#its gonna be like 6.5 scene

[djotime-allthetime]

hi!!! 👋🏼 im really excited for the next freaky redheads chapter - could we get a sneak peak of literally anything???? 💕

hello! i cannot lie, ive barely worked on anything this past week… sleep is such a wonderful thing…

but! i did bang out about a thousand words after reading this ask lol so here is a sneak peak because you are so nice 🤭

[shutyourfacemonsterlover]

Overall thoughts and opinions on the most famous Phantom adaptations / most famous Eriks

Because these things are fun, i thought maybe it could be interesting for me to reunite my overall thoughts on the most popular adaptations, because everybody has opinions on them (and maybe my takes are super cold and vanilla). Still, it's fun!

I'm also gonna go with the most popular because there are like a million Phantom adaptations and I don't have the energy to rank them all. (i'm also mostly doing the ones that are series / shows / musicals- the books i would pretty much mostly mention the Leroux OG and Kay, and i'm already going somewhere with the second one). (Forgive me all Ken Hill / Song at Midnight / MazM fans)

-The 1925 silent film with Lon Chaney: I'm really biased, but I admit this is my favorite Phantom adaptation, even if i know as a film it's rather limited by the constraints of the era (bad acting, slow pacing, the weird whitewashing of the Persian etc etc). It downplays the tragic romantic elements of the story (Christine is very one-dimensional and seems more afraid of Erik than empathetic), and Erik is written a little too "generic evil villain", but there are elements to suggest that there's more to Erik than meets the eye, and why he's an engaging figure in the first place. Yeah, like most, i hate the ending, but it's saved by overall faithfulness to the novel (he's born deformed! he has a death's head! he has a life of tragedy! he loves Christine! you can't imagine the number of adaptations that don't get these simple things RIGHT), and the subtle moments Chaney adds to make his Erik more three dimensional (the moment in the Apollo's Lyre scene where he holds his mouth in pain lives in my head rent free) It has my favorite movie Erik, and that's all that matters to me. <3 8/10

-The 1943 film with Claude Rains: I always call this film "missed potential". It looks beautiful, it sounds beautiful, it has good quotes, I like the film delving more into Christine's character; but the Abbott and Costello comedy of the two Raouls is out of place, and the writing of Erique is kinda of a mess (and considering he's the most important character in POTO...YEAH a good adaptation depends a lot on his writing). You don't really understand what is his connection with Christine, and how his initial sympathetic scenes kinda clash with his more violent streak (he gets thrown acid in the first place because he kills a man pre-Phantom); making the character come off as a little inconsistent and not as sympathetic as he should be. This movie also started the "disfigured in an accident, no Persian" versions of Phantom that I feel kinda cheapen the story later on (a lifetime of tragedy is what shaped Erik, not "one bad day"). A real shame, because Rains carries an elegance to Erik that I think helps with the imagery of the character (a monster trying so much to be "human"). Hmm...6.5/10

-The 1962 with Herbert Lom. This one also changes a bit, and normally i'd be bitching and moaning about it, but i prefer the changes here to the Claude Rains version since they're more consistent in portraying Erik's character. You feel for his music being stolen, and want to see this artist have such a simple dream as seeing his creation come true. People don't like it erases his obsession with Christine, but i think here it works, since you can believe his passion for his art is what drives him. (Also, i think this movie is what started the trend of Phantom adaptations having another villain, which is something explored better in Phantom of the Paradise). It doesn't look as nice as the Claude Rains film, tho, and something in the acting stops it from going the most. 6/10

-Phantom of the Paradise: A BLAST. It changes a lot about the source material, but considering even the setting is different, everything works to its advantage. Winslow is the first Phantom that really delves well into the "tragic monster" element of the character, with even his violent tendencies being a consistent trait from the start of the story (he attacks Philbin for making an inoffensive comment about the Juicy Fruits). The imagery is distinctive, Swan is a very compelling villain, and the songs are fantastic. Winslow's sacrifice, like Lindsay Ellis said, is simply a progression from his acts in the novel (yes, I believe Erik would sacrifice himself to guarantee Christine's safety, post development). What only sucks is that I don't feel you buy Winslow's passion for Christine / Phoenix, and she comes off as inconsistent in her ambition and not as empathetic (still, she sings very nicely and I love that the actress resembles Mary Philbin (1925 Christine) at times). Also while the Faustian elements add to the movie, i'm not sure how they can relate to Erik's' character in general (not to mention the Dorian Gray element). Also the pacing in the last 10 minutes is rushed and kinda sucks. But still...As a movie? It's my favorite. 9/10

-The Maximilliam Schell 1983 made for TV film: My least favorite, and it all has to do with how slow and dull the pacing is, you just don't get the sense of dread or tragedy. The reincarnated wife subplot is really random, and it makes Sandor pathetic and delusional instead of empathetic and tragic. And i'll take bad over boring any day of the week. 2/10

-ALW's musical (add here the 25th version too): Oh ho ho, the one piece of media that got us all into Phantom I think. It's a big, bombastic musical, and you can see the appeal. While i don't like some characters are turned more one-dimensional (Raoul, Christine); I do like how it pushes forward Erik's trauma, and how it has broken him; he's not a good man, no, but not a monster, either. And this idea that abuse victims can turn cruel as well...But, you know, they still deserve love. Perhaps they always did! And the focus on the romance which puritans complain about...Boy you will not be ready to hear me when i tell you the original novel implies Christine is indeed into both Raoul and Erik, for different reasons lol. I dont like the omission of the Persian, but I like that this cements that again, Erik wasn't a rando who one day snapped, it was a life of tragedy that turned him into what he is....We can dislike it, we can like it, but we can admit it has influenced our perception of the story in more ways than one. 8/10.

-The 1988 cartoon: The most faithful adaptation of the novel is also the cheapest movie of the bunch. Whew lads...Tho I do like Erik's character. He's got the redemption, the deformity, the sense of humor (when i read Erik i often headcanon him having this Erik's voice). I also like Christine, she's not written as a bland damsel, she shows a bit of an attitude. And hey, rare Persian appearance! I even like the ending, with the cast showing compassion towards Erik's misfortune. It's just that the technical limitations of the movie avoid the film from reaching high status. 6.5/10

-1989 with Robert Englund: An unpopular opinion, but I love this film. It's strange in that it's both very faithful to the novel, adapting the gothic horror of the elements, but it changes way too much Erik's character (the crux of the story) into somebody who isn't really tragic or sympathetic. A musician who sells his soul to the devil (an element it took from Phantom of the Paradise...I have the theory that Phantom adaptations take elements from each other more than from the novel) and gains immortality...and kills people for no reason??? Normally, in another adaptation, I would dislike a lot this change, but Englund's interpretation turns the character into more layers than simply a psychopathic asshole. He gets the "allure" and horror of Erik, which is a big part of the character. I feel with a more book accurate backstory, and impulse more the angle of "doomed dark lover" with Christine (yes his love is also...downplayed), this would easily be one of the more popular Eriks. Yeah it steals a lot from Nightmare on Elm Street, but there's an interesting movie in here, amidst the music and the beautiful cinematography...8/10.

-The 1990 miniseries with Charles Dance: Cherik! The phandom darling! This one is strange since i feel it diverges from the novel as much as the Robert Englund version, yet it's one of the most beloved adaptations. It offers an interesting interpretation of Erik, he's not as cruel, but the movie delves more into the aspect of him being a doomed romantic lover. He's not as manipulative to his Christine (i'd argue this is one version of the story where they should've gotten together imo), and has a gentler approach to life. The series takes the element of the book of him having arrested development and runs with it. Still tho, the gentler approach kinda cuts the tragedy of the character; what with loving parents and all being something Erik DIDNT have growing up. The appearance of the father is what dulls the film, and makes Erik come off as more dependent and childish. Still, Charles Dance gives his Erik a quiet dignity, that avoids the character falling into a manchild interpretation. 7/10 (not bad, just that i like my Eriks more lonely and threatening)

-The 1998 film of Dario Argento: Y'all owe Gerard Butler an apology, lol. This is the ONE truly shit adaptation of Phantom, lol. It feels like a fever dream. It's more gross than scary, it's not tragic, it's not romantic, Erik is not in any way sympathetic or complex or alluring...Like the fuck lol. 3/10 (and that 3 is because it makes me laugh...)

-Wishbone "Pantin' at the Opera" episode: Eh, "Phantom for kids", not a interpretation of the story I like, but it's accurate to the novel, which makes it stand out. And it gives Erik a rare happy ending! Tho, as expected since it's for kids, it downplays a lot of the more complex themes. Still...gotta praise the accuracy. 5/10

-2004 with Gerard Butler: I don't think it's as bad as the phandom made it out for years. It could be better, but i think the technical details and the bad makeup are what drag the film down, since it doesn't diverge massively from the story or themes (except the weird grooming thing...ew). This Erik is interesting in that much like Cherik, he grew up inside the Opera House, and it's an unique view of the character, that he's got arrested development due to never leaving his own "house" growing up (a bit of a plot hole then how he learned magic, engineering, architecture, etc etc, but eeeeh). He's also more vulnerable and emotional compared to the stage counterpart, who seems more self assured and angry. It's not horrible, just average, and could be better. 6.5/10

-The cartoon episode of the Triplets with Phantom (aired in the 2000s-something): Phantom for kids again. it's not an interpretation of the story in general that i like (too fluffy for my liking), but this episode gets the points of the story; Christine's complex feelings and Erik's redemption, while still keeping his initial wickedness (he even gets a sorta happy ending! my boy!). also it's funny at times, so there's that. 6/10

-Love Never Dies: This is...frustrating. I'm of the unpopular opinion that a sequel focused on Erik can work, but I feel his story with Christine is over, and dragging it back again just places the characters in square one, their development null. As an original story, it can be a potential good drama, but with these established characters, a lot of the emotions feel forced and manufactured. 5/10

So overall...My favorite versions of Erik and the story are...the musical and Chaney? And Paradise and Robert Englund for the wild out there versions. But there's always something missing, i can't always point to one and go "THAT is the definitive Erik". Erik is a very complex character, made of light and shadows, and the movies never reflect that.

I don't think most of these movies are good, we like them because they're Phantom content, but still, it's interesting to observe how this story has changed reflecting the interests of society at the time being. Before, we wanted this cruel monster punished...Then we turned him into an 80s slasher...And now in the monster fucker era we see him as a potential romantic lead...Huh.

[justkidneying]

Okay new series/setup of asks I'm gonna hit you with

Let's start with everyone's favorite--what does media/what do writers often get wrong about characters blacking out via head trauma?

a) What should actually happen with that? b) What kinds of causes for blacking out or stunning or delaying the character could potentially be done instead? c) Anything else you feel needs to be made clear about this kinda thing?

Okay, I like this, keep it coming. What do writers get wrong? A lot, lol. So, the most common thing I see in media that stands out as something you shouldn't do, is when people will knock out their buddy because he wants to go do something stupid. Do not do this to your friends. Any blow to the head (especially one severe enough to cause loss of conciousness [LOC]) is bad. Don't do it.

Let's go into what a concussion is. It is a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). They happen when you get hit in the head. The space your skull and brain is filled with cerebro spinal fluid (CSF). There are also a lot of layers of connective tissue, but that's not important right now. The main thing is that you only have a few millimeters (0.5-6.5 mm depending on the region) of space between the bone and brain. This means it is really easy for your brain (which has some flexibility to its position) to hit the inside of your skull.

A famous type of injury is a coup contrecoup, where the brain strikes the skull, then bounces back and strikes again on the opposite side. This isn't always what happens. You can get a brain injury where the brain only strikes one side or is simply damaged from the impact through the bone.

Concussions are graded from I-III. A grade I has no LOC and amnesia lasting no more than half an hour. A grade II has LOC for no more than 5 minutes and amnesia lasting from half an hour to one day. A grade III has LOC for more than 5 minutes and amnesia lasting more than a day. Obviously, losing conciousness is bad, yet everyone in media does it like it's no big deal. The person who gets knocked out should be pretty mad, because they will likely have head ache, nausea, vomiting, memory issues, etc. They should definitely see a doctor.

One thing to note is that uneven pupils is not a normal sign of concussion, and is indicative of a more serious TBI. Also, a person with a concussion can go to sleep. They aren't going to die just because they took a nap.

What types of things could we do instead? I mean, if the person is an enemy, by all means knock them out lol. But if they are your friend, can you guys not just use words? I jest, but any kind of LOC as a result of trauma is not great, especially if it is serious enough to last several minutes. You could do a blood choke, I guess, but that should not do anything other than stun them for a minute or two. I've seen a lot of people get blood-choked, but they were only stunned for a moment. Blood chokes are when you cut off the blood supply to the brain (like with a rear naked choke). An air choke is when you cut off air supply (such as with an Ezekiel choke). *Please note that these are not good things to do IRL unless you're into martial arts. Don't do them for fun*

I would honestly just chloroform someone or use some other drug to knock them out. We knock people out all the time for medical reasons, and they're fine afterwards. So just drug them, lol.

I think the last point I want to make is about how improper the technique used to knock people out is. A punch to the temple is probably the most likely area to knock someone out (it is very thin). But punching people in the head hurts. I would much rather kick them in the head. Punching someone in the head is more likely to just hurt you. You're either hitting unpadded bone or getting teeth stuck in your knuckles. Palm strikes to the nose are pretty good, though.

In a fight scene, I would probably have a character punch someone in the throat if they're enemies. This won't hurt their hand and will probably kill their opponent. The solar plexus (midline bottom ribcage) is also a good place to hit. That will knock the wind out of someone. The kidneys and liver are good targets, too.

I hope I answered your question, and I thank you for asking it. Bottom line is that you shouldn't hit your friends, and you shouldn't hit your enemies in the head with your fist.

[demons-and-demigods]

Demons and Demigods Part Eleven: Written Scene #6.5: Sparta

Look, I'm not sure if I should classify this as a written scene or not, so I'm just gonna call it both lore and a scene, but there is a fair bit of proper writing in here, it's just split up between a bunch of hand-wavey bits lmao

Pylos and getting the poison from Frank’s ‘cousins’ goes the same, they get back to the Argo II, chat about Piper’s visions and wtf the deal is with the chained god’s heartbeat in Sparta, Percy makes his comment about ‘send Leo, he’s immune to fire. Shit, I’ll go with some fuckin’ water balloons, Ares and I have tangled before, I’m more than happy to pummel him again,’ Annabeth reigns him in since Piper’s vision showed the two of them, they table the discussion for the moment and decide to just get going. The sea serpent is eyeing them, they decide to fly instead of sail. Off they go to Sparta!

They arrived in Sparta. Piper shared her dream about the giant waiting for them and shit, and Percy crossed his arms. His face darkened, lips twisting into a snarl, and all the pipes in the ship burst. Piper jumped. Somewhere else in the ship, she heard Leo yelp. 

“Carajo mierda! ¿Qué carajo, Percy!” Leo cursed loudly in Spanish as water and various other liquids started to leak through the walls. 

Percy didn’t react. 

“That’s it,” he said darkly, his voice lower than Piper had ever heard it. It rumbled from deep in his chest and she swore she could feel it in her bones. “I’m coming with you.”

Piper tried not to let on just how terrified she was. Percy had always been scary, even without trying to be. But ever since he and Annabeth had returned from Tartarus, it was like Percy was barely able to reign himself in anymore and Annabeth had taken to just watching him with a knowing glint in her eye whereas before she would have stopped him before he went too far. Percy’s mere presence set Piper on edge, her fight-or-flight instinct rearing its head the moment he entered a room. 

Piper knew that he would never hurt her or any of their friends on purpose, but after what Leo had told her about what happened with Nike, well. She just hoped they didn’t ever get caught in the crossfire. 

Right then, Piper was barely resisting the urge to flee as Percy glared at her and Annabeth, daring them to tell him no. Piper tried not to let her legs shake. Annabeth just rolled her eyes and crossed her arms right back. 

“Absolutely not, Seaweed Brain,” Annabeth said sternly and raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend. “Piper and I are more than capable of taking care of ourselves, and as much as I don’t want to leave your side either, Percy, we have to remember what the Giants said. They need the blood of a man and a woman to wake Gaea. If there really is a Giant waiting for us down there, we can’t send one of each; we’d just be giving them exactly what they want.” 

Percy growled low in his throat and Piper jumped when thunder cracked though the sky. 

“I don’t like this any more than you do, Percy, but the thunderstorm and exploding pipes are unnecessary. Honestly, if you don’t stop blowing up the plumbing, I think Leo might strangle you.” Annabeth said with a light laugh as she stepped forward to place her palms flat against his chest. 

Piper watched with wide eyes as Annabeth met Percy furious gaze with an indulgent smile, completely at ease even as the ship rocked from the force of the winds summoned alongside Percy’s storm by his anger. 

Annabeth bounced up on her tiptoes to give Percy a quick kiss. Percy let out a resigned sigh as his face melted into a soft grin. He slumped at the fight visibly drained from him and shook his head. 

“One of these days I’ll remember how futile it is to try and argue with you,” he said with a chuckle, and every trace of his frightening display of anger and power washed away by a kiss from his girlfriend. He sighed again. “I really, really don’t like this,” he said pointedly, “But I know you’re more than capable of handling yourself and I have no right to stop you.” He leaned down and kissed Annabeth languidly, one hand coming up to cup her jaw and the other tangling in her hair. “I guess I should go apologize to Leo and help clean up the mess I made,” he said when they finally parted for air. “Promise me you’ll be safe, Wise Girl.” 

Annabeth smiled. “Of course I will, Seaweed Brain. You’re still not getting rid of me that easily.” She gave him one more quick kiss before waving him off as they both laughed. She watched her boyfriend disappear around the corner with a tender look on her face. 

Then, she sighed and turned to Piper, her face settling into a determined mask. “Come on,” she said. “We’d better get going before he decides he’s coming anyway, my reasoning be damned.” 

Annabeth and Piper head off to do their thing. Very little changes here. Their conversation on the hill goes a little differently since Annabeth isn’t afraid of Percy and the Akhlys thing (actually she thought it was pretty hot, Percy offering to kill a goddess for her). Annabeth had told Piper some of the stuff that happened Down There, but the ‘ranked list of scary things that happened’ is more Piper’s thing than Annabeth’s. Annabeth was scared, of course, never of Percy, though, but rather of y’know, the possibility of dying and not making it back to their friends and losing Percy and stuff like that. When she talked about scary things Percy had done, it wasn’t with fear, it was always with admiration and love and a lot of ‘gods, I love him’s thrown in. Piper was the one to label his actions scary. Annabeth mooned over them. 

So when Piper is like “You’re thinking about Percy,” and they have their little feelings talk, Annabeth doesn’t talk about how he scared her standing there at the edge of Chaos threatening a goddess, but instead she talks about how incredible it was to watch him reduce a goddess to begging for mercy, how much she loved him for being willing to do whatever it took for them to make it out of there, how thrilling the knowledge was that he’d have killed Akhlys if she’d asked him to, how exhilarating it felt to have that kind of power and control over a situation. 

Piper is trying very hard not to freak out. Because seriously. What the fuck, Annabeth. But she manages to keep her cool (at least outwardly) and then there’s the surge of fear and the topic shifts and Annabeth mentions how terrifying it was to be blinded and separated from Percy by the arai, the bone-deep fear she’d felt when Bob healed her and she saw Percy on the ground, covered in blood and barely hanging on as he struggled to breathe, learning that he was dying of gorgon’s blood and there was nothing Bob could do to help him. Piper comforts her and then they notice the flame geysers. 

They go to check those out, Annabeth is frustrated she can’t find a pattern, Piper figures out they’re not logical, they’re emotional, and she jumps down the hole. Annabeth follows a moment later after she anchored a rope and Piper cut off the dragon head spouting the flames. They realize it’s a temple of fear, not just of Ares, and it’s fucking with their emotions. The Giant appears to taunt them, and they take off running. 

Annabeth is spiraling, she is definitely having a Very Not Good Time. Piper is doing her best to snap Annabeth out of it, but Mimas is Not helping and it's just a rough time all around. Mimas keeps taunting them, Piper keeps quipping right back. She talks about her godly brothers, Deimos and Phobos, and then Mimas makes his mistake. 

He insults Damasen. 

Annabeth attacks him in a fury and does some serious damage in her rage. 

Things go south for them again. Piper coaches Annabeth to stop trying to plan and just feel things, listen to her gut. Annabeth admits that she doesn’t think she can do that. 

Piper tells her to focus on getting revenge for Bob and Damasen. 

Annabeth is quiet for a moment, and then she says, “I’m good now,” and commits terrible acts of violence against Mimas <3 

Piper makes her sacrifice to the makhai, only since she doesn’t have the cornucopia, she instead slices her forearm and lets her blood drip onto the statue. Then she frees the makhai, they make their deal with her, and Mimas dies. 

Piper and Annabeth haul ass back to the Argo II and then they continue on their way. 

A few days later, after heading back out to sea and deciding to sail instead of fly while Jason was down for the count, they got caught in a massive storm. 

[kyoosoup]

rating all the books i had to read for junior high + highschool

blah blah blah

my brothers and dad are currently watching a football game so i have to kill some time. i asked my mom to send me the list of all the books i read for junior high/highschool (i'm homeschooled so she was my teacher/made my curriculum that's why i asked her)

not sure how i'm gonna rate/rank these yet but yeah

if you're bored and want to kill time or you just want to read this for some reason, then strap in

To Kill a Mockingbird

by Harper Lee

this one is a school classic. and honestly, i did enjoy it. i will say i had a hard time reading it when i did, not because of the actual writing/language, but rather because i had no idea how courts worked so i didn't understand any of the courtroom scenes. i'm not sure why i didn't know about courts yet. i'm sure i learned about it in school but i hadn't seen it visually (like in a show or video or anything) so i think it was hard for me to picture. i'm sure if i read TKAM again now i would enjoy it more.

8/10

The Red Badge of Courage

by Stephen Crane

omg i did not like reading this book. idk if it's just me or if it was the book but i was so bored. it's a really short book but it felt so long. maybe i'm being too harsh and maybe it wasn't actually boring. but i wouldn't read it again to find out.

2/10

A Tale of Two Cities

by Charles Dickens

Okay i will say i definitely was really confused when i read this. I liked the story and i'm glad i've read it, because i mean it's kinda famous and i feel like it has some good elements. but it was hard for me to read and appreciate. too much deciphering. I think this is another book that i would appreciate more if i reread now that i'm older.

6.5/10

A Midsummer Night's Dream

by William Shakespeare

I did not reading shakespeare in school. in general, i dont like reading plays or older english or epics or anything like that. The only thing i appreciated at all about this play while reading it was that it had characters who were actors that put on a play . play within a play. this did not make reading the play worth it though lol. i think now the only reason i care at all about it is because of Dead Poet's Society

3/10

A Tell Tale Heart

by Edgar Allen Poe

i don't remember much about this specific short story but after googling the synopsis i do remember liking it. and i'd probably read it again. i can't say much else because i don't remember lol

7.5/10

Harrison Bergeron

by Kurt Vonnegut

another short story. I don't remember every detail of this one either but i did think it was interesting and i would reread it. I'm not sure if i would quite go as far as to recommend it. but, of the books/stories so far, it is the one i would be most likely to recommend. (provably only after rereading it myself)

8.5/10

Animal Farm

by George Orwell

okay guys. this is one of my favorite books that i've read for school. it is one of 2 (i think) that i've actually sat and reread outside of school assignments. not hard to read at all. had some crazy good lines. and it was about animals! (or was it?) i would reread it repeatedly. and i would and have recommended it to people.

10/10

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

by Mildred D. Taylor

I enjoyed reading this one. it wasn't anything crazy or lifechanging for me, but it was a decent read. i think just because it didn't really feel super impactful (i kinda forgot about its existence) i'm gonna have to rate it lower

7/10

The Hiding Place

by Corrie Ten Boom

This was the other book that i reread outside of school assignments. it's another that i would (and have) recommended to people. I really loved this book while reading it. i've always been interested in ww2, ever since my dad gave me an anne frank graphic novel when i was like less than 10 lol. so this book was not only interesting from a historical viewpoint, but i also found it pretty inspiring and emotional. it's been a minute since i've read it, but i would read it again.

10/10

Jane Eyre

by Charlotte Bronte

this book was a rollercoaster and i always have a hard time remembering everything that happened. i remember finding it interesting, unsettling at times (intentionally), and it was a decent read. i think this was one of many school books that was ruined in part because i was supposed to take notes and write essays on it and stuff.

7.5/10

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

by Robert Louis Stevenson

ok i'll admit i enjoyed reading this. thriller and mystery has always been fun for me to read. i will say, i'm 80-90% sure that i was spoiled. not because it's really popular and maybe i heard of the twist. no. because there's a VEGGIETALES PARODY. yeah. anyways. i dont know if i would reread this or not, but i am glad to have read it.

7.5/10

Things Fall Apart

by Chinua Achebe

This is another one of the pretty solid books i've read for school. I would even go as far as to recommend it. Do i remember everything about it? definitely not. But i know i liked reading it and i would probably reread it if i get the chance. It had some pretty cool ideas and themes. i remember when i first read it, i thought the beginning poem (which the book is named after) was pretty cool too. so much that i somehow memorized it: "things fall apart, the centre cannot hold, mere anarchy is loosed upon the world". i had to look it up but the poem is called The Second Coming. Anyways, another cool book.

9.5/10

The Odyssey

by Homer

i hated reading this. i didn't like the act of reading the format. i didnt like the language. and i didn't even like the plot. or the characters. there is not really any redeeming quality to this for me. i'm sorry if you really like this book and are sad that i don't agree. sorry not really sorry. the only reason i'm glad to any extent that i read it is because my assignment for it, instead of an essay, was to make a comic for a scene of it. which was mildly fun.

1/10

Romeo and Juliet

by William Shakespeare

although more interesting by far than midsummer night's SNORE (i'm joking), i was still mildly bored reading this. i am glad i read it for the sake of reading it. but i did not particularly enjoy reading. in general, the story of romeo and juliet isn't really for me. i was just annoyed with them the whole time??? like they're so dumb. i mean in juliet's defense i think she's supposed to be like 13 so what does she know but whatever. i still didn't really like reading it.

5/10

Of Mice and Men

by John Steinbeck

okay this book was an interesting read. it was good but like kinda crazy and dark and unsettling?? which is definitely the point. but still. man. that was crazy. if you haven't read it, it's an interesting read. but dark.

8.5/10

A Modest Proposal

by Jonathan Swift

another story i needed to look up. i cant say i remember much about reading this. most likely i just didn't understand it. the synopsis sounds really crazy though so i'm surprised i don't remember more of it. sounds weird though

2/10

Frankenstein: 1818

by Mary Shelley

this book was crazy and dark but it was pretty interesting and i'd maybe even reread it. it's a well known story but reading for myself everything crazy that happens really made me think. the morality of it all and whatnot. i think maybe the main downside to reading this was i got kinda grossed out. i don't sit well with depictions of anything morbid or gore-y or cannibalism. makes me a little physically uncomfortable. but i still liked reading this book overall. also since i read it i can get mad when people mix up the doctor and the creature. i can also understand this really dumb frankenstein meme

9/10

The Lord of the Flies

by William Golding

i liked this book a lot too. i'm starting to think perhaps i like darker books about morality and how maybe the real monsters were the people we met along the way??

9.5/10

Beowulf

Frederick Rebsamen

ahh another book i hated reading. odyssey level of hate for me. i maybe liked the characters better but i can't really back that up. wouldnt read again. it was probably good or something i just didn't like it.

1/10

Medea

by Euripedes

i don't remember this let me look it up. uhhhhhhhhhhhh. okay i don't remember this one very well but i don't think i hated it as much as some other things so

3/10

Macbeth

by William Shakespeare

shockingly, i did sort of like this one. i know, pretty out of character for me. but the plot was actually interesting so it made up for being annoying/boring for me to read. i would watch a movie or play version of it and maybe actually be interested. maybe

6/10

American Born Chinese

by Gene Luen Yang

i did enjoy this book. it's a graphic novel, so it was a quick read. i wouldn't say it's my favorite graphic novel but it has a lot of cool themes and elements. i would say i maybe like another graphic novel by the same author, boxers and saints, better. but i didn't read that for school so i'm not rating it.

8.5/10

Scarlet Letter

by Nathaniel Hawthorne

I don't remember everything that happened in this book. i would say, in general, it didn't really stick out to me. it wasn't particularly interesting to me and it wasn't outright bad. but i wouldn't read it again.

4/10

My Antonia

by Willa Cather

after reminding myself about this book's existence, i am pretty sure i liked it. but who cares about the literal plot of the novel when we can look into the author being subtly lgbtq coded. the evidence, your honor: first of all, my antonia itself is told from the perspective of Jim, a dude. and it's about his relationship with this girl who eventually gets married but he still cares about her deeply and he reminisces (idk that it's inherently romantic, but it's something). and why does this matter? Willa Cather wrote a lot from the male perspective, and people think it was to avoid being criticized for lesbian relationships. But this is just the tip of the iceberg!!!!!! the craziest part is that Willa had several very close relationships with women. including ahem (from wikipedia) "most notably, the editor Edith Lewis, with whom Cather lived the last 39 years of her life." HISTORIANS WILL SAY THEY'RE JUST FRIENDS. this doesn't really have much to do with the book but i remember seeing this while researching back when i read the book and i was like yooooo ????

8/10

Catch 22

by Joseph Heller

another book i really enjoyed!!! i actually actively want to reread this one. it's cool to read, it was kinda funny, and the plot was interesting. i liked the idea of slowly uncovering the story. i will say, reading it super spread out for school was a little confusing. but that's not the book's fault

10/10

Hamilton

by Lin Manuel Miranda

i'm not sure how much i can count this because i didn't technically read the whole thing. i read parts of a book about the musical and then i watched a recording of it. if i can count it, i would say it's really fun and i enjoy it a lot and would like to see it live one day. the only reason it's not a 10 is because i don't think Lin Manuel Miranda is the best singer. like he's a talented writer but compared to angelic leslie odom jr, lin is not my favorite.

9.5/10

Peace Child

by Don Richardson

this one was interesting, especially since it was a real story. seeing how people can compare and relate different cultures and religions can be fascinating.

8/10

i'm getting sleepy so i am skipping a bunch of the other short stories because frankly most of them i didn't like very much. it's possible i liked a few of them, but i don't really feel like looking them all up. oh well.

Robinson Crusoe

by Daniel Dafoe

now i didn't read the whole book, just snippets, but boy am i glad i didn't. i did not like this book. it was boring. even reading just small parts of this book i was in agony. also, fpr the record, this book was not an epic poem or a play. so there, i can dislike other things too

1/10

Pride and Prejudice

by Jane Austen

okay i love the jane austen movies and shows, so i was relatively excited to read this book. I think taking notes really detracted from my joy. but i like the story a lot. even typing this makes me want to rewatch some of the jane austen media. it wasn't my favorite read, but it was pretty good. a classic, really

9/10

The House of the Spirits

by Isabel Allende

i feel like this book was supposed to be unsettling probably but it really made me uncomfortable. i think there were maybe some sexual things including some creepy ones. and me personally when i am assigned a book with that by my mom/teacher i was like why do i have to read this. now that i think about it, i'm pretty sure i was so uncomfortable with it that i asked my mom to cover up those parts with sticky notes. the story was interesting but those parts really made me not like it

5.5/10

The Joy Luck Club

by Amy Tan

okay !! i did like this book a lot. it's about a bunch of chinese-american mother-daughter relationships so yk. relatable in some ways. i think maybe there were a few weird things but i think overall the read is worth it. i would for sure consider rereading it. and i would also recommend it. i actually recently tried to look for it in a few bookstores but i didn't see it and i was kind of sad.

9.5/10

Honorable Mention:

basically all the Narnia books by C.S. Lewis

i technically read a few of these for school but i don't know which ones because i also read a bunch on my own. I really like these books. they are cozy and i like the characters. also i like the movies a lot so that increases my favorability for them. i would recommend the series, or at least the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

10/10

maybe one day i will do something like this for books i read growing up or something else school related. but for now that is all. i hope i didn't miss any lol.

if you read this far, i guess leave a comment or something??? i'm impressed. at this point you could rate my ratings. this whole post is probably longer than most of the short stories. lol.

good night

[restlessmaknae]

2023 drama recap

Note: these are dramas (webdramas & one cdrama & one Western show as well) that I’ve watched this year, but not all of them were released in 2023.

Shadow&bone s2: not gonna lie, this one felt messy and a bit all over the place, but I guess when you read the books and the TV show is a mix of different book series, it's expected

My review: 6/10

Use for my talent: the supporting couples carry this show on the back, I have nothing more positive to say because the main leads' love triangle is super annoying and the kiss scenes are so forced and unrealistic, it's not even funny anymore :') I haven't yet watched it until the end, but so far:

My review: 6.5/10

When i fly towards you (cdrama): this was a charming drama that got me until the second half of it when it lost its charm, and I realised that it's way too unrealistic, there were a lot of cringey scenes, the end felt dragged and repetitive, and I didn't really see any character development even though we saw the main leads growing up (but props to the second leads, I really loved their dynamics!)

My review: 6.5/10

User not found (webdrama): it was more enjoyable than annoying, but overall, it did have some unnecessary drama and the main female lead's acting wasn't up to my liking

My review: 7/10

Tracer: I'm pretty sure it would have been more enjoyable if we had managed to find good subtitles for it because the acting was really good, but I didn't get the plotline fully because of the Google Translate-like subs, so yeah, that's why it's only 7.5 (but Im Siwan's acting is 10/10 as always)

My review: 7.5/10

The witch store reopens (webdrama): it was perfectly fine considering that it was a webdrama (so expect some overexaggerated acting and such), it was cute, funny, and the leads (Yonghee and Yerin) did well

My review: 8/10

The heavenly idol: I've watched it for Kim Minkyu, but it was unexpectedly serious at times (touched upon bullying, double standards for idols, the nasty parts of the showbiz industry), so it did surprise me positively - however, the special effects were a bit odd at times, and you can't take the storyline seriously, but if you let go of reality, it's pretty enjoyable

My review: 8/10

Revenge of others: it was pretty dramatic at times and I didn't necessary like the big plot twist at the end, but I really loved the investigating part of it and the whole storyline wasn't that predictable

My review: 8.5/10

Seasons of blossom: this definitely delivered some emotional punches (read: I cried), and the acting was really good on the leads' part, some other acting was kind of forced, but overall, it was a meaningful drama

My review: 9/10

Crash course in romance: me and my mother both really enjoyed this show, we were waiting for the episodes to come out week after week. It was really funny, had some serious topics to touch upon, and the acting was overall really good. I deduct 0.5 point because sometimes I didn't feel the balance between the crime part (yes, there's one like that) and the main storyline, it wasn't that annoying, but I have to mention it

My review: 9.5/10

King the land: it was similar to Business Proposal to me in terms of how much I enjoyed it and why I deduct 0.5 point - it was funny, it was cute, the acting was really good, but there were a lot of clichés that you can't help but shrug off because it was really enjoyable

My review: 9.5/10

Castaway diva: I have 3 episodes left, so this is not my final verdict, but it's been really good so far, I really love the way they touch upon such sensitive topics, and the acting ranges here on the three main leads' parts are just wow! (I only deduct 0.5 point because of Yoon Ranjoo and her whole showbiz team, it's like they can't decide which side they want to be on)

My review: 9.5/10

Twinkling watermelon: my favourite drama this year, genuinely a 10/10, it was funny, heart-warming, heart-breaking, and very meaningful, would highly recommend

My review: 10/10

[efangamez]

Soooooooo I watched Shin Godzilla!

I liked it! I think that having the whole movie a conference, though, achieved its mission of showing how useless bureaucracy is, but mannnnnn it goes on so long. The Godzilla scenes were super cool, though I wish that there was just a tad more Godzilla actually fighting against its aggressors. Better yet, even just a scene of evolving into its fourth form would be really cool.

Overall, I'd say it's the second best Godzilla film I've seen so far, and I'm gonna rate it out of 10 regarding Godzilla films and just overall cinema.

Godzilla Rank: 8/10. Sits behind Godzilla: Minus One, and above Godzilla 1954.

General Cinema rank: 6.5/10. A pretty decent movie, but scenes did drag very long, and the music choices were nostalgic, but did not fit scenes whatsoever. The mixing on the sound wasn't that great either.

[petertingle-yipyip]

POOKIE now that the album has been out for a while what are your fav songs????

me personnally i cant pick they all already mean sm to me😭😭

once i saw it was a DOUBLE ALBUM i decided to wait till i had enough time to listen in full so i will listen right now and pull a you and give live ratings! (skip to the bottom for an overall feeling)

fortnight 8/10 - this is so ex coded holy “i love you and it’s ruining my life” literally of her relationships at some point, wow. i will say that post is an interesting collab for this type of song but i don’t hate it

the tortured poets department 6/10 - i liked the bridge (i think that’s what it is) the best. lyrically it’s good but not my fave and saying that ab the title track i hope doesn’t get me yelled at by anyone

my boy only breaks his favorite toys 9/10 - i claimed this one from the tracklist so i knew i was gonna like it. the best she stays with as she sings the title is perfect for an edit

down bad 7.5/10 - i didn’t expect her to come out cussing at me, okay ms swift. not a skip but not a daily listen either. crying at the gym is relatable though

so long, london 8/10 - i used this as a fic title lol but the cadence really shows how angry/tired she was by the time they split. the lyrics here are so powerful too. her imagery is always so beautiful

but daddy i love him 6/10 - idk why but this just doesn’t resonate with me the way i thought it would. still good though but i wouldn’t save it turn it on from my own phone

fresh out the slammer 9/10- having that one person who is your immediate thought, the driving force behind you, your everything is all i want and that yearning keeps me up at night

florida!! 4/10- nothing about this song drew me in 🫣

guilty as sin? 8/10 - “i choose you and me religiously” so matt murdock coded

who’s afraid of little old me? 10/10 - SO ex coded and rep coded “i was gentle, i was tame till the circus life made me mean” or “you wouldn’t last an hour in the asylum where they raised me” TELL ME THAT ISNT OUR GIRL EXODUS

i can fix him (no really i can) 6.5/10 - me with every fictional man i come across the “ woah, maybe i can’t” at the end is crazy, basically agreeing that he was such a mess but i was hoping to like this one a little more

loml 9/10- joe put her through it, holy shit

i can do it with a broken heart 10/10 - immediately can tell she was writing about herself performing from another perspective and i love the juxtaposition of a pop-dance type beat with these tougher lyrics “i cry a lot but im so productive” is literally me

the smallest man who ever lived 7.8/10 - the title feels like the inverse of the “loudest woman this town has ever seen” lyric and to me, it really highlights got she was always this icon whereas he was always ducking and dodging and not willing to live in that spotlight with her

the alchemy 5/10 - i feel like the message of this song went right over my head

clara bow 6/10 - it’s a cute song that (i think) documents the growth of her career and maybe the comparisons/comments she gotten as she’s worked and how people compare new stars to her

the black dog 5/10- it doesn’t really resonate with me

imgonnagetyouback 8.5/10 - is this the one some people are saying is similar to get him back! by liv? bc the only similarity i hear is the concept of not knowing if you’re gonna rekindle or beat the shit out of your ex

the albatross 8.5/10 - it’s like she knows exodus and elektra. “she is here to destroy you” but i think this is another way of her reclaiming her image/reputation through acknowledging and challenging what men/media say about her

chloe or sam or sophia or marcus 8.8/10 - honestly idk what ab this song but it’s so beautiful. i can’t explain it but its like a ballroom dance

how did it end? 9/10 - this song gives the vibes of a movie scene where two people are on swings at the night and then suddenly, one swing is empty (but still going) and the other person is just teetering on their toes

so high school 5/10 - gives me early ts vibes and it’s cute but not really me

i hate it here 7/10- not my favorite but i do like the beat

thanK you aIMee 6/10 - this is directed at KIM or am i tripping? also the guitar reminds me of debut era for some reason

i look in peoples windows 7.5/10 - this song is yearning, wanting to see that person just one more time and its me wondering if i’ll see my ex again, just to know what’d happen if he saw me again after everything he’s said to me

the prophecy 9/10 - i really love the chorus

cassandra 5/10 - didn’t really stick out to me and became background noise 🫣

peter 7.8/10 - its really cute and ik it’s probably more of a peter pan reference but the editors need to get on it and do peter x mj

the bolter 8.7/10 - i was not reviled by anyone except my own father so (we’re better now though) but i do run from intimacy

robin 6/10 - slow, sweet, cute little song

the manuscript 9/10- instantly loved it (forgot what else i wanted to say here)

overall, is a lyrically beautiful album. there’s so much emotion in the music and her delivery. her imagery is so beautiful as always. personally, i won’t say i love it but it is so so impactful. releasing 31 songs in one project is unheard of so i tip my hat to her ability to tell these stories with such grace and eloquence through such a marathon of an album. i like that you can hear bits of her previous albums in some of the songs and it is a very mature project imo. you can tell how much this meant to her and how much of herself she’s poured out. its an overall ~7.8/10 for me but i would recommend everyone to give it a listen

[nixotinix]

So!! Last post I mentioned that I was gonna force my best friend @brovotics-art to rank all the g3 character music videos. Well, we're on call right now, and I've since forced them to not only rank the G3 character music videos, but the soundtracks of Monster High: The Movie and Boo York, Boo York! And, with their permission, I'm posting their opinions here to be scrutinized. I'll be going in the order we watched them in, so enjoy!

G3 Music Videos

Song 1: I'm Clawdeen

My ranking: 3/10

Their ranking: 3.5/10

Overall, we agreed that musically, this one wasn't very sound. It didn't have distinct verses and it was kind of just her talking.

--

Song 2: Here for Life

My ranking: 5/10

Their ranking: 6/10

This one is a lot more musically coherent. I'm just not a big fan of the verses.

--

Song 3: Sparked to Life

My ranking: 7/10

Their ranking: 5.9/10

Spoiler alert, they don't rank any of the g3 songs higher than a 6.5. I like this one tho!! its a vibe

--

Song 4: Royally Rule this World

My ranking: 6/10

Their ranking: 6.5/10

"It would be higher if i didn't hate the scarabs so much." - Brovotics

--

Song 5: Lagoona Na

My ranking: 6.9/10

Their ranking: 5.9/10

We both liked most of this one. But the second verse really wasn't that good.

--

Song 6: Out of the Shadows

My ranking: 6.7/10

Their ranking: 6.4/10

We both really liked this one, we're just picky.

--

Song 7: Best of Both Worlds

My ranking: 5.7/10

Their ranking: 5/10

We both kinda agree that interrupting the song with instructions for dance moves brought it down a couple notches.

--

Song 8: Feel the Energy

My ranking: 7/10

Their ranking: 6.5/10

I really liked the nepali influences in this song. Plus we both just really like abbey.

--

--

Monster High: The Movie Songs (including cut songs!)

Song 1: Coming Out of the Dark

My ranking: 6/10

Their ranking: 6/10

Frankie ate in this song.

--

Song 2: We Are Monster High

My ranking: 3/10

Their ranking: 4.5/10

This is probably the credit song. idk, didnt like it.

--

Song 3: Three of Us

My ranking: 5/10

Their ranking: 5/10

Generic hype song part 1.

--

Song 4: True Monster Heart

My ranking: 6/10

Their ranking: 5/10

the part of the movie where we both knew it was about to get worse.

--

Song 5: Here I Am

My ranking: 5.5/10

Their ranking: 5.2/10

I think this would've made a better intro song than coming out of the dark tbh.

--

Song 6: Trust

My ranking: 6/10

Their ranking: 5/10

I don't HATE it. I just think it would've been better if it were with different characters (cough cough jackson anD DEUCE)

--

Song 7: Spark

My ranking: 8/10

Their ranking: 6/10

how fucking dare they not include this. this is literally the best song on this soundtrack argue with the wall.

--

Song 8: Coming Out of the Dark (Reprise)

My ranking: 4/10

Their ranking: 4.9/10

the most notable thing about this song for us was that i called it Coming (Reprise) in my notes. and us arguing over how to pronounce reprise

--

Song 9: No Apologies

My ranking: 6/10

Their ranking: 6/10

generic hype song part 2.

--

Song 10: Triple Up

My ranking: 3/10

Their ranking: 5.1/10

this is just a k-pop song.

--

Song 11: This is Who I Am

My ranking: 2/10

Their ranking: 4.5/10

this song made me CRY laughing. why does he sing it in CURSIVE.

--

--

Boo York, Boo York songs

Song 1: Love Is Like A Storm Tonight

My ranking: 7/10

Their ranking: 6/10

this song deserved to have its full version in the movie it is a BOP.

--

Song 2: Search Inside

My ranking: 10/10

Their ranking: 8/10

fuck you, she ate that last chorus, this is a 10/10

--

Song 3: Fright Lights, Big City

My ranking: 8/10

Their ranking: 7/10

this scene is so cute dont @ me.

--

Song 4: It's Pharaoh!

My ranking: 5/10

Their ranking: 8/10

this is hip hop version of boo york boo york. im here for it its a vibe

--

Song 5: Empire

My ranking: 8/10

Their ranking: 6.3/10

i am giving you all permission to crucify my bestie for ranking this bop so low. that also includes....

--

Song 6: It Can't Be Over

My ranking: 7/10

Their ranking: 4/10

"It would be higher if they had stayed broken up." - Brovotics

--

Song 7: Boo York, Boo York

My ranking: 10/10

Their ranking: 9/10

SETH CARRIED THIS. ENTIRE. FUCKING. MOVIE.

--

Song 8: Steal the Show

My ranking: 9/10

Their ranking: 8.5/10

this was my fave as a kid. i can still belt every word

--

Song 9: Shooting Stars

My ranking: 7/10

Their ranking: 7.5/10

"Would be lower if seth wasn't in it."

--

and that's all!!! we love (some) of these songs and ranking them was a lot of fun!! just for shoots and googles, here's our own individual rankings from lowest to highest :3

My Bestie's Ranking: 28. I'm Clawdeen (3.5) 27. It Can't Be Over (4) 26. This is Who I Am (4.5) 25. We Are Monster High (4.8) 24. Coming Out of the Dark (Reprise) (4.9) 23. Trust (5) 22. True Monster Heart (5) 21. Three of Us (5) 20. Best of Both Worlds (5) 19. Triple Up (5.1) 18. Here I Am (5.2) 17. Lagoona Na (5.9) 16. Sparked to Life (5.9) 15. Coming Out of the Dark (6) 14. Spark (6) 13. No Apologies (6) 12. Here for Life (6) 11. Love Is Like A Storm Tonight (6) 10. Empire (6.3) 9. Out of the Shadows (6.4) 8. Royally Rule This World (6.5) 7. Feel the Energy (6.5) 6. Fright Lights, Big City (7) 5. Shooting Stars (7.5) 4. It's Pharaoh! (8) 3. Search Inside (8) 2. Steal the Show (8.5) 1. Boo York, Boo York (9)

--

My ranking: 28. This is Who I Am (2) 27. Triple Up (3) 26. We Are Monster High (3) 25. I'm Clawdeen (3) 24. Coming Out of the Dark (Reprise) (4) 23. Here for Life (5) 22. Three of Us (5) 21. It's Pharaoh! (5) 20. Here I Am (5.5) 19. Best of Both Worlds (5.7) 18. Royally Rule This World (6) 17. No Apologies (6) 16. Coming Out of the Dark (6) 15. True Monster Heart (6) 14. Trust (6) 13. Out of the Shadows (6.7) 12. Lagoona Na (6.9) 11. Feel the Energy (7) 10. Sparked to Life (7) 9. It Can't Be Over (7) 8. Shooting Stars (7) 7. Love is Like A Storm Tonight (7) 6. Fright Lights, Big CIty (8) 5. Spark (8) 4. Empire (8) 3. Steal the Show (9) 2. Boo York, Boo York (10) 1. Search Inside (10)

[mylifeincinema]

My Week(s) in Reviews: December 31, 2023

My last post of 2023! Gonna make this quick-ish, but stay tuned, because sometime in the coming week I'm going to start posting My Best of 2023... Starting with My Most Anticipated Films of 2024. So yeah, be on the lookout for that. Anyway, here's what I've been watching...

Poor Things (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2023)

So damn good, but also significantly overlong. I hate that Emma Stone’s odds are going down, as she delivers what will likely remain a favorite ‘til the end of the decade. Mark Ruffalo is also a blast, and also deserves the win. I honestly didn’t think he still had a performance like this in him. Dafoe is magnificently weird, and every time he graced the screen was a treat. Yorgos went off, here. This is probably his best work yet, despite being in need of some serious trimming. It’s also one of the most visually interesting films of the year. I just loved how this movie was shot. And it’s very easily better than the book. So, y’know, there’ that too. - 8.5/10

Saltburn (Emerald Fennell, 2023)

Awkwardly overwritten but exquisitely shot and weirdly intoxicating. There's no character, here, that's less than detestable, and I kinda loved it. - 7/10

The Iron Claw (Sean Durkin, 2023)

This would’ve been better if they’d had all of the actual wrestling happen off-screen. It would’ve cut the bloated running-time without affecting its emotional heft. Sean Dunkin did great work, though, and captured these brothers’ relationships in such an emotionally raw manner. Maura Tierney quietly delivered the film’s most gutting performance. Well, kinda, but not really, because Zac Efron seriously impressed. I didn’t know he had this level of emotional fragility in him as an actor. Damn. - 8/10

Maestro (Bradley Cooper, 2023)

Structurally flawed and occasionally over-directed, but both Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan knock it out of the park, and that major conducting scene was absolutely breathtaking. - 7.5/10

Saw X (Kevin Greutert, 2023)

So, what, Jigsaw's like a Dexter-type anti-hero, now? I don't know, maybe that's not new, it's been a while since I've seen one of these. The violence is creative and painful enough to make it worth watching, especially with how awful the people are. Nothing special. It's torture-porn at its most reliable, maybe? I don't know. - 6/10

Past Lives (Celine Song, 2023)

I can see why people are taking to this one, but aside from the general yearning for the nostalgic hitting home, this didn't do too much for me. Greta Lee is really good, though. - 6.5/10

Enjoy!

-Timothy Patrick Boyer.

[nateslehky]

fic asks: 29, 18 and also please answer the following: on a scale of 1-10 how likely are you to write me the LOC/colton fic that i deserve, if i ask you very nicely?

29. Share a bit from a fic you’ll never post OR from a scene that was cut from an already posted fic. (If you don’t have either, just share a random fic idea you have that you don’t plan on getting to.)

i toyed around with an idea of pottery-shop-owner-cale and then nathan taking pottery classes from him for Stress Relief and Anger Management, but it didn't get very far. but anyways, literally all i wrote was this:

A bell chimes, the wind blows, and a strange man walks into his shop.

Which like....FIRE opening line for like...a fantasy novel lmfao.

18. What’s one of your favorite lines you’ve written in a fic?

i'm quite please with the opening line for beneath the sun

In the distance, a child’s scream cuts through the soft music playing from the speakers, sharp in its joy. 

not even 100% sure why. lol.

***a few moments later***

i just tried to annotate the sentence on good ol' pen and paper with my thoughts/notes and was gonna share a pic but it's a big ol MESS hahaha.

basically, a lot of the fic centers around matthew struggling with his emotions and head space, in particular his happiness, and what's has brought him happiness/currently brings him happiness/will bring him happiness. and so i think it works that the first sentence talks about joy, but in particular i'm please with how it displays it.

i like that 'child's scream' is the first tangible thing you read about in the fic, because children scream for a lot of reasons, many of which are negative and many of which are positive. and you in theory don't know right away which it is.

and i like the action word 'cuts' combined 'sharp' when speaking about it, because (especially together) they make me think of a wound/pain, even though they're describing an incredibly light emotion like joy.

which again. back to matthew and his emotions haha.

On a scale of 1-10 how likely are you to write me the LOC/colton fic that i deserve, if i ask you very nicely?

like a solid 6.5. i'm very intrigued by the vision but i would like to hear more, pls.

ask me questions!!

[kaleidoscopiccc]

What is your nickname?

bill gates. i hate it. i hate it so bad. never call me any nicknames ever.

When is your birthday?

nov 3! scorpio the secretive nature!

What was your longest relationship?

3 months......

What is your favorite book?

i wish i still read as much as i used to, last book i read was daisy jones and the six and that was pretty good

What is something you're insecure about?

my face shape, shoulders, side profile, etc etc etc

5 Male celebrity crushes

ew no im a lesbian. christian slater.

5 Female celebrity crushes

mia dawson, mia dawson, princess sasha victome, mia dawson, and sophia larosh

What is your dream job?

actor in all honesty, who doesnt wanna be on stage

What is a fact about you that nobody would believe?

What were your highs and lows for this last month?

high was arriving to turkey, low was having a mental breakdown on the plane back

Where is somewhere you'd like to visit?

nyc!

How do you de-stress?

pinterest + laufey or working on my dozens of cyclone projects i have going on at the same time

What are your favorite apps besides tumblr?

pinterest once again

Describe yourself in one sentence.

silly sort of weird nongirl gets oddly obsessed w mediocre pieces pf media

What do you think makes you attractive?

i would say im a solid 6.5, also i will infodump to you. basically im sort of pretty and have autism

What is something you're really good at?

memorization, no proper skill or hobby yet sadly, i do a bunch of things and im mediocre at all of them, the way god intended

What is something you're really bad at?

crochet, im trying my best though!

A time that you told a lie.

ive never told a lie ever

Who knows you the best?

me i would think, ive never known anyone as long as i have me, i spend a lot of time with me, me knows everything ive ever done, thought, or been through

What is your most prized possession?

yuma jane dolly and signed trinity playbill!

What is your longest friendship?

2ish years i think? i moved around a lot

When did you first feel like an adult?

the last time i felt like an adult was 9 years old

Do you/ Have you played any sports?

i did gymnastics for most of my childhood, then switched to karate (my greatest enemy in the whole world) in 5th gradeish

How are you feeling right now?

melancholic

Are you an early bird or a night owl?

night owl, please let me sleep in, i was busy looking at the moon and writing down everything i was possibly thinking last nightat 1, im tired

Do you believe in love at first sight?

im sure for some people it exists, it takes me personally a bit to fall for someone though

Favorite song lyrics right now?

wont make my mama proud, its gonna cause a scene, she sees her baby girl, i know shes gonna scream

What does self care look like for you?

sitting in bed w a candle lit enjoying my own company

Describe yourself with 3 singers.

laufey (sleepy) , chappell roan (camp), the crane wives (yearning)

What makes you nervous?

the future, everything about it

What’s a pet peeve you have?

loud people. shut up please. im overwhelmed.

What will always make you cry?

trinity theatre company its not a game/its just a ride

What kind of first impression do you think you make on people?

"that was odd"

Question Game

Are we tired of these yet?

What is your nickname?

When is your birthday?

What was your longest relationship?

What is your favorite book?

What is something you're insecure about?

5 Male celebrity crushes

5 Female celebrity crushes

What is your dream job?

What do you consider your biggest accomplishment?

What is a fact about you that nobody would believe?

What were your highs and lows for this last month?

Where is somewhere you'd like to visit?

How do you de-stress?

What are your favorite apps besides tumblr?

Describe yourself in one sentence.

What do you think makes you attractive?

What is something you're really good at?

What is something you're really bad at?

A time that you told a lie.

What's a totally random and useless fact that you know?

Who knows you the best?

What is your most prized possession?

What is your longest friendship?

When did you first feel like an adult?

Do you/ Have you played any sports?

How are you feeling right now?

Are you an early bird or a night owl?

Do you believe in love at first sight?

Favorite song lyrics right now?

What does self care look like for you?

Describe yourself with 3 singers.

What makes you nervous?

What’s a pet peeve you have?

What will always make you cry?

What kind of first impression do you think you make on people?

Free Pass! (Ask any question you want that's not on the list)

[linc-karo-27]

Looking back on 6.x and my guesses from 6.1: Regarding the VAs

I was going to wait until 6.55 to make this but at this point I feel we can make this now with no VA knowledge for the last part. Spoiler for all FFXIV 6.x patches and character spoilers a bit for FFXVI (just because i bring up VAs but no names of characters)

So 6.5 happened and with the alliance raid having voiced G'raha a point I have made since 6.1 is back again: The scions splitting up caused some interesting affect on the English dub, if not every single dub. But as I can only speak for the English - we will be talking about the English specifically.

For anyone who didn't notice or doesn't play the game in English - Jonathan Bailey is back in the dub for............ 3 lines (off topic: his name is ROT 13 looks like onion, therefore i am now shortening it in ROT13 to that). That is if he isn't a side character that pops up in the MSQ in 6.1;6.2 and 6.5. And it reminded me we have had it a lot in this patch cycle: VAs having a handful of lines for one scene.

6.1 had Gemma Lawrence [Krile], Peter Bramhill and Tim Watson all pop up for a handful of lines to never be seen again. Bethan Walker and Colin Ryan [the twins] have this in 6.4 when they are there to just set off the teleporter. This patch is so clear that they realised the pool of who they had to call had shrunk by a mile and didnt clearly know how the deal with the usual additional voices pool of patches prior (in English they ended up very clearly calling people *specifically* for bosses, hello Joe Dempise [Ardbert] in the Myths Raid and Jeremy Ang Jones [Hermes] as the P10 boss - people came in from the ffxiv alumni for other jobs and got asked to do bosses because suddenly they had so little VAs in the dub they had to leave it to fill roles).

When 6.1 released I said on instagram in a rant that this was because of ffxvi, they had split the team internally dub wise and now had to quickly fill the additional characters with the 7 VAs they had (and oh god in 6.1 you can tell, hello [redacted] who im 70/30 on being Jonathan, sometimes you do really try to hide your accent and it doesnt fully work does it?) .

this was until I saw that XVI cast on the PS Blog: there was no scions or even core characters in that dub. And when others showed me the BTVA entries when it came out: there was less than 10 XIV alumni in there, with most being new people to the RPG dubbing crew as such. This wasn't its fault.

6.3,6.4 and 6.5 is a lot better on this, new characters meant new VAs and they quickly found a way to fill holes but I am saying this now: this is the new normal for patches, maybe not expacts, but everything else - they are gonna have to work with smaller pools of VAs than before as it looks like the scions "pair" up for tasks and not every patch is gonna have huge amount of these.

What about that "3 lines omg" thing?

simple. get used to having bg characters sometimes all share a VA. like 2 or 3 have a VA in common. Because it must be a pain to have to round up someone for 3 lines. and this is not even specific to the likes of JB and co who have other projects we know about, it is everyone. Many of them aren't London based!

Its just a new issue they all now have, and I feel its gonna be interesting to see how we deal with it come 7.x

[sarah-dipitous]

Hellsite Nostalgia Tour 2023 Day 258

Mamma Mia/Face the Raven

“Mamma Mia”

Plot Description: a reluctant Dean brings Mary along on a mission to rescue Sam. Crowley receives word that Lucifer has possessed the body of an aging rock star

Would I Survive the First Five Minutes??: this has to be some kind of mind trickery…there’s no way Sam’s fucking the lady from London…unless. Unless? That’s what he meant by telling her “screw you” over and over last episode. Oh. No one died

Omgggg Dean opening up to Cas about how weird it is to have Mary back, I’m losing my mind ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Ohhhh, Dean gets his guilt complex from his mom

I KNEW it! I knew this wasn’t real. I knew Sam was hallucinating that whole thing

Can she STOP seemingly killing Sam FOR FIVE MINUTES??

Love Rowena scamming this guy, making up a backstory about being a prima ballerina. She can do whatever she wants forever. Stop getting in the way of her getting that man’s bread, Crowley!!

I was gonna say I can’t believe Lucifer came all the way to Cleveland but…actually I can. That seems like a thing that would happen here. Of course he showed up as this rock star’s dead girlfriend to get him to say yes to possession

Dammit Crowley, let her have this. At the same time, Rowena, I’m sure you can find another old rich guy with limited time left in earth to scam. You are hot af, girl, let this one go. Don’t get wrapped up in Crowley’s schemes

Ah damn, she got Dean…

Oh, Ro Ro, I can’t believe you let your son drag you into this again

Oooo, just a smidge of body horror on my lunch break? Getting very um…end of chapter 349 vibes, and it’s concerning to me

Not to say spn should kill off another woman, but they’re spending a whole lot of time not shooting London lady

Aw, Mary’s adjusting. She’s figuring out modern life ❤️ and her boys are helping her

Noooooo, dammit, Lucifer’s keeping Rowena prisoner now. She spends so much time fighting for her freedom…I’m so mad this is happening to her

Legitimately crying at this scene between Sam and Mary.

God…as much as Dean tries to be like his father in many ways, he’s also JUST like his mom. I wish they’d just come together to talk it out instead of going through photos and John’s journal separately

“Face the Raven”

Plot Description: The Doctor and Clara find themselves in an alien world, hidden on a street in London

At least today I know if there’s no picture, there’s something wrong (oh good, there’s picture)

Oh shit! Is this one of the kids she’d nanny for before?? He seems too old to be, but what do I know? I’m just sayin I can’t imagine her giving any student but the girl she took to the moon the TARDIS’s phone number

Oh!! Oh wait! This is the guy from when there was an alien turning people 2D!! Ok ok that…it’s been a while since he’s been here

They only have like 6.5 hours to save Rigsy??

When you’ve read enough John Green to immediately get what Clara’s saying when she starts talking about trap streets on maps

Ooooo, is that like a maroon velvet blazer the Doctor is wearing?? Maybe not

Did he say FIFTY MINUTES LEFT?!

Not Arya is back! And she’s the one who sentenced Rigsy to death

Ok, so…the budget for this episode is very weird. First, there’s a whole huge set that is very reminiscent of a certain hidden street from [fandom redacted] where many different alien species have gathered as refugees…HOWEVER, the street lamps cause everyone to be undercover in a facade of the viewer’s own normal experiences. Sometimes there’s a glitch, and you can bypass the illusion (so we briefly see an Ood giving medical-ish attention to a cyberman), but it mostly feels like how spn makes all its monsters look like people

Clara don’t you dare. Don’t you dare try to take the death sentence from him. I mean, it’s…your plan isn’t necessarily the WORST, but it’s hella risky

Is that just subtle bi Clara confirmation? Talking about her relationship to Jane Austen and saying “god, I love her. Take that how you like”

Oof. She has GOT to stop making deals with random aliens. She nearly ripped reality apart last time she did. She opened a portal to a different dimension. Now, she’s making deals to keep this street safe in exchange for the Doctor??

I’m not okay with this goodbye between Clara and the Doctor. I’m very distraught. I’m gonna miss them together.

There’s something extra cruel about making the Doctor watch his best friend die right in front of his eyes

Oh of COURSE it’s a “to be continued…” ending. You know…at least I SORT OF got what I wanted. One self contained episode, and now not a two parter. This seems to be a THREE parter

[the-cat-chat]

July 15, 2023

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)

Puss in Boots discovers that his passion for adventure has taken its toll when he learns that he has burnt through eight of his nine lives. Puss sets out on an epic journey to find the mythical Last Wish and restore his nine lives.

JayBell: I confess, I haven’t watched any of the other Puss in Boots movies. I’m a fake fan. But I heard so many good things about this movie, and I admit, I’m a sucker for like unique or just cool animation styles.

My favorite character of this movie by far is Perrito. He’s just so cute and sad and tragic. He’s a perfect counterpart to Puss in Boots and Kitty who can be so negative. I think the characters in the story are solid. Although John Mulaney as the villain really traumatized me. Whoever created his character design is a monster.

The wolf villain was cool. I like the way whistling and the heartbeat raised the tension of all of the encounters between Puss in Boots and the wolf. Although I do wish they gave him a bit more of a motivator. Like he is after Puss because he is too nonchalant with the lives that he was given? Or because he was given so many lives in general? It’s just strange that after all this time (8 lives) he decides he has had enough of Puss’s shit.

Lots of humor (love the Puss/Pickles bit), some action, great character arcs, unique animation style, lots of heart--what more could you ask for in a kids movie?

Rating: 6.5/10 cats 🐈

Anzie: I was really excited for this movie bc usually all the Dreamworks/shrek stuff has good humorous nonsense throughout. That being said I figured the 13th Puss in Boots movie would be a good time. And I liked it, but it was ummmm, kinda, absolutely unhinged. But, yeahhh, it was good.

I was sooo excited for John Mulaney to be voicing a character, only to totally dislike his character Jack Horner- but I just think hearing his voice behind an animation is too weird for me. Annnyways I hattttted Goldilocks and the the bears- like pllllsss murder me. Ohhh speaking of murder the whole Death thing with Puss and the Wolf- I get it he’s a cat- nine lives yada yada, but ummm it’s a bit stalkerish of the Wolf the whooole time to then just being completely anticlimactic at the end and kinda giving in???? And the the real scumbag of the movie still is Jack Horner??? IDK!?! ooo and Perito. He’s soooo cute and he’s sooo funny with his little bleeps and his big eyes. The sock story is just a bit too dark. This was supposed to be made for kids right?? Bc I’m on the verge of a crisis with Death chasing Puss in Boots and him having panic attacks and now this little dog is too innocent to know he got ditched in a real bad way?? I can’t. It’s too much. But whatever. What do I know. The end there’s a good message that you’ve got all you need and don’t need a magic shooting star to make your wishes come true blahblah blah. (I think it would be nice tho)

I really enjoyed the change in animation style when there was a fight scene or like a fast motion scene and so it kinda looked like a painting or comic-ish. (But the singing in the first scene takes it down a point-sooorrry.)

*Omigggawd I just wanted to know which # puss in boots this is and it’s the “6th” installment of a shrek franchise but only the 2nd puss in boots movie!! 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱That doesn’t feel right but whatever. I’m gonna ignore the fact that the first and only movie was 11 years ago before I feel like throwing up.

Rating: 6/10 Gatos 🐈

[twistedisciple]

Steel Round starter for @cursedbluebird @arcaeda @sweetroyalberry @breidabloom

Whatever god or sage controlled this illusory gate had its fill of the marshland’s carnage before Griss did, and the moss-covered horse retreated, dragging the murky waters with it, while there was still so much destruction left to indulge in. Added to the sulfuric stench was that of ozone and seared skin, and sparks still leapt from the body of the boy that Griss had felled in retaliation, but the battle had not been won. Neither side had claimed a real victory. Griss touched his hand thoughtfully to the deep, open gash the kid’s axe had cleaved through his shoulder, his fingers coming away bright crimson and widening the smile on his face. No, if there was a winner here, it was Griss alone.

And maybe that was enough, because the bog drained just as suddenly as it had flooded at the start of their fight. The trees began to wither, growing spindly and sparse across a long swath of dry, brittle grass. A breeze had come to stir the stagnant air, and carried with it the scent of fire from a collection of ruins on a distant hillside. It was a familiar scene, somehow, but not as familiar as the quartet of ghostly apparitions that manifested before them.

Though each one had faces obscured by a featureless fuzz of shifting colors, Griss recognized the one with the horse at once. Blue hair, white uniform, wielding a blade from atop a magnificent white steed - it couldn’t be anything else but Emblem Sigurd. Or if not the real thing, then a shadow of it. Because it was the spitting image of the guy.

“This is gonna be fun,” he said to no one in particular, because if his allies’ panic in the last battle was anything to go by, he doubted they cared much about getting beaten to a pulp. “Hope Celly’s out there somewhere.” And for a split second the disappointment tempers his excitement with a frown. She was still going to make him work for that Ragnarok after all.

Eyes swept the remaining three apparitions, recognizing the Princess Exalt too. The other two were unfamiliar, though he had no doubt that they were Emblems too. Special ones, maybe. Or from another world. Maybe Lord Rafal’s world. He settled on the smallest of the group, a young girl grasping some sort of intricate staff back behind the rest. Some sort of healer, probably.

Griss 5.5/10HP recovers +2HP with Renewal (7.5/10) Griss uses Silence on Lonely Heir 15/15HP (Roll: 10 + 4 = 14, success) Lonely Heir 15/15HP cannot use magic or rallies until beginning of PP3

“Not gonna let you help your friends ‘til we can knock ‘em around first.” Griss lifted his own staff - once again something familiar in his hands - and distorted the air around the Emblem’s neck.

Griss 7.5/10HP loses -1HP to toxic poison [6.5/10]

Grimacing suddenly and gripping his shoulder, he stumbled back a step. His blood felt like lava, or broken glass, or both, slicing his veins open from the inside.

“Oh yeah, that feels SO good!” Throwing a wild-eyed look toward his allies, then to the ghostly figures, he goaded: “Come on, let’s get this party started already!”

Next: @sweetroyalberry

Self-Destruct Countdown [Steel Round Team 12]