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my-beloved-ghosts-and-me · 8 months

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YOU'RE THE QUEEN OF THE KINGDOM THAT HAS MY WHOLE HEART

꒰ synopsis: fate has a weird way of working and you still can fully understand the way everything it's delicately interconnected

꒰ content warnings: nsfw (18+), fem!reader, smut, masturbation, male pov, fem pov, breeding kink if you squint, rough sex, making love, virgin reader (at one scenario), Tangerine is a bit of an asshole, emotionally constipated idiots

author's note: this is probably bad, english it's not my first language, no beta we die like men, im still simping about a motherfucker called Tangerine, lalalas

Tangerine knew that there was no such thing as an easy job, but Jesus Christ nobody ever told him that things could be this fucking difficult.

Lemon warned him. His brother, god bless his good soul, tried to talk his way out of this ridiculous job, but Tangerine didn't listen to him. Maybe he truly was a Gordon after all.

At first, the decision seemed easy. Rescue the White Death's son and bring back the ransom money for a great payment or rescue Tora's sister and keep a job as a nanny in a luxurious house without having to worry about anything but your safety until your brother himself kill the motherfucker who decided to mess with his remaining family for a marvelous payment.

Lemon thought the second option was too easy, too good to be true. Turns out fate really was on their side because the White Death's mission was some kind of trap and everything went to shit. From what they heard, they were going to be dead if they accepted that job.

And now here he was.

Sitting in a ginormous comfortable chair with a fantastic book that he got from your bookcase trying to read while you and Lemon were on the couch talking excitedly about an anime that you convinced him to watch saying that in exchange you would watch all the twenty-four seasons of Thomas the Tank Engine.

He didn't know how much longer he could handle this situation with sanity in his mind, but with how much your brother was paying just for them to keep you safe inside your house he knew he would rather eat his right hand out of his body than mess this up. Even because Lemon, that traitor, was having the time of his life. Every day since the second half of the first week in your house, Lemon says he's grateful for Tangerine accepting the job. The easiest job of their life. And the higher-paying too.

Maybe, just maybe, if Tangerine was a little bit less of a professional this actually would be the easiest job in his life. A beautiful house in the middle of a forest that looks like a scenario out of the fucking Twilight movie that you made Lemon watch in exchange for that one cartoon with the human and the dog, his brother is happy that he finally got a friend to share his interests, a good payment at the end of every month, not even one day of violence since the beginning of this job and you.

The level of frustration and violence running wild in his body is not comprehensible, right?

Everything was just perfect.

Except Tangerine wanted to bend you on every surface in sight and fuck you dumb on his cock at every opportunity. It was the first time he tried to resist the impetus to take something that he wanted and maybe Lemon was right and he should have seen a therapist. But you were just so sweet, always concerned about his well-being, always smiling in the morning and making coffee for you and Lemon and tea for him, always offering yourself to moisturize his hair and asking his opinion on everything like the food you cooked or the books he's reading. It would be hard to resist nevertheless.

But again, Tangerine was a professional. The fact that your brother was one of the most dangerous mafia leaders in Eurasia and you used to date his best mate before he got murdered trying to protect you a few years ago sending your brother into a spiral of madness and cruelty was just a detail.

He didn't know your brother very well, and it was hard to gather pieces of information about him, or you for that matter, but you seemed very fond of him and even if he continued to ignore you every time you tried to reach him you didn't allow him and Lemon speak a bad word about him.

Your soft voice was distracting him from the words displayed in front of him. He didn't even recognize exactly what was being said because he was trying really hard to ignore Lemon and pay attention just to the sound of your voice. Your sweet voice. He didn't know if he was able to live without listening to you every day from now on.

Given the amount of erotic and vivid dreams he's having about you, he doesn't think he will, but physically was way better than his imagination. Although he didn't have the chance to listen to your moans and sighs in reality yet. He did listen to you beg to him once. "Please, Tangerine. Please. I promise you will enjoy it. Let's watch this movie with us." you had said. The first phrase got printed in his brain like a burn and it's almost present in every dream he has about you. You beg so prettily, pouting unconsciously just a little bit. A truly divine sight.

He could feel his cock getting hard at the memory and the annoyance building up inside him together with the hot white desire he feels for you. Why did you have to be so perfect and so good for him? Tangerine knew he would ruin you if he got the chance.

He wanted to fuck you so hard that you wouldn't be able to walk in the ridiculous aristocratic way you always do like the world knows better than demand hurry from you. He would fill you with his dick until you couldn't feel anything else, but him. No sadness, no worries, nothing. Only him and his burning love and desire for you. He would put your mouth to use and with the way you're always so careful with everything you do to him, he bet you would be a natural. He just know you would worship his cock with kisses battling your long lashes at him until he couldn't take any more teasing and started to fuck your mouth with wild abandon like the madman he is. And you would let it because you would be so good to him.

Given the chance, he would kiss you for hours. Slow kisses, steamy makeouts, soft pecks after fucking your brains outs. He wouldn't waste a chance to claim your lips in rough passionate kisses.

But he doesn't get a chance with pretty little things like you. He's not like your ex.

Did Tangerine know anything about your ex or the depths of your relationship? No, just the thought of you loving and touching someone that wasn't him makes him sick in the stomach. But he could tell by the way you spoke about him with Lemon sometimes that he had been different from him.

Although there's one thing that you said that stuck with him and made him think that maybe he and Draken are not that different after all. "He used to say that I was the queen of the kingdom that has his whole heart. I guess I'm in exile now huh?" You spoke softly and laughed when Lemon said he didn't understand what you meant.

Tangerine understood. He understood very well. And given the chance he would give you another kingdom to rule.

"Oh, for fuck sake, you both don't know how to shut up?" Tangerine shouts angrily out of nowhere and both you and Lemon are staring at him like he's some sort of alien.

It's not out of nowhere. He got an aching boner and if he didn't know himself any better he could say a broken heart. He denied himself too much, but you two didn't know that so it looks like out of nowhere.

Your face does show something, a brief emotion he can't read it very well, but after you press the heels of your hands against your eyes and he listens to your small quivering voice, he knows he fucked up again.

"I'm going to my room. I'll sleep early tonight. You guys feel free to stay here in the living room as long as you want okay"

His eyes followed your figure and maybe lingered a little bit on your round arse until you were leaving his sight. Tangerine wants to hug and apologize promising he'll never scream at you again, that he'll never let you sad again. But he can't so maybe it's for the better if you think he's a crazy unpredictable angry man. Like that, you'll stop treating him affectionately and will give him what he deserves from you. Nothing. He wasn't worth of you and he knows it.

Turning his head forward he comes across his brother facing him. They both keep staring at each other and Tangerine suspects Lemon knows what's up with him.

"Gordon wouldn't act like that." Lemon said with a straight face and turned around to face the TV.

If the room was a little bit more silent would be possible to listen to Tangerine's heart breaking a little more.

--x--

The cold of the night was soothing against your warm body and restless mind. You easily could see how you got yourself in this situation, but at the same time, you had no idea how you ended up like this: baking a lemon cake at two in the morning, trying to keep yourself from making a very reckless mistake that could get you in a lot of trouble.

Five years ago your first love and long-term boyfriend Draken got murdered trying to protect you. He was your brother's best friend since childhood and early in your teenage years they started a gang but things escalated quickly. An amazing duo, an unstoppable force, and delicious naive if you stop to think about it now. Nothing could ever last forever.

After your lover's death, your brother started spiraling into a darker path mentally and morally. He became a ruthless murderer, a tireless man, and crawled his way to the top distancing himself from every single person he used to hold dear, including you.

At least that was what everybody thought, but you know that's not true. Even if he refused to talk to you or answer your texts, he never blocked you. He bought you this house, a house that he knew was your dream house since you both were teenagers.

A soft laugh escapes your mouth at the memory while you finish putting the dough into the cake pan. You always said how much you would love to live like the Cullens and even if he claimed he always slept when you forced him, Draken, and the rest of your group of friends to watch Twilight in those rainy autumn evenings, you knew he was paying attention. You just knew. Just like you know he's not the monster people think he is. He's your brother and you have known him all your life.

He still keeping you safe even from afar just like he promised he would after your older brother died in your childhood. He's still your Leo. You know if you could just talk to him, face to face, you could knock some sense into him, but he never let you get close to him. Maybe he knew that too and that's why he refuses to see you but he wouldn't give up on you so you will not give up on him.

Putting the cake pan in the oven you ask yourself how you still handling life without losing your mind. Again, baking a cake in the middle of the night was not the best sign that your mind was 100%, but it's not like you are in the worst-case scenario given your history and current situation. Being a baby witch helps because gives you a sense of fate and fate brings you hope that you are not insane when you feel that everything is going to be alright sooner rather than later. Or maybe you're just delusional, but it works too.

But you didn't feel delusional. You feel like there are missing pieces to this puzzle and that's partially the reason why you awake to see dawn once again. Only partially. You don't like to admit it, but the man sleeping in the room next to yours is also a factor that contributes to your insomnia.

Sitting in the cold soft chair next to the kitchen bench, you let yourself relax a little while looking at the soft light radiating from the oven. Cake for breakfast, just like when you were a child and you had both of your brothers and nothing to worry about, but before you could drown deep in your thoughts a man appears right in front of you, and before you could scream, Lemon's hand cover your mouth and finally you're back to reality.

"What are you doing?" He asks without removing his hand from your mouth so you grab his wrist and push it down yourself.

"What does it look like I’m doing?” you ask.

Rubbing the back of his neck Lemon says a little wary. “Well, to be quite honest it looks like you're going a bit mental."

That gets your attention and your eyes finally snap up to his.

“I’m not going mental, Lemon! I’m making a lemon cake." you say trying to sound calm and composed "Clearly.”

He blinks once, twice. “A lemon cake?”

“Yes.”

“At two in the morning?” Lemon it's trying to read you right now, but he doesn't know which Thomas character he can use to understand you better nor he has watched an episode that could prepare him for this.

You pause, and then answer with a straight face: “Yes. Clearly.”

The younger fruit keeps looking at you expecting you to elaborate a little bit more, but no explanation comes out of your mouth. In the deep silence of the kitchen you both keep staring at each other. You shift your weight between your feet and keep your eyes on his waiting for something, anything, to happen and save you from this situation because you know if you don't make an excuse plausible enough, Lemon will figure you out.

Suddenly you hear a step at the stairs and you know it. He listened to you both talking and he is coming to see what this is about. That's not what you meant when you said you wanted anything to save you from this situation.

A deep voice with a thick british accent comes from behind you. "What the fuck?" Tangerine asks and you know, even without turning around, he's pissed that he got his precious sleep disturbed.

At the first month in your house, he was cranky enough, but Lemon said it was his normal self. A little bit aggressive, a little bit sarcastic, and a huge asshole, but it was his normal self after all so you didn't mind him. He's keeping you safe, he's a good brother and that's such a personal subject for you, he's intelligent and has such good taste in books. He's so unbelievably handsome too. But as time went by he got irrationally angry at little things and apparently he couldn't get a decent night of sleep in a while.

"I'm baking a lemon cake." You answer still without turning around and you're surprised that you can keep your voice calm.

"Why the fuck you would bake a lemon cake at TWO IN THE MORNING? A lemon one nonetheless. It's this some kind of fucking twisted joke? "Let's bake a lemon cake and wake Tangerine up just as he was closing his eyes after hours trying to sleep?". This fucking ridiculous, assholes. If you want to be insane at least keep it quiet." At the end of his little speech he was screaming and although you didn't know exactly what your face was showing, Lemon seemed to take pity on you and decided to speak for you.

"Tangerine, mate, you need to get help."

Oh, at least he tried.

"I need to get help? I'm the one who needs to get help? You both inconsiderate twats decided to be insane and bake a lemon cake late at night and chit-chat until you wake a poor lad trying to rest and I need to get help?" You could bet that Tangerine eye was doing that little twitch thing that always happens when he was about to get into a discussion with Lemon.

"Look, first of all: we weren't even talking that loud, but most importantly: this is her house. It may be a little weird, but there's nothing wrong about it."

You gathered courage enough to turn around and face Tangerine. You weren't scared of him, that was not the problem here. That would be too easy. You could just send a text to Leo and your brother would find someone else to protect you. The real problem was you were uncontrollably attracted to him and how could you not? The man was a god among men, handsome enough to make pornstaches sexy again. When he was angry you could see the veins in his neck popping, his face slowly reddening, his blue eyes darkening and his accent getting thicker while spitting all kinds of curses and insults. But now, in addition to these classical traits, his soft curly hair was falling around his head and he was shirtless, his waistband hanging dangerously slow.

Oh god, you hope he didn't catch your wondering eyes following the line of the hair just below his belly button into his pants.

You already touched yourself thinking of him today. Twice. Nothing new, you've been doing this for almost two months now. But three times was a new personal record.

You had just finished coming down your high when you decided that you wanted to distract your mind from wandering to him again and the best way to do this was baking a cake. But fate had other plans and now you had no choice but to touch yourself again. You honestly don't know how much you could resist the urge to get into your knees and beg to suck him for all he's worth, but if you could delay this humiliation a little bit longer, you would.

You got lost in your thoughts again and didn't realize when the shouting match between the twins started.

Your voice was small, but both of them stopped talking the moment you made yourself present in the situation. "I'm sorry, Tangerine. It was my fault. It will not happen again. Sorry for waking you too, Lemon. I just wanted to clear my mind and baking helps. Let's go back to bed, shall we?" Not a complete lie, just not the whole truth, you think to yourself hoping they would buy it.

You get up without saying anything else and walk towards the stairs hoping you can keep your walk as normal as it ever is and pray that they don't notice how much you wanna run from the kitchen. You still hear their voices from upstairs. "She was kidnapped and we have no idea what happened to her, man." Lemon said trying to defend you, but you already closed the door of your room so you couldn't know how Tangerine replied.

Your cat, Luna, was spread around your bed like she worked all day to pay the rent that was due. Your chance of trying to relieve the aching between your legs was ruined by this fur ball because you may be going a little bit mental, but you draw a line at masturbating around your pet.

Climbing to the soft surface you finally let yourself relax. Luna didn't enjoy it being disturbed, but quickly forgave you when you wrapped your arms around her and started caressing her ears. Feeling the soft fabric of your nightgown and the warmth of your cat around your chest, you started to succumb to the tiredness and the dark even if the desire running through your veins didn't vanish as you would liked to.

Maybe if he wasn't hired by your brother to look out for you or maybe if he actually could develop a relationship with you, but most importantly maybe if he didn't hate your guts for no reason... Maybe if wasn't for that you could try despite the odds. But all you can do right now it's wish for good dreams.

And this was your last thought before falling asleep.

--x--

In the silence of his room, laying in his bed, Tangerine knew he couldn't deny himself any longer. Your flimsy nightgown and perky nipples because of the cold night were his last straw.

He could feel his member in his hand, hot, pulsing, and begging for relief inside his pants.

God knows how much he tried to avoid this from happening because he knows once he lets his mind succumb just a little to the thought of you he will need more and more and soon just thinking about you will not be enough. But now it's over. His cock was throbbing so much and was desperately needing release.

Every goddamn time you made him hard he tried touching himself picturing another woman, but every time it was you that he was imagining you without him even noticing what he was doing. When Tangerine switched back to another woman he became almost instantly soft. It was driving him to the brink of madness and he couldn't deny himself any longer.

He was so eager to finally give in that he didn't even know where to begin with. Should he let you take the lead and be the sweet little thing he knows you are and be all soft and small kisses before giving in to desire shyly and slowly or should he take the lead and ravish you without mercy making you succumb to him faster and messier?

He wants to go down on you, that's for sure, but he can't decide between exploring your body slowly, anticipating you when he finally starts to eat you out, or going straight to the place he dreamed of for almost three months now and devour you until he was satisfied.

"Fucking hell, I need to slow down or I'll come and I didn't even decide exactly how I'm going to take her." Tangerine was getting close to spilling himself all over your stolen panties just with the flashes that he was conjuring of you but he wasn't able to decide how to make you his yet. He decided to test himself to see how much control he had over his body in case he needed to be soft and tender with you in case you're still a virgin and just cum after he was able to conjure both scenarios in his head without touching himself during this process of torture. He needed to prove himself worthy of you and be prepared for all possibilities concerning your well-being.

Tangerine moves his hands to his hair, closes his eyes, and takes a deep breath imagining you asking for him to be careful with you "Please, go easy with me okay? I've never done this, not even with Draken? So please be gentle" you would say and he couldn't explain the feeling that bloomed in his chest and made his dick twitch uncontrollable.

"Of course, love. Do you feel prepared enough?" he asked while rubbing his cock along your slick pussy making obvious with the lewd sounds that you were more than ready.

"Yes."

"Can I put in?" he answered pressing the tip of his member in your tight opening.

"Yeah. And don't need to have pity okay? Just worry if I say stop unless keep going" Oh, but how could he not be pitiful of you if you're such a crybaby and he crumbles when he sees you with a tear in your eyes?

"Okay, darling. I'll try my best." Tangerine whispers against your neck, his hot breath making you shiver, before pressing his tip further into you making you suck a little breath.

You put your arms in his shoulders looking down mesmerized by the scene of finally having Tangerine filling you.

At that thought his cock throbbed so violently he instantly knew that he needed to be a little more alert otherwise he would cum before imagining you getting fucked dumb on his cock.

Tangerine is trying to calm himself after being carried away for too long taking deep breaths and holding firm the base of his dick so he wouldn't finish before accomplishing his goal. You will be the death of him, he's sure. Your pussy will be his reason to come back after every job in one piece. He just knew that.

His cock was running hot but stopped twitching a few seconds ago. He was stiff as a board and couldn't even phantom the idea of letting go of the tight grip on his hair because he needed to keep his hands firmly placed somewhere away from his painful and sensitive member.

After a few ragged breaths, he started to move his hand again, slowly and avoiding his sensitive tip.

He knows that once he's fully settled inside your warm tight cunt, he'll be careful and take it slow with you. There's nothing worse than the pace he's imagining for you. Nothing so torturous as feeling you heat swallowing him every time, her walls so tight and unused, begging him to just start going feral, but he knows he need to make you get used to his size.

So, just like that, he's fantasizing about taking you. Slowly, kissing you with eyes closed and tongue insistent, swallowing your mixed moans of pain and pleasure.

The pain was almost too much to bear, but so good at the same time. And the pleasure, oh God, the pleasure he's giving you. Your brain could only think of Tangerine, all you could only, feel, taste, and see was Tangerine. He was everywhere and you felt so full you swear you could feel your belly bulge a little.

Tangerine feels another violent throb run through his dick and his balls are twitching, itching for release. He let go of his dick again and press a pillow into his face screaming in frustration. A sudden urge to just give in and fuck his fist almost make him faint, but he can't give up now. His body was burning and his soft pink lips were bruised with how intense he was biting them, the skin on the verge of breaking with the force of his teeth.

He would never admit it, but the despair he was feeling was so intense that small tears were spilling from the side of his eyes.

"I can do this, I can do this" he thought to himself while taking deep breaths without the pillow on his face. His muscular chest was rising and falling quickly, the red in his face spread into his neck and started to fall into his pectorals, and his body was covered in a thin layer of sweat. A vision to behold.

Your shy tongue started to explore his neck, his skin hot against your wet tongue, and you could feel salty drops of sweat. Your teeth graze against the sensitive flesh and he let a breathy moan close to your right ear. Boldly you suck his pulsing point strong enough to leave a mark and he moans your name loud and clear.

These intrusive thoughts are the death of him. Even without taking his hands from his mischievous hair, his cock was pulsing against his abdomen, leaking from the tip. All his veins are startled like never before and his pretty sure his balls are getting really close to having cramps. Tangerine thought that maybe it was better to get shot in the neck than feel like this, delirious and fighting so hard to control himself for the first time in his life.

"Tangerine, I'm close, please" You didn't know exactly what you were begging for, but Tangerine knew. He picks up his pace? put his large, calloused hand around your neck applying a slight pressure, and keep his lips hovering over yours, like he's trying to decide if he wants to kiss you or keep listening to you moaning his name.

"Come on my cock, love. Be a good girl for me and let yourself go." His raspy voice so filled with desire and something that you still can't figure out what it is yet is enough to send you over the edge. Your orgasm is a hot white force that sends you over the edge and keeps your body spamming for what it seems forever.

The way you keep squeezing the life of his dick is enough to give Tangerine the best orgasm in his life. He's cumming so much inside of you that he's sure you're already full of his seed and he's not even finished yet.

"I can not do this." Tangerine says out loud. Did someone ever die of orgasm denial? Because he was sure he was about to. He was actually in tears at this point and was suspicious that blowing his load would not be that pleasing anymore. There was so much pre-cum pooling in his heated skin even with him stopping himself from touching his throbbing member a few minutes ago.

But now Tangerine could imagine how rough he would take you if this wasn't your first time and without his permission, his imagination started to run wild, and without him realizing it his hands started to crawl their way into his aching cock trying to relieve his pain.

He wasn't going to take it easy on you after everything you made him go through. Tangerine would take you hard, rough, borderline violent, and make you beg for more. More of him, unhinged, a beast out of the cage. More of what only he can give you. By the end, you would be completely addicted to him and his cock in the same way he was already addicted to you.

He would leave marks all over your small body. His fingertips would bruise the soft flesh of your thighs and of your round ass, bites, and hickeys around any smooth skin his hungry mouth could find. Your cunt would be tight and sensitive from the abuse his thick cock, a little too big for you, was making you endure it. But you would love every single second of it, Tangerine was sure.

His big hand was tightening his grip around your delicate neck cutting short your blood circulation and making you feel dizzy. The lewd sound you two were making, moans and skin slapping against skin, was out of a porn movie. To match his pornstache, you think.

You squeeze your tight walls around him and he groans so deep from his chest that you unconsciously squeeze him again.

"Fuck, my dirty little whore. You want me to come inside you so much huh? Is that what you want, love? My cum filling you up to the brim, leaking of you for days?" Tangerine's mouth is right against your ear so you can hear all the sweet sounds he makes, but listening to his voice calling you "his", degrading you, and calling you "love" sends you to another level of delirious"

Tangerine was sure he was losing his mind with how vivid his fantasies were, but now that he was getting close and actually was going to be able to cum he didn't want to question himself about it. His cock was throbbing in his hand, the sounds getting out of his mouth were pure filthy, and his fist slapping against his skin were the only thing he could focus on.

"Tangerine, please, please, please. I'm so close. Keep going just like that, but I'm begging you. Cum inside me. Let's cum together. Please?"

His heart missed a beat. He was staring at your pleading big doe eyes, left hand holding your hips in a bruising grip, right hand still holding your neck itching to give you a soft slap in the face.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck." Tangerine hisses through his perfect white teeth and when he's just about to spill all his seed, he fantasizes about you saying you love him, right after you finish. He's imagining you pulling him into your tight embrace after he pumped you full of his seed, his head resting on your soft tits, both of you trembling and heavy breathing.

Deep down he wants to think that you were holding all of his ugly and twisted sides of him. Deep down he's dreaming that you hugging him despite his dark desire for the result of this night to be your belly swollen with his child.

And with that wild picture, you round with his baby inside you, he cums. And he doesn't stop cuming, his balls heavy with much more of his thick seed to spill. Such a mess everywhere. His hand, abs, cock. He was sure you wouldn't mind licking him clean.

The sudden image of you on your knees with his cock in your mouth sends a new wave of fresh desire through his guts. Looking left while sighing he sees your stolen panties. In the middle of his self-imposed torture he forgot about it, but now he's going to start over he could put it to good use. He doesn't mind his burning, sweaty body nor his lack of oxygen because of his uneven breathing, the only thing he cares about it now it's his still hard cock.

This is gonna be a long night, isn't it?

--x--

You wake up the next morning feeling thoroughly fucked feeling your body running hot. You have a few flashes of your dream with Tangerine and you are actually on the verge of tears realizing that it was just a dream just like Bella in Breaking Dawn. In the only day you don't touch yourself to the thought of him it's the day that your brain reminds you of what you shouldn't try to ignore.

Maybe if you didn't manifested your life in your early teens wishing a life like Twilight and other book series your life wouldn't be such a mess right now and even with all the disasters in the history, the romance plot was the one consuming you the most.

Speaking of manifestation, you did asked for a sign that the spell you used of that old book with hand-written spells worked. And since you don't believe in coincidences there must be a connection between these things no? Maybe you should ask for a clearer sign.

#tangerine x reader #bullet train tangerine smut #bullet train tangerine #tangerine bullet train smut #tangerine x you #tangerine smut #tangerine bullet train #bullet train #bullet train smut #tangerine smut bullet train #tangerine x reader smut #tangerine x you smut #tangerine x y/n #tangerine x y/n smut

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transgriffin · 6 months

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Just watched Godzilla: Minus One! (Spoiler free review/rant)

They promised and they gosh darn delivered - the human drama is fantastically written, with a lot of food for thought. We see the very unsettling internal struggle of a war-traumatized protagonist who cannot seem to find meaning in his life after surviving WWII. We see the stories of the people around him, souls scarred from the loss of life that resulted from the bombings. And we also see the human spirit prevailing through the darkness, in the middle of the rubble, as the dust of war settles, yet never allows them to forget what was lost and destroyed.

Godzilla - terror incarnate in the most beautiful and majestic flesh, gets presented to the audience as a real sucker-punch to the gut. The horror is palpable as the air rumbles and the brass roars our most beloved Ifukube tunes at the arrival of movie history's most prolific monster. Toho does not dare hide his presence in the shadows - in fact we get blessed with detailed shots of his body design, truly able to savour the artistry that was poured into his likeness, and that without ever breaking the pace. When he appears, he is truly here, and he has come to obliterate. This incarnation of Godzilla is brutality, and yet, I could not help but feel reminded of Jurassic Park's Tyrannosaurus rex in some shots, behaving like an animal does.

His eyes!!! This Godzilla does not walk over the city ignoring the ant-like humans in his wake. He knows that you are there. He is looking at you. He is coming to get you. And yet, you never get a real idea of what goes on inside this god of destruction's mind.

The story doesn't stop unfolding until its very end, where one is kept biting one's nails and shivering in the chair until, finally...

If your local cinema is still showing the film, I IMPLORE you to go watch it on the big screen. This film does so much with sound design, it truly ensures that you WILL feel the terror, you will feel the earth shaking and the world shattering at the arrival of GOJIRA.

Kenpachiro Satsuma-san, I hope you got to see this movie in all its glory before you left this earth. I hope they will add a dedication to you in the home release.

#godzilla minus one #godzilla minus 1 #godzilla #gojira #toho #kaiju #kaiju eiga #giant monsters

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brielledoesastrology · 11 months

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Asteroid Hayao Miyazaki (8883) in your astrology natal chart

by : Brielledoesastrology (tumblr)

"I believe that fantasy in the meaning of imagination is very important. We shouldn't stick too close to everyday reality but give room to the reality of the heart, of the mind, and of the imagination." - Hayao Miyazaki

asteroid "Miyazaki Hayao" code number : 8883

The asteroid "Miyazaki Hayao" (8883) is named after the famous japanese animator and movie director Hayao Miyazaki.

Hayao Miyazaki is best known as an acclaimed Japanese film director and animator. He is best known for his imaginative and visually stunning animated films, often called anime. Miyazaki is the co-founder of Studio Ghibli, a renowned animation studio, and has directed some of his most popular and successful films.

Miyazaki has been nominated for and won several Academy Awards. His film "Spirited Away" (2001) won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2003 making it the first and only hand-drawn and non-English-language film to win in that category.

His work often deals with themes such as nature, conservation, growth and the importance of kindness.

Miyazaki's films such as Spirited Away, Totoro, and Princess Mononoke are known for their compelling storytelling, beautiful hand-drawn animation, and unforgettable characters. He gained worldwide recognition and became an influential figure in the animation world.

Hayao Miyazaki's art style is characterized by attention to detail, fluidity, and the ability to evoke a sense of wonder and magic. His hand-drawn animations are known for their meticulous attention to detail and care put into each frame.

Miyazaki often emphasizes the beauty of nature, including lush landscapes, intricate cityscapes, and fantastical creatures. His characters are brought to life by expressive facial features and subtle movements to capture a wide range of emotions.

Miyazaki's art style also incorporates elements of traditional Japanese aesthetics, including a strong connection with nature and an emphasis on simplicity and elegance.

Overall, his art style is distinctive and recognizable, creating a visually stunning and immersive experience for the viewer.

(source : chat gpt)

In astrology the asteroid "Hayao Miyazaki" (8883) could indicate : your artistic expression, your imagination, your storytelling, your environmental consciousness, or ur a sense of wonder and magic, where could hayao miyazaki's work inspires or influence ur life in a type of way, ur interest in animation, your interest in art , where u are widely respected or admired for your artistic work, where your artistic work could gain wide or global recognition, where u plan to retired a lot of times when u are old but you still do ur job anyway lmao

⚠️ Warning : i consider this asteroid as prominent and brings the most effect if it conjuncts ur personal planets (sun,moon,venus,mercury,mars) and if it conjuncts ur personal points (ac,dc,ic,mc), i use 0 - 2.5 orbs (for conjunctions). For sextile, trine, opposite and square aspects to asteroids i usually use 0 - 2 orbs. Yes tight conjunctions of planet / personal points to asteroids tends to give the most effect, but other aspects (sextile,trine,square,opposite, etc) still exist, even they produce effects. If it doesn't aspect any of your planets or personal points, check the house placement of the asteroid, maybe some stuff/topics relating to this asteroid could affect some topics/stuff relating to the house placement . ⚠️

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maremartinelli · 3 months

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ALL FOR Y/N'S BROTHER

Ben Barnes X Actress!reader

Summary: Where Y/n and Ben do an interview to promote the new film they starred in together and fans ask questions about their professional and personal career.

Words: 1.3K+

Warnings: Mention of another actor, films, non-existent films, cuteness.

Author: It's worth mentioning that English is not my first language, so there may be silly and strange mistakes. I also warn you that the "movie" that Y/n and Ben debuted in the fanfic does not exist in real life. I ended up inventing a story on the spot and taking the title of one of my favorite songs.

MASTERLIST

"Hi, I'm Ben Barnes" The actor says while smiling at the camera in front of him.

He and Y/n were sitting on a high stool and behind them was a large poster of the movie they recently starred in together.

"And I Y/n Keynes Barnes" The woman says and smiles looking at her husband. "And we're here to talk a little about our newest film and answer some questions related to our career and individual lives" Y/n placing her hands on her lap.

"First of all, we tell you that 'My Kind of Woman' will be in cinemas from July 12th in all countries."

"Ben and I debuted in a romantic comedy set in the 1970s. In which, the character Ross takes Lexie out to make his ex jealous. However, along the way they end up losing themselves in their feelings" Y/n informs.

"I confess that it was very easy to fall in love with her" Ben says and pats his wife's hand twice.

"Of course, look at me!! I'm fantastic and on top of that your beautiful and wonderful wife" The woman throws a strand of hair back and Ben laughs.

"Okay. Let's answer some questions now" He says and Y/n smiles. "Our producers put together some questions that you asked on the director's Instagram" Ben looks at the camera and leans over to take the cell phone that the director was handing him.

"OK, let's go!!" Y/n adjusts herself in the chair and approaches Ben, so they can read together. "Want to read?"

"It can be one at a time"

"Okay. I'll start then." The actress adjusts herself in the chair. "Ben and Y/n, what was it like finding out that you two were going to act together in a romantic comedy after you were married?" The woman reads and then they turn to the camera. "I thought that was a cool question!! Well, at first it was only Ben who would participate in the film, I was involved with other productions, however, it ended up not working out. And as the vacancies for the protagonist were still open, I went and did the test. And detail, Ben didn't know anything. He only found out when I got home with the script in my hands." She laughs. "But talking about the performance itself, I think it was very realistic. It was all very natural"

"I was in shock when I found out it was her." Ben gestures with his hands and smiles. "But of course, happy too. It wasn't the first time we acted together as a romantic couple on movie screens. But the experience is always the same." He says and Y/n looks at him smiling. “How did Ben and Y/n meet?” Ben reads the next question. "We met through her brother when we were filming The Chronicles of Narnia."

Y/n nods.

"A lot of people think we met in The Punisher, but no, my brother did good to us much earlier." she says and Ben laughs. "The first time Ben and I saw each other was on the set of Prince Caspian. Skandar and the rest of the cast were in a more remote location in the city filming, and as I had just arrived from New York, I thought I would go out and see some the hometown.

When I got there, I came face to face with the love of my life" Y/n winks at the camera.

"Every day I thank Skandar for having me introduced to your sister" Ben says and Y/n.

"True, it's worth mentioning that Skandar made me get out of the car and walk for a long time just to introduce myself to Ben. Who was acting with him that day."

Ben Laughs.

"Well, was it worth the walk?"

"Absolutely" Y/n says laughing. "Next question. Ben and Y/n's age difference?"

"People like to know about our individualities as a couple"

Y/n laughs at her husband.

"Really."

"Well, Y/n and I have a 4 year age difference." Ben says and the woman agrees. “Did Y/n go to college?” The actor reads the question and looks at Y/n.

"To say I did it all is a strong word. But I started and kept going." She says and Ben laughs. "I was doing performing arts at N.Y.U and I was in my last period when I went to play my first role. Which coincidentally was the last Chronicles of Narnia film. And well...I never went back to college" Y/n says and smiles at the camera when he says he dropped out of college in the last period.

"I was so close to graduating." Ben gestures with his little fingers and squints as he approaches his wife.

Y/n Laugh.

"Yes yes, my career really took off after Narnia. But I still intend to return to finish it." Y/n nods her head in agreement and Ben straightens up in his chair.

"That's right, my wife" he says and then looks at her. "So cool to say that. My wife"

Y/n smiles.

"3 years and you still think it's too cool" she taps the man's cheek twice and he laughs. "Y/n is Skandar Keynes's sister? How old" The actress reads the question. "Yes, I'm this guy's sister and I didn't understand the age part, but it must be our difference. Well, I'm the oldest sister of the three of us. Ska and I have a 4 year difference and with Soumaya it's only 2"

Ben picks up his cell phone again and then reads the next and penultimate question.

"Ben, how was it recording the sex scenes in The Punisher. Since your romantic partner in the series wasn't Y/n" Ben returns the cell phone to his wife. "Well, firstly speaking in general. These scenes are never easy to record, regardless of the partner, you are more vulnerable and more exposed. But at the time, Y/n and I weren't together yet. Well, we were dating and hooking up. But nothing official yet, and when I read the script, I made a point of sharing it with her and telling her what I felt and everything."

"Although we know it's something professional, the discomfort is always present. Regardless of the side." She says more seriously. "And when we started dating, Ben and I made a agreement that if either of us has to do this type of scene, the other person doesn't watch it. Like, jump the scene" Y/n says and gestures with her hands at the end.

"Well, whether we like it or not, we're uncomfortable." Ben speaks.

"I think in The Punisher it was the only time, right?" Y/n asks and Ben looks at her in agreement. "I thank God I didn't get involved with that kind of scene. I would definitely have turned redder than a tomato, I was so embarrassed."

Ben smiles and looks at the floor, while fiddling with the ring.

"Yeah, but it's not like that when we're--"

"BEN, MY DEAR. How about reading the last question??" Y/n covers her husband's mouth and he laughs at the touch.

"Okay. "What was it like when Skandar found out he was your love match? I always hear rumors that he was a great promoter" Ben reads and then hands the cell phone to production. "I love it when they mention my brother-in-law"

"Sometimes I think Ben is married to Skandar" Y/n says indignantly and looks at her husband, while laughing. "Actually, when we go to my mother's house or visit Skandar he always clings to him. I don't think that's cool." The actress pretends to be jealous and crosses her arms.

"Confess it, your brother loves me more than you."

“Shut up” Y/n laughs as she slaps her husband on the shoulder. "He wasn't the one who accepted your marriage proposal"

"It's just that I never proposed to him." Ben laughs and watches his wife roll her eyes and hold back her laughter.

"Heavens, you suck!!" Y/n says and laughs. "But now to answer the question. Ben and I started dating when we started on The Punisher, and when I told that to Skandar. He almost freaked out. I remember when we finished recording The Chronicles of Narnia in 2010, I went back to New York to start a new project and Ben went to record The Picture of Dorian Gray, right?'

"Picture of Dorian Gray was before, I was leaving the country to record Love Without Measures" Ben corrects and Y/n snaps her fingers.

"That's true!! Well, everyone went their own way, but we still kept in touch and talked when we could. But seriously, Skandar was crazy when he said I was dating Ben." Y/n laughs.

"It was at a family lunch, right?" Ben looks at his wife and she agrees, laughing. "Y/n had taken me to London to her parents' house and Skandar was there, and look, the boy was really crazy."

"I think our first number 1 fan was him" Y/n says laughing.

"In fact"

Y/n laugh.

"We love you, King Edmund, The Just" The woman blows kisses to her brother while looking at the camera.

"We're done here, but we hope to see you in theaters to see our newest film. Once again, July 12th will be in theaters in all countries." Ben points to the camera.

The Keynes girl leans back in her chair and looks at the camera too.

"My Kind of Woman, don't forget!! I hope you like Ross and Lexie in this romantic comedy. Or rather, Ben and me" she winks with one eye.

"We're waiting for you" Ben blows a kiss to the camera and Y/n does the same.

Author: ok, I've never watched Chronicles of Narnia my whole life, and now I don't know because who I am passionate. Prince Caspian or King Edmund??

#fanfiction #y/n #ben barnes #romance #sirius black #benjamin barnes #imagines ben barnes #the marauders #marriage #actor #actress #romantic #films

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wtsmtm · 4 months

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SNS fics in January 2024

Below is a short list of SNS fics posted or updated in January 2024 (and one from 2007)! Remember to check the tags. Expand below to see the recommended fics!

the vines that grow by GreatLoversLieInHell (AO3). Complete. 100k words, 14/14 chapters. Rated: E. After getting discharged from the hospital, Naruto returns to a home that’s no longer standing. Sasuke, who doesn’t do well in cages, flees the first chance he gets. Unmoored, unsettled, Naruto looks to his motherland for answers. Uzushio calls her son home. The road to Uzushiogakure is long, but Sasuke walks it with him. Sasuke, who looks at him, hungry. Sasuke, who sees him, wherever the light gets in. A must-read for anyone who enjoys poetic language and explorations of the uncertainty that comes with setting out to find oneself. Finished this January, this amazing multi-chapter fic offers beautiful hurt/comfort and a romance that isn't just picture-perfect cliché but raw and real. This is an analysis of Naruto's character and trauma in a way that I haven't seen it before, embedded in a travel adventure that takes Naruto and Sasuke to Uzushio. Bittersweet, thought-provoking and a very worthwhile read. Did I mention beautifully written?

What They Made You by GrimTopography (AO3). Ongoing. 395k words, 63/? chapters. Rating: E. Naruto Uzumaki's Mother, Kushina Uzumaki died the night he was born and his father Minato Namikaze tried to save her by using his demon to save her. The demon breaks free from his binds and is drawn into the new born child. Minato is enraged by losing the love of his life and condemns Naruto to a life of abuse. Naruto has nothing but Kurama, a couple friends and his love for music. School is hell and almost everybody thinks he's a monster. What transpires when a popular newcomer, Sasuke Uchiha joins the school? One night changes everything, just how will it turn out? This is like two fics in one. The first few chapters are built to show how Naruto was born and how Minato became the villian. Kinda like a prequel. Kurama and Naruto have an amazing relationship in the fic and I just adore it so much. Naruto is a tall, muscular man with a deep raspy voice (a mixture of him and Kurama). Singer!Naruto is one of my alltime favorites so I vastly enjoyed this fic and it's freash take on the idea. The angst is handled well in this story. It's also a soulmate fic with a very interesting twist! The romantic relations between them are amazing! It's thrilling to watch them handle all that life seems want to throw at them. The plot is so wonderful it's like gold, and worth every single second of read time. The reread value is so good. I find something new every time I reread it and fall harder for the story each time. Slow updates, but is ongoing and updated still!

Neonlights by lilypheria (AO3). Ongoing. 34k words, 16/? chapters. Rated: E. Sasuke is a courier in the endless, futuristic city of Konoha. Usually his deliveries are nothing but unremarkable. Then he is asked to deliver a person, and all hell breaks loose. It's a GORGEOUS fic set in a futuristic world based on a few amazing video games. Kurama is an AI within Naruto and it's so fresh and cool to see! The world building is vast and paints such a fantastic picture as you read. It's almost like watching a movie/game play video in your brain. The plot is so detailed and thrilling. Full of intrigue and mystery and wonderful tension between Sasuke and Naruto. Updates are slow, but worth the wait between chapters!

Dis-Honor by One_of_a_Kind_99 (AO3). Ongoing. 33k words, 8/? chapters. Rated: E. Be a good Omega. Become a worthy match. Bring honor to your family. Joining the army pretending to be a beta to save his father's life was the complete opposite of what he was supposted to do. The line between honor and dishonor was thin, he had no idea which side he would land on at the end of it all. An SNS retelling of Mulan. Omega!Naruto, Alpha!Sasuke. The Mushu in this is hilarious. The author has similarities to the film while also truly making it their own. There is angst, spicy content, action, adventure and of course fun banter!

Under the Table by Sebastian (taydrawrs) (AO3). Oneshot. 2k words. Rated: M. Sasuke’s finger clenched around his phone and he could almost hear the case crack under the pressure. His phone vibrated. >Please. The simple responses kept coming while Sasuke attempted to hold himself together. >I thought you cared about me. >I thought you were a kind and good person! He must be desperate if he’s resorting to compliments (and such fake ones) that he knows won’t work on Sasuke. >I have never begged anyone like this before. >Please! >Just one photo of your tits and- “Uchiha!” Sasuke slammed his knee (the same knee as before) under the table again. This time, he let out a full stream of cusses, before lifting his head to meet the angry, steady eyes of his boss. Sasuke receives a text from his husband during a work meeting that brings back a few very potent memories. It's a sexy office fic with some spicy flashbacks and sneaky phone texting during a work business meeting.

The sky is red by Skyheaven (AO3). Complete. 61k words, 16/16 chapters. Rated: M. Turns out that Naruto's new high school friend was born a girl, but idetifies as a guy. Well, that wasn't a problem for him. Except that he falls in love with him. He'd never liked a guy, so he must like him because of his female body, doesn't he? What a terrible friend he is, what a horrible betrayal to have these feelings. Better bury them deep down. Down along with his beating heart whenever he sees his face. A high school AU with a trans Sasuke. He hasn't come out to his family or anyone and so when Naruto finds out they embark on a journey of self discovery together. It's very well written and informative. There are lots of feelings, angst and some family drama as well as extremely wholesome. Itachi is a good big brother and tries his best. Which leads to some very hilarious moments. It's just a beautiful read.

Love-Love by Watermelonsmellinfellon (AO3). Oneshot. >1k words. Rated: T. What if Sai had been just a little bit further on in his research about emotions, and asked if Naruto was aware that his fixation on Sasuke looks romantic... right when they see each other at Orochimaru's destroyed base? You have 5 minutes and need a little pick-me-up? This drabble is the perfect choice. Just one scene, set in shippuden, but sure to make you smile, chuckle or giggle. What's Canon anyways, I am pretty sure this is what happened.

Dead-Last Champ by Yaman999 (AO3). Ongoing. 178k words, 40/? chapters. Rated: M. Sasuke and Naruto were high-school sweethearts. In love through thick and thin. When Naruto decides to drop out of college to pursue his dreams of being a professional MMA fighter, his lover has a difficult time accepting the sudden change in course and uses it as an excuse to justify the biggest mistake of his life. Will Sasuke ever have the chance for redemption? Or will he have to sit by as someone else comes to sweep the love he let go off of his feet? A great ongoing fic. It's a modern AU with MMA Fighter!Naruto. It has a hurt/comfort tag and it uses it. Sasuke is very impulsive and selfish and spoiled when the story begins. He has no idea what he has or how to value it. Naruto is just starting out as an MMA fighter. Cheating fic leading to their breakup. Naruto finds support in his MMA village and grows, Sasuke spirals and needs to sort himself and his life out. Does Naruto feel complete or is something missing? Will Sasuke get his life together? Only time will tell if they find their way back to each other!

And some old gold for you all, dug up from the archives:

Guess Who by Hikari M666 (FFn). Oneshot. 2k words. Rated: M. Roped into working at a phone sex hotline, Sasuke loathes his job so much he's ready to kill. And when his very own 'satisfied' boyfriend rings the hotline, will his mood improve? Not bloody likely. SasuNaru, yaoi. Let me take you back 17 years, back to January 2007, when Hikari M666 published Guess Who - a short crack fic that has the boys in a really interesting situation! For some context about where Naruto was at in 2007 - the Japanese manga volumes were just at the part where Team Asuma go against Hidan and Kakuzu! In this AU crack fic, Naruto digs his own grave down a phone line, and Sasuke is murderous by the end. Hikari M666 was a fun writer with some great oneshots, including at least one more SNS oneshot, and wrote for some other Naruto pairings, as well as some other fandoms.

That's it! Reminder that this is not an exhaustive list, the team is small and has their own preferences, and to always read the tags.

#sns #sasunarusasu #sasunaru #narusasu #fanfic #ao3 fanfic #sns fic

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dateamonster · 5 months

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also the fact that the distinguishing features betwix the elves and fairies (besides from wings) is the fact that all the fairies are like. White and skinny to midsize old guy and the elves are like. That’s a person you’d see on the street

yeah they really used character design for evil in this one because like in isolation i think theres soo much to love about strange magics designs. i know the vaguely uncanny valley nature of the models is going to be a dealbreaker for a lot of people but ! their little clothes made out of plants and scraps of fabric and lost buttons and insect parts! sunnys ladybug hat! the way everyones hair is so Shaped in a way that suggests a stiffer fibrous texture! all the little details that make inherently unnatural fantastical creatures feel completely at home in a natural environment!

and tbh part of me still loves the definitely uncanny almost skeletally skinny base model for the fairies. that and theyre big eyes really do give them a very eerie insectoid look that i wish theyd had the guts to lean into more lol. and the contrast between the fairies who are characterized by these long thin bodies and sweeping elegant movements vs the elves who are all round and blunt and blocky shapes with this sorta low center of gravity that places them more firmly on the ground vs the wild diversity of shapes and sizes when it comes to the goblins like very clearly identifies who everyone is in this world and how they kinda relate to each other, and i maintain that a lot of the uncomfortableness that comes with how this world is laid out couldve been alleviated by just. making some of the fucking fairies brown.

like its not as if its especially unique for this brand of kids fantasy movie to have a visible class divide thats never examined, or use conventional beauty standards as a visual cue for importance if not morality. the main reason imo it feels so glaring here is specifically because all the fairies we see are very white and even aside from one of the only elves we really spend any time with being black a lot of the elves features in general read as more racialized.

and i dont think this was necessarily intentional. high fantasy in general has a consistent and historical problem with favoring whiteness, thinness, and eurocentricism. if anything, i think this is just what happens when you make something built on those existing sorta tropes and dynamics without putting any thought into what they represent.

#ask #strange magic

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dreamspelunker · 2 years

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A Case for Disney’s “Strange World”

No one seems to know anything about this movie. I didn’t before I saw it yesterday. I went to the movies on a whim and chose this one because the pickings were a bit slim and this one looked like the best out of the bunch.

Guys. This movie is good.

Disney has done this film real dirty by not marketing it properly. I mean, it probably won’t ever take over the world by storm like Encanto did, but it deserves better than what it’s getting. As I said on my Twitter, it is 100% a stunningly beautiful solarpunk film and everyone needs to go see it.

Here’s a brief synopsis since the trailer was garbage and no one saw it anyway:

***The Spoiler-Free Zone***

The story mostly focuses on Searcher, the son of famous explorer Jaeger Clade whose mission in life is to find a passage over the impassable mountains that surrounds their community of Avalonia. While on an expedition to try and scale the peaks, Searcher finds Pando, a mysterious plant that generates a renewable source of electricity. Searcher, tired of exploring and wanting to quit the life, takes the Pando back to Avalonia. Jaeger, still determined to find a way through the mountains, keeps going alone, never to return.

25 years later, Pando has transformed Avalonia into a bustling sci-fi uptopia. Searcher is renowned for having discovered Pando, and now lives a quiet life growing Pando crops with his wife and teenage son. One day, however, the Pando starts dying. In search of a cure, one of Jaeger’s former crew comes to Searcher asking for his help to lead an expedition down underground to figure out what’s killing it and save the society they’ve built with it.

If that sounds like a movie you’d like to see, stop reading now and go see it. Because from here, I’ll be busting out spoilers to talk about themes and why this movie is solarpunk. So I’ll be writing as if you, dear reader, have seen the film.

***The Spoiler Zone***

First of all, this movie is goddamn gorgeous. I really liked the opening comic-panel sequence and all, but I fell in love with the visuals once the story opened up and began showing us Searcher’s farm and Avalonia. Aesthetically, this is about as solarpunk as you can get. Art nouveau-inspired stained glass windows, visible mending on clothes, and really cool-looking tech that’s not at all in conflict with its environment.

That’s not even touching on the world inside Avalonia. I loved the shades of pinks and purples. And the creature design! Absolute chef’s kiss. That whole part of the movie reminded me of this one book I’ve read called ‘Expedition’ by Wayne Douglas Barlowe, which is just about exploring the ecosystem of alien life-forms on a planet called Darwin IV. It’s mostly a collection of really detailed sci-fi paintings of alien creatures. Fantastic stuff. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if someone at the Disney studio had a copy and passed it around for inspiration during production.

In terms of the characters, i thought everyone was engaging and all the voice actors gave really good performances. I really liked Jaeger in particular (yes, he comes back, of course), but all three of the main characters were really well developed.

But, of course, there is The Gay Character. We all know about HIM.

I kid, I kid, I capitalize with irony. They did a good job with him, actually.

I’ve seen a lot of people on Twitter respond to the idea of Ethan Clade with a very cynical shrug without having seen the movie. I have to say, I think people would be genuinely pleased with his portrayal if they gave the movie a chance. There’s no goofy wink-wink LeFou-ing about here. He’s a main character throughout the movie, his love interest is presented upfront with sincerity, and everyone within the world accepts it as normal. He’s not fighting anyone to be gay or trying to hide it, nor is it his one defining trait. He just has a crush on a dude and his dad embarrasses him a bit in front of him. Normal teenage stuff. His character arc is about sorting out his identify in relation to his family, especially his dad. Being gay literally has nothing to do with his character any more than his mom and dad being straight. Which is how it should be.

The story is a fun ride. It’s really well-paced. I was never bored, personally. There are some really great action scenes, some cute comedy with a three-legged dog and a goo creature called Splat, and the emotional beats all made sense with the characters and moved the story forward. It has a lot of qualities that reminded me of Up! and some parts of The Incredibles without directly being a rip-off of either of those. It’s its own thing, and I look forward to being able to watch it again on DVD/streaming.

***I know some of you kept reading anyway so for real, this is where I’m about to get into True Spoilers so save yourselves now y’allllllll***

Ultimately, this is a movie about legacy. Specifically, the legacy we want to leave our children (i.e. those who will come after us). I love the way this movie manages to take the existential crisis we face now in our blessed, beautiful world and condense it into a story where that issue of legacy, of our priorities, and of who we want to be is made clear.

Jaeger Clade is the society that brought us to where we are now. He’s a loud, brash, bush-whacking old man who’s driven to overcome obstacles. Searcher Clade is us now. Not looking to conquer for conquering’s sake, but complacent and only interested in continuing the status quo. He’s proud of what he’s made and sees no reason to change. Ethan Clade is who we should want to be. Someone looking for a third option, who wants to co-exist with the world around them, and be curious without being destructive.

These three outlooks correlate directly to the reveal that Avalonia is actually a living creature, and Pando is a disease that is literally wrapped around the living, beating heart of their world and slowly killing it. It was Jaeger’s drive to explore that led to the discovery of Pando. Searcher was unintentionally making the problem worse by growing more and more Pando to fuel their society. And throughout the movie, everyone is working together to save Pando, and it’s Ethan alone who tries to get them to stop and think more about what they’re looking at, and that things might not be as simple and straight-forward as they appear.

And this is why I think this movie is solarpunk, and not just aesthetically. Obviously, there are direct parallels to our use of fossil fuels, but I think it’s important that in the universe of Strange World, Pando is not an obvious poison or something they have to destructively mine to get. It’s a plant. Something that appears so innocuous at first, but under the surface, grows into a huge, overwhelming problem. No one is an evil bad guy looking to make profit off Pando or keep on destroying the world because it makes them money to do so. Everyone in the movie does what they do because they think they’re doing the right thing. What is the right and wrong answer isn’t always clear, and rather than being a result of them being outright evil, it’s just because they don’t fully understand the consequences.

While I was in the theater watching this, I thought about the Himalayan blackberries that have taken over the Pacific Northwest. It was introduced in the late 1800s by a botanist named Luther Burbank. He prized it for how much produce one blackberry bush could make in a single season, as opposed to the native blackberries that made smaller berries in smaller quantities. His intent was genuinely for the good. He wanted to propagate a crop that could accessibly feed the growing urban areas of the PNW. Create a food forest, in a sense. He sold the seeds because it was easy to grow and would feed people.

Obviously, it’s not bad to want to feed people. But now the damn plant has invested everything, and while the berries are still very much edible (and people do still eat them), it’s also created impenetrable thickets that kill everything around them and interfere with the ability of wildlife to get around. It got out of control. Even though the intent was meant well, the outcome created a problem that is now essentially impossible to overcome. People try anyway, because we have to, but the odds are not in our favor.

Solarpunk isn’t about growing more plants or having more trees in our cities or building solar panels and wind farms everywhere. Well, it’s not JUST that. Of course those things are good things, but every solution offered needs the proper context to work. And that’s the real nature of the movement, right? It’s finding solutions that lead to the best outcomes for everyone. Being invested in our world, learning about it, falling in love with it, discovering the intricacies of how everything is interconnected and how we fit into that. Everything we do will have inevitable impacts on everything around us, but what those impacts are can change radically depending on how carefully we consider our actions. We know we have to change. The question is, how do we change? How do we change for everyone?

And that is the ending message of the film. The heroes choose to save Avalonia. They destroy the Pando, knowing that it means they can’t have their society the way it was anymore. They choose that, because it is right to do. And the movie ends with the resilience of humanity as they come together and try to find a different solution to build their society on, the third solution of people like Ethan Clade who bring together the bravery and curiosity of Jaeger with the steadfastness and dedication of Searcher, and create a world that’s built on understanding and co-existence. In a world that constantly feels like it could teeter over at any minute, that’s a beautiful message to see in a goddamn Disney film.

P.S. I just want to say before I go that I really really really want Ethan’s boyfriend’s sweater. When you see it, you’ll understand, but I NEED the sweater in my life more than air.

#strange world #solarpunk #movie review #novel-length post #disney #this film was done dirty #please go see it #you'll have fun i promise

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happy-mokka · 2 months

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Make love your goal...

Ay, ay, ay, ay Feels like fire I'm so in love with you Dreams are like angels They keep bad at bay, bad at bay Love is the light Scaring darkness away, yeah

I'm so in love with you Purge the soul Make love your goal

🎶🎶

The power of love A force from above Cleaning my soul Flame on, burn desire Love with tongues of fire Purge the soul Make love your goal

I'll protect you from the hooded claw Keep the vampires from your door When the chips are down I'll be around With my undying, death-defying love for you Envy will hurt itself Let yourself be beautiful Sparkling love, flowers And pearls and pretty girls Love is like an energy Rushin' an' rushin' inside of me, eh

🎶🎶

The power of love A force from above Cleaning my soul Flame on, burn desire Love with tongues of fire Purge the soul Make love your goal

This time we go sublime Lovers entwine, divine, divine Love is danger, love is pleasure Love is pure, the only treasure

I'm so in love with you Purge the soul Make love your goal

The power of love A force from above Cleaning my soul The power of love A force from above A sky-scraping dove

Flame on burn desire Love with tongues of fire Purge the soul Make love your goal

I'll protect you from the hooded claw Keep the vampires from your door...

*sigh*

If anyone out here in the void still hasn't watched this gem, you better get your lives together! I can't emphasize enough what you are missing out...

Tonight I had the chance to watch it a 2nd time on the big screen.

I wasn't sure how I would process it. The first time, 2 months ago at a preview, it just blew me away. The acting throughout is fantastic. I was trying to soak it all in but as it turned out exactly that caused me to miss so many details on the way. The big twist towards the end then was just so mind blowing, that I wasn't able to even start to wrap my head around all that I had seen and how I should feel about it, until the next morning...

The movie and its story touches so many things that really get close to me and my life. Desperately trying to fit in, but always feeling to be different than the rest. Bullies. Heartbreak. Confusion. The feeling to be a disappointment for the people I love(d). Loneliness.

Tonight all this was still there. Just as painful as before. But also, I felt that incredible tenderness. That indescribable display of love from all characters. The looks. Small gestures. The constant soft touches.

It’s breathtaking that this movie can be both gut wrenching and absolutely lovely to such an ineffable extent…

To me it is a masterpiece in all aspects. The story. The characters. The cast. The balance of emotions through the whole spectrum available to human beings.

It hurts so deeply but at the same time gives you joy and a silver-lining of hope, that maybe someday you will meet someone…someone who will be around with undying death-defying love for you…someone to protect you from the hooded claw and keep the vampires from your door.

A few weeks ago I posted the link to the original script:

(https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/All-Of-Us-Strangers-Read-The-Screenplay_Redacted.pdf)

It ends with this, as will I…

A guide not a warning. “Make love your goal”.

#late night ramblings #sorry had to get this of my chest #sigh #aous #all of us strangers #andrew scott #paul mescal #andrew haigh #claire foy #jamie bell #frankie goes to hollywood #the power of love #make love your goal #a guide not a warning

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cherrylng · 14 days

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MUSE X MOVIE [STYLE Series #004 - Muse (August 2010)]

A love story between a vampire and a human, the Twilight series is having a huge ripple effect! The key to this film, which triggered the explosion of Muse's popularity in the US, is the author's ‘love for Muse’. Text by Naoto Mori

"I'd like to thank the talented musicians who inspired me, especially Muse, from whose songs the sentiments, scenes, and synopsis of this novel were born. Without their extraordinary talent, this novel would not exist."

These are the words of Stephenie Meyer, the American author of the Twilight series, the international bestselling teen romance novels about vampire boys and human girls (from the acknowledgements to the second novel in the series, New Moon). She is an avowed fanatic of Muse and is now a cheerleader for the cultural quota. Originally a housewife in Arizona, when she suddenly wrote her debut novel at the age of 30, she was inspired by the dreams she had and the songs of Muse and other popular rock bands. Their music functioned as a literal ‘muse’ (Greek goddess of the arts). Meyer herself wrote in her acknowledgements for the final film in the series, Breaking Dawn:

"Thank you, my beloved band. Muse is really an appropriate name, as you have been an important inspiration for this saga!"

For example, in Japan, Chika Umino's manga Hachimitsu to Clover was based on two albums, Hachimitsu by Spitz and Clover by Suga Shikao, and Meyer seems to have drawn inspiration for the colour and atmosphere of her world from the songs of Muse. On her official website, she presents a ‘playlist’ of songs that have specifically inspired her. You have to go directly to the site for more details, but some excerpts include ‘Time is Running Out’ from the first film in the series. In the second film, there's ‘Hyper Music’ and ‘Apocalypse Please’. The third album, Eclipse, has six songs, including ‘The Small Print’, ‘New Born’ and ‘Hysteria’, and is particularly Muse-intensive! The final album includes a cover of ‘Can't Take My Eyes Off You’ (Frankie Valli's 1967 hit), which is not included on the album. Incidentally, other bands that stand out are Coldplay, Travis, Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance…… and so on.

This playlist could be called an album of images of Twilight by the author Meyer, but Muse also participated in the soundtrack of the film adaptation series that started in 2008. The first film, Twilight, featured the song ‘Supermassive Black Hole’. At this point, Muse was still using pre-existing songs, but for the second film, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Muse provided a ‘New Moon Remix’ of ‘I Belong to You’. For the third film, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, they wrote a new song, ‘Neutron Star Collision (Love is Forever)’, which became the first single from the soundtrack. Finally, Meyer and Muse had an official collaboration through the film!

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is directed by David Slade (a Brit, of course), who has been working on music clips for Muse for some time. He was chosen to direct the Twilight series, which shares a common motif with the Sam Raimi-produced vampire horror film 30 Days of Night, which was a No.1 hit in the US. The Muse-Meyer-Slade connection, then, is completely predestined. In this sense, the film version of Eclipse, which brought their creative meeting to fruition, may be called a monumental film.

Slade's clip for Bliss, shot long before his directorial debut, had the feel of a sci-fi short film starring Matthew Bellamy, but the Muse clips shot by other directors are also filled with a magnificent and fantastical sense of beauty. Muse's sound world must have a tremendous power to evoke images for creators of film and literature. For example, the clip for ‘New Born’ was also directed by Slade, and the song was used so memorably in the ending of the 2003 French splatter horror film ‘Haute Tension/High Tension’ that it was the talk of the town among film buffs at the time.

Now, it's time for a delusional analysis. Why is Meyer so firmly attracted to Muse? What is the connection between Twilight, their music, and their creations?

The following quote from Meyer may help to decipher this. In an interview published on the official website of the Japanese edition of Twilight by Village Books, she was asked, "Do you read other vampire novels?" She replied: "No, I've actually never read any vampire novels. (It's the same) with films."

Yes, Twilight can be categorised as a gothic horror genre, but it is not a heavyweight, authentic one. It is based on a Romeo and Juliet-type boy-meets-girl story, to which the vampire legend has been introduced as a sweet European taste. The ideal balance of romantic and gothic flavours is the sound world created by Muse in Meyer's mind.

In line with the Twilight story, Meyer is the American ‘normal girl’ heroine Bella and Muse is the ‘ideal prince’ Edward from a foreign country (England). Their music and characters (mainly Matthew) provide the ‘eternal maidens’, symbolised by Meyer, with a kind of royal shoujo manga fantasy, just as Queen did in the 1970s.

One last little tidbit, by the way. Here's an interesting remark from Robert Pattinson, the pretty boy actor who plays Edward in the film. He wants Gus Van Sant, the director behind ‘My Own Private Idaho’ and ‘Elephant’, to direct the final film, ‘Breaking Dawn’. Sullen!!! Well, the style of the series so far will be too artistic to stand out, but it's likely to produce a standout masterpiece. I'd love to see it!

In the first film, ‘Twilight’, ‘Supermassive Black Hole’ is played during a baseball game between vampire Edward, played by Robert Pattinson, and his family. Vampires, who never age, fly up and down the mountain.

For the second film, ‘New Moon/Twilight Saga’, Muse provided the ‘New Moon Mix’ of ‘I Belong to You’. Unfortunately, it is only used in the film for a short time, when Bella is seen off by her father and gets into the car, so check it out carefully!

At the suggestion of director Catherine Hardwicke, Ms Stephenie Meyer, the author of the original novel, also makes a cameo appearance in Twilight! She plays a customer at the diner where Bella goes with her father and orders a vegetarian sandwich. She is only in the film for a brief moment, so check it out!

The original series of four books, Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn, which sold explosively. Acknowledgements by Stephenie Meyer can be found here. The original Japanese translation is available from Village Books, translated by Ami Obara.

‘Lords of Dogtown’ Sony Pictures Entertainment

Directed and executive produced by Catherine Hardwicke, director of Twilight: First Love, this is the true story of the ‘Z-Boys’ who revolutionised skateboarding in the 1970s in Venice Beach, aka Dogtown, on the west coast of the USA. The film stars Emile Hirsch and also features the late Heath Ledger.

‘The Golden Compass’ Happinet

The first solo fantasy film from Chris Weitz, director of New Moon, tells the story of Lyra, a 12-year-old girl who, after the disappearance of her best friend and uncle, sets off on a journey with a compass that shows her the truth and her alter ego dæmon. Based on a fantasy novel by British children's author Philip Pullman.

‘Hard Candy’ Geneon Entertainment

In this first feature from David Slade (Eclipse), 32-year-old photographer Jeff brings home Haley, a 14-year-old girl he met on a dating website, only to have her punish him for it. This thriller was inspired by the Japanese ‘oyaji-hunting’. Slade's fresh sense of imagery is on full display.

‘30 Days Of Night’ Pony Canyon

Vampire action film directed by David Slade, which debuted at No. 1 in the US. The film depicts an epic battle between a group of vampires who attack a town where the sun doesn't rise for 30 days, and a young sheriff played by Josh Hartnett. Based on a comic book by Steve Niles (written) & John Templesmith (illustrated).

‘High Tension’ Asmik

An extremely brutal, bloody splatter movie from the director of French horror hopeful Alexandre Azizi comes HIGH TENSION. When a schoolgirl leaves the city to visit her best friend's family home, she sees a chainsaw-wielding killer slaughtering the family and stands up to save her best friend, but what follows has surprising consequences……

‘My Own Private Idaho’ Kadokawa Pictures

One of Gus Van Sant's best-known films, in which Mike, a narcoleptic played by the late River Phoenix, and Scott, a man of wealth played by Keanu Reeves, who both make a living as male prostitutes, embark on a journey in search of their identities. His latest film, Restless (2011), also stars Japan's Ryo Kase.

‘Hyper Music’ A simple piece of work, with dynamic camerawork capturing the aggressive performance scenes of the three musicians. I sigh at the power of how they disappear at full speed towards the end.

‘Feeling Good’ Taken on set at the same time as ‘Hyper Music’, which became both A-sides.The contrast between the monstrously distorted faces of the people and the performance amidst the dancing flower petals is typical of Slade.

‘Bliss’ A spectacular piece in which Chris and Dom watch Matthew fall through a hole in a huge structure, like a future space station, to nowhere. Truly a Muse!

‘New Born’ This is one of Slade's best efforts, made on a tight budget and in a tight time frame. Filmed in Prague, the scenes of the three performing under the control of the girl's psychic powers are powerful.

Translator's Notes: I never watched the movies but I have read all of the Twilight books. I was a teenager back then who voraciously read through any books just out of that need to get through the boring tedium of school. It was an okay-ish read for the first 3 books, up until I finally reached Breaking Dawn. And honestly? The last book would've been better off never having that subplot about Jacob and Esme. Even teenage Cherry read that whole subplot and went "WTF????" It was just that memorably messed up and I don't even know how the film cast even powered through that part of the story.

Also, I wasn't surprised by My Chemical Romance being part of Meyer's playlist. What I didn't expect was that Coldplay was included as well. So... I guess if Meyer had liked Coldplay far more, who she dedicated the books to and the story itself would've carried very, very different contexts and plots????

#Matt Bellamy #Dom Howard #Chris Wolstenholme #Muse #The Resistance era #STYLE Series #STYLE Series 004 #my scan #translation

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minijenn · 5 months

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Jen Tortures Herself With Every Dreamworks Animated Movie Ever: Rise of the Guardians

So I vaguely remember watching this movie at a Walmart once while I was waiting on my car to get fixed. Fuck all if I remember anything about it though other than that people ship the ice twink with Elsa or whatever. So I kind of went into this one for my first active watching of it with bare expectations. How did I end up finding it then?

The Guardians are a group of mythical beings composed of North (Santa Claus), the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman, and their newest recruit, Jack Frost. Together, they protect the children of the world from the villainous Pitch Black (the Boogeyman) from spreading fear across the entire world. A pretty solid setup with some good payoff, but... there are problems.

I think my biggest issue with Rise of the Guardians is... well, its ambitious. A bit too ambitious for its own good at times. It has so much it wants to establish with these characters and how their roles and powers work that it sometimes bogs itself down with all of the details and... overcomplicates things a bit too much? Like on its own, we all are familiar with the concept of Santa or the Easter Bunny, and I do appreciate how creative this movie is with executing them and the work that they do. But sometimes, it just... gets in its own way? If that makes any sense?

So a simple premise that bogs itself down in the details. Ok, what else is there about this movie to redeem it? Lots, surprisingly! The Guardians are all really fun characters in their own right, and I loved the dynamic developed between them. Jack Frost is our focal point out of all of them, and I really liked him! He's an angsty little ice twink who can't been seen by almost anyone because no one believes him, so he has plenty of baggage for compelling drama. My one issue with him though is that I don't think Chris Pine's voice works for his character design? Like I look at that character and I do not think the voice of a man cresting his mid 40s. Its just a touch weird in terms of casting.

The other Guardians are also really fun and unique takes on characters we all already know. North is a delightfully different take on Santa, still just as jolly as we know him to be, with a slick action-hero element of him to the side. The Tooth Fairy has a very sweet, fast-paced energy to her, while the Easter Bunny brings a great edge of sass to compete with Jack throughout the film. The Sandman, while not saying a word, is probably my favorite of the bunch though. He's just so charming and sweet and while he isn't in much of the movie, he makes such a strong impact every second he's on screen.

Of course, we also have our villain, Pitch Black. He's sinister and manipulative, if not a bit... predictable? Like we've all seen this kind of villain before, he isn't doing anything new, but he works well as a foil for this team, especially for Jack and I think he's an ok antagonist overall.

Visually, this movie is beautiful, so unlike almost anything Dreamworks has ever made before, with gorgeous effects and fantastically animated action sequences. The character designs are so... un-Dreamworks, but they work so nicely in the world they inhabit. That world itself is beautifully built, especially in its more fantastical setpieces like the Tooth Palace or the North Pole. The score was also lovely to listen to, capturing the sheer creativity of this movie so nicely.

At the end of the day, I think that's the perfect word to describe Rise of the Guardians. It's very creative, with a lot of love and thought clearly poured into it. It really is a shame that it didn't go anywhere further into a series or more sequels because I would have loved to see more of this team and watch them just... be together. They're that fun to watch in action. Same for the movie itself. It's good!

Overall Rating: 8/10

Verdict: All hail the Ice Twink

Previous Review (Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted)

Next Review (The Croods)

#jen watches #dreamworks watch #rise of the guardians #dreamworks #jen tortures herself with every dreamworks animated movie ever

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firespirited · 3 months

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hot take but I think the fantasy Event Horizon director's cut should have less gore and more of the character building moments. Less is more.

The more ambiguity about whether it was a mass hallucination, the more left to the imagination and conveyed by the actors reactions to what they saw off-screen, the better the film.

The set design, the lighting, the incredible acting speak for themselves - I think those things are so strong you could have a PG-13 rated cut with a single f-bomb (Fishburne's "Fuck this ship!" of course) that still leaves you sleepless.

-------------------------------

9/10 film. Would have been 10/10 without the extra gore.

As Anderson himself says, after a certain amount the viewer's imagination is stretched too far and you start to rationalize the rubber props and fake blood. The anatomy is off for PJ's death, the fire's effects are off even for different gravity, the carefully acted distress of the crew isn't present in the shock imagery. That's the one point against it, that and the prevailing belief that it's about a literal hell when that's refuted in the text.

==== I love this film ====

It is breathtakingly beautiful. the sets, the effects, the lighting, the filters, subliminal symbology everywhere. The acting, the way the world is lived in and their relationships are shown to us by the way the actors touch each other and move around their ship.

Within the first five minutes we have everything we need to know: Weir is a self-absorbed "genius" who hesitates over his jugular while shaving, Miller is an efficient and empathetic search and rescue lifeguard captain with full devotion to his crew which is fully returned.

Each member of the crew has their backstory in their mannerisms and design: we have a superstitious pilot with an ankh back tattoo, the sun-starved surgeon has scalpels on a utility vest and encourages you to smoke, the women are "one of the boys" facing the same ol' sexist banter from lovable rogue Cooper, but also respected in their fields. That's show not tell in impeccable detail.

We get a quick meet and greet verbal introduction to the crew at the 10-minute mark. We're introduced to the ship and its gothic, unholy geometries at 25. The design elements invoke a hybrid between the awe of a cathedral and the disgust of an intricate medieval torture device. The technology is robust and, except for an optical drive disk, future-proof.

This ship is a twisted Passion Play in design form with an evil seraphim of eyes within eyes, wheels within wheels as a beating heart engine. You don't have to be told that this thing demands worship and sacrifice, it is in your cultural subconscious.

It is in every jagged tooth and violence invoking shape engraved into the various panels and walls. The designers working on creating future warnings about nuclear waste would be pointing at different elements and yelling "Yes! That's it! Universal, visceral, primal signs of danger! Colours of disease!"

We're in a psychological thriller: the first real violence is a full 50 minutes into a 1h30 runtime and it's a plausible hazard of the job, shown with an unflinching camera with real time tension.

We spend the next ten minutes being gaslit by Weir into believing the ramping violence of the 'haunted house' might just be in our heads until the captain and crew subvert the horror trope and GET OUT. Fantastic story telling, very smart.

We now switch genres. again. to an ultra violent possession and slasher movie with a switch in tone for the ending: rewritten to be just open-ended enough to wonder if it was a shared psychotic frenzy, something supernatural or something natural but beyond humanity's understanding. A nice bookend to that almost campy over the top blood fest of a last half hour where Fishburne is the grounding force to Sam Neill's insane monster.

The CGI is in service to the practical effects and near seamless despite the age, it's mostly composite work on miniature sets and for zero gravity liquids. I honestly don't know how Mortal Kombat guy managed to get this kind of acting and photography talent to work on a space horror.

It feels a lot like the glitch that was Hannibal the TV show, art that wouldn't get made if the money men had known exactly what was involved and art that is bordering on schlocky but toeing a line that makes it brilliant. A kind of art that is achieved with a lot of talent and dedication but also the enforced limitation of The Edit.

I really think that the multiple test screenings and edits made this film better: it's like Robocop vs Showgirls*, Event Horizon vs Resident Evil*: the edits saved us from a movie that went too far and came out silly.

It's a film that feels rare.

*you already know I like both.

#long post #saf #movie reviews #event horizon

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pinkrangersarah · 3 months

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OKAY SO, I just watched Red Shows and the Seven Dwarfs again, and I gotta say, while it's not PERFECT, it's still a damn shame it's not being talked about more. That marketing crew DAMNED this movie and not even the assurances of the cast themselves could undo the damage, but I'm here with the hopes that maybe, just maybe, this movie can get the attention it deserves.

CRITIQUES

Unremarkable villains. Regina is well designed and acted, but she's given very little to do until the end. She also has virtually no relationship with Snow White, despite being her step mother. We also have Prince Average, who is delightfully pathetic, but also doesn't provide much. Not horrible antagonists, but not super fleshed out, either.

The first few minutes are pretty rushed. Snow White getting the shoes and fleeing her step mother, who doesn't recognize her, is almost blink-and-you-miss it. The writing in general is a tad clunky in spots, cheesy even. Nothing horrible, though, it won't ruin the viewing experience.

We're not given too much insight on the characters themselves, particularly the dwarves, the Fearless Seven. I feel like I can let Snow White slide a bit as we all know who Snow White is at her core, but these dwarves are VERY different from any interpretation I've seen. Outside of Merlin, who gets the bulk of the screentime between the seven of them and character development, we know basically nothing about them outside their character traits (i.e., Arthur is strong, Hans loves food and is a good chef, Jack is a priss, and the triplets are geniuses). I'm not saying we need backstory or anything on all of them, but a little bit more substance would be neat.

POSITIVES

SNOW WHITE IS A QUEEN AND I LOVE HER. I love her design. I love that she's happy with herself. SHE'S SO STRONG. SHE CAN BENCH 250. SHE GETS TO SHOW OFF THAT STRENGTH HERE AND THERE. I also love that she's not necessarily a pushover. She's sweet, she's nice, but can bite back sometimes. All in all one of my favorite Snow White interpretations.

THE ANIMATION IS FANTASTIC! It's not DISNEY quality or anything, but it still looks great! The textures are nice; you can see the embroidery on Snow's blouse, Jack's clothes, there's all kinds of nice details like that.

A LOT of thought went into this movie, especially the dwarves even if their characters ended up not being the most fleshed out. Somebody pointed out that the triplets--Pino, Noki, and Kio--sound an awful lot like "Pinocchio". They pilot a giant, wooden puppet that they use to fight, and that puppet has a long nose. They even have Italian accents (which might be slightly over the top, but they don't get a lot of screentime so it's hard for me to say), and Pinocchio is an Italian fairy tale. All of the dwarves have little details like that. They're based off fairytales, obviously (hell the movie takes place on "Fairytale Island"), and a lot of love went into them. Arthur's so Scottish, it's hard to understand him, sometimes. It's pretty funny.

I know you've seen this on other posts talking up this movie and everything, but I'm here to say it again: THIS MOVIE IS NOT BODY SHAMING. IT IS EVERYTHING BUT! As I mentioned above, Snow White loves herself just the way she is; she keeps the shoes on, but it is NOT because she wants to be beautiful. If anything, MERLIN is the one that has to go on the "love yourself" journey.

NITPICKS (not important, just stuff I pick at)

GOD I wish there was more lore. I know, it's fairytales, I don't really need it, but I am a slut for worldbuilding and lore.

The pop songs are lowkey annoying. Not enough to ruin the viewing experience, but enough for me to remember: oh yeah, this movie was meant for a younger audience.

Not all the jokes land. I can forgive it because the rest of it is enjoyable, but most of the jokes that do land are Arthur being incomprehensible at times and Prince Average being his delightfully pathetic self.

To sum it all up, go check this movie out! It's a fun time with good characters, great animation, and a fantastic message. It's available on Peacock, but if you don't want to pay for a subscription then it's available for free (according to Google) on Tubi, Amazon Prime Video, and the Roku Channel.

#red shoes and the seven dwarfs #animation

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katblu42 · 10 months

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Disney Princess Gordon

For TagMiniBang2023 @tagminibang and isnpired by wonderful art by @tippystreasurebox @godsliltippy Thanks @gumnut-logic for the read through!!

Main inspiration is this wonderful art.

It all started with that awesome painting Virgil did of Gordon sitting on the seabed, feeding the little fish that surrounded him. Gordon’s eyes had lit up the moment Virgil had revealed it to him, drinking in all the little details. The colours, the beams of light, the bubbles, the illusion of movement in a still image, and the absolute joy of the moment all captured with brushstrokes.

“It’s amazing, Virg!” Gordon had exclaimed in wonder, wrapping his big brother in one of his most clingy squid hugs to show his gratitude. “Thanks!”

Then the discussion had begun with the entrance of his eldest and youngest brothers.

“Ooh, hey, cool painting.” Alan’s eyes wandered the expanse of canvas, trying to take it all in.

“Is this what you’ve been working on all this past week or so?”

Virgil nodded, and Gordon could see that little flicker of self-conscious doubt creep into his expression. It was something that they all had, but it was only noticeable if you knew to look for it – that little niggling need for big brother approval. The delighted pride that had sparkled in those deep brown eyes just moments ago faded momentarily until Scott’s hand landed on Virgil’s shoulder, and that famous dimpled smile spread across the eldest’s face as he studied the artwork.

“It’s fantastic, Virgil. Really captures a moment that is so very Gordon. I feel like I’m there with him.”

And the sparkle was back, the shoulders a little straighter, self-doubt chased away with a few words.

“Kinda reminds me of something, though.” Alan stood with his head slightly tilted to one side, one hand reaching up to scratch absently at the back of his neck as he regarded the canvas.

He paused so long in silence the others had all begun picking out little details they liked, naming the types of fish, remarking on the colours and shading, then –

“He looks like a Disney princess!” Alan finally blurted out.

And suddenly they had all seen it. The similarity to Snow White or Sleeping Beauty surrounded by woodland creatures, or Cinderella with the birds and mice. That was when John had joined the conversation by helpfully providing examples from the internet, holoprojected for comparison.

At the time Gordon had laughed along with his brothers. After all, it was just harmless, good-natured fun, and it did kind of look a little like some of those old, animated movie scenes.

“Are you suggesting Virgil should have given me a mermaid tail like Ariel?” he’d said with a laugh when images from the Little Mermaid were called up.

“Nah,” Scott had countered. “You’re not a mermaid who wishes she could live on land, you’re a human who wishes he could live underwater.”

“Oh, yeah,” Alan chimed in. “Like a reverse Little Mermaid.”

There had been more laughter, but little else said about it and they had all drifted away to other tasks soon after that. Gordon had quickly put it out of his mind. Which is why it surprised him to now find himself startled awake by a rather vivid nightmare. The dream had apparently made him restless enough to fall out of bed. Head first.

[More inspirational art]

It took a moment for him to mentally orientate before he could physically right himself into a sitting position. Heart still pounding, head beginning to throb and a brain full of images of a gigantic, tentacled monster with an evil grin and yellow glowing eyes who wanted too high a price in exchange for the ability to live underwater permanently.

[And another]

The dream itself was fading, but the fear of ending up “sleeping with the fishes” instead of living amongst them still gripped him tightly.

Gordon was sure Lady Penelope had been a part of his dream, and that somehow the deal he was making with KrakenHood involved leaving his brothers to be with her. He almost called her to discuss his weird bad dream with her, wondering if she could help him makes sense of what it was all about and where it had sprung from. Then he remembered the painting and the ensuing discussion the afternoon before.

He thought it seemed an odd thing to have sparked a nightmare like that. And while he tried to put it all out of his mind as he climbed back into bed and tried to get back to sleep, that proved easier said than done.

The whole Disney princess discussion was replaying itself in his mind. Over and over. Snow White. Sleeping Beauty. Cinderella. The Little Mermaid. They’d all been mentioned and Gordon had laughed along with his brothers at the comparisons. He hadn’t been bothered by it. Or had he?

Something wasn’t sitting right with him, but he couldn’t put a finger on what exactly. So, despite trying to put the whole thing out of his mind, he ended up spending another couple of sleepless hours tossing and turning.

When the glow of pre-dawn light summoned the dawn chorus the next morning Gordon roused himself and made his way down to the pool. He stood in the shadows watching the sunrise paint the sky and barely registered Scott taking off for his morning run. There was no greeting, so Gordon figured Scott hadn’t seen him.

His morning laps were lazier than normal – a contrast to an unrested and still churning mind. He’d completed a little over half the normal number of laps by the time Scott returned and tossed a “Morning Fish!” in his direction.

Gordon returned the greeting with his normal chirpiness. Or so he thought.

By the time Gordon had climbed out of the pool, made a half-hearted attempt at towelling off and headed into the kitchen, Scott was waiting for him at the kitchen table. The waiting wasn’t particularly unusual, but the fact he was seated definitely was. A glass of Gordon’s favourite breakfast juice was slid across the table, indicating a summons to sit.

“What’s up, Squid?”

Okay, so maybe his big brother was more observant than he’d like to admit right now. It wasn’t going to stop Gordon from deflecting.

“The usual. What’s up with you?”

An eyebrow was raised in response.

Gordon took a long sip of his drink in an effort to say nothing more until Scott spoke again. This would not have worked with Virgil – he knew how to wait until you couldn’t stand it anymore and had to risk incriminating yourself by filling the horrible expanse of silence. John was almost as bad but was more likely to use unavoidable questions rather than complete silence. But Scott didn’t have that level of patience, and Gordon knew he wouldn’t stay quiet for long.

“Really?” Right on cue. Less than 30 seconds. “You’re going to avoid the question and pretend I can’t see the dark circles under your eyes? Next I suppose you’re going to tell me I imagined the fact that you were out by the pool earlier than normal, but too distracted to set your normal lap count and timer?”

Damn! Gordon’s gaze fell to the table and his finger trailed through the little ring of water left by the condensation from his glass.

There was an implication that John might have had a word to Scott, a little heads-up that Gordon’s routine was a little off today. Deep down Gordon knew that Scott probably didn’t need the tip-off, though.

“I’m fine, Scott.” He knew his slumped shoulders said otherwise. “Just a bit distracted, like you said.”

“Something on your mind?”

“It’s nothing, really.”

Gordon didn’t need to look up from his condensation finger painting to know that piercing blue eyes were intently studying him.

“Distractions that cause a sleepless night can hardly be considered nothing.” Scott’s hand reached across to Gordon’s, stilling the fidgeting.

Gordon heaved a sigh and raised his gaze to meet his brother’s. “I had a really weird dream and it got me thinking. That’s all.”

“Oh?”

How one tiny word could convey so much Gordon would never know, but that single uttered syllable actually translated to “Go on, I’m listening. Spill your guts, Gordon. I won’t judge you, I’m here for you and I’m not gonna let up until you talk to me, so you might as well just get it over with.” Or words to that effect.

He wondered if it was a big brother thing. John and Virgil could do it too. That and the eyebrow thing. They could all interrogate you using just their eyebrows.

Gordon resigned himself to his fate and sat up a little straighter, steeling himself for an awkward conversation.

“I dreamed I was in some kind of Little Mermaid AU, or whatever. Like Alan said yesterday.”

There was a moment of silence.

“Gordon, if anything we said yesterday bothered you –“

“No! It didn’t, I swear.” Gordon held a hand up in a Rescue Scout salute, then let it drop. “At least, I didn’t think it did at the time, but . . .”

The bright-eyed rush to reassure Scott that no offence had been taken ebbed away with a shrug and another sigh.

“I don’t really know what’s bugging me about it.”

“The painting?”

“No, I love the painting! It’s awesome. Virgil did such an amazing job with it. It looks kind of like I feel when I’m down there with the fish, you know?”

Scott’s crooked smile in reply suggested that he did, at least in some way know what Gordon was trying to say.

“He’ll be glad to hear that. So, was it the way we compared you to a princess?”

“No . . .?” the uncertainty etched itself into Gordon’s frown. “Not really. Not if you mean misgendering, because I didn’t take it that way. None of that matters to me.” A wicked grin formed, and an eyebrow quirked upward. “Besides, I’m not the only Tracy boy who’s dressed up as a princess on occasion!”

Scott’s own smile broke containment and became a chuckle.

“I think . . .” realisation dawning, the thoughts barely formed before Gordon spoke the words, “maybe it’s more about the specific princesses that were mentioned.”

“What about them?”

“They don’t fit me,” the words came faster now, the thought more fully formed. “I mean, I’m not them. Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella. I don’t fit those stories. Not even the Little Mermaid.”

“Gordon –“

“Maybe that’s what the dream was? My mind trying to fit me into Ariel’s story or something, and realising that’s just not the right Disney Princess for me to identify with.”

“You don’t have to identify with a Disney Princess.” Scott’s brow furrowed before the confusion gave way to a frustrated eye-roll and a facepalm rolled into one. “Why would you even put this much thought into it?

Gordon shrugged again, but this time the action was full of his regular jauntiness and accompanied by his trademark mischievous grin. He no longer felt weighed down by his thoughts, knowing he was onto something.

“I dunno. I kind of like the comparison, I guess. I’ve just gotta find the right . . .“ Gordon’s eyes widened, lit with a fire of inspiration that had Scott’s Gordon’s-bright-ideas alarm bells ringing for a moment.

The two were so engrossed in the discussion, Virgil’s quiet entry into the room went unnoticed. He paused in his journey toward the coffee pot, appearing to attempt to process what he was witnessing.

“So, which princess are you then?”

Gordon stood, striking a dramatic pose as he proudly sang “I am Moana!”

~~~

That evening, sitting alone in his room going over some recent statistics on the population and general health of various marine species he’d been helping to monitor, a piece of paper was quietly slipped under his door.

Wandering over and picking it up he immediately recognised it as a page from one of Virgil’s sketch books, and the image depicted on it had his face splitting into a wide grin.

[One more!]

I hope this little fic does the wonderful art justice.

I did want to add a little more - Gordon's lists of similarities and differences to each princess mentioned - but time got away from me, and I think the story flows okay without those. But if anyone's curious . . . let me know! :)

#tagminibang2023 #tagminibang #thunderbirds fanfiction #gordon tracy #thunderbirds are go #godsliltippy

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rhetoricandlogic · 4 months

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Breathcatching: The Twice-Drowned Saint by C.S.E Cooney

Posted 3rd February 2023 by Sia in Fantasy Reviews

I was so determined to write this book a review that did it justice, I actually ended up reading it twice – once over a period of weeks; the second time, I gulped the whole thing down in a single day.

I REGRET NOTHING.

For real, though: this is a book that lost none of its lustre on a reread, which is a noteworthy accomplishment all by itself. I wasn’t bored for a moment, even when I knew exactly how everything was going to go down; I still felt all the Feels; I still got thrill-shivers at the breathcatching parts. I still loved getting to see an older (‘older’; 38 isn’t actually old, but you know what I mean) protagonist who is equal parts cynical and hopeful, snarky and smart; I was still gleeful over the system of holy benisons-as-currency; I still adored Betony, from her platinum crown to her dusty feet. I still wanted to watch movies at the Quick and wander beautiful, fruitful Bloom and take a peek at what books a public library in a city ruled by angels might hold.

But.

Cooney routinely leaves me speechless, and The Twice-Drowned Saint is no exception – despite having read it twice, I have no idea how to describe, never mind explain, this brilliantly, beautifully bizarre little novel, with its properly unbiblical angels, a possessed police-force, and a sacred cinema of silent, black-and-white movies! What am I supposed to say???

I loved it. Obviously.

I was not completely sure I would, at first! I dove in as excited as I could possibly be, but I was not expecting first-person narration, and was a bit disappointed, since first-person makes it hard to justify the gleefully ostentatious syntactical and lexical extravaganza that is Cooney’s prose in third-person. But I shouldn’t have doubted her; she’s established in multiple short stories that her first-person writing still glitters and gleams and glitzes, and so it does here in The Twice-Drowned Saint. In fact, I might actually recommend this as a good place to start if you’ve never read Cooney before and are wary of the purple prose (a term I use not derogatorily but with love) that I’ve raved about in her other books, because here, the dial’s turned down on the logophilia, but the story still sizzles and sears with Cooney’s signature quixotic whimsy and vivid, fantastical weirdness.

There were two things every Gelthic citizen knew. One: only saints could see the angels who ruled us. Two: Alizar the Eleven-Eyed, Seventh Angel of Gelethel, had no saint. He hadn’t had one for a long time. Now I will tell you what the angel Alizar looks like.

Neither of which would shine quite so brightly seen through the eyes of a lesser narrator, but Ishtu Q’Aleth is a main character whose personality and voice are every bit as uniquely distinct – and perfect for the story she’s telling – as were Maurice’s of The Bone Swans of Amandale or Mar’s of The Witch in the Almond Tree (short stories that can be found in Bone Swans and The Witch in the Almond Tree: and other stories respectively). But rather than being a shapeshifter (Maurice) or a witch (Mar), Ishtu is a little bit of both; a saint hiding in plain sight, having refused the call to serve the angel Alizar – at least, in the traditional way.

I was the Seventh Angel’s best kept secret. And he was mine.

Instead, she and Alizar are secret besties, while Ishtu runs the only cinema in a literal city of angels and Alizar does his best to mitigate the bloodthirstiness of his peers, the rest of the angels who rule over Gelethel, a rhombus-shaped city surrounded by a ginormous wall of ice in the middle of the desert.

Oh, and there’s holy popcorn.

Are you intrigued yet?

There’s so much to love here – silent movies so lovingly described I wish I could watch them for myself; a crime family that is also a charity family; attention to detail that goes right down to Gelethel’s very unique currency; and of course, the thing I was most excited about going into this book: Cooney’s take on angels. As someone ardently following #biblicallyaccurateangels on every platform that lets you track hashtags, I loved the angels of The Twice-Drowned Saint, because although Gelethel’s angels are not made of wheels and fire, Cooney has absolutely captured the vibe of Eerie Alien Otherness, the visceral feel of terror-glory-horror-awe that imbues old-school angels, and channelled it through her own aesthetic.

The angel Alizar sometimes looked like a human-shaped paper lantern, or a sudden release of soap bubbles, or a cloud. He glowed on the inside as if he’d swallowed a hive of horny fireflies, and on the outside, he looked as if a toddler with a glue gun had gone wild with the craft buckets containing outrageous feathers, and twining golden vines, and trumpet-like lowers, and thin, prismatic insect wings.

Superficially, The Twice-Drowned Saint is about how 38yo Ishtu (I’m still so delighted to see an MC who is neither a teen nor in her 20s!) wants out of Gelethel – which is completely forbidden – to get her ailing parents the medical care they need in some other city (angels, apparently, not being fans of public health care). Due to belonging to what I can only call a charitable crime family, Ishtu and her parents could sneak out – but Ishtu doesn’t feel she can abandon Alizar, who is the least of the angels who rule the city, bullied by the rest.

So it’s a good thing another saint of his appears to get the story rolling.

Because really, The Twice-Drowned Saint is a book about a revolution, a massive subversion of our typical assumptions about strength and power, about the rewards of violence versus the rewards of open hands and open hearts.

“That ain’t weakness, Q’Aleth. Weakness is killin’ someone for their bread. Strength is splittin’ your last loaf with them.

It’s about many different kinds of faith, and the treatment of refugees and immigrants, about the hoarding of resources when there’s plenty to go around. It’s about movie-making and storytelling and upending the status quo.

Of course, the poets and the outlaws won against him in the end. That’s what they did, in movies. Maybe the only place they ever did. And that’s why we need movies, Uncle Eril had once told me. That’s why it was such a great good thing–the day your father came to Gelethel.

Which is not to say that this is a preachy book bluntly bleating Moral Lessons at you; instead it’s scintillatingly electric, twisty and rich, fierce and gentle and sizzling. This is a book that bats its eyelashes at you and invites you in, then pours a cocktail of invisible wonders and sheer heart-full humanness down your throat; it’s sitting down in a theatre to a black-and-white silent movie and being blasted with sparkling jewel-tones and a full orchestral soundtrack instead. It always feels a little tongue-in-cheek, as though the story is giving you a wink and letting you in on the joke, even as it takes itself seriously with punctilious care.

Which, yes, sounds like a contradiction, DO YOU SEE WHY I’M HAVING TROUBLE EXPLAINING IT???

It’s so weird! It’s so wonderful! It is such a big glorious story somehow distilled into a powerfully short novel, and I am not doing it justice at all, but please believe me when I tell you it is marvellous.

As in, excellent.

As in, full of marvels and miracles.

Alizar the Eleven-Eyed was waiting there to welcome me. He was there, in the firmament, in the clusters of star-like eyes and the spaces between them. He was also all around me, sitting in my bones: jewel-flame flower bells, feathering ferns, the fluttering of membranous wings, a warm and golden thing, like a lamp filled with fireflies.

Do I have any critiques? Sure, but they’re extremely minor; I found it a little too easy/obvious that Alizar, the one good angel, is also the only angel who is aesthetically pretty – the others we see are all quite horrifying and monstrous. And although the grand finale was appropriately goosebump-giving, I didn’t understand why A Certain Thing was necessary – even on my second read, I didn’t catch any explanation or follow the reasoning.

You know, you gonna be a poet, you gotta get yourself some ink. In the real world, poets are head-to-toe tattoos. ‘War flowers,’ we used to call ’em, in Rok Moris.

But I really don’t care, because literally everything else is freaking EPIC. The surreal, wildly imaginative setting and worldbuilding; the pretty incredible complexity of each member of the cast and their relationships to each other (the uncles!!!)(no for real though THE UNCLES!!!); the frankly ridiculous number of times this book took me by surprise – both in terms of big plot twists and itsy-bitsy details–

And, of course, Ishtu herself.

He was like a cricket some kid had poured diatomite over. He was a murderer. A fanatic for the angels. Worse, a teenager.

Oh, Ishtu. *happy sigh*

In short? Yes, I loved it. Obviously. And I will be reading it again – not least because I caught two Easter Egg nods to Saint Death’s Daughter and Bone Swans, and am sure there are more that I missed!

#C.S.E. Cooney #The Twice Drowned Saint #mahreviews #long post

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