#it IS often dumb in a fun campy silly way

[dashiellqvverty]

the thing about bbc merlin is that in many ways it is very tragic, in the sense that so much bad shit that happens could have easily been avoided if charcters had made different choices, hadn't been so wrapped up in prophecies, had trusted people and communicated openly literally ever, just generally got their heads out of their asses. like i know thats the point, they are trying so hard to do the right things and protect people but the story is unavoidable. HOWEVER it is all soooo fucking poorly executed that none of it is effective. so instead of thinking "wow what a tragic story about fate/destiny/whatever" you walk away like "well that fucking sucked for no reason. i hate that fuckass dragon" and i sometimes feel very cinemasins in the way i pick apart the logic but the thing is the show is written in a way that makes the characters come off as so stupid and always making terrible choices rather than like. tragic victims of circumstance.

[isalabells]

You and @notajoinerofthings are my number one Drei Fragezeichen source. So one is for you. I hope you have fun! We all have done the best and worst ddf episodes. So lets get a bit more specific: episodes for long travels, guilty pleasures, holiday favs, over the top episodes, ridiculous episodes, cringeworthy but entertaining, cozy mystery mood, darkest episodes, strong bromance vibes, best villain (can be more than one), fucked with your head, best plot, best ending and/or beginning, scariest episodes and whatever other category you might wanna add. :)

Ohh, anon, I did have a lot of fun with this indeed, thank you! I doubt you or anyone reading this will tho, bc I always give the same answers. I tried breaking out of my pattern a bit, but wasn't every successful. We covered a lot of silly episode discussions, true, incl. favorite MaSo episodes and best atmospheric ones. Gonna say Thank You for this honor, also on behalf of @notajoinerofthings even though we cab probably both agree that we don't deserve it, bc our involvment with DDF sure has seen better days. (I did listen to the newest release tho, whatsitcalled, und die Gesetzlosen. Because they baited me with a horse on the cover. Fell asleep to it twice and woke up to Bob monologuing each time. Was then told that they cut the part where they explain what the horse is all about. Thx for nothing, Europa.)

episodes for long travels: Gonna start by being a disappointment right away bc when I want travel and holiday episodes, I turn to TKKG!! But DDF does road trips fairly well. So how about und der unsichtbare Gegner & Straße des Grauens. Toteninsel, too, for the real adventure kick. Feuerturm & Geister-Canyon bc I love when they drive up to one of the national parks. guilty pleasures: I don't have guilty pleasures, only Big Pleasures!! If we go by what's often perceived as guilty pleasure by others tho, it'd probably be the entirety of the Crime Busters for me. And Mann ohne Kopf!! holiday favs: Same problem. It's tough when these kids barely experience any seasonal weather bc they never leave California. It's even tougher when you don't like their Christmas special episodes (which I def don't). So you know my answer: as soon as December comes round, I'll start listening to Pistenteufel & Geisterstadt on loop for four to twelve weeks (I wish I was kidding....). If you want even more snow, throw in Tödliches Eis bc I remember that one being decent as well. over the top episodes: Aren't they all LMAO That's the entry level requirement for being a DDF episode! Might pick Comic-Diebe bc it pokes a lot of fun at artists and fans, in a way that hits too close to home at times, but it does so with love!

ridiculous episodes: Die Karten des Bösen!! I don't care that it's a pretend case to distract our three heroes. Minninger went full out with e v e r y t h i n g and it's a complete overload: Tarot. Crazy old cat lady. Mad scientist. Murdered cat. Cryonics and resurrection of the (human) body. Alleged death of a client. DIE VERDAMMTEN ATOMSTROMGEGNER!! What even IS any of this?!? Hexen-Handy is as campy as it gets. Also Im Bann des Voodoo bc can you believe there was a time when Minninger wrote both a book and a script FOR A KIDS BOOK SERIES that featured a band called Wet Boys and a producer named Al Parker, which are both constantly mentioned throughout the episode, and they just... let him fsjdkjfkgklfg. cringeworthy but entertaining: Fußball-Gangster & Verdeckte Fouls!!! Actually, I don't think the former is bad at all, on the contrary, it's BJHW proving once again that she is a prophet, exploring topics and issues which couldn't be more pressing in the year 2023. It's just that Justus' cousin (Jimboy-Jonas wtf?!??) is very cringe and so is the sequence where the boys get distracted by this self-heating food packaging (I love it but it's so freaking dumb lmao). Verdeckte Fouls is especially cringe bc the main guest actor is... not a voice actor at all. And bc of all the cringy shit they do with the football club and player names. (once again: I LOVE it!!! But it is very silly.) Can't even pick that one for most ridic or over the top episode bc the whole plot of ominous sect infiltrating a sports club is based on real life happenings fsjdkdkf cozy mystery mood: Karpatenhund. Spuk im Hotel. Der tote Mönch. Die Spur des Raben. Haus des Schreckens. Das Erbe des Meisterdiebs. Das Auge des Drachen. Die Villa der Toten. Der Fluch des Drachen. Due verschwundene Seglerin. Der heimliche Hehler. I complain so much, all the time, but they have TONS of highly enjoyable episodes that do cozy mystery with just a touch of action incredibly well!!

darkest episodes: Every ep that deals with how utterly cruel humans can be to each other, out of pettiness or jealousy or fear, or bc of old resentments. Less for personal enrichment but for vengeance. Utterly fascinating to me whenever one of the writers manages to make that the core of a story. Minni and Marx in particular seem to have a knack for that, see Stimmen aus dem Nichts & Villa der Toten. I'm sure there's more but I can't think of any rn. strong bromance vibes: That's easy: Bob & Kelly! With Just & Kelly as a close second! I also believe that Kelly & Peter will remain besties all their life, even after their breakup (which will happen bc this is just a high school romance); they care about each other and are an important part of each other's life, and their friendship is gonna outlast any romantic feelings. Honestly, they all adore Kelly, and they all vibe with her. And Kelly would do anything for them, 9 out of 10 times. Just look how often she helped them out on one of their stupid cases!! (Bob & Jelena would work too, but alas, I'm a Bob/Jelena-is-endgame truther, so there's always that special spark that makes them more than besties.) (Peter & Jelena does not work bc I headcanon that while Peter likes her a lot, he's also a tiny bit scared of her.) best villain (can be more than one): I answered that here as well, and still stand by my picks. However, I would like to add the mad siblings Joseph & Rachel Hadden. It's been a while, but I remeber coming out of my last Toteninsel reread being severely disappointed that a) Marx didn't do more with them and b) we never saw them again. Their criminal energy was off the charts, in different ways, and they were both pretty unhinged. A lot of potential and a nice opportunity to let our three boys dip their toes back into corporate crime shenanigans like back in the BJHW era. They also have another Good Sister, Anne, whose moral compass may be intact but who's equally as crazy bc she sure was ready to go to whacky lengths to stop her siblings. I just want more of this very rich and extremely shady cutthorat family! fucked with your head: Wolfsgesicht! Probably one of the most clever episodes in general. The entire episode is designed to fuck with you and get under your skin (and the text itself even explains this to you). There's such an eerie quality to those letters. I always thought the psychological theory explored in this ep is somehow the equivalent to the use of modality in the fantastic (Phantastik): toying with the ways language can express various relationships to reality and truth, showcasing how your mind will always fill in the blanks and jump to some kind of (false) conclusion. I had c h i l l s the first time I listened to Bob realizing this might be about an assassination attempt. Personally, I am also lowkey fascinated by Katharina Fischer's short writing stint: she came, she served, she fucked off when she was out of ideas. Iirc the ideas for both of her stories came about while she was sitting a lecture, and ain't that the most relatable thing ever.

best plot: Idk about his more recent releases, but until his gradn re-entrance with Spur des Spielers, I don't think there's a single book by André Marx that has a shitty plot. They might not always be brilliant, but all his stories are at least decent and well-thought-through. Let's go with Feuermond bc what he accomplishes there in terms of engaging crime plot + bringing back old characters + adding more depth and emotion + picking up old storylines is ASTONISHING!! Complex, yet not convoluted. You can tell he wrote the entire camping trip as a filler bc otherwise the trilogy would've been a book short, but it doesn't even matter! As far as trilogies go, I'll always be a Toteninsel girlie, but Feuermond is as neat as it gets! best ending and/or beginning: Answered the one for best endings here already. Best beginning is a good albeit tricky one! I'm usually a fan of anything that doesn't start with the gd phone ringing (this pattern peaked with Toteninsel) or them hearing someone scream in the distance. Especially today where the exposition averages around 15 minutes, making sure you're already bored out of your mind before anything of significance has even happened. Not to be like that again, but TKKG really DOES have the better openings. Mainly bc they're not strictly confined to the pov of the three protagonist's. But also bc Wolf really was brimming with cool ideas and was always down for trying out something that reads more Adult instead of sticking to the formulaic. DDF has a few in medias res beginnings (every Europe trip ep starts that way iirc, and I love it, not knowing where they are or how tf they got there or what is going on), but they just can't compare to an opening where the patron saint of the kids gets shot while on a stakeout!! I do think the first 15 minutes of Schatz im Bergsee are the best of the entire series, but I am not particularly fond of the plane crash sequence which i s the immediate opening. So pass on that. Haus des Schreckens could be good, but it drags on and on and has lost all its momento once they get to the punchline. Gonna go with Im Bann des Vodoo (Minni combining his two fav things, horror & gay porn); Späte Rache (honestly? Peter getting capture inside his car... listen to that w/o any context and it takes on a completely different meaning... Also I'm always down for Peter & Kelly hanging out and going clubbing!); Stimmen aus dem Nichts which is a lame and common thing to say, but it IS a good one, and Minninger, for all his shortcomes, usually has very strong openings. scariest episodes: Im Bann des Voodoo for early adolescence nostalgia (even tho I talk about why that might be Problematic here.) And I vaguely recall Der verschollene Pilot being one of the newer episodes that actually did make me feel uneasy when I first listened to it (I was in the middle of a dark forest tho!! But iirc some of my girlies on here said they had a similar reaction so yeah!)

[episodicnostalgia]

Reading Break: The Wall Crawler, Steve Ditko, and the Silliness of Comic Books

As of my writing this, I’ve just passed issue #20 of the original Ditko/Lee ‘Amazing Spider-man’ run.  I've gotta say, even six decades after the fact, the web head's early adventures still slap harder than a muscular dominatrix.  I hadn’t read some of these since were being re-released in the 90's as ‘Spider-man Classics’, when I was also the perfect age to enjoy them without any irony. But truthfully, it’s not like I need too much irony to enjoy them now as an adult either; they really are just good fun.

Much of the credit rightly belongs to Steve Ditko, who manages to produce remarkably detailed panels, given how much smaller and condensed they are compared to what you’d get today (splash panels back then were for intro pages, and special issues only).  Even his less exciting “talking head” panels effectively exhibit plenty of pathos, comic relief, and other visual gags.  Likewise, Ditko’s action sequences are dynamic, with a very clear narrative flow that display Spider-man’s agility, speed, power, and (most importantly) his irreverent sense of humour.

The 60’s Spidey comics (and Marvel in general) are correctly remembered for their inter-connected narrative continuity, but I find people often discuss them with a “good for back then” caveat.  They are recognized for their historical significance, but are often regarded as silly, by way of comparison to our modern standards and practices.  But of course they’re silly, that’s a big part of what made Spider-man (along with a majority of the costumed heroes) a success.  Yes, some of the hijinks Peter gets into are, indeed, remarkably dumb, but his cartoonish antics still have appropriately cartoonish consequences, based on the world as it’s presented on the page. The style might be old fashioned and tailored towards children, but the storytelling is strong nonetheless.

By way of comparison, during this same era, Superman’s own adventures involved getting transformed into a variety of animals via red kryptonite, fantasizing about banging his cousin, and otherwise just being bizarrely abusive to Lois Lane, but nothing ever really comes from any of it (although in some instances that's probably for the best, as evidenced below).

The rest of DC’s line-up weren’t much different in that regard, where preposterous things would happen, and then just be completely disregarded in the subsequent issue. At the same time, Marvel’s stories still wholeheartedly embraced the same campiness, but did so without sacrificing character development (albeit, sometimes very slow character development). For me, that's where Spider-man always struck the perfect balance of being tongue-in-cheek, without sacrificing the primary emotional stakes. 

There was never a follow-up issue where Lois Lane deconstructs how cruel and unethical it was for Superman to implement the Fat-ray that turned her fat, without her knowledge or consent, although I kinda wish there was*.  Meanwhile, in issue #17 of ASM, Peter switches back-and-forth into his Spidey suit mid-battle, in order dissuade Liz Allen’s observation that Peter and Spider-man are never in the same place at the same time (as if anyone would expect for them to be).  The set up for both scenarios are equally contrived, but Spidey’s follows through by making Peter deal with the (not much less ridiculous) fallout for multiple issues down the line.

[*Honestly though, I would love a ‘not-too-dark comedy’ mini series that directly calls out some of Superman’s more brazen offenses and behaviour from the Silver age. Alas, DC would probably never allow it.]

Although, I do have to remind myself not to put these old stories on too high a pedestal.  I’ve heard some people talk about the Spider-man books from this era (and Marvel in general) in regard to how they challenged the status quo, and engaged in social issues of the time. Those claims largely smack of reductionist fanboy/corporate propaganda, to me. I'm not saying there haven't been notable instances where creators and artists took risks, but those tend to be the exception rather than the rule. Historically Marvel has, perhaps, been more inclined than DC to push the boundaries of what was acceptable within the censorship guidelines set by ‘The Comics Code Authority’, but it would be a stretch to say their motives were exclusively altruistic.

Stan Lee has admitted that he typically wasn’t interested in challenging the Comics Code (as it wasn't particularly required for the stories he was trying to tell), and the in-series narratives during the Ditko/Lee run seem more-or-less happy to promote the commonly accepted pro-authoritarian biases of the times.  It has been noted by others, that some of those sentiments were likely influenced by Ditko’s own staunch support for Ayn Rand’s ‘Objectivism’, (a philosophy to which I’ll admit I’m opposed), but even that wouldn’t become as prevalent until later in his career.

In the end, there’s no denying that Spider-man’s conception was lighting-in-a-bottle.  Regardless of the political affiliations of the countless writers & artists who have written & illustrated him, Peter Parker has always just been a regular working class dude who tried to help people. His politics are expressed by protecting his community regardless of their background, and standing up for the little guy, no matter how powerful the adversary. Usually his motives come without much in the way of a personal agenda, but he can-and-sometimes-does act selfishly or make mistakes, and fucks-shit-up as a result. I think it’s this core tenant of fallibility has made Spider-man’s adventures ring a little more sincere for many fans, as opposed to characters like Superman or even Batman throughout various points of their own respective exploits. 

Superman is regularly (although admittedly not always) portrayed as an unwavering ideological good; he is seldom allowed to be in-thewrong, even at times when it’s been very clear that his writers held… questionable views.  Conversely, while Batman may be more psychologically complex, he’s certainly not universally relatable.  But most people can relate to how hard it is to do the right thing (or even know what the "right" thing is) while struggling to make ends meet. And that's the point, Spider-man doesn’t always get it right, and things don’t always work out for him, but he keeps trying anyway.

Just like with us normal folk.

Also his costume is frickin’ rad.  *THWIP*

[jcmorrigan]

What movie or tv show scared you the most?

OH HEEHEEHEEEEEE MY TIME HAS COME

I think this was probably the sign I was meant to be a horror fan, because I'm gonna talk about two movies here and neither one is a standard horror film. Now, I avoided horror films like the plague, but I now realize that's because of my aversion to jumpscares and gore, which have very little to do with actual scary stuff. I feared actual horror imagery as a small child, but basically once I read Coraline it all just turned around because that book gave me nightmares but I actually WANTED those nightmares and kept going back to the book. So what are the movies I just COULD NOT contend with?

First up, I have found that a lot of people have said this one, but really and truly, fuck Chicken Run.

I was...maybe ten when I watched it. Signed up for a goofy claymation adventure. What did I get? First of all, a whole lot of bleak color palette that warned me that this was not going to be a happy story. We are then shown the stakes right away: our entire main cast lives in a dystopian prison and if they do not find a way to escape, they will die. One DOES die. This is where a lot of people say they noped out right away, but actually, the execution of the dinner chicken in the first scene was tame for me compared to what would come next.

The pie machine. It's assembled, it's talked about, and eventually our two leads fall into it in a way that is designed to be fatal. Look, there are a ton of horror tropes in this scene alone. I haven't seen it SINCE THE ONE AIRING and I can still vividly tell you a lot of this. And if I walked into a horror film and asked for this, I'd come out super satisfied, but I was not expecting horror from this. First of all, I remember vividly the shot where you're looking from Ginger's POV falling down the shaft and the divider comes up to shunt her into the "meat" line. It's incredibly claustrophobic and you just get this almost jumpscare reminder that the character through whose eyes you see is regarded as nothing more than meat to be consumed. There is then an array of blades designed for close calls, and dough that essentially glues the lead characters down to a conveyor belt so they have to helplessly watch the death machines that are coming. Sticky stuff that roots you to one spot; that's another thing that just REALLY unnerves me and I love it if I'm reading CreepyPasta but I was not reading CreepyPasta; I was watching a children's film. The leads escape certain death by jamming the gravy system, causing the machine to overload on pressure, and here I feel like I should've been relieved that they escaped but instead I was the most unsettled of all when the pressure meter started climbing. I don't know if this film *gave* me a phobia of industrial accidents or if it just awakened what was already in my OCD little brain, but suffice to say that after this movie, I was hyper-aware of my own fear of things like hissing steam, rising pressure meters, and being in a room where large metal things were clanking. (I'm since over it; I've been exposed to it in enough things.)

Now, I was no quitter. I should have just noped out. But I didn't. I continued to traumatize myself. The next part of the film until the climax I don't remember so well - it wasn't as traumatizing - EXCEPT for the part where Ginger finds and rebuilds Rocky's circus poster. And now, as an adult, I can see how that was kinda supposed to be funny, like, "The goddamn chicken padded his résumé and the way they found this out was a circus poster." But little me was invested in these chickens, I wanted them to be happy, and what I saw was basically their death notice being signed with that scrap of paper with a cannon on it. I FELT that in my bones.

STILL NOT HAVING THE GOOD SENSE TO JUST EJECT THE TAPE ALREADY, I proceeded to the climax, in which what happens to Tweedy might be one of the most fucking awful things I've seen ever? Pinned upside-down in a superheated, confined space with rising liquid from below as the pressure meter starts climbing again. And her husband arrives just in time to see her like this but not in time to actually stop the explosion. Thank God it didn't actually kill her because even though I was already traumatized, that would've absolutely made it worse.

Thing is, ever since this movie scared the absolute shit out of me - and was probably the cause of the weird stomachaches I had for A WEEK after - I've kinda had this thing about reclaiming the scary parts and stomping on them while laughing maniacally. I feel like every time I've done a crossover project, there's been a temptation to write in an arc where the mains go up against THE PIE MACHINE and fucking win. And also there's whump with tons of comfort in my version to mitigate it all. I haven't done any such thing for TBTC...YET. But I know what I must do. I know who must destroy the machine and the Tweedys along with it. Buckle your seatbelts.

My final word before I move on is that as I ascend into adulthood, I think that for the most part, a rewatch of this film wouldn't traumatize me so badly. It'd still be gross and creepy in a way I think shouldn't be sent to children without warning, but I could deal with the imagery, maybe enjoy using it as whump fuel even more, maybe my horror side would really get into the peril this time. But the one thing I've realized is that this premise is fucked EVEN MORE if you're a grown-up, because as a child, you're sympathizing with the chickens. You want them to get free of this death camp environment. But as an adult, you start to realize that all Tweedy wanted to do was be a chicken farmer who sold pie, and her supposedly nonsentient animals ganged up on her in a display of unheard-of intellect among farm stock. This would then lead to her undergoing at least one near-death fate. Think about being a farmer in our world and the animals you keep GANG UP ON YOU LIKE PEOPLE because you're killing them for food. No thank you, no THANK you.

But surely this was a one-of-a-kind phenomenon. Surely, after this...after so many other people agreed with me; "Fuck Chicken Run"...no animation studio would ever pull shit like this again.

I had hoped that was the case until Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.

This is one I don't actually see lambasted as often. Maybe because the Chicken Run trauma crew grew thicker skins before this movie. I only sort of did. Maybe because no one ever actually invested in this film, having already predicted how much it would be garbage from the dumb humor in the trailers. Oh, but not me. I was a fool. Also my family picked it for a movie night so my fate was sealed anyway.

The original book is actually pretty frightening on its own. Food falls from the sky in such great numbers that it starts to destroy the world. Okay, that's terrifying. But kind of in the alluring way. I would keep coming back to the one page about the giant pancake on the school because the way it was drawn unsettled me so, with something huge and immovable blocking off the way to a building that usually has hundreds of innocent children inside. The film built on this and made it a thousand times worse.

Let's start with the goddamn Spray-On Shoe. Our main character is a mad scientist (but the good kind, apparently) whose list of bumbling failed experiments dates back to when he was a child and invented a spray you could put on your feet to coat them in shoes. He then gets laughed at because he didn't engineer a way to get the shoes off, and runs home in humiliation. Guys, the teasing/bullying factor is...not the most worrying thing about this story. There's a throwaway line about how Flint wears THE SAME SHOES into adulthood because to that day they simply cannot be removed. This seems like an incredibly urgent medical problem? Having your feet encased in the same rubber for years? The same rubber as when you're a kid? I just found myself thinking "What if my shoes never came off one day" and that terrifies me, okay? It's stupid and it's silly and it scares me. Even more than that, though, is the canonization of a polymer in this universe that can be sprayed on sticky and will literally never break no matter what you do to it, because that goes back to the pie machine dough principle. Being glued to a surface permanently is inherently terrifying and we'll go over this later because this is not the last fuckin time the glue shoes get brought up.

Flint invents a food-spewing machine. It ends up in the sky. He rides his popularity as it rains larger and larger food down upon the town and also the world. Most of this film up until the climax is unsettling but not AWFUL. Where it starts to go to shit is when Flint realizes his machine is too dangerous and shuts it off, only for the town's local greedy politician to switch it back on into an apocalyptic mode. So can we start with "Local town finds out its elected official is willing to sabotage their well-being in order to capitalize on the fame of a disaster-causing object?". Like, the whole film would've been solved so much sooner if there hadn't been a saboteur in the works - not a fun campy villain, mind you, but a saboteur who exists to drive the plot to the scary place. But I guess we need that narrative tension to justify having a film in the first place, so fine, I'll ride it out.

The main crew saddles up to fly out to the machine, which is now encased in a FLESH LABYRINTH of food, and...I'm just gonna rapid-fire the shit that happens at this part:

-The food turns sentient in order to defend itself. The cute animal sidekick brutally dismembers an army of gummy bears that is fully sentient and rips them apart to devour them.

-We enter the flesh labyrinth and it's exactly as much a horror RPG setting as you think it is.

-Now sentient cooked chickens besiege the party. The comic relief character is consumed by one, only to kill it from the inside and decide to WEAR ITS SKIN in what is seen as his defining character arc's conclusion. Wearing the skin of a dead monster allows him to forge his new identity.

-One of our party has to go back because of a tight passage lined with her deadly allergen, causing her to undergo anaphylaxis after an accidental mild nick. In the flesh labyrinth.

-The entire horrific journey is instantly INVALIDATED when it turns out that instead of the kill code for the machine, all Flint has is a file of a cat video. Which he finds out as the town is about to be obliterated off the face of the earth.

-So he solves it by jamming the works with the spray-on shoe and DID I NOT JUST GO OVER HOW HORRIFIC INDUSTRIAL EXPLOSIONS ARE IN KIDS' MOVIES? DID I NOT? ARE WE REALLY DOING THIS AGAIN? Anyway it's canonical proof that NOTHING can break the shoe glue and I should be happy for the town and happy that there's no more flesh labyrinth of living meat but instead I'm just terrified because of the door we have opened. We have imparted the existence of an indestructible sticky polymer upon the world.

-It's later seen used in a credits sequence to repair damaged houses. Which, first of all, given its flexible nature, is fuckin stupid. It won't serve as an actual wall. Second, that got me thinking about construction accidents involving the fuckin shoe glue. If that stuff gets dripped on a person's face -

-So then cue me sitting awake in bed later thinking wide-eyed about Cloudy with a Chance of Fucking Meatballs and realizing that this compound that is essentially a chemical weapon in the making is now in the hands of the mayor who deliberately caused an apocalyptic event over the town because he wanted the food rain. And THAT'S not going to lead to pretty circumstances.

I think you'll see that a lot of my fears with these two movies is "THINK OF THE IMPLICATIONS!" and I think that just shows how my mind works and why I'm drawn to fanfic so much. I'm all about diving into a universe, exploring its corners, analyzing it to death.

And with the industrial horror stuff, I kinda wanna bring it around to two other films that actually really subverted my expectations and made it fun. 102 Dalmatians was a fave of mine through middle school, but I remember when the climax took us to a big ol' factory and I got plumb nervous. After the usual blades and ovens of horror, the fact that it concludes with Cruella basically wearing a cake and a lengthy montage of the dogs kicking toppings onto her is just one of the most wholesome imageries. She survived the thing and now you get to watch her be decorated Lisa Frank style by her victims who are more interested in humiliation than murder, and I love that.

But maybe more prevalent is that I'm well aware that if certain filmography or plot points had been handled in different ways, The Boxtrolls might've actually frightened the ever-loving fuck out of me what with all the industrial stuff and medical horror, but I just...felt like that film was holding my hand the whole way through going "It's okay." The industrial stuff was framed in a way that was just campy enough and yet also taken seriously. Putting a really charismatic villain - ACTUAL VILLAIN, NOT CHICKEN FARMER OR CORRUPT POLITICIAN SABOTEUR - at the wheel was just such a mitigating factor that it gelled the whole thing together and I ended up LOVING what was done with giant machines and garbage crushers and explosions. And as for the medical body horror, I really appreciate how it was so baked in that Snatcher did that to himself - that everyone, EVERYONE warned him "Do not do this, you will probably die, I'm serious, bad fucking idea" up to the point of Eggs trying to plead him during an anaphylaxis attack, one last time, DO NOT continue down this path, we can find a way to heal you psychologically and get you some self-fulfillment. And Snatcher fully chooses hubris over the many, many opportunities offered him to be able to step down onto a safer path and that removes the fear and pulls it more into a tragedy for the villain. Not at all the same thing as "Sam the reporter is trying to save the world and doing her best until a fixture of the landscape accidentally sends her into anaphylaxis."

(Oh, and by the way, can I just - when I do see CWACOM brought up these days, it's always in the context of "This is the one movie where the guy tells the girl it's okay to look nerdy!". Well, no, not the way I remember it. The way I remember it, Sam basically tells Flint "I used to have really tacky style but have since changed it up of my own volition" and Flint is just like "NOOOOO YOU NEED TO WEAR GLASSES AND A SCRUNCHIE. I WANT A HOT NERD GIRL." This could've been pulled off right with some more introspection into female beauty standards, even in a tongue-in-cheek way, but right now it really looks like Sam just wanted to make herself more glam for a new image and Flint bullied her into regressing her style. Which I've also realized meant he bullied her into dressing more like she did as a teenager and normally I think that kind of shit is just "You're overthinking it" but since it's CWACOM and I spelled it out on paper like that, I'm just now realizing how that can be seen as pretty...icky.)

The one saving grace of CWACOM is that I was older by that time, and so it didn't affect me as hard as Chicken Run. But I still hold it dearly to my heart as one of the MOST DISTURBING movies I know, and by "dearly" I mean "fuck this movie, really and truly." I want to extend my thanks to 102D and Boxtrolls for giving me industrial-horror-based climaxes that were actually really comfortable, and again, probably what drove both of these was the fact that we had a campy diva villain in the lead for the potential scary stuff to surround and radiate off. Not a fuckin...ordinary chicken farmer who is just trying to make bank but is somehow passed as a Nazi allegory for trying to live her life as a farmer? I dunno, maybe if I rewatched that film I'd see she has a thirst for human blood too, and if I could fix fic Chicken Run my first order of business would be to give her a thirst for human blood instead of/in addition to chickens.

Anyway. Fuck both these films, EXCEPT for the fact that traumatizing scenarios can always be recast as whump material, and the next time I wanna do some crossover aftercare from a physically and psychologically damaging mission, I have a pie machine and a flesh labyrinth to exploit. REALLY HEAVY ON THAT AFTERCARE COMFORT THOUGH!

[lonestarbabe]

It’s a Road Trip, Babe

(A03)

Part 1 of the T.K. Strand’s Big Tour of Texas series.

“T.K., this is so stupid,” Carlos says thirty-minutes into the trip as he drives I-35 N towards Dallas. T.K.’s roped him into yet another silly road trip, and as much as Carlos complains, they’ve never not had fun, even when the destinations have been duds. They woke up before the sun was up to get there before it got too late, and Carlos finds it funny that T.K. thought this trip was worth getting up early for. “I can’t believe the stupid things that you get me to do.”

“It’s a road trip, babe. That’s the point.” T.K. is the self-proclaimed chair-person of the Tarlos (he’d made the portmanteau himself) Road Trip Committee. He plans where he wants to see, and pulls Carlos along for the ride. Sometimes, they stick to Austin or towns nearby, but every so often, T.K. sets his sights a little further.  “If you’re not doing something dumb on a road trip, you aren’t having fun.”

“There’s a lot of stupid things we could be doing.” Carlos shakes his head in disbelief. “Are you sure this is how you want to spend the day?”

“I chose it, didn’t I? I told you I wanted to see Texas landmarks with you, and that’s what we’re doing.” T.K. has a whole long list that he keeps adding to every time someone mentions a weird attraction in Texas because of course T.K. tends to choose the oddball attractions, and even as a native Texan, Carlos hasn’t seen a lot of them.

“Okay, but it’s Dallas. I don’t think that it’s worth a three-hour trip.”

“Where is your adventurous spirit, Carlos? There’s more to Texas than just Austin, and I want to see everything this big state has to offer. Every ridiculous nook and cranny.”

“But Dallas.”

“I didn’t know you were so judgemental,” T.K. teases, poking Carlos in the arm.

“You’re the one who mocks Staten Island whenever you get a chance, and that was in the same city!”

“Everyone mocks Staten Island. It’s basically New Jersey. Manhattan all the way, baby,” T.K. says with a cheeky smile, and it’s that charm that gets Carlos into these road trips in the first place. Carlos swears that T.K. could convince a priest to become a devil worshipper with that grin. Or maybe that’s just a unique effect he has on Carlos.

“You’re lucky you’re cute.”

“Oh, yes, cute, what every grown man wants to be.”

“I didn’t want to inflate your ego any more than it’s already been inflated,” Carlos replies wryly.

“But if you were inflating my ego, what would you say?” T.K.’s voice has dropped, and Carlos knows what that means.

“I’m driving, T.K. Don’t use your sex voice on me.”

“You’re no fun,” T.K. laughs.

“I’m the worst. Why would I want to focus on the road so that I don’t crash the car?”

“Fine, we’ll keep it PG,” T.K. concedes. Carlos doesn’t trust him one bit to keep that promise.

Carlos steals a glance at T.K., “We can negotiate up to PG-13.”

“That means we get two f-bombs right?”

“Nah, I think only one, so use it sparingly, Mr. Dirty Mouth.” They both laugh as the car continues to speed down the highway and the minutes pass quickly.

T.K. talks non-stop when they’re on road trips, so if nothing else, the little journeys they take give them time to talk, and while most of what they talk about is lighthearted chatter, they’re not afraid to get more serious if something is on their minds. Serious conversations can be easier when they’re in the car and the road cuts through some of the barriers that make it so hard to bring up heavy matters.

“You’re really excited about this, aren’t you?” Carlos says around the half-way point when T.K. hasn’t stopped smiling for at least ten miles.

“You know that I just like going places, but yeah, I am. It’s a beautiful day, and we get to spend it together. What more could a guy want?”

The words settle between them, and T.K. starts a game naming the weirdest attractions in Austin versus the weirdest ones in New York. They can both agree that no matter where you are, there are bound to be strange landmarks nearby. When the talking naturally fizzles out, T.K. plugs his phone in, and he starts to play his road trip playlist, packed full of campy songs that Carlos has learned to love.

As they enter the final stretch of their journey. T.K. points out the scenery changes as they enter into Dallas, “It’s not what I expected,” he admits, “But I don’t mind it.”

“It’s not Austin,” Carlos agrees.

Carlos desperately wants to get out and stretch his legs by the time they get to their destination, a large park by a lake. The fresh air is nice, and they couldn’t ask for a better day for such an endeavor. “Come on, babe,” T.K. says, looking excited “We have to go find them.” T.K. leaps to his feet, and this is the side of him that invigorates Carlos the most, the part of T.K. that’s excited to be alive and chooses Carlos as his partner in crime to do silly things.

The park is big, so it takes them a while to get to the main destination. There aren’t a lot of people around, so they’re free to enjoy the wide-open space with limited distractions. As he looks at the greenery, the water, and the clear blue sky, Carlos has to admit that Dallas has many beautiful sights. They cross over a bridge and stop in front of the statues that they’ve been waiting to see all morning.

Carlos stares at them, and he can’t help the smile on his face when he sees T.K. beaming with a childish delight. “Over three hours drive for giant fucking teddy bears.” The smiles don’t leave their face as they take pictures and continue to explore Teddy Bear Park. They enjoy the day together, laughing and talking, and T.K. seems pleased to cross another destination off his list. He’s already planning for the net one, and Carlos can’t wait.

[tema-makes-art-sometimes]

😡

😡 - Biggest fandom pet peeve?

Oh boy, time to piss people the fuck off. 

How delusional, self important and entitled this fandom is, especially when it comes to consuming fan content. This fandom has a nasty problem with treating fan creators like they are the creator of the show or even worse, they treat the fan creators like they are entitled to the person’s content and expect them to work like a manga publisher or animation company despite being just one person. 

This fandom has a problem of demanding content from people without offering anything in return. No support whatsoever. They consume the content and then they leave, like binge-ing anime on a video platform before moving onto something else. This kills creators. I have seen so many other friends of mine who make content for this series leave mainly because of the fact this fandom often shows little to no support to its middle tier creators. It kills creators, it kills artists and writers and cosplayers. No, people are not entitled to getting attention for their work. Of course not. That’s not the point. But if you like a person’s content, if you want to see more of their work, if you enjoy anything they do- THEN FUCKING SAY SOMETHING TO THEM ITS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE. People can’t gauge audience retention from silence. Even a “hey that’s cool” or a “Amazing!” helps. Reblogs, sharing content, talking to them personally. Creators are still people at the end of the day. We’re just people. And we can be self-motivated until we’re blue in the face but everyone burns out eventually, and having some energy from other forces and actually seeing that other people like our works help more than most will ever know. 

You may not be entitled to give artists attention, but you are also not entitled to their content if you don’t want to support them and only want to mindlessly consume their work.

This fandom loves to revel in its hay day, focusing on ideas that are long dead and continuing to beat them back to life over and over and then complaining when people say the fandom is dying because they don’t show the same rabid support to new creators. I have friends who have been pestered day in and day out for certain hetalia related fan content for years to the point that they had to make so it was; “You want me to play/do X? THEN PAY ME FOR IT.” I have seen people in comments of hetalia animators and let’s players asking them to make more show content for them. Saying we should just “make our own next season”. But the problem is they wouldn’t support it even if we did. 

Some creators in this fandom like to pretend they are the end all say all. That they are better than the creator and they are the true canon content. And they need shut the fuck up. You are not greater than the creator, if you don’t like his content than why are even here in the first place? Why are you in the fandom if you don’t like the original content? 

The idea you can only make politically charged, 100% historically accurate content in this fandom needs to calm down too. There are weird sections of the hetalia fandom that seem hell bent in the idea that AU’s are bad and the only way to make hetalia content is through historically accurate, politically charged art pieces and creations and that is just- it’s just incorrect I’m sorry. You’re just wrong. You can have something that is politically charged or have parts of history in it but it’s still fun.

This show is a comedy at the end of the day. A comedy about inaccurate stereotypes and joke historical retellings. It’s suppose to be FUN. It’s suppose to be campy and silly, and not fully accurate to the real world, it’s a comedy. Of course there are serious moments, angst and character growth. But Hetalia is fun because the show and the strips, at least to me, never fully took themselves seriously. They did their best to inform and tell stories but made sure it was lighthearted and fun enough for people to enjoy. 

Wow, this went on long– and this doesn’t even talk about the weird shipping bullshit. But I wanna note that I don’t hate this fandom. Trust me if I did I wouldn’t still be here. It just be that sometimes this fandom does things that actively shoot itself in the foot and then cry on why theres blood all over the carpet. It’s cause you shot yourself in the foot, you dumb ass. Acknowledge the hole in your foot, bandage yourself and then maybe you’ll stop getting blood all over the carpet. 

[callioope]

I finished Rebels! Let the rambling begin...

I have a lot of thoughts just swirling around, so this probably won’t be significantly coherent but bear with me.

Favorites: 

Characters: Hera has, hands down, been my fave from the get-go. Competent! Snarky! Awesome pilot! What’s not to love? Sabine was also fantastic; I particularly loved her arc with the Darksaber, her family, and Mandalore. I enjoyed “meeting” her family; very interesting characters and a family dynamic, and I was eating that all up. And to see Bo-Katan!!! And Sabine looking for the right person to give the Darksaber, and handing it to her? My heart!!! Also Bo being upset that Sabine named her weapon after her sister! (Yes, indeed, many mistakes were made!)

Ships: I knew people shipped Ezra/Sabine, but I wasn’t really “feeling” it until Sabine started training with the Darksaber. Loved their sparring! Also it felt like they were starting to jive as partners from that point on. I can’t recall how many missions before that they were assigned on together, but after that it seemed like all the time they were working together. I loved it! So gonna need to look for some fic there.

Plot Lines: I did love the tie in to the Mortis arc (and that artwork was so beautiful -- both the art of the daughter, father, and son, and also the way that other plane/dimension area was depicted). Idk, it felt like a lot of things coming together -- Ezra using the Daughter’s art to open the portal to ultimately save Ahsoka... I appreciated how that went down. Although I HAVE to know what Vader was thinking when Ahsoka just vanished before him??

Issues

Okay, going to be forever mad that Star Wars tortured Hera when she would have had to been pregnant. First of all, that’s dark. Second of all it’s hard enough to get pregnant why do they have to put her under that kind of

It felt like Ezra’s ending was a cop out to avoid “breaking” the original trilogy. Like, “oh no, we have two three Jedi -- we have to explain why they weren’t there for Luke! So we’ll kill one, have the other vanish into space with hyperspace traveling space whales, and Ahsoka? Um? idk we’ll give her a robe and imply she’s some kind of fancy time traveller?” Kanan’s end was written well, I think, but I have trouble buying Ezra’s logic that Kanan’s last lesson was that Ezra also needed to sacrifice himself? And as soon as possible, apparently? It just felt like too much.

It seems like Lucasfilm really bends over backwards to avoid contradicting the canon of the Original Trilogy, but many times it feels totally unnecessary. Other explanations could be found rather than killing people off or mysteriously removing them from the chess board. 

So let’s take a look at what they conceive the problem to be: “If Ezra was hanging around the rebellion, why doesn’t Luke meet him?” I could probably think of lots of reason. Hell, wouldn’t it be a fun running gag that they never cross paths? I could get behind that. (Kind of like my headcanon that Jyn and Cassian almost meet a ton of times and gosh it’d be nice if Jyn made a cameo background appearance in the Cassian tv series.) 

But I’d still think even that type of explanation would be unnecessary. We know by ESB that Luke has learned to use the Force a bit, why couldn’t Ezra have been his informal teacher? Ezra would still be learning himself, only a few years ahead of Luke, so he wouldn’t be a great teacher, and they’d have separate missions, so they don’t see each other often. I think that’d be just enough to get Luke to where he is in ESB. And just because a character isn’t mentioned, doesn’t mean he didn’t exist? Just that he’s not on Luke’s mind during Luke’s screen time?

I do understand why Luke knowing Ahsoka could “break” things, but I don’t think Ezra would have. So YEAH. EZRA FLEEING WITH THE SPACE WHALES WAS DUMB. and again, gonna need some fix it fic.

And finally, the whole “TIME TRAVEL” stuff

So this got spoiled for me at some point, and I was pretty mad about the little that I heard about it. anyone who’s talked to me about time travel knows i absolutely loathe it as a plot device; i think it’s incredibly tricky to pull off. you either have to be campy/silly about it and it’s just for fun so w/e. OR you have to really really balance the effects appropriately. An example of time travel that I like is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban bc there’s closed loops. (And an example of time travel I loathe is The Cursed Child but let’s not go there today. you had a good time travel approach in previous books why would you)

But in Rebels -- is it really, technically time travel? I’d like to think no, actually, not to the extent that such plot devices usually play out. I think it’s a little different. (And I’m sure there’ve been like a million articles since this episode aired but I have read none of them so *shrugs* and I also don’t know what Lucasfilm has had to say on the matter.)

anyways, I feel this way: that that cool-looking starry circle plane grants access to key points in time that are like, Force-charged. The only two actual moments we saw were very Force-charged: Vader & Ahsoka fighting, and Kanan’s use of the Force to block the explosion to help his friends escape. The third open portal is Palpy attempting to hack into the system, so, yeah, powerful Force-user that he is, that still checks out.

Also, Ahsoka spends some time and effort convincing Ezra not to save Kanan because it would have too powerful of an effect on the course of events since then. So there’s some balances to the way this works, although we’re not really told explicitly. Ahsoka and Ezra both return to the portals they came through; I’d like to think that this is another necessary thing to keep things functioning properly (that there would be some kind of bad consequences to moving to wrong places). 

All in all, I think canon is just vague enough that I can project my personal opinions on how I want it to work. This is good for me because I was honestly expecting to hate this particular arc, and I didn’t at all.

So, I’m open to this world between worlds thing, but Lucasfilm better not abuse it.

Is that everything? I think that’s everything

And also, one last thought, I’ve said it before but those crystal foxes on Crait were toootally cribbed from “Kindred” so. You know. way to go TLJ *eyeroll* 

Also also, Thrawn is impossible to understand at all times. Why does he talk so quietly?! Thanks now my volume is up at a ridiculous level so I can kill my eardrums later when I turn it off.

Finally, ALSO ALSO ALSO, if Thrawn exists in canon then Mara Jade must too and I will never get over it if she’s never made canon <-- me, barely holding out hope that she’ll appear in Ep 9. (She won’t, I keep trying to tell myself. but you know. headcanons and fanon and fanfiction are built on hope.)

[loucifieri]

NDRV3 HPA AU characterization notes

(also added some additional details on their character designs :D) I already made a character guide of the kids here, but after writing a spontaneously updated fanfic about their school/dorm life, I now have a better grasp of how to portray them in this AU. More under the cut~

Family headcanons here

[Facebook] [Instagram] [Twitter] [Blogger] [Kofi]

The HPA AU comics I’ve been doing admittedly focused more on certain characters, so I’ve hardly thought about how to flesh out the others. To remedy that, I wrote a chatfic that revolved around them as a class and what started as something ‘just for fun’ turned into something a bit more serious, complete with plot and drama (which is strange for something in a chatfic format lol).

Kaede Akamatsu: The cheerful, charismatic and kind pianoholic who promotes friendship and cooperation, earning her the position of Class Representative. Selfless and empathetic to a fault, but can be quite pushy and bossy. Behind her confident facade, Kaede is insecure of not being able to live up to her responsibilities believing that all she’s ever good at is playing the piano, going by a ‘fake it til you make it’ attitude so as not to disappoint the people that relied on her ‘leadership.’ She has a tendency to be tactless towards people when very annoyed or under extreme stress.

Add: While not a very good cook, Kaede is an experienced baker.

Closest friend/s: Shuichi (childhood best friend), Rantaro, Kaito, Maki, Kirumi, Tenko (she is at least good friends with everyone in class tho)

Shuichi Saihara: The meek and soft-spoken detective in training who eventually fills the role of assistant class rep to Kaede. Cool-headed and intelligent, Shuichi shows promise of being proactive and responsible, but has difficulty in asserting himself due to confidence issues. He can be very emotional, prone to easily cry when overwhelmed by negative emotions. He also struggles with depression at times, although he tries to hide it as best he could. To people he is close with, Shuichi can be quite sassy and would joke about his ‘emo aesthetic.’

(When Shuichi wore his hat, his necktie is the standard red one)

Add: Shuichi is an avid fan of all things detective (looks up to Kyoko Kirigiri, has a sizable collection of Nancy Drew Books and Detective Conan Manga, retweets a lot of Sherlock Holmes quotes etc.)

Closest friend/s: Kaede (childhood best friend), Kaito, Maki, Kokichi, Kiibo

Kokichi Ouma: The self proclaimed supreme leader, he is a compulsive liar and prankster, fond of being disruptive and annoying towards his peers. While he tends to lie a lot, it’s not as outrageous and over the top (like in-game), and he would never push the buttons of anyone who was already distressed. Behind his outward unpleasantness, Kokichi cares a lot about his classmates, often calling them out on their bad habits (albeit it’s also in an unpleasant way) and looking out for them in his own unique way (which is subtle, at most). He dreads showing this side of him to class 79, as this was a sign of attachment on his part and this was only reserved to D.I.C.E members initially.

Add: Kokichi doesn’t know how to dance.

Closest friend/s: Rantaro, Shuichi

Maki Harukawa: The surly, unapproachable ‘assassin’ who is the walking definition of a tsundere. She dislikes socializing with her classmates, mostly because of her inability for small talk and difficulty to relate with her peer group as she spent most of her time dealing with children (in the orphanage). Maki is blunt but not unkind, and may be occasionally dismissive but (secretly) greatly appreciates those who reach out to her. Being emotional is Maki’s greatest pet peeve, making her great at compartmentalizing and repressing her emotions.

Add: Maki was physically conditioned and trained to be an assassin but it was for her to be Motion Capture stunt girl for an assassin-centric game. Has not killed anyone in real life, but physically can if desired.

Closest friend/s: Kaito, Shuichi, Kaede

Kaito Momota: The loud-mouthed and passionate astronaut who likes to give pep talks more than Kaede. Kaito pretty much keeps the class lively with his dumb antics. Despite his air of stupidity, he is quite street smart and a good judge of character.  He has patriarchal views on gender roles, naturally irking most of his female peers. Additionally, he is hot-headed, stubborn and very competitive. True to his very upbeat and positive persona though, he dislikes showing weakness/ appearing weak. Kaito suffers from Tuberculosis, hence he coughs a lot.

Add: Kaito makes the best omelettes.

Closest friend/s: Maki, Shuichi, Kaede, Ryoma (one-sided)

Rantaro Amami: The lax and enigmatic adventurer who likes to meme, apart from traveling the world. Rantaro has a big brother vibe to him, but can be quite silly at times. He is fond of recounting experiences about his travels, often retelling them in a more imaginative version. Despite his nonchalant approach on everything, Rantaro is very particular on people’s perspective of him. He craves to be an important figure among his classmates, just like his central role on his siblings’ lives.

Add: Rantaro has a Youtube channel where he makes travel vlogs in the style of Bear Grylls’ Man VS Wild.

Closest friend/s: Tsumugi (middle school bestfriend), Kokichi, Kaede, Kiibo, Korekiyo

Kirumi Tojo: The responsible and mature maid with a strict adherence to her creed on selfless devotion. Kirumi is very capable of doing any (reasonable) task given to her, completing them with practiced efficiency. Taking her talent more seriously, she appears impassive and mechanical to her classmates. Her maid schtick is actually a conscious effort for her; beneath the carefully-maintained frigid and collected persona is a shy and anxious Kirumi with personal whims and ambitions. She has a sense of humor and would sometimes tease her classmates in some way or another (which always takes them by surprise). She can be quite condescending and judgmental when pushed to the limit.

Add: Kirumi is a closet bookworm, and has a collection of cheesy, young adult romance novels (may or may not own some raunchy ones).

Closest friend/s: Ryoma, Kaede

Korekiyo Shinguji: The studious and aloof anthropologist who revels in the beauty of humanity. Kiyo likes to observe people, mentally taking note of the intricacies of human nature, although this hobby of his isn’t taken kindly by some. Ambitious and resourceful, he spends a lot of time reading to further his knowledge. In turn, he is quite socially inept and often scares away any ‘potential friend’ with his intelligent ramblings. He is very close with his sickly older sister, but gets annoyed with her fussiness.

Add: He is a capable illustrator, often adding sketches on his journal of anthropological notes.

Closest friend/s: Rantaro, Gonta, Angie

Tsumugi Shirogane: The quirky cosplayer and talented seamstress with a habit of referencing popular and obscure pop culture stuff. Tsumugi is an avid fan of a lot media, from games to animes to TV shows, both western and japanese, often spending most of her time in her room to indulge in her fandoms. She also has a tendency to break the fourth wall and would reference the ‘NDRV3 canon universe.’ Tsumugi is quite insecure of her geeky side, and is a bag of nerves when under the spotlight. She is cowardly and unable to stand her ground, often playing for both sides in an argument in an effort to please both.

(the only one wearing the HPA uniform without modifications lol)

Add: She is a big fan of Junko Enoshima (a fashion blogger with her own brand of clothing).

Closest friend/s: Rantaro (middle school bestfriend)

Ryoma Hoshi: The stoic and detached Pro Tennis player who is very fond of felines. Ryoma likes to spend most of his time alone and would often disappear to god knows where. He is responsive when in conversation, talking in a melancholic tone. He is profound and insightful, open to giving advice freely to those in need. While very patient, he is vindictive and unforgiving to those who wronged him horribly. His whole family was murdered by a mafia group (leaving him with just the family cat) and he has since personally chased leads that will bring the perpetrators to justice. Despite his pursuit of the killers, he is not interested in delivering justice on his own and merely conducted his own investigation to aid law enforcement.

Add: Ryoma has a folder of cat game apps on his phone, his favorite in particular being Neko Atsume.

Closest friend/s: Kirumi, Gonta

Gonta Gokuhara: The gentle giant with a fascination on animals, particularly insects. Gonta is good-natured (very kind, polite and honest) but naive and childish. In spite of this, he cannot be easily tricked by Kokichi and would sometimes even join in on roasting him. He wants to be a gentleman and really tries his best to exhibit qualities of such. While not academically smart (being raised in the wild), he has extensive knowledge on flora and fauna. Gonta has bouts of self-doubt, believing himself to be incapable of anything. He can be very hard on himself and would do reckless things to prove himself.

Add: Contrary to most of his classmates’ impression on him, Gonta is not technologically challenged. He plays Overwatch in his free time (he mains Bastion).

Close friend/s: Ryoma, Korekiyo

Miu Iruma: The lewd and brash inventor with onion skin. Miu is outspoken and campy, often considered obnoxious by her classmates. She likes to make dirty jokes and projects an air of self-importance, but is also quick to deflate when reprimanded or talked back at. Being neglected her whole life, Miu wants attention, hence her over the top personality but this in turn made her a deplorable person. She spends most of her time building knickknacks to stave off the loneliness she feels. Over time, she does try to be less of a difficult person.

Add: Miu doesn’t know how to swim or ride a bike (but she can invent something that will keep her afloat on water and something that can keep her balanced on the bike).

Close friend/s: Kiibo

Kiibo Idabashi (not a Robot): The well-meaning and pacifistic Robotics Engineer that has a difficulty in relating with his fellow humans. Kiibo has lived a very sheltered life and has not been exposed to any social interaction with his age group prior to his enrollment at Hope’s Peak, making him quite stiff and robotic. He is very shy and apprehensive at speaking in class or called to recitation. He is also wimpy, but can get very defensive of his robotic creations.

Add: Kiibo missed out a lot on his childhood, so class 79 would often indulge him on what he was deprived of (like having pizza, playing tag and watching animated films).

Close friend/s: Miu, Shuichi, Rantaro

Tenko Chabashira: The energetic and cheerful aikido master who loves to defend girls from the degenerate MENaces. Tenko loves to be active, often encouraging the girls to exercise (especially those with a sedentary lifestlye). A fiery character, she wears her emotions on her sleeves and reacts strongly on impulse. She has a on a hair trigger temper, especially if the aggressor involves a guy and has a tendency to be physically violent. Tenko’s distaste towards men in general stems from a dark past: she and her mother suffered abuse from her own father. Her mother was eventually murdered by her father in front of her (at a young age) and after her father was subsequently locked up, she was taken in by her mother’s friend who was matriarchal.

Add: She is an adept shogi and chess player.

Close friend/s: Himiko, Angie, Kaede

Himiko Yumeno: The resident sloth who also happens to be a magician (er… mage). Himiko is very lethargic, dislikes doing almost any physical activity, often trying to weasel her way out of doing assigned tasks and the like. She isn’t dismissive of social interaction though, and is quite talkative when you start a conversation with her. She loves to watch youtube videos and web series, particularly korean drama. She is good at math, and would tutor Angie and Tenko when pestered enough.

Add: Himiko is ambidextrous, and can seamlessly use chopsticks with her left hand.

Close friend/s: Tenko, Angie

Angie Yonaga: The eccentric and bubbly artist with a deep devotion to an obscure religion. Angie is a pious devotee of Atua, and is willing to provide for the spiritual needs of her classmates. She loves mentioning unusual habits and customs from her island home, such as blood sacrifices and orgies. Hardly anything fazes her, this nonchalance and ignorance being considered sinister by some of her peers. Even with the best intentions in mind, she sometimes used religion to get what she wanted.

Add: Angie owns four horses (named War, Famine, Pestilence and Death) that Hope’s Peak allowed her to keep in school (for some reason). Their stables were located at the student/staff parking lot.

Close friend/s: Korekiyo, Tenko, Himiko

Great Gozu: The former Ultimate Wrestler is now the homeroom teacher of Class 79A. Despite his intimidating physique, he is gentle, patient and very supportive. He becomes quickly attached to class 79A and is quite protective of them.

--

And now for the romantic relationships~ (I inadvertently retconned some stuff from the HPA AU comics in the fanfic version apparently, I’m not very good at slow burn lol)

Kaede//Kirumi: Both of them are altruistic, though one is out of pure selflessness while the other due to moral obligation. Kaede is the first to develop a crush on the other, mostly out of physical attraction but it’s Kirumi that first falls in love between the two of them. Kirumi is mostly drawn to Kaede’s comforting presence and empathic nature, and is impressed with the pianist’s diligence in perfecting her musical craft. Kaede admires the maid’s dedicated work ethic, and is very enamored with Kirumi’s elegance and grace. Kaede’s considerate nature holds her back from pursuing Kirumi head-on out of respect for the maid’s seemingly unshakeable adherence to her creed of selfless devotion, while Kirumi struggles internally in balancing her whims and sticking to her creed. This results in them tiptoeing around their feelings towards each other.

Shuichi//Kokichi: One lies while the other exposes the truth. Kokichi, despite his growing interest on the detective, denies his feelings. Shuichi, initially unconfident about his chances with the supreme leader, takes the leap and reveals his feelings first. Kokichi is drawn to Shuichi’s intelligence, good-natured personality and cute face (and he may or may not have a detective kink). Shuichi is drawn to Kokichi’s complex personality, considering it a mystery puzzle only he could solve. Both Kokichi and Shuichi suffer from insecurities that the other deserve better than themselves; Kokichi believes Shuichi wouldn’t fall for him because of his complicated personality while Shuichi thinks Kokichi was in love with the more appealing Kaito, somewhat resigned he has no chance.

Kaito//Maki: Polar opposites and yet both hide the same thing; one relies on outward emotion to hide a weakness while the other represses emotion to hide a weakness. Kaito is greatly drawn to Maki’s independent and capable mindset but struggles with his own sexist mindset. Maki falls for Kaito’s endearing personality, but struggles to make sense of her romantic feelings. Eventually, they both overcome their weaknesses. Maki is the first to fall for the other, and while she is also the one to confess her feelings first, it was Kaito who first changed his ways, learning to be less sexist. Maki avoids Kaito when her feelings toward him intensified, but this unfazed the astronaut and remained wooing her consistently.

Tenko//Himiko: Polar opposites that balance each other out. Tenko and Himiko may have been the first pair to be immediately drawn to each other but they are the last pair to be officially together. Tenko’s more active lifestyle gets Himiko to reconsider her lethargic nature while Himiko’s relaxed attitude grounds Tenko’s overactive nature. Tenko was drawn to Himiko from the get-go, and while the smaller girl was initially annoyed by the aikido master being insistent, she eventually warms up to her. They subsequently act like girlfriends, but surprisingly their ‘official’ get together doesn’t happen til later.

[others to be added lol]

[brentwatchesmovies]

Top 10 Movies of 2017

Another year is behind us, so that means it’s time for everyone’s ‘my favorite ________ of 2017’ lists. This year, I’m folding to peer pressure and changing the ‘top 8’ favorite movies to ‘top 10’ because honestly, there were too many awesome movies and I originally only did it because that’s how Tarantino narrowed his picks and I wanted to seem cool or something. (On a quick related note, I can’t believe this is my 8th year of doing one of these dumb things. Crazy.) On a personal level, 2017 has been a wild year for me. I got married to my best friend, started a much better and satisfying job, and found out we’re going to be parents this year. It’s going to be an incredibly busy and life-changing 2018, and I can’t wait for it.

In terms of the past year in cinema, it’s been amazing as well. I wanted to see as many movies as I could before finalizing my favorites, and was pretty successful, with a few exceptions. I wasn’t able to see Phantom Thread, The Post, The Florida Project, The Emoji Movie or Coco, to name a few (not seeing the new PTA and Spielberg movies before writing this KILLS me). A lot of the choices on my list might be predictable, especially if you follow me on Twitter, or read movie sites/blogs. Twitter has kind of taken over my actually writing posts for this blog anymore, and maybe one day I’ll get better at coming back here and putting thoughts down (probably not though). Like I’ve said in previous years, these really don’t have a ranking, unless I specify it’s my ‘favorite’ over the others. This is a 100% subjective list, based on an incomplete sampling. The movies listed below either moved me in a huge way, were a complete blast, and/or stayed with me long after I saw them. That’s enough preamble though, let’s get to my favorites of 2017!

In my eyes, this whole reboot-prequel-whatever trilogy is a cinematic miracle. This series, on it’s surface is a very campy, B-movie concept. What Rupert Wyatt and now Matt Reeves have done here is a staggering directorial achievement. This entry further fleshes out the already relatable and complex characters, and continues to add emotional depth that the originals could never even touch. In my eyes, this is what makes this the best movie trilogy since The Lord of the Rings. War Apes (what I find to be the best shorthand for this entry) is the ‘Return of the King’ equivalent of this trilogy. It takes Caesar’s story in darker, more unexpected places, and in a perfect world, would net Andy Serkis an Oscar nomination for best actor. If you’ve slept on this series because it seemed silly, or not really your jam, definitely take the time to catch up with it, it’s most definitely worth it.

This was one of the last movies I saw before making this post, and having just seen it a few days ago, it’s the movie I’ve been thinking about most. In a year that I think a lot of people would call ‘complete awful garbage’, (or something similar), Guillermo Del Toro’s love story of the ‘others’ in society; the forgotten and the disenfranchised, hits home. I’m still working through my thoughts on all of it, but it’s up there with my favorites of his filmography. I don’t think GDT has ever made a movie so unapologetically ‘him’. A sequence near the end of the movie is one of my favorite things I’ve seen all year, and I thought to myself during it that nobody other than this one enigmatic, creative and strange man could make something so unique and beautiful. This one definitely isn’t for everyone, but if you like GDT’s movies, I have a feeling you’ll be on board with this one as well.

From this point forward, if Taylor Sheridan has a new movie coming out, I’ll be there to see it. The previous writer of such films as Sicario and Hell or High Water makes his directorial debut with Wind River. It follows a standard neo-western trend of his previous films, but this time moving the story to snowy Wyoming. Setting the location on an American Indian reservation allows Sheridan to bring up timely themes as well, such as the incredibly high rate at which Native American women disappear on reservations, and how few are ever actually found. It’s an incredibly moving and intense story that plays out after the initial murder/mystery is established, going to some of the most intense places thematically that I’ve seen in a movie this year. The cast all around is stellar, and Jeremy Renner specifically has never been better than he is in this movie. If you’re a fan of neo-westerns or Sheridan’s other movies, Wind River is absolutely worth checking out.

I had been anticipating this movie since I heard about it, having been a huge fan of ‘The Indoor Kids’ podcast, hosted by Emily Gordon and her husband Kumail Nanjiani. It’s a video game podcast that they ended a few years back, but every now and then, they would hint at how they met. This movie is how their eventual marriage came to be, and it’s a beautiful love story, which just so happens to fit the mold of one of the best romantic comedies ever made. Not only is it a great comedy, but also dramatically complex due to Emily’s time spent in a coma at the beginning of their relationship and Kumail’s meeting of her two parents. Everyone in this movie gives it their all, with Ray Romano and Holly Hunter standing out as Emily’s parents. The movie also tackles what it’s like to be the child of an immigrant in America, and that perspective was fresh and eye-opening for a big Hollywood movie. This is definitely one to watch with the family.

*potential spoilers for mother!*

If you read my post I wrote about ‘Noah’, you’ll probably understand why I love this movie so much. This is the second film by Darren Aranofsky that explores the morality of not only God, but of the entire bible this time around. Something about that intent clicks with me. Maybe it’s being raised in church until my late teens or the religious cynic inside me, but I love when he tackles these issues. The fact that this religious interpretation is only one of many possible ways to read this movie is what makes it fascinating. Is it about climate change and how we’re destroying the earth? Is it a dramatization of the Bible and God’s relationship with humanity? Or is it about the relationship between artists, the things they create, and the audience? On top of these questions, Mother! Is beautifully shot, acted and constructed. I was pretty much in shock for the entire last third of the movie and that’s more than I can say for almost any movie I’ve seen this year.

Y’all probably knew this was coming, right? I’m so in the bag for Star Wars movies that any objectivity is completely out the window at this point. I also understand that many people REALLY do not like this movie, and I’ve been grappling with that and processing it since I saw the movie a couple weeks ago. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to see the movie a second time, so this is based entirely off my first time seeing The Last Jedi. This movie was everything I wanted and more. It absolutely has faults worth talking about, but to me, the highs of TLJ far outweigh the lows. There were moments in this movie that I yelled in joy, smiled ear to ear and also cried on numerous occasions. For the first time since watching the original trilogy as a kid, I felt like I was watching a true Star Wars movie, with the original series characters, and the great new ones established in VII as well. The prequels have their moments, and Rogue One and Force Awakens were fun diversions in fan fiction, but to me, this movie felt true to what I love about Star Wars. I can’t wait to watch it again.

Sometimes I just think to myself, “it’s really damn cool that I’m around at the same time as Christopher Nolan.” The guy will go down as an all-time great director, and I love that with Dunkirk he proved that he doesn’t need a high concept idea and a ton of exposition to sell it. All you need to tell a gripping story is a camera and a story with baked-in drama, like the evacuation of Dunkirk. The movie is almost a silent film with how little dialogue there is, relying solely on Hoyte van Hoytema’s beautiful cinematography and Nolan’s adherence to old-school film techniques, with as little CG as possible. Dunkirk makes for the most intense theater going experience I’ve probably had all year, and I fear that seeing it at home can never reach the levels of seeing it on the big screen. Regardless, Dunkirk is possibly Nolan’s best film yet, an exciting evolution of his directorial skill, and one of the best war films of all time.

In my opinion, there was no greater surprise at the theater this year than Jordan Peele’s ‘Get Out’. A social horror film in the vein of such classics as ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ and ‘The Step-ford Wives’, and on the same level of quality as well. I’d also have to say that Get Out epitomizes the state of our country the best of any other movie I’ve seen this year, perfectly nailing racial tensions much more nuanced than your typical racist-redneck-murder-family horror movies ever could. I rewatched the movie again over Christmas (this and the Witch make great Christmas movies btw) and it reaffirmed how tightly written, acted and directed it truly is. Every setup has a fulfilling payoff, every character a great/exciting/terrifying moment, and it has one of the most subversive, ingenious endings I’ve seen of this, or any year.  Get out is a certified horror classic, and easily one of the best movies of the year.

Coming-of-age stories are very often ‘my jam’, as I’m sure you could surmise from any number of posts on here from the past. What I loved so much about Luca Guadagnino’s ‘Call me by Your Name’ is the sincerity and honesty in every one of the characters in the movie. The two leads (played by Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer) wear their hearts on their sleeves, and soon find themselves in a summer love affair. What this movie captures so well is that feeling of young ‘love’, or at least infatuation with amazingly believable ease. It also features a moment between Timothée Chalamet’s character and his father (played by the always great Michael Stuhlbarg) that crushed me. It hit me right in the nexus of all my dad baggage, past and present, and turned me into a weeping mess. I aspire to be the kind of loving, understanding and wise father that Timothée Chalamet’s character is blessed with in this movie.

Alright guys, time for my favorite movie of the year, and it’s easily Denis Villeneuve’s science fiction masterpiece: Blade Runner 2049. No movie transported me completely like this film did. The entire run time of the movie was almost like an out of body experience. It was surely aided by seeing it on the massive downtown IMAX screen, but when myself and a couple friends walked out of this movie, we were practically in shock. I’m sure I sound hyperbolic right now, but in my eyes this movie is a top-to-bottom cinematic masterpiece. It expands and even improves on themes and ideas that the first film only flirted with. It deepens the philosophy of the world in interesting ways, and does all this with a far more emotional core than the first ever had as well. I’d be remiss not talking about how beautiful this movie is as well. If Roger Deakins doesn’t win his first Cinematography Oscar for this film, somebody should get 25 to life. The second this movie ended, I knew it was my movie of the year, regardless of what else I saw in 2017. It’s a sequel for the ages, and a science fiction film that people decades from now will look back on with intrigue and wonder.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Thor Ragnarok

Brigsby Bear

Brawl in Cell Block 99

Okja

Baby Driver

Your Name

Logan

John Wick: Chapter 2

Spider-Man: Homecoming

I, Tonya

That’s going to do it for my top films of 2017, thanks so much for reading! If you have thoughts or opinions on my list, hit me up on Twitter or Facebook and let’s talk about them (unless it’s a bad Last Jedi take, those won’t do). It was incredibly hard to cut out some of the honorable mentions but overall I’m extremely happy with my list and all of the movies I was lucky enough to see this year (and lucky enough to have an awesome wife who understands and accepts my movie-going addiction!) Share this post with your friends if you’d like, and I hope you have a great 2018!

[demitgibbs]

Anna Kendrick Talks Fluid Sexuality, Kissing Blake Lively

The pitch is perfectly crazy in Anna Kendrick’s walk on the dark side of filmmaker Paul Feig’s warped sense of humor, A Simple Favor. It’s martini-sipper mom versus martini-swigger mom. Target mom versus Met Gala mom. Aspirational versus extra.

It’s regular mom-meets-mom business, a modern mom-com – until Emily (Blake Lively) goes missing. Emily’s sudden disappearance prompts Stephanie (Kendrick) to mount an investigation by employing her keen Nancy Drew smarts and posting distressed clips of herself on her dorky craft vlog. (Friendship-bracelet tutorials are just gonna to have wait.)

A bit camp? Yep. A bit queer? Obviously. And naturally so, as Kendrick’s 15-year career is steeped in queerness: at age 17, she cut her acting teeth on Camp, the 2003 teen musical-comedy directed by out filmmaker Todd Graff; as Beca, she brought covert aca-gayness to the three-part Pitch Perfect franchise; and in 2014, the 33-year-old Oscar-nominated actress slipped into Cinderella’s glass slippers for Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods. And her long, impulsive kiss – “just another Tuesday,” Emily notes – with Lively in A Simple Favor, well, it’s not exactly straight, she says.

Here, the longtime ally talks about attempting to allow the lesbian love to bloom between queer-coded Pitch Perfect leads Beca and Chloe (Brittany Snow), what irks her about self-congratulatory reactions to celebs coming out and, when it comes to her own sexuality, being open like Emily.

A car sing-along, a little camp, some martinis and a mom makeout sesh: Anna, you sure know what the gay community wants at this point in your career, don’t you?

(Laughs) Oh my gosh! I wasn’t thinking of it in that way, but yeah, it is kind of camp. It takes itself a little seriously, but we’re always winking or having fun. It’s bright and colorful, and there’s an unabashed campiness to it – even though the stakes are very real in places.

You didn’t recognize a queer sensibility going in?

To be honest, when I was going in, there was just so much to play with. I remember having one of those conversations with Blake where we both felt like, “Are we high right now? Are we having a stoner conversation?” Because we were talking about how in a traditional comedy there’s a slider that you’re on from how subtle to how broad, and with this it felt like you weren’t just on this linear slider – you were in three dimensions, and you could go to all these places.

It was so much fun as actors to have that, and I know that sounds really stoner-y and existential and dumb. But the world Paul created had so much possibility, and so I wasn’t really thinking about one group. I was barely getting my brain around what the movie was in the first place! But I think Stephanie is very much an underdog and she’s finding her place in the world. I feel like that’s something that queer people can relate to at one point in their lives or another.

WATCH:

What was it like coming to set for the first time and seeing the giant painting of Blake-as-Emily’s vagina front and center in Emily’s front room?

OK, this is actually really interesting: So that painting – fun fact – was never once on set. That is all post effects. Sometimes it was green screen, and sometimes it was this other painting that was very nice but very Tumblr art. It was actually Blake’s idea to have it be a little bit more, um, obscene. Certainly it’s art, but a little more shocking for Stephanie to see. Not so polished, not so pretty, not so coy. I thought that was really brilliant.

Regarding Pitch Perfect: Are we ever gonna get the Beca and Chloe love story that they so deserve?

I know. I definitely wanted to have an ending that was a Bechloe ending, and we did shoot one version where Brittany and I tricked everybody into just shooting one that was just the two of us getting together. We knew it was a long shot. It meant so much to us that there was this following around their latent relationship and, yeah, I thought it would’ve been really cool if it would have ended up coming to fruition in the end. If we ever do a four, I will fight tooth and nail for it, but I’m not sure it’s gonna happen.

Because the studio doesn’t want to go there with their sexuality?

It wasn’t like Universal was like, “There can be no lesbians in Pitch Perfect!” Because obviously Cynthia Rose is an openly gay character. But I think they were just confused by it because they weren’t listening to all the online chatter about it, whereas I see it every day, and I’m like, “Are you kidding? This is what they want!”

Best lesbian Bechloe fanfiction you’ve read?

OK, I’ve actually only tried to ever read one. It was so sweet and puppy-lovey that I was like, “Aww, I wanted to read some sauciness!” I thought I was gonna get scandalized! Instead, I was like, “Aww! This is, like, so sweet! This reminds me of The Baby-Sitters Club books.” But I haven’t actually followed up on it.

You once met a guy at a Gelson’s market who told you he does your Camp character, Fritzi, in drag. First of all, how often do you run into drag queens at grocery stores who tell you that you’re their inspiration?

(Laughs) Not often enough! That was one of my favorite moments of being recognized, ever. And I’m sorry, what’s the second part of your question? I got too excited.

Which other characters of yours might make good drag material?

Stephanie has a real Sandy-in-Grease vibe, where she doesn’t become the bad girl, exactly, but she loosens up and shakes it off a little bit. But I do always still like Rizzo in Grease, who is more fun than Sandy, so I’m not sure that Stephanie is necessarily the one. She’d have to really just be letting her hair down.

You’ve said you downplayed Fritzi’s sexuality when you filmed Camp.

The thing that made me uncomfortable about Fritzi was I was 16, but it wasn’t so much that she was gay – it was that unrequited gay love situation. I think if she’d been crushing it and getting girls, I would’ve been like, “Awesome, awesome, awesome!” It was just, at 16 you don’t want to be playing the girl that nobody likes, which I totally recognize as I get older is such a silly insecurity issue. But at the time I was definitely like, “Can’t somebody just have a crush on me in a movie – god!”

Would you have approached Fritzi differently in retrospect?

The truth is, I think I would have just enjoyed myself. Todd Graff is amazing, and I’m so lucky to have had him as my first film director. And he really got me to do everything that I think that I would’ve done as a more experienced actor, regardless, but I guess I regret that I didn’t enjoy myself more.

You recently won the Choice Twit award at this year’s Teen Choice Awards, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this was your crowning tweet: “Lot of people seem really proud of themselves for announcing they ‘already knew’ Barry Manilow was gay. Yeah……ur the true heroes today guys.”

When a public figure comes out, taking the attitude of like, “Duh, we knew,” is the weirdest thing to me. Even when celebrities announce that they’re pregnant, people aren’t like, “Duh, we could tell three months ago.” They’re like, “Aww, she’s finally ready to talk about the fact that she’s pregnant! That’s amazing!”

And you would think that your sexuality would just be really supported (because) they feel comfortable talking about it now. It’s a really weird topic to feel a sense of superiority that you figured it out first.

So much of what you do is just a bit gay. Was that the case for your role as Santa Claus’s daughter in the forthcoming Noelle?

Again, I would say Noelle has a touch of camp, so hopefully that will be enjoyable. It’s been so long and I haven’t even seen a cut of it, so I’m like, “What did we make?” Oh, but they did make a point to have same-sex couples wherever we went, whether we were at the North Pole or outside the North Pole.

Getting back to A Simple Favor: Where do you think Stephanie and Emily fall on the Kinsey Scale?

That’s a good question. I think Emily is a surprise for Stephanie, and she is completely in love with her in a way that she can’t totally understand. I do think that Stephanie probably would define herself as straight, except that there is this woman and she really is kind of in love with her and there is a part of her that is attracted to her.

That scene: I remember Blake and I both feeling like neither of us wanted to be the aggressor in the scene. Blake was worried that she would come off as taking advantage of me in that scene because I’m in a very vulnerable place, and I was worried that I would come off like I wanted so much more, and that Blake is just kind of playing and Emily is very comfortable with the fluid aspects of her sexuality, whereas Stephanie has more of an emotional component to it. So, I was worried it would be, like, really sad. We definitely struggled to find that perfect balance of, there’s just this moment and they both get caught up in it and it’s a little uncomfortable. Yeah, it was a fun day.

You’ve been open about your girl crushes over the years. Have you ever had a girl crush that was or could have been romantic?

Let me think about that. I definitely – there’s somebody I’m still friends with, and when we met we kissed. This was after high school, and it was the first time I had kissed a girl where it wasn’t just like, we’re at a party and boys are watching! That horrible performance silliness. But I think I haven’t had that emotional love for a lady, which isn’t saying it could never happen to me, but I think I’m more of an Emily than a Stephanie.

And your lip-lock with your longtime girl crush Blake Lively in this movie – thoughts?

(Laughs) I mean, all I’m ever thinking about in (kissing) scenes is, who has gum? Who has a mint? And I think Blake is probably the same because I’ve never experienced a guy, like, searching for a mint and searching for gum. So, we were the mintiest, freshest two people to have ever kissed in the history of America.

Congratulations!

Thank you. Call Guinness.

from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2018/09/06/anna-kendrick-talks-fluid-sexuality-kissing-blake-lively/ from Hot Spots Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.tumblr.com/post/177802820955

[cynthiajayusa]

Anna Kendrick Talks Fluid Sexuality, Kissing Blake Lively

The pitch is perfectly crazy in Anna Kendrick’s walk on the dark side of filmmaker Paul Feig’s warped sense of humor, A Simple Favor. It’s martini-sipper mom versus martini-swigger mom. Target mom versus Met Gala mom. Aspirational versus extra.

It’s regular mom-meets-mom business, a modern mom-com – until Emily (Blake Lively) goes missing. Emily’s sudden disappearance prompts Stephanie (Kendrick) to mount an investigation by employing her keen Nancy Drew smarts and posting distressed clips of herself on her dorky craft vlog. (Friendship-bracelet tutorials are just gonna to have wait.)

A bit camp? Yep. A bit queer? Obviously. And naturally so, as Kendrick’s 15-year career is steeped in queerness: at age 17, she cut her acting teeth on Camp, the 2003 teen musical-comedy directed by out filmmaker Todd Graff; as Beca, she brought covert aca-gayness to the three-part Pitch Perfect franchise; and in 2014, the 33-year-old Oscar-nominated actress slipped into Cinderella’s glass slippers for Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods. And her long, impulsive kiss – “just another Tuesday,” Emily notes – with Lively in A Simple Favor, well, it’s not exactly straight, she says.

Here, the longtime ally talks about attempting to allow the lesbian love to bloom between queer-coded Pitch Perfect leads Beca and Chloe (Brittany Snow), what irks her about self-congratulatory reactions to celebs coming out and, when it comes to her own sexuality, being open like Emily.

A car sing-along, a little camp, some martinis and a mom makeout sesh: Anna, you sure know what the gay community wants at this point in your career, don’t you? 

(Laughs) Oh my gosh! I wasn’t thinking of it in that way, but yeah, it is kind of camp. It takes itself a little seriously, but we’re always winking or having fun. It’s bright and colorful, and there’s an unabashed campiness to it – even though the stakes are very real in places.

You didn’t recognize a queer sensibility going in? 

To be honest, when I was going in, there was just so much to play with. I remember having one of those conversations with Blake where we both felt like, “Are we high right now? Are we having a stoner conversation?” Because we were talking about how in a traditional comedy there’s a slider that you’re on from how subtle to how broad, and with this it felt like you weren’t just on this linear slider – you were in three dimensions, and you could go to all these places.

It was so much fun as actors to have that, and I know that sounds really stoner-y and existential and dumb. But the world Paul created had so much possibility, and so I wasn’t really thinking about one group. I was barely getting my brain around what the movie was in the first place! But I think Stephanie is very much an underdog and she’s finding her place in the world. I feel like that’s something that queer people can relate to at one point in their lives or another.

WATCH:

What was it like coming to set for the first time and seeing the giant painting of Blake-as-Emily’s vagina front and center in Emily’s front room? 

OK, this is actually really interesting: So that painting – fun fact – was never once on set. That is all post effects. Sometimes it was green screen, and sometimes it was this other painting that was very nice but very Tumblr art. It was actually Blake’s idea to have it be a little bit more, um, obscene. Certainly it’s art, but a little more shocking for Stephanie to see. Not so polished, not so pretty, not so coy. I thought that was really brilliant.

Regarding Pitch Perfect: Are we ever gonna get the Beca and Chloe love story that they so deserve? 

I know. I definitely wanted to have an ending that was a Bechloe ending, and we did shoot one version where Brittany and I tricked everybody into just shooting one that was just the two of us getting together. We knew it was a long shot. It meant so much to us that there was this following around their latent relationship and, yeah, I thought it would’ve been really cool if it would have ended up coming to fruition in the end. If we ever do a four, I will fight tooth and nail for it, but I’m not sure it’s gonna happen.

Because the studio doesn’t want to go there with their sexuality? 

It wasn’t like Universal was like, “There can be no lesbians in Pitch Perfect!” Because obviously Cynthia Rose is an openly gay character. But I think they were just confused by it because they weren’t listening to all the online chatter about it, whereas I see it every day, and I’m like, “Are you kidding? This is what they want!”

Best lesbian Bechloe fanfiction you’ve read? 

OK, I’ve actually only tried to ever read one. It was so sweet and puppy-lovey that I was like, “Aww, I wanted to read some sauciness!” I thought I was gonna get scandalized! Instead, I was like, “Aww! This is, like, so sweet! This reminds me of The Baby-Sitters Club books.” But I haven’t actually followed up on it.

You once met a guy at a Gelson’s market who told you he does your Camp character, Fritzi, in drag. First of all, how often do you run into drag queens at grocery stores who tell you that you’re their inspiration?

(Laughs) Not often enough! That was one of my favorite moments of being recognized, ever. And I’m sorry, what’s the second part of your question? I got too excited.

Which other characters of yours might make good drag material? 

Stephanie has a real Sandy-in-Grease vibe, where she doesn’t become the bad girl, exactly, but she loosens up and shakes it off a little bit. But I do always still like Rizzo in Grease, who is more fun than Sandy, so I’m not sure that Stephanie is necessarily the one. She’d have to really just be letting her hair down.

You’ve said you downplayed Fritzi’s sexuality when you filmed Camp. 

The thing that made me uncomfortable about Fritzi was I was 16, but it wasn’t so much that she was gay – it was that unrequited gay love situation. I think if she’d been crushing it and getting girls, I would’ve been like, “Awesome, awesome, awesome!” It was just, at 16 you don’t want to be playing the girl that nobody likes, which I totally recognize as I get older is such a silly insecurity issue. But at the time I was definitely like, “Can’t somebody just have a crush on me in a movie – god!”

Would you have approached Fritzi differently in retrospect? 

The truth is, I think I would have just enjoyed myself. Todd Graff is amazing, and I’m so lucky to have had him as my first film director. And he really got me to do everything that I think that I would’ve done as a more experienced actor, regardless, but I guess I regret that I didn’t enjoy myself more.

You recently won the Choice Twit award at this year’s Teen Choice Awards, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this was your crowning tweet: “Lot of people seem really proud of themselves for announcing they ‘already knew’ Barry Manilow was gay. Yeah……ur the true heroes today guys.” 

When a public figure comes out, taking the attitude of like, “Duh, we knew,” is the weirdest thing to me. Even when celebrities announce that they’re pregnant, people aren’t like, “Duh, we could tell three months ago.” They’re like, “Aww, she’s finally ready to talk about the fact that she’s pregnant! That’s amazing!”

And you would think that your sexuality would just be really supported (because) they feel comfortable talking about it now. It’s a really weird topic to feel a sense of superiority that you figured it out first.

So much of what you do is just a bit gay. Was that the case for your role as Santa Claus’s daughter in the forthcoming Noelle? 

Again, I would say Noelle has a touch of camp, so hopefully that will be enjoyable. It’s been so long and I haven’t even seen a cut of it, so I’m like, “What did we make?” Oh, but they did make a point to have same-sex couples wherever we went, whether we were at the North Pole or outside the North Pole.

Getting back to A Simple Favor: Where do you think Stephanie and Emily fall on the Kinsey Scale? 

That’s a good question. I think Emily is a surprise for Stephanie, and she is completely in love with her in a way that she can’t totally understand. I do think that Stephanie probably would define herself as straight, except that there is this woman and she really is kind of in love with her and there is a part of her that is attracted to her.

That scene: I remember Blake and I both feeling like neither of us wanted to be the aggressor in the scene. Blake was worried that she would come off as taking advantage of me in that scene because I’m in a very vulnerable place, and I was worried that I would come off like I wanted so much more, and that Blake is just kind of playing and Emily is very comfortable with the fluid aspects of her sexuality, whereas Stephanie has more of an emotional component to it. So, I was worried it would be, like, really sad. We definitely struggled to find that perfect balance of, there’s just this moment and they both get caught up in it and it’s a little uncomfortable. Yeah, it was a fun day.

You’ve been open about your girl crushes over the years. Have you ever had a girl crush that was or could have been romantic? 

Let me think about that. I definitely – there’s somebody I’m still friends with, and when we met we kissed. This was after high school, and it was the first time I had kissed a girl where it wasn’t just like, we’re at a party and boys are watching! That horrible performance silliness. But I think I haven’t had that emotional love for a lady, which isn’t saying it could never happen to me, but I think I’m more of an Emily than a Stephanie.

And your lip-lock with your longtime girl crush Blake Lively in this movie – thoughts? 

(Laughs) I mean, all I’m ever thinking about in (kissing) scenes is, who has gum? Who has a mint? And I think Blake is probably the same because I’ve never experienced a guy, like, searching for a mint and searching for gum. So, we were the mintiest, freshest two people to have ever kissed in the history of America.

Congratulations! 

Thank you. Call Guinness.

source https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2018/09/06/anna-kendrick-talks-fluid-sexuality-kissing-blake-lively/ from Hot Spots Magazine https://hotspotsmagazin.blogspot.com/2018/09/anna-kendrick-talks-fluid-sexuality.html