#nomitation

[grusinskayas]

people who dislike grace kelly and make a point of having that known sometimes seem exactly like people who dislike taylor swift (i don't like ts either) but put waaaaaay too much effort into it, in the sense that at the end of the day you just end up thinking that they definitely need to chill. the only difference is that grace kelly is not presently generating 77.5 tons of co2 per tour and also she's been dead for over 40 years. she's not talented!! she's a bad actress!! she's only known for the clothes she wore, how could she have any talent!! she snatched that oscar from judy garland!! she's just pretty but she has a boring face!! she could never be like katharine hepburn!! okay... and? when you throw these childish insults at her you end up sounding really childish too. i swear all you have to do is look the other way, no one's putting a gun on your head and forcing you to watch her whole filmography. and if someone IS putting a gun on your head and forcing you to watch high society 1956 repeatedly then well. that's not really her fault either. i promise grace kelly cannot hurt you from the afterlife <3

[sillypilled-friendcel]

hey mentally ill gay people. what abt this.

ignore that i legt the word list in there shhhh

[her-canine-teeth]

cant wait for an animated series about a family of wasps to come out that's really sweet and wholesome and idk Family Series Of The Year about the bond of family/friendship and importante of communication. called yellowjackets

[coughloop]

tumblr user sudokufaggot has nomitated herself to run for CEO, citing the advanced ability to count to 9

[elle-smells]

this category is weird to me but if it has to exist then at least have good nominees bcs wtf is this list-

[silmarillisms]

A Casual Reminder: Sauron Was Powerful

I'm not really sure why, but I've seen a lot of "Sauron was so pathetic, forever in Morgoth's shadow, what a baby" posts lately. And I do get it, I love the wet meow meow too.

But for all intents and purposes, Sauron does not fit the wet meow meow role. We are actually blatantly told that Sauron was greater in the Second Age than Morgoth was at his fall.

Sauron was ‘greater’, effectively, in the Second Age than Morgoth at the end of the First. Why? Because, though he was far smaller by natural stature, he had not yet fallen so low. Eventually he also squandered his power (of being) in the endeavour to gain control of others. But he was not obliged to expend so much of himself. To gain domination over Arda, Morgoth had let most of his being pass into the physical constituents of the Earth – hence all things that were born on Earth and lived on and by it, beasts or plants or incarnate spirits, were liable to be ‘stained’. Morgoth at the time of the War of the Jewels had become permanently ‘incarnate’: for this reason he was afraid, and waged the war almost entirely by means of devices, or of subordinates and dominated creatures. - Morgoth's Ring: Notes on Motives in the Silmarillion

The argument could be made that Sauron being greater at his height than Morgoth was at his fall doesn't mean much, but I would actually posit that it does, and for multiple reasons. Morgoth was the greatest of the Valar. Even in his decline, it took the whole host of the Valar invading from Aman and sinking Beleriand to defeat the armies that Morgoth had assembled - as well as Morgoth himself. It is no small feat for a Maia to amass that sort of power.

Let's take a look at the next paragraphs from the same essay in Morgoth's Ring:

Sauron, however, inherited the corruption of Arda, and only spent his (much more limited) power on the Rings; for it was the creatures of earth, in their minds and wills, that he desired to dominate. In this way Sauron was also wiser than Melkor-Morgoth. Sauron was not a beginner of discord; and he probably knew more of the Music than did Melkor, whose mind had always been filled with his own plans and devices, and gave little attention to other things. The time of Melkor's greatest power, therefore, was in the physical beginnings of the World; a vast demiurgic lust for power and the achievement of his own will and designs, on a great scale. And later after things had become more stable, Melkor was more interested in and capable of dealing with a volcanic eruption, for example, than with (say) a tree. It is indeed probable that he was simply unaware of the minor or more delicate productions of Yavanna, such as small flowers. Thus, as Morgoth, when Melkor was confronted by the existence of other inhabitants of Arda, with other wills and intelligences, he was enraged by the mere fact of their existence, and his only notion of dealing with them was by physical force, or the fear of it. His sole ultimate object was their destruction. - Morgoth's Ring: Notes on Motives in the Silmarillion

This is easily my favorite comparison between them. Sauron became Morgoth's right hand because, although Morgoth had power and ambition in spades, he lacked the mind for strategy that Sauron possessed. Sauron's strength lies in his clever plans, his manipulations, his deceptions. Just as it would have been for anyone else who wore it, the One Ring became Sauron's downfall because it blinded him to the same little things that Morgoth tended to ignore. Sauron lost because he became like Morgoth, not because he was lesser than Morgoth in might.

I'll leave off with a last quote from NoMitS.

Sauron had never reached this stage of nihilistic madness. He did not object to the existence of the world, so long as he could do what he liked with it. He still had the relics of positive purposes, that descended from the good of the nature in which he began: it had been his virtue (and therefore also the cause of his fall, and of his relapse) that he loved order and coordination, and disliked all confusion and wasteful friction. (It was the apparent will and power of Melkor to effect his designs quickly and masterfully that had first attracted Sauron to him.) - Morgoth's Ring: Notes on Motives in the Silmarillion

Sue me. I'm a filthy Angbanger at heart.

Also, here's all of NoMitS if anyone wants to read it.

[ofskysanddragonsandstars]

Just another TFA x TFP crossover idea...

I know almost every long lasting transformers fan has done this, but here is my hot take.

So we know TFA takes place in the 2050s, and TFP fans assume TFP takes place in the 2010s when it was released. So instead of alternate dimensions, what about futuristic AU/reincarnation AU? Granted a LOT of the characters are different, so adjustments are going to have to be made, so bare with me.

Let's start with the war.

TFP ends with Optimus Prime sacrificing himself so that Cybertron can produce life with the Allspark, and with the Allspark returned, Cybertron is habitable again, and Megatron leaves, thus ending the war, which I will now refer to as the Great War. It is up to Team Prime to start rebuilding Cybertron. And naturally, they look to Ultra Magnus.

As bots return to Cybertron, both Autobot and Decepticon have a lot of animosity towards each other. Afterall, this war lasted centuries. But with one leader dead and the other AWOL, they have to figure out how to coexist. But it is easy to fall back on old habits, so a council is but back in place, and unfortunately, it is most autobots. Once the decepticons heard that Megatron is still alive but off world, some decide to leave and find him. Some decide to remain and try to fix Cybertron for the better. So the council promotes mostly Autobots to positions of power, thus leaving out bigger decepticons starting the warframe fear. As for the protoforms, the council creates molds for new sparks, thinking hey, the war is over, why do we need fighters? We need bots who can fix things (construction), laborers, teachers, and so Cybertron starts to use the frase "cogs in the machine". Oops, here comes functionalism.

But those closest to Optimus Prime? The ones who fought with him and followed him because of what he stood for? The ones who were put on a pedestal for their actions on earth with Prime even though they don't care for any recognition? They notice it immediately. And they hate what Cybertron is becoming. But it is hard to do anything since they just finished a war. Rebuilding is at the top of the list, not idealism. But wasn't that what the whole war was about? Rising above your station, having opportunities, abolish the caste system, and no bot is better than the other. Well, Primus has a plan for that. Primus is frustrated with their children. They keep making the same mistakes, forcing them to choose a Prime. And their last Prime had to sacrifice his life for Primus and all Cybertronians. Well, if the children want to redo their past mistakes, might as well send back their latest Prime. But Primus and the Allspark can only create sparklings, not full bots. So, Primus and the Allspark places the spark of Optimus Prime in a protoform sparkling. We will get to that later.

So, we have a Cybertron that is rebuilding back its bad habits, Team Prime struggling to stop it, and decepticons leaving (of course that will come back to haunt us).

Now onto the Autobots.

Ultra Magnus, the right hand man of Optimus Prime, is naturally looked at for leadership. But he never wanted to the # 1. He truly believes in the ideas of Orion Pax, before he was Optimus Prime. But his understanding of legality and chain of command make him the perfect candidate to lead Cybertron towards order. But after his time on Earth, he has learned that maybe the most strict policies are not the best solutions. However, the council insists and public pressure wants a strong leader, so how can he say no? The only thing he can do is refuse the title of Primacy. He will not take on that mantle. He knows the type of bot who deserves Primehood, and it is not him. But the council needs some title, so why not use his name? Magnus means "big, large, great" - nomitive conjugation - (Latin nerd, I know), so why not use his name as a title? Thus, the title of Magnu begins to be synonymous with "ruler". Ultra Magnus finds this to be a slap in the faceplates. But at least they stopped inisting on Prime. So, with great reluctance (please laugh at that joke) he accepts the position. As to what exactly his position means, well, the council wants to appease the public yet remain in control. The council will surely write up the specifics later. But, I mentioned it before, Ultra Magnus knows the Law, so he takes it into his own servos. He writes up his own limitations and abilities, he just needs the council to sign off. They don't hurry to sign it. This is the beginning of Ultra Magnus' problems.

Ratchet will probably be the easiest to crossover. Both TFA and TFP characterize him as an old medic that has fought in the war from the beginning. After Predacons Rising, he shuffles back and forth from Earth and Cybertron. But Earth hasn't faced decepticon attacks in years so Fowler isn't around much anymore (and the man had a long career in the Army and as a special agent - it's time for him to retire), the Earth kids eventually grow up, so they don't need him anymore. As much as it pains him (even though he will never admit it), he returns back to Cybertron for good and sets up a clinic for war vets. Probably with Knockout. Which many autobots don't like. That's a problem. But as the oldest friend of Orion Pax, he lashes out against the council and their policies, which unfortunately causes him to be blacklisted further. His reputation as a war hero plummets. He almost wants to laugh at the similarities from before the Great War.

Bumblebee is going to be the hardest. In TFP, he has a character arc of young scout to experienced warrior. Yet in TFA, he is a young Elite Guard wash out and a comedic. Well, the only answer I can currently think of is memory wipe. But let me backtrack. Bumblebee technically killed Megatron in TFP, and news of that travels across autobot channels before Predacons Rising, thus before Unicron revives Megatron. So, autobots that begin to return to Cybertron consider Bumblebee as the hero who ended the Great War. But Ultra Magnus is orderly, so he keeps the autobot channel updated with Megatron being revived but AWOL. But communication can be tricky galaxies apart, so some autobots don't get the full message. Unfortunately, the council capitalizes on that, and since Ultra Magnus won't accept Primehood, maybe the scout who served under Optimus Prime for so long will. And if Bumblebee accepts the council's wishes, perhaps he will remain under their watchful optics. But the new warrior looked up to Optimus, no way can he take his mentor/father-figure's place. And Smokescreen is Bumblebee's friend, one who turned down the Matrix of Leadership when it was freely offered. This angers the council. With functionalism getting in place yet Team Prime against it, they need someone from Team Prime to endorse functionalism. And what better bot than the scout who ended the war. With using a similar science from the cortical psychic patch, they wipe his memory of earth, his friends, and serving with Optimus Prime. How do they get that science? Well, TFA Shockwave was the spy Longarm in the council. More on that later. There is going to be a lot of repercussions for that.

Smokescreen is the new rebellious teenager in TFP. His character arc goes from hot head that is unsure of his place in the galaxy to a steady bot with a close friendship with Bumblebee. There is a foil with Alpha Trion both being a mentor to Orion Pax and Smokescreen and both working in the Archives. And Cybertron needs to remember its history. Smokescreen becomes the new Head Archivist, following after Alpha Trion. He could keep with the Elite Guard, perhaps one day truly becoming a Prime, but after Predacons Rising, he knows that there needs to be another path. And who else knows the Archives better than him? He is no Orion Pax - or an archivist - but watching over Alpha Trion makes a mech learn a thing or two. Surprising everyone but Bumblebee, he starts to rebuild the Archives. He takes reports from returning bots, both autobot and decepticon, and organizes it. Returning bots also bring recovered treasures that Alpha Trion shipped off world during the Great War. Thankfully, he remembers where they went. He gets so caught up in restoring the Archives that, like Orion Pax, he notices re-occurring problems from before the Great War, but it is too late to stop it. The best thing he can do is publish every document to a public platform, no matter which faction it came from, so that bots can resist the council. But the public is tired from the Great War, it is too soon to read documents about it. And Sparklings are shielded from those documents, caretakers claiming it is too violent. But what is violent about a critical analysis of the caste system written by a gladiator? Exactly the fact that it was written by a gladiator turned tyrant. He is threatened with removal of his position by the council. Afterall, they happen to like their elite status and have no interest in giving that up. And he knows that if he is removed, the council will fill his position with a bot that will promote council propaganda. The honorific of Prime is no longer so significant nor synonymous with Primus and the 13 due to the council trying to justify Ultra Magnus as the leader, even though he is under their thumbs, and wanting to keep authoritarian government, bestowing bots who graduate council specific requirements at an academy the title of Prime, and it frustrates Smokescreen. He considers it a disgrace to Optimus Prime. But he stays quiet, yet secretly, when he sees a young bot interested in the Great War and before, he shows them the truth. Slowly yet surely, young bots start to question what the Great War was even for.

Arcee TFP and TFA actually have a lot in common for backgrounds. In TFA, she was a teacher and an intelligence officer, and in TFP episode "Sick Minds" she makes an offhand comment about knowing how to do research. I headcanon that before the Great War, Arcee was in an analytical job, and since I'm crossing over with TFA, she could also at one point have been a teacher. Perhaps the equivalent of a grad student while teaching? With rebuilding Cybertron, she brings back those skills and starts some sort of intelligence organization. Perhaps it is in correspondence with Smokescreen and the Archive. She is also a great mentor to Smokescreen and she easily takes leadership role in the field when necessary. Arcee is the one who finds out Bee's memory gets wiped. She is quick to anger - as we see in her interactions with Starscream and Arachnid - and demands the council to return Bumblebee's memories. This does not go as planned, and the council retaliates and she goes into a comatose state, bringing us into TFA. But she has friends, and they notice her absence.

This brings in the Wreckers. With Cybertron going backwards, Bulkhead returns to construction. At first, he doesn't mind. Afterall, he has the knowledge for it, and in Predacons Rising, he currently is all they have. Unfortunately, this comes to haunt him as it allows the council to make a case for functionalism. All that fighting, wasted. Bulkhead never gets the chance to be something new. Until Wheeljack reaches out. With his knowledge in engineering, Wheeljack becomes the chief engineer on cybertron. Meaning that he is in charge of building space bridges, figuring out planetary weapons systems, communication technology, space travel, ect. Meaning, he figures out what happened to Arcee. And Project Omega. Wheeljack has learned that going solo isn't always the best move. But he keeps things Wrecker style. Since he knows the council listens in on his new communication network, he reaches out to Bulkhead and Ultra Magnus on the old Wrecker channel. It is time to bring the band back together. Or so they think. The rescue mission of Arcee fails, Bulkhead's memory is also wiped, and Ultra Magnus forced into a deeper corner of the council. They try to wipe Wheeljack's memory, but he is the chief engineer who suffered torture under a cortical psychic patch, he is able to retain his memories, but hides that fact. Even Ultra Magnus thinks his memory has been wiped. Wheeljack keeps a low radar with the council and remains the chief engineer. But he is rebellious, so he informs Ratchet.

So, to sum up our main characters: 2 have lost their memory, 1 is comatose, 2 are in political peril, 1 is undercover, 1 is disgraced, and 1 is dead.

Now we get to the plot of this AU.

Ratchet is disgraced by the council and autobots don't like that he works with a decepticon, former or not. His ability to do anything is greatly hindered. But he is still a medic with a valid practicing license and naturally, Sparklings need check ups. Enter the revival AU. Ratchet never thought his deceased friend and leader would ever return, but science is indisputable and he is very good at medicine and he patched up the Prime hundreds of times. He knows Optimus' spark signature when he sees it. How is it possible? Well, Ratchet never considered himself religious, but after battling Unicron and seeing a revived Megatron, perhaps religion has some merit. And Spark signatures are unique to individuals. There are no accounts of repeat spark signatures. The only logical explanation is this is the work of Primus. But Ratchet has no love of the council, so with the help of Knockout, they meet with Ultra Magnus secretly. So, only those 3 know Optimus has returned. But he is only a sparkling, and hasn't Optimus sacrificed enough? So, Optimus is returned to his caretaker to live a life free of his past hardship. Like Optimus Prime said before he entered the Well, it is up to them to rebuild Cybertron for the better. If only they could do some serious changes.

So, little Optimus grows up in a Cybertron rebuilding and no one talking about the Great War. All he has is the propaganda the council gives out. So why would he need to go to the Archives to learn? He has his teachers and he knows his function will be to put out fires or haul things due to his size, even though a part of him desires to be an Elite Guard. He eventually joins the academy and here we have TFA fully kick in. He befriends Elita-1 and Sentinel the same, catches the attention of Ultra Magnus the same way (or so he thinks. The mech is the leader of Cybertron, of course he has his ways to keep tabs on the former Prime) gets kicked out after losing Elita-1 (or so he thinks - Ultra Magnus wants him away from the council, so kicking him out was the best he could do), yet Ultra Magnus, with the help of Wheeljack, pulls a few strings to get Optimus' crew. Team Prime is almost back together. Afterall, it's not like the council wants Ratchet on the planet, and how would they know it is the very same Optimus?

The TFA plot mainly stays the same, except the Allspark is a little different. Here, the Allspark was supposedly returned to the Well. How it gets into space, I am still working that out. I might have to bring in TFA lore for this, intertwining it with the return of the decepticons and Megatron. But Ratchet has a fit when they find it ("Optimus sacrificed his life so that relic would return to the Well! And this is the thanks he gets?) he almost is glad when it gets shattered into pieces. But the Allspark also terrifies him after seeing his friend give his life for it. Ratchet does his best to keep Optimus away from the Allspark, even though Primus seems to find a way for Optimus to keep interacting with it.

Now this is getting long, so I'm going to end it here. But there is still a lot more to cover in this AU! Specifically the Decepticons. And how does Bumblebee and Bulkhead get their memories back? Wheeljack? Does Ultra Magnus tell Wheeljack of Optimus' true identity when he helps put his crew together on Teletran-1? How does Ultra Magnus change from being a kind SIC to the strict military leader of Cybertron? Does he get redeemed? Or is he the example of a tragic tale of political bargaining? What happens to Smokescreen? Do the TFP kids meet Sari Sumdac? Do they meet the autobots in Detroit, or does Ratchet warn them to keep their distance? What changes happen with Sentinel's and Optimus' friendship once his former life is revealed? When happens when Optimus learns the truth?

[hldailyupdate]

'Music For a Sushi Restaurant' by Harry has been nomitated at the VMAS for Best Music Visual Effects! (8 August 2023)

The winner will be announced on September 12th!

x

[penvisions]

no, but, see the thing is

everyone, even if he's been willing to participate, have made him the butt of the unspoken joke. they'll have him on his talk shows, they'll have him on their skits, they'll have him mentioned in articles of upcoming stuff he's only being considered for. and all for the clout that the man has, he's talented and he's popular. people recognize that to further themselves. and while yah, it was a little funny to see the interactions between kieran and they're friends in, but no one see's him for what he's done, for what he's capable of even after feeling left out and ignored for so long.

imagine if he turned down tlou because he didn't want to take on such a life changing and amazing story line because his doubts and insecurities got the better of him? what if he discontinues his work with the mandalorian and star wars because of the way the third season's writing essentially made him a background character who had impact, given all the credit his character has done to another (while the character in question is still one i admire)?

what if he stopped, decided to cut his losses and give up on his dream because of how this industry makes people like him, with his background, with his culture, feel?

there have been less than 35 hispanic winners in the history of the emmy's and for two of them to be nomited in one year was phenomenal. this was his year, he was everywhere, he was seen and he was loved. i know, i know deep down that yes it's just an award and yes it's a messed up system in which they decide, but he deserved it, dammit.

i am so, incredibly proud of this man and all that he has done, worked for, strived for, supported in his own endeavors and the endless love and light he shines on everyone around him.

he is such a kind hearted and wholesome person and to be constantly looked over when he gives his all has got to devastating on some level.

i am so excited and proud of all the winners, for beef, for the bear, for barbie, for all of the nominations that didn't even make the press and the ones that did. succession was a good show, it explored humanity and the stresses of life, the actors did an amazing job. don't mistake me on that

but i don't want this to be the thing that makes him work himself to the bone, despite an injury that requires surgery in the efforts to be recognized. i don't want this to fuel him to hurt himself further, to take roles he thinks will get him attention, to turn down the one's he wants to do and would love to do. i don't want this to change him, but it has to have effected him on some level and for that i am angry

[hllywdwhre]

Cillian’s two Golden Globe nomited roles🥹

Patricia “Kitten” Braden - Breakfast On Pluto (2005)

J. Robert Oppenheimer - Oppenheimer (2003)

Gif credits:

Kitten: @youremyvioleta

Oppenheimer: @thesoldiersminute

[onedaughterofman]

Enough (Papa Emeritus IV x g/n reader)

Summary: No matter what he does, Terzo's shadow always follows him.

Tags: References to the Grammys, cussing, self-esteem issues, fluff and a bit of angst, emotional hurt/comfort. Short fic.

A/N: The official Grammy's account posted Ghost's nomitation for "Call me little sunshine" using Terzo's pic instead of Popia. THAT'S A FUCKING CRIME. MY MAN DESERVES BETTER AND I WILL NOT BE SILENCED.

Anyway, angst fuel.

“Those… motherfuckers!”

Copia paces around the room, arms gesticulating in every direction as he rants. It is unusual to see him so irritated, upset. A part of you wonders why something so foolish seems to bother him that much.

“They know nothing, Papa,” you whisper, letting out a deep sigh when he continues to walk around the room. “It’s just a stupid picture.”

“No! It’s not!”

The yell takes you by surprise. Your brows furrow high on your face, as his voice becomes softer, full of air when he continues. “It’s… fucking not.”

Something is wrong. Copia never yells, especially not at you. The guilt on his face obscures his factions, causing the wrinkles on his forehead to deepen as he walks in your direction. Kneeling in front of you, he places his hands on your knees.

When Copia looks up again, there's a faint glow on his eyes. “I’m ashamed, amore. Perdonami, ti prego.”

It's impossible to reject his apologies when his head meets your thighs, heavy with the weight of his worries. Copia doesn't seem to mind being on the hard floor, because he maneuvers his body to rest in a comfortable embrace as his arms wrap around your abdomen.

In a silent manifestation of your forgiveness, your fingers card through his disheveled hair, nails lightly scratching at his scalp. Copia lets out another audible sigh before you speak up. “This is not about them using Terzo’s picture instead of yours, right?”

For a long moment, he doesn’t reply. Then, gradually, his head shakes. You can’t inspect his face, but the way he clings tighter to you is a visible indicator of his distress. His muscles are tense, almost as if he's getting ready to bolt out of the room at any second. “Haven’t I…” Copia begins, inhaling. “Haven’t I given enough?”

There's nothing that can prepare you for the shock that fills your core when you realize he's silently crying. The tears cling to the corners of his eyes when he looks up to you, a sad furrow on his brows. His mouth is tilted downwards, lip trembling with every sob that he refuses to let out.

Before you manage to state anything, Copia continues. “I did everything they demanded, everything they told me to. And it’s not enough. It’s never enough.”

Oh. Now, you understand better. This goes way beyond a picture or even a nomination. Copia is insecure, as he has always been, way before he became Papa. “The Academy knows nothing. It’s just a stupid award.”

“Terzo won it. I didn’t. And… it’s not only about it. I’ll never be enough for the old man, or for Sister. Fuck, she can’t even call me Papa. I’m worthless, I’m a failure! I'll never be more than just a… cheap copy of Terzo.”

Copia hides his face on your thighs again, body shaking with heartfelt anguish. You know how much this wounds him, how hard the comparison between him and the other Papas have eroded his already poor self-esteem.

It doesn't make sense to you. Yes, it might be true he’s different than his predecesors, but he’s so talented and wonderful in your eyes. If only he could see, you think. If only he could perceive himself the same way you see him. When he’s on the stage, singing in front of a thousand of fans, he shines brighter than any other star in the dark sky. And oh, how much you love to be near him, to bask in his light and walk by his side.

Without hurrying, your arms embrace him back as much as you can. Your palms caress his back, up and down his spine, until you feel his breathing become less shallow, only a bit less shaky. “Papa,” you begin, voice in a whisper. “I can’t speak for the rest, but I know one thing.”

His cheeks are damp when you grab his face, forcing his gaze to meet yours. There are dark traces of smudged paint on his skin, spots you clean with the pad of your thumb. “I love you, and don't care about what Sister, Nihil or anybody out there thinks about you. I understand if you have doubts, but please don’t talk like that about the man I’ve fallen in love with.”

Gradually, Copia’s gloved hands cover yours. His eyes are glossy, immense and brimming with emotions that swirl inside his pupils. He’s speechless, mouth slightly agape as he struggles to find the words he wants to say.

“There’s one thing about my man. He’s wonderful to me, so talented and loving,” you continue, letting your fingers trace his face. “Please, be kind to him. Try loving him as much as I do.”

For a long moment, Copia remains silent. Then, his head falls back to your lap as his arms embrace your abdomen again. “I can’t promise anything,” he whispers, like a secret only meant for you to listen. “But I’ll try if you promise you’ll never leave me. Stay with me, forever.”

A soft smile stretches your lips as you nod. “Only if you stay with me, then.”

He does. For long minutes to come, he stays kneeling in front of you, lost in your tender embrace.

Ps: I wrote this in one sitting before going to sleep. Ghost deserves so much better when it comes to awards.

[frc-ambaradan]

A few thoughts on Thrawn’s portrayal in Ahsoka

First thing first: I think they absolutely nailed him.

Lars Mikkelsen is perfect and I don’t think there could ever been another actor fit to bring Thrawn alive. We’re talking about the same man who got an Annie Nomitation for his voice performance in Rebels. He knows the character, he knows how Thrawn speaks, the way he moves, he knows how to use silence... and he absolutely kills it!

And, let’s forget about the new canon for a moment, shall we? 

This Thrawn looks like he just jumped out of “Heir to the Empire”. 

Looks like Filoni’s going for the more Moriarty-like, more evil Legends Thrawn. And, as much as I love the new books, that’s the Thrawn we first met and loved, the character who became the standard bearer of the Expanded Universe, one of the greatest villains of the franchise second only to Darth Vader and one of the best characters in Sci-fi fiction. That’s a guy who’s politely conferring with you a moment before and the second later he’s having a tractor beam technician be dismembered by his bodyguard.

Pellaeon never even saw Rukh move. Pieterson certainly never had time to scream. From farther down the crew pit came the sound of someone trying valiantly not to be sick. Thrawn glanced over Pellaeon's shoulder gain and gestured, and the silence was further broken by the sound of a pair of stormtroopers coming forward. "Dispose of it," the Grand Admiral ordered them, turning away from Pieterson's crumpled body and pinning Colclazure with a stare. "The error, Ensign," he told the other softly, "has now been corrected. You may begin training a replacement." Timothy Zahn, Heir to the Empire (1991)

The infinite pauses Mikkelsen makes, with Thrawn just staring at his interlocutor in silence, are so unnerving and so perfectly in character. Pick any page of the Thrawn trilogy where the Grand Admiral’s talking to Pellaeon and you’ll find the same feeling of fear and malaise. 

And guys, Thrawn was never meant to be likeable. He’s not a puppy, he’s a wolf. He’s someone to be admired for his tactical genius, to be respected for his abilities; you can understand his reasons and his way of thinking but still he’s someone to be wary of and to be feared. You can talk with Thrawn. He will listen and will understand your point, but once you find yourself between him and his goal, you’re dead.

Not surprisingly, Grand Admiral Thrawn was inspired by General Rommel. And they indeed are very similar (I might say they’re basically clones ^^): both military geniuses coming from the lower ranks of society and raising to the highest ranks of the army by sheer talent and yet pretty much naive when it comes to politics and highly opposed by other high ranking officers driven mostly by pure envy (hell! Rommel was taken in higher regard by the British than by his fellow German high ranking officers! In fact, Rommel kept his rank only because Hitler liked him, just like Thrawn did because Palpatine liked him).

Erwin Rommel and Mitth'raw'nuruodo are basically the same person in two different universes...

Both Thrawn and Rommel are well mannered, honourable and very professional officers, considerate to their troops and respectful of their adversaries and as such highly esteemed by both their men and their enemies. That doesn’t change the fact that they both have their fair amount of atrocities on their shoulders, they work for the most evil governments of their age and both have pretty close personal relationships with the Emperor and with Adolf Hitler. And still. You can fight on the wrong side of history and still be an honorable man.

That said, I’ve read complains about Thrawn's physique and yes, I didn’t like his belly either when he first showed up but that was just for a fraction of a second ‘cause the moment he opened his mouth I was totally sold.

Why? Because physical prowess isn’t Thrawn’s main characteristic. Yes, he’s a very well trained warrior and a martial arts expert, but the reason why he’s such a great character is his charisma, it’s his brain and, if I'm right, the Thrawn we have in Ahsoka is the evil cat- ops, I mean ysalamiri-petting Thrawn ^^.

And guys, people do age, even chiss. Thrawn’s 70 years old, he has every right to get old and look old. And that belly looks like a very deliberate choice to me.

Ten years separate Rebels Thrawn from Ahsoka Thrawn, ten years and an inter-galactical hyperspace jump. People change. And get old.

Also, you must consider the fact that Thrawn was wrapped in the purrgill's tantacles when they jumped into hyperspace, so it's safe to assume that he substained heavy injuries and that his body was heavily affected by it. We also don't know how well he fared while stranded for ten years in an unknown galaxy, meddling with stuff he should stay kilometers away from (let's face it: it never ends well when he starts meddling with the Force or anything he has no real grip or power on).

I don't know, but I don't think chiss are made to fly in hyperspace.

So, on a closing note... is Thrawn's make-up perfect? No.

Is that such a big problem? No. What the make-up doesn’t achieve, the actor’s performance will.

And hear me out, there is room for improvement and I’m sure they will fill the gap. They did with Ahsoka… remember how everyone criticized her lekku in The Mandalorian? That was because of an actual, practical reason, but they did manage to correct it and they did improve it. Ahsoka looks great now. And just how they did with her, they will improve Thrawn’s appearance as well.

It’s impossible to nail something at first try. And it's impossible to appease everyone.

I work as a digital artist and I can tell you that sometimes you just can’t do the best you can, because maybe the budget doesn’t allow it or there’s just too little time to do it (or people just keep asking change after change 😒), but once you’ve got the basis, and I think they’ve got pretty solid basis with Thrawn, to improve the look of him adding details and correcting those little errors is gonna be a much easier job and you’ll, see, he’s gonna look much better in the next season.

Sometimes things don’t need to be perfect to work. And Mikkelsen’s Thrawn works, because it’s Mikkelsen and because it’s Thrawn.

[katesfoxhole]

Translating "rogue trader" into Latin (i.e. High Gothic) was a bit of a challenge. In my New College Latin Dictionary, the entry for "rogue" was furcifer, but when I put that into the Online Latin Dictionary, it turned out that meant something more like "rascal" or "criminal".

(actually the first thing I did was misspell it and get fucus for "rouge" as a color)

I tried "uncontrolled" next, which in the New College was effrenatus. That turned out to be a horse metaphor, it literally means "unbridled", a horse out of its rider's control. Implicitly because the rider has been negligent, has allowed the reins to fall slack.

I think that's a good description of the relationship between Rogue Traders and the Imperium. ^_^

I tag factions/groups in the nomitive plural, so "rogue traders" would be mercatores effrenati. Nom singular would be mercator effrenatus.

[offonaherosjourney]

how did disney do treasure planet dirty?

Thank you so much for asking

Story time!

Treasure Planet (2002) is Treasure Island set in space. It was directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. They worked in Disney as directors for a while, and some of their other directive credits include movies such as The Great Mouse Detective (1986), The Little Mermaid (1989), Aladdin (1992), Hercules (1997), and more recently Moana (2016). Before directing those they worked as character animators and writers in other movies, and then one day they went to the at the time chairman of Disney, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and asked him to pretty please let them adapt Treasure Island and set it in space. However, they didn't have the best timing because this was after the release of Black Cauldron (1985), which had flopped bad and they'd worked on as writers.

Jeff said a big nope and had them direct The Great Mouse Detective (1986). And after that movie came out, Clements and Musker asked again, and Jeff instead made them directors for The Little Mermaid (1989) and Aladdin (1992), and after each movie they made, they kept asking about Treasure Planet. By that point Jeff told them that if they directed one more film, Hercules (1997), he'd let them do Treasure Planet. They did and Treasure Planet got the greenlight.

The movie is amazing and I won't go into why to keep this a reasonable length, but one of its feats was how it combined traditional 2d animation, CG animation and deep canvas (a looot of deep canvas). It was very cool, very innovative and veeery expensive.

That's the factual part of the story, now we go into personal opinions and fan theories, which are that basically maaaybe Disney didn't really want to make this movie, and it only got the ok because it was the passion project of their two directors responsible for the Disney Renaissance. Between the movie's budget and the marketing they spent a whopping 180 million to make this movie (Aladdin cost them 28m, The Little Mermaid 40m, Hercules 85m).

However, when Treasure Planet came out in late 2002, it flopped. Another Disney movie that came out earlier that year during the summer and had done amazing was Lilo and Stitch. Great movie too, btw, and the marketing team had made sure people heard about it. Six months before it came out you got ads of Stitch disrupting iconic scenes, McDonalds toys... the whole spiel. Meanwhile Treasure Planet's marketing was a mess and their ads either didn't give out anything about the movie or spoiled a bunch of stuff. And they released the movie in December 2002. Do you know what other movie had released just a couple days before? The second movie about a certain boy wizard whose books were written by an author whose name I shall not utter. Oh, and another veery Christmasy Disney movie, The Santa Clause 2. These two both dominated the box office while Treasure Planet... didn't.

And the thing is that Disney knew. They were well aware that there wasn't much buzz about the movie and that it's sales projections didn't look good, and despite all the money they'd invested on it... they didn't move the release to a date that would help it perform better.

Also, while Treasure Planet's box-office numbers might have been lackluster, the movie received excelled critics and even received an Oscar nomitation for Best Animated Picture.

But why they would set up to fail their own movie?

Well, because then they could avoid doing a sequel. Remember Jeff, the guy that approved Clements and Musker's passion project? He hadn't been with Disney since 1994, and there'd been two other chairmen after him. Any loyalty and passion left for this movie remained with the people working on it, not with the top executive's whose job was to make money, not art.

And here's the tragic kicker: films like A Bug's Life or Monster's Inc, aka 3d movies were doing amazing in the box-office, so Disney wanted to switch directions. By setting the very expensive movie to fail, they avoid doing the promised (and likely just as expensive) sequel that was already in pre-production. Making sure Treasure Planet failed planted the first nail in the coffin where a couple years later they would bury their 2d animation studio. A couple more 2d animated movies later that didn't really do that great either they closed shop for good and switched completely to the 3d animated features we get nowadays.

(Also while the storyboard for the sequel is somewhere in a Disney vault gathering dust, there's some stuff on the internet with rough designs for the sequel and info about the plot and it looked SO GOOD AND THEY CANCELLED AND IT'S BEEN OVER 20 YEARS AND I'M STILL MAD ABOUT IT)

End of story time

(And, if you liked this ramble or wish to learn more about this topic, here's the video where I learned most of this and that also goes into more details about stuff like what deep canvas is and the changes they did to successfully adapt the story)

[fulltimecatwitch]

it would be so extremely ironic if RDJ was the only one who got nomited for an Emmy for playing white guy stereotypes in The Sympathizer while the rest of the cast and show get zero nominations 😬

[kimhortons]

december highlights.

had our company year-end gala at the oriental hotel - legazpi, and we got the most outstanding team of the year award. that was really unexpected, ni isa samin walang malay na we even got nomitated, kasi sobrang chill lang naman ng account namin. siguro naging basehan na bagong client tapos ang bilis mag grow. partida may lagi pang nag aaway samin hahaha. kahit yung ibang kateam namin di rin makapaniwala, but itong award na 'to iki-claim ko para samin ni Zha at ni Jayson kasi kami naman talaga ang nag build nito, lahat ng kasama namin dito ngayon puro bago lang naman. so kudos to us.

also went to manila for an enjoyable christmas vacation sana, but nasa byahe palang ako non, sinalubong na agad ako ng problema sa bahay. kinailangan maoperahan ng kapatid ko sa appendix at dahil narin sa hernia niya. pag dating na pag dating ko, imbes na makapag pahinga ako, nag asikaso agad ako sa ospital at syempre gastos agad.

medyo sumama na naman loob ko sa tatay ko kasi syempre ako na naman yung kumilos, but inintindi ko nalang dahil senior na siya (62) malakas pa naman pero madali na siyang magreklamong pagod, but knowing him, tinatamad lang yun, ang sipag nga makipag date e. haha. wala akong choice kundi alalayan sila, inisip ko nalang baka kaya talaga ako umuwi dahil kailangan nila ako. medyo mabigat lang sa loob ko kasi panigurado kahit anong tulong naman gawin ko at effort sakanila, may masasabi parin.

pasalamat nalang din talaga at nacovered naman ng philhealth yung 75% ng bill niya. mga kinailangan nalang sa opera at gamot yung nagastos ko, siya na yung dumiskarte ng pambayad sa room niya dun. tingin ko naman din na-appreciate naman kahit papaano ng kapatid ko, kasi naalala niya ko batiin nung new year's eve.

dahil sa stress, napa check in tuloy kami ni J sa condo. hindi ko kasi kayang mag stay sa bahay sa ganung sitwasyon, ayaw ko rin kasi maobligang mag bantay sa ospital dahil ayaw ko nung lugar, dun din kasi namatay si mommy. kaya binilin ko nalang sa mga pinsan namin at mga barkada niya na magpalitan nalang sila sa ospital.

ang dami ko sanang plano sa pag uwi kong yun, yung maskipaps nalang talaga yung natuloy kasi may ticket. pero kung wala siguro yun, malamang bumalik ako agad ng bicol nun sa sobrang stress.

nag celebrate nalang kami ng christmas ni J nang tahimik. nag tampuhan pa nga kami. pero bago yun, tingin ko core memory namin pareho ni J yung bisperas ng pasko na nag lalakad kami sa panay ave para mag hanap ng bukas na store para maki poops haha. barado kasi yung toilet nung unit namin nun. tawa kami ng tawa kasi lahat sarado na alas otso palang ng gabi. buti nalang nag padala ng plunger yung host kaya naayos naman ni J. haha.

wala naman masyagong ganap kasi bukod sa na-stress lang ako sa bahay, sa condo lang kami nag stay ni J though kinita ko naman sila chi at ben, rachel at jasmine. dami ko pa sanang kikitain pero sabi ko bawi nalang ako ulit sa susunod na pasko.

umuwi din kami agad pagkatapos ng pasko. nakakatuwa lang din at naexperience narin namin ni J kumain sa mary grace haha. medyo nakaka luwag luwag na moment, sabi niya "atleast hindi na fastfood" haha.

dahil din kila chi, rachel at jasmine naka puno agad ako ng stickers at nakuha ko na yung tumbler na gusto ko. haha.