#best school franchise 2019/20

[justforbooks]

The actor Lance Reddick, who has died suddenly aged 60, played figures of authority with such panache that no matter how many times he was handed such roles, he never seemed typecast. He is best known on film for his part as Charon, the all-seeing fixer in the John Wick movie franchise, but his image was forged playing two ambitious high-level cops on television, Cedric Daniels in The Wire (2002-08) and Irvin Irving in Bosch (2014-21).

In each case he was contrasted with a main character: his anguish at the plight of Baltimore as portrayed in The Wire was expressed with internal restraint, opposed to the knee-jerk reactions of Dominic West’s chronic screw-up, McNulty. In Bosch, he was the politician tormented by Titus Welliver’s relentlessly uncompromising Harry Bosch.

Bosch author Michael Connelly said Reddick “took a character who was paper-thin in the books and made Irvin Irving”. He used his tall, angular frame to express authority; moving his body precisely, deliberately stiff and controlled, his face echoing that pose, covering up the machinations inside his head. Audiences watched as he took in, contemplated, and finally reacted, in a voice pitched with the deep tone of authority. His work in Bosch’s second season, where the death of his undercover cop son opens huge cracks in his closely controlled persona and makes him the centre of the show, is a lesson in transcending ensemble play.

Reddick’s highlights in variations of authority-figure themes came in the TV series Fringe (2008-13), running a unit of Homeland Security; Corporate (2018-20), as a CEO; and Intelligence (2014), where he was head of the CIA. On film he was head of the secret service in Angel Has Fallen (2019), and he played Albert Wesker, boss of the Raccoon Police special tactics unit, in the Netflix TV adaptation of the zombie video game Resident Evil (2022).

He was so good that the star of Wick, Keanu Reeves, given a day off from shooting for his birthday, told his girlfriend he wanted to visit the set, just to watch Reddick in action. Reeves then handed him a note thanking him for “what he brought to the character of Charon”.

Bosch also afforded Reddick the chance to play the piano, thoughtfully improvising at home as if to sort out his thoughts; this might be seen to reflect his own hard path to acting success. Reddick was born in Baltimore to Solomon, a lawyer, and Dorothy (nee Gee), a teacher. His musical talent was apparent at Friends School of Baltimore, and he went on to study at the city’s Peabody Institute, a secondary school specialising in the performing arts. He took a degree in composition at the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music and moved to Boston, intending, in his words, to become a rock star.

But his style of music, influenced by Miles Davis and Sting, never fitted a rock star template, and having married his college sweetheart, Suzanne Louis, in 1986, and had two children, he found himself working odd jobs, including as a singing waiter on a riverboat. Crucially, on a night shift at a newspaper delivery depot, he injured his back shifting bundles of papers. Forced to lie in bed, he contemplated how he could support his family, and decided to turn to acting, where he noticed there were more auditions available.

He wound up gaining a master of fine arts degree at Yale Drama School in 1994, and two years later landed his first television role, on New York Undercover; he debuted on-screen in 1998’s ill-judged modern-set Great Expectations.

In 2000 he was cast in David Simon’s The Corner, which led to his part on The Wire, while he also attracted attention with a memorable role as an undercover police officer gone bad in the prison drama Oz (2000-01). Recurring parts in CSI:Miami (2005-06) and Lost (2008-09) followed, and he played James Baldwin in the 2004 movie Brother to Brother. He was the voice of the Falcon in the animated Avengers (2012), and of the villain Ras Al Ghul in Beware the Batman (2013), as well as voicing Commander Zavala in the Destiny video game series, and Sylens in Horizon Zero Dawn (2017) and Horizon Forbidden West (2022).

Along the way he finally got to be a rock star, playing a cop in the music video of Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s ’03 Bonnie & Clyde. In 2007 he released an album of his own music, Contemplations and Remembrances.

John Wick 4 has just been released, and he also leaves behind a store of work that has yet to be seen. Reddick will appear in a remake of White Men Can’t Jump; as Charon in a Wick spin-off, Ballerina; in the Shirley Chisholm biopic, Shirley, and as Capt Blakely in The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial. He also voiced the ultimate authority figure, Zeus, in Percy Jackson and the Olympians for Disney+.

Reddick is survived by his second wife, Stephanie (nee Day), whom he married in 2011, and the two children, Yvonne and Christopher, from his first marriage, which ended in divorce.

🔔 Lance Solomon Reddick, actor, born 7 June 1962; died 17 March 2023

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

[smash-64]

2022 Game of the Year Countdown 3. Fire Emblem: Three Houses Intelligent Systems Nintendo Switch, 2019

It seems fairly obvious to me that Three Houses took a lot of cues from Trails of Cold Steel, and it all came together fairly well. A historic military school filled with both nobles and commoners, the best and brightest of the continent’s youth all put together to build a better future. Exploring the monastery reminded me a lot of exploring Trista or Leeves, and checking up on the many students and faculty was fun. Garreg Mach reminded me a little bit of the university I attended in Spain, or at least the really old sections with old architecture. 

The voice acting in Three Houses is one of the best pieces of work I’ve ever heard in gaming. All the actors do a great job across the board, from the dumb little support conversations about fashion or snacks, to the weighty and emotional ones. Rhea is downright scary at times. Edelgard can be vulnerable. Claude sounds like he’s saying every line with a smile. It’s really impressive and makes up for a lot of the other presentation issues.

As for those issues, almost the entire plot and story of the game is delivered in one of the most boring ways possible for a game released in 2019. Having simple character portraits with facial reactions would have been sufficient 20 years ago, and most of these scenes are saved by the phenomenal voice acting, but the game doesn’t really try to do more than just having characters standing around, doing the same four generic hand motions or poses, and talking to each other in front of a stretched PNG background. 

I was shocked that this was the primary storytelling method for the vast majority of the game’s plot. The animated cutscenes are fantastic and full of energy, emotion, and detail. And while I understand those are expensive to produce, it was a bit disappointing when each short scene was over and switched back to simple “stand around and talk” parts. Like I said, though, the amazing voice acting saves these from being completely boring.

Additionally, Fire Emblem is one of Nintendo’s biggest franchises. They could definitely splurge for more animated scenes, imho. A few scenes are focused around a map as the various countries and coalitions are described or make their moves, and a few others include brilliantly styled paintings that look like Medieval artwork. Yet, while the Medieval style artwork was cool, it often felt overlooked. It’d be shown with a 10 second narration, and then never seen again. Sometimes, I struggled to even understand what the tie-in was from the image to the narration.

The branching and different storylines are really good, however. It’s cool to see what significant impact joining a different house can make to all the students, and Fodlan in general. Some of the routes can produce massively different resolutions to the story, and it’s interesting to think that they’re all canon since there isn’t one single “perfect” route. I was a bit dissatisfied with that, personally, because I definitely do like a “everyone is happy” ending, but I definitely appreciate the decision to go with very different endings.

I find the character design and variety to be pretty good in this game. We get standard hulking masses that are really gentle giants. We get tiny men with supreme strength. The reclusive hermit. The playboy. Nothing feels out of place or lacking in the characters, to be honest. I didn’t find myself disliking anyone overall, and although some I definitely disliked in specific routes, that feels purposeful in an antagonist sort of way. You’re supposed to dislike them because you’re waging war on them! Overall, my favorite character was probably Petra. I can identify as once being a foreign student, and I like her honesty, integrity, and drive. Plus, she’s a beast lol 

Special shoutout to Flayn, as well. Green cinnamon roll. She has this amazing disapproving reaction image

The music in Three Houses is mostly great, but can also miss at times, if I’m honest. Most songs are absolutely great and I could listen to them for hours, but there were a few that I felt were forgettable. I also found the music earlier in the game to be a bit more enjoyable than some of the later tracks, which try to play up the heavier late-game plot a bit more with louder horns and such. It’s theatrical and effective for sure, but it just wasn’t always for me. Some endgame tracks, however, like Seasons of Warfare (or the more somber Edge of Dawn version) are really good and emotional. Winds of Fodlan is another favorite of mine and is one of those songs that can loop for a very long time without getting tired.

The fact that there are four routes to play in the game is a blessing, and you don’t need to buy separate games or DLCs to see them all! I love Fates, but needing to buy two games, plus a DLC third game felt like money farming by Nintendo. They listened to complaints, and put it all into one game. I love this sort of thing and I hope we get to see more of it in the future. 

Combat is really fun, although I still miss being able to pair up two units on the same square. You can do a sort of pseudo-pair up in this game, but you’re limited in number and scope. I loved being able to toss a big, slow grunt onto the back of a pegasus and jet off to a far corner of the map to encircle the enemy, and I still find myself missing that option. That said, scaling back a bit on the weapons triangle was helpful to make things a bit more fluid. You have a little more freedom in how and who you battle, which is nice. I’m no expert or min-maxer, so I can’t really comment on harder difficulties, but I found the combat really satisfying.

One of the last things I’ll say is that the story does feel a bit disjointed as a result of the different routes. Lots of hugely important events happen off-screen, as well. I feel like the intent was to play multiple routes and then call upon events that did happen on-screen while playing other routes, but that hurts the first playthrough by keeping some stuff off-screen. Additionally, there are a few storylines that seem to just vanish or stop mattering, despite past importance being placed on them. It’s odd to see some plot lines come to nothing in some routes, while many still have the same seeds sown in the early parts of the game. 

Finally, this game has done a lot for me when it comes to accepting tragic characters. It’s something I’ve really struggled to not hate in the past because it always felt so dissatisfying to me. But the various routes and just the sheer amount of time the game encourages you to put in let me see a lot of perspectives and really understand the motivations of some characters and embrace the idea of a tragic character. And this is something that will likely extend beyond Three Houses itself, which is really cool.

Despite some complaints, I love this game and it’s easily my favorite Fire Emblem game. I’ve basically played nothing else from late October until Christmas because I just enjoy trying different units and strategies. There’s a lot of game to be played here!

[geezerwench]

[Hamilton Fandom] The HIV+ high school AU/cannibal mermaid Hamilton fanfiction incident self.HobbyDrama

submitted 3 years ago by iwasonceafangirl Best of 2019-20

I know I said I was going to do a writeup about YA Twitter drama next, but then I remembered that this is a thing that happened and I just had to post it here. I swear to god, I am not making any of this up.

This is one of those incidents that’s difficult to summarize because I honestly don’t even know where to begin. There’s so much to talk about that it’s almost overwhelming—sockpuppeting, medical fraud, false identities, and god-knows-what else all played a part in making this drama one of the biggest scandals in Tumblr history (or, at least, the biggest scandal that doesn’t involve illegally mailing body parts to people via the United States Postal Service. Don’t even ask.) Now, you may be thinking that the title probably makes more sense in context, but I can assure you that it absolutely does not. It’s just as insane as it sounds at first glance. To make it abundantly clear how nuts this whole debacle was, I should probably start by detailing Hamilton and its obsessive fandom.

Hamilton is a Broadway musical that came out a few years ago, and unless you live under a rock, you’ve probably heard someone at least mention it in passing. It’s one of the most successful shows in recent history, and it’s beloved by tumblr.com for a variety of reasons. The main, though not sole, reason is that it’s actually really good (and I say this as someone who isn’t a crazy theatre kid.) It focuses on the life of Alexander Hamilton from his arrival in the Thirteen Colonies to his death during a duel with Aaron Burr, and it’s all done surprisingly well for a musical that attempts to tell a story about the American Revolutionary War via rap battles. It’s one of the few shows in the world that can get away with including stage directions like “ELIZA BEATBOXES MATERNALLY” and still be taken completely seriously by both fans and critics.

Reason number two why Tumblr loves Hamilton is the same reason Tumblr loves the MCU and Superwholock and all the other franchises it obsesses over. There are lots of male characters and thus lots of potential slash ships (ships meaning relationships.) If you’re wondering why on Earth anyone would want to ship the Founding Fathers with one another… well, join the club. I have no idea. But some fans really liked the idea of Alexander Hamilton and [insert literally any other character] hooking up, so Hamilton the musical spawned an abundance of fan fiction and fan art featuring the signatories of the US Constitution. Keep in mind, though, that by Tumblr standards, this is not that weird. A little unusual, sure, and certainly less common than traditional fictional character shipping, but nobody’s really going to start a riot because people want John Laurens and Alexander Hamilton to have sex. This is Tumblr we’re talking about. Remember how I mentioned people mailing human body parts to one another? In comparison to those incidents, shipping the Founding Fathers is not that strange, so the rabid Hamilton fans were mostly ignored by the rest of the site. And this allowed their community to grow quite large. Nobody wanted to be the one to poke at the hornet’s nest that was the rapidly developing hive of Hamilton-obsessed fans, so they all just kind of let It be. And, in the complete absence of outside scrutiny, that community grew and grew and grew. By 2015, the amount of people who dedicated countless hours to writing Hamilton fic was far greater than anyone could have imagined.

One of the many Hamilton fics floating around on Tumblr was a piece entitled “To Scale the Blue Sky,” which was an alternate universe fanfic set in a high school. Again, taking the Founding Fathers and putting them in an American high school in the 1980s a la Clone High may sound bizarre, but that’s such a common fan fiction trope that people didn’t even question it. There are probably more high school AUs on Tumblr than there are stars in the sky at this point. The unique thing about “To Scale the Blue Sky,” though, was that it addressed an important issue affecting the LGBT community in the ‘80s: HIV and AIDS. This is a story in which Alexander Hamilton, the guy who appears on the $10 bill, gets HIV while in high school. And, ordinarily, this type of writing would have rung at least a few alarm bells; after all, fan fiction is generally not the best way to address the AIDS epidemic and the deaths resulting from its mismanagement. But “To Scale The Blue Sky” was cut some slack, partially because of who its authors were.

The main author of “To Scale The Blue Sky” was Israa, a nonbinary Chinese-Pakistani victim of sex trafficking. The other, mostly uncredited author was Israa’s wife Raj, a Catholic-Somali lesbian of color. Both were HIV+, and they ran a popular blog about how the disease impacted their lives, which was entitled hivliving. They used hivliving as a platform for activism, but also a way to share their personal experiences with various forms of trauma and discuss how being HIV+ has impacted them. They also occasionally used it to promote their fanfiction.

Unfortunately, just as hivliving was reaching the height of its popularity, Raj and/or Israa suffered some terrible, debilitating medical issue that left them in need of expensive medical treatment right away. A cash.me link was posted, and thousands of followers who credited the couple for educating them about HIV and helping them through their own diagnoses jumped at the chance to donate. And everything went exactly as planned, up until fellow Tumblr user digoxin-purpurpea noticed something was up with the cash.me.

Digoxin-purpurpea was another Hamilton fan, and she also went by the names digitalis, candiru, and cardiotoxin (this is less suspicious than it sounds; most Tumblr fanfic writers use different usernames for different fan fiction sites.) Under the blog name Cardiotoxin, digoxin-purpurpea messaged Israa and Raj shortly after the cash.me was posted, saying that she had a difficult time believing they were truly living in India, because the cash.me indicated they were within the United States. One thing led to another, and long story short, the mod of hivliving wound up making a huge confession: she didn’t live in India, and she didn’t have HIV. Israa and Raj don’t exist. The real person behind the blog, and behind “To Scale The Blue Sky,” was an American college student, Alix. That may not be her real name, but I’ll refer to her as such for the purpose of this post.

This, predictably, caused an uproar. Alix later tried to backtrack by saying that Israa and Raj were digital personas based on real people, but it later came out that not even that was true. Their lives and backstories were entirely made up just so Alix had an excuse to write HIV+ High School AU fan fiction about Alexander Hamilton without being judged too harshly for it. By pretending to be a woman with HIV+, she could deflect any questions about whether writing this type of thing is really okay by claiming that it was a coping mechanism to deal with her own disease. She also made up the additional sympathetic pieces of Israa and Raj’s tragic backstories because they made people more likely to feel bad for the couple and support them financially. Finally, their Somalian, Chinese, and Pakistani heritage allowed Alix, a white girl, to be put on lists of POC writers that she never would have been able to get onto had she not lied about her identity. Basically, Alix made up two entire people and started a HIV support blog exclusively to promote “To Scale the Blue Sky” and works like it.

Naturally, when it came out to everyone that Alix was a liar and Israa and Raj weren’t real people, a lot of fans were very upset, especially those who had donated to their bullshit cash.me. They demanded their money back, and Alix agreed to refund them, but that never actually happened. Meanwhile, other people started digging up dirt on Digoxin-purpurpea, as some people were concerned that she’d also been making things up in order to get rid of hivliving and boost her own popularity. What they found was, arguably, even stranger than a plot to reduce her competition by scrubbing hivliving from the internet—Digoxin-purpurpea was a relatively well-known author of real-person supernatural fanfiction. No, not Supernatural TV show fanfiction—I mean stories about ghosts, mermaids, and other mythical creatures, having sex with each other and real people.

At around the time Alix started asking for donations while posing as Israa and Raj, Digoxin-purpurpea was being criticized for various bizarre works she’d written, among them things like ghost!Hamilton erotica and at least one work in which Lin-Manuel Miranda, who plays Hamilton, is a cannibalistic mermaid. People quickly realized that Digoxin-purpurpea wasn’t dragging Alix for purely selfless reasons. Alix and her friends had made fun of Digoxin-purpurpea for her weird and “problematic” stories, so Digoxin-purpurpea exacted revenge by exposing Alix.

After this revelation, both Digoxin-purpurpea and Alix deleted the majority of their work, which was unsurprising, considering how much the rest of Tumblr was making fun of them. Hivliving shut down, which was to be expected, seeing as the people who ran the blog were actually one person who didn’t actually have HIV. And, finally, Tumblr learned a valuable lesson about donating to gofundmes and cash.mes without doing adequate research first. People continue to ask for money for various causes online, but Tumblr users are a lot more skeptical now, because you never know when that baby with cancer or that woman with cerebral palsy are actually just crazy Hamilton fans using medical conditions as an excuse to write stories about the Founding Fathers having unprotected sex in a high school.

[kinardsevan]

10 TV Shows

Tagged by @v88sy. Please feel free to join.

Veronica Mars

I love a lot of procedurals, but this one found me at 19 and stole my soul. I love Kristen so much and refuse to accept that the final few minutes of season 4 exists. This is my ultimate rewatch, s1 all the way through. (Still haven't finished s4 though because of its ending).

2. Castle

Again. 19. Found this one in the same year, found out it was a crime procedural with a writer as the protagonist. SIGN ME THE FUCK UP.

3. Law and Order (original recipe)

I've only seen from s13 on because of the limitations with NBC streaming options, but I do love Jack. Dick Wolf found lightning in a bottle with this franchise.

4. Criminal Minds

(have we sensed a theme here yet?)

Guess when I found this one? (Still 2011.) My mom loved Shemar Moore on Y&R when I was a kid, so starting this one was easy. She doesn't get into the borderline gore and horror of CM though, so she'll really only watch the lighter episodes. Me? Seen everything up through 15 (school and work have kept me too busy for 16 yet).

5. 9-1-1

SOMETHING FROM AFTER 2011?! Found this one in the pandie. My best friend was watching it (we'd talked about it a few times from what I recall), and I know my mom was already into it and I had plans to watch it, but I was already in school, and 2019/20 was rough on my mental health between my job closing its doors, the pandemic starting, and me being back in school. Buck has literally always been my favorite. He's who I relate to most, and given the focus I put into the most recent rewatch, it's obvious why. We have a lot of things in common, both personality-wise and with childhood trauma. That all said, I've had spurts and starts with this baby. Started it in 2020, got caught up. Went through the mess of school taking over my life and falling off here and there, playing catch-up. I know I was fairly caught up in season 6, but post-infection with the brain damage, I kinda had to do the full rewatch this year.

6. Grey's Anatomy

Quite literally grew up with this one. My aunt told my mom, who told us, and then by season 3, the whole family was watching. I fell off for a beat when Mark died (he was my favorite), but then really fell off when Derek died. Only started playing catch up when I found out about Nick and the fact that Ellen wanted to leave the show. I knew they'd give her a happy ending (of sorts), which drove me to watch everything I'd missed (plus my mom still watched even when I quit, so I knew about Deluca, who she loved).

7. Nashville

Loved this one basically from the jump. Anything with music has the opportunity to steal my soul. It's also one of the reasons I can't get into the hate for Abby on 9-1-1. This show made me loved Connie Britton too much.

8. Schitt's Creek

So this one 😂😂😂 I think I started Schitts Creek three(?) separate times? Never got into it. The humor was too dry, I didn't really feel anything about it all, and...idk. It was just not my cup of tea.

And then my life went to shit 😂😂😂 In all seriousness though, this was one of those shows that I can point to and say "this one saved me". The way it made me laugh in the face of some really unimaginable pain and an existential crisis is something I will never forget. Definitely due for a rewatch this summer.

9. One Tree Hill

So. I started this show in season 2. Went out of my way to watch it after starting The OC halfway through both shows inaugural seasons. Literally everyone I knew didn't give two craps about this show then. They didn't care when it was nearly cancelled after season 4, and how hard the fans fought for season 5. Most of them didn't even really care after season 6 when CMM and Hilarie Burton were cut from the show. Nah, most of the people I know found OTH when it hit streaming a few years ago. I have complicated feelings about it now, given what we know about how MS treated the girls, and all of the trauma inflicted on them. I know that SB, HB, and BJL all support us still watching, but it's rough for me to contend with that even so.

10. Pretty Little Liars

So..... I haven't watched this since it ended. It started when I was 17/18, so I was easily sucked in by the teacher/student concept and fell in love with Ezria. I also had watched American Juniors and knew who Lucy was (and subsequently lusted after her making music for AGES; still do). However, being a full-fledged adult now with babies in school (my niece is in HS now), I can't justify how problematic this ship is.

BONUS:

11. Instant Star

Soooo a generous chunk of people know who Tim Rozon is now because of Schitts Creek and Wynona Earp, but have they seen this baby? Because I started this one after remembering Alexz Johnson from So Weird when she eneded up on IS in 2004. This was the show that got me through the end of of middle school and into high school, and I still listen to the music occasionally. I've done a few rewatches of it as an adult, and while I still don't like the age difference, these two at least waited until she was 18.

[helloparent]

The Best 10 Preschool Franchise Business in India for 2023

The demand for preschool franchise services in India is poised for rapid growth in 2023, making it an ideal year to invest in this industry. Our analysis of the top 10 preschool franchise businesses reveals that industry leaders continue to thrive, underscoring the reliability of these established brands. Indian parents, like their counterparts worldwide, recognize the significance of early education for their children. 

The rising number of working Indian women has further fueled the expansion of preschool establishments, as they seek safe and nurturing environments for their kids. This increased demand for preschool services has prompted numerous franchise owners to expand their presence in India. When considering which preschool franchise business to invest in, it's essential to evaluate factors such as the educational concept, initial investment, profit potential, and the level of support provided by the franchise owner to their franchisees.

Here are the top 10 preschool franchise opportunities in India:

1. THE HERMITAGE PRE-SCHOOL

Founded in: 2015

Franchising since: 2019

Franchise units: Less than 10

Initial investment: Starting from Rs 2 Lakhs

Brand Fee: Rs 1 Lakh

At The Hermitage Pre-School, young children take their first steps toward knowledge and wisdom. We believe that childhood should be a time of joy and discovery. Our approach gently sparks curiosity about various concepts and fosters intellectual growth. We offer you the opportunity to contribute to the nation's growth by becoming a franchisee. Connect with us today.

2. KIDZEE

Founded in: 2003

Franchising since: 2003

Franchise units: 2000+

Initial investment: Starting Rs. 6.5 Lakh – 12.5 Lakh

Franchise Fees: 1.5–2.5 lakhs

Kidzee Preschool, a venture by Kidzee Pvt Ltd, is an exceptional preschool chain. Our dedicated team of highly qualified educationists and experts has created a dream environment for toddlers. Kidzee is committed to providing a stimulating and fun learning atmosphere where children can flourish and learn in a homely setting. Join hands with India's fastest-growing preschool chain—Kidzee .

3. PODAR EDUCATION NETWORK

Founded in: 2000

Franchising since: 2000

Franchise units: 200-500

Initial investment: Starting from Rs 10 Lakhs

Royalty Fees: 20%

Podar Jumbo Kids, part of the Podar Education Group, brings together the philosophy of Maria Montessori and the insights of Steiner, offering children their lost "childhood." Join the Podar Jumbo Kids family today and engage in the world of play school business while ensuring the all-round development of young minds.

4. CAMBRIDGE MONTESSORI PRESCHOOL AND DAYCARE

Founded in: 2016

Franchising since: 2016

Franchise units: 200-500

Initial investment: Starting from Rs 5 Lakhs

Brand Fee: Rs 3.5 Lakhs

Cambridge Montessori Pre School embraces Dr. Maria Montessori's internationally renowned philosophy. We offer one of the most profitable franchises of preschools in India, focusing on high-quality learning for children with a low investment requirement. Join us in our mission to provide quality education to young learners.

5. DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL GLOBAL

Founded in: 2017

Franchising since: 2018

Franchise units: 20-50

Initial investment: Starting from Rs 5 Lakhs

Royalty Fees: 10%

At DPS Global, we believe in nurturing the leaders of tomorrow. Our aim is to provide a cheerful, home-like environment that facilitates the comprehensive development of your child. We are expanding across India and offering a lucrative franchise business model to those eager to excel in the education sector.

6. BRAINY BEAR

Founded in: 2014

Franchising since: 2015

Franchise units: 6

Initial investment: Starting from Rs 0.1 Lakhs

Royalty Fees: 6%

With the current industry growth and trends in mind, now is the ideal time to invest in the preschool segment. Brainy Bear offers a play school franchise in India, leveraging our extensive business experience and proven operational system. Join us for quick, efficient, and successful growth in the education sector.

7. AMERICAN KIDZ

Founded in: 2009

Franchising since: 2010

Franchise units: 12

Initial investment: Starting from Rs 2 Lakhs

Royalty Fees: 5%

At American Kidz, our learning activities are designed to encourage children to explore, touch, feel, enjoy, and learn independently. We offer a unique business opportunity in the education sector, with a focus on language training. Join us and become part of this exciting venture.

8. RIVIERA KIDS ZONE

Founded in: 2002

Franchising since: 2019

Franchise units: Less than 10

Initial investment: Starting from Rs 10 Lakhs

Royalty Fees: 10%

Riviera Kids Zone, part of a 15-year-old chain of institutions, creates a vibrant atmosphere where children feel at home. We provide complete academic support, including instructions, training, teaching aids, and curriculum. Join us and nurture children with love and care.

9. GAPS - PRE SCHOOL

Founded in: 2019

Franchising since: 2019

Franchise units: Less than 10

Initial investment: Starting from Rs 2 Lakhs

Royalty Fees: 20%

At GAPS Preschool, we believe in nurturing each child's uniqueness and holistic development. Our flexible business model accommodates various budget, space, and capacity requirements. Join us in bringing quality education to your city.

10. DPS JUNIOR

Founded in: 2018

Franchising since: 2018

Franchise units: 20-50

Initial investment: Starting from Rs 20 Lakhs

Royalty Fees: 15%

DPS Junior is committed to shaping the future generations of India. Our well-established business model and goodwill have allowed us to expand rapidly across the country. We seek partners who share our mission and are willing to invest their time and energy in creating a brighter future.

Conclusion:

While all the preschool franchises listed above offer promising opportunities, it's essential to conduct thorough research and consider factors such as brand reputation, training and support, and the success of other franchisees before making your investment. To help you make an informed decision, we have created a comparison flowchart highlighting the minimum estimated initial investment for each franchise. By using this tool, you can assess the financial requirements of each franchise and determine which one aligns best with your budget and goals.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to start a preschool franchise?

Research preschool franchises, contact the franchisor, understand financial requirements, ensure legal compliance, find a suitable location, receive training, implement curriculum, market your franchise, and manage it effectively.

How much does a Kidzee preschool franchise cost?

The cost of a Kidzee preschool franchise varies based on factors like location and facilities. For specific cost details, contact Kidzee directly.

Is EuroKids franchise profitable?

Profitability of a EuroKids franchise depends on various factors such as location, competition, and management. Conduct thorough research and planning to assess potential profitability.

Is starting a preschool a good business?

Starting a preschool can be a good business if there is demand for quality early childhood education in your area and you have a well-thought-out business plan.

Originally Published by HelloParent.

[theprophet359]

They’re also giving back to the community in a big way! Shawndell Pullam and Ryan Whitfield have been best friends since 1991, Black Enterprise reports. The two grew up playing basketball together, both taking an early interest in becoming entrepreneurs. After graduating high school, they launched their first business creating graphic tees. In 2016, they pivoted to franchise opportunities, opening their first Smoothie King location in the DC Metropolitan area. Now the duo are veteran entrepreneurs, owning six Smoothie King franchises across the region, and recently launching a Black-owned vegan pizza chain called BurnBox Pizza.    View this post on Instagram A post shared by DMV EATS | DMV Foodie & Media (@dmveats__) The Maryland-based pizzeria offers brick oven pizzas with more than 20 of the highest quality ingredients. The casual restaurant chain has both vegan and vegetarian options and sells fresh salads and baked buffalo wings. Both Pullam and Whifield are using the eatery to create healthier options for the community while also using proceeds from sales to fight food insecurity in Maryland.  “In our hometown of [Prince George’s] County, Maryland alone there are over half a million people struggling with hunger…We’re more than just your neighborhood pizza shop. We’re a pizza eatery with a mission: Fight hunger in the community%...

[satlujworldschool]

Want to be different? Start your own dream school by partnering with low investment and high returns by taking the Satluj World School Franchise. For taking benefits of this lifetime opportunity check the school website at- https://satlujworldschool.org

[g0reoz]

Beyblade Burst (Japnese: ベイブレードバースト, Hepburn: Beiburēdo Bāsuto) is a Japanese manga and toyline created by Hiro Morita, originally based on Takara Tomy's Beyblade franchise. The third incarnation of the franchise after the Metal Fight series, the Beyblade Burst toyline launched on July 15, 2015, while the original manga was serialized in Shogakukan's children's manga magazine CoroCoro Comic from August 2015 to December 2021 and is compiled into twenty tankōbon volumes. Shogakukan's South East Asian branch began publishing it in English in April 201.[1]

An anime adaptation by OLM was aired in all TXN stations in Japan on April 4, 2016.[2] ADK Emotions NY, Inc. licensed the anime and Hasbro licensed the toyline in English; marking the first time in the franchise that an English adaptation wasn't produced by Nelvana.[3] The first two series were originally recorded between Vancouver, British Columbia and Calgary, Alberta in Canada by Ocean Productions and its sister studio Blue Water. Since the third series; the franchise has been recorded in Los Angeles, California in the United States by Bang Zoom! Entertainment. The dub would be one of the final anime voice acting roles of Gabe Khouth who died two years later.[4]

The first two seasons were released on DVD from Cinedigm on October 1, 2019. Season 3 was released on February 11, 2020.

Plot:

Beyblade Burst (2016–17)

The story revolves around Valt Aoi and Shu Kurenai as well as his classmates at the Beigoma Academy school in Japan. When not studying, the close friends are obsessed with their Bey tops, creating a school bey club and challenging each other to battles at their Bey Stadium. The friends eventually become rivals as they compete against each other in a competition to claim the title of Japan's top Blader. As Valt Aoi wins the title he goes on to compete in a club to get better and train to become the top Blader.

Beyblade Burst Evolution (2017–18)

Valt Aoi, who hails from Japan was a top competitor in the Japanese Championship, is scouted for the prestigious Spanish team "BC Sol" and heads out to Spain. When he arrives in Spain, he runs into some old friends and meets some new ones who end up accompanying him along his journey. Valt's first battle in Spain leaves his bey, Valtryek, with an opportunity to evolve, making it stronger. Valt and his friends set their sights on becoming the World Champion; however, in order to qualify, they must first take the European League by winning team battles against other teams from around the globe. After the victory of BC Sol in the World League, Valt competes in the tournament for the International Blader's Cup.

Beyblade Burst Turbo (2018–19)

Two years after the International Blader's Cup, the story focuses on Aiger Akabane, a "wild child" that grew up in nature. After battling No.1 Blader in the world "Valt Aoi", he became inspired to become the No.1 Blader in the world, along with his beyblade, Z Achilles. He aims to fight strong opponents in an effort to become stronger himself. To defeat Legendary Blader Valt Aoi and become the World Champion, Aiger begins his journey.

Beyblade Burst Rise (2019–20)

Legendary Blader Valt Aoi has been training the next generation of elite Bladers at Spain's BC Sol. One day, rookie Bladers Dante Koryu and Delta Zakuro witness Valt unleashing his newly evolved Gamma Bey, Sword Valtryek. To their surprise, Valtryek radiates a golden light as it rockets around the stadium. Inspired by the limitless possibilities of this "Hyper-Flux" state, both Dante and Delta seek the same bond with their Beys.

Dante and his partner, Ace Dragon, set off for Japan, the birthplace of Beyblade. But the path to glory won't be easy; plenty of tough competitors and Gamma Beys stand in their way, among them some of the best to ever let it rip. Dante soon realizes he'll have to do whatever it takes to deepen his bond with Dragon.

Do Dante and Dragon have what it takes to overcome these challenges? And will they ever achieve Hyper-Flux? Here begins the story of Dante and Dragon's rise to the peak of the Blading world.

Beyblade Burst Surge (2020–21)

From high atop the Blading world reign the Blading Legends, a select group of Bladers who set the standard to which all other hopefuls aspire. No challenger yet has succeeded in breaking through their ranks.

A legend of legends, Valt Aoi hosts an exhibition match featuring a revolutionary class of Bey: "Lightning Beys". Inspired by the battle, two unknown brothers, Hyuga and Hikaru Hizashi, issue a challenge: armed with their solar Beys Hyperion and Helios, this unlikely duo is going to topple Beyblade's ruling elite.

As the Hizashi brothers' challenge envelops the world's Blading legends, a new tournament is born to determine who among them is truly the best. In the middle of this mayhem, there lurks a unique Blader shrouded in mystery.

Will Hikaru and Hyuga be the spark that ignites a Blading revolution? With their solar Beys in hand, the brothers are ready to begin their own legend of growth and adventure.

Beyblade Burst QuadDrive (2021–22)

The story centers on Bel Daizora, the leader of the Bey graveyard "Phantom's Gate". Bel, who holds Destruction Belfyre, declares war on Bladers across the world. With Ranzo Kiyama and Bashara Suiro, their journey unfolds as Bel advances to becoming the Dark Prince.

[canmom]

Animation Night 107: Mamoru Hosoda's digital worlds

Hi friends. Apologies for running late once again. It is once more Animation Night. Still grieving, but this ritual is important.

Tonight, I’ve decided it’s time to go back to our friend Mamoru Hosoda, last seen on Animation Nights 15, 47 and 61...

The occasion is of course the release of Hosoda’s latest movie Belle (竜とそばかすの姫, Ryū to Sobakasu no Hime - lit. The Dragon and the Freckled Princess). This film reprises a theme that was very prominent in Hosoda’s early films such as Summer Wars and in fact the franchise film Digimon Adventure: young people going into an immersive digital world. It’s finally escaped the film festivals and, of course, landed in the hands of fansubbers.

Since I’ve already told the story of Hosoda’s career, I won’t write a huge writeup tonight. But I will point to a fascinating recent article by kVin which draws out some parallels between Hosoda’s One Piece film, Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island, not entirely subtly reflecting his terrible experience at Studio Ghibli... and the recent film Pompo the Cinephile directed by Takayaki Hirao. We’ll get to Pompo at some point soon, trust me!

In previous Animation Nights, or kVin’s articles, you can read about the clockwork two year cycle that Hosoda uses to produce his films, and their characteristic elements: a strong focus on family relationships, kagenashi (unshaded) designs, splendid and charming character animation drawing on the many talented animators with whom Hosoda has cultivated relationships. With good reason, he’s one of the most popular ‘auteur’ directors in anime at the moment.

That all had to start somewhere, though, and for Hosoda that was his franchise films at Toei, the first being a series of short films relating to Digimon Adventure (which would be recut as one movie in the US, often called Digimon: The Movie). I never saw this as a kid - for some reason the kids at my school imagined a kind of rivalry between Pokémon and Digimon, and rather than enjoy both I ended up receiving this sense of Digimon as an inferior knockoff best skipped! - but they’re well-remembered, as this detailed writeup by kVin 20 years on in 2019 attests.

Digimon began life as a line of Tamagotchi-style ‘digital pets’ made by WiZ/Bandai in 1997, making it just narrowly younger than Pokémon. The premise is that there is a virtual realm in which you can go and form relationships with little virtual creatures, and beyond that, things are rather vague, and there wasn’t a lot of story to it.

This changed at the end of the 90s, with a move to make a PS1 game and a TV anime to plant the desire for their products in the soft vulnerable minds of children. To this end, they hired the venerable Toei, still one of the largest anime studios who handle many of the really ‘big’ franchises such as One Piece. So this is where Hosoda came in, working on a short film that was to become the pilot for the anime.

In kVin’s account, Hosoda played quite a large role in shaping the story:

Chances are that your mental image of an anime project meant to promote a property with aspirations of becoming a merchandising behemoth is restrictive, with countless guidelines set before the creators come into play. And while that’s true in many situations, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re meticulously planned or that producers know what they want in the first place. As mentioned by Hosoda himself, Digimon Adventure: The Movie (not to be confused with the embarrassing western mishmash) was in the works before the TV show was pitched, even though it’s now seen as nothing but its prologue. There was no real narrative to use as a springboard either, nor was there an established cast of characters; though the looks of certain characters like protagonist Taichi were determined by cross-media obligations with series that preceded the anime like Digimon Adventure V-Tamer 01, it was Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru‘s designs that served as the starting point for the cast

Some of Hosoda’s early vetoed ideas sound wild:

Execs would vaguely nudge the staff in certain directors and sometimes veto their wildest ideas – we’ll never have Hosoda wacky Digimon comedy set in the 60s and led by Taichi’s dad – yet never offer constructive guidance. 

Despite these less than auspicious circumstances, the freedom granted to Hosoda gave him the opportunity to make something much better than one might presume for this kind of project, with appearances of animation legends like Mitsuo Iso(!) perhaps prefiguring his later Dennou Coil; it is also the start of what we could call the ‘bubble’ around Hosoda:

Regular Hosoda allies like Takaaki Yamashita (supervisor for the first of many Hosoda films) and Hideki Hamasu (ace animator of sorts, a role he’d also reprise in multiple occasions) are joined by people like Mitsuo Iso who need no introduction, but it’s the hyperrealism in Hisashi Mori‘s animation that anchors the battle to reality in such hair-raising way.

This touches on a question we might have - it takes hundreds of people working diligently for a long time to make a film, and yet, we often fall into the habits of auteurism where every major artistic quality is seen as ultimately flowing from the director. Perhaps the reason this works at all is because of these clusters of relationships: ‘Mamoru Hosoda’ is a shorthand for not just the man himself, but also the group of his friends/colleagues/comrades/whatever you wanna say, who we can expect to come back on many of his films with their own particular touch. Altogether we can refer to the ‘will’ that shapes a film as something of the egregore created by this group. (Talking about studios is another such handle on identifying these clusters of people.)

Hosoda would go on to direct two more short films for Digimon, the main one being Our War Game! (2000); these would be awkwardly sutured into a movie along with one of the post-Hosoda movies in the dubbed release. We're here for Hosoda though so rest assured I’m getting the short films.

A full ten years after Digimon, Hosoda had left franchise films behind and gone to work instead with Madhouse, creating the delightful The Girl who Leapt Through Time which we watched way back on AN 15. This is where we come to Summer Wars (2009), which reprises this idea of a virtual reality battle between kids, developing the ideas of Our War Game. Here, a virtual social network heavily integrated into infrastructure causes chaos when hacker kids accidentally activate an evil AI.

The film is set in Ueda, a town near where Hosoda grew up with historical significance as a fortress used by the Sanada clan during the sengoku period. By now we’ve reached the mature version of Hosoda’s style: the clean kagenashi look, emphasis on energetic character animation, and family relationships are all right there; main character Kenji is staying with his friend Natsuki’s dying grandmother and she gets caught up in the chaos. It sounds delightful honestly and I’m really looking forward to watching it; regrettably I don’t have a detailed writeup of this one beyond the usual material on Hosoda.

Then at last we have Belle - once again coming to a digital world, this time just slightly more than ten years on! Hosoda’s latest film follows a seventeen-year-old girl Suzu who lost her ability to sing after the death of her mother, but rediscovers her passion for performance as an avatar in a colourful virtual world. Here, she gets drawn into the intrigue surrounded by a mysterious figure called the ‘Dragon’ after he disrupts one of her concerts. This time, the digital world spills out into the real in a different way: a vigilante named Justin starts threatening both Suzu and the ‘Dragon’ with doxxing, essentially.

The film is notable for being one of Hosoda’s first films to make heavy use of CG; the scenes inside the virtual world use 3DCG to attempt to hit that sense of overwhelming spectacle, while more usual usual cel animation is used outside. It also breaks a little from strict kagenashi with some use of digital compositing and filters, although the designs still carry that familiar simplicity and direct, childlike appeal. This change proved a little controversial for fans of Hosoda, and I’m going to be interested to see how well it holds up...

And sadly that’s about all I have time to write! Animation Night will go live shortly at https://twitch.tv/canmom - hope you can join me there! And afterwards I think I may stay up to try and get drawing again, but we’ll see.

[mostlymovieswithmax]

Movies I watched in March

Thought I’d chronicle the films I’ve been watching over the March period, from the 1st to the 31st, and how I’d rate them. If you’re looking for something to watch, perhaps this will help. A lot of these movies are available on streaming services also.

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) - 10/10

I hadn’t watched this in a couple of years but I was blown away. Peak Scorsese.

Rushmore (1998) - 7/10

Not the best Wes Anderson movie for me but still fun.

Lion (2016) - 8/10

I discussed this at length on my podcast: The Sunday Movie Marathon. Great movie!

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) - 10/10

Now this is one of the best Wes Anderson movies. I discuss this more on The Sunday Movie Marathon. Fantastic, funny and I watched it twice because it’s so much fun.

Inception (2010) - 10/10

Discussed on The Sunday Movie Marathon. Best Christopher Nolan movie for me, Inception is just breathtaking.

The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (2004) - 5/10

This might be Anderson’s weakest film (at least from what I’ve seen) but it’s still not as bad as a lot of directors at their worst.

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) - 10/10

I was really on an Anderson binge in March. The Royal Tenenbaums is one of the most wholesome movies I’ve seen and certainly one of his best films.

Rome, Open City (1945) - 4/10

This was filmed in Nazi-occupied Italy and from that premise, the film enticed me. Despite having some interesting qualities, I do feel that initial pull is most of what the movie has going for it.

The Prestige (2006) - 7/10

I showed this to my brother and for what it’s worth, he enjoyed it. I do think this is one of Nolan’s weaker efforts but considering how much I like it, that speaks a lot to Nolan’s filmography as a whole.

Nostalgia (1983) - 10/10

I watched Nostalgia three times in the space of a week and reviewed it on The Sunday Movie Marathon. It’s phenomenal.

Kangaroo Jack (2003) - 1/10

Another one I watched for the podcast. Kangaroo Jack is truly terrible and it upset me a great deal. Avoid this movie.

Stalker (1979) - 10/10

Another Andrei Tarkovsky movie (director of Nostalgia). I watched this again during the day before my second watch of Nostalgia and while it’s hard to compare such different movies, I enjoy Stalker more. It’s a staple of Russian cinema for a reason.

Four Lions (2010) - 5/10

Watched for the podcast. I didn’t really gel with this comedy but it would certainly appeal to someone who enjoys the humour, as my co-hosts did.

Revolutionary Road (2008) - 6/10

This Sam Mendes joint was a tad too melodramatic but still boasted some great performances from Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.

Metropolis (1927) - 6/10

This silent film is a staple in cinematic history. Its themes are as painfully relevant today as they were in the 20’s, yet despite that I found a lot of it to be intensely boring. After it hit the hour mark, I started playing it at 1.5x speed.

Crimson Peak (2015) - 4/10

A lot of great set design and costumes and colours, yet the story itself was madly uninteresting.

Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind (2004) - 10/10

Who doesn’t love a good movie written by Charlie Kaufman? I reviewed this on The Sunday Movie Marathon and after a third watch, it is as fascinating as it is gut-wrenching.

Godzilla (2014) - 3/10

If you wanted to see Godzilla fight a bunch of monsters for two hours, then this is not the movie for you. There’s maybe about ten minutes total of on-screen Godzilla action and considering that’s really all anyone’s watching this for, it’s amazing the titular sea lizard occupies so little of the movie.

Prisoners (2013) - 10/10

Brilliant mystery thriller by my favourite director, Denis Villeneuve. Discussed on the podcast.

Eraserhead (1977) - 7/10

David Lynch’s debut feature film went down in my estimations this time around. You can listen to why on The Sunday Movie Marathon. Still, Eraserhead is a very good movie.

Raiders of The Lost Ark (1981) - 6/10

The first Indiana Jones movie proved to be a fun romp and Harrison Ford plays the character beautifully. I’m just not a big fan of Spielberg and his average verging on pretty good but rarely ever great movies. Perhaps on a second watch, I may enjoy this more.

The Seventh Seal (1957) - 9/10

Watching this movie again was so much fun. So far, it’s my favourite Ingmar Bergman film. It’s a celebration of life and love, with an underlying sense of dread as death looms ever-present.

Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom (1984) - 5/10

I can tell why this generally looked on as the weakest in the trilogy. Harrison Ford is still great but the movie dragged a lot and felt more like a bunch of things happening for the sake of it rather than a fun action/adventure.

Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989) - 7/10

The Last Crusade was a lot of fun and maybe it was Sean Connery’s inclusion, or perhaps the bottle of wine I drank through the movie elevated my enjoyment. But alcohol aside, I still believe this to be the best in the series.

Justice League (2017) - 2/10

People really weren’t kidding when they said this was bad. I watched this in preparation for the Snyder cut and I was not happy. This took years off my life.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021) - 3/10

Barely any better and double the run-time of the original. I discussed this on The Sunday Movie Marathon and I was certainly not impressed. Better luck next time, Zack!

The Truman Show (1998) - 10/10

Brilliant movie and one I would highly recommend for a stellar Jim Carrey performance. This was another recommendation for the podcast.

Eighth Grade (2018) - 7/10

I was impressed with Bo Burnham’s debut feature. This is a coming of age story centred around a young girl growing up in the modern world and how it can affect the youth of today. Burnham shows a deep understanding of youth culture and a real knack for filmmaking.

Bad Education (2019) - 8/10

A real “yikes!” movie. If you want to learn a bit about the embezzlement that took place in an American school back in the early 2000’s, you need not look further than this tight drama with fantastic performances from Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney.

Twelve Monkeys (1995) - 8/10

One of the only movies where the time travel makes sense. I recommended this for The Sunday Movie Marathon and it’s pretty great.

Ready Or Not (2019) - 7/10

Despite a premise that is not wholly original and a super goofy third act, Ready Or Not is gory, violent fun with a lot of stylish art direction.

Dead Man (1995) - 3/10

Recommended on the podcast. I really did not get a lot out of Dead Man. It’s a very slow movie about Johnny Depp going through the woods and killing some people on the way, but it’s two hours long and hugely metaphorical and sadly it just didn’t connect.

Misbehaviour (2020) - 6/10

A big draw for me in Misbehaviour is Keira Knightley; I think she’s a great actor and I’m basically on board with anything she does. I’d been wanting to see this for a while and I was shocked to see just how relevant it is (being set in 1970) to the world we find ourselves in today, where women are still fighting to be heard and to be treated equally. While the film is not spectacular, I still got a lot from its themes, so recently after the murder of Sarah Everard and how women are being treated in their protest.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb (1964) - 7/10

I was surprised at just how hilarious this early Kubrick movie is. While I can’t say it floored me or took any top spots, it’s still a great examination of the military and how they respond to threats or try to solve problems and the side of war we don’t often see in films: the people in the background sitting in a room making crucial decisions.

Taxi Driver (1976) - 10/10

Wow! I can’t believe I’d never seen this before but I’d never really had access to it. Taxi Driver is a beautifully made movie with so much colour and vibrancy. De Niro puts on perhaps his best performance and Paul Schrader’s timeless script works miracles.

Sleepy Hollow (1999) - 5/10

Classic Tim Burton aesthetics in a pretty by the numbers, almost Supernatural-esque story eked out over an hour and forty minutes.

Seaspiracy (2021) - 6/10

Everyone’s going crazy over this documentary and I agree it tackles important issues we’re facing today surrounding the commercialization of the fishing industry, but a lot of what’s presented here is information already available to the public. The editing feels misplaced at times and the tone is all over the place. Nonetheless, it’s still quite fascinating to see good journalism being done in a way that exposes this side of the industry.

Pirates of The Carribean: The Curse of The Black Pearl (2003) - 8/10

Super fun and a great first instalment in a franchise that sadly seems to have peaked at the first hurdle.

My Octopus Teacher (2020) - 8/10

Great cinematography and a lovely premise, this documentary has garnered an Oscar nomination and I can see why.

The Sisters Brothers (2018) - 8/10

A really solid western I was happy to watch again. It’s a shame no one really talks about this movie because it is excellent with stunning visuals and great performances.

Pirates of The Carribean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006) - 5/10

A strangely massive drop in quality from the original. If I didn’t like the whole concept of this franchise so much, I might have had a worse time.

Reservoir Dogs (1992) - 8/10

On a second watch, Tarantino’s first feature is still wildly impressive.

Life of Brian (1979) - 7/10

This is perhaps my third time watching Monty Python’s Life of Brian and it’s still incredibly funny, however it never manages to measure up to its predecessor (and one of my all time favourites), Monty Python and The Holy Grail.

[dearingbooks]

The Difference one Woman can make.

Late Friday night in June, we had stopped for a burger on the way to the cinema, we used to do family movie nights at the cinema when a new film came out that the majority of us wanted to watch, this time I was the one who was reluctant to go, sadly we do this significantly less now.  So, stubborn 2015 me, rolling her eyes and dragging her feet up the cinema steps to find our seats to watch the new Jurassic World movie. Pathetic! I thought, why pay money to watch a movie about a dinosaur theme park! My parents had completely lost it! Huffing and puffing I took my seat on the aisle and sipped my blue raspberry slushie and looked up at the big screen. Ugh! I wanted it to be over, quickly. I sat down and shut my mouth, despite not wanting to watch it, I wasn’t going to spoil it for the others; but I didn’t get why they would want to watch it, I watched the trailer before going, was not impressed, it looked dumb!

However, as much as my pre-Jurassic self would not like, I found who I was during that movie, I discovered a whole new admiration for actors and movies. I found that I related to the main female protagonist, Claire Dearing. She did not need a man, or children, she was so focused on her career and let no one boss her around. She was top dog, and I completely fell for this fictional character. I evolved through that movie with her character, I felt content with being a strong female who put career over family. I wanted to embody this fictional woman; I wanted to be her.

On the journey home I typed ‘Claire Dearing actress’ into google and saw this stunning redhead- Bryce Dallas Howard. I immediately recognised her from movies I had watched prior, and I was completely astounded at her range of characters she can portray and portray them well. After scrolling through her Wiki page and reading news articles about her, I learned that she is the daughter of Ron Howard, one of my parents’ favourite people in film.

“Dad, that woman in the movie is Ron Howard's daughter”, I needed to inform my family that my now favourite woman in film is the daughter of my parents’ favourite people in film. My parents were shocked that I enjoyed the movie despite my loud vocalisation of not wanting to watch it.

Googling ‘Bryce Dallas Howard’ became my new after school routine, learning that she applied to acting school as Bryce Dallas to avoid people knowing she is the daughter of an already famous actor and director, and she had met her true love at nineteen and is still happily married to him. Yet what most stuck out to the self-conscious, body hating 2015 me, was that Bryce wasn’t a skinny twig of a woman that you see in most movies, she had classy curves and promoted body positivity despite some backlash the media gave her. I made a connection with this woman I had never met because I too received negative comments about my figure, yet Bryce took that on the shoulder and learned to love herself. I wanted to feel that self-love about myself that she acquired.

After watching Jurassic World, I explored many more fandoms, and from there I became obsessed with movie franchises and TV shows, actors and directors. I could not give you a full list of all of the fandoms I am in, there are too many to count, and they have all played a role in helping me evolve to who I am today. All because I latched onto one character from one movie I did not even want to watch, one film got me hooked on this life: it’s like a drug. I cannot stop. I also went back and forth with my hairstyle due to this woman; in the movie Bryce has a stunning ginger graduated bob with a fringe, however I never had the guts to go ginger until now; shame the hairdressers are all shut.

Now, almost six years later Bryce Dallas Howard has had great success in directing two episodes of The Mandalorian. Over the Christmas break I watched the show with my dad, sat on the sofa, fire lit, the chocolate Labrador curled up between us, peach vodka and diet lemonade in my hand, hot cup of tea in my dad’s. We binge watched both seasons in a week (it’s amazing) and he was shocked to see ‘Directed by Bryce Dallas Howard’ at the end of one, let alone two episodes. “Shit, she’s come far in the past few years” he said putting another episode on.

Bryce allowed me to find my best friend, Iz, through Instagram; Bryce has brought so many people together it is so surreal. And when I found out that Iz was going to Southampton University in 2019, a 20-minute drive from my house, I was finally able to meet her, because of one woman we both adore. I was friends with Iz for three years before I was able to meet her, I asked my school friend to come along with me so she could film the moment Iz, and I met! We got pancakes and watched the second Maleficent movie at the cinema, it was one of the best days of my life. I was so thankful that I met a truly hilarious and loving girl through this one actress! Because of Bryce Dallas Howard, I have made so many other friends from all over the globe as they too idolise Bryce and together we have created the ‘BDH online family’. A small group of us do regular zoom calls to catch up and chat about the recent photos and updates that Bryce has posted on Instagram, talk about Covid-19 and the types of restrictions and lockdown rules each of our countries has. During one of our calls, we had the craziest idea- Invite Bryce to one of our zoom calls. Bryce said yes! And after a few months of organisation, we had the date. The date was-

My.

Birthday.

The day came around and I was so nervous, it was 11pm exactly. The Wi-Fi had cut out fifteen minutes before the call. I was in tears. Mascara down my face, puffy eyes, I joined the call with a few minutes to spare before Bryce joined it. My mum hung around off camera for the first 5 minutes to double check the Wi-Fi was stable, luckily it stabilised. The other girls had never been so glad to see me, everyone was panicked for me; I could not miss it for the world (despite telling my parents, in floods of tears, that I cannot join and that it’s the end of that).

“Kat! You’re here!” “Happy birthday!” “Are you okay? The Wi-Fi sorted?”

They all chimed, happy to see my little face in the bottom right corner of their computer screens. Luckily Iz was there, otherwise it would have been extremely awkward with only one of us since we are known as a duo in the online family, we have to do everything together, we come in a pair and there can’t just be one of us.

“Shit girls, that was stressful”

I hadn’t realised I was holding my breath until I exhaled the large breath when my    Wi-Fi settled, and I was on the call, I fixed my makeup and was ready to meet Bryce.

The few minutes we had before Bryce joined were intense, two of the girls left to get a drink and we weren’t sure if they would be back in time, luckily they did return.

“No way!” One of them, Anna who was hosting the call, gasped “Bryce is in the waiting room!”

We all freak for no more than 10 seconds, we compose ourselves then our faces are reshuffled, and we see this stunning glowing face that we all admire smiling at us. Omg, it's her.

“Hi girls!”

I have never smiled for so long in my entire life, my cheeks hurt afterwards. Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining at all, it just hurt as I thought I would only be smiling for half an hour, since that is how long we were told Bryce had. However, we were speaking to Bryce for nearly an hour and a half, she just kept talking and asked us questions! She was so lovely to talk to, so relaxed; it was if I was talking to a friend that I had known for years!

“Before we go I want to all sing Kat a happy birthday!”

My idol wanted to sing me a happy birthday! The other girls were really ecstatic for me, I still can’t believe to this day that The Bryce Dallas Howard wanted to sing to me!

It was both the best and the worst happy birthday song that has be sung to me. It was the best because, well my idol was singing to me! And proposed the singing! It was the worst in terms of the actual song as they were all out of sync and lagging, it was bloody hilarious!

At 10:27pm the next evening, watching a rerun of Game of Thrones on Sky, I got a notification ‘Brycedhoward just posted’, I clicked the notification then see our smiling faces on her page, she posted a screenshot of our call on her social media! The call was supposed to be a secret so other fans weren’t upset. There’s a few snotty comments on the post, but they’re just jealous and to be frank, I don’t care! My smiley face is on her page forever! All ten of us have printed the screenshot of Bryce’s post off and put it in a frame, one day all ten of us hope to congregate somewhere, most likely in America, and sign the backs of all of our photos. I’m still in utter awe and shock-  How many celebrities have you seen that would do a free zoom call with some fans? Not a lot, and that amount is even slimmer when they talk for an extra hour than scheduled. Bryce truly is one of a kind and the best idol anyone could ever hope to have.

Compared to a zoom call with Bryce herself, the few times she has liked my comments on her posts feel like nothing in comparison! I remember being so excited, running downstairs to my parents.

“Mum! Dad! Bryce liked my comment! She knows I exist!”

“Was it actually her? Remember when you got a Facebook request from Robert Downey Jr and it turned out it was a fake account?”

I rolled my eyes at her, it was Bryce, it was her verified account. The comment was a book recommendation I had for her, she posted on her hashtag BDHbookshelf and I thought I’d take a chance and comment a book recommendation I had for her, and the chance paid off.

I cannot wait to see what the future holds with Bryce, she has been such an inspiration to me for the past few years, and she promotes such wonderful causes and body positivity! I hope to one day meet her and thank her in person for changing my life for the better, and I think I’ve come up with the perfect opportunity to meet her- Iz and I have decided to travel up to London for the Jurassic World Dominion premiere in 2022 (if Covid lets us!), we’d get a hotel and actually meet Bryce in person, as well as meeting other members of the online family!

Words cannot fully contain the admiration that I possess for Bryce, her soul is utterly and truly exquisite, she has been such a visionary while I’ve been transitioning from a girl who had no idea who she was with no dreams or aspirations, to a woman who has now found so many new friends and now knows who she wants to be.  

[fandom]

Fandom Spotlight: MuggleNet

MuggleNet, the #1 Wizarding World Resource Since 1999, is dedicated to honoring the magic of the wizarding world by providing reliable, fun, and informative news and content to fans—all while fostering a welcoming, safe, and engaging environment. They currently produce six podcasts, have published three books, and organized two large-scale live events. The next series of events, MuggleNet Live! 2019: Into the Pensieve, will be held October 4th and 5th in New York City.  The site is run by over a hundred fans from eleven countries and thirty-one states, ranging in age from fifteen to fifty-four, all of whom are passionate about making it the best it can be. Read all about the fandom and its future from seven of them!

20 years is a long time on the Internet. What’s the biggest way you’ve seen the fandom change on the site?

In the mid-2000s, when the books and movies were in their heyday, the site was all about speculation. In addition to news on book and movie release dates, filming updates, and changes made by J.K. Rowling to her website, MuggleNet’s most developed section was what is now known as The Quibbler, where individual authors regularly wrote columns theorizing about what might happen next. MuggleNet itself even published a book called What Will Happen in Harry Potter 7? After the final book was published in 2007, and the final movie hit theaters in 2011, the fandom had to make a choice: move on or adapt. Of course, then came Pottermore, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort, Fantastic Beasts, The Cursed Child, etc. MuggleNet has been there throughout it all. We still write about the original book and film series, of course, but we also cover a whole lot of news on the expanded world of the franchise, and we maintain a plethora of sections on the site which explore subjects like Muggle quidditch, the Studio Tour, and the theme parks. —Felicia, Managing Editor

Real Talk. Books or Movies?

The movies are accompaniments to the books. They’re appetizers—satisfying enough, but if you want something filling, you'll choose the books every time. There’s a level of depth and detail to the books that cannot be captured on-screen. When you watch the movies, you’re being presented with someone else’s vision of the books, which can be restricting. When you read the books, the possibilities are as endless as your imagination: How you picture each setting, each character, is up to you. You get to create your own world.  —Victor, Creative Editorial Manager

Which moment in the series made you a Potterhead?

I became a true Potterhead when I revisited the books in high school. For me, it was the climactic scene of the final book. Harry and Voldemort face each other in the Great Hall with the whole cast of characters lined up around the walls listening in stunned silence as Harry explains how Voldemort has underestimated love, the most powerful source of magic, and that this is his downfall. Evil finally defeated, the joy and grief and exhaustion following that moment left me completely in awe. That's when I realized how powerful and important this story about a boy wizard was. That's what keeps me coming back to Hogwarts again and again. It's because of deeply emotional, profound, and beautiful moments like that one that my love for Harry Potter goes beyond simple appreciation or enjoyment. Anyone who loves Harry Potter for any reason can be a Potterhead, of course, but I became a true Potterhead when I understood all the things that make Harry Potter timeless. —Richa, Creative Editorial Manager

What’s the most memorable Harry Potter experience you’ve had at a Comic Con?

The moment the trailer dropped at SDCC 2018 during the Crimes of Grindelwald panel: the room transformed, and Grindelwald’s speech in the tomb, performed live, started booming out over everything. My jaw absolutely dropped. The anticipation at that moment, the promise that was held there…it was something to behold.  —Alison, Staff Coordinator

What’s your dream Harry Potter cosplay? 

My dream cosplay is an obscure one: Bob Ogden from The Half-Blood Prince. Frock coat over a striped bathing suit with spats.  —Meg, Copy Editing Coordinator

How do you see the Harry Potter fandom continuing to evolve?

I see it going through cycles of division but always coming back together. There will be things that push fans away, but I think that at the very core, fans will continue to LOVE Harry Potter, and generations from now, we’ll see new fans discovering it and reviving the love for it, too. Some will grow out of it, but it will continue to be loved, just maybe not in the same way as before. I will say, I’m super scared for the day they try to remake the series. That won’t go over too well! —Eliza, Content Team Manager

What do the next 20 years look like for MuggleNet?

As much as I wish I had Seer abilities to know for sure what the future holds for MuggleNet, I am unfortunately a Muggle. I don’t know where the franchise will take us after the remaining three Fantastic Beasts films, which are currently slated for release over the next 6–7 years. Will we see a Quidditch Through the Ages adaptation? Will there be an expansion of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter? Those are just some of the possibilities that we can currently imagine. At the pace they are producing content and expanding the world, we could be at this for another fifty years! What I do know, without a doubt, is that we will be here producing amazing videos, editorials, podcasts, and everything in between, all while continuing to be the #1 Wizarding World Resource Since 1999.  —Kat, Marketing Director

[emma-what-son]

Eat the Rich: Classism in the UK Entertainment Industry

Ohnotheydidnt Jan. 2020: To take you back a few years ago, right when HP was coming to an end, there was HP Blue-ray bonus documentary where Emma claimed to have come from a poor family. How she got pencils as gifts for her bday and how her dad didn’t afford to send her to the school she went to. This post is a great addition to posts I’ve made a few years ago about how Emma wasn’t actually poor growing up. You can find the posts here.

# TimesYa Grammar Kween Emmione Granger has come a long way since her # HeForShe days, taking the criticisms levelled towards her white feminism to heart and upping her activist game. Since that B.A. in English lit from Brown has gotta go somewhere, one only has to look as far as her Twitter and Instagram feeds (I appreciate that she at least uses her massive platform to lend exposure to women of colour, Ireland’s abortion rights, workplace harassment and from someone who has struggled brutally with gender dysphoria, trans visibility—no sarcasm there). Though once upon a time, Justin Bieber’s Disney Doll was under the impression that she could persuade her legion of fans she enjoyed an ordinary upbringing. Notably, in 2009/10 during a set interview for Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (included in the four-disk Blu-Ray bonus documentary When Harry Left Hogwarts) she presented herself in a vulnerable light, stating that when her parents divorced when she was five years old her financial situation was “tight” (transcribed in the gifs below because the doc is no longer on YouTube, boo!).

YUUUSSS KWEEEN! Hermione is an ONTD member like the rest of us! Or *dot dot dot* is she? While her words sound inspiring and classy at face value and being the cute bae that she is she doesn’t deny she was well-educated, what is missing from her version of the tale and her carefully manufactured image, however, is that both the good sis’ parents are lawyers. From around 1995/96 until 2003, she attended the co-educational pre-prep and prep day and boarding institution, Lynams nursery and the Dragon School in Oxford (Tom Hiddlebum and his one shirt was also a pupil). The fees [applied to 2019/20] eat up as much as £31,686 for boarders and £21,768 for day pupils each schoolyear (there are three academic terms in British schooling). Circa 1999-2000, Emma was also a pupil at the Stagecoach Theatre Arts School Oxford Headington, a franchise part-time theatre school (about ten minutes away from the Dragon). According to their website, “The cost per term for Early Stages is £168 and for Main Stages it is £336.” This is simply a luxury skint kids cannot receive without a grant or hardship fund and based on one version of events Emma has told us, it was while she was in attendance at Stagecoach when she was spotted (along with other potentials) by the Potter casting team for the role of Hermione. (I also discovered through related Google searches that some other minor actors from the Potter series, particularly Daniel Radcliffe’s “son” Albus Potter and “mother” Little Lily Potter went to the Dragon School and Stagecoach in Oxford, respectively. “Lily” was even taught by Emma’s former drama teacher and principal, Maya Sprigg—which tells me this woman’s hustle is not a coincidence.) From there, Emma attended Headington until the age of 18, an independent girls’ day and boarding school. The admission fees for Upper 3-5 and Sixth Form day pupils [applied to 2019/20] is £6,090 per term (£18,270 a year); full boarders pay up to £36,630 a year. Last year, the cost for day pupils was £5,884 per term (£17.5k/yr.). In 2016 before the UK referendum, fees for boarders were roughly £28k a year. As for her parents’ professions, her father Chris Watson is Head of the CMS Technology, Media and Communications Group (he has a M.A. from the New College, Oxford). We also know from a December 2010 British Vogue interview that he owns a vineyard in France where Emma spent the summers as a child. Her mother Jacqueline “Jackie” (nee Luesby) joined the Smith & Williamson financial services firm in 2007 as a senior manager for their tax team in London (she previously worked for Morgan Cole, a commercial law firm in Oxford and from circa 1990-95 the tax team Ernst & Young, an accounting firm in Paris, Emma’s birthplace). In a September 2015 British Vogue interview, Emma confirmed her parents worked full-time: “My parents couldn’t take the time off; they had careers and they weren’t together. They couldn’t swap in and out like Rubert Grint’s [sic] and Dan Radcliff’s [sic] parents.” Emphasis on careers, not occupations. 

My basic bitch research skills are unable to track down the estimated salaries of her parents’ positions, but the Great British Class Survey classifies lawyers (including telecommunication lawyers and solicitors) as “elite” and the average household income is placed at £89,000 a year. Me thinks her parents weren’t blowing through £89k on pasta, toast and beans. Post-Potter, Emma pulled in $3 to $15 million for 2017’s Beauty and the Beast (obviously, this was a decade ago, but in 2010 she was making around $32 million). In 2018, she donated £1 million ($1.4 million) to Justice and Equality, an anti-sexual harassment fund (disappointing however, the superior Emma Thompson only donated £500, GIRL?!). Guess she figured she should finally throw away pennies of that Potter money from her offshore accounts (‘cause you can’t take it with it you)? In 2019, her estimated net worth is $80 million (about £60.9 million). Before Hermione blessed her with bad hair, Emma was already the slaying Speak & Spell singing Disney princess we deserved. Although, it seems she has since educated herself and changed her tune. In 2018, she introduced Reni Eddo-Lodge’s Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race for her Goodreads book club, writing: “When I heard myself being called a ‘white feminist’ I didn’t understand. […] It would have been more useful to spend the time asking myself questions like: What are the ways I have benefited from being white? In what ways do I support and uphold a system that is structurally racist? How do my race, class and gender affect my perspective?” No one needs to award her brownie points and even if I (along with most of ONTD) am not fond of her tightly controlled PR image, it’s one step towards acknowledging she’s part of a structural, systematic problem and it’s more than what most privileged celebs are willing to do when called out. On the other hand, homegirl needs to be educated on tax evasion. In the meantime, the Oatmeal Queen is living her best life with her Pop Rocks.

[medea10]

Medea’s Worst Year of All-Time Anime/Game Superlative

Nobody saw this year coming…except for maybe Barbara Walters! Who could have predicted that this year would bless us with Australia burning, the entire west coast of the U.S. set on fire, stupid people setting fires because they wanted to reveal a baby’s gender, murder hornets, Ruth Bader Ginsburg dying, an almost war with Iran, serial killer mascots arrested, policemen killing unarmed black folks for having a counterfit $20, policemen killing unarmed black folks for breaking up a fight, policemen killing black folks for holding sandwiches, policemen killing unarmed black folks for fucking sleeping, a wide variety of “Karens” coming out of the woodworks, the end of Bojack, the end of Steven Universe, the end of Empire, and a pandemic so huge it’s killed the economy, canceled fun, and given the U.S. president the dumb-fuck idea of injecting bleach to kill the virus!?

SERIOUSLY, WHO COULD HAVE PREDICTED ALL OF THIS WAS GOING TO FALL IN OUR LAPS LIKE HOT COFFEE ON THE CROTCH?!

At least there was anime this year.

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At least there was SOME anime this year.

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Biden won the election and Vickeblanca came out with Black Catcher this year.

Hey internet, it’s Medea here to give you her trashy opinion on this years anime and games that she’s watched or played. Because for some reason, my loser-ass loves to do out-dated as fuck memes! I shouldn’t complain, this shit brings a lot of attention to my page every year when I do this. Yes, 2020 was a complete dumpster fire so large that Domestic Girlfriend is crying foul. Many of us had to go on lockdown and ended up binge-watching the entire 957+ episodes of One Piece. I did no such thing. I am one of those “essential workers” so I didn’t hunker down for 9 months straight. But when I was home, I was watching anime. Actually, I would have done that even without the pandemic. I’m an introvert and find the human race to be deplorable.

You all know how this goes. I go over the best this year had to offer me. I had to search really hard to find the good in this year, especially in the anime world. Many things had to be put on hiatus or were delayed to a later date. Just a reminder, I don’t discriminate in what year the anime or game came out. If something came out in the happier times of 2007, that anime or game counts! Let’s get at it!

First Fandom of 2020: Interspecies Reviewers

Did anyone expect a fan-favorite of 2020 was going to be a hentai? Did anyone have on their batshit 2020 bingo card that a hentai was going to grab everybody’s attention? At the beginning of the year, my mind was set on the Railgun sequel and Eizoken. It wasn’t until licensors, streaming sites, and TV stations in Japan dropped this series that I started to pay attention. And got immediately hooked! It’s about three men going to different brothels and reviewing their time with the ladies. And these ladies are of different species! So with every bang comes possible enlightenment, new kinks, or a night of having your dick sucked off more than humanly possible. This anime blew away all of my skepticism and first impressions right out the window. Maybe it’s because I’m a degenerate and am often curious about sexual content, but this was a guilty pleasure of mine this year.

Favorite Main Character of 2020: Moroha from Yashahime

I know the majority of this story is going to revolve around Towa and Setsuna, but can we please focus a little more energy on the spunky, quarter-demon girl?! I know they’re pitting Moroha as the comic relief, but I’m hopeful that she’s going to surprise us one day. We fans of InuYasha would spend the past decade and some change wondering what InuYasha and Kagome’s daughter would be like. This year, we got our answer with Moroha. She’s got this wild side to her, probably due to the fact that she’s spent her entire life on her own. And while she’s silly at times, she can get down to business in a pinch. She has her father’s sense of smell. She has a sword. She’s able to shoot sacred arrows much like her mother. And to top it all off, she has this special rouge that if she puts it on, she’s able to unleash that ¼ demon power inside her and become Beniyasha! Yeah, I know the power only lasts a minute, she’s only 14, give her a break! I will gladly go through another week scratching my head at the confusion this story gives me if I get to see one more second of Moroha and her crazy antics or her bad-ass slaying.

Favorite Villain of 2020: The Devil Believers from Black Clover

This was one hell of a year for Black Clover. It would have been an easy choice to pick the devil and possible super devil that appeared during the elf fight. But I’d like to give a nod to the filler arc villains. And you can’t blame this group for wanting the power of the devil. They’re literally the bottom-rung of the Clover Kingdom and ones with little to no power or mana. So I can agree with why they would want the power of the devil. For one thing, they’d have more power. And for another thing, they’d be able to exact revenge on those who have wronged them. On some occasions I agree with exacting revenge and when it comes to the nobles and some characters in Black Clover, some folks do deserve death. I mean, have you met the king of the Clover Kingdom? Plus, this town and many other poorer towns get looked over by the kingdom. Peasant uprise! Anyways, I thought these people were really crafty in their crimes. I mean, they were able to knock Asta out on his ass with specially made poisons. I was actually hooked to this story of Black Clover (despite it being a filler arc). I know we’ll never see them again as they have been exiled, but it did have me semi-rooting for them.

Favorite Video Game Character of 2020: Honey from Pokemon – Sword & Shield (Expansion Pass)

Sorry Raymond from Animal Crossing!

Honey is the saucy wife of Mustard…I did not expect that to come out the way it did, but here we are! She has one hell of a team you can fight once a day. She looks out for her husband, the dojo, and the students of the dojo like they were her own children by providing food, drinks, and others. However that does come at a price as you do have to give up a sizable chunk of your watts that you collect in raid dens. I’m sure a bunch of MILF chasers were more than happy enough to give her all their hard-earned watts just so they can have their one-on-one moment on the beach with Honey.

What won me over was when that one guy from a rival dojo bad-mouthed her husband’s dojo and she…I think she kicked this guy’s ass herself. I don’t think she used any of her pokemon. Game Freak won’t show it, but we all know she kicked this guy’s ass to a point where he’s begging for mercy.

Honey, for the win!

Favorite Game of 2020: Animal Crossing New Horizons

This game was just Zen for me. I know the release of this game came with some controversy like Gamestop saying it’s an essential business and will remain open for people to get their copies of the game. Hell, I was one of those assholes in line waiting to get a copy on March 20th. Did I predict that a pandemic was going to rage out of control when I got a prepay copy of this for Christmas 2019? NO! I only predict political things, not deadly pandemics! The good news, we social distanced, didn’t catch the covid and got the game.

Anyways, this game has been a non-stop calming and fun ride. I can even forgive their botch-up of Bunny Day. They even have events for holidays I never thought they would ever touch. I mean, does anybody know when Museum Day is? Probably not until Animal Crossing had an event for it! I’ve been able to let my freak-flag fly with designing my island. And this goes way beyond New Leaf for the 3DS. I can make a sign post with the words “Fuck Trump” on it and post it in my yard. I can dig up trees and plant them elsewhere. I can poop in a toilet. I can craft furniture and put my own design on it. My furniture can have Tracey Sketchit’s beautiful mug on it. I can sit on Tracey Sketchit’s face. I am a sick fuck and I don’t care. I can give Raymond and Bob maid outfits. Magical time in my game! My hopes for next year…I don’t know, get the Festivale furniture, get Papi and Olivia to join my island, maybe visit Danny Trejo’s island, who knows, sky’s da limit!

Favorite Het Couple of 2020: Nasa and Tsukasa Yuzaki from Tonikawa

This is one of the most unorthodox marriages I’ve ever seen. But in this 90 Day Fiance world we’re living in, I shouldn’t pass judgement on these two getting married in episode one and not knowing much about each other. Nasa meets Tsukasa as he was about to be plowed by a truck. Tsukasa saves his life. Nasa says she’s beautiful. Tsukasa says she’ll be his girlfriend if they get married. He agrees. She disappears. Four years later, Tsukasa appears in front of Nasa’s front door with a marriage registration form. Congratulations buddy, you’ve got yourself a waifu! In some way, this felt like watching Yamato and Takeo from My Love Story. I was fascinated with them progressing through their relationship. The only difference is that Yamato and Takeo took the old-fashioned route. This couple did everything ass-backwards in terms of having a relationship. But I couldn’t take my eyes off Nasa and Tsukasa’s relationship during each episode. I find them cute.

Favorite Yuri Couple of 2020: Karin Asaka x Emma Verde from Love Live Nijigasaki High School Idol Club

AAAAAAAAAH! I’M IN IDOL HELL AGAIN! Yeah, no kidding! I came this close to putting Miu x Nicole from that abomination 22/7. But thank God for Love Live! There’s no telling if any of the girls from the Love Live franchise are confirmed to be lesbians. But fuck it, all of them attend all-girl schools, no males exist anywhere, and Sunshine gave us Kanan x Mari! Yeah, you know Kanan and Mari is canon as fuck, don’t at me. So naturally, I found more third-years to ship in the new Love Live series. Now I know I should have put up Ai x Rina or Ayumu x Yuu. Especially the latter due to recent events! But Emma x Karin is my OTP.

Now Emma is an exchange student from Switzerland and in coming to Nijigasaki, she first meets Karin and they became instant friends. When Emma said she wants to become an idol, Karin helped her quite a bit. Even though Karin had no interest in being an idol as her modeling career is starting up, Karin would occasionally help Emma out. And surprise, surprise, Karin ends up fascinated with the idol world and Emma helps her come to the light to be herself there. Okay, I’m totally reading this in some fragmented way, but I’m currently playing Love Live School Idol Festival All Stars and the app game has a lot more stuff involving stuff the anime has yet to talk about. Confirmed or not, Karin x Emma for the win!

Favorite Yaoi Couple of 2020: Eiji Okumura x Ash Lynx from Banana Fish

It took me a while to get here, but I finally made it to 2018’s overlooked gem. Forgive me for not being fully caught up, but from what I’m watching at the moment, I’m sticking to my guns and supporting the hell out of this. I mean, I could have mentioned The Titan’s Bride here…but fuck no, I ain’t goin’ down that mess! Ash has gone through a lot, I mean a helluva lot in his past. His cute boy looks have made him a target on the streets of New York, with mafia dons, and with prison inmates. But dude can kill if you mess with him. Then you have Eiji, who is just a literal example of a “pure cinnamon roll (until episode 8)”. These two are as opposite as you can possibly get. Ash is from New York and Eiji is from Japan. Ash likes hot dogs with everything on it. Eiji likes grilled fish and natto. Ash spent the majority of his life killing on the streets. Eiji was a track superstar. You get my meaning. But when we got these two together it’s quite adorable. Ash is really able to change when he’s around Eiji. Ash isn’t some heartless killer on the street about to kill a thug with prosthetic fingers. When he’s with Eiji, he’s a joker that can easily get scared of pumpkins. And even in later episodes, you got these two acting like a husband and wife.

Fandom That You Didn’t Expect to Get Into: Les Miserables – A Girl Named Cosette

Let me explain a little something. Les Mis! I have never seen the play, watched the movie, or read the novel prior to picking up this anime. Not a single one of those! And that’s a bit of a head-scratcher when you realize I was a bit of a musical theater nut in my teenage years. But one thing I do like is when Japan does an anime based on plays or historical events (like Romeo x Juliet or Rose of Versailles). The second I popped in Les Miserables the anime, I wanted to binge watch the whole 52 episode series. It is by no means a perfect adaptation of the Victor Hugo novel. Several key players end up surviving all the way up to the end of the story! But because this was my very first viewing of anything Les Mis, I took to the story of Cosette and was eager to see what was going to happen next in her tale. Unlike the movies and play, Cosette was the main focus of the story besides Jean Valjean and Javert. And thanks to watching the unfortunate stories of Cosette, Jean Valjean, the Thenadiers, Javert, Marius, and the rest, I thought it was time to watch the OTHER adaptations to Les Mis.

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Russell Crowe sucks.

Fandom That Made An Unexpected Comeback: Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni

Higurashi or When They Cry is one of my favorite fandoms of all time! So naturally when we heard that it was making a comeback, I was excited. It was also very odd that Higurashi was given this sequel or reboot. Ahem! There’s another franchise that needs a face-lift. Umineko still deserves a better treatment. Plus, now that this series was out of the faulty hands of Studio Deen, Higurashi will get the special care it deserves. Believe it or not, it wasn’t just the anime that made a comeback for me, but the manga as well. Since 2009, I’ve read several volumes (out of order) and would every now and then come back to read the story. Back to the anime, this reboot or sequel…you know what, I’m gonna call it a “rebooqual”! This rebooqual sucked me back to the town of Hinamizawa and all the murders. Every week, I find myself comparing the current episode to one from the 2006 version. But then the fourth episode of each arc seems to catch me off guard.

Where are they going with this story and these twist endings to our favorite arcs? I did not expect Rena to turn a simple attempted murder into the end of School Days! I didn’t expect Rika to die in the most disgusting fashion they could think of. Could someone kill Teppei fucking Hojo? I will pay ¥5000 for someone to do that job. So yeah, because I know how much of this plays out and who does what, I’m usually watching and reading while making wise-ass remarks. But I still have fun with it.

Fandom That Inspired the Most Crack: Konosuba

In a year where I caught up with the popular Isekais like Shield Hero and Re:Zero, I found the wacky misadventures of Kazuma Satou to be amusing as all get-out. From the first 5 minutes, I found myself laughing at Kazuma’s misfortune. Seriously, how the fuck do you mistake a tractor for a car, have a heart attack, piss yourself, and fucking die in the first couple minutes to the series? You can only get away with this shit in gag animes! But it’s not just Kazuma’s dumbass, there’s a mage who only does explosions, but loses all her energy after one blow-up. Then there’s a busty, blonde who gets turned on by getting hurt and can’t strike anything with her sword. Anime’s biggest masochist or Cheryl Tunt incarnate, I haven’t decided which one to believe! Then you have this loud, crazy goddess chick named Aqua. She’s also useless about 86% of the time! Watching their unfortunate missions is all the crack that I need to get through this year. Seriously, Darkness is just all kinds of fucked up, but we love her.

Last Fandom of 2020: Yashahime

That’s right, the InuYasha sequel gets top spot here! Even though week after week I find myself asking more questions than when the episode started, I’m still hooked. If you’re like me, you watched and fell in love with the series InuYasha. So if they’re doing a sequel, you’re expecting to see all of your favorite characters from the prequel like InuYasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Sesshomaru, Koga, Rin, and the rest. Actually, no! Quite the opposite! We’ve got Sesshomaru’s daughters, but no Sesshomaru. Rin is sleeping in a tree we think! We’ve got InuYasha and Kagome’s daughter, but they’re M.I.A. None of the girls even know a thing about their birth parents.

Now are these new characters a catch like the ones from the previous series? Some are! The three main girls, yes! Especially Moroha! I’ve already praised her name earlier in the superlative. Towa and Setsuna do take on some personality traits from their parents. Setsuna is definitely serious like Sesshomaru and Towa sometimes has a carefree yet loyal aura to her like Rin. I know I’m always skeptical when a series gives us a sequel featuring the offspring of the main characters. Especially when you’ve got some lame examples like Boruto and Eureka Seven AO (I might retract my diss on Boruto later)! As each week gives us a new episode, we’re unraveling new clues into a lot of things involving our old favorite characters, as well as the new ones. So I have high hopes for Yashahime for the time being!

[spidermannohomecoming-2021]

#1 Spider-Man: No Way Home {2021-4K> gratis Watch full online!!

Spider-Man: No Way Home is an upcoming American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, co-produced by Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. It is intended to be the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), and the 27th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Jon Watts, written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, and stars Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man, alongside Zendaya, J. B. Smoove, Jacob Batalon, Marisa Tomei, Jamie Foxx, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Alfred Molina.

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A third MCU Spider-Man film was intended as early as 2017, during production on Homecoming. By August 2019, negotiations between Sony and Marvel Studios to alter their deal—in which they produce the Spider-Man films together—ended with Marvel Studios leaving the project. However, a negative fan reaction led to a new deal between the two companies a month later. Watts, McKenna, Sommers, and Holland were set to return at that time. Filming began in October 2020 in New York City, before moving to Atlanta later that month. During filming, Foxx and Molina were revealed to be appearing in the film, reprising characters from past Spider-Man films. The title was revealed in February 2021, before filming wrapped at the end of March.

Spider-Man: No Way Home is scheduled to be released in the United States on December 17, 2021, as part of Phase Four of the MCU. A fourth Spider-Man film is in development.

Development During production on Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), stream-movies-23.blogspot.com/ two sequels were being planned by Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures.[16] In June 2017, star Tom Holland said the third film would take place during Peter Parker / Spider-Man's senior year of high school.[17] In July 2019, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said the third film would feature "a Peter Parker story that has never been done before on film" due to the ending of the second film, Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), which publicly revealed that Parker is Spider-Man.[18] Homecoming and Far From Home director Jon Watts expressed interest in Kraven the Hunter being the main antagonist of the third film.[19]

By August 2019, development on two new Spider-Man films had begun with Sony hoping Watts and Holland would return for both;[20] Holland was contracted to return for one more film, while Watts had completed his two-film deal and would need to sign on for any more films.[21][22] By then, Marvel Studios and its parent company The Walt Disney Studios had spent several months discussing expanding their deal with Sony. The existing deal had Marvel and Feige produce the Spider-Man films for Sony and receive 5% of their revenue. Sony wanted to expand the deal to include more films than had initially been agreed on while keeping the same terms of the original agreement. Disney expressed concern with Feige's workload producing the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) franchise already and asked for a 25–50% stake in any future films Feige produced for Sony.[20][23][22] Unable to come to an agreement, Sony announced that it would be moving forward on the next Spider-Man film without Feige or Marvel's involvement. Their statement acknowledged that this could change in the future, thanked Feige for his work on the first two films, and said they appreciated "the path [Feige] has helped put us on, which we will continue."[23]

Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers were writing the screenplay for the third film by the time of Sony's announcement, after also doing so for Far From Home, but Watts was receiving offers to direct large films for other studios instead of returning to the franchise, including potentially working on a different property for Marvel Studios and Feige.[22] In September, Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman Tony Vinciquerra said that "for the moment the door is closed" on Spider-Man returning to the MCU, and confirmed that the character would be integrated with Sony's own shared universe—the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters (SPUMC)—moving forward. Responding to backlash from fans following the announcement, Vinciquerra added that "the Marvel people are terrific people, we have great respect for them, but on the other hand we have some pretty terrific people of our own. [Feige] didn't do all the work ... we're pretty capable of doing what we have to do here."[24] However, after this fan reaction continued at Disney's biennial convention D23, and at the urging of Holland who personally spoke to Disney CEO Bob Iger and Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group chairman Tom Rothman,[25] the companies returned to negotiations.[26]

Sony and Disney announced a new agreement at the end of September 2019 which would allow Marvel Studios and Feige to produce another Spider-Man film for Sony, scheduled for July 16, 2021, keeping the character in the MCU.[1] Disney was reported to be co-financing 25% of the film in exchange for 25% of the film's profits, while retaining the merchandising rights to the character.[1][26] The agreement also allowed Holland's Spider-Man to appear in a future Marvel Studios film. Feige stated, "I am thrilled that Spidey's journey in the MCU will continue, and I and all of us at Marvel Studios are very excited that we get to keep working on it." He added that moving forward the MCU's Spider-Man would be able to "cross cinematic universes" and appear in Sony's own shared universe as well.[1] This interaction was said to be "a 'call and answer' between the two franchises as they acknowledge details between the two in what would loosely be described as a shared detailed universe". Sony described their previous films with Marvel Studios as a "great collaboration", and said "our mutual desire to continue was equal to that of the many fans."[26] At the time of the new agreement, Watts was in final negotiations to direct the film.[27]

Discussing the new deal in October, Iger attributed it to the efforts of Holland as well as the fan response to the end of the original deal, saying, "I felt for [Holland], and it was clear the fans wanted this to happen." He added that while negotiating the deal both Sony and Disney had forgotten "there are other people who actually matter."[28] Rothman added that he felt the deal was a "win-win-win. A win for Sony, a win for Disney, a win for the fans." Speaking back to the August reports of the negotiating breaking down, Rothman said that revelations in the media of discussions such as the negotiations do not necessarily line up with the actual discussions taking place, and he felt that the final deal would have eventuated without the reports and fan discourse, saying, "We would have gotten there, and the news got ahead of some things."[29] Also in October, Zendaya was confirmed to be reprising her role of MJ from the previous films in the sequel.[3] By the end of the year, filming was expected to begin in mid-2020.[30]

Pre-production In April 2020, Sony rescheduled the film to November 5, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[31] In June, Marisa Tomei confirmed she would return as May Parker along with Watts as director. She was hopeful that May's work as a community organizer would be featured in the film.[8] The next month, Holland said production was planned to take place from late 2020 to February 2021,[32] and Sony shifted the film's release to December 17, 2021.[33] Tony Revolori was also confirmed to be reprising his role as Flash Thompson.[12]

In early October, Jacob Batalon and Benedict Cumberbatch were set to reprise their MCU roles of Ned Leeds and Dr. Stephen Strange, while Jamie Foxx was set to return as Max Dillon / Electro from Sony's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), with filming beginning later in the month.[6][9] Richard Newby of The Hollywood Reporter felt Cumberbatch's casting indicated that the film would draw inspiration from the "One More Day" and "One Moment in Time" comic book storylines in which Parker's secret identity is restored with magic.[34] Graeme McMillan, also from The Hollywood Reporter, felt that Strange's inclusion was not a coincidence considering the casting of past Spider-Man film actors like Foxx.

Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man: A teenager and Avenger who received spider-like abilities after being bitten by a radioactive spider.[1] Holland said the adjustment back to portraying Peter Parker, including raising his voice pitch and returning to the mindset of a "naive, charming teenager", was strange for him after taking on more mature roles such as in Cherry (2021).[2] Zendaya as MJ: Parker's classmate and girlfriend.[3] Her full name is Michelle Jones.[4] J. B. Smoove as Julius Dell: Parker's teacher.[5]stream-movies-23.blogspot.com/ Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds: Parker's best friend.[6] Batalon lost 102 pounds (46 kg) for his role in this film.[7] Marisa Tomei as May Parker: Parker's aunt.[8] Jamie Foxx as Max Dillon / Electro: An electrical tradesman who gains electric powers after an accident. Foxx reprises his role from Sony's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), but unlike that appearance, he will not be depicted as blue for this film.[6] Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Stephen Strange: A neurosurgeon who became a Master of the Mystic Arts following a career-ending car accident. Strange takes on the mentor role for Parker that was filled by Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury in Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019).[9] Alfred Molina as Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus: stream-movies-23.blogspot.com/ A scientist from an alternative reality with four artificially intelligent mechanical tentacles fused to his body after an accident. Molina reprises his role from Sony's Spider-Man 2 (2004),[10] with this appearance continuing from the character's story and presumed death in that film. Molina was surprised by this approach because he had aged in the years since he made that film and no longer had the same physicality; digital de-aging was used to make Molina appear as he had in Spider-Man 2.[11] Reprising their roles from previous MCU Spider-Man films are Tony Revolori as Eugene "Flash" Thompson, Parker's classmate and rival;[12] Angourie Rice as Betty Brant, Parker's classmate and Leeds' ex-girlfriend;[13] and Hannibal Buress as Coach Wilson, Midtown School of Science and Technology's gym teacher.[14] Additionally, Holland's brother Harry makes a cameo appearance as a drug dealer, after doing the same in Cherry.

Post-production In April 2021, Molina confirmed that he was appearing in the film, explaining that he had been told not to talk about his role in the film during production but he realized that his appearance had been widely rumored and reported on.[11] Later that month, J. B. Smoove revealed he was returning as Julius Dell from Far From Home.[5] In early May, Garfield denied that he had been asked to appear in the film, but later said "never say never",[68][69] while Angourie Rice was revealed to return as Betty Brant.[13] Later that month, Stone denied her involvement in the film.[70]

Also in May 2021, Sony Pictures Group President Sanford Panitch acknowledged that there had been confusion and frustration from fans regarding the relationship between the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters (SPUMC) and the MCU, but stated that there was a plan to clarify this and he believed it was already "getting a little more clear for people [as to] where we're headed" at that time following the announcement of the SPUMC film Kraven the Hunter (2023). He added that No Way Home would help reveal more of this plan, with Adam B. Vary of Variety commenting that the perceived notion of No Way Home introducing multiverse elements was believed to be what would allow Holland to make appearances in both the MCU and the SPUMC.

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