#essential need for timmy fans

[sugargrinds]

MY STUFF FROM @timdrakeflipzine JUST ARRIVED !!! YIPEEE 😭😭 THEYRE SO BEAUTIFUL!!!! (PSTT.. THE LEFTOVER SALES ARE OPEN!!)

🦆 PHYSICAL MERCHS & DIGITAL MERCHS

[misteria247]

So I'm going to ramble a bit cuz I've been noticing that there's a lot of split opinions on Timmy Turner that rage from people adoring him flaws and all to people thinking that he's a little shit. So I decided to throw in my thoughts cuz it's been awhile since I've analyzed a character and I've got some thoughts fam lol. Please don't take this personally cuz this is just my opinion.

I think one of the main reasons why Timmy gets such a mixed reaction from fans is because a lot of his actual story is played like a sitcom. It's not placed in a more serious way, though there are moments where it is, it's quickly glossed over. If you take away the sitcom setting and the attempts of comedy and whatnot you actually get a rather horrible reality for this 10 year old boy. And with it suddenly a lot of his actions and attitude makes a lot more sense.

Timmy when introduced is a 10 year old. He's a child but he's also old enough to know the basics of right and wrong. Much like any kid. He gets his fairy godparents, Cosmo and Wanda because he was deemed to be a child in need of help. This whole scenario is played for laughs and whatnot but like, Timmy's life is actually horrid. He's abused by his babysitter, is tormented by school bullies, is essentially harassed by his teacher and is neglected by his own parents. This is his every day life, from the moment he was old enough to understand this was what he was exposed to and forced to accept. In a way Timmy was forced to grow up a bit faster because of it but not to a point where he completely lost the magic of childhood. When you think about this in a more serious way, things start to click together more.

Timmy's behavior when he gets snappy or creates mischief is a way to get attention from his parents. It's not a good kind but it's something. Or when he acts cold and selfishly, while it could be chalked up to being a kid, I could also argue that he might have actually learned it. Cause who else in his life puts their wants and desires before others? Who else doesn't think about the consequences of their actions and how it'd effect others? Who else ignores other people's thoughts and feelings when it comes to things?

His parents.

Timmy's parents do this shit constantly. From leaving him with abusive babysitters, to not really interacting with him, to making jabs about how their dreams died when he was born to a bunch of other shitty things. They forget to feed him and always criticize him, they're always jumping at the chance to essentially get away from him. All these things are things Timmy's witnessed and has been on the receiving end of for a decade. And never once does his parents really suffer any consequences. It's a known fact that children watch their parents and absorb information from it. Timmy's behaviors can very well be behaviors he unintentionally learned from them. Which is so sad because whenever Timmy's not acting like this, it's quite clear that he's actually incredibly different.

It becomes clear that Timmy's actually incredibly kind.

There's so many moments where he shows his kindness. From lending Cosmo and Wanda to Tootie, to helping fairies in Fairy World to literally giving his fairies the baby they always wanted to saving the whole world several times with little hesitation. Timmy at his core is a kind boy, but due to his home life and its constant reminders of the people in his life not wanting him. (Hell there was a whole ass episode about the world being better if he hadn't been born, like can you imagine that, it's fucking awful-). So in a way Timmy hides that kindness and rarely shows it because of these things.

Which is why Cosmo and Wanda and eventually Peri are so fucking important.

Cosmo and Wanda from the very beginning where different from everyone else. These fairies while granting some reckless and dangerous wishes, have always had Timmy's best interests in mind. Cosmo and Wanda are the positive influences that Timmy desperately needs, the adults that he actually needs to help encourage and push him towards the right direction. Cosmo and Wanda are always in Timmy's corner, even when he's made a mistake, and are always there to catch him and remind him that he's loved and wanted. In one episode where Timmy sneaks into his godparents castle, at the end when they're putting the picture of Maryann back into the hall of infamy, Timmy's first reaction is to apologize and believe that because he'd made this one mistake that he'd end up there with the other bad kids. Only to immediately be told no, baffling Wanda and Cosmo with the very idea of it.

It's things like this that help Timmy grow and feel comfortable with making mistakes. Cuz what he thought isn't exactly a normal thing. They help Timmy in so many ways and grow to love him as their very own cuz when Timmy allows himself to be well himself he's a rather endearing kid. It's no surprise they get so attached.

There's a lot of other things that I've got in my noggin but I just wanted to say these things for the time being. Maybe I'll update on this later lol.

[mrs-johansson]

Strangers in the night - Scarlett Johansson x Fem!Reader

Part 20:

“Today we are joined by an amazing actress, director, and screenwriter. You’ve seen her in films like Red Sparrow, Lady Bird, and the Divergent trilogy. Please welcome, Y/n Cole,” called out James Corden and I walked out from the back.

I sat on the sofa and before we started he introduced the other guest. Ellen fucking Pompeo. “Oh my god hi,” I stood up and Ellen spread her arms with a wide smile. “Hi!” She said and we hugged. “I am fangirling, so sorry,” we all sat down. “I’m guessing you’re a Grey’s Anatomy fan, Y/n,” started James. “Are you kidding? I live and breathe by Grey’s Anatomy,” I said and the crowd laughed along with Ellen. “It’s season 15 now, who is your favorite character at the moment?” “Ugh… I looove Meredith,” I glanced at Ellen and she smiled. “I truly think since Derek died, she’s a better character in general. I love Jo, oh Amelia, she’s the best. Alex is one of my favorites too, along with Bailey. I can’t choose!” I sighed and shook my head. “Do you watch the show often?” Asked James. “Oh yeah. Very often. Actually, I made my girlfriend watch it with me, so we started at the beginning,” I said, already nervous about what was coming now that I mentioned Scarlett. James saw the opportunity and with a smile, he started talking. “Now that you’ve mentioned, you just went public with your girlfriend who’s none other than Scarlett Johansson,” he said and the crowd erupted in cheers and I just shyly smiled. “I was genuinely surprised when I saw your post. I haven’t heard any rumors or that kind of talk around the two of you,” he said. “That was a struggle, believe me,” I chuckled, and then so did the crowd. “We did our very best to lay low at all times. And we just shot Jojo Rabbit so it was very important for us not to look like we’re just trying to promote the movie, so we just laid low for a while now.” “But you’re happy?” Asked James and I smiled very widely just knowing how happy I actually am. “I can’t even describe how happy I am. It just feels… right,” I explained even though I could barely put my feelings into words.

***

“Please water them Scar, they're gonna die if you don’t,” I basically whined as she helped me move my suitcases into the car outside. “I will water your plants every day,” she let the suitcase over to my driver who put it in the truck. “Thank you,” I said and he sat behind the wheel. “Have fun and text me when you can. I’ll bring Rose when I can,” Scarlett took my hands. Smiling cutely. “I will. I’ll miss you but it’s gonna be fun when I come home,” I smiled and she nodded. “It sure will.” “Okay, I need to leave. I love you,” I gave her a long kiss before pulling her in a hug. “I love you too.”

I got into the car and we made our way to the airport where I got on the plane and took off to Massachusetts.

On the plane I’ve read the script multiple times, memorizing my bigger parts.

When I touched down I checked into the hotel and because we have a tight schedule, the table read was just 2 hours after my landing.

Getting all my essentials for the rest of the day and I was at the office in no time.

I don’t think I’ve ever been so comfortable going into a new project. I’ve worked with the director before, I’ll have Flo there and Timmy, and the only thing I was nervous about is Meryl Streep. I don’t think I need to explain that.

I walked into the room and I spotted Florence right away, who was speaking to Emma Watson and Eliza Scanlen. There was Greta Gerwig at the front table talking with probably the producers. I didn’t see Timothée anywhere so I quickly texted him but then I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder. I turned around and I was faced with the icon herself, Meryl Streep. “I didn’t mean to scare you, sorry. I just wanted to say hi, before we start,” she said and I was just standing there, my mouth dry. The next thing I know something just hit me in the back. Like a crumpled piece of paper. Quickly cleaned my throat and answered. “Sorry,” I chuckled. “It’s so nice to meet you. I’m such a big fan of yours, but I’m sure you get this from everyone,” I mumbled, trying to not faint. “Oh well, it’s not the same from everyone, so thank you. But, I must say I’m also a fan of your work. Red Sparrow was amazing,” said MERYL STREEP. I can’t wait to tell my dad about this. “Wow, uhm… thank you so much. It means a lot,” I smiled and with a hand on my shoulder once again she stepped away and went over to Greta. Timmy literally jumped to my side and I’m sure he heard everything because he had a big smile on his face, his eyebrows almost meeting with his hairline from the excitement. “That was siiick,” he whisper-yelled and shook me by the shoulders. “I just can’t believe that happened,” I said. I spoke with everyone a little, and I was really excited about this movie.

After we all got our seats, Greta spoke a few words and we started.

We had such a great time. Everyone was laughing and when something emotional happened we all paid attention to those who were in the scene.

Around 8 pm we finished and it was amazing. We all had great chemistry with each other so I think this is gonna work out really well.

“Do you guys want to go have dinner? I know a great place,” I suggested and most of them accepted the invite.

Timothée, Florence and I got into one car and Emma, Eliza, James and Laura into the other one. Laura needed a little convincing to tag along because she said “I’m too old to go with all of you”, but she’s way too cool not to come with us.

We all fell into conversation pretty quickly as we got to the restaurant. Everyone was talking to someone and I think everyone felt comfortable with one another. “So you get to experience both Noah and Greta’s directing methods, that must be interesting,” I said to Laura who was sitting next to me. “Yeah, it’s so fun. Both of them are so different but I’m sure they’ll have some similarities.” “You guys shot the whole of Marriage Story on film, right?” “Yes, but I’m sure Scarlett told you all about it,” she smiled cheekily. I smiled shyly and nodded. “She did, yeah. I love the story so much, it’s just so full of love and your character just seems so fun and cool,” I said. “It is an amazing story. Noah did such a great job with the script. But let’s not talk about work in off time too, I could barely get Scarlett away from her phone while working,” she bumped her shoulder to mine and I just smiled. “I uhm… we talked a lot that time yeah,” I said and Laura smiled knowingly. “Ah well her smile was different. She was happy and glowing. I think you surprised everyone, but I could tell it’s genuine. I’m glad you have each other.”

***

“Hello?” Heard the voice over the phone. “Scarlett? Baby, hi,” I mumbled as I saw her beautiful face on the screen. “Okay, you’re drunk. First day went well then,” she chuckled adorably. “It was so fun! Oh my God, Meryl Streep is amazing. She said Red Sparrow was amazing. Funny because I’m naked in that one,” I said while taking my dress off, but I accidentally stumbled onto the couch. “Careful there.” “I’m fine,” I threw the dress on the floor and made my way to the bed. “Take off your makeup before you go to bed, baby,” said Scarlett over the phone. “I don’t want to though,” I whined as I sat on the fluffy bed. “You’ll thank me tomorrow.” “Fine,” I sighed and moved to the bathroom. “How was your day?” I mumbled as I fidgeted with my skincare bag. “It was good. We had some reshoots for Endgame so it was fun,” she said. “Oh don’t tell me any spoilers or I’m gonna cry,” I started to take my makeup off. “I won’t, I won’t. I think you’re gonna like it though.” “Yeah? I’m sure you’ll look hot in it so I’m not worried,” I smirked at the screen and she just laughed. “I’ve never seen you this drunk before, how much did you have?” “Just a couple glasses to be honest,” I shrugged. “Aha, I’m not so sure about that.” “I’m telling you, it wasn’t a lot.” “If I text Laura, are you sure she’s gonna say the same thing?” I glanced down at the phone and a smile pulled on my lips. “No.” “Yeah, that’s what I thought, but I’m glad you’re already having fun. I’m sure it’s gonna be a great shoot.” “Oh my god, yeeees. I love everyone so much,” I threw the makeup wipes in the trash and rinsed my face with cold water before going back to the bedroom. “Take a painkiller in case this all goes to hell. And drink a lot of water.” “I’ve been drunk before, I know how this works Mom,” I chuckled. “I just want to make sure you’re okay, baby.” “I know, I know. Thank you for that,” I blew a kiss towards the screen. “Always. What’s the plan tomorrow?” She asked. As I could see, she was just lying in bed with glasses and a big sweatshirt on. The TV reflected from her glasses making it a bit difficult to see her eyes. “Rehearsals for the next week and just after that we start shooting. But I can’t waaaait, I’m so excited for this one. I just know that it’s gonna be so so good and fun,” I laid down in bed and pulled the covers up to my chin. “I’m excited for you and to see it. Have you done a period movie yet, I don’t think so, right?” “Not this old, no. The latest was the Gatsby I think,” I yawned while trying hard to focus on the conversation. “You should go to bed, Y/n,” Scarlett said as she got up from her bed. “I really should but I love talking to my girlfriend, she’s kinda fun you know,” I rolled over to my stomach, trying to get comfortable. “Yeah? Well, your girlfriend is not going anywhere so you can speak to her whenever you’re free.” “I know,” I said slowly, just looking at the screen and admiring how amazing she was. “I love you,” I said, still feeling the booze. “I love you too, you drunk. Go to bed, honey. Text me when you wake up, okay?” She said softly with the cutest smile on her face. “I will. I love you.” “I love you too, sleep well.” “You too.”

***

All the cast members filled up the room as we were waiting for Greta. Florence on my right side and Timothée on the left. Sunglasses on both of their faces, sliding off their chairs, heads tilted back. “How are you not dead?” Murmured Timmy as he pulled the hood of his sweater over his head. “I have an amazing girlfriend who takes care of me. And you crazy people just downed every glass you found on the table,” I gave him a bottle of water. “Thanks.”

“Alright everybody, I hope you had a good night's sleep. Today is like to go through some of the bigger monologues so we can work on those if it’s necessary,” Greta explained and as I looked at my friends, I quietly chuckled. “Today’s gonna be fun.”

[destinyc1020]

I gotta disagree, The competition for Wonka was not high at all when you factor in who the audience is (mostly kids). The only competition it has is Migration (I know you mentioned Wish, but that had an earlier release and kids aren't going to see the Color Purple and Aquaman too is a bit too mature for younger audiences) which is also doing fairly well. December is not a difficult month to succeed in at all - kids are off of school, which means that the potential for kids movies in particular to break out is sky high. Throw in Paul King and the holiday theme, and it making money shouldn't be a surprise.

Also, I just don't buy that any young actor is a significant draw without an IP. Unpopular opinion maybe, but I think Zendaya is the closest to being a legitimate draw WITHOUT an IP. We've already seen her success with Euphoria, which is an original(ish, since it was adapted but from a very unknown show) property. Things like Wonka and Uncharted are good vehicles to use as claims that actors like Timothee and Tom are box office draws, but those are characters and properties that already had fanbases.

It's interesting that Tom essentially was the first of his generation to reach that box office milestone (and tbh it was impressive, because fans and critics were against that film but it still succeeded despite that - in context that is a pretty large indicator that he marketed it so well that people came for him), but you have analysts now forgetting that accomplishment or minimizing it. The same will happen with Timmy once his movies are released and there's a gap in between his released projects, and someone else will pop up to get the hype. I feel like people just want there to be 'one' actor who is 'the' box office draw of their generation, but the truth is that there will be several, because it would be so boring with just one! I bet Paul Mescal will have a similar moment with Gladiator, which might be a similar thing with an IP getting him some good momentum. Austin I don't doubt will find the same. Hoping a POC actor gets to because it is honestly so frustrating that the leading actors right now are white for such a young generation.

But yeah this might be an unpopular opinion but it's very interesting to me how these studios and actor's agents are putting them in IP films to boost their box office cred, but put them in an original project and how much money will they bring in? It's depressing in a way bc studios are leaning away from original projects because they make less money, but original projects are so much more interesting at times. That being said, I know TDATT and TCR pulled great streaming numbers but it's hard to get a box office equivalent. That's why I'm so excited for Zendaya and I really hope Challengers does well, because that will make a really unique accomplishment that none of her peers have gotten to yet - her being a draw in both IP and original properties. I don't want to speak too soon but I really feel like especially seeing Sydney's movie having success, Challengers could be huge for its genre for Z.

Whew girl...this was a LOT!

Anyway.... I'll try not to be too lengthy in my response... But here it goes... I know it's a kid's movie, but I think we need to also realize that NOT all kid's movies do well at the box office lol. 😅 I think people forget that. Especially if it doesn't have the studio DISNEY attached to it. Let's be real. Yea, "Wish" came out earlier, but it was still out around the same time that "Wonka" came out, and also "Migration". People had OPTIONS. Parents didn't HAVE to take their children to see "Wonka". Yea, it's a kid's movie, but parents still gotta wanna be interested too lol. 😅

RE: Zendaya... Zendaya has been in IP films before (i.e. Spider-Man), but "Challengers" will be the FIRST film where she's playing a LEAD role, and the film has nothing to do with a popular IP (or sequel). So, I'm really excited about how it's going to do! 😃 I honestly think the film will do better than most people expect? Given how well Sydney and Glen's rom-com is doing, I think Zendaya's film will be a good box office draw as well. Zendaya is SUPER huge and popular. Like, I think it's good to take that into consideration as well. She's a bigger name than most of the other actors you have mentioned in your post.

Some people have films do well box-office wise simply because they're SOOOO famous and everyone loves them to death, so people will support whatever they do. There's nothing wrong with that either! I'm actually more impressed with those who can be a box office draw even despite not being hugely famous or popular, but simply because the film was a GOOD and well-made film, and people just liked the actor in the role, even if they don't really know them all that well. To me, those successes are really like, wow.... Okay... You're really doing something here.

Lastly...... Look, I know some of you all hate Timmy in here, but I don't think we need to UNDERmine the success of the "Wonka" movie y'all lol.... 😅 It's doing really well! I don't see anything wrong with that.... It was always going to be a film that came out around Christmas.🤷🏾‍♀️

[komajordan]

Fan-Director’s Cut #1 Nickelodeon All Star Brawl 2

Welcome here at PBM where I have a new series to help revitalize my activeness. Don’t worry my reviews aren’t going away this is just something new. Here at Fan-Director’s Cut I will try to either reworking pre-established titles in media or in this case making a sequel and figuring out how to expand upon it. Today we have Nickelodeon All Star Brawl a game which attempted to be another Smash-style platform fighter but once again I have to mention fell short with only a few pieces of post launch content.

Today this cut will be broken down to 2 categories since I’ve seen what other people said on the game and that’s pretty much the main problems people have.

1.Gameplay

2.Roster

Gameplay:

The mechanics being Smash-inspired should follow more into their footsteps. The most essential things we should add are a Side-Special and Final Specials. The Side Specials need to be added as those have been a Smash stable since Melee on the GameCube. And Final Specials are heavily associated with fighting games at this point that we need to add it for the sequel.

Cosmetics really need an overhaul. Every character only had one costume and an additional one post-launch. So I don’t care if it gets added later but at least 2 more costumes would at least make fighting dittos less confusing.

The modes would be Arcade Mode but the main difference I would have is that the beginning and end would have pictures and text of the character your playing as and what their purpose fighting is to show off the character’s backstories personalities a bit more.And speaking of that, can we have the dialogue exchanges actually make sense because pretty much every exchange involved an iconic quote that has nothing to do with the fight or the character their fighting and yeah we can do better.

Online Mode could honestly be the same not that much comes up in terms of problems besides glitches or mechanics that could be patched.

But I want to appeal more to the casual market more since hey this is a kids game we need some more casual content so I would add challenges centered around characters kinda like Smash 4 or Nick Kart Racers 3 with references or setups relating to the characters something as simple as defeat Shredder as Leonardo to something really obscure like Battle of the Dad’s between Nigel or Hugh something silly like that. That’s all I want to cover

Roster:

So this section is more inspired by Thorgi’s Arcade’s Build The Roster series and like with that series I want to be realistic with my options here. So the last game only had 22 characters and 3 post launch characters making that 25 so I think we should definitely go higher especially since other platform fighters like Multiversus are getting pretty close to reaching us. So I think the best solution to how many we should add is to look at GameMill’s other rosters in the Nick Kart Racers series. The first game had 12 characters, the second game had 30 characters, and the 3rd had 42 characters discounted the 2 DLC characters. So we increased by 18 and 12 which averages out to 15 so for this roster we will have 37 Characters. And there’s no need to cut anyone since everyone has a purpose being there like SpongeBob and Jenny where their fan favorites or characters like April or Oblina where they have their own fanbase to them or are liked by the competitive seen. So before we get into the actual roster I have to discuss what characters I couldn’t add due to copyright or whatever the case these characters can’t be added.

Honorable Mentions:

-Timmy Turner, Doug, and Henry & June(Kablam)- I get these characters are have a legacy with Nickelodeon and do have people who want them in but the problem these characters face is Disney. Yeah even Timmy being owned by Nirvana for seasons 1-5 of Fairly Odd Parents around the world so I’m sorry but they’re out and believe me none of this was biased.

Any of the Rugrats or Nick Jr. Characters- The main problem stems from how Nickelodeon probably won’t want to put preschool characters or toddler characters into a fighting game and someone might say for the Rugrats “Just use the All Grown Up versions” but if they did that you lost the iconic versions of those characters.

So anyways after seeing who will not be on the roster let’s go into the 12 new characters:

Expanding Franchises Already Used:

Squidward(SpongeBob SquarePants)

Jimmy Neutron

Arnold(Hey Arnold)

Zuko(Avatar:The Last Airbender)

Dib(Invader Zim)

Donatello(TMNT)

Raphael(TMNT)

New Franchises:

Rudy(Chalkzone)

Dagget and Norbert(Angry Beavers)

Very Obscure or Recent Franchises:

Miko(Glitch Techs)

Vendetta(Making Fiends)

Mikey Simon(Kappa Mikey)

[goongiveusnothing]

I know you must be getting annoyed already, but I’m cackling reading some of these asks! 🤣🤣 Its so obvious which ones are sent in by Zot3. She is neither subtle, nor slick. And for someone to have Louis on her mind that often, I wonder if she actually is secretly in love with him but pretends to hate him. Like it’s so extreme at this point it makes me wonder why she’s so obsessed with him. Or perhaps she’s an ex-Larrie that feels mad that Louis never played into the rumors and Harry did to a certain extent so therefore she likes Harry and hates Louis for it. 🤷‍♀️

there definitely feels like something in it right. imagine being a justin timberlake fan extremely mad all your life about jc chasez. or a michael jackson fan who spends all their time trash talking tito. it's giving insecure.

perhaps she's well aware that without larrie her man would be another generic has been. his queerbaiting with louis and all the larries essentially crafted his narrative and mythos. the fact that so many of his fans still don't think he's a total manslut with women is thanks to the larries. that anyone thinks he's respectful about women is thanks to the larries. his LGBT friendly persona is because of the larries at all the shows. his ugly dress chasing pandering is because larries kept going wild at anything mildly femme he did.

he's essentially a frankenstein creation of a larrie fever dream in terms of the PR people believe about him, while being a generic timmy chalamet/justin bieber inside.

she needs some new weird grievances to shake things up in her life a bit. maybe when people call him a manslut she can be like "he's a male sexual empowerment superstar" "he's a male sex positive role model" "he's a male equal skinny generic girl opportunist". "he's actually funding colombian cocoa workers and you should be grateful" "it's weird you don't think he doesn't give a voice to men who love choking women" "most male superstars get hair plugs already, harry's showing that you can just do wiglets and still be a star" "harry is a very good unconditional friend because he consistently makes sure all the abusers of the world get to keep him as close as possible how dare you say he's not a good friend".

[awerager]

Did you see Bones and All in Venice yesterday ? Thats so amazing, so happy for you ! l have so many questions.😊 You wrote you need a long time to get over it, l suppose you liked it a lot. Can you give more details , what were the things you liked about the movie or why did it affected you so much ? How is Timmy and Taylor's chemistry ? ls the horror&gore aspect too much to handle especially for people who don't like horror&blood or are they watchable ? How is Timmy's performance ?

I'm indeed one of the lucky ones to have been at the premiere! Not really sure if my brain is yet on par with giving very eloquent answers to you, but I'll try to do so without spoiling any of the plot.

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT BONES AND ALL

Like many others, I was completely floored by the movie and it would take me a lifetime to list all the reasons why, but here's a few. Firstly, I'm a huge fan of Luca and was again amazed how he can pick a topic such as cannibalism and somehow make it about vulnerability, our need to belong and of course, ultimately, love. I haven't purposefully yet read the book (though will definitely do so now!), so I cannot tell how much and what comes from the original material, but he just has this magical power of portraying controversial characters (such as cannibals, or in case of CMBYN queer men in the 80s) in such a beautiful light you just relate to them. And no, before someone comes and asks if I now find eating other humans any less disturbing than before, absolutely not, but I love the thought that underneath everything, even such problematic behaviour, we're really all just humans trying to figure out our places in this world.

Secondly, this movie put me through a whole bunch of different feelings, and while I didn't experience as heart-shattering pure pain as whilst seeing CMBYN, if we want to keep up with that comparison (though maybe just because we weren't quite given the same extended amount of time to dwell in misery? While the ending of CMBYN was just sad, sad and more sad, here there was more emotional variety. Anyone who's seen the film, I'm curious of what you think about this! Write me 😘), it's that strong emotionality what I'm looking for in art. I'd also like to give a shout-out for the stunning cinematography. There were a few moments when I was just drooling after the flow of the camera (now thinking of the Lick It Up scene I've previously mentioned) or a specific framing.

TIMMY AND TAYLOR'S CHEMISTRY

To begin with, both of them were BRILLIANT (I guess that already answers your last question) and the relationship between their characters is both beautifully written and performed. They look genuinely comfortable around each other both on and off the screen. If we're talking specifically about their sexual chemistry, however, I wouldn't necessarily describe it heated like it was with Armie. You can sense some distance/passiveness during the kissing scenes particularly, but then again it's another coming-of-age story, so it was rather suiting as it was.

HORROR/GORE ASPECT

There are definitely a bunch of rather gruesome scenes and a lot of blood around, but in my opinion not to an exceeding amount. I think it's essential for us to feel uncomfortable at times to truly grasp the turmoil the characters are going through. I didn't feel any horror/gore elements were used only for their shock value – they always served a purpose and weren't e.g. prolonged for any more than what was needed. That being said, if only just seeing blood is a problem for someone, this movie is probably not for them (somewhat predictably, considering it is a cannibal movie).

[mafaldaknows]

Soooo those pap walks were to hype lil Timmy Tim for this hosting gig...OOP 👀👀 they knew we wouldn’t tune in to that BS gala event anyway but Timmy was the selling point 👀👀

Hello, Anon:

It may be a BS event to you, but it’s essentially the fashion and culture Oscars, significant to a very specific segment of the population who anticipate it every year, and would go if invited, regardless of who was hosting it. It’s a huge deal in and of itself, no hype necessary.

Only a rarefied few in the fashion and entertainment industry are even invited to attend the Met Gala, so I doubt highly that Timmy’s recent spate of cheesy pap walks/shopping/sightings were to promote this particular gig.

Promotions are not inherently bad, and they’re a necessary component of his job. Being an up-and-coming young superstar, but not yet a “household name”, the success of his projects depends on him maintaining a high level of visibility with the movie-going public in general, and not just with his fans. He’s not doing those for our benefit. We already love him, no need to sell anything to us.

I chose to enjoy whatever content Timmy gives us, whenever he does, and do not worry so much about his reasons.

Thanks for your comment ☺️

[mrchalamet-mrstyles]

I admire your patience. Honestly. I absolutely hate these fake concerns and stupid worries about Timmy’s health and well-being as if he was unable to look after himself and needs to be protected from everything. He’s smart enough to know what he’s doing. He’s an adult. He can’t hide and isolate forever. Why would he? Also, he can smoke, he can party, he can do whatever he wants. It‘s called life. ✌🏻

I admit, it's hard sometimes to see how some fans want to baby him and treat him as if he is a child but I try to remember that it essentially comes from a place of love. Being a fan is so one-sided it can sometimes translate in these sort of feelings. We know we have no control over any of it, so we channel it into worry and concern. I'm sure someone smarter than me could pinpoint the psychological reasoning for this.

[transjoyblog]

The Many Astonishing Ways Abuse Can Affect Your Money

Photo by Darío Martínez-Batlle on Unsplash

People will use money, and your need of it, to manipulate you in various ways. Some are relatively harmless, and extremely common i.e. an otherwise neglectful parent buying their child lunch to get some time with them. However, some are more nefarious, and insidious. Here are a few common tactics people regularly use to control you financially:

Manipulation- This category is comprised of various types of manipulation including emotional appeal, constant desperation, and the use of younger siblings/dependent adults i.e. grandma against you.

Most everyone has been on the receiving end of an emotional appeal before. We use this to declare our love for each other, ask someone we have hurt for forgiveness, and so many other very positive interactions. But emotional appeal is also regularly used to try to influence a reluctant person to continue offering support with which they have become uncomfortable. A common use of emotional manipulation is for the dependent person to respond with an outburst of anger when support is threatened. They may genuinely feel that they have a right to be angry, and that may in fact be true, but that doesn't change the fact that the person providing support also has a right to their feelings, and ultimately, to their own time, energy, and money.

Another type of tactic that is very similar and often used in conjunction with emotional appeal, is for the person receiving support to be in a constant state of desperation. This person will often come to you at the end of the month to say, "Can I just borrow a couple hundred to get us through the month? I'll pay you pack the second I get paid." This is essentially asking for a payday loan from you, which we all know, is just a cycle of debt that actually benefits no one. This type of manipulation can be difficult to extract yourself from because there is probably a genuine need. However, it is ridiculous to expect anyone to loan you money on a frequent basis. If you cannot support your lifestyle on your own, reduce your lifestyle to the best of your ability.

If you have dependent family members, constant desperation becomes all that more effective. If grandma is on a fixed income, and Timmy is only 12 years old, they come with fixed expenses. Anyone knows this. And therefore, anyone should be able to plan for these expenses. If you are not living in the home, you are not responsible for grandma, or baby brother. I know this sounds harsh, and if the need is true, you can always offer other material support such as taking baby brother school clothes shopping, or asking only grandma what she might need from the store. But you do not need to provide money to people who may or may not be spending it in the way that they say they are.

Use of access to credit- Directly taking money out of an account they have access to, taking out a credit card in your name (or a joint one, if married) and using it indiscriminately or without permission.

My father was a big fan of this type of control. By the time my mother left him after 8 years of abuse, he had taken out something like 13 joint credit cards and run them all up to the limit. Not to mention all of the cards he took out in only his name or my mother's. He used my mother's maiden name and social security number to take out cards without her knowledge. He then chose to reveal the existence of these cards in moments when my mother was seriously considering leaving, claiming that if she left she would have nowhere to go because he had ruined her credit. This is obviously abusive behavior and should not be tolerated in any relationship, whether that is a relationship between adults, or a parent/child relationship. If you find yourself in a situation even close to this one, I highly recommend contacting the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (nfcc.org), as they may be able to provide concrete guidance on how to challenge behaviors like these in court.

Another form of manipulation could be pressuring you to take out a card and let someone else use it. This has actually happened to someone I know. Their parents put a lot of pressure on this person, basically the minute they turned 18, to take out a credit card in their name and let the parents use it, and pay it off. Or so they said. Ultimately, they were not able to make the payments on it, even the minimums, and destroyed this child's credit. The parents also convinced this child to take out payday loans in this child's name, and then just "loan" them the money. Please do not fall for this. This is manipulation, pure and simple. No reasonable person asks another to take out a loan for them, regardless of if you can afford it, or if they'll pay you back right away. Forget it. Any money loaned out is not a loan. You should be comfortable with the concept of never seeing that money back, and it should be an amount of money that you can afford to never see again. Regardless of how close you are, if not getting paid back would ruin your relationship with this person, you cannot afford to lend them money.

Monitoring- Keeping track of how you spend money, not allowing you a say in the family finances, or being cagey with their personal finances, while expecting you to be completely forthright with yours, usually perpetrated under the guise of "handling the finances", are all tactics that many people in long term relationships use to control their partner(s) or sometimes parents use to control their young adult children. This behavior can usually be spotted early on in the relationship.

1. Do they check up on you when they know you have other things to do?

2. Do they expect an unreasonable level of communication?

3. Do they ask to move in together pretty quickly? (This can be a tactic to more fully control your environment, or to begin the process of isolation, or dependence.)

4. Do they regularly ask for small sums of money, and always pay you back? (This can be a way to warm you up to the idea of giving them access to your accounts, or to loaning them large sums of money, which they will likely never pay back.)

5. Have they asked to share bills or accounts early on in the relationship, or before you have moved in together? (This could be a dependence or control tactic, because if they are on the account they are entitled to control and monitoring of the account, whether that is a cell phone bill, or a bank account.)

This is just a small selection of the types of questions that could come up as you negotiate the financial terms of your long term relationships. There are tons of questions that pertain to specific situations, people, and relationships. A great rule of thumb is to ask yourself whether you can communicate regularly, openly, and safely about your feelings with this person. If you do not have solid communication, trust, and safety with any person, they do not deserve access to or control of your financial life.

"Losing ambition" or other types of dependence- This can best be described as someone depending on your money while refusing to work when otherwise able - and this one comes with a huge caveat. Many people are truly dependent, and truly cannot work or find work for reasons beyond their control. But this needs to be communicated. Usually, the people who use dependence as a tactic to control you do not keep a regular conversation about finances going because that would reveal the extent of their use and abuse. My fiancee is pretty much entirely dependent on my income due to a chronic illness. I do not resent this because we have had tons and tons of conversations about our finances, and she has her own money and bank account. She contributes as best she can around the house, and constantly has ambitions of making her own money. She even buys me dinner sometimes. She is still driven and ambitious, it has just had to change in scope and degree from where she was before she was ill. That being said, refusing to work, find work, or otherwise contribute around the house can be a way to manipulate you into continuing to take care of someone. Keeping themselves dependent on you can make you second guess your desire to leave because "What would happen to them, they aren't working, I'm the only one paying the rent, where would they go?" This is a spiral that they want you to have because as long as they have nothing, you have to stay with them. The way to deal with this behavior is to do your best to sit with them and discuss their goals, what plans they have of achieving them, and how you and your money fit into that picture. Both parties should come to an agreement that feels ok for both parties. This will not feel good, do not expect it to. But this plan should offer both of you some level of psychological relief, and guidance on what the next steps could be for the dependent person. If someone is resistant to making substantive change in themselves and their lives, when they are otherwise completely capable of doing so, you do not need to feel responsible for their life, even if they do not feel responsible for it themselves. At this point you are forced to accept that this person is resistant to change right now, and will probably continue their pattern of behavior and manipulation regardless of anything you may or may not do. So, it would be in your best interest to distance yourself from the dependent person as much as possible. Ultimately, I encourage everyone to seek the professional help of a therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist whenever possible. It always helps to have an objective lens through which to view a difficult situation such as manipulation or abuse.

Actionable Advice:

1. If you take nothing else from this article, always remember the 3 C's: Consent Communication Consideration. - Every partner in any relationship has a right to these three C's.

2. Protect yourself - we are raised to extend our trust, love, and vulnerability to the people who are closest to us, but this does not take into account the reality of toxic relationships and family members.

3. Educate yourself - Continue to advance your knowledge of personal finance and relationships. None of us are perfect. We all have gaps in our understanding, especially when it comes to interpersonal relationships, and getting along with others. Kindergarten can't teach us everything.

[sage-nebula]

Game Review — Animal Crossing: New Horizons

The first new game I played in 2020 was Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and like many people, this game took up a huge chunk of my playtime this year, and in fact continues to take up a chunk of it each day. With all that said, it’s only natural that this is the game these reviews start on.

So let’s get started.

Overall Score: 9/10

I feel like it would be disingenuous to give a game that I’ve thus far clocked 545+ hours into anything less than a 9/10. (The actual playtime is probably longer due to a two Switches fiasco, but that’s another story for another time.) I’ve been a fan of the Animal Crossing series since the very first one released on Gamecube, and New Horizons met all my expectations and then some. While I know this game is divisive among some members of the fandom (though I don’t know too many details since I tend to stay away from the negative people), I personally feel like this is the best Animal Crossing yet, and I’m eager to see what the fall update is. With that said, let’s go into a bit more detail with some pros and cons. (Note: I recommend reading this in full on my blog, since bullet point lists now look atrocious on the dashboard.)

The Pros:

Obviously, there is so much to do. You’re essentially building the town from the ground up this time, meaning that there’s literally nothing on the island when you first arrive and you have to do everything to create a functioning society. (Even though it was supposed to be a temporary vacation . . . but that part of the plot is forgotten almost immediately.) While that may seem like a monumental task, what it really means is that a.) you have full control over your experience on the island, and b.) you have hours and hours and hours of playtime ahead of you. Particularly since a nasty pandemic in real life has made game development and release slow, New Horizons was perfect in this aspect.

The in-game tutorials don’t really feel like tutorials. Of course this means that you might have a bit of fumbling as you figure out how to use this or that new feature, but you really feel like you’re a newcomer to an island figuring things out rather than being slowly walked through a step-by-step guide on how to play the game. It made the experience feel more natural and immersive, which I really liked.

You are no longer punished if you don’t play the game for a while. This is a big one, mostly in the sense that although you do still have to deal with cockroaches and the like, never again do you have to deal with your favorite villager spontaneously packing up and leaving because you had to take some time off the game to study instead. While all this does lessen the “the game plays even when you aren’t” feeling a bit, I remember losing all will to play New Leaf when Freya up and left, on top of the Beautiful Town Ordinance making it boring since I never had to worry about weeds or anything like that again. The fact that villagers have to have permission to leave now really takes a load off your mind, especially if you took FOREVER to get your favorite (rather than using an Amiibo or villager trade to get them in).

You can place furniture outside! You can move buildings around! You can terraform! I touched on this a bit in the first bullet, but the fact that you can completely control what the island looks like through various tools is honestly the best thing Nintendo could have given us. I still remember how, in New Leaf, Paula plonked her house down RIGHT where I wanted to build a bridge, and so I had to wait for her stupid, ugly face to get out of my town before I could build it. And it took THREE MONTHS to do that. Now if something like that happened, I could just tell the villager to move their house and they’d do it, no sweat. On top of this, being able to place furniture outside makes the island look so much more natural, since it’s normal for people to decorate patios and the like, and being able to terraform means you can really have fun with the design of your island. It’s great, I love it.

We’re getting a steady stream of updates and events. Holidays are update-locked now, meaning that you can’t time travel ahead to experience holiday events and therefore ruin the game for yourself. Instead, Nintendo is surprising us with new content and updates, which I feel makes the game last longer and keeps it exciting. As I mentioned above, I’m excited to see what they have planned for fall. A Halloween event? Maybe a certain coffee shop opening in time for pumpkin spice season?! I don’t know, but I’m excited to find out.

The day-by-day nature of it also makes it a game that I feel like I can always have on the side, rather than one I complete and then never touch again. When I first got it I played it constantly, and then (due to a pandemic-induced game drought) I immediately did play by time traveling day by day, doing things, and then going back to the present to start the process over the next day. But now that there are other games out to play and I have a 5-star island, instead I play it as the first game of the day to do dailies, and then I save and put it aside. I pluck any weeds, water any flowers I’m growing, hit rocks, dig up fossils, talk to my neighbors, check which vendor we have, and then I save and end for the day. It takes me about 30 minutes to do my dailies, but it’s a nice little thing to do in the morning when I’m still in the process of waking up. One weekend morning I sat on my porch, drinking a cinnamon latte, doing my ACNH dailies. It was so peaceful and nice. ACNH is a great daily game, just a quick little thing to do before you move about the rest of your day.

The Cons:

There are definitely quality of life improvements that I feel should be in the game, but aren’t, even after players have been mentioning wanting them online every month since the game’s release. These features include, but are not limited to:

Being able to craft in your house without needing to remove materials from storage.

Being able to buy multiples of an item by putting in the number you want to buy, rather than having to buy them in groups of five.

Golden tools NOT BREAKING, especially since they NEVER USED TO. (Granted, normal tools didn’t break at all in previous games save for the ax, but the Golden Ax never broke. That was the entire point of getting it. What the hell, Nintendo.)

Being able to group like items, such as manila clams, fish, or bugs in your inventory.

Having Isabelle announce which daily vendor is on the island in her morning announcements.

Being able to buy different color variations of the same item at once at the Able Sisters’ shop.

Being able to switch between crafting and customizing without leaving the bench completely and then going back into it. (So like, you craft an item, and then you can immediately customize it if you want.)

Being able to call villagers to find out where they are on the island so you can easily find them if you have to return an item to them, or want to give them something, etc. Why have a NookPhone if you can’t actually use it as a phone?

Letting you lay down paths with terraforming more than one tile at a time. Like let you choose how many tiles you want to lay down in a row at the start, and then immediately place them.

Similarly, make it so you can’t scuff away custom paths, and also let custom paths keep the shoes-on-brick or tile sound if you have brick or tile beneath them. And so on. Little tweaks that aren’t necessary, but would make the game more enjoyable if they were implemented.

Some of the updates are coming too slow. In particular, I’m thinking about how it’s only possible to upgrade Nook’s Cranny once at present. I have put well over 500 hours into the game; by now I should reasonably have a Nookington’s (or whatever Timmy and Tommy will call it), but I don’t. I could understand if it was one shop upgrade per season, but that hasn’t been the case and I don’t know what the hold up is. It’s a bit disappointing.

That’s about all I can think of in terms of cons, at least at present. Most of my gripes are with minor quality of life implements that they could reasonably do, but aren’t doing for some reason. Otherwise, I think it’s a fantastic game that I still get daily enjoyment out of. If you like slice of life games and are looking for something new and warm to pick up, I highly recommend Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

[portfolio-ni-rizza]

Netflix’s Death Note: [Personal] Review

Director Adam Wingard's Death Note is basically a Final Destination bootleg with the manga's name. It's flat, unnecessarily gory, and incoherent. Its promising moments are completely swept under the rug of its overall disjointed narrative and out-of-character acting.

I love Death Note. It's one of my all-time favorite series. I even have merch from my weaaboo days (haha). But I've also never been a fan of manga adaptations–not even anime (to an extent; I'm looking at you, Full Metal Alchemist and Shugo Chara season 3), and especially not of Western movies. Hollywood has YET to produce a decent manga adaptation, and this one is right up there with M. Night's The Last Airbender.

I'm not sure how these directors do their research, but by and large their end products wind up looking like their "research" is pretty much just looking up the plot on Wikipedia and making what they will of that. Netflix's DN is the absolute barebones of the wonderful masterpiece that is Ohba and Obata's Death Note. It's even more disappointing if you think about the fact that Death Note's "absolute barebones" is still a good material to work with, and we STILL end up with this bastardization.

First of all, I, at least, have no problem with the setting. To begin with, Netflix did say this was an Americanized version of the original. It makes sense that they'd change the names, considering this is set in Seattle. I did appreciate that 'Mia Sutton' is not too far from 'Misa Amane' as far as the composite letter are concerned lol. My biggest problem was the characters themselves, but I'll focus on 2 to keep this from being indecently long.

Light Turner is not supposed to be Timmy Turner's older, emo brother and is an average kid whom no one understands and happens to be good at Math and doing other people's homework. The core of Light's character is his PERFECTION. He is so far above average that he's completely detached from the rest of the world. That god complex was the entire reason he even took and managed to assume a 'god' character. It's literally the core of Death Note. Light is supposed to be the perfect son, perfect student, perfect citizen. Everyone loves him and looks up to him. And HE knows that. People don't need to tell him; he knows for himself he is BETTER than others. That's how Kira came to be in the first place.

Netflix's Light Turner is a wimpy loser with absolutely no depth as a character. He is completely one dimensional. He responds to dark and violent situations with darkness and violence. He is bullied so he fights back. His mother is murdered so he kills the murderer. It's a completely overused narrative that puts the essence of Light Yagami, antihero extraordinaire, straight into the chopping block.

From the get-go, his character is completely wrong. He is introduced as a nerdy kid who earns lunch money by doing other kids' homework. He has zero charisma. He's at the bottom of the food chain. He has absolutely nothing of what it takes to become the god that is Kira. The way that Light Turner was written would never have let him become anything larger than life; it just made him a vindictive bully who happened to be able to kill.

(A very dangerous combination–but for all the wrong reasons.)

Which just obliterates the central theme of Death Note altogether, and throws out the window the very foundation of what made the original work.

Second, this film is unnecessarily gory. Sure, a certain degree of violence is expected when it comes to murder, but Wingard just made this entire movie a B-rated slasher film with his slow-motion death scenes–something he just PACKS the whole movie with and spotlights on like it's the most important aspect of the story when it's totally secondary (if not completely an afterthought) in the original.

It's not even realistic. Light sees a BULLY (not a criminal; just a run-of-the-mill playground bully) antagonizing a schoolmate, he's handed a murder weapon for a TEST RUN, and he immediately, without a shadow of a doubt, writes 'decapitation' as the method of death? He chooses something that is exceedingly difficult, unnatural, and very, very specific for the first time he's trying to kill someone? He doesn't even UNDERSTAND what's going on; he's just had a massive Poltergeist experience. How was it possible for him to suddenly have enough presence of mind to write down an oddly specific method of death for someone who isn't even evil, just mean? That doesn't bode very well for Light as a person, let alone someone who's about to play god.

Throughout the movie, Light visibly struggles with his actions. He has no certainty. He kills with the Death Note but he lacks the inherent motivation for it; he only does it because he has to. Nothing about the characterization of Light Turner remotely suggested that he has what it takes to rule the world, as what he is essentially doing when he dictates who lives or dies (or tells your story lol). But then–all of a sudden, 5 minutes to the end of the movie and he explains this elaborate scheme where he undoes Mia killing him and transfers the ownership of the notebook back to him and basically just manipulated space and time so suit his needs.

That is a completely Light YAGAMI thing to do (and something he HAS actually done numerous times in the original). Nothing about Light TURNER's character and actions suggested he was capable of that. How convenient that 2 minutes before the police gets to him, he suddenly taps into his inner high-functioning psychopath and concocts an über-complicated plan to not die but kill 3 people and destroy one theme park along the way.

Where did that inner 'HIGH FUNCTIONING' part come from? Nearly two hours to have shown that Light's brilliant mind goes beyond solving Calculus problems and thinking up oddly particular methods of dying, and you choose the last five minutes to cram that in.

How very high school.

But enough about Light. Now we go to another important character–L. Considering that these 2 are the only ones they retain from the original (excepting Ryuk, but that's another point). L is one of the most brilliant minds in the world, but instead the movie showed him as nothing more than a weirdo that throws tantrums and only needs the FLIMSIEST of proofs to say he "knows" and he's "right". 

The original L does operate entirely on the gut feeling that Light is Kira, but he sets out to prove that. To him, nothing is ever damning enough and he won't settle for anything less than seeing Light actually murder someone right before L's very eyes. Movie L suddenly "just knows". Nothing about his actions suggests that he has the means to prove that Light is Kira; if anything, he's trying to make it so that things DO go with his conclusion, whether or not it's actually true. The real L is nothing like that. He backed down when his proofs didn't go with his conclusions. L believes in justice, first and foremost. He's almost childlike in his black-and-white convictions (I have a screenshot of this panel, so my receipts are in place). This L just doesn't capture that innocence. 

By itself, the movie isn't THAT bad. It only becomes a terrible crapfest when you have the original to compare it with. Netflix's Death Note can stand alone as a slasher/horror/thriller film to Netflix and chill with if you are holding it to itself, but never make the mistake of reading/watching the original brilliance that is Ohba and Obata's Death Note first.

I do have a real concern with the keeping of the name "Kira". Kira is just the Japanese pronunciation of "killer". Japanese people literally were calling Light, "Killer". Why did Wingard keep the Jap pronunciation? What purpose did it serve other than that 5-second line where L says it was to mislead investigation to thinking Light was Japanese? Why is there even a need for that? Was that supposed to be a nod to the Japanese root of Death Note? It may have been a pure intention on the director's part, though, but it was unnecessary, if not even reeking of whitewashing–but I'd digress and hope for the best.

[theorynexus]

68 will be my second post, this morning. I wonder if it will start section 8 of the Meat Epilogue.

Oh darn it. I forgot to make a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy/Meaning of Life reference on Meat 42. At least we’re back to a 43, and things might therefore be luckier. Maybe.    (I am very silly when it comes to superstitions regarding numbers, sometimes, even though I don’t really believe them.)

MY TIMING SENSES WERE TINGLING!!!

Hmm. Well, strategy meetings and investigations are important.  (Also:  I am again reminded of the dreadful likelihood that Terezi went with Dirk, which continues to be a disturbing thought.)

Hmm.  For some reason, I have the impression that he does indeed have a vague idea where he’s going, but he may not actually know where/how to find it, yet. That seems pretty likely.  Thus, Roxy would be partially correct. (On that note: Interesting that Jake didn’t actually come with. I thought for sure he’d have snuck aboard at the last moment, or something, as a stow-away.)

Eh, I’d say it goes a little beyond “prove a point,” but it’s also probably incomprehensible to you, right now.  I guess we’ll all have to be patient before we can more thoroughly sort through his insanity in that regard. As for Jane...   I don’t know. It might be more trouble than it’s worth to contact her.  The fact that Dirk has her as a seemingly important part of his plans suggest that it could essentially be springing a trap on yourself. I wonder how she’ll react to finding out that Dirk’s been mind controlling people and that that probably invalidates the actual results of her election, in the sense that it dramatically undermined the democratic process. (That is a really complicated issue that is somewhat entangled with real life politics, though, so I don’t want to get into a deep and proper discussion of what determines electoral legitimacy on a philosophical or political level here.)

It is a very interesting choice on Alt!Calliope’s call to focus on incestuous questions and Dave being awkward, rather than to follow tat important call.

Dirk is so twisted at this point that I’d almost not put it past him, but at the same time, why, Dave, do you have to assume that the motivations are sexual in nature?   (I mean, honestly, it could be the fact that Dirk was trying to force him to have sex with Karkat that gave him the impression that Dirk was [and he is, but maybe not to that extent] way too carnally-minded and motivated.)   Honestly, Dirk’s head is way too concerned with philosophical matters, and if anything he’s probably going to make a clone of himself to have sex with or something stupid like that, if he REALLY has to engage in some sort of tension-releasing copulation that isn’t masturbatory in the way that having sex with someone you’ve brainwashed and twisted into being your personal object of amusement is.   Therefore, I juuust can’t quite see Dirk having sex with Rose/her new robot body.  (Gosh, I hate that I feel compelled to address this.)

I honestly quite agree with Karkat, and now understand a little bit more about why our focus strayed where it did--- though it would have been nice to receive some sort of narration to indicate that.  And yes, it’s sad that Kanaya’s being put on hold, I guess. A little bit.  (Not really. I understand politicians in places of power can get quite busy, and it may not even be Jane’s decision to have her on hold... though if it is, I can most certainly affirm that that is quite rude.)

I mean... to be fair, Karkat, it’s rooted in biology.  Humans not having a Mother Grub means that the don’t have a natural means to reduce the genetic load that would be caused by related populations interbreeding and therefore dangerously duplicating genes.  Thus, it is not actually arbitrary, which I am sure you would know if you had spent a bit more time acting like the “geneticist” your troll handle suggests you happen to be (yes, I know it means to refer to his ectobiological frog wrangling/recombination; even so, the point stands).

I take it that Karkat’s dejection about the election has kept him a bit preoccupied and out of the loop, lately.

This is horrible (Karkat’s part, I mean).    Roxy’s new new outfit sounds like something I would be very interested in seeing fan art of.   A pink-looking slightly more effeminate Dave look sounds aesthetically striking (and I’m not even a fan of pink). But yeah, good on her for not giving up in frustration for people confusing them, I guess.   ***shrug***

And we return to this awkward and slightly funny subject. Considering it was not resolved last time, I guess that’s reasonable.   (Some day, maybe I’ll write a post analyzing Roxy’s trans-iness and/or how they/he seems to have been affected by those around he/them in his/their path to figuring it all out.  This sort of issue is always a bit difficult to properly tackle without raising some people’s hackles, so to speak, though, so I am not sure if I’ll end up doing it.  Regardless, it’ll have to be quite some time in the future, should I do so, after I’m at least done reading both sides of the epilogues. I’m sure Roxy’s interactions with John will have some important light to shed on the matter.)   It’s sortof nice that Dave and Roxy can joke about this without it becoming too uncomfortable (apparently) for either of them.

...   Is revealing this something they’ve discussed before now?  I mean, doing this in front of friends and family could be sortof... bad for things between them, if Karkat’s still trying to figure out how he feels about it and whether he wants to press on vs throttle back?  I mean, just calling each other boyfriends is not something either of them were comfortable with, and just because Dave is now doesn’t mean Karkat necessarily will be.   I dunno.  I feel conflicted on the matter, despite the fact that it is on the border of being cute.

Yeah, see, this is what I meant:  Awwwwkwaaard.

Yeah, it definitely did serve as a good distraction, at the very least. ~~~ Jane either not knowing or not being willing to tell (we’ll have to wait for a perspective shift to her to be certain) is no surprise.

Gah. FINALLY.  If Roxy weren’t such a Void-y ball of fun, everyone would have known this for some time, by now.  (Also: This is another reason why I am quite certain that Dirk was responsible for at least the way that John died. He didn’t want him to be a threat to him.  [I wonder, though: will Candy John potentially pose that problem, in the future, given the fact that he will likely be able to traverse the two different timelines, should he become aware of them?   Heck, this could be the reason why one had to die in the first place. Or one reason.])

This is what you get when you    A S S   U   M E. Also, Terezi would really be useful due to her Seer powers in particular.

Well. That is a useful compromise. Good on you for finally figuring something out to bridge the gap between your morals and Dirk’s amorality.  (Also, that presents interesting potential conflict in the future, insofar as there might be a point where Calliope has to decide whether to allow them to take Jade with or not.)

Has little Timmy fallen down a well?   O: <

This is funny because it’s like that one time where Jade was sleeping and Dave couldn’t get in touch with her. That time his weird fursona came up. Tightest butt in the jungle, or some stupid nonsense like that.

Dave is smarter than Dirk would give him credit for, calling him the dumbest of the Stralondes, by the way.

Not only do they need one of his ships, but it is quite reasonable to assume that they might be able to entice him to follow with them to where Dirk is going.  This is a potentially dangerous gambit, like bringing Gamzee along anywhere, but I think it could pay off in the end.  I think that, as I suggested earlier, Jake’s probably going to be the one to end up killing Dirk, in spite of all the underestimation that and horrific invective that had been directed his way.   In all honesty, this would really seem to be the direction that Jake’s been being pushed in all along, considering all the failed opportunities to interject him into a place of importance in the story.  

Considering his level of devotion and love for Dirk, now, he very strongly reminds me of that one old clown story that AH wrote... the one where the clown was never able to pull himself away from the service of his abusive, evil master. I bring that up specifically to suggest that Jake WILL succeed, however.  I believe that, counter to the example that I just cited, and contrary to all of the deterministic forces that Homestuck has seen in play, the power of Hope will be what is necessary to do the impossible.  A Page has a long, pain-filled story arc, but when it finally blossoms into the great behemoth that its seed of potential suggested it was from the very beginning, amazing things can happen. A Page of Hope is perhaps one of the most potent Classpect-endowed figures that Paradox Space could conjure up.  I have come now to see that this turn on Dirk’s part was probably planned from the beginning, as was the fact that Dirk’s abandonment of him was likely meant to be the catalyst for the eventual realization of Jake’s full potential. Obviously, this will not likely happen in the near future, much to our short-term misfortune. Dirk, if you ever see this, know your folly:  Jake English is just the force you would need to break free of the shackles of the reality you live in---   if only you believed in the him that believes in you.   Instead, your Rage will consume you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I love this dramatic comedy.

Honestly... this is great. From a writing stand-point, this is excellent. The decision to have Dirk drag Terezi along brings more significant stakes to things and drama for the future, especially with the fact that we DO know that he can be brought back to life, now, despite Dirk’s statement to the contrary. Despite all of my pathos earlier, the way this story (the story of Homestuck) is ending is actually getting me excited and washing away the scars that came from the darkest hour of the path previous.     I really like the mechanic of Dirk having reality warping powers and Alt!Calliope being able to counter them, but only in close proximity. With the speed of his ship being a factor, especially, this sets up for some really interesting potential action in the further development of the story, as well.                    That Hussie was able to so masterfully navigate these emotional waters and string me along to this point was brilliant too.    In sum:  WOW, GUYS, I’M PUMPED!!! ... But... while this would actually serve as an excellent, fully complete and enticing epilogue in and of itself, the fact remains... there is yet more. Not only in the Postscript, but in Candy.      This throws many spanners into the works, and I honestly don’t know how to feel about all that!     If this weren’t Andrew Hussie we were talking about, I would be incredibly afraid that what is to come would throw everything off and make the eventual follow-up in Homestuck^2 (which I know he’s at least directing, though he’s not quite as involved in the story as he was in Homestuck, apparently?!) potentially quite messy and of a much lesser quality than I might expect. Given this IS Andrew Hussie we are talking about, however, I actually am quite confident that eventually, it will work out splendidly, and raise his literary accomplishments to even greater heights. Though... I am filled with a bit of trepidation. That “eventually” will be so far in the future. ***laughs awkwardly*** ... Buuuuutttt there’s still more left, even on this page, so I had better get to that. ...

It is very interesting that she’s been enveloped in that blanket of space so thickly and constantly that she’s come to find it comforting. That said:  How is it possible for her to withdraw and still let narration continue, supposedly without source or accountability, as she states?   Is this meant to suggest that the passive forces of Paradox Space will naturally fill in the gap if there is no one manning the ship, so to speak?   This feels a bit unlikely, considering the lack of content for years of the characters’ lives, and Dirk’s suggestion that “God had abandoned them,” or however the heck he put it. This is all veerrry curious, indeed.  (I do like her commentary on narration. A lot.) ~~~ Woooooo!!!~    It’s really nice to finish this at--   Dangit, time, why do you have to keep ticking into the future?!       Well, even though it’s not 3:14, anymore, it’s still very nice to finish the Meat Epilogue on 02/02/2020.   :’)

[tmmyturner]

|| Get to know TIMMY TURNER who’s NINETEEN years old and a FRESHMAN in college majoring in UP TO PLAYER. He is from NEW JERSEY and is often times mistaken for TOM HOLLAND while others say she reminds them of TIMMY fromTHE FAIRLY ODDPARENTS. ||

(anxiety & bullying tw under the cut)

BACKGROUND ;;

You’re born to a world that hardly even notices you’re here. Your parents are wealthy, busy people - and while you’re given the best of everything, you’re hardly given more than fleeting moments with them where they pat you on the head on their way out of the house.

You know they love you, of course they do - at least, you believe they do. That’s what parents do, right? They love their children, even if they’re never around enough to know who their children are.

The world seems to pass you by. In school, in groups with other children, everyone seems to look over you, as though you’re not even there sometimes. You learn, even at a young age, that you’re just.. not important. As a child, your life is blank and colourless.

The one person who does pay you any attention is your babysitter - attention you would rather do without. For a few years, your only real, lasting interaction is with a girl who seems determined to make you miserable, and the borderline psychotic games she plays with you do nothing for your self esteem.

You’re too young to know what it means when your hands tremble or your chest tightens, too young to recognise the shallow breathing and spotty vision that come with panic attacks. Too young to know that the horrifying, stricken feeling you begin to have at all times is a slowly developing anxiety. You just think - this must be normal. This is the life you have to live.

And then - somehow, by some miracle (not by your grades, you pass but your grades are always below average, a result of stress and anxiety you can’t shake), you get a chance to escape. Corona feels like a new life, a new opportunity, a world away from the mediocrity you’ve always known. People see you here, they notice you, they smile and wave and introduce themselves, they offer help and advice, support you’ve never really known before.

Part of you is terrified. What if you blow it? What if you mess up every interaction, ruin every friendship before they really start? What if you end up as dull and invisible as you were before?

But the other part of you, the part that’s clutching to this opportunity like a lifeline, says go for it. You’ve been offered something you never thought you could have. A chance to be more. And you don’t want to waste it. The two sides battle often - and sometimes, anxiety wins.

But a lot of the times it loses, and the more that happens the more you discover how incredible life can actually be.

PERSONALITY ;;

Timmy’s new life in Corona offers him so much - a chance to actually live, to be noticed, to make friends and feel like he might actually matter to someone in the world, but years of neglect and invisibility still stay with him. He’s trying, he’s making friends, doing his best to make the most of a fresh start, but thanks to the life he’d lived before Corona Timmy has moderate anxiety. Every conversation, every action, every move he makes he overanalyses later, thinking about it over and over because he’s not used to anyone noticing him and now that people realise he’s there, he has no idea if he’s doing the right thing.

But he’s trying. He sees the opportunity to come to Corona as a huge chance to start over and he doesn’t want to waste it. Does he have days where he wants to hide in bed and binge something on Netflix? Yes. Definitely. And sometimes he does. But he’s doing his absolute best to push himself past that, even if it’s just as simple as getting up and going out for coffee. Trying not to let himself become invisible again - that’s one thing he’s way more terrified of than messing things up.

When it comes down to it though, he’s not actually that bad at social interactions. He’s a kind-hearted boy really, so he makes friends easily enough. He’s a little spoiled from a superficial sense - he’s never had to want for things, but he’s desperately starved for social interactions and closeness so he definitely wants to meet as many people as possible and try to make new friends more than he wants any kind of material things. He’s a little awkward and might make dumb jokes in the process of maybe trying a touch too hard, but he’s never anything but well intentioned and usually his slightly odd behaviour can just be seen as adorable dorkyness.

WANTED CONNECTIONS ;;

A best friend - someone who has essentially taken Timmy under his wing and decided to help him live his best life. Timmy has absolutely no idea why they’ve taken to him so, or what they see in him - and on some of his harder days he’ll probably ask that question, even if he tries really hard not to - but for the most part he just thinks they’re amazing and treasures their friendship very dearly. I would love for this to be someone who’s really outgoing and spontaneous, not necessarily reckless or bad but a bit of an opposite to Timmy’s personality to help pull him out of his shell. ( Mabel Pines )

Other wallflowers - people who get it! Who know what it’s like to live their lives on the sidelines or in the shadows, to not get noticed by the world. It may not be the best friendship but there are definitely times when you just need a friend who understands what it’s like to have been invisible for so long. ( 1/? ) ( Chuckie Finster )

The crush(es) - okay so it’s safe to say that, being invisible, Timmy’s high school years never really allowed for much dating. No one really noticed him enough to be interested, right? Thanks to a lack of experience I definitely feel like Timmy will have a few harmless crushes, people he thinks are really cool and gorgeous and funny and wow did you see their hair aren’t they great? Most of these are harmless and he will be really lame and dorky with his attempt at flirting but probably inevitably ends up just being friends with them, assuming they don’t think he’s too weird ( 1/3 ) ( Rapunzel )

Romantic Interest - this could develop from one of the crushes or be someone else entirely! I’d love a complete opposites attract kinda dynamic for this, I feel it would be great for Timmy to fall for someone he never would’ve expected to even like ! Could be male or female aligning - I definitely feel like Timmy doesn’t really realise his sexuality yet purely thanks to lack of experience, he just knows people are pretty

Unlikely friend - I see this as someone who probably was/is annoyed with Timmy at first, with his more timid and hesitant nature and the way he overthinks things, but somehow that develops into a friendship where they challenge him, unknowingly push him out of his comfort zone and make him try new things by poking fun at him about his nature ( 1/2 ) (Lil DeVille)

Mentor figures - not necessarily parental figures in Timmy’s mind, only because Timmy has trouble relating the idea of “parents” to “people who support him”, but older students or even adults who look out for him and help him. These people probably have a care-taking/parental kind of personality as it is and Timmy needs that, he needs some nurturing and definitely needs people he can turn to for advice when he’s hesitant or unsure, or just when he’s having bad days. (for any dc fans out there, think tim drake and dick grayson kind of dynamic) ( 1/? )

[aion-rsa]

Visions of Dune: Bringing the Ultimate Sci-Fi Epic to Life

https://ift.tt/3zfRQIh

The story of 2021’s Dune begins with a kid falling in love with a book. Before he was the world-famous film director of  Arrival and Blade Runner 2049, Denis Villeneuve was a teenager who devoured sci-fi novels. When he was “between 13 and 14,”  he remembered seeing “these eyes.” The iridescent blue eyes were on the face of a man staring at the young Villeneuve, painted by Wojciech Siudmak, for the 1970 French paperback translation of Dune. Villeneuve was utterly mesmerized by the cover. “When you’re a kid, the covers can really make an impact,” he says. “The artists that were drawing them were so talented that even though I had never heard of Dune, I was drawn to that title and the simplicity. I was always attracted to the desert.” 

Like many serious readers of science fiction, Villeneuve’s obsession with Dune began free of artistic pretension. “I instantly fell in love with it for several reasons,” he says. “The way Paul is trying to find his identity while finding his home in another culture, with the Fremen. I was fascinated by the way they need to survive and adapt…I have always been in love with biology, the science of life, of nature. The way Frank Herbert used biology was insanely beautiful. To me, reading Dune is like a paradise. The book stayed with me all these years.” 

When you talk to Villeneuve now, childhood giddiness illuminates the corners of everything we’re talking about. Yes, Villeneuve loved Star Wars, too  (“The Empire Strikes Back is always good for the soul,” he says). But what makes Dune so much different from other popular heroic epics is that, despite the escapist sweep of the story, its underlying message is anything but escapist. The story of Paul Atreides is not an aww-shucks hero’s journey. In her 1978 review of Star Wars, Ursula K. Le Guin referred to the protagonist of that film as “Huck Skywalker.” And when you think of the story of Dune in that way, no one would confuse Paul Atreides with any member of the Skywalker clan. 

The story of Dune concerns a powerful family—House Atreides—being pushed into a terrible situation on the planet Arrakis by opposing forces on all sides. Smack dab in the middle of that is the notion that Paul could—and will—initiate a huge uprising against his enemies at some point in the future. Paul, and his parents—Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) and Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac)—set out to do good, but create even more conflict as a result. 

“At the very core of Dune is a warning,” Villeneuve says. “Anyone who is trying to blend religion and politics—that is a dangerous cocktail. I think Herbert wrote it as a warning, [against] leaders that pretend to know what will happen, who pretend to know the truth, who might be lacking humility. When someone behaves like a Messiah, you have to be careful.”

A Boy and His Sandworms 

One of the messiahs of Dune is a guy destined to have multiple names: Muad’Dib, the Kwisatz Haderach, and, of course, Paul Atreides. On our planet, he’s known as Timothée Chalamet. Ferguson says that Chalamet’s unique qualities as an actor were the “essential” elements that make the movie work. “Timmy brings the smaller to the grander,” she says. “He’s carrying this huge movie, and it’s lazy of me to use this word, but he brings such an indie feel to it.”

When it comes to “indie” films that nearly everyone knows about, Timothée Chalamet is one of the most famous male actors on the planet in 2021. From his roles in Call Me By Your Name to Little Women, Chalamet has the kind of star power that is subtle and undefinable, because as Ferguson points out, he’s not playing the role to seem like a big movie hero. Paul Atreides is the opposite of a Han Solo or Captain Kirk type, and so is Chalamet. “I always tried to bring Paul Atreides back to the ground,” Villeneuve says. “I told Timothée, you are the hero, of course, you are a tremendous fighter. But I think you have the burden of having a very strong instinct that will be boosted by spice.”

Chalamet reveals that in terms of becoming that “tremendous fighter,” some of his hand-to-hand training happened in a wine cellar while filming Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch. Chalamet also asserts that working with Villeneuve on Dune didn’t feel like being involved in a Hollywood blockbuster, and that transitioning from The French Dispatch to Dune made perfect sense. “It felt like working on a high-level indie,” Chalamet says. “I haven’t worked with the Coen Brothers, but I imagine it would be like this, just on a bigger scale. The Dark Knight is what made me want to act. It has incredible behavioral specifics. It has incredible performances and in the middle of it are sweeping cinematic sequences. In a way, Dune is like that. When you can get on a project of this size that has this much dramatic integrity, working with one of the best directors in the world right now, it’s exactly what I wanted.” 

Chalamet says that beyond fight training, immersing himself into the world of Dune and “spending time with the props,” was important to feel a connection to the objects of Paul’s world. He also didn’t shy away from the idea that this was yet another adaptation of a beloved book. “I learned that from Greta Gerwig when I did Little Women. Nobody minds another good movie based on a good book.” 

But for Chalamet, the journey isn’t quite over. “I’m champing at the bit to film Part 2,” he says. “I read all of Dune Messiah in lockdown. I’m ready.” 

A New Dune, For Everyone 

Perhaps unfairly, being really into Dune carries with it a kind of connotation that only the truly nerdy at heart get why science fiction devotees are so obsessed with the spice. John Hodgman makes two jokes about “Third Stage Guild Navigators” in his book Medallion Status. In Russian Doll, Nadia uses the phrase “Jodorowsky’s Dune” as a nerdy password to gain access to a back room. When Patrick Stewart was cast in Star Trek: The Next Generation, to his fellow castmates he was “the guy from I, Claudius,” while to writers like Michael Chabon, he was “the guy from Dune.” Unlike Star Wars or The Lord of the Rings, the broad appeal of Dune has always been tentative. But, in addition to Chalamet’s favorable comparison to The Dark Knight, Villeneuve makes it clear that the purpose of this Dune wasn’t to just make book readers happy.

“It would be so easy to make a Dune movie only for hardcore fans,” Villeneuve says. “My goal was to please the hardcore fans, that they feel the spirit, the poetry, and the atmosphere of the book—but to make sure that someone who had never heard about Dune would also have fun and understand the story. I had to make sure that everyone would be on board right at the beginning.” To that end, the new Dune sports a radical narrative shift from the source material. In this version, the opening narration and framing of the story is given by Chani (Zendaya), a member of the Fremen tribe, native to Arrakis.

Villeneuve describes this as one of his “bold” decisions but stresses that the narrative point of view doesn’t change the story at all. Logistically, the story of Dune is about House Atreides coming to take over the spice mining on the planet Arrakis. The native Fremen have been abused and tortured by previous occupiers, House Harkonnen, so in the new opening narration, Chani wonders “who will be our new oppressors,” a line not spoken in the book. Instead, the narrative framing of the novel is from the quasi-historical point of view of Princess Irulan, a woman Paul eventually marries for purely political reasons. So, what Villeneuve has done by giving the opening narration to Chani is flip the point of view from the aristocracy to the working class.

Villeneuve also says that elevating Chani’s role, and the roles of several of the female characters, was all because the movie required “bold” decisions to become the best film version of the story possible. “A book and a movie are totally different mediums. I had to make certain decisions. This is why I decided to make the first book into two movies. I had to condense some ideas to tell the story in the most eloquent way possible so that it will be understood by everybody,” Villeneuve says. But he’s also quick to point out that adaptation is not the same as leaving things out on purpose. “When you adapt it’s an act of vandalism. You will change things. But, from the beginning, I said to the crew, to the studio, to the actors: ‘the bible is the book. We will, as much as possible, stay as close as possible to the book.’ I want people who love the book to feel like we put a camera in their minds.” 

Ferguson’s Lady Jessica is arguably the character who sets the story of Dune into motion. In this future-world, the mystical matriarchal order of the Bene Gesserit can control the sex of babies that are born into its sisterhood. And in defiance of her orders from her fellow Bene Gesserit, Jessica had a son, instead of a daughter. Jessica asserting her right to choose, in essence, makes it all happen. Ferguson believes the emotional power of these stories is more important for audiences than the nitty-gritty specifics. “We can go into some kind of nano version of ourselves, but if it doesn’t read through on the screen, to the audience, it isn’t worth doing.”

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Talking about accessibility, Ferguson says that she believes the new Dune represents an ongoing paradigm shift of artistic and thoughtful science fiction in the 21st century. “Once the door’s open and you know that there are so many incredible stories within science-fiction storytelling, there’s musicality and rhythm that is needed to create these worlds within worlds, it’s very complex, everyone doesn’t get it.”

But, even though there are levels of “philosophy” and “complexity” to Dune, Ferguson feels that the film doesn’t operate in spite of its level of detail, but because of it. “The sandworms, the resources of the stillsuits, I could go on forever,” she says. “In this film, it’s the details, the smaller things that matter.”

Seeing the Future 

Spoiler alert: if you’ve never read Dune, the book itself actively tries to spoil the pages ahead. Whether it’s snippets of imaginary historical texts that open each chapter or the prophetic flashes of Paul Atreides, the story of Dune sprinkles flavors of its own future into the beginning, middle, and end. There are many reasons why Frank Herbert’s book reshaped the notion of what an epic science fiction novel could be, but the idea that the narrative is always a little ahead of itself is a big part of its addictive power. 

“It’s not something you’d have any sort of self-conscious perspective on,” Chalamet says, speaking of Paul’s early moments of clairvoyance in the story. Before Paul goes to the titular planet of Arrakis and meets Chani, he has glimpses of his future, and later, during a fateful first meeting with a sandworm, the near-magical spice brings that vision into focus. Chalamet says that in playing Paul, these scenes required careful subtlety in order to convey a realistic sense of knowing one’s own future.

“It’s a layer,” Chalamet explains. “As opposed to lucidly having visions of a pleasant landscape. These aren’t futures that are something [Paul would] would be happy to skip into. What he’s seeing and feeling is a visceral experience of a hyper-specific telling of tragedy, but also that he has a hand in that tragedy. If you were going through that it would be a hell of an experience.” 

As Chalamet points out, the spoilers for Dune “have been out there for four decades,” so, for old fans, the true lure of the new film version is discovering how the things we know are coming, will make us feel. For longtime spiceheads, watching Chalamet in the first Dune trailer was like the opposite of Paul’s traumatic flash-forward: we see the hyper-specific events, and we’re hoping for an emotional victory. For those who have waited for a perfect film version of Dune for several decades, there’s almost no “self-conscious perspective” left. From the tribulations of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s unmade film to David Lynch’s divisive 1984 version to the uneven Sci-Fi Channel iterations from the 2000s, hoping for a worthy adaptation of Dune, has, for fans, been a hell of an experience.

But this time, with this director, and this cast, the future looks good. And yet, even if you know every spoiler, and have every detail of every character’s journey clear in your mind, with this Dune, we still don’t really know what the emotional future holds, exactly. The Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear tells us “fear is the mind-killer,” and so, for the new Dune, the hope must flow. 

A Dune Movie Trilogy?

When directing Timothée Chalamet through his visions of the future, Villeneuve says he was careful to point out that “the future is shifting, the future is always in motion, so it means sometimes these visions are not always accurate.” The same could possibly be said for what audiences can expect for a sequel to Dune. As Chalamet confirms, “we’ve only filmed the first part of the story,” meaning, what everyone will be waiting for next isn’t a sequel to Dune, but simply the rest of Dune. With a TV series in the works for HBO Max—Dune: The Sisterhood—how much more of this world should we expect?

According to Villeneuve, the goal is a trilogy.

“I always thought there would be two movies for the first book. And I always thought Dune Messiah would be a powerful film. I always saw a trilogy.” Chalamet is also primed for one more film beyond Dune: Part Two, revealing that he thought Dune Messiah “was amazing, and in some ways, more traditional than the first book. I’d love to do it, when and if we—hopefully—get to it.” 

In addition to a pandemic and the shifting schedules of various actors, completing Dune: Part Two any time soon seems overly optimistic. But Villeneuve is hopeful that he will make the trilogy. “Well, my mind didn’t go much further after that!” he says. “That’s already a lot. The books after that get a little more complex. But I do see three movies.”

In an uncertain time, Dune feels like a shockingly prescient social lens. Ferguson says she believes that “when people are depressed, they go for musicals or sci-fi,” and that Dune serves as a kind of balm for the anxieties of the culture at large. From climate change to imperialism, the book and the film shine an adventurous light on what Chalamet believes isn’t a prediction of the future, but rather “a projection” of what might happen. If Dune does its job, it won’t just start conversations about the future of cinema, but perhaps the future of the planet, too. In real life, there may be no golden path for humanity, but for now, with one ambitious work of cinematic expression, the sleeper has awakened. 

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Dune opens in cinemas and on HBO Max on October 22

The post Visions of Dune: Bringing the Ultimate Sci-Fi Epic to Life appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[readingwithrendz]

Greetings readers!

When I was young, we didn’t have internet in our home. Trust me, I’m not that old, it’s just that my parents didn’t think the internet was essential until my sisters got older and needed it for school and such. That being said, I didn’t play video games growing up. No Nintendo or Wii for me. The most I got was a hand-me down Tamagotchi from my eldest sister.

All this to say that I still am not that into video games and I haven’t played the famous Animal Crossing that has taken over the world.

Am I still doing the tag? Absolutely! Because we are here for books.

Many thanks to the lovely blogger Michaela @ Journey into Books for tagging me!

Past Villager – Who is a character you found when you were younger that still has a place in your heart?

I wasn’t much of a reader as a kid-kid and to say one of the Pevensie siblings would be cheating because I was more into the movies. I guess the first book character that really stuck with me would be Amy Flowers from the Accidentally series by Lisa Papademetriou.

I think it was the fact that she blushed so easily was super relatable to me hahaha

via Goodreads

Blather’s Blatherings – Recommend a historical fiction book that you think everybody should read.

The Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner

This is an amazing story set in the early 20th century (possibly late 19th century) that follows the adventures of two sisters. It is infused with Jewish folklore and tradition in the historic context. The writing is gorgeous and the plot is absolutely riveting! I cannot recommend this book enough! READ IT!

Celeste’s Wish – What is a future book release you wish you could read now?

via Goodreads

A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir

I have waited long and patiently for this book, but given the chance I would read this book right now and tune out the rest of the world just to be destroyed by this book!

Timmy and Tommy – What is your favourite sibling relationship in a book?

The Penderwicks.

I adore my sisters, but is there ever a time I wish we could be more like these siblings? The answer is yes. They are just so loving and messy and funnt. My sisters are as well, but there is just something so quintessentially honourable and endearing about these siblings that I would love to be a part of their family.

The Easter Bunny – A popular book character that you’re not a big fan of.

My oh my what could be my answer….Aelin Galanthinyus or however the hell you spell her name. I hate her.

And her Rowan Whitehorn. Bleh. Trash trash trash.

Nook’s Loans – An author you’d give all your money to.

I would? I already do give my money to the following authors:

Marissa Meyer Marie Lu Silvia Moreno-Garcia

I own very large collections for all of these authors and I hope to keep growing them!

The Sisters Able – What is your favourite fictional family (found or otherwise)?

The Rampion Crew!

I love this group of children so much! I think they are the first found family I encountered in my reading journeys and I am still so in love with them! Having recently reread the books, I enjoyed going back and re-falling in love with these personalities.

It’s a C+ – What is a book trope that you don’t like that keeps popping up?

There were golden specks in [their] eyes

I used to be a sucker for this trope, but now it is just plain annoying to me. Especially since this is how authors make brown eyes “sexier.” If there is not that glitter than they’re just plain brown and that is so unfair to the majority brown-eyes population that deserve their eye-colour to be romanticized too without the over-used gold glimmers.

Super obvious secret identities

If the characters are looking for lost royalty obviously the main character is said lost royal!!!!!!!!!! I’m being a little hypocritical here because hello the Lunar Chronicles is exactly that plot for the first book, but still this trope is so obvious can we just not in new books! Or at least make it harder to decipher!!!!!!

The Wedding Camel – What is your favourite book set in a land far away from yours?

The Wolf of Oren-Yaro by K.S. Villoso is the most recent book I read that is set in a world far different from my own! It is so cutthroat and intriguing at the same time! I loved the world so much and I bought the companion series for the sole joy of re-immersing myself into that world!

What Would Dodos Do? – A fictional land you wish you could fly away to at any moment?

Narnia. No doubt about it. I always tell my family that given the opportunity to go to Narnia, I wouldn’t even hesitate to take the chance. It makes my mom a little sad…but it’s the truth XD

I Tag…

Anyone who is interested in playing! Especially the Animal Crossings fans out there!

Let me know what you think! Have you played Animal Crossing? Do you play a lot of video games? What book would you love to become a video game?

Happy reading!

~ Rendz

Animal Crossing New Horizons Book Tag Greetings readers! When I was young, we didn't have internet in our home. Trust me, I'm not that old, it's just that my parents didn't think the internet was essential until my sisters got older and needed it for school and such.