#it got marketed as this silly romantic comedy

[knight-intraining]

I just cannot get over Meet Cute and what it said about love

You have the ability to go back in time, so you fix every hurt your lover has ever had. He tries to return the favor and gives you the comfort you provide him in the present. Who loved who first? Who loved who more? Who comforted who first? The words that ground you both, their origin is from both of you, their origin is your love.

And you can give none of this love to yourself. But they can and they do and they tell you that you deserve it and you decide to try to believe them

[bluebeewings]

I started Our Flag Means Death FURIOUS and bitter. I was still high on the Always Sunny train and feeling that no other type of humor would ever compare to sunny’s humor and as I watched the pilot I was seething with anger cause I was already feeling the show wouldn’t live up to what I thought it could be. Nobody was talking about it and there were a few episodes to come out, so I hadn’t even heard of it before (my friend told me it was a Taika pirate show and we should see what was it about). My first impression of Stede was that he was gay, but that the show wouldn’t possibly go there and that I’d eventually be disappointed when it’s not the case. Secondly, Jim. The moment I saw them I thought trans, but then again, how often it is that the trope of “dressing as a guy to blend in” leads to actual trans rep? I saw all the queer allegories, the queer undertones but honestly thought the show wouldn’t deliver. It’s a silly show about pirates, a workplace comedy with a new gimmick. I thought it was fine when I finished the last episode. Maybe a week later (if I recall correctly) I went back to it, giving it another chance. With each subsequent episode, I understood the series more and more. I saw that Jim’s actor was non binary and that gave me hope that the queer undertones was actually intended and thought of.

Then of course, Blackbeard. Episode four was an eye opener. Firstly I thought “people are gonna ship the hell out of these two” (me included) but I was still skeptical. But then… The parallels with Mary and Blackbeard? I thought I was loosing my mind. But it just got gayer and gayer (Taika’s heart eyes like, they’re impossible not to notice). But it was still in my mind that it couldn’t be the case, how can a show be this unapologetically queer without being marketed as such??? I’m always on the lookout for queer stuff so I’d certainly know. Episode 5 went on and we saw Lucious and Black Pete as an item and I took that as confirmation that nothing would happen between Stede and Ed (like, come on, we got a non binary character and a gay couple, if there’s more than it’s officially for the gays) but then!!! The moonlight scene! I legit thought I was going insane thinking to myself this is the most romantic shit I’ve seen I can’t believe this is happening is it really real or am I this delusional??? I was in it now and couldn’t stop my binging the show. With each subsequent episode I got more and more sure it was really a romantic comedy and let me tell you the rush and the serotonin I felt knowing more and more that for the first time I was getting what I hoped for? Scratch that, something better than what I had hoped for.

There were only 8 episodes available and when I got to Calico Jack everything happened again. I looked at him and though “lol ed’s ex” but thought I wouldn’t be so lucky… Well think again! I was still wondering if it was all some sort of next level queerbaiting but Jack went there and said “nope, we used to fuck” (and for that I’ll be forever grateful of Will Arnett). Then obviously the feet touch aka the most romantic thing to have ever happened in fiction. The first thing I did was to look up people here on tumblr to see if everyone was consuming it with the same eyes as I and let me tell you, watching the fandom start was so cool and I’ll remember those simpler times fondly. We were all wondering what would happen, if there would be a kiss (and people still debating if it was bait or not).

The last two episodes released like a week later and I waited as patiently as I could. The kiss and subsequent break up oh I was in heaven. If there’s something I like is drama and it peaked as Mary realized Stede had come back. Ohh and episode ten hm! Delicious. Anyways after the kiss everyone and their mom knew that it was not only canonically queer but an inherently queer show, the fandom grew in unprecedented ways. I lasted like four months before I quietly got away cause big fandoms intimidate me. Too much content for me to process and way too much discourse… But I’ll be here for this season because the brainrot is real and I’m exited to see the show being even more unapologetically queer and more explicitly than ever as a love story.

I’m just really happy to have stumbled upon this show without knowing a thing and finding out in real time that it’s one of the queerest shows in existence.

[erin-rosita]

Risk it All

Hey there! this is my first post writing a fanfic about the one and only, Miguel O’Hara. Enjoy! 

Summary: You are Eliza Dela Cruz, Spiderwoman, and Engineer. You are new to the spider society but a crucial member on stopping the multiverse crisis. Miguel O’ Hara seems to like your dedication, but is cautious of the mystery behind your genius. 1 LET'S START AT THE BEGINNING

A universe where you worked so hard on protecting, a lot of sacrifices, but you've earned the recognition, now, everything is at peace. Or is it?

Earth 1012B Spiderwoman 2089

My name, is Eliza Dela Cruz, and I am the one and only spiderwoman, at least I though I was. Some may think I'm latina, but nah, I'm Filipino, Fil-Am to be exact, but I'm sure I have some latino blood somewhere.

I was bitten by a radioactive spider, got affected by the explosion of kingpin's collider, which granted me the power of travelling the multiverse. I'm an engineer/ inventor, a former gymnast and a great masseuse. But most of all, I have a great sense of humor (like every spidermen). I'm not much of a romantic, that's why when someone says they like me, I'm as awkward and clueless as I can get. That's why I'm basically living in my lab most of the days. 

Anyway, protecting a futuristic world fighting futuristic villains is what I signed up for, what more can you ask?

"I cannot believe you did this!" Mary Jane exclaimed.

"Just doing my job. Besides it's all part of my schedule remember?"

"I mean seriously, inventing stuff, saving the world, giving massages, comedy how do you even do it?"

"I don't know, I guess if life keeps giving, that means I gotta keep moving."

"That's a great philosophy, I definitely should add that to my song."

"Great, knock yourself out, and see ya on your next tour ok? Text me!"

"Thanks, I will bye!"

MJ is pretty much the only friend you have in your world, compared to the lot of universes you've been to, or barely even peeked at. It's hard to have friends with the size of my ego, I'm surprised I even have a friend like MJ, she is the complete opposite of me. Sweet, considerate, but also a badass. I may be spiderwoman, but that's just half of who I am which nobody (except MJ) knows about. An incredibly accomplished woman, nerdy, but has one friend is a massive imbalance if you want a stable life. Eitherway, I've always managed, and by that I mean get copped up in my lab for ages inventing stuff that are deemed unnecessary for me yet still get profited by corporations for the sake of market or personal interest. Booster springs, wanna look silly as you walk around new york, but still get to work on time? (what a joke)

Love? why even bother, might as well just invent a robot that will cater to my frequent temper tantrums and breakdowns and questioning of my self worth. 

Ever since then, my eye has been acting up because of the stress I've been through, maybe? Or is it that I foresee something that can either threaten my universe or just another villain who I need to have some heart-to-heart talk to? I mean seriously, I may as well have a blind date with every one of them, and still get some interesting facts about their personality. 

This was different, I've managed to conceal my universe from every other universe but somehow a version of some spiderman persists to breakthrough...Blue-ish Black suit with red markings flashes in my head. Gotta take note of that. He maybe evil or good who knows, but looks more like he's evil, I'll lean on that. 

Eitherway, I don't want to deal with anymore multiverse phenomena ever again. 

Peter made sure of that. It was the day Captain Guerrero (Stepdad) would be sworn in as captain, and I tried to save him from an assassin, but failed to do so, because of some anomaly that wandered in my universe, Peter says the canon is still intact, and I brought justice to the assassin, but that didn't bring my dad back. I told him to never mention my universe again to other spidermen, and I would do everything I can to do so. So I came up with a barrier that shields my world from multiverse phenomena that is immune to spidey sense and unknown entities that try to enter my world. It worked for a while, but I guess it wasn't enough.

"Lyla, what's that empty space?"

"What about it?"

"Every multiverse connects to one another, but this is a huge gap, huh.""I'll go check on it to ease your anxiety sir."

"Don't call me Sir."

"What? Not formal enough for you?"

"Just go check on it Lyla.."

"Okidoke, my main bloke!"

Miguel rolls his eyes.

 "Okay, I've checked, and it seems like a hidden dimension is concealed with some pretty high barrier tech if you ask me."

"Hidden? why?" 

"I don't know, but you're welcome to speculate, didn't do much to ease your anxiousness huh?"

"I have a feeling we can use this tech or whoever invented it to help us on our missions. We just have to figure out how to get past the barriers and enter it.”

"Lyla set a diagnosis on the status of the barrier so we can see if there's a weak link."

"You got it boss."

End of chapter 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------At first I was just considering doing a one shot fic of his character x reader, but  then when I started writing I just kept going making a plot and everything. I’m still not sure if I want to add any smut on this fic, but there will be romance I am sure of that. Anyway, I’ve really enjoyed writing a story about this man, It’s too bad if I don’t share it right? So this is all for y’all. 

[spyrkle4]

Top Ten Reasons why I like Season 3 of Big Hero 6 the Series

yeah Ik that most of us wish it was more developed n’ stuff. But I see it as like some fun epilogue stories as Season 2 was a really good way to end the show, and Season 3 is just some wacky summer adventures! 

And with the manga out at this point, well who knows if it’ll get to future seasons like 2 or 3! But thought I’d look back at the series bc it’s amazingness is what kept me still going as a bh6 fan And watching a funny Season 3 ep always brightens your day

And it’s best to look at the bright side of things so this is why I’m typing this n.n (this is isn’t in order from best to least best its just me ranting about 10 things)

List will be under the cut, hope you enjoy n.n

---

1. The chibi clips. I mean I wish they did more of them as they’re one of my favorite comedy segments of this comedy-heavy season of the series, and it’s really cute seeing the gang in chibi style. Not to mention the chibi ep of the series was just SO funny and the fact that they used the word “chibi” and even made a chibi-themed song that’s so catchy it’ll get stuck in your head XD 

2. The singing and 4 2 Sing. They’re both musical related so *shrug*  And I LOVE it! The goofiness most of the songs have is just hilarious, and even the Kara--*cough* I mean Krei-Oke episode had some callbacks to bh6-exclusive songs! And also 4 2 Sing are just so funny, I was a little worried that in their preview we saw, they would be malicious in their ways (and no one likes an evil boy band) but I’m glad they’re just genuinely dense and silly to boot! Although now I have the idea for an evil boy band that would be their dastardtly rivals...

3. The robot family. NBB as a main villian would be odd in a normal season, but it’s fitting for a funny season! And his 3 sisters each are amazing. I’ve actually written a one-shot about the potential family dynamic of the bots, and I just love their little quirkiness and relationship with eachother! I’m glad that they’re still together at the end!

4.  Mini-Max character development! I know some people aren’t the biggest fans of Mini-Max, as he’s kind of more of a token marketable character ig... he does have funny lines. But I’m rly glad they gave him character!

5. Villain redemption arcs! Not just Sparkles, that was interesting (and led me to my theory that Sycorax was so... Sycorax that it made everyone involve quit villainy or lesson their villain stuff in Momakase’s case) but in the ep “Gogo the Woweroo” it was nice seeing how some of the other villains are doing. LIKE HV! OMG I WAS SO HAPPY THAT ITS CANON THEY’RE REFORMED! (It was a little tiring seeing fics of them as villains after COM, no offense or anything n.n;)

6. Karmi! This one is obvious bc OMG it was SO good seeing her again! And she and Hiro have a goofy friendship. I like how its up to interpretation if their feelings are platonic or romantic (I’ve become more of a platonic shipper) and the fact she helped save the day against Hardlight! If the series continues, maybe there will be a character arc of Karmi becoming Lab Lady and being a superhero!

7. Cheers you up! Whenever I’m sad or a day has been really bad for me... a season 3 and it will guarantee putting a smile back on my face, say what you will about the excessive comedy in S3, but it always makes me happy after a rly long day or a bad moment

8. The new characters. Sure they didn’t show up long, but they made a good impression! Cobra was a another long-time villain who’s got some charm and conniving schemes. Olivia’s a comic dork who enjoys the non-mainstream stuff and that’s a mood. Rishi: gremlin and also precious dork who probably has consumed too many memes and is just a gremlin kid and I love him XD. 

9. Seeing what other characters are up to. Like seeing how Globby is, (and him and Felony Carl still being roomies aaaaa), the ep with Wendy,,, even seeing Granville again twice (including her fur babies so cute!) It was nice getting closure for those characters before the series ended, sure not everyone we know and love showed up in Season 3, but it was nice seeing how the others in San Fransokyo were doing this summer

10. The found family. Obviously my favorite. I just cried at the part where Baymax told NBB that Hiro was his family and asked him to help save his family, NBB might’ve hated Big Hero 6 at that time, but he understood the important of family. And basically Baymax and Mini-Max have a brotherly bond!! and also the nerd gang friendship omg ;-; and Aunt Cass says it herself, you don’t have to be related to be a family! I still love and cherish my bio family, but I really see a lot of my close fandom friends and other ppl I know as family too, and it’s nice to see that with Hiro and Aunt Cass, they still have each other as fam, but they also love and cherish the new members they have, like the nerd gang and even the robot fam (wonder what kind of shenanigans Hiro would get into w/ his new robotic cousins) 

Hope you guys enjoyed my little list, and it helped you think on the good stuff season 3 had. Sure it could’ve been better, and it deserved to have a proper season and it was unfair the show got cancelled, but there’s always a silver lining n.n 

[mysticdragon3md3]

Ranma ½ is GENIUS. Here’s Why by  Bonsai Pop

The thing I really appreciated about Ranma ½ when I was younger, was that it was a discussion about gender without getting sidetracked by sex, the way most “sex comedies” did, especially at the time.  At the time, publishers tried to market Ranma ½ as a “sex comedy” in the vein of raunchy college-setting Hollywood movies or fanservicy Male Gaze series (compare “Futaba-kun Change” or the proceeding “harem genre” that Ranma ½ started).  But Ranma ½ felt more like a discussion about gender more than sex, or even more than sexuality.  And being an AroAce kid, who didn’t know what AroAce was at the time, but was very confused about my gender, I really appreciated Ranma ½’s focus on gender over sex, fanservice, and heterosexuals navigating (sexual) relationships—which, I *cannot* express enough, was the saturated majority of all anime/manga, that even came close to discussing gender, at the time.  I just wanted a discussion about gender, gender roles, complaining about presumed traditional ideas about gender, and how to define one’s own gender despite society’s pressures about gender.  I wanted a discussion about Strength, that the martial arts genre did so often, without an advocation for sexist ideals, toxic masculinity, stereotypes about “feminine” being weaker (even as warriors), fixated only on romance, or any number of female stereotypes, etc.  I feel like I can’t remind people enough of how it was back then, when not only were these toxic mysoginist ideas portrayed frequently, but they were also portrayed as good, true, “right”, or unquestioned.  At least when Ranma Saotome was being a sexist jerk, he was punished for that terrible thinking or eventually had to reconcile with his dissonance.  And Akane Tendo was revolutionary at that time too.  It used to be that on the Shonen genre side, we had only hyper fem, passive, romance-fixated, love interests, OR nagging, cold female characters that really felt like the author was conveying all their horrible views on women in general, OR sexy eye-candy that had close-ups on their boobs or butt so frequently, that it completely made their lack of focus on romance or anything else in their personalities, secondary.  Then on the Shoujo genre side, we had girls who were fixated on nothing but romance, constantly jealous and possessive—and often over guys who hadn’t even proven themselves worthwhile to pursue romantically.  Let’s face it: A lot of Shoujo leading men were often jerks, treated their female love interests badly, and for some reason, she was just supposed to play the devoted “Lady Murasaki” and be totally “in love” with him.  Whyyyyyyyyyy?????????????  Even worse on the Shonen genre side too, because he treats her badly, it doesn’t get portrayed as bad treatment, he doesn’t understand why she’s angry, so she just looks like a volatile nag all the time, often existing only to be objectified or serve as a flimsy motive for his character arcs and actions. It was a pretty bad time.  Not that now has eliminated those problems, but when Ranma ½ and Akane Tendo seem like the shining lights of something different, maybe then you can understand how much I sorely needed Ranma ½ and Akane Tendo at that time.  

Really surprised that this video essay didn’t mention Jackie Chan.  The thing that differentiated Ranma ½ from so many martial arts battle anime/manga at the time, was that Ranma ½’s style of martial arts was inspired by Jackie Chan.  Meanwhile, all the other Shonen martial arts manga/anime were so serious and based more on “cool”, “action” genre toned martial arts movies.  

I’m intrigued by this video essay’s idea that Ranma ½ the series isn’t sexist, but rather, characters within the series are sexist, and are so in order to make a point about how them being like that is messed up.  I need to grapple with this because one of my problems in looking back at Ranma ½ is that it can be a little transphobic and/or homophobic at times.  Like, I’ll never forget when Tsubasa Kurenai was introduced and, Akane, this character that we’re supposed to completely sympathize with during this series, just keeps screaming in Tsubasa’s face that they are a “pervert”, simply because it’s revealed that Tsubasa identifies as a boy but dresses as a girl.  I think the episode just ended like that, and that was supposed to be a joke, but I don’t know whether the reveal’s shock intended on the audience was supposed to be conveyed through Akane and we were expected to have the same reactions as her, or if we were supposed to be shocked at Akane’s reactions and her reactions being ridiculous were the joke.  I dunno; it was a long time ago, I don’t remember much context, and I really should look it back up.  But frankly, there’s a lot of Ranma ½ to sift through and that’s more time than I have, writing this post.  Akane does seem to repeatedly have instances of being perfectly nice to characters, but when she discovers they’re actually guys, she spends a lot of time yelling “pervert” in their faces.  Sometimes I don’t know if we’re meant to see how ridiculous Akane is being or if we’re meant to agree with her.  Again, I watched/read the series a long time ago, and maybe if I re-watched/re-read it now, it would be clear to older me.  Because, when it happens between Akane and Ranma, Ranma has a specific line, grummbling about how Akane was perfectly nice to him, up until she found out he was actually a boy.  And Ranma was a bit nice in his characterization up until that early line of dialogue, so maybe we were supposed to be on his side in that thought.  So maybe Akane spending the rest of the series yelling “pervert” at Ranma (repeated so often it’s essentially their running gag), is supposed to be a joke laughing at how irrational Akane is being.  o.o?  I’d hate to think we’re supposed to be on Akane’s side, repeatedly calling Ranma a “pervert” over a curse that he had no control over getting, and early on was portrayed as a misfortune that the audience was supposed to sympathize and pity him over.  Maybe the whole thing is supposed to point out Akane’s flaws, since everyone in the series is pretty messed up.  (Even Kasumi unsettled me a bit when I was younger, in that she dropped her entire life, to replace her mother’s role when she died.  For me, being a young girl who didn’t buy into those traditional female roles, that were still at the time, strongly pushed onto girls in society, that was a little unsettling.  Still love Kasumi as a person though.)  Akane did have reason to “hate boys”, as the series specifically states early on, but I’d like to think that she was given this flaw as a point to grow away from.  Just as this video essay calls to attention Ranma being sexist and, over the series, eventually growing out of it.  But back when I was young and initially into Ranma ½, I feared that some of these sexist or even homophobic ideas in Ranma ½ were actually reflective of thoughts that Rumiko Takahashi advocated.  After all, there’s a point in Maison  Ikkoku where Kyoko berates herself by saying all women are fools.  Maybe I was too young to see the nuance in a character berating her own mistakes in her love live, vs the implication that all women are “properly” stereotyped into being obsessed with love and end up acting foolish for it.  Nowadays, I can see how we can berate ourselves whenever our specific actions can slot us into generalized stereotypes, and we curse ourselves for falling into proving stereotypes true on occaision.  But back then, when I was younger and watching Ranma ½ for the first time and reading Maison Ikkoku for the first time, I was afraid that such lines were reflective of Takahashi believing such stereotypes as truth.  Which is why I was so happy when sometime after Ranma ½, Inuyasha had a canonically gay character, and instead of Inuyasha calling him a pervert the entire time, he just got exasperated with his non-stop flirting, the way that all the female characters from Ranma ½ are tired of guys who won’t take “no” for an answer.  At the time, I thought, “Yay!  Takahashi has evolved to a less homophobic stance!”  But maybe, all this time, she was always against such things, and merely portraying them, even through characters we were supposed to sympathize with, merely to show how messed up such ideas are.  I really like that thought which this video essay presented.  

But I will disagree with this video essay on 1 thing:  The manga is better.  I’m not trying to be elitist.  I realize that comedy has a very subjective sensibilities, and the anime leans into awkward silence type comedy, whereas I am sick of that type of comedy.  But so many visual gags and jokes in the manga, and Rumiko Takahashi’s style in general, involve panels that are almost completely re-drawn, with only 1 element changed—the gag element—suggesting that the eye is supposed to read from panel to panel quickly (since the human eyes/brain filters out a lack of change, and is hard-wired to focus on changes from previous conditions).  To me, this suggests quick punchlines, whose sudden oddity is supposed to shock, implying an intended fast pacing to the jokes.  And yeah, Takahashi will draw seemingly normal scenes, detailed with all the normalcies of a commonly recognizable environment, then suddenly the next panel is exactly the same except a character is contorted into a silly pose or an absolutely ridiculous creature with an intentionally nonsensical facial expression has suddenly appeared, amid that completely “normal” scene, with all its “normal” details _redrawn_.  It’s why the “evil oni” episode in Ranma ½ had a ridiculous face, despite its supposedly ominous background.  In fact, anywhere Takahashi can fit a gag face, especially if it contradicts the surrounding scene’s/story’s serious tone, she will do it.  She has even said in interviews that if scenes are too serious, she will try to put in a gag in the corner.  I remember reading Maison Ikkoku during a depressive episode (for both me and Godai) and suddenly Yotsuya had poked his head through a hole in the wall, into the scene, shining a flashlight onto his own face, like a kid telling a ghost story, all while he made funny faces and Takahashi’s typical gag with the sign language “I love you” gesture.  The woman cannot let things stay serious (except for Mermaid Saga, parts of Inuyasha, and some short stories), and I love her for it!  ^o^  But the way she suddenly injects ridiculousness into scenes and character designs, suggest, at least to me, an intended fast paced delivery with the jokes.  That sudden shock when you notice Yotsuya making faces in the corner of a depressing scene. That sudden shock, when Ranma is hiding from his mother, and is clinging to the ceiling or futons like Spiderman, and Akane is just supposed to act natural so Ranma’s mom won’t notice where he’s hiding.  To me, this suggests the punchline is supposed to come at you like a sudden punch, unlike awkwardness that hangs in the air.  So when the anime tries to make the joke linger, I just don’t enjoy it as much as when my brain can dictate the faster pacing I want (and believe better fits) while reading the Ranma ½ manga.  

Also, the manga is better because those manga filler episodes were not as well written as the manga.  Rumiko Takahashi is a master of short stories.  And that shows when you run into the less-effective filler anime episodes–even when you don’t know they’re filler episodes!  I remember watching the Ranma ½ anime before reading the manga, before there was even internet lists of which were the filler episodes, and coincidentally, all the filler episodes did not make me laugh out loud, whereas every episode up until that point, had made me uncontrollably laugh.  I feel like the anime thought that because Ranma ½ was an episodic, very silly series, they could just insert anything and it would fit.  But clearly, only  the manga-based episodes—and even individual scenes!—had the nuance of Takahashi’s writing and pacing, to make even an episodic, ridiculous series work.  

  Also, I love how this video essay just lavishes the love on Rumiko Takahashi.  ^o^  

Another thing this video essay pointed out that I appreciate about Ranma ½ is how indifferent Ranma is to all the advances of his suitors or even accidental fanservice.  All the consequential “harem genre” series that tried to emulate Ranma ½ always seemed to include male protagonists who were surrogates for the audiences’ intended horny reactions.  But Ranma was neither turned on, enticed, nor tantalized by even accidental fanservice falling into his lap.  (As Mother’s Basement has noted, harem genre protagonist have a penchant for accidentally falling and grabbing a girls’ boobs, or their face falling into her boobs, or accidentally put into a position to forcibly see up her skirt, etc.)  If anything, he’s more embarassed that he accidentally walked in on girls in undress, rather than enjoying the view OR reacting so long, that the scene drags on, fixating on the accidental nudity/groping/fanserivce.  And I was about to postulate that maybe because most harem genre and fanservice series are usually made by straight men for an audience with a Male Gaze.  But Takahashi wrote Maison Ikkoku’s Godai, right before she created Ranma ½, and he very much enjoyed the view, took peeks, and fixated on any accidental fanservice.  So it’s actually Ranma himself who had reactions and a perspective that were very agreeable to this asexual.  

I hadn’t noticed before this video essay said it, but Happosai really is condemned much more for being the “pervy old man” archetype, whereas other series are very permissive towards that same archetype, even when they’re being sexual predators.  I’d like to attribute this to Takahashi bringing a woman’s perspective, but Sailormoon was also written by a woman and (if I remember correctly) Rei’s grandpa’s pervy ways were reprimanded in only 1 episode then permitted as a running gag in the rest of the series (thankfully, not often).  Then again, lots of the Shoujo genre also advocated for many toxic traditional ideas about gender (like girls picking romantic partners who don’t respect them, and girls being fully devoted/invested in such guys, because they “once” meet the bare minimum for human decency by being nice to them once).  So maybe it was uniquely Takahashi’s prerogative to not let the “pervy old man” archetype slide as supposedly “endearing” silliness.

[migleefulmoments]

Abb/y has something to s/ay

Let me premise this by reminding everyone that Abby -like Trump-doesn’t “get” comedy. They literally do not understand jokes, punchlines, or humor. So a satirical show about the Hollywood song writers falls flat. Her time away did nothing to sway her conspiratorial aspirations or her misogynistic hatred of Mia. She watched Royalties not once, but twice... not to enjoy Darren’s creativity and performance, not to support the celebrity she stans, and not even to crack up at the humor, no she watched twice because she was looking for confirmation bias. She wanted to document all of the ways Darren wrote his CrissColfer truth into Pierce’s life and she obsessively listened to all of the diss-tracks he wrote to attack his wife.  

Let me also premise this by saying I loved the show. I thought it was funny and the songs are so damn catchy.  The lyrics are quintessential Darren- funny, very clever, and raunchy.  

******************************************

R/oyalties, the Tale of Two Shows with a Heaping Side of Meta

ajw720. So I just finished watching R/oyalties for the second time, this time solely focused on the meta.  Look, we all know, the show is not good, it was not well written and the short format didn’t help as there was no option to develop character or plot.  But D knew it would not be good, he apologized for it back in January 2019.  And I think the effort he put into acting was the effort it deserved. Ok.

But his songs were genius.  As were the videos, hence why i call it the tale of two shows.  It truly was like watching content made by completely different people. I concur with MH, D is “intensely talented.”  And the part of this show he poured his blood, sweat, and tears into, the songs, are evident of this.

But this is a post about that Heaping Side of Meta. I think D, knowing that that show would not be made in the manner he envisioned, instead used it as a vehicle to make some bold statements and parallels with his career and public life.  Shall we begin?  And please, unlike the perfect song, this is not a perfect post and after the second round of watching i canceled my Quibi subscription and never plan to look back, so please feel free to add. I know some of these have been pointed out but I thought it was valuable to have one post.

One idea to inpsire the song?  A tiny FROG on a dime.

D’s shirt 1st seen in Episode 2: “It is hard to soar like an Eagle when you are surrounded by turkeys”

And of course “Call me Goldilocks bitch”  Remind you of something?

How about the entirety of Episode 3 when we are told that an artist is completely the product of the team.  That no matter what the artists expresses they want, it doesn’t matter because the Label/manager/publicist/on camera agent/legal will always have a say. And how it will play in America or the Foreign market are key metrics of how the product is produced and presented.  I love the line of the songwriter that tells P/ierce and S/ara to “get out while they are young.”  Or the line by one of her team “we don’t want something different, we want something the same that is different.”  And in the end P&S simply took one of KK old songs and reworked it, making something different that is not different and her team loved it.  

And of course, the line that was an utter slap in the face to the most over praised “director” of an indie band video ever when D reminds her of the real director in his life, the man set to direct major motion pictures, “you know who would be perfect to direct? C/hris.  C/hris would shatter this.”

Not much in Episode 4, but the gorilla suit in my opinion was mocking of a certain MMR video where we watched Swiller and a banana in a song about a gorilla.  Images I never need to see in my head again.

Episode 5, a gem, I am still so fucking proud of D and how he mocked her throughout the entirety of the episode.  New lines I love of that amazing song he wrote about her (in addition to those i posted previously here) “Some people say I’m a  genius, which comes from the greek word for Latin, and other people will say, alright in fact i’m a fuckin’s genius” “I’m not saying I’m a god, but I’m not saying I’m not a god.”  Mocking at its finest made all that much better by the band’s name “Switchback Jacket” that D describes as “butt rock emo” that is performed by a band that doesn’t actually sing, they are just the public image.  He literally told us that what we see is an image created for the public and that it is completely fake.  And he used his beard to make this statement. Just brilliant.  I cannot praise him enough for this, stealing her moment in the sun and making her look like an utter fool, telling us just how narcissistic she is.

Also some wonderful lines from that episode that are beyond telling:

“Power, it felt good to remind Kevin that I hold power over him. You always want to be the one with power”

“p/ierce wouldn’t know where to take a shit if I didn’t tell him.”

“she is like my wife except we don’t have sex and we are friends.”

“alright boss, I am ready to record that song, but where should i take a shit?”

“You will do anything to succeed.”

Episode 8 starring “Poly Amorous and the Unicorn Guild” an episode used to shine a light on how absurd it is that people believe D&PBB lived with platonic roomie B/enny for something like 4 years.  3 grown ass adults, all of whom have money to spare lived together in a relatively small house for four years.  It is pure comedy that anyone would believe that this is normal.  But hey these are the same people that explained away the infamous arm around her while at an awards show with D looking on:

And the cherry on top of this episode, the inclusion of C/huck (for some background, see my post here).

I really like the one bit of dialogue between P&S, where D pretty much tells us once again that M will use anyone to get what she wants:

“Did it ever occur to you that maybe just maybe, I don’t like where we are now? There were a lot of really great things about the way things were.  Things that are worth preserving.  Not that you just take and use and through out.”

Episode 9 had some really impactful lines:

“you think i wouldn’t steal for my career? You think I wouldn’t lie?  I would do anything.”

The Neils being the nameless individuals, nothing more than a number, who are the ones who actually create the product.  And then the song, some of the translations are D telling you how he feels, because sometimes i think in terms of his public image he is just a Neil trying to escape the cage that has been built around him:

“I dream about getting away, I have been locked up in this cage wishing i could make my escape. I hate that I need you.”

And finally Episode 10, where we learn the Neils get no credit and no royalties. This reminds me of a script C wrote that never saw the light of day but suddenly the next season of AHS had the same theme as his script.

And that is all i got, if you have more please add. I think the fact that D took what he knew would be a mediocre project and projected his voice and story throughout it was pretty genius and a smart way to utilize this vehicle, that was clearly payout for so many that have used him for years and to shine a bright light on the truth.

elicc  The “perfect song”’s performer is called Bailey Rouge, a clear link to TLOS.

He is a genius.

ajw720   @elicc damn, that was on my list and I forgot. And we all know who Red is inspired by, so seems fitting Bailey Rouge would get the perfect song.

ajw720. Just adding one more I thought about putting in my original post but admittedly think it’s a stretch. But maybe not? Just adding here for fun.

When Theo tells P to bottle up all his romantic feelings I couldn’t help but think of a certain chapter in a book

*******************************************

Oy Vei! Abby didn’t use her time away getting any therapy or perspective.  She hasn’t learned any lessons. I have no doubt she’s been reading just as much as she did before and she’s speaking to Cassie, Flowers et al all day. It’s really sad. It’s sad that she can’t see how silly she sounds, what an asshole her version of Darren is. If she could restrain herself even a little bit it might come off less unhinged because turning every single moment of Royalties into some crisscolfer wet dream reeks of desperation. 

Abby hates Royalties. In last week’s “Dear D” she had the audacity to say 

....Fans that are beyond devoted and mainly because of the way you have treated fans with respect and a level of caring that far surpasses the majority of public figures.  And while I am not enjoying the show itself, the music shows how diverse you are as a writer and how you can virtually write for anyone or any genre. The songs are fantastic.  Memorable.  And really fun.  

She knows the the Langs wrote the show and Darren wrote the songs but what she can’t seem to comprehend is that Darren IS Royalties. Everything in the show is Darren’s.  

Staying in the closet would be less painful than trying to express oneself through a short-form satirical comedy.  Can you imagine trying to express your devastation and pain through Kick Your Shoes off or Break It In? 

“I’m the king of the hard fuck....pile drive the bed like a young buck...if you like feathery shit thats pretty cool but I don’t need that...people say I fuck too soft, saying that I can’t please a woman” 

BTW Abby- “call me goldilocks bitch” isn’t a reference to TLOS it’s a reference to Goldilocks and Three Bears because because he fucks perfect, not too soft, not too hard. It’s much more believable that he is referring to a random nursery rhyme than it is to believe he is referring to a children’s book his lover/husband/boyfriend wrote 8 years ago. You might love the book but Chris has moved on and written new things. 

Darren wrote funny lyrics. I loved Kick Your Shoes Off because it’s written by a man whose watched his wife and female friends wear painful shoes for the same of fashion even though its painful as fuck.   

“Yeah, I’m a bad bitch so don’t be mad bitch. I turned the room into a catwalk like a sad bitch. I can’t feel my toes in these stilettos. when I walk out my roomate says you’ll regret those....Beauty is pain but oh I look amazing.  You won’t hear me complaining but oh my instep (inside?) is screaming...kick your shoes off (kick em off) ooooooo I do what I want..(Kick em off) ooooo Hey I can’t walk in these, blisters start to bleed now both my feet are swollen. Kick your shoes off (Kick em off).....It’s like i feel so good when my shoes are on, but like i also feel sooooo good when they are off” 

Abby’s convinced I am So Much Better Than You is straight up about Mia because Mia is in the video. She listened to it on repeat the day after it came out. In her “Letter to D” last week she said 

Especially after you made an effort to mock her for the entirety of Tuesday when her episode aired (and for the record I am still really, really proud of what you did with that episode and how you handled the roll out, that is the fighter I admire and that inspires me.  I listened to I am so much better than you on repeat on my drive home from work yesterday).   

Good Lord  The lyrics are as silly as all the other songs: “My mirror wants to bone me (but it can’t because it’s a mirror)” How did Abby miss the obvious TLOS mirror/ Halloween costume reference here?  

“You keep doing push ups while I get buff eating mac and cheese (with overpriced lobster and truffles because I’m worth it)”  

“Some people say I’m a genius (which comes from the greek work for latin) Some other people will say yeah I’m right I’m a fucking genius (I’m not saying I’m a god but I’m not saying I’m not a god). 

“And even when you sneeze, God blesses me, he blesses me. And even when you sneeze, god blesses me, he blesses me, he blesses me”

“I’m am so much better than you at everything”. 

She believes Darren would be- and stay- married to a women that he publicly ridicules and attacks. I don’t get why she thinks that is something admirable . 

She thinks Also You is referring to Ben living with them.  Where to start with this one? She says

“Episode 8 starring “Poly Amorous and the Unicorn Guild” an episode used to shine a light on how absurd it is that people believe D&PBB lived with platonic roomie B/enny for something like 4 years.  3 grown ass adults, all of whom have money to spare lived together in a relatively small house for four years.  It is pure comedy that anyone would believe that this is normal.  But hey these are the same people that explained away the infamous arm around her while at an awards show with D looking on”

I’m gobsmacked.  Also You is about Polyamory. She doesn’t even understand her own theories if she thinks that is the message Darren wants to share about Mia and Ben.  In no world would someone try to proclaim their wife was cheating on them with a live-in houseguest by writing an episode called Poly Amorous and the Unicorn Guild.  Also, someone needs to explain cuckholding to her because her theories about Ben and Mia make Darren a cuck.  

OMG I just realized that Darren is a cuck and Royalties proves it.  He hired Kether to be his costar in Royalties,...Kether is in You’re the Worst as Lindsay.  Lindsay cuckholds her husband. Bam! mic drop.   

Why isn’t Perfect Song about Mia, you know, if we are playing confirmation bias “No one is as good as you because you're my perfect song” 

[blackfemmecharacterdependency]

BFCD Reviews by Nesha: Summertime on Netflix

This is what I’m gonna do... I’ll be doing more structured reviews later and most likely liveblogging suggested stuff and tagging with “Nesha Watches (Insert Title) for all liveblog posts. For this first review, I won’t be as structured, because I didn’t really plan on reviewing, so this is basically all of my comments to friends @chenoahchantel and @daintyurbanprincess that were made whilst I was watching this show suggested to me by @rbaifzau 

It didn’t take me long to be annoyed with the white boy in this show. It doesn’t take much anyways, but one episode in and I’m over him already. This dude saw her at a party, she got pushed into the pool accidentally, he gave her a dry shirt, and two minutes later tried to kiss her… TF..  

Girl, this bout to be IGNANT...

Chile... She was like, "What are you doing?" And he looked surprised. Like whet. And in episode 2 after having seen her thrice and spoken to her once, he telling his best friend, "I'm pretty sure I like her a lot." I HATE stuff like this. Why did I tell old girl I'd watch this and discuss it with her? 😭

But she like him, so like??? 😭

And her daddy, who we haven't seen yet is presumably a rolling stone. Only one negro in this town and the nigga gotta be probably running around on his wife? 🙄 I'm like, OH, so the one Black man in the show gotta be a rolling stone? And even though his wife is also highly irresponsible as a parent, she's sort of made out to be the victim of his dreams. They never portray Black mothers doing things on their own as victims. That woman was messing up left and right and it's all on her husband not being there, when that's only part of the problem.

Also, if she IS the only present parent and made the decision to do that, she should be doing it instead of leaning on Summer all of the time. 

And she got a close friend that have an obvious crush on her but she seems oblivious. I hate dis

This dude reminds me of Max Theriot. He always looked musty to me. 🤣🤣🤣 He look like him breaf stank. Him and Jack Griffo were working on something where they play soldiers and I absolutely said, "He still look like he stank" when I saw him on Instagram…

This is basically the same mold of dude and it looks moldy and should be tossed out. None for me, thanks.

But, there are moments in this show that's really cracking me up. 🤣🤣🤣 It's like, I feel like I should enjoy it for the messiness of it, but the main characters can be infuriating.

She called him an asshole and he said, "You don't even know me." No duh dipshit. She ain't know you when you tried to kiss her neither. NOR when you was talmbout you like her. 

This girl kissing her friend!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. She's gonna hurt this boy! My Gwad. He finna be discombobulated. 😭😭😭 He all happy today and she don't even see him like that. Lordt.

He walked up and she look uncomfortable AF. Her younger sister is like, "You're being weird." 🤣🤣🤣 Even SHE hip to something. He on the beach talmbout "It's hot today, don't you think?" And took his shirt off. 😭😭😭😭😭😭

I like Summer's friends and feel bad for them because she really didn't treat them kindly. She used Edo whenever she was upset by Ale and then she just completely ditched Sofie on her birthday and didn't even text her or anything. Just had her waiting on her and didn't even apologize. Like, I love that she gets a chance to be human, but being an asshole to the people who you're supposed to be friends with is such an upsetting trope to me.

And the connection between her and Ale is so weird. He comes across as super predatory in the beginning and I don't understand why she liked him in the first place, but also whenever he does something by mistake, she is so angry at him, even though she's been just as inconsiderate when it comes to her friends.

NOW... HE HARASSING HER AT HER JOB. 

WOTTICE DIS HUNNY??? 

Talmbout if she got a boyfriend he'll "take care of him" 😖 After she told him to leave and he said he'd wait for her outside, she asked her coworker, "What do you do to let a guy know you like him back?"

NOW, she went outside and he's there, but her friend showed up to surprise her after work. 🤣 Whoever made this HATES me

He stole a book out her locker and left a card with his phone number. How is this the start of a romance???

OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. FRIEND IS TALKING ABOUT THE KISS...He said it was perfect........

Chile... And she don't even wanna tell their other best friend. Bruh. He said, "What we have doesn't need to be discussed." Summy PLEASE tell this young man...HE TRIED TO KISS HER AGAIN AND SHE SAID, "We just talked about last night's mistake" 😭😭😭

And she done hurt my friend this way, but she worried about Maxface because his mama can't reach him on the phone??? Girl.. go.. girl...

The gag is that she got mad at Ale because she saw him talking to his ex and she had to cover for him at work, but you've now ACTUALLY put your best friend in a bad space. And he ran into her mom and little sister and looked so uncomfortable but kept it short and sweet. These are people he loves. Idk. I feel bad for him and also like she kind of a hypocrite.

That was what REALLY bothered me. I don't expect her to be perfect, by all means. Black girls should be allowed their imperfections and their mistakes, but the fact that she knows what it's like to have the people you love be so absent and that she would treat her friends this way because of one guy who she's only known for a couple of months was disappointing for her character. She could have been written imperfectly without this glaring problem that I don't believe a real person in her position would actually have. 

I think in real life, the girl who raises her sister and basically has to lift her mother up all the time would overextend herself to her friends, but instead, she just leaves them in her dust as soon as she gets some dick. 😭

He is now hanging out with her little sister. 😭😭😭She goes to school with them but she looks tiny. I'm cringing at everything.

BRUH. Like... I can't tell if they're trying to or not, but I wouldn't be surprised because he's cool with the sister too, but they've been friends a while, so I didn't think much of it until Summer hurt him.I thought she liked him earlier, so idk if he is noticing her or I just EXPECT it. 

OAN, this man realized his son had a motorcycle accident on purpose and got mad instead of concerned

At one point, they say he's been riding bikes for 20 years, and whenever his father is mad that he had his accident on purpose (which I'll come back to) he says that he's never made a mistake like that, not even was he was 4, so Ale is AT LEAST 24 and she JUST turned 18. Which is WILD to me, even though at 18 I dated someone who was 23 (he was possessive and abusive, so I have a real suspicion of age gaps). 

But, aside from that - she gets mad at him any time she sees him with his ex when It is perfectly fine to speak with your ex and whenever she did see them together, it was always innocent and she didn't give him a chance to explain.

But then, when he does something questionable, like whenever he tried to kiss her the first day they met, or whenever he came to her job to ask her out and she told him to leave but he said he was going to wait outside (toxic AF and presumptuous) she is fine with those things.

Now, back to Ale's accident. I really felt so bad for him whenever we discover he did this on purpose, because his father is mad, when they should be concerned. His mother says, "You could have died" and he agrees...

How did they not notice that meant that this young man was so disappointed with his life as a biker that he was literally suicidal? They just grazed past it and whenever he vanished on them, there wasn't a huge call to find him,even though he'd just admitted to purposefully filling a possibly fatal mistake.

I'm prepared for nothing but disappointment. ALL these people outta there. Ale's best friend is in love with his ex. 😭 IT'S SUMMER'S 18TH BIRTHDAY. MYNIGGA She really stood her other best friend up to go get some dick on a little ass boat

The little sister shot her shot! 😭😭😭 He told her she's like his little sister and she burnt off mad denna muffugga

This child drunk, walking down the street in the middle of the night without her glasses...

OMG AS I WAS TYPING THAT SHE GOT HIT BY A DAMN CAR

I was really upset by these things coming to light, and also whenever Blue gets hit by a car, because all of the reviews that I've seen on this site have been that it's a cute love story with likable characters, but nobody mentions the problematic content, the dark portions of the story that can be triggering - like suicide and alcohol incidents and literally seeing a young Black girl be hit and run by a car??? 

I wasn't prepared for that shit in a "cute love story." I think that this story is less cute and more dark than people have made it out to be, and that's one of my problems with it. It isn't marketed as a dramatic coming of age story. It's marketed as a romantic comedy, when it is more serious than that and has a lot of issues that should be considered.

The lesbian best friend is in love with her too??????????????????? I. Hate. This.

My favorite person in this whole thing is the lesbian in the background, Irene. And also Dario.

I was entertained a lot of the times. Just heavily confused because I couldn't figure out what the tone was supposed to be. 😁

In conclusion - it's maybe a dark comedy, not a cute comedy, IS a coming of age about a young Black girl who is kind of an asshole, but Black girls should be free to be assholes too. White dudes do it all the time and are valued characters. The dude is weird AF for chasing around this 17 year old girl and he's in his 20s. Idk if that's normal in Italy. It's nasty to me. Their beginning is young people foolishness and there's not much that we see their relationship built upon, but that happens, yanno. You young, tired and silly and some pushy dude makes his move whenever he see you. Slap some discount sex in a dinghy on it and you have this show. I don't recommend it, but a lot of folk loved it, so I guess it did what it meant to do.

[81scorp]

My thoughts on Tangled

(Originally posted as an editorial on Deviantart Nov 17, 2015.)

In my "More thoughts on Frozen" editorial I wrote: "I like Frozen. Though not as much as I like Tangled."So let`s talk about Tangled.

And at last I see the SPOILERS

I didn`t have high expectations about this movie. Based on what I saw from the trailer it seemed to be not much more than a silly romp with lots of slapstick, kinda like The Emperor`s new groove. I wasn`t really interested in watching it until I saw a trailer with the scene where Flynn and Rapunzel sits in a boat and release lanterns into the sky. I thought to myself: "I think I`ll give it a watch."

Then there`s the name. It was originally gonna be called Rapunzel, but the big suits at Disney changed it. It has been theorized that they did it because The Princess and the Frog, while not unsuccessful at the box office, was not as successful as they had hoped, and they were afraid that boys wouldn`t see a movie with the word "Princess" or anything feminine in the title. I think it was a very insecure move from Disney, it`s like changing "The Little Mermaid" to "Beached". If they had kept the name "Rapunzel" and marketed it the way they did, with the trailers focusing on The Emperor`s new groove-like slapstick while playing Pink`s "Trouble", I and (I`d like to think that others, as well) would still have gone to see it. You might want to argue and say that the name change was justified because they changed the story from the original fairytale. They changed the story of The Little Mermaid and The Hunchback of Notredam too but still kept the name of the original.But what`s in a name? Surely, an animated Disney movie about a girl with insanely long hair and the thief that act as her guide by any other name would still be as sweet. Insecure name changing aside, the rest of the movie could still be good.

My Brother and I went to see it in the cinema...IN 3D!!!

A few minutes into the movie we got something I wasn`t prepared for: A musical number... in an animated Disney movie. At first my reaction was "What?" But a part of me said "Yeah, and? What`s so odd about a musical number in an animated Disney movie? You walked into The Princess and the Frog fully aware that there was gonna be singing and liked it. You`re just a little surprised because you never saw any clips or trailers that indicated that it was gonna be a musical. Now shut up and enjoy this Disney musical damnit!"

But putting that aside, "When will my life begin" is not a great song to open with. It is VERY upbeat, modern and pop-ish, which, considering the 18th century world it takes place in, makes it feel very anachronistic.I liked it a little more after repeated viewings though, so it`s a bit of an aquired taste.A part of it that I did like (without repeated viewings) was the last part that begins with "Tomorrow night the lights will appear, just like they do on my birthday each year". This part of the song felt like Rapunzel`s more vulnerable side, like her true face under the mask of cheerfulness that we heard in the first parts. The chores and hobbies that she sings about (like puzzles and darts and baking) are what she does to kill time and the boredom of isolation. In hindsight, the title alone: "When will my life begin" pretty much verifies that.It`s not a bad song by itself, just maybe not the best song to open this movie with.You might wonder "Isn`t `Healing incantation` technically the first song of the movie and why did it take you till `When will my life begin`to realize it was a musical?"

Well, "Healing incantation" was the first song, yes. But unlike "When will my life begin" it`s diegetic, they could still sing it even if this movie wasn`t a musical. Diegetic music comes from a person or object in the scene (like a radio or musical performer), while non-diegetic music is external to the narrative. In Rocky II when Rocky runs down the streets of Philadelphia and the song "Gonna fly now" is playing, we can hear the music but Rocky can`t, it`s non-diegetic.

"Mother knows best" sounded better though, it felt more fitted for a musical. I like that she both figuratively and literally tries to keep Rapunzel in the dark in the musical number. James Berardinelli from ReelViews commented on his website that "the songs were neither catchy nor memorable". I don`t completely agree with him. Sure, a few hours after I left the cinema I didn´t remember most of the songs, but I did remember the chorus to "Mother knows best". Many like to compare Mother Gothel to Cher and I can`t say that I don`t see why. But to me she reminds me more of Edina from Absolutely Fabulous. Both call their daughter "darling", are selfish and one of the worst days in Edina`s life... was the day she turned 30! Another popular comparison is the one between her and Claude Frollo from the Disney version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Both keep a ward locked up in a tall building and tell them that the world is a horrible place. In a way Claude Frollo is the worse villain because he has more authority, he has power over the guards and by that, some level of control over the city. While similar, there are some small differences in their, for lack of a better word, "parenting skills". Frollo`s are more about being stern and controlling Quasimodo with a respect based on fear, while Mother Gothel is more about emotional manipulation and sending mixed messages. She gives Rapunzel subtle insults one minute only to add a little "just kidding, you know I love you" the next. On a large scale Frollo is the worst, while on a smaller, personal level Mother Gothel is the worst. There is a little bit of tenderness in her cruelty. One thing that bugs me is the glorification and romanticism of the age of 16. Appearently that`s the best age to be, that`s when everything great and magical happens. I thought to myself when watching Tangled: "Please don`t make her 16. Make her some other age or just don`t mention it." Rapunzel`s age was 17 and the next day she was gonna turn 18. I thought "Thank you Disney! Thank you for avoiding this clichè and overrated age". In a way it turns it into a metaphor for growing up, becoming independent and leaving the nest. Yes, she is technically still underaged at first, but it is she that is in charge and Flynn doesn`t try anything romantic on her until after she turns 18. But most important of all: she`s not 16.

I liked the reprise of "When will my life begin" better than the first version because, like "Mother knows best" the music and instruments in it felt more fitting for a musical. That moment before she puts her foot on her grass you could see in her eyes that it may have been a small step for man, but it was a giant leap for Rapunzel.

Which was then followed by the emotional rollercoaster known as "The bi-polar scene". In her book "Making a good script great" Linda Seger wrote that conflict is the basis of drama, and this movie has a lot of conflict without feeling overcrowded. There`s Flynn VS the guards of Corona and Flynn VS the Stabbington brothers, both over which one gets the crown. There`s Rapunzel VS Mother Gothel, Rapunzel wants to leave her tower to see the rest of the world, or at least the floating lanterns, while Gothel wants to keep her in the tower.There`s also conflict that adds comedy. There`s Flynn VS Maximus, which is an extension of Flynn VS the guards, but funnier. Flynn VS Rapunzel, Rapunzel needs Flynn as her bodyguard/guide through the dangerous outside world, so she hides his satchel and uses it as leverage. Flynn just wants the crown so he can sell it and get stinking rich, so he tries to manipulate and scare Rapunzel into giving up her journey to see the lanterns. Then there`s Rapunzel VS herself. While happy that she is seeing the world she also feels guilty over disobeying her mother, which leads to the inner conflict seen in the previously mentioned "bi-polar scene".

Maximus the horse, who I mentioned earlier is a great character and a great source of comedy. He`s like Officer Zenigata from Lupin III. Pascal adds a little comedy too but doesn`t contribute as much to the story as Maximus. My guess is that he was created for the same reason that Robin was created for Batman. The creators thought that it would be better if Batman had someone to talk and explain things to so he wouldn`t seem like a complete nutjob that talks to himself. I don`t have much to say about "I`ve got a dream", it`s a fun, likeable song one would usually expect the comical side-characters to sing. Is it just me or doesn`t the chorus borrow a little from "She`ll be coming round the mountain"?

"She'll be coming round the mountain, she'll be coming round the mountain, she'll be coming round the mountain when she comes"

"Though I do like breaking femurs, you can count me with the dreamers. Like everybody else, I've got a dream."

(Sure, the melody isn`t identical but the structure is somewhat similar.)

Flynn refusing to sing (at first) is not exactly new for a Disney musical, it had already been done in Enchanted. However this was (to my knowledge) the first time it was done in the Disney animated canon and it was done much funnier.

The scene where Rapunzel and Flynn...

Flynn: Eugene.

What?

Flynn: Eugene Fitzherbert.

OK. where Rapunzel and...Eugene

are trapped in a cave that`s filling up with water is similar to the trash-compactor scene in Star wars: It`s the dark moment, the part of the movie where it seems like there is no way out and all hope is lost. I like this scene, not just because of the suspense but also because it is where they open up to and start getting to know each other. But because this not just a big-budget movie but a Disney movie, and no director wants to depress the audience (unless you`re Lars von Trier), we know that they`re gonna make it, we just don`t know how. In the campfire scene we get more time for character development. We already know Rapunzel`s backstory but this is the first time that Fly-... Eugene gets to hear it. We (and Rapunzel) also find out that Eugene was an orphan who took his name from a fictional character who was everything he wanted to be. Rapunzel`s inner conflict shows up here too, but this time with a downplayed, more serious tone and not comically exaggerated.

Eugene: And you`re still gonna go back?

Rapunzel: No! Yes. (covers her face) It`s complicated. I`m probably alone in this but to me Eugene`s name change feels like a reflection of the movie`s name change. Eugene changed his name to Flynn Rider because he thought it would sound cooler, like how the big suits at Disney changed the movie`s name from Rapunzel because they thought it would sound cooler.

Rapunzel: For the record, I like Eugene Fitzherbert much better than Flynn Rider. Not much to say about the reprise of Mother knows best except that we get to see the more Frollo-ish side of Gothel. Since the tenderness doesn`t work she now tries to make Rapunzel respect her through fear. I love the Kingdom dance scene. It`s like that scene from The Little Mermaid when Ariel visits the town with Eric and for the first time gets to experience the world of humans. It`s a great example of visual storytelling, no dialogue is used or needed. Just like Ariel, Rapunzel gets to geek out and and explore this new world, try new things, new kinds of food and immerse herself in new books. I love the music in this scene. It has a nice medieval-ish feel to it, the kind of music you`d expect to hear in this world and time. Another interesting touch is that it starts out joyful but there`s a small ominous tone that grows bigger and louder as the music plays, as if forshadowing an impening doom.

This is followed by another really good scene: Rapunzel`s parents, another great example of visual storytelling where no dialogue is needed, the animation says it all.

Movie critic and comedian Doug Walker said in his review of this movie that the voice acting on Rapunzel and Eugene could have been better, not that the actors did a poor job, he was just always aware that there was a person behind a microphone. Personally I had no problem with Rapunzel`s and Eugene`s voice. Mandy Moore did a great job voicing Aerith in the first Kingdom Hearts game and I didn`t even know (at the time) it was her. I was aware that it was her before watching the movie, but while watching it I had no problem separating the voice from the celebrity and enjoying the movie. I didn`t even know who voiced Eugene, I looked it up and found that it was Zachary Levi, Chuck Bartowski from Chuck. He did his own singing too, I didn`t know he could sing. Is there anything that intersect can`t do?

I mention Doug Walker because what he felt about the original voice actors is what I felt about about the actors in the swedish-dubbed version. Måns Zelmerlöw (Eugene Fitzherbert) and Molly Sandèn (Rapunzel) were not bad, I just didn`t feel as invested with them as I was with the original version. Moore and Levi both have acting experience and their voices had a certain maturity. Sandèn and Zelmerlöw are both younger, singers and hasn`t had as much acting experience as Moore and Levi. (Sandèn`s experience in dubbing is, so far, limited to two Highschool Musical movies where she dubbed the songs.) The parts where they sing sound great though. Now, with that out of the way...I like "I see the light", don`t have much to say about it though, but more to say about the scene where it is sung. It is beautifully animated and directed. Eugene having prepared the two lanterns, one for each of them, shows that he is willing to go that little extra length for someone else, something the old Eugene (or Flynn) would not have done so easily, if at all. Another nice little detail in this scene is that the lantern that is about to sink into the water that Rapunzel pushes back up into the sky is her parents lantern.

How Maximus managed to get help from the Snugly Duckling thugs is not hard to imagine. Most likely scenario: He ran to the pub with one of Eugene`s wanted posters in his mouth and waved it in front of their faces.

Thug: What is it horse? Is the guy with the big freaky nose and his longhaired girlfriend in danger?

Maximus would nod and the thugs would huddle and start planning Eugene`s escape.

Is it a stretch that Rapunzel can remember things from when she was just a few days old? Maybe convenient but not unbelievable, Rapunzel was born under special circumstances after all. If she has healing hair why can`t she also have a super-memory and (from what I`ve read on the Disney wikia) super-strength? Seriously, she carries around a large amount of hair that no ordinary human would be able to carry as easily as she does. "But how was Gothel able to overpower her?"

one might wonder. I have a few theories.

A: Maybe she isn`t superstrong, maybe her hair is just very, very light.

B: She has some form of psychosomatic mental block that prevents her from overpowering Gothel.

C: Gothel, who managed to beat both the of Stabbington brothers, is really really good at fighting dirty. Wouldn`t surprise me if she used Rapunzel`s long hair to her advantage. Near the end of the movie Eugene dies but is brought back to life by a tear from Rapunzel. Typical Disney death, yes, but it makes sense, more sense than the original fairytale. In the original fairytale the prince got pushed out of the tower by Dame Gothel and landed in thorns below that damaged his eyes and blinded him. He later met Rapunzel who`s tears restored his sight. Unlike the movie it was never (to my knowledge at least) established before that moment that she had any form of healing powers, it just happened because of fairytale logic.So, does Rapunzel have healing tears now or was all her healing powers used up in that one tear? Don`t know, guess we`ll have to wait and see. I`m fine either way.The final scene where the kingdom celebrates Rapunzel`s return is... not bad or unnecessary, it`s just not as good as the previous scene where Rapunzel is reunited with her parents. It`s as if the filmmakers were afraid that their happy ending wasn`t happy enough. It`s the part where all the Snugly Duckling thugs had their dreams come true, for me it would have been enough to see them just partake in the festivities since we only heard them talk (or rather, sing) about their dreams but we never saw them struggle for them. Then again, not seeing them reach their goals that they sang about would feel like an unused chekov`s gun. I think the part with the Snugly Duckling thugs would have worked better without Eugene`s narration confirming that they all got exactly what they wanted, but I`m probably nitpicking here. Even if it was a typical Disney "Look! Everybody gets a happy ending!"-ending it was short and wasn`t bad.

And who doesn`t like a drunken, flirting dwarf in a diaper?

Sure, it has a few flaws but it`s one of my favourite movies.

That`s all I have for now but I`m not done yet. More thoughts on Tangled coming later. I thought that all of my thoughts on Tangled might be a little much to read if put into one editorial, so I decided to divide it into two.

[crowdvscritic]

round up // FEBRUARY 20

On Wednesdays we wear pink, and in February, I stay inside and watch Turner Classic Movies because it’s too gosh-darn cold to do anything else. I watched almost as many movies as days in this month, largely thanks to TCM’s 31 Days of Oscar. A few things I learned:

As much as I enjoy a good TV binge, I enjoy the satisfaction of a movie's end more.

Thank goodness TCM shows good movies when the theatres seem barren of them.

If anyone says women’s complaints about their depiction in Hollywood are overblown, I’d challenge them to watch my month’s lineup. Most female characters were basically non-existent or defined as objects of desire no matter what decade the movies were from.

In February, I also watch the Academy Awards. Most of the movies here were nominated for Oscars, but I’m also recommending a few more pop culture picks (including TV, social media, a book, articles, and music) for the month.

February Crowd-Pleasers

The Imagineering Story (2019)

The Imagineering Story tells the story behind the creation of Disney theme parks, with the greatest highlight of showing you how attractions are designed. Is this shameless Disney marketing on the Disney+ streaming service? Yep, but it’s so well done that for a moment I forgot about their unsettling takeover of the entertainment industry and wanted to quit everything I was doing to go work for them.

This Knives Out Sequel Twitter Thread

The Internet can be a scary place, but this thread reminds us the fun things that can happen when tons of strangers come together. My recommendation was Knives Out: In 2 the Donut Hole, but that’s mostly because someone beat me to Knives Out 2: Adam Driver Is In It.

Classic Action Double Feature: The Magnificent Seven (1960) and The Dirty Dozen (1967)

Your girl loves star-studded team-ups, and it’s never better than when an action movie rounds up its squad of special skills. Also a Charles Bronson double feature! (Bonus: I recommend checking out the 2016 Magnificent Seven remake for a reevaluation of some of the elements that haven’t aged well in the original.)

Classic Comedy Double Feature: Moonstruck (1987) and Road to Morocco (1942)

Moonstruck is like My Big Fat Greek Wedding meets While You Were Sleeping, and Cher’s 1980s hair is a mood. (Arguably, so is Nicolas Cage’s chest hair.) Road to Morocco is like Airplane! meets Aladdin, and the silliness has hardly aged thanks to the talents of Bing Crosby and Bob Hope.

Joyful by Ingrid Fetell Lee

The science of joy? This non-fiction book is as fun a read as it should be! It’s not providing answers to deep questions of philosophy, but it’s about a philosophy that can bring life changes. I was amazed by stories of how bright colors, circular spaces, and Northern Lights can inspire joy no matter what your circumstances are. The only problem with this book is that you constantly want to Google every beautiful things she is describing—maybe we need a big coffee table book with photos as a second edition?

'90s Action Double Feature:Tremors (1990) and The Fugitive (1993)

You know a movie's good when you tense up even though you know what's coming. I'd caught bits and pieces of The Fugitive on TV, but this Harrison Ford/Tommy Lee Jones standoff still sucked me in when I watched it start-to-finish. Tremors is not a good movie—this is a movie so bad it’s great. If on some Friday night you need a big, dumb action movie with terrible dialogue, a monster created with dated special effects, and forgettable characters getting picked off one by one and coasts entirely on the charisma of Kevin Bacon and Reba McEntire (???), have I got the movie for you!

February Critic Picks

These Pieces on the Grammys Controversy

The New York Times and Variety wrote about why the firing of President/CEO Deborah Dugan and her subsequent lawsuit won’t be disappearing even though the Recording Academy is trying hard as heck to do that. As one too invested in how the arts are recognized and celebrated, I’m paying attention to what appears to be a scandal just waiting to be uncovered.

“Can the Grammys Be Trusted?” by Jon Caramanica (The New York Times)

“The Grammys May Be Over, but the Recording Academy Scandal Isn’t” by Jem Aswad (Variety)

Dark Passage (1947)

An exception to the trend of weak female roles in the films I watched this month. Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart re-team for their third film (of four) together in this romantic film noir. Bogart plays a wrongfully accused escaped convict, and Bacall is the woman who helps him keep his cover. The unconventional first-person camera angles at the beginning will catch your attention, but their chemistry will keep you invested till the end.

The Oscars

The 2020 Oscars ceremony was one of the most bonkers ceremonies in recent memory. Bonkers is preferable to boring, and I love any night celebrating movies, so I have very few complaints about an evening spent with friends eating movie-themed snacks. (Anyone care for an Adam Screw-Driver?) My favorite moments came thanks to Bong Joon Ho, especially his wins for Best Original Screenplay and Best Director.

The French Dispatch Trailer (2020)

A star-studded team-up about Midwestern journalists from the aesthetically-pleasing mind of Wes Anderson? Take my money!

Classic War Comedy Double Feature: Life Is Beautiful (1997) and Dr. Strangelove (1964)

They were both nominated for Best Picture, and they both find humor in the darkest of war. In Life Is Beautiful (La Vita è Bella), a father transforms a Nazi concentration camp into a game to save his son’s innocence. In Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, a bunch of incompetent leaders try to prevent nuclear war. Neither sounds funny, but they pull it off with delicate execution. (Bonus: Enjoy Robert Benigni winning an Oscar!)

The Slow Rush by Tame Impala

As my brother would say, this album slaps.

Leap Day Bonus

“What a Man Gotta Do” by the Jonas Brothers

My apologies to the Jo Bros for forgetting to include this in my January Round Up—this movie-inspired music video is a treat.

Also in February…

Yes, I love the Oscars, but considering how much viewership went down, it seems the Academy could do more to draw people in. One of my favorite film podcasts inspired me to brainstorm seven ways the Oscars could make the public care again in a piece for ZekeFilm.

The writers of ZekeFilm counted down our favorite films of 2019, most of which you can find on streaming now.

Kyla and I discussed a rock ‘n’ roll documentary and a camp classic on SO IT’S A SHOW? this month.

If you want to see the full list of movies I watched this month, you can find it on Letterboxd.

Photo credits: Grammys, Tame Impala. Joyful my own. All others IMDb.com.

[translationandbetrayals]

ALIIEEEENZZZ!! in anime (A very, very confused rant about a anime and “power relations” tropes between humans and aliens)

So I just finished watching Planet With and it was sort of interesting, it cannot be said that it has the best story, soundtrack or graphic arts (be it animation, character design, backgrounds, etc) but certainly interesting because it got me thinking about how aliens are depicted in anime compared to other media.

Planet With:

If you do not know what anime show I am talking about, Planet With is a science fiction series that is about a alien boy with amnesia and a big cat that eats the eats the boy and then transforms into a neko-mecha… oh yeah and there is also a vegetarian maid.

Fig 1.- The main characters of the anime Planet With

  I will try to make this as spoilers-free as possible but in interest of this post I find it sadly inolvidable to talk about the aliens in this anime… By the way, this is your last spoiler warning: 3, 2, 1…

The main conflict in Planet With has to do with the evolutionary stage of telepathy, when a species begins to become psychically sensitive there two main evolutionary paths that can be taken by the collective and individuals of the species: evolving for love or evolving for power. Nebula, a collective of various and diverse alien species and races have evolved via the path of love but have seen what has happened to those who chose the evolutionary path for power which results in a “dragon”, Nebula tends to be a little bit jumpy about dragons because once upon a time there was a very big galactic dragon that did the minor naughty sin of GENOCIDE OF AN ENTIRE PLANET.

  When the humans start evolving into telepaths, Nebula cannot help but notice that the humans are following the evolutionary path of power and it is from here where the interaction between Nebula and Humanity begins. Typically at this stage the story will present the aliens as something completely negative, since most story that talk about opposing ideals and ideologies display the conflict in a reductive manner, one sad being common sense and the other simply bad, mad, and silly (An example of this would be Thanos plan to solve all of the universes problem in the film Avengers Infinity War). Surprisingly Planet With presents the aliens and their meddling in human affairs with quite some nuanced:

  Fig.2.- Examples of the “bizarre taste” of the aliens

  1.- The political splintering of a alien polis because of a mutual problem:

Nebula is in essence a pacifist civilization, they believe in diplomacy, collectivism and love (You can see this reflected in their bizzare taste), it makes sense that their “arch enemy” is the dragon, which is a being of pure empowerment of the individual but crazed with his own sense of justice fueled by individualism. Despite all of the positive aspects it has to be said that Nebula has been traumatized by the actions of the Dragon and this results in desperate and extreme conclusions when it comes to a possible new dragon (This coming from the new human telepaths). This results in the sealing faction (being led by a big white dog) which concludes that the humans have to have their evolution sealed (this means trapping the entire human species into a eternal dream state where all of their ambitions and fantasies are satisfied, killing their ambition and wish to grow, connect and evolve), but there are those that believe that being this extreme is aggressive and hypocritical of a civilization that claims to have evolved from love, these are the pacifist faction (who are led by a big blue cat).

  2.- The position of each faction of Nebula is clear and honest:

What I love about the political conflict is that it is obvious that the two alien factions are annoyed by their political opponents but they do not use pseudo-over the top-unnecessary-philosophy to justify their position or criticize the other one, in fact the sealing faction is able to convince some humans to help them because of past events that gives them some credibility (the same can be said about the pacifist faction).

Fig.3.- Leaders of the two Nebula factions (Left: pacifist faction; Right: sealing faction)

3.- The problem of a “intervention of a foreign power” is addressed 

Of course, the series those conclude that one of the factions is wrong and the other is right and this would be a “black and white” situation but this anime is self aware of the political context of its story. One of the human telepaths (the most powerful of them) has some extreme political ideas about individualism but does make a good criticism about Nebula when he is fighting against the sealing faction: “You are imposing forcefully your values onto us, how is that not a invasion?” This is a fair criticism, since one must ask as a citizen of a nation that decides to get involved in a different countries conflict “Why do we intervene into others problems? Are we justified in doing so? Does our actions reflect what we claim are our good willed intentions?” We can see these questions revealing certain military interventions in our reality being not only problematic but tragic (You may pick any of the United States wars against terror/evil/danger). But in the anime I would personally say that the intervention of Nebula (in the context of the complete story) is not only necessary but is actually beneficial to the human species because, you know: diversity.

  One last thing I wish to clarify about the multiple conflicts and interactions between the Nebula factions and the human species is that it is not a battle of opposing ideologies or the nationalistic supremacy of any of the sides, because in the end of the day all of the characters (except for the dragon) want the best for humanity but simply disagree what is actually the best; I will admit, this is a not only a optimistic but a ideal (even utopian) political situacion, it kinda of gives me a weird Star Treky vibe. And I really appreciate that, since this kind of depiction of the political + social relationship between aliens and humans in a anime is actually quite rare. How rare? Well I am glad you ask because I made a list!

  I would argue that most relationships between aliens and humans in media is one of power, be it technological, physical, social, spiritual, or the capacity of one market to commodify almost anything. Unless it is a situation where the humans and aliens are sort of equals in terms of power (and even if this is the case…),  typically the relationship will result in one group abusing the other; be it a invading them, eating them, exterminating them, changing them or commodifying the population (be this slavery, food stock or tokenism). This tendencies is related to what aliens usually represent in media: the other, the unknown, the powerful, the grand administrator, the madness, the colonist or the colonized. The list that will be presented below is based on this argument of mine (This list is composed mostly of anime that I have watched, so no this list does not contain all anime that depicts hostile aliens):

  Some anime that depicts Hostile alien tropes (Includes Spoilers):

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Aliens wants to oppress us

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Aliens wants to change us against our will

Guilty Crown: Aliens wants to change us against our will

Darling in the Franx: Aliens wants to invade us

One Punch Man: Aliens wants to invade us

Dragon Ball Z: Aliens wants to invade us*

Eureka Seven: Humans are a eco-hazard towards Aliens

Eureka Seven AO: Aliens wants to change us against our will

Suisei no Gargantia: Aliens wants to exterminate us + Humans are a eco-hazard towards Aliens

Gantz: Aliens wants to invade us + commodify us + eat us

World Trigger: Aliens wants to invade us

Sidonia no Kishi: Aliens wants to eat us

Gundam 00: A Wakening of the Trailblazer: Aliens wants to change us against our will (But hey, we kinda of like it in the end)

Terra Formars: Aliens wants to exterminate us

Kill la Kill: Aliens wants to invade us +  change us against our will + wants to eat us

Bokurano: Aliens wants commodify us*

RahXephon: Aliens wants to change us against our will

Sailor Moon*: Aliens wants to invade us + eat us* 

Heroic Age: Aliens wants to exterminate us

Sousei no Aquarion: Aliens wants commodify us

Aquarion Evol: Aliens wants to invade us + commodify us (To be more precise they want to steal all of the women)

Top wo Nerae! Gunbuster: Aliens wants to exterminate us

Top wo Nerae2! Diebuster: Aliens wants to exterminate us

Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199: Aliens wants to exterminate us

Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse: Aliens wants to eat us

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (I think it’s a anime?): Aliens wants to eat us (kinda)

Blue Gender*: "Aliens" wants to eat us

Captain Earth: Aliens wants to invade us?

Rinne no Lagrange: Aliens wants to invade us + oppress us

The Macross Franchise: Aliens wants to invade us 

Finfa Kikoutai Majestic Prince: Aliens wants to invade us

Kurogane no Linebarrels: “”Aliens”” wants to change us against our will

Seikai no Monshou: Aliens wants to invade us + oppress us

Godzila (cgi animated trilogy): Aliens are a hazard + change us against our will

Soukyuu no Fafner: Aliens wants to eat us* + change us against our will

Neppuu Kairiku Bushi Road*: Aliens are a hazard

Ultra man: Aliens are a hazard

Sky Girls: Aliens wants to eat us?

Argento Soma: Aliens wants to exterminate us

Sentou Yousei Yukikaze: Aliens wants to invade us

Gunparade March: Aliens wants to invade us

Silent Mobius: Aliens wants to invade us

I:Wish you Were here: Aliens wants to change us against our will

Reideen:  Aliens wants to invade us

Gene Shaft: Aliens wants to exterminate us

Starship Troopers (ova+movies): Aliens wants to invade us

And we can keep on going

  Of course there are some exceptions like :

Seikaisuru Kado: Alien in a space cube comes to help humanity

Level E: Comedy where some aliens are nice, some are not and others are simply mad

Urusei Yatsura: It is a romantic comedy…

Oban Star-Racers: All galactic species/races are “““fairly””” competing on a space race (but of course there is stigmas and tensions between the participants)

Red Line*: Again a space race

Space Dandy: Comedy where some aliens are nice, some are not and others are simply mad

Tetsuwan Birdy Decode*: Some aliens are responsible space cops (or citizens) while others are criminals

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

Total:

Hostile Aliens Tropes: 49 tropes out of 46 animes 

Aliens wants to invade us: 17

Aliens wants to oppress us: 3

Aliens wants to eat us: 9

Aliens wants to exterminate us: 8

Aliens wants commodify us: 3

Aliens wants to change us against our will: 10

Aliens are a hazard: 3

Humans are a eco-hazard towards Aliens: 2

  Exceptions: 7

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

IMPORTAN VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1CQ7Vwz8Eo

Pedro Pons

[titenoute]

I think it's the adaption of Nicky Larson will not be as good if you're not french, because it's less a City hunter adaptation and more an adaptation of the 80 "so bad it's good" french dub. That's why they call it Nicky Larson and not City hunter, it was the kind of anime that became completely diferent because of the dub . I think a lot of french like it because of it's nostalgic value.

Ok uh, you probably didn’t know. But I am french and I was a kid who grew up with Nicky Larson.Long story short..I am the targeted demographic. And yet I’m worried and I have my reasons to.What you said so far is true.I love both versions : the original and the dub. But ofc I have a lot of sympathy for the french dub. It’s our ‘ghost stories’ bad dub kind but silly for kiddie version, that’s how they managed to make the show ‘ok’ for little kids (yeaaah....Wrong public I know, idk why they did that) And yet it was genuinely funny.But I have good reasons,to smell a rat on this adaptation. Tbh, most people, who were like me, did. So here we go.One, give me one good live movie adaptation for an anime........So far, so MEH, right ? Two. It’s a french movie. That alone, was a bad news for me.I’ll be real, action/comedy ? We never do that. French movie are, nowadays, romantic comedies, or just comedies, that, me a french person, find terribly boring.Most of our movies with the same reused gimmicks nowadays.And I haven’t have fun on a recent french movie for more than a decade now. Literally, I can’t remember the last time I got to the theater to look at a french movie.It’s not that we don’t have any talented people. French internet is full of people like that, full. We have Frenchnerd, Golden Moustache, Fossoyeur de Film, Nexus 6...And many others. But french cinema, when they give money to make a movie ? You either have to have to be a well known name, or just keep the usual romantic comedy because "that’s all that works anyway. Taking risk ? What’s that ?"I guess I can’t completely blame them, French movies rarely get exported so they have to make sure it please the local demography (et pourtant les gars, je me fais CHIER, donc y’a un problème de marketing là)So yeah, when I see a trailer, using all the gimmicks I’ve seen in french cinema about one of the heroes of my childhood, I see red flags.

Now.. I know, I’m probably biased on french cinema and jaded. And I’m not used to feel hope for these kinds of adaptations seeing how we’ve been given shit so far.Apparently, some other fans of the show found that it was ok. And the guy who made the movie (and who’s impersonating Nicky) Is a HUGE fanboy of the show.So maybe....Just maybe, there is hope ?Plus it would be undeniably funny to manage to make an ok adaptation of an anime, even if it was known for it’s bad dub, when Hollywood can’t fucking do it with all the fucking money they have at disposition.

[acelucky]

Fave moments of 2018

This year has had more ups and downs than most, my mental health has suffered massively as a result and it’s ended with two grandparents in hospital.

But I spent a long time reflecting, for each month I’d written a bubble (throughout the month I added to it) of all the nice things that happened that month. I keep thinking/writing the words - Don’t look back in anger, and thinking of the song by Oasis. So I’m reflecting on my favourite moments of this year.

1.) Seeing Hamilton! Back in March it snowed a lot, 29 years I finally saw snow in London. My husband and I did all the touristy things, but in the snow and finished with us seeing Hamilton!! ^_^

2.) IAMX in London with @cassandrafey, again it was still pretty snowy! Getting to see the band live was incredible and Kat Von D was also there (very problematic, I used to be a massive fan of hers but really not so much now, however she does have a lovely voice and was nice for the brief moment we met her - she said we looked cute)

3.) Paris for my 30th, especially getting to finally visit Versailles, the river boat dinner with champagne where we saw the Eiffel Tower light up, and the uber ride along the Champs-Élysées listening to French Jazz. Other bits of my birthday were equally lovely, on the day itself my husband and I went to the pier and played arcade games, walked along the seafront and went on the ferris wheel. We went to see Christopher Robin and had lunch. After my birthday I went to stay at my dad’s house for two days in the countryside in Dorset, we walked to our face pub the Smugglers Inn for a few drinks and generally had a lovely time. My party was also lovely and I felt so loved!

4.) Back in February, my brother and I went to Bridgend on a Sunday night to see Michael Graves. The gig was fantastic, crowd were great, we all danced and sung along to his songs as well as Misfits songs. We met him afterwards and he was genuinely just so lovely. The thing I loved most of all about this gig was that I’d had a really rough January and start to February, having some drinks with my brother as well as having a good chat about life really helped.

5.) Amsterdam - there were a lot of ups and downs, I was super tired, had panic attacks and generally it was a bit difficult. However, there were some really nice bits, such as the Botanical gardens, the church which was all red due to film on the windows, the canal cruise, a romantic meal, the ice bar, seeing the Night’s Watch by Rembrandt. 

6.) Back in January when everything was going to shit, my husband and I took a long walk through Queen Elizabeth Country Park. We got a hot chocolate from the cafe at the bottom and then just disappeared into the woods for a few hours, talking, enjoying the fresh air. Afterwards we went to the Hampshire Hog for lunch and it was lovely.

7.) Holiday in Cornwall, Devon and Dorset back in May. I loved going back to Dartmoor and horse riding, I loved staying at my dad’s and chilling, most of all I loved Tintagel in Cornwall. Getting to visit St Nectan’s Glen, Boscastle and the Witchcraft museum and of course the castle - said to be King Arthur’s Castle. It was magical, inspiring, invigorating. 

8.) Visit to Stauton Country Park in mid December - we went with two of our best friends and their daughter. With two grandparents sick and a lot of other emotional stuff happening, this was a perfect day out, feeding animals, enjoying the greenhouse and walled gardens. I am obsessed with walks in winter and December Sun. It felt especially important as my grandpop (who passed away when I was 16) and my granny (who is in hospital) used to take us here a lot. 

9.) Meeting up with @the-doctors-psychic-paper in Kingston for lunch, going to The Rose theatre to see a production of Don Carlos with Tom Burke in, then browsing the Christmas markets. It was such a lovely day considering the hangover I had! haha

10.) Seeing Bianca Del Rio live and getting to meet her! (Also learning to laugh at myself and accept insults for the comedy they are, rather than feeling hurt, was a massive step for me.) We also saw Adore Delano in Brighton and, it was such a fun gig! But more than that, we finished work early that day, head to Brighton Pier and went in the arcades, had ice cream, sat in deckchairs. 

Originally this was going to be 10 things, but it’s gonna go over..

11.) Back in March, my dad, brother and I went to Brighton to see ‘YES’ on their 50th anniversary tour. Family time for us is so important and lovely!

12.) A lovely weekend in London with @cassandrafey, we went to ‘God’s Own Junkyard’, we finally got to go to Jazz After Dark, we met up with friends in Brixton and went shopping in Camden. It was an awesome and very silly fangirl weekend!

13.) Day Trip to London with my husband to meet friends, we took part in a protest which was a counter-protest to the right-wing Free Tommy Robinson protect that was going on. We then head to the Last Tuesday Society to browse the curiosity museum, have cocktails, and then went to the pub!

14.) Thorpe Park with friends and overcoming my fears when it came to riding Stealth!

Here’s some other lovely things that happened - loads of walks along the beach and picnics with friends, two beautiful weddings, The Christmas Dicken’s Festival at the historic dockyard, a day trip to Dorking where we used to live, a dad trip to the owl and raptor centre with my dad, brother, husband and brother’s fiancé, a lot of awesome stand-up comedy gigs. I also completed NaNoWriMo! I got a new job and am much happier and whilst it was difficult, I completed the PTSD Trauma therapy, which was really tough and meant I had some time off work, but you know, I did it and feel better for it. 

I actually did a ritual burning of last year’s to-do lists which in a way made me sad (i’m way to sentimental and hoard everything!) But I don’t need those silly lists with everything from - Complete NaNoWriMo, to my failures, to ‘buy a new hoover’ etc. to know how much I have accomplished this year. It felt so cleansing to throw it all away and start again ^_^

Happy New Year to all my followers!

[sleepykittypaws]

Next Stop, Christmas

Original Air Date: November 6, 2021 (Hallmark) Where to Watch?: Hallmark will replay it multiple times this season, and for every season in perpetuity

Thisclose to being really good, Next Stop, Christmas had a lot to like. More fun than most recent Hallmark movies, this had a fizzy, silly quality I definitely enjoyed, even if it didn't completely follow through on its quite good set-up of a doctor time traveling, via magic train, back to correct her romantic Christmas past.

Christopher Lloyd as the magical, time traveling train conductor was absolutely the stand out, and he added so much more to this one, than his last time travel Hallmark movie, 2015's Just in Time for Christmas.

Lyndsy Fonseca is new to Hallmark, but I hope her first effort isn't her last, as she was a game and bubbly heroine, especially with a script that wasn't the best and seemed to leave a lot of dangling threads. Lea Thompson as the mom didn't have enough to do, or any scenes with Back to Future co-star Lloyd, but it's always great to have her on board. (Train pun, intended.) I was actually more interested in all of the family stuff, than I was with either of the right guy/wrong guy romance plots.

Not quite sure how Hallmark got away with so many blatant Polar Express rip offs, from the identical tickets to Lloyd's conductor uniform and penchant for hot chocolate. 

I'm also concerned how Chandler Massey's family lawyer character "cut through the red tape" to get her sister a baby. Like, is this a black market child? Also, why would they add that comment to what they think is just another family FaceTime? Did the baby just arrive today? This whole scenario could so easily veer into Lifetime movie territory.

Also she’s a successful neurosurgeon when we meet her. The idea that ten years spent working on that very impressive career was the wrong choice leads you down another very dark thought path, of exactly what Hallmark is trying to imply about career-focused women here. A plot point I’d hoped we were moving past.

The final "twist" made no sense at all. It's supposed to be sweet that Chandler Massey's high school crush didn't wait ten years to meet up with her after he misses the time train. But why would he, when he could have immediately gone and found her in med school and pursued her there? And so now she doesn't remember the first ten years of their relationship, which all technically happened with a different her, or else she wouldn't be able to remember to be at the restaurant meet up at all. And…Oh no, I'm stuck in a lack-of-logic loop.

Think this could have easily been a four-pawer, had they leaned more into the comedy and let the time travel consequences breath a bit more, but still enjoyed this one overall.

Final Judgement: 3 Paws

[colorrrmekaty-blog]

Who is your audience?

As a creator, this question has gone through my head many times.

I don’t really believe there is such a thing as a “target audience.” Let me explain… Sure, certain audiences, people, and their interests will be more likely to consume the writing you produce, but they will not be the only ones who can (and will) enjoy your work. I think that by refusing to reach out beyond your “target audience,” you’re doing yourself and readers a disservice.

Certainly, your first wave of marketing should certainly be directed towards those who will be early adopters of your work, but you should never be afraid to reach outside this group. Good storytelling is for everyone, and everyone has a right to it. If you write only for your target group, you uphold the status quo, you play it safe, and you limit your genre.

Having said that, again, I will reiterate again that you should direct your first wave of marketing towards what would be considered a “target audience.” But I do not believe that you should write for them. You should never let your audience dictate the way you believe your story should go. Tell a good story. That’s a writer’s only real responsibility to their audience is to tell a good story. Now… you may argue, like Kent Bridgeman, that you shouldn’t start with a zombie story and then transition to a musical “[unless you’ve got a really good reason],” but I would argue that you shouldn’t do this unless you have a really good STORY. And good stories make sense, have purpose, and reason.

If I had to figure out a target audience for one of my favorite genres, romantic comedy, let’s see what I would end up with. The genre under which romantic comedy falls is “realistic fiction.”

What are the conventions and/or expectations of your chosen genre (e.g. literary, horror, thriller, romance, young adult, historical?

> I think the main expectation of the romantic comedy genre specifically is that we anticipate a happy ending. People end up together, and they end up happier than they were before.

How will you meet these expectations in your future writing?

> You should know, generally, what you are getting into when you pick up a romantic comedy. Some hijinks, some humor, and a happy ending where two people fall in love. Rom-com is generally not Great, Formal, capital L Literature or Film. And that’s ok. Sometimes you want an emotional cup of cocoa. The world can be dark, and we need to counteract that with levity and silliness sometimes.

Is there a particular age, gender, or political/religious viewpoint or demographic the ideal reader from your target audience might have?

> I’m my own personal target audience. When I say that, I mean “straight” white females. Very generally, romantic comedies are going to appeal towards women, and from my personal experiences, I tend to write people who are similar to me, though I do want and try to diversify my characters in meaningful ways. It’s important for me to make sure that when I include diversity, it’s realistic. It should make sense and not just be palette-swapping.

> Having said that, everyone falls in love. And generally, people like falling in love. I was in Barnes and Noble on Saturday and saw something that brought pure joy to my heart: a large LGBTQ section of books in the romance genre. There were even a lot of self-published books! The bounds of the romance (and romcom) genre are growing and if you’re ignoring this new audience, you’re missing out.

How do the elements of voice and style appeal to your genre’s target audience?

> Characters need to feel really genuine in romantic comedies, at least in my opinion, or they end up being boring. I suppose in lower-budget films, or films specifically for casual television viewing (I’m talking about Hallmark or Netflix rom-coms) might want more generic characters for the purpose of self-insertion. If a character is generic enough, the easier it is to watch a show or play a video game and imagine that the character is yourself.

> Self-insert fiction (second-person stories) actually seems to be a bit of a growing genre, especially in erotica (for obvious reasons!) … I can only wonder when that is going to start reaching beyond the bounds of that specific genre.

Anyway, again, I do not approve of writers locking themselves into target audiences when they write. I think audience is something you should use simply as inspiration. If you are stuck, it can help me sometimes to think about my audience and what kind of stories we need right now. Other times, I need to just think about the story and not care what people will like. Marketing is where the audience truly becomes important… and that, as a primary consideration, should come only once you’ve managed to finish your work!

Works cited:

Bridgeman, Kent. “How Defining Your Target Audience Can Make Your Story Stronger.” DiyMFA, 8 Dec. 2014, diymfa.com/community/defining-your-target-audience.

[mysticdragon3md3]

I too was excited to see why Ryuji is trending and... ;_;

People are comparing him to a sexual abuser, like Kamoshida? I mean, yeah he shouldn't have looked down Ann's shirt. That wasn't cool. And some of his comments about Ann's Panther costume when she first got it, were not in good taste. But is Twitter seriously saying that puts him on the same level as Kamoshida? KAMOSHIDA???????????? omfg... I just can't anymore, you guys...I just can't anymore... x_x

Just this past week, I watched an Anituber video essayist mention the ubiquitous female objectification in anime as "because you know anime is going to anime", and I felt so validated about sensing that the amount of female objectification in Japanese media has become pretty much expected, normalized, even in the most unnecessary, tiniest ways. I'm so tired of being gaslit about this. Yes, Japanese media in general has a problem with making sure to have close ups of girls' bodies being ogled and women being reduced to (romantic) prizes to be coveted. That beach scene in Persona 5 did panning close-up shots of the girls' swimsuits; not the guys'. All the dating options in Persona 5 are from the pool of female Confidants; not the guys. Because "guys as romantic prizes to be won? Feh, what a *riDIcUlOuS* concept!" I understand that sex sells, that traditionally female sexualization sells to a traditionally cishet male audience which is still presumed to be the largest demographic, and that the anime industry (and presumably other Japanese pop culture creation) is actually financially high risk with low financial rewards for most studios, so they have to desperately scrape for any advantage. (Though recently, the Japanese pop culture industries, like anime and videogames, have begun to realize that there is a cishet female market, large enough to cater to as well, by mainstreaming series like Touken Ranbu. And they've also even recently begun to recognize that catering to fujoshi is worth investing into mainstreaming the BL genre, even a little bit. Thus, we're starting to get more mainstream BL fanservice, through series like Free Iwatobi Swim Club, Yuri on Ice, and Classmates.) So it's kind of our fault, for incentivizing studios to mandate and ensure each thing they make contains female objectification. The audience's spending habits and the industries' presumptions of our wants/demographics, have made cheesecake fanservice and waifu bait the most reliable bet for most studios. We spend the most money on collecting waifu bait merch and gacha cards of waifu. We argue the most about who is the "best waifu" and show our allegiances by buying their merch. We have turned waifu and cheesecake fanservice of such waifu, into the most reliable financial returns on investment for studios. And with studios so constantly, precariously on the precipice of bankruptcy, we the audience, have incentivized the mandate of cheesecake fanservice (of women/girls), even at the cost of cohesive storytelling/characterization. I understand all that. Studios are desperate, and they need to stay afloat. They need to cling and scrape towards any advantage they can get. That's why I'm so tired of people saying we're just imagining things. Anime and videogames are mandating to insert female cheesecake fanservice for cishet males, even at the cost of cohesive characterization, story themes, and good writing.

This includes Persona 5 shoehorning Ryuji into being the horny audience surrogate, no matter how awkward, nonsensible, and misaligned it would skew his characterization and previous writing. This is why fans of Ryuji often say his more "perverted" actions in canon, simply feel like a case of bad writing. Those actions don't feel like him. They feel more like fulfilling the Japanese pop media "obligation" to objectify women, than aligned with his character, as set up so far. Because anime/games just *have* to provide a POV audience surrogate character for everyone to ogle the girls through. Or at least reinforce the types of reactions they want from their audience, after showing us all these T&A shots. It felt more like fulfilling anime tropes than further building upon Ryu's established character of defending people, including women, against perverts like Kamoshida. I mean, this is the guy who was chasing down Kamoshida's car because he knew that pervert might do something. This is the guy who ran straight to the faculty office to punch out Kamoshida for torturing Shiho to her tipping point. The guy who jumped in front of a moving cab to rescue Makoto. The guy who survived watching himself and his mom get abused by his dad. And you want us to believe he wouldn't think twice about looking down Ann's shirt on the way to Futaba's Palace? Or up Ann's skirt, when she laid down from a food coma, after they Yusuke's welcome-to-the-Phantom-Thieves meal? Or so eagerly coerce Ann into posing nude? o_O? Atlus wanted us to believe this was consistent characterization??? To the Atlus writers' credit, they did write Ryuji feeling too guilty about going through Project Maid-Watch and they wrote him ditching it at the last minute. But they also wrote AkiRen to look down Ann's shirt without any hesitations and they wrote morgana to also look up Ann's skirt when she laid down from food coma. The Atlus writers---and most Japanese pop culture---just seem to have an unwavering determination towards these female objectification scenes, and they just saddled Ryuji with it, because he's the "silly, rambunctious, comedy relief" character "that you won't have to feel bad when he inevitably gets hit with *slapstick* retribution". Nevermind, it's counter to the story's theme and his characterization, that they've driven pretty hard as being something to take seriously. So some Ryuji fans will just call-out his inconsistent characterization into being creepy towards girls, as "bad writing".

On the other hand, it's wholly possible and realistic for a guy to exist who is against all the sexual abuse, that scum like Kamoshida do, while still being a dumb horny teenager who will do dumb horny teenage boy stuff. (I'm sorry for all the toxic heteronormative presumptions. But that's kind of the archetype that Atlus has been trying to slot Ryuji into...unfortunately.) They grow out of it. Gradually learning to curb dumb horny inclinations, is _not_ the same level as a sexual abuser! Why are people conflating that today?! o~O????????

And from what I've seen of Ryuji in Persona 5 Scramble/Strikers so far, he has been growing out of it. There's a whole lot less creepy ogling coming from him (AKA the writers), even during scenes which any other anime would have. He didn't get creepy about the girls' yukata, he didn't strain to listen to the girls on the other side of the Sapporo onsen, he didn't make grabby hands at the girls' swimsuits again, etc. Any other anime---hell, even in the previous chronological episode of their story, in the original Persona 5---Ryuji and the camera would have been creepy about the girls' yukata, he would have shut up the other guys so he could listen to the girls compare boobs in the onsen, he would have tried to sneak a peek at the girls' onsen, and there would have been a repeat of that close up scene of the girls swimsuits, with Ryuji providing the expected lecherous audience reaction. But none of that happened in P5S. Heck, even if you choose the option to say onsen are great, as if to imply that overhearing the girls talk about their boobs is great, Ryuji gets embarrassed about the topic and immediately tries to change the subject. Watch any anime from the 2000s or earlier, and the goofy, masculine archetype, like Ryuji, would have not only agreed, but would have suggested sneaking a peek at the girls' onsen. I'm actually really surprised that the Kyoto onsen scene didn't result in fanservice, because that's usually what happens. Even in anime where the boys know to escape fast instead of sneaking a peep, there's usually a screw up where they'll Rube-Goldberg-trip into girls' boobs or trip into full-view of the girls without their towels. Any other anime or Japanese media would have done that. It's typical, expected. "Anime is gonna anime." And yet, none of that normalized perversion happened in that scene. Persona 5 Scramble/Strikers, including Ryuji, did a whole lot less "dumb horny teenage boy stuff", suggesting Ryuji was growing out of that with time. Because even if Ryuji can be a little bit of a "dumb horny teen", he still knows better than that, is curbing such inclinations, and is a much better person than to increasingly act on or nurture such inclinations.

Ryuji is a good boy. Please don't conflate him with Kamoshitty.

9:53 AM 9/17/2021 Ok. I found the original Tweet that started this shitstorm. https://twitter.com/HerielP48/status/1438677678400409607

But this Tweet isn't actually saying that Ryuji is the same as Kamoshida. I thought this Tweet was saying that the overall writing, using Ryuji as a mechanic for "pervert comedy" was a bad decision from Atlus's writers, especially since it contradicted the themes of the Kamoshida Palace story arc. I actually agree with that.

9:56 AM 9/17/2021 Oh, wait. There's a previous Tweet to that one: https://twitter.com/HerielP48/status/1438677262145101824

I see that you tried to save the first sentence, with your second sentence---which I agree with: I agree that the writing made an awful decision in having Ryuji or any character sexualize their female friends, after the sexual abuse they suffered. But your first sentence was still very strongly implying that Ryuji as a character is a problem, more than the writing injecting out-of-characterization into the character that they had already established with Ryuji thus far. That wording was just kindling waiting to start a firestorm. ~_~;

10:29 AM 9/17/2021

Well, the one good thing I'll say about Ryuji trending because of dumb, offensive reasons, is seeing the sheer avalanche of people jump to defend him. This wasn't something Ryuji got, early in the fandom! ;o; Remember when he was the most hated character in the fandom??? And now, everyone is overwhelmingly loving on Ryuji today! ;u;!!! Thank you guys. ;u; He is a good boy. ;U;

[papermoonloveslucy]

ALMOST EVERYONE LOVES LUCY

June 21, 1981

Lucille Ball appeared on the cover of the Cincinnati Enquirer’s TV Magazine and listings for the week of June 21 - 27, 1981. The inside article is by Matt Rousch. 

BY Matt Roush, Enquirer Contributor 

Loving Lucy. 

Millions will attest it was their favorite pastime on Monday evenings through the '50s (diehards still talk of PTA meetings canceled in the wake of the dizzy redhead, her Cuban-bandleader hubby and her frumpish landlord-neighbors, the Mertzes), and intermittently up to the '70s. 

Even more fans remain devoted today to the world's most popular funny ladies through endless reruns of her various shows, with "I love Lucy" (broadcast locally at 5 p.m. weekdays on Channel 64) the clear favorite. 

But few if any can claim as devout an allegiance to the "Ball Hall of Fame" as can Bart Andrews, a prolific TV historian from Los Angeles. Loving Lucy is his obsession, and he delights in sharing it with an eager public first several years ago with a history of the "I Love Lucy" show titled Lucy and Ricky and Fred and Ethel, and now with a coffee table-sized, lush picture biography of Lucille Ball titled Loving Lucy (St. Martin's Press, $15). 

According to Andrews, in a recent phone interview from his TV-trivia-cluttered home, he had a ball writing and putting the book together. 

But then he should. Any man who drives a car with an "I LV LCY" license plate and who has been called an " 'I Love Lucy' junkie" by Tom Brokaw of "Today" can only thank his lucky stars (one in particular) that he is able to satiate his obsession. 

And satiate it he does. When asked if the "junkie" moniker is deserved, he affirmed, "Absolutely. Without a doubt." He is more than happy to recall the year 1950, when he was about 6 years old and his family got its first TV. "I was  hooked. And a year after that (when 'Lucy' premiered), my mother tells me she decided she would let us stay up on Mondays to watch Lucy. And I've watched it all those years." 

Through adolescence, through college, it was Lucy. Through his writing career, which has encompassed many TV comedy scripts and 16 books including The TV Addict's Handbook, TV or not TV and The Worst TV Shows Ever, it was Lucy. Nary a day passes that Andrews doesn't watch at least one episode of Lucy's adventures on a relic of a black-and-white TV, be she a Ricardo (nee MacGillicuddy), a Carmichael or a Carter. And with her 70th birthday coming Aug. 6 and the 30th anniversary of "I Love Lucy" on Oct. 15, there seems to be no end in sight. Next? 

"Would you believe an 'I Love Lucy' quiz book coming out on Oct. 15?" 

Believe it or not, Andrews said that's the next "Lucy" project emanating from his pen. It will consist of 1,001 questions, including such timeless queries as "What was Ethel Mertz's middle name?" (For those who don't know, it changed as often as the Flintstones' address and was variously Louise, Roberta and May.) 

In the meantime, Andrews is content to relax with his famous collection of Lucy memorabilia in what he calls his "Lucy room." A quick inventory came up with these peerless items: Lucy and Desi cufflinks, a "little Ricky" doll (one of 1 million sold in 1953) that squeaks when you squeeze it, a record of Desi Arnaz singing "Babalu" ("How can you do without such things in life?" Andrews mocked), comic books, cut-out dolls, recipe books and so on. 

Oh, yes, and a red couch, of course. 

Andrews said he is pleased with the considerable success of Loving Lucy, although he admitted it was a hard book to get off the ground: "I had a terrible time getting the book sold. No one had faith that another book on Lucy would sell well." 

But he swore there was a market, because his first Lucy book covered only a 10-year period, and letters had poured in, asking for more pictures. 

And pictures he found, in Brooklyn's Melvin Frank Archives, which had recently acquired an immense collection of Lucy photographs. (The book sports about 400 rare stills.)

"The pictures are what started the ball rolling," Andrews punned. 

"Lucy doesn't even have some of these shots, and does she ever want them."

Finally, St. Martin's Press showed interest in the project, and the result is a visually pleasing light biography of a woman with more than 50 years in show business most obviously with TV, but also as an actress in more than 70 films and a hit for a time on Broadway. 

In fact, part of the success of Loving Lucy may be due to its unfolding of a largely unknown career: Lucy, the discouraged drop-out drama student in New York; Lucy, the successful fashion model and Broadway chorine; Lucy, the platinum blonde heading to Hollywood as a Goldwyn girl in 1933 to be in an Eddie Cantor picture; Lucy, the starlet moving from Goldwyn to RKO where she used to pal around with Ginger Rogers; Lucy, the hard-working comedy and romantic lead of scores of films, and finally Lucy, the wife of Desi and undying star of TV.

Although Andrews is about to release his third book on the lady, he's only met Lucille Ball once. "It was while I was doing research on my first book on her in 1975," he said. "Let me tell you, it was a shock to meet her, because I was expecting Lucy Ricardo with several of her teeth blacked out. Instead, I met a serious person with little sense of humor, really." 

Not much of a memory, either: "The meeting wasn't fruitful; but it was fun, don't get me wrong. It's just that her information was totally wrong. I ended up having to do all the research on my own." 

But the research has enabled him to enjoy a unique perspective on Lucille Ball, her career and her appeal. Andrews has also been researching a book on situation comedies he tentatively titles Funny Business; his work with that project has convinced him that " 'I Love Lucy' is the grandmother of the situation comedy. So many came after, with types and styles that obviously didn't succeed, and you can see a return to many of the basic stock slapstick situations time and time again," he said. 

"Even as a fan of Lucy, though, I doubt the show would go over so big today. The storylines would be too old-fashioned to carry today's more sophisticated audience, I imagine. But I can watch and thousands of others like me and know it was made in 1954 and keep that in mind. You get the gist of it and it's still funny." 

Andrews said she is probably most often watched now by the very young. "Lucy claims she has babysat for four generations, and you can't deny that kids get so intent watching her that you can't pull them away. And they remember everything," he added, mentioning that his nieces match him question for question when it comes to Lucy trivia. 

"Kids can identify with her silly and childlike behavior," he said, "but at the same time adults can find her funny because she can still maintain her dignity and beauty beneath it all. 

"Lucy has a universal appeal because of the way she did things others might do like, say, getting an extra job in a candy factory. Now, that's a very fine situation, but only at the end do they get caught up in the manic slapstick on the speeding conveyor. It's a classic episode, because the writers (a fine crew who never won an Emmy, although the show and star won many) were very careful about writing logically." 

Whatever the appeal, it's undeniable, as is evidenced by the ever-growing membership in a worldwide "We Love Lucy" fan club, whose president, Thomas J. Watson, co-authored Loving Lucy. (Watson's license plate reads "LUCY FAN.") 

Andrews estimates the club's membership includes 500-600 Lucyphiles, who receive a bimonthly newsletter and get a button, membership card and magazine upon joining. 

The organization's enthusiasm is understandable. It's not every run-of-the-mill entertainer who has been around since the TV-pioneer days of Hollywood and also has a pilot on the burner at NBC (it hasn't been picked up yet, Andrews said). 

But then, that's Lucy. Hard-working, funny and silly, yet still more than a shade glamorous. 

Loving Lucy is contagious. It's hard to imagine anyone who hasn't caught the bug.