well.

“VEER RIGHT! Go left go left go left-” Virgil yelled at him.

“Okay!” Roman yelled back and they hit another tree, making a sound of surprise, making more bells sound.

“Aim your broomstick…” Roman’s mother held her hands together and wished for Roman to be safe.

After a few seconds of nothing happening, Roman’s voice could be heard again.

“Farewell all of you! I’ll miss you!” He shouted and everyone sighed in relief.

“He’s okay,” one of Roman’s friends said thankfully.

“May our little prince be well and have a safe trip,” Roman’s dad said as he listened to the bells which kept sounding, the only sounds left from Roman’s exit. One of his neighbours said he would miss the sound of the bells.

And just like that, Roman flew off, away from home, under the stars in the clear night above him and the light of the moon guiding his way. But that was only the beginning of his trip, for there was a long time ahead of him, but for now he was happy and flying up high in the sky, excited for what adventures might come in the future.

#sanders sides #roman sanders #virgil sanders #patton sanders #logan sanders #kikis delivery service au #metawrites #platonic prinxiety

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lunatic-fandom-space · 2 years ago

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Ayyyyyyyyy time for Episode Nine babesssss hopefully its not as bad as the star wars movie

Okay, the scene of that one girl whos been helping the No Name Guard throwing some stuff into Aphs house is fine, I'll definitely have to change the order on some events though since Im assuming Aphmau is gonna see the effect of those splash potions right away now, which she cant do if shes staying in Brightport

Okay so, Aphmau cant have this convo w/ Garroth at the beach so I'll do it like this: Garroth still gets those disturbing news and he still gets worried abt Aph n stuff (at least I assume hes worried its kinda hard to tell). Meanwhile Aphmau is hangin out at the village, packing her things bc she wants to home soon. Paul accompanies her while they both go to the docks but on their way they hear a bunch of people whispering about lords being killed and all that. Paul stops and goes "uh oh, aphmau that doesnt sound too good" and she answers smth like "yeah it really does, its a good thing we wont be in danger though" to which Paul goes "Ehhh, I wouldnt be too sure about that ykno" Aphmau is a bit confused because "Im not a Lord" but Paul goes and says smth like "Ive seen the way you care for those villagers, for me, youre a Lord if ive ever seen one" Shes kinda flustered for a moment but then goes "Oh. Wait doesnt that mean Im in danger then?? Maybe I should stay here for a while" Paul agrees and tells her he knows someone she can send as a messenger so the others back home dont worry/they can maybe work something out while keeping Aph save

(The way im imagining this rn is basically like, Aphmau writes a letter to Garroth, gives it to this messenger who travel to him and gives him the letter and so on, I might come up w/ something better but thats the best ive got as of me writing this)

Zenix is doing something at the old Lord's house while Brenden works to take it down, Im not sure what I should write here bc like, Zenix is pretty clearly doing some shady shit but I dont remember anything he did or why he did it or the fact that he existed at all. So yea, maybe I'll just cut this entirely and leave it as something weird goin on in the background or I'll rewrite it when I have more context

She also doesnt get any of those potions, but they are technically free for Zenix to take now, so if that ever plays a role.......

Aphmau finishes the letter and gives it to that messenger, they have an exchange thats basically like "hey I heard this stuff about how Im like, a Lord basically and also theres someone going around killing all the Lords so I decided to stay in Brightport for now" "hello its good that you know that, Ive heard that too, deciding to stay there when you heard that was smart but Brightport is not as advanced as us (no offense) so it'll be better if you returned as soon as possible"

Im gonna research how long boat routes usually take later, for now I'll just say that between the messenger going back and dorth and Garroth n Aph writing the letters this takes like, one and a half days (bc yknow, that messenger has to sleep n eat too)

Meanwhile, Aphmau is mostly just chillin in Brightport. Shes a bit anxious bc of the whole Thing, but shes having a good time bonding with her new cat and keeping Pauls spirits up. At some point he says that he feels ready to go talk to Visher's Wife now, Aph gives him some encouraging words before he leaves and then she takes the opportunity to ask around a bit about the Lord and what he was like (i dont actually remember if that gets brought up at any point, so itll have to be pretty vague for now). Maybe she can also help w/ some issues the villagers are having so she can distract herself from her anxiety more idk

Maybe we can have a part where our villagers are a bit worried about Aphmau, particularly Emmalyn, Donna n Kiki. Maybe potentially Garroth too, but I actually think its kinda cool that so much of Garroth is initially a mystery and I'd like to keep it that way here too

Alrightyyyyyy also sorry for accidentally posting this before it was done lol

#lunas mcyt shit #my mc/d rewrite

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boredstudent-blog · 7 years ago

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Fluff Friday, May 2017: Studio Ghibli

Warning: This fic may contain spoilers for “Spirited Away.” If you have not seen this movie, GO WATCH IT before you read. If you have not watched it and do not want to read this piece, go watch the movie anyway, because it is awesome! Also, any interpretations of these films are written by how I feel the character interpreting the film in question would see it. Feel free to agree or disagree. There are also some spoilers for the Naruto story line concerning Orochimaru and Sasuke.

As with many of Sakura’s loved and cherished interests, Sasuke found her love for Studio Ghibli movies both adorable and irritating. There was no doubt that Sakura had a deep love and respect for both the cartoons and the creators behind the cartoons, and even Sasuke couldn’t deny having some respect for the creators. It was clear that everyone who worked on these films had deep passion for what they did and poured their hearts and souls into every aspect of each creation they completed, even if the aspect was small and would have been considered unimportant to the viewers. He admired the care and work put into the characters, from their design to their development, and thought the soundtrack of each movie perfectly matched the movie in question.

However, Sasuke couldn’t understand the damn plots. Two little kids wandering into a forest and playing with a giant bunny thing called a totoro? Ridiculous! Then, a little girl leaving home to go study witchcraft in some city and becoming some kind of glorified delivery person? Silly. How could the father of the two girls not notice his small children missing for so long? And if one had the power of witchcraft, why waste that talent on delivering random gifts to strangers?

“You’re taking the movies too literally, Sasuke,” Sakura had told him when he expressed his criticisms. “Both of those films have good coming-of-age lessons. My Neighbor Totoro shows how, even through times of hardship, one can still enjoy the wonders of life and the natural world, and that the times of hardship do not mean the end of the world.”

“And the movie about the witch delivery girl?” Sasuke scoffed back at her, irritated with her earnest attempts at making him understand such silly plots.

“Kiki’s Delivery Service is about learning to go after one’s goals, even when you doubt yourself and are surrounded by the unfamiliar. I thought for sure you would have liked that one, Sasuke. Its lighthearted, but Kiki’s journey is so much like your own.”

“Oh, please! How is that movie anything like my life?”

“Well, Kiki leaves home, like you did. She decides to trust in strangers, like you did. She accomplished her goal, like you did.” Sasuke tried hard not to laugh at the look of thoughtfulness on Sakura’s face as she explained Kiki’s “similarities” to himself.

“So, the baker couple she settles with are really fugitives led by a snake loving pervert who wants to use her body to stay alive? And Kiki is really setting out to take revenge on a killer of her whole family?”

Sakura sighed in exasperation. “I didn’t say Kiki was exactly like you, Sasuke. Stop making fun of me, please.”

“I’m not making fun of you. I don’t mind that you like those movies, I just think they’re silly.”

“I admit there is some silliness with the lighter films, but not all of the Studio Ghibli movies are lighthearted. Have you ever seen Princess Mononoke or Spirited Away?”

“No.”

“Well, you will tonight. They are both much more serious and deeper than some of the other movies, and I really think you will enjoy them.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes. “Sakura, I don’t mind that you like these movies, but do I have to watch them with you?”

“No, but I would appreciate if you watched each one at least once with me. It’s not fair to write off all of Studio Ghibli’s works just because you don’t like all of them. Besides, I watch those American thriller movies with you, like Hannibal. I think they are dark and creepy, and I still watch them with you.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes, knowing that she would pout if he refused now. “Fine. I’ll watch them with you. But I don’t have to enjoy them.”

“Okay!” Sakura said happily. “I’m going to finish our movie night snacks and put one of the movies in. Meet you in the living room?”

“Fine.”

When Sasuke entered the living room, Sakura had his movie snacks (some fresh veggies, cut for easy snacking) and her movie snacks (some popcorn and a bag of chocolate pieces) laid out on the table. She had the movie in and paused at the very beginning, before any dialogue or any images started. He sighed in resignation and sat down next to his girlfriend, who scooted closer to him and picked up the remote.

“Ready?” Sakura asked him, excitement in her voice.

“As I’ll ever be,” Sasuke replied, picking up a tomato slice and the salt shaker. “Which one are we watching first?”

“Spirited Away,” Sakura replied. “It won awards and is considered a classic here in Japan, and in America.” She pressed the play button, and leaned in against him.

As expected, Sasuke found Spirited Away annoying and silly. The girl, Chihiro, was whiny and clingy, and listening to her whine about having to move away and her stupid flowers. Her parents were annoying too: they were both lazy, and didn’t seem to care about their daughter much. He even had to stifle a laugh when the old witch Yubaba turned them into a pair of pigs. He figured it did serve them right, but Sakura would have glared at him for laughing. She was leaning forward, watching intently as the mysterious boy helped Chihiro get to the boiler man, then on to Yubaba herself, to ask for a job. Sakura was so absorbed in the movie, she didn’t see Sasuke snag a handful of her popcorn. Sasuke rolled his eyes as he popped the kernels into his mouth and began focusing on the movie again.

Like other Studio Ghibli movies, Sasuke admired the beautiful art and animation, from the ornate beauty of Yubaba’s office, to the animation behind Chihiro and the other girls cleaning the floor and attending to the customers. He even enjoyed the wild minor plot of No Face and his greed. Then there was Haku, the mysterious boy who acted so formal in front of Yubaba and the other spirit-based tenants of the bathhouse, and was only kind to Chihiro in private. Sasuke could tell he was a person who had goals in mind, and would never be deterred from those goals.

On the screen, Chihiro was watching Haku in his dragon form, flying clumsily through the air towards the bathhouse before crashing into the building and landing in a room several floors above her. Sasuke leaned forward, jostling Sakura and surprising her. He set his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands under his chin, reminding Sakura of the first day they met Kakashi. She stifled a giggle as he watched the screen closely, gazing at Haku as Chihiro did her best to tend to him and keep him safe from Zeniba’s curse and Yubaba’s wrath. He was so enraptured that he didn’t notice Sakura pull her phone out and take a couple of pictures of him. When the film was over, he sighed, leaned back, and seemed to come back to himself.

“So… what did you think of the movie, Sasuke?” Sakura asked innocently.

“Chihiro was annoying. So was Yubaba’s baby,” Sasuke said carelessly. “Why? Did you expect me to undergo a transition, where I would suddenly love Studio Ghibli?”

“Well, it sure looked like you did. Just look at yourself.” Sakura showed him the pictures she shot of him watching Spirited Away, and Sasuke blushed.

“Well… this was an exception. Besides, Haku was an interesting character.”

Sakura giggled at Sasuke as she got up and took the DVD out of the player and replaced it with Princess Mononoke. “You never know, Sasuke. You might like this one, too.”

Sasuke scoffed. “Its about a princess? I doubt it.”

Sakura smiled to herself and kept her phone close. Eventually, she would have a whole album of pictures of her boyfriend enjoying Studio Ghibli films. She already had pictures of him enraptured in Kiki’s Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro, and now Spirited Away. Once she had enough pictures, he would never be able to deny that he liked the films.

#studio ghibli #classic movies #closet movie fan #naruto #sakura x sasuke

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miragerules · 7 years ago

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The 10 Best Films of 2017 so far, and the 10 Films to look forward to in the second half of the year

Well it is now July 6th, and we are now a little past the half way mark of 2017, so I will delve into what are the 10 Best Films of 2017 so far starting with number 10.

10. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: What is it with Marvel and their villains and climaxes of their films? Sure there are exceptions like Winter Soldier, Age of Ultron and Civil War, but in general Marvel has a real villain problem as well as finishing off their films in a fully satisfying way. That being said Guardians of the Galaxy is perhaps the most light hearted and funnest of the Marvel films thanks to director James Gunn, the score, and the chemistry/acting of the cast.

3.75/5 Stars

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9. The Wall: The Wall is a short, but a pretty gritty and intense Iraq war film directed by Doug Liman.

4/5 Stars

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8. Ghost in the Shell: I will always give credit to the likes of Akira and Ghost in the Shell for helping to make Anime popular in America making it easier to for Anime series and films to be release here, but I as never that impressed with Ghost In the Shell outside of its stunning animation.

I have never liked the original Ghost in the Shell as much as the other anime films that I was introduced to in the 80’s through the mid 90’s with the likes of Vampire Hunter D, Ninja Scroll, Patlabor The Movie and Robot Carnival among others, so I had no I high expectations with the remake except to get a good film that would hopefully do well box office wise, so studios will take more chances on live action anime films like in pre-production Robotech and the always talked about Cowboy Bebop film.

I think those reasons might have helped me enjoy Rupert Sanders Ghost in the Shell, and I really liked the film. I haven’t seen the original in probably over a decade, but from what I remember the film stays pretty close to the original with the biggest change coming to the Major’s backstory, which I loved.

I won’t get into what I believe are very overblown and unwarranted criticisms of whitewashing when it comes to Scarlett Johansson’s casting, and instead say Johansson was wonderful as The Major who effortlessly brings The Major to life.

The action and visuals/effects were really good. My criticism of the film is the lack of real character development outside The Major and maybe Batou. There were certain Section 9 characters I would have like to seen more of. Another criticism is that although I liked the story, themes and ideas in the film, the film doesn’t dive too deep, and instead spent more time on the visuals and action. I contribute both criticisms to the films short run time at only about an 1 hour and 45 minutes that includes both the opening and ending credits. I wish Sanders and the writers could have spend another ten minutes on the story and supporting characters, but that isn’t a huge criticism for me as it didn’t stop me from really enjoying Ghost in the Shell as much if not more than I did the original film.

I really hoped Ghost in the Shell would do well at the box office, and we could get more films, because Johansson deserves her own franchise. Scarlett certainly has proven to me with her role Black Widow along with starring in Lucy and now with Ghost in the Shell that she can solo lead a action film/franchise. Unfortunately that most likely is not going to happen. Ghost in the Shell broke even and made some money, but I doubt Paramount is going to green light a sequel.

4.25/5 Stars

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7. The Exception: A great World War II drama/thriller film about the exiled German Emperor Wilhelm II played magnificently by Christopher Plummer and co-starring Jai Courtney, and Lily James.

4.5/5 Stars

6. The Red Turtle: All your should need to know about The Red Turtle to see the film is to watch the above trailer and know that it was made by Studio Ghibli the same company that made Castle in the Sky, Spirited Away, and Kiki’s Delivery Service. The Red Turtle is my third favorite Studio Ghibli film behind Grave of the Fireflies and Princess Mononoke.

4.5/5 Stars

5. John Wick Chapter 2: John Wick is the best action franchise since the first three Bourne films (I try to forget about two mediocre and bad sequels), and Keanu Reeves has found the role he was perfect for and meant for.

4.75/5

4. Logan: Logan might be classified as in the superhero genre, but to be Logan is a modern western with a small dose of sci-fi/fantasy elements. Perhaps that is one of the reason Logan separates itsself from the rest of the X-Men films and the Marvel films along with its story, themes and tone help to make like Deadpool a breath of fresh air in the superhero genre. Then there are Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart. Logan is Jackman’s last film playing Logan whom he’s played since 2000’s X-Men, and Logan is most likely Patrick Stewart’s last film playing Charles Xavior who he’s also played since the first X-Men film. Both actors give their best performances as Logan and Xavior as perhaps the last two X-Men alive in a world where mutants are all but extinct and being hunted down. Logan truly is one of the best superhero/comic book films to go along with the likes of Watchmen, V for Vendetta, The Dark Knight, and Wonder Woman.

4.75/5

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3. Wonder Woman: Personally I don’t understand all the criticism of Man of Steel and Batman Vs. Superman, but whether you agree with the criticism of the first two films of the DC Extended Universe and the really bad Suicide Squad the DC Extended Universe needed a win more critic wise than box office wise, and WB/DC got both with the excellent Wonder Woman.

4.75/5 Stars

2. Baby Driver: Baby Driver is a masterpiece of film making and a prime example as film as art. I have never been as much as a fan of Edgar Wright as critics and my friends have, but what Wright has film with Baby Driver is magnificent. Baby Driver is a high octane action, drama, musical that combines the cult classic Streets of Fire with the classic Heat. The level of detail Wright, cinematographer, and stunt coordinators went through to match every song to each scene perfectly is astonishing and wonderful experience in the theater. The acting by Jamie Fox, Kevin Spacey, Lily James, Jon Hamm, Eiza González, and even the relative new comer Ansel Elgort whom I had never seen before did an excellent job in the film. Baby Driver is a film to be seen over and over again to fully appreciate the how great film Baby Driver is.

5/5 Stars

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1.The Lost City of Z: It was hard for me to chose between Baby Driver and The Lost City of Z, but if there is one film that is better than Baby Driver than it is the Lost City of Z. I am a sucker for historical films and especially ones about topics I know nothing or very little about. Before seeing the trailer for The Lost City of Z I had never heard of Percy Fawcett (Played exceptionally well by Charlie Hunnam) the famous explorer and his disappearance in the Amazon. The film is based on the non-fiction book of the same name and by David Grann which goes into Fawcett’s life and his disappearance as well as investigating the so called Lost city of Z. The book is really good, and while Grann’s novel has garnered high praise, Grann has faced some criticism in his view of Fawcett and his exploits as an explorer.

Let us move onto the film itself directed by James Gray. Gray’s The Lost City of Z has an old school Hollywood of the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s with the detailed story telling, themes, score, and cinematography. As I said above Charlie Hunnam was fantastic as Fawcett bringing to life Fawcett’s love for adventure and his blinding obsession in finding his city of Zed. Charlie Huunam is supported by Robert Pattinsion who in recent years has finally come into his own since leaving the bad Twilight franchise high praised performances in Cosmopolis and The Rover, and continues here in The Lost City of Z as Henry Costin, Fawcett’s right hand man and good friend. Like Baby Driver the Lost Citye of Z is a film that should not be missed and seen more than once.

Films I have not seen yet, but want to: Beauty and the Beast, The Lego Batman Movie, Get Out, Life, Colossal, Alien: Covenant, and Megan Leavey.

The 10 Most Anticipated Films for the Second Half of 2017

1. Blade Runner 2049 2. Dunkirk 3. Star Wars: The Last Jedi 4. Wind River 5. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets 6. The Snowman 7. Justice League 8. Goodbye Christopher Robin 9. American Assassin 10. Greatest Showman

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