#i have so many feelings about my fave underrated duo

[nitrateglow]

Favorite films discovered in 2024

This year, I focused more on rewatching films I hadn't seen in a long time rather than racking up new titles. However, I still encountered plenty of new faves, many of them movies that have been on my watchlist for years. Here are the top twenty.

But first, some interesting patterns in this year's list...

Most represented decade: 1960s

Earliest film represented: 1932

Newest film represented: 1999

Creatives who show up more than once: Robert Mulligan, Walter Matthau, Boris Karloff

The Window (dir. Ted Tetzlaff, 1949)

A young boy (Bobby Driscoll) living in a squalid NYC apartment building witnesses his neighbors (Paul Stewart and Ruth Roman) committing a murder. Unfortunately, the kid's penchant for tall tales prevent anyone from believing him-- except for the killers, eager to alleviate themselves of an inconvenient witness.

Precious few thrillers earn the moniker “Hitchcockian” as well as this intense little gem from RKO. The Hitchcock vibes make sense when you consider Hitchcock’s cinematographer from Notorious was in the director’s chair and the source material was written by Cornell Woolrich, also responsible for the short story behind Rear Window. Augmented by on-location photography of New York City and a grimy, desolate sense of urban decay, The Window is both a great suspense yarn and classic film noir. Despite having a kid for a lead character, the film pulls no punches: both its small-time crook villains and the city setting feel palpably dangerous.

My Neighbors the Yamadas (dir. Isao Takahata, 1999)

The Yamadas, an average middle-class Japanese family, navigate the perils of sharing a television set, a kid going missing during a shopping trip, awkward wedding speeches, and other misadventures.

Between the original Studio Ghibli directorial duo of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, Miyazaki will always be the more popular filmmaker, but I think Takahata’s films are more intellectually and emotionally rewarding. This is not meant as a hit on Miyazaki’s undeniable greatness, but Takahata’s movies are far more challenging. That being said, My Neighbors the Yamadas is a lighter entry in his filmography, a slice of life comedy about the eponymous family and their shenanigans in modern Japan. However, beneath the whimsical humor runs an undercurrent of melancholy, an awareness of the transience of life in both its lovely and absurd moments. To date, it gets my vote for the most underrated Ghibli film.

A New Leaf (dir. Elaine May, 1971)

After squandering his ample inheritance, a middle-aged New York layabout (Walter Matthau) decides to marry an eccentric botanist (Elaine May) for her money then murder her ASAP.

Elaine May only directed a few films, but the two I’ve seen—this and the long-maligned Ishtar—were a lot of fun. A New Leaf is the better film though, far more focused and consistently funny. I don't usually belly laugh when watching a movie at home alone, but I did several times here. Even just thinking about some of the things that happen in this film can make me start laughing again. I understand the existing version was not May’s preferred cut and she felt it was butchered by the studio. Even so, this is a great movie regardless of that and one I really want to rewatch soon.

Cash on Demand (dir. Quentin Lawrence, 1961)

Uptight, unpleasant bank manager Harry Fordyce (Peter Cushing) is the boss from hell to his employees, but to criminal extraordinaire Gore Hepburn (Andre Morrel), he's the key to a successful heist. Posing as an insurance representative to get access to Fordyce's office, Hepburn tells the manager he's holding his wife and child, whose lives will be forfeit if he doesn't help him relieve the bank of ninety thousand pounds.

Ho, ho, ho, guess who's got a new Christmas classic to enjoy every year? Cash on Demand is not only a strangely enervating riff on A Christmas Carol's basic set-up (a miserable man is spiritually redeemed through an encounter with ghosts-- or in this case, bank robbers), but it's one of the best, tightest one-location thrillers I have ever seen. I genuinely had no idea where the story was going and found myself in absolute agony as the noose grew tighter around our protagonist's neck. It's a testament to both the writing and Peter Cushing's detailed, very human performance that this film is the emotionally powerful piece of work that it is, and not just a fun, clockwork heist yarn.

Letter from an Unknown Woman (dir. Max Ophuls, 1948)

While trying to evade a duel, an aging playboy (Louis Jordan) receives a letter from a dying woman (Joan Fontaine) who claims he was the love of her life. The letter recounts the details of their love affair, which was the centerpiece of this woman's life and only a mere erotic interlude in his.

The best way to describe this movie is lush romantic melodrama married to a bitter, emotionally brutal tale of a life wasted. The movie is heartbreaking but beautifully shot and performed. I’m not always the biggest fan of Fontaine, but she is fantastic here. Also, I need to watch more Max Ophuls.

Sudden Fear (dir. David Miller, 1952)

A middle-aged playwright (Joan Crawford) thinks she’s found love with a would-be matinee idol (Jack Palance)—instead she realizes she’s being targeted by her new hubby, who only wants her wealth. But he mistakes her emotional vulnerability for a lack of discernment—and a lack of desire to get even.

I like my women-in-peril thrillers when they feature clever heroines driven to survive whatever nightmare their antagonists throw at them and Sudden Fear is amazing in this regard. I know everyone loves Joan Crawford best in Mildred Pierce, but I was floored by her performance here, especially in the dialogue-free scenes. There are campy moments (which I adore), but the story is emotionally compelling and I not only wanted Joan's character to survive, but to thrive post-shitty marriage.

Thieves Like Us (dir. Robert Altman, 1974)

Young lovers Bowie (Keith Carradine) and Keechie (Shelley Duvall) yearn for a white picket fence, a quiet porch, and a case of Cokes (probably because that's all they drink in this film). Too bad Bowie is an escaped convict tied up with bank robbers. Too bad it's the Great Depression. At least there's plenty Coke. Want a Coke?

Most films set in the past do not as painstakingly recreate bygone worlds as strongly as Thieves Like Us. Set in Depression era Mississippi, this film captures the harsh, bleak reality and romantic, consumerist fantasies of its star-cross’d leads, played with sensuous naivete by Keith Carradine and the late, great Shelley Duvall. This is more than just yet another Bonnie and Clyde riff—it’s a tragedy about the elusive American Dream, with snippets of radio music, programs, and ads acting as a Greek chorus in a truly inspired touch. Robert Altman can be an acquired taste, but this is easily my favorite of his films to date.

Targets (dir. Peter Bogdanovich, 1968)

The paths of an aging horror star (Boris Karloff) and a psychotic mass shooter (Tim O'Kelly) cross at a drive-in theater.

Targets was not what I expected: it's a threeway character study between the disheartened horror star, the psychotic shooter, and 1960s America itself. To be honest, you could remake this movie now with a former ‘80s slasher star making the same musings and it would still seem credible—but then of course, you wouldn’t have Karloff in one of the best performances of his career. Targets is rendered even more chilling by its docudrama style. The violence shown isn’t sensationalistic, but presented in clinical detail, making it feel more authentic. Gorier films haven’t frightened me as much as this slow-burn character study.

Losing Ground (dir. Kathleen Collins, 1982)

Despite finding pleasure in research and theory, philosophy professor Sara Rogers (Seret Scott) envies the escatic nature of her painter husband, Victor (Bill Gunn). Their difference in temperaments and Victor's adulterous straying also strain the marriage. However, once Sara takes a job performing a sensuous, emotional role in a student film to get in touch with her own artistic side, Victor grows suspicious and jealous in turn.

Losing Ground was sold to me as a film about a crumbling marriage, but it's more than that. It might be more accurate to call it a portrait of self-discovery, a woman extending beyond her comfort zone to live more fully. I found myself strongly relating to Sara-- like her, I have a creative side I've often been timid to share, being more comfortable with the mind than the body. Being an independent film, it eschews the Hollywood histrionics and melodrama that would normally accompany this subject matter and it's paced perfectly at 90 minutes. Though filmed in the early '80s, the film only played the film festival circuit and never enjoyed a proper theatrical release. Only in 2015 was it rediscovered and then released on home video. The director Kathleen Collins died young, but this film stands a testament to her passion and talent.

Cactus Flower (dir. Gene Saks, 1969)

A middle-aged dentist (Walter Matthau) who poses as a married man to fend off romantic commitment decides to buckle down and wed his much younger girlfriend (Goldie Hawn, looking like a mod Tinker Bell). However, when she insists on speaking with his made-up wife, he recruits his no-nonsense nurse (Ingrid Bergman) into the charade.

Cactus Flower is what I often call a transitional film: released in the late ‘60s, it has one foot in the classical style of Old Hollywood and another in the more liberated counterculture that was shooting out hits like Easy Rider and The Graduate. Directed with unexciting competence by Gene Saks, Cactus Flower’s success largely comes from Ingrid Bergman, Goldie Hawn, and Jack Weston. Bergman I could watch in anything, so I’m biased perhaps, but she walks the fine line between funny and touching as the lonely woman who finds emotional liberation through her roleplaying. The scene where she gets groovy on the dance floor is a highlight of her entire screen career and no, I AM NOT KIDDING.

The Black Room (dir. Roy William Neill, 1935)

Two aristocratic brothers (both Boris Karloff) are at odds over the love of a young woman (Marian Marsh) and an ancient prophecy forecasting the end of their bloodline.

Boris Karloff dives into a double role in this deliciously gothic melodrama. Columbia pulled out all the stops for this one: it drips with sumptuous set design and expressionistic lighting. I was particularly taken by this film’s slightly tongue-in-cheek approach to a more 18th century mode of gothic terror. It goes for full-blooded melodrama with its innocent maidens, secret dungeons, lecherous villain, and ancient curses. It’s as close to a 1930s Castle of Otranto adaptation as we’ve got and by God, I'm grateful for its existence.

Freud: The Secret Passion (dir. John Huston, 1962)

In the late 1880s, young psychiatrist Sigmund Freud (Montgomery Clift) probes into the inner lives of his "hysterical" patients to discover the roots of their mental illnesses. However, these journeys into the subconscious worlds of others bring him into uncomfortable contact with his own demons.

Listening to a podcast episode on John Houston’s Key Largo led me to works of his I hadn’t heard of, such as Freud. I was initially skeptical it could be good. Biopics are my least favorite genre, but this film isn’t so much a biopic as a psychological drama in which Freud is the protagonist and some of his ideas are illustrated through his interactions with the other characters. Instead of wasting time being some melodrama ABOUT Freud the man (the route most biopics go regarding their subjects), it’s about his theories and philosophy, which is a far more interesting approach. The result is a probing, intellectual work. I’m not sure how close Montgomery Clift’s characterization is to the real Freud, but the real star of the show is Houston’s direction, a resurrection of German expressionist aesthetics blended with stark realism.

Paris is Burning (dir. Jennie Livingston, 1990)

This documentary covers 1980s NYC ball culture, where Black and Latino members of the LGBT+ community vogue and perform.

Documentaries are not usually my thing, but Paris is Burning was a longtime resident of my watchlist and I am glad I finally got around to seeing it. It has a time capsule quality, capturing a long-vanished 1980s New York City and the LGBT+ community living there at the time. Obviously, there is a lot of meditation on gender identity, sexuality, and the importance of community in a world hostile to your very existence, but I was also interested by the film's presentation of the materialism and consumption of the Reagan era.

Candyman (dir. Bernard Rose, 1992)

A graduate student (Virginia Madsen) studying urban myths unwittingly summons the Candyman (Tony Todd), the hook-handed ghost of a Black painter who was lynched decades ago.

I expected fun slasher nonsense and instead got a gorgeous, unsettling, modern gothic masterpiece that only occasionally dips its toes into schlock. Candyman is ethereal in all the right ways despite being suffused with despairing urban gloom. I was not surprised to find the script was adapted from a Clive Barker story—like Barker’s The Hellbound Heart (adapted into the Hellraiser films), Candyman is chilling yet eerily beautiful. The moment I finished watching it, I knew this was one I would be itching to revisit. There’s just so much going on regarding race, class, and memory in America. Also, Tony Todd’s voice is a damn treasure.

Merrily We Go to Hell (dir. Dorothy Arzner, 1932)

An alcoholic playwright (Frederic March) and his long-suffering wife (Sylvia Sidney) decide to have an open marriage. It doesn't work out well for either of them.

Merrily We Go to Hell is a sneaky piece of work. Reading the synopsis, one expects the usual salacious pre-code melodrama. The first scenes even resemble your usual romantic comedy, with our central couple having a meet-cute. The actual movie is much more complicated. It's about a married couple thinking love is enough to make their union work despite the husband's alcoholism. However, this idea proves erroneous and attempts to numb the pain through hedonism and extramarital vengeance just pour gasoline on the fire. The emotional honesty here is astonishing and even the "happy ending" isn't so uncomplicated when you think about it. So far, this is my favorite film of director Dorothy Arzner.

Up the Down Staircase (dir. Robert Mulligan, 1967)

An idealistic young teacher (Sandy Dennis) gets her first position at an inner-city high school. However, she finds her enthusiasm worn down by the school system's bureaucracy and the many psychological troubles of her students and fellow faculty.

Ever since I watched Four Seasons a few years ago, I’ve been intrigued by Sandy Dennis. No matter the role, I find her eccentric yet vulnerable screen presence compelling. Up the Down Staircase was Dennis’ first starring vehicle and an unsentimental look at the teaching profession. Having worked as a teacher and in similar jobs in the past, I related strongly to the main character’s compassion fatigue and her frustrated desire to help make her community a better place. While not a cheery film, it is ultimately an optimistic one, even if that optimism is cautious. And of course, Dennis is damn great as always, whetting my appetite for more of her work.

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (dir. Sydney Pollack, 1969)

In the thick of the Great Depression, a group of desperate contestants sign up for a grueling dance marathon with a hefty cash prize. Greed, sexual exploitation, health problems, and crushing despair eventually complicate the exhibition.

This movie is so bleak you’ll be just as exhausted as the characters by the tragic finish. I know that doesn’t sound like much of a recommendation, but this is powerful stuff. It does what a great tragedy should do: make you emphasize with the characters and go out into the world more empathetic toward the people around you and more critical of a society in which such awful conditions could be permitted. And like Targets, it’s depressing that this movie’s themes remain relevant to American culture.

Flash Gordon (dir. Frederick Stephani and Ray Taylor, 1936)

A himbo polo player (Buster Crabbe), a middle-aged scientist in hot pants (Frank Shannon), and an ingenue in a blonde wig (Jean Rogers) must save the Earth from a galactic emperor.

Yes, I’m counting a film serial as a single unit on this list. In this corny, breathless saga can be found the seeds of so many modern blockbuster spectacles. The old school space opera aesthetic is always a joy and I love seeing what George Lucas borrowed from the comic book plot and fantastic images for his Star Wars films. Also, the serial is surprisingly horny for a product released after the death knell of the pre-code era, so that’s fascinating too. I watched the episodes, one a night, usually before a feature film, to recreate at least in part the conditions in which old serials were viewed. I highly recommend that approach if you're interested in watching these kind of films-- NEVER binge them.

Silkwood (dir. Mike Nichols, 1983)

Karen Silkwood (Meryl Streep), a union activist and metallurgy worker at a plutonium processing plant, discovers both she and many of her co-workers have been contaminated with high levels of radiation due to blatant safety violations. Rather than remedy the problem, her employers are determined to keep her quiet, but Karen refuses to back down.

Meryl Streep's performance in Silkwood finally showed me what all the hype around her is about. What an astonishing, natural performance-- I forgot I was watching an actor every moment. As for the overall film, it's one of the stronger docudramas out there (as this film was based on a true story). It isn't just a preachy message piece and it allows Silkwood to be both a heroic figure and a flesh and blood human being with flaws like anyone. The domestic drama involving her lover (Kurt Russell) and lesbian roommate (Cher, who also gives an incredible performance) is almost as compelling as the main story. Though released in the early '80s, it feels like a late manifestation of the paranoia thriller genre of the decade before.

Love with the Proper Stranger (dir. Robert Mulligan, 1963)

When a one-night stand with a jazz musician (Steve McQueen) leaves her pregnant and at risk of upsetting her very Catholic family, an innocent sales clerk (Natalie Wood) tracks down her lover and demands he help her get an abortion.

Love with the Proper Stranger is such a unique piece of work that I can forgive the elements that dissatisfy me (like the ending). Wood and McQueen's romance starts out acidic and slowly becomes tender over the course of their bizarre misadventure, and the film itself shifts through several moods. Sometimes it feels like an urban drama, other times a romantic comedy. But it somehow holds together, perhaps because of the chemistry between the lead actors.

What were your favorite film discoveries in 2024?

[casasupernovas]

the way the doctor lets his true feelings about martha show on his face when his face is not visible to her is so...

[lucisfavoritedemon]

Straight to the Heart

Summary: What if Mabel put the Love potion on the wrong fries, leading her and Wendy on a quest to find Love God after the festival, some bonding between Dipper and Stan, and an unexpected love story.

Loosely based on this request from @thebestusernamepossible: Mabel adventure, with anyone, I just like Mabel and think she deserves to star in a mission. Maybe some Stan and Dipper bonding, they are my fave underrated duo.

Warnings: Fluff, unexpected romance, self-conscious thoughts, mild angst.

A/N: This took me a while to figure out what to write about, then I watched the Love God Episode and I couldn’t resist. Also this is the first time I’ve attempted writing something like this. So, I hope you enjoy 🙂

Mabel didn’t mean for it to happen, caught in the moment of trying to set up Robbie and Tambry; she didn’t pay attention to whose fries she sprinkled the love potion over. It wasn’t until the cook bagged up the order and walked over and handed them to none other than Y/n. Mabel ran to try to stop her, but Y/n was insistent that she get back to the shack.

Mabel rushed out and followed her. Mabel only hoped those fries were just for Y/n and she could keep her in her room until the potion wears off. Mabel watched from outside the window hoping and waiting.

“Stan! I’m back with your lunch!” Y/n yelled, setting the bag on the counter.

This was Mabel’s chance, but before she could try to climb through the window, Stan walked in and took the fries out of the bag, and opened them, “Ugh, did you let Mabel touch my food again?” Stan groaned out.

“Of course not, why do you ask?” Y/n walked back in after she had put her stuff away.

“My fries have glitter on them.”

“You want me to take them back?”

“No, no, it’s fine.” Stan stated and ate a fry. 

He looked at Y/n and suddenly felt something new, new and exciting. She suddenly looked so beautiful, more beautiful than he already thought she was. She started working for him many years ago when she moved to Gravity Falls after dropping out of college. He thought she was the perfect business partner, but nothing further developed between them. Stan secretly always had feelings for her, but not to this extent. He didn’t know how long he had been staring, but he soon realized she was giving him a concerned look.

“Everything okay Stan? Do the fries not taste good?” Y/n voice sounded worried and concerned. He wanted to say they were delicious, but her just standing there took every word from his brain from coming out in words.

“Perfect. I go now.” Was all he could get out as he took the rest of his food and bolted to the TV room. He thought he was safe to process what was going on.

Mabel, having watched this whole scene unfold, knew she had to undo what she did. She liked the fact that her Grunkle Stan was finally acting vulnerable, but this isn’t how she wanted him to confess his feelings for Y/n. She took off and went to find Wendy to help her find Love God and get the reversal potion.

~

Meanwhile, as Stan sits at the Game table in the TV room, Dipper walks in hearing his Grunkle talking to himself.

“Stan, you okay?”

“Dipper!” Stan sounded caught off guard, but also relieved, “you gotta help me!”

“Woah Grunkle Stan, what’s going on?”

“Something is happening to me. I was sitting in the kitchen eating the lunch I asked Y/n to get me, and suddenly, I took a bite, and looked at her, and she was standing there looking so beautiful. You’ve been in love with someone unattainable, right? You gotta know how to help me!”

Dipper rolled his eyes at Stan’s last comment, “look Grunkle Stan, maybe you finally realized that you have feelings for Y/N? It can come on suddenly.”

“Look, okay, I have sort of always had a thing for her, but I don’t what about today made her look so different.”

“Maybe your brain is telling you that maybe it’s time for you to tell her how you feel?”

“I-I don’t know. She’s just so…perfect. There is no way someone like her could be into a guy like me.”

“You never know. Why don’t I help you? I can help you come up with a romantic way to ask her on a date.”

“Y-you’d really do that for me kiddo?”

Dipper smiles and nods. Stan smiles back ready for whatever Dipper may have in store.

~

Mabel and Wendy meet at Wendy’s house to try to come up with a plan to find the Love God and reverse the spell.

“Look Mabel, is it really such a bad thing that Stan and Y/n become a thing?” Wendy asked.

“No, but I had a whole plan for that. They both have true feelings about each other. This throws off my whole plan. We have to reverse it. That and Stan was the only one that got the love potion.”

“Okay, so what’s the plan?”

“We have to find Love God, get the reversal and give it to Stan before something bad happens.”

“What could possibly happen?”

“She doesn’t return his feelings, he doesn’t eat, he doesn’t sleep. A lot of things Wendy!” Mabel yelled in panic.

“Woah, woah, it’s okay. We’ll figure it out. Don’t worry.” Wendy stated putting her hand on Mabel’s shoulder.

They devised a plan on how to get backstage to find Love God and to get his anti-love potion. Some of it fighting/punching Love God in the face knocking him unconscious, that bit being Wendy’s plan, but mostly sneaking around, and staying hidden to sneak the anti-love potion away from Love God.

~

“Okay Grunkle Stan, since you and Soos already planned on being at the Woodstick Festival, maybe you should ask her to go with you?” Dipper spoke to Stan as he got him changed into a nice new suit and tie.

“I-I don’t know kid. How do you know she is even interested?” Stan questioned.

“Just trust me Grunkle Stan. I’ll be there the whole time to help you if you need it. I promise.”

Stan let out a sigh and nodded, “okay kiddo, I’ll ask her, as long as you promise to step in and help me if my brain starts to do the thing it does where I just say whatever comes to it. Unless it’s a nice thing that is.”

“I promise. Now get out there and ask her on a date.” Dipper smiles and shoves his uncle out of the room to go find Y/n.

“H-hey Y/n…” Stan speaks up once he finds you in the living room watching TV.

She smiles at him, “oh hey Stan, you look nice today.” Her eyes check out his new suit and tie.

“Th-thank you. It’s new. Dipper picked it out for me,” Stan spoke nervously.

“It looks good. Kid did a very nice job. It suits you well.”

“Y/n, y-you know I was wondering if…I don’t know if you had plans tonight, but…um Soos and I are going to the Woodstick Festival…if you wanted to come with.”

She smiles fondly at him, “absolutely. I’d love to. Though, I didn’t think you liked the Woodstick Festival?”

“I don’t. Soos suggested I try to appeal to the young generation, saying I’m chasing away potential customers.”

“That’s a very good point.”

“So, you’re going with me?” Stan sort of smiled.

She smiled and nodded, “absolutely.”

“It’s a date then.” Stan chuckled then stopped once he realized what he said.

“It’s a date.” She smiled back.

~

After a few hours of getting ready for her date with Stan, they head off to the festival. Stan leaves Soos and Dipper to sew up the hot air balloon Stan planned, while he takes Y/n to a spot on the hill to watch the concert. He set up a little picnic for themselves and laid down a blanket. The night was looking perfect.

“I’m really happy you said yes to letting me take you on a date.” Stan stated as they sat down.

“Thank you for asking me to come. I always sort of liked you, Stan Pines. I was starting to wonder if you felt the same way about me.”

“I always have, but I never knew how to ask you. This afternoon though, it was like it was the easiest thing to realise and admit how I felt about you. Easier than anything I have ever done before.” Stan admitted.

Y/n smiles at him happily, “I’m glad it was.”

Stan smiled and pulled her close as they sat and watched the crowd below. Neither really paying attention to the music, but more paying attention to each other and the calm silence that fell between them. It was the easiest thing they had ever done was being here in the moment with one another. It was hard to focus on anything else.

Mabel and Wendy snuck into the festival. They had managed to get backstage and waited for the perfect moment to strike to steal the potion from Love God.

“Sound Check for Love God.” A stage manager came out and yelled at the van that he was in.

Love God came out and had his groupies mess his hair up before they all went backstage for the sound check. Mabel found her chance to hop in the back of the van where Love God left his belt of love potions laying around.

“Let’s see, summer love, puppy love, interspecies love, love of country music, ew. Ah ha! Anti-love, just spray on your victims and watch their heart die on the inside.” Mabel exclaimed in joy.

“Awesome, let's go find Y/n and Stan and spray them!” Wendy smiled from the side.

“Not so fast! So, you’re the person who has been stealing my potions,” Love God appeared out of nowhere, “I warned you kid, but you didn’t listen. Hey where you’d go.” He looked and realized Mabel and Wendy were running away from him.

He chased after them trying to get the potion back from them. They weaved in and out of the crowds. Love God even flew above them to try to catch them off guard, but with no luck. He finally had to do something that may throw one of them off guard, and that was visions of heartbreaks past. This affected Mabel more than Wendy, causing Mabel to give up the potion and it landing back in Love God’s hands.

“I’ll be right back toots, I’m gonna check on Soos and Dipper to see how the balloon is coming.” Stan smiled as he stood up.

Stan walked over to Soos and who were on the other side of the fence and asked how everything was going. He critiqued them on a few things, but the balloon was ready to lift into the air. Unfortunately, as the balloon lifted into the air, two letters ripped from the balloon, making the horrifying Stan balloon say ‘I EAT KIDS’ instead of ‘I HEART KIDS’.

Crowds were running and screaming from the monstrous balloon that now had caught fire. Stan, Soos, and Dipper ran off to follow where it was going. Y/n got up and ran after them, running at their heels. The balloon then settled down right on top of Love God, making him let go of the Anti-Love potion which he had finally let go of.

Once the excitement of the event settled, and the fire was put out, everyone turned and saw Stan and ran screaming and yelling, “he’s gonna eat us!” Y/n giggled at the remarks from everyone. After all the years of running away and secluding the business that could come from the festival, Stan was probably better off than trying to please the younger generation.

“Being loved by the youth is overrated, being feared, no that’s priceless.” Stan stated wrapping an arm around Y/n and patting Soos’s shoulder.

“I couldn’t agree more. You were probably better off steering clear rather than appeasing the youth anyways, but it made a pretty good first date story.” Y/n giggled, teasing him.

“F-first date? M-meaning you want more? With me?” Stan asked her in shock.

“Yeah, I’d love to go on another date with you, many more dates actually.” She smiled.

Stan couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with happiness, he had no idea how it came to be, or what possessed him to even talk to Dipper about it, and get encouraged to ask her on a date, but he was happy he did.

“Y-you know, I wanted to ask you out for a while now, but I know the chaos of everything and running the shack with me, no time was really a good time, plus I never really knew how to tell you till today. I don’t know what you did to my fries, but whatever it was,” he grabbed Y/n by the hands, “I’m glad you did it because I would never have never gained enough courage to ask you out myself.”

Y/n smiles and kisses his cheek, “whatever stars aligned in our favor today Stan, I’m glad they did. You’ve always made me feel so special, but tonight has topped everything.”

Mabel watched their exchange unfold, and looked at the bottle. She couldn’t bring herself to spray them. They were happy and that’s all that mattered. Her Grunkle Stan finally had someone who could make him happy, and she was happy that person was Y/n. She did a lot for her uncle, and couldn’t ask for him to fall in love with anyone else.

“Having second thoughts there bud?” Wendy knelt down and whispered.

“They seem so happy, yeah it didn’t happen in the way I had planned, but maybe Grukle Stan is right, he would have never gotten the courage to ask her alone. Maybe he did need a push in the right direction. I can’t mess with the fate of their love Wendy.”

Wendy nods in response.

Stan turns to Dipper, “hey kiddo, thanks for the help. Without you, I may not have gotten that extra umph I needed to really ask Y/n out. You really helped me kiddo. You’re a true man Dipper.”

Dipper smiled at his uncle's praise, “thanks Grunkle Stan.”

The rest of the night the six of them sat and watched the concert happily as can be. It was the happiest any of them had been in a long time, and they all hoped that it would last a lifetime.

[somewhereincairparavel]

omg i have to ask platonic duo for my fave underrated friendship hazel and piper 😊 maybe piper takes her to a modern mall and hazel is just in awe 🤔

“Girls day out!”

- Platonic! Piper McLean × Hazel Levesque

Author's note: ugh this is so creative what. You're a genius cyn. Hazel and Piper my underrated pookie duo. Also, this turned out, much longer than I expected damn. Also can I just say that this fic reminds me so much of Max and eleven from stranger things?

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"How'd you like this?" Hazel asked as she held up an old looking grey cardigan. Piper rolled eyes. Typical Hazel who loves to dress up like a grandma from the 40's. (Well, technically speaking, she was a grandma from the 40's, but that's like, besides the point).

Piper never cared much about dressing up, but when your mom's the goddess of fashion, you can't help but pick up a few things here and there."I think it's time you changed style, Hazelnut". Hazel gave her a pointed look.

"Don't call me that. Unless you want me to call you princess pretty pants, yknow daughter of Aphrodite and all" Hazel said smugly.

Don't you dare." Piper glared as she threw one of the coat hangers at her, which Hazel narrowly missed. "Don't call me hazelnut then!"

"Fair enough. We have a deal" Hazel turned her gaze miserably towards her grey cardigan. Piper followed her gaze, and sighed. "Don't worry, I'll help you find your new style, you're lucky you have the daughter of the fashion goddess to help you out" she winked. Piper led Hazel towards the the floral aisle. Hazel's mouth was gaping, there were so many exotic looking clothes of so many colours, they certainly didn't have such a rainbow-esque wardrobe in the 40's. "Just look through these piles of dresses, I have a feeling floral is your pattern" Piper adviced.

Hazel nodded as she skimmed through the heaps of clothes lazily draped in the hanger. She tried dress after dress, most of them ranging from bad to meh. Until she came across a beautiful pink floral glowy skirt. She knew it was the one, the moment she saw piper's beaming gaze. "Oh my gods Hazel, I can practically feel my mother frolicking in approval, this is your dress. It brings out your curls!" Piper exclaimed bobbing up and down. Hazel smiled in contentment as she scanned herself in the mirror, she usually felt insecure of her style, they were all just greys and browns, they matched her gloomy mood, but with Piper's help, she found the clothes she felt happy and comfortable in.

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As they paid, Piper pulled Hazel towards the arcade, "You CANNOT go to the mall and NOT play in the arcade!" Hazel blinked. "What's an arcade? Nico talks about it a lot, Is it some kind of war competition?" Piper stared at her in shock. "Sometimes, I seriously forget that you don't know this stuff". She went to the the VR controls, and made Hazel sit on one of those fluffy chairs. The lady on the counter set up the VR system on her

"Is this your first time on the VR system, Darling?" The lady asked.

"Yes. How'd you know that?" Hazel replied quickly

"I can tell by the way you're squirming, don't worry, love, this is completely fun and painless"

(Why does she sound like a doctor?)

Piper gave Hazel a reassuring look, before the VR system had begun, hazel was slightly gliding in her chair, it was a little silly for Piper to watch, but she hoped hazel was having a good time. 10 minutes laterHazel stood up from her chair, and almost slipped, but caught herself.

"Sooo?" Piper asked, giving her a look of anticipation. Hazel beamed. "It was AWESOME! I mean, it was a little woozy at first but then, I felt like I was in a rollercoaster, but then I saw like these weird dinasours interrupting my ride? It felt so rea-"

Piper laughed lightly listening to her rambling like a little kid. It dawned on her how how much of her childhood Hazel had lost. This stuff was technically enjoyed when you were 7 years old, but Piper was determined to make this day memorable for her.

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"Ugh. Why won't this thing fucking jam!" Piper cursed as she racked the gumball machine. Hazel winced, possibly at her use of the word "fuck"

"Uhm Piper, what if the glass breaks? Can't we just get someone to do it for us?" Hazel asked, nervously looking around to see if anyone is watching.

"Chillax. You have the charmspeaker with you, I'll just charmspeak us out of trouble in case anything happens." Piper struggled and managed to break the glass. All colours of gumballs shot out of the the metal.

"HEY! YOU! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE UPTO?!" One of the workers yelled pointing to them. Hazel gave Piper an "I told you so!" Look. Piper sighed, and walked towards him. "Hey, you just forgot that it was me who broke the glass, according to you, the glass broke on its own, isn't that right?" The man's eyes glazed over as he muttered, "Y-yes. Yes the gumball machine broke due to external forces. You both are free to go and take as many gumball as you wish" Piper winked at Hazel as she collected a few gumballs and some for Hazel.

"Pipes, this feels wrong.." Hazel said as she took the gumballs and popped one in her mouth hesitantly.

"It's not like we do this everyday right? Hazel, we fight monsters everyday, we dont ever get to have fun like this, besides It's the gumball machine's fault for not working well like it should be" Piper huffed stashing 3 gumbals into her mouth. "And now, we get cotton candy-"

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All in all, the day ended with both of them being chased by a monster who was disguised as a cotton candy supplier, but hey? It was worth it.

(Yes, Piper still smuggled some cotton candy for Hazel and herself, og queen fr)

[kdramaxoxo]

do a favourite dramas of 2021 list!

Sure thing anon! This year was a strange one (probably because the world was even more on fire than before) and there aren’t a lot of happy fluffy dramas on my list (I feel like less happy fluffy dramas were released, or maybe I was just in a year long mood?)

My Favorite K-Dramas of 2021

Run On (Romance, Slice of Life): I loved this slice of life drama about an athlete, a translator, a painter and a CEO so much that I have already rewatched it. This drama has so much to offer: Interesting and strong characters, a painter I’d die for and unique friendships. Did I mention there’s a legit ACE character? I mean... AMAZING.

Sell Your Haunted House (Fantasy, Crime, Romance?): This was one of my faves of the year! A bada*s goth hottie shaman gets rid of ghosts so that she can sell the houses. She gets a helper who she really does not want to work with but hey, that's what chemistry is made of! I was bummed by the lack of romance but really, it WAS romantic.

The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim (Fantasy, romance, high school): This cute underrated web drama was one of my faves! High school kids (Nam Da Reum all growed up!) come together to solve murders that keep happening at their school. The special effects were highly silly but it’s lower budget so I didn’t care at all. AMAZING SOUNDTRACK and one of the cutest kisses of the year.

The Red Sleeve (Historical, Romance, Melodrama): If you want to know why Lee Junho is my bias, watch this insanely good though tragic historical drama. It’s based on a real love story between a King and his court lady and there is a ton of nuance when it comes to good and evil. It’s not an easy watch, but the acting chops of literally everyone keeps you enthralled (especially if you like saeguks). 

Light On Me (Boy’s Love): I absolutely adored this simple and sweet drama! One of my favorite korean BLs EVER! Because it’s longer than the average Korean BL, it actually has: *cues triumphant music* Character development!

You Make Me Dance (Boy’s Love): A romance between a dancer and his debt collector. It’s got some pretty traditional romance tropes but hey, for 10 minute episodes it was cute!

Beyond Evil (Crime, Mystery): This creepy drama featuring a bunch of morally grey characters follows two cops who are trying to solve a serial killer crime. Yeo Jin Goo and Shin Ha Kyun have the most intense romantic chemistry I’ve seen in a long time. 

Happiness (Horror, Romance, Action): As much as I tried to resist watching this drama (I hate zombies), the gifs won me over and I’m so glad I picked it up. A high school duo fake their marriage to get into some fancy apartments, just before a zombie outbreak. The female lead is a super strong bada*s and her man is 100% dedicated. Sure, some of the plot makes no science sense and the side characters are quite ridiculous, but the mains and their found family makes this totally worth watching. I haven’t even finished it yet but I KNOW it’s going to be one of my faves.

Hometown Cha Cha Cha (Romance, Slice of Life): I understand that there’s a lot of drama around the dating scandal of KSH and I myself have very strong feelings about it. This doesn’t take away from the fact that Hometown was an amazing wholesome drama about a dentist who moves to a small town. In fact KSH isn’t even on my list of favorite things about it: Found Family, Small town setting, Female Friendship, Soft second lead, so many amazing side characters! It would feel like I was lying if this gem didn’t make the list. 

Dali and the Cocky Prince (Rom Com): A funny and sweet romance between an art gallery owner and a wealthy restauranteur. This almost didn’t make my list because the overall plot and side characters were very annoying, but listen: Dali and Moo Hak are ICONIC. Their characters are the kind that stand out as being super unique and their pairing was so adorable! Because of them, it’s worth watching. 

My Roommate is a Gumiho (Rom Com, Romance, Fantasy): I had pretty low expectations for this drama about a Gumiho that wants to become human. But the leading ladies are a GIFT and there’s forced cohabitation which I always find super fun. Lee Dam is one of those characters I could watch forever (she’s hilarious) and the second lead lady was also amazing. This show wasn't flawless but it was super fluffy and fun. Plus the kisses were amazing and I lived for the 2nd couple.

Imitation (Rom Com, Kpop): Cute and silly k-pop drama about a failed idol group making a comeback. It wasn't popular and didn’t break any boundaries,  but I thought it was super cute and really easy to watch. The main couple was adorable.

Flower of Evil (Crime, Romance, Thriller): A psychological thriller centered around a jewelry maker who is running from his past, and his cop wife (power couple alert!)  who doesn’t know his original identity. The chemistry of the couple is amazing and all of the characters are nuanced and interesting. I was on the edge of my seat, AND sobbing! Also, I finally understand Lee Jun Ki stans, he was SO GOOD in this! Apparently I don’t know how TIME WORKS.

J-Drama Honorable Mention:

Kieta Hatsukoi (My Love Mix-Up!): An fluffy love story between a bi panicked boy and the guy he has a crush on. It was a bit cartoony but it’s sweet and fun, and how often do you see a Boy’s Love where the guy crushes on a cool female friend and then realizes he ALSO likes a guy in class? I really appreciated the nuance of that experience plus it’s pretty wholesome and fluffy.

[stormblessed95]

I've been admiring Jikook's bond for quite some time now and at first i was quite sceptic about it being more cause I've never been the "ship" kinda person, but now I'm almost 98% there really is something special between them and while reading other people's opinions I've come to notice that almost everyone feels that vibe and specific tension between the two of them that we don't see in any other bts relationship.

Jungkook is waaay more... chilled when he interacts with Hobi and Jin, the two members he's more tactile with I'd say, but damn, whenever he's close to Jimin I can literally feel the tension through the screen. We know they're close, probably the closest, so why is it that with Hobi and Jin or even Tae there's no tension, but with Jimin there's always this specific vibe? It's just so obvious sometimes. And we get to see like 1/78 of their day, so imagine Jikook behind the scenes. And this is just one thing, let alone the way they speak to each other and the things they've said and done. Agh, they're literally so adorable, i love what they have and I'm so happy they have each other. I wish I could tell them how loved and supported they are.

And it shocks me how underrated and hell, hated they are. (I hope this is just an i-army thing and that k-army treats them better, but unfortunately i don't know much about how k-army perceives the two of them in general)

I honestly had more hope and trust in the new generations. I'm a 90s kid and my peers are finally making the difference when it comes to basic human rights like loving who you freaking wanna love. So why are the younger generations this homophic when it comes to Jikook? Is it really homophobia or do they feel like they're playing dolls when they "ship" band members? Is it just a preference thing as in "Tae and Jk are my faves so they have to be together"? Cause i honestly I'm at loss when i read the things i read online about Jikook.

Why is it specifically them? This will always haunt the freaking shit out of me. How can one not love and RESPECT every single relationship between the 7 members when one listens to BTS' music and what they stand for as a group?

Sorry for the random rant, I'm not even angry at these people anymore cause i usually ignore them, I'm just purely curious at this point.

Hello fellow 90s baby!

To start, I have talked about a majority of these topics already. I know this ask is a few days old (sorry! Doing my best here) but if you haven't yet, I would encourage you to go and explore through my masterlist. It's pinned to the top of my blog! I have posts there about shipping, skin ship, the double standard the fandom has about jikook, etc. And many others... lol

As for what that tension is between Jikook that all the other duos are lacking whenever they get super touchy with each other? Lmao well... in my opinion anon, that would be the sexual tension. It's the "if you don't turn around right now, I might just kiss you in front of all these people because I keep looking at your lips" tension. I have a post about that that On my masterlist as well. Lol jikook are something else sometimes

[lochtayboatsong]

The Jesus Christ Superstar essay absolutely no one asked for.

Last weekend, I watched the pro-shot of the 2012 arena tour of Jesus Christ Superstar starring Ben Forster, Tim Minchin, and Melanie C, because it was Easter and it was up on YT for the weekend.  I never managed to do my annual listen-through of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass this year, as is my usual Easter tradition, so I figured “Why not watch/listen to this instead?”  It was my first time seeing and hearing JCS in full, and Y’ALL, it has been living rent-free in my brain ever since.  I have a mighty need to get my thoughts out, so here they are, in chronological order by song.  

1) Prologue: I love the way JCS 2012 makes use of the arena video screen.  The production design and concept clearly took a lot of inspiration from the “Occupy ______” movement, which makes it feel a bit dated now.  But every single production of JCS is a product of its time period, so this is a feature and not a bug.  

2) Heaven On Their Minds: This is a straight-up rock song.  It wouldn’t be out of place on any rock and roll album released between 1970 and 2021, and it boggles my mind that Webber and Rice were both in their early twenties when they wrote it.  Also, the lyric “You’ve begun to matter more than the things you say” hits hard no matter the year.

3) What’s the Buzz: A+ use of the arena screens again, this time bringing in social media to set the tone.  Also, this song establishes right from the outset that Jesus is burnt out and T I R E D by this point in the story.  Seriously, can we just let this man have a nap?

4) Strange Thing Mystifying: Judas publicly calls out Mary and Jesus claps back.  Folx, get you a partner who will defend your honor the way Jesus defends MM in this scene.  Also Jesus loses his shoes and is mostly barefoot for the remainder of the show.

5) Everything’s Alright: Okay, this is one of the songs I have A LOT to say about.  First, it’s important to know that I was a church musician throughout all of my adolescence and into my early adulthood.  The pianist at the services I usually played at was a top-notch jazz pianist, and also my piano teacher for about six years while I as in high school and undergrad.  (Incidentally, I had a HUGE crush on his son, who was/is a jazz saxophonist and clarinetist and also played in the church band, but that’s a story for another day.)  One of the hymns we played a few times a year was called “Sing of the Lord’s Goodness,” which is notable for being in 5/4 time.  Whenever this hymn was on the schedule, it was usually the recessional, or the last song played as the clergy processed out and the congregation got ready to leave, so we were able to have some fun with it.  After a couple verses the piano player and his son would usually morph it into “Take Five,” a famous jazz standard by Dave Brubeck which is also in 5/4 time.  Anyway, the first time I listened to this song in full, it got to Judas’s line “People who are hungry, people who are starving,” and I sat bolt upright and went “HOLY SHIT THIS IS ‘SING OF THE LORD’S GOODNESS/TAKE FIVE.’”  And I was ricocheted back in time to being fourteen and trying to keep up with this father/son duo in a cavernous Catholic church while simultaneously making heart-eyes at the son.  Final note: This is the only song in the musical to feature all three leads (Jesus, Judas, and Mary Magdalene) and is mostly Jesus and MM being soft with each other in between bouts of Jesus and Judas snarling at one another.

6) This Jesus Must Die: I LOVE that all the villains in this production are in tailored suits.  LOVE IT.  Also, Caiaphas and Annas are a comedy duo akin to “the thin guy and the fat guy,” except in this case it’s “the low basso profundo and the high tenor.”  Excellent use of the arena video screen again, this time as CCTV.

7) Hosanna: My background as a church musician strikes back again.  It honestly took me two or three listens to catch it, but then I had another moment of sitting bolt upright and going “HOLY SHIT THIS IS A PSALM.”  Psalms sung in church usually take the form of call-and-response, with a cantor singing the verses and the congregation joining in for the chorus.  If I close my eyes during this song, I have no trouble imagining Jesus as a church cantor singing the verses and then bringing the congregation in for the “Ho-sanna, Hey-sanna” chorus. 

8) Simon Zealotes: This is part “Gloria In Excelsis” and part over-the-top Gospel song.  Honestly it’s not my favorite, but it marks an important mood change in the show.  The end of “Hosanna” is probably Jesus at his happiest in the entire show, and then Simon comes in and sours the mood by trying to tip the triumphant moment into a violent one.  Jesus is not truly happy again from this moment on.

9) Poor Jerusalem: Also not my fave.  It kinda reads like Webber and Rice realized that Jesus didn’t have a solo aria in Act I, so they came up with this.  But it has the distinction of containing the lyric, “To conquer death you only have to die,” which is the biggest overarching theme of the story.

10) Pilate’s Dream: Pontius Pilate might be the most underrated role in this entire show, and I love that this production has him singing this song while being dressed in judge’s robes.  

11) The Temple: The first half of this is one of the campiest numbers in Act I, at least in this production, and it’s awesome.  The second half is one of the saddest, as Jesus tries to heal the sick but finds there are too many of them.  Also the whole scene is almost entirely in 7/8 time, which I think is just cool.

12) I Don’t Know How To Love Him: Mary Magdalene’s big aria, and one of the songs I knew prior to seeing the full-length show.  This production has MM taking off her heavy lipstick and eye makeup onstage, mid-song, which is kind of cool.  Melanie C says in a BTS interview that MM’s makeup is her armor, so this is a Big Symbolic Moment.

13) Damned For All Time: The scene transition into this song is played entirely in pantomime, and I love it.  The solo guitarist gets to be onstage for a bit, A+ use of the video screen again to show Judas on CCTV, etc.  Love it.  And then this song is Judas frantically rationalizing what he’s doing, and what he’s about to do, with Caiphas and Annas just reacting with raised eyebrows and knowing looks.

14) Blood Money: This is where the tone of the show really takes a turn for the dark.  I think this might be one of Tim Minchin’s finest moments as Judas, because his facial expressions and microexpressions throughout this scene speak absolute volumes.  And the offstage chorus quietly singing “Well done Judas” as he picks up the money is a positively chilling way to end Act I.

15) The Last Supper: Act II begins with major “Drink With Me” vibes.  (Except JCS came WAY before Les Miz, so it’s probably more accurate to say that “Drink With Me” has major “The Last Supper” vibes.)  Jesus and Judas have their knock-down, drag-out fight, and it’s honestly heartbreaking, thanks again to Tim Minchin’s facial expressions.  A well-done production of JCS will really convey that Jesus and Judas were once closer than brothers, even though their relationship is at breaking point when Act I begins.

16) Gethsemane: This is Jesus’s major showpiece and one of my faves.  Jesus knows he has less than 24 hours to live, he knows he’s going to suffer, and worst of all, he doesn’t know whether it’s going to be worth it.  It’s an emotional rollercoaster to watch and to perform, and it goes on for ages: something like 6 or 7 minutes.  Fun fact: the famous G5 is not written in the score.  Ian Gillan, who played Jesus on the original concept album, just sang it that way, so most subsequent Jesuses have also done it that way.  Lindsay Ellis has a great supercut of this on YT.  John Legend notably sang the line as written during the 2018 concert.  

17) The Arrest: Judas’s Betrayer’s Kiss is played differently across different productions.  The 2012 version is pretty tame - I’ve seen clips and gifs of other productions, including the 2000 direct-to-video version, where they kiss fully on the mouth and have to be dragged apart by the guards and it is THE MOST TENDER THING.  Then the 7/8 riff from “The Temple” comes back and the 2012 version lets the video screen do its thing again as Jesus is swarmed by reporters.

18) Peter’s Denial: Not much to say about this one, as it’s basically a scene transition.  But it’s a significant moment in the Passion story, so I’m glad they included it.

19) Pilate and Christ: The 2012 production continues with the theme of Caiaphas, Annas, and Pilate all being bougie af, since Pilate intentionally looks like he just came from tennis practice during this scene.  Also he does pilates...hehehe.

20) King Herod’s Song: Tim Minchin says in a BTS interview that JCS works best when Jesus and Judas are played seriously and the rest of the production is allowed to be completely camp and wild and bizarre all around them, and he is bloody well CORRECT about that.  Case in point: King Herod.  There is not a single production of JCS that I know of where Herod is played “straight.”  He’s been played by everyone from Alice Cooper to Jack Black, and everyone puts a different zany spin on him.  In JCS 2012 he’s a chat show host in a red crushed velvet suit, who is clearly having the time of his LIFE. 

21) Could We Start Again Please: This is another of my faves.  Just a quiet moment where MM, Peter, and the disciples try to grapple with the fact that Jesus is arrested and things are going very, very badly.  This is also my favorite Melanie C moment of the 2012 show.  Her grief is very real, and the little moment she has with Peter at the end is very real.

22) Death of Judas: This is basically Tim Minchin screaming for about five minutes, and incredibly harrowing to watch on first viewing.  

23) Trial Before Pilate: Possibly my single favorite scene in the entire 2012 production.  This is another harrowing watch, but there’s so much to take in.  The “set” that the entire show takes place on is essentially just a massive staircase, and the people with power are almost always positioned above the people without power.  In this scene, the crowd shouting “Crucify Him!” is positioned above Pilate, which is a very telling clue to Pilate’s psychology during this scene.  Jesus is at the very bottom of the stairs, of course.  Excellent use of the video screen once again during the 39 Lashes, to show the lash marks building and building until the entire screen is a wash of red.  Pilate’s counting also gets more and more frantic, especially starting around “20.”  And all the while the guitar riff from “Heaven On Their Minds” is playing.  Jesus’s line “Everything is fixed and you can’t change it” is played quite differently in different productions - here it’s defiant, but elsewhere (in JCS 2000 for example) it’s almost tender, like Jesus is absolving Pilate for his part in the trial.  But it always ends the same - with Pilate almost screaming as he passes the sentence and “washes his hands” of the whole sorry business. 

24) Superstar: The most over-the-top number in the show.  Judas, who died two scenes ago, comes back to sing this.  There are soul singers.  There are girls in skimpy angel costumes.  The parkour guys from the prologue are back.  Judas pulls a tambourine out of hammerspace midway through the song.  And Jesus is silently screaming and crying as he gets hoisted onto a lighting beam while all this is going on.

25) The Crucifixion: More of a spoken-word piece than a song, it’s Jesus’s final words on the cross over eerie piano music, and another harrowing watch.

26) John 19:41: An instrumental piece in which Jesus is taken from the cross and carried, at last, to the top of the stairs, before being lowered out of sight as the video screen turns into a memorial wall and everything fades to black.

So.  I know I’m anywhere from three to fifty-one years late to this particular party, but I am on the JCS bandwagon now and I’m thoroughly enjoying myself.  :)

[skullvins]

S4 dynamic ratings from my fave/best to my least fave/worst let's go

these are NOT necessarily as SHIPS, just their dynamic as characters. I talk a bit about ships but I'd only go for some of these in a ship sense

WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY:

aloha + skull - absolute comedic duo. they're both kinda chill/carefree and Skull's enough of a bitch that he could defo subtly get aloha to do stupid shit and laugh at it internally the whole time. they're the more obviously practically inclined of the S4 so the idea of them just going out and doing stupid shit together isn't unrealistic. I can see aloha being like 'u wanna do X?' and skulls just like sure. Let's kill some time together. I can also see them both being super irresponsible sometimes and they just enable each other. Aloha comes up with the dumb ideas and skull is the muscle that lets them happen. He's on full autopilot with aloha whilst thinking he isn't and it's great. Catch aloha pestering the staff while they're out shopping like there's no tomorrow while skull wanders about buying whatever he likes in the bg. Most underrated S4 dynamic change my mind

army + mask - they're both huge nerds and yet no one is interested in the nerd and nerd dynamic? they've both kinda gone from being super up themselves to being more chill/humble, and also they're both the more 'responsible' ones but not really. army's responsible until you compare him to mask, and then he's actually really excentric. Having the more excentric one be the more traditionally nerdy one while the more levelheaded one is the sarcastic gamer nerd makes for an amazing dynamic. army can also strike me as the slightly out of touch rich boy and altho mask is definitely not mainstream 'normal' he could defo be like army. Get with reality.

army + skull - the 'should we be concerned' / *eats popcorn* 'nope' combo. Oh my god. Look. This will make more sense with the next point but aloha and mask are a fire waiting to happen in a good way and these two are the mutual witnesses to it, except skull is SO much more easygoing/does not care with it (and probably older/more experienced with this kinda thing) while army is like uh. Guys? Is this? Is this normal? they're also probably the two more battle minded ones and I could see them sharing notes/strats, and if you go with the idea of skull being older/more experienced then there's a bit of a 'skull helps army with his turf war homework' dynamic. not saying army can't hold his own (he's part of the S4 ffs) but I think he would be somewhat open to Skull's advice. these two are pretty agreeable compared to the other two, so I could see them casually getting along. Also, food.

aloha + mask - best contender for rivals to lovers/besties. aloha's an asshole and mask initially doesn't like him, PLUS they're both the middle S4. makes for an interesting game of one-upmanship. they seem to argue the most out of the S4 too, so a long run of them slowly getting along better or finding things they have in common could be really interesting. I also think seeing them in the arguing phase is entertaining, even if I don't think initially they'd like each other very much. also, this fuels my previous point further, so there's that

mask + skull - only S4 dynamic I'm neutral on? I could see these two getting along, if only because skull can be so passive. they're more just sit in the same room and vibe characters, so tho I think they'd get along well, I don't think their dynamic is as interesting as the last four. that being said, I can see mask commenting on skull's antics being funny. honestly this is a better combo if you make mask the chatty one, which is. Weird. Could work tho

army + aloha - ohmygod this is SO OVERRATED. Someone tell me WHY this ship is so popular???? aloha has more interesting or shippy dynamics with rider, mask, hell even scuba or skull. WHAT is this???? army also has more interesting or believable dynamics with say specs, mask, rider, WHERE does this ship get all its popularity???? I do like their dynamic as friends, but more in an 'aloha shows army how to loosen up a bit in a way that is 100% to army's detriment'. if more people played them up as friends, or army's naïvety as easy fodder for aloha to be funny and/or an asshole, then maybe I could get into it more? army probably finds aloha annoying while aloha finds army out of touch and that COULD be capitalised on for humour but I don't think taking it in a shippy way is as good for it. That being said, this isn't a review of them as ships, but a ranking of their dynamic as a whole. I still think it's the blandest of the six

bonus round: combos of three but we leave someone out, GO

leave out army - comedy gold in the sense that aloha overrides masks common sense and skull doesn't give enough of a shit/finds it entertaining. you know when army gets back he's gonna have to nag at everyone and yet you know aloha is just gonna keep provoking and the other two are gonna fall for it

leave out skull - the interpretation of the other three being somewhat intimidated by skull is REALLY interesting, although I don't think it offers as many hijinks. I honestly think it's more interesting from Skull's perspective, but also the image of them all discussing skull with each other while skull is actually just off stuffing his face with ice cream is very funny

leave out mask - leaving out the ACTUAL common sense and these three are gonna get real stupid real quickly, maybe. I like skulls dynamic with em both but not really their dynamic with each other as I feel they'd both bounce so well off mask instead. army having to deal with the force of skull n aloha and aloha having to deal with the force of skull and army is funny tho. I don't think skull would end up the victim of their mutual bullshit, however, unless they could both find something obscure to agree on

leave out aloha - aloha's the confrontation that fuels most of this, otherwise it turns into the more passive three who probably wouldn't engage with each other much unless they had a central focus. more just becomes mask + army with skull as a third wheel. COULD be fun if they all had to work together on something as I feel it would bring out both the best and worst of them without aloha as one big loud pink distraction

[oumakokichi]

fave dr ships and why?? :0

Hmm, that’s a pretty fun question! There are so many fun character interactions in each game that there’s a lot of ships I really like, so I’ll try to briefly just touch on some of my favorites in each game!

There aren’t really any spoilers in my reply, but I’m going to include a read-more anyway because even trying to keep it brief, there were a lot of ships to cover, so it still got pretty long.

In dr1, I honestly really love naegiri. Naegi gets a lot of flack for “not being interesting enough” or “not bringing anything to the table,” but I think he worked really well as the protagonist for the first installment of the series, and I absolutely think he and Kirigiri have a lot of great chemistry. Kirigiri and Naegi’s relationship is all about finding a balance between doubt and belief, and both of them really help each other grow as people. I think their dynamic is at its best in the first game, since Kirigiri gets so much time to shine and really feels more like the deuteragonist of the series than anyone else. Plus watching Naegi try to learn how to read her stoic façade when she’s really quite emotional under the  surface is so much fun.

I’m also a huge fan of aoisakura. I love everything about their interaction, and chapter 4 of dr1 is still one of the best in the whole series in my opinion. Both of them care so much about each other even from early on, and Aoi’s anger at how the others treat Sakura or talk about her like she’s hardly even a person comes across as so legitimate. It’s such a great and largely underrated ship, so I always love to see it.

I also have to say that I like kirizono quite a lot! They don’t have much in the way of interaction in canon, considering how early Maizono dies, but it’s one of those ships where I’m much more interested in the overall potential. Kirigiri seems to have a very good grasp of what Maizono was actually like as a person and what she might have been thinking in her final moments. While she uncovers the truth of the events of chapter 1, she doesn’t see Maizono as irredeemable for tricking Naegi, but merely as someone who was scared and who ultimately couldn’t go through with her own plan. She knew that Maizono was trying to help Naegi in her own way by leaving him a dying message, and I would have loved to see a detective-and-assistant duo with Kirigiri and Maizono in some alternate universe.

Other ships from dr1 that I enjoy even if I’m not super invested in them from an analysis standpoint are celesgiri (how could I not ship the original liar and detective), naekusaba (DR IF really sold me on this one), ishimondo (all around a solid, great ship), and naegami (honestly I just think the idea of Kirigiri and Togami both dating Naegi but barely tolerating each other as friends is really funny).

Sdr2 is probably the game where I wound up the least invested in shipping, but there are still a few that I like!

Hinanami isn’t quite as appealing to me as naegiri, mostly due to Nanami being used twice for Hinata’s character development, but they have some really cute moments that I do enjoy a lot, and I really love any interaction between the two of them as gamer friends. Nanami is so much more mischievous than most people give her credit for; I still can’t help remembering when I replayed sdr2 a year or two ago and got to the part with her threatening to poke Hinata’s eyes out during an investigation, and I nearly lost my shit because I didn’t remember it at all from previous playthroughs.

I’m not quite as invested in komahina as I thought I would be when I first got into DR, but I definitely don’t mind it either! I think Komaeda’s feelings for Hinata are pretty textual and undeniable; lines like “I’m in love with the hope that’s sleeping inside you” are impossible, in my opinion, to handwave as “just a friend thing,” and Megumi Ogata has all but stated outright that her character song for Komaeda is specifically about Hinata.

Of course, I definitely think Komaeda would need to work on a lot of his internalized ideas about talent and self-worth, and that he and Hinata would have to start as friends first before carrying their relationship into anything romantic, but if their really cute interation in ndrv3’s talent development plan is anything to go off of, I think Hinata definitely does want to help Komaeda value himself more and wants to be friends with him.

As for other ships that I enjoy more casually, I like twobuki (if that’s even what people are still calling Twogami/Impostor and Ibuki as a ship), sondam (all of Sonia’s nerding out about Gundam’s chuunibyou interests is honestly super adorable), nanamiki (I feel like Nanami and Mikan could honestly have a cute dynamic if Mikan weren’t under Junko’s influence), and… I actually have no idea for this ship name, but Impostor/Hinata is really sweet. This is more related to dr3, but one of the few things I did come out feeling positively about was Impostor/Mitarai, despite everything else about how the story turned out.

Finally, there’s ndrv3! There’s quite a lot of ships I really love here, so it’s actually a little hard to narrow it down.

I hardly think I need to mention saiouma at this point, since it’s the ship I talk about the most on this blog, but it’s still my favorite ship from pretty much anything ever. I love their dynamic so much: the way they both embody the themes of “truth” and “lies” within the game respectively, the way they constantly want to know more about each other while being afraid to open up or trust each other completely, and the fact that they so perfectly manage to capture the chase of the “phantom thief vs. detective” trope to the point that it was even lampshaded in Ouma’s love hotel... all of these things just make it so much fun.

It’s another ship where I just love thinking about the potential, whether in an AU where Ouma might have lived or else where the killing game never took place at all. I honestly really love ships that deal with a lot of slow-burn and both characters thinking their affections are unrequited when it turns out they’re actually both just idiots with a bad case of pining. I also really love the fact that, in my opinion, it’s a ship where Saihara would have to really take the initiative in the end—otherwise, Ouma is just going to keep trying to run away every time he drops an “I love you,” or “you’re my favorite.”

I also really, really love himiten. It’s a ship that gets a lot more flack than it deserves, in my opinion, and it’s sad to see that it’s a little underappreciated these days. There are flaws and problems within the ship, of course, but these are things that are actually addressed within the game itself. Himiko’s apathy and disregard towards Tenko’s feelings is called out pretty bluntly in the later parts of chapter 3, and she winds up mourning Tenko’s death and taking her last advice to heart more than anyone else.

Meanwhile, while Tenko certainly meant well and always had Himiko’s best interests at heart, it’s true that she came across as somewhat condescending sometimes (albeit unintentionally) by treating Himiko like a cute animal instead of a person.  I think that she understood Himiko’s feelings a lot better by chapter 3, which is why she prioritized trying to let Himiko talk to Angie one more time despite her own misgivings about Angie. Tenko grew a lot more as a character than a lot of people give her credit for, and I would have loved to see any post-game scenario where Himiko and Tenko could’ve finally started a relationship on equal footing outside of the game.

I actually have two entire ships for Miu that I am equally fond of. Both kiiruma and irumatsu are really great in my opinion, in totally different ways. The sheer chaotic potential of kiiruma gets overlooked a lot of times, I think, but both of them are complete disasters. They have so much fun together and it really shows, both in canon and in the talent development plan as well. Kiibo is so wonderful and I love him so much, because you’d think he’d be the voice of reason as a “cold, logical robot”—but honestly, he’s just as messed-up and over the top as Miu. I mean, he did photograph her poop on what turned out to be a live audience national broadcast and he didn’t see anything wrong with this.

Kiibo is one of the few characters who vocally talks about missing Miu after her death in chapter 4, and he repeatedly tells her how much he appreciates her maintenance work on him both in canon and in one of their talent development scenes. In one such scene, he even mentions wanting to continue their ongoing relationship after they graduate, which I think is surprisingly sweet and adorable for the two of them. Honestly, Miu is about as wild as a DR character ever gets, and I love the idea of her and Kiibo just having fun with each other.

Meanwhile, Kaede and Miu’s dynamic is a lot more back-and-forth. Kaede spends a good part of her FTEs absolutely frustrated and fed up with Miu, but also decidedly worried for her well-being and wondering how she might get her to be more of a team player. She’s not afraid to put her foot down when Miu crosses the line, but she’s also one of the few people who’s ever been willing to stand by Miu and encourage her or actually be her friend in spite of how awful Miu is at interacting with others.

Even in the talent development plan, Kaede’s often seen together with Miu a lot, which I think is super cute and confirms that even at Hope’s Peak, she’d still be trying to make sure Miu had a friend around. And she was able to tell that, despite what a disaster Miu’s idea with the Christmas lights was, it was Miu’s own way of trying to add to the festivities and do something nice for other people. All in all, it’s one of my favorite wlw DR ships, and I really love when fanworks capture just how shy or flustered Miu got around Kaede sometimes.

Of course, I like momoharu a lot as well! It’s one of the ships that has grown on me quite a bit in my absence, mostly just because despite all of Momota’s flaws, he really does want Maki to love herself first and foremost. Maki’s own feelings for Momota are so important to her character growth and really represent her feeling as though she’s finally made a choice for the first time in her life, and it’s really heartwarming to see. Also, any ship where the girl could lift a guy up with one arm without breaking a sweat is a pretty good ship in my opinion.

As for other ndrv3 ships that I enjoy a lot, there’s saihoshi (Hoshi is extremely underrated as a character, and I adore how sweet his FTEs and salmon mode with Saihara were; it’s also another ship where I feel Saihara would have to really take the initiative to make Hoshi fully open up, which I like), amamatsu (Kaede and Amami had a lot of really funny, great interaction in chapter 1 and some fun banter in their FTEs, so I would’ve loved to see more of it), and harumatsu/kaemaki (again, they have a lot of potential and it would have been extremely interesting to see them interact more).

I also like saiibo, not so much in the way that most people ship it (their love hotel is cute, don’t get me wrong!), but mostly because Kiibo’s FTEs are the funniest set of FTEs in the whole game in my opinion, and the twist where they were both looking down on each other without the other one knowing just made my jaw drop before I started laughing my ass off. They’re almost as much of a disaster together as Kiibo and Miu are, and I think the humor in their dynamic sometimes gets overlooked.

There are even more ships that I like, and I could keep going on and on, but I should probably leave things off here. Character interactions are so much fun in DR, both because of the genuine growth and character development from a lot of the cast, but also because so many of them are so whacky and borderline cartoonish that it’s just really fun imagining further interactions between them. Thank you for the fun ask, anon!

[viriyanon]

I was in the process of picking some for you haha 6, 10, and because you asked me 39, let’s do that too ☺️

seetians™ atots game here!

lolol aight aight. 6, 10, and 39

6. underrated character

my no. 1 underrated character will be yod and rang duo. yes, they are one obv cus they share le braincell. yod and rang are the supportive duo for both phupha and tian tho their interaction is limited and usually just there for some comedic relief. with phupha, they become his trusted men. they don't judge phupha for having different taste and instead, annoy, tease, and joke the hell outta him abt his crush on tian. they offset dr nam's effort in supporting their chief.

with tian, they are the good, neutral older brothers that can see beyond his intention and worry. love how yod still talks rather nicely to tian at the school and rang doesn't act impulsively towards him when he tries to rescue chief. they also brighten up every party set for tian and help him with the kids.

not to mention, yod and rang encourage phupha to express his feelings with so much subtlety like asking phu to tell tian to stay longer and add with "the kids love him too". it's like a gentle nudge to phupha in contrast with dr nam's hard smack on the forehead, that you guys should communicate, dumbasses in love. also, their small teasing noises got me mushy mushy cus sometimes it really translates, "wear protection, my dudes" i can't XD

when the gang walk tgt, they become the F4 of phapundao, change my mind. yod and rang are also the tension breaker whatever that comes out their mouth becomes a laughing stock. im so in love with them.

10. fav hands scene

Y'ALLLLLL IM COMINNNNN

this is asjfksllsfjls where i lose it. lemme tell you what i see from this moment. phupha's heart is being represented by the ring, so basically, phupha tells tian to keep it safe and hold it close to him. phupha can't give anything but his heart that also means his whole life (cause if your heart stops beating your life ends right). so, as long as tian keeps it, it is his. phupha is tian's. but it does not oblige tian to be kept. if tian wants to throw it or bury it because he already has someone else to love, he can dispose it. phupha is no longer tian's.

tian's hand represents him and his own heart. like i said before, as long as tian keeps the ring to him closely, he is keeping phupha. it's also telling us that tian's heart is actually stronger than phupha's because phupha's heart is vulnerable and sensitive from all the deaths he saw and loneliness. it needs protection, it needs warmth, it needs companion. and tian can give it just right.

phupha's hand wrapping around tian's represents him and his heart. with his bigger build and older soul, he will protect tian who holds his heart. if tian dies, he will die too, maybe not physically hurting. but his heart will surely numb. he is the patron, he acts like an older and wiser person. if he sends tian away, it's due to his experience. but his heart? he actually can't take the pain, he hates to let go of tian and that's why he asks tian to keep the ring. just by that he is assured, he will be close enough to the person he loves.

additionally, this is the adult approach i was talking abt in one of my post. phupha is very lowkey asking for a marriage, a life long partner. but the closest thing to marriage he can do is giving the ring as the ring represents unending loop of commitment and love. so, yeah.... my fave hand scene.

39. one thing id say to all the crews and casts

i love you, all. sincerely. for making me feels again. small aof and big 'aof' and all the screenwriters, you guys did so much lord work and break so many thai drama rules. atots is such a beautiful piece. all actors, youre all brilliant. how you internalise your respective character is just so damn good. you are passionate about your role and that makes them alive. all technicians and field crews who went up and down the mountain, the hill, the waterfall, carrying heavy loads. your dedication and sweats for this drama are going to be paid back. so many times that you will be satisfied and remember atots as a good memory. i just love this masterpiece so much.

[tribbleclefs]

Jadzia and/or Sisko for the character ask!

Jadzia

1) sexuality headcanon: bisexual worm my beloved

2) otp: for me jadzia and lenara were one of the most compelling couples in all of trek, right up there with TOS spirk. I have a big soft spot for kiradax as well!

3) brotp: jadzia and julian are such a fun duo when the writers aren’t awkwardly trying to force them into a relationship >:/ also sisko and jadzia are amazing bros, I love their friendship and the mutual respect they have for each other across multiple lifetimes 

4) notp: I haven’t really watched enough of the show to hate any specific relationships

5) first headcanon that pops into my head: (shamelessly projecting) this character is a she/he/they that says ‘gender is what you make it’ while doing cool skateboarding tricks on the promenade

6) favourite line(s) from this character: man. literally all of rejoined especially her speech when she’s confessing to sisko about her feelings for lenara and also when she’s like “aha! this is a slab of stone with some writing on it.” I love her so much it’s unreal

7) one way in which I relate to this character: she has this sort of gentle and wry sense of humour about her that I’ve been told is somewhat similar to mine <3

8) thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: nothing I can think of that isn’t entirely the fault of the writers/producers. fuck rick b*rman

9) cinnamon roll or problematic fave: jadzia is one of my fav characters EVER I could go on and on about how cool she is for an embarrassing amount of time. yes I may also have a huge cr*sh on her what about it

Sisko

1) sexuality headcanon: straight but like the Coolest kind of straight

2) otp: so far I’ve only seen them together in the baseball episode but sisko and kasidy yates are super lovely together and very underrated!! sisko x tossing dukat into a trash fire (figuratively or literally) takes 2nd place

3) brotp: sisko and jadzia ftw (it’s so fun that he calls her old man)

4) notp: I honestly can’t see him being romantically involved with anyone else besides kasidy (and jennifer sisko in flashbacks) at this point

5) first headcanon that pops into my head: you can’t tell me he and the senior crew wouldn’t have a super strong familial bond after so many years knowing each other. He would definitely invite them over for big family dinners whenever possible (though I can imagine a select few of the participants are banned from doing any of the actual cooking)

6) favourite line from this character: his big personal log at the end of “in the pale moonlight” (which I have still not seen yet whoops) and also when he sings “no no you can’t take that away from me” in this one really cute scene with odo

7) one way in which I relate to this character: we both visibly brighten the second you bring up our interests in conversation and will happily talk about said interests with you extensively

8) thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: the first few seasons where he wasn’t allowed to have facial hair for some weird reason?? I don’t know the full story behind that but I’m glad they changed it later on, the bald + goatee look suits him perfectly

9) cinnamon roll or problematic fave: sisko is a great leader and he has this innate warmth and integrity to him that you can’t help but admire. definitely one of the best if not the best star trek captain imo

[non-sequitura]

Non-sequitura Disney in-depth analysis (after making a tier list)

Warning: SUPER longform. If you don’t know a movie well, you should skip the summary. I tried to be light on spoilers, but they’re there.

I went chronologically from favorite to least favorite. So S tier is, in order from fave to least fave, The Incredibles, WALL-E, then Zootopia.

S tier (Something I consider high quality AND a movie I greatly enjoy. I would love more Disney movies be like this.)

The Incredibles - one of my favorite movies of all time, possibly THE favorite. Rockin social commentary, epic action scenes, memorable characters, not a minute of screentime wasted, great take on the Fantastic Four, hilarious parts for both adults and children, an interesting villain, etc. 

WALL-E - I love how social commentary was done here. Also skies above, what a beautiful love story. Really blazed a trail in non-verbal storytelling (especially given it was an animated kids film!) Robot animations are particularly delightful. 

Zootopia - another social message delivered excellently and entertainingly. I love Judy and her persistence, I love the expressiveness of the faces and the epic city setting. I love Judy and Nick's banter. This movie deserves to be remembered longer than it has been so far. Admittedly, not one of my fave villains, which makes it my least favorite of the Ss. 

A tier (either super high quality or something I greatly enjoy and deem of at least reasonably good quality)

Mulan - this movie did everything right. Truly feminist protagonist, an icon for strong Asian women, fairly culturally accurate (tho Mushu confuses me), GORGEOUS and iconic music. Lets a relatively natural romance develop. I frickin love the action scenes, I love the emporer. Sadly, this movie just didn't lodge its way in my heart as well as Pixar did. Pixar just has some magic, yo. 

Cinderella - my gosh what an underrated protagonist. Her family straight-up abuses her and she never loses sight of her goals for a better life. Iconic visuals helped bring Disney out of bankruptcy. A gorgeous alto singing voice. 

Wreck-it Ralph - alright alright ppl don’t crucify me for this. I honestly can’t think of much wrong with this movie. Vanellope and Ralph’s vitriolic best buds relationship is adorable, her forgiveness of him is heartwarming and (relatively) deserved, rockin’ Owl City song, epic visuals that mix together bc of all the different games. ALSO ONE OF THE BEST DISNEY VILLAINS NO CAP. One of the only twist villains I like. And we stan the romantic pairing. 

Tangled - I’ve talked about this a lot, but Rapunzel deserved the whole world after what she’s gone through. That being said, Gothel is not some shallow monster she needs to escape from, but an intelligent, well-defined monster with backstory. I could totally see this story happening if the world of Tangled existed. Epic love story, hilarious dialogue. Music is… good but much of it is less memorable to me. Visuals are good but not quite at the level/creativity of many other disney films. 

The Lion King - they really put Hamlet in Africa and pulled it off lol. But in all seriousness, no one took the premise of this film seriously at the time and it became sooo iconic. I love Scar and his eventual downfall, I love how Simba grows emotionally, I love the sad moments that don’t overpower the overall feeling of light goofiness. And music so memorable it was one of the first Disney musicals. 

Coco - not a super unique story premise. But an incredible culture to explore with such creativity and sensitivity. I love the themes of death not being the worst and music being so central to the story. Twist/twist villain was memorable and not expected. And yeah, it did make me cry, so props there. 

Ratatouille - the most recently watched of these films for me. This movie is soooo unique! Back when Pixar was truly super out there with their concepts. Super Parisian visuals and soundtrack. It somehow starts goofy (THE OLD LADY TRIES TO KILL REMY WITH A SHOTGUN WHILE WEARING A GAS MASK) but really drives home the message that you can truly do what you want regardless of who you are. Colette can get it. And the monologue by Ego at the end is one of my favorites in film. 

Frozen - Anna is one of my favorite Disney protagonists. She’s so resilient and loyal. Elsa ain’t bad either but she experiences… less character development. The film is a tad too pleased with its own self-awareness for my taste, but there’s no denying how iconic the music and visuals were. 

Inside Out - Alright, this movie hits home for me bc I tried to run away after moving. A super thoughtful, heartfelt depiction of (potentially depression? imo) with great moments of humor. Riley’s inner world is so creative and lovely. Also realistic depictions of Minnesota/California culture. 

Tarzan - Jane! is! smart! and! adorable! Her scientific curiosity makes her very endearing. it’s so cute to see her and Tarzan learn from each other. Also Tarzan’s “found mother” is epic. Solid score. Solid film all around. To quote Lily Orchard, “This film is what Pocahontas tried to be.” 

B tier (one of my favorites but has a few significant flaws that bring it down (or not quite as memorable to me, but consider good quality))

Peter Pan - Haven’t seen it in a hot sec, but I remember being super charmed by this as a kid. Just going out, having incredible adventures, and returning to a warm home at the end of the day. Tinker Bell is hilarious and beautifully drawn. Gets major negative points for the depiction of Native Americans tho. 

Big Hero 6 - I was super charmed by the protagonist, his family/friends, and the setting. The plot/villain’s motivations are a bit of a mess, though. 

Princess and the Frog - This movie has so much flavor to it! The visuals/music are lovely and unique. Tiana is incredible but it’s kinda annoying how EVERYONE keeps trying to shoehorn her into romance. The thing is, her goals are entirely reasonable. Focus on her restaurant, then look to settle down. But they’re like “nooo you’re ignoring the important things in life” smh. Also, epic villain, woohoo! The movie dragged significantly for me when they were in the bayou. Charlotte is delightful. 

Winnie the Pooh - don’t remember it super well, but I think it was charming and occasionally dark, which is an addictive concoction. 

The Little Mermaid - MAN ppl roast Ariel way more than she deserves. Visually, it was… fine. idk. This movie is good. I don’t have much else to say about it. 

Snow White - the one that started it all. Visually, super impressive. Musically, lovely. I find the romance a bit… off. Well, more than a bit. What is it with Disney and kissing sleeping people? 

Alice in Wonderland - a nerdy acid trip. Right up my alley! I also like films where ppl go on incredible adventures and return to the status quo, but THEY changed bc of it. Epic. SUUUUPER creative visual interpretation of Carroll’s book. Brave - gosh I loooove films where a parent and child learn to understand each other. Never got why ppl hated this movie so much. The Scottish flavor is present and fun. Merida made one mistake and made it up. The arrow scene is iconic. 

Cars - a fun ride! (hahaha puns.) We love seeing Paul Newman as a car. 

B-minus tier? (same as B, but problematic, or weaker story-wise.)

Hunchback - man… settings-wise, this film might be my favorite. I also love Esmeralda and Quasimodo as characters and as a duo (though the sexualized depiction of Romani ppl is not epic.) I also don’t find the discrimination against Esmeralda/Quasimodo jarring bc it matches the time period. Frollo is super interesting as a villain. The gargoyles are… def not necessary. Basically, this film doesn’t know what it’s doing with tone. 

Sleeping Beauty - Aurora was my favorite when I was younger because I thought she was the prettiest, and that still defines how i feel about this, basically. Visually lovely - everything is kind of elongated and gothic. Maleficent is spiteful and epic. I have no issue with the fluffier parts of the movie, like the music or the fairies. RIP for lack of consent being a plot point, though. 

Hercules - Megara is incredible. one of the only Disney “princesses” who acts like an adult and has cynicism as a major part of her personality. I love her and Herc’s progression where she learns to trust him (yes, he is genuinely that sincere, it’s not a front.) Muses are unique, whoever came up with them was high on something and I’m living for it. I just think the plot itself was somewhat unrealistic/ weirdly-paced. There are some memorable songs, some less-than-memorable songs. Art style is cool but I’m personally not a fan. EXTREMELY inaccurate depictions of the original Greek gods. 

C tier (entertaining, but I don't consider it a great movie)

Bolt - I watched this like 11 years ago. It was fun! A cool concept about those put on a pedestal learning their worth even without celebrity boosting them up. Animation was… fine I think. not super memorable to me. 

Frozen 2 - They really took any scrap of character development Elsa had in the first movie, threw it in the garbage and set it on fire. Anna deserved so much better. Songs are bombastic and impressive, have the occasional interesting lyric, but are really weirdly placed and none are quite as iconic as the first movie’s (except Aurora, she does great work here. Also the song Anna sings after she thinks Elsa died.) 

Not a big fan of the vaguely homeopathic theme. Not a big fan of Olaf’s WEIRD character development. Not a big fan of the suuuuuper awkward dialogue and the animations that imply not only that Kristoff is into his reindeer but that Elsa and Anna are into each other (if you’re questioning if they did that, yes, they did, I can find screenshots of some really weird expressions/moments. THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO PANDER TO YOUR WEIRD FANS, DISNEY.) 

The voice actors did great work, the animators did great work (look at the details on their clothes! Look at how Elsa’s posture changes to be more confident! look at how they're animated while they're singing!) Some weird costume/makeup choices that make Elsa look like an aging starlet, but she also has some gorgeous moments so eh. It’s a wash for me. 

They really did not know what to do with Kristoff this movie, huh. The only thing that happened to him was singing a cheesy 90s ballad and marrying Anna, both of which were admittedly epic. Also, the trolls got 0 appearances despite being literally psychic. Probably could have helped with a lot. I'm not a huge fan of lore/worldbuilding, and thee was a lot of it here. Overall neutral on it. 

Also a big theme in this movie I don’t love - **** TANGIBLE CONSEQUENCES TO OUR ACTIONS!!! The danger is Elsa’s death, the elements, colonialism, and Arendelle literally being destroyed. None of those end up playing out, so I was left at the end going “this film had literally no stakes.” 

Monsters U - same as above - entertaining at the time! Not super memorable. The ppl we were supposed to dislike kept switching. Doesn’t really match the canon of Monsters Inc (I thought they were supposed to have known each other since childhood so why did they meet in college?) 

Cars 3 - so apparently, everyone HATED this movie! Fun! I never watched Cars 2 (yes watched Cars 1 if you haven’t been paying attention to this list), but I didn’t think this movie was bad at all. Well-acted, some fun chase scenes, the scene where Lightning fails at driving in the simulation is genuinely hilarious, and some interesting perspectives on teachers getting the spotlight for their skills for once. 

Incredibles 2 - I liked this film at first, but then it was… just okay in retrospect. I love me some good family dynamics. The plot here makes not a lot of sense. THEY BUILT UP THE UNDERMINER FOR NOTHING AND THEN FORGOT ABOUT HIM. I was surprised by the villain swap, but it happened so last minute I never really understood their motivations even after they explained them. Tried to tackle waaaay too many messages. 

D tier (I didn't enjoy these or consider them mediocre)

Finding Dory - Maybe I should have put this higher? Like C tier at least. Ah well. Wasn’t a huge fan of the body/physical comedy (not my thing), but it was entertaining and awww finding family is heartwarming. 

Finding Nemo - I remember nothing about this movie. 

E tier (this film has significant problems)

Beauty and the Beast - *sigh*… I want to love this movie. The score is gorgeous. Visually, they could have made it more distinctly Rococo-era France but didn’t (why?) The voice actors did good work and I think Paige O’Hara is SUPER underrated here. 

The Beast is emotionally manipulative with an awful temper that (for MOST of the movie. He doesn’t change.) That’s the main reason this is in E tier. This movie shaped so many generations of people thinking they can change the behavior of someone who treats them badly through the power of love. But you can’t. She learns to “love” the beast under coercion. It’s not Stockholm syndrome - it’s a trashy romance novel. Big fan of Gaston as a villain. He’s an archetype ppl can recognize and it’s so satisfying to hate him.

F tier (I think this film actively harms the industry and would rather it not have been made. Both the one in E tier could be considered harmful to the industry, but I think they had significant enough artistic accomplishments to scrape above that. I'm also generally a fan of "lack of censorship bc it's better to teach what not to do.")

Pocahontas - this movie took real historical events and romanticized them AND sexualized one of the only Native princesses they’ve had. Boo. Nothing wrong with animation!Pocahontas as a character, it’s just people put her in a story that doesn’t represent history well at all (and these historical events, unlike those in say, 14th-century Germany, had super relevant effects on people alive today.) And they portrayed the Native Americans and colonial settlers as equally in the wrong. (though I like Governor Radcliffe as a potential villain and love the line “see how I glitter.” I can’t NOT laugh when I hear it.) Lovely music, though. Nice animation, but the colors are weirdly… muted? 

Bad Garbage (I don't wish this film had never been made, but I wish I never had to see it.)

Planes - this movie was ridiculous. I remember not much about it except that I kinda hated it and that it was super cheesy with tension one could see right through that immediately resolved itself via one twist or another. 

Haven’t seen tier: Recess, A Bug’s Life, A Goofy Movie, DuckTakes Movie, Lilo and Stitch, Pinocchio (actually i have seen this but I remember nothing about it), The Nightmare before Christmas, Toy Stories 1, 2, and 3, Up, 101 Dalmatians, The Great Mouse Detective, Cars 2, Moana, The Good Dinosaur, Pete’s Dragon, Fantasia, Peter Pan Return to Neverland, Fantasia 2000, The Black Cauldron (read the book, though!), Bambi (or I did and remember nothing about it), The Rescuersm, The Rescuers Down Under, Planes Fire and Rescue, Bambi 2, The Fox & the Found, Oliver and Company, Atlantis, Treasure Planet (I want to, though), Piglet’s Big Movie, The Jungle Book, the Emporer’s New Groove, The Jungle Book 2, Chicken Little, Brother Bear, The Three Caballeros, Pooh’s Heffalump Movie, Dumbo, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Aladdin (seen parts but never the whole thing), Strange Magic, The Sword in the Stone, James and the Giant Peach, Frankenweenie, Lady and the Tramp, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Doug’s 1st Movie, Monsters Inc. (want to, though), Meet the Robinsons, Dinosaur, The Aristocats, Robin Hood, The Tigger Movie, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, that pooh movie at the end without the title on it

-11/21/20

[bethd0456]

hellooo lovely! i loved reading your response to my last ask - apparently tumblr is messing up my asks bc a lot of them haven’t been going through :( but let’s hope this one does! i’ve been seeing that you watch cherry magic, and it’s one of my favourite shows at the moment!! 💘 who’s your favourite character? mine is kurosawa personally, i relate so much to him and his gayness. also udon chan, the cutest little cat! what did you think of the last ep, wasn’t it so cute!!! (1/2)

i hope you’re doing well!!! i also wanted to ask what your favourite shows and ships are! i already have a vague idea formulating just by browsing through your blog and over our shared love of cherry magic, but i’d looove to hear your thoughts and your favourites!! wishing you the bestest day! 💘 - your secret santa (2/2)

Hiiiii!!!! I hope life is treating you well!

Omg I'm so glad you enjoyed reading it! I hope you're ready for this MASSIVE answer and you don't get too bored reading this one!

CHERRY MAGIC!!!!!! It instantly became a comfort show for me, as it did for many others!

ADACHIADACHIADACHIADACHI. Adachi is 100% my fave. I never fully understood what a comfort character was. I was like, "yeah! I love Tine also!" But. Adachi is the definition of comfort for me. I see so much of myself in him! Everyone sees him and is like "babie. Must protecc." And honestly? Me too. How can one character be so damn CUTE??!?!? One of my favourite moments is him seeing Kurosawa after the almost-kiss. He just like, sees him, and gets so panicked 🥺 the way his arms just flail about makes me smile like an idiot.

But like, on a deeper level, this drama makes me believe I'm worthy of love. The idea that someone like Kurosawa could be THAT infatuated with you, even though you're an awkward virgin lmao. The point of watching these dramas is to get lost in a story, right? See a situation you want so badly but you know will never realistically happen? The entire premise of the show is just really enticing to me. I am Adachi, Adachi is me. Also, the thing he said in ep6 about not having a clear dream in life? Yeah. I felt that. I'm so envious of people who have passions they work so hard for, it gives them a form of purpose. Like Adachi, sometimes I feel like I'm living in a "daze". I feel like I don't really have any specific passions or skills that I want to develop into a career. Sometimes I just wish I had ambition. Adachi makes me feel so seen and like I'm not the only person who feels like this. The kinds of characters that usually make good protagonists are characters with a clear goal/passion. In most shows this obviously really works, but I can never relate to them personally. It's really special for me to see a character who's similar to me in this way.

Kurosawa is such an amazing character too!!!!! His gay little heart 🥺 on another level, he's just so?? Respectful??? 7. YEARS. 7 years of pining and he holds himself back so well!! He's been waiting for this relationship for so long but is so patient, willing to take things slowly for Adachi. He flirts shamelessly (as he should) but never to the point where Adachi was too uncomfortable.

He cares so much about Adachi :(. But also, even before he liked Adachi, he could tell he was uncomfortable with the drinking thing, so he DOWNED the wine lmao. Clearly he's just a lovely person all round who's really socially aware.

As for other characters:

• Udon my baby!!!! The cutest cat ever!! I love animals sm :(((

• Tsuge's chaotic energy is iconic

• Minato a lovely little dance machine :))

• Rokaku deserves the world, my excitable kiss interruptor :(((

• Fujisaki my love! She's so soft and cute!! Also ace coded how iconic

I ADORED ep8!!! I LIVE for established Adasawa! Adachi coming out to Tsuge :((( I'm so proud of Adachi coming to terms with his feelings and being confident enough to share his relationship with his closest friend. Coming out is not easy and he did so well 🥺

Adachi and Tsuge are so useless bless them 😂 Kurosawa really said "well I guess I have to take these two socially awkward disasters under my wing." Adachi and Tsuge are such a chaotic duo, I love that they can communicate just by touching each other, and omg when Kurosawa said his name Tsuge was "wait maybe I know everything about you already" and if that isn't friendship idk what is

Also Kurosawa making up a poem in his head about Adachi???? Peak romance. Also iconic. I'M A SUCKER FOR HAND HOLDING SCENES SO I DIED. "I like him. I like him. I like him!!" HOW CUTE CAN YOU GET FJKHDSHSKSK

I also got another arm flailing moment when Kurosawa almost got the wrong idea about Adachi and Tsuge!! CAN ADACHI STOP BEING SO CUTE MY HEART CAN'T TAKE IT. How on earth his boyfriend is still alive I have no idea.

There are so many other shows and ships I love. I feel like I'll probably miss some, but here we go. These aren't rankings at all, just like, lists lol.

Show list:

1. 2gether

This show means so much to me. It was the first time I watched a bl week by week and it made it so much more special?? I valued scenes so much more than when I binge shows and they would like, look at each other and I'd have a heart attack. They made the first part of my quarantine bearable bc I always had something to look forward to every Friday. I actually really enjoyed quarantine overall as an introvert (not to be insensitive about the literal deaths the pandemic has caused), but I really enjoyed constantly thinking about how long it was until Friday. I'm massively emotionally attached to all of the characters in this show you have no idea. Every single one. The found family of it all,, the way all of the characters have relationships. Still2gether did a phenomenal job of showcasing all of the unexpected but very welcome dynamics and relationships, platonic and romantic alike. I could blabber about this show for so long I'll spare u for now

2. YYY

Is it well written? No. Did I enjoy it anyway?? You know it! I told you how much I love the found family trope. UGH. THIS FAMILY. Also, seeing the feminine side of the LGBT+ community represented positively warmed my heart. There needs to be more bls that do that! Celebrate femininity!! There's nothing wrong with being camp as fuck! It's so much fun!!! This show made me so happy :))

3. Start up

I'm currently obsessed. It's my first Kdrama and holy shit this is what the hype is about. The budget!! The acting! Top notch. On a sad note I really wish bls got that much funding behind them. My heart aches for a complicated story with fully developed characters and plotlines, that just happens to have a gay main couple/character. Wishful thinking for now at least. Anyways, I'm massively emotionally attached to Halmeoni and Jipyeong. Team Jipyeong all the way (even tho Dalmi's obviously gonna end up with Dosan, and I'm happy for them!). All I need is a happy ending for my darling Jipyeong. Please give him one. Also, if anything happens to Halmeoni I will WEEP.

4. Cherry magic is obviously here but I've ranted about that enough already 😂

5. 3 will be free

I would never have expected gmm to make a series like this! But they went and did THAT. Wild. It was such a healthy representation of a poly relationship. The themes of feminism were so well handled and powerful, the chemistry was off the CHARTS, I was hooked from start to finish! Time for a rewatch? I think so.

6. Feel good

Not an Asian drama, but still gay as FUCK. It's written by my wife Mae Martin who also stars in it, and I have to say, it blew me away. Story time!! My friend irl recommended it to me without saying it was Mae, so I was like "okay sure I'll put it on my to watch list I guess" without much motivation to watch it. But as soon as I found out it was Mae I watched it and I've never looked back lol. Once I finished I sent my friend a splurge of messages about my feelings. The series touches on issues like addiction, sexuality and gender. "I'm not a boy. I'm not even a girl. I'm like a failed version of both." That shit HURT.

There's a scene near the end which has really stayed with me. So Mae's character is a comedian and she does a set making jokes about the stuff that happened in the series and oh my GOD. The way I CRIED. It made me realise that people who make jokes about their experiences are using humour as a coping mechanism and when people say "Haha I have daddy issues isn't it funny" we have to remember to be respectful. It's never okay to make jokes about someone else's trauma. Don't make a big deal of it but just don't be a dick.

Anyways I could go on but would 100% recommend this series!

7. HIStory 2 crossing the line

My first bl! This series is the reason I'm so obsessed with bl lmao. The main couple are so soft :( this little series will always hold a special place in my heart!

8. Sotus

My first gmm series, we've come a long way. I miss Kong and Arthit :(

9. Dark blue kiss

Such a brilliant series. I trust P'Aof (director) with my life. This series touches on issues that are so important and deserve to be talked about so much more in bls. This is what happens when you let LGBT people tell LGBT stories! They do it with such care and love!! One of my favourite lines is "I may like men, but I'll never like your brother." One of my biggest let peeves is "I don't like men, I only like x." Like, I get the business behind it, they don't want to make the character gay to make them available for girls to fantasise about. Which is disgusting. But Mork really said "no. ❤" and I LOVE IT.

10. The shipper

I could go on and on about how underrated I think this series is. This series took over from 2gether on Fridays, and while I didn't think about this series constantly like I did with 2gether, this series made my quarantine brighter. Fridays meant I was gonna laugh at least once and forget about life just for a short while. The humour in this series is so fucking dumb lmao, but I'm here for it.

I've seen people talk about the shipper as a bl but I disagree. I think it's better described as a series with bl aspects. The main themes are friendship, family, dealing with loss, respecting boundaries of people you admire, and one of the main messages is about making sure the people close to you know how much they mean to you. Don't get me wrong, the majority of the series is over the top humour, but by the end of it I was personally really attached to the characters and their feelings. Overall I really enjoyed this series but I don't see anyone properly talk about it :(

11. Gaya sa pelikula

A series made by gay people for gay people. Shows like this are so important. This show really healed my soul with how brilliant the representation was :(( "remember we talked about microagressions" the way that means Vlad is constantly educating Karl about LGBT stuff, UGH. SO GOOD. Also this show has the most realistic representation of a crush I've ever seen lmao, soft Vlad is the best Vlad.

12. My engineer

My happy little Saturday show :( I miss the shit writing, shit acting and soft story of this series so much. I'm so fond of this series, I watched it after the horrible ep12 of 2gether and it really made me happy. I'm looking forward to season 2, but Ramking's novel goes DOWNHILL from here on. I know tricreation wouldn't allow the final chapter's scenes, but the entire story is so problematic and unenjoyable :(. The only valid scene is King's coming out scene but that's literally it. And the collar scene can stay lmao.

13. Oxygen

Another soft saturday series! I love this series so much, all of the couples are so bloody healthy and it makes me so happy. The communication is amazing!! THIS is how you show healthy relationships!!!

14. The gifted

S1 was so amazing!! I loved all of it! The only part of s2 we'll talk about is timegracethird. Time best boy!! Grace a feminist queen! When future Grace said they would be friends for a long time that made me so happy :(( also pangwave canon

15. Until we meet again

So I talked about the healthy relationships in oxygen. But uwma really showed the healthiest relationship ever. DeanPharm are just the softest little humans :( I would die for Pharm. He's the closest I got to a comfort character before Adachi. I just have to PROTECT HIM. My motherly instincts really kick in when I see him lmao.

The storyline of this series is just breathtaking. And the ending? I don't think I've ever cried that much. At all. It was so fucking beautiful 🥺

16. My gear and your gown

I really liked this show! Honestly I don't think I'll ever rewatch it but I definitely enjoyed it. The way Pai just seemed to breathe freely for the first time when his parents accepted his sexuality :(((( my baby :( also purefolk were brilliant

Ship list:

1. Saratine

These two are the definition of romance. They mean the fucking world to me. The fact that their story is apparently gonna be continued in some form makes me so. So. Happy. I cannot begin to describe it. My bet is on a special episode and ugh I'm so EXCITED.

2. Aini

Thonhonchonlatee in general is enjoyable but I don't like Thon at all. It's such a shame bc I was so excited for Khaotung and Podd to be in a series together :((. BUT. Aini have grabbed my heart. I knew they would bc miketap are brilliant, but wow. They're so gay my little babies :( miketap are just so natural and comfortable to watch. I love their chemistry so muuuuuuch

3. Sunmork

Coffee boyfriends :( I miss them so bloody much

4. Ramking

One of my fave ships. As I mentioned, I'm apprehensive about s2, but s1 ramking is such a beautiful story. It's just about 2 boys falling in love, no complications. Plant boy who's afraid of dogs falls in love with quiet boy who loves dogs but is afraid of children. Iconic. Also chemistry outsold, I THINK ABOUT THE KISS CONSTANTLY. When I mentioned the acting is shit in this series (shit is harsh, I mean awkward), I did not mean Perth and Lay in the slightest. They really nailed their roles and I loved it.

5. Professor Layton x Claire

You 100% won't get this reference but I grew up with the Professor Layton games and holy shit do they hold up. They're so amazingly written with beautiful stories and the most lovable characters in the world. Layton's intellect, loving nature and surprising athleticism are admirable. Adachi is the character I relate to most, but if I was gonna choose a character to comfort me irl, Layton's your man. His voice is so comforting by nature. I'm blabbering at this point but the point is him and Claire are the only het pairing that matters.

These are just the ships that I felt should be separate from their shows. I love all of the ships from the shows I mentioned.

Oof this got horrifically long, I haven't had a proper chance to rant about most of these shows so I really let it out lol. I hope you've watched at least some of these shows and I didn't just rant to u about 12 shows you've never heard of 😂

I hope you have a wonderful day love!!!!

[mistyproductions]

My fave Red Velvet songs (Girl group with the best B-sides)

WELCOME, FINALLY to the second part of my k-pop opinion series. Today I’m talking about everyone’s fave gg don’t you lie: Red Velvet!!! Plz enjoy~~

BAD BOY MV AAAAH!!! lol...

Automatic: The best song from their very first EP, Ice Cream Cake. The sexy vibe is really good, like their velvet side is my favourite of the two, I just like the style and smoothness of their vocals and the calm atmosphere it brings. The chorus is the best part with them all singing together, and the MV is so laid-back too it’s just them in a car for most of it which I love, it’s so random lol.

Campfire: Seriously, I don’t know what it is about this song, but I really like it. Also, can we appreciate Irene’s rap part? The first time I heard it I was blown away, aah I think she’s my bias, though I’ve never really had a solid bias for this group. Just a nice chill song with good vocals, as always.

Red Dress: The hype in this song is unreal, and the beat is very enjoyable to listen to. I like to listen to Red Dress if I’m feeling down because the energy in it is really something else.

Lady’s Room: Seulgi talking in the beginning pulled me in right away, even though I don’t know what she’s saying I feel like she’s inviting me to come over to her house for a drink, I dunno. But this is such a girl power song that is a shout out to your best friends. (And all the gals out there) I really like the cute attitude of the whole thing and the care-free spirit too!

Russian Roulette: I love the MV for this song, and the whole vibe of it overall. The seemingly cute appearance with a darker meaning, that’s what I like about a lot of red velvet songs, the girls seem innocent/meek/cute, but can be vicious and violent, as depicted in this MV when they literally try to KILL Seulgi lol.

Sunny Afternoon: A mostly unknown B-side, one that I love so so much, like I dunno how to explain it. I have listened to SA more times than I kinda wanna admit, it’s just a really catchy, perfect summer bop all about finding a cute guy to spend a nice afternoon with, teehee.

Zoo: My fave song from their first summer EP, it’s whacky, entertaining, and so much fun. Their summer vibes are just really unique to them, and this song shows it the best in my opinion. Plus Irene and Yeri’s rap parts before the final chorus just kill me in all the good ways.

Talk to me: This song has such Ariana Grande vibes, and I LOVE Ari, so of course I love this song.  I always find a way back to this song, and I don’t know why it’s one of my faves from their Rookie EP, but it just is, I cannot really explain it.

Little Little: The soft emotions of this song are sweet to listen to, and the bass line kills so good! The girls’ vocals are actually strong but still soft and reserved at the same time I dunno how to explain it.

Bad Boy: ONE OF THEIR MOST ICONIC, KICK-ASS SONGS. I love Bad Boy so, so much, and all of the hype the MV got when it was first released was definitely deserved! The vocals are out of this world, like Wendy and Seulgi really stole the show in this song, they will never fail to disappoint me in terms of their vocal talent.

Sunny Side Up: SUNNY SIDE UP, SUNNY SIDE UP-UP! Ok, in all seriousness, the first listen automatically made it my fave song of their ReVe Festival Pt. 1 EP. Just, I don’t really need to explain it, all Reveluv adore this song, you can ask any of us and we’ll say this song SMASHES.

친구가 아냐 (Bing Bing): Similar to Red Dress in the sort of hype feeling you get when listening to it, it’s super catchy and a great listen, a super underrated song that honestly deserved a lot more than it got, I dunno it just does deserve more!

So Good: My fave song from their Really Bad Boy EP, I know many people din’t really like this EP that much, but this song really got to me. All 5 of the members’ vocals shine really well and the instrumental is a BOP.

Butterflies: BUTTERFLIES BUTTERFLIES. The cute vibe of this song and the breathtaking atmosphere really did pull me in the first listen. I’dd have to say the best part of this song was Irene and Yeri’s rap parts, yes, just that, damn I’m really starting to think Irene is my bias now lol.

Perfect 10: This song is super sexy, like that’s the one word that constantly comes to mind when listening to P10. I just cannot get over their second studio album that is Perfect Velvet, it’s just too amazing and choosing my faves was actually kinda hard, but that’s why like half of the songs are on this list cause I have too many faves.

My Second Date: The feeling I get from listening to this song is one I will probably never have irl (I’m almost 20 and STILL have never had a boyfriend, lol) but it was still a great listen, the producers know what they’re doing man. The instrumental is energetic and enjoyable!

Look (봐): Bwa, bwa, bwa~ The vocal line honestly killed it with this song, the late 90s early 2000s dance feeling I get from Look is honestly so iconic and it’s just a bop in all the right ways. Irene and Yeri’s vocals were even super smooth and amazing also, so there’s that.

Kingdom Come: The first part by Irene automatically made this one of my absolute faves of their second studio album. Kingdom come is so, so iconic, from the vocals, hypnotic vibe, and amazing instrumental, just, ugh so good!!!

About Love: Joy honestly stole the show with this one, her vocals AND rap part are my fave parts of the song and the meaning is super cute, and even if this is from their velvet album I still get kind of red vibes cause this song sounds a little more innocent than some other Perfect Velvet tracks.

THE ENTIRE IRENE/SEULGI EP, PERFECTION!!! This iconic duo’s debut was just out of this world honestly, and all of the songs are probably in my fave RV songs. Though imo: Monster < Naughty. Hee hee.

Yes, enjoy my spiral of realising that Irene is now officially my bias lol.  That’s my opinions about my fave Red Velvet songs, all done! Like I said with my Ateez post, this is my opinion and if your fave RV song isn’t here plz don’t get mad cause this is MY OPINION. Reveluv are a pretty chill fandom though so I’m not too worried about anything, anyways thx for reading this if you are, xxx, - Misty.

[tropesofhallmark]

Ranking My Favorite Hallmark movies featuring dogs/cats in very important roles

1. Walking The Dog (Jennifer Finnigan, Sam Page)

This movie is fantastic, funny and downright sweet. The chemistry between the leads and their pets is wonderful. It’s so wildly underrated and I couldn’t believe how good it is! I love how the dogs basically keep running off to see each other and force their owners together in the process. Best canine matchmakers ever!

2. Love To The Rescue (Nikki DeLoach, Michael Rady)

This was one of the most popular Hallmark movies from 2019 with very good reason. Fantastic chemistry, cute kids and great storyline made for a gem and Michael and Nikki are now considered a Hallmark power duo because of how great they were together. So many funny moments in this.

3. Love And Sunshine (Danica McKellar, Mark Deklin)

I’ve always been a big Danica fan, but this is one of her best movies. The angst of having to give back her foster dog, then the adorable working with/flirting with Sunshine’s owner and that kiss made for a lovely movie. The twist ending was really good as well. Also, her wardrobe was out of this world cute! Mark always plays such sweet characters in these Hallmark movies, and he’s definitely one of my faves.

4. Love Unleashed (Jen Lilley, Christopher Russell)

Who wouldn’t want to go around giving puppy parties? I mean, what a job! This movie was sweet and I loved them so much. I love how she works to convince him to let his daughter get a dog. This one made me go “awwww!” Many times.

5. A Veteran’s Christmas (Eloise Mumford, Sean Faris)

This movie causes copious amounts of tears, so be warned. I loved all the canine characters and the humans as well. Sean and Eloise have great chemistry and it’s a very heartwarming story.

6. The Nine Lives Of Christmas (Kimberly Sustad, Brandon Routh)

This one is also incredibly popular for good reasons. I was completely charmed by these two cuties and their awkward humans who were clearly in denial about their feelings!

[typicalmidnight]

Choose 10 OTPs before reading the questions.

Valkarol (Valkyrie x Carol)

WinterWidow (Bucky x Natasha)

Drarry (Draco x Harry)

Everlark (Katniss x Peeta)

IronStrange (Tony x Stephen)

Ronmione (Ron x Hermione)

Wolfstar (Remus x Sirius)

Hayffie (Haymitch x Effie)

Snowing (Snow White x Prince Charming)

Spideychelle (Peter x MJ)

What makes you ship 2?

I think it came to love it from my friends but also like... The Winter Solider ugh. And tbh I haven’t seen many of the movies when they have screentime together but I’ve read some blurbs and I know about their past and it’s just super cute.

Have you ever written a fanfiction/made a fanvid/drawn a fan art for 6?

I haven’t but if I could draw I would totally do Ronmione because I feel like they’re a really underrated duo.

What pairing would you like to meet at a grocery store?

I think Everlark because they would be so domestic and adorable and just ugh 🥺

Is 1 canon?

I wish!! Unfortunately this is the most screen time they’ve had together so nope not yet.

Which pairing have you shipped the longest?

That’s tough but I feel like Ronmione, I think I shipped them since the beginning.

What is your favourite line of 4’s?

Maybe not my fave line but uGH this was a really good one.

What episode/chapter made you ship 3?

Tbh I don’t think anything canon made me ship Drarry, it was more the fandom.

Has one person from 10 ever gotten jealous?

Yeet my boy Petey with Brad.

What song makes you think of 2?

Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy by Queen cause y’know Bucky was born in the 1910’s and even tho he’s no longer living like he would have then he still has an old fashioned heart and would treat Nat as such.

Who tops in 5?

Obviously Strange because Tony gives off HUGE bottom energy but also Strange just smacked Tony’s ass so...

Who bottoms in 3?

(oop i can’t use any more gifs, how do ppl put more than 10???)

They’re switches but usually Draco.

Best moment between 9?

I don’t know cause I haven’t finished watching yet lol

Have you read any fanfiction about 8?

Technically not about them in particular but I read Rent Control which had them in it.

Which ship gives you the most feels?

7, Wolfstar, because of fanfics and how SOFT they are!!!

What makes 1 a good pairing?

They’re gay and badass and Brie and Tessa love each other.

Do any of your friends/family ship 4?

I think some friends do? I can’t remember

If it was a fight to the death between 5, 7 and 9 who would win?

Wow that’s a hard question. I feel like IronStrange tho cause they’re superheroes.

What moment gives you the most feels for 2?

Idk cause I haven’t watched most of the movies with them.

Have you ever cosplayed as part of 6? If not, would you want to?

No since I don’t look like Hermione and don’t do guys, but I have cosplayed as a Ravenclaw.

Have you ever read smut about 3?

Nah just regular fics I don’t read smut about ships.