#but especially good old gary golden

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Miriam Hopkins (Design For Living, Trouble in Paradise)—miriam hopkins had great range as an actresses, truly a woman who could play a passionate outburst for either dramatic or comedic effect and sell the ever-loving hell out of it. she's wonderful in the witty and sophisticated comedies she made with ernst lubitsch, great examples of movies that could never have been made after the hays code; the frothy musical comedy the smiling lieutenant where she plays a naive princess who accidentally gets betrothed to maurice chevalier, the polyamory classic design for living where she gary cooper and hot vintage shadow king fredric march are a throuple, and the ineffably exquisite comedic masterpiece trouble in paradise in which she and hubert marshall are sexy jewel thieves trying to con sexy rich lady kay francis, but will emotional complications ensue???? watch to find out!!

Joan Fontaine (Rebecca, Suspicion, Ivanhoe)— Check out the screen tests of other actresses for Rebecca to fully grasp how subtly and effectively she plays the role. Competence porn! Good acting before the method!

This is round 2 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut]

Miriam Hopkins:

She is an incredibly charismatic and versatile actress who brings a certain captivating je ne sais quois to each and every one of her roles that makes her impossible to ignore. Her pre-code films were considered quite risqué, with her part in a thrupple in Design For Living, and some saucy scenes they had to cut from Jekyll and Hyde. She also had a strong career in early television, so good that this queen literally has TWO Hollywood Stars, TWO!! One for TV and one for Film

Also she is Gorgeous, capable of being the girl nextdoor and also a stunning blonde bombshell. She's not as well known as some golden-age Hollywood stars but she's really incredible and I recommend everyone watch her films

In Trouble in Paradise she plays a pickpocket who flirts by stealing from her criminal boyfriend and I fell in love

queen of the pre-code era. often her roles were of carefree, flirty and lighthearted but intelligent women. famously in the movie where she was part of a fredrich march/gary cooper throuple.

Linked gifset

She's got this sly slouchy confidence that just draws you in. Almost no one wore 30s fashion as well as her

We all know that Design for Living is THE pre-code movie and she is so iconic in it. Her eyes are everythingggg. Also everyone look at her in a suit in She Loves Me Not please

A Frequent collaborator of Ernst Lubistch, Miriam Hopkins like up the screen in her comic roles, as is especially sexy in her pre-code performance in Design for Living; probably one of the first movies to showcase a coded polyamorous relationship. She toes the line between adorable and sexy, and had the acting chops to back it all up.

Joan Fontaine:

ABSOLUTELY too hot to have played Jane Eyre like what were they thinking.

[not-poignant]

Birthday Spotlight - Dr Gary Konowalous

[13th January - Capricorn]

Known first and foremost as the MVP of Falling Falling Stars, Dr Gary was a runaway hit even though he was never meant to be in anything more than a handful of reminiscences re: Efnisien's sessions with a psychologist who specialised in criminal juvenile behaviour, especially those who leaned towards murder, rape, arson and animal cruelty.

The Director of Hillview eventually came to be featured in the Underline the Rainbow alternate universe, an omegaverse where he is the Director of Hillview Omega Rehabilitation, a peak alpha, and the unlikely partner of Efnisien ap Wledig in an unusual m/m romance. Going from psychologist in one serial to lover and main character in another is a pretty big glow up!

‘You touch the lives of the people around you, Efnisien. In the past, all you saw was the negative ways you influenced them. I’m sure that will be the main way you orient to the world going into the future, though as I always say – we’ll work on it. But you do have an influence on the lives of the people around you. Sometimes it’s fleeting. But sometimes it’s meaningful, and important, and quite a remarkable thing. ‘I enjoy you as a client, not only because I enjoy the work we do together as a professional, but also because I enjoy the young man you are. You’re kind and compassionate, funny, and sometimes possessed with a very wicked sense of humour which I frankly find quite relatable. You’re insightful and courageous.’

Falling Falling Stars

Spoils of the Spoiled - A minor character referred to by name only, and the diagnostician of Efnisien ap Wledig, formally diagnosing him with Pure O (a form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder).

Falling Falling Stars - Intended to only be a side character with minor cameos, Dr Gary quickly became the MVP of this long running serial, and was as much a star of this story as Efnisien and Arden!

The Moon is Down - A oneshot between Dr Gary and Mika from Falling Falling Stars.

Constellations - A Gwyn + Efnisien reconciliation story in the Falling Falling Stars universe.

Underline the Black - Main POV character alongside Efnisien ap Wledig. An enemies-to-lovers, alpha/alpha romance, with very unconventional dynamics and a significant (20+ year) age gap!

Underline the Gold - Cameo role

Underline the Blue - Cameo role

Underline the Red - More significant character here, and the unlikely antagonist

PhD of Psychology

Specialises in niche psychology (juvenile criminals/sociopaths in Falling Falling Stars, omega rehabilitation in Underline the Black)

Has a golden retriever - Polly - who is the goodest girl ever

He is dry, witty, dominating, a top, compassionate, insightful, bullish, heavy-handed, can be ruthless, and quick to apologise (though he has to be!)

Older. Age undisclosed in Falling Falling Stars, but he's 44 in Underline the Black.

The scene where he dropped absolutely everything to save Efnisien's life in Falling Falling Stars

Every time he's made Efnisien cry

Being so extra in an omegaverse that he's a literal "peak alpha."

Workaholic!

Consistently helping Efnisien realise the world can be a better place, usually after upsetting him a lot beforehand.

Dumping Efnisien into the ocean (just about) to snap him out of a dissociative episode.

The blue cup

His espresso + wine habit in Underline the Black

Chain-smoking his dead lover's cigarettes while moodily staring at the beach, in Underline the Black, like a 44 year old emo kid.

That good old PhD in psychology

He keeps his wry sense of humour

He always owns Hillview!

He cares deeply for Efnisien

Good dresser! Likes suits.

He pushes too hard

He has a strong sense of inner justice and equality

Needs a holiday

His appearance was intentionally never described in Falling Falling Stars so that people could imagine their own safe version of a psychologist! That's nearly 780k of never telling you his hair or eye colour, for example! Many people swear they know what he looks like, and are surprised to realise I never said a word about what he looks like in this story. Much to the rage and chagrin of fanartists (I'm sorry!)

Dr Gary's therapy sessions have inspired multiple readers to seek therapists of their own, and some people have described him as being the therapy they needed. Sometimes fiction just hits right, especially when Dr Gary's in the room. (He's a pretty annoying therapist though!)

I started shipping Efnisien and Dr Gary in the first 3 chapters of Falling Falling Stars, and then had to stop myself for the rest of the story to maintain their professional relationship. But in a way, the seeds for Underline the Black were sown a long time ago!

After typing 'Dr Gary' for so long in Falling Falling Stars, it took ages to train myself to write 'Gary' in Underline the Black! Thankfully it took Efnisien a while to get on board with saying 'Gary' instead of 'Dr Gary' as well. :D

‘Did you fuck me?’ Efnisien croaked, thinking he should be presenting a more macho image right now, but waking up to that dog touching him – and feeling a bit like he might be dying – was making it hard to manage much at all. ‘You would know if I’d fucked you,’ Dr Gary said, voice wry.

Underline the Black

[dd-is-my-guiltypleasure]

Born in New York City in 1960, David Duchovny graduated from Princeton with an AB in English Literature before earning a Master of Arts in the same subject from Yale. Following a small role in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks he won the starring role of Fox Mulder in 1993 on the global smash hit UFO series The X-Files opposite Gillian Anderson. From 2007 to 2014 – a period which coincided with treatment for sex addiction – he played troubled womaniser Hank Moody in Californication. He’s also written five novels and released three music albums. He has two children, 24-year-old actress West and 21-year-old son Kyd with his ex-wife Téa Leoni.

Best childhood memory?

I think it’s probably just being in the park playing football or baseball with my dad, in New York City, 21st Street and Second Avenue where I grew up. It conjures up memories of being with my dad and enjoying the sort of simple communication that you can have through a game. I did the same sort of thing with my own son, who was good at playing baseball for a while.

Best day of your life?

There’s no one specific day but in my mind’s eye I can see a beach and my kids. I don’t know if it’s a particular day I’m thinking of; it’s just one of those summer days. It could be on holiday, or it could be in the States; it’s really just that feeling of no structure, summertime and no school for the kids; being in the water and feeling the waves and having to protect them a little and teach them about the water.

Best moment on a TV set?

About two or three years after I started on The X-Files, I did the Larry Sanders Show with my friend Garry Shandling although he wasn’t my friend at the time. He didn’t know me, but I loved his show. The producers told me, “Oh, Gary loves you.” Then I got there and it was clear that he didn’t have any idea who I was, which was fine. We did this scene – half written, half improvised, maybe – and Gary said, “How old are you?” I said, “32” and he said, “What took you so long?” and that felt like a blessing as to me he was the king of a certain kind of comedic performance.

Best Hollywood party?

I didn’t really go to many, especially at the peak of the X-Files years. For five years the show was shot in Vancouver and in many ways, it was a blessing to be out of that world, but I had some interesting, if nerve-racking moments at awards ceremonies. I remember going to the Golden Globes and being sat on the same table as a really good friend of mine, director Bart Freundlich and his wife Julianne Moore. My ex-wife Téa was sitting there, and Téa went to the bathroom, and she came back and said, “Did I miss anything?” I said, “Yeh, they announced my award. I won and you missed the whole thing.” Which was not true at all. I only kept her in the dark for a couple of seconds as it became rapidly apparent that I had no statue.

Best moment of self-realisation?

In many ways we remain children no matter how old we get and in many ways a lot of my reactions were based on childhood stuff; not necessarily something that I am ever going to change, but something to be aware of and keep an eye on. It’s the fine line between realising that a lot of your personality was constructed a long time ago, before you were really smart about these things, or knew about these things. And that that’s the same for everybody – but that’s not an excuse to continue reacting like a child. So, for me, life is this balancing act between honouring that kid and also not letting him drive the bus.

Best personal characteristic?

Perseverance. There have been many occasions when I’ve felt like giving up on everything, but I didn’t. I don’t give up. I guess I gave up trying to be a professional athlete at some point. I loved baseball and basketball and before getting to college I still had secret dreams of going pro.

Best decision?

This is going to sound negative towards education, but to leave graduate school and try to find out what else I wanted to do aside from being an academic. Not to denigrate academics but, for me, that was a hard and good decision although a scary one. I was a dissertation away from my PhD. I had done four years as an undergraduate, nearly four years of graduate work. Eight years towards a certain life; a good third of my life pointing towards a certain goal and then saying, “You know what, I’m gonna go do this thing, where none of that matters.” At the time it felt a little like I was throwing it all away. But in the end I think I’ve honoured those academic years and they also fed me.

Worst childhood memory?

My parents’ divorce. I was 12, which wasn’t a good age – but it’s never a good age. It’s hard to say exactly what the impact was on me, but it was profound. And I think having gone through it, as a parent as well, it’s taught me what I might not have been able to process at the time: it really pulls the rug out of a kid’s life. You can sugar-coat it all you want but it’s a traumatic experience. It’s not the end of anything and it’s not like you can’t recover from it but you do have to acknowledge that the world turned upside down. It’s hard to say how my life would have turned out had it not happened but I think I’m thankful for being hurt. I’m thankful for the wound because that’s what makes you human and makes you an artist. If you can survive it and remain empathetic it makes you aware of other people’s hurt. And without that, I don’t think I’d have anything.

Worst moment of your life?

Telling my kids about getting divorced. I still can’t think about it without feeling terrible. It’s actually a memory that I push out if it comes up. I don’t want to think about it. It happened nearly 10 years ago now, so the wound has healed a little but it’s not my wound; it’s theirs. And that’s why I push it away. I’ll never know it.

Worst moment on a TV or film set?

I wouldn’t want to name the project because I wouldn’t want to hurt the people involved. Probably my feeling of being in the wrong place at the wrong time was more about me than it was about the project or them. But, yeah, and that’s just a terrible, terrible feeling. I’ve certainly had periods of self-doubt and I very nearly got fired on an early job. They gave me dailies to take home to see how bad I was. I wasn’t great but I think I was just young and green. I just needed some more gentle direction.

Worst moment of self-realisation?

I guess I have two self-conceptions. One is that I’m really talented and can do a lot of stuff easily. The other is that I’m not very talented at all and I have to work, work, work hard to do anything. And I believe I’m both of those things. It’s a fight when I’m not working. When I’m working, and I have something to work on; to put my perseverance and hard work into, then I’m healthy and I’m good. When I’m not working, I can be a little on edge. And I know this sounds like a humble brag, but it’s my reality. Obviously, I do a lot of stuff, but I feel lazy. I always feel like I’m not doing enough or working hard enough. Whether it’s in work or life, I always feel like I want to go and rest, to switch off and tune out. I also want to give up half the time, which is why that tendency in myself of perseverance is my greatest trait. 

Worst thing anyone has ever said about you?

It would have to be something that I thought was untrue – and there have certainly been plenty of untrue stories written about me. But then, I’m willing to entertain anything. Whatever you say to me, I’ll entertain it for a minute, and I feel like that’s a strong point for me. It’s a painful thing to be that open but whatever is said I’ll consider the source then come up with my own opinion.

Worst decision?

I think even some of my worst decisions have been beneficial. When I took the X-Files job I’d also accepted a small part on a TV movie, and I had to let the director of that project down because the dates of the two projects conflicted. I told my agents and obviously they said, ‘Take the X-Files’, which meant breaking my word, which I wasn’t comfortable with. But, clearly, ultimately my agents’ decision was absolutely correct. If it had been left to me, I would have made the wrong decision.

[courtneysmovieblog]

"Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" or Why Critics Need to Shut Up and Just Let Us Have Fun

At one point in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Winston (Ernie Hudson) asks Ray (Dan Aykroyd) why he's still bothering with Ghostbusters instead of enjoying his golden years. Ray replies that this is exactly how he wants to be spending his golden years: by doing the thing he loves.

I really think that this was Aykroyd's response to all the critics that trash him for being too old to do Ghostbusters or The Blues Brothers. Blues and the supernatural are the things he's passionate about...and what better way to spend what time you have left by doing what you love?

Yeah, maybe the studios are milking the Ghostbusters series for all its worth by coasting on nostalgia. Did we need a Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire? Probably not, just like he didn't need a Ghostbusters: Afterlife. But I loved Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and I loved Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire too!

The Spengler family (Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, and Mckenna Grace) and former teacher/sort-of-stepfather Gary (Paul Rudd) are now living in New York as full-time Ghostbusters, who have now expanded their operations, thanks to Ray, Winston, and Janine (Annie Potts). Unfortunately, former foe Walter Peck (William Atherton) is now the mayor, and is ready for any excuse to end them, including child labor laws. So Phoebe and the kids are forced to the sidelines while the adults take over...

Until when Ray's newest customer (Kumail Nanjiani) pawns a mysterious family relic to the store, setting off a chain of supernatural events. Once again, the Ghostbusters must rally to save the world.

The writers deserve some credit for doing something a little more original with the plot this time. This one gets a little dark: people literally freeze to death, and even Phoebe toys with the idea of the afterlife when she connects with spirit of a teenage girl (Emily Alyn Lind) . But don't worry, we still have plenty of laughs with the return of Slimer and Peter Venkman (Bill Murray).

Critics have not been kind to this movie. But maybe it's time to remind ourselves one crucial thing about the original Ghostbusters: it was a fun movie. That's all it was ever supposed to be, nothing more or less. And yet everyone from the critics to the fans critics and turned it into some kind of Holy Grail, setting up impossibly high standards that none of the sequels or reboots could ever hope to meet.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire might not be perfect, but like all the other films, it's fun. And even if it's getting old, there's nothing wrong with enjoying something that still gives you joy. So screw the critics and just go have a good time. Especially if it might be the last one.

8 out of 10

[chaosites]

Sup its me again

Do any of you have a favourite game?

Do any of you share one?

This one could take a while!!! Let's do it Let's go down the line~! It doesnt count if it's their source, that's our only rule.

Starting with some collective ones! Yahtzee! Mergefruit (the shitty phone one where you have to drop the fruits and merge them to try and make the giant golden watermelon), earthbound(legal middle name!), UTDR, wii sports/wii sports resort,MySims, mario in general

And now some individual faves!

Alan: Cut The Rope, Run series, Wind Waker

Ann: she loved those baking flash games but a lot of them don't run well enough anymore, so just baking games in general!

BASIL: There's this specific solitaire game called like.... solitaire gardens? no. Solitaire Grand Harvest. He loves that one.

Brandon: Unfortunately one of Brandon's favorite game series is in fact Danganronpa. He knows it's not any good.

Callum: Callum loves a good itch.io indie game. Nothing really specific. Zey also like Mystic Messenger

Chara: Chara likes OMORI, the mother series and especially games where you can play as A Creature instead of a person. They would like animal crossing a lot more if this was an option

Chel-c: Dating sims, worse the better

Chia: fighting games, namely the crossover ones

Clara: Mysims SO much she is a mysims superfan. She also loves the barbie games, namely barbie horse adventures riding camp.

Clyde: IMVU, online virtual worlds in general, overwatch

Cocoa: Dating sims and otome games

Colbie: Colbie likes most nintendo games but they especially eat up those godawful mobile games. They also love SSX tricky

ENA: Yume Nikki

Ethan Lee: KATAMARI!!!

Fern: RPGs mostly. He in fact does like ISAT. For reasons.

Gary: Baking games

Glass: Absolute Majong fiend. Solitaire also

Gregory: Games that are made to mimic the style of old arcade games, definitely. He really loves skee ball, too. And claw machines. If those two count as games

HERO: He also likes baking games!

Jax: "Best game ever, Hong Kong 97. What? Of course I'm serious.'

Joan: Animal Crossing

Karma: Sims, apparently?

KEL: Wii Sports

Ken: Style Savvy

Kid: I love Hue

Kira: Card games

Kris: Smash Bros, especially brawl, Wii games in general

M: Portal 1&2, Garry's Mod

Mabel: GirlsGoGames.com forever. I cant remember the name of it but she LOVED this weird hair styling one. It had a like, hair growth potion that you could use? Will edit if any of us remember

Mae: rhythm games even though she sucks bad at them, Sam and Max

Marcy: Silly DS games, Mysims, arcade games

Maxie: Nintendogs + Cats

Napsta: ThisIsSand

Neil: Gameboy/Wii/DS games of All Kinds, Tetris type games

Ray: Connect 4

Rio: Card games

Rox: Any game where you can pet the cat

Sal: Super Mario Galaxy

Seven: Any game where you can pet the cat+ Connect 4

Si: Mystery Case Files/Hidden object games

Simon: Wii Sports

Star: Dressup games

SUNNY: JRPGs

Sysfrin: Candy Crush, Solitaire

Tobi: Yahtzee

Torrin: Shipwrecked 64

Trent: Yaoi dating sims/ Blush Blush

Unknown: Connect 4, Papa's Freezeria

Vanellope: Mario Kart, Karting games in general

Vix: Smile For Me,Nintendo in general

X: Solitaire

[horizon-verizon]

HotD and the Golden Globes

House of the Dragon may have won the Golden Globe for "Best Drama TV Series", but it doesn't validate the characterizations, the writing, or ideas present in the writing of the show. Even if Fire and Blood didn't exist, this show is not very good once you think about it. There are too many inconsistencies of logic and the show's own internal lore to see it as a well-written story. And Ryan Condal 's "theory of accidents" is not a good or logical way to characterize or set up a character's motivations since it makes them more reactive instead of active (Seth Abramson on Substack). It also reduces both agency and accountability for characters like Alicent and Aemond, while muddling their motivation and creating doubt in their ability to reason. These are not even minor charater's, either. Both are absolutely essential to how the Dance went as it did, and the first's actions against Rhaenyra is the reason why the Dance even existed in the first place.

And then, once you do take into account that this is supposed to be an adaptation, the logic, characterizations, themes, etc actually all so different or inconsistent from those things that are unbiasedly true in the canon account of the Dance of the Dragons in Fire and Blood, it is impossible to count this as a adaptation and not a poorly written fanfiction. Especially in context of the treatment of women in Westeros after Rhaenyra's death and what Daenerys "Stormborn" Targaryen does and represents in the book series A Game of Thrones and the TV adaptation Game of Thrones. @brideoffires writes this POST and @la-pheacienne writes this ONE about ASoIaF's world's misogyny.

A show getting awards does not automatically make it a good show in of itself nor prove its excellence, since it is also clear that awards like the Globes do not necessarily hand awards because the show is well-written. The Globes is a huge culprit of dirty business or susness because the people responsible for choosing who/what wins or gets nominated for any Globe -- the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, or the HFPA-- is suspect and has a real history of being bought out or "wined and dined" and excluding or snubbing much better shows and films. And some or most of those snubbed have a pattern of being PoC-written, PoC-starred, etc. Emily in Paris over I May Destroy You, anyone?

The LA Times article that I listed has this:

Over its nearly eight-decade history, the HFPA has weathered a string of embarrassing scandals, lawsuits and often blistering criticism of its membership. The group has been the butt of jokes even from the stage of its own awards show. Hosting in 2016, Ricky Gervais dismissed the Globes as “worthless,” calling the award “a bit of metal that some nice old confused journalists wanted to give you in person so they could meet you and have a selfie with you.” In a 2014 interview, actor Gary Oldman said the group was “90 nobodies having a wank” and called for a boycott of the “silly game” their awards represent.

Yet despite all this, the HFPA has managed to carve out a unique and improbable position of influence. Its members — relatively few of whom work full time for major overseas outlets — are routinely granted exclusive access to Hollywood power players, invited to junkets in exotic locales, put up in five-star hotels and, as Globes nominations near, lavished with gifts, dinners and star-studded parties. To the studios, networks and celebrities that court its favor and exploit its awards as a marketing tool, the group is at once fawned over, derided and grudgingly tolerated. (Four years after blasting the HFPA, Oldman thanked them when accepting his first-ever Globe for his turn as Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour.”)

Now, I am not talking about Emma D'Arcy's nomination for "Lead Actress" (despite them being nonbinary), because as an performer Emma is and was great in HotD. I am talking about the show and its writing.

[vanvelding]

Star Trek: Picard Final Spoilers

Below the cut

Who had "Jack Crusher with the power of love" in the pool?

.***.

Borg Queen: "Watch. Your future's end."

.***.

The Enterprise-D is fucking cash money for such an "antiquated old ship":

-Immediately finds the Borg super-cube in Jupiter when every ship passing through Sol for YEARS couldn't.

-Takes out the point defenses of the Borg super-cube in one volley (remember when The Borg had tractor beams?)

-Star Trek XIV: Jupiter Drift

.***.

Worf didn't die. I thought for a moment, but they didn't. They just made him more badass. If nothing else, this season treated Worf with the disrespect we expect of TNG, but otherwise pretty fucking well.

.***.

"What did you do to him?" Motherfucker, she did the one thing Borg do to him.

.***.

"Man, it's easy to reverse assimilation by killing the Borg Queen." I know; it's a new type of assimilation except for when Picard jammed an assimilation tube into himself--which I guess is a thing now--and then when Jack took it out he...deassimilated himself.

.***.

Data: "The Borg super-cube has powered down its weapons and lowered its shields."

Picard: "That's an invitation."

Borg communication: "To the approaching vessel, if Will Riker is on board, we surrender. Otherwise, resistance is futile."

.***.

Lrrr, of Omicron Persei 8: "Why does the Queen not simply destroy the ship and crew which have stymied the Borg at every turn?"

.***.

I talk a lot of shit about this show, but Shaw's "The rules she breaks were probably broken anyway..." Actually good television. I'm not sure when he recorded that, but I choose to believe it's before they left spacedock.

.***.

We didn't get the Worf versus Borg Elnor fight. I...I didn't realize how much I was anticipating that.

.***.

I can't get over how this show uses blood and death and trauma to pose as mature, but erects a protective field around its main characters that would make a golden age comic blush. It's elitist trash at its core, especially when it goes all-in on making the Gary Stu that dwarfs Wesley Crusher and Picard II into the captain's assistant and Q's most special boy.

.***.

I thought for a moment, "It would be stupid and lazy and so unoriginal if they gave us an MCU-style teaser at the end of--OH GOD THAT'S Q THOSE IDIOTS DID FINALLY DID IT. DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!"

.***.

The thing with Seven and the Titan finding a way to buy time cleverly integrated so many things that had been set up in the series. It was legitimately enjoyable to watch and well-executed. The cloak didn't even fail first, which it usually does.

.***.

No Janeway. I thought we'd get Janeway. I don't have any strong feelings about this one way or the other.

.***.

Was joking about Chekov showing up (or Chekov's son? Grandson? I'm not really sure what was up with that except it was cringeworthy fanservice). I'm happy Walter was cut a check and finally canonized into the TNG-era.

.***.

This isn't a comment on the show, but Geordi if you're going to order a woman to blow up the core of a ship which is going to her kill son and baby-daddy, maybe...just do it yourself. Be graceful dude.

.***.

When I talk about "jerking off until your dick falls off," I mean going straight to the Enterprise-G when we just saw the Enterprise-F. Why show the Enterprise-F when it's going to get immediately sidelined and replaced.

Also, renaming the Titan to Enterprise erases the accomplishments and history of the Titan. I don't even care about the Titan, but that's fucked.

.***.

So what the fuck is wrong with me???

.***.

.***.

It's cute how we end on a poker scene reminding us that we've ended up exactly where we were 30 years ago, except Picard has a son. We get these huge stakes and then...poof it's like none of it ever happened. I wouldn't care if the stakes weren't so pretentiously, pointlessly high.

This is why I quit reading comics. World changing stakes once a year that...get referenced but culturally forgotten pretty soon. None of it really matters because we're computer-generating a Borg cube bigger than the last one to convince you simpletons this story is better than the last one because the odds against our heroes are larger. How could they ever get out of--they got out of it again with no consequence and no lasting effects. Status quo antebellum.

[minetteskvareninova]

Minette watches Medici, part 17 (Survival)

-YES WE ARE DOING THIS I DON'T KNOW WHY I SHOULD BE STUDYING RIGHT NOW-

-Especially since season 3 is going to be much the same as season 2, which is real bad news since season 2 kinda sucked.

-Look, I have a higher than average tolerance for exposition and the amount of dialogue in this show that just that was way too much even for me, which should tell you about the efficiency and elegance of writing on display here.

-This show: Let's add some nuance into this conflict by having the pope be a genuinely good person. Also this show: The pope's nephew just irrationally hates the entire Medici family to the point that he's just itching to shank a random bastard just because his most likely father is a Medici. Never change, Il Medici, never change.

-I mean I don't think his character is completely unsalvagable; his character motivations (as stated in a monologue to his wife, because the show wins the lack of subtlety tournament against fucking Magnificent Century) are sound and even desperately wanting to destroy the Medici because of his (totally justified) fear of reprecussions for Giuliano's murder. But like. This guy not only murders a child, but also a guy for failing to murder a child after asking him to hand his own dagger. Be for real, old Albizzi this guy ain't. He's barely Cheekbones Pazzi.

-Also, even though the pope is supposed to be one of the good ones, he is still implied to hold Carlo in markedly worse conditions than Lorenzo holds his nephew. Which I call immense, steaming pile of bullshit on.

-I do like what they are doing with Savonarola tho! See, this is how you do nuance, people! Even if his backstory doesn't seem to be historically accurate and his real backstory involved him becoming a famous preacher before fucking Pico della Mirandolla recommending him to Lorenzo, which I regret wasn't in the show, because. Well. You could've added Pico della Mirandolla in your show and you didn't. For shame. This show in general seems to try its hardest to ignore the humanism part of renaissance and humanism, which I am not wild about.

-The central dilemma of this episode and the negotiations around it are actually good, but the show as always shoots itself in the foot by its inability to give any and all moral greyness to Lorenzo's character. And like. I would absolutely be down to the golden boy Lorenzo who is good at everything, but also just a bit of a bastard who is inconsiderate towards his loved ones and willing to play dirty in politics. Why did I get this borderline Gary Stu instead, I don't know.

-The Giulio subplot is as made up as it is full of cliches, but it's not THAT bad so far. I am mostly annoyed at the tedious, manufactured drama of having his mother murdered for no reason that I can tell except angst when the real Giulio's mum just died when he was a baby (most likely). Even if I do like the little detail of how the murder was done - when we saw her face fall to the floor from Giulio's POV... Man. I literally SCREAMED.

-Overall, second verse much the same as the first, instant regret, do not recommend. I am going to finish this show, if only because making fun of it is rather relaxing after work, but I don't think anyone else should follow my example. People, watch season 1 of Medici, then nothing else. It's not even bad enough for real masochists, like The Empress will give you way more bang for your buck if that's what you're looking for (seriously, I turned that show off after watching ten minutes from the first episode, I haven't been in that much pain while watching something since that Austrian Maria Theresa show).

[everythingbagelordr]

Golden’s greatest hit’s. now at a warren near you.

[ariendiel]

Same anon who asked about the cheating, would love to know what would push the LIs to cheat.

Ahhh, thank you for coming back, anon, and I'll do my best to answer this for you! Big caveat for all of these is that I write them from the LIs point of view, so it can seem like I justify the cheating, when I'm very much not okay with cheating irl (yes, I'm still a Noah stan lol, humans are complicated y'all). Also, everyone has different definitions of cheating, so don't feel like you have to read the worst into these.

What could push the S2 LIs to cheat

Bobby

A combination of being easily distracted and needing constant validation could lead Bobby to cheat I think. If his partner isn't able to keep him occupied and feeling fully appreciated I think it could cause him to do something he'll regret. Especially seeing how he loves to be affectionate with his friends, this could go too far if he doesn't feel happy where he is.

Carl

Overwork and long nights at the office. If he doesn't have a partner to help him realise he shouldn't live for work it could lead to him cheating with someone at work I think. The guilt will eat him alive, but he's exhausted and if it's a person that's around a lot I think he could slip in a weak moment.

Elisa

Committment issues combined with her quickly growing bored. She needs constant action, and someone who can handle her influencer lifestyle. If you can't keep up, you're out, and I think that mindset has spread to include relationships for her. Elisa is also quite young still, and I think the thought of finding the one already really terrifies her.

Gary

Aloofness and insecurities combined. Not necissarily the bad kinds, but I think he's not always the best at picking up on his partner's emotions, which can lead to arguments and frustrations. That, combined with some deeply rooted insecurities can make him think it's just easier to go back to his old habits of sleeping around, because his partner is too good for him and deserves someone who understands her.

Henrik

Distance. Both physical and mental. Henrik really is like a golden retriever, and I just don't think he'd enjoy being away or feeling distanced from his partner in any way. Even if she just needs some quiet time or is travelling etc., I think it's the kind of thing that would build up and make him get really nervous and seek comfort elsewhere.

Ibrahim

Insecurity and his inability to resist tempation. He's young, he's rich, and he's now famous. That, combined with how insecure he is, with women who'll throw themselves at him? I fear Rahim is the kind of guy who could make one poor decision one night, and regret it for the rest of his life.

Jakub

Restlessness and committment issues. I think it'll take quite a bit for him to feel ready to actually settle down with someone, he's just not used to the thought, and when he does think about it it's too much.

Lucas

Fear of being abandoned is what I think has and can push Lucas to cheat. You know, the "better to hurt someone before they can hurt you" kind of mindset, because part of his upbringing and the constant moving around has left him scared and anticipating having to say goodbye to everyone and everything that makes him feel grounded.

Marisol

Similar to Lucas, but I think Marisol has more deeply rooted insecurities about letting herself be fully seen. What if when they get to know her, the real her, that they're disappointed? I feel like all these last three on this list are also the worst overthinkers, which can make them do the most dumb things at times.

Noah

I mean, we bascially know the answer for Noah, right? If you do the Noah route "right" he won't be in an official relationship with Hope, so not technically cheating, but I think a similar situation and bad relationship where he feels "trapped" and almost forced to act could push him to cheat. Basically, he doesn't necissarily have the strength to end a bad relationship himself, but he won't be able to resist someone else, leading him to cheat.

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Luise Rainer (Big City; The Emperor's Candlesticks; The Toy Wife)—i mean. look at her.

Miriam Hopkins (Design For Living, Trouble in Paradise)—miriam hopkins had great range as an actresses, truly a woman who could play a passionate outburst for either dramatic or comedic effect and sell the ever-loving hell out of it. she's wonderful in the witty and sophisticated comedies she made with ernst lubitsch, great examples of movies that could never have been made after the hays code; the frothy musical comedy the smiling lieutenant where she plays a naive princess who accidentally gets betrothed to maurice chevalier, the polyamory classic design for living where she gary cooper and hot vintage shadow king fredric march are a throuple, and the ineffably exquisite comedic masterpiece trouble in paradise in which she and hubert marshall are sexy jewel thieves trying to con sexy rich lady kay francis, but will emotional complications ensue???? watch to find out!!

This is round 1 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut]

Miriam Hopkins:

She is an incredibly charismatic and versatile actress who brings a certain captivating je ne sais quois to each and every one of her roles that makes her impossible to ignore. Her pre-code films were considered quite risqué, with her part in a thrupple in Design For Living, and some saucy scenes they had to cut from Jekyll and Hyde. She also had a strong career in early television, so good that this queen literally has TWO Hollywood Stars, TWO!! One for TV and one for Film

Also she is Gorgeous, capable of being the girl nextdoor and also a stunning blonde bombshell. She's not as well known as some golden-age Hollywood stars but she's really incredible and I recommend everyone watch her films

In Trouble in Paradise she plays a pickpocket who flirts by stealing from her criminal boyfriend and I fell in love

queen of the pre-code era. often her roles were of carefree, flirty and lighthearted but intelligent women. famously in the movie where she was part of a fredrich march/gary cooper throuple.

Linked gifset

She's got this sly slouchy confidence that just draws you in. Almost no one wore 30s fashion as well as her

We all know that Design for Living is THE pre-code movie and she is so iconic in it. Her eyes are everythingggg. Also everyone look at her in a suit in She Loves Me Not please

A Frequent collaborator of Ernst Lubistch, Miriam Hopkins like up the screen in her comic roles, as is especially sexy in her pre-code performance in Design for Living; probably one of the first movies to showcase a coded polyamorous relationship. She toes the line between adorable and sexy, and had the acting chops to back it all up.

[ayma-nidiot]

Dawn of the Dark Chapter 27

This chapter can also be found here on AO3.

Author’s Notes: After the line break, I do have the childbirth scene (not especially graphic) and a description of how it's possible for shifters to bear children/give birth in my AU.

Chapter 27 – Twilight of the Gods

“What’s going on?” Chloe looked up at the Tower Summit as a rainbow now decorated the sky above. “A rainbow?”

“Could it… be…?” Gary had a very good idea of what was happening.

The gloomy sky created by Rose’s dark energy gave way to a scintillating sky, illuminated by the sun. Ash rose several hundred feet above the Tower Summit, using the rainbow’s energy to fully shift.

“No! It cannot be!” Rose attempted to prevent Ash’s transformation, but was blown back easily by a Sacred Fire attack.

“Daddy, what’s that?” Lily pointed to the dust scattering from Ash’s wings to Goh and Leon.

“If the legends are true, then we’re about to get our answer,” replied Raihan.

Lily noticed that same golden aura now surrounding Goh and Leon, and hope filled her heart when they both began to move on their own. “Look!”

When Goh could feel the breath of life return to him, it felt as if he had been asleep for a very long time. At first, he could not make out what was above him, but after his vision cleared, he could see Ash in the gorgeous image of Ho-oh. “Ash…” Goh sat up and rubbed his eyes. “How magnificent you are.”

“Caaaaaaw!” Ash cried triumphantly, letting all of Galar know of his presence.

Even residents as far as Postwick could see Ash and the gleam of light. Hop, who was visiting his mom, ran out the house when he saw a rainbow reflecting in his windows. “The legendary Pokemon Ho-oh has come to save us.”

Mustard gazed upon Ash too, and even though he couldn’t see him directly, he knew what the rainbow meant. “Ho-oh… He is the light that will save us all.” He, along with his Dojo pupils, bowed in reverence.

“Haha!” Gary beheld Ash’s true form. “I knew Ashy Boy had it in him! This is his Sacred Ash power!”

“So… beautiful…” Delia teared up, seeing what her son had become.

“Yeah!” Georgio jumped and pumped his fists in the air. “Go get ‘im, tiger!”

Rose would not be swayed. “This doesn’t make a difference! The Darkest Day will continue as planned!”

“No, it won’t!” Leon declared.

“You’ve messed with the world for the last time, Rose!” Goh got up on his two feet as, together with Leon, he transformed back into his Pokemon form.

“Messing? Ha! If anything, you’re the one whose messing! I won’t let you be the one to ruin Galar’s future!” Rose ascended ever higher, to where people from the ground level could not see.

“Singing the same old tune… Very well, I guess we’re going to have to do this the hard way.” Ash cawed into the air before launching Sacred Fire at Rose.

“No good!” Rose deflected this attack even higher into the sky, then flew to the ground with the speed of a peregrine falcon. “Even your efforts combined are futile!”

“You will not harm the Galarian people!” Leon chased Rose down the Tower.

I wish I were stronger… Ash didn’t feel confident his next attack would land either.

“Ash, we need to chase after him!” Goh insisted.

“But I just discovered my shapeshifting powers! I’m not as strong as you, Leon, or Pikachu…”

“Aaah!” Delia’s shrieks could be heard, even from the Tower Summit.

“I have to save her! If I don’t, then… the entire world will…”

“Ash, my love, you inspire us all. Come on, what happened to that Ash that said he was going to be the one to take down Champion Leon?”

“Goh… You’re right. Having self-doubt in a time like this… It’s not like me. I’m stronger than this!” Ash took after Rose.

During their descent, Goh announced, “Don’t forget, too, that you have friends… I’ll follow you to the end.”

Goh clapped so loudly that Ash could tell he was using Helping Hand. “Thank you, Goh. I won’t let your power go to waste!”

“Mime… mime…” Mimey, having been assaulted by several Poison-types, fell to the ground in front of Delia.

“Mimey!” Delia knelt, trying to reawaken her Pokemon. “Oh, no! You shouldn’t have pushed yourself so hard!”

“Mrs. Ketchum, watch out!” Gary was so roughed up that he was certain that Blastoise wouldn’t reach Delia in time.

Delia barely noticed Rose diving towards her and threw her whole body over Mimey. When she looked up, the next thing she saw was the golden tail feathers of a Ho-oh. “Is… Is that you, Ash?”

“Grr!” Rose tried to power through with Poison Jab. “Stand down, you inexperienced Champion!”

“You have no idea what I’ve seen… What I’ve done… What I’m capable of! Raaah!” Ash let out a Dual Wingbeat, one right after the other, launching Rose all the way back to the Summit.

“Honey, you’re the best!” Delia started brushing dirt off of Ash’s tail feathers. “Ooh, that’s not good. You need to take a good shower later, young man.”

“Mom, I’m a legendary Pokemon… Come on.” Ash was embarrassed, but not surprised, that Delia would talk to him this way.

“But you’re still my son.” In brushing off Ash’s feathers, Delia had scattered a handful of Rainbow Wings. “Your fight is almost over, so hang in there.”

“Right!” Ash flew after Goh, knowing that with each attack, Rose was as good as done.

“Please, Ash…” Chloe picked up a Rainbow Wing and prayed.

“Just a few more hits,” Gary joined in. “That’s all it should take.”

By the time Ash had rejoined Leon and Goh, Rose had taken considerable damage from Aeroblast and Psychic. Despite how even he knew his loss was imminent, Rose intended to fight to the last. “You think that you can take on me, this god, more powerful than Arceus himself?”

“We can, and we will. You ready, my dudes?” Ash looked to Goh, then to Leon.

“As ready as the day is long,” replied Leon.

“You’re going to fall here!” Goh took off, surrounding himself with Ancient Power and charging into Rose full force.

“Ngh…” Rose couldn’t fend off that attack at all, and so instead braced himself for Leon’s incoming Sky Attack.

“Rose…” Leon was the only one there who showed Rose an iota of mercy. “If it wasn’t for you, I would have never had a career, and I never would have met my husband Raihan. I’m so, so sorry that things had to end this way.”

“You ingrate! Gah!” Rose couldn’t guard against Leon either. Though he wasn’t bleeding, he was too fatigued to properly stand up to Ash. “Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town! I curse your name! I despise you!”

“Same to you, buddy! Take… this!” Ash came in with Brave Bird.

“How… dare you!” This attack scratched Rose’s entire face.

He’s weak… Now’s my chance! Ash halfshifted, requesting of Raihan, “Give me a Poke Ball out of my backpack, Raihan! Throw it up here!”

“You got it, my man!” Raihan threw this Poke Ball to Ash’s level without trouble.

“You…” Ash held the Dynamax Poke Ball at the ready. “For all that you’ve done, you don’t even deserve a dignified death… You deserve to suffer, sealed away for all eternity, just like Goh’s Eternatus.”

“No! Please, spare me!” Rose’s words would be for naught as the Poke Ball sucked him in. “Aaaaaaah!”

“And now, we wait.” Ash descended back to the Tower Summit, still in halfshifted form, in case this didn’t go as planned.

After more movements than an ordinary capture, Ash’s Rotom Phone spoke, “Eternatus’ data has been registered to your Pokedex!”

Ash picked up his new Pokemon’s Poke Ball from the ground. “It’s… finally over…”

“Ash?” Goh reverted forms, catching Ash as he reeled backwards.

“How are you feeling?” Leon reverted forms, too.

“I’m okay, guys. I’m more worried about you.” Ash felt Goh’s baby bump, noticing that it was unusually saggy.

But before either Goh or Ash could make a comment about that, they heard a parade of marching up the stairs, with Officer Jenny being the first to greet them. “Giovanni, for committing the act of terrorism, I hereby place you, everyone else in Team Rocket, and the belligerent members of Macro Cosmos under arrest. You have the right to remain silent.

“Hmph.” Giovanni said nothing more as the Officers Jenny escorted him and his employees down the stairs, but he did spare a smile of appreciation for Jessie and James.

“I never thought I’d see the end of Team Rocket in my lifetime,” James mused.

“Giovanni… Godspeed to you,” Jessie prayed while Damian clung to him.

“Well, we won’t be seeing him again!” Ash haulted his laughing when he looked Goh in the eye. “Sniff… Oh, Goh! I… I thought I had lost you for good…”

“Hey, I’m here.” Goh held Ash’s head to his chest, allowing him to hear his heartbeat. “And I’m alive.”

“Goh… Goh!” Ash had few other words as he kissed his fiancé passionately. “So… You’re not going to pull any stupid stunts again, right?”

“No promises.” Goh winked.

“You little…”

“Come on, lighten up! Well, I do promise you this: I’m not going to pull any life-threatening stunts again.”

“Fair enough.”

“Ash!” Georgio ran up to his son. “You were awesome out there!”

“Hehe, you know it.” Ash flashed a peace sign; his next thought went to Leon, who to his fortune appeared unharmed.

“Papa?” Lily slowly walked up to her mother. “Are you… Are you really back this time?”

“Yup, and I’m ready to have a champion time with my daughter any time she wants!”

“Papa! Oh, Papa!” Lily ran up to Leon, who picked her up. “Thank Arceus!”

“You better not pull another disappearing act like that again, you bastard.” Raihan stopped just short of slapping Leon.

“I wouldn’t dream of it, love.” Leon had only kissed Raihan for a split second before his face grimaced in pain. “Ngh…”

“Leon, babe?” Raihan pulled away. “What’s wrong?”

It was right then and there that Leon’s water broke, and he collapsed to the floor in immense agony. “Aaaagh!”

“Daddy, my little brother is coming now, isn’t he?” Lily asked, scared but excited.

“Yes, princess, and we gotta get him some help.” Raihan handed Lily his Rotom Phone and instructed. “Dial Nurse Joy and have her send two medical choppers up here.”

“Okay!” Lily followed this instruction.

“This idiot was fighting an apocalyptic battle even though he was in labour the whole time…” Raihan winced when he noticed Goh collapse too. “And by the looks of it, Leon’s not the only idiot here.”

“Oh, shit-” To add to Ash’s woes, Goh had gone into labour at the exact same time, and all of his amniotic fluid gushed out at once. “Goh!”

“Ash… This is it, right? Ashalina and Gavin… they’re about to make their grand entrance.” Goh could hardly hear everyone else scrambling about to get him and Leon medical assistance. He was in so much pain that it knocked him out.

“Hang in there, babe! We’re going to get you help!”

“I’m… awake again…” Goh’s eyes quickly fluttered open after passing out for the second time that day. “What is goi- Aaaaaah!” His screams piqued the interests of the other patients, Nurses Joy, and doctors in Hammerlocke’s central Pokemon Center.

“Goh, we’re already there,” spoke Ash as Dr. Bick and two Nurses Joy briskly whisked Goh into his delivery room.

“I guess this is where we part ways for the time being,” Raihan declared as Leon’s delivery team wheeled him into the delivery room right next to Goh’s. Lily, Paul, and Hop were already waiting for him in there. “I can’t wait to see your two cutie pies, Champion Ash. I pray for Goh to be safe in there.”

“I hope the same for Leon.” So spoke Ash as he hurried into Goh’s delivery room along with Delia, Gary, Georgio, and Chloe.

As the two Nurses Joy gently placed Goh’s feet on the stirrups, Dr. Bick hooked an I.V. and heart rate monitor to Goh. “Nurses, how is he looking?”

“The babies are coming fast, Doctor,” replied a Nurse Joy. “One of them has already started crowning.”

“Goh!” Ash called out and took Delia’s place at Goh’s side, holding his free hand.

“Ash…” Goh received a short respite from the contractions and panted.

“This is going to be an odd time to ask, but… Did you get an epidural?”

“I decided against it… I just want to get this over with.” As soon as Goh had said this, the contractions were back in full force. “Argh! Shit, fuck, dammit!”

“Yikes…” Ash had hardly heard his fiancé cuss, let alone that many times in a row. Leon’s equally loud cries of pain only made him more anxious. “And I’m willing to hazard a guess that Leon didn’t get one either. I sure hope that never happens to me.”

“Will you shut your trap already?” Goh snarled. “If you think you can do any fucking better, I’m quite willing to switch places with you at any time!”

“S-Sorry…” Ash held Goh’s hand and, trying to sound sympathetic, he asked Nurse Joy, “So how is Goh giving birth, exactly?”

“Though you got him pregnant via anal sex, shapeshifters have a birth canal between the balls and the anus. In other words, they have two vaginas.”

“Ooh.” Ash sounded genuinely fascinated, wishing that he had asked this question earlier.

“Yeah, yeah, very cool!” Goh had known this almost from day one. “ARCEUS, FUCKING DAMMIT!”

“You’re doing great, Goh.” Chloe stood behind Goh with an ice bucket and towel, which she used to wipe Goh’s forehead with. “Keep it up.”

“Just a couple more pushes ought to do it!” Ash stroked Goh’s face with his other hand.

“Easy for you to say, Mr. Champion! FUUUUUCK!” Goh gave those two pushes his all.

“And you would be correct!” Dr. Bick held a very sticky, pink, and crying baby boy before Goh. “Here’s your son! A healthy lad too, he is!”

“Gavin!” Goh kissed his dear little son’s head. “You’re okay! Thank the gods…”

While one of the Nurses Joy cleaned Gavin up, Ash briefly turned his attention to the cheering he heard from Leon’s delivery room. “From the sound of things, it sounds like Leon’s delivery went seamlessly too.”

“AAAAARGH!” Goh felt even stronger contractions for his daughter’s birth.

“Having to go through it again… Come on, babe, you’re halfway there.” Ash felt ashamed for his remarks earlier; now, he wanted to bear Goh’s child, if only so he could have an idea of what he was going through now.

Because Ashalina was bigger, Goh struggled even more to give birth to her, and he could barely breathe. “Ash… I feel like I’m gonna die… I can’t do this!”

“Yes, you can! You’re the only one who can!” Ash brushed a sweaty lock of black hair out of Goh’s face. “You believed in me during our battle… Now, have that same belief in yourself!”

Goh felt his courage restored, burying his face into the crook of Ash’s arm. And then he heard it – the wailing of their newborn daughter.

“It’s over, babe.” Ash gave Goh a kiss. “Our babies… They’re here.”

Goh couldn’t stop the tears when he saw Ashalina’s face for the first time. “And they’re beautiful.”

Dr. Bick waited a few minutes before cutting the umbilical cords and, after allowing the Nurses Joy to tend to the newborn twins, he asked Goh, “So, how are you feeling?”

“Pretty darned good, actually.” Goh was pleasantly surprised when his pain started to wear off. “Just a little sore and tired, that’s all.”

“That’s great to hear! However, even if your birth had no complications, you need to stay here at the Pokemon Center for two days. After that, however, you’ll be free to go home.”

“And the babies?” Ash wanted to know.

Both Nurses Joy came back with the twins, wrapped loosely in swaddling clothes. “Healthy and happy as clams!”

“Aww!” Chloe smiled as Ash took Ashalina, and Goh took Gavin. “Congratulations, you guys!”

“Cooochie coochie coo!” Ash gently tickled Ashalina’s neck.

“Pika pika!” Pikachu crawled onto Ash’s forearm and bopped Ashalina on the nose.

“Pikachu, be gentle!” Ash warned.

Despite Ash’s protests, Ashalina enjoyed Pikachu’s playing. “Gooo!” She laughed while grabbing Pikachu’s tail, her eyes opened wide.

“Hey, you need to be gentle too!” Ash had just noticed Ashalina’s eyes and couldn’t believe what he saw. “What on Earth? Goh, check it! Ashalina’s right eye is blue while her left eye is brown!”

“No way… Gavin’s right eye is brown and his left eye is blue!” Goh got a good look at Gavin’s face. “I never thought they’d have heterochromia… Interesting.”

“Waaaah!” Gavin abruptly started crying and puckering his lips, nearly knocking Ash out of his seat.

“Oh no!” Goh had no idea what to do. “Did I do something wrong, Doctor?”

“Nothing of the sort. Your son is just hungry, that’s all,” Dr. Bick explained.

“Then he can have this!” Ash presented an Oran Berry.

“Moron,” Goh joked. Remembering how to properly breastfeed from his childbirth classes, he lifted up his hospital gown while holding Gavin carefully.

“Oh…” Ash laughed sheepishly when Gavin began suckling. “That’s what you meant.”

“We better give them some privacy, then.” Georgio stepped out of the delivery room as the others followed one by one, giving Goh their congratulations as they did so.

Ash, of course, stayed to keep Goh company for just a bit longer. “Your body is truly an amazing thing, Goh. To think, that just nine months ago, we had no idea that we were going to be parents.”

“But it’s one of the best things to happen to me,” Goh mused, twirling a tiny lock of Gavin’s red-and-black hair.

“Goo!” Gavin yawned only once before falling asleep while his sister cried from the crib to Goh’s right.

“Your turn, little jewel.” Ash returned Gavin to his crib and, after Ashalina had finished eating, Ash left the room to give his spent fiancé some rest.

“Do you have a sale on coincidences?” Raihan had happened to be leaving Leon’s delivery room at the same time. “You must be selling them by the bunch!”

Ash didn’t bother to ask what that meant. “How’s Leon and your baby?”

“See for yourself!” Raihan pointed to the window to Leon’s room. The former champion slept like a log, as did the newborn right next to him. “My husband is one hell of a warrior for all he’s been through the past nine months, that’s for sure.”

“It’s a boy, right? What’s his name?”

Raihan winked. “I think I’ll save that for when we leave the hospital two days from now.”

Over these two days, Ash spared every waking moment watching over Goh and their babies, even refusing when his own parents offered to take over. The morning that he was set to go home, Goh felt as chipper as ever – so chipper, in fact, that he had finished packing his hospital bag before Ash arrived.

Ash was delighted to see this. “Hey.” He paused for a moment.

Goh knew why Ash felt so apprehensive and looked outside. “The media is camped out right in front of the Pokemon Center, aren’t they?”

“Since I’ve gone AWOL these past two days, they started getting antsy.” Ash put on Goh’s hospital bag and picked up Ashalina. “But I’m not afraid of them anymore. Today’s the day that all of Galar will find out that their Champion is a father and engaged to another man.”

“Fearless… So fearless. I love it.” Goh smiled as he and Ash walked with their children to the Pokemon Center’s entrance, but stopped just shy when they saw Raihan, Leon, and their newborn son standing outside. They elected to listen to them first before revealing themselves.

“Gym Leader Raihan, we just received word that your husband, Leon, was in the hospital for two days. What’s the story with that?” a reporter asked.

Raihan ignored the condescending tone of voice the reporter used, instead proudly presenting his son before the vast crowd. “He had been giving birth and resting the whole time… Everyone, meet our son, Dragan!”

“Oooh!” Several reporters started taking photos of the family, and one remarked, “He looks just like you, Gym Leader!”

When Dragan opened his eyes, Leon responded, “But he has my eyes.”

“That he does! Oh?” Another reporter had just noted Ash’s and Goh’s presences. “Champion Ash, you were here too? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Ash insisted.

“Who is that young man with you? A friend of yours?” asked another reporter.

Ash took a deep breath before he started giving his answer, “People of Hammerlocke… I am engaged to this man, and his name is Goh. He has just given birth to our children.” Ash brought Ashalina closer as Goh did the same with Gavin.

Unlike with Raihan and Leon, the reporters weren’t as eager to start snapping photos.

“I’m hoping that, by coming out to the world today, that I can inspire my fellow Pokemon Trainers,” Ash spoke from the heart. “No matter who you are, as long as you’re a good person at heart, you too can be a Champion.”

At those words, the reporters swarmed Ash even more energetically than they did with Raihan. “Well said, Champion Ash!,” started a young female reporter. “The only bad thing about all of this is that you might have broken a few hearts today.”

“Hehe…” It didn’t surprise Ash that, after travelling with so many female companions over the years, he’d be popular with the ladies.

“So when we will start hearing the wedding bells?” an older male reporter wanted to know.

“Exactly two months from today,” Ash answered without pause. “Save the date, folks! Now, if you’ll excuse me, Goh and I need to return to our new home.”

Ignoring the gaggle of reporters behind them, Goh asked, “Why so late, Ash? We already have everything ready, except for the decorations… Heck, we could marry tomorrow if we really wanted to!”

“You’ll see why, Goh.” Ash took a break from the walking to nuzzle his face into Goh’s hair. “Just trust me on this.”

Goh had figured that Ash wanted to surprise him in some way, so he dropped the subject for the time being. One thing was for sure, though, that until that date, he would be excitedly counting down to the very hour.

[timeless-hollywood-classics]

Rhonda Fleming (born Marilyn Louis; August 10, 1923 – October 14, 2020) was an American film and television actress and singer. She acted in more than 40 films, mostly in the 1940s and 1950s, and became renowned as one of the most glamorous actresses of her day, nicknamed the "Queen of Technicolor" because she photographed so well in that medium.

Fleming was born Marilyn Louis in Hollywood, California, to Harold Cheverton Louis, an insurance salesman, and Effie Graham, a stage actress who had appeared opposite Al Jolson in the musical Dancing Around at New York's Winter Garden Theatre from 1914 to 1915. Fleming's maternal grandfather was John C. Graham, an actor, theater owner, and newspaper editor in Utah.

She began working as a film actress while attending Beverly Hills High School, from which she graduated in 1941. She was discovered by the well-known Hollywood agent Henry Willson, who changed her name to "Rhonda Fleming".

"It's so weird", Fleming said later. "He stopped me crossing the street. It kinda scared me a little bit -- I was only 16 or 17. He signed me to a seven-year contract without a screen test. It was a Cinderella story, but those could happen in those days."

Fleming's agent Willson went to work for David O. Selznick, who put her under contract.[5][6] She had bit parts in In Old Oklahoma (1943), Since You Went Away (1944) for Selznick, and in When Strangers Marry (1944).

She received her first substantial role in the thriller, Spellbound (1945), produced by Selznick and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. "Hitch told me I was going to play a nymphomaniac", Fleming said later. "I remember rushing home to look it up in the dictionary and being quite shocked." The film was a success and Selznick gave her another good role in the thriller The Spiral Staircase (1946), directed by Robert Siodmak.

Selznick lent her out to appear in supporting parts in the Randolph Scott Western Abilene Town (1946) at United Artists and the film noir classic Out of the Past (1947) with Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas, at RKO, where she played a harried secretary.

Fleming's first leading role came in Adventure Island (1947), a low-budget action film made for Pine-Thomas Productions at Paramount Pictures in the two-color Cinecolor process and co-starring fellow Selznick contractee Rory Calhoun.

Fleming then auditioned for the female lead in a Bing Crosby film, a part Deanna Durbin turned down at Paramount in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949), a musical loosely based on the story by Mark Twain. Fleming exhibited her singing ability, dueting with Crosby on "Once and For Always" and soloing with "When Is Sometime". They recorded the songs for a three-disc, 78-rpm Decca album, conducted by Victor Young, who wrote the film's orchestral score. Her vocal coach in Hollywood, Harriet Lee, praised her "lovely voice", saying, "she could be a musical comedy queen". The movie was Fleming's first Technicolor film. Her fair complexion and flaming red hair photographed exceptionally well and she was nicknamed the "Queen of Technicolor", a moniker not worth much to her as she would have preferred to be known for her acting. Actress Maureen O'Hara expressed a similar sentiment when the same nickname was given to her around this time.

She then played another leading role opposite a comedian, in this case Bob Hope, in the The Great Lover (1949). It was a big hit and Fleming was established. "After that, I wasn't fortunate enough to get good directors", said Fleming. "I made the mistake of doing lesser films for good money. I was hot – they all wanted me – but I didn't have the guidance or background to judge for myself."

In February 1949, Selznick sold his contract players to Warner Bros, but he kept Fleming.

In 1950 she portrayed John Payne's love interest in The Eagle and the Hawk, a Western.

Fleming was lent to RKO to play a femme fatale opposite Dick Powell in Cry Danger (1951), a film noir. Back at Paramount, she played the title role in a Western with Glenn Ford, The Redhead and the Cowboy (1951).

In 1950, she ended her association with Selznick after eight years, though her contract with him had another five years to run.

Fleming signed a three-picture deal with Paramount. Pine-Thomas used her as Ronald Reagan's leading lady in a Western, The Last Outpost (1951), John Payne's leading lady in the adventure film Crosswinds (1951), and with Reagan again in Hong Kong (1951).

She sang on NBC's Colgate Comedy Hour during the same live telecast that featured Errol Flynn, on September 30, 1951, from the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood.

Fleming was top-billed for Sam Katzman's The Golden Hawk (1952) with Sterling Hayden, then was reunited with Reagan for Tropic Zone (1953) at Pine-Thomas. In 1953, Fleming portrayed Cleopatra in Katzman's Serpent of the Nile for Columbia. That same year, she filmed a western with Charlton Heston at Paramount, Pony Express (1953), and two films shot in three dimensions (3-D), Inferno with Robert Ryan at Fox, and the musical Those Redheads From Seattle with Gene Barry, for Pine-Thomas. The following year, she starred with Fernando Lamas in Jivaro, her third 3-D release, at Pine-Thomas. She went to Universal for Yankee Pasha (1954) with Jeff Chandler. Fleming also traveled to Italy to play Semiramis in Queen of Babylon (1954).

Fleming was part of a gospel singing quartet with Jane Russell, Connie Haines, and Beryl Davis.

Much of the location work for Fleming's 1955 Western Tennessee's Partner, in which she played Duchess opposite John Payne as Tennessee and Ronald Reagan as Cowpoke, was filmed at the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, California, (known as the most heavily filmed outdoor location in the history of film and television). A distinctive monolithic sandstone feature behind which Fleming (as Duchess) hid during an action sequence, later became known as the Rhonda Fleming Rock. The rock is part of a section of the former movie ranch known as "Garden of the Gods", which has been preserved as public parkland.

Fleming was reunited with Payne and fellow redhead Arlene Dahl in a noir at RKO, Slightly Scarlet (1956). She did other thrillers that year; The Killer Is Loose (1956) with Joseph Cotten and Fritz Lang's While the City Sleeps (1956), co-starring Dana Andrews, at RKO. Fleming was top billed in an adventure movie for Warwick Films, Odongo (1956).

Fleming had the female lead in John Sturges's Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) co-starring Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas, a big hit. She supported Donald O'Connor in The Buster Keaton Story (1957) and Stewart Granger in Gun Glory (1957) at MGM.

In May 1957, Fleming launched a nightclub act at the Tropicana in Las Vegas. It was a tremendous success. "I just wanted to know if I could get out on that stage – if I could do it. And I did! ... My heart was to do more stage work, but I had a son, so I really couldn't, but that was in my heart."

Fleming was Guy Madison's co star in Bullwhip (1958) for Allied Artists, and supported Jean Simmons in Home Before Dark (1958), which she later called her favorite role ("It was a marvellous stretch", she said).

Fleming was reunited with Bob Hope in Alias Jesse James (1959) and did an episode of Wagon Train.

She was in the Irwin Allen/Joseph M. Newman production of The Big Circus (1959), co-starring Victor Mature and Vincent Price. This was made for Allied Artists, whom Fleming later sued for unpaid profits.

Fleming travelled to Italy again to make The Revolt of the Slaves (1959) and was second billed in The Crowded Sky (1960).

In 1960, she described herself as "semi-retired", having made money in real estate investments. That year she toured her nightclub act in Las Vegas and Palm Springs.

During the 1950s, 1960s, and into the 1970s, Fleming frequently appeared on television with guest-starring roles on The Red Skelton Show, The Best of Broadway, The Investigators, Shower of Stars, The Dick Powell Show, Wagon Train, Burke's Law, The Virginian, McMillan & Wife, Police Woman, Kung Fu, Ellery Queen, and The Love Boat.

In 1958, Fleming again displayed her singing talent when she recorded her only LP, entitled simply Rhonda (reissued in 2008 on CD as Rhonda Fleming Sings Just For You). In this album, which was released by Columbia Records, she blended then-current songs like "Around The World" with standards such as "Love Me or Leave Me" and "I've Got You Under My Skin". Conductor-arranger Frank Comstock provided the musical direction.

On March 4, 1962, Fleming appeared in one of the last segments of ABC's Follow the Sun in a role opposite Gary Lockwood. She played a Marine in the episode, "Marine of the Month".

In December 1962, Fleming was cast as the glamorous Kitty Bolton in the episode, "Loss of Faith", on the syndicated anthology series, Death Valley Days, hosted by Stanley Andrews. In the story line, Kitty pits Joe Phy (Jim Davis) and Peter Gabriel (Don Collier) to run against each other for sheriff of Pima County, Arizona. Violence results from the rivalry.

In the 1960s, Fleming branched out into other businesses and began performing regularly on stage and in Las Vegas.

One of her final film appearances was in a bit-part as Edith von Secondburg in the comedy The Nude Bomb (1980) starring Don Adams. She also appeared in Waiting for the Wind (1990).

Fleming has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2007, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars was dedicated to her.

Fleming worked for several charities, especially in the field of cancer care, and served on the committees of many related organizations. In 1991, her fifth husband, Ted Mann, and she established the Rhonda Fleming Mann Clinic for Women's Comprehensive Care at the UCLA Medical Center.

In 1964, Fleming spoke at the "Project Prayer" rally attended by 2,500 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. The gathering, which was hosted by Anthony Eisley, a star of ABC's Hawaiian Eye series, sought to flood the United States Congress with letters in support of mandatory school prayer, following two decisions in 1962 and 1963 of the United States Supreme Court, which struck down mandatory school prayer as conflicting with the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Joining Fleming and Eisley at the rally were Walter Brennan, Lloyd Nolan, Dale Evans, Pat Boone, and Gloria Swanson. Fleming declared, "Project Prayer is hoping to clarify the First Amendment to the Constitution and reverse this present trend away from God." Eisley and Fleming added that John Wayne, Ronald Reagan, Roy Rogers, Mary Pickford, Jane Russell, Ginger Rogers, and Pat Buttram would also have attended the rally had their schedules not been in conflict.

Fleming married six times:

Thomas Wade Lane, interior decorator, (1940–1942; divorced), one son

Dr. Lewis V. Morrill, Hollywood physician, (July 11, 1952 – 1954; divorced)

Lang Jeffries, actor, (April 3, 1960 – January 11, 1962; divorced)

Hall Bartlett, producer (March 27, 1966 – 1972; divorced)

Ted Mann, producer, (March 11, 1977 – January 15, 2001; his death)

Darol Wayne Carlson (2003 – October 31, 2017; his death)

Through her son Kent Lane (b. 1941), Rhonda also had two granddaughters (Kimberly and Kelly), four great-grandchildren (Wagner, Page, Lane, and Cole), and two great-great-grandchildren.

She was a Presbyterian and a Republican who supported Dwight Eisenhower during the 1952 presidential election.

Fleming died on October 14, 2020, in Saint John's Health Center, Santa Monica, California, at the age of 97. She is interred at Hillside Memorial Park in Culver City, California.

[calliecat93]

Callie’s Disney Princess Retrospective: Beauty and the Beast

(Snow White) (Cinderella) (Sleeping Beauty) (The Little Mermaid)

The Little Mermaid was a huge success for Disney. It was such a big success that it began the Renaissance Era of Disney Animation and returned Disney to the top animation studio. While many people such as John Musker, Ron Clements, and Glen Keane can be credited for the film's success, the biggest player by far was lyricist Howard Ashman. He put his heart and soul into the film, and not just with song lyrics. He wanted the characters to connect to the audience. He wanted to play a part in the story. He wanted this film to be something special, and he succeeded. But he was also frustrated, could be argumentative when others didn't like his vision, and unknown to everyone, he was dying. After winning two Oscars for The Little Mermaid's music, Howard revealed to composer Alan Menken that he had AIDS, and he didn't have much longer to live.

However, Ashman wasn't going down before completing one more film. Though he had been writing music for Aladdin, he ultimately ended up as the lyricist of another film. A film that had been through many different iterations and was handed off to newbie directors. Little did anyone know just how impactful this film would be for Disney, and for the industry as a whole. Well, except for Ashman himself. The film that we are discussing today is the first animated film to ever, ever be nominated for Best Feature. That film is 1991''s Beauty and the Beast.

Overview

Belle is a beautiful young woman, but is seen as an oddity in her village due to her love of books and her utter disinterest in local heartthrob Gaston. When her father, an inventor named Maurice, leaves for a science fair, he ends up taking refuge in an old, abandoned castle. But the castle is actually enchanted and acts as the home to dozens of talking inanimate objects... and a fearsome beast. When Belle goes looking for her father, she offers to take his place as the Beast’s prisoner. But during her time in the castle, Belle discovers that this Beast may not be as much of a monster as he appears, and this may lead to both discovering true love...

Review

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that this is by far one of Disney’s most beloved films. It got praise form both critics and movie-goers when it came out, and it’s only become more beloved in the nearly 20 years since. Belle is praised as a feminist's icon and the film for it’s themes of toxic masculinity, judging a book by it’s cover, and some of the darker aspects of society like those we blindly praise. I... like the film, but I never loved it to the extent as others. Not because it’s bad, that is a ridiculous notion. I just liked other films more and Belle just didn’t interest me as others like Cinderella or Mulan or Ariel. But seeing it again as an adult who has seen the darker aspects of society since I was a kid, it REALLY rings more deeply than it did back then.

One aspect that no one can argue about is the animation. The film is beautiful. It has some of Disney’s best animators at the time such as Glen Keene, Mark Henn, Andreas Deja, and so much more. There was so much life put into the film and it is a true visual spectacle.I meant hey managed to take inaminate objects, and bring them to life. Sure they have faces to help humanize them, but to make us believe that these are talking, moving objects that were once human is still a VERY difficult task. But they have so much personality like the suave, passionate candlesick Lumiere or the stuffy, orderly Cogsworth. The backgrounds andf settings are also great fromt he Sleepy Hollow-esque village to the gothic castle of The Beast, to the creedy woods that look even more terrifying when it snows. There’s so much color and lighting that is used so well, especially with the castle eminating so much mystery and intrigue compared tot he plain village that Belle is from.

But the setting we all remember most of all is the ballroom. While Disney has been using CGI some before, such as Big Ben in The Great Mouse Detective (yes,t hat WHOLE setting was computer graphics), this is probably the biggest use to date. The ballroom is a gorgeous golden color and looks so big and vast. It takes you’re breath away. There’s a reason why this is the most well-remembered part of the film. The animaiton for this film was very straining, especially due to conditios to accomodate Ashman that we’ll get to later. It was stressful, but they absoluteley put their all into it. When you watcht he ballroom sequence, added to the dance and Angela Lansbury’s lovely vocals, you forget that you’re even watching a movie. It feels like... well, love. It’s by far one of Disney’s best looking features.

As I said in the intro, the film ultimately fell into the laps of two relatively rookie animators; Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale. This was after several various attempts to adapt the film, with none successful. Wise and Trousdale’s biggest claim to fame at the time was doing animaiton for EPCOT’s now defunct Cranium Command attraction (look up Who Stole Buzzy, boy is THAT a story) and while they had worked on other features, they had never been in the director seats. To make it more difficult, due to Ashman’s health continuing to gradually decline, Katzenburg decided to move produciton over to New York to spare him from having to travel. Which is a VERY noble effort and it’s sweet that they were willing to do so to keep working with Ashman, but as you can imagine this was quite a strain on the production team and as before, they would sometimes clash with Ashman and his vision. Still, they along with Menken returning as composer and writer Linda Woolverton, they reworked the then-script into something that they were happy with.

The setting is very reminiscent of another Disney work, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. One of two segments from the Package Film Era feature The Adventure of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. We all know the story of Ichabod and his infamous ride where he encountered the Headless Horseman. Here we have a similar quaint village where people seem rather simple-minded. Like in Sleepy Hollow where everyone took notice tot he rather strange looking Ichabod Crane, we see a similar notice of Belle who is an anomaly to them. Though unlike Ichabod, who had pretty much everyone under his thumb and is kind of a gold diging jerk, Belle is ostracized and is a FAR better person. Gaston bears a striking resemblance to Brom Bones in both looks and social status (tough Brom isn’t as bad in comparison or even compared to Ichabod, though still a Jerk Jock) and the Bimbettes bear a bit of similarity to Katrina. I wouldn’t be surprised if the crew used Sleepy Hollow as inspiration for setting and character design. Only thing missing is the Headless Horseman, which that would have been interesting XD

The film deals with several topics. There’s the standard ‘don’t judge a book by it’s cover’ and ‘true love conquers all’ messages. Both of which are handled very well. But there are also some that IDT Disney had ever really tackled to this point. There’s encouraging women to make their own choices, which Disney HAS tackled but this one does it differently with Belle rejecting the standard good-looking man and falling for the monstrous looking one. In fact there is really a strong theme tearing down toxic masculinity and male entitlement. It says that no, men are not obligated to a woman and that women have the freedom to reject them no matter the societal pressure. Especially if they act as despicable as Gaston. With how much more aware we’ve become of how horrible some men in power can be and how they use that power on vulnerable women, this remains a relevant message to todays audience. It let’s women be empowered, confident, and enjoy things like reading as well as have the hope of finding those who will be accepting. These are all important things, and the film does an excellent job in showing it and what actual love should be like. The Beast especially starts as a jerk, but once he decides to become better and wants to be better for no ulterior reasons, he proves worthy of Belle’s love. That’s how love should be and how a person should change themselves. Again, very well done.

Despite his health and being downcast about not completing Aladdin, Ashman still put his all into the film. As I said, they outright shifted production to another state at a time when social media and things like Skype and Zoom were a distant dream. Still, Ashman along with Menken put their all into the soundtrack, and it paid off big time. This film, along with The Little Mermaid, really set up the precedent for Broadway-style animaed films and considering that they continue to be successful, I’d say that that says a lot. There are a lot of memorable songs int his fimlm, and there’s even some that didn’t make it in. One in particular, Human Again, actualy got animated and added back for the film’s IMAX release and various home media releases (sadly it’s not in the Disney+ version). The score is also very well done, especially at the end. Just listen to the music when the Beast finally turns human again. It added to the outright magical animation will leave you in awe as much as Belle was.

But what about the vocal tracks? Good question. Let’s go over them:

Belle/Belle Reprise: Our first song which as the name suggests, is about our leading lady. It does a lovely job establishing her character as a book-loving, intelligent young woman feeling that there was be more than this life ans village that she remains stuck in. It also establishes the village’s rather simple-mindedness and socital expectatons, finding Belle a beautiful but very strange girl because of her loving reading more than getting married. It also establishes Gaston’s smugness, entitlement, and holding the entire village’s admiration, The music is optimistic, but there’s a lot here that’s gonna take a dark turn a the film goes on. The reprise is short and more somber, but let’s Belle express her unwillignness to marry a man like Gaston, wanting to find love on her own terms. Little does she know what’s awating her right after.

Gaston: No one can have a song named after Gaston like Gaston! Yeah, this inspired plenty of meme’s, didn’t it? Even Disney itself has gotten in on the fun haha! But seriously, this is a fun villain song. I gotta give Gaston this, he’s a smug, horrible person but he shows that he can back up many of his boasts. I don’t doubt that he can eat dozens of eggs a day or is as strong as an ox. The song also further shows the town’s utter blind devotion to this brute, not being concerned about his entitlement to a girl who clearly isnt interest and more because of how handsome and grand he is. Isn’t society fun kids?! But then at the end, after Maurice is kicked out, it takes a darker turn as Gaston makes his plans to essentially blackmail Belle with her father’s safety... and right back to blind praise! I feel zero sympathy for any of the villagers in this film. But yeah, a song with a lot of dark implications, but still a very enjoyable villain song.

Be Our Guest: This is a true show-stopper, and I’m not just saying that. Lumiere wanted to create a show, and BOY did he succeed. The song is the most like a Broadway number in it’s composition and grand feeling. The fact that we have a huge number full fo singing, dancing, stuntwork, etc is being done by a bunch of dishes and pretty freakin’ impressive. Yet the animators gave it all so much life and Jerry Orback sings with so much passion and energy and it is just SO much fun to watch! Especially with poor Cogsworth at first trying to get everyone to calm down, but by the end he gets real into it... well until Lumiere knocks him to the side. The only negative is that for being a song about serving Belle dinner, aside form a bit of The Grey Stuff she didn’t even eat dinner. For shame! So 1 out fo 10 of food servive, but the show was worthy of two thumbs up!

Something More: This was the song that replaced Human Again. It’s a sweet song about Belle and Beast beginning to realize their feelings the more that they spend aroudn each other. Belle sees that Beast may not be very well-mannered or much of a looker, but he does have a good heart and the more they interact, the more it begins to show. Belle’s kindness, intellience, and willingness to look beyond the surface has Beast falling in love with her, yet his fear of being a monster is still holding him back. Still as we see the two do things like have dinner, play in the snow, or even Beast letting Belle read to him, the more we see that spark of love slowly grow, even if they haven’t fully grasped it. It helps advance the romance, and it’s just really sweet.

Beauty and the Beast: The song that won Menken and Ashman another Oscar. It’s not hard to see why either. The song is beautiful. It’s performed by Angela Lansbury, and her gentle vocals accompanies by the gentle orchestra is just lovely. The woman outright did the song in one take. One take. That is insane, yet it happened. And I can see why because the song is just beautiful. It adds to much to the already majestic ballroom scene, being about two unlikely individuals finding love and ultimately making the other a better person. It’s just a work of beauty. There’s also the pop version by Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson, which I also really love. It’s more commerical, but still very pretty especially with Celine’s gorgeous singing voice. Both versions are beautiful, and the first thing I think of when I think of this film... and no, not just beause of the name.

The Mob Song: This is exactly as you would expect with a song with that title. It’s dark, angry, and scary. Gaston rallies the troops to kill The Beast, convincing them that he is a danger to them all. They grab their torches, weapons, and there’s just this tense atmosphere throughout. This is the culminaiton of al the socital expectations and blind devotion to a person who doesn’t at all deserve it. It’s also a very accurate protrayal of the mob mentality, where you become a part of this hivemind following the rest of the crowd no matter how wrong it may be and despite your own senebilities. The only ones who don’t fall into it, Belle and Maurice, get tossed into a basement for their trouble. What makes this song sad though? In Disney+’s documentary Howard, produced by Don Hahn who also produced this film, it was explained how in the eyes of several of his colleagues, it seemed like Ashman was venting about the AIDS epidemic. That was a VERY dark time where the gay community was especially under fire, persecuted, hated, and so many other horrible things because the world chose to blame them for it. Ashman was a gay man. He had an ex partner die of AIDS, and had another partner at the time who talked about him in the documentary. Imagine being scapegoated just because of your sexuality, even though you never caused any harm, and society hated on you and others fell into he mob mentality, and they went as far as to either demand you to die or do the job themselves. All because you were different. Really adds a new perspecive to the song, doesn’t it? This can be applied to so many groups too, which makes the song even scarier, but also emphasize even more how dangerous the mob mentality is. Very effective song.

Sadly, Howard wouldn’t live to see all of his numbers to completion. With his health declining rapidly, Menken and various others went back and forth between Burbank and New York in order to work with him. Ashman worked until he psycially couldn’t anymore. He was even giving notes to performers like Paige O’Hara despite barely being able to talk. He managed to complete his work, at least to my knowledge, before his passing on March 14th, 1991, just a few months before the film’s release. After a screentest, which proved very successful, Don Hahn and some other colleagues went to see Ashman in the hospital to say their goodbyes. Hahn told him of the reception, and jokingly asked who would ahve expected that the film would have turned out so great? Ashman’s response? “I did.” The work he managed to do for Aladdin would be included in the film, which we’ll discuss when we get to that one. The soundtrack won the Oscar which was awarded to Ashman (as well as Menken) posthumously and a dedication to him was including at the end of the film. It’s always sad to see such a talented individual leave us far too soon, but his work truly brought new life to Disney and is beloved even all these years later. That is a legacy that will never fade.

Now we get to characters, and we have quite a good number of them. We have of course the village that Belle is from. On the surface, they seem like pretty plain people, satisfied with their way of life. But this also causes them to at least not think highly of those who break from that way of life. The men work, the women care for the children. If men don’t work, they’re jerk slobs. They all especially fall into blind admiration for the strong, handsome Gaston who is hailed as a local hero. So much so that no one gives ANY of his terrible actions an ounce of consideraiton. Selling Maurcie tot he looney bin? Well he’s alreafy viewed as crazy, so ah well. Belle trying to tell them that The Beast isn’t a monster? While their first imprression of him is defeniteley a bad one, the fact that they listen to Gaston and not the woman who actually interacted with The Beast says a lot about how simple minded they all are. I hope they learned their lesson after all was said and done, but even if not Belle doesn’t have to pay them any mind anyways.

The only person who is accepting of Belle is her father, Maurice. He’s viewed as a crackpot, but Maurice is a good-hearted, smart, and perfectly sensible man. He’s a bit of a goof with how his inventions can go haywire, but otherwise is no diferent from any other person. But like his daughter, his interests have him judged instead of what he’s like as a person. It’s especially sad when he tries to get help to save Belle, and he is merely laughed at and thrown out because of his status. Maurice is a loving father, accepting of Belle and of her interests and choices. She isn’t interested in Gaston? Fine with him. People view her as odd? That’s utterly ridiculous. It’s really nice to have a parent who is supportive and involved int heir kids life, especally compared to Triton last time who may be caring, but is utterly against everything that matters to Ariel. In fact it’s the firs ttime we’ve had this since Snow White and Cinderlla’s parents are dead and their stepmothers are horrible, Aurora grew up away from her otherwise caring parents, and Ariel... it’s complicated. Maurice is a good guy and it is good that Belle has someone who accepts her unconditionaly. She loves him so much that she sacrificed her happiness for him twice to protect him, which really shows how strong their bond is.

That brings us to our villain, Gaston. He is a hunter who is muscular, handsome, and has physical skills that he can back up. However he is also entitled, egotistical, sefish, and just a horrible person. He wants to marry Belle only because of her beauty and instead of trying to get to know her or shifitng atteniton to any of the girls who would gladly grovel before him, he pursues her despite her not liking him. It’s especially bad when he goes to her house, sets up a huge engagement party, and gets into her personal space in his attempts to charm her. She not only rejects him, but promptly humiliates him. Yet instead of thinking that he had tried far too hard and jumped the gun, he blames Belle for daring to reject him. He reflects exactly how society can view someone like him. No one thinks about the woman, they only see a good-looking man get rejected despite us not knowing anything about ther perosn or their relaitonship. Especially if that man is essentially a celebrity, which makes people look past anyhing.

But none of these things are indicitive of an evil perosn. An arrogant jerk yes, but not evil. That all changes when, after Maurice tries to get help, Gaston comes up with a new plan. He decides to have Maurice admitted to an asylum for being crazy, and to use this to force Belle to marry him. This is what shifts Gaston from a jerk to a true villain. This is how far his entitlement and selfishness goes. He is willing to take Belle’s own elderly father and use him and his freedom as blackmail to force her to marry him. Even compared to the four villainesses before him who committed horrible acts such as attempted murder, mental/emotional abuse, and even attempting world domination, this is utterly despicable. Then there's him deciding to kill The Beast. Despite what he says, it's not because of the potential risk to the town, it's solely because he sees that Belle loves him and can't stand it. He outright calls her crazy AND locks her and Maurice up out of pure entitlement and selfishness. He doesn't give a damn about Belle or her though and well-being. Only about his own.

Gaston is entertaining, but very much evil. As I said above he bears a lot of similarity to Brom Bones from Disney's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. A muscular jock-like figure often the most beautifiul girl in town. Only while Brom was a jerk, he was arguably less bad than Ichabod Crane depending how you looked at it. Gaston essentially has Brom's muscles an Ichabod's selfishness. He cares only for himself and his own pride. Admittedly he put up a decent fight against The Beast, but that's only because Beast wasn’t fighting back until he saw Belle. When he did, Gaston whimpered and begged like the pathetic man that he is. Then he stabbed him despite being spared out of pure spite. An act that cost him his life. Fun fact, originally he survived the fall and was truly killed via the wolves. They ended up saving that for Scar's death in The Lion King. But yeah, Gaston died in the undignifiedmanner that he deserved. A despicable but memorable villain who was perfect for this film.

Then we have the castle characters. You’d think that it would be difficult to give life to a bunch of furniture and appliances... and it probably was. But this movie makes it look easy. They do give most of them humanoid features, like eyes and a mouth, but not all of them and even then it would be so easy to make it look creepy. But the castle staff is just os much fun and beaming with personality. We’re gonna discuss the main four: Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, and Chip.

Lumiere is a candlestick, which matches his passionate characterization. He’s a showman. A romantic. A more daring, out-going character compared to his frequent frenemy Cogsworth. Cogsworth is a clock and I think he’s implied to be the Beast’s butler or some other kind of advisor. He’s stuffy, nervous, and the most lawful of the characters. Though he CAN get into the fun of things with a little provoking as demonstrated in Be Our Guest and the big battle during the climax. Hoenstly, Be Our Guest is a great number to demonstrate the two’s contrasitng perosnalities. Belle has been banned from eating and Cogsworth doens’t want to both break the Beast’s orders nor cause a bunch of noise that would anger him. Lumiere however? He’s dead set on getting Belle to fall for the Beast, so she should be treated as their guest, not a prisoner. Plus he and the other staff are tired after ten years of being stuck as they are and all alone, so cue the extravagant show number. Lumiere is having the time of his life while Cogsworth tries to convince everyone to stop... but by the end gets caught up in it and joins in ont he fun. Too bad that Lumiere knocks him off the center stage at the end haha. But yeah, their constant banter is amusing but they are clealry friends, especially in the fight where Cogsworth saves Lumiere. They’re both also performed wonderfully by their VA’s, Jerry Orbach and David Odgen Stiers, the latter of whom would appear in several more Disney films, including one for this series that we’ll get to fairly soon.

Mrs. Potts is a teapot and her son Chip is a tea cup. I guess that Chip ended up that way to match his mother, which her being a teapot matches her mothelry persona. She’s very kind and consoling towards Belle and seems the most understanding about The Beast and why he acts ike he does. Which since I think that she was essentially the house caretaker, makes sense since she’d have likely been the one looking out for him. Plus she herself is a mother, and since Beast has the emotion coping skills of a child, she’d know how to deal with it. Chip is the token child character, though not a bad one. He’s a nice kid with a huge curiosity. It’s really cute how hen allt he adults are seeing the bloomign romance between Belle and Beast, he’s uttelry confused like any kid would be haha! He takes a liking to Belle quickly, though more like he sees her as if she were an older sister than any kind fo crush or the like. He’s also smart, figuring out how to use Maurice’s inveniton to free Belle and Maurice quickly...and him wanitng to do it again got a good laugh out of me haha! Mrs. Potts is a nurturing mother and her with Chip is so sweet,e specially when they’re truly human again. Plus her advice of how things will turn out alright in the end is advice that I look back on sometimes. it’s really comforitng.

So... as I’ve mentioned in these reviews, a big issue is how underdeveloped that the prince has been. The first two were plot devices only. Phillip and Eric were better int hat they were active int he plot and Eric had some more perosnality and motivation than the other three did. But it just didn’t feel like the male elads were... quite at their full potential yet. They generally didn’t recieve any character development and were mainly there for the sake of being a lov einterest to the heroine. That all changed in this film with our hero, The Beast.

Beast is one of the most well-developed male leads in a Disney Princess film. A few like Aladdin, Naveen, and Eugene rival him for overall best (though tbf the former IS the lead of his movie so that may not count) but Beast helped make the princes more equal to their princess without overshadowing her. Beast is the co-protagonist to Belle and the character that recieves the bulk of the character development. The opening tells us all that we need to know: Beast was once Prince Adam, a spoiled brat. When he turned away an elderly begger, it turned out that she was an Enchantress and she cursed him into his monsturous form. Since he looks like a monster, he subsequently acts like a monster... or more accurately, like the child that he never truly grew out of emotionally. He’s angry, lashes out constantly, and roars at the top of his lungs when at his limit. Like how a child screams and throws a tantrum when things don’t go their way because they lack the social and emotional coping skills to handle their feelings properly. Becoming a beast left Beast isolated and ashamed to face reality, and thus he didn’t learnt he proper coping skills. He accepted that he would forever be a monster, and succumb to acting like one.

That is, until the day that Belle arrived. When she offers herself to free her father, it’s the opportunity that Beast never beleived that he would get. If he can win her love before the rose petals all fall, he’ll be human again. He’ll be free. While he begins still acitng agressive and even bordeirng on emotionally abusive, e isn’t heartless. When Belle is crying about not getting to say goodbye to her father, Beast seems to legit feel bad for hurting her. It doens’t change his behavior, but it’s still a small moment that shows some humanization. It’s important to add moments like this and his despair when using the mirror to hear Belle talk about him. She’s justified in disliking him at that point, but it’s his reactions that matter. It shows his insecurity, his fear, his utter despair that he’ll be cursed for the rest of eternity. He’s already succumbed to acting the part of a monster and is already struggling to act more polite. As amusing as the scene of him yelling at Belle through the door is, it demonstrates just how hard this is for him but if he can’t improve his behavior, then he has no chance. He knows it, and views it as hopeless. It helps humanize The Beast, showing that despite his appearance there IS a human soul in there somewhere. Someone who on some level does want to be better, but he doesn’t know how. If not for these moments, Beast would have been utterly unsympathetic, but they pulled it off.

The turning point comes after Beast rescues Belle from the wolves. Remember, he’d already pretty much given up on winning Belle over and being human again and the confrontation on the third floor certainly didn’t help matters. He could have just let Belle to her own devices... but instead he went to save her. I sincerely do not believe it was because she was a prisoner or because he needed her. He had given up. He had succumbed. But he did it anyways, showing that he isn’t a bad person. It’s something that Belle sees and she gets him back to the castle to treat him. She called him out on his temper, but is sincerely grateful and Beast is stunned by this genuine act of kindness. She didn’t fear him. She wasn’t disgusted by him. She didn’t even leave him to die despite having pretty good reason to leave him and go. Belle still chose to save his life as he did her’s, showing Beast probably the first true act of love that he ever experienced in his life. We know nothing of his family and while I’m sure that staff members like Ms. Potts certainly cared for him, clearly they didn’t do much to quell his spoiled behavior. Belle was kind because she’s a kind person, and Beast finds that he wants to be kind to her in return.

From that point, we see Beast in a new light. He calms down significantly. He’s happier. He carries himself less like a wild animal and more like a person. He’s outright excited when he prepares the library to surprise Belle with. He’s still awkward as shown with his table manners and interacting with birds durign Something There, but he is trying. He’s trying for Belle. He activly enjoys her company. He sees how beautiful she is physically, but that’s not why he likes her. She’s kind, intelligent, independant, and she makes him feel in a way that he never has. He still feels that she can’t love him because of what he is, but the change that she has caused is so evident. He’s fallen in love and the ballroom scene only strengthens that with himt he happiest that he’s been all film. But the crowner that truly demonstrates htis? When Belle expresses missing her father, he lets her use the mirror. Not only does he seem legit concerned when they see Maurice freezing to death but when he sees Belle’s clear distress, he decides to let her go. He’s sad when he does so, knowing that she may very well never return. But Belle’s father needs her. he can’t force her to say and be miserable. He loves her so much that he decided to let her go. But it does mean that he gav up his final chance at being human after feeling more human than he had in ten years, and he is left in despair.

His despair is so strong that when Gaston and the mob arrives, he doesn’t even try to fight back. He just waits and is prepared to let whatever happens to him happen. Fortunately Belle coming back restores his will to live and he fights back. When Gaston grovels for his life, what does Beast do? He grants it, simply growling at him to leave. It is that moment hat shows how much of a better person that Beast is compared to Gaston. He was an angry man bordering on abusive, but he changed. He met someone who wasn’t willing to take his behavior, but was also willing to see the good that was in him. He changed for her, and it made him a kinder, more selfless person. The only thing that remains is his self-loathing, even saying that maybe him dying is for the best after Gaston has stabbed him. Fortunately Belle confesses her love, and it not only saves his life, but breaks the curse just in time. Beast is restored to Adam, having earned the right to having his humanity back. It was a lovely way to cap off his development, and allowed him to earn his happily ever after.

Beast was very much Belle’s equal. Even nowadays they’re both promoted and marketed pretty equally. One’s story would have been incomplete without the other. They gave each other what they each wanted and needed. I’ll go into specifics for Belle when I get to her below, but in the Beast’s case he needed someone kind, but also independent. Someone who wouldn’t tolerate his behavior and push him to change himself, but still kind-hearted enough to see that there is something there and be willing to help. Belle treated him in a way that no one else had. She was defiant, but also caring. She pushed him to rediscover his humanity. She got him to want to be kind. She got him to want to be a better person, and he not only treated her better but he was kinder to his staff as well. He finally grew up from the spoiled brat that he was before. He had found a reason to, and his love was so genuine that he let Belle go to be with her father again. It’s a beautiful story of growth and did enough to make Beast’s issues clear and not excusable, but sympathetic enough that we wanted him to be better and feel happy when he does so. He’s the best developed male lead in a Disney Princess film up to this point and helped pave the way for equally well done male leads. Ones not there just to fill out a plot beat and be the princesses’ reward, but to stand at her side as her equal.

Boy did THAT one get long. there’s other minor characters. Le Fou, The Bimbettes, the psyche ward keeper voiced by the late, great Tony Jay, various other castle characters, etc. all of them are entertaining, I just don’t have much to say about them. So then... we have one more to go.

Belle Analysis

https://youtu.be/M4ne1A1aNrI

Belle is one of the most praised and beloved Disney Princesses of all time. She is smart, playful, independent, and kind-hearted. I feel like she gets overly praised at times, mainly because some like to use her to bash her four predecessors since she didn’t have the goal of falling in love. I won’t repeat what I said about the four, you can read the reviews, but it’s a VERY unfair argument not just to them, but to Belle as well. She’s used as a tool to bash other female characters instead of being loved for herself. Then agains he also gets bashed for the Stolkholm Syndrome argument, which we’ll get to that aspect here soon. But for now, let’s just discuss Belle piece by piece and see where the path leads us.

Belle’s intro establishes everything right off the bat. So much so that the intro sing is literally titled Belle. She’s bookish and cheerful, but it’s clear from her interactions witht he villagers and their own gossip that she’s seen as weird. The only people who seem to like her as she is is the bookshop owner and her own father. The women are jealous of her beauty, the men only see her for her beauty, and both sides are confused at her lack of conformity. Belle lives in a town that clearly has very old-fashioned views regarding gender roles. The men work, the women get married and have babies. They all seem content with this... except for Belle. She enjoys books and adventure, musing about wanting more than the provincial life that she has. She strolls through the village with her nose stuck in a book, but has no trouble navigating at all depsite the distraction. Books provide her a source of adventure and thrill that her limited life does not. She breaks those old-fashioned norms and he village is uttelry baffled at to how she can be this way. But what truly makes her a bafflement to everyone? Her utter rejection of Gaston. While just about every other women swoons at his feet, Belle couldn’t be less impressed if she tried. She’s familiar with how he is and if she had’t recieved his advances before their first scene, she’s probably seen it enough times to know that she doesn’t like him. Him dismisisng her passion for books and insulting her father did him no favors.

On the surface, Belle does’t seem bothered by these things. But when home, she does express some hurt about ti to her father, the one perosn who loves her for her unconditionally. She knows that she doesn’t fit in. She knows that she’s not happy with her life. She wants someone to understand her besides her father. She wants more to life where she can be herself. She wants to find love on her own terms and not have to deal with the advances of men like Gaston. None of this stops her form being able to handle herself, as demonstrated when Gaston goes to her house to force a proposal. She handles kicking him out with utter grace and her “I don’t deserve you” line is icing on the cake. But none of that changes how she feels. If anything, it enforces it. The village is all on Gaston’s side and at that point, her father has left for the science fair. He won’t be there forever, hence why she wants to find someone who will love her for her. To control her own destiny. To those who feel forced into their gender roles or being forced into a relationship that they don’t want whether by an agressive person or by peer pressure, Belle’s struggle is very relatable. Her independant spirit is also admirable as while she is dismayed with where she’s at, she still is able to smile and live her life as she wants. She’ defiant. She makes do with what she has and is able to handle what’s thrown at her with pure wit and ingenuity. Gaston nor anyone else can bring her down... at least, not until her wish for adventure ends up unexpectedly granted.

Before we progress forward, let’s pause to discuss Belle’s VA, Paige O’Hara. When Beauty and the Beast was beginning casting, O’Hara was already a rising Broadway actress and Disney happened to be seeking Broadway talent specifically. After several call-backs, she finally earned the part. She’s credited Howard Ashman as a huge help in guiding her to finding her voice as Belle, and she performs the role beautifully. She captures Belle’s independence yet playfulness very well, as well as her defiance and heartbreak in certain scenes. And her singing? Beautiful. Maybe not on par with Jodi Benson, but you can tell why she was a rising Broadway star. Today, O’Hara works mainly as a painter with Belle very much being one of her main muses. Sadly due to how much her voice has aged, she rarely plays Belle herself anymore, the role nowadays being primarialy done by VA Julie Nathanson. While she also does a lovely job at the part, O’Hara will always be the first to bring the character to life. Fortunteley she still shows a lot of love for the role and has attended multiple events and even got to reprise Belle at least one more time during Ralph Breaks the Internet. She had reprised Belle multiple times between various DTV films, TV appearances, and other events. So even if she is limited nowadays, her large body of work will live on forever.

Back to the film, Belle discovers that her father is in danger and ends up at the castle. We all know what happens at this point. Belle offers to take her dad’s place, Beast agrees, and Maurice is kicked out before Belle can so much as say goodbye. She’s distraught at this, and who can blame her? In a matter of hours, her life as she knew it was ripped away from her. Now instead of her old provincial life, she’s a prisoner in an enchanted castle ruled by an angry beast. Even when given the nicer room, she doesn’t feel that much better. She’s never going to get to see her father again or even know if he’s safely back home. She has no reason to believe that a rescue is coming. Some may say that she should try and get out, but isn’t she allowed this? To be upset and at a loss of what to do? It’s not like she just cries the whole time, she calms down enough to refuse to go to dinner despite the others insisting that she does. Even when Beast yells at her to do so, she refuses. She may be a prisoner, but she’s not going to play the victim. She’s going to be as she normally is; however she wants to be.

Soon, Belle’s able to calm down enough that she decides to go explore the castle. She is ultimateley a curious, adventurous spirit. Regardless of the circumstances, she can’t help but want to learn more about this new, strange place and these new figures that she’s encountered. You can tellt hat she’s warming up reatly during Be Our Guest where despite not actually getitng to eat anything, she is just havng far too much fun to care. It gets her spirits back up and now she can’t resist exploring more. Even if it risks The Beast’s wrath, one her curiosity has peaked, she can’t resist it. It’s a great strength, but also probably her biggest flaw. Despite having been told not to and knowing by now how Beast will react, she slips away from Cogsworth and Lumiere to go explore the West Wing. This ends with her seeing the trashed area, finding the Enchanted Rose, and getting yelled at by an enraged Beast. That is the last push needed to make Belle decide to escape.

So now that we’re at this point, we have to talk about one of the big topics that comes up when discussing this film: Stockholm Syndrome. To put it simply, Stockholm Syndrome is when the victim becomes emotionally attached to their aggressor and doesn’t want to leave them and tries to justify their actions. So when the vicitm is rescued, they may react negativly or even aggressively towards the rescuers in favor of the agressor. it’s a psychological response. This is actually a case where I was able to go to a professional to ask about it,: my own mother. My mom is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and currently works as a therapist. I’m fairly sure that she’s never treated anyone with Stockholm, but it is something that she knows of. I did ask her about if the film did glorify Stockholm Syndrome as some accuse it of. The gist of what she told me is... well, there’s enough in-film that either side can use it to prove their case. After all she DOES develop positive feelings towards Beast while a prisoner, so one can take the context and use it as an example, and same for the side who don’t agree. Ultimately Belle is a ficitonal character. We can’t sit her down and give her a psychoanalysis because she’s not real, and most of us doing these analysis’ aren’t therapists, psyologists, or mental health experts anyways. I’ll leave some sources below if you’d like further reading on the topic, but doing research isn’t the same as being a professional trained to go over these kinds of things. My mom said at most, Beast can be viewed as emotionally abusive, though it is because of his own trauma and he did ultimately improve to be a better person.

I fully agree that yes, if someone wants to make the arguent that the film promotes Stockholm Syndrome, they can. It’s their opinion, this came out in a diferent time than now where we take things like emotional abuse in cinema far more seriously, and in the end it’s a piece of fiction and people are free to view it however they wish. But the same also applies to me and in my opinion, no. Belle does NOT suffer from Stockholm Syndrome nor does the film glorify it. Now I am not an expert by any stretch of the imagination. This is strictly my opinion going off my understanding of it. I may be wrong and if that’s the case, I apologize. But from what I know and understand, the case in the film is not a straight forward situation like the various case studies in the real world. Plus I think we see enough of Belle being defiant and not feeling positivly towards Beast to see that she certainly hasn’t developed any psychological attachment towards him to cope with her situation. We’ll be seeing her feelings towards him change, but I’ll explain why I don’t feel that it counts down below. But again, I’m not an expert. This is just my understanding of it.

So... why the long tangent there? Well we’re now at the wolf attack scene. The turning point in the relationship. Belle’s effort to escape ends with her cornered by a pack of vicious wolves. Fortunateley, The Beast rescues her and drives the wolves away... but he is inured in the process and passes out. As I said in Beast’s character breakdown, he didn’t have to do it at that point since he’d given up, but he did so anyways. It showed that he isn’t a bad person. Something that Belle also saw. The Beast had been aggressive and rude to her throughout, and she had every good reason to continue on her way now that the path was clear. But Belle didn’t. She got Beast onto her horse and took him back to the castle, the closest shelter, to treat his wounds. Is this because she feels compelled to do so after forming a psychological dependency or attachment to him? No. We see as she treats his wounds that she still isn’t going to tolerate his temper and rudeness towards her. She stands up for herself and talks back at him until he calms down. She very much retains her independence. So then... why did she save him? Because Belle is a good-hearted person who just saw this seemingly hateful beast save her life when he didn’t have to. She isn’t the kind of person to leave an injured person to die. She did it out of kindness and gratitude as we see when she genuinely thanks Beast for saving her life. She’s seen a new side to him now, and it’s made her reconsider her earlier stance. Thus Belle remains at the castle.

The characteristics of Stockholm Syndrome include positive feelings towards the captor and belief of goodness in the captor, no real effort in escaping, learned helplessness, and feelings of pity to the captor. You can read the list and learn more here, and the link will also be with the sources. So you’re probably looking at that and going ‘...uuuggghhhh’ at the movie right now. Which fair enough. However let’s also look at where we are now. This is the part of the film where Beast makes an honest effort to improve himself. He’s nicer, trying to be more polite, and treats Belle as a person. She’s really not a prisoner anymore at this point and while mybe theposisbility of being human again is motivating Beast, for the most part I think it’s because he genuinely grows to like Belle. As for Belle, I think that she likes the castle. It’s enchanted and full of intrigue and mystery, just like in her books. It’s the escape form that provincial life in the village that she’s been longing for. It’s a temptation that she just can’t resist. The staff all like her and treat her kindly and no one tries to force her to be something that she isn’t. Beast especially loves Belle’s love of books, even giving her the huge library to repay her earlier kindness. Belle is able to be who she is and be around those who are accepting of her. Even fi for the staff it’s for ulterior motives, IDT that they’re faking liking having her around and Beast certainly isn’t. This isn’t really a straight-forward captive or abuse situaiton that Stockholm Syndrome would apply to in my opinion, especially since Belle never once succumbs to the Beast’s terms. She only respects and acts friendly with him when he does so towards her, and they are both clearly benefiting positivly from it. We know that Beast has no malicious intenitons regarding Belle and it’s Lumiere and co. insisting on the relaitonship happening moreso, and that’s because they want their humanity back so it adds a bit of complexity. It’s just not a straight forward case where we can easily apply Stockholm Syndrome to and get an accurate reading, at least in my opinion. She certainly is FAR from helpless.

So then let’s discuss Belle’s feelings for The Beast. We know how much Belle’s influence changed The Beast. But what about Belle? She really doens’t change during the movie, nor did she realy need to. She’s already confident about herself, likes herself, and she knows what she wants with her life. Sure her curiosity can get her into trouble, but otherwise she didn’t realy need a character arc like Beast did. What Belle needed was acceptance. To find someone who would like her for who she is and not see her as weird for it. Beast doesn’t at all view her that way. He enjoys being around her because she’s smart and independant and even gets her to read to him. It’s that kind of acceptance that Belle hasn’t recieved from anyone outside her father. The more that she sees Beast try to be better, the more that she sees how sweet and endeairng that he really is and she’s more than happy to help him. I think that seeing this kinder side bloom and that acceptance and even enjoyment of her is what makes Belle fall in love with him. It’s what helps make the ballroom scene so magical. Two people considered outsiders coming together and dancing the night way happily together. It’s beautiful, magical, and the perfect culminaiton in everything prior. They brought out the best in each other. Made each other happier in a way that no one else had ever done. They’re better now because of the other, and it’s just lovely to see.

But of course, we know what comes next. While happy with Beast and being at the castle, Belle still misses her father. When she sees him in the snow and horirbly sick, she’s distressed. Seing this, Beast allows he to go. Honestly I think that Belle could have left whenever she wanted at that point and Beast wouldn’thave fought it, but she was staying willingly at that point because she was happy. But her father needed her now. If she truly had Stockholm Syndorme, I don’t think that she would have done so. But she doesn’t really give it any kind of thought here. While sad to leave The Beast, she has alreayd mad eup her mind when told that she could go. She leaves to save her father, The Beast giving her the mirror and unbeknownst to her Chip tagging along. Belle fortunateley gets Maurice home safely... and just in time for Gaston to initiate his plan to have Maurice locked away. Belle is of course shocked and outraged and in a panic, uses the mirror to confirm The Beast’s existence. Despite her insistence that he isn’t a bad person, it’s too late. Gaston realizes that she’s in love with the ‘monster’ and we get the iconic line: “He’s no monster Gaston, you are.” Beast treated her like a person and improved himself from his more toxic behavior. Gaston treated her like the prey that he seeks during his hunts, refusing to let up until he’s won. Beast had even kept his word about letting Maurcie go and returned him to the village safely, and of course let Belle go to help him and even seemed to feel guilty for what he had done previously. Gaston though? He shows no guilt over trying to use Maurice to blackmail Belle. He continues his horrible behavior not only by forming the mob, but locking Belle and Maurice in their own cellar for simply speaking against it. Belle didn’t call Gaston a monster because she’s been conditioned or due to a coping reflex. It’s because Gaston is a genuinely despicable person while Beast grew to become a good person. She saw this and stood her ground as she always has, but this time at the point where she won’t tolerate it anymore. Which if it was your parent being shipped off to the insane asylum by some jerk just because they want to marry you, woudln’t you call them a monster in comparison?

So we reach the climax. Belle and Maurice arrive after Chip frees them with Belle rushing to get to Beast. She makes it and seeing her reignites Beast’s will to live... but he’s stabbed by Gaston. Belle saves Beast from falling over the roof, but there’s nothing that she can do to stop him from dying. She’s devestated, blaming herself for it. Beast’s final words to her are that at least he got to see Belle one last time, and if she hadn’t figured it out before, I think that this was when Belle realized that Beast loved her... and that she loved him. We knew that Beast certianly loved her but we needed it confirmed from Belle as the curse was still intact. As Beast lay motionless, Belle cries and at last confesses that yes, she does love him... just as the last rose petal falls. With that confession, the curse breaks and Beast is ressurected/becomes human again. Belle is shocked as she sees not The Beast standing before her, but Prince Adam. You can tell how confused she is. is this reallyt he same person that she loved? Adam confirms it and Belle looks into his eyes... and that’s all it takes for her to finally smile. yes, it is the same man that she had fallen in love with. They kiss,a nd the curse is truly broken. Everyone becomes human again,t he castle is restored to it’s original state, and Belle and Adam dance happily, free to live happily ever after.

Belle is a role model character. She’s there for girls to look up to, and I think that the amount of fans that she has proves that she succeeded. She encourages girls to be themselves. To be independant and not bend to social norms or pressure. To find love for themselves and not succumb tot he pressure of unwanted admirers or the pressure to marry them. Something that happens far too much in reality. She doesn’t change, but there was no reason for her to. As I said, Belle’s not one of my favorites. Not because I dislike her by any means. if anythign I like her much more now as an adult now that I have a stronger understanding of the film. I just have princesses that I like more, and that’s really it. I also don’t like how some insist that she’s the best Dsney Princess compared to her predecessors because as I hope I made clear in those reviews, the previous four pricnesses are NOT badly done. If anything, I think it’s more anti-femenist to use a woman to bash other women without just cause. Saying that belle is better because she didn’t fall in love witht he guy at first sight or didn’t sell her soul for a guy without caring to analyze those characters isn’t empowering, it’s saying that if you don’t act a certain way as a woman, you’re anti-feminist. Which is a terrible stance. No woman is the same and women shouldn’t be used against women in this kind of way. Regardless, that’s an issue with certain ‘critics’, not Belle herself. She’s a great character and someone that I can admire. Maybe not as much as others, but I can certainly see why she’s left such an impact on so many and not even just little girls. To many people of all kinds. Who could be upset about that?

Final Thoughts

Beauty and the Beast is a lovely film. Is it my favorite? No. I didn’t watch it all that much as a kid. As an adult I have a greater appreciation for it. It’s beautfully animated, it’s themes are well-protrayed and still relevant, the characters are memorable and fun, and it’s music is phenomenal. I can absoluteley see why this as the first animated film to ever be niminated for Best Picture. It’s a tragedy that it lost, but it still proved that animation very much had staying power as Walt proved all those years ago. And of course the film is the final testament of Howard Ashman. He may not have been part of the Disney Renaissance for long, but his contributions single-handedly changed the company and their films for the better. Even today this style of musical films is very much going strong even over 30 years since it began with The Little Mermaid. We lost Ashman far too soon, and who knows what amaizng things he could have one if he were still alive. We can never know the what ifs, but we can always appreciate what came during his lifetime. He, Kirk Wise, Gary Trousdale, Alan Menken, Don Hahn, various animators, and so many more did so much to bring this film to life, and it will forever stand as a true Disney Masterpiece.

The film was a giant success, and Disney wasn’t slowing down one bit. The very next year, another animated feature would come out. A film about a dashing street rat who found a magic lamp and unleashed a magical genie who would make all his dreams come true. But wait you may ask, isn’t this a Disney Princess retrospective? Yep. So why am I talking about a dashing hero? Well there is a princess in it, but she occupies a bit of a unique place in the line-up. She is the first and so far only Princess to not be the main charater in her film. But she still left a huge impact and i included in the main lineup so we are NOT leaving her out. So next time, come along as we enter a whole new world to discuss 1992’s Aladdin, and in particular Princess Jasmine.

Image Source: Animation Screencaps

Further Reading on Stockholm Syndrome: Healthline, Medical News Today, GoodTherapy, WebMD,

[writing-frenzy]

Airplane Crossing Over Plots~

Like it says on the tin, these were ideas I had for crossovers involving our fav writer~ (EDIT: Thank you @guiltycorp for inspiring this a bit XD)

Now, I’ve mentioned before, with Airplane choosing the go home option, he ends up still with a golden core in all this mess but he needs to cultivate his body really carefully because of it. (come on, he put in all the time and effort to be an immortal master, he should be able to still have his bad ass skills; not to mention with it being a soul thing, because a golden core is just as spiritual as it is physical, so he will definitely still have it.)

So, sealing his core and having his Nascent Soul outside his body to relieve some of the pressure on it, (having it look like a little chibi SQH that usually hangs out in hoodie pockets or hiding in Airplane’s hair with an aura of disguise around it), Airplane has to go and actually work out, which isn’t too much of a hardship for him at least, seeing as he’s had years to get into a routine and survival instincts kicking in to help him out there.

And, he may have actually started taking school seriously again, actually applying himself, maybe even getting an online accounting job to help supply his income. When he’s steady with that, he finishes PIDW the way he had been leading up to, the ending that makes the most sense and satisfices the writer the most (and if it gives him some closure, he isn’t saying anything about that.) Now that he is finally free from PIDW, and has college and work to worry about, he writes whenever he damn well pleases, and whatever he wants to fuck what anyone says.

(He might or might not write some absolutely filthy porn whenever the mood hits him, and cackles how his fans both greedily read it and cry because his newer works are so tragic, even if they have happy endings at times. Yes, Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky is a porn writer, but first and foremost is he an angst writer more~ His fan’s tears and cries just make him stronger kind of writer~)

(I just honestly want Airplane to write what he wants to now, that is one of the biggest motives behind all this honestly)

So, we have the set up :D let’s get to what we can cross over here~

First Up: ~Cutivation Group Chat~

Come on, how can one resist this? Plopping good old Airplane into this wild ride is one of the few things that makes me so happy in life. The thought of it makes me grin, especially since it can go two ways in my opinion~

First way: Airplane replaces Song Shuhang; like, just seeing Airplane, who was an Immortal Master and Teacher in those situations would be so funny, yet intriguing as well to see how he handles it, because you know he’ll be able to, just in ways no one ever expects. (Besides, that werid luck of Shuhang’s would be perfect for him, tho he won’t seek death like the other would~ :D Airplane still has a lovely sense of self-preservation~)

Second way: Airplane is one of Song Shuhang’s roommates. (for this, I’m going to say their Dorm was big enough for five peeps, because I want Airplane to have more friends damn-it.) Just... the imagery of the two neutral disasters getting into so much mayhem and hijinxs together, giving Song Shuhang not only a friend/brother in arms he can always depend and rely on, but also a steady source for learning and cultivation as well :D

(Also, Airplane and Gou Moumou being writer friends, the two of them able to bounce ideas on to each other (oh god, now you have inspired me, how dare you make me write this./hahahaha, you know you want too/ bitch turnabout is fair play/ ah fuck.) also: just the image of Airplane meeting Senior White and being completely unaffected because not only is his survival instincts going in overdrive, but also:

Airplane: ? He’s not my type.

Everyone: *jaws dropped*

:D Anyways~

Second Idea: Card Room (Rebirth)

Now First, for those who don’t know Card Room (Rebirth), this is an action/survival/mystery thriller BL Unlimited Flow type of novel; it follows one Xiao Lou, a medical professor who specializes with examining the dead, and his journeys through multiple rooms after having died in reality, the difficulty of each of these rooms measured with Playing Cards from 2 to K and with different types of rooms being sorted by their suits of Hearts (Mystery), Diamonds (Puzzle), Spade (Survival), Club (Luck/Money). The Goal of the story is to beat all the rooms and return back to the world of the living once more. To aid in this, people can get special cards to help them fight/ take care of their health/ or even just daily life essentials to be able to actually get through places. 

So... this means after getting all used to living once more and getting into his grove in the modern world... Airplane unfortunately kicks the bucket, yet again! Thing is, this time it happened after he played a card game with some of his roommates, I’m going to say poker, and they were betting who would do what chores. Aiplane managed to make out pretty well, and was pleased with it, so was very much bummed when he ended up dying yet again.  He goes through the room, some by the skin of his teeth, but with his cultivation abilities still usable (can’t stop something on a soul level here) he gets by okay. Though, all his cards either deal with writing, supplies, and the rare cultivation one at times.

He gets by at least.

Now, because this series gives me some emotions, here is one thing I will say: Airplane and Liu Ying end up partnering up and break through together, because damn it, Liu Qiao and her sis deserve some damn happiness ;-; Maybe Airplane and Liu Ying meet by chance, Airplane impressed by the young woman’s intelligence and Liu Ying can in turn be grateful for Airplane’s resourcefulness. Maybe even include the original girl that Liu Ying teamed up with, So we have three people already in your team to survive! (because surviving the rooms 2-4 is already damn amazing considering how hellish they get :D ) 

This is a fun crossover for me to imagine honestly, because it would be perfect to showcase Airplane’s skills in logic, reasoning, and pure survival our boy is known for; let that resourceful and logistic riddled mind out to play as he fights to get the fuck out of this world, even if The City of the Moon is beautiful and all.

:D So, those were the ideas I would like to really see, but here is some more for anyone curious:

Honorable Mentions: These are ones I would love to see Airplane accidently going into, and just going yikes, or nope! or even ‘Really?’

Lord of End of World:

... This story, it concerns me greatly; I like the worldbuilding, even has a few really cool girls in it, and I find the protagonist rather curious (to an extent, blackened Gary Stu that he is...) but does it make me cringe at times with the underage theme to it; it’s part of their cultivation and all, but god damn does the way this story push some of it really sqink me out, I had to drop it because it made me so uncomfortable, so just a heads up there. this is one of those stories that makes me want to write spite fiction, but also make me cringe at the thought of remembering it at times.

Anyways, so, how it boils down to it is that this poor guy, known as the Young Master of the Unground Palace, was abused in all the ways one can practically be abused, just so their Master can get stronger themselves by forming the perfect cauldron to absorb, but who manages to kill their master only to die as well. He ends up transmigrating into Gong Lixin, a 16 year old wealthy young master about a year (I believe) before the apocalypse happens... (Like I said, I have so many damn issues with this damn story, I cry.)

Just, on one hand, imagining Airplane in this world also makes me laugh (and maybe hope), because maybe here Gong Lixin could actually learn a cultivation style thats not only suited to him, but also doesn’t need him to dual cultivate all the time and rely on cauldrons (maybe get some needed therapy as well, Airplane knows some peeps; I can dream~), he can have a stable, reliable teacher here who will have no lust or attraction to him, Airplane helping the kid out at first because they look like they’re recovered from a really bad Qi-Devitation and the teacher in him can’t leave that alone. Airplane can also relate with the youth about transmigrating, maybe even telling him about his own time with that. (And Airplane can use his own cultivation to smack around any bitch looking sideways at his student, because fuck that shit, he is only seventeen and traumatized.) Just, turning this story into a cute mentor and discipleship and emotional healing would make me so happy.

Monster Inn Rectification Report

So, this is another Transmigration story~ MC transmigrates as a poor canon fodder son, who would have ended up in a vegetable state after being neglected in favor of the super amazing awesome adopted son. He then goes on to accidently inheriting a supernatural end for Monsters~

Like, this idea makes me grin evilly; though things will change up a bit, since both of Airplane’s parents have already split up and have their own families? Just, the Former An Ding Peak Lord running an Inn? :D Building it from ground up from bascially nothing? :D Oh, man, this man has run worse things, and even a Demon Kingdom, he got you~

Supernatural Movie Actor App

Its a BL about a guy with a split personality who does realistic (as in for real) horror movies through an app, to get his wish to come true.

This actually goes really good with my idea of Airplane wanting to be an actor and all, only to have his dreams crushed :D He doesn’t at first realize what he is getting into when he gets the app, thinking it might be a chance for him to still be able to do his dream, only, surprise, surprise, he ends up entering a real life Horror movie environment~ I’m really curious about what he would dream about~

I Have Medicine

:D Airplane and Gu Zuo interactions make me smile~ these two would be so fun, seeing them bounce off each other would be a treat.

So What if You’re Reborn

.... hahahahahaha, oh, the chaos that could be unleashed in this timeline would be glorious~

Running Away From the Hero

:)

[missn11]

Clara Fromm the Ventrue clan problem solver https://www.deviantart.com/nk11/art/Clara-Fromm-the-Ventrue-clan-problem-solver-860059646?ga_submit_new=10%3A1604368434

Clara Fromm was a secretary of Diederich Burgstaller a notable Ventrue in Berlin during the early 1930s. She was embraced by Diederich in 1932 when she had shown to be extremely good at solving her boss' problems with her charm, intelligence and wits especially when it came to the small issues between clanmates. Though her agoge had to be put on hold when the Nazis began to fully take power in Germany, Clara and her sire fled to America. Upon arriving in New York, Clara was able to quickly establish herself once again a solver for minor problems among the Ventrue, after all if she could help deal with their petty issues then they could focus on the bigger ones, namely the Sabbat! After many decades worth of service, Clara had begun to grow weary of how the Camarilla were running things, feeling that they weren't flexible enough and that was causing more and more young Kindred to go over to the Anarchs. She mistakenly voiced those thoughts in Elysium one night and the next thing she knows, she's being ordered by the Camarilla to assist Sebastian LaCroix with the retaking of Los Angles. Well Clara took it on the chin and thought perhaps this was her chance to prove her point, if Prince LaCroix could provide a less restricted Camarilla rule the Anarchs could eventually be won over and it would be a lesson to the rest of the Princes in the other cites. However, even if LaCroix was the sort of Prince, Clara had hoped he would be, the Primogen (not Grout or Gary Golden, he had his own problems with LaCroix) brought along with him were too set in the old ways of the Camarilla proved to be a problem to the Camarilla rule in LA. And if LaCroix had wanted to keep his position he had to play ball with them even though it wasn't all helping in the take over of LA, not to mention the Sabbat and the Kuei-jin had provided a large issue as well... So Clara here is going to be a side character in a fic I'm hopefully soon going to write of Gloria's journey throughout the plot of VTMB, Clara will be a bit of a mentor to Gloria, trying to stir her in the right direction but we know that's not going to go as planned. 😉