#sorry about the extremely terribly quality in these pics

[leslieseveride]

i remember thinking that lucy was going to link her arm with tim’s in this scene and i sincerely hope that we get a parallel of them walking hand in hand down this same street after their date.  🥺💕

[theoddest1]

i strongly feel like the godawful tattoo thing is the result of people woobifying val and not taking his role as a serial r*pist seriously. yeah he's fictional but lets not forget that all this "its just fiction bs" leads to a fucking victim being shipped their r*pist, the r*pist being defended and simped after, and played down. great. any person with more than a braincell would immediately see what the issue is. this shit reminds me of amercian horror story season 1 where they glorified the school shooter to be sexy and quirky or how glorified self harm was. it stuck with me, since i was a pre-teen and depressed when i saw this and i thought it was edgy and cool and never saw an issue with it since that was how it was portrayed. this shit makes my skin crawl.

imagine being in public and a stranger asks about the tattoo- and obviously you would only tell them the show they're from and what the character's name is, and not that their only character trait is being a huge abuser and assaulter, but imagine being a person with no clue about hazbin, then looking up the character and then seeing what he really is. i think i'd be horrified. i'd stay 300 yards away from that person. you can like a deranged and truly evil/irredeemable character, but there is a limit- and val is the most one-dimensional character to ever exist, since being a r*pist and a giant manbaby are his ONLY character traits, there is literally nothing else to his character and person. even your average 80's slasher has more depth and complexity.

i cant fucking take this anymore. holy hell.

CW////NON-CON SHIPS

And I have even sadder news for you Anon.

Found this all on their acc. (Sorry if quality ends up being trash, tumblr kinda makes my pics look oof)

And on top of all of that, they have the gall to be pissy that folks find Val, a straight rapist, worse than a woman who was ALSO forced into an arranged marriage that they had no say in and that those who SIMP and WOOBIFY him are in the utter wrong. They even try to make it seem like Stella and Stolas still have sex when I believe Stella states that she's happy an egg fell outta her so that she can stop wanting to have sex with him. She's no saint, but to make the argument that it's hypocritical to like or find Stella interesting when the situations VASTLY differ(One is an implied prolific raoist, the other is a woman trapped in a life she never fucking wanted and raised in a possible terrible environment) is EXTREMELY tone deaf and shows a lack of critical thinking skills. This is it, guys! This do be the Hazbin Hotel Fandom.

[mikareo]

dove I am once again terribly sorry for sending the request so late and I wanna thank you for doing one for me☹️☹️

1) ok I pick jujutsu kaisen :)) (diverting from haikyuu and bllk for once)

2) I'll send the pic in the next ask that I send

3) male and uhh teenage or adult both are fine by me :D

4) not very nsfw but suggestive? If that's okay? (If you're uncomfy with that sfw is okay)

5) I think I'd say I'm friendly and get very comfortable with you once we get close like I will start yapping and not stop. I can be a bit annoying at times I feel but not very much. I am willing to listen to my friends and I try my best to give advice wherever possible. I think I'm also very supportive and can be good to hang out with once you know me. Idk my mbti I'm sorry:( I'm a Sagittarius go by she/her and I like listening to people talk about their interests and I send to many reels to my friends (also very chronically online) I am not very athletic but am more into reading and I love watching movies and tv shows.

6) I love reading, listening to music, making hot chocolate or ramen as those are the only things I can make, writing stories and sometimes poetry, talking to my friends about anything and watching reels. I also like hiking with my sister :D and exploring new cafes and restaurants and aesthetic places. I love travelling and I love eyeliner.

7) ok dream date hmmm cliche but like art museum dates!!! I'd love to go to an art museum and just hang around and then get ice cream afterwards. A cafe date sounds good too tbh. Extra points if it's like a pet cafe or a cat cafe.

💌 ✮⋆˙ love letter to...rewh0re!

here it is hana!!! i rlly hope u like this n i'm p sure u alr like the chara that i matched u with so that's a little reassurance on my part lol,, and girl u are so pretty like ur freckles are absolutely gorgeous!!! AND red is so ur color,, i'd send u a virtual bouquet of roses if i could ajskdlf

[ ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱₊˚⊹ ᰔ ] your complete matchup results!

⋆⋆⋆⠀ ⠀ APPEARANCE PAIRING ! congratulations . . .‧₊˚🌑✩KOKICHI MUTA₊˚🎧⊹♡

with soft features and kind qualities, you and kokichi have the brightest smiles in the room. your energy is practically magnetic, drawing in laughter without even the slightest effort, you're known as a golden couple. everyone admires the way you look at each other, as well as the way he doesn't hesitate to use you as his muse in all of his endeavors; kokichi holds you to the highest value, and loves to see the beautiful smile on your face when you tell him how proud you are.

⋆⋆⋆⠀ ⠀ PERSONALITY PAIRING ! congratulations . . .‧₊˚🍣✩SUGURU GETO₊˚🌷⊹♡

⋆⭒˚｡⋆ chemistry analysis . . .

initially, when i was reading through your personality traits, my first thought was gojo. you two seem really similar, which is why i redirected myself to geto...i feel like gojo with someone akin to himself would be a disaster (lol). you and geto are extremely compatible, for many reasons other than your similarities to gojo— in fact, you and geto are a no-brainer match.

obviously, with your shared qualities with gojo, you and geto are bound to get along without a doubt. when geto is silent, he enjoys the volume you bring to a room; finding great comfort in hearing your voice above all others as he knows that you're speaking about something you're passionate about. he's not necessarily the most outgoing individual, so having you to get him out of his shell is of utmost importance. he can rely on you for support in social settings, as well as whenever he's in need for a laugh.

with geto's insecurities and avoidance of acknowledging his struggles, it's great that he has you to talk to. since you're willing to lend an ear and sit down with him when he needs to vent, geto feels seen. he feels like there's someone who actually cares about what's going on in his mind. he often asks you for advice on how to handle the difficult situations he has, and you're there to tell him what's right and what's wrong; ultimately leading him away from a fate that could potentially be fatal.

it's doubtful that geto is on his phone often, but when he is he enjoys scrolling through the mass amounts of reels you send him. normally, he'd be annoyed by this— if it were gojo, he'd probably mute his profile for a period of time before his best friend learned his lesson— but you're an exception. his favorite time of night is when he's alone, snuggled in bed, and gets to watch a curated feed of all your interests and the things you find funny. sometimes he can almost image the sound of your laughter beside him, and it makes his heart feel warmer by the minute.

the quiet days in which you're together are the best, though. geto loves to relax with you on the couch while you watch your favorite television show. he especially loves the little comments you make about your favorite characters when he gets confused by the storyline. sometimes, when you get hungry, he makes the kitchen his territory; quickly getting together a home-cooked meal that leaves your mouth watering for more. he's an amazing chef, yet still loves to try the new cafes in town whenever you find yourself excited for a new opening. he loves enjoying the little things with you. every second counts. every moment is cherished.

⋆⭒˚｡⋆ memories on the wall . . .

⋆⭒˚｡⋆ a treasured moment . . .

"baby, c'mon you gotta get up." you can faintly hear your boyfriend's voice though the midst of sleep as he gently nudges you awake. however, geto's efforts are sadly failing, your eyes fluttering open and closed; leaving him to his last resort: peppering your face in kisses.

his lips touch your nose, your cheek, your forehead, and lastly, your lips. what a romantic.

"i'm awake, i swear." lifting one eye open, you softly smile at him. his handsome face is a mere two inches from your own with stars in his gaze. he always looks at you as if you're some sort of astral phenomenon; a once in a lifetime comet that only he has the pleasure of looking at. "did i miss the ending?" you definitely missed the ending of the movie.

geto nods, laughing lightly, before lifting you off of the leather couch. his arms wrap around your body in a protective way, hands on your thighs and chin nestled atop your head.

"i love you so much, suguru." you murmur, slowly waking up from the deep slumber you were consumed by. "i'm sorry i fell asleep, i know how excited you were to watch it with me."

he kisses your forehead as you reach the bedroom, with the billowing curtains and sun showers through the windows, the image is so serene. it's almost as if you could stay in this place and relax forever with geto by your side. slowly, he lowers you onto the bed— his large figure leaning over you— and begins covering you in kisses once more. chin. shoulder. chest. he clearly has plans that are going to keep you up for the next few hours.

"i love you too, baby."

[skyward-floored]

OOOH THAT SOUNDS COOL I WANNA SEE YOUR BROKEN FINGER 😀😀

Sorry lol I’m in training to be an EMT I love seeing weird injuries and bruises (one time my friend dislocated her kneecap and I asked her for a picture before I even asked if she was alright 😭 ((she still gives me crap about it, but my argument is that if she’s ok enough to text me, she’s ok enough to send me a picture lol)

Not joking when I say definitely don’t post a pic of you don’t want to, though! Stay safe and I hope it doesn’t hurt too bad 💜💜

No yeah I totally get it, I think injuries can be kinda cool too (is that terrible? XD)! I don’t mind sharing pics, just be warned that I’m using the camera of an extremely old iPod touch of questionable quality 😂

Gonna put the rest of it under the cut though so people don’t have to see if they don’t want to—

So I tried to get a good picture that shows off the blue color my finger currently has, but unfortunately the lighting in my house is pretty terrible 😅 hopefully you can still make it out?

It’s a mix between green and blue today, though there’s a hint of purple right in the middle of the joint.

I also have a picture of it on the day I broke it, that one is fun because it swelled up like a balloon XD My middle and ring fingers are naturally curved a bit, but they make the pic look even worse lol

[poodlepunk]

Expanded Author Notes: Once and Again

Hi! Can’t believe I just finished these two stories. Sorry it took so long, I got quite emotional about writing the final chapter! I’m really going to miss this version of Tamaki and Kyoya. I love when other writers talk about their process and headcanons, so if you’re interested, here are a few of mine from the Once and Again series! Everything I thought would be too annoying to put in the notes section!

(Contains some spoilers for the Ouran manga and for the two fics And So Kyoya Met Him! (Again) and Once Is Never Enough)

1. What inspired this fanfiction?

I’ve always loved this pairing and Ouran (from the anime). I like how the anime leaves the romances between all of these wonderful characters ambiguous. I was happy and content, thinking to myself that of course Tamaki and Kyoya could have made something happen post-anime.

Then, while trapped in my house by a global pandemic, I somehow came into possession of the 18 volume manga box set and devoured it with my eyes in 2 days.

That’s when I saw the side note that Kyoya ends up drifting apart from Tamaki and Haruhi (except for texting occasional pics of his cat?????), and eventually he marries some lady that will make the Ootori family look good. UHHHH NO THANKS. This was an extreme knife in the heart to me (and I’m sure, everyone reading this).

There is also one panel in the final volume (on the Barcelona side trip). It’s a low-quality panel, but basically Tamaki punches Kyoya in the shoulder, and Kyoya just gives him this stunned, small look. And I immediately interpreted that as “OH GOD, HE TOUCHED ME.” It broke my heart and every time I even think about it, I need to write another 1000 words of Kyoya finding love and happiness.

Haruhi will be 100% fine, but Kyoya needs Tamaki, and that’s what I wanted to give him. In 2020, we all deserve it.

2. Why does Kyoya have brown eyes? 

In the anime, Kyoya seems to have gray-ish eyes. I always wonder, when people read fanfic about anime characters, whether they see the characters as they’re drawn or as actual 3d people? I tend to imagine them as actual humans with the features of their anime drawings. Like a live action movie. So I’d imagine Kyoya as a very, very handsome Japanese man with brown eyes. And Tamaki as a ridiculously handsome French-Japanese man with blonde hair and blue eyes so brilliant they could be called violet.

3. Is it easier to write Kyoya or Tamaki?

Definitely Tamaki. I feel much more similar to Tamaki, in that a lot of texts I send are seventeen party hat emojis. Side note, I’m also eurasian like Tamaki (though definitely do not have violet eyes). I really like the aspect of him being from two cultures, thinking about his identity and where his home is.

But I do love writing them both.

My interpretation of Kyoya comes more from the manga, I think, where he’s shown more to have a secret heart of gold (finding Tamaki’s mother, helping him catch her before her plane leaves, defending Tamaki to his father--god he would literally do ANYTHING for Tamaki). He also seems to be quite innocent (despite all his scheming) and holds himself apart from matters of the heart. I love the moment when he’s helping Tamaki get to the plane to see his mother, but refuses to join him to watch the emotional reunion because he’s “not good with emotions.” I really wanted to help him find that side of himself.

Tamaki is just my sweet, clueless sunshine boy. I could see him being one of those people who is very popular and in control in high school, makes friends wherever he goes, but gets a bit lost in college/adulthood. Especially with his difficult upbringing, need to please people, and living with the terrible decision to leave his mother behind. I could see him shutting down or turning a bit self destructive. I think Kyoya is a grounding influence on him, and someone he would always look to for stability, someone who would be solid in a crisis.

Also thank you for indulging my headcanon that Tamaki is an amazing dancer at college parties and karaoke singer. I imagine he would be the most fun friend of the group to spend a night out with because he has a musician’s timing, rhythm, and no shame. You’d want him on your side in a dance battle. Also why I imagine he would be great at sex lol. 

The Sports Day arc of the manga is one of my favorites--Tamaki tends to recognize Kyoya’s feelings before he does, but he never calls them out directly. Instead, he has to play a long, elaborate game with Kyoya to get him to acknowledge them. He spends so much time and effort trying to make Kyoya happy and give him what he needs, even when Kyoya doesn’t want to accept it. This was a lot of the inspiration for Once Is Never Enough.

On a personal note: this year has been rough (for everyone, hope you are hanging in there!!). I was supposed to be spending the winter (three months) in Tokyo, but that did not happen due to Covid. Writing this fic and taking these boys all over the world really helped me to revisit some of my favorite places.

The good news is that I will have to watch a lot more anime to keep working on my preschool-level Japanese. And then write more fics! I’m so excited about it.

I cannot BELIEVE that the only thing standing between me and being a fanfic writer like the many I have always admired, was literally pushing a button on ao3. If you’re thinking about it, I encourage you to try it!!

My inbox is open if you want to chat about Ouran, writing, these fics or anything :) 

Also, I don’t know if I will ever write these fics personally (I’ve been thinking about it) but here are some things that I would love to see and WHY DON’T THESE FICS EXIST YET (someone please do this or rec them to me if they exist):

1. The hurt/comfort story of Kyoya helping Tamaki battle his mother’s disease

2. Kyoya helping Tamaki get back on his feet after his (amicable) divorce from Haruhi or (bitter) divorce from Eclair

3. Where is Kyoya’s mom? The reversal story where Tamaki helps Kyoya with HIS family problems for once.

There are so many great ones, but I just wish there were even more stories about these guys. Maybe one day we will get the Fruits Basket style Ouran season 2.

I’ll be honest--I’ll probably not be able to keep from writing at least one Christmas one-shot about these two.

Thanks for reading these notes! Hope you enjoyed them! :)

[formulatrash]

Honestly that thermals thing (how much they make you look better/more buff) is something I've seen a lot of people ask themselves... I remember a friend of mine once looked up the shaping qualities of them after she saw a picture of Mitch Evans and Alex Lynn from last year's FE season (I think it was either Bern or NY, maybe someone can add the picture as you probably won't know which one I'm talking about)

Fairly sure that friend was me in the tags of this pic which ah, terrible to have to post it again eh

Oh no now we're all looking at Alex Lynn's tits on a Monday night 😔

Anyway, the sculpting thing is sort of real - so nomex (the fireproof underwear material) doesn't have to do this but Alpinestars have this particular design that is really structured and makes everyone look like a fucking snack. Like sorry to shame Sam Bird here cus he's a stone cold hot fella but this style of thermals are like - ok, nice, no complaints but they do not hit the same:

Whereas the Alpinestars ZX Evo thermals? Those are like the... Idk, bodycon dress of publicly worn safety gear. I see a fella in these my mind goes empty and I forget what I'm doing they're just very good and I'm extremely mad at Alpinestars for bringing out a V2 that isn't quite the same, the monsters:

[bullocklegacy]

The Caliente Family and Don Lothario Part 1

Katrina decided to ask Don to go to lunch with her on Thursday because she felt she needed to talk to him about their future. Don was hesitant at first but ultimately agreed to go. Katrina asked him if he had any plans to get a job and Don simply stated that he hadn’t thought about it much. Katrina explained to Don that she wasn’t sure how she was going to afford to pay the bills on her paycheck from being an entertainer alone. Don could sense the stress in Katrina and promised her that he would begin looking for a job immediately, he also reminded her that Dina could help out because she had just recently gotten a job as a waitress. Katrina started to feel better about that aspect of their future, but she was still unsure of where Don stood when it came to commitment to her. She started talking about wanting a family and a husband, to which Don started talking casually about how much the idea of a family scares him, almost making a joke out of it. Katrina was deeply upset by this but tried not to show it, Don could still tell. 

Once Don sensed the sadness in Katrina, he quickly began to try to cheer her up in any way he could. Don hugged Katrina close and kissed her because the sight of this beautiful, amazing woman so upset was devastating to him. Don never realizes how much this reassures Katrina that he is the one for her and that they have a definite future in store, he thinks he has just cheered her up for the moment. 

The pair stayed out in town for the rest of the day, bonding and flirting over the sights of Oasis Springs. When they returned home, Katrina secretly quit her dream job as an entertainer and applied for a job as a critic instead, because she knew it would pay better. She returned to her love and they spent time in each other’s company and for the first time in a few weeks, Don and Katrina slept in the same bed. 

Meanwhile, Dina the eldest of the Caliente sisters was growing more and more frustrated with her life. Dina feels as if she is living a lie and nobody in the world truly knows who she is, not even her. It seems Dina is always frustrated lately, she rarely wants to talk to anyone in her family and when she isn’t at home punching a bag or yelling at her sister, she is either at her new job or running around with her friends who like to steal, do drugs, and race. Dina is searching for anything that could give her a release from her life which feels like a lie. 

Around midnight, Dina hears a knock at the door, and being that she is the only person in the house that is awake, she answers the door. She opens the door to find a very strange looking man, his skin is almost... grey? She starts talking to him and actually enjoys the conversation when all at once he morphs before her eyes. The strange looking man begins to look even more strange, his eyes have turned into piercing glowing orbs, and his face is covered in dark veins. 

Dina doesn’t really remember what happened after that but she can make out a very cloudy memory of her being bitten and something that tasted very sweet. Dina started to question if she had been bitten by a vampire, but quickly shuts this theory down because obviously that wasn’t the case, only crazy people believe in vampires. 

Katrina and Don woke up in the same bed and Katrina couldn’t seem to remove the smile from her face. She was finally back on track with her love. Waking up next to the empty space of bed that should have Don in it was absolute torture for Katrina the past few weeks, so when she was able to roll over and see her love next to her, it felt like she could breathe again. Katrina was so happy that she jumped out of bed after a few minutes cuddling with Don and ran downstairs t make them breakfast. Katrina started the eggs and bacon while singing to herself and swaying her hips. Seeing Katrina this way made Don so happy. He was so happy that he could make her feel so happy. They sat together and ate breakfast and discussed the current events of the world, and their plans for the day, just like a husband and wife would. Katrina finished her meal and then kissed Don one last time before taking a shower and heading straight to her new job (that Don doesn’t know about). 

Don immediately went to the gym once Katrina had left for work. He felt so tense and he wasn’t completely sure why. He started to work out and realized that he was starting to feel the urge to distance himself from the relationship again. He cursed himself for this, but in the end he couldn’t shake the urge. Why is he so messed up that he can’t commit to the best woman he had ever met in his entire life? Why does he keep feeling the urge to distance himself, ultimately hurting the woman he cares so deeply for? 

After his workout Don was more frustrated than he was before. At this moment a sexy woman with beautiful pastel pink hair and incredible curves walked in. Don almost didn’t realize what he was doing until he was arriving at her apartment. 

Once they had finished Don felt the guiltiest he had in his entire life. “This woman has done nothing but care for me and support me and I went and cheated on her?! What scum I am! Katrina deserves so much better than a piece of garbage like me!” he thought. Don fully intended on telling Katrina as soon as she got home. 

(so sorry for the TERRIBLE QUALITY of the last pic im still learning how to use pose player on my laptop -_-)

When Katrina got home Don could feel his throat tighten and his heart racing. He felt dizzy and nauseous. Katrina came in the room and greeted Don with a warm smile and a soft kiss on the cheek. “There’s no way I can hurt her like this.” he thought. So Don kept quiet, distancing himself from the relationship yet again. Katrina could sense what was happening and grew extremely sad and confused. She wondered what could have possibly happened during the day to change Don’s mindset from this morning. She eventually gave up trying to make him connect to her again and went to bed. Don sat on the couch knowing that he had hurt Katrina in the same way he had many times before, but he thought: “at least she isn’t as hurt as she would have been if she heard the truth.” 

[chantalkrcmar]

Moving Over To The Dark Side

A new experience for me: participating in India’s shadow economy.

We Mumbaikers have been in severe lockdown for almost nine weeks now, and this morning we were greeted with the headline: “Mumbai Headed Toward Another Lockdown.” It’s pretty hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when the tunnel keeps getting extended under your feet. Mumbai is a complete mess. Some western news outlets have reported that India is relaxing lockdown restrictions, but that is not true in Mumbai (and some other cities). India is a big country, so any reporting on India as a monolith is typically inaccurate. (Oh, and because friends in the US have been asking: No, there are still no international flights yet.)

For those of you in the US, this might paint the picture of COVID-19 in Mumbai a bit more clearly... Mumbai is India’s Ground Zero, NYC on steroids. Like NYC, we have a gigantic bulk of India’s COVID-19 cases -- and growing. Like NYC, we have a beleaguered healthcare system, only way more so. India is a developing country, after all, and this pandemic lays that extremely bare. Our extreme population density, and horrendous state of healthcare, makes Mumbai the mess that it is. Our friends who live in Manhattan told us that even at the height of the COVID crisis in NYC, they could still go out for long walks. We don’t even have that option — partly because we are the world’s most densely populated city (honestly, sections of Mumbai make Times Square look deserted), so letting people out of their homes makes social distancing very hard, and partly because politicians here just have a serious lack of imagination and can’t think of ways to manage letting us out of our buildings (like certain addresses at certain times of the day, for instance). Perhaps they just don’t know if they could control us once we’re out.

So about that shadow economy… Still only essential shops (groceries and medicines) are supposed to be open. And still only adults are allowed out of their buildings — and only to buy essentials. No frivolous walks — even if your mental health depends on it…Yet I got a message from a friend of mine about some shop selling some toys and art supplies. Just send a WhatsApp message, and you’ll be told what to do…Without thinking much about the possible illegality of our actions, Rahul and I messaged, and put in an order for pick-up. Rahul then walked to the designated location, cash in hand, and picked up the parcel before scurrying home.

We finally got new paint for Anamika, a desperately-needed item! We also got a kids cricket set (which may be more for Rahul and me than for her). We have been playing cricket in our cramped  living room — much to the chagrin of my father-in-law who is terrified we are going to shear off one of the heads of one of the gods immortalized in statues all over our apartment with one of our wicked fast balls! I love my father-in-law but the thrill of wondering if today may be the day that one of my fast balls beheads Ganesha (who was already beheaded once by his own father, no less) keeps me at it.

Anamika’s been obsessed with making magic potions lately. And one she’s been very keen on actually using is a potion to make all the statues of the gods and goddesses in our apartment  disappear. I have had to stop her from smearing mixtures of water, sugar, small ground up erasers, glitter, and other disgusting items, on Shiva. My in-laws are extremely patient with Anamika, but I am afraid that kind of desecration might be the limit. I don’t want us to be thrown out on the street.

[Apparently, googly eyes are especially effective in magic potions. Ah, the things I learn from my daughter...]

So after our illicit purchase, we pretended it was Christmas. Anything to break up the monotony! And anything to forget that Rahul had just participated in what felt like a drug deal. Lockdown is getting to my head so ethical standards may be slipping.

[One of the benefits to having a plastic christmas tree: It’s ready whenever we need it in a lockdown pinch!]

[Anamika even decorated her bedroom door for Christmas in May.]

As if finally getting Anamika some paint was not excitement enough, Amazon has now started delivering some things other than random and occasional food items. This is a huge relief for one reason: underwear. Right after lockdown happened, Anamika went through a huge growth spurt. And of course we could not accommodate her new sized body with new sized clothing. So the poor child has been soldiering through these long locked-in days while picking wedgies all the time. Dealing with this COVID-19 crisis is a lot to expect of any child — even without the constant wedgies. New undies are way better than any cricket set!

An update on our access to the Great Outdoors (otherwise known as Poop Parking Lot):

Yes, it is filled with more and more poop. And, yes, Anamika becomes more and more adept at avoiding it on her scooter.

(Sorry if that is distasteful to read, but this is our reality, and this is my blog. So there. :-) )

But our parking lot is also experiencing an uptick of wildlife — mostly fat rats lumbering about as if they own the place. Well, since humans aren’t around, why would they not feel like they own the place?!

But we have seen a snail…

And we have seen wild parakeets through Anamika’s bedroom window. Now that was an amazing moment! (Sorry about the poor quality of the pics, but I have an old phone with a terrible camera.)

A less fun fact about the wildlife in Poop Parking Lot is that Anamika has had to scooter around a few pigeons and crows that were smooshed by vehicles. A couple remarkable things about this: 1) Anamika seems completely unfazed by these dead birds; honestly, she’s seen it all in India so her take-it-all-in-stride attitude should not surprise me, I guess; and 2) there are so few cars and motorcycles moving in our parking lot since folks are barely going out, so how the birds got run over baffles me. I can only guess that the pigeons and crows have become so dazed by lockdown (like us humans) that they have lost the reflex to move when the rare vehicle does come their way.

On other wildlife notes: Swarms of locusts are hitting parts of India. This is actually no laughing matter since locusts can totally destroy crops. Farmers are reportedly staying awake all night to keep locusts away from their fields. Honestly, if I believed in such things, I would say that the end of time is nigh. In India alone we are facing a pandemic, swarms of locusts in some states, floods in other states, and cyclones in others. It’s of biblical proportions.

And yet another note about wildlife…Monkeys are reported to have run off with some COVID-19 test samples in Uttar Pradesh. As Rahul said, “Only in India…”

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.timesnownews.com/amp/mirror-now/in-focus/article/meerut-monkeys-run-away-with-covid-19-test-samples-locals-fear-spread-of-infection/598669

And one final note about wildlife: this time, human children. You faithful blog readers might be wondering these past couple months if there are no other children that live in our apartment complex since I never mention Anamika interacting with any other kids — even from a distance. Indeed, there are many other children. However, kids under 10 years of age, and adults over 65 years of age, are not supposed to leave their apartments. Ever. And all other parents in our compound are actually abiding by it. Truly, they are keeping their kids locked in CONSTANTLY. They must be much better rule-followers than Rahul and me — which is amazing to me given that Indians in general tend to be born rules-breakers.

Knowing that absolutely no time outside the walls of our apartment would spell our demise, we said to hell with that ridiculous lockdown law early on. There is no one in our parking lot or on our roof, so why can’t Anamika at least get some time to run around and be a kid? We never dare venture outside of our building gates. We all have acute cabin fever even with her at least getting out for 30-40 minutes every morning (longer than that and we are asking for dehydration trouble). By the way, Rahul and I are dreading the coming monsoon. There will be days when we just cannot go down to Poop Parking Lot for even a few minutes. The rains can be very heavy, and can last for days at a stretch. The bright side is that, of course, the parking lot will be cleaner.

At this point, I have to give a big shout-out to Rahul. He is one of the most persistent people I have ever met, and that quality is standing us in good stead right now. He really is the reason that Anamika continues to agree to go out every morning. Given the heat, the condition of the parking lot, and the fact that no other kids are ever there to even wave at, she is reluctant. But Rahul will not give up, and Anamika is better off for her daily forays (as am I since that is when I can do some yoga or run the stairs in our building…doing this lockdown is hard; doing this lockdown without me getting any exercise to blow steam would be untenable).

Besides being persistent, my guy is also darn clever. He found Anamika’s soft spot: music from Frozen 1 and 2. And he’s using that to his advantage. She mostly goes outside now because of the promise of hearing her favorite music. Like the Pied Piper, Rahul runs ahead of Anamika while blasting the music on his phone; she chases him (and the music) around the parking lot. All the while both of them get an excellent cardio workout from running, scootering, and singing at the top of their lungs as they do so. Anamika sings “loud and proud” (as some of her teachers used to say), and now knows almost every word to every song in both Frozen 1 and 2.

True confessions: Anamika is not the only one in our family who is captivated by Frozen 1 and 2 music. Rahul and I, too, are really into it. One of our favorite pastimes now is to ask each other at random moments: “Which Frozen song is stuck in your head right now?” or “Which Frozen song was in your head when you woke up this morning?” Never one for pretensions, I have even fewer now. I’ll admit that I like a healthy dose of Brain Candy (especially during a crisis) and music from Frozen 1 and 2 certainly are that. I proudly own the fact that I know almost all the words to “Wanna Build a Snowman” now.

A completely random point:

Anamika just announced to me this morning: “I am not returning to ASB [her school].” When I asked her why, fully expecting her to tell me something about all the uncertainties around school and COVID-19, she answered: “Because I am going to life-guarding school. So I can become a lifeguard at Tej Uncle’s beach [the one in Goa where we went on our winter break].” Last week, she was planning on going to rocket-flying school. Thank god for her sense of humor — which is not humor to her. She is damn serious about going to life-guarding school. Regardless, her pluck and wackiness go a long way in this awful, and awfully long, lockdown.

[sleepytoycollection]

SpacePops: A Review Part 2

Part 1: Here

Well, here I am again, this took me longer to get around to than I intended, but hey, I had four times as many dolls to look at. Not to mention how much drawing I’ve been doing for my main blog lately, so yeah I’ve been busy. 

Anywhoozle, as my first review can tell you, I found my Luna doll to have a certain amount of charm through all her cheapness, and if you can still find one from your local TRU; you might be lucky enough to snag them for round $2 bucks each as I did. And I def recommend getting one if you can, if nothing else for a nice, articulate spare body and some MH sized shoes. Just don’t let your self pay for than $5 for one. They’re not that fun. 

I was lucky enough to manage to get a hold of all five characters, so let’s see how they measure up to Luna. To avoid being too repetitive I’ll try to focus on their unique features only.

Let’s start with Rhea:

Rhea was actually the one I liked the best from her art work. I mean look at it, she looks amazing here, the boots, thigh high stockings, the layers, gloves and chains would’ve made for an amazing doll of the effort had been put in. 

I won’t ramble forever about the what-ifs, but it’s just so much of a punch to the stomach to know we’ll never see the real potential these had realized.

I’m not gonna go through the all the profiles, but if anyone’s interested I could scan them in for better visibility. 

Gremlin #2.

Getting her out of the box, the first thing that struck me was her hat.

And I mean that literally as there was nothing helping it attach to her head. Much as I’m grateful these dolls lack those plastic ties shot into their heads that mattel’s become so fond of; I don’t think a rubber band would’ve too much to ask for.

Here she out of the box:  

She’s...something.

After how much Luna has surprised me by simply being less bad than I feared; Rhea on the other hand was everything I’d worried these girls would be. 

Her hair is terrible, it’s the cheapest, nastiest of all the dolls, it’s literally the same stuff the Midnight magic dolls used. It had a gross, greasy feel and wants to pull away from the scalp if I dare try to run a comb through it. 

Ugh. On top of that, it became quickly clear I’d gotten a Rhea with a defective hand. Instead of the normal back and forth movement almost every other doll has, she’s got side to side movement. 

Except, her hands still have the dents in the molding indicating it’s not meant to turn that way. I’m at a loss. I really can’t tell how this happened, or how her hand isn’t falling off. 

It could’ve been worse in that regard, but there’s not many good uses for side to side movement that look natural. 

At this point I’d only opened the one doll prior, and so was extremely worried I’d simply gotten lucky with Luna. 

sigh. 

Her outfit is super cheap, made cheaper looking by how complex a design they were trying to emulate. It’s all one piece and gives the impression of a store bought Halloween costume in miniature. 

I will grant however, all the dolls having their name on their tag is cute. 

But it’s a wasted detail on something this cheap. The black band on her waist is a sort of flimsy, felt-like material, and the knit of her shorts is thin. I feel like I could easily tear a run in it if I pull just a little too much, especially being unhemmed as they are. 

She’s got a slight blue tint to her pale complexion, as you can see her here next to Catrine. 

The socks are made of paint, and I’d have rather they be left off entirely. Her left knee also doesn’t bend, and I have not been able to fix it yet.

As you can imagine, after Rhea I lost a lot of energy for these girls. She was the doll I’d wanted the most, and was just disappointing in every way, despite me already having incredibly low standards. 

Still, I was going to have to open these girls up eventually. So this time I decided to go for the design I’d liked the least with Athena: 

Every time I look at her dress I can’t help but think of the Flintstones. Not in a cute way either. 

It’s like if, after their crossover, a member of the Jestons universe tried to make a fashion version of their cave clothing as a cheap cash in, and just doesn’t work for me that much. Maybe it’s partly the colors used. 

It’s a little better art wise, but eh. Maybe if she wasn’t he same color as Rhea..?

Blah blah profile. 

Gremlin #3.

Despite my opinions on her look, out of the box she struck me as a pleasant increase in quality if nothing else.  Nothing falling off, no visible defects.

It was around this time tho I was starting to realize there seemed to be a decided aversion to hair gel. Her spiked updo’ is translated as a short ponytail here.

Can’t say I mind too much, but lack of gel means her hair gets pulled pretty easily, especially where her glasses are. She’s got nothing on Gilda Goldstag that’s for sure. 

Her tie is made of the same cheap fuzzy stuff Rhea’s belt was made of, for that matter her gold belt is the only new fabric type here. 

But to my great surprise her skirt has a separate over lay! 

And it’s even lined, I’ll admit it improved my opinion of her a good bit. It feels sturdy.

Her netted sleeve too is competently made. 

..but left a stain on her arm. 

With out the overlay her outfit looks a bit less flinstone-y, so I’m just gonna leave it off. 

Under her dress she has some pink tights, which I appreciate as they become less and less common in the doll world. Even if it makes me wonder why Rhea couldn’t have had socks. Just one of those things I guess.

Her glasses are held in neatly with, of all things, the help of tiny plastic bobby pins! 

!!! I’m sorry but that’s adorable, tiny pins! And they work! Amazing. 

Her hair is the same quality as Luna’s, thank goodness, and is easy enough to brush out.  

But to my dismay, her glasses don’t fit her face. If you put the arms over her actual ears, they set waayyyy too low. I can’t get them to twist so the bridge will set on her nose. But if I place them high enough so the lens can cover her eyes, they get stuck from her head being too wide and wont’ touch her face. 

That said, I like the shape and look of these, and I’m sure I have plenty of other dolls who can rock them. But it doesn’t say much for your line if your accessories can’t be used for the doll they were made to be used on.

Still, Athena was a huge improvement to my energy for these girls, so let’s hop over to Hera. 

I wanna take a sec to apologize for the quality of several of these pics, my camera’s very old and staring to kick the bucket. 

Hera’s pretty cute, if you like Draculaura. Which I do. The fact the lime green specifically reminds me of Snow Bite, which is my fav version of Ula helps make it a pleasant comparison. 

Gremlin #4. 

Yay! A different fabric! And hemming! It’s a dream come true~

Now if only I had the same excitement over her hair.

It’s the standard for these dolls tbh, but being curled has not agreed with it. I’m kinda afraid to touch it. She’s got a head band in there, but it’s very hidden.

even if it wasn’t, it’s just a plain ribbon, no where near the flower crown of her art.  

The dress is really the star here, of all the outfits so far it’s the one that feels the sturdiest, and no printed details. 

Her tag. 

Her tights are different fabric to the other ones we’ve seen. It’s not as stretchy, which is why you see it sagging around the knees. It’s the kind of netting you’d see as a tulle petticoat. 

It looks alright, but it makes me concerned with how durable these would be in the long run.  

Now,you may have noticed me not making any comments on the shoes. Well I have a very good reason for that:

They’re all the same. They reused the same shoe mold for all four of these girls, leaving only one who doesn’t have these heels. 

That girl being of course, Juno. 

She was my second favorite of all the girls when I saw their art all that time ago. 

Aside from how much I love the colors used, she has pants! And a shaved head! 

...And another Gremlin.

And last but not least, here she is:

Of all the girls, she’s the one who comes the closest to looking like her boxart. 

So not too surprising her outfit is to be my favorite of the bunch. 

She’s also the only one to use any kind of styling product. Fairly lightly, but it’s on there. Yet, despite how little there was used they still managed to get a good bit on her face. 

 Can’t have it all I suppose. 

But the flocking looks good. 

I also appreciate how she has the most unique face paint of all the ladies.  It’s not much by usual standards, but with every girl using the same face mold, they can use all the differences they can get.

Without her Jacket you can bein to see just how had that top is, but she can put her hands in her pockets, so if there had to be a trade off, I’ll admit they made the right one. 

Her jacket is nicely sewn, only her collar sporting an unfinished hem, but I don’t know how you’d really hem those jagged edges anyhow. It’s usable and looks alright. 

Her boots tho, no complaints there. By Spacepop standards these are the best shoes you’ll ever see. By normal doll standards they’re still not bad. 

I very serious when I say I love these pants. I feel like most of their clothing budget went into that fabric. Almost like someone was trying. 

Sigh. But then you get this. 

It’s garbage. The worst piece of all the clothing I’ve seen here, and there’s no way this would’ve held up to a child.

Now what else have I not covered..oh yeah. The gremlins. 

They suck. 

Like the shoes, the reused the same mold 4 times. Unlike the shoes, I never thought they were cute. 

Only 1 dared to use a different mold, Athen’s gremlin: 

...Who might be the only one that comes close to being endearing. The combo of a cute hair style, cute paint details, side glancing eyes, make Roxie almost a nice accessory. 

Whew, well, now I’ve gone through everything I could think to talk about. 

Having gone over every doll just cements that the execution of this line was a huge misstep on the part of Madame Alexander. Tho I can’t be sure.I get the impression they made these to compete with Monster High, but they company simply waited too long.  

By 2016 MH was going into the reboot, and with Mattel’s sales and quality going down MA seemed to lost faith in these ladies and gave up before release. It’s a shame too, Maybe the weren’t the most original idea on the market, but They could’ve been a nice solid competition. Instead we got these; and it leaves me with a sense of melancholy the more I think about the ways things are going. With new lines and experiments coming to a standstill nowadays, doll collecting has been less and less exciting. 

And now, less than a year after their debut Spacepops have gone the way of Pinkie Cooper and Novi Stars. In their own way, the last remnant of an era of collecting that’s now gone as styles shift to something else.   

Still, I plan to have fun my new new set of ladies, I haven’t completely decided how far I’ll go, maybe leave them as-is for posterity. Their flat face ups have grown on me. Maybe I just miss the bright, harsher colors that are going out of style. 

All that said, I bought a spare Athena to experiment with, so I’ll def have some follow ups with how these ladies look with a good repaint. 

Anyway, I’m tired and out of thoughts for now. Hopefully you found this somewhat informative, and as always thanks for reading. 

[tinseltine]

Look Back at the Movies of 2018

Tinsel & Tine's

Look Back at the Movies of 2018

By Le Anne Lindsay, Editor

This year feels like the fastest movie season to date. I still feel like we just stopped talking about the movies up for awards last year, like The Shape of Water, Call Me By Your Name, 3 Billboards, Lady Bird, Phantom Thread etc.. Now we already have 2019 Golden Globe Awards nominations, and Oscar noms just a month away on Jan 22, 2019. This years’ crop of movies being talked about for awards are a bit more main stream than some of those films that I just mentioned from last year, which were not your average movie-goers cup of tea. Whereas this year: A Star is Born, Bohemian Rhapsody, Green Book, Vice, Black Panther, The Favourite, these movies have more universal appeal. They’re important, but contain more humor. Even If Beale Street Could Talk with all its social implications, on the surface is a romance. Then we have a couple of family dramas like Beautiful Boy, Boy Erased & Ben is Back which no one is going to be able to keep straight, as Lucas Hedges is in two of them and two are about drug addiction, but they’re not artsy films. I'd like to thank God and the Universe for continually orchestrating my life so that every year I get to see and enjoy an abundant number of movies. Between film festivals and often going to the theater 3-4x a week. I feel I can formulate a pretty darn good end of the year list. Much of which does coincide with the movies being bandied about as noteworthy, but I threw in a couple of surprises. I’m gonna start with my least favorite movies of 2018, because it's a short list. It's always difficult for me to say I hate a movie because of the work and number of people involved in getting even a short film to the screen. But there's always a few that should have gone through a lot of reworking before being released. Then I move on to my Top 10 Favorites. This was particularly difficult to pair down this year, I had 26 movies that I really, really liked. So I have a Just Missed the Top 10 category and an Honorable Mention category. Note: Links go to my full review of the movie Hope you enjoy and hit me up on Facebook or Twitter to discuss your favorites!

Worst Movies of 2018

In order of most disliked

RED SPARROW (20th Century Fox) dir Francis Lawrence, starring Jennifer Lawrence & Joel Edgerton. Lawrence plays a Russian ex-ballet dancer turned reluctant sex spy in a poorly executed thriller set in Russia. Everything about it felt phony and forced, except for one small scene where Mary Louise Parker steals the show. SECOND ACT (STX Films)– dir Peter Segal, starring Jennifer Lopez, Leah Remini, Vanessa Hudgens, Milo Ventimiglia. A movie about a woman without a college degree lying her way up the corporate latter in a cosmetic company. Parts of it remind me of a cheap imitation of Amy Schumer’s I Feel Pretty, but Shumer had a handle on her plot devices and comedic timing. I think if they kept the main plot of Second Act on the relationship of the mother and daughter discovering each other, that could have helped a lot, but really this movie is short on charm and big on makeup caked on like colorful spackle. A WRINKLE IN TIME (Disney) dir Ava Duvernay, starring Storm Reid, Chris Pine, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon & Mindy Kaling. This much anticipated film based on a beloved children’s novel did not translate well to film - story-wise, visually it had some good moments, but Jennifer Lee, Jeff Stockwell’s screenplay needed punching up and smoothing out all over the place. And I can’t let DuVernay entirely off the hook as the pacing of the film is way off too, but mostly, it was a waste of Oprah. LIFE OF THE PARTY (Warner Bros) dir Ben Falcone, starring Melissa McCarthy, who I love (I’ve become addicted to reruns of Mike & Molly) but this movie about a 40 something year-old woman returning to finish her degree at the same time as her daughter, went nowhere. It wasn’t at all funny, it wasn’t heartfelt, it wasn’t mother/daughter bonding, it wasn’t McCarthy run amok, it was just boring. ADRIFT (STX Films) dir Baltasar Kormákur, starring Shailene Woodley & Sam Claflin. Based on the true story of Tami Oldham’s 42-day ordeal lost at sea, but told through a cheesy story device that’s a cheat for the movie and completely unnecessary to hold the attention of the audience.

My TOP 10 Favorites Movies from 2018

1. BLACK PANTHER (Marvel Studios) dir Ryan Coogler, starring Chadwick Boseman. The movie hit theaters last February and broke all kinds of box office records, heavily featured women (Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright) in key roles. Once and for all it broke down the myth that movies with a black cast don’t make money overseas. But best of all, it’s a good movie. When I saw it a 2nd time I knew it wasn’t just about the social implications. It was about enjoying something that was cinematically pleasing. 2. CRAZY RICH ASIANS (Warner Bros.) dir. Jon M. Chu, starring Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Awkwafina, Michelle Yeoh. Same goes for this movie, which I also saw in the theater twice. The ensemble works very well together, the movie has great energy, Singapore is gorgeous and it was so nice to bring a quality rom/com back to the screen. 3. GREEN BOOK (Universal Pics) dir Peter Farrelley, starring Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali as Tony Vallelonga an Italian-American bouncer & African-American classical and jazz pianist Don Shirley embarking on a road trip down to the segregated south- this is the new odd couple. As much as I love a good romance, I think friendships and bromances are more interesting to watch unfold on screen. Also saw this twice and loved it even more the second go round. 4. PUZZLE (Sony Pictures Classic) dir Marc Turtletaub, starring Kelly Macdonald & Irrfan Khan a remake of an Argentina film (2010). I know most people did not get a chance to see this movie, it played at Ritz 5 for probably only a week, but it’s a quiet gem about a current day housewife living in a New York suburb who discovers she has a knack for quickly putting together jigsaw puzzles and unexpectedly finds more than just a fitting puzzle partner after answering an ad to join a competition. 5. MR SOUL! (BlackStar Film Festival) dir. Sam Pollard and Melissa Haizlip. SOUL! was a nationally televised weekly variety show that aired from 1968-1973 on PBS featuring prominent and emerging Black artists including poets, classical, pop and jazz musicians, dancers and political figures. The documentary is not only an amazing look back on seeing early performances of people who became household names, but it's also an interesting biopic on the creative host and producer Ellis Haizlip, who had his finger on the pulse of an early post-Civil Rights Movement America. 6. A STAR IS BORN (Warner Bros) dir Bradley Cooper made this classic his own and made a fantastic decision to make his partner in this endeavor Lady Gaga. Not only does their chemistry and music make this a more than engaging film. But Cooper captures up-close the backstage feeling of the entertainment industry in so many ways. 7. SORRY TO BOTHER YOU (Annapurna Pictures) dir Boots Riley, starring Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Jermaine Fowler, Omari Hardwick a lot of buzz was generated for this first time filmmaker and rightly so as Riley's style is to keep dialing up the crazy, notch by notch until you're at a full rolling boil of absurdist, off-beat, comedic Sci-fi soup with a social message. Not easy to do in one movie, but I feel he really pulled it off. 8. HOTEL ARTEMIS (Global Road) writer/dir Drew Pearce, starring Jodie Foster, Sterling K. Brown, Sofia Boutella, Jeff Goldblum, Brian Tyree Henry, Jenny Slate, Dave Bautista, and Zachary Quinto. I know I’m alone having this one on my top 10 list, but I truly enjoyed this strange action thriller. From the production design to the pre-apocalyptic setting, to the idea of taking place inside a secret high-tech hospital and supposed safe space for criminals to get patched up by an agoraphobic nurse. 9. RBG doc (Magnolia Pictures) dirs Betsy West & Julie Cohen. I saw On The Basis of Sex too and Felicity Jones is good casting as a early pioneering Ruth Bader Ginsberg, but the documentary is so much more encompassing of this remarkable woman’s life and journey. Before seeing this doc what I basically knew about this female chief Justice of the Supreme Court, I got from SNL skits and seeing some “The Notorious RBG” T-shirts. So glad to now be aware of her huge contribution to our freedoms and civil liberties. 10. LOVE, SIMON (20th Century Fox) dir Greg Berlanti, starring Nick Robinson, Katherine Langford, Jennifer Garner, Josh Duhamel - In this post "Glee", legalized Gay marriage, "Moonlight" Oscar winning, Caitlyn Jenner accepting society we live in - it's hard to figure that a movie about a young boy feeling extreme anxiety about admitting he's gay would be anything worth discussing. Yet, that's part of the value and charm of this movie along with a likeable young cast.

Just Missed the Top 10

SPIDERMAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE (Sony Pictures Releasing) dir Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman. Since Columbia still owns the rights to the Spiderman character, they like to get good mileage out of the web slinger, hence the terrible Andrew Garfield Spiderman reboot thrust on us while we were still in the throes of the Toby Maguire, Kirsten Dunst upside down kiss. Thankfully, something was worked out between Marvel and Sony so that we have the Tom Holland Spiderman of the MCU. So when I first heard about this animated Spider-verse, I was like, why? Is this necessary? Probably not. But it’s so well done I don’t question it anymore! Love the mixed media graphics and the fantastic sci-fi premise of having multiple spider people from different dimensions come together and initiate a new black/latino Spiderman into the realm. A SIMPLE FAVOR (Lionsgate) dir Paul Feig, starring Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Henry Golding a good campy script, some excellent costuming and unexpected humor turned this quasi-thriller into an early fall sleeper hit. A QUIET PLACE (Paramount Pictures) dir John Krasinski, starring Krasinski and Emily Blunt. A tight, emotional ride containing horror tropes, yet written for someone like me who likes to be thrilled with fear at the movies, but not up for anything too sinister that stays with me as I try to sleep. WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR (Focus Features) dir Morgan Neville. This doc on Fred Rogers, the well-liked host of the popular children's television program "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood", is an honest look at this man of principals who truly believed in the transformative power of love - love for others, but most importantly, for yourself. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE: FALLOUT (Paramount Pictures) dir Christopher McQuarrie, starring Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg this 6th installment in the Mission: Impossible film series shows there’s still A LOT of juice left in the franchise. So many amazing stunts, fun and thrills.

Honorable Mentions

(alpha order) ANT-MAN AND THE WASP (Marvel) dir Peyton Reed, starring Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer – kept pace with the original in terms of style and storytelling, while adding in more shrinking, enlarging sight gags in all the right places. BLINDSPOTTING (Lionsgate) dir Carlos López Estrada, starring Rafael Casal, Daveed Diggs – A good first effort by these screenwriters/actors, but it’s the final scene which makes the movie above average. BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (20th Century Fox) dir Bryan Singer finished by Dexter Fletcher, starring Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joe Mazzello – seemingly Epic music biopic, not truly as good as it seems, but a fun ride. FIRST MAN - (Universal Pictures) dir Damien Chazelle, starring Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Corey Stoll - Not as well loved as La La Land, but as far as commitment to filmmaking and vision this movie is stellar. GRINGO (Amazon Studios) dir Nash Edgerton, starring David Oyelowo, Charlize Theron, Joel Edgerton – Wish this movie had gotten more attention. It takes you on a nutty adventure showcasing Oyelowo's comedic chops. IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK (Annapurna Pictures) dir Barry Jenkins, starring KiKi Layne, Stephan James, Regina King – Beautifully directed, strong cast, wonderfully adapted from a James Baldwin novel. Didn’t make my top 10 because sometimes it’s hard to watch movies based on the themes of systemic racism.(click link for Q&A with Barry Jenkins) PETER RABBIT (Sony Pictures Releasing) dir Will Gluck, starring Rose Byrne, Domhnall Gleeson – Not just adorable, but truly entertaining. THE FAVOURITE (Fox Searchlight Pictures) dir Yorgos Lanthimos, starring Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, Nicholas Hoult, Joe Alwyn - Stylized, female-centric period piece, balancing a delightful tone of zany ridiculousness and historical accuracy. THE HATE U GIVE (20th Century Fox) dir George Tillman Jr., starring Amandla Stenberg, Regina Hall, Russell Hornsby, KJ Apa, Common, Anthony Mackie – I really fell in love with this family unit and the messages ring clear, but not too loud. TULLY (Focus Features) dir Jason Reitman, starring Charlize Theron & Mackenzie Davis – Oddly, I condemned “Adrift” for using a similar storytelling device as “Tully”, but here it works. Besides, the meat of the story is about roads and paths started down, but not followed and wondering how you ended up being in your current life; which, I truly related too, despite not being a wife or mother. WIDOWS (20th Century) dir Steve McQueen, starring Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo – After “Hunger” “Shame” and “12 Years A Slave” it was a great idea for McQueen to bring his extraordinary filmmaking skills to a heist film with a touch of Lifetime movie. The climax had our audience talking back to the screen, and the actresses are all on point. I had “Widows” in my Top 10 at first, then relegated it to those that just missed the top 10, and then honorable mention. I think it kept getting pushed down just because I don’t really like the final scene. Share :)

Tinsel & Tine

While You're Here Check Out What's Happening on the #PhillyCalendar click to COMMENT

[meulinthekittytroll]

Rant af I'm sorry

Yunno I don’t know what my dads problem is with my boyfriend. He doesn’t like him, at all. And I honestly have no idea why. Maybe it’s because this is the only relationship he’s seen me in? I’m not sure But if my dad could have seen all my past relationships he’d understand why B is probably the only one I could ever want to be with. There were some major people who impacted my life in negative ways and I’m still recovering from them. I will point out the major ones First there was David. He tried to kill me once, and manipulated me and made my self esteem plummet. (Grade 3-7) Yes, I know, 3rd through 7th grade and he tried to KILL you? Are you over exaggerating? No I’m not lol. Then there was Devin. He was the first boy to cheat on me. Which made my self esteem plummet even further. He also was the first boy to treat me… like I wasn’t a person I guess?? I don’t know how to describe that one but it made me feel very inferior. (Grade 6) young I know but shoosh this shit can happen at any age if you let it happen. Then there was Max. We never actually dated, but he is still very important because oh boy I crushed on this boy HARD from 8th to 10th grade. He and I had a thing going on in 8th grade but never quite did anything about it which only made me like him more. Then 9th grade came along and we only got closer but still didn’t quite do anything. (I also had a boyfriend at that time that I’ll get to in JUST a second) Finally 10th grade came along and I FINALLY made a move, only to get shot down, HARD. That was partly my fault I suppose for being too scared to tell him my feelings earlier than that. But still, ouch ouch that hurt me a lot. Jacob, the boyfriend mentioned just a second ago, this was a long distance relationship. He was a couple years older than me and I had never met him in person, I dated him because I was extremely lonely. This lasted almost a year, but not quite. It started out really fun because I could lowkey flirt with Max but still have someone to go home to and text and get the feelings of love that Max didn’t give me, I know I know that’s borderline cheating but hey I was in 9th grade and I was stupid in love with Max and it was just a messy time in my life and Ive obviously learned from it and cheating is disgusting ugh……. ihatemyselfAAAAnyways, as the months rolled by, things slowly went downhill with this Jacob kid. He just was a downer. We both were depressed and got even sadder when we realized we couldn’t meet for a long time blah blah you get the point everything was a mess and he made me extremely unhappy, that was a very toxic relationship and I’m glad nothing ever became of it. I haven’t talked to him in almost a year, I hope he’s doing well. Also in 10th grade I developed this crush on this boy named Anthony and he was a dorky kind of cute, tall and scrawny but still muscly, I dug it. I flat out told him I liked him bc I didn’t want another Max situation and he seemed interested at first until he told one of his friends that doubled as my friend that he wasn’t interested so I obviously found out and got shot down again. Ouch! When that didn’t happen I started talking to a good friend I also met over the internet named Gavin and wowie did this boy make me feel wanted and loved. I had a brief thing with him previously but it never followed through, due to the fact that he was a dickbag and cheated on me and blamed it on some personality disorder where he needed more than one girlfriend to be satisfied *cough* bullshit *cough* but anyways, I tried it with him again the summer going into 11th grade c he was sooooooo sorry and loved me soooo much and wanted to marry me (gag!) anyways, things were good for a while but then he slowly stopped talking to me and cheated again and all this other shit and as my confidence in myself slowly went down the garbage disposal as it had been since like 4th grade, I finally told myself enough is enough and told him I was done with him. I told myself I was done with boys until the right one came along and treated me right. As a junior at a new school with no friends, I assumed it would take until junior year of COLLEGE to even consider boys again (besides possibly sleeping around once I got too tired of being a virgin kek) But yunno, life throws unexpected things at you. I remember the night so clearly. I went to bed finally content with being alone, not having to worry about any boy cheating on me or making me feel bad or putting me down constantly. Then, wouldn’t you know it, the NEXT FUCKIN DAY, this super duper cute boy I had seen a few times around school walked into my first period photography class. And I thought to myself “fuck.” Bc I immediately knew something would happen between us. This boy was he perfect mix of goofy, nerdy, and cute as fuck, with a hint of holy shit you’re SEXY. Exactly my type. Tall, dark, and handsome (a spongebob reference has never been more relatable) ((besides maybe “i’m surrounded my idiots”)) ANNYYYWAYS Me and this kid start talking bc I grew a pussy (not balls bc balls are sensitive and vaginas take a pounding) and gave the kid my Snapchat. That same day I reaaallly wanted a chance to talk to him so I posted a pic on my story of me and my dog havin’ a blast (rip Lily u will be missed ily thank you for being the reason the loml messaged me for the first time) anywho, HE MESSAGED ME FIRST AND WE STARTED TALKING AND SHIT bc he thought my dog was cute af (which she was!!!!) and we kept talking and talking and found we had so much in common and finallyyyy we admitted to each other we liked each other and started dating soon after and I’m spare you all the mushy details of how that came to be. Back to the reason why I started writing this little rant/story in the first place. My dad borderline hates the guy. But what my dad doesn’t understand (which is a lot but these next few sentences are important) Every single relationship I’ve had, was with a guy who has done nothing but lead me on, cheat on me, or abuse me (both physically (which only happened twice thank god) and mentally (which happened SO MUCH OH MY GOD it’s so much harder to catch that than actually getting physically abused) Yet, my current boyfriend…. we’re gonna call him B, bc his name is unique and I don’t want people knowing who I am if this ever gets read by someone who knows me and cares enough to read though all of this. B is the most beautiful person I have ever met, inside and out. He makes me feel important. He makes every day a blessing. When I first moved in with my dad in the beginning of 11th grade, I was a complete shut in. I hardly ever left my room besides to eat and bathe. After I met B, I started opening up and spending time with the family, and I made such amazing friends at school that I would have never talked to if it weren’t for him. B makes everything exciting. Of course we have had our fair share of bumps in the road, but ever healthy relationship does. And yunno what else healthy relationships do? They talked them through and fix the problems!!! B has made it so clear to me that I am worth all of the shit that goes on sometimes, and believe me I can be crazy so that is saying something. And oh boy is he a package deal too. He’s constantly got something going on, he’s quite frankly an idiot sometimes. But hey, he’s my idiot! I’ve never woken up and been happy about being alive since I was like 10, until B came around. B completely flipped my view of the world around. We tell each other this thing all the time because weird kinda opposites when it comes to certain things. He looks like the moon, but is the sun. And I look like the sun, but am the moon. He has dark hair and he’s got olive skin (very Italian looking) looking like a human version of the moon. But he has this optimistic view on life, the personality of the sun. Then there’s me; golden brown hair with fair skin, I look like the sun. But I’m kinda a pessimist, and I also am quite the night owl (he definitely isn’t!) personality of the moon. That might not make sense to you, but it does to us. I’m getting side tracked. The whole fuckin point is, I hadn’t felt true happiness since I was 10 until I met this guy. My dad says we aren’t going to last. My dad barely even lets me see him outside of school once a week, and when he does let me he always gives this disapproving scowl and scoff when I ask to see my boyfriend (who I have been with for well over a year now) once a week. Oh and by the way, he LIVES with his girlfriend who he’s only been dating a few more months than B and I have been. I wonder what he’d feel like if the roles were reversed. Yunno? Like he gets to see his gf every day and sleep next to her ever night, but the moment I want to see B, I get a scowl and a reluctant confirmation that I can see him on the day I asked to see him on. I’m sorry for all this rant and I know it’s probably all over the place but I just really really had to get it out because I don’t know why my dad is so unhappy with me being with a guy who makes me so happy. It’s not like B is a delinquent. He has two jobs (one is a photography business, he does really well with it actually he shoots for weddings and shit he’s an amazing photographer ((he only took the photography class at my school for the credit and to laugh at how low quality everything was at the school and how badly they taught it))) and he’s polite and respectful. My father truly has no reason to not like him, he has no idea how badly I’ve been treated up until I met B. B treats me better than anyone ever has, including my dad. Everyone else in my family loves him! Not nearly as much as I love the son of a bitch tho. I truly grew up from 3rd grade on getting belittled and cheated on and made to feel terrible, and if my dad knew that or understood it, maybe he wouldn’t hate the boy that made me happy to be alive again. Thank u for the ppl who took the time to read this through even tho I doubt anyone will do that bless u ilysm

[invincibleparm]

Where has Magic gone?

Most of you know that a huge disruption in the M;TG community where a well-known cos-player quit the community because she was getting harassment from magic players and YouTube content creator Jeremy from Unsleeved Media. Wizards has now published how they will start combating the toxic environment of the Magic community. 

I would say too little, too late. 

Magic has grow to the point where it can’t be policed. 

It surprises me that this was the boiling point for WoTC to combat the toxicity. I, in no way, support harassment. I do not participate in hate speech or toxic behavior, but there are some glaring issues with what happened and the steps being taken to resolve it. 

Now, I am not a fan of MTGHeadquaters/UNsleevedMedia. I have found that his videos, regardless of the ‘sense of humor’ behind them, to be incredibly toxic and terrible. But you know what, that is his right. Whether we like it or not, whether we agree with it or not, the host has his right to his two cents. As distasteful as it is, and as a turnoff as it might be, there are people out there that lap it up, because that is the Magic community now. 

The reason for all of this came from a tweet that declared Christine Sprankle to quit the M;TG Cosplay community over this. Now, I have never seen Sprankle live, only her pics and such, but I am sorry that she has been beaten down by the community. It is safe to point out that it wasn’t only the MTGHeadquarters that had forced her hand in this, but they are the easiest target because they are a popular YouTube channel. This has happened because the community is toxic. Toxic doesn’t even feel like the strongest word, but its the best I can do right now. it is a community that caters to young adults and men up to their early 30s and the behavior we see in channels like MTGH is a shining example of what happens everywhere. So much of this kind of bullshit happens on a daily basis but because of the cos-player, now the company steps in?

I hate that this is the breaking point. Sure, WoTC has had ‘diversity’ outlines for inclusion over the past few years, but they walk a fine line. The so called ‘alpha’ magic players see the catering to women and society minorities as taking time away from them. You know women don’t play magic? Because easily 50% or more of the player base are dickheads. It is a bros club at it’s finest. I’ve seen it at FNM, GP, streams, etc. Hell, playing on MTGO along was enough for me to get my yearly intake of salt in a hour. 

Much like the video gaming community, which has the exact same toxic behavior but is more widespread because of the acceptance of video gaming over the years to society, it is the players at the end of the day that make the community the toxicity of Mars. And, like the video game community, WoTC can’t make it better. They can’t send employees to all stores and all events and cut out the rotten bits of the apple, because there is a possibility there would be no apple after that. Blizzard has started implementing a way for people to report the toxic players, but how hard will they look at it? I believe the top 1% will get cut and that won’t make a difference. People might slow down until they realize that the enforcement isn’t as on it as claimed to be, and the toxic behavior slips back in. And that enforcement will not be there to the satisfaction of players because the company doesn’t want to lose revenue. You go ban happy and people don’t come back. You get ban heavy and people fear that they need to start stepping on eggshells. The one thing the latest Hollywood debacle with Harvey Weinstein has taught society is that there are a mind-boggling amount of levels for what people consider harassment. But these companies have to balance that with their shareholders and stick prices. 

Magic is no different. 

people are starting to say that this situation will be the end of Magic as we know it. Reports that less than 40% of magic players play now will be blamed on incidents like this, but that is only part of the picture. Like blaming MTGHeadquarters for Miss Sprankle, it is very easy to laser-focus on one cause. I mean, overpriced crap sets, worsening print quality, less rewards at tournament level, less LGS support with great promos and such.... it all leads to the same thing. A sinking ship. 

The whole picture is what is important, not the details of a part of it. 

In the attack video about the Sprankle incident, Jeremy of Unsleeved Media did bring up a point that I think is worth examining as far as the cosplay situation goes. 

While, again, I do not condone behavior that has been described, I think it is a little terrible that someone chooses to ‘work’ in such a toxic environment and then expects to not experience that behavior at all. While I don’t believe that cos-players are ‘grifters’, I have looked at the past site and patreon for Miss Sprankle and it does appear that she is completely funding herself by cosplay through asking for money, and has choose to make a living doing this. I believe  that if you can make it that way, more power to you. But knowing that the scene is a toxic scene, I can’t help but feel a little angry that someone would knowingly ask for money, blatantly in a extremely toxic environment and get upset when people objectify and try and get with her. Not a popular opinion, but you don’t become a stripper if you don’t want sleazy dudes trying to hook up with you and objectify you. In this case, she entered a segment of the population that doesn’t want to treat her like a human being. They give her money, and they expect her to respond in the way that they want her to. And I can’t blame her for not wanting to anymore, but I also have a hard time feeling sorry for her in this regard. Yes, I am sad for her that these things have happened, and that men are pigs, but not as much as I would be if this was a regular girl that just wanted to play magic at a LGS and was objectified and harassed. If you are choosing to make a living in a toxic, man-child industry, you better be prepared. 

I also suspect that Miss Sprankle will be back. If she truly loves the magic community and not just because it puts a roof over her head and feeds her for dressing up (I’m jealous, because I would love to have such a job...alas, fat Lilianna guys can’t make  that kind of living), then she will have learned from this. There are other cos-players in other genres that have done it just for the ludicrous amounts of money  that can be made and quit when they had enough because it was too much. I hope that she isn’t just another pretty girl that does it for fast cash, because then that not only hurts other cos-players, but that helps re-enforce the very stereotype that MTGH had stated about cos-players; they are there to beg geeks and nerds for money without the connection to the thing that brought them there. In a way, it is a betrayal. They are using their sexuality to create a bond that is not really a bond, because they don’t give a shit about magic/video games/anime. 

But again, the community can’t be fixed because of the multitude of factors that would have to be addressed. This isn’t just EA selling loot boxes and implementing a P2W model in Star Wars Battlefront 2. This is a overhaul of everything about Magic. 

On behalf of men, Miss Sprankle, I do hope that, in time, you can feel safe enough to return to the Magic cos-play community and resume. I wish you the best of luck in your future en devours and hope, most of all, that you can recover from this.