#sequel to the other tik tok I posted recently :)

[tomcat-tapes]

You came

You called,,

“”Icestar slowly approaches his wandering mate, knowing well that sometimes he travels the moors when he’s upset, “You came” Falconflight says looking over his shoulder at Icestar, his whiskers twitch unable to think of what to do for his husband in pain. Leaning against the smaller cat in hopes to comfort, “You called”

The two old toms sit in comfortable silence basking in each other’s presence””

Sequel to the other TikTok I posted on my acc tomcat.tapes gimme a follow if you want

[rosakuma]

Hey you, yes you random tumblr user who hopefully so happens to get this post on their timeline.

🫵😐

I have a question for you. Do you like a show about magical creatures who grant your every wish? A show about a pair quite strange that are a funny duo as they try helping out a girl who just moved to a new city feeling all alone? A comedically fun show with a surprisingly good life lessons and a fun cast of characters that bounce off each other well? Along with some good representation of both POC and LGBT groups. A show with strangely enough entertaining drama between two 10 years old that’s makes you go “Awww the sillies” and “NOOOOO WHY MUST THIS HAPPEN TO THEM!? *sobs* “ that tugs at your heartstrings? Not to mention Daddy Issues~✨ A show with a lovable black girl protagonist who cares about others as she tries putting others first, has a wild imagination of ideas, goes through internal struggles about herself and what others think of her, and loves rocks and French fries also maybe autistic coded too?

Well do I have the show for you!

Comso, Wanda if you please?

That’s right folks! The reboot/sequel to the classic nicktoon show The Fairly Oddparents : A New Wish is out right now internationally on Netflix! And you can check it out to see the fun adventures of Hazel Wells, a 10 year old girl who recently moved to a new city with her parents away from her older brother who was her best friend she rely on, but now is off to college. To which Cosmo and Wanda, two fairy godparents, who decided to come out of retirement to help her out with dealing with her new environment and situations she’ll get herself into.

It also is the show with that purple guy with swirly hair you’d seen on tumblr before? That’s right, Peri!

If I was able to peak your interest on the show, please go check it out on Netflix! And only watch it on Netflix as the show’s fate to get a second season depends on the views on Netflix for it to be greenlit for one. So no pirating and if you don’t have Netflix to be able to watch it, spread the word! To help get this show a second season is to help the talented crew members who work hard to deliver such a charming show that is a wonderful and fateful continuation of the OG it’s based off. Along with a win for animation since it’s been hard in the animation industry as of right now with animators, editors, storyboard artists, writers, and others in this industry struggling to be able to continue working on projects they love that also is their source of income. So be willing to lend a hand to help out to those people the best you can so that they can continue to have work and make fun shows like this one! Also it determines the fate of a certain character to hopefully get a happy ending and a good redemption arc plz my child deserves a second chance

Also here’s some advices for when watching A New Wish:

Try watching an episode or two a day. Putting it on loop too much might make seem not real viewers are watching and the views won’t count. Plus it be boring to speed through the first half of the season.

Try rewatching the show from time to time. Maybe watch it with a friend or two. Or perhaps a family member who enjoyed the OG show. Watch it with your dog maybe too!

Despite the show being out and most of the stuff being talked about already, keep talking about it to spread the word online! Any socials like tumblr, instagram, twitter, blue sky, tik tok you name it!

Also don’t post spoilers for any new viewers you see around. It’s more fun for them to experience first hand.

Alrighty, I shall take my leave now, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy FOP ANW!

[araminakilla]

Day 39: Mummy's song and some thoughts of him being a monster

Originally I planned to translate the new Tadeo Jones 3 song, but I got another idea. Today I will translate Mummy's song from the Musical of the sequel (where he dresses as a flamenco dancer)

Here are the lyrics:

Chorus:

Dance Mummy!

Beautiful!

Dance dance Mummy

that everyone already looks at you like that

Because life here is wonderful

Dance dance mummy

After now it's your turn

You are elegant and so precious

Mummy:

I am the mummy of a distant land

But my past seems a little weird

I'm over a thousand* years old and no one could tell

I am a monster of pure sympathy!

Chorus:

In the sky you shine today

You dance out of control

every day is an adventure

Mummy:

I'm sure I'm not the toughest**

but I can be friends for life

If you need me soon I will arrive

If you give me your friendship I will fight for you

I'm the best mummy

and you know why!

Chorus:

Dance mummy!

Mummy:

Olé!***

Chorus:

dance dance Mummy

that everyone already looks at you like that

You are beautiful and never scary

dance dance Mummy

After now it's your turn

You are elegant and so beautiful****

Mummy:

If you like it...

call me Mummy

Chorus:

Mummy!

Mummy (speaking proudly):

What am I a true artist? ;)

Tadeo (speaking tired):

Come on, Mummy... come on -_-

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

Notes:

*He says he has more than 1000 years old but in the movie he recalls he has 500 years old since that was the time the Incan Empire fell at the hands of the Spanish. Unless...

** In spanish he says "aguerrida" that word is linked to "guerra" the spanish of "war", hence "aguerrida" means someone who is skilled on war and battle or who is trained for war. Mummy is admitting he is none of that.

*** "Olé" is something spanish people will say in flamenco and other spanish dances. This mummy knows how to adapt to other cultures.

**** Love that a spaniard chorus is singing to him that he is precious, beautiful, elegant and not scary, considering that was the opposite of what the conquistadors thought about royal Incan mummies to the point of burning them all. It's a nice subversion.

Now, about the aspect of him being a monster... recently I reblogued posts about a Youtube animation called "The Vampair Series" from the chapter "Raised by Bats" and it explains the story of how a miserable human tormented by bullies (Duke) found his place and happiness as a vampire, and he and his partner go around humans who are more perplexed and unamused about their existence than scared.

And I thought, yeah I'm 90% sure Mummy's life as a human was awful when the Conquistadors arrived and maybe, just maybe he gained more confidence when turning himself into a monster, especially when interacting with the human world. It seems like he doesn't mind being a monster around mortals, it's like he embraces it just like Duke embraces being an edgy vampire.

It makes sense, as he goes by the name "Mummy", his tik tok and instagram (according to that video with the "dance emoji" Tad says something about the inca having one as well) accounts have "mummy" on it and his phone case has a mummy design, so he's not bothered by his monstrous circunstances, the only thing he doesn't like is being feared and persecuted, just like in the times when he was a royal human and the perfect prey for power hungry conquistadors.

He perceives himself as a normal guy ready to make friends and have a good time. A inmortal, bandaged and ancient guy, but that doesn't matter to him.

At least he has Tad and Sara's friendship, possibly Victoria's and he has Ramona as another mummy to have a good time. Two mummies are better than only one.

[petalsmooth]

Ok.

Let’s talk Lili.

First off we only know what stars put out about themselves or other people say about them. We are not friends with these people. We are not in their homes. We don’t usually hear what they say in unguarded conversation. What we know is what is out on social media with some highly distorted soundbites from chats or DM’s with her mother that were exposed.

We were initially presented a portrait pushed by her and her family no less of a middle class family with the standard girl next door hit it big narrative. Down to earth, relatable, somewhat quirky. Strong two parent supportive household. All that was missing were the apron and pearls.

This girl came out of the gates talking about a modernized Riverdale with two girls who would be actually close and not vying for the same redhead. Feel free to add/or correct along the way of course...especially early on when not following as closely.

We got very little in the way of insight into Cole and Lili because they were trying to keep it quiet even if there were hints together. Mostly during this period what fans were fed was that she was slightly awkward socially, maybe not the most intellectual but nice and harmless. She spoke of empowering women, independence, she constantly shut down the idea of Barchie and praised Bughead. Along through the year’s she would speak to social bullying or bullying in general. She would openly talk about struggles with mental health. She’d talk and show her cystic acne and share photos not all airbrushed in ode to body positivity. She’d talk about not having an hourglass figure, and cellulite and often go out in ratty shorts and a bun sans makeup. You see she’d talk about it then follow through by showing lived the walk or calling out photoshops done of her.

Again this is “relatable girl next door quirky Lili” we told was the REAL Lili.

She would frequently talk and post about her family and dogs at home and how much she loved and missed them...though oddly not so much her older sister.

At a certain point it became undeniable Cole and Lili were together to even the hardest deniers. Of course also the Met gala eventually made official for media.

We get have her liking posts such as Miley’s about how lucky she was to have a man who checked off all the boxes. But at times there were glimpses all wasn’t kosher. People have mentioned various cons where she’d be caught flirting somewhere else, or she’d be in a bad mood giving Cole a cold shoulder. We recently saw an old video of them walking and her basically demanding he drop the fans and attend her. We have the con were Camilla is sexually harassing Cole everywhere and Lili doesn’t shut it down until Camilla tries to grind on him. It was so bad even Mads intervened. We have the interview where she is talking over him or rolling her eyes and basically being the unprofessional brat her fans claim she is not. Even though it’s ON CAMERA. Snapping at your co worker/boyfriend and rolling your eyes during a professional interview is not deniable.

Flashforward to the trip to Italy because for me there was always something off about that. That trip was obviously planned far in advance. Clearly Lili was supposed to be there. Her fans quickly blamed Cole because Lili was working. Lili didn’t have to work. It wasn’t a career changing move to do that film. It did not do well. I’m not entirely sure what was happening around that time but I have the sense Cole was disappointed/a  little angry she prioritized it over him accepting very likely the offer AFTER the trip was planned.

Lili spirals during this time. Cole comes back to clean up mess. They are quiet on social media for a long time then slowly emerge again and eventually get the photo booth shots, the wedding and her mingling with NY friends for once. Turns out close to the end for them.

I don’t want to make this a Sprousehart post though although some relevance to bring part of it up. The point is Lili put her career over her relationship. It was a calculated decision. It was also the wrong decision. Her fans talk about her being this warm giving person but that was a cynical call and a pretty lousy thing to do to your boyfriend of several year’s. I’m all for supportive partners but there are time’s where you make sacrifices if you really care for someone and this was a special trip planned long in advance. She blew it off. If I’m the partner she does this too, I question why I’m putting in the effort if it doesn’t mean to them what it means to me. 

TBH I think the bad choices she made there is why tried to make it up by meeting with his friends, the wedding etc...

Something than clearly happened because by January they were done. Not sure we’ll ever know but it looked like they were trying to fix things given the happiness hadn’t seen on Cole’s faces in a long time in those booth pics and then...it was done. We didn’t know at the time, but this is timeline Cole gave. There was a brief attempt at reconciliation where she babysits him at a photo shoot and posts a photo of them in bed and then shortly after...Cole calls it off. 

He heads to LA, she follows him there but not without making sure to shove Casey’s face into her chest to post and rent a place close to where he is staying. She posts weepy messages about the world ending etc....and weird new photos mimicking old shoots with him so naturally people think this means whatever happened they worked through. Around same time she and hers manipulated her fans to try to cancel him earlier because she misunderstood a picture of Kaia....although flat out if he had been with Kaia he was SINGLE and it was no longer her business.

She tries to walk back the firestorm she unleashed on him by “defending” him from a lesser twitter trend after realizing misconstrued the Kaia picture, All summer she weirdly seems to be trying to avoid the topic if they are together or not despite saying once if they weren’t she’d tell people. She finally puts her foot in her mouth one two many times' and Cole confirms they broke up which she doesn’t acknowledge. Because she doesn’t want to be broken up.

As we know know it wasn’t all rainbows on the set even before all this happened as in the musical she’d launched an object at him hard enough to have the crew concerned. Lili fans keep saying Cole is abusive but the only evidence we have of abuse is her towards him. We also had her suddenly doing a 180 from past 4 year’s and excusing cheating with Archie and promoting everyone in her live recaps except Cole/Jughead.

Back to the events following Cole’s post....then we get a sudden string of interviews taking shots at Cole, doxxing him, implying he could have strayed (just to resurrect hate against him) but can’t say he actually did because she has no proof. We know this because in those chats admit it was just suspicion and paranoia and never did have any names.

We learn that Lili has been funneling news and gossip and photos to keep her mother’s hold on the fandom in check and her mother in turn has been bullying people who would stand on Cole’s side. They sought to ruin him. This is not debatable.

For year’s people had made fun and called Bree out for being an obsessive stalker unable to let a relationship go, then Lili starts doing the same. We know she has tried to copy Ari’s style, her mother made a snide comment about breast size, Lili tried to taunt Ari from on set and Ari shut her down. A girl who almost never was in the line of sight of paps suddenly is snapped everyday following break up even before the public new. That doesn’t just happen. She wanted the attention.

I’m not going to go into all of it, you all know it. Suffice to say revealing she has a bitter vindictive attitude she has submersed herself in ever since Cole made it clear no reunion. She won’t even broach the topic of Bughead/Jughead unless forced. You can spin all you like but the split screens was not an artistic choice by RD. It was spurred by need to keep them apart.

Lili last summer was doing precious little other than a post or two of Black Lives matter and then when Cole gets arrested suddenly she jumps on the me too and sets up impulsive lives. Maybe she meant well but a part of me thinks she did it to attract his attention. Notice once she got praise for it and the initial protests faded she more or less doesn’t bring it up anymore. Cole never intended to get attention, it just happened because he’s a star and got taken in to a jail cell. He never put himself on camera for notice. 

Lili also co-opts the murder of a girl to flaunt she thinks she looks good naked. Completely tone deaf. 

Lili very rarely is seen in fan photos, only usually when she’s getting flack for it online. She, a girl who talks about bullying, went on a  midnight tirade against a guy who dares to critique or poetry setting her fans on him. Then deleted it probably because publicist in her ear.

She first said poems not about Cole, than said you could read into what you wanted to sell them. Now she doesn’t want to talk poetry or sequels because it flopped and was critically panned.

There are constant rumors about Lili on sets of productions to point they even had someone on her newer movie try to downplay. Yet we see in a video the cast barely talking and looking tense on a boat. 

The girl who used to talk about body positivity now lets them airbrush abs onto her.

The girl who used to talk of therapy and mental illness now promotes OTC supplements for $ and cults.

If she mentions cellulite she uses other tik toks of people showing not her own. 

She said she would never be on tik tok, yet now has her own and post old videos that aren’t funny.

Lili once tired to attack Cole by talking about losing yourself in drugs or alcohol or sex yet we’ve seen her drug paraphernalia because she advertises. Her friends post and laugh over her being drunk. She was in an off and on relationship with Wallis that doesn’t seem to be about anything but sex.

We were told Coles friends are bad influences but Taylor is out there solicitating questionable clients and making videos slamming LILI’S COWORKER as a bad actor and his brother,

The majority of Lili’s posts no longer feature Sunny or her family/Addy. 

She insulted Vancouver, compared to a prison, and made it clear her creature comforts were of more importance than a pandemic. Not quite the attitude of an empath. Which she claims she is with intention to be a master which require sucking more gullible people into the cult.

She brags about being a “rich man” without understand the context. She went from artistic photos to modeling pinups to fuel her lack of self esteem.

She’s in her mid 20′s, claims she had grown and matured in the last year but there is no evidence of it. Still can’t work with her ex without buffers which still influences show direction though her fans deny.. Still lives off junk food and hangovers. Those glasses aren’t just for sun. Her timeline is mostly an ode to her vanity with pictures of herself and then her dog. She doesn’t seem to have any causes she’s deeply involved in on the side apart from her cult. She’s still stalking Cole as her impulsive makeup tutorial showed. She said she cut out of her life anyone who doesn’t service her. I highly doubt she is receiving quality therapy on the regular right now. She still does not seem to possess the ability to own her mistakes and apologize when warranted, rather deflects or erases when heat becomes too hot.

The content she puts out about herself post break up is very different than the bill of goods fans were sold before. She is a far cry from that quirky girl next door that stood FOR something more than vanity and shallow affirmation. So no, I don’t see what you see in her stans. Everything that once seemed to distinguish her from other spoilt princesses has long faded. 

[kitmistry]

DESTIEL 2022 READING CHALLENGE

My goal is 25 fics, but I migh add another card if I finish this before fall.

To see what each number stands for read more or click here

Read the earliest fic of one of your favorite authors

Read a fic by an author you don’t know

Read a fic by two (or more) authors

Read a fic by a new author (earliest fic is two years old)

Read a fic by an author who is no longer active

Read a fic by an author whose pseud on ao3 has nothing to do with Supernatural

Read a fic by an author who is also an artist

Read a fic by an author whose first language is not English

Read a fic by an author who writes fics for other pairings, too

Read an orphaned fic

Read a fic with less than 100 hits

Read a fic with less than 1000 hits

Read a fic with less than 10 kudos

Read a fic with less than 50 kudos

Read a fic with less than 5 comments

Read a fic with no comments

Read a fic with less than 100 bookmarks

Read a fic with less than 10 bookmarks

Read a one-shot

Read a fic under 2K words

Read a fic over 100K words

Read a fic with more than 10 chapters

Read a collection/series of short stories (this can be a collection for a challenge - eg. a gift exchange, or a series of short stories written by the same author)

Read the sequel of a fic you loved

Read a multi-chaptered fic that is the sequel of a one-shot

Read a fic that is still a WIP

Read a poem fic

Read a fic that was inspired by another fic

Read a fic inspired by a different piece of media (a movie, a tv series, a book, a video game, a comic - the Destiel Lifemark Bang, the SPN Media Bang, and the Destiel Harlequin Challenge are good places to start looking.)

Read a crossover fic

Read a fic not posted on ao3 (and if you can't comment, remember to share it)

Read a comic

Read a fic that has been turned into a podfic

Listen to a podfic of a fic you've read

Read a fic set in canon

Read a canon-divergent or fix-it fic

Read a fantasy or mystery fic

Read a dark or horror fic

Read a historical fic

Read an a/b/o or a creature fic

Read a fic tagged as MCD or a fic tagged as ‘Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings’

Read a High School AU or College AU

Read a bakery AU or coffee shop AU

Read a fic where the protagonist is a writer or works in a library

Read a fic where Dean is an angel or Cas is a hunter

Read a holiday fic

Read a fic not set in the US

Read a fic with an asexual/aromantic character

Read a fic tagged with fluff

Read a fic tagged with angst or hurt/comfort

Read a fic with no smut

Read a fic that has zero plot and only smut

Read a meet-ugly or a friends-with-benefits to lovers fic

Read a fic with a character who has a disability or a character who is neurodivergent

Read a crack fic

Read a fic about sports or food

Read a fic with at least one trans character

Read a fic featuring an animal or pet

Read a fic featuring at least one child

Read a fic featuring your favorite character (other than Cas/Dean)

Read a fic featuring a character you don’t like

Read a fic where Cas and/or Dean are the bad guys or a fic tagged enemies to lovers

Read a royal AU or a mythology AU

Read an arranged marriage AU or a fake dating fic

Read a fic featuring magic/witches

Read a fic featuring your favorite trope

Read a fic featuring your favorite trope but reversed (reverse bang is a good place to start)

Read a fic featuring a trope you don't like

Read a fic with more than one POV

Read a fic featuring an alternate timeline character (eg. Dean Smith, Endverse Castiel, Alternate Dean etc)

Read the most recent fic in your MFL list

Read the oldest fic in your MFL list

Read the 5th fic in your MFL list

Read the 10th fic in your MFL list

Read a fic in The Destiel Fan Survey Favs Collection

Read a fic not in The Destiel Fan Survey Favs Collection (and consider voting for it in the next round)

Read a fic you found recced on social media (Twitter/Tumblr/Tik Tok/Facebook etc.)

Read a fic recced to you by a friend

Send an ask/dm to your favorite author for a fic rec

Ask someone who is not a writer for a fic rec (eg - ask your favorite artist or someone you follow on Tumblr)

Go to your favorite fic on ao3, open the bookmarks, choose someone who has the fic bookmarked, and read one of the other fics they have bookmarked

Read a fic bookmarked by one of your favorite authors

Read a fic featured in a Mixtape Bookclub episode

Create a rec list with the top 5 (or more) fics you read because of this challenge

Re-read one of your favorite fics

Read a fic where Cas and Dean are not the main pairing

Go search through your favorite artists' profiles and read a fic they've created art for (and remember to like/share the art, too)

Read a fic with a song lyric for the title

Read a fic with Dean’s or Cas’ name in the title

Read a fic with a title that starts and ends with the same letter (eg. Tag, you’re it)

Read a fic with a one-word title

Read a fic with a 6+ words title

Read a fic with no capital letters in the title

Read a fic that was posted for a bang/challenge

Read a fic that was not posted for a bang/challenge

Read a fic that hasn’t been updated in at least a year (and enjoy it as it is without asking for more)

Read a fic that was updated today

Read a fic that finished posting at least five years ago

Read a fic that was posted the year you started watching the show

Read a fic that was posted while the fourth season was airing

[spidermaninlove]

Okay so I recently saw a tik tok basically saying Dixie Damelio should have stayed with her ex boyfriend as he treated her better, but she dumped him when she got famous. She responded saying, they broke up when he went to college and are still friends but go off . Now I don’t know anything about Dixie that’s not important but it just reminded me of the way a lot of Tom and tomdaya stans talk about Tom, as if he’s a fictional charecter who we can be like he was better with x y z. We don’t know much about his life and past relationships even the most obsessive fans only know about 20%. Now this isn’t a dig at you as from the account you seem like very rational, but the way some fans are like “omg he hasn’t liked nadias posts, do you think him and zendaya are going to get back together”, people are talking about Tom as if he’s a charecter in a tv show and we’re predicting what’s gonna happen next season. Toms a person, he dated zendaya when he was 21-23 sorry but very few people end up with who they were with that young, you still have so much to go through, and now he’s with Nadia, and they might break up at some point, and he might date a lot of people before he gets married, because he’s a person, he’s not a fictional charecter you get to decide the canon for, or you get to be disappointed when he doesn’t end up with who you were expecting, the whole zendaya, Nadia and Tom love triangle people have invented literallly sounds like a subplot on a tv show not reality. It’s ok to wonder and speculate I do to, like I’m hoping Him and Nadia are still together, but we need to be able to keep fact from fiction. Sorry this wasn’t meant to be as long as I made it

moi:  I’m not sure why you felt compelled to send me this.  You do realize this is a tea/crack account, right?  It’s in my bio.  That said, you’re right – we get only glimpses into their lives.  We see their brand and what they want us to see, along with the occasional fan commentary that reveals they’re human after all, paparazzi and fan sightings, accidental posts (e.g., Nadia sunning herself in Tom’s garden, Tomdaya Thanksgiving), their friends and families’ posts or spilled tea, some of their actions, and over time, a plethora of telltale signs that add up to Tomdaya or Tadia or whatever the case may be.   

People are entitled to feel disappointment.  Many of Tom’s fans are disappointed he’s dating someone other than them.  That’s perfectly fine as long as they don’t cross the line into his personal life.  I’ve seen, for myself, those who have taken it upon themselves to express their displeasure with both Nadia (present) and Z (past) on their social media accounts or those of their friends’ and family.  That’s crossing the line, imo, and I not only frown upon it, I have discouraged it on the blog.  

I can’t and don’t pretend to influence who others ship or don’t ship.  People ship whomever they want to ship, and that includes people who will never be together.  I ship Star-Lord and Gamora, but I know that irl, Zoe and Chris are happily married to their respective spouses.  As for Tom and Zendaya, I appreciate their continuing support of one another and I look forward to the next Spider-man sequel.   

I’ve repeatedly said I ship Tom with happiness.  Sure, I have my opinions about that, but that and $5 will buy me a cup of coffee at Starbucks.  

[babycharmander]

With Disney Plus now released, a lot of people have access to much of Disney's content that they've never seen before, be it 90s cartoons they were born too late to see, Pixar shorts they missed, or obscure movies they hadn't known existed until they saw their titles listed among Disney Plus's catalogue of films.

Because of this, a lot of people now have access to my favorite movie of all time, Return to Oz. So now I would like to present you...

Reasons Why You Should Watch Return to Oz

It's about Dorothy, six months after she comes home from her adventures in Oz. While she loves Oz, the tornado and some of her experiences she had there left her with a form of PTSD. In particular, she experiences terrible insomnia, as well as a feeling that things are not right in Oz. Her aunt and uncle are at a loss for what to do, finally turning to "modern medicine"--which is to say, shock therapy. She manages to escape this, and eventually finds her way back to Oz, only to find that indeed, things aren't well there. Her friends are missing, most of Oz's citizens were turned to stone, and she must band together with a group of new friends to find out what has happened to Oz, how she can save it, and how she can get back home again.

It's a charming 80s fantasy movie, that has just about everything you can expect from hearing the term "80s fantasy movie" (well, minus any amount of crudeness--there's no swearing or violence or off-color jokes here).

As far as English adaptations of Baum's books go, it's quite possibly the closest in spirit to Baum's original Oz series. (And, yes, I do mean series--for those unaware, the original Wizard of Oz was not a standalone book, but the first of fourteen Oz novels Baum himself wrote--a series that was later expanded to forty novels by other authors, and even more after that.)

It features (mostly) incredible practical effects (among the occasional cheesy 80s effect), including puppetry by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Brian Henson (one of Jim Henson's children) voices and puppets one of the major characters in the film (and my personal favorite character), Jack Pumpkinhead.

This is Fairuza Balk's first film appearance! (I... admittedly have seen no other movies she's been in, but some people like this actress, so here you go.)

A really fantastic soundtrack, with two of my favorite tracks being The Flight of the Gump, and The Return to Oz Rag March. (I'd link them, but Tumblr, being the way it is, probably wouldn't let this post show up in any tags, so go ahead and check them out on Youtube if you're interested.) On top of that, it also features the sort of music that uses different instruments to represent each character (Peter and the Wolf style, if you're familiar with that). Listen closely when different characters interact, and you'll hear their themes mix together!

A dark, but truly wonderful and heartfelt story. It also doesn't pull punches in terms of scariness or the seriousness of some of its situations (particularly the shock therapy clinic), and the villains can be quite terrifying at times and still give me chills to this day.

Genuinely sweet, wonderful characters: Dorothy's sarcastic pet chicken Billina, Tik-Tok (a robot who runs on clockwork and claims to not experience emotions), Jack Pumpkinhead (an incredibly tall but childlike scarecrow who just wants to find his mother), and the Gump (a reanimated hunting trophy--it's nicer than it sounds). And... of course, Dorothy herself--probably my favorite depiction of the character, and how I always imagine her to look when I read the books.

Some really emotional scenes that I don't want to spoil for you.

Scenes that truly show the people who worked on this film absolutely love Oz and Baum's books.

this is overall such a good movie and I love it so so so so much

Now... all that having been said, let me go into...

Things to Keep in Mind BEFORE You Watch Return to Oz

THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL TO THE JUDY GARLAND MUSICAL. I don't care what you've heard about this movie or what people have told you about it--it is not a sequel. It has a handful of references to the musical--nods to character echoes (characters seeming to appear in both Kansas and Oz) and use of the Ruby Slippers rather than Silver Slippers--but it is not a true sequel by any means.

It... it doesn't look like the cover Disney made for it in recent releases. i have no idea why the cover looks like that. it's awful. why does it look like that.

Dorothy is actually a child in this. For some reason Dorothy is older in the Judy Garland musical for whatever reason, but in this one, she's closer to the actual age she's supposed to be in the books! So no, she didn't "de-age" or anything.

The characters were made to look like the original illustrations from the books. So if you don't want to be startled by how different, say, the Scarecrow looks from his counterpart in the musical, check out the John R. Neil illustrations of the characters and you'll get a good idea for what to expect in this movie. (Exceptions being Tik-Tok the clockwork man (who was given a mild redesign to make his costume even possible), and the Nome King and his Nomes (who were interpreted completely differently from how they appear in the books.)

This movie GETS DARK. Get ready for depictions of shock therapy, as well as some genuinely creepy (and book-canon) creatures. If you're thinking of watching this movie with kids, be aware that this does get genuinely scary, so if they're the kind of kids who get nightmares from scary things in movies... maybe wait a few years before showing them this. (On the other hand, I saw this movie when I was pretty young and did fine--I still loved it in spite of the fact that it scared me, so it's hard to say for sure.)

That said... while it's dark, it's (arguably) not a horror movie. I have seen some fans argue how this could be considered a horror/fantasy movie, but IMO, don't go into it expecting a horror movie, since I've seen that shade people's perceptions of the film in bad ways.

Oz is not a dream here. While, again, it does indeed have nods to the way the original musical was done, unlike the musical, Oz is not a dream, as is proven in a few moments in the film.

I... think that's just about everything. If anyone thinks of something I missed here, please let me know.

This is genuinely my most favorite movie of all time, but it's also a very commonly misunderstood movie, so I wanted to write this post in favor of it, and encouraging others to give it a try (with the right mindset).

[imaginethedragon]

So like. I enjoy an otome game every once in a while. Seduce Me is my go to for nostalgic reasons and today I Am Ranting About It. Spoilers for Seduce Me 2: The Demon War.

The concept of otome games having a canonical route is something I don’t particularly like. I get it when it’s a series and you need to pick a world-state for the sequels, but for the most part there’s ways around that and canon routes usually just amount to “which character is the writer’s favourite” and result in one route being better written than the others. And since it’s better written, people who play those games are drawn to that route and the writer (if they’re shitty) feels smug about their favourite being validated by the fanbase. ANYWAY.

The actual point of this rant is Diana. In the first game, her ‘route’ is very short, without any real reciprocity of romantic feelings from Diana herself. Because, for story reasons, she’s introduced later in the game, I totally get her route being shorter/not going as far as the other routes. Doesn’t mean I’m not disappointed, but I get it. My real issue comes in the second game.

In Seduce Me: The Demon War, the other 2 wlw routes are cut because it fully takes place in the demon realm. Sure. Alright. I miss Naomi and Suzu, but I get it. They’re human, this takes place in the Abyssal Plain, sure. But Diana’s route is still incredibly short when compared to the other routes. It’s pretty well done and has the option of a cute poly ending, so okay. 

I always had a problem with Diana dying in Sam’s route. I get that it’s because he’s the ‘canon route’ and Michaela wanted the player to have the option of him becoming the king of the Abyssal Plain. Diana had been working towards the goal of becoming queen for over 10 years, and that amount of drive and history is hard to write around. If she stepped aside it would feel out of character, or at the very least it would devalue her whole character arc over both games. 

I do think there was a better way to handle it, and the end she got as written does upset me, but for the ending of Sam’s route she was going for, I get it. But last night I found Michaela’s tik tok. 

In one of her more recent posts on there, she has one that reads like she’s making fun of the fans for getting attached to Diana only for her to die in canon. I have no clue if it’s meant to come off as mocking or belittling, but it reads like it. It starts with a shot of her vibing to some music with the text “Seduce Me fan, falling in love or appreciating Diana in Seduce Me 2: The Demon War” then switches to her in another angle, rubbing her chin like a villain in an old school disney movie with the text “Me, coming to push her off a tower to her canonical death” and a kissy emoji. There’s another shot of the fan looking shocked with “F” above their head. If tik tok had a desktop version I’d just link it but they don’t. Her tik tok username is @ vamichaelalaws and it’s the 7th video down as of writing this. 

I’m not super articulate, so bear with me here. As a lesbian, it upsets me that one of the only wlw options in the series, and the ONLY wlw option in the second game, is killed off so suddenly at the end of the canon route. Besides that, I don’t think she actually dies? I’d have to replay the route to double check and I honestly don’t have that in me right now, but I believe the dead sea she falls into with Saero at the base of the tower keeps its victims floating in an endless... nightmare realm? Limbo? The point is I don’t think she can’t be pulled out, but she’s not actually dead, just floating endlessly through... something. 

I’ve lost the plot of this rant. It bothered me before when I was doing Sam’s route, but I understood it from a narrative standpoint. But seeing Michaela apparently gloating about it on tik tok rubbed me the wrong way and magnified how upset I was by my favourite romance option/character  being ‘killed’ off like that. 

I have a lot of respect for Michaela. The Seduce Me games are a lot of fun, and overall really well put-together. Please don’t think I hate her or the games or something. It’s just something that upset me, and I wanted to get it off my chest.

Maybe she wasn’t gloating in that tik tok. But it sure seemed like it. 

[encoasted]

CANDACE  CASTELO ‘ S  INTRO  POST  !  

( shay  mitchell  ,  she/her  ,  cis-female )  is  that  CANDACE  CASTELO  walking  into  shipwreck  lee ’ s  ?  the  THIRTY  ONE  year  old  REAL  ESTATE  AGENT  is  known  to  come  through  here  for  lunch  .  they  remind  me  of  EYE  LINER,  LIVING  IN  EXTREMES  ,  WICKED  SMILES  AND  NEON  SIGNS  .  if  you  ask  around  ,  you’ll  hear  that  they  have  been  around  for  SIX  MONTHS  and  can  be  VICIOUS  and  ALLURING  .  they  live  by  ADMIRAL ’ S  LANDING,  but  with  the  summer  rolling  in  ,  you’ll  find  them  hanging  around  the  carnival  .

hello  ,  everyone  !  (  the  sequel  )   i’m  blue  ,  i’m  twenty  four  and  like  i  said  before  ,    this  probably  will  be  more  along  the  conceptual  line  (  maybe  an  actual  bio  will  come  later  on  )  ,  but  along  with  the  stats  linked  here  you  can  get  a  pretty  clear  idea  of  who  candace  castelo  is !

upper  class  families  scrunch  up  their  noses  when  they  hear  the  last  name  castelo  .  fishermen  ,  of  the  most  ill  repute  .  drinkers  ,  and  gamblers  .

tony  castelo  is  not  the  exception  .  he  drinks  and  he  gambles  ,  often  times  he  doesn ‘ t  come  home  for  the  night  .  the  day  after  ,  you  will  find  him  passed  out  on  a  friend ‘ s  house  boat  ,  in  bed  with  women  who  aren ‘ t  his  wife  .

truth  be  told  ,  he  thinks  getting  married  was  a  total  mistake  .  but  he  can ‘ t  afford  getting  divorced  ,  or  really  to  separate  .  he ‘ s  stuck  with  his  ‘  good  for  nothing  wife  ’  ,  amber  .  and  his  daughter  ,  candace  .  the  only  good  thing  to  come  out  of  this  are  his  two  boys  :  dallas  and  colton  .

candace  castelo  does  not  have  a  good  family  life  ,  to  say  the  least  .  the  environment  she  grows  up  in  is  highly  sexist  ,  and  oppressive  .  her  father  ,  and  her  brothers  are  treated  like  kings  by  her  mother  .  and  she  is  treated  more  like  a  nuisance  ,  or  the  help  ,  than  a  daughter  .  it ‘ s  in  little  things  ,  like  having  to  prepare  dinner  ,  clean  ,  or  do  laundry  when  her  brothers  are  sitting  on  the  couch  ,  doing  absolutely  nothing  . 

outside  of  the  family  ,  however  ---  she  goes  by  candi  .  she  has  a  pretty  good  social  life  .  although  the  upper  class  girls  often  look  at  her  down  their  nose  ,  and  spread  rumours  about  her  ---  she  never  did  care  much  .  she was  a  cheerleader  in  high  school  .  a  town  legend  back  in  her  day  ,  for  holding  the  longest  keg  stand  .  she  was  a  party  girl  .  she  liked  to  have  fun  in  more  ways  than  one  .  

by  the  time  high  school  ends  ,  she  feels  like  she  has  peaked  .  she  has  no  direction  in  life  .  no  idea  of  what ‘ s  to  come  .  he  connects  with  this  boy  ,  he  used  to  be  in  her  class  .  he  seems  to  have  it  all  figured  out  --  going  off  to  an  ivy  in  the  states  in  the  fall  .  they  fall  in  love  ,  but  he  still  leaves  for  the  states  in  august  .  

he ‘ s  long  gone  when  she  finds  out  she ‘ s  pregnant  .  two  months  ,  the  doctor  says  .  she ‘ s  scared  ,  and  she ‘ s  alone  .  her  mother  slaps  her  across  the  face  ,  and  her  father  tells  her  to  pack  her  bags  .  that  no  teen  slut  would  be  living  under  his  roof  .  (  funny  ,  coming  from  him  )  .  she  has  nowhere  to  go  ,  and  so  she  goes  to  his  parents  .

they  don ‘ t  like  her  .  they  don ‘ t  like  her  at  all  .  they ‘ re  upper  class  ,  and  heard  a  lot  about  the  castelos  ,  and  the  wild  castelo  girl  .  they  come  to  an  agreement  .  they  give  her  the  money  she  needs  to  get  out  of  town  ,  and  every  year  they  send  her  support  for  her  daughter  .  in  exchange  ,  she  stays  gone  .

and  so  she  flees  .  she  goes  to  toronto  first  .  she  has  her  daughter  there  .  throughout  the  pregnancy  ,  she  had  been  thinking  of  giving  her  up  for  adoption  ,  and  getting  the  money  from  the  father ‘ s  family  for  herself  ---  but  the  moment  she  held  her  daughter  in  her  arms  ,  a  maternal  instinct  kicked  in  .  something  she  is  sure  her  mother  never  felt  .  love  .  suddenly  ,  she  had  a  mission  .  a  goal  .  provide  . 

after  a  couple  of  years  ,  she ‘ s  living  in  quebec  city  .  she  gets  her  realtor  license  ,  and  starts  working  for  a  real  estate  company  .  she  sends  his  parents  a  picture  of  their  granddaughter  every  year  ,  right  around  the  time  when  they  make  the  deposit  .  she  kind  of  looks  like  the  father ,  she  has  his  eyes  ,  she   thinks  .  but  she  also  thinks  that  she  looks  a  lot  like  her  and  colton  did  ,  when  they  were  younger  .  

fast  forward  ,  and  candace  castelo  is  far  from  the  girl  candi  was  .  she  has  drive  ,  direction  ,  and  ambition  .  she  has  climbed  as  high  as  possible  on  the  real  estate  company  she  works  for  ,  so  she  decides  to  go  freelance  . 

she  does  pretty  well  for  herself  .   i ‘ m  not  going  to  say  she ‘ s  a  real  estate  mogul  ,  because  she ‘ s  not  . . .  yet  .   she  doesn ‘ t  need  the  money  her  daughter ‘ s  grandparents  send  her  anymore  ,  and  that ‘ s  exactly  why  when  one  of  her  high  school  friends  called  her  to help  her  sell  a  couple  properties  back  in  port  harbour  for  her  ,  she  went  back  .  time  to  stop  running  .  

since  she  has  been  back  ,  she  has  noticed  that  the  town  did  not  change  one  bit  .  the  girls  that  used  to  make  up  shit  about  her  are  still  pretty  ,  except  now  they  have  rings  around  their  fingers  ,  and  most  of  them  are  usually  pushing  a  stroller  .  her  “ family “ are  still  lowlifes  ,  who  are  now  interested  in  rekindling  their  relationships  because  she  has  money  .  she  ran  into  her  daughter ‘ s  grandfather  in  the  pharmacy  the  other  day  ,  and  his  face  went  purple  with  anger  .  

none  the  less  ,  her  instincts  tell  her  to  stay  .  properties  are  being  sold  ,  and  since  the  resort  ,  she  thinks  port  harbour  has  the  potential   to  be  the  next  hot  tourist  spot  in  canada  .  people  retiring  ,  and  people  moving  here  for  tourism  related  jobs  .  she  can  see  it  coming  ,  and  she ‘ s  gonna  sell  them  all  their  house  .

misc  .  

arabella  castelo  is  now  thirteen  years  old  .  she  grew  up  very  differently  from  the  way  her  mother  did  .  she  was  raised  in  a  household  were  women  could  do  anything  they  wanted  to  do  ,  and  it  shows  .  she ‘ s  into  tik  tok  ,  and  recently  into  activism  .  she  might  seem  woke  ,  but  thirteen  year  olds  are  mean  as  fuck  .  beware  .

it  took  candace  years  to  reclaim  cooking  .  she  didn ‘ t  like  it  ,  because  it  was  something  she  was  forced  to  do  growing  up  ,  because  she  was  a  woman  .  now  ,  she  really  enjoys  it  ,  and  does�� it  because  she  wants  to  .

if  you  are  interested  in  arabella ‘ s  father  connection  ,  we  can  plot  ,  and  you  can  apply  .  it ‘ d  be  fun  since  it ‘ s  listed  on  the  main  !

[hidoose]

You can’t make a wedding film in Pakistan without comparisons to DDLJ: Wajahat Rauf

New Post has been published on https://www.hidoose.com/you-cant-make-a-wedding-film-in-pakistan-without-comparisons-to-ddlj-wajahat-rauf/

You can’t make a wedding film in Pakistan without comparisons to DDLJ: Wajahat Rauf

As I realised for the second time this month, it’s tough to book an online ride during Ramazan. The long wait wasn’t awkward at Wajahat Rauf’s house. The director of the upcoming romance-comedy-drama film (or as he calls it, “a family film”) was good company.

Rauf’s carefree, candid, all-accepting attitude is refreshing, and a bit infectious, as we talk about his upcoming film Chhalawa — an Eidul Fitr release that may seem quite familiar; but that, if you ask him, is a good thing, although he does tell you, in the subtlest manner possible, to reserve the final opinion until the film comes out.

An Eveready and Hum Films’ release, Chhalawa seems like a stereotypical film about a full-of-himself hero waltzing into a wedding to whisk away the bride-to-be. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

“It wasn’t that obvious when I was writing the film,” Rauf tells me. “However, I did realise that the moment I had written that the girl was living in Punjab, people would be instantly comparing it with Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaeingey(DDLJ) and Punjab Nahin Jaungi (PNJ). Even though it’s a reversal. In PNJ, the girl was from Karachi and Humayun was from Punjab.”

The actress is the same, though, I add, but then again we have so few to choose from.

Rauf has already made peace with the fact that the film will draw comparisons, no matter how different it may be. “The bride’s dresses would end up looking like the ones from DDLJ or PNJ, the accent would sound similar. A thousand comparisons would pop up,” he said.

“Just a few days back, someone told me that the bridge scene in my film [evident in the trailer], looks like it was inspired by the climax of DDLJ, where Shah Rukh Khan was beaten down with batons. It’s as if no one was beaten down by sticks in Bollywood before that,” Rauf says.

“Then, there are frame-by-frame comparisons from the last scene of the song ‘Ruk Jaa O Dil Deewanay’ from DDLJ, where SRK lets go of Kajol and she falls, and the scene [also in the trailer] where Asad Siddiqui loses his grip on Zara Noor Abbas and she falls,” he continues.

People will see what they want to see.

At times, Rauf is deliberately spoofing the genre. “I own it,” Rauf says. “It was completely deliberate at times.”

There is a scene in the film where Azfar Rehman, the lead actor of the film, apes SRK and Mehwish Hayat, the spunky heroine, calls him out for his clichéd approach. “These 100-year-old dialogues don’t work anymore,” Mehwish’s character tells Azfar’s.

“You can’t make a film in either India or Pakistan without drawing comparisons to DDLJ. Weddings are weddings. The hero will come to win the girl, and there are going to be problems. It’s the oldest formula in the world. Pakistani films, in particular, will be compared to DDLJ, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun and PNJ. Someone actually asked me this. If you’re matching my film with such big names, then that’s an honour for me. And if I get even 10 percent of what they did at the box-office, I’d be like winning the lottery,” he laughs.

“If you’re matching my film with big names like DDLJ and Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, then that’s an honour for me. And if I get even 10 percent of what they did at the box-office, I’d be like winning the lottery.” — Wajahat Rauf

So, why make something that may draw comparisons — and why in particular, make a film about weddings? “For one, I hadn’t done it before,” says Rauf. “Both Karachi Se Lahore (KSL) and Lahore Se Aagay were 100 percent comedies. I didn’t add any emotion to them, consciously. They were made with the idea of just having songs and comedy, followed by more comedy and songs. No one is crying in the film, nor was anyone trying to get anyone to cry. “When you are adding an age bracket of 30-plus, then you need to add festivities, the songs, the clothes, because that’s the family going-audience,” he continues. “You cannot just have 30-somethings going off on a road trip, that’s for the younger audiences. You need to add in emotions. You have the father-daughter relation in the film, which is for a different, more mature audience. Although the comedy is still silly,” he says. “It’s not crass or adult-oriented comedy. You’ll still feel that it’s a Wajahat Rauf film.”

Rauf had already finished writing the sequel to KSL, when he felt he needed to try something else first. “I felt like I was repeating myself. It was exactly the same film (genre-wise), working on the same narrative tropes. I thought, the public will not spare me if they have to see the same thing again,” he says.

Rauf was shooting Enaaya, his web-series released by Eros Now, when the idea hit him — and it didn’t take him that long to cast the film. The cast — the leads, in particular — are the ones from Enaaya.

They were right there on set, and they were having fun, so why waste an opportunity, Rauf tells me. The film whizzed past shooting to post-production in five months, he tells me. “That has to be a record,” he says.

You should meet Azfar and Mehwish, Rauf tells me. “They’re a lot of fun.” That’s easier said than done, though Rauf and his wife, Shazia, who is also the producer of the film, do their best to line up the meetings.

Azfar Rehman is busy shooting a television serial. Mehwish Hayat is in London although due back in a day or two. A day later, near Maghreb time, I find myself again waiting for an online ride, this time at Azfar Rehman’s set. Rauf was right about the carefree enthusiasm of his cast. Rehman is as happily aloof as they come. “In a way the lead character — Sameer — is like me,” Rehman says. “He’s a very happy-go-lucky, easy-going guy, who is in love. The zaalim samaaj intervenes by not letting him find the love of his life. So, he goes out of his way and just tries his luck. He’s got a fun-loving, positive outlook.

“He’s no different than any other boy — or any other lover boy — in the country. Or every other boy who is on Tik Tok these days. He’s stereotypical, and a very relatable character,” he continues. But isn’t that a bit too much of a cliché, I ask. “We do clichéd stuff everyday in life. A little bit of cliché is fine,” he replies.

Back in Rauf’s house, we had discussed the need to have one big star in the film. In the film that star is Mehwish Hayat. It’s a fact that Rehman is happy to concede. “I think it is somewhat right to perceive it that way. Mehwish is a huge film star, and of course her character is slightly stronger than my character.”

We seem to be producing many female-centric films of late, I tell him. Would you call it that? “It is a female-centric film, but more than calling it female-centric, I’d call it a family-oriented film. It’s more about family. More about the father-daughter relationship. We’ve highlighted the heroine’s family more than my family. It’s more about Mehwish’s take on her family and her life, so I think we should have female-centric films,” Rehman offers his opinion in a roundabout way.

A few hours before my deadline, Mehwish Hayat, who is finally back in Pakistan, tells me about her character via WhatApp messages. “(Zoya) is a feisty, well-grounded girl who knows what she wants, and is not going to be railroaded into anything she doesn’t agree with. It is rare to have such a heroine-centric film in Pakistan, which is what attracted me to the script.

“I was fortunate to get involved very early on in the process, when Wahajat was still scripting, so I was able to help shape the character from a very early stage,” she writes in response to another question. “The realisation of a character is, of course, the director’s vision, but what I bring to the film is my interpretation of that vision.”

“It is rare to have a heroine-centric film like Chhalawa in Pakistan, which is what attracted me to its script.” — Mehwish Hayat

Does she actively choose roles with substantial depth in characters, or are they simply the ones that are offered to her, I ask. “I’m in the fortunate position to be able to be very picky about my roles. I choose roles that appeal to me and challenge me as an actress. It is fair to say that I turn down a significant number of roles offered to me because they are just more of the same.”

Every one of her recent titles happen to be (or have overtones of) comedy. Is that also deliberate, I ask. “Yes, that is true. Comedy is a great leveler that appeals to everybody, no matter who they are. It is through comedy that we are able to address the absurdities of life and make very strong social messages accessible to the audiences. It is through a comedy such as Load Weddingthat we were able to address the issue of dowry, and now that has been taken up by the Punjab Assembly.”

But is there another reason for it, I wonder. Serious and strongly written female leads, in what are essentially commercial dramedies, have become a norm in Pakistan. Does she think our directors choose to do that deliberately — or to be precise, habitually — because they have been exposed to television and subconsciously cater to TV’s key audiences who are females, I ask.

“This is neither deliberate nor habitual in any way,” she responds. “Our directors are only giving the audiences what they expect from our films. Yes, of course, it goes without saying that most of our film-makers cut their teeth on our television drama industry and some of the story tropes have been carried over. Pakistani cinema is still in its infancy and still trying to find its own distinct identity and, until it does so, parallels with [TV] drama are inevitable.”

Our conversation becomes a bit too serious for a film that is, mostly, family fun and festivities — which was, again, one of the reasons this film is coming out this Eidul Fitr.

Aside from the genre, Rauf hasn’t tasted the box-office of an Eid release, I remember him telling me. His two prior releases came out between two previous Eids, and in November.

Although, superficially, Chhalawa might feel like familiar fodder, Rauf, who has shown growth as a filmmaker, is slowly but steadily expanding his horizons. However, don’t expect him to try every genre in film (he’s a sci-fi buff who admits that he cannot make one; it’s just not him, he says). For now, it’s just slight detour towards maturity — though, in his own words, “only in the latter half of the film.”