#we were talking about the remake and she said she would play it with me like we did when we were kids ^^ looking forward to it
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alotofpockets · 11 months ago
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Confidence | 18+ MDNI
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Pairing: Reneé Rapp x Reader
Summary: Reneé asks you to come to her first day off shooting Mean Girls to give her the confidence she needs to play Regina George. (based on this scene)
Warnings: 18+ MDNI, smut
Reneé Rapp Masterlist | Words: 1.2k
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Reneé usually didn’t have a problem with showing off her body, she was proud of the way she looked, and often showed the world her confident side. She wore revealing outfits all the time, and never really gave a care in the world what others thought about her appearance. However, as the first day of shooting Mean Girls came closer, she started getting more and more nervous about portraying this confident character in front of the cameras.
Of course, Reneé had played Regina before, and knew the character well, but in front of the cameras it was different. On stage she got into character and played the part in front of a lot of people, but they were all sitting at a distance, and observed not only her but also the rest of the set around her. On set the cameras and the crew would be focussed on her playing the character the way they had envisioned her, of course they did the same for the other actors there, but the scene she was most worried about was Regina’s opening scene. 
It didn’t take much convincing on your girlfriend’s end to get you to join her on set for the first day of shooting. You loved supporting her in person whenever you were able to. Supporting her didn’t just mean her music and her acting, you supported her in every aspect of life, and she did the same for you, that is why your relationship worked so well. 
While it was an early call, Reneé still took some time to show you around the set. You hadn’t been to the Mean Girls set yet, and were looking at everything full of amusement. When you were younger, you had watched the original, and you always loved the movie, so seeing the set of the remake made you feel very nostalgic.
You sat to the side as Reneé was getting ready in the hair and make-up trailer, talking with her costars and the hair and make-up team. It was nice getting to know the girls she’d be working with for the next couple of months. 
Before you headed to the set they’d be shooting at this morning, you took Reneé to the side. “I just wanted to say that you are amazing, and you look incredible. You are going to crush this scene, and every scene after. You are the perfect Regina George, and I cannot wait to see the lines we rehearsed together come to life. I love you, baby. Have fun out there, and I will be right behind the crew supporting you.” Reneé pecked your lips, “You’re the best, but shush now or you’re going to make me cry.” You both laugh, and head into the hall the scene would be shot in. 
They were shooting the scene where Cady met Regina for the first time to the song ‘Meet the Plastics’. It included a close up shot of Reneé signing the song, while the camera slowly panned out, revealing more of her. It took a few takes to get the close up right, but when the crew was happy with the results, they moved on to the part that Reneé was most nervous about. It was a shot where she would sensually open her leather jacket and show off her boobs.
The first few takes were cut, “Reneé can you give us a try with some more confidence please?” The director asked and she nodded in response. Reneé looked up to you for some reassurance, and found you clenching your thighs together. You hid it well, no one else around you would notice, but Reneé knew. That familiar look in your eyes, and the subtle movements, she knew all too well. That sight alone gave her the confidence she needed to act the scene exactly how the directors had in mind. 
Once the scene was done, and Reneé had quickly said bye to her co-workers she walked up to you, “I knew having you here would do the trick. Wanna head back to my trailer?” Reneé wouldn’t be in the next couple of scenes they were shooting, so she had some free time. She knew just the way she wanted to spend that free time. 
After entering the trailer door behind you, Reneé pressed you up against it. Your breath hitched at the sudden movement, but a smirk started playing on your lips once you saw the look in your girlfriend’s eyes. “I told you you looked incredible.” You tease, letting your hand drag over her chest. When your hands found the zipper, you undid it the rest of the way, and took off the jacket. Your hands moved up her arms slowly until they reached the nap of her neck. “You are so beautiful, baby.” You tell her before she crashes her lips onto yours.
The kiss was instantly heated, you were very turned on from watching the scene Reneé acted in, so every small touch of your girlfriend letting her hands explore your body sent electricity throughout your body. Her lips made their way down your neck, kissing, sucking, and licking the spots you knew were going to have small bruises later. Your soft moans filled the trailer.
Reneé pulled you towards the bed in the back of the trailer. Only breaking the kiss, once you made it to the bed, so she could take off your shirt, and your bra. “So pretty.” She said before taking one of your nipples into her mouth, and swirling her tongue around the hardened bud. With one of your hands behind her back to pull her closer, and the other massaging her breasts, you fell back onto the bed. 
It didn’t take long for both of your clothes to be thrown onto the ground, and your moans filled the trailer once more, as Reneé drags her finger through your folds. “Fuck, you’re so wet baby.” Between moans you manage to say, “I told you, you looked incredible.” Reneé chuckled, “Once again proving that you are a boob girl.” Her comment made you laugh, but it got caught short as she entered one of her fingers into you, and started fucking you at a fast pace right away. 
Your moans start to get so loud that you’re afraid that someone will hear you, so you pull Reneé closer and crash your lips together to muffle the noises. You felt yourself nearing your high fast, as she entered a second finger, and used her thumb to run circles around your clit. “Baby, I-” Reneé’s darkened eyes meet yours, “Fuck, I’m close.” Reneé fastens her pace even more, loving the way she can feel you tighten around her fingers. “Come for me, baby.” Her sultry voice brings you over the edge. You moan her name loudly, no longer being able to control yourself as she fucks you through your orgasm. 
You let your head fall back onto the bed, while you come down from your high with a heaving chest. Reneé cleans off her fingers on the sheets, before she places soft kisses all over your face. “You did so great, baby. I should take you to set with me more often.” She says smiling down at you, admiring the way your sensitive body reacts to her soft touches. 
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e-m-ma-lmfao · 2 months ago
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"We're gonna get out of here, I promise"
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pairing : mike munroe x (fem) reader
cw : mike has a gun, talk of death, and blood, and maybe like one swear I don't know. reader is referred to as mike’s girlfriend, but other than that i don’t believe any female pronouns are used.
a/n : i know this is kind of late since the until dawn remake has been out for a while but i kept procrastinating this after I started it. anyways #needthat.
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The wind pulls at you from every angle, hair clinging to your sweaty, frostbitten cheeks. Adrenaline kept your body moving through the never-ending maze of trees and snow; you didn’t think it would last much longer. You were sure if you continued in this direction, eventually, you would reach the sanatorium. 
It was marked on the map in the cable car station, the same map you had seen before you made your way up to the lodge with Sam and Chris. That was hours ago, and you wish you could go back and warn yourself to go back down the mountain. Or even better, ignore Josh’s email altogether and stay home. Play sick. You’d say anything not to be where you are, right now. 
But that’s not possible, is it? 
Your clothes are sticky with blood. Not your own, you think. You hope. This night was not turning out the way you had expected it to. And the choices you had made leading up to this point were beginning to make your stomach turn the longer you thought about them. 
Why did you leave the lodge? You could’ve stayed on the kitchen floor after that psycho knocked you out; you could’ve pretended not to hear Chris’s attempts to wake you up. You could’ve looked for a phone instead of rushing into the snow to find Ashley. Speaking of them, why had you left Chris and Ashley? You could’ve returned to the lodge with them to find Sam after witnessing your friend be sawed in half, but no. You needed to know that Mike was okay considering you hadn’t seen him since you both arrived. 
Why did you start that argument with Mike before the two of you had left for the lodge? 
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“C’mon, don’t be like that.”
“Like what?”
“You're getting jealous over nothing. We’ve talked about this, there is nothing between me and Em. I’m with you. I’m in love with you. Why does this keep being brought up?”
“Maybe because she texts your phone like you're still close? ‘Text when you and the new gf get here, can’t wait to see you, winky face’,” you push his phone towards him. “She knows who I am, why does she feel the need to refer to me as the ‘new girlfriend’ as if we’ve never met? And why is she sending you winky faces? Why exactly is Em so excited to see you, Mike?” You make a point of emphasizing her nickname which seems to flow off his tongue so easily. 
“You’re looking into this way too much. This is crazy, I mean come on, that’s how she texts everyone, baby.” He gently takes his phone from you, throwing it onto the bed and reaching back for your hand which hovers in the air. You let him, but you make no effort to hold his hand back, fingers only resting in his hold. A soft sigh leaves your lips. 
“Yeah well, I’m not loving that she texts you that way and I’m also not loving the fact that you’ve said nothing to her about how weird it is. You have no problem defending her when you talk to me, so why can’t you say something to her about how I feel?”
“If I said something it would just cause a fight between me and her, or you and her, and the last thing that anyone needs up there, especially Josh, is for all of us to be fighting. Can you pretend to like her, only for the weekend, and then you never have to again.”
“You say that every time she’s involved, ‘just pretend to like her for tonight, and then you never have to ever again.’ But I will, because for some reason she is always around. I figured when Matt and she started dating we would see her less but I guess I was wrong.”
“Please, let’s just go and get it over with. We’re doing this for Josh, remember?”
“I don’t know, Michael, something about spending an entire weekend with your ex-girlfriend isn’t really appealing to me anymore. Call me crazy.” His eyebrows soften as you use his full name, especially in that tone. He is enjoying this conversation less than you are. 
“Don’t be this way, we’re already packed and ready to go. Just come downstairs and get in the truck. She won’t bother us, baby, I promise. Come on..” He attempts to pull you, gently bringing your hand closer to him. But your fingers slip from his hand, dropping to your side. From the bed, his phone buzzes, the screen lights up, and you don’t have to look to know who’s messaging him. 
“Sam told me she's taking the bus up there, I think,” you look back to him, “I’ll just head up with her so she doesn't have to go alone.”
“But then I have to go alone. And the bus leaves in like an hour, that's barely enough time to get ready and get to the stop. You're being ridiculous, just come with me. And if you want to, we can talk about this on the way up.” 
 You look away from him, missing the way his face falls as you turn your back to him. “I’ll see you up there, Mike.”
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If you had just let it go, believed him, and gone with him instead of taking the bus with Sam, you would’ve never been angry with each other at the lodge. Or rather, you wouldn’t have been so furious with him because you would’ve talked things out in the truck, kissed, and made up instead of stewing in your thoughts on the bus. You wouldn’t be worrying about whether or not he was alive right now. But you were stubborn and foolish, and now you are trudging through the snow, improperly dressed, and praying the person you love is still breathing on this stupid mountain. 
You cross your arms over your chest, preserving what little warmth you have left, and with every step you lose another piece of hope. All you can think of is him. And how, if he is dead, he would’ve died thinking that you were mad at him. You weren’t even angry, annoyed for sure but not angry, you were just being stubborn and taking your frustration out on him. Now you might never get to apologize. The thought makes your stomach churn and your steps falter as a wave of nausea overtakes you. 
But, finally, in the distance you see the outline of a large building surrounded by a brick fence that appears to be falling apart. You allow yourself to be comforted, just for a moment, by the sanatorium's existence. The nausea in your stomach ceases as your steps quicken, arms uncrossing to move through the air. You reach the gate, blocked by the large pile of snow blocking both sides, not that you think you could’ve pushed it open in your current state; blocked from snow or not. 
You let your hand trace across the gate's bars as you walk towards the side of the fence. The pads of your fingers sting from the cold metal but you keep them where they are. As you move, they follow, moving from metal to brick. The only way into the sanatorium courtyard, you realize, is to climb over the stone fencing. 
A tired sigh leaves your body. You place your hands on the wall, palms stinging from the snow-covered surface. You lift your body, throwing your leg over simultaneously, climbing on top to straddle the snowy stone. The action uses more energy than you realistically have left so instead of gracefully landing on the other side of the wall you fall, directly onto your back. At least the pile of snow beneath you cushions your fall a tiny bit, but it still takes you a few minutes to recover your breath. 
Using the wall, you find your footing again. The snow falls from your clothes as you stumble towards the sanatorium. You don’t even know what you were expecting to discover here. You figured there might be people here. Maybe a construction crew, getting ready to tear the old building down. A custodian, forced to stay and take care of an abandoned building. Or on the slimmer side of chance, a large group of stable nurses and doctors that would offer you and your friends shelter and much-needed medical attention. However, the closer you get, the more you realize how fucked you are. Nobody is out here. And it was stupid to believe there would be. 
But you’ve come this far, and the chill that runs through your body borders on hypothermic potential. You reach the front doors, using your body to push the door open, shoulder first. It opens far easier than expected, and you fall to your hands and knees as it flies inwards. “Fuck.. me.” 
You don’t move from the floor, the opposite actually, you get closer to it, falling onto your back. You don’t even want to get up. No one is here. All your friends are probably dead back down by the lodge. What’s the point? At least this way you’ll have time to think over every choice that led you here, it’ll take a while for the cold to kill you since your feet are the only part of you still lying outside the building. From farther within the entry hall you hear a door open, the sound of steps echoing through the empty building. And though your heart rate picks up speed, you don’t move. Instead, you pray that whatever it is, will kill you quickly so you can be with your friends again. So you can be with Mike. 
“Who’s there? Whoever it is, just know I am armed and I am not afraid to shoot you. I have had one hell of a night and I am so not in the mood for.. whatever it is that you want.” Even with your heartbeat drumming against your ear canals, you still pick up the voice. A man's voice. Almost recognizable. You let your eyes close, murmuring the only thing you can think of like a mantra. Mike. Mike. Mike. Mike. 
“Holy shit. Y/n?” Mike? You turn your neck enough to see the man approaching. A sudden second surge of energy fills you, and you lift yourself into a sitting position to fully face the figure walking towards you. 
“M..mike?” 
“Holy- Oh my god, how are you- Are you okay?” He falls to his knees in front of you, dropping the gun and the lantern in his hands on the floor. His hands hover around you, scared to touch you. You notice that two of the fingers on his left hand are missing, replaced by a bandage soaked in blood.  Your hands are the first to make contact, landing on both sides of his dirty face.
“Are you real?” He nods, pulling you into a too-tight embrace. A stark contrast to his previous concern and reluctance to touch you. 
“Yes. Yes, I’m real. I’m so glad to see you. You’re alive.. holy shit I can’t believe you’re alive.”
“You look terrible” You wipe away some dirt from his face. Eyes wide as you try to convince yourself that he is actually in front of you. You had convinced yourself that he was dead, and now to see him in front of you alive and well - okay maybe not well but he’s not dead - it has your brain moving a mile a minute. There is so much you have to say. So much you have to explain to him. How do you explain to someone that his friend was sawed in half on the anniversary of his sister's death? Or how do you explain that the rest of his friends might ALSO be dead? And without sounding insane, how do you explain that you truly believe something is up on the mountain with you and that it might’ve followed you the entire way to the sanatorium? You can’t.  
“Well, I’m happy to see you too, baby.” He laughs breathily, unsteady. A laugh of disbelief. His way of coping has always been humor, even at the most inappropriate of times. Your features are probably the exact opposite of his uncertain smile. You pull him close again, practically pushing him to the ground, but his arms wrap around you and he straightens his back to keep the two of you upright. “Woah, I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here.”
You push your face into his shoulder, saturating the filthy, green jacket that he wears with tears. It stinks like cigar smoke, years of sweat buildup, and dirt. 
“Mike- Oh Mike,” your voice is muffled in his skin, pausing in between sobs to catch your breath. His arm wraps tighter around your waist, the other arm reaching up so his hand can rest in your tangled hair. “I’m so- I am so so sorry Micheal. I thought you were dead, I thought- I thought you died thinking I was angry. I’m so sorry, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. It’s okay. Don’t apologize. I’m just- I’m so glad you’re alive.” He kisses your temple, and as you raise your red face to look him in the eyes, he moves your hair out of your face. “We’re gonna get out of here, okay? Can you walk? God, you must be freezing. Did you come all the way from the lodge like this? Fuck, y/n, how are you even alive.” You shake your head, a silent confirmation that you don’t know how you’re alive either. 
He helps you to your feet, taking off the unfamiliar jacket and helping you into it. He then retrieves the lantern and the gun from the floor, “Here, can you hold this up?” You nod, and take the lantern from his hand. In the hand opposite of you, he holds the gun, and with the other, he intertwines his fingers with yours. “We're gonna get out of here. I am going to get you out of here, I promise.” He’s so certain, and your fear almost dissipates completely as he leads you farther into the sanatorium with a tight grip on your hand.
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digitizedworld · 8 months ago
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My sister was high a few days ago, and we got to talking about how Warner Bros. failed the DC storyline, especially with all the Batman remakes. So, naturally, I got into telling her about Batman and his kids since she was too out of it to stop me. I went into a rant mostly about Jason Todd and Tim Drake but talked about Dick, Damien, and Cass a little, too, just going over their general history. But I dug deep into Tim And Jason since their stories are my favorite.
I just think that if they do a movie about the Robins it would change everything. They never talk about them, but each Robin has played a vital role in being Batman's partner and the reason he restrains himself. Despite all his faults and his mistakes, his Robins are his life.
Anyway, today we were watching Madame Web, and I commented about how she's like Batman collecting orphan children. My sister turned to me and said, "So, she's going to get them all killed?"
💀
That's what she collected from my hour-long rant while high. I can't.
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suna1suna1 · 4 months ago
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The Open Backpack | MD Oneshot
Mild finale spoilers!
640 words
N/Uzi (Established)
N/Uzi/V (Kinda, not quite established yet lol)
Putting this here bc it's silly and I'm playing with turning it into a comic at some point but I don't want to make a whole new thing for it on ao3 so hi!
Uzi kept a lot of things in her backpack. Many of these things would have had V teasing her in a heartbeat if she were ever to find out, and N just wouldn't get it unless she showed them to him. Which she was not doing. Nope, not even a little. 
But most of all, she couldn't let them know she was into magical girl anime. If anyone found out about it, her reputation as the emo girl would be ruined, she was sure of it. 
Though in hindsight, maybe she shouldn't have left the bag open in the middle of class. 
Lizzy found it first, reaching over to the open backpack and pulling out a very battered--very pink--volume of Mariner Satellite. "What's this?" she asked, her voice thick with disgust. 
"Mine!" Uzi screeched as she snatched it from Lizzy's hands. "Stay out of my frickin' stuff!" 
The teacher cleared his throat, leveling both of them with a very tired, very I'm so done look. Uzi shoved the manga back in her bag and huffed as she looked pointedly away from Lizzy, pulling her bag under her desk.  
Someone tapped her shoulder, and Uzi's heart skipped a beat when she saw N looking at her curiously from where he sat behind her. "What's that?" he asked quietly. 
A warning popped up on Uzi's interface that she was blushing, and she looked away quickly. "Nothing. Just a super cool ninja manga! Yeah!" 
"Ooh, neat!" N replied, and Uzi's stomach dropped as she realized her mistake. "Could you show me after class?" 
Uzi panicked and nodded. 
Uh oh... 
Maybe he'll forget about it, Uzi told herself as the clock ticked closer and closer to the end of class. Or I can escape before he realizes I'm gone! 
But he didn't, and she couldn't. There was a bottleneck as the last class of the day ended and all the other students clamored to leave. N was next to her immediately, ready to take her hand (gross, PDA...) and leave the room with her. "So what's that manga? Ninjas sound cool!" 
Uzi laughed nervously. "Uh... Yeah! They are!" 
"It's not about ninjas," said Lizzy with a smirk. "It's all about the sparkle." 
"Ooh!" N exclaimed. "Like the stuff V's been drawing?" 
Uzi gave him a bewildered look. "Drawing?" she asked. 
"Yeah! We've been using that manga drawing book. V's getting really good! She likes the magical girls and stuff, especially if they look like spies." 
"Huh... I never took V for a magical girl fan." 
"Uh huh, because you're oblivious." 
V stood in the doorway, an eyebrow arched at Uzi. "I don't talk about Mariner Satellite with you around because I know you'll be weird about it, but I know you've snuck into my locker." 
Uzi blushed guiltily. "I wasn't looking at the posters. I just wanted one of the arms you keep in there." 
N narrowed his eyes at V. "V, I thought we agreed no more killing--"
"I'm not, dummy," V interrupted. "I broke into Doll's stash. She had a crap-ton of drones stockpiled." 
"Oh! Right." 
"Anyway," Uzi said. "...I guess if V's already into it... You guys... maybe wanna watch the anime with me...? Sometime...?" 
N grinned. "Anime date!" 
"It's not a date!" Uzi and V looked at each other, startled that they'd both said it in sync. Uzi didn't miss the blush lines on V's visor before she turned away. "Whatever," V continued. "Remake or original?" 
"Original," Uzi replied. "The remake follows the manga better, but the vibes just aren't the same." 
V shrugged and walked back out through the door, looking over her shoulder. "Are you guys coming or what?" 
N grabbed Uzi's hand in his, offering her a smile while she tried to ignore the swarm of butterflies in her stomach as she left the classroom with him. 
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girl4music · 8 months ago
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I’ve had enough of people referring to ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’ as queerbaiting and claiming that the creators of the show were committing it so I’ve gone on an extensive Google search and pulled up this AftenEllen article written all the way back in 2008 and I’m transcribing the full thing right here because if people don’t want to voluntarily do their research when they make their insulting claims then I’ll provide the source for them and force them to read it because I refuse to allow them to disrespect the creators/cast/crew like this in making their completely off-base assumptions about a TV show that I’ve been watching since I was 5 years old.
This is an interview with the creators/cast/crew of ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’ where they express their opinion on what they think would happen with the lesbian subtext between Xena and Gabrielle if the show was made for today. It’s why many of us don’t want a remake or reboot or revival of it of any kind.
Do not ever come for ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’ and the incredible people that either made the show or were involved in the making of it around me. You have absolutely no chance in winning the argument!
[Viewers never had to look too hard to find the lesbian subtext in Xena: Warrior Princess, but that’s still what it was: subtext. And while lesbian fans in the 1990s might not have had any choice but to settle for that, would things be different if the show were being made – or remade – today? When I attended the Xena convention in Burbank, Calif., at the end of January, I asked the show’s creators, producers, writers and stars if the world is ready for an openly lesbian relationship between Xena and Gabrielle.
“To me it was main text,” said Renee O’Connor, who played Gabrielle, in an exclusive interview with AfterEllen.com. “And even if it was subtext, it was very clear that we were together. They are so in love with each other, they love each other so dearly; there’s no way you can say that’s not true. Anyone can see that from watching the show.”
I asked her if she thought that relationship could be openly acknowledged if the series were being made today. “I don’t know,” O’Connor answered. “Maybe there’s a little bit more hint of acceptance today. Maybe, maybe not. You can only put it up and see what would happen. I guess we could do anything, just get it out there and see how it affects people.”
In a lot of ways, Xena flew under the radar during the ’90s. Viewers who didn’t perceive (or didn’t like) the lesbian subtext could see it simply as a story about heroic friends righting wrongs and battling villians. If the show were being produced in today’s post—L Word television landscape, it’s hard to believe that audiences would be quite as oblivious.
But O’Connor doesn’t think that a more overt presentation of Xena and Gabrielle’s relationship would have changed the moral heart of the series. That’s because she sees those two things – the love between Xena and Gabrielle and the series’ focus on the fight against evil – as inextricably combined.
“If we were just starting Xena right now, I know what the relationship of the two characters is,” O’Connor said. “So even though we wouldn’t blatantly talk about all the issues involved, because I don’t think that’s what the show is about, it’s still about defeating oppressors and wanting to do the right thing for the world. And that comes down to these people and how they love each other.”
Lucy Lawless, who played Xena, isn’t sure how acknowledging a romantic relationship between the two women would affect the show’s reception if it were being made today, but it could have changed the way audiences perceived it in the past.
“There might have been more general discussion about whether the characters were lesbian or not out in the mainstream,” Lawless said. “In the 1990s, when this was all new, people like Ellen [DeGeneres] and k.d. lang and all these people who are out were blazing a trail. And you might hope that it’d be done long ago. But in a lot of the world, it’s still incredibly painful to come out, even today.”
Then she laughed. “But let’s have a go. Let’s do it. Why don’t we make a Xena movie? Just tell a bloody good story and let the fires and torpedoes be damned.”
A Xena movie doesn’t seem any more likely today than it did a year ago, but I asked Lawless if she thought the sexual relationship between Xena and Gabrielle might be brought more into the forefront if a movie were made.
“I think that’s a good question for Rob,” she said, referring to Rob Tapert, the series’ co-creator and her husband. “I know he���s been thinking about this for a long time, mulling it over in the back of his mind. He’s got a great feeling of where the world’s at and what he can make that’s progressive and gutsy and still have it be financially successful.”
Backstage at the convention, Tapert considered the possibility of a more openly queer Xena and Gabrielle. “It’s a tricky question,” he said, “because if Xena were being made today, well, there’s two different Xenas. There is the one [in which] people could read between the lines, and that played to one audience.
“Then there’s one that played to kids, or that played to 9—17-year-olds. And they didn’t understand the subtext, nor did they get it. So like the finest of Disney films, that plays to all audiences; that was a balance we tried to find. Making it today, I don’t know what would happen.”
He called series co-creator, producer and writer R.J. Stewart over to ask his opinion. “Could there be more commitment to the subtext?” Stewart said. “Well, I think if it was a cable show, absolutely. But if it was the same kind of broader market, I think you have to be more inclusive. But yes, absolutely, I think that a cable version of it could work that way.”
What if a film were made today, based on the series? That would be a different proposition, Stewart said. “When you make a movie you always try to stay pretty close to the original in feeling.” Then he laughed. “Now, if you could just get Oxygen to order some episodes …”
However much fans might wish for another season of their favorite show, not even out lesbian Xena producer and writer Liz Friedman (pictured left, and currently a producer on Fox’s House) thinks it would come back as an ancient Greek action-adventure version of The L Word.
“As much as I would love to see it – and I’m speaking as somebody who watches The L Word obsessively – there was something really wonderful and romantic about the relationship between Xena and Gabrielle,” she told AfterEllen.com. “And I think it’s actually easier to have romance without sex. You don’t then get into issues about ‘Will this relationship last?’ There was never – well, until they started killing each other’s children – the question of a breakup.”
I asked if she thought that times had changed enough that a series could now be made with two legendary female heroes shown unambiguously as romantic partners.
“If you look at the lesbian relationships that are on TV now, it’s either niche-market stuff like The L Word, or it’s Cashmere Mafia that gets you all excited because there’s a kiss in the pilot, and then by Episode 3 she’s hitting on boys again,” Friedman said. “Certainly in a single-lead action show we’re not ready for an openly gay heroine yet. Well, I think we’re ready for it. I don’t think the networks are going to let us do it.”
Then she laughed. “Look, obviously I’m biased. I loved the show the way it was, so it’s like, don’t talk about messing with my Xena. It worked pretty well, thanks very much. … If I were doing the Xena movie I would try to get there to be a kiss, but there are plenty of ways that you can do that without changing what the relationship is.”
That raises the question of just how much would have to change in order to bring the subtext into the forefront.
It’s undeniable that there are some scenes – and even whole episodes – where it’s hard to make sense of what happens without believing that Xena and Gabrielle are at least a little bit more than friends. Most of the time, these moments occur in the more humorous episodes, but as series writer Steven Sears told AfterEllen.com, “We didn’t cross the line completely but … these are two women who live together, travel together, had domestic duties together, die for each other, fought for each other, continually say how much they loved each other, but no. They’re not in a loving relationship.”
Steven Sears talking with Christie Keith
He shook his head. “Excuse me?”
Writer Katherine Fugate (currently executive producer of Army Wives) sees it much the same way. She is the author of “When Fates Collide,” widely considered one of the most subtext-friendly – and romantic – episodes in the entire series.
Katherine Fugate
Set in an alternate universe where Xena’s old enemy, Julius Caesar, has imprisoned the Fates and used their loom to undo the events that led up to his assassination, “When Fates Collide” is about the inevitability of both destiny and love.
In Caesar’s new reality, Xena is his empress. A famous Greek playwright named Gabrielle comes to present her latest work to the Romans, and in the greatest romantic tradition, she and Xena are struck with what can only be called love at first sight.
They gaze at each other across crowded rooms. Xena casts tortured glances at Gabrielle when she is called away by her husband. They stare longingly at each other from their balconies in the moonlight. Xena gives her life to save Gabrielle, and Gabrielle risks destroying the entire world to save Xena’s.
Caesar calls Gabrielle Xena’s “girlfriend,” and his violent jealousy would make absolutely no sense if Xena and Gabrielle weren’t being depicted as lovers.
And, in fact, that’s just how they were being depicted. Fugate appeared at this year’s convention and spoke with AfterEllen.com backstage. “The paradigm in my episode was that they find each other in any lifetime and they were meant to be, no matter what body they were in or what gender they were,” she said. “These souls were entwined somehow. And that, to me, almost has more a spiritual connotation than a sexual one, although I personally believe that they were lovers and had a committed relationship.”
She added: “I think we touched people, and it was multifaceted with all the spiritual components as well as the love. But the love was so intense, and ‘We’ll find each other in any lifetime,’ I think, is profound. I don’t know many shows that say that, period, heterosexual or homosexual.”
Given that, it’s surprising there wasn’t a kiss in the episode, something that had been played with both teasingly and tenderly (if briefly) in earlier episodes.
“There was a kiss written in which was more definitive, and it’s in the script that they sell here [at the convention],” said Fugate. “So my intention was actually to push that envelope, and I was really supported by Rob and R.J. and everyone. But ultimately they pulled it, because they wanted to maintain it for the finale.”
The finale is, of course, a sore spot for Xena fans; mention of it during R.J. Stewart’s appearance triggered the only boos of the convention weekend. He took them in stride, defending his decision to kill Xena at the series’ end, but there’s no question it took the shine off the climactic kiss the two women shared in “A Friend in Need.”
Fugate, who announced at the convention that Renee O’Connor will play a lesbian on Army Wives later this year, is optimistic about the possibility that a show about two female heroes who are openly lovers could be made today.
“This may sound like a writer’s answer, but I think anything works if it’s well-written,” she said. “If you have respect for the subject and if you can find a universal theme, anything will work.”
She said she feels that doing that would be easier today than it was in the ’90s. “We probably couldn’t push the envelope as much then as we could now,” she said.
“The subtext issue gets asked a lot; I think everyone here has been asked about it. And I think that’s because it obviously touches people, and we had an opportunity to dignify these relationships. And everyone felt it did that. I think both the lead actors have come forward and said this is how they view their characters and how they played them. We did what we could.”
If they did what they could in the ’90s, what could they do now? Sears said he’s thought a lot about that question, and he’s not optimistic. “As far as the marketing mind is concerned and the studios,” he explained, “if a movie came out they would play with it, they would toy with it, they would try to appeal to the male heterosexual audience, because in their minds that’s who’s attracted to these kinds of films, these action films. They don’t want to turn those people off.”
Then Sears pointed out the dark side of main text. “The horrible thing that might be done is that they would then say, let’s go completely commercial with this thing,” he said. “They would have the characters kiss, have the characters imply that they had a sexual encounter, and then have them realize, well, that was just an experiment. Now let’s go back to men. That’s the worst possible thing that could happen. But it’s also one of the most possible things that marketing could do.”
In light of those fears, a dozen intimate moments in the hot tub, soulful glances and fireside nights spent in each other’s arms don’t seem so bad. And neither do Renee O’Connor’s final thoughts on how Xena might best be made today.
“I always wanted people to look at it as unconditional love,” she said, “especially people from the conservative side who didn’t want to see anything like that. Just watch the show, and see what you want to see. I still think that today that would be the best way to put the series on.”]
SOURCE: https://afterellen.com/bringing-out-the-warrior-princess/
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timetravellingkitty · 11 months ago
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Mulan 2020 sucks lol
Written and edited by yours truly
So, Mulan 2020 happened. And I am disappointed. Seriously disappointed. It is utter garbage. I would genuinely prefer it if I watched Mulan II 5 times in a row, and that's saying something.
There is so much to talk about because this has so many issues. I don't think my brain can handle a movie as bad as this for some time. It is a disgrace to the original animated movie.
(Who cares about spoilers?)
And yes, I can and I will compare it to the original movie because it is a remake. It is totally valid to see where this fell flat and where the original succeeded. I'm not saying it has to be like the original cartoon, that is stupid. As I mentioned, it's to highlight the failures of this movie.
Besides, even if we forget the fact that it is a remake, this movie is still horrible.
INTRODUCTION
Mulan 1998 is a classic. It has great visuals, an awesome soundtrack, wonderful and compelling characters, a great message and a cool plot. It's just a great movie in general. It is an adaptation of The Ballad of Mulan, a Chinese legend. Both the legend and the animated movie are about a young girl named Mulan who disguises herself as a man to take her father's place in the army to fight back against an invasion.
As big of a success Mulan was, Chinese audiences thought some things were weird. For instance, having a dragon be a comic relief character, given that dragons are highly respected in Chinese culture. So of course, Disney decided to try another shot, claiming that they wanted to be more culturally sensitive, accurate and closer to the original ballad.
Mulan 2020 is a remake of the original animated movie, and was marketed to be more "accurate to Chinese culture and the Ballad". This claim is, of course, false, because they failed in that aspect. Say what you will about the cultural inaccuracies in Mulan 1998, but at least it was a great movie. Besides, Mulan 1998 didn't pride or market itself on being culturally accurate, the way Mulan 2020 did, so there's that.
CHANGES
I don't mind some changes. And honestly, if there's one thing I appreciate, it's that it isn't a carbon copy of the original (looking at you The Lion King 2019).
Li Shang's character is divided into two characters: Commander Tung and Mulan's love interest Honghui, apparently in light of the Me-Too movement. This is a dumb reason. Disney wasn't comfortable with a superior having a relationship with a subordinate? The hell? The romance between Shang and Mulan was only insinuated at the end, when Mulan wasn't even a part of the army anymore, so there's that. Also, Mulan gave her consent, so I don't know what they’re talking about.
Mushu isn't present in the movie. I can see why though. He contributed quite a bit to the soul of the animated version but a CGI dragon would be very distracting. Also, the director said that removed him to achieve a more realistic tone.
Grandma? No grandma. Mulan has a sister though, who only exists to mess stuff up.
The Huns are replaced with the Rourans and Shan Yu is replaced with Bori Khan.
Mushu is replaced with a phoenix, who acts as an emissary for the ancestors
There are no songs, except in the end credits, which isn't a bad thing. The instrumentals of the songs in the animated one play during some scenes (I'll talk about the music, don’t worry)
CHARACTERS
The characters in this movie are so boring. Our lead character Mulan lacks the charisma her animated counterpart had. She's utterly bland, uninteresting and poorly written. In the original, she knew she wasn't physically strong and that she couldn't solve her problems with her strength, so she used her intelligence and wit. She excelled by working hard and being strong willed and determined. This Mulan is a well rounded character.
Mulan in the live action is given Chi powers (Chi is a big part of Chinese medicine, in case you didn't know). Honestly, I wouldn't be as mad at Mulan being given superpowers, had they actually done this properly! Chi isn't like midichlorians, it's something that flows through everyone. Mulan is naturally born with dumb superpowers and has to hide them because as her dad says, " Chi is for warriors, not for daughters”. There is a problem:
It has been mentioned many times that Mulan needs to hide her superpowers otherwise she will be shunned and ostracised. Then why doesn't she get more repercussions everytime she uses her powers? The worst thing that happens is little Mulan getting looks of disgust when she uses them. On other occasions, when she is now a part of the army, she uses her powers in training and she doesn't get any backlash? What the hell?? Then why even bother in the first place?
The only way for this narrative to work is if Mulan got more repercussions for using her powers.
If I were to make the line "Chi is for warriors, not daughters," work, I would make it go something like this:
*At the end of the movie when Mulan comes home*
Dad: Didn't I tell you that Chi is for warriors, not daughters?
Mulan: "I am a daughter, but I'm a warrior too."
(Yes, I know this is similar to a scene in Avatar: The Last Airbender, but this would be better, tbh. Also, watch Avatar: The Last Airbender)
Let me compare the training montages from both movies.
In the animated one, there is an absolutely AWESOME montage of Mulan training side by side with her companions, slowly gaining their trust. She climbs the pillar with both medallions by using her wit, not by brute force. This Mulan worked hard. Besides, the fact that "I'll Make A Man Out Of You" plays over this is the only thing that makes it better (banger song, thank you Donny Osmond)
In the live-action, Mulan is supposed to lift up buckets and climb on top of a mountain. There are also other training scenes, but those aren't very important. In these scenes, she succeeds with the power of CHI. WHY? Mulan here just achieves her goal because she is oh so special. She didn't work to achieve her goal at all, because she is perfect. No struggling or development here at all.
Mulan in the animated version was more concerned about saving her father. Mulan in the 2020 version is a dumb patriot who can't even do patriotism right ("I know my place. It is my duty to fight for the kingdom and protect the Emperor") How very empowering.
In short, live-action Mulan can do no wrong. She has no flaws, no personality and no charm. Everything comes to her pretty easily, because MAGIC.
Li Shang's role in the live-action is divided between Commander Tung and Mulan's love interest Honghui, as mentioned before. Both of these characters are flat, dumb and boring. Tung exists to tell Mulan to cultivate her Chi and to train these idiots (and to offer his daughter’s hand in marriage to her, unaware that Mulan isn’t actually a guy, but eh). Honghui is there to be a stupid love interest, who gives us an “I am Spartacus” moment.
The witch is by far the most interesting character. She actually has more than one side to her, has SOME kind of depth and you can even feel sorry for her. She is supposed to serve as a foil to Mulan, given that both have similar powers. In case you've forgotten (which is something I wouldn't blame you for), she's an outcast who's now working with Bori Khan. Why is she an outcast? Because of her Chi. The witch has said many times that she could kill Bori Khan in a snap, then why doesn't she kill him? Because she needs acceptance? What the hell? She decides to pull out the whole "We're the same, you and I," stupidity to Mulan, and I can see that. It's just that the writers just didn't put much thought into it. “It’s too late for me” because you saw a woman leading an army of men? Also, why does she warn Mulan that Bori Khan is coming? Unless she's playing both sides, except her motivations aren't made clear enough for this to make sense. Finally, she dies for the dumbest reason. God, it just makes me so mad. She had so much potential, but no. They just had to mess her up.
Bori Khan? MORE LIKE BORING KHAN. Not much is there. His animated counterpart Shan Yu was scary and contributed to some of the darkest moments in the movie. This guy over here is just...nothing. That's all I have to say.
Mulan's sister is only there to mess up the meeting with the Matchmaker. What a stupid change. First off in the animated version, it's Mulan who messed up, because she isn't perfect. She fails at being stereotypically feminine AND masculine, but in the live-action, she literally pulls off a Spiderman cafeteria scene, and the blame is put on the sister. In the animated movie, this scene is groundwork for Mulan wanting to prove herself and going on a hero's journey, providing depth to her character, but in the live-action, she's perfect. What is the point? (I know this section was supposed to be about the sister, but eh). The sister doesn't provide anything else to the movie, so thanks! I hate it. Moral of the story: Girls can do anything boys can, as long as they have superpowers. If you are born special like Mulan, you can be respected, whereas if you are like the sister, you have no significance and in the end, you can just fit in and be irrelevant. Congratulations!
The live action group of guys Mulan met and befriended in the army lack the charm and comedic timing of their animated counterparts. That’s it. Seriously. I have nothing more to say about them, because they don't really have anything going on. I don't even know why they are included, because their contribution is nil, save for them blandly speaking lines from the animated version’s songs ("I don't care what she looks like, I care what she cooks like"), which is seriously cringe.
The dad is there to tell Mulan that Chi is for warriors. A shame, because I really liked the dad in the movie. He was a source of wisdom for Mulan, whose greatest honour was having her for a daughter. In the live-action, he just takes the sword that Mulan is given at the end of the movie. The mom is meh.
The emperor is also meh. At least he was wise and cool in the animated version, but here he just does bed sheet kung-fu.
Did I mention that the dynamics between the characters are unnatural, forced, awkward in a bad way and in no way indicates any chemistry between them? Oh yeah, I didn’t, until now. They don’t establish much when it comes to emotion.
Simply put, Khan (Mulan’s horse in the animated version) had more personality than all of these characters combined
PERFORMANCES
Liu Yifei as Mulan was a pretty terrible choice. She is just a block of wood, who has absolutely no range, and this isn't because of the writing. She is genuinely bad, and is regarded as one of China’s worst actors (I kid you not). She just can’t emote.
Jet Li as the emperor is meh. But hey, he doesn’t have much to do, so eh.
Jason Scott Lee as Bori Khan is fine. He doesn’t suck, but he lacks the command and authority of a character who is supposed to be intimidating, but I guess it has something to do with the writing of his character.
Donnie Yen is a martial art legend, but unfortunately, he doesn't have much range as an actor.
The best performance of this movie is that of Gong Li, who played the witch. Honestly, she is charismatic, charming and has an idea of what she is doing.
To save everyone’s time, simply put: most of the performances are bland and mediocre. Partly due to bad writing and partly due to most of the actors not being, well, good at acting.
CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL ACCURACY
So Disney went all “we like cultural and historical accuracy”, which is nice. For example, the Huns are replaced by the Rourans, a real tribe in China around the time Mulan was supposed to be alive. They also removed the hair cutting scene, because as iconic and awesome as it is, it doesn’t make sense. Chinese men wore their hair long too. You know what? I like these kinds of changes. I appreciate accuracy. If only Disney didn’t pride themselves on their accuracy when they got almost everything else wrong (They somehow got Mulan's house wrong lol). I don't know jackshit about Chinese culture so just go watch that Xiran Jay Zhao video it's very swag
THE BALLAD OF MULAN
In a surprising turn of events, this isn't accurate to the Ballad, like they had marketed it to be (I know, I’m shocked too). In a reference to the Ballad, Mulan is riding a horse and she sees two rabbits running side by side. She goes home and tells her family that she saw 2 rabbits, and she thinks that one was male and the other female, but she wasn't sure. This just misses the entire point of the Ballad.
Long story short, Mulan in the Ballad is actually a seamstress. She joined the army in her father's place. She defeats the barbarians and goes on a ten year long campaign with her friends, after which they meet the Son of Heaven (a sacred imperial title of a Chinese emperor). He offers her a high ranking position, which she refuses, because she just wants to go home. She returns home and her family welcomes her. Sometime later, her friends come to visit her, and they find out that she is actually a woman. The friends are shocked because she has been in the army for 12 years and in those 12 years, they didn't even realise that she was a woman.
Mulan then replies:
The male hare's feet hop and skip
The female hare's are muddled and fuddled
But when two hares are running side by side
How can you tell the male from the female?
Which is where the poem ends.
So, Mulan just going on, judging those rabbits like that makes absolutely no sense. The Ballad is about how no matter how different men and women look, when they live and fight amongst each other, who gives a damn about the differences? You know what would have made sense though? If Mulan got off her horse, went close to the rabbits, examined them, and then made the conclusion that one is male and the other is female. This would actually be sticking to the message of the Ballad. Also, why do they make it ambiguous as to whether she accepts the high ranking position? I assume for a sequel (yes, God save my soul). Here we can see another example of its impeccable accuracy to the Ballad.
THIS ISN'T EMOTIONAL AT ALL
Everything that made the original film good has been stripped away. Every moment that is meant to be emotional is very dull. For example, the scene where Mulan makes the decision to take her father's place in the army is supposed to be a very powerful scene. Mulan is risking it all just so her dad can be safe. She might be killed if discovered, and her family would be dishonoured.
When Mulan comes back from the Matchmaker, she has a moment of reflection while singing "Reflection". This is the beginning of her personal journey, discovering who she is. In this, after Mulan comes back from the Matchmaker, she doesn't have a moment of reflection. The army immediately shows up. Am I really supposed to believe that Mulan feels bad about this? That Mulan is really struggling?
When Mulan’s friends are singing, it suddenly shifts to the striking scene of the burnt village. This, in my opinion, is the best use of tonal whiplash. From this point on, things are getting serious, and the emotional weight of this tragedy is felt. In this, they just randomly show up at the village.​​ There is no seriousness (stop trying to tell me this movie is adult, mature and serious, it just looks like that on the surface).
Their attempts at being emotional are poor and unconvincing, and ultimately, the end product is an emotionless, soulless, depthless entity.
THE MUSIC
The director mentioned in an interview that she didn’t add songs into the movie because it is “unrealistic to break into song when you're in war”, and I don't think I’ve heard anything more false (apart from the concept of a flat Earth). Even I, who isn't going into war anytime soon, know this is false. They instead inserted instrumentals from the original film. Except, it's very weirdly placed. The instrumental for Reflection is placed when Mulan is fighting the Rourans after she reveals herself to be a woman. Like, there isn't any context. In the end credits, they had the original song "Loyal, Brave and True" sung by Christina Aguilera, which was nice. I don't really have much to say in regards to the music. The music is overall forgettable.
THE ACTION
The action may seem weird, but this kind of martial arts is a part of the Wuxia genre, which is what they were going for. Well, they failed. The choreography is bad, the CGI is bad, EVERYTHING is bad. Honestly, if you want a good Wuxia movie, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon exists. The action is here stupid and stiff.
OTHER DUMB STUFF
Why does Mulan take her armour off before going into battle? That is just stupid. Can't you just take the bindings off? Also, WHY OPEN YOUR HAIR-
Mulan really likes kicking spears (and pointy stuff in general). Seriously. It’s weird.
The CGI is okay I guess, I don't know. The phoenix in some scenes looks pink to me. There are some pretty visuals though.
It is very obvious that there is a green screen used in the scene where Mulan and her friends find the burnt village. And it looks bad. Pretty ugly. It looks bad. The green screen looks bad.
The war strategy is just weird. I can't really say anything about it in text form because how am i supposed to describe it, help- (she literally teleported behind the bad guys in the avalanche scene-).
I like how the animated film, which had a dragon as a comic relief and other silly stuff, is more mature than this.
For what joy does Mulan get another sword from the army? Also, shame the dad is all “oh look at the values written on the sword, they are honourable” even though in the original the greatest honour was having her for a daughter.
How was Mulan even able to tell the gender of the rabbits?
Why not just try to send a warning to the Emperor that the Rourans are coming to get him?
Why does Commander Tung let Mulan lead them-
I AM SO DONE
Well, I think I have said everything I wanted to about this movie. I know I havent talked about its controversies but honestly, I am done. I am so done with this. This document took 5-6 months of my life. I am kind of proud of this, and there isn't much I have done to be proud of. I did procrastinate on this a bit, and I had stuff going on, but finally, I am done. In the future, if I remember something, I'll add it here, but I think that is unlikely. I never want to watch or even go near Mulan 2020 again. It's horrible, and there is barely anything redeemable. I hate it here. It’s been reported that a sequel is in development. If it’s true, of course I’ll watch it, how else am I supposed to validate my self hate? I am also, of course, the resident “friend who suffers for everyone else’s entertainment”. If you want a live action remake of Mulan, Mulan: Rise of a Warrior exists. Go watch it, it’s free on YouTube with subtitles. I really liked it.
If you’ve somehow made it this far, thanks for reading. I congratulate you for putting up with whatever this is. I would also like to take a moment to congratulate myself for actually committing to this. It was painful yet fun to complain about this to the best of my ability. If anyone wants to add anything to this, feel free to do so. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m out. I have lost my faith in humanity, and I have other things to complain about.
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fallenclan · 6 months ago
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The Worry Box - Chapter 5: Altschmerz
a/n: hey guys it's lollipop have u missed me :3 back with a worry box chapter after [checks calendar] 7 months!!!!! rejoice!!!!
“I'm worried about Rowankit,” Newtscar mutters.
Silverbelly looks up from her herb sorting, and turns to face Newtscar.
Sometimes, Newtscar just walks into the medicine den and makes herself at home. Silverbelly won't begrudge her of that simple comfort.
She wishes Bluefern would come to her. She wishes Evie and Moxie would come to her, and she wishes Oaktuft and Goldenstar and everyone else who wouldn't come to her would. But they don't. She takes what she can get.
“Worried how? Emotional, physical–”
Because stars forbid Rowankit, or any of the kits for that matter, remembered it. They'd had nightmares for a quarter moon, and Mistykit had finally slept a full night just yesterday. They were all still confused, missed their siblings, but with any luck they wouldn't remember it.
“She winces when she plays,” Newtscar says. “I didn't– I didn't pick up on it until today, but she was whimpering, Silverbelly, I–”
“We can go look at her now,” Silverbelly interrupts. Because she knows Newtscar, and she knows that Newtscar is prone to the same sort of spiraling thinking of oh stars this is all my fault that Silverbelly is.
Newtscar briefly nods, and Silverbelly trails behind her as she walks back towards the nursery.
It's getting dark. The moon hangs heavy in the sky. She catches a glimpse of the clearing, where red still stains some dirt, and her wrenches her eyes away.
Bluefern blearily opens her eyes when Silverbelly and Newtscar come in.
“Hi, Silverbelly. I thought you just looked at me yesterday?”
“I'm looking at Rowankit today, I'm afraid,” she says. She kneels down to look at Rowankit, who is sitting next to Moxie.
“You think somethings wrong with her?” Moxie whispers, practically hovering over her as Silverbelly noses a very confused Rowankit. “She's--she's completely fine. I've been careful with her, the kits have been careful, everyone has been careful. We haven't talked about it around her, and–”
“Newtscar,” Silverbelly says. Moxie falls entirely silent, practically holding her breath. “Fetch Oaktuft.”
“You think it's permanent?” Oaktuft asks. It's not as much of a question as it is a confirmation.
“Yes,” Silverbelly says. “Lichenstripe once told me of a kitten with achy joints, back in Shallowclan. Her joints never stopped aching, even as she matured. I believe it's the case with Rowankit.”
“I see,” Moxie says. “Thanks for catching that, I hardly even noticed. Sometimes kits just get back up slower, you know?”
Rowankit sleeps peacefully next to Sleepykit, because Bluefern said that kits shouldn't sleep by themselves. So, every queen just cuddles around their kits in a giant cuddle pile every night. It's extremely endearing.
“Yes,” Silverbelly nods. “If she starts looking particularly shaky, take her to my den. I have herbs that can help soothe her joints.”
Moxie and Oaktuft nods, and that's that. Newtscar looks relieved.
Silverbelly leaves for her own den, and seed Stormsight remaking his nest, for possibly thr fourth time that day.
“What's on your mind?”
“Ah, not much,” Stormsight absently replies. “Just thinking.”
“Hm,” she grunts, and lays in her own nest. She casts a careful eye to Eaglepaw, who was already dozing off. She chooses sleep.
“Toro?”
The white cat keeps walking, just fast enough to outpace her.
“Toro!”
Thunder cracks over her.
The white cat turns around. They are faceless, though they look suspiciously like her dead mother.
She feels something brush against her. She whips around.
Nothing is there, except a single brown pebble.
“Stupid fucking rocks,” she mutters. “Stupid fucking dreams. Stupid fucking rogues.”
She hears shouting. She hears thunder, rumbling. Rain pattering, but none of it falls on her.
She steps closer to the cliff. Sunwish would tell her that was a bad idea, and she should wait until something happens naturally.
Ah, well. Silverbelly never has liked waiting.
One step forward.
“Hello?” Her voice calls.
She stills.
“I didn't say anything,” she whispers. “What?”
Something slams into her. She stumbles, and stares at the thorny vines and sharp rocks that await her at the bottom of this drop.
Falling.
Air rushing past her.
The odd feeling of victory, of revenge, of deserved deserved he deserved it.
guilt guilt shame shame why did you do it
Why did you
why did you do it?
it was for her
no.
he deserved it.
Silverbelly blinks her eyes open, facing the dark stone of her den and breathing the sharp tang of herbs.
“Nightmares,” Flyspots flatly says. “Nightmares, for moons.”
Silverbelly had taken the apprentices out, for some basic medical training. Because stars forbid some cat died on patrol over preventable injuries, and stars forbid some cat had a panic attack on patrol and nobody knew what to do.
“Yes,” Stormsight says. “Since the rogue attack, apparently.”
Silverbelly had covered all her bases. She had gone over what berries they don't need to be touching, let alone eating, what stupid tricks simply weren't worth it, which included backsliding off a branch of the Sky Pine, and basic medicinal herbs they could use on patrol.
“And I was going to find out about this when?” Flyspots says, from his awkward position. Wormshade stands next to him, looking a bit offended.
“Whenever he was comfortable,” Stormsight shrugs. “I'm sure he'd rather you not have found out about it like this either, but here we are.”
She'd gotten to the specific spot where she planned to discuss anxiety and panic attacks, and as she explained symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, she watched every apprentice slowly turn to look at Beepaw, who looked like he wanted to sink into a puddle.
“I just– I don't understand why he'd keep this from us.” Flyspots is practically dragging the words. “We're not that unapproachable?”
Silverbelly immediately shakes her head. “No. No, absolutely not. You're good parents, both of you.”
“So then, why?”
“You'd have to ask him.”
She remembers watery eyes, once Maplethorn had taken the rest of the apprentices back to camp. She remembers guilt and all my fault and she remembers things that weren't true.
“Just keep an extra eye on him,” Stormsight says. “Don't force him to come to you, but gently encourage it instead.”
Wormshade nods.
Silverbelly, clear as day, remembered sneaking out with Applebranch when they were still just Silverpaw and Applepaw. When they were still Silverpaw and Applepaw, before all the rocks and the omens and the death death death that left a bitter tang on her tongue when she managed to choke it down. She always snuck out through the tunnel behind the elders den, suppressing giggles and laughter when they finally squirmed out of the rocks.
Beepaw and Spiderpaw had both snuck out. Beepaw and Spiderpaw had managed to avoid the bloodshed. They returned in the middle of the night to eleven dead cats and their sibling badly wounded. They returned in the middle of the night to a red stained clearing.
And so, Beepaw told her, he couldn't stop considering the what-if's.
“Maybe, maybe if I wasn't gone–”
Silverbelly knows, as it is, that nobody has recovered. Not really. She still hears the occasional yowl, and she still sees Goldenstar sit on the high rocks whenever he can't sleep. She sees Bluefern pacing, and she sees Evie with one eye on the entrance, and she sees Robinblaze padding into camp at late hours of the night. She watches Eaglepaw scrabble at nothing in her sleep, and she hears shrill screams from the apprentices den. Things will get better, but she doesn't know when.
“I'm sorry for sneaking out,” Beepaw had said. “I should have been there to help.”
“Don't be sorry for saving your own life,” Silverbelly had replied. “I'm never going to be angry at you for being a kid, okay?”
“I'm not a kid,” Beepaw protested.
“You're still a moon old to me,” Silverbelly said.
“Yeah, okay gran. You're literally dissolving into dust as we speak, that's how prehistoric you are!”
Silverbelly laughed, and Beepaw laughed, and for a moment everything was fine.
“He'll get better, with time,” Stormsight assures. “For now, it's just a matter of supporting him where it's needed.”
Wormshade nods. “I'll do my best.”
Things get better over time.
She supposes that this theory can also be attributed to Goldenstar's odd, belated grieving process. For maybe fifty moons, he never let anyone close, and now he's making friends with Celia of all cats.
He decides, in his typical impulsive manner, to take a last second trip to the glow cave.
“Before I say anything, I want to ask Morningbloom and Sunwish. Can you do that, like can you ask a specific cat?”
Silverbelly shrugs. “I don't see why not. And what do you need to ask them for anyways?”
“I wanna know what they think of Celia,” Goldenstar replies.
“Oh? Did I miss something?”
“I'm thinking about asking him,” Goldenstar says. She nods, and he continues, “but I don't want Morningbloom to think I'm replacing her. I'd never do that. So, if she disapproves, then I won't.”
Silverbelly debates with herself for a moment. The relationship between Goldenstar and his dead loved ones was a tense, fragile thing. Trying to understand it was difficult. He spoke to Morningbloom and Sunwish and Honeygleam in dreams like they were still alive, like they had never been cruelly taken away from him before he was ready to say goodbye.
“I don’t think that loving Celia means you don’t love her,” she finally says. “Celia has been good for you.”
“I don’t want her to think I don’t love her,” Goldenstar murmurs. “Because I don’t think I could ever stop loving her to begin with.”
“Morningbloom would want what’s best for you,” Silverbelly says. She’s careful with her wording, because the last thing she needed was to set him off and revert him back twenty moons of healing.
“She would,” Goldenstar says. “I just want to make sure.”
They stop at the mouth of the cave.
“I’m sure you know the drill by now,” she says. A firefly flickers in the dim light. “Follow the glowing mushrooms, until you’re in the mouth of the cave.”
“You’re not coming in with me?” Goldenstar glances at her, then at the setting sun.
“I’m sure you can handle the trip on your own,” she says.
The real answer was that Starclan has certainly had no issues reaching her from the comfort of her own nest. In a place as spiritual as this, she’d never get a moment of rest within the cave. It was easier to stay outside and pretend like she wanted to watch the stars, or stay to keep watch.
After a long moment, Goldenstar finally sighs, “Alright. I’ll see you in the morning, I suppose.”
She thinly nods, and watches him disappear into the cave.
Sleep finds her anyways, between the sound of cicadas and owls hooting. She walks around in the dimly lit space, until she spots a light.
No. That wasn’t necessary. Lights are pointless. They may take her to the same space again.
She considers her surroundings, a bleak wasteland of mud and rotting leaves, and considers that anything would be better than here. So, she walks towards the light, mud dragging at her paws.
“Maybe Sunwish was right, when she said that being a medicine cat is miserable,” she mutters.
“Now don’t say that,” some cat whispers. A familiar voice.
“Sunwish?” She almost turns around, but a firm paw places itself on her cheek.
“Nice to see you too,” Sunwish grunts. “Don’t look behind you. Just keep walking.”
“Where am I?” She asks, between the awful sensation of mud between her toes, cementing between her pawpads. “What is this place?”
“Breezeshadow decided we needed a place to send evil cats, once they perished,” Sunwish steadily answers. “This is the Place of No Stars.” She hums, and continues: “It’s a bit of a mouthful though, I just call it the dark forest. We’re in the outskirts of it.”
“Is Goldenstar here too?” Silverbelly asks. “I should have gone with him.”
“Yes, you should have, but there’s no use dwelling on that,” Sunwish says. “But, I can assure you that he’s not here with you. Toro escorted him to our grounds.”
“Toro,” Silverbelly whispers. “How is she?”
“As well as she could be, with these circumstances,” Sunwish replies. “She gets along quite well with Breezeshadow, which is a relief.”
“Ah.”
“I suppose you didn’t want to go into the Glowcave today for personal reasons,” Sunwish begins. The dim light grows stronger. “But that isn’t important.”
“You don’t get it,” she says. Despite her respect for her mentor, it was easy to say the words. “You weren’t kept awake every night for stupid reasons.”
“The visions you receive aren’t stupid,” Sunwish chides. “They all have a purpose, and show you things most cats aren’t privileged enough to receive.” Her mentor’s voice echoes behind her. “I suppose you’re right, in that I don’t understand. I never did quite have the connection that you and Stormsight have. Maybe it would have made you easier to understand, back when I was still around.”
“I wish you would just tell me what I need to know,” Silverbelly glares. “Why can’t you do that?”
“I’m not the one sending you visions most of the time,” Sunwish says. Her tail glides over Silverbelly’s back for a brief second, and she stops. “That’s more up Breezeshadow’s alley.”
“But you know what’s going to happen,” Silverbelly accuses.
“No,” Sunwish says.
“You don’t understand how long I’ve been thinking about it,” she says, voice growing thin with desperation. “Please, you have to know something!”
Sunwish continues walking her along, but Silverbelly can tell that she's thinking.
“I think that you think being dead inherently makes a cat all knowing,” Sunwish finally says. “It doesn’t. The visions you receive scarcely are gifted to Starclan cats, but rather come from the Ancients. All we do is pass it along.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“You’re right, it doesn’t,” Sunwish hums. Silverbelly can see the sparkling light of Starclan’s grounds. “But it doesn’t change that I can’t help you with your visions. There are some things you need to figure out on your own.”
“I’ve tried,” she snaps. “I’ve had the same vision for 40 some moons, and you can’t give me a little help with it?
Silverbelly stops at the hole, into light and bliss and eternal greenleaf. She turns around.
Sunwish is staring at her, with mild remorse. “Maybe one day, you’ll understand.”
The vision of her mentor spurts blood at the neck, and dissipates into the ground, becoming just another shadowy figure. Startled, she steps away, trips over her tail, and falls, facing the sky.
“It’s Silverbelly!” A little voice squeals. “Smokekit, I told you I saw her!”
“That was dumb luck,” a second voice calls.
“Silverbelly! Silverbelly!” A third voice squeaks. “Are you okay? You look sad.”
Silverbelly blinks her eyes open. Four small blurs of fur are standing over her, in shades of gray, brown, black and white.
“Sandykit,” she realizes. “Smokekit. Icekit. Ravenkit.”
Sandykit startles backwards. Icekit and Smokekit break into cheers. Ravenkit continues prodding at her forehead.
“Are you dead too? Is that why you’re here?”
“No,” she says. “I don’t think so.” She rolls over, shaking off her pelt. “Do you know where we are?”
Ravenkit tilts his head. “Normally we sleep over there,” he says, stretching out a paw to a nice, distant swath of pine trees and rocks. “We snuck out to play, though.”
“Why did you sneak out?” Silverbelly asks.
“Because Toro was busy, and Rabbitpounce didn’t want to take us,” Smokekit answers. “He’s no fun anymore. He’s just in his nest all day.”
Silverbelly knows the issue already. Molesong hardly knew how to be a single mother, even with her family helping her. Eaglepaw and Hawkpaw both missed their father deeply. Of course Rabbitpounce felt guilt for something out of his control.
“You shouldn’t sneak out,” Silverbelly says. “He’s probably worried about you.”
Sandykit frowns “Told you so.”
Icekit and Smokekit’s previous elation fades, and they blow raspberries at Sandykit.
Ravenkit solemnly nods. “Yeah, I guess.”
“How about you take me back home?” Silverbelly asks. “You can show me all your favorite spots on the way.”
The kits look at eachother, then chorus: “Okay!”
She gets dizzy on the way back. She’s sure that the kits notice, when she has to stop every so often. It’s probably more noticeable, considering that they never get tired. But, they’re almost there, so she’s not too worried.
There aren’t many cats in the Starclan camp. She supposes most must simply be out and about, receiving prophecies and whatnot.
“Nah, Breezeshadow mostly does that,” Ravenkit says. “Most of the time, the older cats get prophecies. Like Tawnyash and Morningpetal.”
“Her name is Morningbloom,” Sandykit proudly corrects. Ravenkit sticks his tongue out at him.
“Yeah, normally we just go play,” Icekit adds. “Toro just says we aren’t allowed to go anywhere where we can’t see the sun.”
Silverbelly considers the area where she woke up, a dense forest where shadow took up more space than the sun. “You weren’t supposed to be in the place you found me at.”
The kits look sheepish. “Sorry, Silverbelly.”
She sighs. “What’s important is that you’re safe.”
She stops at a river. The blue water churns past her. It's speckled with stars and moondust, and hopes that flickered through her clan. She dips her face in it, allowing the cool water to splash her muzzle. She figures it probably shouldn’t be drunk from. She’s never been one to mess with spirit water.
Smokekit and Icekit skip down the river. Ravenkit and Sandykit follow, and Silverbelly picks herself up to move with them.
“There’s stepping stones that we use to cross the river down here,” Icekit announces, then sheepishly adds: “Toro says it’s not safe to swim in the river.”
“I can see why,” she says. “It’s very rough. The current might drag you down.”
She follows them to the stones, watching their tiny little star specked bodies go from one smooth rock to the next.
Eventually, they end up to the hollow that the kits were talking about. There are several nests, stuffed with perfect downy feathers and soft moss. One of the several nests are occupied.
“Rabbitpounce.”
Rabbitpounce opens his eyes, then wildly blinks. “Silverbelly? What are you doing here? Are Eaglepaw and Hawkpaw okay? How are Bluefern and Blizzardfang? Do you–”
“Slow down,” she stops. “I can’t stay, I’m just dropping off some kits.”
Somewhere within the time allocated for Rabbitpounce’s panic, all four kits had managed to hide themselves behind Silverbelly. She shoos them in front of her with her tail.
“What have I told you about going out on your own?” Rabbitpounce scolds.
“Not to,” Icekit sheepishly says. “Sorry uncle.”
Rabbitpounce sighs. “I suppose I was the same way at your age. I think Tawnyash is back from hunting, why don’t you ask him to play?”
The kits beam, and run over to Tawnyash, who sighs, accepting his fate as a babysitter for a bit.
“So what brings you up in Starclan?” Rabbitpounce looks her over. “You aren’t dead, I can tell.”
“Odd dream,” she says. “It’s not really important, though. How have you been?”
“Missing my family,” Rabbitpounce sighs. “Morningbloom has been great, though. And Holly and Lichenstripe, they’re nice too.”
Silverbelly nods.
“Silverbelly?” A voice calls. Too familiar, too good to hear after this time, so unexpected she stutters.
“Dawnshine?”
“Silverbelly!” Dawnshine shouts, mouse forgotten as he bounds towards her.
“Oh my stars,” she whispers. “Dawnshine!”
“Stars, I’ve missed you,” he says, with a brief lick to the shoulder. Silverbelly rests her head on top of his, because she was taller than him and she’d never let him forget it. Dawnshine stops, and backs away. “Why are you here?”
She hopelessly flicks her tail.
“You’re not dead,” he says. “Figured. You went with Goldenstar to the glowcave, right?”
She nods.
“So how’d you get in Starclan territory?”
Another hopeless shrug. “Dunno. I just woke up in the forest.”
“Okay. I’m not panicking at all,” he adds on. “I just need to figure out how to get you out of here.”
“Isn’t Breezeshadow the bridge between the dead and living?” Rabbitpounce asks.
“So, find Breezeshadow?” Silverbelly asks. “Can’t be hard.”
Dawnshine shrugs. “I haven’t seen her since she ferried me up here. It’s hard to say where she might be.”
“Isn't she Scorchstar's sister or something?” Tawnyash casually drops. “Just ask Morningbloom to find her for you.”
“Morningbloom's busy with Goldenstar,” Dawnshine interjects. “Maybe Sunwish?”
Silverbelly remembers the constant animosity, every argument between her mentor and former leader, and winces. “Not Sunwish.”
“Who knows where Nettlestem is,” Dawnshine mutters. “So that leaves… ah…”
“Wildfang might know,” Rabbitpounce says.
The four cats glance at eachother, then nod.
“Sure,” Silverbelly says. “Do you know where she might be?”
Dawnshine shakes his head. Rabbitpounce does the same.
“Normally she's here at camp, but right around now we could probably find her over by Shining Lake,” Tawnyash says, paw reaching to bat a moss ball back towards the flurry of kittens. “I could take you there.”
“Alright, so do we get going now?” Silverbelly asks.
“It would be best,” Tawnyash says, padding over to her.
Rabbitpounce motions to the kits, and they all walk towards him.
“Silverbelly has to go now,” he says. A chorus of awww’s quickly follow. “Say goodbye.”
“Bye Silverbelly,” Icekit says. “It was fun showing you the rocks.”
“Bye Silverbelly,” Sandykit says, solemn. “May Starclan light your path.”
“Stupid,” Icekit chides. “We are Starclan.”
“Yeah, I'm lighting her path,” Sandykit says. “Keep up, featherbrain.”
The two start quietly bickering. Rabbitpounce fondly rolls his eyes.
“Bye-bye Silverbelly,” Smokekit says. He stretches one paw up and waves to her, and slips, an endearing motion. “Can you tell Rowankit I miss her?”
“I will,” Silverbelly says.
“Bye Silverbelly,” Ravenkit quietly says, so quietly she nearly can't hear him over the bickering of his siblings. “Can you tell mommy I miss her?”
And there's her heart, shattered into a million tiny pieces. Little tears prick the corners of her eyes, in a way they haven't since her mother and two siblings died in one night. “Of course.” She takes one, shaky, delicate breath. “Of course I will.”
She says goodbye to the kits, and she walks next to Tawnyash for a long while.
She'd never known the tom while she was still alive. Goldenstar, once or twice, had mentioned his passing, a landslide that had taken out half their original camp and forced them to relocate. She'd never met him in dreams.
Come to think of it, she's only met Wildfang once, at her naming ceremony.
Before she can think of it more, they arrive at the spot.
Wildfang is an elderly tortoiseshell with gray eyes. She has long fur. Those are the four details she remembered from her naming ceremony.
Yet again, she thinks, the rocks had to ruin everything.
They stop at Shining Lake.
“Wildfang, are you out here?” Tawnyash shouts. “I've got a visitor!”
A few moments pass, and Silverbelly worries she may not be getting anywhere. Finally, a voice rings across the lake.
“Tawnyash?” A pause. “And Silverbelly?” Soon enough, a figure comes into her view. “Now, I might have expected seeing you, but how is Silverbelly here?”
“I don't really know,” she explains. “But we thought Breezeshadow might know.” She winces at how hasty she's being. “Can you take me to her?”
Wildfang nods. “Of course. Right about now, she's probably in the bridge.”
As it turns out, ‘the bridge’ is the Starclan version of the glowcave. Wildfang leads her up a winding mountain, to a cave that looks suspiciously like her own Glowcave. Wildfang says to go inside on her own, so she does. She follows the line of mushrooms, and finally stops at a glowing stream.
“Pretty, isn't it?” A feminine voice calls. “Silverbelly, right? Wasn't expecting to see you here for another hundred moons or so, but things have been a bit unexpected lately.”
“Breezeshadow,” she says.
“That's me!” Breezeshadow smiles. “So, what brings you to my humble abode? Did you die?”
“No,” Silverbelly says. “I don't think so. I shouldn't be dead, I just fell asleep outside of the Glowcave.”
“Oh,” Breezeshadow nods. “Okay. So, it's a lot easier for me to get you in the right spots when we have a direct window. I probably got confused, that's on me, sorry.”
“Oookay.” Silverbelly blinks. In the dim light, she can make out a brown singlestripe pelt, similar to Scorchstar's. Bright cyan eyes blink at her.
Breezeshadow isn't all that old, she realizes. Maybe Scorchstar's age.
“Expecting an older cat?” Breezeshadow quips. Silverbelly freezes. “Oh, don't worry, I'd expect some ancient all powerful being too.”
“Yeah, sort of,” Silverbelly says.
“Sorry, sorry, I got sidetracked. You need to get home, right?”
Little whispers dance around the cave.
“Yeah,” Silverbelly says.
She thinks about the rocks, and thinks about Breezeshadow, arguably the most spiritual cat know to her clan. This may be the closest she'd ever get to understanding.
“You're going to ask me about the rocks,” Breezeshadow says. “Right?”
“How did you..”
“A feeling,” the molly shrugs. “Well, do you want me to help you or send you back now?”
One chance. One chance to finally understand, get a good night's sleep, finally be able to look at the rocks and understand what they mean.
She nods. “Help, please.”
“Okay, so, these rocks,” she says, sweeping her tail over the rocks that look exactly like the ones she's been seeing for seasons. “They're all cut from the same stone.”
“They look different, though,” Silverbelly says.
“They are, but that doesn't mean they're not similar.”
“What does that mean?”
“What do you think?”
“I think I've been trying to figure this out for way too long,” Silverbelly snaps.
“It's like the spirit from earlier told you,” Breezeshadow says. “Being dead doesn't make a cat all knowing. All it does is give us a little more time to think.”
Oh. That made more sense than when Fake-Sunwish had explained it.
“And, here's what I think: it's a premonition. It's warning you of something,” Breezeshadow says. The darkest rock, chocolate brown, has one crack in the middle of it. “What that something is, I'm afraid I don't know.”
A premonition. A feeling that something bad will happen. Like the vision, of the scorched earth and shadowed sun that she recieved when–
Oh.
“I think you're starting to get it,” Breezeshadow quietly says.
The rocks had something to do with Scorchstar.
“Frankly, it's not good for you to be visiting Starclan at the rate you do. Too much time up here and your internal clock gets messed up. Lose your sense of self a bit.” Breezeshadow waves her tail around her ear. “I think I'd better send you back now.”
“Yeah,” she breathes. “Thank you, thank you so much.”
The rocks didn't mean anything good.
The feeling of stars, of fate death longing grief fate fate fate. The feeling of death death falling falling im falling—
why would he–
that hurts. oh, im bleeding.
She opens her eyes to the smooth stone of the mouth of the Glowcave, one bright star sparkling in the sky, and a lilac sky, and a phantom sensation of white hot pain searing through her.
-🍭
Previous chapters
(beetle note: ANOHTER CHAPTER OF WORRYBOX WOOOOO!!!!!!!!! fantastic as always,,,, read this one with rapt attention through breakfast, the part with the kits telling her "starclan be with you" made me almost spit out my toast)
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pin-poo · 9 days ago
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in canon terms, how do you think ada and ashley would develop? (I'm not hating, i love your art! I'm just curious on their development in your shipping vision, or friendship too!)
OH THATS GREAT IVE ALWAYS WANTED TO TALK ABOUT IT ANYWAY THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOUU SM !!! (English is not my first language but I'll try my best)
(Before i start I'll just say that i'm not aiming to hate on aeon shippers or any other pairings shippers, this is my vision for funsies and i absolute adore those pairs !!!)
(also sorry i yapped too much about everything about them but i answered you properly in the final of this text...I'm sorry again...)
"Ahh but HOW...like...she CLEARLY hated Ashley..." walk w me for a moment hihihihihihihi.....
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ok, for starts:
In an indirect way, Ashley served part in the development that Ada had in RE4, mainly in the remake, but i mean in a way that, if Luis and Leon weren't fully involved in the mission (in that case, the three of them working together simultaneously in spain) her development wouldn't work, and i mean, even if it was just Leon. I was talking to a friend about this, that she did changed in a lot of stuff for her vision, like the end of the game after her talk with Wesker. (Will talk about this better later)
In general, I like to think they would have a cute dynamic for a friendship and (if it would be even possible) a relationship. If you read between the lines of the game, you can see that to some extent Ashley was counting on Ada on their team (Leon, Ada, Ashley and Luis) and that she would leave with them anyway, she counted on her, even if it was the slighest, because she saw how she helped Leon so she thought she could trust her and (i think) that's why she talks so indignantly in this scene here !!!!
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Now before i continue, let's come back to Ada's development
It's a basic information for those who played the game and the DLC that she was helping Luis because he was the one to give her the Sample, inevitably, seeing from the outside, the two of them formed a bond that may not have been very very strong, but that marked Ada in some way, With the knowledge that Leon was also involved in this mission + was also infected, she decides to help him, as always. It was all like Raccoon City again, getting a sample, helping Leon, but Ashley wasn't in the history, which kind of changed the course of things. As she was Leon's mission, while Ada helped him, she also indirectly helped Ashley, and not in an obvious way, but you can see this in several scenes of her giving clues.
And this gets to a point where she starts to consider Ashley, not as a friend or anything like that, but that she was part of Leon's mission and that Ada was realizing that she was helping her too, which didn't change anything for her, except for considering her in the story in some way. (Literally this scene, we know she said because Ashley was Leon's mission but COME ON I LOVE LILY GAOS VOICE BEING SO SOFT AND THE WAY SHE SAID IT DOESNT HELP ME AND MY DELUSIONAL SHIPPING AGENDA SO PLEASEEEEE)
One very noticeable thing is the way she never says Ashley's name explicitly, it was always something like "your friend" or "the president's daughter" but even so, she wasn't stupid enough not to notice that helping hand she gave.
moving on to the part where she realizes that Leon and Ashley were promising together to leave that island safe and sound and without infection in honor of Luis, Ada saw that and realized that they were all connected in some way, and that's why she didn't hesitate to help them, but you can see that when Leon makes the call with her and hangs up, she says "Don't die on me now" because Leon's death would affect her a lot, in the same way that Luis's death somehow affected her too, she was afraid of losing Leon, so she hadn't realized that she had changed in some things (like honoring other people and being able to help other people, after she only used to save Leon against her work and missions, and that ended up including Ashley in the middle but again, she ignored it, because it wouldn't make any difference to her at that moment or later, a different situation from Leon, since they meet frequently out and in their jobs.)
and the story continues to unfold like this, until the point where they meet face-to-face:
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What to say about this meeting? A lot of people didn't liked it/liked it but used to interpret Ada's reaction as pure dislike or jealousy, but i didn't saw much like that. If you think in a way, Ada was already going to help Leon, Ashley saying it or not, but when she said that to her, the way she was meeting the face of the girl she was indirectly helping this WHOLE time and the mere thought that someone has expectations in her actions (like in a way she would think "so they DO count on me...") even if they weren't close or didn't talked once, made her realize that she did changed somewhere, in the way that people started to trust or see forward for her actions beyond what she did and who she killed, because well Ashley definitely obviously didn't knew she was a mercenary, or even a spy, but i think that if she did knew that the meeting or the way she saw ada wouldn't be different, since Leon trusted her.
Talking about jealousy, i also don't think these lines were about it:
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I think that seeing Ada more than once helping them made her think they could interact or perhaps ask her for help too, or maybe be friends ! (I don't think it was in a jealous way, and if it was, i don't care too, I'm just explaining what i analyzed and made my own takes about it, but i don't judge who does think those lines and scenes meant that way, i just think that seeing things in other ways is fun c: )
So lets say that through all the game, her development was molding brick by brick and it showed result when Ashley showed to trust her with Leon, and in that way she started to help people that weren't just him or affiliances (if you've played re6 you'll know what scenes and parts im talking about).
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Now to dive into a more fanon scenario (which is...what you asked...im sorry) i think Ada would be a good helper to Ashley in the parts of the game where she was separated from Leon, and one exclusively part of the game made me think what would happen, this part being the interval that Leon had when he passed out in Luis's lab and when he woke up, what if Ada showed up there? Like knowing that they were infected, and that Leon asked for her help to go there, she would have gone just to check on him and end up seeing that Ashley was awake, would they have had a better dialogue? And we will never know, but there's a fic that im absolutely in love with (and im also doing a comics of it too) and it's this one
Anyway their dynamic would be like Nana/Hachi's or perhaps Therese/Carol's (because of the age gap lol its accurate since therese is like 19-21 and carol is 30-34), and also I think if Ashley would ever need help, she could lend a hand, like calling it a "babysit time" or "something that must be quick since she have stuff to do" but she ends up doing it anyway... thanks for asking this also, i would love to explore further their pair as platonic or/and romantic this year since they're both characters that i adore a lot !!!! I have a lot to share with them but I think that's enough for today,
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XOXO !! (*^▽^)/★*☆♪
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randomnameless · 3 months ago
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I really don't like the way you say a Laguz is "dead" or not a Laguz anymore if it can't transform. You'd be bothered if somebody said a person died or became less than human if they were paraplegic or severely mentally handicapped, right?
Good thing that people transforming in animals who lose said ability because they got a mixed-race baby don't exist in real life right ?
I'm sure the argument of "you'll be crippled if you get a baby with people X" was used in nauseabond RL circles during darker ages, but I'm sure that's not the kind of comparison you wanted to make anon !
Death is of course a metaphor, Almedha and Lehran are still alive and kicking through FE9 and FE10.
However, through the course of those games, if you played them or watched a lp, players realise that Laguz identity is tied to their ability to use their respective powers, in opposition to beorcs who don't have the same abilities.
A Laguz is thus a human who can transform in a bestial form and use their inherent power. Laguz societies put a lot of emphasis on this ability to transform and the inherent "strength" of their kin that we are told they base some system of government according to it (strongest becomes king).
(don't ask me why Tellius devs decided to tackle the "good savage" trope by having literal animal people, but it sure was a decision)
Now, Almedha and Lehran cannot transform anymore.
They cannot use their powers anymore (Lehran's inability to sing, thus fulfil his part of the promise to the goddess was one of the reasons behind his initial mental breakdown !).
They have, as Tibarn notes it, no scent anymore : I don't think scent here means what kind of perfume they're using, but something more in the lines that their core being changed and he, as a Laguz, cannot recognise it to the point where he's confused and wonders if she's a beorc or, neither beorc nor laguz...
As someone with chronic illness, I do not think I'm less than human because a pair of lungs don't define identity or "humanity", but in the Tellius world, for Laguz, being able to use their various powers define who they are.
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Deghinsea is blunt like a hammer, alas he's not wrong : Lehran "lost" his "birthright" and this loss isn't treated like Largo's loss of his arm.
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Short story : Laguz who hold hands with Beorcs and get a kid will lose all (but not the ability to use a sending Stone ?) of their powers and while they feel like they are no "true" Laguz anymore, the other Laguz can't recognise them as kin either.
Irl people who deny humanity to people who are, in your own words, "paraplegic or severely mentally handicapped" are pieces of crap and, imo, should be avoided at all costs, but we're not talking about irl, but about the fictional setting of Tellius that I find more and more shitty with the years.
In Tellius, a Laguz who fucks a Beorc, for themselves and for the rest of the world (hell even with their world's mechanics, iirc Sephiran loses the wind weakness bird laguz have ?), stop being Laguz, i.e. as a Laguz, they effectively die.
Laguz who turn feral and have their minds erased can still, thanks to herons, switch between forms (Rajaion).
Almedha cannot.
Laguz who were tortured and lost, due to said torture, the ability to use their wings, still can use their powers and transform (Rafiel).
Lehran cannot.
I'd be very happy, anon, if a future remake tweaked the ending for those characters and pulled some shit like "with the support of his friends and family, and mayhap the help of the goddesses he so faithfully served, Lehran finally managed to hum a galdr" and something similar with Almedha.
It would lessen, somewhat, the main plot sink of that verse that can be, and was, summed up as "Racism bad, but miscgenation bad too :S"
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bellmo15-blog · 4 months ago
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Like A Whole New World
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Are you all that surprised I eventually got something relating to Aladdin? I mean this is me we are talking about heh. XD And if you are surprised… good lord, have you people even been TRYING to pay attention to some of the stuff I’m interested in?!?!
If you were to ask me what my favourite animated Disney movie was, well that would be a hard question because there’s a lot of great movies they have made when they aren’t pointlessly making live action remakes of those movies for reasons I don’t think I’ll ever understand, but one of them definitely has to be Aladdin… Well, Aladdin and Hercules but seeing as how this is an Aladdin pic of course I’m gonna talk about that here! Aside from just the overall design of the film fitting into my kind of design aesthetic of that old Middle Eastern/Arabian Nights kinda look it’s just a generally great movie held up by it’s amazing characters (ESPECIALLY the Genie) and how there’s never really a dull moment in this whole thing.
And nothing says “I like this film” more than getting not only my own sona dressed as the main character but also my waifu and there girlfriend Shantae dressed as Jasmine. Fitting two considering Shantae herself is Half Genie and a genie plays a massive role in the story of Aladdin. Or I guess she’s dressed as Princess Buddir al Buddoor if we’re going by what the Princess was actually called the original story of Aladdin from the 1001 Nights. And also technically Aladdin lived with his parents in the original story compared to the Disney version where he’s a street rat. And also there’s actually two genies instead of one. Also Jafar isn’t defeated by his own hubris but rather… Oh, what’s that? You didn’t know that Disney’s Aladdin was an adaptation of an already existing story? It’s okay, lots of people still don’t realise pretty much all of Disney’s Animated Library is lifted from already existing sources lol. And so is some of Dreamwork’s two. No seriously, look it up!
Yeah the whole concept behind this pic more or less writes itself. Me with my wired little interest in this sort of aesthetic and liking this movie a lot and Shantae with her heritage as being half genie and a belly dancer. Plus, apparently at least according to one friend, Aladdin and Jasmine are a pretty popular cosplay couple anyway. Plus, it’s nice to get something involving my sona and Shantae together on the more wholesome side again. And I’m sure the place that holds those Magic Carpet races in Half Genie Hero won’t mind us borrowing one of their carpets for this. Or maybe the carpets a present from Sharah from Sonic and the Secret Rings after Shantae finally met her. *Or, since I am brining up Sonic and the Secret Rings, maybe this is just our equivalents in the world of Arabian Nights. Hey, who said that whole thing was limited to JUST Sonic characters lol?*
Artist is AmeerAshourDraws.
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grievedifferent · 3 months ago
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CHRIS 4 JOSH? let's talk about it ... and let's be honest.
read more for length only, it's all pretty sfw and non-triggering content.
speaking with otter first and foremost, here are her thoughts on the matter:
for context, she has a degree in video game art & design, so she knows the entire pipeline for how video games were and are made currently. she actually graduated like right around when UD came out, so this is perfect because she also helped me understand some of the modeling and why the original game is just honestly more fluid in mechanics versus the remake, so i've been giving the remake a pass in a lot of big ways and just sort of accepting everything else as is in conjunction with the original game (and in our case, the 2013 prototype).
basically, she said it originally looked like this is what likely happened: a texture artist was given permission to do a heart, someone else or that same artist put in CHRIS + JOSH and basically whoever was in charge of them (i have no names for this) likely said "you absolutely cannot confirm a fan ship, it's not happening" which is why it became CHRIS 4 JOSH. otter was explaining how the 4 looks a little off like it wasn't there originally but more of something to replace what was underneath. like a 4 covering a +.
still likely meant to be a joke, maybe it could go so far as to that texture artist shipping it, but either way, it was never going to make it into the official game as a way to be interpreted as josh and chris are canon. i know the app contradicts one major thing for chris and ash because the game itself literally confirms they both like each other in various scenes and context clues and all of that content we get in-game for them.
based on my own time being in school for video games, this makes a lot of sense. i might not have finished, but i did learn this lol. so, what she's saying is pretty on point. that's how companies are, even if it's "supermassive" ... they are working under sony.
so, does it mean anything? not really. i know this was probably huge for the other side of the UD fandom (i see it being two sides: rpc and non-rpc, which can be similar but are generally very different ... in-between those spaces are typically the fanfic writers and then the sub-genre of reader insert fanfic writers if that makes sense? anyways). but it really means nothing.
it's just a little easter egg. if we want to look into it at all? it was likely done by chris (otherwise it would say josh 4 chris if it was from josh), and also ... i know this sounds probably so lame, but that's just how guys are. they act like that, especially if you're super comfortable with a long-term friend. people have probably wondered about it based on how close and jokey they can act, they don't seem like the type to "shy away" from any sort of intimacy, especially for a joke, and idk, they're just like that? that's pretty normal.
HOWEVER ... where this gets even more interesting for me is this part: bringing in the 2011-2013 prototype, the game that was being pumped out for demos and such before supermassive did an entire rehaul of the original 2010 game (so, this is not london studio's project anymore, it hasn't been for a while, and their original iteration actually had hannah and josh as a couple named hannah and clayton).
why is this interesting? i've mentioned before several things about that prototype specifically: a) mike and chris never changed from design to actor, they were always solid (so it's weird to not even consider using their old voice banks for new content for the 2024 remake but okay??), b) this had originally intended (all the way back to london studio) to really be a "couples game" that "couples play together", giving the controller back and forth, and c) the fact that sam clearly liked josh in the original iteration, josh did not feel the same, but he had basically the same relationship with chris, who seemed to still like ash and vice versa, but josh also had a pretty high energy by comparison both in general to rami's josh and also to specifically chris in comparison to (that verison of) sam.
let's dig into 'c' a bit more. the sam and josh problem. it's not really a "problem" but i think there's somewhat of a general misunderstanding as to what their relationship is realistically like based on their connections and affiliations over what is sort of "expected of them".
here's what we know for facts:
sam and josh know each other, we can maybe assume from childhood or middle school era, but long enough for sam to be considered hannah's best friend.
which brings me to my next point: sam is hannah's best friend, not josh's. not even "hannah and beth's best friend". she is hannah's best friend. this is josh's little sister's best friend. i have to reiterate this because i see this huge sort of blackhole when it comes to this fact about sam and hannah. this is literally sam's entire tagline! even the game sort of forgets that sometimes? sam actually somewhat harshly criticizes hannah in her bedroom, something that is only open to sam and no one else. i'm not sure where this idea that sam is there for josh when she should be there for hannah. you can also tell sam and josh weren't that close over that year because she needs chris to confirm that a) this entire getting back together is a good idea and b) if josh is doing okay. if they were close, wouldn't she know? also, josh wasn't that close to anyone besides seemingly chris? which sort of makes sense but even he only lets chris see certain sides of himself. so, they aren't as close as people i think mistake them to be.
they were supposed to have something one-sided in the prototype before the finalized release. in the protoype, sam likes josh, but josh seems to not reciprocate. it's heavily hinted at when she flirts with him in the scene at the lodge door, which is very different but also somewhat the same as the version we get.
the finalized verison of sam (ie "hayden-sam") doesn't seem to have a crush on josh ("rami-josh") ... at least, from what i can tell. i think she actually feels somewhat uncomfortable around him, if we're being honest. maybe not before the prank, we can see they are comfortable together briefly in the new snapshots on the camera, but after? definitely so. this makes sense. they are somewhat avoiding each other. why would she go back there? both hannah and beth are dead, leaving josh.
finally: josh is hannah's older brother, thus acts as an older brother to the group ... sam included. this is literally in josh's characterization.
so, delving into probably headcanon territory here, and i'm not even going into my own sam headcanons ... basically, i think sam sees josh as an older brother and josh sees sam as a little sister figure. ik ik it's boring.
hear me out here: i think this was done simply because there are so many couples in the game already, which is so funny because it was supposed to be a couple's game but then got changed to a sort of "play alone or pass the controller".
now? UD is meant to be played either on your own or between multiple people, you can assign one person to each person you're playing with or just split the cast up the way otter and i do. it's more liberal and intentional to be that way versus its original intention. think about it: when you really start actually playing, there are two for sure couples, one maybe "will they won't they", and then two that aren't dating. that does feel more realistic just in general in a friend group, doesn't it? people date each other, break up, bring new members in, etc, but not everyone always dates everyone all the time.
also, i think just blanketed, supermassive wasn't even considering that likely at least one of those characters is probably gay or bisexual. until dawn is only so deep because it can only go so deep, and if they were going to go deep? it was going down the mental illness rabbit hole along with the background story they were trying to flesh together coupled with the mo-cap technology they were working with.
also, not to be that person, but life is strange came out in 2013 and kind of nailed it, right? they had their own set of issues they tackled incredibly well, whereas it doesn't really fit into UD. UD is about being a true "classic horror" story with the heavy use of intentional character tropes. so, give UD some grace here, i'd say.
cause let's get real for a second: there were so many last-minute changes while holding onto the threads of what they wanted. some stuff from the prototype for example is pretty shot-for-shot or word-for-word and some is super different. like ... im sorry, but the wolves aren't in the prototype (just as an example), so you can see how fast they decided to put those in because those wolves are literally broken animals.
back to sam and josh: taking my own headcanons aside, i don't think it's impossible to headcanon sam having a crush on josh at any point in her life that she knew him pre-UD. it's not uncommon, of course. he's classic older brother, he's fun, he's cute, he's friendly, and he's always around. again, while i think at least narratively they took that aspect of sam's character out when they cast hayden (she gives a much different, honestly better vibe for sam from the original actress, whereas ashley is like the same ngl), there is something to be said about not saying anything, i suppose. i just don't see it as something that was meant to be noticed, if that makes sense. not that it's not fitting? i guess?
but it's how josh feels, more the position he's in, that i sort of get caught up in why i'm sometimes hesitant with outright sam/josh with no plotting beforehand (as if it's canon). josh is the older brother. for him, there's sort of some lines he feels he isn't supposed to cross, trust he isn't supposed to break, and just sort of general boundaries? like, age isn't necessarily his factor here, it's literally how they met and how they know each other. it would be likely hurtful to hannah, probably awkward? i imagine?
so, is josh willing to cross his sister's comfort like that? yes, he lies to her ... about his mental health. it's never implied anywhere else that josh lies to hannah or beth about anything else. also, we can argue it's the parents hiding it from his sister's, wanting them to have a certain view of their brother.
then, post-death, we know there's a huge change in their relationship. josh and sam become distant, as i've discussed above.
with a lot of plotting and specifics, i could do it. just blanketed? or like ... how i see these characters without anyone else's interpretations in consideration? like just playing the game as is without even considering rpc? i don't see it.
so, what about josh and chris then? i'm not going to lie, i've only even recently come around to the idea, and even that comes off to me as still one-sided if it were ever even considered. likely? it would have been chris like ash, ash like chris, josh maybe likes chris? but that's so pushing it to assume supermassive would imply, though it's actually more sound for inferences in the prototype.
the chemistry josh and chris have is very natural. we can give that partially to the actors, of course, and partially to the writing. they have known each other a long time, and i've talked about it above how that's just how these types of guys are sometimes. they're just comfortable with each other.
so, even i'm just writing general headcanons without taking anyone else's specific interpretation in mind? i see it like this:
josh and chris? best friends from childhood.
chris and ash? the intended "will they / won't they" of the game.
josh and sam? older brother figure to younger sister figure (ie the friendship that can form with this type of bond, but likely nothing else).
but josh flirts with sam, remember? he infers he'd help her with the bath. he also calls mike and jess pornstars, says he wants to get friendly with ashley in the snow (and calls her a sleeper hit), etc. he's pretty mouthy about that sort of thing. it's just how he is. i guarantee if that were jessica in the bath, he'd say the same thing, and might even be more persistent about it (given that jessica is more playful than sam in that regard). however, were that emily in the bath? not a chance, he probably wouldn't have said anything tbh. i also write sam as a lesbian.
okay, so this is all "canon and great" and everything ... but what about me? what are my personal ships?
i can see so many with josh. i think that he's probably more gay than straight. he sees himself as open-minded.
does he lean more towards men or women? privately: sexually and romantically speaking, men. socially: women.
i have it that he chooses the "women make me uncomfortable" option when i play. i think this makes sense for josh.
why do women make him uncomfortable, but he socially pursues them? is he actually attracted to women? what is his sexuality for real? so, why women: it's socially understandable and acceptable. it's what he's relied on since puberty / actively encouraged to pursue since dating was on the table. he's with such a "bro" crowd — and so bro-coded both in being written that way narratively speaking while also just self-imposing that sort of role to himself ... while also naturally filling that role. his sexuality with labels: bisexual with a heavier male leaning preference, would be considered more demisexual when it comes to women. he is attracted to men romantically and sexually, and he is attracted to women, but there has to be a relationship fostered for it to be more romantic than sexual. i think he's fooled around with girls, but never had penetrative sex with them. he's likely never been with a guy, as he's very closeted, despite this being his active preference. women intimidate josh and make him uncomfortable.
further on him being more closeted despite being in the industry: josh has his family's reputation to consider. the world doesn't always agree that being bisexual is natural and non-offensive. he would be outright just called and labeled gay (which isn't entirely inaccurate but is not accurate). it could hurt his family. this isn't 2024, this is the 2010s, and yes it was getting "big" in the way we see acceptance now, but it wasn't so seen. people were (and still are) hiding. think of it like this: if josh has to hide his mental illness the way he does, he's likely having to hide his sexuality.
i think that's why the traits we do see in josh are so exacerbated because he has to stifle so much of himself down that the parts he's allowed to express become the loudest to hear.
all of that to get us here: my ships for josh.
personally? again, no other interpretations are considered necessarily, just ships i like based on various things from simply aesthetics to actual connections i can see them having.
what about chris/josh? honestly? i never even considered it until recently, and now that i have, it seems more obviously (if anything) one-sided by josh (the giver) to chris (the receiver). i don't think chris has ever consciously thought about it. josh (probably) has. as a default, however, i write them as bros. i do genuinely love their friendship. that being said, i do like it as a ship. i don't write my main plotlines with that in mind, though.
quickly: if anything, i think chris is the most compatible for josh (and vice versa). there is a lot of game evidence to support this, but that's for its own post.
josh/ashley -> this had always been my previous top ship for josh, but as more context becomes available via the remake and data mining the game, my opinions have swayed a bit, but i will always love joshley. it's a demi thing with them, i think. i also think josh is kind of jealous of ashley's relationship with chris (chapter 2 is called jealousy, and yes, that refers to the matt-mike-em-jess stuff but could be inferred to the trio), yet actively supports his bro, so doesn't really "get in the way". in fact, he encourages it.
josh/ashley/chris -> i see this as mostly ashley dating both chris and josh, maybe josh having some feelings for chris? from there, it's open-ended, but it's mostly "ashley has two boyfriends", and i am here for that. i love her.
additionally, i do ship chris/ashley. i like that josh is actively trying to get them together, and i think while it's for "nefarious reasons" or whatever you want to say when we see it in-game, josh is acting as a direct reflection to how he always has been ... so we can assume he's always been trying to get chris to make the move on ash.
josh/jess -> this is primarily aesthetically speaking, i think they just would look good together? opposites attract? pre-prank of hannah, it's definitely that ... opposites attract. he's not really her type, lbr, but she's probably his type in the way she's pretty ... but she is also intimidating to him. it's funny because, ultimately, that sort of confession to mike that jess gives about her insecurities would be very understood by josh (and actually matt, who i see as insecure), and i like all three of those boys with jess. yes, i hold jess accountable for the prank, but just character traits and such? i can see some vibes here. also! a lot of my fondness for this ship probably comes from post!verse stuff, like retribution, etc. honestly, i just like these two together not even romantically? i just want to see more of them interacting idk josh and jess are very contrasting characters that could go really well or horribly wrong together. also, i just have to say that i feel like there was some genuine interest when jess suggested that josh might be flirting with her and mike (jokingly) asked to basically have a threesome together, like she was kind of into it ngl.
why none of the other UD boys with josh? like mike and matt? we don't really see too much matt and josh unfortunately. i'm also a huge matt/jess shipper idk but i just don't see matt and josh being compatible, and i also write matt ... and i also write matt as straight, so. there's that aspect. but generally? i don't see it.
so, no em and josh? i literally do not have enough canonically to go by to even say what their default dynamic is like! they never talk!! like ever. so ... once i can establish with an emily writer what that is, i'd be more down to clown.
i can't with mike, either. i love mike btw, literally no shade to him, i don't think josh is the right fit for mike either by any means. mike is great at "handling" josh at his worst in a crisis (kind of? idk it depends sort of on the choices you make, but i get his vibe, i do get it) to get him from points a to b, but that's about it. mike also just comes off as very straight (to me).
all of that to say this: i generally write things as they are from the game unless there's a pretty good clue, inference, or some sort of thread i can unravel to make something make sense. it has to make sense for me, i'm just that type of person.
but ... with the right chemistry, plotting, and a bit of time? anything can happen. just because i default see something one way doesn't mean that i cannot be convinced otherwise ... or still hold that belief for the game itself but write enough development that i love something else in an rp sense. i'm a very "this is game, this is rp" and then from there, i take from the game to make the rp experience more game-like. does that make sense? did any of this make sense?
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anotheruserwithnoname · 4 months ago
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12 favourite things about Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
So I saw the Beetlejuice sequel over the weekend. I saw the original in the theatre nearly 40 years ago. And I admit was a bit nervous about whether the film would live up to the original, or would it be derailed by so many of the things that have caused remakes or continuations of legacy properties to fail in recent years. (Those factors vary from person to person but often boil down to either failing to recapture lightning in a bottle, or going against the spirit of the original in some way.)
I'll put in a spoiler break before I pass along my favourite things about the film, but the tl;dr is I had a blast, and I should never have doubted Tim Burton.
The following includes not only plot spoilers for B2, I also have to mention a major spoiler for the Wednesday series, so you are warned.
Favourite things about B2:
Jenna Ortega
Michael Keaton has managed the near impossible - reprising a role from decades ago without losing anything. It makes me sad that we'll never see his proper return as Batman in the now-lost Batgirl movie. I won't name specific names, but with only a couple of exceptions (most of them in Deadpool and Wolverine), so many times an actor reprising a role from years past has either failed to recapture the magic or does a good job but is still missing something that makes their reprise feel lesser in some way. You could splice together scenes of Keaton from B2 with scenes from B1 and you would be hard-pressed to tell the difference.
Jenna Ortega
Winona Ryder is terrific as the older Lydia. I loved the fact they made her a "paranormal-reality" TV star; I figured Lydia would have grown up to be either that or a goth-rock singer. I am not in favour of always darkening characters when they return after a while, but I think the idea of Lydia being haunted (literally) by her past and seeing dead people was well handled and does put a bit of a dark spin on the happy ending of B1. But in a way that works.
Jenna Ortega
For reasons best left to a google search, Jeffrey Jones was unable to appear in B2. His absence was well-handled by way of photographs, having his character lose his head, and a very clever and unexpected stop-motion sequence that at times looked like it was one of those wild AI-generated shorts.
Jenna Ortega
The change of style - the stop-motion, and the Italian art film pastiche that served as Beetlejuice's origin story - were a couple places where the film distinguished itself from the original. Same with Beetlejuice pulling a Deadpool a couple of times and talking to the audience.
Jenna Ortega. OK, seriously, she's a lot of fun in this and is a highlight of the film. My only complaint is they're not completely successful in separating her from Wednesday, both when she gets involved in a Beetlejuice-driven dance sequence, and a subplot where her character falls in love with a boy who turns out to be a villain - which is identical to what happens in Wednesday; the actors even look similar (there is the big Wednesday spoiler I warned about). That's one of the only major criticisms I have with B2, made a bit more glaring as Burton produced Wednesday and I think the film and show used the same writers. Jenna is in danger of being typecast which I'm sure she wants to avoid. I hope her star just continues to rise.
Bob. 'Nuff said.
Burn Gorman of Torchwood fame makes an unexpected appearance in the film as a preacher. He's quite funny to watch in his few scenes. He's become quite a good character actor over the years.
The Disney joke. Aside from the fact I know it'll play well with the many who have been turned off the House of Mouse for various reasons (including their treatment of various franchises and the never-ending Snow White saga), it has a different meaning when you realize that reportedly Burton had a bad experience making the live-action Dumbo for them, so this wasn't just a topical dig at Disney (like we saw in Deadpool) - this one was personal. When film scholars of the future write their books examining Burton's films and he and everyone else involved in his movies have collected their copies of the Handbook, the joke will probably get covered in quite a bit of detail, even though it comes and goes so quickly on screen.
One criticism I have is that Monica Bellucci's character doesn't really do too much. Reportedly Burton and Bellucci began dating while making the film so at least those two got something out of it. But her end was a bit overwhelming. I also felt Willem Defoe's character was underused. But if someone decided to do a spinoff of his actor-turned-underworld cop character, I think it could do well. I know both Bellucci and Defoe were playing plot maguffins - their purpose was to push things along to get to the Beetlejuice/Lydia reunion. But there could have been more. (I also didn't care for the fact no one thanked Beetlejuice for saving the lives (and souls) of Jenna's character by dealing with the boyfriend and everyone else by helping dispose of Monica. That's the only part of the film I disliked, but a minor point.)
Is B2 better than B1. I would say no, but it is an excellent film. I don't know if a third movie is justified, but the prospect of releasing a film called Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice may be too much temptation to ignore.
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lattedecoffee · 29 days ago
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Finished Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club aka FMC3 or just Emio and holy shit that was a roller coaster.
Gameplay definitely feels updated from the 2021 remakes but not so much that it feels like a different game.
Those characters holy shit. Kamihara had frat boy vibes during his first scene but his voice actor was so good I started growing attached anyway and eventually started shipping him with the protag (Taro Ninten is the closest we have to a default name).
Taro has two hands: one for Ayumi and one for Kamihara. Anyway here's a break before I do spoilers.
Okay before I talk about the climax and especially the epilogue I want to call out Junko Kuze for trying to murder me and then stealing my fucking boyfriend. I love her and she's a fascinating character but she married Taro's boyfriend and I'm salty about it.
Okay so that ending. I had figured out that Makoto thought he was Minoru but I wasn't sure if he had some amount of amnesia or if Emio had fucked with his mind. Turns out it was mostly the amnesia but Emio certainly didn't help matters. Although it wasn't as intentionally malicious of a thing as I originally thought given...
When the game basically had Utsugi go "yeah the epilogue's gonna be real fucked up so make sure you're ready before you start it" I was concerned. The game hadn't provided a content warning before this point so I wondered what could be so severe that they'd provide one now. Watching it basically right before bed was probably a bad idea but somehow I had no nightmares (I did have an irrational "what if Emio's in the dark hallway" that made me use my phone flashlight more than I usually would but that's typical for me with horror games. Happened when I watched Markiplier play FNAF all those years ago but I handled it much better as an adult than as a child).
It was tragic and certainly extreme but the things that happened to Minoru never felt unrealistic. A child drowning as part of her effort to escape her abusive father, her older brother killing their father, and said older brother delusionally believing she was somehow still alive all feels like it could be a real story. The key here is that nobody ever stepped in to help Minoru. People recognized there was a problem all the way back when the father's abuse ramped up but nobody ever stepped in. The juvenile detention center heard him talk about Emiko as if she was still alive and did nothing. The Todorokis never pried into his personal life, which is generally a good and respectful thing to do, but we know he will open to people he trusts given he told Ayaka everything about his past. Ayaka was really the only person who tried but she was 17 and already going through a lot herself. She did seem to be helping him open up but once he saw she was being physically abused he projected Emiko onto her and only spiraled downward from there.
And yet despite all of this Utsugi reminds you what this guy actually did. He killed Ayaka after she freaked out at seeing him kill her abusive father (she also hated the guy but seeing your older brother figure kill someone with no remorse is understandably terrifying). He killed two more girls the same way simply because they were scared of him. He kidnapped a now amnesiac Makoto and told him they were both Minoru Tsuzuki and needed to find Emiko. He almost killed again 18 years later only to have his head bashed in by Makoto who had finally remembered who he was thanks to Junko's bookmark. I'm skipping over a lot of things but suffice to say the man ruined a lot of lives. His backstory is not an excuse nor does it mean he should be forgiven. It explains why he did these things and shows us how to avoid similar events.
As for Junko, I love her story. You can understand why she said she knew nothing even though it was in her and her brother's best interest for her not to lie. You understand why she makes Eisuke's suicide look like the murders from 18 years prior. You understand why she goes to the abandoned village alone. You understand why she claims to have killed Minoru. You understand why she threatens Taro's life for Makoto's sake. And yet all of those choices were awful. Had she not lied, her brother's disappearance would have been looked into for much longer as it was now a kidnapping. She stole a suicide note and hid it from everyone, including the victim's family and friends. She shuts Kami out of her investigation and leaves both him with doubts he doesn't want to acknowledge (hence why he lashes out at Taro for pointing out all the reasons Junko's behavior is suspicious). She threatens to kill someone who only showed up because he believed she was in danger. She knows all of this was wrong and it's clear the guilt has been eating her alive, especially after what she did to Eisuke's death. She apologizes through tears while holding Taro at gunpoint and after explaining herself to him still can't go through with pulling the trigger. She just wants her older brother back and was doing anything she could. And while she does have him back, he's going to need a lot of support through physical rehab, hopefully intensive therapy, and a reintroduction to society (he was going into town but pretty much only to do construction work and then leave). And she has to apologize to Eisuke's family and friends. And to Taro, though he doesn't seem to be holding a grudge. Also "I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience I may have brought to your lives" is the funniest way to genuinely apologize for almost murdering someone.
Many characters in the game have been through some sort of childhood trauma. Our protagonist, Ayumi, Junko, Makoto, Minoru, Ayaka, Megumi, Eisuke, Kohei, Mama Shoko, and more. Only Minoru ends up being a serial killer. Only Junko and Makoto do terrible non-murder things. All the rest of these characters do nothing of the sort. Some acquire the supports of both peers and the adults around them, others manage to pull through largely on their own, and some we will never know how their story would have gone as it ended far too soon (either of their own volition or not). The game never says that childhood trauma = doing awful things. The game warns that ignoring signs that someone, especially a child, is not okay will often end in tragedy. Someone has to step in. Only a few people are obligated to intervene, but if the people who are supposed to intervene don't or are part of the problem then someone else must.
Eisuke's friends believe he committed suicide until they're told the crime scene doesn't match that. And yet they were right. They were the only ones who noticed something was wrong, but neither of them were able to do anything besides ask him if he was okay (he'd lie and say he was).
One last thing before I stop writing because wow this post is long: I love how Fukuyama was genuinely just a good guy with negative people skills. I was so worried he was doing something to Megumi and finding out that his response to her confession was to try to turn her down gently while clarifying that he did care about her as a teacher is supposed to care about their students. He didn't succeed in explaining that to her and she ended up assuming the harshest possible interpretation, but she seemed to already have a very concerning view on love (someone doesn't return her romantic feelings and her next question is "do you hate me?") so I'm not sure even the best possible wording could've helped there. As for him and Ayumi, it's up to interpretation whether he's interested in her romantically or not, but I choose to see it as him seeing her as his first student to grow up. He never formally taught her, but he was her upperclassman in naginata club. So she's the first person who he helped teach that he gets to see thriving as an adult. And now they're functionally peers, with her being able to comfort him about how Eisuke's death is not his fault as he had no way of knowing how things would go and made the best choices he could (he also literally saves Megumi + the whole case about midway through the game).
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jowrites · 7 months ago
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We got Married - 10. Jealousy is a disease(written)
Masterlist Here.
Prev. Next.
TW: Cursing, stalkers(sasaengs), sexual themes, THIS CHAPTER Mentions a certain SHINee member, as a devoted shawol I will always remember him and I hope you all will as well. Read at your own will. Thank you <3
Taglist: @lisaswifey @heeeseeungs
 FILMING: NOT IN PROGRESS
Roman sat next to Heeseung as he was glued to his phone, watching random videos and ignoring her. Today’s filming felt a little off, Heeseung seemed to be forcing out his reactions and movements and it felt like something was wrong. During breaks, he would walk away and not even give her a glance. She doesn’t know why he was suddenly acting like this, since normally they easily messed around and would play games together even when the cameras weren’t rolling, but something was definitely off.
“Hey, Hee-” Roman began to say, just as Heeseung took out his earbuds and placed them in his ear. Another way of ignoring her.
She rolled her eyes and got up from her seat, moving away and nudging his leg in the process as she walked over him to walk into another room. 
Heeseung felt guilty, he knew he was being unreasonable. He knew he was being immature but he couldn’t help it. He didn’t like hearing Jake was hanging out with her, let alone texting her. As selfish as it sounds, he wanted to gatekeep her and keep him all to himself. He watched as she disappeared into their shared ‘bedroom’, and he silently began kicking himself. Great, now he upset her. He just needed to get through the rest of filming for today and then he can go clear his head. She didn’t deserve to be treated this way when she didn’t even do anything, and he knew it was his fault. 
FILMING: IN PROGRESS
“How did you learn how to garden?” Heeseung asked, the two of them were outside on the patio tending to their little garden.
“It just became sort of an outlet, a hobby. Key gardens a lot as well and he’s showed me a lot of things,” Roman said, as she helped Heeseung transfer some green onion stems to the soil for them to grow in the pot. 
“Ah, I always forget how close you are with them,” Heeseung said.
“SHINee were the first group to be really kind to us, they really took us under their wing and Jonghyun taught me even more stuff about composing. I owe a lot to him,” Roman said, a sad smile forming on her face as she refused to meet his eyes.
“You don’t have to talk about that,” Heeseung said.
“No, it’s okay. I’m comfortable enough to talk about him, I’ll always talk about him. He deserves to be talked about,” Roman said. “I’ll make sure his name is never forgotten.”
Heeseung looked at her face, and gave her a silent smile, he reached up and removed a strand of hair out of her face. The two of them made eye contact and he leaned over and grabbed her hand, squeezing it. The warmth she felt go up her arm was unexplainable. She didn’t know why she always felt jolts of electricity every time they touched, but she didn’t complain. She just hoped he felt it too.
“There, it looks like it’s going to rain, we should finish up here and then make some dinner,” Roman said, picking up the tools and cleaning up around. 
Heeseung followed suit, taking the things from her grasp and putting them away for her. Even when he wanted to be mad, things just came naturally for him. He wanted to be distant and not feel this way anymore, but he just couldn’t. It was like she was a magnet and he was drawn to her. 
“What should we make for dinner?” Heeseung asked. “I’ll follow your lead, I don’t want a remake of last time.”
Roman laughed, remembering how Heeseung tried making Kimchi Jeon and managed to start a small fire with the oil and paper towels. He really wasn’t the best cook. Lucky for him, Roman liked to cook and she especially loved to do it for people. He realized her love language was gift giving and acts of service. She always came with things to give him behind the scenes and he started a collection in his dorm of the many things she had gotten him. Thinking about it now, he felt even more guilty with how he had been treating her when the cameras were off.
“We still have some tteokbokki and chicken, we can fry the chicken and make wings?” She suggested. 
“Lead the way, sweetheart,” Heeeung said, saluting to her and she giggled at his antics. 
He was still very adorable, even when he was being mean. 
FILMING: NOT IN PROGRESS
“Good work, everybody!” Roman and the staff were saying their goodbyes to one another as she was removing her mic. 
She looked over and saw Heeseung was staring at her, before quickly turning away and pretending to mind his business. Usually he would come over and hug her goodbye, but this time he just got in his car without a glance, and she watched as he drove off without a word.
Just what on earth was his problem?
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2a8n · 1 year ago
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Shirogane's dream - Monologues
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As I promised, we will be covering monologues in the Shirogane's dream and some of his changes in the Ice Scream Remake in a separate post. Here will be purely my reflections, as always. However, I would also like to see your thoughts on this theme. And now let's get started!
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Wowww, you're so weak. "Wow, you are so disgusting." Well, did he start behaving less disgustingly from this? ( - _ - ) Crying from a mere orca punch? Gross. Has our hot-tempered penguin ever found Shirogane crying? And what's more, did Shiro tell him why he was crying? Could this be the reason why our depressed wolf is now hiding from everyone to cry, and can not really tell anyone about his experiences? Just be quiet. Hmm… Shirogane said something to our polar bear, but in response she just shut him up? It's curious. Usually Rocma starts a dialogue with Shiro, who in turn either remains silent or answers her with monosyllabic sentences like "I'm sorry", "I'm sorry… (next comes the answer to the question she asked)", etc. I can remember a moment from manga, when our wolf was indignant at what she said instead of "Thank you", but she only ignored him and continued to talk about her own. Hey, Shirogane! You're looking stupid as always! Shirogane seems to have an over-hyper fixation on his appearance, since Suno-san refers to it more than once when verbally insulting a wolf. It is likely that this is due to the scars that were once inflicted on Shiro's body and on his face. These scars apparently bother him so much that he doesn't want anyone to see and/or mention them at all (he even hid the scar on his face from Yukisada, his friend, at one of DSP's official works).
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….. ….. It reminded me of the moment in Ice Scream Round 3 where Yukisada had to remain silent for most of Rocma's scolding with roughly the same facial expression. ♪ Looks like someone was in a good mood. Too bad Shirogane can't boast the same… =( Hi, doggy! ♪ I'll give you a nice punch in the face. Even railroads could envy his directness. Really nothing to add. You really are pathetic, huh… Peraco seemed to hope that he wasn't pathetic (by the standards of the inhabitants of Iceberg Isle, I guess), but Shiro couldn't live up to her expectations. You're lower than a seal, you moron. If "seal" means Mafuyu, it's rather strange that you don't call her by her name, Rock.
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H-Hey, don't say such mean things, everybody! Yukisada is the only one who tries to stand up for Shirogane. Our kindhearted owl is even ready to go against the majority opinion for him. I respect. I'll give you something to cry about. If you finally get off this isle, then believe me, everyone will cry. From happiness. =) I'm just speechless. When someone is speechless, they usually don't say anything, so don't lie to us, Rocma. ? We are often shown Mafuyu from a fragments of Shirogane's memories. I don't understand, why he pays quite a lot of attention to her, despite the fact that the seal girl herself, based on what is shown, doesn't do a lot of things. You're like a water flea about to die! Have you… seen a dying water flea somewhere? In the North? Or is it usually on TV at the Peraco's house?
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Weakling! Worm! Wood louse! And now I'm even more inclined to think that they learned about the water flea, the worm, the wood louse, the caterpillar and the bees from the TV in the Peraco's house… Hey! Shirogane's crying! Stop it! Shiro upset that Yukisada has to stand up for him? Does he feel guilty that his friend has to do this, or is Shirogane ashamed that he can't take care of himself? Ahahahaha! You big baby! Look at the big baby! Here, Suno-san is trying to play on the shame of our pessimistic wolf. But, judging by the words of the snowman, there must be someone else (maybe Yukisada?) in order for the effect to be more tangible from what he said to him. You're dead, kiddo. Heh, it's funny that Rock in Ice Scream Original addressed our wolf not as "Shi*ogane", but as "kiddo". It's kind of a sad that DSP decided to remove it. ….. ….. Now I believe that you have speechless, Rocma. True. ( 0 v 0 )
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The part of the post dedicated to my reflections on the monologues from Shirogane's dream is over. Next will be my thoughts about the remade version of the same monologues from the Ice Scream Remake. I will not draw any definite conclusions, since this is purely reasoning on what has been said, some of which doesn't carry a large semantic load in the context of the Ice Scream itself as a whole. And now - to the finish line!
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Silence yourself. | Just be quiet. The sentence has been changed, but the meaning is the same. Here, rather, the difference will be in which of the options we have for what Rocma said, rudeness and harshness towards Shirogane will be more noticeable. ♪ | ♪ You won't see anything new here. You can safely skip. Crying just because a big bad orca hit you? Gross. | Crying from a mere orca punch? Gross. "Big bad orca" -> "Big bad wolf"; that's funny. I think in the "big bad orca" version, Rock's derogatory attitude towards the Shirogane's situation is much seen stronger than in the other case. You are seriously pathetic. | You really are pathetic, huh… Here, Peraco's disappointment towards Shiro is no longer noticeable due to the unfulfillment of her hopes in his person. Now she just thinks he's pathetic. Heya, Shirogane! Your face is looking as stupid as ever! | Hey, Shirogane! You're looking stupid as always! Now Suno-san puts more emphasis in insults not so much towards the whole appearance of our pessimistic wolf, but towards his face. Hmm… Woaaah, eww. You're really weak. | Wowww, you're so weak. In the Original Idate showed feigned surprise at the wolf's weakness. In the Remake, he pretends that Shirogane's weakness is comparable to stepping on a poop, I guess.
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Hey, everyone, don't say such mean things to him! | H-Hey, don't say such mean things, everybody! Yukisada is still the voice of adequacy in this madhouse, but, for some reason, the moment with his silence was cut in the Remake (I marked in purple what wasn't in the Remake). You're even worse than a seal, you absolute fool. | You're lower than a seal, you moron. Rock began to place more emphasis on insults towards Shiro. Considering that it is written in his bio that he takes out his disappointment on the poor guy, it becomes clear what DSP is trying to focus on. You wussy! Worm! Weevil! | Weakling! Worm! Wood louse! Nothing new has appeared. It's just that now we know that you can also see weevils on TV in the Peraco's house. You're like a water flea 3 second from its death. | You're like a water flea about to die! Given that both the in-game bio and his chart explicitly state that he has depression, I don't even know if Suno-san is trying to emphasize that Shiro is more dead than alive, or he looks like he's about to die… ( 0 _ 0 ) C'mhere, you worthles mutt. Let me give you a good punch. | Hi, doggy! ♪ I'll give you a nice punch in the face. Wolf, loser dog, pathetic puppy, doggy, worthles mutt… What's next? Mongrel? Squeak toy…?
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Hey! Don't you feel bad for Shirogane? Stop it! | Hey! Shirogane's crying! Stop it! Yukisada, in my opinion, the normal attitude of others towards your friend should come not from their desire to feel sorry for him, but from their desire not to do bad things towards him… Ahahahaha! Crybaby! You snot-nosed wimp! | Ahahahaha! You big baby! Look at the big baby! In both cases, as for me, the phrases sound provocative. It's hard to explain without the context of what Suno-san has basically been saying all this time in the game. ? | ? You won't see anything new here. You can safely skip. How about I make you cry again? | I'll give you something to cry about. You won't see anything new here. You can also safely skip. I am so done with you. I have nothing left to say. | I'm just speechless. Now her phrase in the Remake sounds more like "preachy", and makes sense: in Watch 1, we were even shown how Rocma tried to Shirogane verbally "guide on the right path" while he was bleeding.
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I'll kill you. | You're dead, kiddo. Bye-bye, kiddo… ( v _ v )
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deke-rivers-1957 · 1 year ago
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Paradise Hawaiian Style Review
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This is the final Elvis film that takes place in Hawaii. In fact, this could be considered one of the first Elvis film "remakes" as it's been claimed Colonel Parker wanted to recreate the success of Blue Hawaii. Similar to Blue Hawaii, real locations in Hawaii were featured during the film such as Coco Palms Resort and the Polynesian Cultural Center.
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We immediately jump into the action by having Rick Richards on a flight. He was fired after flirting with a flight attendant. Since he has a bad reputation, he was only able to get a job in Hawaii. We immediately get the titular song, Paradise, Hawaiian Style over the opening credits. It's a quintessential song in any Elvis travelogue movie.
I absolutely love the shots of Hawaii. You get the idea that this actually has relevancy to the plot. Danny, played by James Shigeta, is actually Hawaiian. The use of a mixed race couple is accurate for Hawaii. There was no law against it, so it wouldn't have been controversial for Danny to marry a white woman.
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While Rick is playing with Danny's kids, we get the next song, "Queenie Wahine's Papaya". This isn't Elvis' best work, but at least there's an established relationship with Danny's daughter, Jan. She actually gets to sing along with Elvis and does a pretty good job of keeping up with the fast paced song.
We get to see more shots of Hawaii that reflect the use of air travel. Even though Elvis himself doesn't fly the plane, we do see interior shots of the plane and Rick landing it. Unfortunately there are times where you can tell Elvis isn't on location. He just doesn't blend in with the background compared to on location shots.
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One thing that shocked me is how this movie seemed to openly talk about how Hawaii is seen by Americans as such a tourist attraction. The natives who lived there would've had to appeal to these big businesses to make money. Even though this cultural talking point isn't the focus of the film, you can still see its influences by having Rick and Danny go into business themselves.
When they get to the club, I swear Marianna Hill playing Lani is dubbed by another woman. Her audio just doesn't sound like it was recorded at the same time as Elvis'. Also when she duets during "Scratch My Back (Then I'll Scratch Yours)" she doesn't sound good. The song in general just isn't good and grinds the film to a halt. I know Lani works at a club, but she just sings one song and then leaves with Rick. You can cut that whole song and nothing would be lost.
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So by now we've established that Rick loves women in a distracting way. I admit that I appreciate how they made that such an integral part of his character that it actively influences the plot. If he didn't have such a bad reputation of flirting with flight attendants on the clock, he would've never been in Hawaii. It's unfortunate that he doesn't have any real character arc that addresses that.
It's clear that he wants to only hire a secretary because she's hot and not because she's qualified. Danny hiring Judy is a clear sign that he actually believes in her skills and wants Rick to stay focused. Danny cares about his business and wants to have people who can actually do the job.
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More shots of Hawaii and this is the best part of the film. We get vocals from the Polynesian people as Rick travels. You really get the idea that Hawaii is important. You couldn't get these shots anywhere in the continental US. Of course there are goofs such as dialogue being clearly dubbed in. Like so bad that Rick is waving while saying "Hi" with Elvis clearly not moving his lips.
That being said, you immediately stop caring with the best song in the entire movie, "Drums of the Islands". My god. The visuals of Rick on a canoe just riding along the river as he sings is just beautiful. The land/seascapes are prominent and the Polynesian culture is heavily featured. Elvis isn't shoved in front of the performers. He's integrated into their act and letting these people perform an art that's been passed down for generations.
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"A Dog's Life" is a song that exists. I have no idea how Elvis could possibly lip-synch all this having those dogs jump on him. Easily one. of the most stressful scenes in an Elvis movie. He lets go of the controls so many times, the dogs jump right in his lap as he's singing. A completely chaotic moment. If this wasn't a movie, these characters would most likely be dead. In universe, it's actually a testament to Rick's piloting skills that no one did die. Not just the passengers but literally everyone on the ground.
Naturally the one time Rick flies recklessly, he runs into the car of a government official in charge of aviation. Regardless of what actually happened, this guy's well within his rights to complain about what happened to him and his wife. These dogs weren't properly contained and that helicopter likely wasn't suitable for Rick to transport all of them anyway.
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We get a Red cameo at the restaurant and a pointless fight scene. The tourist flirting with "Friday" was bad, but Rick sticking up for her makes no sense. Based on his actions in the movie, he's not that morally upstanding to be above unwarranted flirting.
As of this point, he has no actual chemistry with any women. He has more of a relationship with Jan (who is a child) than anyone else. Unfortunately, their 2nd duet, "Datin" is awful. It feels weird to watch a grown man explain dating to a child that isn't his. And in general, Jan's singing isn't that great compared to their first duet.
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Not long after they land we get to yet another song, "House of Sand". If we cut "Datin" and went to this that would be fine. Unfortunately, this happens barely two minutes apart from each other. It feels so shoved in now because of how badly spaced they are. Also a problem with these types of songs is that they have no build up. There's no reason for these songs to be made other than fill up a quota. Elvis just bursts into songs at the most random intervals. If you cut them from the film literally nothing would change. With "House of Sand" you go right back to Rick flying in the air with one of his "love interests".
So we get a swimming scene where Elvis is conveniently covered up by a towel. It's so weird how he's covered up when both of the girls aren't. It's almost like the producers wanted to hide something. Yeah, it's obvious at this point that Hollywood wanted to hide Elvis' weight. The way they try to hide it is just so bizarre as you can still see his stomach anyway.
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I hate Lani's character. She actively decides to mess up Rick and Jan's lives by throwing away the key in the sand. Lani literally got them stranded on an island with a child. If they never found the key, and Danny never knew where they ended up, they could've died. Rick's womanizing ways on top of her individual actions could've literally killed them. She is lucky that Danny didn't charge her and Rick with the endangerment of a child.
Sure she didn't know she would lose the key that way, but that was such a dumb and dangerous decision just because she wanted some sugar. As for Friday sticking up for Rick, I have no idea why she would do that. She knows first hand what his flirting ways are like. Just because he stood up to one tourist doesn't negate the fact that he's irresponsible. Danny if anything is the reasonable one and has the patience of a saint that he didn't press charges. They were out overnight and could've easily been out for longer if he didn't rescue them.
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Friday chastising Rick is well deserved and if anything serves a bigger reason as to why their relationship makes no sense. Rick wanting to rescue Danny and risk losing his license for good, isn't enough of a reason to think that he's changed. As much as it shows that he can think of others it still doesn't change his womanizing ways. Compared to the dog scene from earlier, this rescue doesn't feel so tense.
All helicopters should have a first aid kit in the event that there's a crash, so it makes no sense for Danny to not have one. Even if Jan's only a child, he can still tell her how to make a splint. If this was such a tense moment as the movie wants it to be, the danger would be greater than this. There's more instances of dubbed in dialogue with 0 lip movement such as the end of this hospital scene.
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Jan's solo song "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home" is easily her best song. It's quite refreshing to have someone who isn't Elvis get a song all to themselves. And again Rick's flirting ways is getting the better of him. Even if he wants to be with Friday (which he never indicates more than any of the women he was with) he still needs to show that his flirting ways are over.
"Stop Where You Are" while shot differently than most Elvis songs, is also visually a nightmare. If you're watching this movie on a buggy site like DailyMotion and watch this movie for the first time, you wouldn't know if it's pausing on purpose or if it's the lag. I also have no idea why Rick's singing anyway since if he wanted to hide from the women, he did a terrible job. He was right on stage front and center. Naturally Rick's flirting ways catch up to him. He only gets away with it by paying them off. What a wonderful message/s. If you get in trouble with women you just promise to pay them off. Why does Friday like this guy?
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We get an unedited shot of the different acts at the Polynesian Cultural Center and I love it. If a film was given permission to use that building, actually use it and the people who belong to that culture.
I also love how the government official is portrayed as a reasonable man. He knows that Rick saving Danny was necessary and is willing to make an exception. Now him being with Friday at the end makes no sense. It was so rushed that I don't think they even kiss at the end. The actual romance felt like so much of an afterthought almost like they knew we wouldn't care because the ending songs would be our last impression of the film.
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"This is My Heaven" is a song that perfectly depicts Elvis' love for Hawaii. It's so beautiful and when combined with a reprise of "Drums of the Islands" makes it one of the best ending scenes in any Elvis film. The showcasing of the actual Polynesian performers will never get enough praise from me.
Like we actually get a break from Elvis singing to listen to them sing in their language. It's so beautiful to see them depict their culture without seeing Elvis shoehorned in the frame. The wide shot of the entire entourage performing is just so beautiful. It showcases that Elvis at this point isn't important, the people of Hawaii and the island nations are.
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This film is so visually stunning that it makes the production errors even more noticeable. That being said, the amount of effort put into showcasing Hawaii and the Polynesian culture is incredible. Hawaii is an island state that doesn't have a White majority. For the movie to showcase this demographic breakdown in such a casual way for the time period is impressive.
There are flaws with this film that can't be ignored. However, when you have scenes that fully embrace the Hawaiian culture, that's a sign that this film actually tried. Because of those efforts, I'm giving this film a 7/10. If you like Elvis films, I would recommend watching this independent of Blue Hawaii so you don't compare the two. Even if you're not an Elvis fan, this movie still serves as a good insight of how Hawaii was viewed by Hollywood at the time.
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Thank you so for much to @georgefairbrother for requesting this review. I know you also requested that I review Clambake as well and I will do that next. If anyone else would like to request an Elvis film or a film in general, please send them in.
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