#i have mixed feelings about the movie but i love the marketing so much

[genre]

"I saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy."

Longlegs (2024) dir. Osgood Perkins

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

OMG RAVEN YOU’RE INTO EVER AFTER HIGH? I love it but can’t talk about it bc none of my friends have seen it 😭 I wish it was talked about more, especially with how deep their lore runs. I love EAH’s dynamics with the complexities of destiny. If twst followed the same logic as eah’s world it would be so interesting. How would you feel if the worlds were to mesh together and how it would work? You can interpret that in any way you want; the characters meeting or twst being bound to the same rules and societal expectations of eah, or whatnot.

Also who’s your favorite eah character compared to your favorite twst character (Leona)?Jade, right?

And have you read the eah books? I haven’t, but I’m going to try to sometime!

Eah alt account when?

I'm still salty that the Monster High x Ever After High crossover movie never saw the light of day-- Part of the reason why I don't like Disney (I mean the faceless corpo, not all Disney products) is because they have such a strong association with fairy tales that it pushes other interpretations out of the market or it leads to people assuming Disney "owns" those fairy tales. Ever After High's lore and themes run so much deeper than most other fairy tale reimaginings I've seen (and I've seen a lot). It's such a shame it doesn't get the respect and recognition it deserves even though EAH is the one out here challenging the status quo whereas modern Disney is content with mediocrity that appeals to the masses.

I think EAH and TWST, at their cores, share similar ideas so combining them would work well. Friendship, self-identity, defining your own future, questioning what "good" and "evil" truly are... It's all there. I'd imagine that if Twisted Wonderland (or at least NRC) followed the same rules as EAH, then everyone would be descendants of their Disney counterparts. (This is actually a common misperception of what TWST was to new fans; people mistakenly believe the TWST characters are children of the classic Disney villains. This has never been canon.) Unfortunately, I'd have to take away the Disney villains being twisted to be "good" guys in Twisted Wonderland's world in order for this to work by EAH rules, so... There's that to consider. This, in turn, can result in the student body splitting into Royals (pro-following one's destiny) and Rebels (anti-following one's destiny). Perhaps RSA and NRC could be one school in this AU...? Just so we have a mix of "good" and "evil" descended children in the same vicinity as one another. A must-have are the constantly bickering Narrators!! It's only really when Yuu shows up that the majority opinion starts to shift. Maybe then Crowley becomes concerned with students rising up and fighting back against the system that relies on them being complacent to keep the cycle of stories going. I've seen some readings of EAH which theorize that Royals guaranteed a happy ending is a stand-in for privilege, and that interpretation leads into very interesting conflicts when we also consider that magic in Twisted Wonderland is a privilege afforded to few.

To cover just the dorm leaders (because covering all the TWST characters would make this post way longer), I definitely see Riddle, Kalim, Idia, and Malleus as Royals and Leona, Azul, and Vil as Rebels. Here's my thought process:

Riddle is pretty self-explanatory. He comes from a background where he's used to being told what to do by his mother and so he also heavily relies on her strict, unyielding teachings to play by the book when he goes out there in the real world. Riddle is inflexible and hesitant to go against the grain--and, more importantly, he fully believes that following the rules will lead to his happiness... that doing as his fairy tale ordains will lead to a happy ending. What happens to the Queen of Hearts is dubious in the end since it's framed as Alice's dream, so I think that vagueness gives Riddle hope that by behaving himself, he'll earn the happiness he desires.

Leona is a Rebel, and not just because that's the aesthetic of his dorm. Being that he is highly intelligent and demonstrates a lot of foresight, he'd be aware of what future is in store for him and aggressively fighting against that. It would make him more desperate than ever to prove his worth, because not only does everyone see his powers as terrifying, but they also see him as a future brother murderer and dictator that will bleed the land dry of resources. It'd make the situation with his family even more strained than it already is, not to mention the extra jealousy he must feel toward Cheka, who is still too young to understand what's going to happen later.

Azul is someone who acts like a Royal but is actually a Rebel. He acts polite and like he plays by the rules, but clearly he doesn't behind the scenes. I see Azul as the kind of Rebel akin to Duchess Swan... as in, he believes he can steal away someone else's destiny for himself. Azul would constantly be looking for loopholes to save himself. He's put way too much stock into becoming a better, stronger person and he'd want to defend this new life he has made for himself. His obsession with protecting his contracts could translate well here.

Kalim is a Royal because he's mega rich and has been sheltered from the concept of bad things that happen to normal people; he has nothing to worry about. It also helps that Kalim is twisted from a character that doesn't meet a bad ending. I think he'd be aware of Jami's doomed destiny, but Kalim is so ignorant that he thinks it'll just be fine and it'll work itself out. Part of his growth could be being forced to reckon with the reality that Jamil is suffering under the legacy assigned to him and accepting the role that he plays in that by not acting.

Idia is a Royal--or at least pre-book 6 Idia is. He's a very pessimistic guy and repeatedly expresses hopelessness about the future, bemoaning the curse he and his family have to bear. Idia doesn't want to try to fight his fate, he's already accepted that it will happen and so closes himself off from others to save himself that heartbreak. Post-book 6 Idia will have swapped over to the Rebel side thanks to Ortho reviving the hope in him.

Vil is a Rebel simply for the fact that he fights social conventions. He's already out here shattering gender roles, but finds it much harder to breach that expectation that villains are just villains and nothing more. Vil keeps getting rejected at every turn, told that it's impossible to rewrite his story, that his frustrations are the natural result of jealousy and an ugly heart that festers in side of him. He steels himself to prove that notion wrong, working himself to the bone to get up on that stage and stay on it, waiting to be lavished with praise that he truly is the fairest one of all. I feel this would be so fascinating for Vil's own arc about self acceptance; maybe he wears himself down emotionally because he HAS to basically be perfect due to his job but also denies himself normal feelings like anger and jealousy because confessing that you have such "ugly" feelings only validates that you're shallow just like the stories say you will be.

Malleus is a tough one, but I settled for Royal in the end. Maleficent is doomed to be slain by a sword, right? So am I saying that THE Malleus Draconia, who is infamously arrogant about his magical abilities, would lie down and take a stab like that? Of course not! However, I do think that Malleus is initially someone who values tradition and living up to noblesse oblige. As the future ruler of a nation, people's stories are relying on him to play his expected role out, which he'd be fully cognizant of. I also think Malleus would be afforded the luxury of not having to face his destiny as soon as his peers are due to his long life span. This is in part because the person destined to slay him doesn't come into his life for literally hundreds of years. Then when book 7 arrives, Malleus has to deal with his loved ones leaving and/or betraying him as well as the realization that this is his destiny: dying alone and unloved. That'd just break him.

ahdbiqwdbqwli I COULD TALK ABOUT THIS AU FOR FOREVER BUT I'LL CUT IT SHORT OR ELSE I'LL NEVER SHUT UP 😭

EAH has so many good characters and interesting storylines, it's hard for me to pick a favorite! I of course love Apple and Raven's dilemmas, but I feel like it's cheating to pick one of them as my favorite. The whole Wonderland gang is also fantastic... I'm a sucker for their aesthetic, but they're so fun and silly in general. Kitty, Lizzie, and especially Madeline are 👌

Mmm, when I think long and hard about it, I think my favorite EAH character has to be Briar Beauty, daughter of Sleeping Beauty. Firstly, I love all the pink, roses, and bramble in her design. Secondly, I love the layers to why she is the way she is. Briar's a party girl not because "lmao, wouldn't that be a funny haha subversion of Sleeping Beauty" but because she wants to live life up before she falls asleep for 100 years and literally loses all her friends and family to the natural passage of time. That's seriously so smart and such an inventive way to think about the trauma a descendant of Sleeping Beauty might have. Seeing Briar transition from one of Apple's besties and biggest supporters to an outright rebel is satisfying as heck. (Gotta take a moment to shout out this classic moment :3)

I don't know if I would compare Briar to Jade since they're entirely different characters. However, looking at the source material, I'm actually surprised I like Briar as much as I do since I have never cared for the story of Sleeping Beauty. A part of me finds this ironic since Malleus harbors a similar fear as Briar (losing loved ones) yet I see Malleus's desire as way more selfish and self-serving than Briar's. I believe that's because Briar doesn't have the same arrogance as Malleus, so I'm more forgiving with her. EAH's actual equivalent to Malleus is Faybelle, daughter of the Dark Fairy, but I don't like her as much as I do Briar (hence why I'm comparing Malleus and Briar, not Malleus and Faybelle).

I haven't read the EAH books but I want to one day! I'd prefer to borrow them since I don't have enough space in my room for more physical books, so as soon as I find copies at a library or something...

This blog has kind of become a place where I occasionally talk about my other interests, generally as it relates to TWST, my main interest. I'd like to keep it like this since managing multiple blogs can be so draining. It already takes quite a bit of time to regularly write responses to asks just on one blog!

[lilyflowerstories]

A Veil of White | 2

Pairings: Sirius x Remus, Sirius x Reader, Wolfstar x Reader

| Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 coming soon

Warnings for the series: light violence, angst, light smut

Word Count: 2.8k

Synopsis: 15 years ago you fell through the veil. A little less than 15 years later, Sirius followed. He expected death. No one returned from the veil so that was the only logical conclusion. What he didn't expect was to meet you again.

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“Hey, when’s your birthday?” Sirius asked as he came downstairs in a band tee and corduroys. He wasn’t sure yet but the Bowie shirt felt way more comfortable than what he’s been wearing for the past few weeks. 

It was nearing the end of the year and he wasn’t sure if he was going to be staying much longer, feeling a lot better than when he first arrived. But he did want to at least stay for your birthday. He would make a cake, send some invites to your few American and French friends, and have a nice little party before going to start a new life in London. That city in particular felt like it was calling Sirius’ name. Maybe he used to come from there or went to school there. Either way, he was moving to London some time next year. 

“I don’t know,” you admitted. “First name, age, vague sense of nationality, and magic seem to be the only things most of us remember.” 

Sirius nodded. The more he thought about it, he could only remember his age as well. He pulled the calendar off the wall and brought it to the kitchen island along with a pen. The two of you flipped through and starred two random dates that looked nice to each of you. Sirius stared at the date, memorizing your birthday until he was sure he knew it. A summer birthday was nice. You guys could have the party outside. 

“What should we do for Christmas?” he asked as you two loaded up the cart. 

The hours at the market were longer as you moved into the holiday season. The longer you stayed out now then the longer winter break you would get. Sirius was getting good at selling to customers. You were helping him think about jobs to apply for, teaching him everything you knew about baking in case he wanted to work at a bakery. So far he was thinking of being a baker, a record shop worker, or a bartender. He was a really good bartender. You two learned that from all the different drinks he’s been very successful at making. 

“Gingerbread house and Christmas movies is what I do every year.” 

“Sounds like a plan.” 

You two set up the stand, sitting on matching stools and waited for customers. Sirius groaned as you reminded him that tomorrow was cleaning day. Even though the cottage wasn’t big and magic made cleaning a breeze, he still hated it. He would do it for you but that didn’t mean he had to like it. 

The Christmas movie in the background provided great ambience as you two dusted and cleaned. Sirius took in a big whiff as the broom swept by him. You had introduced him to the concept of simmer pots. He was finding he absolutely loved what you deemed the scent of Christmas. Apples, pine, cinnamon, rosemary, cranberries, and allspice. It started off faint but soon the entire cottage smelled like Christmas by the time you two sat down on the couch. 

You pulled two blankets from the basket, handing one to him. Not quite cuddling, but closer than before, you and Sirius sat next to each other and watched the movie properly.  You tried not to laugh when his feet poked out from his blanket. He had started wearing lots of dress pants mixed with leather jackets and band tees or fancy button downs. Usually black or muted colors but his socks were always bright and colorful. 

You got more comfortable as he floated over two oversized mugs of hot chocolate. The smell of chocolate graced your nose, making you all warm inside before you even took a sip. Maybe it was too forward to say but this was one of the best Christmases you had in awhile. Something about Sirius was just easy. He didn’t tiptoe like other guests. He wasn’t afraid of truly living in the cottage as if you were just a school friend letting him crash on your couch for a few months. The place felt equally his. 

“That actor isn’t even playing,” Sirius said as you watched the main character attempt to serenade his love interest. 

You snorted. “How would you know?” 

“Look.” He pointed. 

You leaned in a little bit so you could follow his eye line. Sirius talked in great length about how the notes didn’t match up to the speed of fingers. Sometimes, the entire wrong key was played. After the scene changed, the two of you just paused. The understanding that Sirius shouldn’t know how to play the piano rang out in both of your minds. 

He leaned back against the couch, running a hand through his hands. “Do the memories normally come back that fast?” 

“They normally don’t come back at all. Not this strongly. Sirius, this is a big deal. We need to buy you a piano tomorrow. Maybe if you play, more memories will return.” 

Sirius wasn’t exactly sure on that plan but his fingers were itching to play the piano for some reason so he gave in. The two of you went to several second hand stores in the muggle world, knowing a broken piano can be fixed with magic relatively easily. He settled on a small brown piano that had definitely seen better days. 

“I promise to pay you back,” Sirius said as you two arranged the living room so the piano would fit properly in the space. 

“No need. This thing wasn’t exactly pricey.” 

He barked out a laugh. “I’m pretty sure that old man was two seconds away from paying us to take the thing away.” 

He cracked his neck before sitting down at the refurbished piano bench. You got back on the couch and just listened to him play. The melodies were soft and complex in their sound. Sirius didn’t sound like he recently learned how to play. There was a sort of experience that could only come from years and years of practice. Maybe even childhood. You closed your eyes and let the sound take over you for a moment. This had always been your favorite song to hear Sirius play as you curled up by the fire and wrote feet of parchment for homework. 

You practically shot up, eyes piercing into the man’s back. He sat up straighter to play but didn’t turn around. Trying to relax, there was nothing you could do but continue to stare at him. You knew Sirius. You had even gone to school with him. Quickly, your eyes closed again. But nothing else seemed to come through to provide more detail to your memory. 

“I know you,” you whispered, going stiff when the music stopped. 

You didn’t think he had heard you. Slowly, he turned around. It was absolutely silent in the small cottage as the two of you stared at each other for a moment. Through various stutters, Sirius asked you to repeat what you just said so he could confirm it. You did what he asked. Both of you took in deep breaths. 

“You remember parchment?” Sirius asked as he ran a hand through his hair. 

You nodded. 

“We must know each other from school… Maybe I’ve been looking in the wrong places?” 

“Hmm?” 

“I figured because I had to learn French that I must have been British. But you speak perfect French, even in your sleep, a—” 

“I talk in my sleep?” 

“I hear the murmurs any time I get up to use the bathroom.” 

Sirius shot up from the piano bench, making you jump out of your skin. He grabbed all the potion books from your shelf and began immediately making a mess in the kitchen. You slowly strolled over and peered around him to see the page opened up to the Pepper-Up Potion. 

“Maybe I’ve said something in my sleep. Some subconscious memory that can’t come to the surface. Sorry to do this to you, love, but you are the only other person here and I do have to fall asleep in order for this to be effective.” 

“If this helps us at all then I don’t mind.” 

For the first time since the initial six months after you fell through the veil, you had hope. You didn’t even need your own memories back anymore. You knew Sirius from school. Everyone he knew, at least up until adulthood, you must have known as well. Just to prepare, you went to go take a long nap on the couch. Sirius stopped his potion-making long enough to throw a blanket over you and light the fireplace. He kept looking over occasionally as he stirred and bottled various potions. 

Gently, he shook your shoulder when the sun went down. You changed into your own pajamas, despite the fact that you wouldn’t be getting any sleep before meeting Sirius in his room. A chuckle almost escaped you as you stood in the doorway and watched him fluff up one side of the bed, adding a bunch of pillows. 

“I can feel you laughing.” 

“I’m not.” 

“Sound more believable. Alright, get in here.” 

Sirius made sure you were sitting very comfortably on your side of the bed before flicking off every light aside from the lamp on the bedside table. The night started off perfectly normal. There were little mutters that you recorded here and there but not much else. For a while, you just watched Sirius’ face as you took a second cup of Pepper-Up Potion. He was both beautiful and classically handsome. Unfair that he still looked good even in his sleep. You got back to work the moment he began to whisper again. 

The two of you translated the sleeptalking in the morning, finding nothing truly helpful aside from the name Padfoot which must stand for something. You two weren’t sure what it meant yet but you noted it the next night when he repeated the word amongst other things.

This routine went on past the new year. You’d stay up to record Sirius’ words at night, retreat to your room for a quick nap before you two went to market, come home and nap again while he did all the prep work for the next day’s market, and then stay up to repeat the whole process. Each night, the raven-haired man moved a little closer to you as he slept. 

The soft yelp that came from you, woke Sirius up in the middle of the night. He snuggled further into his pillow before realizing that it was your pajama covered thighs. 

“Sorry,” he said as he started to lift up. 

“It’s fine, just surprised me is all. I don’t mind.” 

Tentatively, he lowered his head back down. “Maybe we should just stop, love. Nothing new has come out of this. The memories can’t be forced, I guess… Where are you going?” 

“Sirius, you just said we should stop. I’m going to bed now.” 

His grip on you loosened but he didn’t let go completely. “You can stay here if you want.” 

“A-alright.” 

You settled comfortably into his hold. He sighed as you curled up against him, both of you figuring out the best way to sleep while still cuddling. You momentarily shivered when a cold hand slipped under your shirt before it warmed up against your skin. 

“This is nice,” you murmured. 

“Better than nice.” 

The two of you began spending most nights in each other’s bed. Fragments of memories seemed to come back each time but none ever painted a clear picture. At least something was there. Perhaps something more than memories, although neither of you were quite ready to say that outloud. But you both knew. Sirius knew it every time he caught you looking at him or whenever he caught himself seeking you out in the cottage. You knew it every time he got a little too close to your mouth when speaking or whenever he doted on you even if you didn’t need it. Like how he had barely let you get up off the couch or from the bed for the past few days.  

“Love, sit down,” he said, shoving a thermos into your hands. “I’ve been handling customers for months. I can do this. You just relax. Are you sure about ice skating?” 

You rolled your eyes. “Sirius, I’m fine now.” 

He poked at your still slightly red nose. “Fine. But if I catch a single sneeze from you, we’re coming straight home.” 

You both froze. He had never called the cottage home. He was technically still a guest like everyone else. It was your home not his. But the word slipped out so smoothly. You tied a scarf around his neck, smiling slightly. 

“We’ll come home if I don’t feel good?” 

“Yeah, yeah. We’ll come home.” 

Sirius took your hand. He found himself smiling slightly when you didn’t pull away. The two of you began to pack up shop after serving the last customers. You rolled into a secluded alley so you could shrink the cart to fit in your purse before walking in the vague direction of the outdoor ice skating rink that was still open for a few more weeks. Neither one of you actually bothered to check the proper address of the rink. You were just aware of the relative location and hoped you were heading in the right direction. 

It was on the wizard side of town. You and Sirius wanted to get reacclimated. Especially you. It had dawned on you the other day that you had actually been avoiding quite a lot of the wizarding world aside from your neighborhood and occasional reunion at the French hotel.   

Sirius laughed as you pulled him down another street, still refusing to ask for directions. He passed by the cigarettes in a window display and another memory slowly hit him. It was barely a memory, more like a flash. He was on some balcony somewhere, holding a little cigarette in one hand and a pack of them in another. Sirius shook his head and continued on his way. That was one way to quit smoking he figured. At least he didn’t have to go through all the painful withdrawal symptoms. 

His head whipped around lightning fast. “I heard a sneeze.” 

“No, you didn’t… But I can’t find the rink and I want hot chocolate so let’s go home.” 

Another smile tugged at his lips as he squeezed your hand. “I’m too old to play games, love. I want you badly.” 

“I do too.” 

“So you don’t mind if I don’t move out next week?” 

You kissed the corner of his mouth. “I’d love for you to stay.” 

“Let’s go home,” Sirius whispered, almost afraid of ruining the moment. 

The two of you felt like schoolchildren, giddy and overzealous. You barely made it inside the house before the clothes started coming off. The perks of no other guests was a blessing. You guys didn’t make it farther than the living room. Sirius smirked as your eyes raked down his body, memorizing every little tattoo. 

“You’re very fit.” 

“And you’re beautiful,” he said breathlessly before capturing your lips with his. 

His lips were soft against yours despite the rhythm he set being anything but. The two of you didn’t move from the living room, setting up a pallet of blankets on the floor. Sirius pulled off all the couch cushions and summoned pillows from both of your rooms. You put on a romcom that neither one of you were paying much attention to, still absorbed in each other. You lifted your head from his chest when a small pecking noise started at your kitchen window. 

“I’ve got it.” Sirius wrapped a blanket around his waist and stood up to go grab whatever package an owl had delivered. “It’s from Malcolm.” 

“Oh, he said he would send a postcard soon. How is he doing… Sirius?” 

He slowly made his way over to you, scanning the lines of the postcard multiple times. “He remembers everything.” 

“What?” 

You practically ripped the postcard out of his hand to read the words for yourself. Malcolm had taken a break in his search for his parents to focus on some holiday work at his internship when he bumped right into them at the MACUSA headquarters. The bump triggered everything. The problem with the veil was that he couldn’t remember who needed to run into. But once he did, he remembered exactly who he was. 

“But why don’t we?” you asked as you set the postcard in a special keepsake box. 

“Maybe because we both went through the veil? It’s not like the memories aren’t coming back. They just aren’t strong. Probably because we both have been affected by the magic.” 

“So we need to find someone else we know. Preferably someone who hasn’t been through the veil.” 

You and Sirius stayed up late compiling all the details from your memories. There still wasn’t much but you had enough to make a plan. First, you two were going to prepare the cottage for any new arrivals before moving to the heart of London together. Then, you were going to figure who or what this mysterious Padfoot was.

| next part coming soon |

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@sunflowerscloudydays @alohastitch0626

[wot-tidbits]

Brandon Sanderson says studios and streamers aren’t ready to adapt his work

‘Streaming has had a big problem with epic fantasy, and this has me worried’

The following are quotes from recent interview with Brandon Sanderson on Polygon. I chose certain responses which I think to be the most interesting parts.

If you are interested you can read the whole article here.

"I have had a lot of offers for The Stormlight Archive, people wanting to make prestige television for cable networks or streamers. Very nice offers from very great people that I would want to work with. And I’ve said no because I don’t feel it’s the right time for Stormlight Archive yet. I am in the fortunate position where I can walk away from some of the best deals that might be offered to authors, and do what I think is best for the story."

"What would convince you the time was right? What signs are you looking for?

The solid answer is: I don’t know. Hopefully I will recognize it when I see it. But the reason I don’t know is, I’m not convinced that we have hit stability in the streaming market. Streaming has had a big problem with epic fantasy, and this has me worried. Rings of Power and Wheel of Time have not gone as well as I would’ve hoped. Shadow and Bone lasted only two seasons, after a very strong first season. Streaming hasn’t figured out epic fantasy yet.

Maybe this is a holdover from network television days, where they’re trying to make the episodes fit into the structure of how episodic television used to work, rather than filming an eight-hour movie and showing it in chunks. But maybe that’s a bad idea. All I know is, right now we haven’t seen really great epic fantasy film television since the early, mid seasons of Game of Thrones. Fifty million dollars per episode has not done it, so it’s not a matter of the money they’re throwing at it. The other thing we haven’t seen is any of these shows really taking off to the extent that I would like with the general public."

"Really, what I want — it’s just a little thing, just a little thing — I just want a genius filmmaker on the level of Denis Villeneuve, someone who grew up loving my work [the way Villeneuve loved Frank Herbert’s Dune], and wants to bring it to the screen with the mix of fidelity and adaptation required to make a great epic like Dune. You do have to change things [for a screen adaptation], but this filmmaker would really understand the property, and have an artistic vision that matches the property.

For epic fantasy and science fiction, we have rarely seen that, but it happened with Dune, and it happened with Lord of the Rings. So hopefully there’s someone out there that can work with me to make Mistborn."

"With an unlimited budget and unlimited creative control, I think I could make something really good. But who knows? I mean, The Rings of Power essentially had that, and it’s not very good. It’s fine, but is it the thing that you want? I mean, I really think the key member is that visionary filmmaker. Epic fantasy has responded poorly to too much oversight from above. I think that was The Witcher’s problem. You had that visionary: It was Henry Cavill. And they didn’t want to listen to him. So, well, there you go."

Thank you, Brandon. It was healthy to read how he used many opportunities to fill in shade for the failures of modern fantasy adaptations including one very special project in particular. But please, continue to point about that "successful show for Amazon". Probably the author can agree with you some day.

[enlightenedrobot]

On Harry Potter Syndrome

Whenever there's a milquetoast protagonist surrounded by infinitely more interesting side characters and is easily overshadowed by their actual sidekicks, I call that "Harry Potter Syndrome" and tbh I think it should catch on. Here's some examples.

Fandom(!) Danny is so much more interesting, and tbh, a kid growing up with ghost hunting parents shoulda turned out a lot weirder. Perfect example of Harry Potter Syndrome.

I love you Sora. I love you and your simple/ clean mind. I love how you tear through eldritch abominations with the power of both Love and also blunt force trauma. I also love how you objectively have the least amount of personal trauma and drama out of all of the playable characters in the games you started and I hope the lovecraftian terror of the circumstances surrounding your story never truly register as anything other than a fun adventure to your untainted, rarely used twink brain.

And yet everyone else in the series including the fucking mouse has enough backstory and angst to fill up an entire library with journals of badly written emo poetry or better yet thirteen games with the audacity of pretending to be a trilogy.

Yes, Kingdom Hearts suffers from Harry Potter syndrome, but it's also proof that that might not necessarily be a bad thing.

You guys, Madoka is so good. I swear it's a lot more than just an edgy Magical Girl show. It has amazing art that makes use of mixed media in a really creative way. It's also dark and surreal and surprisingly reminiscent of movies like Donnie Darko and Carrie. It's also incredibly gay.

And Madoka is likable enough, I guess. But also... if I had to nitpick anything about the show, it's that she's also kinda sorta boring? I mean, it is kinda funny seeing an adorable pink haired teenager earnestly talk about desiring "more power". But still.

A New Hope is probably the movie that inspired thousands of other cases of Harry Potter Syndrome, including Harry Potter himself, though I feel the need to point out how deliberate it is with it.

Luke is the Protagonist of the movie, unambiguosly. That's him front and center of the poster, and he's the guy who follows the hero's journey and ultimately comes out looking like the hero in all of this. But he's also not the sole viewpoint character of the film, and I think it's pretty telling that the first third of the movie takes place from the POV of a pair of gay married robots.

Depending on the scene, we take on the POV of either Luke, R2-D2, C3PO, Han Solo, Tarkin, or Princess Leia. Of these characters Luke undeniably fills in the role of milquetoast hero, but George Lucas understood the power of a good ensemble cast from the movie's inception.

And finally

Let's face it, this movie suffers so hard from Harry Potter syndrome, the marketing guys just said "fuck it" and put Johnny Depp on the poster instead.

[becausebuckley]

michelle's buddie fic recs: week 5!

i won't lie folks, these rec lists are the only reason i know what week it is. but hey, every week brings us closer to the return of 911! in the meantime, enjoy these fics <3

this is a mix of fics with all ratings, so some include NSFW content. please take a look at both the ratings and the fic tags before reading! some might also contain spoilers for season 8.

if you come across something you like in this list, remember to show some love to the author by leaving kudos and a comment!

am i who you think about in bed? | rarakiplin/@hoediaz | 6.8k | M

eddie sleeps with men that aren't buck until, well, you know. eddie's hoe phase is something so very dear to me <3 i love how this fic captures him (and that phase lol) so much!! and That Moment in the bar... unmatched

and if someone asked me if i love you (i'd lie) | forgetmyname/@kingmieczyslaw | 10.3k | E

Eddie has a concussion. Suddenly he can't lie. It would be fine if he wasn't trying his best to not confess his undying love for Buck. this is such a fun fic <3 i love the firefam's reactions to eddie's predicament!!

and longingly i long | effervescentwolf/@effervescentwolf | 14k | M

Asking for what you want is asking too much of Buck, except it isn’t really. Not when it’s Eddie. i read this fic, immediately clicked the little back to the top button, and still have it open in a tab to reread asap, that's how good this is. the hurt/comfort hits so so hard, truly marvellous!!

bobby versus buddie | songbvrd/@songbvrd | 10.4k | M

Five times Bobby tried to gently hold Buddie's hands and tell them they were in love, and one time they got the picture. i adore how this fic captures bobby and athena and bobby's relationship with buck and eddie and also buddie <3 just a delight to read!!

buck, bothered and bewitched | bellabrady | 5.8k | not rated

Buck gets turned into a Golden Retriever. SUCH a fun fic. i really do think that animal transformation-esque fics are an untapped market... this is a brilliant example of just how good they can be!!

give me a call if you ever get lonely. | dylaesthetics | 7.7k | E

 Now that Eddie’s come out as gay, Buck helps him explore his kinks and fetishes. Not in the way you think. And later, exactly in the way you think. truly what a brilliant fic concept... hot and fun and cute <3

i just wanna tell you how i'm feeling | calvingseason | 7.7k | T

healing through shitty memes sure is cathartic. i do love a good crack treated seriously fic <3 eddie in this one genuinely had me laughing out loud!

if you say it with your hands | hammersmiths/@henwilsons | 9.9k | T

Eddie starts casually falling asleep against Buck, and Buck is very normal about it. oh the joy of the literal sleeping together tag!! this is soft and cute and just perfect <3 one of my favourites to reread!

leave the light on (i'll be coming home) | HMSLusitania/@hmslusitania | 44.4k | M

An accident on a call leaves Buck with custody of Chris after Eddie is... missing presumed. While they navigate their new family circumstances -- and fight to stay together, despite Eddie's parents' best efforts -- a John Doe wakes up in a coma ward with no memory of his own life beyond the knowledge he has a son named Christopher and, somehow, he needs to get home. i've been waiting to be in the right mood to read this one - since joining the fandom last year, it's probably the most recced fic i've seen! and, well, having read it, i totally get that. a wonderfully written fic, i loved the OCs but also adored buck and christopher here <3

let me know you (bedhead and morning breath) | burnthatbridge/@burnthatbridge | 6.2k | E

Buck hasn't gotten off since the lightning strike. Eddie watches him do something about it. THIS FIC. holy shit this fic. so good, so hot, so fun, so them!!

love me most | EiraLloyd/@unlifeira | 11.3k | T

Eddie’s not impressed that Buck and Tommy’s first date was supposed to be dinner and a movie. He thinks he can come up with something more creative, and he takes Buck on a date to prove his point. It’s a fake date, obviously. It’s not like he’s in love with Buck or anything.) i'm obsessed with eddie's behaviour in this fic <3 such a wonderful buddie dynamic!!

no takebacks | ever_yours/@ever-yours118 | 4.5k | M

In which Buck accidentally sends a confession to Eddie, lingers in the bargaining stage of grief, and maybe doesn’t end up regretting it so much, after all. love love love buck here, so true to character!! such a fun fic <3

PTA "coup d'état" | Bookworm0303/@insertlovelyperson | 26.5k | T

Buck attends some PTA meetings for Eddie. It goes about as well as you'd expect. this fic has so many funny moments, i can't even count how many times i had to put my phone down just to laugh. i especially loved ravi!! oh, the pta shenanigans... delightful fic!!

[kristannafever]

Big Sky Ranch - 8

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: Explicit! :D WC: 4233

Chapter Index

----------------------------

The day where Kristoff was taking her out had finally arrived. 

Every day for the last week and a half, Kristoff called her in the evening so that they could talk.  Even though it kept Anna up a little later than she usually went to bed with her early diner hours, it was absolutely worth it.

As soon as she got off work, she set about getting ready.  Anna had no idea what he had in store.  She was just beyond thrilled just to be spending some quality time with Kristoff that didn’t involve the saloon or people trying to pick fights and cause trouble.  He’d asked if she liked sport type things, and she said that she didn’t mind them at all, so maybe it was something along those lines.  There was a little baseball stadium for the WCBL in the bigger town over, perhaps he was taking her to a game. 

She was so excited that she was ready to go hours before he was set to pick her up.  The afternoon dragged on until there was a knock at her door.  Anna held back the squeal of delight that he was finally there.

She opened the door, and he gave her the most joyful smile she’d ever seen, and he bent down and kissed her.

Anna had no idea what it was to swoon.  She’d read about it.  Seen it in movies.  But to experience it for herself, it was surreal.  Just like his fantastic kiss; opening his mouth slightly, teasing her gently with his tongue, pushing the front of his body against hers as he pulled her tight against him… Anna truly thought for a moment that her knees were going to unhinge, until he pulled his face away from hers. 

And he smelled delicious; Old Spice mixed with clean linen. 

“I could hardly wait for the work day to be over.”  He grinned, like he had no idea what he’d just done to her.

Anna let out a shaky breath.  “Me either,” she agreed, and shut the door and locked it then followed him up to the street where his truck was parked, wondering if ‘in due time’ meant that it was too soon to ask him to take her to bed when their first date was over.

He was wearing his boots, jeans and belt buckle as she’d seen him in before, and a crisp white t-shirt that hugged all the right definitions of his torso.  And he’d left his cowboy hat at home.  In its place a trucker cap sat backwards on his head.  A sultry vision, walking towards his truck.  The thought of jumping his bones right then and there did cross her mind again.

He opened the passenger door of his truck and Anna hopped inside.  She watched him through the windshield as he walked around to his door, smile still plastered on his face.  He got in and they started driving away from town.

They talked as he drove the country roads, getting to know each other even better.  And while she enjoyed it very much, her eyes kept scanning the profile of his body sitting in across her on the bench seat.  The long legs, the way his biceps flexed with every turn of the wheel, that tight shirt stretched across his pecs.  Anna had never wanted to have someone this badly before.  It left her feeling a little sheepish, like her lust was clouding her judgement a little.

Soon they came to a building that kind of looked like a really large barn, with a whole bunch of outside areas that appeared to be children’s playgrounds and a few other attractions.  As they pulled in, Anna could see that the building was a market.

“Hope you like mini golf,” he said as he parked.  “Then we can hit the market after and grab a bite?”

Anna grinned at him.  “I love mini golf!  I haven’t played in years.”

She hadn’t.  Her ex only liked real golf, and Anna was strongly encouraged to learn it.  Then every time they played left Anna feeling frustrated and her ex expressing his disappointment.  In retrospect, that should have been a bigger clue to her that he wasn’t good for her.

They walked into the gift shop to pay for the mini golf.  The cashier gave Kristoff the total and he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a wallet.  Somehow even that movement looked sensual to Anna.  She reached into her purse to help pay.

Kristoff noticed out of the corner of his eye and he turned to her, getting his face close to hers with the side of his mouth slightly turned up.

“You’ll have to forgive me, Anna,” he said quietly, his eyes looking intently into hers.  “I am a little old fashioned about things like this.  I won’t ever expect you to pay on our dates.”

He turned away before Anna could answer and her hand fell away from her purse.  Her cheeks, and another certain part of her, started to heat uncontrollably.  Gentlemanly, chivalrous, undeniably sexy… what the hell did she ever do to find herself actually dating a man like him. 

He was handed two putters and they were each told to pick a colour of ball.  Anna chose purple and Kristoff went with blue.  Then they walked across to the course and started playing.

Anna was having so much fun, time ceased to exist.  And Kristoff was a surprisingly bad mini golfer.  Either that, or he was letting her win.  By that much however, made her think he just didn’t get a chance to mini golf very much.  Not that he was upset.  That beautiful smile remained on his gorgeous face as they played and joked around.

Afterward they walked around the market.  Anna found some scrumptious looking cookies she wanted to try and just as she was about to reach into her purse, Kristoff handed over some cash to the cashier.  He smirked, and gave her a sideways glance as he did so that told her ‘I meant what I said’.   He did the same thing for the handmade candle she wanted from the next booth, even though she actually had her wallet in her hand that time.  He just floated up with cash before she could get out her card.

With the shopping around finished, they went to the food court and decided to share a wood fired pizza from one of the vendors.  Paired with some craft beers, it was delicious, even if Anna found the beer a little bitter.   She was just so happy to be on a date with him, when he suggested she could get something else to drink, she shrugged it off and said she’d gladly have what he was having. 

It was still early evening when they left the market and Kristoff asked if she wanted to grab a drink at the saloon or one of the Pubs in town.  Anna picked the saloon since she was familiar with it, and he drove them there while he chatted about the various situations that he’d found themselves in in that place over the years.

Being a weeknight, the place wasn’t too lively.  The music was at a volume for easy conversation, and while there were still a lot of patrons, there were plenty of open tables. 

“Want to stand, or sit?” Kristoff asked as they walked through to the other side, away from the jukebox. 

“Either is fine for me.  What do you prefer?”

“Mind if we stand?  I get a little back sore if I sit in those chairs too long.”

“No problem, we can definitely stand.”

They picked a high table in the corner away from most of the other groups and ordered some drinks when a waitress came around.  After she left, Anna excused herself to the washroom.

When she was washing her hands, she looked in the mirror and smiled.   She’d never been on a date so fun, and Kristoff was such an amazing man.  The more time she spent with him, the more she wanted to be with him.

Two ladies walked in mid-conversation as Anna finished washing her hands.

“…. didn’t need to be so rude.”

“Right?  Like calm down, you can reject someone without being an asshole.”

“It’s a crying shame too, he is really hot.”

“I know!  I’m such a sucker for blond dudes.”

“Ugh, and he’s so big, isn’t he?  Whoever catches his eye is one lucky lady.”

The women went into stalls laughing about something else as Anna dried her hands, knowing exactly who they were talking about.  And as a confirmation, there was a woman standing with Kristoff at the table when she walked back to it.

Anna watched it play out in real time, the side of his nose coming up and giving her a curt answer, the woman turning away with a look of disgust and brushing past Anna, telling her not to ‘waste her time with that one.’

He looked over at her as she approached the table and his face held that animosity for a split second before he realized it was her, and it melted away into a bright smile.  

Their drinks were on the table and he picked up his beer.  “Cheers.”

Anna hefted her own glass and clinked it against his.  “Cheers.”

They each had a sip and set their glasses down, smiling at each other, and Anna took a moment to glance around the bar.  Any table with women had their eyes on him or was glancing in his direction… and hers.  Some looked jealous, giving Anna an odd sensation in the pit of her stomach, like she was amused and bothered by it at the same time.

“So… I take it you get hit on a lot?”

His shoulders slumped and he let out a long sigh.  “Like moths to a flame.”

Anna’s curiosity got the better of her.  “How does a man who gets hit on so much, not have lots of dates?  You told me once you haven’t been out with too many women.”

He looked away from her to the other side of the bar towards the empty stage.  “It gets tirin’, being approached only because of the way I look.”

Anna thought back to her own thoughts about how attractive he was.  It was her eye-fucking him in the first place that seemed to start this spark between them.  “I hope you don’t think that’s what I did.”

His focus came back to her in an instant, his eyes wide and a touch panicky, pretty much telling her all she needed to know.  “No, not at all!  That night, Anna, when Boone and his cronies rushed me outside, I came to the bar looking for you.”

“You did?”

He nodded eagerly.  “I was planning on asking you out.  And well, as you know that night kind of went off the rails.  In the end, I still got the outcome I was hopin’ for.”  He smiled at her.  “I mean, that way you were lookin’ at me definitely boosted my confidence that you would say yes, but I had already pretty much decided I was going to ask you out, even if I hadn’t admitted it to myself until you looked at me.”

Anna giggled.  “You know, I was hoping you were single and might ask me out from the very first time you were at the diner.”

His eyebrows went up.  “Really?”

She nodded.  “Well, I know a lot of cowboys don’t wear wedding rings, I still assumed you were taken.”

“Not then.  I sure am now though.”

Heat blossomed in her cheeks.  “Let’s finish this drink and go back to my place.”

His eyes scanned hers a moment.  “Alright then,” he said slowly.

-----

As soon as she had the door shut behind them, she pushed herself against his chest, wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled herself up to kiss him.  It took a half a second, like he wasn’t sure what she wanted, then he reciprocated and Anna’s toes curled with the sheer pleasure of it all. 

His tongue glanced across hers, sliding into her mouth, and Anna tasted him back, heart hammering away in her chest to finally be able to know what it was like to be intimate with him.  He held her tight, his hands caressing her back as his kisses deepened. 

Then he stopped.

Anna was left chasing her lips after his as he pulled away and gently lifted her arms from around his neck.

Kristoff smiled as he spoke.  “Anna, I’m not that kind of man.  I don’t take that gift so lightly.  Or so quickly.”

He said that with all seriousness while still looking like the happiest man in the world.  Anna knew it right then and there; this was absolutely the man that she was going to fall in love with.  Hell, maybe she was already most of the way there.  Which made it all the more frustrating that he was being a true gentleman.

“When then?” she whined.

He laughed, the sound rich and satisfying, deepening the ache she felt between her legs.  Truly, she’d never had that part of her throb so much in anticipation.  It was almost as if she simply sat down the right way, she’d come.

“Anna, I feel it too,” he said, then looked down at himself. 

Anna’s eyes followed and widened at the shape pressing against the fabric of his jeans.  She groaned with frustration and turned around and took a few steps away.  That was all she wanted right now, and he wasn’t going to give it to her.  

She turned back to him.  “What do I have to do to beat that gentlemanly attitude out of you?” she pouted, crossing her arms across her chest. 

His head tiled to the side, a smirk playing out onto his lips.  “You really want it that bad, huh?”

Anna nodded eagerly.  “Yes, Kristoff.  Fuck, yes.  I’m on fire.  You have no idea what this feels like.”

His voice was low and deeply intimate.  “I have an idea,” he said, running a hand slowly over the shape in the front of his jeans.

Anna pinched her bottom lip in her teeth watching that movement.  “I mean it,” she said, eyes slowly going to his.  “I’ve never felt the need for someone like this before.   I need you.  Like now.”

His head dipped down and he looked at her through his eyelashes. “Right now?”

She grinned and nodded quickly, her heart beating so fast it felt like it was going to burst out of her chest.  That look on his face, the pure sexuality of it, Anna felt shaky with anticipation.  And yet he didn’t move.  His eyes betrayed a touch of concern.

Anna walked back up to him as he stood still, tracking her movements.  She stopped in front of him and looked up into his face.  She was going to speak, when his mouth opened.

“I knew you were going to have your way with me someday,” he whispered.

She smiled.  “That’s today, Cowboy.”

He nodded once and then bent down to kiss her and it was about ten times more forcefully than before, leaving Anna moaning euphorically into his mouth.  He gave her a deep back-of-the-throat groan in response as soon as Anna started tugging on his shirt.  He broke from her lips only long enough for her to tear it off of him.

Anna had never been kissed so passionately or fondled in such an arousing way.  His hands worked at the buttons of her blouse, his long and thick fingers deftly plucking them apart until he could slide the shirt off her shoulders.

He pulled back from her lips and looked down at her, his pupils large with desire.  Staring into her eyes, he reached behind her back and unhooked her bra, then pulled it slowly off her.  He glanced down for a quick moment before kissing her again, his hands sliding up her bare back, making her quiver.

Needing so much more, Anna impatiently dropped her hands from his shoulders and started tugging at his jeans.  Thing was, she hadn’t yet figured out how the buckle stayed on the belt, and trying to pry it free wasn’t working.

He laughed against her lips then pulled his face away from hers.  Both of them looking down, he showed Anna how to take it off.  Her mind so clouded by the intimacy happening between them, she’d been trying the wrong end of the buckle.  He slipped the entire belt off his jeans, tossed it aside, and kissed her again.  Apparently, he still wanted her to take off his pants, so she did.

When they were pooled at his ankles, Anna broke from his lips again and looked down, the shape of his manhood much more defined against his boxer briefs.  She grabbed his hand and dragged him to her bedroom, then turned to face him.  Slowly, feeling his eyes on her the entire time, Anna freed him of his underwear.  She figured he was big, but she hadn’t expected him to be that big.  And thick.  Jesus.

Still looking down at him, wondering some logistics about how this was going to work, he hooked his finger under her chin and brought her face gently back up to look at him.  He was smiling, lopsided, his eyes hooded and staring at her lips.  Then he kissed her again, a little slower than before, while he took his time removing her jeans and underwear with warm handed caresses that made her practically melt.

Once she was fully naked like he was, he picked her up and laid her on the bed, then leaned over on one arm.  Anna shifted to accommodate him, knees falling apart as he moved between her legs.  Hovering over her, he pressed his pelvis to hers and made a movement with his hips so that his cock pushed up through her labia, gliding across her clit.

Anna gasped.   It sent a shockwave of pleasure through her for how much that part of her was throbbing.  Even though she wanted him inside of her more than anything, she was about to ask him to do it again, when he did just that, and Anna gasped once more.

“Oh… that…” Words stopped as he did it again and again, sliding his manhood across her sensitive clit.  The tightening in her abdomen quickly gave way to the sensation of ecstasy.

“Oh… I’m…”  she breathed.  Then she was there, her center pulsing and rolling in wave after wave.  Her legs came together, squeezing against him, and she let out a strangled moan.  Curling up, she writhed against Kristoff’s chest, drowning in pleasure. 

It was wonderful and deeply gratifying and over too soon.  She had no fear however that was going to be it for her.  She was still about to experience Kristoff, after all.  Her eyes fluttered open as he pulled away from her body and looked down at her.  His expression was soft, dare Anna say loving, and he bent down and kissed her gently for a moment, like he was waiting for permission.

“I want you now, Kristoff,” she said against his mouth. 

His cock, still resting between her legs, moved and gently pressed against her entrance while he continued to kiss her softly.  Anna let her knees fall back to the bed, waiting, then ever so slowly, he pushed into her.  She had to take her mouth away from his at the sensation, letting out a shaky exhale of air and arching her back on the bed.

His generous size felt like nothing she had ever experienced before.   She was wetter than wet, and yet it still felt a little tight, only in a way that was all pleasure and no pain.  In other words, she was definitely going to come again.

Wanting more, Anna lifted up her legs and hooked her ankles around his waist as he rocked into her, kissing her neck, her collarbone, she gasped softly with every one of his strokes.  Only it still wasn’t enough.  If this was Kristoff letting Anna have her way with him, she was going to have her way with him. 

“Wait,” she panted, and he immediately slid out of her and pulled up his head to look at her in question.

Anna pushed his chest away from her.  “I want to be on top.”

He obediently shifted off of her and moved to the side of the bed, waiting as Anna sat up and moved so that he could lay down.  He did so, after his eyes scanned her naked form in a way that made Anna blush. As soon as he was on his back, she crawled over him.

It was intense the way he was looking up at her, and Anna took her time sliding herself down onto him.

“Fuck…” he whispered, his gaze falling from her eyes to where they were joined.  His large palms slid up the sides of her thighs and settled on her hips, his fingers curling around to grab her ass as she moved against him.

The angle, the way she tilted forward so that her clit would rub against him with every movement, was exactly what she needed.  Anna put her palms on either side of his head on the pillow and did what she wanted with his body while he caressed her everywhere, giving her soft moans of pleasure.

And then that feeling came up on her again and she wondered if he was close too.  “Oh…” she moaned desperately, letting him know.  His hands moved back to her hips and tightened around them, gripping her and moving her more forcefully, matching her rhythm.

Then her mind went blank again as she collapsed on his chest and rode it out.

She slowed her breathing, laying on him with her eyes closed and her cheek pressed to his shoulder, her face pointed away from his.  After her body was fully calm again, she realized he was still rock hard within her.

Anna pushed herself up and looked down at him.  “I’m getting tired here.”

His face broke out into a smile and he started to laugh, the feeling of his body moving under – and in – her, delightful.  “What can I say?  I’m not a two-pump chump.”

“I’ll say,” Anna said through a tired chuckle.  “Although you are starting to give me a bit of a complex.”

His eyes went wide and serious.  “No, Anna, it’s not that.  I’ve always had good stamina.  I mean, in my experience it usually takes longer for a woman to… you know… and… well… to be fair… you seem to be able to get there amazingly quickly.  Honestly, it’s a first for me.”

That made her smile.  “If the man I’m with knows what he’s doing, and you certainly do, yes, I can.”

He smiled back, relieved.  “Trust me, I’m not going to last too much longer…”  His mouth worked like he had more to say, only nothing came out as his expression became thoughtful.  He pulled his lips closed and then let an exhale out of his nose.  “This is by far the most incredible moment of my life,” he said quietly.

Anna’s stomach started doing flips, and she leaned over and planted a quick kiss on his lips. “Why don’t you have your way with me now then?”

He shook his head.  “I’d rather just watch you come undone again and I’ll join you.”

And that’s exactly what he did.

*****

Despite how tired he was, he couldn’t sleep.  Anna had rolled away from him some time ago, sleeping on her stomach with her bare back to him and the covers bunched at her waist.  He stared at the ceiling in thought.

He knew that taking that intimate step with Anna was going to make him different, and dammed if it didn’t.  It was a feeling that nothing in his life was ever going to be the same.   Not necessarily in a bad way… more like in a very unknown way.  While he’d never been in love before, nowhere near it, he concluded that the feeling must be love.  And with that came fear.

What if it didn’t work out between them?  What if this was some flash in the pan, some incredible sex before things fizzled out and died.  What if he was the one left broken in the end.  Could he handle that?

Anna rolled over again, her hair a mess, and her hand slapped lightly against his chest and came to rest there as she settled back into sleep.   He smiled.  She was a restless sleeper.  Heartbreakingly beautiful.

Sven had said he worried about him and Dixie too when they were getting to know each other better.  Maybe this was that, just jitters, because Anna had done nothing to make him think that she wasn’t as into him as he was into her.  Even though things in the past had never worked out for him, the connection between him and Anna was undeniable, and he had to remember that.

He put the unease from his mind and pictured instead Anna in his cabin, living with him and loving life with him.  Soon, he found the sleep he desperately needed.

---

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter

[glittertomb]

Current Obsessions 🌸🍄🐸💜🌿🌼

(Haven’t done one in 3 years, I think, and I have half an ounce of energy right now but here goes)

Scavengers Reign… an animated science-fiction show about a beautiful but dangerous planet with unusual biological mechanisms… watch for free here

Winternight Trilogy… a historical fantasy series spun with Russian fairytales, old gods, and curious creatures… rent on Libby with a library card

The Boy and the Heron… I know the latest Ghibli got some mixed reviews, but I’m just giddy to have another super magical film from our favorite Japanese retiree, and understanding how this film relates to his legacy and his son makes it much more emotional for me… it will be on Max at some point or watch for free on fmoviesz.to

Southern Reach Trilogy… I realized that the Annihilation movie was loosely based off of these books, so I had to know more about this quarantined (but ever-expanding) area where strange and psychedelic phenomena occurs… these are probably also on Libby

The Scholomance Trilogy… re-reading one of my favorite magical series in which students navigate a deadly world where monsters and even their own school seem to be coming for them at every turn… the first audiobook is available for free with a Spotify premium account, or just find them on Libby lol

Dave the Diver… explore the deep seas by day, run a sushi restaurant by night, and more… I dunno, I play it at my sister’s house so go look for it on Steam

This last one is kinda random but I’ve been really into Ito En teas at the moment… I usually get the giant bottles of unsweetened green tea from my local Asian markets… I’ve also been drinking a lot of giant bottles of unsweetened Aloe because I’m a giant ball of inflammation but I couldn’t find my brand.

So, the end! I hope these give you comfort as we wait for spring! If you’ve been feeling gloomy, stir-crazy, or otherwise glum, remember to keep taking your vitamin D and keep your chin up, cause spring is so close we can almost taste it. 🌸 ~love, laue

[georgiapeach30513]

Disclaimer: Long

With all the critic centered criticism of Red One, I have to say the cynical part of me feels like it was a concentrated effort by the industry to be assholes re: Amazon + Dwayne.

I think a huge part of the criticism is the fact that the movie's budget was so overblown due to whatever happened behind the scenes. If the film was half or even a quarter of the final budget, I don't think we'd be seeing so many "critics" screaming online about it. This film was sort of doomed from the start by that alone, due to the increasing "resent" the industry seems to have towards DJ. But all the critic reviews I've seen so far have been so overwhelmingly harsh I'm kind of wondering, "who hurt you?" Like...how can you look at a movie with a premise like this one and think it was supposed to be anything but unserious? The fact that audience scores are so much higher, and even online in comment responses to critics, you'll see people saying, "I think this film was fun. I'm confused, why are you so mad? I feel like this was better than expected." The repeated and most common response is that, which tells me people were bamboozled by critics into thinking they had to hate on this film, but the ones who still went to see it anyway, found themselves surprised when they actually took the time to form their own opinion.

I know it doesn't matter and honestly, no one is paying me to defend the film, but the critics are reacting way too hard for my sake. It's really turning me off of critics in general.

One thing I do have to say is that Red One is ACTUALLY an original story. Yes, it does take from a lot of different things and that's probably contributing to the negativity from some, but I can appreciate an original story in an era of reboots, remakes, existing IPs, and adaptations of things that already existed as a show, movie, game, broadway show, book. Now my worry is that because people reacted badly to this, studios will be even less enthused to put original content, especially holiday/Christmas themed ones. I can only hope they learn from this and rethink budgeting as a whole in the future when they're greenlighting these types of projects. You wanna put out a goofy, unserious, probably cheesy AF movie? Sure: Instead of 200 million, make it 20 million. Hire some actors who really want to lean into it and market it as such. It's really not rocket science.

In comparison: Gladiator II. Now, I know some people are already biased because some of their favorite actors are in this film, but IMHO, this sequel did not need to be made. As someone who loved the original, the entire premise (won't give spoilers) of Part 2 defeats the purpose of the first, and in my opinion, completely kills the ending of Gladiator, which I felt was nearly perfect. Gladiator II is also getting mixed reviews, and heavily dinged by critics as well, but I think there's a more valid criticism towards this film than towards Red One. The difference here is that GLADIATOR II was supposed to be better. It was supposed to be this big amazing sequel (that nobody really needed, but Ridley Scott can do no wrong to some) but the premise and actual storyline make no sense if you're somebody who enjoyed the first. This movie is rightfully getting the criticism it deserves, because the expectations for a follow up like this one was supposed to be so much better than it ended up being.

Red One? I mean...even The Rock's own fans were hating on the film before it even came out. CE's fans have been hating on this film since it was announced, and they haven't stopped giving gripe about it even though it was filmed over 2 years ago. It was never going to be some amazing masterpiece and anyone who was going in thinking differently...well.

As for Chris...yes, people online have been coming at him left and right and wondering why he's doing stuff like this and why he's not doing more or better etc etc etc. Well...Can I be honest? They always overlooked him and never took him seriously. Even when he was Cap, he got more or less brushed aside for RDJ playing himself as Ironman. Every film Chris has done outside the MCU that has been worthy of praise either gets brushed under the rug or ignored, or people didn't show up in the theaters. The industry seems to completely ignore him when it comes to anything serious, but they will happily shoehorn him into headlines using the Cap title forever.

I think he got tired of trying to work against the grain and he figured, he'll get his bag and at least he can pay his bills. But it does feel like something may have changed within the last year or so, as his recent film choices appear to be a 180 from the last 2-3 years. So who knows? All I know is, I don't blame him for ultimately disappearing from social media. Everyone has to find and make their own peace.

For me, the budget is a big issue. Who greenlit a Christmas movie with a $250M budget, and then a $100M marketing budget?? I think it's absurd, and yes, I do think the CGI was cheap looking. Now, the heart of the movie itself, the story, I enjoyed. I think the acting was quite nice. I think the practical effects makeup on Kristofer is phenomenal! Krampus is fully believable because of it. I love seeing practical effects instead of straight CGI, and that was a great call.

I agree, the critics are going a bit hard on a silly Christmas movie. I'm not unsure who pissed in the hot chocolate, but they need to calm down. It's not that serious. And I like that we got a Christmas movie that embodies some true Christmas spirit. I wish it came out after Thanksgiving, but whatever.

I agree with your points about Gladiator II. I think people expected more for various reasons, and now it's not delivering.

I think with DJ it's really easy to hate on him right now. You either love him or you hate him. He is a showman, and he loves bigger than life events/moments. There are some Chris fans that have been hating on this from day one, while I and several others were excited to see what this movie brought to the Christmas movie lineup, and honestly, I wasn't disappointed, and dare I say pleasantly surprised?

I think for Chris R1 served several purposes; Christmas movie bucket list, work with DJ, easy paycheck. I don't think there's a huge point to act like this movie was going to be anything but goofy and fun, and that's what we got. I don't fault Chris for doing a money grab movie. However! I do hope this doesn't become the normal, and judging by his last three choices of movies, I don't think it will be.

A lot of actors do the big budget money grab movies to have a nice lifestyle, and then add in more challenging and interesting roles after. Typically you don't see the big paycheck with those (unless you're Leo). I just hope there's a good balance.

[storygirl000]

okay genuinely what is with some of the complaints for mh g3 because at this point it just sounds like y’all hate it for existing and nothing else.

"ewwww the outfits are so ugly!!" gee, it’s almost like popular fashion trends have changed over the years. there’s a difference between "this outfit is ugly" and "i greatly dislike this outfit"; i personally think a lot of the outfits look pretty cool, but i’m not gonna default to calling the ones i don’t like "ugly" just because i don’t like the style.

"everyone’s personality has changed for the worse!!" because it’s a reboot of the franchise; of course they’re gonna change things to keep things "fresh". besides, i honestly think the personality changes got me more invested in certain characters compared to g1 – frankie and lagoona in particular are characters i didn’t care all that much about in g1, but i’ve loved their g3 characterizations so far.

"it’s racist because they toned down clawdeen’s blackness!!" i am admittedly as white as can be so i don’t know how well i can comment on this, but i feel like people who use this argument have a tendency to sound more bigoted than they claim mattel is. i have both g1 and g3 clawdeen dolls; they have pretty much the exact same skin tone, so that complaint only really applies to the live-action movie. the arguments about her personality being "less black" sound like they’re turning into "clawdeen is less of a sassy black woman stereotype and i hate that". and all the complaints about her being mixed race (and thus "less black") now just sound bigoted against actual afro-latina people. and that’s without getting into how this old argument keeps being used while they ignore that there’s a wider degree of racial diversity in the line, that clawdeen actually has a black va now (light-skinned black, sure, but still an improvement over having a white va do a "black" voice), and that some of y’all made fun of the new venus for looking different when they gave her implicitly black facial features.

and on that note, "you’re just sucking mattel’s dick and ignoring everything bad because there’s more diversity now!!" so people aren’t allowed to be happy that they’re being properly represented in their favorite doll line now? so plus-sized people aren’t allowed to be happy about plus-sized catty? so south asian people can’t be happy that abbey is now properly south asian-coded instead of weirdly russian? so i can’t be happy that one of the characters is explicitly autistic? sure, a story should have more than good diversity if it wants to be truly good, but every time i see this complaint get brought up it’s phrased like we shouldn’t be happy about the increased diversity at all.

"this is just as bad as g2!! why don’t you hate it like g2?!" because it’s not like g2 at all. g2 suffered from a combination of budget cuts that led to cheaper doll designs and marketing unsure of whether or not it was connected to the original g1 continuity; g3, while not perfect, definitely has a better budget and marketers who’ve learned from their mistakes and made it more clear that this is a full reboot.

and all of these complaints seem to carry an undercurrent of "g3 is the only option available and it’s bad" which...just isn’t true. g1 fans still have stuff like the boo-riginal creeproductions, the reel drama dolls, and so many special dolls that hearken back to g1 aesthetics and designs. mattel’s still paying attention to them.

tl;dr stop using increasingly flimsy arguments to justify complaining about people liking something.

[tomyo]

Nimona and a Decade of the Queer Experience

To me one of the most anticipated aspects of the Nimona adaptation was to see how they changed the a lot of the queer themes from the original comic. Nimona was created in a time where it was still taboo to represent same sex relationships in anything trying to be marketable into an era where it is so commonplace that Nimona would have seemed regressive if it stayed true to the material.

Naturally the way Blackheart and Goldenloin are portrayed has greatly changed but also has a lot of the message from the original. Nimona is now about the trans experience.

This isn't to say transness was never at the core of Nimona but I don't think even baby nonbinary me would have been able to connect it directly to that.

Nimona the comic, to me, deals with similar but different issues from Nimona the movie. The comic was a story of trying to upheave an untrustworthy militarized state through the initially goofy lens of a budding father daughter relationship that ultimately fails.

Blackheart at the start of the comic already is trying to defy the government and Nimona seeks him out because he's actually playing the role of the villain already. She herself felt like this mix of female and queer rage. It made believe somewhat in the idea that the little girl by the end of the story was truly her who had once tried to do better for her home and was rejected for becoming something *different*. Overall you can feel more presently that deafening dread that Blackheart and Goldenloin love each other and acknowledging that would ruin both of their lives. This is moreso due to that whole conflict of their ideologies and sides they are on interfering but the metaphor is there. We could read this easily as Blackheart being out of the closet and at odds with society where Goldenloin on in the closet and working on the name of oppression. By showing Blackheart looking visibly like a villain it harkens back to the queer coding of Disney villains and a feeling a lot of queer people had to experience at that time, being an enemy to the public simply for existing. Coming back to Nimona, she's the perfect example of a trans masc egg experience; punk in a way that isn't fully certain in embracing or trashing anything feminine. Not fully androgynous but butchy and an unfocused anger at everything around them. I can never speak for the entirety of the trans experience but I know the feeling being born in an afab body and violently hating the society that I want badly to accept me, the way we insist that we intend to fully express our being while also creating this weird mix of unconvincing conformity. Again I laugh so much at her design elements; shaved head, tomboyish in chainmail but with curves, and short dresses, and impractical belts. Her actions also read as someone who's greatest sore point is loss of her bodily autonomy which ultimately she's subjected to during the climax. The monster/power of Nimona to me tends to ultimately mirror more of an emotional state rather than transness itself. Both version of Nimona have people see it as something Nimona is inflicted with rather than a part of her existence as she reveals at the end. Even Blackheart believe he can cure her of it with the equivalence of a procedure or medication but it's because he only perceives Nimona as the little girl and not the little girl as a part of the whole that is the dragon. I think there is a lot of things we can read into the dragon being and even at the idea that queerness is something people seek to cure that doesn't need one in the first place. And ultimately that's why the story ends on the somber tone it does, the biggest focus of the story was how Blackheart became the parent to Nimona and misguidedly tried to 'fix' her. And like a lot of people, especially for the time period, Nimona had to leave behind the family and society that couldn't accept her as her.

And so we move forward through the years.

Media is not made in a vacuum, Nimona the comic is a critique of early 2010s ideologies and maybe doesn't even worry about them as serious in a pre 2016 world. Nimona 2023 however exists on the other side of that threshold. Like I said, I don't think the original comic was consciously trans mostly because the zeitgeist wasn't conscious of transness. 2012-2014 (the comic's creation period) encapsulated me personally going from no aware knowledge of gender to confusion at learning my friend's pronouns to fully identifying as nonbinary in a world few people knew what that meant. But not long after that we had Korra's ending, the reveal of Ruby and Sapphire, Kaitlynn Jenner, Menanists, and then the nightmare of the 2016 election and all that came with it. The truth is a contradiction occurred; queerness became a part of the in group so long as it followed the rules of heteronormativity. I think it is fair to say a lot of queer people became more eeeh conservative for lack of better terms. For once we finally had a chance to be out and so long as we followed the conditions set out, exist well. We can live comfortably, why rock the boat? In other words, respectability politics. We are then at odds with those who believe we should keep complacent for fear of being rejected.

That brings us to Nimona the movie.

Blackheart no longer is the guerilla activist he once was, we now are introduced to him as a part of the system; specifically the model minority. Movies only have so much time for you to build understanding of it's world themes and ideas and so it tends to need to be more punchy with getting the point across otherwise become less coherent. So rather on the nose "Knighting a non noble is against god" as very flatly stated in the begging. Since the time of the comic, being gay has been normalized and we now see Blackheart and Goldenloin start out as a couple (to be frank I couldn't fully tell if they were official or not but they were all but in writing together) and by in universe logic, Goldenloin is the golden child pastor's son with divisively accepted boyfriend. Blackheart is an inspiration for his common men while his noble classmates are disgusted at the idea of him being allowed the same rights as them, essentially being allowed to be an policeman. It's his role as the model minority that he still believes the system is right when he is framed for murder; it is the one bad actor who's at fault despite a whole society shunning him with little reasoning needed.

Nimona in the other hand is a bit more in control of the relationship. Nimona of the comic latched onto a spurned man who was more methodical than she was in her work but Nimona of the movie is pretty much what pushes Blackheart into the image of a villain. Movie Nimona's goal is more or less to find community and for reasons we will get to only believes she can find it with other cast aside from society. She is jaded enough to know that Blackheart will continue to be labeled as the way they do to her. This time the shape shifting is explicitly trans; Nimona now is no longer worried about experimentation or trying to be cured but of being called a monster, the fear of her, and eradication; words I feel like I've heard too much in lgbt spaces lately. She talks about wanting her own demise with her heard turned down and eyes somber in moments that hit too close to home. She is a worn down warrior for her own existence. On safer grounds with Blackheart she more wittingly challenges his transphobia. Blackheart cannot perceive her out of the binary that she is default a girl and her transformations are something else, he asks if her transitions hurt, and he tries to convince her to blend in with others for his own comfort. As he spends more time with her, he's able to view the world he was taught differently and doesn't view the less pretty sides of Nimona as scary. However, programming is hard to free yourself out of.

The Director is by definition, conservative. She believes is a religious like text that society should not change unless it all falls a part. Her belief in this runs so deep that she easily is willing to kill pseudo religious figures as her personal code of morals override any actual logic in faith(anyone remember how magas talk about Trump as being sent by God while also disavowing him for encouraging vaccinations?). Her rhetoric that non nobles with be a societal slip eminates classism and racism (commoner is somewhat of a race allegory). She denies her own words to hold power, criticizes Nimona of whispering deceipt into blackhearts ear while actually being the one doing so to Goldenloin, and justifies her actions through holy scripts. She holds a stern belief in cleansing the society of it's demons down to intending to kill a large part of her society to rid it of the tran metaphor Nimona is. She is the quintessential conservative power so bent on it staying that way that she will destroy everything in spite of any logic to why it's right. Goldenloin, as the champion of the institution, a head cop if you will, looks upon the chaos learning the director's intent to kill thousands and says "what are we doing here?" A lot of institutions (aah there's the naming for you) in our country are like this. I think to some like, there are people who entered religion or became a police officer because they wanted to do good. But the rhetoric in these spaces can skew that perspective exponentially. Some with better access out may find that point of "What are we doing her" The moment the logic of the system no longer makes sense. I would love to talk more a lot this an the comic institution at a later point.

Back to Nimona and the queer identity.

Nimona was searching for a group to accept her, changing her appearance to fit in. She thinks she has it with Gloreth until Gloreth is taught that Nimona's existence was monstrous and rejects her as well. The scene of the villagers attacking her is poinient as well; they endanger and threaten her with violence (which would likely have been more explicit if not for kids) and she first turns to something weaker to escape but they refuse and so she is forced to turn to something bigger ane vicious in order to live but it only sets up the narrative that there is a reason to fear her when she didnt attack first, she simply had to protect herself. Nimona in the present is ready for her death, the narrative so out of control that it breaks her.

Blackheart is able to bring her back from the brink by doing the important thing of truly apologizing, have humility for his mistrust and bigotry, and offer her support on equal terms. Nimona this time does not flee her friend that failed her but sacrifice herself for the hope of a better future beyond the walls.

The final part to mention; the walls. The walls are mad out as a big deal in this. No one leaves beyond them and the one small town of Gloreth fills to a big capitalist tech dystopia that markets dragons as both cute mascots and something to eradicate to as young as children. Society is a small shoebox not allowed to even see beyond the walls; see a new potential of this world. Simply put, the beyond is the beyond of heteronormative society. Even as society has become more accepting of LGBT identities, it has only liked to consume it in an easily interpreted manor. There are a lot of even just fringe identities that used to get lambasted for being weird simply for existing, trying to apply those same rules within their spaces as they've become socially acceptable. For every push forward we make, there is still presentation and identity that will get ostracized for being out of the box. We create these walls and only build them out further every so often rather than knocking them down. If there is anything to take from Nimona it's to embrace the beyond.

Morning edit; Hiii thank you for reading all of this. I kinda furiously typed this after watching the movie last night and there are certainly some flaws for it. Towards the end you can see a lot of typos because I was literally falling asleep and there are definitely some concepts I would've liked to flesh out better but kinda glossed over to focus on what the stories were saying about Nimona specifically. I think if anything, I'd want to reexamine Blackheart in both stories because I honestly forgot a lot of his actions in the comic, same with the institution because it took a while to even remember about the Director being a character from the comic. To be real, there's some really specific events on where Nimona was made that tend to hit me pretty hard so I rushed through the comic when I read it last year. I might try to take me time now because Nimona is so meaningful. I even want to talk about how it made sense Disney tried to shut it down (I'm certain there's a lot of business reasons but I don't think it was compatible with the Disney brand). For all the ways we have queer stories, I don't think we see a lot of trans stories yet. I'm hoping the series like Dead End Paranormal Park and Nimona are the start of a new era that focally represent that.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hey Raven, are you going to watch the upcoming new Disney movie "Wish"?

I've seen mixed reviews, but i'm lowkey excited since we get to see a new Disney villain, especially since Disney got really lame villains after all the old classic movies!

Have you seen the trailer for the movie? What are your thoughts so far?

I saw Wish with a friend recently! I'll give my thoughts on the trailers here (in case you don't want spoilers for the film itself) and put my full thoughts beneath the cut (if you're okay with spoilers).

Looks-wise, I think Disney was definitely trying to go for something more stylistic and painting-esque for this?? And while I commend the effort, it definitely doesn't look as interesting as Puss in Boots 2: The Last Wish. The humor also definitely isn't for me, it feels very "quirky" and "so relatable" (Asha reminds me of Mirabel in that sense), and other times too juvenile (like the goat butt joke). I do like the idea of the villain passing as a good guy in-universe and actually being vain and selfish, especially since the marketing is making it clear who the bad guy is rather than making it a "twist" villain scenario. Not sure if I like Magnifico himself though??? All the ads with him in it feel like Disney is trying too hard to make people thirst for him. From just the trailers, Magnifico does seem interesting and like more of a return to the traditional "villain" rather than the protagonist having to deal with an existential dread or concept.

***Spoilers for Wish beneath the cut!***

Right off the bat, my first impression is the narrative is SO ham-fisted. Within the first 5 minutes alone we're establishing so much information and in such a clunky, unnatural way. Like... Asha says hi to her friends but then they robotically have a dialogue where they overtly call each other "friends" just so it's clear to the audience (when in reality no one talks like that). It's telling instead of showing, and this happens sooo many times early in the film.

Could not for the life of me remember the friends or their names. There were just too many of them when 1 or 2 would have been just fine to move the plot along and to help Asha. (Yes, I know they're a reference to the 7 Dwarves but it's STILL not necessary to have so many just for a reference.)

Bruh, the makeup in this movie is on point. Every time there was a close up of a character, I was staring at their eye makeup (especially Asha and the queen's).

Asha as a protagonist was... fine? She feels very close to Mirabel and at times Rapunzel in her character. I didn't dislike her by any means, but she didn't reinvent what it means to be a Disney protag. Her motivations also come off as… really “out of nowhere”. We’re told she “cares too much”, but she initially only wants to save the wishes of her mom and grandpa; she randomly decides she has to free ALL wishes midmovie and that was jarring. There could have been a smoother transition. Instead, it was abrupt and Asha didn’t change in any meaningful way. Even her “I want” song was vague (what exactly is “to have something more for us than this”?) and didn’t connect well with her character.

I do really like her design though! Her freckles, earrings, and how her hair moves are my favorite details.

Valentino was not as annoying as I thought he would be. Still didn't care for his sass and brand of humor, but at least he helped out a few times.

I called it, the film is trying so hard to make Magnifico "hot" 🤡 I don't get it but okay, Mouse. I see your effort.

Loved his fit!! Very cool cloak and diamond/star motifs everywhere! His lab and study was also fun to look at.

I quite liked the moments when the queen talked to her husband and tried to smooth things over with him. “I can fix him energy”— Their relationship seemed very genuine at the start of the movie.

NOT THE WISH NEPOTISM...

If they were going for “sympathetic” with Magnifico, it didn’t work. He gave this backstory about how he was traumatized before + left as the only survivor of a great tragedy and so now he wants to use his magic to prevent that from happening to anyone else. Thing is, we only ever know about this via his word and staring at a half-burnt tapestry. We never see the event on screen, nor what was left of the tapestry. I was expecting a twist where it’s revealed that he lied all this time about his backstory and rewrote history so he could more easily manipulate the people of the kingdom he founded and live out the fantasy of being worshipped as a “good guy”. That was such a missed opportunity!!

Something else I was thinking of (this was during “This is the Thanks I get” was??? Maybe Magnifico started off genuinely good but became worn down over time as people’s wishes grew more selfish and they became ungrateful for what they had?? Then he could have become bitter and disillusioned by the behavior of his people.

Another idea is maybe Magnifico was “villainous” only in Asha’s eyes, since they don’t agree on how to best handle granting wishes. This would be more of a clash of ideologies rather than the traditional Obvious Evil vs Obvious Good that Disney is so known for, but hey, it could be a neat evolution of their storytelling from classic fairy tale roots.

This is to say that there were so many more interesting directions they could have gone with Magnifico’s motives, character, and portrayal 😭 but the second half of the movie never commits to any of these, they just blame his complete insanity and turn to the dark side on Forbidden Magic which is such a cop-out.

The trailers gave away the twist that Magnifico was the villain. It wasn’t revealed until like the second song into the movie. Would’ve worked better as an on-the-spot reveal rather than part of the marketing, in my opinion.

When they showed the wishes, the TWST fan in my was shouting, "OMG IT'S WISH UPON A STAR, THE LIMITED TIME STORY EVENT FROM THE HIT DISNEY MOBILE GACHA GAME TWISTED WONDERLAND!!!"

As Wish is Disney's anniversary film for 100 years, there were tooons of easter eggs scattered throughout. (I had fun looking for them!) Some were visual (I saw Aurora's dress, Snow White’s well, Peter's Pan's costume, Ursula's green smokey hands, Asha's robes resembling those of the Fairy Godmother, etc.) or extended imagery/scenes (Asha recreates Mulan's dinner and “Reflection" scenes), others were more overt lines of dialogue (Magnifico says the "Mirror, Mirror" lines along with others, a deer named “Bambi”, Valentino mentions an animal metropolis in reference to Zootopia, etc.).

In theory, the wish magic sounds cool but has so much that isn't explained??? And yeah, it's magic so it technically doesn't have to be. However, there are things not explained even when it is important to the plot. For example, Magnifico crushes some wishes and seems to absorb their power for himself (including the wish of Asha's MOM, so you'd think this would be important)? The consequence of this is that the wish's owners... become sad??? Okay, what are the long-term effects??? Why isn’t this fully explored?? But then later in the film we see the same people whose wishes were crushed... regenerate their wish??? So what, he has to keep reaping them??? And why are the wishes only taken at 18 years old? What if a wish changes? Ironically, the townspeople of Rosas have a scene where they question the technicalities of this wish magic. Magnifico essentially tells them to shut up, and it kinda felt like Disney was telling us to not question their lore www

It was weird that they never fully explored the ramifications of going without your wish. You’d think they’d show us people without ambition or hope (which would incentivize Asha to return their wishes), but everyone seems blissfully happy without their wishes?? The only exception is Asha’s friend that betrays her (cannot for the life of me remember his name), and that’s namely because his asshole friends keep ragging on him for it.

I thought the movie was going to go in a “you can make your own wish come true!!” direction but NOPE, turns out it’s just magic. Felt like Disney unintentionally wrote a whole movie about "wishes not coming true unless some big powerful entity allows it to come true” (Asha literally becomes the fairy godmother of Rosas at the end, making her ultimately no different than Magnifico)… ie a metaphor for how Disney owns so many properties it practically owns our childhoods www

"The power of friendship saves the day" ending 🤣 It was very Paper Mario ending-esque...

A song saving the day though?? It’s giving the Illumination Lorax film…

I was right about the humor. Too "quirky" and/or juvenile for me.

Animation was alright? Nothing awful about it, it just didn't feel as detailed or as experimental as other films with a similar style.

Songs were mid, which checks out with the recent Disney music excluding We Don't Talk About Bruno--

Some of the lyrics however were awful. “I let you live here for free and I don’t even charge you rent” is redundant. “So I throw caution to every warning sign” means you’ll show more caution than usual, not that you’ll forego caution. The correct expression is “throw caution to the wind”. Etc, etc, etc.

There was a cute after credits scene where they reveal that Asha's 100 year old grandpa (same age as Disney omg) wrote the "When You Wish Upon a Star" theme, which was sweet since his wish was "wanting to make a mark".

THE BEST PART OF THE MOVIE WAS STAR!! It was very cute (partly because it couldn't talk and just jingled and giggled, I was dreading another annoying mascot animal voice) and reminds me of my own pet… The way Star infused everything with glitter and formed unique shapes with the red twine was so fun 😭 I'M A STAR STAN, IT WAS ADORABLE AND KINDA BRATTY AND I'M LIVING FOR IT

Decent ideas, "meh" execution. Enchanted and Shrek did it better in terms of self-aware, fairy tale defying stories. It felt as though the movie was trying to deliver a profound message but got lost in the sauce of making as making Disney references possible and didn't fully commit to actually saying something meaningful. As a result, the film feels somewhat… hollow.

That one friend betraying Asha was the biggest surprise in the film but I still saw it coming 😂 I do get where he’s coming from though (being worried that his wish won’t ever come true) but it also felt like his conflict wasn’t resolved??? It might have gone better if the movie actually fully tried to push the “you can make your own wish come true” message (to reinvigorate the traitor to make his dreams a reality on his own) but they don’t 💦

Wish didn’t end up being “the wishing star’s origin story” because not once did anyone question where Star came from or why it was different from other stars (or what the significance of Magnifico blotting out the other stars was).

I think the people that would enjoy this movie are the people that are already highly invested in Disney and the nostalgia of it.

... Anyway, stan Star 🤩 (and the talking mushrooms 🍄)

[daddysfangirls-dc]

UnTamed Ch.8

Damian Wayne x OC!Female

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Initially, they didn't know how to behave in a romantic relationship. At first, it was awkward, but then they fell back into the routine which was their friendship. Both were inexperienced in the field of romance and simply did what they were comfortable with. And right now, comfortable meant being outside, sitting on top of Damian's head as a baby duck and watching him paint. There was the sound of a side door opening. 

"is that a duck?" Damian turned to find Jason standing in the doorway.

"A duckling," Jason waited for him to elaborate. He didn't. "Alright, I'm going to the market with Alfred. Do you need anything?"

"No"

"we'll be gone for a couple of hours. You'll be home alone, you good?" 

"I'm not a toddler. I can be left unsupervised, Todd."

"Whatever you say." With that, Jason left with Alfred for their bi-weekly trip to the market, leaving Damian (And Asta) alone.  Damian continued to paint as his duckling crawled down his body and shifted human once her feet hit the floor. 

"What do you want to do next?" Asta asked as she leaned on Damian's back. He was almost done painting. 

"Is there anything in particular you wish to do?"

"How about a movie?" 

"I'll make some snacks. You go up and pick a movie." 

It was a second before the weight was lifted off his back, and he heard the familiar fluttering of feathers. She couldn't come in through the door because of security cameras, so she went in through his bedroom window as usual. Finished with his painting, he left it outside to dry and took his brushes inside to clean. Making a mixed bowl of fruit as a snack, he went upstairs to his room. 

"Have you picked something?"

"Yes, a rom-com."

"You and Grayson would get along well," he said as he settled in the bed next to her, handing her the bowl of fruit.

"The trailer looked funny," she pressed play.

Damian quickly lost interest in the movie. He took Asta's closed hand and slowly traced patterns all over her hand. "What are you doing?" she whispers 

"Touching you," he whispers in return as he brings her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles. She loved the feeling of his lips on her skin. She turned away to hide her blush and try to focus on the movie. That was something Asta had noticed since their shift from friendship to relationship. He had always been reserved before, but now he was constantly touching her, leaning on her, holding her hands, and lying in her lap.

It was warm and soft, much better than Dick's. Not that he'd say it out loud. Dick's touch was warm but suffocating and not always optional. Dick's affection was more for his own sake than others. Damian liked that he could say no to her touch and that she'd never force him. Nor would he force her.

Damian still made patterns on her palm when he felt her tense slightly. Looking up he finds the source a very intimate scene between a couple played on the tv. It didn't go beyond heavy petting and kissing, but still. Despite how close and touchy the couple were, Damian and  Astreae have yet to have their lips touched. Nor had they discussed it. It was just something that hadn't happened.

Looking at her, Damian saw how Asta did her best to avoid looking at him or the TV. Damian didn't feel tense or uncomfortable. Her bashfulness actually amused him. She felt his emotions and couldn't help but feel amused, even going as far as giggling. Then, she was infected by his nervousness. He was looking at her. He had that soft look on his face. She had seen it in the mask before, usually when in uniform. But he didn't have his mask, and she could see his eyes, and they were beautiful. She couldn't describe that look, that feeling he had, but she loved it.

And Then.

It was quick; she hadn't even closed her eyes before she felt his lips on hers and then gone.

"Oh," she didn't know what else to say, but she shouldn't have said that. She knew that when Damian shrank back. Asta leaned forward, following him. She was much slower than he was. Their eyes closed as their noses brushed against each other as they shared breaths, and then their lips touched softer and lingered longer, too. When she pulled away, she heard, "Oh," she giggled. 

"Another," he asked. She was happy to oblige again and again and again. Laughing and whispering affection in between kisses. Nothing more than long-winded pecks between those inexperienced, but it felt good nonetheless. Just being close. 

[heyclickadee]

My take (that no one asked for) on every single Star Wars show and non-saga movie:

The Clone Wars (movie): It’s…okay it’s rough. This wasn’t supposed to be a movie at all, putting three episodes of the show together and releasing it theatrically was part of the distribution deal with Cartoon Network, as far as I know, and it does show. It’s grown on me, though.

Clone Wars (The Tartakovsky Series): I think I’m probably in the minority here, but I actually don’t love this one. It’s fun, slick, and stylish, like everything Tartakovsky does is, and I don’t dislike it, but it just doesn’t do much for me. It’s cool. Maybe it’s a little too cool. Great art style, though.

The Clone Wars: Very high highs, very low lows. Though to be honest, I actually love a lot of the goofier episodes. They’re fun. It doesn’t have to be all drama all the time. Sometimes you can let Jar Jar be an agent of chaos. Sometimes you can have an episode about interest rates. I don’t have the nostalgia factor going with TCW the way a lot of people do—I didn’t watch it until I was in my twenties—so I do have to admit that it is tied with one other show as my least favorite of the animated shows, but that’s not a bad thing. I still love it.

Ewoks: I’ve only seen about six episodes. It’s veeerry 80’s. I think eight year old me would have gone insane for this show had I seen it. Adult me actually has a bit of a soft spot for it. I’ll watch the rest of it eventually. (Aaaand now I have the theme song stuck in my head. It’s. It’s definitely a theme song.)

Droids: I…haven’t seen it.

Resistance: I finally had a chance to get all the way through this show (I was eyeballs deep in “okay fine we’ll try this college thing AGAIN” when it was airing and just didn’t have time to check it out) and you know what? It’s actually pretty good. It’s definitely skewed even a little younger than Star Wars typically is, but it does what it does really well. Sort of feel like this one is slept on.

The Mandalorian: It’s a fantastic adventure of the week show. I actually don’t dislike the “plot” episodes, but mostly I’m just here to watch what shenanigans Din and his small green force son get into. Season three is weaker than the first two, but I don’t even really think that season is bad. There was some great stuff in it—just uneven and mixed in with some not so great stuff. Overall, good popcorn viewing, as far as I’m concerned.

Andor: Okay, yeah, Andor is fantastic. I do think some of its popularity is that it’s one of two (maybe three) Star Wars shows made for adults more than anyone else, so some people don’t quite have the same “why isn’t this making me feel like Star Wars did when I was a kid?” dissonance watching it, but it is also genuinely amazing. Probably the best thing Star Wars has ever done even if it’s not technically my favorite.

The Book of Boba Fett: Is it a mess? Yes. Do I still enjoy it? Yeah. My main problem with BoBF is that it’s got some serious structural issues. Even besides Din coming in and taking over two whole episodes, I think that the telling the story via flashbacks was a mistake, and that we should have followed Boba through the childhood bits and slowly caught up to him in the present. Maybe revealed it was all a flashback while he was in the bacta tank from there. And I…don’t love Robert Rodriguez’s directorial style all that much, never really have. That said, I do hope we eventually get more of this, though if we do I think it will be folded into something else. Still don’t love the live action pike design. (I actually have a conspiracy theory that BoBF was originally just a few episodes or even a season of The Mandalorian, and that it was made its own thing for marketing purposes.) I want more Boba, more Fennec, and more Sand People, if nothing else.

Solo: One, killing off Val Beckett was a huge mistake. It’s not story breaking or anything like that, but doing so when she’s one of very few black women in Star Wars and half of one of, like, two interracial couples in the entire franchise means that it hits in a way it wouldn’t if she was someone else. So, yeah, don’t like that. Two, the rest of this movie is a blast and audiences just hate fun. I don’t care that no one asked for this movie, it’s fun and campy and there’s a heist and I like it. Three, Enfys Nest has the sickest armor design in the whole franchise and I need more of her.

Kenobi: So…maybe unpopular opinion here, but…I really like Kenobi. Kenobi’s a delight. It’s not perfect, it’s got some problems, but I like that it’s about a guy who’s that depressed and alone slowly regaining his sense of hope, I like that we had something focus on Leia for a while (because Anakin and Padme had two kids and Leia always gets left second string), I like that you’ve got grifters like Haja and former imperials doing what little bits they can to help even though they can’t fight the whole empire. And I know that thoughts are mixed on this, but I actually thought it made a couple bits of A New Hope make more sense where Leia is concerned; kid me could never figure out how she knew who Ben Kenobi was when that was the name he only went by in exile on Tattooine (“Ben Kenobi? Where is he!?”), and it kind of made the switch from the very formal request for aid on behalf of her father to the more personal, “Help me, Obi Wan Kenobi,” a little more poignant, for me, anyway. Reva is an amazing character, she’s a perfect parallel and eventually perfect foil for Anakin, she’s a mess and a he’s in pain and I just. I love her. I have mixed feelings on the live action Grand Inquisitor’s performance (and mixed feelings on the makeup—on the one hand it could be better and on the other hand the other main live action pau’an we’ve got—the actor’s head was just shaped like that). Nevertheless, this show for me was mostly about the big emotional beats, and it hit all of those really well.

The Bad Batch: This is a magnificent show and I adore it apart from That One Thing and the fact that everything was left completely open, even going into the epilogue, apart from Omega’s coming of age and the Hunter’s and Omega’s relationship’s arc. That was resolved very well. I am mildly insane about this show. I love it. Also, it vexes me. Tied with two other shows as my favorite Star Wars show in spite of all that. Amazing soundtrack. Sidebar: If it turns out I’m right and That One Thing is an extended fake out and we’re not quite done with these characters, I’m sorry, but I’m going to be the most insufferable person alive.

The Acolyte: Everyone is very pretty and just a little stupid. Mae is very fun. The good scenes are very, very good. The writing is pretty uneven; judging from interviews I have a completely different view of writing than Leslye Headland and had a hard time picking up why a lot of the characters did anything, but when it hit, it hit. It’s…very CW drama, which isn’t a bad thing—just not always my thing. That said, Sol is a fascinating concept for a character and Lee Jung-jae did an incredible job with what he was given. Same with Qimir and Manny Jacinto. It’s honestly not my favorite Star Wars show, but I’m still disappointed that it looks like it’s not moving forward. The leftover story might end up being folded into the high republic book series, but I still hope we get some kind of on-screen continuation. I think the public needs more of Darth Babe the Jacked.

Rogue One: It’s great. Yes, the entire main cast dies, but the central message was still about hope. Vader gets to pun. I remain somewhat dismayed that the only thing a portion of the audience took away from it was that the Vader hallway scene was cool. He’s a horror movie monster there. Still a great movie. (Also, Saw, why do you have that??)

Young Jedi Adventures: This skews very young; most Star Wars is for kids in the first place apart from Andor, the Acolyte, and mmaaaaaybe the Tales of anthology (the other live action shows are, in my opinion, solidly whole family), but this really is made for very young children. That said, I have watched it, and it’s a very well done show for very young kids. Also I would die and kill for Nubs.

The “Tales Of” anthology series: Yes, I am counting this as one, because even though there’s a shift in focus from the Jedi to the empire between seasons, it all follows the exact same format and structure. I’d argue this series is the one that’s primarily for the adults who either grew up watching Star Wars animation or got into it as adults. It’s good, lots of atmosphere, the episodes do range in quality but I generally like them, and it’s nice they get to play around with different techniques, like making miniatures and incorporating them into the animation. The Dooku and Barriss episodes are probably my favorites.

Ahsoka: I know the fandom is divided on this, like they are on most things, but I love this one, okay? It’s not perfect, but I have a good time watching it. It just happens to be this perfect blend of campy, fun, dramatic, and mystical that really feels like Star Wars for me. I like it when Star Wars gets weird, has silly little guys, and doesn’t take itself too seriously. Lucky for me that this series has extragalactic travel via whale, Ahsoka being dragged to Force Therapy by Anakin, and Ezra hanging out with the space fraggles. That, and I love some of the concepts. I like the idea that force sensitivity isn’t the be all end all, that connecting to the force is something you can learn with practice even if you weren’t blessed with the genetic lottery. Peridea and the space it occupies in folklore is neat. And the music is wonderful. It is a little uneven, it’s not Andor or anything quite that amazing, but I’m eager for more.

Visions: This anthology is fantastic and you’re missing out if you haven’t seen it. I don’t love every entry, but even the weaker ones are worth seeing once, and the stronger ones are worth seeing a whole lot more than that. It’s a great blend of styles and takes from people normally not involved in creating Star Wars. This is in a three way tie for my favorite Star Wars show.

Rebels: Again, it’s not perfect, because no show is, but I also think it’s the strongest standalone show Star Wars has besides Andor. Yes, there are weaker episodes, but on the whole it’s remarkably consistent, and the second half of season four might be some of my favorite Star Wars outside of parts of the original trilogy. Also, it has some stunning backgrounds, and while the art style doesn’t always work for every character, the character animation ends up really hitting its stride towards the end of the second season, and just gets better from there. And, as always, the music is fantastic. Rebels rounds out that three way tie for my favorite Star Wars show along with TBB and Visions.

[love-kurdt]

Swooping, Sloping, Cursive Letters: 34

word count: 408

PLEASE READ THIS IS ME TRYING FIRST, AS THIS STORY RELIES HEAVILY UPON THE CONTEXT OF TIMT

August 5, 1990

Dear Will,

You probably wouldn’t believe it if I told you (I, of all people, should know you have quite a bit of trouble believing what I tell you), but I made a friend. I met him last week in the library while I was browsing the fantasy section for writing inspiration.

His name is Wyatt Bowman, and I think he’s kind of becoming my best friend. My best friend here, at least. He’s so cool. He has bold, dyed red hair, hazel eyes that vaguely remind me of yours, and a New Jersey accent. Not to mention, he has a killer taste in music— the day we met, he was wearing an Iron Maiden tee shirt. Okay, I’m gonna stop rambling, it kind of sounds like I’m trying to market Wyatt to you in hopes that you’d like him; that you’d approve.

I should also probably tell you that Wyatt and I have a friends with benefits situation going on, but it’s really not that serious. Whenever we hang out (at my place, since I live alone and he has a roommate), we usually just watch movies or play video games and smoke weed. And yes, I still smoke it occasionally, as long as I’m not the one who’s buying it or mixing too much of it with alcohol. We don’t drink together— well, I still do, but Wyatt’s been sober for a year because he got addicted to the stuff. He’s fine being around me, though. I drink a lot, but I’m fine. I can stop anytime I want. I just like feeling out of control sometimes; it’s seemingly the only thing in my life that I can control.

Anyway, once we’re properly buzzed, we get to making out pretty quickly. Then, someone moves a certain way, and suddenly we’re naked in my bed and coming down from the most insane orgasm in the history of the universe. Half an hour later, we could be chatting about school like nothing even happened. It’s kind of great, actually. I get to have mind blowing sex regularly, but without the commitment or the looming threat of emotionally cheating on Wall Will™, my imaginary not-even-ex-ex-boyfriend who hasn’t spoken to me in almost a year!! What a fucking bargain!

Speaking of bargaining, I miss you. If there’s anything I could possibly do to save us, please send me a sign. Letters or paintings work, too.

Love,

Mike

-

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[somecallmejohn]

I highly doubt that Starboy's inclusion to the story and romance with Asha "would have saved" the movie because the people who claim that just genuinely do not care about Wish at all until they saw the concept art and immediately went to war for Disney for the crime of robbing them of their glowstick, even though said robbing never happened considering the amount of fanwork of said glowstick

They care more about the idea rather than the likelihood of how bad or good it's executed

A human star is actually a neat idea, however i do understand why Disney themselves scrapped it because if they did included the star shapeshifter idea, people will just use it as an excuse to accuse Wish of copying Nimona, Stardust and themselves with Genie and Sisu, as if the "homeages" are nonexistent

I don't think anyone would accuse Disney of copying Nimona just cuz the Starboy would be a shapeshifter too. Generally, a shapeshifter isn't that groundbreaking of an idea nowadays, if I'm being honest. Honestly, I think they scrapped human Star just cuz they scrapped the romance in the first place and because he wasn't as marketable as the design of Star they ended up going with.

But yeah, I agree. In my opinion, people are hyping the whole starboy x Asha thing a little too much as if its removal is ultimately what led to the movie to be the mess that it is. They keep thinking of what could have been while simultaneously ignoring that the movie could still have all the issues it has now just with romance sprinkled in it.

But if I'm being honest, what doomed Wish in the first place wasn't the lack of romance, but it was Disney's inability to take risks. Like I love Wish, it's genuinely my second favorite Disney movie(third, if you don't count Frozen 1 and 2 as one thing like I do), but one of the movie's biggest sins along with Valentino is that it played things too safe it didn't take any risks with the story or the characters or the animation or idk what.

Even with the animation style as much as I personally love it, I can tell that the producers were like "Spiderverse and Puss in Boots are really popular for their animation style so let's try a different style for this movie but not too different as it should still be recognizable" and then just slapped a watercolor texture on the typical 3D Disney style we've been used to the last decade and a half.

Huge part of why non-Disney movies like Spider-Verse, Nimona and Puss in Boots: the last wish are so beloved is because there were risks taken when making those movies, whereas Disney has been playing it safe for the last decade and you can feel that certain choices were made to make the films more marketable.

And I don't want to sound like "*scoff* Old Disney is SOOOO much better" because I genuinely can't stand those people and most of the time they bring up the worst reasons as to why old Disney is better, but like "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" , a huge mixed bag of a movie that has misfires such as using the G slur multiple times, a not so good representation of Romani people, the gargoyles etc., is still such a beloved movie to this day because of how risky it feels compared to newer Disney movies. Not only does it have a score and a soundtrack like no other movie ever, but it's also one of if not the darkest animated movie Disney has ever created and there's plenty of stuff that wouldn't have been in the movie had it been made today.