#we got da cinema

[faefellangel]

My girlfriend told me to come upstsairs (we bought a projector today)

[cutiedwaekki]

wolfgang

summary : were werewolf chan make sure his human and mate Changbin is well feed for their pup

contain : weight gain , massive weight gain , mpreg , mention of lactation , praising

I decided to combine @jaethecreator and @rafalestorm413 ideas into one

Be prepare , This is my last fic for a while, I'm preparing a very long fic that will deserve all this waiting time 👀

Anyway enjoy ♡

U^ェ^U

—Jagi? I'm home! cried Chan before closing the door behind him. A long silence followed despite his entrance, but he didn't seem bothered by it.

The reason was that, as soon as he entered the living room, he saw his lover, Changbin, asleep on the sofa in front of a random drama, surrounded by the fast-food wrappers Chan had ordered earlier.

–Oh my love, you're beautiful! he exclaimed with a gentle smile as he approached him, placing a soft kiss on his forehead. You're getting more beautiful every day, perfect for welcoming our puppies," he added, tenderly caressing his swollen belly as it peeked out from his sweater.

U^ェ^U

And to think that just 2 years ago Changbin didn't look like this. He wasn't thin or fat. Just sort of in between. A chubby muscle body that combined his desire to gain muscle with a healthy appetite.

But when he met Chan, everything changed...

He'd invite her to restaurants, all-you-can-eat buffets, prepare delicious meals and make sure to massage his belly afterwards. The ideal husband, Changbin thought.

For his part, Chan saw in Changbin more than a boyfriend, he saw his mate, the one who would carry his puppies even though it was impossible for Changbin to do so given his human condition.

For yes, one thing that set this couple apart from the others was the fact that Chan is a werewolf.

Don't think of those canine hybrids like in Twillight! Chan gritted his teeth when the cinema portrayed them that way. In reality, they were more like hybrids, capable of transforming into wolves only when the moon was full. Some were able to master their transformation, others like Chan still had trouble controlling it and had to hide every full moon to avoid becoming uncontrollable.

At first, this was how Chan worked. He had been careful to hide his identity from Changbin, for fear that he would reject him and leave him. But he had underestimated that his inner wolf saw Changbin as his mate, often getting the better of him.

We have to feed our mate, he carries our puppies

Changbin must be healthy to carry our puppies

Changbin must be fulfilled

That's what he kept thinking, poking at his lover who obviously didn't mind and liked this form of affection.

Of course, this meant doubling his weight and gorging himself all day non-stop. And yet, he liked it and carried on. It wasn't Chan's affection he was after, but his desire to get bigger, to see how far he could go.

He loved the way Chan looked at him, the way his eyes darted over his belly, the way he rubbed it with affection as if he were pregnant, while the only thing Changbin wore was his obese body and two family-size fast-food menus.

Changbin didn't really know why Chan kept him overfed. He had once told him it was "instinct", but he quickly covered his mouth and refused to give any more details, leaving changbin confused but with ice cream on top.

However, Changbin really didn't care, as he liked not having to worry about watching his weight, as he had to do previously . Having a boyfriend who not only didn't care about his growing size, but actually enjoyed it, was a huge advantage for him.

Until he discovered the secret Chan was hiding.

U^ェ^U

It was one evening, just before the full moon. Chan pretended to be on a business trip, but Changbin was needy that day and wouldn't let his lover go, demanding more hugs and kisses. He even got naked in front of him and waddled around, letting his massive body rub against him.

And yet Chan refused, tempted as he was.

—Are you cheating on me, Channie?

Chan was shocked by this question and immediately replied what? No, I wouldn't dare, Jagi, you're the love of my life!

—so why do you go away every month? I've never been able to watch the full moon with you! What are you, a werewolf or sum'?

Although it was said ironically, Chan swallow , he seemed unable to lie for long, mumbling a light maybe i am that surprised Changbin in his loud reflection.

At first surprised, he didn't believe it and thought it was a joke. But given the serious look on his face, he couldn't think of a joke any longer and took him seriously.

—For real? My Channie is a werewolf? Like in Twilight?

—Don't talk to me about that, they're just feeding useless werewolf clichés!

—So you are one!

—Maybe ... your mad ?

Changbin crossed his arms, pretending to reflect.

—Mmh ... never with my Channie! But you should have told me earlier, my poor Channie you've had to endure this all alone without even me to help you.

He came to his side and embraced him tenderly, Chan didn't hesitate to nestle against him, rubbing his naked skin against his, placing his head against his chest and caressing his belly.

—I just have one question, Channie

—What is it my love?

—What's your fantasy about my belly? I mean, it's really hot and I love it when you touch it, but sometimes it's like you're acting like... like I'm pregnant or something.

Chan glipped before blushing, coming to cacje his face and sticking it on her belly, which he covered with a kiss.

—It's my wolf instinct, it wants to keep you fed so you can carry my puppies, but you've put on weight so easily that my wolf must surely think you're already pregnant.

Faced with this statement, Changbin blushed back, had he really become that fat? When was the last time he saw his feet? When had he ever completed a sports session? When had he accumulated so much fat on his body to start waddling?

When had he become so fat that Chan's wolf thought he was pregnant?

Why was he excited about it?

—I guess it's your fault... you keep me so well fed he said, patting his belly which trembled slightly at the slap

—I like knowing you're healthy and chubby, it's normal.

Changbin laughed, letting his double chin stand out. Channie, I haven't been chubby for a long time and you know it.

—Maybe, but to me it's never enough.

—So go do your werewolf thing, but promise to come back and feed me, I need to be well fed for your puppies.

U^ェ^U

What Changbin didn't know (and Chan even less) was that he was really going to carry Chan's puppies.

In fact, after 5 years of lovemaking, they got married in front of the moon, which accepted this union of human and werewolf by offering a worthy gift to Changbin, who proved himself worthy of carrying cubs.

Despite your human status, you'll have the privilege of giving birth to a prolific descent with your mate.

And so, the day after their wedding night, he became nauseous and hungry.

Much to Chan and his wolf's delight, their wish had finally come true.

—You're finally perfect to carry my pack, Binnie," he said, kissing his double belly.

—I wonder if I'll still be able to walk at nine months pregnant," he exclaimed as he laid his head on the nape of his lover's neck.

—You think I'm going to let you make such a pointless effort? The father of my puppies must be spoiled like a king!

—That's why I love you Channie

—It's not for my werewolf dick?

—Stop you pervert

U^ェ^U

Chan had kept his word: for nine months, Changbin spent most of his time in bed or on the sofa, munching on snacks or any other craving he could think of. As a result, he had become massive, so much so that the sofa and bed were reinforced to resist his weight.

His belly was now huge , resting on her equally massive thighs that Chan loved marked by gentle biting

His only physical efforts were to go to children's stores to buy clothes for their puppies and even that was reward with a bunch of food at Changbin's favorite restaurant.

So, in early autumn, Changbin gave birth to three beautiful puppies. Jisung, Felix and Seungmin all in good health thanks to their father's diet.

If you think that after the puppies' birth, Changbin would have started making more physical efforts, you're wrong.

He'd already got used to this sedentary lifestyle, but also to Chan doing everything for himself. Was he hungry? Chan would feed him directly. Can't reach the remote control in front of him? Chan would give it to him, accusing the stupid remote control of being too far away.

Plus , with puppies to look after, Changbin had to stay well fed to feed them back.

If Seungmin and Felix had normal appetites, Jisung seemed to be in love with his mother's milk, spending his days sucking it, making his brothers jealous of the attention he was getting from their mother.

But changbin loved his three children with the same intensity, and if his little Jisung had a big appetite, he had to satisfy it.

U^ェ^U

—He's going to make me lose weight," joked Changbin as he cradled Jisung.

Chang smilled and patted his belly affectionately.

—Impossible, I've kept you well fed for years.

Changbin chuckled as he looked at his baby. Compared to his brothers, Jisung was the chubbiest of the three, after all, he'd been constantly drinking his father's milk and had ended up this way, with lovely round cheeks that his parents admired and loved to pinch.

—Our children are beautiful, confided Changbin. I love our family.

Chan just smiled, unable to do anything but listen.

U^ェ^U

—Look how cute my family is ~

Today was the triplets' birthday, they were celebrating their first year and to mark the occasion they had organized a picnic in the forest so that the babies could experience their wolf form with their father.

They had run around all afternoon while Changbin sat in a tree reading a book and drinking tea (which contained more sugar than tea, but nobody had to know that).

His babies came back to him, attacking him with kisses, followed by Chan, who watched in admiration.

What did I deserve to have such a beatiful family? he thought, feeling the happiness his family brought him. The laughter emanating from the forest, gave joy and warmth to an atypical family who love each other so much.

[foxes-that-run]

Cinema

Cinema is playful, the primary metaphor of Cinema is about a performance, seeing something is an act and wanting them, but also feeling insecure that the person doesn't feel the same. When Howard Stern asked about Cinema Harry said is about himself. He specifically didn't confirm the wide speculation that because he dated someone in film it was about them, which the question led to. I also think that metaphor would be a bit on the nose for Harry, who has also appeared in many films:

I think most of the time when I write songs, they kind of start out as my own. It’s less about taking it to someone and more about capturing what I’m going through at the time. Turning life into art is about being true to those moments.

He also said to Zane Lowe:

Cinema's about like, I think I just want to make something that felt really fun, honestly. And I mean, I have the kind of note of writing it. It was very, I was like on a treadmill. And it's very just like me kind of going, do, do, do, do, do. Do-ba-da-ba-da-ba-da-ba-do-boo, you know? And it felt like a very fun one for me, because I used to tend to do so much writing in the studio, and it was very much like, I did this bit here, and had like the melody, and then I went home and added a little bit, and then kind of left it, and then added a little bit more, and kind of left it, and then went into the studio and kind of put it together.

Harry told us it took a long time over many sessions.

When was it written / who worked on it

That is not known when it was written, but the production notes have a hint. This is a rabbit hole of why I think (aspects of) Cinema is from the Fine Line sessions, feel free to scroll down as it's long. I do note that Harry said "like two songs" and Kid Harpoon said Little Freak and Boyfriends were first written for Fine Line. But maybe this was a draft, not 'a song' or maybe changed a lot. Kid Harpoon said:

it's funny when when you produce a song and you do it, someone gives you a song and says produce this, you kind of have to like brainstorm, how do I want this to sound? So, for example, Harry wrote that song, cinema, and kind of brought it into the studio, and we were like, okay, let's figure this out. How do we write? How do we produce this? And we, kind of, like, it would sound cool if it was like this, and kind of got some references together and kind of went for it

That sounds a rough version. Yet, it was it was co-written and produced by Sammy Witte, who worked on Cherry and Fine Line. It's the only song without a Kid Harpoon writing credit (although he said 'how do we write?').

Sammy Witte

Sammy also worked on Little Freak which was completed for HH. In 2021 when HH was being written Sammy was working with Luke Hemmings and Sza, he may have taken time out to write a song for HH but it is odd when Little Freak was also taken out of the vault. It seems more likely to me that a version of Cinema was written for Fine Line, but developed with Kid Harpoons production for Harry's House and changed so much they did not consider it a hold over.

Pino Palladino

Pino Palladino plays bass on Watermelon Sugar, Little Freak, Daydreaming and Cinema... see a theme? Pino said:

There’s a studio in Los Angeles called Henson Studios, which was originally Charlie Chaplin’s lot. It’s quite a historical place. I was rehearsing there with John Mayer for a tour around 2017. I met Harry Styles in that studio. John introduced me to him. While we were rehearsing, Harry would sometimes come and have a listen. He’s a big fan of John’s. Shortly after, I got a call inviting me to play on a couple of songs for Fine Line, the first of which was “Watermelon Sugar.” Harry and his producer played it for me in the studio and the bass line was only partly constructed.

Kid Harpoon also said that they brought Pino in to "work on another song" and tried him on Watermelon Sugar, which made the song. So Pino, Harry and Kid Harpoon all worked on 'other songs' together, when John Mayer was also there in Henson Studios in 2017.

John Mayer

Harry and John met in Japan in 2013 with Katy Perry - in a scene similar to what Taylor Swift described when talking about New Romantics. John plays guitar on Cinema and Daydreaming, but not on any of Fine Line. As in Pino's story above he was in the studio when they worked on Watermelon Sugar and unnamed FL vault tracks. It should be noted that John works at Henderson a lot, he has now bought it. He and Pino were there in 2021 also, I just think the missing Fine Line songs coupled with them appearing on Little Freak and Harry evading saying it is about OW is interesting.

Lyric Analysis

You got, you got the cinema

This line reminds me of a 2010 song by the same name - Cinema by Benny Benassi ft Gary Go. Harry wrote Endlessly with Gary, I expect Harry would know it this song. The hook of that song is "You are my cinema, I could watch you forever" means the muse is as fascinating as a movie. Later in Harry's Cinema he sings that he likes it when they dance for him, to me, 'You got the Cinema' means 'You've got me seated, I will watch you all night'.

It's you And I'm not gettin' over it Darling, is it cool If I'm stubborn when it comes to this? I guess we're in time If you're getting yourself wet for me I guess you're all mine When you're sleeping in this bed with me

Harry and his double entendres, the first lines could be:

wanting something specific, noting the explicit end to the song, or

Harry will not let a person or connection go

"Is it cool If I'm stubborn when it comes to this?" is similar to Taylor Swift's "Is it cool that I said all that?" Is it chill that you're in my head?" in Delicate.

Time is also something Harry refers to often, here as something running out, in earlier work Harry asked for more time, here he is within it.

The last lines are so light and sensual, to me it sounds like Harry is not convinced this person is all his, he sounds surprised and unsure they are in his bed. It makes me think of an affair, or maybe it is as in the chorus that he doesn't quite trust it.

I just think you're cool I dig your cinema Do you think I'm cool, too? Or am I too into you? Tell me what you want and you got it, love I want all of you, gimme all you got That's cinema That's cinema, uh-huh

The Chorus changes pace and tone from the verse, where the verses are uncertain and Harry's internal thoughts the Chorus and outro have a faster pace and more confidence, though Harry directly asks if this person thinks he is as cool as he thinks they are.

Here Harry will do anything for this person, he wants all of them and to give them his all unconditionally.

But the verse ends with 'that's cinema' - does he mean that's an act? Or is it too good to be true? A life like a film.

It's you Don't know why, but it feels so right to me Something in the way you move I like it when you dance for me (I just think it's—) You all the time (Time, time) In doses at night (Night, night) No roof on the drive Dust off the high And go to sleep (Go to sleep, go to sleep)

The second verse again implies that Harry can't get past this person, they feel right and he doesn't know why.

The way you move/like it when you dance line have an image of Harry watching, like a show or Cinema. This brings us back to the cinema metaphor. This line reminds me of the scene in the unreleased Ophelia which also has watching, awareness of an unreal setting and watching someone dance. Also a song from the time of Little Freak:

"I'm sittin' here starin' at you / Tokyo, Tokyo (Ha-ha) / Fantasising like people do / I miss you so, miss you so / Too far for me to lie to you / You're what I need, what I need (Ha-ha) / Affected by the way that you move / So lie to me, lie to me (Ha-ha)"

The line of ' you all the time' / 'doses at night' is a contradiction, although Harry thinks of them all the time he only sees them as night. The dose line reminds me of Medicine. And night also reminds me of 'cursing the daylight' from Daylight. Like in Daylight, Harry comes down from the night with this person and goes to sleep, he is calm and resting.

[Outro] You got, you got I bring the pop, you pop You got, you got the cinema I bring the pop to the cinema, you pop You got, you got the cinema I bring the pop to the cinema x You pop when we get intimate (Baby, you're cinema)

The outro is chaotic, it sounds exciting and fun as he is describing, Harry finally with this person. I like in the outtro how clear the chemistry is that Harry is describing, a feeling of mutual excitement and satisfaction. I love the use of the word intimate and how he sings it too. In Chicago a fan held up a sign with a poppers bottle and Harry gave it a thumbs up which is widely taken as confirmation for this section. I agree... and I'll add many have only looked to confirm one thing about poppers …moving on. Also I love his face when he reads signs.

[ferociouslycreativemystery]

Doctor Who (1996) reaction

My hopes were for this to be quite cheesy and a little bit shit, and it turned out to be supremely cheesy and quite shit, so I'd say that was a good reason to watch the movie. I mainly wanted to see what the 8th doctor and his TARDIS looked like in action after listening to the big finish audios, so I got what I came for (plus a little bit more). On to the actual 'live' reaction (spoilers, obviously):

The time vortex looks really good!! I love how organic it feels.

Yeah, I suppose you would describe that control room as gothic. Not quite the way I'd imagined it though, a bit more stripped back, mechanical and certainly much larger and more open than I thought. I do recognise the Meccano pillars/cage around the console. He's got an armchair! Of course he's got an armchair.

The first five minutes are certainly very 👁️👁️ eye centric

Ah yes, the US. I knew that would feature heavily. Wow that's a lot of guns.

SDFHALFKHA WTFFF that death is the goofiest thing I've ever seeeeen

So we're in "the future" are we? New year's 1999! I'm about to be born in 3 weeks :)

Water snake.

BRILLIANT companion introduction (I'm assuming that's her?). The poise? The valour? This is the sincere commitment to drama that modern cinema is too cowardly to pursue.

They're making this regeneration soooo difficult for him fkajhhfa I'm loving it

The morgue guy is fantastic. So sorry but you're about to lose your marbles my dude.

Okay nvm he's actually watching Frankenstein, in a morgue, during a thunderstorm, on new year's eve. He's asking for this.

Das him!! 🫵

Idc if the dead guy just kicked in your big metal fridge door, that reaction is not befitting of that tiny little thing wrapped up tight in a littol blanket SKGNAFKAF the Frankenstein parallel is Hilarious. Sir that is a baby. Why are you fainting

Why can't movies commit to visuals this hard anymore I'm actually getting mad. Where in an active hospital do they have this apocalyptic wing you ask? I don't know, but don't you think every major hospital should be required to have a bad vibes room to attract the evil spirits and let the psychologically unstable see themselves literally reflected in their broken surroundings? This could be our future if you're not a coward.

hmmm... there's a green haloing effect behind the Master's head when his eyes go green the first time. Wonder what post production process created that artefact? I want to look into that later.

OOOOHHH THAT CLOSE-UP OF THE CLOCK!!!! IT'S THE SAME AS IN RORY'S HOSPITAL IN THE 11TH DOCTOR'S FIRST EPISODE!!! REFERENCE I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WAS A REFERENCE!!!!! (or maybe that's just what hospital clocks look like idk. It's a reference in my heart anyway. Also it's extra special to me cause I know it from this video, which is the reason I've wanted to make fan edits since I was 12.)

She's even called Grace?! Perfection 👌

He's gonna get in the elevator with her isn't he? YES YES HE IS. Oh god he's so weird <3333

Pulling that thing from his chest was genuinely unsettling to watch 🥴

I saw someone say in a post that they thought the 8th doctor was Like That because of his regeneration being interrupted. I think I agree entirely

DKSJHGSKDHG even the tardis doors don't look the same on the inside. What a mindfuck. Wow that thing is HUUUUUUUGEEE. (edit: wait I think the inner doors were different for the 1st doctor as well? Maybe others too? Then no one came in immediately pushing the doors wide though, so it wasn't as jarring. You could imagine there was maybe some kind of gap between them since they opened in different ways.)

*squeal* he's ADORABLE (That's just what getting a good pair of shoes feels like though!)

"The cloister room" are you FUCKING kidding me 🤣 okay there's the gothic look I was missing—bats an' all! Is this where he keeps the error bell?

Did the audition process for the Doctor mainly consist of pained grunts and moans? I mean he does do them well, would check out if that were the case.

And there's the kiss, already knew about that one as well.

Those are some Crusty glass effects.

Things are just happening now. Guess we're on a bike?

"I'm half human" and I'm entirely sure canon never meant anything on this show (are the writer(s) aware this isn't Star Trek?)

Just gonna skip over the fact that the master slimed up all those men pointing their guns at him real quick I don't need to know how that happened (why is he goo?)

The cop drove into the TARDIS! And straight out again! Fantastic!!

THE CEILING CAN BE SEE-THROUGH I WAS RIGHT! Really neat feature I like it a lot 👀

Oh no we're breaking the 180 degree rule 😬 that's so jarring

Grace NOOOO

Going heavy on the jesus symbolism what with first emerging from the death cave and now that spiked crown-vice thing aren't we? Also with the butchering a fish right as we arrived in the US. Was this written by an American or just heavily tuned for an American audience? (edit: the writer is British and has a history with the show, so probably just over-tuned for the American market appeal. They were trying to get the show picked up over there iirc.)

The hospital clock is back! :D

Okay maybe don't put your main actor in a device that doesn't allow him to actually act? Just a thought.

This has too much physical confrontation for doctor who 😂 Unless the choreography can be done in a single take by a guy in his 50s (50s?? I thought he was older) wearing frills, I'm afraid it just won't compute.

"Life is wasted on the living" What a... line.

And there's magic fairy dust of ressurection now too? Canon really does mean nothing. Oh thank god they just hug.

Also apparently this doctor is ominously all-knowing? Yeah, definitely going heavy on the jesus symbolism.

Unnecessary final kiss.

And that's it!

Thoughts: It's fine. Loved the cheese. The romance added nothing, the Master had no personality (they turned him into the terminator 😭), and the Americanisation is rampant in more ways than just the jesus thing. It lacks much of the genuine passion and respect for the unknown that carries the rest of the show. The Doctor knows a lot of stuff because he loves exploring and finding out there's more to learn, not because he's god. There were flashes of this here and there, but it didn't carry the story.

My pet theory is that this is a common thing when comparing British and American stuff. Like with Ghosts: in the British one, they're all just stuck as ghosts because fuck them ig and there is no clue as to the rules. The point is they're all just trying to make the best of it, and how they succeed or fail in doing that. But in the American one there has to be a System, and figuring out and finding your purpose in that System is what makes you happy—and that's when you 'die', cause you've nothing left to live for then, have you? Apparently they have a 'go down' as well as being 'sucked off', which just reinforces the apparently cosmic importance of Rules (I didn't watch that far though).

Anyway, I really liked the beginning, as is often the case with stuff I watch lol. Probably the reason I love Merlin so much is that it all just feels like one long beginning, so that I can make the story what I want when I want it in my mind.

I'll give this movie two out of five stars ★★☆☆☆. Would recommend to weirdos and bad movie enjoyers. I am at least one of those, so I enjoyed it well enough!

[coffeishowifunction]

I've seen alot of my mutuals discussing their hopes for the third DA film so here is my top six.

1. Mary has an emotional revelation that Henry manipulated her into a marriage and she'll divorce him.

2. Baxter and Molesey wedding is a must.

3. Simon Bricker returns for like a hot second and Robert hits him again (that was funny af.)

4. Charles Blake returns too and Mary marries him cuz that should've happened let's be honest

5. At LEAST 6 Cobert make out sessions now I'm talking about the real emotional stuff we got in a new era

6. Cora and Robert also have to have some kind of cute chat

Side note: If I walk into that cinema and see Cora in any kind of pain I will leave. My poor baby has been through enough.

[octolich]

I was Scared for Dragon Age: Veilguard.

I take it back, we are so back. The release date trailer fixes so many of the anxieties of this post, Im keeping it up because I ain't no bitch but consider this an archive post of sorts. Ima make a new one glazing the new trailer but for now this is absolute cinema. Nice going Bioware! Still not pre-ordering tho, fuck EA. I want to say before I state anything, I'm still buying the game, I just want to warn fellow DA Fans to be cautious about this game and its potential quality. I could be wrong and this could be game of the year, best in the franchise. I've just got a weird feeling about Bio ware's marketing that I want to get off my chest.

This is just a personal opinion and warning from a Dragon Age Fan. Disagree? You're probably right. Your opinions are valid and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

SPOILERS FOR DRAGON AGE SHTUFF.

TLDR: Bioware has been very sneaky with marketing as well as dodgy choices in design that I do not agree with. They keep on talking about how this is the best game in the franchise and how the characters are the most in-depth yet, but I personally am sceptical. I could be wrong and this could be game of the year, best in the franchise. I've just got a weird feeling about Bioware's marketing I want to get off my chest and warn others about. We're treating breadcrumbs as buffets. They refuse to show anything substantial off and rely too much on "The games good, trust me bro. we've got nudity!"

I love Dragon age Inquisition to death. Played through it multiple times over the course of 7 years (Necromancer homies rise up). I played Dragon age Origins a wee bit and really loved the freedom and gritty setting which was a complete 180 for what I'm used to from DAI. I didn't play dragon age 2 (sorry besties I'll try it at some point) but I've heard it introduced a lot of controversial concepts but ultimately "modernized" the franchise.

Now, I actually didn't mind the trailer! I was jamming to the bombastic song but found the dialogue in it to be extremely corny. It definitely is a major shift in tone from the other trailers but hey! Maybe it won't be like that in the game. Marketing can mislead the perception of a game through the trailer like with Dead Island (amazing trailer btw) But then I saw the gameplay preview.

I was quite shocked to see Minrathous! I loved the city's whole MagicPunk theme and with the floating Archon's palace in the sky? Even though it looked a bit... off, I still liked it. The city looks old, and powerful. I absolutely love that. But then we get to the immediete problem. The Demons. I believe I heard from somewhere that the artists designed them this way to be similar to that of the human nervous system. What I presumed to be despair demons looked creepy with this artistic vision, but the pride demon??? It just looked goofy and not intimidating at all. They really traded how unique each and every demon looked, and went with floating kool aid spirits?

Moving on, Dragon age Inquisition has 8 slots for abilities you can fill in, allowing you to combo them and have a wide arsenal at your disposal. But with Veil guards 3? It was an immediate red flag. Now, I heard from Bioware that Rook can have an ultimate ability, but that is still 4 out of the original 8 you could bring. Companions are said to have a fixed 5 but can only bring in 3. BUT, Bio ware has been said in the game informer to be encouraging combining abilities with other companions, and not with just your own arsenal. But I still don't like the change.

A 60 second cooldown though??? either the fights shall be long, or you'll be a sitting duck spamming basic attacks waiting for your cool spells. I suppose there would be ways to reduce the time with cooldown reduction perks, but again, I do not vibe with this. aswell as following to comment this:

Now, Im no expert on game design, but I loved the combat in DAI AND DAO, yes it had its flaws but I find it was a highlight, now a flaw of the games. To say that Combat was "Uncharitably meh" I find spits in the face of the philosophy of combat in the previous games. DAI was all about about levelling up to build complex arsenals of spells to combo with, and unlocking specializations which further added spells to play with. DAO was all about freedom, you can be a necromancer/pyromancer/blood mage/spirit healer and it would work! Im afraid that Bioware has forgotten why this was fun and risk the chance of making combat one of the worst aspects of Dragon age Veilguard.

Now, instead of Bioware talking about gameplay, they love to talk about companions, throughout all of the game informer articles they talk about Romance, nudity, character creation (I admit I'm a bit hyped about this one though), and the companions.

Again, the wordplay of how Veilguard is even better than all previous dragon age games doesn't sit well with me. Are the previous companions also not complex? Is Dorian not a man who's constantly fighting between hating his father and loving him, while this love is also reflected for his home land? Is Morrigan not a woman who is on a fight between the discovery of ancient magic, the love of her warden and son, as well as the fear of her mother?

I just find it so strange that they focus so much on the companions in these articles, while also keep quiet about the gameplay, spare the game preview (Basically a vague tutorial) and a few pictures. Now, again. They could actually be the best in the entire franchise. I could eat my words and these companions could shake the very foundation on what it means to be a companion, but I just don't buy this narrative bioware is trying to feed us.

"These followers or companions don't exist by themselves" "Your assembling a family." "Everything you do ties into the critical path" "things are done towards a goal." "In Origins things are done just to do them."

https://www.gameinformer.com/exclusive-video/2024/07/19/the-making-of-dragon-age-the-veilguard (blue text is excerpts from this video. There's more but I can't be assed putting every quote into this. You may watch it yourself if you wish to see more)

They continue to use flowery language in these statements. How complex they are, how they're their own people. But where's the proof? these are all just words at the moment. In the 20 minute preview, I wasn't sitting there immersed in Minrathous, (still pretty gorgeous though, love you concept artists and 3d modelers xxx) or sitting there amazed at the characters. I'm just a dude sitting there watching some Batman Arkham knight look ahh combat.

The Video used above is just so much yapping, with re-used footage from the gameplay preview, trailer and images previously released. There is nothing new they are adding or introducing, only saying "The Characters and Story is good, trust."

Honestly? My theory is that this entire campaign is damage control. Lots of people who viewed the trailer immediately hated it (to be fair most of them haven't touched a single dragon age game in their lives) and the gameplay preview was a mixed review at best. After mass effect andromeda? I don't trust them. Not one bit.

I am going to buy the game and either enjoy it or hate it. I don't prefer gameplay over story, I'm a mix of both. I think one cannot exist without the other. I am just extremely worried for the future of not only Dragon age, but Bioware as a whole. I have a feeling that after this, if this game flops, Bioware is headed for the guillotine by the hands of EA (bunch of pricks).

One thing I will say is I like the skill trees!

This type of skill tree I think outdoes Inquisition's skyrim style perk tree, and really leans into the way Origin's does its abilities and perks (which I like more and Inquisition). From the looks of it, you can twist into what type of mage you are, as well as specialization. Control Death Caller? Burst Spellblade? Or maybe mash Control/Sustain together? It really beckons the imagination. THIS is what I want to see. Instead of words I want action! I want snippets! Not reused footage of the trailer or game preview, I want hard proof of how great this game is!

Not only that, but I do have to admit. the New UI puts all of the previous games to shame. I'm a big fan of the prismatic purple UI they've got going on.

I got to hand it to the Artists and graphic designers, It feels like the artists have fully realised their creative vision. I've never wanted a MagicPunk city until I saw Minrathous. I admit its a small thing to like about, but its the small things like these that can elevate a games quality. If there's one thing that I find that Dragon age Veil guard does better than the rest is the UI.

I post this out of love, not hate. I'm terrified that my favourite franchise is going to turn dogshit thanks to questionable choices. Bioware is doing nothing to comfort these fears by pumping out bloated statements like how the characters are the best in the series, and bringing up transmog and hyping up the character creator. Like, yeah? where is it then? are there no snippets? You're willing to post entire skill tree's why not post the character creator? or a sneak at the transmog?

After mass effect andromeda, my faith has been lost on bioware. But I still love the dragon age games. I just wish they do it justice. I will still buy the game, and leave a positive or negative review depending on the quality. If its good then ya'll have full permission to clown on me!

Im uh, still new to Tumblr so I don't know how to end this. Treat yourself to some water, maybe order just eats? Just treat yo self! Thanks immensely for reading this, hopefully you've learned something from this rambling. And hey! If you disagree, that's more than welcome! Your opinions are just as valid as mine. and I'd love to hear what you think and love about Dragon Age. Who knows? we might agree! (Lucanis is so handsome its not even funny)

[djarinova]

hi em!!! happy halloween 🎃 oooOOooOoOo <- ghost noise…. now is steve harrington still in ur repertoire? + 👻 + halloween is pretty quiet this year but i’m going to da movies (to see shaun of the dead for its 20 yr anniversary yippee) on a date 😳 scarier than anything else out there

happy halloween ruby!! 🧡 you have no idea how shocked i was to see you in my inbox bestie!! it's been so long since we had a fandom in common, i feel like we are now ships in the night or however the phrase goes >.<

steve is of course still in my repertoire <3 i will love him forever and omg shawn of the dead! great movie choice, i love when cinemas put movies back on for anniversaries and stuff, it's so cooooool (i hope your date went well, but if not then at least you got to see a good movie and presumably had a couple sweet treats too hehe)

Trick or Treat...

👻 for some reason i immediately went to a zombie, apocalyptic world for steve. it seemed like the perfect setting for him, out of any horror scenario possible. i can imagine him driving as many people around as he possibly could, picking up stragglers and wanting to save every person he stumbled onto. he's working on his first aid skills, but you can always count on steve to have the best tunes in the whole damn apocalypse. (also perhaps his driving skills may need some improvement too...)👻

take a look at this post if you'd like to join my little halloween celebration 🧡

divider by @/saradika

[sdv-roseglass-farm]

Stardew Kent Headcannons

I already made one for Jodi, so I decided I would make one for Kent as well :) I have tried to base some of them off of the little information we are given through dialogue but there was not much given

- He was known for being very cheerful in high school, with always being one of the most optimistic.

- He was on the hockey team during High school, and had a crush on Jodi for quite some time. Once they started dating, he went to the other sport games to support Jodi as she was a cheerleader.

- His favourite classes were Sports, Music and Science - as he loved learning how things worked in a practical sense.

- He loved ice skating, and enjoyed teaching Jodi, though he was not as good at dancing. He was okay with simple, slow dancing - but quick dance movements caused him to trip up quite a bit.

- He loves popcorn, especially as it reminds him of his dates with Jodi during High school, watching movies together at the cinema.

- He loves receiving flowers, and still blushes whenever Jodi buys him some - even after all of these years

- He was raised to be a Gentleman, and whenever they went on a date, he always made sure to walk her home. 

- He knew how much Jodi loved being creative, so he has tried learning multiple craft things to make her things over the years.

- He cried tears of joy when they both proposed to one another at the same time. He proposed with his grandmothers ring, and was very nervous beforehand. It is one of his happiest memories.

- Their wedding may have been small, but they don’t regret it, and often tell their children about it. Kent’s mum helped them organise a lot of it, knowing how much they loved one another.

- He was close to his mum when he was a child, which Jodie knows. His mum gave her their family recipe book, so Jodi likes to surprise him with some family recipes - knowing he cannot cook very well, especially since coming back from the war as he sometimes ends up disassociating.

- They saved enough money to move to Zuzu City after the wedding, where they unexpectedly had Sam. While Jodi done a lot of the more detailed painting, Kent helped out with the bigger parts, like the ceiling and wall base colours.

 - He kept in contact with few of his high school friends, and it didn’t surprise any of them that he was so ecstatic to become a father. He wasn’t very close to them - but he tended to keep to himself, with only his family knowing him well.

- When Jodi was pregnant with Sam he attended all of the appointments and read as many books as possible to help Jodi.

- He was terrified throughout her labour, trying to comfort her as much as possible. He immediately burst into tears having Sam handed to him.

- He refused to let Jodi do much after she gave birth, making sure she rested and recovered properly and looked after Sam as much as he could.

- He worked as a trash collector, so he often left early and got home late, but it allowed them to save up for Pelican Town. He wasn’t too fond of the job - but coming home and seeing Sam and Jodi everyday gave him so much joy, that he knew it was worth it.

- When Sam’s first word was ‘Da’, Kent could not stop grinning, and was so proud of him. He kept a photo of Sam and Jodi in his wallet, often looking at it and bragging to his co-workers about them. The photo was updated after Vincent was born later on though.

- When Sam was 4, he paid for him to have guitar lessons - knowing how much he loved music. He was so proud, and both him and Jodi were always willing to listen to him whenever he wanted to show them something he had learnt.

- He had a habit of listening to audiobooks, especially when working - as he wasn’t very social and did not have much time to read. He loved romance and mystery books in particular, he also enjoyed reading historical accounts of events.

- When moving to Pelican Town, he became quick friends with Gus and Willy, with their friendships becoming stronger after he returned from the war - with Kent enjoying navigation and Gus being very easy going and easy to talk to.

- He quickly looked at Abigail and Sebastian and Jas as his own niece and nephew, with Jas being added to this after he returned with how often they are at their house.

- He gets on well with Robin and Caroline, though he does not like Pierre and doesn’t like Demetrius that much, as he has overheard some of his poor treatment of Sebastian. 

- He was the one who helped teach Sebastian engineering, which gave him a basic understanding to look after his motorbike when he got it a few years later.

- He keeps an eye out on Hayley and Emily, especially when Jodi informs him on how weird Clint has been towards Emily, especially hanging around near their house. He makes sure Emily gets home okay, walking her home every evening after her shift at the Saloon - especially when the farmer informs him on Clint’s behaviour.

- He has always loved the rain, finding it rather peaceful, which is why he stands outside often in the rain. He knows Jodi worries about him getting sick, however, which is why he doesn’t spend all day outside.

- He goes to the prayer room in Caroline's home every Sunday, which is why he is so close with George and Evelyn. He helps out if Alex cannot do something or needs help, such as with carrying heavy furniture that takes two people.

- When Jodi learnt more how to knit from Evelyn, she made every member of her family a blanket. Kent loved his, and was very happy to brag about it. She was rather embarrassed at how much he was bragging, but he loved her more for it.

- He was still abroad in the war when Jodi gave birth to Vincent, as he was born prematurely. He was terrified for her and blamed himself for missing it. He wrote to Gus and Caroline begging them to make sure she was okay, and asking them to help her out as much as they could.

- He cried when he found out Jodi named Vincent after his Grandfather, and he was even more overprotective of his family after missing such an important moment and how terrifying it would have been to Sam and Jodi.

- When he was a prisoner, often the only thing pushing himself through what he went through was the thought of his family.

- He was very overwhelmed when he got back, which is why he visited the new farmer his first day home, as he got a breather.

- The peacefulness of Pelican Town and lack of structure makes it hard for him to adjust to being back home.

- He lost a lot of friends at war, many of whom he never talked about due to trying to keep the horrors of what he went through away from his family. He did make sure they weren’t forgotten however, and checked up on some of their families and thought about them often.

- Once he came back from the war, he ended up becoming friends with Linus - knowing he would not judge him. He often visits him especially during the colder seasons, making sure he is okay and has at least one hot meal a day.

- After he came back from the war he immediately started helping Jodi around the house like he did before. He took over the laundry and washing the dishes in particular, and helped with cleaning.

- He has lost quite a bit of his strict moral compass he had when he was younger, which is why he finds sending bombs through the mail to the farmer hilarious as he could just give them to them in person. 

- Due to the army he wakes up at 4am most nights, even without nightmares. He doesn’t tend to leave the house though - often quickly checking on the children and then laying in bed, admiring Jodi and reassuring himself that his family is safe.

- He has no idea how to try building a relationship with his children, though he does try - whether through asking Vincent questions about his lessons or asking Sam about his music 

- When Ginger Island is available, he loves going with his family and watching them relax and have fun. He often spends time with Willy discussing how the boat runs and navigation.

- Joins the Adventurer Guild at he farmers recommendation, and ended up enjoying it as it allowed him to form some routine while not leaving his family.

- He bonded quite quickly with Marlon and Gil, and gained a good reputation with fellow Adventurer Guild’s.

- Once the community centre is fixed he often attended Jodi’s new baking club and got to try out all of the food. He was not very good at cooking and baking himself, but loved watching Jodi, knowing how she had a passion for being creative.

- When Sam had his first concert he was so proud, and both him and Jodi could not stop smiling as they watched.

- He keeps every single piece of artwork from his children, making sure they are kept safely in the attic and is proud of every one of their achievements.

[dreadfutures]

I interrupt the DA posting: you need to watch Shogun.

I have spent the past few weekends watching it with my dad (we are huge fans of Japanese cinema). It is an absolutely gorgeous show, beyond comparison. The beginning is a little too "appeal to western GOT fans" but then it really gets into the heart of it and it's so, so phenomenal. Season 1 covers all the source material it is based on, I don't know if more seasons are warranted... It's pretty perfect.

[sobreiromecanico]

O malogrado regresso de The Crow

Fui ver Inside Out 2 ao cinema - mais sobre isso daqui a dias, espero - e descobri à saída da sala que vai estrear em breve um novo filme de The Crow. Ou redescobri, talvez: a minha companheira jura que já me tinha dito isto. O que me leva a pensar que as emoções que regem a minha personalidade talvez tenham, muito ajuizadamente, enfiado tal facto num tubo pneumático que o disparou para as profundezas da minha memória.

Enfim, vivemos na época na nostalgia pela nostalgia, passamos mais tempo a olhar para o passado, a revisitar obsessivamente todos os lugares onde estivemos, do que a ponderar o futuro ou a aventurar-nos à descoberta de novos lugares e de novas histórias. Não surpreende por isso que se vá resgatar agora o filme de Alex Proyas, em cuja malograda produção Brandon Lee viria a falecer - um acontecimento trágico na adaptação da banda desenhada que James O'Barr escreveu em 1989 como forma de lidar com a morte também ela trágica da sua noiva. Apesar de The Crow não ter sido um sucesso de bilheteira assinalável, tornou-se num clássico de culto dos anos 90; ainda gerou algumas sequelas, e até uma série televisiva, mas nada do que se seguiu conseguiu chegar perto do carácter icónico do filme de Proyas.

Há vários motivos para isso, claro. À distância de 30 anos - o filme estreou em 1994 -, podemos constatar que The Crow, porventura mais do que qualquer outro, será talvez o filme definitivo dos anos 90: violento, sombrio, melodramático, com uma estética muito vincada, e musicalmente encaixado no estertor do grunge (o filme estreou em Maio; Kurt Cobain tinha morrido no mês anterior) mas já antevendo a deriva sonora que alguns anos mais tarde desembocaria no nu metal. É um artefacto cultural curioso, uma espécie de farol para toda a adolescência gótica, emo ou qualquer coisa ali pelo meio da década de 90, que diria não funcionar fora do seu contexto muito particular, mas que nesse contexto muito particular revela uma energia improvável (para que conste, não fui nem gótico nem emo na adolescência, ou pelo menos não fui mais emo do que o adolescente médio).

Podemos talvez argumentar que o objectivo desta nova produção não será recriar de forma exacta o filme de 1994 - poderia ser uma nova adaptação ou reinterpretação da banda desenhada de O'Barr, por exemplo -, mas a esta altura do campeonato sabemos como estas coisas funcionam. Aliás, uma breve passagem pela Wikipedia mostra quanto tempo passou este projecto no development hell de Hollywood, e quantas pessoas estiveram ligadas a esses projectos. E mostra ainda uma transcrição de uma entrevista de Alex Proyas a um podcast em 2019, onde o realizador comenta a possibilidade deste remake de forma muito certeira (original aqui):

I personally tried to squash it every time I hear of one, not that I believe I've been able to. I think extenuating circumstances have stopped it from being made because if Hollywood wants to make something that they don't listen to schmucks like me who bring noble and moralistic issues. My point is that Brandon Lee made that movie what it is. He made that movie, he made that character. That character was not taken from a comic book, that was Brandon. And Brandon Lee died making that movie, he paid the worst price anyone could ever pay making a movie and it's his legacy. The guy would have been a huge star after that movie. He wasn't able to ever do that. That's his final testimony to his talent and that's why I finished the movie. I finished it for Brandon. After being devastated about what happened we shut down the production and I went back to Australia. Months later I went back and watched the movie and his family all the other actors, and everyone involved, said 'You've got to finish this movie because Brandon is so great in it' and he was. I was able to watch it and see how great he was and I thought then the movie deserves to be completed because it's his legacy. So that's what the movie is, it's not just a movie that can be remade. It's one man's legacy. And it should be treated with that level of respect.

Sim, o motivo é o mesmo de sempre, mas há algo curioso neste projecto: ao contrário da maioria dos remakes modernos, que procuram recriar o sucesso comercial, este procurará obter um sucesso de bilheteira a partir de um fenómeno de culto, de um filme icónico para os adultos de hoje que passaram pela adolescência nos anos 90. The Crow não foi um êxito de bilheteira, e se perdura ainda no imaginário colectivo de duas gerações, isso deve-se inteiramente aos seus méritos artísticos, e não ao seu desempenho comercial.

É provável que esse seja mesmo o único aspecto interessante deste novo The Crow, que a todos os níveis parece ser mais um regresso desnecessário, e apostaria que votado tanto ao fracasso comercial como ao esquecimento. Vi entretanto o trailer (que não vou trazer para aqui), já que me dei ao trabalho de escrever estas linhas: são três minutos de acção genérica destes dias, sem rasgo estético e sem razão aparente para existir para além da promessa de nostalgia cujo vazio absoluto a minha geração parece ser incapaz de vislumbrar (ou estará decidida a ignorar). Como fã do filme original - ainda me lembro com exactidão de onde estava, e com quem estava, quando vi pela primeira vez partes de The Crow -, não me passa sequer pela cabeça pagar um bilhete de cinema e passar duas horas numa sala a ver este remake. Talvez o descubra um dia quando passar num Domingo à tarde na televisão.

[fibula-rasa]

Seen in ’23: Annual Roundup

Top new-to-me films of ‘23 

(in the order I saw them, not preference)

The Blizzard / Gunnar Hedes saga (1923) [imdb | letterboxd]

The Rafter’s Bride / Koskenlaskijan morsian (1923) [imdb | letterboxd]

Funeral Parade of Roses / 薔薇の葬列 (1969) [letterboxd | imdb]

Dorian Gray in the Mirror of the Yellow Press / Dorian Gray im Spiegel der Boulevardpresse (1984) [letterboxd | imdb]

Drylongso (1998) [letterboxd | imdb]

The Cruz Brothers and Miss Malloy (1980) [letterboxd | imdb]

The Burning Crucible / Le Brasier ardent (1923) [letterboxd | imdb]

Let’s Scare Jessica to Death (1971) [letterboxd | imdb]

Merry-Go-Round (1923) [letterboxd | imdb]

Dream Demon (1988) [letterboxd | imdb]

Mazel Tov / Ost und West (1923) [letterboxd | imdb]

The Signal Tower (1924) [letterboxd | imdb]

The Second Track / Das zweite Gleis (1962) [letterboxd | imdb]

Restless Blood / Levoton Veri (1946) [letterboxd | imdb]

The Man Without Desire (1923) [letterboxd | imdb]

Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Adolescence of Utena / 少女革命ウテナ アドゥレセンス黙示録 (1999) [letterboxd | imdb]

---

Honorable mention:

Ritratto di donna velata (1972) [letterboxd | imdb] (because it’s technically a mini-series)

Spirits of the Dead / Histoires extraordinaires (1968) [letterboxd | imdb] (because it would make the year-end list for “Toby Dammit” alone TBH)

So, according to letterboxd, only 33% of the films I watched in 2023 were rewatches. In an unexpected bit of consistency, that’s also my proportion of rewatches for ‘22 and ‘21. Sometimes crunching the numbers teaches you potentially meaningless things about yourself.

On my letterboxd, I put together a list of my top new-to-me films of ’23, in case you want an easier way to check if there’s anything you might want to add to your own watchlists!

READ ON BELOW THE JUMP!

As I continued my tradition of watching films as they turn 100, the 1920s was my most-watched decade as it was in 2022.

I was startled looking at the stats that the 1930s were so underrepresented! To ward that off in 2024, I think I’ll binge some pre-codes. Maybe we should all watch pre-codes in March 2024 to dishonor Will Hays on his birthday?

My top individual years were:

1923

1987

1986

1920

1911

1971 (unexpected!) 

1988

---

In another bit of unexpected consistency, I seem to have watched roughly 60% American-made films every year for the last 3 years?

Regardless, I think my MVP for this year was Finland. Teuvo Tulio is quickly becoming one of my favorite directors and the silent films from Finland that I watched this year were highlights too!

---

My most watched actors for 2023 were:

Alice Howell

James Finlayson

Stan Laurel

Snub Pollard

Katherine Grant

Marie Mosquini

Christopher Lee

Jackie Cooper

Lois Weber

Mabel Normand

Noah Young

Oliver Hardy

Richard Smith

Can you tell that I watched a ton of silent comedy in 2023? Of course Marie and Snub are making a return appearance here from last year, so I suppose I watched plenty of comedy shorts in ‘22 as well.

If you were only to count the feature films that I watched, Christopher Lee, Boris Karloff, Douglas Fairbanks, Vincent Price, and William Haines would top the list!

---

My most watched directors were:

Alice Guy

Dave Fleischer

George Jeske

Arthur Rankin Jr. & Jules Bass

Charley Chase

John G. Blystone

Lois Weber

Richard Smith

Maya Deren

Phillips Smalley

Another affirmation that I watched a whole lot of silent shorts, but this time because of the fantastic Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers set. I highly recommend picking up a copy (or checking it out of your local library). Not only is the set well curated, but there are so many great extras to put the films in context. 

For Christmas ‘23, I got the Cinema’s First Nasty Women set and I’m very excited to marathon those and be influenced into a year of behaving badly.

Maya Deren makes the list because I re-watched her films in advance of my cosplay/profile of her. If you haven’t dug into Deren’s short but fascinating filmography yet, I highly recommend it!

[yibo-best]

Yesterday I finally saw Yibo on the big screen! it was the movie "Born to Fly". I wanted to share my impressions.

 I am very, very, very happy and I believe that it is a fair providence that Yibo's first film in big cinema was “Hidden Blade”. The two films cannot be compared. I will not say that I`m a fan of arthouse films! But “Wuming” is poetry, albeit dark and incomprehensible to many. But it is deep and metaphorical and leaves behind a sense of the director's talent in the first place. The movie "Born to Fly" is very predictable, and I'm tired of the obvious state order for patriotism in it. This is too much. The plot itself is not new, and if you're a fan of Hollywood action movies for one, then this movie is fine. There is humor where you laugh, an important character will die there, and you will cry. I laughed and cried. But you will not be surprised by the plot, even the picture reminded me of the old-old film "Top Gun". Especially "the jet fighter in the circle of the setting sun at the airfield", it's terribly beautiful and atmospheric, but guys, it was before, it's a repetition .... 

 The salvation of the plot and the film as a whole is the absolutely sincere acting of the actors. Yibo is great, he seems to be playing himself, he's so relaxed and natural, like it's really his life. I have not seen his such a relaxed and natural in “Wuming”. And it makes me redoubled to wait for the next movie “One and only” (it seems to have been renamed again?) In general, Yibo was for me rest and pleasure for my eyes  in this movie. If you need to relax, look at the beautiful pirouettes of fighter jets and just their flights over the beautiful mountain ranges - this film will brighten up the evening. The romantic line is so childish and naive that the heroes didn’t even get to the hugs, lol. And that suits me just fine, lol. Yes, in the film, the bet is on sincerity between people, in general, there are many moments that take over the soul, this is rivalry, turning into friendship, and failures and blows to self-esteem, and the loss of loved ones, a lot of things. Everything is there. But something was missing for me. I hope, in “One and Only” this elusive thing will be present, (Da Peng causes me an unaccountable sympathy, like Cheng Er) 

Another important thing for me was that obviously this film was important to Yibo. I can imagine how great the game they played (called We Air Force Pilots)  for the actors! No matter what we see in the end on the screen. Imagine the experience these guys had! I'm really happy for Yibo that he got through it, even though there were a lot of hardships while filming for him.

And now I have an irresistible desire to make gifs with Yibo in a t-shirt lol

PS Oh, yes, I forgot to tell ! It is unforgivable to put such a make up in the form of a tan on Yibo's face. Stop doing this for the sake of naturalness of the plot lol

[idyllcy]

congrats on your 1K!!! <33333

i would love to get a matchup with someone from DC <3

I'm a very extroverted introvert, if that makes sense. I've been told I'm very caring and notices things about people that other usually wouldn't. I believe I'm quite funny and entertaining :) I'm a very sarcastic person! I tend to be quiet unless you really get to know me. I tend to seem very mean and little bossy but it's really just how I am!

18

Ideal date? My lord. Probably a christmas day spent in the city first, just strolling around (especially book, plant, pet and funiture shops). Then eating a chinese all you can eat buffet (i need my deep fried octopus rings ok.) and then probably a go at the cinema before we head home and relax

I have such a hard time describing my type because i will literally take anyone who likes me. But smth about the "hate everyone except you" is rlly cute :( but also them being all sweet n cute and golden retriever? yes pls

I'm quite sure im an INTP

aries

My hair is dyed a navy blue, like a deep one but i lowkey need to re-dye it because blonde roots are haunting me. I have pretty deep green eyes and i wear rounded glasses (because im blind (-5)). I'm quite tall (6'4") and i'm pretty decently built muscle-vise (volley-player for years so thighs, back, shoulder and forearms).

i hope this made sense :(( <333

and once again, congrats on the 1K!!!

jaime, baby

"Cariño!" Jaime beams, opening his arms for you.

You throw yourself into his arms, and he beams, spinning you around, arms flush against your skin as his cheek presses to yours, lips curled into a giant smile.

He holds up the takeout, lips curled into a smile as you let him in.

"Octopus rings?"

"You know I could never let you have it without." Jaime hums. "Mi tia made them too."

"God, that must be good." You mumble, handing him a paper plate. "Shall we dig in?"

"After you, Cariño."

Headcanons:

Jaime? Down bad. Absolute golden retriever. Loves you. Goes insane for you. You want takeout at two am? He's there.

Helps you dye your hair!! He's super good at it too so the coloring is never uneven

Lots of wandering! He's warm-blooded, so if you ever get cold, his hands are on you. He's got you covered :3

He argues a lot with Khaji Da but ultimately the beetle does approve of you

Expect him to lift you a lot!! he gets super excited when he sees you so he twirls you around

[kyuuxmizu]

I went to watch both events for the Gintama Ato no Matsuri!!

The afternoon event via live-viewing in the cinemas

The evening event inside the actual venue, Ryogoku Kokugikan~

IT WAS HONESTLY THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!!!

(2023 is also my 15th year as a Gintama fan so what better way to celebrate than attend the matsuri!!!!)

Hihi we used the penlights inside the live-viewing theater too.. hey most of the ppl in our row were using it too okayyy😂😂 It was so much fun!!!

ofc nothing beats the experience of watching it LIVE inside Ryogoku~🥹🥹

3Z Anime announced!!!! Everyone was like majiiiii????

They kindly asked us not to post any spoilers on social media until the evening event ends, so I kept mum about it XD

Upon arriving at the Ryogoku, my friends and I took pics of our matching Sonjuku ita-bags!! 🥹🥹 (Mine is the Takasugi one hehehe)

So many ppl!!

Then I went to pickup my preordered goods, which I'll post later!! XD

Outside Ryogoku~

Inside Ryogoku~

With my sibling wearing our matsuri shirts and sukajan~

We won the tickets during the Advance reservation lottery so we got pretty good seats~ マス席 in the first floor and facing the front! My friends were seated on a different row T^T

On to the event~ (A lot of screaming and crying XD)

I already knew most of what was gonna happen since I watched the afternoon event so I thought my hype would be dampened??? But the emotions just kept flowing!!!!!!!!!! 😭😭😭 (Tho ngl I wished they unveiled the 3z anime in the night event instead... I was expecting another bomb to drop actually hahahah xD)

The atmosphere inside Ryogoku... everyone's so passionate!!! You could feel the love not only from the fans but also from the seiyuu and bands as well!!! Aaaa I love Gintama and it's fandommm 🥹🥹💞💞

Never watched One Piece but the hype inside the venue and Kitadani's energy was so high it made me sing along too, idk how I managed to do it cuz I barely know the song😂😂 they went all out with this even parodying the OP of One Piece and the seiyuu mimicking the strawhat pose😂

Then the 生アフレコ went a trip down the memory lane🥹🥹 Makes me wanna rewatch everything all over again 😭

I started getting emotional when ChicoHani started singing ヒカリ証明論 (Kiheitai tapos Bansai death scene talaga..mashaket po mga mamshie...😭)

And サクラ舞う暁に..it's my fave ChicoHani song okayyy Chico shouting Matsuri ja Matsuri jaaa🌸🌸🌸 So fun to sing along with the crowd!!! Almost everyone switched their lights to pink!! one brain cell~ XD

Their surprise was the Samurai Heart cover!!! 😭😭😭

ChicoHani's gntmと出会わせてくれた song, Pride Kakumei!!! When the Honeyworks guitarist shouted "saikou da saikou" waaaa the hype!!!!! Crowd went crazy!!

Otsu-chan so cute I didn't expect the fox at all (Gintama always subverts expectations so true even for events like these x3)

Toshi always up for anything riding the Thousand Sunny Sadaharu-Eli ship hahahah And Sakaguchi-san!!! 🥹🥹

Then 生アフレコ again~!! XDDD

Surprise was KUROKO's special appearance (with Suzuken as Murasakibara and Nakai-san as Imayoshi!! Chiba-san's side comment: なんかイチャイチャする 😂😂😂😂)

SuzuKen funny he said he could hear Kensho Ono from the Kuroko mascot hahahah

plus GINCHAAAN (for the evening event)

It was so adorable how Sakaguchi-san took a pic of Gin-san and Sugita on stage... He really loves Gintama, ne (The whole cast loves Gintama!! that alone makes it so special)

Sugita's side comment: he wants Oguri Shun to join too hahahaha

DOES so cool!! Everyone switched their lights to red when DOES started their set list~

It's also no secret that Wataru-san loves Gintama sm, he mentions it in his SNS accts frequently🥹🥹 ワタルさんかっこ良かった...有難う! Crowd shouting Wataruuuu Bravo!!! XD

The SPYAIR covers gosh 😭😭😭 I almost cried listening to the Wadachi cover 😭😭😭 (I did cry when I rewatched it through Abema haha 😭😭😭)

From the band's message in the end, it was apparent that SPYAIR really wanted to attend but alas they have no vocalist yet 😭😭😭

The highlight of the event for me was Yama-chan's surprise appearance 🥹🥹 LITERAL CHILLSSSSS I mean... THE KOICHI YAMADERA...

Apparently, Yama-chan never attended events like these and Ato Matsuri was the first one. That alone just made me.....🥹🥹🥹😭😭

is Gintama that special he agreed to make an appearance 🥹🥹😭😭

Or did Higuchi-san (producer) really splurge their budget on him ahahahah

We were joking that they must have spent most of the special guest budget on Yama-chan that's prolly why no other guests appeared 😂

And gosh that man has range.... I also learned that Yama-chan voiced Donald Duck from Kingdom Hearts..!!! That's why his animal and nature dubs (from the special Matsuri manga) are on point 😂😂😂😂

He can sing too (He sang JPN version of Prince Ali and Circle of Life) and had a duet with Hirano Aya (Nobume VA) for the Yakuza game 😭

Koyasu-san was a no-show as usual (I had high hopes since he attended the Isekai Oji-san seiyuu event at Anime Japan last year) He had a voice message tho, saying his ponpon was in pain (basically he had a stomachache) 😂😂

And then there's Sugita's closing message 😭😭😭

That even though gntm has ended 4 years ago, he hasn't forgotten about Gintama

That he'll be Sakata Gintoki until he dies..no, even if he dies 😭😭😭GURL I GOT SO EMOTIONAL!!!

Then he says "Chinko"!! how very Gintoki!!!😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

And finally the Ginpachi-sensei anime which will be part of a series of projects for Gintama's 20th anniversary (which will last until 2026!!!) I am so excited 😭😭😭😭

AAAAAAA MY HEART AND WALLET ARE READY

As Suzuken said 終わらないね銀魂ァァ

Thank you so much Ryogoku~ See you again in the next Gintama Matsuri!!!

[saintescuderia]

pieces./ of you and me in memory

welcome to a creative work series exploring how human create their own cultural artefacts; i.e how do we associate memory with random objects?

enjoy. lol.

part one: zaki chan + white tea./

I can’t remember the start or the end. All I can remember is one particular scene when the body-guard protagonist rocks up to the club where the girl is with her friend and his wearing this God-awful 2000s shirt with his hair spiked up with gel to match. Despite the 2005 release, even the girl is outraged, asking him what he’s done to himself. Bobbing his head to the music unfazed, he tells her “Da spikey!” It’s spikey! And those two words would become catchphrase between my mother and I. 

I wish I could say why it was. It was just one indiscernible feature of my mother’s; random niche phrases of film that she would bring out of the blue. It’s just like when it was 2012 and she got a flip case for her phone and would imitate Chris Tucker from Rush Hour and say “LAPD!” My mother loved films and her uncanny ability to remember random phrases, as well as blending them into conversation at random was as much a part of her as her love of piping hot white tea which was more microwaved milk than boiled tea. 

Every evening as she was watching Rotana Cinema on the Egyptian cable satellite we had installed to get the additional channels, she would call me from downstairs to make her “shay el khara.” The shit tea in question was how I never got it right. Every time, without fail, I never had enough milk. Despite her having shown me, I would still boil the water, pour it exactly onto the tea bag until the water was just over half way, let it sit, bob it up and down three times, pour the milk, put it in the microwave for a minute and a half. And yet, every time, I would still need to go back to the fridge to get the milk container to add more milk. On really bad days, I would need to take it back to be microwaved for an additional few minutes. 

It was on these good days where my mother could joke around. The good days the tea wasn’t so bad. She’s stopped asking me to make tea. Maybe it’s a sign of growing up, that I don’t make her tea anymore. Though, it saddens me to think that this house doesn’t know the routine, the kitchen hasn’t had the foot traffic of me going through the motions of a failed cup.

Today, I told her I needed to watch the movie for research. I had looked forward to having the Arabic fill the house with normalcy once more. In bed, she didn’t look up from her phone. She said no. I was shocked. Then I saw the empty cup of tea on the bedside table and wondered how many of the bad days had gone by me unawares.

[ana-chronista]

9 people you’d like to get to know better! Thanks for the tag, @esskuesli - it's been ages since I've done one of these! three ships: To the surprise of nobody here, let’s go with Bojere and Jance as the first two. If you asked me seven months ago if I’d ever return to RPF, the answer would have been a resounding no. And yet here I am... As a third, let’s go for Bagginshield (Thorin Oakenshield/Bilbo Baggins), as this was the last fandom I was heavily involved in before possibly the world’s longest hiatus! first ship: I’m not sure I can even remember exactly which one, but I first got introduced to fanfiction and shipping via Harry Potter. It was so long ago that the books were still coming out (and, y'know, before JKR started torching her legacy), and there were major shipping wars between Harry/Hermione and Ron/Hermione. So probably something around that. last song: ‘Water Slides’ by Mew. (I would love to know how they come up with the ideas for their videos, I really would...) last film: It’s been a while since I went to the cinema, so the last one I saw out was Barbie. At home, I’ve probably since rewatched Hot Fuzz. It’s one of those films you just have to see time and again... for the greater good... currently reading: I’ve finally got round to picking up ‘The Thirtieth Year’ (‘Das dreißigste Jahr’) by Ingeborg Bachmann after meaning to read the whole thing for ages. In translation this time though – I’m being lazy. I’m also reading ‘A Life With Footnotes’, the Terry Pratchett biography by his assistant/business manager Rob Wilkins. I’m a huge fan of Discworld/Good Omens, so it's really interesting to find out more about how he came to be who he was and I feel like it’s the closest it could be to an autobiography without him having written the whole thing himself, if that makes sense? currently watching: Within the past week, I’ve managed to finish Bodies, Lupin Season 3 and All The Light We Cannot See, and now I’m at a bit of a loose end. I’ll probably be catching up with Loki Season 2 next. (Incidentally if anyone would like to chat about any of these, feel free - especially Lupin, I have THOUGHTS!) currently consuming: Strawberry and raspberry tea. currently craving: Pasta bake – something with lots of cheese and a crispy topping. It’s freezing outside so perfect weather for it!

I think most people have probably been tagged already, but if you haven't and you'd like to do it: @frikatilhi @occhi-verdi-come-il-mare @greensolsikke @sparklitive-sonya @pippitypippin @i-wasnt-ready-for-this @technicallycleverdetective and anyone else who would like to give it a go!