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dailycharacteroption · 5 years ago

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Base Class Review: Shifter part 2

Utility and Builds

With its combination of melee abilities and animal mobility, the shifter is a light and fast full base attack class, able to fight with minimal equipment like a monk, but being more accurate and effective.

Starting at the beginning of their careers, shifters gain an animal aspect which they can take on for several minutes, gaining a benefit while it lasts. When they do so, they manifest traits of the animal in question, which usually have something to do with the animal’s biology, but sometimes have to deal with associations that the animals have. As they grow in power they learn other animal aspects.

The primary method that shifters use to fight is by shapeshifting their hands into claws, which grow in might and supernatural piercing power as they master them. However, since many aspects do not have claws, they can instead choose to manifest other natural attacks that match their favored forms. What’s more, they can apply their shapeshifted natural attack properties and damage to the natural attacks of any form they take, manifesting particularly impressive horns, striking limbs, and the like.

Like a druid, these shifters share a keen empathetic link to animals, and can commune with them to achieve peaceful interactions.

Following the combat instincts of a million species, these warriors are skilled at dodging incoming attacks and slipping free of maneuvers when unarmored. They can even do so to a lesser extent when armored, as long as those protections contain no metal. Over time, this combat agility only improves.

Like many predators, they are very aware of the signs of their quarry’s passing, able to track them down with ease.

Another way they resemble druids is in how shifters can stride through nonmagical vegetation without being slowed down.

Eventually, they gain the ability to wild shape, taking on animal forms based on what aspects they have, gaining abilities based on the major form of each aspect has. They are, however, limited to those specific forms.

Shifters also become skilled in the art avoiding leaving a trail, much like rangers.

By focusing all their mastery into a single natural weapon, shifters learn how to strike with iterative attacks with one weapon, while the rest of their natural attacks become secondary, and lose the level-based bonuses their natural attacks normally have.

As they grow in power, these wild warriors learn how to manifest two, and then later three of their minor aspects at the same time.

Again borrowing from the druid playbook, these warriors eventually learn to fine-tune their shapeshifting to appear as other people.

Some of the most powerful shifters become ageless beings, always in their prime.

The most powerful, however, become avatars of shapeshifting, able to access a fifth aspect, use the minor aspects all at once, and freely shift to minor and major aspects at will.

Alternatively, the capstone ability of a shifter might allows them to further bolster their bodies as they see fit whenever assuming their wild shapes.

In addition, the following general alternative capstones one might take for the shifter include Perfect Body, Flawless Mind (granting a permanent increase to stats); The Boss (granting leadership over a institution, perhaps a druidic faith enclave or military academy in this case); With This Sword (turning one of their iconic pieces of equipment into an artifact, perhaps an amulet of protection or some druidic artifact); and Won’t Stay Dead (which makes them nearly unkillable).

As you can see, the shifter is a dynamic class that can fulfill several different roles, being a tank, an agile fighter, enhanced movement, small scouting forms, poisonous attacks, and so on, all depending on your chosen aspects, which we will cover later this week. Rest assured you can play the role of a tough tank, a swift and evasive type, and more, using their minor and major forms to complement these. You can even diversify your forms in order to serve different roles as needed. You are pretty much limited to melee attacks though.

While the shifter is very limited in what forms they can take, they do gain the advantage with some forms of having abilities not normally available to other users of the beast shape and vermin shape spells. Again, Definitely look through the various aspects of this class and see what fits your build.

That does it for today, tune in tomorrow for the archetypes!

#pathfinder #base class #shifter

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angelofberlin2000 · 5 years ago

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By Rick Marshall

August 21, 2019 2:25PM PST

It might be difficult to believe right now, but there was a point — not too long ago, in fact — when Keanu Reeves wasn’t everywhere you looked.

The recent news that Reeves would return to lead yet another installment of The Matrix franchise seemingly puts an exclamation point on the 54-year-old actor’s professional resurgence after nearly a decade out of the spotlight.

From carrying a new action franchise (and becoming one of the most sought-after cameos in the industry), to making headlines in the gaming world, to reprising one of his most iconic roles after a 15-year hiatus, Reeves’ ubiquitous presence these days is one of Hollywood’s most pleasant surprises.

It’s also a fascinating look at how one big hit — in this case, his starring role in John Wick — can shake things up and remind audiences why we liked an actor so much in the first place.

After rising to fame in the ’80s and ’90s with comedy hits like Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure and its sequel (as well as 1989’s Parenthood), Reeves moved into action-hero territory with ’90s classics Point Break and Speed, along with a high-profile horror role in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Like most prominent actors, his career during that era had its share of mild highs and lows, with his 1995 romance film A Walk in the Clouds and 1997 supernatural thriller The Devil’s Advocate both earning critical acclaim, while sci-fi adventures Johnny Mnemonic and Chain Reaction were widely panned.

Then The Matrix came along and changed everything.

Reeves’ portrayal of a mild-mannered computer programmer who becomes the cyberpunk savior of humanity in a war against sentient machines turned him from a reliable (if not particularly exciting) male lead to the coolest action hero in Hollywood. The Wachowskis’ groundbreaking 1999 film changed the game for visual effects and cinematography with its innovative fight choreography and set pieces heavily influenced by Hong Kong cinema and Japanese animation while exploring themes that are still highly relevant (and excitedly discussed) 20 years later.

The Matrix would go on to win four Academy Awards while establishing itself as one of the greatest science-fiction films ever made, with Reeves as the face of what would soon become a massive franchise.

The Matrix - Original theatrical Trailer

Two sequels to soon followed, with The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions both hitting theaters in 2003 (a unique strategy, but one that seemed like an easy win given the first film’s success). The first of those sequels went on to become the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time worldwide, a record it held until Deadpool came along 13 years later.

At that point, Reeves was the star of one of Hollywood’s biggest, most visually stunning action franchises — and then, just a few years later, he seemed to fade into the background again.

In the years that followed, Reeves starred in a genre-spanning series of films peppered with indie darlings like The Private Lives of Pippa Lee and experimental projects like Richard Linklater’s rotoscoped adaptation of A Scanner Darkly. There were a few big-budget movies like the poorly reviewed remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still that arrived in theaters and quickly disappeared, but nothing approached the level of The Matrix franchise.

Man of Tai Chi - Officail Trailer (2013)

During this lull, Reeves found time for music, wrote a book, made his directorial debut in the under-appreciated martial-arts film The Man of Tai-Chi, and even produced a documentary about photography.

But things changed dramatically once again in 2014 when Reeves starred in a little-known action film directed by two former stuntmen called simply John Wick.

Much like The Matrix, John Wick drew inspiration from Hong Kong cinema, anime, and classic martial-arts movies for its tale of a former assassin who comes out of retirement when criminals kill his dog during a botched robbery. Directors Chad Stahelski and David Leitch drew from their backgrounds to craft stunning fight sequences for the film that let Reeves carry each scene with his pensive stares and affinity for kung-fu filmmaking techniques, while simultaneously keeping the themes simple (revenge) and teasing the existence of a much larger world inhabited by its colorful cast of killers.

John Wick was a surprise hit, raking in more than $88 million worldwide on a meager (by Hollywood standards) budget of $20 million. It matched that box-office success with almost universally positive reviews, with some suggesting it was one of Reeves’ best performances to date. And just like that, Reeves was an action hero again.

JOHN WICK - Official Trailer #1 (2014)

Two sequels followed, and unlike The Matrix trilogy, the John Wick films — 2017’s John Wick: Chapter Two and 2019’s John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum — only got more successful with each installment. The box-office returns increased with each sequel, and reviews got progressively more positive too (no small feat, given the first film’s 87% positive reviews), solidifying Reeves’ status as one of the hottest action stars in the industry all over again.

All it took was a black suit, a dead puppy, and a whole lot of bullets.

Given all of that, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Reeves is headed back to The Matrix universe (and Bill and Ted’s universe, for that matter). Between the success of the John Wick franchise to Reeves’ role in Cyberpunk 2077, one of the most anticipated video games of the upcoming year, to the calls for him to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, to the frequent, real-life reminders that he might be one of the nicest people in Hollywood, there’s a strong argument to be made that Reeves is entering the best stage of his career so far as he approaches age 55.

It remains to be seen whether Reeves’ return to The Matrix can find the magic that the original film channeled, but with Lana Machowski behind the camera and Reeves in front of it — along with fellow Matrix veteran Carrie-Anne Moss — there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about taking the red pill and diving back into that sci-fi saga.

Reeves has already defied conventional wisdom by becoming an action hero so late in his career, but if there’s anything his trajectory has shown us, it’s that he’s the sort of actor who can surprise us in all the best ways.

#keanu reeves #the matrix #john wick #the matrix 4

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jmsa1287 · 6 years ago

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Best Films of 2018

This list may seem a few months late but I consider the movie season to stretch from January through February of the following year — or until after the Academy Awards ceremony is held. This usually overlaps with the slate of new films debuting at Sundance and other early festivals but that's just the way Hollywood works; awards season is truly never over.

Though movie studios are still focusing on superhero blockbusters and films based on existing intellectual property, 2018 offered a number of original gems among some bona fide hits. Films like the atmospheric sci-fi thriller "Annihilation" and Maggie Gyllenhaal's tour de force of a performance in "The Kindergarten Teacher" just missed my top 10 of 2018. While most of the movies in my list didn't make much of a splash at the box office, they each have a distinct point of view, tone and push the boundaries of what moviemaking can be. From a film shot entirely on an iPhone to a touching story about queer friendship, 2018 was a diverse and solid year for film.

Below are my top 20 favorite movies of 2018.

20. “Burning,” Lee Chang-dong

19. “Happy as Lazzaro,” Alice Rohrwacher

18. “The House that Jack Built,” Lars von Trier

17. “Juliet, Naked,” Jesse Peretz

16. “BlacKkKlansman,” Spike Lee

15. “Shoplifters,” Hirokazu Kore-eda

14. “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Barry Jenkins

13. “First Man,” Damien Chazelle

12. “The Kindergarten Teacher,” Sara Colangelo

11. “Annihilation,” Alex Garland

10. “Unsane,” Steven Soderbergh

"Unsane" is Steven Soderbergh's first iPhone movie. He followed this psychological thriller with "High Flying Bird" on Netflix earlier this month, a snappy basketball movie about the behind the scenes action starring Andre Holland ("Moonlight, "The Knick"). For "Unsane," Soderbergh sets his iPhone 7 Plus on "The Crown" star Claire Foy, who plays Sawyer, a troubled woman who is involuntarily institutionalized. Soderbergh makes the best use of the iPhone, making "Unsane" feel claustrophobic and disorienting to match Sawyer's state of mind. Foy gives a great performance of a woman on the edge, making this little-seen flick so much better than it ought to be.

09. “Vox Lux," Brady Corbet

"Vox Lux" is not a good movie. It's a fascinatingly bizarre one, though. It's the kind of strange concoction that has stuck with me since seeing it a few months ago. It's a twisted version of "A Star is Born" when a young singer Celest (played by Raffey Casssidy as a teen and Natalie Portman as an adult) survives a school shooting and is transformed into a mega pop star a la Lady Gaga. Every choice here is so strange — from a Willem Deafoe narration to having Cassidy play Celest's daughter. And then there's Portman's mind-boggling performance (The New York Times' film critic Manohla Dargis put it best, writing that Portman has an "accent that sounds like it's been lifted from a New York cabby in an old Hollywood comedy." The last musical number is terrible and the pop songs that we're to believe propelled Celest into stardom are quite bad (they were written by Sia but sound like tracks she never planned to release). Director Brady Corbet (an actor best known for his role in "Mysterious Skin" and his directorial debut "The Childhood of a Leader") makes a huge swing with "Vox Lux" and attempts to say something grand about our culture, pop music and tragedy but it's ultimately a can't-look-away-misfire. The kind of disaster I'll happily re-watch again and again.

08. "Suspiria," by Luca Guadagnino

Like "Vox Lux," Luca Guadagnino's take on the cult classic "Suspiria" aims high. But unlike Bradly Corbet's film, Guadagnino's remix of Dario Argento iconic 1977 giallo horror film is successful. With a running time of 153 minutes, the 2018 "Suspiria" is only spiritually connected to the original, expanding on Argento's "Three Mothers" trilogy. Guadagnino smartly ignores the original's Technicolor gore and its iconic soundtrack from Goblin, making his version of the movie dull grey and enlists Radiohead front man Thom Yorke for its spooky music. "Suspiria" also also features Dakota Johnson's best performance ever and another stellar turn from Tilda Swinton. Guadagnino channels Rainer Werner Fassbinder, adding texture to why "Suspiria" is set in 70s Germany and making great use of the political climate at the time and a coven of witches.

07. "Lean on Pete," Andrew Haigh

Out filmmaker Andrew Haigh's follow up to "45 Years" is a quiet road trip movie about a boy and his horse. Charlie Plummer gives one of the best performances of the year as Charley — a dirt poor teen who finds solace in taking care of an aging racehorse named Lean on Pete. The film shifts major gears after Charley is hit with tragedy in the first third of the film, sparking him to run away with his new animal friend in search of his aunt across the country. "Lean on Pete" isn't as sentimental as one may assume; it's a dark film that rests on Plummer's shoulders, proving he's one of the strongest young actors of his generation.

06. "Eighth Grade," Bo Burnham

Comedian and YouTube star Bo Burnham's directorial debut "Eighth Grade" is a horror movie. Starring the sensational Elsie Fisher as middle school student Kayla, "Eighth Grade" puts the experience of a young teen under a magnifying class, amplifying every awkward moment and pump those tense scenes with the kind of intense energy one would feel while watching slasher flick. But "Eighth Grade" is ultimately beautiful movie that tracks 13-year-old Kayla as she navigates her last year before entering high school. Burnham captures the essence of being a middle schooler and not for once plays Kayla's experience for cheap laughs. The things she's interested in — especially vlogging — are treated with respect and dignity, making "Eighth Grade" a lovely and felt experience.

05. "A Star is Born," Bradley Cooper

Bradley Cooper's remake of a "A Star is Born" was one of the most exciting cultural moments of 2018. From the memes to the actual film — when the moment hits that Cooper is actually pulling it off — this tragic Hollywood story, starring a marvelous Lady Gaga, was one of the best movies to think and talk about. It also happens to be very good.

04. "Roma," Alfonso Cuarón

For how technically impressive "Roma" is (that cinematography! The sound!) Alfonso Cuarón's memory piece packs an emotional punch. Cuarón focuses on Cleo (breakout star Yalitza Aparicio), a nanny for a family in 70s Mexico City. Based on Cuarón's real life nanny from that time, the filmmaker puts Cleo's experience and story on a huge scale. Her small story is treated like a war epic. "Roma" is why movies exist, an achievement in storytelling and cinematic scope.

03. "The Favourite," Yorgos Lanthimos

Yorgos Lanthimos pulls of a feat with "The Favourite" a wickedly funny movie about power, women and sex. Its three stars Olivia Colman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz give incredible performances each on a different wavelength. Lanthimos's touch makes "The Favourite" slightly off kilter, thanks to fisheye lenses, modern music and dance. There hasn't been such a twisted period piece since Sofia Coppola's 2006 masterpiece "Marie Antoinette."

02. "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" Marielle Heller

"Can You Ever Forgive Me?" probably has one of the worst trailers of 2018. It suggests is a run-of-the-mill Oscar bait movie with comedic genius Melissa McCarthy making a blatant attempt to Get Serious. But Marielle Heller's film is anything but that, considering it earned just three Academy Award nominations (McCarthy for Best Actress, Richard E. Grant for Best Supporting Actor and Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty for Best Adapted Screenplay) and isn't expected to take home any. Nevertheless, the story about biographer-turned-scammer Lee Israel turns out to be a touching story about queer friendship. It's a specific New York City 90s story that's heartfelt and beautiful. Indeed, McCarthy as Israel is wonderful as is Grant, who plays gay British smooth talker Jack Hock. "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" is the kind of movie that is currently overlooked but will go on to become a cult favorite.

01. "Hereditary," Ari Aster

"Hereditary" is hands down the scariest movie of 2018. It's hardly a horror movie, although it's classified as such since supernatural moments occur. But it's the most stressful, intense and twisted family drama in some time. At the center of this film is Toni Collette's masterful performance as Annie Graham, a mother dealing with the loss of her own mother and how that sets off a chain of events that uproots her reality. The rabbit hole she goes down is — well there's really no other way to put this — extremely fucked up. She's put through the ringer and Collette is fully committed here as "Heredity" explores what it's like to be a mother, deals with loss, grief, tragedy and familial bounds that we've been taught to be unbreakable. "Heredity" asks what if those bonds somehow did snap? The answer is that all hell breaks loose.

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mytherapistthinksimfunny · 5 years ago

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The Endless Thirst of Grace Michaud

It’s almost 11 pm, and in the four hours that I have been home from work, I’ve been reading articles about Adam Driver. Alone in my apartment, I snort to myself as I read The Cut’s “I Want to Be Adam Driver’s Baby” and “21 Things I Would Like to Do With Adam Driver” which I relate to a little too well. I, too, want to “peruse real-estate listings” with Adam Driver.

In my nearly 26 years of living, Adam Driver is this month’s Grace Michaud’s “It Boy.” Last month it was Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Next month? Who knows, but Henry Cavill is looking mighty fine in The Witcher.

For anyone who has ever known me, this causes little concern. To everyone joining the Grace Michaud journey: welcome. You are about to experience an everyday occurrence.

New friends, or people who only interact with me via social media: I suffer from being infinitely thirsty. My thirst can never be quenched. Usually the thirst comes at a normal level, like any thirst, and starts out as a simple tickle in the throat. If offered a drink I wouldn’t say no. But I don’t actively do anything about it. I could go for a drink, but I’m not about to get up and get one. Then the thought becomes nagging, that maybe I really should get up and get a drink right now. I’ll crave water, a simple free drink that comes from the tap. Soon my thirst becomes more distinct. I’m craving an Arnold Palmer and I need that Arnold Palmer now. I drink and drink and still I’m thirsty, drinking like I’m in the desert, about to die unless I drink the world’s entire water supply right now.

I am, of course, not talking about liquids. I’m talking about men.

An attractive male on a film or show catches my eye, and I make note. Soon I’m watching every movie they’ve ever made until I’m in a downward spiral of interviews in the trenches of YouTube and Google.

I’ve been attracted to the male species since before I could form a concrete memory. The evidence is in a video of my dad teasing me at three about a crush I have on a boy named Ricardo. Wracking my memory, the name sounds familiar, and I’m aware I had crushes when I was in preschool.

How in the world did my tiny brain comprehend the very idea of crushes? That one could feel something more than just friendship with someone? That I, a mere three-year-old just learning how to not urinate my pants, was able to identify that? I’ve dated 30-year-old men who are nowhere near that level of emotionally intelligent.

Who were you, Ricardo? Why was I fascinated with you? Was I attracted to you? Do three-year- olds recognize attraction? Where are you now Ricardo? Have you met your metaphorical Lucy?

So we begin, reader, towards an agonizing life of never-ending attraction to men. Now, I am absolutely not going to go into my dating life. That is just one long humiliating and questionable series of life decisions that even I don’t want to get into. Let’s just say, at 11, there was an entire diary entry of pictures from my yearbook of a kid named Kyle who once took a pinecone out of my hair. I shudder at the thought. And don’t get me started about junior year of high school.

I mention Ricardo to show you that my thirst for men was always there, whether I knew it or not. To me, it seems, it was just a normal feeling that was a part of me. Nothing unusual. My karate teacher was a hottie and probably why I loved going to karate. I loved men so much that I wanted to be them. I dressed in boy’s clothes, even boy’s underwear, and occasionally asked my parents to call me Michael. Now, you’re probably thinking: “Wow there is a lot to unpack here.” But this was 1997 and my parents just went along with it, not really caring as long as I went to bed when they told me to. While others may think something entirely different, I just chalk this up to being that boy crazy. I didn’t start wearing dresses until I hit puberty….but I’m already getting off topic and I don’t want this to turn into an episode of Big Mouth. Let’s try and remain focused here: I’m an obsessive person.

This is my Kindle library as of March 20, 2020:

There is a home movie of my two-year-old self pointing to my Tweedy Bird hat excitedly. “I have Tweedy Bird on my hat!” I repeat over and over with a lisp, clearly very excited I had something I loved on an item of clothing. Even then, when I loved something, I was all in.

Combine my obsessive personality with my attraction to the male species? We descend into madness, my friends. From cartoon characters, to television shows, to actors, to rock stars, to actors again. I obsess most over men I don’t personally know. Think 25 years of pictures covering walls. Merchandise. Staying up till 3 am diving into the corners of the internet for every last drop of information I could get.

And it all started with Bugs Bunny.

Bugs Bunny was my first foray into fangirl territory. It was that episode when Bugs Bunny dressed as a Viking woman that drew me into the Bugs Bunny portal of obsession. I wasn’t attracted to Bugs Bunny in drag, necessarily; I was more fascinated by the idea of Elmer Fudd falling in love with Bugs Bunny. That Bugs was a character that could be loved romantically. I know this sounds really bizarre and heavy, but I fully believe that I was fascinated by romantic love that early in my life.

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Soon I didn’t stop talking about Bugs Bunny. I had an entire Bugs Bunny tracksuit, slippers, and a doll. There’s a picture of me in my entire ensemble while holding the doll, ecstatic. For my fourth birthday my mom made me a homemade Bugs Bunny Halloween costume. Bugs Bunny was even my imaginary friend for a bit there. I must have worn out the Space Jam VHS tape.

Note the Bugs Bunny watch.

That’s childhood obsession for you. When I loved Pokemon all I would do was talk about it and dream about it.

Then it was Digimon. In twenty six years, it hasn’t stopped. Up until December of 2019, it’s been one TV show after the other, examples being Avatar the Last Airbender, Total Drama Island, The Office, The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Sherlock, Game of Thrones, Mr. Robot, Fleabag, Frasier, and most recently, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Harry Potter has always been a love for me, and I’ve been obsessed with two different book series: the comic books The Umbrella Academy (the show is a DISASTER compared to how good the comics are), and The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod (a book series about a vampire; as a bonus, see how many vampires you can count). A common theme for all of these things was the fact that I was attracted to a singular male character and their relationship to others.

In preparing to write this I wrote about 6 pages worth of notes, all ranging in obsession. To completely write about every single one would take a novel with each of my multiple obsessions being individual chapters. For example, during the Total Drama Island years I was constantly up till 3 am on the weekends making YouTube videos for the show. If you can find them...I’d be impressed. (But actually, please don’t.) I’ll try to provide a list and a little comment, as I split my obsessions into various categories.

At 11, I discovered the Sprouse twins and my object of desire went from cartoon characters to actors. I was known as “the Sprouse twins” girl, specifically Cole, during sixth grade. This was the first time I covered my room and locker in posters.

A year later, we jumped dramatically and came to my obsessive emo phase. While I listened to a lot of bands, my attention was turned mostly to Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy and Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance. (The latter I would later meet after MCR broke up when I was about 20 years old after his solo show, and it was just as awkward as I could imagine). That’s when my room was completely covered in Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance posters. I wore a lot of black and those years were honestly my cringiest moments. Hey, we were all 13.

I started to shift more from short, skinny, guyliner-wearing men and noticing tall, muscular, and handsome ones. I can pinpoint when I started to first feel sexually attracted to a man (at an appropriate age! I was going through puberty!) when I saw the trailer for Fantastic Four, and Chris Evans came out shirtless in a towel. Oh GOD what an ICONIC moment. Goodbye Sprouse Twins, hello six packs.

The summer going into high school, I saw The Dark Knight 3 times because of Christian Bale as Batman. He walked in wearing that tight black shirt and my expectations for men from there on out would never match up to Batman. Gaston from Beauty and the Beast seemed hotter now (you all know what scene I’m talking about), That attraction became the strangest when I remarked to my friend that Ultron was pretty hot for a robot.

Maybe that’s why I love Kylo Ren so much. He’s the combination of two of my great loves: a buff emo.

The high school years followed a somewhat similar pattern, but mostly actors more so than musicians. To be fair, in high school Fall Out Boy broke up and didn’t get back together till I was in college, and My Chemical Romance only released one album in my four years. So during high school and college there weren't really any “emo” guys or musicians to lust over.

Now in 2020 I live in Brooklyn where every man and their mother is a “musician” so the whole idea turns me off. It was fun while it lasted though, and I’ll always be an emo kid at heart. I’ve seen Fall Out Boy 7 times in the last 10 years, and I paid an insane amount of money for My Chemical Romance reunion tour tickets.

High school was a time where everyone was entering a more mature phase of their puberty journey, and for me, that was lusting after men over the age of 30. I had a hella crush on Zachary Quinto (who I saw walk past me once in the Village and I almost pooped my pants) even though I knew he was gay. I went through a Freddie Mercury phase for a bit too, I mean, come on, that chest hair.

I had a few months lusting after Colin Farrell after seeing him in Fright Night (which I recently found out was written by my favorite Buffy writer! seventeen-year-old me foreshadowing the present). In The Phantom of the Opera I sided with the Phantom the entire time, wishing that I could be seduced through opera in a hidden Parisian cave. My mom introduced me to Ryan Gosling who became my dream man. While reading Great Gatsby I had a huge crush on Seth Meyers who I would imagine Nick Carraway as. He does sort of look like Toby McGuire? He was the first of many goofy men that would lead to John Mulaney, Rob Delaney, Nathan Fielder, Ben Wyatt, and Niles Crane. Chris Pratt still fits into that category, though he’s the perfect combination of goofy and buff. When The Avengers came out my senior year of high school, I saw it 4 times in the theater.

The British invasion didn’t happen until my senior year and defined my college years, with posters of Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hardy, Michael Fassbender, Eddie Redmayne, and James Norton. My feet ache thinking about the times I waited in line at a movie premiere or a film set to get a glimpse of any of these gents. When I saw Benedict Cumberbatch on set in Boston my knees gave out. Domhnall Gleeson is also in that group of fine British men despite being Irish. It’s why I always have a moral dilemma whenever General Hux comes on screen in Star Wars. Twice I had a hardcore crush on Seth MacFarlane, going to the Ted 2 set living in Boston, waving to him as he got into his car. I would meet him again 3 years later when I worked on Harry, looking like a total disaster. But he said “hi” to me which sent me to cloud 9. I once waited in a lobby of a show to meet Lee Pace even though I didn’t see the show.

All of these men at one point adorned my room, desktop background, dorm room (which was covered in posters, no wonder I rarely ever had a boy in there), and phone background. Today my phone background is the throne room scene of Rey and Kylo in The Last Jedi. Why do you think I had Tweedy Bird on my hat? I need my obsession with me at all times and I want the world to see.

(Thank God tattoos are expensive and I was too young to get them during my hardcore obsessions. Imagine if I had a giant Total Drama Island tattoo on my back? I shudder.)

While a lot of the attraction for these men was based on personality, looks, and accents, I also have a tendency to become enamoured with villains and dark characters. In 1999 I was in the movie theater seeing The Phantom Menace. Up until that point, there were virtually no children featured in Star Wars films, so when a young Anakin Skywalker graced the screen, my five-year-old heart would not stop beating. I loved him so much, I carried a Pepsi bottle with his image on it everywhere I went. I slept with it. My comfort blanket was a Pepsi bottle with a picture of a nine-year-old boy.

I had the famous Phantom Menace poster with young Anakin Skywalker with the shadow of Darth Vader behind him. I distinctly remember my dad telling me in the theater, “That’s Darth Vader as a little boy.” When I saw Return of the Jedi my favorite scene was when Luke took off Vader’s mask, because you got to see Vader’s real face for the first time. That Vader actually was a human and not a monster fascinated me to the point of obsession which, as you probably have figured out, still carries over to the sequel trilogy.

Bugs Bunny established my fanaticism, but Anakin Skywalker determined my type: men presented as villains but actually are redeemed over time. Through the years I think I’ve enjoyed getting to figure out someone. Their character is presented as one dimensional, and then even the tiniest thing that strays from that is seen as fascinating. There’s a great quote from an Adam Driver profile in the New York Times that I think encapsulates it:

“A manner so resolute that when some emotion does manage to escape - whether through a glint in his eyes or the unpredictable undulations of his voice - that transgression can’t help but take you by surprise.”

Now my therapist says that probably comes with my need to help and fix the real boys in my life. We both joked that our favorite character in A Haunting of Hill House was the drug-addicted little brother.

I think it is totally unfair, because I know that I can’t personally help them... though ok, she may be a little right.

While I enjoy “complicated” from afar, it does subconsciously fulfill the need for what I can’t do in reality, which is being someone’s reason to change. Mostly through love. Turns out, in real life, it is far less romantic to be dating someone with a lot of emotional issues! Who knew!

You decide for yourself. Here are all the fictional characters I’ve obsessed over who fit this category:

-Kylo Ren (I mean, duh)

-Prince Zuko (the original Kylo Ren)

-The Phantom of the Opera (Thank you, Leslie Knope)

-Damon from Vampire Diaries

-Hot Priest from Fleabag (ok not a villain but he’s supposed to be a holy man and you think aw he’s never gonna...AND THEN HE DOES!)

-Mr. Darcy (again not a villain but he was to Elizabeth at first!!!!)

-Duncan from Total Drama Island

-Draco Malfoy (that bleached blonde hair attraction still hasn’t gone away, oops)

-Spock in JJ Abrams’s last good movie Star Trek

-Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (oh if my heart could beat it would break my chest, how many times have I cried over that sweet platinum blonde baby?)

Look, I know this is all fictional and in no way real. None of these men exist and are all a fantasy. Hey, I watch You and am extremely creeped out by Joe! I don’t root for him! I also hope I don’t stay this way forever. I really don’t want to be a Twilight mom. I’ve calmed down in my old age, ok? I don’t wait in the cold for hours at a stage door anymore, and I go on real dates now. I’ve even had a few boyfriends in my days who were nothing like the men I lusted after nor did I even compare.

I completely agree that all these men would be horrible to date! Draco Malfoy was totally a bigot and bully. Kylo Ren killed his dad, and I have a good relationship with my dad, so I can’t really relate. And yes, Spike before he got his soul is nothing to wish for in a boyfriend, even if it was fun to watch him. Kylo Ren and Spike have killed multiple people. I’m not down to date a murderer.

One day I’ll be able to consume something I enjoy and move on after a week. Growing up, mundane suburban life was a little more interesting when you get lost in a fantasy for a while. To be focused on something other than school, work, or even your own anxieties. If anything, I think my obsessive personality towards men in particular just pushes me to look for more and to yearn for more instead of being depressed that I don’t get to live it. I don’t just settle for the first boy to like me back. I strive to one day not to marry a celebrity, a comedian, or an anthropomorphic cartoon character, but someone who makes me feel like I’m the heroine of my own show.

For now, I’ll just wait for the Phantom to spring me into his underground lair.

Taken 2 minutes before I published this.

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zeyadiedits · 5 years ago

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💝Zeyadi’s Master List💝

Welcome to my master list of edits, rules and fandom edits! Please read through the whole thing before sending in a request! ^-^

💞RULES💞

💕: I will accept six characters in each request and no more than that.

💞: please specify if you want matching icons, a background, header, etc.

💕: add in if you want some sort of theme for each one. If you want a romantic one or funny one, anything like that.

💕: if I take more than a week to get to finishing edits please send me another message just to make sure that I didn’t loose or forget about your request.

💕: make sure to specify exactly what characters/fandoms/themes in every request!

💖Fandoms!💖

Below you will find each fandom I’m in and what I will be able to make for you!

💕: Bnha/Mha

💕: Tokyo Ghoul

💕: Aot/snk

💕: Hazbin Hotel

💕: Helluva Boss

💕: Ohshc

💕: Riverdale

💕: Heathers

💕: Supernatural

💕: Your lie in April

💕: Hetalia

💕: IT

💕: The Umbrella Academy

💗Completed Edits💗

N/A (will be updated as I go)

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minecchi · 8 months ago

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♩　 ﹐　 🧛🏻 　◦　 ❁

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noromannet-blog · 5 years ago

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10 best Nintendo Switch games you can give this Christmas

There comes a time where you must think about what game to buy for this Christmas for your Nintendo Switch. Or maybe you want to give someone one of the best games for your Nintendo Switch and you don't know very well where to start. It does not matter, because with this list of the 10 best games for Nintendo Switch you will not fail in any way in your next gift. You will find the best games of all kinds, such as fighting, card deck, level creation like Mario Maker 2 or authentic graphic adventures. Although Nintendo Switch has been with us for a few years now, this portable Nintendo console has managed to maintain freshness with games of all kinds, but especially because its best titles are essential in your repertoire, such as the legendary The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening.

Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of a Lost Past

In this game, one of the best punctuated in the world, embodies the Luminario, a young man who descends from legendary hero hundreds of years ago. You must ally yourself with a curious cast of companions and embark on a journey that will take you to all kinds of places to save the world from a terrible threat based on struggles. It is one of the remastered classic role-playing games for Nintendo Switch most loved.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

In Fire Emblem you will visit the Garreg Mach Monastery on a continent called Fodlan. In this monastery, the Academy of Officers is housed where the future leaders of Fodlan are trained. Your character is a mercenary turned into a teacher who must choose one of the three houses of the Academy and guide his pupils both in the academic field and on the battlefield.

Super Mario Maker 2

In the hilarious Super Mario Maker 2, you can create Super Mario levels with which you have always dreamed in an environment where you can customize absolutely everything. There is a wide range of new tools, functions, and level elements to create the craziest and most impossible maps your imagination can create. In addition, you can always share with friends and players from around the world.

Astral chain

Astral Chain, a game with a fighting manga style, takes you into the near future, where Earth has been invaded by strange beings known as chimeras. These monsters use a mysterious substance called "red matter" to spread corruption throughout the world and have forced humanity to take refuge in a multicultural city: the Ark. You will play the role of one of the two police twins who will have to discover the mystery of the invasion of the Ark. You must fight the invaders and look for evidence that will help you save all of humanity.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

Because of a terrible storm, Link is shipwrecked and is dragged by the current to the coast of a strange tropical island inhabited by very curious locals. You will be the famous Link hero again and you will have to help him escape from a strange land to return to his home. Make friends with a cast of the most diverse characters, fight lots of monsters and explore dangerous dungeons in this classic adventure with a new artistic style.

Luigi's Mansion 3

Join Luigi, a misunderstood hero and eclipsed by his brother Mario in an epic spooky adventure. In this new spooky adventure, you will have to save Mario sailing through castles full of surprises and ghosts. You can tour the supernatural floors of an enchanting hotel in the company of a friend in the cooperative mode, stand up to revolting ghosts and solve paranormal puzzles.

AI: Somnium Files

In AI: Somnium Files plays Kaname Date, a police officer who arrives at the scene of a crime on a rainy November night. A corpse of a woman appears in a merry-go-round of an abandoned amusement park. Kaname recognizes that woman and hears a noise inside the merry-go-round. He manages to enter the central column of the roundabout and finds a girl. In his hands, he wipes an ice pick with blood. Perfect your detective skills in this exciting science fiction murder story with more than 30 hours of gameplay and multiple endings. Penetrates dreams to solve puzzles and achieve clues. With multiple outcomes and a time limit of 6 minutes, every second count.

BlazBlue: Central Fiction - Special Edition

This is a new installment of a fighting game, part of an emblematic saga in two dimensions. The novelties of this new game include new fighters, the most extensive of the entire saga with 35 characters. In this game, you will find more rivals, more phases, and movements than ever.

The cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda

Keep up the pace to save Hyrule from destruction in Cadence of Hyrule. This action-adventure game that combines the game mechanics of Crypt of the NecroDancer with the iconic music and world of The Legend of Zelda series.

Slay the Spire

In Slay the Spire you find a card game where you will have to create the best deck of unique cards, find strange monsters and discover the power of relics. You will find hundreds of cards to add to your deck every time you enter the capital. Choose the cards that best match each other to eliminate enemies. On your way, you will find powerful objects called relics that can greatly improve your deck. Read the full article

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donnahinkleystaceytroy · 5 years ago

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Barbara Eden "Evil Jeannie" signature costume from I Dream of Jeannie. (NBC-TV, 1965-70) Vintage original (4) piece costume screen worn signature "Evil Jeannie" costume. On the heels of the success of the Bewitched sitcom and inspired by the movie The Brass Bottle, producer Sydney Sheldon conceived of the idea for a beautiful female genie. After a protracted casting process, Barbara Eden was chosen to play the good-hearted but naive supernatural conjurer. Costume designer Gwen Wakeling, a personal favorite of Cecil B. DeMille, who earned an Academy Award for her work on Samson and Delilah in 1950 was chosen to create Barbara Eden's iconic "Jeannie" costumes in 1965. This was one of Wakeling's final projects. This green version was created for Jeannie's "Evil" twin. The costume includes (1) ruched green silk chiffon top constructed upon a bespoke nude underwire brassiere, featuring gilded leather tassels, metallic gold trim, bodice reinforced with integral wire stays, lining and padding, back straps with hook and eye closure retaining the internal "Columbia Pictures" bias label handwritten, "Barbara Eden", (1) matching Kelly green velvet bolero-style short sleeve vest jacket with metallic gold braided trim, internal tether snaps, and retaining internal, "Columbia Pictures" bias label handwritten, "Barbara Eden", (1) matching green silk chiffon and velvet paneled skirt with hook and eye and zipper back closure, nude silk upper lining and reinforced waist, retaining internal "Screen Gems" bias label handwritten, "B. Eden #1" and (1) matching green velvet soft padded ponytail headdress with green silk chiffon veil and tan heavy tulle trim for attaching to hair, gilded leather tassels, and metallic gold netting, retaining internal "Columbia Pictures" bias label handwritten "Barbara Eden". Also includes extra tassels and gold thread. The costume embodies the 1960s sexy innocence that was a hallmark of entertainment of the era. Eden played her alter ego so well, many viewers were unaware that she'd played both parts. Exhibiting age, production wear and handling, with minor soiling, some loose thread and light fraying to chiffon edges. In vintage very good to fine condition.

https://tinyurl.com/t5j78b7

#Barbara Eden #i dream of jeannie

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ramajmedia · 5 years ago

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The Boys: Every Marvel & DC Character Parodied In Amazon's Series

Which DC and Marvel superheroes served as inspiration for the rip-roaring cast of The Boys? In the original comic book series by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, The Boys serves as a bloody and grossly satirical take on the superhero genre, subverting long-established tropes and toying with readers' expectations. However, the story also takes direct shots at the giants of the comic book world, Marvel and DC. Many of the biggest, most outrageous superheroes in The Boys are straight-up parodies of the comic book world's biggest names, hilariously poking fun at the giants of the industry.

Amazon's The Boys adaptation follows suit, and perhaps even takes the satirical elements to a new level. After all, the original comic series began in 2006 and the superhero genre has evolved significantly since then, particularly with regards to their presence on the big screen. This new landscape provides The Boys with a new palette of potential targets, and the Amazon series takes full advantage, ripping on a host of big-name figures from the genre's more family-friendly output.

Related: Why Terror The Dog Isn't In The Boys Season 1

The Boys' DC comparisons are certainly more overt, particularly in the comic books, but Marvel don't escape unscathed either - there's plenty of satirical ribbing to go round. But while The Boys does raise some interesting talking points regarding the direction and commercial aspect of the superhero genre, most of the parodies are done with a wry smile and a knowing wink, rather than any outright malice. Here are all the Marvel and DC character parodies in The Boys.

America's favorite Kryptonian is undoubtedly the biggest inspiration behind Homelander. The Boys plays on the DC icon's God-like status in glorious fashion, giving the leader of the Seven all of Clark Kent's best powers and abilities including flight, heat vision and even X-ray vision - an ability The Boys naturally twists into something more sinister. However, there's also elements of Marvel's Captain America thrown into the mix. Visually, Homelander incorporates Cap's stars and stripes motif and his overt exploitation of patriotism reaches levels Superman could never achieve with his Kryptonian heritage.

One of the most direct parodies in The Boys is Chase Crawford's The Deep, who acts as a clear riff on DC's Aquaman. The Boys takes a grim look at the darker side of Aquaman's fish communication powers, and goes on to prove how aquatic anatomy could be a problem with groupies. Most notably, however, the series plays on the idea that Aquaman has always been widely derided by comic fans for his goofy look and relatively odd powers. This was in the days before Jason Momoa came along and gave Aquaman's reputation a much-needed boost. The Deep is seen attending therapy sessions to discuss his inferiority complex - something Aquaman would've no doubt also done had he been aware of his status as a figure of ridicule.

Another clear parallel can be found between Queen Maeve and the female third of DC's fabled trinity, Wonder Woman. Both characters have origins steeped in ancient mythology, with the DC character deriving from Greek lore and Maeve named after a warrior from Irish legend. Highlighting their mythical natures, both characters wear stylized metallic suits of armor with a matching sword, although Maeve's weapon wouldn't come close to matching Diana's in a fight. Like Wonder Woman, Maeve is also one of the more ethical members of the Seven, acting as a moral compass compared to the debauchery of the other members..

Starlight and Stargirl have very different superpowers, with the latter wielding a staff to manipulate energy, while also being able to fly and shoot stars. Starlight, on the other hand, generates intense rays of light from her body, similar to Northstar and Aurora from the Marvel comics. However, the design and concept of Stargirl does seem to heavily inform Starlight in The Boys. Both are presented as apple pie American role models and are the more innocent faces of their respective superhero teams. Physically, the two heroes share a close resemblance, and Stargirl is known for being somewhat relaxed about revealing her true identity - something The Boys references with Starlight on several occasions.

Related: Amazon's The Boys Has An Unexpected Supernatural Cameo

Any number of superheroes from both the DC and Marvel rosters have been able to turn invisible, but Translucent's carbon-based skin is far more unique, perhaps most commonly associated with Emma Frost from Marvel's X-Men comics. Predominantly a psychic, Frost can turn her skin into a carbon-based impenetrable exterior, much like Translucent. Charlies Xavier presumably never thought of using Frenchie's method to defeat her though. Furthermore, Translucent's comic equivalent in Ennis and Robertson's The Boys is a character called Jack From Jupiter - a not-so-subtle nod to DC's Martian Manhunter who, incidentally, could also turn invisible.

Perhaps equally as indebted to Wolverine, Popclaw's ability to grow claws through her skin to use as weapons is a trick straight from the X-Men canon. Logan was famous for drawing three prongs through his knuckles, X-23 cut that down to two, now Popclaw is reduced to one single protrusion from each limb, however the concept itself is unique enough to trace directly back to Marvel. Since Popclaw is female, she can perhaps be more readily compared to X-23 than Wolverine himself.

Just as Black Panther is introduced as the prince of Africa's fictional state of Wakanda, Nubian Prince is named as the heir to the African region of Nubia. Furthering the connection, both characters wear sleek black superhero outfits adorned with traditional African design elements. Madelyn Stillwell also cynically describes Nubian Prince as "not too militant, Caucasians love him too," which could be interpreted as a subtle commentary on the distinct lack of superhero movies starring a black lead character.

In the comic version of The Boys, A-Train and the Flash have more in common than just super speed, with A-Train's brash arrogance and exuberant personality acting as an exaggerated caricature of his DC counterpart. This influence is less apparent in the Amazon series, where A-Train is a more conflicted character, concerned about his relevance in the Seven and paranoid his drugs running side-business will be unearthed. Still, the death of Robin is a shining example of what horrors could occur if Flash was really zipping across the world in a blur of red spandex.

The Boys draws several comparisons between Vought and the modern Marvel Studios machine. A cameo from Seth Rogen reveals that the company have their own VCU - the Vought Cinematic Universe. One company executive also utters the line "everybody loves a team up," openly lampooning Marvel's crossover releases such as Avengers and Captain America: Civil War. There are even references to Vought opening theme parks outside of Paris (Disneyland Paris) and releasing the billion dollar-grossing G-Men: World War - a mashup of X-Men and Civil War.

While Vought may parody Marvel to some extent, the Seven are a complete ripoff of DC's famous Justice League. With their formal sit-down meetings, national celebrity status and individual superhero likenesses, the Seven have far more in common with DC's premier superhero team than other groups, such as the Avengers. The similarities continue in the comic books, where the Seven operate from a skybase instead of a regular skyscraper, somewhat akin to the Justice League's Watchtower space station.

More: No MCU? No Umbrella Academy Or The Boys

The Boys season 2 is currently without a release date. More news as it arrives.

source https://screenrant.com/boys-amazon-marvel-dc-hero-character-parody/

#screenrant

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sapphicrpc · 8 years ago

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Hey there, could we get a review? We're a brand new, original supernatural/magic based bio roleplay focused on an academy for witches aged 18-24. Thank you so much!

i was actually on your page earlier i’d love to give you a review! just as a first look i’d like to say that i think this is a very cool roleplay and i wish you guys the very best of luck getting this running ~ under the cut is your full review

ICON + URL 8/10

the colours in your icon are really beautiful but i would say that it doesn’t really scream witches to me, but i can’t quite place why so maybe i’m just being weird ! your url is simple and explanatory, not too long. i like that a lot so good job !

MOBILE THEME 7/10

there’s no mobile navigation available because you’ve hidden the description!!! which makes it much much harder for people who might not be able to get to a laptop 24/7 to find stuff. i would highly recommend setting one up, though you’re a new rp so you might just no have gotten there yet. your colours are beautiful though, and your layout is very simple.

THEME AND GRAPHICS 8/10

your theme is a good layout and one i haven’t actually seen before which is nice. it’s easy to find all your links and the order of your sections make a lot of logical sense which is good! that being said i don’t really know what your updates on the update tab mean? (acceptance date set? but for when?) as for the graphics again, i’m in love with the colours. it’s simple and light and easy on the eye which is refreshing compared to most roleplays which go heavy on gradients and gifs and textures which distract from the content. personally i’m not a fan of the low contrast on the character graphics but you’ve picked a psd which hasn’t whitewashed pictures of your pocs which is SO IMPORTANT, way more important than my personal distaste for low contrast. your navigation is super easy to do and that’s wicked, so all in all it’s a massive thumbs up

PLOT 5/10

there are a lot of witch school roleplays out there i have to admit and what makes yours stand out isn’t the plot but the characters. that being said, your plot is very good! it’s well written with enough twists and turns to keep it very very interesting it’s just... i’ve kind of seen a million witch school roleplays with a similar plot? i know the old saying nothing new under the sun but there you go... i’m sorry i hope it doesn’t come across as harsh because trust me your roleplay does stand out. it’s characters make it totally different to witch rps i’ve seen before and so does the aesthetic of the page so don’t be disheartened!

CHARACTERS 9/10

first of all it’s great to see so many poc suggestions for fcs. personally i prefer to have a set ethnicity for a character so that you can pick a name and background to match the ethnicity (so that you don’t get an indian man called mike, etc) but i totally respect what you’re doing in giving people a choice. your powers are amazing! i would suggest adding some suggested connections though to give people applying some ideas! you’ve clearly been so inventive with the way in which you’ve created each character i can tell that you’ve put a lot of time and thought into it and that’s really cool. characters are some of the most important parts of roleplays if not the most important so getting them right in bio roleplays is essential. make sure you keep on being inventive with the way you invent characters ~

RULES 7/10

first, i think you should have a link to your rules on the topbar of your main page, but again that’s just a personal thing. your rules on tagging triggers are excellent and i really like how clear you’ve been in the rules that you’re open to all gender identities because that is incredibly important! otherwise there are a few things i think could be missing from your rules! maybe an age limit? i may have missed this but if you’re going to be dealing with sex you REALLY need to have an age cap on that because under 18s engaging in smut rp is actually illegal & worse if you’re over 18 you could be prosecuted too for grooming. if you don’t have an age limit on the rp overall you at least need to state that you can’t engage in any sexy times rp and you need to fade to black if you’re under 18.

APPLICATION 9/10

short but sweet, i like it. when i admin i normally like longer apps but that’s just a personal preference.

OVERALL 8/10

this is a really cute roleplay! i wanna keep track of it’s progress for sure so i’m gonna follow you guys. give it some time and if you guys get a decent sized group going it’ll probably be a rec soon!! keep persevering, you’ve got a cute lil rp here i love it

PLS REMEMBER THIS IS JUST MY HUMBLE OPINION AND EVERYTHING I HAVE SAID HERE IS CONSTRUCTIVE I AM NOT TRYING TO BE MEAN OR RUDE !!!

#review #rph #witchwarsrp

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sandcvstles · 8 years ago

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Hey there, could we get an opinion/review? We're a brand new, original supernatural/magic based bio roleplay focused on an academy for witches aged 18-24. Thank you so much!

of course, sweetpea ! the review is under the cut. please note that everything said here is just my very humble opinion & is meant to be constructive !

okay, so at first glance, your ICON is cute but doesn’t really feel like it matches your rp, but that’s definitely not a big deal. your URL is really nice, & it immediately made me think about salem witch trials ( or a harry potter rp ). it’s short and concise while peaking people’s interest, so good job snagging a good url !

so clicking through your url, leads me to your THEME. your theme isn’t what i was expecting, but that’s definitely not a bad thing. i actually lowkey congratulate you on not giving into the crowd on container themes; & it’s a very clean-looking theme, although it ( again ) doesn’t really fit the feel of the rp. i would say maybe change color scheme of the theme to fit the rp, but again: not a big deal. the summary/about really help to give potential members a sense of what your rp is about, so that’s good. your graphic is really well-done, & all the links work from as far as i can tell. your navigation is super easy to search around with, & you have it turned on for mobile users as well, so bless you !

your PLOT is super interesting, & really well-written so major kudos to you guys. i’m always relatively wary of original supernatural/magic rps because they always tend to be similar to each other or to harry potter, but this is a pretty unique one as far as i can tell. you did a great job of explaining everything, & the plot definitely keeps people interested. i can definitely tell that this will be heavily plot drop/event/task-based to keep the ball rolling.

so to all your other links, the only thing i might recommend is showing what the dorms and academy look like with graphics because some people ( like myself ) are more visual, but that’s just a suggestion. your schedules page is really nice, & it helps take usual guess work out of writing about classes for most typical academy rps ! pretty standard RULES, it was an easy read but had all the essentials. APPLICATION was standard as well, but it’s not super long that it’ll intimidate applicants.

character BIOS are really well-written, & i love all the backstories i read through ! i would say to include a nonbinary roles section on your gender section, & to include some nonbinary characters in future waves. i know you made a disclaimer you don’t determine gender identity / sexual orientation which is good, but i’d just recommend writing some nonbinary characters to make the first step to bring in more diversity. i’d also put a taken / open part on your apps just in case someone stumbles on the app in the tags & wants to know if they’re open ! you have a nice group of pocs from what i’ve seen, & you did a good job at age variance as well. i also really love that everyone has unique powers to one another because it keeps everything exciting & different.

OVERALL, great job ! i really like your rp, & the admins seem very invested in the group. i wish you all the success with your rp, & ( if i had some free time ) i’d definitely join it. i’m going to give you guys a rec !

#rph #rpt #rpo #rpc #bio rp #* // ( rp rec.#* // ( opinion.#* // ( review.

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recentanimenews · 7 years ago

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10 Classical Compositions that Anime Loves

For anime soundtracks, Western classical music can be a useful tool. One fewer cue to compose, for starters, and you don’t have to navigate the same rights issues that crop up when licensing contemporary music. Especially for more well-known pieces, there might be dozens of different recordings to choose from for just the right interpretation. Audience recognition helps too - there’s something special about hearing a familiar tune played over a pivotal scene. It’s not always used well (I can think of some very, very bad examples), but when smartly inserted, Western music can make for some truly iconic moments. Let’s take a look at some pieces that show up often in anime.

10. Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor (Alexander Borodin)

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[Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra]

Although Borodin never finished the opera Prince Igor before his death in 1887, the Polovtsian Dances from the end of Act II survive in concert halls worldwide, as well as in pop culture. No. 17, “Gliding Dance of the Maidens,” appears in Kare Kano: His and Her Circumstances, as well as in the second season of Sound! Euphonium arranged for concert band. The piece itself comes from the scene in Prince Igor where the invading Turkic tribe celebrates the khan Konchak. It was intended to sound exotic when contrasted with the Russian folk music associated with the opera’s protagonists. The piece suggests another land, different and unknowable - appropriate for the finale of Blood Blockade Battlefront, when the supernatural world threatens to collide with the real one. It’s also frequently used in RahXephon to represent the Mulians, a mysterious race that controls music-powered clay mechs. Yoko Kanno even quotes its melody in “Garden of Everything,” the B-side of the movie’s ending theme. In both BBB and RahXephon, the Polovtsian Dances’ ‘foreignness’ emphasizes the long history behind their respective supernatural beings. It’s nice when soundtracks are thematically relevant like that!

9. Symphony No. 8 “Symphony of a Thousand” (Gustav Mahler)

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While not as pervasive in anime as some of the other entries on this list, Mahler 8 (dubbed “Symphony of a Thousand” for its enormous orchestra and chorus) is still pretty iconic, figuring heavily in the broadcast order finale of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (chronologically episode 6). The text of the piece itself revolves around redemption through love and confidence in humanity, making the symphony possibly one of the most uplifting pieces of late Romanticism. It’s fitting for a grand finale that [spoilers?] hinges on Haruhi and Kyon’s faith in humanity to keep reality from collapsing. No matter how unusual or interesting Haruhi’s alternate world may be, it’s solitary and miserable. To keep Haruhi from remaking reality according to her own whims, Kyon reminds her of the relationships she’d lose in hopes of grounding her enough to return them to reality. Who cares about a fun fantasy world without people to enjoy it with? Why reject everyone you love in favor of danger and uncertainty? Symphony of a Thousand is ultimately about embracing the human attachments we form, perfectly in line with the anime’s themes.

8. Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 (Frederic Chopin)

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[official? rubinstein]

A mainstay in film and TV, this nocturne is probably one of the first pieces people associate with Romantic keyboard music. It’s a go-to cue to telegraph that a character is sophisticated: Austria in Hetalia, one of the antagonists in Parasyte -the maxim-; Glasslip, Legend of Galactic Heroes, Momoiro Sisters, the list goes on. So it’s a nice change of pace when it’s used differently, like in the penultimate episode of Hybrid x Heart Magias Academy Ataraxia. The pairing of sweet evening music with a scene of busty, half-naked anime girls fighting to keep Tokyo from blowing up is hilariously jarring - just the way I like my fanservice anime. It’s totally in character for Hybrid x Heart to shoot for drama and blow straight into camp, and the scene is perhaps the best example of that tonal mismatch in the show’s entire run. I’m not sure how the impossibly shy Chopin would feel about his music being used this way, but hey, it’s not like he’s around to complain.

7. Prelude No. 1 from Well-Tempered Clavier (J.S. Bach) / “Ave Maria” (Charles Gounod)

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The Well-Tempered Clavier, composed around 1722 to show off the latest advances in proto-piano technology, is today regarded as one of the Baroque period’s most important works, such that the dozens of preludes and fugues collected in two volumes are the bane of every piano student ever. But while most of WTC is unknown to people outside the music world, the first prelude remains Bach’s most well-known solo keyboard piece (the famous Minuet in G being the work of one of his colleagues). Over a century later, French operatist Charles Gounod superimposed a melody on it, eventually pairing it with the text of a Catholic prayer. The resulting song is about as famous as the original prelude, showing up all over popular culture. Puella Magi Madoka Magica, for an easy anime example. Yurikuma Arashi uses the piece as well, associating it with the bear deity Kumaria (the Virgin Beary, if you will). Yes, you read that right. “Ave Maria” for Kumaria. On the nose? Absolutely. Dead on the fuzzy little bear-girl nose. To be fair, none of the visual metaphors in Yurikuma are any more subtle, so it totally fits. Bless this show.

6. Sonata for Two Pianos in D major, K.448 (W.A. Mozart)

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How do you depict a relationship between two musicians? In a duet, of course! It happens plenty in Your Lie in April in both four-hand piano and violin/piano combinations. But why restrict yourself to one piano when you can have two? That’s where Mozart’s K.448 comes in. When he was 25, he composed the two-piano sonata for a joint performance with his 23-year-old student Josepha Auernhammer, who was purportedly in love with him. Although nothing came of that relationship, the circumstances surrounding the piece’s composition perhaps make it tempting to assign romantic connotations to any performance of it. Certain anime take advantage of that: in Ouran High School Host Club (after Tamaki’s bizarre solo demonstration of both parts at once), a duo of middle schoolers learns the two-piano sonata to kick off their blossoming romance. In all versions of Nodame Cantabile, it’s the first collaboration the uptight Chiaki and carefree Nodame undertake together. Handing off the melody between them, Nodame and Chiaki must learn to respect and accomodate their conflicting personalities. It’s important that neither part is simply accompaniment to the other; unlike in a four-hand duet, where one person plays in the lower range and the other in the higher, the two players in a duo must be equally skilled, complementing each other rather than dominating. Chiaki and Nodame’s successful performance of the piece signals their mutual understanding of each other, the start of a complicated but enduring romance/friendship that carries through the rest of the series.

5. “Vocalise,” Op. 34 No. 14 (Sergei Rachmaninoff)

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(unknown, but official upload)

“Vocalise,” as its title suggests, is one of 14 songs that Rachmaninoff originally composed for voice with piano accompaniment. These days, it’s often performed by an orchestra or a solo instrument. I have a particular fondness for Rach’s own orchestral arrangement, but the melody on its own is lovely as well. Melancholic and gorgeous, it suggests a profound loneliness. No wonder it tends to show up in heartwrenching anime scenes. In Puella Magi Madoka Magica, a recording of Kyousuke’s violin solo is yet another contributor to Sayaka’s despair. In Night Raid 1931, the piece is a running motif in spy Aoi Miyoshi’s troubled life, first as a joke about his poor violin skills, and then later as a prominent element in his backstory. His attachment to the piece turns out to be in remembrance of a lost love. It’s an expression of nostalgia to a time when his life was simpler, before Japan’s growing militarism erupted full force in Nanking and Korea, complicating his espionage work. The piece’s presence throughout the series in stilted, off-key form is so essential in making the final revelation land, music reaching clarity just as Miyoshi’s motivations do. It’s one of the best creative choices in a politically controversial but otherwise unremarkable anime, and Miyoshi’s story wouldn’t work nearly as well without it.

4. Piano Concerto No. 2 Op. 18 (Sergei Rachmaninoff)

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I just mentioned a Rachmaninoff piece, but this one is too good to skip. One of the most notoriously difficult and exhausting pieces in the piano repertoire, Rachmaninoff’s second concerto (affectionately nicknamed “Rach 2”) is a perennial concert favorite. The technical skill and strength required to play the entire thing make it a survival challenge in itself. As such, it’s the highlight of the debuts of both Eugenie Danglars in Gankutsuou and Shinichi Chiaki in Nodame Cantabile. It also shows up in Fairy Tail underscoring the climactic fight between Erza and Azuma in episode 114. Throughout the development, Jellal reassures Erza that he’s supporting her in spirit. The music is well-matched to the action onscreen, reaching the virtuosic climax of the first movement at the decisive moment of the battle. As the final chords land, Erza regains her drive. The show does cut some of the tense buildup that I love Rach 2 for, but nonetheless, the payoff is still damn satisfying.

(On the subject of Rachmaninoff, his third piano concerto - my favorite piece of his - shows up markedly less often; the only anime example I can think of is in Legend of the Galactic Heroes. Maybe someday people will understand the glory of Rach 3. In the meantime, try humming the James Bond theme over Rach 2. It’s a lot of fun, I promise.)

3. Etude Op. 10 No. 3, “Tristesse” (Frederic Chopin)

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Today, Chopin’s etudes (Op. 10 and 25) are staples of piano repertoire. Each is a study in a specific keyboard technique. The third etude “Tristesse” (sometimes “L’Adieu”), as it’s now known, emphasizes balance and smooth voicing. The melody - Chopin’s most beautiful, by his own judgment - is still beloved today. It can be heard in the Baccano! finale, as well as in Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) under the title “Tune of Separation,” arranged for string orchestra by Michiru Oshima. My favorite use of it is in the Genius Party short Baby Blue, directed by Shinichiro Watanabe. In the 15-minute film, the melody first appears when Shou sketches out an aimless tune on the piano. It comes back in full force in the dreamlike emotional climax, expressing the bittersweet nostalgia of youth as his childhood friend Hazuki bids him a final farewell. The piece may not have been composed with a narrative in mind, but its reputation as a piece about goodbyes serves it well here in one truly memorable scene.

2. “Clair de lune” from Suite bergamasque (Claude Debussy)

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The third movement of Debussy’s Suite bergamasque, “Clair de lune” is one of the most iconic keyboard pieces in French Impressionism, a late 19th-/early 20th-century artistic movement that prioritized conveying a mood over presenting a detailed picture. That focus on atmosphere over a defined melody might be what makes the piece so appealing as a soundtrack. Its sentimental A-section appears in Kids on the Slope, Wandering Son, 18if, and even an inconsequential bath scene in Thermae Romae. Rarely, however, does anything use the entire piece - which means it stands out all the more in Your Lie in April. In episode 15, the piece perfectly underscores Tsubaki’s nighttime heart-to-heart with Kousei. Her lines are timed to match the piece’s phrasing, and as the music becomes more intense, so does her monologue. The flowing B-section expresses her desperation as she realizes that Kousei’s musical career is taking him out of her reach. By the time Kousei reaches the piece’s recap, we get the sense that something has changed. Tsubaki might be the same person she’s always been, but her relationships have been forever altered. Likewise, the last section of the piece sounds similar to the beginning, but elements of the B-section still linger as a reminder that things can’t stay the same. The scene is a pitch-perfect marriage of story and soundtrack, and my favorite use of “Clair de lune” in anything, full stop.

1. Symphony No. 9, “Choral” (Ludwig van Beethoven)

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Generally agreed to be Beethoven’s greatest work, Beethoven 9 was unique for Classical-era music in that it introduced a chorus layered over the orchestra - hence the nickname. The symphony is an easy go-to for a grandiose and triumphant score, since the “Ode to Joy” melody from the last movement is immediately recognizable. No wonder it’s popular worldwide - especially so in Japan. The piece appears in Gunslinger Girl, the Nodame Cantabile J-drama, and a number of other shows. Thanks to Kaworu Nagisa in Neon Genesis Evangelion, it’s now also the “sophisticated, vaguely menacing white-haired anime boy” leitmotif - think Shogo Makishima in Pyscho-Pass, for instance. And for good reason! The last scene in episode 24 of EVA is easily one of the most iconic, disturbing moments in anime. The minutes-long still shot and delicious irony of a piece about joy played over Shinji’s worst emotional low leave a real impression. Plus, Alexander Rahbari’s interpretation of the piece is one of my favorites, capturing a fierce rawness that’s often missing in more technically polished recordings.

But because Beethoven 9 is such a seminal work of music, I can’t limit this entry to just EVA. In Yuri!!! on ICE, Otabek Altin’s free skate music is a unique arrangement of the symphony’s second movement. While the original piece was already groundbreaking, composer Taku Matsushiba takes it some really interesting places. Beefing up the chorus and brass sections to make the overall sound even bigger, Matsushiba re-orchestrates the piece to sound decidedly more modern in places. The end result is simultaneously traditional and transgressive, but most importantly, A Lot. EVA may have used the symphony to devastating effect, but this wonderfully cheesy reinterpretation is more special to me for capturing the blend of silly and serious that I love about anime.

These aren’t all of them, not even close. I didn’t even get to Michiru Oshima’s string arrangement of Beethoven’s Tempest Sonata in Blast of Tempest, the infamous Hallelujah scene in Evangelion, or the sheer variety of music used in Princess Tutu, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, and ClassicaLoid. And that’s to say nothing of Yoshihisa Hirano’s habit of quoting other works in his soundtracks: Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet in Hunter x Hunter, Bizet/Sarasate in Ouran some vaguely Orffian strains in Death Note. Meanwhile, Yuri!!! on ICE uses both real pieces (Tchaik’s Sleeping Beauty, Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto Op. 64, Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition) and sound-alikes (Taku Matsushiba’s “Rapsodie Espagnole” resembles Ravel’s Bolero, “Stammi vicino, non te ne andare,” Puccini with a hint of Wagner; and “Allego Appassionato,” Rachmaninoff, what with the absurdly difficult techniques in its latter half). You can find Western art music all over the place in anime if you just look.

On that note (heh), what’s your favorite classical piece in anime?

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Micchy is an enormous dweeb who tries and fails to hide her anime obsession behind a skating otaku facade. Follow her on Twitter @Liuwdere for more vaguely anime-related content.

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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gusty-the-unicorn-blog · 7 years ago

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How Child's Play Became The Funniest, Most Reliably Surprising, And Queerest Slasher Series

The Red Dress for BuzzFeed News

When it comes to slasher villains of the '80s, Chucky stands alongside Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, and Michael Myers as the most iconic - just several feet below. But while Freddy and his Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, Jason and the Friday the 13th movies, and Michael and the Halloween series have endured countless reboots, revivals, stars, and filmmakers over the past few decades, Chucky has remained under the control of his creator, Don Mancini, who has written every entry in the franchise since cowriting Child's Play in 1988. He's also been voiced by the same actor, Brad Dourif - and terrorized many of the same costars - in each installment. That's not just rare for a slasher series: It's unprecedented.

The pint-sized redhead doll possessed by the spirit of a serial killer may not have gone to space like Jason Voorhees or tussled with Tyra Banks like Michael Myers, but he has seen some wild shifts over the years. Over the past three decades, the Child's Play series has transitioned from horror to comedy and back to horror again, and Chucky himself has been the villain, the antihero, and yes, even the romantic lead. That's because Mancini is as committed to retaining his hold on the series as he is to never doing the same thing twice.

Any good story is about surprising the viewer and subverting their expectations," Mancini said. "With sequels, you have a unique opportunity to do that because people come to a sequel or remake with very specific expectations. So it's like, how can I fuck with that?

The most consistent thing about the seven-film Child's Play franchise is that it's constantly reinventing itself - not as a result of studio intervention, but because of Mancini's drive to keep audiences on their toes. In a genre that has been derided for being repetitive, Chucky stands alone.

BuzzFeed News sat down with Mancini to talk about the series' humble beginnings, its growing pains, and how to keep a franchise going without losing an audience who has seen it all. From Child's Play in 1988 to Cult of Chucky, now streaming, this is an inside look at one of horror's most dynamic icons.

Child's Play (1988): Hi, I'm Chucky, and I'm your friend till the end.

Chucky and Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent) in Child's Play.

United Artists / Courtesy Everett Collection

In retrospect, the first Child's Play is almost quaint in its restraint - that is, as restrained as a movie about a killer doll can be. The film follows 6-year-old Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent), who has no idea that the Good Guy doll he's been gifted for his birthday has been imbued with the spirit of sadistic serial killer Charles Lee Ray (Dourif). As the body count rises, Andy's mother Karen (Catherine Hicks) and homicide detective Mike Norris (Chris Sarandon) begin to suspect that the young boy is a budding psychopath.

In Mancini's original script, which he wrote as a film student at UCLA, Andy was inadvertently responsible for the murders: Chucky was actually a manifestation of Andy's id. Mancini described the film as a dark satire about how marketing affects children, inspired by his father's career in marketing. I had already formed a pretty cynical perspective on that whole cult, he said.

But after United Artists, a subsidiary of MGM, picked up the movie, Child's Play underwent some significant changes. Director Tom Holland worked on a new version of the script alongside screenwriter John Lafia, and the focus shifted from the fragile psyche of a child to the (relatively) more straightforward story of a serial killer trying to get out of a tiny plastic body. The new creative team also dropped Chucky's singsong doll voice in favor of Dourif's Chicago rasp, and added some supernatural mythology. I can't be completely objective about it, because of some of the changes they made, Mancini said. I really hate the voodoo. I hate the chant. I hate all of that.

Despite Mancini's objections, Child's Play was a major hit, earning over $33 million at the US box office on a $9 million budget. Chucky quickly emerged as a new horror icon, notable for the way he stood out from his slasher villain contemporaries. In his review, Roger Ebert said that the film succeeded in creating a truly malevolent doll. Chucky is one mean SOB.

Mancini may have had a slightly different idea for the killer doll when he first wrote the script, but this Chucky matched his goal of designing a character who would surprise audiences. I was excited about the prospect of creating a horror villain that went in the opposite direction - in terms of just their physical presence - than what was popular at the time, which was Freddy, Jason, and Michael Myers, he said. They're all these big, hulking guys who just sort of relentlessly come after you.

Chucky was his own beast - his closest relative would be Freddy, who shared his penchant for wisecracking; the others were the strong, silent types. And yet, there was at least one other thing Chucky had in common with the others - despite his apparent death at the end of the first movie, he was instantly poised for a sequel.

Child's Play 2 (1990): Wherever I go, Chucky will find me.

Chucky and Andy (Vincent) at the Good Guy factory in Child's Play 2.

David Kirschner / Kobal / REX / Shutterstock

The success of Child's Play meant that Mancini didn't have much downtime: He started working on a sequel within a couple weeks of the first movie's debut. It happened really fast, he recalled. The movie was a hit and they wanted to develop a sequel very quickly.

Mancini didn't love that he had to follow the mythology added to the first film - in order to return to human form, Chucky can only transfer his soul to Andy, the first person he revealed his true self to - but he admitted that the contrivance was very narratively useful. And it positioned Andy as the franchise's final girl, the last survivor in a slasher film and a role usually given to a teenage girl.

Even with the second movie, which was distributed by Universal Pictures, Mancini was already worried about repeating himself. When you do sequels, it's always tricky because you definitely don't want to do the same movie, he said. You have to give people what they want - but at the same time, spin it.

To avoid simply making Child's Play again, Mancini ditched the original adult characters, Karen Barclay and Mike Norris. In Child's Play 2, Vincent returned as Andy Barclay, but he would be living with foster parents Phil (Gerrit Graham) and Joanne Simpson (Jenny Agutter) and a foster sister, Kyle (Christine Elise) - of course, he was still being pursued by the same malevolent doll. Mancini also reintroduced some of the elements that had been removed from his original script for Child's Play, including a visit to the factory where Good Guy dolls are assembled.

And he continued to lean into the humor that made Chucky a sassier alternative to the muted killers who usually stalked horny teens in slasher movies. Certainly there was some serious camp, Dourif said. It wasn't a straight horror movie about a doll. Chucky was funny. He took his killings lightly.

With Child's Play 2, which grossed $28.5 million in the US on a $13 million budget, Chucky was becoming a sort of hero in his own right. While his victims were never as disposable as those in other slasher series are, Chucky himself was clearly the selling point. As one review noted, There reaches a point at which one can't help but be drawn into Chucky's predictably murderous shenanigans.

Chucky had been embraced by the pop culture zeitgeist to the degree that he was kind of beloved, Mancini said. He was already a bit of an antihero, and part of the way he worked was by bucking the status quo. And that gave Mancini the idea for the next sequel. In hindsight, it wasn't a great one.

Child's Play 3 (1991): Grow up, Barclay. It's time to forget these fantasies of killer dolls.

An older Andy (Justin Whalin), still being terrorized by Chucky in Child's Play 3.

Rights Managed / Universal Pictures / Ronald Grant Archive / Mary Evans

In Child's Play 3, Chucky is still after Andy, but the troubled kid at the heart of the first two movies has aged up to 16 and the action has relocated to Kent Military Academy, where Andy (now played by actor Justin Whalin) is a cadet. The idea, as Mancini envisioned it, was to pit his antiestablishment killer doll against the conservative, ordered ideology of the military school and its cruel authority figures.

Child's Play 3 came out in August 1991, just nine months after Child's Play 2, and it failed to resonate with either audiences or critics. The film earned the worst reviews of any in the franchise, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 23%. Entertainment Weekly gave it an F, with critic Owen Gleiberman writing, The plastic slasher proves that his novelty value has long worn off.

Mancini doesn't entirely disagree. He describes Child's Play 3 as the weakest of the films, and really it's all down to the script: Despite aging Andy, despite putting it in this new milieu, I think it felt a little tired, Mancini said. In retrospect, I think I could have used a breather. But you also get stuck in your own bubble, and [think], This is great. And they just wanted another movie to come out quickly.

Even if Child's Play 3 was largely a failure, it underscored Mancini's willingness to try something new to prevent the series from growing stale. It also reflected a problem that Chucky's predecessors - namely Freddy Krueger - had faced: Eventually, the killer stops being scary.

The more you see, the less scary they are, Mancini said. And in our case, with Chucky, it's an even bigger problem - it's absurd to begin with because he's so little. He tried to solve that by keeping Chucky in the shadows for some of Child's Play 3 and focusing on new characters, but audiences were hungry for more Chucky, not less - particularly after advancements in technology allowed the character to stand on his own. Even the Washington Post's overwhelmingly negative review called Chucky an animatronic delight.

The year after Child's Play 3, Universal made Chucky a permanent installment at their annual Halloween Horror Nights event. Fans would line up for the Chucky's In-Your-Face Insults for a chance at being read for filth by a killer doll.

For the next sequel, Mancini knew he had to put Chucky front and center, and his solution was to move into another genre entirely.

Bride of Chucky (1998): Barbie, eat your heart out.

Chucky and Tiffany in Bride of Chucky.

Mca Universal / Courtesy Everett Collection

The downside to Chucky's mainstream appeal was that the villain, once the stuff of nightmares, had clearly become more amusing than menacing to many people. You just have to find ways of embracing that and subverting it; so obviously when we did Bride of Chucky, we decided to swing out the wave and embrace the absurdity, Mancini said.

It took seven years before Chucky returned for his fourth movie, Bride of Chucky, which ditched the Child's Play title and the character of Andy Barclay entirely. Inspired by the classic film Bride of Frankenstein - the title is an obvious homage - the movie sees Charles Lee Ray's girlfriend Tiffany Valentine (Jennifer Tilly) transformed into a doll of her own. Together, the dolls join forces to possess the bodies of two new victims, Jesse (Nick Stabile) and his girlfriend Jade (Katherine Heigl). Along the way, Chucky and Tiffany bicker, fall in love, and - in a truly surreal moment - get hot and heavy, somehow getting Tiffany pregnant. (The less you think about the logistics, the better.)

Just as Bride of Frankenstein brought a touch of humor to the Universal Monsters series, Bride of Chucky was the funniest installment yet in the Child's Play franchise. Mancini conceived of the film as a twisted romantic comedy, as much about Chucky and Tiffany's dysfunctional relationship as it was about their murder spree. Chucky's a very versatile figure and you can plug him into different genres, Mancini said. If we make it a comedy [and] bring him to the center and make him the lead of the movie, you're just making a different kind of movie. But that's a legitimate kind of movie.

And Bride of Chucky was the biggest departure from the original Child's Play, but it was very much in step with the era of the new, more meta slasher ushered in by Scream in 1996. In addition to the heightened comedy, Bride of Chucky reinvigorated the franchise by introducing Tiffany, a character Mancini had written specifically for Tilly.

I was a little bit reluctant because I had never done a horror film before, and I kind of had some weird idea that horror film was something you did at the beginning of your career or the end of your career, Tilly recalled.

Tilly ended up being convinced by the script - and some encouragement from her former Bound costar Gina Gershon. Tilly's presence as a gay icon, thanks largely to Bound, gave Bride of Chucky a stronger queer sensibility, something Mancini, who is gay, had been angling for. He also introduced (and then killed off) the first gay character in the franchise, Jesse and Nick's friend David (Gordon Michael Woolvett).

I was sort of consciously injecting some gay identity into it, and people really embraced that, Mancini said. I think it's important - in addition to being fun - because you just don't see it much in the horror genre. One of the distinguishing factors of our franchise is that it has a certain gay identity.

Critics were still divided on Bride of Chucky, but the box office was strong: The film grossed over $50 million worldwide on a $25 million budget. Audiences seemed to love it, and the largely positive response to a funnier, queerer Chucky movie delighted Mancini. In fact, he was so emboldened by it that he went insane on Seed of Chucky.

Seed of Chucky (2004): This is nuts, and I have a very high tolerance for nuts.

Tiffany and Chucky are joined by Glen in Seed of Chucky.

Rogue Pictures / Via youtube.com

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