#the film to make sure it was accurate and that was an very very smart decision imo

[akechi-if-he-slayed]

finally watched inside out 2. Where is goro akechi island .

[writtenbymoonflower]

Hello, author-san! How are you? Could I please request some angst for the poly!marauders, where R is someone full of tattoos or piercings but is smart, a sweetheart, golden retriever coded, and Lily is their friend. Lily knows about their infatuation with the boys. Being a great friend, Lily wants to set them up, but they're a bit uncertain about R because of their tattoos. Then one night, R overhears them talking in the common room with Lily and voices out their opinions regarding R, causing R to become insecure and try to hide it. You can continue however you like! Angst with a happy ending if it's okay! 🥺

Thank you, author-san!

💀🌻

Thanks for requesting sweetheart! Sorry it took so long, hope this is okay! gn!reader x poly!marauders, pre-relationship

cw: prejudice associated with tattoos and piercings, swearing, angst to happy ending

1.8k words (oopsie)

It was like you could hear their words on repeat as you raced up the stairs. What hurt the most is that you knew that some people would judge, but you hadn’t expected it from them. 

“I just don’t know about 'em, Lils.” James winced. “Like they seem nice, but you know about people who choose to look at that…” He trailed off. 

“I’m sure they’re not all bad.” Sirius cut in, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation. “But Prongs does have a point.”

“It’s just the impulsivity of it all.” Remus reasoned. “Like if you’re making rash choices like that, what else would you do.” 

That was when you left your hiding spot in the stairs and ran back to your dorm. You could hear Lily’s ‘I’m so fucking done with you being stupid’ voice as you trailed away, making you smile at the knowledge that you had such a good friend. 

But you had heard enough. They had clearly made their minds up about you. Besides, you knew your appearance was an… acquired taste, to say the least, and you couldn’t expect them to be with someone they weren’t attracted to. You didn’t think you looked that odd, but maybe your perception was skewed. No matter whose perception was more accurate, they clearly didn’t particularly like you, and it was probably best to keep your distance for now, at least until they really got to know you. 

You knew that your appearance didn’t really match your personality. People often assumed you were rude, a slacker, confrontational, or even hateful. But the opposite was true in fact. You always made good marks, you were friends with loads of people, always trying to be as open as possible. And yeah, some people were intimidated at first, but they usually warmed up very quickly. 

Apparently those three, the three you wanted the approval of the most, had not been as warm about you as you thought. 

You crawled into bed and curled into yourself, trying to get a few hours of sleep before breakfast. 

James yawned loudly, blinking his eyes rapidly to get rid of the sleepy, fuzzy film coating them. Him and his boyfriends had been up all night, getting lectured literally until the sun came up. 

He had to admit, it was for the best. All three boys had gone to bed, feeling thoroughly corrected. Even slipping into shame. 

“What the hell is wrong with you three?” Lily whisper-yelled. “James, you are the LAST person to say anything about appearances. Remember when I had to go around convincing people you hadn’t become mean after your growth spurt in fourth year? Just because you were big and scary and you hadn’t realized how you were coming across?” She scolded, before turning her head to the mouse-haired boy sitting by the fire. “And you,” She seethed. “You have no clue if her choices were ‘rash’ or not. I’ve heard plenty of rumors about your appearance, people saying similar things about you. About your ‘aggression’ just because they don’t know what’s going on with you.” She snapped her head over to Sirius, her fiery hair flipping around from the movement. “And Sirius, you’re just overcompensating because you’re jealous! You’re not fooling anyone, you would look like that in an instant if you could. You’re just too scared to do it.”

Sirius played with his thumbs, not able to dispute the accusations. None of the boys could actually. Lily could tell, she was satisfied with her work. 

“I love you three buggers,” She pressed a friendly kiss to each of their cheeks as she stormed upstairs. “You just need to stop being such idiots.” 

Sirius didn’t think anyone could change personalities that fast, but it seemed all three boys had woken up different people. That morning they had all just nodded to each other, acknowledging that their opinions were very different than they had been 24 hours ago and all walked shamefacedly down to breakfast. Sirius kept pushing his eggs around his plate, too busy staring at you to take a bite. You looked a lot different today. Your hair was ruffled in front of your face, hiding the metal glinting on your nose and eyebrow. You also had long sleeves and pants on, covering the ink detailing your skin. You still hadn’t waved at them, or even acknowledged the boys’ existence. Usually, you would be bouncing over to them, talking about the weather or whatever was on your mind at the moment. Sirius missed it if he was honest with himself. He was disappointed, he had been excited to show you his outfit. He crafted it with you in mind, teasing his hair up extra and being a bit more outlandish with his top, even stealing Marlene’s varnish to paint his nails. 

Remus missed your interest in the latest book he had read. You always had so many interesting questions and you listened so intently. He missed how you played with the hoop in your septum as you nodded along to his plot summaries. You were always so patient and careful, it made his heart crack. 

James was equally distraught. He had always prided himself on being open and friends with everyone, and he had considered you his friend, which just made him feel worse. He knew that stereotyping people never led to anything good, especially when someone's personality was completely ignored and replaced with caricature. Yes, you did look intimidating, but he actually liked it. It accentuated how soft your personality actually was. You were like a big dog that everyone was terrified of, but in reality was scared of butterflies and just wanted to love everyone. He laughed sadly, catching the other two boys' attention as he stared longingly at you. All he wanted to do was go over there, but you were completely ignoring them, so he figured it was best to just not bother you and continue on with his breakfast. 

You were being equally as forlorn, continually sneaking glances over at the boys. They looked quiet and tired, but no less handsome. You felt sick, moving to leave your breakfast and all but run to the library. You needed to study anyway, you had become so infatuated that you were ignoring your classes. You had barely made it down the corridor before you heard three sets of panicked footsteps, quickly catching up to you. You tried to walk faster, but unfortunately Remus had very long legs and he briskly made it in front of you, trapping you in. He was looking flushed, amber eyes focusing on you way too much for comfort. 

“Y/N,” He sounded out of breath. You fixed your face down and back, away from their gaze. You stopping had allowed the other two the opportunity to catch up, and soon you were face-to-face with all three of the people who apparently disliked you, but to your dismay, you were still completely attached to. 

“You guys okay?” You asked, as kindly as ever but far quieter than they were used to. 

“We’re fine, lovely.” James said, confused. “Are you okay?”

“I’m good.” You muttered, shifting your feet. 

“Babe,” Sirius scoffed. Your heart jumped at the honorific, but you quickly scolded yourself. Sirius just called everyone that. You had heard what he, what all three of them had said last night. “You ran from there like bat outta’ hell.” He said like you were being ridiculous.

“And you haven’t spoken to us all day.” Remus cut in before you could respond. 

“It’s only seven.” You mumbled.

“Still odd.” James quipped, moving ever so slightly closer to you. “You’re not okay.” He said, with enough finality that you gave up the act all together. They really weren’t going to make this easy on you. They said all those things last night, but they were still going to put you through the misery of having to listen to them say all those things directly to you. 

You sighed dejectedly, starting to pick your nails. “Look okay,” You tore the words from the back of your throat. “I know that you don’t like me or don’t think I’m nice or whatever. You don’t have to talk to me, it’s okay.” You did your best to give them a reassuring smile, even managing for water to stay out of your eyes, but their expressions didn’t make it easy. Sirius cursed and pinched the bridge of his nose, James looked like a kicked puppy, and Remus was hiding his eyes from you. You started to walk away, but you were blocked in.

“Shit, you heard last night?” Sirius winced. You nodded painfully, looking back down at your shoes. The silent tension was so thick you felt it suffocating you. James was the first to do anything, wordlessly striding over to pull you into a bone-crushing hug. You stumbled from the shock, easing into him accidentally, but you made no moves to tense away. You limply wrapped your arms around his waist. 

“I’m so sorry, angel.” He said, panicked. “I was so stupid, I- I never should’ve said it I don’t know what I was even thinking.” He pulled you tighter to him, enough that you were worried of your feet leaving the ground. 

“I’m sorry too.” Sirius said, much more morosely than usual. “Never should’ve said those things, and you never should've heard it either.” 

“We’re all sorry.” Remus said firmly. “We all know better, we should’ve known not to think that way. It’s awfully closed-minded. You’re our friend, we should’ve acted like it.” 

“It’s okay.” You squeezed out. 

“No.” Sirius said sharply. “It’s not okay. I don’t know if you heard what Lily said back, but she pointed out a lot of things, and I can promise that we don’t think that way anymore.” 

“Please, please forgive us, baby. We were so wrong. You’re so kind and smart and funny and gorgeous an-” James was rambling on and on. 

“Jamie, it’s okay. I know you’re sorry.” You giggled at his panicked tone. “Can you uh- you’re kinda crushing me.” 

“Shit! Sorry.” He released you quickly, but not before slicking your hair out of your face. You just laughed, feeling ten times lighter. 

“We’re okay.” You reassured. “I forgive you all, it hurt, but it seems like you are all beating yourselves up enough.”

“Jus’ feel bad.” Remus grabbed you unexpectedly, tugging you into his arms. He wasn’t squeezing you like James, but rather greedily absorbing your touch. This felt like a big deal, you almost never saw Remus hold anyone. 

“Don’t feel bad.” You pleaded. “Everything’s fine now.” You rubbed his back in a way you hoped was soothing. You felt him relax in your arms. 

“Okay stop hogging them.” Sirius tugged Remus out of the way, making him grunt in dissatisfaction. (You pretended to not notice the sneaky kiss Sirius pressed to the taller boy’s knuckles.) “It’s my turn.” He grabbed you with loving aggression. 

“I wasn’t hogging.” Remus quipped. 

“Yeah, you were.” Sirius sassed. “Besides, I was the biggest idiot. I need to give the biggest cwtch.” His reasoning was flawed, but you settled into him nonetheless. 

[perseidlion]

The Interview With the Vampire TV show is a perfect example of how adaptations do not have to follow the source material closely to be an excellent adaptation.

(This is a spoiler-free commentary, but it does discuss the dynamics of the characters in general.)

I read the books back in the day, and of course, saw the original movie. Despite a laundry list of big changes, the series still feels extremely true to the books because it captures the spirit. It gets the characters and their fucked-up dynamics right. It doesn't shy away from them being melodramatic monsters. It keeps to the rules established in the source material. The show also makes sure to preserve key moments and key scenes, but always with a twist.

Since they did that, they were free to shift things in time, amp up and adapt certain dynamics, and change the race of characters in a way that deepens the story and complicates already extremely complicated power dynamics.

The original movie stuck more closely to the era and the appearance of the characters as described by Anne Rice, but I don't think the story loses anything by changing those two elements. In fact, it gives it modern relevance and room for political and social commentary.

I have never ascribed to the idea that an adaptation has to be slavishly accurate to the source material to be a good adaptation. It just has to be smart enough to identify what to keep and what can change. An adaptation adapts. Honestly, I find it boring when I see exactly what was in a book up on screen with no surprises. Where's the fun in that?

The difference between a good adaptation and a bad one is not how accurate it is to the source material, but how well the adaptation respects what made the story compelling to begin with.

What's important here?

Lestat is dramatic and powerful and a monster who is deeply charismatic, but also manipulative.

Louis is overdramatic and self-hating, but oddly drawn to Lestat.

Claudia is fierce, but bitter about her eternal childhood.

Their relationship is deeply toxic but with true affection. They are monsters, but monsters capable of intense love and devotion - to the point where it has the power to destroy them.

THAT is at the core of this story. THAT is what they keep intact. This frees up all sorts of avenues for play around a few key plot beats.

This room for play also gives opportunities to expand on thinner characters or rewrite them entirely. It's been a long time since I read the books, but I don't recall Daniel standing out as more than a framing device, especially in earlier books. But in the show, he's one of the best parts. Not only does he take a much more active role in the story, he delivers some of the most hilarious and cutting lines of the entire series. If the show had stuck closely to the source material, we wouldn't have this Daniel.

It was also smart of them to make Claudia a few years older. The eternal child element is preserved, but the layer of arrested teenaged hormones and womanhood that will never blossom adds an extra layer of angst and sadness. She is stuck forever in a state of rebellion, never allowed to settle and come into her own.

Having her be a young Black woman also deepens her attachment to Louis, visually, socially and symbolically. They are different from Lestat and they understand each other in a way he never can. She's still very much the Claudia from the book but with layers added to deepen her character and add new, fresh dynamics and complications.

It's also delightful to see the show take the homoeroticism that was subtextual in the early books with Louis and Lestat (and in the original film) and making it unapologetically text. Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles have always been incredibly queer and subversive, but it's amazing to see that side of it fully embraced and stated plainly with no ambiguity or qualifiers or hints. It's queer and that queerness is woven into the fabric of the entire narrative. Louis and Lestat are the toxic beating heart of the Vampire Chronicles.

It's also important because we need messy, dark, fucked-up queer narratives. Sweet, coming-of-age stories and romances are of course, important - especially for younger queer people. But us older queer folk not only want to see ourselves in multiple genres, we want permission to see imperfect, messy, and yes, even evil characters. It's a way of reclaiming the monstrous queer that was villainized for so long and making it our own. We want to find something beautiful in the dark.

If we all thought about it, we could probably think of dozens of examples where a show or movie went far off-script from the source material and was still an excellent adaptation.

Interview With the Vampire is just the most recent and one of the best examples of a stellar adaptation that respects the source material but also builds and expands on it.

I look forward to seeing how they surprise me next season.

[slut-taylorsversionnn]

hihi so I was wondering if you can make an dating singer!tomblyth and it can be fluff or smut it which one you prefer to write!

yes love this idea! i definitely want to write a series about this one but here’s just a one shot of this idea!

summary: tom blyth attends one of y/n’s concerts and she sings an unreleased song she wrote for him. (based on the unreleased gracie abrams song “in between”)

i was backstage right before the concert. usually before shows i’m not that nervous because i just love to preform but tonight was a little different. tom had been to tons of my shows of course but tonight i had a little surprise for him. i wrote the song “in between” for him and he has no clue about it so i decided to sing it tonight!

“hey love, you’re gonna do great out there!” tom said to me.

“thanks baby, love you!” i gave him a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek then winked at him and walked onto the stage.

the intro to one of my songs started playing and as i walked onto the stage the crowd started going wild. i made it through the whole setlist dancing and having a blast. i saw tom singing along the whole time.

“do you all have time for one more song?” i asked knowing the fans would love this. “so i’ve been working on this song for a very special person in my life, and he’s actually here tonight. tom this is for you.”

i started singing:

“there’s holy ground beneath them and sparks fly when they kiss. he hates it when she’s crying, he hates when she’s away. even at their worst they know they’ll still be okay.”

i couldn’t help but giggle as tom watched in awe as i preformed this song i wrote about him. this was the exact reaction i was hoping for, he was actually so adorable.

“he laughs at her eyes, at her smile, at the glasses on her face. she love how he talks late at night, when there’s no one else to say how she’s beautiful and funny and smart. Like nothing he’s ever seen. He’s good to her and she wants it more than everything in between.”

i obviously had to throw in some taylor swift references because tom truly was my london boy, lover, endgame, king of my heart, and peace. i couldn’t wait to hear his thoughts after the show.

i returned backstage and tom immediately ran to me, picked me up, and twirled me around.

“you wrote a song for me??!!!” he exclaimed.

“of course i did, you’re literally the love of my life, i wouldn’t be here without you tom.”

“i wouldn’t be here without you. how did you even manage to keep that a secret and when is it being released??” tom said. i loved it when he fan girled over me hehe.

“i’ll sing it for you whenever you want, i’m not sure when i’ll release it, who knows if the fans even liked it.” i shrugged. “i’m just glad you like it so much. and wasn’t it so accurate though?”

“for sure, the line ‘she loves how he talks’ you literally are always telling me how much you love my accent and how you could listen to it all day.” he said laughing.

“yeah and the line ‘he hates when she’s away’ you act like it’s the end of the world when you have to go away for filming and i’m on tour.” i said grinning.

“well you hate it too, and yeah it’s true i hate it so much when we’re apart. next time you’re coming with me to whatever filming location, i’ll make sure it’s in my contract.” he insisted.

“sounds like a deal to me.” i smiled.

“i love you so much y/n.” tom pulled me into another hug and kissed the top of my head.

“i love you so much tom.”

author’s note: this one is pretty short because i plan on writing a singer x tom blyth series so i didn’t want to use up all my ideas on this one shot. so don’t worry, more tom blyth x singer content is coming soon!! also send more requests for what you want to read ;)

[multific]

One Week

Kai Anderson x DarkWitch!Reader

Summary: Crystal balls, a black cat and candles... this place couldn't be more stereotypical. 

Kai once again found himself scrolling the web instead of sleeping.

Looking for anything interesting or something that could help his plan.

An ad did catch his eye, fortune telling.

'Fortune telling, 100% accurate or your money back.'

He scoffed at the obvious scam before continuing his search.

About five minutes later, the same ad popped up.

Now he wasn't too surprised, ads are a pain in the ass but as he tried to click to close it, he opened it instead.

And from then on, he wasn't even sure what he was doing. The next thing he knew, he had an email confirmation coming through for the appointment he booked.

Kai was honestly shocked with himself, he could be doing better things and yet, he stood in front of a black door. But then he thought, many people believed in these things. So, he could use it to his advantage to manipulate.

He knocked once before the door opened.

His eyes locked with yours.

"Hi, Andrew right?" and he then remembered he put a fake name in, he simply nodded and you guided him inside.

Crystal balls, a black cat and candles... this place couldn't be more stereotypical even if you tried.

He let out a long sigh.

"So, which one are you?"

"Sorry?" he turned to look at you sitting at the small table in the middle of the room.

"The sceptic or the hopeful?" you asked as he took a seat. "Ah, sceptic. Alright, what would you like to know?"

"The future." he simply said as he looked at your crystal ball.

"You are a smart man. Very smart indeed, I bet you came here to laugh at me and figure out my 'scam'. But your first mistake was putting in a fake name." Kai just watched you, did you break into his email? His computer? 

No.

"You plan on ruling the world but your little group is not going to be enough. You will go to prison and then a girl will shoot you, dead. The great leader... gone."

"How can you know that? You are just a scammer who prays on vulnerable people."

"Oh, how ironic isn't it? You will fail. Alone, you will, but if you want, I can help."

"How?"

"I already brought the Apocalypse to the world a while ago, but Michael died and... you don't need to know that. It's enough if you know that I possess powers and I'm looking for a new partner to cause mayhem with."

"Why should I believe you? For all I know you can be a cop." he leaned forward, elbows resting on the table.

You smiled Kai felt a shiver as all candles went out in the room, it was now completely dark. Then when everything came back, you sat with a book in front of you.

"You might not be the Anti-Christ, but you will do." he was confused. "Men are easy creatures, they can be led by their cock. You are much the same, but you are also smart. I like smart because when your inevitable end comes, you will try and blame it all on me, you would stab me behind my back. I love the thrill of betrayal. I tried getting your attention but you are so blind." you looked down at the book and Kai looked around the room.

"Alright, where is the camera?"

"In the bedroom, if you want to get kinky, you could film it." you said not even looking at him.

"Very funny. So you say that no matter what, I would die."

"Yes, however, you can die a loser who never achieved his goal or you can die a leader."

"And how would you be able to help me?" you smiled as you looked at him.

"I can easily confuse and manipulate people. I can make them do things they don't want to."

"Then why won't you rule the world?"

"Alone? What's the fun in that? I will tell you how it will go. You accept my offer, but not now. No, you will go home and do your research. You will find out more about me, about the people I killed. Then you will think about it, you will think for two days and then come back here. Exactly one week from now, you will knock on that door to accept my offer to be your partner. Why? Because I want to see this world burn. You will come in here, tell me your silly conditions including a little thing where you make me promise I won't let anyone kill you. Then you will take me to the previously mentioned bed because I do need proof that I will have a great time with you."

Kai was speechless, a rather rare occasion.

You smiled at him before turning back to your book.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Y/N. Previously known as Y/N Langdon, Michael Langdon's wife, but in this timeline, I never even met him so... I'm only Y/N but I'm open on becoming Y/N Anderson."

"You are crazy."

"Indeed. Crazy, insane, manipulative, dangerous, a murderer, delusional, cunning, smart and powerful." Kai looked at you, well, what he could see above the table.

"You are perfect." he said out loud but he didn't mean to.

You only smiled.

"You are just as perfect for me, you will see. I'm loyal and I can be kind." You stood up and went towards the front door, Kai followed you, he only now noticed you truly, your beautiful curves, your scent and just how smooth your skin looked, truly divine.

You opened the front door and looked at him.

"See you after a week. Let me just say this, you will doubt me, question my intentions, but why would I try to harm you? I could have killed you in your home many times or at the gym. I am just like any other girl. I just want to have fun." you smiled as he left, and you closed the door behind him. Now, the wait begins. 

---

Now you were cursing yourself, you didn't need this many crystal balls... but the site you ordered from had a sale and you couldn't say no. 

They were completely useless anyway, just a nice way to decorate your home with. 

It also didn't help that the house you 'bought' was not the biggest.

You wanted a big house, somewhere you can fit your stuff. Stuff you certainly didn't steal...

You took a look in your closet, trying to find something to wear, you wanted to head out and get some rich guy to buy you dinner.

Just as you put on your favourite dress, you headed for the door, taking one last glance at yourself in the mirror as you opened the door.

You almost ran into him, he was raising his hand to knock just as you opened it.

"Oh, Kai." you turned back, looking at the clock on your wall. He was right on time, you just kept yourself too busy to notice that the week was already gone.

"I came as you said I would, I made my decision... as you said I would and I have conditions, but you already knew that, so, let's get inside I'll tell you my rules and then we can fuck."

"How romantic."

"You want romance?" he was genuinely surprised.

"Flowers, chocolate and all that."

"I'm not the kind of guy."

You smirked, "You will be." you said before you let him into your house.

Exactly like how you did a week ago.

Taglist: @fleursirvart​ @greenarrowhead​ @thisismysecrethappyplace​ @sincerelyfan​ @theoneanna​ @aestheticsandmarvel​ @rororo06​ @castellandiangelo​ @destynelseclipsa​ @spilledinkindumpster​ @capsiclesdoll​ @puknow​ @alwayshave-faith​ @alex12948​ @lxdyred​  @imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl​ @anonymoussherlockandmarvelgeek​ @praline357​ @trshngyn​ @avengers-r-us​ @violet-19999​ @top1bbgloak​   @manduse​   @jacalineiscomingforyou​  @mandoloriancookie​ @noname2246​

~Masterlist~

ˇAO3ˇ

DO NOT STEAL, REPOST OR TRANSLATE ANY OF MY WORKS

[adamwatchesmovies]

Inside Man (2006)

Inside Man does something new with the heist genre. It’s stylish, exciting, filled with intrigue and packed with great actors around every corner. Thanks to its ending, this is a film you won’t soon forget.

In New York, masked robbers take control of a Manhattan bank by holding the people inside hostage. Their leader (Clive Owen) confiscates everyone's phones, divides them into separate rooms and forces them to wear outfits identical to their captors'. As the criminals turn their attention towards the bank’s contents, Detectives Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) and Bill Mitchell (Chiwetel Ejiofor) take charge of the negotiations. Meanwhile, the bank's founder, Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer), hires professional “fixer” Madeleine White (Jodie Foster) to protect the contents of his safe deposit box.

The ingenious thing about Inside Man is that it follows the hostage negotiators rather than the thieves. This allows us to be fooled by their operation without the film having to cheat or go by the old rule that “if the plan is laid out, it isn’t going to work and if it isn’t, everything is going according to plan”. You’re as puzzled as the hostages and the detectives by what the “Steves” are up to. The way they take control of the bank and handle the hostages proves these are no ordinary criminals. The question is what are they after, exactly? If it were simply money, that would be exciting but obvious and frankly, you’d doubt the thieves’ ability to get away with it. No. Whatever they want, it’s in that safety deposit box. The detectives don’t know that. You’re not even sure if the thieves know what’s inside but whatever it is, it's valuable and it's got to be dirty. No one with clean hands needs to call someone like Madeleine White.

This mystery of the safe deposit box solves one of the inherent problems of heist films, which is the likability of the protagonists. Even when you have the likes of Danny Ocean breaking into a vault, innocent people - security guards who are simply doing their jobs, for example - are going to get hurt or at the very least traumatized by the experience. Dalton Russel (Owen) may be dirty but he’s certainly not as dirty as Arthur Case. At least, you don’t think so. Who knows? Maybe the mystery will be worth all the inconvenience these people are going through. Either way, Frazier and Mitchell are clean for sure so you always have someone you can feel comfortable cheering for.

Aside from one scene that talks about violent video games and gangsta culture (it's a bit on the nose, even if it is largely accurate), this is a superbly directed film. There’s one particular scene where Frazier’s whole world comes to the brink of collapse. In any other movie, the director would’ve had him dramatically leave his trailer but Spike Lee instead chooses to put Denzel on a track and move him towards the camera in a continuous motion. It’s jarring and unusual but it drives the point home like nothing else could’ve. It helps that Lee is working with a wonderfully inventive story by Russel Gewirtz. Inside Man is filled with superb dialogue and makes great use of the city it’s set in. This is the kind of movie that always keeps you guessing because the different characters are always sizing each other up and snatching little advantages from the most unexpected situations. The thieves may be in control of the bank but you know that’s going to change eventually. The detectives in charge are just too smart. Unfortunately, Dalton Russell knows this, which means everything must be part of the plan…

There are a lot of complicated and dubious moral choices in Inside Man. The police make some serious mistakes. The errors they make feel like they were anticipated by the thieves. The violence and stress Russell and his crew unleash upon their hostages is nerve-wracking but it’s hard not to admire them a little bit - they’re just so good at what they’re doing. This and the mystery of that box compel you to keep watching, always keeping note of who’s doing what because this film is told in flashbacks. You sort of know what’s going to happen at the end but you have no idea how. You don’t know what the title refers to, but it’s got to be a hint and you’re determined to figure it out before time runs out and the movie tells you. This is the kind of movie you want to watch again once it’s done so you can tally all the breadcrumbs before they pay off.

Inside Man is a memorable thriller filled with great stuff. There are twists, satisfying red herrings, memorable characters, ambiguous morals to keep you guessing, an intelligence that acknowledges the pitfalls of the genre and the choices made by Spike Lee make it interesting on a technical level as well. Sometimes it’s so intense I don’t know if you could call it “fun” but there’s no way you can keep your eyes off of Inside Man. (March 19, 2022)

[aragarna]

Please rant about the new musketeer movie, I need to know how bad it is on a scale from Michael York to Mathew McFaydden, so I know if it's worth trying to hunt down a cinema or wait till it's out on dvd

Well.... The good news is, there's no flying ship in that one. Not sure where to put it though. It's not atrocious, but it's lacking something. I'm always happy to see my boys, and the cast is good. It is rather entertaining at times, and I'm sure people not as attached to the characters as I am might not be as harsh as me but... I guess I was hoping for more? For better? Why is it that there can't be a single decent modern adaptation?!

The rest under the cut because spoilers for The Three Musketeers: d'Artagnan

First, it's visually ugly. It's all in brown and dark tones. Apparently the weather in France is always bad, ranging from pouring rain to clouds and fog. Even the red robe of the cardinal doesn't pop up! And don't get me started on the musketeer's uniforms. Why is it that every single recent movie wants to make them something that they're not. We *know* what they looked like. Blue casaques with a big white cross. Would it look out of fashion today? Of course! Even slightly ridiculous? Maybe. But Mordious, that's a 17th century uniform! Just play along! So, in this one, it becomes a very dark navy blue long coat with a black cross on the arm. It's actually so indisguishable that you can never tell when they're wearing it or not.

But okay, fine, if it was the only issue, I would have waved it off. The rest of the costumes, though probably not historically accurate, look pretty cool over all. If only they had more colors. Can you believe that there's a costumed ball, with one character wearing an arlequin costume and ... it doesn't even look like rainbow-y!

(can you tell I'm slightly mad at the movie's terrible coloring?)

And overall, I felt it wasn't very well filmed. Like, this isn't just a swashbluckler, it's The Swashbuckler story, so gotta work on those sword fights! Give me some fancy fighting! Work a real choregraphy! I understand that this is not the Errol Flynn era anymore but come on. So their idea to make it more "modern" was to use sequence-shots for the fight scenes. That is not a bad idea, but when there's no real choregraphy to follow, that just makes everything messy and pointless. So yeah, disappointed with the action scenes.

My other major source of annoyment was the lack of character development, or just character moments. D'Artagnan flirting with Constance was fine, but it's *not* the main story. It should have been the friendship between our four heroes. Instead of adding a whole new plot, I wish they'd taken the time with the canon scenes. Show me more why they went from being this close to kill each other, to instant friends ready to die for each other. Making Porthos bisexual is fine. I don't mind modernization of characters, but did you have to tell and show me this very clearly 3 times, but then give him virtually no other line of dialogue the rest of the movie? Romain Duris as Aramis is particularly awesome, but the poor guy is just as useless. The film is such a waste of a good casting. D'Artagnan, the main character, barely gets more time. Where is my ever-resourceful, cunning, smart and quick thinking hero? Young and idealistic but also natural leader d'Artagnan? His scenes with Constance are cute enough (and I don't mind that they got rid of Mr. Bonacieux) but I wanted more bonding with the boys! It's called The Three Musketeers, not My Cute Landlady. François Civil does a decent job but he isn't given the most subtle text...

Athos is the only one that is allowed a bit more development, but he's reduced to be a sappy old man. AAARGH ATHOS IS NOT AN OLD MAN. I do like Vincent Cassel, but the movie comes out 20 years too late for him to be a musketeer. Athos is not old, he is just the only vaguely grown-up one of the group. And come on "I don't have enough will to live to lie." ?! What the Hell?

All the characters feel reduced to a single dimension.

And yes, I do realize that you can't fit hundreds of pages in two 2-hour movies, but still, I feel like there were ways to make the movie better if it had been more character-oriented. The only real good character is the King. He has all the best lines and Louis Garrell is perfect.

Finally, while I don't mind when they take liberties from the original story, I'm not sure that the whole side plot actually adds anything. If you're worried about lack of plots, just develop the exisiting ones instead of rushing them in and out of England, maybe? It's Alexandre Dumas you're adapting, don't tell me there aren't enough twists in that plot!

And what annoys me about that side plot is that it starts with Athos being arrested. Which means that, from the start, they're never all four of them together. Which also means that that one supposedly emotional letter from Athos sounds a bit phony. Why would he care for that young idiot that he met only once?

Let my musketeers be all together, Morbleu!

Anyway, to try and end on a more positive note: it does remain entertaining enough that you're not bored. They filmed in real places - Le Louvre looks actually like Le Louvre - which is always a bonus. Louis XIII is awesome, and all the court intrigues are probably the best parts. And they do have a second movie coming out this December to try and make up for that one. We can expect War! Love! Tragedy! Vengeance! (and hopefully more character development?)

Sorry, that was long. All this to say: meh.

[sunfish999]

The nitty gritty is watering down katara's character so she's just a meek girl ? Your lying If you really think that's the same character. The producers said they would take an axe to the main characters and that's where the show really suffers...also nothing is perfect people like you is why we get stuck with mediocrity

?? I finished episode 5 but what😭 how is katara just a meek girl, i feel like yes she has a little less rage but other than that she shows that shes smart and powerful and her own person? Explain what is watered down i feel like animation usually over-exaggerates facial expressions and voices for the most part, so i’m not surprised that katara has more subtle strength so far, and also the actress has a very kind face, but i think shes still able to show some of that anger. (I havent watched the water master fight yet so maybe thats where you’re talking about, so i cant speak on that)

Idk what taking an axe to the main characters means (like really cutting them apart? Cuz i doubt they would promote a show by saying its gonna be bad but who knows). But i feel like the characters are all pretty accurate with how they carry themselves, of course they’re younger so acting wont be perfect but i think the imperfections are what brings them to life. I know a lot of people hate the writing, i feel like it’s quite similar to the show? (Though its been maybe 3-4 years since i last rewatched it) and some lines especially from something previously animated are gonna sound awkward in real life, which is why generally i believe live actions arent necessary for any animation, though in this case i’m really enjoying just rewatching atla and my childhood be brought to life.

Nothing is perfect: ok i was using perfect mostly because i was very excited about it, of course i know theres things that could be changed to improve it but a lot of those things are impossible (like you cant get an actress thats EXACTLY katara and will make everyone happy, because shes a drawing) but overall, i think the landscapes come close to perfect (i’m just really into fantasy scenes and i think it’s so beautiful and impressive to see things like the omashu supply rail and the air temple come to life. And zuko’s boat looks so awesome and so accurate too.) And i thought the cgi looked slightly silly at first (especially air) but then i realized that we were always seeing drawings of aangs air in the animation which would look even stupider irl so i made my peace pretty quickly.

People like me is why we get stuck with mediocrity… hm. I feel like my opinion probably has nothing to do with what comes out on tv, especially because in this society haters have the real power, and you guys tearing it down are more likely to get it cancelled. I don’t think any production team takes an animated film or show and thinks ‘yea im gonna make this absolutely awful,’ (though i’m really not sure what they were thinking when making the pjo movie, its good as a standalone but they went so off course from the plot…) of course they’re all just trying to fit what they think into the show and express their own opinions, which are ultimately going to be a lot different than some people watching it.

Overall, ok i haven’t watched the og in years, so my memory on comparing each episode of the show to the live action is not going to be at the level of others (which i think boosts the enjoyability 100x over). But as i watch it, i remember tons of parts of the animation, and it makes me super happy that it has the same air as the show, albeit slightly more serious because they can’t fit all the funny filler episodes (if they ever created a live action lost appa episode i would lose it that cannot happen).

Maybe i sounded rude in my original post (i changed it quickly bc it was very angry at first lol) so sorry i know you’re all entitled to your opinion, it’s just i was SO EXCITED and then checked the tag on tumblr only to see that everyone hated it… i always feel inferior to people who really like films etc because i tend to enjoy things that other people hate, (like i really enjoyed the avatar way of water movie even if it was super long, and i know people DESPISED it). So maybe i seem like someone who is satisfied with mediocrity, and maybe i am, i focus mostly on the backgrounds and beauty of movies because im really into art and much less on acting and script (though i can appreciate beautiful characters, i was Blown Away by live action suki and hair down sokka my jaw dropped fr) i agree i am fairly simple to please in terms of this type of thing.

SORRY THIS IS GETTING QUITE LONG IM SURE U WONT READ IT ALL but i hope ur finding joy in life since live action atla is obviously not doing it for u

[randomcartoonbro]

Okay, finally watched the Deadpool trailer and it having a somewhat direct tie-in with Loki is actually really really smart given that, the last time we saw Wade, he was fucking up/fixing timelines. The TVA coming after him makes a lot of sense. Though the TVA we see doesn't fully align with how we saw it at the end of Loki season 2, it makes sense that it wouldn't. Deadpool isn't just in a different timeline. He's in a different universe entirely, so that universe would have it's own TVA with different staff and all that. Sure, there might be some variants of characters we know, but this is genuinely a smart move seeing as this makes this somewhat self contained. Yes, it wouldn't hurt to go in with the knowledge of what the TVA is, but if you don't, it looks like they'll be re-explaining it anyways since Wade likely wouldn't know either based on his reaction to them in the trailer. Also, I love the detail of the 20th Century Fox spotlight logo being in the Void. Based on set photos that leaked, there's going to be other characters and concepts that were abandoned by Fox in the Void as a cheeky way of explaining the inconsistent timelines and retcons in the X-Men movies. It's so clever, actually. I'm here for it. Like, on set, we've also seen the version of Sabertooth from the first X-Men movie on a set that I'm now assuming is The Void. I love this. It's such a a smart concept and I can't wait to see the movie in July!

I also just finished watching New Rockstars' breakdown of The Wolverine (filmed before the trailer dropped) and I actually think I understand where the Logan that we're going to see in this movie came from! In a deleted scene from The Wolverine that would've been at the very end of the movie, Yukio gives Logan a comic accurate version of his costume and we never see it again. That Logan was ultimately pruned. He's been surviving in the Fox Void for a decade! That's why we see him for the first time in the trailer in the Void! That also implies that every deleted scene in all of Marvel that doesn't align with the current timeline, is a pruned branch. It MAKES SO MUCH SENSE!!! Oh my gods!

But, yeah! This is what they meant by "this movie won't have any affect on the movie Logan and won't harm that timeline at all". Because he's no longer in time!!

[gellavonhamster]

monthly media recap: january 2023

(taking a page from @robertcapajpg‘s book)

read:

Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears (ed. Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling) - a 1996 anthology of short stories based on fairy tales. Many works seemed to me lacking something (and many I didn't like at all), but there were also several stories I really enjoyed, especially towards the end. Favourites include: The Fox Wife by Ellen Steiber, The Traveler and the Tale by Jane Yolen, The Printer's Daughter by Delia Sherman, The Emperor Who Had Never Seen a Dragon by John Brunner, Roach in Loafers by Roberta Lannes (yep, the last one is Puss-in-Boots but with a cockroach, and in modern-day New York)

Issues 4-6 of the Hellebore zine - I am honestly planning to order and read all currently existing issues over the course of this year, because the articles are really interesting - folk horror, archaeology, history, literature, and the intersection of all of these - and the art is beautiful. Also, I didn’t even pay for the first issue in the end, because I ordered it in October and by the very late December I was sure it got lost in the post, so I wrote to the store for a refund, and then the package came after all, I wrote to the store again asking how to return the money back to them, and they said that since the delivery took so long, I could keep it... if it was a clever plan to acquire another regular reader, then it totally worked, haha

The Stolen Heir by Holly Black - good! As always, love how Black paints the faerie world in all its whimsy and violence. I posted some of my thoughts on this book here.

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo - I liked Ninth House, but I kinda forgot it existed and also forgot approximately 2/3 of the plot, so I certainly didn't expect to enjoy the sequel as much as I did! It's been a while since I stayed up late reading like that. I am once again pretty indifferent towards the main pairing, but friendships and teamwork and characters seeing and accepting each other's vulnerabilities and past sins really moved me. Also, loved the helpful ghosts and unexpected [other mythical creatures, spoiler]

+ I am also still making my way through Lancelot-Grail/the Vulgate Cycle; in January I read Part II and III of Lancelot, as well as The History of the Holy Grail (this one I mostly just skimmed through, quite frankly, sometimes skipping a page or two where someone’s just, like, praying or preaching for a very long time. I am probably not very smart and definitely not religious enough for this)

watched:

The Musketeers (s1-3, 2014–2016) - well, you know, what with me obnoxiously reblogging gifs of it, lol. First things first, this is not an accurate adaptation of Dumas's novel, it's a very ahistorical procedural/western combo set in the 17th century France, and it fucking rules. I mean, swashbuckling adventures, the Power of Friendship™, women in stays and corsets, men in those puffy pirate shirts sluttily undone. Catering to my tastes personally. Season 3 was not as good as the first two, but what you're gonna do

Glass Onion (2022) - I think I enjoyed Knives Out more, but this one also was a lot of fun! Guessed some plot twists, but some were a total surprise to me. Love how the pandemic was integrated into the plot and characterization (e.g., a mesh mask says it all)

El vampiro (1957) - a Mexican horror film about a family targeted by a vampire that covets their estate. Very obviously influenced by the 1931 Dracula and weirdly cute in the way old horror often is (must be the toy bats on strings, though here could also be the romance).

The Field Guide to Evil (2018) - a horror anthology based on myth and folklore from around the world. The first two stories set a strong beginning, but then most of them (except the second-to-last, though the last one also is worth mentioning for being perfectly stylized after the classic silent films alone) fail to do something truly interesting with what they’re based on, in my opinion.

[just-some-random-blogger]

part 2 for the hottie-cutie! actually we dont use the percentage system in ig all the post-ussr countries (mb not the more european ones but im not sure). but ig 70% is just average here? ig its barely the B(?), in our system its 4/5. or ig 0-50% is like 2/5 (bc its forbidden to give 1/5 *clown emoji*), 50-70 or 75 is prob 3/5, and 90-100 is the highest mark. dk if its stupid of us but yes. id really not say that all russian students are very smart. but now i think that i didnt even knew filipino is based on tagalog... and that a lot of people are really arrogant bitches that would fight till the blood spills even if theyre wrong... but yeah not to be a hater or anything but... i still remember that trend on tiktok where american teens were like 'give me antidepressants and coke and imma explode russia in a sec' and then they cant find the hugest fucking country on the map... and im not even mentioning how they feel like their starbucks can help these sweet summer children to like... conquer, riot, attack... 'YOURE SAYING WHAT I LEARNED IN SCHOOL IN THE FUCKING PHILIPPINES IS WRONG AND THEY WERE LIKE YES' arrogant bitches TT 'i forgive them' its ok id hate them for you. 'that was a long rant' and i love every letter. im so happy for you! you seem so passionate about the sandman, its cute. delightful to read youre happy! and really delightful to see someone being so happy about something so... simple? just being happy. this world indeed needs some kindness. im so happy for your excitement TT take all the time you need, your happiness is the priority!! and gjdd as i was thinking about it, a recalled that in the very beginning of that your fic with daemon x niece reader where she doesnt need him, i felt SO strong about it being like... a half of that daemon idea i teased you... so like yeah. im waiting. but not asking you to speed up!! driving fast is dangerous, children. its a well-deserved rest (in a way). hope youll spend it great. 'just cos ur in the bible doesnt mean ur a saint' i know?? but HFJSDJS it sounds so... like a wity line from this stupid films with the worst, the most dangerous, the filthiest mafia boss and like... just y/n... yeah thats it. and in the night theyre making out and things are getting hotter and shes like omg no i need to finish reading the bible and he answers her with this WITTY line. sorry. just my association. never intended it to sound bad. 'my teacher was nice and me and my friends were nerds' ahajsj were so similar TT like mother like cat TT the only exception i was usually the one who read a book and told about its plot to others but still was the one to answer most of the questions. 'Under my Invisible Umbrella by Laurel Flores Fantauzzo. it’s a personal essay' omgomg it sounds interesting. like.. those books that are written by authors who lived in the country who started a war. SORRY for this comparison but for me it sounds like it. like smn whos seen as an enemy but there he is. its always fascinating to see yourself in a character/a book so im kinda.. glad for you. considering all it sounds strange but feeling a book is the experience to feel. 'ANYWAY im hot. (:' well true. thanks for the tiktok TT you really didnt need to do this but i appreciate your efforts sm TT thank you TT and yeeeah aemonds so funny TT and this guy is so accurately fanny TT yesterday (or the day before yesterday yes thats it) all my classmates and the other parallel class made that ver deputy SO angry *clown emoji* it was the experience to go through.. actually its not an uncommon thing bc i remember no day when she didnt scream at smn. but plugging the equipment? sounds like a good revenge. omg im so eager to know about the works of your national hero! im eager to learn anything youre willing to tell me! so i always wait for you, hottie-cutie! have a nice day/night! good luck with the classes or whatever plans you have! love you! take care<з

HELLO

im so annoyed with myself because i was almost done with answering you then i pressed cntl z and everything disappeared fml

now im going to be sad the entire time i type this fuck off tumblr why are you so glitchy

actually we dont use the percentage system in ig all the post-ussr countries (mb not the more european ones but im not sure). but ig 70% is just average here? ig its barely the B(?), in our system its 4/5. or ig 0-50% is like 2/5 (bc its forbidden to give 1/5 *clown emoji*), 50-70 or 75 is prob 3/5, and 90-100 is the highest mark. dk if its stupid of us but yes. id really not say that all russian students are very smart.

T_T rip T_T HAHAAH wait its still so funny to me that 70 is average i gasped when i read this the first time T_T asian countries be like that ig HAHHAHH. i mean there are A LOT OF DUMB FILIPINOS TOO SO /: its fine theres a bit of dumb in the world but its so weird to me that our grades are so high standard. /: asians HAHAHA

but now i think that i didnt even knew filipino is based on tagalog... and that a lot of people are really arrogant bitches that would fight till the blood spills even if theyre wrong...

well now you know. people who are overconfident are airheaded /:

but yeah not to be a hater or anything but... i still remember that trend on tiktok where american teens were like 'give me antidepressants and coke and imma explode russia in a sec' and then they cant find the hugest fucking country on the map...

STILL AS DISTURBING AS WHEN I REPLIED TO THIS THE FIRST TIME T_T these kids (boys especially) need to stop glorifying war i cant believe this was a trend T_T also the map thing is so true and i suck at geography but i could at least point to russia come one

also T_T although im annoyed i have to type this all over again, did you know russia is bigger than pluto. i love pluto lets talk about pluto more next time when im not frustrated with myself for fundamentally deleting my entire reply T_T

and im not even mentioning how they feel like their starbucks can help these sweet summer children to like... conquer, riot, attack...

L war this is why feminism is important, little boys think war is the only thing that is cool enough to be their hobby because its violent T_T

'YOURE SAYING WHAT I LEARNED IN SCHOOL IN THE FUCKING PHILIPPINES IS WRONG AND THEY WERE LIKE YES' arrogant bitches TT 'i forgive them' its ok id hate them for you.

DONT HATE ANYONE FOR ME T_T NEVER DO THAT FOR ANYONE

'that was a long rant' and i love every letter.

im so happy for you! you seem so passionate about the sandman, its cute. delightful to read youre happy! and really delightful to see someone being so happy about something so... simple? just being happy. this world indeed needs some kindness. im so happy for your excitement TT take all the time you need, your happiness is the priority!!

i did a whole rant about sandman but T_T next time. I REALLY WAS SO SUPER EXCITED ABOUT WHAT I WAS TELLING YOU AND I WANT TO TELL YOU BUT IM SO SLEEPY AND I DONT WANT TO PUT OFF REPLYING TO YOUR P2 T_T anyway i actually returned the books i borrowed the next day (which was yesterday) without reading them because my mom said it was too dark and i agree so i did BUT LSHAH I WENT TO THE LIBRARY TODAY AFTER CLASS AND READ THE MEGABIG ENCYLOPEDIA HARDBOUND SANDMAN COMIC with like 10 issues in it (which had everything in the series) AND I LOVED IT SO MUCH IT MADE ME LOVE DREAM SO MUCH MORE T_T

and gjdd as i was thinking about it, a recalled that in the very beginning of that your fic with daemon x niece reader where she doesnt need him, i felt SO strong about it being like... a half of that daemon idea i teased you... so like yeah. im waiting. but not asking you to speed up!! driving fast is dangerous, children. its a well-deserved rest (in a way). hope youll spend it great.

tell me about your daemon fic now IM SO CURIOUS NOW also as i said i zoomed read (and finished) that mega big comic book so im instead going to be writing sandman fics HAHAHH. i hope you liked my daemon x niece fic. i was surprised a lot of people seem to like it

'just cos ur in the bible doesnt mean ur a saint' i know?? but HFJSDJS it sounds so... like a wity line from this stupid films with the worst, the most dangerous, the filthiest mafia boss and like... just y/n... yeah thats it. and in the night theyre making out and things are getting hotter and shes like omg no i need to finish reading the bible and he answers her with this WITTY line. sorry. just my association. never intended it to sound bad.

HAAHH this doesnt sound bad it so funny actually. also I LOVE THIS CONCEPT i love me a good dirty mafia boss [quietly writes this idea down in my head]

'my teacher was nice and me and my friends were nerds' ahajsj were so similar TT like mother like cat TT the only exception i was usually the one who read a book and told about its plot to others but still was the one to answer most of the questions.

#twinlife u like me for real

'Under my Invisible Umbrella by Laurel Flores Fantauzzo. it’s a personal essay' omgomg it sounds interesting. like.. those books that are written by authors who lived in the country who started a war.

HAHAHHAHAAHHAA

SORRY for this comparison but for me it sounds like it.

HAHAHHAHAHA

like smn whos seen as an enemy but there he is. its always fascinating to see yourself in a character/a book so im kinda.. glad for you. considering all it sounds strange but feeling a book is the experience to feel.

i get what you mean. its fine dont apologize. and yes it is so very nice to see yourself portrayed in media

'ANYWAY im hot. (:' well true.

<3

thanks for the tiktok TT you really didnt need to do this but i appreciate your efforts sm TT thank you TT and yeeeah aemonds so funny TT and this guy is so accurately fanny TT

AT LEAST YOU SAW and found it funny <3

yesterday (or the day before yesterday yes thats it) all my classmates and the other parallel class made that ver deputy SO angry *clown emoji* it was the experience to go through.. actually its not an uncommon thing bc i remember no day when she didnt scream at smn.

T_T imagine living in russia and still being hotheaded. chill /:

but plugging the equipment? sounds like a good revenge.

T_T REAL HAHAHH

omg im so eager to know about the works of your national hero! im eager to learn anything youre willing to tell me!

T_T I dont mean to be that person but im too tired to go on FUCK TUMBLR I HAD A WHOLEASS ESSAY ABOUT PLUTO AND AN ANALYSIS ABOUT SANDMAN CHARACTERS AND I WAS TALKING ABOUT OUR NATIONAL HERO JOSE RIZAL but now its gone and i want to sleep next time baby i wont cntrl z it T_T

so i always wait for you, hottie-cutie!

thank you my love <3

have a nice day/night! good luck with the classes or whatever plans you have! love you! take care<з

good night baby <3 i hope you have a wonderful day <3 im going to sleep now

xxx

[intothetlkverse]

Decided to challenge myself by drawing every single TLK character out there, up until this point in time, and post it here. You can see the finished project on my main account, though I figured to post it on my tumblr just show I could proudly show off my work and a few of my head canons.

Here is all the giraffes/okapis across TLK:

Starting again from the Lion Guard we have the leader of one of the Pridelands' giraffe herds Twiga(giraffe) and her daughter Juhudi(enthusiasm), and fellow member Shingo(neck). For the most part the designs of the Lion Guard are pretty solid and accurate to the real deal, however I realized as I was doing Shingo that while they do mention how long, tough and flexible a giraffe's tongue is in the show, they somehow overlooked the fact that a giraffe's tongue is also blue. I'm not sure why they would overlook this, considering they did make Ajabu the okapi's tongue accurate to the real-life animal, but whatever I guess. Also watching the Guard help get Shingo out of a tree he got his head stuck in before presumably going off to do it again in a nearby tree, as well as them helping Bupu, just in general, makes me question how much the Lion Guard should actually help. Honestly, if you aren't smart enough to not get into situations where you can get easily trapped or refuse to do something to save yourself just because someone wasn't fully polite to you, frankly I wouldn't be mad if they got the consequences of their actions and had to help themselves out due to their stupidity or stubbornness.

And continuing off of unpopular characters in my opinion is Nassor/Nasor(saved), a giraffe from TLK 6NA's "Follow the Leader". Also known as "Nassor the Nasty", he's an overbearing, selfish, and very rude bully to other species, often causing issues needing the resolved. He's eventually kicked out of his herd and told to take his distasteful behavior elsewhere. I also decided to change up my usual giraffe subspecies with him, making him a Masai giraffe with the cool leaf shadow-like spots instead of the standard reticulated variant. I also used a blend of TLK2 giraffe colors from the beginning of the film and Kovu's exile, and personally he's one of my favorite designs.

On the opposite end of that we have a much more nicer giraffe Longlegs/Miguu(legs), the leader of a group of giraffes in the jungle from the Hakuna Matata magazine "Saving Simba". He's leader of the 'tower' that his wife Sukari(sugar) and their children Bahati(luck) and Zuma(honey-Hausa) are part of. He's a skilled healer and very grateful for all that Timon, Pumbaa and Simba have done for him and his herd, from ensuring that his wife and son were safe during the flood to later helping one of the other calf's out of the mud. He remains good friends with king Simba and is later one of the representatives from the jungle to speak for Simba's character to help establish him as the leader of the Pridelands. Sukari, Bahati, and Zuma are from the book "Simba and the Big Flood". During the rainy season at the jungle, Sukari ended up trapped on an island surrounded by the raging floodwaters from the river. Simba, Timon, Pumbaa, and their giraffe friend/Sukari's daughter Bahati, use tree trunks and vines to make a raft bridge to help get Sukari to safety. After which she goes into labor and has her son Zuma. The four still live happily together in the Oasis.

Next up we have the giraffe mom and her calf from the opening "Circle of Life" scene,  Ukuza(grow) and her son Chipuka(bud). ​I decided to make him a boy since giraffes have long lashes regardless of gender and to help even out the gender ratio. The poor calf, he got born not too long ago and now he gets dragged along into the bright early dawn just to see the presentation of the king amongst a crowd of probably new and unfamiliar creatures, just to see a future predator's presentation. Anyways, he does make it to adulthood and becomes part of another giraffe tower in the Pridelands.

Also, since it was a list of two and they are closely related in the same giraffid family, I decided to add in the okapis; TLG's Ajabu(astonish) and Oorak/Okpara(The First Son-Igbo) from "The Mystery Zebraffe". Interestingly both characters stories are mostly the same, in which they reveal themselves to a main character, yet nobody believes them, however in Ajabu's case his presence does become known to everyone in the end while Timon can't convince Simba and Pumbaa of Oorak/Okpara's existence. In my verse, Okpara is Ajabu's father and once Ajabu reveals himself to the royal family and gets accepted in as an official Pridelander, Timon finally gets his long-suffering validation on the existence of the mysterious 'zebraffe' animal. While Ajabu, though shy, cautious and a stealthy hider, is a very friendly and polite fellow. He is originally from the Oasis jungle that Makucha is from, living with his father and mother when the leopard starts targeting them. While Okpara tried to urge his family to hide deeper into the underbrush to avoid predation, Ajabu ended up making himself known when he stops Makucha from hunting another okapi by appearing before him. Interested in the larger, more gutsy prey, Makucha pursued them and Ajabu was left to run out into the desert and eventually the Pridelands in order to avoid him, where you know the rest of the story. Surprisingly, there are quite a few okapis living in the Pridelands, but they're so well-hidden barely anybody knows about them except when they appear for big events such as future royalty presentations. Okpara believes his son to be dead and just keeps trying to keep him family faith. Ajabu has adjusted well to his new life in the Pridelands, though does wish to one day return back to his homeland and reassure his family, though in the meantime he's content with his new home.

[teenageread]

Review: Lesson in Chemistry

Initial Thoughts:

What a wonderful, intriguing, and captivating story. Bonnie Garmus grabbed readers from the first page and did not let them go till the very end. Starting in the 1950s we follow Elizabeth Zott, a chemist in a time when women were not allowed to be smart, as she tried her way in her male-dominated field. From the way Elizabeth describes her surroundings, and the Garmus having her fall in love, this book has its all - aka an Apple TV show. It’s just such a good book, one that has a misleading cover. Sure there is romance in this novel, but it is so much more. The writing style is unique on its own, and can honestly be described as quirky through and through.

Characters:

Elizabeth Zott, despite being a beauty, is known to speak her mind and show intelligence in every situation. Not very popular for a woman of her era. This is why readers gravitated towards her and wanted to see her be successful as Elizabeth oozed confidence in her work and life, despite society harping on her and trying to bring her down. Elizabeth is not a character I would call relatable, as her highly scientific mind, and no-nonsense kind of personality, make you feel as if Elizabeth herself is observing you throughout the novel and not the other way around. However, you love her and want her to succeed despite the obstacles that come her way, and feel she wins and loses as your own. Garmus also gave us other characters to root for and love such as Mad, Mrs. Sloane, and even Fran Frask have enjoyable qualities. 

Plot:

The plot describes the life of Elizabeth Zott and how she makes ends meet to support her daughter Mad (Madelyn being her nickname), by starting in a cooking show: Supper at Six, where she teaches housewives basic chemistry through cooking. Where I loved the cooking show, and all the episodes Elizabeth filmed, Garmus also made it about how Elizabeth got into this position. From her job at Hastings Lab, where she was undervalued by her male counterparts, falling in love, learning to row, and getting probably one of the best book dogs ever. 

Writing:

Again this writing is quirky just like Elizabeth herself. With short chapters, divided up into noticeable paragraphs, it made this book easy and enjoyable to read. I don’t know if it's Garmus's writing, or just how they write Elizabeth to be this dry humor know-it-all, but the attention to detail and how characters are introduced to be hated but then loved near the end. Something about the radiant positive femininity in this novel just hits right.  

Conclusion: 

Overall, this book just hits, with its multidimensional plot, fantastic characters, and writing that keeps you hooked. My only complaint is that I wish the true plot of this novel was more known, as its looks are quite deceiving. I also hope Garmus made the chemistry in this novel accurate, as I will be trying some of Elizabeth’s cooking tips at home

[fanthatracks]

Yoda: Dark Rendezvous As the Clone Wars rage, Jedi Master Yoda must once again face one of his greatest adversaries: Count Dooku.... The savage Clone Wars have forced the Republic to the edge of collapse. During the height of the battle, one Jedi Knight escapes the carnage to deliver a message to Yoda on Coruscant. It appears that Dooku wants peace and demands a rendezvous. Chances are slim that the treacherous Count is sincere but, with a million lives at stake, Yoda has no choice. The meeting will take place on Djun, a planet steeped in evil. The challenge could not be more difficult. Can Yoda win back his once promising pupil from the dark side or will Count Dooku unleash his sinister forces against his former mentor? Either way, Yoda is sure of one thing: this battle will be one of the fiercest he’ll ever face. Author: Sean Stewart Cover artist: Andrea C. White Release date: May 23, 2023 Pages: 320 ISBN: 9780593599488 What’s it’s about? Count Dooku faces a period of uncertainty as he questions the choices he has made in his life, the decision to join with Darth Sidious and his role as his apprentice. So while the Clone Wars continue to blaze throughout the galaxy he contacts his former master, Yoda. But is it a trap or is Darth Tyranus genuinely having doubts Yoda accepts Dooku’s invitation, but is reluctant to inform the council of his meeting and so he invents a cover story for his absence from the Jedi Temple. Taking with him two Padawans, Scout and Whie, he leaves and embarks upon his journey. But do Whie’s visions of himself and Scout in the custody of Asajj Ventress mean Yoda’s mission will end in tragedy. Should I read this book? In a short space of time Dark Rendezvous has come to be regarded as one of the very best Star Wars novels released, with the feel of the film series and accurate depictions of the main characters. Along with a strong plot and interesting new characters, this instalment of the Clone Wars is among the very best. Sean Stewart writes a great Yoda that mixes both the solemnity of the prequel Yoda with the impish humour of the original trilogy. It is never forgotten that this character is 800 years old, and so all aspects of his characters are touched upon, the humour, gravitas and the wisdom. And it all makes Yoda a character you would like to see a lot more of. As well as Yoda, Dooku is written impeccably, showing the doubt and uncertainty of his path to the dark side. Secreted in an ancient castle, Dooku ponders on his choices and at times gives the reader serious doubts as to his devotion to evil. Expertly written, this adds great depth to the story. What did you like? Of the new characters Scout and Whie are the most intriguing. Scout is an underachiever in all things combat, and as such makes you root for her even more, especially when she figures out clever ways of hiding her deficiencies. Scout is far more powerful, with a mysterious history that comes to him in visions that include dreams about his parents and his death at the hands of a Jedi Knight (Anakin most likely, in Revenge of the Sith). Asajj Ventress is shown in vivid detail, highlighting her dedication to the Sith cause and her unique skills. The novel as a whole links in with the movie mythology in a smart way, showing Ben learning of Anakin’s relationship with a woman (but not knowing precisely who), Yoda’s conversation with a spirit Qui-Gon and the decimation of the Jedi order, leaving many Padawans without masters. What did you not like? Nothing glaring, all in all a very satisfying read released during a time when Del Rey and Dark Horse were absolutely smashing it with content and adventures set during the time of the Clone Wars. What’s next? All in all Dark Rendezvous is an excellent novel that tied in and filled in many gaps of knowledge concerning the Clone Wars. At the time it was the final official chapter of the Clone Wars novels, and as such made for a heavyweight ending to an engrossing three-year campaign.

[gothicprep]

I don’t think I reviewed “smile 2” here, so here goes: I didn’t like this at all. naomi scott acts her heart out in this, but her skill falls on a very weak script. she’s the only redeeming quality of that movie. I hope someone else is smart enough to cast her in something that isn’t a complete unmitigated disaster.

the conceit of the smile monster is that it’s some combination of suicide contagion and post-traumatic stress disorder. the first movie engages with this in a way that I personally found tight and complete. the protag is a therapist who witnessed her mother taking a fatal overdose as a child, had the option of calling poison control, and chose against this. there’s a symmetry there which makes a lot of sense. compared to the sequel, everything about it is much weaker. the sequel centers on a pop star called skye riley (awful name for a character btw) and it doesn’t have the same through-line of trauma. she lost her late boyfriend in a car accident which was her fault, sure, but her experience with addiction is left entirely on the table. what happened in ms riley’s life that led her to this place? nobody knows! it’s also very odd that she doesn’t relapse during the course of the film.

almost half of the movie is pure unreality, so that’s not great.

um, one of its strengths is that it accurately portrays how people behave when they’re high on cocaine, but that’s about it.

the twitter user experience has been in the toilet for a year and change now, but the recommendation algorithm is convinced that I enjoyed “smile 2” and this is intolerable for me personally.

I can live with the Nazis, because the bulk of them are too pathetic for me to find threatening. but this complete misjudgment in my taste in movies? that one gives me pause…

[hellboys]

low quality video ➜ "HD" gifs tutorial! (2022 UPDATE!)

back by popular demand. warning, this is a work in progress! so far I have found this is the best way to restore low quality movie videos into somewhat clear and “hd” gifs. I will update if I discover anything different (:

this works on movies/videos in 720p and lower

you must have basic gif making knowledge

I'm using adobe photoshop cc 23.4.1 (2022) for windows

link to previous version of this tutorial

TUTORIAL UNDER THE CUT 🔽

so this tutorial is going to show you how to create the ILLUSION of high quality and film grain in your gifs just by using smart filters, coloring, and the filter gallery tab! this trick works on 720p, 480p, 360p, and 144p resolutions

1. MAKE YOUR GIF BASE

I’ll be using a scene from hello mary lou: prom night 2 in a *really* gross 480px lol

2. RESIZE YOUR GIF

ctrl + alt + “I”

These are my resizing settings (copy these). 

Resampling your gif under the ‘preserve details 2.0′ option allows you to resize your gif without losing those small details - essentially making your gif sharper.

⭐ please note that gifs will look better if resized to 268px instead of 540px as its easier to hide low quality trails that remain in the end.

3. ADD ‘SMART SHARPEN’ FILTER

filter ➤ sharpen ➤ smart sharpen...

When adding your smart sharpening layer, be sure to unselect More Accurate from the drop down menu at the top. (You can access this menu by clicking the gear in the right hand corner)

Unselecting this option will add more sharpness to the highlights and shadows of your gif, which is essential for this trick to work

⭐ of course if you have preferred sharpening settings, feel free to use those instead!

3. ADD ANOTHER ‘SMART SHARPEN’ LAYER

filter ➤ sharpen ➤ smart sharpen...

Copy these settings

Keep the More Accurate option SELECTED for this layer!!!

4. CREATING FILM GRAIN

filter ➤ filter gallery... ➤ texture ➤ grain

These settings will depend on what you think looks best! For this gif, these are the settings I ended up with

Be sure that the “Soft” option is selected from the drop down menu. Its the cleanest grain filter photoshop offers and its the closest you’ll get to grain used in films

The intensity will depend on you and what your gif needs. Don’t go too crazy here. Keep the number low (no higher than 10) 

Contrast will generally stay in the 50′s but if you need more black areas in your gif feel free to push that number a bit

⭐ Don’t get too attached to these right now as they may change throughout your process!

4.2. ARRANGING SMART LAYERS

MUY IMPORTANTE!!!!

In order to get that sharp grain look, you’ll need to place the “Filter Gallery” layer beneath the 2 smart sharpen layers like in the pic above

Edit your grain settings as needed!

5. COLOR COLOR COLOR

After all of that is said and done, add your coloring! Try to push the shadows and add more black in your 'selective color' adjustment layer just to give your gif more contrast. This will clean up the pixel-y blacks and make your gif look a bit nicer to look at. Again this will all depend on what you’re looking for and what you think looks best!

6. SAVE!

Once you're satisfied with how your gif looks, alt + ctrl + shift + “S” and you're done! Here are my save for web settings

MY RESULTS!

480px video, before and after:

(Still looks pretty shitty but I guess its better than the original ???)

360px video, before and after:

(I ripped this movie straight from the DVD and the glitch you see came with it unfortunately 😒)

End notes/tips!

This trick will not work on every low quality movie

Please play around with the sharpening, grain, and color settings to find the best version for you!

The higher the quality of the video (720p, 1080p dvd) the less grain you will need to add

Again, gifs look even better if they are put into 2 column posts instead of a single column (268px instead of 540px)

The grain filter will unfortunately make your gif size very large which is something I havent been able to work around

And once more for the people in the back - this is FAKE HD, it won't turn your 480p video into a crisp blu-ray 1080p quality. it just gives an illusion of higher quality 🤠

Please feel free to send me a DM or an ask if you need further help or have any questions whatsoever! Thank you!✨🖤