#the last time i saw any movie at the theaters was in 2014 so it was pretty exciting heh

[fabcreature]

went to see the barbie movie, wearing just about as much pink as i, an all-black-wearing wanna-be-goth, am capable of. featuring glittery makeup, a self-made earring, high heels (a pain and a struggle to walk in, but god i felt sexy), and the fucking widest pants you have ever seen (i could fit both of my legs into just one pant leg, and i have thick thighs)

there was one of those barbie boxes at the theater so i got my dear friend @nuppu-nuppu to take photos of me (and i don't care what anyone says, taking a million photos is perfect because no matter how insecure you are about your looks, there's bound to be at least a few photos that look good, when there's so many to choose from)

as a bonus, here's a video i took to try and look at my makeup, and also to have fun while listening to my barbie vibes playlist

oh yea, and the movie itself! it was good, it was fun, but i was left a little underwhelmed. not because it was bad or anything, but it was exactly what i expected it to be, which left me just a tad disappointed bc i was hoping for it to surprise me somehow. but over all a fun movie :]

[thisbelongsto-nohbodys]

Studio Ghibli watch-through pt. 7

Finally found a way to finish watching these last 4 Ghibli films, so here's the current finale of my Studio Ghibli watch-through.

22. The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013)

7/10

I loved the art style but I see how someone might be turned off of it but idc, they can leave more beautiful art to me. The story dragged in some places but it was still fun to watch.

23. When Marnie Was There (2014)

8/10

I came for the promise of yuri, was disappointed in the twist but watching it again I see that yuri is there but it's more of an awakening yuri. The story is also relatable for those of us artists who have felt burn out and depression blocking us from creating, not to mention the feeling that ppl are being nice just out of curtesy rather than genuinely. Tho' if I had a nickel for a Ghibli film that had a romance where it turned out they were related, I'd have 2 nickels which isn't a lot but it's strange that it happened. (I know they aren't related in Poppy Hill but we were made to think they were for half the film)

24. Earwig & The Witch (2020)

3/10

First of, the Ghibli style in CGI didn't translate well. Second, this really could've been a series instead of a movie because at least in a series we might've gotten more than what we did get. Nothing really happened and then it ended just as it seemed like it might be moving the plot forward.

25. The Boy and the Heron (2023)

9/10

Saw this one in the theaters with my brother and we both loved it. Seeing as it's an apology from Hayao to his kids, in that he wants them to not follow his footsteps if they don't want to, makes the movie a bit more poignant. Wish we could've had more time in the wacky spirit world or whatever realm it was but I liked what we got (also Robert Pattinson killed it as the Heron)

That's every Studio Ghibli film from Castle of Cagliostro to The Boy and the Heron. Ghibli is a major inspiration not just for artists but for film makers/story tellers and I'd say that they should be required viewing for any aspiring artist/film maker/writer. While obviously their most well known ones but also some of the lesser known ones since there might be something there that someone sees potential in and expands on it in their own work.

[autistic-ben-tennyson]

How Dinosaurs made me a leftist

I’m going to change gears a bit after being burned out from with dealing with liberal Zionists all day. Since one of the most prominent paleontology blogs on tumblr, a-dinosaur-a-day/jewish-kulindadromeus, has been exposed as a Zionist, I decided to write my own post about why dinosaurs have been important to me and how they’ve actually had a significant impact on my political philosophy. Dinosaurs are a stereotypical special interest for a lot of autistic kids and can be a good jumping point for getting into other science fields.

I first discovered dinosaurs when I think I was 5 with the first movie I saw in theaters being Ice Age 3 as well as being given a bunch of old models by my uncles. When I was 7, I got a documentary for Christmas and that same year, we visited a traveling exhibit at the Detroit zoo with animatronics. At the time I thought they were real. They became one of my favorite things and something I could ramble about for hours. During Christmas of 2013, the Walking with Dinosaurs movie was what I really wanted to see when everyone else was gushing over Frozen. I know it’s not a good movie but I liked it at the time and it was even a bit emotional for me.

Jurassic Park became an interest of mine after a trip to Universal Studios in 2014 and seeing JW the following year, although now I hate it especially because of Chris Pratt. Out of the movies, TLW was actually my favorite and I was surprised people hated it. That actually contributed to my dislike of the Nostalgia Critic/Doug Walker for his nitpick filled review, before I learned about any of the Channel Awesome controversy. I still have the collector’s set of the first two JP films as well as Disney’s Dinosaur and the Walking with Dinosaurs series in my dvd collection.

I’m a little embarrassed to admit this but I used to be a big fan of Jack Horner, the infamous “T. Rex is a a scavenger” guy. At the time I was interested in his Dino chicken experiments as well as his work on the JP series. Then I learned about the controversy of him dating an undergrad student and that ship sailed. I do find it a little amusing that the irredeemable villain of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish has the same name as the sleazy paleontologist I used to admire. I can appreciate him for mentoring Mary Schweitzer who’s an actual good paleontologist and has made some important discoveries.

So what does being a leftist have to do with any of this? When I was 6, I was exposed to creationism for the first time. My parents thankfully weren’t but we knew a lot of people that were. In middle school, I met a lot more of them. Many of whom went to the same church youth group and school. It was there that I got into some debates about evolution. Sometimes, kids would tell me “dinosaurs aren’t real” or “you should read the Bible more” and I was expected to just put up with it. At the time I really wanted to be a paleontologist and while I no longer do, sometimes I felt bad for wanting that because of what people said. I stopped talking about dinosaurs for a while after that.

Becoming more knowledgeable about evolution pushed me to learn about climate change too and many of the same people who were creationists were also climate deniers. I watched parts of the Bill Nye vs Ken Ham debate and began doing more research. Climate change in turn was a big part of my radicalization which led me to breadtube. I know that breadtube is heavily flawed but it helped me see a lot of the problems with milquetoast liberals and the lies told by American propaganda. I watched those videos during the pandemic around the same time events like George Floyd’s murder and BLM and that cemented me as a leftist.

So that’s the story of how dinosaurs helped make me a leftist. They’re not my special interest anymore, that’s anime, but they still have a place in my heart. Spielberg may be a Zionist but the first two JP movies are still fun to watch. My favorite paleontologist these days is Stephen Jay Gould who that racist Zionist, prismatic-bell, should read after their disgusting post about aboriginal people with his work against scientific racism. I may not want to be a paleontologist anymore but I am considering anthropology. Some may view them as a childish thing but they were a way of escapism for me and pushed me to learn more about science which in turn cemented my disgust towards conservatives who want creationism in schools.

[nerdy-bits]

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Marvel Studios, PG-13)

When Guardians of the Galaxy came out in 2014, I didn't know a single person who knew who they were. No one knew who Starlord was, Gamora, Drax, Groot, Rocket Raccoon, none of them. It was one of the only times I walked into a theater for an MCU movie and thought, “Why am I here? I don't care about these characters at all.” Ironically, the other instance of this thought was before watching Captain America: The First Avenger. Luckily, I was very wrong on both occasions. What James Gunn did with the first Guardians movie was nothing short of a small miracle. The Guardians of the Galaxy were a middling hero team devised in the late 60s. One that, as I mentioned before, never really reached any amount of wide acclaim. When the team was rebooted in 2008, with the members seen in the movie that would come six years later, still its readership remained low. In May of 2023, the names Starlord, Gamora, Rocket, Groot, Drax, and Nebula are household names. 

Guardians of the Galaxy, as an MCU team, is unique. Preceding the now-inbound Thunderbolts, the Guardians are the closest thing to DC’s Suicide Squad. Though the Guardians aren't ostensibly villains, nor are they part of a government initiative to leverage villains into doing good things by holding a proverbial gun to their head, the Guardians of the Galaxy are all misfits and ne’er-do-wells. Peter Quill being a thief, Rocket an arms dealer, Groot being Rocket’s muscle, Gamora is essentially an assassin, and Drax is called The Destroyer. They are all bad people to differing degrees. So what James Gunn had to do with the first film was two or threefold: He had to introduce us to who these people were, convince us we should care about what they do, and then make us care about them both individually and as a group. To this day, the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie is one of the closest things to a perfect execution in establishing a relationship with unknown characters. 

Now, nearly ten years later, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 seeks to remind us why we cared, show us we were right to care, and make us root for our beloved misfits one last time. Ya’ll…it fucking rules. 

It’s been a while since we last saw The Guardians. We saw them off in Endgame, traveling with a disheveled and melancholic Thor, and then in Thor: Love and Thunder we saw them unload the God of Thunder, moving on to do their own thing. When the Guardians of the Galaxy  Christmas Special  came out Thanksgiving weekend last year, we got to see Knowhere (the Guardians’ base) rebuilt, and the introduction of Cosmo the Space Dog. We also fully establish that Starlord isn't doing well with the death/return/departure of Gamora. Guardians Vol. 3 picks up from there. Starlord is out of it, drinking himself into a stupor, the rest of the team is just kind of milling about in Knowhere, and the mood is pretty stale. Enter one of Marvel’s most powerful and heroes Adam Warlock, only the Warlock is here not to help, but as a repo man for the fabled High Evolutionary, the madman who turned Rocket into the creature he is today. This initial and shocking attack sends the guardians on a quest to save the life of a mortally wounded member. It’s a race against the clock film, with a little globetrotting heist film stirred in. 

Along this journey we are served up dollops of emotion. The film is framed around flashbacks illuminating Rocket’s journey under the knife and eye of the High Evolutionary. A villain portrayed brilliantly by Chukwudi Iwuji, and a villain that outshines so many villains in the MCU purely because of his acting. The High Evolutionary is a despicable, maniacal, monster of a man and each moment he is on screen your skin crawls. Truly, everyone in this movie is acting their whole asses off. Each performance is nuanced and intense, emotional and gripping. ITs something only a movie following two parts, like this one, can pull off. We all know everyone so deeply, we’ve grown to love them all, grown to admire their found family. So when this family of weirdos is put to a real test, one that threatens all of their lives in ways we haven't seen before, what comes through the cracks is this pure and natural love and passion. It works like glue throughout the film, like connective tissue, pulling each little bit you’ve ever remembered about this rag-tag team and placing it neatly in order for you to experience again. 

Rocket and Groot share their dynamic in new ways, Starlord and Gomora have some truly dynamite scenes navigating their new and nonexistent relationship, Mantis remains one of the best additions to the team as she and Drax foil each other, and Karen Gillan’s Nebula is a tremendous stand-in for the Gamora we lost in Infinity War. But this movie isn't merely old bits. It’s reimagined bits, moments illustrative of the ways family evolves and adapts. As you are recognizing the way these people interact with each other, you are also recognizing that the first time we met them, none of them would have been willing to do this. This Guardians of the Galaxy is stronger, closer, and emotionally available to each other in was the previous movies simply couldn't convincingly do with everyone. Furthermore we get more Kraglin and we get Cosmo. The Guardians of the Galaxy has changed so much in the comics over the years it begins to feel like dozens of heroes have claimed membership. In the hands of a lesser director and writer this can be a pitfall that lends to shallow writing and skin-deep characters. In James Gunn’s hands instead it lends to this tone of acceptance and love, resolute with making it clear: all types are welcome here, strange and broken as you may be. It’s downright endearing, and such a refreshing take in a world far too comfortable being unaccepting and cruel. 

James Gunn’s delicately procured playlist of songs is present again in this film, and just like the films that precede it, each song fits and feels like it was meant for each moment it is played in. Perhaps as a result or side-effect, sometimes the film’s score feels a bit out of place, but I rarely caught myself caring so much it interrupted my enjoyment of what I was watching. Perhaps because what you will be watching throughout the film is pretty outstandingly composed. Action scenes are cooperative and hectic, without losing fidelity or readability. In-fact, most of the action is so well shot and choreographed it plays out like anime fights, dripping in style and out of the box angles. I deeply appreciated this simply because superhero flicks, especially those featuring folks with similar powersets or fighting styles, can start to feel less like composed orchestras and far more like pop singles. And while Guardians Vol. 3 has its pockets lined with singles from the 80s and 90s, the format doesn't permeate or seep into the action. 

Also, for a movie in a freshly launched Phase 5 MCU, it feels like both the real and proper send off to Phase 4 and the best foot to start Phase 5 on. A dichotomy that is not easy to navigate and perhaps even harder to accomplish with a legible, parsable plot. We take everything we knew before and expand our knowledge, but we also wrap up our loose threads, tucking them into a neat-ish bow. In the process of doing this, James Gunn and his cast deliver what will end up being one of the more emotional Marvel movies released yet, content with plucking on heart strings like Redbone. 

Ya’ll, it’s just such a good movie. They did all the work they needed to beforehand, allowing them the runway to gracefully land this deeply heartfelt trilogy in a way most other properties are unable to. There are dark moments and joyous moments, funny and sad, furious and tender, and all of it fits because we know who these people are and we know how they feel. It all feels just so deeply earned and earnest. It may be a lot to take in for young fans, but this trilogy is nearly a decade old now, those fans that were young in the first film are adults now, and as those fans aged with the Guardians, the Guardians came to them with more deep and pointed stories about loss, brokenness, and family. Messages that will stick with people for years. 

If this truly marks the end of James Gunn’s involvement in the MCU then it is a masterful goodbye to some of the best characters in the whole MCU. If he decides to come back someday, well then I will be just as excited for whatever comes. But for now, go and see if the galaxy’s quirkiest band of misfits can worm their way into your emotions too. They sure found a way to pummel mine. In the best way.

@LubWub ~Caleb

[cavewretch]

nostalgic absurdism, a media (crit?) list

this black eyed peas music video that came out in 2023 is my thesis statement for this entire concept please watch it i could write a whole paper just about this video. the dead eyed stares of every performer. the star wars font. the lyrics dripping in so much party language it hurts. the "i feel so alive" delivered so incredibly lifelessly. the chorus being "dont worry about a thing, because everything's gonna be alright". it's black eyed peas, shakira, and david guetta giving you the shallowest most haunting memory of 2014 you could imagine. it's phenomenal. oh and aliens. shakira suddenly becomes the leader of the alien dance team but now she has blue eyes. the black eyed peas are abducted at the end. please watch it i beg

ok anyway on to the list (ongoing so this post will continue to be updated) (feel free to send suggestions 🫶)

i have two spotify playlists for this that i made a couple years ago. i stopped using spotify last year so they aren't updated but here is RECE$$10N and Pandemic Era - Nostalgic Absurdism .

song special mentions from those playlists:

save by nct127 - the samsung memory card ad campaign sponsored futuristic-with-some-plants-music-video kpop party song

bo burnham's inside (i am not talking about him as the media-criticizer, i am arguing his special is of this era? moment? itself. im putting him here as a critique)

any song that goes viral on tiktok

most musicians that come out of tiktok

any official sped-up version release (not youtube nightcore)

any covid-themed special release (songs with titles like socialdistancing, new normal, lockdown, etc) . i believe that we will win by pitbull which takes the american government's approach of "viruses are an entity capable of morality and this evil enemy is combatable" . other insane songs: you are the champions (queen/adam lambert, for Health Workers), masks, gloves, soap, scrubs (todrick hall, also for Health Workers)

old groups coming together to make new music in the face of "these trying times" aka jonas brothers, big time rush, abba, etc

hear me out. the 2022 minions sequel soundtrack especially turn up the sunshine diana ross/tame impala

non-music:

fashion trends (90s 80s 2000s 2010s)

every remake reboot sequel prequel of the last 10 years (star wars etc)

marvel movies

streaming services for everything

shows/movies being filmed for clipability and vertical phone screens

stranger things

minions meme resurgence (this was happening in 2022 on twitter)

old meme resurgence in general (i saw a troll face one recently) (sure it's done in the post-post-post ironic way but it still has trollface)

d&d resurgence (something something methods of theater/storytelling adapting to the social climate)

playlist updates (since i stopped using spotify)

3d country by geese

ogoin & linguini: tv show (this is brasil specific i don't get all the references myself but it's fun to listen to)

only god was above us by vampire weekend

raw data feel & mountainhead by everything everything

january never dies by balming tiger

two night by tierra whack

gangsta by free nationals, asap rocky, & anderson .paak

mos thoser by food house,

>something something nostalgia as a tool / umberto eco ur-fascism

growing up online a neighbor to this line of thought

[bagheerita]

I am a SO ready to talk Godzilla movies. I’ve only seen a handful of them compared to like the dozens I know exist-the more recent ones where they were trying to do Avengers but the big Monsties-but god I love them.

Admittedly Kong is seared into my brain because it came out at the Height of my Tom Hiddleston obsession-I even own it in dvd like I was that deep-so that’s the one I remember the best. And it’s the one I like the most because of the wide range of monsters we get to see. Big Buffalo guy? The skull lizards? Fuck yeah love my monsters wish more movies were monster movies lol.

Anyways, the others are more spattering in recollection. But I wanna ask, which of these movies is your fave, why, and what do you think of the empty core earth/godzilla goes into the center of the earth to recharge like Superman does to the sun? I remember finding that very. Odd? But ripe for interest bc in Kong they set up that whole. Under-earth world the skull things came from.

I've also only seen a handful of the movies... exactly 6 Godzilla/Monster-verse related movies (that I can recall anyway): the original Gojira and the original King Kong. And then Godzilla 2014, Kong Skull Island, Godzilla King of the Monsters (watched last night), and Godzilla vs Kong (watched today!).

I've only seen each of them once, and Kong Skull Island is the only one I saw in the theater (Tom Hiddleston obsession what....😅😅💚❤). Watching Godzilla KotM's last night was the first time I'd actually seen several of the monsters I already knew of through cultural osmosis, like Rodan and Ghidorah, which was very cool.

My favorite is hard to say. (I mean, to say the best movie would be easy: it would be Gojira, because I think it's awesome and perfect and very much a product of its time that said what it needed to say. But I feel like it's an entirely separate genre than the other movies I've seen.) I enjoyed Skull Island and I remember it being slightly better story-wise than the Godzilla movies, IE it made me care more about the human characters and they had better development and reasons for what they were doing.

Since it's the one I just watched I might say KotM is my favorite, just because I loved all the monster battles, and because there are apparently no locked doors in this world (Millie Bobbie Brown can just walk into Fenway Park, and also her family home that's been abandoned for months/years, without any keys or any problems). And also because of Charles Dance, who is a fantastic villain even though he looked like he was phoning it in and even though he didn't get eaten by a dragon (It was all I wanted... what was promised. lol). GvK was fun, but not quite enough to overcome the silliness of the premise. (like, come on, giant monkey versus radioactive dinosaur. who do you think wins? I did like that the movie turned it into a team up against Mechagodzilla/the ghost of Ghidorah.)

The first mentions of the Hollow Earth Theory kind of took me by surprise, so it took me awhile to get over the silliness of it especially the gravity inversion lmao. (Just last month or so I finished watching Sanctuary, which has its own Hollow Earth theory lol) But I did really love the concept of Godzilla's temple where he would go to recharge in KotM. (Too bad they blew it up 😭 Or did they?? Maybe Godzilla's temple where he hangs out can withstand nuclear blasts? 🤔) I love the idea that he would go to this place of ancient worship to rest and regain his strength, sleeping among the memories of when he was perhaps more literally a god. The whole "recharging from the center of the earth bc there's radiation" is whatever. The origins of Godzilla have changed so much to get him to fit into this new idea of him and his place within the world and what he represents, so... sure. The Earth is a hollow, Godzilla recharging battery. 👍

I really liked the development they did for Hollow Earth in GvK. I like that Kong's axe gets charged up by Godzilla's blasts. And I loved that when you see Kong's "throne," Godzilla is carved into the stones around the base of the throne. To me this suggests that rather than a rivalry, Kong and Godzilla have an ancient symbiosis: Godzilla is King Kong's guard dog... or perhaps "court wizard" in the sense of the archetypal magician, with the knowledge and power to comprehend a balance within nature that he then "advises" the "king" about. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I dunno but I think that would be really cool. I'd love to see more "monsterverse" movies with fewer human characters getting in the way (though I did really like Millie Bobbie Brown's posse wandering around and stumbling onto Mechagodzilla; that was a cool way to reveal that information to the audience). But more stories specifically about the interactions between these ancient creatures would be very interesting. In the special features for KotM they say that Mothra is the only female monster, which is kind of odd. I suppose Godzilla never really "dies" so he doesn't need to... reproduce in a standard-for-higher-Earth-life-forms way, but I'm pretty sure I remember Kong having parents in Skull Island, which I guess makes him (or his mom) an outlier if we're roping him into the monsterverse. Though the continuity for any of these stories is very loose (in KotM there are kaiju on every continent, but GvK is 3 years later and all of them... left? Everything's normal now. We're all fine here, now, thank you. How are you? And then Godzilla rolls up in Hong Kong and trashes it. There's one shot of a "kaiju bunker" or whatever, but no other preparations or any sort of contingencies for what to do if attacked by world-destroying monsters which last happened 3 years ago).

Anyway I hear there's another Godzilla movie coming out this year, and one called GodzillaXKong which I can only hope is the shipper movie we've all been waiting to see!! ;b

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

A CHICKEN RUN Workprint & Such

Quite something that the year CHICKEN RUN: DAWN OF THE NUGGET comes out, we get a look at never-before-seen behind-the-scenes stuff for Aardman Animations' debut feature film...

This channel contains a workprint for the film that has quite a few alternate versions of scenes, alternate lines, and plenty of storyboarded bits to fill in the gaps. Temp music throughout, too. You know, the usual animated movie workprint stuff.

Even more enticing is an over hour-long collection of early test footage, of how the characters move, all on various sets, some of which very rough and simple, and likely intentionally so. Almost like a pitch pilot. There's even some CGI in there, for figuring out how the more mechanical things in the movie - such as the makeshift "crate" plane - work.

CHICKEN RUN has long been a favorite of mine. I saw it in the theaters when I was turning 8, and I absolutely loved it! I watched the VHS over and over, I even had a CHICKEN RUN lunch pack! It had Rocky on it, flying through the air on his tricycle. I've enjoyed all of Aardman's films, but this debut feature really hit the ground running. Just so good, so tight, everything about it is just so cool- BUT this isn't a review of Nick Park and Peter Lord's groundbreaking stop-motion made-of-plasticine movie, I could waffle on about this one for days... Anyways, a favorite of mine, and to see all this behind the scenes stuff is great.

I absolutely love watching workprints and rough cuts of animated movies, and reels of test footage and other such components. Up until YouTube came about, the closest I feasibly had to that was the carefully-edited "Work In Progress" version of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, which was available to *me* via the 2002 DVD release. The actual workprint, as in what a specific audience saw at the New York Film Festival in mid-1991, was preserved on the original home video release's deluxe edition... Which I did not have back in the day. The DVD has a sweetened version for a more casual viewing audience. There was also the full rough cut of HEAVY METAL that was available on its DVD release, complete with an audio commentary by Carl Macek. Just so much informative stuff in what you're seeing alone...

It's been a great time for fans of this kind of stuff. This year, we also saw a partial workprint of THE LITTLE MERMAID from around mid-1989 get out online, which curiously capped off with the trailer for the movie that appeared on the VHS release of BAMBI later that year. A workprint of ALADDIN, made sometime after Jeffrey Katzenberg's complete rip-down of the project in 1991, floated around YouTube for quite some time. A full LION KING workprint, made around the time the whole middle section was being reworked in mid-1993, can be found on Archive. A good chunk of Richard Purdum's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is around, too. As for Pixar, there's some TOY STORY and A BUG'S LIFE rough cut stuff going around as well...

One big lost media drop, for me, was last year with THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE's fifth season, like several VHS tapes of dailies and rushes that was like a day's length.

What I would like to see drop next?

Any Disney animated movie would certainly suffice, particularly some holy grails, like a pre-regime change version of THE BLACK CAULDRON that has the infamous melting soldier scene in it and all those extra Fflewddur Fflam dialogue bits. Or KINGDOM OF THE SUN, the film that was thrown out in 1998 and retooled into THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE.

DreamWorks and Sony, too. A full workprint of the Chris Farley SHREK? Maybe B.O.O.: BUREAU OF OTHERWORLDLY OPERATIONS, the almost-done movie from 2014-15 that was completely scrapped? I've seen various completed scenes of it via various animators' resumes on Vimeo. Whatever was completed of BOLLYWOOD SUPERSTAR MONKEY and LARRIKINS, that too.

What I'd like to see, like on my mind right now... Two particular pre-acquisition Pixar movies... TOY STORY 2 and FINDING NEMO.

Like, a TOY STORY 2 that still had Al's Toy Barn in the suburbs and not right across the street from the penthouse ("all the way to work!"), a TOY STORY 2 that still has that weird Godzilla roleplay scene that landed Woody in the yard sale by accident, I want to see more of what that version looked like. An earlier version of FINDING NEMO with unfinished no-water scenes and wonky-looking humans is something I'd be down for, honestly. I love seeing this sort of stuff in the raw, before all the refinements. It gives everything a bit of an alien quality, honestly, that only makes it all the more fascinating.

Those, off the top of my head.

[fairy-writes]

SO this is a day late; whoops, I meant to post this on New Years' Eve

I did this last year and wanted to do it again! So here’s a list that no one asked for of the top 10 anime series I watched this year, including two honorable mentions. They are ranked from (in my opinion) best to worst!

Animes I Watched This Year: 

Arcane: League of Legends

IDK if this counts as an anime, but I love it so much that I’m including it anyway. 

Literally my favorite animated show of all time. 

It beats out Moriarty the Patriot, Demon Slayer, all of the animes. 

People who have been following me since my Arcane obsession began know of my love for Viktor.

He’s my favorite and deserves the world. 

But the show is stunning; every shot is amazing, the music is astounding, and everything about it is breathtaking!

Jujutsu Kaisen 0

Ok, I saw this in theaters, and I wanted to cry because it’s so beautiful. 

I already owned the manga and had read it, and the fact that I love the movie more than the manga is something to consider.

There was never a boring moment in the movie, all the characters were memorable (with the exception of very few), and I absolutely adore Yuta.

Like, I already loved Geto because of that flashback arc we had in the manga, but Yuta beat him, he beat Gojo, and he beat everyone in the entire anime as my favorite except for maybe Inumaki.

This was truly Yuta’s movie, and I can’t wait for season 2!

Demon Slayer Season 2

THIS SHOW BLEW MY EXPECTATIONS OUT OF THE WATER

The CGI used was absolutely amazing. THIS IS HOW CGI SHOULD BE USED PEOPLE TAKE NOTES

Uzui is actually my favorite Hashira, save for Iguro (my least favorite is Rengoku, don’t come for me) so seeing a season dedicated to him was great.

I own all the manga, and this was one of my favorite arcs, so seeing it animated was like a birthday present. 

Bungou Stray Dogs: WAN!

THIS SHOW IS SO CUTE, BUT ALSO MADE ME CRY WTF

Like episode 10? Had me pretty much bawling my eyes out

I also watched it in dub which was also a treat. I really like the BSD dub, and this was no exception.

Someone, please talk about it with me.

Like I can’t.

I need someone to cry with.

Spy x Family

Normally slice-of-life shows aren’t my thing. 

But this one is the exception! 

This show is so fun, so colorful, and so just utterly amazing that I can’t help but want to rewatch it a bunch!

I don’t have any complaints about it. It’s just at number 5 cause I love the other shows more. 

Chainsaw Man

So I’m collecting the manga right now. 

I already read it online and remember pretty much none of it. 

This is what I get for reading it during finals week lmao

But the show is so cool!

It helps refresh my memory of what happens and every moment (save for the first kiss) is animated so beautifully!

They use CGI really well, with very few moments looking awkward or just out of pace. 

This is only down at the halfway mark because it hasn’t gotten to my favorite part of the manga yet, so I can’t accurately judge how much I’ll love my favorite parts.

The Case Study of Vanitas Season 2

THIS IS SUCH A PRETTY SHOW

The only reason it’s down this far is because I didn’t actually finish season 2. 

I didn’t even see the final fight between everyone and the Beast of Gevaudan, or however you spell it

So I really can’t judge this show until I finish the entire thing, haha

Blue Exorcist

I’M ONLY ON EPISODE THREE AND HAVEN’T SEEN IT SINCE 2014 DON’T COME FOR ME

I’m watching it in English Dub, and I think this is the only role that I actually like Bryce Papenbrook in. Anything else, and he just comes across as slightly annoying, but I really like him as Rin!

But this show is such a nostalgia trip. It’s great to rewatch, and the animation holds up really well!

Also, the opening is one of my favorites. I absolutely adore it. 

Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress

This one is so bizarre, but I still really enjoy it. 

Like the premise is so cool, and the animation is great!

It just fell kind of flat. 

They just needed more episodes to really explore everything they wanted to, but overall, 7/10 would recommend it to someone looking for a short but fun watch!

High Rise Invasion

I’m not even done with episode 1, but I already really enjoy the guy with the sniper rifle. I think he’s called Sniper Mask?

Anyway, the whole bit at the beginning of that one cop or whatever trying to make the main girl take off her clothes wasn’t the best. 

It is part of what brought it down to number ten.

The other part is just that I haven’t finished it. 

I’m noticing a trend with my watching habits, lol

Honorable Mentions

Sk8 the Infinity

Literally, the only thing beating this out of my top ten list is Adam. 

I actually had this idea of writing a story of a detective from America coming to Japan and arresting him because that was hilarious to me, and he didn’t deserve the ending he got. 

He deserved much worse, and no one can change my mind. 

Millionaire Detective: Balance Unlimited

Oh. My. Gosh. This show was SO BORING

I CANNOT

I WAS DYING

The first couple of episodes were really fun and jazzy and whatever, but by the end, I was doing literally everything I could just not to watch it. 

[caatws]

I'm late to the gotg 3 convo. I didn't catch the movie while it was in theaters. I was pretty spoiled before recently watching it but still wanted to see for myself. With only the one watch thru there may be scenes I need to see again but for now I would say vol 3 has a few problems with consistency, arcs and explanations that are easy to want to overlook due to the movie ending in a decently optimistic way. That doesn't change that the problems are there. The one that stands out most is Rocket becoming Captain. I don't mind that he becomes the new leader but I do think the idea he would be better than Peter doesn't hold up. We've seen Peter be kind, selfless, grow and make hard choices. He's not perfect but no person is. I think the movie was trying to say his distraction over Gamora was a flaw that made him less worthy but that's not really fair. The way he lost Gamora would devastate anyone. You have to consider he had no idea where 2014 Gamora was and if she was safe or doing well. Any person would struggle under those conditions. We know from past movies that Rocket had anger and hurt he needed to work through for many years over what he experienced and losing his friends. He's so bitter he stole batteries just to cause trouble and that's what lead to some of what we see in vol 3. He's not perfect either. I think Peter could make him Captain without the implications he wasn't good enough at the job.

Mantis needing to move on also stood out. There was nothing in vol 2 or the holiday special hinting at her being unsatisfied doing work as a guardian and wanting to be on her own. I think this goes for everyone. There was nothing that pointed to them being held back by the family and team life they were living. When you think over how most of them weren't around for 5 years it makes it even more difficult to believe they were all over it when it comes to being a team. It's interesting Rocket and Groot got to remain together on the team when the others didn't and I think this was a little forced. Rocket was the only one who had been part of some team for years and years because he had his time with the guardians and then survived the snap to spend time with the Avengers.

The whole snap situation is another flaw in the movie for me. Rocket and Nebula spent all that time with other people and the movie acts like they have no relationships with anyone but the guardians. I saw your post about Gunn saying Rocket doesn't talk to Thor and that's ridiculous in my opinion. Why would Gamora spending 2 plus years with the ravagers make them her real family over being with her sister but those 5 years of relationships with the Avengers mean nothing for Rocket or Nebula. I noticed that Gunn only used that time as a basis for Nebula and Rocket to be close but didn't explore that logically there would be some big changes for both of them that have nothing to do with the guardians.

I am probably in the minority with this last thought but I think if you remove the events of IW and EG vol 3 would still have problems because vol 2 and 3 don't fit together either. Vol 2 has the characters realizing for the first time that they are a family and they are still figuring out what it means to be a team. Going from that to what we get in vol 3 would need more development. Some steps taken work but there are plots and parts of characters arcs that needed to have much earlier discussion and hints so that it felt more natural and not like last minute changes of heart or moments that were put in the movie just to get a particular ending without doing the work. That said IW and EG were major events that did take place and altered the course of the guardians team taking away a member of the family. That needed to be it's own well developed plot for all the characters.

i don't think you're in the minority with that opinion at all! literally one of my first thoughts after watching vol 3 the first time—which was via the imax marathon of all 3 gotg films back to back—is how disjointed it is from vol 1 and 2, in that you honestly can't rly watch all 3 together. but the problem is with how little vol 3 seems to pick up where iw/eg left off for the gotg emotionally, aside from peter grieving gamora (tho there are still major holes in that—like are we just going to ignore peter failing to keep his promise to kill gamora in iw and how that probably affected him?), vol 3 doesn't even feel like it properly follows those films either. it's like vol 3 exists in its own separate void and we're missing something to connect it to eg (neither tlat nor the holiday special rly did this either)

i agree with everything else you said here anon...vol 3 rly pulled an "i pretend i do not see" with a shit ton of stuff that happened to the characters in the years before it takes place, and it just made the viewing experience honestly rly confusing. and even some of vol 3's attempted self-contained stories/arcs still had major holes in terms of a lack of clarity for how the characters got from point a to point b, such as mantis wanting to leave (like you mentioned) and rocket becoming captain

[dorefasolsido]

38. Should've done this at the beginning of the year, but anyway...

What Happened In the Past Year???

How many relationships were you in?

None. I don't think I'm a relationship person at all.

What did you do for Valentine's day?

I don't really remember nor do I celebrate it. I think that was a day after I came back from Germany, so probably just adjusting to life back here.

Did you recieve your driver's license?

Lol no, I actually renewed it. It's been 10 years since I got it.

Did you graduate high school?

Nope. Did that in 2014.

Did you graduate college?

Not that either. Done with college in 2020.

Did you move out on your own?

I'm already more or less moved out on my own.

Did you get arrested?

Nope.

Did you get a speeding ticket?

Nope.

What was the best thing you got for Christmas?

I don't actually remember what I got. Tbh, we don't really exchange gifts on Christmas here, we do it for New Year's sometimes and sometimes not even then.

Did you fall in love?

Nah.

Did you become an aunt or an uncle?

Kind of, just not directly. Two of my cousins had babies in 2023.

Did you have a baby?

Absolutely not.

Did you get engaged?

Nope.

Did you get married?

Nope.

Did someone close to you die?

Luckily, no.

How many funerals did you go to?

None.

How many weddings?

No weddings either.

Did you turn 18?

Nope. I turned 28 ;-;

Did you turn 21?

Nope.

Did you turn 30?

Thankfully no, but it's coming.

Did you have a car accident?

Nope.

Were you old enough to vote this year?

Yes, and I did.

How many jobs did you have throughout the year?

Hmm, I switched from my old job to a better one and had 2-3 extra gigs on top. Ugh, but I seriously need a break from all the work.

Did you get a new pet?

No new ones.

Did you get cheated on?

Nope.

Did you cheat on someone?

Nooooo.

Did you start at a new school?

No.

Did you make any new friends?

Not friends, but I met quite a few new people.

Did you get a new car?

Yes, actually. Well, it's not new, but I finally got my parents' old car so now I can drive instead of always using public transport which largely sucks. I got it at the very end of the year, in December, so it's still all pretty fresh.

Did you drastically change your hairstyle?

Yes, I cut my very long hair very short. And at the beginning of the year I accidentally dyed it black so had to bleach it again to dye it purple. Quite a few changes lol

Did you go out of the country?

Yup, a few times.

Did you keep your last New Year's resolution?

I never make those.

What was the best movie you saw in theaters?

Hmm, I think I only saw Barbie and Oppenheimer, so in that case I pick Barbie. I really enjoyed it, and I really loved how it was basically this huge event we all participated in.

What was the best book you read?

I'm not sure when I read Sayaka Murata's Earthlings and Convenience Store Woman, but those two books changed my outlook on everything.

What was your greatest accomplishment?

Translating a book. I'm really glad that happened, but I guess it's a testament to my deteriorating mental health that I didn't feel nearly as proud and happy about it as I thought I would when I saw it published. Mila from 2/3 years ago would be so thrilled. And I am, just, I don't know, 2023 wasn't my year.

What was the best cd released this year?

CD? Well if you mean album, personally, Jimin's Face was my favourite, along with Agust D's D-Day.

Did you get a new tattoo?

No, but I am seriously considering it.

A new piercing?

Yup, in September.

Are you still dating the same person you dated at the start of the year?

Yes, which is no one.

The Lasts of the Past

How old were you on your last birthday?

28.

Who was the last person to tell you "I love you"?

I don't even know. I don't hear that very often.

Who was the last person you spoke to in person?

My mum.

Who was your last missed call?

Idk, some unknown number.

Who was your last phone call to?

My mum a few days ago before I came to visit.

What was the last movie you watched?

I honestly don't know.

The last song you heard?

Parabola by Tool in the car. That's the one I remember, though I might have heard others in the meantime.

The last book you read?

Battle Royal by Koushun Takami.

The last place you went?

For a walk and to a cafe.

The last time you cut your hair?

I think it was in November?

The color of the last shirt your wore?

Red.

The last person you hugged?

My mum's friend as a greeting.

The last thing you bought?

Uhh, I honestly can't remember now. But this reminds me I have to buy those absolutely delicious noodles soon.

The last time you went to the doctor?

A super long time ago. Like, years ago.

The last time you went swimming?

I believe last summer.

The last game you played?

Witcher 2, probably.

The last person's house you went to?

Hmm, I can't remember last time I visited someone's home tbh.

The last un-related guy you hung out with?

Probably my friend's boyfriend. We all hung out together.

The last un-related girl you hung out with?

My classmates from my German classes.

The last family member you hung out with?

Mum.

The last movie you saw in theaters?

I genuinely can't remember now, but I should see Dune soon.

The last time you went to Walmart?

No Walmarts here.

The last time you went to Burger King?

Also no Burger Kings... I think.

The last time you went on vacation?

In November, and I desperately need another one.

The last restaurant you went to?

Moon sushi.

The last thing you ate?

Chocolate.

The last thing you drank?

Water.

The Firsts of the New Year

Who was the first person you kissed?

No one.

Who was the first person you told "I love you" to?

Also no one.

Who was the first person you spoke to?

Idk, I was with my friends and sister, so one of them.

Who was your first phone call to/from?

I'm not sure, maybe my parents.

Where was the first place you went?

Home from the club I was celebrating in.

What was the first thing you bought?

No clue.

Who was the first person to wish you "Happy New Year!"?

My sister.

What was the first thing you ate?

Chicken from this one place near my flat next morning.

The first thing you drank?

Cola, cause I was drinking Cola whole night. Designated driver lol

What color was the first shirt you wore?

Grey.

What were the first shoes you wore?

My black boots.

What was the first electronic (not computer or cell) device you used?

I really don't know.

What was the first movie you watched?

No clue.

What was the first song you heard?

Whichever song the band we went to see was playing next.

Who was the first girl you hung out with?

My friends and my sister.

Who was the first guy?

My friend's boyfriend. 

The first relative?

My sister.

What was the first thing you did when it became the new year?

Yelled "Happy New Year!" and hugged my sister.

What the Future Year Has In Store

What are you most looking forward to in the New Year?

Concerts, mostly. Hopefully I will plan a good trip or two as well. And idk, tbh I don't look forward to all that much, 2023 left me feeling pretty meh and 2024 didn't have a promising start at all.

But I am making some necessary changes, so we'll see how that goes.

Are you getting married this year?

Lol.

Are you expecting a child?

Definitely not.

Will you be getting a new job?

I don't have such plans, but who knows what the future holds.

Will you be starting a new school?

I'm thinking of finding a language school that offers Japanese once I'm done with German.

Will you be moving to a new place?

Nah.

Will you get your driver's license this year?

No, I have it already.

Will you turn 18?

Way past that sadly.

Will you turn 21?

And that.

Will you turn 25?

And that.

Will you turn 30?

Not yet.

Will you turn 40?

Nope.

Are you going on a vacation this year?

I am planning to, yes. I already feel that I'm going to lose my mind if I don't go anywhere soon.

What movie are you most looking forward to coming out this year?

I'm not sure, maybe Dune?

What book?

None specific, I just want to finally get through more of my list.

What music album?

Hobi's Hope on the Street and whatever Jin releases!

Do you expect to find love this year?

Definitely not.

Did you make a New Year's resolution?

Not really, but there are things I want to do. I just don't want to call them New Year's resolutions because I know for a fact I wouldn't be able to stick to them then.

Have you kept it so far?

Refer to above.

Will you be going to a wedding this year?

Maybe? I have no idea yet.

Will you get a new car?

Not anytime soon, I think.

Will you buy a house this year?

Lol no.

Do you expect to be with the same person at the end of the year?

Not exactly the same, no. Even if changes are small, I don't think I'm exactly the same at the end of each year.

Are you starting the year off single?

As always.

What do you most want to happen this year?

I want my mental health to improve, that's probably number one thing.

What are you most excited about this year?

Concerts I'm going to.

[waitingformyfavoritesongs]

25 February 2023 Turday Saturday 🪐 4:03 am pdt

I remembered reading 📖 a little something in the Bible about a red belt. I don’t know 🤷🏻‍♀️ if I’m being gas ���️ lit 🔥 by the incubus Bcz I have difficulty finding it online & again in the Bible. 4:04 pmpdt I can’t remember the details. I feel like the incubus is holding back the complete memory (right heel pain 4:05 am pdt) was it something about punishment???? 4:06 am pdt I think I found it near the end of 2017. & it makes me remember that Q put a red belt on me sometime after august (4:13 am pdt 2007) 2017, Bcz I was wearing a sleeveless pale blue top 🔝 w/ orange flowers 🌺. I was also wearing cotton gloves 🧤 Bcz my eczema was probably bad. She put it on me I thought 💭 Bcz she was into fashion. 4:11 am pdt there was also a picture she wrote a comment or caption probably sometime late 2007 (4:13 am pdt diarrhea 😖😫😩😭)

8:52 am pdt 8:53 am I’m now wondering 💭 if incubus had s*x w/ Q. cont’d: she put a caption or comment something about: look 👀 like models on a summer day in a magazine hot 🥵 dog 🐶 on a stick

..... I don’t remember exactly what she wrote.... I remember the hot (lung -right , pain 8:56 am pdt) dog 🐶 on a stick the most. Autocorrect said: stop story... 8:57 am pdt—-> hot =haughty b*txh. I thought 💭 nothing about it until end of 2017/2018. 8:59 am pdt

I thought 💭 only maybe 🤔 she has autism a little bit, synthesia? Is it called like associating taste 👅 or colors w/ stuff like numbers. So I immediately dismissed the caption/comment. 9:01 am pdt

in 2011? She went to SoCal w/o me for Coachella. Didn’t invite me even though it was my bday one of this days. I was ok w/ it Bcz I was in& out w/my feelings. A week or more b4 that she messaged me if I would want to see the Harry Potter movie 🎥 w/ her when it’s in the theaters 🎭 I think I replied yes. 9:04 am pdt probably was a bad idea. Probably should have tried something that required more talking. In 2014? Incubus got back tattoo of siren holding a large skull 💀. Now I think 🤔 about the pictures at least 2 that Q had on her camera 📸 & uploaded to Facebook. My head looked 👀 abnormally large, especially I think 🤔 I still? Saw 🪚 those up 🆙 in end of 2017/2018? In summer 2007 she also introduced me to a guy 3 years? Younger than me w/ the same birthday 🎂 as me. Year of the dragon 🐉. 9:10 am pdt during fall 2007 I see a picture of Q on Facebook in a poll on attractiveness & it’s the one ☝️ she’s wearing a furry lined looking hood & her pale green eyes 👀 (which she mentioned casually as hazel but also it stood out strangely. Hazel eyes we were just wasting time it was always you 🎶🎼🎵🎤 9:14 am pdt) (she also went to a maroon 5 concert 🎵 w/o me I think 🤔 in 2007?) her eyes 👀 in the picture are photoshopped to look pixelated to mimic computer 👩🏻‍💻 screen probably. I think 🤔 that picture had an upload date of 12/22/2007? In end of year (tummy ache 😖 #3 pain 9:19 am pdt) I post a picture of incubus back tattoo on her Facebook wall & she gave it a thumb up 🆙 👍 then I wrote back “wrong answer.” Her last name makes me think 💭 of 💀. But Bcz she sings 🎤 her ex called her a siren 🚨 🧜‍♀️ . 9:21 am pdt Ariel the little mermaid 🧜‍♀️ I guess is why? He had a younger sister so he probably watched the movie? In the odyssey mermaids 🧜‍♀️? Are called sirens 🚨? & lure sailors to their death ☠️. I don’t know 🤷🏻‍♀️ if it’s all coincidence or if Q was actually up 🆙 to something that involved doing stuff to me, & killing me. 9:25 am pdt in end of 2017 it annoyed me maybe that she cock blocked me from “the cute one’s name” & my mom was possessed by the incubus to make it sound authentic that he really liked me which she doesn’t remember 9:27 am pdt. But “music is my boyfriend” is on MySpace. & the pictures online made it look like they her & incubus were flirting. I jumped to conclusions I should have never jumped to. I probably should not be making any conclusions now either. 9:30 🕤 am pdt but if my conclusions were true, maybe the chronology is a little out of order, then it’s like why you gotta take all the guys who don’t bite???? Why you gotta take all the guys???? Why couldn’t she just let me try that guy if she had incubus? 9:34 am pdt I think 🤔 that in 2017, he had Twitter activity back in 2011? I hav to double check. I think 🤔 it’s gone now but there was stuff about Coachella. It seemed to indicate maybe 🤔 he had an interest in going? & then it seemed at the time she went, last minute he indicated he was not going.... wish it was still up 🆙 so I can reconfirm. 9:37 am pdt 9:38 am I’m probably losing my hip bones 🦴 now. 😞😤🥵😤🥵back hot 🥵 slight difficulty breathing. I should not have made all those assumptions. My reasoning is probably bizarre & I should not think 💭 anything of it especially back then. Incubus + company severely punished me for it. I’m weird. I ranted about an article interview that he bragged he was trying to impress one girl w/ his music 🎶 and but seemed to take no interest or didn’t notice but he attracted her best friend instead. Those people are still a mystery to me. I don’t know 🤷🏻‍♀️ if the identity of those women were revealed. But w/ the way Q suddenly started saying in her best friend even though she had many friends on Facebook, I probably should not have believed her?9:44 am pdt

10:23 am pdt incubus has been threatening a hysterectomy since 2017.

10:24 am pdt I guess it doesn’t matter that I’ve been trying not to be whore. That I’ve been celibate most of my life. It only matters what I did to Q Bcz that was the ultimate test. & what I did w/ Scott. & the other 3 guys. Or that Q believed probably in destiny? For whatever reason... I guess she thinks I’m a b*tch, even though I tried to be nice to her & bought her jewelry that was expensive to me/for me to spend on anyone. There was a former elementary school 🏫 classmate of mine who coincidentally became her neighbor around 2007. Q told me she was weird, her whole family is weird & her boyfriend is weird. Q invited her over to swim 🏊‍♀️ at the pool 🏊‍♀️ party 🎉 at her house 🏠. Me being weird again I scare off my former friend who was also coincidentally has the same first name as the artist 👩🏽‍🎨 classmate I told Q about who likes Godzilla movies. 10:32 am pdt my former elementary school 🏫 friend seemed very sweet & a little 🙈 shy ☺️/meekish? I regret listening 👂 to Q & being (heart ♥️ Pain) weird & scary to her. Sometimes though I cannot help scowling- I barely had control back then in most situations That I did especially since I had multiple times hit my head very hard. I really think & feel the incubus is trying to make me crazy & look 👀 crazy to everyone & is destroying me from the inside out. 20:36 10:36 am Bcz he really hates me & wants me dead ☠️. 20:37 10:37 am pdt Q wanted to make a tshirt w/ the saying “it’s not in your cards” I think 🤔 but I don’t remember... I need to find my sketch ✍️ book 📚 she wanted a hand of cards 🃏 on fire 🔥? 2007 summer. 19:38 10:39 am pdt I don’t know 🤷🏻‍♀️... if you like to do physically damaging things to people’s bodies & play mind games does that make you a good person? Participants in capitalism? I’m trying to think 🤔 about the justification for this & if these are the same people who secretly tolerate & love? a system that lets kidnapping & child rape happen even if they had the means to rescue & prevent? The police 👮‍♀️ failed in rescue & looks more & more like they like to kill people w/o letting their voices be heard by the public: the woman 👩🏼 (She probably had dark hair & wearing sweats?) in the police 👮‍♂️ car 🚗 on the train 🚊 tracks. 19:45 10:45 am pdt if these police 👮‍♂️ officers 👮‍♀️ are Q’s & Scott’s friends, .... I wonder 💭😱😨😤🥵😤🥵😖😭 Bcz Scott is friends with a policeman 👮‍♂️ who graduated graduate 👨‍🎓 from my high school 🏫 & was in one of my classes. 10:47 am pdt I wonder 💭 how many friends he has in the police 👮‍♂️ department. 10:48 am pdt

The train 🚂 track woman 👩🏼 was end of September? Last year. 10:48 am pdt

[lookwhathappenedtomack]

Well, it’s time!

THE 2021 MACKOLADES

For those that don’t know, the Mackolades are my personal awards for the movies that I saw for the first time each calendar year (which makes this sound more long-running than it is, oops). Not just new releases, but anything that was new to me. The full list of eligible films can be found here if you feel like going through over 200 movies, but below are the highlights (for me) and a few of my thoughts.

Favorite Drama:


The Handmaiden (2016) dir. Park Chan-wook In The Heights (2021) dir. Jon M. Cho
 The Matrix Resurrections (2021) dir. Lana
 Wachowski
 Promising Young Woman (2021) dir. Emerald
 Fennell
 West Side Story (2021) dir. Steven Spielberg

Drama is the lineup that excites me the most this year. Every one of these movies are Moments for me, they’re all 10/10, I love each one with all my heart. But I’ll be honest, I’ve known In The Heights was winning since I first saw it in theaters in June. The December releases did give it a run for its money in the final inning, though. The Matrix series has always been really important to me, and Resurrections is such a worthy successor to the original. (I know people will say “why are you putting it in Drama?” but what other category could I put it in?? And it’s too good to exclude purely because I don’t have an Action category.) And then West Side Story… I mean come on. Simply flawless. But Heights held on in my heart.

Favorite Horror:


Candyman (2021) dir. Nia DaCosta 
Hell House, LLC (2016) dir. Stephen Cognetti
 Last Night In Soho (2021) dir. Edgar Wright
 Rent-A-Pal (2020) dir. Jon Stevenson
 Trick ‘r Treat (2007) dir. Michael Dougherty

This was a good year for me with horror, but not a great one. Last year it was a dead heat between Suspiria (2018) and The Perfection, which are both capital-f Favorites, but this year, it’s kinda like… well I really liked all of these, but they’re not on the level of last year’s frontrunners. That said, I feel good about my choice of Hell House, LLC. I’m usually wary of found-footage horror, but this one delivers. It gave me the best scares of the year, with delicious pacing and plotting, culminating in some true insanity that I cannot recommend enough.


Favorite Comedy:


The Babysitter (2017) dir. McG
 The Great Muppet Caper (1981) dir. Jim Henson
 Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical (2005) dir. Andy Fickman
 Single All The Way (2021) dir. Michael Mayer
 Waiting For Guffman (1996) dir. Christopher Guest

Okay. Let’s do comedy. This is, again, a less exciting category for me, because of the shadow of last year’s Mackolades. That one was between five movies that all could’ve won, whereas this one… I could honestly take any of these off and I wouldn’t really miss them. Don’t get me wrong, I loved all of them, but none with the same passion as Romy & Michelle or Muriel’s Wedding or Tragedy Girls. That said, it’s been a very Muppet-y year for us, so it feels right to honor that by giving the Mackolade to The Great Muppet Caper. We reference Diana Rigg’s line “it’s plot exposition, it has to go somewhere” constantly, and that alone gives it a special place in my heart.




Favorite Series:*


Blade (3/3)
 The Conjuring Universe (5/8)
 Fear Street (3/3)
Friday the 13th (8/12)
 Resident Evil (4/6)

Now we’re talking! I randomly bought the whole Resident Evil series on Blu-ray earlier this year, because I could get all six for like… $18? Something like that. And I’d seen the first two already and enjoyed them, so I figured it was a safe bet. And boy, was I right. Brendan magnanimously agreed to watch them with me, and even they ended up somewhat enjoying them. They’re dumb and loud and often incoherent, but they’re even more often fun. Stan Milla Jovovich. I can’t wait to binge these again someday.


Biggest Surprise:


The Associate (1996) dir. Donald Petrie
 Hell Fest (2018) dir. Gregory Plotkin
 Hellbent (2004) dir. Paul Etheredge
 Sorority Row (2009) dir. Stewart Hendler
 Zombeavers (2014) dir. Jordan Rubin

We set our expectations to rock bottom before watching Zombeavers, and we ended up having so much fun. There’s not much to say, it’s stupid but it fully knows and embraces it.


Biggest Letdown:


Blade: Trinity (2004) dir. David S. Goyer Blinded By The Light (2019) dir. Gurinder Chadha
 Camp (2003) dir. Todd Graff
 Fear Street Part III: 1666 (2021) dir. Leigh Janiak
 Halloween Kills (2021) dir. David Gordon Green

We were rooting for you! How could you do this to us???


Favorite Lead Actress Performance:


Cate Blanchett, Nightmare Alley (2021)
 Andra Day, The United States vs. Billie Holiday
 (2021) 
Rebecca Hall, The Night House (2021)
 Carrie-Anne Moss, The Matrix Resurrections
 (2021)
 Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman (2021) 
Anya Taylor-Joy, Last Night In Soho (2021)
 Rachel Zegler, West Side Story (2021)

This was suuuuch a difficult choice to make. Andra Day, my unofficial runner up, was so incredible, but it boiled down to two things - I can’t remember anything specific about her performance, and it wasn’t nearly as fun as Cate’s. Whereas Cate was eating everything she touched, in such a delightful and delicious way, and her final line, “I’ll live,” delivered through clenched teeth and a nearly-strangled throat, is stamped on my brain.


Favorite Supporting Actress Performance:


Ariana DeBose, West Side Story (2021)
 Grace Jones, Vamp (1986)
 Olga Merediz, In The Heights (2021)
 Sandra Oh, Under The Tuscan Sun (2003)
 Daphne Rubin-Vega, In The Heights (2021)
 Dianne Wiest, The Associate (1996)
 Vanessa Williams, Candyman (2021)

For the first time in Mackolades history…


I’ve been in love with Olga’s performance for months now. Pacienca y Fé has been a top-three favorite showtune of mine for years, and seeing her immortalize it, and herself, was incredible, to say nothing of all the other amazing work she did. But then another musical came along, and with it came a contender. Ariana DeBose danced her way into my heart and I simply couldn’t leave her out. Two show-stopping ladies, and I couldn’t choose between them. And I don’t have to! Because they’re my awards and there are no stakes anyway.

Favorite Actor Performance:


Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
 (2020)
 Christopher Guest, Waiting For Guffman (1996)
 Neil Patrick Harris, The Matrix Resurrections (2021) Robin de Jesús, Camp (2003)
 Levi Miller, Better Watch Out (2016)
 Keanu Reeves, The Matrix Resurrections (2021)
 Josh Andrés Rivera, West Side Story (2021)

If you’d told me a year ago that my favorite male performance of 2021 would be Chino, I’d have been so confused. But after Ariana, Mr. Rivera is the performance I’ve thought of the most from West Side Story, and easily the male performance I’ve pondered the most from the entire year. From the highs of dancing with Maria at the gym to the lows he sinks to, I’ve not been able to get Chino out of my head.


The Toni “She Has The Range” Collette Award for Multi-Genre Excellence:**


Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Candyman (2021)/The Matrix Resurrections (2021)

As the year went on, I got more and more nervous for this category. For a long time the biggest contender was Tom Hanks, for his work in That Thing You Do! and The Terminal, but those just weren’t the types of performances I wanted to recognize with this. And then came an 11th hour release and the balm to my worries. I was browsing the cast list for The Matrix Resurrections and noticed a familiar name, and upon seeing his Candyman credit I finally recognized the familiar face our new Morpheus is wearing, and knew I had our new Collette honoree. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II disappears into both roles, to the point of being virtually unrecognizable if you don’t know to look for him. I hope both movies get the sequel(s) they so richly deserve, so we can see more of both performances. And ugh, I’m so happy I get to give both Candyman and Resurrections a win.


Hottest Daddy:


Richard Gere, Runaway Bride (1999)
 Bob Hoskins, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)
 Craig T. Nelson, Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986)
 Jimmy Smits, In The Heights (2021)
 Fred Ward, Big Business (1988)

This was the hardest category to make a final decision for, but it’s also the one I want to talk about least. Pretty men that I want to blow. Do I really need to explain anything?







*Eligibility for Favorite Series/IP:


     (# eligible films/# in series) > 0.5


     (# in series > 2)


**Criteria for the Collette:


     Excellence in two or more movies of vastly
 different genres and tones

[nooowestayandgetcaught]

2021 FIC YEAR IN REVIEW

I saw @clotpolesonly doing this and she encouraged me to try!

Total number of completed works: 263

Total word count: 314, 601

Fandoms written in: I don’t even know how many fandoms but I can guess the more active fandoms were Marvel, Doctor Who, Yuri!!! on Ice, Harry Potter, Tenet (2020), Teen Titans, BTVS, Avatar: Legend of Korra, DC Comics, His Dark Materials, The Witcher (TV), Once Upon a Time, Supergirl, IT Movies, Wandavision, TFATWS, SK8 the Infinity, Venom (Movies), Star Wars, Hannibal (TV), Game of Thrones, Shadow and Bone, Loki (TV), Supernatural...

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d expected?: I actually think I wrote a less amount of fanfics than last year! That bums me out a little but also,,,,, ffs

What’s your own favorite story of the year?: I HAVE A FEW FAVES. The Ending Is The Beginning (Neil/The Protagonist, Tenet 2020, Explicit)... Thrills and Chills (Barry Allen/Leonard Snart/Iris West, The Flash (TV 2014), Explicit)... Sorry, I Like You (Azula/Ty Lee, A:TLA, Teen)... mostly because I love how the writing turned out. I couldn’t be happier.

Did you take any writing risks this year?: A ton of,,,, failed AO3 fests.

Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the new year?: In all seriousness, I wanna finish up my chapter stories. I’m sorry it’s taking so long.

Most popular story of the year?: In My Head With You (Venom/Eddie Brock - Venom 2018-2021 Movies, Explicit) I believe has the higher view count of 9757. I hammered it out in time for Venom 2 just dropping into theaters.

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: omg if anyone is interested please read Night-Fall (Todd Anderson/Neil Parry, Dead Poets Society, Mature) because I haven’t gotten to interact with more of the fandom and I feel like this fic got skipped over and Devil Caught Your Eye (Wanda Maximoff/Sylvie, MCU, Teen) because they’re two of my favorite characters in the MCU next to Yelena and I think I did a fantastic scenario of them meeting up!

Most fun story to write: I had way too much fun doing the “Alina pegs the Darkling” fic which is Surprise Me (The Darkling | Aleksander Morozova/Alina Starkov, Shadow and Bone (TV), Explicit) like I’m sorry,,,, I’m not,,,, but it had to be done. He NEEDED to get railed!!

Most unintentionally telling story: I don’t know what “unintentionally telling” is supposed to mean in this context,,,, so imma just recommend Blackthorn (Kim Possible/Shego, Kim Possible, No Rating) because it’s telling you it’s gay. It’s very gay. Please enjoy.

Biggest disappointment: I guess myself and the lack of time-management and commitment I would usually practice. 

Biggest surprise: HOW ABOUT GETTING 1200+ KUDOS AND 9500+ VIEWS ON MY PETER-3/PETER-2(/PETER-1) FIC FOR SPIDERMAN NWH???? HOLY SHIT?? yall were so ready to go feral and ship any level of Spideycest if it had some kind of canon basis (I mean I was too but that’s besides the point!!!) 

I’m tagging @glove23 @merlinsbed @asajjvxntress @not-so-mundane-after-all-97 @sheherlocked @rapha-reads @delphiniumblooms and any writer who sees this!

[pseud0knots]

mcu stans are really making me feel like violence is okay sometimes <3 like.... babes how is the propaganda machine still sparking joy when there aren't even any fuckin swords

mostly it just makes me sad like yeah when I was in middle/high school I had fun going to see mcu movies with my friends yknow in 2014 I saw captain america 2 the winter soldier 5 times in the theaters and I was into it for a while I suppose, so like I get having a little attachment to it. but the people that are still out here being obsessed with the current stuff just baffle me. and make me sad. its all so lifeless? what are you getting out of it? maybe cause I'm not 17 anymore but the last time I watched a mcu movie was like 3 years ago and I felt nothing lol..... Also my life knows peace rn because theres no xmen in the mcu but it is only a matter of time

[fallen-gravity]

awaken the stars, ‘cause they’re all around you

Stanford Pines never really believed in soulmates.

He can't imagine the idea that there's one person out there for him in the multiverse who would stop at nothing to love him for who he is, despite everything he is and everything he's done. He can't imagine that someone out there is meant for him, someone who will stand by his side until the end of time.

Or maybe he'd just been looking at it from the wrong angle.

Notes: 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, @stariousfalls!!!!! I can't believe we've been friends for upwards of five years now?? You've been a huge inspiration of mine from my first day in the gravity falls fandom back in late 2014, and now you're one of my closest friends. I've been spending the last week and a half working on this behind your back, because I wanted to surprise you with a gift I thought you'd love!!

7.5k words of fluff was....not my original plan, but fluff brain wanted to go feral for you, I guess.

Huge, huge shoutout to @ariasofelegance  for helping me keep my mouth shut about this, I absolutely would've internally combusted without your help & support

AO3

Ford never saw the appeal of romantic relationships.

One night when he and Stan were kids, they snuck downstairs in the middle of the night after their parents were asleep to dig through Pa’s “Secret stash” of movies he thought he was good at keeping a secret. They’d thought for sure they’d be coming across bootleg cuts of action movies that were still playing in theaters, or documentaries about how all of the politicians in power were secretly aliens. 

What they actually found was much more…sensual. They were both horrified, to say the least, but each time Ford had to turn away to prevent himself from gagging, he’d hear Stan beside him struggling not to laugh. 

For years, Ford was convinced coming across those tapes before he was old enough to fully comprehend what was happening in them is what had turned him off to relationships altogether. It certainly didn’t help that he was never able to experience romantic relationships firsthand, as every time he tried asking someone out in high school he’d just be laughed at or called a freak.

Though college was another story entirely, his feelings towards romantic relationships never seemed to change. He went out with a girl from his dungeons, dungeons, and more dungeons club for a few weeks, a guy from his advanced physics class for almost two months, and even tried going out with Fiddleford for upwards of nine months, but he never felt that deeper connection with any of them, no matter how much he wanted to feel that connection. 

It’d be forty more years before he learned the term aromantic, but when he was still in college he would brush off his parents’ questions about his relationship status by telling them he was too busy working on his thesis, which technically wasn’t all that far from the truth anyway.

Still, the faint sense of yearning never seemed to leave him be. Whenever he found gaps in his schedule, he would spend hours in his university library reading up on the science of relationships and their place in society. Though he no longer remembers most of the papers he read, one scientific study that’s always stuck with him was a dissertation written entirely on the concept of soulmates.

Everyone has a soulmate, the paper claimed. Though it may be decades until you properly meet, your path always leads to the moment that you and your soulmate are finally united. Once finally together, not a single force on earth can tear you apart. Even if you are apart physically, the stars will always align to bring you together. Weirdest of all, the paper mentioned soulmarks, which were described as “the phenomenon that a person’s very soul is marked with a piece that belongs to their soulmate, which may appear as a physical anomaly on a person’s body, such as an oddly-shaped birthmark”. 

Ford had thought for sure that somebody must’ve moved a romance novel into the sociology section of the library as a joke. The only sort of anomaly he had going for him was his polydactyly, and thinking too much about how that could connect him to a single person who was destined to love him gave him a headache. 

Nowadays, though, Ford tries not to give it much thought. He’s perfectly happy right where he is, watching the sunrise from the deck of the Stan O’ War II through the steam visibly rising from his coffee mug. 

He sighs contently. 

“Mornin’” Stan’s voice sounds beside him, gruff with sleep. When Ford turns to look at him, he’s rubbing at his eyes with one hand while he holds a steaming cup of coffee in his other. He’s already donning one of the sweaters Mabel mailed to him, a deep blue with a tropical island and a treasure chest stitched across the chest.

Ford smirks. “You’re up early” 

Stan cocks an eyebrow as he sips from his coffee. “A’course I am. I always get up early when we’re docking to see the kids”

Ford blinks, the teasing smirk on his face melting into a gentle smile. “That’s today?” 

“Haven’t you checked the calendar lately?” Stan tosses a second handmade sweater at Ford. This one’s the same shade of maroon as his journal covers, and pictures an angry cycloptopus squirting ink towards the bottom left corner of the sweater. “The kids are on spring break. They talked to their parents about letting us have ‘em all week” 

Ford is quick to pull the warm sweater over his head. “All week?” 

He can’t help sounding like a broken record, but it’s been months since the last time he saw the kids face to face. Sure, they talk over video at least once a week, but nothing beats seeing their smiling faces and having them nearly tackle him to the ground in a hug in-person. 

“Heh, you miss em too, Sixer?” 

As little as two years ago, Ford would’ve flinched at the nickname. But Bill is gone for good, and Ford knows that Bill is gone for good, and Stan made a promise to do anything in his power to help him reclaim the nickname. He brings his mug close to his face without taking a sip, allowing himself to take in the warmth in his hands and the steam in his face.

“Not as much as you, clearly” Ford smirks, and Stan crosses his arms over his chest.

“You bet I missed them more than you. I’d been taking care of them all summer before you showed up and fell in love with them in half that time”

Ford smirks as he finishes up his coffee and heads into the navigation room to set their course. “By that logic, wouldn’t that mean that I miss them more, since I had less time with them?”

“Hey!” Stan groans as he follows him into the room. “It does not. It means that you don’t know them like I know them, genius. Everyone knows that it’s all about how much time you’ve spent with a person that determines how close you are with them” 

Ford laughs as he enters the coordinates they need to get to the seaport they were meeting the young twins at. From the looks of it, it’d be three hours before they arrived. 

“Mm, and who put that study together? Was it you?” 

Stan doesn’t reply with words, just a noise that sounds halfway between disgruntled and baffled. It makes Ford laugh even harder, and he wipes at his eyes with a wrist. Out of the corner of his eyes, he sees Stan’s overdramatic pout melt away until he’s laughing too. 

The sight of it makes the smile on Ford’s face widen. It’d been decades since the two of them were able to just be like this. It’d been so long since the last time Ford heard Stan’s genuine laugh that he’d gone and forgotten what it sounded like altogether. When he was still traveling the multiverse, he searched far and wide for a shred of hope, something to keep his anxieties and nightmares from catching up to him.

What a fool he’d been to ignore his childhood memories of home. 

The trip is a quiet but familiar one. Ford can’t talk much when he’s steering because he needs to be on constant lookout, but Stan remains in the room to talk at him and keep him company anyway. The sun is well over the horizon by the time they reach the seaport, and call it instincts, intuition, or something else entirely, because Ford spots the kids sitting on a bench in the near distance the moment he and Stan step foot onto the dock. 

They’re squished closely together, watching a video on Mabel’s phone. Whether they’re aware of it or not, they’re swaying their legs back and forth underneath the bench in perfect unison. On the ground beside them are their backpacks, overstuffed with so many things that both of them are popping open. 

Most importantly, neither of them have noticed that Ford and Stan are approaching them. 

Ford exchanges an amused glance with Stan, and clears his throat to catch their attention. 

The phone nearly stumbles out of their hands in shock when they look up and meet their eyes.

“Grunkle Stan!” Mabel squeals, standing to sprint past Ford to knock Stan off of his feet. Ford chuckles at the sight, but not quickly enough to hear Dipper’s “Great Uncle Ford!”, and before he knows it he’s hitting the floor too. The young twins are laughing messes, and stumble over each other as they try to stand to their feet and help their Grunkles up. 

Mabel spits out the hair that stuck to her mouth, and pulls a hair tie seemingly out of thin air to tie her hair up into a ponytail. It’s only now that Ford realizes that she and Dipper are also both wearing sweaters, and if Ford had to guess, it looks like Mabel made both of these sweaters as well. Mabel’s is a galaxy print with actual twinkling stars, and Ford makes a mental note to ask her later what she did to make it glow like that. Dipper’s is also space themed, though his pictures the big dipper splotched across a black night sky with a bright orange meteor shooting through the center.

“You have to tell us about everything you’ve encountered”, Dipper beams, once Stan finishes brushing himself off. 

Stan cocks an eyebrow. “Two years’ worth is a lot to get through, kiddo”

“Exactly!” Mabel beams, turning to pick up her backpack and put it on. “Which is exactly why you can tell us on the way to the hotel!” 

“Hotel?” Ford and Stan ask in unison.

“Surprise?” Dipper giggles. “Our parents rented us a hotel room for the week cause they figured you’d appreciate some time away from the boat” 

“It’ll be like our summer in Gravity Falls all over again!” Mabel grins. “But in reverse! You’re in our territory now” 

Stan laughs. “You’re the boss, kiddo”

“You bet I am!” She beams, and hands Dipper his backpack. “Now c’mon! If you tell us all of the horrors you’ve encountered out at sea, we’ll tell you about all the horrors we’ve encountered in high school!”

“I...think I remember those horrors pretty well already, thank you” Ford smiles sheepishly, adjusting his glasses. “But we’d be more than glad to tell you some of our own stories”

It’s a short walk to the bus stop, but Ford honestly wouldn’t mind if they walked all the way to the hotel on foot if it meant an extra half an hour with the kids. They’re just as eccentric as he remembers, attached at the hip but still wildly different people all on their own. Dipper’s still hanging on to every word he’s saying, and Mabel’s still skipping along like she’s in her own world. 

Once they reach the hotel and check in, Dipper collapses face first onto one of the beds the moment he steps into the room, groaning. 

Stan smiles. “Something bothering you, kiddo?” 

He turns on his side to look Stan in the eye, his face smushing into the pillow. “Mabel didn’t let me get any sleep last night. She insisted on getting to the seaport three whole hours early because she insisted that she had this gut feeling that you guys would have the same idea and we’d magically show up at the same time” 

Mabel pouts, and sits on the bed besides him. “Well it’s not my fault you stayed up late reading that dumb book of yours. Plus, would you rather have kept them waiting for three hours?” 

Dipper removes his hat and places it on the table beside him, exposing just enough of his forehead through his hair to reveal his birthmark. It has the same faint glow to it as Mabel’s sweater, and Ford wonders how the two could possibly reflect off of each other. 

“Their boat has beds and a fully stocked kitchen, Mabel. They can afford to wait. All we had were those strawberry pop tarts that you ate five minutes after we got there”

Ford can’t help but smile softly at their banter. He missed them so, so, much more than he could’ve ever imagined. He’s got half a mind to stow them away on the boat at the end of the week and homeschool them both himself so he never has to be apart from them again.

Apart. The word still feels like a knife twisted into his chest. There’s nothing he regrets more than trying to separate the young twins from each other two summers ago because he’d been so caught up in projecting his own fears onto the pair. He’d tried apologizing to Mabel over the whole ordeal, but she stopped him before he could even start to tell him he had nothing to worry about.

He only wishes he could learn to forgive himself as easily as she did.

“...Can we, Grunkle Ford?”

He blushes. Had he just said all of that out loud?

“Can we...what?” 

“Take the boat out! Not right now, since Dips is being a grumpy-grump and insists on wasting precious time with a nap, but we’ve been talking about it all week”

From across the room, Stan snorts. “Let me get this straight,” he takes his jacket off and hangs it up in the closet. At this point Ford swears his eyes must be playing tricks on him, because Stan’s old burn scar is glowing just as Mabel’s sweater and Dipper’s birthmark are. “All the time you spent groaning and complaining about fishing every time I took you in Gravity Falls, and now you’re asking to go fishing?” 

“I was thinking more along the lines of a joy ride,” Dipper yawns from under the covers. “But if agreeing to go fishing is what gets you to say yes, then sure” 

He’s smirking under the covers, Ford can tell, because he inherited that expression from Stan.

Stan’s about to bite back, but Dipper must not have been exaggerating about how long he and Mabel were waiting for them at the dock, because he’s already out cold. Stan smiles at him, gently ruffling up his hair before he takes a seat on the adjacent bed, kicking his shoes off so he can kick his feet up on the bed and relax. Ford sits beside Stan, and Stan slings his arms behind him to support his head in his hands as he glances over at Ford. 

“They make you wanna retire the whole ‘treasure hunting’ thing and move into the city to be closer to ‘em too?”

Ford chuckles. “I’ve already considered hiding them away on the boat twice today already.” He taps at his chin. “Though I suppose that moving in with them would go over better with their parents then taking them away to live on a boat” 

“Hmm…” Stan taps at his chin as well. “Being stuck in the same stuffy high school for four years, or living on a boat traveling all over the world whenever they feel like it? I dunno about you, Sixer, but I have a pretty good idea on what the kids would prefer”

“Grunkle Stan? Grunkle Ford?” Mabel’s voice suddenly chimes in, and Ford blushes, wondering how much of that she just heard. 

“What’s on your mind, pumpkin?” Stan asks. 

“Well, uh, Dipper was right about us only eating once really early this morning, and I was wondering if you’d be willing to, uh” She twirls her hair between her fingers. “Cook something for us? For old time’s sake?”

Okay, it’s settled, Ford’s never letting these kids go again. 

“Sure, kiddo. Soon as your brother’s up we’ll head right back up, okay?” 

“Okay!” she beams, and crawls back into her side of the bed, staring at Dipper like she can will him into waking up on command. 

Though Ford would’ve been okay if they’d had to wait hours for him, it’s really only about twenty minutes before Dipper opens his eyes again and nearly shrieks in surprise at Mabel’s face hovering three inches from his own. He smacks his hand into her face to shove her away, and she giggles as she rolls off the bed and onto the floor. 

Beside Ford, Stan smirks. “Better get up before we leave without you and all our food goes to Mabel, kiddo. You’ve got plenty of time to crash in Ford’s bed on the ship, since he never seems to use it anyway”

Dipper yawns, rubbing at his eyes as he kicks the covers off. “I hadn’t even realized I’d fallen asleep”

“I didn’t realize you were even capable of sleep, bro-bro” Mabel punches him in the shoulder as she walks past him to put her shoes on. He glares at her wordlessly, and Ford has to cover up his snicker with a fake cough. 

This time, the bus ride and the walk back to the ship are a quiet one. Ford never really lets himself let his guard down and relax for an extended period of the time, so he cherishes any moment he can get where he finally feels like he doesn’t constantly feel the need to check over his shoulder for signs of danger. Most of the time, if you asked him about his heightened senses, he’d call them a curse. But on days like these, when he can hear the birds chirping and the waves smacking gently against the boats in the seaport, he’d almost go as far as calling it a blessing. 

The kids take a seat at the dining table as soon as they enter the kitchen, and Stan grins at them from over his shoulder as he clicks the stove on. “Whaddya say, Stancakes?” 

Dipper and Mabel grimace in unison. “Ewwww, Grunkle Stan, you promised lunch!” Mabel scrunches her nose, and Stan’s grin only widens. 

“Ah, ah, you said like old times. That means I get to decide what to make, and you have to eat it because I’m your legal guardian”.

“Well I wasn’t even awake when you were talking about old times, so I’d say that cancels out” Dipper crosses his arms over his chest, and Ford can’t help but smile warmly at the three of them as he reaches into the cupboard for his favorite coffee mug. The younger twins clearly had just gotten two copies of the same mug, but crossed both of them out so they’d say #1 GRUNKLES on them instead of #1 UNCLE. Stan has the other one, of course, but he keeps it on his bedside to hold small treasures and keepsakes because it’s, in his own words, “Too special to waste on something as ordinary as coffee”.

Ford sits himself in the seat between the younger twins at their okay, and after some back and forth banter between the four of them, they end up settling for burgers. Truth be told, this is the first time Ford’s eaten a meal in a group larger than two since the last time he and Stan visited the young twins in the winter, and he can’t help but smile into his food at the thought. The closest he’d come even remotely close to eating with others in his research years was his very, very brief time at the truck stop diner, and the experience had soured his view of...well, other people for near decades.

Now, though, he’d burn his own research dozens of times over before he’d even consider eating alone.

Stan’s chair scraping across the floor as he stands pops Ford out of his bubble of serenity. 

“Now that that’s taken care of,” Stan cracks his knuckles, smiling mischievously at Dipper and Mabel. “I think I remember a couple of kiddos finally promising their Grunkle Stan he could take them fishing”

“Promise is a strong word-” Dipper starts as he stands to place his plate in the sink, but Stan’s already placing a fishing hat on his head before he can finish his sentence. 

“Course you did! You wanna take our baby for a joyride, you gotta earn it first”

Dipper turns to Ford, like he’s expecting him to back him up.

Ford chuckles. “I don’t know, Dipper. That sounds perfectly reasonable to me”.

Dipper scoffs, sitting back down at the table. Mabel laughs. 

“Aww, C’mon, Dipper! Aren’t you all about the supernatural? For all we know, Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford could be harboring magical glowing bait that only attracts, like, magical talking fish men, or something!” 

Dipper raises an eyebrow. “Didn’t you just receive a bottle message from Mermando last week?”

“Exactly!” Mabel flashes a grin. “That must mean that he’s in the area!”

Stan laughs. “You tellin’ me you only agreed to go fishing so you could kiss and make-up with your long-distance fish boyfriend?”

“Grunkle Stan, what kind of person do you take me for?” she gasps. “He’s married! You know I would never want to break apart such a loving couple!”

Ford’s smile only warms. Where else could he partake in such a conversation that doesn’t turn heads and result in judgmental whispers? Where else can he just be like this, surrounded by loved ones who are just as weird, just as out of the ordinary as himself? In his younger years he thought for sure his place would be among the monsters and cryptids everyone in his childhood made him out to be, but even in the weirdness capital of the country he felt more alone than ever. 

“...Don’t think you’re immune, Sixer” Stan’s voice cuts into his thoughts, and before Ford can ask what he means Stan is smacking a homemade fishing cap on his head. “It may ruin your badass image when we’re monster hunting, or whatever, but we’re fishing with the kids.” Stan gestures to them with his thumb. They’re already outside, leaning over the railing to look out at the water in a perfect mirror of each other.  “If they have to embarrass themselves by humoring me for a few hours, so do you” 

Ford waits for Stan to join the kids outside before he takes his hat off to admire the stitch work. It’s not perfect, and nowhere near the fancy embroidery he and Stan have found in various markets across their world travels. But it’s personalized, and Ford knows it comes from a place in Stan’s mind that’s been stuck behind lock and key since he was seventeen.

Ford runs his hands along each individual letter, which reads POINDEXTER, before placing it back on his head to join the others outside. 

Stan has, miraculously, already pulled out his joke book. Stan’s laughing too hard at his own joke for Ford to really make out what the punchline is, but the younger twins’ collective groans is all he needs to know about it. When Mabel notices him stepping out of the doorway, though, her expression shifts entirely. 

“So…” she draws out, stepping towards him. “Is there a trick for attracting merpeople to your boat? I mean, asides from being super cute, obviously” 

Ford chuckles, taking a glance behind her to make sure that Stan is out of earshot. “Stan’ll kill me if I tell you this, but they’re really attracted towards shiny things. If you tied one of his gold necklaces around a fishing pole and dangled it into the water, the boat’ll be surrounded in minutes” 

Mabel offers up her pinkie finger. “I won’t tell him if you won’t”

Ford interlocks his pinkie with hers, smiling. “I think he’ll notice when a whole family of merpeople show up”

“Hmmm…” Mabel taps at her chin with her free hand, visibly mouthing a plan to herself. “Oh! I know! Come with me,” she beams, and before Ford can even open his mouth to respond she’s already dragging him back into the kitchen. She kneels down on the floor and opens the cupboard below the sink. “Got any empty bottles I can use?”

Ford blinks. “Empty....bottles”

“Yeah!” Mabel pulls a neatly folded piece of paper out of her skirt. “If I can send out my response letter the same time we throw Stan’s necklace over, he’ll never be able to tell the difference!”

“Wait, wait” Ford shakes his head. “You really are dating a merperson?”

“Listening skills, Grunkle Ford” she taps at her forehead, folding the letter back into her pocket as she continues to dig through the cupboards. “Used to date. We met at the Gravity Falls Public Pool, where he was stuck, but then I drove him to the lake in a golf cart I stole from the pool grounds because he really missed his family, and then he was my first kiss, and then we were in a long-distance relationship for like, two months, and I kept every single bottle he sent me, but then we had to break up because he was arranged to marry to prevent a big undersea war.” She picks up a bottle, shakes it, and puts it back when it’s too full for her liking. “I know it sounds, like, super complicated, but it’s all okay, because we’re still pen pals!” 

Ford laughs, shaking his head. “No, Mabel, I had to ask because I, uh…” his cheeks warm, and he clears his throat. “Before I...came to term with my orientation, I...dated a merperson too” 

The bottles in the cupboard rattle as Mabel’s head smacks against the doorframe. She’s rubbing the spot where her head hit, but there are stars in her eyes. “Really?” 

Ford’s cheeks burn even hotter. “Yes,” he whispers, and takes a knee so he can get at her eye level. “Technically he was a siren, but yes, we dated for about a month. He promised me he wouldn’t entice anyone else while we were together, but I guess there wasn’t anything...there.” He turns to help her shuffle through the cupboard, and finds a near-empty bottle of olive oil that’s definitely been sitting down there for at least a year. He hands it off to Mabel, smiling. “I’m glad that things worked out with you, though” 

To his surprise, Mabel drops the bottle and throws her arms around him in a hug. “I can’t wait to introduce you! He’s gonna love you”

Ford huffs a quiet laugh, and pulls her close as he winds his arms around her as well. The hug only lasts for a few brief moments, but it feels to Ford in those moments that time itself had stopped. Mabel stands, taking the bottle in one hand and offering to help Ford up in her other. 

Mabel places the bottle in the sink and turns the water on to rinse it out before she turns back towards Ford, stretching her arms up in the air as if she were warming up for an exercise. “Alright, here’s the plan. You tell me where Grunkle Stan keeps all of his jewelry, and I’ll sneak in and take his necklace while you distract him. Got it?”

Ford smiles. “Got it”.

As Mabel splits away for Stan’s bedroom, Ford heads back out to the deck. Dipper’s leaning over the side of the boat pointing at something jumping out of the water, rambling excitedly to Stan beside him. He’s holding his fishing hat in his hand to stop it from blowing into the water, and his hair is bouncing in the breeze. It’s just enough for the edge of his birthmark to poke through his bangs, and even in broad daylight it seems to be emitting a faint glow.

“I found it!” Mabel cheers, bounding up from behind him. She’s wearing the chain around her neck, and for some reason the gold seems much dimmer in contrast to her sweater. She takes it off and hands it to him. “You wanna do the honors while I go and throw this overboard?”

Ford smiles, ruffling her hair. “Sure thing.” He walks over to where Stan and Dipper are chatting and picks up one of the extra fishing rods. Making sure that Stan’s too engrossed with his conversation to notice, Ford starts wrapping the chain along the line, and at the signal from Mabel, he tosses his line as far from the boat as he can manage.

Five minutes pass before Mabel squeals so loud that Ford’s afraid his glasses might shatter. He reaches for the gun he knows he’s got stashed in his pants pocket, but when he turns to run to her aid she’s leaning halfway over the boat wrapping her arms around a young merman in a tight hug.

“...so good to see you again!” She’s beaming. “I didn’t think you’d be able to find us so quickly!”

“Yes, well, you were easy to track down after we figured out the coordinates to the seaport” the young man says in a thick Spanish accent. “It is good to see you too! My family was so excited to meet you”

“Your family?” she gasps. “Did they all come with you?” 

“Of course!” he grins. “We merpeople are very family oriented. Wherever we go, we go together” 

Ford winces at the uncanny familiarity of the statement. Mabel must recognize the statement too, because she responds with “Oh, that reminds me! There’s someone I want you guys to meet! Wait right here,” she says, and comes bouncing back over to Ford. Taking his hand in her own, she starts to drag him back to where she’d just been leaning. “C’mon! He’s the one I was just talking about!”

Three more merpeople emerge from the water when she gently knocks on the side of the boat again. “Grunkle Ford, this is Mermando!” she grins, gesturing to the young merman she’d just been conversing with. “He’s the one I helped reunite with his family after they were separated by tragic circumstances.” She wraps her arms around Ford in a side-hug. “Mermando, this is my Grunkle Ford! He was also separated from his family by tragic circumstances, but I helped with that too!” 

Mermando laughs. “Even when you think it’s the end, family always finds its way, doesn’t it?”

Ford laughs, shaking his hand. “It always seems that way to me”

“Awwww!” Mabel squeals. “I knew you’d get along!” She grins, and turns her attention back towards Mermando. “Before I forget, though, did you see where Grunkle Ford threw that gold necklace? If I don’t get it back my Grunkle Stan’s gonna kill me”

Mermando laughs again. “I was wondering if that belonged to any of you!” He takes off his shell necklace to reveal that he’d put Stan’s necklace on around his neck. He takes that off, too, and offers it to Ford. “I much prefer this one, anyway” he clicks his shell necklace open, revealing it to be a locket with a picture of his family inside.

Ford takes the gold necklace back, and he means to thank him, but a bell ringing from elsewhere in the port interrupts him before he can open his mouth. Mermando turns to Mabel, taking her hands in his own. “We must go. I’m so sorry we have to leave so soon, but we merpeople recognize the sounds of fishing boats very easily. We’ll try to come back later this week” He opens his arms for her once more, and Mabel wraps his arms around him in a quick hug before she watches him and his family swim away. 

“I am so glad that all you were doing was hugging,” Dipper shudders as he and Stan approach Ford and Mabel. “I’m not sure my stomach could handle witnessing you two kissing a second time” 

“Awww,” Mabel punches him playfully in the shoulder. “You’re just jealous that I had a boyfriend before you did!” 

Dipper cringes. “If you having a boyfriend before I do means I didn’t have to be the one dating a fish, then I’m glad you were the one who got stuck with him first” He punches her back, and gestures at Stan over his shoulder with his thumb. “But anyways, I came over here because Grunkle Stan says he wants to get out on the open water before everyone else gets the idea, or something”.

Ford pockets Stan’s necklace and makes a mental note to put it away sometime later tonight when Stan is too distracted to notice. “Tell Stan I’m going to untie the rope from the edge of the dock, and when he sees me back on board we’re all set to go.”

Nodding, Dipper bounds off towards the navigation room where Stan must be waiting, and Ford steps off of the boat to take care of everything else. On the way to the bow, he traces a hand along the white painted STAN O’ WAR II, and a feeling of warmth sprouts in his chest. Once back on board, he waves to Stan as he passes besides the navigation room once more, and takes a seat on one of the beach chairs they liked to keep aboard. 

Most days, Ford prefers to be the one at the wheel. But every once in a while he just wants to be. All he wants to do is lean back in one of their beach chairs and let the sun warm his face. It’s a good kind of warm, the same way spending time with the kids and heavy rain hitting his bedroom window and planning new escapades with Stan feel warm. After so, so long of only knowing unbearable burns, it feels indescribable to have a constant back in his life that heals, rather than hurts. 

“Mind if we join you?” Dipper asks, and Ford glances over to see both of the young twins dragging a chair behind them.

Speaking of healing constants.

“Sure,” Ford says, and can’t help the warmth spilling through his tone. They pull their chairs up on either side of him, and curl up to enjoy the warm breeze. Dipper places his hat on his lap to let the wind blow through his hair, and Mabel stretches her arms out behind her head to act as her own pillow. Ford chuckles silently at the pair, and closes his eyes to let himself relax.

All is quiet when Stan finally finds them a spot out on the open water without a single other boat in sight. The water is nearly still, save for the occasional small wave that gently sways the boat. The sun is at its afternoon high, turning the water beautiful shades of teal and aqua. Fishing is tedious, but it’s careful work, and gives Ford something to put all of his focus into. Two whole hours pass before any of them catch a thing, and Stan laughs himself to tears when it’s Dipper who pulls up a single sardine. 

Typically Ford prefers much more immersive activities, but right now there’s nowhere else he’d rather be. The sun is starting to set before they realize they aren’t going to have much luck catching anything, and instead decide to take the boat for another ride around the harbor to look for a better place to eventually watch the stars. 

“...Great Uncle Ford?” Dipper approaches him shyly once they’ve anchored the boat.

“Yes?”

He tugs shyly at the edge of his sweater. “I…” he starts. “I know you’ve told me that the multiverse was dangerous, and all, but...was there ever anything you enjoyed about it?” He pauses. “What were the sunsets like?”

Ford chuckles, patting at the seat beside him, and Dipper’s eyes light up as he sits down.

“You’re right,” Ford starts, folding his hands together. “I wouldn’t wish what I went through on even my worst enemies, Dipper. It was practically impossible to get any decent amount of sleep and even harder to find food digestible by human kind. I lost some of my best years to the multiverse when I could’ve gone on to become the most renowned scientist in the world.” Ford turns his gaze away from the sun setting on the horizon to meet Dipper’s eyes, but he’s frowning, eyes cast downwards towards the deck of the ship.

“But,” Ford adds before the poor kid can get too lost in his own head, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “It definitely had its perks.” He smiles. “The sun in Dimension 18.2 would emit a sound that mimicked a lullaby every night as it set. Dimension 47’23 had three moons that would shift phases before your very eyes. I haven’t told Mabel because I’m afraid she’ll try activating a portal of her own and run away, but in Dimension 25-12, everyone and everything looks like a watercolor painting. There’s danger in the multiverse, but there’s beauty in equal measure”

“Do you ever miss it?” Dipper fiddles with his hands, like he’s trying real hard not to say the wrong thing. “I mean, I know you don’t miss being lost, or having no idea if you’re ever going to see home again, but...is there any dimension...where you could’ve seen yourself staying, if you thought you couldn’t make it back?” 

Ford shifts in his chair so he doesn’t have to twist his neck so much to look directly at his nephew. “Occasionally,” he muses. “I met the most friendly faces in Dimension 52, so my mind does tend to wander there from time to time” he smiles. “But rest assured, there is something in this dimension that makes it my favorite”

“Oh yeah?” Dipper’s eyes light up. “Over every other dimension you’ve passed through? What is it?”

Ford gently nudges Dipper’s shoulder. “You and your sister”

Dipper’s cheeks turn bright red, and he looks as though he’s struggling not to bury his face into the collar of his sweater and disappear. “Really?” his voice squeaks.

Ford nods. “Everything I had in those other dimensions were fleeting, Dipper. At a moment’s notice everything I grew to love could disappear in the blink of an eye. The very thing happened to me in Dimension 52. When I fell asleep, I woke up in a new dimension I didn’t recognize. Things may have been more advanced, and there may have been dimensions crafted to give you your greatest desires, but in the end nothing ever lasted.” 

Now it’s Ford’s turn to divert Dipper’s eyes, gaze casting towards the floor. “Stan was cut from my life completely in the dimension that claimed to be a perfect world. I had nobody. Even in dimensions that actively worked towards my happiness, I was all alone” Ford shakes his head, and turns his gaze once more out on the horizon. The sun is still touching the horizon, but it’s dipped just low enough that some of the stars are beginning to show in the sky. 

“But...here, at home, everything is consistent. I don’t have to worry about waking up in the morning to find that everyone I love is gone. I can keep everyone in arm’s lengths, even when Stan and I can only communicate with you and your sister over a video call. I’m…” Ford gently squeezes his hands to reassure himself that this is real and now. “...happy. Happier than I’ve been in decades” 

Beside him, Dipper yawns, and when Ford spares a glance over at him he’s smiling at him sleepily.  “We’re really happy you’re here too, Grunkle Ford” he murmurs, and his eyes slip closed. Ford’s cheeks flush pink, and he has to choke back a laugh because that’s one of the first times Dipper’s felt comfortable enough to call him Grunkle. 

Ford stands, so as not to wake Dipper from his nap. A small glance to his right and he catches a glimpse of Stan and Mabel leaning against the side of the boat watching the sunset just outside of earshot of his current conversation with Dipper.

“You finally bore him to sleep with all your nerdy science talk?” Stan asks as he approaches, sparing a glance behind him at Dipper. “Was starting to think that the poor kid would never get a nap in” 

“Yes, well,” Ford smirks. “I’m sure it helped plenty that you bored him to death by taking him fishing first”

Stan gasps in mock offense, and slugs him in the shoulder. “Hey, at least I’m engaging them in something they can actually interact with, unlike your kooky alien stories, or whatever”

Ford can’t help the laugh that escapes him. “Bold statement coming from the man who dedicated thirty years of his life rescuing me from said kooky aliens” he says, returning with a punch of his own. Stan opens his mouth to argue back, realizes he has nothing to say, and closes his mouth. The sight of it makes Ford laugh even harder, keeling over and slapping a hand on Stan’s shoulder to support himself. It must be contagious, because it’s not long before Stan is laughing too.

Ford removes his glasses to wipe the tears from his eyes, and cleans off the lenses with the edge of his sweater. Once his eyes adjust after he puts them back on, his throat nearly catches in his throat when he glances back out towards the water. He’s just able to catch a shooting star before it disappears over the horizon, and the boat’s just far out enough on the water that there isn’t an ounce of light pollution obscuring the rest of the stars in the sky.  He takes a few steps back so he can look up and admire more of them at once, and if he looks close enough he can see them twinkling. 

Before he can ask the others if they’re seeing the same thing, a bright flash of light coming from somewhere on the boat cuts into his thoughts. He turns, to make sure that none of the lights in any of the rooms are on, but no, they’d turned those off when they’d started fishing. Scratching at his head, he turns to Stan and Mabel to ask if they have any idea where the light is coming from, but that question catches in its throat as quickly as it formulated.

They’re the ones emitting light.

Or, rather, Mabel’s sweater and Stan’s shoulder, approximately where his burn scar should be. Those are emitting light. 

...Surely it must just be the reflection of the starlight on the water, right? That same bright light must have woken Dipper from his nap, yes? 

He turns heel to ask Dipper the same question, but freezes in his tracks before he can take a single step forward. Dipper’s forehead is glowing too, the same way it has since he and Stan docked the boat this morning. 

It...It can’t be, can it?

Gripping his forehead, Ford takes a number of steps backwards until his back hits the wall. Maybe...maybe he just needs to call it a night. He’s been awake since sunrise, maybe his vision is just blurring because he needs to lie down? 

He waves his hands in front of his face, but no, those don’t look any different. He squints, to make sure his hands aren’t shaking, but no, they’re perfectly still.

He squints at Stan and Mabel, just to try and see if his eyes are watering, and-

He gasps. 

Mabel’s sweater, Dipper’s forehead, Stan’s shoulder; they’re not glowing; they’re twinkling like the stars. It was hard to tell in broad daylight, but now that they’re surrounded by a thousand shining stars, the resemblance is unmistakable. 

But...that’s not possible. If he can see them twinkling, but none of them have said anything about it, that could only be if those were…

...soulmarks. 

Ford suddenly feels like he’s going to pass out. 

He slides to the floor.

Is...Is that even possible? Ford thought for sure that study he read years ago was nothing but a joke. Someone...who does everything in their power to bring you two together, no matter the cost? Someone who, even though you may not meet for decades, will feel as though you’ve known each other their entire lives? Someone who will do anything for you, no matter the personal expense?

Someone...someone like Stan, who spent a painstaking thirty years teaching himself quantum physics to rescue someone that anyone else would assume dead? The man who sacrificed his very mind, his very life, so he could be spared physical torture?

Or...someone like Mabel, the first friendly face he saw after emerging from the portal? The one who forgave him so easily after he tried to separate her from her brother? The one who insists on calling him a good person, despite all of those he knows he hurt? 

Or...Dipper? His kindred spirit in all things supernatural? The one who, alongside his sister, sacrificed himself as bait for the most dangerous being in the entire multiverse? Who saw memories of him at his very worst, and apologized to him for snooping?

After everything he’s been through...could things really work out that well in his favor? To not have one soulmate but three, and the guarantee that they’ll never leave, because they’ve already expressed how they love him so? 

There’s a tear streaming down his cheek at the thought, but he’s too distracted by a fourth light suddenly emitting from...himself to really notice.

He spares a cautious glance downward, and notices a pulsing light emerging from his chest in perfect time with his heartbeat. If he looks closely, he notices that the light travels down his arms and ties itself into a translucent bow around his fingers. If he looks closer still, the light looks as though it’s slinking faintly across the deck of the boat and reaching towards the gentle twinkling of Stan and Mabel’s marks.

Ford places a hand to his forehead, throws his head back, and laughs his throat dry, paying no mind to the tears pouring down his face.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

MUTANT MAYHEM Stuff

I finally saw this big deal of an animated movie... As always, review is on Letterboxd.

Yes, I've heard that they got a sequel lined up already. Though with the writers and actors strike going on, I don't expect work to begin on it any time soon. This means, to me, that it'll be here in 2026 at the earliest, should these dingus CEOs keep it up in being dinguses. But all I know is, I'm ready for more!

It seems like Paramount Animation, after so many years of false starts, might have something going. Yes, it may be with a recognizable superhero-action comic book-based IP that's been adapted into movies **multiple** times... And I mean MULTIPLE... You have the early 1990s live-action movies, you have the 2007 animated movie (remember that?), you have the two Michael Bay-produced movies where the turtles look like tanks, and now this movie. In addition to what seems like a gazillion TV show adaptations going all the way back to the classic late '80s Saturday morning series.

So far, the $70m-costing movie has made about $100m worldwide. It admittedly hasn't had the greatest start. It even opened below MEG 2, which goes to show where the moviegoing public's priorities are at the moment, post-Barbenheimer. But I see a leggy run for this, similar to that of the first SPIDER-VERSE, which only opened with a fairly meager $35m. I guess most of the public made the 2014 TMNT movie open so big because live-action just a lot of audiences them a way in to such an outlandish concept. I remember some "Why is there a cartoon Spider-Man now?" reactions to SPIDER-VERSE Uno when that was coming out in 2018, especially after three big live-action iterations that came out back-to-back. It makes me curious to see how TRANSFORMERS: ONE opens next summer, if it does come out next summer that is.

Paramount Animation, if that's even a thing anymore (for that logo or name does not show up in the opening logo rollout), has a weird future ahead that seems very IP-reliant. They recently demoted UNDER THE BOARDWALK to a Paramount+ release, and it seems like book adaptation THE TIGER'S APPRENTICE is still on for a January release despite no trailers or images or any kind of promo being out there at the moment. Or for a while even, before the strike. Following that are things that have been done as big movies before: Transformers, The Smurfs, PAW Patrol, etc. We have plenty of 2D AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER movies on the horizon, too, which is great! But at the same time, coupled with Paramount CEO Tim Robbins' recent comments on making original animation for theaters, this studio's slate is just... Franchises. Now, if these future entries do what MUTANT MAYHEM did, that's cool and all... But at the same time, new stories are always welcome, because when some franchises run out of juice... You'll need something new to start another one? I don't get Hollywood.

But yeah, this is looking to be Paramount Animation's first theatrical score in a while, after a slew of movies like SHERLOCK GNOMES and WONDER PARK and PAWS OF FURY: THE LEGEND OF HANK.

The other day, I watched sections of RANGO... One of my all-time favorites! Gore Verbinski's film through and through, weird as fuck throughout, it was released by Paramount all the way back in 2011, and despite not making back its budget theatrically, Paramount leadership were so impressed with the movie - and also upset that DreamWorks wasn't going to renew their distribution deal with them - that they founded Paramount Animation in 2012. Like, RANGO's the reason that all took off! And yet, I don't see Paramount greenlighting something like that today. Or most studios, for that matter. How did it even get greenlit in the mid-2000s is my question?? I feel like we're lucky to even have it. And that the thing managed to make over $100m domestically alone.

Anyways, I see MUTANT MAYHEM doing quite well for itself. They already have sequels and TV show lined up, so we shall what that entails. In the mean time, it's cool that we even got such a dynamic and neat new take on this property, in animated movie form. Another win for mainstream feature animation. And for interesting big budget studio cinema in general, really. Much like SPIDER-VERSE, BARBIE, GUARDIANS VOL. 3, and a few others, it shows that filmmaker-driven unique takes on classic properties are much more desirable than workmanlike network TV-lookin' franchise movies.