#around the world in eighty days spoilers

[twinklingwatermellon]

Wow it's very evident that Jules Verne is not a romance writer, but I still think it's cute that Aouda is the one who proposes to Phileas, and in the end I think they do make a really nice couple.

[oppositetfmu]

Compilation of memes I made on TikToks AI meme generator.

[leapyeap]

an austin butler/callum turner primer, maybe

hello comrades

the past few days i've really been itching for some new content (preferably of the two of them together but i unfortunately live in reality so separately will do) and i've decided to be the change i want to see in the world. so behold. a primer of sorts.

the sheer delight in each other! it gets to me! (kiss)

first things first, who are these guys?

austin butler

austin (born august 17, 1991) is a california girl through and through. he has an older sister named ashley butler and a bff named ashley tisdale (you're all familiar). he was discovered at 13 and immediately took acting SO seriously. i'm just going to link his esquire article here, because it's honestly required reading and they go over pm his entire life. from painfully shy home schooled baby austin to losing his mom at 23 to coughing up blood after filming for elvis wrapped. a quote:

When Butler wasn’t working on bringing Buck Cleven to life, he toiled away at finding Austin. “I was just trying to remember who I was,” he admits. On set, he had a dialect coach whose main job, he says, was to help him stop talking like Elvis. But the whole Masters experience feels like a blur to him now. “I hardly remember filming that,” he says. “Almost the full year that I was in London.”

FASCINATING. callum in the mud tbh. stop the primer, austin doesn't even remember that man.

and then there's this paragraph that just makes me laugh because honestly, what a little weirdo:

Austin Butler has a funny habit. Rather than fill a natural lull in a conversation, or the space between questions, with words, Butler fills them with—and I’m not kidding here—smiles. Eyes lock. Lips curl. It is impossible not to return the expression. But then you’re just two people, sitting in the back booth, smiling like idiots at each other.

smiling because he doesn't know how to answer a question! making it a whole performance! he is so deeply in his head all the time!!! i wanna crack him open like a walnut and study his brain!!! seriously, read the esquire article and then come back.

anyway, moving on.

callum turner

callum (born february 15, 1990) is a chelsea boy who was raised as an only child by a single mom on a council estate. he often talks about growing up right next door to some of the most expensive real estate in the world, and the huge wealth disparity between him and his classmates. his mom sounds like the coolest person in the world - she was a club promoter when callum was a kid and boy george coming over wasn't an uncommon occurrence. a quote:

Turner’s mother ran nights at London clubs including the Ministry of Sound, and fostered her son’s early interest in film (he cites Billy Elliot as a childhood favourite). She had wanted to be an actress, but hadn’t had the chance. He credits her with his performing gene, and his chutzpah. “She instilled this belief in me that if I wanted to do something, anything, I should go for it. Although she was also always saying, ‘Get a trade. Become a plumber.’ And I’m like, ‘No. I don’t want to be a plumber. I want to be a footballer.’ I didn’t want the safe option. It’s nice to take risks.”

spoiler alert: he didn't become a footballer, but he IS sad about that. i just love how he talks about his childhood and growing up:

‘Oh, I know them all,’ he says of his coterie of fabulous London acquaintances by birth. ‘The thing I always find interesting in my childhood was, yeah, I was growing up on an estate, single mum, working-class, but then I also had all these colourful characters around. It wasn’t about navigating two worlds,’ he says. ‘There were three, four, five more.’

and a last one about his childhood:

Turner was raised by his mother, a “brilliant woman” who worked as a nightclub promoter during the New Romantic movement in the Eighties. Her job meant an eclectic mix of characters from across the London club scene were constantly passing through Turner’s front door, with some even living with them when he was a child – “The father figures were a lot of different gay guys, basically.”

this is explained in detail in all the linked articles but he signed as a model at 17-18 and travelled the world a bit for burberry, comme des garçons, etc, having to lose like 6 inches off his waist bc the fashion industry is evil. if you ever wondered "damn, he looked so skinny in his modelling days", there's why. after that he worked at dover street market (a cool high fashion clothing store, i am told) for a couple years while trying to make it as an actor.

just including this because it makes me laugh tbh

in the independent article he also talks about being a big stoner and self medicating with weed for a good few years because he "was dealing with a depression or a frustration".

I was acting, doing films, and smoking weed every day. I never smoked on set but as soon as I got home, I was like a real addict. I definitely missed four years of my life.

including this because he seems like such a happy go lucky guy, but he's got his own demons. in a different interview he also talked about trying out therapy, and his mom retrained as a therapist as well. i'm a big fan of the turners.

anyway, that was too long, on to:

callum & austin

(so sorry to nate and anto for the crop)

in february 2021, austin was supposed to fly from australia (where he'd just wrapped on elvis after working on that for 3 years straight) but instead his body gave out and he was hospitalised and bedridden for a week. either during this period or after he flew to the uk and was doing his 10-day covid quarantine, callum sent him a first voice note, and austin replied in such an elvis voice that callum was like we're past that babe:

Butler and Turner exchanged voice notes after Elvis wrapped, just before they were set to start shooting Masters. [...] “It was like a voice note from Elvis, you know,” he says. “And I just sent him a message: ‘Elvis has left the building.’”

i'm sure he thought that was very funny. if i think about the voice note period too much my brain starts to conjure up too many scenarios so let's move on. to bootcamp!

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mr presley you're doing such a great job

they spend the next 10 months filming together. they bonded right away and seem to have spent quite a bit of time together:

The two bonded, spending downtime walking Turner’s dog, or grabbing a meal on a Sunday. “Austin and I have a very special relationship,” he says. “It’s deep, and it’s profound. I’ve made friends through the years that I love. And there are people that you work with, and have a great time with, but they don’t necessarily become your friend. You still love ’em. But Austin’s my friend.”

genuine friends!! and obviously these quotes are from the mota press tour in january 2024, more than 2 years after filming wrapped, so we can assume they've kept in touch, despite austin's phone allergy.

also at some point nearing the end of filming callum, austin, fionn o'shea and mustafa the poet went to see... something idk. this was posted october 2021, if someone wants to sleuth and tell me lol.

and this is where i introduce ruthie rogers. you may have heard austin and/or callum mention ruthie in interviews before when they talk about their weekly sunday roasts. maybe, like me, you assumed she was someone from the mota crew or a previous project that they'd befriended, but you'd be wrong, she is in fact the owner of the river café in london, which has a michelin star. lol. here's a quote from an interview with ruthie herself:

Rogers, whose Italian nonna-ness extends to her home, tells me how she hosted a group of actors that included Austin Butler and Carey Mulligan for supper for 39 consecutive Sundays following the loosening of lockdown rules. “Everyone was away from home and their families so they would come to me. They would help me cook and then we’d play cards. It became a sort of tradition.”

39 consecutive sundays! carey mulligan! okay! that's fine, i don't desperately need to know who else was there or anything

here's a podcast between austin and ruthie where she talks about the weekly dinners in her intro but sadly it doesn't come up during their conversation. it's a sweet listen though, they're clearly close and he calls her family.

and this is irrelevant to everything except it's so fucking endearing:

A WhatsApp message sent by the actor Callum Turner may have also landed on the industrious phone. “He sends me his Wordle score every day,” Rogers explains. “A sweet boy.”

a sweet boy! so true, ruthie

here they all are in september 2022, when ruthie hosted a party at the river café in honour of elvis being released. you've probably seen pictures of this event because austin basically unbuttoned his entire shirt and callum looked like the most supportive boyfriend.

like that's just a family portrait i'm sorry.

and speaking of supportive boyfriends, in december 2023 austin came out for a new york screening of boys in the boat too!

(austin are you okay) (is this the reason callum told austin to smile at the mota premiere)

alright so we've made it to january 2024, when mota comes out and the press tour starts. we immediately get hit with this gem:

Turns out the pair had hung out at Butler's pad and watched the Golden Globes one night earlier. Just the two of them. No glamorous girlfriends, no entourage befitting two major stars on the rise. "We were just going to go out and have dinner, and then we decided to do something relaxing at the house," Butler says. "So we ordered food, lit a fire and had a romantic little night in."

romantic little night in... probably the first time they had a night to themselves since filming ended... girl the possibilities

another quote because i can't handle how much callum turner loves austin butler:

"And we were just unbelievably kind to one another from minute one. I guess we just teased each other and looked after each other simultaneously. It was beautiful working with him. He’s such an incredible actor, and I learned so much from working with him, and as a man. Some days, I would go just to entertain Austin. If I didn’t make him laugh, I wasn’t doing my job. He was such a safe place, and I hope he feels the same with me, because we just loved each other."

"if i didn't make him laugh, i wasn't doing my job." 🫠 callum, say so much less. if you'd like to see them love on each other in video format, boy do i have the clip for you:

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K I T H.

if you wondered if callum knows he's being sappy, yes he does. he knows and he can't stop because he needs the world to know too, i guess!

i might as well stop here or i'll end up linking their entire press tour, but i just want to leave off by saying i think they're very neat, and i love that they're so different in some ways and so alike in others. the obvious extrovert vs introvert dynamic, where callum acts as a social buffer for austin, and makes him feel more at ease, but vice versa callum's also said that austin's presence on set made him comfortable taking big swings. it's about the give and take, the yin and yang!!

and they obviously share a huge love of movies and their craft, and they're competitive losers, they had to make their own way in the industry, they're beloved by all their castmates, etc etc.

in conclusion: they're in love. i hope you learned something and if not i hope you at least liked seeing it all compiled. thank you for coming to my ted talk, i love you like austin loves grabbing callum's shoulder

[lilacxquartz]

BEYOND HELLFIRE

true form sukuna x f!reader

plot: back when you were still alive, sukuna had once surrendered a lifetime of peace for you. when he had you incarnated for his return, however, it all went wrong — a/n: canon divergent culling games up ahead, this isn’t canon-compliant to make the story work, but still, major manga spoilers up ahead anyway!

summary: the incarnation was successful, but your memories didn’t retain. now, sukuna had to fight you, or did he?

chapter 2 of 4 < previous chapter • next chapter > • masterlist • on o3

Chapter 2. Present Day

Centuries later, when he was incarnated and then finally broken away from his initial vessel, Sukuna basked out in the open, retaining the glory of his fully awakened form. The world was truly at his disposal and he was eager to break it all apart and watch it burn.

The fights he found himself thrown into were either everlasting or not at all, but one thing remained clear—the casualties were devastating—if not cataclysmic. All of that came to a halt though, from the moment he finally saw you.

It was about time, he figured, as he was already growing bored from the drawl of the same fight without pause. The battlefield was littered with the bloodied remains of the opposing sorcerers who were foolish enough to brave an audience with him; the king of curses. No matter how much of a fight they all put up, they all bled out the same way regardless. Rinse, repeat. Ending their misery as if on clockwork.

At first, though, your appearance barely registered to him. You had to get a lot closer than it was safe for you to do so for him to lock onto the once familiar, stubborn glint present in your eyes. Your body was different, so Kenjaku must have brought you back as an incarnated soul. As soon as he recognised you, however, it was almost comedically clear. That all too familiar way you tilted your head off to the side in annoyance, your slightly crooked posture when you stood, the grimace in your face as you assessed the situation. It was all so… undeniably you.

Fuck. He could have sworn that he cycled through all of the fools that were otherwise thrown at him thus far—you were just next in line, huh? You stood there before him before breaking forward with a calm, measured stride in a vessel that didn’t even suit you. Sukuna found himself scoffing at the sight, his lips twitching to reveal an amused smile, feeling something odd form in the pit of his stomach. What was it? Hunger? Fondness? Or, maybe even, nostalgia? It was a familiar feeling that left a bittersweet taste in his mouth.

Sukuna stared at you intently, with his crimson stare boring into your form in an attempt to commit every detail to memory, unwilling to part with you again so soon. Eighty years back then. It lasted no more than a blink of an eye. Slipping through his fingers like honey. So sweet.

And yet, you didn’t look at him in that same way. Your eyes were stone cold in comparison, lacking that same recognition, replaced with clear indifference, and perhaps even something spiteful. He supposed that he did likely kill off a fair share of your allies, hell, you probably hated him. Sukuna’s smile widened at that fact. Hatred. What a strong emotion. He would have been lucky if he received anything beyond slight irritation back in the day. What an odd thing for him to focus on though, he thought, but then again, you were the only non-sorcerer that he ever found worth respecting, someone that he never had to tarnish with his touch.

For you to be thrown into the death pit as a soon-to-be-forgotten sorcerer was almost too insulting. It didn’t suit you.

Momentarily reminded of you now being a sorcerer in your incarnated form, Sukuna focused on your technique, next. Your ability seemed to stem from bandages infused with cursed energy, which he deemed to be quite fitting, given that your life-long craft was dedicated to reconstruction. He paid attention to how you bound them around minor wounds before whipping them harshly against the air, smoothing them into razor-sharp blades.

He remained standing in place as you advanced on his position, your stance wary but determined. Your bravery was nothing to applaud, not if your life could be so easily taken away, so he tutted a little as you prepared to take him on. Another foolish sorcerer, doomed to end their life within a matter of minutes—maybe even seconds—but no, he had something else planned. That didn’t mean that he wouldn’t toy with you though.

He wanted to tease you.

To toy with you.

“Do you even know what you’re doing?” Sukuna finally broke through the silence, shattering what little remained of your strained composure. “Or who you’re up against?”

You didn’t dare to reply, figuring that it would be wiser not to engage. You were admittedly very afraid. Your existence was sudden, and imposing, and now you had to fight with a whole flurry of broken memories making up your existence in a world that no longer made sense.

Sukuna all the while, found your doe-eyed look to be endearing, wondering what exactly must have been going through your mind as he towered in front of you. He looked down at you with an expression that didn’t betray any of his thoughts, leaving you to reel at the prospect of being struck down at any moment.

He was never one to take fights too seriously, though, that was the thing. At least not to opponents who never stood a chance. When a worthy opponent surfaced, he had the time of his life, but even with you, something felt different. Sukuna didn’t want to fight you, but he wanted to provoke you. So he’d lazily punch his hand forward to test the waters—letting you dance around him as he watched—his eyes lighting up as he watched the bandages snap in the air, never once letting you break his skin.

However, just like with everything else, he quickly grew bored.

You needed to step up—or he would.

“Is that it?” he taunted, “surely you’ve got more fight in you?”

Without hesitating the next time, you lashed out towards him as he intercepted you with an open stance, allowing himself to get caught with one ribbon of the gauze to snag onto his forearm, slicing open his skin. It stung in the same way a papercut would, the sensation barely noticeable, if at all.

Sukuna barked out a laugh. “Cute.”

Your eyes narrowed in response before you broke forward in attempted retaliation with your ribbons spiraling through the air as they snaked towards him. You were quick and given the unforgiving circumstances of the culling games, you likely had plenty of experience to boot, but it still wasn’t enough to face someone like him.

Sukuna easily managed to sidestep all of your incoming attacks, predicting anything you had in mind. You were very new to this, after all, no matter how much practice you got in, you were never meant for this kind of thing. He didn’t think this to insult you, of course, that was just the way of the world. Some were born with cursed energy and others weren’t. It was just a fact of life.

Though, you caught on to him avoiding all of your attacks, perhaps finally noticing that you were still alive. “You’re not going to fight back?”

Sukuna laughed a bit more heartily that time, tilting his head back as he crossed his arms. “Fight you? Do you truly wish for me to break you so badly?” he paused, the mouth on his abdomen cracking a wide smile to match the one above. “If you insist.”

He then without a single hint nor warning—tore forward, his speed faster than what you could keep up with—with a charged fist that hurtled towards your standing form. He withheld using cursed techniques for now, knowing that he had to reserve such energy for more dire threats that lurked just over the horizon. Such an impact sent you flying, flinging you far away, hitting the ground just up ahead, hard, with the pavement splitting upon the impact. For a moment, all you could was simply lie there, with the air completely gone from your lungs, choking on the sudden surging pain.

Sukuna otherwise tilted his head in mild disappointment, not expecting you to be subdued so soon.

He then stepped forward, his imposing build looming over you, as his eyes once ablaze with fiery rage, settled into something tranquil instead. His gaze crossed your face, taking note of how you were at the cusp of losing consciousness, confirming your pulse was still present before taking a step back.

“Makes sense,” he snorted to himself, deciding to move further into the battlefield away from where you lay, deciding to continue this when he had settled another matter, “you were never cut out for fighting.”

He could fix you up later with his reverse cursed technique if need be, but the rise and fall of your chest told him all that he had to know. You were alive. You would be fine.

Sukuna then took a step back, thinking back to the remainder of the enemies that remained. Suddenly, carrying out Kenjaku’s will seemed all the more motivating. He had you back. If he brought forward a target that made him seem like nothing more than a fly-head curse, then he could likely make a subtle exit to bide some time if need be. It didn’t quite matter to him that you didn’t remember him just yet—he would make you if he had to.

Sukuna after all, was sentimental, that much was clear when he considered Uraume and it was clear when he considered any such matters with you, too.

Tucking you away somewhere hidden for later retrieval, he adjusted his plans. Given the slight shift in energy, he determined that Kenjaku was likely down. That’s why the remaining brats in the city ruins likely looked as hopeful as they did. Poor them. They didn’t account for this whole plan being accounted for centuries, planned sooner before they could even comprehend. Sukuna knew the signal perfectly well if his ally was down, the issue beforehand being, that he was simply too selfish to finalise the plan. What irony it was that he was moving forward with the merger for equally selfish reasons in the end.

Sukuna next considered the possibility of Yuta. A familiar cursed energy could be detected from the sorcerer, so he determined that it was very likely that Rika had consumed Kenjaku and stolen his power. The will to carry out the plan, however, was tied to a binding vow, so in theory, if he called for Rika during a fight, then it was still possible to activate the condition needed to succeed.

The main issue was everyone else who stood in the way.

(But he had to try.)

This fight wasn’t about elimination for fun anymore, it was about seeing something through to the end—like you—before you dared to slip away without saying goodbye again.

Making his intentions abundantly clear, Sukuna beelined towards Yuta right away, the young sorcerer’s eyes flashed with realisation, with his grip tightening around the hilt of his weapon, hoping to slash away his advancing presence.

Sukuna however, had him figured out from the start. He moved behind him within a beat, aiming straight for the back of his neck, in an attempt to draw Rika out, and just as predicted, he found himself being pushed back by the emerging vengeful spirit. Her form churned into the open, materialising into overhead space above where the younger sorcerer stood, all the while Yuta quickly caught onto what Sukuna might have been trying to do.

In an attempted halt, Yuta cried out, “Rika, wait—”

However, it was too late. Rika wouldn’t stop if it meant that Yuta would potentially risk getting killed in the process. Sukuna smiled as he was met face to face with her, facing his palm upwards to meet her form with an extended punch laced with cursed energy burning from the cusp of his fists. Before anyone else, be it a bystander or any sort of backup could respond, Sukuna’s cursed energy shifted into something else—something suffocating—impossibly dense, as if the law of space and time was bending under the weight of his will.

With surging energy, he launched accumulated cursed energy to drive forward, drowning out Rika’s presence, and silencing all attempted attacks that she would otherwise attempt to dish out in retaliation. All Sukuna had to do was connect with a certain type of energy, activating exactly what Yuta had Rika consume to prevent the cataclysm of.

“Rika, please, fight it,” Yuta urged, only for her to slowly dissolve, letting the conditions activate and take its place, her body expanding rapidly as if threatening to explore.

Sukuna faded into the smoke as the merger seemed to successfully activate, not paying too much mind as something otherworldly branched out of the detonated mass, nor the rumble of the streets, with gravel rising, trembling in the air at the possibility of something irreversible rising from the aftermath.

None of it mattered anymore.

Not when he had you to watch the world end with him.

this is part 4 of lilac’s bite sized yandere nightmares

a/n part 2: set up the scene a bit to make him extra yan coded by the next chapter 🫶

[bennetsbonnet]

I was going to make a post gushing about how I was reading Around the World in Eighty Days and reached this passage describing Phileas Fogg and was all *Leonardo diCaprio pointing fingers meme* because hello, Phileas Fogg aroace icon?!?!

Only to be bitterly disappointed by the end of the book because 🚨Spoiler Alert🚨:

He marries Aouda 🫠🫠🫠

I didn't see it coming at all. I didn't see any chemistry. It was literally only for The Plot as a means to discover that he miscalculated somewhere along the way. Phileas Fogg believed he arrived back in London on Saturday evening but his sudden desire to marry meant he was actually a day early because he wanted to marry Aouda tomorrow, but that would've been Sunday, so he actually got back on the Friday and had gone around the world in seventy nine days.

I really enjoyed the novel on the whole (although some parts haven't aged well) and all of the characters were so well written, plus I'm a geography nerd so it was nice to read about how different travelling around the world was 150 years ago.

But still... Phileas Fogg should've been allowed to be the aroace icon we deserve!!

[sheaymin]

know your enemy fallacy unlocked in my brain so ive played 10hrs of datv after snapping & the review isnt looking good. ive limited spoilers to just one minor one but look at thyne own risk my honest review thus far---

this game is optimized worse than early access bg3, whole environments just dont load or even unload as i run around sometimes stuff not loading for minutes at a time. i have collected loot from chests locked away clearly from places im not meant to be because the damn wall never loaded sooooooooo

dragon age 2: the sequel right down to varric clearly telling the story like he's written it already. this is not a benefit for me, thats a big negative

the prologue is incredibly disappointing after inquisition's MASTER CLASS in how to begin a game. i could literally play by play moment by moment go into why the prologue of inquisition is one of gamings best openings but haha its funny rook beat up people in bar because bad ass teehee

actually the writing overall has taken a step backwards, most quests are uncreatively predictable & the dialogue is flat & lacks any sort of life. its giving MMO quests.

the combat is fun but it doesnt work half the time with the game forgetting the mouse buttons or number buttons exist ive died twice solely because i couldnt actually attack bc the game didnt register i was clicking my mouse or pressing hotkey 1

custom character gets reset at random & i have to reload the game several times for the game to spawn the correct edited character

i would love to care about neve but its hard to give a shit when her voice actress doesnt give a shit about delivering her lines. bellana's actress over acts and thats fine considering her character but these two have scenes together and its soooooooooooo embarrassing to see which actor cared and who wanted a paycheck

actually it feels like 70% of the various cast of npcs are just flatly reading the script & its violently immersion breaking not to mention the game treats the player, the protag, AND the npcs like they are stupid. rook parroting information to a character who parrots it back is not effective or good writing thats just repeating the same words several times so the player doesnt forget, addled by this happens in scenes back to back multiple times about any major plot point which wastes time & paints me, the player, as too stupid to pay attention when i was told the first time

$80 for 40hrs of main story. youre joking. supposedly theres 60-80 overall if you 100% it but the main story can be beat in 40 flat. for eighty goddamn dollars.

so far this has been a mid tier triple a game with dragon age packaging, it took about 4hrs before i actually felt like i was playing a dragon age game vs a copycat styled game. over the shoulder camera sucks im so over this goddamn pov. it plays, looks, & feels like a sony ip in a bad way. god of war last of us resident evil ass controls camera and gameplay.

its jank, the animations glitch & ragdolling just happens, hair textures muck up, again my enVIORNENTS DISAPPEAR. despite running on ultra bc my rig can handle it the textures & some of the models are plain ps3 looking, not nice at all not a loading issue they are just poor assets.

corridor simulator. i sure love that we finally broke free of the curse origins put on da2 where we had repeat maps long hallways & got to never explore bc dai was more open world & while some of the maps were too big we have regressed to going in a straight line, limited exploration, & each widdle level gives you a chest as a pat on the head because we are playing a very pretty platformer :)c $80

why do i have health pots in boss battles, is this a zelda

companion ai is nonexistent & the tab to open the spell / ability menu to tell my companions to do their job is clunky & invasive & in previous games companion ai let the party fend for themselves just fine why does harding have to be told to heal me when any mage in origins 2 or inquisi just already knew because low health trigger

rook is just hawke again. 3 options for dialogue red purple green dont fix it if its not broke i guess but the inquisitor had more options AND the warden had tons of dialogue choices to really flesh out a character. multiple origins are nice but whats the point of these elaborate backgrounds that are constantly mentioned by both rook & npcs if i didnt get to see or play these events. it feels like im playing someone elses character or that rook isnt a player protag its just the character you play vs one you create

f to jump, not spacebar ???? thats not how video games work bioware even you know this because spacebar to jump is the default in inquisition you absolute morons

if you survived this far heres some positives, the first being that i heavily enjoy the legacy characters popping up to support various factions maevaris tilani the bad bitch that you are i gasped when she walked into frame & i could recognize her INSTANTLY which dai failed to do with its legacy cameos like teagan fiona hell even loghain and alistair are uhhhhh not great so im glad we took greater care in making these characters more identifiable

sorry, lucanis hot. im a stupid bitch who likes the crows leave me alone.

it is pretty, i will give it that its a pretty game. the artstyle is a hit or miss tho

i like when rook smiles its the same smile animation the inquisitor had in dai its very cute

transmog is cool ig

u can call solas an asshole within the first hour of the game and that makes up for negative number six bc its my review and i make the rules

im not having fun. like honestly im not. this game is disappointing but im at this point willing to finish the main story at least to get the lore and closure i want from this franchise. this game is this odd thing that doesnt fit in the series & is vastly different from its predecessors in what i see is a detriment. gaider and weeks are VERY different directors and have split this franchise in two for better or worse. while i love dai its not perfect and started the stray away from the formula leading into scary new territory but at least it felt like dragon age. veilguard just feels generic and boring as any EA or ubisoft title out there it feels like a product im aware im playing a product instead of a game. that hurts the most honestly

[queenoffishingandcookies]

How many languages does Kinzo know?

Kind of umineko spoilers below? The plot is generally left untouched, but it does kind of spoil the solution to the epitaph? Also spoilers regarding Beatrice. Not full spoilers, beyond anything that wasn't referenced come the end of Legend (boils down to: Kinzo met Beatrice before he hired Genji), but reference other plot points mentioned in latter answer arcs (info regarding Beatrice's mother tongue).

First and foremost, we know Kinzo is fluent in Japanese. Presumably that is Kinzo first language, as the Ushiromiya Family - as well as the branch family he was born into - originated in Odawara. They are natives to Japan.

However, we also later learn that Kinzo wasn't raised in Odawara.

At some point in his infancy/toddlerhood, Kinzo's parents moved to Taiwan. Since I'm pretty sure Kinzo's in his eighties (estimating of Battler's guess in Legend that Kumasawa is in her eighties + Genji around same age + genji = childhood friends w/Kinzo), this was around the early 1900's.

Japan ruled Taiwan from 1895-1945. Prior to that it was the Republic of Formosa (1895), and even earlier under control of the Qing Dynasty (1683-1895).

Japanese most likely was still Kinzo's primary language, as he would have been required to attend japanese schools in Taiwan which necessitated learning Japanese.

However, that might not be the only language he learned.

Unfortunately, I can’t find specifics on what languages were commonly spoken in Taiwan during the 1900’s-1920’s time period - there’s a pretty diverse array of languages throughout Taiwan’s history (the many native formosan languages, Hakka, Hokkien, Japanese, Mandarin, even Korean come closer to modern day, etc). This is also dependent on what area of taiwan you live in, the ages and education of people living there too, though - some languages more spoken than others.

For a bit of context, it’s confirmed in canon that Kinzo was brought up somewhere along the Tamsui (Damtsui/Danshui) railroad line -> est. August 1901. The sweetfish river running through his hometown, if you would. Originally having five stations, it expanded to seventeen at the maximum.

One station along the line, also referred to in the epitaph, was the Kirigan Station (est. 1915) - renamed Shipai following world war ii. It's located in the Beito district (historically: Peito) of the city. Under japanese rule, it was referred to as Hokuto.

Which leads my best guess to be that Kinzo was brought up somewhere in Beito (which became part of Taipei City in 1920 I think), possibly near the Kirigan station, hence the mention in the epitaph (or he also could have just went - oh, this wordplay is to good to let slip by, and picked a random station on the line).

(So, just have to narrow down common languages spoken in Beito from 1900’s-1920’s. It's a wip. It's driving me nuts. Pretty sure the Luilang/Ketagalan language was spoken around the beito area, but it went extinct - I do not know when it went extinct except for 'mid-20th century', there's very poor documentation of it. No clue how likely it would have been for Kinzo to hear or learn it).

Fun Fact: According to wikipedia (bastion of accurate info, I know), the name Beito originates from the Ketagalan word Kipatauw, meaning witch. Beito/Peito is a sinicized form of kipatauw.

We also learn later in the VN that Kinzo can fluently speak English (par for the course considering his adoration for all things western).

So. Kinzo Languages:

Japanese

English

Mandarin (possibly)

Hakka (possibly)

Hokkien (Possibly)

I also think Kinzo might have tried to learn latin, due to the amount of occult/esoteric material he would have collected over the years (some of which were originals thought lost to history and likely untranslated, as mentioned in Alliance. I think), which similar to mandarin/hakka/hokkien is a stretch on my end.

Tiny head-canon with no ground whatsoever is the concept of Kinzo learning Italian. Case of Beatrice. However, this would have been post-45, as we know Kinzo originally only spoke to Beatrice in their shared second tongue - English.

[al-mayriti]

END OF THE YEAR LIST

i swear i also did this in 2023 but i cannot find it for the life of me. anyways. i have very little memory so since 2022 i decided to make a list over on twitter of everything i do / watch / read etc during the year. and i wanted to have it over here as well just cause <3

so here's my 2024, you can also see everything in this thread here where you can find pics and such, i hope you enjoy it <3

BOOKS:

11/01. anthology of catullus (bilingual edition in latin and spanish by josé carlos fernández corte & juan antonio gonzález iglesias)

28/01. symposium by plato (spanish edition by juan david garcía bacca)

11/04. my uncle napoleon by iraj pezeshkzad (in spanish)

26/05. anthology of sappho (bilingual edition in ancient greek and spanish by aurora luque) [RE-READ]

03/06. the duke and i by julia quinn (in english)

23/06. the viscount who loved me by julia quinn (in english)

08/07. the invisible weevil, by mary karooro okurut (in english)

28/07. the old man and the sea, by ernest hemingway (in english)

16/08. treasure island, by robert louis stevenson (in english)

20/08. genio de oriente, by joaquín maría córdoba (in spanish)

23/08. around the world in eighty days, by jules verne (in spanish i think?)

30/08. jazz, by toni morrison (in spanish)

14/10. the communist manifesto, by karl marx and friedrich engels (in spanish)

18/11. the spoilers, by rex beach (in english)

TRIPS:

13-14/01. valència (spain)

16/03. bolzano / bolzen (italy)

30/03. innsbruck (austria)

11-14/04. london (uk)

27/04. mantova (italy)

04/05. padova (italy)

01/03-09/05. trento (italy) [idk if it counts as a trip as i was living there but whatever]

25-26/05. lisbon (portugal)

10-11/06. firenze - bologna - venezia (italy)

29-30/08. pisa (italy)

THEATRE PLAYS AND MUSICALS:

19/01. desencantadas, at teatro lara (madrid)

12/04. hadestown, at lyric theatre (london)

VIDEOGAMES:

29/01. pentiment (pc)

08/03. summer house (pc)

21/03. showrunner (pc)

10/05. influent (pc)

31/05. urbo (pc)

11/06. fantasy town regional manager (pc)

02/07. toem (pc)

03/07. planet zoo (pc)

13/07. persona 5 royal (ps4) [REPLAY]

29/07. forward escape the fold (pc)

21/09. inazuma eleven 2: firestorm (nds) [REPLAY]

01/10. sword of convallaria (pc)

31/10. anno 1800 (pc)

23/11. pokemon café remix (switch)

20/12. two point campus (pc)

TOP 5 MOST LISTENED TO SONGS PER MONTH:

JANUARY.

5. la edad que tengo by la paloma

4. the ballad of lucy gray baird by rachel zegler

3. when the party's over by paul thin

2. de charco en charco by samuraï ft. belén aguilera

mía (unplugged) by belén aguilera

FEBRUARY.

5. muchas cosas by natalia lacunza

4. paenamorar by paula cendejas

3. enchanted by taylor swift

2. si quieres by cariño

quedará en nuestra mente by amaia

MARCH.

5. as it was by harry styles

4. la camarera by paul thin

3. i drove all night by cris b ft. álvaro mayo

2. can't catch me now by olivia rodrigo

la_original.mp3 by emilia ft. tini

APRIL.

5. femininominon by chappell roan

4. felixità by svetlana

3. so american by olivia rodrigo

2. good luck, babe! by chappell roan

no m'estima + by mushkaa ft. julieta

MAY.

5. nunca te voy a olvidar by bechamel

4. dónde by paul thin

3. torna a casa by måneskin

2. muchas cosas by natalia lacunza

aquí by izaro ft. duda in the sky

JUNE.

5. l'amour de ma vie by billie eilish

4. hot to go! by chappell roan

3. all too well (10 minutes version) by taylor swift

2. who's afraid of little old me? by taylor swift

24 rosas by aitana

JULY.

5. but dady i love him by taylor swift

4. tu novio es subnormal by kalipotxo ft. nko, krivex

3. girl, so confusing by charli xcx

2. alondra by paul thin

x by paula cendejas

AUGUST.

5. girl, so confusing featuring lorde by charli xcx ft. lorde

4. villano antillano: bzrp music sessions, vol. 51 by bizarrap ft. villano antillano

3. alondra by paul thin

2. please please please by sabrina carpenter

new woman by lisa ft. rosalía

SEPTEMBER.

5. 96,000 from the in the heights original cast recording

4. ya no siento nada by blackpanda

3. in my bed by sabrina carpenter

2. cardigan by taylor swift

punto de partida by rocío jurado

OCTOBER.

5. misil by carolina durante

4. happier by olivia rodrigo

3. la_original.mp3 by emilia ft. tini

2. normal by carolina durante

people watching by conan gray

NOVEMBER.

5. cayetano by carolina durante

4. hamburguesas by carolina durante

3. 24 rosas by aitana

2. nuestro nombre by natalia lacunza

gente corriente by jordana b.

DECEMBER.

5. santos que yo te pinte by amaia

4. me gustabas así by burgas vandal ft. stivijoes, sick vaira

3. tengo un pensamiento by amaia

2. barbie de extrarradio by melendi

mazo raro by valentino

CONCERTS:

03/02. valeria castro in teatro circo price (madrid)

09/02. pipiolas in sala paqui (madrid)

25/05. taylor swift & paramore in estadio da luz (lisbon)

29/05. taylor swift & paramore in estadio santiago bernabéu (madrid)

09/06. olivia rodrigo in unipol arena (bologna)

12/06. bruce springsteen in civitas metropolitano (madrid)

27/06. ot 2023 in wizink center (madrid)

03/11. jacob collier in wizink center (madrid)

MOVIES:

25/02. ballad of songbirds and snakes [REWATCH]

02/06. the eras tour

10/07. inside out 2 [CINEMA]

29/07. bottoms [REWATCH]

21/09. death in the nile (2022)

31/10. olivia rodrigo: guts world tour

24/11. the wizard of oz [REWATCH]

01/12. wicked [CINEMA]

TV SHOWS:

07/03. queen charlotte (2023)

10/03. the bear (2022) - FIRST SEASON

13/03. the bear (2023) - SECOND SEASON

25/03. heartstopper (2022) - FIRST SEASON

29/03. heartstopper (2023) - SECOND SEASON

13/05. paquita salas (2016) - FIRST SEASON [REWATCH]

20/05. paquita salas (2018) - SECOND SEASON [REWATCH]

30/05. paquita salas (2019) - THIRD SEASON [REWATCH]

12/06. abbott elementary (2023) - THIRD SEASON

16/06. bridgerton (2024) - THIRD SEASON

29/09. lucía en la telaraña (2021)

29/12. el ministerio del tiempo (2020) - FOURTH SEASON

[kyndaris]

Ain't No Mountain High Enough

Our first proper day in Seoul had us running through the city using my highly advanced map-reading skills because Google Maps could not show even simple routes in and around the city except via public transport. This was due to the censorship laws of South Korea preventing the storage of map data on foreign server devices. As a consequence, Google cannot legally provide any real time navigation. Or so Google and Reddit tell me. Instead, locals rely on Naver and Kakao, but which do not always have English translations and thus tourists such as bleachpanda and myself are left fending for ourselves.

Still, after enjoying a ham and cheese 'Dagel' for breakfast at a local cafe, bleachpanda and I set out to Namsam Seoul Tower (or N Seoul Tower for short). Along the way, we stopped at the Namdaemun Market. There, we inspected the stalls to see what was on offer. Although we were both tempted to purchase souvenirs at this very first stop on our journey, we both resisted the urge.

We had, after all, not even properly seen the city!

Instead, bleachpanda and I purchased some egg tarts and a warm drink to drive away the wintry chill. While bleachpanda guzzled down her mocha, I was left disappointed by my 'choco latte,' which turned out to essentially be chocolate milk.

From Namdaemun Markets, we hiked towards Namsan Mountain, visiting a local 7-Eleven along the way to see if they shared any similarities to their counterparts in Japan or Australia (spoiler alert: they shared much more with their Asian cousins in Taiwan and Japan than those found out in the West).

Once at the start of the hiking trail up to Namsan, bleachpanda blanched at the prospect of climbing up to the tower. But with some gentle coaxing from me, she acquiesced. And so, we clambered up the mountain.

Bleachpanda, being the less fit of the two of us, required numerous stops to catch her breath. But these rests were also opportunities for us to take pictures of the scenery - capturing the early moments of spring peaking through as the snow began to melt.

By the way, did I mention there were love locks all around N Seoul Tower? Because that was a thing. As well as at the base of the mountain having a statue dedicated to the Comfort Women from the Second World War.

Still, it was aggravating to wait for her but it was the cross I had to bear as her travelling companion. Especially as we were nearing the tower and she vanished for nigh on eighty-four years because she ducked into a store to buy a fridge magnet.

At the tower, I purchased our entry tickets up and away we soared to the observation deck with a group of American tourists. Once at the observation deck, the entirety of Seoul was spread out before us. I used this chance to take copious amounts of pictures from this bird's eye view of the city:

Bleachpanda and I even bought a few souvenirs, including postcards. While I sent mine to a good friend (here known as redoubt on the internet), as he has a penchant of posting postcards to me when travelling overseas, bleachpanda sent one to her sister and another to her future self.

Once we had drunk our fill at the tower, we took the cable car back down to civilisation (bleachpanda's request) before heading to Deoksugung Palace. As I navigated our party towards our destination we refuelled at a Dunkin' Donuts before continuing onward.

Unfortunately, once we arrived at Deoksugung Palace, it was closed (this was due to the fact this palace is closed on Mondays. Why? I'm not sure. We would revisit it later). Disappointed, bleachpanda and I trekked instead to Gyeongbokgung Palace where we managed to catch a changing of the royal guard. During the performance, an explanation was provided regarding the process and of the outfits worn by the performers, which were based on 15th century Joseon dynasty clothing.

Fun fact, Gyeongbokgung was the main royal palace of the Joseon palace and was built in 1395. Additionally, everywhere we looked, there were people dressed in hanboks because they allowed free entry!

Alas, bleachpanda and I were dressed in our thick entry gear. And so, we had to buy tickets to visit Gyeongbokgung Palace. I also grabbed an audio gudie to provide some commentary of the historic site we were visiting, although I had to trade in my driver licence.

As we made our way through the Palace, I learned how the Palace served as the heart of the Joseon dynasty before it was razed to the ground when Japan invaded Korea back in 1592. This was later rebuilt in 1867. Within were several precincts and the living quarters for concubines and the royal family. Of interest to me was how there were separate palaces for the King and the Queen.

I also learned how during the Japanese occupation in the early 20th century, Gyeongbokgung was used for their own headquarters, with the Government-General Building being built after the Palace was levelled. After the conclusion of the Second World War, however, much of Gyeongbokgung has been restored.

After we had wandered through to all the major sites, bleachpanda and I exited out near the National Folk Museum of Korea. Eager to have my driver licence returned, we headed back to the entrance and exchanged the audio guide for my Australian identity document.

From the palace, we then headed to Bukchon Hanok village and finally nabbed a late lunch of pork cutlet - elsewise I might have keeled over. After we were both full, we took a gander around Bukchon, stopping by Bukchon Yukgyeong to snap an iconic view of the city of the buildings there and the city of Seoul splayed out before us.

Once we had snagged the picture, bleachpanda and I headed back to our hotel after a long day out in the city of Seoul. We stopped briefly at Jogyesa Buddhist temple before purchasing a few souvenirs and snacks.

So ended our first proper day in Seoul! Join me for the next few weeks as I regale you, dear reader, of our further adventures! For tomorrow is when we head into the DMZ (the last letter pronounced as Zed for all you Americans out there).

Looking back on our journey though, I'm a little sad I couldn't snag myself a hot CEO boyfriend after he hit me with his car. Still, there's always next time!

[sawtastic-sideblog]

I am so sorry to anon. I meant to save what I posted as a draft and it posted while I was taking a test. Anyway here's the finished one!

Contains spoilers for Downton Abbey season 3 and Adam is a LotR fan in this I jsut forgot to write it in.

Taking the stairs two at a time, Adam climbs, ready to see his beloved children. The last few days have been rough for him. He's had to follow a doctor that has been cheating on his wife. It's emotionally draining.

He fumbles the his keys and drops them to the floor with a loud clang! Adam curses under his breath as he bends to pick up his keys. He hears a door open to his right, revealing a short plump woman with green eyes that shimmer in the dim hallway lighting.

"Oh, Adam! I thought that was you! How are you, darlin'?"

"I'm good, Mrs. Ortega. How are you? And Mr. Ortega?"

"We're both good. We wanted to invite you over for dinner next weekend. My family is flying in, his family is driving up, and we're gonna have some friends over too."

"Oh, um, thank you, Ms. Ortega, but I don't know. I'm not big on crowds and in small spaces. Not really my scene."

"How 'bout I bring you a plate? My family is bringing the southern cuisine and Miguel's family is bringing the authentic Mexican cuisine. Abuelita is making tamales. My mama's making her chicken and dumplins and I'm making my blueberry pie you like so much."

"That sounds greats, Mrs. O. Thanks."

"It's not a problem dear. Oh and I think my daddy is bringing you some old camera equipment his daddy gave to him. He said somethin' about one of th first cameras ever made being passed through the generations. He likes you, son."

"Oh, wow, I couldn't accept that."

"You will. Daddy is very convincing. Especially in his old age."

"Eighty one isn't that old."

Mrs. Ortega laughs and turns to walk back into her apartment. Adam jams his key into the lock as his neighbor calls out to him.

"Give some love to Merry and Pippin for me?"

"Of course, I will. Goodnight, Mrs. Ortega."

"Goodnight, Adam."

Adam walks into his apartment and throws his keys in the bowl of the table by the door. He sets his bag down on the table as he toes off his shoes. He scans the open area of his apartment in the light from the standing lamp by the wall.

"Mer? Pip? Where are you?"

He makes his way into the kitchen and grabs a can and a bag of cat food. He turns around to pick up two ceramic food bowls. One blue with 'Merry' etched into it with white paint making the letters pop and the other is a matching green one with 'Pippin etched into the side. Birthday gifts from Mrs. Ortega. She always treats Adam, Merry, and Pippin like her own kids. The Ortegas never had children of their own but have nieces and nephews who come to visit sometimes. Mia, the thirteen year old daughter of Mrs. Ortega's sister, has taken an interest in photography. Everytime she visits, Adam gets a knock on his door. He's more than happy to talk with Mia, go on walks with her, her brothers, aunt, and uncle to take pictures of the world around them, and show her how to develop pictures in his home red room.

Adam turns back around to see a figure sniffing at the bag of food. A pair or yellow eyes look up at him expectantly. Adam smiles warmly.

"Hi, honey," he says as he walks to the counter and sets the bowls down. He holds his finger up and moves it towards a small pink nose. "Boop."

A small 'mrrrhp' is the response Adam gets before the cat headbutts Adam's hand, demanding to have attention. He happily obliges and scratches the cat's head.

"Hello, my little Merry-baby," Adam coos. Merry rubs against Adam's chest as he opens the can of food and halves it into the bowls. He adds some dry food with it. His cats will eat anything and, somehow, Mrs. Ortega has a lot of cat food and brings it to him. He doesn't complain. Free food for the cats.

Merry, the cat currently sitting on the counter watching as Adam walks towards the mat again, is an orange short-haired tabby. She has yellow eyes that are always full of mischief. She is two years old and is so full of energy. She loves to cuddle and always finds her a seat somewhere on or near Adam. She was sitting outside of the hospital one day as Adam was leaving. In his very drowsy, tired, and sick mind he decided to try to catch her and ran out into the middle of the road. He was almost hit by a bus, but a tall, blonde man pulled him out of the way. When Adam went to protest the man shut him down, grabbed the cat, shoved it into his arms, and told him to go home. Adam went back to the hospital for a dislocated shoulder a few months later and met the man again. A doctor by the name of Lawrence Gordon. Adam was smitten by him and asked for his number while under th influence of painkillers. Dr. Gordon laughed and asked about the cat.

Pippin, who is currently no where to be seen, is a short-haired tuxedo cat. He's nine years old and likes to lay around in the sun all day. He's still spry in his old age and is often found perched at the top of the cat tower. Yet, another gift from the Ortegas that was made by Mr. Ortega himself. He's been with Adam for a long time, since he was six months old. Adam found him in the dumpster behind a bar. He was trying to hook up with some girl who was so drunk she couldn't keep the contents of her stomach inside. Adam heard a small sound coming from the dumpster and peeked inside. He saw a plastic bag moving around. Curious and slightly drunk, Adam reaches for it. When he opensnit he finds a very small and malnourished cat. His yellow eyes wide in fear. Adam looks back at the woman and decides to call her a cab. He waits with her when her friends come out and gush over the kitten and thank him for the cab. Adam gets home and looks up how to take care of a kitten. He was terrified because he could hardly take care of himself.

"Food time, babies," Adam calls. Merry leaps off the counter and walks over to her bowl. The sound of old joints popping and the shaking of the cat tree from the cat atop of it stretching. Adam walks over to the wooden tower covered in soft fabric and puts a hand out. The old cat bumps Adam's hand with his head. Adam scoops him up and cradles him in his arms. He walks towards the untouched bowl of food as he peppers kisses all over Pippin's head. He gently places the old cat by his bowl and walk to his bedroom to change into his pajamas. His phone vibrates in his hand as he walks toward the living room.

"Hey, babe," Adam greets his friend.

"Adam, I've told you not to call me that."

"Aw, come on, Larry, everyone deserves to be called 'babe' every once in a while."

"Yes and I have a wife who calls me that," Lawrence counters. Despite the annoyance in his voice, Adam can hear a smile.

"Whaddya want, Larry? I gotta fix food and cuddle cats."

"Alison wanted to see if you wanted to go out for dinner tomorrow night."

"How about you guys come over. Diana loves the cats and the Ortega's are having a dinner party next week, so I was thinking about having them over for dinner before then. I won't feel bad if they bring me a plate after that," Adam jokes. He hears Lawrence chuckle before he continues. "I also have this recipe Zep from work sent me. Looks pretty good. And it comes from Zep. He's an amazing cook."

"I have to agree with you. Let me run it Alison."

"Let me talk to her. I'm very persuasive."

"Okay, hold on. I have to go find her," Lawrence laughs.

"Hey, babe," Alison's voice rings down the line. Pippin hops onto the couch and bumbles his way over to Adam, sitting beside him with paws on his thigh. Adam's hand immediately goes to Pippin's head and scratched behind his ear. The cat purrs in appreciation.

"Hi, Ali. Adam is on the phone to talk about dinner plans. You're on speaker, Adam."

"Hi, Adam."

"Hey, Alison. Lawrence said you wanted to have dinner together tomorrow night. I was thinking you guys could come over and, hi, Merry, I'll have the Ortegas over. Zep gave me a new recipe," Adam explains and greets his cat by petting her head.

"Sounds great. Six work for you?"

"Perfect. I'll let Mrs. O know."

"Need us to bring anything?"

"Just your dazzling smile and Larry's charming personality. Oh, and Diana. Can't forget her."

"They won't forget me!" A small voice yells indignantly. Adam laughs and grabs the remote from the coffee table. He reclines back and props his feet on the table. Merry walks down Adam's legs to the coffee table and just sits staring out at nothing on the other side of the room. Adam's hand finds Pippin's side and pats.

"Did your hear anything, dear?" Lawrence asks, amusement dripping off his words.

"No, did you?"

"Nope," Lawrence says.

"Adam! Tell mommy and daddy that I'm right here!"

"I think there's an intruder in your house, Larry."

"Me too. I'll go take a look."

"He's on the hunt," Alison says. Adam hears the grin in her voice and can imagine Lawrence stalking around the kitchen and living room of his house. He hears high pitched squeals and laughter coming from his phone. His eyes scan the rows of television shows and movies on his screen. He chooses his guilty pleasure show. 'Downton Abbey' has been his thing for years. He, Alison, Diana, and Mrs. Ortega often have watch parties. When he has a bad day, likes to cuddle up under a pile of blankets, eat his weight in pizza, and cuddle the cats. "Do you have food, Adam?"

"Yeah, I ordered pizza."

"Good. Just making sure you're eating. Lawrence told me about your bad day."

"Yeah, it has sucked, but I have my kittens to cheer me up."

"Have a better night."

"Thanks, Al. I appreciate you. and Larry. And the rugrat." "Goodnight, Adam. We love you." "Bye, Adam!" "Bye, Addy!"

Lawrence and Diana both shout at the same time. The corners of Adam's lips curl up at the use of his nickname Diana gave him. He bids them goodnight and hangs up. The doorbell rings and he stands up, much to Pippin's displeasure. Adam brings the pizza over to the coffee table and turns on the show. Hours later, Adam is still watching the show. Tears stream down his face as Tom Branson clings to Sybil.

"Please, don't leave me, Love," Tom begs.

"Don't leave him, Sybil," Adam whispers as he wipes tears away. Merry stretches from her spot in Adam's arms, her head in the crook of his neck and his arm cradling her like a baby. His other hand returns to Pippin's back. Pippin is laying in a loaf on Adam's thigh. He is facing the television, staring in the direction of it, almost like he is watching as Sybil's life fades and, once again, the Crawley family is thrown into the arms of grief.

"Fuck," Adam sobs, burying his face into Merry's side. Merry's paws finds Adam's head as she starts to chew on Adam's hair. She twists and turns and hops from Adam's arm onto the arm of the couch. He picks up Pippin and pulls his feet out form under him and onto the floor. The episode ends and Adam turns off the television.

"I think it's time for bed, kitterinos," Adam says as he stands and stretches. He wipes at his face as he goes though and turns off all the lights. He goes to brush his teeth, cats following him all the way. The orange rubs her face against his ankles.

"Meow," Pippin calls from the bedroom door.

"Ahh," Adam says back. Pippin responds with another meow and Adam responds with another lowercase scream. They go on like this until Adam goes into the bedroom.

Once in bed, Merry finds her way to the second pillow on the bed and curls up facing Adam. Pippin finds his rightful place on Adam's chest as Adam scrolls on Youtube to find a video to listen to as he goes to sleep. "Goodnight, my sweet boy. Goodnight, my sweet girlie. My pretty kitties."

He closes his eyes and runs his hands over Pippin's back. The old cat purrs and does the little paw thing that cats do over Adam's ribs. Merry presses her head against Adam's head. He smiles and reaches his free hand up to pet her. She spins in a circle and lays with her face on Adam's shoulder, one paw tucked under her and the other on Adam's shoulder. Adam angles his head towards Merry's back and lays his face on her hip.

He feels so loved by these two small creatures. They put all their trust in him and he puts his own happiness with them. The three of them are a family. They all love and trust each other. This is the most love Adam has felt in his life. He can say that these two make his life complete and he doesn't know what he'd do without them.

Adam is lulled to sleep by the sound of both of the cats purring and Shayne Topp's voice reading Reddit stories.

[twinklingwatermellon]

Okay, review time for Around the World in 80 Days (2004)!

I actually really liked the setup and concept of this adaptation. Making Phileas an inventor, though being just the sort of change I'd expect from a Disney adaptation (minor eye roll), actually plays out quite nicely, taking him the logical extra step beyond an educated gentleman who knows about science, to being an actual scientist.

I admit the trailer misled me about how the wager came to be, and Passepartout starting a gossip chain and inspiring the wager in order to get out of England quickly was unexpectedly hilarious.

So our two heroes set off, landing first in Paris, France. My hopes are high, and so far I'm thinking this movie could end up being a solid 7.5/10.

And then I realize I spoke too soon.

Things quickly get annoyingly wacky. First Phileas meets the lady who will become his love interest — an aspiring French artiste (RIP Aouda).

After some action involving the Chinese gang trying to steal back what Passepartout stole (back) from the Bank of England, the trio set off in a hot air balloon and soon find themselves on a train that, after a time skip (and an admittedly hilarious scene involving Phileas and Mademoiselle Monique's — gasp! — uncovered ankles), stops in Istanbul.

And then, we are thrown into one of the most uncomfortable scenes I have ever been subjected to, featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger (?!) and the traveling trio in a hot tub (?!?!)

Prince Schwarzenegger wants Monique as his seventh wife, Phileas saves her by threatening the prince's precious statue of himself, and they run. Time skip number two has us in India, and guess what? Inspector Fix is here too!

(Side note: the men discussing the robbery and deciding to send an arrest warrant for Fogg to India and one of the stuffed shirts going, "Thank God we own India!" is legitimately one of the funniest things I have ever seen. Thank you for your Very Subtle introduction to British colonialism, Disney.)

Fix is actually, legitimately, the most sad, broken husk of a man I have ever seen in my life. You could knock him over with a feather. How did this man get to be a police inspector in the first place? Your guess is as good as mine. But in this adaptation, he's a corrupt officer bought by the men of the Academy of Science to stop Fogg's journey. He actually somehow manages to get one (1) handcuff on Passepartout, only to promptly be used as his weapon to fight off the gang that's pursuing them.

Long Annoying Action Sequence, Phileas and Monique nearly kiss, and we're off once again!

We are now in China, in Passepartout's village (where we learn his real name is Lau Xing). Fogg, feeling rightfully betrayed when he finds out that Monique and Passepartout have been keeping the bank robbery secret from him and thereby putting his life in danger unnecessarily, storms off and decides to continue the journey on his own.

[insert Even Longer Annoying But Kind Of Plot-Relevant-This-Time (Though Not Enough To Make Me Want To Write About It) Action Sequence here]

Uhh... *checks notes* oh yes, Passepartout/Lau Xing accomplishes his mission of returning the sacred relic to his village, and then Fogg leaves China alone.

(Wow, one way or another, every adaptation has had Passepartout accidentally causing trouble for and then getting separated from Fogg between China and San Francisco!)

In San Francisco, Phileas has 19 days left to finish his journey. He's basically got the wager won — and then all his money gets stolen because he is A Literal Fool.

Passepartout and Monique catch up to him three days later, finding him failing spectacularly at being a beggar. Emotional Reunion, etc etc, and they cross America, meeting the Wright Brothers along the way (an actually really funny and good scene, featuring Owen Wilson!!)

And then it's time for Final Annoying And Probably Even Longer Action Sequence! This time featuring an unfinished Lady Liberty! Also featuring Scary But Cool Chinese Warlord Lady.

Maybe it's just because I already don't like long fight sequences, but these felt especially dragged out as they were so largely silly and exaggerated. I suppose it's a Disney movie, after all, but still. Not a fan of that.

And then, Phileas, Monique, and Passepartout board the ship Carmen (would it have killed them to call it Henrietta?) and, once the captain decides to go full speed ahead for the sake of Fogg's wager (which he's also bet some dollars on) and finishes up the coal, they resort to the classic practice of dismantling the ship and using the wood, but not to burn it for fuel! Instead they build a flying machine, the design of which Fogg somehow still remembers after briefly looking at Orville Wright's blueprints several days ago. (Also, there's a really weird... thing that I wouldn't call a joke involving the captain and an encounter with a shark that made me very uncomfortable once again.)

They fly into London (never mind that they would've had to go through Liverpool first), crash on the steps of the Science Academy, and the clock strikes twelve noon, indicating that they've lost the wager.

But then, in another painful reminder that this is a DISNEY MOVIE (!!), Phileas's rival, Lord Kelvin, starts ridiculously monologuing about how he sent assassins and other saboteurs after Fogg, and after a little girl states that the Queen will stop his evil plot, he begins to mock the Queen in the most cartoonish way possible, only to come to find that (of course) she's standing right behind him.

Kelvin is arrested, the Queen explains the International Date Line loophole, and Phileas and his companions rush up the stairs of the Royal Academy, winning the bet with over 23 hours to spare. He and Monique kiss, everyone cheers, and that's ✨the end✨

Honestly, this had the makings of a great campy adaptation and was incredibly funny at the beginning and other moments scattered throughout. The jade Buddha plot is actually compelling and General Fang is a cool villain that's on par with what I'd expect from Disney (in a good way this time). Unfortunately, this movie suffers a lot in translation. Fogg's romance with Monique is just... there? It feels incredibly rushed, with the actors not even having that much chemistry.

Speaking of rushed, I suppose we all knew that things had to be sped along to fit such a long narrative into a two-hour movie, but adding all those long action set pieces drained away a lot of the time that could've been spent building an actual bond between Phileas and Monique, or including anything found in the original book at all (RIP Inspector Fix, we hardly knew ye).

Also, Fogg is not very likable. I don't know what it is about him that just rubs me the wrong way. I think I'm officially placing him as my least favorite Phileas Fogg of all the ones I've watched.

And while, like I said, about half of the jokes and comedic moments land pretty well, the other half is just plain cringy and sometimes even painful to witness. At least those moments aren't dragged on for very long.

And what else to say about this film? I suppose it could be enjoyable enough if you're not familiar with the source material or show up with no particular expectations. But even then, one would more than likely notice the insane pace and lack of chemistry between the romantic leads. Jackie Chan is good though.

Despite a valiant effort, this movie lands, as expected, at the bottom of my ATWIED adaptation ranking, with a 5/10 rating.

Time to cleanse my palate with the David Niven version.

[tsilvy]

SO. Reflection time. Bear with me because this is long and rambly and spoilery for episode 5 of Around the world in 80 days.

All under the cut.

I can't believe they did that. I really, really can't believe it. I'd have bet money they would do the heroic run trope and save Fogg from the lash at the last second. But they didn't, and that's as clear a choice as I can think of. But I'll talk about that later.

First, do we all agree that this is the worst thing that could ever have happened to Fogg?

Just to put things into perspective, notice how Fogg comments as soon as the police starts searching him. "I've never been more humiliated in my life," he says. This was already out of his league at the very suspicion of theft. This is a man who is never touched nor seen by anyone. This is a man who is uncomfortable with hugs. But most importantly, a man whose rights have never been violated in his life.

The reason I am iterating this is I want everyone to understand the significance of what we've seen.

Because the fact is, this is not the most life-threatening event happened to Fogg during the journey. He's been on the verge of dying twice and a half. But the brutality, it's unheard of. A brutality he's ill-equipped to come to terms with. What we're seeing here is a monstrous imbalance of power, with Fogg on the wrong side of a scale he's known for the entirety of his life.

I cannot overstate what kind of humiliation that is to the psyche and self-esteem of someone who is already as withdrawn as he is. And the fact that it comes right after another tremendous blow to his dignity, not even 24 hours later.

Granted, he's seen a lot of things and listened to alternative facts and unlearned some of his biases already, but now you know, you just know, he's not going to come back home the same person he was before. He's been on the other side now. He's lost every single shred of privilege, he's lost control, in the single most brutal and irreversible way there is.

This is a choice they did, a statement: sometimes things go a bit wrong actually. And some things you just can't undo. To make an omelette you need to break some eggs, after all. They made a choice to leave an impression on him (and us) of his time in Hong Kong. Like, from now on Hong Kong is going to be code for a complete mess. It's a point of no return, if I ever saw one.

But there's another choice, another statement, that put into context with the other elements of this show marks the significance, the wrongness, of what we've seen.

The fact is, this is the opposite of all the things he's feared could have hurt him. This is not some """inferior culture""" robbing or kidnapping or killing him. This is not adversity in a wild, hostile environment. This is not one of the dangers he was warned about. In fact, it's the one he wasn't. This man was never warned about the structures, the people he should trust, turning on him (Bellamy included, but that’s for another post).

This is his pals, the English, his very pals, the 'masters of their trade', as Fogg puts it, those who were supposed to bring civilization to the world. It's the English who are hurting him, who are abusing their power, who are acting out barbaric practices and human rights violations, who are reveling in cruel impulses because they're removed enough from England the empire can't see it, or doesn't bother to.

Look at Fogg in that cell listening to the screams of the man being flogged before him, with tears in his eyes. Even just witnessing something like that, is too much.

THIS is the worst betrayal. The whole episode is about betrayal, but this is by far the worst. And it's yet another step of Fogg realizing the lies he's been told, this time experiencing it on his own skin. Because no, this wasn't at any point about Abigail exposing him, or Passepartout doing something very stupid that ultimately put Fogg in danger. This is about tiranny, injustice, the disregard of precisely those rights that protect the people from incidents and errors of the law like this one. Coated in a veneer of respectability.

Now I understand, this whole bit felt insidious, the vibes felt rancid, precisely because they were among the English. They were among power like never before, and that's what power does, the moment it can: it oppresses, it hurts, it cripples. They stopped being safe the moment they went to that party. Ah, the irony.

And I'm incredibly impressed with this show for pulling all that, for daring to go there, for crafting the single most gut-wrenching sequence of both a failure and a victory. And there's no celebration, mind you. No obligatory toast, not even a patching-up scene. Because we can't even begin to imagine how Fogg is feeling, and we shouldn't have to.

[sic-vita]

Around the World in 80 Days Ep 4 x David Tennant’s costume choices 

atwi80d gifs: 5/?

[snitling]

I watch Around the World in 80 Days for the plot, and I'm definitely not obsessed with David Tennant's beautifully fragile, birdlike shoulders, no sir. I'm not looking at the cut of his thick, dark hair at the back of his head, and the vulnerable, feminine way his back is exposed above his shirt holds no fascination for me whatsoever. I am a good Catholic girl.

[the-stolen-century]

I'm fervently hoping that in the 2nd season, Aouda will be Captain Nemo. That would explain why her role in Season 1 is so much smaller than in the book. And the actress is so cool, I think she would make an amazing Captain!

Please say they're doing Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas, like Willy Fog 2

[preciousyorkshiregallifreyan]

Phileas Fogg in episode 8 of Around The World In 80 Days