#i actually don't think it's a sad movie nor is that really how it made me feel but it does make me feel A Lot

[youssefguedira]

scrolling through the le otto montagne tag is like what i imagine being poisoned in a video game feels like. i'm just here like -1 -1 -1 -1 until i finally run out of health (get too upset and have to leave the tag)

[there-are-many-ways-to-smile]

Time Cut is predictable and really Fucked up like emotionally

● Like what do you mean your first kid was murdered and your first thought was to have another as a replacement. They honestly might as well of just named the second child Summer as well. They named the second girl the first girls middle name.

[I don't think the sisters look alike, maybe skin tone wise but that's it]

● Product placement is everywhere and very obvious.

● While it's a slasher flim, they don't actually show you any of the deaths, like they cut away from the gory bits. [Which i find weird but whatever]

[Apparently the fashion in the 2003 year isn't right and I honestly can't agree or disagree cause I was a child at that time and didn't pay attention nor do I remember]

● I like how Lucy is, questioning if she should stop the killings. (Cause butterfly effect)

"Should I invest in BlackBerry?"

Madison Lily Bailey isn't the best actress, like she's good on OuterBanks but here, it's not very good unfortunately.

You know what actually no one probably expect for Antonia Gentry can act.

Maybe it's the script, cause everyone is off but her.

● Sad scenes are still hitting where it hurts though

● It would have been really sad but they honestly should have had Lucy cease to exist, cause I don't understand how she's supposed to support herself living in the past, she has no identity, she can't sleepover at Summers and Quinn houses forever.

Someone's gonna start asking questions, or you think time wouldn't allow someone to just stay in the past unchecked.

●I've said it before but Time Travel is a tricky bitch

Would the killer really look exactly the same 20 years later? I think not

That makeup looks horrid, they should have gotten an older looking actor.

This movie was clearly made on a budget, how much? Two dimes and a dream

● "Take advantage of the present" is a wild sentence for someone that stayed in the past. Lol

==

Okay, so my final thoughts, um.. it's an Okay movie.

It just seemed like the main character just gave up, and I guess she couldn't really talk to her parents. But a blow up fight with them [like how she's her own person and not just their replacement for the daughter they lost] before the time travel back to 2003 would have been so good. Like they play a big part in Lucy life, her character and we don't see them much in the movie. I wish she would have gotten angry with them. Instead its just sadness.

So much more could have been done with the parents and I feel like we missed out.

Lucy a bit too comfortable for me, she's totally okay with her not existing and being a stranger to her parents.

While it's not an OG idea, and they have legit the same mask or something similar from Totally killer, I wouldn't compare the two.

Different Ball parks by far.

One I'd definitely buy the DVD and the other is a one and done

[lillifaba]

Here's why I'm still unimpressed with the Wicked movie trailer

A while ago I made a post explaining my thoughts on the Wicked teaser trailer. A lot of it was mostly negative due to the poor CGI, acting, lines etc... Well the official trailer dropped and I've got some new thoughts both good and bad. This is going to be way longer than my last post because I'm going to go into detail about why I think this movie won't live up to the musical by comparing it to other movies and musicals. I'll also be talking about some scenes from the featurette.

THIS IS JUST MY OPINION SO FAR ON WHAT WE SEE IF YOU LIKE THE TRAILER OR LIKE ANY OF THE ACTORS THEN DON'T GET YOUR PANTIES IN A TWIST MY WORD ISN'T GOSPEL NOR IS IT MY FINAL OPINION ON THE MOVIE.

Starting off with things I liked:

I'm actually starting to warm up to Cynthia as Elphaba. In my last post I argued I didn't entirely see her as Elphaba mainly because it was obvious she's a thirty seven year old playing an eighteen year old. While I still believe she doesn't pass for younger Elphie and her simple "I am" comeback is weak, hearing more of her lines and performance is actually on point with Elphaba's character. I wouldn't be against her revisiting Elphaba on stage after the movie. Bottom line: I think she's a great singer and am happy a fellow WOC is playing Elphie.

Holy shit that witch cackle gave me goosebumps. It might be the editing and sound in the trailer that makes me feel that way so we'll have to see when it happens in the movie.

Michelle Yeoh???? Like hello? Although she seems more toned down compared to the campy personality MM has on stage, she plays the role of the evil villain quite well. (I'm sad she had to stop using her beautiful Malaysian accent ;_; I hope it was by her choice and not by the choice of the executives.)

Some set designs look quite nice. I'm particularly curious about the scene where The Wizard is dancing around a full size diorama of Oz.

The effects of the grimmerie are quite neat. I despise the new shape of the book, but I think it's cool how instead of going for some floating colorful lights to pass as "look magic oooo", they're going for the spells to be coming out of the pages. Very unique.

And now, on to the negative. This is where I'll be comparing some of the shots and scenes of the trailer to other movies and parts of the musical.

I hate hate hate the CGI. You don't understand I absoultely for forever deeply truly LOATHE the CGI. It cheapens the movie and all that talk and show about how they built up the sets and rainbows showing over their productions goes all out the window when I see those flying monkeys.

Let's talk good CGI vs rushed CGI.

First off I do not blame the VFX artists for this movie looking the way it does so far. VFX artists are one of the most overworked and underpaid workers in the film industry who have to pump out content in a short amount of time. It is also not their fault that audiences are tired of seeing overdone CGI movies every month. It's part of the reason why the Wicked teaser trailer got so much hate when it came out (on top of Ari/🧽, reactionary bros, etc...)

The CGI (mostly in the Emerald City) looks AI generated. Most of my issues with it come from the effects looking poorly rendered. Elphaba flying looks obviously fake. I know they recently touched up some of these scenes but honestly it doesn't make a difference to me at all in quality.

If John Chu and the team behind this movie really cared about this like they insist they do, it wouldn't hurt to take time with the effects. When you do so, you get mind blowing results like this:

Onto other effects: The flying monkeys don't look great. They look poorly rendered along with the rest of the effects. For that I wish they would've stuck to practical effects like Pan's Labyrinth did or literally any character Doug Jones plays like down below.

Heck, even the musical does a better job:

I seriously encourage you to watch B T S footage of Wicked to see how insane and amazing this effect is. Once you see it, you'll realize just how bad the movie fucked up on this.

Bottom line: movies that take their time with CGI effects and utilize other methods like practical effects before leaving everything up to post have better results than your run of the mill CGI Marvel or DC blockbuster.

I'm still not feeling Arianna as Glinda. Before you fans eat me up alive I need to say again I don't hate her and even like some of the stuff she puts out there. This critique is not a reflection on who she is as a person because I don't know her personally. With that out of the way I still cannot stand her Glinda impression. "But Lilli!" You say. "You said you didn't like Ari as Glinda because she's not giving Glinda but she's doing Glinda's voice!" And I stand by that. She's not giving Glinda. She's giving Kristen Chenoweth. You might think that's the whole point of playing Glinda but let me ask you; When you watch Megan Hilty as Glinda, did you think she was imitating KC to the bone? What about Kendra Kassebaum? Ginna Claire Mason or McKenzie Kurtz? Did you think KC was imitating Billie Burke? Or were all of them doing their own interpretations of Glinda that made the character unique to themselves and not a copycat version of the original? Because I argue that's what makes every Glinda special and unique from the previous actress who played her. Doing a copycat rendition of KC makes me believe you have no faith in yourself as an actor and you are incapable of playing character that's been done before without having to copy the source material beat for beat. Because of this, I still cannot seperate Ari the pop star from Glinda The Good.

This point has less to do with Ari as Glinda in the movie and more as what she's doing to promote the movie. I have no idea where else to rant about it but here. I hate hate HATE how Arianna is making this movie and Glinda her ENTIRE personality. She acts like she's part of this fandom yet never interacts with anyone in it (unless its directly involves her) and it all feels so... artificial and money grabbing. Someone please tell me I'm not alone. Like girl please call me when you read and write fanfic on AO3 and get three kudos on your multichap fic lol.

DTL: Again I ask, WHY IS THIS MOVIE SO DARK? DTL is meant to be in a ballroom with tons of bright lights and projections. This ballroom looks so dark and depressing. I'm not thinking "let's dance because dust is what we come to" I'm thinking "turn me into dust already." When I saw Elphaba putting that hat on in the teaser trailer, I thought that was a scene in defying gravity. John Chu failed this scene which makes me angry because I this is my favorite scene in the musical.

Adding on to DTL, we have to talk about the scene where Elphaba and Glinda establish their friendship. If you know this scene in the musical (which duh) you'll know that this is where Glinda realizes that she did a horrible thing to Elphie and wants to make things right, even if it means putting her reputation in the gutter in front of her friends. I know this is an edited trailer so we won't know for sure how the full scene plays out in the final movie, but Glinda immediately going for a hug before they start dancing threw me off guard. At this point, they still aren't best friends because Elphaba doesn't realize that Glinda is sorry for what she did, their relationship is only now starting to build up. Let me ask you, what do you think makes a scene more impactful? Glinda hesitantly and nervously walking up to interupt Elphaba doing a solo dance and then cutting in to make her feel less alone, which eventually leads to all while making them ease up around each other as the song and dance progresses OR Glinda rushing into a bear hug with Elphaba before they even establish them making amends on the dance floor? One seems like a slow burn that tugs at your heartstrings while the other feels like a cheap attempt to get some kind of emotional response from the audience? (Then again not sure how this scene will play in movie but it's not looking good right now)

Final point, why is Elphaba crying during this scene? I get she's just been put through public humiliation and is just now getting an act of kindness from someone but don't you think it's too soon to show her in such a vulnerable position? One of the things about Elphaba in both the musical and books is that she's built a wall of apathy around her because she's been judged her whole life and doesn't care how other people percive her. We don't see her breakdown in the musical until Nessa's death because she's been forced to stay strong her entire life. Maybe at the earliest, we'll see her tear up during defying gravity but I'd argue that's a part of the actress playing her and not the character herself.

I hate how this trailer has been edited to make Arianna look like the protagonist. I get she's bringing in a large audience, but she's playing the secondary character, not the main one. It just pisses me that the protagonist (who is a WOC) has to be in the shadow of the white woman. It almost makes me believe they're doing it because they're more worried people would be offended at the prospect of a POC being a leading role.

The main actors still look way too mature to be playing their characters. I spoke about this already. I don't buy any of these adults (with the exception of Marissa Bode) as college freshmen.

Still hate that riff at the end of defying gravity and that after all the backlash, they're still going with it. I also can't believe some of you are defending it to the death and acting like Cynthia Fucking Erivo can't do a better take than what she gave. (Yes, I know every Elphaba does a different take on the riff and we all have our favorite ones but I'm going to say something that is controversial yet brave: Not every riff that every Elphaba does is great. Some of them are range from underwhelming to straight up bad) Here's a reddit post I found that better explains my gripe with the riff since I'm bad at explaining musical terms:

Costume and makeup design is still atrocious. I'm sorry, but the low effort looking costumes cannot hold up to the extravagance and camp the stage has. They should've brought Susan Hilferty back. Look at Elphaba's act 2 dress and the dress movie Elphaba wears and tell me you're not disappointed.

Adding on, why does everything look modern, including the makeup? Arianna using her brand of makeup in the movie doesn't impress me when she's using a modern day mascara wand over her wispy falsies in a 1900's inspired society when she should be using one of these:

Like... come on? Can you imagine a scene of Glinda doing her makeup while she's ranting to Elphaba about how men (except for darling Fifi of course <3) are so entitled and disrespectful and in the middle of her sentence, she just SPITS on her mascara cake, scrubs the brush like she's scrubbing the floor and does her lashes? Iconic honestly.

Adding on to the makeup looking modernized, I'm not a fan of Elphaba's modernized makeup either. It could be the deaging filter they added on everyone older than thirty but one thing that stood out to me is they used 90's era lip liner on her. I'm much aware if you're darker skinned, you will often times need to use a liner in order to blend in parts around your mouth that are darker in comparison to your lips. Counterpoint however:

They could've easily used a dark lipstick post-Popular like they already do. The 1900's era mostly used a single shade of lip color anyways. And no, I don't want to hear from any of you how none of this matters because Oz is an advanced society or some half assed excuse why it's totally okay they didn't care about the miniscule details while they cared about the number of tulips used in Munchkinland for NMTW. (also note: Oz was considered an advanced society FOR THE TIME IT WAS CREATED. Meaning they weren't envisioning the future items we have now like a mascara wand) If they allowed Arianna to use her own brand of makeup for the movie, they could've allowed an expert on BW's makeup history on set for their main protagonist.

Set design. I've got to say, while some of the sets are impressive, they really don't fit into Wicked or Oz. I mostly blame CGI and lighting, but even then, it can't hold up to the simple, yet brightly colored sets we see on stage. Shiz looks like something out of Hogwarts, which nearly every fantasy academia story looks like these days. Can we please have something original for once?

What I would've enjoyed seeing the movie do is something similar to Melanine Martinez's K-12. They were working on one location on a smaller budget, yet it looks better than the dimly lit and CGI sets we're seeing.

Obviously I'm not saying Wicked should look EXACTLY like K-12 because they have completely different themes and genres, but my point is good lighting, original set designs and color correcting can take you a long way. Wicked is deserving of having the same whimsy look that the WOZ movie had, while still having dark parts where needed.

Some more examples of good use of lighting during dark scenes in movies:

Continuing from not being a fan of the sets, I'm FUMING at the location of Fiyero and Elphaba freeing the lion cub. Why is it in a dark dreary forest?????? Did John Chu mix up the locations between INTG and ALAYM???? The lion cub scene takes place in the poppy field, with a soft orange pinkish lighting that creates a romantic atmosphere and establishes the growing romance between Fiyero and Elphaba (<3) This forest looks too erie and mystical, which should've been used for act 2.

Another hot take: I think the tulip field in Munchkinland looks completely unnecessary. I literally do not care if they planted thousands of rows of them. They look CGI'd because nearly everything in this movie is CGI.

Now onto some things I'm confused about.

God I was so looking forward to Peter Dinklage as the voice for Dr. Dillamond,but from what I heard of his voice acting so far, it just sounds... underwhelming. But I can't complain too much because at least it's not James Corden. I still believe in Peter and hope he will pull through.

Why did they feel the need to change the shape of the grimmerie? It was fine the way it was!

Adding to Dr. D, I'm not sure if I like his new design. I'm guessing they're taking inspiration from the book but if we're discussing live action, I really prefer makeup effects over CGI. One of the things I liked about the Animals in Wicked and in Cats the Musical is they find a perfect balance between blending human features and animal species without it going into the uncanny valley.

I feel underwhelmed by Jeff Goldbulm's acting as The Wizard :( I can't complain too much because he kinda-

On a final note: I think this movie just cannot and will not match up to the excellence of the musical. Will it be a good movie? I don't know yet. I'll still see it in theaters and will give my thoughts.

While brainstorming my thoughts for this trailer, I've really been thinking about why I hate what I'm seeing so far while I enjoy other interpretations of Wicked, especially when it comes to costumes. Then I realized something.

I love non-replica productions of Wicked... So why don't I like the design of this movie?

Part two of my take COMING THANKSGIVING 2025

Not really, give me like a week or two.

[avichor]

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

— u and i both have a lot of conversations about this and i'm sure we'll post ranty posts about this in the near future but. i'm tired of the lack of respect asian cultures get. they're used as aesthetics, interchanged, mocked, fetishized, and then disregarded when they don't suit what people want out of it. not entirely unpopular opinion, but it might as well be with how literally the entire world treats it llsgjlskdgskd

— as someone who's made blogs for and have tried to initiate interactions with original characters, AND have struggled to get those interactions — i do think a lot of interactions, or lack thereof, can be attributed to the lack of content or effort put out. usually. like i usually think it's the case. like it obvs sucks that ppl with ocs need to put in more work, but sometimes u just gotta. whether it's making verses, adding more info about the lore, breaking lengthy info down into something digestible ( bullets bc lbr not everyone will read novels of info nor will they retain it ). this is aside from people blatantly ignoring the effort you put in, thats a whole diff thing. but if i struggle to int with ocs it's bc there's nothing for me to work with and sometimes. SOMETIMES i fear the information just isn't digestible for me and i cannot like, visualize? the character beyond words on a page................ yeah idk. i think bullet lists are really good in getting important info out in a quick and easy way to supplement a novel biography ( esp if it has heavy prose ).

— im gonna be so fr my brain is frying but. i feel like there hasn't been any new tv that HITS the way the vampire diaries did. and i miss that era tbh like it actually makes me kinda sad :clown: but in that same vein of tvd, the way the current climate of fandoms interact with it is very offputting to me like none of the characters are meant to be morally good. the show's gonna have assholes who do heinous things beyond basic vampire stuff ( damon ) and outright erasing him or banning him or vilifying writers who choose to write him from a non - romanticized lens is very weird to me. its just the whole cherrypicking all over again

— ON THAT TOPIC, i miss tw. lol. the fandom is RANCID as are sterek shippers, i wish them a very [redacted]. but i will eat up whatever content that franchise puts out. even that shitty new movie i was eating it up just for the vibes like i couldnt tell you one thing that happened in the movie but i sure watched it and enjoyed the brief serotonin it gave me.

— duplicate anxiety is weird and it's weird to impose it on others i'm tired of pretending to be sympathetic about it

— korean stiles was still the weirdest fucking thing i've ever had to witness on tumblr dot com

[l0thcat]

I keep thinking about TBB and how it ended. Or the whole season i should say, the ending was pretty good with a few flaws ( in my opinion ).

And you know, I'm not surprised, as much as i LOVE this show, I'm used to cartoons getting shit. Its been going on for far too long.

Its Disney AND Netflix. And here is a list of shows that were doing good, got told mid season its getting canceled, and a rushed ending.

Amphibia

The Owl House

She Ra and The Princesses Of Power ( 2018 )

Centaurworld*

My Little Pony G4* and G5

Steven Universe*

OK KO lets be heroes.*

Star Trek Prodigy*

Kipo and the age of the wonderbeasts.

The Mandalorian ( i know its not a cartoon but it has the same vibes as TBB ).

And probably many more. It sucks, so bad, for animation. And I'm saying this because i fully believe Disney or whoever was going to cancel TBB if it already isn't. They just didn't want to announce that.

Other notes:

*Centaurworld ; Was meant to be an ADULT cartoon and very much has left overs from that, however Netflix decided it was too MLP-esc so they made it for kids instead which ended up just being a bunch of fart and butt jokes. And then got canceled anyways so everything had to rush and wrap up in season 2. Which SUCKS because it is so beautiful when it can be and has beautiful music.

*MLP G4 is not Netflix nor Disney and while it did get multiple seasons and an ending, it had new writers during, i don't know, s6 or s7. And things slowly went backwards. And the end felt rushed imo. It wasn't a bad one but it didn't feel.. satisfying.

*Steven Universe ; i love Steven Universe, it was canceled because the creator got an Sapphic wedding AND kiss scene on screen, on a kids cartoon. But they compromised by after the finale they would get a spin off and a movie. The finale is good. Whats rushed here to me, was the spin off. And again, this is not Disney or Netflix, but Cartoon Network.

OK KO and Star Trek prodigy are also not Disney or Netflix ( which apparently Netflix is trying to save Star Trek Prodigy ) but also kicked the bucket.

All this to say ; there is a huge problem within the animation area and I'm tired of CEOs or whoever forcing creators and writers to cancel or shorten their stories.

The Bad Batch s3 is no better in my opinion. I loved a lot of scenes of it and I'm grateful for a lot of it and I'm not honestly sure if this is Disney or Jennifer or someone else but it really hurts.

Here is why it bothers me:

I'll just get this one out of the way first. Tech. Tech COULD have been sacrificed. He COULD have died. In a way that was actually meaningful. Omega got captured anyway, she was probably going to whether Tech went home with them or not. His death IS sad and i DO see them trying to honor it, i do. But its bad to me because it really does feel like "gotta kill the autistic person". Its really annoying when shows try to have an autistic character and then mistreat them ( She Ra 2018 as well but Entrapta didn't die but she does get mistreated a lot ). Its annoying and hurtful. Especially with the writers and such teasing his fans so strongly. There was no reason to. Its not a spoiler.

The TALKS in between that we missed. Tech talking to Phee about Crosshair. Crosshair learning about Tech's Death from Omega. Omega talking to Emerie about her brothers. Crosshair coming back with Omega, we don't even see them just silently watching him walk into the ship. Its just nothing. I'm sure i am forgetting some because it happened, SO much during this season.

What happened to Cody. Like its fine if he's being saved for another series but then perhaps say that.

Creators do not have to be extremely secretive about everything. Fans who don't want spoilers don't go looking for it. I'm not implying they need to spoil the ENTIRE plot, but saying Tech is dead-dead is not something to be secretive about, An hour long finale is not something to be secretive about, etc.

The other Clone X's, while they are very very cool and supposed to mirror CF99... they weren't overly needed honestly. It felt so rushed. Like I'm not saying they needed to be someome either, they don't need to. But i wasn't fearful or full of impact when i saw them my genuine reaction was "this is too much now". It was like if they DID decide to put Darth Vader in it at last second. Like i fully believe Omega was supposed to be home with Crosshair for a little longer and help Echo and Rex with the clones. And then these new CX clones were supposed to show up in s4 and be the ones to get her again.

The fans.. would have wanted.. season 4?...... i don't know why its so bad to want that. And honestly atp, i don't get why its so bad to have plot filler. Its BAD for series that got canceled or shortened, but its not bad for a series that you want more of, because then you get more time with them or more lore if you're lucky.

It occured to me there was not one flash back. Not one about the past. The most was Omega talking about how she watched CF99 be made and that it implied shes older ( and is ) than them. Could you imagine the emotional impact on us and for Omega, watching her, watch them grow up. I don't think Rebels or TCW really had flash backs either but they usually did it in other ways.

I'm not like.. a good writer, so maybe writers on here will disagree and thats okay, I'm open to that.

TLDR: I'm tired of Cartoons kicking the bucket too soon for far too long. I feel like The Bad Batch s3 also had this treatment and it isn't fair to the fans.

[lisicaaaa]

Questioning if I'm a therian

First of all hello, I made a new account because some friends follow me on the original and I'm not sure if they'd make fun of me for questioning this. I really don't know where else I can ask this so any advice would be of help!

I am a 21 years old and ever since a child I REALLY BADLY wanted to be a canid of sorts (dog/wolf/fox, you name it). When my family would go to grandma's village I'd run around the fields imagining I was a dog exploring the wildernesses and I remember even asking my mom if she can put water in a bowl instead or a cup so I can lick it like a dog (I'd lick the water like that even if she gave me a normal cup xd she couldn't stop me back then).

When school started I was quite isolated and lonely (I won't go into too much depth), I felt like a part of me didn't belong with humans and that I had easier time being friends with animals because they don't judge you for superficial stuff. I remember watching these "watch this video to become a wolf" and being really sad and disappointed that it didn't work. I also didn't like any books/movies that didn't feature animals as main characters because I found more fun to imagine being them than a human.

That's when I discovered the kitsune mythology and they've been my main interest since I was like 13 because I found the idea of a fox being able to switch between their true form and a human form very cool! Wish that were me!

Even when creating original characters, most of them are shapeshifters of some sort because I like the idea of being able to shift wheneve they want. I wish to find some field where there are no ppl around so I can run free and not worry about human problems. I also sometimes imagine how nice it would be to be reincarnated as a fox or a wolf in the future life.

However, I'm not sure if I have species dysphoria nor shifts, I never interacted with other therians who could explain it to me :( I'm also not sure if all of this what I said is actually therian related or I might be somewhere on the neurodivergent spectrum (I'm NOT saying that therians ""have a problem in their head"" I'm saying that it might be a *me* problem only because I'm confused and possibly undiagnosed with something because getting any sort of mental health diagnosis or treatment in my country is quite hard)

So what do you think? Could I possibly be a therian or am I experiencing something different? Did you relate with anything I said? And in case that I am, am I too late for discovering it now at 21 years old?

I'm sorry if I worded something badly or if this is a dumb question, I rarely post anything online because I'm very shy and I'm bad at wording things. Thank you in advance for any help and I hope you're having a great day!!

[lovelyleclercs]

Chapter Seven- Guilty Tears

Arthur Leclerc x Sofia Sine

->goodbye's have never been so hard for Arthur and Sofia, but this goodbye in particular held so much more behind it.

warnings: mentions of cancer, fighting cancer alone, mentions of death, I think that's it but please let me know if there is anything else, I don't know how cancer treatments actually go, I only ever heard of bits and pieces so if anything is wrong, I am sorry, I'm writing a fictional story regardless.

word count: 1500

a/n: I sobbed writing this one, sorry bestie boos

Seven days post treatment and Sofia was finally feeling somewhat normal again. 

This past treatment had taken a toll on her, knocking her off of her feet for five days straight- only waking up to go to the bathroom or to try to get some food and water in her system. 

Despite only sleeping most days, Arthur had never left her side once. Every time Sofia woke up, Arthur was in her bed, at her desk doing work, or even sitting on the floor reading a book. 

Sofia had told him countless times that he didn’t have to stay- that there were far more interesting things he could be doing than being cooped up in an apartment with her all week long while she slept her treatment pains away- but Arthur insisted on staying. 

When Sofia had finally been able to keep her eyes open for longer than an hour at a time, the two of them would watch a movie, talk about the upcoming F2 season, and eat food as long as Sofia could stomach it. 

Sofia had appreciated Arthur’s company, it made the idea of treatments and recovery just a little bit more bearable, though she knew it wouldn’t last for long. 

In a weeks time, the F2 season would be underway and Arthur would be home less and less, meaning that she would have to attend her treatments alone, recover from them alone, and fight off this horrible illness alone. 

The thing she hated the most about it though was the fact that she would be unable to attend any of the races this year- at least not for the first half of the season. 

Due to the intensity and side effects of her treatment, Dr. M had put Sofia on a strict no traveling ban. 

Thankfully though, F2 did race in Monaco and she would be able to see parts of the track from her bedroom window, but that wasn’t the same as attending a grand prix weekend with him. 

When Arthur came into Sofia’s room late that Wednesday night, she knew it was him coming to say goodbye. Arthur would be gone for three weeks, having no time to fly back home and visit in between race weekends. 

Sofia looked up from her book and saw Arthur standing in the doorway of her room, his face holding an expression of sadness and sorrow- almost as though he felt guilty for having to leave her. 

Arthur smiled sadly, walking over to her bed before sitting on the edge of it and picking up her hand gently. “I’ve gotta go… my flight leaves in an hour”

Sofia put her book down and nodded a little, her eyes meeting his for a moment. “Ok, have fun, I’ll be watching every session, you know that” 

Arthur nodded and looked down at their hands as he felt himself getting emotional. “I’m sorry I won’t be here for your next treatment… I really tried to get some time off to fly here for the day but it’s just not possible…”

Sofia squeezed his hand a little and nodded. “It’s ok, Art. I understand. You’ve got a busy season this year, I can’t expect you to be here with me 24/7 nor can I expect you to be able to come with me to every appointment”

Arthur sighed and shook his head “This isn’t fair, Sof. You should be coming with me. You should be with me for my first F2 race” 

Sofia teared up a little, the realities of how much this disease was truly taking from her finally hitting her. Arthur would never have a first F2 race again. She would be missing out on the start of what could potentially land him a seat in Formula 1- and she hated it. 

“I know, Arthur. I know…” she whispered, her voice beginning to crack as a few tears managed to slip down her face. 

Arthur pulled Sofia into a tight hug, not knowing what else to say or do. He hated the fact that he couldn’t even sit with her for very long-he was on a strict time schedule and this goodbye was already taking way longer than he had time for. “I’ve gotta go, but please know that I love you and that I'm here for you, even if I'm thousands of miles away, ok?”

Sofia nodded and pulled from the hug “I know, Arthur. I love you too”

Arthur sighed and let go of Sofia’s hand, pushing himself off of the bed as he made his way towards the door.

Sofia stared down at her fidgeting hands, already missing the hold Arthur’s hand had on them just seconds prior. Tears were falling down her face, a few drops landing on her hands in front of her. Silent cries, ones that she was hoping Arthur wouldn’t notice. She hadn’t expected this goodbye to be so hard- goodbyes were something her and Arthur were used to- but this one held so much more behind it. 

It meant she would be alone for the next three weeks- Nobody to hold her while she suffers through her treatment, nobody to wake her up just to try to get her to eat or drink, nobody to keep her company when she felt alone or sad

It meant missing out on seeing Arthur start his F2 career, something he had longed for and dreamed of ever since signing his F3 contract two years ago. 

But the one thing that weighed on her the most was the possibility that maybe this was the last time she’d ever see Arthur.

What if something happened when he was gone and she didn’t make it? The last memory she had of him would be that sad, guilt ridden face as he apologized for doing what he loved. 

Arthur turned around as he was about to walk out of her bedroom. He didn’t fail to notice the few tears dripping off of her face and onto her hands, nor did he fail to notice the way her breathing had increased despite her being able to keep her cries silent. His heart broke at the sight before him, knowing that he was partially to blame for the tears falling. 

Without saying another word, Arthur walked out of the room, knowing that even though it was the last thing he wanted to do right now, he didn’t really have a choice. 

He got out to the car, climbing into the back seat as Charles and Charlotte occupied both front seats. “Someone really should have stayed with her, you know” he mumbled, sort of as a stab at Charlotte for choosing to attend a race instead of sitting with her sister, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that he was doing the same thing. 

He could’ve chosen to stay home with her. He could have chosen to take a year off of racing and hoped that Rene would give him his shot at F2 next year, but no.

He chose to leave her. 

He chose to let her fight this fight alone. 

He chose to fly thousands of miles away to pursue his dreams. 

“Sorry, that was rude of me to say, I'm sorry..” he whispered, his voice shaking as tears began to form in his eyes. 

“It’s ok…” Charlotte said as she noticed the pain in his voice. “She doesn’t want me anywhere near her.. She only trusts you right now… I hope you understand why i’ve chosen to attend the first grand prix”

Arthur nodded and looked out the window. Charlotte was right. Sofia had pushed everyone away except for him. She only trusted him. She could only be vulnerable with him. She didn’t want to be around anyone but him. “Do you think I made a mistake by leaving her? Should I have stayed?”

Charlotte shook her head. “You know she would be disappointed if you had chosen to stop racing to be by her side. That’s what she was afraid of in the beginning and the main reason why she waited so long to tell you. She wants you to do what you love, Arthur.”

“Yeah but I can always do it next year..”

Charlotte nodded a little. “I say we see how this first race goes and if she really can’t handle being alone, then you can reevaluate the situation, ok?”

Arthur nodded “yeah, ok” he said before staring out the window. 

Was this truly the right decision? 

Would Sofia be ok without him?

Would he be able to perform well with so much on his mind?

Maybe he should’ve stayed. 

Maybe he should have Charles stop the car so he could run back to her apartment and hold her in his arms again. 

Maybe she would be ok without him.

Maybe she can handle this on her own.

Maybe she wants nothing more than to fall asleep in his arms.

Maybe she’s scared of fighting this alone.

Maybe tragedy will strike and leave them both wishing they would have done something different…

[zalrb]

what's your thoughts on the penguin finale

So, whenever a new show or movie comes out that has people gushing, I think about a review I saw for RRR and a review for the first season of Ted Lasso where they were essentially like, this movie/show will win the hearts of even the most jaded moviegoer/tv viewer, and how for me, that was correct. I bring this up because a lot of the time when we talk movies and shows on here, I tend to bring up older movies or shows that I think executed the same thing better, and I bring this up because before I watched the finale, I saw a lot of people on twitter or IG or threads or wherever gushing about the brilliance of this show and of the finale and about how what is so fantastic about this show is that it got them to sympathize with Oz and then in the end show that he's actually a villain and I was already thinking of shows and movies that have done this and was like, you know, I'm going to try and watch this episode without comparing it to other shows, without thinking of how and why this show isn't like The Sopranos despite the people comparing the two.

So, I watched it and this is so weird to say but the finale really drove home the fact that this show was meant to be a character study on Oz and that's why I was underwhelmed because I was like, it would be more unpredictable if he ended up killing his mother over Vic but what is meant to hurt worse or be worse than that is the whole confrontation that he has with her and him finding out that she knew what he did to his brother all along and that she had planned to have the gangster he so looked up to kill him. Things happen that are supposed to be pivotal moments that define him as The Penguin, and her saying that she's always hated him and stabbing him before suffering a stroke rendering her uncommunicative is supposed to be this Moment, it's supposed to be this Huge Revelation and Emotional Gut Punch and him killing Vic, his last shred of humanity, is also supposed to be this Moment and none of it made an impact on me (like Vic begging for his life was sad) and I was like, is it because I'm comparing this show unfavourably to The Sopranos or is it because I just didn't care enough about Oz for these things to matter and I was like, it's the latter, and it's because I just don't think Oz is an interesting enough character for me to care about these Moments in any real way. I don't think this show, this character study of this person has shown me anything particularly complex or intriguing in seven episodes for the eighth to really hit home, which is why when watching it, I didn't share in the gushing of how the show made Oz sympathetic only to reiterate at the end that he's the villain because I didn't find that he did anything darker in this episode than what he already did in the show. I never thought he was the villain in the show nor did I find him sympathetic. It's all quite superficial to me and sometimes that superficiality led to holes, like, it's supposed to be this whole thing that Oz reacts violently when he feels disrespected or slighted so in the first episode he impulsively kills the mob boss son because he felt demeaned by him and then we see in the flashback that he locks his brothers inside the sewers because he thought they went somewhere he couldn't find him because of his leg but that just had me like, so is Oz reactive or is he someone who pretends to be unassuming to climb up the ladder? Because mob boss son and his brothers can't be the only people who have made him feel slighted throughout his life but he hasn't gone around just killing people who have done that and we're also supposed to believe that he is surprisingly cunning and stealthy so you can't be both, you can't be impulsive and reactionary and also patient and calculating. This seems inconsistent to me so it's actually quite superficial to me and that's when I start comparing it to other shows not necessarily because I think The Penguin has to reinvent the wheel but because its contribution to the wheel seems pretty generic that I end up shrugging.

Like, the more interesting character would be Francis because she's the mother who knew her one son killed-not-killed-but-did-kill his brothers in large part because he has an Oedipal complex and wants her to himself and she contemplated killing him and then decided not to and now she's trapped in her own body. I want her character study.

[opinated-user]

Lily rebloging ginger shiting on the nimona movie is just sort of showcasing how blatantly they both ignore what people say to them and just answer as if the person is mad for 0 reason.

Like I think it is rather weird that Lily and her pals are overly critical of media made by and featuring lgbt+ people, while constantly praising stuff like family guy and the Simpsons. It's fine that they like those shows, but it's weird that anytime queer media and queer creators come up, they mock and hate on them way more than anything else.

And yet when someone points that out, they ignore it and pretend the person was just mad because they didn't like their show. Idk I feel like it costs them 0 dollars to just say "that's not my thing" and leave it alone, instead of continuing to come up with reasons why said queer media or creator is actually awful.

Heck, even though lily doesn't like The Last Jedi, she's only said anything negative about the director once or twice, yet will not stop insulting Rebecca Sugar, Nate Stevenson, Dana Terrace or Golden. It really does seem bad that all her and her pals vitriol is reserved for queer or female creators.

Like lm sorry but that's weird and comes across as misogynistic and queerphobic. If u don't like it fine, but why make it so personal? I mean, she hates South Park, but those fans don't complain because she doesn't constantly rag on it or the creators, who of corse are cis men. It's the out of proportion hate for these creators and media that has people frustrated because it really makes lily and pals look bigoted.

(for the record, only adressing this because LO has shared those post and presumably shares the same feelings. i don't care about discussing ginger on their own nor i'll respond for any other post they have done and LO hasn't commented on or shared) it's kinda sad to see their basic form of argumentation be just "this person is attacking me, personally, and i need to respond by attacking them back", which is just a copypaste of LO's style, but also just unnecessary. say "this thing does not empower me, but i understand other people might not feel the same" wouldn't cost anything at all, but no. a person has to have all the objective reason of the world and the other person has to be objectively wrong. two people just can't have two different perspectives on the same topic.

instead we have to make it into a whole screaming contest where you get to "own" the other person into submission. curiously enough, this is exactly one of the biggest pitfalls of the so called debate bros that LO was complaining about months ago. but i guess it's okay when her friends and herself act that way.

[foxholes]

15 questions for 15 (or so!) friends!

tagged by @euphcme!! ty cleo!!

are you named after anyone? nah, my parents just flipped through a baby book until they found a name they agreed on. i was close to being named taylor, but ultimately they decided against it because then my initials would be the same as my siblings and they wanted us to be easily distinguishable by just initials. for my middle name, which i won't say what it is cuz it's not a typical "middle name", my mom said she just chose one that was more traditional to kind of offset the more trendy first name. that way, if i grew up and didn't like how popular haley was, i could go by my middle name instead

when was the last time you cried? i have a goldfish memory so i have no idea, but it was surely this week and probably over something really dumb like i stubbed my toe or read a sad fanfic honestly.... it luckily Has Not Been That Serious for me lately (knock on wood), so no big reasons to cry and just silly ones and for this i am very grateful!!

do you have kids? i am not mentally stable or financially secure enough for a child rn, but i do think i might want them later on (esp if i find a loving partner who agrees). i personally think that, at 25, i am too young to have kids (i know people my age are parents, but it completely baffles and scares me), so it's not something i'm gonna put too much thought into until i'm in my 30s. 30 is also, coincidentally, the age i'll be when my iud expires (unless the fda approves it for longer), so i am fully Not Worrying About It Yet 😌 thats for future haley to hem and haw about. current haley is vibing with 0 responsibilities over other living breathing human beings

what sport do you play / have played? i have never actually played a sport... my parents made me try so many when i was a kid, but i would literally throw fits and scream until they let me quit. i did play recreational tennis for a little bit and i always want to go back to it cuz i still have the racquet, but i don't currently have anyone to play with!

do you use sarcasm? absolutely. it became a problem at work (reported to HR cuz someone thought i was serious), so i have to really try and contain myself in professional settings 🙃

what's the first thing you notice about people? hair! then style/fashion, demeanor, and general age range. if they're in my age range and i'm otherwise attracted to them, the very next thing i always check is their hands bc i lovveeeeeee hands (rings, tattoos, nail polish 🤍)

what's your eye color? like a denim blue/gray with green/gold/hazel central heterochromia (prev also has CH which is very cool, hey twin!)

scary movies or happy endings? 90% of all media i consume has a happy ending and i rarely watch scary movies except at halloween, so happy endings!! give me that HEA or give me death!!!!

any talents? oversharing and never shutting the fuck up or being able to read a room 🤍 no but fr, i can play the flute if i choose to (which i rarely do bc i live in an apartment and do not want my neighbors to Crucify Me). i also embroider/cross stitch, but that may be more of a hobby? i do write very well, and i love it so so so much, but finding motivation and time is nearly impossible for me lately. i have absolutely been having a quarter life crisis about the fact that i am neglecting almost every creative outlet in my life due to burnout - would love to get back to it and learn how to sew since i need to learn how to alter my clothing as off-the-rack does not fit nor flatter my body... tall chubby girl problems frfr

where were you born? take a map of the usa, put a pin in a place you would never want to go, and you're probably semi-close!

what are your hobbies? reading and listening to music are the biggies. if i have any downtime at all, i will usually be reading. i cancelled all my streaming services bc i literally was not using them since i'm always reading instead... libby app and my kindle are my beloveds 🤍 and for music, i literally netted like... 190,000+ minutes on my spotify wrapped last yr bc the only times im NOT listening to music are when im sleeping or if im doing something that prevents me from listening to music (like a meeting at work where i have to actively participate). i also like to build lego sets! but i don't have room for any more of them tbh my apartment is FULL up on stuff since it's soooo tiny and i took in a lot of my grandma's stuff after she died since i couldn't bear parting with it, so i have 0 room now. next time i want to build one, i'll just have to take apart and then redo one instead of get a new one

do you have any pets? unfortunately no, but i would love a cat! a little afraid to get one for two reasons tho. 1) i have never Had a pet before and am afraid of doing wrong by the little baby, and 2) i Was attacked by a cat a few years ago and am still a little afraid of them. i have a friend whose cat is VERY aggressive (lots of biting, scratching, jumping on and attacking them) and i would not do well with a cat like that and would want a more mellow cat (they can playfight with me occasionally of course, but i could not deal with the near-constant attacking my friend endures. it would absolutely freak me out). but, since you can't really know a cats personality until you get them home and acclimated to the new environment and owner, there's no guarantee i wouldn't get a cat i'd be afraid of, so i've held off on adopting for now. i keep hoping i will get blessed by the cat distribution system and they will give me a cat they know will mesh with me, since i know cats like that exist. my siblings cat is literally the sweetest baby and has never hurt, scratched, bit, or attacked them before and just snuggles or ignores them and that is the kind of cat i would need. @ the universe..... please....

how tall are you? 5'8.5/174cm almost exactly. if i'm talking to a man, i round down and tell him i'm 5'8 but if i'm talking to a woman i round up and say i'm 5'9 (gotta impress the ladies with my height, gotta humble the 5'10 man who said he's 6'0 and is now upset he's so close in height to me when i'm 5'8)

favorite subject in school? english, science, and history! but i was a total nerd and loved every class tbh

dream job? novel writer! but writing is so difficult for me lately since my job is so draining of all my time and mental energy that even when i have free time, i can't bring myself to do anything other than rot or read and listen to music. but, i can't quit my job to write bc i cant afford to live w/o my job, so for the time being, my bestselling debut novel that will get a movie deal and change my life for the better, making me vastly wealthy and enabling me to continue writing at my leisure, is still stuck inside my head

I truly cannot think of 15 people to tag in this cuz it is very, very late and i am very, very tired but i will tag.... 3 people rn and edit it if i think of more later!! no hard feelings if you don't want to do this, but i'd love to read your responses if you do 🤍

@lastparty @ratatouiile @lvagirl

[rickie-the-storyteller]

Get To Know My OC Tag!

This'll probably be the first of many since this was sooo much fun to do lol.

I was going to do this with Steph… but I felt more drawn towards El today for some reason. Probably because I've been editing a lot more of her scenes/chapters lately. So Elise, I choose you!

Thank you for tagging me, @gummybugg!

Let's begin!

__________

The door opens, and 18-year-old Elise Kennedy enters the room. She walks with graceful strides that indicates the quiet confidence she holds within her. She is a pretty girl - long wavy blonde hair styled in a messy bun, crystal clear blue eyes sparkling with joy and curiosity (despite being baggy from that high school stress and sleep deprivation), and a bright beaming smile that honestly does a better job of lighting up the room than my terrible cheap lamp does. She appears to be about 5'6, if I'm not wrong.

She extends a hand in greeting, radiating an immediate sense of warmth and sincerity. Her voice, I notice straight away is soft warm and gentle. It carries an undertone enough to put you at ease in an instant. Then she takes her seat.

I know I've only just met her, but she seems nice.

1) Are you named after anyone?

Elise: Uh, no. Not after a person, I don't think. Although, I do know how I got my name. My late grandmother was really into classical music, and she came up with the suggestion of "Elise" for me when I was born because one of her favourite pieces of music was "Für Elise" by Beethoven. When I was little, she actually taught me how to play it on the piano, too! That was a fun time… yeah. But to answer your question, no. Not that I know of.

2) When was the last time you cried?

Elise: I don't know… hmm, let me think. This is actually a deep question when you think about it.

Me: It is??

Elise: Wait! Do you mean, like proper crying? Bawling like a baby? Or do you mean like welling up, but not actually making a sound?

Me: Uh…

Elise: If you mean the first one, then probably last week. I was watching a really sad movie with my brother, and I just couldn't help it. If you mean the second one, then… I don't know. To be honest, it happens on a regular basis. So probably yesterday or something. I try not to be overly emotional all the time, but I'm a sensitive soul, what can I say? (pause) OH! I remember now!

Me: You do?

Elise: It was two weeks ago! Ok, let me explain - I have this friend who really loves music. His name is Bret, and something he likes to do as a hobby is write and produce his own songs, right? And two weeks ago, he sent me an email with a link to his SoundCloud. He posts all his songs there now, its amazing! Anyway, he asked me for feedback on the first song he uploaded on there. So I listened to it, and it made me cry. It was very deep and moving. I loved it… (laughs awkwardly) I feel like my answers are way too long, ha-ha! Sorry about that.

Me: Don't be sorry. This is good!

Elise: I'll send you a link to Bret's SoundCloud! You need to listen to it yourself, so you know what I'm talking about.

Me: Would your friend mind?

Elise: Uh… (pauses for a while to wonder whether or not Bret would actually mind) Probably not?

3) Do you have kids?

Elise: Uh, no. Nor do I want any - at least not right now. I'm still a school kid! (pause) I know I'm 18, so legally I count as an adult, but I still feel like a kid, honestly. And I think that just as a general rule, if you feel like a kid or act like a kid, you probably shouldn't raise a kid.

4) Do you use sarcasm?

Elise: (thinks for a moment, then nods) Yeah. Not as often as some people do, but sometimes it's just necessary, especially when you're dealing with difficult or incompetent people.

5) What's the first thing you notice about people?

Elise: I feel like I'm naturally quite good at reading people, you know? Like, even with people I don't know all that well, I can just look at them and have a good idea of how they're feeling, what their thinking, what they're like. And it's usually pretty accurate, as well. I'm quite intuitive in that sense. I think this is also the reason I connect well with others even if they're very different from me. Like, I'm an introvert, and I'm generally rather quiet and mind my own business most of the time, but quite a lot of my friends are super energetic extroverted people. I think its fun to be curious, you know? Like, taking the time to understand and empathise with a person. You form closer bonds with people that way.

6) What's your eye colour?

Elise: Blue! You see? (opens eyes wide so that I can see their colour)

7) Any special talents?

Elise: Hmm. I don't know if any of my talents count as "special" or anything. I have talents… like, back when I used to perform in my old choir, I was known for being able to hold notes for really, really long. My record back then was like 47 seconds. But it's been years since then, and I probably can't do it anymore. Anything else? (pauses to think for a second) Don't know whether this counts, but I'm really good at memorising things. My brother says I have a memory sharper than a katana… which I think says everything you need to know about him. (laughs) But like, to give an example, I can read a book and basically be able to quote it word for word afterwards. Or watch a show, and be able to recite every line in a given scene. It's quite helpful as a student, actually. Makes the studying process a bit smoother. Not that I don't work hard for my grades, because I do. I don't consider myself to be a mega-super-genius or anything.

8) Scary movies or happy endings?

Elise: Are you kidding me?! Happy ending all the way! I can't sit through a horror movie for the life of me. I hate scary stuff, I just don't like the feeling of terror. I don't get why some people actually like it. I mean some people have to like it, right? There has to be a reason that the horror genre has a market.

9) Where were you born?

Elise: Born and raised in London, baby!

10) What are your hobbies?

Elise: Reading, first of all. I love to read so much. I always have.

Me: What is the book you're reading currently?

Elise: Right now, I'm re-reading "Normal People" by Sally Rooney. It's so good, I highly recommend it. But aside from reading, I like music a lot. Not as much as Bret, but I love to play a bit of piano whenever I have the time, and I also love to sing still. Even though I'm not in my old choir anymore.

Me: Why did you stop if you clearly loved doing it?

Elise: (sighs) It was a toxic environment for me… I needed a break from some of those people. I don't really want to get into it.

Me: Ooookay… (slightly concerned)

11) Do you have any pets?

Elise: No, and I've always wanted one! (pouts) It didn't even matter what it was! My parents aren't about that, though. Ugh! (pause) Maybe in the future, I'll get a puppy. I love dogs so much!

12) What sports do you play/have played?

Elise: None. (laughs) I've never been a sporty person.

13) How tall are you?

Elise: Five foot five. And a bit, depending on what shoes I'm wearing.

14) Favourite subject in school?

Elise: These questions are getting harder… (laughs) I don't know what my favourite subject is. I like all my subjects… I chose four subjects I really enjoy for A level. English Lit, Politics, History and Textiles. I like all of them for different reasons. Even when I struggle with one of them, and it is my least favourite one day, I can't bring myself to hate it… and it ends up being my favourite subject the next day.

Me: Well, tell me why you like all of your subjects.

Elise: Ok! So English Lit is because I love literature, as you may have inferred before from what I said about reading… Politics is because I just find that aspect of the world interesting, you know? I mean, I never used to, but once I started taking this class, I just found it fascinating. Just seeing how that stuff works. History was my strongest subject back when I did my GCSEs, so I was like "I have to do it again next year!" And Textiles… I don't know, I just find it peaceful. It's a chill subject to balance out the crazy intense ones. (laughs again)

15) Dream job?

Elise: In my dreams, I have all kinds of different jobs. Just last night I had a dream that I was this therapist, right, and all of my friends from work were coming into my office to ask for help with their love lives, despite the fact that I literally have no dating experience and am therefore the least qualified person to ask for help in that department. Man… why would you even go to your therapist just to ask about your love life anyway? Is that the only thing in your life that's bothering you?! The ONLY thing?!

Me: …That's not what I meant.

Elise: Yeah, I know. I just wanted to talk about my weird dream for a second. I don't know what my dream job is. As a child, my dream job was to be an author, like Cressida Cowell. I used to love her books growing up. I wanted to write just like her… create this huge epic fantasy series… have that series get turned into movies… but I couldn't come up with any original ideas. So I gave up.

Me: Awww…

Elise: Oh, it's okay. I still write a bit sometimes for fun. But in terms of an actual career, I'm stuck between two things - a lawyer, and a journalist.

Me: Two completely different things.

Elise: Yep. Lawyer because it's something I've been working towards all my life, pretty much. I mainly did it because my parents always said that it's a promising career to have. But journalism is just so fascinating to me. It's like being a writer, except you don't need to come up with original ideas. Plus, you get to explore the world, discover exciting new people and places and cultures and events… and tell stories that don't often get heard. It's like the career was made for me!

Me: It does, doesn't it? Well, I'm sure you'll make the right choice for yourself. Thanks for coming, Elise. This has been fun.

Elise: Of course! Thank you for having me.

END OF INTERVIEW.

__________

This was so much fun! I want to make this an open tag, but I'll just tag these three people to give it a go as well:

@rubywrite

@soph1333

@winterandwords

[eldritch-araneae]

Can you make a list of Bumblebee's best friend (bot) in all versions such as animated, Cyberserve or prime?🥺

Hi, I was a bit confused ( like you want me only list bots, not humans?), especially if you want only the continuities you listed or all of them? Anyway, I'll do all bc as I was thinking about the answer I got some interesting thoughts. So prepare your tea and sit comfortably ~

Generation 1

In G1 cartoon they made it seem like Bumblebee just gets along with everyone. But I can't remember if Bee had someone among bot who we could consider his best friend. This title really went to Spike exclusively and I know you said to list bots only, bear with me here.

This fits into Bumblebee's struggles, because he's weak, but humans weak too so he feel he belong with them more than his own people. And Bumblebee still friends with Spike even after the human grows up and has a family (and the fact its the only time they show passage of time like this with a human character?)! We don't see Bee a lot on later seasons so I like to assume he just hangs out with Spike's family most of the time.

It would be so dope if they actually explored the idea of human mortality and how cybertronians would handle the invertible. But it never happens in canon even in "serious" continuities. And same even in fandom spaces. I only once stumbled upon the fic where Bee gets super anxious because Spike is getting older, really long time ago. Of course I wrote a story about this, but still, I can't be the only one thinking about this. In G1 based comics it's kinda the same thing, except IDW where Bumblebee has NO FRIENDS ( nor bot or human). Like he had some pals in the past, but he lost them all. In IDW2 there is Windblade who was established as Bumblebee's bestie but they way it was written... it was very cold friendship judging by panels I saw. Not a fan. Ah yes, I didn't watched the Netflix version, so idk, but considering how writers decided to deconstruct the character for no reason I can assume he has no friends at all.

Bayverse

I can's really say anything, I watched only first and second movies and again, Bee was bonded with a human. Same with Bee-movie, I know it's not technically bayverse, but sadly, Bee has the same the design and I still can't watch the movie bc of it xD

Animated

This is very clear that Bumblebee bot bestie is Bulkhead. And if both Bumblebee and Bulkhead were written better we would have a really dope character dynamic. Tho their dynamic is fun even as it is ( Bee crawling all over Bulkhead like a spider is Halloween episode cracks me up), but sadly Bee just never develops as a character.

Prime

I can't say anything about because I didn't really watched the show. I started, didn't liked it and dropped it. The entire aligned continuity isnt really for me, so I skipped Rescue Bots and RiD15. Though, I did like "War for Cybertron" game a lot, and maybe I would watch Prime if character designs were from that game. In the game Bee didn't had any besties.

Cyberverse

Here Bumblebee has bonds with few bots. First one is Windblade and I absolutely loved it. Their relationship was amazing and warm and physically tactile, and that's how I started ship them. Then we see Hot Rod and, now deceased, Blurr and later Bumblebee bonds with Cheetor.

This show had so much potential, like the buildup in S1 was nice and well established dynamic between Bumblebee and Windblade, but then it was all thrown out the window. Windblade was sidelined entirely in S2 as Bee hands out with Hot Rod and Cheetor ( as it's the typical all boys gang no girls allowed) after all this demonstration how close those two are in S1?? Meh.

And when Cheetor sacrifices himself? Bee looks sad at this moment, and then moves on like thing happened and it didn't affect him? What is this?? Ugh.

Earthspark

Right it's too early to say, but we can already see that Bee has a very sibling-like bond with Arcee. And from the trailer it looks like Bee is good friends with Breakdown which is interesting. Maybe he was the reason why Bee picked the racer car after his VW Beetle mode? We will see~

I think it's all? There is Shattered Glass too, but I have no idea, cant say anything. I hope it was enough)

[momokodaisy]

Like yeah, I know John had a wife, but sex still played no role in his films, just pure love. So it was disappointing for the first episode of ‘The Continental’ to have three sex scenes — one happening off to the side in the most lifeless 1970s New Year’s Party I’ve ever seen (people looked more shuffling than dancing), then young Winston has one mostly kept offscreen, so I though ‘okay, that’s a little better’, but then they have two detectives outright naked, showing their backsides and doing the act onscreen for a solid minute, and I was like WHY. This is the ‘John Wick’ franchise. You’re appealing to the wrong people here, we really don’t need to see that. It literally had nothing to do with the plot. And my non-asexual friend hated it too, so I know it’s not just an ace thought in this case. The opening fight was pretty good though.

So I have not seen any part of the Continental TV show, nor will I ever watch it, so I can't give my 100% Verified Critic TM opinions, and thus I will be going off your testimony, Anon. And uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh yeah. It sounds exactly as bad as I expected it to be.

First, just for context for others who maybe haven't seen the films - sex is not at all a thing in JW quadriology. There are no sex scenes, John has no love interests, I don't even think there's an instance where a character catcalls or makes a reference to getting laid. The most sexually charged scene, arguably, is a quick shot of Ares touching John's butt during a patdown. Even the scene where a woman removes all her clothes is written and shot intentionally un-sexually charged as possible and is instead far more sad and tragic. So yeah, throwing sex scenes and sexually-charged nudity into a """""John Wick"""" tv series is. fuckin stupid.

The real problem here, though, isn't that the creators are making unnecessary sex scenes, that's a symptom of a bigger issue. The issue is that the show is not at all interested in what made the John Wick movies work. The John Wick movies are pure action camp, they are over-the-top depictions of guys fighting each other in brutal and violent ways, just done artistically. Rule of Cool is law, and that makes for some of the most stunningly gorgeous visual cinema to date. The JW films can be summarized as "pretty man in suit do murder" and as long as it looks good, that's all that it needs to be. Sure, Kolstad and Stahelski added some crazy worldbuilding that gets more and more ridiculous as the movies go, but again, this is just an excuse for Keanu Reeves to get in a black suit and pretend to shoot a fuckton of stunt guys. None of this needs to make sense. The world John lives in does not need to be logical or realistic, it just needs to service the next action scene. Because, let's face it, this is a classic Greek tragedy unfolding before our eyes, John nor anyone else is gonna have a character arc, there aren't subplots that need to be tied up by the end. We're just here for the spectacle. And that's ok.

However, we live in a disgusting timeline where studios feel the need to a make cinematic universe out of everything, so instead of just fuckin…. giving Kolstad or Stahelski or literally anyone the money and resources to make more projects, they try to come up with shit from an IP. And all Lionsgate really has going for it right now is The Hunger Games and John Wick, so they want something with JW franchise names we know. Hence, a backstory about Winston and the Continental, which literally?? no one asked for?? ever????? If anyone actually cares about Winston's original rise to power, or what John did to hide Sofia's daughter, or what exactly happened in the three-men-in-a-bar-with-a-pencil story, we fanfic writers have already gotten to work on that, I don't need a panel of executives doing that for me. And a part of the appeal of the John Wick underworld is that it's there, it exists, it's just how the world works, and we do not question it. The moment we start asking questions about how it works proves that we've lost the point, which is YO BRO JOHN'S SWORDFIGHTING THE IRON CHEF GUY WITH KATANA IN A GLASS ROOM THIS IS SO SICK

So. yeah. doesn't surprise me at all the sex scenes felt out of place and don't work for a John Wick spin off. Nothing about this premise works as a John Wick spin off. Put shit in, get shit out.

[grazinginthefield]

I have just seen the Barbie movie, and I was bawling for 80% of the film. I was wondering why it was making me so emotional.

I had to unlearn all kinds of shaming tendered towards women because of how badly it was ingrained in my head. A woman who shows her cleavage or wear short skirts are supposed to want attention from men, and that they lack dignity for that. A woman who's curvy or fat is not supposed to be pretty or attractive. A woman who speaks up is supposed to be just whiny and irrational. A woman cannot be a leader because apparently, during her period, she cannot be trusted with decisions.

Then in my tweens and teenage years, I got expose with the contents of feminism and women empowerment. It came to the point where I started to have growing distrust in men. All those pathetic ideology were catered for men's pleasure. Suddenly, in my mind, they are only there to hurt us. When I get to start liking someone, I immediately find what's icky about him and how petty he actually is. And it was like that all those years.

But I had to understand that recognizing their privileges does not mean I had to hate them. It does take a lot of strength, because for most who I am starting to appreciate, would then make objectifying statements. It does determine who's willing to be called out and learn from it, from those who don't.

Next for me was the frustration of how we are pitted against each other, how we're programmed to just agree with our husbands or boyfriends. When I was a younger, I had an altercation with a married couple, I looked at the wife, thinking, "You should be on my side. You should know how it is to be a young girl being intimidated by a man." Or when a woman agrees or stay quiet when her man body-shames me... no, we should both be calling him out for it. Don't agree with him.

So coming into adulthood, I unconsciously started to despise the concept of being a wife, but not of motherhood. I know that's probably ironic but focusing on being a "wife" alone, for me it was all about us being taken away by a man. It is probably more honorable than that. But that's what it is in my head.

I have a very competent, qualified, and intelligent friend, who has so much potential if she only decides to pursue her career. She's very reliable and strong, and she was a student leader when we were still in school. I felt a bit sad when she got married when she was still in her 20s. I know her husband loves her, but it did feel like her potential has been constrained now. And slowly, it has been starting to feel like that. Is the next step for my friends really being tied up to a man? Will those men help pull them up, or set them up to societal expectations of a wife?

I opened this up to my sister, who was very sympathetic to me and helping me find the reason for it. She said, maybe they weren't just getting the support they need for their professional endeavors. Or that's where they just really see themselves and nothing's wrong with that.

But why can a man be a husband and still pursue his professional endeavors?

I struggle with this now being in a relationship.

Watching Barbie made me realize all that, and applying it to myself, first, I should not condemn my friends for doing what they love and believe in. They need to be receiving support and encouragement from me, not these frustrations I'm harboring. Second, I shall not set myself down for my partner and that I have to be certain that the compromises we're making is not only for his benefit nor solely for mine.

[triviareads]

On Culture, Diaspora, and Kantara

I watched Kantara (2022) over Thanksgiving after hearing about it for weeks from my family and friends, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since. It's a film that is particularly meaningful to me because my mother's side of the family hails from the region it was set in, Namely, Dakshina Kannada or the old South Canara in the state of Karnataka, India. This is where where bhoota kola is still practiced to this day.

The truth was, despite this movie being set in the land of my ancestors, I could relate very little on a physical level: These were rural villagers with minimal education living in a system of near-feudalism. I am.. not. Even the language was unfamiliar. My Kannada vocabulary can get me by when it comes to day-to-day activities, and it is insufficient if I want to consume Kannada media. In addition, because the dialect (or the accent) was true to the region, it made it more difficult for me to comprehend it. Neither my mother nor grandmother speak with the accent characteristic to the area (although they can if they want to communicate with locals), and even my father, who is not from the area but still from Karnataka, had to rely on subtitles.

There was also a matter of the culture itself. The thing about the aspects of the Dakshina Kannada culture shown in this film (kambala, boota kola) is that you'd only really be exposed to it if you lived in the area, or someone took the effort to purposefully educate you. That is because it is more of a folk culture. While I can say I am familiar with another local folk art, yakshagana (a form of dance-drama), that is because I grew up with stories of my great-grandfather, a noted yakshagana artist who brought his troop to the United States to tour. In addition, the practice of bhoota kola is not quite a part of the Hindu tradition I was raised in, specifically the Kannada Madhwa Brahmin tradition. I've read that bhoota kola and the notion of daivas is likely is a tradition practiced in the region long before Hinduism arrived.

To hear my mother matter-of-factly say that kambala (Buffalo races) and cock fights and bhoota kola occurred in her coastal village was startling. I suppose the reason she never mention it before was because she never actively went to kambalas (women from "good" families didn't go to events where there were drunk men; so she only saw the processions and parades before the actual event). As for the actual practice of bhoota kola, my grandmother admitted that when she was in around sixth grade, she snuck out of her house in the night to watch the bhoota kola. The old ancestral home in Bramhavara where she grew up was large enough for no one to notice the comings and goings of one girl. At a friend's house, she witnessed the ritual dance, and at some point, an offering of a live rooster was made to the daiva. The rooster's head was promptly snapped off its body. Eventually, my grandmother grew scared, and ran back home.

Regardless of how much I related to the villagers themselves, by the end of the film, I felt like I had a deeper understanding of my own cultural roots not only because of the film itself, but because of the greater context my family members were able to provide. But I also felt a certain amount of sadness. The thing is, I don't live where these rituals are practiced. In my lifetime, I have seen the Bramhavara house demolished, and relatives move away from their ancestral villages. My own parents moved across continents. I don't have the connection to the land that I imagine my ancestors did. At best, I feel fondness and an attachment to where I grew up, but there is no holiness in that, and a part of me wonders if I am missing out on something. I know migration is a natural part of human history, and perhaps this is the truth for any member of any diaspora, but still... I can't help but wonder.

When I finished watching Kantara, I came away entertained, thoughtful, and moved in equal measure. I felt a renewal of faith in a time I sorely needed it, not only in the classical sense, but all those holy protectors tied to the land.

[risingsouls]

🦎 + Favorite Vegeta Moment and Worst Vegeta Moment?

🦎s for My Work Thoughts || Always Accepting!

[Do I have a favorite Vegeta moment? Canon wise? Uh. For badassery, his fight with 19. He finally became a Super Saiyan and obliterated that fucker. He worked hard for that moment and I was big proud of him...even if 20 minutes after he gets too cocky and gets his shit kicked in by 18 as is the Way of Vegeta. Plus it was his last decent sized win. I also really like when Goku trolls him on the lookout once he gets out of the time chamber. It's too funny.

Favorite like overall? Barring how Super kinda buries it and pretends it didn't happen and how fans misinterpret Buu Saga Vegeta entirely, I think overall favorite moment is him finally finally FINALLY conceding Goku is better than him at the end of the Buu Saga. That moment is him healing, him realizing he hadn't lived for himself or his own life as he obsessed over surpassing Goku, doing what Goku did to get stronger, instead of taking advantage of his freedom from Frieza and doing his own thing. It was supposed to be his moment of self-reckoning and actually moving forward with himself but...well, Super really likes to keep the obsessed with surpassing Goku thing alive. It's not as it could be, but they also continue to be wishy washy with Vegeta. But another convo that I'm sure I've rambled about before. Basically, i like this moment because it's him really healing for the first time and I love that. I disagree with the direction they go because I think that reckoning would bring about A LOT of shit that he never contended with and things he would question and want to change, but it's still a really great moment for him that I don't think gets talked about in the right way enough.

Least favorite. God can i just say 95% of the time he's on screen in Super? I'll pick something outside of Super, how about that? Hm...I'll keep the theme of character alone here. Going along with my favorite, I'll say Majin Vegeta because if you really dig in and think about it, for his character, it shows just how low and desperate he is. Is it badass and is the fight with Goku pretty badass? Sure. It was nice to see Vegeta be ruthless again to some degree. It was great to get to see him and Goku duke it out. However, there's always the looming OOF over the whole thing because a healthy Vegeta wouldn't have made that decision. A healthy Vegeta would have never allowed anyone to potentially control him, let alone give him a power boost. But he never healed from all his trauma, nor was he given space to, and his decision to do the Majin Vegeta thing shows it. Man was not happy or satisfied or content or anything else along those lines with his life and achieving his goals and it's honestly sad. So cool as the moment can be for shallow reasons, in depth, it's probably his saddest moment. And i guess that doesn't mean I dislike it, but looking at it from just as a character standpoint, that's his worst moment. Right up there with swearing off fighting after Cell. Hits hard.

Again sticking with the other response, I'll pick one that's more I hate it because it sucks. Trying to not pick from Super again uuuuh...God my first thought was letting Cell go perfect but I can't even hate that because it's so him 🤣🤣. Same reason why i can't hate getting his shit kicked in by 18; he deserved it. How is this one harder when the character was so shittily written lmao. I guess it's because so many of his moments I'm just like "welp that tracks" so I can't dislike it. I'll go with a Z movie. I hate how they wrote him in the Z Broly movie. Like I get he's feeling pretty down and out but damn. When has that stopped Vegeta? And I get this is saiyan legend coming to fruition and Broly is a monster but again I posit to you: when has that fucking stopped Vegeta? Man thought HE was the legendary Super Saiyan for a whole saga, you think he's gonna roll over and let someone ELSE take the title? Nah. Not today, Satan.

Tho Piccolo manhandling him by the hair is pretty fucking funny.]