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arhddhg · 2 years ago

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stan + kyle + kenny for the character ask game!! :)

Oooooh, this is going to be a long one.. I always thought that my view of the South Park characters were pretty boring so here are my first impressions:

Kyle broflovski

Sexuality Headcanon: I personally think he’s straight, I feel like I’ll get a lot of shame because of this but I never really saw him as a bisexual man let alone a gay man😭 I’m so sorry. But on one hand I do kind of see him being a Demisexual? I don’t know if there is really that much evidence to it but I feel like him being Demisexual. I can also see Asexual Kyle too? I think he’s straight but definitely not allo.

Gender Headcanon: I think he’s a cis man, but trans boy Kyle sounds like a good headcanon? It mostly rooted from Cartman’s sexist jokes but it sounds pretty cool, I’m down for more trans rep! Even if it’s from canonically cis characters..

A ship I have with said character: Kybecca is so fuckwg cute !!!!!!! The way Kyle guides her into relationships was adorable. I also like the dynamic of a shy awkward inexperienced-in-relationships girl and a nice (a genuinely nice) guy who helps her out when it comes to relationships!!! Fucking blorbos.. I want to hold them around like 2 little kittens :( I also really see the potential in Kychole and I wish it got more recognition, it would’ve been an actually great chance for him to get a girlfriend, fuck you Cartman, like honestly.

A BROTP I have with said character: It’s probably going to be Style, of course. Their friendship is honestly very cute to watch, but it can also get a bit sad at times (ex: assburgers). I also like Tokyle, Kyutters, and Kybe as a brotp. Tolkien and Kyle being mom best friends, looking over at their insane children fighting like little chihuahuas, while talking about mom things.. hwoedhsj. And also Kyle and Bebe being best friends gossiping to each other and spilling the tea (this wasn’t my idea though). I’m a bit stuck towards Kyutters though, cause I only thought of it just now.

A NOTP I have with said character: I used to like this ship A LOT, but now I have to say it’s Kyman. I can still see the potential in One sided Kyman and I always saw it being a thing somehow, but that’s as far as I’ll go for this ship nowadays. Kyman just feels weird, and all it took was a couple of callout posts for me to eventually lose interest in it.

A random headcanon: Kyle is the most simplest guy EVER. His music taste isn’t a specific genre and it all goes down to “well I like music as long as it sounds good”. He doesn’t like a specific type of food and is just like “I like any food as long as it’s good”. He’s the least fashionable and most distasteful guy in town, and his friends (the main 4 ofc) attempted to try and get him into fashion and introduce him to different kinds of genres (whether it be music, movies, or whatever) to see which one he’d consider to be his favorite. But it NEVER worked out, he’s just that boring. (Yeah, I’m projecting onto him, what about it)?

General Opinion over said character: He’s honestly such a well developed character, he’s not exactly my fave but I can definitely understand his popularity and place in this fandom! He’s just a lil guy :)

Stanley marsh

Sexuality headcanon: I think he’s either straight or bisexual, but all I know is that he definitely went through a bicurious phase. Remember how confused he was when Wendy turned out to be trans? He was also confused about Tweek and Craig’s whole relationship! He doesn’t know where he stands on the LGBT spec but he’s still trying to figure it out.

Gender headcanon: I only thought of this just now but demiboy Stan. I also like to think he’s experimenting with his gender, and it goes down to the examples I listed trying to describe his sexuality from my perspective. He’s open to people using any pronouns on him, and I love that for him :)

A ship I have with said character: Stendy, I remember drawing Stendy A LOT over here. I still love their relationship but not as much as I used to. Although, I have to say that I still yearn for their good ol’ girlboss and malewife dynamic.. I would also consider Stolkien because their current relationship reminds me of a forbidden romance, it’s honestly interesting to look at it that way. I like to think he tries to get together with Tolkien in an attempt to open more doors for relationships, relating to his whole bicurious and gender questioning thing.

A BROTP I have with said character: Just like the brotp I have for Kyle, it’s Style. I also really like Stary as a friendship. I honestly hope that Gary might make a comeback and Stan would spend more time with him, while the rest of the main 4 gets absolutely mad they are hanging out with such a “wuss” and not with them instead >:( but unfortunately Gary is just a one and off character.

A NOTP I have with said character: I honestly don’t know what notp I have for him, I don’t seem to have any Stan ship that I actually loathe. I’m pretty sure I stated before that I LOVE ships featuring stan despite him not being my fave. Which is a bit weird to think about, but I’ll just leave it as a mere coincidence for now.

A random headcanon: Despite the fact that Stan’s goth phase was supposed to happen because of the fact Wendy broke up with him, he actually developed an interest in the goth style and still (secretly) hangs out with the goth kids. The goth kids don’t seem to mind being around him and they’re nice enough to actually guide him through the goth style! Stan REALLY enjoyed getting into it and the goth kids developed a soft spot for him, they’re a bunch of softies on the inside :( Stan would also wear a bunch of edgy black t shirts under his jacket because he just got soooooo into it. And his friends still don’t know about it, his interest in goth culture is still a secret, mostly out of fear of being ripped on.

General Opinion over said character: I honestly like him because he slightly reminds me of myself? We aren’t ENTIRELY similar but I can see myself in him. I also find a lot of his ships tasteful.

Kenny McCormick

Sexuality headcanon: I used to think he was a straight aromantic but now I can see him being pansexual, like I’m pretty sure he would love ANYTHING with titties. Him being a closeted pansexual aro is honestly very swaggy in my book. I say closeted because he literally lives in a family of rednecks, I think he’ll have to deal with a lot of internalized homophobia here. And I think it’s interesting to explore that in him! (The internalized homophobia idea was again not mine).

Gender headcanon: he’s a cis GNC man, he’s perfectly fine with identifying as a man but he loves dressing up as a princess, and he still does it from time to time!

A ship I have with said character: I don’t think I have any ship with him aside from Kenman. Their dynamic works very well and the way they laugh at each other’s jokes is so fuckeng adorable. I think their friendship should be explored more often, both in the actual show and in the fandom. There is a lot to unpack there. And also the way they carry a BFF necklace, adorable.

A BROTP I have with said character: Kenman again (I like it both romantically and platonically). I’m not used to ships with Kenny in them so I’m sorry if this is EXTREMELY bland.

A NOTP I have with said character: I’m sorry to say this but I never really found Bunny interesting.. that’s all I have to say, I’m sorry if that disappoints any of you.

Random headcanon: speaking of Kenny loving to dress as a princess, he sometimes roleplays as princesses with his little sister Karen, they come up with the most dramatic storylines ever and Kevin gets so annoyed by it sometimes and tells them to shut up. This one time Kenny and Karen stayed up all night playing dress up and they talked so loudly, that everyone woke up by the stupid annoying sounds they made. They never stopped doing it, and it was hell on earth for everyone else aside from these 2 mfs >:) I think there was also a point where all the other people around them heard it, but it was rather faint, so it took a while for everyone else to notice the loudness of it all.

General Opinion over said character: I never really thought about him, so my impression of him is a bit boring. But I’m hoping to dig more into his character if that’s what you guys want!

__________

Thank you so much for the question, it honestly got me to think more about the character’s personalities! :)

#south park #south park headcanons #sp headcanons #kyle broflovski #stanley marsh #stan marsh #kenny mccormick #fayoftheforest

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freckledbodty · 4 years ago

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Stripping Away The Bloat - The Umibe No Etranger Movie Did The Manga Dirty

I finally got around to watching the movie of Umibe no Etranger - a movie I didn’t know existed based on one of my old favourite BL mangas. And oh boy, does this adaptation reflect a painful trend in manga to anime/movie adaptations overall. Allow me a moment to rant, if you will...

TL;DR: READ THE MANGA BY THE LOVE OF GOD IT’S WONDERFUL. Also the movie is super pretty, but here’s a semi-detailed look at why it still really didn’t do the manga justice. You bet I came with receipts.

A few important notes before you start:

1. Remember this is just my opinion, and I’d love to hear other people’s point of view on the matter, whether you agree or disagree!

2. I am not fluent enough in Japanese to read the original without a translation, so my thoughts on the manga are coming from fan translations, which 100% might have affected how I view this! The anime I’m a little more sure on as I can generally tell when the subtitles have deviated, but that does mean I may have missed something/something was lost in translation that means something I say here is incorrect. I’m very sorry for this, so remember this is my view based on the media types I’ve consumed.

3. Also the manga cuttings I use are not the best quality because of tumblr’s sizing, so even more of a reason to go read the books yourself!

I’m aware I’m very late to this party, but when I saw the other day that this movie had been made, I was horrified that I hadn’t known about it sooner. I read the manga years ago, and adored it - it’s genuinely a sweet and beautifully drawn romance, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone. With that, however, the movie was a huge disappointment to me and I just need to have a moment to gush in a less than positive way.

The Pros:

Let’s get this out of the way, I’d still probably recommend this movie to anyone who likes romance anime-style movies. It’s beautifully animated. Seriously, this movie is stunning, with wonderful expressions, bright colours, and a pretty well suited soundtrack too. The animation tries to match the original art style of the manga, and frankly, I think it captures it perfectly. 10/10. Gorgeous. Watch it just for the prettiness.

I’m also a big fan of any BL/GL adaptations that get a little more into the mainstream. This movie is definitely a huge win in terms of representation, especially when the manga (on the whole) avoided the more negative tropes that the BL/GL genres have historically been known for. (More on that later...) So that’s a win, and I will take it.

The Bloat Cut:

To put it simply, this movie fell into the trap of what I call (in my head) ‘cutting out the bloat’. As a long-time anime and manga fan, who has seen countless adaptations over the years, it’s a common theme that tends to make or break an anime.

‘Cutting out the bloat’ to me means that the adaptors cut out a lot of the ‘smaller’ moments and panels that are seen in a manga. This movie was thankfully very good at following the original plot and took us through the same beats that the manga did (many adaptations don’t bother doing that at all), but they left out a lot of the extra stuff - the aforementioned ‘bloat’.

The bloat isn’t really bloat in that it is pointless, however: the problem is that these little moments and scenes are seen to be pointless by the adaptors. Again, understandable: they have a limited run time, and it’s hard to include every little tiny moment, especially when they are ones that are easily scanned passed. Some bloat cutting is necessary to make an adaptation viable at all, but sometimes, it can be hugely detrimental to the piece. Umibe no Etranger is a key example of this.

Setting:

I watched this movie without rereading the manga, and as such, I was quickly thrown off by how bad the movie was. This was one of my favourite mangas, wasn’t it? Had I really had such terrible taste? (Yes, let’s not go there, but this manga was not one of my high-school bad decisions).

The characters felt strange. Personalities did complete 180s after the time skip and did some questionable things that I couldn’t recall finding issue with when I read the manga. The two main characters felt so hot and cold that it didn’t feel like the story I remembered. Even the pacing felt off and janky at times.

After watching, I went back and reread the manga, and this is where I saw all the ‘bloat’, the little intricate moments and minor panels that were easy to overlook but made the story what it was. Here’s a few of the biggest examples I could find.

Shun:

Oh, Shun. What did they do to you?

Shun’s character was bizarre. In the first 15 minutes of the movie, he was bubbly, friendly, and even bold enough to flirt with Mio. After the time skip, he was sour, cold, and completely withdrawn from the world. I understood Mio’s confusion because after the time jump he was a completely different character.

The manga is often focused on Shun and his inner thoughts, and he’s the one who is hurt the most by the bloat cutting. For starters, he wasn’t as over-the-top friendly at the start of the manga as he was in the anime, and we’re able to see his inner thoughts and worries that cause his reservations from the first few pages we meet him. We also get more hints earlier on as to Shun’s past that explain a lot of his behaviour as a whole, as well as getting little hints as to why he’s even more negative and exhausted after the time jump.

Mio:

The biggest bloat cut out in terms of Mio is the big plot point of the phone call. For context, before leaving for the time skip, Mio promises to call Shun once he’s gotten to his new home. In the movie, this is never really brought up again, focusing on the relationship in the present, but this was a huge point to leave out. I think it was cut out because it was explained in one short scene in the manga, and therefore easily mistaken for bloat.

In the manga, it’s explained that Mio does call, but it’s Eri who answers, and there’s a very important conversation that sets up Mio’s whole character development and explains why he returns to the island set on having a relationship with Shun. Eri warns him that calling Shun, despite knowing that Shun has feelings for him, is cruel and unfair, and tells Mio he shouldn’t contact him unless he’s worked out his feelings. It’s a great scene, and a real shame to leave out when it explains firstly why Mio never called back, and secondly why he is so adamant about his feelings and love for Shun when he does finally return: because he saw Eri’s warning to mean ‘don’t come back unless you are serious’.

Relationship:

In the movie, Mio and Shun didn’t really seem to have a relationship until the drama kicked up and then it quickly seem to disappear again. Shun was extremely held back and reserved, and barely ever seemed to return Mio’s feelings (even in the scenes he was instigating) - he even totally avoided anything resembling physical contact at first.

Compare this to the manga, where there are little hints of their relationship progressing throughout the chapters. For one, Shun is never as cold and blank as he seems in the film, and when he does seem that way, the manga quickly shows a glimpse of his thoughts to explain how he’s exhausted or distracted - without those little bloated thought bubbles, he just seems... a little cruel frankly.

A really good example of this is the beach kiss scene. In the movie, as Mio is about to kiss him, Shun suddenly announces that he’s hungry and avoids the kiss altogether, leaving Mio confused.

In the manga, they actually do kiss - it’s their first kiss, in fact. Shun seems embarrassed and his ‘I’m hungry’ feels like more of a way to distract them both. He explains he’s exhausted (which is fair enough, this is a big thing for him to process on little sleep that his inner thoughts earlier in the chapter already set up) rather than just outright shunning him. (Ha. Shun. shun. Get it?)

A more *noted* bloat they cut out is that Shun and Mio get physical in the manga way earlier than the movie, the touches just not quite being everything Mio wanted. Without those more tender moments, where they actually seem like a couple, it seems like Mio is chasing after Shun desperately, whilst Shun couldn’t care less about him. It detracts from the whole relationship. Below are some examples of the two of them actually seeming like a couple that were cut from the movie, including longing looks from Shun, Shun hugging Mio whilst he’s asleep, and Shun asking to kiss and touch Mio.

The Issue:

Bloat cutting always annoys me, but usually, if it’s not hindering the story, I don’t mind. What bothers me most of all in this movie, is that without these subtle little panels and moments, the relationship between Shun and Mio seems... forced, frankly. In the movie, Shun seems to be the instigator of the flirting, and then after the time skip he acts practically disgusted, avoiding a lot of Mio’s advances, and we don’t get to hear his inner thoughts like we do in the manga to explain why he’s feeling this way.

In the manga, during these ‘bloat’ pieces, Shun is an actual willing participant in the relationship, and Mio isn’t just forcing his advances onto Shun. It’s natural. It’s not flipping between hot and cold, or suddenly ramping up after a big moment of drama, it’s slow and careful and a real relationship.

This would be a bad change in any adaptation, but it’s especially so in this one. Anyone who is a fan of BL specifically is probably aware of the genre’s bad rep historically for having some... questionable consent issues. This manga didn’t have them. The movie? I’m not so sure, and that’s why it’s rubbed me the wrong way. I could spend another 1000 words talking about this issue as a whole, but I’ll leave it there, you get the idea.

Expected? Yes. Okay? Meh.

There’s no real point to this post aside from to complain a little and point out just how much more the source material gives us. Cutting the bloat always happens, and I don’t want it to stop happening per say, that would be impossible, but I’d kill for adaptors to just take a little more time to work out what is unnecessary and cutable bloat, and what is something they should really keep in.

The movie is still cute and beautifully made, so please go watch and see for yourself! Mostly, I’d highly recommend the manga: it’s got the same gorgeous art style, only about 5 chapters long, and the story and relationship is that little bit more firmly built.

I’ll stop ranting now, and I hope this actually made sense? Anyway, congrats on making it all this way.

#umibe no etranger #bl manga #bl anime #yaoi manga #anime discussion #please note the important points #this does not mean its a bad movie by any means #just was a disappointment

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cassielovesanime · 4 years ago

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Since one of my friends asked for anime suggestions, I figured I would make a small list for them here as a post.

1. Welcome to demon school Iruma Kun

Type: comedy and school life

My personal summary: a hilarious anime about a boy who gets adopted by the king of demons. The protag is very likable in my opinion as he is a good guy but also a doormat so it’s fun to see him grow with his friends. Just genuinely very fun, but also follows somewhat of a story line and can have its touching moments. Just 10/10 if you want a good light hearted laugh I would say. Highly suggest for those who want to watch a casual anime that will make them laugh.

2. Toilet Bound Hanako Kun

Type: fantasy and school life (also bit romance)

My personal summary: girl meets spirit boy with a dark side and now is his assistant because she effed up because she is a little boy crazy for handsome guys. But it’s okay cause now she goes on whacky adventures with spirits and is trying to get to know the spirit boy who kinda saved her and continues to save her. This one is both funny and sweet, but also can be dark at times. The characters all have very interesting personalities and dynamics, and the cast is actually pretty small so you get to see a lot more of the main characters develop. Very good story wise and character wise. Highly suggest to lovers of fantasy but are also not too into anime.

3. Assassination classroom

Type: Comedy, coming of age, and School life

My personal summary: Teenagers are earths last hope to be saved from destruction as they are tasked to kill their teacher who looks like a man and an octopus had a baby that has super strength and speed. This is my all time favorite anime, and it is a very, very, VERY touching underdog story. It has so much humor but also so much darkness but so many of the characters feel real and it still to this day has arguably the saddest yet most satisfying endings in anime that I have seen, and I watched it back in 2017ish. It just has a bit of everything and the storyline is amazing, the characters are so well written, and the concept is very interesting as well. I just would not recommend this to those who aren’t comfortable with fan service, as it does appear a bit often in this one. Highly suggest to anyone who wants to watch a found family or underdog story. Also, amazing English dub, one of the few animes I suggest the English dub over the English sub (English sub is good too, but I love the dub so much).

4. Bloom into you

Type: romance, coming of age, school

My personal summary: very gay, and very well written. It’s a story that follows Yuu Koito who is a late bloomer who doesn’t get love, which she has constantly read in the media and had this big expectation for. She then meets her schools class president who takes a liking to her knowing Yuu doesn’t think she can fall in love with someone. This is very good I think for lgbtq+ rep as it takes the topics very seriously and handles them respectfully. It handles questioning sexuality and finding yourself, as well as taking pride in it. It expresses both being a lesbian and asexual, as well as late bloomers and domestic lesbians. It also handles topics of mourning and bad ways of coping and expectations from what I remember. I am more of a manga reader but I have heard splendid reviews about the anime, the only thing is that this series is a lot more serious and the anime isn’t finished (the manga is though, so I suggest this path more if you can afford it.) highly suggest for anyone wanting lgbtq+ rep.

5. Rascal does not dream of bunny girl senpai

Type: sci-fi, romance (this one doesn’teel like school at all but they are high schoolers)

My personal summary: a sci-fi take on high schoolers teenage years and problems, following Sakura as he tries to help and solve the cases of people with “adolescence syndrome”, which is surrounded by their problems and insecurities in life that causes abnormal and supernatural things to happen. Very compelling story and again is more serious, but it also knows how to hit you in the feels. The main characters are lovable and have one of the best romances I have seen in anime, and all the other characters are really likable too. I highly suggest to anyone interested in a good story because this one just takes the cake.

6. New game!(!)

Type: slice of life

My personal summary: mc is a girl who gets a game designing job right out of high school and now must work on a team with her idol. Very light hearted, and also quite gay in my opinion. I personally like slice of life yuri genres and etc., but this one is my favorite. The cast is lovable again (always important), and it has this theme of working hard and going after your dreams. It is one with a bit of fan service (far less than others, but still a warning for my younger friends following), but it makes up for those moments with very heart felt moments between characters. I genuinely adore the second season as for a slice of life genre, it follows a bit more of a story and it gets a lot gayer. However, being a slice of life it isn’t really explicitly lgbtq+ rep, but there is one couple that has major subtexts and moments and a really cute scene at the ending. I do suggest this to those who like the slice of life genre and perhaps want a bit of lgbtq+ rep, but not to anyone who doesn’t like slower paced stories. Oh, and also the art style is adorable.

7. Rampo Kitan: Game of Laplace

Type: mystery, bit of a thriller

My personal summary: just a really good detective series. I haven’t watched this one in two years, but whenever I think about a dark mystery series, this is one of the top 3 to come to my mind, and is the most underrated one. It’s just very dark but also very compelling, so I suggest this to anyone who likes those sort of things. It also has an amazing English dub.

8. Little witch academia

Type: coming of age, fantasy, school life

My personal summary: another underdog story about a girl who dreams of becoming a witch like her idol and going to witch school… must I say more? It’s the gay witchcraft vibe that we all adore, a funny and lovable story that follows a girl chasing her dreams to become a witch. Again, likable characters, and an interesting story. It also has a unique art style that is adorable, and is very accessible seeing as its on Netflix. I highly suggest for younger viewers as this one is very kid friendly from what I know, but is also an amazing story with a nice fantasy aspect. Also, there is a bit of gay subtext and a hell of a lot of diakko shippers for wlw content if you like that (with a rival to lovers dynamic). MC can be paired with a guy or girl depending on how you wish to interpret it, and that screams bi rights to me :)))

#Cassie suggests #welcome to demon school iruma kun #toilet bound hanako kun #tbhk #assassination classroom #assclass #bloom into you #rascal does not dream of bunny girl senpai #new game!#new game!!#new game! anime #game of laplace #rampo kitan game of laplace #little witch academia #lwa

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battlestar-royco · 5 years ago

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here is part 2 of my sci fi recs masterlist! again, i could’ve gone on with even more recs but i decided to draw the line here. this set for the most part errs on the darker side, thematically, visually, conceptually etc. i personally find it super thought-provoking and intriguing but that’s just me. i highly recommend reading the tw under the cut if you’re thinking of watching, especially the matrix and space gothic slides. please view at your discretion <3

part 1/2

If you like WLW (um idk why I only made this slide based on identity; it just kinda happened lmao but I think it works):

Siren: (tw: parent loss, grief, thalassophobia) a mermaid surfaces in a cove town looking for her lost sister. Polyamorous relationship between a man, a black/indigenous woman, and the mermaid!!!! Environmentalism! As a person who has thalassophobia, I didn’t find this too hard to watch. There aren’t that many underwater scenes, thankfully.

Black Mirror: San Junipero: (tw: grief, but otherwise none that I recall; it’s pretty lighthearted) two women meet in a beach resort in the 80s and fall in love. Interracial wlw!

Orphan Black: (tw: suicide, infertility, rape implication, VB, language, drug use) a woman realizes she is one of several clones and uncovers an elaborate corporate conspiracy. This is one of my personal favorites with great rep of complex women of all ages and bodily autonomy. Several central queer characters and a black male secondary character!

Starfish: (tw: grief, a few jump scares and brief monstrous imagery, blood) after the death of her best friend, a young woman breaks into the deceased’s apartment and discovers a chain of music tapes that could save the world. Weird, subtle, and experimental. Not to sound like a surfer but you kinda have to allow yourself to be in the vibe. The main character and her friend were definitely a thing imo.

Annihilation: (tw: body horror, VB, disturbing imagery) a team of women scientists explore an anomaly that rapidly mutates genes. There are canonical and coded wlw and multiple (light-skinned) POC in this but the rep is short-lived. I put it on because although it should’ve been more ambitious with the casting, I think it breaks *some* ground for Hollywood sci fi with the all-woman team and more than one WOC. Wack ending though.

Mad Max: Fury Road: (tw: rape implication, violence) I think everyone knows about this one but: in the apocalypse, a woman breaks 4 younger women out of a harem. A badass car chase across the desert ensues. A bit light on plot/worldbuilding, but sooooo cool-looking and very thematic!!!!

If you liked STRANGER THINGS:

It: (tw: VB) don’t actually watch this lmao I’m serious. It’s really stupid, and not in a funny way. But I do think Stranger Things was inspired by this story overall. The modern It films are better but they’re also really kjslsklskls stupid? Stephen King in general is obsolete imo.

The Thing: (tw: VB) an alien that can take the form of others wreaks havoc on a scientific facility in Antarctica. It’s dark and vibey, but I feel like it’s just Alien in Antarctica with truly terrible special effects tbh?? Others feel differently. It’s also classified as sci fi/horror, so stay away if you’re easily scared! Not too good on representation.

Super 8: (tw: some language) a group of preteens witnesses an alien-caused train crash as they’re filming a home movie. Not diverse but I definitely think it inspired a lot of sci fi for the 2010s, ESPECIALLY Stranger Things. Not too scary either!

ET: (tw: it’s been a really long time since I watched so I don’t remember but it’s rated PG) I think everyone knows what this is about!

Alien: (tw: VB) truckers in space discover a deadly evolving alien. One of my favorite movies of all time! I love the aesthetic and the mood and worldbuilding so much. Ellen Ripley is one of the first Final Girls in the horror genre. I personally found this more of a sci fi than a horror movie but I’d say stay away if you’re nervous!!

Terminator: (tw: VB) a deadly android is sent to kill a woman who’s destined to birth the man who saves the world. Terminator 2 is way better imo because it centers on Sarah rather than the dudes saving her and trying to kill her. But it’s still worth a watch, you know, for the culture.

If you liked CONTAGION:

War of the Worlds: (tw: blood) pretty straightforward aliens come to Earth to take over. Sorry to rec another T*m Cruise movie but I really like the alien design and the apocalypsey feel of this one. Baby Dakota Fanning is in it too!

Falling Skies: (tw: VB, body horror, rape) alien invasion yada yada but the alien lore gets more interesting as it goes on. It’s kind of cheesy and yeah maybe I did discover it by looking up the iCarly boyfriend (and what about it??) but it’s nice to have on in the downtime. An Asian woman co-stars.

Knowing: (tw: blood) school students unearth a time capsule that contains a sheet from a girl who predicted all the tragic world events between 1959-2009. This is NOT a good movie but it’s SO hilarious to me because of the acting and contrivances. Fun to group-watch!!!!

10 Cloverfield Lane: (tw: VB, emotional abuse) a woman wakes up in a bunker to a captor who tells her that the world has fallen to alien apocalypse. I think this movie elevates the original Cloverfield in pretty much every way. Again, super tense and moody. The conflict revolves around whether or not the captor is being truthful.

Train to Busan: (tw: extreme VB and disturbing imagery) a man and his daughter are on a train when a zombie hops on at the last minute. It’s Korean with an all-Asian cast; Choi Woo-shik co-stars. I definitely wouldn’t watch if you’re scared of blood and gore. It’s very gross and violent.

12 Monkeys: (tw: ableism, violence) a man from the 2030s is sent back to the 1990s to prevent the plague that will end the world. I think the aesthetics of this are really cool but otherwise it’s not a favorite. But I think it appeals to people who like apocalypse and time travel stuff!

If you liked THE MATRIX:

Strange Days: (tw: rape, sex, nudity, VB, racism, police brutality) memories can be saved to hard-drives and sold on the black market for exorbitant prices. Very problematic and triggering presentation of rape, but young Angela Basset stars and there’s a condemnation of police brutality that’s still relevant 20+ years after its release.

Upgrade: (tw: ableism, VB, fridging) a disabled man installs an AI in his spine to help him move and investigate the murder of his wife. The premise is glaringly ableist and I feel weird even recommending it tbh but it’s got great visuals and a few good twists.

Altered Carbon: (tw: VB, weird interracial body switching, uhhh I haven’t finished this one IDK) in a society where human bodies are interchangeable, a man wakes up in a new body after 300 years of his mind being dormant. A Latina woman co-stars, two Asian characters in a subplot, a few other POC here and there as well. I think season 2 stars a black man.

eXistenZ: (tw: VB, anti-Asian racism, general weirdness? IDK it’s hard to describe. There are guns made out of bones and weirdly sexual visuals.) after someone tries to assassinate her, a video game designer and her bodyguard must play through her virtual reality game in order to save the only copy of the game.

Minority Report: (tw: VB, eye removal/insertion) all crimes are predicted and criminals reported before they are committed. The main character is preemptively accused of murder. This one is really white but it was one of the first movies that got me into sci fi. Early 2000s Colin Farrell <3.

If you liked WESTWORLD:

Humans: (tw: uncanny valley, objectification) androids are household helpers and public assistants throughout Britain until one day they start developing consciences. It hits a lot of the themes of Westworld without all the unnecessary pretentiousness, “edginess,” and “grittiness,” and it stars Gemma Chan and Colin Morgan!!

Blade Runner 2049: (^) an android is ordered to find and kill a human/android hybrid. It’s not without its issues but it’s one of my favorite movies of all time, right up there with Alien. So beautiful, so thematic, so thought-provoking (to me, anyway. I know a lot of people thought it was way too slow).

Ex Machina: (^) a man is invited to a private estate to help test the intelligence of an android. It’s kind of predictable imo but you know Oscar Isaac and Sonoya Mizuno are in it so we have to stan, and so is Domhnall Gleeson, for the SW fans! I like how isolated and quiet it feels.

I Am Mother: (tw: blood, gaslighting) after an extinction event, a young woman is raised by a lone android in a human repopulation facility until one day a woman knocks. It starts off slow and a bit generic, but I’m obsessed with the 2nd and 3rd acts of this movie---good acting, dialogue, and fantastic visuals. It has that same isolated feel as Ex Machina with only three characters, all of which are women/woman-coded!!!

If you liked ALIEN (space gothic):

Battlestar Galactica (2004-2008 reboot): (tw: genocide, war, colonization, VB, uncanny valley, rape, infidelity) space opera that follows humanity as it fights the ever-evolving and powerful enemy of their own creation: androids named Cylons. Um? I L O V E THIS SHOW SO MUCH and I truly do think it’s everything sci fi should be. There is a really unfortunate Miss Saigon-esque romance plot in season 1 and a lazily-written love triangle involving a black woman in season 3, but otherwise it’s one of my all-time favorites and I highly recommend. It’ll spin your mind and tug your heartstrings for years.

Black Mirror: Men Against Fire: (tw: genocide, war, nudity) soldiers in the near future protect citizens from mutant zombies, but one soldier starts experiencing strange hallucinations in the field. This is such an underrated Black Mirror episode starring a black man. There’s brief objectification of a black woman but it’s very anti-military and it has an interesting sterile aesthetic that reminds me of Alien.

High Life: (tw: rape, black holes/space anxiety, very disturbing) prisoners are given the option to join a space expedition and serve as experimental subjects en route to a black hole. Please please stay away if you are triggered by sexual violence of any kind. There’s almost no physical violence in this movie but it’s psychologically haunting imo.

The Faculty: (tw; VB, drug use) high schoolers discover their teachers are being possessed by an invading alien race. I LOVE THIS MOVIE LMFAOOOO. The cast is SO wild---Elijah Wood, John Oliver, Usher, Salma Hayek, Josh Hartnett??? And I’m probably forgetting more. The combination of the cast, the terrible dialogue, and shitty special effects is PEAK comedy imo. But bear in mind it’s bloody!!

Prometheus: (tw: body horror, VB, uncanny valley) a crew of scientists heads on a deep space mission to find the aliens who created the human race. A prequel to Alien, but I kind of view it as its own thing. Despite the plot holes, I love this movie too! It was one of my sci fi gateways and the visuals are stunning. It’s pretty gory though so if that’s not your thing stay away.

Life: (tw: extreme VB) a lesser Alien, but it provides all the space gothic tropes (jokey crew, shots of space, really pretty spaceship, everyone dies, creepy alien) with a well-known cast---Gyllenhaal, Reynolds, etc.

The X Files: (tw: a few episodes contain 90s racism, sexism, queerphobia etc but you can skip them) a lot of people have watched this so I barely have to explain, but it’s one of my favorites. Two FBI agents investigate multiple aliens and get involved in government conspiracies along the way. A good gateway!

A Quiet Place: (tw: child loss, VB, tension) I think most people know what this is about too. Alien apocalypse with aliens that hunt by sound. The daughter in the family is deaf, and so is the actress who portrays her. The representation of deafness was critically acclaimed.

#maxine talks sci fi #movie recs #maxine did you read/watch

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notthatiwilleverwriteit · 5 years ago

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Yo I'm sorry but I read your answer to that one ask about nsfw stuff in one day/19 days. And for the most part I agree, exept for one thing. Please, for the love of god, don't say this is a comic "for" women. Yes it's bl BUT Old Xian is not a god damn fujoshi. He is male and uses he/him pronouns. This is not a story focused to please female viewers. This is a story about boys in love by a man not some god damn fetish for women. Just because it has a "manga style" doesn't mean it's a "Yaoi" :')

Good afternoon, dear anon-san!

And thank you for your comment regarding my earlier answer about 19 Days being NSFW. I’m glad to hear you felt like you could agree with most of it even though there was something that rubbed you the wrong way. I have no problem with people disagreeing with me or coming forward if they take issue with whatever I have said. But I would be lying if I said answering your comment doesn’t make me nervous. BL and fujoshis are quite controversial topics that I’m sure will divide people reading this or following me. But I don’t think I would be doing anyone a favor if I wasn’t honest even if what I have to say is controversial. I would like to think I have always tried to be open to all kinds of opinions and perspectives even if they differ from mine, and I hope people will extend me the courtesy.

“Yes it’s bl BUT Old Xian is not a god damn fujoshi. He is male and uses he/him pronouns.”

I don’t think I said OldXian was a fujoshi, but I can see how that might have been implied by me saying 19 Days is a work of BL. As a genre, BL is typically targeted at a female audience by female authors. However, that is just how it usually goes. BL has plenty of male fans, too, and they’re called fudanshi. I’m not saying OX is a fudanshi but rather that all kinds of people can be fans of BL. It’s not tied to one’s gender.

Also, while males writing BL certainly isn’t typical, it’s not unheard of, either. Sadly, the author’s gender is somehow considered relevant even these days which has resulted in many male BL authors using female aliases (and vice versa when it comes to females writing genres that are typically written by male authors). But there are some BL authors who are openly males, too. For example, D. Jun – the author of Guang Xiang and Here U Are – is apparently a male.

“This is not a story focused to please female viewers. This is a story about boys in love by a man not some god damn fetish for women. Just because it has a “manga style” doesn’t mean it’s a ‘Yaoi’”

No, having “manga style” doesn’t make 19 Days a yaoi. The fact that one of its major themes is gay love makes it a BL, though. Especially in the context of it being an Asian publication. Are there other kinds of relationships and themes included, too? Yes, most definitely! And they’re all intriguing and essential to the story. The comic is also about friendship, families, and coming of age, to name a few. But it can’t be denied a pretty significant part of it revolves around homoerotic love, and that kind of theme is mainly consumed by a prominently female audience. They are also more often than not heavily targeted at female readers and to appeal to their tastes.

Case in point, the good-looking male protagonists with lean muscles and the author not exactly shying away from drawing them at least half-naked. You could also say He Tian’s character is the kind that typically appeals to females – a dark bad boy with a hot bod and vulnerable, tragic past. And what do you know, he’s at least the second fan favorite - if not the most liked, even. Are we really going to pretend these aspects aren’t attracting and appealing to female readers? Am I really the only one seeing readers drool and squeal whenever OX publishes chapters featuring shirtless HT, moments of tender gay affection, or illustrations of suggestive poses (homoerotic or otherwise)? Is OX doing it intentionally to appeal to female readers? No one but OX can answer to that, but does it really matter? I don’t think it changes the end result; it attracts largely females and I’m sure many of them are avid consumers of BL, too.

I don’t think this has escaped OX, either. A couple of times by now, the comic has made references to BL genre, girls being fans of cute guys together and how that kind of material attracts the female attention (ch. 151, 295, and 296):

(Sorry for the cencor, but Tumblr wouldn’t let me post this otherwise...)

Those moments can basically be taken both as OX making light of the genre and the comic being self-aware. 19 Days makes funny metafictional references while also utilizing the BL conventions itself. It’s also a clever way if the author wants to take a stand on how their work is different from its predecessors in the same genre. Because I think 19 Days is quite one of a kind compared to other BL publications. And it has sparked conversations regarding the BL conventions, for example, ukes vs. semes. It can do all that and still be a BL as such that it appeals to females or fans of the genre in general.

Now, does any of that mean 19 Days can’t appeal to other kinds of fans, too? Of course, not! In fact, you yourself dear anon-san, are an excellent example of that. I think 19 Days is one of the few Asian BL comics that has attracted countless of Western fans, too, who are perhaps not that familiar with Asian BL. It should also be noted that m/m ships are hugely popular in the Western fandoms, too. They are just more tied to the original works and not really separated to become a genre of its own as has happened with BL in Asia, especially in Japan. As it happens, the stats of the Top 100 Ships on AO3 in 2019 were just published the other day, and whopping 69 of them are slash aka m/m. Do you think that is completely unrelated to the fact that fanfiction is mostly written and read by females? I’m not saying it’s the only reason because it’s more complicated than that, but it certainly indicates Western female audiences are also big fans of homoerotic content. And they, too, are often accused of “making everything gay”.

I also don’t have a problem admitting this: If 19 Days didn’t have homoerotic themes whatsoever and the boys were having crushes on females, I doubt I would have been interested in the comic. The other themes I mentioned above are interesting to me, but on their own and paired up with m/f endgame relationships they wouldn’t be enough for me. I don’t read 19 Days just for the gay content, but it is a significant reason why I originally checked it out and why I keep loving it. Personally, I don’t think being attracted to the gay aspect and loving the story and characters, too, has to be an either-or kind of deal. You can very well do both. Does saying this somehow make me less of a fan of 19 Days? I’m sure it does in some people’s eyes but frankly, I don’t need other’s approval to love and be interested in something.

So far, I have pretty much disagreed with everything you said, but allow me to offer you an olive branch, dear anon-san. I get why my BL-related notions may have upset you. I get where you are coming from with saying 19 Days isn’t a “fetish for women”. You don’t want something you love to be associated with something you clearly despise. Yaoi and fujoshis have a bad rep, and I’m not trying to pretend like it’s completely underserved. I read a lot of BL but don’t really agree with the hardcore fujoshi mentality or identify with them as a group. I also think BL works have many tropes and conventions that do not represent realistic gay relationships and are highly problematic. However, BL is a fictional genre with its own history, development, conventions, and target audience. And as an avid BL reader, I think just because something appeals to me in a fictional setting it doesn’t mean I’m advocating the same things in real life.

To be honest, talking about this kind of makes my stomach twist with dread and nerves because I realize many people might get upset over this. And putting yourself in this kind of position on Tumblr especially can be a bit risky. So, let me say it once again: People are welcome to disagree with me or think I’m as wrong as humanly possible. And I would most probably understand where they are coming from. However, I would also like to remind anyone feeling angry with me that this is just me coming from a different point of view. Just like you are, dear anon-san. As far as I’m concerned, you are free to enjoy 19 Days from your own perspective and me from mine without it having to mean we’re somehow robbing each other of something.

#19 days #answered ask #yeah i was kinda expecting to get at least one comment about this #i don't know if i have anything to add to this really #in case anyone wants to continue this conversation

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muthaz-rapapa · 5 years ago

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Favorite Archetypes in Precure

I was going to keep this above cut if it weren’t for the fact that there’s no way I’ll ever be able to go over every single archetype (and trope) there is...so I decided to feature just my favorites instead.

Therefore, expect this to be more self-indulgent than the usual post.

Also, big WIP, will add more as I think them up.

Ojou:

Honorable Mentions: Honoka, Hibiki, Yukari

That one extremely rich gal in the main cast, complete with an esteemed family name, giant mansion, loyal servants and maybe even an exclusive villa for the beach episodes among other things. We don’t have one every season, thankfully, but it’s a very common occurrence in Precure... and honestly, pretty much almost every other anime genre out there.

The girls in honorable mentions aren’t as financially influential as the Ojous here but they do live in a big house so it’s not wrong to say they’re a little more well-off than the average person.

Also, it’s notable that despite their wealthy background, none of them really display qualities of the haughty rich bitch. If anything, a rival who does have those characteristics (especially the “ohoho!” laugh) is sometimes brought in to make them look better by comparison.

Though I can’t deny it’d be super interesting to get an Ojou Cure like that in the future, if possible. One who is selfish, arrogant and insufferable about her social standing but is noble deep down and after some time and development, learns to trade in those negative traits to become more likable. Except she keeps the “ohoho!” laugh because it’s dumb and fun. :)

Princess:

Honorable Mentions: Hikari, Aguri

Sort of like a sister trope to the Ojou, maybe? Well, the aristocratic tendencies are alike.

Only included literal princesses, btw. No girls who are only princesses in name or by virtue of magic or anything like that (sorry, Haruka). They have to come from a well and alive royal family and they also need to have an existing kingdom to be princess of.

So when you narrow it down by those criteria, we actually don’t have a lot of them in Precure. But since we get a variety of otherworldly Cures anyway, we don’t really make that distinction often.

Oh, and for Aguri, she sorta counts as well, being one half of Marie-Ange who was the princess of Trump Kingdom and all. But since the monarchy has been replaced by a republic, she has no princess title to claim anymore so...nope.

EDIT: Added Hikari to honorable mentions since her situation is similar to Aguri’s.

Yamato Nadeshiko:

Honorable Mentions: Karen, Minami

For those who aren’t well-read in this concept, please read this first.

That said, even though culture and values have changed greatly over the years, I believe the core definition of the Yamato Nadeshiko has remained mostly the same that there is no need for extra interpretation into it. As far as this post goes, anyway.

A soft-spoken, very well-mannered woman hiding a will of steel beneath her serene composure. The simplified version but pretty straightforward if you ask me.

Regarding Honoka and Mai, I’m still not familiar enough with the first two Precure teams to know for sure if they really match the description (especially Mai, Honoka I can more or less agree with based on what I’ve seen)...but I’ll go along with it for now.

As for Karen and Minami, they do show shades of it in their personalities given their upscale upbringing (especially Minami who cried at the thought she might be betraying her parents for wanting to chase her dream) but they’re still more Ojou than actual Yamato Nadeshiko, imo.

Lady Warrior (Cure only):

Honorable Mentions: Ace

Lady of War.

Every Cure fights, of course, but then there are the few who enter the battlefield almost as if they were born to conquer it while maintaining all the grace and elegance of a refined lady.

Moonlight is the epitome of this trope for the franchise as a whole and to this day, I’ve yet to see any other Cure who can surpass her. But that’s fine. It doesn’t mean any of the other Cures listed here is less of a Lady Warrior than she is.

Ace is only an honorable mention because while she possesses a lot of the traits found in this archetype, including the overwhelming strength and confidence, the way she constantly and pretentiously barked on about “what makes a lady a lady” really brought down her value as one.

Not to mention, she’s a bit too flashy compared to the others and that takes away the seriousness I always associate with this archetype.

Fashion:

Well, there isn’t a Precure season where nobody delves into this topic but among the Cures, these girls are known to be the most style-conscious.

Miki and Kirara aren’t in a sub-tier, btw. They’re just grouped separately because they’re actual models.

Bifauxnen:

Yep. Don’t think I need to say much about this one.

Feline Femme:

Cat girls. Girls with (stereotypical) cat-like characteristics.

I threw this title together with words I thought would sound the nicest but reading it now reminds me of what a friend once told me. That “felines are rather feminine creatures”.

And I think that fits these three, don’t you?

Aoi is not an honorable mention, even though her character concept is based on a lion, because she rejects the girlish image in favor of being a tomboy rock star.

Student Council/Class Rep:

Overall, we have a good number of honor students among the Cures but this category is reserved for those who are shown or stated to be a class representative and/or participate in the student council. Strangely enough, this trope isn’t a favorite of mine or anything but I like “collecting” the ones who have these things in common.

- Known class reps: Kanade, Saaya, Chiyu (iirc?)

- Known vice presidents: Reika, Rikka

- Known presidents: Karen, Itsuki, Reika, Mana, Minami, Madoka

...alright, I’m positive I missed a few people or forgot certain details so if anyone can point out which ones, that’d be appreciated.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Miscellaneous

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

These aren’t archetypes so much as just tropes but I don’t quite feel like putting them in a separate post yet so I’ll leave them here for now.

Glasses:

Self-explanatory.

Hell, everyone here minus Rikka form the Precure idol group, Anata no kokoro o mitoshi-tai, because of this very feature.

Makoto is not included because I believe she only wears class to be incognito when going out.

Keigo (Civilian):

Too lazy to explain this in an eloquent and concise manner so read up.

You know someone is just ultra polite to a T when their formality doesn’t let up even when they’re around the people they’re closest to. Some cases are understandable especially if they were raised under more traditional, classy circumstances or trained in etiquette (like the Ojous, princesses, etc) so this is normal for them.

Others are just more humble in nature like Tsubomi and Himari or speak that way because everyone is older than her like Urara.

I find this trope incredibly charming on certain characters and hope I’m not the only one.

Keigo (Cure):

Carried over from their civilian forms, there isn’t that much of a difference except for the addition of Felice, who went through a huge maturity growth during transformation.

Ace is similar in that aspect, too, since she sounds less bratty than Aguri does.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Update log:

4/29/20 - Post published.

#precure #categorizing precure #lite precure trivia

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some-cookie-crumbz · 5 years ago

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Another Set of Updates

Okay, gonna try to keep this as brief as possible!

My poll regarding which Kidge-a-Palooza AU I should turn into a story proper is still available: [here]. I’m gonna leave it up for another week or so, so please give it a vote if you haven’t already!

Chapter 4 of Here (In Your Arms) is up and available: [here].

Chapter 2 of Paint me in Trust is up and available: [here].

Chapter 2(6) of Time, Space and Everything Between is up and available: [here].

Since the update for Time, Space and Everything Between is up, I wanted to clarify a few things about where it’ll be going from hence forth. That information (spoiler free) can be found below for those that are interested.

Okay, so, confession time! This fic wasn’t supposed to become what it is now. Originally, I planned for this fic to be about six/ seven chapters and go in a somewhat different direction than it has. There was going to be an entire chapter dedicated just to the Kogane and Holt families bonding. The rescue of Shiro was going to go almost the same as it did in the series canon, with Keith being kept on Earth with his father using his camouflage device and entering the Garrison in hopes of snuffing out who the Blue Paladin was. The only big changes to it that I intended to make was Keith and Pidge knowing each other prior, Keith actually being a Galra, and when they head back to the shack, they’re greeted by Papa Kogane. From there, I was planning to end the fic with them going through the wormhole and implying events played out mostly the same as canon. But, then I decided I didn’t really like that idea either, so then I thought I’d go the route of letting Keith grow up with the Holt’s. Like, Ethan moving out there and Krolia leaving Keith on Earth to have a tradional human childhood.

As you can see, I didn’t end up doing any of that. And you may be wondering why.

Because the last season of Voltron left me that disappointed but I will admit I had issues with the show even before that Spit-in-the-Face ending but we’ll get there and I was raised by parents who said “If you don’t know how you’d improve something, you shouldn’t be the one to complain about it.”

Well, fine then. I’m gonna do just that.

ALSO I WANT TO CLARIFY that I am NOT saying I could have written the show better than the show runners themselves! I’ve never been in the position(s) they were in. I do, however, have the benefit of hindsight, which allows me to look at where the show succeeded and failed respectively, and take steps that I think would offer a more cohesive, enjoyable story-telling experience as a whole. I am taking the things that I, personally, took issue with, as well as some of the bigger things I’ve seen the fandom at large take issue with. At the end of the day, though, most of these decisions will be made from my own personal desires/ whims (since, you know, ship-feels and all that jazz). I will, however, be open to criticism from any and all who read my fics, so please feel free to tell me what you think does or doesn’t work as we go along.

I’m gonna break this down into four main categories down below; Things I’m Adding, Things I’m Cutting, Things I’m Adjusting, and Cut Fic Content. All but one of these is pretty self-explanatory, I think, but I promise to explain that little oddity when we get there. I’ll also touch on what and why I chose to approach certain things the way that I did.

Things I’m Adding

Melenor and Garett

Queen Melenor is kind of an anomaly in the series, don’t you think? It was kind of implied throughout most of the series proper that she died while Allura was still pretty young, which would have made a lot more sense for both Allura’s relationship with Alfor, as well as why Alfor was so distant from Zarkon when Daibazaal began tattering at the seams. But then Season 8 happened and threw all that out the window! All of a sudden, Melenor’s death suddenly carries this great significance for Allura, to the point she has a hallucination about her. Plus, it also kinda throws a wrench into scenes from the earlier seasons. Allura specifically says “Zarkon killed my Father and my Mother!” but… If Melenor was killed by Zarkon, where was she during the fall of Altea? Why wasn’t she with her daughter and husband in the final moments? And it makes even less sense when you look at that first scene where Allura and Coran were introduced. There were eight pods there. You mean to tell me Alfor didn’t think it might be a good idea to save an extra body or two to help guide Allura as she steps into the role she will have to take once he’s gone? Or even to help with maintaining/ rebuilding the Castle of Lions?

So, I’ve decided to add Melenor as a way to give some more characterization to not only she herself as a character, but also Alfor. Plus, I decided to make use of Garett (whose name I spell differently for reasons), Coran’s son from the original series, too. I think it’d be more fun to have an extra set of hands on board to help maintain the Castle of Lions and teach the Paladins, but maybe closer to their age range. So, we’ll see how things go with adding him to the roster. :3

Backstory for the Blades

This was something that we should have gotten a little bit of exposition on, considering how inflated their importance got. Like, the Blade became instrumental to the functionality of both Voltron and the Rebels due to their intelligence gathering. I think it’d have been kind of cool to see where it all started and what events in specific triggered it into becoming.

More Focus on Team Relationships

I didn’t really feel like the big victory against Zarkon was earned at the end of Season 2. I also didn’t think the team really earned any of their bigger victories, such as against Lotor and Honerva. They never felt like a real team that meshed because they just kinda stuck the same pairs/ clicks together. This was my biggest issue throughout most of the show and I really want to explore the dynamics we never really got to see. There are a few standout relationships that definitely needed some retooling, but I’ll mention those farther down.

More Alien Worlds

Sci-fi and Fantasy are my big genres because I. Fudgin. Love seeing the designs for different technology, worlds and races. And while we did get some interesting ones with the series proper - which I’ll be mostly still including - I wish we’d gotten to see more. So, because I have no self-control, I’ll be planning to do that here!

Shiro’s Love Life

Shiro deserved better. I feel like that’s kind of something that most of the fandom can agree on. I don’t say this from a place of hate for Curtis, though, because… Well, what is there to hate? He was a literal background character who did nothing, said maybe two lines of dialogue, and that was it. Considering how much they pushed Shiro being the rep for the LGBT+ crowd, they did literally nothing with his love life. Hell, Adam was only revealed as his fiance because Bex fought tooth and nail for them to say it! If they hadn’t pushed the way they did, it would have all been subtext.

So, Shiro is going to have a romantic side plot in this fic, where we’ll focus on him and the character I’ve picked to be his partner.

Minor Side Romances

Some other little side pairings are gonna get a bit of love, here, too, since Voltron really only did the romance side of things well with, like, two couples. All the main couples are also gonna get plenty of spotlight, but I also think it would be fun to do some smaller side ships every now and then, too.

Things I’m Cutting

Villain Roulette

There was way too much jumping back and forth between who our main villain to focus on was. Bam, it’s Zarkon! No, wait, now it’s Lotor! Just kidding, here comes Zarkon again! Except that it was actually Lotor! Or so you thought; it’s actually Honerva haha great prank amiright? It was exhausting and I think it’d be a lot simpler to just… Stick with one villain who controls the smaller monster-of-the-day bad guys for an extended period of time and, once they’re for reals defeated, then move on to the next. I’ll be taking this approach for the sake of not only having a more focused story, but also my own sanity. I’ve never been good at gambling so trying the same thing as the show would probably turn out even worse for me.

Keith’s Excellent Blade Adventure with His Mommy

This is all unnecessary in this story, so we won’t be doing it at all. Keith’s sorry purple tail is staying with Team Voltron; no buts, no fuss, no coconuts.

Shiro’s Illness and Adam’s Death

Adam’s death is something I could go on about for hours specifically because it seemed unfair and kinda petty. Like, I feel they killed him specifically because they couldn’t kill Shiro, and they wanted to amp up the Tragic Backstory for our prior leader. So, instead, that’s getting the boot, as well as Shiro’s illness, since it’s also unneeded for plot convenience. Plus, it could have been nice to have a character that was willing to call Shiro out on the Atlus. Shiro always got treated like some kind of flawless entity, and I think it’d been nice to have someone call that Nice Guy Schtick out.

Allura and the Entity Plotline

This whole thing made no sense, got no proper development because of how late into the game they introduced it, and ended up being nothing more than a tool for them to kill Allura off. So, that can GTFO of my house post haste.

The Ending as a Whole

Some parts of the ending worked, but most of it just sucked. When the ending is so bad that it makes me feel obligated to stan characters I was ambivalent/ outright disliked? Yeah, gonna need to walk that back a bit.

Most of Seasons 3-6

The pacing in these seasons really was terrible. We derailed working on the team dynamic, building up the Coalition and Rebel forces, and developing the Paladins’ characters to instead focus on all that shit with Lotor. That… Was infuriating. Especially considering it was all basically a waste.

Additionally, we had Keith sidelined and his arc - which was clearly going to be center around him learning how to be a leader - completely pushed aside and then treated as if it did happened when he showed up late with Starbucks at the end of Season 6. That felt really unbelievable to me.

Time Skips

There were way too many time skips, for serious. Especially when those time skips didn’t include any kind of change in development/ character for the team. There’ll be smaller time skips, but nothing as egregious as what we got in seasons 6 and 7.

Things I’m Adjusting

Lion Swap

This’ll still be happening, but the circumstances that trigger it will be different. I may also shift around who gets to take which Lion when we get to that point. I haven’t decided just yet, but I’ll have it figured out before we reach that point. Most of this fic is already planned out and, honestly, the Lion Swap will be finalized once I figure out what I’m doing with a few of the other characters.

Shiro and Keith’s Relationship

This, right here? This was one of my biggest issues with Voltron. Keith was completely codependent on Shiro, while Shiro clearly cared about Keith’s well-being but it always felt like he’d have been just fine if something similar to what happened to him happened to Keith. It’s just… Really gross to me. It doesn’t help that I also find the whole “Dying for Your Lover” Trope – which I’ve seen a lot of people praise The Black Paladins for implying - to be incredibly disgusting and unhealthy. Also Keith’s flagrant hypocrisy never getting called out bothers me a lot since I actually like when a character behaves in a hypocritical manner, since it feels organic, but it has to be called out because hypocrisy can lead to double-standards and create harmful environments and I need to stop for now

So, Keith and Shiro are still going to be close, but they aren’t going to be that close.

Keith and Allura’s Relationship

Oh, look! Another potentially interesting aspect of the show that they kinda dropped the ball on! I really hated Allura’s heel-turn on Keith when it’s revealed that he’s Galra in S2 because a) It’s not like Keith himself knew this and was actively hiding it, and b) It felt out of character for the way Allura had been presented thus far. Her lashing out at Zarkon when she was captured made sense since he directly killed her father, her people and her planet. And I could understand being wary of the Blades – to the extent that she was in the first half – but after Keith’s heritage is revealed, she’s completely cold to him and only seems to decide he’s a good guy when he’s willing to take on a potential suicide mission! They either needed to drag the animosity out and show it effecting Allura’s ability to work with the team as a whole and also show the team sticking up for Keith because the fact that Hunk was the only one that said anything is kinda messed up like where tf was Shiro if he and Keith are oh so close? or they needed to tone Allura’s attitude towards him back a bit more, have her approach him in a manner similar to how she addressed the Blade members; acknowledging he is there and contributing, but not praising or thanking him outright.

And since Keith presents and knows he’s part Galra from the start in this fic? Well, we’ll actually get to play around with that dynamic a little more. And while I’m on the subject of our favorite Altean princess…

Allura’s Character Inconsistencies

Allura’s character jumped around a lot in some of the earlier seasons and I’d be willing to wager that this is because the writers never settled on an age for her. And I don’t mean during the big changes like her becoming a Paladin or Lotor’s betrayal, since it’d make sense she be shaken by situations that drastic. One minute, she’s this composed, confident and well-spoken young leader doing the best she can. The next, she’s a more temperamental sort who has low self-esteem/ confidence in her own abilities to even successfully contribute to a team. Now, I think I kniw what they were trying to do; they were trying to show that the more impulsive side of her is more genuine while the composed side is her trying to be the leader she is expected to be. I get it. They fixed this and improved on it later down the line, but they could have done better by maybe addressing it and using it as a chance to develop her relationship with another member or two of Team Voltron.

Season 2’s Ending

The defeat of Zarkon happened way too soon. Especially since then, because they wanted to play around with Lotor’s intentions, they had to bring him back as a cyborg-zombie fueled by quintessence. Zarkon should have only been defeated once and then we should have been allowed to move on to the next main villain. As such, I’m moving Zarkon’s defeat further down the line and will be modifying some of the consequences there in.

P Much Everything About Lotor’s Acr/ Motives

Lotor… Man, Lotor was confusing and a lot of wasted potential. They painted him as if they wanted him to be a morally grey villain, where he does terrible things for what he considers the betterment of others, but then, once it’s revealed that he was keeping secrets, he just… Goes full ham. He becomes Evil McAwful incarnate and it felt unrealistic. There were about 20 different directions they could have taken Lotor – before and after the reveal – and I just didn’t care for the approach they took. So, I’ll be doing things a little different and seeing how that goes.

What I’m Keeping from Seasons 3-6

Very, very little things are going to be kept from each of the aforementioned seasons and implemented in the fic. I’m not planning to keep too many of the big plot moments because they all bled into the issues I had with the story as it stood on its own. I will, however, take some of the small things from those three seasons and include them here. This also applies to certain elements from the other seasons as well, but we’ll get there when we get there.

Adopting Kosmo

Kosmo will be in this fic, come Hell or high water. He is the Best Boi and deserves to be here.

Cut Fic Content

Okay, so here’s the weird one in this line up! As the title implies, there’s some content that I have cut from the fic, even this early on. I actually have some of the Kogane-Holt bonding scenes still drafted up somewhere in my files. I removed them because I was worried that they’d feel too much like filler. There’s also some scenes I started to work out from when I planned to have Keith grow up with Pidge and Matt; specifically including a scene where Krolia and Ethan talk about the idea and decide to commit.

Some of these ideas won’t work in the fic as it stands now, though. I also, however, like the idea of putting it out for everyone to read. So, I’m debating on making a separate one-shot collection of things that could have happened, or just adding them as the occasional buffer between the arcs of the story. I’ll make a poll when I get closer to the point of deciding how to proceed, so keep an eye out for that. :3

That’s all for now! I hope you all enjoy the updates and I’ll hopefully be updating again sooner than this time!

#crumbles grumbles #info dump about my fics #I was planning to hold off on updating until I responded to all my current comments #But I was way too excited about having these ready to go!

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opalsiren · 6 years ago

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W.I.T.C.H. Reboot! W.I.T.C.H. Reboot! W.I.T.C.H. Reboot!

hi love! so, with the plethora of reboots kicking around mainstream media these days, its no surprise that the question of a w.i.t.c.h reboot has been broached by its fans. i have so, so, so many thoughts and this, but ill divide them into three categories for the purpose of brevity: firstly, general thoughts on what i would like to see if a w.i.t.c.h reboot is on the cards; secondly, what i would like to see in a live-action w.i.t.c.h reboot; and finally, what a decent animated reboot of w.i.t.c.h might entail. this is not an exhaustive list so please feel free to add onto this if youve any more thoughts! without further ado because jesus, we might be here a while….

general thoughts:

a w.i.t.c.h live action reboot should largely use the comics are source material. while the cartoons are beloved by many including myself, i reckon the good parts of each should be combined to be thematically consistent, fix plot holes etc. but the comics should be the bible here

the target demographic of younger women and girls would need to be established early on by the producers (personally i would love to see a slightly more mature, w.i.t.c.h college AU where the target demographic could be teens/young adult women and girls, but more on that later). this isnt to say that young men and boys would be absolutely excluded as an audience, but misogyny is alive and well in 2019, and our voices as women need to be uplifted. this is exemplified by the fact that caleb was given far, far, far too much screentime in the cartoon so that the show could reach a young, male audience, and his characters was mangled by chauvinistic tendencies. thank u, next.

i have my own preferences wrt to ships, but i think we can all agree that introducing male characters as mere plot devices for drama/conflict only to put them ‘on a bus’ when theyre no longer useful is just plain bad writing. this is a critique levelled both at the cartoon and comics, but largely the comics (see: Eric)(rip in peace).

i also believe that sticking to the conventions of a particular genre, or hybrid genre, would be preferable if a w.i.t.c.h reboot were to take place. some shows get it right, but I’ve seen a ton of shows go off the rails when they try to be a fantasy/comedy/crime/drama/horror/sci-fi/occult/soap-opera extravaganza all in one. i reckon a YA fantasy drama with comedic moments, something with a similar vibe to Shadowhunters or The Shannara Chronicles, could work really well. if we’re talking animated reboot, something with a similar tonal atmosphere to The Dragon Prince or Into the Spiderverse, would also be great

this shouldnt even need to be said but please, for the love of god, no musical episodes (heres looking at you, Riverdale).

i think i speak on everyones behalf when i say that, irrespective of the age demographic of the show, LGBT rep in w.i.t.c.h would be amazing. irma/cornelia have always been a practically canon fan favourite, but cassidy and nerissa’s relationship is definitely more than strictly platonic, so that could be developed upon too. trans/nonbinary!will is also a popular headcanon that could work. once there are lgbt heroes, and not just lgbt villains, i think we’ll all be happy.

similarly, seeing some neurodivergency in the characters could also be great: elyon dealing with pts after the fallout with phobos; irma struggling with adhd in school or college; hay lin and taranee also exhibit some traits of anxiety in canon. autistic!will would also work, and someone else in the squad is bound to be affected by depression given its pervasive nature these days.

much and all as i adore the guardian outfits, i think there would need to be a few changes made. the midriff-and-leg-baring get-ups, though very cute, become very jarring when you realise the characters are meant to range in age from 12 to 14. i dont have any specific thoughts on how improvements could be made, but lengthening hemlines could be a start. if anyone has any more thoughts, i’d love to hear them!

of course, there needs to be women in the writers room, lgbt people in the writers room, poc in the writers room, people with neurodivergencies in the writers room, etc. we all know what happens when writers rooms lack diversity, and it sure as hell aint pretty.

body diversity was something that was tentatively approached in the comics (irma is curvier than the others, at least in her mundane form), but eschewed almost entirely in the cartoon, with all the girls maintaining similar heights and waifish proportions. it would be worthwhile, not to mention realistic, for the girls to go through some body-image hang ups. maybe will is insecure about her ‘underdeveloped’ body, or maybe taranee longs to have the same curvaceous figures as other dancers her age. i think if they were to go for a message of body positivity, irma, loud and brash with no fucks to give, should love every inch of her fat body and encourage the girls to adopt her 'devil-may-care’ attitude. the patriarchy be damned.

one flaw with the comics AND the cartoons are that they dont really explore the worldbuilding a lot. we do spend some time on meridian in the comics and the cartoon, but largely from the perspective of either elyon, or caleb and the rebels. i wonder what a day on meridian would look like for the average meridianite peasant? what do meridianites do for fun? what language(s) do they speak? what are their religious/spiritual belief(s)? what are the styles of dress dictated by? meridian is based on medieval societies, and a caste system is suggested, but i would have loved to see the social hierarchies expanded on a little more. does the matriarchal nature of meridian rule value women and their labour? what about LGBT people on meridian? people with disabilities and neurodivergencies? is there any discrimination against the different species on meridian? in fact, i dont know if it was ever explicitly outlined to us the different species of peoples on meridian, in the cartoon or the comics. honestly id be happy to see a filler, AtLA Tales of Ba Sing Se-esque episode on meridian to cover all of these bases

one thing i loved from the comics that didnt translate as well in the cartoon were the girls’ passions and interests. will is obsessed with frogs, she rides her bike to her job at pet store, she swims, stresses over math homework. irma loves music and talking to her pet turtle, leafy; i could totally see her doing a stint at the college radio station or working part time at a record store. cornelia loves ice skating and has received tons of awards and accolades for her achievements on the ice. taranee is an avid photographer and dancer, but i could totally see her spending her spare time at rallies and protests too. hay lin is a proficient artist, making her own clothes and poring over paintings between shifts at the silver dragon. all of these things and more are what make these characters so well-rounded, relatable, likeable. their hobbies need to be weaved into the fabric of the show (not just brought up once for a silly plot device in cornelia’s case, or never brought up at all in taranee’s, as seen in the cartoon) in order for it to work

live action reboot thoughts:

this should go out without saying, but a live action w.i.t.c.h reboot should cast actors of colour to play characters of colour. hay lin, and by extension her family, need to be played by Chinese actors, while taranee needs to be played by a black actor, preferably one of east asian descent, etc. if they add a little more diversity to the cast i would be totally pleased. latina!irma is a popular headcanon that i ascribe to, and will has always been kinda ambiguously brown, so adding less ambiguous representation for poc to the cast would really be excellent

of course, age-appropriate casting is a must. more specifically, there should not be any 25-30 year olds playing characters in their mid-late teens, unless ofc they could actually pass for the age they are trying to play. shows like The OA and The End of the Fucking World really get this right (most other teen/YA dramas, not so much. less of the chiseled abs and rock hard pecs on teens, please)

this one might be tricky to get right, particularly with budget constraints, but i think a really good CGI/visual effects team is necessary for a w.i.t.c.h reboot to work. unless an adequate amount of the budget is spent on making sure the magic looks realistic, almost plausible, it will make everything else look cheap by comparison

also, this is more of a personal preference, but i’d love to see someone with a really beautiful visual aesthetic and scope of cinematography. i’m talking Sense8-esque levels of cinematographic beauty

i’m really rambling now but, similarly, it’d be so cool to see someone who could use lighting/colour theory in very particular ways. in Marvel’s Netflix Originals, each character has their own theme colour; in Jessica Jones, for example, all of the scenes are very blue and almost leeched of warmth, while in Luke Cage there seems to be a warm yellow filter over everything. how cool would it be if all Taranee-centric scenes had a slight gold hue? or if all of cornelia’s scenes were lit with green? maybe all of the colours could combine in the a subtle yet effective way when all of the guardians are together to show their unity and combined strength.

thoughts on an animated reboot:

i know very little about animation so these thoughts will be brief, but an art and animation style something like that of Into the Spiderverse would be really gorgeous. it is fluid, dynamic, beautiful to look at and, most importantly, reflects the comic format in a moving image perfectly. alternatively, the animation studio behind The Legend of Korra could also be wonderful. the visual effects used for magic would look absolutely incredible

one thing i have to praise the Jetix cartoon for is their choice of voice actors, which were, in many cases, spot on. while cornelia’s VA was annoying and shrill, the actors playing characters of colour were themselves people of colour. if an animated reboot was on the cards, i think it could be a great opportunity to once again include some diversity to the cast, namely hiring actors of colour to play characters of colour

please let no one who worked on voltron near a w.i.t.c.h animated reboot with a ten foot pole. no i will not elaborate

tl;dr at the risk of sounding like an entitled millennial, a w.i.t.c.h reboot should be less about creating something entirely new for a brand new audience, and more about building on what the longtime fans of w.i.t.c.h already love and bringing it forward for the older generation. all on all, we grew up with w.i.t.c.h, so it’s time for us to have our reboot. thanks for coming to my TED talk!

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comicteaparty · 5 years ago

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September 21st-September 27th, 2019 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from September 21st, 2019 to September 27th, 2019. The chat focused on the following question:

How would you describe the target audience for your comic? Did you intend to aim at that audience, or did it just happen?

Deo101 (Millennium)

My target audience for millennium http://millennium.spiderforest.com/ was and is LGBT youth. Specifically teens. I know when I was a kid reading a story where gay people are just kind of... There? No jokes, no stereotypes, more than one... That would have helped me a lot. So I'm trying to make that for other kids! I think the story has reached a much wider/older audience then I intended, but I know it has helped at least some LGBT youth/young adults and that's all I could ever ask for.(edited)

spacerocketbunny

The target audience for Ghost Junk Sickness is definitely queer youth and young adults! Much like what @Deo101 (Millennium) is saying, basically we wanted something like the cool action scifi comics we read when we were younger with good queer rep that's integrated and normalized in the universe! As it turned out though, the audience we reached has been all over the place ranging from older women to big biker dudes?? Every time we go to cons we can never guess who'll purchase a book because the range is so varied! I'm sure we still reach the original target to an extent but the rest is all over the map it seems! I don't think it's a bad thing, it's just been pretty unexpected

Deo101 (Millennium)

Not bad at all ^^ more like a pleasant surprise!

spacerocketbunny

Exactly!

Deo101 (Millennium)

I think those other, older people are also looking for a story to reach their inner child... And I think that's great

mariah (rainy day dreams)

Lol, I feel the similarly way about my own story. My goal was definitely to make something me as a kiddo would have loved, which essentially would have been shonen stories but with a female majority cast. I think I already figured my target audience would be similar to me, but I've been consistently surprised by how many male identifying folks like it. I guess I do like that they can hang though X) Anyway, these are my floppy, post work out thoughts. Hopefully they make sense.

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

The target audience for Phantomarine (http://www.phantomarine.com/) was never super clear from the beginning - I just wanted to make something I'd like as a teen. Luckily (or unluckily! in terms of describing it to people ) the story is a mishmash of a bunch of different genres. It's not quite a ghost story, not quite a pirate adventure, not quite a fantasy epic, but it has elements of them all. And it does seem to have attracted people who like those different genres. It may not be easy if I ever want to publish it properly (it's a little difficult to describe my 'brand' ) but as it is, it's got everything I would have liked when I was between 14 and 18.

My happiest surprise is hearing about the younger kids who have read it, understood it, and really enjoyed it. Knowing that 10-12 year olds can appreciate my work is really awesome. I try to keep the language and scary/questionable content at Harry Potter levels, but I like having some of the depth/maturity of stories like The Golden Compass. If they like Phantomarine now, I really hope they find extra enjoyment with it as they grow up. It's going to be a ride!

mariah (rainy day dreams)

Gosh, I get that feel of being multi-genre and not knowing quite how to describe your Brand X') I feel like I've gotten better at defining it over time but it's still a struggle to briefly describe what my thing even is some days. Also Golden Compass I'm always excited to find other comic folks who were also influenced by that series.

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

It's my gold standard for the right blend of fantasy, reality, and maturity. It's just the best

keii4ii

The target audience for Heart of Keol (https://heartofkeol.com/) is extremely tiny, but it does have appeal for people outside of that niche. I make it for myself, and the relevant aspects of "myself" here are: a) Grew up in Korea, is living (or has lived for an extended period of time) in a predominantly English-speaking part of the world b) Bonus points if they spent some time living in rural Korea c) Is into slow burn drama about characters who could be described as being "genuine" and probably "lawful" as well d) Likes the aesthetics of fantasy settings, but is more into the mundane, almost slice of life, side of drama e) Is very much into reading between the lines for more emotional stuff. Reads a lot of heart from sceneries, possibly more than from faces. (I have face blindness and this affects how I experience comics both as a reader and as a creator)

Obviously people who meet both a) and b) are gonna be harder to find! But if one can meet c), d) and e), that's enough to enjoy the comic the way it's meant to be enjoyed, or so I hope.

The reason a) and b) matter is because it affects how the setting/aesthetics come across. To someone like me, the old Korea setting feels homey, warm, nostalgic. It's like a shorthand for "sit down and enjoy this heartfelt slow burn tale." But to others, Magical Asia might feel exciting and exotic, which isn't really what the story is meant to be, so there may be some dissonance.

seetherabbit

I haven't given much thought about the target audience for Vulperra. (https://vulperra.com/) other than then it's probably for people who like adventure, fantasy and cartoony-ish animals

Cronaj

My target audience is kind of all of the place. Initially when I began scripting my comic, Whispers of the Past, I was really into anime and manga, especially ones like Attack on Titan that were a gritty fantasy. However, since then, my style and story have changed tremendously. My target audience now tends to be young women, aged 15-25, who enjoy detailed world building in high fantasy and are definitely into family drama in story telling. Initially, I wrote the story to fit certain perameters that I myself enjoyed. For example, I am particularly obsessed with the idea of the mundane meeting the fantastical and amazing. The quiet lull of ordinary life juxtaposed by the rigor of magical entities. I specifically focus a lot on drawing beautiful artwork for the panels, because I myself am a picky-pants when it comes to selecting comics I want to read. Another one of my obsessions is a fantasy setting so detailed that you feel like if the story ended, the world would still live on. (One of my inspirations was the Inheritance series by Christopher Paolini, in which the author essentially wrote several languages, similar to Tolkien.) In reality, my readers tend to be women aged 30+ (probably who watch k-dramas like I do), and a lot of D&D players. It's fun really, discovering how much of my own hobbies bleed into my stories.

AntiBunny

Early on with AntiBunny http://antibunny.net/ I was hoping for fans of scifi and film noir. What I got were fans of classic cartoons and furries. Which is fine by me really. Furries are nice people who are passionate about their hobbies (and spend money).

Jonny Aleksey

A superhero audience was always the intention for J-Man (http://jonnyalekseydrawscomics.com/the-undefeatable-j-man/), but specifically, right now, I'm aiming for something all ages. Slightly teen drama, cartoony but grounded. My inspirations were Spectacular Spider-Man and the DCAU so anyone who likes that is the readership I expect. Hopefully I can reach people who are on the fence about superheroes. The all ages aspect is something newish relatively speaking. When I started my webcomic I wanted to stay away from the "deep real edgy" tone I made when I was in high school (shiver). It took me a bit to really get that tone down. I don't use curse words and only mild blood, but occasionally stuff that borders on teen+ go through. (there's one instance in #5 where J-Man's face gets burnt by the villain that might've been a bit much) I don't think the all ages banner is going to restrict me from telling certain storylines/character development. Just means it won't be excessively grim.

Erin/Leif & Thorn on Kickstarter

The target audience for my webcomics is LGBT nerds who want stories that give them strong feelings, and who like SF/F, anime, competent characters that don't have to take turns with the Idiot Ball to keep the plot moving, and cats. Admittedly that last bit might be redundant, since everyone on the internet likes cats.

Ash🦀

I’ll be honest with you, I’m the target audience of my comic. (http://www.fwmgofficial.com/) it’s not out yet (it’ll be out October 31st) but as the writer I’ve had a lot of time to think about it. Mostly, it’s just targeted to young adults and autistic people. I never got to see people like me in comics, so I wrote a comic where an autistic person can be the hero too, even in his own way. For me, I figure whoever likes it likes it and that’s good enough for me. (also furries. Definitely targeted furries)

Kay Rose

@Ash🦀 cant wait to read it!

Ash🦀

QwQ thank you!!

MJ Massey

So far Black Ball is pulling in a mix of people who like the vintage aesthetic (1920s and art deco with some old-school macabre for some reason?) and people who like shonen manga, which is great. Even if Black Ball isn't specifically macabre or strictly shounen (though I myself have made shounen battle manga-esque comics in the past)

DaemonDan (The Demon Archives)

Audience of my comic... Per Google it's 18-35 year old men from the US and Russia XD Which makes sense given it's a pretty hard sci-fi with a lot of military action from dudes in power armor and etc. Though I try not to go too "high octane action!1!" and explore more psychological elements too.

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #creator interview #comic creator interview #creator babble #comic tea party #ctp

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rksomiin-blog · 6 years ago

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hi there !! it’s your newest mun addition blaire, bringing you my most beloved jeon somin !! she’s twenty two, a trc hopeful, and an absolute mess !! i figured we needed some more chaotic types here, so here she is to wreck your world !! she’s not really the sly type either, instead very outwardly queen bee-esque !! she’ll only put up a front for the higher ups. somin wants what she wants when she wants it, and she’s going to do everything to get it - no matter if it’s a position, a lifestyle, or even a person !! all in all, she’s fun to have but deadly to keep around - but don’t you want to see how she got like this ?? if so, i’d suggest peeping at her trivia below !! ( or if you’re in a rush, here’s her profile , prompts, and plots. ) i’d love to talk to all of you !! if you want to interact with her, please please please let me know, and we can come up with something !! oh yes and like this for plotting !! <3

comes from busan, south korea !!

always repping busan and yet hates her accent someone explain

anyways she’s always always always loved attention !!

she actually used to be really sweet - her parents are performers too, so they surrounded her with music !! they’re not famous, but simply a talented family who like to come together to make beautiful music. they were both young & definitely the hippy type, somin was always known for having the “cool parents”

also this may seem a bit random but i’m going to make this into a headcanon later so i don’t want to say too much but basically when she was younger & therefore she now has a phobia of sorts of deep water (this is not token trauma, it will be developed later & is important to her overall character !!)

she found her love for dancing very soon after she was urged by her mother to join a ballet class. one class turned into multiple, and within two years of dancing she began exploring other genres as well!!

she absolutely l o v e d it. every day she’d come home doing pirouettes and walk around the supermarket on pointe & basically always happy to show her progress. it helped her feel happy, and it became her #1 passion!!

time skip, middle school!! she was really just living her best life in busan, until all her friends started talking about their lives !! nearly all of them wanted to be idols, which she didn’t really understand. she thought they were too uppity.

but then when they all started talking about entrance exams for schools like sopa, she really started thinking and was like huh !! this sounds pretty cool actually

she had 3 friends, who called each other the “shh” squad because of their names - somin, sooyeon, and hayun (npcs).

(lame, i know, but look guys they were kids it was cool)

anyways they were like a mini girl-group of sorts who would do covers & each had a role. somin was the main dancer, sooyeon was the main singer, and hayun was the main rapper.

anyways they were tighter than tight, and as middle school ended the 2 other girls were constantly talking about applying to sopa. of course, somin didn’t want to be alone !! so she decided she would try to get in too so the shh squad could stay together

so the months leading up to this were super stressful!! practicing, each girl teaching the other 2 their strongest skills so that they could all improve in what they were lacking.

so,,, the day of the auditions came. the night before they had all slept over at sooyeon’s house and she was so excited !! it was her time to shi-

they betrayed her !! yes ma’am, sooyeon & hayun had literally left without her and let somin sleep through the whole thing so she couldn’t get in !!

you wouldn’t believe the rage she felt. 2 of her supposed “best friends”, and they had taken away her dream just so they’d have a better chance ??

this was the beginning of bitter somin !! a little time skip, and basically both sooyeon and hayun had gotten in, and somin was left behind in busan.

her whole entire high school experience was just a wave of emotions. first it was sadness, then it was acceptance, and then her current stage, anger.

anyways somin eventually went to college as a dance major at korea national university of the arts. (and she’s actually still there now, in her last month of school !!)

she still really loved dance though, and it was basically what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. so at 21 she began working at this dance studio in hongdae !! she mainly does hip hop now but she also does childrens ballet and loves it

that’s where she lives now, “living it up” in her hongdae apartment with her dog mars. tbh it’s really just her partying & trying to get famous but um proceed

she’s just kind of at the point of her life where everything’s at a standstill ?? as time’s proceeded her want to be an idol has grown much more, and with her being 22 she’s scared she’s beginning to grow to old to get signed.

but anyways. she never forgot how the shh squad betrayed her, and vowed never to trust anyone again because the two most dependable people she thought she’d known had stabbed her in the back

but in a way she admired them ?? how ruthless they were able to be to get ahead, and it had worked !! so somin’s begun implementing that method into her ladder to the top.

so she swears she’s a bad bitch who can do no wrong,, like really she’ll act like this 24/7 unless you give her a reason not to, which is either to be super nice so she feels bad or super mean to match her attitude.

you should be worried if she’s exceptionally nice because that probably means she’s plotting to stab you in the back. if she doesn’t like you, definitely the type to be texting you with one phone and sending rumors about you on another

will most definitely attempt to steal your man or woman she gives no fucks lol

someone please collect her

she’s also super impulsive & stubborn which together is never really good ?? she always feels she’s right and therefore makes actions immediately based on her feelings only.

just a destructive mess okay, somin bby i’m sorry i had to ruin you like this

anyways while she can be the bitch of the century (tm) if she likes you, she loves you !! will do anything for you. will die for you !! same for if she loves you (which while it doesn’t happen often, she does catch feelings often) she will do everything to get you and protect you !!

but most of the time she just wants to spend the night with someone & prevent herself from catching feelings (it rarely works out that way)

professionally, she hopes to become use her dance skills for good !! & take away the stigma girls can’t rap and improve her skills !! she also has that sex appeal so you alr know she’d be the first to hop up and do some sort of “sexy dance” sksks

really likes boys but likes girls a little more

alright i’m done talking this has been really long just love her please. <333

#❝ ooc. ❞#this is too long as usual #but thanks for the messages!! replying now xox

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britesparc · 4 years ago

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Weekend Top Ten #461

Top Ten Good Things That Actually Happened in 2020

Well, thank God that’s over, am I right?

It feels kinda weird to be sitting here looking back over the wreckage and general weirdness of 2020, a year that pretty much defines the word “anxiety”. I have a lot to be thankful for: none of us died, for a start; we all seemed to avoid The Plague in its entirety for the whole year. We still have a house, we still have food, we always had enough toilet paper, and above all we had each other. It was hard, it was long, it sucked a great deal at times, but there are substantially worse hands to be dealt all things considered.

Anyway, amongst all the crap, there were some good things, too. And I don’t mean the end-year highs of them finding a vaccine, Biden beating Trump, and us narrowly avoiding No Deal by eating a ton of rotten mud instead of actual shit. No, throughout the year, there were actually some things that happened that were genuinely good; great, even.

And so once again, with no further ado, here are my ten favourite things. Like usual, these are, y’know, things that I watched or played or whatever. I don’t go on about my great kids being great, or the fact that I finally finished writing and formatting enough children’s books to start showing them to agents. But my kids were both elected their respective class’s reps to the school council, which is pretty badass. Here you go. Ten good things. Watch them on catch-up, or whatever.

Mega Mando: without a doubt the best “thing” that I saw was the second season of The Mandalorian. Managing to be both an event-of-the-week show (a heist! An infiltration! A siege!) as well as a long-form narrative; feeling distinct and its own thing but tying into so many aspects of Star Wars; full of absolutely excellent scenes and direction and performances; and holy crap what an ending. When you watch a few of these kinds of shared-universe genre shows, this sort of thing is a rarity to the point of my never having seen it before. Seasons that are too long? Filler episodes? Disappointing lore? A “thirteen-hour movie”? Mando swerves all of these things and – notwithstanding my love for The Last Jedi – emerges as possibly the best thing Star Wars has done since at least the classic LucasArts games of the late nineties.

Series SeXy: finally the new consoles came out, and I got an Xbox Series X. It was quite a ride for yours truly: I managed to successfully pre-order one from Microsoft directly; it turned up on the day of release, except it was late in the evening and the kids were around so I couldn’t open it; then, after briefly testing it, I shoved it back in its box till Christmas. Honestly, you wanna talk about anticipation much? It was literally in my house and I still didn’t properly set it up till the evening on Christmas Day. Anyway: it’s great. It just works, y’know? It’s a beautiful boxy delight, with its chunky green holes and its shiny edges. It makes all my games look amazing, it’s so fast and buttery-smooth. It’s like upgrading a PC, but far more successful and expansive an upgrade than I was ever able to do when I was actually upgrading a PC. Anyway, it’s great. It even runs Cyberpunk 2077.

Lockdown Crossing: Animal Crossing: New Horizons arrived at exactly the right time. Lockdown was starting, everything was darkness and fear, people were dying, we needed distractions, and here was a game about being happy and friendly and doing up your house and digging up fossils. It was perfect. It was also a great social game, with my kids loving sending presents to each other, or meeting up with their uncle (who they literally saw only once this year). A great game at just the right time.

The Stream Where it Happens: Mando might have been my TV highlight of the year, but film-wise my favourite new movie was not only not really a movie but was also several years old. Hamilton popped up almost by surprise on Disney+, and it was the first time I’d been able to experience it – and it was just as good as I’d heard. At this point you don’t need me to rhapsodise about the lyricism, performance, staging, and West Wing references; I think you either get it or you don’t, and I got it big time. Weirdly, experiencing it at home made some kind of perfect sense, and it made up for missing out on the big cinematic musicals such as In the Heights and West Side Story.

Fantabulous Harley Quinn: Harley rocked on both the big and the small screen this year. Birds of Prey, or whatever it ended up being called, was actually the last film I saw at the cinema before the Big Shutdown of 2020. It’s not perfect, sure, but it’s a hell of a lot of fun; Margot Robbie is a blast, it’s really funny, and is edgy in just the right way, rather than feeling like it’s trying too hard. I was more sceptical going into the Harley Quinn animated show (starring Penny off The Big Bang Theory, for goodness’ sake!), as “sweary adult Harley Quinn cartoon” is pretty high on my checklist of “things that are trying to be edgy”, but I’m glad I gave it a chance, because it followed a very similar line to the movie. Hilarious, violent, filthy, but also offering a subtle unpeeling of Harley’s psyche and giving her more character development than she gets in most of her comic appearances. It was a great year for Harley. Just wish they’d show the second season of her show.

All This Plus Disney: yeah, I’ve already singled out Mando and Ham (great unmade detective show, there), but I’ve gotta say Disney+ in general has been a huge highlight. From getting all yer Marvels and yer Star Wars in one place, to a wealth of preschool and middle-grade shows for the kids (my youngest mainlined Vampirina this Spring), to being a home for loads of high-quality family films from years gone by (it was the prime destination for many a family movie night), to, well, the future. WandaVision launches in a couple of weeks, followed by dozens of great shows and movies; not just ones about sad superheroes, either – personally I can’t wait for the likes of Chip & Dale. I’ve gotta say, I’ve been really impressed, and once they roll out the sexier, swearier Fox stuff later this year, it’ll only get better.

A Schitt Year: we got into Schitt’s Creek rather late (like many a sitcom – I think we only discovered Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Good Place in the last eighteen months or so), but it’s truly sublime, and it only got better and better as it built towards it joyous climax (ewww, David!). It was a great show about a family of people who were kinda arseholes, but were really very nice underneath it all, and how this town of people who were sorta idiots but kinda nice underneath it all brought out the better natures of everybody. It was, basically, a show about the all-encompassing power of being Nice. I’m so, so happy that it achieved huge success in its final season, winning literally all the Emmys. Hot Schitt.

Top Trek: 2020 was bookended by the two newest incarnations of People Boldly Going, Picard and Discovery. I was super excited to check in with Jean-Luc and pals nearly twenty years since we’d last seen them; although the show wasn’t a Best of Both Worlds-style masterpiece, it presented a believably fractured vision of the Federation, and a sadder, wearier Picard. It got a bit bogged down in Borg stuff, and I wasn’t totally sold on the ending, but I’m very, very eager to spend more time with these characters in future seasons. Discovery, meanwhile, flashed forward, with a season set about 900 years after Picard, and gave us what amounts to the closest Star Trek gets to a dystopia. It took its time settling in, but by crikey it pulled its threads together for a great run of episodes as we gear up to the finale later this week. I’ve very much enjoyed Star Trek on TV this year, and I’m really looking forward to whatever comes next.

Netflickin’ Ass: on the one hand, it was quite nice to see streaming services picking up the slack during the cinema closures, with many films winding up on Prime Video or Netflix or wherever; there were also those “Premium VOD” options, such as Trolls World Tour or Mulan, but I never quite fancied parting with so much cash for a rental (“Only if it’s Black Widow or Wonder Woman,” I said… so, yeah, see you later this month for the latter!). One trend I did notice, however, was Netflix also picking up the slack of “big Hollywood star-driven action movie”. Y’know, the stuff that had Van Damme or Seagal in it in the ‘90s, before everything became franchised (Mission: Impossible could almost fall under this banner, but Cruise became too huge and the series itself eventually was the draw, I’d argue). Anyway, these sorts of films nowadays are low-rent DTV fodder starring slumming former megastars, so fair play to Netflix for resurrecting the genre and giving it a fresh coat of paint and lease of life. Stuff like Extraction and The Old Guard weren’t exactly masterpieces, but they were solidly entertaining with great central performances and some nicely turned-out action. Looking forward to more of the same – bigger, better, and with more people getting killed with rakes!

A Summer of Anticipation: it was a weird year – well, yeah, of course it was, you know, you were there. But one of the things that was weird was that so much was going to happen. I mean, there were loads of things I was looking forward to as the year began; from the MCU and Star Wars shows to big movies, smaller movies, and – of course – new games consoles. And as the year went on, amidst the angsty real-world wait-and-see, there was also a steady drip of news and non-news as we held on to find out which films were pushed back, which were skipping the cinema, and mostly what the games would look like on the new consoles. Barely a week seemed to go by without new rumours, new stories, and new leaked videos or imagery. It was maddening and infuriating but also, weirdly, glorious. This strange ongoing sense of anticipation and wonder, even if quite often the news ended up being disappointing as more and more big hitters slipped to 2021 (everything from Bond to Halo to pretty much the whole MCU). But like an entire year made up of Christmas Eves, it felt for the longest time that anything was possible… just round the corner.

See? It wasn’t all bad. And maybe this year we’ll get to enjoy all the stuff we thought we’d enjoy in 2020! I mean, at the very least, Trump’s gonna be gone… right?

#top ten #2020 #film #tv #disney #hamilton #mandalorian #games #xbox #halo #series x

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inloveandwords · 4 years ago

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I read a total of 14 books between June 14 & June 27 and there were so many great ones!

All of the books I mention in this video can be found and purchased on my storefront here.

Quiet Girl in a noisy world by Debbie Tung

4 stars

This is a graphic novel that is basically a series of scenarios that will be very relatable to true introverts. I am much more of an extroverted introvert, so there were some things that I didn’t fully relate to, but I totally understood. The illustrations were adorable and I read this book within an hour. I think this book would make a great gift for your introvert friends who don’t get enough love in this noisy world.

Can I Come Over by Whitney G

4 Stars

I saw that a friend of mine on bookstagram was reading a couple of Whitney G novels and this was one of them. It definitely inspired me to pick it up since it was my birthday and her novels tend to be short and sweet – like a little treat on a day of relaxation.

This book had so many great romance tropes happening in it. First of all, the heroine, not unlike Whitney G, is a successful author of short, self-published, steamy romance novels. She joins this sort of pen pal ish service that is supposed to be strictly platonic and starts talking to this guy. At first he’s a douche, but then they work things out. Turns out he is her dad’s good friend. So there is a forbidden and age gap scenario.

I have to be honest, I didn’t love this at first. I really didn’t like the way the hero was talking to our heroine at all and I worried he wouldn’t redeem himself.

He did and I ended up really enjoying this. Whitney G does what few authors can when it comes to steamy novellas: she builds chemistry quickly and crafts a believable romance in otherwise outlandish settings. Her and Katee Robert are my two very favorite short, steamy, romance writers for that reason.

When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare

5 Stars

I finally did it! I read a Tessa Dare novel and everyone was right. I freaking loved it.

This book is about a woman who is incredibly introverted and to avoid having to do the typical coming out in society thing, she makes up a pretend boyfriend. A Scottish soldier who, it turns out, actually exists.

He has been receiving her letters and learns all about her from them, so when he shows up unexpectedly at the house she inherited because of her fake engagement to him, she’s obviously surprised.

For those who don’t normally like historical romances, I think Tessa Dare is the perfect place to ease your way into the genre. Her heroines aren’t annoyingly innocent and naive. Her books feel modern even though they are not.

This had so many elements of a great romance: fake dating, a little bit of enemies-to-lovers, and an adorable meetcute.

I can’t wait to read more Tessa Dare!

The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta

5 Stars

This is a coming-of-age memoir about a mixed-race gay teen who eventually finds himself when he discovers drag, written in verse. Obviously I can’t personally speak for the rep in this novel, but I can tell you that it was beautifully written.

I’m a big fan of modern poetry and though I connected a little more with the poetry in The Poet X a little more, I still really liked this one. While I loved the audiobook, I have seen a few pages of the book and I wish I had it as I was reading as well.

I feel like this book is so important for young people to read, to help them see outside of their boxes – or to help them find themselves on page. To help them not feel so alone.

Cherry Magic

4 stars

My very first official manga was gifted to me by my sweet friend, @genkireader, for my birthday. There was definitely a learning curve when it came to reading this. I was messaging her on Instagram with questions like, “Wait, this book is backwards, where do I start? Do I read right to left or left to right?” It was surprisingly more difficult than I expected, but I REALLY enjoyed this book. So much so that I ended up buying a few more of her favorites.

This book was quirky and cute. It’s about a guy who has developed the power to read people’s mind through touch and he thinks it is because he’s a 30yo virgin. He ends up reading the mind of a charasmatic, good-looking guy in his office and discovers that he is attracted to him. So many adorable moments ensue, a ton of over-thinking and awkwardness, but also super sweet, swoony moments, too. I feel like this will speak to any of us who overthink every little thing when we are falling for someone. Especially when it is unexpected.

Thank you, De’Siree for this gift, it was like you gifted me a piece of yourself because I know how much you love these stories. Lovelovelovelovelove.

Rafe by Rebekah Weatherspoon

3 Stars

This is a cute romance between a buff, tattooed nanny who begins working for a savant young surgeon and mother of two girls.

This book was fine, though I didn’t see anything special about it. Maybe I gave in a little to the hype surrounding it and that was the issue, but mostly the romance was just ok. I felt like it was a little rushed, I wished there was more pining and more of a forbidden aspect to this, but it seemed like they both gave in pretty quickly.

Loving Mr. Daniels by Brittany C Cherry

5 stars

This was a super angsty, emotional story about a girl and a guy who are both dealing with terrible tragedy and find solace in each other. The first night they meet is filled with unbelievable chemistry, it’s almost too good to be true.

And it turns out to be. Because it turns out he is her high school teacher.

The heroine was held back in school because of a medical condition, so she is 19 years old and a senior. He is a young teacher, in his early twenties, so the age gap isn’t really a thing, but it doesn’t make it any less forbidden.

When they realize the situation, it’s heartbreaking because of how intense their first meeting was. A series of super angsty things happen and it’s all very intense, but in the best epic love kind of way.

I was rooting for this couple the entire time, but not only that, I loved the heroine’s relationship with her step siblings even with all that drama.

All American Boys by Jason Reynolds

5 Stars

This is a super relevant fictional story that is somewhat reminiscent of The Hating Game.

This is about a boy in the ROTC in high school who is falsely accused of stealing by a racist, hateful police officer who ends up beating him until he is unconscious which stirs protests in his town that is sick of this constantly happening.

Sound familiar?

What’s interesting about this story is how it follows the perspective both of the victim and a white boy that goes to his school who is linked to the police officer.

I was completely invested in this story, while also cautious. I was super curious about how this book would end. Would it be far too optimistic or would it be realistic?

When I finally came to the end, I very much appreciated it. It was hopeful without being naive. It left questions that we still need answers to, but it didn’t feel too unresolved that it leaves you unsettled. I almost took it as… let’s let current events tell us how this story is going to end.

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

5 Stars

I read this sweet, heartwarming graphic novel with my girls. They adored it from the very first night we read it before bed.

This story is about a prince who likes to wear dresses and hires, in secret, a dressmaker to make him custom dresses.

I didn’t tell them what it was about, I wanted them to discover it on their own and ask questions as they came up.

Books are an essential parenting tool for me.

The girls begged me every night to keep going. They loved the characters in this book and they were excited to see what was going to happen.

This entire book, but especially the ending was so adorable. I absolutely loved it and can’t wait to read more from this author. Especially if I can share the experience with my girls.

Addicted series books 1 & 1.5 by Krista and Becca Ritchie

5 stars and 4 stars

A lot of my friends have read and loved this series, between that and the premise, I’ve been super excited to read it.

This is about a woman who is a sex addict and her best friend she’s in a fake relationship with who is an alcoholic.

This is a super angsty, dark, gritty series so far with such a strong romance. These are extremely troubled characters who are using their relationship and each other to hide their addictions.

I found this book, ironically enough, addicting to read and I can’t wait to read on in the series.

The second book did seem to drag on a bit, I feel like it could’ve been half as long as it was, but I know it was necessary.

Take a Hint Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert

5 Stars

I am absolutely LOVING these Brown sisters books! Chloe’s book was fantastic, but I think this one might be my favorite so far.⁣

⁣

Dani is a smart, independent savvy woman who is not interested in a long term relationship. Zaf is basically the complete opposite.⁣

⁣

The two of them have not had much more than a nice rapport – he’s the security guard at the school she teaches at, until Dani gets trapped in an elevator and Zaf rescues her. This wouldn’t be a big deal if the entire rescue didn’t get caught on film and go viral.⁣

⁣

The “going viral” thing seems to be really popular lately and it’s not normally something I would gravitate towed. Honestly, I tend to prefer if romance novels just pretend that social media didn’t exist. I think it’s tricky including anything involving technology in contemporary romance novels only because things change so rapidly, it’s easy to become outdated.⁣

⁣

However, I didn’t care what this book was about, I knew I was going to read it and fully expected to love it … and I was right.⁣

⁣

As always, Talia’s steamy scenes are SO on point, but more than anything, she writes sweet heroes SO well. I adored Zaf with everything I am. I can’t handle how much I love his side job and that despite being a big guy, he’s a big softie. ⁣

⁣

And, of course, I adored Dani. I love how badass and confident and independent she is, even if it does complicate her relationships.⁣

Becoming by Michelle Obama

5 Stars

I borrowed this on a whim from my library. I’ve been reading a few nonfiction books lately and have enjoyed all that I’ve picked up.⁣

⁣

I have to admit, though, I loved this one the most.⁣

⁣

I didn’t realize Michelle’s father had MS. As soon as she mentioned his symptoms, my stomach dropped and I just KNEW it. It’s always hard for me to read about people who have Multiple Sclerosis, especially nonfiction because I’m always wondering if that will be me and when.⁣⁣

⁣

As a romance reader, I adored Michelle and Obama’s romance. I officially ship them SO hard. Watching their relationship unfold was so satisfying and adorable.⁣

⁣

I’m not a big crier while reading, but I got choked up so many times. When she talked about visiting the VA, when she talked about Sandy Hook… it wasn’t overly dramatic, but it was enough to have me covering my mouth with my hand trying not to cry.⁣

⁣

I’ve always admired this woman, but even more now than I did before learning more about her. ⁣

Recent Reads: June 14-27 I read a total of 14 books between June 14 & June 27 and there were so many great ones!

#recent reads

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rxbxlcaptain · 7 years ago

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RxbxlCaptain’s Official Rebel Rising Review:

Since this novel was released in May, I had heard plenty of opinions -- mainly negative -- about it, so I decided to check it out for myself. I’ll be completely honest: I came into the book bracing myself against a novel that would completely ruin Jyn’s characterization and the urge to throw the book against the wall. Maybe because I came in which such horrible expectations -- Well, I didn’t hate it.

Of course, of the three Rogue One-related novels I’ve read now (Rogue One Novelization by Alexander Freed, Catalyst by James Luceno, and Rebel Rising by Beth Revis), I would say that it’s my least favorite. There were some redeeming factors, some Imperials that were actually kind of intriguing, some moments that made me go “I’m sorry, are we talking about the same Jyn Erso?” and some moments that made me go “That’s my girl!” So if you’re interested in hearing some very spoiler-y opinions of the novel, click below the cut:

My first issue with the book: It’s genre

The decided to write a book about Jyn Erso -- a woman I’d understood to have been raised as a child soldier -- as a young adult novel. Now, I have nothing against the YA genre, there’s plenty of amazing things within that genre, but... I’m questioning if it was right for this.

This leads to a significantly less violent childhood than I thought Rogue One (either the movie or the novelization) implied. Jyn doesn’t go on missions with Saw Gerrera until she’s well into her teenage years, and most of those involve coding and not actual fighting. Most of Jyn’s time with Saw is spent on Wrea, the planet where Saw’s base for the Partisans is located, learning coding and splicing. She doesn’t even stay in barracks with the other Partisans but instead has a private room to herself. No one’s gunna all favoritism on that one, Saw. But, really, the first time in the novel when Jyn shares a room with someone is when she’s in prison, which just feels... weird to me?

Another thing I have against a YA novels: There always seems to be a forced romance and this one is no exception. I’ll go into more details below, but I do, at least in part, attribute this aspect of the plot back to the fact that it’s a YA novel.

But that’s a little bit broad, so let’s narrow it down into a few more things that I did/didn’t like:

Saw Gerrera:

Read all this with the disclaimer that I have not watched Clone Wars and so my knowledge of Saw outside of Rogue One is limited to Wookieepedia and what I was told in this novel!

We all know where this book picks up: Lyra Erso has just been murdered and Galen captured up the Imperials, leaving Jyn all alone waiting for -- someone. That someone turns out to be Saw Gerrera, who Jyn has met once before: when Gerrera offered to smuggle the Ersos off Coruscant and find a homestead for them on Lah’mu. Because of this, she trusts him already.

Saw refers to Jyn as “Kid” and “Darling” a lot of the time which is such a minor detail but it feels so... weird to me. (I can really only read “Kid” in Han Solo’s voice). And it’s just a small part of Saw’s dialogue that just feels way too out of character for him, things that I can never picture Forest Whitaker saying in general.

Adorable detail: Saw takes to referring to Jyn as his daughter throughout her time there. In fact, most of the Partisans take to calling Jyn “Jyn Gerrera” since the word “Erso” is never to be mentioned in context of Jyn, per Saw’s orders. (And, for good reason, which the characters learn the hard way later on)

Saw’s number one misstep, in my mind at least, was when he finds Galen Erso, realizes he’s cooperating with the Imperials now and promptly tells Jyn that Galen has, essentially abandoned her and she should think nothing of him again while I continue to spend most of my time attempting to discover what he’s doing

Which could lead to some reeeeally fun meta about how Jyn’s feeling about Galen during Rogue One

My anger of this is, of course, rooted in the fact that I really love Galen Erso and I cry every time I picture him working on the Death Star when he really just misses his girls and wishes they were safe and happy so it probably doesn’t make other people as angry.

So Saw’s running his little side of the rebellion, which has a strange focus on what Galen Erso is going for the Empire (Saw refers to his as their “normal mission”), but don’t worry -- he’s not opposed to blowing the occasional Imperial gathering or stealing their supply shipments or causing general chaos within their ranks.

Once, against orders, Jyn followed Saw into an Imperial celebration on a planet they’d recently conquered, only to find Saw blowing up the entire thing -- both the reps from the Empire and the natives of the planet -- which Jyn knows she is not okay with.

He also has some super sketchy mottoes about fighting -- “If we used the same tactics the Empire does and brought about the same kind of fear, we’d control the people and give them the peace you are so anxious to have” and “What we fail to protect, we leave in ruins” for example-- that aren’t out of character with what we see of his tactics in Rogue One but more an explanation of why his methods were wrong.

As implied in Rogue One, the Alliance doesn’t appreciate that. However, different than I pictured in Rogue One, Saw is never a formal part of the Alliance. Idryssa Barruck seems to be the only connection back to the Alliance since, after years of working with Gerrera, she decided to join the more organized forces.

Jyn will meet another member of the Alliance later on, once she’s on Tamsye Prime and the Alliance is trying to recruit her boyfriend as a pilot (more on that later)

After Saw abandons Jyn (which I’ll talk about in the next section), he still send a spy to follow her around the planet she’s settled on to make sure she’s doing okay. Which -- I don’t know, not necessarily out of character, but definitely a dick move. Saw, either you care enough about the girl to keep her with you, or you let her live her life. One or the other, bro, not some weird grey zone in between.

Saw’s abandonment of Jyn:

If you’re talking about Saw, you’ve got to mention the “big event.”

Saw’s abandonment was... Literally nothing like a pictured. Nothing. Not at all.

Saw appears to make a snap decision to leave Jyn in the middle of a very active war zone with literally no way to get off the planet. And what seemed even more out of character to me was that Jyn guessed Saw was leaving her behind -- and she still trotted off to the bunker and let him leave her there. (See, Draven, the reason why she doesn’t follow orders is because following them normally gets her bad things)

A quick summary of the operation that leads to this: Jyn and Saw were in charge of recon of a planet, had sneaked in under the guise of being a propaganda work crew, filming the laborers of the planet to make the Empire look good. What they didn’t know was Reece Tallent, a man salty at Saw Gerrera for a whole host of reasons and who suspected who Jyn really was (and really wanted the financial benefits of turning these two in), had set this whole thing up with the Imperials. This leads to an Imperial air attack, hoping to kill Saw and Jyn.

In the midst of the battle, Saw (who was dangerously close to bleeding out at the time) tells Jyn “Hey, go hide in the bunker over there and I’ll totally come back to this planet that will be totally destroyed in two hours to get you!” to which Jyn is like “That sounds really sketchy and you’re totally going to leave me here, but okay!”

Legitimate dialogue from this novel

Jyn manages to get off planet by stealing a ship with one of the workers on the planet. They sell the ship, split the money 50/50 and never see each other again. She then finds a woman looking for someone to repair her astromech (”I can do that!” Jyn lied, seeing how she’d never repaired a droid before in her life) and hops a ride off planet with her. Halfway through, however, Jyn forges some documents for the woman -- whose name is Akshaya Ponta -- and, in thanks for helping her avoid fines, she invites Jyn to stay with her.

Turns out Jyn reminds this woman of her dead daughter and she develops a super maternal protectiveness over Jyn (which Jyn finds both really nice and really smothering, considering, you know, her mother died when she was seven.)

So Jyn moves in with this woman, doing some occasional splicing/forgery for her, but mainly she has a lot of free time which gives her time to explore my next topic...

The Romance:

I believe it’s no secret that I personally believe that Jyn Erso belongs with Cassian Andor for the rest of forever. (Guys, look around at the blog. Forget that -- look at its name)

That being said, I tried to keep an open mind with this romance.

Hadder Ponta, the boy in question (his mom is the one who took Jyn in, so they’re kinda living together?), was... fine. There was nothing wrong with him. And I don’t really have a problem with the idea of him and Jyn -- she was sixteen and had just been abandoned by Saw and he and his mother has been incredibly kind to her and he was nice (guys, he took her on real dates and bought her food and everything) and safe so I can’t really blame her for diving headfirst into a little romance -- but, as I mentioned before, it felt a little too much like a stereotypical YA romance

Fun fact about this kid: he ends up speaking to an Alliance recruiter about joining up at one point. He claims it’s because he wants to fly, but he’s also pretty certain that it’ll impress Jyn. (What doesn’t impress Jyn is the fact that the recruiter ends up being someone she knew from the Partisans and accidentally reveals more of her past to the kid than she was intending)

Their romance was a lot of “Hey, we’re about the same age! And you’re a girl and I’m a guy so therefore we’re in love, right?”

Basically, not my favorite kind of romance. (They got along but they didn’t really have chemistry)

But no worries about Hadder coming back -- he and his mother were both killed while attempting to escape the planet and they got trapped in a dogfight between Imperial and Rebellion forces.

However that leads to a whole new host of problems: Jyn keeps thinking about him for an awfully long time. Really, it’s implied she still thinks of Hadder and Akshaya Ponta when she gets her first glimpse of Cassian as the events of Rebel Rising clashes into the beginning of Rogue One.

I contribute it less to her feelings being strong enough to last the years and more to guilt. It was, in Jyn’s mind, her fault that Hadder and Akshaya ever died: if she hadn’t come to live with them, the Empire never would have come knocking on their door in the middle of the night and they wouldn’t have died in a fiery explosion. It does feed into Jyn’s resistance to becoming close to anyone ever again, that fear of hurting everyone she befriends, which could actually make great meta about Jyn’s behavior during the canon events of Rogue One.

Now, speaking of the Pontas, does that name sound familiar to you? It should!

Jyn Erso’s alias’s:

We end up seeing all of Jyn’s canon aliases throughout Rebel Rising which is, in a way, both really cool and kinda disappointing. Here’s what we learn about them...

Kestrel Dawn: Jyn dawns this one (haha, see what I did there? Shut up, I’m funny) while she’s still with Saw. In fact, she’s using this alias on the day that Saw abandons her. She ends up keeping “Dawn” for a last name (obviously “Erso” has proved to be a dangerous last name to have) but returns to “Jyn” by the time she meets the Pontas.

Tanith Ponta: See, I told you their last name would be important. Remember Akshaya’s daughter that I mentioned? Turns out her name was Tanith. When Jyn escaped off Skuhl (the Ponta’s home planet), she saw the ship Akshaya and Hadder were in crash, but out of some irrational bit of hope (see, Cassian, she does know what hope is) she tells the intergalactic customs agents that her name was Tanith Ponta in the hopes that if Akshaya and Hadder arrived, they would be able to find her.

Liana Hallik: The last alias we’re given in Rogue One (turns out the Alliance missed a few others like Lyra Rallik and Nari McVee, both references to earlier parts of Jyn’s life, being her mother and a droid the Ersos owned on Coruscant) doesn’t appear until late in the novel, when Jyn is bouncing from planet to planet simply surviving. It’s not even the alias she’s using when the Imperial arrest her, but rather the new scandocs she had just completed that the Imperials believed to be her real identity.

My favorite Jyn Erso details:

She’s smart. Saw, in the very beginning when he had no idea what to do with a child, handed her a code machine one day to allow her to play with it. Well, she did really well -- so well, in fact, that she became the main supply of forgery throughout the Partisans. If you needed a flight manifest or Imperial orders to get you through a blockade or a fake identity for Saw’s next mission: you went to Jyn and she’d fix you up. (She continues to use this skill to her advantage for the rest of the novel)

We get to see her first use of truncheons! That detail is so tiny I should not be excited by it but she was using them for the first time and I just went “Those will be very important in the future!” because I am a nerd and the scene where she uses them in Jedha City was the first moment I admitted I was completely in love with this woman.

She’s a good person. Like we’ve seen in Forces of Destiny and saving the tooka cat and in the movie itself when she’d run into the line of fire to save a child, Jyn risks her own freedom, and likely her own life, to set a group of female slaves and their children free from a smuggler. She literally overthrows an entire crew by drugging them (note: if you’ve made sexist remarks to get a woman to cook you dinner for an entire journey, she just may respond by poisoning you) and tells the slaves they’re free and gives them control of the ship, only wanting enough to make sure she can get off the next planet.

She’s knows how to survive, no matter if it’s off credits a day or from people attempting to blackmail her. She survives the a crippling doubt in the faith her mother raised her on in prison and the endless crushing blows of being orphaned again and again. In a way, you can see her grow to become the Jyn Erso we met in Rogue One... It’s just that her background is a little different than I expected.

IN CONCLUSION:

It was... fine.

Not what I pictured inside my head of what Jyn’s upbringing was like (I hesitate to say it portrays her as too sheltered, because she is still being raised in the midst of a war, but it’s a hell of a lot more sheltered than what I originally pictured when I thought of Jyn’s childhood)

The romance feels kinda forced and I think some parts are a little OOC but I didn’t hate it as much as I was expecting

If the book happens to land in your lap, it’s a quick and easy read but I wouldn’t suggest going out of your way to find it.

Now that I’ve gone on a long and rambling rant about Rebel Rising (leaving out a lot of details I’m certain I should talk about, like Jyn’s perception of her parents throughout the novel which I super fangirled over) I’d love to hear what anyone else who’s read the novel has thought about it! Feel free to drop by my inbox and discuss!

#kat reads #rebel rising #jyn erso #jynappreciationsquad #rogue one #galen erso #saw gerrera #lyra erso #cassian andor #The Partisans #the alliance #ive been in this queue since i was six years old #hold shit this is almost 3k words long #apparently i had a lot more thoughts about this book than I realized #but really #PLEASE DISCUSS #send me things about how rebel rising made you feel #also because i intend on writing a fic based on an AU of this...

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timalexanderdollery · 5 years ago

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The Frozen 2 soundtrack: a guide to the best songs

Disney

The best songs from Frozen 2 are the ones that didn’t make it into the movie. Sorry, “Into the Unknown.”

It’s not an exaggeration to say the release of the Frozen 2 soundtrack this past weekend — just ahead of Frozen 2’s November 22 release date — counts as an event. Not since the heyday of Disney’s ’90s animated musicals has a film soundtrack had such high expectations to live up to.

Sales of the original Frozen soundtrack blew away all other competitors when it was released in late November 2013 (just a few days before the film itself); it then went on to reign as the No. 1 album of 2014. At the 2014 Oscars, “Let It Go” won Best Original Song; the next year, at the 2015 Grammys, the album won Best Compilation Soundtrack, garnering Robert Lopez — who wrote all of Frozen’s songs with his wife, Kristen Anderson-Lopez — the rare EGOT distinction. (The pair is credited with writing the entire Frozen 2 soundtrack as well.)

Oh, and if you had younger kids, your kids were probably obsessed with it. In 2014, Frozen was everywhere: The film itself grossed a staggering $1.27 billion worldwide, and the film’s fandom was so eager for more that it drove over $5 billion in retail sales of related Frozen merchandise — just in 2014 alone. Not only that, but five years after the film’s release, the soundtrack was still on the CD sales charts. That’s some heavy lifting.

So does the new Frozen 2 soundtrack hold up to all that hype? Yeah, pretty much.

The Frozen 2 soundtrack has just seven new songs — plus a reprise, several covers, and a few “outtakes.” But there’s a lot to explore.

The Frozen 2 soundtrack boasts the soundtrack versions of its seven totally new songs as well as covers of those songs by artists Kacey Musgraves, Panic! At the Disco, and Weezer. Both Kristen Bell, who voices Princess Anna, and Jonathan Groff, who plays her boyfriend Kristoff, get songs of their own. (There’s also a teensy reprise of the Groffsauce classic “Reindeer(s) are Better Than People.”) The soundtrack also comes with a few surprises — most pleasantly, the revelation that Westworld star Evan Rachel Wood, a new addition to Frozen cast, has a great singing voice. (Fun fact for Broadway buffs: Wood is in a band with guitarist Zane Carney, brother of Hadestown’s Reeve Carney.)

Wood plays Queen Iduna, Elsa and Anna’s late mother. Apparently, her spirit is still alive and kicking, and in the Frozen 2 soundtrack’s opening number, “All Is Found,” she gets a beautiful refrain — “where the north wind meets the sea / there’s a river full of memory” — that recurs throughout other songs and the film’s score. Musgraves covers this song, and it’s just lovely.

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If you already know you love Frozen, you’ll specifically want to seek out the “deluxe” version of the soundtrack, which contains a few more songs listed as “outtakes.” These songs — which were apparently all cut before they made it into the movie — include extra solos for Anna and Kristoff, and a gorgeous duet, “I Seek the Truth,” between songwriter Anderson-Lopez and Patti Murin, who originated the role of Anna in Frozen on Broadway.

The best of the outtakes is “Get This Right,” a fun, conversational duet between a self-doubting Kristoff and an ever-adventurous Anna, which doubles as a kind of spiritual sequel and answer to Frozen’s “Love Is an Open Door.”

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Oh, and here’s the best part if you like to sing along: The deluxe soundtrack contains with instrumental — a.k.a. karaoke — versions of all the songs.

Let go of the idea that there’s a new “Let It Go” on the Frozen 2 soundtrack

The centerpiece of the new soundtrack, however, is clearly meant to be “Into the Unknown.” It’s the showcase song for Broadway superstar Idina Menzel, who plays, Elsa. But is it the diva power number that fans of “Let It Go” have been wanting?

Eh. I’m leaning toward “no.”

Menzel earned her superstar rep for belting into the stratosphere on songs like Wicked’s “Defying Gravity” and Frozen’s “Let It Go,” and Frozen 2’s “Into the Unknown” seems to take off the musical gloves and let her fling high notes left and right as Elsa wrestles with restlessness and the call of a new adventure. She’s joined in the chorus by Norwegian pop artist Aurora, who voices an eerie incorporeal voice that’s been summoning Elsa out into the snowy wilderness.

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Audio ads for the Frozen 2 soundtrack all feature Menzel’s version of the song, but if that version itself isn’t far enough over the top, the album also sports a cover from Panic! At the Disco, with frontman Brendon Urie repeatedly shrieking the central motif at the very top of his — and humanity’s — vocal range.

It’s all very showy and attention-grabbing. But that doesn’t make it the album’s best song.

As a musical theater nerd, I personally get annoyed whenever lyrics feel repetitive or time-biding — that is, when they seem to exist just to fill out a line, or when they say something generically relatable but not character-specific. The Frozen songwriting team usually avoids those traps. (Robert Lopez co-created Avenue Q and The Book of Mormon, while he and Anderson-Lopez also did songs for Disney’s Coco and the Broadway version of Frozen.) But “Into the Unknown” has a few lyrics that fall flat, like “some look for trouble while others don’t” and “Ignore your whispers, which I wish would go away.” It’s fine, but compared to the tight, character-building lyrics of “Let It Go” — “a kingdom of isolation and it looks like I’m the queen” — it’s not nearly as satisfying.

The other detail that makes “Into the Unknown” less effective for me is that it’s overly packed with drama. If we assess how well the Frozen movies function within the constraints of the musical theater genre — where songs must drive plot and/or provide important character revelations — then “Into the Unknown,” like “Let It Go,” is a “want song.” It arrives early in the plot and reveals the heroine’s inner desire for something new, thus providing the motive that will propel the rest of the storyline. But “Into the Unknown” gives away too much, too early, both structurally and theatrically. High notes spell out drama, which is why “Let It Go” really only has one good one. Too many high notes too often, and the drama becomes less effective.

Think of “Into the Unknown” in terms of the function it serves in Frozen 2’s overall story. In fact, let’s consider in the context of a Broadway show that the first Frozen film has a lot in common with, Wicked.

In Wicked, the want song — the equivalent to Frozen 2’s “Into the Unknown” — is “The Wizard and I.” It’s followed by the big exciting number that closes the first act, “Defying Gravity.” And then later, there’s the “eleven o’clock number”: the late-in-the-second-act showstopper that marks as a crucial character turning point or climax. In Wicked, that’s “No Good Deed.” Each of these songs has one or two dramatic points, but they work because they aren’t all high-intensity all the time.

Perhaps because an animated movie like Frozen 2 doesn’t have as much room to steadily build drama through multiple songs, it seems to have overloaded on drama in one big early number with “Into the Unknown.” But that makes the song less exciting for me than it may be for others.

At first, my pick for best song went to Kristoff’s solo number, “Lost in the Woods” — but upon reflection, I think I was just glad Jonathan Groff finally got a chance to really sing in a Frozen movie. (He’s probably best known now for Manhunter, but before that, he found fame originating Broadway roles in Spring Awakening and Hamilton.) After a few listens, “Lost in the Woods” starts to feel too generic. Any character could sing these lyrics at any time — which is great if you want a song to be a pop hit, but disappointing as a character-builder for Kristoff. It doesn’t help that the out-of-place ’80s rock instrumentation gives the song an REO Speedwagon-y, Peter Cetera ”Glory of Love”-era vibe. Nothing against the Speedwagon, but it doesn’t quite mesh with Kristoff’s 19th-century Norwegian ice-harvester aesthetic.

Basically, I want good musical scores to give me specific, interesting character development through interesting songs that propel the plot — high notes optional. That’s why “I Seek the Truth,” Anna and Elsa’s duet from the outtakes section of the deluxe edition, is probably the Frozen 2 song I’d take with me to a desert island. It’s a beautiful duet with insights into both characters, and it’s one of the more complex songs in the score. (In general, the “outtake” songs are collectively the score’s strongest group of songs, and I wish the movie had had room for them!)

But if the outtakes don’t count, then after many listens, I’ve decided that the best song from the Frozen 2 score is “Show Yourself,” which Elsa sings when she apparently reaches the end of her quest and locates the source of the “disembodied voice” she’s been following. Menzel and Wood get a gorgeous duet in this number, with Wood appearing to attach a definable spirit to the incorporeal voice performed by Aurora in the earlier “Into the Unknown.”

“Show Yourself” also has plenty of suspense and excitement, but at this point in the story, that intensity level feels more earned than it does on “Into the Unknown,” and the duet is thrilling.

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Of course, we don’t yet know which song works best in the movie itself. Perhaps, in context, Josh Gad’s songs as Olaf the Snowman will win the day! One thing is a given, however: This weekend, movie theaters will be full of Frozen fans wanting to experience these songs in their full glory. And I’ll be right there with them, heading into the mostly known experience of Frozen 2.

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shanedakotamuir · 5 years ago

Text

The Frozen 2 soundtrack: a guide to the best songs

Disney

The best songs from Frozen 2 are the ones that didn’t make it into the movie. Sorry, “Into the Unknown.”

So does the new Frozen 2 soundtrack hold up to all that hype? Yeah, pretty much.

The Frozen 2 soundtrack has just seven new songs — plus a reprise, several covers, and a few “outtakes.” But there’s a lot to explore.

youtube

Oh, and here’s the best part if you like to sing along: The deluxe soundtrack contains with instrumental — a.k.a. karaoke — versions of all the songs.

Let go of the idea that there’s a new “Let It Go” on the Frozen 2 soundtrack

Eh. I’m leaning toward “no.”

youtube

It’s all very showy and attention-grabbing. But that doesn’t make it the album’s best song.

youtube

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#Vox - All

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