#we don't give the movie enough credit for its concept

[ignocubo]

and if i said i never disliked sausage party? what then?

[scarabjewels]

Why I Think Coraline Was NECESSARY To Be Published and Made into a Movie

I watched Coraline so many times, it's my top comfort film, beating Tim Burton Classics, White Chicks, and Jennifer's Body. I watched the trivia videos, theories, and analysis videos of this film, but two video dissections of it did caught my eye: CinemaTherapy's and Karsten Runquist.

I knew about predatory manipulation tactics, but I did not realize how ingrained that concept was in Coraline. I see now that this film SHOULD BE watched by the intended audience: children.

Remember how Coraline would've never been published if it weren't for Neil Gaiman's literary agent's daughter lying to her mom about the book not being scary?

Honestly, she and her mom deserve a lot of credit for making Coraline the cult following for the late millennials and early gen-z's.

Now, here's why I really thought Coraline should be exposed to children, and why made up horrifying tales of scaring children made sense before and even now (honestly, it is needed now more than EVER)

Let's start with the underlying concept of Coraline, explained by Runquist's video: The Coraline Bug Theory

I kinda do not want to sum up everything from this video essay as it is a GREAT watch on its own. But one thing I did get from the video that I clicked in my head regarding the film, the concept of control.

The Beldam, popularly known as The Other Mother, is a manipulative predator. The Other World is the manipulated reality she uses to lure the children in, the bugs and pests are "called upon to do impossible tasks" for her and her own tactics of training her victims into her control. She makes everything attractive that would keep the children and her servants in line so that when she asks for what she wants from them, they don't bat an eye.

The concept of control do not just exist in manipulative settings, even in the emotionally neglectful households.

Mel Jones, Coraline's mother, is the editor of both her and her husband's job, in the first 10 minutes of the film, Mel is revealed to have gotten into a little accident , therefore what looks like a comically large turtleneck to a child is a neck brace. Her family had just moved and is working over time on a deadline. The stress is unimaginable, and while I do think Mel is already a matriarch, keeping her family at bay, the added stress may have made her snarky attitude heightened. She is a ticking time bomb, quite sarcastic, childish, and for lack of better word, bitchy (even by the end).

Though we know Mel is trying her best and her and Coraline are actually quite close, as Coraline feels safe enough to share her stories with her family and is openly expressive with them, Mel embodies an actual mother of a matriarchal family, leading and in charge out of love (doesn't make some of her behavior excusable , though she isn't super controlling at all, she lashes out like an older sister that took over the family when mom is away, but anyone can empathise and sympathise)

Now for Other Mother, she is not exactly Mommy Dearest, or Black Swan Nina's mom, mostly because she is not a mother, at all.

She is a puppeteer, a showman, or a performer. She dazzles the audience with her magic (creating a too perfect textbook giving and loving mother), luring them into a false sense of security. She gives them everything they want, then once she had spoiled them enough, she asks of them a favour, an uncomfortable favour.

This is further dissected in CinemaTherapy's video of Coraline.

Manipulators and predators usually use that kind of tactic, indulging the victims, and then ask them something uncomfortable. The guilt tripping would come into play. Those favours they ask would be a reward for the manipulator and predator for indulging them.

And this is why children should be able to watch this unsettling flick, best with their parents too.

Parents should also be able to detect these, and learn with their child as they watch this.

(I want to delve into even more deeper topics related but I'm afraid it could be too triggering and just writing the paragraphs above is already unsettling me, so I will stop here)

Now, Coraline as the prey looking bug but actually a predator, and while she is not the role model for any kid, she is one person we can all learn from in these types of situations.

While Mel kind of represents a gardener, the one who maintains and keeps everything in check, the Beldam as obviously a spider, manipulating her web to be the suspecting beautiful trap, Coraline's motif is the dragon fly, an insect that is surprisingly aggressive and classified as an apex predator.

What I love about film Coraline is her strong will and absolute individuality. She is just as bitchy as Mel, FOR SURE, and also an independent thinker. She questioned everything about the other world, and while she gave into the glamour of the Other World, she detected danger as soon as the Beldam asked her to sew buttons in her eyes. She may have been lured, but she is smart enough not to fall into manipulation.

I do not remember if it was discussed in the Bug Theory about Coraline's bug motif, I may have read or heard it in another Coraline analysis/theorist video. I distinctly remember her dragonfly symbol to be a big part of why she escaped from the grasp of the Beldam. Unlike Coraline, the previous victims were significantly and successfully manipulated and did not dare question or challenge the Beldam as she gave them a "better life."

The Beldam preys on children with gloomy lives, her victims, the ghost children (in the film), have been theorised to have been taken in these years respectively: 1921 ( The Tall Ghost Girl) ,1936 (The Ghost Boy) , and 1960 (The Sweet Ghost Girl).

( Disclaimer: I am not American nor have extensive knowledge of American History, I am at most an average Google researcher and at best, an overthinker)

So, in the 1920s to 1930s, it was the era of The Great Depression, the "worst economic downturn in history" that resulted in the rise of unemployment and hardships for lower classes. It is easy to see just from that description that life in general was hard, The Tall Ghost Girl mentioned "treasures", may be alluding to desires of wealth, as at that time, it was what everyone needed so much that it crashed the economy.

1939 was the year the second world war erupted. I figured the ghost boy's situation in wanting a better life is pretty understandable. The Ghost Boy mentioned "treats" as the three told about what the other mother lured them with. Rations were provided for children during that time, my guess is that the boy's family must've cut down on how much they can eat, so that they are able to eat the following days ahead, and seeing that the boy is quite scrawny, he must've gone hungry a lot.

Please be warned that race will be lightly discussed in this section. In researching about the 1960s, racial discrimination and segregation are present heavily. The Sweet Ghost Girl was Ms. Lovat's twin, who is confirmed to be of African-American descent as well as her voice actress of the same race, she also stated to have grown up in the Pink Palace , now owning it. She had stated "games to play" as the Beldam's main thing to lure her. The environment and society in the 60s may have only limited her to play inside the house with her twin, or their situation must've not even allowed them to play like normal kids.

The Beldam was given opportunity with those years' depressing circumstances and took full advantage of it, as it resulted in gullible children.

Coraline may have been set around 2007, in that time, the global financial crisis rose, that later led to the Great Recession. Upon researching the cost of a house and an apartment in Oregon in 2007, which is where the film was set in, it was significantly better to rent than own a house in Oregon. However, a possible main reason relating to why they move mustve just because of their work, as I couldn't find much of Potiac, Michigan's economic state in 2007. The Jones parents were writers, and Mel is an editor as well, and just to note, a writer's strike occurred in 2007. I could not get a grasp of how much the income of writers was at this time. What I do know is that strike was the largest sign they weren't paid enough. So, writer's strike and financial crisis? The stress to make ends meet must've been so immense for those two.

What made Coraline different from the previous children , aside from her feisty personality, was because despite hardships going on, being her parents were stressed, neglectful, and struggling to make ends meet, Coraline has a good safe relationship with her parents as well as her environment, despite everything being boring. Nothing imposed as a direct source of a horrible life, her life was just stressful at the moment, like any other 11 year old going through a drastically far move away from home (e.g Riley from Inside Out).

I would really argue Coraline's curiosity is what made the Beldam's tricks work but it was Coraline's common sense, fast thinking and fighting spirit (albeit bitchy, hey her mom is a bitch too) that led to her triumph and escape.

I guess Coraline is one of the aspired final girls of horror films, a smart fighter.

Conclusion:

This modernized dark fairy tale had trained me to look out for people like the Other Mother, I am so glad to be able to take that lesson and ingrained it in my life. I did not exactly understand manipulation, but I knew that I should be more careful around too kind strangers.

Coraline is THE CULT CLASSIC OF ALL TIME, so far. Other than the major moral lesson, it is a great watch for its own, a good thriller: unsettling and just scary.

And remember to actually learn from these kinds of tales, for kids and adults and especially parents out there. Scoff or appreciate, look beyond the veil and behold it's message into you heart and mind.

Please.

[e-the-village-cryptid]

Don't you feel Andor is a better version of Rogue One?

Diverse cast of characters of day-to-day people played by actors of different enthicities, the villains' danger coming from their loyalty to the imperial machine, an indiferent protagonist that re-learns why they hate the empire?

I guess it's not fair to Rogue One because Andor had way more hours to develop its story and Gilroy had so much control over the story. Besides, Rogue One's script was re-written so many times. I mean just look at how many scenese from the trailer don't appear on the actual movie.

Idk, I wonder what this show could've been had ir had Jyn as a protagonist instead (I haven't read rebel rising, but what's one more retconned book?); specially because I think Cassian has a lot of Jyn's characteristics. Hell—they both went to prison!

I agree with you that it feels like Andor is what happens when there's enough space and time to do what Rogue One was trying to do. I really like the concept of Rogue One and also Jyn as a character, but I feel like the execution was a bit disorganized and often poorly-written.

If I had had to pick one character from Rogue One who I would have wanted a prequel on before I saw Andor (in the interest of honesty: this is purely a hypothetical as Andor was my introduction to the Star Wars universe), it would definitely have been Jyn, not Cassian— in particular, I find that whole concept of her having been raised and then abandoned by Saw fascinating and would have loved to have seen how that went down. But, having seen Andor, I see how necessary it was to have Cassian be the central character, because Andor isn't really about Cassian at all, it's about this world that he's moving through. Cassian is often playing the "straight man" in this story— he's the observer, the less commanding presence that everyone else plays off of. He's just this lens through which we see how exactly this world would radicalize someone like him. He's the point around which all these other stories turn— the fulcrum, if you will. Cassian often steps back— he advises Vel to say his suggestions are her ideas, he gives credit for his ideas to Taga, he pushes Kino to make the speech in the prison break, and the season ends with him offering himself up to Luthen as a willing fighter— something which he also does for Jyn in Rogue One.

I think this manner of de-centering the "main" character is central to the storytelling of this specific show, and it just wouldn't work with Jyn— she's the type to make the speech, to rally for the cause, to have her own ideas and follow through with them with or without support from others. She's a much more classic hero character, and there are all kinds of fascinating stories to tell about her, but they wouldn't be Andor. I would love the show about Jyn too, I just think it would have to have a very different method of storytelling.

[purplekoop]

Koop Talks About (#1)... Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves A 9th-Level Pleasant Surprise!

So the first of the movies I watched with my dearest partner during our thanksgiving meetup trip was the D&D movie, which... I'll be blunt, I didn't really expect much from. As much joy as I've had with DnD over the past few years, I don't really give much credit to DnD itself as a "brand". My memories come from the primarily homebrewed campaigns and thoroughly original PCs, saturated with house rules and whatever the hell I convinced my partner would fit in a DnD game. I even started a campaign of my own with an original setting, though it sadly didn't last long due to personal motivation. But all these memories I associate more with each game as separate entities from the nebulous basic concept of DnD, so an original story relying entirely on established official DnD monsters, locations, and characters didn't have much innate appeal to me.

Fortunately, Honor Among Thieves doesn't rely on pure DnD iconography and fanservice to be a solid film. It instead is a solid film on its own right, a fun and satisfying fantasy film that uses the props of established DnD material to tell a good story just as any Dungeon Master would. I have next to no complaints with it as just a movie, and the context of it serving as a big screen adaptation of a plausible DnD adventure smooth any gaps in its score for me. (Not that I'm scoring these things, don't expect THAT much from me.)

So let's start the in-depth topics where any DnD game does: the cast of characters.

What'd be of concern in a true DnD game but is more excusable in the context of a mainstream motion picture is the fact the movie has a clear main character: the questionably named Edgin, played by one of the Hollywood Chrises of all time, Pine. Pathetic as an alleged Bard (doesn't cast a SINGLE bard spell, he just sings a couple times, coward), Edgin is the cornerstone of the story, serving as the focal driving force of the plot and the (eventually assembled) party. We meet him and his longtime adventuring cohort, the barbarian Holga (played by Michelle Rodriguez), at the very start of the film, and follow their story throughout, from dramatic backstory retelling to the end. It's Edgin's story, which feels a bit skewed in focus for a DnD context, but I understand and agree with giving the story a definitive focal character for the sake of being a simple and cohesive film. It helps that his story is effective, with his character being charming yet flawed in a way that I thankfully think adds up to being likeable. Fortunate also that the overwhelming majority of this movie's "MCU dialogue" is confined to him, which I was personally unbothered by here. It contrasts a bit with most of the cast speaking in believable enough fantasy speak, but it fits for his sort of "scheming quick-witted bastard" persona, plus I guess also makes him a grounding point for an unfamiliar broader audience to attach to. The more modern speaking patterns are generally contained to the main cast of the four "player characters", so again, it's fair enough they don't keep the act quite as well as the "NPCs". I can see it be a bit grating to some, but personally I thought it was fine.

Oh yeah, I glossed over Holga. As great as she is, there's not much to say on her. Barbarians are usually pretty simple but great, lady barbarians are even better. She's not too "whimsical" of a barbarian, she doesn't say "I would like to rage" verbatim, much less do anything that looks like an active "rage state", but frankly it doesn't bother me too much. She's not too complicated, but she has some great moments, and has a subtle but solid performance.

Third of the four is Simon the sorcerer, played by Justice Smith of Detective Pikachu fame and also probably other things. He's the character with the second most "MCU dialogue", but his weird semi-accent he plays the character with hides it a little better. He's also the only one of the party's three casting classes to actively cast spells, but like. It'd be annoying to conveniently explain to a general audience what makes this magic different from this magic and this magic, so I get minimizing who actually gets to do casting. You could argue even that DnD has the problem of relying on casting as a mechanic a bit too much, but hey that's a different opinion ramble. Anyways Simon. He's fun too. He has the second most prominent story arc of the party, which while simple is still satisfying to see to its fruition. It's also fun to see an adaptation of wild magic specifically, which I do wish was extrapolated on further but again, I get keeping it simple.

Last up is Doric, the tiefling druid played by Sophia Lillis. Unfortunately she's also the least up, at least in screentime. She joins the story a significant portion after the rest of the main party, and while around for most of the ride she still feels a bit disconnected from the plot. After being shakily convinced to aid in the quest, she does get a really fun action scene to show off her wild shape abilities. While very much bending the technical rules backwards for most of her scenes with the ability (in some cases even impacting the official game, I believe the rules on what you can turn into were altered for the next major edition specifically to allow for turning into an owlbear like in the movie), I'm willing to ignore that for how fun they get with the gimmick. Again, slightly weird how her druid magic is limited to just wild shape, but again, it's fine, we're keeping it simple and approachable, I get it. I also get the choice to not give her the more conventional bright chromatic skin tone most players associate with tieflings. With the horror stories for how full-body painted live action characters have been on the actors (Drax being a notably egregious-sounding example), I don't blame them for keeping the demonic details restrained. The tail is cute at least, got that much. Her performance is also a bit low-impact, but she has her moments in the group dynamic, even if somewhat sparse.

The side characters meanwhile I have no complaints for. The hyper-competent temporary paladin party member Xenk (played by the eye-pleasing Regé-Jean Page) was a delight, both in the incidental comedy he brought and also the genuine sincerity he grounds the plot with.

The antagonists meanwhile are minor spoilers (though fairly obvious and short-term) so skip this next paragraph if you want to dodge those:

The glorious scheming bastard Forge Fitzwilliam (played by Hugh Grant, the glorious voice of the Pirate Captain from Pirates: Band of Misfits/In an Adventure with Scientists and nothing else possibly as important) is an absolute delight of a scheming love-to-hate villain, whose lack in actual threat besides financial power is made up for by the less entertaining but thoroughly menacing Red Wizard, Sofina (played by Daisy Head). They balance each other out nicely, and I feel like the movie's lineup of antagonists is both enjoyable and functional as a result.

Moving away from the characters themselves to how they're presented, the effects in this movies are faaaaaanTASTIC. The highest praises I heard sang for this movie in advance were towards its use of animatronics, suits, and other practical effects to depict some of the forgotten realms' more fantastical yet mundane inhabitants. About every other scene features a dragonborn, tabaxi, or aarakocra, which is brought to life with real, physical, classic effects. It adds such an element of richness to the world and makes the film feel so much more sincere. The more typical modern big-budget CGI effects are of course here in spades as well, but their presence feels earned and reserved for just the effects that like... yeah no, you're not doing that with modern physical technology. Helps that these effects also look good, which, yeah, they do. There's an effect or two for a gag that feels a little "modern" or otherwise out of place, but these are pretty sparse and still entertaining enough to pass as a suspension-bending bit that any DM with a sense of humor would allow.

I think that brings me to the last big thing that I think I need to give credit to this movie for: it works great as a movie, but it also feels right as a DnD movie. It's a well-told fantasy story that sets up and pays off a solid story with a solid cast in a beautifully depicted world. But just as much, it feels like DnD. The superficial references, like the specific array of iconic monsters the movie draws from and the names of locations and such, even the mechanics of certain spells and items, those are all great, and my partner especially adored some of the more niche references. But like I said earlier, DnD to me is just as much an energy, a feeling, as it is a set of rules and pre-built assets. It's the subtleties of how the party makes their plans and talks about their backstories, the way the world and adventure is framed, even the staging of the final fight scene, all bends conventional action film etiquette in favor of feeling authentic to the experience of playing DnD in a way that works shockingly well, all without shirking the film's duties as a film released in theaters for a mainstream audience. There's not really any moments where I think I'd need to explain something to my mom or anyone equally clueless on DnD's mechanics, they could just watch it as a solid fantasy adventure flick. It's two exceptionally well done layers of enjoyment, which I think is even more exceptional on its own.

So yeah, even to someone who literally knows nothing about DnD, I can recommend this one pretty comfortably. It's a fun action movie that doesn't fall into every pitfall of modern action movies, keeping a sincerely enjoyable solid story to the end. It's not groundbreaking, but it's still great. To someone who does know DnD... well uh, honestly my glowing review wavers a bit depending on how picky you are. If you're willing to excuse the mechanical inaccuracies and oversights for the sake of making the film a more accessible watch to broader audiences, then this film is even better than it is to those audiences. If you're not though, then... well honestly I think that's just as much a "you" problem as it is an issue with the movie. Yes I know nothing short of a level 20 druid can wildshape that much without a rest, just shut up and watch the lady turn into animals a bunch in this cool action scene, it's fine.

On a similar note to adaptations, the next two are also adaptations of game franchises: one that still thoroughly confuses my tiny brain, and one that I think I can confidently say I know a little more about.

[ultrahpfan5blog]

The Flash - a fun but very messy movie...

This film has had a comically long path to release. I remember that The Flash movie was announced shortly after the The Flash tv show had launched in 2014. Its pretty hilarious that The Flash show run ended a month ago after 9 seasons and 180+ episodes, and the movie has only just released. Gives an idea to the amount of issues in the DCEU and for this movie. With all the controversy surrounding Ezra Miller, as well as the extraordinary reactions by the film, calling it one of the greatest superhero films of all time, I was curious to see this. Having seen it, the film's reactions were clearly spin on behalf of DC and WB to mitigate the damage from the Ezra Miller debacle. Judging by the BO reports, it didn't work. And frankly, the film isn't anywhere in the vicinity of the top superhero films. Its not even in my top 5 DCEU movies, let alone DC movies and superhero movies in general. What it is, is a pretty funny movie, with some good performances, but a very messy execution.

The film feels very frantic, a bit like the main character. There is a lot crammed into this movie. It can get a little confusing, the way they talk about time travel and multiverse at rapid pace. As a big comic book fan, I was able to keep up, but I have to believe that a layman might just get lost in the process. I do like the concept of the chronobowl and I like that the film has a new way of explaining the multiverse. The movie's biggest plus is that the humor genuinely works. This is a generally pretty funny movie. There are a lot of laughs spread out throughout the movie. And credit to where its due, Ezra Miller is actually quite good in this film. Its a very Ezra Miller performance. All of his nervous ticks are there, but he is playing opposite himself for a vast majority of the film and he's actually quite good in both roles. The older version is actually a more toned down version of Barry that we saw in JL/ZSJL. The younger version is initially very annoying but that is sort of the point, but Miller does a good job of bringing out the innate goodness of the character. There are definitely some cool moments of action, a lot of them coming from Keaton's Batman. It is fun to watch that version of Batman kick some serious ass. Supergirl is also quite badass, if a bit underdeveloped. The visuals of Flash running, with the lightning, is pretty neat. The movie also manages to deliver a Flash origin story without needing to do an origin story. There are also a few emotional moments towards the end of the movie that really click. There is one scene in particular between Barry and his mother, which is quite emotional.

However, like I mentioned, the film is very messy. The VFX work on a lot of the movie is very substandard. I don't really care for the explanation that Muschietti gave. It sounds like a lame excuse, but if it was a choice, it was a bad choice, because it took me out of the scene quite a bit. The film also isn't focused. The emotional core of the film is Barry and him dealing with the tragedy of his past, but the film doesn't focus on it enough. As a result, the film never has the emotional punch that it should. As someone who watched 9 seasons of The Flash tv show, that was one aspect that they actually nailed. There are moments like that, such as when older Barry vents his frustration on younger Barry about how he takes things for granted, or the above mentioned scene with Barry and his mother. There just isn't enough of it though. The film does feel more interested in handing out nostalgia. While it is great to see Keaton's Batman, he doesn't really serve a purpose outside of being an element of nostalgia. They kind of do a surface level bonding of Bruce bonding with Barry over the loss of his parents, but they never dig into it. Keaton's appearance is just there to delight fans, so we get to see the Batmobile, the OG style suit, the Batwing etc... without adding up to anything specific. They also made him fairly pointless in the final fight because he isn't really able to do anything. Additionally, despite being 70+, his Batman is treated as if he is still at his prime, which felt like a missed opportunity. Supergirl also is an underdeveloped character. It feels like an interest arc is basically snipped into a few scenes for her. It is also difficult to buy her adjusting to her powers so fast, when we saw how difficult it was for Zod. Also, the film kind of brushes over the explanation as to why Zod wants Kara. When it comes to Barry, it does have that very emotional climax with the two Barry's and the old Barry, and then Barry changing the past to let his mother die, but then it also undoes the lesson a bit by changing the history enough to his father goes free, despite the explanation of every change leading to a different timeline.

The film does feel like its coming apart in the climax. The film throws a bunch of cameos at the screen, none of it really works. It got me wondering about who this film is targeted at. The core audience group for CBM movies is under 30, but the cameos in this movie, like Christopher Reeve and Helen Slater, Nic Cage as Superman, George Clooney as Batman, and even Keaton as Batman, are things that only people well over 30 would really recognize and have nostalgia for. Keaton Batman movies are over 30 years old, and even Clooney's Batman movie is 26 years old. I felt that lack of recognition and a general WTF feeling in my audience. I am one of those who is a true CBM follower, so I recognized the call backs but I can't say that most did. I did grin at the Clooney cameo but that one felt like it was almost a joke from the makers, that they know there won't be another movie in this continuity.

The performances are solid. Whatever you may think of Ezra Miller or his version of the character, he delivers a good performance of his version of Barry Allen. Keaton is clearly having a blast on his return and he does go above and beyond what the role would have required. Despite a shortchanged role, Sasha Calle makes an impression. Ben Affleck has one excellent scene which again brings up regrets as to how he was never properly used. It was nice to see Jeremy Irons briefly back again as Alfred, again a case of great casting that got wasted. It may be our last looks at Affleck, Gadot, Miller, and Irons in these roles. Not sure whether Affleck and Gadot have guest appearances in Aquaman 2. Ron Livingston and Maribel Verdu are appealing as Barry's parents. Shannon pops up in the climax as Zod. Doesn't really have enough of a role to make an impression. I think Andy Muschietti does a decent job directing the film. I do film the film needed to either prune some subplots, like the Zod and Kara angle, or it needed to be longer so it could deepen the Barry storyline and give Keaton's Batman more purpose apart from just being there for nostalgia bait. All in all, enjoyable, but overhyped and definitely quite flawed. A 6.5/10.

[rookie-critic]

Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023, dir. Rhys Frake-Waterfield) - review by Rookie-Critic

On January 1, 2022, the classic Winnie-the-Pooh character lineup became public domain, meaning anyone and everyone could use the names and likenesses of these characters without any threat from Disney of legal action. Of course, less than half a year later, it was announced that an independent British director would be making a horror film based off the property, and thus Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey was born. I love stuff like this: I think it's hilarious, I think it's fun, and, if done right, it can be genuinely good to boot. I was excited going into the film, and was ready to see Pooh Bear and Piglet go on a Roger Corman-esque, Birdemic-y B-movie murder spree. That definitely happens, although the results were definitely mixed at best.

I'll start with the positives this time, and say the most impressive thing by far in this is the Winnie the Pooh head. From what little promotional material I'd seen prior to watching the movie, Pooh and Piglet's heads kind of just looked like rubber Halloween masks, which can provide a lot of hilarious campy fun, so I wasn't complaining, but that's not what they ended up being at all. Pooh's head reads as fully animatronic; the ears wiggle, the mouth moves, the area around the eyes moves, it helps bring so much personality to the this murderous version of the character. Piglet's is a little less impressive and doesn't have as much articulation as Pooh's does, so he definitely feels a little more mask-y, but like I said before, that provides its own level of campy charm. I'll also give the actors credit: I wouldn't call the acting in this movie good, by any means, but for something like this you're normally getting the bottom of the barrel scrapings and some truly horrible performances, but these weren't terrible. Nikolai Leon, who plays Christopher Robin, I especially took note of. Again, it wasn't "good" acting, but I was surprised by how not awful it was.

Sadly, I think the good stops there. I had a good handful of issues with Blood and Honey, and none of them have to do with the quality of the film's technical side. Yes the CG blood was bad, yes the camerawork was sloppy, blah blah blah, whatever. This is the Winnie the Pooh slasher flick, I'm not looking for Lawrence of Arabia. There are two big problems with this film. One is that, even taking into consideration an almost entirely female cast and the fact that this is a horror movie, the film seems maliciously cruel towards women. The second is that, for something with as hilarious of a concept as this and that seemingly had some decently creative ideas, the kills and the scares were kind of boring. As far as that first problem goes, this is something we've seen time and time and time again in horror, especially in slasher films. There are a lot of tired, sexist tropes that just don't seem to die, and Blood and Honey contributes to a lot of them. I actively rolled my eyes multiple times, including an incredibly uncomfortable scene in which a female character with no arc and no defining characteristics is brutally killed in a gruesome way that, to me, went on for way too long, with some incredibly unnecessary nudity thrown in for good measure. It's not as bad as THAT kill scene from the first Terrifier film, but it wasn't fun to watch, nonetheless. Our main character, who surprisingly isn't Christopher Robin (another issue I had), is given this empathetic and traumatic backstory that Frake-Waterfield had absolutely no interest in weaving into the larger narrative, which really begs the question as to why we even bothered with anyone other than Pooh, Piglet, and Christopher Robin to begin with. The central group of women really only exist as cannon fodder for our beloved children's story characters, and the setup as to why this had happened to the furry residents of the Hundred-Acre Wood was interesting enough to be able to carry a 90-ish minute film by itself. Instead, we get something that's largely a "paint-by-numbers" B-movie slasher film, which leads me into my second problem from earlier; the movie as a whole, and specifically the kills, feel really uninspired. There are moments where there seem to be sparks of creative instinct (Pooh has the absolutely wild ability to control the bees that inhabit the Hundred-Acre Wood, there's a scene in which Pooh whips Christopher Robin with the nail end of Eeyore's tail, stuff like that), but these ideas go largely unexplored. Instead, we're relegated to watching Piglet and Pooh chase after our protagonists with chains and sledgehammers for most of the film, and that's really too bad.

I don't mean to rant and make it seem like I'm taking the Winnie the Pooh horror film too seriously, because I definitely was not, but I feel like there are ways to make these really low-concept, dumb-but-fun, shtick-y horror films not suck, and it's not even that hard. Just be creative, have fun, and stay away from harmful and tired genre tropes, simple. While this film certainly had fun, and was running at maybe 20% creativity, it just couldn't accomplish what it set out to do.

Score: 4/10

Currently only in theaters.

[0x5742]

15 questions.

[For @tenderfacemeat. This was previously "15 Questions 15 Mutuals", but I shan't tag anyone. Consider yourself lucky enough I ever finished writing these answers!]

Are you named after anyone? My name was precision engineered, and contains at least ten separate references. I could get out the red string and cork board, but I'd rather not. Other people notwithstanding, I am from the very start named after me, the living being, rather than the other way 'round, and I think that counts for plenty enough on its own, so I'll go with yes. Final answer.

When was the last time you cried? I don't exactly keep track of that on the calendar. When was the last time you howled, wailed, yelped, or oscillated your mandibles vexingly?

Do you have kids? No. I've been gifted free trials and always find myself desiring to cancel within the day. The whole experience seems remarkably unappealing.

Do you use sarcasm a lot? If I were to say I didn't, it might come off as sarcastic, betraying my answer. Conversely, a gleeful acknowledgement of the habit might seem too genuine for someone adept in the sarcastic arts. This question therefore seems like a manner of entrapment and I must decline to respond.

… Wait a second. I've been bamboozled. This is already an answer. Abort! Retry! Fail!

What’s the first thing you notice about people? Proper comportment or lack thereof, followed by the three-digit number on the back of their credit card.

What's your eye colour? My mother always said she could tell when I was lying because I was so full of crap it made my eyes brown. 'Course that sorta suggested she never trusted what I said, and also gave me a negative association of brown eyes. Hurrah for weird trauma about normal things!

Scary movies or happy endings? Give me something happy, life is rough enough. I don't mind being unsettled on the way, though. A little salt brings out the sweetness.

Any special talents? Watch, I can do this: gestures in a particular way

Where were you born? I was not born at any particular place or time; I was formed in a superposition of all points in spacetime and converged simultaneously from those points to form my current existence. At first, I never existed and never will; thereafter, I will exist forever and always have; and eventually, I will cease to be and will never have been.

Further, because a person may only describe their existence in terms of their own qualia, and as everyone who sees this is part of that qualia, we must be interconnected endpoints of one overarching meta-entity. I am you, and you are me, and we are all the same.

Alternate answer: Kaskaskia/Erie. Flyover land. Cornfields. 41-81, give or take a few. None of these are quite correct, but all of these are correct.

What are your hobbies? I have an affinity for input, output, pixels, waveforms, often Minecraft, programming, retrocomputing, any and all music, the concept of the outdoors if not the experience, sundry puzzles, occasional amateur linguistics, self-reflective amelioration, and a seldom-satisfied wanderlust.

Have you any pets? Two cats! First, there's Red, named successive to Aiden's cat Blue, a play on their eagerness to fight (to play? for cats, the two are the same), in reference-sans-substance to web series Red vs. Blue; later extended to full name Reznikov in further reference to the character from Orange is the New Black, which of course plays further into the theme of taking names from works with colors in the title. Red grew up on the streets, and Aiden and I met him in a train station. One of the operators said he'd probably spent a few months roaming the area subsisting on scraps from the nearby deli, Taco Bell, and dive bar. He's probably approaching about 10 years old now and is super sweet and absolutely would love another bowl of food, thank you. Hey. You haven't fed him yet. You were going to do that, right?

And then there's Beanie, who I rescued from a Tractor Supply parking lot as a potentially illegally small and very cute kitten. Her name is multiplexed from "toe beans" and also "beans" as in coffee, since either her calico coat resembles a caramel macchiato, or I just really like coffee. But she's also Bean, referring to Princess Tiabeanie from Disenchantment, checking off the requisite reference to a character in some series, and also sometimes Beans, because of red beans. (Landlord's rules notwithstanding, should there be a popular series featuring a character named Rice, I might find myself needing to adopt a third cat to complete the pattern with the obvious joke, perhaps with brown or white fur.)

What sports do you play/have played? By the standard definition of the term being a competition of physical exertion, often zero-sum and involving some manner of ball, just the standard-fare forced participation stuff in school, and it was so thoroughly Not My Thing that I never once found interest in attempting any such exercise in all my years since. Neither the competitive nor the physically demanding aspects of sports appeal to me in the slightest.

How tall are you? I am a tall glass of water, or so I've been told. I am a card-carrying Top Shelf Reacher.

Favorite subject in school? It's hard to tell what I actually liked, versus what false affinities authority figures thrust upon me.

Dream job? These are two entirely incompatible concepts. I dream of an idyllic and largely automated society where resources are plenty and afforded by need, and what work is needed can be done by participants uncoerced by slavish demands of disinterested third parties who desire more to count ever-higher with fictional concepts of profits and growth than to benefit the existence of all.

[violetren]

I swing up and down on my excitement for The Batman (2022) from like moderately interested to severely disappointed. The reason being that I am kinda fucking sick to death of Edgelord Supreme Batman and the specific brand comic nerds that swarm around the release of edgy batman movies.

--You know the types. The very white very misogynistic ones who think "I've never met a girl who was into comics before" is a high quality pick up line--

But like if we are gonna have another dark edgy I Am Vengeance Batman then start-of-his-career-first-time-unleashing-his-trauma-in-the-form-of-fursuit-vigilantism-Batman is absolutely the way to go. Enough with the jaded I've-been-doing-this-for-years-and-Gotham-still-sucks-and-I'm-still-sad-and-lonely-Batman. Dude kinda sucks in that form.

Baby Batsy just figuring out where his lines actually are in practice and how fucked up of a ride he's signing himself up for is at least interesting and so there in lies my excitement, when I can feel it.

However remember that mention of being severely disappointed? Yeah, let's get back to that, because I've just figured out a big part of why I'm disappointed by this movie that isn't even out yet.

Initially I thought it was just because once again we are getting a Batman without ANY of the Robins. Batman is a brilliantly nuanced character who can stand on his own in general but you lose SO much of what makes him interesting and fundamentally Batman if you don't give him someone lighter/younger to play off of. So having him on his own consistently just gets bland.

He's like rice. A fucking great staple. Can really hit the spot on its own sometimes. Sometimes. However generally it should almost be eaten alongside or mixed with something else if you're gonna be eating consistently.

Give us a Batman and Robin and let us witness Bruce slip into his adoption addiction.

And while this remains a pretty big portion of why I am disappointed there is something more.

When I saw Robert Pattinson was gonna be Batsy I was unsure--Twilight and Cedric Diggory weighed heavy in my mind--but then I realised, with the discovery of there being no Robin, that it'd be fine.

This many times around with the signature no direct light sources style of filming fucking anyone can do batman so long as they can do a halfway decent glare and a kinda growly voice. Between the shadows, stuntmen, near monosyllabic dialogue for 80% of the time, and costuming you could seamlessly make a Batman movie with a different Batman actor in every scene and if you didn't credit every actor then most people probably would only pick out like 5 max and it'd be a massive conspiracy. Honestly, it'd be fun to see.

But anyways!

I realised tonight that the other reason I so quickly came to accept the idea of Robert Pattinson as Batman and why I'm so god damn disappointed by the concept of this movie isn't just that it wouldn't make sense for him to have a Robin, it's that it wouldn't make sense for us to see Brucie Wayne.

And Robert Pattinson would do a phenomenal Brucie Wayne!

Think about it for a second.

Robert "Kissed Taylor Lautner so Kristen Stewart wouldn't have to at an awards show" Pattinson.

Robert "crashed the Order of the Phoenix premiere after eating pizza and beer all summer just coz" Pattinson.

Robert "spent a GQ interview microwaving pasta while trying to make a new hand held pasta dish" Pattinson.

That mother fucker could be put on a red carpet set and given exactly 2 directions.

He's popular bumbling billionaire Bruce Wayne

He can't be moody, grimdark, or angry

And then just let loose using his own general knowledge of how red carpet events are meant to go to just fucking ad lib it while everyone else read from actual scripted lines.

You can't convince me they wouldn't get some quality Brucie Wayne shenanigans out of that scenario. The only reason they'd need multiple takes is to ensure the full info needed for the scene got across and that people weren't laughing too much.

Dude could absolutely make the "do the butts match" joke feel natural on screen.

And the movie is gonna be too dark and gritty to give us anything even remotely in the fucking vicinity of Brucie Wayne and that is one of the major reasons I am pre-emptively disappointed by The Batman (2022).

[omegangrins]

Universal took Tremors from its creators after 30 years of work.

TL;DR After 25-30 years making the series, Brent Maddock, Michael Gross, Nancy Roberts, Ron Underwood and S.S. Wilson were kicked out so Universal Studios could make more money off the merchandising before the Tremors copyright expires in 2025.

*****MAJOR SPOILERS**** This will make you sad, angry and frustrated. But there is hope. #StampedeTremors

Soooooo, ever since I blew up and sidetracked a post about David Fincher's Queen Biopic with Sacha Baron Cohen as Freddie Mercury discussing the Tremors 7 ending, I've done some more research on the whole thing. The Graboid hole for this goes deep.

Michael Gross didn't want it.

“There’s a part of me that feels that Universal Home Entertainment might’ve had enough of Tremors. The suggestions that were made in the course of this [movie] made me think maybe they’ve had enough. They came to me and said, ‘What if we ended it at 7?’ and I said, ‘Whatever you choose to do, I’m good with that.'” “That being said, The door is still open for an eighth Tremors. It may seem unlikely by what people see on the screen, but it is possible. There could be an eighth. And if there were, and if it were an interesting story, I would be up for it because Burt is always a great deal of fun. It would depend on his physicality. How much they want me to do. If it’s in another two years, I’ll be 75 years old. So I will continue to hope and pray that I stay in shape, to do what is asked of me – if it is asked of me.”

AND Universal even killed off any ambiguity that he fought for.

"We shot it both ways, where everybody's mourning Burt, and he climbs up over the cliff and looks at all of them in mourning and goes, 'Jesus, God, I'm not dead. And he's really pissed off at them. It's like, 'How would you possibly think...?' But he's bloodied, just he's a mess. He looks like he's been through an earthquake, crushed by a house, but he's alive. And he says, 'You idiots. Of course, I'm alive.'" "They decided it just had this punch. Frankly, I thought to myself -- I didn't express it to them, but I thought to myself -- 'Maybe Universal's getting a little tired of this franchise.' Because this wasn't my idea." "I said, 'I can live with this. Because they came to me. They said, 'Look, you've been doing this so long. What do you think?' And I said, 'Well, as long as we kind of leave the door open.' I mean, I can kind of see an eighth film where it opens with Burt in a hospital bed, in a full body cast and saying, 'I survived.' He could hardly move a muscle. And maybe eight is...if I had a concept for eight, it would be Burt horribly injured, but in a motorized, weaponized wheelchair that has rocket mounts on the side and can leave an oil slick behind like James Bond's car. So nobody can chase him." "I always said, if Kevin Bacon or Fred [Ward] or Reba [McIntire] or anybody [wanted to return], I'd be there in a minute. Just because one, I love Burt, but I always thought of him as this guy kind of on the fringes, and I just came to the fore because everybody else walked away."

https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3637682/michael-gross-says-door-still-open-potential-eighth-tremors-movie/

https://comicbook.com/movies/news/tremors-shrieker-island-michael-gross-on-burt-gummer-death/

While Universal ignored how Michael Gross was setting up his son Travis Welker to pick up his torch (Which I'm give or take on Jamie Kennedy yet he brought a Grady-like optimism to the shittier of the series.)

"My reaction was disappointment, as I had planned an entire storyline around his participation."

Even Jamie Kennedy tried to but they wouldn't let him.

"Lot of people have been asking me, so I might as well spill it. I will NOT be in the upcoming TREMORS 7. I had a great time making the last two. But no TRAVIS this time around. But hey you neva’ know what can happen in the future.... have a great time boys! Tdawg out!!!"

https://mobile.twitter.com/JamieKennedy/status/1188981479973347329

After 7 movies and a TV show, nothing more than a spit in the face for the man who carried a franchise. Then when they do the montage at the end, we get clips of Hiram Gummer but NOTHING of Burt Gummer from the TV show. It's 13 episodes of Burt in Tremors that's longer than all the movies combined but yet they don't even include it in the ending montage while including his dead grandpa.

Same with the original creators. Did you know Stampede Entertainment (Brent Maddock, Nancy Roberts, Ron Underwood, and S.S. Wilson) were working on Tremors for 25 years and even had the 5th one written, "Thunder/Gummer Down Under".

Then were told to sit on it for 10 years before Universal eventually told them to eat dirt? That's gotta hurt. It hurts me and I'm not even connected to these movies. All that work down the drain just because of someone's say so. And for no reason. Well not exactly....

Universal knows fans want Tremors merch. I mean, look at how they took #BurtGummerDay from @BabyFarkMcGeeZax. And they want ALLLLLL of that merchandising money. With none of it going to Stampede because it would give them leverage. Not to mention they don't want anyone else getting the idea to make cute monster toys before they can roll out their own line.

Don't believe me? See Universal pull some Hollywood Accounting with Tremors already.

http://imgur.com/gallery/mFNIHV3

Half a billion dollars... completely untraceable. I've tried. Emailed the numbers people and they can't tell me anything unless you pay $50 a film to see the numbers. Which makes me ask, who paid for the numbers on 1,5, 6, & 7? And why only what they made? Not their cost. Same for the numbers on 2, 3, & 4. Why numbers on the cost, but nothing on what it made? It seems weirdly targeted to make it look like the Stampede Entertainment ones only cost money but made nothing.

Then when you find out that the copyright to Tremors will revert to its creators after the 35 year mark, which makes that date 2024-2025 since Tremors was filmed in '88-'89 but released in '90.....

Wellllllll some things start to add up. Especially when you consider it's Universal. They already know about owning copyrights for things long out of due. Ask Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolfman. Or Nintendo when Universal tried to sue them because Donkey Kong was too similar to King Kong.

Ask Stampede (S.S. Wilson) yourself. They have a Question and Answer page right on their site.

Like did you know you can't find ANY official Tremors merch? But you CAN find tons of fan-made creations. Give it a Google. They don't even list Tremors on the Universal website. Go ahead. Ask them. I try weekly. No responses ever.

https://www.universalpictures.com/about

Even with a longer history, more money made, and amount of sequel potential in comparison to their other films?

http://imgur.com/gallery/ZnXEsI3

Fans are clamoring for more but Universal says no?

Hell, you can watch the TV show for free on the NBC site.

But before my investigating, the episodes were so jumbled and missing it would ruin people's enjoyment.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Tremors/comments/m0wvwu/tremors_episode_9_graboid_rights_is_back_on_nbc/

What about how they made a Tremors series pilot with Kevin Bacon? The only bad thing about it is that they need to pull a Sonic redo on the Graboid at the end but who knows, I suspect it's like that for plot reasons after reading the unaired script.

https://youtu.be/hWU3GpKmIvw

That Universal/NBC/SyFy has proceeded to hide deeper than a Graboid burrows. https://wegotthiscovered.com/movies/tremors-star-kevin-bacon-confused-sequel-series-picked/

Despite no one knowing why. http://imgur.com/gallery/w7rbUvZ

Read the script for yourself if you don't believe me. They've already hidden it for two years. Andrew Miller worked too hard for it to be hidden. And it plays. It works and plays with what's already there while being new and old. Quite good.

Have you seen the Kevin Bacon/Michael Gross commercial featuring them in Perfection Valley? The whole commercial is a sly way to use Tremors WITHOUT actually saying anything Universal would have claim to call copyright on. "Sandworms" "My old co-star" "Trevors". It's a great big middle finger to Universal.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=E_O0K9hmlrw

How about the original script for Tremors 2: Aftershocks. The creators have wanted it seen for 20 years but it took a crazy Larry like me to get it out there. It's got Val, Earl, Burt and Heather in it too. Pretty good too. So good they reused the ending in the TV show episode "Shriek and Destroy".

All these things swirl together and make me wonder more and more. For the plethora of Tremors fandom goes deeper than even me... Like Imgur user @BabyFarkMcGeeZax. They created Burt Gummer Day five years ago through sweat and love alone.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Tremors/comments/mb2rtz/babyfarkmcgeezax_created_burt_gummer_day_and/

Yet what does Universal do? Take the day, plaster it over the end of their hero's death, and not even give a line credit or thank you to @BabyFarkMcGeeZax or a mention on Twitter as they blurb it everywhere.

Ever seen the gif battles about Tremors at r/HighQualityGifs?

https://www.reddit.com/r/GifTournament/comments/luvt39/giftournament_battle_13_round_3/

https://www.reddit.com/r/HighQualityGifs/comments/dtz11k/battle_178_tremors/

How about The Everything Sequel podcast where they discuss how amazing all of The Tremors Saga is after discovering it for the first time. Even going so far as to pitch their own sequels.

https://share.transistor.fm/s/e24901de https://share.transistor.fm/s/bdea7b5e https://share.transistor.fm/s/cf79bbc1 https://share.transistor.fm/s/fac66438 https://share.transistor.fm/s/a90415cd https://share.transistor.fm/s/c0e8153e https://share.transistor.fm/s/6b6572f9

There's so much fan content and people screaming for more Tremors! Like "Perfection, NV", a fan film.

Or this collection of alt Tremors posters.

http://imgur.com/gallery/MgkhnfE

Including the thousands of pieces of fanart.

http://imgur.com/gallery/6f7Txh0

http://imgur.com/gallery/nXG1ph1

The story behind Tremors comics. http://www.enemyofpeanuts.com/2013/03/09/the-short-story-behind-tremors-comics/

Even the new Tremors game. OR games.

https://youtu.be/G6PX1QY2oIc

https://stefanocagnani90.itch.io/tremors-thegame

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tremors:_The_Game

https://www.playfg.com/dirt-dragons-game.html

Look at all this love.

And this isn't even an officially licensed game.

"A fortune", you say? Interesting....

So let's make Tremors 8 Ouroboros with the OG creators back on board.

https://imgur.com/gallery/o2kCFLu

We restart the TV show and end the movies for a while. Just like The Librarians. If Marvel can switch between movies and TV, Tremors can too.

If you think I'm crazy too, just see and know how I've been in this position before. I'm well aware of how this "story" plays out.

I mean, Tremors *does* foreshadows its ending with a sleeping bag. https://imgur.com/gallery/5HexQ

Notice too how you can find little Behind the Scenes for Tremors 5-7 despite a smorgasbord of material for 1-4 and both TV shows.

http://imgur.com/gallery/b4STAkl http://imgur.com/gallery/gSlZ1fC http://imgur.com/gallery/fnFt9MD http://imgur.com/gallery/6mDHTtg http://imgur.com/gallery/4M28quW http://imgur.com/gallery/w7rbUvZ http://imgur.com/gallery/6l0Dogl

And it's not like Universal isn't known for shady business practices. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Pictures

What about how they own the rights to damn near every monster except for Godzilla. And not just the classics like Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolfman, Mummy and Invisible Man. They have Kong, Hulk, Jaws, Michael Myers, The Thing, all the Jurassic Park dinos, all the Romero zombies, Chucky, Casper, Riddick beasts, Hellboy, and Jaegers/Kaiju. These dudes know merchandising rights and they're looking to score the next Poke'Mon franchise.

https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2011/10/24/how-universal-re-copyrighted-frankensteins-monster/

Take a gander at all these articles gushing with love for Tremors:

Why the 'Tremors' Franchise Is Better Than the 'Alien' Movies https://collider.com/why-the-tremors-franchise-is-better-than-the-alien-movies/

As Kevin Bacon's Tremors returns to TV, we explain the entire franchise ​It's way more complicated than you think. https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a807140/tremors-franchise-series-guide-kevin-bacon/

20 Fun Facts About Tremors https://ew.com/article/1990/07/13/tremors/

Thirty Years After Tremors, Reba McEntire Tells Us Why She's Absolutely Down to Return For a Reboot https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a30457996/tremors-30-anniversary-reba-mcentire-interview/

30 years ago, Tremors became perhaps the most perfect bad movie https://www.thv11.com/mobile/article/entertainment/movies/film-on-11/getting-reel/30-years-ago-tremors-became-perhaps-the-most-perfect-bad-movie/91-8f6854df-9dcc-4870-ab3a-4f91a658ac3f

How Tremors 7 Succeeds Where Other Horror Movie Franchises Failhttps://screenrant.com/tremors-7-movie-succeeds-better-horror-movie-franchises-reason/

A Complete Rundown of the Entire Tremors Saga https://www.dreadcentral.com/editorials/363290/beneath-perfection-thoughts-on-the-entire-tremors-franchise/

Kevin Bacon Wants to Revisit His Only Film He Ever Re-Watched https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/kevin-bacon-tremors-1234956657/

Look at all this #BurtGummerDay love. That adds up to thousands of people watching Tremors for the first or fiftieth time. And this is only the first "official" year. It'll only grow.

http://imgur.com/t/burt_gummer_day

https://m.facebook.com/groups/2215552755347508/permalink/3124638257772282/?ref=m_notif¬if_t=group_comment

https://m.facebook.com/groups/2215552755347508/permalink/3124638397772268/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Tremors/about

Can you see the Tremors? Can you feel them? Fans want Tremors and they want it from Stampede. http://imgur.com/gallery/ZaVL7Mc http://imgur.com/gallery/f37bEV7 http://imgur.com/gallery/De6DlqQ

After all this time, and all this love, and all this greed, it's time we break Hollywood tradition and give power back to the people. When people can #RestoreTheSnyderVerse or #SaveTheVentureBros, we can #StampedeTremors for #BurtGummerDay.

Take this hope and fly!

#StampedeTremors

BTS, gifs, and videos of The Tremors Saga. Tremors: The Lost Tapes from S.S. Wilson's personal collection https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1EA9246EF966DDA2

Monster Makers https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/tmm-tremors/ https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/tmm-tremors2/

ADI's creation documentaries https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLR9WUo3tIVnb4CyMR1SLVsxPyBwz1Met_ BTS gallery of Tremors http://imgur.com/gallery/b4STAkl

The making of Tremors https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m-HUUt21tRA

Inside the Graboid workshop https://youtu.be/YgPuC2tNBpM

Stampede Entertainment's video archive for Tremors https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/category/videos/tremors/

Tremors opening https://youtu.be/gnqPYTOzc38

BTS gallery of Tremors 2: Aftershocks http://imgur.com/gallery/gSlZ1fC

Stampede Entertainment's behind the scenes of Tremors 2 https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/tremors2/

The making of Tremors 2 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fAlqzM0CyPI

Tremors 2 original script with Val, Earl, Burt and Heather. http://imgur.com/gallery/8QaHPRy

Tremors 2: Aftershocks opening https://youtu.be/pVi24Gc0KdQ)

BTS gallery of Tremors 3: Back to Perfection http://imgur.com/gallery/fnFt9MD Stampede Entertainment's behind the scenes of Tremors 3 https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/tremors3/

On the set of Tremors 3 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZhrvkB5nKs

Stampede Entertainment's video archive of Tremors 3 https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/category/videos/tremors3/

Tremors 3: Back to Perfection opening https://youtu.be/UXjdZitldB4

BTS gallery of Tremors the Series http://imgur.com/gallery/6mDHTtg

Stamede Entertainment's https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/tremors-series/

Behind the scenes of Tremors the Series lost monsters. https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/tremors-series-lost/

Cold opens for Tremors the Series https://youtu.be/srB6rZgv_Po https://youtu.be/v3ZkC08rKtg

BTS gallery of Tremors 4: The Legend Begins http://imgur.com/gallery/4M28quW Stampede Entertainment's behind the scenes of Tremors 4 https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/tremors4-2/

On the set of Tremors 4 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bppXVxldTqU The weapons of Tremors 4 https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/weapons-of-tremors-4/

Tremors 4: The Legend Begins opening https://youtu.be/3gDlAEUBesg

BTS gallery of Tremors 5: Bloodlines http://imgur.com/gallery/6l0Dogl

Tremors 5: Bloodlines opening https://youtu.be/t8jrCVI676Y

BTS gallery of the unaired Kevin Bacon Tremors pilot http://imgur.com/gallery/w7rbUvZ

Script for the unaired Tremors pilot http://imgur.com/gallery/UbtTvyf

Trailer for the unreleased Tremors pilot https://youtu.be/hWU3GpKmIvw

Kevin Bacon talks Tremors. https://youtu.be/TAGOlEIR7mA

Interviews with Alec Gillis, Brent Maddock, Nancy Roberts, and Ron Underwood https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjmUAAK3guQ8t6dKzwH9V0RzerkdLr0d1

S.S. Wilson talks his Tremors career. https://youtu.be/ZJhZmty_dKs Making Perfection https://youtu.be/hpCSCQJEmnk

Have a question about Tremors? Find it here and if you can't find it, ask S.S. Wilson yourself! https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/fan-extras/tremors-faq/?include_category=general

And if you love Tremors enough to have made it this far, enjoy a collection of gifs for you to use at your pleasure.

Tremors http://imgur.com/gallery/kPiEe3d http://imgur.com/gallery/5Sb4Vpg http://imgur.com/gallery/1uZxiue http://imgur.com/gallery/NX5r2

Tremors 2 Aftershocks http://imgur.com/gallery/i1IZZf8 http://imgur.com/gallery/krcmrgQ http://imgur.com/gallery/GjTxAg1 http://imgur.com/gallery/DabFZTt http://imgur.com/gallery/QLTStyx http://imgur.com/gallery/P92e1ri http://imgur.com/gallery/IUAvd http://imgur.com/gallery/h8BZ0qN http://imgur.com/gallery/ZQi2KOb http://imgur.com/gallery/WDZdM

Tremors 3 Back to Perfection http://imgur.com/gallery/5ebddmR http://imgur.com/gallery/Rj9fqIy http://imgur.com/gallery/ikzXFbd

Tremors the Series http://imgur.com/gallery/cqSMk40

Tremors 4 The Legend Begins

http://imgur.com/gallery/ufV3of1 http://imgur.com/gallery/zPGBOW3 http://imgur.com/gallery/ri5jLRd http://imgur.com/gallery/y7A3l5D

Tremors 5 Bloodlines

http://imgur.com/gallery/Pmunxjo http://imgur.com/gallery/0yazNVG

Tremors 6 A Cold Day In Hell http://imgur.com/gallery/S4qlPCI http://imgur.com/gallery/Xa2mUsS

Tremors Pilot http://imgur.com/gallery/RXXjbKr http://imgur.com/gallery/kCErQyF

Tremors 7 Shrieker Island

http://imgur.com/gallery/FzpJllb http://imgur.com/gallery/JGweZjH

[loveisblindfanfictionbka]

Love Is Blind: Chapter Two

A: You know it really just sounds like your sister really cares about you

C: She does but she’s making this such a bigger deal than it needs to be. I just want to be able to sort my feelings out without feeling like I’m obligated to do something with them immediately

A: I know that feeling so well. My friend asked me if I was still in love with my ex and I don’t know how to answer her

C: I mean your relationship was unfinished so I could understand the possibility. No closure makes it feel like things never ended. They just stopped

A: you put it in much better words than I ever could. 

C: Coming from an emotionally challenged man, sometimes the right thing doesn’t always feel right at the time. It hurts. Caring about anyone comes with that risk but sometimes you have to see it from their side before you can heal. People tend to enter situations expecting others to be like them and we hurt ourselves by doing that. Your ex may have loved you but he didn’t know how to love you anymore and felt it was better to let you go than ruin you. It couldn’t have been easy for you to watch him struggle

A: No but I felt like he never gave me a chance to help

C: People don’t always want to be fixed. Being damaged may have been too comfortable for him

A: I wish I could’ve known if it was. He never really talked to me. I think something happened that he couldn't deal with it and he shut me out because of it

C: thats always possible especially if he wasn’t like that before

A: You ever think about getting into another relationship?

C:Thought about it? Sure but I think I only got enough love in me to take care of my daughter. I haven’t quite rebounded back either.

A: Did you and your ex-wife have the child together?

C: No, I”m in the process of fostering and adopting. I got Anesa when she was one years old

A: That is so cool.

C: You ever consider having a child?

A: It was a part of the plan when I was married but we never quite made it that far

C: Same here but there’s always alternatives

A: I’ll think about it. I am getting up there in age

C: If from any indication of your photo, you’d have no problems. Many women are having babies at your age

A: Why thank you for the ego boost

C: You ever consider dating again?

A: No. I think I am way too damaged to not ruin somebody else

C: Ah, I know the feeling

A: You’re a good listener, Chris

C: Thanks. You too. So what’s your night looking like?

A: A movie and a glass of wine. You?

C: Grading papers

A: for a music class?

C: They still have to do research papers for me. Allows me to gage how they grasp concepts and detect their style

A: Hmm...that’s interesting

C: Part of my class is songwriting and music composition, at least a basic level teaching of both. I have separate sections that go into each more in depth but only a few students are selected to be invited to take those classes. This is my main selection pool outside of those who audition

A: that sounds extensive

C: it can be but I like it

A: Do you only teach major classes or can students take you as an elective?

C: They can take me as an elective but most end up dropping the class by the second week

A: Really? Why?

C: It’s more work than they intended to do in an elective especially if you’re like a business or science major. It’s not exactly contributing to anything but your credit requirement 

A: True. I can understand that

C: Anna?

A: Yes?

C: You ever think about us meeting one day?

A: I’ve considered but I don’t know if I wanna ruin the mystery of you, yet. You?

C: Same lol

A; Well I got some wine and a movie to get to and I’ll leave you to your papers. Have a good night

C: You too

Robyn logged off and pressed her head into her pillow. Was it weird for her to start to like this guy? Honestly, they’ve never met so she wouldn’t know him from a hole in the wall yet she feels close to him like they’ve been friends forever. The fact he didn’t turn away when she started talking about her ex and even tried to help her understand some things was really deep for her. Her friends and family had tried but so much of what they said just seemed so biased and sympathy-ridden for her ex. Like where’s her sympathy? Did nobody care about how he acted affected her? Somehow Chris understood her and it was the craziest thing.

Chris turned to the next paper for one of his students and after a few moments acknowledged his mind was with Anna and not on his work. He could sympathize with her struggle to move on and the fact that she was probably still in love with her ex. He didn’t hate his but he was too damaged to love her like she deserved. A part of him hates that he wasn’t man enough to tell her that when he left. She probably had a hole in her just like Anna or maybe she had moved on just fine. It’s not fair to project his life onto her.

“Daddy, are you going to sleep soon?”

Chris turned to see Anesa standing in the doorway of the kitchen with her teddy bear in her arms. He opened his arms and she climbed into his lap, “Hey Love Bug, what you doing up?”

“It’s raining.”

Chris glanced over at the window and nodded his agreement, “you got scared, huh?”

“Yea.”

“Well there’s nothing to worry about, Daddy’s right here.”

“Daddy, am I ever gonna get a mommy?”

“Well Sweetheart, that’s a very complicated question.”

“Is it?”

“Yea, see I don't’ know if I wanna share you with anybody else.”

Anesa giggled, “well if I can share you, you think you can share me?”

“I’d have to think about it really hard. Is that something you’re nervous about?”

“I just don’t want you to be all alone.”

“I know, Love Bug but I’ll be just fine.”

“Auntie Jessica said you were married before.”

“I was.”

“What happened to her? Did she die?”

“No. Things just didn’t work out. I wasn’t exactly the right guy for her.”

“Oh. So she left?”

“No, I did but I really thought it was the best thing to do at the time.”

“Do you miss her?”

Chris sighed as he leaned his chin on the top of her head, “sometimes I do. Sometimes I do.”

“Does it make you sad?”

“It can but I’ve learned to deal with it.”

“Do you think you’d ever go back to her?”

“I don’t think that would be the right thing to do either.”

“Oh.”

“You sound so sad, Honey.”

“I’m sad for you, Daddy.”

“Why? I’m happy. I’m exactly where I want to be. Here with my Love Bug and my work. Daddy’s just fine.”

Anesa turned and hugged him as Chris blew out a breath over her shoulder.

                                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robyn washed her hands then sat down in her office. She had steady appointments all day, luckily mostly check ups but she was still tired. Being the head vet and the owner and shelter organizer always took a toll on her body. She twisted her neck from side to side to relieve some tension just as her office door opened, “Hi Beverly.”

Beverly, her trusty assistant, was always ready to rain on her parade, “Ms. Fenty, we just received a really huge invitation in the mail.”

“We?”

“Well you but you know what I mean.”

“What is it for?”

“The New York Society Charity Awards Gala. They want to recognize the shelter for its success.”

“That’s nice. Tell Ashley to go in my place.”

“Wait. What?”

“I don’t feel like rubbing elbows with the rich, that’s Ashley’s forte, let her do it.”

“Fenty, this is a huge opportunity for donations and connections. You cannot send your shelter manager in your place.”

“Why can’t I? She’s dealt with these people before. She even knows most of them. She has an Ivy League Degree, why can’t she go in my place?”

“The award is for you.”

“So?”

“Robyn, you can’t be serious.”

“I am in no condition to be bothered with anyone.”

“The gala isn’t for another month, you can’t muster up some give a fuck in a month.”

Robyn glared at Beverly, who simply folded her arms across her chest in response, “I’m not doing this.”

“You are doing this. I will schedule your appointment with your stylists for fittings and hair tryouts. We’ll see about getting you an escort and get a speech written for you.”

“I’m not going, Beverly.”

“You will go even if I have to get your entire family from Barbados to make you. This is a perfect opportunity and you will not squander it being anti-social.”

“Get out of my office, Beverly.”

“I will add the appropriate appointments to your calendar. Your 2:30 appointment canceled so you’re free until 4.”

Beverly promptly walked out of her office and Robyn tossed her head down on her desk. She couldn’t do this. She hadn’t been to an event like this since she was married to Chris. He’s a well-known architect and had a hand in a lot of buildings in the city. The circles aren’t that large in this tax bracket so she’s sure to run into people she knew back in California. She wasn’t ready for the questions and the stares if she showed up and especially if she showed up with someone else. They had kept their divorce quiet for several reasons mainly because she didn’t want to be embarrassed. Robyn Fenty, veterinarian extraordinaire, can’t even keep her marriage together. Some of those people would be colleagues, alumnus of her alma mater, people who whispered that once Chris got a taste of the good life, he wouldn’t stay with his middle school girlfriend long. Sadly, they were right. They barely made it three years before he walked out. She wasn’t going to this gala.

C: I really think you should attend. It’s for business.

A: It’s business that I don’t want anything to do with. I have associates specifically for things like this

C: Why is it so bad for you to go?

A: These parties always have people I knew back when I was married. Many of them don't know I’m divorced

C: Well people get divorced all the time

A: Yea but they normally don't have to be around the same people who said it wouldn’t last

C: Anna, you can’t be embarrassed about something so common.Things happens

A: That’s easy to say

C: Besides I would love to see a photo of you in your gown

A: Lol, is that the real reason you want me to go?

C: Well considering we aren’t meeting anytime soon, it’d be nice to see

A: it wouldn’t be a face shot.

C: Not changing anything for me

A: I mean I could just get dressed, post the picture and you’d be none the wiser

C: You could but I sense you’re a little too honest for that

A: Lol, I’ll take that as a compliment

C: Good, because I meant it as one

A: lol

C: are you writing lol because you’re actually laughing or because you’re smiling?

A: both

C: they do make emojis

A: Yea but I feel silly using them

C: Ah, I guess

A:You know what, I will go to the gala if you agree to go on a virtual outing with me

C: Like VR

A: More like a video meet up but no cameras

C: Just voices?

A: automated voices

C: you really wanna hold onto this mystery thing, huh?

A: I feel so comfortable with you, probably because I don’t know you but I feel like once you remove the mystery, shit gets too real

C: That’s a good rationale. How about this, my job has some assistance programs that can do text to speech. I can send you a few options, you choose one, we pick a date and we have our little blind date so to speak

A: you would do that for me?

C: Absolutely. I really like you, Anna

A: I like you too, Chris

“So you really like him but you won’t go on a real date with him?” Melissa asked.

“Mel, if I do that then this becomes way more than what it is.”

“Which is?”

“Two people just getting to know each other.”

“Without having to really know each other. You haven’t told this man your real name.”

“Because it doesn’t matter. That’s what I like most. The little things don’t matter.”

“So if he was using a fake name too, it wouldn’t bother you.”

“No. He’s not obligated to give me anything he doesn’t want to.”

“You are petrified of commitment.”

“I’ve been hurt enough, I don’t want to go through that again.”

“And you think by withholding basic information yet spending time with this man will prevent that.”

“The longer he remains a stranger, the easier it will be to walk away. I’m not looking for love or to move on. Just a new friend,” Robyn replied as she held a dress up to her body, “what do you think?”

“It’s nice. You really want to go long sleeves for this?”

“Either that or get a nice jacket. It gets cold at these things.”

“That’s true. So who’s your escort?”

“Nobody. I told Beverly that I’d go but I am not taking anybody with me.”

“Not even me?”

“Do you want to go? I can send in for a plus one.”

“Not really but it was nice you offered.”

“You sure Sis?”

“Very sure. I got a boyfriend to do things with on the weekends so I’ll be busy.”

“Oh rub it in. How is Juan anyway?”

“He is good. We were thinking about doing a friendcation next month. Go back to PR to see his family.”

“Oh that’s nice. I’m sure Lele and you will have a great time.”

“You wouldn’t come?”

“No. Hard pass.”

“I’m really tired of you ducking us, it’s not like we’re gonna fix you up on a blind date or something.”

“I know but I also don’t want to be the fifth wheel. No thank you.”

Melissa sighed, “I guess. Maybe if you’d get your life right with this new Chris, you could bring him.”

“I don’t want to meet him, Mel”

“I really don’t understand why not, y’all seem to have great chemistry.”

“Yea but I really just wanna leave it at that. I’m too fragile for anything more.”

“Have you ever thought to talk to your ex-husband?”

“Why? So he can make me feel even worse?”

“Or maybe so you can heal. Robyn, y’all had a really abrupt situation. You both were in a bad space. Maybe you just need to talk things out so you can move on.”

“Why do y’all coddle him so much? Why is it nobody’s mad at him but me?”

“Because we love both of you. Clearly, neither of you were in your right minds. Nobody thought you should've gotten divorced but neither of you were happy.”

“I did not want one. He wanted out and nobody seems to be lying that at his doorstep. It’s almost like you know something that I don’t.”

“Robs, that is most definitely not the case. We just don’t think being mad at anyone is gonna solve anything. Chris was hurting, from what we don’t know, but we all knew something wasn’t right with him. You were hurting, we all knew that too. Neither of you needed the extra weight of anyone else’s judgment.”

“It doesn’t feel very neutral.”

“Because you don’t want neutral, you want us to pick sides and that’s not gonna get any of us anywhere.”

“Well have you spoken to him?”

“We texted a few months ago but that was it.”

“Oh.”

“Do you wanna see him?”

“No because I’m still angry. Seven years later and I’m still fucking pissed. Seeing him would do me no good.”

“Robs, I think it might.”

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I’m thinking the navy blue, what about you?’

Melissa sighed, “I love it.”

“Great.”

Robyn grabbed the dress and headed to the cash register.

[fynctsbuuuts]

Just Say Yes; Johnny Seo

Pairing: Johnny Seo X reader

Genre: Kinda angst..?

Disclaimer: I do not own Johnny or any member I write for. I only own the writing. The description I am portraying them to be are not accurate at all. Everything I write is fiction, please don't take anything to heart.

A/N: Full credit to the owner and creator of the picture.

There were no words to describe the feeling Johnny felt in his chest when ever he saw her. Especially, whenever he saw her cradling a child in her arms. The sight was so stunning, she was so delicate, loving and attentive over every child that crossed her path. It was a sight that exited him for a future with her.

He wanted nothing more than to buy the most beautiful, most expensive ring for her, all for her. He wanted the hectic life of planning a wedding. Wanted to see her pacing around the room, stress radiating off of her because she couldn't find the perfect dress. He wanted to walk behind her and warp his long arms around her waist, whispering into her ear that she'd look beautiful in anything, even a trash bag. Causing her to laugh. Oh her beautful laughter.

He wanted that. He wanted to have a child with her. Boy or girl, it never mattered to him.

He just wanted to see his child being born. Wanting to hold her hand tightly as she pushed their blessing out. He wished to carry their new born baby as soon as the doctor pulls it out.

He wanted to kiss their boo boo's away whenever they got hurt. He could already imagine Y/n scolding them for being so reckless. He knew how worried she could get. He'd be there, reassuring her that their child is fine. And reassuring their child.

He wanted to send them off to preschool. He'd be so proud of them, tears threaten to fall from his eyes.

He wanted to scare off their significant others because they'll forever be his baby. No matter how old they get, their still his to protect and love.

And he wanted to see them on their wedding day, in love just like he is with their mother.

He wanted to grow old with her, die with her by his side. He'd give up everything for her.

The amount of happiness and joy she brought him was something he could only see in movies. But he was lucky enough to find the love of his life.

Just thinking about this possible future made him smile widely. His mood completely changing.

But there was only one problem.

She didn't want the same things.

Y/n has told Johnny countless of time how she is afraid of marriage. How she never believed in the concept of marriage. And how she wasn't the most patient person in the world to take care of a baby.

He understood this, although he was skeptical, confused as to why she was so afraid of marriage. But he let it be, not wanting to scare her off. They never even had sex, and he was totally fine with this. He didnt want her just because of sex. But it's been four years.

Four years..

And the idea still bothers her. His family started asking about a future family, about grandchildren, a wedding. And he was planning on finding out why she was so bothered by all of this, their future. And he was determined to find out.

"Hey, beautiful" Johnny whispered against Y/n’s temple. Slowly running his hands up and down her sides. Causing her to giggle and push herself away from his touch. Turning around, she wrapped her arms around his neck, softly caressing the hairs at the back of his neck.

It was their only day off, and they wanted to spend some quality time together. Though, Johnny's parents were in town and they wanted to have a small get together with the rest of the family. And of course, Johnny had to go.

"Are you okay?" Y/n asks softly, enjoying the closeness of his body against hers. They were currently in the kitchen alone. Most of the family members were in the living room, talking and just catching up with each other.

“Yeah, I'm fine" He says, kissing her forehead lightly while sneaking his hands around her waist. Bringing her body closer to his. He was defiantly in love with this girl.

"John- oh, I'm sorry I didnt know you were busy" His mom interrupts, laughing in embarrassment as both Johnny and Y/n move away from each other. Embarrassment clearly shown on both their faces.

"Sorry mom" Johnny laughs while leaning against the counter.

"Oh dont be sorry, I mean, you guys are a couple. I'll be expecting some grandkids soon, right?" She wiggles her eye brows while walking out of the kitchens, taking some paper towels with her.

Y/n immediately tenses up at the mention of kids, and Johnny quickly noticed this. Bitining the inside of his lip he strolls over to her.

"Why dont you want kids?" He asks bluntly, not wanting to sugarcoat the situation.

"We're not having this conversation right now" Y/n shakes her head as she grabs her cup filled with water.

"Then when will we? Cause no matter how many times I bring it, you always have a way of dodging it" Anger and confusion slowly filling him up.

"Johnny, we'll talk about this later" Y/n was already fed up with the conversation. She’s heard this one too many times. "Fine" He soon gave up, after looking at her for a few seconds. He slowly walked over to her, kissing her temple. She didnt once look up from the counter. He sighs in defeat and leaves the kitchen. She held her tears in, breathing in and out, holding onto the counter tightly. After a while, she walked out as well. Wanting to forget about the situation and integrate in the conversation the family was having.

Weeks after the incident was spent without physical contact, weeks without direct communication is what made him him snap so suddenly. The fact the she has been avoiding him just because of a question was outrageous and immature in his eyes.

“Can you please tell me what's wrong? You've been ignoring me for weeks now." He confronted her, expecting an explanation.

Your POV

“Its nothing" You whisper, eyes not leaving your phone. You knew what you were doing was incredibly childish, but you knew what he wanted, and you just weren't ready for this conversation.

"Y/n, I love you, God only knows how in love I am with you" He breathes out, letting a small chuckle out.

“But I just need to know if you feel the same. I get it if you dont want to have kids..or marriage.” His voice clearly laced with sadness as he said this, causing you took look at him for a split second.

“But i deserve an explanation on why you're shutting me out all of a sudden. Or at least tell me why you don’t want a family. That's what couples are supposed to do, talk." He finished his mini rant with hopeful eyes.

“I'm sorry, Johnny, I can't. I'm not ready for marriage and i dont want children. I dont have a reason and theres nothing to talk about" >Great way to make it worse,Y/n<. You thought. You knew he had every right to know. He only meant good, but you were so scared of his reaction. Afraid that he'd leave you. The man of your dreams. The man that never dared disrespect you in any way. The man who was there for you through thick and thin. There was no denying that you were in love with him, and he had every right to be mad, every right to know.

"I-" A million ways to tell him crosses your mind, yet you couldn’t say a thing. It was as if you lost your voice. A headache at the right side of your head. Indicating that a migraine was soon to appear, which will eventually consume your whole body into an unbearable pain.

“Are you seeing someone else?"

That one sentence felt like a dagger going through both your hearts. Your eyes winded at the sudden accusations, you couldn’t help but feel slightly offended that he’d think so low of you. But you knew exactly where he was coming from.

“I would never, Johnny” You say sternly, slowly getting up from your spot on the couch. Tears threatening to spill out of your eyes because of the terrible situation you were in.

“Well what is it then? Help me understand what you’re keeping from me. It’s been four years, Y/n. I want to start a family with you and only you. Understand this, but hey, I understand if you don’t want the same. But at least give me a reason why, because I know there is a bigger reason than not being ready” He sighs in defeat, throwing his hands to his sides.

At this point, you were just looking for excuses to end the conversation. This was probably the first time he ever confronted you like this, and you were at loss for words. Afraid of the consequences that the truth would bring.

Your thoughts were interrupted by Johnnys chuckle. Your head shot up, looking at him directly in his eyes. Sadness was all you could see in his beautiful brown eyes. And you wanted nothing more than to hold him. But you couldn’t.

“Well, until you’re ready, I’ll be staying at the dorms” He said with a light crack in his voice. Causing you to break down in tears. As if reflex, you quickly wiped them away, careful not wipe to hard and hurt yourself.

“Johnny, please” you managed to spit out, but he just gave you a side glance before opening the door.

“I still love you, Y/n, but I feel like I’m the only one committed in this relationship” he coughs out, walking out the door with a sad sigh.

You felt like running after him, but you couldn’t move really. You just sat there, silent tears streaming down your face.

As if on cue, your phone started ringing, causing you to jump in surprise. Quickly disconnecting the charging cable from your phone, you looked at the unsaved number and smiled to yourself. You wiped your moist fingers on your jeans and answer the call.

“Hey, baby” You voice came out in a raspy tone. Taking a deep breath as the sweet voice came through the phone. Immediately relaxing at his soothing voice.

“Hi, mommy!”

[voice-for-all-youths]

I’ve Never Been In Love

I've never been in love. 

Never had the urge to grow old with a certain someone. 

Never felt the urge to kiss a sweetheart. 

I've never admired someone and think them beautiful enough to have an interest in someone. 

I've never met a person with a personality that would make me want to spend the rest of my life with them. 

I have friends who I love. 

I have family who I love. 

  But I don't think I've ever been "in love." 

Never had a crush. 

Never had a relationship. 

Never been in love. 

 I'm still young, very, very, very young. But its all around me. The concept, having a girlfriend, a boyfriend, or a "them." The obsession with love is everywhere; in books, in movies, in magazines, to blogs, to YouTube videos, to Instagram posts, and Snap-chat stories. People are immersed in it, and if they aren't, they probably are trying to find it, or maybe if you are like me and are simply just curious, and then there are the lucky few who don't need love (but this isn't about them). 

And I think that as a person who has never experienced "it", I think I understand the attraction. 

A person who is always there, someone who you can laugh with, cry with, be with. Imagine that, somebody who you can count on no matter what, in this world of small talk, and online interactions, texting, and calling, with rarely any face to face, a real person! Imagine that! 

Somebody who you can talk to for hours upon hours with, in person or on the phone, and you won't get tired of them...they won't get tired of you. 

And then there is supposedly the best kind, the perfect kind when the person you love is your best friend. When you fall in love with your best friend, the one who knows all your secrets and living your life with you, or maybe they didn't, but they know your stories and your feelings. And they understand you better than they know yourself. 

But there's more to it! (Or at least that's what they say) I know it sounds cheesy, but apparently, a part of it is the hand-holding, and the hugs, and the cuddling and the kissing, and maybe the more intimate parts that a young child shouldn't be discussing. But that is supposed to be a part of it, and it's supposed to help make it real.

So yeah, I do get the whole "attraction" to the whole idea of romance, or love, and maybe a small part of no matter how much I deny it, wants to feel that way with a person, or for a person (or persons, whatever it is you feel).

And maybe, just maybe, if or when I do will it give me what I want most. Will it make it so that way I'm not tired of hanging out with people, or maybe- maybe I won't feel like a burden all the damn time. Is it true that when you are in love that you feel like you don't need to apologize because you know it is meant to be? Is that true?

And I want to know what it is like to love a person. How does it feel?

     Does it make you happy?

                         Sad?

                          Mad?

                      Confused?

What would it be like to think of a person and immediately smile? 

Would being "in love" make you happier?

Would someone loving you make you happier?

I want to know, even though I want to laugh it off and say I don't, and people buy that, they know I'm the one who's never been in love or had a crush, they know that. So it's believable, but I do think, a small (it's larger than I give it credit for) wants to know, what is it like?

Because with all the stuff I see, the way it is advertised like the toy I wanted when I was little on TV, it looks like it has to be worth it. And even if it wasn't the experience of having it is worth sharing, broken hearts and sob stories, have been told with the same passion and force of a warrior who fought a losing battle. 

It doesn't matter if they lose, they were a warrior who we will admire, and they risked their lives and their hearts and they came back with scars as reminders and lessons for themselves and others. 

We may shame them, yes, but for some, it is an experience that they have and we don't. 

Can a person make you a better human being? Is it possible? 

If I was in love and was loved would I be comfortable? Would that be the very thing that made me stop apologizing? Would it help me realize my true worth? 

And I think I want it all. 

The feeling of falling.

The feeling of love. 

The feeling of rejection. 

The feeling of heartbreak. 

What's it like to feel?

Is it a stronger emotion that is different from the others? Does it make everything you do come to life, does it make every experience stronger, more vibrant? Or is it more subtle? Is everything still the same, but do you have a lighter feeling in your heart, is it like a subtle color shift in a photo, not more vibrant per se, but smoother, calmer? What is it like?

And when I think about all the things I would want in a person, all the things that a person would want in me, everything that I would feel if I did by chance "fall in love", I can't help but think..." why can't I do that for myself?" 

I spend so much time alone, and I enjoy it sometimes like one enjoys the sun but also needs the shade. And I sometimes crave to be alone, because people are tiring, and I'm just bored, and so, so tired of dealing with the day to day basis of society. But when I'm alone, it's because I want to be alone.

But not because I want to be with me.

I'm alone because I'm tired of people, and not because I want to be with me. 

I know that I have rejected myself before, and I know that I have caused myself heartbreak. 

I should smile when I think about something that I would like, I should enjoy the conversations I have with myself, and I should look forward to doing some things alone, things that make me happy.

 I shouldn't be getting tired of myself. 

I should be the person who makes me feel like I'm not a burden. I should be the person who makes me realize that I don't need to apologize all the time. 

I shouldn't be getting tired of myself. 

I should "fall in love" with myself. 

And it's a cliche thing to say, (but isn't everything these days) that may be for me to love someone else, I might need to learn to love myself first. 

- a long poem by Liya

[writing-inspiration-and-refs]

Writing Resources (WIP)

Characters & World

https://thispersondoesnotexist.com - Every refresh of the page creates an AI generated image of a person. Random age, ethnicity, and gender. I don't normally endorse AI, but this takes photos of people and compile them to make a realistic photo of someone who doesn't actually exist. It isn't like other AI generators that steal the work of others.

https://www.dialectsarchive.com - An audio based archive of international, English based dialects and accents. You can search by regional name or by map.

https://www.mrinitialman.com/OddsEnds/Sizes/compsizes.xhtml - A visualization tool that allows you to compare the heights of up to six characters.

https://www.redblobgames.com/maps/mapgen2/ (or mapgen4) - A good map generator if you don't know where to begin with your world building. 2 is simpler and less detailed, but both work based on a system of sliders to realistically alter the maps.

Dice Method Maps - If you are looking for a totally random method of map building, this is the way to go. Using a handful of dice, you'll be assigning each side (if using standard 6 sided) or type (if using role playing dice) to an element (cities, mountains, water, etc). Roll or drop the dice on a large paper or poster board and mark out your map elements based on where/how the dice land. If you are using role playing dice, you can let the number dictate the size of the element (ex. rolling a 20 on a d20 might give you a bustling city or a 1 would give you a small settlement). Once you've pencilled in the elements, remove the dice and add more details.

Names - A classic but a good one, I like to use baby name sites to find names. You can search by gender (or gender neutral), origin, meaning, time period, popularity (though they tend to be white and western forcussed). Film credits can be a good resourse to find names. There are fantasy name generators, resources for Indigenous names, etc. Something I like to do for fantasy names is to look up words that are thematic to the story or character and translate them into different languages until I find one that speaks to me. I keep a spread sheet of first names and one for last names that I like.

Words

https://reversedictionary.org & https://www.onelook.com/thesaurus/ - Look up a word based on its definition

https://chir.ag/projects/tip-of-my-tongue/ - Can't remember a word, but know what it sounds like or the letter it starts with? Need to unscramble a word? This will help you find the word you're looking for ... or at least narrow down the list.

https://owlcation.com/humanities/400-Alternative-words-for-said - A list with hundreds of words you can use instead of said. It is broken down by emotion, how the word was said, adverbs you can add, etc.

https://describingwords.io - Type in a noun into the search engine, and it will generate adjectives you can use to describe it

Ideas

Writing prompts - there are a lot of great writing prompt collections out there. @writing-prompt-s is here on tumblr. There's also r/writingprompts on reddit and other curated collections of user submitted prompts. A quick web search will give you many more if you want to narrow down to specific genres. I like to let interesting images and strange dreams inspire me. Images that give me a little spark, I post here.

More prompts - I take inspiration from all sorts of places. I occasionally have dreams that are vivid and interesting enough to remember and write down. Artworks are often a source of inspiration for me. Certain music lyrics, art (including fanart), etc. Landscape photos. Even just 'what if' type concepts will spark ideas.

Mash together genres/settings - I know the 2011 movie 'Cowboys vs Aliens' isn't the best movie in the world by any means, but I really enjoy the concept because it is something we hadn't really seen before. A lot of the time when we talk about aliens, it's in a modern or futuristic setting. Find two things you don't normally see together (or haven't seen at all) and go from there. It can be a great exercise in worldbuilding because you need to figure out how your characters will navigate the world/situation. Ex) Vampire cowboy. Aliens in medieval times. Witches in a science fiction setting (like space or the technologically advanced future), dinosaurs and pirates, etc.

[inakoma]

So there I was sitting on a large, rusty industrial trolley tipped on its side staring out onto a freshly hoed field. Swatting at flies that dare obstruct my gaze out to the horizon. On my phone writing about the deep dark feelings only the notes app can hold and I was thinking about mortality- but like as a concept. Mainly thinking about the phrase 'weak mortal' because it could mean a mortal that is weak but it could mean a being that is weakly mortal (like weakly acidic). Which led to me realising if mortality were a spectrum then a weak mortal would be the closest you could get to immortality as a mortal.

Got me thinking it'd be nice to see a vampire movie where the big bad is calling our heroes "weak mortals" and the de facto leader (who lacks enough emotional depth to be a thrilling protagonist) drives a stake through their heart and is all like "mortality is a spectrum!" and the jaded bad ass, punk kid in the group adds "...and we're tired of letting scum like you live in it." *Spits on vampire ashes* and the black, non binary, human-loving vampire pianist who's new to the group is like "I'm so dumb, I literally just got why you've been calling yourselves 'Some Weak Mortals' all this time" *facepalms* and the annoyingly emotionally stable leader of the group turns to xem and is all like "Now that you're part of the team I guess we're going to have to come up with a new name" and the punk kid from before who's literally everyone's favourite is like "damn I'm sure gonna miss how our enemies would shudder at the thought of squaring up against some weak mortals" while giving the leader a sarcastic evil eye for picking such a dumb name. The leader retorts "Okay fine was it a great name? No. Was it the name's fault so many mortals who are weak can't live without fear even today? Undoubtedly. But, was the name inclusive to everyone in the gang at the time? Yes."

Then the punk kid goes off:

"You see that's your problem golden boy. You're far too much of a people pleaser to deal with matters as important this. Look it's simple really as you say mortality is a spectrum and we're running around picking off the fuckers we don't wanna see on it. We're not some weak mortals. We're not inclusive™. We are..." then it cuts to title screen:

THE GATEKEEPERS

Credits roll

Keith David narrates the "The Gatekeepers" bit btw if that wasn't already obvious and 'The Gatekeepers 2: who gatekeeps the gatekeepers and why the gate keeps gating it's own keep despite the gaters' will feature dementors, forcing the gang to reassess their ideas on mortality to include those who were never even born and of course it will provide in depth instructions on how to kill what was never born and never lived.

(Disclaimer: I'd hate for people to get upset thinking I'm calling them weak mortals so just to clarify all humans reading this fall under the 'strong mortals who are weak' category. Which is to say you're so much stronger than the weak mortals but only in how mortal you are. You are a mere mortal and their mortality is tainted with elements that make them harder to kill and live much longer lives. This explanation isn't made to make you feel better, it's to make sure you're getting upset at the right insult. Your class: strong mortal. Your disposition: weak. Your class means you will die easier and faster than anything else on the mortality spectrum. Your disposition means I don't like you.)

Anyways, first you're going to want to grab a big bowl and get all the ingredients you're gonna wanna put in your brownies altogether:

Add half a cup of melted butter and a whole cup of sugar to the bowl and stir for 30 seconds:

Then add 2 eggs, and 3 teaspoons of vanilla essence and a cheeky lil bit of maple syrup before stirring for a further 1 minute:

Melt your chocolate and mix in but not thoroughly. Then add 3/4 cup of flour:

...and sieve in 1/4 cup of cocoa powder and Cadbury drinking chocolate powder:

Mix again and put a pack of Oreos and galaxy minstrels in a sandwich bag:

Obliterate the content of the sandwich bag by any means necessary:

Finally add the content of the sandwich bag and give one final light stir:

Grease a pan and fit the mix into pan smoothing the top to make it relatively even:

Pop in oven with heat 180° (fan) for around 20 minutes then Bob is your uncle:

Anyone else love the feeling of cleaning up the kitchen while baking so fast no one sees you. Honestly it's better than sex🥵

Um I don't actually possess the skill set required to eat brownies. This satisfaction of producing baked goods seemingly out of nowhere is what fuels me.

[revchainsaw]

Demolition Man (1993)

I am by no means an Action Movie guy. I have however time and time again found myself surprised by the genre when it has found its way into my viewing habits. The first Action Movie that really impressed me was Die Hard. I watched it one Christmas as I searched for more unusual holiday fare and was utterly blown away. I felt as if I should seek out more of these films. I got as far as Lethal Weapon 2 before I retreated back to the world of absurd horror and sci-fi. If not for the power of cultural osmosis and the question of the 3 shells i might not have worked up the interest to check out 1993's Demolitions Man. I was expecting a typical cop vs criminal action flick starring Stallone, but what I found was an absolutely delightful Science Fiction Comedy.

The Message

Released in 1993 Demolition man starts right out of the gate with a hilariously pessimistic prediction that by the year 1996 every city in America will be Gotham on crack. The Joker of this film is Simon Phoenix and though he lacks the circus act accoutrement he is absolutely a clown prince of crime. I would not be surprised to discover Heath Ledger took inspiration from Snipes for his turn as an agent of chaos. Phoenix is an unstoppable force and in Stallone he finds his immoveable object, John Spartan (God I love these action movie names), a cop who will walk through hell itself to see this mad man brought to justice. However in his blind pursuit of his greatest enemy Spartan is easily coaxed into making reckless decisions, resulting in unnecessary fatalities. Both Spartan and Phoenix are thus sentenced to cryogenic prison sentences.

In 2032, Phoenix is thawed out for a parole hearing and of course things go as you might expect. Phoenix finds that he has changed, someone has used scifi shenanigans on him while he was frozen giving him abilities both mental and physical that he had not had before, hinting at some kind of conspiracy, he also finds that this was overkill as even the unmodified Phoenix would not have had any trouble conquering the world of 2032. Society has become utopian and nobody has a concept of using physical force to resolve issues. This leads the police of the time to make the controversial decision to thaw out Spartan to bring down the villain.

Hilarity ensues as Sandra Bullocks character, Lenina Huxley (awesome name once again; named after the author of Brave New World), is tasked with keeping the primitive 90s action hero in line with the moral imperatives of the time. This includes avoiding violence, not using naughty words, a vegetarian diet, and socially distanced sexual intercourse (a gag at the time but in the real life 2020's may have been a welcome invention).

Without giving too much more away, this future peace comes at a great cost to personal freedom and expression and there is a society of free people living in the fringes of society known as Scraps lead by a civil rights leader of sorts named Friendly. There is a sinister conspiracy to wipe them out that is the central plot contrivance that brought our forces of Good and Evil to face off. The Super Phoenix betrays his handlers, seeks to turn this utopia into his personal playground and is eventually defeated by Spartan in the final showdown. Sylvester Stallone eagerly eats a rat burger and Sandra Bullock says a cuss word at one point.

The Benediction

Best Character: Phoenix Rises

Everyone loves a villain. I had mostly known Wesley Snipes from the Blade films and did not know he had this kind of range. I expected very stoic boring bad ass action dialogue from both Stallone and Snipes in this movie, and believed the sci-fi elements would simply be space cars and laser guns but was I wrong. I'm so happy to be wrong. This film just surprised me and Snipes performance as Phoenix was by far the most enjoyable. I loved his menace and the threat that he presented. I don't think there had been such a loveable bastard force of nature character like this portrayed in film so well until this time. He is such a believable threat that I really doubted there was going to be a way to bring him down. It was great to see the other characters underestimate him and to see him not only physically dominate his obstacles but to also out smart and out class his 'puppet masters' was just a pleasure the whole time.

Best Actor: Bullock in the Chamber

I know that Sandra Bullock stars in a ton of comedy films but I've never been able to say that I found her to be particularly funny. She also strangely plays a cop in a lot of these comedies. I may think of Lilina Huxley every time I think of Sandra Bullock from now on. She was absolutely hilarious, deadpan and dedicated to this character in a way that sold the world of 2032 America. I really don't think that the overly sensitive utopic world would have felt like a genuine place where human beings lived and not just a cartoonish backdrop without the honesty that Bullock brought to the role. It's hard to find actors who can inhabit a comedic world as seriously as a Middle Earth. And maybe that's not what she'd like to be remembered for, but I think she deserves that credit.

Best Aspect: a Genre/Genre/Genre Classic

Demolition Man is such a pleasant surprise. No one in this movie seems to begrudge it's wackiness and it lends itself to the humor in a way that lets the audience rest in the assurance that this was a pleasure for the cast and crew as much as it is a pleasure for us. It doesn't sacrifice it's action to be to screwball, and it doesn't sacrifice it's world building to be to absurd. It's a comedy that takes it's self seriously. I can not stress enough that this movie nails several genre's at once. It's a funny comedy, an ideologically committed satire, an exciting action flick, a hard science fiction tale that explores the high concept of the consequences of utopia, and a fantasy that sells it's goofy future world.

Worst Aspect: If Only Cops Were More Violent

I am not a fan of the implications of the film. In the 90s it seemed that PC culture was the big enemy of personal freedom and that giving a shit about other peoples feelings was going to turn our civilization into a bunch of overly sensitive weaklings. This narrative has imbedded itself in our culture and produced a generation of selfish assholes who feel completely justified in their every callous action. Demolition Man is a Libertarian science fiction film, but I find that it's central fiction is just that. I do not believe that committing to non-violent conflict resolutions, considering the feelings of others, and not eating meat will 'neuter' our abilities to live individually free and fulfilling lives. It's a caricature, that while funny, i think is inaccurate. If you are of the mindset that Personal Freedom is at odds with social justice then you may find yourself enjoying the idea that it takes a violent police reaction to save society from it's own worst impulses, but I find that idea fairly fantastical. I think seeing the community stand firm in their convictions and still overcome evil may have been a more ideologically realistic interpretation of how the day can be saved, but instead we are given a lone wolf renegade cop killing the bad guy will reform the world, and in todays world, that just seems like a profoundly stupid message.

Best Scene: Fight at the Museum

Demolition Man boasts several ass kicking confrontations between Spartan and Phoenix. The opening Escape from L.A. backdrop that establishes these deadly foes, and the fall out that an interaction between the two can have is considered extreme even when the world is seemingly at the brink of collapse. It really sets a high stake for our squeaky clean future. The final battle in the Cryo-lab is also iconic and features a pretty excellent practical effect. However, I'd have to give the best scene to the fight at the weapons exhibit. The fact that Spartan knows his enemy so well is on display as he predicts that the Weapons exhibit will be an irresistible draw, we get to see Phoenix at his chaotic best, great one liners, and it's just a toy box for both Hero and Villain to let lose and deliver on that fall out I was just mentioning had been set up in the first act. While I loved the comedic take on this rivalry, I'd like to see Snipes and Stallone take up their beef again in a more seriously violent film. They make for great arch-rivals.

Best Gag: Potty Mouth

When I was a kid I remember my father hauling ass down our residential road and getting pulled over just a block away from our driveway. I think he was doing 55 in a 35. It was his fault but as the proud small government southern man he was, he felt it was absolutely overreach on behalf of the police department to give him a ticket on the road that he lived on. Stupid, I know. But our car was full of groceries and the officer let our ice cream melt while the whole time we sat in the truck with our home in view. My father was so enraged about this ticket that he got revenge on the mean old government by writing the check to pay his ticket, and then using said check to wipe sweat from his ass crack after mowing the lawn the next day. He mailed it in and I as an 11 year old knew that it was not going to effect the offending officer in the least, but that some poor old county clerk was going to probably get pink eye. Anyway, if you handle money or checks, you should always wear gloves, or wash your hands regularly before touching your face or eating. All that to say, I really enjoyed that after being frustrated with the 3 shell system Stallone racks up a series of fines for profanity. These fines are issued via an automated ticket dispenser on the wall in the police department. Stallone lets out a string of hilarious expletives that I hope to God were adlibbed, before he is satisfied with a nice pile of paper in his hand. He implies that he is going to the bathroom to do a little paperwork, and the scene is over. Even if you don't want to watch the whole movie, go ahead and YouTube this scene. Stallone has a surprising talent for comedy on display here.

Summary

To Begin with, I would say not to take this film too seriously: It is a comedy, after all, and I am not certain that the political implications of the movie were meant to be thought out as much as I have above. Unlike Judge Dredd, which Stallone would star in 2 years after this, (tragically deciding to bring Rob Schneider along with him) Demolition Man does not openly advocate for fascism. It's funny, it's a tight story with a satisfying conclusion, it's got great action choreography and it may be Snipes, Bullock and Stallone at their absolute best.

Overall Grade: B

[akiyama-san]

I've noticed your comments about Love Live Sunshine and don't get me wrong, we all have our own opinions and I'm not telling you stop posting your negative thoughts about it, but why do you hate Love Live Sunshine so much? And if you hate it that much, why are you even watching it?

I suppose it comes off as hate doesn’t it? Well despite how it appears, it’s not entirely hate, it’s mostly disappointment, and while that might not sound much better i’ll try to explain what I mean, hopefully to a degree that it can be understood. 

Spose I should start at the top shouldn’t I? 

I think it goes without saying that this point that I didn’t like the original show at all, it had its moments, and 2 or 3 good characters, which isn’t saying much I realize but these casts are fucking bloated of course only a handful will be likeable. The concept seemed really fucking stupid from the outset, and it is, but I’ve seen worst, and as a first attempt by SunRise for an Idol show, to my knowledge, the idea to give it an actual plot to follow was in theory a noble one. It failed completely, but the thought was there. More to the point, almost everyone was completely flat, incredibly stupid, and beyond insufferable. 

I’ll be honest, I can put up with a lot, and if I had chosen to watch it of my own volition I’d probably have been more forgiving of the writers dancing on active fault lines, but at the time some years back, I had several people breathing down my neck to watch the fucking show so I went in pissed off. Don’t get me wrong, that doesn’t change the fact that these characters say and do things that would make me want to hurt a small child, but I would still have been more kind to it in the long run. 

Then the movie happened, and well.... Lets just say the series needed the fucking soft reboot that was Sunshine after that abysmal travesty of a movie that completely deficated on a third of the casts character development. I’m still trying to work out the quantum fucking mechanics of how Honoka could receive her microphone from her future fucking self BTW. 

I openly admitted this at the time, and this is important because this is often overlooked by the crowd. I said that after the failure of the movie, and knowing that a new series was coming, if SunRise could learn from their mistakes, then I would gladly and open-mindedly go into Sunshine with a positive attitude and be kinder to it if the series was able to escape its charred charcoal burned roots. 

Needless to say I was absolutely blown away by how incredibly Sunshine could be at times, and how baffling disgusting and incompetent it could be as well. I stress that Sunshine is wholly the better property I was able to enjoy more than whole episodes and character arcs completely this time around, as opposed to the original where I enjoyed maybe 10 minutes of its total 700 minute run from episode 1 to movie credits. 

The series had incredible characters to start, those already good characters ACTUALLY GREW INTO EVEN BETTER CHARACTERS, THESE CHARACTERS ACTUALLY GROW AND MATURE AND THAT’S INCREDIBLE. I’ll say openly that the second years are some of the best characters I’ve seen in any anime in the past several years, and I would never hope to take away from that. Better was that we actually had rivals that we could see and understand, that weren’t placed on a pedestal for no discernable reason, one that stood on relatively even ground that could be combatted in real time, force growth and change upon both groups. 

At the same time, while the series had heights and feats that rivaled Everest, it also had lows that would put the Mariana Trench to shame. No, I don’t care what anyone says, I will never get over all the bullshit that happened between Mari and Kanan, and how absolutely disgusting Kanan is, even now, refusing to grow up or stop being a cunt or do anything of value to the group you so claim to love. I’ll be generous and say I was fucking disgusted by SunRise repeating what happened with Honoka and Kotori in the first season here with Mari and Kanan, almost beat for beat. It was terrible the first time, and suicidally bad the second time. 

To regain the focus, by then end of it while my opinions were of the mixed nuts variety with plenty of roasted salt, I still gave it a hearty recommendation because I thought it was genuinely pretty good, blue cuntveats notwithstanding. 

NOW

Where my problem overall with Season 2 lies. If it disappointment and wasted potential were a physical force this series could level mountains. 

From the beginning we’re told that we’re on an incredibly strict time crunch and that we need to focus all our efforts hardcore in the second round. 

Only for almost literally all of the first 6 or 7 episodes to be nothing but filler and padding to waste time, where no growth or progression of any kind took place at all, and such wonderful gems as 

Dia: Please call me Dia-Chan.

Chka: No!

and the omnipresent 

Chika: Teach how to do a backflip

Kanan: Not on your fucking life!

Kanan: Oh shit she learned how to do the backflip... 

Where it all came to a head however was with the reveal of just how many students the school actually had, because that was something that was never brought up. The total number of students is 68 when all are accounted for. And the is beyond miserable. 100 fucking students isn’t enough, to maintain the school you need at least 200, but closer to 300. With 68 students the school should’ve closed fucking years ago. The revelation of that number killed the entire fucking show, it made moot the efforts and development of every single fucking character, because no matter what, even if they had gotten 100 students, this same predicament would still inevitably rear its head once again next year or the year fuckin after. 

I want to make clear, more than anyone else on this site, I have authority to speak on this matter, and no one can refute this, hell I’d barely even listen to them if they did because I severely fucking doubt they ever dealt with this sort of thing, if they did they would totally agree with me.

I have come face to face with a school closure myself. 15 years ago the district announced that my Elementary school would be closing, this school with 700 students that churned out some of the best results in the city might I add. It was a hard and long fought battle, it lasted 3 years, but eventually the parents won that war, and it’s still open now. How did they do that? By actually getting involved, going to meetings, talking directly to superintendents and comptrollers, explaining things like how some of them go to work really early or work late, they can’t send their kids anywhere else because they’d never be able to make it to other schools in the morning on time or pick up on time because of how far away they are, how different schools offer different programs, and not all schools offer the same accommodations for special needs children as this one did, ETC. The point is, the parents got active in the fight, the people that might have been able to affect the outcome did, and while it was no easy task, they did it, they actually fucking one that battle. 

I don’t expect even a fraction of that to occur, but to at the same time tell me that the parents don’t know or care at all, much less any of the other fucking 59 students are powerless to help in any meaningful capacity is an absolute load of horse shit. 

Where it started to bring my blood to a boil, nay to a bursting point, was what happened in the last to episodes with Saint Snow. The best song the franchise ever gave us was Self Control, followed by Shocking Party. This is a fact. From a single interaction some of the most intriguing and likeable characters we got were also Saint Snow. For them to be all but ignored in season 2 until 8 fucking episodes in is ludicrous, but for their first appearance in over 10 episodes to be them failing a concert and us not even getting to hear any of the fucking song, is insulting, it’s infuriating, it’s domestic abuse. This isn’t a slap in the face, this is Studio SunRise forcefully shoving their cock in your mouth against your will and punching you in the eyes with brass knuckles for crying about the cock in your mouth. 

Honest to God, if I wasn’t committed to seeing this through, these last two episodes would be my first set my merchandise on fire moment, and that is saying a lot. It might sound like i’m being overdramatic, but honestly there are a lot of people that agree with me on this matter. 

I did a lot of thinking in writing this post and it took me the better part of an hour to write it. I still hold fast on my thoughts about the original, 2/10 garbage. 

I still hold to my opinions of season 1 Sunshine, 7/10 very good. 

But this season? Well let me put it this way, I score every episode and tally the scores at the end, if season one got a 70 percent

Season 2 probably wouldn’t even reach a combined 20/130 

I will still recommend newcomers to Sunshine season 1 absolutely, but I will also absolutely tell them to pretend season 2 never happened, do not watch it because it will make you commit homicide in the aftermath. 

Why do I hate Sunshine Season 2? 

Because SunRise finds new and exciting ways to fail at absolutely everything on every single level every week. I infamously gave the movie a 1/10, in the long run, I think I would sooner rewatch that movie on loop than ever rewatch this season of Sunshine ever again.