#so now I need to go rewatch the purge movies

[thirtysomethingloser92]

Yeah so anyway I forgot how much I love Frank Grillo.

[trapastrology]

Mercury Retrograde w/ Aris!

Mercury Rx Starts Aug 4th - Aug 27th...

All you need to know

Over the years, I see that way too many individuals are terrified by rx's esp mercury. Why? Well, this is what you were taught to believe, it's what you were taught to fear. Fear is a powerful emotion that can make you do anything. What if you weren't scared anymore? What if you knew the benefits of mercury rx and took advantage of it? You shouldn't fear transits or planets, you should learn how to work with them, good or bad. Mercury rx isn't a means to avoid life. You can't live life if you're always avoiding it 3-4 times out of the year for weeks at a time...

Think of Mercury rx as the prefix Re-. Meaning to go back and do it again...but better than the first time! It's sort of like a second chance in a way. You can't change the past, but you can change what you do in the same situations going forward. This is the time we take to go through our metamorphosis.

This is how you'll come out of the retrograde doing better than how you were going in.

Avoiding life during retrogrades is what makes you seem ahead in the beginning yet ending up behind.

Let me walk you thru what Mercury retrograde entails and what you should be doing to take advantage of these energies. As well as some of what I'll be doing during this retrograde!

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Remove. -Yourself from certain ppl and situations that don't serve you. Know that it's time to let go. Stop letting yourself get back into the same cycles just to complain about the results. This would be a good time to withdraw and be a little secluded if you've been feeling the need to do so. when you take yourself out of situations it's easier to...

Reflect. -Slow down. Pay attention to the recurring patterns in behavior of others as well as urself. Take the time to slow down and really think about the past and get clarity. Properly analyze current situations to know what to let go of and what to...

Reassess. -Pay attention to the different/new factors of ur current/past situations. Take time out to reconsider everything (ur whole life even). Work thru recurring issues with a different approach to stop the cycle and give you peace. This is not the time to sign contracts but to read the fine print. Think before acting (even if it's taking a day or 2 to respond to a text). This is the perfect time to read old books with a fresh perspective. Easiest time to absorb new information.

Realign. -Reorganize your mind, emotions and life. Plan the life you really want for yourself, then act it out. Make it practical. The person you want to be wakes up, does yoga and reads a book every morning, so do that! This is the best time to build new habits and drop old ones. Getting rid of unnecessary clothes, items, contacts, screenshots, everything. Best time to purge! Let go and get right back on track. Write everything down that you want to be or do so you can...

Restart. -Start fresh. apply the new knowledge, mindset and habits to your new beginning. make and fulfill new goals for yourself as simple as *walk around the block twice daily*. Make new plans, your old plans may not align with who you are anymore. Have a daily routine that aligns with the person you want to be now! Apply all the knowledge from the previous stages.

Reconnect. -How where you when you were at your happiest and most content? Reconnect with that person. Pick up that old skill/hobby/interest. Rewatch those old movies/shows that brought you the most joy. Get back in touch with the sweetheart in you. Whatever you miss and it was good for you, get back into it.

Rebuild. -Start back from the ground up. Fulfill the missed opportunities. That business you were going to launch but didn't (or it failed the 1st time), take this time to plan it thoroughly and better and execute it after the rx (which is why I'll be launching my Patreon Sep 1st!!!). Pick up a new hobby/skill and perfect it. Any unfinished business must be handled, tie all loose ends. If you've been feeling the need to apologize or make amends, do it. This is also a good time to redecorate/rearrange things at home. Upcycling clothes and getting repairs on things that's been needing it for a while.

Regenerate. -Now you feel refreshed. You feel like a weight has been lifted off of you. All (or most) of your baggage is gone. You feel like you again, you feel like you can breathe. You have reclaimed your power. You love the way you've been living and the work you've done. However, after the rx ends it'll be easy to fall off the wagon so take precautions.

Reappear. -Now you can come back out of hiding (for those who stayed mostly recluse to work on themselves)! Enjoy all of the things you worked so hard for. Take the time to enjoy your self improved self.

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If you want to know what YOU should do during this retrograde get your $10 RETROGRADE READING! I'll look at how it's aspected, where it falls in your chart and give you tips on how to utilize the energy. Receive a 15% OFF COUPON after you get a Mercury Rx Reading...

[teecupangel]

Hi. You are my angle, Seriously! I'm so proud of you and your wild imagination.❤👏

What if Desmond and his ancestors were liveing in The Farm and watch movies in their free time together?

How whould they be during watching the lord of the rings and the hobbit?

Thank you! I’m glad you’re enjoying all the ideas I’ve been throwing but I want to make it clear that the only reason why I can throw so many ideas in this blog is because of the asks I receive so thank you to all those who take the time to send me asks :)

I would assume that we are talking about the Farm in South Dakota which means that this would be set in a modern-day AU where Altaïr, Ezio and Ratonhnhaké:ton are kids living on the Farm so let’s set that up first.

Altaïr could easily be an orphan, having lost his father during the Great Purge. I know this is mean to do but the Great Purge happened when Desmond was a child so Umar’s death would force Bill to tell Desmond about the Great Purge instead of keeping it from him to ‘not scare him’. This would make Desmond understand just how ‘scary’ the Templars are since this would mean he knows someone who died from Templar hands.

Ezio would be from a big Assassin family as well but it’s only his siblings and mother in the Farm, at the moment. (If you want Giovanni and Federico to get axed during the Great Purge as well, go ahead, if you want Petruccio added into the mix, I mean… that’s cruel but I won’t stop you) Maria Auditore could even be the reasonable adult figure who keeps William Miles in check for this one.

Ratonhnhaké:ton, well, I guess we’re on the road of killing parents in this ask so Kaniehtí:io is dead in this one too BUT, since she’s not an Assassin (although assassin!Kaniehtí:io would have been so cool), she didn’t die from the Great Purge. He’s currently living with his grandfather. Haytham is still a Templar and he doesn’t know he has a son.

That’s right. We’re keeping Edward alive because… we need an adult who would be willing to smuggle goods for the kids and have a home that could be their ‘safe haven’ where they could watch movies (and eat ‘forbidden food’… candies, I’m talking about candies and sweet food/drinks).

So, in this case, Edward would be the one to smuggle in a VHS player (which he managed to get for cheap) because he wants his grandson to have some kind of childhood that isn’t just training and studying. Later on, he gets a cd player and then a dvd player but the boys love the VHS player because it has all their childhood favorites.

It’s an open secret that Edward lets the boys watch movies whenever they visit his grandson and Bill looks the other way because he sees how happy Desmond always is when he goes home (and hyper… definitely sugar rush, Jesus Christ, Edward).

So, you wanted to focus on Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit…

Now, the Fellowship was released in 2001. If Edward was able to acquire a copy (bootleg DVD copy) the following year, the boys would be around 14~15 (if we assume all four of them were born the same year as Desmond), they’ll definitely watch it after training and they’ll love it. Edward would even get them a copy of the books because they heard it’s a book adaptation and they’d want to check it out. Of course, they’re teenagers at this point but the Kenway home always makes them feel like they could still act like kids so they’d definitely play fight the action scenes when it's just them, might even try out the moves they see for fun.

Hell, when they jog around the forest for training, someone could randomly shout “Get off the road!” and all four of them would just rush off the road and hide, confusing the other children first then later on the other children would just sigh and shake their heads, thinking this is one of the four troublemakers’ dumb ideas again.

Watching the next two movies of LOTR would be a big deal for them. And you bet that they always rewatch the movies every time a new version comes out (the release of the BluRay version, the extended BluRay versions). It’s a big deal for them and even Bill has to workaround their ‘yearly Extended Versions marathon’ schedule even though he’s the mentor and they’re already Assassins out in the field. It doesn’t matter if they’re in different parts of the world, they will find a way to get into a specific location where they can relax and have their yearly Extended Versions marathon.

The Hobbit movies?

Oh, man. They watched those in the theatres when they first came out. Went in the film cosplaying as fucking nazguls of all things. It’s mainly to hide their identity so Bill doesn’t bitch at them later but they find it funny too.

And you bet they also had the Hobbit Extended Versions as part of their yearly Extended Versions marathon.

Sidenote: The yearly marathon is an important private affair of which only Grandpa Eddie has been allowed to join. Shaun has tried to join a few times but he is always stared at for a moment before a resounding no is heard from all four.

I know this was meant to be fluff but the backstory added angst. I like to think this is a case of “finding happiness even after everything” kind of story.

[lesbianwithchainsaws]

👻💅🔮

Thank you <3 I answered the 💅 one so I'll answer the other two:

���� what is the first horror film you've ever seen?

Okay there can technically be two answers here. The very first horror movie I remember seeing was Saw VI, but I only saw like the first half of it and not the whole thing. The first one I watched fully was Paranormal Activity 2 (yes, the first one. Watched it w my relatives who insisted that you don't need to watch the first one to watch the 2nd)

🔮 coolest concept for a horror film you've ever seen?

Admittedly I'm not sure. I think there's a lot of cool concepts out there, but I guess here's some I think are really cool:

Saw (surprise, I like saw!). I just like the concept of someone kidnapping people and getting them to try to do fucked up stuff to survive. Especially with jigsaw believing he's helping people like this.

30 Days of Night has an awesome concept. It's basically set in a town in Alaska that has that thing where its dark for a long time (I can't remember what that's called, I'm sorry) and, since they don't have sunlight, vampires come to attack them. The movie itself is pretty good too!!

The Purge movies have a cool concept. I like the idea of crime being legal for a short period, but I'll be fully honest and say I don't like the purge movies. I've sat through 3 of them and just can't get into them at all. Still like the concept

I really like the concept movies like Haunt and Escape Room have. Just the idea of going to an escape room or horror attraction and it turns out you might die. It's such a cool idea and I'd love to see more movies like it!

Hellraiser also! Especially with the whole "demons to some, angels to others" idea in it. I love it!

One Missed Call too! It's been ages since I've rewatched the original, but basically the concept is that people get mysterious phone calls where they hear how they die.

I think I should stop now before I start naming 80% of the horror movies I've seen. I think a lot of them have cool ideas, but these were some of the first to come to mind!

[inklore]

i need to send ryan coogler a bouquet of flowers for introducing me to tenoch. That man has PERMANENTLY altered my brain chemistry! I’m going through all his movies just giggling & horny 😩

no for real i’m watching everything he’s been in!! even rewatching that not-so-great purge movie again because i watched it before i knew him and now i gotta go back and drool 🤤

[tomtenadia]

Island Dreams - Chapter 17

Chapter 17 for you all.

It's finally moving in day and they have some fun and their relationships takes another step forward.

Rowan gets into an accident and he finds himself married :)

I hope you will enjoy this.

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

Moving day had arrived and gone. Aelin had been sad about leaving her house but the idea of living with Rowan was far more exciting. In the end they did manage to move everything on the Saturday. After Lysandra had gone back to London, Aelin had asked her to ship all of her boxes there and that felt like the final step. She was definitely not going back. This was it. This was her new life. Hopefully with Rowan in it. Moving boxed had been exhausting and now it was Sunday and she was staring at the mess that was her bedroom and was trying to decide where to start to tackle the indecent amount of boxes.

Luckily Rowan had solved the book problem for her. Her thirty five boxes of books had joined his extra book storage in the attic. He had joked that he might eventually turn the place in a library and Aelin had responded telling him that it was a brilliant idea. She was busy unpacking her clothes when Rowan’s head popped in her room announcing that lunch was ready. “You are wonderful.” She joined him in the kitchen isle and was ready to tuck in in another one of his wonderful meals. “Did your aunt teach you to cook?” “She did.” He answered without elaborating any further. He had briefly mentioned once that he had lost his parents but never expanded on the subject and she was not going to press him on a topic that was clearly going to cause him pain. She ate the food with a happy face and Rowan thought he would be happy to cook for her forever just to watch the smile of satisfaction painted on her face. After they polished their meal, Aelin offered to help clean. It seemed only fair. Once done she went back to her room and deal with the boxes that were still staring at her. All of her clothes were spread on the bed and she was trying to divide them into categories. At the bottom of a box she had also found a couple of her old scrubs and nostalgia had hit her hard. One box was full of knick knacks and she pushed it aside. Definitely low priority. One last box had pictures frames to be hanged on the walls. Most of them were of her and Lysandra but at the bottom she had found one of her and Chaol that had survived the purge. She threw the thing on the bed and went back to her mission: organise her wardrobe. A few hours later she was half way through her boxes and she had not noticed Rowan leaning against the door staring at her with a half smile. Aelin was sitting on the floor and seemed defeated. “Unpacking not going well?” “I hate it. I never realised how much stuff I had. When I packed everything I had Aedion and Lysandra and all we did was just dump stuff in boxes. They were trying to get me out of that house as soon as possible. Rowan sat on the edge of the bed. His eyes caught the photo abandoned on it. He took it “Is this him?” “We took that the night we got engaged. I have scrubs on because he proposed at the hospital where we met. That photo survived the purge. It needs to be destroyed.” Rowan noticed the pain in her eyes. No matter how much she hated her ex husband, he could tell that whatever they had it had mattered to her and she was still hurting about it. He put the photo down and noticed a black dress. He leaned forward and grabbed it out of curiosity. “I bought for a charity event. Wore it once and never had the chance to use it again.” She explained when she saw him staring at it in curiosity. In reality Rowan was imagining her in that dress. All of a sudden he was glad he was sitting down. Aelin saw his stare and grabbed the dress from his hands, a wicked smile on her face “Stay there,” she told him, leaving him alone in the bedroom. When she came back ten minutes later Rowan noticed her and almost had a heart attack. She was stunning. The dress hugged her curves perfectly, it had a cut on one side exposing her leg up to the knee. It was sleeveless and the top of the corset reached just under her collarbone. She turned around and showed him the whole thing and Aelin noticed desire burning in his eyes. “What do you think?” He took a step to her and his hands were on her waist “That I don’t want you to wear this dress outside. I want this view all for myself.” His voice was rough and a bit breathless. Aelin laughed and kissed him and Rowan pushed her against the wardrobe and pinned her there. Her hands went to his butt and pushed him closer to her body. His hand sneaked through the cut of the dress and cupped her butt and gasped when he realised she was not wearing anything underneath. “You will be the death of me.” He breathed against her neck where he was depositing hot kisses making her shiver. “Against a wall is another one of my fantasies…” she whispered in his ear and she felt his hand move in between her legs. “Good.” He added locking his mouth on her “it’s another one of my special skills.” Rowan deepened the kiss, her mouth opening to him. Her tongue gently brushing against his. His fingers slipped between her legs and gently brushed her sensitive spot. Aelin moaned and arched her back against him. Then all of a sudden the magic broke as he pulled away from her, kissed her forehead and walked away. Aelin’s growl of frustration was loud “Whitethorn!” Aelin shouted following to the living room “You can’t.” She groaned, frustration now rising high. What was his problem? “You always do that, you tease me, you get me all hot and then you leave.” Rowan gave her a tight smile and took a step closer, his mouth to her ear “So that when I can finally have you it will be amazing.” “And very short.” She lashed back “Because I will be so horny that I will have an orgasm at your first touch and it will last seconds.” Her eyes now fixed on his. “Who said that we can’t have a second a third and why not a fourth time? I have stamina.” Aelin growled and ran back to her room and slammed the door quite hard. She groaned for another few minutes while she changed back in her comfortable clothes. “Damn he is infuriating.” She threw the dress in one of the drawers and lay down on the bed staring at the ceiling. She wanted him so badly that she was sure she was going to combust very soon. She took a deep breath and then got up again and finished to tidy up everything. An hour later the boxes were finally gone and she had finished decorating it with her stuff and the pictures and eventually it started to feel like her place. She looked at the place and smiled happily at the final job. She picked up the flattened boxes and left the room. Rowan was in the living room reading a book on the sofa and she ignored him as she passed behind him and headed outside to bin the boxes. When she came back Rowan was looking at her. “All done?” She stormed to her bedroom and slammed the door again. Later on when she was sitting on her bed reading, she heard a knock on the door and Rowan’s voice telling her that dinner was ready. She gave in and joined him in the kitchen not without giving him a cold stare. “I am sorry,” he said. She sighed “it’s okay.” He gave offered her a plate with some food “I didn’t mean to piss you off this much.” “I am not.” He scoffed “Yes, you are.” She slammed the fork on the table “Fine. I am. I am, because damn it but I want you, okay? It’s been driving me nuts.” She finally let out her frustration “And I get it, we have a promise and I will wait but this is new. Chaol never made me feel like this. None of the guys before him did. You do. You set my body on fire with just a touch and all I want is for you to slam me against a wall and fuck me so hard that I forget my name.” “I am really good at that…” he smirked and Aelin’s heart lightened. She could not be mad at him. Not when he smiled at her like that. “Someone has a high opinion of himself.” “I definitely can make you forget your name. To be honest, I am positive I can do that just with a kiss.” He kept eating never averting his gaze from her. “You can do that by just be beside me sometimes.” She admitted. That’s how mad about him she was. “Dinner is lovely, by the way. Thank you.” She finally conceded. He smiled at her warmly. And like that their little fight was over. “So, what do you do in the evening?” “Read mostly. As you can see I don’t have a tv.” “I have a laptop with Netflix.” Explained Aelin and he looked at her with confusion. “Netflix is a website where you can watch movies and series. I pay a small amount every month. They add loads of content very regularly.” She took a bite of the chocolate cake she was sure came from his aunt. “We can watch something together.” “I guess we can do that.” “Perfect.”

After dinner Aelin had offered to clean up the kitchen since he had cooked. Once she was done she joined him in the living room and brought her laptop with her. She sat beside him, a blanket on their legs and the pc on it. She snuggled close and started browsing Netflix. “We can watch Brooklyn nine nine. It’s one of my favourites. It’s a bunch of detectives in New York. It’s hilarious but has some great storylines as well.” “We can watch something new. You don’t have to rewatch it just for me.” Aelin turned to him “I rewatch it regularly. I love it so much.” “Okay.” He said kissing her head. Ten minutes later she noticed that Rowan was actually quite involved “I like her.” He said pointing at Detective Santiago. “She is awesome.” “Those two are ending up together. I bet on it.” He commented pointing at Santiago and Peralta and Aelin squeezed his hand. “I like the new captain.” Aelin looked at him but his stare was fixed on the screen and she loved his relaxed face. Her hand caressed his hair and his eyes closed at the contact. Then trailed down and traced his ear and finally placed a very brief kiss on his neck. “She is hot. Santiago I mean.” And Aelin laughed. They binged watched the first season that Aelin decided to call it a night. She was tired from all the moving. “We can continue tomorrow.” He nodded happily. “Good night, my heart.” She said kissing him.

Their home arrangements slowly set into a regular rhythm and Aelin adapted to his way of living. She still felt like a guest and she wanted to make sure she was not disrupting his life too much. He would cook and she would clean the kitchen. She would help him with chores around the house. In their free time Rowan took upon him the task of teaching her to cook. They began with something very simple. Aelin was a quick learner and she also managed to prepare lunch a couple of times without burning down the house.

One night he was in bed and sleep was evading her. She tossed a few times and then her arm extended to the empty side of her bed. She sighed. Since she and Rowan had gotten back from their little holiday she had missed his presence at her side at night. His arms around her and his warmth. She closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep.. “Damn,” she groaned in frustration throwing the sheets at the bottom of the bed. She sat up and decided to get up. After pacing for a few minutes in her bedroom she walked out of the room and reached his. “Rowan?” “Are you okay?” He asked switching the light on and sitting up in his bed. His hair was tousled from sleep and she thought he looked sexy. “I can’t sleep.” She said not moving from her spot on the doorstep. She would not move until he gave her permission. “Come here.” He said patting the bed beside him. She smiled and joined him. He lay down again and she snuggled against him and smiled when she felt his arms wrap around her, one around her chest and the other lower around the waist. His head tucked in the crook of her neck. She turned to face him “Since our trip I miss not having you beside me at night.” “Do you now?” He huffed against her skin. Aelin nodded and squeezed closer. Gods it felt so good to be in his arms. Rowan sighed “Do you want to sleep with me?” Then he heard how his sentenced sounded like “I mean you can stay in my bed and sleep in here if you like it.” Aelin looked up at him and smiled “I’d love to.” A kiss on his nose “But I am leaving my stuff in my room. I can’t move my things again.” “It sounds like a plan.”

From that night Aelin had officially moved in his bedroom. She had finally started sleeping soundly again. They had added another milestone in their relationship.

It was of the weekly mornings when Rowan had gone to teach his swimming classes and she was in charge of the bookshop and she was loving it. Aelin looked at her watch for the billionth time in the past ten minutes. Rowan was late. He would always come back at the same time but that day he was late. Over an hour late now and panic began to settle in her. He hadn’t texted her and that was unusual as well. He had always texted even if he was going to be five minutes late to open the shop. Which he knew it was not going to be an issue since he had given her a set of keys a while ago. She paced and could not concentrate on anything. In the end she caved and phoned him. The phone rang a few times. She was about to hang up when he answered. “Rowan Whitethorn, were the fuck are you?” A woman’s voice replied at the other end and Aelin’s heart started racing. Why was another woman answering his phone? He would not cheat on her. “Hello?” Said the voice on the other side and Aelin woke up. “Yes, who are you? Where is Rowan?” “My name is Dr Jamieson. Are you a relative of Mr Whitethorn?” And she almost felt sick. She had done plenty of those phone calls to know that it was not a good sign. She sat down on the chair behind the counter and placed her free hand on her knee to stop it from shaking. “Mr Whitethorn has been admitted to the hospital following a car accident.” Aelin’s brain stopped working. She could not think and definitely she could not breath. “Is… he…” “We should discuss it here at the hospital. Are you a relative?” Aelin froze. She knew hospital policy and they were not allowed to disclose the situation of the patient to someone who was not family. And they weren’t and a roommate was not in the list of the people allowed. Fuck. Her brain was too shocked to think properly. “I am his wife.” Her mouth uttered and she froze “I am on my way there. Is he still in the A&E?” “He has been taken for a CT scan. When you arrive ask for me.” Aelin thanked the woman and took a deep breath and coerced her brain to start working again. Quickly she closed the shop and went back home to get her car. Within ten minutes she was at the hospital, dropped the car at the parking and ran as fast as she could to the A&E. At the reception she asked for Dr. Jamieson and to tell the woman that Mrs Whitethorn was here. She had to remember her act. Five minutes later the doctor arrived and shook her hand. “How is he? Can I see him? Is he out of the CT?” “Mrs Whitethorn, your husband will be back from the CT exam quite soon. He was involved in a frontal crash. The paramedics found him unconscious and his head took a hit. We believe it was from rebound from the seat belts. Very likely his head hit the window pretty hard, that’s why the CT scan. He has few bruises on his ribs and torso due to the seat belts. Nothing is broken but he will be sore for a while.” “Have you checked his abdomen for internal injuries? Are his legs fine?” Her A&E training kicked in and she went through all the possible injuries from such an accident. The woman in front of her looked at her with the type of look that Aelin used to give to family members that tried to tell her how to do her job. Aelin sighed “I am a cardio thoracic surgeon. I have worked in an A&E long enough and seen enough accidents…” “I had a feeling. You did not ask the usual questions family members ask.” The doctor gave her a faint smile “I guess he will be in his room by now. If the CT comes back clear you will be able to take him home tonight but he will need to be at rest for a while.” “Thank you.” The doctor accompanied her to his room and she stopped outside for a moment. She took a deep breath and finally opened the door of his room. A sigh of relief left her when she saw him awake. “Hey…” she ran to him and kissed him while tears ran down her cheeks. She had been terrified. He tried to hug her back but his body protested at the idea of him moving. “Don’t move. You bruised your chest and your ribs.” Then she looked at the cut on his head and noted that luckily was not deep enough to require stitches. Gently she kissed it “No stitches.” And she sat down on the bed beside him and took his hand in hers. Dr Jamieson entered the room while she was kissing his forehead. “Mrs Whitethorn, your husband’s CT is clear. He has a very mild concussion and might experience some headache. If…” “If he gets dizzy, has double vision, gets confused or struggles to stay awake bring him back to the A&E. I know the drill.” The woman smiled and nodded “I will have your discharge paper ready in an hour.” And she left and Rowan was staring at her with wide eyes. “I can explain,” she said knowing full well the reason of that stare “Hospital policy is that they can’t disclose information to non family members. So I had to lie. I couldn’t say I was your sister because well, it was not believable so… my only option was to say that I was your wife. I am sorry.” Rowan started laughing but he stopped when his ribs caused him pain “It’s fine, I think it’s cute.” “I think it’s the concussion speaking.” And she kissed him again “I was terrified.” She took a deep breath “although before that I was mad at you for being late and not telling me anything. Then I phoned you and a woman picked up. Until she told she was a doctor I thought you were cheating on me.” He leaned his forehead against hers “Never. I would never do such a horrible thing to you.” “We are going home soon, and once we do, you will have to listen to me.” He tried to reply but she put a finger on his lips “No. I don’t care. I am the doctor and you will do as I say. You will stay at home and rest. I will look after the bookshop. And this is not open for debate.” “Looks like I got myself a very stern wife.” He kissed her. “Jokes aside, how do you feel?” “A bit of a headache and very sore.” He leaned back on the pillow. “How did you get in an accident. You are such a careful driver.” He flinched “I left the school, at a roundabout an idiot with a van did not respect his turn and I drove straight into him. The car—” “Shh… we’ll deal with the car later.” An hour later the doctor came back with the discharge paper “I prescribed some painkillers. He will need rest. No work for at least three days.” “Thank you doctor.” And the woman left again. “Come, let’s get you back in your clothes.” Rowan pushed his legs off the bed and Aelin helped him remove his hospital gown. Of course he was naked under it and she almost gasped at his bare body. “Dear wife, never seen your husband naked?” He joked and she tried to keep her eyes up. As a doctor she had seen naked men plenty of times, but seeing him was different. “Ok, let’s try to put the t-shirt on. This may hurt.” And it did. Because of his bruises he was in pain and lifting his arms was not an easy task. “Slowly…” they finally managed and he decided to ignore the hoodie. It was not cold outside. Then she helped him with his underwear and trousers. He leaned against her and she tried to hide her massive blush when she caught a peek by mistake. Gods, the man was perfect. “How is your shoulder?” “It’s fine.” Aelin looked at him with the expression of a doctor who caught his patient lie. “Look.” He moved it in circles and she noticed that he was moving it easily and without discomfort. “If you are lying, your are dead, dear husband.” He kissed her “I love you, my dear wife.” Before heading home Aelin stopped at the pharmacy and got the medicines the doctor had prescribed. Once at home, she pushed Rowan to the bedroom. He protested saying that it was day and he could stay on the sofa but he discovered very quickly that Aelin in doctor mode was a bit of a despot. “Just for today. Tomorrow we’ll organise the living room so you can camp there during the day but today I am home and you will stay in bed.” “Fine.” He yielded. She went to his drawer and got some clean bed clothes. “Not again.” “You are not coming to bed with that t-shirt. First, there is blood on it. Second it’s dirty and I changed the sheets this morning.” “You are so mean.” He complained. Aelin grabbed a tube “wait.” She told him when she noticed he was about to try and put the t-shirt back on “This gel will help reduce the bruises and reduce the inflammation.” She spread a bit of the gel on his chest with circular motions being very careful not to cause any more pain. Once she was done she helped him put the t-shirt back on “We’ll put a bit more tonight before bed.” “I have my very own sexy personal nurse.” She grinned in response “Yes, and you’d better listen to her.” She helped him to get into bed and then left the room and came back with a glass of water and some pills “Take these, they will help the headache and reduce the pain in general.” Rowan followed orders and she then sat happily beside him on the bed. “Do you want me to get you a book?” Rowan shook his head “I don’t feel too great to read just now.” She caressed his head and kissed his forehead “just sleep a bit, then.” “We can watch one of your shows.” She grinned. Rowan did not have a tv but she had Netflix on her laptop so she had introduced him to some of her favourite series. At the moment they were to season two of Brooklyn nine nine and Rowan seemed to love it. “I’ll be back.” When she did she had a bed tray and her laptop. She made sure Rowan was comfortable and not in a position that would cause him pain. Then she placed the tray on the bed and her laptop on it. She put her pyjama on and snuggled under the blankets with him and curled up to his chest, and her arm around his waist. “Are you okay?” “Perfect.” He kissed the top of her head. “Are we continuing with Brooklyn nine nine?” He nodded and she started Netflix. A few hours later Aelin woke up and noticed they had both fallen asleep. She closed her laptop and placed on the floor on her side of her bed. Rowan woke in that instant. “Shhh go back to sleep.” She soothed. He lay down again and she snuggled against him. Her hand went gently on his chest and brushed it gently. She had been terrified when she was told he had been in an accident. Until she saw him in his room awake she could not push away the terror in her heart. She felt his heart beat steadily and she finally relaxed and eventually fell asleep as well.

[curiouslilbird]

Eleven Questions Game

Rules:  Answer the 11 questions given to you, then create 11 more for others to answer.

I was tagged by @zitathehun!  Thank you for always involving me in these, they’re so much fun!

1.   What Actress/Actor would you choose to play you in the movie version of your life? 

Mayim Bialik because we are pretty much twins (visually speaking) anyway.  XD

2. Would you rather never be able to speak again or never be able to stop talking? 

I am already never able to stop talking so apparently I must have chosen this for myself at some point, LMAO.  I would not want to never speak again so this is okay.  (insert “this is fine” meme)

3.   A pairing you initially didn’t consider but someone changed your mind? 

TJ/Johnson from WordGirl.  I saw some posts about it on here, and then upon rewatching some episodes, I’m like “yeah, I definitely get that vibe...they are totally gonna be an item when they get older.”

4.   Have you ever unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion? 

Yes.  Somebody was using a fictional character’s arc to justify abusing women because “women who behave like this ought to be punished.”  Noped out of that super fly fast.

5.   The character you never expected to love so much?

Loki, Marvel Cinematic Universe.  I walked into the Thor (2011) movie not expecting to have any favorite characters or to really connect with anything in the movie at all--I was mostly going to support my boyfriend (now husband), since he was and still is such a huge Marvel fan.  But ooooooooo WEE, I caught sight of Mr. Tall, Dark-haired, and Introverted right away, and his character arc made me sad and also made me want to see more of him.  Successive movies cemented him as a favorite.

6.   The character you’d slap?

Probably also Loki (LOL!!).  I don’t like pranks or practical jokes, so I would probably not appreciate that part of the “trickster” persona.

7.   Name a popular ship you don’t get the appeal of?

I’m not too hardcore into ships at the moment, but the Scecky (Scoops and Becky) ship from WordGirl is one I don’t quite follow.  Scoops isn’t toxic to Becky like Tobey is, which is a major point in favor of Scecky, but Scoops also strikes me as more aromantic, and thus would value Becky as a great friend but nothing more, while she’s clearly interested in at least pursing romance. (I favor the Sciolet ship a little more—which I’m not certain if it’s canon or not—but even that ship seems like it would be more like a deep friendship that might or might not turn romantic.)  As much as Becky and Scoops have in common with words and language, I feel like Becky would end up giving a lot more to that relationship emotionally than she would get.  But as always, those sorts of troubles can be sorted out through character development in fanfiction :D

8.   When you are old, what do you think children will ask you to tell stories about? 

What dialup internet was like, what the world was like before internet, various presidents and political situations I lived through (America pre-9/11, for instance).  LOL I feel like my answer is very uninspiring, but I’m not sure how our world will change in the future, so I’m not sure what the children of tomorrow will want to know about today or yesterday.

9.   What weird food combinations do you really enjoy?

I make a peanut butter and chocolate syrup dip in the microwave (I use as much chocolate syrup as I do peanut butter, scraped into a microwavable bowl and heated about 40 seconds, then stirred together).  Then I eat it with plain saltine crackers.  Sounds gross/weird, tastes AMAZING :D

10.   What social stigma does society need to get over?

The fear of fatness, cellulite, tummy rolls, etc.  Let people take up space and be human.

11.   Which celebrity do you think is the most down to earth? 

I am honestly not sure, I don’t follow a ton of celebrity news.  ^_^;

My 11 Questions:

1.  Do you have a close-knit family, or are you closer with your friends?

2.  What was your earliest favorite TV show? Book? Song? Movie?

3.  What subjects do you find yourself looking up when bored?

4.  When someone describes themselves as “open-minded,” what does that make you think of them?

5.  If you could change one small thing in the world to make it better, what would that be?

6.  Do you prefer to collect things or purge things, and why?

7.  What is a supremely silly thing that always makes you laugh?

8.  What do you believe comes after death, if anything?

9.  Do you like to have a lot of artwork, pictures, and decorative objects in your space?

10.  Would you prefer to be too hot or too cold?

11.  How would you describe your vibe?  (This can be a vibe you aspire to, if you’re not quite sure)

Tagalicious Tagging Time

Join if you want, but no pressure! :)

@tweedlebean, @suta-kyatto, @fauxkaren, @replacementpotter, @spoopy-starlight, @indoril-niehaus, @zippythewondersquirrel, @radioboy666, @misslooni, @beyondthesunrise, @almondvaledeer, @lightwxlker, @iamthecutestofborg, @ladydeath-vergilswife

[ethekitchenator]

You know, it's funny, even though I haven't watched the show since (the disaster) season 12, a part of me is still incredibly sad that Supernatural has ended.

When the show first came out, my best friend and I loved it. We would joke that Dean was hers and Sam was mine, and we would talk for ages over what was happening.

Due to the time it started airing around season 3, I had to stop watching it, and mostly got snippets from friends over what was happening. By the time I hit uni, there were even more fans there, who spoiled more than a few things for me, but I still wasn't overly worried, I just kept telling myself that I'd watch it one day.

Then a couple of my main friends started rewatching it, around season 8 or 9 I think, and all I was ever told was "You will love Crowley". All throughout high school I was known for writing horror/dark supernatural stories, so that was always the response I got along with other vague descriptions.

"You will love Crowley."

I believe it was another year or so that I finally sat down and decided to rewatch it.

Those early seasons reminded me of the discussions my then best friend and I had. Then, I got even more enraptured as Castiel was brought onto the scene, the angel lore was exactly what I had been craving in the show from when I first used to watch it.

Then came Crowley.

I never told any of them, bar maybe one, that I did indeed love Crowley. I began to look forward to his appearances more and more, and always found myself...disappointed when he wasn't. The show was about Sam and Dean after all, but I always felt like they were underutilizing both Crowley and Castiel.

As season 11 ticked over into season 12, I started to realise that the writing and story telling wasn't going how I felt it should. As a writer myself, it suddenly became hard for me to turn away from the bad writing, I couldn't get as easily lost in the show as I once used to.

So when the ending of season 12 happened, when there was absolutely zero respect shown for my favourite character, I stopped. I was upset and angry and more than a little frustrated that something like this had happened, that a character that had been with the show for so long, that I felt brought a whole new level to it, was gone.

A part of me is still upset about it today, and you know what? That's okay. Things aren't always going to go the way you want them to, in anything, and if you make a choice in the moment, you can choose how that will stick with you.

For me, I first started to turn to fanfiction. Those of you that know me and my writing, know that I have a lot of Crowley fanfiction on my writing blog, even today I'm still writing away many fics involving him. He's worked his way into my heart and is refusing to let go. It didn't mean I didn't write for anyone else in the show, they all have a place with me forever, but Crowley was the one that had the biggest impact on me.

As I continued to watch the fandom go through the remaining seasons, caught snippets of things here and there, I began to see less and less of it around. It was...odd, whether it was from the Tumbr purge or people just really wanted to avoid spoilers, I don't know, but not seeing as much of it as I used to, even through snippets, made me somewhat sad. I didn't watch show anymore, but that fandom space was still apart of me.

Now that the show has officially ended, I find myself still mourning with you.

My opinion on the ending is rather irrelevant, as I've only heard it through the long posts, the memes, and the tears that have been shared around. Have I been impressed with what I've heard? No, both as a fan and as a writer, but then I also wasn't surprised due to my own reasons of stopping. Does it make me want to suck it up and watch the last few seasons? Not in any sort of hurry, but maybe one day, a few years from now, the pain may finally fade enough that I can try and stomach it.

My point through all this though, is it's okay to feel what you're feeling. Make your long posts about it all, spew words forth until your head hurts and your fingers bleed. These are characters, people, that have been with you for a long time now. Psychologically speaking, they are as real to you as your friends and family. If you're like me, then they've helped you through difficult periods in your life, and that is something that's hard to get through.

So do your posts, make your voice heard, but just also take a moment to have consideration for others too. The creators and actors and all those involved in the show, this is an ending for them too. It's probably more real for them than it is for you, and many tears will most likely be shed.

Make your posts, but don't go after the actors and creators. If you really want to say something to them, use your words and feedback constructively. Going out of your way to make threats, to tell them you hate them, or go to any of the other extremes is just not fair on them after years of hard work.

You have a right to be angry, but don't take it out on them.

You have a right to be overjoyed, but don't start fandom wars over it.

That was never the point of the show.

For me, as I said, I turned to writing fanfiction, I was giving a voice to the character I loved, and you know what? It's helped me go back to my own writing, it's helped me start to create my own worlds and characters again and given me inspiration for new ones that I'd never considered it before. My negativity from what the show did, I managed to turn into a positivity for myself. I made my posts at the time, voiced my anger, but I didn't go after anyone directly. I called creatives out on their bullshit, but never directly. I knew it would be pointless to do so, and doing so in anger is never going to be constructive.

I'm now at a point where I've seen this happen in multiple fandom, the last couple of years for me in these fandom spaces has not not been a fun time. So many endings I've seen have just lacked so much creativity, have just been so lazy in writing and directing, that it's made me frustrated with the industry as a whole.

So I'm turning the negative into a positive.

As someone whose dream and passion it is to create these shows, to write these movies, to tell these stories, I've now made a promise to myself to be better. In fact, I am determined to be better, and there is no one but myself standing in the way of doing that.

To those of you who hated the ending, I'm sorry it didn't give you the closure you wanted. I'm sorry that the show didn't live up to your expectations, but just remember, that it's never going to be fully over, that world, those people will always stay with you in one way or another. If you can, turn the negative into a positive, do something that helps you remember the good times of the show, or create your own versions if thats your thing.

To those of you who loved the ending, I'm happy for you, I'm happy that you got the closure you wanted. I'm happy that you can still look back on all those adventures and smile at the wild ride that it was. Most of you are probably still grieving too, and that's okay. When you're ready, turn it into something new and brilliant and keep looking forward.

I get that this has probably been a rather long post, but if you've read all the way through, I just want to thank you. Thank you for being part of a fandom that has become a family. It's far from perfect, but in our times of need, it's there, as all family should be.

When you're ready, we can all smile again, and while we may move onto other things, we all know that this is something that will always be here if you need it.

[vaguely-concerned]

the mandalorian episode 6... AGAIN yes that’s right it’s a rewatch

- the unending escalation of mando’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is hilarious in an awful way. ‘yeah I didn’t tell you but we’re using your ship and you’re not getting out of it lol. xi’an -- you know, the xi’an whose brother you apparently left behind to get caught and who has a very weird and uncomfortable crush situation on you? she’s coming along! we’re attacking a new republic prison ship b/c we thought you might get lonely with only half the bounty hunters in the galaxy after you and would like to have the full force of galactic law enforcement on your ass as well. the droid is coming along. the droid is going to be driving your ship! your team mates are deliberately stepping on your culture, your privacy and your boundaries. oh would you look at that they know where the baby is! they are.holding the baby and they know it’s important to you. they DROPPED THE BABY D: and now you have to leave the baby with the droid and get double crossed by your old ‘friends’ after they’ve alerted the entire republic and murdered an innocent civilian. have fun’  

thank god he got to stalk them down like a terrifying horror movie villain, it was very cathartic for me 

- I wonder if we’ll get an episode of actual cops being after our boys at some point, din certainly made an impression here haha. may especially be a factor if he ever needs to go more towards the core worlds in his hunt for others like the baby 

- y’know watching this again I realized that one of the reasons he left the rest of the crew alive is probably that he’s already in ddddeeeeEEEEeep shit with the new republic after this and committing three murders on their ground is not going to look good if they ever figure out it was him. on the other side leaving them alive means they can spout whatever bullshit they want about him... but then again why would the republic believe any of them so eh. (come to think of it they don’t actually know much about him beyond the fact that he’s a mandalorian and has a falling-apart space ship anyway -- the only real ‘well fuck’ is that they know about the baby, that could be unfortunate) I hope mando left a note that was like ‘um. real sorry about all of this, I left you three presumably wanted criminals tied up with a bow and ready to face trial does that make it better? gotta go my baby is locked in the car with a murderbot and I am LOSING MY MIND’

- mando pulls in a deep ‘oh fuck’ sort of breath when he sees the guard :( he tried so hard to keep that situation contained. he’s really good at it too, he’s so calm and reassuring! if it weren’t for these other dicks I think he could have solved it peacefully. he does seem to have some real experience with hostage negotiations (and like I said in my ep 7 thoughts he’s very practiced at settling other people’s hot tempers, however he gained that expertise. too bad these guys aren’t really the type you can reason with.)

also he sounds like he’s swallowing down some IMMENSE stress when he explains what the tracking beacon is to the devil dude he just keeps getting more and more screwed in this ep and I feel bad

- even more sure now there was never  a n y t h i n g  between xi’an and mando at all. she’s just weird and creepy. ‘all business’ does seem to cover how that actually went from his side lol. (I have a little pet theory that he might have been running with these guys right after some big loss or falling out with his mando uh ‘parents’ or something like that -- the whole ‘target practice’ thing feels like something he might say to cover/deflect from some deep deep anger. ‘I don’t care what the job even is so long as I get to shoot something’ sort of deal, though it might be implied he did turn his back on them when they went too far. din certainly doesn’t sound proud of it when ran brings it up and deliberately distances himself from it.)

- it is interesting -- and very sweet -- how immediately he takes on a protective and mentor-ish/almost parental air when he meets younger people, even in the middle of this tense standoff. (young men from what we’ve seen specifically in toro and davin but I’m thinking it would extend to anyone young and uncertain he came across) in this case he is of course deliberately trying to forge a connection with the guy for a sort of selfish purpose and to deescalate the situation, but he does it so immediately and with a... warmth? almost? and concern there too. he clearly just wants the kid to be able to walk away from this unscathed because it’s not his fault he’s there doing his job. the mando adoption instinct remains irrepressible lol

I am so cuuuuurrrrriiooooouuuss about who raised him with the mandalorians and why they don’t seem to be relevant at all to his life anymore (purely statistically I’d say they probably died in the purge, but for narrative purposes it might be more interesting if they were estranged and needed to sort that out at some point)

- oh the stressed out little ‘ngh’ mando gives in his throat when they lock him in the cell D: (and he seems to be looking up at the ceiling/towards where the ship would be too so three guesses as to what he’s thinking about haha oh god this poor man just let him have some REsT. I don’t want to think about what these assholes would do with the baby, especially after zero found out about the bounty.)

- how he takes all three of them alive shows off how good he really is -- we get to see how easily he could have killed xi’an and mayfeld especially without them even knowing he was there, but he doesn’t and manages to pacify them + get them into the cell in time anyway. (and takes a knife in the arm for his troubles too ouch) this is his home turf! he’s not experienced with fighting animals (or the wilderness, I’m sort of getting the vibe), but he is very good at taking down sentients, non-lethally if necessary, that’s basically his entire job and he does it wonderfully

- the fact that he slowly kneels down in front of the baby even though every moment counts to get the hell out of there before the new republic ships arrive T________T and baby is just happy he’s theeeerrreee ugh I’m guessing he took the baby with him up in the cockpit and left qin to stew downstairs? 

- there is a delicious poetic justice in the fact that the x-wings probably only open fire because the base was launching a gunship. if ran could have not been completely terrible for like half a minute he might have survived. sucks to be you dude. 

“no questions asked. that’s the policy, right?” <3

...I think din and corvo attano would be good bros if they could meet, hot single dads with a grim wry sense of humour and taste for karmic punishment unite 

- this is the episode that gave me the fewest new thoughts after a rewatch, but that doesn’t really bother me -- it’s just a neat clean heist narrative with some cool fight scenes and an underlying tension and I have time for one of those every now and then. 

[starwarshyperdrive]

I’m concerned about the Star Wars canon

I’ve always been a huge Star Wars fan but didn't follow the old EU (extended universe) because it was too convoluted and well.. a bunch of gobbledygook (granted there were some good bits in it, who doesn’t love the Thrawn trilogy even though he is pretty much a different character now), so I actually welcomed the new canon. Start over with a clean slate and make sure everything is connected, makes sense and feels Star Warsy. So far the story group has done a decent job, even though there were some questionable bits and pieces. As hardcore Star Wars fan and apologist I can force myself to get behind a lot of things and I was cool with the Bendu somehow, but the Clone Wars Mortis arc, as well as space whales and the world between worlds really rubbed me the wrong way. A lot of people are celebrating Dave Filoni as savior of the true Star Wars spirit and he is certainly an inspired artist and nice guy but I once again have to wonder whether or not some of the comic bookish stuff REALLY fits the Star Wars universe. Yeah I know ‘it’s a huge universe bla bla’ but do we really have to accept everything?

Someone recently described hardcore fans (such as myself) as a ‘cult’ and Star Wars Celebration to a religious ceremony and if I’m being honest and self-reflective I can’t really argue against it, but that’s also why you always need to check yourself and not just ‘swallow’ everything without questioning it. Keep a critical eye. Things like time travel and other super hero stuff ( I haven’t seen any of the recent Marvel or DC movies) have no place in Star Wars. Of course Star Wars is for everyone, but does that then also mean we need a Star Wars romcom, a Star Wars coming of age movie ..or ..?  I don’t know..porn? Leave that to fan fiction. 

Star Wars was always more about mythology, some sort of buddhist Excalibur and I am seriously concerned that at some point the ‘people in charge’ will forget that and it will become a shallow bubble gum entertainment focus on ‘what is selling at the moment’. A good example are - again - all the super hero movies picking up on trends. I don’t want a Thor Ragnarok Star Wars movie with a Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack. Don’t make everything the same. Keep Star Wars unique. Keep ‘that Star Wars tone’.

‘XY doesn’t UNDERSTAND Star Wars’ is an overused and abused phrase and in so many ways pointless as there are many facets to Star Wars especially now that we have generations of fans who grew up with the prequels, the Clone Wars, Rebels or even Resistance - I should point out that I actually liked Resistance because it’s not tempering with the mythology - but the lore has been laid out in the original trilogy and everything needs to acknowledge that. We cannot have some Terminator-franchise kind of disaster a la ‘Ezra traveled back in time and actually was there with Yoda on Dagobah’ or what not. 

By now it’s common knowledge that - despite what they say - there has been no overall plan for the sequel trilogy, which is quite concerning and feeding into my concerns that it’s all downhill from here (after The Rise of Skywalker and the Mandalorian or course). I know a lot of people who vehemently defended The Last Jedi when it came out, mostly as a reaction to all the stupid hate it got for the wrong reasons and I am one of them myself, but most of them are admitting now that there is something off about the movie. It is written into a corner and not picking up on the clues given in The Force Awakens. It has some amazing scenes and I will keep defending it, but there are some scenes that just don’t feel right and leave a bad aftertaste. I frequently rewatch all the movies and besides Attack of the Clones it’s the only one where I think ‘Now I have to endure THAT bit again’. I go to a lot of Q&A and it’s interesting to see how people who have worked on the movie feel the same. Even if you 100% loved it and it’s your favorite movie ever, let’s be honest - the humor is completely out of place. Fart jokes in The Phantom Menace > Your Mom jokes. And it’s just too long. Of course we all want MORE Star Wars, but where does it end. Would you go and see a 6h movie? If you are a good filmmaker you should be able to say what you want to say in the same about of time as the other movies. But that’s just my personal 2 cents. It just felt like someone who was hellbent on doing his own thing for the sake of doing his own thing and not for the sake of the story. Don’t get me wrong. It was a great idea to (spoiler alert) kill off Snoke that casually, so the movie has redeeming qualities that save it for me. Then again, as a Star Wars fan I WANT to like it. I still watched it 13 times or so. I was in the room for the trailer reveal at SWCO. I want to take ownership and be part of the hardcore fan community, but they shouldn't bank too much on it. I still want a good movie. I’m not gonna be meek and mild about something contradicting the core mythology. Ryan Johnson is allegedly still doing his trilogy and then there is the Benioff and Weiss trilogy. They didn’t exactly do a great job wrapping up Game of Thrones and left fans in awe about how the show ended and have not really proven that they can handle a franchise well either. Will all off them have free rein and just go to town on a Star Wars story as they please? Am I the only one who finds this a bit odd?!

I trust JJ Abrams to do the right thing and I hope my trust is not misplaced. I think the allegations of The Force Awakens being a A New Hope reboot are misplaced as there are also a lot of similarities to The Phantom Menace, so.. if you’re a fan you know what comes next.. ‘it rhymes, it’s like poetry’. So it makes sense. So I think ‘he gets it’..

My main concern in the new canon overall. I made an effort to get all the publications of the new canon, but the books and comics already started to get weird again. Star Wars always had a slight alien but yet familiar vibe and some stories feature people smoking cigars, drinking coffee in the morning and doing other stuff never depicted in Star Wars before. How long until someone gets a Star Wars burger at Star Wars McDonalds or orders Star Wars pizza while watching Star Wars HoloNetflix. I’m sorry. That’s ridiculous. It’s not automatically Star Wars just because you use Star Wars terminology like death sticks or Nerf steaks. Watch the movies and make an effort.

 And now the novelizations of the movies are apparently not considered ‘hard canon’ anymore because the authors didn’t know the direction the next movies are going, so the clues and hints may be completely useless. So why do I force myself through some really not very good books then (others are great, no generalization here)? That’s quite alarming. Wasn’t the entire reason they got a story group to avoid that? What’s with all the loose ends?  That's also why I think they will shy away from using canon characters in the movies (for the most part). Its easier to have a self contained canon universe where you can introduce Purge Troopers in a comic and then have them in a video game. I once read an interview with one of the Star Wars authors who invented a character and then got told ‘give him that name / make him this person’ instead of having this particular character in mind from the start. This is how you lose consistency. I’m well aware that over hundreds and thousands of years that’s EXACTLY how ancient history was written, which is why there are flood legends all over the world and why Jesus and Mithras are pretty much the same person, but they DID NOT HAVE A STORY GROUP and ancient mythology hasn’t been written over a course of a few years.

At the same time it’s interesting how there seem to be purists who are very determined to bring that original Star Wars vibe back. Like Jon Favreau with The Mandalorian. And like I said earlier about Resistance. Its so much easier to do that if you stay away from the mythology. It’s really tricky and so much could go wrong. The stuff introduced in Rogue One like Guardians of the Whills and the temple of Kyber is a perfect example how it’s done. Some of the stuff in the Clone Wars and Rebels is the complete opposite, so I’m really curious to see how Dave Filonis involvement in The Mandalorian pans out. He is really great with stuff like Mandalorians, Clones and I even came to accept Ashoka after reading the book and seeing her all grown up as Fulcrum, but I’m very skeptical when it comes to his ‘mystical side of the force’ interpretations.

In conclusion I know that I sound like a preacher and George Lucas repeatedly stated it’s ‘just for 10 year old kids’ but tell that to all the dead Bothans.

Please just don’t ruin Star Wars.

[tawneybel]

1st Cartoon Crush

That hashtag was trending on Twitter and it made me sad that the first animated crush I remember having is so obscure. But it’s cool that I can actually pinpoint the moment I got into monster transformation haha. 

Other early ones were Nergal Jr. from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy and Mark Chang from The Fairly OddParents... before he got a human disguise. I was like six. Them and Gil Moss from Kim Possible made me realize I had a type. XD

Memorial Day weekend was good. Saturday was cooler than I thought it would be and I finally was able to go on a day trip with my two besties. The week before I went to a festival and got souvlaki, which is like one of my favorite foods that I don’t get to eat a lot. Ooh, and on Memorial Day proper I got homemade key lime pie. 

Friday the 13th franchise: I finished the original series, will hold off on watching Freddy vs. Jason till I rewatch Elm Street.

Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan: Not as good as the previous one, sadly. Why was the dance room so much cooler than either of my homecomings/proms? More of the movie should have taken place there. I like how Jason just pulled his mask up and those punks left him alone.

Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday: It’s been nine films. ‘Bout time they did something to stop him. Also, Jason infests other people, so I get to expand the male possession list. :D   

Jason X: Hockey is outlawed in 2024? Noooo. Anyway, Kay-Em is best robot. I thought Tsunaron said “check her c3rvix.” 

Friday the 13th 2009: Was not expecting to see Jared Padalecki. It was decent. 

The 100: I’m going to get caught up on season six later. McCreary’s cute. And nubile. He reminds me of Halfdan from Vikings, which I oughta start season five of eventually. But the most important thing is that my favorite cockroach, John Murphy, is still alive. 

Mandy feels like a drug-fueled haze, I guess, or someone else’s fever dream. I’ll admit for the first ten minutes I was waiting for it to get better. And, boy howdy, it did. That cinematography. Great dark fantasy that progresses into a revenge horror... fantasy. Now I gotta see Panos Cosmatos’s Beyond the Black Rainbow. (“To me, ya know, a story is kind of like the least interesting part of a film.”)  

Modern and 1983 standards would probably label the title character as plain, so I loved how Mandy Bloom is considered ethereally attractive in-universe. I keep thinking of the seventies as a dull era style-wise but the simple makeup and long hair, which make Mandy look a teensy bit behind the times, isn’t that bad. XD

Also, demon bikers. The Black Skulls were not supposed to be sexy. P3rverse? Yes. Sexy? No. Probably not. I liked the blad3 cr0tch thingy that one dude on the couch had. 

Mmm, I’m just going to make a bulleted list of my other thoughts.

The conversation between Marlene and Jeremiah reminded me of something out of AHS.

Jeremiah trying to seduce Mandy was the skeeviest (fictional) thing I’ve seen all year, probably. 

Seriously, I want to see him interact with Michael Langdon or Kai Anderson. 

Also, the Black Skulls and the Cenobites from Hellraiser would get along along, probably. 

The goblin commercial. 

“You ripped my shirt! You ripped my shirt!” 

Jamie Ashen did what I’d want my husband to do in that situation, and so did Red.

Red let Lucy live because she’s apparently capable of empathy.

The only part I would have cutout was the tiger. That probably sounds weird, because the whole movie is surreal, but it felt out of place.

Halloween 2018 was preferable to the remake from 2007 but I think I like the original the best. At first I was like “Nooo Dr. Loomis? D:” 

The inflating jack-o’-lantern in the opening was funny to me. 

Jamie Lee Curtis continuing her scream queen career for how many years now? Good for her. 

The podcast duo were insensitive b00bs. 

I was wondering why Cameron looked familiar and it turns out his actor played Henry on The Purge TV show. 

What kind of school has a dance on a week night? 

“Well, that was a dumb thing to pray for.”

Nice flash-o’-lantern, Michael.

Happy D3ath Day 2U: Look at Tumblr. Making me censor words like a wiener. You know, I bet I can’t even search “wiener”- Wait, no, I can. Carry on.

You get an explanation for the time loop. Definitely watch the first film, though.

I’m surprised only Ryan got a “clone.”

Dr. Butler was hot when he took the mask off. 

I didn’t like the post-credit scene. They should have kept the deleted scene where Tree got the idea for the magnet thingy. 

I had trouble taking my eyes off the screen. It was good. 

I’m kind of sad the nicer version of Lori couldn’t come with them.

Songs of the Day: “Play with Me” by Thompson Twins and “The Devil Does Drugs” by My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult. I’ve just been thinking about Cool World lately, for some reason. We need like, a male equivalent of Holli Would or Jessica Rabbit. Frank Harris’s toon form is sadly nowhere near as luscious as Brad Pitt. 

[fictionallyattractive]

Kids Just Gotta Have Fun

[See First Chapter For all Warnings and Information] [Can Be Read in Original Format Here on AO3 ♥]

Chapter 2: I Started It

    He saw the video; well, he saw one of the many of them, his broken gaze trying not to cringe at the sloppy way he moved. Foolishly stumbling when his shoulder was seen crashing into another- their twitch of rage so obvious when he Izuku watched himself get jostled back, body flailing shamefully as his balance came crashing down so easily.

    So grossly, he thought with a twinge of his nose.

    Izuku Midoriya held back a sigh, chewing the end of his pencil just as his phone was placed against the hard surface of his desk in the silence around him. Silence, yes, but he was sure they were all doing the same thing.

    All rewatching and rewinding the same scenes again and again like movies on premiere day while he sat back and hoped to god no one made it priority to even ask about the sporting lump on the side of his aching face.

    Hell, even Izuku wondered about it, his fingers tempted to feel its shape again as he absently tapped the eraser to his healing cheek; it no longer throbbed to the tap, no longer had a pulse under the black where he chewed to test the waters of the lingering tension that drew up his frown swiftly.

    Emerald green poked out from the edges of the hood he wore tight around the frame of his jaw like a disguise, chin resting on the grey surface as the time for his lecture began to draw to its close. And it dragged out forever, Izuku groaned, the light of his screen no longer keeping his focus after the disappointment struck hard.

    It only made his head duck lower. His pride hiding far underneath the drunken antics portrayed like actors on camera. But they weren't actors- they were his friends and classmates- all parading around so dumbly for the audience they never would have known they had until Izuku watched himself again and again flop over into Katsuki Bakugou's arms before that fight and get tossed aside like a lump on a log.

    That part was almost funny.

    Forested eyes met with the stiff walk of a shadow that brushed closer to his seat, their crisp uniform sparing the sounds of shifting fabric just as Tenya Lida plopped firmly into the seat beside of him almost cautiously before emitting a curious hum at the sight Izuku wished he'd never seen.

    Let's get back to the part where he was stuck watching himself crumble in the arms of his friends- passed off onto Mezo Shoji after Katsuki refused to fall victim to something that made Izuku want to die.

    "Your face-!" He heard Tenya gasp with his glasses focused heavily on the enormous knot he tried to hide with a flushed swallow. It was killer on his throat, all these panicked shouts, moans, and groans and all. "It's true!"

    The noise was the ultimate alarm; if all eyes hadn't been on him from the moment he walked in, they saw him then. Well, that was an utter lie. It was dramatic to even say they all saw him. He wasn't important enough to be stared at like a piece of art among the lectured students all numbly observing their notes and powerpoint Mr. Aizawa left up for long as he stared off into space like the rest of them.

    They didn't really care too much, but a few eyes stopped to watch it unfold- their snorts of laughter making their teacher roll his eyes at the disturbance Izuku jolted over and jerked the hood tighter to his cheek.

    What if Ochako saw him like this? Or his mom?

    "I-It looks so awful-"

    Please, stop.

    Tenya grimaced, his hands falling flat on his thighs as though taking the hint that every word he spoke was slowly stirring the pot of shame brewing under Izuku's jacket. It was a slew of heated pink, the rushing drive of nervousness causing the boy to stammer over his careful words.

   "T-Thanks, I guess."

     Tenya forced out a smile. "It will heal over in no time," He tried to be kind, his broad cheekbones making his expression almost so hard to tell if his mood was serious. Hard to suggest if what he spoke was the truth or if he was putting up another farce just to see a hint of comfort appear on his close friend's face after he soured it so swiftly. "Though, when I heard you got hit...I didn't think it was so bad."

    Oh, really?

    Izuku swallowed. "You heard about it?"

     "A-Among a lot of other things, yes!" His tone moved to a tense murmur as he eyes averted to the barren screen scrolled before them as class was practically over before they knew it. The motion around them acting as the perfect cover that Izuku desired when his hood was lowered from the pudgy frame of his grown face.

    The whole campus would know by now. They would have seen the victory of rage when Inasa Yoarashi left him battered to the floor.

    Forget decking the halls- he'd decked Izuku's face good enough for the season, and was probably feeling rather proud of it right then even as the victim thought back on it. Replaying it. Well, parts of it.

     Even if he wanted to forget about it- he wanted to see it first. It was all a blur, forgotten as he watched the whole party happen again before his very eyes in motion blur and in crappy quality that even Tenya had to squint over behind his tipped glasses struggling to see what it was Denki tried to show through his snapchat that night.

    Back to Mezo holding Izuku up like a baby as he steadied the boy's arms by the grip on his shoulders- the stronger male's body the only thing that kept Izuku from tumbling back out like a light with the appearance of silvery saliva dripping from his lips like he were about to vomit.

    Watery-eyed, his own grave dug at that very moment as Denki mocked him- laughing. But it was harmless compared to the twist in Izuku's gut as he stared at it now, hating only himself for how he latched onto Mezo again just as he tried to play it off cool.

     "Just kill me-" Izuku groaned as he lowered his phone back under the table, rubbing his eyes cautiously to avoid the knot that became almost impossible to forget. And Tenya's head dipped in apology. "Is every video going to be like this?"

    He started out from his desk, lips feeling ultimately dry as his shame took all the energy he had left over from recovering that morning. The process of ridding himself of that immense headache worse than any pain of his life until he'd found an enemy far more demanding and taxing.

    True, he could say college, but Izuku felt that admitting his awkwardness and cowardice over a little brawl was somehow even more grotesque at that second.

    "Perhaps you should just stop watching them then."

    "I can't."

    Tenya seemed to be in awe, his muscled figure walking alongside his best friend through the exit of the classroom and leading into the hall in the filtered rays of sun Izuku hid from gutlessly. Cowardly.

    Unfairly, it felt as though Tenya stole all the dignity out form under his feet. His coaxing guidance expected to be prized- leading he and his classmates like a herd of sheep to make sure they weren't all purging their insides in public bathrooms from a round of shots. Or getting caught up with a few strangers behind closed doors Izuku didn't want to even begin opening.

    It was a chapter in his life he never wanted to read into, or even wonder about as his lips tingled from the sudden realization that he'd never even tried to be curious before in his life until there was no one to tell him what to do, or how to behave.

    Tenya didn't need that advice. He was morally upstanding, his heart in just the right place when he swung a strong hand across Izuku's shoulder and grinned broadly even against the rays of light beaming upon them both in the hall's opening to the entrance way.

    "E-Even though I was there," The scholarly student began somewhat nervously as his glasses smoothed up his nose and back into place. His knuckles seemed to go a little tighter too. "I don't think I will be seeing myself in any of those videos or pictures."

    "You didn't do anything stupid?" Izuku huffed out, slightly breathless- the incredulous concept that Tenya would have ever been caught dead fumbling around with anything so dangerously shameful suddenly not so hard to swallow as he watched the world around him sail out into vast green and brick.

    It was breezy out, the freshness of the air almost a wondrous relaxer as it flooded their bodies in the clearing Izuku meandered slowly when lowering his gaze to ground-level to play it safe.

    A five minute walk across campus, and, boom, he would be back in his dormitory like nothing happened. Back to hiding in the shadows to watch Netflix in place of the studying and essays he always postponed with grave remorse.

    "No way!" Tenya had nearly shouted, his hand grasping his chest. "I would never-"

    Was it too late for him to take back what he'd said? No, but he didn't have to. Tenya meant no harm, Izuku thought, his eyes blinking as his lips curled into a tender smile when Tenya's face went a little lively with a timid blush.

    "I promise you that I did nothing of interest at that party, and- and- I can prove it to you somehow!"

     It was the happiest he'd felt all morning between the migraine and the swelling. His thoughts tearing carefully away from the misery and into the mere thought of Tenya possibly tumbling into someone's arms like he did.

    Or, better yet, passing out with only the gentle lines of marker left to illustrate the real look of artistic embarrassment that brought a bold snicker into the cowering student's precious face as Tenya felt as though he'd managed to lift even one weight off his friend's shoulders.

    That was what he longed to do above anything else as his head dipped in a nod again, bowing kindly as he stopped in his tracks to make his exit apparent.

     "If it makes you feel any better," He added before giving Izuku's wounded face a onceover. "I bet Shoto is very grateful for what you did."

      Come to think of it; Izuku hadn't even thought about that the whole time- and it was possibly the thing that may have mattered the most. His head blanked just listening to Tenya's words, dry lips folding together just as he caught a deep breath and reminded himself of just who they were talking about though.

     Shoto Todoroki, a painted picture in his head that lie scarred on the left and average on the right- above average just sounded too weird to admit even in his wild thoughts. He was stoic, facially unable to seem interested until the bicoloured glow of his eyes came to life like fireflies.

    Ranked so high up that it paralyzed Izuku to be near him- his smooth voice like an unspoken command that made Izuku shroud himself in fear before ever even taking that first stride into place before his classmate.

    Speaking a few times didn't make them friends, but Shoto actually seemed invested in becoming just that. They didn't speak much, but, then again, he didn't really speak. There was silence, peace, and yet he communicated in few words while Izuku just felt himself unravel just watching Shoto scan a few lines from their homework so numbly.

     This was a guy on the Dean's list who was being compared to Izuku wasting his night on a couch with Ochako watching sitcom reruns and sci-fi premiere shows on Netflix. It was like measuring a champion Olympic victor to the world's fattest man record holder, and it made Izuku's brow twitch before feeling his jaw tense and the injury throb.

    "You really think he would appreciate me just jumping in like that?" Izuku groaned. "It might seem like I thought he needed saving."

    "Did you?" Tenya questioned, his interest piqued just as Izuku thrust his arms into a sudden shrug that made even passerby snicker without context.

    "I don't know why I did anything last night!"

     His pocket buzzed, the tender quake of his jeans making Izuku flinch just as Tenya gave him that undeterred sigh of persistent wonder. It was an unraveling mystery, their heads warping into the back of their drunken conscious just to begin questioning..everything.

     As he uncovered the cell from the fabric, Tenya had begun shifting about in his bag, biding his time to say goodbye as Izuku saw the words of warning wrap his phone's screen instantly. A pleading notification that made his face grow hot as it read, in the loudest, silent, way possible:

Snap From: Ochako ♥ [Today: OH MY GOD, I HEARD ABOUT YOUR FACE.] [I MEAN THE FIGHT D': ]

     Regardless, the first message left him snickering, the untamed heat spreading within his cheeks. The flash of relief upon sagging eyes almost worth the pain it gave him to let his jaw go slack. She added the heart to her name, not him, he reminded himself with a deep sigh. No reason to feel so worried or to start melting.

     Even if Ochako did make it sound like a joke, somehow, it was tugging light into his heavy chest. His breath adjusting into a puff of exhausted memories and swirling thoughts that drug him down until he tilted up his chin and phone in unison to aim the screen toward his trophy of war.

     Tenya didn't notice; he was fidgeting with one of his bag's pockets. His eyes averted from the way Izuku tipped the camera at the achingly bulging part of his mouth and nose as it jutted out like a stone from his facial structure in gross, molded, purple before he ran his fingers absently against its line of yellow starting to run along its edges.

     That's where his snap caught. That perfect glimpse of the healing rainbow skirting his hood where Tenya's face bobbed just out of frame- luckily. The guy hated publicity of any form- every picture with his mug that got posted immediately being taken down after many a harsh complaint.

Snap Sent To Ochako ♥ : [The Bullseye! ^^; ]

    The photo embarrassed him as soon as it sent; it was viewed on sight, and his skin crawled with anticipation just seeing her reaction playing in his head. Wondering how many people her phone would be passed around to just to see how Izuku's nose looked almost deformed from the blow.

    The target was drawn on, and he just needed a few enemies to take aim at the perfect circle sketched right on his grotesque skin painted in blue.

     Tenya coughed, clearing his throat with a slow bow as he stood at attention for Izuku to direct his eyes at the classmate who felt the need to distract him from all the ribbons upon his phone attracting his gaze at that second.

    There were so many tags, so many notifications he hadn't wanted to see as his fingers hovered them all one by one curiously, but couldn't bear to see it all without having to choke it all down by force. He'd seen enough idiocy for the night.

Snap From Ochako ♥ : [Netflix?? :D ]

     He would never get that feeling off of his skin. Shoto Todoroki felt the shiver creep up his body again, the daunting urge to claw away at his collarbone and arm returning even as it remained so clean and cool to the touch egging him on with a mere glance.

     Nothing was going to appear. Not if he stared for an eternity. Not even if he pretended he could still feel how it dripped warmly along his flesh even standing in a paralyzed daze- his cold eyes frozen in place, muscles straining-trembling in disgust that he couldn't forget with all those eyes watching him with grave excitement.

    It could have went down much differently, he supposed, forcing the lump in his throat down as he tried not to think about what it must have been like with the chance of two black eyes over the one Izuku probably, definitely, had adorning his face.

    Shoto just didn't know what to say about any of it actually. He chose to sit it out, posing boredly on the sofa of a game room like none of it really mattered to him- though it was the only thing plastered to every ounce of his mind. The only thing drawing his attention from the movie the rest of the group had playing while he would have rather done anything else.

    "What'd you say to him?"

    Shoto lifted his head from his palm as he searched out the source of the voice piping up mildly from the arm of the couch below him. Red hair leaned back, legs crossing as Eijiro Kirishima redirected his vision up toward the half and half hair of his classmate.

    And, frankly, it was just his way of changing the topic too. Boredom, a strange thing that made college students go as far as to study instead of enjoy their free time. Or dig into rumours because filmed drama just wasn't as good as the real shit delving deep before his very eyes blinking back in expectance.

    Shoto narrowed his brow sharply.

    "You think I said something to him first?" He shot back, tone lowered so that the others probably couldn't overhear if they were, in any way, interested in the movie. "Really?"

    Eijiro shrugged back his thick shoulders. "I just know he was pissed- man, he really tried to swing at you."

     "You know, before Izuku threw himself in the ring." Minoru acted as though he were pummeling the air around him with bare fists, laughing away proudly when he plopped back onto the floor with his vending snacks like he hadn't missed a beat between the conversation action. "I bet that other guy is pissed."

    Why did that bristle Shoto so badly?

    Hello, flashback where he was cornered, trapped by the beast himself shoving Shoto back defensively as his mouth kept running. His lips kept moving, but Shoto didn't have to hear a damn thing he had to say. A wrath had already eaten him alive- his fist drawn. Throat heavy with the mere bile it took to even swallow a fucking thing Inasa Yoarashi had in mind.

    "He's a bad shot," Shoto spoke honestly, head jerking away from the topic as his thoughts wandered over something that didn't settle in his churning gut.

    The guys ooed, snickering amongst each other without giving it a second thought. Just a jeer, a small spark igniting the fire, fanning the flames-

    "I think you oughta watch it," Inasa smoothed his hoodie forward, standing tall as his hands rested flat on his sides then. No fight. No aggression as Shoto halted in his tracks to glare back. "Because I think you think you're better than me."

    Shoto shook his head, sweat glazing his palms as they squeezed the arm of the chair when Eijiro no longer faced him, and just shoveled more food into his mouth next to his buddies. He buried his final words in popcorn, screwing around his phone to forget whatever it was he did to make him go so quiet when the party even breached the conversation that made even Shoto go blind to the scenes before him.

    Shoto Todorki had stopped, alcohol breathing fire from his lips, hands reaching back as he didn't hesitate- didn't stop to feel the cloth of Inasa's jacket on his palms when he slammed him back into the crowd behind him in a loud yelp.

    His boots dug into the floor, the lash of the other male's hands reaching for his shoulders evident as he still felt the world under his feet spinning when the sentence still ghosted his remorseful tongue.

     He gave him a chance to back down- why didn't he just back down?

    "I am better than you."

    "I gotta go, yo," Eijiro spoke to his friends, standing up from the floor with his bag sliding along his back when he moved away in a wave. Another one cast back at the flustered Shoto who only grunted in response as he too shuffled out of the common area in shame from the crowd.

[edwad]

(thoughts on x ask thing) would an elaboration on the purge count and what u liked/disliked (if anything) aside from whats been already said cuz i cant remember them but from what youve been saying i wanna rewatch them because i did a long time ago when i was like...politically different than now

tbh id want to rewatch it bc i typed a response to this and then went to go read a summary of the plot of the first one to see if there was anything else and realized that what i wrote wasn't really true bc i'd forgotten stuff so CLEARLY i need to go back thru them. i wanna see the new one anyway. also apparently there's a 4th one coming out next year which i guess is like on an island or something. idk sounds like it's going to become a really bad b-movie series that takes ideas from half-interesting developments in the zombie apocalypse genre

[brendanmoviedate]

"Nobody will ever notice that. Filmmaking is not about the tiny details. It's about the big picture."

All through 2015, I’d been hearing about people doing a new-movie-a-day challenge starting January 1st and ending December 31. It seemed like a great idea for clearing through my watch list and an excuse to get out to the theatre more. 

So for 2016, I decided part way into January that I was going to go for it. By that point, I was only a few movies behind, so how hard would it be to catch up and get to 366 (I just had to pick a leap year for this) by December 31? Well, by April, I was about 15 movies behind, and this was with watching three or more films every Saturday while my girlfriend was in class. Still, I was confident - my girlfriend would be going to school in London starting in September, so I’d have lots of free time to cram in some extra movies. 

Flashforward to October, and an outdoorsy summer and month-long trip to the UK found me around 80 movies behind pace. Not good. I thought about giving up, but I’m too stubborn and foolish to let go of stupid things like this. October was rough. I watched movies all weekend, every weekend. I found the movies on my list that were less than 90 minutes, so as to pile on an extra film or two. By the end of the month, I had watched 100 films in 30 days. Halfway through December I reached 366, capping out at 374.

What did I learn?

This type of challenge really fucks up your decision-making abilities

When trying to decide between going out and watching a movie, or reading and watching a movie, or doing chores and watching a movie, or grabbing a meal at a restaurant and watching a movie, watching a movie always seemed like the right choice, just to get me closer to that goal of 366. Every time I chose to do something other than watch a movie, I felt anxious that this could have been the one movie keeping me from reaching my goal. It was rough. I’m only now getting over this feeling and it’s already March (spoilers: I’m never going to do this again).

The “only new movies” clause really stung

There were so many times when I wanted to watch a recent favourite, but couldn’t justify it. Mad Max: Fury Road, 22 Jump Street, Nightcrawler, Sicario, et al. kept beckoning me, but I would invariably choose something new.

Peak TV takes a backseat

With only a few minor excpetions (Veep, Silicon Valley, Game of Thrones), my TV watching for the year plummeted. I was already behind on shows like The Americans, Orphan Black, and Fargo that I really wanted to watch, but multi-episode seasons would eat up too much prime movie-watching time.

You don’t always watch what’s good, only what’s available

Netflix is so diluted at this point with direct-to-video releases and Netflix originals starring Adam Sandler that finding something of quality to watch was always difficult. Often I’d find myself watching a mid-2000s action movie instead something from my iMDB list just because it was on Netflix. Other times, even if I film I’d wanted to watch was on Netflix, like Son of Saul or Leviathan, I’d watch The Book of Eli because I was already too worn out by a day’s worth of watching movies. 

A movie-a-day only really makes sense for those who can watch a movie a day

Work+girlfriend+dodgeball+hockey+friends meant I had only two or three days a week to squeeze in movies, necessitating regular marathons. It really defeats the purpose of the challenge and wears out the viewer on a physical and psychological level.

Korean thrillers are awesome

I watched a number of excellent films from some of Korea’s best directors, mostly in the horror and/or thriller genres. Bong Joon-ho’s Memories of a Murder and The Host, Kim Jee-woon’s The Age of Shadows, Na Hong-jin’s The Wailing, and Yeon Sang-ho’s Train to Busan all explored well-trodden movie tropes from fresh perspectives and made choices that North American filmmakers would normally shy away from. All of these films are classics that I can see myself revisiting over and over again. Of these films, Memories of a Murder is probably my favourite, serving as a Zodiac-like look into the futility of murder investigations. I should also mention Park Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden here, but I’ve talked about that masterpiece twice already.

Brian De Palma is an underrated master

Unabashedly fixated on voyeurism in his films, De Palma constructs tightly scripted, twisty plots that focus on peeping, spying, surveilling, and stalking as a means of telling a vast breadth of stories. His films are sleazy in all the right ways, but he brings to his low, almost uncomfortable, subject matter a brilliant technical understanding of film. Raising Cain, Body Double, and Dressed to Kill are all great examples of his craft, but it’s 1981′s Blow Out, starring a never-better John Travolta that is the perfect synthesis of his methods and methodology. The use of sound, split-screen, and split-diopters to focus on foreground and background at the same time is as captivating as the plot.

The worst movies were unfunny comedies

This probably shouldn’t have come as a surprise to me, but the worst kind of movie is an unfunny comedy. Not necessarily comedies with unfunny jokes (which, don’t get me wrong, are also nigh unwatchable), but comedies without jokes whatsoever. The films I’m talking about are those that are considered comedies because they weren’t serious enough to be dramas or tense enough to be thrillers, but instead just some stuff happens to the characters that provides a minor conflict or misunderstanding before an uninspired resolution. Fortunately, I only saw a couple of these, but they were painful enough to leave scars - The Overnight and the deliberately ironically titled The Comedy. The less said about The Overnight, the better, but I’ll at least faintly praise The Comedy for being a deliberate joke on its audience by being so gleefully unfunny.

I’m finally on board for the Fast & Furious franchise

After a meh first instalment and a horrible sequel, this franchise was as good as dead to me. With Furious 7 dominating the box office and positive word of mouth for the series finally drowning out my doubts, I decided to hop back into the franchise with the third instalment, Tokyo Drift. This film wasn’t by any means great, but it was engaging and personal in the way that the first two weren’t. When the next film cut back to Vin Diesel and company, I was slightly disappointed, as the band of thieves dynamic didn’t really meet my needs. However, it was Fast 5, when the franchise got a Dwayne Johnson injection, that it became an over-the-top superhero team-up movie. This film was absolutely insane, culminating in a getaway chase with a giant vault tied behind the vehicles demolishing half of Rio. The next two films failed to live up to Fast 5, but still featured cartoonish lunacy in the form of a wedge car vaulting other vehicles into the air and Dwayne Johnson flexing out of a cast.

The films of the 70′s and early 80′s continue to impress me

We’ve all heard that the 1970′s were the true golden age of cinema. Godfather this, Annie Hall that. But there’s so much more of value than the masterpieces everyone lauds. Sorcerer, Possession, The Warriors, Marathon Man, and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three are all vastly different films, but all have incredible performances, perfect pacing, and are utterly captivating. Sorcerer, about a group of drivers carrying unstable dynamite through treacherous jungles, and Possession, featuring Sam Neill as a spy watching his wife’s character slowing change into something else, both stayed me long after they were over, due to their incredible suspense and shocking outcomes.

Lilo & Stitch might be my favourite Disney movie

The Disney Renaissance died after the release of Mulan, with Tarzan, The Emperor’s New Groove, and Atlantis: The Lost Empire failing to capture imaginations the same way Aladdin or Beauty and the Beast did. Combining this decline with my bumbling journey through adolescence, it’s only natural that I’d didn’t give them a chance. So it’s with great regret that I did not see Lilo & Stitch until 2016. This film has all the heart and morals of a typical Disney film, but it’s incredibly funny as well. This was one of the movies I laughed at the hardest last year, mostly due to the antics of Stitch, who seems part koala and part centipede. This will easily get a rewatch over any of the Renaissance films. I wonder if a live action remake is in the works. 

Return to Sleepaway Camp is as boring and tone deaf as Sleepaway Camp is fun and outrageous

Sleepaway Camp is a notorious cult classic, featuring campy performances and low tech slasher violence as well as one of the most genuinely shocking and disgusting reveals I’ve ever seen in a film. The image of it's final frame is forever burned into my brain. Naturally, the film garnered a few poorly conceived sequels with no one from the first film involved, which were easy enough to ignore. However, what I couldn’t help but be intrigued by was a “true” sequel from the original writer-director, featuring at least a handful of the original cast. If ever I regret watching a movie, it’s this one. Return to Sleepaway Camp reeked of desperation and ineptitude, from a director who had been far removed from filmmaking for the 25 years since his debut was released. It’s shrill, loud, derivative, boring, and featuring a twist so outrageously apparent for the whole film, it felt like a big “fuck you” to whomever watched and liked the first film. 

The Purge movies are getting increasingly closer to being worthy of their own premise.

The first film in the Purge series was a missed opportunity. Setting up a brilliant premise, where all crime is legal for one night a year, the filmmakers foolishly decided to confine the film to within a single house for an uninspired home invasion thriller. The Purge: Anarchy brought the action to the streets for some expanded world building and introduced Frank Grillo as the new face of the franchise. But it wasn’t until the third film that real characters and an interesting plot developed. The Purge: Election Year is topical, disturbing, and more visually interesting than the previous films; if the series continues in this upward direction, I’ll be completely on board for the annual purge.

As I said earlier, this experiment was taxing, making me feel the crunch of a deadline for an entire year. But despite those struggles, I’d qualify it as a success. For each bad and mediocre film I watched, I watched two that I liked. I found a bunch of classics that I’ll be sure to return to over and over, and a bunch of directors whose filmographies I can make my way through. 

[heartlikethunder]

The Art of Healing - My Personal Initiatives to Face my Depression

I’m 22 and I have severe clinical depression as a result of many things including poor relations with my parents, school, and of course, the current political climate. I’m a pre-med and I have lots of things I want to accomplish. All of my relationships around me are becoming toxic because I keep poisoning them. And most importantly, I don’t like the person I’m starting to become. I don’t want to discuss in too much detail as to what has brought me to this point in my life, but I do want to talk about a few initiatives I’ve taken to bring me to a happier place. 

A little bit about me briefly – I graduate from college with a BS in Microbiology. I don’t have a job right now because I’m taking some time off to (try) studying for the MCAT. I live at home with my parents and used to commute from my house to school. I didn’t get my license until last year – I was 21 – and even then my mom continued to drive me to and from places. Finally I don’t have many friends. Most of the people I have met are in relationships and thus their significant other is all they need or they try to push them onto their friends as well or they are interested in drinking and partying – again, not of my interest. I’ve been forced into an environment which is very isolated from the rest of the world. I spend a lot of my time in my room with little to no conversation with anyone. I’m lonely. And my goals are so far away I don’t feel like I’ve gotten closer to any of them. 

Hence, I’ve started a few initiatives to help me overcome this moment in my life:

Drinking a lot of water. Water is a great healing agent and I drink many cups throughout the day – it completely revitalizes me. Avoid juice and sugary/oily foods. Keep things light and clean. Eat smaller portion sizes too to not feel “overstuffed,” which will help you to become more active and it’s easier to move around with none of that food slowing you down or jostling around in your belly. 

Sleeping on time. Sleep is the foundation to easing MANY mental health related diseases or illnesses. Sleep by 10PM and try to wake up around 9AM. Don’t forget to turn you phone on silent. I have an amazing Do Not Disturb feature on my iPhone which I can set up to activate automatically during a time frame. For me I have it turn on at 7PM and shut off around 10AM/11AM. I have a really hard time going to bed because I keep thinking that I didn’t do anything today, I didn’t accomplish anything, and I dread what tomorrow will bring. You need to stop this. Some of your worst thoughts come in the darkest hours of the day. Plus the next morning when I wake up my head is pounding and aching and my eyes are puffy, sore, and bloodshot. I can barely sit straight I’m so exhausted and I become very sluggish. 

PURGE. I have some much stuff I’ve accumulated that it’s literally falling all over me, all around me. My drawers are overstuffed, my craft supplies are spread out over 3 rooms, I have so many books in our “extra room,” etc. Minimalism can be very freeing and you can focus on items that you really love. I try to take the time every couple of days to purge items that I no longer love nor enjoy. I also try to organize everything so it has a proper space (a LOT of it is very unorganized) that is easy to get to and easy to put back and I try to clean my room/house. I’m definitely a stress cleaner and I love the look and smell of a clean living space. 

There is a reason that your mental health has started to suffer. This can be any memory or moment in your life. It’s important for you to find those memories, address them, and start picking them apart in a positive light so you can heal. One of the things I like to do when I’m emotionally overwhelmed by something in my life is talk to myself about it and my feelings or to write down my feelings. I just leave it on my PC or in my notebook and every once in a while I will come across it and I’ll snort at just how silly I was for being so upset about something that really wasn’t that big of a deal. You can also write letters to someone else (maybe someone you feel that has wronged you or that you have wronged to help you move on). If you don’t feel comfortable talking to yourself you can also discuss your problems with a friend or a mentor (like a therapist or counselor). However, I would tread lightly with sharing with friends, because you’ll find that many of them don’t know how to “handle” your depression or some of them will leverage that information against you. They might not understand what you’re saying and they might also give you some very unhelpful advice. I’m not saying all people are like that – there are those who are better than that and their blood runs as thick as yours, but you have to be careful. You’re already in a fragile state – don’t let someone else break you into more. 

I like to keep my mind busy. When I read or learn something new my brain comes alive. I like to study and learn new science, I really love to read but lately have not had the time (I’m trying to put all my energy towards MCAT studying but after I finish studying I do have a list of books I plan on reading), and I read a lot of fanfiction and pick apart the stories. I like to look at the different skills the author used to get their point across. The stories are usually shorter than a full length novel. And overall they’re intriguing and fun. Personally I read mostly Harry Potter fics (especially Drarry), but I have also read some really incredible stories in other fandoms such as Lord of the Rings, Teen Wolf (Sterek) Transformers, Teen Titans, BBC Sherlock, The Hobbit, etc. Let me know if you’d like me to share a few fic recs. Also manga – some of it is very beautiful and engaging. You can easily find translations online and flip through a couple of chapters to unwind while looking at the art. 

Avoid a lot of TV. I know that a lot of my recent changes and dullness has come from all the TV rotting my brain. I’m going to lump in movies, anime, and Youtube into this as well. TV now a days is complete garbage. There is such terrible acting (while I do participate in the Teen Wolf fandom, I absolutely hate the actual TV show. There are many great actors but I don’t feel like the writing of the series gives them a chance to really blossom. My favorite is Dylan O’brien as Stiles, but lately as he has picked up new projects, I’ve noticed a change in his on-screen TV performance), horrifying plots WITH SO MANY PLOT HOLES, and the writing is just bad with multiple innuendos and profanities thrown in to make it more modern and cool. I’m also tired of the love triangles (The Shannara Chronicles made me want to cry), the poor representation of people of color, lack of depth and character development, etc. TV is just complete shit. And there are WAAAAY too many seasons of shows that should have been put to rest. I’ve mostly enjoyed Shameless (lots of great plots and subplots with tons of great character development) though that has started to wane a bit as I find some of the characters’ stories dragging and How to Get Away with Murder. I’ll occasionally watch an episode of another show here or there, but honestly, it’s all garbage. Instead take that time to read or do something else. I like movies – I mostly watch Disney – but I have noticed that when I’m bored and upset I just sit there eating and rewatching old films. While there isn’t anything wrong with that, doing that every day is going to eat away at your mental health. I feel the same way I do about anime as I do about TV shows. A lot of it is empty and honestly the classics were so much better like Fruits Basket. Finally, YouTube is an amazing community. There is so much to learn and discover on this platform. I follow a lot of channels including cooking, baking, gardening, fashion, beauty, etc. I also follow a lot of fashion/beauty bloggers. Here’s my opinion – don’t do it. A lot of them treat YouTube and their blogs as businesses. They get sent a lot of stuff for free. They’re always trying new stuff. That is their job. And realistically speaking, you cannot go out every time they rave about a new product, just because they deem it to be the best thing on the planet when you’re still in the middle of finishing your current one or already have a significant collection. Don’t do it. Also, stop watching them. They's a lot of rambling and talking about nonsense for the most part. A lot of them have very empty conversations and chatter that it’s tough to follow. Makeup doesn’t even look that great on me, and I’d never drop $100 on some silly foundation - I certainly don’t need to be watching 10 different videos on how to apply eyeshadow. I understand for many people they watch or continue to watch because it’s fun and they enjoy it. And if that is you then great, go for it – in moderation of course. However, I will say, always keep it in the back of your mind that eventually this might turn into an obsession if day in and day out this is all you’re “seeing.” Youtubers can really twist your views of the real world. I for one can personally attest to that. I have a very strong and wise head on my shoulders. I can pick up discreet social cues/messages hidden in the media and scoff at them - I’m alert and observant. But when I watch Youtubers and see many of them showcasing the same things and lifestyles repetitively, I immediately begin to think this is the way it is for many if not all girls on the planet. Suddenly spending $1000 on a Chanel bag is normal – a necessity to blossom into womanhood. Don’t forget, there are people out there scraping to make ends meet. There are plenty, if not MORE, people in the world that are living comfortable lifestyles not filled with materialistic things and spending their money wisely. Just be smart and don’t let their channels twist your perception of the world. If anyone is interested I’ll be happy to share some of the blogs I follow for outfit inspirations (I mostly just glance at the pics and never am overly obsessed with getting the same things they have on – other than Extrapetitie.com because her picks are wonderful and reasonably priced). I also find less Youtube, the less shopping I do, and less of purchasing frivolous things. On the same note when you do go shopping, tune into your inner feelings and ask yourself is this something you need and then ask yourself if you really want it. Don’t settle. Pick things that you look great in and boost your self esteem. I’m overweight and I’m also short. Aside from my stomach sticking out and having thick thighs, I also have very thick upper arms. A lot of stuff that might look great on my sister and mother (who are both a lot taller and thinner), look completely terrible on me. I always give in and get them in the end because my mother emotionally blackmails me into it, but I don’t enjoy wearing them and they make me feel like shit. I’ve recently acquired a few new pieces that I think are much better suited for myself and will be wearing those from now on. If you dress well, and you feel good in what you’re wearing, and if you look good, you’ll feel good. 

Take walks – nature can unwind you. I walk a round around my neighborhood. I think all together it is roughly 1.2 miles? There is also a very small park with a swingset in the middle that I like to stop at and swing away till my heart is content. This is when I listen to the new music I’ve discovered and come up with story ideas. Try to hit the gym. Sweat out the negativity in your life and I promise you, not only will your brain feel better, but you’ll physically look and feel a lot better too. Just get out of the house. This is a bit trickier for me because of my poor driving skills and my parents don’t let me go out much. When I do go out it’s mostly for groceries. I don’t enjoy eating out that much, but going out to eat a small something at a restaurant can be a very relaxing experience. Don’t feel like you HAVE to go with someone or that you have HAVE to eat a heavy/full meal. A lot of restaurants also have great rewards programs or newsletters you can sign up for to help you save on costs if you are in a financial pinch. Olive Garden always seems to be bringing around their famous pasta deal and fast food places such as Baskin Robbins have great promotions such as on the 31st of the month, each scoop of ice cream is $1.31. It’s not a bad deal for a casual outing to treat yo self and freshen up. The general consensus is to take care of yourself and relax. Something I do on my personal time is give myself a skincare treatment at night - a lovely facial with a facial massage, masks, etc. 

I love to write but I haven’t written in forever and I don’t have a lot of unique ideas/prompts. I do have one novelesque fanfic idea that I’m really excited and crazy about. I’m slowly and diligently writing it, but I still want to keep improving my writing and brush up on my writing skills during the in between. I suggest finding a fandom that you love – and if you can’t I highly recommend the Harry Potter fandom, because it’s huge and there are so many more opportunities here than other fandoms in my personal opinion – and write prompts and challenges. There are a ton of communities dedicated to prompts, challenges, gift exchanges, fic fests, etc. If you’re interested let me know – I have a huge list of some popular Harry Potter fests and such. Also, join and follow users who are active in the fandom as they too will sometimes offer opportunities to join networks or challenges they have created. There is a user who has created a drarry valentine’s fic exchange which is so cute and I recently started nooreva’s trope bingo for femslash february.  I’ve also claimed a fic prompt from HP kink fest. They’re not too time sensitive, and there is enough direction to help me from feeling lost, but still enough room for creativity to explore my writing. Let me know if you’d like any writing advice as well. I’m thinking of trying to get back into poetry while I’m here. 

I picked up some “pen pals.” It’s very new to me and I’m incredibly nervous. Snailmail revolution is huge right now, where people all over the world send attractive letters to one another and with it small goodies such as stickers, stationary, etc. I found a few people through Tumblr and Instagram for now. I have no idea how this is going to go because I don’t have money to be buying cute stationary and gifts – I’m already going to be spending a decent bit on stamps because I have picked up A LOT of pen pals to keep me busy – but I’m trying to keep on a positive note. It’s honestly very fun to get personal mail and to peek in and see all the lovely things people might have sent. I have written one letter so far and I did a lot of doodling, homemade stickers, and printing. I’ll keep you all posted on my experience as other letters start to come in. There is also a group that is focused on craftier snailmail that I’m a member of. It’s called pretty postal swap and I LOVE it. They have a theme every month and you exchange letters with other members based on that theme. Of course the goal is to be crafty so it’s a bit of a mix of scrapbooking and cardmaking. It’s a lot of fun. Some of the pics I have seen do appear to be a bit more upscale than what I can commit to right now, but I’m hoping it will go well. This is my first month trying it and the theme is an icy cold snowy envelope, with a warm and cozy card inside. I decided to create a simple snowy backdrop on my envelope with a shadow of a row of houses. For the cozy interior I made a homemade card with a sketch of an image on the front that I colored with colored pencils, I printed out some journaling cards of polar bears and some cute sweater designs, I printed some teacups which I colored with colored pencils and made them into homemade stickers which I placed into envelopes made from this gorgeous teal birdie wrapping paper, I’m going to be throwing in a bag of berry tea, and finally, I made a simple tag of a polar bear wearing a sweater. The final result is obviously homemade and I’m not sure what the group is going to think of it, but I have my fingers crossed and I put in a lot of time and effort into my final product. I also am a huge lover of scrapbooking and cardmaking, and while I do get a hefty fix of it via my snailmail art, there are tons of swaps and swap groups you can join as well. You can swap pocket letters, tags, tag books, embellishments, etc. I applied to join one but I cannot seem to recall the name or find the original sign up page. I believe they will be emailing me to confirm if I’ve been accepted but not sure about this one yet. If you’re curious to see what snailmailrevolution is I highly suggest looking up the #snailmailrevolution on instragram. If anyone wants to check out some youtube videos on the idea and what some of the packages look like in greater depth, let me know and I can share some links.

Finally I’ve also really gotten into doodling. I’m a terrible artist – my proportions are all over the place, but I’ve found myself enjoying following along with youtube doodlers and then sitting down and coloring them in. I’ve done quite a few already for my pen pal letters and would be happy to share some of the channels I follow for help and inspiration. To help me explore this new interest, I’ve joined the #doodlewithus challenge on instagram hosted by @alexandra_plans and @christina77star. Basically every month there is a daily challenge with an overall theme of what you should try to draw that day. For February the theme is space and every day we will be drawing a specific planet, space ships, rockets, etc. it’s so lovely and takes hardly any time. I highly recommend joining in the fun.

Volunteer - give your time to someone else. Focus on becoming humble. Look at the life people are living around you and learn to appreciate what you have. I personally work at a nonprofit clinic on some Sundays where I work in patient discharge in filing and scanning in patient records into the charting software. Personally I would prefer something more rewarding, but it’s very flexible and such an easy commitment. Turn your negatives in to positives. Give daily affirmations a try. I tried it myself but it was a little awkward and uncomfortable giving myself pep talks. However it is still a very powerful tool and I would recommend it. You could also try daily thanks and make a list of what you’re thankful for which is something a little more up my alley. 

So those are some new things I’m going to be trying out. I’ll give you an update in a few weeks after getting some responses and testing things out. It seems like a lot of stuff and in hindsight it is, but I think this is a great way to fill in some of those quiet hours in between my studying. This is by no means a definitive list. There are clearly some things I need to be work on or have in my life that I haven’t addressed in my list such as actual in person human contact, but it’s just not possible for me at this time. I also know a lot of people will redirect my in getting a job, but the MCAT is a beast, and if I can have the time to study for it distraction free and comfortably, with only that exam in mind, I’ll gladly take it. Some of these things might not work for you at all, this will not CURE you by any means, but it’s a start and hopefully will give you some new ideas to try and to expand your horizon. In the future I would like to get back into watercoloring, take swimming lessons and learn to properly swim (I finished up to level 4 or 5 – I stopped just short of the actual swimming part because I had trouble keeping my form), try a pottery class (I took a one day workshop at my school and it was amazing and frustrating. I would really love to go back and learn how to throw on the wheel properly), and maybe join a bookclub.

[hellosaltysaladcollectionstuff]

Peacock is here, adding thousands of hours of content on top of the already endless list of things we have at our disposal to watch. The streaming service comes from NBCUniversal and features a ridiculous amount of TV shows and movies to consume. Where do you start, though?

First of all, take a look at everything already leaving Peacock. Many of the blockbuster films that might have drawn you to the service will be departing shortly, even though the service launched widely today. Combine that with our overall thoughts on Peacock and you might question whether it's worth trying out at all. If you're like us, though, and you need a complete set of streaming services to choose from, there are quite a few excellent moves for you to delve into on the service.

Below, we've come up with the 20 movies most worth watching right away. Some of these you've likely seen many times before but are always worth another viewing. Others, though, might be new discoveries for you to enjoy. Whatever the case, you'll have plenty to watch while you wait for The Office to finally be added in full.

1. All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records

If you were a child of the '80s or '90s, chances are you are at least somewhat familiar with Tower Records. The iconic chain music store had locations around the world before online music became a thing and it was eventually driven out of business. This documentary, directed by Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle star--and noted son of Tom Hanks--Colin Hanks, digs into the store's history, its expansion throughout the '90s, and its eventual bankruptcy. If you've never seen this documentary, it's more than worth your time and shows just how devoted people were to this chain, including some of the biggest stars in the music industry.

2. American Psycho

Before Christian Bale played Batman, he portrayed a fictional serial killer named Patrick Batemen in this very weird and entertaining 2000 adaptation of a Bret Easton Ellis novel. Bateman is an investment banker with a dark side who brutally murders people at random, usually while dancing to '80s pop music and spouting music trivia. The film is told from his point of view, as he searches for meaning.

3. Back in Time

What better series of movies to do a documentary on than Back to the Future? Back in time is loaded with new interviews, plenty of behind-the-scenes stories, and a deep dive into what made this franchise so special.

4. Fletch

Sure, these days Chevy Chase is best known for playing horrible human being Pierce Hawthorne on the TV show Community. In the '80s, though, Chase had quite the film career, including the National Lampoon's Vacation franchise. Fletch is some of his most entertaining work. It's a comedy in which he plays a news reporter and master of disguise (Not really, he just puts on costumes and pretends to be other people) trying to get to the bottom of a millionaire's plot to have him killed. It's absurd and very funny.

5. Universal monster movies

What would a streaming service from NBCUniversal be without the Universal monsters? Peacock is filled with classic Universal monster movies, from Dracula and Frankenstein to The Creature from the Black Lagoon and Abbot and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. There's even an entire section of the service dedicated solely to these classic films.

6. Highlander

There can only be one! The 1986 film about a sword-wielding immortal named Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) launched a franchise that included multiple movie sequels and several TV shows. Only the first movie is available, but it's worth watching--especially if you love battles to the death.

7. Howard the Duck

This is obviously the most important Marvel movie of all time. Who needs the Avengers when you have Howard the Duck? Yes, long before he was an Easter egg in Guardians of the Galaxy, Howard the Duck had his own movie, and it's somehow wonderful and terrible all at once. The plot is utterly ridiculous: Howard is propelled from his duck-filled world to Earth, where he agrees to manage a rock band. Then he finds out why he's really there: to stop a laser from destroying his home planet. Watch this movie and marvel (get it?) at what comic book movies were back in 1986.

8. I Am Big Bird

Ever wonder what life was like living inside of a giant bird puppet? This documentary explores the life of Caroll Spinney, the man who portrayed Big Bird on Sesame Street from 1969 until 2019, performing both in-costume and the character's voice. It's a fascinating look at the person behind one of pop culture's most iconic figures.

9. King Ralph

While you may know him as the dad from Roseanne/The Conners, or the guy from 10 Cloverfield Lane, or even Walter from The Big Lebowski, John Goodman also starred in 1991's King Ralph. In the film, the entire British royal family dies in a freak electrocution accident, and American lounge singer Ralph Jones (Goodman) winds up becoming the King of England. Is it a ludicrous setup for a film? Absolutely. Is it a funny movie? Absolutely.

10. Man on the Moon

Jim Carrey's performance as Andy Kaufman is spellbinding to watch in this biopic that studies the comedian's career. Whether he's wrestling Jerry "The King" Lawler or assuming the alter ego of lounge singer Tony Clifton, it's hard to look away from Carrey as Kaufman in this movie.

11. Matinee

Peacock really does love John Goodman. In Matinee, King Ralph himself stars as a movie producer trying to mount a preview of his B horror movie in Florida during the Cuban missile crisis. While set during a very serious and troubling period, this comedy is ultimately very funny--and at points truly bizarre thanks to director Joe Dante (Gremlins, Small Soldiers). If ever you've wanted to see Goodman get punched out by someone in a mutant ant costume, this is the film for you. And if you haven't wanted to see that, it should probably be on your list now.

12. Psycho

The horror classic is one of many Alfred Hitchcock films available on Peacock. You can also watch The Birds, Rear Window, Vertigo, and Rope, among many others.

13. Reservoir Dogs

Before Pulp Fiction, this was the movie that put Quentin Tarantino on the map. Shot on a small budget with an A-list cast, Reservoir Dogs is one of the most interesting heist movies you'll ever see. What makes it so interesting--and cheap to make--is that you don't actually see the heist. Instead, you see the planning and then the aftermath when it all goes horribly wrong. Rather than focusing on the actual heist, Reservoir Dogs is a character study as you watch these relative strangers fall apart when their seemingly perfect plan doesn't work out.

14. Silent Running

Silent Running, which was released in 1972, is never included in discussions about the best sci-fi movies and that's a serious mistake. It's set in a future where all plant life on Earth is dead and a botanist (Bruce Dern) tends to some of the last existing vegetation on what is essentially a space station connected to a commercial freight ship. Things take a drastic turn when he learns the plant life is to be destroyed and sets out to protect it at all costs.

15. Sleepaway Camp

You won't find much on Peacock from the slasher subgenre of horror films. However, the first Sleepaway Camp movie is there and if you've somehow never seen it before, get ready for a wild ride. It's a familiar story of teenagers at a summer camp where bodies start piling up, but the journey is a fun one and it led to sequels. While you won't find those on Peacock, they are on Shudder.

16. The Blair Witch Project

The Blair Witch Project is the found footage movie that all other found footage movies aspire to be. From the moment the first trailer for this film premiered before screenings of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, audiences were terrified of whatever was going to happen on-screen. The end result is a low budget horror movie that remains absolutely terrifying to this day. Peacock also has the non-found footage sequel, Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows. You can skip that one, though.

17. The Bourne Identity

The first Jason Bourne movie remains the best Jason Bourne movie. The Bourne Identity introduced Matt Damon as the action star nobody knew he could be. Playing Jason Bourne, a man with amnesia and incredible fighting skills that many people seem to want dead, Damon and director Doug Liman created a gritty and violent action film that launched a franchise--and a theme park stunt show.

18. The Matrix

Of course, you've seen The Matrix. Everybody has seen The Matrix. You're probably one of the unfortunate souls that sat through sequels to The Matrix too. And when The Matrix 4 hits theaters, you'll line up to see that too. That doesn't mean you should stop rewatching the original, though, and Peacock has it ready and waiting for you. The sequels are also there but don't do that to yourself.

19. The Mummy

Sure, you could watch the old Mummy movies where he's one of the Universal monsters. Instead of that, though, you should watch Brendan Frasier fight the Mummy. What movie hasn't been improved by having Brendan Frasier in it? This take on the Mummy, which is more action than horror, is fun and is ready to stream on Peacock--along with 2001's The Mummy Returns.

20. You're Next

2013's You're Next is a thrilling and inventive horror movie in which a house full of people is being taunted by home invaders as they are picked off one-by-one. Produced on a tiny budget and released just a couple of months after The Purge, You're Next wasn't the box office smash it deserved to be. Thankfully, though, it can find a new audience on Peacock.

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