#like i think the overall theme of the movie was supposed to be love. in all aspects of the family

[project-sekai-takes]

I'm sure this has been said before, but I wish mmjs new unit outfits were different, maybe by having a light green instead of a light blue on their dresses. Sure, blue is a more compatible color overall, but

1. green is their unit color and since their outfits are supposed to be matching as an idol group so it might as well be green anyway

2. it makes harukas and shizukus accent colors way less visible, and it makes them blend in since they have a similar hair color too

3. it implies that haruka or shizuku (but mostly haruka) is the leader because it's their theme color when that's definitely not the case. Sure, its hard to tell that minori is supposed to be the leader, but that's the point. It's part of minoris struggles of standing out as a person and an idol; compared to her peers, she is "too bland" and "not special enough" to harbor the same kind of attention and support.

That's part of the reason why their unit color being green is very interesting. It's definitely not minoris theme color, but it's also not anyone else's in the group. Minori didnt connect more more jump for her sake, it was for theirs. Now, they all work together to spread hope to others, and no one in particular is more important than another. Haruka is most definitely not the leader and I don't think she wants to be. So seeing the unit color being misrepresented as green feels like an offense to both minori, haruka, and what mmj is supposed to represent in general. (I'm sorry if any wording sounds weird, I wasnt sure how to get my point across lol)

Anyway I didnt mean to make this an mmj yap I'm sorry I just love them too much 😔 another solution would be making the blue part each person's unit color like their original outfits. (I like their old unit outfits, but I like how their new ones are softer and more pastel, the black on the old outfits felt a little too contrasting) I found an edit of that on reddit but I cant link it because I'm on anon- searching up mmj unit outfits should get you the result though.

Also, they could just use the ingame unit outfits??? Which look way better lmao??? (found in minoris first and second[?] focus) Its such a wasted opportunity not to use those. Their movie unit outfits are also a good fit and could work as their actual unit outfits. Clearly colorpale knows how to design good outfits, so why not use them? 😭 to be clear, I don't dislike the new unit outfits, I think they look nice, but they could look better ngl.

-🕊

.

[katzenklavierr]

My friends (specifically Hida) love to remind me about how shortly after I'd started a medication with a notable side effect of making me irrationally angry over things that would normally just be irritating, I decided to watch La La Land

And didn't like it

And went on a like, legitimately angry rant about it for like two hours

[mechaseraph]

Watched Heise Gen Forever. Nice movie. Kiriyu Sento you always be high on my rider protag tier list. Also, there sure was Best Match in this movie. Like, cutting to Banjo right after Sento finishes this line?

[coffee-fueled-cookie]

hey, saw you're taking tec requests, and I was wondering if I could get some relationship headcanons for Pete, I want to cuddle and watch horror movies w that freak (affectionate) so bad.

thank you in advance, I really appreciate your work.

I hate to say it, but if I had to pick one of the guys as my boyfriend, Pete wouldn't be one of em. Mostly because I know our interests and niches would be too conflicting 😞

He's a pretty decent boyfriend, very typical. You'd think him a normal guy amongst the four if it weren't for his interests

It'd be normal at first, going out, holding hands, being cute

It ain't until you guys have a movie date do you kinda realize the kind of stuff he's into, if you hate it or get scared then he'll play boyfriend and cuddle up with you, rub your shoulder

He can be a little mean with his teasing, though, like you seeing this woman's legs cut off was supposed to be fun? Nah

However! If you like the movies he's got on, or even love them, it's a match made in heaven, you've unleashed a freak

He's so passionate about Halloween, and trust you guys would do really creepy couples costumes. Screw being Chucky and Tiffany, let's be Freddy Krueger and Nancy Thomspon. Let's be Jason Voorhees and Alice Hardy. Let's be Nosferatu and Ellen Hutter! LET'S-

You get the point

If you're good at makeup, don't be surprised he has you working overtime trying out traditional cosmetic effects, whether on himself or you

Since Valentines Day is around the corner, trust you'll get a bloody valentine themed gift, something like a realistic looking heart plush, oozy red candy, all the works

He does not like bringing you to the house, mostly because it's like a spotlight being put on him and you with his mom and brothers, it's just too overwhelming

And there's no way in HELL you're joining club meetings, he won't allow it, he may be weird but he swears his friends are true freaks (even though he may, arguably, be worse)

Overall, again, he's a decent and sweet boyfriend with some stuff that you'll have to look past or enjoy with him

[bernardsbendystraws]

Comfort Zone

⚠︎  mdni, smut, alcohol abuse, parental neglect, overall mature themes, and more [ this is made for all parts ]

⤷ Get to reading, sluts. No copying. Ask if you’d like to use this as ‘inspiration.’ Fuck off and fuck me, lets get horny!!!

With love and big tits, Rose

©bernardsbendystraws

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. In fact, I had never felt so betrayed by someone who made me feel so loved. I knew he was upset, I knew his day was rough, but none of that made the words spitting from his lips hurt any less. 

The event relapsed in my mind like a broken record player. A haunting memory declaring the start of something new–something that belonged in a wretched horror movie. 

Something I had never even imagined he would be able to do to me. 

Matt had always been sweet. The honeysuckle words dripped from his mouth like raging rapids in the woods. 

Not right now, though.

A bitter sour taste coated my senses, a lingering burn of humiliation still draining from my eyes and down my cheeks. 

LA so far has been beautiful. Great memories that had been documented in photos, journals, and some even traced new tan-lines on my skin. Only three months in and the heavenly glory had seemed to fall to hell in one day with one short statement. 

“Maybe I don’t want to talk–did you ever think of that? Or are you the only one allowed to do that, hm?” 

Words that had been spat from his soft, gentle lips. Words laced with so much anger that frustration reached from his eyes, pushing my weight further into the floor as I shrunk into myself. 

Matt had known how heart wrenching it had been for me to leave my blood father on his deathbed with not a single ounce of my forgiveness. I had tattered on the decision for weeks, letting the possibilities of regret sway my restless body in soft sheets, only finding relief in his arms. 

He knew how much it hurt. He knew how much I was trying to heal each day. Yet, the anger rid him of any filters, letting the free-flowing rage rain down on me like a drowning wave of the sea. 

My feet acted before anything. I had traveled to the bedroom–our bedroom. My watery eyes glanced over the pictures of us at the beach, smiling with love at each other. The Matt in those pictures stood tall with an aura of care and sweetness. Now, the same Matt stared down at me with a rage, letting words pierce wounds in the scars of my heart. 

I was still in his T-shirt, unmoving as I curled into the fluffy duvet. Hours had passed with nothing but complete silence. He was supposed to give me comfort, but his eyes pushed on my heart with a devastating weight of sadness. 

Does the truth come out with anger? 

Did he mean it?

Is that what he really thought? 

The lingering questions kept me up in the paralyzed state of time. The morning sun had now drifted to a hovering glow slightly above the horizon. My stomach rumbled with hunger, a feeling that I hadn’t had to feel since the days where my blood father would steal my money and spend it on liquor. 

He made me feel like him. 

Would I even be able to forgive that? 

My swollen eyes squint at the clock, the foggy numbers glowing on the screen. 

4:00 A.M. 

I had heard soft knocks on the door occasionally. I didn’t know whether they were Matt, Chris, or Nick. Either way, I stayed motionless in the same spot. However, the soft knocks had now continued for over twenty minutes. 

“Baby, please…just let me in…I…please.” Matt whispers out on the other side of the door. My heart weighs heavy in my chest at the hopeless tone in his voice. The endless waterfall of tears slowly halting from a numbness brought by dehydration and fatigue. 

The stiff joints in my fingers clench onto the pillowy duvet tighter, the first movement other than my neck in the passing hours. His broken voice makes my sadness falter into a desperation for his sweet comfort of relief. 

“Please, I…just please, baby, please. I’m so sorry,” his voice is muffled by the door as I find my feet reaching to the ground, carrying silent steps to the door. My hand rests on the handle, the slight movement of the metal seeming like a roar in the quiet hours of the night. “Sweetheart?” he asks, a new found hope in his voice creating a tighter grip between my hand and the knob. “Can you open the door for me?” he voices. My teeth start to clamp down on the inside of my cheek with hesitation. “--please?” 

The sullen word finds the string attached to my last hovering thoughts as I twist the knob. The lock coming undone makes my heart pulse as I feel the rush of cooler air wave through the opening crack of the door. 

As the gravity pulls the door open, Matt comes into view. My lip starts to quiver as I take in his appearance. He leaned against the doorframe, his hands lifelessly skewed by his side. His eyes meet mine, the pale moonlight refracting the familiarity of his pale, blue eyes that seem to be contrasting the redness surrounding his irises. 

“I…” his eyes flicker downward, a sniffle sounding as he wipes his nose. “--can I come in?” I slowly nod, opening the door further before walking back towards the bed. 

As I sit down, I hear the door click back in the hinges. I look down, staring at my hands as I anticipate the mattress to shift with his weight. 

It doesn’t. 

Instead, I watch as Matt gets on his knees in front of me, placing both his hands on my knees. His pleading eyes reach mine as my gut clenches with anxiety. “I….I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean that. There’s no excuse. I had a rough day and I took it out on you—and, fuck,” his voice breaks as his eyes fall to his hands rested on me. “It’s not okay. I never want to make you feel like…this. I am so sorry. I understand–” he chokes on his words. A wet, hot sensation runs onto my thigh. I look down, holding back my own tears as I watch the water flow from his eyes. 

“Matt.” I whisper out. 

He takes a deep breath, biting in his shaking lip. “I…I understand if you can’t forgive me. I am so fucking sorry. You didn’t deserve that. I, fuck, I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive me, even if it’s not today. I just, I….baby, I,” his head falls on top of his hands on my knees, a soft cry echoing as his back shakes with the sadness consuming his body. 

My hands reach out, weaving through his hair through habit. I freeze, realizing my movements. 

“I love you so much, I, I want you to be happy, I’ll spend the rest of my life earning your forgiveness, I just–please, I–” 

The motion of my hands resumed, calming his cries. Matt pulls himself up, gently grabbing my hands and placing them back in my lap. 

His eyes stare down at them while I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. “Don’t. You’re—I don’t deserve your comfort right now. I’m sorry, I’m trying not to cry…I have no right to be upset over my own actions. I hurt you.” The admission leaves him breathless as he sucks in a harsh gulp of air. “I, please say something.” he says, his pleading eyes reaching mine once more. 

The broken expression on his face plants a humbling regret in my thoughts. My wet cheeks curl into a sympathetic half-smile and fall quickly, “I, I can’t say I forgive you, Matt.” He nods, looking down with shame. I bring my hands out, cupping his damp cheeks. As our eyes meet, I fight back tears. “But, I want to. I–I know you, Matt. You’ve given me so much love, too much to be consumed by this one mistake. I just…” I tail off, admiring the sigh of relief falling from his lips as he lets his head rest further into my hand. 

The silence consumes us. His hand sandwiches mine against his face. The labored breaths of fatigue echo as a new found peace clouds the air. “I love you….so much. –’m so sorry, angel.” he whispers out. His head turns as he pulls my hand to his face. His lips kiss along my knuckles, soft and gentle. I let myself bathe in the feeling of his comforting love, my heart feeling lighter with each passing touch. 

“Can I—can I hold you?” he asks. The hope in his eyes glimmers with a halo of the stars, a sight imprinted in my memories with the pure bliss of love. 

I nod, watching him climb on to the bed as I muddle myself in my thoughts. No pride left, just pure devotion as he snuggles me into his arms. The cage of his limbs provides security as I nuzzle my face further into his chest. His lips kiss my forehead, lingering for a long minute. 

__

“Wake up, baby, wake up.” The soft whisper of his voice brings my eyes to focus on him. The subtle sunlight dancing on his features like art. My heart skips a beat, reviewing the redness lingering in his eyes as I remember the previous conversation. 

“--’m sorry, didn’t wanna wake you up, but you haven’t eaten in too long.” The grumbling of both of our stomachs sounds, a tired haze of comfort making me nod my head further into his chest. 

“I got food delivered to us, all your favorites, but I need to get up, okay?” he asks. I furrow my eyebrows in confusion, looking around as I analyze our position. A blush covered my face as I slid off of Matt’s body, which I had been clinging onto like a koala. 

Matt gets up, bending down and brushing the hair out of my face. “--so pretty, give me one minute.” he suggests. He pulls up the covers, tucking them below my chin as he plants a delicate kiss on my forehead. I relish in the soft gesture as he quickly rushes out of the room. 

My eyes glance over at the clock. 

4:00 P.M. 

With widening eyes, I rub over my face. Normally, we would have woken up a couple hours earlier. Although, I’m sure both of us had been so fatigued our bodies forced us to basically hibernate the day away. 

I turn my head towards the door as Matt marches in with a paper food bag in one hand and two cups in the other. I smile, reading the brand plastered on the brown paper. Matt kicks the door shut with his foot softly, setting the cups on his nightstand and the bag on the comforter. 

After getting everything settled, we had both begun eating in a tired silence, our starved bodies shoveling the breakfast food into our mouths greedily. “Thank you, Matt.” I say, leaning my head onto his shoulder as I pile the last bite of french toast into my mouth. 

“Of course, baby. Here,” He pushes some of his chocolate chip pancakes to my lips. I take a bite, savoring the familiar taste of sweetness. I hum with gratitude, too lazy to speak as I lean further into the crook of his neck. I hear him shuffle the remnants of the breakfast on the bed, watching him toss the trash filled bag onto his nightstand. 

My eyes falter with confusion. Matt was never the type to leave any messes, especially not food. I pick up my weight, attempting to lift my head off of his shoulder. Matt’s hand softly encloses around me, holding me down to him with a soft whisper. “Hey, let’s just go back to bed.” he suggests. 

“What?” I ask, utterly confused. “--the mess, Matt. You hate–” 

He cuts me off, “I don’t care about that right now. I just–I need to be with you. Let’s go to bed, sweetheart.” 

The thumb in my chest quickens, registering the honeysuckle ridden words falling from his lips. My lips tug into a smile as I let my eyes softly flutter closed. 

My sweet Matt. 

[chironshorseass]

what bugs me most about the pjo show is that i know they could’ve done better. i knowwwww they could’ve been as faithful as they wanted to the books. for anyone saying “oh, but it’s an adaptation! it isn’t meant to be the same so stop whining that they took stuff out or that they’re adding things in different order!” well yes, i agree that adaptations aren’t meant to be a carbon copy of the source material for the simple fact that it’s adapting the source material into a different medium (television), yet it’s just that! a form of adapting the things that are unable to be channeled from, say, a book—or on the contrary, adding things that make sense for television but couldn’t be channeled into the books otherwise…all of this in a faithful manner. a good adaptation is one that stays true to the source material by properly adapting its themes, characters, symbolism, context, pacing, and the overall story/plot so as to not only be seen as a sort of love letter to the fans, but also to reach a wider audience.

just look at the hunger games! the movies are so faithful to the books to the point that most of the scenes are taken straight out of the books, dialogue and all. and they’re movies, aka less runtime than a freaking tv show and they still did it better. did the hg movies have to take a few scenes out? yes; they have only so much time to tell the story as it is told in the books. did they resume things, like the games themselves? also yes. but did most of the important scenes and character moments stay in the movies? also also yes. again, THESE ARE MOVIES!!!!! a medium much more limited than a freaking tv series with multiple episodes that have enough run time to add even more scenes from the books than what could be possible in a 2 hour (max) movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and yet they STILL changed so much that rly had no business being changed other than that the writers decided they felt like it because…..a lot of it im not even sure. and the worst thing of it all is that freaking rick riordan took part in script writing yet so much of the source material has been watered down???? they make a whole ass episode about a monster fight with the majority of the scenes from said episode not even present in the books instead of sticking to the perfectly good source material???? and by doing so they delete the small details that are very much integral to character development and plot???? huh???? the math isn’t mathing. don’t get me wrong, i do like some changes, but then i think: at what cost do they add these things when there was a perfectly good narrative without it? like, at what cost do we get the whole turning to gold sacrifice scene if they’re gonna take out all the fun details that make the lightning thief the lightning thief? for example the silly water park merch and then annabeth displaying her spider phobia and her mortification at going to the thrill ride of love with percy and then being broadcasted to olympus. this is just one episode, but they’ve been doing it in all of them. and u know, it’s not that i don’t hate-hate most these changes. again, what bugs me is that this was supposed to be a faithful adaptation. again, it’s a tv series, with so much more time to develop everything from the books. rick is behind it, who apparently hated the movies for how unfaithful they were. the cast is great. and yet…the script is so mediocre. the spark is lost. character traits are looked over in place for weird pacing and even weirder changes. if the hunger games could do it, then surely a pjo tv series could as well? apparently not? i really really Don’t Get It.

[starryalpacasstuff]

Fire (1996): A Mostly Spoiler Free Pitch Because You Should Watch It Immediately

It's time for "An Indian QL bulldozed past my expectations and I am reeling in awe", Part Two!

A few days ago, @neuroticbookworm told me about Fire, an old lesbian Indian movie she'd been wanting to watch. Me being me, I promptly tracked it down and settled in to watch it.

Very loosely based on the 1942 short story Lihaaf, the movie follows Sita, a newly wed bride who is settling in with her in-laws, which is how she meets Radha, who is married to her husband's brother. Both in unhappy marriages, they find solace and company with each other, quickly falling in love. Length: 1 Hour 40 Minutes TWs: Homophobia, C-word mentioned once, some depictions of domestic violence Release: 1996

The is almost entirely in English, and while one generally expects Bollywood movies to be in Hinglish, it's definitely a conscious choice here, which does make me wonder if the movie was supposed to be promoted to a greater international audience. You can find it here on Youtube, most of the (very few) Hindi dialogues have hard subtitles. I think it's also available on Prime? It wasn't available in India though, which is odd, but I didn't bother investigating. Let me know if anyone can figure anything out about this!

Going into this movie, I expected a melodramatic, emotional movie with a bittersweet tone. I did not expect a biting, incredibly engaging movie with excellent satire, symbolism, discussions of chastity culture, and an incredibly sweet, beautifully written romance. And I was certainly not prepared for how incredibly horny this movie is??? Both in subtle tension and overt sex scenes. There's also partial nudity, which again, completely unexpected. If you're going taboo, go taboo all the way I suppose. It's also very well directed, and while I'm not nearly as good at identifying details like that as some of the people on here, I did pick up on some colour coding and interesting framing. It's just overall packed with little details that I think a lot of us would have a field day analysing.

Honestly, I could talk about the cultural nuances in this movie for hours. Contrary to my assumption about the reasoning behind making the movie fully in English, the movie seems to rely on the viewer's understanding of North Indian customs to deliver a lot of it's messages, particularly with its satire, more on that below. While I don't think it's necessary to enjoy the movie, it definitely does add some meat to the story. Then again, I'm a biased party, so it'll be hard to determine just how many messages may be lost to someone from outside of India without someone to compare notes with (this is me shamelessly trying to get you to watch the movie). Honestly, I'd be 100% down to write a more detailed, spoiler-including post that goes into the implicit nuances if people are interested.

There's two main selling points for the movie; the incredible way it shuts down purity and chastity ideology and the absolutely adorable relationship between Radha and Sita. The movie is set on ruthlessly tearing down and emphasizing the ridiculousness of purity culture. A lot of the messaging is indirect and uses metaphors, but there's also several explicit scenes addressing the issue. It's one of the main themes of the movie and I'm almost convinced the real reason it's titled 'Fire' is the sheer number of burns it dishes out on this subject. The romance portion of this movie is one of the thing's that completely defied my expectations. It wasn't sad and dramatic, it was heartfelt and silly and adorable. There's several scenes of the two subtly flirting, laughing together and just being lowkey in love. But that's not to say there's no emotional depth—they're also there for each other and are quite vulnerable with each other.

The movie used a lot of metaphors, but my favourites were the almost satirical representation of mythological stories. In a religion as diverse as Hinduism, every holiday has two dozen stories behind it and each story has two dozen versions, so it's to be expected that you'll find a number of problematic or otherwise kind of ridiculous stories in the mix. The stories were told completely seriously, but the context of the movie highlights their absurd facets in a truly brilliant way. I'm not going to give too much away, but I will say, it was a delight to watch the juxtaposition of the myths and the storyline of the movie, particularly it's ties to the purity culture discussion. You'll understand when you watch it. I'm not turning this into a Hindu mythology lesson (yet) but one interesting tidbit is that Radha and Sita are both names of mythological figures; namely the partners of two of the most worshipped avatars of the god Vishnu: Krishna and Rama respectively. And I was overjoyed to find that their names do have relevance to the metaphors in the story, particularly Sita's.

When the movie was first released, there were massive protests against it, I'm talking hundreds of people storming into theatres to destroy them and drive away audiences. I don't know what to say here beyond this, but what I will say is that I think Fire is an amazing movie that absolutely does not deserve to be lost to the sands of time. I hope you give it a shot, and if you do, tag me in any posts you make about it!

Tagging people who seemed interested in recs from my last post, let me know if you'd rather I not tag you!

@lurkingshan @impala124 @bengiyo @letgomaggie @winnysatang

@watertightvines @nutcasewithaknife @blorbingqls @twig-tea

@waitmyturtles @cryingatships @benkaben @usertoxicyaoi

@befuddledcinnamonroll @flyingrosebeetle

[lvrtwn]

venus if she was awesome

speedpaint and more thoughts under the cut

venus has always been one of my favorite characters, though i feel her design is pretty underwhelming with a lot of wasted potential. this is kind of a redesign, kind of my own personal headcannon, and kind of how i imagined venus in my head as a kid.

this is supposed to be my version of g1 venus, more similar in facial features and keeping the straight hair. i absolutely love her new hair and face in g3 but im hesitant to call the new outfit an improvement. both g1s outfit and g3s outfit are bad in their own ways. i dont want it to seem like im shitting on the new design. again i think the face sculpts, hair, and body types of g3 are so awesome. its great to see more diversity being included in the designs. i just decided to go with g1 venuses look because thats the venus i grew up with

i definitely took some inspiration from g3s outfit for this design. i like the idea of it but the execution is just not great, not to say her original outfit is any better. i feel like out of all of tge original monsters she was the one with the most waisted potential. i love her personality and the abilities she has but the way she was styled has always bothered me.

in the movies shes described as “eco-punk” which is SUCH a cool style to go with a plant monster character. i just feel like the “punk” in “eco-punk” was never really represented in her outfits. i personally love punk music and clothing; ive been an active member in my local diy scene for many years and i love seeing all the outfits people put together.

i thought i would give her an outfit that shows off a couple of my personal favorite staples of punk style. big chunky leather boots with lots of straps and buckles. kept the shoe mouths from the original because they cool as hell. lots of leather, studs, spikes. i gave her denim cutoff shorts inspired by her gen 3 outfit, same with the torn black top. punk style has a big focus on comfort, practicality, and making things yourself. i imagine she cut a pair of old pants into shorts, roughly cut her “undead kennedys”band shirt tank into a crop top, and probably repurposed the remaining fabric. i also totally didnt draw this whole thing as an excuse to use that pun. i included asymmetrical leg accessories, with one fishnet stocking and one torn up sock. i also feel like she repurposed these, continuing to wear her old torn up socks instead of just throwing them out. i gave her a big chunky studded belt matching one of her cuffs with a recycling symbol belt buckle. i feel like it communicates an important aspect of her personality just at a glance, plus i just love big belt buckles. lastly i added piercings because 1. theyre cool and 2. i for some reason remembered her having an eyebrow piercing but i guess she never had one.

i mostly kept her body and hair the same. changed her ears and hair color slightly but thats just personal preference. i decided to make the vines on her body look more like tattoos instead of being 3d. i imagine she can make them grow into real vines, but when shes not using her powers theyre just flat against her skin. gave her a facial expression that made her look a little more unhinged. she might only do things for the good of the earth but she can still mind control people at will.

i wish i leaned a little bit more into the plant theming but im overall still super happy with how this came out. maybe ill made more monster high redesigns in the future

[cocoabubbelle-newblog]

Personal Opinion

I’ve been quiet about Disney’s Live Action take for Snow White up till now, so here is what I have to say:

Of all the things that concern me for this movie, Rachel Zegler’s and Gal Gadot’s casting isn’t one of them. I think Rachel is unconventionally pretty, and being of Puerto Rican descent myself, I was excited that this Snow White would be Latina. While the hairstyle and costuming isn’t great, saying that there is no way the Mirror would say she is fairer than Gal Gadot’s Evil Queen (Gal Gadot also being a beautiful woman) and calling her ugly is just unnecessarily unkind. Maybe this is a stretch, but FAIR doesn’t only mean ‘most light-skinned’ or ‘most beautiful’; it also means ‘free from bias, dishonesty, or injustice.’ Based on the song that was recently released, I am inclined to believe that THIS is the take the story will have on the phrase Fairest of them All.

Again, being of PR descent and having one side of the family from PR ranging of all skin tones, I think Zegler was neither “too white” to play Puerto Rican Maria from West Side Story, nor is “too dark” to play Snow White. That’s just me though.

The words on the necklace feel more like they belong to the theme from Live Action Mulan.

I do wish they stuck with casting people with dwarfism for the dwarves. The CGI doesn’t offend me, but c’mon. We’ve seen Tolkein/Narnian/DnD/etc dwarves. Emphasis on Narnian bc when they did the first two films, Disney DID get actors with dwarfism and put them in great makeup/costumes. Also kind of interesting that Peter Dinklage was willing to play a mythical dwarf here but his comments regarding the Snow White (2024/5) film potentially cost others with dwarfism those roles. Looking at the official cast, only ONE of the voice actors for the dwarves is Martin Klebba = Grumpy. Not that dissimilar to the last Grumpy-esque dwarf he played in Mirror Mirror….who casted actors with dwarfism…

Some of the official comments made to promote the movie, including from the actors, have made me roll my eyes so much that I’ve cramped my extraocular muscles. You don’t have to agree with the direction the original movie took with their characters and messages, but putting it down in order to try to elevate the new adaptation seems to be not the wisest decision.

“It’s not the 30’s anymore~” Guys. The earliest versions of the original fairytale sometimes had SW’s own birth mother being jealous of and attempting to kill her, the dwarves MADE the young princess clean and cook for them instead of her offering up those skills, and the prince was an actual stranger who was willing to buy her dead body from the dwarves, among other weird things that the animated film changed/left out. How Disney handled the romance, characters, and overall plot back in the late 1930s was actually good imho.

I liked Zack Snyder’s take on the DC Universe, so the color wash ranging from dark to bright in this film doesn’t bug me.

Is it impossible to use and train real animals anymore in a humane environment? Must the majority of them be CGI?

The potential love interest being a mix of Robin Hood and Flynn Rider is ok I suppose. Not super original, but ok. (I will forever defend the original Prince though; he is NOT an old creepy stalker thank you very much;). HOW.E.VER. The recent comments from those who worked on the movie piqued my interest, namely that they drew inspiration from the discarded draft that the original prince was held prisoner by the queen in her dungeon and that this new character was disillusioned by the power structured of the world. So whether or not this means that this roguish rebel is actually our prince in disguise after all remains to be seen. (Probably not; I tend to overthink things.)

The music is pretty so far. Might buy some of the songs when the soundtrack becomes available. Don’t think some of the original songs needed to be replaced, but Waiting on a Wish sounds lovely even though it’s not I’m Wishing.

If I do wind up seeing it, I’ll just view it how I’ve always tried to view remakes of the originals I loved: just a different take that I am not obligated to love, but will be pleasantly surprised if I do (ex. Cinderella (2015) and Little Mermaid (2023) among some).

Update: saw the movie. Some parts made me roll my eyes and/cringe, but ultimately I had a lot of fun and genuinely enjoyed the rest of it!

[synergysilhouette]

10 more Disney hot takes/unpopular opinions (Part 4)

Check out part 3 here.

"I See the Light" is my least favorite Disney duet--I don't know why, but it isn't emotional or impactful to me like other duets. Perhaps it was due to not being emotionally invested in Flynn like I was supposed to be at this point, and his and Rapunzel's different personalities making them feel almost like father and daughter rather than love interests.

2. Anna's "Frozen 2" look is very boring--It's wildly disappointing that they opted not to give her her double braids because they seemed too childish. This is only three years after the first film, and while I love seeing her hair down, I would've enjoyed her having her two braids as well when traveling. And don't get me started on her main outfit; the black look being chosen to show maturity/seriousness could've easily been a darker green or magenta to keep with her main look rather than going with black, especially since Kristoff's look is black (and also boring; it's just recoloring his look from part 1).

3. The post-renaissance era is very disappointing--No seriously. I'd save "Fantasia 2000" and maybe "The Emperor's new Groove" and everything else can be erased.

4. "Zootopia" is the best Disney movie of the 21st century so far--Given that I tend to appreciate Disney's musical films more and don't usually care for animal-centric films, this surprised me just as much as anyone else. However, the message, while not 100% transferible to human racism, was so impactful and emotional to me. I can only hope the sequel does it justice.

5. Yokai is the best "modern" Disney villain of the revival era--To clarify, by "modern" I mean that he isn't written like classic Disney villains as only having "evil" as their only setting; his villainy has a meaning to it, serving as a cautionary tale to what the hero could become. TBH, I think it was better done than the "Know Who You Are" message with Moana and Te Fiti (see my other hot take post). Granted, I do think some of his sympathy was removed when he tried to kill his students, but the message and overall theme itself is very good to me.

6. "Encanto" was good, but not great--Don't get me wrong, I loved most of the songs, and the animation was phenomenal as well as the message, but the film felt like it was overstuffed. With twelve family members, it was inevitable, but trying to give lessons with Luisa and Isabela along with giving Dolores a romantic arc felt underwhelming since they weren't major characters with Mirabel, who's main thing was feeling left out and isolated. If they wanted to incorporate other arcs, they'd have to be more included in the narrative, and you can still have Mirabel feel isolated; you can be around others and still feel like they don't get you or listen to you.

7. Ariel's sisters should've had more relevance than just being plot-accurate--I never really thought about this until the live-action remake, but yeah. Ariel's six older sisters don't do anything and don't exist except for the fact that the source material said she was the youngest of several sisters (thus where we get the title from; I think the fairy tale only gave her five, though). While this is more of a modern Disney idea, I would've liked it if Ariel AND her sisters became human, and each of them grow closer to Ariel upon seeing why she likes the human world so much, and further highlight the anguish Triton feels at driving all his daughters away. That said, due to the amount of characters in the film, perhaps condense the six sisters into one to three of them, and they could still have their hair cut as their payment to Ursula. In fact, perhaps because of this trade, their time on land is shorter than Ariel's (but they don't belong to Ursula until the third day is up), allowing them to get King Triton and disrupt the wedding at the last minute.

8. The Disney prince line should be more relevant--It baffles me greatly that this hit the backburner in contrast to the princesses. The unnamed prince Charmings could be given names and more fleshed out personalities, and their books/stories could be promoted just as much as the Disney princesses. There is other merchandise to be used besides dolls (even if that is the money maker).

9. Disney needs to consider PG-13 animated films--Animation in the western world seems to be synonymous with family/young audiences, 3/4 times, while Japan has shown that animation has huge potential in the young adult market. I desperately hope that "The Boy and the Heron" being so acclaimed inspires Disney to be more PG-13--not just for the rating, but because the story benefits more from the mature content. Note: this is more for violence/scary imagery than innuendo or profanity.

10. Disney should be more sparing when they hire celebrities for films expected to start a franchise--This is a personal opinion of mine, but while I don't think celebrities should be excluded from major motion animated films, I do think companies, particularly Disney, should use them carefully. These are for two reasons: if you hire a well-known voice actor, the character's voice may not sound as unique for a major property since the voice is somewhat ubiqitous thanks to the actor's work. Secondly, hiring a celebrity actor known for live-action productions, it may be hard to meet their schedule or salary desires when you want them to return for a short, sequel, and/or tv show. Not saying it happens every time, but I do have concerns about that, especially when I thought "Wish" was going to be something spectacular and show up more in Disney's merchandise.

[artist-issues]

are there any controversial pieces of media that you like? why is it controversial? why do you like it? do you defend it against people who don't like it, and if you do, how?

Do I

Oh boy

This answer is going to dive in to how I've worked out "The Right Way to Make Sequels." So it'll be another long one.

I really, truly like Star Wars: The Last Jedi. And without that movie, I would not like The Force Awakens as much as I also like it.

TLJ is one of the most hotly contested Star Wars movies of all time, which is saying something, because the Star Wars audience loves to hotly contest everything.

I think Star Wars: The Last Jedi is the best Star Wars film since the original trilogy. I would rather rewatch it than any of the original movies, or the prequel movies, or any other Star Wars media.

Because it's just good. It's just a really good movie—and it is also a really good Star Wars movie, because it nails the whole theme of Star Wars, which is "Faith Triumphs Over Fear."

But. Not everybody measures the phrase "really good movie" or the the phrase "good Star Wars movie" by the same metrics I do.

You know that I believe a story is good when it reminds you of the Good, the Beautiful, the True, or all of them at once—by nailing the "main point" or "theme," instead of being entertaining alone. Add to that the fact that I believe a Star Wars movie (or any franchise movie, or story-sequel) is good when it believably emphasizes the overall main-point of its predecessors, without losing the ability to be compelling.

To be "believable," it has to make sure that the characters (if they're returning from their predecessor appearances) make in-character choices. It does not mean that those returning-characters have to make choices that the audience approves of. Nobody likes the fact that the two characters in La La Land choose not to stay together forever. But there comes a point when it doesn't matter what the audience likes, it matters what the characters "would do."

Anyway.

Another way to have the sequel be "believable" is to make sure that what filmmakers call the "style & tone" stay somewhat familiar, echoing their predecessors. There's a lot of wiggle room for this. Some deviation from what the predecessors did in terms of style or even is good and right. But you want to keep the core stuff—because "style & tone" are just another tool used to "nail the main point" that the predecessors used, so you don't want to change it too much.

What I mean is, in The Last Jedi, you have things like:

Epic-scale visuals (dramatic shots that make use of big objects and light and shadow in the composition)

Dramatic Use of Color (Red is bad, blue is good, black is bad, white is good—very in-your-face symbolism)

Quirky Alien Cutaways (even though it's a dramatic adventure, you still sometimes cutaway to see a funky alien or a funny little creature, to remind you this is a fun space-romp.)

Somewhat-Obvious Adventurous One-Liner Dialogue (No explanation needed)

INTENSE emphasis on orchestral score (I don't have to explain this, Star Wars is one of the greatest examples of all time for music in movies)

All of the above contributes to the "tone and style" of a Star Wars movie. The Original movies have that. Most of the Prequel Trilogy has it, too. The Last Jedi does it right. You're supposed to feel heights of "operatic" drama, but it's not working very hard to be subtle or "clever." It's just common-sense, easily-accessible storytelling, from the lighting to the colors to the dialogue. Everyone of all ages can watch and enjoy.

(It doesn't mean a Star Wars movie is not profound—it means that it lets simple-truths shine, because truths that are plain and simple are profound, and only arrogant "intellectuals" can't accept that and clamor for something more "complex" just for the pleasure of hearing the gears in their own heads click. Anyway.)

So The Last Jedi gets that right. You know what doesn't?

Andor. The Star Wars show on Disney+. Andor does not get the Star Wars Style & Tone right. It tries too hard to be complex. It is all about grey areas and blurring the line between right and wrong, good and evil. It tries really hard to be "sophisticated" and "for mature fans." And its style and tone reflect that. It doesn't feel like Star Wars.

So you see how I can show the different examples of what gets this right and what gets this wrong, even in other areas of Star Wars—I'm not just biased and using the movie I like as a template. I enjoyed Andor. But Andor is not a good Star Wars story; not if I apply the metric fairly.

So that's "believable." You have to make the audience believe that they are re-entering the world, and seeing the characters, or the story itself, continue. Otherwise you lose them. Because you got them in the first place with a promise: "you're going to see a continuation."

Let's move on to "compelling."

To be "compelling," you have to tell a good story. That's it. That's all.

It is good and right to re-enter a franchise's "world" and shine a light on the same main-point as the original stories—from a new set of characters' perspective. It is good and right to not re-tell and reboot the same old characters and recount their lives, over and over. It is good and right to make a new story that continues the theme of the old story.

And as long as you're doing that, you don't need to follow any other supposed "rules" that the "fandom" made up.

The Last Jedi does that perfectly. It takes the characters that were introduced in "The Force Awakens," takes into account where each of them began and where we last left them, and then believably and compellingly moves forward.

That's all it was supposed to do. And it did it, super super well. In a way most Star Wars media does not.

Like for example, I said Andor is a bad continuation of the Star Wars franchise because it gets the Style and Tone wrong, right? So it's not "believable" as a Star Wars story?

Well, the other side of the coin is also true. Ahsoka, another Disney+ Star Wars story, is on the other end of the spectrum. It might nail (in lots of ways) the "Style and Tone" of a Star Wars story, to make it believable. But it's not compelling. Because it gets the other thing wrong: it's a bad story.

The Last Jedi gets both "believability" and "compelling storytelling" totally right.

But the fans didn't want a good story. They didn't want a continuation of the Star Wars theme, because they probably never really thought about what that theme really was.

No. The fans wanted what I call 💫 A Checklist of Star Wars Stuff Disguised As a Story 💫 . They wanted to hear more name-drops of characters from Deep Cuts in the previous movies. They wanted the New Characters to have familial ties to their favorite Old Characters. They wanted the movies to be about the Old Characters—so they really wanted Luke Skywalker to come out swinging as an undetectable Jedi Messiah with no character flaws who makes the New Characters look like fools because the fans hate the New Characters. They also wanted more Old Characters to come back, and they would only have liked the New Characters if those characters, in and of themselves, were...bad characters, because Star Wars fans, by and large, really often forget what made their precious Old Characters well-written characters in the first place. And that was: human flaws.

Luke is always focused on how he can control his future, especially when it comes to fulfilling his destiny or saving his friends. That's a flaw. That's pride. But Star Wars fans forgot that that's Luke's "fatal flaw." They just remember the nostalgia of green lightsaber backflips and retconned Legends books.

So then when Rey comes along and is focused on her past, and has her own pride issues, the fans go "ew, she's so annoying, let's nitpick about whether or not she could win a fight in real life."

Because Star Wars fans went into The Last Jedi believing that "A Good Star Wars Story has Luke Skywalker Being a Total Beast, a Realized Messiah who Dominates New Characters," or "A Good Star Wars Story Has Ultra-Powerful Villains Who Fit the Previously-Done-to-Death Mold, Like a Video Game Boss..." then they found the movie unbelievable. They don't believe it because they had silly expectations going in.

The one thing they can't deny was that it was compelling. Every showing I went to, even way past the premier, you could cut the tension in the theater with a knife when you were supposed to, you could feel the air move as everybody gasped when they were supposed to, you could hear laughter at all the right moments and empathy with the characters at all the right moments. But then a few months after the release, and online, everybody's claiming to have hated it. I know that's not true. I experienced it.

But Mark Hamill, the guy who played Luke Skywalker, ran his mouth about how he didn't understand Luke's character direction. He very cleverly, in interviews, set himself up as the Actor who Understands His Character being ignored and misunderstood by a Plebian Director...and as a "consequence," they "got Luke all wrong." So then of course the nostalgic fan base, who already had silly expectations, feels those silly expectations justified by the actor from their childhood. Who is wrong about his own character, I don't care, that's happened before, actors are wrong about their own characters, get over it.

Anyway. My point is, The Last Jedi is controversial because it's a good story, and not a Star Wars Checklist Disguised as a Story. And people have a skewed idea of what stories are for, so no wonder they have a skewed understanding of what made Star Wars good—and if you don't know what makes it good, you won't be satisfied when the real thing comes back around in the form of a good sequel. Because you thought "good" meant "name drops, intellectual tickling, and a regurgitation of Focus on Old Characters to entertain me."

You could apply this whole measurement-system for sequels to where the MCU did everything right for so long, and how it's doing it all wrong here recently. Anyway.

I have a lot of posts expanding on this. One or two argument-reblog-matches with fans who hated the movie, too. They're not very popular, because people have been majorly gaslit by the loudest Star Wars fans concerning the Sequel Trilogy.

Thanks for reading!

[kings-highway]

opinion on the hunger games?

So I read the hunger games at the age I was supposed to read them at, 15/16 I believe, and I absolutely loved them, of course I did, the books are wonderful.

I have a few unpopular opinions, one being that I never understood why people hated Gale so much, though in hindsight it was in the nature of a love triangle to completely demon villainize the half you dont like. In that I think I was (at least for the first book) on Gale's side but that's because (as youre all well aware) I really, really love a best friends love story and found Peeta (as the love interest I knew she'd end up with bc of tropes that was being forced down my throat) to be underwhelming and annoying.

As I've grown up and had more time to think about it, I've digested more books and learned to appreciate the inversion of the archetypical male love interest that Peeta presents and I do understand the story better than I did when I was sixteen. So ive grown more fond of the books as time has passed.

HOWEVER i do feel I need to inform you that I fucking hated the ending of mockingjay. I LOVED reading those books, and I said this when I read them and I've said it pretty much any time negative reading experiences came up, which is that the ending of Mockingjay is the only time I've felt genuine anger at finishing a book. Like I truly felt like my time had been wasted, I remember throwing it onto my floor and being like "what a fucking nasty, useless ending" which, came in twofold: one, Gale going to the capital to be a gameshow host. Lots of people use this sellout behaviour as a reason to hate him, when I am 100% sure this is just a bad writing choice and breaks from the established character. Just fucking let him hunt and support the others living in the countryside holy shit. The second: katniss' children. Now... As years have gone on, much like Peeta's character, I've learned to appreciate what the representation of the children are, and how they actually do tie together the revolutionary storyline and prove that the world can heal and it can feel safe enough to raise a family in and blah blah blah TELL ME why the fu K THEY DONT HAVE NAMES???? When I was 16 I hated characters having children. (Child of divorce here - had some baggage to work through) but you know what I hated more than that? Children that werent even characters. Nameless blobs slapped in there for the happy ending, as if the concept of a woman having children is so joyous it makes the ending happy regardless of who those children are. I can only enjoy the ending of mockingjay if I put on my literary analysis hat and go "oh but the themes-!" Otherwise my natural state is just "what the FUCK collins"

Overall I think its one of the best books series out there but holy shit did that ending piss me the fuck off in a way I hadn't felt before or since.

i did not read or watch the movie for Songbirds and Snakes, probably because even 8 years later or whatever I was still burned from Mockingjay. Also, don't give a fuck about Snow??

Haymitch had always been my favourite character from the original books so I DID read the newest novel, as if compelled under some kind of spell. (Went out to buy it, finished it the next day.)

The writing was mediocre and the storyline was a little bit... Unnecessary? i think Collins has a really interesting task of not glorifying the thing she's critiquing, so in a way she almost has to write it badly. If the character deaths were graphic and descriptive it would be hypocritical of the very point, however, a lot of the writing did read like point-form scene setting. "i was mad. So i threw a rock. And then the rock hit a tree. And then i heard a scream. And then when I looked my friend was dead. So i ran away. Fast." Like I had to constantly remind myself that I am not the demographic this was published before because challenging it was not. But, then I catch myself wanting more engaging writing and Suzanne Collins herself is whacking me on the head with a spoon mocking me for wanting to be "more engaged" in the story of dying children and I have to be like "you're right mrs. Collins I am a sinner" and crawl back into my hole. So like in a way I think her overly simplistic, under-described style of writing is the ONLY way the book could be written without any hypocrisy.

I also have a lot to say about the movies, and the overall storyline as it relates to modern media and storytelling, but what I'll leave it at is if you haven't watched the Hunger Games movies in a while, do yourself the favour and rewatch it. What the hunger games (especially the first movie, but the whole series as well) does that almost NO MOVIE has done in the last fucking 10 years is FEEL LIKE A GODDAMN MOVIE. I rewatched them all recently after reading Sunrise and literally got blasted by a hit of nostalgia for the concept of good movies. The plot isnt spelled out for you, there's nobody there to walk you through how you're supposed to feel, there's no random, excessive side plots or constant callbacks to other movies there's no giggly irony where they make fun of their own concepts, and itz TIGHT. Narratively the hunger games is only about one thing, and Im SURE it has problems, I'm sure it does, im sure some fans hated it for some misinterpretation it has or missed story beat, but when set up against every other movie I've seen recently, it still blows them out of the water. Simply for the fact that theyre actually making a fucking movie. They're using their medium, they're not making fun of the genre, it's just FUCKING GOOD. And I really miss that in movies. It has that sincerity that is constantly missing from modern movies. And rewatching the first hunger games made me actually mad that I haven't enjoyed watching a movie like that in forever. It's like the antithesis of every recent marvel movie. It makes me hate hollywood more than I already did for it.

So even if you dont LOVE the hunger games, give that first movie a watch. Just as a cleanser from all the garbage bullshit hollywood has been slinging for 5 years.

I am afraid of the Sunrise movie because I didnt watch Songbirds so IDK if hollywood even still knows how to make a movie like that. I'll probably still watch it, but.

That first hunger games movie. Really fucking holds up. Mostly because someone kicked the bar down into hell but. Goddamn.

[lenalenouilleisblogging]

Hey have you watched promising young woman? I personally liked the concept (woman getting revenge on men/rapists) but found the ending a bit lackluster. Also I think she should’ve been more extreme tbh. Kill those men!!!!

Anyway I love reading your reviews of movies and also all of your opinions are correct!! ❤️

Thank you so much ! I'm glad you like the reviews !! (⁠っ⁠˘⁠з⁠(⁠˘⁠⌣⁠˘⁠ ⁠)

I have to say I am not at ALL a fan of Promising Young Woman. It has some interesting and satisfying moments but overall..... nah... I thought it was shot like a fucking ad, just nothing interesting to look at on any level. I thought the acting was annoying, I thought the dialogues were lame and way too obvious/preachy (the kinda script that makes you feel like you're being talked down to, like holy shit I get it I'm not 6yo). The fact that this got awards is insulting. Sometimes unfortunately the anti sjw are right, some movies do just get rewarded for their politics above everything else (⁠~⁠_⁠~⁠;⁠)

Also I feel like this film fails at being a rape revenge flick? The only characters that die are women????!!! That is so disappointing and unsatisfying. I wanted to put these moids in Saw traps and nothing happened to them. And like, I don't think it's a movie that's supposed to be frustrating. I think it's trying to be super dark and daring but it fails. And as I said it's not helped by the overall look of the film. It looks like a TV movie....

If you're interested in rape revenge flicks, I reviewed Animale for my retrospective here, there's also Maxxxine which is not properly a rape revenge flick but it is very similar in style and themes (with moids being brutalised on screen 🩷), which I reviewed here. It's a genre I quite like so I'll try to post about more of them in the future :3

[starlight-bread-blog]

Me On a Date:

Them: So which shows do you like?

Me: Sranger Things, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Vinland Saga...

Them: I've seen Vinland Saga, but the second season sucked.

Me: Well, it wasn't what we expected, but it didn't suck. I get it, you're fond of the fights and action and were disappointed when they didn't come back. However, the violence in the first season wasn't there for the sole purpose of entertaining the audience and being "cool". It was there to serve the overall anti-violence & anti-hatred message the writers tried to tell. The number 1 rule of storytelling is "Show, Don't Tell". Therefore, they needed to show hatred and violence consuming oneself in order to comment on it, y'know?

Them: But- I don't think they should've changed the entire show like that...?

Me: *Takes a deep breath* I suppose that is an argument, but I couldn't disagree more. I do agree that the direction the show took was entirely unalike the first season. Moving from an action packed, fast paced adventure to a slow, introspective journey isn't an easy transition, and it's definetly not for everyone, but it doesn't mean they shouldn't have done that. Storytelling is undeniably an art medium. In art, you're allowed to make abonormal works as long as they invoke emotion. A good example of this would be surrealist paintings. They require a lot of skill to make, but they make very little sense. And yet, they make so much sense. Just like the second season of Vinland Saga. Because as I previously established, the change of pace played a crucial role in shaping the main theme of the show.

Them: I-

If you still disagree, just think of what people create when they prioritize the audience over the vision. Think of the MCU not waiting to slowly reveal the new main threat (like they did previously) to generate hype for a quick buck. Think of how they made made tv shows that clearly should'vd been movies just to get people to subscribe to their streaming service. Is that the world you want to live in? Of course not. Most of us want to live in a world with art, not products. When the CCO of Pixar, who's recently struggled with the quality of their fims, asked Hayao Miyazaki - one of the greatest directors of our time - how he takes into account the appeal to the audience, he replied saying "I never think about the audience". Meanwhile, he wrote beloved classics that remain relevant decades later. Most of the time, an artist's honest vision is of a higher quality than a corporation's greed. In the world where stories are written with love in mind, instead of money, some things aren't going to appeal to you. And that's okay.

Them: I have to go to the bathroon. *Walks to the exit*

[vashvana]

An Unnecessarily Deep Analysis of Venom from Spider-Man 3

Venom in Spider-Man 3 is genuinely so interesting to me, and he makes the movie my favorite out of the trilogy, even though it absolutely is a hot mess. He is the pure manifestation of the themes of greed and revenge that the movie is centered around.

Even though he doesn’t actually start affecting the plot until halfway through (which is a testament to how confusing this movie’s pacing is, it feels more like a fanfiction than anything else) he is 100% the main villain of the movie. We see Peter become more egotistical due to the praise Spider-Man has been receiving, and he becomes less and less of a good partner to MJ. So, when this finally boils over, that’s when the symbiote starts affecting him, in his moment of weakness. The way venom starts influencing his actions- even though it’s not portrayed subtly at all- is a very well written build up in this hodgepodge cluster fuck of a story. Even though the direction of the symbiote’s actions is very predictable narrative wise, it still feels incredibly satisfying to me that among the three villains, the only one who isn’t redeemed in any way is venom.

In the finale, we finally see Venom’s true form-a monstrous, twisted and cruel inhuman entity of hatred and disgust (sorry for low quality ss).

This is what makes him so enticing to me, because even though one could argue that this interpretation of venom completely throws out how his character is usually written, I think here in particular, it works extremely well. The Venom symbiote borders the line between being a character and a force of nature. It is a literal in-world manifestation of the story’s themes, acting as its own force. I cannot express this sheer unnerve and awe I feel seeing its true form, some kind of twisted eldritch monster. Sam Raimi’s horror roots he sprinkles on his superhero movies is in full display here, I wish it lasted for more than 10 seconds. The way he doesn’t have a solid body, but is this pulsing, messy web of a being with a shrill voice is so terrifying. All I hear in that voice is pain and anger, that’s what I rationalize, at least. Maybe it’s supposed to be interpretative of what the viewer feels is the ultimate evil, to stare into and question the unknown depths of ourselves.

Even though the movie is a giant mess, (which is why I love it) in a way, it kind of works. Because at the end of the day, even the characters who we thought might be irredeemable- sandman, harry-can come together to better themselves in the face of their (and Peter’s) sins incarnate. Does Venom’s presence in the story throw off the pacing, emotions, sensibility and overall quality of the movies? Yes, absolutely. But the concept is so interesting to me, I think it was deserving of its own movie (not Tom Hardy venom, although those r a blast). I don’t know, all I know is that I fucking LOVE Venom in Spiderman 3.

[theshiftingly]

Fame DR - Writer/Kids Show Actress.

I have like 3 Fame DRs. This one, singer, and another actress.

Out of all of them this one is the most relaxed. Originally I was just a writer but I added actress to it. For writer I don't focus on kids books, I do more late teens. I won't go too into writing because it's actually something I have going on and don't wanna share that idea.

Kids show aspect of it.

It's supposed to give nostalgia vibes, Like Sesame Street, The Muppets, Lazy Town, and The Fresh Beat Band. The characters start off as background characters for Sesame Street but then get moved to their own. I call it "The Better Place" and I gave it that Bluey hype.

I've written some episodes for the show.

This is Kinda the layout for my character MariGold

MariGold is very much Sharpay, Miss Piggy, Alex Russo, and Sun Hi? Like that level of diva but also nerdy, and quirky. I don't know how to explain her too good.

I got the role off of a whim because I had no previous acting experience. She wasn't supposed to be a big character only popping up every once in a while with small things. Until fans loved her (and the other 4 members) so much that they got their own side show.

I centered MariGold on stuff I liked growing up and on stuff I wish I had growing up.

Growing up I never had my curly hair they'd always put that relaxer in my hair. And sadly it's something that I still do because idk how to do my hair. I tried during quarantine but got so much backlash. So in my DR I have my curly hair.

I make sure MariGold is able to teach children that their hair is pretty and how to style it. I'm also plus size and remember getting bullied for that plus because I had hair on my arms. So I also make sure to teach kids that their bodies are beautiful.

MariGold is also latina like me and I even have a line of clothing for all ages. I remember growing up and feeling sad never fitting into those lines.

I steal songs from other shows ofc. Some like The Cleaning Song from Enchanted, Boinga from the Backyardigans, and Better Place from Trolls. And many more, they have real life adventures and fictional ones. The show is aimed at kids but has lessons and stuff for all ages. They do live shows/concerts sometimes.

It's fun and lighthearted, touches on serious topics while still keeping the appropriate tone.

The Better Place crew has a movie that has that theme where the characters are meant to go to one camp but they end up in another. It's circus themed and I added Firework by Katy Perry to that one kinda like Madagascar.

I also do some voice acting, still for kids shows.

Moving on!

In most of my DRs I script I have a best friend/brother named Isaac. We aren't blood related but are definitely platonic twin flames because we are insanely alike but not at the same time.

Isaac didn't have a good childhood at all and we met through a mental health program in high school.

He's into hockey and during the program we did dance together. He's a New Jersey Devil and is the most low-key out of all of them. We live together in a house, ofc I had to script my dream home.

The Devil's know he has a "sister" I often send them treats and go to games. They have never officially meet me until at a hockey activity, it's a sit down for the cameras to properly meet the players from different teams and their families.

That is usually the day that I script I shift to.

I don't have an exact SO for these DRs. For this one usually it's either Luke Hughes or Matt Rempe. Sometimes but not often Connor Berdard or Nico Hischier.

Doesn't change much. Luke knows how I look and Jack exposes him for thinking I'm cute during the whole activity. For Matt people think he's chirping me but really he does like me.

Overall this DR is calm. I film, practice, write, and enjoy the stuff I scripted around me.